Second Expedition

[Raven Crowking]

The corridor enters through one corner of a roughly triangular room, perhaps 40 feet north-south and 50 east-west, with the southwest corner forming a right angle. There is a door in the rough centre of the south wall, and a door nearly opposite that in the wall that forms the triangle's hypotenuse.

In the corner of the right angle is a dais, atop which crouches a statue of a great winged gargoyle.

Scrawled across the long wall which forms the triangle's hypotenuse is written:

Remember: Up Then Down

[Vanguard]

Aldo and Pudge shiver at the sight of the gargoyle. Lyle approaches the graffiti cautiously and asks, "What you think it means?" as he turns to the others in the party.

Valanthe scratches her head trying to recall any songs about gargoyles, but nothing comes to mind.

[jferngler]

Girt looks at the graffiti thoughtfully. "Well," he says, "there are two options, I guess, if the graffiti is a warning. First, the room, being a triangle, is like a child's slide, and we should use the south wall door first, then open the door on the sloping side, first going up, then going down. The second option, with the triangular shape, makes the room like a hill, and we should climb up the slope, and come down the sharp side. I think we should open the south door first, though. Any objections?"

[Vanguard]

Aldo and Pudge have a confused look on their faces for a moment, then shrug and say, in unison. "That makes sense."

Lyle steps toward Girt and asks, "Will you be the vanguard?"

[jferngler]

"I'll open the door, yes. We should arrange ourselves in case something terrible comes out," Girt says. Girt stands next to the door, and Avery is behind him. They wait for others to arrange themselves.

[Raven Crowking]

They arrange themselves, and then Girt throws open the door.

Beyond, you can see a corridor which, after 20 feet, enters a four-way intersection.

Meanwhile, Herman Longtooth has now reached the entry/exit chamber...only to discover that the rope is no longer there. The hole in the roof remains, 35 feet above the floor.

[jferngler]

"Bloody bastards," Herman says under his breath. He jogs back the way he came, hoping to link up with the party again.

Girt leads the party to the intersection with cautious steps, fearful of a another pit trap.

[caveman]

Doh

[caveman]

Silva is covering with his bow and Milner is holding the torch high.

[Raven Crowking]

Toothy Herman jogs back to the 20 x 20 room, and to the far door.

To the right, the corridor goes 30 feet before seemingly opening into some larger space.

To the left, the corridor goes as at least 30 feet, although 20 feet in, to the north and the south, rotting yellow funerary hangings conceal what seem to be spaces beyond.

In front of you, the corridor goes at least 30 feet. You can see a door on the right, about 20 feet away. This door is not whole -- it is hanging in pieces from its frame.

[caveman]

Hey guys, you know we never looked too closely at that gargoyle. Anyone
mind going back and poking around a little bit?

[Lord Zack]

If anybody makes that gargoyle attack us by messing with it, my characters are going to leave them behind to fend for themselves. There's no reason to take unnecessary risks.

[jferngler]

Avery shrugs, says, "It could be that the graffiti was meant to refer to the gargoyle."

Girt puts a hand up for quiet and moves straight across the intersection for the broken door. He moves gingerly enough, stealth his aim if not his goal.

[Raven Crowking]

Moving down the corridor, Girt can see another door, on the left wall, 20 feet past the first. He glances beyond the smashed door, seeing an area perhaps 20 feet square, decorated with a bas-relief image of a setting sun on the far (western) wall.

Meanwhile, with the main party silent and listening, you can just make out hissing whispers coming from the eastern corridor.

Herman crosses the roughly 30-ft square room, exits the far door, and begins moving toward where the (now open) pit lies.

[jferngler]

"I think we ought to investigate those hissing whispers, if only to keep whatever horror is there from getting behind us," Girt says.

[Raven Crowking]

"Aaaaahhhhh my heart, dossst yet remember the ssssssunsssssset by Lake Lornessss, where firsssst I held thee in loverssssss embracsssse?"

"Yesssss......How hot our flesssshhhhhh wassssss that night!"

[jferngler]

Avery's heart seems to stop in his chest at the sound of those voices. He muscles back through the rest of the party, Girt struggling behind him as the lithe boy makes for the east hallway. Anger begins bubbling in his heart for the voices of dead men awakened by a dark god or some foul sorcery. He clasps his staff in one hand, and his holy symbol in another and begs Ulesh to bless him (spell check is 18). He rounds the corner, Girt only feet behind and desperate to protect his friend. Giant lopes along behind the holy boys.

[Raven Crowking]

The corridor is over 30 feet long. After the first 10 feet, you can see the torn yellow curtains that conceal spaces to the right and the left. At the very edge of your vision, it appears as though there is another set of curtains, right and left.

[Raven Crowking]

"Ahhhhhhh love he he he hee heee heeee HEEEE! Sssstill ssssooooo pretty pretty you are!"

[caveman]

Silva wets his lips, tests his bow string and mutters to Milner, "See if you can pull that Holy Water out of my pack there. I think we'll need it."

Following along behind the Holy Bros...

OOC: I know this is the wrong time for it, but I've gotten confused with my mapping. Are we down South and East where we turned back the first time? Or east toward where we fought the skeletons? Does anyone have an updated map to share?