Chapter 10: The Crypt of Everlasting Life

[ChubbyPixie]

Startled, Kiri immediately sees the sense of Maako’s command. He joins the illusionist and runs the few steps to the center.

[Monsieur Rose]

Soruk

Soruk instantly realizes that he is one of the heaviest people in the hallway, and quickly tries to move a few steps to the west (~9feet). He reaches for his pack as he does so.
Soruk will try to pull out some iron spikes. When he gets them out is the question.

I first wrote east. That would have been bad.

[wordoftheoracle]

Loche thinks that this makes sense and heads towards the center of the corridor.

[Urson]

Zahra

The albino spits a curse and joins the rush toward the center of the corridor. As she does, she fumbles for a javelin.

[OGRE MAGE]

Xorzen creeps forward enough to see the door with his limited light source, unaware that his entire group might be about to fall to their deaths just a few feet away.

He strains to hear any movement from behind the creaking door, praying that the piles of bones in there aren't also animating. If he hears any sign of that, he rushes forward and tries to slam the door shut again.

[Zhym]

Arthfael knows that balance does not come from everyone being in the center. It is the result of opposition: for every ounce to one far end, there must be an ounce at the opposite far end. But everyone is rushing to the center and he is, appropriately enough, already near the center of the tilting floor. He remains in place, feeling for the balance through the stones—an unusually literal version of his usual practice.

[Inferno]

Tombs of the Ancients, Fourth Tier of the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Four. Mid-Morning, 16th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia







The startled explorers of the ageless crypt reel in surprise as the floor beneath them begins to tilt!

Mako the conjurer of the East suddenly comprehends the meaning of the hidden hieroglyph. "The center!" he cries. "We must all join in the center!"
His companions comply, Arthfael passively. Soruk readies iron spikes and Zahra, a javelin.

But once they meet at the fulcrum, the corridor's angle worsens! The eastern end drops another four feet, widening the hungry black maw under the eastern wall! And the western end ascends four more feet!

The angle of the floor is now 26 degrees! And slowly steepening!


Actions?! (Again, your next post will cover just one segment, 6 seconds, of activity please. In one segment, you may move your Movement rate in feet. Other actions are similarly truncated, including speech. Thanks!)


Meanwhile, to the south, Xorzen of Osorus creeps west so that his candle can melt away the ancient shadows near the creaking door to the mass grave of slaves.

Suddenly, he hears the cries of his companions behind him as his candlelight reveals two fleshless horrors standing before the doorway!




With a shiver on his spine, Xorzen recalls there must have been a hundred skulls visible in that chamber...




...and no weaponry nor shields. Perhaps they were buried under the countless bones of the dead?

The two undead slaves raise their age-old rusted swords toward Xorzen and ready to charge!


Actions?! (Again, your next post will cover just one segment, 6 seconds, of activity please. In one segment, you may move your Movement rate in feet. Other actions are similarly truncated, including speech. Thanks!)


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory.





PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 2/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 7/10, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl
  Arthfael Griogarach: Cimmerian Northman Druid 3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 17/17, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl, Lantern
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 2: Move: 12", AC: 4(2), HP: 18/18, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 12/12, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 18/18
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 10/10, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
  Soruk: Verulian Osoran Cleric/Fighter 1/1: Move: 12", AC: 6(5), HP: 9/9, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 8, HP: 12/12, Candle
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 2: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 16/16, Torch

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Panicked ridden Mako cries "Damn the Gods and their unbeatable banzuke!" and rushes to far west in hopes that the scales will tilt the other way; if not for just a little with his small frame.

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin runs toward the west wall as fast as he can.

[Zhym]

Arthfael calmly considers the balance. Literally. He looks at the people in the hallway.

To the west, there are:

• Arthfael himself, the large but lightly armored Cimmerian (220 lbs + 46lbs gear)
• Zahra, the Verulian fighter woman (180 + 76.5)
• Loche, the puny Pict thief (168 + 50)
• Amethu, the Verulian sorcerer-priest, even punier than Loche but loaded down like a fighter (120+70?)

(Total: 920.5 lbs)

To the east:

• Kiri, the Magic Mountain, looking every bit of it (250 + 123)
• Soruk, the bear that's bigger than the mountain (250 + 80)
• Garrin, the Atlantean paladin; not especially large, but laden with Roan's bones (180 + 82)
• Mako, the slight illusionist (132 + ~30)

(Total: 1127 lbs)

No wonder the scale is still tipping east! A bear, a mountain, and a paladin carrying someone else's remains are a lot to try to counterweight! Kiri moving coming over should swing things the other way—if, indeed, this is a teeter-totter. If Arthfael takes his place, the balance should even be just about restored.

"Kiri, take my place," he says, moving to swap positions with him. "Everyone else, stay put."

Arthfael obviously wouldn't be able to do math in 6 seconds, or know everyone's exact weight, but he can look at everyone, which we obviously can't do. So I hope you'll pardon the math.

Also, I'm assuming that if this is a balancing thing, Inferno is just comparing the weights on each side, not the weights and the distance from the center, because that would be...well, not *that* messy, but probably more math than Inferno wants to do.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu casts enlarge on the tilting floor closest to him to try and halt a tilting disaster!

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri doesn't ask questions. He will readily trade places with Arthfael in the hopes of stopping the tilt...

[OGRE MAGE]

Using his superior speed, Xorzen turns to flee back towards the others at the first sight of the animated skeletons, certain that there are more to follow. If he has time, he thinks to himself. Where did those things come from? Were they in the room initially? Did we just not notice them?

[Urson]

Zahra

As instructed, Zahra holds her position. She jams the javelin's head into whatever seam is visible between the tilting floor and the wall. As soon as she can, she'll do the same with a second.

[Monsieur Rose]

Soruk

Soruk hammers the spike into a seam about six inches above the (now tilted) floor and at his most western reach. He pounds the ever-loving crap out of it for six seconds.

[wordoftheoracle]

Loche holds.

[Inferno]

Tombs of the Ancients, Fourth Tier of the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Four. Mid-Morning, 16th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia







Xorzen the Verulian flees before the advancing undead slaves of Xuthalhotep. The masked monk turns the corner and discovers why his companions are shouting:

On a wildly tilting corridor floor, Garrin and Mako, who are closest to the lower, eastern end and the yawning black maw beneath it, both bolt west for their lives, crashing into Soruk as he draws a hammer from his belt, and Arthfael as he tries to trade places with Kiri.

Suddenly, in accordance with Arthfael's calculations, the floor tilts forcefully back in the opposite direction, raising the eastern end and lowering the western end by nearly five feet on each side!

Jostled by the convulsing sway, Amethu of Uthoth searches through his pouch for a pinch of powdered iron with which to weave a magic spell.

Zahra the pale amazon finds her sea legs and stabs the thin seam between the slanting floor and the wall with her javelin, hoping to stabilize the rocking surface upon which they are being violently pitched. She manages to wedge the very tip of her spearhead into the fine crack.

(next segment...)

The crush of people pressed in tight around Soruk, and the heaving floor beneath his feet, prevents him from swinging his hammer in a wide enough arc to anchor an iron spike in the stone wall. His thwarted efforts only make the floor sway further.

Amethu the albino sorcerer-priest utters ancient Verulian hieroglyphs of power! His arcane incantation warps the very floor at his feet, enlarging it until the stone floor here is jammed tight against the adjacent walls.

Suddenly, the rocking stops! The floor is motionless, locked at a gentle slope of 10 degrees. The once-gaping hole to the east is now only six inches high.

Then they hear Xorzen racing their way!


Actions?! (We now resume the regular, one round posts please.
Also, if your character circle on the map is overlapped with another, your actions may be further hampered by the tight crush, fyi.)


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory.





PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 2/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 7/10, Spells: 5/6 1st lvl
  Arthfael Griogarach: Cimmerian Northman Druid 3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 17/17, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl, Lantern
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 2: Move: 12", AC: 4(2), HP: 18/18, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 12/12, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 18/18
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 10/10, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
  Soruk: Verulian Osoran Cleric/Fighter 1/1: Move: 12", AC: 6(5), HP: 9/9, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 8, HP: 12/12, Candle
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 2: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 16/16, Torch

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."
  Enlarge (Amethu): Target: floor. Duration: 9 rounds.

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[ChubbyPixie]

”I immediately regret pushing the panel.” says Kiri, to no one in particular. Hearing Xorzen approaching rapidly and fearing the worst, his hand strays to his component pouch, readying to cast a spell depending on what may be following the monk.

If a monsterous foot appears around the corner following Xorzen, Kiri will cast Push on it laterally just before it hits the ground in an attempt to cause a misstep and a wipeout.

[Urson]

Zahra

Zahra jams the second javelin into the seam opposite the first, then runs to the western end of the corridor. her intent is to get off the unstable panel and stay off.

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin heads to the eastern end of the corridor, stepping onto the (hopefully) stable floor just to the south.

Assuming he sees the undead chasing Xorzen, Garrin attacks the closest one.

To Hit with +1 Long Sword: [1d20+1] = 14+1 = 15; Damage: sm - [1d8+1] = 3+1 = 4; lg - [1d12+1] = 11+1 = 12