Expedition: Ablesforth: The Demon Hole: Part 2 - 30 Aug 2021

[Rusty Tincanne]

Able listens at the door. If he hears nothing (likely), he will use the medallion of ESP to determine if there is any sentient life behind it. He lets the others know he could use a prayer to detect traps if they want to press their luck.Might just be a storage closet...

[Marullus]

Ablesforth listens at the secret door both physically and telepathically, using his medallion. He detects no thoughts in that direction.

Date: 31 August 2021, 1:10pm
Light: Dolph's torch (until 1:53pm)
Effects: Protection from Evil (each person); Invisibility (Pendleton)
Injuries: Ablesforth (severely injured); Jacques (moderately injured); Pendleton (mildly injured)

[Zhym]

"As a point of interest, are you able to detect sniffers using that amulet?" asks Pendleton.

I thought I'd uploaded an updated map, but I don't see it. But from what I remember, wouldn't a door in the right-hand wall go into the room with the arrow trap?

[Marullus]

Presumably.

[Rusty Tincanne]

If Able learns that two of the chameleons are unconscious, he will use his maul to finish them off. Or ask the Templars to do so with their swords.

[Marullus]

Unless Pendleton says otherwise, then, I'll assume the lizards are killed and all five are skinned.

Actions?

[Zhym]

Pendleton casts another invisibility spell on himself. "I will probably regret this, but let's push our luck and see what's behind the door." He steps back to allow one of the Templars to do the door-opening.

I didn't get an answer as to whether the ESP medallion detects sniffers, but we're fairly well protected against them.

[Marullus]

Ablesforth?

[Rusty Tincanne]

Jacques' lantern light bobs in the air as Ablesforth leads the group into and across the chamber, wading through the crunchy bleached bones. The far walls appear as the lantern bobs closer - the room is 50' x 50', a white plaster mosaic artwork made of bone shards cemented into swirls and patterns covers the entire wall to your right, the other walls remain the same unadorned bedrock stone. There are two reinforced wooden doors ahead of you, both secured with iron banding and visible lock mechanisms. One is at the very end of the left wall, the other is at the far-right corner of the far wall which you face.

a 50'x50' room with our entrance in the bottom left corner, a banded, locked door on the far corner of the left wall, and on the mosaic-covered, right wall there is a banded, locked door in the far corner and an unlocked door in the middle of it... Why is there an unlocked door leading to the same place (maybe) as a banded, locked door?
Spooky...

Last time I used the medallion on them sniffers, I got an infernal vision and a splittin' headache. Likely they ain't on the other side of this door, less'n it don't always work right. Or this mosaic is messin' with it. He hefts his maul and finishes the chameleons off, then waits for them to be skinned and packed. As he waits, he ponders the mosaic and the door, trying to suss out if the mosaic is a warding of some sort, or just a pretty picture. I don't like that there're two doors on this bone-wall. Both should get to the same place, but one's locked up tight. And this'un is just hidden in a bone picture. I'm prone t'thinink we ought'n leave this alone fer now. He listens at and uses the ESP medallion on the far, locked door.If'n we wanna go forward, I'll use a prayer t'let me see traps so we're in the know.

[Zhym]

"I believe that this might be a good occasion to use such a prayer," says Pendleton. He too, gives another look at the mosaic to see if there is anything he can discern from it—or if it shows anything like lanugage that he might be able to read.

I don't think the secret door is on the same wall as any other doors. The two doors we see are on the left (west, if I remember correctly) wall and the far (north) wall. The secret door is on the right (east) wall. Right?

ETA:

...on the mosaic-covered, right wall there is a banded, locked door in the far corner and an unlocked door in the middle of it...

I think banded, locked door is on the wall across from us, not on the mosaic wall to our right.

[Marullus]

It looks like this:

Lizard Room.jpg (3.7 KiB) Viewed 356 times

I'll let you revised to correct misunderstandings.

[Rusty Tincanne]

I struck out he text relating to the doors. Thanks for clarifying that. I'm horrible at envisioning rooms from descriptions. Sorry.
After Pendleton is done examining the bone-work, Able casts Find Traps and checks the room they are in, and then tries the door in the bone wall (if it isn't trapped).

[Marullus]

Ablesforth prays to Eruanna for insight into the Truths of this chamber. His prayers are answered by insight from the divine, helping him recognize that the stone slabs which compose the ceiling over the door are, in fact, all rigged to fall upon anyone who opens the door.

Date: 31 August 2021, 1:20pm
Light: Dolph's torch (until 1:53pm)
Effects: Protection from Evil (each person); Invisibility (Pendleton)
Injuries: Ablesforth (severely injured); Jacques (moderately injured); Pendleton (mildly injured)

[Zhym]

"Wow. Whoever built this place really doesn't want us to go into the next room," says Pendleton. "Any ideas on how to bypass the trap? There's never a thief around when you need one. And I seem to have neglected to pack any devices we could use to shore up the ceiling or open a handle-less door from afar. Perhaps that is our sign that we should rest and rejuvenate our spell stores?"

Marullus, would Pendleton have an idea of how much weight a magical Web could hold if anchored around a ceiling? Enough to keep a stone ceiling from falling on a person?

[Marullus]

Clever!

...But lets say no. Webbing it sufficiently to prevent giant-strength level of damage AND leaving the door still accessible beneath it is more than Pendleton thinks he can do.

[Zhym]

I figured. Had to ask.

How about Web slowing the ceiling enough for someone to open the door then get the heck out of the way? Looking at the spell description, it does say that it takes creatures with giant strength four rounds to break through a Web.

Alternately, maybe a magic missile aimed at the door could trigger the trap? (That's speculation for Rusty, but feel free to answer if you want, Marullus.)

Of course, both options involve the ceiling above the door collapsing, which might block the door. Depends on how much of the ceiling falls and whether it falls as rubble or a big damn block. And it would probably attract the attention of everything down here. Unless we cast a silence spell first. But short of the sudden appearance of a thief or a six-pack of potions of gaseous form, I don't see a way past that door without triggering the trap.

Whatever we do, we probably need to rest first. We could go back to the idea of returning to town for the night and pick up a 10' pole while we're there. Or try to hire a thief, if there were anywhere to do that.

Hey, does the Unseen Servant spell exist in Gaul?

"Well, I'm flummoxed," repeats Pendleton. "I mean, I have some thoughts, but they all require spells or equipment I do not have available at the moment. Unless you have a portable scaffolding handy? No? Well, then, let's rest. The only question is whether to do it here, or if we think we can buy something in town that would get us into that room without becoming two-dimensional."

"Oh—you might want to check the other two doors, just for fun, before your prayer expires."

[Marullus]

Hey, does the Unseen Servant spell exist in Gaul?

In Gaul? Yes. At least one PC has it.
Not in Southlands education, however.

Otherwise, that's a lot of speculation up there. When you test it with Actions, I'll give results.

[Zhym]

Fair 'nuff.

For now, I suggest resting up and recovering spells. With a return to town to get a 10' pole, at least. But Rusty has the final call, of course.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Looking at the unlocked door, Able decides that, without block and tackle or several timbers, he's at a loss for how to cross the portal safely. Could throw a sniffers at it, I reckon. He volunteers to go look at the gates entrance again with the spell.

Afterwards Able focuses on the other doors in this room for traps. Depending on how that goes, he'll either go back outside to rest, checking for more traps on the way, or decide to plough ahead one more room.

And what were the results of his listening and ESPing at the other two doors?

[Marullus]

While his divine blessing lasts, Ablesforth approaches the other doors. On the way to the door on the wall opposite where you entered it is revealed that a pendulum blade is securely hidden and rigged to a pressure plate in the flooring. The other door (on the left wall) does not appear to be trapped. His vision then returns to normal.

Side-stepping the pressure plate, he finds that both of the reinforced wooden doors, secured with iron banding and visible lock mechanisms, are indeed locked and he does not sense any sentient thoughts on the other side of either of them.

Date: 31 August 2021, 1:30pm
Light: Dolph's torch (until 1:53pm)
Effects: Protection from Evil (each person); Invisibility (Pendleton)
Injuries: Ablesforth (severely injured); Jacques (moderately injured); Pendleton (mildly injured)