IC. Broken Valley Chapter 1: It's all there for the taking

[StevetheNPC]

- Aerik 821[/b]

Aerik kneels down to peer at the outer wall of the well, holding his torch at such an angle as to aid his vision in this dark place and says, "Uhh... I do. What in Adim's name could this mean?" He turns to the face Egbald and asks, "Undead, you say? Undead what?" And if Magrin's burning oil did not stop them, he motions toward the priest with a quick turn of the head, "then what will?"

Standing up straight again, Aerik passes his torich to his left hand, and then draws his long sword into his right, as though holding the steel weapon in his hand will help to calm his nerves.

[thirdkingdom]

- Aerik 821[/b]

Aerik kneels down to peer at the outer wall of the well, holding his torch at such an angle as to aid his vision in this dark place and says, "Uhh... I do. What in Adim's name could this mean?" He turns to the face Egbald and asks, "Undead, you say? Undead what?" And if Magrin's burning oil did not stop them, he motions toward the priest with a quick turn of the head, "then what will?"

Standing up straight again, Aerik passes his torich to his left hand, and then draws his long sword into his right, as though holding the steel weapon in his hand will help to calm his nerves.

Brignum Mai

"More burning oil, would be my suggestion. I think we should lay down a trail of oil from here towards the stairs and set an ambush; all of us with missile weapons at the ready, plus someone with a torch handy to light the oil. We tie a rope to the hilt of the dagger, pull it out, and then: blammo! When the ghouls try to leave the well, we light them up, both literally and figuratively!"

[MonsterMash]

Magrin, Cleric

"Holy water can also serve but maybe oil will work better in this case as we have plenty to use. I was surprised that the first blaze did not stop them yet, but it will have harmed them. First let us see if Egbald has found anything of value and retrieve the gold coins from that other side before we try it, so we can withdraw and leave here full of oil."

[StevetheNPC]

Aerik says, "Hmm, good point wise Magrin. Let us not act in haste," and he motions toward the well with the closed lid, "as long as this holds perhaps we should look around for any hidden things? I've heard that sometimes these places have secret compartment or rooms behind the walls. I can certainly give it a look, unless there is someone who's more experienced at those sorts of things?" Aerik sheathes his long sword, as the immediate threat appears to be held at bay, at least for the time being.

[MonsterMash]

Magrin, cleric

"Yes, let us search. Bostrum hold my lantern while I do that and someone watch the pinned cover to make sure it is not moving." Handing the lantern to his porter he starts looking for secret doors.

[The_Wanderer]

As Egbald and the rest of the party dig into the opened treasure vault they find a surprisingly large haul of wealth of various forms. It includes:
-A variety of gems and jewelry worth 893 gp
-A large pearl easily worth 1,200 gp
-3,860 gp in mixed coins. The coins themselves are from several local kingdoms, in addition to sovereigns that none of you have heard of. Most date back at least hundreds of years in age.

There is also a tightly closed scroll case with writing across the outside. It says, "Arascokos sees. You will soon be joining His spirit."

[tibbius]

"Don't open that," Egbald says urgently. "Everything with that name on it seems to be dangerous."

[ybn1197]

"Don't open that," Egbald says urgently. "Everything with that name on it seems to be dangerous."

"Bah!" Nymandus declares. "Arascokos can see my hairy arse. How powerful can he be if he couldn't see the downfall of his own cult. I'm guessin' we deal with these pug uglies in the well with oil and fire and the big treasure will be down there."

[thirdkingdom]

Brignum Mai

Mai helps to take the treasure back up the stairs and pile it outside, then begins the process of laying down oil in front of the well. She has already used one oil flask, and has five remaining. She uses four of the five to create a path, five feet wide, leading from the well itself towards the exit. Then, she uses her fifth to create a narrower line from the terminus of that wider path to the bottom of the stairs. "Whoever holds the torch will stand here," she says, gesturing to the last step, "while we array ourselves below you, ready to meet the ghuls with a barrage of arrows. Do not light the oil until three or four of them are out of the well!"

[sirravd]

Mirwydd agrees with Egbald: "That is not to be touched, let alone opened! In truth we should leave it here." In secret, he is curious about what could be within.

[StevetheNPC]

As Mai begins laying down the trail of oil, Aerik glances over the edge of the well and peers at the scroll case. "Although, perhaps there is something contained inside this scroll case that may aid us in destroying the chaos that lurks below that stone cap." Aerik eyes the scroll case, trying to note anything unusual about it's construction or the writings or markings on the outside. If nothing unusual is seen, Aerik will pickup the scroll case and continue to examine it further.

[sirravd]

Mirwydd joins Aerik in examining the scroll case with abundant caution. Does it look to have any remains of opened seals? Is it sealed now?

[The_Wanderer]

Brignum Mai carefully prepares a fiery trap for the undead and aids with looting the treasure well. As the treasure is removed, a chill breeze sweeps down he stairs. It dissipates as quickly as it came...perhaps it is just a coincidence.

In the meantime, Aerik and Mirwydd carefully examine the scroll case. The case itself is made out of some kind of leather with embossed printing in common on it. On one end is a wooden or cork stopper wedged in place. The case appears old but not terribly worn. There is no obvious seal to it, just a tight fit on the stopper. It is fairly lightweight so it is unlikely there is more than paper inside.

[tibbius]

Egbald summons Bostrum and Alcott down the stairs to help remove the treasure. As they come, he checks the spikes that hold shut the well of undead. Is anything still trying to move the lid? Can he hear anything from within the well?

[The_Wanderer]

Egbald summons Bostrum and Alcott down the stairs to help remove the treasure. As they come, he checks the spikes that hold shut the well of undead. Is anything still trying to move the lid? Can he hear anything from within the well?

The lid is still moving and occasionally a raspy voice echoes beneath. For now the spikes are holding.

[thirdkingdom]

Brignum Mai

"Enough dilly-dallying!" she hisses at her compatriots, "if we are to do this thing let us act!" Assuming her companions array themselves at the base of the stairs, and ready their weapons/torches/holy symbols, she attaches a rope to the dagger wedging the lid shut and gives it a great yank.

"Oh my stars!" she declares loudly as the dagger tumbles free, "woe is I, a plump young maiden left here by my companions. Surely I will be no match for the evil that dwells here. Lawd, no!"

[ybn1197]

Nymandus softly chuckles at Brignum's rendition of a damsel-in-distress. He cocks and loads his light crossbow readying for the first ghoul to pop his head out of the well and then he will fire. He also makes sure his battle axe is un-entangled at his side so when he has to close with the creatures he will have it ready.

[tibbius]

Egbald stands to the side of the stairs, holding his shield and mace at the ready. To his right side, Bostrum and Alcott and Luthwick hasten up the stairway laden with the treasure. The torches held by his fighting comrades flicker and gutter in the air, casting eldritch shadows into the tomb. He waits for the lid to scrape open.

[StevetheNPC]

Intently studying the exterior of of the scroll case, Aerik mutters "Arascokos sees. I wonder if that's some sort of clue," and he jumps at Mai's declaration, nearly dropping the scroll case. "I'll have to keep a close eye on that one, with that kind of chaotic behavior," he thinks to himself as he realizes his hand has been forced without his consent.

Aerik quickly stows the case in his backpack for later scrutiny, draws his long bow, and takes up a spot with the others. His hand pauses over the magical arrows in his quiver, knowing that they will aid in striking his target, but decides to ready a regular arrow and save the magical ones for when it really matters.

[MonsterMash]

Magrin readies his sling to attack once the creatures emerge.