Quest #34 "The Search For The Ruined Tower”

[Paladin]

Keyon

"Someone's down there," he says without looking away. "Or something. It gurgles." His skin crawls and the elf shudders. "I hear metal clinking upon stone. Perhaps something is chained below?"

[Bluehorse]

Keg

Raises his eyebrows. It says beware the chariot, it leads to godly power and certain death for the unprepared.... How prepared do you think they were? he sounds doubtful. If that means they are fighting a god, count me out. I'm not getting anywhere near that tile.

Is there room for more text around the floor? If so, Keg will keep looking while avoiding anything tarot card like.

[Darklin2]

Darklin

Realizing this box is no help he sets it down and looks around for anything else on the floor or maybe the torch that was dropped.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Horror Below
Starday, 27th of Goodmonth
Early Afternoon, Sunny, Hot, Breezy

Outside:

TK continues his search along the other side of the rubble pile, finding nothing of interest along the first section he investigates. Elnaerel moves back to the tower to let the others know she is searching the rubble with TK, then returns to her search, still thinking about the shining gem she found.


Inside:

Keg reads the rest of the sentence, staying well clear of the chariot carving. He kicks around more of the dust, eventually finding another area with carved words underneath.

Keyon hears a female shriek and more gurgling. Then he thinks he hears the voice of Feanol yell out loudly, then another tinkling noise from below.

Information for Ahlmzhad and Darklin ONLY please!!!

Darklin pulls an ivory plaque from the box

8B3C092C-6E70-448E-ABEB-FDD877D66706.jpeg (26.33 KiB) Viewed 269 times

But when it gives him no immediate satisfaction, he puts the box back down and heads for the now undead Gnodric’s dropped torch. Searching the floor, he thinks he spots a vague carving in the southeast corner of the room.

Feanol sticks her undead cousin with one of her throwing knives, lodging it into his grey neck without a flinch. Her second blade is deflected by an arm that reaches out to choke the life from her frail body. With cold dead fingers wrapped around her throat, zombie Gnodric begins choking the mage to death. 2 dam

Max takes a swing at the horrifying spirit before him, missing with his blow. The monster grabs his arm, freezing him to his core and nearly bring him to his knees. 6 dam and a Save vs. Death, please.

Please put actions that happen here in spoilers until everyone decides if they follow or not. Oh who am I kidding? Nobody else is going to follow.

Undead Gnodric AC5 ?/10 UNDEAD

Darklin Sylvanas AC4 8/8 1/1 CL, DM, RM (Torch)
Feanol AC10 2/4 1/1 CL, DM, RM
Max AC2 2/8 CL 1/2 MU 1/1 CL, DM, RM Bless:5

Actions?

positions: stand by for new maps
Keg Woodwright AC1 11/13 (Torch)
Keyon AC4 6/6

Elnaerel AC3 7/10 3/3
The Knife AC4* 5/5
overall map:
viewtopic.php?p=366477#p366477

[Karaunios]

Elnaerel

Elnaerel finally let's TK know that she's going in with the improvised broom. She enters the tower with the object in her hand. "Look what I've got! Let's clean this tower up!" She starts sweeping the floor, directing the bizarre sand toward the entrance and sweeping it out of the building. The female elf will try to avoid any hotspot while doing so.

[Bluehorse]

Keg gets encouraged. There's more writing! Let's see.... he begins frantically blowing and brushing at the floor to reveal the writing and try to get a clue of what they might be able to do to help their friends or if it is too late... or... somehow a good thing?

[Jernau35]

The Knife

The Knife rolls his eyes as Elnaerel runs off again. "I wish she'd make up her mind," he mutters. "Still, all the more for us eh, Knife? I bet the rest of that tea set is out here somewhere." He carries on searching.

[Darklin2]

Darklin

Darklin runs back and grabs the box of tiles and moves toward what he thinks may be a tile similar to the one he stepped on to get here. Box in left hand and torch in right. Using it for a weapon if needed. As soon as he get there he touches it with his right foot.

There may be a tile here on the wall. Run if you can, we can't beat these things.

OOC- Tap dancing like Fred Estaire

Max

Max has bless but not sure +1 makes any difference.

[1d20]=2 Save vs Death Magic

[Paladin]

Keyon

"Someone's shrieking! It sounds like Feanol's voice." Keyon looks toward the chariot and back to the hole. He grips a dagger tightly in each hand and lunges for the chariot--or he intends to. But his feet remain rooted to the ground.

"Certain death for the unprepared," he repeats quietly. The rogue wills himself to help his comrades, to step onto the chariot and hurl himself at whatever threatens their well-being. But he can't. He stands stock-still, head bowed and shame etched into his handsome features.

Without another word, he reaches down and slips the glass stopper back into the hole.

[OGRE MAGE]

Love the RP!!!

We just need to see what Feanol is going to do next and I will move this one along.

[Ahlmzhad]

Feanol

The young mage will try to break free and run over where Max is. If she can move she will do so defensively.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Horror Below
Starday, 27th of Goodmonth
Early Afternoon, Sunny, Hot, Breezy

Outside:

TK finds nothing else of interest in the rubble outside the tower.

Inside:

With the help of Elnaerel and her makeshift broom, she and Keg clean off another portion of the thick dust, revealing a second saying carved into the floor under their feet. LET THE LIGHT PROTECT YOU AND GUIDE YOUR WAY.

Keyon struggles mightily after hearing the voice of Feanol, badly wanting to help, but also not wanting to die horribly. After a difficult battle in his mind, he leans down and drops the glass plug he found back into the hole in the floor, essentially sealing the fate of all those left below.

Information for Ahlmzhad and Darklin ONLY please!!!

Darklin keeps his distance from both of the monsters, grabbing up the box of plaques again and moving into the corner with the floor carving. The torch illuminates another square tile with the Chariot symbol carved into the stone floor. Darklin calls out to the others and puts one foot into the square, but that isn't enough to teleport the elf from the room.

Feanol ducks under the grasp of her undead cousin Gnodric, rushing over to where Assamuk has Max held by his arm. The zombie flails away at her again as she moves, but misses. She arrives in time to watch the face of Max change from a healthy male elf to a grey shell of what he once was. As the life force is drained from her companion, she can see the agony in his eyes as he watches it all play out in front of him, but can do nothing about it. Assamuk drops the husk that once was Max to the floor and welcomes the female as his next victim. "Eeerrrhhhmmmm! Are you giving yourself to me willingly, my dear? Hhhhmmmmm! The two of us can remain together forever, if you would only agree to it." Hhhhmmmmm!" He reaches up to hold onto the elf if she agrees to his unsettling offer.

The light shining down into the room from the ceiling distorts once again and it instantly gets darker.The strange aura of refracted light returns around the body in the chair.

Please put actions that happen here in spoilers until everyone decides if they follow or not. Oh who am I kidding? Nobody else is going to follow.

Undead Gnodric AC5 ?/10 UNDEAD

Darklin Sylvanas AC4 8/8 1/1 CL, DM, RM (Torch)
Feanol AC10 2/4 1/1 CL, DM, RM
Max AC2 2/8 CL 1/2 MU 1/1 CL, DM, RM DEAD

2126A259-4D6E-4EF0-B5F5-D2C404501451.jpeg (23.65 KiB) Viewed 203 times

Actions?

positions:

6FFB5C68-B68D-4B3D-9086-168E2310C3CA.jpeg (23.74 KiB) Viewed 204 times

Keg Woodwright AC1 11/13 (Torch)
Keyon AC4 6/6
Elnaerel AC3 7/10 3/3

The Knife AC4* 5/5
overall map:
viewtopic.php?p=366477#p366477

[Ahlmzhad]

Feanol

Damn, should have made sure who was where. I thought Max was on the tile with the box. Oh well the fog of war!

Feanol, realizing she's too late to help Max runs to join Darklin.

[Jernau35]

The Knife

Poking through the last of the rubble, The Knife stops as a thought occurs to him. He looks up at the roof of the first floor towards the remains of the staircase there. Maybe there's one going down too, he wonders. Just not an obvious one.

The Knife dashes over to the tower doorway. He enters inside, heeding Elnaerel's warning about stepping on things. Then he kneels, and begins to make a series of high-pitched squeaks.

In Rat-language:

"FOOD HERE! COME NOW! FOOD HERE! COME NOW!"

[Darklin2]

Darklin

Throws the torch at the Old Man's remains in the chair and puts both feet on the symbol on the floor, Hoping that he can leave this place.

Feanol, Come on. Over here. This isn't working. HELP, HELP!!!!!

[1d20+2]=14+2=16 Thrown torch Subtract whatever negative there is to the throw. The +2 is Dex bonus.

[Karaunios]

Elnaerel

Elnaerel is satisfied that they could finally clear part of the tower floor more easily. "It's done. But, this message... Maybe it has something to do with the hole that Keyon opened..." A grimace escapes from her face, thinking of her friends trapped beneath the tower... and the screams that resembled Feanol's voice (if we can assume that we all heard it/Keyon shared that information with us?). "Knife." She says as the gnome enters the tower. "When you're done... doing what you do... Maybe there's any way in which we could use the flashing gem we found? Perhaps it fits the hole in the centre of the room..."

She hands the makeshift broom to Keg. "Now, would you mind taking turns with this?"

[Bluehorse]

Keg looks at the message and is puzzled. So you are prepared if you take a light with you? Like a torch? What do you... wait you found a flashy gem? How do you think that would help? Is it magic or something?

Looking at the broom he looks a little put off. Wh... I... That's women's work! Oh, fine! Give me that! and begins sweeping at the floor grumbling.

[Paladin]

Keyon

The elf looks on in disbelief as his comrades go about their business as if nothing unusual is happening while those below are surely dead or dying. Bemused, he shakes his head and stumbles out of the tower, gulping in the tangy air to cleanse himself of the stale, foul stench from below.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Horror Below
Starday, 27th of Goodmonth
Early Afternoon, Sunny, Hot, Breezy

TK gets an idea, returning to the interior of the tower and kneeling down on the floor. He starts to make strange squeaking noises, causing the others think he has finally flipped his lid completely. His rat speak doesn't seem to do anything but confuse his companions however.

Elnaerel looks concerned for the safety of her missing friends. She believes that the markings on the floor must have something to do with the bright gem she found, but when she looks at the hole in the floor, she understands that the gem is far too large to fit inside. Keg asks about the gem as well before he takes the broom from Elnaerel and begins pushing some of the accumulating dust outside through the doorway, complaining mightily as he works. Unable to tolerate the idea of losing his friends to whatever menace lurks below, Keyon runs from the tower to clear his head and get some fresh sea air into his lungs.

All of the sudden, Darklin appears inside the tower again, but not in the same spot he was when he disappeared earlier. His face shows a look of concern, and when he looks at his empty hands where the box he was carrying once was, his expression turns to one of anger. It seems that he was teleported out of the basement, but his prize was not.

Information for Ahlmzhad and Darklin ONLY please!!!

Darklin tosses the sputtering torch onto the lap of the dead figure in the chair before fully stepping onto the symbol carved into the floor. The torch starts to burn the dried remnants of clothing, causing Assamuk to finally notice the fleeing elf. The horrible spirit ignores Feanol for a moment and whooshes across the floor towards the elf currently trying to make off with his treasure.

Feanol is shocked that the undead monster suddenly loses interest in absorbing her essence. All she can do is heed Darklins warning and flee towards the corner as well. When Assamuk arrives at the spot where Darklin was, the elf suddenly disappears, but the box he was carrying reappears in the lap of the seated and now slowly burning figure in the chair in the center of the room. She is more shocked when Max starts to rise from the floor as another undead minion. Gnodric Zombie grabs onto one of her arms as she tries to stand upon the symbol next, stopping her from exiting this horror. (A normal [3d6] Str check will allow her to break free enough to get herself onto the symbol.)

Please put actions that happen here in spoilers until everyone decides if they follow or not. Oh who am I kidding? Nobody else is going to follow.

Undead Gnodric AC5 ?/10 UNDEAD
Max AC2 2/8 CL 1/2 MU 1/1 CL, DM, RM UNDEAD

Feanol AC10 2/4 1/1 CL, DM, RM

2A5F1416-F486-4CAF-82E8-416513D9017B.jpeg (21.96 KiB) Viewed 159 times

Actions?

positions:

AC4579EC-E126-4C4A-AC31-F3483E2A5909.jpeg (18.08 KiB) Viewed 159 times

Keg Woodwright AC1 11/13 (Torch)
Elnaerel AC3 7/10 3/3
The Knife AC4* 5/5
Darklin Sylvanas AC4 8/8 1/1 CL, DM, RM

Keyon AC4 6/6
overall map:
viewtopic.php?p=366477#p366477

[Karaunios]

Elnaerel

Elnaerel's eyes open wide in surprise as she sees Darklin suddenly appear. She runs towards him, minding the carvings on the floor. She puts her hand on his shoulder. "Darklin? Are you fine? Where are the others? What's in there? How did you come back?"