Return to the Barrow Mounds:

[Spearmint]

May 3rd 1066.

Barrow Maze.

Exploring the corridors.
3.41pm. Firebrand torchlight (Bro Fab) Lantern light (Gerdal)

The four beetles are left to nibble and the melee between the groups at the top of the NE corridor, some 80'ft away ignored. You have more pressing issues. Sven and Amos react to the sudden disappearance of two of the party, running to the commotion.

Steban triggers the trap that plummets both him and Isvand to a sudden high stakes game of ghoulish death. Each take damage from the fall, crashing to the floor though the halfling is somewhat softened by the human cushion he lands upon. Both are as surprised as the resident pit ghoul, Penelope. You all act with simultaneous instinct to survive, the warriors striking out with their weapons.

A rope of hope is lowered over the side by Orgoth who belays himself to anchor someone climbing out. Penelope is no dope and takes the rope without delay to climb to the lip of the pit and freedom out of the Barrowmaze oubliette.

Whereupon she is met by the divine wrath of Cromm Cruach and his acoylte Brother Fabian who is encouraged by Gerdal to command the ghoulette to flee. The creature winces and turns to run, trying to cling to the slim border of the pit but her dexterity is under an impulse of fear and missing her footing, she plummets again into the darkness below.

The tick-tock of the rotating lantern turns to half past the hour and the trap doors close to halfway.

Initiative and next actions everyone please. One may make a 3d6 Dex to rope climb out but not both.

Penelope Pitstop [1d4]=2 1-2 climb, 3-4 melee.[1d20]=2 [1d20]=20 [1d20]=8
Critters initiative [1d6]=3
Fab turn vs 10 [1d20-3]=15-3=12
Penelope saved [1d20]=2 not saved [3d6]=14

[Rex]

Orgoth

Orgoth holds steady until he gets some further information. "Get out now its closing!"

[sastaz]

Gerdal, not taking her chances at the ledge to reach the lantern case to prevent it from turning, starts chanting as her eyes turn purple and hazy.

"Nguvu za zamani zinanipa uwezo wa kupiga adui zangu."

Eldritch blast damage [1d4+1]=1+1=2

[Leitz]

Steban

In the pit group init [1d6]=3

Steban moved to kill the creature before she could attack again.

Attack, Damage [1d20]=9, [1d8+1]=3+1=4

Well, of several rolls that actually counted, not a single one above half. I think the die-roller hates me...

[redwarrior]

Isvand with a command that he can follow, Isvand wastes no time nimbly climbing the rope. Once out of the pit, he will prepare his bow for next round.

Dex target 16 [3d6]=5

[OGRE MAGE]

Looks like I am a couple rounds behind.

Rushing over to the action, Sven urges the others to be quiet as they impale themselves. As soon as he spots the catch on the end of Orgoths rope, he fires a bolt of energy into the monster. Magic Missile [1d4+1]=4+1=5
1st Level Spell Retention (INT 15) [4d6+1]=13+1=14

When he sees it flee from the clerics commands, and fall back into the pit, Sven releases another magical missile through the closing doors.
Magic Missile [1d4+1]=4+1=5
1st Level Spell Retention (INT 15) [4d6+1]=23+1=24

He whispers to everyone as Isvand climbs out of the pit. “We need to be quiet! We saw some cultists or something fighting down the next hallway! They will be able to hear us if we make too much noise!”

[Spearmint]

May 3rd 1066.

Barrow Maze.

Exploring the corridors.
3.42pm. Firebrand torchlight (Bro Fab) Lantern light (Gerdal)

The frantic nature of the situation exacerbated by the ticking of the clockwork mechanism and the trapdoors narrowing to cleave together once more make decisions hurried.

Steban, familiar with the confines of a pugilist ring, advances on the front foot hoping to land a knockout blow but the ghoul plays rope-a-dope, soaking up his strike with a parry.

Isvand chooses not to hang around and pair up against the ravenous creature, favouring instead the dangled rope and slim chance of escaping the pit through the gap in the closing portal. That chance getting slimmer by the second. He grabs the rope and hangs on and shimmies up while Orgoth heaves, assisted by Bro' Fabian who pulls on the line to haul him up.

Putrid Penelope lunges at the the 'hor d'oeuvres' that wriggles his escape. The dish waving his legs like little juicy maggots is just too tempting and she jumps to catch hold of Isvand's legs, grabbing and clawing her way up his trousers and tries to take a chunk of choice loin.

Gerdal manifests her own rage, invoking witchery which kindles a bolt of radiant energy to shudder the necrotic ghoulette. Sven invokes his artful wizardry, the volley of arcane arrows are enough to shock the ghoulette into releasing her grip, falling back down into the pit of despair a third time. The halfling is pulled up by the skin of his teeth, the flagstone drop-leaf trapdoors closing with a grinding clunk behind him.

Amos braves the slim border of the pit to tackle the turning lantern. Unfortunately he cannot turn back time or wrestle the gears against the reset.

The fate of Steban unknown. In a moment of hushed silence, Amos puts his ear to the floor. He hears a grunt, a swish of metal on stone, silence. Then a voice, Steban's. He remains alive but trapped at the bottom of the pit.

In the moments after he can unpack his trade tools and assess the lantern trap mechanism. The ability to 'pick the lock' and render the trap useless though is beyond him. The gears are contained behind the wall and if 'knocked through' might give him another opportunity to find any release catches. During his turn spent observing and attempting to alter the trap, he notices that the lantern box moves anti-clockwise, though instead of a cog movement each second, it appears to move each minute. Proving his theory that the trap takes an hour to reset, (just in case of error he ropes himself up), and walks across the flagstones.

You can move on, returning here in just under an hour to see if you can set the trap off again and find out Steban's fate.

How you communicate to Steban is another consideration.

actions please

Sven: just one round, I noted your first round as
arriving at the scene so will just use the first MM roll and retain check.

Critters initiative [1d6]=3
Penelope snack or main course [1d2]=1 claw, claw, bite [1d20]=8 [1d20]=1 [1d20]=9
Amos skills [1d100]=34 [1d100]=47

3.55pm:
Conditions: Steban -7hp, Isvand -4hp

[redwarrior]

Isvand looks sheepish that he took the rope instead of staying below. But he's also fascinated by whatever it is that Amos is doing with the lantern bracket on the wall, realizing that it must somehow be associated with that pit trap. What was it that Steban yelled about "checking the mechanism?" And that roll of tools seems interesting. Not wanting to get in the way of freeing the large fighter, he holds his questions for now, but makes a mental note to ply Amos with ale and questions once we are back in safer environs.

As it becomes obvious that there is a timer on the trap, he gets ready to suggest that someone walk over... but then again, Amos is already doing so. He bears watching. From what is overheard, it sounds like the traps cannot be triggered for another hour. It seems not to make sense to stay still in such a place. Should we wait and attack the victorious cultists? Or find out what this trap is protecting? He asks Sven, as he readies his bow yet again.

[sastaz]

Updated map.

[sastaz]

Retain lv 1 spell vs 15 [4d6+1]=17+1=18

Gerdal, realizing there's nothing she can do for poor Steban at the moment, starts looking around in all directions, then at Isvand

"Maybe try that door, since we are in disarray and in no shape of fighting right now?" she points to the closest door, just on the other side of the now shut trapdoor.

"Orgoth, can you try to open it?"

[OGRE MAGE]

“Shhhhhh!”

Sven reads the plaque on the wall before moving back to the hallway with the fighting cultists and undead, peering around the corner to check on the status of that distant battle.

[sastaz]

While waiting for Sven, Gerdal will pluck a few of those precious petals now when people are moving over the trapdoor again. Because they are, right?

[Spearmint]

yes you can walk over the trap for now. I will describe what you see so you can enlarge your map.

After the door in the north you come to a 40x40 chamber. Opposite you in the top of the eastern wall is another closed door.

The chamber has a large amount of debris from a collapsed wall in the south east corner, some debris piled on a square in the middle and a partial collapse of the stonework on the west wall.

I put an updated map in your forum sastaz

[Rex]

Orgoth

Can he recover the rope or is it stuck in the trap door?

He will recover his rope if possible, then fall in with the others.

Whispering to Sven, "We need to get him out of there."

[Spearmint]

May 3rd 1066.

Barrow Maze.

Exploring the corridors.
3.56pm. Firebrand torchlight (Bro Fab) Lantern light (Gerdal)

Conditions: Steban -7hp, stuck in pit trap. Isvand -4hp.

While Amos packs his trade tools away, the team explore the corridor they are in more fully.

Gerdal asks Orgoth to try bashing down the door past the pit trap. This door is another iron reinforced door, the two hinges have been greased to keep rust away and the wood lacquered against rot. On the front is a panel shaped like a book cover with a buckle that keeps the front leaf closed. On the door panel to the right are two scarab designs, one a few inches above the other. The is no handle, the door stoutly shut.

Orgoth retains the rope, Sven retains his spell. Gerdal loses memory of hers but does have another trick on rather than up her sleeve. The chameleon watching events with bug eyes and disdain. It chews on a leafy petal of Bloodvein, a tear drop of blood trickling from its mouth. Yum-yum, a little salty, at least the blood type is positive and not negative. Checking the vase, you find it is built into the flagstone and the flowers in the vase must have roots which eek their way down into the pit to leech upon the blood spilled by impaled fallers.

which may beg the question, are the roots still leeching blood? Steban alive and standing against the ghoul last time you saw him and heard him briefly moving below. But just how vampiric are the roots? Orgoth's statement of getting the warrior from the pit may have a new degree of urgency.

The plaque is fixed to the wall. A brass plate dedicated to 'Arnaud: may his light ever shine and those who seek his tomb spend their days in darkness.' The lantern box, remains fixed to the wall, the candle still giving some flickering light but not melting down.

After the metal door in the north you come to a 40x40 chamber. Directly opposite you in the top of the western wall is another closed door.

The chamber in the south has a large amount of debris from a collapsed wall in the south east corner, some debris piled on a square in the middle and a partial collapse of the stonework on the west wall.

Bro' Fabian steps cautiously around, avoiding the debris. Nothing insidious is discovered.

To the very east of the corridor, Sven goes to watch the corridor melee. You can sneak past the corner and huddle by the debris from the collapse in that area. Looking over the rubble you watch the gruesome end of the melee taking place in a hall at the end.

The figures in 'black robes' wear masks over their faces, their skeleton forces broken in pieces scattered around. They advance and surround a goat-headed figure who kneels, raising his arms to the heavens and then slices open his own guts, disemboweling himself in ritual death. The three kick his bleeding body into an open pit. Around the pit are some decayed putrid figures. Zombies lying still in their second death. Three grey robed figures taste their first, dead of wounds received in the melee. The black robes chant and one raises his hands ... the three grey dead rise, grey and ashen in visage and lurch towards their summoner as newly animated dead. They are disrobed, those garments cast into the pit. The three black robes and the three newly risen depart to the left.

next actions please

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven doesn't like the looks of the cultist war a mere one hallway over, but is glad to see them simply walk away once it is over, possibly indicating that their group hasn't been discovered yet. He nods at Orgoths suggestion and motions for everyone to regroup in the hallway where they lost Steban.

"Does anyone have an idea how to get these doors open again so we can save Steban? Can one of you stronger folk try to use the prybar to rend them open again? At least so we can get a look below?"

Sven and Amos search around the candle box, the plaque, and the rotating switch(?) on the wall, manipulating them in any way to attempt to get the doors to open again. The young mage feels for any heat around the burning candle, wondering if it can be removed from the box without incident.

Is the current map correct? That was such a huge barrage of descriptions and directions that my head is spinning trying to piece it all together. Maybe a few notes by each door will help? Description, locked/closed/stuck, etc.?

I think we better try to stay in one place for a moment and concentrate on one dilemma at a time before we check over any new areas. That was some serious information overload.

[Spearmint]

edited post. I will send updated map out.

[sastaz]

OGRE MAGE the GM posts the correct map to me in my private forum regularly, so I compare and check that the important things are correct.

Also, I do some small notes?

I prefer to have the map semi poetic, is that okay?
EDIT: I can add door status maybe? locked/trapped etcetera?

[redwarrior]

OGRE MAGE the GM posts the correct map to me in my private forum regularly, so I compare and check that the important things are correct.

Also, I do some small notes?

I prefer to have the map semi poetic, is that okay?
EDIT: I can add door status maybe? locked/trapped etcetera?

I love the map you're putting together. It feels "real"

[OGRE MAGE]

The hand drawn map is excellent, I just wanted to make sure it was accurate, since I didn't see the hallway with the cultists yet, and that seemed vitally important to keep an eye on. I think a few notes by the doors will help, but it doesn't matter to me how you decide to do that.

So, is the candle box on the south wall directly above the pit? Or does it look like it has something to do with the door on the north wall in that hallway?

Did we listen or discern any information yet about that door? (closest to the pit in the hallway)