The Unseen Servant forums

The frog room having slightly emptied out, Einstein will move closer...

First, he'll knock on the dias. Does it seem to be hollow? Is it possible to distinguish if the statue is resting on the dias vs extending below the surface of the dias?

He will also examine the golden eyes. Is there something there that might be pried out?

Finally, he'll reach into the mouth with his bag, and try to scoop a bit of the metallic dust out into the bag.

...

Arya, thinking the sculpture is a trap, backs towards the hallway and warns Einstein as he moves near the bronze frog.

Einstein knocks on the dias to see if its hollow. The platform appears to be solid timber and the metal casting is a separate object resting on top of the dias. The gold pupils are molded into the eyes and should be able to be pried out with some effort.

The gambler takes his chances and reaches in to grab some of the dust. He collects a palm full and dumps it into his bag.

Zeek returns to the throne room and suggests trying the other orb. The corn farmer grabs and turns the silver globe hoping it is connected to a locking mechanism.

Tony and Betty examine the south door. Like the northern door, it is made from monolithic stone with iron hinges and a bronze handle. When Zeek twists the silver sphere, they both hear a ’CLICK’ from inside the door.

Action Details:
MAP 77

Actions!?

Light Sources: Torch (Zeek), Torch (Anne), Glowing Ball (Einstein), Torch (Tony)

Hit Points [Luck Points]

Einstein 1/1 [0]

Tony 2/2 [14]
Betty 4/4 [15]

Zeek 2/5 [0]
Anne 4/4 [14]

Arya 1/4 [11]

...

Einstein will light his candle, and place it on the wooden dias, as far from the frog as possible.

He will then take a small pinch of the powder, hold his breath, and slowly sprinkle a bit of it onto the candle flame.

If he survives this, he'll get a blob of spit onto one of his dice, then place it on the ground, and try the sprinkle test again, onto the damp die this time.

(after doing all this, the powder is probably just sparkly sand, but I'm trying to figure out if it is either flammable or actually dissolves into a toxic cloud without actually lighting the whole thing on fire or dousing the whole toad's worth of powder in water.)

Anne call them all to investigate the door. She will lead, watching for traps. Zeek will follow

Betty backs away from the door slightly as Tony opens the portal.

OOC: Assuming the door opens in the same manner as it's twin, Tony is using the door itself as a shield against anything that might issue from the opening.

Arya

Arya stops to watch Einstein's experiments, torn between fascination and a deep-rooted annoyance that he's risking his life this way.

We'll need to bring back a wagon to haul out the goods we've found. The smithy will have a field day.

...

Einstein cautiously lights his candle and sprinkles a pinch of the metallic dust onto the flame. The dust passes through the fire and almost snuffs it out. Next, he sprinkles some onto a die coated with spittle. The dust changes to vapor when it settles on the saliva. The rising gas produces a trace of foul stench.

Arya remains in the room and watches Einstein’s experiments with great apprehension.

Anne and Zeek approach the south door. Tony pulls but lacks the strength to swing the monolithic block. He needs the assistance of Betty and Anne to fully open the door enough to act as a shield. Tony and Betty remain behind the stone portal as Anne and Zeek enter the exposed 5ft-wide passage.

They come to a room 10ft wide by 15ft long with a 4ft long granite sarcophagus, stylized in the form of a spider lying on its back. Eight bronze legs wrap up and around the lid securing it against the tub. Faded and flaked glyphs cover the polygonal masonry walls.

Action Details:
MAP 78

Actions!?

Light Sources: Torch (Zeek), Torch (Anne), Glowing Ball (Einstein), Torch (Tony)

Hit Points [Luck Points]

Einstein 1/1 [0]

Tony 2/2 [14]
Betty 4/4 [15]

Zeek 2/5 [0]
Anne 4/4 [14]

Arya 1/4 [11]

...

(ooc: if i may, i do believe Zeek have Shortbump, his mule. i think so, at least. if so, the mule is at the entrance )

Anne and Zeek will first look at traps in the room.

Arya
Seeing that Einstein doesn't need rescued (or extinguished), Arya moves back to the throne room, and on to the other door.

Thinking that the frog belly must be rigged to drop the powder down, maybe into a hidden compartment full of water, Einstein examines the area around the base of the frog, and around the mouth, looking for any little holes, levers or switches. Maybe a movable tongue, or maybe the golden eyes depress? Maybe there is a panel or spout somewhere to pour water into the reservoir he is imagining below the powder.

...

Anne and Zeek search the sarcophagus room for traps. The confines of the room appear to be solid and secure. The eroded glyphs and symbols are comparable to those found throughout this burial lair.

Turning to the granite caskets, they observe that the eight metal spider legs are secured into a socket at the base of the stone tub and probably rotate in this housing. Near the tips of each leg is a barrel mechanism cast into the stylized leg and embedded into a pocket on the lid. All eight devices have a keyhole.

Arya moves to the south door behind the throne. She meets up with Tony and Betty who remain behind the protective cover of the open stone door.

Einstein thoroughly examines the hollow statue, searching for hidden and/or concealed access ports to the presumed water reservoir. There isn’t any tongue inside the mouth or holes anywhere except in the upper back where the weapons pass through. The gold eyes are set into the bronze frog casting and do not look like they can be depressed. They must be pried out.

After careful examination, Einstein determines that the metal between the eye sockets and the inside of the head is thicker here then other areas of the casting. There could be a hollow space behind the eyeballs that leads down into the base.

Action Details:
MAP 79

Actions!?

Light Sources: Torch (Zeek), Torch (Anne), Glowing Ball (Einstein), Torch (Tony)

Hit Points [Luck Points]

Einstein 1/1 [0]

Tony 2/2 [14]
Betty 4/4 [15]

Zeek 2/5 [0]
Anne 4/4 [14]

Arya 1/4 [11]

...

Zeek tells the others about the keyholes, and how some of the monsters must have the keys ooc: he doesnt know about the keys someone here found)

As Zeek leaves the room, Anne will probe the spider legs with the javelin, but keeping herself as safe as possible (like as far as possible)

Noting that the head may have a hollow area, Einstein focuses his attention there.

Is there anything notable about the embossed spider between the eyes of the frog? Is it a carving, or is there something inlaid? Is the spider "body" or "head" a little button, maybe?

And, taking a lesson from the door to this vault, Einstein also checks to see if the golden eyes can spin at all, or if they are truly fixed in place, starting with the right eye, clockwise.

Upon Zeek's mention of the keyholes, Tony enters the room dangling the keys he found. "Maybe that's where these come in.."

Betty enters the room with Tony.

Arya

Arya enters the room, shivering just a bit at the motif of the sarcophagus. She studies the walls while the others deal with keys and keyholes.

...

Zeek exits the room and informs the others about their discovery of the granite sarcophagus, wrapped with eight bronze legs requiring eight keys. Tony dangles the five keys discovered on the mummy chief’s body and enters the room with Betty in tow. Zeek wonders where the other three keys might be.

Tony concludes that the keys match the slots in the barrel mechanisms. They appear to have unique notches indicating that each must match a corresponding lock.

Arya follows the others into the room, Dart perched on her shoulder. She shudders at the sight of the spider sarcophagus and studies the glyph-covered walls for any clues concerning the stylized casket.

Anne probes the bronze spider legs with her javelin. The castings are fixed with a ball and socket at the base of the granite tub and secured into the granite lid with the locking barrel mechanisms. They rattle slightly, side to side, but otherwise are stout.

Einstein continues to examine the cast frog. He focuses on the embossed spider set between the frog’s eyes. It is not a carving, or something inlaid with joints or seams; it is part of the homogenous casting. He tries to spin the gold eyes in the bronze socket, but confirms they are set into the socket. Most likely poured in while still molten.

Action Details:

MAP 80

Actions!?

Light Sources: Torch (Zeek), Torch (Anne), Glowing Ball (Einstein), Torch (Tony)

Hit Points [Luck Points]

Einstein 1/1 [0]

Tony 2/2 [14]
Betty 4/4 [15]

Zeek 2/5 [0]
Anne 4/4 [14]

Arya 1/4 [11]

...

Seeing that the room he is in is empty, Einstein will take a deep breath, hold it, and pull out the most forward spear. He anticipates that it will cause a poison cloud, so he will quickly back out of the room, holding his breath, if this seems to happen without instantly killing him.

The keys were found with this mummy, right? Zeek will search under the throne, and asks if the others can help, maybe checking the previous mummys. Anne will go back to search

Arya
Arya stays in the sarcophagus room, keeping an eye on Tony.

...

Einstein holds his breath, draws out the forward spear and bolts out of the room in anticipation of a toxic cloud. On his way down the hallway, the gambler hears a ’SIZZLING’ sound and sees a cloud of vapor filling the room!

Zeek searches the floor mummies for keys. He begins with the two flanking the throne on the dias. Anne joins him and then drops to the main floor to examine those mummies. Sir Honksalot scurries towards his master.

Zeek finds a key around each of the ‘throne mummies’ necks (2). Anne digs through the remains of the four mummies previously searched by Zeek, Tony and Betty. She doesn’t find anything on their bodies.

Arya, Tony and Betty remain in the sarcophagus room. Tony matches the five keys to five of the locks in the bronze spider legs. Three keys are missing.

Action Details:
MAP 81

Actions!?

Light Sources: Torch (Zeek), Torch (Anne), Glowing Ball (Einstein), Torch (Tony)

Hit Points [Luck Points]

Einstein 1/1 [0]

Tony 2/2 [14]
Betty 4/4 [15]

Zeek 2/5 [0]
Anne 4/4 [14]

Arya 1/4 [11]

...