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Brick reseats the sword he was slowly readying and returns to the door.
Now this is a team. Glad to have you on board. So what are we doing?

Seeing that Splinters is doing his level headed best not to look at the fallen guardsmen.
Y'know, they were traitors.

Once open, Brick steps cheerily through the door, followed by Langston solemnly behind.

Horton

[1d20] = 4


So, so weary from the axe blows.

Hans nudges his employer Kurt "Hey at least one of them has common sense." the smiling at Splinters "Glad you are the sensible type welcome to the rag tag band." he offers his hand in a gentleman's handshake to Splinters then thinks for a second "Just don't give me any splinters in the handshake friend."

Shaggy Beaker:

Wikerus looks at his axe, then at the splintered remains of the soldiers. He feels slightly morally conflicted. Actually, morally confused would be a better description. He's not at all sure what he thought adventure and battle would be like, but he's pretty sure if he had thought about it he wouldn't have thought it would be like this. He somehow wishes the bad guys had been a little more distinctly... bad? He brightens up a bit when the wooden boy joins the group. "Wizard... wizard, is it? Magic man? I missed it in orientation - is he the nice kind of wizard? Or the other kind?"

Hi kid. Let's go have some adventures, huh? Jake nods at the wooden boy as he helps get the team and their gear through the doors.

The door within the doors opens easily and swings back to reveal a dark room.

Tower Basement
The Crooked Theodolite: The room is round, with a 200' diameter. The domed ceiling is 90' above you. There are ascending stairs on the west side. The stairs are proportioned to a giant (60' across with 10' risers), but a set of human-sized stairs have been carved into each giant step.

The shaft of light from the open door is thickly outlined around you by thick drifts of lazy dust. It strikes the legs and chest of a tall figure standing in the very center of the room. It is a giant nutcracker, 12' tall. It stands stock still. A few piles of crumpled brown-paper packages lie at the nutcracker's feet. Wooden soldier foot-tracks go from the door to the nutcracker and back. Otherwise, the thick carpet of dust is undisturbed.

To the east is a pile of something indistinct in the darkness.

The ceiling above you glitters faintly from the stray beam of light.

Behind you, the clash of wooden soldiers and giant rats continues. You hear a bugle sound, only to be quickly cut off. There is the distant WHOOMP! of sudden combustion.

Horton and Splinters: Actions!
Next update: Monday, around 10am ET, 3pm GMT.

From the back, Splinters says: Yes, the wizard! This is the wizard's tower. The army is here because of the wizard Drosselmeyer. We are to save the princess. His voice trails off as he notices the tracks. I guess the soldiers used the nutcracker to talk to the wizard? Or the nutcracker is the wizard? I, I, I was never allowed in here, course. Let's hope there is another exit here that allows us to flank the rats. Did you hear that sound? He mumbles to himself some more.

Horton rearranges some rags on his wooden body to try and cover the axe marks as best he can, telling himself it is for the others' benefit but in reality it bothers him to see them. He looks for any way to try and block the door they just came through to help prevent pursuit by the soldiers. Once that can be accomplished he begins sweeping dust to and fro so as to make it less clear who came through and where they went. Let us go and see this wizard- the sooner the better. We could use some help with the rats. And one faction or the other is likely to on our trail in the near future. Shall we be off? He looks the boy up and down. And why exactly did you want to join us?

"What do you think all that glittering is up there?" says Wikerus to no one in particular before turning his attention to the giant nutcracker. "Judging by the dust, he doesn't seem to move around much... perhaps he's just an ornament." He'll edge over nearer the unidentified pile to see if he can ascertain what, exactly, it is made up of...

We've seen stuff like that before, Wil. It's just fancy-fancy on the ceiling. Probably gold leaf or something, really not worth tryin' to get. Jake walks to the 'unidentified' pile with Wilkerus.

Splinters looks back at Horton and says, Well, you, you said you had orders, right? The guards were resisting, and so there was a conflict in the chain of command, I understand. You are in the army, right? And we're doing two things: flanking the rats, and finding the wizard. There is a pause. I remember the wizard calling the army to save the princess from, from, from something, I guess. And he said, uh, he said... I'm sorry, I don't remember! I'm a good messenger boy but all of this was so long ago, it feels like a hundred years. Or more. We don't wither like the flesh men do, after all. Anyway, the wizard, the princess, clearly this was important. The wizard is important because the wizard is the reason we're here! There's no time for obstructionism. The guard should have never drawn a sword when you were just following orders. I understand. I will testify as much when we are all brought before the army tribunal. But first, the mission. Let's find the wizard! And with that, Splinters moves towards the stairs.

When Horton closes the door, the party is plunged into darkness. Fortunately, you are equipped with torches.

Who chooses to equip themselves with a torch? The room is large enough that multiple will be required if you are in different parts of the room—for instance, if some of you are investigating the pile and others are investigating the stairs.

Do you bring the cart with you into the Tower, or leave it outside the door?

Langston whistles a good long time as he exams the nutcracker. His axe over his shoulder, he approaches the nick cracker with Jake and Wilkerus.

Brick, hangs back. Oh $@&%.

Kurt merely thinks he's gone blind "Ah! I'm blind."

Hans arms himself with a torch "No sir you just forgot to grab a torch."

At long last, the map grows! As usual, let me know if I've got it more or less right Pulp. Deet lets out an unmanly squeak when darkness suddenly falls on the party, and begins noisily fumbling in his bag, dropping his musket, and eventually getting a torch lit. He eyes the huge nutcracker, "it's not, um, like those soldiers, nope? Just a statue, not a moving talking giant wood man, yup?"

Little disturbed by darkness, Schroff trots off to snuffle a circle around the base of the statue, before investigating the mysterious pile to the east.

mb., the map looks wonderful except for a detail I was unclear on.

The ascending stairs to the west curve along the wall, spiraling towards the distant ceiling.

Wikerus will remove and light a torch as he investigates the pile.

Map edited, should be more or less correct now.
Edited again – I noticed I'd marked Horton as dead a while back. Sorry mate. Corrected, and added 2 fallen wooden soldiers to our tally! If anyone else died and I missed it, just let me know who and where. Is it really possible that only Odric and William have died so far?

Following orders...er, yes. Horton decides the less said on that matter the better. He lights a torch and will follow the boy up the stairs. His ears strain to listen for any sounds behind them to suggest the state of the battle.