IC VIII

[Finglas]

Rhys the Traveler

"There is nought but the trapped statue upstairs, and we know where it is. What else is there to do? Nothing. Let's stay where we are, pick a door, and be on our way! And I agree with Drusda. Quiet is nice, for a change..."

Bregalad the elf

"I agree with our strident scout -- let us move on. The northern passage would be fine."

Sorry, Rhys. I could not help myself. I know Bregalad has taken your statement somewhat out of context, but he finds the utterance of a forceful exclamation followed by a remark about how nice it is for quiet to be paradoxical and unintentionally humorous.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny quietly nods his head in agreement.

"To the north, then. Hopefully there is only one basement level, and hopefully we can clear it quickly. I am rather eager to learn more about the treasures we have found thus far..."

Lanny twirls his sword a few times to make sure he is ready for whatever lies beyond the door.

"The corridors are pitch black, so any creatures dwelling down here will likely have some sort of heatvision with which to see us, rendering my invisibility useless if I were to try to scout too far ahead. However, if I keep close to a light source that ruins the heatvision of said creatures, I should remain invisible to their eyes. So then, are we ready to proceed?"

Lanny will resume his usual position in the marching order for now, so that everyone in the group can see his sword, and he will generally try to stay within the radius of light to remain invisible to any creatures they might encounter.

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

"Ready here to move on." Innana pushes off the wall she was leaning against, and does a quick blade check to make sure everything is in place.

It feels like the calm before the storm, and Innana wants to be ready for any surprises.

[Bouv]

Tratiln responds to Drudsa's comment, "Yes, but something like this...who knows where everything is hiding. I would rather see it up front and know it's there!"

[thirdkingdom]

Falling into their predetermined order the adventures head through the northern door. As the light reaches before them some details become apparent that were not visible to Lanny's elf-sight. Starting a half-dozen or so steps before the corridor opens up the floor is littered with gnawed, splintered bones. Many of these bones appear to be human -- or at least humanoid -- upon first glance. The light illuminates some twenty feet inside the room, yet provides little detail other than revealing more shattered bones within; the walls of the room are not visible from the corridor.

A foul, stale charnel smell wafts from out of the room.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"This brings back memories from our encounter with the troll..." Drudsa says while bringing forth one of his oil flasks "Maybe we should prepare a fiery trap for whatever creature has been chewing on these bones."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny sniffs at the foul smell in the air.

"There are bones everywhere, and this place smells like death... Perhaps it might have been a crypt at one time... That would not explain the gnaw marks on the bones, of course..."

Lanny picks up a bone and examines it.

"I suppose we could throw a bone in there and listen for any reactions before proceeding, to make sure this place is not inhabited by something..."

Lanny will throw the bone into the room only if the idea is seconded by a couple of party members; otherwise, he will wait for the party to move into the room together after it has completed any other needed preparations.

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

"Ew."" Innana holds the inside of her elbow to her nose, and slowly tries to acclimate to the foul smell rolling from the room.

She waits for Lanny to throw a bone back into the stench, and expects perhaps the huge worm, or a hob goblin to pop out at them. Innana readies herself with her sword and shield in hand and gets in her combat position.

"Bring it on you putrid bone gnawer!"

[sulldawga]

Marodin says, "Someone throw a torch further back into the gloom."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Hearing Marodin's suggestion, Lanny rips a long shred of cloth from the base of his cloak and wraps it tightly around the top of the femur bone he is carrying.

"This cloak has seen better days anyway, I really need to buy a new one..." he explains to Innana. "Remember that fiasco when I had to use my cloak to put out the grass fire when we battled the giant bees? It still has never fully recovered..."

When the party is ready for him to act, Lanny pours some oil on the cloth, lights the cloth with Tratiln's torch, and hurls the femur bone far into the darkness.

[thirdkingdom]

The makeshift torch spins through the air and lands with a clatter in the midst of a large room strewn with bones. It gutters and spits on the damp stone floor. Dozens of eyes glitter in the reflection of the dying torch, their owners invisible in the gloom just beyond the radius of light.

[Bouv]

Tratlin, viewing the eyes, "Well, I guess I got my wish..."

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Innana smiles at Tratilns comment. "Well, if you have the wishing power, how abouts wishing those beady eyes are tiny mice that will stay put, and burn when we light them on fire. Somehow I have a feeling we are going to burn the whole place down if we use our oil and fire on em."

Innana makes a mental note to help Lanny pick out a new cape when the get back to town. she thinks a forest green color would look good on him.

Innana whispers, "looks like a lot of eyeballs. Do you think a sleep spell might work in our favor? It may be easier to take them if the are sleeping."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny follows the arc of the makeshift flaming torch. He sees the many sets of eyes reflected by the light, and also notes their silent reaction.

"They make no sound, and they smell of death... I would venture to guess there are more undead down here. We need more light on this situation... Have fire and oil ready behind the front line."

Lanny readies his sword and shield and indicates he is ready to move into the room to enlighten and engage these creatures.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

"Indeed, we've already seen a fair share of undead in this house. Finding more seems logical..."

Rhys readies his sword and prepares to help defend the casters in the group.

[sulldawga]

Marodin looks closely to see if the size of the eyes is an indication of the size of the creatures.

"Oil is a capital idea. Can we get a few flasks tossed over there, followed by a couple more torches?"

Marodin will focus on the eyes and call upon the will of the Immortals to force any undead within his view to flee (Turn Undead).

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny watches as his makeshift torch starts to sputter.

"The torch will not last much longer. We need more light!"

Lanny waits to see the effect of Marodin's attempt to turn the undead.

[thirdkingdom]

Marodin calls upon the powers of the Immortals and there a snarling, scrabbling sound can be heard from within the room. The eyes vanish as the creatures -- whatever they were -- flee to unseen destinations.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

"They are running away... or so I assume. Bring some light, and let us pursue them... but watch your step, there are bones everywhere!"

Lanny listens for a split second to try to determine the direction the creatures are moving, then enters the room in cautious pursuit once light is produced.

[Bouv]

Tratiln gets out a couple torches and hands them to whomever wants them