IC VIII

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"An experiment worth trying indeed. Let us all move together, if we are going to retrieve the crystal, we should not split our group even when walking the same paths we already explored."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny nods his head in quiet agreement with the others.

"I would feel better about doing this if I knew exactly what the statue's inscription reads... For we do not know if the statue represents a wizard of the light or a wizard of the dark... However, if the crystal does possess some power, whether for good or for ill, I would rather it be in our hands than in the hands of the duergar... or of any other denizens who might creep in from above or below..."

Lanny thinks about it some more.

"Yes, we should all go together to retrieve the crystal, although perhaps only one person should actually enter the room to take the crystal. You know, just in case the floor caves in or something when the crystal is removed from its pedestal... With that in mind, I nominate Rhys to be the one to actually grab the crystal. He is the fastest one among us, and therefore the best suited to be able to avert any such potentially fatal calamities. Besides, it was his idea."

Lanny grins at the mystic.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys nods in agreement. "I agree, funny enough..."

Once everyone is ready to move, he retraces his steps back to the room with the crystal ball and retrieves it form the pedestal.

[thirdkingdom]

Rhys lifts the crystal from the pedestal. For a split second, nothing occurs, but then, with a grinding of gears and groaning protestation, the pedestal lowers itself approximately six inches. Somewhere else in the dungeon, the actual direction and distance distorted by twisting hallways and cavernous rooms, there is an ominous rumble. And then all is silent.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys pauses, crystal ball in his hands, pauses as the pedestal lowers and a rumble vibrates his feet. He looks over his shoulder, half expecting to see a large boulder rolling down a ramp towards him.

When nothing else happens, he exhales audibly and the makes his way back to the statue room and places then crystal ball in the statue's hand.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"Right, considering the trend of events since we entered this place this probably means trouble. Let us head back to the statue of the wizard, if nothing has changed there I suggest we try to find the origin of this sound before we put the crystal on the hand of the statue."

Al, we cross-posted. Drudsa would have said the above before Rhys went back to the statue room. Feel free to ignore the suggestion, of course, but I am afraid that if the statue responds we might causing some new effects without first verifying what just happened. If a gate has been opened, for example, it might close again, or something similar.

[thirdkingdom]

The party returns to the statue room to find that while the stone wizard is still there, the stairs leading to the first floor -- to fresh air and freedom -- have been inverted; instead of leading up, they now descend deeper into the earth! It appears as though it will be impossible to return to the surface via this route

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

"Hmmm... Maybe we could check and see if the other stairs are intact?"

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Rhys the Traveler

"Hmmm... Maybe we could check and see if the other stairs are intact?"

"Yes, we need to secure a route for retreat before exploring further."

[thirdkingdom]

Are you going to place the orb in the wizard's hands prior to investigating the other staircase?

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Upon re-entering the room with the wizard statue and noticing the inverted stairs, Lanny nods his head in understanding of the recent noises.

"I would guess this to be a mechanism by design of the original owners of the castle... perhaps providing a place for the royal family to hide in case of invasion or insurrection. I would be interested to bring some light down there to see if it opens into an entire basement level, or simply into a single chamber. But first things first..."

Lanny walks over to the statue and examines it more closely, focusing on the hands of the statue vis-a-vis the size of the crystal, and trying to determine if there are any buttons, levers, or other mechanisms on the statue itself, or even behind it, or even under it. He asks the elves and Rhys to come over to help him search while the others stand guard.

I don't think we did a proper search for traps and secret doors on the statue itself when we visited this room before, so right now might be a good time.

Searching For Traps (Rhys): 1 Turn (10 minutes) per 10x10 square area
[*] Success: based on rolling under the Find Traps percentage of a Thief/Mystic

Searching For Secret Doors (Elves): 1 Turn (10 minutes) per 10x10 square area
[*] Success: 5-6 on 1d6 (elves), 6 on 1d6 (all other PCs)

Rhys pauses, crystal ball in his hands, pauses as the pedestal lowers and a rumble vibrates his feet. He looks over his shoulder, half expecting to see a large boulder rolling down a ramp towards him.

LOL! Clearly we were thinking the same thing.

[Bouv]

Tratiln looks about. "I let's make sure we have a general idea where the staircase leads...just in case..."

[thirdkingdom]

No traps or secret doors are discovered.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny nods at Tratiln's suggestion. He sheathes his sword and asks to borrow the lantern. He slowly and cautiously descends the stairs (in case the stairs begin to move again), with visible lantern in one hand and invisible shield in the other hand. He stops at the bottom of the stairs and looks around with the lantern light. If he sees no immediate threats, he will shutter the lantern so that he can view the same area with his infravision. After a quick look, he will ascend the stairs again and report to the group.

Lantern Light: 30 feet, Infravision: 60 feet

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Innana watches Rhys slowly lift the chrystal from the pedistal, and then observed the consequntial changes of the castle. Innana watches Rhys quickly tiptoe from the room without moving the dust from the floor.

Secretly she was relieved that her curiousity did not lead her to take the chrystal from the pedistal when she had been drawn to it.

Innana waits for Lanny to return from his scouting. Suddenly Innana's heart starts pumping hard as she realizes how important Lanny is to the group. She starts to pace the room above the stairs where Lanny descended waiting impatiently for him to return.

[thirdkingdom]

Lanny begins to cautiosly descend the stairs. Stepping on the third tread from the top activates a cunningly hidden blade that sycthes up into his boot. Luckily, the lithe elf is able to avoid serious injury.

Failed a Save v Wands, but took minimum damage: 2 hp.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny quickly retraces his steps back up the stairs, wincing from his wound. He returns the lantern to Drudsa.

"All right, I think I have seen enough of the lower level for the moment... If we are able to learn the secret of the staircase mechanism, we will be able to revisit the lower level at a later time if we wish. I agree with Rhys and Drudsa, let us check the other staircase and see if it has also been inverted."

[thirdkingdom]

Am I correct that the orb has not[/b been placed in the statues' hands?]

[Alethan]

I believe that is correct. It has still not been placed in the statue's hands...

[thirdkingdom]

The adventurers retrace their steps, moving more quickly now that they are covering familiar territory. In the eastern room they find that, instead of the stairs being inverted and now leading down instead of up, that the staircase itself has somehow thrust itself upwards, sealing off egress through this way entirely! It is as if the stairs were replaced with a column of solid stone.