IC VIII

[Bouv]

Tratiln agrees, "Who knows how far this goes. And we may have a means of contacting whoever that was again and possibly get more information...pretending to be people we aren't.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys asks Lanny to pull out his rough map of the area so everyone can get a better idea of where they've been and decide what to do.

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Rhys points his finger at the room marked "Pedestal" and says, "We can try to go north from this room or..." he traces his finger along the passage that leads east from there and continues, "we can try to northern door in the cross-shaped intersection just east of it, if we want to examine that which is nearest us first. Since actions in the pedestal room got us where we are, which is to say, stuck, I say we start with that door."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny nods in agreement with Rhys.

"Yes, even if we don't explore too deeply down the western passages, I would definitely like to see what is in those two rooms to the east of the pedestal room... Let's check them after checking the room to the north of the pedestal room."

Lanny looks again at the map.

"Well, it appears that the passage we are currently in does not extend as far to the north as the corresponding passage leading into the mausoleum in the eastern wing of the basement... Unless, of course, there is another hidden door in the north wall of this room. I think we should check that while we are still in this room..."

Lanny will ask for help from the keen-eyed elves to quickly search the northern wall behind the cot for secret doors, before leaving this room.

I was not sure if we had checked that already, but while we are here...

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

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

As he assists Lanny in searching the northern wall, Bregalad contemplates the party's strange and remote encounter with the dark magic user.....

"Before now, I had no wish to meet Bargle. I came here only to search for the armor that Rhys now holds. But seeing the necromancer's face and hearing him speak ..... 'twas a dark sign. That face was Bargle's, or I am not an elf."

Lanny, would it not be wise to take the westward corridor, following the grey dwarves' steps? If it indeed leads us back to the surface, we could then complete the search of this level, knowing we have a way back to Threshold. This place, although perilous, may hold even more items and clues that we could use to thwart Bargle's plans.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"I am also in favour of checking the way north of the room with the pedestal once we are finished checking this room. Our priority, from my point of view, is to find a way back outside, even if we eventually decide to do some further checks before heading back to Threshold."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Bregalad the elf

As he assists Lanny in searching the northern wall, Bregalad contemplates the party's strange and remote encounter with the dark magic user.....

"Before now, I had no wish to meet Bargle. I came here only to search for the armor that Rhys now holds. But seeing the necromancer's face and hearing him speak ..... 'twas a dark sign. That face was Bargle's, or I am not an elf."

I can't recall if the party is aware of what Bargle actually looks like, but for some reason Lanny was assuming that the face in the bowl might be someone else, perhaps one of Bargle's minions or partners in crime... But you might be right. Perhaps we can ask around about Bargle's physical appearance when we return to Threshold.

Lanny, would it not be wise to take the westward corridor, following the grey dwarves' steps? If it indeed leads us back to the surface, we could then complete the search of this level, knowing we have a way back to Threshold. This place, although perilous, may hold even more items and clues that we could use to thwart Bargle's plans.

Lanny was assuming that the passage to the west taken by the grey dwarves leads down instead of up (since the captured duergar chieftain stated that the rest of the clan - as many as 40 duergar - were waiting for them a few levels below ground), and that the duergar captives would have returned by the same route they came after being released. It's true, though, that there still might be a route to the surface to the west, or in any other direction for that matter, but I still think our best bet, at least for the moment, is to try to find the mechanism that will invert the staircases again, so that we can get out the same way we came.

[Bouv]

Tratiln agrees, "While we may not have been down here very long, I feel some events have transpired that we need to report. Plus, it seems this basesment seems to go on forever.

[Alethan]

Bregalad the elf

As he assists Lanny in searching the northern wall, Bregalad contemplates the party's strange and remote encounter with the dark magic user.....

"Before now, I had no wish to meet Bargle. I came here only to search for the armor that Rhys now holds. But seeing the necromancer's face and hearing him speak ..... 'twas a dark sign. That face was Bargle's, or I am not an elf."

Lanny, would it not be wise to take the westward corridor, following the grey dwarves' steps? If it indeed leads us back to the surface, we could then complete the search of this level, knowing we have a way back to Threshold. This place, although perilous, may hold even more items and clues that we could use to thwart Bargle's plans.

I believe the armour was in many pieces and several people are carrying parts of it. In any case, Rhys is not carrying very much of it, if any at all, since he has no claim to it, can't wear it anyway, and wants to remain completely unencumbered.

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf grumbles, "Mettle in the affairs of Wizards..."

"Even I do not like being trapped underground. This place has a foul feel, and I would be free of it. The Northern door in the pedestal room seems as good of a place to check as any."

Can Thordin tell anything about these shifting staircases that might clue us in about what we might be looking for?

[thirdkingdom]

The elves search the hobgoblin's room but find no secret doors. On the way back to pedestal room Thordin examines the inverted staircase. Although he is a dwarf, and has stonework in his bones, the doughty dwarf has spent much of his life above ground, blowing glass baubles and whatnot. He is unable to determine anything useful about the stairs, other than to ken its construction is likely beyond the abilities of any dwarf that he knows.

The group safely returns to the pedestal room and Rhys examines the door in the northern wall. It appears to be locked, though devoid of traps. No sounds can be heard beyond the door.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys stands up after examining the door, shrugs, and says, "It does not appear to be trapped, but it is locked. I'm no good with locks."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

"Not to worry, Master Rhys, I am well acquainted with locked doors. Please stand aside."

Lanny makes a standard check of the lock with hobgoblin's key before sheathing his sword and making a short run at the door, shoulder first.

Locked doors: Require strength check (minus 4) to force open. Lanny's strength: 15
If he fails on the first attempt, he will listen at the door for noise before trying again. Hear Noise: 1-2 on 1d6
Note that Lanny is still invisible (I think).

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf will ready his warhammer, seeing where this is going...

[thirdkingdom]

Lanny barrels into the door, shoulder first. There is a splintering sound and the door swings open revealing a small chamber no larger than ten feet by ten feet. The room is empty, and has no visible exits.

Strength check to open door: (1d20=5)

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"Oh, the feeling of frustration. Could there be hidden passages in here?"

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Rubbing his bruised shoulder, Lanny peers into the small room.

"A strange location for a locked closet... You might be right, Drudsa, it is certainly worth a look."

Lanny invites the elves and Rhys to join him in the room for a thorough search.

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

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

"Let's find out..." Rhys says, as he slowly enters the room and begins looking for anything unusual or out of place.

[thirdkingdom]

The adventurers squeeze into the closet and immediately notice a rectangle of metal mounted to the same wall as the door, so as not to be visible from the outside. The rectangle is two handsbreadths wide and four tall. There are two circular buttons on the rectangle. Next to the top one an arrow has been etched into the metal, pointing up. Next to the bottom one an arrow has been etched, pointing down.

[Bouv]

Tratiln examines the metal for a moment, "How odd. Is this telling us there are doors in the ceiling and floor?"

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny studies the buttons for a moment.

"Let us hope that this is the control that raises the pedestal back to its original position, thereby inverting the staircases back to their original positions... What do you think, shall we try the button pointing up?"

He looks around at the others for some confirmation of his assessment.