IC VIII

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

"All right then. Both doors being equal, we'll start with the north door. If we find nothing, we'll move to the south door."

Lanny takes his place in the marching order and waits for Thordin to open the north door.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"North, then?"

[Bouv]

Tratlin agrees, "North then in this damable maze!"

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

"North is my lucky direction." Innana says as she turns to follow the group through the North passage, then she whispers under her breath, "I sure hope I do not get left behind one of these twist and turns to figure this convoluted maze out."

Innana is craving some fresh air.

[thirdkingdom]

The door opens to reveal a corridor running north. About fifty feet down the corridor the flagstones are buckled and broken, surrounding a hole in the floor. Peering down into the hole the companions see another hallway below. The hole itself is approximately ten feet wide and ten feet across; it occupies the entire width of the hallway.

On the other side of the hole the corridor can be seen to run another twenty feet before taking a turn to the west.

EDIT:

You guys have been exploring for approximately five hours at this point. We shall assume there are eight hours in a day to adventure, so unless you guys find a way out soon you're looking at spending the night in the dungeon.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny squats down to peer through the giant hole in the floor.

"All roads seem to lead downward... Although clearly some roads are more perilous than others... Still, I wonder what is just around the corner to the west, on the other side of this hole... If I were still in my mid-70s, and not weighted down by all of this armor, I dare say I would be able to make this jump..."

Lanny studies his map some more.

"It is difficult to say exactly where we are underneath the castle or its grounds... Shall we try to get past the hole somehow, or shall we return to the other door to the south and see what lies beyond it?"

[thirdkingdom]

Lanny the elf

If I were still in my mid-70s,

Ha!

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"Hmm, jumping over holes is not among my favoured activities. If we cross it and something forces us to retreat... it would not look good. Why don't we go back to check the door in the corridor south?"

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

"Let's check the south or the west first, before we try anything with the hole,"Rhys chimes in, studying the hole and the walls, trying to figure out how to get around it.

"We're also going to need to consider finding a place to hole up if we don't get out of here in a few hours..."

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad recalls the pit just outside the castle entrance. If the group heads south, he will pay closer attention to the ceiling for possible openings to the surface.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny nods at Bregalad's ruminations.

"Quite right, Bregalad... The giant worm that we encountered outside the castle gates retreated into its hole in the ground... so we may not have seen the last of it. Let us be on our guard."

With Thordin's assistance, Lanny examines the flagstones to try to determine if the floor collapsed on its own due to poor construction, or if something likely pushed up through the floor. If the edges around the hole seem safe, Lanny will lay flat on his stomach near the edge and lower the lantern slightly down into it, to try to illuminate and see any additional detail of the lower level.

Not looking for hallway dimensions or anything like that, just trying to see if there might be any additional clues directly below about what might have caused the rupture in the floor.

When finished, Lanny returns the lantern to Drudsa and rises to his feet.

"I am content to check the door to the south as well. However, I believe we need to see where this passage to the north leads, either now, or before we decide to camp for the night. Even if it is just to have one person jump over the hole and peek around the corner up ahead. I think it should be an easy jump for someone who is not in heavy armor and who has a running start. For all we know, that could be the way out of here. In fact, if I recall correctly, the northern outer walls of the castle butt up against the shores of Lake Windrush... so at least we know the passages in that direction should not be endless..."

TK, is that correct, that the castle walls on the north side are right up on the shores of the lake? I suppose we would have noticed that when we first approached the castle...

[thirdkingdom]

Lanny examines the flagstones, and lays on his bely to shine a light below. The corridor beneath also seems to run in a north-south direction. Ten feet north of the hole in the floor is a door. He is unable to see any real distance south. He is also unable to tell what caused the hole.

No one went around the back of the castle, that I recall, but yes, it does abut Lake Windrush

[Bouv]

Tratiln agrees, "I don't think many of us would like to cross a hole wearing a lot of armor for one. I for one feel as if we've been down here for quite a while."

[thirdkingdom]

I forgot to clarify; someone without armor could jump the gap with no check. With armor I'd make some sort of check.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

"Well," Rhys begins, eyeing the hole carefully, "I think I could make it across with no problem. Not sure I want to jump with a lit torch or lantern, though, so I'd need to have a light source available once I'm over. I have a tinderbox on me, but I left my lantern on my pony. Anyone have a torch I can jump over with?"

[Bouv]

Tratiln will reach into his pack and hand Rhys one of his torches.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys secures the (unlit) torch to his pack, then jumps.

Once he is on the other side, he will light the torch before moving down the tunnel.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny wishes good luck to Rhys as he makes the jump over the hole.

"Just do not go too far... and do not forget that you also carry the nightvision goggles that belonged to Saul... Once you have a look with the torchlight and have extinguished it, try out the goggles as well, for they will enable you to see things as elves see things... which not only doubles the distance that you can see, but also makes you twice as wise!"

The elf grins at the mystic.

I think that the light of the party's lantern should extend 30' to the point that the northern passage turns west, in case Rhys would like to try out the goggles and poke his head into the darkness from that spot (after first checking things by torchlight).

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys silently chides himself when Lanny reminds him of the goggles. "Forgive me, Lanny, I'd already forgotten about them! I'll try the goggles before lighting any torches..."

Oops! Guess I don't need the torch...

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

You might still need that torch if you need to be able to see the area in any real detail... But I think you're right that it's probably better to try the goggles first (to check the dimensions of the corridor and spot any heat-producing baddies from a distance) before lighting any torches.