Chapter 1: To seek a Great Perhaps

[Urson]

From behind you comes the sounds of running feet and a metallic jingling. A tall, gangly teenager gallops up, skidding to a stop with the group. Sorry i'm late! I got lost about halfway up, and...

He sees the monstrosity and lets out a Ghaaa! before he shifts his maul to a ready position.

[mjulius]

Horrified but energized by the unceremonious end to the bird, Langston shakes with anger as he stomps towards the sentry.
Regal bird. Foul beast. I will fell you like a tree!

Brick brings up the rear, doffing his bowler as he closes in, behind Langston. He turns to see the teenager.
You're just in time for the dying, kid.

Scooping up the bowler and Langston by the collar, Brick darts away from the beast, towards the muffled bell ringer.

[GreyWolfVT]

Vanis lets out a short cry of surprise and terror as his companion gets crunched by the monster. "Quickly friends, let us push forward while it is distracted!" saying that, he tries to rush past the monster, from the right side of the room, pocketing his Phase Key in case he has to flee to the other side of the wall.

Hans nods "I think you make a great point Vanis. Kurt we should listen to Vanis's advice and go now while the beast is distracted."

Will agrees with Hans "Yes they both have a good point sling the rifle and lets rush past the beast now while it is still distracted sir."

Kurt pouts for but a moment "I wanted it's head for a trophy but you all are smart I'll heed your warnings and advice and lets get a move on then."

The trio agree with and do as Vanis suggests, moving making haste to the other side of the room as far from the monster as possible skirting the wall furthest from the creature.

[Pulpatoon]

A local youth arrives, panting and breathless, having sprinted across the field of cloud and through the massive open doors. He joins the party just in time for it to scatter!

Shaggy and Mouse hide by the granite foot of an ancient king on the right side of the room, soon to be joined by Brick with Langston in tow.

Horton peers through his spyglass, he sees a wooden door, left ajar, at the far end of the room. The only hiding places he sees are around the bases of the giant statues, and possibly some of the taller drifts of glittering dust. Seeing Shaggy run to the right, Horton dashes to the left, to hide in the folds of a kings robe.

Deet and Odric begin a wide arc to circle around the monster, while Vanis attempts to sprint past it. He is quickly followed by Kurt, Will, and Hans.

Scroff the dog closes in on the monster, the scruffy mutt suddenly ferocious. He leaps past the monster’s waving arms and latches onto its side. Before the monster has a chance to react, it is set upon by GWAR! and his sword.

Only The Butchness remains standing, next to the bewildered youth.

Scroff: 6 (-1) = 5
GWAR: 5 (-1) = 4
Monster Critical Damage [1d20] = 20 Oh dear.

GWAR! and Scroff are showered in a gratuitous geyser of blood as the monster suddenly falls.

[Wizard Lizard]

GWAR! and Scroff are showered in a gratuitous geyser of blood as the monster suddenly falls.

From a good distance, for Vanis is a great runner when he puts his mind to it, the sweet-maker pauses and falls on his bottom, confused as to what just happened. It seemed like all hope was already lost, and yet the monstrous GWAR! has saved them at the perils of his own life. What can be done to repay him, Vanis doesn't know, but one thing is certain: this man avenged the death of Petit-Four. That is, more-or-less, what Vanis wishes to say. Instead, he says :

"The what I mean blood everywhere you sword in huge face with teeth and birdie dead what?"

He then laughs heartily, if somewhat maniacally.

[Grognardsw]

Gwar! licks the blood off his sword.

The Butchness of Wrath sees the fallen monster:"All hail Gwar!"

[mb.]

Schroff retrieves a large bone from the pile of gore, and trots proudly back to his master. Deet, smiling like a fool, gathers his mutt up in a hug, "who's the best doggy in the world? Who"s a good boy? Who's a good boy? Yes! You are!"

Odric stares incredulously at the gory mutt, shakes his head, and approaches the pile of monster bits, poking around with his sword, looking for anything of use or value.

[GreyWolfVT]

Kurt, Will & Hans slow their run to more of a fast walk not giving any heed to the Butchness of Wrath however applauding Gwar's battle prowess.

[Pulpatoon]

Odric stares incredulously at the gory mutt, shakes his head, and approaches the pile of monster bits, poking around with his sword, looking for anything of use or value.

Odric discovers that the monster, although bloody and mutilated, is not dead—unconscious, and on the verge of dying, but not yet dead.

Vanis, pausing in his run, notices that one of the flagstones near him is especially uneven, and the disturbance of the dust—foot prints, glittering dung heaps, and scrape marks— around it indicates considerable activity on the part of, presumably, the monster in this area.

[mb.]

Seeing the thing still moving with breath, Odric starts! Then he squares his shoulders, surreptitiously glancing around to see if anyone noticed, and stabs his sword into one of the monstrous eyes. [1d6] = 6

Deet sets Schroff down, and the valiant mutt runs off to quietly scout the room, looking for exits.

Ineffectually brushing at (smearing) the gore on his face and extravagant clothing, Deet joins his brother by the carcass, mumbling, "the average human body has 4.7 to 5.5 liters of blood in it..." He beams down at the heap of monster, "was there ever a braver dog than Schroff, Odric?" He shakes his head with a stupid grin, "No there wasn't. Never." He absentmindedly wads, pours and tamps his musket into readiness.

The mapper asks: doors? Tunnels? Exits? What does Schroff the Horror-Slayer see?

[Wizard Lizard]

Vanis, pausing in his run, notices that one of the flagstones near him is especially uneven, and the disturbance of the dust—foot prints, glittering dung heaps, and scrape marks— around it indicates considerable activity on the part of, presumably, the monster in this area.

Taking a moment to regain his senses, Vanis looks away from the gory scene and notices the peculiar tile. Silently, he advances toward it then tries to push it with his foot. If that doesn't work, he plans to try and pry it out of the ground with a small knife. While doing that, he says to nobody in particular : "There seems to be a hidden device of some sort here! Perhaps a secret passage..."

I'm assuming "small knife" is part of standard expedition gear here

[coil23]

Horton cautiously emerges from his hiding place once the monstrous thing is felled. He quietly points out the wooden door that is ajar at the far end of the room. Coming closer to the foul corpse, he examines it closely (but still out of arm's reach) wondering what it could be and if it resembles anything from his vast readings. He uses his spyglass to collect details, if possible, while still staying a judicious distance away.

Unnecessarily, he drawls, I suppose we could ring the bell again to see if there are any others.

[Pulpatoon]

Odric's blade meets stiff resistance from the walnut-lidded eye of the monster, until suddenly, with a liquid pop, the sword is through. A final shudder passes through the monster, and it becomes slack.

There is a single wooden door, about the size of a stable gate, at the far end of the Hall. It is cracked open.

Vanis finds enough space to fit a knife blade in, but recognizes that trying to pry it up will only snap the blade. He thinks there is enough lip exposed for fingers to grip, but it will take a concerted effort to shift the stone.

It will take a combined STR of 23 to move the flagstone.

As Shaggy and his crew emerge from their hiding place, they notice a rough pile on the far side of the king's foot. It would appear to be a nest of some sort. Piles of glittering dung surround it, and rotten tapestries are bunched into a rough perimeter.

The cold draft continues to blow through the Hall, exchanging dusty wind from inside with billowing clouds from outside.

[Wizard Lizard]

Vanis finds enough space to fit a knife blade in, but recognizes that trying to pry it up will only snap the blade. He thinks there is enough lip exposed for fingers to grip, but it will take a concerted effort to shift the stone.

It will take a combined STR of 23 to move the flagstone.

"Would someone strong come here and help me with this? It's too heavy for one man! Maybe another pair or two of hands would dislodge this stone and let us know what lies underneath."

Vanis tries to not see what's being done to the corpse of the monster, and focuses on the matter at hand.

[Stirling]

'Shaggy' Beaker will take a look through the pockets and material in the pile. Perhaps a key, perhaps a ring? He mutters.

Mouse investigates the glitter
"Look Sir, real gold dust." he exclaims sweeping the glitter into a small pole and sticking a pinch in his back pockets.

[Pulpatoon]

The nest contains a collection of foul junk: filthy rags, mouldering gristle, bones of animals large and small, great clots of tangled hair, bits of metal, splinters of wood, and calcified curls of leather. Every investigation sends forth frantic swarms of fleas and lice.

In a hollow indentation in the center, the most decayed of all the items have been pressed into a flat sleeping area, roughly 12 feet wide. Here, Shaggy and Mouse find a curious tableau: crude dolls with bifurcated forearms made out of knotted scraps are gathered in a circle. In their center is a silver chalice, black with tarnish. It is filled with little round pebbles of various colors.

Mouse quickly appraises the chalice as being worth 100 Shillings, a tidy sum.

The dust is clearly worthless, however. Occasionally pretty, though.

[Stirling]

'Shaggy' Beaker , examines the goblet, lifting it up to let the light shine on it. "A grail Mouse, though holy or not who can tell. Perhaps blood red wine or a little champagne sips eternal youth in its rims? Pebbles, how pretty too mouse, just right for skimming or hopscotch."

Beaker pockets the chalice and Mouse puts a dozen pebbles in his pouch.

[mb.]

Odric raises a brow at the resistance, and immediately crouches beside the other eye. He peels the lid back, and attempts to pry the eyeball out with his knife. "Remember Nan's stories about creatures with gems fer–" Deet sticks out his tongue, squinting, "you're so icky sometimes Od. Ewwwww."

Deet and Schroff trot over to Vanis. Deet strains comically to help lift the stone, muttering "Urdug of the Hot Earth wants things, so they're heavy," through clenched teeth. Schroff yips in support. STR 7, for what it's worth. Schroff's is 10. If only he had hands.

[GreyWolfVT]

Kurt assists in finishing off the monster stabbing down with his Bayonet Bayonet [1d6] = 3

Will stays back sword back in hand.

Hans walks over to the monster sword drawn and stabs down at the creature. Hans Sword [1d6] = 6

[mb.]

15 extra damage. Is it dead yet?