Henleber shrugged and retrieved his coins after which he got down and started to crawl through the tunnel while pushing his pack in front of him. If there were any problems, he wanted advance warning.
Joined: Sep 25, 2013 Posts: 5149 Location: Toronto, Ontario
Identity: Spider-Man
Preferred Pronoun Set: Wtf is a "Jabber address"?
Thibor
As you sit there chronicling your adventure thus far, it occurs to you that when your friends passed through the archway there was no mist, yet, when you passed through, the mist had returned.
You also wonder, if the misty archway entices you not, perhaps where the other fellow who had appeared had come from?
As you ponder these things you begin to feel as though you are being watched by the mural depicting a demon face peering through iron bars on the door.
Suddenly you hear the very faint sound of what you could have sworn was Jiardem's voice, crying out in pain, but you know not from where.
Henleber
The tunnel winds to the right, then winds to the left, before it starts to become very narrow. So narrow in fact, that if you were a bit bigger you would have trouble fitting through. However you do fit, and drop out the other side, only to fall about 6 feet to the floor below. Here you stand in a massive hallway, not unlike the one near the entrance of the tomb. The floor is inlaid with the same kind of tiles (although, the red pathway is suspiciously absent), and the walls and ceiling are painted with figures of animals, strange signs and glyphs, humans and human-like creatures. The creatures depicted all seem to be holding onto two dimensional spheres of different colours, all of which vary to being between one and two feet in diameter, and each one suspended at varying heights off the ground (see graphic). Checking the ground around you reveals that at least in the immediate surrounding area there are no pit traps to be found. Looking back over your shoulder, where you expect to see the tunnel you emerged from, you instead see a human figure holding high above his head a gold sphere in the place of the tunnel. Upon closer inspection, you discover the gold sphere is actually an illusory wall covering the opening of the tunnel you emerged from. As you are inspecting your surroundings you immediately become aware that you are not alone, as the silence is broken! "Gah! Legion! Legion!!!" the voice started yelling. "Do doorways that lead to nowhere amuse you!? Gah!" Standing a short ways south of where you are (at least, you think it might be south) is an Elf, who, after yelling to himself, is as surprised to see you as you are to seeing him.
Graydon
You sit in a pile of rubble and ponder the meaning of life. The gargoyle stares at you, as if to say, "what are you looking at?" But of course, it doesn't. Henleber has disappeared into the tunnel. This dungeon, so far, seems to be nothing but tricks and traps and puzzles. You begin to grow frustrated, as this is not the type of challenges that you expected to find in the deadly tomb of legend. You almost think you might give up on continuing to plunder its depths, but then you remember the promise you made to the young girl, Maria, to find what became of her parents. Suddenly you are revolted by your momentary desire to leave, and you once again feel the shame of cowardice that has plagued you all your life. And what of your friends? Agamemnon, Jiardem, and Quinn are still missing in the tomb themselves. To leave now would be the ultimate cowardice, the final nail in your honour's coffin, as it were. No, you can't go back now, you tell yourself. If not for all the reasons above, then at least because the way you came is through a portal that on this side is simply a stone wall...
Oh yeah... There is no visible way out...
Suddenly your internal moment of existentialism is broken by the sound of a familiar voice crying out in pain. Not your new-found ally, Henleber, but the unmistakable voice of Jiardem crying out in pain! "Gah! Legion! Legion!!!"Jiardem's voice started yelling. "Do doorways that lead to nowhere amuse you!? Gah!" There is no mistaking it. From down the tunnel that Henleber moments ago disappeared into! What will the bold Graydon do next?
Joined: Sep 23, 2013 Posts: 2912 Location: Arizona, USA
Henleber
Another explorer here in the this place? And also one of his own kind. It certainly wasn't what he had expected coming down here. As he grasped his arm with blood from a slash quickly beginning to dry around the wound he made sure he would at least greet the man. "Hello? I am Jiardem Maldranthe, here with a group of explorers, a Dwarf, a Gith, Goliath, and a Half-Elf, you haven't perhaps seen any of them on the way into this chamber have you? Or found a passage I missed from back there?"
Thibor rests his pencil when he thinks he heard one of his companions in pain. It must be just my mind playing tricks with me. They could be dying a horrifying death while I am writing these important pages. Oh, this terrible doubt! What should I do, Moradin? What should I do?
He considers this for some moments before deciding to try the portal once more. Yellow, Blue and Orange. He presses the sequence once more, hoping that this time the portal didn't commit its malefic acts against him. "I swear you seem to hate dwarfs." He says before trying to enter the portal thrice now.
Joined: Sep 25, 2013 Posts: 5149 Location: Toronto, Ontario
Identity: Spider-Man
Preferred Pronoun Set: Wtf is a "Jabber address"?
Henleber & Jiardem
Your conversation is quickly interrupted by the uncomfortable grunting of Graydon, as he barely manages to squeeze his oversized body through the hole that brought you both into this chamber.
Thibor
As soon as you pass through the archway you are whisked away by teleportation magic. As the disorientation wanes you try to focus your eyes on your new surroundings. Immediately you are surprised by a grim visage staring back at you. Not ten feet away from you sits a massive, eight foot tall, gruesome looking three-armed gargoyle statue. A fourth arm, obviously broken off, lays on the ground at the gargoyle's feet. For a second you half expect it to spring to life and leap at you, but instead it sits there motionless. After a second of being startled by the realistic looking stone sculpture you are able to take in your surroundings. You stand in a small room, ten feet wide by twenty feet long. There appears to be no way in or out of this tiny room, save for a small roughly cut tunnel that seems to have been dug into the far stone wall behind the gargoyle. The tunnel is not even four feet in diameter and could barely fit a medium humanoid, and there still remains a small pile of obvious debris at the base of the entrance to it, no doubt leftover stones from when it was dug out.
And, sure enough, Graydon's oversized backside is squeezing into the tunnel in question.
Gargoyle Statue
Graydon
The tunnel winds to the right, then winds to the left, before it starts to become very narrow. So narrow in fact, that you have quite a bit of trouble fitting through. You squeeze and you twist your oversized body into unnatural contortions, but eventually you do manage to fit, barely. You drop out the other side, only to fall about 6 feet to the floor below. Here you stand in a massive hallway, not unlike the one near the entrance of the tomb. The floor is inlaid with the same kind of tiles (although, the red pathway is suspiciously absent), and the walls and ceiling are painted with figures of animals, strange signs and glyphs, humans and human-like creatures. The creatures depicted all seem to be holding onto two dimensional spheres of different colours, all of which vary to being between one and two feet in diameter, and each one suspended at varying heights off the ground (see graphic). Looking back over your shoulder, where you expect to see the tunnel you emerged from, you instead see a human figure holding high above his head a gold sphere in the place of the tunnel. Upon closer inspection, you discover the gold sphere is actually an illusory wall covering the opening of the tunnel you emerged from. Immediately in front of you is your new-found ally, Henleber, while a few feet in front of him stands Jiardem. Reunited at last!
Well, this is one of our friends here, I wonder if the dwarf is still semiconscious back in the first hall, I know not. I suspect that this is the second great hall that the runes spoke of. Obviously, I will shun the green spheres but O wonder whether night's good color refers to the white of the moon and stars or black. Do there appear to be any traps here Jiardem? I was thinking of checking the white ones after inspecting the floor. Or...wait, I have a better idea. Let's find out which spheres are illusions.
Henleber removed his sling from his waist and pulled out a pouch of slingstones. He then smiled at the elf and started slinging stones at every sphere within sight, taking note of which ones the projectiles rebounded from and which ones they penetrated. He then went to check out the nearest white or black opening thus revealed while hugging the wall and carefully doing his best to check for traps: I knew I should have gotten that 10 foot pole.
Actually, Graydon, do you want to use the butt of your longspear to check the floor in front of us for traps, that might be easiest.
He paused after reaching the first opening and waited for Graydon's response.
"That was a sight I was certainly not prepared to see." Thibor says seeing the bottom of Graydon disappearing inside the small tunnel. "But at least it was a friendly sight."
Thibor looks at the statue using his holy lantern to illuminate its contours while sustaining a guard position with his hammer and shield.
Perception + History + Arcana
Perception: - To detect traps or secrets in the statue.
True_Believer rolled 1d20+10 and got a total of 15:
History: - To compare it with common known facts about gargoyles. Possibly to see if it can be a real gargoyle.
True_Believer rolled 1d20+11 and got a total of 12:
Arcana: - To detect magic.
True_Believer rolled 1d20+9 and got a total of 15:
Joined: Sep 23, 2013 Posts: 2912 Location: Arizona, USA
For Henleber and Graydon
"At least those two haven't-," He pauses as the Goliath's form materializes through the illusion. "Graydon! Glad to see you've caught up... I don't know him though. Haven't caught his name yet," Jiardem said nodding in the direction of Henleber. "I haven't been down here that long have I? If so the enchantments in this place are strange indeed,"
Before he can turn his mind to the auras lingering in the air he asks, "Shun the green... Is there a reason for this? I'll be forthright in saying I won't be trying the hydra door again. Him and his infernal false doors. Only trap I've found so far. Though this path I'Vs walked is safe," He says pointing on the path he took.
Actions
Arcana (Detect Magic):
Shockwave07 rolled 1d20+16 and got a total of 17:
OoC: Not sure if Thibor can hear, but playing it this way until an official regroup.
whirling his sling for the next shot, Henleber glanced at Jiardem: My name is Henleber and I had been trapped here for some time. A set of runes that one of the others uncovered said to shun the green but that night's good color was for those of great valor.
Joined: Sep 25, 2013 Posts: 5149 Location: Toronto, Ontario
Identity: Spider-Man
Preferred Pronoun Set: Wtf is a "Jabber address"?
Thibor
You notice nothing out of the ordinary about the statue, except its presence here and the broken arm. What you know of living Gargoyles is that though they can remain still for quite some time and appear to be statues, they don't in fact become statues in their dormant states, as some rumours might have you believe. The broken arm is enough to suggest that this Gargoyle is nothing more than a statue. Though you do detect magic in this room, you are not able to pinpoint its source or strength or type.
Gargoyle Lore
Gargoyles prefer to nest on high rocky outcroppings and the rooftops of tall stone buildings; however, they can also be found in caverns deep below the earth. Rituals can summon gargoyles to serve as guardians of locations or prisons, or to hunt down people or items.
Graydon, Jiardem, & Henleber
Henleber's cursory search of the hallway reveals no traps. Slinging stones at the spheres reveals two additional illusory coverings: the Black sphere and the Red one. The Bronze sphere, though not an illusion, is painted on a poorly hidden door, like the purple sphere was.
At the end of the tunnel you discover a second misty archway that appears identical to the one from the previous great hall (identical except for the fact that this one has no red path entering it).
I don't know about you but I do not trust the open Archway. Does one of you want to check the red sphere and the other the purple one? I was going to check the black one real fast.
Suiting his actions to his words, he crossed to the black entrance and peered inside before lighting a lantern and pushing it in front of him as he prepared to crawl through the opening.
Spoiler
Perception Check for Traps: 11
Thievery Check to Safely identify and pass any found: 24
Joined: Sep 23, 2013 Posts: 6317 Location: New York
Graydon the Bold is at first startled, then relieved to see his old friend Jiardem alone in the hall. "Glad to see you're alive! That dwarf I think must have caught a whiff of some sort of sleeping spell... that or his endless badgering finally lulled him into a coma of his own. I'll go about checking the floor for traps, he says. He meticulous smacks each section of the floor with his spear, then advances, checking the floor for traps and things as he passes. It takes several minutes, but he is meticulous about his search.
OOC
Tap a square, check for traps (Thievery): 21 Also roll for Dungeoneering to see if there's anything odd about the room: 8
Let me know how many more rolls I should make for Thievery I suppose.
_________________
"In all fairness that probably is a sight that would make you stop and reevaluate your life choices." ~ Garren_Windspear
Joined: Sep 23, 2013 Posts: 2912 Location: Arizona, USA
Graydon and Henleber
"Whatever curse Sir Cruxholder has fallen under I hope it doesn't keep him. And may Ioun allow us all the knowledge to leave here," Jiardem says tugging on his armor as if to adjust it. It was almost as if he felt a chill. "I'll check the red orb and would give fair warning to anyone checking the bronze one, it could be another false door trap. I swear two this shortly in must mean more,"
Actions
Perception (Pathway to the Red Orb):
Shockwave07 rolled 1d20+7 and got a total of 19:
If needed to reach the orb, make an athletics check hammering the pitons into the wall as hand and footholds (add +2 to check if climbing kit applies):
Thibor quickly recovers from his scare with the statue. He approaches the entrance of the tunnel and yells inside. "Is everybody alright? Is it safe to cross this tunnel?"
Joined: Sep 23, 2013 Posts: 6317 Location: New York
Graydon the Bold turns, hearing the voice of his old ear-yanker friend. "Thibor! Glad to hear you're alive and well. Yes, the tunnel's safe enough for me to have blundered through it. You should do fine. He then goes about continuing to check for traps along the floor.
_________________
"In all fairness that probably is a sight that would make you stop and reevaluate your life choices." ~ Garren_Windspear
Joined: Sep 23, 2013 Posts: 2912 Location: Arizona, USA
"Thibor?" Jiardem said hearing Graydon call out to the dwarf. "You're back among the living Thibor? Haven't cleared the room ahead, but no sign of Agamennon or Quinn here. Take it you've met the other one you'll be calling a fairy as well?" Jiardem said in a playful tone.
Joined: Sep 25, 2013 Posts: 5149 Location: Toronto, Ontario
Identity: Spider-Man
Preferred Pronoun Set: Wtf is a "Jabber address"?
Henleber
Poking your head inside the black sphere you discover a cylindrical tunnel 5 feet in diameter curving off to the right.
Graydon the bold
Though time consuming, the meticulous approach is often the safest in these situations. It takes some time, but by thoroughly checking every 5 feet for a trap you are able to ascertain with almost full certainty that there isn't a trap to be found within this chamber (which, in itself, is odd, considering how many were in the last great hall you traversed). The creatures depicted in the chamber are odd: a Human, a Naga, a Hydra, a Minotaur, a Satyr, a Mind Flayer, and several others. None of them have much in common, and in fact many of them would have great animosity towards each other if they were ever in fact in the same room together. There are two poorly hidden doors in the chamber (one of which was opened by Jiardem to reveal nothing more than a brick wall and a magic spear trap), and a couple of the orbs have been revealed to be actually illusory walls. At the end of the hall though is something that especially catches your eye: a misty archway identical to the one you found in the original hallway (identical, except for the fact that no red path snakes into this one). When you step within 5 feet of the archway three stones begin to glow, like with the last archway, only the colours are different. Dull olive green in the lower left corner; russet brown at the top; and a sickly citron yellow at lower right.
Archway
Jiardem
You discover no traps on your way to the red orb, you reach it without difficulty.
Thibor
You hear the voices of your compatriots from the other side of the tunnel, not far off. You can't shake the feeling that the gargoyle is watching you, standing so close to it, but a closer look reassures you that it isn't.
Graydon meticulously searches the large hallway for traps and finds none (which is odd in and of itself), but he does discover a misty archway at the end of the hallway that is very similar to the one in the opening hall. You appear to be somewhere safe...for now.
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