[3.5e, IC] The Tomb of Elric Fierior

[Dragodar]

Backstory:Four thousand years ago, there lived a legendary mage of immense power. His name was Elric Fierior.

Elric Fierior was an extremely adept wizard. He spent his life in search of knowledge and in fact gained so much knowledge of the cosmos and of reality itself that, near the end of his life, he went completely insane. He spent the last ten years of his life constructing his own tomb, for reasons known only to himself.
Perhaps he learned a dark secret about the afterlife which caused him to care a great deal about the manner in which his remains were protected after he passed. Nobody knows for certain, but legend holds that he also had all of his earthly treasure entombed with his corpse.

He entrusted his loyal apprentice Ender Animos with the duty of sealing the tomb after his death, and, in return for this favor, bequeathed all his knowledge to the boy in the form of a tome of vast and immeasurable power. Ender, knowing that the knowledge was far too powerful for a mere mortal to possess, locked the book away with his old master in the depths of the vault. The book resides in the sarcophagus of its author, sealed away from the weak eyes and minds of mortals.

***

The treasure of Elric Fierior is one whose story has faded from history into legend, and from legend into myth. It is the most valuable treasure in the world of mortals, consisting of far more than mere earthly wealth. The mortal who possessed the treasure of Elric Fierior would be the most powerful being in the world.

Many a foolish adventurer has set off with his party to claim this reward, but those who are presumed to have even found the mage's long lost burial place have never returned. All of those who have come back from their quest come back empty handed and often bruised and beaten by the journey, never having found the legendary gravesite in the first place.

They are the lucky ones. Because the Tomb has not been seen in living memory, common belief is that it does not exist. Oh would that this belief were true. Unfortunately, it is very real indeed, but these days only the wisest sages and scholars know that.

***

Now you, a powerful adventurer, either extraordinarily brave or extraordinarily foolhardy, have decided to end the rumors once and for all and best the Tomb of Elric Fierior. After years of research and study, you have discovered what you believe to be the location of this tomb.

You and eight other hopeful heroes like yourself are on a ship, The Grey Lady, headed for the island of Mistmantle. The island derives its name from the constant fog that surrounds it for miles around. As you may have guessed, nobody in living memory has been to Mistmantle, and on most maps it is only shown as mysterious cloud of fog warning sailors to keep away or risk losing themselves forever on the cold sea.

Mistmantle is the island on which you believe you will find Elric's tomb. Your fellow adventurers are all on the same page as you: you were hired by an organization called the Seekers and Keepers, a clandestine group of sages and scholars who seek out knowledge of the deepest secrets of the world, which they keep in their archives after they have sent brave and capable adventurer's to retrieve it for them.

***

Now The Grey Lady, chartered by the Seekers and Keepers, is bound for Mistmantle, and you know as well as the crew that the chances of finding this quasi-mythical island are slim indeed. In fact, every single person hired for this perilous journey is a hardened and rough character. Many of the crew have been salvaged from the bravest or most tragic crews on the sea. Every adventurer and deckhand is a battle-hardened veteran from some kind of background of hard knocks. You think secretly to yourself that many of them may be suicidal, to even venture on this journey at all.

However, the reward promised with the possibility of success is too great to ignore, so you have agreed to undertake this mission. The Seekers and Keepers ask for only one thing: the Tome of Knowledge from the very sarcophagus of Elric Fierior. The rest of the treasure is yours to keep if you acquire the book.

You stand on the deck of the ship as it bobs and sways on the stormy-gray waters. Ahead, you see the massive cloud of fog you were told to expect.

A voice calls from the crow's nest, "Fog ho!" but you barely hear it, so absorbed you are in your thoughts. Vaguely, you hear the helmsman respond, "Full speed ahead!" and as you gaze distantly into the mist, you feel an impending sense of foreboding, as though you are doomed never to leave this fog again.

You feel with certainty that you will meet your death before you ever return home. Possibly before you even reach the fabled island of Mistmantle.

***

As these thoughts swirl in your brain, the ship enters the fog and the mist swirls around you. You quickly become disoriented as you cannot see anything further than five feet in front of your face.

Even the crew members and your fellows adventurers, standing mere yards away from you on the deck of The Grey Lady, are shrouded from view as the ship enters the mist.

You feel a sense of trepidation as you speed through the water. The helmsman calls out "Bring her down to half speed!" and as the sails are lowered you feel the ship quickly decelerate.

Still, you feel on edge, like a man woken from his sleep in the night by thirst who walks in the pitch dark and knows not what objects he may or may not run into blindly. You feel as though at any moment a rock may appear in front of the ship and send you all to watery graves.

But as much as you expect it, this does not occur. The helmsman calls out yet again, "Quarter speed, double the lookout!" The ship slows yet again and a crew member scrambles up the rigging to join his mate in the crow's nest.

***

Hours pass as the captain puts into effect a series of tacking maneuvers, zigging and zagging through the mist in a seemingly futile attempt to find this mysterious island.

As the time drifts by, the dim light the filtered through the mist from the far away sun eventually fades. As the sun sets and the blackness sets in, you are enveloped in milky darkness.

"Anchor down!" cries the helmsman. To navigate in these conditions would be suicide without a doubt. The fog blocks out the stars and you are unable to see even your own hand in front of your face.

That is, until the captain gives orders to light the lanterns. Small pinpricks of light pop into existence along the length of the deck as the anchor splashes into the water. The ship sits upon the waves as they lap softly against her wooden sides.

"We spend the night here!" calls the captain. "We resume our search tomorrow, after dawn." he turns and heads aft toward his quarters.

***

As you stand on the deck, you are able to discern dark shapes moving about the ship, and you notice that many of them are headed for the galley door. From belowdeck, you can hear the sounds of drinking and conversation.

Up on deck, the wind blows softly, tugging at your collar and ruffling your hair. The steady sound of the waves on the sides of the ship lull you into a relaxed state of sensory stillness as the night seems to enter a state of timelessness.

You feel as though you could be here forever, and the sun may never rise. This ship feels like purgatory, and the sea seems infinite in its darkness.

You are floating out in the midst of nothingness, and beyond the edges of this boat lies only the unknown.

[Dragodar]

Feeling oppressed by the dark, you turn about and head toward the galley door and the sounds of merriment flowing from below.

When you reach the galley door, you clamber down the ladder and into the large room below. The scene before your eyes is reminiscent of the numerous taverns of your homeland.

You stand in a warm and spacious room with wooden walls, lit by the orange glow of whale-lard lanterns. The smell of stew rises from several bowls which sit upon the tables. Most of your fellow adventurers sit in the hammocks that hang around the edges of the room, and some of them sit in chairs and around tables.

Those who are not already present soon climb down the ladder behind you. Although you realize that many of your fellows are strange and alien beings, many of whom do not share your moral compass or ethical values, you also realize that the mission at hand is more important than your differences.

You decide you may as well become acquainted with the people you are about to risk your life with.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath decided against using his own form for his travel. He detested this frail, clumsy form with passion. Yes, it had such an exceptional mind inside, which granted him his immense psionic powers; but the physical form was weak nevertheless, and he avoided its use whenever possible. Still, taking an appearance of a beholder, hydra, or other such monstrosity might have been scoffed upon in populated areas (something he learned the hard way ages ago, and still couldn't understand completely). So, he chose an appearance very much appropriate to the crowd around him - a gruff and muscular half-orc, and maintained it all the way through his voyage, only rarely going for a dolphin form, to take a quick swim.

Now he was entering what he thought to be the nearly final point of his travel, and oh my, what a depressing mess this point was. Did they ever got sun out in here? Still, sun or no sun, he was set in here for a while, and could have acquainted himself with his soon-to-be mates just as well. He looked around, probably for the first time being interested in whom did the fate put him together with...

[Vamphyr]

"There, there, Braddock. We'll be out of the mists soon and on to adventure!" Maervin Swamprat said quietly to the the beat up, old teddy bear he held in his arms. He looked around the room observing the other shipmates as he sat cross legged, floating four feet off the floor.

His face was bound in white bandages leaving gaps only for his mouth, eyes, and nostrils. A shock of short blonde hair poked out on top of his head, the gap between his hair and the bandages revealed the intricate scarring that can only be left by a serious burn. He looks almost unhealthily thin and his arms and legs are long and gangly.

These people look like good playmates, he thought to himself, real nice folk.

"What's that? Oh, don't worry, Braddock, we'll meet all the friends we'll be exploring with soon. I'm certain of it!"

[devdog]

Lis sits in a corner and swirls a flask of blood. "Ain't it pretty? Too bad I probably can't get more in the tomb." (louder) "This is getting boring. How much longer will it be?"

[Vamphyr]

"I'm sure we'll be getting there shortly!" a voice floats out of the air next to Lis as Maervin flickers back from invisibillity, floating cross legged in the air.

"Sorry if I jumped you! I was always a fan of surprises and hide and go seek, maybe a bit to a fault. I'm Maervin Swamprat! I believe we'll be working together! he says cheerfully. "I'd introduce you to my friend, Braddock Bear, but he's very shy when it comes to meeting new people. Maervin looks back and forth to assure no one is listening in and then leans in close.

"He's hiding in my cloak, but don't worry, I'm sure you two will become fast friends." He whispers with a nod of confidence.

[kinem]

Runo Moore, dressed as usual in his chain shirt and with his raven perched on his shoulder, paces the deck.

"Eh, might as well dig in." Though Runo is a necromancer, he's still a halfling. He sits at a table and tries the stew. "I feel like we should drink arr-rum though, this being a ship." He looks around for it, and pours himself a cup.

"Come on folks. I like gloom and doom as much as the next guy, but there'll be plenty of time for that in the tomb."

[devdog]

Lis makes a small scream and "jumps" away raising her swords. She more or less ends up falling over in place. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that! Sorry, I'm not really used to working with people, but I'm sure I'll get along get with you're little friend. Does he have blood?" Contemplating the flask one last time before putting in away. "Hmm, I guess it doesn't matter." Gets up and walks toward the table. As, she passes Maervin, she turns and cheerfully says "Oh, I'm Lis." Sits at table and eats.

[Vamphyr]

"My apologies!" Maervin says hurriedly, floating over and sitting next to Lis. As he sets about getting a plate of food, he pauses for a moment in thought. "Nope, no blood. I helped him pack his bag, and I would certainly remember if he had any blood with him."

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath went straight to the bar, and got himself a pint of local beer, then looked at the other newcomers, and moved in to introduce himself.

- Name's Cho'Gath, pleased to make an acquaintance. So, looks like we're into all this together?

His rough looks was sharply dissonant with his pleasant manners. He rarely bothered to "play" the form he was currently in

Got a serious flu, so even thinking is painful now :( This might affect my posting rate. Also, Friday to Sunday I'm out of town (if I recover on time, that is), and won't be able to post

EDIT: colorz

[Vamphyr]

"Maervin Swamprat is happy it's so!" he says patting Cho'Gath lightly on the shoulder.

I hope you feel better soon!

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

A young woman stands motionless against the wall, seemingly frozen in place. Her skin bears the pallor of someone suffering hypothermia, starkly pale with blue lips. Her gaze is unfocused and unblinking, she's facing those gathered in the room but doesn't appear to be taking anything in. She is clad in tattered, well worn furs, snow and frost clinging to her hair as though she just stepped in from the cold.

To all but Cho'Gath and Runo Moore, she appears to be some kind of mindless undead awaiting its master's command. The latter two, being well versed in the religions of the world, recognize her telltale ice-blue eye as being the mark of Iborighu. This sign identifies her clearly as a cultist of the Ice King, one of the darker nature Gods who's worshippers seek to cover the earth in an endless Winter. What she's doing on board the ship, let alone in the warmth of the crew quarters is a bit of a mystery.

[devdog]

Walks over to her. "Umm, is she alright? Pokes her.

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

When Lis poke her, she finds the you woman's skin ice cold and surprisingly firm to the touch. A moment after she inquires about her well being, her eyes roll back in her head briefly before coming back to focus on the woman who poked her.

Her voice barely above a whisper, "Yes, she is fine. And how are you?"

[devdog]

"Umm, ok..." Walks back to table and whispers "That is one of the creepiest things I've seen."

[Adunatar]

- Really? I daresay, we're all sort of creepy here... aren't we? - he looked from one party member to another, as if seeking affirmation to his words.

[Vetril]

"Speak for yourself! I am no freak!" says a short and stout dwarf sitting on a hammock.
He wears unexpensive brown clothes, which look as durable as he does.
His bushy beard is black as coal, like his hair, and a couple of scars cross his face. On the side, next to the hammock, there is a beautiful maul completely made of a shining metal; each inch of its surface was covered in decorations and runes: made by dwarves, no doubt.
In his hands there is a half full mug, and as you watch him, he empties it in one go before cleaning his beard with the back of his hand.

[Dragodar]

As the adventurers sit belowdecks, meeting and greeting, they feel a swell as a wave gently lifts the ship. Soon, a soft patter of rain can be heard tapping upon the wooden deck of the ship.

This drizzle soon increases in intensity as a steady downpour of rain begins to fall.

A couple of deckhands, one older and gruff looking, the other young and clean shaven, descend the galley ladder, each holding a flask, and make their way to a couple of hammocks near the back, making little to no eye contact with any of the adventurers.
There they lean back, drinking, and begin to converse quietly.

A gust of wind blows and another wave lifts the ship, this time carrying it several meters and dragging the anchor.

A muffled voice is heard calling out routine orders from on deck, "Drop the second anchor, boys!"

A deep rattling and a loud splash are heard as the second anchor drops and its chain slithers through the porthole.

After it hits the water, the duration of the chain rattle gives an indication of the water's depth.

Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick...

The water here seems very deep indeed.

...tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick...

You feel like the anchor chain will run out before the anchor even hits the bottom.

...tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-THUNK.

You hear a grating sound as the anchor drags along the rocks far below and the noise vibrates up the chain. The anchor finds hold and you feel the ebbing pull of inertia as it gradually, slowly, groaningly stops the movement of the ship.

The wind picks up again, howling now as it rages.

The darkness of the night, the thickness of the fog, the depth of the water, the ferocity of the wind...
All these add to the sense that your ship is an island of existence in an ocean of chaotic nothingness.

The vastness that surrounds you is smothering.

But before these thoughts overtake you, you snap out of your reverie and find yourselves once again in the warmth of the galley.

OOCPlease remember to put your entire quote (including the " marks) in bold, as well as your color. See the example under the House Rules section of the Recruitment post for details. Thanks!

[Vamphyr]

Maervin flashes out of sight from the table, activating his invisibillity. He floats up to the ceilling and silently glides above everyone's heads over to where the two sailors are talking keen to know why they would want to keep a secret from Braddock and himself.

[Dragodar]

Fortunately, the sailors are looking at each other when this incident occurs, so neither one sees Maervin suddenly vanish.

As he floats over toward the sailors, their conversation becomes clear to his ears.

Maervin Only The younger looking barefooted sailor takes a drink from his flask. "These guys give me chills," he says to his companion as he takes another drink. "This whole place freaks me out... I didn't sign up for this."

His comrade, an older sailor with a gruff beard, replies, "Aye, they're strange alright. This is a weird voyage indeed." He glances over at your companions as he takes a swig from his flask. "But at least the pay's good..." he adds on in a mutter as he returns to his drink.

The younger man takes another drink, still throwing cautious glances toward the motley group. "Not good enough, methinks, for the likes of these. Bad luck if ever I saw it, bringing folks like this aboard."

"Tisn't our job to worry about the likes of them, laddie. Keep your head down, do your work, and get paid," returns the older man.

"It is a good sum, I suppose," says the young man, pulling his gaze from the adventurers and looking at the ceiling wistfully. "I'm going to spend my money on beer and wenches."

"Of course y'are..." mutters the old man, rolling his eyes.

The two sailors go back to drinking quietly, no doubt thinking of home.

[Vamphyr]

Maervin floats back over and plops himself back into his seat and back into visibillity.

"The young one over there doesn't like us" he says sullenly putting his face flat to the table. Called us strange. Not very nice of him. I'm used to people not being nice though, I was good. Didn't blow him up like I used to."

[kinem]

"Maervin, I'm Runo Moore, necromancer" the halfling tells him. "Now hold on a minute. Would you rather be called commonplace? Run of the mill? Not me. I'll take strange any day. My ways are strange to most and that's what keeps me ahead of the game."

[Vamphyr]

As Runo begins speaking Maervin slightly turns his head, still pressed tightly to the table, peeking at him out of the corner of his eye. By the time Runo is finished, Maervin is sitting up and smiling.

Yeah... that's right! Strange isn't bad!" Maervin grips Runo in a hug. "You're a good friend." he says pulling away.

Maervin reaches into his cloak and pulls out a beat up old teddy bear.

"See, Braddock! I told you they would be nice!" he laughs, speaking directly to the bear.

[devdog]

Goes to Runo. "Necromancer? Minions without blood. That's a shame. at least with mercenaries, I can kill them if I get bored and watch them bleed ... hmm, it saves money too." Turns to Maervin. "And about being strange, everybody is strange in someway or another. We are just stranger than most, we'd have to be to take on this quest. Either abnormally strong or insane. But we are not as strange as some. Ok, maybe she is, I think she possessed or something. But I've seen people so warped by spells that they don't even have a conscience anymore and others who just become complete monsters. Oh, Braddock, he's so cute. Well, hey, I'm going to go see if there is anything interesting on this ship. Anyone want to come with me?"

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or amused.

- Called us "strange"? This boy haven't even seen the real "strange" yet! And I'm not going to show him, either - lest he jumps off the ship in terror, and probably drowns himself, too. Some of the forms I'm capable of taking, he haven't even seen in his worst nightmares - and let's keep it that way.

He continued, after a pause.

- All of you, on the other hand, are probably more... accustomed to seeing strange beings borne from nightmares, I hope? I don't want to scare anyone out of their wits, I don't...

[devdog]

"Yea, I've seen tons of it, but I can still be a bit jumpy"

[Vamphyr]

"Oh! I'd love to come explore!" Maervin turns to Cho'Gath "I'm used to very scary things. In fact, I've been told I can be quite terrifying myself. I even jumped Lis earlier! Though... that was an accident." Maervin floats contentedly, waiting for Lis to lead the way.

[devdog]

"Ok, let's go." Leaves.

OOC
I have no clue what's on this ship so can you give me choices of where to go or I can roll a search check, or something like that.

[Dragodar]

The galley you are currently in is a relatively open and uncluttered room. The ladder to the deck hangs down directly in the center of the room.

Many of the hammocks around the room have small sacks and packs under them, most likely the belongings of the various sailors. The door to the galley is closed but you can hear the sound of the rain hammering on the deck above.

[Vetril]

Back in the common room, the dwarf grumbles: "You're a bunch of freaks, that's the truth. If I had a choice, I wouldn't be here - I wouldn't even associate with you, for Moradin's boots! I am a respectable dwarf! Necromancers? Talking puppets? A talking icicle? Oh, no no nonono. Am I the only normal person of the group?"

He stands up from his hammock, apparently unhindered by the natural swaying of the boat. He walks up to the bar keg of ale and without asking anyone, he refills his mug, giving a pre-emptive long, dour stare to whoever thinks of keeping him away from the grog.

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

Self control.

That's what was called for as the wind howled and the rain spattered down upon the deck. The temptation was there, as always, to turn this into a frozen hell. Her powers would be stronger in a blizzard, and the snow wouldn't obstruct her vision the way the fog-ridden downpour does.

But trying to picture these mortals successfully navigating their way to shore on an ice-covered ship with icicles falling from the masts was not a pretty picture. Amusing, perhaps, but not pretty and would bring her no closer to her goals.

As the others leave to explore the ship, she climbs the rope ladder up to the deck and nears the bow, standing in the raging storm, disquieted, struggling to hear the sound of anything out of place. Unfortunately, the falling raindrops drown out much of what she might otherwise hear...


Listen check, keeping an ear out for the sounds of anything else out in the water besides their ship: [roll0]

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath laughed at hearing dwarf's words.

- I'm afraid that's true - you're the only not-freaky person here. And given the nature of the place we're going into, I'm actually surprised to see a normal person on this ship. Still, that makes the minority of you. So, for once, I feel relieved that I don't have to try to "fit in"; you, however, might start worrying - is this "freak ship" just a coincidence? Or is it because only freaks survive what lies ahead? And maybe - just maybe - you could start looking for some traces of freak deep inside you? You know, to up your chances of survival somewhat?

[devdog]

"Hmm, I guess there's nowhere to go until it stops raining unless you have a way to explore without getting wet"

[Vetril]

The dwarf sits next to the keg, his eyes staring at the ale he just poured. It is obvious he can't wait to see the bottom of the mug another time. At Cho'Gath's comment, he retorts:

"Ha! Wait and see: I've yet to find a place which could keep me locked up for more than a few days. For once, I'll have to break in - that's quite some change! I don't need to be anything other than a honest professional to do that."

He sniffs in appreciation, as the strong smell of the alcoholic drink reaches his prominent nose.

"Either way, if you die, you die, and it's probably no one else's fault."

[Vamphyr]

"Sadly I do not. I guess we'll just have to hang out below deck and wait for the rains to pass."

[devdog]

"Well, if we are stuck cooped up in here, we might as well get to know each other better. So, why are you here? Like how did you find out about this and why did you actually come?"

[Dragodar]

Nameless Only You hear nothing over the sound of the deluge of rain and the rolling waves.

[Vamphyr]

"Well, when I was little my mom and I got burned up real bad by the people in our village. I escaped but she died. I lived in the swamp for a long time. Eventually I decided that I'd become as powerful as I could and put a stop to anyone who would hurt people who are strange. The best way to get power is through knowledge and gold. I started killing creatures and people for money and eventually one of the Keepers recruited me on full time. When they asked for my help with this I agreed immediately. Adventuring is also the best way to make new friends! What about you?

[Adunatar]

- So, a professional? You have my respect, - Cho'Gath saluted to dwarf, and changed the subject, sniffing the air.

- I smell some beer. No, I smell some good beer. Is this, - he motioned towards the keg, - another area of your professional pride, or are you simply a connoisseur?

[Vetril]

The dwarf instinctively pulls the keg away from Cho'Gath as soon as he mentiones it.

"I don't need to be a conoisseur to recognize passable ale. Good? Puah! Nothing, compared to the spirits I am used to" - his hand goes down to his belt, to pat a metallic canteen that is secured to it with a chain - "This is only good to wet the throat and pass the time. However, I can't help but notice that you're talking about my beer."

He stares at him with a meaningful expression as he ostensibly drinks some.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath laughed again; the dwarf proved to be a funny one indeed.

- Why, of course I'm talking about your beer; or do you see any other kind of beer around, maybe? I've heard that dwarves tend to be very protective around their beer, and I must admit, you fit the stereotype like a glove; but talking and drinking are two different things, and, as you can clearly see, I'm doing the former at the moment, with no intention to move on to the latter

[Dragodar]

As the minutes drag on, the wind dies down and the ship stops rocking as violently, but the sound of the rain does not diminish at all.

Shortly, the galley door rises open yet again as the sound of the rain loses its muffled quality and a miniature deluge pours through the briefly opened hatch. Two more sailors enter the galley and slam the door down behind them, muting the sound of the heavy rainfall once again.

These sailors each carry a flask of alcohol, and you remember that the likelihood of public alcohol on a ship is a high one indeed; it is merely a matter of finding the grog.

[Destiny reached]

At the sound of the door's slam, Àn wakes with a start. Immediately remembering where he is, he glances around the room, then looks towards the companion perched on his shoulder. The owl familiar gazes back at him with wide eyes, both of which are glazed with an autumnal-orange hue. Án nods at it, rises out of his chair for a subtle stretch and yawn, then proceeds to the stairs that lead to the deck. He ascends without a spoken word.

[Vetril]

The dwarf looks at An as he walks out.

"Oi, not the social type, eh? I wonder if he's gonna live enough to introduce himself. They say it's a nasty place, where we are going; I say it can't be as nasty as this storm, right? When are we going to arrive to this bloody island?"

He listens to Cho'Gath's answer, before nodding in appreciation.

"You're damn right, you are! We might even manage to get along just fine, me and you. So. What can you guys do, that is so special to send you into this forgotten hole?"

[Adunatar]

- Oh, the place is rumored to be nasty indeed! I don't care much for storm, as I can't possibly drown - I'd simply turn into something able to breathe underwater. This is probably what got me chosen for the Tomb, as I can turn into some nightmarish things indeed; but this is just one of my tricks, there are others, as I'm a Psion. Most of my powers revolve around hindering enemies and gathering information; I can stand my own in combat, too, if needed.

[Dragodar]

The ship feels still, almost as if it is sitting on hard ground rather than flowing waves. The rain continues to fall in thick sheets, but the wind is dead.

Án OnlyAs you exit the galley and find yourself on the deck, you are soaked to the skin before you even realize it is happening.

The sound of the rain drowns out seemingly everything else, even though the wind is nonexistent and there is no typical howl of the storm. The splashing of raindrops on the deck is sufficient to drown your ears.

It is intensely dark. You can barely see the red and green lanterns at the bow and stern of the ship, barely piercing through the rain as four small, smudged glows. Other than these lights, everything is pitch black.

[Destiny reached]

Àn quickly heads back below deck and approaches the bar.
"An ale," he says promptly to the bartender.

[Dragodar]

The sailor whom Án addresses gives a gruff laugh and shouts to his friend, "Oi, Jeffreys! This joker thinks I'm some kind of bar keeper!"

Turning back to Án, the man says, "Ale's in the barrel, sonny boy." He points across the room at the large wooden barrel sitting on a rack. A small spigot is located on the bottom edge of the barrel.

He tosses you a dirtied piece of white fabric. "Here's a shirt," he continues. "Might wanna dry yourself off!" he erupts into raucous laughter along with several of his friends, although you notice that their laughs are significantly less enthusiastic as they eye Án with some uncertainty.

[devdog]

"A while back, I started treasure hunting, and at the last place I went, I ran into another group and one of them told me about this place before I killed him, after a little research I found the Keepers and now I'm here."

[Destiny reached]

"Thank you," Àn says, with a hint of nonchalant resentment, as he takes the shirt from the man. As he walks toward the barrel to fill a cup with ale, the owl on his shoulder glares intently and hostilely at the sailor.

[Vetril]

Next to the barrel, sits a dwarf; he keeps an eye on Án while the mage fills his own cup. A very focused eye. The dwarf turns towards Cho'Gath, pointing to Án:

"By the Gods, it seems it's still raining!"

[Dragodar]

The galley door opens yet again and a single man, clad in obvious adventuring gear, descends.

He is rather short, only about 5'8", but he is stocky and looks well muscled. He has short black hair with significant streaks of steely gray in it, and his eyes are dark gray with a sheen of cloudy blue, much like the fog of the previous day. His eyes send an obvious message to everyone he looks at: "Don't mess with me, because you will not live to regret it."

He wears black leather armor and has a longsword sheathed in a scabbard that is strapped to the pack that he carries on his back. Along his thighs, he carries numerous daggers of differing shapes and sizes. His entire figure is decked out in dangerous looking equipment.

He addresses the group in an abrupt and growling voice.

"Listen up, freaks. I'm Reumar Haliford, but you can call me 'sir' or 'Colonel'. I'm in charge of this little expedition. I had the pleasure of seeing your recruitment forms, and I know what each one of you is capable of.
You will follow my orders to the letter for the duration of the journey, until we are once again standing at SKHQ. For those of you who cannot read, this was in your contracts, in case you are wondering. Any questions?"

He glares around the room with a steely gaze, then continues.

"Good. Now, first order of business. You have a room in the officers' quarters. You will sleep there tonight. It is aft, at the rear of the ship. You're going to have to get a bit wet because this bloody rain won't stop, but there you have it.

Before you kids go to sleep, however, we will be meeting in your quarters to discuss our first actions.

Feel free to stick around here and drink for a few more minutes, but in half an hour I expect each and every one of you in your aft quarters. I will be waiting there for you."

He turns and heads up the ladder, but before he opens the door, he turns around and speaks once more.

"Just head aft, find the aftercastle and go through the double doors. There's a hallway inside with two doors on either side and one at the end. Yours will be the second on the left. See you there."

He glares around the room once more, opens the galley door, and exits, letting it slam shut behind him.

[Vamphyr]

"Well. I guess I'll be heading to my quarters!" Maervin says and floats off after the Colonel.

[devdog]

"I think going to our quarters would be a great idea." Lis follows them too.

[Vetril]

"Strange, he said he is a colonel, but from the demeanor I could have sworn he was a sergeant. Lucky me, I'm not in the army anymore. Oh well."

The dwarf drinks from his mug, emptying it. Then he looks at the keg.

"Now. He said we have half an hour."

***

Twenty minutes later, a happy Dagir heads to the quarters to which he has been directed.

[Destiny reached]

Smiling to himself at the colonel's comments regarding the party's freakishness, Àn finishes his drink, withdraws and feeds his familiar a handful of reddish-grey consumables, stands up, and makes his way to the quarters. Before exiting, however, he puts on his hood and tucks the owl safely under his cloak.

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

She was already up on deck, but fortunately the Colonel's barking could be heard upstairs as well. With a wary eye still on the fog, she too makes her way towards the rear of the ship and the officers quarters.

[Dragodar]

As the group gathers in their significantly more comfortable quarters in the aftercastle, they find Colonel Haliford awaiting them.

Once they are all settled in, he begins to speak.

"Alright, here's the deal, boys and girls. Come morning, this ship will be moving again, and if our scholars are correct and our navigators are competent, we'll reach the island within another twenty-four hours."

He glances around the room to be sure everyone is following him.

"My men and I will escort you to the island. We will help you find this tomb, and then we will wait outside. Once you're in that stinking pit, you're on your own.

We will camp outside for one fortnight before sending a scout in after you to make contact. We will wait a single month for his return.

If the scout does not come back, we will disembark. If he does, we will wait another fortnight before sending him in again.

This pattern will continue until you finish the job. When you finally emerge, if you do, we will all disembark. Any questions?"

He looks around the room expectantly.

[Destiny reached]

"Yes," Àn finally speaks up. "I understand that most scouts are quick and sturdy individuals, but what if yours dies on his way? Or if he simply isn't fast enough to travel our numerous fortnights' distance and back in one fortnight?"
As Án says this, the owl stares at the colonel.

[devdog]

Covers Án's mouth and whispers in his ear, "Shh, we don't need to worry about their side of the plan, as far as I'm concerned it's better they leave. We can talk somewhere else if you want."

[Adunatar]

- And why would anyone care about that, I wonder? - asked Cho'Gath with a slight disdain. - If I were you, I'd worry more about getting out of the dungeon alive. Once we're all out - and, preferably, in one piece - we'll figure out how to get back. Heck, I could even fly you back over there, - he added, sizing An's frame, - ... yes, I should be able to.

He turned to the colonel.

- Well, you have some interest in seeing us retrieve that what's-its-name from the dungeon. So keep whatever scouts around, and make sure we won't have to wait too long when we're back. We'll hang around a week, max - this should give you enough time to figure things out, say, if your scout runs away, or drowns, or whatever.

[devdog]

"I say let them do their job, and we'll do ours, it's not our fault if they are gone when come back, I'm sure we can find a way and it wouldn't be the first time I've gotten stranded in a remote place."

[Adunatar]

- Agreed, - nodded Cho'Gath

[Dragodar]

The colonel glances back and forth between the members of this conversation and, when it is concluded, nods abruptly.

"Good, then it's settled." he turns and head towar the door. Looking back once more before he exits, he adds, "Try to get a good night's sleep, it may be your last for a very long time."

He leaves the room, slamming the door behind him.

Around the edges of the room are three rows of three bunk beds each. They are made up with comfortable looking blankets and pillows.
At the center of the room there is a small table with three bottles of wine, two wheels of cheese, and several bunches of grapes.

[Vetril]

Without a word, Dagir heads to the nearest bed. He kicks off his boots.

"The colonel there is right. You better sleep, while you can."

He lays down on the bed and turns towards the wall.

[kinem]

"Agreed" Runo Moore says. The halfling climbs up to one of the top bunks. "Not that I need much sleep. Two hours, thanks to the ring. 'Course, I don't need to stay awake either."

[Vamphyr]

Maervin eats several slices of cheese, drinks some wine, and floats over to an empty bed, dropping down and covering up.

"Goodnight, friends. Sweet dreams!" Maervin says cuddling up with his teddy bear, and promptly passes out.

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

The young white walker wordlessly exits the cabin and returns to the main deck where she passes the night gazing listlessly into the thick clouds of fog.

She doesn't sleep (or eat or breathe) so she'll keep whatever restful watch she can.

[devdog]

I jump into a top bunk.

[Duke Arioch]

In the far aft of the ship, hidden between barrels and equipment crates sits a lone cloaked figure. Wind plays with the hood of the cloak, and a strand of raven black hair escapes the confines of the garment. Pale delicate fingers pull it back in, and draw the hood tighter. The figure sighs. This was a huge mistake. She followed her instincts instead of her brain, and here she was now.
She chuckles morosely and and shakes her head.
"Dimwits". Drinking themselves to stupor, gorging themselves like there's no tomorrow, and sailing to their doom. "Our doom", she whispers. "Now if they are dimwits, what does that make you?". She shakes her head again. There is no way out, now. She took a bite of this bitter cake, and now she better chews it lest she chokes on it.
"Well, at least they seem competent enough. And mayhap we get out of this both alive and rich". Now she chuckles with more spirit. She slowly rises and starts walking towards the chambers (she never understood the sailors' need to rename every single thing on ship). She was skulking about and heard pretty much everything said in the briefing. However, she hasn't yet established any contact with her team-mates. It was about time she did. After all, they are the only hope she might get out of this alive.
She arrives at the door. She sighs, inhales, opens the door and bows her way into the cabin.
"Here we go", she whispers to herself as she looks up and about the cabin.

[Dragodar]

Runo Only
"Agreed" Runo Moore says. The halfling climbs up to one of the top bunks. "Not that I need much sleep. Two hours, thanks to the ring. 'Course, I don't need to stay awake either."
remember to bold your quotes

The next day, you wait on deck as the ship passes through the continuing blanket of fog. Amusing yourself with trivial things, and sharpening your blades for the hundredth time, you pass the time.

After nearly thirteen hours of this, the daylight begins to fade, and you fear you may have to spend another night on anchor. The captain gives the orders for the sails to be taken down and the oarsmen get to work propelling the ship through the water.

Just as you are about to settle in for another night of waiting, you hear a cry from the crows nest.

"Rocks, ho! Rocks!"

The helmsman yells, "Half speed!" and the sound of rushing water meets your ears as the oars drag and bring the boat quickly down to half speed.

As you travel through the fog, a huge dark shape looms out of the mist, almost as tall as the mast of the Grey Lady herself, but it passes by on the starboard side as the ship safely clears it.

Over the next few minutes, several more of these monoliths are narrowly avoided, some more closely than others.

Just when you are sure that the captain will give the order to weigh anchor, the mist clears significantly and another cry reaches your ears from above.

"Land, ho! Land ahead! 400 meters off the starboard bow!"

The helmsman once again calls to the oarsmen, "Quarter speed! Bring her about! Weigh anchor!"

The ship groans as the anchor splashes into the water and holds her back.

Ahead, through the mist, you can barely make out the foreboding outline of a dark shore.

[Destiny reached]

Àn, who has made his way to the top deck, glances at his familiar in anticipation.

[devdog]

I climb top side look at land then search for a dinghy.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath yawned. He could have, of course, simply transform into something that can swim - or even fly! - and get to the shore that way, but he was a part of the team - teamwork be damned - and so he decided against rubbing his self-sufficiency into everyone's ego. Still, he was looking cautiously at the mooring process - ready to transform into something more compatible with water at any moment - until it was done, as he wasn't putting a small shipwreck anywhere beyond the "abilities" of the "Grey Lady" crew

[devdog]

[roll0] for search

[Vetril]

Dagir walks on the deck to have a look at the island, as the boat gets closer.
The monolyths seemed not to interest him in the slightest, yet he does seem to want to have a look at the place he was ordered to travel to. On his back, he carries the carved maul, and a small haversack.

With his fists resting on his hips, and a grim look on his face, he closely resembles a rock: solid and unflinching.

"This is it, eh?"

He looks around.

[Vamphyr]

"Seems so, friend!" a voice comes from directly above Dagir's head. Maervin sits floating 10 feet off the deck of the ship, legs crossed. He peers intently into the fog trying to discern anything of the shore through the dense fog.

"Well, Braddock, it seems we've reached our newest adventure!" Maervin says cheerfully to his bear, wrapping a small length of rope attached to his armor around the bear's waist and placing him snug inside a hidden pocket in his cloak.

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

Once the ship is anchored near shore, the young woman moves to the bow of the ship, eyeing the shore with a mischievous grin. After drawing an ebony rod from her pack and grasping it firmly, her arms begin moving in disturbing patterns as she chants in the same whispered voice. As she continues, the temperature begins to fall, with a chill rapidly developing in the air and a soft white haze filling the air.


Casting Cold Snap (http://dndtools.eu/spells/spell-compendium--86/cold-snap--4038/) while using metamagic rod of extend to drop the temperature by 50 degrees farenheit for [roll0] hours out to a distance of 1 mile centered on her. All cold spells deal 1 extra point of damage per die for the duration.

Please let me know the resulting air temperature, as I'll be following it up with control temperature in a bit.

Edit: Hey, that's the maximum :smallcool:

[Dragodar]

[roll0] for search
You'll have to be more specific than that. What are you searching, and why are you searching for?

As the adventurers stand on the deck, Colonel Haliford strides forward and barks an order to his men: "Get that dinghy in the water! We go ashore tonight, boys."

As the group of rough looking mercenaries get to work, the waves lap softly at the sides of the ship.

Suddenly, the temperature drops drastically and significantly. While the air previously was reminiscent of a crisp autumn evening, it now feels like a bitterly cold winter night. You are immediately chilled to the bone: uncomfortably, almost painfully, cold.

The timbers of the ship groan loudly at the sudden drop in temperature. The wet ropes and planks aboard the ship instantly freeze over as small icicles form at dripping points, and a single, swift gust of bitterly cold wind howls across the water.

The waves of the ocean continue to lap at the sides of the ship as the dinghy splashes unceremoniously into the water. Several of the mercenaries who were lowering it grasp themselves for warmth and begin vigorously rubbing their arms.

The tips of your fingers begin to go numb as the unforgiving bite of the cold sets in. Looking about the ship, you see the nameless white maiden standing quite still, with icicles hanging delicately from her pale blue fingertips.

After a moment's hesitation, the colonel shouts another terse order to his men. "Well? What are we waiting for? Load the oars!" As his men hurry to follow his orders, he strides over to the pale maiden and quietly whispers to her. He looks angry.

Nameless Only The colonel walks directly up to you and whispers vehemently, "What are you doing? I know this was you, and you better have a damn good reason!" he looks about surreptitiously, obviously worried that his men will be disconcerted.

OOCThe temperature, previously at 68 degrees F, has now dropped to 18 degrees F.

[devdog]

You'll have to be more specific than. What are you searching, and why are you searching for?

Two up I said I was searching for a dinghy, I just forgot to roll and I couldn't edit in a roll

[Dragodar]

Lis Only
Two up I said I was searching for a dinghy, I just forgot to roll and I couldn't edit in a roll

Right, sorry. You see several dinghies, but the one that catches your eye is the one which the colonel's men are currently preparing.

[devdog]

Right, sorry. You see several dinghies, but the one that catches your eye is the one which the colonel's men are currently preparing.

I go up to the men and ask "May I use this boat? It looks prepped enough for me. You should prep another one anyway, we will need multiple."

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)



The young woman pauses briefly before turning to address the captain. Her demeanor is polite, albeit not repentant.

"It was I. I am an emissary of winter and I bring it with me on our journey. I know this makes it difficult for your crew, so I have held this blessing in check until you delivered us safely lest I interfere. The magic follows me, and we won't need to travel too far inland before the weather here returns to normal, it should be an hour at most even if our progress once ashore is slow, and less than that if we make good time.

The blessings I cast upon the others will be strengthened in this weather, and as deadly an island as rumors have foretold, I thought it best to cast my protections with their highest potency. It may temporarily inconvenience your crew, but should improve our chances in the trials ahead.

If this is satisfactory, I shall continue my preparations, they shall make it easier for your crew even before the temperature rises again.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

((Cold snap is a 1 mile radius centered on her. Once the party travels far enough inland, the temperature at the ship will return to normal.)

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

If the captain does not object, and once the others have gathered near the rowboat, the pale young woman returns to her prayer. As she casts her next spell, several of the icecicles which had just formed now shatter in small twinkling explosions of ice, lending their strength to her magic.

As the blessing surges through the others, they can still feel the chill in the air, but rather than a biting, numbing cold it instead feels somewhat refreshing.



Snowcasting (http://dndtools.eu/feats/frostburn--68/snowcasting--2670/) using some of the ice on deck to change mass resist energy (http://dndtools.eu/spells/complete-arcane--55/resist-energy-mass--447/) to use the [COLD] descriptor (to bump her CL). Using a lesser metamagic rod of extend as well to push out the duration.

Benefit: Grants 30 points of cold resistance to up to 18 creatures (she'll hit all of the adventurers (and any animal companions & such if needed), and any excess will be spent on the Colonel and crew) for 6 hours. She'll be refreshing this on the party every 6 hours moving forward. She's cold subtype and doesn't need to be a recipient of it. I went ahead and marked it as cast 4 times (but this will be covering a day's worth of re-casting).

[Vamphyr]

Snowcasting (http://dndtools.eu/feats/frostburn--68/snowcasting--2670/) using some of the ice on deck to change mass resist energy (http://dndtools.eu/spells/complete-arcane--55/resist-energy-mass--447/) to use the [COLD] descriptor (to bump her CL). Using a lesser metamagic rod of extend as well to push out the duration.

Benefit: Grants 30 points of cold resistance to up to 18 creatures (she'll hit all of the adventurers, and any excess will be spent on the Colonel and crew) for 6 hours. She'll be refreshing this on the party every 6 hours moving forward. She's cold subtype and doesn't need to be a recipient of it. I went ahead and marked it as cast 4 times (but this will be covering a day's worth of re-casting).

I already have Cold resistance 5 from my Warlock levels, does the 30 stack with that (35) or does it replace it?

[devdog]

I already have Cold resistance 5 from my Warlock levels, does the 30 stack with that (35) or does it replace it?

Two things energy resistances never stack and resist energy protects our equipment too (never know, might come in handy to remember that), I don't think your warlock lvls do.

[Gnarnia]

Yeah, you can have multiple different resistances (like an Aasimaar has resistance to Cold, Electricity, and Acid), but like bonuses don't stack and you only use the greater.

It's probably not as useful as fire resistance, but you can shave off the first 30 points from any cold damage you would otherwise take so if we trip over any cryo-hydras or anything it'll come in handy :)

On the flip side, because of a class ability she has, direct damage from her [cold] spells bypasses cold resistance, so I couldn't cast a cone of cold through the party without damaging you guys as well. Only creatures with the cold subtype are fully immune to her cold spells.

On THAT note, she can grant the cold subtype to people for 24 hours at a time, but that cuts into her offensive spell list (and grants vulnerability to fire) so I'd just be doing that strategically.

She can (may) eventually drop the air-temp down to arctic levels which cause lethal exposure damage over time, but the cold resistance is enough to fully mute all of that.

[Dragodar]

The colonel hesitates for a moment, and then growls at the winter maiden: "Fine. But from now on, ask me before your shenanigans. Nothing goes without my say; and that's especially true once we're on the island."

Lis Only One of the men looks up at you and shrugs. "Ask the colonel," he replies. "He's in charge." he goes back to work securing the ropes around the dinghy.

The colonel turns and watches as his men finish up preparing the dinghies to embark. His breath forms thick clouds that mix with the fog, as he oversees their progress.

There are half a dozen dinghies, and at this point all of them are in the water. Each one is just under 10 feet in length and can hold three people of average weight.

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

The woman nods in agreement to the Colonel's order and descends into one of the available dinghies taking a seat near the back of the vessel.

[Vetril]

Dagir descends into the same dingy the woman picked. Uncerimoniously, he jumps down for the last few feet: his heavy boots produce a loud thud as he lands on the wood. He eyes the sailors.

"What? Spare me the pleasantries; people talk too much on this boat! Let's just get moving, shall we?"

The dwarf turns his head to look at the island, his eyes wandering in search of buildings and unusual landmarks.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath approached silently from behind.

- Impatient, eh? So is everyone here, I reckon. Want me to carry you to the shore? It looks like it will take these sea dogs forever to get the dinghy running, especially with these tricks this frost-maiden of ours is pulling on the weather.

Seriously, lets' get to the dungeon already! Can we press "Esc" on the intro video, please?

[devdog]

"Can anyone here transform into an animal that can swim well, it will be quicker than just rowing" Then jumps into a boat no one's in yet.

[Dragodar]

OOCI'll just skip ahead through unnecessary parts.

After several hours, you find yourselves standing on the gravelly sand of Mistmantle's shore. The mist is almost nonexistent on the island itself and you see head of you a mountainous landscape covered in thick pine forest.

In the distance, a single rocky mountain dominates the island, standing majestically over the wild environment.

From the water's edge to the treeline lies a distance of just under a hundred yards. Rough sand covers this area, dotted with several large rocks scattered about.

The sky is dark and the moon peeks out from behind the giant mountain.

"We push on," says Haliford. He checks his scabbard, securing it on his hip, and presses on, into the impossibly thick, impregnably dark forest. His men follow him closely.

***

After hours of trekking through disorienting woods, and hearing strange and alien noises in the distance, the group finally arrives at a clearing part way up the mountainside.

About two hundred yards up the mountain, a wide ledge houses a single, slender, twenty foot tall obelisk, outline starkly by the bright light of the moon.

"We make camp here," says Haliford. Gesturing at the lone monument, he addresses the adventurers. "That looks like your next move. Hopefully we'll be here when you get back. Good luck."

The colonel and his men make quick work of setting up camp, but you notice they light no fires as they prepare for the rest of the night.

[kinem]

Runo Moore got a bit worried when his new coworker decided to freeze everyone, but once she casts the protection from cold spell on the party, he chills out.

The halfling unrolls his magic carpet and sits on it, then commands it to fly over to the island. He holds his 10' pole by his side, poking 5' ahead of the carpet, somewhat as if it were a lance.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath finally decided to ditch the caution, and transformed himself, mostly to ease the trek through the woods. He chose a simple pseudodragon form, so as not to scare the human crew out of their pants, and now, perched high on a tree, he was looking at the distant monument.

- Let's move. I'm eager to see just what lies ahead.

His words dinged in everyone's minds, even though the dragon wasn't even opening his mouth (and wasn't even visible to everyone, to boot).

Without waiting for everyone to catch up, he flew towards the obelisk, eyeing the mountainside on his way...

Telepathy, via Metamorphic Transfer

[distant quasar]

My apologies, I didn't realize my character had made it into this game. :smallredface:

Shall we just pretend he's been there the whole time?

Silveshten mutters something under his breath as his companion's words ring uninvited in his mind. Still, he rather agreed. They had spent long enough getting here, and he was eager to begin his investigations. He shrugs and heads off towards the monument, rising off the ground under the power of his own spell.

Overland Flight.

[Vamphyr]

Maervin quickly lets Cho'Gath know he's present, becoming fully visible for a few short moments in the air next to him.

"I'll be close behind you, friend!" he says, and flashes from view. Maervin flies close behind Cho'Gath as they approach the Obelisk.

[Vetril]

Dagir shouts, waving his fist in the air as he follows both with his sight.

"Don't touch anything, you two!"

Then, he proceeds to examine the ground around the Obelisk. It seems he has done this many times before.

In case he fails to notice anything out of place, he approaches the Obelisk to examine it. As he does it, he caresses his beard, seemingly meditating on what his eyes are seeing.

Take 10 on Search to spot anything unusual on the terrain surrounding the obelisk: Search: 21+10 = 31.
If nothing is found, Dagir approaches the Obelisk and then walks around it without touching it, taking 10 on Search again, this time to look for possibly hidden passages, traps, or inscriptions: Search: 21+10 = 31.
He also uses his practical knowledge about Stonemasonry to determine anything weird about the Obelisk's construction: Craft (Stonemasonry) [roll0].

[devdog]

Are we assuming we all get to the obelisk with no encounters? And Vetril, the first should be spot because search needs to be close to the object (main difference between spot and search), sorry, not being picky, just want to save time because I'm sure Dragodar will catch it anyway.

[Vetril]

Point taken; I can just have Dagir check the ground in pieces - 10 ft at a time, 1 round each. Shouldn't take more than a minute to have a look at the immediate area that surrounds the Obelisk.
If it's Spot, Dagir can take 10 on that skill too - the result would be 18+10 = 28.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath rushed in to help Vetril out.

Aid Another, for +2 on Spot (+23, so DC 10 is auto-hit)

[devdog]

If we are all there, I will aid another on both checks, Spot: [roll0] and Search should be auto, but: [roll1]

Why don't you do the spot and we help you, your check is higher than both of ours

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath kept looking around, all the time trying to remember anything about this place in general, and the obelisk in particular...

Sure, I didn't realize mine is actually the highest. With take 10, it makes 33 for Spot. Also, Knowledge checks about anything I see around: Magic: [roll0], Natural/Planar: [roll1], Religious/Forbidden: [roll2]

[Destiny reached]

Àn approaches the obelisk with caution, and, if and when he reaches it, examines it further.

OOC:
Spellcraft check: [roll0]
Knowledge (arcana) check: [roll1]

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

The pale young woman pauses briefly at the bottom of the trail to look around before following the others.


Spot: [roll0]

Just looking up the mountain trail, towards the edge of the ledge, etc for any signs of danger.

[Dragodar]

OOCHey guys, sorry it's taking me so long to reply. I have finals and I've been super crazy busy. My posts will be less frequent over the next two weeks, but I by no means intend to let this thread die. Thanks for your understanding!

I'll try to post tomorrow but keep in mind that I am extremely busy. Again, thanks :)

[Dragodar]

The party reaches the obelisk without incident. It appears to be made of solid onyx. A thick carpet of grass grows on the surface of the ledge on which the obelisk stands. Several bushes form a clump of underbrush where the ledge meet the mountainside, and the soil in the area is gravelly and rocky.

OOCIf you haven't already, please change the knowledge skills on your character sheets to match the knowledge skills in my House Rules on the Recruitment thread. Thanks.

A few common ones seem to be Arcana, Dungeoneering, and History, so I'll clear those up for you: Arcana would fall under "Magic" and both Dungeoneering and History would fall under "Hobbyist", although History could fall under "Cultural" as well. It's up to you.

Check out the house rules for knowledge and let me know if you have any questions :)

At the base of the obelisk lies a large square stone, about ten by ten feet and seemingly solid granite, embedded in the ground. On it is written a lengthy message in an ancient and unfamiliar language.

Cho'Gath, Silveshten, Syl, and Àn Only(Knowledge-Magic scores: 36, 34, 24, 21)

You recognize the cryptic language as Olde Arcanae, a long-dead and ancient language once used long ago by members of the prehistoric mage community.

Cho'Gath and Silveshten Only(Knowledge-Magic scores: 36, 34)

Wracking your memory, you think you can make out its meaning, loosely translated.

On the large slab of granite in the ground, the message reads:


Here Lies
Elric Fierior,

Archmage of the Western Kingdoms and the most powerful mortal ever to live in the Greatworld.

His body rests below in death, but his memory shall live forever in mortal minds.


The words are graven deeply into the rock, and are surprisingly well-preserved despite an alleged four thousand years of natural erosion. They look as though they could have been graven into the stone less than a week ago.

Dagir Only(Craft-Stonemasonry modifier: 21
Knowledge-Stonemasonry score: 31)

You notice nothing unusual about the obelisk, but from your knowledge of stonemasonry, you are able to determine that the slab of granite in the ground is skillfully laid in a square depression, also constructed of granite.

You notice an extraordinarily thin seam, which most untrained eyes would have missed, running around the outside edge of the slab, marking its edge.

You feel that, with the proper tools, you could remove the slab from its resting place by chipping away at the granite of either the slab or the bed itself.

On the obelisk, about five feet above the base, another, far longer, message in the same language is clearly engraved in smaller runes.

Cho'Gath and Silveshten Only(Knowledge-Magic scores: 36, 34)

And in the solid onyx face of the obelisk are engraved -- again, loosely translated -- the following words:


Beware Ye Who Enter Here

That which you seek is not fit for mortal minds. The horrors within will surely claim your life if you test them, but this is merely to save you from a far worse fate.

If you are wise, you will turn away now and treasure the remainder of your existence. That which lies within will bring you no happiness.

Death awaits you if you fail to obtain your goal, and a doom infinitely worse than death awaits you if you do indeed succeed.

You will not survive a venture inside this place. You have been warned.


Other than this, you see nothing unusual about the ledge or its surroundings. The moonlight gives an eerie pale glow to the entire environment, and your shadows seem to ebb in and out of clarity as thin clouds pass in front of the great silver orb.

[Destiny reached]

After seeing the carvings on the onyx slab, Àn, addressing the entire party, asks, "Do any of you know what these mean?"

[Vamphyr]

"Hmmmmm," Maervin says thoughtfully, rubbing his chin while staring at the writing. "Nope, not a clue."

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath chuckled.

- This writing confirms that we have reached our destination. This is indeed the tomb of Elric Fierior, he rests there - in peace, I presume - and warns anyone who dares to enter that he will pursue the intruder's soul for the lifetime. Quite predictable, if you ask me. Do you require the exact translation? If not, then we should start looking for an entrance - unless any of you are going to heed the warning.

[Vamphyr]

"Nah, I've had people swear they'd haunt me forever before. It's not that big a deal."

[Destiny reached]

"An exact translation would be ideal," Àn replies.

[Adunatar]

- Well, if you think you can gather any hidden meaning from these words... here goes:

Here Lies
Elric Fierior,
Archmage of the Western Kingdoms and the most powerful mortal ever to live in the Greatworld.
His body rests below in death, but his memory shall live forever in mortal minds.

And then the other inscription reads

Beware Ye Who Enter Here
That which you seek is not fit for mortal minds. The horrors within will surely claim your life if you test them, but this is merely to save you from a far worse fate.
If you are wise, you will turn away now and treasure the remainder of your existence. That which lies within will bring you no happiness.
Death awaits you if you fail to obtain your goal, and a doom infinitely worse than death awaits you if you do indeed succeed.
You will not survive a venture inside this place. You have been warned.

[Vetril]

"Hrmph. Of course the man who built it would write something like that. What were you expecting, 'please suit yourself and grab everything of value that you can find inside'? Let's just find the door."

That said, Dagir starts moving aside the bushes that grow at the feet of the obelisk, to see if they perhaps conceal an entrance.

[Destiny reached]

Àn nods in agreement and begins searching for a passage. If one is not found within five minutes, he waves his hand and whispers, "Fāxiàn," to cast Detect Magic Doors on the area.

[Vamphyr]

Maervin scans the area with Detect Magic as well, in hopes of finding something useful.

[Dragodar]

While there is a distinct lack of bushes at the foot of the obelisk, there are indeed several bushes several yards away where horizontal surface of the ledge slopes upward as it meets the mountainside.

There seems to be a thick layer of gravel surrounding this shrubbery, which, when scaped away, reveals metal double doors, much like those of a farmhouse storm cellar, but far stronger and more fortified. They are severely rusted, but the hinges seem as sturdy as ever.

OOCI am only going to say this once: I know my posts are long and tend to be wordy, but I promise you that you are going to want to read every single sentence because everything is important.

Here is your one and only warning: if you miss something I write, I'm not going to go easy on you or remind you to go back and read my post again. If you make the poor decision to be either too careless or too lazy to read my posts carefully enough, I am not going to help you out. I am going to let you mess up.

[distant quasar]

"Personally, I don't think the inscription accomplishes anything than to tell everyone there must be something worth having in there..."

Seeing the others already scanning the area, he decides to wait to see what they turn up.

The doors soon become visible, and he smiles with satisfaction. Still, if this place was as dangerous as it claimed to be, there was no reason to trust the doors were legitimate, or at the very least not trapped...

"I imagine someone should inspect those before we simply barge through them," he states, "But I don't tend to have the sharpest eyes around."

[Adunatar]

- Neither do I. Dagir mentioned he's usually on good terms with traps... Dagir? Would you mind looking if these are trapped? Once they're clear, though, I can help bypassing it by...

At these words, Cho'Gath's shape suddenly started to distort and elongate, until it took the shape of this monster (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/rustMonster.htm). His antennae quickly homed in on the direction where the metal doors were. Then, just as sudden, Cho'Gath came back to his original shape.

[kinem]

"Oh, I'll bet there's some truth to it. Some forms of undeath are considered worse than death by some. That's fine, that's my department. Soul-eating or permanent trips to hell are possible too. We should bear it in mind if we get far in." Runo says. The halfling calmly sits on his flying carpet while the others take a close look at the doors; doors are not his department.

[Vetril]

The dwarf examines the metallic doors, noting the rust.

"Probably iron. Tsk. Not built to last."

With expert eye, Dagir examines the door frame, then the doors theirselves, and finally whatever lock they might have. He also takes the time to search for air currents coming from the passage.

"Let's see; there aren't many trap triggers that can escape my attention - yet it takes only one to end a honorable career, eh?"

Taking 10 on Search to examine the door frame (total on Search: 31), the doors, and the lock. I am looking for traps. I may be able to break the lock (if any) without trying to open it, so I need to know what kind of lock the doors possess.

[devdog]

"Hmm, it's metal, things with metal don't get past me." Search for traps taking 10: 31.

[Dragodar]

The handles are of rotating type, but sport no visible locks or devices. You assume that if there are any traps, they are inside the doors.

[Destiny reached]

Àn steps forward and says, "Stand far back."
He walks in the opposite direction of the passage until he is 60 feet away, and beckons the party to stand at least that far away, as well. If and once they do as he suggests, he utters, "Diàntī," as he lifts his hand slowly, in order to open the doors with Telekinesis.

[Vamphyr]

Maervin flies 60 feet back and 60 feet up to wait for the spell to go off.

[Dragodar]

For a moment, the metal of the doors groans as it warps and bloats outward, creaking loudly.

Then suddenly, the door explodes with a loud bang in a shower of gravel and shards of metal. You feel a powerful concussion in your chest at the blast and a brief dizziness swirls through your brain.

As the ringing in your ears fades and the shrapnel lands, you see a wide, smoking hole looming in the mountainside, dark and gaping.

[Adunatar]

- Let's see what's inside, - uttered Cho'Gath, when he finally managed to overcome the concussion and get back to his senses. He concentrated on the crystal on his forehead, as if dreaming...

Clairvoyant Sense inside the doorway, what do I see? Also, since this power I have at-will, due to an item (Third Eye Sense), might as well get a description of the whole corridor :smallcool:

[Vetril]

Dagir joins Cho'Gath. The dwarf looks for the trap that exploded when the door was opened. He also seems to sniff the air coming from the hole.

[Dragodar]

Cho'Gath OnlyThe walls of the tunnel are roughly hewn stone, and its diameter is about 5 feet. It descends at about 40 degrees into the mountain for about 75 feet until it reaches a circular door made of obsidian. A small device is attached to the center of the door.

Dagir OnlyLooking for the explosive trap, you are unable to find anything but tiny shards of rusted metal and chips of stone.

The air smells of slightly pungent smoke, but you are unable to discern anythig significant from it. The trap was obviously rigged to leave minimal evidence after its triggering.

[Destiny reached]

When the spell goes off, Àn soars 25 feet straight upward, hovers for several seconds, then slowly descends.

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

Lacking any skills at trap detection, the white walker remains nearby, but stands out of the way of the stealthier folk. She instead maintains her vigil, trying to keep an eye and an ear out for any sign of ambush.

[Vetril]

"Well, there it is. See anything strange?"

Dagir stops just before the tunnel entrance, searching for traps, inscriptions, or otherwise uncommon features.

Take 10 on Search, if the hallway is made of stone, the result is 35 (Improved Stone Cunning). Otherwise it is 31.
Can I have a description so I can formulate a line of action?

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath's eyes have focused back into reality.

- I can see a tunnel beyond this door... a tunnel of roughly-hewn stone, ending with a circular door, with some device attached to it. Looks like a ventilation shaft, let me look at the device in some more detail... Also, it would help if someone could throw some light source inside the tunnel, it's dark there.

Another Clairvoyant sense, right in front of the door. What does the device on the door look like?

[Vamphyr]

Maervin pulls a torch out of his pack, lights it, and hands it to Cho'Gath.

"Here you go, friend! I don't need it, but most of the people I travel with do."

[Dragodar]

Dagir OnlyThe tunnel has no distinguishing features other than the roughness of its carving. The jagged sides look as though they were carved that way intentionally to provide good foothold for ascent and descent in the shaft.

Cho'Gath OnlyBy the dim light of the torch lying at the bottom of the passage, you see that the device on the door appears to be a figure of a dragon's head.

It's mouth is wide open and forms a gaping circular hole about eight inches in diameter. However, you cannot make out any further details.

[Destiny reached]

As the group searches the passage, Àn takes several precautionary paces back, until he is about 15 feet from the rest of the party.

DM, Runo, and (Nameless) only:
Pointing a subtle finger (that is, held next to his thigh) at the necromancer and the frost girl, Àn casts Message and whispers, as quietly as possible, "Your abilities seem to surpass those of the rest of our companions. The creature they call 'Cho'gath' is rather...headstrong, no?"
Waiting for their whispered replies, he keeps his fingers poised.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath, meanwhile, continued his observations.

- The shaft door has a dragon head figure on it, with some circular opening where the mouth should be. Looks like a key keyhole... except I don't see anything circular around here that'd fit. Then again, I didn't expect it to be THAT easy. Let's have something to explore this shaft in more detail...

A tiny, shimmering winged being appeared out of the thin air, and flew directly into the shaft, as if mentally directed...

Astral Construct 1st level (1 PP), with Fly ability; free Overchannel to last it 19 rounds instead of 16. Direct it to the shaft door, to trigger anything nasty that's on the way. Did my Detect Hostile Intent pick out anything yet? Also, I keep Clairvoyant Sense on the door area.

[kinem]

Runo whispers something to himself.

"I suspect we all have useful abilities. If Cho'Gath wants to take the lead in exploring the tunnel that is fine with me. I am not one to take point though my undead can."

[Vetril]

Dagir takes out several wooden sticks from his backpack. They seem to be designed to connect to each other, and that is exactly what the dwarf does. The end result is a pole that is ten, maybe twelve feet long.
Dagir looks at Cho'Gath.

"Not to imply that I don't trust your faeries there, but I like to do it the old way".

That said, the dwarf starts tapping the floor in and the walls in front of him, as he cautiously enters the passage.

Dagir uses the 11'' pole to tap on the floor and the walls as he walks down the tunnel. He keeps taking 10 on Search as he proceeds (total 31 or 35 if it involves stone). If he notices something that might be vaguely dangerous or out of place, he stops to have a good look - or run away if he is in immediate danger. If he reaches the door, first he searches and if he finds nothing, he pokes it with his pole.

[Dragodar]

As Dagir and Cho'Gath's fairy head down the tunnel, the rest of the party waits with bated breath. As you wait, a thick blanket of clouds covers the moon and drenches you all in darkness.

The only light source is the glowing mouth of the tunnel, illuminated by the torch, flickering eerily at the bottom of the shaft, with Dagir's shadow dancing on the walls behind him.

After about a minute and a half, Dagir reaches the end of the tunnel and pokes the door with his pole. This yields no result.

Cho'Gath OnlyYour fairy glides gracefully down the tunnel to the door at the bottom. You detect no hostile intent as your fairy wanders down the shaft. When she reaches the figurehead of the dragon, she sees that the mouth is indeed hollow and gapes deep inside the door. It is too dark to see inside it.

Dagir OnlyStonemasonry Knowledge score: 35

As you slowly make your way down the shaft, you note that the rock is the same as that of the mountain: a volcanic, igneous rock with many fissures running through it. The stone is dark, almost black, and is very dense, and probably heavy.

The fissures range from a millimeter in width to a full inch. You assume from your knowledge of stone that they were probably formed during the volcanic cooling process that formed the mountain.

***

The shaft appears relatively harmless as you traverse it, and this is confirmed when you reach the door in one piece. Cho'Gath's glowing fairy hovers there as if waiting for your arrival.

By the dim light of the torch lying at the bottom of the passage, you see that the device on the door appears to be a figure of a dragon's head, as Cho'Gath said.

Its mouth is wide open and forms a gaping circular hole about eight inches in diameter. A message is carved above the figurehead in what appears to be the same language that adorned the onyx obelisk and the granite capstone. You cannot discern its meaning.

Poking the door incurs no effect.

[Adunatar]

- Feel free, - replied Cho'Gath carelessly, not seeming to be offended even a bit.

He continued to monitor his fairy's progress, and, as it reached the door, shouted down the shaft, where Dagir was: - Mind if I direct my fairy further, into the hole in the door? Also, do you need the torch lying there? If not, I'd like the fairy to stick it into the hole, to see what's there.

[Dragodar]

Cho'Gath OnlyWhen you activated overchannel, how many manifester levels did you increase the spell by?

And what do you mean by "free"?

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath OnlyWhen you activated overchannel, how many manifester levels did you increase the spell by?

And what do you mean by "free"?

3 levels, the maximum allowed for Overchannel at ECL15. Free because of the Talented feat, that negates Overchannel damage (5d8 for three ML) for any power up to 3rd level.

EDIT: and another +1 ML is due to the Orange Ioun Stone

I suggest we ask and answer such questions in the OOC thread, going forward.

[devdog]

Lis will stay back until it is determined to be safe.

[Dragodar]

OOC
I suggest we ask and answer such questions in the OOC thread, going forward.

I agree, but nobody has been using the OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16496812#post16496812).

[Vetril]

Having reached the door, Dagir puts down the pole as he takes a few moments to examine it for anything out of place.
He rubs the ring he is wearing on his left hand, and then rubs it again after getting a good look around.
If he notices nothing important, he calls the others:

"You can come down. It should be safe".

Taking 10 on Search again (31 or 35 if concerning stone), I activate the X Ray vision ring for one round. I check if there is a trap behind the door like the previous bomb, or if the dragon's head is part of a trap; then I deactivate it.

[Dragodar]

Cho'Gath OnlyAs your fairy lifts the torch and raises it to the figure of the dragon head, you see a message engraved above it, written in Olde Arcanae script. It reads:


FEED THE DRAGON
Inside the mouth, the wide hole sinks about two feet into the door, which is obviously extremely thick, and at the back, you are able to make out what appear to be three vertical rods.

As you wait, you see Cho'Gath's fairy pick up Maervin's torch and use it to investigate the dragon head, while Dagir carefully inspects the door. After several moments, the dwarf shouts up the tunnel, "You can come down. It should be safe."

Dagir OnlyYou see no apparent signs of any traps, and when you activate your X-Ray vision, you are not quite able to make out what is on the other side of the door: it appears to be made of very thick stone.

In the mouth of the dragon, you see, about two feet deep inside the hole, three vertical rods which look almost like levers of some kind. Inside the rock of the door itself, you see a complex mechanism of gears and mechanics linked to the levers.

The left and right rods seem to possess systems of gears that work their ways out of the door and deep into the walls of the mountain, where you lose sight of them. The center lever appears to control a system that is attached to some kind of clamp, formed by hinges on the jaws of the dragon.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath turned his head back to the rest of the party.

- Anyone here knows Old Arcanae? The shaft door down there has an inscription that might be of some use, but I lack the knowledge to read it.

[Vamphyr]

Maervin will float down the tunnel once he hears the "All clear" from Dagir.


"Sorry, friend. Can't read it."

[distant quasar]

Cho'Gath turned his head back to the rest of the party.

- Anyone here knows Old Arcanae? The shaft door down there has an inscription that might be of some use, but I lack the knowledge to read it.

"I'll go take a look at it."

Silveshten flies calmly into the dungeon.

Knowledge Magic: [roll0]
Decipher Script: [roll1]
Whichever is needed...

[Dragodar]

Olde Arcanae, being the same language that was inscribe upon the obelisk and the capstone, is intelligible to both Cho'Gath and Silveshten.

Silveshten enters the tunnel and, squeezing slightly to get around Maervin and Dagir in the tight tunnel, approaches the door, squinting in the dim light to decipher the ancient writing.

Silveshten OnlyEngraved above the figure of the dragon's head is the short message:


FEED THE DRAGON
These are the only words on the door.

[distant quasar]

"Lovely," Silveshten mutters.

He straightens back up from his inspection of the door.

"All it says is 'Feed the Dragon.'"

[Vamphyr]

"Should we stuff a bit of meat in its mouth? The torch?" Maervin says looking at the others, and with a smile adds "Dagir's pinky finger? Eh? Eh? Maervin lightly elbows Dagir in the arm, laughing.

[devdog]

"I wouldn't be against feeding one of you to it, but they will probably become useful. Maybe it wouldn't mind a drink of blood or gems, or money, dragons like riches, right?" Lis pulls out a flask of blood for anyone who dares to try it.

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)



The frostmaiden replies back "In matters of weather, perhaps. If this island didn't block teleportation magic, there is more I might do. As it is, this door is probably best left to defter hands than mine."

[Dragodar]

As Dagir, Cho'Gath's fairy, Silveshten, Maervin, Lis, and the frost maiden stand in the crowded tunnel, those of you nearest the door see, by the light of the torch, that the mouth of the dragon is a deep hole, at the back of which stand three vertical rods which look very much like levers.

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

"Can any of you summon a creature capable of pulling the levers? If this place has as many traps as legends tell, it might not be worth risking our own arms."

[devdog]

"Umm, I can, but that might come more in handy, some other time."

[Vetril]

"Ah. Ah."

He pauses, thoughtful.

"It takes a lot of meat to feed a dragon. I believe we could forcefully stuff a human in there, provided he's thin enough."

Dagir gives Maevin the evil eye.

"You didn't come very prepared, did you?"

The dwarf grabs the rope hanging from his back, and extracts some metal tongs from his backpack. He prepares two slip-knots, one at each end of the rope. As he works, he comments:

"I've seen things like this before, but I needed to have a look to be sure. The central lever snaps close the dragon's jaw. Nasty, if your arm is inside. The other two control some mechanism that hopefully opens the door. I can't see the whole thing from here."

He uses the metal tongs to slip the knots on the two levers at the sides; then, his reinforced boots thumping against the floor, he walks back towards the entrance.

"You might want to put some distance between you and the door. Speculations are useful only if this mage followed common sense; there's always the chance that the central lever opens the door and the other two incinerate what's in front of the dragon's head. Now, before I pull the levers, does anyone have something to say?"

I use the rope to make two slip-knots - one at each extremity - which I position on the levers on the left and the right using the metal tongs. Then, I grab the rope by the center and step back as far as possible according to the terrain, without pulling the rope enough to move the levers (roughly 25 feet away). If no one objects, I pull the rope, activating both the levers at the same time.

Use Ropes: [roll0], [roll1].

[Vamphyr]

"I didn't come prepared for an occasion such as this because I knew you did, friend!" Maervin says cheerfully and floats out of the tunnel to give Dagir space to work.

"Oh, and if you find anything that needs to be broken, let me know! I'm particularly adept at breaking things from a distance!"

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath actually never went inside the tunnel, preferring to explore it remotely using his powers.

And, going forward, that's always going to be the case - assume Cho'Gath is safely hidden around the corner

Now that his fairy has expired already, he was simply viewing what others were doing, from a safe distance. Seeing Dagir volunteering to pull the levers, he shouted into the tunnel:

- My fairy could come useful in pulling the levers, if it doesn't go against your ways of doing things, Dagir. I know you're an old-fashioned chap on that, so be careful if you prefer to do it yourself.

[devdog]

"I don't know if that's the best idea, I think someone should use mage hand or a summon, so no one has to be near it." An has mage hand, or we could use Cho'Gath's fairy, which might not be good if it's like a familiar, or we could use my summon, a medium-sized devil

[Vetril]

"Suit yourselves. Less work for me."

Dagir points at the door, puts away his tongs, and starts to roll up the rope.

[Dragodar]

Dagir ties his ropes around the levers inside the mouth of the dragon. Standing back and watching in anticipation, you see him tug hard on the ropes.

The rope on the right yanks tight but refuses to move, while the left rope gives and the lever cranks hard.

A rumbling noise fills your ears for a split second...
...before the tunnel is closed off.

Near the entrance of the shaft (about ten feet into the tunnel), two of the fissures in the rock (about five feet from each other) widen suddenly, cracking open and allowing a large amount of stone between them to fall away, creating a five foot gap in the floor of the tunnel.

Simultaneously, two corresponding fissures in the ceiling split apart, allowing a five-foot-thick wall of rock to slide smoothly down into the crevice left in the floor, creating a solid wall of stone between the delvers and the exit.

Dagir, Silveshten, Maervin, and Lis are trapped inside, leaving Cho'Gath, Runo, Àn, and Syl outside.

The frost maiden, standing nearest the cave entrance when this occurs, has a chance to leap out before the wall of rock slams down.

OOCFrost Maiden, you have a choice: stay put and be trapped inside, or make a reflex saving throw to leap out before the wall of stone slides into place.

A successful save will allow you to escape unharmed.

Barely failing to meet the DC will result in your attempt to jump across, only to pull back just in time and remain trapped.

A drastic failure to meet the DC will result in your getting crushed by the massive falling slab of rock.

[devdog]

"Umm, can you try pulling the right one again, because otherwise it looks like we are trapped."

[Vamphyr]

"Dagir, would you mind examining this rock wall here, I think I can shatter chunks of it away to let our friends in, but I don't want to drop the roof on us." Maervin says calmly, turning to look at the newly formed rock wall.

[devdog]

"but, maybe another lever raises it again. Probably better to continue trying to open up more of the dungeon first, because there might be a fail safe if we destroy stuff that we aren't supposed to."

[Vamphyr]

"Very true, we'll try breaking the wall as a last resort then," Maervin says with a nod, turning back to watch Dagir work.

"No, Braddock! We most certainly won't have to resort to cannibalism!" He whispers angrily into his robe. "I don't care if you read about something similar happening to another party, it's not happening here! Don't be so negative."

[Vetril]

"Right. Somehow, I expected that."

Dagir walks back to the door to which the rope is secured. Using his metal tongs, he removes the knots from the levers. Then, he grabs his maul in two hands.

Do you mind if I get rid of the trapped head? I'd rather work safely with those levers.

[Vamphyr]

"Go for it. Anything to make your job easier."

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

The frost maiden turns to see the stone trap falling into place. If she's surprised, she doesn't show it as she watches the immense block of stone falling inches from her face dispassionately and then turns back to watch the others as they continue their work.

Yeah, reflex saves and me don't get along too well. I'll just stay put :)

[Vetril]

Dagir raises his maul to strike, but the weapon never hits the head. Grumbling, he reluctantly lowers it and straps it again to its cord.
The dwarf then pulls out a plain metallic rod from his backpack. If there's only one mobile part of the trap, Dagir places it between the teeth and manipulates the object for a couple of seconds. He lets it go and the rod remains completely immobile.

"Actually, I'm going to try to move the lever on the right. If that fails, I'll activate the central lever, so be ready for anything: the logic of this mechanism eludes me. In the case this door won't budge, I'll melt it, damn it."

Assuming the mouth couldn't close any longer, Dagir uses his tongs once again; muttering something in dwarven, he pushes the lever on the right; he pays attention not to stick his own arms in the mouth.

If no effect is produced within one minute, the dwarf pulls the lever in the middle using his rope and the tongs, again making sure his limbs are safe at all times.

[Dragodar]

Dagir, having successfully wedged the Immovable Rod in the jaws of the dragon, preventing them from closing, attempts to manipulate the levers inside. After some frustrated grunting and jerking, he appears unable to move either rod.

Dagir OnlyThe right lever doesn't budge in the slightest, but when you try the center rod, you feel a slight give on the lever -- only the tiniest wiggle, though. When you do this, you notice the slightest movement in the jaws of the dragon, but they are held fast by the rod.

While not entirely certain, a slight hunch creeps into your mind that the center rod, while certainly connected to the jaws, may not actually cause them to snap closed. It's possible that pulling the lever would slowly close the jaws, in proportion to the angle of degree at which the lever was pulled.

[Vetril]

Glad you understood I was using the immovable rod - I forgot to write it yesterday

"Ah ha! I think I am starting to understand how this thing works."

The dwarf touches the rod again, and removes it after a couple of moments. Then, he moves the knot from the right lever to the central one, using his tongs once again to avoid putting his hands within the dragon's mouth.

Once he is ready, he slowly pulls the rope, observing the result: if the jaw starts to slowly close, he points it out:

"See? It's not a conventional trap: it is just connected to the lever's rotation. I wonder if the intent was to force us to have the statue bite our arm in order to pull the lever completely - which Is what I will do now using the rope. So be ready."

That said, Dagir cautiously pulls the lever all the way towards himself, unless someone actually had something to object.

[Dragodar]

As Dagir pulls the center lever forward with his rope, the contraption reacts exactly as he predicted. As the lever moves, the jaws close at the same rate, producing a ratcheting sound like that of a winch.

When the jaws of the dragon, originally open about 8 inches apart, come within a little less than 4 inches of each other, you hear a soft click from inside the device.

[Gnarnia]

(Nameless)

Not hearing anything from the other side, the frost maiden places her hands on the stone wall which sealed off the tunnel. Ice builds up around the stone as she starts trying to chill it

Still don't have much I can do, but I'll try using winter's blast each round and see if it does anything. Cold damage only does 1/4 damage against objects (before hardness is applied), but I do have unlimited uses so maybe I'll slowy get somewhere with it. She needs to do more than 32 to do anything at all to it, but averages 47 damage per round at this temperature (after 75% reduction for cold damage against objects, and inherent hardness of 8 for hewn stone, she would average 3 damage per round so it would take... um... 180 rounds to break 3 feet of it :p)

[Dragodar]

The pale maiden places her icy hand upon the wall of stone which blocks te exit. Nothing significantly noticeable happens to the rock itself, but her hand seems to emit a dim pearlescent glow, so faint that it could be a trick of the light, as she channels her magic.

OOC
(Nameless)

Not hearing anything from the other side, the frost maiden places her hands on the stone wall which sealed off the tunnel. Ice builds up around the stone as she starts trying to chill it

Still don't have much I can do, but I'll try using winter's blast each round and see if it does anything. Cold damage only does 1/4 damage against objects (before hardness is applied), but I do have unlimited uses so maybe I'll slowy get somewhere with it. She needs to do more than 32 to do anything at all to it, but averages 47 damage per round at this temperature (after 75% reduction for cold damage against objects, and inherent hardness of 8 for hewn stone, she would average 3 damage per round so it would take... um... 180 rounds to break 3 feet of it :p)

Your math is correct, assuming you guessed that stats of the stone correctly. But keep in mind that different materials react differently to cold. You'll have to wait and see if you want any confirmation on its effects (im not going to tell you here and now if it works) but remember that this stone is the same material as the mountain. Mountains typically last for thousands of years, covered in snow and at high altitude, and very seldom are damaged by the cold.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath was visibly annoyed by the fact that the party was split. He paced back and forth near the now-sealed exit, not sure whether to start pulling his team-mates out of the tunnel, or to give them some time to somehow figure things out by themselves. Then it occurred to him that they might start to move inside the tunnel rather than outside - or maybe they simply couldn't find a way to get rid of the stone wall. Not content with sitting idly, he concentrated on the stone block that sealed the passage, which immediately got covered with a thin sheet of low-humming ectoplasm, and started to erode inch by inch.

Wanna get back into the action! Energy Wall power, Sonic version, duration is Concentration + round/level, so it's essentially unlimited as long as I concentrate. Each round the wall is damaged for 2d4, ignoring hardness. Might take a while, but it's better that just sitting there doing nothing. Assuming average 5 damage per round, that's 108 rounds to pass 3 feet of stone, or 18 minutes.

[Dragodar]

Characters Outside the TunnelAs Cho'Gath's spell begins to take effect, you hear a deep hum and feel a powerul vibration in the ground below you. It starts in your feet and radiates through your body and you can feel the subsonic waves in your chest cavities.

It is plain that this spell is powerful indeed, and if you can feel it as clearly as you do, you can only imagine what it must be doing to the rock face directly in front of it. Within seconds of its activation, clouds of dust begin falling out of the rock in fromt of the energy wall. It seems that the wall is eroding under the vibration, albeit agonizingly slowly.

Characters Inside the TunnelSeveral seconds after the ice maiden places her hand on the wall, you hear a deep hum and feel a powerful vibration emanating through the rock all around you. It feels as though its point of origin is within the rock face that blocks your exit.

[devdog]

"That doesn't sound like it can be good, Dagir, can you hurry up in there before this room collapses?"

[Dragodar]

Damage Aginst Wall[roll0]

MechanicsThe strong igneous rock that forms this mountain is of sturdier composition than average stone, containing 20 HP per inch of thickness (5x5 foot square). Averaging 5 damage per round from 2d6-2, it should take you 240 rounds, or 24 minutes, to erode the whole 5-foot-thick wall.

Concentration DC to maintain the spell is 13. With your +23 modifier, you auto-succeed even on a Natural 1. But every 20 minutes, the Concentration DC goes up by 1 (because of the difficulty of maintaining a spell for extended periods of time) so for the last 4 minutes (or 40 rounds) it will be possible for you to fail by rolling a Natural 1. So while there's no need to roll now, when we reach that "four-minute warning" you'll have to start rolling Concentration checks every round to maintain it.

[Vetril]

Dagir turns his head as soon as he hears the humming noise coming from behind.

"What's that? Did we spring another trap?

He puts a hand on his maul and stands still. He listens to the noise, trying to understand if it means danger.

Listen: take 10 for 24.

[devdog]

"If it's danger I'll take care of it, just keep working, it might stop when you figure that out, but either way, we are safer once the trap you are working on is solved."

[Gnarnia]

(Frost Maiden)

"I've been trying to find a way to break through this slab of rock that fell behind us. It's likely that our companions on the other side are trying to do the same."

[Dragodar]

Dagir onlyAs you listen, you hear some kind of deep humming and you feel a powerful vibration in the mountainside. Whatever it is, you conjecture that if there were any weaknesses in the stone of the mountain, the vibration could cause some kind of collapse. However, the tunnel appears to be holding up fine so far.

[Vetril]

The dwarf seems worried. As he dedicates his attention to the dragon head, he warns the others:

"Well, you better make it stop. Do you see all those cracks in the mountain? Vibrations could make the tunnel collapse, and goodbye to all of us."

That said, Dagir tries to insert his tongs between the dragon's jaws. If possible, he recovers the slip knot and puts it on the last lever. Once done, he tries to pull it.

[devdog]

"Well, if that door breaks this room might collapse, that's how some old ruins are made, normally, I wouldn't mind, but I'm inside the room that will be collapsing."

[Gnarnia]

(Frost Maiden)

"Do you have a way to communicate with those still trapped outside?"

[devdog]

"Opening the door which Dagir is trying to do, I think, all the spellcasters stayed back and got trapped outside."

[Dragodar]

Damage Against Wall[roll0]
[roll1]

[Dragodar]

Damage Against Wall[roll0]
[roll1]

[Dragodar]

Almost an entire inch of rock already seems to be worn away by the mysterious ectoplasmic wall. The delvers inside the tunnel feel the vibration even more strongly as it erodes more of the rock.

[Dragodar]

Damage Against Wall[roll0]

[Gnarnia]

OOC: Just wanted to check if you saw Dagir's next attempt on pulling the levers

[Dragodar]

OOCI did, but i forgot that i hadnt already posted a reply xD sorry

Characters Inside the TunnelAs Dagir attempts to move the lever on the right, a mechanical click, followed by the whir of gears, buzzes from the dragon head. The dragon head recedes into the door like a turtle's head into its shell and the door begins to slide slowly into the ground with a deep grating noise.

As it lowers, you see that it is about 5 feet thick. On the other side, you see another stone wall. As the door reaches about the halfway point in its descent into the ground, the wall behind it also begins to lower. As this wall reaches its own halfway point, you see another wall behind it also begin to lower. The thick stone doors open in a staggered formation, eventually revealing a stretch of tunnel nearly twenty feet deep where the doors used to lie.

The ground itself is made up five by five foot slabs, the tops of the doors which sunk into the ground. There are four of them, all the way down the hall.

Characters Outside the WallAs clouds of dust and chips of stone pour from the stone wall under the force of Cho'Gath's Energy Wall, you hear a deep grating sound, as of stone on stone, from inside the mountain.

[Dragodar]

Damage Against Wall[roll0]

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath was visibly worried by the sounds coming from inside the tunnel, yet he maintained the concentration on his wall-eating power.

- We must hurry to get inside! They're doing something there, they might need our help! Heck, the tunnel might be crushing them as we speak!

[devdog]

"Dagir see if you can get those levers to do anything, I'll see if I can brute force this door out." I should auto hit with all my attacks if it's small or bigger, so I'll just roll for damage. [roll0]

[Dragodar]

OOC
"Dagir see if you can get those levers to do anything, I'll see if I can brute force this door out." I should auto hit with all my attacks if it's small or bigger, so I'll just roll for damage. [roll0]

Wait, what exactly are you attacking?

[Dragodar]

Damage Against Wall[roll0]

[devdog]

OOC

Wait, what exactly are you attacking?
The door in between us and the rest of the party. and I will do the same attack every round.

[Dragodar]

The door in between us and the rest of the party. and I will do the same attack every round.


Got it. I'll let you know when/if it has an effect.

[devdog]

I forgot, I get 1 more d6 +12, so 4d6+48 each round.

[Vetril]

Dagir removes the rope from the dragon's mouth if he has the time; if not, he cuts the shortest length possible of the rope.

"All done. The passage is open. Any luck with the stone wall down there?"

[Dragodar]

Dagir manages to snip off a foot of rope before the dragon head is pulled underground. The passage ahead is pitch black, and it feels dry, like long-dead bones. A musty smell drifts from it, and you realize that this passage has been closed for thousands of years.

***

Several minutes pass as Cho'Gath's Energy Wall slowly erodes the stone away.

It is making progress, albeit slow progress.

[devdog]

"Not really, Dagir, can you scout ahead, maybe take some else with you, like umm Silveshten?" Lis continues wailing away at the wall.

[Gnarnia]

(Frost Maiden)

"Does anyone here have adamantine weaponry? Or good at sacrificing accuracy in one's attacks for raw power?"

[devdog]

"My one blade is as adamantine against constructs, but I don't think that's what you are looking for."

[Vetril]

Dagir examines what he sees of the passage, including the walls and the ceiling. He puts away his metal tongs and secures his rope; then, he extracts a small sacket from his bag. He takes out a marble from it, and pushes it down the passage.

Dagir has Darkvision, so he should be able to see. Take 10 on Search (total 31) and Spot (total 28).

[Dragodar]

The hallway is 25 to 30 feet long. Each of the four doors which sunk into the ground now makes up a five by five foot tile of the hallway, which is five feet wide. (The floor is essentially the tops of the huge slabs of stone which slid away when you opened the dragon).

At the end of the passage, there appears to be a hole in the ground, taking up the width of the tunnel. Beyond that, it is a dead end.

[Dragodar]

Damage Against Wall[roll0]

[Dragodar]

Characters Inside the TunnelOOCWill each of you please roll one Reflex save and two Fortitude saves? Thank you.

[Vamphyr]

Reflex:
[roll0]

Fortitude:
[roll1]
[roll2]

[devdog]

Reflex: [roll0]
Fort1: [roll1] (Mind over body)
Fort2: [roll2]

[Gnarnia]

Reflex: [roll0]
Fort1: [roll1]
Fort2: [roll2]

[Vetril]

Reflex: [roll0]

Fortitude: [roll1]
Fortitude: [roll2]

[Destiny reached]

"Enough of this," Àn says decisively. He places a a calm hand two feet away from the stone, making sure no one is in between him and the object, and utters, "Bēngkuì."
He has cast Disintegrate.

[Dragodar]

Silvehten's Rolls

Reflex [roll0]
Fortitude 1 [roll1]
Fortitude 2 [roll2]

[Dragodar]

A deep rumbling sound emanates from inside the mountain, and in the blink of an eye, the mountainside collapses completely.

Those outside see only a total cave-in of the side of the mountain, but those inside feel its effects much more intimately.

As the ceiling of the cavern collapses, a huge pocket of acid above it collapses and is released into the rubble.

Dagir, a tough and hearty fellow, is fairly resilient to the damage caused by both the massive amount of stone on top of him and the acid that pours down over his flesh.

Lis Grey and the White Walker are severely hurt by the weight of the mountainside upon them, but manage to somewhat resist the burn of the acid.

Maervin and Silveshten are both crushed and burned severely.

DamageDagir:Stone Crush: Saved
Acid Burn: Saved [roll1]
Lis:Stone Crush: Saved [roll2]
Acid Burn: Failed [roll]10d4
White Walker:Stone Crush: Saved [roll3]
Acid Burn: Failed [roll4]
Maervin:Stone Crush: Failed [roll5]
Acid Burn: Failed [roll6]
Silveshten:Stone Crush: Failed [roll7]
Acid Burn: Failed [roll8]
You will continue to roll saves against crushing damage every 3 rounds until you are free, and you will continue to roll saves against acid damage every round until you are free.

The adventurers outside the tunnel see a gruesome sight. After the initial collapse and the screams that result from it, a thick, black acrid smoke begins to pour out of the pile of rubble to the sound of more screams.

[Dragodar]

OOCFor some reason, it didn't roll the acid damage for Lis. Here:
[roll0]

Happy New Year, everyone!

[Dragodar]

Under the crushing weight of the rubble and the burning deluge of acid, Maervin makes a desperate bid for freedom. With a small pop, he vanishes.

[roll0]

[kinem]

"Oh, no! Our shields are in trouble!" Runo Moore notes, observing the action outside on his flying carpet.

The halfling casts a spell. It takes a full six seconds to cast, and then four troll skeletons appear. "Clear away that rubble!" he orders them.

Summon Undead V, 15 rounds.

Happy new year!

[Dragodar]

The newly carnated beings get to work at the command of their master, making slow but steady progress.

Within the first six seconds, they have cleared away a five-by-five foot hole about four feet deep.

[devdog]

Lis trys to crawl out towards tunnel.

Escape Artist check: [roll0]
Fort Save for acid: [roll1]

[Dragodar]

Lis is able to wriggle out of her position under the rubble, and makes some headway through the stones. She makes it about five feet. (in the first round)

OOCYou'll have to make an Escape Artist check every round to move five feet. You're about fifteen feet from the open passage. (Already got Lis)

[kinem]

Runo casts the same spell again, summoning four more troll skeletons to help with the digging. He continues to do so for the next several rounds unless evidence presents itself that someone has a better idea.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath dismissed the now-useless Energy Wall, and transformed himself into an Umber Hulk. The giant insectoid immediately started to burrow down into the rubble, trying to keep in the general direction of the tunnel, looking for any survivors.

Umber Hulks have movement mode Burrow 20' (only 5' through solid stone, but I don't think that's the case with the rubble), and can leave an usable tunnel behind if they wish to. I don't, as it will be filled with rubble immediately anyway

[Gnarnia]

Is the acid continuing to eat away at us, or has it largely stopped? Do we have enough room to cast spells with somatic components, or are we pinned beneath the rubble? And Happy New Years everyone :)

[Dragodar]

Runo's minions continue to make steady progress as Cho'Gath, in his new form, burrows into the ground.

OOCFortitude Saves, everybody in the rubble.

[Adunatar]

[roll0] - using Elan's Superior Resistance for +6 bonus

EDIT: also, did I found anyone yet?

[Vetril]

Fortitude: [roll0].

Can you answer the questions I made in the OOC thread though? Without knowing what my character is able to do, I can't choose a line of action.

[Gnarnia]

Here's my fort save, but I too had some questions above about what actions I can take right now. If it's possible to cast, I can drop the temperature further (I was planning to anyways) to try and freeze the acid so that it stops burning us if still ongoing.

[roll0]

[Dragodar]

MechanicsSilveshten's RollsFort Save: [roll1]

EDIT: rolled for maervin, then remembered he's a goner. deleted his rolls, thats why there's an error message

[Dragodar]

Cho'Gath, Dagir, and the White Walker manage to resist the burns of the acid and only take minimal damage, but Silveshten is severely burned.

MechanicsCho'Gath Damage[roll0]

Dagir Damage[roll1]

White Walker Damage[roll2]

Silveshten Damage[roll3]

Cho'Gath OnlyYou do not find anyone this round, but you hear struggling to your left.

[Adunatar]

Cho'Gath, hissing quietly at the acid burns, continued his excavation, turning to the left, where he heard a glimpse of rustling in the rubble.

[Dragodar]

As Cho'Gath scuttles through the rubble, he finds the struggling form of the frost maiden buried within.

Runo's minions clear another four feet of depth within the five by five foot hole. It is now 8 feet deep.

OOCEveryone in the rubble, please roll 3 Fortitude Saves. One for Acid Damage, one for Crushing Damage, and one for more Acid Damage (i forgot one round's worth of acid damage earlier)

[Gnarnia]

The frost maiden crawls from the rubble, looking annoyed at this turn of events. She steps aside to let the umber hulk continue its excavations and waiting for a clear passage back to the tomb interior.

I'm back. Who do we have still here?

[Adunatar]

As this Cho'Gath's form was not capable of speech, he simply grunted and motioned the maiden to follow him, as he started to tunnel upwards, out of the rubble.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
Using Elan's Resilience on two of the rolls (as they occur in different rounds)

[devdog]

fort:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
escape artist:
[roll3]