Operation: Graystone #7

[GM Mad]

Operation: Graystone #7

April 13th, CR 569


Wyvern Squad has found Chimera Squad and together both are attempting to escape this ancient dwarven trap. Chimera Squad led Wyvern Squad back to the place where they encountered the Stone Dwarf, a 9' tall statue that resembles a dwarf except it has a hammer and a pick for hands.

Vernar takes a step into the chamber and the guardian pays him no heed. Butternut takes a step in and the Stone Dwarf starts to move after her! Once far enough away, the guardian gives up and returns to its post.

Further back in the room one of the goblins had a ring on its finger. Vernar takes the ring and when he does, the ring flashes as do the guardian's eyes. Inscribed in dwarven runes is the world 'control' on the ring's band. When the ring is picked up the ring,the Stone Dwarf's eyes flash for a moment.

While Vernar takes this in, the others talk about ways to circumvent the guardian either by running or by avoiding stepping in the hallway. Instead, Vernar decides to try and use the ring. He steps up to the golem and thinks the commands that he wishes the guardian to perform. The Stone Dwarf remains perfectly still.

Next Vernar says aloud in dwarven that the Stone Dwarf should go stand in the far corner. This time the guardian turns and walks over into the corner as ordered! As it moves Vernar adds for the guardian to stay there.

A volunteer is sought to determine if the Stone Dwarf will remain in the corner when non-dwarves get near. Surprisingly, Wimzy steps forward.

“Let's get one thing straight, Rocky,” the halfling priestess says to the guardian. “You don't try to squish me and I won't have to punch you!”

The Stone Dwarf does not respond to Wimzy nor to anyone else and everyone can safely enter the hallway and proceed through the open doors.

The chamber beyond is as Vernar earlier described it. There are defensive positions where defenders could attack those approaching from this direction, but no one is around right now. The far doors are high and wide and sturdily built. They are large enough for the Stone Dwarf to pass through.

Those who try and pull the ring on the doors find that they cannot move. There does not appear to be a locking mechanism, at least on this side of the doors. Those skilled with such things come to believe that this door is barred on the other side.


Now what?

[Vardra]

Vardra Marcus, PFC

“Alas my tale is far less interesting than yours,” Sorvani states. “I was born and raised in Kingsport, the major seaport to the south. My father was a fisherman and my mother a cook. They both worked far too hard to have so little. I was smart enough to avoid that fate and was accepted as a student by Terari, the master of the Kingsport School of Magecraft. After graduating, I heard about this wonderful 'opportunity' to sign up with the army. I figured I could gain some experience and wealth instead of just going out looking for random adventure.”

"Sounds like we have a lot in common, Sorvani," Vardra says with a smile. "I grew up in Kingsport as well. My mother's family runs a small shipping business there, so I grew up around the ships and the docks. Didn't really have a 'head for business', and I was more interested in being a soldier anyway."

“If we are going to make a run for it, we need a place to run to,” Sorvani continues. “If what beyond that door is a just a dead end, than we are back to where we started.

Vardra feels a sense of validation hearing his own words come out of the mouth of this new companion. "Exactly."

"I looked at what lay beyond," Vernar says, and describes what he spied from his vantage point. "Those double doors could be locked or barred, and t'is not worth the risk of trappin' ourselves in such a space. Though we may not need worry 'bout such a plan," he adds, tapping the ring he retrieved.

"Runes on it say 'control'," the dwarf reveals. "So I'mma see if I can herd it into the back corner. Let's hope it don't mean the guardian be controllin' me," he says the last with a wry smile, then turns and walks back into the hall.

Vardra doesn't like the sound of those double doors; he too is concerned about the possibility of being trapped in that room. "Amen to that."

Fortunately, the ring does work just as Vernar suspected. He commands the stone dwarf back into a corner of the hallway, and they are able to pass. Vardra keeps his eyes locked on the statue the whole time, watching for any sign of it moving while they cross. First Wimzy crosses, and then each of them in turn, yet the golem never moves. Vardra offers up a small prayer of thanks to Helm for their safety.

Vardra joins Vernar and Kendell in trying to pull the doors open, but it quickly proves to be fruitless. There seems no way for him to help with opening them, so he moves back to the head of the stairs and takes up watch of the tunnel from which they came.

[Erisciana]

Erisciana -

Erisci regards the man again for a moment silently, cocking her head slightly to the side. "Your perception is not without accuracy," she responds. "I am not from Cynalon. I hail from the Golden Coast. My home is Zakhara, the Land of Fate. Far to the west. Past the mountains of Hule. My family is from the city of Huzuz, the City of Delights," she will answer with a smile. "Ishtar is the goddess of Love and also of War. She is known to us as the 'Queen of Heaven'."

“I have only heard passing takes of distant Zakhara,” Sorvani admits. “You are very far from your home, Priestess. I've never heard of most of those places and your patron does sound like an interesting conundrum. At first glance, love and war do not seem to be related at all, but really they are two sides of the proverbial coin. Strong emotions can drive one to either extreme.”

"I may obviously be biased," the priestess begins with a smile, "but much of Zakhara is beautiful to behold. And indeed I am far from home. It is a tale to tell, perhaps after we have egressed from this 'lovely diversion' we find ourselves in." She pauses for a moment. "Many people think of love and war as opposite forces. On the surface they may be. But we have been taught they are also 'two sides of a single-sided coin'."She nods her head slightly indicating that there is more to tell, another time.

Sorvani and Vardra both indicate they are from the same home city. And Erisciana smiles slightly at Sorvani's humor.

After some discussion, Vernar decides to use the ring with the 'control' keyword and it works. The Stone Dwarf is commanded to move to the corner and ignore them. The priestess is still somewhat wary even after Wimzy tests the level of control by walking into the hall. Erisciana keeps an eye on the statue to see if it makes any move whatsoever and wonders if there is a limit to the control range.

The doors remain closed after all attempts to open them. Likely barred, the group concludes.

Erisciana considers for a moment. "We seem to be at an impasse of sorts. It's unfortunate that we do not have a large stone companion with a giant hammer to batter down that door which we cannot bypass," she says with a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips.

[Kendell]

Kendell:

"Hopefully it does not come to that. I am afraid that we would lose one or several of our number should it come to that. Ideally we can escape without more casualties."

“Only have to be faster than the bear,” Kendell drawls with a shrug.

Turns out running won't be needed as the ring the dwarf found seems to control the big statue like a puppet!

“Well I'll be hornswoggled!” Kendell declares in astonishment. “That little thing controls that big thing?”

While Kendell is trying to wrap his mind around that thought, the halfling priestess volunteers to go first!

A volunteer is sought to determine if the Stone Dwarf will remain in the corner when non-dwarves get near. Surprisingly, Wimzy steps forward.

“Let's get one thing straight, Rocky,” the halfling priestess says to the guardian. “You don't try to squish me and I won't have to punch you!”

That brings a chuckle from the large farm boy. “That there's one tough little lady! Reminds me of some of my cousins!”

Eventually everyone goes in and is not reduced to pulp by the giant dwarf. A new challenge faces us as the doors to the far room are closed and seemed to be locked in some manner.

“I thought for sure that we could pull these barn doors open!” Kendell says in exasperation. “Maybe if we all pull on them. Perhaps tie a rope to the pull rings and give it a good pull?”

[Sorvani]

Sorvani:

"Elemental specialist, really," Butternut replies, thinking back on her early training with Carbunkle, the gnome mage. "I seem to have a...connection to the nature, and this is part of it. Sharing spells does seem like a good idea, though. Ren is a mage as well, so maybe he'd be willing to share too."

“I can't say that I've run into an elementalist before,” Sorvani notes. “At this point other than finding someone's spell book swapping is the only way we can gain more spells. Between us we should have a few new ones.”

Sorvani's comments are insightful, and Butternut pauses to consider them. "I don't know, but I've heard ancient tales of the lands to the east -- none of them good, so perhaps you're right."

“The Keln lands?” Sorvani says. “Big stories about those. Large battles and your basic stuff of legends or so I have heard.”

The priestess Erisciana speaks of her homeland.

"I may obviously be biased," the priestess begins with a smile, "but much of Zakhara is beautiful to behold. And indeed I am far from home. It is a tale to tell, perhaps after we have egressed from this 'lovely diversion' we find ourselves in." She pauses for a moment. "Many people think of love and war as opposite forces. On the surface they may be. But we have been taught they are also 'two sides of a single-sided coin'."She nods her head slightly indicating that there is more to tell, another time.

“There is nothing wrong with pride in ones home,” Sorvani notes. “But as you say, this is a conversation for another time.”

"Sounds like we have a lot in common, Sorvani," Vardra says with a smile. "I grew up in Kingsport as well. My mother's family runs a small shipping business there, so I grew up around the ships and the docks. Didn't really have a 'head for business', and I was more interested in being a soldier anyway."

“Who would have thought that?” Sorvani notes in regards to he and Vardra having the same hometown. “Alas, Kingsport is a busy if not overcrowded city. Easy to believe that our paths never crossed before. We get through this we'll have to do a little fishing.”

Vernar experiments with the ring he found and discovers that it controls the guardian! He commands it to stand off in a corner and to not harm us. Amazingly the magical construct obliges!

“Well I'll be hornswoggled!” Kendell declares in astonishment. “That little thing controls that big thing?”

“So it seems,” Sorvani notes in surprise. “Thank the gods you had a dwarf with you!”

One problem has been resolved, but a new on rears its ugly head! The doors in the far room are seeming secured from the other side. Kendell, not surprisingly, suggests brute force to solve the problem. The priestess from Zakhara offers another one.

Erisciana considers for a moment. "We seem to be at an impasse of sorts. It's unfortunate that we do not have a large stone companion with a giant hammer to batter down that door which we cannot bypass," she says with a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips.

“Yes, if only,” Sorvani adds with a chuckle.

[Kaylessa]

Kaylessa

Next Vernar says aloud in dwarven that the Stone Dwarf should go stand in the far corner. This time the guardian turns and walks over into the corner as ordered! As it moves Vernar adds for the guardian to stay there.

A volunteer is sought to determine if the Stone Dwarf will remain in the corner when non-dwarves get near. Surprisingly, Wimzy steps forward.

“Let's get one thing straight, Rocky,” the halfling priestess says to the guardian. “You don't try to squish me and I won't have to punch you!”
Kaylessa remains quiet as the dwarf decides to dawn the ring among the others suggestions. She watches in anticipation as Vernar begins to command the statue. The statue in turn thumps to the corner and stands there as a volunteer is called for, she is about to step forward as Wimzy steps forward.
Much to her surprise it stays put! “Sorvani you were right!” she exclaims giving the mage a quick hug.

Those who try and pull the ring on the doors find that they cannot move. There does not appear to be a locking mechanism, at least on this side of the doors. Those skilled with such things come to believe that this door is barred on the other side.

Moving forward, Kaylessa looks to the doors, her eyes moving across it and the surrounding sides. Her eyes narrow as she looks in slight frustration and then the others are there pulling upon the doors. “There is no lock that I can see. It is definitely barred.”
The the war priestess speaks of a possible way of doing so. Albeit loudly. “I would have to agree with Erisciana, while waiting on the others, she will call out to Vernar, “See if the statue can push the door open.”

[Lucyus]

Lucyus
Lucyus watches as V ernar moves forward and dawns the ring with encouragement from those around him. For several long moments the statue does not move but then begins to move to the corner and stands there like a child.
Wimzy soon steps forward to test the statues behavior, a smile coming to his lips as he admires her moxy and daring, and it does not move!
“Heironous be praised. Or perhaps Vernar.”he says with a growing smile as more of the others go toward the double doors.
Lucyus takes up the rear and watches their flank as the others work upon the door.

[Butternut]

Butternut:

“I can't say that I've run into an elementalist before,” Sorvani notes. “At this point, other than finding someone's spell book, swapping is the only way we can gain more spells. Between us we should have a few new ones.”

Butternut shrugs. "I'm all for it."

“The Keln lands?” Sorvani says. “Big stories about those. Large battles and your basic stuff of legends or so I have heard.”

"I didn't recall the name, but that sounds about right, Sorvani. I'm not really much of a historian."

===

"I looked at what lay beyond," Vernar says, and describes what he spied from his vantage point. "Those double doors could be locked or barred, and t'is not worth the risk of trappin' ourselves in such a space. Though we may not need worry 'bout such a plan," he adds, tapping the ring he retrieved.

"Runes on it say 'control'," the dwarf reveals. "So I'mma see if I can herd it into the back corner. Let's hope it don't mean the guardian be controllin' me," he says the last with a wry smile, then turns and walks back into the hall.

Butternut listens as their dwarven co-leader and nods. "I'd rather not get trapped between locked doors and a murderous stone golem, myself. Could get messy, but I doubt that's going to happen. The golem doesn't have a mind, so it wouldn't be able to control you. Still, some caution is warranted."

Vernar is able to command the golem into a corner of the passage. Wimzy volunteers to be first to cross.

“Let's get one thing straight, Rocky,” the halfling priestess says to the guardian. “You don't try to squish me and I won't have to punch you!”

"Go get 'im, girl!" Butternut does her best to encourage her fellow halfling woman.

That brings a chuckle from the large farm boy. “That there's one tough little lady! Reminds me of some of my cousins!”

Butternut turns to the large warrior. "We may be small, but it is often a mistake to underestimate halflings."

Within a few minutes, the entire group has crossed to the small room and are milling about in front of the doors. A few of the warriors attempt to pull the doors open, but they remain shut. After some moments, it is determined that they are barred on the other side.

“I thought for sure that we could pull these barn doors open!” Kendell says in exasperation. “Maybe if we all pull on them. Perhaps tie a rope to the pull rings and give it a good pull?”

Butternut chuckles. Apparently the large warrior only sees one way to do something. "More pulling is unlikely to be more successful than what you have already done. I'm pretty certain the three of you are the strongest ones in the group, so the rest of us won't add much to that."

Erisciana considers for a moment. "We seem to be at an impasse of sorts. It's unfortunate that we do not have a large stone companion with a giant hammer to batter down that door which we cannot bypass," she says with a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips.

The the war priestess speaks of a possible way of doing so. Albeit loudly. “I would have to agree with Erisciana, while waiting on the others, she will call out to Vernar, “See if the statue can push the door open.”

Listening to Erisciana and Kaylessa, Butternut has visions of a shattered door lying in tatters behind them. "Let's not be hasty to destroy the doors; we might want them functional later. Perhaps keep that as a backup plan and try to find other options, such as having the scouts search for pressure plates or something of that sort."

If they're willing to wait a few minutes, Butternut will start searching the stonework in the room for any oddities.

[Vardra]

Vardra Marcus, PFC

“Who would have thought that?” Sorvani notes in regards to he and Vardra having the same hometown. “Alas, Kingsport is a busy if not overcrowded city. Easy to believe that our paths never crossed before. We get through this we'll have to do a little fishing.”

Vardra smiles, clearly pleased by the idea. "You got yourself a deal there, Sorvani. I'll be interested to see what you use for bait and tackle. Every fisherman has their favorites."

“Heironous be praised. Or perhaps Vernar.”he says with a growing smile as more of the others go toward the double doors.

"Quite so," Vardra says. "Heironeous is a great patron to warriors; he's one of my favorite deities."

Butternut chuckles. Apparently the large warrior only sees one way to do something. "More pulling is unlikely to be more successful than what you have already done. I'm pretty certain the three of you are the strongest ones in the group, so the rest of us won't add much to that."

Vardra nods in agreement. "We didn't budge the doors as all. If we had gotten some movement and they had seemed at least close to giving way, then I would think we might have a chance to pull them open. Under the circumstances, I don't think there's much chance of that."

[Vernar]

Vernar -

Vernar slips on the ring and doesn't feel any different. The stone guardian does not indicate that it has any desire to do anything Vernar suggests mentally. However, when the dwarf starts giving it commands aloud, it complies. Once safely in the corner, Wimzy volunteers and makes her way into the room beyond. Vernar smiles at her manner, but does not risk anything more lest he lose control of the stone dwarf.

As Vernar moves into the room, the guardian does not seem to react further, and the dwarf figures until another command is uttered, or the ring removed, that nothing else will happen. A quick check of the double doors shows there is no going through them at the moment, until suggestions start coming from the others.

Erisciana considers for a moment. "We seem to be at an impasse of sorts. It's unfortunate that we do not have a large stone companion with a giant hammer to batter down that door which we cannot bypass," she says with a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips.

The the war priestess speaks of a possible way of doing so. Albeit loudly. “I would have to agree with Erisciana, while waiting on the others, she will call out to Vernar, “See if the statue can push the door open.”

Listening to Erisciana and Kaylessa, Butternut has visions of a shattered door lying in tatters behind them. "Let's not be hasty to destroy the doors; we might want them functional later. Perhaps keep that as a backup plan and try to find other options, such as having the scouts search for pressure plates or something of that sort."

"I must agree with Butternut," Vernar replies, "we should ensure there be no way through on this side first. If not, we can batter'm doors down soon enough."

Vernar will check around, looking for more runes, traps, or anything that might give a clue as to how to get the doors open from this side. He will also be thinking of the best way to force the doors open without completely rendering them useless should it come to using the stone dwarf to get us all through.

[GM Mad]

Small Update:

The doors in the room past the Stone Dwarf are given a closer look. No runes are noted, nor any traps or pressure plates. The doors themselves are at least 8 inches thick wood reinforced with metal bands. The hings to the doors are on the other side, so that tells you that these doors have to be pushed open instead of pulled.

Pushing moves them just a little, but only an inch or two. In the gap between the doors when they are pushed the large wooden beam acting as the bar can clearly be seen. The beam seems to be about ten inches square in thickness!

Now what?

[Vardra]

Vardra Marcus, PFC

When they prove unable to pull the doors open, a suggestion is made to try pushing them. Once again, Kendall lines up on one side of the seam where the two doors meet, and Vardra and Vernar line up on the other. Vernar gives the signal, and they all push as hard as they can. The heavy doors start to move, but only give a few inches before reaching their limit. From his position at the edge of the door, Vardra has a good look at the small gap and the large beam barring the doors.

After a few moments rest and thought, Vardra puts forward an idea. "That is a really heavy-looking beam blocking the doors, but I think it may be possible to shift it enough to topple it out of the brackets. We would need something thin, but strong that we could stick through the gap and lift. Vernar, it seems like you mentioned earlier that you found a few extra weapons back where we fell into that disgusting pool. Were any of them swords?"

If a spare sword is produced, Vardra will hand it to Kendell. "I think you're the strongest of us, so you should do the lifting. Vernar and I will push the door just enough to let you slide it through. Then, position it under the bar and try to lift the bar by raising the sword. Okay?"

[Vernar]

Vernar -

If a spare sword is produced, Vardra will hand it to Kendell. "I think you're the strongest of us, so you should do the lifting. Vernar and I will push the door just enough to let you slide it through. Then, position it under the bar and try to lift the bar by raising the sword. Okay?"

After Vernar fishes the extra weapon from his pack, he offers a point for consideration. "We must be careful jus' how far we push because too much 'n that bar then be tight up against those brackets. Still, if we get enough fer the blade to slip through, then it might jus' be workable."

Once the rest are ready, Vernar will move to push open the door just enough for the blade to slide through and hope Kendell can get enough leverage to make the bar lift out of the way.

[Erisciana]

Erisciana -

Some of the group want to try and keep the door intact. The priestess thinks that if they are concerned about what's on the other side of the door getting in here then their problems are large indeed.

"I must agree with Butternut," Vernar replies, "we should ensure there be no way through on this side first. If not, we can batter'm doors down soon enough."

"A few moments either way should not make a difference," Erisciana concurs. "This entire place is a challenge to be sure. I would like to depart as soon as reasonable, I am sure most of us would agree."

Granted it would only take a few minutes to check for some other method of opening the doors, but they are unable to find anything of the sort.

The next decision is to try and remove the bar from this side. The doors are massive and banded and the bar is thick and likely heavy. If the bar is as wide as the width of the double doors, Kendall would need to possess the strength of a god to lift the bar from a distance through the barely open doors.

"With any luck, the bar holding those doors is shorter than the entire width. That would be considerably less weight to move. Is it possible to create some sort of fulcrum to ease Kendall's burden in lifting?" Erisciana looks to the stone dwarf again and considers some additional options, while she waits to see if the current plan is successful.

[Kendell]

Kendell:

Butternut turns to the large warrior. "We may be small, but it is often a mistake to underestimate halflings."

“No offense meant to you and your kin, ma'am,” Kendell drawls. “From up here all the girls here are little ladies, regardless of race.”

Butternut chuckles. Apparently the large warrior only sees one way to do something. "More pulling is unlikely to be more successful than what you have already done. I'm pretty certain the three of you are the strongest ones in the group, so the rest of us won't add much to that."

“But---”, Kendell starts to sputter.

Vardra nods in agreement. "We didn't budge the doors as all. If we had gotten some movement and they had seemed at least close to giving way, then I would think we might have a chance to pull them open. Under the circumstances, I don't think there's much chance of that."

“Will I reckon if you think its a dead end...”, Kendell adds. The grim soldier than comes up with a plan.

After a few moments rest and thought, Vardra puts forward an idea. "That is a really heavy-looking beam blocking the doors, but I think it may be possible to shift it enough to topple it out of the brackets. We would need something thin, but strong that we could stick through the gap and lift. Vernar, it seems like you mentioned earlier that you found a few extra weapons back where we fell into that disgusting pool. Were any of them swords?"

If a spare sword is produced, Vardra will hand it to Kendell. "I think you're the strongest of us, so you should do the lifting. Vernar and I will push the door just enough to let you slide it through. Then, position it under the bar and try to lift the bar by raising the sword. Okay?"

“Uhm, okay...” Kendell responds not quite grasping what is going on. “I can try I guess.”

Kendell drops to one knee to give himself more leverage and will then push the sword up through the opening and into the beam on the other side. Than push with all his might!

[Sorvani]

Sorvani:

Butternut shrugs. "I'm all for it."

“Great!” Sorvani responds. “At a later date once we are out of these horrible caves.”

"I didn't recall the name, but that sounds about right, Sorvani. I'm not really much of a historian."

“Me either,” Sorvani says. “But you hear things when you live in this region.”

Vardra smiles, clearly pleased by the idea. "You got yourself a deal there, Sorvani. I'll be interested to see what you use for bait and tackle. Every fisherman has their favorites."

“Oh, mostly just worms,” Sorvani admits. “I don't put much more effort into fishing than that. Otherwise it runs a perfectly good nap!”

Much to her surprise it stays put! “Sorvani you were right!” she exclaims giving the mage a quick hug.

“Well, yes,” Sorvani says surprised by the hug from the elf. “Yes I was.”

A large door now blocks the way out of this area. The others take the time to look for a way past this newest obstacle.

“Clearly this door was meant to separate the trap from where the dwarves were”, Sorvani notes. “I doubt there is anyway through this door beyond breaking it. It would be poor security otherwise.”

Upon closer inspection the door is barred on the other side. A plan is hatched to use a spare sword so that Kendell can move the blockage. Sorvani will move off a safe distance after hearing that.

“Swords are designed to hack and slash enemies, not to be used like a lever,” Sorvani offers. “Most likely outcome is that the sword will break under the stress. Assuming that Kendell is strong enough to even move the blockage.”

[Butternut]

Butternut:

“Me either,” Sorvani says. “But you hear things when you live in this region.”

Living mostly out in more remote areas of the region, Butternut suspects she may have had less access to news and stories, but decides not to bring it up. Instead, she just nods pensively.

“No offense meant to you and your kin, ma'am,” Kendell drawls. “From up here all the girls here are little ladies, regardless of race.”

Again, Butternut chuckles in response to Kendall's statement. "No offense taken, Kendall. I was just pointing out that size is not always a good measure of capability."

"I must agree with Butternut," Vernar replies, "we should ensure there be no way through on this side first. If not, we can batter'm doors down soon enough."

The dwarven warrior appears to understand the point she was making, and weighs in. It seems that - if they have to have a leader - they at least made a good choice.

"A few moments either way should not make a difference," Erisciana concurs. "This entire place is a challenge to be sure. I would like to depart as soon as reasonable, I am sure most of us would agree."

"I agree on both counts, Eri," Butternut says with a nod. "Escaping this place is our primary goal, and one that I'm sure we would all like to accomplish soon. Still, spending a small amount of time to find the best way to do so, seems like a worthwhile expenditure."

Vardra nods in agreement. "We didn't budge the doors as all. If we had gotten some movement and they had seemed at least close to giving way, then I would think we might have a chance to pull them open. Under the circumstances, I don't think there's much chance of that."

"Exactly what I was thinking, Vardra," Butternut says in agreement.

Pushing provides a better result, though only by a little bit. Still they are able to get a glimpse of the beam that bars the door - and it is massive! Unfortunately, the scouts have no luck finding any sort of hidden device by which to unbar the doors. It seems they may yet have to rely on the golem.

Vardra puts forth an idea to try lifting the bar by sliding an old sword through the small gap between the doors. With a smaller bar, this seems like it might work. However, based on the size of the beam, Butternut doesn't hold out a lot of hope.

“Clearly this door was meant to separate the trap from where the dwarves were”, Sorvani notes. “I doubt there is anyway through this door beyond breaking it. It would be poor security otherwise.”

Butternut considers this mage's point for a bit. "I suppose that would depend on whether or not they were concerned about the possibility of one or more of their own getting trapped on the wrong side of the door, particularly in a situation where there wasn't anyone nearby on the other side to let them in."

"With any luck, the bar holding those doors is shorter than the entire width. That would be considerably less weight to move. Is it possible to create some sort of fulcrum to ease Kendall's burden in lifting?" Erisciana looks to the stone dwarf again and considers some additional options, while she waits to see if the current plan is successful.

Butternut looks a Erisciana for a moment, clearly not quite understanding what the priestess is proposing. "I'm not familiar with this word, 'fulcrum', that you mentioned. However, I'd be willing to help you try to set something up while the men attempt Vardra's idea."

[Lucyus]

Lucyus
Lucyus listens as Vernar and Varda come up with a plan to push the barred door forward and lift the bar so that the door can be pushed forward. He watches silently as Kendel steps forward and the others push the door forward. .
“I don’t see why you cannot just secure a rope to barring beam and have the stone dwarf lift it. Or at the very least lift it by the sword.”

“Clearly this door was meant to separate the trap from where the dwarves were”, Sorvani notes. “I doubt there is anyway through this door beyond breaking it. It would be poor security otherwise.”

“In all my teachings of battle. A barred door is not one to attempt to leave intact. Either by fire or by force or a ram is the only way to bring them down from the outside. Aside from magic, that is.”
Lucyus will wait and see if Vernar and the others succeed.

[Kaylessa]

Kaylessa

After a few moments rest and thought, Vardra puts forward an idea. "That is a really heavy-looking beam blocking the doors, but I think it may be possible to shift it enough to topple it out of the brackets. We would need something thin, but strong that we could stick through the gap and lift. Vernar, it seems like you mentioned earlier that you found a few extra weapons back where we fell into that disgusting pool. Were any of them swords?"
After Vernar fishes the extra weapon from his pack, he offers a point for consideration. "We must be careful jus' how far we push because too much 'n that bar then be tight up against those brackets. Still, if we get enough fer the blade to slip through, then it might jus' be workable."

She says thoughtfully. “I have some rope and a grappling hook. If wish to try.” As she begins to scan the door and takes a few steps back. Perhaps there is another way around the door. Realizing it is a large cavern she doubts there is a way up and over the door but she will look to see if there is a way to climb over it.

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

The combined squads have encountered a new obstacle , a large barred double door. The doors can be pushed a little bit to reveal the thick beam that holds the doors shut. There is not enough room to get a rope around the beam from this side of the door. This door is in a worked room, not an open cavern. There is no way to go around or over the door other than going through it.

An idea is presented to use one of the spare swords found by Vernar to try and lift the beam up. Kendell takes the sword in hand and gets down on one knee for better leverage while Vardra and Vernar push the doors in.

Kendell struggles with the great weight while grasping the hilt of this dirty sword Vernar found. He struggles and struggles but does not seem to be making any progress. Finally with a loud snap, the hilt breaks off from the sword! The blade is still embedded in the beam on the other side of the door, but now there is really no way to grab it.

Now what?

[Kaylessa]

Kaylessa

Kendell struggles with the great weight while grasping the hilt of this dirty sword Vernar found. He struggles and struggles but does not seem to be making any progress. Finally with a loud snap, the hilt breaks off from the sword! The blade is still embedded in the beam on the other side of the door, but now there is really no way to grab it.

Kaylessa watches as the others try to breach the door. Kendell seems to be trying with all his might but the giant human manages to snap the sword at the hilt!
“Fine workmanship.” She says evenly as she shakes her head. “It was a valiant try. At least that was not a blade coming for you chest, Kendell.” She says stoically.
He gaze moves to Vernar, “Perhaps you could instruct the statue to push upon the door, increasing it’s strength slowly that it may break the beam… If the door does break could you not instruct the Statue to guard the door way after we are through?”she asks thoughtfully looking at the others to see their thoughts.

[Vernar]

Vernar -

Gods, he is strong, Vernar muses to himself as he strains to keep the door open enough for Kendell to try to lift up the beam blocking their exit. As suspected, the blade snaps from its hilt, embedded in the beam. Still, the dwarf chuckles at the impressiveness of dwarven craftsmanship. We know how to build 'em sturdy, he thinks.

He gaze moves to Vernar, “Perhaps you could instruct the statue to push upon the door, increasing it’s strength slowly that it may break the beam… If the door does break could you not instruct the Statue to guard the door way after we are through?”she asks thoughtfully looking at the others to see their thoughts.

Vernar nods after a moment's thought, "That be the best idea t' try next. Breaking the beam would allow fer the doors t' close once more, plus might be more on the other side t' put back in place if we b' wantin'."

The doors will probably be worse for wear, but likely to still remain mostly intact if the stone dwarf applies enough pressure instead of just becoming a battering ram, Vernar figures.

If no one else comes up with a different plan worth trying, Vernar will instruct everyone to move back and out of the way. He will fetch the guardian and verbally direct him to the doors. "Push there," he will instruct, indicating the spot to put the most pressure on the beam since we know where it is. He will coax it to push harder gradually as needed. He will stand clear as well in case everything decides to come down instead.

[Vardra]

Vardra Marcus, PFC

“Oh, mostly just worms,” Sorvani admits. “I don't put much more effort into fishing than that. Otherwise it runs a perfectly good nap!”

Vardra chuckles with a rich baritone sound. "I like the way you think, Sorvani."

After Vernar fishes the extra weapon from his pack, he offers a point for consideration. "We must be careful jus' how far we push because too much 'n that bar then be tight up against those brackets. Still, if we get enough fer the blade to slip through, then it might jus' be workable."

Vardra nods in response to the dwarf's statement, as it mirrors his own thinking. "Good point, Vernar."

"With any luck, the bar holding those doors is shorter than the entire width. That would be considerably less weight to move. Is it possible to create some sort of fulcrum to ease Kendall's burden in lifting?" Erisciana looks to the stone dwarf again and considers some additional options, while she waits to see if the current plan is successful.

Vardra hears the foreign priestess put forth her suggestion, but is too busy right now trying to implement his own suggestion. Still, he starts to consider the possibility of what they might use as a fulcrum, and where they might get a bar that is long enough and strong enough to work for this purpose.

“Swords are designed to hack and slash enemies, not to be used like a lever,” Sorvani offers. “Most likely outcome is that the sword will break under the stress. Assuming that Kendell is strong enough to even move the blockage.”

"You may be right that it is unlikely to work, though I believe there is a chance, and that makes it worth trying. After all, it costs us little more than a bit of time."

This soon proves to be true. Vernar and Vardra hold the doors open just enough to reach through with the sword. Kendell applies every bit of his considerable strength to the task, but he is unable to budge the bar. Within a few moments, the sword snaps under the strain, ending any hope of this technique working.

“I don’t see why you cannot just secure a rope to barring beam and have the stone dwarf lift it. Or at the very least lift it by the sword.”

She says thoughtfully. “I have some rope and a grappling hook. If wish to try.”

Vardra shrugs. "Worth a try, I suppose." Accepting the rope and grappling hook, he tries several different methods, but is unable to find a way to thread the rope around the beam on the other side of the door or fit the grappling hook through the narrow gap. Eventually, he hands them back to the beautiful elf. "I cannot find a way to attach it," he says simply.

Her gaze moves to Vernar, “Perhaps you could instruct the statue to push upon the door, increasing it’s strength slowly that it may break the beam… If the door does break could you not instruct the Statue to guard the door way after we are through?”she asks thoughtfully looking at the others to see their thoughts.

Vernar nods after a moment's thought, "That be the best idea t' try next. Breaking the beam would allow fer the doors t' close once more, plus might be more on the other side t' put back in place if we b' wantin'."

Vardra steps back out of the way and gestures toward the heavy double doors. "Be my guest. I have no other ideas to try."

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

The blade that Kendell was attempting to dislodge the bar blocking the door snaps under the strain. The hilt broke completely free while the blade is still embedded in the wooden beam. With that failure, it is decided to try and use the Stone Dwarf to break the beam by pushing the doors open.

Vernar steps back to the guardian while everyone else moves to the sides of the chamber to give the giant construct room to work. The Stone Dwarf is guided to the barred double doors and told where to push, right where the doors come together. One limb is placed on either door and the construct begins to extort what can only be described as super-human force.

“You can do it, Rocky!” Wimzy calls out in encouragement.

There is no noticeable affect at first, but the soon the doors start to move open more than the group could before. The sound of wood straining fills the air. There is a sudden loud metallic snap as one of the support brackets on the other side of the door snaps! Finally, with a loud crash the timber breaks in half and the doors swing open!

No one is on the other side of the double doors as they open into a hallway moving off to your left and right. There is no source of light in this new hallway, beyond the one you carry with you. What does hit you is the smell of this new area. It's the smell of waste and garbage. It is a stench that Butternut knows all too well. You have entered into a goblin lair!

A quick look around gives you a variety of places to explore. The hallway goes ten more feet to your right and then turns left. This new passage goes for as far as infravision will allow you to see without reaching an end. But there is a closed door on the left hand side of the passage way thirty feet in.

The passage to the left of the double doors the Stone Dwarf just broke down continues off in that direction for as far as can be seen. This hallway also has a door on its right hand side, about thirty feet away.

No one or thing can been seen or heard in either hallway.

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

Here is the updated map for this new area. The room with the double doors is where you can from. Unlike the map I used for the caverns where I took an existing map and just removed things from it, these new maps are the opposite. I'm taking an existing map and re-arranging things to fit what I want this area to look like. So, it's a frankenmap!

graystone013.jpg (10.71 KiB) Viewed 10507 times

Now what?

[Erisciana]

Erisciana -

The group has circumvented the stone dwarf golem but now is stopped by a large pair of barred double doors. The priestess had suggested to use the golem to smash their way out, but several of the group wanted to try and be less destructive. Erisciana didn't really see where the need to keep the doors intact would be any advantage to them but it wouldn't take long for them to try an alternative method.

"A few moments either way should not make a difference," Erisciana concurs. "This entire place is a challenge to be sure. I would like to depart as soon as reasonable, I am sure most of us would agree."

"I agree on both counts, Eri," Butternut says with a nod. "Escaping this place is our primary goal, and one that I'm sure we would all like to accomplish soon. Still, spending a small amount of time to find the best way to do so, seems like a worthwhile expenditure."

The priestess nods, but doesn't expect them to have much success. The theory would likely work with a lesser bar and less stout doors.

“Clearly this door was meant to separate the trap from where the dwarves were”, Sorvani notes. “I doubt there is anyway through this door beyond breaking it. It would be poor security otherwise.”

"That was my thought as well," Eri agrees. This rat-faced mage thought much the same as she did it appeared. Maybe he wasn't all bad.

Butternut considers this mage's point for a bit. "I suppose that would depend on whether or not they were concerned about the possibility of one or more of their own getting trapped on the wrong side of the door, particularly in a situation where there wasn't anyone nearby on the other side to let them in."

"Perhaps the other side was guarded regularly, when the dwarves inhabited this place. Likely they used this entrance to come into the caverns to loot the bodies of those whom the traps claimed. Had the spikes in the pool not been in such disrepair, our escape attempt would have ended before it began."

"With any luck, the bar holding those doors is shorter than the entire width. That would be considerably less weight to move. Is it possible to create some sort of fulcrum to ease Kendall's burden in lifting?" Erisciana looks to the stone dwarf again and considers some additional options, while she waits to see if the current plan is successful.

Butternut looks a Erisciana for a moment, clearly not quite understanding what the priestess is proposing. "I'm not familiar with this word, 'fulcrum', that you mentioned. However, I'd be willing to help you try to set something up while the men attempt Vardra's idea."

The priestess sees the confusion on the halfling's face. "Perhaps my grasp of the common tongue here is not exact either. I am referring to something stable to create a pivot point." She outstretches her arm and rotates it over her palm like a lever to show her meaning. "When I was young, I used to be fascinated watching the construction of the large marble buildings in my home city. Using levers and pulleys is a way to increase the lifting capacity quite dramatically," she continues. "Their construction would be impossible using simple brute force. Of course, magicks also played a part at times!"

"We would need a long enough pole or bar and a large, tall stone to pivot on. Unfortunately, I don't think we have access to either."

Trying the first idea is ultimately unsuccessful. Kendall's great strength breaks the sword off at the hilt, the blade still stuck in the bar. Erisciana had hoped it would work, but cannot hide the briefest of 'I told you so' looks. After that, they decide to use the stone dwarf to try and smash through the door. However, the idea is to try and exert just enough force to break the beam without excessively damaging the doors.

Vernar nods after a moment's thought, "That be the best idea t' try next. Breaking the beam would allow fer the doors t' close once more, plus might be more on the other side t' put back in place if we b' wantin'."

"There doesn't appear to be anything much behind us to keep in here," she says. "Except maybe that gelatinous blob. Still this way also should cause less noise and commotion, if there is anything on the other side of this door that we still must contend with. If the dwarves inhabited this place, there might be quite the underground network still remaining for us to traverse."

The idea with the dwarf succeeds and they soon have the doors bypassed. The priestess claps briefly at the success of the idea. Following the front-line fighters as they look into the hallway beyond, Erisci wrinkles her nose at the new, unpleasant smell. "By the stars! It smells like the gates to Marduk's foul realm!"

The hall moves off in two directions and there are also two doors. It looks like it is back to the scouts to determine their path.

[Butternut]

Butternut:

"Perhaps the other side was guarded regularly, when the dwarves inhabited this place. Likely they used this entrance to come into the caverns to loot the bodies of those whom the traps claimed. Had the spikes in the pool not been in such disrepair, our escape attempt would have ended before it began."

"You may be right, Eri," Butternut replies with a shrug. "Hard to know for sure. I suspect that when guards were present and others were known to be outside, they kept the doors open. Otherwise, anyone returning might well be killed before those inside know of their presence and can call off the golem with the ring."

“In all my teachings of battle. A barred door is not one to attempt to leave intact. Either by fire or by force or a ram is the only way to bring them down from the outside. Aside from magic, that is.”

The paladin provides an interesting perspective, and Butternut pauses a moment to consider it. "I understand that thinking, Lucyus. The difference that I see here is that this is not a battle. Once we get inside, it would be great to not have to worry about being attacked by whatever may still be back there," she says, waving her hand back the way they came. "Sure, the golem provides some protection, but as slow as it seems to be, a sizable group would be able to just run past it and only lose part of the group if there's nothing to block their path. So being able to close the door behind us could be safer."

Butternut hears a loud snapping sound. Turning, she sees Kendell holding the hilt of the sword, and the blade stuck in the beam. "Well, that didn't work. What shall we try next?"

Attempts are made to attach a rope or grappling hook to the beam, but the attempts prove fruitless.

The priestess sees the confusion on the halfling's face. "Perhaps my grasp of the common tongue here is not exact either. I am referring to something stable to create a pivot point." She outstretches her arm and rotates it over her palm like a lever to show her meaning. "When I was young, I used to be fascinated watching the construction of the large marble buildings in my home city. Using levers and pulleys is a way to increase the lifting capacity quite dramatically," she continues. "Their construction would be impossible using simple brute force. Of course, magicks also played a part at times!"

"We would need a long enough pole or bar and a large, tall stone to pivot on. Unfortunately, I don't think we have access to either."

Listening to Erisciana's explanation, Butternut nods her understanding. "I'm sure the term is fine, it's just not one I was familiar with. Guess I learned something today. I've never lived near any large towns or cities, so I haven't witnessed construction of anything larger than a small village hall, and those usually of wood and thatch."

Then Kaylessa suggests having the golem try to push the doors open, using steady pressure. Vernar agrees, and the dwarf calls the golem over and shows it where to push for best effect. The golem steps forward and applies it's great mass to the doors as instructed. Seconds tick by as it increases pressure on the doors, while everyone watches. The tension in the room is great, and the creaking sounds as the door inches wider creates a sense of both anticipation and apprehension. Suddenly, a loud crack signals success and the doors swing open.

"There doesn't appear to be anything much behind us to keep in here," she says. "Except maybe that gelatinous blob. Still this way also should cause less noise and commotion, if there is anything on the other side of this door that we still must contend with. If the dwarves inhabited this place, there might be quite the underground network still remaining for us to traverse."

"Hard to say, though there are definitely areas of the caverns we didn't explore. No telling what else is out there."

Once through, Butternut looks up and down the hall to either side. "Vardra? Think you can find a way to brace those doors shut with what's left of the beam?"

The idea with the dwarf succeeds and they soon have the doors bypassed. The priestess claps briefly at the success of the idea. Following the front-line fighters as they look into the hallway beyond, Erisci wrinkles her nose at the new, unpleasant smell. "By the stars! It smells like the gates to Marduk's foul realm!"

Sniffing the air, a brutal grin of anticipation blossoms on Butternut's features. "Goblins... Time for some killin'." Without waiting for the others, Butternut starts moving toward the door that she can see to the left. As she stalks forward, her short sword hisses as it emerges from it's sheathe. Her left hand is kept free for casting Armor if goblins are found beyond the door.

[Lucyus]

Lucyus

Vernar steps back to the guardian while everyone else moves to the sides of the chamber to give the giant construct room to work. The Stone Dwarf is guided to the barred double doors and told where to push, right where the doors come together. One limb is placed on either door and the construct begins to extort what can only be described as super-human force.

“You can do it, Rocky!” Wimzy calls out in encouragement.

Lucyus watches as the sword cracks and snaps at the hilt. Making a look briefly showing his displeasure, Kaylessa puts forth her idea and Vernar brings the statue to begin pushing upon the great doors. For a few moments nothing happens but then the golem begins to push harder. Metal begins to whine and there is a crack as the door swings forward.
“Well done, Vernar.” He says a grin upon his face, gripping his axe and torch and moves tentatively forward.

No one is on the other side of the double doors as they open into a hallway moving off to your left and right. There is no source of light in this new hallway, beyond the one you carry with you. What does hit you is the smell of this new area. It's the smell of waste and garbage. It is a stench that Butternut knows all too well. You have entered into a goblin lair!

Debris of rotting bones, feces and other unpleasantries comes to his nose making him grimace as he takes in the room.
Before he can ask Butternut speaks:

Sniffing the air, a brutal grin of anticipation blossoms on Butternut's features. "Goblins... Time for some killin'." Without waiting for the others, Butternut starts moving toward the door that she can see to the left. As she stalks forward, her short sword hisses as it emerges from it's sheathe. Her left hand is kept free for casting Armor if goblins are found beyond the door.

“We may know what we face but let us not be rash.” He says evenly. “Scouts, see what you may find. “Clerics and Mages to the center. Kendell, Varda, It may be best if some of us follow and some of us lead, behind the scouts. I do not wish to be sandwiches between two groups… it is possible these goblins had heard our stone friend.”
Lucyus will ready himself to move to the double doors keeping the scouts in sight, axe at the ready.

[Kaylessa]

Kaylessa

Vardra shrugs. "Worth a try, I suppose." Accepting the rope and grappling hook, he tries several different methods, but is unable to find a way to thread the rope around the beam on the other side of the door or fit the grappling hook through the narrow gap. Eventually, he hands them back to the beautiful elf. "I cannot find a way to attach it," he says simply.

“It was worth a try.”She says with a shrug as she takes the grappling hook and rope and stows it away. Kendell tries to lift the wooden beam with his strength. For a few moments she marvels at his form lifting with all his might but then the sword hit snaps from the blade.
Vernar then takes her suggestion and the Dwarven Statue pushes the door open and both wood and steel cracks. Shortly there after a metallic snap is heard and the door swings free.
Stepping in behind the fighters and Eri and Wimzy. The smell hits her as she looks about in the low light. Waste lays bout the room.
Butternut then says:

Sniffing the air, a brutal grin of anticipation blossoms on Butternut's features. "Goblins... Time for some killin'." Without waiting for the others, Butternut starts moving toward the door that she can see to the left. As she stalks forward, her short sword hisses as it emerges from it's sheathe. Her left hand is kept free for casting Armor if goblins are found beyond the door.

Kaylessa’s right hand holds a shortsword as she steps forward after Butternut. Drawing her second shortsword as she follows, “Let me check the door before we go in.
Kaylessa will stop at the door and listen for anything on the inside then check the door itself

[Kendell]

Kendell:

Again, Butternut chuckles in response to Kendall's statement. "No offense taken, Kendall. I was just pointing out that size is not always a good measure of capability."

“Oh, I know that all too well,” Kendell says with a chuckle. “I've had cousins half my size knock me on my butt back home!”

Kendell struggles with the great weight while grasping the hilt of this dirty sword Vernar found. He struggles and struggles but does not seem to be making any progress. Finally with a loud snap, the hilt breaks off from the sword! The blade is still embedded in the beam on the other side of the door, but now there is really no way to grab it.

Kendell uses all his strength, but it is not enough and the blade snaps free from its hilt.

“Well, at least it didn't snap and fly back and hit me in the face!” are Kendell's thoughts on what happened.

The Stone Dwarf is called up and used to push the doors open. It succeeds where we all failed. A new area is opened up along with an awful smell.

“I thought I smelled some might horrible smells down on the farm, but that does take the cake!” the large warrior drawls crinkling his nose.

The Squash Halfling announces that its a goblin lair. Kendell supposes that makes sense since so many goblin bodies have been found so far. She then rushes off towards a door while the armored priest issues orders.

“Uhm,” Kendell utters pointing as the Squash Halfling and the Lady Elf go off towards the door. “Who's doing what again?”

[Sorvani]

Sorvani:

Vardra chuckles with a rich baritone sound. "I like the way you think, Sorvani."

“Thanks,” Sorvani says, still marveling how much he has in common with the soldier he was at odds with not too long ago.

Butternut considers this mage's point for a bit. "I suppose that would depend on whether or not they were concerned about the possibility of one or more of their own getting trapped on the wrong side of the door, particularly in a situation where there wasn't anyone nearby on the other side to let them in."

“A clear cut case of it would suck to be them,” Sorvani offers. “Don't be on the wrong side of the door.”

"Perhaps the other side was guarded regularly, when the dwarves inhabited this place. Likely they used this entrance to come into the caverns to loot the bodies of those whom the traps claimed. Had the spikes in the pool not been in such disrepair, our escape attempt would have ended before it began."

“That all sounds perfectly reasonable,” Sorvani agrees with the foreign priestess. “From that point of view, I would suspect that a guard post would be near and perhaps a collection area for valuables recovered in the distant past. Perhaps some magic survived after all this time?”

Kendell tries to do as was asked of it, but the sword breaks instead.

“Fine workmanship.” She says evenly as she shakes her head. “It was a valiant try. At least that was not a blade coming for you chest, Kendell.” She says stoically.

“Its not a matter of workmanship,” Sorvani states. “The blade is one piece of forged metal and the hilt a separate piece that is simply attached. It's a natural weak point and it was most likely to give before the bar would.”

The dwarven construct is then used to push open the doors and shatters the blockage in the process. Beyond must be the start of the dwarven lair. A few hallways are seen along with two doors. Sorvani keeps to the middle of the group as they move along.

A horrid smell is noted and Butternut seems to believe its from goblins. “Smells like the fish market back home on a hot summer day.”

“If I were designing this place,” Sorvani speaks up, “than this area would be away from the heart of the lair. We should be on the outer edge, so if there are goblins here, they may be deeper in. We may have time before we encounter any enemy forces.”

[Vardra]

Vardra Marcus, PFC:

The priestess sees the confusion on the halfling's face. "Perhaps my grasp of the common tongue here is not exact either. I am referring to something stable to create a pivot point." She outstretches her arm and rotates it over her palm like a lever to show her meaning. "When I was young, I used to be fascinated watching the construction of the large marble buildings in my home city. Using levers and pulleys is a way to increase the lifting capacity quite dramatically," she continues. "Their construction would be impossible using simple brute force. Of course, magicks also played a part at times!"

"We would need a long enough pole or bar and a large, tall stone to pivot on. Unfortunately, I don't think we have access to either."

As he works, Vardra catches enough snatches of the conversation between the priestess Erisciana and the halfling warrior Butternut to get the gist of what they're talking about. "I don't recall seeing anything of the sort, myself. Even if the stone guardian could serve in some way as the fulcrum, I don't know what we would use for the bar."

Butternut hears a loud snapping sound. Turning, she sees Kendell holding the hilt of the sword, and the blade stuck in the beam. "Well, that didn't work. What shall we try next?"

"I'm open to suggestions," Vardra replies with a shrug. Kaylessa soon provides one.

===

The stone giant's strength is unbelievable! It takes a minute or two, but the creature slowly, inexorably, pushes the doors open. The doors and the beam protest with groaning and creaking sounds, yet are unable to dissuade the giant from completing its appointed task. First, a bracket snaps, and then the beam shears in half as the doors swing wide.

Stepping through, Vardra surveys the damage. Instinctively, he looks to see if the doors appear to still be usable.

Once through, Butternut looks up and down the hall to either side. "Vardra? Think you can find a way to brace those doors shut with what's left of the beam?"

"Uhm... sure. Okay," he replies. Vardra is not quite sure that he should take orders from the halfling; she's not even a soldier. Still, it's what he was inclined to do anyway. He scans the area for any replacement beam, also checking to see if either of the remaining pieces of the original beam can be used with the remaining brackets to secure the door. Since they appear to be in a hallway, perhaps the pieces can be braced against the wall opposite the doors and then leaned against the doors - if they're long enough to reach.

Try as he might, Vardra cannot ignore the stench in these new hallways for long. This is far worse than the smell of fish back home! He hacks and coughs, his body convulsing with the effort. Fortunately, he is able to keep his meager meal in his stomach where it belongs. After a few moments, the fit passes, though the smell remains just this side of unbearable.

Butternut announces the presence of goblins and stalks off toward the nearest door. The ugly violence laden in her voice gives him pause; it seems he still doesn't really know their new companions.

“We may know what we face but let us not be rash.” He says evenly. “Scouts, see what you may find. “Clerics and Mages to the center. Kendell, Varda, It may be best if some of us follow and some of us lead, behind the scouts. I do not wish to be sandwiches between two groups… it is possible these goblins had heard our stone friend.”

Vardra suddenly finds himself with conflicting orders, causing him to pause indecisively. He recalls hearing someone say that Lucyus and Vernar are the leaders of the other group. Also, from his background, Lucyus might qualify as a soldier, so it makes sense to prioritize the paladin over the halfling. Looking at his position relative to the rest of the group, he replies, "I've got the rear, Lucyus!"

With the possibility of battle coming soon, Vardra readies his shield on his left arm. His right hand then draws his bastard sword from the sheathe on his back.

[Vernar]

Vernar -

It is only a matter of time before the doors are forced open. The beam snaps after sufficient force is applied, but not before one of the brackets. Still, the doors appear largely intact and that gives us options should we need to close them once more. Vernar will maneuver the stone guardian back into its original room, and so misses the first nauseating wave of goblin stench as the group moves past the double doors.

"What that be I hear 'bout g.... nuuugghhh!" Vernar begins before his nostrils are battered with the putrid smell. Thankfully he doesn't lose anything else but his composure for a moment. Once he gets a handle on his stomach, he listens to the confusion from the members of the other group, and quickly tries to give some explanation.

"While we were all searching down 'ere," Vernar begins. "Me, Butternut, an' Ren would act as the front line, scoutin' out the caverns and corridors. Now there be more o' us, an' we don't wanna be steppin' on any toes."

Lucyus does a fine job pulling together more order to the mixed groups, and the dwarf nods his appreciation to the paladin. Some of the others don't look like they're completely ready to cede command to us, but Vernar doesn't want to be squabbling if there are goblins, or anything else, lurking about.

Since it appears Butternut is already on her way down towards a door, followed by Kaylessa, Vernar will back them up, pulling out an axe and keeping the other hand free for the moment. As it appears that are going to examine that door, he will maintain a guard over the corridor beyond, slipping a throwing dagger into his other palm.

[Butternut]

Butternut:

“Oh, I know that all too well,” Kendell says with a chuckle. “I've had cousins half my size knock me on my butt back home!”

Butternut chuckles as she envisions the scene Kendell describes. "Sometimes being tall can make something or someone easy to tip over."

“A clear cut case of it would suck to be them,” Sorvani offers. “Don't be on the wrong side of the door.”

"Yup."

===

“We may know what we face but let us not be rash.” He says evenly. “Scouts, see what you may find. “Clerics and Mages to the center. Kendell, Varda, It may be best if some of us follow and some of us lead, behind the scouts. I do not wish to be sandwiches between two groups… it is possible these goblins had heard our stone friend.”

Hearing Lucyus' words, Butternut slows to allow Kaylessa to catch up, though she doesn't stop until she reaches the door.

Kaylessa’s right hand holds a shortsword as she steps forward after Butternut. Drawing her second shortsword as she follows, “Let me check the door before we go in."

"Fine." Butternut snorts in frustration at the delay. There is more discussion behind her, but Butternut pays it little heed. Her eagerness to kill goblins is palpable. If there are none in this room, she is likely to keep looking until she finds some and bloodies her blades.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Updated map: https://i.lensdump.com/i/ANTm2Z.jpg

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

The Stone Dwarf has forced open the doors that barred the entrance to the former dwarven lair. Its been a long time since the dwarves were here. Based on the horrid smell Butternut realizes that goblins now live here. These filthy creatures know nothing of sanitation and just drop their bodily waste anywhere!

“Probably lots of nasty diseases down here too,” Wimzy quietly notes. “Don't touch anything that looks icky. This place would make a suitable lair for followers of the Plague Bringer.”

Butternut makes a beeline towards the nearest door, followed by Ren and Kaylessa. The group reach the door and note that the hallway continues on as far as they can see. The door itself is only partially closed. Those looking can see that the door and the frame holding it have swollen from moister over the centuries. The door is now too wide to fit into the frame, so instead its just pushed closed as best it can be. Neither Ren or Kaylessa hear anything, so the door is opened. It's rusty hinges squeal loudly, sounding almost like nails on a chalk board!

Several tense moments pass, but it does not appear that the horrible sound attracted any unwanted attention. Beyond the door is a twenty foot wide by thrifty foot chamber. Racks of what looks like shelving line the walls and two rows of shelving goes down the middle of the room. No one seems to be about, but after looking around a bit a door is noticed on the middle of the right hand wall.

What looks to be centuries of old adventurers gear lines the shelves. There are bags, backpacks, sacks, even a few saddle bags. Most are open and have their contents scattered about. A goodly portion of this old gear lies on the floor having rotted away. At first glance there does not appear to be anything of value. Mold can be seen in many places on the floor, walls, and old adventuring gear.


Back at the door the golem burst open, Vardra looks for a way to bar it again. The bracket that broke was one of the ones close to the edge of the door. What remains of the shattered beam is no longer long enough to reach the remaining brackets. However, the beams themselves could be laid on the floor in front of the closed doors or could be wedge against the far wall to where the doors meet.


The door on the far right hand wall is checked and again no noise is heard. This door is also swollen from moisture and partially open. Behind this door is a larger room, some twenty feet wide by forty feet long. What looks like to have been ancient bunk beds line the walls with another row of them running down the middle of the room.

From the looks of them, none of these bunks have been used in a very long time. Several have collapsed and now lie in a pile on the floor. Any chests close to the beds have been bashed open. Any valuables are long gone, while whatever might have remained where thrown about and long since rotted on the moldy floor.

Another door is spotted along the far wall. As suspected it does enter into the other hallway explored a little bit ago. However, from this new vantage point the end of that hallway can be seen. There are new openings to the left and to the right with a door at the end.

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

Moved things on a little bit as there's not much in these rooms. At least at first glance.

Here is the updated map:

graystone014.jpg (15.52 KiB) Viewed 10087 times

Now what?

[Vardra]

Vardra Marcus, PFC:

Several of their other companions are affected by the stench in these halls, but eventually they all recover enough to be able to function.

Seeing that the remaining beams won't fully bar the doors, Vardra gets Kendell to help him place the remaining pieces with the jagged ends toward the wall across from the doors and leaned up against the doors as firmly as possible.

"While we were all searching down 'ere," Vernar begins. "Me, Butternut, an' Ren would act as the front line, scoutin' out the caverns and corridors. Now there be more o' us, an' we don't wanna be steppin' on any toes."

His soldier's training leads Vardra to pay attention as the dwarf talks about the strategy they employed in getting so far. Considering that Wyvern Squad only lost one member where Chimera lost three, it seems to have been effective for them. That one of the warriors functioned as a scout is a little unusual, though he has heard that halflings can be very good at being quiet.

"Fine." Butternut snorts in frustration at the delay.

Worse, she seems rather impatient and undisciplined, and not as careful as one would expect in enemy territory. He doesn't say anything about it for now, but intends to keep a close eye on it.

There are some tense moments while Kaylessa investigates the door, but it is soon opened. It appears to just be a storage room, and most of the remaining gear looks to be in poor shape. However, they do find a door on the right-hand wall.

Kaylessa and Butternut play out a similar scene before this door, and open it a minute later as well. Broken beds and smashed trunks litter the room. A barracks, apparently. No sign of opponents in either room. A door on the far wall lets them back out into the hall not far from the double doors.

To the left, they can see another door and what might be hallway extending to either side. "Well, do we continue on down, or regroup?" Vardra asks, looking at Lucyus and Vernar as he sheathes his sword.

[Vernar]

Vernar -

Everything is in a bad state of decay and disrepair. Vernar doubts that there is much reason for goblins, or any other creature, to linger here after so long. Still, it is prudent to remain cautious and follow what has been successful for our group so far. As the other scouts move through the rooms, Vernar will stow his weapons and spend some time checking for secret compartments, doors, and the like. A typical barracks is not likely the place where secrets would normally be hidden, but depending on the type of troops originally stationed here, they may have had an armory nook tucked in somewhere.

To the left, they can see another door and what might be hallway extending to either side. "Well, do we continue on down, or regroup?" Vardra asks, looking at Lucyus and Vernar as he sheathes his sword.

"My suggestion be t' move through as fast as we can manage," Vernar replies. "Proceed with caution, but not spend much time unless we find somethin' o' interest."

[Butternut]

Butternut:

Butternut waits impatiently while Kaylessa examines the door. Finally, she swings it open and Butternut glides quickly through, her back to the wall to one side of the door. Once she confirms that there are no obvious opponents to battle, she relaxes a bit, and starts to circle the room along the wall, carefully searching for any hidden entryways. The scraps of gear scattered about the room hold no interest for her.

Arriving at the second door on the right side of the room, she joins up with Kaylessa again, who is already working on the door. Butternut takes the same approach once the door is open: verifying the lack of goblins, then searching for hidden doors on the one wall not already accounted for.

The next door leads back out into the hall, a little further down than they had been able to see previously. As the others make their way out into the hall to join her, she recalls what she had learned about the Armor spell. Realizing that she has no reason not to go ahead and cast it, she proceeds to cast it on herself. That done, she draws her favorite dagger with her left hand.

To the left, they can see another door and what might be hallway extending to either side. "Well, do we continue on down, or regroup?" Vardra asks, looking at Lucyus and Vernar as he sheathes his sword.

Reaching the hallway, the lanky warrior asks the obvious question. "We keep going," Butternut growls. Vernar soon concurs.

"My suggestion be t' move through as fast as we can manage," Vernar replies. "Proceed with caution, but not spend much time unless we find somethin' o' interest."

With a curt nod to the dwarf, Butternut starts down the hall, hugging the wall on the right side and moving as quietly as she can. She gestures to Ren to do the same on the left. As she approaches the intersection, she keeps a close eye on the hallway to the left, trying to take maximum advantage of the angle while Ren does the same to her side. She gets as close as she can to the corner without actually being exposed, stops there, and gestures for Ren to do likewise. After listening for a moment to ensure no attack is imminent, Butternut waves Kaylessa forward to inspect the door. As the elf passes, Butternut steps around the corner to view the hall to the right. She takes a few sniffs in an attempt to determine whether they seem to be getting closer to or further away from the goblins.
___________________________________________________________________
Since Taylor hasn't been posting, I'm assuming that Ren will cooperate.

[Kendell]

Kendell:

After helping the grim soldier move what remains of the wooden brace into the place to block the door to the caverns, Kendell follows the rest of the group. They pass through one old, rotting room and then into another one.

“It's gonna take someone braver than me to rustle around in those rotting sacks to find any loot!” the tall warrior observes.

Then its out into a new corridor with more options on which way to proceed. Kendell keeps his eyes open and will move forward to protect the group should trouble arise.

[Sorvani]

Sorvani:

The mage keeps his distance, letting those skilled at this sort of reconnaissance ply their craft. Sorvani winces when the door makes such a horrid noise, but it doesn't seem to draw any attention.

“Maybe no one is home?” Sorvani offers.

The first room seems to have been a storage area. From the looks of it gear gathered up from the trap was placed here, most likely for sorting. Perhaps promising items were moved elsewhere from better examination?

A second room is reached that looks like an ancient barracks. Everything is rotted or smashed, if not both. It doesn't appear that anything worthwhile remains here.

The scouts move on down the other corridor and Sorvani keeps his distance.

“I vote for whatever direction fresh air or a breeze is coming from,” Sorvani whispers. “Assuming I have a vote in the matter.”

[Erisciana]

Erisciana -

"You may be right, Eri," Butternut replies with a shrug. "Hard to know for sure. I suspect that when guards were present and others were known to be outside, they kept the doors open. Otherwise, anyone returning might well be killed before those inside know of their presence and can call off the golem with the ring."

Although the dwarfs don't seem to make the golem react. The statue did not move when Vernar entered the area."

Listening to Erisciana's explanation (about the fulcrum), Butternut nods her understanding. "I'm sure the term is fine, it's just not one I was familiar with. Guess I learned something today. I've never lived near any large towns or cities, so I haven't witnessed construction of anything larger than a small village hall, and those usually of wood and thatch."

"I, on the other hand, have never lived outside my city until recently. Very different perspectives apparently."

"Perhaps the other side was guarded regularly, when the dwarves inhabited this place. Likely they used this entrance to come into the caverns to loot the bodies of those whom the traps claimed. Had the spikes in the pool not been in such disrepair, our escape attempt would have ended before it began."

“That all sounds perfectly reasonable,” Sorvani agrees with the foreign priestess. “From that point of view, I would suspect that a guard post would be near and perhaps a collection area for valuables recovered in the distant past. Perhaps some magic survived after all this time?”

Erisci's ears perk up at that idea. "That would certainly be a wonderful reward for surviving this deathtrap!" she exclaims.

Eventually the group moves forward and determines that goblins abound in the network.

“If I were designing this place,” Sorvani speaks up, “than this area would be away from the heart of the lair. We should be on the outer edge, so if there are goblins here, they may be deeper in. We may have time before we encounter any enemy forces.”

"That makes sense, Sorvani," the priestess agrees. "In my lands they tend to congregate together, much like a pack of rats," she says with a sneer.

As the scouts determine that the immediate area is deserted and rotted to uselessness, Erisci will approach Vernar after he sends the dwarf golem back to its original room. She is a little disconcerted when they block the doors to the statue room. She will speak to him away from the others not wanting to appear insubordinate.

"Might we want to consider using that stone construct to lead the way? Putting aside a powerful weapon seems like a waste of strength. The height of the hallways looked high enough to allow it to traverse. Truthfully, they must have had a way to get the statue into that room. It's unlikely that it was crafted there in that room," she says, pointing toward the newly blocked door.

"There were somewhere around twenty dead goblins in that room. Obviously from at least two separate forays into the area. If we were to assume that perhaps 20% to 30% managed to escape, like the cowards they are, then their assault groups were about 15 strong. Based on the goblins faced in my country that would imply a group of perhaps 150-200 in the community. Do we think that we can fight through or sneak around such a force? Granted they are possibly all grouped in one small area like the vermin they are."

"At the very least, having the doors blocked to a potential reinforcement opportunity may prove fatal in retreat should we be overwhelmed by numbers. Maybe I am being over-cautious but I think that had there been more threats behind us we would have run into more. My feeling is that there is a much bigger threat ahead of us. If nothing else, the goblins should be terrified of the creature which could create a path for us. At the least, the halls that are of a height to let it pass should lead us to the exit." She looks to their dwarven leader hopefully.

[Kaylessa]

Kaylessa

"Fine." Butternut snorts in frustration at the delay. There is more discussion behind her, but Butternut pays it little heed. Her eagerness to kill goblins is palpable. If there are none in this room, she is likely to keep looking until she finds some and bloodies her blades.

Kaylessa hears the snort of frustration but says nothing of it. This one would need to be reined in, she thinks to herself. Surely this halfling has no love for goblins but she won’t allow her to endanger herself or the others.

Neither Ren or Kaylessa hear anything, so the door is opened. It's rusty hinges squeal loudly, sounding almost like nails on a chalk board!

A shiver goes down Kaylessa’s spine as the hinges squeal in protest of being opened further then, the smell becomes more apparent. The smell of decay and mold invade her nose as she brings the back of her sleeve to her face. “That is awful.” She says as she tries not to gag on the new smell.
While doubtful, Kaylessa moves about the room looking for anything that might be of use. Albeit doubtful she looks for a ledger.
The decision is made to move forward and Ren and Butternut move forward.
Before moving forward, Kaylessa asks Vernar. “Considering you are the only dwarf here and probably know most of us regarding dwarven ways. Do you believe there would be many traps ahead? Is there anything may know what to look for?” she asks curiously.

Butternut waves Kaylessa forward to inspect the door. As the elf passes, Butternut steps around the corner to view the hall to the right. She takes a few sniffs in an attempt to determine whether they seem to be getting closer to or further away from the goblins.

Kaylessa moves forward one of her shortswords in hand the other sheathed at her side. She then takes a tentative look to the right then the left and moves swiftly toward the door. Leaning up against the right hand wall she begins to check the door and listens for sounds behind it.

[Lucyus]

Lucyus
As the others fall into position, Lcuyus is thankful that they are at least mindful of following orders, minus Butternut, who sounds as if she is out for blood and rushes to the door. Thankfully she is openminded to Ren and Kaylessa checking the doors.

Lucyus does a fine job pulling together more order to the mixed groups, and the dwarf nods his appreciation to the paladin. Some of the others don't look like they're completely ready to cede command to us, but Vernar doesn't want to be squabbling if there are goblins, or anything else, lurking about.

Lucyus returns Vernar’s nod with his own. Within moments the scouts are off and he watches as they deem it safe to open. It squeals in protest causing Lucyus to look down the hallway his axe loosely in his hands as he awaits signs of unwanted investigation.
No danger comes and Lucyus sees and smells the decay with his own eyes and unfortunately nose. Not wanting to look through the decay and rot, Lucyus moves back down the hall where he hears Eri, Sorvani and Vernar talking.

“I vote for whatever direction fresh air or a breeze is coming from,” Sorvani whispers. “Assuming I have a vote in the matter.”

“Your opinion is valued, my friend.”he says to the mage. “What you say holds merit and we shall do so at first opportunity.
“Eri, has a point. If we do bring it with us, it would be a valuable ally. Whether or not we are able to bring it with us is the question.
Lucyus will take up position behind the scouts his axe and torch in either hand.

[GM Mad]

Post Closed