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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on Mar 13, 2008 15:11:51 GMT -5
Pandoro says his morning prayers and with some help from the ever muscular Kord, he and his friends are repaired back to full health.
Balen takes crooknek's keys and heads for the northeastern door.
He opens the door and is hit with the stench of stale air.
The passage is dusty and dead ends at a masonry wall.
Two middle aged men huddle together.
As Balen approaches, they cringe away from him.
They are both chained by the ankle to large pieces of granite.
They are obviously not in a condition to line up and file out.
The dark passage gives off a certain aura of fear which causes the adventurers' hairs to stand on end.
"Are you here to free us?" one of the men asks through chattering teeth.
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Post by MaestroXC on Mar 13, 2008 16:29:33 GMT -5
(The passage is just a dead-end, right? No other rooms?)
"I reckon so; I've got the keys right here. How'd you two end up in this little cupboard? Hold still and I'll have you out in a jiff."
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on Mar 13, 2008 16:46:54 GMT -5
"Oh, thank the Gods," one of the men exclaims with a sigh of relief.
They hold still so their chains may be unlocked.
"I'm Oswald, and this is my brother Hubert. We've been down here for about two weeks now, I think. I'm not sure."
Hubert pipes in, "We're merchants. We had our caravan. Just taking some wine and food to sell in the market. These kobolds came out of nowhere and took us by surprise. Stole all our wine and brought us down here blindfolded."
"Let us get out of here quickly. I know something's behind that wall and I don't want to be here long enough to find out what it is." Oswald says, steadying himself as he and his brother head toward the exit back into Crooknek's lair.
I don't know.
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Post by MaestroXC on Mar 13, 2008 21:04:49 GMT -5
The passage is dusty and dead ends at a masonry wall. [Just trying to interpret what you said here] While he's unlocking the two captives, Balen takes a close look around the passage Crooknek was using as a holding cell. [search check?] [dice=20][rand=96984691425517378458626385016375094293417339770596273762745533196]
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Post by Toptomcat on Mar 13, 2008 22:29:21 GMT -5
Sar's eyebrows shoot up. "There any of that wine left anywhere? I've got some burns that a good half a bottle would take the edge off of nicely. Gorram kobolds are born pyromaniacs."
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anoba
Veteran of the War
Posts: 271
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Post by anoba on Mar 14, 2008 1:11:05 GMT -5
Addressing Crookneck, "Hey hobgoblin, what's with the spooky wall back there. Some kind of ancient evil?"
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on Mar 14, 2008 14:01:56 GMT -5
After an initial search of the wall at the end of the passage, which has no glaringly obvious signs of a door on it, Balen can find nothing. Either there is no door and the adventurers have managed to make their way through the entity of this section of caverns, or there is one super sneaky ninja door hiding somewhere.
Sar finds lots of wine bottles strewn about Crooknek's lair. They're practically all empty except for the one which is half empty. Crooknek never got to finish its contents last night.
At Pandoro's question, Crooknek shrugs.
"It's a wall. It felt like a scary place. I put those two back there. Don't know about any evil."
The hob. . . bugbear tries his best to cooperate in hopes of getting the manacles off and walking out of this one alive.
Oswald shakes his head.
"Uh-uh, something's definately back there. We heard lots of loud sounds and moving around."
His brother adds
"It could very well be an ancient evil. Maybe a long forgotten crypt, but still, we should get going."
"Probably just rats," Crooknek adds his two cents worth, not really relishing the idea of being chained up in the event that he should have to run away from ghosts and other ancient evils.
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Post by Toptomcat on Mar 14, 2008 22:45:25 GMT -5
Sar takes a long swig from the bottle, sighing in contentment as the booze dulls the pain from his wounds. "That's the stuff. Now, you prisoner people can go. Let's pop the seal on this tomb 'o doom."
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on Mar 15, 2008 23:15:33 GMT -5
The brothers turn to leave, but then turn back to the group as reality sets in
"Uh, we don't exactly know how to get out of here. Like my brother said, they blindfolded us."
Crooknek chimes in.
"I'll take them." he offers eagerly. He raises his wrists, attempting to demonstrate that he can't really go anywhere until he is unlocked.
The brothers aren't sure of what to think of this.
"We could stay here and help and then leave with you when you are ready." one offers with a good degree of hesitation.
"What exactly are we staying around for. Why don't we all just leave here. We can all have a great feast when we return home. Our family will be greatful to see us safe and alive. I will insist that you are repaid greatly if there is not already a reward in place." the other brother attempts to get everyone present out of these caves as quickly as possible.
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Post by MaestroXC on Mar 16, 2008 23:21:14 GMT -5
"Uh, I dunno about that, Sar. Why don't we just run these fellows back to town with the inventor, and take a load off for a little while. If we were all by ourselves here I'd be first through the door, but I'd rather not leave all these folks just waiting for us in this hole.
Just think of the feasts, man!"
Balen turns to the rest of the crew. "What d'you guys think?"
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on Mar 17, 2008 13:59:35 GMT -5
The door which may or may not exist. . .
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Post by MaestroXC on Mar 18, 2008 0:30:01 GMT -5
[I'm just responding to Sar. Good point, though]
"Besides, I checked out that hallway and there's nothing there. Feel free to look yourself, but if those two fellas who were chained up in there for days can't give a straight answer, well..."
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anoba
Veteran of the War
Posts: 271
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Post by anoba on Mar 18, 2008 12:09:14 GMT -5
"Sar, why don't ya go in there and search it real good. You know, TAKE 20 minutes or so to search."
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Post by Toptomcat on Mar 18, 2008 18:50:31 GMT -5
"May as well." Sar takes a good long look at the spooky wall, examining every chink and cranny- poking at anything that might be the slightest bit suspicious. (Take 20 gets a 26.)
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on Mar 19, 2008 14:12:49 GMT -5
After a long while of searching the wall, Sar finally comes up with something.
A stone in the wall is loose.
If it is pushed further inward, it will trigger something and a larger slab of stone will swing outward, thus forming a secret door of sorts large enough for the group to pass through.
Quite the masonry marvel.
The adventurers are free to move through, though their ranks are dwindling.
Strom and Corvus have gone back to the strange alchemist to pig out on the tasty lichen that he was making.
Crooknek still waits to be freed, citing "cruel and unusual punishment"
And the two brothers offer to help the adventurers, but it is clear that they possess no combat skills whatsoever based on the way that Oswald swings a spear, almost taking off his brother's head though that was likely not his intention.
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anoba
Veteran of the War
Posts: 271
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Post by anoba on Mar 19, 2008 15:32:33 GMT -5
The adventurers are free to move through, though their ranks are dwindling. Strom and Corvus have gone back to the strange alchemist to pig out on the tasty lichen that he was making. Have Lin and Wicksy dropped out? If so, can we assume their characters took Crookneck, the brothers and the wizard with them?
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on Mar 19, 2008 16:13:59 GMT -5
Sure, not a problem.
I'll update again later if you guys are all in agreement to go through the secret door having sent the others home with the two MIA PCs
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Post by Toptomcat on Mar 19, 2008 16:54:18 GMT -5
Yeah, sounds like a good idea.
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Post by MaestroXC on Mar 19, 2008 17:27:26 GMT -5
Aye. Don't want no quitters once we enter the Lair of Evil.
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anoba
Veteran of the War
Posts: 271
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Post by anoba on Mar 19, 2008 22:53:37 GMT -5
Pandoro sticks his torch into the Lair of Really Evil Badness and peers in. His shortspear gripped muscularly in his other hand.
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