Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Chapter 12: Door and Tribute

Richard went to work. The door was sealed all the way around with a mortar. Taking out a small hammer a chisel he started chipping away at the mortar under the door.

Thomas looked hard at the door, but in his deepest memories could find no stories that mentioned a three headed dwarves woman. "Do you have any idea what this imagery is meant to tell Lorem? By the looks of it, I'd almost prefer we try the other paths first."

“I know nothing of this door.” Lorem stated flatly, almost with a hint of annoyance.

"well, I can only hope this door is meant to protect what is inside... and not to protect US from what is inside." Aurelious grimaced has he inspected the door. “This is an effigy, or more likely, an Icon… what kind of gods do you dwarves worship?”

Lorem frowned at the paladin.

Calenon piped in. "So I can Knock the door, right? If this group is going to let one little door discourage our efforts, I don't much like our chances of success. But, if that is.... unacceptable..." he glares at the dwarf quickly, "I suppose we may have to turn back."

"Have at it if you must, this temple already requires a stone working team to do repairs, as well as an extermination team to catch what we don’t, so one more door wont be that much more for them to repair. I just don’t want us going out of our way to break things if their is another way."

"One should never mistake, Master Calenon, careful consideration for inaction or discouragement. If you were prepared to gain entrance as such…” Aurelious paused and rethought his words. “but never mind. It is not my place to speak on your actions. I may suggest, however, that if the key is melted inside the lock,…” Aurelious turned to Richard, who by this time had opened a small hole under the door and was inserting two long wires into it. “would it be possible to melt the key to remove it from the lock completely? It might then be possible to open the lock via... alternative methods."

Richard did not hear him. He was looking into the small mirror he had inserted under the door. Which now lay facing the other side of the door. He could see a stone made mechanism built into the wall that attached to the other side of the door. This mechanism would obviously be pressed should the door be opened. It was a complex trap to be sure, and of excellent make, but…

"Wait! Nobody do anything! The door is trapped... a very old trap from the looks of it... quite intricate... I don't know what it's supposed to do or how not to make it do what it's supposed to do. I can try disarming it, but it would require studying it for some time."

Lorem backed from the door. "Yeah you study it, I am going to wait over here.“ He backed up some more. “better yet you study it and a couple of us can look down another hallway to see if there appears to be any more openings... Any takers?... I am not suggesting that we 'split up' but maybe we could speed things up a bit."

Aurelious held stead fast. "After our previous encounter, I would strongly advise we stay as a single group."

Calenon looked annoyed with the retreating Dwarf and the amount of time they had spent with a simple door. "It's simple. Richard, look at the trap. If you think you can disarm it, do it, and I will Knock the door. Otherwise, we will move on to somewhere else. This is getting quite ridiculous."

"Ok, Here goes nothing." Richard stood up and with his hammer and chisel and started to take out the brick where he felt the plunger would intersect with whatever that mechanism.

"Calenon, I suggest you take a moment to collect yourself. Your ire at the discussion of our course, given a door decorated as this is, serves only to harm our cause. I will not have us be rushed through here at risk to our lives because of your impatience." Thomas runs a free hand through his hair while giving another glance at his companions and the door. "Lorem I ask again, do you have any cause to believe something is sealed behind this door that we will likely wish to avoid if possible given this image? If not, then by all means Richard, disable the trap. I'll go whatever path the majority rules on. If you believe it may take some time though, Aurelious or Lorem and I could take a glance down the next hallway. I'd much prefer fighting in the open space of the room above than a space such as this and who knows if something else came to investigate the scene of our fight. I do not relish the idea of being pinned in."

“I know nothing of this door, as I've said before. But I agree that...” answered Lorem

“What did you say to m…” Calenon stepped forward interupting Lorem, when he was interrupted by a swear from the end of the room.

“Shit!” Richard exclaimed as he removed a brick from the wall. Attached to this brick there apparently a spring attached. The method Richard used to disarm the trap was apparently already thought of by the dwarves and had booby trapped the brick. A winding could be heard from in the wall.

Richard could only watch as, within the small space hollowed out for the trap, a huge stone fell puling a black chain. This chain was attached to the apex stone of the room they were going into.
He watched in horror as the chain snapped to a taught line which threatened to rip the apex stone from the wall thus causing the room to collapse in on itself. Richard’s mind raced as he watched the chain start to heave the stone out of position. Apparently a thousand years ago the stone was polished smooth so that it would pull right out, but the years had been heavy and the stones now pushed upon the apex with several tons of weight. He had only a second, he could jump to safety or… Richard reached out and discharged an open/close charge from his fore arm. The pin that held the counter weight to the chain flew out of the hole, just missed Richards head, and plated itself 1 inch into the solid stone across the hallway. The counted weight fell out of sight, followed seconds latter by a deafening crash. Richard opened his eyes and looked in the hole.

“Traps disarmed.”

Calenon smiled as he rolled up his sleeves. “Then let me do my part.” Calenon stared at the door, then spoke one word. “expositus” they heard crinkling metal as the seal unsealed itself and the mortar cracked as the door swung open.

The room was 40 feet in diamiter and dome shaped. The walls and floor were of that same black stone. The only part of the room that seemed out of place was the far wall which was flat and looked hastily built, although by dwarven hand. Upon the wall a massive seal was scribed; a mess of lines contained within a circle. Along with the seal are ancient dwarven characters. But this is not what drew the perty's attention. Sitting in the center of the room upon a black stone altar is a pile of gold and other treasures.

“Beyond this seal certain death awaits” Lorem read aloud from the wall, his voice echoing in the domed room. “This is what I feared. This is a tribute chamber to queen Aym. We should not be here and we should not, on penalty of our lives, touch the tribute. I’m sorry we spent so much time to get in here, but now we should leave.”

9 comments:

NWIFSER said...

INIT: 7

Looking at the seal, I absolutely do not like the looks of this. "Explain the meaning of this seal. There is more to this Queen Aym, and perhaps we should know anything of importance."

Draw a bastard sword with my left hand, 'radiance' if it is turned off.

"However... Assure me that the relic we seek does not lay within this treasure, and I will turn back now... we can have time for such tales later, as long as they are not of immediate importance."

Eric said...

Init: 12

"I am inclined to agree with Lorem. With the amount of effort taken in trapping the door, whatever force is guarding the treasure itself is likely that much worse. It seems folly for so much of value to lie here unseen... I suppose that is how it works with royalty to any kind, though." I just sort of stand there looking contemplative until someone else does something.

Unknown said...

Init: 16

"Quick thinking with the trap Richard; however i fear that it may not last or that we may not be so lucky with others in this room. It is best we clear out," Lorem speaks to the group, however, his words are as hollow as the compliment he paid Richard. Eyes fixated on the wall and seal he thinks to himself "Why must they have hurried to finish it... what could be behind it."

and finally pulling his eyes away.

"Dont be foolish. I was told that Sionaas believed the Crystal Ball of Koral Lierman to be below the catacombs and I can assure you that we are no where near the bottom. Besides if the orb were in the tribute then their it must stay."

[any more description of the seal or wall spot:8]

JC said...

Init: 7
Spot for treasure pile: 8
Spot for wall: 17
Uh...spellcraft for wall:

"What if others searched for the ball, and unleashed something? Only managing to wall it in instead of defeating it...hmm probably not."

Glancing both at the pile of treasure and the out of place wall, Thomas mutters to himself.
"This message, your comment on those who would despise the telling," as he speaks the words gain volume and he turns to Lorem, "and your other comment of the guards being the last who were loyal...what happened? I fear we are at a loss for not knowing the story behind her tomb Lorem. Is there nothing you can tell us while we remain in this place?" Thomas looks again at the seal and thinks to himself. "Is it truly magicked or just a scare tactic? It scares me more that it was done so hastily than if it were to have been impregnable."


Dane - would the use of spellstitching be known to invoke certain thoughts in people? Like omg he uses it so he must be evil and what not? Or is it a neutral practice that is either common or a rarity, but not seen in a particular light? I don't recall anything about "Gronts" if you've told me before.

JC said...

Oh that spellcraft for wall was a 15. (probably a still hell no, even if I'd natural 20'ed it heh)

DM said...

The pile of treasure on the altar looks like over a thousand pieces of gold and silver, a hundred jems, a few weapons with jeweled hilts, and a small platnem stature of a dwarven woman siting on a thrown with no facial features

DM said...

Ther is no sighn of any cristal balls.

NWIFSER said...

After my initiative passes I will next withdraw from the room slowly.

Unknown said...

Init: 25

Calenon inspects the pile carefully, but without touching it, making sure the ball is not there. If it is not, he sighs in disappointment. "What a waste of a spell. Oh well; I suppose we had better head back and hope we don't have to punch through any floors." He starts walking back toward the entry chamber.