|
Author
|
Comment
|
yucatanyeti
Sangraal
Posts: 364
(3/20/03 3:11 pm)
|
Re: B1: In Search of the Unknown
Silently the door pivots closed and sangraal removes a torch the small cord bound bundle attached by leather straps to the bottom of his pack.
Holding it into the flame of Meneloss's burning torch it spudders briefly as the dry pitch ignites. Soon another torch is burning brightly adding to the illumination.
Sangraal takes a moment to reach out and sense if Chaos has passed this way recently.
[OOC: Detect Chaos +6 ]
" Any sign of the enemy having located this secret passageway? Did we leave no sign in which the broo could follow? Also I have no rope." he says quietly.
Edited by: yucatanyeti at: 3/20/03 12:19:37 pm
|
Meneloss
Meneloss Erednim
Posts: 447
(3/20/03 3:36 pm)
|
Re: B1: In Search of the Unknown
Meneloss hands his torch to Draxim while he removes a length of rope from his pack. He takes the coil of braided hemp and lays it down. "Who all here has more rope? I know Draxim has ninety feet." He nods towards the stocky Dwarf as he takes back his torch. "Did anyone else bring any? Climbing down may not be so difficult without rope. It is if we must climb back up these stairs that the rope would help."
[ooc: c'mon people anybody else got some rope?!! If not, you all fail D&D 101... 50' rope, iron spikes, flask of oil, 1 WIR, in your pack or don't leave home!!!  ]
Edited by: Meneloss at: 3/20/03 12:36:59 pm
|
mikedobbs
Yimris
Posts: 149
(3/20/03 4:05 pm)
|
Re: B1: In Search of the Unknown
[ Ugg, me outdoorsy ranger type, me no carry heavy rope so can run away quicker ; ) ]
|
Kenner
Draxim
Posts: 395
(3/20/03 5:12 pm)
|
Re: B1: In Search of the Unknown
Draxim sniffs the air then looks at Ruig, "Any idea how far down the stairs go? Smoke and Chaos!" he rasps quietly. "We need the ladder! Should we go back and get it?"
[Approximate dimensions on the stairs? Particularly how tall is each stair and how steep is the angle of descent? ]
|
Meneloss
Meneloss Erednim
Posts: 448
(3/20/03 5:22 pm)
|
Re: B1: In Search of the Unknown
Meneloss shakes his head "Draxim it appears we have not enough rope to reach the bottom of the staircase. Let's continue downward without further delay. Pray that we need not ascend these stairs in a hurry. As a precaution, why don't we hammer a spike in the stairs as we get closer to the bottom? At least the last fifty feet can be covered by my rope here."
Meneloss looks over the edge of the massive stair and says to Atan "Lets go."
|
Halle Dunn
Atan Finith Ring
Posts: 356
(3/20/03 6:41 pm)
|
Lets go
"Alright lets go. Draxim, Ruig and Ruglan stay here. They rest of us can start down. If the stair way is longer then 140 feet then we will stop there and signal you with the lantern to come to us. If it is shorter then we can use the rope. Sound good?"
Atan starts down the stairs.
|
yucatanyeti
Sangraal
Posts: 365
(3/20/03 7:04 pm)
|
Re: B1: In Search of the Unknown
"Sounds good to me Atan. Meneloss, if Ruig can hear the sound of pick on stone. Then the sound of driving in a spike will alert the intruders as to our location don't you think?"
Sangraal takes his time climbing down one step at a time.
"Atan could I drop my pack and flail to you as we proceed to each new step? If we do that for everyone then we'll all make it down safely"
[OOC: Let us all go down one stair at a time, with the good climbers helping the others, it might take longer but we'll all make it down safely.
|
Halle Dunn
Atan Finith Ring
Posts: 357
(3/21/03 7:10 am)
|
Re: Lets go
"We will assess the iron spike once we get down 140 feet. Good idea on the packs. Ruglan give me your pack. That way when you are climbing down you won't have to worry about it." Holding his backpack up by the strap, "Nothing breakable in here is there?"
Once Ruglan confirms nothing breakable Atan will as gently as possible drop his pack down to the next step and hop down himself. Carefullly grabbing the edge of the stair he lowers himself until his body is fully extended, then lets go. Dropping the two feet to the next stair, "Ok Sangraal hand me your pack and flail."
[Continue to repeat, helping all who need it, until 140 feet down (or our best estimate thereof). If steps go further we will signal the dwarves and ruglan with the lantern to untie the rope and come down to us while we figure out what to do next.]
|
Jubilex
The Faceless Lord of Chaos
Posts: 1220
(3/21/03 9:13 am)
|
Re: B1: In Search of the Unknown
[The party is splitting up. Excellent...]
All the tall folks, minus Ruglan, begin their slow descent along the massive steps. Heavily laden packs are dropped, armor slides over stone, and Atan, Sangraal, Kezib, Yimris, Madragar and Meneloss disappear into the darkness below.
While Ruglan, Draxim and Ruig play successive games of egg-anvil-apple on the ledge before the secret door, the others plunge onward into the increasingly cold depths of the mountain. No one is quite sure how far they've gone, but after a dozen or so steps there appears to be no end to the massive stairway. Atan waves a torch from side to side to signal that the upper party should begin to make their descent.
The group convenes and the dwarves quickly point out that they can just barely see the end of the stairs below them about fifty or sixty feet down.
Edited by: Jubilex at: 3/21/03 6:15:10 am
|
Jubilex
The Faceless Lord of Chaos
Posts: 1221
(3/21/03 9:24 am)
|
The stairs...
[Side note: it is possible for two people to scale these eight foot steps. One simply has to get a boost from the other, then haul the lower man up. It would be slow and exhausting, but it's an option.]
|
Ruglan
Ruglan
Posts: 115
(3/21/03 9:49 am)
|
Re: The stairs...
Ruglan does a fair job of winning matches of egg-anvil-apple against the 2 dwarves using his "smithy" offense. (anvil, anvil, anvil)
"I do not have anything breakable in my pack, Atan," he whispers as he lowers to the elf. "Although it's not the pack I'm worried about."
|
Halle Dunn
Atan Finith Ring
Posts: 358
(3/21/03 10:26 am)
|
Re: The stairs...
After traveling 140 feet or so it is obvious that the stairs will keep going for at least a little further. "We have made alot of noise so far and I don't think hammering in a spike for rope is going to add much more. But I don't think it is necessary. With us helping each other it shouldn't be too much problem and in a pinch most of us can just throw our packs up and climb up behind it. Only the dwarves will really need assistance. So let's keep going down, the bottom is only 50 feet or so." Atan continues down the stairs once Ruglan and th dwarves catch up.
|
Meneloss
Meneloss Erednim
Posts: 449
(3/21/03 10:39 am)
|
Re: The stairs...
Meneloss concurs with Atan's opinion "I agree, Who know how much time the rope would save anyways. Lets just keep moving."
[ooc: Holy crap Ruglan speaks! Time is difficult to keep track of, Scott, Meneloss has had a torch burning since the first stair... Let me know when to light another. Also is there any sign of recent traffic through the secret passage/starcase? Track wilderness lore-does not seem appropriate- (+5), Search (+5)]
|
Jubilex
The Faceless Lord of Chaos
Posts: 1222
(3/21/03 10:50 am)
|
Re: The stairs...
[It actually hasn't been that long. Meneloss thinks he's got another half hour or so of light left in his torch.]
Meneloss checks for signs that anyone else has passed along the stairway, but his tracking experience does not include subterranean work. There is no obvious debris on the steps, and no steaming piles of broo offal, so Meneloss can make no sound conclusions.
|
doggius
Kezib Ahitub
Posts: 280
(3/21/03 10:55 am)
|
Re: The stairs...
Kezib, while decending the steep steps amid the grunts and groans of the elves, humans and dwarfs going down the steps, will, at each step, stop and try to clear his mind and filter out the sounds of his friends. He will try to listen for any sounds that are unusual other than the normal ruckas behind him, with the packs being dropped and the grunting and occasional curse words from behind.
|
yucatanyeti
Sangraal
Posts: 366
(3/21/03 5:12 pm)
|
Re: The stairs...
Sangraal passes pack and flail to waiting hands, then drops heavily to the next step. He looks down the flight of stairs and into the darkness beyound the torch light.
" Only 4000 left to go..." he grunts as he proceeds to the next step
|
Kenner
Draxim
Posts: 397
(3/22/03 8:13 am)
|
Re: The stairs...
"Curses. Anvil again. Nothing beats anvil."
After dropping a couple more steps, Draxim looks down to where Ruig sensed the bottom of the steps. He wishes to make a more complete scan of the area below. If he sees nothing, he continues, otherwise he will let them know.
|
mikedobbs
Yimris
Posts: 150
(3/23/03 2:26 pm)
|
Moving ahead
Yimris will move ahead of the climbers, probably with Atan as well, and try to stay at least 20 ft in front of the rest but mostly against the left wall. He will periodically stop and listen (9) and scan (spot 9, sense chaos  .
|
Jubilex
The Faceless Lord of Chaos
Posts: 1223
(3/24/03 9:19 am)
|
Re: The stairs...
[20ft ahead is about two steps, though you're still limited to the light of the lantern 20ft behind you.]
The two Merek Lek, appreciably out of their element, clamber down the enormous stone steps ahead of the main group. Keeping to the walls they pause often, listening.
Finally they reach what appears to be the bottom of this second stairway where it opens into another large chamber. There is a mild breeze blowing through this part of the complex and the sounds of grunting climbers and equipment scraping on stone echoes back from the vast darkness ahead.
Atan and Yimris see a ledge, perhaps thirty feet wide, extending out from the bottom of the stairway. To the west and north the ledge simply ends, plunging down into a dark abyss. To the east the ledge cleaves to the south wall of the chamber and continues beyond the limitations of elven vision.
A minute or so later and the group convenes on the ledge. The dwarves survey the limits of the ledge, training their subterranean sight out into darkness. They indicate that about twenty feet away from the ledge, across the chasm, is another ledge. Looking down into the abyss they cannot see the bottom. The ledge continues to the east.
|
yucatanyeti
Sangraal
Posts: 367
(3/24/03 9:39 am)
|
Breeze in my pants
The movement of the air helps to cool Sangraal after the arduous journey down the steps as he removes his helm to wipe the persperation from his brow.
"Master Ruig and Master Draxim, does the movement of air this deep indicate a second entrence to Old Kurlew? How deep are we?"
Sangraal turns to face the wind trying to guage from which direction it is coming. Is the air fresh? or laden with moisture?
|
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies 
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies