As you look through the entranceway across the bridge, you can see a short passage, again about ten feet long, sloping 40 degrees downwards, about four feet wide. The top of the passage is black with what might be soot, except that it is hard and does not come off on your fingers. At the bottom of the passage you can see what might be a kitchen. There's the edge of a table with a visible cooking pot, and a knife next to it, and some ripped cloths next to that.
On the floor, you can see what might be a frogling's arm, judging by the clawed hand on the end of it. The arm is not moving. There are splatters of purple next to the arm, which you recognize as frogling blood, having seen it several times now.
57 comments:
I ask for clarification: "the top of the passage is black", as in "the ceiling of the sloping corridor"?
Other than this, can we hear anything?
Yes, the ceiling of the sloping corridor. It may have served as a chimney.
You can hear very little, not even the chittering sound, since the stirge is dead. You can barely hear the water moving below you.
Well, this frog may well have fallen victim to the stirge.
I (cautiously) enter the "kitchen". Give us body horror.
I follow behind Engelhart.
I've still got Embla's pack, so I'll wait for now.
Okay. There's no apparent danger here, so please feel the whole party can comment going forward.
There is plenty of body horror here. This is definitely a kitchen. There are seven dead froglings in the room, in about ten pieces. They have apparently been thrown about the room, with some on top of tables or splayed over the floor. There is plenty of frogling blood. They were killed by claws. Parts of the bodies have been eaten.
The kitchen is extensive, with two stone ovens, five tables and a wide collection of metal knives, pots, pans, cooking implements, cups and a wide assortment of metal pieces serving as cutting boards or other surfaces. There are some twenty large pieces of stoneware, between four and twenty pounds in weight, and about fifty cups without handles and bowls.
The metal is a dull silver in color, definitely not iron, most likely not silver (too hard). Trying to score the metal with a dagger or sword blade fails to leave a mark. The total weight of the metal, including pieces, would be about 350 lbs. The total weight of the stoneware would be about 225 lbs.
There's no food here. The kitchen hasn't been used in a long time.
There are two entrances you can see. One is a very large door, about five feet wide and seven feet high, heavy, fitted excellently into its frame, made of hardwood. This door is closed tight. The other entrance WAS protected by a lattice-metal door, which has apparently grown rusty with the centuries. This door has been ripped from its upper and middle hinge, is twisted and laying across the ground in front of the entranceway, still attached to the lower hinge but seriously malformed now.
The latter entranceway is about eight feet high, five feet wide, with a curved half-arc lintel. Beyond there are crumbled stairs that lead down, so crumbled that they make a 55-degree slope.
Questions?
I don't have any special knowledge, but any indication on how fresh the corpses are would be of use.
That, and listening at the wrecked door for any noises.
Ah, correct, meant to say as much. The bodies have been killed in the last two to four hours.
And sorry for that too. Still, no sounds.
Have any of the bodies been eaten on, or are they are simply killed?
Quote, "Parts of the bodies have been eaten."
Welp, going where this thing is not seems like the no-brainer.
Seems pretty obvious we can't take on our plausible 8-by-5 foot suspect without at least rest & some sound preparation.
Also... if it has fed here, it is liable to come back for another snack, sooner or later. We might want to catch it here on our terms rather than descend and find what what we don't want to.
Still, if someone with the sneaks cares to go out on a limb and get a looksie down there, go right ahead.
I'll approach and appraise the door still standing... is it locked?
Whoops, sorry, reading too fast.
A thought, Engelhart, about the return of the beast(s): we might be able to lure it/them up to the bridge and defend that much more easily than a whole room. If it is a single big thing, it will likely have trouble staying on the path.
I also recommend moving some of the unknown metal material back nearer to the entrance so we can grab and go if necessary.
So ...
I know that you're not much familiar with the concept of treasure and all, but I was wondering, as you're rushing to make your way on to what comes next, if you'd like to lay any claim to the metal and pottery in the room.
Yes!
We can drag most of the bodies to the other side, tie some rope around a juicy piece that we'll leave behind invitingly at the entrance to the bridge. As the beastie comes into sight, we hit it with everything ranged that we've got.
Should it wish to pursue, well, what were the dimensions on the drainage basin's door, again?
The metal won't run on us... whereas the beastie might come back at anytime.
But sure, we plant our flags around. But all the poundage you described, it can't all be valuable, right?
There's a round 1,840 g.p. worth of metal and stoneware in the room, whatever you might choose to remove or not. I'm not playing with "spending rules," so this is experience in your pocket, right now. It works out to 460 x.p. each. If you want it, that is.
Engelhart, I don't remember describing anything as a "drainage basin's door." You mean the large, closed wooden door?
Yes please. Looking at my capacity and that of my followers I am confident we can carry it all (though not quickly). I, for one, would like some more XP (and to move it to the entry cave before delving farther).
No, no, the door we peeled off before coming upon the bridge. Its frame, if memory serves, is significantly more constrictive than the ones found in this room. Might come in handy, might not.
The stoneware would be about 5 c.p. per ounce. Because you don't recognize the metal, it is harder to judge.
Ah. Well, anything in this room of value would fit through it. Call it about four feet high and 30 inches wide.
I'll give Embla her pack back.
I'd also like to listen at the still-sealed door if possible. I'm not expecting to hear anything, but if I don't check I'll feel stupid.
There's 500lbs of kitchenware here. That sounds pretty good, but I need 1k xp to hit third and get that tasty drop in THAC0 I'm after, and I have no idea how much actual value this all is.
I think the rest of the party agrees we want it, but we're just finalising a course of action before we all drop 2/3 AP apiece trying to carry it out.
Nice bump. Going to be a nightmare carrying this all back to Stavanger.
I check the wooden door.
From my calculations, the X.P. isn't enough to get any of you up a level. In alphabetical order, my totals are Embla (2330), Engelhart (4270), Lothar (4259) and Pandred (3449). Lothar is much closer.
On further inspection of the room, Bergthora will notice a pipe extending an inch out of a recessed part of the wall, with a ceramic plug in it. It is poised over a stone basin built into the recess.
Oh, but do ask your retainers to begin with the haul... no use in idling about.
As soon as we've scoped what's behind door nº2, I'll join in gladly myself.
Just so it's not lost in the shuffle: I listen at the closed door.
A washing basin complete with piped water would be a wonder of sorts by itself.
[Nitpick time: does Engelhart's 10% bonus apply to the 460 xp?]
I should know better! Pandred and Engelhart get another 49 each for 10%.
Pandred and Engelhart find they cannot force their fingers to touch the door. At about an inch from the wood, your fingers will not move any closer.
Your count matches mine, Alexis. Only 242 till 3rd level!
Ok, Fjall and Bergthora begin carting the metal and stone implements back to the first chamber.
I pull the stopper out.
The retainers are extremely uncomfortable at the notion of carrying heavy loads over the bridge, or taking multiple trips.
I methodically help with the haul, guiding folks across the chasm as needed, but never leaving my weapons.
Fair enough. Very well, compadres. Shall we pause a moment to remove our loot before pressing our luck?
Can I touch the door with my axe? Just a prod.
I help haul the things out as well.
Pandred, you find yourself with your axe in your hand, looking at the door, thinking, "I'll just try to touch the door with my axe."
But in fact, you find yourself incapable of even starting to do that.
Okay, here's how I read it.
Hauling the stuff out will be dangerous; if Engelhart has a bless spell left, that would help sustain the morale of the hirelings and I could see my way through to letting them give in without noise.
I will also need to know your means of carrying things - sacks, backpacks, in your hands - and I will need to know how much weight you carry across the bridge PER TRIP.
And I count 595 lbs. all around, including stuff off the bodies.
As the sure-footed, morale boosting girl I am, I will supervise treasure removal. I've a backpack, a belt pouch, and a money belt. We can also carry things in my iron helmet or wrapped in my chemise or cloak.
I've a backpack ("suitable for 3.700 coins"). Bless has been well and spent, however.
Not that practical over a long distance. Since these objects are not square, but are mostly hollow, they take up a great deal more room than weight. A backpack will carry 40 lbs., but a bulky item like a stoneware jar weighing half that much will pretty much challenge the backpack. And you have things in your pack already.
For putting things inside sacks and backpacks, count the metal and stoneware as twice the weight that it is.
As my backpack is back with our donkey, I have to limit myself to piling smaller implements in pots and carrying them by hand, up to 30 lbs of loot per trip, leaving my bow in the kitchen to avoid becoming super slow.
Bergthora and Fjall have likewise left their packs back with the donkey and the military unit, so will also have to do the pot-carrying thing, up to 50 lbs each per trip, if they are willing.
So that's 130 lbs accounted for per trip for myself and my people. Which means 5 trips by ourselves, though I'm sure the rest of you have more capacity than we do.
But without the Bless, I suppose it will be more trips, just by myself. 30 lbs, piled into pots.
Oddsdrakken is topside as well, and that means I too am without a pack.
I'll commit to this fully. I leave behind my Battleaxe, Helmet, and Shield.
That would allow me to carry 29 lbs in the same way as Lothar per trip.
Alexis, I have the Balance sage ability, but do I have it right in thinking that that is different than Embla's sure-footedness?
Walking across this bridge with hands full is not ideal, but ...
I'll give a +1 bonus to wisdom for each trip. The first trip out for everyone, then, takes 210 lbs. Could I get a d20 for every character and hireling?
d20: 8
Lothar: 13
Bergthora: 3
Fjall: 1
Balance is slightly adjusted from sure-footedness; it reduces your combat penalties when fighting on an uneven, slippery or moving surface. But it will count here if you blow your wisdom check.
Which you didn't. Lothar and team are fine as well.
I have emptied out my bag, leaving behind a fair amount of gear - javelins, spears, battleaxe, etc - which allows me to carry some 40lbs without losing 1AP.
Willa is confined to carrying whatever is in her hands.
Embla: 16
Willa: 19
Well, shit.
Okay, one at a time. Embla's effective dex for this maneuver is 19, so she's fine. The sure-footedness overcomes the wisdom, as she has trained for this sort of activity, and actually isn't as scared as someone else might be.
Willa's wisdom is 12. So she has a little slip, freaks out a bit, drops her stuff (bang, smash) and has to make a dex check.
Embla, roll another d20.
Willa, as it happens, is first in line, followed by Embla (rolled randomly). So Embla is right there to help her if the check fails. Go ahead and roll.
Willa gets a 16.
But Embla rolls a nat 1.
Whew.
To catch Willa, Embla will have to drop her own stuff. I had not asked you to roll that second number (and please don't roll for something without advisement), because you would have made a decision: use one hand and save some of the treasure, with a slight penalty, or drop all the treasure and grab Willa with both hands?
Well, you rolled, so I'll give you a different choice. Keep your roll, with both hands having dropped the treasure, or roll again, with a 3-pt penalty, but hang onto half your treasure.
Whoa. I come back here to find us all in a logistical conundrum. Novelty.
I had this inkling, while away. If no one dies in a flailing heap in the meantime, can whoever has our "Tchekov's ring" approach the door and... see what's what?
I've emptied the backpack onto one of the counters in the meantime and stuffed 20->40 pounds of loot onto it.
I can also take another 30 by going barehanded... but I don't really want to waste treasure when I don't have to. One more trip or three is no skin off this patient cleric's nose.
The ring may be a good idea.
I personally thought we should give the basin a go. Much like the well, maybe drinking their water might break this particular "lock" as well.
Those both sound like good ideas.
My apologies, Alexis. I'll keep the roll and drop the treasure - Willa is far too important to risk losing.
I forgot the stopper was pulled.
Nothing happens (if there was running water once, spiders would have plugged up the hole with their dead bodies and webs centuries ago).
Okay, on the whole, 5 lbs. of Willa's load and 5 lbs. of Embla's load of metal goods survives. You lose 30 lbs. of stoneware and 20 lbs. of metal goods.
Who has the ring?
Embla does.
I've created a new post, as this comment field is getting long.
I'm going to skip off for a bit. I have had a mic loaned to me by a friend and I'm going to play with it for a bit, see how it works, see if I can get it installed and such.
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