A Rather Odd Shovel [Judge: Bront]
Trouvere
Explorer
"There's a thought, let's do that," says Keldar. "We're on unfamiliar ground and moving at the speed of the shortest legs among us, so we need all the headstart we can get."
"And - my thieving friend with a second chance at life - are we likely to meet anyone on our way? Those coves who poisoned you with potions, for instance?"
"Hey, Tommy, is your invisible box-pushing friend still here?" Keldar shakes his head at the wonder of it all. "Can he come along with us and go out in front a little way dragging a, let's see, a quarterstaff along the ground? Can he wear a cloak?"
Keldar seems to be enjoying this.[sblock=OOC]Unseen servant tripwire and trap detector and decoy?[/sblock]
"And - my thieving friend with a second chance at life - are we likely to meet anyone on our way? Those coves who poisoned you with potions, for instance?"
"Hey, Tommy, is your invisible box-pushing friend still here?" Keldar shakes his head at the wonder of it all. "Can he come along with us and go out in front a little way dragging a, let's see, a quarterstaff along the ground? Can he wear a cloak?"
Keldar seems to be enjoying this.[sblock=OOC]Unseen servant tripwire and trap detector and decoy?[/sblock]
Rae ArdGaoth
Explorer
The thief directs you in locking the passage.
To Keldar, he responds, "Well, aye. Of course we might meet them." A look of fear flickers in his eyes before he continues. "But these passageways, they're endless. There's no telling where they are, and even if they wanted to, I'm not sure they could find us in here themselves."
OOC: The unseen servant is shapeless, so I'm not sure how the cloak would lay on him. He could certainly carry a quarterstaff and trigger wire and proximity traps, and also test for (weak, <20lbs pressure to trigger) pit traps.
I still need a final destination. Temples or surface? Or somewhere else?
As you traverse the halls, you pass through all kinds of environments. First rough tunnels hollowed through rock, now a brick corridor, here a tiny crawl space, tall enough for Fimble but everyone else must crouch. A wooden boardwalk traverses a cavernous space, the sound of water dripping echoes up from the darkness below.
At one point, in an otherwise unremarkable wooden passage, you encounter a metal wire dangling from the ceiling. At the end of the wire is a handle grip. No effort has been made to conceal the pull cord, it's right in the middle of the hall way. Your unseen guide has not triggered any traps, and the meaning of this cord is a mystery to your detailed book and even to the maimed thief.
To Keldar, he responds, "Well, aye. Of course we might meet them." A look of fear flickers in his eyes before he continues. "But these passageways, they're endless. There's no telling where they are, and even if they wanted to, I'm not sure they could find us in here themselves."
OOC: The unseen servant is shapeless, so I'm not sure how the cloak would lay on him. He could certainly carry a quarterstaff and trigger wire and proximity traps, and also test for (weak, <20lbs pressure to trigger) pit traps.
I still need a final destination. Temples or surface? Or somewhere else?
As you traverse the halls, you pass through all kinds of environments. First rough tunnels hollowed through rock, now a brick corridor, here a tiny crawl space, tall enough for Fimble but everyone else must crouch. A wooden boardwalk traverses a cavernous space, the sound of water dripping echoes up from the darkness below.
At one point, in an otherwise unremarkable wooden passage, you encounter a metal wire dangling from the ceiling. At the end of the wire is a handle grip. No effort has been made to conceal the pull cord, it's right in the middle of the hall way. Your unseen guide has not triggered any traps, and the meaning of this cord is a mystery to your detailed book and even to the maimed thief.
Boddynock
First Post
"Well now, isn't this interesting. It seems to me that if you put a pull cord in the middle of nowhere, some fool will come along and pull it. That's not going to be me."
Trouvere
Explorer
"Let's think it through, then. It could be a trap for anyone who found his way in here and was lost and desperate enough. They might find that funny. Or it might be a double bluff - by which I mean, we might really need to pull it to stop a trap going off somewhere, in which case we're fortunate it wasn't set back the way we came. But it's more likely to ring a bell somewhere, I think. It could be an alarm - that'd stir things up! Or it could ring in some other Turkey's cellar, in which case there's a secret door somewhere nearby, apparently not marked in the plans. Are you sure you're reading them all right, Tommy?"
"Anyway, on balance - " Keldar reaches up to the handle - "I'm for leaving well enough alone. Let's keep going."[sblock=OOC]Destination. While we likely could get immediate shelter and aid from a temple, popping up in their treasury or from beneath the high altar in the middle of Compline would be terribly socially embarrassing, and would alert yet more people to the existence of the tunnel system before we're necessarily ready, so I'm more inclined to head for the surface. In fact, I'm inclined to head for the surface leaving enough of a trail that any bad guys who follow can easily know which way we went (hello, unseen servant's scraping quarterstaff!). They may conclude that we've fled the city. Of course, we'd have returned... by another route. That might give us breathing space for preparations before we go to war against half the street thugs and half the nobility of Fallon. 'Fingers' could head off topside for the nearest village to start his new life, while if we go to a temple, he's still stuck in a city where he's a dead man walking.[/sblock]
"Anyway, on balance - " Keldar reaches up to the handle - "I'm for leaving well enough alone. Let's keep going."[sblock=OOC]Destination. While we likely could get immediate shelter and aid from a temple, popping up in their treasury or from beneath the high altar in the middle of Compline would be terribly socially embarrassing, and would alert yet more people to the existence of the tunnel system before we're necessarily ready, so I'm more inclined to head for the surface. In fact, I'm inclined to head for the surface leaving enough of a trail that any bad guys who follow can easily know which way we went (hello, unseen servant's scraping quarterstaff!). They may conclude that we've fled the city. Of course, we'd have returned... by another route. That might give us breathing space for preparations before we go to war against half the street thugs and half the nobility of Fallon. 'Fingers' could head off topside for the nearest village to start his new life, while if we go to a temple, he's still stuck in a city where he's a dead man walking.[/sblock]
covaithe
Explorer
Tommy's hands reach out almost involuntarily toward the mysterious handle, and the look on his face as Keldar and Tarag agree -- agree! -- to leave it be is one of unfeigned anguish. "You don't want to see where it goes? It might be a secret cache of jewels, or a secret door into the very heart of this conspiracy! What's the point of being in these tunnels, if we don't, you know, investigate them?"
[sblock=ooc]I'm off on vacation from tomorrow until the 26th, with no internet access. [/sblock]
[sblock=ooc]I'm off on vacation from tomorrow until the 26th, with no internet access. [/sblock]
Rae ArdGaoth
Explorer
You decide to leave the pull cord unpulled. Moving on, the hallway turns ahead. The tapping scraping quarterstaff thuds against the ground, making a dull noise.
Tarag, at the front of the line, suddenly stops.
[sblock=Tarag: ]Just now, when the servant's quarterstaff came down, you heard something. Something... off, something about the floor. You can't quite tell what it is, but your senses don't lie.[/sblock]
Tarag, at the front of the line, suddenly stops.
[sblock=Tarag: ]Just now, when the servant's quarterstaff came down, you heard something. Something... off, something about the floor. You can't quite tell what it is, but your senses don't lie.[/sblock]
