Airwalkrr's Shackled City IC

[Bohemian Ear-Spork]

"Don't get too far ahead," Simon calls softly after Baelor. "Hope he's not walking into an ambush," he mutters to the others as he produces a Sunrod.

Kindling it, he walks to the entrance and peers down into the darkness. With a grimace, he swings his axe onto his back once more and holds up his left hand, considering it for a moment as a pale radiance flickers across his fingers.

"Dammit," he concludes softly, and follows Baelor.

 

[Oni]

Seeing things moving quickly now, Keth went to the door of the lock shop, speaking to Ghelve as he went.

We'll try to bring back your rat friend.

He opened the door to the shop.

C'mon Fang

As he petted the shaggy wolf affectionately he spoke to the two half-elves.

If you want to help your friend, you had better come with us.

Keth figured there was safety in numbers, and besides he felt more comfortable being able to keep an eye on these two.

He lead Fang back over to the passageway. As he looked down into the dark he briefly wished he possessed old Karst's keen darksight. Nothing to do about it though and with that thought he padded quickly down the passage to catch up with the point of light that was Simon.

 

[Thanee]

Alexi

“One moment...” Alexi says and heads for the door, opening it. A raven comes flying in and sits down on some shelf. “Kyra's senses are way better than my own and could be of use down there.”

 

[airwalkrr]

A stone staircase, its steps shrouded with cobwebs and dust, descends twenty feet to a ten-foot-square landing, then bends to the right and plunges into darkness.

Simon's sunrod illuminates the staircase as you delve another twenty feet before opening into a room. From this landing, you can hear strange sounds emanating from the chamber below, specifically chirping birds, rustling leaves, and cheery giggles. The landing itself is bare save for an empty iron torch sconce mounted on the south wall (T19).

The staircase ends at a forty-foot-square room with a ten-foot-high ceiling. A slight draft blows into the room from directly across the stairs. Two four-foot-diameter circular doors are set into the middle of the south wall (O21 and P21). Each door is made of wood and framed with a ring of mortared stones. The westernmost door is closed and inscribed with a strange glyph. The easternmost door bears a different glyph but rests half-open. The half-open door reveals an iron rim of gearlike teeth, and dim light spills from the chamber beyond.

Mounted to the walls of the room are twelve tarnished copper masks. the masks are two feet tall and cling four feet above the floor. Each one depicts a smiling gnome's visage. The soft giggling, chirping, and rustling noices seem to pour from the very walls.

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

The Orc breed holds his weapon tight and scans the surrounding. He motions to the other to the lighted room. He then decides to walk along the wall to the partially opened door as quite as he can. (To Q21)

 

[Thanee]

Alexi

“What a strange place...” Alexi whispers.

 

[Bohemian Ear-Spork]

Simon nods to Floch. Silently, he enters the room and steps to the right, pressing his back 'gainst the wall as he watches the orc's progress.

He's clearly having a difficult time maintaining his focus, however, as the sounds and the masks keep pulling his gaze away from his companion.

 

[Rhun]

Baelor moves out of the way as the rest of the group catches him at the bottom of the stairs and floods into the room. He fingers his axe and watches as Floch moves to investigate the open door.

 

[airwalkrr]

Floch and Simon move up to get a better view and peer into the room with the cracked door. A dozen small cots and chests line the walls of this ten-foot-high dusty room. Cobwebs blanket many of the cots and chests, and tiny spiders scurry about. Two rough-hewn tunnels, each five feet in diameter and tubular, breach the eastern and southern walls. Stony rubble covers the floor near each tunnel. A one-foot-long iron rod lies in the middle of the floor, its golden tip shedding enough light to cast lurid shadows on the wall.

[sblock=OOC]An 'X' represents rubble (difficult terrain; double movement cost; Balance, Move Silently, and Tumble are at -2 penalty). Also, the yellow shaded squares indicate lighting. Bright yellow is full illumination, dim yellow is partial illumination.[/sblock]

 

[Oni]

The strange noises that drifted up the stairs made Keth uneasy. They would not have been so menacing were they not so horribly out of place with their surroundings. As he slipped into the room below, the apparent source of the sounds did little to set his mind at ease. Keth hadn't thought about it before, but gnomes were kind of creepy.

Keth moved over next to Floch and Simon to get a better look at the odd circular door. The odd teethlike protrusions made it look as though it were a mouth opening. A line from the riddle floated to the surface of his mind and he muttered quietly, beware the doors with teeth....

[sblock=ooc]Do the glyphs on the doors have any decipherable meaning? Any obvious signs of traffic through any of the exits to the room? [/sblock]