Phyrric Legacy - Shackled City IC Thread

Legildur said:

Flannad's scrunched face eases back in relief to it's usual appearance as the door opens without drama - it has already been a long day for the young gnome and the doors are starting to distress him a little.

Nodding in agreement with Jon, Flannad moves into the room and begins a thorough search - for more keys and secret doors.

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As the light of Jon's torches throws shadows on the walls, Flannad carefully enters the small room, and begins to make a thorough search of the wrecked quarters.

(Search Check)

Unfortunately, he doesn't find any keys or, indeed, anything interesting at all. Only more of the wreckage of the room's original furniture.

Disappointed, Flannad then turns his attention to the walls, heeding Arak's suggestion to search for secret doors. After a few moments, the search pays off! Flannad discovers a cleverly hidden catch in the southwest corner. When released, a secret door swings open to the south. Peering through, Flannad takes a glance and sees another 20-foot-square room with no other doors, but a circular tunnel exits the room on the west wall. The room has several piles of rubble in it, and three objects in the middle of the room that may be chests.

Actions?

Flannad licks his lips. He spends some time scanning the room with his eyes (take 20 Spot check), fearful of more skulks or darkcreepers lying in ambush. If all clear, then he'll make a cursory check of the floor as he enters the room. Using the tip of an arrow, he'll poke each chest in turn. And only then will he thoroughly search each chest for traps (take 20) before deciding further (opening any untrapped chests).

Flannad pauses, scanning into the new room for several minutes, trying to ascertain whether anything is moving within. Finally, as satisifed as can be that the room is free of lurking danger, he enters. Thankfully, no hidden blades spring forth to stab him.

Upon entering the secret room, Flannad notes that small mounds of rubble fill the ten-foot-high, twenty-foot-square chamber. Most of the detritus is piled near the roughly-hewn tunnel bored into the west wall.

The three wooden chests which sit in the middle of the floor have lids that are carved and painted with anthropomorphic figures resembling a badger, a fox, and a rabbit respectively. The smashed remains of three padlocks are strewn around the chests.

A wooden lever, previously unseen, juts from an iron plate set into the south wall. The lever looks like it can slide up or down, and is currently in the 'down' position.

Flannad checks the floor and it appears safe, so he approaches the chests, and pokes at them. There is no response, the chests apparently are no more or less than they seem. Then, he makes a very careful search of each chest for traps, but finds none.

What next?

(OOC: I've now tried using green question marks instead of arrows to show potential paths of exploration. I think they don't hide the map as much as the arrows did.)

Arak leans in, eyeing the room and the debris.

"They smashed the locks and then closed the chests? That's more tidy than I would expect of tomb robbers."

Flannad opens the chests. And then inspects the lever for traps and tries and discern what it may operate.

stonegod said:

"I think we are trying to avoid those tunnels if possible to keep safe from them. Afterall, if we can safety open the doors, we know we are avoiding them."

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Dowlee nods, "Well, there's certainly no sense in not using the keys for the doors we have..." She continues with the group, keeping her eyes trained on the rear--there's still a skulk somewhere that got away from them.

Legildur said:

Flannad opens the chests. And then inspects the lever for traps and tries and discern what it may operate.

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Unable to discern any dangers in doing so, Flannad flips open the lids to the three chests. The badger and fox chests appear to be empty. The rabbit chest, however, holds an unremarkable-looking gray bag.

As for the lever, a careful examination of it reveals no traps. However, Flannad cannot tell what its purpose may be.

Flannad moves the empty chests, just in case. Then he turns his attention to the gray bag. Given the other risks they've found so far, and the drain he has already put on the group with his careless actions, the young whisper gnome checks the bag carefully before maneuvering it with an arrow tip and finally opening it.

Flannad takes a moment to push the chests away from their original positions, but the act only reveals the stone floor underneath. He then checks out the gray bag very carefully, prodding it with his arrow, but it seems safe enough. Satisfied, he picks up the bag and opens it to have a look inside. Unfortunately, after all that, the bag seems to be empty.

Flannad tucks the gray bag into his belt as a memento of the excursion so far. He turns back to the others. "Nothing else here except the lever. Do we use the key in the other 'Z' door? Or follow this tunnel?"