[3.5] Champions of Bloodscale Clan

[Mark Chance]

Krixle rushes the open portal. He makes it to the entrance alive. Peering in, the area is lightless except for the faint moonlight coming in through the portal. He sees the pit mentioned by Zaryz. Far down the hall on the opposite side of the pit, well outside the range of Krixle's darkvision, Krixle sees a square of bright light where a 20-foot-wide corridor passes inexplicably from darkness to illumination. In the shadows cast by that square of light, Krixle sees a perpendicular passage running west-east and intersecting the wider north-leading corridor.

As Zaryz said, the walls appear to be made of metal, but how it could be possible to so seamlessly cover so large an area with metal escapes Krixle. The kobold scout sees no doors. The 20-foot by 20-foot antechamber just on the other side of the entryway widens into larger chamber, in the center of which gapes the circular pit.

 

[magic_gathering2001]

VIgorously motioning the others to come forward, "Come quick. There's magic lights over here, magic metals too. But I can't see no plant-kobolds. As soon as any other kobold moves close enough, Krixle will attempt to jump over the pit, and move towards the light, attempting to keep at least one other kobold in his darkvision at all times.

[sblock=roll][1,14] = (15)
Roll Lookup
Looks like Krixle will fall down the pit...
[/sblock]

 

[hellrazor111]

Aurix mutters a few words pointing at Krixle as he falls, causing his fall to slow dramatically.


[sblock=ooc]Cast: Featherflall[/sblock]

Aurix sighs at the descending kobolt before looking back and asking "someone brought rope right?"

 

[Arkhandus]

"If you unenlightened ones need such a crutch, then perhaps you should have come prepared." Zaryz admonishes, following Aurix up the slope after Krixle, his armor clanking with every step until he slows.

Zaryz steps closer to the pit to look down and see how deep it is, and whether or not his guess about it being a tunnel or shaft is correct.

 

[Mark Chance]

OOC: Let's pull things to a halt. I think at least my description wasn't clear enough for magic_gathering2001. Jumping the pit isn't necessary to get across the room. I want to give magic_gathering2001 a chance to retcon his action, which may in turn affect what happens next.

For clarity's sake, the pit is about 20 feet diameter-wise. It is in the center of a square chamber about 60 feet to a side. Once in the chamber proper -- as opposed to in the antechamber, it can be seen that three corridors lead away. All are 20 feet wide, and they head north, west, and east, respectively.

In the south wall, one to each side of the entry from the antechamber, is a door. Both doors are smooth metal and featureless. About chest height for a human in the righthand frame is a rectangular metal plate which has a horizontal slot about as wide as a playing card.

I stuck of quickie map in the this thread.

Sorry for the confusion. Mea culpa maxima.

 

[magic_gathering2001]

In a voice that only a kobold falling down a well could produce, Krixle yells, "Eeek, save Krixle! I fell into the deep hole!"

Realizing his fall has been suddenly arrested, he stops screaming, and looks around furtively, quickly grabing onto the ledge that luckily appeared right in front of him. He quickly pulls himself up, and turns to face upward, the direction in which he last saw his bretheren, "I found a better way in here! Quick, everyone fall down the hole and follow Krixle"


[sblock=rolls]
Not sure if it was necessary or not, but I figured it couldn't hurt, and he passed
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1869089/
[/sblock]

 

[Mark Chance]

Thanks to the feather fall, Krixle is spared an ignoble fate. Falling at a slower rate, Krixle is able to grasp one of the rungs on the descending side of the pit, thus arresting his descent just before calling out to his comrades.

 

[Arkhandus]

Zaryz hisses out a breath, a reptilian sigh. "Perhaps you should phrase that better." The dragon kobold steps up to the pit and looks down it, focusing for a moment, which causes the other kobolds nearby to smell a peculiar odor, different for each of them.

That strangeness aside, Zaryz says "Someone hold my shoulders, and I will take us down the pit safely." Once someone takes hold, he steps over the side of the pit and begins to float down gently, dropping off a passenger at the bottom if it looks safe enough, then floating back to the top and taking the other kobold down.

[sblock=OOC]Zaryz manifests Psionic Levitate. He can carry down 200-some pounds of extra weight with it right now.[/sblock]

 

[Dragonwriter]

Daragix walks up the slope somewhat behind the others, despite his earlier lead. He peers into the pit after Krixle, then takes Zaryz' offer for the ride down. Once on the bottom, Daragix pulls his small spear off his back and holds it single-handed with his light shield strapped on his other arm. He surveys the area around the bottom of the pit along with Krixle.

"This be a strange place... Never see walls like this before..."

 

[Mark Chance]

Zaryz and Daragix float down the shaft to the next level while Krixle and Aurix use the rungs to descend. The rungs are wide-spaced for most kobolds, but the going is easy enough. The four explorers leave the shaft and step onto the second level.

As far as the eye can see to the north, west, and east, the level appears to be one continuous space broken only by dozens of pillars and thick walls that never seem to actually form a separate room. Most of the pillars are only three or four in diameter, but some are even larger. To the south, about 40 feet away, it is what must be the outer wall running left to right. Nowhere visible is the ceiling higher than six feet.

The floor, walls, and pillars are all constructed of the same strange metal as seen on the first floor. Just to the northwest of the shaft is a skeleton, apparently of a human. Tatters of cloth still cover the naked bones. From the southeast side of the shaft can be seen a strange collection of spheres, wires, tubes, and boxes covering about a 20-foot square of floor and rising all the to the ceiling.

Suddenly, there is a loud pop!. Sparks fly from the strange collection, briefly, harshly illuminating the area. A grinding sound follows. The rungs on the sides of the shaft move: those on the west side rise, on the east side they descend. In the next instant, they stop, and the circular opening leading further down closes as a metal trapdoor slides from within the floor to block the way deeper into this bizarre place. The way up still lies open.

[sblock=OOC]
If you're going to search anything (e.g., the skeleton), give me a Search check. I also need Spot checks from everyone.
[/sblock]