CB's The Sunless Citadel v3.5

[hafrogman]

Karl bows as he accepts the kobolds' offer of barter, and solemnly tucks the objects away about his person. As he does so, he fervently hopes that they aren't simply worthless nicknacks collected for curiosity's sake. He rolls his eyes at Grotz's claim on the kobold. They'd be better off without the cursed thing.

With Elyan's pronouncement, he offers on more stately bow to the kobold leader and then spins on one heel, flinging his cloak about him in a dramatic flourish. With his back to the kobold, he glares furiously at the blind bard, a worthless gesture to be sure, but he feels better for it. He points ostentatiously towards the Hall of Dragons.

"North door."

And then he strides forth.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Down the columned hall at the far end, on the north wall, a wooden door is closed. It is to this door that Meepo, quivering in fear and tightly clutching his new javelin, leads the party. Pointing at the door, Meepo looks at Elyan and begins to yap excitedly.

[sblock=Draconic] "Door locked! Big shinies smash in? Yusadrayl have key, but Yusadrayl no give." [/sblock]

 

[Boddynock]

Elyan raises and eyebrow at Meepo's words.

"It seems that our ... patron ... either wishes to test our abilities or else was put out at Grotzkoshter's ... hmm ... overbold claim. Personally, I think the latter the more likely explanation."

"Yusadrayl has a key to this door but she did not offer it. Karl, I think it's up to you - far better if you can open it without breaking the door down, I suspect. I would say that the kobolds recognize superior force but - being themselves small and weak - they value craftiness and skill more. So if we can open the door by skill rather than brute force, Yusadrayl will have a higher opinion of us. Of course, best of all would be to open it by magic - but I fear that that is beyond us."

 

[hafrogman]

A deep, throaty chuckle emenates from Karl as he considers Elyan's surmisal of the door situation. Shaking his head in amusement, he once more retrieves his tools and considers the door. He waves his hands idly over the door as his eyes scan closely for any signs of traps. He gives a significant look to Meepo.

"Magic."

[sblock=ooc]Check the door for traps. Search +5
If trapped, Disable Device +7
If not, or when trap disarmed, Open Lock +7[/sblock]

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Meepo's eyes grow wide at Karl's ostentatious display of "magic," and the little kobold darts behind Grotz's tree trunk legs to quiver in fear safely out of harm's way. Karl finds that the door is not trapped but is locked. The cheap lock, however, snaps open in a mere fraction of a second at Karl's adroit touch. Karl pushes the wooden door open inward to reveal a darkened 10-foot wide stone corridor in good repair that ends 20 feet further down at a wooden door.

Rolled a 20 on the Open Lock check.

 

[hafrogman]

With a self satisfied little smirk, Karl returns his picks to his pack and is ready to move on again. He slowly walks into the hallway, checking ahead of him for traps. These kobolds are sneaky creatures. At least once out of sight, he could drop this silly charade.

[sblock=ooc]Search the hall, and then the next door for traps. Search +5[/sblock]

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Karl taps at the floor ahead of him. The first five foot section is clear, but the grey and brown flagstone floor gives away under his feet in the next section. Meepo barks out a warning and Karl, despite not understanding the creature's yap, reacts on instinct and backs away from a narrowly missed fall into a 10-foot wide and 10-foot deep pit trap.

A 1-foot-wide catwalk on the pit's two sides will allow passage across for those who are sure of foot or who are very small.

It's a reflex save if you want to cross via the catwalk. If you want to try to jump, you can try that too. Or, really, any other way across that you can dream up.

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Grotzkoshter

It's Dangerous…
Remarks the big half orc.
Too far to jump, we can climb it down and up again.

 

[hafrogman]

Karl scratches his head for a moment, considering the pit and Grotz's assessment. The easiest way across. . .

The dog will be a problem. Karl crouches for a second, fishing through his pack for rope. He sighs to himself, and begins to outline his plan.

"Grotz, hold this rope.
I'll climb down, across and up with the other end.
The others can walk across the ledge with the rope while we brace it.
You lower the dog with your rope, then climb down yourself.
Tie the dog to my rope, and I'll haul it up.
Then you can climb my rope, and we're done."

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Karl hands one end of the rope to Grotzkoshter then proceeds to climb down the pit wall by hand. While crossing the bottom of the pit, Karl hears a muffled cry for help that seems to come from the flagstones under his feet. Looking down, one of the large quarried stones on the pit's floor seems an ill fit compared to the smooth masonry work of the rest of the stone.

Korgrave frowns at the pit, looks at the door through which they just came, and frowns at that, too. "Ssssssssssssssssomething'ssssssssss not right here. I sssssshall hold the rope for you when you go, Grotzkossssshter, and then I think I sssssssssshall venture back to treat with this Yussssadrayl. Perhapssssssss I will catch up with you later, with that queer dragon key in hand. Thesssssssssssssssssse walking busssssshes bear more quesssstionssss, I think." The shaved-headed half-orc scratches at a cut on his scalp where three days of stubble have grown and strokes his snake companion that slinks about his neck.

Korgrave has announced his intent to leave the group.