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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 496693" data-attributes="member: 6294">"Unearthing the Past" by Jesse Decker (WotC Cliffhanger) - Part 11The group begins to search this lower level, quickly finding that the corridor into the lift room lead straight to another crossroads.  The way ahead is blocked by rubble, but there is a corridor to their right, and a door to their left.  The door stands slightly ajar."Let's try the right." Ulfgar suggests, "The ridge is that way, so there can't be too much to explore in that direction.""We'd be deeper than the ridge, now." Macwood reminds him.  The dwarf looks abashed to have been corrected by a halfling on such a matter, but when no-one raises an objection to his proposed route, the group follows the right hand tunnel, anyway.They soon emerge into a square chamber, the ceiling of which is braced by four stone pillars.  The area looks to be of sturdy manufacture, and lacks the debris of other parts of the complex.  Another corridor leads out of the room to the left."Someone's cleaned this area out recently." Twinkle remarks as she drops to her haunches and examines the floor, "There's a lot of stone dust around, and scratches in the paving slabs.""Probably wanted to get through there." Briar nods at the corridor.Figuring that anything the orcs were interested in was something they should check out as well, the group follows the corridor to a T-junction.  To the left, the tunnel quickly gives way to rubble.  To the right ..."A door." Macwood remarks."A large stone door." Ming Li confirms."Looks important." Briar agrees.The group looks at the door for some time."It's closed." Ulfgar observes.The group stares at the door for a while longer."Maybe we should leave it for later and check that other door, first." Twinkle offers, "It was smaller, and wooden."With murmurs of agreement from the others, the group turns their backs on the Ominously Large Stone Door and heads back the way they came.Arriving at the smaller, wooden door, they push it open and enter the chamber beyond, with Ulfgar in the lead.  The room looks to be almost square, but is more than half-filled with rubble, which gives it a rather squashed feeling.Rather more disturbingly, the corpses of two orcs are sprawled here.  Each lies on the floor, surrounded by a number of red-brown stains."Blood." Macwood notes, rather unnecessarily."It looks like they were dragged here." Ming Li indicates scuff marks in the dust on the floor. "Maybe a fight broke out when they realised they were trapped here?"Briar, kneeling beside the bodies, shakes his head."If there was a fight, these two didn't know it was coming.  They were strangled.  Maybe with a garrotte." He pauses, "The two orcs with the cleric had twice as much money as any of the others.  They probably just jumped these two while they were asleep.""It seems there is nothing useful here." Ming Li moves to the door, "We should return to the other door.""What about the rubble?" Twinkle is keen to go digging. "There could be something under it?"Ulfgar shakes his head,"They cleared out the other rooms, remember.  This is just where they've been dumping everything."The dwarf's words make sense to the others, and they all troupe out of the room.  Twinkle is the last to leave.  Reaching the door, she stops and turns back for one last look at the rubble.And then something wraps around the young gnome's neck and yanks her into the air.Twinkle tries to scream, but she can't draw the breath.  As her vision blurs and darkens, she claws at the rubbery cord that surrounds her neck, thrashing her legs and struggling with all her might to break free.  But it's to no avail: all the accomplishes is to kick the door closed.The slam of the door as it shuts is the last thing the gnome hears before the darkness overcomes her.</blockquote>

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