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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 506406" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chinese Take-outChapter 54, “Lannon cases the joint”, September 27, 1018, 2:30 P.M. Both Aradyn and Mark check the room for tracks in the accumulated dirt and dead leaves on the floor, concluding that nobody has been in here for years, possibly even decades or centuries.   In spite of this long period without any maintenance, the room itself is in excellent physical condition, due in part to the exterior walls being four-feet thick.   The only floorboards that show any sign of rot are those immediately below the three windows, but even those are still solid enough to walk upon, being close to a foot thick.    Within the room are several old, nearly petrified, logs, which based upon the claw scratches were used as perches for dragons to stand upon.   Also in the room are some three-foot high stone walls, which make two four-foot square storage areas, which Cassie concludes is “Where they must have put the Purina Dragon Chow.”  In the center of the room is a ten-foot diameter stone chimney running floor to ceiling.   Large rusty metal grates are built into the chimney, to allow for heat from below to vent into the room.  Also built into the chimney is a fireplace where a fire can be built and openings, at both human and giant height, that could be used for cooking.   Mounted on one side of the fireplace is a rusty metal human-sized ladder going up to the ceiling to a closed trap door, apparently having been used to perform maintenance to the tower’s spire.    The only other thing in the room is a large trapdoor on the floor, ten-foot square, made of the same foot-thick timbers as the floorboards.  Three huge rusty metal hinges hold it in place.  A two-foot round rusty iron ring is mounted to the other end.  The players have no plan as to how to proceed and look for suggestions from the DM.  The DM tells them  “Don’t look at me.  I expected you guys to either fly in and enter the castle high up, or to come in on the ground and enter the castle from down below.  With either of those strategies you would have been detected.   Instead, you came in low and then enter high, so Morgarth’s forces still don’t know that you are here yet.  The next move is yours, not mine.  All I can tell you is that it is starting to rain outside.”  Serita tells Narg “Why don’t you use those fancy Mittens of Lifting Things Up to open the trap door.”   “Mittens?” he answers “They’re called Gauntlets of Ogre Power.”  Mojo interjects “Yeah, if they were mittens he’d have strings to tie them to his armor.”  Narg answers “They still do, my mother would kill me if I lost them.”   Narg declares that he has come up with a plan.  “You?  A plan?” comment Fiona; “All that you ever come up with for a plan is ‘Get'em’.”  He answers “That is not true.  As I age, I become more mature, and say ‘Get'em’ in different ways.”   Mojo interjects “You…get more mature?  When has that ever happened?”  Lannon decides to play “Santa”, and head up the fireplace chimney to get to another part of the tower.  He finds himself inside of the 150 long ten-foot diameter shaft.  He also finds that iron grates have been set between each level, to prevent people from using the chimney to travel between floors.   Fortunately for him, a rain deflector in the tower spire has rusted through during the past three centuries of neglect, and he now sees a steady stream of water dripping down through the chimney, hitting the grates.  The water is now falling onto a one-foot diameter section of the grate that has rusted away over time.  Lannon has no problem breaking off the thin rusted bars beside this hole, to make the opening big enough for him to climb through, and heads towards the fireplace on the level below. He enters a room, walled in to comprise approximately one-third of this level.  He finds it to be furnished and looks lived in.  He notices a thin layer of dust covering everything, and concludes that nobody has been here during the past several weeks.   He checks out the bed, dresser and a trunk inside the room.   The trunk has an easily picked locked.  Inside he finds several wool robes, a rope belt, rope sandals, and some cloth clothing.  Also inside is a wooden box that is padlocked shut.  He detects a needle trap in the lock, and springs it, prying back the needles, and then opens the lock.  Inside is a pouch with non-oriental gold and platinum coinage, but not from any place that he is familiar with.  Also inside are two scrolls.  He pockets the coins and scrolls. The room is locked from the inside, and he unlocks it and opens the door.  This door, like others in the castle, is giant-sized, measuring five feet wide and twelve feet high, with the knob five feet above the floor.  He sees a room occupying another third of this level, comprised mostly of a door to a third room and a spiral staircase, going both up and down from this level.   Up leads to the trapdoor above where the party is, which has been bolted shut from this side.   He climbs up, but soon discovers that the bolts require far more than his ten-strength to move.   He decides to return to the party, going back through the chimney the way he came.   The party comments about him having been gone a long time.  As Lannon returns Lono immediately blurts out “What did you bring me, what did you bring me!”   “You, nothing,” Lannon says, “But you spellcasters may want to look at these,” and he hands over the two scrolls.  Cassie cannot identify them, but Serita has no trouble recognizing them as scrolls containing Druidic spells, mostly low level spells but one containing a sixth-level “Anti-animal shell” spell.   Lannon says he is not surprised, as the clothing found with them indicated either a druid or monk lived there.  He relates the condition of the room, and the amount of dust.     They ask to see the room, so he brings them all there in the bag of holding.The party looks around.   They recollects the during the island attack a high-level druid was working with Morgarth, and that he had fled long before Morgarth came to collect his allies.   They conclude that this tower must have been where the druid lived, and that he did not return here following the battle.   Serita is surprised that a druid would be living in a windowless room this high up, until Lannon points out that the chimney would have provided a readily accessible exit if the druid changed into bird form.   Cassie adds that the dragon tower room above would have been ideal for the chimera.   As Morgarth’s ally, the cleric Roger, has a chimera for a pet they group concludes that Roger is probably in one of the other towers.</blockquote>

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