Immersive Ink

tombowings wrote:
"What happened up there?" calls Pelenwin. "Ambush or fuel shortage."

waysoftheearth wrote:
Is it suddenly colder in here?

mushgnome wrote:
"Nobody move!" barks Highbough. He tries to light a candle.

waysoftheearth wrote:
Strange echoes and drafts of cold air seem all the more threatening in the utter blackness....

Everyone waits nervously while there is some shuffling about and a few very nearby thunks. Presumably that is Highbough? Impossible to tell...

Then there is the hack of flint on steel and a spark momentarily lights the chamber before vanishing. This is repeated several times before Highbough finally gets a spark to take to his tinder and gets another candle lit.

The tiny flame dances to and fro uncertainly in the chamber. Everybody huddles closer to the only source of light.

"What an expedition this is!" barks Mondes scornfully.

danhem wrote:
"Time for that torch I thing Wibert," Ulric says. "Before something crawls out of that well in the dark."

"Let's see if we can find that trapdoor that Gustave just fell through...carefully. Maybe Gustave did not fall that far. Does anyone have any rope?"

coffee wrote:
"I have rope," Dieter says. And now that there's a smidgen of light, he can find his way back to where the trapdoor must be.

"Did anyone see him fall?" he asks. When he judges himself to be 5-10 feet from the trapdoor, he'll kneel down and squint to see if he can see any light coming through cracks in the floor.

waysoftheearth wrote:
Wibert locates his last torch and patiently holds it above Highbough's flickering candle until it finally takes a flame.

Meanwhile Dieter sets down his bulky sack of coin, and fishes his loyal silk rope from his pack. He had a feeling it would come in handy yet again.

Then he creeps forward to roughly the spot where Gustave vanished into the floor... and searches.

The trap door is cleverly hidden, and he is almost ready to give up when he thinks he hears a muffled echo from below. Darn it, he was searching 10ft away from the trap, he realises as at last he spots a faint red line of light from below!

heartless wrote:
"WE HAVE LIGHT! says Wibert as he holds up his last torch.
Now to find Gustave and get out of here... If you see anything that will burn as a torch grap it for we will need it before the hour is up", says Wibert.

"Secure that rope team before you go looking for that trap door. I am good at this so tie me up and tie that rope around your selves and someone hold this torch behind me and I will find this trap door", states Wibert.

"Now I saw him fall down over here". Wibert moves in the general direction but not too close yet. Wibert will then scan the floor very carefully pushing each tile, and poking with his dagger before moving on to find the trap door so he will not fall down himself.

waysoftheearth wrote:
Wibert and Dieter locate the trap-door between them...

The easiest way to "open" it seems to be to put a foot cautiously on it. The thing is miraculously well balanced, and even the slightest weight on it causes one side to sink lower while the opposite rises up. It is a rotating, flip-side-floor panel almost 10ft square in size.

ehiker133 wrote:
"We'll go down first, if you're looking for volunteers to give it a try...", Desmond offers.