(074) Ye Nether World

Waysoftheearth's Hinterlands PBP

Moderators: ehiker133, waysoftheearth

Posts: 16902
Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 1:15 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by waysoftheearth » Wed Jun 17, 2015 10:48 pm

Re: (074) Ye Nether World

Desmond/Mondes and Dieter are the first into the room, giving it a seasoned fighter's once over as they enter. There is nobody to be seen, so the others follow, bringing with them their lanterns...

It is an octagonal-shaped chamber about 30ft wide (which would be crowded if the whole company of nine were to push in). The ceiling is as the inside of an octangonal pyramid. Standing in the center of the chamber is a 3ft wide, four-sided stone menhir with steeply pitched sides, tapering toward a near-point some 8ft from the ground. Each of its sides faces one of the four exits from the crossroads room, and is graven with alien runes.

To the left, a narrow stair descends into darkness. To the right, and directly ahead, dark passages continue at this level.
[f=32]Golgildir the Elf Medium (MV 12", AC 9, HD 1, hp 1/1, AL N) great cloak, lantern; spells: color spray; scrolls: sleep, sleep, charm person
Hirelings: Georges; torch[/f]

Posts: 533
Joined: Tue Sep 17, 2013 8:54 pm
Location: Pace, FL

Post by Eris » Thu Jun 18, 2015 6:27 pm

Re: (074) Ye Nether World

Olaf stops at the entrance to the room and scratches a large X on the wall next to the passage they have just come down.

"I'm marking the way we came in, just in case, we get turned around later on." Olaf says to the rest of the group.

Spying the runes on the obelisk, Olaf asks, "Don't suppose any of you can read this writing can you?"
[f=4]Manfreid the Fighter (MV 9", AC 3/5, HD 1+2, hp 10/10, FC Man+1, N) silver mail+helm, sword+shield[/f]

Posts: 2128
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:33 pm
Location: Just west of St. Louis

Post by ehiker133 » Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:24 pm

Re: (074) Ye Nether World

"You know the old adventurer saying," Desmond starts, looking to the left,"Down is Death..."

Pretty sure he's not going to be of any use in deciphering the runes, he checks the ground around the entrances to the passage for signs of tracks or wear to determine if one is used more than the others. If he is able to get everyone to be quiet for a bit, he also checks for any sounds coming from either the passage ahead or the passage to the right.
[f=47]Dougal Blackfoot (MV 9", AC 6, Lvl 4, HP 10/10) [/f]
[f=59]Goldwen (Sagacious* Abbess, MV 9′′, AC 6, HD 2+1, HP 9, FC 2 men, SV C3, L][/f]

Posts: 353
Joined: Tue Sep 17, 2013 5:39 am

Post by flightcommander » Fri Jun 19, 2015 4:14 am

Re: (074) Ye Nether World

Armando approaches the long stone and examines the runes by the light of the lantern, hoping to at least identify motifs, if not comprehend the whole.
[f=4]Morin the Fighter/Medium (MV 12", AC 7, HD 2-2, hp 8/8, FC Man+1, N) scimitar+lantern[/f]

Posts: 117
Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2014 3:42 am

Post by Condorcet » Fri Jun 19, 2015 9:27 am

Re: (074) Ye Nether World

Helmut mutters a mantra to Thuul, and awaits developments at the head of the line (where the real heroes are).

Posts: 1029
Joined: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:12 pm

Post by coffee » Fri Jun 19, 2015 1:13 pm

Re: (074) Ye Nether World

Since there is no opposition yet, Dieter starts edging around room near the wall on his side, (either left or right; not sure which way Desmond/Mondes went).

He'll stop before each exit and listen, then have a look (but he's not touching anything).

He'll also keep an eye on the floor and ceiling, too. He's leaving the center of the room to the others.
[f=4]Karl the Fighter (M 9", AC 4/6, HD 1+2, FC Man+1, hp 9/9) mail+shield[/f]

Posts: 2128
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:33 pm
Location: Just west of St. Louis

Post by ehiker133 » Fri Jun 19, 2015 2:00 pm

Re: (074) Ye Nether World

coffee wrote:Since there is no opposition yet, Dieter starts edging around room near the wall on his side, (either left or right; not sure which way Desmond/Mondes went).

He'll stop before each exit and listen, then have a look (but he's not touching anything).

He'll also keep an eye on the floor and ceiling, too. He's leaving the center of the room to the others.
Sorry, Desmond went right, opposite the stairs.
[f=47]Dougal Blackfoot (MV 9", AC 6, Lvl 4, HP 10/10) [/f]
[f=59]Goldwen (Sagacious* Abbess, MV 9′′, AC 6, HD 2+1, HP 9, FC 2 men, SV C3, L][/f]

Posts: 1029
Joined: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:12 pm

Post by coffee » Sat Jun 20, 2015 5:51 pm

Re: (074) Ye Nether World

Yeah, I thought Desmond went right, but wasn't sure enough of that to say so.
[f=4]Karl the Fighter (M 9", AC 4/6, HD 1+2, FC Man+1, hp 9/9) mail+shield[/f]

Posts: 16902
Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 1:15 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by waysoftheearth » Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:34 pm

Re: (074) Ye Nether World

Our heroes sidle into the room cautiously. Once the area is deemed clear, Armando approaches the obelisk to examine the strange markings. As he assays them dubiously, Olaf attempts to scratch a mark into the rock of the entry-way, but he finds the stone is uneven and very hard; despite is scraping and scratching he can barely make any impression upon it. With all the scratching and muttering and moving about of almost a dozen men, neither Desmond nor Mondes can make out any sound from the dark passages, and nor does this place look to have seen use for a long while.

Armando cannot make head-nor-tail of the strange markings at first, but soon decides that some of the shapes carry a pictorial implication. Could it be that these shapes, repeated frequently here and there, imply some system of denomination? And these things, this and this, might then portray types of destinations. See how these ones look surely like Alcazar-shapes (if one squints), this here would be, well, maybe the fortified wall between them? These could be... barracks, perhaps, and this could be... well mines or dungeons or whatever else! In summary, Armando decides the obelisk is effectively a street sign, with the markings indicating destinations, along with a bunch of indecipherable gibberish.

By his best guess, straight ahead would lead to a fortified area of wall--possibly that adjoining two neighboring Alcazars. Left (and down) would lead to a mine or dungeon zone. Right would lead to an Alcazar and--judging by the direction alone--probably not the nearest one...
A 3rd level thief can, apparently, decipher the meaning of any non-magical markings. Thus 1d6=3, so Armando gleans some meaning form the runes...
[f=32]Golgildir the Elf Medium (MV 12", AC 9, HD 1, hp 1/1, AL N) great cloak, lantern; spells: color spray; scrolls: sleep, sleep, charm person
Hirelings: Georges; torch[/f]

Posts: 2128
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:33 pm
Location: Just west of St. Louis

Post by ehiker133 » Tue Jun 23, 2015 2:25 pm

Re: (074) Ye Nether World

"Well done, Armando!" Desmond quips after the explanation of the signs.

"Surely we're not headed down, so... to the barracks or an Alcazar? Don't know if there is any way of knowing precisely WHICH Alcazar it is and whether or not that is the one we want, unfortunately. Unless we want to try the Sai... er, Josiane's coin again, we'll have to decide the old fashioned way. But if it were up to me, I suppose I'd say we should try one of the Alcazar's first, 'cause he ain't in a barracks. Might as well rule one out, if we can. Or would the crystal ball be able to help us out here?"
[f=47]Dougal Blackfoot (MV 9", AC 6, Lvl 4, HP 10/10) [/f]
[f=59]Goldwen (Sagacious* Abbess, MV 9′′, AC 6, HD 2+1, HP 9, FC 2 men, SV C3, L][/f]

Return to “Hinterlands”

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited
Designed by ST Software.