Immersive Ink

tonneau wrote:
Legandir takes a position at the base of the stairs next to Elindir, and peers into the darkness.

ehiker133 wrote:
As long as it doesn't take him too far from the rest of the party, Norin goes to examine the recently dead to try and determine the cause of death.

Once that is done...

"I suggest we circle the hall, going clockwise from the door. We can stay just far enough away from the wall on the left that we can still see it, but get to see as much of the rest of the hall as possible."

waysoftheearth wrote:
Elindir and Legandir move with cat-like stealth to the base of the stair and peer at the broad treads which climb ever up into pitch darkness. These are likewise littered with dust and rubble, and few ancient Orc corpses.

Their sharp Elvish ears discern the faint but harrowing echo of a distant scream for a moment before it is cut short, but there is no movement to be seen upon the stair.

waysoftheearth wrote:
As the company continues to march around the perimeter of the great haul, Norin pauses to examine the bloody pile of Orc flesh behind the column.

The sight of the broken, torn and rent Orc bodies is no comfort to the Dwarf, even though he spares no love for the Orc kind. These have been mauled awfully by powerful claws and teeth, and what remains of them is a grisly sight indeed. One of the pair is missing its head; the other has been thoroughly gutted -- most of its organs reduced to a dark, bloody splatter. An arm is off one body, and a leg completely missing from the other.

These mortal wounds could have been dealt by the Trolls, Norin supposes grimly...

waysoftheearth wrote:
Now Sili turns south(ish) and leads the column along the far wall of the West Hall. Between the two rows of pillars they encounter yet another broad stair -- this one descending deeper. Perhaps to where the greater treasures of Durin and all the Seven Fathers?

He feels a very faint current of stale air wafting up from those depths... and Hepti and Vestri's torches flicker at its coming. But even though that air is musty and foul by centuries of dark confinement, there is something else... something that rouses a sense of pride in the Dwarves. This is Khazad-dum!

The others are not moved so.

waysoftheearth wrote:
You are here:


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# Wall
@ Darkness/Unknown
O Column
X Fresh Orc corpses
e Elindir
g Legandir
s Sili
n Norin
S Soval
8 Other company members

ehiker133 wrote:
Norin leaves the orc corpse and returns to the group.

"Let's make sure there aren't any other openings along the south wall before we decide if we're going to head up or down..."

mushgnome wrote:

ehiker133 wrote:Norin leaves the orc corpse and returns to the group.

"Let's make sure there aren't any other openings along the south wall before we decide if we're going to head up or down..."

Sili: "I agree! Let's fully explore this room before we move on. When we do, my vote is toward the scream."

doctorx wrote:
Lmluin lingers momentarily at the top of the great stair descending into the depths of Khazad-dum, staring down into the darkness below, lost in his own thoughts...

Then he snaps back to the present; "In a hall of the Dwarves it would do well for the rest of us to follow Dwarves' counsel. Lead on."

(O.O.C: Any idea what screamed? Did it sound Orc-like, or something else?)

waysoftheearth wrote:

doctorx wrote:(O.O.C: Any idea what screamed? Did it sound Orc-like, or something else?)

Lomeluin could not discern the distant echo clearly... it could just as easily have been an Orc as a Dwarf.