(052) Reckoning the Abbey

[waysoftheearth]

tonneau wrote:
Gustave keeps one eye on the proceedings below and another on the entrances to the above, in a somewhat feeble attempt to emulate Desmond/Mondes.

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:

Wen would chime in from the top of the stairs. "So we don't want to go down into the dark pit, with unknown monsters and possible treasure? I'm confused.

"I think it's more *he* don't want to be the only one going down into the dark pit with unknown monsters." Olaf chuckles from the back.

[waysoftheearth]

mushgnome wrote:
"Pull him up already!" whispers invisible Highbough, nervously looking over his shoulder.

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:

Assuming he is given some slack, he'll maneuver to the side of the hole and make his way to the lever. Once there, he'll manipulate the lever (up if it is down, down if it is up) and see what happens.

The lever is a nearly-hobbit height metal handle which pivots near the ground. It moves in parellel with the wall it stands by. Desmond/Mondes gives it some muscle, and it creaks over with an audible moan. Once it has snapped into the alternate position, a rumbling can be felt beneath the ground, and in a moment the trap door snaps shut and the stair spring back into the regular position with a clatter.

All is then quiet.

[waysoftheearth]

ehiker133 wrote:
Since they have the belay rope on, Desmond calls up for enough slack to walk the 30 or 40 feet to the door to examine it (for anything notable about it, like how it was made, what it is made of, if it appears to be locked, that sort of thing) and then he listens at the door. Once that is done, he returns to the bottom of the stairs.

"OK, we're walking up. Please keep the slack up in the rope in case there is more than one trapped step."

Desmond/Mondes carefully walk up the steps. Once they reach the area where they triggered they collapsing stair trap, they begin looking for it in earnest. Then they will use the torch to wipe a sooty "X" on the step so that everyone knows to avoid it.

When he is at the top, he will tell everyone what he saw while he takes a break to try and recover some of his health...

[color=e6193a]OOC: Sucks that D/M fell, but... thank goodness it was him, and not one of the newer people. That fall could have killed some of the people in the party.[/color]

"Down the stairs, maybe 50 or 70 feet, is a hallway. The hallway continues 30-40 feet before it ends at a door. Right at the bottom of the stairs is a trap door, though; it opens when the trap triggers. So when we triggered the trap, we slid down the stairs, then into a hole where we fell another 20 feet."

"That hole," he continues, "appears to be a semi-circular platform. We peaked off the dais and it looks to drop off another 10 feet or so. The ground there appeared to be littered with bones and detritus. Couldn't tell if any of it was due to being eaten or just from falling. But... it was creepy down there. I didn't like it, so I figured we'd save it for later, when we had safety in numbers. I don't know if we want to save this other door for later or check it out now; thought I'd ask the rest before opening it, though."

Then Desmond/Mondes rests, allowing the others to keep watch and discuss the next step for a bit so he can recover.

[waysoftheearth]

doctorx wrote:
Josiane will lend what aid she can to tending to Desmond/Mondes' wounds. Like others in the company she is wondering what such an elaborate and ominous-sounding labyrinth is doing located beneath a simple house of healing?

"I think Lord Ulric has it aright," she says at length; "Let us continue with clearing out the upper reaches of this place. To proceed below at this stage only provides our enemies with a golden opportunity to trap us there. And we are still in need of securing some supply of food."

[mgtremaine]

mgtremaine wrote:
Wen would listen to Desmond & Mondes tell their tale of daring and danger. His eyes a light with excitement. "A well guarded room, how can we resist! Perhaps we should secure the far door so nothing can sneak up on us as we explore this area. Maybe a wedge of some sort could be fabricated from the equipment here. I am loathe to leave this behind as Desmond and Mondes have already paid the price of discovery in blood."

Wen review his equipment, scrolls and spellbook and consider what options he has in a pinch.

[waysoftheearth]

heartless wrote:
Rufus calls out his agreement, "Hey Wen and Dorgan why don't you use those iron spike to secure the far door, to be on the safe side."

Then Rufus goes over and gives Desmond/Mondes a drink of water and aids his rest to recover from the fall. Unsure which head to talk to he says, "You two had us scared for a moment back there, I'm glad you are both okay mate... This place is dangerous and wants to pick us off one at a time. Lets keep on our guard and stick together."

[mgtremaine]

mgtremaine wrote:
Wen would look around to see if there are any metal bars, piece of bed frame, or anything that could be wedged against the door. "It would be to have something easy to remove in case we have to flee quickly.". He hums a happy treasure finding tune to himself a he tries to find something to use to hold the door.

[waysoftheearth]

ehiker133 wrote:
"Many thanks, Rufus," Desmond replies, taking sips of the water. "I'm no dwarf, but everything down there is quite old and well made." He shakes his head, "I don't at all think those shape shifters had the time or resources to accomplish such a task. I doubt they even knew it existed."

After he has finished resting, he asks, "Well? What is the plan? Obviously, the trap in the stairs is designed to keep people out of that room below what aren't supposed ta be snooping in it in the first place. To me, that says it contains something important... I'm all for sticking to the plan, but... In this case, I suspect we will find one lone room behind the door. Maybe a secret store room? Maybe a second library? Or... Maybe another laboratory what needs ta be destroyed. I'd be fine with taking a small detour in this case."