Immersive Ink

waysoftheearth wrote:
As Olaf takes a few cautious steps nearer, he spies by the orange glamour of his faithful lantern that the rock upon the pedestal is no rock at all, but rather a rough-hewed gem of some sort. Ages of dust over it concealed its nature at first, but he now sees that the light passes amber through the underside of the stone.

eris wrote:

waysoftheearth wrote:As Olaf takes a few cautious steps nearer, he spies by the orange glamour of his faithful lantern that the rock upon the pedestal is no rock at all, but rather a rough-hewed gem of some sort. Ages of dust over it concealed its nature at first, but he now sees that the light passes amber through the underside of the stone.

Olaf will examine the pedestal and the gem atop it closely. He is looking for any sort of traps that might be there. If he finds none, he will cautiously take the gem. If he even suspects there is any sort of trap under the gem, or around the pedestal, he will back off.

waysoftheearth wrote:
Eris, please tell me exactly where Olaf "looks for traps"...

eris wrote:

waysoftheearth wrote:Eris, please tell me exactly where Olaf "looks for traps"...

1. He looks on the floor as he approaches the pedestal...loose flagstones, or anything like that.
2. He looks on the side of the pedestal...panels, runes, holes, anything.
3. He looks on the top of the pedestal...seams in the stone, holes, etc.
4. He looks at the gem, itself...what is it resting on, are there seams around the gem like it is on a spring trap?
5. He looks up at the ceiling....for anything that looks out of place.

If he detects no traps, he'll take the gem. If he detects anything that might be a trap, at any point, he'll stop. Better to leave a gem behind than spring a trap with only the two of them here.

waysoftheearth wrote:
Olaf is suspicious as a fox, and as he checks the flagstones of the floor, he notes with no small distaste that they are rather unevenly placed. Approaching any closer that 7 or 8 ft would also certainly cause him to step on a few of the loose flags, and trigger who knows what mischief.

Olaf decides not to risk it and leaves the gem lying as it is...

What now?

eris wrote:
"Not worth it." Olaf says, "When we find the others, or get out of here, we can think about coming back and seeing about that gem."

"Let's continue." Olaf will move along the left most path...moving cautiously still.

waysoftheearth wrote:
"Right," grumbles Victor, still eying the stone hungrily.

The pair skirt the pedestal and take the first passageway to their left (relative to where they entered).

There they find another narrow passage, only wide enough for Olaf to lead and Victor to follow nervously. This passage takes them a-ways through a cobwebbed passage where their feet crunch on dust and grit that must be half an inch deep. None have trodden here in a long, long while Olaf concludes.

Soon the passage veers somewhat left again, but with no other choice the intrepid pair continue. But soon after, Olaf spies that the passage ahead seems to come to a dead end.

"You wouldn't believe it!" growlsVictor, and spits.

eris wrote:

waysoftheearth wrote:"Right," grumbles Victor, still eying the stone hungrily.

The pair skirt the pedestal and take the first passageway to their left (relative to where they entered).

There they find another narrow passage, only wide enough for Olaf to lead and Victor to follow nervously. This passage takes them a-ways through a cobwebbed passage where their feet crunch on dust and grit that must be half an inch deep. None have trodden here in a long, long while Olaf concludes.

Soon the passage veers somewhat left again, but with no other choice the intrepid pair continue. But soon after, Olaf spies that the passage ahead seems to come to a dead end.

"You wouldn't believe it!" growlsVictor, and spits.

"Yeah..." Olaf examines the dead end very closely looking for any sort of concealed or secret opening. If he finds something he'll attempt to open it, if he does not, he'll say, "guess we go back the way we came and take the other branch."

waysoftheearth wrote:
Olaf takes his little lantern close to the dead end of the dusty passage, his boots crunching on detritus at each step...

The stones of the wall are rough and grimy, and covered by a film of cobweb, which he clears away with a sweeping arm. A pair of mice, or other small rodents scurry down the wall, and vanish beneath it. Beneath it? That catches Olaf's eye and he crouches down to find a little tunnel in the thick dust. He clears it with his hand and sees now that there is actually a gap of half an inch height that seems to run all along the underside of this wall. Very odd indeed.

Further examination reveals that the dead end seems only to contact the ground at a single stone in the left corner. The adjacent wall seems to be the same.

"What've you got there?" asks Victor, keeping an eye out behind.

eris wrote:
"There's a gap under this wall, and that one too." Olaf says, "There might be passages beyond them. I wonder if there's some way to move these two walls?"

Olaf will run his hand over the walls, looking for something...a loose stone, a concealed switch or lever. Maybe just pushing on the wall, or sliding it...