Immersive Ink

"Er...yes..ah" says Potty, fumbling in his pockets for his harvesting knife.

"These are quite, er, tasty - as well as being very beautiful", he pauses, stuffing some cuttings into his collection of pouches, "dont you think?"

Our heroes have survived their first hour in the Caverns. No small feat!

Tet's torch flickers and goes out. He keeps his tinderbox and a spare torch close at hand, ready to light it at a moment's notice.

Willie's lantern has 18 units of fuel remaining as we begin...

Turn 7

Our heroes spend 1 turn exploring the western section of the puffball cavern. The trail of bloody footprints leads due west and ends abruptly at the wall. At the northern end of the cave is an apparently bottomless chasm. The ceiling rises at least 30', beyond the range of lantern light.

Willie holds up his lantern to examine the wall where the footprints end.

"Well, that's odd... but definitely interesting!"

He studies the wall for moment, looking for odd cracks, marks on the wall, difference in visible texture from the nearby walls.

If nothing presents itself to visual scrutiny, he picks up a pebble or something & tosses it gently at the wall just above where the footprints disappear.

Dougal makes his way over to the chasm and tries to peer down into the depths. Obviously, he can't see terribly far with the lantern light available, so he tries listening as well.

He picks up a pebble, thinking about tossing it down into the chasm. But he holds his hand. Whispering, "Fool of a Took," he smiles and drops the rock on the ground at his feet and returns to the party.

acodispo wrote:Willie holds up his lantern to examine the wall where the footprints end.

"Well, that's odd... but definitely interesting!"

He studies the wall for moment, looking for odd cracks, marks on the wall, difference in visible texture from the nearby walls.

If nothing presents itself to visual scrutiny, he picks up a pebble or something & tosses it gently at the wall just above where the footprints disappear.

Willie sees a single, bloody handprint on the wall. Looking closer, he notices a door-shaped section of the wall that is smoother than the surrounding stone. He does not see a doorknob, keyhole, any writing, or other distinguishing features. When Willie throws a pebble, it bounces back normally, indicating the wall is solid.

ehiker133 wrote:Dougal makes his way over to the chasm and tries to peer down into the depths. Obviously, he can't see terribly far with the lantern light available, so he tries listening as well.

He picks up a pebble, thinking about tossing it down into the chasm. But he holds his hand. Whispering, "Fool of a Took," he smiles and drops the rock on the ground at his feet and returns to the party.

As Dougal picks his way north, he feels the ground becoming moist and squishy underfoot. He feels an occasional drip of cold water coming off the stalactites above. The puffballs look a little different at the northern end of the cave; their skin is cracked and leathery, and they don't look so appetizing.

Being careful not to slip on the wet rocks, Dougal cautiously approaches the precipice. Since he's at the edge of Willie's lantern light, it's hard for Dougal to see much. He can't see the bottom of the chasm, or across to the other side (if there is one). He feels a cool and damp wind gently wafting up from below. Dougal listens carefully (using his Hobbet racial ability) but hears only the steady drip of falling water and the gentle murmuring of the breeze.

"Look! There's a door here!"

Willie pushes the butt of his axe firmly against the door to see whether it will yield.

Dougal chuckles as Willie tries to force the door to open... with his axe!

"Gotta use your grey muscles, Willie..."

He sort of kindly elbows Willie aside, places his hand on the bloody hand print, and presses into the wall.

Alas, the potential secret door doesn't budge, not even a little bit. Willie and Dougal feel as though they are pressing against solid rock.

Dougal glances over at Willie and shrugs and turns back to the wall and says, "Johnnycakes?"