(004) The Dunjon Door

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
As Mads thinks better of getting separated from the others and speeds his step, Olaf hears -- or thinks he hears -- a very quiet shuffling sound, but then it is gone. Was it simply Caine moving on?

Within a dozen brisk strides Mads reaches the safety of Ulric's guiding lamp light, and soon after catches up to the rest of the party...

[waysoftheearth]

TheMyth wrote:
Anwyn will carefully move forward to inspect the bodies...

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:

As Mads thinks better of getting separated from the others and speeds his step, Olaf hears -- or thinks he hears -- a very quiet shuffling sound, but then it is gone. Was it simply Caine moving on?

Within a dozen brisk strides Mads reaches the safety of Ulric's guiding lamp light, and soon after catches up to the rest of the party...

"Drat!" mutters Olaf, "Let's move on then, best to not split up down here."

And putting practice to his words, he moves along behind Mads toward the light ahead.

[waysoftheearth]

tombowings wrote:
"There you are my friend, this way. Over here." Rodrick whispers to Mads as he comes into view.

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
Caine, Olaf, and finally Rodrick, catch up to the rear of the party, and find themselves at the intersection behind Mads and Dieter, who have just turned into the narrow passage to the left.

Directly before Caine, Olaf, and Rodrick is the intersection door, and to their right, another narrow passage disappears into the darkness...

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:
"Rodrick, do you have a torch handy you could light?" asks Olaf, "The light from up front doesn't reach back here very well, and think we could use some light back here, too."

[waysoftheearth]

tombowings wrote:
"I have a torch, yes, but no hands to carry it with. Anyone's welcome to take one of mine if they like though," Rodrick says, offer a torch to Olaf.

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
Taines shuffles aside so that Anwyn can squeeze past him in the narrow confines of the passage -- it is a good thing she is a slim Elf else that manoeuvre would prove difficult.

Anwyn then creeps up to, and into, the room to inspect the bodies while the others edge forward until Taines is on the threshold of the room, with Victor looking over his shoulder, and Ulric, then the others behind him in the very tight passage.

By the single, yellow shaft of illumination cast about by Taines' lamp-light it becomes clear that the chamber is diamond-shaped, a half-score yards across, and an intersection where four narrow corridors cross paths.

Anwyn nudges the first body with her boot... it doesn't move. Cautiously, she rolls it over so that it lies face up, and is greeted by the horribly contorted face of a recently slain Hobgoblin. Aside from a relatively minor puncture wound in the fellow's side, there is no obvious cause of death. But something awful must have befallen him... his filthy clothes and armour are damp and stinking, and his ordinarily ugly features seem withered and shrunken.

The babble of water in the fountain gurgles on...

[waysoftheearth]

TheMyth wrote:
"I think these are the hobgoblins that fled! Something down here killed them!" Anwyn hisses in the darkness, turning to scan the room for danger.

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
Olaf is carrying eight torches (both his and Caine's original half dozen -- less the four that were burned during last night's watches), and also has a tinderbox. Rodrick has half a dozen torches himself, but nothing with which to ignite them.

Thus it is Olaf who kneels to strike a spark, and after several tries nurses a tiny flame to the oil-soaked tallow wrapped about a torch. Soon the torch is a afire and providing a much warmer light at the rear of the marching order.

Olaf is equipped with sword and shield, and fancies he could operate effectively even in these confines if he limited himself to thrusting and stabbing motions. Rodrick, on the other-hand, is equipped with flail and shield, and judges that these passages are altogether too tight to swing a flail freely. He could carry the torch instead, and use it as a fiery club if push came to shove...