Upon casting the spell, Mal gives the door a push and it swings open a little. Constant pushing moves the door all the way open, revealing four suits of rusted plate armor sans helmets, sized for a dwarf, in the corners of this 20-foot-high room. Each suit is draped in cobwebs. Dwarvish runes are carved into the far wall.
"Whatever you do, do it quick - 10 minutes on that door holding open, then whatever was on it..." Mal claps his hands and makes a small explosion sound.
“Perhaps the answer to this riddles lies elsewhere in the mine? Or... perhaps we are thinking too hard on it and we must simply reveal some secret, any secret to him in order to pass through.
We should be cautious though, it doesn’t look like this riddle was very kind to the last ones who attempted it”
He gestures towards the old Dwarven bones that lie scattered across the room.
"Hmm. I could try a thing or two. As a performer, I get a fair bit of access to private situations, though somehow I think something more personal might be best. And to answer your question, Morph, I can do one encore, but nothing further, and it will also slow me down a good bit in future situations. Still, might as well, right?"
*Assuming that most of the party are over in the room by this point.
Mal sweeps down and walks to the center of the room, and in a clear, tenor stage voice, calls out: "I have for you today a secret never shared, for who could know of it, in this group, but I, Mal Dulinn!?" He takes a deep breath. "I've been funding and running a ring of voluntary spies and information gatherers, and have been keeping it secret from my friends and co-owners of the good establishment, Trollshaw Manor in Waterdeep."
Silence falls on the room as Malspeaks his secret. And then a soft click sounds and a trap door, that nobody had detected at all, pops open. As it lifts it reveals a spiral stone staircase descending deep into the vault.
Titus stares and gawks at Mal as the trap door opens. He starts to speak but only sputters out some gibberish, sighs, and walks away. He is disgruntled with the reckless act of managing an underground spy ring, but happy that they had found a way to advance further into the chamber. Unable to find his words, he decides to spare Mal his lecture, and presses forward into the trap door.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Vercinius Thrax: Lizardfolk Cleric - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
L’Ouverture Zinn: Kobold Sorcerer - Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Titus Vorenus: Dragonborn Paladin - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Nemean Goldenmane: Tabaxi Fighter - Lost Mine of Phandelver (Retired)
Lanielbrings up the rear behind the bugbears and the two women in descending the spiraling stone steps. The steps seem to go forever. One of the bugbears tried counting them but gave up after his brother cuffed him behind the head. It must have been nearly 200 steps, perhaps more before the group finally reached the bottom. What waits them is a sight to behold.
Although deep underground, the vault is lit by streams of sunlight that pour down from the ceiling, catching motes of dust in their luminous pools. Ornate columns support a thirty-foot-high vaulted ceiling, which is adorned with carvings of dwarves basking in the presence of their gods. Deep alcoves line the walls, and piled in one of them is a vast golden trove.
Out of the dusty gloom steps an aged dwarf clutching a staff carved and painted to resemble a pair of entwined dragons — one red, one gold. Despite the dwarf’s age, his eyes are steady and bright. “I wasn’t expecting anyone,” he says plainly. “As you can see, the place is a mess. Perhaps you should come back later, after I’ve tidied up a bit.”
(Titus suggested the middle one.)
Morph takes to the air with Mal and heads over to the middle door.
"Right, the doors all yours Mal."
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
Mal casts knock on the middle door.
(Traveling for the next 24 hours.)
Upon casting the spell, Mal gives the door a push and it swings open a little. Constant pushing moves the door all the way open, revealing four suits of rusted plate armor sans helmets, sized for a dwarf, in the corners of this 20-foot-high room. Each suit is draped in cobwebs. Dwarvish runes are carved into the far wall.
"Does anyone read dwarvish?" Mal says.
Morph peers into the dark room, then flies the broom in. "As a matter of fact," he says, pausing to read the runes on the wall.
After a minute of translation, he says. "It reads, 'A secret never before told will part Dumathoin’s lips.'"
Laniel religion check: 4 The monk shakes his head. "No idea who that is."
Mal religion check: 9 "Me neither," says the bard.
Rethan religion check: 5 "It's the dwarven god of secrets," calls out the fighter.
"Ah," says Laniel. "So...?"
"So, we need to say something secret, that has never been shared?"
Morph looks a little uneasy at the idea.
"Do we want to bring everyone across and then workout the riddle?"
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
"Whatever you do, do it quick - 10 minutes on that door holding open, then whatever was on it..." Mal claps his hands and makes a small explosion sound.
"Oh..."
Morph examines the room quickly, to get a feel for what is going on.
Is there an obvious way forward in the room, or does it look like a dead end?
Are there any leavers, switches or buttons, that may take care of the currently opened door?
Any other obvious things of interest?
Investigation check: 6
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
Dead end. And Morph finds no secrets, levers, or anything else in the room.
"Are we sure this is the room we should be dealing with? I don't see any exits from the room."
Morph looks at Mal and then over at the others.
"Do we want to go with this room, see if solving the riddle gets us through or try for the last door?"
Morph looks back at Mal,
"How much magic do you have left? I know not everyone gets most of their magical reserves back with a sort rest, like I do."
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
“Perhaps the answer to this riddles lies elsewhere in the mine? Or... perhaps we are thinking too hard on it and we must simply reveal some secret, any secret to him in order to pass through.
We should be cautious though, it doesn’t look like this riddle was very kind to the last ones who attempted it”
He gestures towards the old Dwarven bones that lie scattered across the room.
Vercinius Thrax: Lizardfolk Cleric - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
L’Ouverture Zinn: Kobold Sorcerer - Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Titus Vorenus: Dragonborn Paladin - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Nemean Goldenmane: Tabaxi Fighter - Lost Mine of Phandelver (Retired)
"Hmm. I could try a thing or two. As a performer, I get a fair bit of access to private situations, though somehow I think something more personal might be best. And to answer your question, Morph, I can do one encore, but nothing further, and it will also slow me down a good bit in future situations. Still, might as well, right?"
*Assuming that most of the party are over in the room by this point.
Mal sweeps down and walks to the center of the room, and in a clear, tenor stage voice, calls out: "I have for you today a secret never shared, for who could know of it, in this group, but I, Mal Dulinn!?" He takes a deep breath. "I've been funding and running a ring of voluntary spies and information gatherers, and have been keeping it secret from my friends and co-owners of the good establishment, Trollshaw Manor in Waterdeep."
Morphs eyes go wide at Mals confession.
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
Silence falls on the room as Mal speaks his secret. And then a soft click sounds and a trap door, that nobody had detected at all, pops open. As it lifts it reveals a spiral stone staircase descending deep into the vault.
Morph claps Mal on the back, as he heads to the stairs
"Nice work, spy master."
Morph gives Mal a mischievous grin as he heads past.
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
Rethan nods as the trap door lifts open, throwing a sideways, considering glance at Mal before following Morph to the stairs.
Titus stares and gawks at Mal as the trap door opens. He starts to speak but only sputters out some gibberish, sighs, and walks away. He is disgruntled with the reckless act of managing an underground spy ring, but happy that they had found a way to advance further into the chamber. Unable to find his words, he decides to spare Mal his lecture, and presses forward into the trap door.
Vercinius Thrax: Lizardfolk Cleric - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
L’Ouverture Zinn: Kobold Sorcerer - Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Titus Vorenus: Dragonborn Paladin - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Nemean Goldenmane: Tabaxi Fighter - Lost Mine of Phandelver (Retired)
Laniel brings up the rear behind the bugbears and the two women in descending the spiraling stone steps. The steps seem to go forever. One of the bugbears tried counting them but gave up after his brother cuffed him behind the head. It must have been nearly 200 steps, perhaps more before the group finally reached the bottom. What waits them is a sight to behold.
Although deep underground, the vault is lit by streams of sunlight that pour down from the ceiling, catching motes of dust in their luminous pools. Ornate columns support a thirty-foot-high vaulted ceiling, which is adorned with carvings of dwarves basking in the presence of their gods. Deep alcoves line the walls, and piled in one of them is a vast golden trove.
Out of the dusty gloom steps an aged dwarf clutching a staff carved and painted to resemble a pair of entwined dragons — one red, one gold. Despite the dwarf’s age, his eyes are steady and bright. “I wasn’t expecting anyone,” he says plainly. “As you can see, the place is a mess. Perhaps you should come back later, after I’ve tidied up a bit.”
Morph sees the staff and remembers Golorr's words.
"Are...are you Aurinax?"
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
The dwarf grips his staff more tightly, squinting his eyes at the interlopers. "Mmmm," he says with suspicion. "Why have you come?"