"Mine as well. I'm a wee bit more equipped in some ways for any surprises we might along the way." Doozey replies to Graxx. With that, he again nudges Biscuit along so that the pair were front and center on following the trail. Though occasionally between sniffling at the ground after hearing the word "trail" along the way, Biscuit is far calmer than he used to be, and restrains at least any instincts to run off at the drop of the hat with Doozey in tow.
Everything else though, much to Doozey's chagrin, is free game.
Neya and Utar agree that the shaft should not be their preferred way at this moment and walk out of the banquet hall back into the L-shaped room Cassyt has called the "Cloister of Kelemvor." The acolyte puts the iron key away and follows the monk and cleric out of the banquet hall. Waiting patiently up until now, Graxx welcomes the group back and invites Doozey to lead the way into the next area.
The mounted ranger turns into the area know as the "First Families of Phlan." This series of crypts are arranged neatly in two rows flanking the path CRAP walks on. The crypts have doorways sealed by locked iron grates, not dissimilar to the other metalwork the party has come across in the catacombs so far, at least at first glance. Within the crypts CRAP sees scenes of normal daily life: richly-dressed people seated around dining tables, or at writing desks, or in luxurious chairs. All of this would be completely normal, except that all of the participants in the macabre dioramas are the skeletal remains of the affluent—carefully posed and interred among their favorite possessions. A cursive look about the crypts reveals some valuable coins and trinkets, and there is no telling what could be found should someone dedicate enough time to look more thoroughly.
Either way, the passage continues due south, leading to a set of stairs that descends into more darkness.
Neya is curious about which families are represented in this section of the catacombs, she tries to find any crests or other identifiers she could recognize.
History: 7
"What families do we see?" She asks Cassyt, leaning on her knowledge.
Utar shudders at the grim tableaux in front of them.
"Put me in the ground or commit me to the flame... I don't want to be a conversation piece."
Warily eyeing the posed bodies he watches for Lord Valero.
Another shudder passes over him and he suddenly turns his attention to the clothes on the various bodies for signs of dirt and their hands and mouths for signs of blood.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that as well, Mr. Graxx. In some ways, or so I hear, the wealthier folks tend to be a wee bit more desperate to not lose their precious baubles and power they have on this realm. So, I wouldn't put it past them to use any means necessary preserve their hold... even beyond the time they are allotted." Doozey comments. "But why now of all times to inact plans about undeath? Now that'd be the real mystery."
On that note, Doozey signals for Biscuit to slow down just so he could test each lock in passing, and at least assure himself that none were tampered with of late. But though curiosity would linger in his expression after eventually passing the last one, the group yet had a pit to find, and the stoutling was determined to reach it.
(Don't know if it would be necessary, but I would assume it'd be investigation to double check the locks and make sure they are indeed locked/not tampered with in any way)
Graxx makes but a small comment about the crypts before urging his companions onward. They advance slowly, showing some interest in the macabre displays.
Neya asks Cassyt a bit more about the families represented here while trying to recognize any heraldry herself. Cassyt doesn't have to look in her notes to answer, sharing the names of a few noble families and adding that some of them have long died out. The names mean little to Neya, except for two: Brokengulf and Silmerhelve. It is only after the acolyte mentions those names that the memory of the two houses' standards comes to the monk's mind. She then recognizes the red castle and trail upon the gray hill of House Brokengulf, and the richly equipped jousting training dummy that represents House Silmerhelve.
Upon hearing the Brokengulf name, Utar peers into the crypt to see if Lord Valero has received the diorama treatment. To his relief, he find no indication that the late lord has been added to the strange display in front of him, unlike some of his ancestors. Responding then to an unrelated sudden thought, Utar looks at the fingers of the skeletons for any signs of blood. Once again, relief fills Utar's heart as he fails to spot what he feared.
The group advances southbound through this corridor slowly. Doozey makes a point of testing the locked grates as to remove any doubt that they have not been tempered with. Each time Doozey touches a lock, the keyhole morphs into a mouth-like shape and utters the words: "Think twice on what you are about to do, friend. Your trespass has been noted." Although it takes a bit of time, the stoutling confirms that each of the locks is indeed quite pristine. Not fully understanding what the ranger is doing at first, Cassyt speaks up: "We Kelemvorites are stoutly against the idea of disturbing the resting places of the dead. We ask that you do not pilfer their belongings. I am sure the Doomguide will reward you appropriately for your task."
Arriving at the end of the corridor and at the mouth of the stairs, CRAP sees that the steps lead down to a landing where a simple wooden door can be found. The door leads west, but it is currently shut. Additional steps lead down from this intermediate landing. Following them would take CRAP further in the south direction and deeper down the earth. The group cannot see much farther beyond these additional steps because they bend to the right.
Doozey squinted back at the girl. "I'm not trying to break in, you daft girl. I was checking the locks to make sure they weren't tampered with in ways a passing glance might miss. If I wanted pilfer like some common grave robber, I would demanded a key from you, or asked Mr. Graxx there to break it." He responded a little more testily than intended. Because after a few moments of looking ahead again, he would grumble and more pointedly avoid looking back to others.
The stoutling sighed soon after, half-sounding grateful for the distraction of checking the area about the door for any scents or traces of the undead potentially having slunked or clawed their way past the door.
If nothing outwardly catches his attention, then halfing and beast would continue padding down the stairs without comment unless drawn back by request of the others. All with the intent to at least get into position of glancing past the bend to the south, but remaining by there until the others caught up or called him back.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Doozey can't help but snap at the girl and her unfounded accusations. She recoils a bit and instinctively hides behind Graxx. She has an apologetic expression on her face. The barbarian tries to calm the ranger's nerves a bit, but it seems he has already moved on to his next self-appointed task: analyzing the landing and door for any tracks.
Doozey finds some more of the blood droplets that Graxx had kept an eye on. The ranger determines that they undoubtedly lead west, through the close door.
While Doozey does his thing, the others have a moment to look about and begin to notice some details on the walls and ceiling. Although the catacombs are all excavated from earth and solid stone, the tunnels look nothing like a mine. Most walls and ceiling so far were either faced with smooth stone or have decorative features such as faux pillars in the area of the First Families, or ledges, decorative designs, and scenes of life and religious themes carved into the stone, as was the case in the banquet hall. No ceiling so far has been taller than 10 feet. CRAP has no reason to believe that these particular design choices would be different going forward.
Attempting to broker a peace, Utar tries to point CRAP towards their mission.
"Let's just keep moving forward. Whatever attacked the other Kelemvorites is likely still out there and likely undead. Making sure we're not in for any may surprises is the name of the game right now."
A fresh thought triggers in Utar, "Cassyt, the items the first families are buried with, are they catalogued anywhere? Presumably there aren't hundreds of magical items down here capable of doing who knows what?"
After having Biscuit turn about to ease Doozey's efforts to try and listen at the door, the stoutling started to reach out for the door handle, only to hesitate for a moment. However, following a furtive glance in Cassyt's general direction, the stoutling just huffs and goes to carefully open the door. In this way, he hoped to catch any rudimentary traps on the verge of priming, and stop short of triggering them.
Upon likely finding nothing of the sort though, he more confidently opened the door the rest of the way, whispering a curt, "This way. Blood trail leads here." back to the others on his way inside. If the door has no give to both the halflings surprise and chargrin, only then would he grudging back away from it to regard Utar. "So, uh... he only gave you the one key, right, Mr. Utar?"
(@Lerus: When Doozey first listens at the western door, he's more relying on his passive if possible, having not fully expected to hear anything through the door anyways. If not, I'll roll it in the spoiler.)
"Sorry," Cassyt answers Utar's question: "I'm afraid the items and heirlooms you speak of are brought in by the families. It wouldn't be our place to bother them for details about cups, shields, and trinkets while they are grieving and saying their farewells. For us Kelemvorites, whether it is a fork or a legendary trident, it matters not. These graves should not be disturbed." She looks apologetically again at Doozey, trying to make him understand those last few words were not aimed at him.
Graxx keeps an eye out for markings of Tempus, but finds no obvious ones among the First Families.
Neya also pays attention to her surrounding, just in case she notices something coming up the stairs ahead of the group. She does not see anything, but hears a strange noise. It sounds like distant crying although she is not sure if it is attributable to any malevolence within the catacombs or to those above in the graveyard mourning their dead.
Gently priming the door handle and listening at the door, Doozey checks for any signs or sounds of a triggering mechanism. He is fairly certain that the grinding noise he hears is nothing but the simple metal of the handle grinding on more metal and wood, or in other words, exactly what he would expect from a standard door. Thus, the stoutling opens the door normally. With the benefit of his darkvision, he sees a circular pit that nearly fills the small chamber beyond, leaving only a foot-wide pathway between the edge of the pit and the wall. The pit is filled to depths unknown with humanoid bones. A narrow walkway hugging the walls is the only path through the chamber. Narrow niches in the walls are filled with carefully placed bones, baubles, and other similar items. Exactly opposite to the door Doozey just opened is the only other exit from this bone-pit chamber. It is just another hallway that bends to the left (south.)
(OOC: If anyone decides to try to shimmy their way past the pit, I'll need an acrobatics check {DC 11}. If you want to cross by any other manner, please rolls an appropriate skill check.)
"It might not matter to the Kelemvorites but there's folks out there that it is going to matter to. Might be the interest is a magical trinket, might be the interest is in silverware. If they're determined, you might not be able to stop them. If they're none too bright, they might cause more trouble than they, or you know how to deal with. You're sitting on what might just be the biggest treasure trove in Phlan and you're telling me you've no idea what's in here?"
Shaking his head, Utar lets his incredulity fade away. Of course they don't know what's in here, they care about who's in here. Although presumably they don't have a list of names either, especially not for anyone in the pile.
Eyeing the pit, Utar considers whether he could likely jump across, and whether he could likely do it carrying a large dog...
”If I fall and can’t be brought back. Don’t let me end up in a pile underground in the world of the Drow. Please bury me in the wilderness or on a nice green hill.”
She is rather spoiled for choice, but she determines the easiest way is the best way. Since everyone is using some form of darkvision, the corridor is more than dark enough for her to teleport across. Once across, she lowers one end of a rope in case any of the others need any help if they fall in.
Though Doozey would listen, it is with his eyes ever focused on tasks at hand, blinding him of all else, much to Cassyt's misfortune. Regardless, once inside and seeing the pit, Doozey lets out a low whistle and shakes his head. "That's quite a bit." He murmured, then looked up to Graxx. "Mn. Though you kind of contra-... Oh! That sort of falling. No problem, Mr. Graxx. I'll be sure to pick a nice good one for ya. With a tree and everything at the top. But don't going falling anytime soon." Doozey said, before climbing down intending to follow right after Graxx.
Unfortunately, a wee bit too literally...
Doozey's Attempt(DC 11): 11.
Biscuit's Attempt(DC 11): 14.
(Just realized Biscuit wouldn't make the attempt if Doozey falls first.)
Utar waves the key away, "We're not breaking into the lower levels of the catacombs...yet... Let's get back on the trail."
"Mine as well. I'm a wee bit more equipped in some ways for any surprises we might along the way." Doozey replies to Graxx. With that, he again nudges Biscuit along so that the pair were front and center on following the trail. Though occasionally between sniffling at the ground after hearing the word "trail" along the way, Biscuit is far calmer than he used to be, and restrains at least any instincts to run off at the drop of the hat with Doozey in tow.
Everything else though, much to Doozey's chagrin, is free game.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Neya and Utar agree that the shaft should not be their preferred way at this moment and walk out of the banquet hall back into the L-shaped room Cassyt has called the "Cloister of Kelemvor." The acolyte puts the iron key away and follows the monk and cleric out of the banquet hall. Waiting patiently up until now, Graxx welcomes the group back and invites Doozey to lead the way into the next area.
The mounted ranger turns into the area know as the "First Families of Phlan." This series of crypts are arranged neatly in two rows flanking the path CRAP walks on. The crypts have doorways sealed by locked iron grates, not dissimilar to the other metalwork the party has come across in the catacombs so far, at least at first glance. Within the crypts CRAP sees scenes of normal daily life: richly-dressed people seated around dining tables, or at writing desks, or in luxurious chairs. All of this would be completely normal, except that all of the participants in the macabre dioramas are the skeletal remains of the affluent—carefully posed and interred among their favorite possessions. A cursive look about the crypts reveals some valuable coins and trinkets, and there is no telling what could be found should someone dedicate enough time to look more thoroughly.
Either way, the passage continues due south, leading to a set of stairs that descends into more darkness.
Graxx walks and turns his head sideways looking at one of the richly-dressed skeletons in a luxurious chair.
"Can't take it with you when you go can you..." says Graxx.
Graxx looks intently at one of the skeletons.
"Well I don't think it was one of these folks that did the killing. They must still be that way down the stairs."
Graxx points in the direction of the stairs.
Neya is curious about which families are represented in this section of the catacombs, she tries to find any crests or other identifiers she could recognize.
History: 7
"What families do we see?" She asks Cassyt, leaning on her knowledge.
Extended Signature
Utar shudders at the grim tableaux in front of them.
"Put me in the ground or commit me to the flame... I don't want to be a conversation piece."
Warily eyeing the posed bodies he watches for Lord Valero.
Another shudder passes over him and he suddenly turns his attention to the clothes on the various bodies for signs of dirt and their hands and mouths for signs of blood.
Perception 14
"I wouldn't be so sure of that as well, Mr. Graxx. In some ways, or so I hear, the wealthier folks tend to be a wee bit more desperate to not lose their precious baubles and power they have on this realm. So, I wouldn't put it past them to use any means necessary preserve their hold... even beyond the time they are allotted." Doozey comments. "But why now of all times to inact plans about undeath? Now that'd be the real mystery."
On that note, Doozey signals for Biscuit to slow down just so he could test each lock in passing, and at least assure himself that none were tampered with of late. But though curiosity would linger in his expression after eventually passing the last one, the group yet had a pit to find, and the stoutling was determined to reach it.
(Don't know if it would be necessary, but I would assume it'd be investigation to double check the locks and make sure they are indeed locked/not tampered with in any way)
Investigation: 12.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Graxx makes but a small comment about the crypts before urging his companions onward. They advance slowly, showing some interest in the macabre displays.
Neya asks Cassyt a bit more about the families represented here while trying to recognize any heraldry herself. Cassyt doesn't have to look in her notes to answer, sharing the names of a few noble families and adding that some of them have long died out. The names mean little to Neya, except for two: Brokengulf and Silmerhelve. It is only after the acolyte mentions those names that the memory of the two houses' standards comes to the monk's mind. She then recognizes the red castle and trail upon the gray hill of House Brokengulf, and the richly equipped jousting training dummy that represents House Silmerhelve.
Upon hearing the Brokengulf name, Utar peers into the crypt to see if Lord Valero has received the diorama treatment. To his relief, he find no indication that the late lord has been added to the strange display in front of him, unlike some of his ancestors. Responding then to an unrelated sudden thought, Utar looks at the fingers of the skeletons for any signs of blood. Once again, relief fills Utar's heart as he fails to spot what he feared.
The group advances southbound through this corridor slowly. Doozey makes a point of testing the locked grates as to remove any doubt that they have not been tempered with. Each time Doozey touches a lock, the keyhole morphs into a mouth-like shape and utters the words: "Think twice on what you are about to do, friend. Your trespass has been noted." Although it takes a bit of time, the stoutling confirms that each of the locks is indeed quite pristine. Not fully understanding what the ranger is doing at first, Cassyt speaks up: "We Kelemvorites are stoutly against the idea of disturbing the resting places of the dead. We ask that you do not pilfer their belongings. I am sure the Doomguide will reward you appropriately for your task."
Arriving at the end of the corridor and at the mouth of the stairs, CRAP sees that the steps lead down to a landing where a simple wooden door can be found. The door leads west, but it is currently shut. Additional steps lead down from this intermediate landing. Following them would take CRAP further in the south direction and deeper down the earth. The group cannot see much farther beyond these additional steps because they bend to the right.
Doozey squinted back at the girl. "I'm not trying to break in, you daft girl. I was checking the locks to make sure they weren't tampered with in ways a passing glance might miss. If I wanted pilfer like some common grave robber, I would demanded a key from you, or asked Mr. Graxx there to break it." He responded a little more testily than intended. Because after a few moments of looking ahead again, he would grumble and more pointedly avoid looking back to others.
The stoutling sighed soon after, half-sounding grateful for the distraction of checking the area about the door for any scents or traces of the undead potentially having slunked or clawed their way past the door.
Survival: 24.
If nothing outwardly catches his attention, then halfing and beast would continue padding down the stairs without comment unless drawn back by request of the others. All with the intent to at least get into position of glancing past the bend to the south, but remaining by there until the others caught up or called him back.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Graxx puts his hands up toward Doozey.
"Calm now Doozey she don't know no better."
Graxx turns to Cassyt.
"We have had our bad experience with cursed items and have no desire to take something from here."
Graxx looks back to Doozey for guidance further.
Doozey can't help but snap at the girl and her unfounded accusations. She recoils a bit and instinctively hides behind Graxx. She has an apologetic expression on her face. The barbarian tries to calm the ranger's nerves a bit, but it seems he has already moved on to his next self-appointed task: analyzing the landing and door for any tracks.
Doozey finds some more of the blood droplets that Graxx had kept an eye on. The ranger determines that they undoubtedly lead west, through the close door.
While Doozey does his thing, the others have a moment to look about and begin to notice some details on the walls and ceiling. Although the catacombs are all excavated from earth and solid stone, the tunnels look nothing like a mine. Most walls and ceiling so far were either faced with smooth stone or have decorative features such as faux pillars in the area of the First Families, or ledges, decorative designs, and scenes of life and religious themes carved into the stone, as was the case in the banquet hall. No ceiling so far has been taller than 10 feet. CRAP has no reason to believe that these particular design choices would be different going forward.
Attempting to broker a peace, Utar tries to point CRAP towards their mission.
"Let's just keep moving forward. Whatever attacked the other Kelemvorites is likely still out there and likely undead. Making sure we're not in for any may surprises is the name of the game right now."
A fresh thought triggers in Utar, "Cassyt, the items the first families are buried with, are they catalogued anywhere? Presumably there aren't hundreds of magical items down here capable of doing who knows what?"
Persuasion 9
(OOC Throwing the skill check in given the accusation of grave robbing... Advantage on the roll from the dragon mask fragment.)
Graxx keeps his words to himself but pays specific attention to the religious markings. Do any have any sign of Tempus?
Religion: 6
After having Biscuit turn about to ease Doozey's efforts to try and listen at the door, the stoutling started to reach out for the door handle, only to hesitate for a moment. However, following a furtive glance in Cassyt's general direction, the stoutling just huffs and goes to carefully open the door. In this way, he hoped to catch any rudimentary traps on the verge of priming, and stop short of triggering them.
Investigation: 21.
Upon likely finding nothing of the sort though, he more confidently opened the door the rest of the way, whispering a curt, "This way. Blood trail leads here." back to the others on his way inside. If the door has no give to both the halflings surprise and chargrin, only then would he grudging back away from it to regard Utar. "So, uh... he only gave you the one key, right, Mr. Utar?"
(@Lerus: When Doozey first listens at the western door, he's more relying on his passive if possible, having not fully expected to hear anything through the door anyways. If not, I'll roll it in the spoiler.)
Perception: 22.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"Rest assured, Doomguide Yovir is a friend of ours. The last thing we want to do is betray his trust." Neya says to Cassyt.
While Doozey's paying attention to the door, Neya keeps an eye and ear out for anything coming up the stairs.
Perception: 11
Extended Signature
"Sorry," Cassyt answers Utar's question: "I'm afraid the items and heirlooms you speak of are brought in by the families. It wouldn't be our place to bother them for details about cups, shields, and trinkets while they are grieving and saying their farewells. For us Kelemvorites, whether it is a fork or a legendary trident, it matters not. These graves should not be disturbed." She looks apologetically again at Doozey, trying to make him understand those last few words were not aimed at him.
Graxx keeps an eye out for markings of Tempus, but finds no obvious ones among the First Families.
Neya also pays attention to her surrounding, just in case she notices something coming up the stairs ahead of the group. She does not see anything, but hears a strange noise. It sounds like distant crying although she is not sure if it is attributable to any malevolence within the catacombs or to those above in the graveyard mourning their dead.
Gently priming the door handle and listening at the door, Doozey checks for any signs or sounds of a triggering mechanism. He is fairly certain that the grinding noise he hears is nothing but the simple metal of the handle grinding on more metal and wood, or in other words, exactly what he would expect from a standard door. Thus, the stoutling opens the door normally. With the benefit of his darkvision, he sees a circular pit that nearly fills the small chamber beyond, leaving only a foot-wide pathway between the edge of the pit and the wall. The pit is filled to depths unknown with humanoid bones. A narrow walkway hugging the walls is the only path through the chamber. Narrow niches in the walls are filled with carefully placed bones, baubles, and other similar items. Exactly opposite to the door Doozey just opened is the only other exit from this bone-pit chamber. It is just another hallway that bends to the left (south.)
(OOC: If anyone decides to try to shimmy their way past the pit, I'll need an acrobatics check {DC 11}. If you want to cross by any other manner, please rolls an appropriate skill check.)
"It might not matter to the Kelemvorites but there's folks out there that it is going to matter to. Might be the interest is a magical trinket, might be the interest is in silverware. If they're determined, you might not be able to stop them. If they're none too bright, they might cause more trouble than they, or you know how to deal with. You're sitting on what might just be the biggest treasure trove in Phlan and you're telling me you've no idea what's in here?"
Shaking his head, Utar lets his incredulity fade away. Of course they don't know what's in here, they care about who's in here. Although presumably they don't have a list of names either, especially not for anyone in the pile.
Eyeing the pit, Utar considers whether he could likely jump across, and whether he could likely do it carrying a large dog...
Perception 27
Graxx looks down into the pit of countless bones.
“So many…”
Graxx turns to Neya.
”If I fall and can’t be brought back. Don’t let me end up in a pile underground in the world of the Drow. Please bury me in the wilderness or on a nice green hill.”
Graxx will attempt to shimmy.
Acrobatics DC11: 3
Neya nods as Graxx says his piece.
She is rather spoiled for choice, but she determines the easiest way is the best way. Since everyone is using some form of darkvision, the corridor is more than dark enough for her to teleport across. Once across, she lowers one end of a rope in case any of the others need any help if they fall in.
Extended Signature
Though Doozey would listen, it is with his eyes ever focused on tasks at hand, blinding him of all else, much to Cassyt's misfortune. Regardless, once inside and seeing the pit, Doozey lets out a low whistle and shakes his head. "That's quite a bit." He murmured, then looked up to Graxx. "Mn. Though you kind of contra-... Oh! That sort of falling. No problem, Mr. Graxx. I'll be sure to pick a nice good one for ya. With a tree and everything at the top. But don't going falling anytime soon." Doozey said, before climbing down intending to follow right after Graxx.
Unfortunately, a wee bit too literally...
Doozey's Attempt(DC 11): 11.
Biscuit's Attempt(DC 11): 14.(Just realized Biscuit wouldn't make the attempt if Doozey falls first.)
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.