Coriana says, "I've got a hunch..." and gathers a handful of dirt, dust, and small pebbles. She then tosses it off the terrace right where the footprints seem to lead.

Xanrym and Theldrin are unable to find anything of value or more informative on the halfling, and the goblin does not have a bow and arrow. Theldrin is able to determine that the goblin was likely turned to stone around the time the halfling died, he is unable to remember anything about Merthuvial.

Very clever @Charwoman_Gene but no, the pebbles fall to the bottom of the chimney below. It seems as though either the person who defeated these two either willingly fell to their death or had some other means of reaching the bottom of the chimney.

Quote from drumdigby >>Very clever @Charwoman_Gene but no, the pebbles fall to the bottom of the chimney below. It seems as though either the person who defeated these two either willingly fell to their death or had some other means of reaching the bottom of the chimney.

 

[[OOC: Not clever, just a fan of Indiana Jones. ]]

Theldrin studies the footprints leading to the edge of the terrace, musing out loud with a scowl. "Hmmm, perhaps we're not the only ones with the Feather Fall spell...or some other magic at work here..."

Khessa agrees with Theldrin's hypothesis: "Yes, usually those who can petrify people have magical means at their disposal. Evidently, such means include Feather Fall or something similar. However, in addition to magic, we still have pitons and ropes... so, we can also descend with mundane means".

The blonde arcane warrior takes her rope out of her backpack... and if someone plants a piton, she secures the rope for you: "In that case, I can probably just lower you down one by one... you don't have to climb, just hold on to the rope while I lower you slowly. That way, I'll be the only one climbing, as the last one".

Syllen will nod in agreement to Khessa.

"I also have some rope if we need more. Your idea seems as good as any. I would like to be the last one you lower so that I can give magical inspiration for the task."

Quote from Charwoman_Gene >> 

[[OOC: Not clever, just a fan of Indiana Jones. ]]

[[OOC: A true fan would have faith and take the leap!  ;-)  Someone with slightly less faith might cast Fly before doing that.]]

Quote from drumdigby >>

the goblin does not have a bow and arrow. Theldrin is able to determine that the goblin was likely turned to stone around the time the halfling died

Xanrym tries to think through the mystery out loud, "Clearly, the goblin didn't kill this halfling: he has no bow.  So, did the halfling turn the goblin to stone somehow, but then the goblin's allies killed the halfling.  But I doubt it was a mere goblin whose trail leads right off the ledge.  Maybe they both encountered some terrible foe here who slew the halfling and then petrified the goblin?  Something that can also fly or, like Theldrin said, a wizard who can cast Feather Fall?" 

Xanrym carefully creeps up to the edge of the ledge and looks both up and down. 

[[OOC: @drumdigby - Is it complete darkness beyond the reach of our Light?  Or is there some other light here that illuminates some portion of the chasm?]]

Quote from drumdigby >>

The rough tunnel widens into a terrace, at least 20 feel wide and long, with a ceiling rising to 8 or 10 feet. The porch has no far wall, instead opening into a great, echoing hollow.

The walls of the opening ascend and descend, moving closer together as they rise into darkness, forming a wider space as they go downward.

[[OOC: @drumdigby - The far side of the porch opens into some sort of vertical shaft or chasm.  How big is the hollow at our level?  I guess we must be able to see some of the walls since we can see that they're moving closer together as they rise into darkness above us.  For example, does the porch open onto a vertical shaft that's 20-foot square at this level, like a big elevator shaft?  Or is it more like a narrow, subterranean canyon where we can see the far wall some distance away, but it extends beyond sight to the left and right?  Or a canyon that extends in front of us, but the canyon walls to our left and right are visible?

Never mind...I see that this question was already answered.]]

Quote from drumdigby >>

Dusk sees a e is a vertical chimney, its width slowly narrowing as it rises, until it finally pinches off completely 40 feet above the level of the terrace. At the level of the terrace, the chimney is 15 feet in diameter. The smooth, vertical walls of the chimney descend through the utter darkness to the hard, flat floor 150 feet below. There the diameter widens to about 50 feet, creating an elongated, teardrop-shaped hollow

Quote from Painted_Beyond >>

Khessa....we still have pitons and ropes... so, we can also descend with mundane means".

Xanrym considers a moment as Khessa gets out the gear, but he says, "Down?  Or maybe up?  For all we know, there may be multiple other openings onto this great chimney, just like the porch we are on.  If so, some of them could be above us.  One reason this person's trail may lead off the ledge is that--at the time--they were grabbing onto a rope, planning to climb up to a opening that's higher up."  He again looks up the shaft into the darkness above them.  It suddenly occurs to Xanrym how his voice could carry in the stony tunnels.  He lowers his voice in case there is someone (or something) in the darkness nearby, listening.

Xanrym asks Khessa, "Before we decide which way to climb, could you send Anator up and down the shaft to check how many tunnels open onto this chimney and where?"  If there's only one other tunnel that leads out of this shaft, then their route is clear.  If there are multiple exits, then The Company will need to make a decision about which way to try first.

Xanrym also says that he has a Potion of Gaseous Form.  If Syllen could grant him Darkvision, he could use the potion to drift up and down the chimney to scout out possible directions, but he'd rather save that trick for some other situation where a familiar would be more out-of-place. 

Theldrin nods thoughtfully, frowning as he rubs his beard. "Hmm... good point, we should collect more info before assuming we should head down, though I suspect that is our path."

Khessa admits: "It's true; just as we can't rule out a Feather Fall, we can't rule out a [Tooltip Not Found] (or better) either. I'll send Anator to get a feel for all the exits this chimney has."

The blonde arcane warrior communicates telepathically with her brother, and the bat sets off on his reconnaissance...

"The problem with my magic is the energies wear out fast, the return quickly but not as fast as I can cast them."

"We used up all of my rope and 50 feet of someone else's at the entrance, I think we left it there for the return trip, right?"

It is complete darkness elsewhere in the chasm, and Anator finds no other openings further up. You also all feel that the energies of this place coalesce further down the chimney, at the bottom.

Quote from Charwoman_Gene >>

"We used up all of my rope and 50 feet of someone else's at the entrance, I think we left it there for the return trip, right?"

"Yes," Xanrym says.  "We left the rope tied up back there so that we can get back up to the surface when we're done.  The second rope at the rift was actually the extra rope that I bought on the way out of the Free City.  I don't remember whether anyone else also bought extra?"  He looks around hopefully to see whether anyone else thought to buy extra rope before they went on a trip to descend into the Underdark.  "And Coriana raises a good point.  Unless there is some magic about this particular shaft that lets us step right off the ledge and float safely down to the bottom like a leaf in the wind, we'll need to use three ropes to reach the bottom.  We'll soon run out of rope if we have to keep climbing down chasms like this!"

Xanrym asks for the light to be brought right to the edge so that he can see the walls of the chasm at their level and just below it clearly.  He's just wants to check the "smooth, vertical walls" for stemples hammered into the walls or a set of steps / handholds carved into the rock that would aid them in climbing down.  Perception: 17
If the walls are smooth and flat with no handholds as far as they can see in the light, then their only options are a lot of rope or magic.  Xanrym will contribute his remaining rope to this descent.

Theldrin will shift his Light to a copper piece, then casts Mage Hand.  Placing the copper on the spectral hand, he moves it down alongside the wall below the terrace edge, so Xanrym can get a good view.

[[ OOC: In case we're counting ropes... Khessa has one - she had pulled it out of her backpack when she suggested going down... She doesn't have any others, but at least she has one. ]]

You don’t see any easy way to get down this shaft. It seems unless anyone had a better idea you’ll have to use some of your resources: A bunch of rope or a spell slot or two.

"These chasms will have to end, sooner or later..." Khessa hopes "Even for those with magical powers, they must not be exactly comfortable - it is more difficult to move, but also to transport material - or treasures, or prisoners..."

"I expect that soon we will reach an area where there will be either no more changes in depth, or they will happen more gradually" the blonde arcane warrior concludes. "Let's use our ropes now, then we'll see."

Theldrin agrees, "Using our ropes seems to be the best solution here, then we can decide what to do next depending on what we find down there."

Avery agrees, and prepares his rope and pitons

Quote from werelemur >>

Theldrin agrees, "Using our ropes seems to be the best solution here, then we can decide what to do next depending on what we find down there."

Assuming that we use spikes to anchor 3 ropes at the top, ~50-ft down, and ~100-ft down, who wants to attempt the climb first?  Avery or Khessa again?