Ereworn Under The Shadow

Smiling Jack is feeling much better, but is still a bit knobby kneed.  Hearing that the tracks go to the well he asks,

"is there a strong rope & setup someone can use to rappel down?"

Barns scan of the clearing reveals nothing untoward, the copper piece thudded into moist mud some 30' down.

The trapper, once again not having anything else to contribute at the moment, moves away from the well some 15’ and gets comfortable. He pulls out one of his books and recites the words and gestures that will allow him to ‘Detect Magic’. He spends the time, and won’t stop others from proceeding. 

Ardwynn tries to keep her distance but is also pulled toward the well.

"Want to drop a torch down to see if we can see anything?"

Barn relays what he has perceived (or rather what he has not perceived) and volunteers to lead the way if the suggested approaches yield nothing.

"At least up h-here, I don't see much.  Took a g-good look.  Willow looks like a w-willow and well looks like a... you get the idea.  B-but yeah Wynn, we could try throwing a t-torch down there.  Or maybe Reg will s-see something with his special stuff.  If nothing, then I'll go down f-first."

Smiling Jack upon hearing Barn, said, "you are the strongest and a 10 foot pole weapon is not very useful in that well area.  You should stay topside...in order to help a few of us down, and if we it ...to... well...yank us up...so fast we won't know what happened."

A lit torch is cast down revealing an ancient stone walled well with a floor of mud some 30' down, the torch thuds into the mud and begins to gutter in the damp conditions.....

OOC: Is the well a circle of rocks or does it have a frame with bucket?

( Circle o' rocks)

Jack scratches his head. 30 feet is far down. He has rope but there is nothing to tie it to.

Quote from Character77006 >>

Smiling Jack upon hearing Barn, said, "you are the strongest and a 10 foot pole weapon is not very useful in that well area.  You should stay topside...in order to help a few of us down, and if we it ...to... well...yank us up...so fast we won't know what happened."

Barn pauses.  "The reach d-doesn't help in close quarters, b-but it doesn't hurt either.  They trained us to use the p-polearm in tight spaces too.  Still..."  The big man scratches his head.  "You m-might be right.  Here.  I can hold the t-top end of a rope and hang it d-down."

Barn fishes his hempen rope from his pack, uses the 5' of one end to tie it around himself and his forearm, bracing himself against the outside of the well for stability.  He then lets 30' of it out and down the well so that anyone who wants to scout down there can climb down securely.

Smiling Jack looks to the others, "I will go down, being a thief, I have some experience rappelling and how to do this, who wants to go down after me?" Jack grabs a small rope a little shorter then him, and loops it in half then wraps it around his waist and buttocks, making a rappel harness, ties it tight and then looking at his party mates asks, who needs help to make the same item?  Jacks gets some rope, cuts it to length and ties it around the one who volunteered.  Anyone else?  

Ardwynn pipes up with a wry smile, "You are a rogue, Jack, not a common thief.  Show some respect for yourself."

She sighs...  "I will go down since I do not need a weapon to fight back... IF I can do more than swat like a butterfly's wings..."

Smilling Jack lets out a grin, "Ard, thief is easy to pronounce, rouge...roge...that word is so much harder....Let me down 1st to test the mud and see if there might be another  side  hole."

Jack looks in his ruck and grabs a dagger and his rapier and some ball bearings.  Jack falls back on his haunches then turns to Ardwynn, "How good is your nightvision?  If there is a side hole, I can see pretty well inside, but there is probably not much light in the...ah...uhm...tunnel so I have nothing to give you light."

Ardwynn growls.... "You know damn well I can not see in the dark."   She squats and stares Jack in the eyes.  "See.  Plain old human eyeballs... and no pointy ears!  I will light another torch once we hit mud... so I might have to let you sneak ahead and have me trail behind with 'burning fireball on a stick' to cover your thieving backside."   That last said with a smile.

"Now, let me prepare...  " 

She will pull two torches from the bundle tied to her backpack before dropping the pack down.  No way was she going to attempt to shimmy up and down a rope with a fully loaded backpack on!   Making certain her tinderbox is good to go, she then speaks the words and performs the hand gestures to invoke some added protection - Armor of Kellara     (( OOC: not certain why I keep getting 'tooltip error msg' for that but the same as mage armor.. supposedly ))

As the spell flows over her body, she gives an involuntary shiver before walking up to side of the stone well,  "Let's see what we might see..."

Jack smiles at the insult, feels his ears and notices they are  bit pointy.   Jack checks everybody's rappel seat, loops the rope in the "rope hook" (modern day it is a metal carbineer) so everyone is not looped in and nods to Barn and goes to the edge of the well.

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Smiling Jack rappels down the well, noting the thick layer of moss and lichen on the stone walls of the well, about three quarters of the way down his keen eyes note a stone that is much less moss covered than the others, narrowing his eyes he sees scrape marks, the stone moves in and out....

He climbs further down and tests the mud, the surface appears relatively solid supporting both a copper piece and a burning torch......but again his eyes note that at the edge of the mud there is dirty water pushed up against the wall.......there is liquid beneath this mud...

Above-

Ardwynn readies herself to descend as Caelan watches the borders of the clearing, Barn supports the weight of Jack easily but notes he has enough rope to go around the willow tree and secure it even more....

It is a common occurrence for Barn to miss things.  Nevertheless, he feels silly once he realizes that the tree itself might serve to better secure the rope.

If he can do so while maintaining tension on the rope, the big man loops any extra slack around the willow, silently thanking it for its assistance.

Smiling Jack signals to get pulled up so he can report his findings.

Once pulled up to the top of the well he mentions, "the mud is probably at it's weight limit and we need to avoid stepping on it.  There is a loose stone on the side of the well and that might be a way into Ned's lair."