Rime of the Frostmaiden - Adventure

Zuleikha blinks in surprise, but can find no argument against the paranoia of her comrades. "These duergar have already revealed that they possess such wiles." She admits, and then sends Scheherazade to survey the darkness that leads out of each of the exits, beginning with the easternmost (#3). 

As Marva draws her crossbow and Ophelia raise her hands to cast her magic, Zuleikha draws a sling from the voluminous sleeves on her dress. Before Dvu can arrive at the lever, she moves closer (E7), sets a stone bullet in the cradle and whirls the leather corded sling over her head. A moment later, she releases it with a loud crack, aiming at the height where a duergar's head might lurk near the lever.

Scheherazade's Perception: 20
ACTION: Attack (with disadvantage due to unseen target) at I3. Sling. To hit: (22, 13). Damage: 6.

The moment Zuleikha lets fly her sling, Marva fires her crossbow into the corner by the lever (J3). Her bolt cracks across the far wall. She sighs and moves up to H11, watching to see if any of her companions seemed to hit an invisible foe. She loads another bolt and takes a moment to peer down into the pit.

Attack with disadvantage: 6/9

Perception: 16

Ophelia trots behind Dvu, moving her speed (35'), 10' NW and 25' W (staying clear of the bridge itself) to F8.  She gestures with her slender fingers and a distracting image appears just next to any invisible duergar who might be holding the lever (Minor Illusion).

A partial facsimile of Dvu, looking perhaps like the goliath's older and significantly uglier cousin, poised to attack ferociously from a different angle, ready to smash away at the hypothetical duergar with his Shillelagh as Ophelia has seen Dvu himself do in battle.

Ellora would wait for any enemies to reveal themselves before unleashing her magic upon them.

Perception assisted by Oculus: 17

Marva and Zuleikha deal some violence but find nothing on the receiving end. Zuleikha’s stone bullet and Marva’s crossbow bolt instead ricochet in the corner where the bridge lever is located until the ammo falls still. The darkness is slightly lessened by Drift’s wonder holding a lantern, but the corners remain shrouded in shadow. You can hear your own heartbeat and have your ears wide open as if to hear others, but no telltale noises do you perceive. 

Dvu moves halfway between the bridge and hallway #2 en route to the lever. Zuleikha and Ophelia follow suit, while Marva determines the pit is dark and deep. On the plus side, nothing is climbing out of it and any water in it has frozen solid. The bridge is solid wood and would be sturdy enough for a large amount of weight. Unlike the culvert bars, the metal chains to raise the bridge are rust-free, giving you the perception that they are regularly used. If the bridge were raised, the pit would be a challenge to get across but with the bridge down, the pit is not a threat. Sheherazade sees a corridor 10’ wide and tall and 30’ long that opens into a wider room. She does not see any evidence of art, light, or life. 

"It would seem the cowards are not prowling about the lever at least." Zuleikha says, her lips quirking into an assured smile, but there is a heaviness about the way she soon furrows her brow. "I mislike the thought of asking Trovus' militiamen to sprint across the line of fire as we did. By the Speaker's own admission, these are fishermen and scrimshaw-carvers -  unused to the rigours of combat. I fear they may fall before they have even reached the fortress doors. We must first cut the teeth from this trap before asking these men to place their hands within it. The duergar in the bunker must be dealt with."

She mentally commands Scheherazade to continue the investigation down into the eastern room, while she herself studies the path leading west, lifting the hood of her lamp so that light spills out across the dark, foreboding walls of the duergar stronghold. 

"If the outpost is connected to the central fortress, it stands to reason that it is unlikely to be found through the northward corridor. East or west?"

Zuleikha's perception: 10

Marva ponders the situation. None of the directions feel like a direct passage to the bunker. She lights a torch and tosses it down into the pit, just in case there is a secret passage to the bunker down there. If she still sees nothing of interest, she'll shrug and say, "Dame Zuleikha, I think you are right about us handling our foes in the bunker before bringing in our reinforcements. As it lies to the east of the doorways, I would guess that is the way we should go."

"East it is then, Marva. Your reasoning seems sound to me." Zuleikha says, and then hurries to the other side of the room in a flutter of cerulean and sapphire skirts. She spirits down the corridor, pursuing her simurgh familiar as it scouts the way ahead. The lamp affixed to her hip bounces with each step she takes, scattering light across the dour walls of the duergar stronghold. 

Ophelia brings up the rear as always, looking every which direction, almost comically, for signs of unseen duergar.

Soft we tread, trudging on, through a fortress duergar free?
Whisperingly whisperingly witness to a foe we may not see...

Drift sends the flying wonder ahead, even beyond Zuleikha.

Ellora would quietly follow along to deal with any sentries in the bunker.

Perception assisted by Oculus: 22

Marva follows Zuleikha down the east corridor, but a little more slowly. Thinking of many adventure stories, she is looking for any sign of a secret passageway that might lead to the bunker.

Perception with Guidance: 15+2=17

There is consensus that they should deal with the enemy who shot crossbow bolts at them before calling in Trovus, Garett, and reinforcements. Zuleikha asks whether they should go left or right while sending her familiar further to the right. Sheherazade sees an empty room with two doors, one closed to the north and one open to the south. At the cost of one torch, Marva learns the pit is about 30' deep with no obvious threats or opportunities. Marva suggests and Zuleikha agrees the east (hallway #3) is the way to go and the rest of the party follows. Abandoning any considerations of stealth, you make it to the room and can see stairs through the open door that lead down to another tunnel. 

(OOC - please retcon Dvu if I guessed incorrectly about his actions.)

Dvu looks at the lever and the front doors, dying to open them and let the remaining outside force in, but when Zuleikha and Marva speak, he nods to their plan, acknowledging the risk to those running in.  “We can do so, I hope we don’t run into their main force.  The sooner that we can all work together, the more powerful we will be.  Let’s go to the bunker and hope there is only one or two there, then throw open the front doors.”  They head down hallway 3, Dvu was toward the back of the pack and he moves quickly to catch up.  He bends down close to the ground, trying to examine for footprints, indications of recent movement and direction.  It appears that south is the direction they want to go.  He readies himself and prepares to face an invisible enemy, wanting to move with speed. 

Survival : 16

Drift whispers, “I can send the wonder back to push the lever. It is stronger than it looks, and let them in while we continue as vanguard? Is that wise? Should they be held in reserve?”

“I was thinking that the lever raised the bridge, causing anyone on it to fall into the pit. But I suppose it may open the doors. I guess I didn’t think it through. If we are fighting whoever is in the bunker, that would distract them from attacking our reinforcements. But then our friends might not know where to find us. Maybe your flying wonder could lead them to us? I just don’t know,” Marva thinks aloud, gaining little from the exercise.

“What’s the best way to approach the bunker? If they have us squeezed into a narrow tunnel, it would be easy for them to attack whoever is in front. And those of us in back couldn’t do much about it. Maybe someone strong could go first to push them back and allow the rest of us to enter the room?” Marva hopes that someone will take the lead, because she mostly only has question after question. She hopes that more experience will help her be more decisive in situations like this, but getting the experience is not especially pleasant. So much uncertainty!

Ophelia does not have much to contribute to the discussion other than being obviously anxious to open the double doors to the castle as soon as possible so that Trovus and the townsfolk can get inside and no longer be exposed with a dragon overhead.

She looks around the southern wall of the fort for any windows or arrow-slits out which she can spy whether the duergar who was presumably in the bunker might be using the opportunity to exit and move away (or for prints in the snow if the duergar is invisible).

Ophelia's Perception in case she can see outside to look for signs of anyone leaving the bunker:  13

Marva is ready to follow anyone who heads down the tunnel to the bunker. She just doesn't want to lead the way because she doesn't think she is strong enough to push past any enemies blocking the end of the tunnel.

Dvu leads the way down the stairs with Marva, Drift, and Ophelia and then Ellora and Zuleikha following behind. The stairs are solid stone and the stone walls in this lower passage are rougher than the rest of the stronghold, hinting at its earlier construction and lower priority for upkeep. And upkeep is needed because the slots in the bunker let in almost as much weather as they keep out. Snow piles in the corner and icicles hang on the wall but the stone floors are clear. The tunnel is similarly sized as the rest of the stronghold, with it being 10' wide and 10' tall, which means that it was the correct size for an Enlarged duergar. It is not silent by any means due to a whistle from the winds as it rattles through the arrow holes and around the bunker. The dim light of the sun makes it slightly easier to see in the tunnel, but no footprints are visible. You can see into the bunker but not into all of its corners.  

(OOC - Ophelia did not find any windows or arrow slits to look outside before descending the stairs. Please retcon Ellora and Zuleikha if needed.) 

Drift sends his Flying Wonder to light up the corners then, once they’ve had a good look, out through an arrow slit and back to show Torvus and their allies their progress.