In the middle of the corridor it looks like a path to the left has caved in. The corridor also turns to the left further down, just past where Zane went invisible and tripped the drow.
Therien nods his head at Gruun's suggestion and cautiously follows along. "I doubt we've exhausted the unexpected in this place," he thinks to himself.
OOC: I'll use Gruun's advantage roll since Hox is aiding with his search.
The corridor winds to the right and again to the left before ending abruptly. Unlike the rest of the cavern walls that are lined with glowing fungus, however, this corridor ends in a sheer wall of mold.
OOC: DM, knowing where we are, where we've been, and where we haven't yet been has become a bit confusing. By rereading the game thread, I've tried to sketch a rough map on paper, but doing so wasn't helpful. With this newest dead end, is our only option to return to the diamond-filled cavern?
OOC: That's certainly understandable. All of the doors in the massive cavern have been unlocked or smashed down except for the large stone door that Bartle pointed out was most likely the door that you passed up after killing Bob. All of the corridors branching off of that cavern had been explored before you found this one hidden within the mosaic.
This corridor has the toppled statue, an old passage that has caved in, and the wall's end that is lined with mold.
For Zane:
You don't recall seeing that mold, or an end to this corridor before just now. To you it seems like the mold has grown there in the last minute or so.
Zane is perplexed, "The drow just dragged me through this tunnel a few minutes ago and there was no mold here. Poke it, see if it's an illusion of some kind plesse?"
Hox's hand sinks into the moss, scraping some away as he claws. Rather than feeling the natural stone of the cavern, however, he feels wood beneath the green growth.
Therien's dagger easily slices through the soft moss, revealing a wooden surface. A phlegm-filled gasp emanates from Bartle as a door is slowly revealed behind the moss.
"This is it!" he yelps. He frantically waves the party to the side of the corridor, his body jiggling with the movement. He holds his ruby above his head, waving it in an odd pattern, and turns to the still-silent mage. "Dummy, open the door!" The robed man, without even nodding acknowledgement, takes off down the corridor at a full sprint and leaps, slamming into the door, which shatters into splinters. The mage continues through the air, landing prone on the ground in a large room.
The eastern wall of the room displays a scene of a huge, vaguely squid-like creature with hairy tentacles. In the northeast corner is a cloudy purple stone obelisk displaying an amber inlay in an inverted triangle. Beneath this hangs a black metal triangle and cylinder. There is a great drum near the western wall. On the southern wall stands a rack of silver cylinders.
Before the obelisk is a huge stone altar block of dull, porous, rusty black mineral. Two large bronze braziers, burning with a purple flame, flank the altar.
Bartle steps into the room, helping his mute friend to his feet, and leads him over to the altar. "Dummy" lays himself out on the altar stone. The altar fades in color, and becomes a translucent amethyst color, with a black, amorphous center. Slowly, a glowing golden eye swims into view from the writhing center.
As the party steps into the room, Bartle begins walking to and from the drum, chimes, and triangle, playing disjointed music.
Therien tries to make sense of what he is seeing and hearing. The bizarre features of the room, coupled with Bartle's behavior, make the elf uncomfortable. His mind races in an effort to recall some lore about the tentacled creature, the obelisk, the altar, and, especially, the eerie golden eye. (Arcana | History | Investigation: 18)
Gruun immediately dislikes this turn of events. He barely stands a pace inside the door and grips his Greataxe in his hand. With a steady look of disdain he watches Bartle move around the room.
Neither Therien nor Zane have ever seen anything like the objects in this room or Bartle's quick, decisive ritual.
Studying the squid-like creature more closely, Therien notices that also depicted leading up to the creature are a number of crawling creatures - elves and humans are at the forefront of this creepy self-sacrifice, but there are also dwarves, gnolls, orcs, trolls, halflings, ogres and goblins. Those nearest the monster are being torn apart, and their severed parts are growing tentacles of their own. The ghastly creature is mottled in various purple and violet shades.
Suddenly, Bartle finishes with the music and the altar becomes a transparent purple color. A black mass in the center of the altar grows, and purple veins appear within it, extending as the mass expands. The eye within the altar becomes a fiery red. A tentacle appears from within the altar, wraps around the body of the mage, and draws him into the stone.
OOC: This is a social encounter, a unique mechanic within these adventures in which character responses and reactions can have a direct impact on the direction of the story. How does each character react to Bartle's actions, in either first or third person?
Did it look to Zane as if Bartle expected this to happen or was he surprised at the turn of events? Also is there anything left of him? And is the eye still there and red?
Regardless of the answers Zane bolts out the door double speed (feline agility) yelling "OH SHIT" and casts invisibility on himself.
"Some sort of ritual sacrifice?"thinks Therien to himself. The elf feels a deep sense of unease about being part of this entire enterprise. Inexplicably, Therien casts the [spell[Message[/spell] spell and points his finger at the mute on the altar. "What is the meaning of this?" Therien whispers. The elf waits for a response...
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"I am Gruun. Let us continue from this place. Hox, lend me your eyes for traps in our path."
In the middle of the corridor it looks like a path to the left has caved in. The corridor also turns to the left further down, just past where Zane went invisible and tripped the drow.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Hox nods and heads out to check for traps.
(Do I give advantage to Gruun or does Hox get advantage?)
Roll 1: 7, Roll 2: 9
(I'm not sure, I'll do one with ADV and we can use the first roll from it if not)
Taking that left path. "I will take the lead for a ways. Let us see what other trouble awaits."
Stealth (quiet footsteps to not alert everything): 13
Perception (to spot traps/enemies): 15
Therien nods his head at Gruun's suggestion and cautiously follows along. "I doubt we've exhausted the unexpected in this place," he thinks to himself.
Zane follows along as well and quietly asks Therien, "That sounds interesting... Mind telling me more once we're someplace safer?"
OOC: I'll use Gruun's advantage roll since Hox is aiding with his search.
The corridor winds to the right and again to the left before ending abruptly. Unlike the rest of the cavern walls that are lined with glowing fungus, however, this corridor ends in a sheer wall of mold.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
OOC: DM, knowing where we are, where we've been, and where we haven't yet been has become a bit confusing. By rereading the game thread, I've tried to sketch a rough map on paper, but doing so wasn't helpful. With this newest dead end, is our only option to return to the diamond-filled cavern?
OOC: That's certainly understandable. All of the doors in the massive cavern have been unlocked or smashed down except for the large stone door that Bartle pointed out was most likely the door that you passed up after killing Bob. All of the corridors branching off of that cavern had been explored before you found this one hidden within the mosaic.
This corridor has the toppled statue, an old passage that has caved in, and the wall's end that is lined with mold.
For Zane:
You don't recall seeing that mold, or an end to this corridor before just now. To you it seems like the mold has grown there in the last minute or so.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Zane is perplexed, "The drow just dragged me through this tunnel a few minutes ago and there was no mold here. Poke it, see if it's an illusion of some kind plesse?"
Hox cocks his head but softly claws at the moss, "Green grows over, so green must be on wall...Hox is right, no?"
Hox's hand sinks into the moss, scraping some away as he claws. Rather than feeling the natural stone of the cavern, however, he feels wood beneath the green growth.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Therien watches the kobold's claws slicing through the moss. "Interesting, Hox..."
The elf draws his dagger and does his best to cut and remove some of the moss on the wall.
Therien's dagger easily slices through the soft moss, revealing a wooden surface. A phlegm-filled gasp emanates from Bartle as a door is slowly revealed behind the moss.
"This is it!" he yelps. He frantically waves the party to the side of the corridor, his body jiggling with the movement. He holds his ruby above his head, waving it in an odd pattern, and turns to the still-silent mage. "Dummy, open the door!" The robed man, without even nodding acknowledgement, takes off down the corridor at a full sprint and leaps, slamming into the door, which shatters into splinters. The mage continues through the air, landing prone on the ground in a large room.
The eastern wall of the room displays a scene of a huge, vaguely squid-like creature with hairy tentacles. In the northeast corner is a cloudy purple stone obelisk displaying an amber inlay in an inverted triangle. Beneath this hangs a black metal triangle and cylinder. There is a great drum near the western wall. On the southern wall stands a rack of silver cylinders.
Before the obelisk is a huge stone altar block of dull, porous, rusty black mineral. Two large bronze braziers, burning with a purple flame, flank the altar.
Bartle steps into the room, helping his mute friend to his feet, and leads him over to the altar. "Dummy" lays himself out on the altar stone. The altar fades in color, and becomes a translucent amethyst color, with a black, amorphous center. Slowly, a glowing golden eye swims into view from the writhing center.
As the party steps into the room, Bartle begins walking to and from the drum, chimes, and triangle, playing disjointed music.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Therien tries to make sense of what he is seeing and hearing. The bizarre features of the room, coupled with Bartle's behavior, make the elf uncomfortable. His mind races in an effort to recall some lore about the tentacled creature, the obelisk, the altar, and, especially, the eerie golden eye. (Arcana | History | Investigation: 18)
Zane is fascinated by whatever is going on. (He'll join the History check: 18)
Gruun immediately dislikes this turn of events. He barely stands a pace inside the door and grips his Greataxe in his hand. With a steady look of disdain he watches Bartle move around the room.
Neither Therien nor Zane have ever seen anything like the objects in this room or Bartle's quick, decisive ritual.
Studying the squid-like creature more closely, Therien notices that also depicted leading up to the creature are a number of crawling creatures - elves and humans are at the forefront of this creepy self-sacrifice, but there are also dwarves, gnolls, orcs, trolls, halflings, ogres and goblins. Those nearest the monster are being torn apart, and their severed parts are growing tentacles of their own. The ghastly creature is mottled in various purple and violet shades.
Suddenly, Bartle finishes with the music and the altar becomes a transparent purple color. A black mass in the center of the altar grows, and purple veins appear within it, extending as the mass expands. The eye within the altar becomes a fiery red. A tentacle appears from within the altar, wraps around the body of the mage, and draws him into the stone.
OOC: This is a social encounter, a unique mechanic within these adventures in which character responses and reactions can have a direct impact on the direction of the story. How does each character react to Bartle's actions, in either first or third person?
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Did it look to Zane as if Bartle expected this to happen or was he surprised at the turn of events? Also is there anything left of him? And is the eye still there and red?
Regardless of the answers Zane bolts out the door double speed (feline agility) yelling "OH SHIT" and casts invisibility on himself.
"Some sort of ritual sacrifice?" thinks Therien to himself. The elf feels a deep sense of unease about being part of this entire enterprise. Inexplicably, Therien casts the [spell[Message[/spell] spell and points his finger at the mute on the altar. "What is the meaning of this?" Therien whispers. The elf waits for a response...