The Phandalin Chronicles

Chill sticks the pointy end of his rapier into the wooden door but nothing happens.

Looking around the place you see that generally the hallways have sparse furnishing and are just connecting tunnels to the next rooms.  Moving in a counter clockwise direction you head back down the hallway, turn right and come to set of double doors that push open.

Situated atop a stone dais are two squat thrones made of scrap metal and sized for gnomes.  Rugs, tapestries and other furnishings are in the room and you systematically check each item after the soft tremors from Krom's spell subside.  But nothing tries to defend itself or transform or get away.

However Chill does find something interesting on the back wall of the room, a secret door which he is easily able to open.  This leads to a short hallway and a blank wall.  But Chill is not fooled and easily finds the hidden hatch that opens a second hidden door.

"Be careful Chill, that door may be trapped." Krom chants an hymn of Guidance on Chill in order to further enhance the tabaxi's reflexes.

Chill checks the doors for traps.

Perception 10 + 4

Kazri readies her shield and sword, and stay on alert.

(OOC: Not.. quite what I meant as working clockwise, but okay. X) Should've move heavily implied checking off-shoot areas as we go.)

"You know, it occurs to me, in hindsight, we perhaps should've double down on asking where these disappeared gnomes last were... or was that already said?" Rhogar comments on quietly from the back of the group. Whether he receives an answer or not, having taken stock of the last room and taken it as the throne room, takes off and flies back the way the group came in for the most part. She stops briefly at the intersection, seeming hesitant between trying to squeeze or open the door to the south or moving on.

But the conflict gets brushed almost as soon as it comes to mind, resulting in her swooping into a more open chamber(G11), and then continuing souteast down the stairs there. Feeling the connection grow faint at that point, with a mental nudge, a confused Rhogar re-enters the throne room, and just stares at a section of wall to the southeast. Her 'leash' thus extended, she press on a little more into the new area.

Rekuberk will ready his sword as well, moving close so that he can rush in as soon as combat starts.

((My apologies, for some reason I thought you wanted to go counter-clockwise.))

Chill is easily able to defeat the locks of the hidden doors after finding no traps.  Opening the door carefully you file into what looks like a well appointed bedroom.  There are also typical furnishings of a bedroom including a chest at the foot of the bed.  King Korboz jumps up, startled by the appearance of the group through the hidden passageway.  He is wearing a jagged metal crown and a patchwork cloak now that you get a better look at him in the light of the room

"I, uh, I forgot that the door was there." He stammers.

Glancing around the room you see another gnome, who is also wearing a jagged metal crown and a patchwork cloak is sitting in a chair.  He looks at you does not get up.

"Hello there." he says

You immediately notice that the gnome sitting in the chair sounds calm compared to the frazzled, crazed voice of King Korboz.

Meanwhile Ghorar passes the other door and goes through the room where Fibblestib and Dabbledob were.  He sees they are no longer in the room.  Continuing on Ghorar finds the room he enters (G10) is lightly obscured by mist from the waterfall, the sound of it filling this room.  The larger eastern part of the room contains two rapidly spinning devices that look like turnstiles fitted with stacks of long, sharp blades spaced 1 foot apart. The northern turnstile spins counterclockwise, while the southern one spins clockwise. Set into the south wall of the smaller western part of the room is a brass lever in the down position.

Kazri uses her Divine Sense in the bedroom.

"Your Majesties", Krom salutes both gnomes and then addresses King Korboz "The throne room is secure, there is nothing in there.". Krom walkes near King Korboz and tries to get a better look at him trying to understand if the gnome is really mad as the other gnomes say or there is something else. (OCC I guess that I will try a medicine check: Medicine 9 )

Still looking at King Korboz, the dwarf says "As I was trying to say before, as a Smith of Moradin, I am capable of channeling divine magic. May I touch your Majesty's shoulder and perform an healing prayer?" 

If King Korboz agrees, Krom will chant an hymn of restoration( Lesser restoration )as he touches his shoulder. If the King does not agree to the ritual, Krom will not force the spell on him.

"Hmm. It is good that we did not need to go that way." Rhogar comments on, blissfully unaware the others had moved on to the next room. If its safe enough, the two share a thought, and out of curiosity, she is imbued with a measure of Vixix power, before trying her claws at pulling the lever in its opposite direction.

Ghorar Pull the Lever! 'moment]: 17.

In success, Rhogar hardly has a moment to register her happiness, prior to her darting out the east and across the bridge, straight out of mental reach. Rhogar winces, and comes out of her senses shaking his head and blinking away tears of pain. "Oh  Brother Vixix, your spawn... Wait, where did everyone go?" He asked, only for the question to be answered in hearing voices to the north.

A quick run through a mental map settles the matter, and might've led to a certain Bronze joining the rest. Not wanting Ghorar to get in trouble however, he sighs, and would at least start to make his way to the turnstile room of death. However, the Bronze only makes it as far as the intersecting halls when a door to the south catches his attention. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, he summons (2nd level)a thin layer of ice to his skin enroute to the door. If a test poke using a dagger reveals no fiendish shapeshifter at work, only then did he try opening it for a peek inside.

Kazri turns around and try not to say too loud. "Did anyone see Mr. Nimbatuul?"

Upon entering the room Kazri reaches out with her divine senses but detects nothing.

Krom gets no good sense of what the issues with King Korboz are and when he asks to try to heal him the king, though a bit jumpy, allows him to touch him on the shoulder.  Krom chants the hymn but is disappointed when nothing happens.

"Its a shapechanger I tell ya, a shapechanger." He repeats.  "None of the others believe me, but you need to kill the shapechanger! Keep looking, you must find it!"  he cries out. 

Rhogar stops at the south door and gives it a try but finds it locked.

Meanwhile Ghorar is able to pull the lever up (you actually can't cast guidance on her since you need to touch her to cast the spell, but she succeeds anyways) and the spinning blades stop.  She is able to fly safely through the room and continue to the east.  She flies in front of the waterfall and then enters another room (G9).  Here she finds 2 gnomes who start yelling at her in gnomish.

While Rhogar cannot telepathically communicate with her anymore he can see what she sees, and what he sees concerns him as the 2 gnomes seem about to attack Ghorar.

Gnome Initiatives 5, 11 Ghorar initiative 22

Ghorar reacts first.  Normally familiars can't attack in combat but I'll make an exception her and allow her if she so chooses.

"We will keep searching then." says Krom to King Korboz, the dwarf then addresses the other king "Your Majesty, we have been informed that several gnomes went missing recently, where did they were last seen and what they were doing?" 

After listening to the other king's reply, Krom too notices that Rhogar is not with the group "I haven't seen Rhogar, lass, he may be in danger, let's go back to the throne room he may still be there!"

Krom waits for the group's reply and then heads back to the throne room looking for Rhogar shouting his name a few times.

(@DM: I can cast the spell through her if it requires touch, as per the familiar rules, as if she were the caster. And she can attack in combat as a Pact of the Chain familiar, it just usually costs me an attack.)

Realizing she couldn't commune with them while they're angry (also remembering the helm probably made her look positively evil too), Ghorar decides the best part of valor in this insistence would be give them a polite wave, and then zoom away at absolutely ridiculous speeds. By the time she does stop, she's back at the lever, breathing heavily, but trying all the same to push it back into the place to get the blades whirring again.

Ghorar's Action/Movement(Flying): Zoom for a total of 120ft. (60ft base fly speed)

If lever flipping is a free-interact with object, here's another Strength Check just in case: 11.

Meanwhile, though able to sense some distress from the rapidly approaching psuedodragon, Rhogar stays on the door, if only to give it a few knocks. "Hello? Anyone in there? By request of the king, I am here to investigate this whole shapeshifter business." He calls into its surface.

 Chill spends his time poking anything that might be a shape changer while listening to the conversation of these others. 

The king still seems really batty to him but also very scared. Maybe he is both. 

If nothing is found then he heads back with the others.

Kazri exits the room and goes looking for Rhogar.

"The missing gnomes?  They just vanished and no one has seen them.  No one knows where exactly they were, they are just gone."  King Korboz replies.

Kazri and those that follow her out find Rhogar in the hallway standing in front of the door to the south.  He has knocked but there was no answer.

"Have you found anything interesting Rhogar?" says Krom as he approaches the dragonborn "Since gnomes are going missing we should stick together just in case."

Krom tries to open the door, but he notices that it is locked. "Chill, would you mind open this door? I would prefer to not force it open."

The dwarf will chant an hymn of Guidance to aid Chill's lockpicking.