Dreams Into Journey

Gulgus

Gulgus nods in agreement to Lia's suggestion to use the wagon and walks over to it's rear.  The wagon sits a bit high for his dwarven stature, so he gives a bit of a jump but comes up short.  He looks sheepishly at Lia and Alden and holds up a single finger suggesting that they give him a second.  He steps back a few paces, gets as much of a "running" start as his old dwarven legs can muster and uses his staff to vault himself onto the wagon; inelegantly landing flat on his back.

"Ooof!"

Before setting out, away from the gaping abyss, the party hops in Cree's wagon as she commands Scath to move down into the salt flats.

The sounds of the wagon moving go from a smooth, constant rumbling, punctuated with squeaking of a wheel to the crunching of a dry, cracked terrain. Even in the shelter of the covered wagon, the temperature noticeably increases. Outside, Cree is continuing to keep her kruthik on task.

Thankfully, the ride is uneventful, due to a combination of the heat and the thoroughly uninhabitable soil. It is little wonder so few venture into such a hostile area.

As soon as the ride seems starts to feel far too long, the butte that is their destination is now beginning to fill their vision. Cree pulls the wagon to the shaded area of the gigantic stone structure and brings the wagon to a stop.

@Gulgin:

"Been down this way a few times, but I haven't seen any inklin' of this hawk o' yers. Kinda curious on how yer gonna try and find it."

"Considering what my research has revealed and what our friend Gulgin has also heard, this may be the only location where the hawk was nesting." Nessarian says as he searches his bag and pulls out a small wand that has a partially helical shaft and the end looks somewhat like a doorknob. "However, I believe its nest was not on the butte. I don't have many charges in this wand, so any clues as to where we should look will be of great help."

Alden

Alden will tumble out of the back of the wagon onto the sand. "Waitress, draw a bath for ple..." he doesn't finish his jest as he looks up the butte. "So, do we have to climb that?" he asks. 

Gulgus

Gulgus drops over the end of the wagon, his feet flailing to touch ground until he finally drops the rest of the distance. "Me ole bones couldn' 'elp but notice tha ground was a wee bit more smooth as we approached tha shade here." He begins to look about to try and possibly discern the nature of the change.

Investigation: 12

Gulgus then opens his component pouch, pulls out a bit of fur, waving it under his nose as he mutters, "ezat mai sorfosor".  He then returns the fur to it's pouch and begins to sniff the air around him in all directions having cast Locate Animals or Plants. He intends to determine the Steelscream Hawk's direction and distance.

"That was uncomfortable..." Lia says as she climbs out of the wagon. Her silken tunic sticks to her as she wipes sweat from her forehead, while her white hair flutters in a soft breeze from the salt flats. Glancing back the way they came she grimaces. "Hope this bird can help us out, since I don't really desire to travel across that a second time..." Turning to the large formation nearer at hand she glances way up, her gray eyes scanning. "Hopefully there is a better way in, climbing in this heat is probably not good for life expectancy..."

While the others search for a way in, Oswin and his SD keep a careful eye on their surroundings, particularly the sky, to make sure neither the gnolls, nor the creature from the woods, make a surprise appearance while they're distracted. 

(OOC: Oops.  I forgot until now that Locate could be cast as a ritual.  Oh well, that mistake will help remind me next time.)

Alden

(I am assuming we are still some distance from the butte?)

Alden will make his way to the side of the butte as best he can. He will keep his eyes and ears open just incase a threat presents itself. 

If he makes it to the side of the butte he will look for worn paths and the like that would tell him there are ways in or up the butte.

Perception: 14

Investigation: 8

Gulgin's curiosity piqued, he returns to the area where he felt the ride get smoother. Upon closer inspection, he finds evidence that there used to be a large path of some sort running parallel to one of the edges of the butte. Knowing what he's looking for, he is able to discern the path from the rest of the desert. But curiously, the path is incredibly short, it appears to run from next to the butte to around three miles down. As he does, he magically extends his senses for natural life and detects a number of lifeforms inside of the butte (for future reference, the [ spell] [/ spell] tool tips do the same thing, without the spaces, of course).

Alden focuses his attention on looking for any sort of entrance. On the side facing where Gulgin is investigating, around halfway, he feels a slight suction.

Lia and Oswin busy themselves, keeping an eye out for anything that may surprise them.

Gulgus

Gulgus looks at Alden, Lia and Oswin with a muddled look on his face. "I have tried ta identify where hawks be nearby and it appears there be lifeforms INSIDE tha butte.  I feel an odd suction comin' from tha butte on this side, mayhaps magix be involved. Cou' it be obscurin' an entrance?"

Alden

Alden will go to where Gulgus is and take a look at the area he points out as having some sort of suction. He will hold a piece of cloth to the area.

Investigation: 24

Lia joins those looking at the section of the rock wall.  “Suction you say?” She asks, holding out her own hand as she tries to see what is being talked about.  (No roll, as the above more than probably got it already.)

Alden takes out a small piece of cloth to where Gulgin indicated and it is held to the wall. As it is, he notices that the face of the butte has a peculiar scent, but not one he is unfamiliar with. At the very least, this part of the butte is covered in iron rust with a thin crack running up the center of the wall up until halfway up the face.

"Thank you for pointing where to look Alden. Let's see what exact we're working with..." Nessarian says as he touches the wand to the wall.

The moment it does, a resounding bong is heard, followed by a deep metallic groan until finally the rough orange facade seems to break down the exact middle with two sides moving either end of the butte the sounds of clanking and stressed metal. The sudden movement shakes large amounts of rust loose. As this newly-discovered portal opens, a large amount of air is sucked in to the butte, almost threatening to drag in the party. But, it quickly subsides as it gets wider. It finally finishes as the opening reaches 100 feet across.

After a stunned moment, "That answers one question... But opens a plethora of others."

Gulgus

Gulgus stands in awe of what he's just witnessed with his jaw agape.  "By the beard of Moradin! What manner o' place be this?"

"A very interesting one..." Lia says, moving to check otu this newly found opening. She steps inside, trusting her darkvision to let her see inside.

Alden

"Ya don't see that every day." Alden says, his eyes widen after seeing this happen. "Either we found the knob to open it somehow or....we are being invited in."

Alden will check for traps, triggers, and the like at the entrance.
Investigation: 14

Oswin walks towards the edge of the doors, looking for whatever mechanism caused them to open, "Construction on this scale? Who made this? And when?" 

Investigation: 15

After the initial shock of their discovery wears off, they takes some tentative steps toward the structure.

Alden takes time to look for any security measures at the entrance, but he is unable to see any.

Meanwhile, Oswin is marveling at the mechanics of the door. He is unable not make out the specifics without a more thorough inspection. But he estimates that the doors are ten inches thick, operated by a mix of pulleys and magic. By his estimates, the doors may be somewhere between 500 and a thousand years old.

As Gulgin picks his jaw off the floor, Lia is the first to takes steps into the building. As she does some suspended high above slowly flicker on to a dim glow, allowing the party to get a better sense of what's inside.

It is very large, cavernous building, at least what you see from this first main chamber. It runs 200 feet wide and 150 feet deep. Inside are numerous large objects covered in aged, rotting cloths on either side (3 on one and 2 much larger ones on the other) clearing the center of the room. Near the back looks to be a much smaller structure. As they venture further in, a faint sound is heard.

Alden

Alden will draw his Rapier and a Dagger and enter this structure. "I have never seen anything like this. Have any of you?" he asks. 

Lia glances around, trying to spot where the noise came from.

perception: 8

As she does she glances to the others. "Do you think we should find a way to close those doors?" She asks, nodding back to them. "I'd hate to have something follow us in, but would also hate to be trapped in here with something as well..."