At Allister's comment, Boosey looks down into the pit, then up at the open roof of the temple. Turning his attention to the set of stairs leading down towards the pit he investigates them closely, looking for any sign that something living may have passed by recently. "Allister is right. There must be something looking after this place, otherwise that pit would be overgrown. It's best we prepare for something unpleasant being down those steps."
The stairs going down are a tight fit as far as hallways go. It only measures three feet across and six feet tall for the opening. The stairs are unlit and worn with time, though no immediate signs of use are visible. The area is clean of trash and debris. The stairs end at a landing about ten feet down and continue to descend out of sight to the left.
Orvex shrugs in response to Nenne. He stands to look at her briefly before his eyes continue to wander around the room. Absentmindedly he says, "I don't know these answers. This is all new to me as well. I would sneak gold out of a dragons lair to find out though."
„To be honest, I feel not comfortable going down these stairs without having scouted the rest of the compound. We might find signs of the one who keeps this place so incredibly clean.“ Allister takes ties his rope to a grappling hook and throws it through the open roof. Once the grappling hook is safe he pulls himself up. Once he is on the roof he takes a closer look at the yard surrounding the shrine.
Allister has a nice view of the lava pit from on top of the temple; it boils and pops a hundred feet below. While walking around the temple roof Allister only really notes a ruined cart behind the temple in the back courtyard. Two small leopard kittens meow at nothing near it. The fog prohibits much further sight into the city.
Since he can’t see anything of significance in the yard Allister climbs down the rope again. „I couldn’t see much, just the lava pit and two small leopards. Maybe we orphaned them yesterday. Have you found anything important while I was on the roof?“
Nenne walks over to the bare pedestal and searches for any scratches or marks that might indicate if it held anything, or if it has ceremonial purpose. (Perception 16 or Investigation 12)
Orvex is there drawing a sketch of the pedestal as Nenne approaches. He comments something to the effect of it being marvelous again, but the eladrin takes note of one of his sketch lines that she takes an interest in. Running her fingers along the square outline on top of the pedestal, Nenne identifies a hatch of some sort.
"I found something," Nenne says, withdrawing her hand without disturbing the hatch and pointing it out to the party. "How much of a risk do you want to take?"
„Can you see a lever or button? If not it’s probably meant to be a secret. I say we look inside either way. Boosey, you have any experience with opening one of those or traps?“
Nenne frowns and takes a step back. "No levers or any opening mechanisms that I can see. Brute force might suffice, or dexterous hands. It also could have warding magic on it. I confess I'm not able to help in that regard. That was...another of our party's specialty." She looks down for a moment. A sudden thought snaps her head up.
"There are holes in the mural," she says, indicating with her arm. "This hatch may in fact be designed to trigger a trap from the wall if someone opens it improperly."
„It’s still worth checking out. Give me a minute, I’ll be back!“ Allister goes to the yard, straight to the cart. He look for a sturdy plank (or two), staying away from the kittens if possible.
Wood is easy enough to find, but placing the boards up against the relief proves to be innefective in covering all the holes due to the uneven stonework.
Nenne removes some clothes from her pack. The colors and material are unlike anything seen on Chult, and she unceremoniously rips them up to provide fodder for the trap holes. "That should help some, at least."
Allister draws his dagger and steps towards the pedestal. „Ok, everyone step either outside or get to the stairs. If things go starboard it’s just me in the line of... whatever it is.“
Orvex backs away from the pedestal as much as he dares without leaving the room. He presses into the corner saying, "I can't look away. This is so exciting. Don't go summoning more cats or anything." He looks on intently.
„Everyone in position? Ok, let’s see what happens...“ Allister sticks his dagger into a groove and slowly and carefully, listening to the telltale sound of springs or other mechanisms, tries to open the hatch.
As Allister pries on the hatch a click sounds and the harsh sound of pressurized air can be heard from behind the mural. It only lasts a few seconds and most of the cloth pieces seem to hold. Near the end of the whooshing air, one of the cloth pieces flies out and away to the ground and a dark green gas leaks out of the hole slowly. The hatch did not budge.
After the cloth has been replaced on the exposed hole, Boosey steps up to help Allister with the hatch. The two of them pry up on the hatch as the spewing gas continues to billow inside the wall. Despite their best efforts, the hatch fails to move even the slightest.
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At Allister's comment, Boosey looks down into the pit, then up at the open roof of the temple. Turning his attention to the set of stairs leading down towards the pit he investigates them closely, looking for any sign that something living may have passed by recently. "Allister is right. There must be something looking after this place, otherwise that pit would be overgrown. It's best we prepare for something unpleasant being down those steps."
The stairs going down are a tight fit as far as hallways go. It only measures three feet across and six feet tall for the opening. The stairs are unlit and worn with time, though no immediate signs of use are visible. The area is clean of trash and debris. The stairs end at a landing about ten feet down and continue to descend out of sight to the left.
Orvex shrugs in response to Nenne. He stands to look at her briefly before his eyes continue to wander around the room. Absentmindedly he says, "I don't know these answers. This is all new to me as well. I would sneak gold out of a dragons lair to find out though."
„To be honest, I feel not comfortable going down these stairs without having scouted the rest of the compound. We might find signs of the one who keeps this place so incredibly clean.“ Allister takes ties his rope to a grappling hook and throws it through the open roof. Once the grappling hook is safe he pulls himself up. Once he is on the roof he takes a closer look at the yard surrounding the shrine.
Allister has a nice view of the lava pit from on top of the temple; it boils and pops a hundred feet below. While walking around the temple roof Allister only really notes a ruined cart behind the temple in the back courtyard. Two small leopard kittens meow at nothing near it. The fog prohibits much further sight into the city.
Since he can’t see anything of significance in the yard Allister climbs down the rope again. „I couldn’t see much, just the lava pit and two small leopards. Maybe we orphaned them yesterday. Have you found anything important while I was on the roof?“
Nenne walks over to the bare pedestal and searches for any scratches or marks that might indicate if it held anything, or if it has ceremonial purpose. (Perception 16 or Investigation 12)
Orvex is there drawing a sketch of the pedestal as Nenne approaches. He comments something to the effect of it being marvelous again, but the eladrin takes note of one of his sketch lines that she takes an interest in. Running her fingers along the square outline on top of the pedestal, Nenne identifies a hatch of some sort.
"I found something," Nenne says, withdrawing her hand without disturbing the hatch and pointing it out to the party. "How much of a risk do you want to take?"
„Can you see a lever or button? If not it’s probably meant to be a secret. I say we look inside either way. Boosey, you have any experience with opening one of those or traps?“
Nenne frowns and takes a step back. "No levers or any opening mechanisms that I can see. Brute force might suffice, or dexterous hands. It also could have warding magic on it. I confess I'm not able to help in that regard. That was...another of our party's specialty." She looks down for a moment. A sudden thought snaps her head up.
"There are holes in the mural," she says, indicating with her arm. "This hatch may in fact be designed to trigger a trap from the wall if someone opens it improperly."
„It’s still worth checking out. Give me a minute, I’ll be back!“ Allister goes to the yard, straight to the cart. He look for a sturdy plank (or two), staying away from the kittens if possible.
Wood is easy enough to find, but placing the boards up against the relief proves to be innefective in covering all the holes due to the uneven stonework.
Nenne removes some clothes from her pack. The colors and material are unlike anything seen on Chult, and she unceremoniously rips them up to provide fodder for the trap holes. "That should help some, at least."
Allister draws his dagger and steps towards the pedestal. „Ok, everyone step either outside or get to the stairs. If things go starboard it’s just me in the line of... whatever it is.“
Orvex backs away from the pedestal as much as he dares without leaving the room. He presses into the corner saying, "I can't look away. This is so exciting. Don't go summoning more cats or anything." He looks on intently.
„Everyone in position? Ok, let’s see what happens...“ Allister sticks his dagger into a groove and slowly and carefully, listening to the telltale sound of springs or other mechanisms, tries to open the hatch.
As Allister pries on the hatch a click sounds and the harsh sound of pressurized air can be heard from behind the mural. It only lasts a few seconds and most of the cloth pieces seem to hold. Near the end of the whooshing air, one of the cloth pieces flies out and away to the ground and a dark green gas leaks out of the hole slowly. The hatch did not budge.
"Poison!" Nenne cries, covering her mouth and nose with her collar. "Get out!"
„Nothing so far, but at least the gas stayed inside the wall. Great idea, Nenne. Maybe someone give me a hand?“
After the cloth has been replaced on the exposed hole, Boosey steps up to help Allister with the hatch. The two of them pry up on the hatch as the spewing gas continues to billow inside the wall. Despite their best efforts, the hatch fails to move even the slightest.