After some time, you all gradually awaken to a claustrophobic setting. Those of you who have dark-vision can see; those who do not are blind. But all of you distinctly notice the air you breath is sharp and acidic in taste.
Those who can see:
You are in a long, narrow chamber, running east-west. In the center of this apartment is a domed shape on the floor. In the east wall is a blank-faced stone door. The west end of the room is blocked by fallen stone and rubble, apparently the result of a collapse. The two side walls appear to have several niches cut into them.
The shape in the center of the chamber appears to be a small alcove, protected by a half-dome with the open end facing toward the door in the east wall. This alcove is set in a recessed, shallow, tiled well, one foot deep and ten feet wide. The alcove itself is four feet high. The recess contains some sort of display.
Syvis wakes up from a dizzying headache and unconsciously tries to roll over, but the cold, hard touch underneath him makes him immediately awake with alertness, his eyes wide and vigilant as he surveys unfamiliar surroundings. Seeing the same situation happen to his companions in the gloomy and unlit darkness, Syvis stands up slowly and silently, holding the wall and glancing around him. The pungent smell in the air triggers him of his survival instincts, and it is clear that a long stay here would only be harmful.
All he could remember is the scene before he lost consciousness, the majestic shrine of Tamoachan standing under the sky, people pushing toward the clearing, followed by the collapse of the ground beneath them and then endless darkness.
Seemingly no way out, his jumbled thoughts are interrupted by the strange structure in front of him, looking like a carved alcove, he stealths forward (stealth:28), the elf's slender form disappearing into the darkness, his high dark-haired ponytail leaving a faint glimpse. He takes a few steps closer to better look at the recess, and whatever display it has over there.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Joel wakes and slowly manages to leverage his armored form to his feet and glance around, quickly waving his hand in front of his face and then lighting up his shield to illuminate the area around him. He tastes the air, trying to identify the cause before he too notices the dome, "Oooh, what have we here? Our first discovery!" And quickly rattles over to examine it, giving it space, but looking closely.
Scent investigation+guidance: 21+1
Dome investigation: 6
Looking up from his investigation after a moment, he glances at the others, "Oh, yes. Is everyone alright?"
You take a few guarded yet long draws of the air and come to the conclusion that whatever gas this environment contains it is indeed toxic. it does seem that extended periods breathing this air will have a deleterious effect.
Joel manages to light his shield but all of you can immediately see the density of the amber haze in this room severely reduces the effectiveness of the light source (by 50%)
Heading over to the dome in the room’s center, both of you see the display appears to be a diorama depicting a hunting party of Chultan warriors, in feathers and deer-hide garments, in a mountainside scene. The scene is portrayed by miniature figurines. Some have pulled down a stag with the aid of a dog, another group is cleaning a small mule deer, and others have cornered a panther with their spears. A scout watches the panther from an outcropping above. He holds a metal staff with a loop in its end. It looks like a shepherd’s crook.
Joel moves towards one of the doors and opens it, turning back to the others, “The air here is toxic, we need to keep moving.” He hesitates for a moment, then returns to the shrine and grabs the tiny metal staff, “This looks important somehow.”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Abomwe rolled to her feet and shook her head, not the most graceful of landings but luckily dwarven skulls were fairly thick, she noted the air and nodded to Joel in agreement.
She investigated one of the stone niches ( centre south) then turned to examine the stone door.
" Let us move on quickly, you three won't last long breathing this muck."
Syvis seems to have melted into the amber fog while the drow elf seems to be stirring a bit now.
Abomwe, on her feet now, heads over to one of the niches recessed within the south wall and observes a fanciful sight. It appears again to be a display using miniature figurines. In this display, which seems to depict the creation of the world, all the statuettes are stylized and obviously nonhuman. A god, adorned in green quetzal feathers, is mixing ashes with blood to form sculptures of a man and woman, while four towering figures painted red, black, blue, and white are standing about a fire committing suicide with their daggers. Two smaller figures are ringed by the four—the modest “Pimply One” is being consumed by the fire, while the braggart “Lord of Snails” cowers in fear.
Abomwe and Joel both converge on the door, Joel holding a tiny gold staff with a hooked end. The door is carved with a sun symbol and appears to open into the room; there are hinges on this side and scratches on the floor. There is no visible lock or handle on it, although a slight gap stretches across the top of the door. Eight holes seem to have been bored into the door; they are about an inch in diameter, but nothing can be seen in them. The door seems to be fairly thick. The lintel is arched, with a keystone at the top.
Neff stirs from a vision of his home land of Menzobarenzan. Waking up to the darkness and feel of the underground inspires him to quickly jump to his feet in a defensive position, until he sees his companions which alleviates some of his sudden panic. This isn't his home land. Neff lets out a breath of relief that is short lived once he takes in some of the air which sends signals of worry through his mind. The light of the shield from his human companion puts him a bit at ease.
"Are we all here then? Is everyone alright?" Neff says with a bit of a hush in his voice followed by a bit of shallow breathing. He looks up towards where they fell in and wonders if he could just fly out, but realizes that would split them. He also thinks about levitating another with him, but again comes to the conclusion that it would not be enough.
Seeing the large door, Neff walks up to it cautiously and takes out his 10 foot pole, still collapsed then activates a Drow gift of magical sight (Detect Magic). "Yes, I don't think it is safe to breath here. We need to find a way out as soon as possible" Neff says and then looks to Jole, who Neff has learned in travel, is one of the smartest men he has ever met, "What do you make of it?" Neff says as he looks at the door for any traces of magic.
The air seemed to become an advantage in hiding his form amidst the fog of poisonous gas, and in Joel's blurred illumination he could better appraise the display in the center of the room, the small, historical theater silently depicting the ancient practice of hunting.
There seems to be no clue to open the door, Syvis turns around, joining Joel and Abomwe in the investigation of the stone door. The only source of light is shrouded by the poisonous fog, making the already narrow room even more confining. "So the door opens inwards," he says, his voice revealing his concealed form. He reaches out to touch the sun symbol carved into the stone door, looking for any hidden doors and openings, referring to the holes drilled into the door, "maybe there should have been ropes and chains to pull the wall open."
Esilia coughs and wakes up. As she opens her eyes, she sees that others are already awake and are investigating the area. She stands up and pats the dust off her clothes. She picks up her spellbook and tries to feel whether her familiar* managed to escape into her pocket dimension in time or was she smashed under her in the fall."It seems like you've all started without me," she says, "found anything interesting already?" She sees everyone gathering around the door, so she approaches it as well. "Are you sure it's even locked? Did you check it? Move please, I don't want to hit you by accident." When everyone moves back, she tries her luck. She raises her tail and points at the door. "Open!" She commands it. She doesn't expect too much, but there's no point in staring at an unlocked door in an empty door.
*I assumed she can have a familiar already, being level 5 and all. If so, she would have commanded her Fiend Spider (it's a spider, but the spell requires it to be Celestial/Fey/Fiend) to disappear into their pocket dimension right as they began to fall. The spider is named Shpeeny.
Character Appearance:
Esilia is a Tiefling. She's a bit short, around 168 cm (5.5 feet, I think?). Her skin is fair like a Human's and her eyes are usually solid red, though she often changes their appearance (Thaumaturgy) to appear humane, though of pink colour (like the one I'm using for her speech). She has a long, dark-brown hair and two ram-like horns. Her clothes are black and it looks like she's carrying way too much for her size (6 lbs to get encumbered lol). Her spellbook is the classy old-fashioned leather-covered book that looks simple yet elegant. She's in her mid-late-twenties and her voice is a soft alto voice. Well, it's soft when she's calm, at least.
Joel places and hand on Syvis's shoulder as she examines the door, "May Syvis grant his guidance to your search and open your mind to the answer." Stepping back to give him room he'll nervously glance upward before turning to look to the others, "Perhaps we should keep our voices down. I don't know that those people we saw on the surface are friendly, and I'd rather not be trapped in a pit with hostiles above me."
Checking her pocket, Esilia is relieved to only see an empty pocket, and not the squished body of her familiar. Convinced the lucky pet made it safely to it's "pocket" dimension, she walks over to the door, waves her tail in a curious manner, and utters her command. The door, however, remains shut.
Syvis concentrates on the door, looking for concealed compartments or other secrets. Frustrated at first, Joel places his hand lightly on her shoulder and compels her mind to drown out all distraction and focus her inner eye solely on the door and all its subtle clues.
Sweat beads on Neff's forehead as claustrophobia begins to set in and the shock of waking disperses. It had been years since he found himself in anything like a cave or anything underground. It always reminded him of his days as a youth in the Underdark. He does his best not to let it consume him but hiding his physical unease is a bit harder. He swallows hard and tries to focus his mind on something else.
"Is there a gap of any kind in the door? Maybe we can get a piton through with rope attached and all of us could pull?" It was worth a try. He does his best not to seem too desperate. "Or maybe that staff and the object in the middle of this room are related to access. Either way, I feel we only have so many breaths before this fog takes us."
Neff takes off his pack and retrieves a 50ft length of silk rope and piton, tying the rope around the center of the piton and looks to the others with a shrug. "Better than nothing eh?" he says with a bit of a nervous laugh and softness in his eyes.
((Character appurtenance since I forgot lol))
Neff is about 5.6 with medium white hair that is shaved on the sides but not the back or top. The hair touches the top of his back when pulled back and goes just past the jaw line when down. His eyes are an iridescent blue ring surrounded and surrounding black. his skin is a light slate color, almost white. His angled features are soft and elegant with a light scar on the right side of his mouth intersecting the lips close to the corner. He slim build and moves with a well balanced step. He wears rugged looking common clothes of dark earthen colors and bears a shield and mace, though he does not look strong enough to even lift it. In fact, overall, he does not exude physical strength. He looks soft and slender, often mistaken as a woman until he talks, and even then the sound of his voice is soft and elegant. His figure is a bit feminine with slight curves and a bit of a small bust. He is usually smiling despite the situation at hand and makes no effort in trying to conceal his heritage.
Abomwe is willing to have a go at trying to lift the door, but while the others are pursuing alternate plans she moves back to the alcoves and checks each one in turn in case there is some kind of clue in the stories as to how to open the door.
Rhodes - Half-elf, Warlock - The Lost Dungeon of Rickness
Si the Demander - Hill Dwarf, Cleric - The Princes of the Apocalypse
After some time, you all gradually awaken to a claustrophobic setting. Those of you who have dark-vision can see; those who do not are blind. But all of you distinctly notice the air you breath is sharp and acidic in taste.
Those who can see:
You are in a long, narrow chamber, running east-west. In the center of this apartment is a domed shape on the floor. In the east wall is a blank-faced stone door. The west end of the room is blocked by fallen stone and rubble, apparently the result of a collapse. The two side walls appear to have several niches cut into them.
The shape in the center of the chamber appears to be a small alcove, protected by a half-dome with the open end facing toward the door in the east wall. This alcove is set in a recessed, shallow, tiled well, one foot deep and ten feet wide. The alcove itself is four feet high. The recess contains some sort of display.
(Time in shrine = 0:00)
Rhodes - Half-elf, Warlock - The Lost Dungeon of Rickness
Si the Demander - Hill Dwarf, Cleric - The Princes of the Apocalypse
Syvis wakes up from a dizzying headache and unconsciously tries to roll over, but the cold, hard touch underneath him makes him immediately awake with alertness, his eyes wide and vigilant as he surveys unfamiliar surroundings. Seeing the same situation happen to his companions in the gloomy and unlit darkness, Syvis stands up slowly and silently, holding the wall and glancing around him. The pungent smell in the air triggers him of his survival instincts, and it is clear that a long stay here would only be harmful.
All he could remember is the scene before he lost consciousness, the majestic shrine of Tamoachan standing under the sky, people pushing toward the clearing, followed by the collapse of the ground beneath them and then endless darkness.
Seemingly no way out, his jumbled thoughts are interrupted by the strange structure in front of him, looking like a carved alcove, he stealths forward (stealth:28), the elf's slender form disappearing into the darkness, his high dark-haired ponytail leaving a faint glimpse. He takes a few steps closer to better look at the recess, and whatever display it has over there.
Joel wakes and slowly manages to leverage his armored form to his feet and glance around, quickly waving his hand in front of his face and then lighting up his shield to illuminate the area around him. He tastes the air, trying to identify the cause before he too notices the dome, "Oooh, what have we here? Our first discovery!" And quickly rattles over to examine it, giving it space, but looking closely.
Scent investigation+guidance: 21+1
Dome investigation: 6
Looking up from his investigation after a moment, he glances at the others, "Oh, yes. Is everyone alright?"
@Joel
You take a few guarded yet long draws of the air and come to the conclusion that whatever gas this environment contains it is indeed toxic. it does seem that extended periods breathing this air will have a deleterious effect.
Joel manages to light his shield but all of you can immediately see the density of the amber haze in this room severely reduces the effectiveness of the light source (by 50%)
Heading over to the dome in the room’s center, both of you see the display appears to be a diorama depicting a hunting party of Chultan warriors, in feathers and deer-hide garments, in a mountainside scene. The scene is portrayed by miniature figurines. Some have pulled down a stag with the aid of a dog, another group is cleaning a small mule deer, and others have cornered a panther with their spears. A scout watches the panther from an outcropping above. He holds a metal staff with a loop in its end. It looks like a shepherd’s crook.
(Time in shrine = 0:00)
Rhodes - Half-elf, Warlock - The Lost Dungeon of Rickness
Si the Demander - Hill Dwarf, Cleric - The Princes of the Apocalypse
Joel moves towards one of the doors and opens it, turning back to the others, “The air here is toxic, we need to keep moving.” He hesitates for a moment, then returns to the shrine and grabs the tiny metal staff, “This looks important somehow.”
Abomwe rolled to her feet and shook her head, not the most graceful of landings but luckily dwarven skulls were fairly thick, she noted the air and nodded to Joel in agreement.
She investigated one of the stone niches ( centre south) then turned to examine the stone door.
" Let us move on quickly, you three won't last long breathing this muck."
Investigation: 12
Syvis seems to have melted into the amber fog while the drow elf seems to be stirring a bit now.
Abomwe, on her feet now, heads over to one of the niches recessed within the south wall and observes a fanciful sight. It appears again to be a display using miniature figurines. In this display, which seems to depict the creation of the world, all the statuettes are stylized and obviously nonhuman. A god, adorned in green quetzal feathers, is mixing ashes with blood to form sculptures of a man and woman, while four towering figures painted red, black, blue, and white are standing about a fire committing suicide with their daggers. Two smaller figures are ringed by the four—the modest “Pimply One” is being consumed by the fire, while the braggart “Lord of Snails” cowers in fear.
Abomwe and Joel both converge on the door, Joel holding a tiny gold staff with a hooked end. The door is carved with a sun symbol and appears to open into the room; there are hinges on this side and scratches on the floor. There is no visible lock or handle on it, although a slight gap stretches across the top of the door. Eight holes seem to have been bored into the door; they are about an inch in diameter, but nothing can be seen in them. The door seems to be fairly thick. The lintel is arched, with a keystone at the top.
(Time in Shrine = 0:05)
Rhodes - Half-elf, Warlock - The Lost Dungeon of Rickness
Si the Demander - Hill Dwarf, Cleric - The Princes of the Apocalypse
Neff stirs from a vision of his home land of Menzobarenzan. Waking up to the darkness and feel of the underground inspires him to quickly jump to his feet in a defensive position, until he sees his companions which alleviates some of his sudden panic. This isn't his home land. Neff lets out a breath of relief that is short lived once he takes in some of the air which sends signals of worry through his mind. The light of the shield from his human companion puts him a bit at ease.
"Are we all here then? Is everyone alright?" Neff says with a bit of a hush in his voice followed by a bit of shallow breathing. He looks up towards where they fell in and wonders if he could just fly out, but realizes that would split them. He also thinks about levitating another with him, but again comes to the conclusion that it would not be enough.
Seeing the large door, Neff walks up to it cautiously and takes out his 10 foot pole, still collapsed then activates a Drow gift of magical sight (Detect Magic). "Yes, I don't think it is safe to breath here. We need to find a way out as soon as possible" Neff says and then looks to Jole, who Neff has learned in travel, is one of the smartest men he has ever met, "What do you make of it?" Neff says as he looks at the door for any traces of magic.
Drow enthusiast
Lover of lore and magic.
-The White Crow-
@Neff
You do not detect any magic from your search of the door.
Rhodes - Half-elf, Warlock - The Lost Dungeon of Rickness
Si the Demander - Hill Dwarf, Cleric - The Princes of the Apocalypse
The air seemed to become an advantage in hiding his form amidst the fog of poisonous gas, and in Joel's blurred illumination he could better appraise the display in the center of the room, the small, historical theater silently depicting the ancient practice of hunting.
There seems to be no clue to open the door, Syvis turns around, joining Joel and Abomwe in the investigation of the stone door. The only source of light is shrouded by the poisonous fog, making the already narrow room even more confining. "So the door opens inwards," he says, his voice revealing his concealed form. He reaches out to touch the sun symbol carved into the stone door, looking for any hidden doors and openings, referring to the holes drilled into the door, "maybe there should have been ropes and chains to pull the wall open."
Investigation: 16
Esilia coughs and wakes up. As she opens her eyes, she sees that others are already awake and are investigating the area. She stands up and pats the dust off her clothes. She picks up her spellbook and tries to feel whether her familiar* managed to escape into her pocket dimension in time or was she smashed under her in the fall. "It seems like you've all started without me," she says, "found anything interesting already?" She sees everyone gathering around the door, so she approaches it as well. "Are you sure it's even locked? Did you check it? Move please, I don't want to hit you by accident." When everyone moves back, she tries her luck. She raises her tail and points at the door. "Open!" She commands it. She doesn't expect too much, but there's no point in staring at an unlocked door in an empty door.
*I assumed she can have a familiar already, being level 5 and all. If so, she would have commanded her Fiend Spider (it's a spider, but the spell requires it to be Celestial/Fey/Fiend) to disappear into their pocket dimension right as they began to fall. The spider is named Shpeeny.
Character Appearance:
Esilia is a Tiefling. She's a bit short, around 168 cm (5.5 feet, I think?). Her skin is fair like a Human's and her eyes are usually solid red, though she often changes their appearance (Thaumaturgy) to appear humane, though of pink colour (like the one I'm using for her speech). She has a long, dark-brown hair and two ram-like horns. Her clothes are black and it looks like she's carrying way too much for her size (6 lbs to get encumbered lol). Her spellbook is the classy old-fashioned leather-covered book that looks simple yet elegant. She's in her mid-late-twenties and her voice is a soft alto voice. Well, it's soft when she's calm, at least.
Varielky
Joel places and hand on Syvis's shoulder as she examines the door, "May Syvis grant his guidance to your search and open your mind to the answer." Stepping back to give him room he'll nervously glance upward before turning to look to the others, "Perhaps we should keep our voices down. I don't know that those people we saw on the surface are friendly, and I'd rather not be trapped in a pit with hostiles above me."
Checking her pocket, Esilia is relieved to only see an empty pocket, and not the squished body of her familiar. Convinced the lucky pet made it safely to it's "pocket" dimension, she walks over to the door, waves her tail in a curious manner, and utters her command. The door, however, remains shut.
(Time in shrine = 0:01)
Rhodes - Half-elf, Warlock - The Lost Dungeon of Rickness
Si the Demander - Hill Dwarf, Cleric - The Princes of the Apocalypse
Syvis concentrates on the door, looking for concealed compartments or other secrets. Frustrated at first, Joel places his hand lightly on her shoulder and compels her mind to drown out all distraction and focus her inner eye solely on the door and all its subtle clues.
(Syvis, make a perception check with and additional 1d4 from guidance )
(Time in shrine = 0:02)
Rhodes - Half-elf, Warlock - The Lost Dungeon of Rickness
Si the Demander - Hill Dwarf, Cleric - The Princes of the Apocalypse
Perception: 18 Guidance: 1
@Syvis
After searching thoroughly, you do not notice anything previously hidden.
Rhodes - Half-elf, Warlock - The Lost Dungeon of Rickness
Si the Demander - Hill Dwarf, Cleric - The Princes of the Apocalypse
Sweat beads on Neff's forehead as claustrophobia begins to set in and the shock of waking disperses. It had been years since he found himself in anything like a cave or anything underground. It always reminded him of his days as a youth in the Underdark. He does his best not to let it consume him but hiding his physical unease is a bit harder. He swallows hard and tries to focus his mind on something else.
"Is there a gap of any kind in the door? Maybe we can get a piton through with rope attached and all of us could pull?" It was worth a try. He does his best not to seem too desperate. "Or maybe that staff and the object in the middle of this room are related to access. Either way, I feel we only have so many breaths before this fog takes us."
Neff takes off his pack and retrieves a 50ft length of silk rope and piton, tying the rope around the center of the piton and looks to the others with a shrug. "Better than nothing eh?" he says with a bit of a nervous laugh and softness in his eyes.
((Character appurtenance since I forgot lol))
Neff is about 5.6 with medium white hair that is shaved on the sides but not the back or top. The hair touches the top of his back when pulled back and goes just past the jaw line when down. His eyes are an iridescent blue ring surrounded and surrounding black. his skin is a light slate color, almost white. His angled features are soft and elegant with a light scar on the right side of his mouth intersecting the lips close to the corner. He slim build and moves with a well balanced step. He wears rugged looking common clothes of dark earthen colors and bears a shield and mace, though he does not look strong enough to even lift it. In fact, overall, he does not exude physical strength. He looks soft and slender, often mistaken as a woman until he talks, and even then the sound of his voice is soft and elegant. His figure is a bit feminine with slight curves and a bit of a small bust. He is usually smiling despite the situation at hand and makes no effort in trying to conceal his heritage.
Drow enthusiast
Lover of lore and magic.
-The White Crow-
Abomwe is willing to have a go at trying to lift the door, but while the others are pursuing alternate plans she moves back to the alcoves and checks each one in turn in case there is some kind of clue in the stories as to how to open the door.
((Also, is there an open chasm above us where we fell through or is that closed up?))
Drow enthusiast
Lover of lore and magic.
-The White Crow-