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Post by moralhazard on May 25, 2019 13:45:21 GMT
Miri wandered over to look inside. Not much treasure, split so many ways, but the key and bell looked promising. “With this tool?” She asked curiously, reaching one long finger to stroke the bell in Crispin’s hand.
“Well,” Miri turned back to those between her and the door. “Next door wasn’t locked. Can’t say for sure what awaits us inside or if we touch it,” she grinned at them all, still slightly sticky but clearly in a good mood. “Shall we?”
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Post by 3personal5me on May 25, 2019 14:02:33 GMT
"I'm not sure a bell is a tool. I think it meant the key". The detective had drifted across the room, now waiting beside the door. "But you're right, we should keep moving". He produced from his coat a small ball bearing. "And perhaps we should trying throwing these at suspicious objects?" It was a sincere suggestion. If the creatures were sticky, maybe the ball would stick to them. Worst case, they could throw it really hard and see if it flinches.
"Ill be down the hall, checking the next door for traps". He slipped out of the room and back into the hall. He stopped long enough to mark the wall next to the door with chalk, to help get his bearings later, if need be.
(stealth down the hall, check the next door for traps)
Stealth: E1Gcyqwk1d20+5
Investigation: 1d20+6 1d20+5·1d20+6 |
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Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
Posts: 706
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Post by Jarovbees on May 25, 2019 15:56:53 GMT
"Thanks." Warden nodded to Miri, flashing a brief smile for the compliment before glancing over to the spoils. A little coin, a key and a...bell? She darted a puzzled glance at the latter, but gestured to the key. That was what interested her more than the coins themselves. "It looks like we'll have some locks to test, somewhere ahead. That had better not lead to another mimic, or I'm tracking down the person who made this place and punching them in the teeth." Don't ask how she might manage that when she knew no more than anyone else. Spite would find a way.
Glancing over at Stephen, she nodded at his suggestion of ball bearings. "Sounds like a solid plan to me. I don't think anyone here wants to get stuck again." She watched him head off for a moment, but didn't wait long before following in her not-at-all stealthy splint mail. The impatient tiefling had little interest in standing around waiting for others to explore what she had come to see as well.
From what Stephen could tell, there were no traps or other signs of tampering when it came to the next door. When it seemed he'd had a good moment to inspect it, Warden approached. "Not suspicious enough? Let me use a little thaumaturgy to get the door open...just in case."
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Post by sojourn on May 25, 2019 19:00:52 GMT
T he half-drow stood and squelched goo from himself, shaking it off his hands to watch it gloop onto the floor with lips curled in a very unique expression of pure disgust. Then again, he'd been in other questionable gross places here in Waterdeep, so perhaps this wasn't quite as bad as it could have been: he wasn't on a festhall floor and he wasn't in a sewer, after all. Violet gaze watched Crispin open the chest once they'd cautiously made sure it wasn't just another trap. Approaching, ignoring the sensation of a bit more mimic slime still stuck inside his boot, he glanced down at the chest's contents, lithe fingers reaching to dig a sack out of the small bag against his back, "Which is th' tool? Perhaps they both are. We'll have t' see. I wouldn't discount th' bell at all—it's an odd place t' find one so it prob'ly means somethin'. That key, though. Keep 't handy." Chuckling at Warden's comment about tracking down whoever crafted this treacherous place, he held back the offer to assist, tongue against the back of his teeth for a moment before he asked to hold the bell and the key just to look at them. He'd offer to load the gold up in the sack he was holding as well, adding, "We'll divy 't up after, yeah? Once all 's said an' done. Maybe there'll be a bit more 'round here, too."Probably on the bodies of those who hadn't survived, had he felt like saying that out loud. He waggled the key in the tiefling's direction for her to take from his fingers, grinning tauntingly while he tucked the bell away somewhere that wasn't as sticky as the rest of him, "Let's see which 'f these comes in handy first, eh? Just for fun. Nothin' like smoothin' over a bit 'f danger with a bit 'f fun."Childhood wagers came to mind, distractions of their youth, and he chuckled before turning away to follow the others, one hand coming to rest on the hilt of his short sword just in case, "Not locked an' no traps? Shit. What's in there? Totally suspicious." Kieran agreed with a grunt, shifting on his feet in an attempt to peer further down the hall, toward the turn it took to the left just to make sure no surprises were coming while their next door was inspected and opened. He hovered in the hall between the new door and the turn, comfortable in the foxfire half light but cautious enough not to touch the walls and careful to watch his footing lest there be traps waiting for them just about anywhere at this point. Nodding at Stephen, he added, "Those ball bearings may come in handy as we make our way down th' hall, too." |
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Post by vorpal on May 26, 2019 3:12:34 GMT
As long as they cleared out everything, they could deal with the distribution later. Crispin took one more glance into the chest, not one to leave any loot behind, and then readied himself to move along to the next area of this place. He patted his pack, knowing where he kept a bunch of ball bearings... it seemed those will be quite useful indeed in this place. Would the next room be full of mimics like that one? They'd find out soon enough... As he joined the others to approach that next door, he readied his bow, just in case. He definitely had to agree, an unlocked door was incredibly, incredibly suspicious.
"And we know now not to trust the ceiling... though if they're being really clever, the next trap will be something else we don't suspect." He tensed and waited for now for Warden to get that door open.
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Post by moralhazard on May 26, 2019 18:26:11 GMT
“You think they’ve a spell set up to watch us?” Miri asked Warden, curiously, at her comment about punching the alley’s architect in the teeth. She glanced around the room, grinning, gaze scanning the ceiling and walls once more, and waved – just in case. “Now I’m imagining some old wizard enjoying the sight of Kieran giving his mimic a hug,” she grinned. “Wonder if he roots for us or against us.”
Miri was just as happy not to touch the bell or the key, and didn’t bother arguing with Stephen or placing a bet with Kieran on which might prove more useful. She let the others file out of the room before her, following Stephen down the hall towards the next door. Miri exhaled, long and slow, the bright, cheerful smile on her face fading once she had a bit of privacy. She rubbed her still sore neck with one hand, glancing down at her leg and grimacing at the holes in her new leather armor once more.
Her skin was still a bit sticky, but Miri peeled back the cuff of her armor, letting one finger rest comfortably on the small crescent moon on her wrist. She held there for a moment, eyes flickering closed, feeling her heartbeat beneath the tattoo.
Miri gave her head a faint shake, normally bouncing hair still slick and sticky and barely moving, pulled the cuff back down over her wrist, and sauntered out into the hallway after her companions. She had lagged back only for a moment, hardly long enough to notice, and by the time she reappeared she was grinning again, visibly nonchalant.
“Bit of thaumaturgy never hurt anyone,” Miri agreed cheerfully to Warden’s plan. "Never trust an unlocked door," she winked at Kieran. Taking her half-joke a little seriously, Miri moved conspicuously out of the immediate path of the doorway’s opening, at least as much as the narrow hallway allowed. She checked behind them with a careful glance back over one shoulder, then turned her attention back to the doorway, waiting to see what lay behind it. "Dibs on any treasure!"
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Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
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Post by Jarovbees on May 26, 2019 19:01:34 GMT
"If you were the kind of sadistic asshole who'd set up a death trap to lure people into, wouldn't you want to see it all happen?" Warden shrugs, not at all surprised if that were the case. It probably made her decision to join this expedition a questionable choice, but she had already resigned herself to that. At least now if someone asked why this place ought to be avoided, she'd have a solid reason to give them.
Not glancing back, Warden rested the tip of her glaive on the floor and uttered something under her breath. It wasn't often that she had reason to tap into her heritage like this, as opposed to using her paladin-given powers, and doing so put her in mind of those days when it was more often used as a distraction to 'liberate' food, as Kieran might remember. Immediately, the door slammed open with a force that echoes down the hall. Striding inside, the tiefling peered around.
What she (and anyone else who followed her) noticed was not at all like the previous room. Instead of stone floors and a empty room devoid of anything but a check, this one was far more 'alive'. It appeared to be a pasture area, complete with lush grasses, a water trough, and a clear sky overhead (despite the fact that the chamber is only ten feet tall). Even those not too familiar with the arcane could realize it to be an illusion of sorts.
Two silos bordered the pasture, and inside each of them was a single silver-plated ox skull; runes covered the skull's horns. The interior of both silos had been covered in ivory paint and an intricate geometric pattern.
(Stephen and Miri, if they enter, could see that the pattern is simply that of a key, repeated over and over again.)
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Post by 3personal5me on May 27, 2019 20:04:13 GMT
As far as Stephen could tell, the door was safe. That, in itself, made it seem almost more dangerous than the last door. He was yet again thankful that he would not be the one to open the door. And as he watched Warden open the door, safely, with magic, he wished he had taken the time to learn magic.
Oh well. That was a thought for another time. He followed her into the room, blinking in the sunlight. More magic, it seemed. "Well that is interesting. Is this kind of thing permanent? Or does someone stroll down here once a week?"
The specifics didn't really matter, in this case, but he was curious regardless. The lessons from the previous room were still fresh in his mind as he wandered around, careful not to touch anything."Please give me just one moment to look for traps before piling in through the door". He spoke loudly, to be heard in the hall. "I'm guessing it's a puzzle. I'm guessing we will see a lot of puzzles, actually. Any ideas?"
(Investigation/Perception check to search the room for traps)
ZYSCNTC91d20+61d20+6
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Post by sojourn on May 27, 2019 20:36:10 GMT
N ot a stranger to Warden's infernal nature nor to the more creative uses of her lineage from past experience, Kieran's attentions wandered away from the alley they hadn't yet traveled down and through the door once it was opened so creeatively. It was a strange experience, really, to know or at least assume one was definitely indoors and yet to see the sky filter through the threshold and to hear grass rustle on the ground just out of view. Illusion, of course. It had to be. Only some illusions had teeth, apparently. The half-drow smirked, curious enough to follow the others into the room but only to hover between the exterior hall and the new outdoors-like interior at Stephen's warning, wanting to touch the walls or attempt to reach the ceiling (wherever it was) high above his small statured head but refraining from such foolishness. It all looked like they'd stepped out of Waterdeep proper and into the farmland sprawling outside the city's walls—a pasture complete with silos and a water trough. It was so disconcerting, really, and calloused, sticky fingers reached up to scratch uneasily at the sticky back of his neck while he stood in the middle of the room, free hand resting uneasily on the hilt of his short sword and tongue against the ring through his lip in thought. "Hmm." He managed, more a grunt than anything else. The sun felt deceptively good and for a moment, his violet eyes slipped shut, fluttering heavily, listening to both Warden and Stephen's comments together, "Fuck—if they do, can we just hang out an' wait for 'em? I think I have some serious concerns 'bout this place as a local citizen that I'd like t' bring up in person." He laughed, but it was sarcastic and dry, unlike the rest of himself still flicking goo from unexpected places. If the room was safe, he'd wander just a little with obvious caution, peering into the trough and sweeping a hand over the grass and finally glancing upward, though he was quite convinced nothing else would be dropping on them in the same way as the mimic had. No, this was totally something new and he made his way toward the silos, peering in them and careful not to touch anything. There were two silver skulls—were they the same? Were the runes the same on each of the horns? Was it a language he even knew? Probably not. "Can anyone read th' writin'? Oh—look—keys. We've got one 'f those." He squinted at the key patterns, interested in how they resembled the key they'd found or if there was, perhaps, a gap or a missing key in the pattern. Maybe an indent. Maybe somewhere to stick the key they had? Removing the key from his pocket and running a turning it over against his palm while he looked around, he sighed through grit teeth, "Why do I get th' feelin' that if we get this wrong, we'll be fightin' evil cows?" ((Investigation roll: FItd|8oo1d20Wish I got some modifiers for that but well ... dump stat. Ha.)) |
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Post by moralhazard on May 27, 2019 20:52:49 GMT
A nice spell, Miri noticed with an attentive eye. A very nice spell, in fact. Bit noisy, though; hardly worth magically opening a door if you had to bang it about like that. All the same, there was something to be said about not having to stand right in the path of it.
“Do they always open so...” Miri grinned at Warden, “... enthusiastically?” She dawdled in the hallway just outside, briefly peeking her head in to examine the interior contours of the room. It was surprisingly pleasant inside; the fake sun even managed to give a feeling of warmth.
“Not sure I’d want to meet the fellow,” Miri said to Kieran, stepping back to let the others take their turn examining. “Having seen something of his sense of humor... then again, perhaps I would,” she grinned, wickedly, and went back to waiting - never easy for her.
“Well,” assuming Stephen called out it was safe, Miri would follow Kieran into the room, glancing around. She knelt, brushing bare fingers through the grass to check how real it felt, and wandering all the way to the water trough. Certainly would be nice to have a bit of water for her hair, but - probably not worth it, all things considered. “Keys,” Miri noted, wandering back to look at the inside of the silos. “Very interesting...”
“Does it need a key, or are they keys?” Miri grinned at Kieran, wandering into the silo opposite from him. Her fingers twitched. Wasn’t this the gold side of the alley? What was with all this (shiny, tempting) silver?
Well, she was newly healed, full of all the energy her companions could muster. No point in being too cautious, was there?Assuming Kieran didn’t cry out a warning from his examination of the skull, Miri, whistling softly to herself, would yield to temptation (a recurring problem for the rogue).
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” Miri announced, and, taking a half step back, palmed a ball bearing from her pocket and flicked it nonchalantly at the silver-plated skull.
((Let me know if I should make a roll for whether she hits, any saving throws, or anything else!))
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Jarovbees
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Post by Jarovbees on May 27, 2019 21:34:38 GMT
Warden never had stealth or quiet as a priority, so the nature of her spell didn't bother her in the slightest. She wasn't a defenseless kid anymore, let anything who heard that come over and find out for itself. She glanced back over at Miri and winked. "Always, yeah." It wasn't a subtle spell, but she was delighted to have it work for the party in a pinch.
"You and me both, Kieran. You and me both...." Warden paced around the area, less focused on the skulls at the moment than the depth of the illusion. The area wasn't big enough for anyone to be fooled that they'd been transported somewhere else, so why bother? Kieran's idle comment about evil cows snapped her out of such speculation and she shrugged. "Maybe? The last room had a key, but it seems pretty lazy to have it used in the very next room. That's all I have, I don't know anything about puzzles."
Stephen's search yielded no mundane traps of any kind and the key Kieran was different than the one in the pattern. When Miri tossed a ball bearing at the skull, it...bounced off and rolled away. Warden, watching, looked a bit relieved. "Not a mimic, then. Good, I'll take an evil cow over...that again."
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Post by vorpal on May 28, 2019 5:03:41 GMT
So much for subtlety. Not that he didn't appreciate the showmanship involved in the whole spell she'd done, it had a lot of flair. All the same, Crispin had expected something perhaps a little quieter for their initial approach. At least it seems nothing in the room was alerted to their presence... yet. He didn't trust this whole thing, and upon walking in and glancing around, he felt even more puzzled by the nature of this room, than the last one. Hmmmm.
"I'd be more inclined to think that these things are keys somehow themselves, then... the question is, how?" He pauses near one of the skulls to take a closer look, especially interested in checking out those runes.
Investigation: blSDayz91d20+11d20+1
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Post by moralhazard on May 28, 2019 14:50:14 GMT
Miri grinned. “Well, so long as I won’t stick to it...” Miri eyed the cow skull, bending forward to examine it closely, head tilting from side to side, drying leathers rustling faintly. Her hair shifted ever so slightly with the movement, although at least it mostly stayed in the shape Kieran had left it.
“Usually you do have to touch keys,” Miri said cheerfully, straightening back up.
Miri shrugged, exhaled, and set her hand directly on the rune-covered horn, caressing it with her fingertips. Unable to help herself, she glanced back over one shoulder at Warden, grinned, winked, then went back to studying the runes, both visually and tactilely.
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Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
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Post by Jarovbees on May 28, 2019 15:30:30 GMT
Crispin and Miri could easily guess that the runes were arcane in nature, though without specific training or knowledge in that area, that was all that could be discerned. Given that they were surrounded by one giant illusion, that was probably not a surprise. The only other thing of note was that the runes were identical to the other skull.
Warden, noting Miri's antics, let out an amused snort and shook her head. She was about to say something when the southern door slammed shut and a faintly echoing moo could be heard. Immediately, she straightened and glanced around, on full alert now. "Where...I don't see it." She narrowed her eyes, but no minotaur was in sight. "That was just the one skull, right? Did the other one change?"
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Post by sojourn on May 28, 2019 17:14:28 GMT
T he keys were, unfortunately, different. Kieran grumbled a few curses, tucking the key away again into a sticky pocket and running fingers over the painted keys on the wall as if hoping to find one that was real and useful instead, "If we're bein' watched, I hope we make this all look good." The half-drow added coyly, glancing over his shoulder and toward the other silo. Miri's hands were (of course!) reaching for the silver skull, reaching for the horns and tracing over the runed surface in a way that would have otherwise seemed inappropriate. Rolling his eyes with a laugh and turning back to the other skull in the other silo, Kieran tucked away his own personal awareness of, well, of her hands. Horns, too. The slamming door dragged him from his thoughts and distractions, and the faint moo was faintly unsettling. He grit his teeth, muttering more about evil cows, this time under his breath more than to anyone listening. Violet gaze wandered over the silver skull he'd already looked at once, looking to see if it had changed at all: ((Perception roll for noticing if anything is different about skull: KolwB9hx1d20+4 Below has options. Granted, if this roll sucks, it won't matter. He'll just go for it anyway.)) "I can try touchin' this one. M'haps at th' same time?" He called back, reaching for the skull's horns unless the skull in his silo suddenly looked different. If they were drastically different, he'd say so, pausing his reach to describe what he saw. If the skull didn't look so different, however, he'd chew the inside of his cheek and reach out, preparing touch the rune-covered horns, "Ready? Let's touch 'em together. As in, at th' same time. I mean. Yeah. Uh. Now." No, he couldn't say that with a straight face at all, but his back was turned so it was perhaps only horribly obvious in the amused waver of his voice. |
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