First Expedition

[jferngler]

The gypsy, Maurice, having lit his own torch, moves to the iron tripod to test both the rope and the tackle with a surreptitious tug. Toothy Herman joins him, having procured a loose stone from the floor, which he dumps down the hole. The halfling looks at the haggard old man with surprise, his ugly face growing purple with rage, but Herman puts a finger to his lips and cocks his head, waiting for the splash or crash of the stone. Avery and Girt stick close to one another, Giant loping behind them with a bone hanging from her mouth like a cigarillo. They are within fifteen feet of the iron tripod.

[Raven Crowking]

The rock falls, then clatters on the stone floor below. You would guess somewhere between 20 and 40 feet by the sound.

The block and tackle is attached to the tripod, along with what is at least a 50-foot coil of rope, a length of which disappears into the hole. The hole in the floor is ragged at its edges, obviously the work of sledgehammers or something of the sort. Both the tripod and the rope seem solid enough, although the tripod has a skin of rust, almost like growing lichen, encasing its solid core.

[jferngler]

Herman turns, gets Avery by the arm, and pulls the growing-paler-by-the-minute young man over to the hole. He puts the rope in Avery's hand, takes the torch from Maurice's hand and sticks it in Avery's mouth.

"By the Fates, you'll live to see the surface again, boy. Now, down you go," Herman says, showing all of his many, yellow teeth. Girt protests, but Maurice, intent on not being the first person into danger, silences him with a look.

"I'll be right behind you, Ave," Girt says. Avery shimmies his way into darkness.

[caveman]

Huddlestone will follow along, trusting his luck!

[Raven Crowking]

Beyond the hole is the vaulted ceiling of a lower room, perhaps 30 feet to a side. The hole enters this room from some 35 feet above the floor. Those climbing down can see that the walls below are decorated with worn frescos of some form of procession, and can see bones and rubble scattered across the floor. The western wall has partially collapsed, but even from relatively high up, an archway is visible to the east, closest to the southern wall.

All is silent. The room smells of damp earth and decay.

[jferngler]

Girt gets a hold of the rope with one hand, and tries to hold Giant under his other hand, using his legs as the primary means of slowing his descent down the rope.

Toothy Herman and Maurice go after Huddlestone, and Maurice takes his torch back and makes a circuit of the room, first examining carefully the collapsed western wall, then, even more cautiously examining the eastern archway. He has his sling ready. Herman gets his mace out, and the boys get their staves and hammers ready too. All four converge on the archway.

[caveman]

Tevez, Aguero and Silva descend. They join Huddlestone who is curious about this processionary fresco. Are there any particular characteristics of note? If not, they too, will prepare to go through the arch.

[Raven Crowking]

The frescos seem to be funerary in nature; they show a long procession of dark-clad mourners, led by priests of dark Nergal, who was said to be waylaid and destroyed by his sons, Set and Orcus, long ages ago. The mourners are carrying the bodies of the dead to a burial mound.

[ragboy]

"Well Borisu, this is where you and I must part," Arkadios says to his dog. "Off you go! Guard the front door."


Meirion, Eadger and Arkadios take their turns to climb down. Sean Bedwyr watches each go down in his or her turn, then saunters over, looks down the hole, and climbs down, shaking his head.

[jferngler]

"By the Fates!" exclaims Toothy Herman, "That archway won't explore itself, Maurice!" His words reverberate through the chamber.

Maurice, beyond disgusted with the bizarre old man, prods the two young men ahead of him through the vaulted archway to the east, Herman not far behind.

"I'll kill you, old fool," the halfling mutters to himself.

[Raven Crowking]

Beyond the arch is a quiet, dark hallway. 10 feet, another passage can be seen, leading to the left. Just beyond that, there is a wooden door in the main passage to the right. The main passage seems to continue onward beyond what the flicking torchlight can reveal.

[caveman]

Huddlestone puts his ear to the wooden door and listens carefully.

[jferngler]

Avery is so terrified that he's shaking, clutching his hammer to his chest. Giant nuzzles his leg and pads down the corridor to the left-leading passage and stops. All four of their group move just past Huddlestone, and Girt puts a hand on Avery's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ave. If there was trouble, Giant would be barking like mad," he says.
"You think so Girt?"
"Remember when Moonstone tried to scare us in the woods and Giant chased her into our stick fort?"
Avery laughs a little, "Yeah."
"So I know Giant will protect us," Girt says.

Maurice snorts. "You saw the boot prints in the dust, no? Men wear boots, not beasts," he says. "Nothing down here but old bones."
"We'll see," says Toothy Herman. "By the Fates, we'll see!"

[Raven Crowking]

Moving out into the hallway, you can see another corridor to the north just after the southern door, and a door both to north and south past that. The corridor continues.

Huddlestone puts his ear to the wooden door and listens carefully, but hears nothing.

Giant's hackles are raised, and there's a low growl, barely audible, in his throat, but he is certainly not barking like mad. It is clear he doesn't care for the smell of the tunnel, though.

The first corridor to the north goes 20 feet to another wooden door.

[jferngler]

Maurice passes his torch to Avery, and standing to one side of the door, flings open the door to the south. Avery is next to him with his hammer in his non-torch hand. Maurice has a rock in his sling. The others are five feet further down the corridor.

[Raven Crowking]

Beyond, a room some 20 feet square can be seen. There is another door opposite the one Geirmund kicked in. The extra 10 feet extends to your right as you look through the door.

Old debris is scattered throughout the room -- mostly bricks and fallen plaster by the looks of it, mixed with scattered rat droppings and rags of mouldy cloth.

[jferngler]

Maurice, Avery, Girt and Toothy Herman move into this new room.

"Did I not tell you there was nothing here but bones?" Maurice says, kicking at a loose stone. He walks directly over to the other door, and with no precaution at all, hauls it open.

[Raven Crowking]

Beyond this is another chamber, some 30 feet to a side. The southwest corner is cut off along a slant, and on that area is yet another wooden door. A corridor exits from the east wall, at the far north -- you can see a door to the north in the first 10 feet.

The room itself seems to be empty.

[caveman]

we need to start mapping

[jferngler]

Toothy Herman brishes past Maurice to stand just inside the door of this latest room. He is holding a big loose stone, which he hurls into the room.

He turns to Maurice. "Traps?" he says.