Action Thread #11: The Greensward

[Stonjuz]

"I would bet one of më teeth that this has something to do with helping that ghost up top find some peace, but.... You sure you wanna all go in? Wh'ever is in here isnt goin' anywhere. ...."
Stonjuz tries to persuade the group not to bother, but he sees that they arent about to listen and he doesnt want anyone else go in alone.
He waves an unlit torch at the entrance and says, "If I didnt think that we was almost off a'this blang dasted rock, I'd go in me-self but....Ill go if everyone else wants to."

[saalaria]

"you placcccee your dead in a chamber in the ground?" Swilbosh manages to look incredulous.....

[ChubbyPixie]

Ozborn is shocked to see Swilbosh's facial expression actually change.
"So that's what an incredulous lizard looks like" he thinks to himself.

Putting his bow on his back, he unsheathes his short swords and steps to the entrance "I say we take a peek at least...." He examines it for any funny business of the trappish sort. If there's a door, he listens at it – if not... he just listens.

[ragnboneshopper]

Day 7, Late Afternoon: Into the Mound

With torches lit, the party moves into the shadowy tunnel beneath the burial mound. A small, 1-foot diameter tunnel can be seen opening off of the left in the shadows. Any who peer inside of it can tell that the tunnel is not original and must have been made by animals. It goes on for a good fifteen feet before it turns too far to see any further. Andrin and Ogirdor confirm that it must have been the hare-like creatures who made it, for their tracks go every which way over the floor -- except, they note, by the flat stone wall at the end of the tunnel, which they seem to have avoided. This, upon a momentary visual inspection by Stonjuz, is discovered to be not a wall, but a stone door every bit as heavy as the one that led into the dwarven mines, and of similar construction. It is hinged on the left and will open outward, with a large iron ring set as a pull on the right side. The ring is large enough to allow two pair of hands to yank on it at once.

As Ozborn enters the tunnel, he is very conscious in looking for traps of any kind. He is not, however, familiar with dwarven construction beyond what he has seen on this journey, and magics are all but beyond his ken. Pronouncing the door clear, he starts to rest his ear against it in order to listen when Thurinor cries out to "Stop!" The elf notices the faint but clear outline of a magical glyph on the door as he approaches. The faintness, he thinks, is due more to the age of the spell than it is an indicator of its power. This magic is old and has seeped into the very rock itself, but he is not familiar with the runic markings. All breathe a sigh of relief as Oz hovers an inch away from the stone, stops, and steps gingerly away without touching.

Thief percentile roll: [1d100] = 89

Anything else you want to look at here? Thurinor, your night vision only works at night when the stars and/or moon are visible. It's still daylight out and this is underground darkness, so it wouldn't work anyway. Close call!

[Grognardsw]

“Careful!” exclaims Thurinor the elf, stepping back a distance.“Though I cannot read the runes, it is likely a glyph of warding, explosive runes, wizard’s mark or other guard or ward. If we are to attempt to open it, it should be at as much distance as we can. Perhaps grappling hooks pulled by rope from outside.”

Just in case, the elf prestidigitator holds out the medallion and staff to see if they glow or have any interaction with the door rune.

I assume the runes aren't magical script (Magick in house rules), but rather an unknown language? Does it look like any type of old Dwarven dialect to Stonjuz?

The Read Magic spell does not exist. Rather, spells are written in their own language called Magick which all Magic users and Illusionists start with. Other classes that can use MU or Illusionist magic must buy this language from their INT allotment of extra languages.

[Stonjuz]

Does it look like any type of old Dwarven dialect to Stonjuz?

"Thurinor, you are a genius. You just may have saved us all. Dwarves be usually know for defending their lands with every 'vailable tool. Explosive runes, doesnt surprise me at all, 'cept they still be armed after such time. Does it look like this door has enough room to open? And what does it say over here?

[saalaria]

Swilbosh looks on with interest at yet another new discovery of the world outside his small realm.

"A magical trap left from agesss passst? You believe it will sssstill have power? It mussst be the work of a powerful mage! Perhapsss the sssmall tunnel is a way around it"

[zebediah]

Good idea Thurinor says the ranger let us try opening from a safe distance. Anyone has a rope and grappling hook at hand?

[onlyme]

Good idea Thurinor says the ranger let us try opening from a safe distance. Anyone has a rope and grappling hook at hand?

Malone snickers,
Well of course, umm, why would someone not have a grappling hook? In fact, I happen to have two.

[ragnboneshopper]

The party backs away from the stone door to consider options. Thurinor holds the staff and medallion marked by the serpent, hoping for some interaction between them and the door, but to no effect. He draws a copy of the rune in the dirt for Stonjuz to study, and the dwarf confirms that it looks something like the dwarven runes for "fire" and "burn," though he has not seen this particular rune before.

After the party has regained its good humor from what may have been a close call indeed, Malone produces two grapples at Ogirdor's suggestion. These are affixed to ropes and hooked to the right edge of the door, and all retreat outside to grab an end of rope and pull.

The door, apparently not locked, begins to rumble open with the sound of stone sliding over stone until a great flash and burning and smoke erupts from the tunnel entrance! The ropes are lit by the blast, but the magic laid on the door has been bypassed, as confirmed by Thurinor's magical sight.

On re-entering the tunnel, it is clear that the ropes have lost about 15' off their useful length, but the grapples are fine and the way is open. It is deathly still and dark within, though the smell of old air is not as strong as one might think and is overwhelmed by the animal smell presumable left by the unicorn hares.

Any expectation of a lavish tomb laden with riches is soon gone, but the effort may not be a complete loss. Peering through the gloom, you see an open stone sarcophagus in the center of the chamber, its heavy lid lying on the floor as if tossed there, with the shattered remains of what may have once been urns lying around it, and here and there a trace of white powder or dust. Upon bringing light to bear, you can see that two urns on the far wall have escaped being crushed. To the left along the wall, the other end of the small burrow dug by the hares is visible where it emerges from between two support stones. The floor and ceiling alike are of massive stone. Truly, an impressive bit of stonecraft.


Nicely dealt with! Ok, next?

BurialMound.jpg (106.51 KiB) Viewed 1080 times

[saalaria]

Gaah! I was right - we should have sent the dwarf down the tunnel!

"You want me to go in, yesss? Or will you check ssssome more first?"

[onlyme]

Malone puts away his used gear and reclaims his fighting grip on his halberd. He looks around for any activity that followed the door opening, possibly an escaping critter from an alternate exit.

[Grognardsw]

"Beware undead upset we have desecrated their resting place," warns Thurinor as he steps foward with crossbow. The elf is curious about the white powder or dust. As a precaution he pulls his jerkin up over his mouth.

"Something disturbed the sarcophogus at one point," comments Thurinor. "Do any of you see footprints?"

[Stonjuz]

Stonejuice stands perplexed. He wishes to gather samples of the powder but knows he has not enough container for it.
"Yes, dont wanna disturb the fallen for personal gain. We want to make sure we be on the right side of good here, so I'm gonna try and bless this endeavor."
Casting bless

[zebediah]

Ogirdor will do a thorough check of the place, looking at the smashed and emptying the intact vases.

[Sir Clarence]

Andrin remains at the back, ready to cast a spell. Or to flee if this seems more reasonable...

[ragnboneshopper]

Day 7, Late Afternoon: The Burial Chamber

Swilbosh hesitates at the open doorway, unsure of his human companions' intentions. Malone stows his grapples and looks on, vigilant. Thurinor remarks grimly, "Beware undead upset we have desecrated their resting place." Andrin, clearly uneasy about the situation, also hangs back.

Thus, part of the group moves inside warily while the rest hangs back. Thurinor and Stonjuz move to examine the white powder on the floor, even as Ogirdor begins to open the intact urns. All are soon sure that the urns, whether intact or broken, were meant to contain cremated remains. The white powder on the floor is ashen and littered with ancient bone fragments. The intact urns, embossed with a snake design, contain more remains, and one contains a treasure too: a small ivory box, inlaid with silver and coral. In a pile near the sarcophagus lid you also find three small gold earrings, an electrum bangle, and a jade serpent pendant with a silver mount. Thurinor detects no magic on any of these objects.

Ogirdor takes his time studying the premises. The only tracks that he notes are those of the unicorn hares, but he finds a trapdoor at the base of the sarcophagus. When he brings this to the party's attention, Stonjuz notes that the sarcophagus is decorated, surprisingly, not with the likeness of a dwarf but with a human-like figure. How such a one came to be buried here among dwarves is beyond his ken.


The trapdoor looks like it could be opened by a couple strong backs working in concert. Anything else you want to look at here? Anyone taking any of the treasure?

[zebediah]

Day 7, Late Afternoon: The Burial Chamber

Swilbosh hesitates at the open doorway, unsure of his human companions' intentions. Malone stows his grapples and looks on, vigilant. Thurinor remarks grimly, "Beware undead upset we have desecrated their resting place." Andrin, clearly uneasy about the situation, also hangs back.

Thus, part of the group moves inside warily while the rest hangs back. Thurinor and Stonjuz move to examine the white powder on the floor, even as Ogirdor begins to open the intact urns. All are soon sure that the urns, whether intact or broken, were meant to contain cremated remains. The white powder on the floor is ashen and littered with ancient bone fragments. The intact urns, embossed with a snake design, contain more remains, and one contains a treasure too: a small ivory box, inlaid with silver and coral. In a pile near the sarcophagus lid you also find three small gold earrings, an electrum bangle, and a jade serpent pendant with a silver mount. Thurinor detects no magic on any of these objects.

Ogirdor takes his time studying the premises. The only tracks that he notes are those of the unicorn hares, but he finds a trapdoor at the base of the sarcophagus. When he brings this to the party's attention, Stonjuz notes that the sarcophagus is decorated, surprisingly, not with the likeness of a dwarf but with a human-like figure. How such a one came to be buried here among dwarves is beyond his ken.


The trapdoor looks like it could be opened by a couple strong backs working in concert. Anything else you want to look at here? Anyone taking any of the treasure?

Ogirdor takes the small box, earrings and bangle These may prove to have some significance and if they don't we can sell them once we find our way to a city. he extends the pendant to Thurinor and Stonjuz How does this compare to the symbols we have found earlier?

The ranger looks at the trapdoor Anyone giving me a hand with that?

[Grognardsw]

Thurinor ponders the new jade serpent pendant and compares its design to the medallion and staff.

"Odd, a possible human in a dwarven-made tomb and serpent symbols...mine...tomb..., " thinks Thurinor aloud. "Swilbosh, you are from this area*, have you heard of serpent worshipers, totems, legends or mythologies that these items could be related to?

The elf prestidigitator thinks back to the poem from the woman in the forest.

...Eye upon an isle shining
Isle upon a lake a-resting
Lake beyond a river flowing
And band upon a forest questing...

...Who shall gather the secrets, and mysteries that need finding?
Who will sail downriver, along the flow that's winding?
Who will punish the Dark ones, who once their kin were killing?
Who shall see the Serpent's Eye, and with brave tales returning...?

"The poem made mention of a serpent's eye," says Thurinor, his curiousity for the arcane and strange over-riding his desire to get home from this far land. "Perhaps we need to follow a river to an isle on a lake to find this Serpent's Eye and unravel this mystery. These serpent items couod all belong to the same person. If it is a tool to defeat the 'Dark Ones' then perhaps these serpent items belonged to a hero of yore."

*I read this in the OOC thread, not sure if its true, if not disregard the question.

[Sir Clarence]

"Let me help you with this." Andin moves over and tries to help Ogirdor open the trapdoor.