4: Under the Tower of Móric

[burke]

Melanthios and Quinlan quickly dispatch the wounded gill-men. (That's 105 EP each for the battle + 9 EP for Drugan from the SR.)

The room is 40' east to west and 90' north to south. The doorway you came through is located in the north end of the east wall, ten feet from the north wall. There is another doorway cut into the in the north wall, ten feet from the west wall and it is barred by a similar metal door.

Along the walls of the room lie a dozen or so seaweed beds, while two large barrels and a dingy wooden table are arranged in the middle. Twelve slimy, gilded cups are strewn over the otherwise empty table.

Thick black smoke is now streaming through the broken doorway. Your eyes are watering and soon it will probably be impossible to breathe.

[salass00]

Melanthios: "If we flip the table on its side maybe we can use it to block the doorway, with a barrel or two behind it to keep it in place and maybe some of that seaweed to cover up any cracks so the smoke won't get through as easily?"

[burke]

Seeing as time is of the essence, you immediately set to work implementing Melanthios plan. Soon the doorway is adequately blocked and you can all breathe a little easier.

The barrels contain raw fish and a dark, foul smelling brew.

[danhem]

"Nice thinking Melanthios," Charles says as they muscle the last barrel into place. "Hopefully that fire will burn out soon so that we can get back to the surface."

Charles sets about searching the room. He first retrieves his spear from the body of the gill man he impaled. Then Charles inspects the gilded cups to see if they are made of any valuable metal. If there is time he will then check the walls around the room for any abnormal features (protrusions, divots, cracks, or gaps) that might indicate a secret doorway.

(Here is a SR just in case: 1+3....not good on any stat )

[apeloverage]

"With creatures such as this, hopefully there'll be some water nearby" Alwyn says, and goes looking.

[burke]

The cups are wrought in gilded bronze and are of a peculiar design. Low and wide, almost like a small bowls. They could probably fetch a pretty penny if cleaned properly. Currently however, they are covered in a dark, sticky slime that carries a very foul odor of rotten fish. (They weigh 5 wu each, 60 in all.)

Charles has a gut feeling that there is something fishy about the south wall, but cannot for the life of him point to what it is. Alwyn on the other hand could swear he hears the rushing of water behind the north door.

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Drugan examines the north door, tapping it, listening with his ear placed against the door and examining the edges to see if they are water tight or sealed in some way.

After that he will carefully inspect the south wall, looking closely at the base of the wall were it meets the floor, the top were it meets the ceiling, running his hands over it's surface and tapping it minutely with his crowbar, listening for irregularities and looking for any visual clues on it's surface..

"Hurr, let me have a look at these oddities, my Master's keep was honeycombed with secret passages and special cells to hold demons and unusual creatures"

"Maybe I can make something out of them"

[danhem]

Charles collects the 12 cups and puts them in his pack for safe keeping.

"There is something odd about this southern wall," he says to the others then backs away as Drugan goes to work on it. "There may indeed be a secret door here Drugan. Then again it may be a trap."

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Drugan nods his head in agreement with Charles.

"Maybe so, but this looks like a barracks or living quarters and they probably would not want a trap where they eat & rest"

[Hogscape]

Quinlan checks the South wall too...

2d6
4 + 1 = 5

And notices exactly the same things Charles did...

Quinlan: "What say we fetch water from the North and douse those flames?"

[ragnorakk]

Verklud keeps an arrow knocked with an eye toward the passage we entered from.

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

"Careful with that north door until we check it out, it might be a water tight door"

"Before we blew it off it's hinges the door leading in was a rust metal door with a tight seal, if the north door is the same this chamber might be some kind of entrance directly into the sea & opening that door might drown us all"

"Remember these catfish can breath underwater and we can't"

While Drugan is saying this over his shoulder he continues to examine the south wall.
Roll 5+4 plus my INT of 14 = 23

[burke]

The north door is most certainly not watertight and neither was the door you came through. There is a inch high gap under the door, but as the room on the other side is pitch black, it does not reveal much. In any case the door seems to be unlocked.

The flames in the corridor seem to have died out, but as Varklud peels away some of the seaweed to have a better look, black smoke instantly begins to waft in. Varklud quickly clogs the opening and resumes his vigil.

Drugan discovers two vertical cracks in the southern wall, ten feet from the west wall. They are difficult to make out since they are overgrown with dirt and lichen. The piece of wall in between does not seem as solid as it should, but Drugan's strength is not enough to move it. Quinlan and Charles give it a try and the wall gives way and slides back and to the side with a dull scratching sound.

Behind the hidden door is a damp corridor leading ten feet south and then turning to the west. The walls and ceiling are slimy and overgrown and the floor is caked with mud. The ceiling is only about 6 feet high, so the tallest will have to crouch if they enter.

(Roll = EP to everyone who made a SR.)

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Drugan will examine the mud on the floor of the passage to determine if anyone has passed this way recently.

"Thanks for the hand shifting the door, unless I'm wrong it appears that no one has used this hidden passage in quite a while"

"Hmm, so maybe our catfish don't know that about it at all how interesting"

[burke]

Indeed it appears as if no one has used this passage in a very long time.