4: Under the Tower of Móric

[salass00]

Melanthios: "Good job Drugan on finding this secret tunnel. If the gillmen don't know about it then it might be a good idea to keep it that way. I suggest that we close the door after us after we have all entered."

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Drugan grins savagely.

"Good idea Melanthios, if they come looking for us they'll find a heap of scorched catfish and we'll have disappeared mysteriously with their dinner bowls"

"Too bad we can't poison their provisions, we might catch a couple that way"

"When we enter we should make sure we don't leave any tracks leading into the wall, so they can't follow us"

"Maybe we should leave the north door ajar so they'll think we went that way?"

[Hogscape]

Quinlan is last to enter the passage (quietly urinates in the barrel of yuk). "Who says we can't poison the slime balls?"

"Right, let's keep a weather eye out for traps and unsafe bits and bobs. And who's next in line behind Charles and I?'

[ragnorakk]

(heh)
Verklud: Meritorious ideas to baffle pursuit, perhaps to redraw it to ourselves at an appropriate locale
behind the hidden door.
"Let's flame the doorway we've barricaded to keep them at bay a little longer. I've no oil myself...."

[burke]

(If there was something you wanted to do before entering, state it before any other actions.)

The party enters the secret door and closes it behind them. There is a rusty iron handle on the other side of the door to make this easier.

You carefully make your way forward in the dark corridor and it continues westward for 70' before it terminates in a similar stone door. The door is so thick that nothing can be heard from the other side.

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

"Well lads considering that this prodigious door of stone makes finding out what's behind it without opening it impossible I say we rest here for a minute and regain our lot strength"

"I don't know about you other mages but that blast and trying to open that other door have left my dead dog beat"

"We seem to be safe here, so lets grab a bite to eat and something to drink, we don't want to get weak from dehydration or hunger"

"When we are good and rested we'll open the door like we did the last time"

"Shield bearing warriors in the lead spell casters in the back"

"We might have some one with a torch and someone else with a couple of oil jars ready to cast if there are a mob of them on the other side"

"If it looks like we are going to be overrun or some nasty is lurking on the other side too tough for us to face we can drop some oil light it and retreat through the passage and hold the door at the other end"

[burke]

Remember that you will have to catch some sleep to recover any ST or CON. Sleeping in the corridor is not very comfortable, so anyone trying will have to pass a L1SR on CON. A success means that all lost ST and CON (as long as no more than half was lost) is recovered, a failure means you slept badly and will be cranky. The roll is to be made on the current CON.

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

OOC: Hmm, once again I show my ignorance of 1st edition. Sorry I was working off the 4th/5th edition Wizards recover 1 ST every round rule.

Well guys should we try for some shut eye or investigate the next room first?

It is possible the next room will be similarly abandoned and we can catch some Z's in relative comfort there or at least be made defensible for a rest.

If we are going to go through without resting I suggest Drugan prepare some oil bombs as he is too weak to cast combat spells and someone with a good DEX to cast a torch can back him up.

It looks like Varklud and maybe Alwyn cast still combat cast ( I don't know if their ST has been updated since the last combat ) and with the shield wall protecting us we'll probably be ok.

I don't know, what does everyone think?

[ragnorakk]

Yeah, I'm in pretty good shape, still a few lances up the sleeve.
My thoughts are that if this door was unknown to the fishy-men, then
the next door may lead to a place they are not aware of...too much to hope for?

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

OOC: As long as we enter prepared and have a couple of lances left and a few oil hurlers to cover a Hasty retreat if need be we can chance it.

After that I'm voting for a rest though, our magical might is at low ebb!

[danhem]

OOC: Let's take it easy on the oil bombs. We don't have much oil; I believe there were only three extra flasks and we've already used one in our last encounter. We don't know how long we will be down here and need light. Besides, there does not seem to be much ventilation down here and smoke seems to be an issue. I think our previous formation for door opening will work. Someone should actively watch the rear though.


Charles stands ready at the door with spear and shield ready.

"Blast away gentlemen."

[Porkbelly]

Poncho: I agree let's open the door... but as carefully and quietly as possible. I suspect this one could be concealed from the other side also, so unless we make a 'big' noise we may not be noticed. I'm sill holding the lantern so will stand guard at the rear keeping the lights low.

[burke]

As Quinlan and Melanthios open the door to a crack, a sound of running water greets you from the dark beyond. No other sounds can be heard, so you open the door completely.

The room before you appears to be a natural cavern, round in shape and larger than your lantern can illuminate. The floor is covered with sand and small crabs can be seen scuttling away from the light. A 20' wide, shallow stream runs through the cavern, westward, from a opening in the east wall. The door you came through is also located in the east wall, just south of the stream.

As you stand silent, taking this in, a splash echoes from somewhere far to the north.

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

"Action stations lads" Drugan whispers.

"Do we form up and wait for it find us or do we jump back into the passage and wait for it to pass?"

"Maybe if we leave the door open a crack we could ambush it as it passes?"

[apeloverage]

OOC: How far into the room can we see?