Cyrus carefully steps around the hole in the floor and picks up the books.  "Huh.  Anybody know anything about Dungeoneering?  This one here is a Monster Manuel..." The cleric hands the books off to Nerisella and steps over to the spell componants.  "Looks here like I got a pair of potions... Strength.  This other one is blue.  I don't know what it is."

Xavier nods as his face turns sour.

"Yeah thats him. He got me when i was spreading the word of Bane i guess he thought i would fetch a good ransom. Think i been here for about a week but you loose track after a while. At least he didn't forget to feed me."

He gestures to an empty plate where some kind of critter carcass is lying most likely a big rat and a mug of murky water.

Cyrus peers down the hole again.  "You two comfy?  I could drop a rope yanno..."  The Priest of Talos looks down expectingly...

"Long as you tie the other end off up there, Red." she called back up with a wild grin. "This pit stinks." she glanced at the priest. "heh, no offense."

Dog has been conveniently hanging back.  He seemed to not notice anything amiss until he saw and heard Cyrus talking down into the hole.  Walking over he looked down and burst out laughing.  "Well, if that don't beat all.  Back in the early days, I was used as a trap springer, too.  Glad to have graduated from that."  He reaches out to help hold the rope and pull the others up.

Xavier looks towards the rope and then to the locked door and the door behind hit where his equipment was stored before he adresses Michaela.

"You cant open the lock? I would like to get my things back from over there."

Dog chuckles, "Looks like we have quite a predicament here, don't we."  He smirks down at the itemless Xavier.  "Sounds like a deal needs to be cut, doesn't it."

He looks sideways, "Cyrus, didn't you say you came here to loot?  Looks like a lot of loot on the other side of that door."

Cyrus raises an eyebrow at the tank while wrapping the rope around his (Dog's) waist and then bringing it backwards towards himself, wrapping it again around his waist, forming a solid anchor.  "Relax mate," He says down the hole, even though his face isn't, at the moment, peering over the side.  "There's a trapdoor up here that leads down to the cells."

The cleric of Talos glances over at Nerisella.  "Love, can ya be a good lass and go check the trapdoor for anythin' nasty?  We don't need no more pit traps."

Michaela scrambled up the rope, the nature of her weapons meaning that she doesn't have to disarm herself to do so.

"Much as I hate to say it, maybe the thief should go first." she smirked over at Narisella.

If looks could kill the one Xavier threw up towards Dog would have slain him outright. While still toying with the idea of cursing the man he decided against it as it most likely would leave him inside the cell for Bane knew how long. Instead he speaks in a rather commanding tone that seems extremely natural to him.

"How about you show a bit of respect to a cleric of Bane."

Just to be sure of these peoples assistance Xavier steps up to the rope and takes it in his hands testing it before he starts to climb upwards.

Dog chuckles as he braces himself to hold the rope and looks down into the hole.  He replies, "Sorry, I've already relieved myself recently."  He is very amused by the situation, but being an outsider to this group, he decides just to do as he was asked at the moment.  They'd given no reason not to.

Nerisella just hangs back and takes in what is going on as she looks through the monster manual that was handed over to her.  At the words loot she started thinking of a plan to get through that door.

Cyrus groans as first Michaela and then Xavier make their way up the rope and onto the floor, though this tiny room is far too cramped for everyone.  First, he addresses Nerisella. "Hey.  You.  Howabout checking that trapdoor to the lower level over there." This time it's more of a command since both, he's hefting somebody up a rope, and has had to repeat himself.

Once that is taken care of, he looks at Xavier and waves his hand in front of his nose at the stench... bathing in a prison cell wasn't exactly the in thing to do.  "Well it's no disrespect intended lad, but yanno, 'tis a bit hard ta show respect an dignity to a cleric o'Bane who until she literally stumbled into, was locked up like a caged animal." Cyrus pauses.  "If'n I was you, I'd be a bit happy we dinnae jus' leave ya there an take yer supplies for ourselves."  The cleric of Talos had a point.

Dog looks at Cyrus with a bit of respect, "Yeah, what he said.  No offense, but I'd expect the same thing if was locked in a hole.  I don't know you from nobody, but it looks like we rescued you so be thankful and drop it.  I will."

Considering the matter over he wonders if the others were going to be following Cyrus' order.  Looking at him, he says, "So you're the leader of this group it seems.  I know a command voice when I hear it.  I'll back you up for as long as we're in here then."  He knows the importance of leadership as well as a chain of command.  "I ain't no trap finder though."  He also knows respect needed to go both ways.  He valued his own life and wasn't throwing it away on a stupid order.

"I was ready to break out when the Ogre returned. Some things just take time. But still Thanks for getting me out."

It was obvious he was not used to say thank you and it was more a monotonuos chant than a sincere sentence.

Nerisella walks over to the area indicated by Cyrus saying under her breath," I should let it go off in your face."[Private to DM Swamprose: I'd like to take 20 on searching for a trap and then on disabling it and opening lock if that's even need. Search 24, Disable Device 24, Open Lock 28 (+4 from masterwork tools)  Also I'm still updating my character sheet from leveling up.  I'm still going with the cleric of mask for 2 levels.]

"Later, hm?" Michaela grinned back as she whispered to the thief. "There'll be time." For now, she didn't seem to be much interested in contesting the command role - though up until this point, she'd been the one to call the shots.

Dog ignores the conniving women having no idea what they are saying.  He shifts restlessly on his feet while he waits for more action.

There are no traps on the ironically named Trapdoor.  It appears, for all intents and purposes, to be the entry into the basement level of the tower - likely to the prison cells and to where the priest's equipment can be found.
This message was last updated by the GM at 21:52, Wed 15 Nov 2006.

Dog looks around at the people and stares at the backs of his fingernails for dirt.

Cyrus waves off the petty squabbling and backstab plotting for a moment or two and looks at Dog.  "You're the big strong one.  Why don't you go down first and maybe see if there's anything we can use to prop this door open?  I don't want it closing on us from behind."  He pointedly looks at the two females.

Dog looks at him, "Why've I got to go down there to find something to prop this door open.  How bout I find something up here?"  He begins looking around.

"I would be delighted to get my gear back and then move outside to the moat. There is soap with my equipment i never hought i would be longing for so much."

"Soap really!" Nerisella exclaims.  She begins looking for something to help hold the door. "Well that work?"  She points to a small pile of debris.

The lower level of the tower was just as expected, small, dingy, and smelly.  A few of the rooms had been converted into cells, the priest of Bane being the only survivor, it appeared.  Even a novice carpenter could tell that the wooden ceiling (floor) above you needed a lot of work before being stable, but the building wasn't going to come down anytime soon.

After sifting through the Ogre Mage's personal belongings, you didn't come up with anything extrodinary.  It looked like he was trying to prepare for some kind of ritual or magic, with the way he had the room cleared out and positioned, but what, you had no idea.

The armory likewise netted few useful results beyond Xavier's normal equipment.  There were a handful of bows, arrows, crossbows, and spears, but little else of value.  Most of the rope had been dry rotted away, and the armor and swords had been rusted due to misuse...