Well, sir, I dunna' know if all is clear.  I say, we fan out thru the room and make sure there ar' nae any suprises fer us.  Then, we secure the exit, and search our findings.  The bes' way to look about and covr' ar' arses.

Hearing Colm's words, Calis nodded in agreement. "I'm not sure where this wizard might be either and so far we can't even find any trail or signs he has been here latly. All we've seen is those spiders.... But looking around better might give us some more answers, aye?"

  Sir Pedivere lifted the lid of the box and found it half-filled with lengths of cut wood.  It is dusty and bits of dried leaves linger in the corners.

   Father Rys is seen to open and study a book while the others explore the room.  The north-west corner is webbed in a thick guazy web.  No spider or egg sack remains, only the web itself.  There is a torch scone on the north wall and a bit of dust and dirt in the south-east corner.  Other than that the only items of interest are those upon the rack and the stairs leading to the tower...

Oh well. Not informitive as I hoped.

Closes book

So, what do we do now? It appears as if the wizard is not here. Shall we wait for him? If so, how long?

Seeing that the room appears cleared, he cautiously approaches the rack with his sword drawn.  He carefully pokes around the implements with his sword and when it appears that all is clear, he searches them by hand.

  Colm pokes at the impliments and clothes first then searches them by hand.  All of the tools have signs of use, nicks and cuts in their surfaces.  They have signs of dirt on the pick and shovel, but seem in good repair and quite useable.  The clothing is serviceable, practical, well constructed.  The grey robe shows signs of having been used with bits of grass and dirt upon it.  The leather apron shows signs of wear and has a few stains, but is still highly functional, the hat shows signs of wear and use but again, is in good shape.  The gloves are heavy leather, thick enough to protect like armour, a line of metal studs begin at the tops of each of the fingers and rise up along the back of the glove to glove's opening.  The  belt is broad and heavy, wider than a man's hand and has 3 small buckles to fasten it shut.

Colm raises and eyebrow at the strange implements.  He's most interested in the gloves (as protective wear is nice to have), and the belt.  after being sure all is clear, he picks up the gloves for a closer look.  The belt too.  he is no theif, though.    I wanner what these ar' for, eh?  I canna abide taking what ain' mine until we're sure of wha' happen' to the wizard.  If, he is gane, I'd like ta know if these sturdy gloves would serve in the hunt for him an likewise the bel'.  I am na' a theif, so I will wait until we know these are na' belogin' to someone.  Base on wha' we' seen so far, I'm thinkin' the wizard is gone or worse.

Fr. Rys looks at the gloves with interest.

Those do look interesting

Pedivere climbs back to his feet, the flaming brand in his left hand again.  "I agree that it is looking less likely the Wizard is here, yet me must push on for a mans life and the sake of a kingdom are at stake."

Drawing his blade, the knight then moves forward, again taking the lead as he moves to the turn in the corridor.

You are correct Sir Knight. Let us be on our way.

Aye, les move on, but I'll nae' take this man's things, lessen great need presses or they may be used to aid his recovry'

Nodding, Calis echoed the others, "Lead on, my friend."

He kept his weapons near at hand still, after looking over the few items he could make out that his companions found.

With the torch light flickering and dancing on the grey stone walls, Sir Pedivere lead the intrepid band forward.  The box of wood the knight had discovered was pushed aside and squeezed past by the others that followed.  Just beyond it was spider carcass, turning the corner, another was quickly found, and then another beyond it.  Each showed signs of being burned it was certain that the party were not the only ones having to deal with the giant vermin.

  Strangely, the light of the torches extended no further than the last spider's dead body.  There was no wall at the end of the passage, and no door, yet it appeared as if an inky black curtain had been drawn across the passage way with the light stopping right at its surface and going no further...
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:09, Fri 17 Dec 2004.

Colm waves his hand in front of his eyes as if trying to ward off some strange illusion before his face.  He stoops to pick up a stray piece of rubble laying on the floor and looks around. What 'en God's green ear' be this?  He tosses the pebble into the wall of darkness.  Not straight, like a blow, but rather lofty like a child lazily tossing rocks into a lake to watch the ripples.

Standing near the rear of the group, Colm scooped up a pebble, dislodged from the dungeon's wall and tossed it into the blackness.  It disapeared, no ripple appeared in its surface.  Yet he could hear the pebble strike and clatter across stone a split second after it disapeared...

Pedivere stood his ground as he viewed the veil of darkness.  "What sorcerery is this?" he muttered before thrusting the tip of the flaming torch into the curtain of black.  After a moment, he withdrew the brand to examine the effects that the magic had upon the torch.

The torch's light disapeared in the darkness, leaving the corridor around him darker as well.  When the knight drew it back, the light reappeared.

wooooo...ee, Colm breaths, some manner of sorcerous dark.  Still if some'n was in there to cause us harm 'yer torch an my ston'd had some effec'.  I don' like heading forward, blindly though.  Whatif yon' dark covers a pit?  Anyone have a long staff? Mayhaps we can use it to spy out the floor before us for traps?

Satisfied that the magic infront of him was not malicious, the knight strode purposefully forward, plunging into the darkness.

Colm raised his hand feebly as if he could top the headstrong knight by grabbing his shoulder from behind.  He realised the effort was fruitless. He opened his mouth to call out "Stop!", but could only manage a wu, wai, er, oh sh*t.  Bloody Knights. being mumbled to himself. As he moved in to follow the knight, but did not step into the darkness until bidden.  He didnt live this long by diving headfirst into the unknown.  His skill was in stealth and in the bow.  Not being hit was his strong suit, rather than weathering all blows.

Tapping his butt of his spear on the ground Calis was about to say he had a long weapon that could be used as a pole or stick but then he watched in fear as his friend just stepped foward and entered the curtain. With a curse about galant knights and their actions he too followed his friend into the darkness because the two of them have been through many adventures together and they have saved and protected each other's hide over the years.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:31, Sat 18 Dec 2004.

Yay, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death...

Fr. Rys follows through the curtain, praying nothing untowards happens.

  Sir Pedivere disapeared into the inky blackness, the metallic footfalls of his mailed shoes reverberating off the stone walls.  The scrapes and clatter of the footfalls were joined by the noise of Calis' tapping of his spear's butt on the floor.  The tapping mimiced the searching of a blindman, which he most certainly was after stepping into the black.  Lastly, with a prayer on his lips the priest followed...

  Remaining behind were the yeoman, fool, and hermit.  They had decided on a more cautious course...

Hearing the sounds of battle ahead, Colm dives into the darkness, bow drawn... Damnable fool is 'ganna get 'imself killed, an us too he curses

Chrissa also hastens to follow...