"Awww, come on. Let's see what's behind the door! It's only, um, the right thing to do. For the lizard folk..."

The heavy double door is indeed made of stone, though there appears to be no lock to speak of. Exotic runes adorn either door, though none in the group are familiar with whatever language they might be.

Norion and Ben hack the roper apart in an effort to locate any treasure the creature might have swallowed a whole. A grim task to be sure, and one which proves fruitless and does little more than fill the subterranean cavern with a dreadful stench.

Inas manages to recover an arrow, while Rath completes a thorough search of the cavern and finds nothing noteworthy. Save for the heroes, the cavern appears to be devoid of any present foes.

"Well screw..." Ben says, wiping any associated gore off his hands.

"Hey Saliq, and clue as to the writing on the doors there?"

Saliq walked over to the doors to get a better view of the runes just in case they did make more sense close up.

Once he takes a few moments to clean up his great axe and himself a bit from the gore, Norion will also look closer at the door, the runes aren't likely to do anything for him, but he'll look at its construction, engineering wise, was it dwarvish made, anything unusual about the stonework.

Rath shrugs off his pack and finds a smooth place to throw down his bedroll. He hunkers down to chew up a few handfuls of whatever he has that passes as food and takes a rationed gulp from his waterskin.

Rath grimaces and scratches his neck. "I'm hoping soon to sleep someplace without dead stuff strewn all over the place." He takes another sip of water and smirks thoughtfully at Saliq. "Hey, Musfara. Can you conjure me up a private room? In a nice inn. Dark wood paneling, feather bed, warm fire. Maybe a chamber pot?"


Rath stretches out, figuring he's on a midnight watch while some others more in need sleep more or less uninterrupted. He props his head up on a fold of his bedding and his feet up on a rock, and he makes sure his fork and his sword and his bludgeon are all within reach. "Put some minstrel in the common room, so I can hear the music wafting up through the floorboards. Not so it keeps me awake. Just faint, you know. Relaxing."

Saliq and Norion are unfamiliar with the runes. The construction is good, very good in fact, though not of dwarf-make. The elegant, clean lines and smooth surfaces suggest exceptional craftsmanship though.

Saliq eyed the door thoughtfully for a few moments before turning to the others.  "I'm keen to get out of here but I would have enough magic to turn one of us invisible to scout ahead..."

He looks at Ben as he says this, before shrugging.  "Of course we might not be able to actually open the door, in which case Eagle should use his own magic to seal it."

Rath looks around, eyes narrowing. "Wait. You all aren't serious about opening that door. Now?!!"

Inas still felt weak from his near-death experience. When a discussion began about pressing on he interjected. "I am near spent, and I fear others are in worse shape than I. Might we rest awhile and recover our energies before pushing on into the unknown." It was a statement, not a question. He clearly didn't want to keep going until his strength had returned.

Eagle nods. <DarkGreen>'There is no way I'm going anywhere now - I can barely stand, and my strength is gone. I am going to call on Melora for help, who else needs succour from that strange beasts attack?'

OOC: Eagle will cast Cure Serious wounds on himself, and then he has six slots that he can use on Cure Light Wounds - he's at 2 hit points, so will probably want to cast some on himself, but also anyone else who is in need! (DM will the spells help recover the strength as well?).

Once that is done, Eagle will cast Stone Shape, and try to seal up the door with the frame (I'm assuming that is possible as there's presumably only a millimetre or so gap between the two?

In reply to Eagle (msg # 473):

Inas nodded at Eagle's offer of help. "Aye, I could use some of your healing powers, good woodpriest. However, I think others are more in need than I."

OOC - Eagle, Ben and Saliq are most in need of healing. If you have anything left after working on them then I would be grateful of a CLW or two!

After mending his own wounds, Eagle tends to Ben, Inas and Saliq's wounds. In short order, all are feeling better, though perhaps still a little sore. Certainly none who had been struck by the roper would soon forget the sensation!

Eagle then turns his attention to the door. Concentrating for a moment, the druid uses his hands to fashion the stone as though he were working with an invisible potter's wheel. The living stone forms a layer over the door, effectively sealing it from unwanted visitors, should any come knocking. Something might be able to punch through that stone, but it would make a hell of a racket!

The group then decides to make camp, here in the roper's former lair. Watches are established, rations are eaten, ale or wine is imbibed, and one by one, party members drift off to sleep.

Morning comes with no incident. A new day awaits. What will the group do with it?

OOC: PCs regain their level in HPs with each rest. I will adjust the HP totals accordingly.

Waking, Ben shakes his head, pleasantly surprised at how good he feels.

Standing and stretching, he moves to lift something heavy, perhaps a stone, or a large pack, just testing to see if what meager strength the gods had blessed him with had returning during the evenings rest, and is pleased with the result!
This message was last edited by the player at 07:56, Tue 04 Feb 2014.

With Eagle's healing magic having closed his wounds, Inas felt much better after some sustenance and a good sleep. When morning came he packed away his bedding and prepared to move out.

"So, we press on? I am curious to see what that door holds."

Rath has had better nights of sleep, but he's had worse. Nothing tried to kill him last night, after all, and so he spins his little pendant and offers a quick word of thanks to Avandra for another day of living. Packing up his gear, adjusting his armor, and eyeing that new gleaming splendid broadsword among the loot, he prepares for what comes.

Rath glances at Saliq. He knows the wizard has expressed desire to vacate the place and return to give news to the lizard-folk; but he knows that look in Ben's eye, and it sounds as if Inas is ready to press on as well. He waits, scratching his neck, for the others to chime in.

In reply to Aldo Rathmus (msg # 478):

Eagle glances nervously at the door and the dead roper, remembering how close they had come to death, and what the druid master had told him about demons. Could this be a portal to the fearsome under dark of legend? With a smile he recalled the demon Ga that Saliq had conjured in the sewers of Stormhaven, and then shuddered at the thought of meeting the real thing.

'Curiosity killed the cat is what I heard,' he says finally. 'If we must go on then I will unseal the door and follow you, but I can't help but think our business here is concluded, and attempting to open this door may upset the balance of above and below ground, and we do so at our peril.' He too looks at Saliq, wondering what he will suggest.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 08:08, Wed 05 Feb 2014.

Saliq hesitated and glanced apologetically at Ben, sorry to disappoint his friend before he finally said: "My magic was useless against that thing that nearly killed us all... if there is more of it's kind in there, or worse I cannot guarantee I will be of use."

The illusionist's cheeks flushd; it obviously was painful to admit such a limit to his powers.  "Therefore I recommend we leave this awful place and keep the doors sealed."

"Don't lose faith in yourself, that which makes doors can be fooled with the best of us, I have no doubt," Ben chuckles, nervously remembering the not-flames that had consumed him yesterday. They had felt so real!

Norion looks at Saliq,  "Ya know, if I was especially afraid ov magic, an vunerable to it, I'd 'ave me a door guardian that was immune ta the stuff....ya' know, make sure no one with those skills made it past...I do wish we could figure the writing on tha' door..."

As it currently sits, the heavy, double stone doors cut an imposing image before the heroes. Their elaborate carvings inviting all sorts of conjecture about what wonders, or perhaps horrors, might lie beyond those menacing stone doors.

They appear to swing inward, but none have attempted to do so, just yet.

Inas spoke up. "I think we should press on. We cannot be certain that this place is yet safe for the lizardfolk to return. To allow them to come back here like pigs for slaughter would not be right. I cannot leave yet."

His piece said, the Ranger approached the heavy door and began to inspect it, trying to work out how it could be safely opened.

OOC - not touching door yet. Do we know if it is magical or not? I can't remember.

Norion and Saliq have previously attempted to decipher the strange runes carved into the stone doors, but neither were successful at discerning their meaning. When Ben first entered the cavern, he attempted to search the door, but of course his effort was rudely interrupted by the roper.

All this to say, the door still remains a mystery.

Saliq concentrated on the doors and gestured slowly, arcane words tumbling from his lips.

---

OOC: Saliq casts Detect Magic on the doors.

Rath stays alert as the others examine the door. He keeps his eyes on that shaft, although there's been no indication of danger coming from that direction. Rath moves aside with Monvo and Bruno. "You've got the idea. Stand back and give ranged support, when you can. Bruno, you're doing great." Rath pauses and gives Monvo an appraising glance. He says firmly, but without ire, "Monvo ... a bit more eagerness will go a long way. When the vote comes up for the bonus ...  well, let's just say we'll need some convincing."