"Then there is nothing that can be done without taking too much time.  We must hope my feeling is wrong."

With that, Ardenas turns and enters the room, where bat-Aoife has been fluttering around.

"So, here we have choices."

Dere maybe udder wayz ... Oly takes out a knife and attempts to carve enough wood away on either door edge to allow a blade to be slipped through to raise a bar if one is emplaced. He then uses dirt to darken the carved areas so they are not too obvious.

In reply to Oly (msg # 114):

That takes Oly about thirty seconds with his fancy knife.


Btw if you have any unspent points, weapon bond is a good thing to spend it on
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:55, Wed 05 Dec 2018.

"Ah, good idea, Oly.  If I can get a pinky through to so much as touch the bar, I can raise it magically -- might take a couple tries, but it's even possible if I can just see it.  First spell I learned."

In reply to Ardenas Barehand (msg # 116):

"Are we ready to proceed?"

"Ready when Oly is, I guess."

Ardenas steps into the room with the trench in the center and looks around at the alcoves and gratework.

"Aoife?"

Oly follows, eyeballing things as well...

In reply to Oly (msg # 119):

[OOC: As far as I can tell, Aoife has gone up further ahead. Unless she could not fit through any bars or gates...I did not hear back.]

In reply to Aoife (msg # 120):

She would have had to land on the gate and crawl between the bars (4 inch openings)

In reply to Narrator (msg # 121):

She would do that then, and continue on a bit...

In reply to Aoife (msg # 122):

The room you all have entered is a long room with a number of doors set into the wall, three beside the one you are at, and four on the opposite side, and there is a bronze gate at the far end.  there is a sloped trench leading down toward the gate.


Bat-Aoife if now at the gate, and can sound out a hallway about three yards wide running at length along the short side of the large room.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 123):

Bat Aoife will continue down the hall until she detects something moving, at which point she will return, after identifying it if she has time.

In reply to Aoife (msg # 124):

Aoife can detect two dog sized creatures covered with spines. the corridor splits into an intersection soon after.

Mancini waits to hear back from Bat- Aoife. He paces back and forth, obviously irritated.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 125):

Aoife returns, and temporarily resumes her natural form.

"Two large creatures, about dog size, with spines up ahead..."

Without waiting for a response, she resumes her bat form and alights on the bars, waiting.

Ardenas frowns.

"Spines?  Sounds like those venomous rat creatures I've been hearing about.  Best we use missile weapons to drop them at a distance."

He pulls a crossbow bolt from the quiver at his hip.

"I wonder how the cultists got past them?  Or did they?"  He checks to see which of the alcoves in the room have doors.

In reply to Ardenas Barehand (msg # 128):

This room has 8 alcoves with doors, including your own.
Aoife can smell some very old cheese on eeither side of the outside of the gate.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 129):

Aoife will wait until the spiney rat things Ardenas spoke of are dealt with before investigating.

Mancini scoffs. "I bet the evil wretches are using the rats as guard dogs, of sorts."

Since his contact is unavailable to give him information on the rats, such as good tactics in defeating them, he sighs, pulls out his dwarven whetstone and sharpens his blade.

"Any on(ooc: critical failure on contact roll.)

Ardenas approaches the gate and shines his headlamp through the gaps.

In reply to Ardenas Barehand (msg # 132):

the rat things start growling and hissing. you can see short lengths of chain leading from each to the wall. Oneither side of the gate is a small firkin containing cheese rinds.

"They're chained!"  Ardenas looks for another exit from the rats' enclosure.

"I wonder if we can get them to behave by giving them some of that fish slop. Rats,like  dogs, seem to eat anything and keeping them distracted would allow us not to have to deal with them at all."

Mancini paused. "I only say that because I am suspicious of the integrity of the chains. Also, we truly do not know how much slack the evil goons have given. I would hate to be hit or bit from behind."

"We can probably find out how much chain they have.  Watch."  Ardenas suddenly lets out an inarticulate sound, halfway between a growl and a scream, while rattling the bars of the grate.

In reply to Ardenas Barehand (msg # 136):

The rats lunge forward, reaching halfway to the gate. It looks like they could obstruct the passage. There seems to be some foodstuff right next to the gate...

Beyond them the corridor continues, and reaches an intersection.