resuming from: I smell silver
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The liquid trickling from the carved lion's mouth
has the same mildly caustic properties as the liquid
 in the pool, although it seems less murky
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:52, Sat 22 July 2023.

"Okay, this stuff prickles too."  Mario pauses a moment to rinse his fingertips with water from his canteen.  "I guess that means whatever feeds the lion fountain isn't the regular water we get from fountains and wells in the city."

While close by, he examines the wall the lion's head is mounted on, looking for mismatches, cracks, anything that might suggest a concealed door or trigger.

In reply to Mario Crowfoot (msg # 2):

npc'd "Methinks ta pryin ta wall behind ta carving belike killing ta goose wha lay ta golden eggs."

"You're saying the lion, or something behind it, actually produces this silver?  Well, I've heard alchemists can create gold, so I guess it's not impossible.  But then, how do we get the silver from behind the wall without destroying the source?  We need the lion to 'roar'?  And how do we arrange that?  Something to do with fire?

"I wouldn't want to make much of a fire in a closed room.  The smoke would get intense pretty quickly."

In reply to Mario Crowfoot (msg # 4):

npc'd
"only thing ta burn is atop yon  obelisks..."

Indeed, but where does the smoke go? We could choke ourselves out in no time.

"And if that thing starts spouting this same stuff, we might all be blinded before we choke."

In reply to Mario Crowfoot (msg # 7):

"Or drown...we should make sure we have a way out."

"You blocked the door open, how much more of a way out would we need?

"If this was designed as a man trap, though, I'd be surprised if it worked with the door open.  What's the point of spewing a bunch of not-water if it just runs out into the next room?"

In reply to Mario Crowfoot (msg # 9):
npc'd
"Migh be a differn kin o trap, more liken tae a carrot an box than a kill trap."

"Okay, the silver is the carrot, and the room itself is the box.  So, who comes along to eat the rabbit?  And are they equipped if the rabbit turns out to have fangs and claws?

"And if we're in the role of the rabbit, what can we do to make sure the box doesn't drop?  Or should we just abandon the carrot and go look for something else?"

Mario frowns and returns to the watertight door, checking for any sort of mechanism that could force it shut (trick hinges, sliding levers, etc.).

In reply to Mario Crowfoot (msg # 11):

the door doesn't have any unusual features beyond the wheel locking mechanism- no springs or wires.

"Hmmm.  Jocelyn, you seem to have fire magic.  Can you make arrows into flaming arrows that Mel and I could use to light those braziers from outside the door?

"If not, it's the old rag and lamp oil, but I'd need to use one of my silvered arrows because I don't think we could set up one from my magic quiver fast enough -- if we can do it at all."

In reply to Mario Crowfoot (msg # 13):

he doesn't have the spell but he can create fire or ignite it.

the top of the obelisks could be reached by someone with a torch in outstretched hand.

OOC: Sure, that's the easy way -- but it puts the rabbit firmly inside the box.

I was thinking it might be safer to light the braziers from outside the room, and an arrow is a lot more accurate than throwing a torch.

In reply to Mario Crowfoot (msg # 13):

Yes, of course.

In reply to Jocelyn Lemru (msg # 16):

"Happy to try, but if it does slam shut, how can we get the silver?"

"I know how to get here now.  If the door slams shut or if we can't reopen it right after the flow drops off, we'll go visit Dockside and come back with a clam rake, or buy a cooking sieve in Little Sahud.  We can use that to drag coins out of the pool.

"So, Jocelyn, you cast your spell twice for Mel and me while we aim, then we'll shoot the arrows into the braziers, while Clarence stands ready to slam the door and turn the wheel before it starts to build up any depth.  I don't think it's a great idea to be wading in that stuff, we'd probably all need new boots and hose.

"And of course that's all assuming this works.  We can't be sure it will.  While it surely looks like someone set this up as bait, we can't make out the full inscription.  It might say something like 'don't set a fire in this room if you value your life.'"