Victor has no problem opening the door, behind which lies an apparent storeroom about half full of stacked crates and barrels. An assortment of tools and work clothes hang on the walls or just lay scattered atop the crates. A faint but cloying scent of frankincense, myrrh and other aromatics seems to permeate the room.

The group having turned up three other traps, Victor is a bit suspicious of the clear open area just inside the door. No dust on the floor so no scuff marks.

The room doesn't look austere but it does have a neatness to it consistent with its purpose.

Portia is attracted to the three decanters sitting on the desk. She approaches to take a look, murmuring to her god and being careful to to touch anything just yet.

"Hey," she asks the others, "is it ok if I take a few minutes to cast Detect Magic? Might provide us with some more information."

---

Investigation (w/guidance) : 16

If he party has no objections, and we aren't mobbed by ghouls in the meantime, she cast detect magic as a ritual (10 mins).

16:22, Today: Portia rolled 18 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 16.  investigation .
16:22, Today: Portia rolled 1 using 1d4 with rolls of 1.  guidance.

Nyssia looked at Ero with a raised eyebrow. "Nausea....please, a child could have come up with that one!"

Standing by Portia's side, she nodded. "Best to be safe....or we can send the elf in first?"

Victor says, "Not liking the look of the floor here. Maybe someone with an eye for traps can take a look?"

"We might find a trap... or we might find a trap door", interjects Lureene. She smirks at Nyssia. "I'm surprised he hasn't gone on how his skill at magic detection is vastly superior yet. It must be coming."
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:15, Sun 12 Mar 2023.

"Of course a child would have come up with that," Ero replies, not even bothering to look back at Nyssia.  "Even a five-year-old would acknowledge how accurately it describes you."

"Now stop bothering me and make yourself useful.  Sweep up or something.  It's a shame you can't read, else you could go over those papers on the desk."

Ero will scan the book titles and browse the pages of any without until he can figure what it contains.

Nyssia glared at the elf, images of turning him into a beast of burden, or a mouse. She however said nothing, frustration on her face as she explores the place

Thressa continues to shrug and wait for action over fruitless insults of fellow party members.

OOC: Apologies  for the delay. I don't know where I went... but it's not a nice place...


Your resident thief is Kassan the Warforged Rogue... he easily confirms that there is a deadfall trap just inside the door of the other room--a large chunk of ceiling is set to drop on anyone stepping on the floor. He is able to disarm it with a pair of pitons driven up into seams at the ceiling.

"There you go, Victor," he informs the warrior. "Safe to enter. I don't see anything else suspicious, but be careful touching anything."

He also informs everyone that there's a pit trap in front of the double doors. He thinks there must be some sort of latching system to disable it.


"Careful there, Ero, unless you want to become an Elvin pincushion!" Kassan warns, grabbing the Elf and pulling him back out of the way as a volley of arrows shoot out of the far right wall. "You didn't give me a chance to disable these spiderweb tripwires."

"Shhhh. Hear that? That's the sound of the trap resetting. AH. This one and this one! There. Safe to enter now."


No one had any objection to Portia casting her ritual spell. Afterwards, she doesn't detect any magic in this first room, but her investigation discovers that the wallbox where the key was found is also the lock for the pit trap. Pins have to be pulled out of all four rear corners and then the entire box has to rotated 5 times to tighten up the chain. The reverse would be how you reset the trap.

As Ero heads for the books and papers, Portia looks in and can see that the 3 decanters are all magical.

Ero readily sees that the books are about taking care of the dead--preparations, rituals, etc. There are also ledgers about building the crypt, including architect details, though it's also clear that the traps are not depicted.


Considering the sparseness of the decor of what can only be described as a foyer, Nyssia figures her key must go to a door elsewhere in the crypt.

Victor gives the room a cursory scan, careful not to touch anything.

Portia approaches the containers for a closer look. Murmuring to her deity, asking for his guidance, she tries to tell if it is the containers themselves, or if it’s the liquid inside that radiates magical energy?

---

Cast guidance/make arcana check


14:33, Today: Portia rolled 7 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 1.  Arcana check.
14:32, Today: Portia rolled 3 using 1d4 with rolls of 3.  Guidance .

Oh, great.

Victor can't make out much of the room's contents from the door but since it's safe to enter, he ventures in to examine the contents more closely while heeding Kassan's admonishment not to touch anything.

On the wall opposite the door hang a number of tools, both stone-working and woodworking tools.

On the wall with the door, an assortment of clothes hang, such as aprons, coveralls, and gloves.

Immediately to the right of the door are shelves stocked with an assortment of jars, bottles, crocks, and similar storage containers. Most seem to be labelled: strawberry preserves, orange marmalade, spiced pears, barbecue beans, honey, etc.

At the opposite end of the room, an assortment of barrels, casks and crates are neatly stacked. One barrel in particular, set aside from the others, is labelled:


Outside of the stress and distractions of battle, Portia's 10 result is enough to let her know that it's the containers that are magical and probably not the contents.

"Well, well... Dwarven rum... what a find!" Victor exclaims.

Nyssia walked around teh room, not touching anything. When Ero almost got skewered, she had a wry smile, but said nothing as she walked around, her hands behind her back. She came to Portia and smiled. "What you find here sister?"

"Thank you, Kassan," Ero says in a genuinely sincere tone.  "I certainly wasn't expecting a work office to be trapped.  Perhaps this place as entrapped after all the work was done in the expectation no one with good intentions would be back.  Wonderful."

Th wizard packs his bag with whatever ritual books that can fit then takes the architectural ledgers in hand.  "No map, unfortunately, but I think from these notes and sketches we can piece one together.  No mention of traps though, so we'll be on our on regarding that."

"Best be careful before we partake in anything", Lureene notes to Victor. "As Ero almost found to his detriment, traps have been left, and I can think of few more obvious traps than poisoned rum..."

With the trap in front of the double doors disabled, Ordun advances forward, pauses for a moment, and then swings the doors open and studies the room revealed, paying particular attention to anyway the actual differs from the map.

"Dinnae worry, I volunteer ta check the rum fer traps later!" Broson will follow his uncle and head through the double doors.

Ero gathers what he can in order to make a better map of the dungeon.  "We should look at these before we continue.  It should give us guidance as to where we need to and -- hopefully -- discern where at least some traps may be hidden."

The wizard lays out his findings on the desk.  "Ordun, Broson, since the castle was dwarven-make, where do you think our ultimate destination lay?"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Kassan cautions the Dwarves and Ero before they step into the next room. "This place is riddled with traps! I'm guessing at all the entry points... maybe a few other key points."

"This would appear to be the crypt, but based on the map, I think this is merely the chapel. See the mural in the alcove down there? Those are twelve Dwarven deities. That's a brass brazier--incense burner--for making ovations and prayers to the particular deity of your preference."

"No doubt those cabinets under the shelf hold specific braziers and incenses and similar paraphernalia."

"Now, where would I be hiding if I was a trap? Behind the blue curtains? Some idiot would have to look."

"But everyone has to walk through the door... Ah, yes! Here it is!"

And that's when the chapel room erupts in a burst of fire!

Only the two Dwarves and Kassan are caught in the blast.

"Oops. Didn't quite get that one."

He pulls out a potion and drinks it to get some of that fire damage back.

"Ha-ha! Better you than me, friend!" Ordun says with mock humor. "Seriously... I would be quite concerned if you were seriously injured."

"Could there be another trap? I will risk it."

He walks across the room to the cupboard under the shelf, opens it to reveal Kassan's guess to the contents. The shelves within contain an assortment of items... incense burners, incense boxes, incense snuffers, and icons each dedicated to a different Dwarven deity. He pulls out the apparatus for Dumathoin and lights a stick of incense.

"Just a reminder to you all, I'm here to retrieve the Great Axe and Helm of Glory. They should have been entombed with Grumbar... last king of Hai Kragerak."

While the rest investigate the crypt, Biff, Manaen, Star of the Morning and Viridovix continue to keep watch above and amuse themselves.

All the dead Orcs outside the castle ruins are probably keeping creatures at bay. Then again, most wouldn't be caught in the vicinity of Orcs in the first place.

Nothing shows up while they watch.

OOC: Nobody seems interested in investigating the crypt, so I'll just fast forward this thread to the end and have both groups join up again.

Any questions or suggestions on where to go or what to do next will be appreciated.

OOC: Sorry I haven't pushed further ahead, I'm a fighter cleric in a hall riddled with traps, even opening a door just blew up in my face. If you can sum up the exploration til we reach a combat or the tomb my uncle is looking for or just sum up the crypt and link us back up with the other team I will be thrilled to go along with the ride.

In case no one remembers, there's a map of he Crypt under Game Map C.


The only way out of the Chapel was the door in the left wall. That turns out to lead to the armory. While a few quality weapons have been left behind, none of them are magical.

Out in the great crypt chamber, a giant slab of granite rests in the middle of the room, marking the final resting place of Grumbar. Opening it required lighting braziers to all 12 Dwarven deities back in the Chapel. That hydraulically raised the slab and gave access to the crypt within.

Ordun retrieved the Great Sword and the Helm of Might but didn't disturb anything else.

The room opposite the armory was the treasure vault, but all that was left there was a small coffer with 200gp, and 3 Potions of Healing.


Once everyone was back up top, there was no way to repair the hole in the floor, but Ordun made some effort to conceal it.


By mid-morning, he other group reaches the castle and rejoins you.