In reply to Eristo (msg # 13):

Clyde says "You want me to go downstairs, and peek in on the army?! By myself?!"

Rod shrugs and says "I'll go with, getting tired of dunking myself anyway.  Just remember, open the door for a quick peek and close it again."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:39, Fri 23 Feb 2018.

Clyde grumbles and mopes, but shuffles down the stairs with Rod in tow.

They go down and Clyde opens the door only momentarily, the soldiers having taken their original positions.  Rod notes that water is coming down in dripping streams from the holes above all around the periphery of the sunken field, and the clay soldiers standing in those spots seem to be slightly damaged by the water, while the ones in the middle are untouched.  The soldiers start to move again, as the door is slammed shut.

Clyde returns and reports what he saw "Soldiers still there, looking a little muddy."
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:46, Fri 23 Feb 2018.

Xiamat rushes to join his companions.  Standing next to a pool of water all by yourself can get pretty scary!

Alwyn had noticed the floor sagging as they put more and more little holes in it.  Once everyone has regrouped, he says to the rest of them Do we have any long objects we can use to pry or break the crystals without going into the pool ourselves?  If we keep going the floor might give out, and that would get us the torrent we're looking for.  After a moment of thought he adds Or maybe something really heavy we could put in the pool?

“I can’t think of nothin’.  I don’t have any long things that I can live without.  Maybe we’ll have to go in the pool.”

Suddenly, all of the angst overwhelms him.

“You’re tearing me apart, dungeon!”

There isn't anything both heavy enough and that you could move that would do the trick.  Especially nothing that would weigh as much as the water itself.  Rod does some back of the napkin calculations and declares the water weighs about 60 thousand pounds.

There's still enough of the crystals close that you could get to them without getting entirely in the pool but you might get sucked down with the water if it does collapse, or you could go back to smashing them with the pole while remaining out of it.

“Too bad we can’t blow up the bottom of the pool.  Blowing things up takes care of things real fast.”  He rubs his chin, which he tends to do during moments of maximum mental expenditure, such as pondering the true nature of the cosmos or completing an especially challenging bowl movement.  “I guess if we could blow up the pool, we could just blow up the bad guys instead.  Or we could do both, so first they get wet, and only then get dead.”

Alwyn ponders as well, and after a moment says It doesn't look like anything is chasing us.  What if we just rest, let the water drain down slowly, and then go back downstairs and open the door?  We might be more likely to produce a good deluge like that than with this slow picking.

Xiamat gazes at Alwyn in astonishment.  “You smart.  You should be teacher.  Ferk-damn biscuits... you should be teacher of teachers!”

Needless to say, Xiamat concurs with Alwin’s suggestion.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:45, Fri 02 Mar 2018.

You wait about what you think is an hour and the pool has drained 2 more inches.  Only 32.5 left to go before it's completely empty - it will take just a bit more than 16 hours at that rate.  Are there enough rations in the party for a few meals?  You've got plenty of water there.

“Maybe we get more crystals out before water go away?  Me like ‘em... they shine!”

Knock yourself out, says Alwyn as he starts walking toward the door.  He stops suddenly and says No, don't do that.  Just keep taking crystals as long as you want to, and as long as there isn't something more important to do.  He then heads downstairs to see if the room below the pool might be a little fuller than the paltry drainage would suggest.

It’s too late!  Xiamat slaps himself on the temple and falls to the floor unconscious.  He slumps over... it’s entirely possible that he’s dead.

Then he opens one eye half way to gauge your reaction.

Some omnipotent puppet master, viewing this event through unimaginable transdimensional scrying technology, might be amused by the warrior's antics.  But Alwyn just shakes his head and mutters I'm going to die in this place, aren't I as he heads down to check the other room.

Xiamat rises.  "Why no funny this time?"

He follows his companion.

As you quickly open the door, the statues in the pit in the middle of the room, strangely the same size and placed directly below the pool above, are looking a bit more eroded, but start to move.

Alwyn shuts the door, goes back upstairs, and relates what he saw.  I don't know, big guy.  I think we're just going to have to wait it out and let the place flood, unless you have any better ideas in the meantime.

Xiamat looks somewhat insulted.  “Better ideas?  I always have better ideas!  Me idears are born pregnant with better ideas.  I can’t control the sluts!”

"What better ideas?"

Xiamat gawks at him, suddenly confused.  “What are you talking about?”

((I take it that means everyone waits an interminably long time (or a lazy summer's day around the pool) for it to drain and has a couple meals, maybe a nap or two?))

Sounds about right.  What better place for an extended picnic?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:07, Sat 17 Mar 2018.

(Yeah, I think it's come to that)

You slowly watch the water drain, like watching grass grow.  Eventually after a long day of napping and lounging around the pool it has drained to the point of only a few puddles.