Alyssa groaned audibly at the pun/ opportune word choice. "Right. The other way."

---

OOC: B it be.

The group travels back and up the last path and find yet another underground pool. This one is one of the larger ones experienced so far. The entrance was once a door that had rotted partially off its hinges.

The water is murky and brown with a strong smell of swamp gas creating a foul odor. A thick, slime-covered column raises from the center of the pool to support the sagging rotting timbers of the ceiling. Across the chamber, a small muddy shelf extends into the pool.

The air is filled with the sounds of frogs croaking and by torchlight the group can see dozens and dozens of tiny eyes peering up out of the muck or hopping from slime patch to slime patch. The air is filled with gnats, apparently the food for the frogs.

OOC: New exits marked. The muddy shelf extends back out of vision range (A) or there is option (B) that goes deeper past the crocodile pool.

"Ugg! This is almost worse than the skeletons!" Orila exclaimed. She didn't care if there DID seem to be another passage on the far side of the slimy pool. There'd have to be a fire or something at her back to get her to willingly walk through all THAT vile muck. "Hey, wasn't there another passage off that pool where the crocs were?"

"Let's hope so," Glynnelis said, sharing the goliath's uneasiness at the sight of all those eyes.

"That, clearly was a dead end." Arthua said referring to the pool with the skeleton. "Looks like another tunnel if we cross this pool of water. BUT I understand your point. We can come back here later."

"Let's go back to the pool with the crocs. There's a path that Orila pointed out."

Onward to B

The party heads back to the crocodile pool and crosses South. The pool gets deep in this area but without any current even Alyssa has no problem swimming/wading across to the other side.

At the other end the group finds three passages. Two of them (B) and (C) slope downwards, turning from packed dirt floors to damp mud and finally water-filled passages. The water appears to be only about 2' deep from where the party can see but they curve out of sight.

The longest section of corridor proceeds along packed, dry earth to a closed door. A careful examination of the door reveals it to be unlocked.

Resting her arms once she was out of the pool, Alyssa inspected her equipment to make sure the water didn't do any harm. Peering down the corridors before them the halfling gives an involuntary shudder, not unlike an animal drying itself off. "Well, I for one am interested in the door down the dry corridor."

---

OOC: D, for door.

"I can second that," Orila rumbled, hefting her maul and heading in that direction...

OOC: moving to D

"Nothing's been that easy for us so far," Glynnelis grumbled, "but we might as well try the easy way first."

Trying the door the party confirms that it is indeed unlocked but seems to be barred from the other side.

The tattooed elf looked to Orila, assuming that she, as the largest in the party, would be the one to take the door.

Readying her maul, Orila cautions the others to move back a bit and then she begins hammering away at the door to knock it in or down, whichever came first...

OOC: what kinda rolls do you need DM?

This message was deleted by the player at 23:36, Tue 14 Apr 2020.

"Someone must be on the other side of this door." Arthua stepped back after examining it. "There's no other way to bar the door from the inside. Let me call out to whoever is there."

Arthua knocked on the door. "Hello? Open up."

thump...thump...thump

The sound of Orila's hammering echoes through the hall.

thump...thump...thump

The door was once solid wood but is now swollen and warped from moisture. It creaks and strains under every blow.

thump...crack...crack...krrr-aack

Whatever was barring the door on the other side splinters and the door opens wide revealing an  antechamber. Three wooden benches are the only items of furniture in the room, tipped over as if someone left in a hurry.

The floor at the doorway is slick with an oily sheen and the room itself is dark with the torches still smoldering.

From behind Orila, Alyssa scanned the chamber, bow at the ready. "Sooo. Has the room just been vacated in a hurry. Or has something else been keeping those torches smoldering?"

Arthua stepped forward carefully. He knelt and dipped his damaged dagger into the oily substance. He examined it without touching it until he finally touched the oily substance to the torch, which he gently blew some air.

"Let me check ahead... we need to make sure that we don't step into anything... suspicious."


Use whichever roll that is needed.
rolled 19 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 16.  Investigation.
rolled 8 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 3.  Perception.

Arthua tests the substance and find it to be highly flammable. Most likely lamp oil or something similar has been dumped on the ground right in front of the entrance.

"Careful!" Glynnelis leapt back when Arthua moved the torch towards the oily substance, which to his eye looked an awful lot like oil.

"Looks like this area was prepared to burn anyone foolish enough to get caught in it. But we still need to get across." Arthua stepped away from the oily ground and sheathed his damaged dagger. "Any ideas on how we can cross this corridor? Or shall I enter and see if the torches were rigged to fall once we get to a certain point."

Arthua scanned inside without stepping foot on the oily substance. "Let me remove the first torch. Can anyone retrieve the other torches without stepping inside?"


How many torches are inside and how far apart are they from each other? I'm imagining that there are several that are spaced out.

"Sounds like a wise idea. I could extinguish the torches easily enough with a gust of wind. Could someone provide magical light for those not gifted with eyes to see in the dark?"

Inside there are four torches spaced equidistant around the room. One of them is right above the oil slick in front of the door.

OOC: Map has been updated

Orila stepped back to make room for the others to inspect the room. They were more capable of the task than she was anyway...

Tired of looking between everyone else's legs, Alyssa turned to keep an eye behind the group as the others worked out how to proceed.

Yry lifts her hand and does a smudging motion with her index and thumb fingers while saying a work of draconic magic, snuffing the torch that is ominously hanging over the oil slick. "That just seems like a hazard."

 {prestidigitation to snuff a torch}
This message was last edited by the player at 17:05, Mon 20 Apr 2020.