On the morning of your fourth day back in Dunnold you gather your equipment and prepare to leave the Grey Minstrel Inn. Wulfrid charges you 60 gp for your rooms, evening meals, and many, many drinks.

You make your way to the city gate and look, once more, upon the barren wastes of the Blasted Lands. You know from your last journey that if you keep a steady pace and head straight to the ruins, you should arrive on the morning of your third day of travel. Unless you run into trouble or deviate from the direct path.

OOC: I'll assume all of the remaining group funds have been placed into the Dunnold Bank.

Fetcher stops a few paces beyond the gates, off to the side of the beaten path and squints into the distance. Unrelated to weather or the effort of toting all of his gear once again after a welcomed long rest, sweat beaded upon his brow and moistened his palms. A flurry of words tumbled through his mind; inspiring mercenary speeches, cautionary advice, wise parables heard over the years but none of them materialized at his lips. A momentous new chapter in his life, while at the same time just another link in the chain of times he has had to prove himself.

He didn't feel he could do the feelings justice with commentary, or that his newfound friends would likely understand. Hoisting his pack higher on his shoulder he fell back in with the group. The word "Adventurer" spilled quietly from his mouth betraying his private thoughts.

Slattery looks out away from the city, then at his companions.

"Shall we try to stop by that building that seems to appear and disappear on the way?" he asks.  To Fletcher, he adds, "on the way back last time we ran across a building we were pretty sure wasn't there on our way out."

"If it is still there Slattery," replied Odhran.  "In the Blasted Lands, there is no telling what that actually was.  But we should check it out."

"Aye..."

Fetch is unsure how to respond to Slattery's comment and can't help but think back to the party's extensive bar tab at the Grey Minstrel. He remains convinced they're carrying waterskins not wineskins and certainly isn't going to begin a long first journey with a line of inquiries.

Melissa gives a last, lingering look at the town with its warm, wine filled tavern and sighs quietly. But, at least out here in the wasteland she can fly high without having to fend off territorial magpies or dodge startled pigeons.

"I'm with Slatters this time," she says "We're all healed up and not loaded down with loot. Besides, I was thinking - between drinks-" she adds defensively "And I'm not sure its actually a building."

Slattery looks questioningly at Melissa.

"Sure looked like a building," he says, "but those don't generally move around.  You think it's some critter with a building shaped mouth?  Or some portal to another realm?"

"Perhaps we can take a closer look when you're not bleeding to death," Thea says to Slattery.

"Well," she says slowly, fearing she's about to make a fool of herself in front of her smarter fellow mages "I told you I thought the roof was wrong - and I'd wager I've seen a lot more roofs from above than anyone else here - then I got to thinking maybe it wasnt a building with a flat roof, maybe its a room and the roof is actually the ceiling or the floor of the room above it." She quickly glances at Fletch and back again. "I think it might be someone from the dungeon keeping an eye on his investments, if you know what I mean."

"A plan of action I totally agree with," Slattery says.  "Not bleeding to death is high on my todo list for today."



Slattery looks blank for a moment, and then comprehension dawns.

"Oh," he says, then nods.  "Could be."  He also glances at Fetcher.  "I suppose we owe our new companion the full story, even though he's technically not part of the original bargain."

Subtly but keenly following the conversation, Fetch's eyes widen a bit when glances start being thrown his way. He clears his throat though not in preparation of speaking and then scratches the side of his jaw just to seem somewhat occupied, no matter how awkwardly.

You set out from Dunnold across the wastes, once again following the Ochre River. Your first day of travel passes without serious incident. You do spot a small pack of some kind of dog-like animal in the distance, but they turn and flee down a gully once they spot your group.

On the second day you manage to find the mysterious building you spotted on the way back to Dunnold. The small square building is set against a hill. The building is made of well-cut stone blocks. It is 40' x 40' and stands 10' high with a flat roof made of one large piece of shiny flat stone. There is an opening in the front of the building leading into the dark interior. The wizards still sense magic emanating from within.

"Shall we investigate now?", said Odhran.

Years of mercenary travel have ingrained in Fetch a continual sense of uneasiness, always a bit on edge when traveling. As time passes Fetch's comfort with the group grows.

He takes a knee in a resting posture as he studies the structure with both interest and apprehension, he couldn't put a finger on a single aspect that made the entire thing seem out of place. Speaking up;

"If it's a tavern, will we all make it out alive?" Fetch sends a short but obvious glare at Melissa, deciding now is as good a time as any to try a friendly jab.

"Could be the entrance to something under the hill," Slattery observes.  "I guess we need to take a look, eh?" He doesn't look any too enthused about it, but moves silently closer so he can get a better look in the entrance.  He motions for the others to remain a safer distance back, just in case.

"Alive certainly. Sober, maybe." She grins and winks at Fetcher. "If it's what I think it is," she hovers above Slattery's right shoulder "Then we're in no danger. If it isn't, then whatevers inside could be worth running away from. At least last time it didnt come out and attack us when we were wounded and laden with loot, so it probably wont leave the building. Room. Whatever."
She takes a deep breath.
"Shall I go take a look? I'm harder to spot and harder to hit than you bigjobs."

Fetcher isn't sure what everyone's abundance of caution means, and he doesn't like it. He runs through a mental checklist and takes shield and hammer in hand though he remains in a casual stance and at a distance as Slattery signaled.

"What are we thinking here, crazed hermit? Goblin squatters?" he asks in a hushed tone, hoping nothing worse tops the lists of the others' expectations.

"Or a house that eats people that enter it?", Odhran offered.  "We are in a land blasted with ancient magics, with traps and tricks left behind.  It could be harmless or a major threat.  We will not know until we investigate it."

"...Chained demon." Melissa says eventually. "We met a demon imprisoned in the dungeon called GrinLarge and we sort of arranged with him to set him free in return for him helping us out. Or showing us the treasure room."

Slattery creeps ahead of the group toward the entrance to the building. The entryway is about 7' high and 5' wide. There are no other visible openings in the walls. Beyond the doorway is only darkness and a musty smell.

Slattery looks at Melissa.

"Too dark to see anything," he says. "Can you see in the dark?"

"No, I havent learned that spell." Melissa says nervously "Oddy used a magic light on this last time and it vanished when it got inside. Do you have a torch?"
Her eyes flick back to the rest of the group, gauging how far she's have to fly.
"Honestly I was expecting to See GrimLarp sitting inside looking smug, not dingy darkness containing luna knows what."

Slattery pulls out a torch and lights it.

"If this holds through the door," he says, "we can light a lantern."

He approaches the doorway and sticks the torch through it to see if that illuminates anything inside.

Melissa readies her wand; if anything attacks it's going to get a double strength TTFY for openers.

Slattery lights one of his torches and walks up to the doorway. Holding the torch inside the doorway he can see a mostly empty chamber roughly the same size as the exterior of the structure. In the center of the chamber is a stone table. On the other side of the table from the doorway is a seated cloaked figure. It has a hood over its head, so you cannot see any features.

With piqued interest, Fetch anxiously awaits some kind of sign. He wants to shout and ask what in gods' names is in there but Slattery's precautions convey the seriousness of the matter. Fetch is quickly realizing there's a lot more to adventuring than forgoing meals and fending off roving creatures. He inhales and exhales deeply trying to relax, hoping he doesn't have to sprint into dark and unknown if things take an ugly turn here.

Odhran readies his cane, a few spells on the tip of his tongue.

Slattery backs away from the opening and rejoins the others.

"Someone is sitting in the dark inside a room," he says, shrugging.  "Ominous cloak and all, but at least they didn't immediately attack."

"We could probably parley from just outside the door," he suggests.

Melissa looks at the others.
"He doesnt seem hostile, and I guess I'm the hardest target to hit." she says. "Let's go say hello."

Melissa flies back to the doorway, hovers about halfway up and leans the top half of her body around the edge of the frame.
"Hello?" she calls loudly.

Since Odhran can get out of harms way in a wink of the eye, he moves forward to back up Melissa.

Slattery follows the others, standing out of sight outside the doorway.

Thea follows along aside Slattery.

"Hardly traditional tactics..." Fetch muses, unsure how he'll get a first opportunity to prove himself. He thoughtfully weighs the new shield in his grasp, readies his well-worn hammer and tags along. Following suit he stays out of the entry path despite his bristling curiosity for a look inside.

"Don't worry," Slattery whispers to Fetcher, "you can be in the front-line when we fight the troll."

At your groups approach at least partially into the doorway and Melissa's greeting the figure sitting behind the table begins to move.

From one of it's sleeves the figure extracts a large deck of cards. It gives the cards a few shuffles and then deals out twelve cards on the table in three rows of four. It then sets down the deck, sweeps one hand over the cards, and then beckons you inside with the other.

Fetch coughs a single, mild cough into his own left shoulder trying to mask his surprise at the unexpected mention of a troll. "Hopefully your magics can account for the lack of swords, should it come to that."

Had Fetcher been a paid mercenary instead of an indebted orphan rescue, a small part of him might be wishing to return to the ranks of grizzled veterans. He steels himself against all doubts and thinks of the girl who holds his heart while staring down their current, single-story predicament.

“Well, it has not eaten us yet.  Might as well see what it wants,” said Odhran as he walked into the structure.  His cane was still ready, and he was ready to leave in a wink if things went bad.

Thea looked at the cards in hopes of discerning their nature and purpose.  Divination?  Or did the being want to gamble against something the party had?

11:17, Today: Thea Schreiber rolled 5 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  IQ roll to determine nature of cards.

The building had not been present on their initial trip to the ruins, but had only been visible on their return trip.  Random chance, or had they needed to prove themselves in some way for whatever reason?

Melissa grips her wand firmly and follows Odhran inside, silently casting Detect Magic to try and determine if the figure, or the cards, or both were magical.

OOC Detect Magic, 0 Wiz

Slattery shrugs at Fetcher and follows the others inside.

Fetch takes one final look around outside before he follows through the doorway. He settles into a footman's stance just inside the opening with his back to the wall, doing his best to balance being ready-for-anything with appearing non-threatening.

You accept the cloaked figures invitation and enter the building, if only just inside the doorway. Melissa does sense magic emanating from the cards and Thea thinks the cards look a bit like those used in telling fortunes; but those are mainly used by charlatans and con-artists (L2SR on IQ, failed, 10 AP).

The figure does not speak, but simply gestures to all of you and waves its hand over the cards once again.

Still ready to wink out if needed, Odhran goes up to the table on what would be the figure's right hand.  He taps the card in the second row, second column.

X X X X
X 0 X X
X X X X

The robed figure flips the card Odhran pointed to over and reveals an image of an athlete. Odhran is suddenly filled with a sense of health and vigor.

OOC: Odhran's CON is increased by 1.

Odhran looks confused for a moment, then backs away.  "I feel better, more vigorous after our host turned over the card, but I sense that this is a gamble.  But I tend to be lucky."

He turns to look at the others, and said, "the risk is in which card you pick.  And why our host is here, I have no idea.  Perhaps this is a trick left by wizards long past or it is some other force, but I think we still have a choice."

OOC: I take it you are now updating our character sheet.

Slattery looks dubious, but shrugs.  "If I end up a frog," he says, "I expect one of you to kiss me."

He'll touch the top right card from their host's perspective.

"If that does happen, it should be Melissa," Thea responds, her tone straining to be jocular, even as she attempted ti quell her fears.  "She's the right height, if giving a little tongue is needed."

"Oh come on, I've never been that drunk."

Fetch looks on, wide-eyed. "I don't think I'll ever share your trust in magics"

With everyone relatively at ease he advances enough to peer over shoulders, taking a keen interest in what happens with Slattery's selection.

Slattery taps a card and the robed figure flips it over to reveal an image of a dwarf. Slattery feels suddenly strange, then his bones feel as though they are fire for one brief moment and just as suddenly it passes.

Slattery finds himself a full foot shorter than he was a moment ago. His clothes and armor a bit ill-fitting.

OOC: Yes, I'm updating your character sheets; 1 CON was added to Odhran. Slattery, how tall were you?

"GODS!" Fetcher jumps back, aghast. He has absolutely no idea what to do in the moment and backs himself up to the wall near the entrance again.

Slattery looks at himself, shaking his head.

"Not quite a frog," he says, "but close enough.  I'll have to take the armor in a bit."

OOC: I'd pictured him average height, so 5'7" or so. 

OOC: So Slattery is about 4'7" now. Better for sneaking around?

Startled, Melissa barely restrains herself from giving the cloaked figure a peice of her mind. The spell dies on her lips as she sees Slattery is okay, just shorter.



"Maybe you should try some more cards to see if there's one that makes you bigger?"

Slattery looks at Melissa with a blank stare, clearly thinking through the suggestion.

"I'm not quite sure I want to take the chance," he says finally.  "I don't know the odds here, but assuming they're even, we're back to that with Odhran and my draws."

"If anyone else wants to take a chance," he gestures toward the cards, "feel free."

The figure sweeps its hand over the cards once again and waits in silence.

Melissa holds up her hands and backs off a few inches.
"Oh no I'm nae touchin' those - I cannae risk bein' a foot shorter!"

"A deck of cards should have only one of each," Odhran said.  "You run a risk of growing taller, but not shorter."

Thea moved forward to the table.  I should know better than to do this, she thinks to herself.  But in a group thick with wizards, there wasn't really anything that she could do that Odhran or Melissa couldn't do as well, if not better.  If a choice of the cards gave her a special edge of some sort, that would prove of benefit to both her and her companions, right?

Taking a deep breath, then exhaling slowly, she taps the (from the host's perspective) top left card.

"I dinnae want to be a foot taller either!" Melissa's brogue fades as she calms down "There's an old story about a fairy who fell in love with a human so she got a witch to cast a spell* on her that made her human sized, but it wore off at midnight and she went back to normal. This might be the same kind of spell, but if it isnt then Slatters might be stuck like that forever. Unless he picks another card and gets made taller." she pauses. "Actually Oddy, if Slatters is right and all the cards are balanced, then if he picks all of them they should balance out."
"Unless one of them is instant death..."


OOC * Level 9 Spells Bigger is Better and Smaller is Smarter. Not exactly the same effect but close enough for purposes of old fairy stories.

Fetcher can't take his eyes off Slattery, he can only manage to mumble "Wow..." a few times, mostly to himself.

Slattery eyes Fetcher.

"No short jokes, now," he warns.  "You want to take your chances with the cards?"

"Certainly no!"

Fetch folds his arms, hiding his hammer behind his shield and adopts a very standoffish pose.

The robed figure flips Thea's selected card to reveal a person with their pockets turned out. Thea finds that her coin pouch is now empty.

OOC: Thea has lost all of the coins she was carrying, 13 gold, 9 silver.

Upon realizing what has occurred, Thea sighs, but makes no further protestations. Realistically, it could have been a lot worse.

After stepping away from the table, she then says to her companions, "When we get back to Dunnold, I am not covering the first round."

"Glad we didn't stop here on our way back to town with all our loot," Slattery says. "Odds might be a tad better for the next person, with two bad ones out of the way.  But I'm not inclined to take the chance.  I'll wait for the rest of you outside."

He heads out of the room and into the light and starts walking in circles, trying to get adjusted to the new length of his stride.

Nine cards still lie face down on the table. The robed figure sits silently waiting, presumably for someone to choose a card.

Melissa eyes the exit then glances at the others.
"I'm not touching those!"

Fetch pokes his head out of the door to check on Slattery.

"Is uh... is it permanent?" he asks, fearing the worst. "Can you undo magic?"

Fetch decides to fully step outside, realizing a check-up on something like what has transpired won't be a simple yes or no answer. He's wildly fascinated, and still somewhat dumbstruck as he watches Slattery strut about.

Odhran looked at everyone, then said to the figure, "is it one card per person?"  His companions had assumed they could take multiple cards, but that may not be the case.  If it were only one card per person, then it would be time to go.  Slattery and Thea might get lucky if they tried it again.

"Tell Slatters we'll be with him shortly...whoops."

The figure turns to Odhran, gestures to him, and again waves it's hand over the cards seeming to indicate that each person was free to take more than one card.

Odhran shrugged, then moved over and tapped a second card.
From the perspective of the figure, it was the bottom row, third from the left.
"No risk, no reward."  He never thought of himself as a gambler, but there was a thrill to this that he had not felt before, and he was finding that he enjoyed it.

* X X *
X * X X
X X 0 X

Robed Figure

The robed figure flips over Odhran's second card to reveal an image of a warrior. Odhran feels himself filled with renewed strength. The robed figure claps it's hands in joint celebration, the first noise it's made the entire time.

OOC: Odhran gains 1 point of ST. Someone's using up all the luck.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:14, Sat 20 Feb 2021.

At the sound of excitement Fetcher leaves Slattery to wallow, he didn't expect an answer anyway, not in the man's current preoccupied state.

Fetch pops back inside the stone structure and is surprised to see things almost exactly as he had left them just minutes ago, though now presided over by a more animated robed figure. He isn't even sure what question he would ask, if he even had the mind to.

Odran looks surprised, and pleased, that his gamble paid off.  "Not all of them are bad," he said.  "It is a gamble."

"Are you sure you don't want to try?"

Even though she had resolved not to gamble herself on the magical cards, Thea found herself walking back toward the table.  A measured assessment of the odds, she wondered to herself, or just a sunk cost fallacy?

She then taps another card, and awaits the result.

* X O *
X * X X
X X * X

The card Thea selected is turned to reveal a diseased and wasted figure. Thea feels suddenly overcome by waves of nausea. When this passes, Thea feels that some of her energy has been lost.

OOC: Thea lost 1 point on CON.

OOC: It sounds like the plan is to take your leave of the card dealing mystery person(?). If so, please post your intentions in game.

Unfamiliar with a leadership role, but disturbed enough to speak up, Fetch humbly suggests everyone rejoin Slattery outside.

"He probably shouldn't be alone."

Satisfied the stopover was little more than a curse on the curious, and greatly relieved it didn't affect himself, he holsters his hammer on his hip then slings his shield on his back as he ducks out the door to survey the immediate road ahead.

"Thank you, sir," said Odhran to the figure.  He then joined Fetcher to go outside.

Slattery looks up as the others emerge from the building.

"No extra arms or eyes?" he asks lightly.

"Thea lost some weight." Melissa says as she joins the others.

"But not in a manner I would have preferred," Thea says, her voice a bit more deliberate than usual, as she begins to adapt to her reduced vigor.

You gather outside and take stock of your new situations.

After your brief conversation you suddenly realize that the building is gone.

Upon noticing the side of the road is once again empty Fetch suffers one quick and uncontrollable shiver before muttering "Good riddance."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:43, Fri 26 Feb 2021.

"Magic," Slattery says, clearly agreeing with Fetcher.

"On the road again?"  He looks down at his shorter legs.  "Didn't lose enough height to catch a ride on someone, just enough to make it harder to keep up."

Odhran looked up to Slattery when he talked about being shorter making it harder to keep up, and said with a smile, "welcome to my world Slattery."

You set back out toward the ruined fortress, keeping to the path your followed on your first trip. The rest of the day passes without incident as does the night.

On the morning of the third day, you one again find yourself at the base of a steep mountain. Leading up the slope is a narrow road blasted into the rock. The road leads about a quarter of a mile up to a flat area on the side of the mountain which is covered in rubble.

Unlike your last visit, your passage up the road is not challenged and you come to the flattened ledge of rock upon which the Wizard's Fortress once stood. Now the great ledge is covered by piles of stone blocks, shattered columns, and debris.

There are four partially cleared paths through the rubble leading roughly WNW, NNW, NNE, and ENE.

You recall that the WNW path led to the rock grubs and the NNW path led to the entrance to the intact lower levels of the fortress.

Slattery shifts slightly in the clothing and armor he'd done his best to tailor to his new size last night.

"Avoid that path," he tells Fetcher, gesturing to the one that led to the rock grubs.  "Burrowing creatures that are decidedly not friendly in that direction."

"I'd vote for heading back to the same entrance we used before," he says.  "We know the way and what to expect, and there was plenty of underground yet to explore."

"We can make a first stop in the Orc's room to grab Fetcher that sword."

"I'm with Slatters." Melissa nods. "I'd like to see if the Orc's room is still habitable. We've got enough provisions to camp out for a couple of days there and explore."

"Agreed.  Let us go back and make sure the areas we explored are still clear.  We can set up a good base camp in one of those rooms," Odhran said with a nod of agreement.  "There are also rooms we still need to study."

"Happy to lean-on your experience." replies Fetcher, he seems much more sincere and appreciative than happy, but he's seen enough fighting to know being ready for battle beats being excited for battle.

He unceremoniously wields his shield and hammer, in a relaxed fashion for now, as to not be caught unprepared by any new surprises or lapses in his companions' memory. "Never had to take up arms underground before." he adds, puzzled in thought.

You pick your way through the massive rubble toward the entrance to the lower levels of the fortress. You pass by the site where the orc and his henchmen ambushed you, but see no signs of any corpses or equipment.

Arriving at the cave-like entrance structure you cautiously enter it and once again see no sign of any other living things. The stairs leading down beckon you.

You descend the stairs and start your trek back toward the orc gang's hideout. You first head north passing through the room of skeletal carvings, then west and north past the intersection leading to the prison of Grynn-Larr and the pentacle, back east past the door to the strange room with the corpses and green orb and through the room from which you recovered the gold crown, and finally south to the outer entrance to the hideout.

You find both the outer and inner doors to the hideout undisturbed. The bodies you left in the hall outside the hideout are gone, however. Inside the hideout, the air is still, smoky, and a bit rank. Nothing appears to have been disturbed in your absence.

OOC: A bit of a fast forward as you came out lucky with all of the wandering monster rolls. You are in the room labeled Hideout on the Game Map.

For reference, who is carrying what light sources when you are moving through the dungeon? Same as before? 

OOC: Slattery will carry a lantern.

"Should be a sword in that pile somewhere," Slattery tells Fetcher, gesturing to where they'd left the pile of equipment.  "We can leave our extra stuff here, the dungeon janitor doesn't seem to get into the rooms."

OOC - We left the pile of spare gear in the secret room here, didnt we?

Melissa looks around the room with cautious approval.
"Well, it could do with a few more soft beds, baths full of mulled wine and strapping young faries fanning us with palm leaves, but it'll do for now. Shall we leave our extra bits and bobs here? No point in carrying around a weeks extra food if we dont have to."

OOC: We left them in the secret room.  I thought this room was a kitchen or something like that.

"Not home, but a base of operations and a good place to store our stuff, food included," Odhran said.  "Maybe we should check out the other doors on this hallway."

"Sounds like a good plan," Slattery agrees.  "Secure this area before venturing farther away."

Slattery unloads the extra food he'd been carrying and puts his bedroll in one corner.

"Uhh, shall we check the map before we do?" The fairy sounds a little nervous "Gimp-Lure said there was a troll to the South-East of his room. I'd rather check the North-West first."


OOC Good manners dictate we should at least let Fetcher get a little exploring done before we feed him to the troll ;)

"There is a lot of dungeon south-east of the demon," Slattery agrees. "Hard to tell when we might stumble onto the troll."

"Only the one door north-west of the demon," he observes.  "We could check it out first, then return to this area."

You move around the room and take stock of what you have to work with. In the far west end there is a fireplace in which are the remains of a fire. On a spit is a chunk of now rotten meat; what kind of meat you cannot tell

Arranged around the room there are two tables, five stools, two chairs, and six crates. On your previous delve you searched the room and secured all of the items you did not take with you in the secret room to the south.

You find the following equipment stored in the secret chamber:

5 lanterns
50' coils of hemp rope
10 torches
8 flasks of oil
2 1 days of preserved food (hard tack and jerky)

War hammer
Sword
Hand axe
Short sword
Dagger

OOC: Let me know what equipment you take and what you leave behind (as Slattery did) and I will adjust your character sheets as needed.

Fetcher makes a beeline for the sword as soon as he spots it, it's been at least partly occupying his thoughts the entire time since he heard mention of the gift back at the inn.

He palms the grip to begin his assessments, slowly waving the weapon around to establish a feel for the heft and balance. The group's planning falls on deaf ears as he quickly disappears into his own world when he lifts it with two hands, one on hilt and one by the flat of the blade, to closely examine the integrity of the edge and the tool's overall craftsmanship. "I've oft trained by sword but never had the pleasure of my own blade." he concludes after several minutes, speaking proudly but to no one in particular and staking his claim to the item with no subtly whatsoever.

Turning his attention to the rest of the assorted weapons he sets his warhammer on a nearby table for a side-by-side comparison with the newfound piece. Seemingly deep in thought, he turns back to grab the hand-axe as well and places that with his hastily built new collection. "Hmmmm..." Fetch puzzles, eyes pouring over his options.

Fetcher judges the weapons to be serviceable, but in no way special. They are the same quality as any he could find in Dunnold or his home town.

"What do you say, Fetcher," Slattery says, "do you want to risk a possible Troll encounter right away, or go in the one direction there probably isn't a troll?  Assuming we can trust a demon's word, that is."

"A risk of troll or a demon's  word? I can't say I prefer either of those options. Point me in a direction and I will go and fight if necessary..." Fetcher anchors the sword to his belt as he talks "... when necessary." he corrects himself.

He picks up the newer of the two hammers in one hand and the hand-axe in his other. Giving them one last once-over, he holsters the warhammer at his hip in place of his old one for safe keeping and short-swings the axe wedging it into the boards of the table. Turning to face Slattery, Fetch nods with a serious look on his face, signaling his readiness.

The group settles in, sorting and storing equipment while making plans for their first move.

OOC: I'm a bit unclear on the groups plan. Do you wish to head back to the west toward the unexplored area past the room with the green orb?

OOC : That's Melissa's plan. Votes so far are 1 for, 2 not bothered and 2 abstain


"I say we go here," Melissa hovers over the map and points her wand at the unexplored North-West corner. "Apart from the troll being somewhere in this bit," she waves her wand at the area where the hideout is "The orc and his gang who were here before us have probably picked the nearest rooms clean of treasure. Also if we have to run from the troll, it'd be nice to know we're not running into something just as bad."

"Sounds good to me," Slattery says, picking up his gear.

Thea nods in assent.

Odhran said, "sounds like a good plan."

Fetcher hoists his shield in expectation of heading out. He decides to keep his pack of meager belongings with him. Hardly a burden for someone accustomed to a life of traveling light.

Melissa reties her hair into a sensible pony tail, checks her pack has plenty of space for loot and flourishes her wand.
"Shall we go then?"

OOC : Moving up North-West to the unexplored area near the Orb room. Unless we have an encounter, Melissa wont have much to say until we get close to the Orb room.

Marching order much the same as before? Slattery leading, Melissa close behind and at ceiling level, Meatshield2 Fetcher a few paces behind leading Odhran and Thea bringing up the rear?

OOC: Marching order sounds fine, at least until something hostile is sighted.  Then Slattery will find a position behind Fetcher.

Fetcher is mildly relieved to be in the middle of their procession, and glad to have an unimpeded view over this new iteration of Slattery and under Melissa. He decides against commenting on it and maintains his focus ahead. "Eyes in the back" he reminds aloud out of habit, hoping Odhran and Thea make for a capable rear guard.

Odhran will stay on guard as he brings up the rear, regularly looking behind the team as they move through the hallways.

You leave your new hideout and backtrack to the west past the glowing orb room and then the intersection leading south toward Grynn-Larr.

The corridor continues for 70' past the intersection before it ends at a north-south passage. On the west wall in front of you is a large stone gargoyle, 5' across, with a hideous demon-like face with a large nose, fangs, and it's tongue hanging out.

To the north, the passage ends in a door after 10'. From here you can see that there is a crude skull and crossbones painted on the door along with the words 'KEEP OUT' in common.

The passage south continues on past the reach of your light.

"Lovely fellow," Slattery says, observing the gargoyle.  He looks to the north and the KEEP OUT sign.

"I don't feel particularly welcome in that direction," he says.  "But under the principle of making sure our rear is secure, we should probably check it out."

Odhran will cast Detect Magic to check for any linger spells in the area or on the gargoyle.

Melissa flinches slightly when she sees the gargoyle - she's still not a fan of demons and the gargoyle looks ominously similar to one. Still, the KEEP OUT sign on the door might as well say "Treasure inside" as far as she's concerned.


"Well, we could ask this well carved fellow here." she points her wand towards the gargoyle. "Excuse me?" she asks loudly. "Is that your room?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:18, Fri 19 Mar 2021.

Melissa chatting up the statue causes Fetcher to second guess his assumption it was purely ornamental stonework. He mumbles something about magic to himself and follows it with a sour look on his face for a few moments.

"The high of the uneventful room full of equipment has worn off." He sets himself up to be able to watch where they've come from and the open ended corridor while the others fiddle about with their spells and whatnot. He refuses to make eye contact with the gargoyle.

Odhran does not sense any magic in the area, including from the gargoyle, nor does the gargoyle does not respond to Melissa's polite question.

"No enchantments in the area," Odhran said quietly before returning to the rear guard.

"Hmm." Melissa hovers a little closer then calls back over her shoulder "Fetch dear boy, be a love and tap this fellow gently on the nose with your hammer, would you?"

Fetcher makes a bit of a puzzled face at the odd request as he walks over while sheathing his sword. Eager to prove himself a team player he removes his hammer from his belt and lays it gently to rest on the gargoyle's ugly snout. "Very thorough of you, but it's just a..." Fetch trails off as he barely withdraws the hammer's head from the stone feature, letting the weapon free-fall to reconnect with it in a gentle tap.

Tapping the gargoyle's nose has no effect except for producing a nice ringing sound that echoes down the halls.

"Probably just a statue. You never can tell with gargoyles." Melissa shrugs. "There's an old story about a fairy who seeking shelter from the rain, landed in the open mouth of a carved statue high up on an old ruin. Unk!" she says "Turned out to be a gargoyle who swallowed him whole. Shall we look behind this door then?"

Fetch is now eying the the grotesque statue with a newfound healthy skepticism. He takes a few steps back, stows his hammer and returns to wielding his sword, all while watching the thing for any tell tale signs of the supernatural.

Slattery moves toward the door with the Keep Out sign and examines it closely for traps.  Assuming he finds nothing, he'll check it to see if it's locked.

Slattery does not see any signs of traps, but he does note that the door is indeed
locked.

Meanwhile, Fetcher's watch over the gargoyle reveals nothing new or amiss.

Eager to try out his new lockpicks, Slattery starts to work on the lock, making his best attempt to open it without too much noise.

Slattery works on the lock, but it proves too challenging for him, even with his shiny new lock picks.

20:32, Today: GM, on behalf of Slattery, rolled 5 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  L2 Saving Roll on Luck 17.

Slattery turns to the others and shrugs.  He turns back to the lock and casts Knock Knock on it.  He'll then motion for Fetcher to stand in front of the door so that Slattery can open it, standing to one side, and Fetcher is ready to either charge in or run away, depending on what he sees.

Fetch knows exactly how preparation for a door breach should go, and as Slattery motions he takes up position.

With knees bent, shield up and sword at the ready he listens intently and anxiously waits for the door to pop open.

This is what he signed up for, he breathes deeply hoping his adventuring dreams don't start with an adventuring nightmare.

Melissa takes up station hovering just behind and above Fetch's left shoulder where she can get a clear line of zappage at anything hostile beyond the door.
"On your left..." she says quietly.

Odhran, being in the back, is watching their back, but is ready to turn and join the fray when needed.

The door opens and a wave of stench pours out of the room beyond. As the smell of rotting flesh rolls over you, you all are suddenly overcome by nausea.

The room is about 50' wide and 20' deep. The floor is covered in corpses of various stages of decomposition. But the corpses are still for only a moment. As the light from your lantern and torches spills into the room, the bodies start to move and rise from the floor.

"Moon and stars!" The fairy gags at the smell "Shut the door!"

Slattery quickly pushes the door shut, nose wrinkling.

Thea has to fight the urge to vomit, the stench of the rotting corpses hitting her harder than expected, due to her recently-reduced vitality and health.

Smiling weakly, she turns to Fetcher and says, "Don't say we never take you anyplace interesting."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:56, Fri 26 Mar 2021.

Once Slattery closed the door, Odhran cast Lock Tight on the door (1 Wiz).  "That should give us a few moments to think."

He then returned to watching the hall they had recently come down.

"Oh, yeah," Slattery says after Odhran casts Lock Tight.  "Let's see if we can make that permanent."  He gets his lockpicks back out and tries to ensure the actual lock on the door is triggered.

Visibly relieved by the quick thinking of the wizards, Fetch takes a deep breath and a moment to process everything from the sight to the smell.

"Usually death means my job has ended, what to do about those..." he rests a fist on the stone door for some reassurance it will hold.

"Sword? Hammer?? Fire?!" it's not clear whether he's asking advice or running through a list of increasingly drastic solutions.

"Decapitation?" Slattery adds, working on the lock.  "Seems like we stumbled across where someone tosses the dead bodies.  They at least were polite enough to have a warning on the door."

Melissa hovers higher, hoping to rise above the smell.
"Who?" she asks "The two from the orcs gang we killed we left tied up outside the hideout and they'd gone when we arrived this morning, and I'd thought that green slime stuff we saw on the way out was some sort of magic cleaner the wizard had left behind."

"Maybe this is where the troll disposes of the remains," said Odhran not fully comfortable with the thought.  "The dark magic of this place may infuse the bodies in this room."

This place held magics unknown to modern scholars, and the group had so far been careful of the magics in this place.

Slattery slams the door shut quickly and Odhran magically locks it just as fast. In no time the zombies inside the room start pounding on the door.

Slattery goes to work on the lock once again in an attempt re-engage the mechanism; this is he able to do. (L2SR on LK17, rolled 8 success, 16 AP).

The door continues to shudder as what sounds like more and more zombies begin to pound and push against it.

Will the door hold?

14:01, Today: GM, on behalf of Slattery, rolled 8 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  L2 SR LK.

"Either they can hear us or maybe sense our live forces or something." Melissa looks at the door. "Let's get away from here and let them go back to sleep."

Slattery stands and backs away from the door.

"Maybe a lullaby?" he asks shakily.  He looks southward.  "Continue south, where our retreat might be blocked if they break through the door, or back toward our camp and risk the troll?"

Without anyone barking orders at him for the first time in his life, Fetch glanced from companion to companion trying to decide whether he should throw down his pack and prepare to stand ground or ready to cover a fallback maneuver, with rapidly increasing concern.

"Don't panic" were the best words he could muster, at the same time realizing it was advice he had stuck to so far despite his heart racing. He breathes deeply but begins to lightly perspire as he flexes a tight grip upon sword and shield.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:45, Mon 29 Mar 2021.

"South, quickly." The fairy says urgently, looking at the enticingly long corridor promising to put a lot of distance between them and the horde.

Slattery nods, and moves south past the gargoyle.

Fetch posts himself at the feet of the gargoyle to monitor the door while the group begins to head south, intending to catch up quickly and return to the front in short order.

You quickly make your way down the corridor leading south. After 60', however, you come to a dead end. To the north, the sound of fists hammering against the door grows louder.

Slattery starts checking the dead end for any signs of secret passages.

"We might want to rethink this direction," he says anxiously.  He's prepared to abandon the search for secret passages and flee back toward their camp is everyone else does.

"I suggest we get ready to glue the first couple that comes out," said Odhran as he began looking around the dead-end corridor and moving around the wall.  "Hopefully that will block them up giving us a better chance."

Odhran is looking around to see if there is a secret door at the end of this hall that they may be able to escape through.

Melissa is none too happy to run into a dead end.
"What sort of idiot -!" She bursts out then quiets herself "Maybe they're attracted by noise? If we stay quiet, they may go back to sleep." she whispers hopefully. She looks back towards the undead end of the corridor door then at the dead end, and quickly casts Detect Magic on the blank walls.

OOC : Detect Magic, 0 Wiz
This message was last edited by the player at 23:24, Tue 30 Mar 2021.

Melissa senses no magic in the area.

Both Slattery and Odhran frantically, but carefully, inspect the walls around dead end for any signs of a hidden doorway.

To their relief, both find not only the outline of a door in the southern wall, but also the means to open the door (LS2SR on Luck, both succeed, 28 AP for Slattery, 34 AP for Odhran).

20:20, Today: GM, on behalf of Slattery, rolled 14 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  LS SR on LK17.

20:20, Today: GM, on behalf of Odhran, rolled 17 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  LS SR on LK23.

Slattery looks back at Fetcher standing between them and the potential undead horde, then at the end of the corridor.  He looks at Odhran and shrugs.

"Guess we'll take our chances," he says quietly.  He'll then trigger the secret door, ready to close it again quickly if something else nasty is on the other side of it.

With his back to the frantic search taking place, Fetch is giving absolutely no attention to anything other than anticipating bodies shambling (or worse, running) from the now darkened direction they fled from. He doesn't even bother to ask, at this moment in time it matters little to him. With eyes glued forward, he cracks his neck in preparation for a fight, rotating his head slightly in each direction.

"Good call Slattery," Odhran said as he creates magical light in the secret corridor.

Slattery opens the secret door to reveal an intersection of two passages leading west and south. The passage leading west continues for 30' and ends at a door. The passage leading south continues for 30' and ends at an intersection with passages leading east and west.

"Fetcher!" Slattery calls quietly as he slips through the secret door and into the corridor beyond.  He starts looking for a way of activating the secret door from this side of it.

Checking over his shoulder Fetch is clearly surprised at their find. He takes a few steps backwards before finally breaking away from the emptiness of the hall, turning and entering the newfound passage. He takes a quick count to make sure everyone has gone through.

"Did you magic this?" he asks somewhat bewildered once inside. He looks around to regain his bearings before allowing himself a sigh of relief.

"If I did, I'd have magiced in some carpets." Melissa looks around the new corridor.

"Sure Fetcher, we conjured it up," Odhran said sarcastically.  "Everyone just get in so we can close the door before those things breakthrough that door!"

Odhran enters the corridor and checks it out.  There is little time to waste, but better to do a quick check.

You pass through the secret door into the new corridor. The passages are quiet and there is no sign of movement. From behind you, however, the sound of battering grows more intense.

Slattery spots the mechanism that activates the secret door and quickly closes it leaving an apparent bare wall in it's place. With the door closed, you no longer hear anything.

There is a 30' long passage leading west that ends at a plain door.

There is also a passage that leads south for 30' before ending at an E-W intersection.

With the immediate threat of an undead rush over and the new surroundings a welcome calm, Fetch walks to the plain door and carefully listens through cupped hands for any noises from beyond.

Slattery leans against the wall with a sigh.

"We still may have a problem getting back," he says, "unless this connects around in the south."

"There may be a way back, but if those zombies get out, they may flood the halls," Odhran said.  "We will have to deal with them at some point."

"One of the passages to the left should get us back to an area we know, but we should deal with this door first."

"Hopefully if they flood the halls, we can pick them off in ones and twos rather than the whole mob at once."

"Or hole up and let the janitor take care of them," Slattery says.  "But yes, this door needs looked at."

He'll join Fetcher at the door and check for traps while Fetcher is listening.

Melissa looks down the corridor to the junction, their current close shave fresh in her mind.
"I'll check the junction, just in case. Won't be a moment." She leaves the rest of the party breifly and flies down (South?) to the junction and from close to ceiling level, she pokes her head out into the crosswise (E-W?) corridor to see whats there.
She'll return to the party when done.

Thea keeps an eye on Melissa as the fairy checks out the corridor in question - were something able to grab her quickly enough, she might disappear from sight while the boys were concentrating on other matters.

Fetcher listens intently at the door, but hears nothing (SR on LK13, rolled 7, level 1 success, 7 AP). Slattery then moves in and checks for traps, but finds none (SR on LK17, rolled 8, level 2 success, 16 AP).

Melissa flies down the corridor to the W-E intersection. To the west, the passage goes for 30' and then ends at a door. To the east, Melissa sees another intersection with a passage leading south after 20', and a door another 20' to the east of that intersection.

20:38, Today: GM, on behalf of Slattery, rolled 8 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  SR on LK17.

20:36, Today: GM, on behalf of Fetcher, rolled 8 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  SR on LK13.

"No traps I can find," Slattery says quietly.  He glances around and finds Melissa and Thea missing.  "Once everyone's here we can see what's on the other side."

"Let's hope it's not more zombies," he finishes.

Melissa returns to the party.
"Doors to the East and West and another passage going South." she says. "Are we ready to open this one yet?"

Slattery prepares to open the door, waiting until Fetcher is in position in front of it, then opening it and moving to the side as before.

Odhran prepares himself for when Slattery opens the door, hoping that it will not contain more zombies for them to deal with.  "Ready when you are."

Fetch nods and takes the lead from Slattery, preparing himself for what could be anything at this point. He steps up to the doorway, coiled behind his shield with sword at the ready.

Melissa takes up position over Fetch's left shoulder again, wand at the ready.

Thea falls in behind Slattery, her staff ready.

Since everyone is focused on the door, Odhran will keep an eye out to their side and back in case anything tries to sneak up.

The door is opened to reveal a 30'x40' chamber. The room is an absolute mess. The floor is covered in ripped-up, blood-stained clothing, shattered weapons, cracked and charred pieces of armor, and scorched bones. The walls and ceiling are covered with dark stains. These look like long-dried blood.

The only clear area in the room is a 1' circle in the center in which sits a huge diamond, roughly the size of a small apple, through which red and green flecks can be seen.

Odhran, Thea, and Melissa sense intense magical energy radiating from the diamond.

Slattery, peering around the door, shakes his head.

"That can't be good," he says.  "But it's a very pretty diamond."

Odhran only gave the room a glance.  “Melissa and Thea, would one of you see if you can get more information with our new spells while I keep rear guard?”

Melissa gazes in rapture at the diamond
"You're the one who learned all the new spells, smarty pantaloons..." she says absently.

"Looks like there might be a radius of effect," Slattery muses, still looking into the room from outside.  "If we were able to loop a cord around the diamond, and pull it from around the corner out here..."

"But you and Thea are up there," Odhran said with a chuckle.  "But if you insist."

"Fetcher, would you take up rearguard?"

Once people shifted, Odhran would move forward and first look over the room with an appraising eye trying to see if the people were killed by a single bolt of magic or a blast that radiated out of the gem. And then looking for the remains of rope to see if anyone else had tried Slattery's idea.

He then cast Omnipotent Eye using his cane (ordinaire magic staff ).  "Súil an iontais."

"I like the rope idea Slatters, it sort of worked with the crown; except for those zombies that teleported into each doorway when we moved it." She frowns in thought, "I can't work out how there are bits of people splattered all over the room. Anyone trying to grab that diamond would be coming from the doorway here, so ought to be blasted back over this wall, not all of the room. Unless it was a party of delvers and they all stood around in a circle while one of them set off the trap, but surely nobody is that stupid."

She watches Odhran replace Fetcher with mild dismay; there's a lot less of Ohran to hide behind if something goes boom.

Slattery frowns.

"You're right," he tells Melissa.  "Maybe it's timed, so it hits parties who explore the room but avoid the diamond?"

"Or maybe a whirlwind," said Odhran as he continued to look at the room, trying to discern any patterns.

Fetch gladly transitions to replace Odhran as the rear guard in the doorway from the hall. Anything to take his eyes and his mind off the precious-stone prize. "A helluva thing, if it's real." he says in passing. Fetch didn't know one lick about gemstones, other than one that size might allow for the cutting short of his adventuring career.

Whether that meant as a wealthy retiree that could finally approach the woman of his dreams or as a crimson stain in a room hidden away from the world, he couldn't decide and didn't like the coin's-flip odds he gave himself.

Odhran surveys the room (SR on IQ20, rolled 8, L2 success, 16 AP) and based on the pattern of splatters and shattered equipment it looks like several individuals simply exploded where they stood. There is no way to tell if what caused them to explode came from the diamond or not; just that none of them got near the jewel.

Odhran casts Omnipotent Eye upon the diamond. He begins to make a connection with the stone, but that connection is immediately severed and Odhran learns nothing.


18:15, Today: GM, on behalf of Odhran, rolled 8 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  SR on IQ20.

"Interesting," Odhran said.  "Something is blocking the Omnipotent Eye, but it is clear that these people exploded.  That is why the spatter hit the ceilings and the walls the way it did."

Odhran tugged on his beard as he continued to survey the room.  "It is obvious that something does not want people getting close to the gem, but I do not see the trigger."

"You can try the rope, but I suspect the person that built this trap took that into account," he said.  "Maybe we should come here after we explore the rest of this area.  I do not think anything will cross this room intact."

"If it's the gem itself," Slattery says, "pulling it close to ourselves could activate the effect."

"I'd agree, maybe we'll find more information somewhere else that'll help us deal with the trap."

Slattery pauses, thinking.

"But if we don't find anything," he continues, "I'd say we try the cord idea but just keep dragging the diamond behind us on our way back to town next time.  Eventually we'll come across something we can use to test to see if the trap's still active.  A rabbit, maybe?"

Melissa looks sadly at the gem. It is a magnificent, beautiful, glittering - she blinks and shakes her head - one thing her previous career had taught her was that the theft wasnt complete until the goods were fenced and you were drinking in a tavern somewhere far away with a plausibly alibi.
Being magically exploded would put a halt to that.

"How about a zombie?" She says, dragging her eyes away from temptation "There seem to be quite a few of those around."

OOC: Are you leaving this room and going elsewhere? If so, where?

With a last regretful look at the glittering gem, Melissa turns and flies away from the door back towards the hallway heading South.
"Well, I saw a door to the East, shall we try that? It might lead back towards the exit or our hideout."

Slattery nods.

"That should still keep us out of troll territory," he says, trying to picture the dungeon layout in his mind.  He'll check the door for traps as usual, and prep for opening it so Fetcher can take the brunt of whatever might lay behind.

Fetcher waits for the group to pick a direction before trotting to the head of the pack, then patiently waits aside the door. He feels a bit slow on the uptake of underground navigation, but it is his first delve.

Slattery, followed by Fetcher, travel down the passage south to the intersection and then turn east. Slattery stops at the door and inspects it for signs of traps. He does not find any traps, but he does hear the sound of voices coming from the other side (L2SR on LK17, rolled 17, success, 34 AP).


20:41, Today: GM, on behalf of Slattery, rolled 17 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  L2SR on LK17.

Slattery motions to his ears and mimes the sounds of people talking on the other side of the door.  He'll wait to make sure everyone's in position, and then open the door so Fetcher can do whatever he thinks is best.

Odhran takes up his position of the rear guard, keeping an eye out for anything that might try to sneak up on the group.

With no signal of anything suspicious about the door itself, Fetch halts any sudden decisions with a half raised hand. He puts an ear to the door, exhales and holds breathless for a moment while straining to listen. He knows full well that any information he can glean could give them an edge in combat, or at least cut down on any surprises.

Melissa takes position above Fletch's left shoulder again, wand at the ready.
The voices might be friendly, but she's not pinning her hopes on it.

OOC : It's safe to assume this will be Melissa's default position for door breaching for as long as Fetch has a shield to hide behind and for that matter, a left shoulder.

Fetcher listens at the door, but hears nothing at all (L2SR on LK13, rolled 3, fail. 6 AP).


20:25, Today: GM, on behalf of Fetcher, rolled 3 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  L2SR on LK13.

With a silent shrug and a shake of his head, Fetch takes a half step back from the door. He's visibly puzzled, likely mulling over if he mistakenly heard something moments earlier, if the voices moved on, or if they had heard us.

Slattery looks questioningly at Fetcher.  Assuming a nod or other sign of a go-ahead, he'll open the door.

Fetch reflects the look onto the others, ultimately landing his gaze on the fairy over his shoulder.

He quietly mouths the word "Well?" with questioning eyes.

Melissa looks at everyone looking at each other.
"Just open the bloody door!" she hisses in frustration.

Fetch returns his gaze to Slattery, expectantly. He constricts his shoulders, once again raising his armaments into position and preparing for unknown confrontation.

"May our good fortune continue to hold." He says quietly.

Slattery pulls open the door, sliding to the side of the corridor so Fetcher has free access to the room within.

Gotta work out some hand signals or something, he thinks.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:02, Mon 19 Apr 2021.

You open the door to reveal a square, well-lit room in which stand a group of seven goblins facing you with weapons ready. Six of the goblins have hand axes and small shields. The seventh wields a rather nice-looking short sword and is dressed in scale armor.

The room is furnished with a large circular table and seven chairs and a large wooden chest. On the table are playing card an piles of various coins. You seem to have interrupted their game.

"Who have we here?" the goblin with the sword says in common. "Treasure hunters? You the ones that took out Karis and his crew?"

Danton, never having fancied himself a negotiator, quickly takes one step into the room, he crouches down ready to take a charge at a moments notice. This allows the others to enter and hopefully take the reins of the situation. His plan is to defer to his fellow adventurers' experience within these halls.

Ultimately he's prepared to hop back and use the doorway to guard his flanks should the mob advance, his notion of magic users has led him to mostly count them out in a good, old fashioned melee. He doesn't think they'd close the door behind him, but his self reliance and soldiering instincts have never failed him yet.

He intently eyes them, particularly the well equipped leader, just over the brim of his shield.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:32, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

Slattery peers around the door at the cards with interest.  Maybe if this didn't degenerate into violence, they could get in a game.  They did need information, after all.  He stayed where he was at, allowing Melissa to do the talking.

There is a short pause as Melissa takes in the situation. In her limited experience, goblins are usually trying to kill people and take their stuff which makes them fair game for being killed and having their stuff taken in turn. Goblins playing cards and not charging to attack is new to her.
"Wands down," she calls back over her shoulder "I think they want to talk."
She squints at the goblin leader "Karis...big fellow, no head, caught fire easily? Yes, I remember now. He double crossed us. Only the once though. So, are you treasure hunters too or do you live down here?"

The goblin leader smiles, which for a goblin is a little unnerving.

"Very good! Happy to see the end of Karis. He kept all the good stuff for himself."

The leader speaks to the others, likely in goblin, and they lower their weapons.

"I am Criegz. Yes, indeed, we are also treasure hunters. Fortune seekers. There is much treasure hidden away here. Much danger as well. It's also a bit of fun."

The goblin spots Slattery eyeing the card table.

"Winning treasure by friendly wagers is also fun. Care to join the game?"

Criegz smiles even more.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:32, Thu 22 Apr 2021.

Melissa looks down at Slattery.
"Are you sure? You're lucks been a bit short when it comes to cards." she winces "Sorry, my bad."

While he may hear some of the conversations, Odhran's focus is on the rear guard.

"I'll personally pass for any gambling," Thea says evenly, a slight smirk on her face.  "My luck with cards hasn't been terribly inspiring of late."

Slattery frowns at the joke, but nods.

"Yeah, you're right," he says, then continues to the goblin. "Sorry, have to pass.  Had a bad run in with a magic tarot deck.  We could use some information, though.  You interested in trading?"

Shifting uneasily, allowing himself to relax just the tiniest bit, Fetcher processes the surprising turn of events. He stands tall and breathes easier.

Negotiating with an armed band of goblins is just as foreign to him as fighting them with nothing but wands at his back.

Slattery speaks to the goblin leader and suggests trading for information (L1SR on CHR 8, rolled 7, failure, 7 AP).

The goblin looks Slattery up and down, his smile fades.

"You're pretty short for a human. Magic cards, eh? Sounds like a fishy story. What's wrong? You think we cheat?"


19:15, Today: GM, on behalf of Slattery, rolled 7 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  L1SR on CHR8.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:14, Sat 24 Apr 2021.

Melissa senses things getting tense. She tightens her grip on her wand, just in case.
"The tarot guy didnt cheat either," she says with her most disarming smile and a nod towards Slattery "And he still got shrunk. Besides, we've only just started in, we havent looted anything worth betting yet. Unless you like trail rations."

OOC : CHR saving roll?

Creigz looks at Melissa and then back to Slattery, then shrugs (L2SR on CHR20, rolled 7, success, 14 AP).

"Nothing to wager then nothing to trade. We have plenty food. Fresh food."

The other goblins seem to be getting restless. Half are fingering their axes and looking at you intently, the other half are eyeing the card table.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:58, Tue 27 Apr 2021.

"Well," Melissa sighs "I kind of wish we hadnt spent all the loot from our first delve in town now. If you're going to be around for a bit, maybe we'll come back when we've found something worth gambling for." She turns to leave then half turns back. "Oh, you haven't seen a troll's lair off to the South have you? There's a chained demon in the north part who promised to show us the treasure room if we get the key-" She stops suddenly looking guilty "Oh, never mind." she says quickly and turns, ushering the others out. "Maybe we'll see you later!"

OOC - Did Melissa see any other exits from this room when she was inside?

Slattery keeps holding the door while the others leave the room, hoping the goblins don't decide to just attack.

Warily backing away Fetch feels somewhat foolish for his intensity but that's quickly replaced by great relief from a complete lack of immediate consequences of their encounter. He tries to paint a detailed mental picture of the goblin troup as he moves returns to the door.

"We leave that demon and troll alone," Cregiz says. "You should too. Turn you to goo and gobble you up they will."

The goblins make no effort to stop you as you back out of the room.

There is a door on the far side of the room leading east as well, but getting to it would require moving through the goblin line.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:43, Sat 01 May 2021.

Melissa's shoulders slump as Slattery and Fetch close the door behind them "That didnt go quite as well as I'd hoped." she sighs. "Shall we try the door off to the West?"

Slattery nods.

"Yeah, let's see what's there before we decide if we need to deal with the goblins," he says.

Fetch sheathes his new sword. He's glad he doesn't have to clean it but anxious to put some ground between him and his first encounter.

Slattery does his usual check on the door to the west, but finds nothing that looks dangerous and hears nothing from the other side.


20:42, Today: GM, on behalf of Slattery, rolled 7 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  L1SR on LK.

Fetcher waits to hear the almost imperceptible hum of fairy wings hovering over his shoulder then nods he's prepared to proceed.

With a quick check to make sure the others are in position, Slattery opens the door and steps to the side to allow Fetcher access to the room.

"Hmm..." Melissa looks at the door speculatively. "Wouldn't suprise me if this room has been picked clean by the goblins."
She readies her wand nevertheless.

Thea positions herself behind Fetcher's other shoulder, her wand ready.

Strangely proud of the formation and tactics the group was developing, Fetcher shuffles through the passageway and into the adjoining space doing his best to remain silent and alert.

You open the door to reveal a 30' x 30' room that, as Melissa guessed, is completely empty.

There is another door in the west wall, opposite the one you entered.

"Maybe next time you shouldn't be surprised if the room will be full of good bread and ale." Fetch half mumbles to his flying friend, then spends a moment pondering whether such creatures might actually have innate prognosticating abilities.

Slattery enters the room a bit gingerly, half expecting something to jump out from a secret passage.  Assuming that nothing does, he checks the next door as usual.

"I don't think it's even worth searching for secret doors." Melissa looks around "Let's just try the other door."

Odhran stayed as rearguard and became even more diligent in that duty.  There were now goblins behind them, goblins that might decide to sneak up and attack.  So Odhran tried to stick to the shadows and keep an eye out for anyone approaching from the rear.

Slattery walks across the room with no ill effect. He checks the western door and judges it safe.

Opening the door reveals a short, 20' corridor that ends in another door to the west and another corridor that heads south for 40' before turning east.

"Onward, I guess," he says.  "The first non-looted room we'll find will have something the goblins didn't want to tangle with, so there's that to look forward to."

He'll give the door to the west the usual examination.

Slattery does not hear any noise on the other side of the door and he does not find any traps.

Once everyone is in place, Slattery opens the door.  He's expecting to find an empty corridor, but the one time they don't follow their normal procedure, that'll be the time something rushes through as soon as he opens the door.

When Slattery finishes his inspection of the door ahead Fetcher lays a hand on his shoulder offering a soldier's reassurance; "When things are routine all is going to plan." Taking his place at the spear's head, he sets himself as the door swings open.

Melissa takes up her position without much enthusiasm, expecting the next few rooms to be bare of loot too.

Odhran continues to watch their back.

Opening the door reveals a large cavern, about 50' deep and 30' wide. The walls are of rough-hewn rock rather than the finished walls you've seen elsewhere. The cavern is cold and damp.

In the center of the cavern is a 14' tall roughly carved statue of a roughly humanoid figure. What really catches your attention are the two green jewels that it has for eyes and the amulet that hangs around it's neck which is set set with amber jewel. The amulet is circular and runic symbols encircle the jewel.

Slattery whistles softly and gives out a small groan.

"This dungeon is really yanking my chain," he says quietly.  "First that diamond, now these.  I wonder how they're cursed."

Not seeing anything moving Fetcher halts in the doorway. He presses his back against one side so as not to impede the view of the others. He's gravely concerned after Melissa's cautionary gargoyle tale earlier.

"I dunno if we should set foot in this one."

He had always assumed treasure hunting would yield more swordplay and riches piled high. He was quickly learning the rewards were much more deviously placed and the thought of fair, or at least straightforward fights was a silly notion to begin with. This particular carving looked nearly as formidable as anything his own size charging them with a weapon drawn. Fetch got a slight shiver as he thought more about magic.

Thea casts Detect Magic, and turns her eyes toward the statue, looking for any indication of enchantment.

"That's a bit too big for a gargoyle," Melissa says "So I'm guessing the amulet is enchanted and makes the statue do something." She looks round the rough hewn cavern. "Maybe it's some sort of autowhatchamacallit the original wizard used to mine out these tunnels and it just stopped when the wizard died?"
"Much as I hate to leave gems behind," she sighs "This might cost us too much blood for too little reward."

"Even if they're magic," Slattery says, "I'm thinking we give it a try.  At least it doesn't look like we'll just explode if we get close to it."

"We've got to get some sort of loot from this trip," he continues, "and I think Fetcher'll be disappointed if he doesn't get to fight something."

Thea does sense magic emanating from the amulet and the emeralds.

"I'd rather fight something I know about, or at least heard tell of. And only as a last resort, I've seen my share of death and gruesome wounds returned to the mercenary camps."

Thea tells the others what she has discerned.  "No real surprise, I know," she adds, "but at least the statue doesn't appear to be magical, which I find at least mildly encouraging."

"If it isnt dangerous, why havent the Goblins looted it?" Melissa frowns, her tiny brain working hard "Okay," she steels herself "I'm hardest to catch - stay here, I'm going in for a closer look."

She cautiously enters the room and first off makes a wide circuit of the cavern, looking out for discarded mining tools or evidence of a battle. She then closes to about ten feet from the statue - just out of immediate arms reach to give her a chance should it make a sudden grab, and circles the statue. If nothing happens, she'll close in from behind and take a look at the amulet chain to see if theres a catch on the back of the neck she could potentially reach.
Eventually, she'll fly around to the front and get close enough to read the runes on the amulet, still taking care not to touch anything.

Melissa zips into the cavern and flies around the statue. The chain from which the amulet hangs does has a clasp at the back. She cannot read the runes on the amulet; they are in a language she does not recognize.

There are no signs of a battle or mining equipment, but Melissa does spot the body of a dwarf in leather armor and a pack on his back lying face down on the floor about 10' behind the statue partially hidden by shadows.

"It seems safe enough." Melissa calls out, her eyes still on the amulet. "Oh and if anybody want's a dead dwarfs armour, there's a body over here."

Slattery enters the room cautiously, taking a wide path around the statue to examine the dead dwarf, both for valuables and to determine what killed him.

Slattery's inspection of the dwarf reveals that he is alive, but unconscious. He wears leather armor and a hand axe lies next to him.

"This one's alive," Slattery says.  He carefully moves the hand axe out of reach, and then shakes the dwarf's shoulder.

"Time to wake up," he says lightly. "This isn't the best place for a nap."

With that latest revelation Fetcher is moved to action. Still leery of the statue, he rounds the figure and stands over the stranger's axe in case Slattery needs help.

As Slattery shakes him, the dwarf's eyes slowly open.

OOC: You're up Biror!

Biror slowly emerges for what seems to have been a very deep slumber to him. When he opens his eyes, seeing the small mustache of a man he doesn't know, he immediately pushes him back and rolls over. Trying at the same time to clumsily stand on his legs and put a reasonable distance between him and the potentially hostile party surrounding him, he looks for his ax. Unfortunately, it is guarded by a menacing blond warrior.

With an uncertain voice, he tries not to look too impressed when he says: "Who the hell are you? And what have you done to Flodin, and the others?"

He positions himself in combat position, even though he clearly realizes that combat is not an option. His eyes are frantically looking for escape options.

Slattery looks up at the stone figure uncertainly.

"Is that Flodin or one of the others?"

"He's a little tall for a dwarf it he is."

"Easy, we're not wanting for a fight so give us a choice."

Gesturing with a point towards the imposing, ugly statue Fetcher asks "Tell us what you know of this thing and where your friends are."

Fetch slings his pack around as he speaks and pulls a waterskin from the top, he starts to offer it to the stranger but expects answers first.

"Is that? ... Who is? ..."

Biror looks at the statue, then the mustached man, puzzled by the question. When the blond warrior shows him a water skin, he realizes how dry his throat is. Lokking at it with envy, he eases his stance a little bit and says: "I'm afraid I don't know the answer to any of these questions. The hell if I remember anything after I stepped into these tunnels!"

"Well, we're pretty far in," Slattery says, "and we found you unconscious in this room.  If you came in with others, it's hard to say where they're at."

"You part of a treasure hunting group, or something else?"

Odhran is still maintaining rear guard duty in case those goblins try to come upon us.  "We could use another strong arm if your previous friends deserted you."

"You could... say that." answers Biror to the human who woke him up, hesitantly.

Noting the proposal made by the small Leprechaun, he ponders for a short while and says: "Look, you seem to be a strange bunch, but you probably are my best bet for survival -- and finding my lost companions. So... yeah, if you will have me, I would be happy to stay with you!"

Slattery frowns at the hesitation in the dwarf's answer, but shrugs.  He'd be happy to have someone else in front of him in battle.

"Well," he says, gesturing at the stone figure with the amulet and gems for eyes, "we were just pondering how best to loot this without triggering whatever magical trap is involved."

"I'm in favor of a very long strand of rope attached to the amulet."

"Then welcome aboard Biror," said Odhran as he maintained rear guard.

"Slattery, can we get close enough to take a look?  Maybe someone can spot the trap mechanism."

With Odhran's approval and Slattery's acceptance, Fetcher extends the waterskin to the stranger. "Fetcher" he introduces himself with a nod, taking his foot off the discarded weapon below him.


He picks up the dwarf's hand axe and examines it, gauging it's heft and balance for himself before offering it up as well. A sign of his uneasy trust.

"Melissa flew around it without anything happening," Slattery says, "so I think we can safely get close-ish to it."

He'll approach to within about five feet behind the statue and see if he can see anything obvious in terms of traps.  He isn't expecting anything; magical traps aren't the sort of thing he can see, but you never knew.

"Melissa." The fairy introduces herself. "And the talkataive one behind me is Thea."



"At a guess, this statue might come alive if we touch it, or maybe touch the amulet. I dont think it would be a good idea to be standing right next to it with your hands above your head holding a rope if it does." She says, glancing down at Slattery. "But there's a clasp on the back of the chain and if I undo that it should fall off. And if the statue comes alive when I'm doing that, at least I'm behind it and harder to reach."

She pauses, looking at the statues feet. "Hey, why dont we use some rope and put a snare around its feet? We can do that without actually touching it, and if it moves we pull it tight. Statue hits the ground face first and we get a free hit or two."

Slattery does not notice anything unusual around the statue; no signs of traps or triggering mechanisms.

Slattery smiles.

"I like the way you think," he says, unlimbering rope from his pack.  "It won't be foolproof, but it's something. We should be able to loop the rope around it on the floor without touching it, and then try to pull it tight if something happens."

"I can cast Glue You on the statue if it animates," Thea says, "but I do like the idea of using some rope as a snare, just in case it is resistant to such magicks."

"The name is Biror" says the dwarf to introduce himself, then he picks up his ax and gladly takes a few gulps from the waterskin Fetcher offered a while ago.

Then he takes some time to recover from all that happened while looking at the party deal with the giant statue, happy not to be the center of attention anymore. However, something tells him he will not have much time to think before action is needed...

"Oh, I'm Slattery," Slattery says to Biror as he continues to lay out rope in a large loop around the statue.

Slattery loops his rope around the base of the statue with no ill effects.

Fetcher assumes the role of would-be rope puller, taking the loose end he backs away towards the door leaving enough slack to not shift the loop Slattery has carefully laid.

"Like this?" he asks, making sure he's set to properly execute the spellcaster's idea. He coils the excess in one hand and grips the rope as if he expects the stonework form to spring to life and throw its weight around in a full-on tantrum. Fetch has one eye on the statue and one eye on an armed Biror.

Biror makes sure he is not to close to the statue, and preferably behind it when it falls. His ax is still in his hand.

"Yep, that's it. Is everyone ready?" Melissa moves into place behind the statue and reaches towards the clasp on the chain. "Here goes..." she puts her hands on the chain, and starts working on the clasp.

Melissa undoes the clasp and...the amulet falls to the floor. The statue does not seem to mind.

Slattery pauses for a second or two, and then relaxes.

"Keep a hold on the rope," he suggests, and then darts forward to grab the amulet and retreat.

While everybody's attention is fixed on the statue, Biror looks around to check if anything unusual happens in the room or near its exits.

Slattery is able to grab the amulet without issue. Biror notices nothing unusual.

Fetcher relaxes a barely noticeable amount. "Nothing much about this place makes sense to me." It sounds like he has more to add to that thought but for reasons unknown he bottles it up.

"Maybe it is the amulet that is the trap," Odhran said.  Something had to be up with this room or else the goblins and others would have looted the room.

"Yeah, we'll need it identified back at town," Slattery says, carefully putting the amulet into his pack.  "Since the last guy wearing it was stone, I'm not putting it on."

"What about those eyes?  They look valuable, too."

"It's magical." Melissa says "When we rest up for the night Oddy can try his new spell on it."


Melissa hovers around to the front of the statue and peers closely at the gem eyes, casting Detect Magic and trying to determine if they are gems or just coloured glass, as well as how hard they are likely to be to pry out.

"You guys have met goblins?" asks Biror, inquisitively.

"Yes," responded Odhran.  "One of the reasons I am watching our backside so diligently.  Well, them and the zombies."

In reply to Biror (msg # 298):

"... and fortunately the goblins seemed more interested in their card game than tangling with us in a small room. Can you remember anything you've run into down here Biror?"

Biror looks at the warrior for a time, then shakes his head. "I'll be damned if I remember anything. We set step into these tunnels with the company and then... It's all blank." he says, looking troubled.

"Your company wouldnt have contained a dwarf called Gungnir, would it?" Melissa calls over her shoulder, still scrutinising the statue's eyes.

"Gungnir? No... doesn't ring a bell." answers Biror.

Slattery carefully packs away the amulet.

As you consider the jewels and your new comrade, you all suddenly smell something rather rank. Framed in the entryway to the room is an enormous troll! It snarls and charges, ready to rip the first one of you it manages to catch in two.

OOC: Start of combat. State your intentions and roll the necessary dice.

Gulping, Slattery scrambles over to the side of the room, intending to sneak around the troll and attack from the side while it's distracted by Fetcher and Biror.  On his way he casts Vorpal Blade on his short sword.

22:11, Today: Slattery rolled 7 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  Sneaking.

Biror has no time to panick, and tries to think fast. He puts himself in front of the monster, clearly visible, in such a way that the statue is between them. Then at the last second he will try to step aside behind the statue and strike at the charging troll while being covered in part by it.

12:05, Today: Biror rolled 9 with the Tunnels & Trolls, Saving Throws system.  Combat maneuver.

11:56, Today: Biror rolled 19 using 3d6+12 with rolls of 1,3,3.  Ax strike.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:57, Fri 28 May 2021.

Damn, this would be the perfect time for the goblins to try to sneak up behind us, Odhran thought as he spat a curse at the troll while striking the ground with the bottom of his cane.
"Spit mé i do shúil."

OOC: Cast Glue You on the troll.  -8 WIZ.

He is going to split his attention between the Troll and making sure nothing creeps up behind.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:16, Wed 26 May 2021.

"Crivens!" Melissa dives for cover behind the statue's back, coming back up a second later feeling both ashamed and annoyed at herself. She points her wand and unleashes her most potent spell on the troll.

OOC : TTYF cast at second level, 26pts damage, -10 wiz


Hasnt the Troll just appeared in the doorway Odhran was watching for goblins?

OOC: Sorry, I am confused.  I thought there was a second door.
At this point, Odhran was not in the room and was watching behind the party.

If Odhran is between the troll and the party, my action will change.

OOC: There is only one entrance to the room you are in and that is where the troll is coming in. Odhran's watch is what kept you from being caught totally off guard. If that is where Odhran was, then he is in the thick of the fight. However, T&T combat is pretty abstract (total die rolls vs. total die rolls), so Odhran is free to act as he wishes (run away, Wink Wing away, cast a spell, stab the troll in the foot). If others wish to charge forward to shield him, I'll take it into account if I have to distribute damage. 

OOC: That does change things.

Odhran will Wink-Wink to the other side of the troll.
Wiz -5.

Of course battle would find Fetcher flatfooted with hands full of rope, after routine and careful preparation nearly every step of the way.

"Gods..." Is all he manages to say as Odhran disappears from the path of the charging brute. Fetch hopes that surprises the troll as much as it surprised him and that the distractions of the others scattering and wielding magic will give him enough of an edge to stand the run-in.

Fetch drops the rope, and in one fluid motion slings his shield around while readying the untested warhammer from his belt. He instantly decides against a counter-charge and holds his ground ready to lash out at whatever part of the monster presents the best target when they clash.

Today: Fetcher rolled 29 using 5d6+16 for a warhammer strike.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:12, Thu 27 May 2021.

Swearing under her breath, Thea then uses her staff to channel a bolt of destructive energy at the troll.

OOC: TTYF cast, 15 points of damage, 4? WIZ spent.  EDIT: 3 WIZ spent, not 4.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:48, Fri 28 May 2021.

The troll charges into the room and is momentarily confused as Odhran vanishes. That moment passes quickly as the troll sets its sights on Fetcher and Biror who stand firm, weapons ready. The troll charges them and is blasted by magical fire from Melissa and Thea. Slattery successfully sneaks around the side of the troll without it noticing (L1SR on LK17 rolled 7, success 7 AP) and casts Vorpal Blade on his sword (-5 WIZ).

The troll closes with Fetcher and Biror. Biror suddenly leaps behind the statue and uses it as a shield while he hacks at the troll with his axe (L1SR on DEX14, rolled 9, success, 9 AP). Fetcher stands his ground and trades blows with the troll.

The troll, though huge, is visibly shaken by the magical force unleashed upon it. It swipes at Fetcher and Biror, but is unable to land any telling blows. The two don't make it through entire unscathed, however (2 spite damage to Fetcher, 1 spite damage to Biror).

The troll is burned and bleeding badly.

OOC: Next combat turn!

Slattery attacks from the rear, cutting at the troll's legs (since he can't reach much higher than that) with his sword and dagger.

18:38, Today: Slattery rolled 36 using 8d6+10 with rolls of 4,6,6,2,3,1,2,2.  Vorpal sword + dagger.

Seeing that the troll has suffered serious damage, and that neither Slattery or Fetcher are seriously hurt, Thea unleashes another basic bolt of destructive magical energies, hoping to defeat the creature without expending too much of her own magical strength in doing so.

OOC: TTYF, 15 points of damage, 3 WIZ expended.

As the fighting surges and Fetcher senses the party having the upper hand, he presses in to keep the battered troll on its heels. He shouts at the dwarf to push their advantage, forgetting Biror's name in the flux, he then feints to keep the troll engaged and away from the mages, raises his shield to fend off any desperate lunges and strafes to keep moving while patiently waiting to unleash another hammer blow at the right moment.

As the bloodied hulk is struck by a second sizzling bolt and Slattery disappears behind the thing's legs, Fetch winds and lands another solid swing.

18:49, Today: Fetcher rolled 33 using 5d6+16 (5,4,1,4,3)