There was the unmistakable sounds of metal pins and tumblers clicking about in the lock. Then with a final smooth twist, Brengalyn felt the lock give way. The door was unlocked. As she was about to withdraw the lockpicks there was a second, unmistakable click-whir as a trap that had laid dormant for she-didn't know how long was triggered.

(OOC: everyone make a reflex roll versus getting killed by a malicious plot device!!!! wait, that is right, a reflex check. am in the right game system. i forget.)

Old bones may have been sly, but they were also old, and Thamkis' knee locked as she tried to get out of the way, the dull pain of it likely nothing compared to the trap . . .

OOC: rolled a 9

The glint of something shiny on the ground caught Barg's attention and he stooped to look at it, heedless of the trap!

OOC: Reflex save 22, evasion

Panic set in as Brengalyn heard the click and she tried to let her reflexes take over. Panic and instinct did not a loving bed make though . . .

OOC: Rolled a 16, have Evasion too

There was a sudden rush of air, and whirling of gears, and a cluster of darts shot from a panel in the door. Barg sprang away like his beloved toad in with a screech of warning rebounded off of the ceiling. Brengalyn dropped to one knee and leaned flat to the wall. The darts found their mark in Thamkis as the old crone spun and stepped toward the wall. The pain wasn't bad and their was a weak tingling of age old poison that had lost its potency.


(OOC: Thamkis that will be a whopping 3 damage. Piercing of course. the poison had lost its potency. So, the dart trap is quite old.)

"Bags!"

Thamkis touched a finger to the dart, feeling it had pierced her outer clothes and become stuck in the silk chemise under her robes. She gripped her robes and flicked it, the darts falling to the ground

"They say pain is less when you're old. I'm waiting for that dullness."

OOC: 3 damage! Nice! Still 25% of my hp but that's being an old character

The door hung, a touch ajar, with the smell of old death and ancient dust filtering out into the corridor. Brengalyn stood slowly watching for any sign of trouble. Barg checked his pockets. A jump like that, there was no telling what could have shaken loose. Then he shrieked into giggles, he didn't have pockets! Thamkis noted the darts, and with whiff and a lick determined that the poison was Wyvern venom! Oly it must be centuries old.

"Barg has just the ticket!"

Barg fumbled for a small stone in his pack, holding it to his forehead. This mossy agate had little flecks of blue, and Barg had long known it was the fabled Detecty Stone

"Barg will concentrate!"

"What . . . in the world are you doing Barg?"

We've had bloodthirsty warriors and we've had idiots warriors, but the gods never saw fit to saddle us with a bloodthirsty idiot before

Brengalyn crept forward, past the goblin meditating, to check the door and the area beyond for any more of these traps

OOC: Perception check 17 to search

Brengalyn took her time to search for signs of their impending doom, but nothing could be found. Dubious, but certain, she took several furtive steps into the corridor beyond. What she found was shocking. Spread along the corridor, often in heaps were behead and dismembered corpses that looked to be decades old like the one hanging in the corridor.

They still wore their armor, weapons, and packs. Signs of a fight like steel scars in the granite walls and floor, arrows scatter and shattered along the corridor, and long dried bloody footprints bespoke of the combat. There were as series of doors, like the entry to cages along the corridor. At the far end of the corridor it branched right and left. There was a tall, dull gray statue of a Dwarf warrior clad in mail and holding a large sword as if it were standing guard.

"Looks like there was a fight in here, everyone care to take a look?"

Brengalyn eyed the tall statue, wary of any dwarven tricks

"Thamkis, do dwarves use stone warriors, or constructs?"

Thamkis walked in scratching her chin and looked up

"If it is one, it means we're headed in the right direction, but I don't know if this one is one."

OOC: 19 to history, 26 to arcana to identify a construct

Barg moved in as well and began looking at the armour and weapons and bits of stuff with his blue moss agate held to his head, eager to see if there was anything worth collecting. The detecty stone would know . . .

OOC: it is a normal stone

"A-haaaaa!" escaped Barg's lips. The stone vibrated. Dropping to his knees and sliding his face sideways along the floor he found it. A bag. Silver coins. And an off coin a dark metal that felt warm to the touch! Barg found it, the stone found it, quick, must pick it up before it is lost.

Thamkis eyes the statue with a critical eye and softly sniffed the air. There was an unmistakable undercurrent of the arcane at work here. The statue, it was more than a relic of ancient artistry. It was alive somehow, alive with an ancient arcane power.

Brengalyn watched in mystery and wonder. Mystified by the way Thamkis seemed to sniff at the very air. She stared in wonder as Barg dove node first into the old bones and ferreted out some coins. Mayne there was something to that stone thing after all.

"That statue is alive with a magical power. We should tread lightly . . . or with reverence."

She looked at Barg diving for coins

"Perhaps we should just prepare for a fight . . . "

Brengalyn tensed up, drawing her ankus and preparing her buckler

"Maybe you can tell it some sweet words in Dwarvish?"

She snapped her fingers at Barg, trying to get the goblin's attention

Barg raised his head, hearing the snapping, and looked at Brengalyn. He dropped the shinies and sauntered over

"Yes tall lady? Barg is needed?"

"It is a guardian of great wrath, any who try to kill or to destroy . . . or steal, are set upon. We should move with reverence and speed before it decides we're trespassing, perhaps it will let us pass further in"

Thamkis steadied herself and walked forward, Graham at her side waddling proudly as she approached the statue to see if there was an exit near it

"Do not take offense, great one. We are passing through, and do not mean the children of stone harm"

"You are welcome to pass through these halls, Lady, go in peace and live with honor." The Guardian rumbled in a deep, gravely voice in Dwarvish. It spoke with the accent of the ancient tongue, certain syllables were enunciated while others were left silent. It was odd to here to the old crone, but she understood the words without issue.

"We're free to pass. Best behaviour all!"

Thamkis took off at a walk with back straight and head bowed to show some respect.

Brengalyn followed, putting a hand each on the chaos pair of Penny and Barg to usher them along

Barg quickly tried to pocket the pretty rocks he'd found and followed, waddling so his pockets would rattle with a big smile

"Barg thanks you big dwarf man!"

"You are welcome savage Goblin man." A course voice rumbled from the statue.

The corridor stretched on for another forty feet or so and then emptied into a room that faded away into darkness. But, what could be seen was the ends of thick cut-stone cradles for weapons. Many, many weapons. Swords and axes and maces and, of course, heavy crossbows. The room was a warehouse of weapons.

The walls were smooth, cut from living rock, and their dusty expanse seemed to be covered in murals of old-time smiths toiling with hammer and file. The ancestors of those who made the weapons hanging in the cradles no less.

"We need to figure out what if anything we can find in here and then get back to the wagon before too long. I don't imagine the animals are enjoying the cold."

Brengalyn looked around for any sign of interest and whether they could use anything

Thamkis waved her hands over her eyes, both her vision and Graham's clouded by a violet mist as she looked about

OOC: detect magic