Kneeling down, the girl take a breath and goes to grab the key almost expecting a trap. Seriously.  She gives it a quick tug and occasionally looks up at the ceiling. and all around almost paranoid.

In reply to Bella Donna (msg # 196):

Suddenly!

The key yanks on the neck of the skeleton and the chain doesn't come lose.  You end up having to lift the skull up and slip it over the top.

But yeah.  You get the key.  No undead shenanigans.  It's kind of anticlimactic.

There's something etched into the side of the key.  Symbols...

Draconic?  You think.  But some kind of really weird version of it.

Let's see...the past perfect form of to kill is fraun lieben...

Something Run Off Stop

With the key in hand, the alchemist steps out of the hut and flies over to the pipes. She goes to check them one at a time looking for a 'keyhole'. If one is not found, she flies up and scouts the area again.

Two PER tests please.

If you want to roll some additional ones, go ahead.  I'll keep the unused numbers "on file" to use the next time a PER is called for. 

05:01, Today: Bella Donna rolled 19 using 1d20+9.  Perception.

05:01, Today: Bella Donna rolled 14 using 1d20+9.  Perception

You spot a key hole on the second pipe, near the base.  There are two symbols on the lockplate.  The key does fit in the slot.

You could turn the key all the way clockwise.  If you do, you would turn the key towards the first of the symbols:  a black circle.

If you turn the key widdershins, you end up moving towards the other symbol:  a circle with what looks like an owl in it.

Yeah.  An owl.  Who knew?

"This doesn't make sense. If the key was used to do something why was it on a long dead corpse? Course it is possible there is more then one key but the likely hood isn't well likely. Furthermore well...I do need a possible way out. Could bring the villagers here but is it safe? No probably not. Safe isn't a complete logical choice. So a owl or a possible black circle." Bella takes a breath. and turns the key to the circle.

The empty non-owl circle, correct?

Yes

Thanks.  Just wanted to make sure.

There's a rumbling sound.  Out in the midst of the water, there's a sudden eruption as a great mound of bubbles launches upwards.  And then...

Nothing.

For a while.

But...

You think the water level is lowering.

Want to wait to see what happens?

"Interesting. Could be lowering the water to solidified the area and provide a possible way out. Or could bring on other odd creatures. Maybe both. I do not know which oddly surprises me. Of course with all that has occured well...." Bella waits.

The water finally finishes draining.  Or at least mostly draining.  The level drops to a few inches.

A small hatch is now visible at the foot of the island with the shack though.  The hatch is set into the rock.  There's a small level next to it.

You can push it upwards towards a symbol that looks like an owl taking flight.  Or downwards towards a symbol that looks like a bat hanging upside down from a branch.

The alchemist 'pushes' it towards the bat hanging upside down.

The hatch rumbles and trembles, but then slowly starts to sink down into the ground.

You are looking down a shaft that seems to descend well past your line of site.  The shaft if narrow.  Too narrow to fly down with your wings.

But there is a ladder set on one side of the shaft.  You could descend down it on that.

Or any other way you wish to.  Except flying with your wings.

Taking a deep breath, the girl climbs down as far as she can.

The shaft descends.

The rungs are slick, covered in a foul smelling algae.  But outside of the odd foot slip, you have no trouble descending.

You've gone done what feels like hours but is probably only a minute when you come to something.  There's a tunnel in the side of the shaft.  It's really just a hole that seems to extend back into the rock.  It's not tall enough to walk down, but it's large enough you could crawl into it.

The shaft continues to descend below you.

Continuing down the shaft?  Or seeing what this side tunnel is?

Biting her lip Bella decides to go down the hall, crawling.

It is a tight squeeze.  But the sides have patches of slimy algae.  So you can continue on.

You almost fall for it.  But a sixth sense makes you stop just before you pull yourself into the hole.

The tunnel continues ahead.  But the entire floor before you is gone.  It's a gaping hole that leads downwards at a steep angle.  The sides of it are rather slick.  You realize it's a slide.

You can try to cross the hole and continue down the tunnel.  Or take the slide

Realizing its a bad idea, Bella tries to turn around but probably can't. She bites her lip, sweat dripping down her face. He eyes narrow and she does something odd-she goes down the slide with the gun pointed downwards and her wings ready to flip out.

The slide is much slicker and the ride much faster than you may have thought.  The speed of it is so fast, it's hard to keep your eyes open.  But you do.  How else would you see the wall you're about to run right into?

Reflex save please.  DC 14

20:41, Today: Bella Donna rolled 21 using 1d20+7.  Reflex Save DC 14

You manage to slow yourself by digging the toes of your boots and sleeves on your elbows into the slide.  Neither garment appreciates it, but when you hit the wall, it's not as hard.

8 pts damage

What's odd is that the wall basically falls apart.  Like instead of stone the wall is made of flimsy wood.

You don't shoot through it, but you do find yourself sort of sticking halfway out of it.  You're looking into a large chamber.

It's round, the floor covered by water.  Overhead, a ceiling domes high above.  A mural of a night sky is painted on it though that sky seems a bit odd.  From a chain on the ceiling, a large chandelier is suspended from that roof.  It's an oddly ornate affair, with wide beams made of brass and overly decorated glass globes that glow with an inner light.  The combined light is the source of illumination in the chamber.

You estimate that the chamber is about 80' high.  The chandelier hangs down at about the 40' mark or halfway down.  The slide ends right across from it.  If you had actually burst through the wall at full speed, you might have hit the chandelier.

Below, there is a single archway leading out of the room.

Son of a....

Bella gets beat and banged up but least she survived right? Flutting about, the alchemist grumbles. Chandelier. And a opening. She flies up to examing the odd mural trying to figure out what is so odd about it. Once down, she flies down and looks over the water.

Let's deal with the mural first.

Make me a PER check please

What becomes obviously very quickly as you peruse the mural:  the sky is all wrong.  The usual constellations aren't present.

You recognize a few of the stars.  That one that glows more than the others must be Orix.  But there are a couple of stars near it that shouldn't be there.  And Orix serves as the thumb in the constellation Giant's Catcher's Mitt.  But the other points that make out the fingers of the glove are in the wrong place.  A little too high or low.  It's less a catcher's mitt and more a letter L really.

11:31, Today: Bella Donna rolled 10 using 1d20+9.  Perception.

Well that sucked.