Grugar pads along, still frustrated and a little angry at himself.

The dank corridor worries him, he isn't really sure why, but he steers clear of the damp.

The doorway is another challenge and a chance for him to redeem himself in his own eyes. In silence he waits for the door to be opened, sword ready.

Ishmael waits quietly, with little more than a grunt and a shrug he backs from the door, giving the breachers their chance.

Although it requires some effort, the moisture ridden door opens, its rusted hinges squealing in protest.

Beyond the doorway is another short corridor, this one not as blackened by seepage from the marsh. Immediately to the east sits another door which is closed and crafted from stone. Aside from an iron handle, it is nondescript, its color matching the gray bricks which surround it.

To the west, the passage continues for twenty feet, then turns southward. In the gloom, the adventurers can see a flicker of orange illumination from southern hallway.

While very much a moth to be drawn the flame, Barnabus steadies himself in the hallway less permeated by marsh drippings. His eyes move meaningfully to the gray door and then to the ranger.

OOC Standard opening procedure for the gray door.

"The dead don't need torches." the dwarf whispers. watching to the west.

"Ishmael is right. We need to see who or what is over there, first." Dax whispers to the others.

The ranger heads to the west, stopping to peer south, around the corner.

Sir Dryvyk gestured toward the glow with the tip of his sword, relieved that Dax and Ishmael were thinking along the same lines.

Barnabus narrows his eyes momentarily. When he relaxes them, they have lost their focus, no longer full of intent. He is content to observe the other professionals at work.

Peering around the corner, Dax can see that the southern branch of the corridor extends for almost thirty feet before reaching a stone archway. A sculpted gargoyle head sits at the arch’s highest point and the shapes of bones have been chiseled into its sides.

The hallway travels for a number of feet beyond the arch, before slanting to the southeast. The flickering orange glow of firelight is brightest in the southeastern portion of the corridor. The ranger can see a large shadow cast on the hall’s eastern wall, but as he watches, Dax does not perceive the silhouette moving at all. Whatever might be casting it appears to be completely still.

"Something is down there, but it's not moving," Dax whispers.

He moves around the corner keeping close to the eastern wall, and stops at the archway.

"What do you make of this?" he asks as examines the carved archway.

Barnabus pulls a wry face, "About what I'd expect in the catacombs?"

Sotto voce, he encourages the ranger to creep about a bit further to identify the source of the alluring effulgence.

Malivoire continued to move as quietly as he could with the rest, moving toward the strange glow down the passageway.  He made sure to maintain his proper position in the order, lest he bunch up with those ahead and potentially impede their ability to move about once the source of the light was identified.

Dax stops talking to himself, and signals to the group to join him at the arch.

"The passage bends to the left, there's something there, but it's not moving...what do you make of this arch...any concern about passing through it?"

The thief waits quietly with the others as the ranger sneaks away, watching only, until Dax calls them forward.  The dwarf inspects the stone of the arch, running his hands lightly over the bones, looking for anything hidden.

Examination of the archway does not reveal anything hidden within the stone that comprises it, nor do any of its markings suggest any sort of magical enchantment. As best any of the party can discern, the arch appears safe to pass under.

Barnabus and Malivoire both have the lingering suspicion that the archway serves as some kind of marker, designating the entrance to a particular area of the catacombs, perhaps tombs utilized by a single family, or the adherents of a specific faith. Whatever the case, the arch’s significance has been lost to history.

Ahead, the orange glow of the firelight remains strong, the tall silhouette still motionless.

Dax nods to Malivoire, and moves forward along the east wall until he reaches the point where it angles east.

Peering around the corner, he will signal the group to follow if there is no sign of activity.

"In for an inch, in for a foot," Barnabas intones happily to himself.

Grugar had waited stolidly, awaiting Dax's call, either to advance or beware. He'd frowned a number of times as the priest seemed to be talking to imaginary voices. He shrugged inwardly, the god touched might also be touched in the head he supposed.

He moved forward with the others, as quietly as his metal-clad form allowed at least.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:30, Wed 16 Feb 2022.

The sheer weight and scope of this undertaking was certainly far from being realized by the young knight, but each step deeper into the barrow felt like he was making progress towards his the eventual completion of his quest. Though, in reality, it would take an army of stalwarts like himself, Sir Dryvyk seemed confident that any and all evil would be vanquished, the moors eventually drained and reclaimed, and his familial holdings expanded.

So were the thoughts running through the mind of the young knight as he awaited the signal to proceed forward.

The flickering of Lampert's light was almost hypnotizing as one listened into the darkness beyond...

Cautiously making his way past the arch, keeping close to the slanting passageway’s eastern wall, Dax is able to peer further down the corridor.

About fifty feet down the southeastern branch of the hallway, the passage opens up into a chamber. From his vantage point, the ranger can see that the western corner of the large room holds a dais, upon which is a stone statue of a creature which resembles a gargoyle. The figure is in a crouching position and surrounded at its base by a trio of iron braziers, all of which are burning brightly. It is immediately plain to Dax that it is the statue that is casting the shadow which he had perceived.

From his position, it is difficult for Dax to make out the fine features of the stone figure. He does not see any movement within the room aside from the wavering flames in the braziers. The chamber appears unoccupied.

Assuming Dax backtracks a bit and shares his findings.

"The stone sentinel hasn't been keeping those braziers lit," Barnabas says quietly. "I sense an enchantment that may well extend to our stone friend, one I do not think would welcome us in his stony arms."

He counsels for a return to this family crypt "later -- when we're ready to face a gargoyle if a gargoyle we must face."

God-touched though he might be, the priest still has a vast store of wisdom on which to draw.

Return to the eastern door we bypassed and go about opening it in the customary fashion.

Dax will move forward toward the 'gargoyle' room, stopping at the halfway point of the angled corridor, he will listen for sounds of occupants, and perhaps get a better view of the room.

He then will return to the party waiting at the arch and provide a description of what he has seen and heard.

Dax listens attentively, but aside from the crackling flames within the braziers, he hears only silence. No voices nor sounds of movement. From his vantage point, the ranger cannot discern many details about the room, though he has the sense that the chamber is sizable; one of the largest that the party has encountered thus far in their explorations.

After Dax shares his impressions with his fellow adventurers, the party returns to the stone door which they had passed just prior to discovering the archway. The door is smooth, free of any kind of markings.

Although dust clings to every surface of the corridor, it has been scattered from the floor immediately in front of the closed portal.

"Looks like someone has been in here recently," Dax mentions pointing to the floor. He draws his sword, and stands to the side, allowing Ishmael to inspect the door.

"Well, that is not good. Who else would have made it past the skeletons?," she says after Dax makes his observation. She rubs her forehead.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:40, Fri 18 Feb 2022.