Ishmael looks the door over.

"..."

Sir Dryvyk adjusted his grip on the heavy rawhide handle of his shield.

Examining the door, Ishmael finds no evidence of traps on or around it. The explorer presses his ear to the stone portal, listening intently for any sounds on the other side.

Good morning, LL -- through the door, then.

"Something that evaded the patrol?" Malivoire suggested in response to Gwendolyn.  "Or maybe something from deeper within the crypts, coming out?"  The latter felt more disturbing for some reason, and Malivoire shivered at the thought.

The elven mage waited anxiously for the door to be opened and reveal its secrets.

"Quiet!" The dwarf hisses loudly his frustration.  "Quiet.  Someone moves on the other side, but coming closer or going further I can't tell.  They speak but I can't hear it."   He moves from the door to let the breachers breach.

Dax looks to Grugar and Dryvyk, nodding at them to confirm their readiness.

He then pulls the door open swiftly and steps through, sword leading.

Dax pushes the door open.

Beyond it is a stone chamber that is roughly twenty by twenty feet in size. The stone walls are unadorned, though the northern wall shows soot on its surface, the leavings of fires burned in its vicinity.

Adjacent to the northern wall are the ashes of a long forgotten campfire, along with a pair of tattered bedrolls and a few wooden bowls and implements for eating, none of which show signs of recent use.

On the eastern side of the chamber, two diagonal walls meet at a point, lending a triangular appearance to that end of the room. Wooden doors are installed on each slanted wall, one leading northeast, the other southeast. The doors are the only visible exits from the chamber, save for the door the party entered from.

A group of six humanoids, all clad in threadbare clothing and cloaks are within the chamber when the party enters, though several have already begun to flee through the northeastern doorway. The adventurers can see that each figure’s features are a strange amalgamation of seemingly different species: canine, reptilian, and avian aspects are visible on those in closest proximity. One of the nearby figures has a hand that resembles a crab claw.

The nearest of the humanoids waves at his comrades, speaking to them in a guttural tongue that is filled with urgency. One of the group is carrying a worn sack over one shoulder. The adventurers can see a few pieces of grain fall from one of its open seams.

Dax is struck by the strangeness of the occupants, he lowers his sword and calls out in the orcish tongue, [Language unknown: "Ng nte po atliut set. Al ant ntiil? Tin but ive strbe?"]

Following Dax's lead, Sir Dryvyk lowered his sword as well. He saw the sack the fellow carried and wondered. "Not much reason for seed in the moors, perhaps they're raiding for food?" he asked quietly.

The young knight reached into his pack and produced a couple of his rations. Holding his sword in his shield hand, he handed them to Dax, hoping the contribution would aid in his parley.

Grugar didn't like the look of the creatures, but they seemed timid and possibly harmless so he remained silent and waited for them to answer.

Having said that he also kept his sword ready.

After some momentary surprise at this unexpected scene, Barnabus remembers the lone rumour he had heard about the Barrowmaze and the others had not. Sure, he had dressed it up some when he had shared it with the group; mysticism was nine-tenths showmanship and he did like a good show. So a band of twisted, mutated people did make their home within the Barrowmaze. Given their corruptions, it is difficult to see where else they could make it.

He relaxes and watches Dax work his charms upon these misbegotten souls.

Dax lets the tip of his sword drop slowly until it is resting on the floor. Keeping his eyes on the strange creature, he takes the food from Dryvyk and takes a small bite, chews, and swallows - and then holds out the food to the creature.

All but the two creatures nearest the adventurers and the one carrying the sack continue with their flight, rushing out of the room through the northeastern doorway.

The figure who spoke approaches Dax hesitantly after the ranger addresses it, cupping its hands to receive the offered ration. Its face resembles a reptile’s, save for the area around its left eye, which is covered in dark fur. The humanoid regards Dax with wonder when the adventurer gives the food to it freely.

It points to its compatriot with the sack, then speaks.

The dwarf stands by, watching quietly.  Sometimes bribery works as well as killling.

[Language unknown: T u All, ec ol Weiner, virri out la Iobeni. I seiou romredwerame ousughant meloer ecvir k saive ck nitipa witle sitr nd viras heilss. Ma i omestavor.]

Once the creatures vacate the room, Dax explains to the group, "I don't know what they are...their speech is a mix of orc and goblin and something else...they say they lived in the moors but were forced to retreat into the tombs as they were hunted by the humans, lizardmen, and froglings."

If there are no issues, the ranger will point to the door facing southeast, "Shall we?"

Dwarves rarely lose their feet, and such he has a good sense of where they are relative you where they were. "Where does that lead? Back to the druids temple?" he asks, gesturing towards the northwest door, even as he starts towards the southwest one to check it.  "or did we miss another hidden door?"

I'm guessing there is a short hallway from 14 that ends at the secret door to 10.  Otherwise this SE door leads to the same room as the NE

"Let's have a look beyond that northwest door, first," Barnabas answers, echoing Ishmael.

He wonders aloud, "They took refuge in the catacombs; did the catacombs answer their prayers or do they serve those of others?"

"Wait!  Wait!" Malivoire called out in orcish and common.  These were creatures that lived in the catacombs and had managed to survive the dangers within.  Surely they could carry much useful information on the dangers their party might encounter as they moved further into the subterranean construction?

"Dax, we should ask them about the dangers they know of.  Areas of great danger, warning signs, other useful tidbits.  Don't let them just walk off!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Once the former is resolved one way or the other (might be too late, I know)}....

The mage was prepared to go through either door and carried no particular feelings on which was preferable.  He made ready and took up his customary position in the order, ready to follow oncethe group resumed its explorations.

"They have the look of misfortunates, I feel as if we've done a good thing. My fight is against the evils of this place, not against its victims unless such becomes unavoidable."

Sir Dryvyk re-armed himself and stood at the ready to support the party.

At Malivoire’s entreaty, the last of the cloaked figures pauses, regarding the mage and ranger uncertainly. The creature speaks quickly, its words hushed.


After speaking, it rushes to follow its compatriots.

Peering through the northwestern doorway, the adventurers see a short, stone hallway that travels eastward. The corridor ends at a door, which stands open. Looking closely, the party recognize that it is the hidden door that Malivoire discovered within the quiet, nondescript passage that appeared to have no exits at first glimpse. The cloaked figures have clearly fled in that direction.

However, the short corridor beyond the northwestern door offers another route. On the southern wall, the outline of another door is visible, the portal crafted from the same stone that the rest of the passage was built from. It is closed.

Once the last of the beastmen has left, Dax explains to the group what he said, "Apparently there are a great many untouched tombs south of that gargoyle statue I saw...along with many undead protecting the treasures.

There's another door there," he adds pointing out the northeast door, "Let's prove ourselves methodical at the least."

Dax will step into the short hall, and push the secret door to the east shut, before letting Ishmael examine the stone door heading south.

[Edit: east not west!]
This message was last edited by the player at 22:26, Wed 02 Mar 2022.

Barnabus nods along at Dax's intelligence, his whitish eyes becoming nearly pearlescent at the prospect of unplundered tombs to the south. When the ranger pleas for a "methodical" approach, he seconds it, counseling that they soon backtrack to check out the eastern hallway off of the room with the broken pottery -- not too mention the northern tunnels.

Map has NE and a SE (and W) door for this room, with the NE door being the one the refugees fled through.

Gwendolyn remains among the middle of the group, her bow in-hand, and listens for any unusual sounds. She wonders about the beast people, but if they mean no harm, then she has no ill will to bear them.

Malivoire wondered whether the door in the short passage would lead to the same location as the southeast door in the room that had contained the abandoned camp which the batsmen were raiding.  It felt very close together, but the mage would be the first to admit that spatial abstractions underground were hardly his speciality.

While Dax and Ishmael prepared to open the door Malivoire tightened his grip on his staff but kept quiet.  He didn't want to risk Ishmael's justified annoyance again!