Once we have rested and are ready to go, we can go back and search the bugbears, and their two rooms, somthing that had not been accomplished before. And maybe we will find the key Hieroman was hoping for.

Once completed, then to the chest room.
Seeing the rungs, Archonia asks Bart, "They are short of the chest, but you are taller than it is short. Can you reach it from the top rung? Perhaps with a rope?"

Of course, if it goes into a reverse gravity at the top of the rungs, maybe he can just walk across the ceiling to the chest.

She also asks, "It has a keyhole, but is it actually locked? Has it been tried at all?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:09, Tue 30 Apr.

“What about Rasxif’s Rope of Climbing? Perhaps we can use it to reach the rungs, to access the chest, to find the key, to open the door, and save Ornwin’s axe from shattering.” Cass rattled off her recommendation and it brought to mind a children’s nursery rhyme she had heard long ago.

In reply to Cassandra (msg # 199):

"The cat and the mouse dwelt in the... chest?" begins Brant, likewise reaching for some long lost rhyme but losing it.
"The rope! Good call!"

Marveling at the chest’s gravity defying position, Brant’s words draw Rasxif from his reverie. He readily produces the rope, setting it on the floor directly beneath the chest, instructing the item to reach up toward the container above.

OOC: Thank you, Cass! Until you spoke up, I’d forgotten that I had the thing!

"Hold the end of it," Archonia suggests. "If it reverses gravity, you don't want it all to get pulled up."

A pause. "That is, unless this is where we have to overcome multiple challenges, or are looking for a comedic moment. Then I shouldn't have spoiled it," she added, a little regretfully.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:14, Tue 30 Apr.

"I'll hang onto it from this end in case things get wiggy.
Brant grabs hold of the other end from Rasxif.

Wait. Since we are still in camp next to the Duc Lake resting and memorizing new spells, are you guys just practicing with the Rope of Climbing?

I like all the thoughts and discussion, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still need to search the bugbear room for a key or anything else useful. Then, we can tackle the upside down chest.

(OOC) Cass says in many more words to the group, but summarized and paraphrased above.

(ooc)
I mentioned doing exactly that before going into the chest room in msg #198.
The DM hasn't given us the result of that search yet.

And again, I don't think anyone actually checked to see if the door is locked or not
This message was last edited by the player at 01:10, Wed 01 May.

Hieroman is thankful for the time to rest, and spends the time off to the side of the group in quiet meditation before sleep and then upon awakening she has a bite to eat before relearning spells

OOC:  The door was never checked, and nor have we been given the height of the ceiling of that room with the upside down chest, yet. 

Rasxif nods in thanks to Brant and, following Archonia’s prompting, takes a firm hold on the magical rope, hoping that he isn’t pulled apart by whatever force is holding the chest in place.

He orders the rope to ascend.

Tucked within the loin cloths of the eight deliquescent bugbears, one of the more money-grubby guests find Matzo-sized balls of precious metals, clocking in at 23 platinum pieces in value total.

After returning to the Hall of Meditation, the guests first determine that the door is locked and that no manner of conventional means will open it, leaving them to conclude that its key must be found within the chest or at the bottom of Duc Lake. Who is to say?

Rasxif, having established an understanding with the intestine of climbing, directs its movements with words of command. It uncoils itself, reaching the ceiling-bound chest with coils to spare.

Who will climb?

I will go ahead and remove my two knightly fellows from consideration. Bart has a 7 DEX and weighs 242 pounds. Bercy has a 9 DEX and weighs 190 pounds. Not to mention they're both clad in chainmail.

I'm sure they'd manage fine on a magical rope of climbing, but there have to be better candidates for the job. I'm guessing it's a choice between Cass (the thief) or Rasxif (the smallest)?

Edit: This was intended for the OOC thread. I posted here by mistake. But since Hieroman has responded, I'll leave it. Sorry for the clutter. FTR, B&B don't care who climbs the rope. They were just thinking out loud.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:03, Thu 02 May.

OOC: Raxsif can climb. If something disastrous happens, maybe he’ll be small enough to catch. Or not.

"I'll climb." Hieroman offers.  "Though I have memorised stone shape in case we cannot find the key to the door.  I can either pull the stone away from the locking mechanism or from the hinges to get the door open.  Either way it isn't going to hinder us for long, but I'm also really interested in how gravity is working up there," she says staring up at the chest, "and I guess a little interested in the contents of the chest."

She holds out her net of entrapment to Bart.  'If you and your squire can hold this open, as well as perhaps Archonia and Cassandra, it might help to cushion a fall if I should slip."  She considers removing her studded leather armour, but in the end thinks better of it, as the magical armour weighs nothing and might protect her a little if she does fall.

OOC:  Gnomes have a -15% chance of climbing walls on the thieves ability table, not that a magical rope is the same, but perhaps Rasxif isn't the best candidate, especially since he only has 13hp.  Hieroman is happy to make the attempt, and since she also has more HP than most of the other non fighters, she is also the better option.  Rasxif also needs to be holding the rope for it to function.

Archonia thought Cassandra would be the best for climbing. She was trained for climbing, after all. But druids probably climbed and swung around on vines, so she might be skilled at it as well. However, the point was to open a chest, so if it was locked or trapped, there did not seem to be much the druid could do. But if the woman wanted to experience the reversal of gravity, that seemed to be reason enough just to go, skills or not.

She declined to take the net. Brant, Orwin, Bercy... any one of them would be more suitable to hold it if the druid fell. Archonia doubted she had the grip strength to maintain hold of it if that happened.

Cass offers her thieves’ picks and tools to the Druid in case she needs them when searching for traps or unlocking the chest.

Hieroman looks puzzled at the tools.  "Perhaps you should go, I've got no idea how to use those," she honestly says to Cass.

OOC:  Sorry just a noob, I didn't see any character was a thief.

She looks to Archonia and Ornwin in consideration of the net.  'It was more about having 4 people of an equal height, but perhaps Ornwin would make up with his shorter statute in strength.  I'll take one of the corners if Cass climbs."

"Oh, you just wanted a visual for this scene, not effectiveness. Very well then," Archonia replied, taking a corner of the net, understanding the situation now.

Bart and Bercy also assist with the net, as requested.

Hieroman a little taken aback by Archonia's attitude isn't offering her a corner now though.  She stares the other down.  "If my thinking was wrong, like it was with scaling the rope, say you think so.  Don't step up to a task you don't think you're up to and endanger anothers life."  Hieroman is clearly unimpressed by Archonia's sarcastic bitchiness.

Brant's head swivels back and forth as he struggles to keep up with the verbal duel.

At last he raises a hand, "Ladies! As much as I enjoy a riveting repartee, lets' get back to the task at hand. That being the chest. It's likely a trap that'll kill us so let's try to focus."

Even without her professional training, Cass could have worked her way up the rope without fail. Like any self-respecting length of intestine, its ridges are coated with sticky juices and it snugly coils itself around her feet to form footholds.

25' up the rope later...

Roughly five feet from the ceiling, Cass senses the gravitational shift and goes with it, keeping one hand firmly within the rope's embrace. The rest of her swings vertiginously upward until her feet are planted on the ceiling and she's face to face with somebody else's chest. It's a dizzying prospect.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:28, Yesterday.

Archonia smiles at Hieroman's statement. "Very good! Interparty drama! We have had disagreements on tactics before, but no personality clashes. This shall be fun!"

Since the druid's even tone and directive indicated Archonia was expected to respond, and Brant's interjection to ramp up the emotion, Archonia pointed at Hieroman. "Not just this, or scaling the rope. You also wanted to set fire to wet canoes and push them into a ventilated room! Your thinking is wrong, and has been wrong since we met you!"

Breaking the eye contact of the stare, Archonia looked up. It might hurt the interaction, but she really did not want to miss seeing the reverse gravity come into play, or if there was a pyrotechnic trap.

If Archonia's words meant anything to Hieroman she didn't show it.  When Archonia broke the stare she was promptly forgotten as Hieroman concentrated on what was important.

Cass looks up at the party on the floor below her. She holds off on checking for traps or anything productive for the moment. The men who had been holding the net and spotting her climb were no longer watching her. They were watching the start of the cat fight.

Cass had not minded Hieroman’s offer to climb up and check out the chest. The Druid WAS more robust and likely could survive a poison trap far better than she could because of her Druidic arts.

Cass’ offer of her picks and tools was only partly in jest - she didn’t mind if the Druid wanted to try to check for traps or pick the lock first - as long as she didn’t break anything. But she had deferred once she realized Cass was suited for this task - one of the few things she COULD do for the party.

Oh well. She hoped Archonia and Hieroman resolved their issues amicably and quickly. She liked both of them and appreciated the input, creativity, and capabilities of each - they were invaluable to the party.

When things above her settled down and the boys were paying attention to her again (in case gravity reversed suddenly and she fell up toward the net they were holding), she would check for traps and then try to open the chest, unlocking it if necessary.