Zilean's Revenge

"It's about time someone else did some heavy lifting around here." Horizon rejoined the group and looked at the chunk of meat. "Hey guys. It's rotten meat. I doubt it holds many answers to the secrets of the Universe".

"...I think it might be best if Horizon and Jeraylia go first. Zthulan and I will be after that, and Skitter can take up the rear. Sound good?"

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"Hey, is that a quiver of (whatever type, silver?) arrows you have there?" Jeraylia asks. "Don't mind if I do," she says as she grabs a handful and dumps them in her own.

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Update delayed a bit. Feel free to post alt scripts of the nat1's Rolf and Skitter did, or something.

Alright, as long as we're headed for the next room where the ringing came from.

Alt-script time!

Skitter's Nat1
Skitter:Well, I don't see anyone. I'll go back to tell the others. *walks away*
Kobold1: Wow, you were right. Hiding on the ceiling was a great idea.
Kobold2: Shhh!

Rolf's Nat1
Papa Kobold: Someone's been messing with my coffins.
Mama Kobold: Someone moved my carefully cured meat.
Baby Kobold: And someone sat in my chair, and broke it to pieces.
All: Goldilocks!!!

Alt-script

Skitter's Nat1
Sounds like something possibly dangerous. I'll pretend to check it out and send the annoying goody goodies in first after telling them it's all clear for a laugh.

Rolf's Nat1
Is there some deeper meaning to this rotting meat? Hmmmmm. *sits on chair which breaks* Ah, of course. Just like these objects I too am quickly going to be rent apart by forces beyond my control for reasons inexplicable to me. Fuck my life.

Ramsus wrote:Ah, of course. Just like these objects I too am quickly going to be rent apart by forces beyond my control for reasons inexplicable to me. Fuck my life.

We have a winner.

ALT for Skitter, Horizon POV:
Oh look, he's back, with nothing. No intel, no loot, no bad guys in tow. How absolutely... just... what the fuck did he even go ahead for?"

ALT for Rolf, Horizon POV:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Fat ass.

Sorry for the big delay. Stuff came up.

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Rolf Perception -> 9
Horizon Perception -> 2

Reentering the room, the ringing once again ceases. With a new set of eyes observing the room, you gleam:
- The sounds of ringing are most likely coming from this room.
- The tools appear to be mining tools.
- The boxes are in fact coffins.
- The support pillar looks sturdy and undamaged.
- Oil and simple candle lanterns served to light this room, but have long been extinguished.

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( The tunnels aren't barely big enough to let two medium-sized creatures walk side-by-side. I assume Horizon, then Rolf take point in entering the room? The others would be behind and have yet to enter/see the room, so say what you all do. )

Simple enough.

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Horizon goes to the nearest extinguished lantern and attempts to light it.

Rolf looks up at the ceiling, then goes over and opens one of the coffins. "Anyone in there?"

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No worries, Zarhon. Stuff happens...or "is", depending on whether stuff refers to a collection of events or individual objects.

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By now, Jeraylia has put away her bow and has a wary grip on her sword handle. She stealthily moves around the room, checking it and the other entrances (if there are any).

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So a perception and stealth check, please. Have we been getting no skill bonuses to our rolls lately, or has nobody got any points in perception?

Broken Logic wrote:Have we been getting no skill bonuses to our rolls lately, or has nobody got any points in perception?

I would say because its dark, I guess? Because now that you mention it, Horizon does have high Perception ranks.

Bronymous wrote:

Broken Logic wrote:Have we been getting no skill bonuses to our rolls lately, or has nobody got any points in perception?

I would say because its dark, I guess? Because now that you mention it, Horizon does have high Perception ranks.

Well you didn't really specify what you'd be looking at (what you were looking for/expecting didn't come up). That, coupled with the bad roll and the darkness (is Zthulan the only one with a light source?) would mean you didn't notice anything "of note". You'll get the bonus if you go into investigative mode. Details are key!

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Jer

Perception -> 2 (everyone is blind, apparently)
Stealth -> 14 + 5 = 19

Jeraylia stealthily creeps up to the entrances of next tunnels, lying in wait, most likely hidden from anyone that might exit them. She can't tell if anything in inside of them, however.

Rolf

Perception (roof) -> 13 + 3 = 16
Perception (coffins) -> 7

Looking up at the ceiling, Rolf catches something small and shiny in several places.

The coffins appear to have been mishandled, with many of them broken, skeletons man-handled (or missing parts, or missing outright) and most of their insides cut apart or damaged in some way. Clothing on most of them is rotten off or missing.

There is no reaction to Rolf's words.

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Zarhon wrote: You'll get the bonus if you go into investigative mode. Details are key!

Did somebody say investigative mode!?!

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Rolf tried to consider what they already knew and draw conclusions from it.
-The original diggers probably abandoned this place long ago. The old rotten meat and the long extinguished lantern help point to that.
-The original diggers were small-sized (chair), and either required or at least preferred light to see.
-It seems unlikely that the original miners were directly looking for Zilean, as the curvy nature of this cavern and the multiple dead-end tunnels that were passed on the way here would be less efficient than, say, a straight line. It is possible that they may have found and released him by accident, but that would mean finding the gigantic locked coffin and dragging it a good distance away before opening it, which would seem to require more foresight than Rolf would attribute to the miners at this time.
-It is not sure yet whether the coffins were the intent, or merely an obstacle. On the one hand, they are freaking everywhere, and if the bodies' insides were cut open, that might imply intent. On the other hand, the coffins are mishandled and left where they were rather than stacked up or something, which might mean that they were considered more trash than treasure.
-Whatever is causing this ringing noise does not need light to perceive us, but is definitely reacting to our presence. It may be an automatic device, continuing its duties long after the miners abandoned it.

Rolf needed more information. He cast Dancing Lights and left it hovering in the middle of the room. He then decided to look at the mining tools and see if there were any traces of shiny minerals on them.

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Roll for Perception on the tools. (I'm going to assume Dancing Lights worked, since there's no real "pressure")

edit: Nice guest comic, Broken Logic!

By investigative mode I was referring to "tell me what you're inspecting/what you're trying to find", but that works too!

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Rolf

The dancing lights allow the party to see what the shiny flecks on the ceiling were, from their glinting: They are some marble-sized, bronze-colored balls with slits in them.

Perception (minecraft) -> 10 + 8 = 18

Rolf inspects most of the digging tools. You note the following:
- None of the pickaxes have traces of metal on them.
- A lot of the pickaxe blades covered in hardened dirt, most likely from digging through dirt and not being cleaned afterwards.
- Some of the pickaxe blades are dulled or damaged from striking wood: This is evident from one of them having a piece of wood stuck on its blade.
- One of them has a fragment of some white, hard material, embedded in the handle, barely bigger than a nail.
- The tools are evenly spread across the room, rather than being piled up or lined up for use.
- Amongst the pickaxes, you find a few non-digging tools as well: Small hammers, tiny crowbar, metal spikes....

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As the lights circle the room, Horizon takes a look at what is revealed. He has a creeping feeling of familiarity at the sight of the metallic balls in the ceiling. Abandoning the light, he tries to determine if he knows of their significance.

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I guess an INT check, to see if he knows what they are: 9+med

"Mining for graves, possibly. Cat people, I'm not sure about. They may have just been some graverobbers. Given the state of their tools, they must have left in a hurry. What confuses me is why they were ringing, and why they stopped when we entered."

Rolf tried looking around the bells for a string connecting them, which would hopefully lead to a trigger of some kind.

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Roll for Perception.

(No roll needed, you pretty much figured it out.)

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Rolf

Rolf examines the cat bells. He finds that they are all connected by a series of strings strewn across the roof. Following the strings, he sees that most of them lead towards the tunnel they came from, as well as the tunnels they haven't been to yet. Following the string into the tunnel they were through already, Rolf finds a small, primitive triggering mechanism on the floor, concealed as one of many wooden planks covering the dirt floor. It was set to react to someone standing on it, pulling the strings and ringing the bells.

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"So an alarm system, to warn the diggers of incoming threats." Horizon glances at the bells again. "Still, though... Cat bells." He walks over to the other tunnel. "I don't think they hold any special significance for us, then. Shall we continue?"

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And hold for the others.