The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

[BishGada]

"Yeah, and it would probably just spit him back again." Ke'Sha answers one hundred percent sure there is no way the joke was on him.

[Nocturno]

"How goes our exploration party?"

[Styrius]

"So if the pandemonium god thinks I am unpalatable, what makes you think that I would be of any use to you?" Axid retorts. He looks at Jag "You know this is only going to get worse the more time we are in close quarters." throwing a thumb at Ke'sha. "I'm going to look at the last hatch I opened. The air seems less foul over there."

[BishGada]

"Well, it is indeed a challenge, but I coped with difficult problems before." Ke'Sha answers.
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(OOC: What hatch does Axid go to? If it's not A where we have to members of the group I think it would be dangerous to farther split. If by any chance both of the hatches holds danger, it will be very difficult to assist in both from up here.)

[Styrius]

(OOC: Axid will check Hatch D.)

[TristenC]

[OOC] Well... haven't seen a post from Jack the rogue, and the player hasn't been online in abt 2 weeks...
His current descent is taking about 1 minute per foot downward because he is checking each stair. He has been going for 20 mins, and still cannot see the bottom beyond his light (60 ft light stone). So it will take him at least another hour before he gets to the bottom.
Braiden Forgedheart's player has also been MIA for a while, so if the party want to take a different path he can follow Jack instead of Landro

-Anyone want to go down ahead of Jack faster?
-Propose a new method of descent?
-Veer off on a different path while the 'npc' players continue to check this one.
[/ooc]

Allikhain shakes her head at Jag's question. No word, they are checking the stairs but it is slow going. Axid and Ke'Sha trade some verbal barbs and goads before Axid moves off to re-inspect the latest hatch.

The 3ft diameter entry provides access to a 10ft diameter shaft beyond, with an iron ladder on one side. The hole descends down into darkness beyond the range of his infravision. [How would Axid like to inspect the passage?]

[Nocturno]

Jag is fine with waiting, he knows patience is a virtue in a place like this.
"Live folks go slow, dead ones don't move at all. Well except when this one is around."

He will point at Ke'Sha with his eyes.

[BishGada]

Ke'Sha crawls back from the snake mouth. Hearing the tasked elf remark he winks, points at Jag, clicks twice and says, "Indeed."
He folds his arms his gaze following the dwarf going to the other hatch in spite his warnings. "So, this one goes alone and now our party is split in three... What can go wrong?"

[Styrius]

"Ke$ha, what is there to explore in the snake head? It has some name scribe on it and nothing else. Unless there is something there the rest of us don't know about we should look at other entry points or at least wait on the others in the other hatch to return. I have no intention of going down any other hatches solo."

[BishGada]

"I'm glad to hear that. Jack and Landro have gone into the first hatch. Since we don't hear from them even with the mind connection Allakhain kindly bestowed on us, let's check quickly what's going on there..."

"Gur, please check if the two had dropped dead. We can use them as fresh as possible. If by any chance they are not dead yet, keep them alive... at least for now... And be careful, even without my keen senses for danger, this place is full with bad omens."

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(OOC: Ke'Sha will send Gur to locate the guys and check for magical aura or evident traps/dangers, and once we know the situation I think we should go after them.)

[TristenC]

Gur flies down invisibly through the first hatch opened and through the room of gnawed bones and through the arch. He finds a spiral stairwell with no side rails, and a 10 ft gap to the wall of the pit itself, making it trecharous to move quickly. The stairs wind around a central stone column down into darkness. Jack is in the fore, cautiously examining each step as he treads. Gur makes his oresence known and Jack responds mentally to the others. sorry folks, just concentrating on these stairs. I made some more progress and haven't found any traps yet. We can go faster if one of you has some magical way to detect traps. Or there is a pit to the side. With some ropes we could slide down without using the stairs. Or if you'd rather we check somewhere else first, i'm all ears. he sends back.

Gur continues to fly down a ways and returns moments later. Stairwell goes down about 100 feet. It'll take him over an hour to get to the bottom this way. I don't see any magic anywhere. The bottom of the pit has a door.


[Jack has gone 30/100 feet down the stairs in 30 mins.]
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Jack will be NPC'd for now.

[Nocturno]

"Excellent, no rush from me."

[BishGada]

Ke'Sha telepathically sends a message, "I can help with the traps. Hold still." Then he walks toward the pit Jack and Landro had descended into, somewhat angry that he has to do it by himself. "Wait for my call." he tells the others without looking at them. After descending the first pit, he takes a note of the bones scattered around. So comforting to meet familiar face. Then through the arc which he study for a moment, and then he reaches the stairs to the pit.
He concentrates a moment, takes out few small finger bones, rattle them a bit caged between two closed hands, organize them in several patterns on his palm, and then drops them abruptly to the floor while muttering few words in an unknown language while holding his unholy symbol.
With his innate extended senses and now also magically empowered he use his Air Walk to avoid touching the stairs and quickly walks near it, searching for traps, all around. If he detects noting until he reaches Jack he will say "Good work. Stay." but it is a bit difficult to discern if it is a compliment or mockery, he will continue until he sees a trap or arrive the bottom and then he will look if the door is trapped.

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(OOC: Ke'Sha casts detect traps.
Did it against my better judgement. )

[TristenC]

Ke'sha descends through the hatch and crosses the area of broken bones. Taking out some finger bones of his own, he casts a strange spell and his eyes glow red for a moment. Scanning the stairwell he begins to walk down beside it through the very air. His magically enhanced vision identifies no traps as he passes Landro and Jack.

All the way to the bottom he treads, finding no hidden hazards on the stairs. The door at the bottom likewise doesn't indicate any hidden traps...


[The Time is 10:40 AM day 1. Landro's Diminution will last about 10 minutes longer.]
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Ke'Sha casts Find Traps
Ke'Sha can detect man-made intentional traps for the next 3 turns (30 minutes)
Ke'Sha spends 10 minutes descending the stair and looking for traps

[BishGada]

"I don't feel or detect there are any traps here. You can descend the stairs. I'm checking the bottom now." Ke'Sha telepathically informs the others.

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(OOC: Could you please describe where did Ke'Sha arrive? The steps ends with a door? Or the door is far away at some wall? Is there anything else to see on the bottom? More skulls to make Ke'Sha feel at home )