Norda leaps in with a battle cry and plunges her sword deep in the monsters guts - giving the blade a fierce twist on the way out!

OOC - 16 to hit with 6 damage.

The creature shudders and hits the floor with shattering impact!

The room is now cold and still, the din outside dropping off sharply until it too is quiet.

What do you do now?

Hurtag hits Hurmak on top of his head with the hilt of his sword..."You can stop now..." they both stare at Foromo, remembering the mighty swing into the rafters...Hurmak wondering what kind of boss they have, Hurtag going...again...you guessed it..."Hmmm..."

Jolly plunges his sword repeatedly into the creature's chest to extinguish the flame on sword.

"Good work everyone," he says puffing but with a smile on his face.

Turning to the Priestess, he asks, "what are these undead creatures?  They seem unusual compared to what I've heard about zombies and such from adventurers' tales."

Beyla, nods to Jolly, “They are indeed passing strange. I have never seen their like before. This place, already insane, seems to be growing worse. It fits into a pattern I have suspected for sometime.”

She glances about, “Is everyone well? Good, then the archway awaits, though I have never braved it.”




Thick fog still continues to spew forth from the archway and up the staircase.

What do you do?

Jolly nods and looks toward the archway as well with a momentary glance of trepidation.  However, he steels himself as he sheathes his weapon and straightens his coat and adjusts his belt just right.

"Alright then," he says seemingly more to himself, "let's do this.  Any last precautions that anyone wants to talk before we go through it?"

Beyla smiles, "I am ready and will stay in the middle ranks ready to heal and assist."

Norda sneers, "Let's crush them!"

Baldue smirks, "Time to get paid!" Baldue lights a torch.

OOC - everyone gets 50Xp for the strange creature just fought.

Who will be designated as carrying torches, and how many does the team have as a whole? The NPCS each have two.

Lead on Drohem when ready.

OK, Foromo stands up from inspecting the corpe in front of them...(OOC - Cue to give more details bout the creature we just killed, anything found, any observations and such)

I go ahead, putting the Brothers between us for relaying information back and forth. I need to get ahead of your lanterns.

You hear Hurmak give a quick prayer to Diu, then prepares himself to march forward...Hurtag, you guessed it, go (Hmmm...)

Foromo stands at the archway, letting his eyes adjust, peering into the darkness, trying to observe all he can...[•   From their experience underground, dwarves have a 2 in 6 (1-2 on 1d6) chance of detecting traps, false walls, hidden construction, or noticing if passages are sloped. Dwarves must be actively searching for these abilities to function. ]

Foromo - Examining the creature, you do see certain oddities. The cuts that removed its leg and head look long healed, and the creature’s skin has a faint metallic sheen to it – you guess that when it was “healthy” the skin was much stronger and formidable. There is a odd scent of cloves about the body.

Peering ahead through the archway (before torches are lit), you can faintly perceive a VERY narrow staircase extending out into a black void. Your overall impression is a profound one of cold and darkness. There is also a bit of gusting wind as well, whipping the roiling fog about to and fro.

Jolly and the others wait patiently while Foromo inspects the archway with his keen dwarven senses and stonework knowledge.  Once he reports that he doesn't feel its trapped, Jolly orders Peldic to strike a torch for them.  

Once everyone is ready and has adjusted their gear properly, Jolly draws his short sword, hefts his shield, and says in a determined voice, "follow me."

He then turns and walks through the dark and cold archway.  

=====================================

OOC:  Jolly has eight torches.  Peldic is carrying a lighted torch in the middle of the group.  Mergo will be in front of Peldic in the line with his sling in hand.

As Jolly passes through the archway, the rest of you see the stone above the archway flare briefly.

Jolly – As you step out on to the staircase the chill winds pour themselves over you, setting your shirt sleeves and hair flapping. Your senses seem to be somewhat sharper in this environment without a light source. You can readily identify shapes and outlines of objects near and far.

Looking down at the 5' wide open staircase, you easily see that it descends at a steep angle through the open darkness and then would normally merge into a spiral staircase descending down some 30 feet to a circular platform – except for the fact that the spiral staircase is now gone – you can see the last few feet of it still attached to the platform below. Moving to the end of the staircase and glancing down, you note that you are roughly centered above the platform. The platform tops a column extending up out of the darkness. No other floor or ground is otherwise discernable from your vantage point. Looking back to the archway, you can see no wall that it might be attached to - it looks to be hanging in mid-air. You cannot see your companions on the other side.

A strong gust of wind sways the staircase slightly.

What do you do?

Jolly sits in the middle of the staircase to stabilize himself against the gusts of wind and waits for his companions to come through the archway.

Beyla, Norda, and Baldue cautiously move through the archway and join Jolly.

Beyla pales, "By the Hexarchs!"

Baldue grimaces, "Great! Where's the gold?"

Norda clutches her hilt grimly.

"Anyone have a rope?" Jolly asks wryly.

Baldue looks about in wonder and mutters,  "The dwarf has got a ton of rope."

Beyla looks back at the archway, "amazing...I can see perfectly well in this darkness..."

Norda moves to the edge and stares at the platform, "I think I see something on the platform. Hmm...looks like a stick standing on its end."

(OOC - sorry fer the delay, had to think bout this one...so let's do the time warp...)

Quote from: pbj44;737440Foromo - Examining the creature, you do see certain oddities. The cuts that removed its leg and head look long healed, and the creature's skin has a faint metallic sheen to it – you guess that when it was "healthy" the skin was much stronger and formidable. There is a odd scent of cloves about the body.

Foromo sets his round shield on the body, cuts a circle bout a couple of inches larger, then taks some of his silk rope, attaches it (OOC - starts at 12:00, then down to bout 4:30, then to 9:00, over to 3:00, down to bout 7:30, then back up to 12:00) to his shield. He also cuts a couple of strips to wrap around hthe handles of his Axe and Hammer...maybe the skin will absorb the shock of hitting  the rafters again...

Now, back to real time...