At the bottom of the Well

[Dungeon Master]

Date : Ches the 20th, Year of the the Rogue Dragons (1373 D.R.)
Location: The Yawning Portal
Time : Early Morning
Weather: Raining


The descent down to the bowels of Undermountain is rather surreal. The adventurers sit in a large bucket as the staff of the Yawning Portal operates the massive winch that lowers the adventurers downward. As the winch starts a cheer roars out from the tap room and toasts are made all around the room, you can even hear some bets made on the group’s survival. The last echoes of the crowd's toasts and betting whisper about you as you descend deep into the well. As the flickering light from the torches above fades, a chill overtakes you, and you find yourself still sinking with no end in sight. You drop slowly and steadily deeper on the rope, almost as if you were the bait on an unweighted fishing line in placid waters, but the cold and the quiet of the well that surrounds you is anything but peaceful. The silence has more of a waiting quality to it.

After being lowered for what seems like an eternity, you at last see the bottom. Below you stretches sand-covered ground and whatever fate awaits you in Undermountain. Several inches of sand covers the floor of this roughly square room. Broken and dented shields hang on stone walls covered with chalk and charcoal graffiti. The ceiling looms a mere 10 feet above you -- as it does in the hallway that leads out of the room to the south -- but a 30-foot-diameter hole in the ceiling forms a chimney that rises up over a hundred feet. Amongst the graffiti on the walls you can read the following, though most of the graffiti is unreadable or mainly of the ilk "So and so was here",

"Hesod -- Went to check out a strange music only Jayce can hear. Have a few drinks until we get back." written in white chalk, in common, on the northern wall.
"It's been two days. Leave a message if you have returned. -- Hesod" written in charcoal, in common, on the western wall. Underneath it the following reply in chalk,
"It's been two weeks. I can wait no longer. I seek you out myself. None of our 'friends' would come with me. If you are not with me when you read this, then I am dead. Avenge my death on those who abandoned us in our time of need. -- Hesod"

Also on the ceiling in charcoal the following message is written in common,
"Tymora, remember me."

OOC in order to get this moving, Im posting this now. Eneval and Garat can retrospectively post in the Inn. No one else can.

You also all give one gold to the man before getting into the basket/platform thing

[Dace]

The first from the bucket, Dace sprinted to the door and took up a crouch with his pistol crossbow at the ready, gazing into the corridor. If it was too dark to see, he squinted anyway, cursing his inferior human eyes and wishing for all the world his mother had been an elf.

[Dungeon Master]

OOC- You can see in the square room up til the far wall if you stay in the middle of the room. This is from the lighting above in the Tap Room. Who brought a torch or two?

[Cathmhaol]

OOC: Me, me! I brought torches! ;D

[Zeric]

Zeric waited for the others to sort themselves out, mildly amused at the way they all took on their roles without thought. He gave a small smile of satisfaction as he, too, took up his customary place at the centre of the group.

In another customary move,* he gave a silent command to the Tressym and asked her to scout ahead, sure her animal senses would give warning of threats before the limited senses of the human animal.

OOC: *That is, when he actually remembers having a familiar!

[Zeric]

Zeric looked about him with strangely catlike grace, as though searching for something the others could not see.

After a moment or two, he pointed down the corridor that Dace was covering, "That way for a short distance, then it turns to the right and then right again. Turning left, there's a chamber of some description, leading to the head of some stairs... That is all I can determine for now. As for hazards? Well, Tress encountered none, but we should still proceed with caution, nonetheless."

[Dungeon Master]

OOC-
Actions from
Milo
Garat
Dace
Eneval
Rumbleskin

Ill add in Xand, Maylene and Garri afterwords.

[milo]

Milo stares around with eyes wide open, taking in all that he could see in the dim cold light reaching down from civilisation above.

He runs his hand along the wall, just underneath some writing, before turning back to the party. He waits to see what they do.

[Garat]

Garat steps out of the bucket, checks his curved sword is free in is scabbard, checks the string on his bow and looks around getting his eyes accustomed to the gloom.

He stands easy on the balls of his feet, waiting to take up an assigned position in the group.

[Rumbleskin Ironeater]

Rumbleskin hopped out of the bucket with his usual clang of armour. Trying to avoid getting the torchlight in his eyes, he stretches out - glad to once more be underground.

Rolling his shoulders, the tatty dwarf takes up position a little behind Dace, nodding to Zeric as he tromps past...

On hearing Zeric's directions, Rumbleskin readies his weapons - loosening them on the belt-loops - and waits for Dace to move out a bit so that Rumbleskin's armour wouldn't hamper the caravan guard's stealth advantage.

[Dace]

Taking the magician's words as instructions on moving out, Dace nodded and, happy that Rumbleskin had his back, placed his weapon on the ground.

With practiced efficiency he removed a lantern from his pack and struck it, giving him a good range of vision, ensuring that the back shutter was closed to keep the light from his eyes and spoiling his own, poor, night vision.

Nodding at Rumbleskin and then at Cathmhaol, Dace moved off, the pistol crossbow stowed and his familiar shortsword in hand.

Edging ahead, Dace stalked forwards into the gloom, checking ahead and around him, keeping an ear and an eye out for anything unusual, but not too concerned with being slow and careful, for the moment; his immediate priority was to get ahead and warn the others of impending doom. It wasn't necessarily a good, safe job, but it was his role and he took it seriously...





OOC:

Just to clarify, Dace is moving ahead at a slightly slower than normal speed. His lantern is throwing light forwards and to the sides, not behind. He is listening and looking for obvious or poorly concealed traps, secret doors, ambushes and the like. I'm hoping if there are ambushes or things off and hidden then he might pick up on noises, the sense of something being out of the ordinary etc etc.

[Cathmhaol]

"Ye know yer positions so fall in," said Cathmhaol quietly as Dace moved off. "Keep yer eyes peeled and keep yer chat t' a minimum - we've enough t' deal wi' down here wi'out yer blather attractin' 'em."

He indicated that Rumbleskin should follow Dace and turned to follow the dwarf in turn, trusting the rest to do as they were told.

[Dungeon Master]

The ten feet wide corridor opens out turning west into a wide twenty feet wide corridor, wide enough for up to four men to walk abreast. Dace walks carefully inspecting the floor and the walls notices that Halaster or the dwarves or the drow before him constructed Undermountain of walls of superior masonry. Each wall being nearly perfectly straight. Similarly with the floors are made with flagstones or smooth stone blocks. Its difficult for the caravan guard to tell.

The end of the western passage opens out into a room with pillars that seem to reach the roof.

In the north wall about half way between the turning of the stairs, Dace notices an unusual outline, could it be a door? Could it be something else?

[Dace]

Assuming the Dwarf was behind him and in sight, Dace motioned for him to halt and backed up slightly so he was facing the anomaly.

The lantern he placed on the floor, facing in a NW direction so as to afford light to himself, the corridor and the curiosity. He inspected the - what he considered to be a door - for traps or an opening of some description, seeing if he was able to open it if necessary.

[Rumbleskin Ironeater]

Rumbleskin, on seeing Dace's signal, stopped where he was to give the caravan guard room to work. Turning around, he repeated Dace's gesture to the rest of the group and then motioned Cath up.

Assuming Cath joins him and has not already seen what Dace is doing

Rumbleskin whispers to Cath "Looks like Dace has found something that bears further investigation"

As he says this, Rumbleskin quietly takes his axe and hammer out of his belt loops just in case, all the while maintaining his attention on Dace.