Down the Dungeon Way - the actual gaming thread

[Jenara]

ooc assuming Drake can still hear the others at the top of the stairs, but not see them /ooc

Drake shakes his head and looks over his shoulder at Beilion "Can ye find out what that Pansy is doing? If they be too frightened to come in, they can watch the Horses." *Snort*

He returns his attention to the bottom of the stairs

[LadyWinterWolf]

*At the 20' mark, Beillion has stopped to address the party which have just started to descend; Kelos is just in front of him.*

*Martin, Evis, and a newcomer Sim seem more intent on chatting, than on descending into the dungeon, so are only standing at the 10' mark down the stairway.*

*Drake, in his impatience to get to the bottom of the stairs, does not hear the audible click when he steps upon the stone step at the 30' mark. He continues his quick descent to the bottom of the stairs, only to become impaled upon a reversed, miniature portcullis, that rose out of the floor. Its metal and spiked ends rusted from age are angled upwards towards the stairs; the spikes of the portcullis are equal to the height of the 3rd step; approximately 2 feet high. The portcullis can be climbed over, the spikes are extremely rusty, but not poisoned. Three of the spikes have entered Drake's stomach area; his axe has gone skidding off into...*

(OOC - each spike does 1d6 per round, so Drake immediately takes 11 points of damage)

*From within the darkness, a shimmery movement comes forward and the she-wolf becomes visible. She carries in her mouth a skeletal arm, the hand still grasping the owner's sword. She stops, drops it at her feet and addresses the party. "What, no one with the intelligence to check for traps; did you all think it would be a simple pony ride to play in my dungeon? Then again," *she started to say as she perused the dwarf and his bleeding body* "the night is young, and looking more productive. But I digress........."

"You are now at the entrance to an "L" shaped room, this being the bottom portion of the "L". Up top, you will see, a door on the far western wall (left side). To your immediate right, towards the eastern wall, there is visible: 5 glass vials, a silver dagger, mace, a short sword with a ruby in the hilt" *She gazes at Drake with apparent annoyance.* "and someone's axe just went skidding past me, and for some unknown reason, there are gold coins floating about the area."

"I'll await you further on, oh, good luck getting over the portcullis, the spikes can be nasty, as the daft dwarf has just discovered. I advise the rest of you not to let your skin get nicked in the slightest, the scent of blood and all that you know." *She then picked up the arm bone once again, and moved off into the deep shadows.*





(OOC - here is the current marching order for the party)

Drake
Kelos
Beillion
Sim
Evis
Martin

[Kaber]

Sim looks down at the cleric, snorting. " Man of the cloth, hmm. Keep your gods to yourself lest they hear my name and make a pawn of me. I'll not play their games nor do their bidding for I am Simarillacabum!"

Sim turns to the Martin with a wide smile

"What's that dear boy!? You've run with sisters and you can't find the time? Oh wait, your Tim and you had a run in with cisterns. Right! Well, you smell fine, that cistern may in fact save your hide in dark dungeon such as this. Gnomes!? No, I've no taste for gnomes but I have heard their good with cheese and toast. A hedgehog however, I could certainly use. I have some hedges that I'd like removed and a Hedgehog seems a usefull tool."

He then turns to the would be magic user and his ring

"My dear fellow, do not be ashamed for you stand in the presence of greatness. Keep close and learn well and one day you too may know the secrets I know."

He then turns, spreading his arms wide to encompass the group.

"Well met! I am Simarillacabum and I offer my aid. Osculorum Illuminatori!"

and with that a continual light spell glows from the end of his staff.

Hearing the the commosion near the bottom of the stairs Sim steps just beyond the group and raises his staff

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" He cries.

[Stik]

"Lovely. Sounds like someone's gotten themself into trouble up ahead. I hope it's interesting."

Realization dawns in Martin's face as he listens to Sim speak. "You're a madman. Is that it? It is, isn't it?
"Jolly good. Jolly good! Well, off you go then, Speaks-With-Cat-Food. Light the way."
That said, Martin will join the others in their trek down the stair.

[Kafen]

Beillion says to the others. "Help me, please?" Indicates the spikes. Not seeing any barbs, the plan is obvious. He is going to pull their companion from them. "Stay on this side of the barbs if we can help it." He goes to help pull the dwarf off the spikes.

[Jenara]

"argghhhh" the dwarf moans quietly, no sense making a fuss...

Occ, look he's a rash dwarf, i'm playing him to the hilt... anyway/ooc

"damn spikes, won't get me next time!" he raises his fist in defiance.

[LadyWinterWolf]

*From the deep shadows, a guttural laugh can be heard.*


(OOC - the spikes are not barbed, however, Drake is bleeding from the wounds, and there is risk of infection from the rust. He takes 8 more points of damage (1d4 for each wound), totaling 19 out of his current 30.....not a good thing.)

[Kaber]

Sim moves to where the dwarf has been impaled. Holding his staff high to light the area, he peers into the dimmness beyond, mummbeling to himself

45 degree arc, delayed reaction. Hmm, mechanical lock. Trip wire or pressure plate? time till impact? Damage? Superficial, potentially deadly. Yes, poison? unknown." He stoops to examine the spikes.

'Rusted Iron, not Cold Steel, no, alloy? perhaps. Crude crafstmenship, onset of disease, 24 hours, muscular paralysis, lock jaw, respitory failure in 2 days. Could use a jelly sandwich."
He calls out

"Cleric! Heal this dwarf if you can, otherwise bandage his wounds. The scent of blood will no doubt attract the denizens of these dark halls. Is there a trap master here!? Locksmith!? An Elf will do in a pinch! WE NEED BAIT! And someone who knows his way around a loose pebble.

Sim tests the spikes to see if they budge then, using his staff as a prop, gathers his robe around him and hoists himself over the spiked barricade. Snickerpuss chirps a squeak of caution but Sim seems to ignore him.

Speaking under his breath yet loud enough those closest to him can hear he says in a menacing voice as he peers into the darkness beyond....

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

[BryantTheSwordsman]

Be quite or do you wish to set us up for an ambush, fools. Heal the Dwarf and move on. The wolf has knowledge and I would like to figure out how much it has, but I feel we need to prove that we are worthy of it.

Kleos(not Kelos) lights the arrow head of one of his flight arrows and fires through the spikes to the edge of the corridor.

Any creature to walk into the arrows light we will see just as soon as they see our torches.

OOC:This color means I am speaking

[Wizard_of_Wumbo]

Evis fiddles with his ring as the kind mage looms over him, speaking. he listens to the mages remarks to the cleric and gets a sour look on his face Do not doubt the power of the heavens my newfound companion, untold power awaits the wise and faithful...or so i am told...

As he turns to begin his descent down the stairs he hears the commotion of the dwarf being impaled and the call for a trap master. He quickly bounds down the stairs, smiling to himself and then calling out to everyone what's all this? has our meat shield been stuck like a pig? dont worry stocky one, im here to make sure that...not too many of us lose our skins in this bitch's dungeon he allows a crooked grin to grow on his face as he runs to the dwarf's aid.

ooc i mean no disrespect with the bitch remark, she is actually a female canine mind you /ooc

He continues runnning until he reaches the porticulus, giving a quick nod to the dwarf and then beginning to quickly inspect the fiendish trap. trying to find a way to release or disable it...he drops the pipe from his teeth and calls to the rest of the group. would someone get the bastard off of this thing? he will die soon otherwise, there's no doubt about that... he looks up at the mage's back and yells at him The jabberwock! the jabberwock!? thats a children's tale, old man! we have more pressing issues right now! for instance, i dont think it is entirely kind to let Norman die without giving him his complete set! he grins up at the dieing dwarf and turns his head to the archer.

boy! get over here and help pull this poor bastard off of these spikes! i doubt anything will come at us from the blackness so get your arse over here, now!

[Kaber]

Sim stands, just on the other side of the spikes, staring off into space. A mad gleam in his eyes, seemingly unaware of the world around him. He flinches occasionally as if locked in some epic battle of the mind. He sees nothing, hears nothing but the scene he relives in his head. Alone, to battle the beast that warped his fragile little mind.

[LadyWinterWolf]

*Unbeknownst to the party, for every person that steps on the stone step at the 30' mark, after the initial setting off of the trap, keeps the portcullis locked in place for an additional hour. With the descending of Beillion, Sim, Kleos and Evis; it will stay up for 4 hours more. Therefore, Evis' talent of disengaging the trap is useless.*

*Sim's continual light spell on his staff allows him to see the room to the right of the stairway, and the treasure lying within. A gold coin floats slowly past, within the room, just at eye level with the mage.*

*Kleos, still holding a torch, can see down to the end of the longer part of the L shaped room, and can see the door on the western wall (left side).

[Stik]

Martin descends the stairs as well, noting the spikes and their position. "This looks pretty bad, Norman, but the way I see it, this could have been worse - a lot worse, actually.
"It could have happened to me.

"But since it has happened to you, rejoice in the fact that you are a dwarf. The spikes struck you in the belly. Were you human, they would have struck you roughly...roughly..." Martin measures with his eye and concludes: "Yes. They would have struck you right in the wedding tackle. Had that happened, we would have had to refer you to my friend Meruit. She's a flute player in the local symphony and could have taught you to pass water without squirting yourself in the eye."


[OOC]Sorry, everyone. I have about half a dozen good ideas as to what to do next, but Martin does not.[/OOC]

[LadyWinterWolf]

*Martin's descent leaves the portcullis up for an additional hour, to the 4 already in place.*

*Drake receives 3 points of damage for his untreated wounds; leaving him with only 8 HP left before he goes unconscious.*

[Kaber]

[OOC] Sim's mind is MIA for the moment and can't do anything useful. I have an idea but I can't do a thing until everyone else has posted their action [/OOC]

Snickerpuss crawls out from beneath Sim's long white hair at the back of his neck and surveys the situation. Her beady black eyes darting to the wounded dwarf and then to the rest of the party. She sniffs the air, trying to detect the tell tale scent - A spicy pear like smell with a hint of honeysuckle blossom - of a healing potion. Failing that, she will dive into Sim's backpack and wrestle out a bandage roll from within.