Chapter 2-6: The First Door
General Summary
The party stopped for an hour to catch their breath after fight with Nezzar. Then they decided to make their way towards this mysterious door, before Nezzar's ward collapsed and they were left unprotected. Ramas once again took the lead as they crept back into the main chamber. The half-elf peered out of the passageway, staring into the gloom between the buildings as he tried to decide how risky the direct approach was. He spotted movement over at the foot of the far stairs, and he noticed shadows scurrying about on top of the right-hand side building. Too dangerous. He motioned for the rest of the party to follow, and he made his way back around the building next to the entrance. The party retraced their steps, creeping around the squat stone building, back to the mine tunnels entrance. Ryoko once again raised her hands, and a cloud of inky blackness spread out to wreath them in shadow. The group then began to make their way up the opposite side of the building, towards the other passageways - and the shadowy figures. When they reached the edge of cover, the nearest tunnel was only a short dash away across open ground. The party could clearly see a small band of goblins milling about at the base of the stairs on the far side of the clearing. They agreed to make a run for it as a group, to ensure everyone remained under the cloak of Ryoko's Pass Without Trace spell. Ramas signalled a countdown, and the group began to scamper across the open ground to the cover of the tunnel entrance. Ramas reached the tunnel first, pressing himself against the wall as he waved the stragglers past him. One by one, the rest of the party made it into cover. As Aetilius nearly reached the entrance, he accidentally kicked a small stone, which bounced along the cave floor towards the goblins. The party held their breath.
There was no reaction from the goblins. The group reached the relative safety of the passageway, and disappeared into the shadows within.
The tunnel continued straight for a short distance before branching left and right. To the right, a huge carved stone door had been set into the wall. Massive brass gears and plates were set into the surface, forming some form of arcane mechanism. Dwarven runes were carved into the stone and embossed on some of the plates. To the left, the corridor passed through a large archway and opened into a small room. The party slipped through the archway and began to explore.
In the far wall of the room, a massive iron grate was set into the wall near the floor. Above this grate, a large alcove had been carved into the wall, extending backwards around three feet. In the middle of the room stood three large anvils, mounted on small freestanding pedestals. Along the right hand wall a stone bench ran the length of the room. Scattered across the surface were rusted old crucibles, tongs, and shattered clay moulds. A long trough had been carved into the left hand wall, currently filled with a thick green liquid.
Aetilius examined the clay moulds, trying to see if any were a match to the brass pieces he had found in the mine tunnels. He found some fragments which seemed to show similar symbols to those on the pieces, but the mould was too heavily damaged to be of any use. Miaug sniffed the green liquid in the trough, nearly gagging at the smell. In the bottom of the trough she spotted a couple of object. Steeling herself, she reached in to grab them out. She retched briefly, then opened her hand to find three small bent and rusty nails. She threw them to the ground in disgust. Ryoko and Clootie examined the alcove which dominated the far wall. Closer inspection confirmed that this was an old smelter. The wall behind the grate had been hollowed out, forming a furnace, and heavy cast iron stands sat in the alcove surrounded by ancient charcoal.
Aetilius decided to return to the mysterious door, and Ramas went with him to keep guard. After they left, on a hunch Ryoko felt about in the charcoal in the old smelter. As she cast her hands about, she felt her fingers contact a chunk of cold metal. Suddenly interested, she pulled out another carved brass segment, similar to the ones Aetilius had found. Ryoko and Clootie both began to search the smelter intently, finding another two fragments between them. Excited, they gathered them up and headed back to Aetilius to show him.
Meanwhile, Aetilius had begun to pore over the door, trying to make sense of the runes using his limited Dwarven. He reached out to run his fingers over one of the embossed metal plates. As he touched it, the plate lit up in bright orange, and the mighty brass gears began to turn with grinding shrieks of protest. Aetilius dropped his hand in dismay as the sudden noise shattered the silence. A moment later, he heard answering shrieks from the main hall. The party gathered outside the door to prepare for the inevitable assault.
Two bugbears came racing down the corridor towards the party. As soon as they rounded the corner, Ryoko unleashed a devastating plume of flame from her mouth, scorching green flesh and staggering the bugbears. Momentum carried them forwards, and one of the creatures closed in on Ramas. The first swipe of it's maul caught the half-elf on the shoulder, knocking him off balance. Ramas twisted, using the momentum of the strike to pivot him out of the sweep of the bugbear's second swing. The other bugbear raced straight for Ryoko, swiping wildly at her with it's morningstar. The Iskathi nimbly sidestepped both attacks. Miaug loosed two arrows at the bugbear attacking Ramas. The first shot missed, clattering harmlessly against wall, but the second buried itself deep in the creature's back, between his shoulder blades, causing him to rear back in pain.
Aetilius turned back to the door mechanism. The orange light was now pulsing across the embossed brass plates. He desperately tried to discern some pattern or sequence to the flashing lights. Two goblins dashed around the corner, one slipped under the first bugbears arm to swipe at Ramas with it's claws. Tiny fingernails raked across Ramas's exposed arm, lacerating flesh and causing an uncomfortable burning sensation to spread out from the wound. The second goblin slipped past the fray to swipe at Badger. The little fox skipped out of the goblin's reach.
Clootie started another inexplicable rant, this time about missing letters and someone called Pepe Silvia. The party looked at one another and shrugged; but the odd monologue failed to distract the rabid creatures. Seeing that her words wre having no effect, she stopped and uttered a single holy word. A golden light swirled around Ramas, and the torn flesh on his forearm knitted itself back together. Clootie loosed Kulog from her belt, holding it firmly in her hand, and she skipped past Miaug to join the melee.
Ramas slashed at the goblin beside him. The dark dagger he'd claimed from Nezzar carved across the flesh of the creature's neck, and with a shudder the creature fell to the ground. He felt a rush of warmth emanate from the blade, and the pain in his chest from the bugbear's blow lessened. Jean Parmigan lifted off Ramas's shoulder, pecking and scratching at the bugbear's eyes.
Badger leaped at the goblin in front of him, sinking his teeth deep into the little creature's neck and drawing blood. A third goblin shrieked into the corridor, leaping at Clootie with its claws outstretched. Clootie ducked aside, and Jinx disappeared from her shoulders.
Ryoko lashed out at the bugbear in front of her with her thorn whip, but the thorns failed to find purchase and the tendril glanced harmlessly off the creature's thick hide. The first bugbear swiped at Ramas again, but he effortlessly dodged out of the path of both blows. The second bugbear struck Ryoko across the chest with his morningstar. The force of the blow winded her, and the creature took advantage of her distraction to bring his morningstar down on her skull. Pain exploded inside her head and bright colours danced in front of her eyes.
Miaug loosed two arrows in quick succession. Both arrows pierced the back of the bugbear's skulls, instantly killing both of them. Aetilius tried hitting the plates on the door in a sequence, but the door didn't respond. One of the goblins swiped at Badger again, but again Badger dodged around the blow an repositioned himself to respond. The second goblin caught Clootie in the shoulder. His claws didn't pierce her flesh, but the impact bruised her slightly.
Another two goblins bolted around the corner. The lead goblin clambered over the fallen bugbear, leaping off it's corpse to swipe at Ryoko with his claws and drawing blood. The second leaped at Ramas, who caught it by the throat and threw it against the wall.
Clootie charged Kulog. Static energy danced across the hammer's head, and she brought it down on the nearest goblin's head, scorching his scalp and dazing him. Ramas darted over to the fallen goblin, sinking his dagger through the creature's breast. As the goblin let out a final shuddering breath, Ramas felt the same comforting warmth emanate from the blade, lessening his injuries. Badger pounced on the goblin directly in front of him, biting down on its throat until the creature stopped moving.
Jinx reappeared in front of Clootie, "Beware the fallen ones", the dragon gestured urgently at the dead creatures. She watched in horror as the corpses began to twitch, pulling themselves upright with in unsettling staccato motions.
Ryoko raised her staff, a purple glow enveloped the wooden shaft as she brought it down on the remaining goblin's skull with a sharp crack, causing it to crumple to the floor. The first bugbear back on its feet swiped at Ramas, who ducked under the creature's flailing claws. The other bugbear reached out to grab Ryoko. The Iskathi grabbed its arms, redirecting the attack and throwing the creature off balance. Miaug loosed another two arrows at the bugbear attacking Ramas. Both arrows found their mark, the second passing through the creature's eye socket and into the brain. It slumped back to the floor.
Aetilius keyed in the correct sequence on the door, and with a resounding click the door swung open. As soon as the door began to move, he pivoted on his heel and leaped across the skirmish to put himself and his shield between Ryoko and the undead bugbear. More bloodthirsty howls echoed down the corridor, followed by the pounding of feet on stone.
Clootie dashed through the open door. She dropped to her knees and slid across the threshold, her momentum spinning her around, and she throwing Kulog back into the corridor. The hammer burst through a goblin's head, with a sharp command she recalling it back through the cloud of gore, into her hand. Ramas turned and bolted for the door, Jean Parmigan settling on his shoulder as he ran. Ryoko swung her staff over Aetilius's shield at the bugbear, but it glanced harmlessly off the creature's skin. With a shrug she turned and ran towards the door. Badger quickly finished the goblin in front of him and joined her.
The bugbear swung it's heavy claws at Aetilius, the blow thundering against the tiefling's shield with a loud clang. Miaug raced towards the door, nimbly leaping over the bodies of the goblins. She spun around, grabbing on of the two huge doors, slamming it shut. Two more bugbears appeared in the corridor, followed by a swarm of goblins. Aetilius pivoted towards the door, catching another swipe from the undead bugbear on his shield as he turned. He raced ahead of the horde, leaping up and grabbing the other door as he passed, pulling it shut behind him. Ryoko dropped a massive brass bar into place behind the door, an instant before the onrushing creatures hit the portal. The massive doors shook, and the bar strained, but held. The party let out a collective breath.
As the bugbears and goblins continued to pound against the door, the group turned around to see where they had escaped to.
The party found themselves in a smooth stone corridor. Unlike the rest of the mine, the walls and ceiling had been carved with unnatural precision. It looked as though this section had been built from stone rather than carved out of solid rock. The floor was carved into equal sized square tiles, and covered with intricate arcane symbols. Around the halfway mark of the room, another corridor led off to the right. The far wall was dominated by a huge ornate brass door.
The door was covered with arcane runes and symbols. Looking closely, a faint shimmering golden aura appeared to flicker across the surface like a heat haze. In the centre of the door, the surface curved inward to form a hemispherical depression, roughly three inches in diameter.
Aetilius walked up to the door cautiously. Taking care not to touch anything this time, he examined the symbols carefully. He didn't recognise many of the runes, but those he did he recalled were protective symbols. He also recognised some celestial script, carved into the top of the door. "The Truth of Power Lies in Understanding History" it read.
There was no reaction from the goblins. The group reached the relative safety of the passageway, and disappeared into the shadows within.
The tunnel continued straight for a short distance before branching left and right. To the right, a huge carved stone door had been set into the wall. Massive brass gears and plates were set into the surface, forming some form of arcane mechanism. Dwarven runes were carved into the stone and embossed on some of the plates. To the left, the corridor passed through a large archway and opened into a small room. The party slipped through the archway and began to explore.
In the far wall of the room, a massive iron grate was set into the wall near the floor. Above this grate, a large alcove had been carved into the wall, extending backwards around three feet. In the middle of the room stood three large anvils, mounted on small freestanding pedestals. Along the right hand wall a stone bench ran the length of the room. Scattered across the surface were rusted old crucibles, tongs, and shattered clay moulds. A long trough had been carved into the left hand wall, currently filled with a thick green liquid.
Aetilius examined the clay moulds, trying to see if any were a match to the brass pieces he had found in the mine tunnels. He found some fragments which seemed to show similar symbols to those on the pieces, but the mould was too heavily damaged to be of any use. Miaug sniffed the green liquid in the trough, nearly gagging at the smell. In the bottom of the trough she spotted a couple of object. Steeling herself, she reached in to grab them out. She retched briefly, then opened her hand to find three small bent and rusty nails. She threw them to the ground in disgust. Ryoko and Clootie examined the alcove which dominated the far wall. Closer inspection confirmed that this was an old smelter. The wall behind the grate had been hollowed out, forming a furnace, and heavy cast iron stands sat in the alcove surrounded by ancient charcoal.
Aetilius decided to return to the mysterious door, and Ramas went with him to keep guard. After they left, on a hunch Ryoko felt about in the charcoal in the old smelter. As she cast her hands about, she felt her fingers contact a chunk of cold metal. Suddenly interested, she pulled out another carved brass segment, similar to the ones Aetilius had found. Ryoko and Clootie both began to search the smelter intently, finding another two fragments between them. Excited, they gathered them up and headed back to Aetilius to show him.
Meanwhile, Aetilius had begun to pore over the door, trying to make sense of the runes using his limited Dwarven. He reached out to run his fingers over one of the embossed metal plates. As he touched it, the plate lit up in bright orange, and the mighty brass gears began to turn with grinding shrieks of protest. Aetilius dropped his hand in dismay as the sudden noise shattered the silence. A moment later, he heard answering shrieks from the main hall. The party gathered outside the door to prepare for the inevitable assault.
Two bugbears came racing down the corridor towards the party. As soon as they rounded the corner, Ryoko unleashed a devastating plume of flame from her mouth, scorching green flesh and staggering the bugbears. Momentum carried them forwards, and one of the creatures closed in on Ramas. The first swipe of it's maul caught the half-elf on the shoulder, knocking him off balance. Ramas twisted, using the momentum of the strike to pivot him out of the sweep of the bugbear's second swing. The other bugbear raced straight for Ryoko, swiping wildly at her with it's morningstar. The Iskathi nimbly sidestepped both attacks. Miaug loosed two arrows at the bugbear attacking Ramas. The first shot missed, clattering harmlessly against wall, but the second buried itself deep in the creature's back, between his shoulder blades, causing him to rear back in pain.
Aetilius turned back to the door mechanism. The orange light was now pulsing across the embossed brass plates. He desperately tried to discern some pattern or sequence to the flashing lights. Two goblins dashed around the corner, one slipped under the first bugbears arm to swipe at Ramas with it's claws. Tiny fingernails raked across Ramas's exposed arm, lacerating flesh and causing an uncomfortable burning sensation to spread out from the wound. The second goblin slipped past the fray to swipe at Badger. The little fox skipped out of the goblin's reach.
Clootie started another inexplicable rant, this time about missing letters and someone called Pepe Silvia. The party looked at one another and shrugged; but the odd monologue failed to distract the rabid creatures. Seeing that her words wre having no effect, she stopped and uttered a single holy word. A golden light swirled around Ramas, and the torn flesh on his forearm knitted itself back together. Clootie loosed Kulog from her belt, holding it firmly in her hand, and she skipped past Miaug to join the melee.
Ramas slashed at the goblin beside him. The dark dagger he'd claimed from Nezzar carved across the flesh of the creature's neck, and with a shudder the creature fell to the ground. He felt a rush of warmth emanate from the blade, and the pain in his chest from the bugbear's blow lessened. Jean Parmigan lifted off Ramas's shoulder, pecking and scratching at the bugbear's eyes.
Badger leaped at the goblin in front of him, sinking his teeth deep into the little creature's neck and drawing blood. A third goblin shrieked into the corridor, leaping at Clootie with its claws outstretched. Clootie ducked aside, and Jinx disappeared from her shoulders.
Ryoko lashed out at the bugbear in front of her with her thorn whip, but the thorns failed to find purchase and the tendril glanced harmlessly off the creature's thick hide. The first bugbear swiped at Ramas again, but he effortlessly dodged out of the path of both blows. The second bugbear struck Ryoko across the chest with his morningstar. The force of the blow winded her, and the creature took advantage of her distraction to bring his morningstar down on her skull. Pain exploded inside her head and bright colours danced in front of her eyes.
Miaug loosed two arrows in quick succession. Both arrows pierced the back of the bugbear's skulls, instantly killing both of them. Aetilius tried hitting the plates on the door in a sequence, but the door didn't respond. One of the goblins swiped at Badger again, but again Badger dodged around the blow an repositioned himself to respond. The second goblin caught Clootie in the shoulder. His claws didn't pierce her flesh, but the impact bruised her slightly.
Another two goblins bolted around the corner. The lead goblin clambered over the fallen bugbear, leaping off it's corpse to swipe at Ryoko with his claws and drawing blood. The second leaped at Ramas, who caught it by the throat and threw it against the wall.
Clootie charged Kulog. Static energy danced across the hammer's head, and she brought it down on the nearest goblin's head, scorching his scalp and dazing him. Ramas darted over to the fallen goblin, sinking his dagger through the creature's breast. As the goblin let out a final shuddering breath, Ramas felt the same comforting warmth emanate from the blade, lessening his injuries. Badger pounced on the goblin directly in front of him, biting down on its throat until the creature stopped moving.
Jinx reappeared in front of Clootie, "Beware the fallen ones", the dragon gestured urgently at the dead creatures. She watched in horror as the corpses began to twitch, pulling themselves upright with in unsettling staccato motions.
Ryoko raised her staff, a purple glow enveloped the wooden shaft as she brought it down on the remaining goblin's skull with a sharp crack, causing it to crumple to the floor. The first bugbear back on its feet swiped at Ramas, who ducked under the creature's flailing claws. The other bugbear reached out to grab Ryoko. The Iskathi grabbed its arms, redirecting the attack and throwing the creature off balance. Miaug loosed another two arrows at the bugbear attacking Ramas. Both arrows found their mark, the second passing through the creature's eye socket and into the brain. It slumped back to the floor.
Aetilius keyed in the correct sequence on the door, and with a resounding click the door swung open. As soon as the door began to move, he pivoted on his heel and leaped across the skirmish to put himself and his shield between Ryoko and the undead bugbear. More bloodthirsty howls echoed down the corridor, followed by the pounding of feet on stone.
Clootie dashed through the open door. She dropped to her knees and slid across the threshold, her momentum spinning her around, and she throwing Kulog back into the corridor. The hammer burst through a goblin's head, with a sharp command she recalling it back through the cloud of gore, into her hand. Ramas turned and bolted for the door, Jean Parmigan settling on his shoulder as he ran. Ryoko swung her staff over Aetilius's shield at the bugbear, but it glanced harmlessly off the creature's skin. With a shrug she turned and ran towards the door. Badger quickly finished the goblin in front of him and joined her.
The bugbear swung it's heavy claws at Aetilius, the blow thundering against the tiefling's shield with a loud clang. Miaug raced towards the door, nimbly leaping over the bodies of the goblins. She spun around, grabbing on of the two huge doors, slamming it shut. Two more bugbears appeared in the corridor, followed by a swarm of goblins. Aetilius pivoted towards the door, catching another swipe from the undead bugbear on his shield as he turned. He raced ahead of the horde, leaping up and grabbing the other door as he passed, pulling it shut behind him. Ryoko dropped a massive brass bar into place behind the door, an instant before the onrushing creatures hit the portal. The massive doors shook, and the bar strained, but held. The party let out a collective breath.
As the bugbears and goblins continued to pound against the door, the group turned around to see where they had escaped to.
The party found themselves in a smooth stone corridor. Unlike the rest of the mine, the walls and ceiling had been carved with unnatural precision. It looked as though this section had been built from stone rather than carved out of solid rock. The floor was carved into equal sized square tiles, and covered with intricate arcane symbols. Around the halfway mark of the room, another corridor led off to the right. The far wall was dominated by a huge ornate brass door.
The door was covered with arcane runes and symbols. Looking closely, a faint shimmering golden aura appeared to flicker across the surface like a heat haze. In the centre of the door, the surface curved inward to form a hemispherical depression, roughly three inches in diameter.
Aetilius walked up to the door cautiously. Taking care not to touch anything this time, he examined the symbols carefully. He didn't recognise many of the runes, but those he did he recalled were protective symbols. He also recognised some celestial script, carved into the top of the door. "The Truth of Power Lies in Understanding History" it read.
Report Date
17 Jan 2020
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