Stones is obviously not pleased at the group’s inaction. “I am not waiting for the Priests and the Flyers to gather their wits or their resources. I will not charge about noisily, but I will also not wait for a perfect moment that may never come...when daylight is upon us then we will have lost any time we have gained by teleporting here and leaving them all behind. Right now they think we are still in the castle! There is no reason in the world they would be looking for us here!" He is getting himself worked up again, but visibly trying to calm himself.
“Look, we are in a HIDDEN PASSAGE! We are in the temple already, secreted in a hidden compartment that has a portal circle. How it connects to the rest of the temple, I can’t tell you. But the fact remains that when we get to the bottom of the staircase, there is a wall. There are no other doors, and no other passageways from this room. When I arrived and listened down below, I heard voices. That means that behind the wall at the bottom of the stairs is a room, and from that room we will gain access to the temple.”
His manner is coarse, and he is lacking any real social graces, but he is urging the group on with every fiber of his being. “Qwyn, you are right, we leave Ronak and the boy here. They will only slow us down and risk further injury. Elby will be fine to follow along in the rear, or can wait here with them. For now, we leave the torches up here so I can check for the secret passage that is at the bottom of the stairs. I don’t want to ruin my eyes while I search for any light coming through from the other side. And don’t worry, I’m not going to open it until we’re ready…”
He turns to Inara, “if you sleep now, we will lose the cover of darkness. Also, when the sun comes up, the temple will spring to life again and we will have more to contend with just trying to get about. If that happens, we may not make it before…” he pauses… ”listen, let’s just find the secret door, figure out how to open it, and when we are ready, see what’s on the other side. Otherwise, we may as well sleep here until nightfall comes again…but we’ll just need to figure out a way to pass the time…” He leers at Inara…
Inara's face twists as she concentrates on one part of Stones' controlled anger.
"They DO think we're still in the hotel... shit..."
Inara snaps back onto her feet. "Remmy, leave our stuff here with those staying behind. You win the day, Stones. Surprise dwindles. Give me a torch, that who-hee thingy, and five minutes head start. If you could hear them, then they will hear the group. Let me make sure we can move safely."
Inara takes a torch from Remsfeld and sighs as she looks at it. "Might as well wear a sign..."
Stones hands her the object, holding the other one up to his ear. She heads out into the hallway, muffling the torch as well as she can.
A few times you hear her speaking, though you can’t make anything out. There is no alarm in her voice though.
The Reappearance
She is gone ten minutes. Inara reappears in the doorway with a bemused expression on her face.
"Well that was exciting. I hear nothing at all. We should be very quiet, but I don't think people are up yet in this area."
"Stones? Always close the window you jump out of," she smiles at the warrior as she hands him back his magical stone.
"And I hope you guys are better at figuring a way through a solid wall, or else we ALL may be jumping out a window soon. I have no idea how to get past the bottom of the stairs... but it was clearly an afterthought. It's of a different material. Qwyn? Alion? Would you take a look? I'm clueless."
Remsfeld mutters something to Inara as she beckons everyone to follow quietly.
Stones nods toward Remsfeld, "perhaps your dwarf would know how to find weakness in the stone? Or we can always just break it down..."
Remsfeld looks straight at Stones. "I am not 'her' fucking dwarf or anyone else's."
Inara quickly interjects, "Bodyguard. Salaried by the Berkshire Dwarven Empire. So my bodyguard, yes. My dwarf, no. We have the same employer."
Stones looks at Remsfeld. "Ah, he speaks! And common no less...no offense intended Remmy, we've just never had the pleasure of your thoughts, opinions, or words, but dwarves usually know stonework better than any other. I don't want to take any longer than needed..."
Remsfeld glares at Stones as Stones looks to follow Inara down the stairs.
Inara adds, "Gentlemen, we are all stressed. save your anger for the priests. let us descend quietly and please take a look at that wall to see if it can be easily dismantled. some of us can't handle the jump from the window."
Alion clears his throat. "Let me take a look. I've come across a few trick doors before."
Ronak looks around. “Brin and I will stay here. We will be safe – protected by the Gods.”
Voss says, "I have no problem keeping Elby safe. If there's wizard priests on the other side of that wall, better those with magic meet them. If they have guards with the magic of sword and shield, then I've magic of my own for them."
Down the Hallway
Stones and Alion take lead followed by Elby and Voss, then Qwyn and Radegast and the in the rear Inara and Remsfeld. Qwyn and Radegast have been strangely silent this entire time. There is a little more bonce to Elby’s step- as though he is coming around.
Inara provides more information as you slip down the hallway.
"I don't even know if there is a trick door. Stones saw it a while ago, I guess. It might need that amulet thingy. We may have to rope it out the window, and I'll go last. I can take the rope with me and climb down. But good luck. Maybe I missed something. Masonry is not my forte. Watch going past the window that you aren't visible from outside."
The Hallway
Everything is how Stones originally described it. The circular window large enough for a person (other than Ronak) to jump out - it is closed - then steps heading downward. Elby, Radegast and Inara hold torches, which combine to provide enough light.
The wall at the end of the passageway is indeed different from the walls in the hallway.
Alion runs his hands over the surface, then checks the floor for scrape marks. Meanwhile, Stones takes out a brand - it is almost a foot long, a screw as the base and the brand itself is two "Hs" intertwined- he looks around hoping for some place to shove it.
Maybe the simplicity of the wall is what confuses everyone. It is too thick to smash through - a few taps reveals the thickness.
It takes another ten minutes before you are able to figure it out - each person's knowledge filling in the piece of the puzzle.
It is Alion who notices the small breeze. Very subtle it comes from the topmost corners of the wall. Only through his patience does he find it.
It is Qwyn who recalls the stories of one-way passageway, sometimes referred to as an "Orcs Mistress." The idea being an Orc king would need a way to get out to see a mistress, yet the passageway could not be opened from the other direction - which would be the direction you are currently coming from. Each Orcs Mistress being unique in design to the owner as far as opening it from the Orc side.
Voss notes that this makes wall a very heavy object, most likely on some sort tumbler.
Stones knows that all heavy objects can be moved with another brute force.
Qwyn does a quick mental calculation. Four of the strongest party members to move it would most likely do the trick. Who knows how much noise it will make though. There IS enough room for four people to squeeze in next to each other.
Remsfeld adds, "the orcs stole it from dwarves. We call it the dwarf's prayer. If you wife catches you using it you don't have a prayer."
No comments:
Post a Comment