Vapourware [Play-by-post] Lamentations in Averoigne

[nikolokolus]

What do you all wish to do now?

 

[Grimgravy]

Ganelon resists the urge to yodel like the Swiss soldiers he remembers from the crusade and listens intently for sounds of impending doom.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

What do you all wish to do now?

Stand fast.

 

[Madeline]

Madeline motions for the group to get out of the dead end back into the main hallway. As she'd been keeping guard of it along with Sancho, it's still empty, and if the northern door remains unopened, then we have our backs to the wall in case of an attack, with nowhere to retreat.

 

[Snorkack]

Daphne slowly steps forward on tip-toes, makes an attempt to push open the door from a distance with her quarterstaff, then immediately retreats back a few feet.

 

[AdamReith]

Spoiler

Perhaps we could hide around the corner in the pulley room? That way if something comes from the east to investigate it might miss us.

Otherwise, happy to support Daphne in door opening. If only to have a peak at what lies on the other side.

Vincent stays with the group in a defensive stance, ready to catch any screaming horror that emerges from the gloom on his mighty fauchard.

 

[nikolokolus]

While the group retreats to the passage intersection, Daphne pushes against the heavy wooden door with the butt of her quarterstaff. Fortunately it isn't latched or swollen and warped with moisture (come to think of it, how did this wooden door survive for centuries? Daphne thinks to herself) and with a heave it swings inward on its rusty hinges. Lantern light spill into a vacant square room about twenty feet on each side. Directly across from the open door is another closed door made of stone. Around the room are piles of dirt and other unidentifiable refuse, randomly scattered across the floor. Most distressing, a few paces inside the door, is a badly decomposed, armored corpse laying face down with an arm outstretched towards the now open portal. A broken sword is still clutched in a gauntleted hand and the stub of a burnt out torch in the other.

 

[AdamReith]

Vincent investigates the corpse, particularily with interest as to in what manner it met its death.

 

[Snorkack]

Daphne bars the hallway with her staff to prevent Vincent from entering. "Wait. This looks all to suspicious."
She taps the floor in the chamber with her staff with varying degrees of force applied, but always ensuring that she stays south of the door.

Spoiler

Is it possible to jam/unhinge the door?

 

[nikolokolus]

Snorkack Yes.
Sorry was following up, but you ninjaed me

 

[Snorkack]

Given that her floor-tapping does nothing more than producing a series of mute knocks, Daphne pulls out her dagger and shoves it in the gap between door and frame. She then gives Vincent a hand sign towards the corpse and invites him to proceed.
Nevermind, she does none of that.

 

[nikolokolus]

Daphne taps ahead and presses on the floor tiles through the door. There is an audible *click* as one of the tiles depresses and suddenly there is a grinding noise, a rush of air and she is left holding a stub of her staff as a stone slab slides down from a slot in the arched doorway mere inches from her face. From beyond the stone slab, that clearly would have trapped someone had they crossed the threshold, there is a creaking of hinges and then some faint scrabbling noises.

Good thinking

 

[AdamReith]

Spoiler

I guess we head east so!

Unless the lever we found is a trap reset?

Now, with the door open Vincent sees if he can pull the small lever in the floor again.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Spoiler

I'd like to make a check with the ole' pokey stick if the wine press mechanism can be jammed. If I find a likely groove/ catch, maybe stick an iron spike in it.

 

[Snorkack]

Daphne jerks backwards, immediately starts to hyperventilate and holds her palm to her chest as if she wanted to prevent her heart from escaping. With wide eyes, she alternates looking at Vincent and at what once was her staff. When she calms down after a few moments, she stows the remainder of her weapon, draws her dagger and tries to discern the nature of those scrabbing noises.

 

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

I'd like to make a check with the ole' pokey stick if the wine press mechanism can be jammed. If I find a likely groove/ catch, maybe stick an iron spike in it.

Mechanism

It's a stone lever hinged at one end and it pulls upward to activate it. (whatever the loud *ka-chunk* noise was). It fell back into the "down" position after it was pulled with the jury-rigged rope. Just jiggling the handle a bit, it seems like there is resistance again on the upward pulling motion. You could certainly pull the lever and brace something under it in the recess if you wish

Daphne jerks backwards, immediately starts to hyperventilate and holds her palm to her chest as if she wanted to prevent her heart from escaping. With wide eyes, she alternates looking at Vincent and at what once was her staff. When she calms down after a few moments, she stows the remainder of her weapon, draws her dagger and tries to discern the nature of those scrabbing noises.

You can hear scraping and scatching noises against the stone slab now. Whatever is causing it, it sounds a lot like something hard being dragged across stone.

 

[AdamReith]

Vincent steps away from the stone slab and associated leverage and waits to see what people make of this development.

 

[Snorkack]

Daphne tries to stop Vincent and Vandal from fiddling with the uncovered latch they found before

Spoiler

If I understood you guys right and that was what you wanted to do.
Pretty sure this lever rearms the trap? We should all ready ourselves before if we want to do that.

 

[AdamReith]

Spoiler

Seems we either prepare to fight and operate the lever or we proceed east.

East seems like a pleasant direction right now.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Spoiler

Seems we either prepare to fight and operate the lever or we proceed east.

East seems like a pleasant direction right now.

Spoiler

What we oughta do is bait the incoming sucker on to the trap, Predator style.

 

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

Seems we either prepare to fight and operate the lever or we proceed east.

East seems like a pleasant direction right now.

Spoiler

What we oughta do is bait the incoming sucker on to the trap, Predator style.

Trap

Just to make sure I'm communicating effectively. The trigger plate was inside the room where the noises are coming from. The lever is in the passage outside of the door, originally hidden under a loose flagstone. I'm not sure what other trap you are referring to?
I'll add some annotations to the map for clarity

 

[AdamReith]

Spoiler

Seems we either prepare to fight and operate the lever or we proceed east.

East seems like a pleasant direction right now.

Spoiler

What we oughta do is bait the incoming sucker on to the trap, Predator style.

Spoiler

I really wish I had some poisoned caltrops right now...

While curious to get into a fight, there could be something pretty nasty on the other side!

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Spoiler

Seems we either prepare to fight and operate the lever or we proceed east.

East seems like a pleasant direction right now.

Spoiler

What we oughta do is bait the incoming sucker on to the trap, Predator style.

Trap

Just to make sure I'm communicating effectively. The trigger plate was inside the room where the noises are coming from. The lever is in the passage outside of the door, originally hidden under a loose flagstone. I'm not sure what other trap you are referring to?
I'll add some annotations to the map for clarity

Spoiler

Right, I do now note that we don't know if the lever is connected to the flattener. If was hoping to open the slab crusher, quickly poke the trigger with my pole to catch whatever is heading towards us in it. Back to the drawing board I wot.

 

[AdamReith]

Spoiler

Right, I do now note that we don't know if the lever is connected to the flattener. If was hoping to open the slab crusher, quickly poke the trigger with my pole to catch whatever is heading towards us in it. Back to the drawing board I wot.

Spoiler

Yeah, I still suspect >90% it is a trap reset, but we won't know for sure until we tried it. Also that assumes that the creature didn't make it through while the trap is in the process of resetting.

 

[nikolokolus]

While the party retreats from the stone slab and the scrabbling noises from beyond and contemplates what to do about it, there is a horrid chittering noise in the blackness to the east that grows louder and louder . . . closer and closer . . .