Vapourware [Play-by-post] Lamentations in Averoigne

[Madeline]

Madeline approaches the chasm almost immediately upon entering. The animal bones slightly throw her off, but she navigates her unheeled feet between them as safely as she can, then points the lantern down to illuminate the darkness. When she's stepping close to the hole in the floor, Madeline takes a careful approach, testing each stone tile with her foot before putting her full weight on it, no matter how light the skinny actress is.

"I think it would be prudent to check the room and all its nooks and crannies," she suggests to the others more than gives an order. Then, she's silent as Vincent drops a bone, and listens intently for any sounds to escape the pit.

Regardless of the result, once enough time has passed to either determine that the abyss is too deep to hear a sound, or when they do hear the bone hitting the floor, she has another idea.

"Monsieur Guillemin, would you mind tying Sancho's lantern to your rope? We can lower it down and not just hear, but see what's there."

If Guillemin agrees, Sancho will pass him the lantern, the goal is to tie its handle to the rope and lower it down like a fish bait to look who or what might lurk in the darkness, how deep it is, and how does the room or whatever is below look like.

While that's being prepared, she apparently absent-mindedly (it only looks that way, she is a performer after all) tugs at the existing elevator system's rope, noting its lack of apparent integrity, she basically tests it for strength with a few pulls, starting from gentle to strong, being very careful to stay stable on her feet spread wide, and keeps her eyes on Vandal, beckoning him closer so that should the floor give and collapse, Maddie may grasp the strongman's hand instead of plummeting down into the darkness.

 

[AdamReith]

Vincent also spends this time looking about with his lantern, seeking any other signs others may have left behind them while keeping a safe distance from hole.

"The rope is down, this might mean there are others down there now? Right?" Vincent whispers to the group excitedly.

 

[nikolokolus]

Vincent picks up a random piece of bone and drops it into the hole, holding a finger to his lips as he listens for its landing.

OOC

Get some basic idea of how deep this shaft is?

Madeline approaches the chasm almost immediately upon entering. The animal bones slightly throw her off, but she navigates her unheeled feet between them as safely as she can, then points the lantern down to illuminate the darkness. When she's stepping close to the hole in the floor, Madeline takes a careful approach, testing each stone tile with her foot before putting her full weight on it, no matter how light the skinny actress is.

"I think it would be prudent to check the room and all its nooks and crannies," she suggests to the others more than gives an order. Then, she's silent as Vincent drops a bone, and listens intently for any sounds to escape the pit.

Regardless of the result, once enough time has passed to either determine that the abyss is too deep to hear a sound, or when they do hear the bone hitting the floor, she has another idea.

"Monsieur Guillemin, would you mind tying Sancho's lantern to your rope? We can lower it down and not just hear, but see what's there."

If Guillemin agrees, Sancho will pass him the lantern, the goal is to tie its handle to the rope and lower it down like a fish bait to look who or what might lurk in the darkness, how deep it is, and how does the room or whatever is below look like.

While that's being prepared, she apparently absent-mindedly (it only looks that way, she is a performer after all) tugs at the existing elevator system's rope, noting its lack of apparent integrity, she basically tests it for strength with a few pulls, starting from gentle to strong, being very careful to stay stable on her feet spread wide, and keeps her eyes on Vandal, beckoning him closer so that should the floor give and collapse, Maddie may grasp the strongman's hand instead of plummeting down into the darkness.

Curious about how deep this hole might be, Vincent drops a bit of leg bone into the hole in the floor. It only takes about a second and a half to ricochet off of something hard and clatter away into the blackness, echoing as it does so. Madeline then attaches a lantern to a bight of rope and lowers it down about five feet before the narrow shaft opens up into a wider void. Lowering the lantern another 5 feet further and a rubble strewn floor starts to reveal itself in the penumbral light. (based on the dropped bone and what you can see you're guessing that the total drop is about forty feet).

Madeline also carefully leans out and tugs on the bit of rope that been tied into an impressive knot on its end to keep it from slipping through the block. It seems sturdy enough when she tugs on it, but as she peers down with the aid of the lantern light it looks as though the rope end is snapped off about 20 feet down. There are dark splotches on the ground directly below the tripod.

While Madeline tests the rope, Vincent walks around the chamber with his lantern held aloft, carefully examining the floor. There are a few places where the ground looks scuffed, and splotches of blood stain the floor, but he doesn't spot anything else in his quick survey.

 

[Madeline]

Noting the floor is about 5 feet thick, and unlikely to collapse on its own or easily even if forced, Maddie asks for a light to examine the chasm's edge more closely, looking for cracked stone slabs, cuts, burn marks, pickaxe marks, scratches, or simple breakage, whatever else that could have created the hole itself.

 

[nikolokolus]

Madeline investigates the edge of the shaft and sees deep gouge marks and chunks taken out of the floor and obvious signs of scraping on some of the tiles around the tripod. It seems safe to surmise that there may have been a stone slab covering this hole at one point, that was probably broken up somehow and collapsed into the hole.

 

[AdamReith]

Vincent investigates how the old rope is attached to the pulley system and whether it could be easily removed.

"perhaps the best approach would be to simply replace the broken rope with one of ours, then we could climb down."

 

[nikolokolus]

Vincent investigates how the old rope is attached to the pulley system and whether it could be easily removed.

"perhaps the best approach would be to simply replace the broken rope with one of ours, then we could climb down."

from above:

Madeline also carefully leans out and tugs on the bit of rope that been tied into an impressive knot on its end to keep it from slipping through the block

 

[AdamReith]

Vincent sets about preparing his length of rope, knotting one end in a similar manner to what he observes.

He then pulls out the old length and carefully feeds in the replacement.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Vincent sets about preparing his length of rope, knotting one end in a similar manner to what he observes.

He then pulls out the old length and carefully feeds in the replacement.

Before the fauchardier could replace the rope, Vandal stops.
He tests the rusted tripod system to see how well it will hold everyone's weight.
Once that is done, he points to the bottom floor.
"Cushioning?"

 

[nikolokolus]

Vandal scrapes the stout iron poles of the tripod with the edge of his knife, testing just how "rotten" the metal is. It's not as bad as you feared; the patina seems to be fairly superficial (no more than a couple of millimeters).

It's difficult to guess just how long it's been moldering here in the dark, but probably no more than a few years at worst.

 

[Grimgravy]

Ganelon scans the chamber as well looking for writing or symbols that might indicate what ancient people may have built the structure.

 

[Snorkack]

While Daphne is not particularly afraid of heights, she is not very keen on abseiling into that ditch either. While the others assess the depth of that hole, she pokes around at the wall, the floor and the ceiling with her quarterstaff, looking for crevices and openings, hoping for other ways down that might lie hidden in the flickering shadows.

 

[L'ennui]

Guillemin peeks into the darkness below and gulps audibly. He steps back from the ledge and circles the room, scanning the walls for irregularities.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Spoiler

Vandal could carry one of the frailer crew on his back maybe? In fact it'd be better if two of us go down at one go at least.

 

[AdamReith]

Acknowledging the sense behind Vandal's caution Vincent also gives the scaffold a swift kick in order to assay its structural integrity before initiating the rope replacement operation.

Spoiler

We could lower down the party members who lack upper body strength via the additional rope. We'll need to do this for the packs presumably anyway.

For the first foray down the replaced rope, Vincent and Vandal could drop their packs in the corner of the room and climb down the new rope once it's in place? Vincent would leave his fauchard for the moment and ready his boot knife if he descends the rope in this manner.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Acknowledging the sense behind Vandal's caution Vincent also gives the scaffold a swift kick in order to assay its structural integrity before initiating the rope replacement operation.

Spoiler

We could lower down the party members who lack upper body strength via the additional rope. We'll need to do this for the packs presumably anyway.

For the first foray down the replaced rope, Vincent and Vandal could drop their packs in the corner of the room and climb down the new rope once it's in place? Vincent would leave his fauchard for the moment and ready his boot knife if he descends the rope in this manner.

Spoiler

ok, but either one of us will have to remain up to lower down whatever and whoever. Which is why I prefer two people down at the first go, one frontline and a lightweight, so we avoid untoward surprises.

 

[nikolokolus]

Searching and other activities

For future reference: Unless you guys tell me otherwise, I will assume that anybody who uses language that indicates they are "looking around" is conducting a formal search and is doing so for ten minutes: that is a "turn;" the minimum amount of time to effectively conduct a search. Also unless you tell me where exactly you are searching I will pick spots at random. e.g. "I search around vs. I search the northern wall between the pillars." etc. A search covers ten feet; as in ten feet all aroud you, including walls, floors and ceilings (if they are low enough). If you are almost sure that there is a secret door, a trap or some other obscura in a specific spot, you can describe in intimate detail how you are interacting with such a location. This kind of search action takes a full six turns. If something is actually there, this sort of painstaking search will figure it out if you can pass an Intelligence roll (or your search skill, whichever is better) rolled in secret by me.

Vincent also tests the integrity of the tripod with a swift kick, Aside from slightly stubbing his toe, the thing barely moves, but sways slightly. It must weigh nearly six or seven stone, and it's sharp pointed "feet" bite into the grooves between the fitted stone blocks of the floor. The only thing that is suspect is the way the rope that lashes the iron poles together groans audibly as it swayed, you assay that it might be prudent to disassemble it and replace the lash.

Ganelon's Search

Meanwhile, the other members of the troupe fan out along the edges of the room carefully inspecting the old stone blocks for about ten minutes. Nothing of note is found save that Ganelon finds a bit of pigment on one of the walls, but it is badly weathered from moisture and age. It might have been a mural of some sort at one point, but what it depicted is anyone's guess. There are no inscriptions, carvings nor any other artifacts, aside from a handful of ceramic potshards near the stairs; identical to the piece the innkeeper had kept as a souvenir from all those years ago.

Guillemin's Search

As Ganelon muses on the pigment on the wall, Guillemin, runs his hands along the stone pillars and discovers a small hole on the backside of one of the them just north of the stairs. the hole is barely large enough to fit his hand into it, but he can feel something like a handle in the recess.

 

[AdamReith]

Acknowledging the sense behind Vandal's caution Vincent also gives the scaffold a swift kick in order to assay its structural integrity before initiating the rope replacement operation.

Spoiler

We could lower down the party members who lack upper body strength via the additional rope. We'll need to do this for the packs presumably anyway.

For the first foray down the replaced rope, Vincent and Vandal could drop their packs in the corner of the room and climb down the new rope once it's in place? Vincent would leave his fauchard for the moment and ready his boot knife if he descends the rope in this manner.

Spoiler

ok, but either one of us will have to remain up to lower down whatever and whoever. Which is why I prefer two people down at the first go, one frontline and a lightweight, so we avoid untoward surprises.

Vincent applies himself to the repairs, suggesting to Vandal that he (Vincent) could form the rear guard and Vandal could lead the first expedition downwards once the rope has been successfully replaced.

Vincent understands the danger a faulty rope could pose once they party has descended so takes his time to make sure all his work is as immaculate as his meagre skills allow, welcoming any help from the fellow party members. He'll also ask Vandal to join him in tugging hard on the end of the rope to ensure it is firmly fastened and that there are no faults in the rope itself before it is lowered and used for any climbing.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Vandal aids the fauchardist in his ropework.

 

[nikolokolus]

It takes Vandal and Vincent about 10 minutes to fully disassemble the tripod, repair the lashing, hook the block and tackle back up, thread the new rope and suspend the contraption back over the hole and secure the feet. It seems like it should be stable and hold at least 30-40 stone of weight (i.e. 2 men in full kit).

 

[AdamReith]

It takes Vandal and Vincent about 10 minutes to fully disassemble the tripod, repair the lashing, hook the block and tackle back up, thread the new rope and suspend the contraption back over the hole and secure the feet. It seems like it should be stable and hold at least 30-40 stone of weight (i.e. 2 men in full kit).

OOC

Great!

Is this now a fully operational pulley system that will facilitate lowering of supplies etc?

 

[Madeline]

Madeline steels herself and prepares to descend the rope right after Vandal, and motions for Sancho to go right after her. She practices withdrawing her rapier half-way a few times, making sure it does not get stuck while unsheathing it from the scabbard. Why she seems eager to be one of the first down is not apparent.

"This is only the first step, mon frères. Monsier Ganelon, would you kindly follow me and the boy so that we may bring with us the blessings of God, as personified by you, into this crypt?"

OOC

Unless anyone objects, so far, the order of descent seems to be Vandal, Maddie, Sancho, Ganelon, Guillemine, Daphne, Vincent

 

[ERYFKRAD]

It takes Vandal and Vincent about 10 minutes to fully disassemble the tripod, repair the lashing, hook the block and tackle back up, thread the new rope and suspend the contraption back over the hole and secure the feet. It seems like it should be stable and hold at least 30-40 stone of weight (i.e. 2 men in full kit).

OOC

Great!

Is this now a fully operational pulley system that will facilitate lowering of supplies etc?

Spoiler

I'd rather we work out a proper rope ladder and pulley system if we're gonna be here and back again.

OOC

Unless anyone objects, so far, the order of descent seems to be Vandal, Maddie, Sancho, Ganelon, Guillemine, Vincent

Spoiler

Yeah I'm jake with it.

 

[nikolokolus]

OOC

Before you guys descend, make note that Guillemin found some kind of recessed handle hidden behind one of the stone pillars near the stairs. FWIW

 

[L'ennui]

"Camarades! Seems I've found something here."

Guillemin visually inspects the floor and the ceiling connected to the pillar, looking for any trace of a mechanism that could be activated by the handle.