Floor 1 "Wheel": 1-1

[Merc]

"Well, let's hope we don't stumble another trap, then, at least before we encounter something to help us along the way," is the grim reply.

[Anastasia]

Thus the two go down it. It's relatively quiet, until coming to a ladder that leads up. It goes up a fairly good ways, but looks fairly easy to climb.

[Dracos]

Shadow gives a careful yank to it, making sure it wouldn't fall apart at the blink of an eye.  If it doesn't, he lets Varial up first.

OOC: Varial, unless you oppose, you have point by virtue of being able to take 1 hp of damage.

[Merc]

"Well, given your shape, guess I'm up first..." Varian mutters as he puts himself through the exercise of climbing the ladder. "Let's hope I do't end up a pincushion too..."

[Anastasia]

The ladder is quite solid and not falling apart! Thus, the two begin to climb up! With a ladder it's quite easy, climbing higher and higher and higher! Closer to the top, closer, closer---!!!!

* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+2 gnome spot and gets 15." [1d20=13]

As the two get closer to the top, Varian spots something. The last several rungs of the latter are smeared with a greasy looking substance.

[Merc]

"Careful, the last few rungs have something smeared on it. Not sure if it's more of that glue, or just something to make us slip," Varian warns below. Hooking his arm around one of the safe rungs so he has a stable hold, he ponders what to do.

ooc: Is the ladder a metal ladder, wooden, or what?

[Anastasia]

The ladder is made of a sturdy wood.

[Merc]

ooc: there goes the idea of setting the grease stuff on fire.

Grabbing an arrow, Varian presses the arrowhead against the substance on the rungs to see if there's any reaction, like the arrow getting glued, and if there's no reaction, trying to scrape it off to the sides.

[Anastasia]

It's hard to get the arrow to rest against the coated ladder rungs. It's very slippery, smearing about quite easily. It doesn't seem to have any damaging effect on the arrowhead. Try to scrape it off is hard - it tends to smear and make more of a mess.

[Merc]

"Okay, not working..." Varian mutters as he makes a sharp swishing noise with the arrow until the gunk gets off it, and he can put it back with the rest.

"Careful, going to take out blanket, so some stuff might slip out," the gnome warns Shadow below him. Digging back into backpack, he pulls out the winter blanket. Once it out, he'll wrap a corner of it around the closest wrung and try to clean the gunk off with the blanket as a sponge.

[Anastasia]

It does take some time. The blanket absorbs it, but it's a slow process. BUt eventually the rungs go from slippery to merely a little bit slippery. Stuff's incredibly slick, but it should be safer to climb now.

[Merc]

"Okay, got as much of it out as I could. Still, let's play it safe and use rope for support," Varian tells Shadow as he throws the blanket out to the side. Not going to get any more use out of that, certainly not when sleep time came about anyhow. Instead, he pulls out the rope from his equipment and begins to tie one end around his waist as best he could before giving the other end to Shadow. "I'll start climbing again when you're ready."

[Dracos]

"I'm ready," Shadow remarked, steadying himself, one hand on the ladder, one hand ready to stab against the wall if the ladder seemed to fall backwards.

[Merc]

Giving a nod, Varian starts to climb. "I'll give three sharp yanks once I'm at the top. Well, that or if the rope is getting too taunt, in which case I'll secure myself, and we can alternate climbing until we're up top."

[Anastasia]

I'm going to handwave this, since it's a good plan and it's time to introduce Ranmaru anyhow.

The climb to the top goes quite well! There's a little recess here, a door ahead! However, as the two get up, the find a woman(?) appearing by the door!

You're up, Gate. Describe yourself if you want and your form, ect.