Leap of Faith

[Bjorn]

Bjorn grunts.  "M'Lady, if there's a trap at that altar, then we might need to make rush if we go there."  He grimaces.  "Or there might be something there that will save us later on.  I don't like guessing."

[Ginrai]

Ginrai sighs.  "If the reward is good enough, it might be a good idea to check it out.  M'lady, do you have any idea of what could be in there?"

[Brian]

She frowns.  "It could be anything.  Or nothing.  I don't know.  I leave that decision in your hands," she says, gesturing to indicate everyone in general.

[Huitzil]

"Would there be an altar or temple to Aestock down here? I doubt the lizards practice any kind of worship, and these traps don't seem like the kind of things you would surround a real altar with. I believe it's probably another kind of trap."

[Bjorn]

"The defenders of the Stormkeep might  have put an altar in when they made this place," Bjorn grunts.  "But if they expected the Dreadmarch to try and despoil it, they might have left it as," he gropes for a word, "bait."

He thinks for a minute more, and then shakes his head.  "This was built to stop people passing through," he says.  "I can't imagine anything would be left behind to help someone get through."

Snorting softly, he adds, "Even if we change our minds, only one of us should try to reach it.  Before that, we need to reach the other exit."

Checking to make sure everyone else is ready, Bjorn resumes his careful, painstaking progress across the room.

[Brian]

After a few more minutes (the arc of safety continues as you expected it to) you reach the far end of the room.

[Bjorn]

Reaching the exit, Bjorn explores a little more, making sure that the mouth of the hallway is free of traps, before arching backwards, knuckling his back.  "All right," he says.  "Now, because I'm curious, gimme a few before we go on."  

With that, he takes off his pack, handing it to Paul for safe-keeping, and returns back to the exit, and, without straying far from the door, tries to determine if there was another trap-free path -- one, perhaps, that might lead to the altar.

[Brian]

Well, from what you can see, a trap-free path is pretty much a dream, if you're looking for an aisle of safety as large as the last one.  But, not every cobblestone is trapped.  If you're careful, you might be able to pick your way through the traps to reach the center of the gauntlet.  The shortest route would appear to be from the mid-point of your aisle of safety.

[Bjorn]

Uncertainly, Bjorn pauses, and then shakes his head.  "Shouldn't take risks," he grumbles to himself, "but I'm not sure what's riskier."

Raising his voice, he tells the others, "Stay there!"  Without waiting for a response, he starts out, going back to the mid point and making his way across the cobblestones to the center block.

[Brian]

Feeling around for which cobblestones are safe, and which aren't, is tedious work, and you're about four meters from where you want to be -- the center of the circle.  Assuming it's not a huge trap, of course.

Your options are to either try and memorize each trap's location, and then walk, or, more simply, to identify a number of 'safe' cobbles, and play the most lethal round of hopscotch you've ever participated in.

This latter seems more feasible, given the number of cobbles (there are hundreds) and how quickly you're trying to accomplish this task.

Code Select Expand

<Faceless> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Faceless ... : 3d6 --> {5}You know, hopscotch is easy, come to think of it.  Those pansy kids should find something more challenging to do with their time.

You're now standing on a circle of stone in the middle of the room.  It's a bit dim, but the lady brightens the light of her pandant for you.

The circle is about two meters across, you'd guess, inscribed with runes.  They all spell out a prayer to Aestock, as far as you can tell.  You have to kind of turn your head at an angle to read them (unless you want to stand on the cobbles, which doesn't seem like a fantastic idea).  The center of this circle is a stone ring, about twenty centimeters across.  It's got two half-circle indentations in it, leaving a spot between the indentations that looks rather like a handle.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn crooks and cranes his head, trying to read the writing, and then squats to study the ring more carefully.

[Brian]

"...the wind that is life breathe ever through this world in the name of Aestock and his bretheren we serve..." you're not really sure where it begins, though.      It's circular, after all.

The ring itself is unadorned, looking like a stone key or plug.  It looks like it's separate from the other stone, and like you could move it.

[Bjorn]

Well, shit.  Here's hoping the hopscotch is as easy the next time around.

With that "prayer," Bjorn grabs the handle and tries to move the ring.

[Brian]

It unscrews, like a big lid.  After about three full rotations, it comes up, revealing a little cubby beneath it.  And also about that same time, you hear a tremendous echoing grinding noise from all around you.

[Bjorn]

"Fuck," Bjorn pronounces, and continues on in that vein.  The obscenity is just tension relief, though, as he quickly looks to see both what is in the cubby, and what is going on around him.