Chapter 2: Out of here

[Naresh]

 

OOC: Yay I get to play DM for a little bit

As the party descends the stairs they can hear the faint panting of the hound, but a quick check of the floor (i.e: The one the hounds was found on) finds nothing but the ghostly silence, leaving going down another level as the final option...

[Olorian]

...unless the hound had disappeared behind one of the many closed doors on this floor.

 

Waiting for Valkyrion, Sixgunninja, Tendolhorse and Thamewolf! In the meantime, Naresh can continue posting partly secreted.

[Naresh]

 

I forgot about the doors

[Thamewolf]

Bebop pauses at this floor, his head cocked in an exaggerated pose of listening. "Thought I heard that hound again... though I'm not sure if it's on this floor or the one below..." He looks around at the group. "There are places we have not gone here... Digana, you cautioned us not to open these doors before when we though we could get out... what say you now? Is it really a good idea to leave our rears uncovered, as it were, as we make our way down? My curiosity aside, that is."

[Tendolhorse]

Gor quickly rushes to conclusions, "Why are we following the hound? Let's just keep going until we hit something unfamiliar."
Slightly turning towards Digana, Gor adds, "Shouldn't you know where we should be going?"

[Olorian]

Standing at the bottom of the staircase that ends on the wooden floor, with the broken cage of the hound visible at the group's right, Digana looks at the little gnome. "Well... like I said before, these are guard chambers. They could be sleeping, which is why I cautioned you before, but after the racket you guys made when we met the black blurry creature, I wonder if they could still be sleeping... I can't look through the doors to see if any of them is still skulking in there... a few of them are real cowards!" At this moment though, no sound is heard apart from the party's heightened breathing frequency. Digana obviously is not in any mood to explore the guard chambers for herself. They are, after all, on their way down to retrieve a means to open the front door from the mage in the cellars. The panting of the hound is heard very faintly, coming from the floor below, and growing fainter every second. Digana turns to Gor. "Well, I don't know why we should or shouldn't follow the hound, although when it bit off the head of the guard that was attacking you, I kind of had the feeling it wasn't very friendly towards the guards... and might turn out to be an ally, or at least another soul wanting to get out like us. What we're after now is Ignatius's chambers, and they are not on this floor, unless he moved here after my imprisonment a few months ago, which I would deem unlikely. He used to hold quarters below the prison floor... the only problem will be entering his chambers, since he loves to scatter the corridor to his room with riddles and questions, and even those he changes every month or so, as to keep out a some of the curious few amongst the guards, who've been craving to have a look at his room which is said to be hung with captured treasures. I guess Ignatius's gotten more paranoid over the years, although he's nothing compared to my father!"

Staying a bit in the back, Digana waits if anyone wants to check on the guard's doors on the current floor. If they won't, she pauses a moment for the stronger ones among the prisoners to descend the next set of stairs to the prison level and below first...

 

Okay, a last chance to explore the so-called 'guard chambers' floor, or shortly I'll assume everyone sets off downstairs and beyond the prison level. Please think about a marching order when you get down the stairs, if you decide to go that way.

[Naresh]

 

Yeah, I got the secret text

[Olorian]

After another few seconds, the prisoners don't hear the hound's panting anymore. What is new, though, is a very low rolling voice, coming from a level below, yet it is too faint for the group to comprehend.

[Thamewolf]

Bebop's eyebrows perk up. "Hung with treasures, you say? Well... I suppose there really is no reason to bother the guards... so long as they don't come down behind us and ambush us..." He scratches his goatee, thinking. "If only there was some way to keep them in these rooms..." He gives the room another once-over.

 

Can I see the map for this room again? I can't seem to find it in the old posts... but I think I have an idea involving some rope and door handles/tables if necessary...

[sixgunNinja]

While the Bard examines the room one last time, Ezekiel waits patiently at the head of the stair case leading deeper into the Lord Braga's Dungeon. "Bebop, let us not tarry to long, I do not think we left any of the guards alive."

[Olorian]

Quick as lightning, Bebop executes his little plan to avoid backstabbing by any lingering guards, without having to face them personally at this time of slight hurry.

 

Thamewolf: Use whatever ropes, tables or chairs you deem necessary, and roll a thievery check (handle locks, or in this case, create them) to give me a DC should any guard still linger there and want to break out). You are not disturbed in your actions at this moment. I'll attach the map again, I think I deleted it for site storage sparing purposes.

Then, the brown robed Paladin, the sturdy half-orc and his greataxe, the grey robed sorcerer and the little goateed gnome set off, together with the dirty dressed Digana, towards the lower levels. They pass the prison level, which they explored almost fully, and reach the level below that (3 floors below the ground level (the one with the front doors)).

When they arrive at this room, the black and blurry wolf is in front of them, looking at a set of stone heads, dangling from the ceiling... the wolf seems to be at a loss.

The room is a square chamber, lit by a single torch to the dwarf's left. The room is roughly 25 by 30 feet. The room is dominated by a dark red ornate carpet, much like the one next to the castle’s front doors. Immediately catching the group’s glance, are three stone heads, dangling roughly 5 feet apart from 15 feet long, heavy rusty chains from the 20 feet high ceiling. The stone heads are bearded and humanoid. They are hanging still, their stone eyelids and mouths closed. Behind the left and the right stone head, a heavy wooden door is visible, set in steel. The surface of the doors, however, seems all but still, as it ripples like a liquid surface.

When the prisoners step over the threshold of this room and join the black wolf in its staring at the stone heads, suddenly the middle stone head (‘c’) opens its eyes and starts to speak. Its voice is low and rolling, as if the earth itself were speaking. ”Souls who want to enter, take heed. One of these doors you seek, the other leads to ruin. One of these two guardians on my side always speaks the truth, the other always lies. You are allowed to ask one of them, and only one of them, one question, and only one, to which the answer shall be either yes or nay. If the question be smart, you shall know which door to take.” The middle head’s eyes and mouth close.

Digana sighs. "Ah, crap. A new one..."

 

'Map 15-09-09' is from floor '-1', the guard chamber floor, which as you can see still contains 11 unopened doors.
The other map is visible HERE, and is from the current floor '-3', the one below prison level.
You are all standing somewhere in the squares H-I 6-10. A, b and c are stone heads hanging from chains. X and Y are the doors with the rippling surfaces. I gave them letters purely for referencing, should you want to ask questions about them or discuss them in the OOC chat. The yellow dot is a torch. Plus, a stone head example, although this picture is without the rusty chain that is attached to the roof of its head.
Edit: ah, while I'm at it, here's a nice example of a rusty chain too

[sixgunNinja]

Ezekiel hangs his hammer from his belt and slings his shield over his shoulder as he slowly circles the three stone heads hanging from the ceiling. "I appears that the good Lord Braga has more in his bag of tricks than sadists and conscripts." Finishing his circuit back in front of the middle stone head, Ezekiel says, "We only get one question, we should be careful when proposing questions, so that we don't accidentally waste our only question."

 

I know I've heard this one before, but luck you (Olorian) I don't remember how it goes. Ill think about it overnight and propose a question when I think of one.

[Thamewolf]

Before they descend the steps:
After thinking awhile, Bebop does a little jump of excitement. "I've got it!" He busily begins taken out rope from his pack, including some rope he got from Festus and Lessien before descending the stairs. He sets to work tying some preliminary knots as he speaks. "No worries... this shouldn't take too long, just keep an eye out. I pulled this trick at an inn once while the patrons slept... needless to say there was quite a ruckus in the morning when they started waking up and trying to leave their rooms." He starts in with a bout of quiet giggling. Moving down to the end of the hall, Bebop loops two of the knots around the doorknobs opposite each other so they would not be able to open. He does the same with the other opposing doors, then takes a rope from doorknob at the end of the hall and stretches it to one of the chair legs, ducking merrily under his already tied ropes. "Oh but I do love when the doors opposite each other open inwards towards the rooms... these ones here I'll have to tie to the furniture, though... a bit less sturdy." He finishes up by looping knots from the remaining doors to the pool tables. Dusting his hands off, he stands and says, "Very well, let's carry on... that should hold them or at least make a racket when they try and get out."

When they reach the floor below and are posed the riddle, Bebop scratches his head furiously. "Oh... I know I knew this one at one point... I have been driven into exile, conked on the head, locked in a prison, and fed blue goo since then... so forgive me if it doesn't leap to mind, however."

[sixgunNinja]

Gruffly Ezekiel retorts, "You'll be forgiven if we get out of this god-forsaken fortress."

 

No answer yet, I just wanted to interject that.

[Tendolhorse]

 

Hmm... I know the answer to the original "Two Doors" question, but the fact that they can't say anything except yes/no adds a spin to it. Well, either way, Gor's not one to think too much, so he's of no help.

A familiar throaty grunt escapes Gor's mouth after the middle head finished his riddle. He folds his arms together and leans against the side of a wall. A part of him tries to think deeply about the answer, yet another part of him finds this absolutely ridiculous. Being a straightforward and mainly physical being, thinking too much gives him a headache.