Erol's Trials

Well, it did matter, but I'm not going to have us go back in time! ; p

Something doesn't seem right about this passage, as if it was carved hastily... after only a short walk, you see a red glow on the walls, which seems to be emanating from yourself. You look down to see a red mark on your pendant. A penalty. You look up to see that the passageway has dead-ended.

Well my motivation just took a double knee to the groin. =/

Erol sees the dead end and runs back out from the corridor. He goes down the right path this time and rushes down the passage in order to make up for lost time. Along the way he keeps an eye out to spot if the walls look similar to the ones in the left passage.

As you hurry into the intersection, you spot another arrow, one that you had missed earlier. This one points down the right-most path, and you follow it hastily. The passage walls have become rough and are seemingly un-worked. The silence is almost deafening, broken only by your breathing... until you hear a faint scream ahead, followed by a dull meaty thump. Then dead silence.

Erol continues to run until he reaches a point where he believes he'd be close enough to see what happened if he was to throw his torch again. Quickly, he takes off his rope, ties off one end, and chucks it down the corridor. Right after he throws it he crouches down and slowly moves forward. He looks ahead to see all that he can and at the first sign of a body, or anything foreign, he'll stop his movement.

Fearing there might be a trap, he looks around him for anything that could be rigged up. The entire time he remains as silent as possible, not calling out or anything of the sort. In his left hand is the crowbar, readied, while he holds the rope in his right.

Wis Check (17)

You judge the distance that the scream might have carried fairly well, beginning to slow just as you come around a twist in the passage... and skitter to a stop at the top of a pit. The light that seems to illuminate everything else doesn't seem to extend downwards, and you cannot make out the bottom. The passage continues beyond the pit, and you can spot a large stake planted in the floor across from you. The pit seems to be 20 feet across.

Tossing the flaming bolt down into the pit, shows that it is at least 50 feet deep, and continues down still further. You cannot make out the bottom, let alone a body.

Along the side of the pit, you spot a ledge on which you might be able to balance. It is about the width of your hand.

Oh, my bad. All I saw was a roll and got confused.
DICE WERE DELETED FROM THIS POST

Hey, what? No.

Quote:

Erol continues to run until he reaches a point where he believes he'd be close enough to see what happened if he was to throw his torch again.

I was trying to estimate your judgment on when to slow. If you had done poorly and continued running on, Erol might have ended up at the bottom of a pit!

Erol unties the silk rope from his bolt torch and ties each end of the rope to each end of the crowbar. He then tosses the curved end of the crowbar across the gap trying to hook it on the stake at the opposite end. When it finally catches, Erol pulls on the rope to check and see how strong its anchored in.

If it seems to be strong enough, Erol puts the rope around his waist and does a very slow rolling motion on the floor to the side, just in order to twist the rope around him since both ends are attached to the crowbar. He then encircles the ropes around both wrists and firmly grabs a hold after that. It's intended to be a makeshift safety harness to prevent him from falling. He then tries to make his way across the ledge by sliding his feet across, hoping that should he fall the rope will catch him and he could climb up anyway. He mentally prepares himself to try and grab the ledge with his hands, not too keen on the idea of just letting himself fall.

Erol's hook seems to hold firm. Between the aid of his makeshift safety harness to steady him, and deft feet, Erol moves across the pit with little trouble.

Beyond the pit, the passage begins to look more worked stone again, as Erol continues on. A rhythmic susurration ahead grows louder as you continue, until you can make out its metallic nature. Rounding a bend, you spot an empty stone room, with a myriad of slits carved along the walls.

After he reached the other side Erol fell to his knees and wiped the sweat from his brow with a hand. Loosening up the rope, he let it slide off his arms and body. He unhooked the crowbar, untied the rope from it, wrapped the rope back up, then slid it over his body again. the crowbar hangs off his jacket through a loop on the back normally reserved for one of his weapons.

The bolt torch was left on the other side as a light source so it's long gone now. Taking out the flint and steel set from his jacket, Erol lights another bolt on fire to use as a torch. A quick look around indicates that the pathway seems to be smoothing out again. The reverberating sound draws him around the corner to the new room. He stands at the entrance to the room, peering in but not going inside just yet.

Erol looks around at the floor, walls, ceiling, and the slits in the walls. He tries to recall anything he might have learned or heard about such things previously. The carvings made him uneasy, like it was a possible trap or some kind of puzzle. While he's casing the place with his eyes, he also tries to discern if anyone else has been here and if so, where exactly they went.