Book the Second, Chapter the Fifth: After the Catastrophe

[SunlessNick]

William approaches from the other side to Lepus and stabs at the at the creature with his sword.

OOC:   Dexterity 11 +1 Profession (Soldier) Rolled 1D20: 13

But the blow is wide.

[Mr. Handy]

Henry swings his cane at the aquatic creature in the hopes of getting it to release the giant, striking it accurately with a mighty blow!

OOC,DEX roll (stat 10) to hit the creature: [dice]0[/dice] Damage to creature: [dice]1[/dice]

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

In the ensuing chaos of battle, many blows fall short of their goal. One, however, aimed with all the fabled accuracy of Wilhelm Tell, the legendary Swiss marksman, strikes home. The tip of Doctor North's cane pierces the silvery eye of the beast, causing thick ichor to flow from the socket. The creature roars and hisses with pain and rage, thrashing its body about in the water. Thus exposed, it is apparent that it resembles one of the animals said to inhabit certain Scottish lochs, but of a smaller size.

Spoiler:

dex =15[dice]0[/dice]

target of attack: 1= Gog, 2 = North, 3 = William, 4 = Vincent, 5 = Lepus, 6 = something else happens.[dice]2[/dice]

With the blind instinct of one of Nature's dumb animals, the beast ignores those who are actively attacking it, and instead directs its fanged jaws at its initial target, the equally enraged giant.

Spoiler:

[dice]1[/dice]

Perhaps because of its anger, the creature attacks viciously, biting off more than one of the unfortunate Gog's fingers.

Spoiler:

1 = hand with Poppy, 2 = the one without[dice]3[/dice]

The hulking man, although severely wounded and howling with pain, still clutches the doll close to his body with his uninjured hand, as if losing it would be worse than death.

[jp1885]

The wily Lepus notices that Gog still clutches the doll. He scowls, hoping that the giant would have dropped it in the struggle. Wishing that he had Vincent’s magical powers of persuasion, he wracks his addled brain for a way of getting the troglodyte to release the doll, thus giving him a better chance of saving himself.

“Oh fae lady! Oh Titania! Oh Lilith!” he yells in a strange language, “thou shall be consumed with thy slave! Have him throw you to old Lepus so that we may be reunited!”

Should the unfortunate pairing comply, the hedge wizard will ‘accidentally’ miss the catch so that the doll falls into the water.

[Mr. Handy]

Emboldened by his earlier success, Henry takes another swipe at the creature, landing a second excellent hit!

OOC,[b]Ivan[/b] has the sword cane. I just have a regular cane. DEX roll (stat 10) to hit the creature again: [dice]0[/dice] Damage to creature: [dice]1[/dice]

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Blinded now by a second deadly accurate blow, the creature lets out one last mighty roar and vanishes beneath the roiling water. In the calm after this arcane battle of man and beast, the injured giant mutters incoherently to himself, gathering together such poor wits as he may possess. Meanwhile, the preternatural whispering of Lepus to Poppy continues apace.

Spoiler:

Battle of CHA here. Lepus = 11 + 3 for Attractive to Fairies = 14. Poppy = 13[dice]0[/dice]

All present seem to hear distant laughter, much as the tinkling of silver bells, coming from somewhere unseen. The sound is piercingly sweet, yet with a undertone that sends each a-shudder. Yet it is Lepus only who detects a meaning within said sounds, as if they were spoken words.

Spoiler:

What need have I now of thy prattlings and mewlings? Thy words are as the lowing of cattle! The lifeblood of yon finny serpent hath freed me! Mark this, mortal: Anon shall mine armies ravish the house that is doomed, and make merry upon its bones.

The laughter is then heard again, growing fainter and fainter, then fading into silence.

As if awakened from a dream, Gog blinks his eyes rapidly and gazes about. He then grins widely.

"Gog. Kill. Snake-fish. Gog. Strong."

As if entirely unaware of it, he casually drops the doll into the water, where it sinks at a greater rate than one might expect from its light materials.

[jp1885]

“Oh calamity!” Lepus moans. “The fae lady is free from her prison! If old Lepus be right, she threatens the noble house with her armies. We must look to her defeat and quickly!”

Clambering out of the water, he claps Gog on the shoulder,

“Aye, Gog did good. You join us?”

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, well done, Gog!" cheers Henry, happy to let the giant take credit for the victory. "We can only hope the means to stopping Poppy lie in these caves." He uses his healing device to repair Gog's wound.

[SunlessNick]

"An excellent victory, Gog" adds William. To the group at large he adds, "My instinct would be to send one of us back to the house to warn the residents, but I fear Lord Highdark would merely scorn such tidings. We should search the rest of the caves quickly, and then all of us return."

[Mr. Handy]

"We cannot leave in any case," says Henry, "as the entrance has collapsed. We will need to find another way out. We have no choice but to proceed."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Beaming with pride, the mighty giant gestures for the adventurers to follow him beyond the end of the bridge. After a few steps forward, a loud splash echoes from behind the party. It is, perhaps, no surprise that the recent battle weakened the bridge considerably, and it has now collapsed into the black pool, the depths of which are unknowable. Truly, there is no where to go but ahead.

Gog leads the others to a large, mostly empty cavern. Looking to the left, one sees a corridor which has evidently been carved by artificial means, rather than by the hand of Nature. The corridor narrows as it passes the spot marked on the map by two stars, although there is nothing evident at these places, then continues past the places marked as having secret doors, and ends at a door that is certainly not secret at all, for the vast structure is unmistakable. It is formed, it would seem, from some dark brown metal, and has no evident mechanism by which one could open it. Barely able to squeeze his way through the corridor, Gog smashes it with his fists, producing a sound so loud that one must cover one's ears to endure it. Yet there is no obvious effect on the door, which seems as unmarked as if newly forged.

"This. Way. Out. Me. Not. Know. How. You. Know?"

[jp1885]

Leaning forward and squinting, Lepus studies the door, trying to find any obvious opening mechanism, lock or at the very least some kind of pattern.

INT 15 (+3 sharp eyesight?),[dice]0[/dice]

”Mayhap old Lepus has the measure of it...” he mutters.

[SunlessNick]

Are there hinges visible?

[Mr. Handy]

"Perhaps the way to open this door is behind the two secret doors in the side passages," says Henry.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Are there hinges visible?

Close examination reveals no such mechanism; if truth be told, the door, if such it be, appears to be nothing more than a solid slab of metal, bound to the surrounding rock as if forged thus by Hephaestus himself.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Leaning forward and squinting, Lepus studies the door, trying to find any obvious opening mechanism, lock or at the very least some kind of pattern.

INT 15 (+3 sharp eyesight?),[dice]228646:0[/dice]

”Mayhap old Lepus has the measure of it...” he mutters.

By bringing his hawk-like eyes so close to the strange structure that the tip of his nose is chilled by the cold metal, Lepus detects tiny, barely visible inscriptions upon its surface, as if some being with exquisitely delicate fingers carved a message there with some unknown substance that could etch writings into such unyielding matter. In the dim, wavering light provided by weird, glowing fungi growing here and there within the cavern, the letters seem to dance and change form, until, all at once, they yield their meaning.

He who would pass through this gate
Must battle brace of foes
Withdraw, or stay and face your fate
Where wise man never goes
Seek your weapons, one and two,
That deep in stone do lie,
Then strike the doors for passage through
And kill, or else you die

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Perhaps the way to open this door is behind the two secret doors in the side passages," says Henry.

Close examination and experimentation with these hidden doors does not produce any evident way to open them, suggesting that something else is required to gain entrance to the chambers that lie beyond. As a very rough analogy, it is as if one did not possess the keys for the locks.

[jp1885]

“Heh! Aye, old Lepus sees it!”

He repeats the rhyme to his companions, twitching and hopping from foot to foot as he does so.

“We must search for weapons, yesno? Mayhap at the places marked with the stars or yon secret passages?”

The hedge wizard elects to begin his search around the ‘starred’ area.

[Mr. Handy]

"I think you're right," says Henry. "There are two stars and two secret doors. Perhaps something at each of the stars will open one of the doors, and behind the doors are the weapons we need."

[SunlessNick]

William proceeds to the nearest of the places marked with a star.