Wilds - Rise from the Dead!

Finally rolling again! Over the holidays we did a bit of a player shuffle, with two people dropping out due to lack of interest. Not completely unexpected in a game that's been running for over a year now. After scrounging around, we found two new players willing to pick up the strays and run with them, so Mordikarr and Locky have been handed off to two new players. This is the first turn with the new lineup, and we had a fairly extensive break, so it's pretty short, and ends with a brief summation of the current situation. Here goes.


Start Date: August 28, Year of the Badger, late morning
Start Status: Pillar Talk
Start Location: Blackpool Maze

The Turn

With Raúguey in the lead and Mordikarr, Ingvild, and Ohwatoo following, the group explores The Pit. As the others explore, Rawon and Dagmarten keep watch at the east double doors, Durego and Maro at the west. Tesso hangs back, unsure where he fits in, then takes position near Maro. First stop is the chairs and benches, which prove to be heavy stone affairs, cut from some dark gray stone. Even Raúguey's great strength can barely shift one of the chairs. Signs in the dust and grit indicate these chairs have been used, but not all that frequently.

Moving on, Raúguey crosses over the iron rail, a rather uncomfortable process as the top rail is studded with triangular spikes, waits for the others to follow, then drops to the floor below [it's about four feet down]. The lower floor is gritty and damp, and sharp-eyed Ingvild mutters, "Anyone with half an eye will know someone's been here," as he looks at the obvious scuff-marks left in the party's wake.

"No helping that. Let's be quick about this," says a nervous Ohwatoo, eyes on the engraved circle in the center of the chamber.

The group traverses the outer edge of the room, pausing only to study the pillars, plain stone marked here and there with gashes and gouges; the grate, another rusted but heavy iron fitting leading to a narrow channel below (much like the ones in the Grate Room); and the doors, solid and iron-bound, with no obvious means of opening them from the outside.

Ohwatoo frowns, and then steps between the pillars near the the SW door. "What's this?" he mutters, prodding a twisted knot of rope laying on the floor. A few deft pokes show that there are several loops of coarse, blood-stained hemp laying there, some showing signs of being cut or sliced. "Odd, I wonder where these are from."

"I think I see," says Ingvild. He gestures to the door. "Prisoners there. They loosen or weaken their bonds, then shove them out through the door to face... whatever comes from that circle." I'll be the doors are barred from the other side. We should try the stairs next, but I'll wager there's only a cell or holding area on the other side."

"Let me at least try this door before we climb back out," says Raúguey. The big guy shoves the door, then gives it a harder slam with his shoulder. It doesn't budge. He pulls out the crowbar and tries to wedge it into the slim gap, but there's too little space to work in the point. He gives the smirking Ingvild a look, "Guess we'll go around."

Everyone reforms on the upper platform near the W stair. Ingvild checks the door, gives Raúguey the all clear, and stands to the side as the big guy works the crude latch and shoves open the door. Beyond is a simple chamber, 15x20. The smell of sweat and other, less savory bodily fluids, hangs in the air, and a series of stone rings are set into the walls. A narrow passage E ends in a heavy barred door, obviously the entry to The Pit. A rusty long sword, a club, a battered small shield, and a few coils of crude rope have been tossed carelessly into the NE corner near the door. "Looks like you were right Ingvild. Prisoners were kept here," says Ohwatoo, who is standing at the doorway. "I guess these were their weapons."

"Nothing of value here, and I see no reason to open this door," growls Raúguey, "Let's check the other side, then go back north."

The other side mirrors the first, except the pile of junk contains a crude mace, a warped dagger, and a short length of chain with one broken manacle. Before the group abandons the chamber, Tesso pokes through the piles of junk. Tossing aside the heavy axe, he takes the rusty sword, shield, and the warped dagger. "Better than nothing," he mutters.

With The Pit an apparent dead end, the group reforms in the East Hall. With Rawon watching the south, Mordikarr the north, and Maro at the door leading to the Cross Hall, the group debates their course of action. Raúguey and Maro seem most interested in going back to the lever room. Ohwatoo points out there are still two areas that haven't been explored, the double-doors that lead W from the West Hall, and the door that Raúguey opened, but didn't have a chance to explore leading S from the Grate Room.

OOC: A bit of a short turn to get everyone up to speed and to recap the state of exploration. As far as you know, there are three unexplored areas:
- Grate Room, S door
- West Hall, W double doors
- Cross Hall, N stairs down
Points of interest:
- Summoning Room, circle marked in some black substance on the floor, odd pillars
- Statue Room, multi-legged lizard statue, and trog corpses from first battle prepared for burial (?)
- Statue Room, E door magically held
- West & East Halls, trog corpses from recent fight (and escapees, whereabouts unknown)
- Lever Room, levers and strange mechanism
- The Pit, summoning circle carved into the stone floor with some skill
- Cross Hall, muddy pool with prints and splash marks around it
- Probably some stuff I forgot

End Date: August 28, Year of the Badger, late morning
End Status: Where too?
End Location: Blackpool Maze

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