Hearing Locky's call for someone to yell "Hold your fire!" in Goblin, Ohwatoo complies, trying to mimic the kobold-ish accents he heard long ago in the Cold Caves (boy those were the days!)
There's a beat of silence, then a yell from the arrow slit in the landing, you hear a burst of squeaky Goblin. Ohwatoo translates, "It said, 'Pale skins not welcome here! Kag say no let humans pass!'" From his position right next to the slit, Maro can tell the speaker is well back from the opening.
[Round One] - Foe Initiative
There's no apparent action (other than the shout) from the various slits, so Durego seizes the opportunity, "Come on Raúguey! There's a door, we can flank them!" He dashes for the west end of the hall. As he does there's a shout of warning from within the east slit, followed by the sharp twang of a crossbow! The bolt slams into the wall just behind Durego but he's committed. Past the second slit, twang-clatter, another bolt misses! Something in the west slit yells in Goblin. Raúguey shakes his head, but follows along behind the suicidal cleric, and Mordikarr, already at the far end of the hall, joins in too.
"Ingvild! Come check the door here!" calls Raúguey, but it's too late, Durego slams a shoulder into the iron-bound oak, and... bounces off the unmoving panel.
"Ow!" cries the cleric, rubbing his shoulder. "Come on guys, give me a hand!"
Mordikarr and Raúguey exchange a look, shrug, and then put their shoulders to the door. Durego steps to the side and works the simple latch. "Now!" Both fighters slam into the door, which groans and creaks, but remains closed!
Meanwhile, back at the stairs, the second shout (unintelligible to the listeners) produces action. A clay pot sails out of the slit and crashes to the landing floor, shattering and spraying liquid everywhere!
"Oil!" cries Dagmarten scrambling up the stairs. "Get back!"
Rawon sees the missile fly, and takes a blind shot at the thrower, but his arrow clatters harmlessly off the wall. Locky sees this and lets fly with a sling stone of his own, which takes a chip out of the arrow slit's edge, but that's it.
In the hall Ingvild grabs Tesso, "Come on!" The thief hesitates, judging space at the far end, the arrow slits in the hall, and the spreading pool on the landing. He pulls Tesso to the east wall, half-closing the door as cover. "Safest spot for now!" he says, sheathing his sword and digging in his pack.
Maro realizes he's in a bad spot. "Make a hole!" His heart nearly stops as he skids on the oily floor, but regains his balance. Then he hears the dreaded sound of a crossbow being fired behind him, but it flies over his shoulder. He comes to a stop in the hall, ducking into the west corner by the door. "This is bad!" he exclaims
"I agree, we need to regroup!" answers Tesso, who's holding the door half-closed, covering whatever Ingvild is doing.
[Round Two] - Party Initiative
Those on the stairs, cowed for the moment by the silent, glistening threat of oil spread across the landing and lower stairs (not to mention splashed on Dagmarten, Ohwatoo, and Maro). Threat of fire prevents forward movement. Rawon pulls out a vial of blue ichor and pours the contents over several arrows [10 arrows treated, only lasts an hour]. "Now let's see them stick their noses out," he says, nocking one of the treated arrows as Ohwatoo and Dagmarten retreat up the stairs a few more paces to avoid potential fire hazards. Both men take a moment to wipe the slippery substance off their robes and armor.
In the hall, Ingvild finally pulls a flask out of his pack. As he prepares to rise, Tesso grabs it, "I'll do it!" He darts to the nearest slit in the hall and hurls the flask into the opening, prompting a cry of surprise from within, then he ducks against the wall. "Need a light!" he calls. [Raúguey currently has the only lit lantern].
Maro follows Tesso around the corner, and takes a position on the far side of the east arrow slit. "At least there's no oil here!" he thinks as he also tries to clean the liquid from his armor.
Those at the west end of the hall pay no attention, their efforts focused on forcing their way past the stubborn door. "Again!" calls Durego, and the fighters hammer the oak and iron slab again. Nothing.
"It must be barred and braced," says Raúguey. "We're not getting through this without an axe or ram."
"Stinky beasts had axes, but no understand how sheep can open door," says Mordikarr, moving toward the west arrow slit.
[Round Three] - Tie
There's a brief pause as neither side can effectively do much, then Rawon mutters "Ahh, let's see what happens," and fires an arrow at the landing arrow slit.
"Noo!" cries Ohwatoo, scrambling up a few more stairs.
[True to form for Rawon's player...] The arrow goes wild, bursting into flames as it bounces off the south wall and then lands on the oily floor! FWOOOOOOM!
Orange flames and black smoke fill the landing and swirl up the stairs. "Good thing we got out of there," mutters Dagmarten, scowling at the swaying elf.
In the main hall, there's a sudden orange glow from the east arrow slit, then several cries of distress! Tesso risks a quick look and bursts out laughing! "The fire spread in there!" he shouts, alerting the others.
"That's great, but we're cut off from the others!" calls Ingvild, peering around the door into the burning landing.
"It's all for naught if we can't get past this door!" says Durego, still futilely messing with the latch as Mordikarr and Raúguey move to the west arrow slit. "If only there were some way to break it down."
OOC
No one is injured. Ohwatoo, Dagmarten, and Maro, despite their efforts, are still splashed with oil. Avoiding fire would be prudent.
The landing and lower stairs are covered in burning oil, as is at least part of the area behind the arrow slits (though you can't really tell how far that's spread). Smoke is trickling into the hall, but quite a bit is billowing up the stairs, which is making it hard to see.
End Date: August 29, Year of the Badger, mid-morning
End Status: The fire, it burns!
End Location: Blackpool Maze
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