Chapter 2: The Land of Sulan

[quozl]

Let's go to the front door then. "Tell Teruk we must make sure this place is cleared of all enemies."

"Jaali, can you check for traps?"

[MevlyTM]

Let's go to the front door then. "Tell Teruk we must make sure this place is cleared of all enemies."

Maju dutifully passes on this information. He then says, "Teruk, can you or any of your men accompany us. If we don't deal with these enemies now, you will only have to deal with them later. Furthermore, the renown of you or any of your warriors will surely increase when it becomes known that you were brave enough to accompany us into such a place as this. Furthermore, the Skull Warriors will likely return to this place; finding the remains of all of their allies here will make them reconsider if they wish to again threaten your village."

[mTeasdale]

Jaali will look for traps on the main door. Do anything look suspicious ?

[Longman]

I had decided that Teruk's team weren't going to be part of this endeavor but Maju's speech has resulted in a reaction / loyalty roll of 13/12, so it looks like he is sticking around. The marching order is Jaali, then Kanya and YC, then Teruk and 3 men, then Saracen and Maju, then 2 more men, and Apinya at the rear. Unless you want to say different.

Jaali, still in gaseous form, advances to the front door and checks for traps. Nope. He enters the 10' wide, 40' long corridor heading north. No traps. Not much decoration either. It all looks pretty functional rather than decorative.

The stairs in the corridor contain no traps either. Cautiously, the thief descends them, with the party 30 behind.

The archway leading into the sunken garden has no door. Jaali can see the remains of ancient beds and terraces in the sunken space, and even some old fruit trees gone wild.

There's a big (20 wide) bronze door on the other side of the garden, leading into room 5, which has gone green with age. There are strange symbols on it. Above it lurks the scorpion you saw before. If you go over there to the door it seems likely the scorpion will attack.

There is an open archway leading into area 3. There is also a dug tunnel leading from the north-east corner of the sunken garden into area 9. That tunnel does not appear on the map and looks freshly made.

You can hear a scorpion in area 3, down the stairs.

What now? Lead on, Jaali. The rest of the party are back up the stairs, 30' behind you. It's quite dark in the entry corridor but there's still a bit of light from either end so the humans can all see. No one yet has a lantern lit.

[mTeasdale]

OOC : someone will have to light up a torch or lantern, I'm still in immaterial form.

As soon as there is some light, Jaali will sneak in the tunnel.

[quozl]

Yuan-Cheng will follow gassy Jaali, light his lantern, and shine it down the tunnel while Jaali enters.

[MevlyTM]

Manu will retrieve a lightstone from his pouch and follow the others.

[Longman]

I'm not sure what "follow the others" means so I have you pushing up in the marching order a bit, that's all.

The monk and the gaseous thief sneak across the courtyard and the scorpion....doesn't attack them.

They reach the opening to the fresh-dug tunnel into area 9. Peering down along the 10' tunnel, they can see the remains of some very old wooden furniture in the room, badly rotted. There is also what looks like a large pile of skins, for sleeping, put there quite recently.

Do the scouts proceed alone, or do Maju and Kanya move across the sunken garden as well?

[Woe]

Kanya will do the same as Manu -- get out her lightstone then proceed down the tunnel with the others.

[mTeasdale]

Jaali will try to sneak into the tunnel a bit before the others as is gaseous form make him nove silently (?).

What can I see ?