Chapter 8: A Puzzle

[Solomoriah]

70' to the corner. I'm trying to avoid posting the same map over and over with little changes every time. If you go up, I'll post a new map. If not, I'll be posting a different map, for whatever direction you do go in.

[Hywaywolf]

I am ok without a new map at the moment, was just checking to see if it was a short walk or if we had blisters. Either way we will be going up to check it out so we'll find whatever we find.

[Solomoriah]

They ascended the stairs carefully, on the lookout for the serpent, but what they found instead was the back side of a secret door. It was covered in complex clockwork draped in cobwebs, which had numerous locking bolts. A large wheel-shaped handle stuck out from the center of the door.

[Hywaywolf]

(I understand you will want to wait for the others to chime in, but assuming they want to open the door, shybolt will do the following)

Shybolt will return to the bend in the stairs and call the other up to the point where they can see the door but still be close to the east/west section of stairs and a quick escape in case I screw up. Shybolt will then return to the door and inspect the door workings to determine if all the complexity is for the puzzle lock on the other side and if the wheel shaped handle on this side will open it without knowing the puzzle. He will check it carefully for traps, the floor in front of it for a possible pit opening, holes in the walls and ceiling for arrows or poison gas, etc. If it looks like all is safe, or he finds a trap and removes it, he will gently try the wheel to see if it will open.

[jstater]

Can we see the door? It appears to be secret.

[Hywaywolf]

I think Solomoriah is just going with the fact that we know this is the back of the door in the throne room which is secret from that side. If we had come here before going to that room he probably wouldn't have used the word secret.

[Sir Bedivere]

Shybolt's plan sounds good.

[Solomoriah]

You can see the secret door; in live play, I usually say "obvious secret door" for one that you are on the "wrong" side of.

Shybolt inspected the complex mechanism closely, and quickly realized he didn't understand it at all. It would take hours of examination to figure it out.

Or he could just turn the wheel...

[jstater]

Grumm will station himself on the landing of the stairs (at the bend) while Shybolt plays with the secret door.

[Sir Bedivere]

Timorel will put his back to the wall so with a slight turn of his head he can see both Grumm, in front of him, and Arven, behind him. He'll have his sword ready, just in case.