Chapter 1: The Village of Jodcar

[Magremore]

Dahl squints as he approaches the trapdoor. “Is that a handle? Or only a shadow?”

The curious if not always bright Dahl gets down on his hands and knees to listen at the door, nearly bumping heads with Memphisto as the magic-y man examines the oaken border between known and unknown.

If Memphisto or Lislgen should start to wander a bit to see what else there is to see, another entrance or such, Dahl will quickly catch up to them. Otherwise, he is content having found the trapdoor.

[jcftao]

Memphisto looks around and says to Dahl, "I'm going to look around the foundation of these ruins...maybe there might be a clue about the dungeon below."

If after a few moments, he finds nothing, he will dig out a torch and suggest that the company opens the trap door.

[Wouter]

Dahl and Memphisto kneel down by the trapdoor. It’s made of heavy oak, and even though the surface is quite weathered the door appears to be solid, with large hinges on one side and a heavy metal ring in the middle to pull it open. Dahl places his ear on it to listen, yet no sounds come from the other side.

Memphisto continues to examine the old tower’s grounds, assisted by Albin, carefully poking around, pushing aside pieces of debris to see if there are any signs of other entrances. The foundations of the tower can be more or less deduced from the position of the remnants of the walls and the location of the rubble. The tower appears to have been round, with a diameter of roughly 60 feet. Judging by the thickness of the walls, the tower used to stand quite tall. The interior structure of the ground floor can hardly be retrieved, however: there were probably multiple rooms, but their purpose or exact layout remain a mystery.

There are no signs of any other entrances, and the party reassembles at the trapdoor, Memphisto just having suggested they open it...

[Magremore]

Dahl steps forward to pull the metal ring, but he looks up and pauses before doing so, giving the others a chance to step back if they wish.

[jcftao]

Memphisto does indeed step back as Dahl lifts the door.

A shiver runs through the magic user as he thinks of the rumble that once was his master's tower...

[Wouter]

Dahl grabs the ring and pulls it with all his might, but it takes the help of Holger to fully pull open the trapdoor.

Beneath the trapdoor you see a 10 feet wide flight of stone stairs leading down under the earth. It is pitch-dark inside.

[Magremore]

Dahl lights a torch and hands it to Albin, then slings his shield on his left arm and picks up his spear with his free hand. The two fighters then begin the party’s cautious descent down the stairs and into the darkness.

(My son thought it would be a riot to use that emoji here.)

[Wouter]

You descend the stairs for 20 feet and end up in the middle of a north-south passageway. The floors are flagged and the walls are of dressed stone. The hallway is 10 feet wide and 7 feet high. By the light of Albin's torch, you see that to your left (north) the passage continues for at least 30 feet; after 10 feet there is a passage to the right (east). To your right (south), the passage continues for at least 30 feet. The air is quite moist and cold and there is not a sound to be heard.

Magremore: the emoji is quite approriate
Everyone: check out the Maps thread

[jcftao]

Memphisto nervously fumbles for his scroll case and takes out the scroll of sleep. He will slip the scroll into a pocket of his robe to make ready for use.

"Albin, be sure to keep the torch close to me if we encounter any danger. I will need illumination to be of use to our company."

He also eases the dagger out of the scabbard, hoping that he doesn't have to resort to melee.

Scanning the dungeon walls for any writing or markings, Memphisto also looks at the ceilings and floors, fearful of spiders dropping from above or oozes sliming their way forward.

OOC--Magremore please have Dahl be the caller, I don't think that Memphisto is ready to lead an expedition. He seems nervous!

[kwll]

Before going down, Lislgen looks around the ruins, up in the trees or farther in the forest to check for anything unusual. If nothing strikes him, he will join the others.