Aeress proceeded but suggested "I still suggest we each cross this gap, one at a time.  With all due respect."

As the last one in the rear, Olyx followed suit, using his lantern to improve the visibility... but not shining it down the pit. The last thing he wanted was any one of them getting a bout of vertigo and falling down.

He just hoped this wasn't a giant trap...

Kai stops to examine the left torch sconce.  "I think we're overthinking this whole traps thing.  If Jester and his bosses wanted us dead, they could have easily did it back in the house.  Instead they kick us out and then leave us a stairway down.  Now if I were making a trap, I would have made the stairsteps disappear when we were halfway down and we would have slid the rest of the way and right into a pit.  Quick and simple."

As he walks over to examine the right torch, he continues.  "No, I don't think whomever wants us dead.  At least not yet.  From my experience with mad warlocks and such is that they think they are oh-so- much smarter and more powerful than everyone else and nothing they enjoy more than showing that off.  Any traps from here on in, they're probably just there to show us how clever he is and how dumb we are."

"Part of me hopes you are correct, part of me hopes dearly you are wrong."  Aeress responded evenly.  She flat out did not like either of the options.

"I don't know what's going on in their heads, and that sounds prudent enough for me" Hunter said, deciding to follow Aeryss's advice and maintain plenty of space between himself and others when crossing the pits. "It occurs to me that there was a house full of traps and a set of stairs leading down, those who enter and go straight down avoid all nastiness while those who seek to explore run into all kinds of trouble. But someone has great malicious joy in crafting snares for the unwary."

"Oh I be seein' the cruelty, alright. Traps like these are not to scare people off, no no... but you forget, maddened warlocks and witches can be just as incompetent in the trap department as anyone else."

"Now I once met this sailor from the south... he went and told me stories, 'bout traps. I shiver me timbers every time I think about'em. Jus' because them wanted us dead, doesn't mean they actually could, dem rat buggers."

Sailor tales. Always a reliable source of information.

As you continue down the hall when you finally make it to the split the area where you can go left or right there are tracks leading down both paths. It seems some people went left and the others went right? You aren't sure what to make of it and a quick look down both leads to more hallways and more diversions among those hallways. Likely a maze of some sort.

"I say we go left and keep going left whenever we can," Kai suggests.  "Easier that way top retrace our steps and not get lost."

Piper stood up on Mosii's back and stepped to the little knapsack that was secured to the feline's collar.  After a moment of rummaging she pulled out a chunk of chalk approximately the size of her fist and then urged Mosii down the left passage a short ways before she reached out and put a big "X" on the wall.  Well, big for her, with each stroke being about the length of her forearm.

Obviously satisfied with her work, she and Mosii began moving at a cautiously sedate pace down the left hallway to see what there was to see.

Aeress nodded.  "One direction consistently until we know better seems prudent to me.  No guessing that way."

Jenkins snorted. "My Grandfather tell story. One time yuman caravan attack goblin village. We flee into cave. Tunnel go long and down, twisty and windy, and drop into cavern. There lots of stalac... stalag... pillars, an' big boulders an' little caves an' holes, an lots of little twisty paths. Like maze in cave. We fight yumans there, run an' hide an' ambush an' run. Always shoot at man with lights an' run. Then we leave.

"Yumans do wot you do. Always go left. Mark little Xs with chalk or blood. Try draw map."

"But entrance six foot up. They no see."

"They in there for days, go round an' round in circles, never find entrance. Angry an' yell an' hungry an' die. No-one ever come out."


**************************************************************************

Hunter just followed everybody else.

"Sounds like a dashin' story, mate!", Olyx humored Jenkins. "By the tides, though, I do think we can crane our necks up to check!", he said, stifling a short laugh as he kept guarding the rear.

"You seem to 'ave a handling on the situation", he added, preferring not to chime in with anything. He had no idea about mazes anyway, except as abstract constructs his master was trying to explain. It didn't get through his thick skull, sadly. He asked the person right in front of him, though, "I hope that mouse girl be' springly and sprighty, or springin' a trap'll be nasty."

Lirian tried to listen at both corridors or to discern which corrider had more tracks going to. “Do your dogs smell any clue about which way to go?” she asked Quentin. “Or Mosii, for what’s worth, as it sure has better smell than any of us…” she said to Piper.

“If you’re going to leave marks, better leave them where on must know they are there to find them” She added to Piper. “The letter hinted us they were still waiting for more people, and I’d hate to leave clues for them. OTOH this makes less likely the way is trapped…”

Quentin looks at the dogs to see if they prefer one way or another. "I can command them to search, but then they'll try to take the lead. Not sure that is the best course of action. I didn't train them to communicate any concepts beyond that. Well, that, and an actual presence of something."

"We don't have time to scout this whole place before we choose which way to go, so we're going left as it's as good a choice as any."  Piper chimed in, having already put actions to words.

"You'd also be surprised how often big folks don't pay attention to anything above or below what they can see looking straight ahead, just like in Jenkins' story, but if you wanna leave some sort of mark somewhere else, go ahead."

As you start heading left you curve around the corner and shortly after you come to a four way stop that is going in completely different directions. You look to your left and you see another long hallway that takes another left turn at the end judging from the wall. You look right and you see a hallway that might lead to a dead end but you aren't sure. Forward seems to go down a ways and then it splits again likely left and right.

OOC: The hallway can have two people (persons max). Who is taking up the front and who is in the rear? Tag yourself with 1-5 only two people can take up 1 number. 1 = front, 5 = very back. Also, not providing a map for this one. You will need to create your own. :)

"Wait. This looks like a maze. Let's talk about this" Hunter called out, and hurried to catch up with the leaders.

"Has anybody got any chalk? Oh, good work Piper. Right, before we go any further, write 'X' for 'exit' and an arrow pointing towards the stairs. Moving forward, I propose we label every intersection A,B,C etc and put arrows showing where the tunnels go. We just came from X, this is intersection A, we go left to B so we cam mark that now. Those other hallways might go to G of M or whatever, we will find that out later."

OOC: Marching Order: Jenkins is 1, Hunter is 4.

Also, when you said "the tunnel goes down a ways", do you mean "down the road" or "slopes downwards to another level"?

Olyx scratched his head. "I, umm, I'll be leavin' this to you", he simply said. This whole thing was giving him a headache already, and they still had no idea what traps were waiting for them. He had lost his rope and grappling hook, but then...

"An idea I be havin'!", he exclaimed, digging into his pack for a small mirror. "Whoever's up front, take this. Don't stick a neck out- no sayin' for what traps, or worse, there be. Use the mirror to peer around."


OOC: Olyx is 5.

Aeress had nothing to add at the moment, but took her place in the formation.

Aeress can go front or rear if needed/desired but can still help with fighting from one rank back.  If a better warrior wants to go 1, that's fine Aeress will go 2, or if no one else is available she'll take 1.

"That path there look like it go to stop. Or trap" Jenkins said, pointing to the right. She squats down and looks at the floor to see if there are any tracks heading that way.

As they paused at the second intersection of corridors Piper listened to Hunter's explanation of an elaborate marking system.

She scratched another mouseling sized "X" as well as an "O" at the end of the hallway they had just come from.

Piper then urged Mosii into the left hallway and made another "X".  The pair then began down the hallway at the same cautious pace, keeping to the original plan of "staying left".


Piper and Mosii will also be 1
This message was last edited by the player at 21:17, Sat 24 Feb.

Lirian thought about it for a moment.

“Do we know which direction are we moving?” she asked. “I mean, if we assume their base should be close to the sewers, I guess we should try to move towards the city, if we can. Also any water noise should point we’re closing them…” she shared her thoughts.

OOC: as for march formation, and seeing Piper is taking the point, she’s willing to be on first line, while Aeress, as she said, can support from second line. So I guess Lirian is 1

“May I also suggest to divide our attention according our position?” she suggested. “First row should center their attention forward, each one to his side , middle rows should look up and down, and the back person should look the rearguard. Do you agree?”

"I wouldn't be countin' on it... as the lil'un put it, there's also up 'n' down. Let's say we're goin' left where we ought to- and then it's a dead-end, but if we had went right, there'd be a ladder or stairs goin' down and goin' back left the proper way...", he mused, utterly discobombulated by his environment. He never had been claustrophobic -can't really be when in a ship- but this was starting to get too much, too soon.

He didn't reply to Lirian's last words though, instead shrugging with one hand holding the lantern and the other the sword, and resumed watching the rear.

OOC:This is how I am going to play it currently.

1 - Aeress, Jenkins, Piper
2- Lirian, ??
3- Quentin(2)
4 -Hunter
5- Qlyx

Quentin does not mind walking in the middle. He tries to make a note if we ever walk away from trampled path, but other than that, does not care much in which direction we are going as long as we do not split ways.