Off the Beaten Track

- Albert -

Possibly only the rope prevents you from falling as there is a tug on your broomstick, as though something unseen were trying to twist it out of your hand. The sound of movement from above ceases temporarily.

As the bell stops swinging, everyone can feel an unnoticed tension lift from their minds. Like something that was pulling them here --but confused by them being here, and by something else as well-- has stopped.

As you pull the stick out again, the bell slowly started to swing, once more tolling its silent call to the world.

"I... think so..." Asha says dubiously, but it is hard to tell if she is looking the wrong direction for the 'ropes'.

She is more concerned with the lost staff. "Oh, no!" She cries peering down into the blackness below where it is just possible a tiny glint of light now exists where before there was utter darkness.

- Dirk -

As you add the bell to the pictures in your book, something about the pictures of the grotesque statues that you added earlier distracts you, but it might just that their eyes seem to follow you no matter how you tilt the page, you have heard of artists who can create this effect, you must be getting good.

Studying the bell you can see that it never had a clapper, there is no attachment point where one could be hung, the bell was designed to swing silently, and appears to have been doing so for many, many years.

Disappointingly --if you are open to seeing it-- it does seem human-made.

What do you do?

- Albert -

Touching the bell chills you to the bone. You are sure you could not keep your hands on it for long before it would do harm. Feeling the power with which it swings, you don't think it would be easy to stop it by hand, you would need to either stop the 'ropes' as you did earlier --or whatever pulls the ropes-- or dismantle or break the bell if you wanted to stop it.

What do you do?

- Rook -

As you descend below the height of the roof you were on earlier, and then below the floor level, the windows are left far above and the air becomes stale. Without air circulation the surfaces become damp and water drips from above. Moss covers the lower stairs.

As you near the 'bottom' --indicated by the sound of the drips falling into standing water-- you see a glimmer of light below you, emanating from what turns out to be Albert's fallen broomstick lying.

‣ Do you pick it up and take it with you, or leave it for the others to collect as they come down or for on your way back up?

Eventually you come to a door. The stairs continue down a few steps further before being submerged in dark water, who knows how deep.

The door has a simple lock mechanism, but it is likely to be hard to operate given its age and lack of use. Just 'going at it with tools' may not be your best solution, a little preparation to ease the act of opening might improve your chances.

‣ What do you do?

- Dirk -

You strike the bell in a way that should not cause too much noise, but instead of ringing out, there is silence... Like complete silence, as though the bell stole the sound and also reacted to also to absorb all other sound from the surrounding area... the world holds it breath...

- Dirk -

... and releases it in a torrent of noise that would deafen anyone standing nearby who was not covering their ears.

‣ Make a Roll to see if you can protect your hearing from temporary loss. (Roll +WIS if you relied on instincts; +DEX if it was quick thinking; +CON if you just tough it out; or any other stat you think is appropriate).

All the birds within miles of temple --as far as you can see-- fly up and scatter.

---

From far below, all those who can still hear, do hear a... a moan? a call? It is hard to say, but something is awake.

- Rook -

After that noise a bit of 'squeaky hinge' is unlikely to be problem. The returning 'moan' seemed to come from the other side of the door, but, you suspect, from quite far away. Just how far, you can not tell. How big can the underground section be? Surely not as large as the temple above, but it sounded larger?

The keyhole reveals large and crude mechanisms holding the heavy door closed, the challenge will be moving them at all more than gaining access, this is not delicate work on this one.

- Dirk and Albert -

Your ears continue to ring from the resounding bell chime, you can still hear each other speak, but it will take some moments before it subsides.

‣ Dirk: Does any item of yours resonate with the chime of the bell? (If so: How does that make you feel? Is it good or bad?)