Chapter Five: Bapdis Orjo's Gift of Reconciliation

Good thinking.

I'm worried about it becoming a good beating.

The bending passage that leads from the entrance to the first large room seems smoothly and gently cut from the hillside; the roots and stones that protrude from the walls bear no marks, but seem to have arranged themselves around the contours of the passage. The bowls that light the area are made from a dark, pitted stone, and the flames within them seem to burn without fuel.

Domarc lingers behind the party as they advance, keeping a watchful eye on the dirt monster. It advances to the portal as the party proceeds down the passage, seeming to observe their movement, then lets out a sharp rumble -- almost a snort -- and turns away. It takes a few steps away from the portal, out of Domarc's view, then stops. There is another rumble, and Domarc feels a tremor in the hillside momentarily, and then silence.

Beyond the bending passage is the 40'x40' room Quggyeb scouted. To the south is a tunnel heading upward, to the north is a tunnel that descends deeper into the hill, and to the east is a narrower tunnel with ascending earthen steps leading up to a solid stone door.

Yes, the initial part of the passage ran south, then turned east, and so you would enter the 40'x40' room from the entrance on its west side.

Octo, do you mind making a rough sketch?

Vhezyen can detect many echoes of magical dweomers here and nearby -- the fire bowls, certainly, are utilizing some sort of elemental sorcery, but other than those, no specific magical effects or traps can be identified.

Okay. Detect Magic is good for 10 minutes, but I'd like to wait and see what the group thinks about a breather. This might be one of our best options for a pit stop overnight. Just inside a dungeon entrance seems fairly ideal.

It's still afternoon.

This isn't about nighttime or anything like that, this is just about needing some rest, and recharging. We're beaten up in general, and moving forward is pressing our luck, as we don't know what's coming.

To the edge of the 40x40 room with the slab.

It advances to the portal as the party proceeds down the passage, seeming to observe their movement, then lets out a sharp rumble -- almost a snort -- and turns away. It takes a few steps away from the portal, out of Domarc's view, then stops. There is another rumble, and Domarc feels a tremor in the hillside momentarily, and then silence.

It absorbed itself into the hill and is going to come out elsewhere. I'd like to try the door rather than the other earthen tunnels.

A few roots protrude from the ceiling of the slab room. Flame-bowls are set into alcoves on either side of the exit with the door, and to the left of the north exit. The slab is gray-brown limestone, not quite even with the floor, but fairly flat and smooth overall, with a somewhat trapezoidal shape.

You don't see any notable observable details about the slab room other than what has previously been covered.

There are some lingering magic traces on the slab, like echoes or afterimages -- this may have been the site of some ritual in the recent past.