Chapter 1, Day 2: Into the Witchwood

The canvas falls to the floor and you see a recently finished oil painting depicting a many headed multi-coloured dragon.



As the party gathers in the small room, kicking things around and turning over furniture, you discover, concealed beneath a rotting bit of carpet, a trap door. The hinges are rusted, but it looks like with a bit of effort it could be pulled open.

Don't forget you can spend hit dice (which I've taken to calling healing surges to avoid confusion) to heal as well, since you're resting

The canvas is stretched across a wood frame, and the oils are still fresh. Rolling it up would almost certainly damage the work, if not destroy it.

The trap door, to Xara's keen eye, does not appear to be itself trapped.

The trapdoor lifts easily, revealing a vertical shaft about five feet wide. A rusty, but sound, iron ladder descends into the darkness.

Satisfied that there are no traps, Xara lights and torch and descends into a small vault. The ladder goes down about forty feet to the dusty ground of the chamber below.

The room is made of worked stone, the ceiling about twelve feet high. The air is thick and smells stale and smokey. Three alcoves have been cut into the walls, two to the north and one to the east. Each alcove is sealed by an iron gate and locked with chains and a large padlock. Beyond one alcove are several shelves bearing no less than ten small iron coffers. Beyond the second is a small desk and chair, the desk piled high with papers and books. Beyond the third sits a single large trunk.

A human skeleton lies slumped against the eastern alcove's gate. Still dressed in tattered chainmail and feebly gripping a bastard sword that has white motes of light sparkling around the blade, the skeleton has a massive arrow protruding from its chest.