Immersive Ink

eris wrote:
Olaf continues to watch the holes in the walls near the pit. He will follow the rest down, but he'll be one of the last.

waysoftheearth wrote:

danhem wrote:"Not much to learn here," Ulric says after looking over more of the crates contents.

Not much indeed... but wait a moment. This is curious...

Upon the underside of one of the lids which Dorgan his levered off, Ulric notes an old brand burned into the wood. It is a rune the size of this thumb... and looks to him to be of the Dwarvish sort. How does it read... (even though he knows the Dwarvish runes, it is not a form readily familiar to the scholar)... "rare forge" it seems?

Dorgon soon spies the rune also, and smiles ruefully. He confirms Ulric's suspicion that it is an old dwarvish script, and probably a maker's mark of some kind. Dorgan has deep misgivings about the mark, however, for the noble dwarfish people haven't used the old script for several generations. Only the fell-hearted Guore Dwarfs are known to still use it...

waysoftheearth wrote:
The Pit

Desmond/Mondes soon joins Gustave down below.

There is indeed floor around the wooden dais. It extends beyond sight into a chamber whose bounds are concealed by darkness, for now.

As Gustave examines it in detail, he sees that the "dais" is not much more than a circular wooden platform raised perhaps 1ft from the stone floor. Curiously, there is a 6in gap beneath it.

Gustave also notes, more or less immediately, that there is another waist high stone pedestal in the chamber, set back from the circular dais in much the same fashion as the one in the cellar, above.

As soon as Desmond/Mondes reaches the basement, Dieter begins his descent.

tonneau wrote:
"Most intriguing", mumbles Gustave, fondling his chin.

Turning Highboughs lantern to the ladder, he looks to see if it is recessed into the stone wall, or there is a recess in the dais that would allow it to pass around the ladder. Once this matter is settled, he will examine the pedastool to see if it is a copy of the one above and, perchance, if it appears fixed to the floor, or if it could perhaps be...rotated.

waysoftheearth wrote:

tonneau wrote: Turning Highboughs lantern to the ladder

My understanding is that Highbough is still holding the lantern, illuminating the basement from the lip of the well-shaft for those below...

That aside, there is a "nock" in the wooden platform where the ladder is.

mushgnome wrote:
Highbough handed off his lantern to Gustave previously. Once he gets the "all clear" from below, he will rappel gracefully down the rope. On his way down he inspects the untrustworthy ladder for signs of rotted wood, rusty metal, missing rungs, and other hazards.

waysoftheearth wrote:
Highbough scampers down the rope with surprising grace.

The ladder looks worse at the bottom than the top... almost as if it has been purposefully rendered useless. It certainly would not support even the old Elf's frail figure, for the lower half of the timber is splintered and broken and given over to rottedness.


(Apologies; the matter of the lantern is now moot. Highbough and Gustave are together in the basement. Gustave has the lantern.)

waysoftheearth wrote:

tonneau wrote:"Most intriguing", mumbles Gustave, fondling his chin.

Turning Highboughs lantern to the ladder, he looks to see if it is recessed into the stone wall, or there is a recess in the dais that would allow it to pass around the ladder. Once this matter is settled, he will examine the pedastool to see if it is a copy of the one above and, perchance, if it appears fixed to the floor, or if it could perhaps be...rotated.

The pedestal is much the same as the one above. It appears solidly fixed in position with no possibility of rotation. It is 10ft from the circular platform, with the riveted iron plate facing into the greater chamber...

ehiker133 wrote:
Desmond notes the shape of the dais matches the shape of the hole, including the notch cut out for the ladder. He looks past what the light reveals and imagines the round opening in the ceiling, as well.

"Maybe it's like a big dumbwaiter? I don't see any ropes or pulleys, but... maybe something raises and lowers this platform to different levels? It would be useful for hauling such heavy items as these crates of plates..."

He looks to the side and notes the pedestal, identical to the one on the level above them.

"Maybe this is what does it?"

Then he examines the two buttons on the pedestal more closely to see if they are different from each other in any way.

tonneau wrote:
"I feel you may be correct, my double-brained comrade", says Gustave, standing from examining the pedestal, "I wonder if our dwarf has any thoughts on this...."

He wanders away from the dias, sweeping the lantern about the room to try and gauge its size and the presence of any other exits.