Rihaly's Trial

Rihaly felt her stomach lurch as the world bent and swirled around her mid-step. When she finished the step she was somewhere else on Faerûn. Somewhere dark. She froze at once and let her other senses reach out to the space around her; hearing and scent working overtime to make up for what vision lacked.

Perception Check
Roll(1d20)+11:
14,+11
Total:25
 
In the utter dark, your ears strain to hear anything other then your own, slightly elevated, pulse. The silence is deafening. Your nose trying to filter through the smells that once filled the room and the new smells.

Dust. Rocks. Moisture.

You feel no air movement on your skin, though the air is slightly cooler then it should be.

You come to the conclusion you are definitely underground. But not in a cave, beneath your feet you can feel carved stone blocks.
 
With no sense of movement in the dark space around her, the halfling relaxed a few inches. Nothing in her life had prepared her to accept golden opportunities that landed in her lap without a healthy dose of skepticism, and she had used the key half-convinced she was walking into a trap. Even now she didn't feel entirely safe and remained on the same carved stone slab she had arrived on.

Reaching back into the bag strapped to her shoulder, she retrieved flint and steel and a candle. A speck of light seared the darkness as she struck the flint, then again, and on the second try a small flame danced into existence at the end of the wick. Replacing her firestarting equipment in her back, she drew out a candle lamp instead and fixed the candle in place.

Now that she could see, she set about exploring the room she was in - looking for traps in the floor as well as anything that might supply a clue as to her location.

Perception Check
Roll(1d20)+11:
6,+11
Total:17
 
Once your candle illuminates the room you find it to be rather small. Two strides top either side(ten feet north and south) and about three strides forwards and back (15 feet east and west). You see a tapestry in the corner to your left(southwest), but no other obvious door. Experience has taught you that there's always a way out and that tapestry should be concealing a door.

Laying on the floor just in front of the tapestry you see a sheet of paper.

But you do not see any traps to bar your way.
 
Approaching the tapestry corner carefully, Rihaly maneuvers herself so that she can light and read the paper on the floor without actually touching it. After reading any writing that she can decipher, she studies the tapestry itself to determine its subject and memorize anything that might be significant.

If she finds no signs it would be dangerous, the cautious halfling reaches out then to pull the tapestry to one side.
 
Your light reveals a flowing script written by a light hand:

This is your acceptance trial. To succeed you must retrieve a pair of trophies and bring them to the me. Anything else you find you may do with as you see fit.


The Manager

This is what you see:
220px-Arras_005.jpg


Behind the thick fabric you see a stone door.
 
Rihaly folds and slips the note into her belt pouch, and discards her immediate thought of bringing the tapestry with her after only a moment.

She goes over the door carefully instead with eye and thieves tools, searching for traps and locks alike.

Perception Check
Roll(1d20)+11:
16,+11
Total:27
 
It does not take long for your trained eye to spot the triggering mechanism of the trap. A rather nasty scythe by the look of it. You are also able to tell it is linked to the lock and door opening.
 
Rihaly was still undecided on whether this was a genuine offer or some madman wanting to test his anti-thief defenses on someone from far away who wouldn't be missed. Either way the threat was very real, and she set to work carefully picking apart the trap guarding the door. She wasn't sure, but by the shimmer of that blade it might even have some kind of poison on it! Either way, it wasn't something she wanted to experience any closer than she had to.

Still, it was no worse than other traps she'd worked her way past and she proceeded with growing confidence, the tip of her tongue showing at the corner of her mouth.

Disable Device
Roll(1d20)+14:
12,+14
Total:26
 
After a few intense moments you feel the satisfying CLICK through your tools telling you that the trap was safe. Or so past experience leads you to believe, but you are confident that it will not trigger unless you want it to.
 
The cinnamon-haired woman smiles with satisfaction and sets about opening the door now that it's less liable to scalp her. Once again she turns to her thieves' tools and picks open the door with casual brilliance. When the lock clicks open the cloaked halfling carefully hoods her light on three sides and advances as silently as she is able into the next room, looking and listening all the while.

Disable Device (Lock)
Roll(1d20)+12:
17,+12
Total:29

Stealth
Roll(1d20)+16:
12,+16
Total:28

Perception (General)
Roll(1d20)+11:
12,+11
Total:23
 
After your skillful disabling of the the trap and lock you step into a the dark passage, noting the passage extends straight ahead of you (South) as far as your limited light shows and also extends to your left (east) two strides (ten feet) before turning to the right(South). It looks like there might be a door to the left.
 
From her pouch Rihaly withdrew a piece of chalk and crouched to mark a thief-sign on the floor to the right-hand sign outside the door. To those who understand it, it marks that the room through the door and the hallway right of the door has been explored and secured. Restoring the marker to her pouch, she creeps down the short left-hand corridor towards the possible door. She holds the candle-lamp out just ahead of her, eyes checking every surface for traps until she finds a door or runs into something else.

Perception Check (Traps)
Roll(1d20)+13:
10,+13
Total:23
 
As you round the corner, you see that there is in fact a door. A simple wooden door, like the kind found in cheaper houses. You light shows the passage continues past the door for about four more strides (20 feet) for turning the left (east). Focusing on the door and surrounding area you can discern no traps of any kind.
 
She cast a cautious look down the corridor ahead, then turned to the wooden door. There didn't seem to be any traps, but if this was truly a test for her there would be something about this place that wasn't as simple as it seemed. Best not to rush in, and so she listened carefully and slowly placed her ear against the door in a bid to gauge what was on the other side. She also took the time to note any hints on how the door opened (hinge position and so on) and whether it had managed to collect any dust or was in recent use.

Perception Check (General)
Roll(1d20)+11:
11,+11
Total:22
 
You note that the door while of simple construction is not in disrepair, you've seen better maintained doors but this one seems like it should open inward fairly easily. As you place your ear to the door you hear a faint clickclackclackclickclickclack, something is in the room and moving around.
 
Normally this would be a sign for her to go the other way, but if she is showing some unseen audience what she can do then it behooves her to do her best for her audition. Biting her lip she opens the door as quietly as she can until it's just ajar, flicks her wrists forward and catches the masterwork daggers that slide into her palms. She then uses her foot to nudge the door inwards slowly until she can slide around the door and hopefully lay eyes on the wandering clacker before it can see her.

She assumes it's not friendly. Why would it be?

Perception Check (General)
Roll(1d20)+11:
20,+11
Total:31

Comment: Of course I roll the critical just before probable combat.
 
You carefully open and slide into the room, on edge and ready for trouble. The clicking and clacking grow somewhat louder as they not muffled by the door, your eyes quickly find the source of the noise.
Scorpion.jpg


Its back is to you and seemingly unawares of a new being in the room, though it is only a bit larger then a dog.

You quickly take in the room, it is of similar construction as you have seen so far, but much larger then the previous room. The door is in the middle of the wall, which extends one stride (five feet) to either side of it (North and South). The creature is at the far end of the room, which is about four strides(20 feet) ahead (east). Beneath the the beast you catch a glimpse of some coins.

----------------------------
Spot Check vs Stealth(28)
Roll(1d20)+4:
19,+4
Total:23
 
That was not a nice surprise at all. She'd expected something skeletal or exoskeletal by the sound of things, but it still looked to be as large as she was and those great claws looked like they could really hurt if they got to grips on her.

On the other hand, it didn't appear to realize that Rihaly was there. That had usually been enough before, and the cloaked young woman flew into the room on swift feet and plunged both daggers directly at the large scorpion's back before it had a chance to react.

Dagger 1
Roll(1d20)+8:
19,+8
Total:27 (nat 19 - critical!)

Confirming
Roll(1d20)+8:
8,+8
Total:16 (?)

Damage
Roll(1d3)-1:
3,-1
Total:2 (x2 if Crit confirms)
Sneak Attack: 12 (Underhanded)
Adds to 14-16 damage.

Dagger 2
Roll(1d20)+8:
17,+8
Total:25

Damage
Roll(1d3)-1:
3,-1
Total:2
Sneak Attack: 12 (Underhanded)
Adds to 14 damage.

Initiative Roll
Roll(1d20)+8:
1,+8
Total:9
 
The beast was just turning around as you swiftly move in and strike.

The beast did not know what had hit it. All it knew, briefly, was sharp pain from behind. It thrashed about violently, it's claws snapping and clacking in all directions, as it's tail flailed and coiled about. Desperately trying to free itself of the the pain. Coins being kicked and scattered around the room as the beast is in its throughs.

In short order the beast quiets and gives in to gravity and death. It's legs curl under its body, causing it to roll onto its side only stopped by the curled tail. But soon even that relaxes and the husk of the scorpion lies unmoving on the stone floor.
 
Rihaly panted, feeling her heart pound in her chest. Leaping back from the collapsing, flailing scorpion she looked around at the rest of the room with her blades at the ready. After around twenty seconds she concedes that nothing else is about to come at her and carefully wipes both blades before returning them to her sheathes. Working methodically, her next step is to search the room for trophies, treasure and secret doors - although she keeps clear of anything that looks (to her) as though it may be trapped.

Perception (General)
Roll(1d20)+11:
11,+11
Total:22
 
As you search you come across a ridiculous amount of cooper coins, without counting them all you estimate there to be about 500-600 of them. Although as you dig through the pile you do come across a small shiny statue that is, or seems to be, made of gold. It is roughly the length of your arm and the way it is standing would resemble a knight holding its greatsword point down.

The word trophy comes to the forefront of your mind.
 
Searching the room brought up a satisfying amount of treasure, if in the least convenient currency possible - as well as the trophy, which might be of use to her prospective employer. It looks valuable anyway, although she knows she won't be permitted to keep it. She stows the lot in the bag on her shoulder, then turns her attention to the fallen scorpion.

The word poison comes to the forefront of her mind.

She eyes the creature's tail and tries to identify the best place on its stinger to access its venom, then draws and drives each of her masterwork blades carefully in to coat them in the substance. That done she (very carefully) reloads her wrist sheathes, ensuring the spring in each is primed correctly.

She then slips out of the room and closes the door behind her, marks her thiefsign low on the wall beside the door and creeps down the passageway to the next corner as silently as she can. What's next in this labyrinth?

Knowledge (Dungeoneering)
Roll(1d20)+9:
4,+9
Total:13

Stealth
Roll(1d20)+16:
14,+16
Total:30

Perception (General)
Roll(1d20)+11:
19,+11
Total:30
 
You manage to carefully resheath your daggers without finding out the hard way whether you do or do not have scorpion venom on your blades.

As you exit the scorpion room you look back the way you came from the tapestry room, you recall the passage leading away(south).

To your left(south) you see the passage go three strides(15 feet) before turning to the left(east). Around the corner your light shows you the passage extends beyond the range of its light (10 feet).
 
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