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From: [e-mail] (Lance Dooly)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: STORY: The Tales of Dark Haven (Chapter 14)
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Date: 20 Aug 1995 12:54:32 -0400
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------- The Tales of Dark Haven ---------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-                                                                            -
- These stories are from an on-going E-mail campaign, and are currently      -
- maintained by Lance Dooly ([e-mail]).  New stories will be  -
- posted in rec.games.frp.archives and are available for anonymous FTP       -
- at tfnet.ils.unc.edu in /pub/dark.                                         -
-                                                                            -
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------- Chapter 14: A Secret Door -------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Arlon:)
OOC: Arlon, Dithion and Shade were over by the basins having a
     discussion - they start walking back to the group and I guess
     pass by Falrun and call him over also, when we get back to the
     group:

"We have located a secret door in the wall behind the basins, it is
magical in nature."

(Tatiana:)
She was currently in the pool looking at one of the statues when she
heard Arlon tell the others about the secret door. She looked up and
started to wade back out of the pool.  "Neat area here, bears more
investigation for sure."

(Arlon:)
"We have several theories on how to open this secret door, all of
which involve placing some pearls in the basins - an offering.
Mindak, could we borrow some pearls for our little experiment - they
should be some of the finer ones, we wouldn't want to be insulting for
our first offering, I would like at least 9, please."

OOC: Hopefully Mindak will (and can) comply with the request.  Arlon
     will then relate their plans.

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana walked up to the group clustered around Mindak.  Interrupting
all talk "Perhaps Mindak will hire us again to investigate this area
and make sure there is no trouble hidden behind secret chambers.
Magical guards are meant to trap thing sometimes, NO?"

"In any event, Mindak hired us to investigate the other tunnel not
this room.  If we do a good job there perhaps we would be welcomed
back again later."

She gave Arlon a look when Mindak wasn't looking.  A slight nod of her
head said it all.  "Don't push it, we are here for another task."

(Arlon:)
OOC: Arlon, with a disgruntled look

"Perhaps you are right Tatiana.  Mindak, you are our employer, what do
you say - should we continue our investigation of this new finding,
which may be the key to this entire complex, or go back to the other
tunnel and clear that out."

OOC: Arlon's tone, when he is saying this, is like when you are trying
     to motivate a person to choose one thing over another - Being
     excited about the secret door and a monotone ho-hum when talking
     about the other tunnel.

(DM/Mindak:)
"Pearls? Ye wanst pearls from me? Hmm. I could lend ye about six I
have on me.  This stuff about secret doors interests me. However, I DO
want them back and should they disappear, then I will take their value
out of your pays."

"We have some time, as the miners are now working in shaft number one.
However, tarry not too long. I give you an hour to figure out a way to
open this door, else it is on our way to the tunnels we go."

Meta: one clue. it is a MAGICAL secret door.... :)

(Dithion:)
Dithion says to Mindak, "After we have the pearls, you might want to
leave.  We have no idea what is behind that door.  You may also want
to seal off these tunnels and posts guards in case something is
unleashed, or becomes aware of your presence through us."

(Falrun:)
Falrun stands by listening to the conversation going on in the group,
his right hand never seeming very far from his long sword.

"I know that there are magical means of opening locks of various
natures, I think it's called rap, or knock, or knocker, or something
like that, would any of you, practiced in the finer arts, happen to
have such a spell?  It might be easier than wasting time with pearls
and trial and error methods especially when the consequences of errors
are unknown."

(Arlon:)
"Alas, I have not been able to procure that spell and during our spell
tradings I did not see anyone that had it either; so at the moment I
see no alternative to the 'ritual' trial and error method, or divine
intervention."


(Falrun:)
"My trouble shooting days has left me with some ability to check for
traps, if all of you think it worth while, I can check out the basins
and secret door before we try to open it.  I must admit that my
abilities are rather limited when dealing with magical traps.  I
mostly deal with mechanical type traps but you never know."

(Shade:)
"That's it, Falrun," - interjects the drow - "this is exactly what I
was going to ask.  Have a look at this door for traps and be
particularly careful 'cause we really know not the nature of this
magic."

(Arlon:)
Arlon will accept the pearls from Mindak and says "If any are lost
I'll help with the reimbursement with the gold I have.  Unless someone
has the knock spell or some magical device to get the door open with,
I will start my experiments.  Come along Tatiana, we have a door to
deal with." Arlon takes her arm.

(Tatiana:)
"Well then, Let's check out this door you've found" she held out her
arm "Lead the way."  A small puddle had formed on the ground where
Tatiana was standing due to her pool wading.

(Silver:)
Silver looked at the puddle, then at her hand which was covered in
dust from the top of the bowls, then over to the glistening pool.

While the discussion on how to open the secret door was going on, a
smile appeared on her face, and all trace of worry and anxiety was
washed away. She turned to Falrun, who was near her, and said "And I
thought that because I was leaving her domain, I was also leaving her
protection and her warm embrace."  She smiles again.

"If you would accompany me, Falrun, I feel the need to see what lies
beneath this pool. It may hold the key to the door, who knows ?"

(Falrun:)
Falrun will accompany Silver, seeing as how Arlon, in his haste, has
started his experiments before Falrun had a chance to check things
out.  He probably wouldn't have found anything anyway.

(Arlon:)
Receiving the pearls from Mindak, he says to the group "We should
start with the most simple to the more 'ritualistic' ones.  First
stand in front of the basins and place a pearl in one basin, if this
doesn't work then place a pearl in each basin.  If those don't work,
first swim thru the pool and then place a pearl in each basin and so
on.  Yes, I know, this can be tedious; but unless anyone has found any
other clues like drawings or writings, I think its the best way to
proceed."

Arlon will go about placing pearls in the basins, one at a time to
start - he will give the rest to Tatiana to hold.  He will place a
pearl in the right basin while standing in the middle of the basins.
Next, the same thing with the left basin.
Next, try a pearl in each basin, then touch the door.
Next, he will go into his backpack, get his mug, get some water from
the pool (in the mug) and throw it on the door.

(Kaeyar:)
In the temple, Kaeyar would have been looking around for anything with
writing on it.  Finding none (I presume), he began offering ideas and
encouragement to Arlon.  Oh, also, his demeanor is not too much
different underground, Kaeyar seems fairly used to it.

(Arlon:)
Arlon, after several iterations of placing pearls in the basins and
splashing the magical water on the door says: "I feel I am close; but
my mind is to focused. I cannot see the entire combination.  I must
calm my mind so that I can see things anew."

He gathers his stuff together, and starts slowly walking around
looking at the walls.




While Arlon is performing various actions with pearls, Silver and
Falrun approach the pool ....


(Silver:)
She will then walk to the edge of the pool with Falrun, plant her feet
and her unicorn-headed staff firmly on the ground. (The owl-headed
staff now rests, strapped to her back).

She then intoned ... "My sweet goddess,
    This is not the realm of your true servants,
    Yet powers beyond our experience may shield great evil.
    Let your protection of all that is true
    Yield knowledge of the unknown."

With that prayer finished, she sprinkles some of the dust from her
fingers onto the surface of the water, which begins to swirl round.
The shadows on the walls from the glistening light flicker and moves
as the water swirls round faster and faster. Yet the water does not
rise, the level is actually dropping away !

Each step becomes visible in turn, as the whole pool shrinks away.
Statue after statue becomes visible in entirety, and the water drains
away ....

OOC: Lower Water

(DM:)
It seems as though the water is pushed back most reluctantly, and it
seems to take forever to get down. As it lowers, more and more steps
are revealed, and statues emerge. You note that unlike generally when
something has been submerged halfway, the statues do not show a line
where the water level reached before. The water lowers, and reveals
that the pool is not a pool, but rather a corridor. At about 15 foot
(5 meters), a floor is reached.  About an inch of water stays on it,
but you can see that it has the same flattened quality as the stone
you are standing on at the top of the stairs.

A corridor lined with statues leads away, but the lower water spell
does not reach far enough. At about ten meters into the corridor, it
is blocked by a wall of roiling water.....

(Silver:)
Silver now seems to have lost fear of the underground (for the moment
at least) and has returned to being quite calm and not anxious. If
questioned about this, she will say simply that "I was wrong to doubt
that Mielikki's love for her children ends at the edge of her realm.
It spreads further than even I would have believed. She is with us on
this journey. I am not alone."

(Falrun:)
Falrun looks truly impressed by the display of power before him.  "I
know that magic is powerful, but the more I see, the more wondrous it
is.  I certainly hope to be more impressed by the abilities of the
magic-using members of our group."

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana's eyes went wide with wonder as the water in the pool
disappeared.  "Mielikki truly is a wonder Silver.  Where did all the
water go?"

A toyful smile came across her face "Can you cast another one to clear
out the whole area?"

(Silver:)
Silver laughs gently "No, I am afraid that all things have limits, Ana"

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana dropped her backpack gently to the ground.  She dropped
everything except her chainmail and longsword and her ring.  She
started down the stairs to the bottom taking big gulps of air the
whole way down.

"I'm gonna check this out." With a big inhale, she then walks straight
into the wall of water.

(Silver:)
Silver waits anxiously for any sign of Tatiana. Her worry increases as
time goes by ...

(Tatiana:)
Time continues on and still Tatiana hasn't come out of the wall of
water.  After about a minute Tatiana comes running out of the wall of
water, uninhibitied by its mass.  Her long black hair is drenched and
her clothes are plastered to her well formed body.  Her green eyes
sparkle with youthful enthusiasm.  "Awesome!" she says as she wrings
her hair out.

(Silver:)
Silver breathes a long sigh in relief.

(Tatiana:)
"It leads to the outside.  Once you're out of the corridor it you're
under the Ocean about 30 or 40 foot below the surface.  The pool's
blinding glow doesn't radiate out into the ocean water."

(Silver:)
"You say Mielikki is a marvel, but I am also impressed by you. Your
joy in discovery and in life is a wonder as well. Your enthusiasm is
somewhat infectious, and helps me a lot in this place. It helps me to
forget ... other times."

(Tatiana:)
Smiling at Silver "I can be reckless sometimes but it's usually done
in an intelligent manner and is a calculated risk really.  I'm not as
flighty as I look" she said with a giggle.

(Silver:)
Smiling at Tatiana, Silver suggests "Lets go and have a look at what
the others are doing over near the secret door."

(Tatiana:)
She giggles as she finishes wringing out her hair.  "One thing about
this jungle-like weather, the water feels good even when you're drying
out.  Not like back home where you'd catch a fever"

(Falrun:)
Watching intently as the water lowers in the pool, Falrun calls over
to Arlon and absentmindedly says, "Maybe you should just knock on the
door and who ever is on the other side will let you in."

(Arlon:)
"I guess anything is worth a try."  Arlon gets a couple pearls, puts
one in the right basin, one in the left, and then knocks on the door.

(DM:)
Arlon has been running around like a madman for about half an hour,
until he finally puts one pearl in the right basin, one in the left,
and then knocks on the door with a hand still glistening with some of
the pool's water from when he got his cups of water to throw against
the wall.

The moment his hand and the water touch the door, the wall between the
basins shimmers and disappears. In the hole now displayed, you see a
damp corridor of about 6 meters, and at the end of it, on both the
right and the left, you see decayed curtains hanging in doorways.....

(Arlon:)
Arlon is standing there somewhat in amazement as the wall disappears.
"Well I'll be an orcs sweaty chainmail" He then glances at Falrun,
shrugs and says "Do you want to check for traps now?!" he says with a
smile.

(Falrun:)
"Since the corridor (filled with water) is apparently unaccessable, I
suggest we check the hallway behind Arlon's secret door."  Falrun then
walks over to the hallway and starts to inspect the entrance and the
passage beyond.

(Tatiana:)
Still dripping wet from her dip in the ocean, Tatiana cocks her head
with curiosity as she finally noticed the secret door open. "Hey what
did you guys find there?"

(Keilan:)
Keilan moves for the first time in a long while (like since we arrived
in the temple).  He was leaning against the wall near the passage we
entered through, clutching his staff in both hands, and watching
disinterestedly at the hubbub of various magicks and swimmers.  Now he
stands upright and raps his staff loudly against the floor, the sound
echoing throughout the cavernous temple drawing the attention of all
present.  As all turn, except the deaf or single- minded, he speaks a
few words in dwarven to Mindak (who I presume is still here since I
saw no mention of his departure).

Arlon(at the secret door):
"I can shed some light on this if need be. Does either Shade, Dithion
or Falrun have a torch?"

(Shade:)
"Sorry I have none" - replies the drow, than he smiles a little -
"but, of course I need none." He stares at the dark entrance "I'd like
to have a look in that darkness to find back my underground vision;
will you wait for me a few minutes?"  If no one is contrary Shade will
enter the tunnel.

(Arlon:)
When Falrun is done his check "What say we take a look!"  He waves to
the rest of the group, that I guess is near the pool.  "The way is
open and clear."

(Arlon:)
OOC: This next bit is a reply to Shade given my understanding of elf
     vision - do drow have ultravision?

(Arlon:)
"Our heat vision will be useless in there Shade, due to the lack of
use of this place there will be little or no contrast, unless you can
see other energies.  Doesn't the Underworld have a glow of its own
though from plant or rock?  Plus Dithion has no extra vision
capabilities, it would be nice for him to see.  I also would rather
have a group go in than just one."

"Lets go in then, Dithion if you feel uncomfortable without light, I
can provide some."

Arlon prepares a spell.

(Dithion:)
Dithion says, "Ah, well, I could try to muddle about, but I might not
be much use in the dark.  I could come and stay back.  If something
happens, I could call upon divine light."

(Silver:)
Silver mutters to Tatiana "Hmmm, that is something that is beyond my
understanding and abilities."

(Dithion:)
Dithion enters with the other two.

(DM:)
There seems to be some confusion as to how the cave looks like, so I
will try to do some ascii graphing...


                                underground passageway lined with statues
                                 |  |
                ------------------------------------
              /                                      \
             | @                                    @ |
             |                                        |
             |                                        |
             | @                                    @ |
             |                                        |
             |                                        |
             | @                                    @ |
             |                                        |
             |----------------------------------------|
             |-@------------------------------------@-|
             |----------------------------------------|
             |-@------------------------------------@-|
             |                                        |
             |                                         \
             |                                          \
             |                                        |\ \
             |                                        |  tunnel you guys got in
             |                                        |  through
              \                                      /
               \                                    /
                \       -----          -----       /
                 \      |   |          |   |      /
                   ---------------S--------------

Hmmm okay, so I'm no artist. The dimensions are way off. There are a
lot more steps, and the side walls are uneven due to natural
formation, though smooth due to age. The tunnel is also natural. The
corridor, opposite the secret door, is a natural corridor, though with
smoothened floor, and adorned with statues along the walls. Hmm I'll
try a side view tooo. Lesseee..


        ---------------------------------
        |                               |
                |                              -
                |                             | basins
                |                 ------------
                |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ old waterlevel
 ---------------               / actually steps..
------------------------------/


(Silver:)
"Shall we enter this corridor with the others, then ?" Silver asks of
Tatiana and Keilan.

OOC: Silver seems to be able to see reasonably well in this corridor,
     even though the only light is that of the pool in the temple
     behind them.

OOC: Silver will *not* remain alone down here. She will stay close by
     someone she feels comfortable with, even if this means going into
     strange dark corridors.

(Kaeyar:)
And now, Kaeyar will light a torch and hold it in his right hand, heft
his mace in his left, and follow Shade, Falrun, and Dithion into the
secret door...

(Silver:)
"After you, Kaeyar" Silver says, and steps aside to let Kaeyar enter
the corridor before her. She follows, after pausing briefly at the
entrance to the dark passage. "Guide me truly on safe paths, my
Goddess" she mutters very quietly, to herself.

(Tatiana:)
A pool of water had collected around her feet and she looked to the
open secret door, "Wonder what's happening in there?  They've been in
there a long time now and Falrun hasn't come back yet saying if there
were any traps."

She shrugs her shoulders, "Must be safe, let's go in"

Tatiana headed off to the secret door and peered inside




The whole party have now entered the secret passageway, with Falrun
ahead, checking for traps along the way. He has entered a room from
which a blue-silver glow emanates ....


(DM:)
Those who already entered the room already know where the light comes
from...  and Falrun just reported his scouring of the stand did not
reveal any traps.....

(Falrun:)
Turning to see the group enter the room, Falrun says, "I haven't found
any traps but that doesn't mean that there aren't any."

(DM:)
The room that you enter measures about 60' by 30' and is about 8'
high. Brief checks by Falrun and others show no traps or secret doors.
In the room, on a beautifully carved stand of the purest mother of
pearl lies a short (approx 1 meter in length) glowing trident. It is
hard to divine the make up and color of the trident itself because of
the light streaming forth from it....  The stand appears normal, as
far as such a huge (1 meter tall) thing made out of one piece of
mother of pearl can be considered normal. The small trident glows
peacefully throughout your poking around the room. No fluctuations in
light color or intensity...

(Falrun:)
"Does anybody have proficiency with a trident that wants to see what
this thing is about?"  If Tatiana is in the area, Falrun will say to
her, "You show some affinity for water, maybe you would like to check
it out?"

(Shade:)
Shade gets closer to the trident, his jaw hanging opened in awe, then,
with a self-mocking smile, he snaps his mouth shut and says "Well, I
think I may have heard of something like that sometime in the
past...."

OOC: I'm trying to use my bardish ability of knowing a little bit of
     everything.  I have a 45% chance of knowing the history of the
     object and so a little also about use, possible curses etc.

(DM:)
Shade does NOT know anything about the trident itself, safe that it
will probably have powers having to do with sea stuff, and is a
dedication to the highest god of the mermen/maids, and he wonders why
such an important artifact would have been left behind by mermen...

(Falrun:)
In the mean time, Falrun will search the room with Arlon, for any
secret passages or hidden compartments.

(Dithion:)
Dithion says, "Well, I can't detect a trap.  Let's have a look at this
trident."  He goes and slowly touches the trident.  If it is not hot,
he will pick it up and examine it ....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------- End of Chapter 14 ----------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*'``'*,..,*
Lance Dooly
[e-mail]                         "Not I," said the cat.
Physics/Chemistry/Philosophy   (PCP?!)