Tradden looked like he had thoroughly enjoyed repulsing the bat swarm.
‘Well, that went better than the last time we had a scrap, eh, Zero?’ He turned to the
dwarven warlord. ‘Your presence was gladly appreciated, sir. I only wish you had been there
when a dog was taking chunks out of myself and Mr Uhlit here,’ he continued. ‘Although,
how did you arrive at your previous predicament of being tied up in a cellar?’ he asked the
dwarf.
‘Er, yes, well, seems a couple of bandits caught me napping, er, not sure how that happened,’
Khalin quickly regained his composure and changed the subject. ‘And your presence is greatly
appreciated also, friends! Now, a dog you say? I saw no hounds before.’
Zero brushed himself down madly. When he realised there were no more little vampires on him, he
examined his shredded shirt. He looked like he was going to cry.
Tradden noted the obvious grief on Zero’s face as he held up shred after shred of shirt,
‘Not to worry, my friend, I am a keen follower of fashion and clothes and if I am not mistaken
that is a “Hebbleweaver Brothers’ Twenty-Five Bronze” special. Easily
replaceable!’ he said cheerfully, his youth and inexperience blinding him to the horrific
lack of tact in the comment, be it true or not.
The sound of the bats had disappeared into the darkness and judging by the time it had taken them to
go, they must have flown through an exit nearby.
[Khalin: Perception Check: 1d20: 2] – failure!
[Tradden: Perception Check: 1d20+2: 8] – failure!
[Zero: Perception Check: 1d20+6: 12] – success!
The party dusted themselves down, picked up their scattered gear, and headed back into the
passageway.
‘I think they went north,’ stated Zero, still picking bits of singed leather out of his
hair.
‘Well,’ reasoned Tradden, ‘the bats must have their own way in and out which is not
the trapdoor. Seems to make sense to follow them. May I suggest you and your trusty shield lead on,
Master Dwarf? I shall gladly follow and no doubt my nimble friend Zero will protect our rear?’
Tradden moved to one side to let Khalin take point.
Zero slipped into the lead before the dwarf could move.
‘I know I'm going to regret this,’ he said, ‘but this is kind of my forte.’
Keeping his eyes open, he crept northwards.
‘Just get ready to wallop anything that isn't me, would you?’
[Zero: Stealth Check: 1d20+11: 20] – success!
The passageway kept straight and as Zero headed away from Tradden and Khalin and the torchlight
dimmed his eyes slowly became adjusted to the dark.
It was hard to keep quiet on the mounds of slush underfoot, but Zero tried his best. He noticed
that the ground was becoming more and more watery, as though something was leaking and running
slowly down the passageway.
About sixty yards on, with the torchlight well behind him, Zero noticed a change in the draught
and could tell that the passageway opened up into a larger chamber. A steady drip drip echoed
around.
‘Fair enough’, said Tradden as Zero headed past. ‘In which case, I shall take the
rear!’ he laughed to himself as he held the torch up, ready to follow Zero and Khalin whilst
keeping a keen eye and ear for anything that might be following them.
Khalin raised a curious eyebrow in Tradden’s direction, shrugged, and followed Zero.
Zero halted. ‘Larger chamber up ahead,’ he whispered to his companions. ‘Watch
your footing, it's getting wetter.’
He crept forward very cautiously, testing with his toes before committing each foot to the ground.
He didn't want to plunge into a well or worse, a pit trap.
As Tradden and Khalin came up behind they shed torchlight on the passageway ahead. As Zero had
predicted, the passageway opened up into a larger chamber, roughly square, and about sixty feet
across. In the centre of the chamber was a round pit, about ten feet in diameter, with running
water seeping down the walls and dripping into its depths.
Directly across at the other side of the chamber was a set of shallow stairs, leading up.
Zero's caution was well founded, however, as just before the entrance to the chamber, the last
ten feet or so were missing — with a drop of about twenty feet to sludge and slime
below.
‘Hmm,’ said Tradden after taking a quick view over his shoulder away from the passage
behind them. ‘Too big to jump and I don't fancy a down-and-up. Any thoughts?’
Zero appraised the athletic Tradden.
‘You can't make a ten foot jump?’ he queried. ‘Why, I've seen you move
like a gazelle.’
‘Really, you think?’ replied Tradden to Zero. Never one to usually lack confidence, the
compliment was all the young fighter needed to impel him into action. ‘In which case,;’
he continued, jogging back three or four yards to get a running start, ‘watch this!’
[Tradden: Athletics Check: 1d20+8: 13] – success!
[Tradden leaps 13 feet (3 squares)]
The run up was quickly taken and Tradden leapt like, well, like a gazelle, through the air, even
managing to twist once for good effect at the pinnacle of the arc, the flickering light of the
torch playing up and down the length of the sword occupying his other hand, illuminating the dank
walls of the passageway with a gleaming, elongated, rainbow “S” shape throughout his
aerial crossing.
Resisting the urge to land in a roll given the filth on the floor, Tradden nevertheless landed
safely and lightly on the other side.
‘Easy. Next!’ he laughed.
As Tradden looked back towards his colleagues, beckoning them over the pit, Zero noticed a pair of
yellow eyes some way behind the young fighter, flickering malevolently in the torchlight. The pair
were joined by another, and another, and another. Then two pairs of red eyes moved forwards out of
the gloom.
Tradden picked up wholly the wrong end of the metaphorical stick, taking the widening of
Zero's eyes to be tacit appreciation of his athletic traversal of the pit. ‘Thank you,
thank you,;’ he exclaimed as he took a flourishing bow, his back still to the oncoming owners
of the various pairs of eyes.
‘Aha! The game's afoot!’ grinned Khalin as he spotted the eyes coming into view.
‘Stand by, Master Tradden! And don't worry, Mister Nothing, you won't have to toss
me!’
Backing up for a clear run-up, the stocky dwarf galloped up to the gap and leapt!
‘Geronimo!’ he yelled with gusto as he arced into the void.
[Khalin: Athletics Check: 1d20+8: 27] – success!
[Khalin leaps 27 feet (5 squares)]
Showing remarkable grace for, well, a dwarf, Khalin executed a perfect landing and quickly brought
his hammer and shield up for the impending attack.
Standing aside for the dwarf, who soared past with a leap which belied his diminutive stature and
the amount of steel about his person, Tradden suddenly realised that something was indeed afoot
as Khalin adopted a combat stance behind him.
A wall sconce on the left hand side at the end of the passageway was perfect for Tradden's
torch. He slid it in and then drew his other blade.
