Forte looks at Ullar. "Perhaps someone should first approach without any metal, except a spear, or whatever. Someone fast," he finishes, with a grin.
"I can certainly try. I will leave my backpack here, that I can go for it." Pietro looks at the rest. "That way, I do not have any metal on my body, though I will take off my belt just to be sure."
"Perhaps we should tie a rope around you just in case, Pietro." Rhune suggests.
"About the only metal I have is this axe," Daegwyn says while holding up a hand axe. "I could throw it at the door of the tower to see what may happen. I would suggest first trying something along these lines so that we have a chance to observe if anything happens to the metal without one of us still touching it. Are there any other 'disposable' metal items we could use for this test?"
"I've got a few iron spikes in my bag," says Forte. He rummages through his gear to find them. He pulls out a couple of pitons. "Also got a pick," he says, gesturing to the farm implement strapped to the pack on his horse.
"I have a couple of daggers" says Ullar, while opening his backpack and retrieving three.
"How about a metal tipped arrow-head?" suggests Caboto. "One could launch it from a safe distance, to test this good theory of yours. A magnetic field would surely alter its trajectory."
"Excellent idea!" exclaims Ullar, while quickly lowering his voice not to alarm any Gnolls. "I bet Rhune or Forte can try. I do have a bow somewhere as well, but I can't really handle it, yet..." adds the warrior with a smile. It's obvious that he is glad with the responses he gets regarding his theory; Ullar is in his element once again.
Caboto addresses the group. "If indeed there is a strong magnetic field to check for, a metal tipped arrow would be the safest of tests to first try. Forte, would you be willing to shed your armor and take a long range shot at the tower? As a precaution we could tie a rope about your waist, should some other trap or phenomena besides magnetism be at play."
"I could do that Caboto. I have a bow. I may not be the marksman that Asif is but I can use a bow." Rhune says with a grin.
"Sure. I've got some rope in my pack, too." Forte rummages around again and pulls out 50' of rope. "Should we try this right now?" he asks, beginning to take off his armor.
"I think this is a better plan than the arrow. Nobody of us is a real archer, and we can't afford to alert the gnolls if we miss. Everybody is very tired as well, so I think going in is going to be the better plan. Forte are you volunteering?" Pietro looks at the warrior.
"Sure," the warrior answers, continuing to pull off his chain mail, as well as anything he carries which contains any type of metal, ferrous or non-ferrous. He basically strips down to his tunic and stocking feet in preparation for the task ahead.
"Actually I'm a better archer than I am a swordsman, but if we are going to check the door then I, too had better get ready." Rhune replies as she starts to shuck the armor. Then as she starts to take out her tools, "Hmmm.....we have a problem here. My tools are metal, it your theory is right then I won't be able to unlock the door." she says looking up at the others.
"It looks like we will have to see how Forte's approach progresses before making any further plans." Daegwyn replies. "Perhaps there is another explanation that will not prevent us from using our metal items."
"How will firing an arrow alert the gnolls?" asks Caboto. "Even if Forte misses, the waterfall will drown the sound, and an arrow would not be seen at this distance, even by gnolls with night vision. What you say does not make sense to me."
"Good point, Caboto. As the others mentioned as well, Caboto is right. It's very unlikely that firing an arrow will attract the attention of the gnolls, which are pretty far away from the entrance. I'd say we start with the arrow and THEN proceed with the approaching tower-approach..." Ullar says.
"Forte will have the rope to secure him in case the guarding trap is not magnetism. I still think we should try the arrow shot" Caboto adds.
Rhees adds, "Whatever we do, we should avoid any loud sounds, like the clang of a metal object striking a metal door at high speed. Also, if you think there's a genuine risk of the gnolls seeing us, I might be able to arrange for a fog to roll in. If I do, I'll be busy concentrating on the fog, so I need someone to take my horse across for me."
"Well.. if it is magnetic, you could fire an arrow passing by the tower and it's trajectory would alter. However, I'm unsure if we can see that from this distance." says Ullar, who has trouble with judging distances in this bare light.
"You really think the clang of a single arrow striking metal would sound over that waterfall?" Forte asks
Rhees answers, "I can't say for sure. The falls weren't loud enough to mask our screams or their howls. On the other hand, if the door is thick and solid it shouldn't be a problem. I guess we can't just sit here though - you may as well go for it. "
Not particularly enthused to spend the night here camped on the bridge, the group decides to experiment with the tower and Ullar's magnetic theory. The group finds that the acoustics of the canyon enables you to speak fairly easily, as long as you are close together. Beyond a few feet, though, and you must shout to be heard, which no one particularly wants to do with the observers still below.
Bandying about a few ideas, you try the least dangerous first. Rhune launches an arrow toward the door. It's not a good shot, hitting the stone wall of the tower. It's difficult to tell in the dark, but you don't think the trajectory changed. In any case, it's certainly not positive proof of anything.
If there are no more objections, Rhees moves to where he can see the bridge, the river and the falls. The words this time are more clipped, without the lilt of his healing magics. As Rhees sweeps his hand from the river toward the bridge a thick fog begins to roll over the water. Slowly it moves towards the bridge and soon you worry that you won't be able to find your way across the bridge. As the fog extends past the bridge and over the falls (hence blocking the gnolls vision of the bridge) you are pleasantly surprised to see the fog thin around the bridge itself. As the party makes its preparation, Rhees continues to stare intently at the fog, apparently concentrating on controlling it.
Tolik seems to be watching Rhees more closely than he is watching Forte move to investigating the door. He scans the fog carefully, and only several minutes realizes that it isn't real fog. He turns to Rhees with a look of awe, then diverts his attentions to Forte's experimenting.
"Here, hold this," says Forte, giving Ullar one end of the rope. He ties the other end securely around his waist. Forte turns to Pietro, "Please hold my mace, in case I need to return, uh, hastily, to retrieve it." He walks over to the bone pile and picks up one of Antonia's clubs in his right hand.
Pietro accepts Forte's mace, examining it closely for a moment. Scanning the mace thoroughly, he suddenly realizes that the warrior is crossing the bridge. His head slightly tilted, he looks at the slowly advancing warrior.
Forte smiles at the others and then turns to face the bridge. He walks purposefully through the fog, pitons in his left hand as he approaches the door. When he gets about five feet from the door, he throws one of the pitons at the it. When nothing happens, he touches the second iron spike to the door. Finally, he tests the handle to see if the door is locked. Finished, he returns to report his findings to the group. Watching Forte intently having stopped removing her armor for the time being, Rhune waits with baited breath.
The pitons do not appear to attract whatever they were intended to. Indeed, it's a boring experience. Grasping the handle, Forte sees that it moves fairly easily. Obviously, it is not locked and from looking at it, unless there is a bar or mechanism on the inside, he does not think it can be locked. As a final experiment, the big fellow takes a suit of armor on a spear and walks it toward the tower. However, even this fairly large amount of metal does not seem to attract any attention. Obviously, you have not found out the answer to this puzzle just yet.
After returning the rope and pitons to his pack, Forte dons his armor and retrieves his mace. "Well, the way is clear, at least."
Arkady watches silently as the tower is tested. He records any findings in his notebook, interspersed with drawings of Gnolls, the tunnel, the tower, the bridge and the skeletons.
The decision remains before you, to move forward on the tower with the benefit of Rhees' fog cover, or to wait throughout the night like Ullar suggests and see if the camped gnolls depart, leaving you more freedom to act.
"Let's move on now, as long as everyone is fully rested. No sense waiting; the sooner we start into the tower, the sooner we get out on the other side," says Forte. He looks around at the others. "What do you want to do?"
"Hide our horses? I don't want them to become Gnoll food, nor do I want them to starve to death while we are trapped for perhaps a day or two in that tower! Although I'm not restored to full health, the fog hides us from view, so we better hurry. Who is going to take the lead?" asks Ullar while stripping his platemail down until he only wears the breastplate.
"Let us keep moving, eventually one of those gnolls is going to over come his superstitions and come up here to check if we are really dead." Arkady muses. He packs up all his armor but his breastplate and helm. He regards his sylmar blade and his maine gauche and prepares to go forth.
"We are out of my element here," Daegwyn says. "One more accustomed to buildings should take the lead."
"If the metal is gone, I don't want to risk getting stuck in there while I'm in metal from head to toe. At least I have some protection right now." says Ullar, while restoring his backpack on his back. Do we have enough torches? And are they divided evenly?"
"Antonia, Daegwyn, are you coming with us inside the tower? I'm afraid Grey can't accompany you there Antonia" says Ullar in a saddened tone.
"Why can't Grey come with us?" asks Forte. "Can't he walk up stairs?"
"Grey could maybe get across the bridge and so may the other horses, but it would be bad to take them if we do not even know where it is we go, What would happen if we were to get into a room too small to bring them into? What if we got into a fight in those walls, what would we do with the horses then?" Antonia pipes up, "We should go through, find out where this trail leads and then return for them. It is safer this way for both us and them."
"Oh, I though Grey was the wolf. Sorry," says Forte, a little embarrassed.
Antonia smiles, "Nah, That's Shadow. Shadow has to make his own decisions as to come or not."
"For some reason, I think of 'Shadow' as a horse name and 'Grey' as a wolf name," Forte says, a little sheepishly. "I'll try to work on that," he adds with a smile.
Disturbed by something or other inside the tower, Shadow puts his head down and growls. He does not appear to have any desire to enter, though he surely will if Antonia commands it.
"I will be coming," Daegwyn replies. "It appears the only way to continue to our destination is through the Tower, so that leaves us little choice."
Antonia looks form the horses to the group, unsure as to what to do and feeling very uncomfortable with the decision she is supposed to make. She then moves over to Grey and gives him a hug, "We leave their fodder here, out and open, in case we don't come back immediately. I give shadow his own choice as to stay with the horses or go with me, and I am not sure what decision he will choose. I think he will be more comfortable out here. We need to make sure the horses have a way to drink while we are away, even if we have to bring in some water, If not we will have to go out and kill those gnolls who are guarding us." Without outright saying so, Antonia says she will go in, though it is clear she does not like the decision.
"You are right. And, for what it's worth, I'm glad you are accompanying us!" says Ullar, giving Antonia a genuine smile. "Can we store some water around here? Are there any natural holes which we could fill? If someone has a leather jacket, we would be able to tie the ends together with a rope and haul some water from the river towards any hole which we can fill with water"
Forte looks over at his horse. "I think leaving food for the horses is a good idea, though."
"Well it seems we can go forward. I say we do it now while we have the cover of darkness." Rhune says as she prepares herself.
"Well, no point in sitting here, let's go! Antonia just had a good idea, let's leave enough food for the horses. I am getting the feeling that strange things are going to happen in that tower." Pietro looks around at the response from the rest of the group.
"Strange things? Well Pietro, that does sound funny from your mouth. This whole situation is strange! I've learned more in these last couple of weeks than in all the years before. Let's explore the strangeness of that tower... and enjoy it if we can!" says Ullar, quite enthusiastically.
While crossing his arms, a mock smile on his face, Pietro counters. "Amen to that, ol' fearless.!"
"Has anything normal ever happened to us??" Arkady nearly bursts with mirth but is able to keep it to a low giggle.
"I agree. Let's get this over with now. Then perhaps we can find someone to help us with the tube." Rhune nods in agreement.
"In fact.." contributes Ullar, ".. I'm hoping that this is the way to the ancients and that they are able to help us with the tube."
As the group makes its plans, Rhees remains silent and stares intently at the fog. Occasionally a sweep of the arm or a twist of the body is matched by a swirl in the fog.
Quickly and cautiously, you move as a group toward the doors. As no one seems particularly eager to take point, Ullar as always moves to the fore, followed quickly by Arkady and Forte. The door, as Forte reported, indeed does appear to be unlocked.
Unfortunately, Ullar knows that if he lights a torch while outside, he will surely draw the attention of the watchers below, and so he moves inside quickly to do so, hoping in the meantime to not be attacked. Just as he produces the torch and brings some light into the tower, he sees the man-sized metal statues on either side of the room. Neither are human, however, as they both have long slender snouts instead of human faces. They remind you of the tombs so long ago.
As they move forward swiftly and silently, Ullar notes absently that their heads are not much like the gnolls, not hyenas or dogs, but more like jackals, and yet not quite that either. As he begins to be pummeled, he rolls this over in his mind.
As Pietro sees the statues move, he gives warning to Ullar. "Ullar, watch it! The statues are moving!" The elf gets his staff ready, ready to attack anything that comes beyond the reach of the warriors up front.
"LOOK OUT ULLAR!" shouting to her friend as she steps just inside the room and to the side, Rhune draws her sword and takes a quick look around trying to see if there are any other exits.
"ARGH.. fuck it!" yells Ullar, while he dives to the side and rolls over the ground to avoid getting pummeled. He throws his torch in the middle of the room so that everyone has some light.
One of the statues slams it's steely fist into Ullar's back as he rolls, sending him sprawling as the torch falls in it's intended direction. Rising, he winces. A cracked rib?
Meanwhile, the other turns toward Rhune's invasion. Absently she realizes that she left her chain mail out on the bridge and now is very vulnerable. And she pays the price, as the second statue smashes it's fist into her side. She turns and responds with her sword, which clangs into the creature. In amazement, she watches it stick to the thing and quickly disappear, absorbed by the statue's steely skin!
Muttering an elven curse, Rhune backs up quickly, or as quickly as she can, clutching her side.
"Forte, how did we get those Jackals in that other temple?" Ullar calls out, while trying to get on his legs again.
"What, you mean the one where I died and you dragged me out?" Forte asks, hesitating before deciding what to do. "I don't remember much of that...." He looks at the mace in his hand, an indecisive look on his face. "Shit," he mutters, and then rushes in the attack the statues with his mace.