(I/C)
Before the group went to do anything with the door, the decision was to scout a bit more to the west and see if the cavern eventually rejoins the cavern we had seen at the bottom of the stairs from the LOWER BARRACKS. Lannis offered the torch once more and after it was lit, Brendon, Wyn, and Kovid all made their to the west, while Abraxas guarded Lannis and Lyra – the lantern still with them.
“That moaning,” Brendon wondered. “Dog?”
Kovid shook his head. “No. That’s the sound of air forced through a lower pressure opening and whistling through to us here. Wind my friend, in the cave.”
They proceeded with care, every so often the rattling sound of metal on stone. “What do you think, Monsieur?”
The dwarf shrugged. “Getting louder, we’ll know soon enough.”
After walking some distance, the light of the torch showed the cavern opening up to the south, the same direction as the inrushing breeze, the moan, and the rattling noise. Then they heard a grunt.
From the south, in the gloom, they could make out eyes staring at them and stepped forward. Amidst the scattered filthy hay and jagged bones on the floor, was a 600 lb albino ape with a collar around its left foot and a LONG chain bolting it to the wall of the cave. It (reaction check, 2d6 -2: red/black 9: 7 indifferent) gave a growl at the group and then hunched forward and sat down on its haunches watching them.
Kovid looked at his hammer and the big ape and shook his head. “I am going to need a bigger hammer.”
“Should we get the ballista upstairs?” Brendon asked.
Wyn meanwhile had his hand out and was making calming motions to the ape (=Cha +2 elf, Orange 13) and whispered to the party. “I don’t theenk that iz needed. The ape is not attacking, and I am not sure that the chain will be short enough to stop it from coming here.”
“What do we do?”
“I am going to keep looking at it and smiling, you are going to go past, make sure the pazzage works back up ze stairs, and then you are going to get back here with ze most rapidio.”
Brendon took the elf’s advice and after another 2 dozen paces, was sure he could see the passage turning back to the north and the base of the stairs in the distance. Meanwhile the ape was still sitting there and watching, making grunts now and again and then after Brendon came closer, snorted loud and pointed at its face, opening its mouth.
“What the hell?” the scout asked.
Wyn shook his head. “Food. It wants food.”
“Remember the guy walking by while we slept? Went down stairs with a dirty and bloody meat smell and then did not have the bloody meat smell? I would guess the locals here feed it.”
Brendon squinted and pointed at it. “On its chest, Wyn, what do your elf eyes see?”
“They are taking…Ugh, stop it, idiot.” Wyn looked closer, hands out and inched ahead. On the upper chest of the white elf was a very old dark tattoo brand that showed a number 3, with an “L” right below it. “Looks familiar?”
“Let’s go back and let the group know what we saw.”
Time now is 9:05
(OOC)
Ape is NOT attacking – indifferent right now (good reaction check). Wont last. Wants food. What to do?
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