Elias pushes open the narrow wooden door while supporting Marcus. Dust spills from the service wing, where old cabinets, sealed jars, and faded directional plaques line the walls.
One plaque bears the sigil for the alchemical laboratory. Beneath it, a fresh smear of blood crosses the floor and disappears deeper into the cramped passage.
Elias
The lab is this way. Marcus, stay close to me, and do not touch anything sealed in those cabinets.
Marcus Thorne
I can walk. I am not leaving Sally or Elizabeth behind, but I will not slow you down.
Elias keeps one arm around Marcus and raises the Holy Cross with the other. Thadeus follows with Peacebringer secured and the cracked ankh ring still warm against his finger.
The service wing smells of dust, iron, and something bitterly chemical. Behind the nearest cabinet, glass clicks softly, though nothing visible moves in the dimness.
Elias
There is blood ahead, and something is moving behind us. We need to choose quickly.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the alchemical laboratory
“While Elias and Marcus walk further ahead, Thadeus starts to fall behind, looking at the various shelves of glass jars on bookshelves inside the walls. Each jar has unique ingredients inside, full of an dark Grey liquid. The ingredients are everything from exotic flowers, to rocks, animal bones, inhuman pieces of flesh. Thadeus is deeply disturbed by the sight. As he continues walking, he feels a slight resistance when he takes a step. Before he can voice he clipped a tripwire, the floor opens underneath, causing him to fall into the darkness. Elias and Marcus scream his name, but there voices quickly fade as the light fades from above. Thadeus hits hard on a sloped floor, sliding further downwards into the depths.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Investigation, rolled +1)
Elias and Marcus move deeper into the service wing while Thadeus slows, studying shelves built into the walls. Rows of glass jars hold dark gray liquid and strange preserved specimens.
Exotic flowers, mineral fragments, and unsettling nonhuman remains float beneath the murky surfaces. The bitter chemical smell thickens, and the sealed cabinets click softly behind him.
Thadeus Jovanović
The jars are arranged like a laboratory inventory, not a collection.
Ahead, Elias keeps Marcus close beneath the plaque for the alchemical laboratory. Their footsteps recede as Thadeus resumes walking, his attention still drawn toward the shelves.
A slight resistance catches beneath his boot. Before he can warn Elias, a concealed tripwire snaps taut and the floor opens beneath him.
Elias
Thadeus!
Elias and Marcus shout his name, but their voices fade with the shrinking light above. Thadeus strikes a sloped floor hard and slides downward into the darkness.
“Attempting to slow his descent, Thadeus concentrates on Peacebringer, manipulating its form into a flat shield, and placing it below feet. Peacebringer pushes up towards Thadeus, slowing until both stop in midair. Having stopped falling, Thadeus looks downward towards the opening of this trapdoor, seeing the purple underground cavern he saw the Tall Figure fall into when the torture room crumbled away.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Peacebringer flattens beneath Thadeus’s boots, glowing blue as a shield. It pushes upward against his falling weight, slowing the descent until he hangs motionless in the dark.
The abrupt stop wrenches his injured shoulder and drains a visible pulse of light from the artifact. The trapdoor’s opening remains far above, shrinking into a dim rectangle.
Thadeus Jovanović
The purple cavern is below me.
Thadeus looks downward. Violet light reveals the underground cavern, its glowing creek winding through the depths exactly where the Tall Figure disappeared when the torture chamber collapsed.
Elias
Thadeus! Are you alive? I can see the glow, but I cannot reach you from here.
Dust drifts through the shaft around Thadeus. Peacebringer holds him securely in midair, its shield form steady beneath his feet while faint ripples move across the cavern water.
Marcus Thorne
The passage is still open above us. We will find another way down, or bring you back up.
“Thadeus yells up to Elias and Marcus, "I'm alright! I don't have enough control to have Peacebringer float us up. We'll have to split up for now. Elias, you keep looking for Sally. I'll find another way up." Elias protests, but gives in, not seeing another solution. Thadeus warns them to watch for any additional traps. Elias and Marcus continue through the alchemy lab above. Thadeus slows his breathing, and concentrates his energy back to Peacebringer, having it slowly float him down the cavern below. He lands safely at the ground, next to a handful of stalagmites. To his right, he sees the glowing creek. The air is heavy and acrid. Thadeus doesn't want to spend long down here, fearing what other creatures might be down here.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Thadeus Jovanović
I'm alright! I don't have enough control to have Peacebringer float us up. We'll have to split up for now. Elias, keep looking for Sally. I'll find another way up. Watch for any additional traps.
Elias
No. Splitting up in this castle is exactly what it wants. But I do not see another solution from here.
Elias grips the Holy Cross and guides Marcus farther through the service wing. They move cautiously beneath the laboratory plaque, testing each step and avoiding the sealed cabinets.
Marcus Thorne
We will watch the floor and the walls. Find your way back to us, Thadeus.
Their footsteps fade above. Thadeus slows his breathing, then feeds his energy into Peacebringer. The shield lowers him gradually through the shaft toward the violet cavern.
Peacebringer touches down safely beside a handful of stalagmites. To his right, the glowing creek winds through the cavern, casting unstable violet light across the wet stone.
Thadeus Jovanović
The air is heavy and acrid. I should not stay down here long.
“Thadeus picks up Peacebringer, leaving it in its current shield form to protect himself. As he's walking, he observe the skeletal remains of small fish swimming in the water, as if they were alive. He carefully avoids stepping in the water, in case the acrid smell is coming from the creek itself. Walking further down the cavern, he comes the remains of a long dead British soldier. The uniform on its frame makes Thadeus think it's likely from World War I. Next to the skeleton is an old revolver. Thadeus examines it. He checks the cylinder for rounds and sees it is fully loaded with 6 bullets. He emotes the cylinder and dry fires, seeing the hammer drop without issue. He reloads the weapon, and finds an additional dozen rounds on the soldier. Thadeus tucks the revolver into his belt, thinking he can have give it to Marcus or Sally for defense once he finds a way out.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Investigation, rolled -3)
“Thadeus picks up Peacebringer, leaving it in its current shield form to protect himself. As he's walking, he observe the skeletal remains of small fish swimming in the water, as if they were alive. He carefully avoids stepping in the water, in case the acrid smell is coming from the creek itself. Walking further down the cavern, he comes the remains of a long dead British soldier. The uniform on its frame makes Thadeus think it's likely from World War I. Next to the skeleton is an old revolver. Thadeus examines it. He checks the cylinder for rounds and sees it is fully loaded with 6 bullets. He emotes the cylinder and dry fires, seeing the hammer drop without issue. He reloads the weapon, and finds an additional dozen rounds on the soldier. Thadeus tucks the revolver into his belt, thinking he can have give it to Marcus or Sally for defense once he finds a way out.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Investigation, rolled +2)
Thadeus lifts Peacebringer in its shield form and keeps it beneath his feet as he walks along the cavern wall, avoiding the glowing creek.
Small skeletal fish drift through the violet water, swimming in slow circles as though alive. The acrid air grows sharper near the creek, so Thadeus never steps into it.
Thadeus Jovanović
The water may be causing the smell.
Farther down, the shield reveals the remains of a long-dead British soldier, an adult man reduced to a broad, weathered human skeleton in a torn khaki uniform sprawled beside the cavern wall. The tattered uniform suggests World War I, though damp and mineral stains obscure its insignia.
An old revolver rests beside the skeleton. Thadeus examines it carefully, checks the cylinder, and finds all six chambers loaded. He cocks and dry-fires it, watching the hammer drop cleanly.
He reloads the revolver and searches the soldier’s belongings, finding another dozen rounds. Thadeus tucks the weapon into his belt, preserving it for Marcus or Sally’s defense once he reaches them.
+ New Item Acquired
Old Revolver
+ New Item Acquired
Revolver Ammunition
“In the distance, Thadeus sees several large black vampire bats flying from one stalagtite to another, almost as if they are patrolling the caverns below. As he walks further, Thadeus catches a glimpse of something on a nearby wall. Thadeus finds a faded ankh symbol in stone face, with a small hole below it. On a whim, Thadeus puts his fist up to the small opening, inserting the ankh ring into the gap. As he does, he hears a click below him, and the stone face in front of him slides into the ground, revealing a stone stairwell leading upwards. Thadeus concentrates on Peacebringer again, transforming it into its sword form, and slowly walks up the stairwell, unaware of what waits him above.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Investigation, rolled +2)
Several large black vampire bats pass through the violet gloom, flying from one stalactite to another in deliberate patterns, as though patrolling the cavern.
Thadeus follows the cavern wall and catches sight of a faded ankh carved into the stone. A small circular opening sits directly beneath it.
He raises his hand and fits the ankh ring into the opening. Somewhere below his boots, a mechanism clicks, followed by grinding stone.
The carved stone face slides down into the floor, revealing a narrow stairwell climbing into darkness. Dust spills from the newly opened passage.
Thadeus Jovanović
The stairway leads upward.
Thadeus concentrates on Peacebringer. Its shield form contracts into a glowing sword, blue light edging the steps as he begins the careful ascent.
The stairwell closes around him, leaving the bats and creek below. Above, unseen stone carries a faint draft and the distant suggestion of movement.