Bendefig Chroesgad

[TheWordSlinger]

So if we fall, we're fine. 

[Stratovarius]

Not what I meant, actually.

[TheWordSlinger]

There could be entrances below, then?

[Rufei]

I have the sudden urge to bust through the wall.

How high is the window? I'd assume higher than the 50' we have, since it states that the window's at the tower's peak.

Still rather fond of just busting the wall down. I've had enough of those buried-beneath-snow experiences.

[TheWordSlinger]

Canere notes Ira gripping the hilt of her katana and looking at the wall directly in front of them. He smiles at his friend's simple plan, the shortest path... If you're wating to smash through the wall, Ira. Be my guest.

Hope you don't mid the liberties I took, Rufei.

[Shadowhunter]

"Just don't repeat that stunt you pulled with the Bugbear tower, alright? I mean, sure they were shootin' at us, but they couldn't hit a barn even if they stood in it. But you didn't need to cleave the central pillar and bring the whole dang thing down on us. Or me, rather. Well, serves me right for advancing up the stairs when I have a friend with anger management issues."
Caden winks, then stretches his arms a bit, swinging his upper body to and fro, to keep him becoming too stiff.

I hope you don't mind me taking liberties in inventing our common past

[Rufei]

Ira's mouth widened to a grin.

"Ah, you make it seem as though I'm some kind of brute."

She began to pull back, gripping the katana in both of her hands. The leathery grip tightened, the anticipation of the blow growing as she carefully placed her aim, before she finally let loose, steel grinding against stone. With a strained voice, she retorted.

"...just a little impatient, that's all."

The first hit does Damage, PA +3(x2) (1d10+4+6=14). If nothing else happens, Ira continues swinging at the wall with full rnd actions at the same Power Attack until it grinds to dust. And each hit will do at least some damage, unless if the walls are made of mythril or adamantium. Stone hardness is 8, HP is 15/1". Masonry Wall (1') is apparently 80 HP, Hewn Stone (3') is 540 HP, both at the same hardness (8...). So it'll take some time, but we'll be through the wall eventually.

And I am not wasting any ferocity on this unless if we are limited on time (the difference being a few rounds).

[Stratovarius]

It's a hewn stone wall, this is a fairly tall and well built tower. How long would it take you to cut a hole through which all three of you could fit?

[Rufei]

Heh. Depends.

Assuming average damage, it'll take 7.2 mins to whittle through 1 "section" of 3' of hewn stone wall. I'm not sure what you're defining as a section, whether it be a 1"x1" cross-section or it be a 5'x5' cross-section. If it's the former, we need 5'x5' of the actual deal (which is absurd, seeing as it's our result in hours... halved if everyone can magically make a DC 30 Escape Artist check to squeeze through a 2.5'x2.5' cross-section... no idea why the DC is so high for that). If we have some singing involved, assuming a +1 to damage, we'd be at 6.353 mins.

So the results: 7.2 mins if the area that I'm striking is 5'x5'x3', 7.2 hours if the area that I'm striking is 1"x1"x3'... and has 540 HP o_O. 6.353 mins/hours if we have some singing. And of course, less if I get a bigger weapon/buffed/whatnot. Again, these values are halved if we can somehow make that DC 30 Escape Artist check.

I fail to see how a stone block of 1"x1"x3' has 540 HP though. I'd be frightened if I ever saw a stone block like that. Besides, we're not trying to grind the stone into dust, we're just trying to get through.

The minutes options are roughly the same as an attempt at melting snow to get under and giving ourselves a way out (so no 10'+ holes in the snow, seeing as we can't exactly jump that high).

[Stratovarius]

After much chopping and hacking at the resilient stone wall, a small hole, yet large enough for them to look and crawl through, has been hewn in the stone. Ira, arms exhausted, slumps to the ground for a moment, gesturing to her friends to step forward and look into the chamber ahead. With a glance at one another, first Caden, then Canere, peer into the dimness of the room beyond the wall. The light is dim, and shadows shroud much of the further reaches, yet it appears to be a room well appointed, chairs and benches and desks preserved by the chill air of the mountains, and even some parchment scrolls, tucked into a shelf upon the wall.

I'm making a stone golem out of hewn stone walls!

[Shadowhunter]

Deciding he rather be inside, Caden crawls through the hole, slumps to the ground, stands up and proceeds to dust of himself. Peering into the darkness, he calls out to his friends.
"Anyone got a torch I could ignite?
My vision ain't the best of us and I'd like to take a look around"
Standing aside so that his companions can come through, he slowly moves around the interior, looking around and taking notice of what's there.
Now this is more like it. Things to read, protection from the wind and less annoying bright sunlight glittering of all that snow. Now all we need is some food and then we'd practically be on vacation.

[TheWordSlinger]

Canere claps Ira on the shoulder, Well done. He then crawls after Caden, looking around to see what his aura reveals.

[Rufei]

Her arms burned, crying in dismay at the apparent invincibility of the wall. When the wall gave way, Ira collapsed onto the cold snow, steams of labored breath floating into the white abyss. She wished to help Caden, but her body cried foul. Canere's pat, however, strengthened her resolve, as the warrior found herself back on her feet. A quick glimpse of the steel flashed a mental note to sharpen the blade that night. With a quick, tidying swat of her hair and the clink of her sheathed sword, she crawled in behind the two, smiling with brow furled.

"Just like always, eh Canere?"

Ira laughed, letting her eyes adjust to the dim lighting of the chamber. She took a deep breath of respite, knowing that the stiff wind was not present within the tower.

What's the chamber look like situationally and where are the entrances/exits? Also, Strat, if that's the case we demand hewn stone golem cohorts.

Ira doesn't have a torch on her. She does attempt to look around, as much good as that's going to do: Spot... again. (1d20-4=5) So 50' of vision for stuff that's not hidden. Should be good for a chamber, right?

[Stratovarius]

There are perhaps twenty scrolls, one even lying open and untouched upon the desk, faded and brittle. A portrait sits upon the wall, and a stern and grim man stares down from it, his eyes seemingly fixed upon the seat afore the desk in the room, a disapproving patron of study. There is a small cot in an alcove, the bedding rotten. Otherwise, the room appears much as it did from the outside.

Tucked in the far corner, a small wooden door lays flush against the stone, swollen with age and moisture to fill the frame. It likely leads out to a staircase.

[Shadowhunter]

Caden goes up to the portrait, trying to see who it resembles in the dim light.
"Well then. Who might this be?"As he reflects upon the portrait, his attention is drawn towards the pieces of parchment/paper.
Hrrm. I wonder, could anyone of those be...He walks up to the scrolls and begins muttering arcane words in Draconic and gestures with precise movements.

First, Knowledge (history) if it's applicable to the portrait. 22 (18+4 ranks)
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1923854/
If I should have rolled (arcane/the planes) instead, my modifier is the same so by all means take that 22.

I'm casting Magic Insight to see if anyone of those scrolls are magical. If I get a response, I'll continue to study it the appropriate amount of time (i.e two more rounds) to see what kind of magic it radiates. If I get nothing from the scrolls, I'll keep sweeping over the room, to see if anything is magical.

[TheWordSlinger]

Canere grins as he looks around the room. We finally made it. He begins looking over the scrolls, starting with the one that lies open on the desk.

[Stratovarius]

The scrolls are not magical, just ancient. Likewise, the portrait on the wall is too old and damaged to contain much of truly recognizable interest. It is a very old style portrait, in thick formalwear, seated upon a large chair, and probably of a mage, or something with robes and a sceptre.

[Rufei]

Ira gazed at the room in slight amazement. It wasn't that the furniture was deathly old, or that the subject of the portrait was interesting, but that the tower was still very much intact. If they had to begin their plan somewhere, why not here?

She turned to the others, thoughtfully grinning.

"Canere, Caden. If we were to get followers, would we not need a place to shelter them?"

She wandered over to the door, tugging on the handle. Noting the swelling, she gave the door a swift kick, bursting it open.

So I'm thinking that if the tower's clear, we can make it our base of operations. There might be (dysfunctional) magic portals located somewhere, not to mention we could dig out through the permafrost (I'd assume it's permafrost up there) and get to some of the houses. We'd just have to maintain the portals, I'd guess.

But the idea of a floating ice fortress is just too good to pass up.

Also, I took some liberties with the door. Assuming it's a simple door, it's a DC 13 for bursting it open with a Str check, which is taking 10. Otherwise, Ira takes 20, which allows me to do everything but bend iron bars.

[TheWordSlinger]

The sound of wood snapping pulls Canere out of his studious trance over the scroll.
Yes, I was thinking much the same thing, Ira. Canere replies, once his ears have updated his brain as to the conversation it missed, provided we can get these ruins up and running. They'll not only be a great fortress, but also a great tool for recruitment.
Canere's gaze slips back to the scrolls, attempting to read them.
Maybe I should have paid more attention to Ludo's advice about ancient scripts.

Rufei, your avatar's freaking me out.

[Stratovarius]

Beyond the door lies a narrow spiral staircase, large enough for only one person. It continues both up towards the top level of the tower, and down into the darkness. No light seeps though the walls, simply what comes from the open doorway.

The scrolls before Canere's eyes are pale with age, and written in a language unlike any he has seen before. It appears to have no resemblance to those written subjects that he had studied in the towns before he left, but perhaps, with time, he can crack the language of the scrolls.