A series of random D&D adventures: A Dark and Stormy Knight
 

The sky had been slowly darkening all day, and the smell or rain has been thick in the air. Now it has finally begun to fall, accompanied by loud peals of thunder that seem to roll across the landscape. The sun is hidden behind massive stormclouds, and a cold wind blows from the north. As bolts of lightning begain to slam from cloud to ground and pieces of hail begin to strike the earth, the need for shelter becomes obvious.

Ahead in the distance, a large tor rises from the ground, its form illuminated by the occasional lightning bolt. It seems rocky and solid, and though climbing it in this weather would be folly, it might have some outcropping that would provide safety from the storm. The only alternative is to endure the weather.

(ooc: No need to start as a group really. Oh and everyone that wants to make a knowledge check, pretty much any type of knowledge(bardic, architecture and engineering, dungeoneering, local, history, or nobility and royalty will do). Also, you can generally start headed to/from any direction you want. Remeber you can use this site to roll just make sure you e-mail the result to sithdarth@gmail.com)

"Ah man, it feels good to be out in a storm again." Draonor said to obviously no one, as he walked along, enjoying the brisk winds and the storming hell above. To those that were smart about religion, it was clear he was under Talos.

Of course, it was the hail that annoyed him. "Bloody frozen rocks." He muttered as he felt one hit his arm. He looked on ahead and saw the large tor jetting from the ground. "Well, as much as I like gettting pelted, I'ma grab some shelter." Of course, this talking to himself would probably make him seem crazy as he walked towards his destination in a faster pace than he was going.

Zane had been wandering around the woods for most of the day. Originally he had thought the storm would blow itself out before it got to him. Unfortunately for Zane he had been very wrong. As the hail began to fall Zane unfolded his leathery wings and used them to shield his head. In the distance he spotted the tor and headed for it in hopes of finding some sort of shelter.

Sol stumbled through the pouring rain, his feet sliping occasionly on the muddy ground. He had seen the tor iluminated against the black sky by lightning a short time ago, and now he was almost there. He blinked the rain out of his eyes as he tried to study it for a moment, but there wasn't enough light. As he looked around for an entrance he sliped again, just keeping his balance. He swore loudly, though the rain and wind stole the words from the air before even he heard them.
Muttering, he headed for what looked like a way in.

(For those of you when you get close enough to the tor.)

The massive tor towers above the surrounding country. A few narrow ledges offer scant protection from the elements, but a closer inspection reveals a massive, arched entryway at least 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide, set into the side of the hill. The ground just outside it slopes away from the doorway, directing the falling water out and away. Given this fact and the sturdy nature of the hill, whatever space lies beyond the door should be both dry and safe from lightning and hail. The construction seems quite sturdy, so the likelihood of collapse, even in severe conditions such as these, is remote.

(You may make any spot or search checks at the entry way you want.)

(For when you wish to enter.)

The door is heavy but well counterweighted. It is unlocked and opens easily, and it swings shut of its own accord unless propped open. The stone chamber beyond the entrance measures at least ten paces square. Peeling paint and broken scrollwork suggest that it was once decorated with some care, but now only dust remains. Three massive stone doors-one each to the left and right, and one directly across from the entrance-lead deeper into the tor. Each of the three doors is locked securely.

Draonor was the first to reach the tor, and he approached the archway without care. "Well, looks like it will hold together at least. I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad though." Draonor continued on and on to himself. After glancing around and not noticing anything, he pushed the door and stepped in.

"Kinda dusty." Draonor thought as he walked in, letting the door shut on its own accord. He tried each door, finding them all locked. "Hmmm, going to have to find a way to open the door." He thought as he stepped back and looked at the doors. The thought of smashing them open came up, but was quickly put down since the doors were stone.

The Paladin had reached the tor finally. He smiled looking at the structure. "It would appear the good lord has smiled on his humble servant". Although his eyes had noticed Draonor his attention was more focused on the faded designs of the walls. Before he wished to travel further, he must see if there was an evil presence in the area.

(ooc: so in other words, using spot evil)

(To Aerozord)
A general aura of taint surronds the entire tor. Not entirely unexpected as these large hills were often used to house the dead, and that usually meant the undead at some point. While not exactly unusual caution was probably due anyways. At least he knew the person he had seen entering wasn't evil.

(Now onto me)
Zane approached the tor slowly still shielding himself with his wings. After a quick scan of the area he spotted Gabriel as well as a giant stone torn in two. The stone was scorched in such a manner as to suggest that a bolt of lightning had blasted it apart and thrown in some distance. It may once have blocked the entrance to the tor but no longer. Zane shouted a quick greeting to the man as he rushed past and into the tor. He wasn't one for standing out in the weather and talking.

Siyamak pulled his dark, royal purple cloak more tightly around him as he trudged through the ever-thickening mire. He half-heartedly thought of how new and clean his sleek, green-black boots had been when he bought them as he pulled them out of the foul muck with a sickening slurp.

Here and there the sky seemed to rip open in a torrent of light and sound that cut through the dense sheets of rain and shook the ground. Unsettling as it was, this was how Siyamak noticed the high hill and the man who stood atop it.

"A barrow...", Siyamak thought grimly as something piqued in the back of his memory. Something from the old religious tomes of his youth... or what there was of one.

Siyamak pushed his way up the hill, concerned for shelter and for what exactly this tor was. At the top, he looked it over, blinking through the flowing curtain that obscured his view like a sparkling miasma.

After a moment of checking his memory, everything snapped into focus. This was Hightower, a remnant of an old civilization and an old, fortified raiding position.

"I could've sworn this was sealed off...", Siyamak whispered in a grim, barely audible voice.

The rest of the world rushed back into focus a moment later and Siyamak's mind returned to the somewhat somber looking man who stood nearby, his eyes distant with concentration.

"Ah..." Siyamak mused, slightly louder than before, "could it be some company to fend off boredom... or... perhaps something yet worse..." He moved as swiftly as the ground and the wind would allow -- though more than before as the rocks weren't mud and the tor deflected some of the dirge-like, bitter-cold wind -- and took a place at the front door. He pushed and the monolithic door slid quietly open.

Pacing forward swiftly into the dry area, Siyamak turned and held the door open as well as he could for the man who yet stood outside. "Come, won't you?" he asked almost cheerfully, "Surely there are more important things than catching your death in the storm outside?"

"Hmmm?" Draonor mumbled as he turned towards the man that entered. Draconic wings eh? Draonor thought as he watched the newly entered man. "I see you wanted to get out of this weather too." Draonor said, trying to be friendly. Though before he could respond, he saw Siyamak opening the door, offering for others to come in. "Looks like we are about to get a lot of company."