So as the day passes by and the night does approach the mystery door is finally revealed. Now they know where it is at but as yet they can not even try to open it. This most magical door must be checked out to the best of their abilities, for both mechanical as well as magical traps. Ulthok as the teams only rouge will begin the inspection.

Going through his pack the little thief gets out all of the tools of the trade he has and approaching the door with cation he slowly looks it up and down. He then makes the decision to to use some magic at first. Standing back from the door he prepares to cast his spell. Facing the door he speaks the words of magic, “Rood siht nopu tneserp si taht cigam lla dna yna eno elbmuh siht wohs. Cigam dna erutan fo secrof eht lortnoc ohw esoht.” As he completes the verbal for the spell he waves his hands over the door and waits to see what he can from his Detect Magic spell. He wants to see how much magic and how strong it may be that covers this door.

"Spoil sport," Cynil replies, swinging her back pack unto her back and taking up he staff. While the others wait as Ulthok checks the door, Cynil checks on her pepper balls in one of her belt pouches and then gathers up in likely stones and rocks for her sling.

When that is done, she turns and looks off into the forest below, seeming to drink it all in as would those who knew that they would be thristy later on and filled themselves while they could.

She took a deep breath savorying the smells, and allowing her eyes to sweep in the sight of the forest. She would miss them in the mounttain. She shuddered ever sao slightly. The thought of being underground was daunting and she kept her fears to herself. She had no idea how she would handle not seeing the sky, and not smelling to scents of life in the open.

Rayne too was out of her element when dealing with this man-made construction on the side of the mountain. Even so, she had a good brain that she could put to use to help the others more skilled than she in these matters.

There was still the possibility of a back door somewhere. There had to be but the problem was where. It could be anywhere and most likely far away form this place as possible. Certainly out of sight of this door so that defenders might creep out to attack those who came here. and then duck back into their safe hidey hole.

"It is too early to say we might fail getting in this way but I just want to say there must be one or more back doors into this place."

"Please is you will continue with your tales of your homeland. It sounds very different from the ones I know though I imagine there is much in common in ordinaty things of life. I you are tires I will tell you about my people, we will share our knowledge and thus both be enriched." Rayne said to Kenji.
Kenji smiled slightly and sat down cross-legged by the fire and told Rayne of some of the things about his homeland. He spoke of the Samurai, the peasants, the artisans, the Emperor and all the various castes of his society. How each had their own level of respect from those beneath them. In his voice was some tension when he spoke of how the peasants, the lowest caste, were treated little better than animals. It sounded as if he did not agree with the way things were but was helpless to change them.

His stories, related while others talked of ways to find the doors, and future plans, rolled out of him and eventually he stopped. He painted a grim picture of a very feudal system were all people were segregated into their own little niches and each had their own expectations of what respect they should receive and give to those above them.

When he was done, he listened intently to her talk of the elves, and she could see some amazement in his eyes at things she related to him about her people. He seemed to truly respect the elves as great warriors and a honorable people.

Kenji had overheard most of what had been said about attempting to locate the means of opening the hidden doorway, but he had nothing to add. These magics were beyond him as he was a simple warrior and there was much he didn’t understand. While the others worked at the doorway, he restocked some wood on the fire and broke out the last of the two venison loins and putting them on spits began to roast them over the fire. He knew they would be going underground soon and didn’t know if they would be able to light a fire in the near future so thought it best to cook these up now.

After the loins were cooked to a medium rare state he took them off and sliced them thinly for easier eating later. Wrapping the sliced stacks into several bundles, he let them cool some then put them away again. Unrolling his bed he decided to rest and waited for the morrow to come so they could continue their quest, that is if anyone found a way to open that door. He would stand whatever watch he was awakened for and as always kept his Katana close at hand incase of trouble in the night.

Cor fell asleep and soon began to dream. At first his mind wandered in many directions and there was no rhyme or reason to his dream; only swirling bits of colors and shapes. After a bit the shapes began to form into a more recognizable pattern. Soon he saw clearly a half human/half dragon creature who kept muttering "puppies, I want puppies". After a time the creature lept into a whirling column of blades and was torn to shreds. Cor woke with a start. What his dream meant he had no clue but somehow he sensed they might not be the first group to pass the magic door.

Full night had fallen and though the door was finally revealed, all knew that rest was needed. With a guard rotation set, the party slept and in so doing, spent a third day without much progress. With morning, risen Ulthok was ready to do his thing once more and with Dispel Magic cast first was working on finding any hidden traps.

An hour turned to two then two became three and to the thief’s amazement not a single trap did he find. Turning to the party, who had watched him, ready for anything, he told them of his finding nothing in the way of traps or a way to open the door before them.

Althena herself not sure what to do sat quietly and watched Ulthok at his task, the halfling thief so meticulous, so careful and as the others was surprised when he announced no traps to be found. In a little burst of frustration she got up to see for herself and to ask Ulthok to try again knowing there had to be someway in.

With her approach towards the halfling, who still stood before the door, all could see it seem to change becoming more pronounced and real. In its center now could be seen the impression of a large five fingered hand. Conall thinking fast halted Althena where she stood and nodded to Ulthok to check once again.

Ulthok, once again the careful thief, examined the large inset impression and found nothing strange about it except for a small hole in the inset of the index finger. Once again, his search produced no traps and no changes other then what had already happened.

The party faced with yet a new wrinkle would have to decide again how to proceed.

(OOC: Ok good posting well as I promised I have decided on a new Althena and it will be Solvy. I have emailed my reason for it to all of you and I hope you will agree that she is the right choice to play Althena at this time. Ok N.P.N.W )

The night's rest came in fits and starts to Althena, with her lovers smiling face appearing as if to soothe her soul and promise -- something, but what? That vision would be replaced by something worrying, but as yet eluding definition. A memory of ... something ... once encountered, long ago? And that vision would be wiped, like a hand wipes chalk off a slate, to be replaced with yet another ghostly thought? ... a once-buried remembrance? who knew?

When the time came for her watch, she almost welcomed the respite of concentrating on the safety of the others. While she watched, she purposefully tried to keep her thoughts on the here-and-now, and away from the loss that would be a part of her for time to come. and she almost succeeded in that effort. Briefly, near the end of her watch, when she knew she would soon be asleep for a few more hours, Alasdair's face appeared as a flash in front of her, again smiling, but with a wistful hint of sadness behind the smile. She blinked and shook her head. No! She would not fall into the trap of self-indulgent pity for her own loss!

He was gone, for now. Having had a taste of what it is to love, with not only her body, but also with mind and soul, there now burned a fire in her that would not be quenched until she saw his lifeless body with her own eyes. And she knew that, as leader, he would expect of her even now what she had already proven capable of before his -- loss. This would be his wish, as she saw it. Not a legacy. That is for remembrance of the dead. She would remain adamant in her refusal of his death until faced with the indisputable truth of it. Now it was for her to remember in grace and gratitude the joy he brought to her, the love he brought forth from her. All of this in a brief flash of distraction, and she was herself again, guarding until relieved.

Morning came, with birdsong and breezes on the mountainside. Pleasant enough to enjoy, but the visions of the night -- all of them -- stayed with her as she rose in that slowly-brightening morning. She watched with the others as Ulthok beganhis ministrations to determine the safety of their entrance through this portal, if portal it was. Minutes turned to hours, and those hours passed as the ever-meticulous practitioner of the "liberating arts" continued his search. She had to admit to a bout of unreasoning aggravation when he announced finding nothing presenting a danger to the party. If that was true then ...

She quickly rose and strode toward the portal, addressing Ulthok as she approached, "Master Ulthok, I will question neither your veracity nor your skills, for your abilites are known to all here. Is it possible that there may be no danger to find? And if there is no danger to find, is it possible there must be something else to find? If so, then ...

Althena's speech stopped as abruptly as Conall's arm shot out to stop her in her tracks. The door, as she approached, began to become less vague, more defined, more detailed. One startling detail was that of a depression in the center of the door, a depression in the shape of a large, five-fingered hand.

(All within viewing range have to be seeing this,) she thought, (I cannot be the only one!)
But Conall's movement to stop her confirmed that she was, indeed, not the only one who had seen the change. And Conall then nodded for the halfling to continue his search, or renew it, at least. Ulthok, with his usual thoroughness, searched again and announced nothing untoward in evidence. He did, point out, however, a small hole in the area of the first finger after the thumb.

Althena had a sudden thought, (If not trapped then -- what? -- A check? A puzzle?). But she refrained from speaking aloud until she heard others spoke of what they had seen ...

Cor saw the depression in the door just as Connel stopped Althena from touching it. It semed the depression was of the same shape and size of Althena's hand. "Told ya it was a push door." Cor smiled and laughed just a bit. "Perhaps another should place their hand near the spot, not touching just near, and see if the depression appears. If not, it seems that the door has a favorite."

"Whoa," Divot blinked and backpeddaled a step or two, hauling his axe from its slings as he went, as the once featureless door came alive with detail at Althenia's approach, "wouldja lookit tha'!"

"Told ya it was a push door," Cor chortled after Connal had intercepted Althenia's hand just as it reached for the portal.

Divot snickered, too, at the Knight Cleric's little joke and relaxed his grip on the axe just a bit. "So ye did," the tunnelrat grinned mischievously, "whyn't ya go 'head an' push it, then?"

"Perhaps another should place their hand near the spot," Cor suggested, "not touching, just near, and see if the depression appears. If not, it seems that the door has a favorite."

Divot's eyes skimmed quickly from face to face and, at the moment, it didn't appear to him that there were any too very eager to put their hands near the door. "Mmmm," the scrappy little halfling deliberated for an instant before offering a shrug and returning his axe to its slings, "Okay... I figger it beats the boots offa standin' here scratchin' me arse whilst I wait fer the thing ta pop open on its own, eh?"

The tunnelrat approached the door and started to lift his hand towards the thing, then stopped and withdrew it suddenly as if he had just put it too close to a fire and wasn't expecting the flame to burn... "But," he said, grinning from ear to ear even though there was a look of deadly seriousness in his eye as he winked at Cor, "If this theng kills me an' ye cannae convince Thor ta bring me back, friend Cor, I'm kickin' yer arse when we get ta hell."

He offered the Kinght Cleric a wink, took a deep breath, and returned his attentions to the door... lifting his hand slowly, tentatively towards the center of the panel...


((OOC: Haha! What the heck, Divot'll play guinea pig and do as Cor suggests, placing his hand near but not quite on the door... he'll also be keeping a keen eye peeled for anything else that might look out of place on the door as he does so.))

"If I cannot bring ya back I certainly will visit ya in Hell. Odin knows both Connel and I have pledged to be in the area soon enough anyway. Course we do have to sneak in lest we be mistaken for the new owners."

To Ulthok it seems like he spends the next couple of hours giving the door everything he has and he could not find a thing the door seemed to be totally safe, which did seem to defy logic if this thing was ment to keep people out. However there are other ways to keep people away from or out of things, and it did seem that finding the door itself had been a kind of puzzle more than anything so maybe to open it they had to solve another puzzle.

Then as Althena approached the door with her hand out there suddenly appeared a imprint of a hand right in the middle of the door. Conall stopped Althena before she could actually touch the door, and Ulthok was asked to once again use his skills on the door. So he does and once again comes up empty except for finding a small hole in the inset of the index finger.

I'm afraid I can find nothing unusual about this door the only thing I see is a small hole in the inset of the index finger for what purpose I don't know. But I agree with Cor we should try placing different hands close to the door to see if anything changes, for I think we have another puzzle to solve here.
So when his brother Divot agrees to place his hand close to the door Ulthok takes up a position next to him and close enough to see if there are any changes in the door as Divot's hand draws near. Alright brother I will stand here and keep watch on this thing and if it reaches out to grab you I will try to stop it he laughs.So he keeps a close watch as Divot approaches the door.

“Yes Master Divot, in hell we will meet soon enough if all goes bad. But you are to ornery to die this day I think.” Conall said standing fast between the door and the lady Althena.

All breath seems to stop; all air seems to stand still. The birds of the land seem to stop in mid flight as all time stops as Divot moves closer to the door. All eyes seem to be looking at the door they so desperately sought after looking for any change.

"bbrrraaackkkk" Sorry, Kenji's cooking got me a wee bit backed up. Ohhh, gonna want to stand downwind of that one; might just eat thru the door."

Cor fanned the air to move the 'intersting' odor along.

Seeing Connal's look of less than approval he added, "What, you wanted me to hold that in? T'would be unhealthy to do such a thing."

Althena herself not sure what to do sat quietly and watched Ulthok at his task, the halfling thief so meticulous, so careful and as the others was surprised when he announced no traps to be found. In a little burst of frustration she got up to see for herself and to ask Ulthok to try again knowing there had to be someway in.

With her approach towards the halfling, who still stood before the door, all could see it seem to change becoming more pronounced and real. In its center now could be seen the impression of a large five fingered hand. Conall thinking fast halted Althena where she stood and nodded to Ulthok to check once again.

Ulthok, once again the careful thief, examined the large inset impression and found nothing strange about it except for a small hole in the inset of the index finger. Once again, his search produced no traps and no changes other then what had already happened.
Kenji rose early in the morning and set about securing his gear so that he would be ready to travel when or if they found a way through the secret door. As he hiked his pack upon his back he heard an exclamation of surprise come from those that crowded around examining the door. He looked and was surprised to see he large hand appear in the stone. He shook his head slightly, magic it would be of course. There appeared to be an abundance of it in this land.

Settling his pack in place he walked closer to watch, his hand staying near his Katana incase it was needed. It did not get too close, as he didn’t want to interfere with those who knew more about this kind of thing then did he. He simply watched and waited and listened as the other’s traded jibes and thoughts about the meaning of the hole in the one of the fingers.

He thought up it, and finally said something turning to face the Lady Althena, “Milady, is there anything you carry, that might have been given to you, that might fit into the hole and act as some type of key?”

Rayne contemplated the problem of the door and the sunken hand with the small hole near one finger. She could see it as a trap which well it might be something like a needle trap to inject a poison, but even as she thought that another idea flitted quickly through her mind as Kenji spoke of a "key" or something that might fit into that hole. She tracked it down mentally and examined it closely. It was a third possible explaination for the hole in the sunken hand.

"I would like to offer another possibility. Yes, it may be a trap and we could plug up the hole with something to prevent it, or it may be a key hole as Kenji suggested. . My thought, whether right or wrong, is that may be it is a device for testing who has come to open the door.

Rayne looks around at the others "Not that my third possibility helps us understand which one it is, but it must be considered."