BrOp's Age of Worms Adventure Path: The Whispering Cairn (IC)

PART I: THE WHISPERING CAIRN

It had been a quiet night at the Feral Dog. Only two fights, and both had been resolved without the spilling of blood. Kullen, the enormous albino half-orc had quickly put an end to both of them, simply by grabbing the combatants and throwing them out the back door. He didn't own the Feral Dog, but as a well-known "associate" of Balabar Smenk's, the most powerful min manager in town, people gave him all the latitude he wanted. After Kullen dealt with both parties, things quieted down quite a bit.

What had brought you into the "Dog" to begin with was a woman, an elven woman to be exact. She and two companions from the City of Towers had come to town yesterday, and the rumor mill had not stopped spinning since. All were dressed impeccably in the latest fashions Skyway had to offer, and obviously had money to spend. They claimed they were “adventurers,” a term which had caught on since the end of the war and generally described wealthy, homicidal maniacs who thought it a hoot to go traipsing among the ruins of ancient Dhaakhan.

When first asked, Tirra, the elven woman, had volunteered that they were in Diamond Lake to explore Stirgenest Cairn, an ancient series of burial crypts located on the far shore of the lake. Most of those who had heard her had simply shrugged, knowing little about the vicinity around Diamond Lake except the mines and the town. Those of you who had grown up here knew that Stirgenest Cairn was a favorite place for young people to go test their courage, but that it contained little more than moldy bedrolls and wax paper wrappings. Why anyone, especially three capable adventurers from Sharn would be interested in that place was beyond you. Most likely they had been sold a forged map and a fake story of the Cairn, promising riches and glory.

Adventurers had been a more common sight in the past, but as it became more generally known that the burial sites in the area had been emptied generations ago, they stopped coming.

Because of this Tirra and her two human companions were an oddity here in town. The only other local elves were the mine director Ellival Moondmeadow and his few employees. In addition, Tirra seemed to be an excellent knife thrower, and happily challenged anyone to a game; few got even close to beating her.

While marveling at the strange beauty and obvious skill of the elf woman, Pak, a young changeling man had come rushing into the Dog, weaving his way through a small group of miners who were heading over to the dog-fighting ring, and with great enthusiasm had begged all of you to follow him. Reluctant to leave Tirra’s presence, you had baulked at first, but Pak eventually convinced you; after all, there was no end to the mischief this young changeling could get himself into, and it generally was fairly entertaining.

Once out of the Feral Dog, and a good way down the Vein, Pak had ducked into an alleyway behind a dilapidated boarding house, and informed you that he had come into possession of a very special map. This map had been drafted about 70 years ago and detailed the location of a now-abandoned iron mine plot located within a half-day’s journey of Diamond Lake. What Pak had been so excited about, however, is that it also noted the location of the “Whispering Cairn.” None of you had ever heard of this place, and you wondered if there might be a chance of recovering some ancient, and potentially profitable artifacts from it. All of you had fallen on hard times as of late, and a source of income sounded good to all of you.

The more cautious of you had noted that if the Whispering Cairn were indeed still wholly unexplored, there might be various active traps and defenses. It was decided to gather others to help in this investigation.

After rounding up a few friends and friends of friends, you purchased some necessary supplies for the endeavor and headed out in the predawn of the fifth of Dravago. You took lunch at an abandoned mine office located 10 minutes west of the Whispering Cairn, and then proceeded to the entrance. Thanking the makers of the old map, you quickly found the entrance to the cairn, a wide monolith-lined portal partially obscured by underbrush and boulders.

The entrance itself is 20 ft. wide. Looking inside you can see an equally-wide passage stretching straight ahead into the side of the hill. The day is already hot and humid, and you look forward to the relative cool of the cairn.

OOC: At this point I need a marching order for both a 20 ft. passage and a 10 ft. passage. To speed this process, why doesn’t somebody make a suggestion, which other people can then comment on. I’m sure you’d rather be exploring the Cairn!

Rial, human warlock

"So, are you ready to become wealthy homicidal maniacs?" says Rial, who´s rummaging into his sack. He finds a torch and lights it, raising the flame over his head to get a good sight of what´s inside the old tomb, once the boulders and bushes are cleared.

[ooc: see the ooc thread for a suggested march order]

The idea of adventure and treasure....something that Pak has dreamed of all his life. Like gnomes to information, Pak is to adventuring life with a craving that can only be described as lust. or greed, possibly but mostly the other.

Pak can hardly contain himself. A tear starts to form and slide down his cheek. He hugs the 70 year old map. After kissing the old map, he looks at everyone a bit flushed and embarassed "That" pointing to the cairn "is our ticket out of this hellhole, good for nothing pissbucket of a town. No more wondering when my next meal is gonna be, no sir! Not anymore. That is our stepping stone to adventure and glorious wealth. I know you all want these things. To be talked about long after we are gone. Stick with me, and we'll be so bloody famous that it will be an affront to the gods themselves!"

As you look into Pak's eyes, there is a sort of fire in them. Not an actual flame, but some sort of excitement, and drive. It is clear that he wants this more than anything, which is probably why he begged some of you to accompany him.

"Why homicidal?" Meldain asks, ignoring the wealthy and maniac parts of Rial's question. "I don't think there'll be many humans or the like down there." Meldain literally beams during Pak's speech. "I hope it's filled with gold. Fame can come later, as long as it comes. And, of course it'll come."

Change is good. I like this movement.

Kellian looks around all his companions. He nods grimly. "This place smells wrong to me. Be wary my friends. Be wary and be strong." He pats the heft of his axe idly.

"Bah, Kell, it's just different. You'll never get anywhere if you don't try something new." Zan looks down into the Cairn and grins. This is what he needs to put his magic to the test. No more of this theoretical crap.

Rolling his eyes at the youthful enthusiasm of Pak, Fixit turns to Meldain "No need to encourage him" he says, already exasperated at the way the children are behaving "This could be dangerous and some of us may not return to tell the tale - are you all sure we should be doing this? He looks over at Pak and winks "And in any case, fame and fortune, I do not crave these things, knowledge is the treasure that I seek." Fixit adjusts his equipment, ensuring that all is tightly secured, and peers around the area trying to assess whether there are any immediate dangers

[sblock]Spot checks while waiting for the lead PC to take their first steps into the cairn[/sblock]

Mulch listens to Pak's soliliquy, and has a hard time biting back a laugh. He fails alltogether when Fixit chimes in as well. "I think you will both be disappointed. I'm sure any treasure that used to be in here has been cleared out long ago. There aren't anymore untouched crypts near the mines, certainly not one that's on any maps. I think the biggest danger we have to worry about is Meladain wetting himself from fear of the dark." Mulch's whole body shakes with mirth as he knows that one will really rile the young lad up.

Despite his pessimesm as to the outcome of their treasure hunt, Mulch was definitely looking forward to the jaunt. Although in many ways he was more gnome than dwarf, one instinct that he had never lost was a love for the underground. Plus, he knew that without him, the group would undoubtedly get lost. Truly, the biggest danger he suspected was running in to some bandits on the way there or back, not that they had anything to steal. But whatever the outcome, he was determined to enjoy every minute of it.

"We shall see dwarf, we shall see." retorts Pak.