Dungeon Raiders: The Wolf's Den

[tuxgeo]

[OOC: How about this for everybody?
Bartleby leads because of high AC and willingness; Rejik follows with javelin; Sulannus in middle where low AC might not be too bad (but Ray of Frost might not have a clear shot at anything in front or rear because of cover); Tock next to last because his Protection might extend to someone next to him; and Aeiyan last because he has weaker AC and was wounded, but does have a good finesse weapon.

In his IC ramblings, Aeiyan did say, ". . . or else call me a fool and call me back." -- so we might want to decide that the others do just that, calling him back to take up the rear. Is this about what everyone has in mind? Does Su want to be away from the middle for her RoF to be more effective? /OOC]

 

[Shayuri]

(that order's probably fine...there's not much way for Su to not have a clear field of fire short of putting her first, which isn't really recommended )

(...though she IS immune to paralysis. Hm)

 

[Kobold Stew]

(...though she IS immune to paralysis. Hm)

Hm indeed!

 

[Jimmy Disco T]

Sounds good to me. Tock can take up second-to-last position.

 

[wedgeski]

OOC: I'm happy with Tux's suggestion. Sulannus may be immune to paralysis but she's not immune to having her throat bitten out.

 

[Li Shenron]

[OoC: you are doing a great job at planning ahead, but don't stress too much... you've already wounded the ghouls and I'm not sure how long they'll last ]

 

[tuxgeo]

[OOC: So, if we're all in agreement, then let's go with that. KS said Bartleby-in-front in post #329, Sh said order is fine in post #332, JDT said OK in post #334, wedg said OK in post #335. If that's our marching order, then -- is it up to Bartleby to lead from the front, now? What happens when he leads the PCs in among the boulders?]

 

[Kobold Stew]

Let's find out! That dwarf ran in there ages ago...

 

[Li Shenron]

The adventurers venture into the maze of boulders, very careful with every step they take, and with utmost attention...

Cricrr, cracrr... you try to move silently, but cannot avoid the cracking under your feet, because you soon discover that among the rubble and the dirt, the floor is covered in bones. The smell of death is strongest here, until in the middle of a slightly larger space, you stumble upon two almost whole but definitely not intact corpses, not older than a week, one human and one hobgoblin by your best guess. They clearly have been on the ghouls' menus for a few meals already.

Every now and then, you can hear the hissing and gnarling of the ghouls in nearby tunnels. At one instant, the shadow of one of them seem to run past a side opening, and Tock instinctively tries to take a strike against it, but hits only the air. As you advance through the maze, you get the feeling the ghouls are keeping an eye on you but avoiding contact, and kind of going back in the opposite direction.

Among the scattered filth, you occasionally get a glimpse of something shiny: coins, cheap jewelry, and even a fine piece of silver, probably a pendant of sort. Of course, you take care of picking up anything that looks valuable.

At some point, you reach the end of the maze, and you find yourself in a relatively enlarged area, in front of two grim stacks of stuff, which at second sight reveals themselves to be some sort of large chairs or thrones, facing each other and built by intertwining bones with scraps of black silk, with a few skulls decorating the tops. In the middle of the seats, a small rudimentary table (essentially, a small stone lab, simply standing on a few more stones beneath) has a few more small shiny items on it, arranged in a regular pattern.

Next to the grim sculptures, you notice that part of the wall near the floor isn't made of natural rock but of old dark bricks, some of which have been removed, and there is now an opening large enough for someone or something to crawl through...

...what's your next move?

 

[Kobold Stew]

(so essentially there's a room with two exits, the one we're doing from and the hole in the floor? Assuming that...)

Bartleby advances cautiously into the opening, gazing at the monumental statues.

His instinct is to proceed immediately to the hole in the floor.

"I'll cover this; someone else watch our back... we don't want to see more of those ghouls, except on terms we choose!"

He advances cautiously, reading himself to strike at anything that should emerge from the hole.