Somewhere else...

[Binks]

The U-shaped cliff face abuts the large drainage basin with approximately 40 - 60 feet of shoreline clearance. Several cave openings pock the cliff face. Two in particular catch your eye. The first appears halfway down the face and would require either a climb down from the top or lowing the children onto a shallow balcony. It may have been, or be, a den of large avian predators. The second is at ground level, so accessible by earthbound creatures, but heavily, and artificially, obscured by manipulated, dense foliage. Your certain that this is, or was, occupied by creatures possessed of the cognitive capacity to expertly camouflage a den...possibly an ancient, makeshift lodge for big-game hunters.

Should something happen to me or delay my return, it would be preferable that the children have the ability to easily leave the cave on their own. The cave at ground level would be optimal. It would also allow easy access to the water stream and, perhaps, some wild fruit that is growing along the shorelines. I feel confident that my bear's presence will deter most, if not all, earthbound creatures that might call the cave home. If his presence doesn't do this, his bite most surely will.

Before I move all the younglings down to the cave, I must first ensure its immediate safety. By myself, I creep through the foliage to scout out the cave.

Let me know what I find within and I'll respond with further action once I know more.

 

[Manbearcat]

Before I move all the younglings down to the cave, I must first ensure its immediate safety. By myself, I creep through the foliage to scout out the cave.

Let me know what I find within and I'll respond with further action once I know more.

The cave has a hewn cathedral ceiling, possibly 15 feet high. Its width and depth are both roughly 25 * 25. Initial inspection seems to indicate that this is a dugout notched into the cliff face long ago. The immediate purpose is not clear. However, the most recent residents still occupy the cave. In the back there are a pair of skeletons in dusty, ancient brass armor, with wicker and brass shields and spears nearby. One skeleton is holding the head of the other in its lap. They both lie on a large bed of dried, scattered wolfsbane, the beautiful flowers having long given up their purple luster to the ages. Directly over the shoulder of the skeletal figure who cradles the prone remains is a message scrawled in charcoal. The language is archaic but it does seem to share some characters that you are familiar with. It will take further inspection to clarify.

Adjacent to the dead, a broken altar lies in ruins and a mostly shattered ceramic container with a dusty scroll spilled forth from its remnants. On a nearby wall there is a firepit vented by a natural chimney. A blackened crucible still hangs over the pit, the silver inside of it still curiously viscous rather than solid. A pot filled with long-hardened slag is within reach for the smelter.

 

[Binks]

The cave has a hewn cathedral ceiling, possibly 15 feet high. Its width and depth are both roughly 25 * 25. Initial inspection seems to indicate that this is a dugout notched into the cliff face long ago. The immediate purpose is not clear. However, the most recent residents still occupy the cave. In the back there are a pair of skeletons in dusty, ancient brass armor, with wicker and brass shields and spears nearby. One skeleton is holding the head of the other in its lap. They both lie on a large bed of dried, scattered wolfsbane, the beautiful flowers having long given up their purple luster to the ages. Directly over the shoulder of the skeletal figure who cradles the prone remains is a message scrawled in charcoal. The language is archaic but it does seem to share some characters that you are familiar with. It will take further inspection to clarify.

Adjacent to the dead, a broken altar lies in ruins and a mostly shattered ceramic container with a dusty scroll spilled forth from its remnants. On a nearby wall there is a firepit vented by a natural chimney. A blackened crucible still hangs over the pit, the silver inside of it still curiously viscous rather than solid. A pot filled with long-hardened slag is within reach for the smelter.

While the various remains scattered throughout the cave are instantly intriguing, my first course must be to ensure that the cave is secure. How did these people die? Surrounded by wolfsbane, my first inclination is to think that werewolves must be involved. If so, this cave might not be safe for the children if there is any evidence that the lycans know of its existence. Perhaps their bodies contain some evidence as to how they met their fate.

I am searching for signs of what killed them.

[sblock]
My heal modifier is an 11. I rolled a 7. 11 + 7 = 18
[/sblock]

After my analysis of their bodies, I will examine the archaic language and hope that it will fill in any missing pieces that are missing from my examination of the body.

[sblock]
My history modifier is a 7. I rolled a 17. 7 + 17 = 24
[/sblock]

Last, I will scrutinize the cave to ensure its overall safety, defensibility, and benefits.

I am looking for anything that could be a sign of danger, such as recent animal tracks. I also want to ensure that the entrance I came in is the only point of egress. For benefits, I am looking for any fresh edible plants that could be growing in the caves and water streams.

[sblock]
My perception modifier is a 14. I rolled a 10. 14 + 10 = 24
[/sblock]

I'm assuming everything passes. I'll await to see how much information I can gain.

 

[Manbearcat]

I am searching for signs of what killed them.

Your Heal check is a success. Though their soft tissue is lost to the ages, their skeletal remains have much to tell. Both figures have fractures of their shield arms. Both figures have lacerations (likely claws) and punctures (likely fangs) that would have torn through their soft tissue and impacted the bones beneath; thigh, weapon arm, exposed collarbone where armor is torn.

The figure on the ground has a grave head wound in the form of a depressed skull fracture. He must have died of his wounds where he now lies; in the lap of his companion.

The seated figure has some of the same injuries but appears to have fared better. He couldn't have died from his visible wounds. He does, however, have multiple bites that have punctured to the bone. A nearby dagger appears spilled from his hand in self-sacrifice.

After my analysis of their bodies, I will examine the archaic language and hope that it will fill in any missing pieces that are missing from my examination of the body.

Your History check is successful at the Hard DC. The language is old in the extreme. It is a dead form of common that you know was spoken several millennia ago. You can make it out more or less word for word:

“The Gods left us in an age long before this time. May this once holy place be consecrated in the blood of noble warriors who were unable to stem the tide of the Moon Madness, but refused to stand down when the Lord of All Beasts and his masses washed over them. Our spirits will remain silent sentinels, our vigils neverending.”

This may send a cold shiver down the spines of some, but you're sure these spirits are vengeful only against those you might call enemy.

I am looking for anything that could be a sign of danger, such as recent animal tracks. I also want to ensure that the entrance I came in is the only point of egress. For benefits, I am looking for any fresh edible plants that could be growing in the caves and water streams.

Your Perception check is successful at the Hard DC. There are no other points of egress. The natural chimney for the firepit is barely more than a few cracks. The scant, and well hidden, opening bottlenecks any would-be intruders. The reservoir and tributaries are abundant with fish and fresh water. The ample foliage obscures the cave from all but the most perceptive observers. There is plenty of fuel to keep a fire going for as long as is required to maintain warmth or keep animal predators away.

The still-viscous silver in the crucible is Alchemical Silver. Should you choose to place it in a stoppered vial/container, there is enough for two uses (@ 50 GP apiece):

[sblock]

Alchemical Silver
This shimmering liquid clings to a weapon, giving it the appearance of brightly polished silver
[TABLE="class: magicitem"] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [TD="class: mic1"]
[/TD] [TD="class: mic2"]
[/TD] [TD="class: mic3"]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [TD]
[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Power

Consumable (Standard Action)

Your weapon or one group of ammunition (30 arrows, 10 crossbow bolts, 20 sling bullets, or 5 shuriken) attacks as a silvered weapon until the end of the encounter or for the next 5 minutes. Alchemical silver can be applied to nonmagical weapons and to magic weapons of 14th level or lower.


[/sblock]

The scroll is a Ritual Scroll of Earthen Ramparts and is written in the same lost language as the scrawlings on the wall.

Your Complexity 1 Skill Challenge is successful (4:0). The History check and the Perception checks would either be sufficient to close out your conflict in the affirmative, confirming that this is as well-guarded, hospitable, and defensible a location as you will find for the children.

Let me know how you wish to proceed.

 

[Binks]

There are no other points of egress. The natural chimney for the firepit is barely more than a few cracks. The scant, and well hidden, opening bottlenecks any would-be intruders. The reservoir and tributaries are abundant with fish and fresh water. The ample foliage obscures the cave from all but the most perceptive observers. There is plenty of fuel to keep a fire going for as long as is required to maintain warmth or keep animal predators away. The still-viscous silver in the crucible is Alchemical Silver. Should you choose to place it in a stoppered vial/container, there is enough for two uses. The scroll is a Ritual Scroll of Earthen Ramparts and is written in the same lost language as the scrawlings on the wall. This is as well-guarded, hospitable, and defensible a location as you will find for the children.

This is as best I will find for the children. I will get their stomachs fed with the riches of the stream and then get them settled. Surely most of them are ready to slip into the safe confines of sleep to find respite from today's horrors.

After they are circled around a warming fire, I tend to the silver and the scroll I found upon my first inspection. Considering my foes, the alchemical silver will no doubt prove to be useful, so I quickly pour the contents of the crucible into a vial stored in my belt. Gently, I roll up the old scroll and add it to the contents of my pack.

I lay down in the cave near the fire and sleep. In the morning, I will head out to investigate the place with the burning tree. Perhaps there I can find hope for these children. If not, then justice. Before I leave, I will talk to the blue eyed girl to see if she can give me more information about the location and what I can expect.

I'm going to try to find out more information about my destination:

1) Where is the village located/are there any specific landmarks I can look for to find my way?
2) Why did the child describe the tree as a "burning tree"? Is it really burning or does it have red leaves or does the sun rise behind it in the morning?
3) How many people live in the village? Are they all werewolves?

After our talk, I will head off (hopefully well informed!). My bear will stay behind to help protect the children in my absence.

 

[Manbearcat]

I'm going to try to find out more information about my destination:

1) Where is the village located/are there any specific landmarks I can look for to find my way?
2) Why did the child describe the tree as a "burning tree"? Is it really burning or does it have red leaves or does the sun rise behind it in the morning?
3) How many people live in the village? Are they all werewolves?

After our talk, I will head off (hopefully well informed!). My bear will stay behind to help protect the children in my absence.

The large pools of her blue eyes appear wise and steady beyond her years. The words that come forth from her mouth are harsh but she utters them without breaking.

1) "We left under fulldark and you found us under last night's moon. I know the land will rise up as you draw nearer. They say the mists are always there because Stoneroot stretches his arms so high into the sky that the clouds are below us. The morning sun should be in your face if you go there."

2) "The children who are malformed of mind or body or who do not ripen properly for the Beastlord are taken there and given up to Everflame to cleanse them for their next lives. The pit is filled with the silver-bark wood of the Burning Tree because its flames are so pure and strong. It is not grand or tall like the trees here, but it is the only tree of its like in all of the mountains."

3) "I don't know how many, not a village-full. But I know they are all blessed by the Beastlord. They are always the hunter. Never the hunted. There they teach the children the ways of the hunt and perform the rite of The First Hunt. Those who survive are offered up to 'He Who Hunts' so we may forevermore be a part of him."

Given the invocation of Stoneroot (the Elder Primal Spirit of the Mountain) and Everflame (the Elder Primal Spirit of the Fire), you're certain that "The Beastlord" and "He Who Hunts" is a term they use for the Primal Beast, the Elder Spirit of Beasts and the Hunt; the primal spirit of nature who forever culls the weak from the strong without mercy and is always on the hunt.

Let me know what you plan to do and be clear about your intent please.

* Your Extended Rest grants you back your lost Healing Surge.

** You can have a one time (Consumable) untyped bonus of + 2 when acting on any of the above information provided from the little girl.

 

[Binks]

Given the invocation of Stoneroot (the Elder Primal Spirit of the Mountain) and Everflame (the Elder Primal Spirit of the Fire), you're certain that "The Beastlord" and "He Who Hunts" is a term they use for the Primal Beast, the Elder Spirit of Beasts and the Hunt; the primal spirit of nature who forever culls the weak from the strong without mercy and is always on the hunt.

Let me know what you plan to do and be clear about your intent please.

This isn't the news I wanted to hear. Although I desperately want to go investigate the burning tree and its surrounding village, I cannot in good conscience leave these children here when there is a possibility that I will not be able to return. I must find them a more permanent place to stay. I must find a village. A village not filled with werewolves that want to eat them.

Villages always find themselves around water. I will follow the stream that led me here to see if I can find a river that can lead me to kind, civilized (preferably non-children-eating) village folk...with horses or other means of rapid transport.

I instruct the blue-eyed girl on how to survive while I am gone--- where to take water from the river, which plants are edible, etc. Most importantly, I give her firm instructions to not go beyond the stream and to never leave sight of the cave.

I fill my waterskin with some cool water from the stream and follow the tributary until I reach the main river. Once there, I will seek out natural plants and trees to make some worthy rope; Dogbane, Milkweed, and Cedar. I've made rope dozens of times so while this is a tedious, time consuming exercise for most, my practiced ability shortens the time considerably. Once I've got enough rope to bind a small barge, I study the surrounding trees and use the sturdiest of limbs and branches to forge a simple raft that will carry me down river. Simultaneously, I will keep an eye out for a long limb that I may fashion a barge pole out of.

I will use my Nature modifier to augment my ability to find suitable supplies and then build an unsinkable raft that will last an eternity...or at least a few days.

[sblock]My Nature modifier is 13. It automatically passes the Low DC. If you want a check at the Medium DC, I rolled a 5, which passes.

My Athletics modifier is 9 with + 2 bonus from above. I rolled a 19. Total of 30 passes the High DC.[/sblock]

 

[Manbearcat]

This isn't the news I wanted to hear. Although I desperately want to go investigate the burning tree and its surrounding village, I cannot in good conscience leave these children here when there is a possibility that I will not be able to return. I must find them a more permanent place to stay. I must find a village.

Villages always find themselves around water. I will follow the stream that led me here to see if I can find a river that can lead me to kind, civilized (preferably non-children-eating) village folk...with horses or other means of rapid transport.

Very well. This will be the objective of your first conflict this day. We will run this as a Complexity 3 Skill Challenge; 8 successes (6 moderate, 2 hard) before 3 failures and you get 2 advantages.

I instruct the blue-eyed girl on how to survive while I am gone--- where to take water from the river, which plants are edible, etc. Most importantly, I give her firm instructions to not go beyond the stream and to never leave sight of the cave.

She nods at your every instruction, her eyes filled with wisdom beyond her age. You're sure she understands your directives. The other children seem to naturally cede authority to her.

I fill my waterskin with some cool water from the stream and follow the tributary until I reach the main river. Once there, I will seek out natural plants and trees to make some worthy rope; Dogbane, Milkweed, and Cedar. I've made rope dozens of times so while this is a tedious, time consuming exercise for most, my practiced ability shortens the time considerably. Once I've got enough rope to bind a small barge, I study the surrounding trees and use the sturdiest of limbs and branches to forge a simple raft that will carry me down river. Simultaneously, I will keep an eye out for a long limb that I may fashion a barge pole out of.

I will use my Nature modifier to augment my ability to find suitable supplies and then build an unsinkable raft that will last an eternity...or at least a few days.

Your Secondary Skill Nature check would have been at the Medium DC as the materials to make the rope would have been difficult to track down in this geographical locale. Your check is successful.

Your Primary Skill Athletics check is successful. This will be one of your hard DCs given that you must rush this effort and gather materials quickly.

The jaunt along the tributary is an hour long trek. You're greeted by the sounds of a river in motion, precarious rocks and whitecaps ever present in the swift-moving, southward flow.

Scanning the scene for raw materials, you quickly locate a stand of Atlas White Cedars on the top of an overhang looking down upon the river. A short, easy climb takes you there. The effort to make rope is tedious and arduous for many-a-folk, but your well-worn, calloused hands make quick work of it. Within a few hours, there is plenty of rope to bind a small raft that you can use to navigate the river.

The effort to make the raft is a fairly simple one as there is plenty of deadfall sufficient to the task. They each need to be cut and shaped and your small handaxe is sufficient to the task. You locate a relatively straightened, long branch that you can whittle into a barge pole for when the flow calms down and the vessel needs your aid to traverse the river.

In the early afternoon you check the barge for its seaworthiness. It easily stays afloat. Navigating it down the treacherous flow and avoiding the rocks and submerged stumps will be difficult. There will certainly be predators along this path and the gradient is such that you can clearly tell that you are heading down the mountain.

WIthin two hours, the river narrows abruptly after a bend. The banks give way to cliffs and you find yourself in a river valley. The speed of the flow is intense and you must work feverishly with the pole to deflect the vessel from rocks. Your balance is tested mightily (I'm going to need a Primary Skill Acrobatics check here). As the flow narrows, and the sheer cliffs encroach much more closely on either side, your mind barely registers a glimmer of sunlight catching something (shiny?) at just about eye level before you.

I'm going to need (1) an Acrobatics Primary Skill Check. If this fails then don't go any further as complications will arise. If it is successful, then your Perception Skill Check is automatically successful at the Medium DC, so you can have a successful check for that. If both of those checks are successful, then I want you to tell me what is the glimmer of sunlight that your eye catches about eye level, just in front of you. If those are successful, you will be at 3:0 with 1 hard DC. If the Acrobatics is a failure then you will be at 1:1 and I will narrate the failure.

** You can use your advantages to lower a Skill DC by one step (eg from medium to low or hard to medium) or you can use it to cancel out a failure with a successful check at the medium DC.

 

[Binks]

The jaunt along the tributary is an hour long trek. You're greeted by the sounds of a river in motion, precarious rocks and whitecaps ever present in the swift-moving, southward flow.

Scanning the scene for raw materials, you quickly locate a stand of Atlas White Cedars on the top of an overhang looking down upon the river. A short, easy climb takes you there. The effort to make rope is tedious and arduous for many-a-folk, but your well-worn, calloused hands make quick work of it. Within a few hours, there is plenty of rope to bind a small raft that you can use to navigate the river.

The effort to make the raft is a fairly simple one as there is plenty of deadfall sufficient to the task. They each need to be cut and shaped and your small handaxe is sufficient to the task. You locate a relatively straightened, long branch that you can whittle into a barge pole for when the flow calms down and the vessel needs your aid to traverse the river.

In the early afternoon you check the barge for its seaworthiness. It easily stays afloat. Navigating it down the treacherous flow and avoiding the rocks and submerged stumps will be difficult. There will certainly be predators along this path and the gradient is such that you can clearly tell that you are heading down the mountain.

Within two hours, the river narrows abruptly after a bend. The banks give way to cliffs and you find yourself in a river valley. The speed of the flow is intense and you must work feverishly with the pole to deflect the vessel from rocks. Your balance is tested mightily (I'm going to need a Primary Skill Acrobatics check here). As the flow narrows, and the sheer cliffs encroach much more closely on either side, your mind barely registers a glimmer of sunlight catching something (shiny?) at just about eye level before you.

I'm going to need (1) an Acrobatics Primary Skill Check.

[sblock]My Acrobatics check is a 10. I rolled an 18. Total is 28. That exceeds the high DC.[/sblock]

If it is successful, then your Perception Skill Check is automatically successful at the Medium DC, so you can have a successful check for that. If both of those checks are successful, then I want you to tell me what is the glimmer of sunlight that your eye catches about eye level, just in front of you.

As my small craft is tossed every which way, I work feverishly with my pole to steer it free from rocks and keep it level. My balance is challenged at every moment but I am up to the task...barely. I sharply jut the length of wood horizontally, ensuring a calamitous crash against the sheer wall of the rocky cliffs is barely averted. In that same moment, my eyes catch a glimmer of something...

Before my eyes register it as an illusory effect of the sunlight bending through riverspray, my ears hear the roar of the waterfall...

I just used Perception to automatically succeed a Primary Check to notice the waterfall. I want to use Perception as my second Secondary Skill Use for the Challenge to determine the height or severity of the fall. I automatically pass the low and medium DC with Perception (+ 14) as a Secondary Skill.

1) If the fall is not severe, I'm going to hunker down and go over the fall with my raft. * I'm no stranger to rivers as my homeland in the Feywild is the cradle of the infamous Ley El'endre, "Serpent's Fang" in the common tongue. These rough waters have claimed more than one life. It is a rite of passage of my people to navigate its deadly spiral. I have on more than one occasion.

2) If the fall is severe, I'm going to quickly knot a length of rope around the head and handle of my handaxe, then put it out before me in practiced measurement to feel its balance, and then send it flying toward the boughs of the trees overhanging the 25 foot cliff-face. If it sticks, I'm going to pull myself up the rope to the top of the cliffs. ** When I was a child, I would help out in my grandmother's garden by standing sentinel, equipped with 3 child-sized handaxes on my belt. When the dog-sized hares native to our land would invade, initially I failed miserably with my aim, but the whirring sound of the axe cutting the air would frighten them off. Eventually I became so proficient that every evening of my watch we had rabbit stew.

[sblock]I'm fairly certain that Athletics would apply to hanging on to the raft. * I would like to use one of my two advantages here to lower the DC one step.

My Athletics check is + 9. I rolled a 1. Even with my Perception Secondary Skill bonus of + 2 this fails to hit the Medium DC.

2) ** I would like to use one of my two advantages here to lower the DC one step.

My Ranged Basic Attack with my handaxe is a + 7. I rolled a 1. Obviously that doesn't hit any target number.
[/sblock]

I'll wait for your reply as to whether it is 1 or 2 and what complications arise due to the failed roll.

 

[Manbearcat]

Before my eyes register it as an illusory effect of the sunlight bending through riverspray, my ears hear the roar of the waterfall...

I just used Perception to automatically succeed a Primary Check to notice the waterfall. I want to use Perception as my second Secondary Skill Use for the Challenge to determine the height or severity of the fall. I automatically pass the low and medium DC with Perception (+ 14) as a Secondary Skill.

1) If the fall is not severe, I'm going to hunker down and go over the fall with my raft. * I'm no stranger to rivers as my homeland in the Feywild is the cradle of the infamous Ley El'endre, "Serpent's Fang" in the common tongue. These rough waters have claimed more than one life. It is a rite of passage of my people to navigate its deadly spiral. I have on more than one occasion.

I'm fairly certain that Athletics would apply to hanging on to the raft. * I would like to use one of my two advantages here to lower the DC one step.

My Athletics check is + 9. I rolled a 1. Even with my Perception Secondary Skill bonus of + 2 this fails to hit the Medium DC.

I'll wait for your reply as to whether it is 1 or 2 and what complications arise due to the failed roll.

Its the first of the two.

Your ears attune to the information the crash of the falls is sending you. You can tell by the frequency and tenacity of the sound that it is not terribly steep, perhaps 20 feet or so. Regardless, its going to be a nasty ride and you're sure of it as you and your raft crest the precipice and you get a look at the scattered rocks and rushing rapids that await you below.

As your grip tightens on and your core loosens to receive the energy of the impact, you take a deep breath. Your body is swallowed by the deluge as your raft strikes the water...but it holds together. However, you are dashed repeatedly on underwater rocks, your ribs, then your shoulder, and finally your head as you and your raft roll repeatedly. Your barge pole is long lost to the spirit of the river.

The last shot to the head has taken its toll and you're mind is foggy *. Your subconscious and muscle memory takes over and you are vaguely aware of the cold, the rolling, crashing, rising, falling...and the endless churning sounds of the river. You know not how long this goes on but the sensory information of granular silt, assuredly washed ashore during flooding, brings you back. Your face and chest, pressed against it, feels its warmth as you claw yourself with one hand out of the river and absent-mindedly bring your damaged raft with your other hand.

A voice, in an ugly form of broken common, abruptly stirs you to alertness, "Looks a meat to go with thems taters we ripped from them river folk. Course after I have her first..." The feel of cold metal under your chin draws your eyes upward. A grungy fellow with a scraggly beard, smelling of all manner of filth, looks down at you through a mostly toothless, grotesque smile. Behind him are 4 men, one relieving himself against a tree while the other 3 are setting up camp.

[sblock]* I'm going to need an Primary Skill Endurance check at the medium DC. If you fail at this you will start this encounter Bloodied. If you succeed then you are just down a Healing Surge worth of HPs. If you wish to attempt to parlay, you can do so by deploying a relevant skill. Nonetheless, you will need to roll initiative. If it escalates to combat, I will attach a battle map.[/sblock]


[TABLE="width: 500"][TR][TD]3/8 success (1 high DC)[/TD][TD]1/3 failure[/TD][TD]1 advantage remaining[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]