Branding Opportunity
Explorer
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!
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