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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 9777718" data-attributes="member: 143">I’m a few posts ahead in the story now, and I think I’ll go to an every-other-day schedule for posting chapters. I am not planning on having the party visit every single cave, but they’ll definitely need to get to third level before taking on the cult (assuming they survive that long).Chapter 12The warrior landed heavily at the bottom of the pit, the impact knocking the air from his lungs. Thankfully that floor was only packed earth and not hard stone, but something in his back still twinged painfully as he pushed himself up.He looked up to see a small, reptilian creature about the size of Leana looking down at him. The thing stood upright, wore a tattered tunic over its scaled torso, and it carried what looked like an old kitchen knife tucked through the piece of rope that served it as a belt.He was somewhat surprised when its mouth opened and it said, in perfectly understandable Common, “Got you!”Ravani appeared on the far side of the pit with his bow strung and an arrow drawn. The little monster let out a chirp of alarm, but before either could act Leana stepped forward and placed a hand on the elf’s arm, forcing him to lower the bow. “Hello,” she said. “We’re not going to hurt you.”The warrior pushed himself to his feet, ignoring more twinges in his arms and legs. The pit was only about ten feet deep, and he could now see that its walls were run through with cracks that should offer easy handholds, assuming they supported his weight. The creature looked down at him as he stood, but remarkably it was holding its ground in the face of what must have looked like bad odds.Unless there are another dozen of them around the corner, he thought.“What you want?” the creature asked.“We’re cave inspectors,” Ravani said. “Sent by Central Cave Command. We’re going to need access to this entire place.”The creature just blinked at them. Leana clicked her tongue in annoyance and said, “We mean you no harm. My name is Leana. What’s yours?”The creature seemed to consider for a moment. “Spurt,” it finally said.“Spurt,” Ravani said, in a tone that the warrior knew all too well. The elf still held his bow, keeping the arrow half-taut against the string, but for now the missile was pointed at the ground.Leana ignored him. She glanced down at the warrior, offering a covert gesture with her hand telling him to stay put for the moment. “We’re looking for some cultists, humans or others wearing red robes,” she said to the creature. “Have you seen anyone like that?”“None of them here,” Spurt said. “Just many-legs. Many-legs bad.”“Many legs, could be spiders,” Ravani said.“Maybe some kind of infestation,” Leana returned.“He’s not going to know what that word means,” Ravani said dryly.The creature stomped his foot. “Spurt know! Many-legs bad!”Thus far the background noises of muted argument had continued, along with the occasional squeal, but the warrior figured someone was bound to come along if this exchange continued for long. Leana apparently had the same thought, for she said, “What if we take care of the many-legs for you? Maybe then we could talk to your leaders about what else is in these caves?”The creature thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Okay,” it said.* * *Getting across the pit—which covered the full width of the tunnel, and was about ten feet across—took only a few moments. Leana simply took a few steps back and leapt over it, landing next to Spurt, who seemed unfazed. Ravani and Folgar were more cautious; the warrior helped each of them down into the pit and then boosted them out on the far side before climbing up after them. They found themselves in a long hallway that opened into a room off to the left, and curved out of sight to the right. The continuing sounds of bickering came from the latter direction. There was a small alcove directly ahead of them to the right, where Spurt had apparently been keeping watch over the entrance to the cave.“What are your friends fighting about?” Leana asked their new friend.“What to do with dragon,” Spurt said.“Dragon?” all three of the men asked, at almost the exact same instant.“Yes,” Spurt said. “Many legs there,” he said, pointing toward the room to their left. The warrior looked that way, but couldn’t see much as the diffuse light that made it in from the entrance faded out.“Hold on, let me get my lantern,” the warrior said. He started to shrug off his pack, but Leana said, “No need.” She gestured and lifted her sigil, which began to glow with a warm, steady light.“Bright!” Spurt said, holding up a hand to shield his eyes.“Oh, sorry,” Leana said. She wrapped her hand around the sigil, shielding part of the glow. “Is this better?”“Better,” the creature said.“What kind of thing is that?” the warrior whispered to Folgar.“Kobold,” the dwarf replied.“Are they usually friendly? Trustworthy? Accompanying dragons?”“No, no, and I don’t know,” Folgar whispered. “But we need to trust Leana’s lead on this. She’s right, we need information, and it's better to avoid fights when we can.”Leana was asking the kobold a few more questions, but Spurt either didn’t know much, or wasn’t willing to share until they had completed the promised task of dealing with the “many-legs.” The creature said that there were “at least two” of the things in the room ahead, but the warrior did not find that reassuring.“Okay, let’s check it out,” Ravani said. “You first, Muscles.”“Don’t rush in,” Leana said, as she took up position at his side. “Let them come to us.”Spurt remained back at the shelter of the alcove as they carefully advanced to the edge of the room. Leana spread her fingers as they entered the place, her light revealing more of the details of the chamber. There wasn’t much to it, an irregular shape roughly thirty feet square, littered with heaps of trash and waste.The light was also sufficient to reveal two centipedes the size of dogs that were crawling over the piles of refuse. As the glow reached them, the two bugs let out loud chittering sounds and rushed toward the adventurers.Game Notes“Spurt” is another tribute, of course (if you’ve never heard the name before, I recommend <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPSXn7luu5c" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPSXn7luu5c</a>). Ravani: Charisma (Deception): 10 (+4): 14 vs. DC 10 (Success)Leana: Charisma (Persuasion): 15 (+2): 17 vs. DC 10 (Success)</blockquote>

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