Dry Spell

[Brain]

"Hardin, can you bring the light closer over here? I want to check out these rocks that the gnolls seemed intent on."

Slyfen will search the areas with the rocks, taking his time, allowing the others to do what they will with the vanquished foes as far as saving them for questioning or whatnot.

 

[Krug]

Belisha goes over to the now stable orc and says, in Orcish she learnt from her language teacher Nirkus. "Tell us what lies beyond those rocks," she says.

 

[Galieo]

Back to the Pack

[Eolan]

Walking back to the pack mule, the red-haired fighter cleans his blade while wondering to himself, "I wonder if that ogre was in league with the gnolls and orcs or merely 'passing' through?"

Sheathing his bastard sword, the fighter continues this line of thought, "If so, a strange alliance this Relgore has welded." Shaking his head, a baffled look crosses his face. Realizing that he is out of depth on such matter, the warrior shrugs to adjust his chainshirt across his shoulders.

Just as Eolan reaches the mouth of the cave he will pause, scan the forest before him and wait a moment. Listening carefully, he will watch to see if the animals seem frightened or ill at ease.

ooc:
Greetings all!

If nothing seems wrong, Eolan grabs the rope and healing potions and heads back to the party.

If he notices something "off," he will attempt to move as silently as possible back to the others to warn them.

 

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

"Hardin, can you bring the light closer over here?" asks Slyfen. "I want to check out these rocks that the gnolls seemed intent on."

“I’d be glad to, if Belisha will give it to me,” replies the cleric. Belisha complies, and Hardin gives the torch to Slyfen. Hardin then goes to kill off the rest of the monsters, and search their bodies for anything useful. Belisha waits for Eolan to get back, and considers how she will interrogate the orc once he has been tied up and brought back to consciousness.

Slyfen searches the area with the rocks, taking his time. He sees that this large pile of rocks has been placed here purposefully, piled right up against the wall. Since they do not appear to be trapped or otherwise dangerous, Slyfen begins to clear them away. He sees an opening behind them. After another minute or two of clearing rocks, Slyfen has revealed it to be an opening to another passage, about the same height and width as the one that led to this chamber. He can see it traveling for about 25’ before it turns abruptly to the right.

Meanwhile, Eolan is walking back to the pack mule. The red-haired fighter cleans his blade while thinking to himself, "I wonder if that ogre was in league with the gnolls and orcs, or merely 'passing' through?"

Sheathing his bastard sword, the fighter continues this line of thought, "If so, a strange alliance this Relgore has welded." Shaking his head, a baffled look crosses his face. Realizing that he is out of his depth on such matters, the warrior shrugs to adjust his chainshirt across his shoulders.

As Eolan reaches the mouth of the cave he pauses for a moment and scans the forest before him. Listening carefully, he watches to see if the animals seem frightened or ill at ease.

Nothing seems wrong, so Eolan grabs the rope and healing potions and heads back to the party.

When Eolan returns to the chamber, he and Belisha carefully tie up the stable but unconscious orc. About the time they finish, Slyfen and Hardin rejoin them, having finished their own respective efforts. Slyfen relates what he has learned about the rock pile and the tunnel it was hiding.

By this point, Hardin’s spells have all worn off except for the protective ward. “Well, I finished killing the rest of this louse-ridden bunch. Aside from some coins I found in pouches carried by the gnolls, there was nothing useful to us.” Hardin shares the coins with the rest of the party—a total of 36 platinum pieces and 8 gold pieces.

Hardin looks at the orc, then looks back at his companions and continues, “I know that I am the healer of the party, but I unfortunately spent a considerable amount of my granted powers preparing for this battle, and I have little left to convert to healing. Judging by what Slyfen found behind the rock pile and the fact that we have yet to find Relgore, it seems we may have more battle ahead of us. My remaining powers might best be reserved for that possibility. Of course, with a night’s rest and an hour of prayer, I believe Moradin would recharge my powers. But I doubt that what remains of Relgore’s band will fail to hunt us tonight when they see what has happened here.

“Therefore, I would suggest that we give enough of Eolan’s healing potions to the orc to bring him back to consciousness, so we can proceed with an interrogation. Afterward, if more combat seems likely, I would suggest that Eolan and I use enough of the remaining potions to bring ourselves back to full health. Eolan, they are your potions, so what do you think?”



OOC Notes:

Slyfen
Searches rock pile (it’s just one large pile), taking 20 + 10 = 30
Spot check (looking down the tunnel) result 2 + 8 = 10

Eolan
Spot check result 14 + 0 = 14
Listen check result 12 + 0 = 12

I awarded 338 XP to each PC for the encounter (EL 4).
I added the XP, 9 pp and 2 gp to each character sheet.

 

[Krug]

Belisha agrees with Hardin's suggestion. "Aye I have also used up quiet a bit of my arcane powers. We should rest and recover... and see what the orc can tell us," says Belisha. Rufus whines, slightly irritated. It growls at the remains of the gnolls as though they were a bunch of threatening dogs. Narkus hoots curiously.

 

[Brain]

Slyfen frowns. "Healing potions are expensive, and could be used to save one of OUR lives. Why should we waste them on an orc? At least let us capture something more intelligent, I say."

 

[Galieo]

Eolan listens carefully to Hardin's explanation, his blue eyes reflecting the torchlight as he ponders the cleric's wise words. Before he can respond, Belisha voices agreement.

Just as he is about to agree with them both, Slyfen's words cause him to doubt his first impression. Scratching his short-cropped red hair, the thoughful warrior takes a knee to inspect the orc's condition.

After looking over their captive's wounds, the fighter looks up to Hardin and asks, "How badly is this one injured? If we are going to rest soon this evening, will it be conscious in the morning?" questions Eolan. "In a way, it's current injured condition makes it easier to guard."

Turning to Slyfen, Eolan nods, "I hear wisdom in both concerns, clearly we need to know more about Relgore and whatever surprises may be in store, but to fritter away our precious store of healing is not a decision to be taken lightly."

Scratching the stubble on his face, he looks at Belisha and adds, "If we are going to make camp here or shortly, why not wait the night to see the orc's condition then. If healing is necessary, we give it. But remember, we will also need to decide this orc's fate after our interrogation. Have we all considered that?" grimly adds the warrior. Left unspoken is his concern with their progress being slowed by a prisoner.

The fighter finally comes to a conclusion, "I think Hardin is right, in that, we need to keep moving. Against greater numbers, this cavern is not the place we want to be. We have the element of surprise, to a certain extent, I suggest we keep moving. Whether that means healing this one now or later, or at all, that is the part that I am not so sure about," finishes Eolan.

Standing, the tall human lowers his voice, "These potions are for the benefit of us all, though they be my "property" I would have us hold them in common. Therefore, let us vote on their proper use."



ooc:

After inspecting the wounds of the orc and listening to Hardin's informed opinion on the orc's health, Eolan will go with the party vote.

 

[Krug]

"I say we save him. He can save us much pain later," says Belisha. "I will contribute some of my healing potions if need be."

 

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

Hardin examines the body for a short while, then reports to the group. “The orc is a little more than halfway dead. Even with us tending him, he has only a very small chance to regain consciousness on his own within the next couple of hours. We may have lost the element of surprise by then.

“It is possible that one potion will be enough to bring him back to consciousness. But it will more likely take two, and it is even possible it would require three, but certainly no more than that.

“I agree with Slyfen that the potions are expensive, and I would rather use them on us than on our enemies. However, the use of a potion or two on this orc now might yield enough information to save us the need to use many more potions on ourselves later.

“Also, we have already collected from these dead gnolls enough money to buy 6 potions of this sort, and the formal reward offered by Lord Bootlum is enough to buy 50 more beyond that. That doesn’t even count the value of anything else one is likely to find in a bandit’s hideout.

“My only misgiving about using the potions to heal this orc is that we will have to figure out what to do with him after the interrogation.”



OOC Notes:

The orc is stabilized at -6 hp.

A tended, stable creature has a 10% chance per hour to regain consciousness.

The party has a total of 13 cure light wounds potions.
Of these, 3 are Belisha’s and 10 are Eolan’s.
Each potion cures 2-9 hp.

Because Hardin is being treated as an NPC by me until Nac returns, Hardin will refrain from voting. So, what we have right now is: Slyfen against healing the orc, Belisha for healing the orc, and no vote from Eolan. Eolan, go ahead and cast the tie-breaker, please.

 

[Brain]

"If the rest of you think it wise, then go ahead and do it. I think this orc will just refuse to tell you anything. I'll keep watch on this tunnel ahead."

Slyfen moves into the beginning of the next tunnel, putting away his rapier and taking out his bow. He hides himself as best he can and stays alert for danger.