(IC) Quickleaf's Rime of the Frostmaiden

[Necropolitan]

"Yes, the gem press should be left intact," Zeth agrees.

"So let's just get this over with so we can leave."

 

[Steve Gorak]

Aric nods his agreement with this plan

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Logrim nods at the plan. He has been pretty quite since he was unable to figure out the Arcane Gem Press. Even Alma's suggestion of looking for clues in the temple elicits little enthusiasm.

OOC: Sorry was away on vacation for the past couple days. I'm back now and should be posting more regularly.

 

[Aethmud]

Jack claps his hands together in a cheerful gesture of agreement, "I'm with Brydum, let's leave this passage be. No time for a magic missile dance party." A grin spreads across his face.

"As much as I'd love to stay and explore every trap and treasure this place has to offer, we’ve got a murderer to catch before they skip town. The whole reason we took this shortcut was to make good time, wasn’t it? No sense in dawdling now. Let's focus on getting to Termalaine in time to stop that killer from racking up any more victims."

 

[Quickleaf]

GM POST

Spoiler: Underdark Map known to Lumrolur

Brydum exchanges warm handshakes with you, the once sour guard seeming to have grown a fondness for your party... even Zeth who'd slaughtered the Dwarvish language. He receives all the keys you retrieved in the temple, and promises to inform the Dain of your valor. "Farewell. I hope y' catch the bastard you're after!"

You descend a slow-sloping rough passage into the Underdark... The two ice toads hop ahead of you, sometimes pausing; Alma must herd Kr-koa-kwat and Twister when they get distracted or lazy, speaking the Deep Speech. Along the way you pass an echoing chasm with a narrow ledge leading down, down, down, and you pass through caverns of glistening ice-covered stalactites the size of oxen hanging above, up escarpments, and down slopes of loose stone.

It's slow going, but thankfully Logrim's magical bag holding the (unopened) duergar chest and yeti pelts keeps you from being too burdened. Time blurs down here, but it must still be the pre-dawn hours on the surface. After 3 hours...

Tourmaline Gem Mine

Spoiler: Map

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You're at the bottom - walkways are 50 feet above you. Northeast is waterfall. EDIT: Russet (the haregon) is still with you, just forgot to put mini down.

The sound of pounding water echoes ahead. At last you come to a loud chamber with a waterfall pouring through a giant hole in a 25-foot-wide hole in the ceiling, feeding an underground stream. Small humanoid bones litter the edges of the underground stream.

Looking up the hole, you see a shaft. In the dim light, you see two separate wooden platforms 50 feet up the shaft – one to the north and one to the south. The platforms appear connected to each other by a rope-and-pulley system. There are ample handholds on the dry western side of the shaft, making for an easy climb. But the closer the stone gets to the waterfall, the smoother it becomes.

GM: 8/21 edit: OOC Steve suggested faster leveling up, so we're working out details - probably level up after facing the killer. You completed the "Dumathoin's Temple" Quest. To Level Up to 4th: Complete 4 quests in the Ten-Towns. You may replace (up to 2) Ten-Towns quests with significantly progressing or resolving your individual character quests. Completed quests: Mountain Climb: (quest-giver: Keegan in Targos) free rooms at The Luskan Arms & discounted sled dogs for rescuing his husband Garret at Kelvin's Cairn. Dumathoin's Temple: (quest-giver Dain Stokley Silverstream) in exchange for passage to the Underdark, you cleared the zombies in Dumathoin's temple & returned the keys to the dwarves; the dwarves may grant you access to the Arcane Gem Press & their fabled Forge on a return visit!

 

[Necropolitan]

Zeth keeps up his castings of Prestidigitation to ensure the toads don't get any ideas of him or his companions being edible. Even if they started out as threats he's developed enough fondness for the giant amphibians that he'd regret having to kill them.

Once they get to their current location Zeth looks up, then turns to the rest of the party.

"I'm not the climbing type and my spells won't be much help. Do any of you have any ideas?"

 

[Steve Gorak]

Aric pauses to think and says: “I can become a giant spider and see what’s above. I think I can carry you all up, but I won’t be able to carry the toads”

 

[happylace]

"Aric's suggestion is a good one," Alma agrees. "However, if these mines lead out to the surface, the frogs might be better left here."

She turns to their amphibious companions and calls to them in Deep Speech, "We need to go up. You'll find more food down here."

 

[Steve Gorak]

Aric nods in agreement. He liked the spider form. It had senses he didn’t have access to in his natural shape. He tells the group “I won’t be able to talk but I’ll understand everything. Just remember it’s still me. If we need to have a conversation, one tap on the ground means yes, two means no. I’ll be able to point. Ask questions, and I’ll be able to write on the ground. When I transform, I’ll point to the next one I’ll be giving a ride to. If you agree, let’s start with you Zeth.”

Unless anyone voices an opposing opinion, he proceeds to shape change into a giant spider, and waits for Zerg to hop on. When he does, Aric-spider climbs up

 

[Neurotic]

"No, take me first. I can scout up there while you ferry the rest. And I can probably remain hidden while the reinforcements arrrive."
Lumrolur suggests as he loads his hand crossbow and checks other weapons.