[KAUAI]The Rod of Seven Parts: Of Hexes and Gems

[SlagMortar]

Brakkus smiles upon finding the grappling hook secure and shrugs with a "Who would of guessed" expression on his face.

Brakkus makes a slow, steady climb up after the others (Take 10 for check of 6 vs DC 5). Upon seeing the crack, Brakkus sighs and looks down at the gnomes. "Is there a pick in the gear you left here?" Brakkus takes a look at the stone. If it is soft enough, I might be able to crack enough away with my flail, if it comes to that. It might be faster to go back for the picks, though.

 

[Voadam]

Voadam reaches into his pack, "I brought the breaking bar and hammer, but not either of the picks. If we can squeeze our way in that would be better than hammering and announcing our presence though." In his pack there also lies the second set of rope, the flint and steel, four unlit torches, and the whetstone the gnomes offered.

As he evaluates the crack versus his 6'2" frame and that of Brakkus he says to Gamad "According to the gnome it bears a Nahal's reckless dweomer spell. It is a spell of Chaos magic. I have dealt with practitioners of Chaos magic before. This one I believe is a simple spell that taps into other planar power for greater effects beyond what magic alone can do, but with risks for every casting. I do not know whether your learning and casting such a spell would counteract some of the Rod's influence of Law over you, or whether the two conflicting influences would cause you harm from their interaction."

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Gamad

I'm unable to decipher the scroll … yet. But I would not risk my bones shattering in a small scale war between chaos and law as much as I want my soul to get free from all that law.
Gamad replies and eyes the crack in the cliff. He then turns to the big folk members of the party
I have a spell that can reduce ones size, we can crawl inside, the one who desire the spell effect, me and the goblin … The Luckmaiden knows where the mischievous figure is … can investigate the place, retrieve a pick and see if the noise would not attract someone or something.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Maelicent lands with a skid on the ledge, dropping down from above. The goblin has a wickedly cunning grin on his face at his trick. Finding his new silk rope to have been quite trusty, Maelicent quickly recoils the length of rope and stows it on his person.

Once Brakkus is up the cliff and on the ledge with the others, Mazzel calls up, "Aye, there's a pick, but it's inside the cave there with the rest of the gear. Send the smaller of ye in ter fetch it! It's a squeeze but you can make it!"

 

[Ambrus]

Peering into the small gap, Maelicent slings his longbow across his back and in its stead draws his hand axe. With little more than a nod to the two giant-kin at his side, the Gudwulf warrior kneels and begins to shimmy his way through the gap headfirst.

 

[Voadam]

"Frog god, hmm. There was that slaad in the banewarrens with its Chaos warprift and that jumping elder earth elemental thing at the siege of Roke. Both of the semidivine frog things I've come across have been connected to Chaos in one way or another. I wonder if the fishmen's frog god is connected to Chaos as well in some way."

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Maelicent moves to squeeze through the opening but finds his longbow to be problematic. Gently removing the bow from his shoulder and squeezing in through the crack and pulling the bow in after himself a moment or two later after ascertaining his immediate safety, Maelicent waits a beat for his eyes to adjust to the familiar comfort of the dark. A narrow 10 feet wide but more like 50 feet long and with an uneven ceiling looming 10 feet above, the cavern floor is rocky and treacherous in places. The cave angles sharply downward in five sets of 10-foot-wide terraced ledges that run toward the rear of the cavern, where a spring of water wells up from somewhere underground in a dark pool. Maelicent's Gudwulf blood allows his eyes to adjust quite comfortably to the dark cave and he soon notes that there appears to be another gaping hole in the rear of the cavern, along the left side of the rocky wall. Other than the pool of water and the hole in the back of the cave, Maelicent does not spy any other interesting features in the cave.

 

[Ambrus]

Maelicent places his hand axe back into his belt beneath his russet colored coat and, bow in hand, begins cautiously scouting out the terraced room in search of the mongrels' equipment cache.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Search +0? Let me know if I have that wrong.

Maelicent scouts around the room, minding the uneven floor. Save for the pool, the cave is dry. Not very deep, the pool is a mere five feet in diameter, and perhaps only ten inches deep. A drip of water from the cavern wall every few seconds feeds the pool, and the water must leach into the rock bed from there, for no means of egress can be seen within the water. The pool gives off an earthy but slightly acrid scent. Maelicent takes a turn of the cavern but finds no hidey hole left by the mongrels, nor any gear.

While the others wait outside, the sun dips down below the western horizon and the sky above deepens to a dark and deep fading blue. The three gnomes wait at the base of the cliff, alternately looking up at the group or around at the forest.

 

[Ambrus]

Frustrated, Maelicent vows revenge on the blasted mongrel-folk as he starts over, slowly working his way through the cavern a second time in search of the damned "cubby" the gnomes had assured the giant-kin was in here.

OOC: Search 0 is correct. Maelicent had yet to graduate to scout or raider status amongst the Gudwulf tribe and so has no experience in systematic searching. Mael will repeat the search until he either locates the cache or takes 20; whichever comes first. All the while he'll continue to attempt to move silently.