Somewhere else...

[Manbearcat]

[TABLE="width: 500"] [TR] [TD]3/6 successes
[/TD] [TD]0/1 faiures
[/TD] [TD]1/1 high DCs
[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

If I've got a shot at the guy running away who dropped the torch, I'm taking it, just wanting to lame him.

Let me know if I had a shot after emerging from the flames and what happens with my shot (22 is probably a hit but its tight). If he is indeed down, I'm going to tell Terilion and his men to restrain the lamed man as me and my bear give chase to the others.

You have the shot. You take it. It hits (22 is the average AC @ level 7). He is lamed. Terilion and the men do as you instruct.

You leave Terilion and his men and the sounds of them fully subduing the lamed man behind. The cavern moves upward at a gentle gradient and then jogs right, emptying you out into a forked plaza; straight, left, right. The sounds of hurried footfalls eerily echo everywhere. A torch dances in a sconce on the wall. You will lose them if you don't act quickly

What are you doing?

 

[Binks]

You leave Terilion and his men and the sounds of them fully subduing the lamed man behind. The cavern moves upward at a gentle gradient and then jogs right, emptying you out into a forked plaza; straight, left, right. The sounds of hurried footfalls eerily echo everywhere. A torch dances in a sconce on the wall. You will lose them if you don't act quickly.

[sblock]Dungeoneering + 8. Rolled 14. 22 passes the medium DC.[/sblock]

Saerie grabs the torch from the sconce and quickly moves to the left tunnel and lets the flame settle. Nothing. She moves to the middle tunnel. The same. Finally, she moves to the right tunnel. The flame settles momentarily and begins to stir from the flow of air coming from the tunnel. She abruptly drops the torch and dashes off. "This way..." she whispers. Her bear lopes after her.

Saerie is like the love child of Chuck Norris and the Dos Equis man. Her Skill Challenge Fu is strong.

 

[Manbearcat]

[TABLE="width: 500"] [TR] [TD]4/6 successes
[/TD] [TD]0/3 failures
[/TD] [TD]1/1 high DCs
[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Saerie grabs the torch from the sconce and quickly moves to the left tunnel and lets the flame settle. Nothing. She moves to the middle tunnel. The same. Finally, she moves to the right tunnel. The flame settles momentarily and begins to stir from the flow of air coming from the tunnel. She abruptly drops the torch and dashes off. "This way..." she whispers. Her bear lopes after her.

The cavern slowly spirals and ascends until it spills out onto a ledge overlooking a chasm of unfathomable depths. Spanning the 40 feet across are three, less than 1 foot diameter, tree trunks poorly bound to each other by rope. One of the men is still in the midst of crossing the wobbly, slightly ascending, makeshift bridge as you come upon it...

The second man has just finished the crossing when Saerie emerges from the tunnel. He encourages the other man who is clearly terrified of heights and the prospect of finality that awaits him with one misstep. "Come on! She's here! MOVE!" As the crossing man's terror takes him fully, his shaky legs collapse and he becomes a trembling, muttering mess as he holds on to the unstable, wooden construct between he and certain death.

The man on the other side is fed up, "to the hells with you then you coward..." He quickly unsheathes a machete and hacks the rope binding the slim tree trunks together. Two of the trunks fall away into the earthen breach, the man, and his terrified wails, with them. The other man turns to the tunnel to sprint away.

It only takes one to sound the alarm and reinforce the entire complex...

 

[Binks]

The man on the other side is fed up, "to the hells with you then you coward..." He quickly unsheathes a machete and hacks the rope binding the slim tree trunks together. Two of the trunks fall away into the earthen breach, the man, and his terrified wails, with them. The other man turns to the tunnel to sprint away.
It only takes one to sound the alarm and reinforce the entire complex...

If I have a shot before this guy can duck his head into the corridor, I'm going to take it.

[sblock]RBA + 11. Rolled 6. 17 definitely misses.[/sblock]

Or not.

As the remaining enemy turns to dash into the safety of the corridor, Saerie reaches into her quiver for an arrow. The feathers tickle her palm and she sets it to string. "Damn" she thinks to herself as she looks at the awkward angle of the broken shaft and the embedded teeth marks. It must have been snapped by one of the dogs attempting to maul her hip. Hopefully that is the only one...

Sprinting after this guy up this precarious, chasm-spanning log

[sblock]Acrobatics + 10. Rolled 5. 15 just misses the medium DC[/sblock]

Uh oh. Not good. It looks like I'm trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

This situation is going to be a bit more hairy than the last so I'll wait for you to let me know what happens.

 

[Manbearcat]

If I have a shot before this guy can duck his head into the corridor, I'm going to take it.

[sblock]RBA + 11. Rolled 6. 17 definitely misses.[/sblock]

Or not.

You lose a healing surge. You're certain that the dog's bite that your quiver took the brunt of is going to cost you a lot more ammo than that singular arrow. Morale, dismay, sense of foreboding, what-have-you.

Sprinting after this guy up this precarious, chasm-spanning log.

[sblock]Acrobatics + 10. Rolled 5. 15 just misses the medium DC[/sblock]

Uh oh. Not good. It looks like I'm trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

This situation is going to be a bit more hairy than the last so I'll wait for you to let me know what happens.

Another healing surge. I'm pretty sure that puts you at 4/10 left and down 3 HP from total.

[TABLE="width: 500"] [TR] [TD]4/6 successes[/TD] [TD]2/3 failures[/TD] [TD]1/1 high DCs[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

At the first light step on the log, the wood bends...but holds. The second step accompanies a sound and a lurch that sends the pit of your stomach heaving into your throat. CRACK! The log fully gives way and plunges into the cavern. Its all you can do to throw your body backward in a twisting handspring and smash your body against the ledge from whence you came, harshly taking the breath from you. Your hands barely grasp the edge it and your bear takes your rugged cloak into his mouth to help pull you up. It seems the dark maw of the chasm is still hungry after swallowing the first unfortunate victim.

Your prey is losing you.

This is a bit of a predicament. 40 feet across so a superhuman leap (well beyond you at this point - 31 required with your 9 and a running start - Mighty Sprint is exhausted but that wouldn't put it in play either). Trying to rock climb around there would take forever. You can attempt an Athletics check as primary but its going to have to be stepped up one and then again due to your prior usage. The ceiling is 20 feet high and covered with jagged outcroppings and stalactites just like the rest of the place. Your bear nuzzles your scuffed hand but he has no answers!

 

[Binks]

I'm pretty sure that puts you at 4/10 left and down 3 HP from total.

That's right.

This is a bit of a predicament. 40 feet across so a superhuman leap (well beyond you at this point - 31 required with your 9 and a running start - Mighty Sprint is exhausted but that wouldn't put it in play either). Trying to rock climb around there would take forever. You can attempt an Athletics check as primary but its going to have to be stepped up one and then again due to your prior usage. The ceiling is 20 feet high and covered with jagged outcroppings and stalactites just like the rest of the place. Your bear nuzzles your scuffed hand but he has no answers!

Cue the Indiana Jones music.

I don't know whether you want Thievery or Acrobatics to by the Primary check here. I'm going to grab my rope that is lassoed at the end, twirl it and heave it to a stalactite on the ceiling, catch it, pull it taught and confirm it will hold. Then I'm going to "dun duhduh duh...dun duhduuuuuuh!" I think I'll go ahead and spend my 2nd Secondary Skill here do both.

[sblock]Thievery + 9 Secondary Skill to augment my Acrobatics check. Rolled 13. 22 passes the low DC.

Acrobatics + 10 Primary Skill (+ 2 from Thievery). Rolled 5. 17 passes the medium DC.[/sblock]

[video=youtube;-bTpp8PQSog]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bTpp8PQSog[/video]

Saerie looks down at her bear and scratches behind his ear, "I know you've seen this trick before, but try to look impressed." Retrieving her lasso, she quickly checks the knot. A few spins and its arcing up toward a stalactite. It catches and she tugs it taught. It will hold. She takes a step back to prepare her swing. "Wait here. I won't be long." With that she is swinging over the chasm.

When her feet touch down she quickly finds a rock to secure the rope to. After that, she is off to the races, bow and, working, arrow in hand.

Before I forget, here is what I'd like to do after this particular situation plays out. I don't want any of the men to die. Its a fragile culture and even a few warriors lost under Saerie's leadership would weigh heavily upon her. So what I'd like to do is this. The Assault Team has 5 HP (I think) left. As a Swarm, that is 1 or 2 direct damage hits (or one AoE). Mechanically, I'd just like to forgo those last 5 HP and have Terilion. Story-wise, I'm going to force the two injured men stay back with the man we captured - which we'll get to after this I'm sure - while I shove on with my Bear and Terilion. I assume that is ok?

 

[Manbearcat]

Before I forget, here is what I'd like to do after this particular situation plays out. I don't want any of the men to die. Its a fragile culture and even a few warriors lost under Saerie's leadership would weigh heavily upon her. So what I'd like to do is this. The Assault Team has 5 HP (I think) left. As a Swarm, that is 1 or 2 direct damage hits (or one AoE). Mechanically, I'd just like to forgo those last 5 HP and have Terilion. Story-wise, I'm going to force the two injured men stay back with the man we captured - which we'll get to after this I'm sure - while I shove on with my Bear and Terilion. I assume that is ok?

Of course.

After that, she is off to the races, bow and, working, arrow in hand.

The stoney corridor bends this way and that, finally emptying out into an enormous cavern with most of the cubic space being vertical; like a grand mineshaft. The sound of a groaning winch and pulley system is a giant, living thing given the acoustics of the place.

It looks like once upon a time, a great company of miners inhabited this complex. The pocked signs of excavated mineral wealth mar all of the walls of the dark stone.

Your quarry is easy enough to find. An elaborate pulley system manages multiple elevators that surely once served the miners well. They could bring load after load up and down the shaft with just a few men manning the winches. In one particular basket is your quarry. Up top, some 200 feet and beyond the reach of conveying a coherent distress signal, are two men manning the winches, slowly bringing your prey up through their toil. The ropes are thick but if those winches were to be let go while in the unlocked position...

[TABLE="width: 500"] [TR] [TD]5/6 successes[/TD] [TD]2/3 failures[/TD] [TD]1/1 high DCs[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] What are you doing?

 

[Binks]

The stoney corridor bends this way and that, finally emptying out into an enormous cavern with most of the cubic space being vertical; like a grand mineshaft. The sound of a groaning winch and pulley system is a giant, living thing given the acoustics of the place.

It looks like once upon a time, a great company of miners inhabited this complex. The pocked signs of excavated mineral wealth mar all of the walls of the dark stone.

Your quarry is easy enough to find. An elaborate pulley system manages multiple elevators that surely once served the miners well. They could bring load after load up and down the shaft with just a few men manning the winches. In one particular basket is your quarry. Up top, some 200 feet and beyond the reach of conveying a coherent distress signal, are two men manning the winches, slowly bringing your prey up through their toil. The ropes are thick but if those winches were to be let go while in the unlocked position...

I guess this is it...

[sblock]RBA + 11. Rolled 18. 29.[/sblock]

Slowly Saerie pulls another arrow from her quiver. A glance at it tells her that its intact. It joins the first arrow on the string of her bow.

A pull.

A mouthed prayer to The Moon Maiden.

Exhale.

Loose.

The two men fall away from their winches. The basket crashes to the stone floor from over 100 feet. The man within it had nary an opportunity to make a sound and a sound nevermore shall he make.

I go back to the chasm and grab the rope from the rock I secured it with. I swing across and my bear and I hurry ourselves back to the initial cavern where I left Terilion and his men to watch over the man I lamed. I drag the man by the scruff of his tunic and put him against the wall next to the heavy chains and iron collars that kept the great lizards in place.

"I have little time and less patience, especially for viscous creatures blessed with a conscience but unwilling to use it. You're going to answer my questions starting with 'how many men inhabit this compound' or I'm going to lock you here so you can quietly contemplate the gross moral inadequacy of your life for the next few hours...until those mistreated reptiles return from making a snack out of their former master..."

[sblock]Intimidate + 5. Rolled 15. 20 passes the medium DC but fails the high.[/sblock]

EDIT - moved the other stuff to a new post

 

[Manbearcat]

"I have little time and less patience, especially for viscous creatures blessed with a conscience but unwilling to use it. You're going to answer my questions starting with 'how many men inhabit this compound' or I'm going to lock you here so you can quietly contemplate the gross moral inadequacy of your life for the next few hours...until those mistreated reptiles return from making a snack out of their former master..."

He is sufficiently intimidated. You're certain that whatever comes forth from his mouth will be the truth. We'll run this as a complexity 1 SC to see what else he knows. Please just edit your prior post with further conversation, action declaration, and mechanical resolution. Place EDIT 1 (etc) above the edit. Thank you kindly!

[TABLE="width: 500"] [TR] [TD]1/4 successes[/TD] [TD]0/3 failures
[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

The man is shaking somewhat fiercely. He is probably sickly as his breath smells of decay but also chewed leaf. His teeth, what ones he can still lay claim to, are grossly discolored. His eyes shift back and forth to you standing over him and the water of the rushing river.

"Last raid...uhh... (he looks over at Terilion and his men but quickly looks away) I guess we had 50 or so of us. That ain't for counting the few women we keep and those in the (gulp)...larder.

Well, I'd say we lost a few handfuls there...maybe a few more 'an that. We had some men not come back the other day. Head count down here is me and...well...they're all dead. We manage the kennels, the larder, and the garbage...at least we did". His voice breaks at that thought.

The Rotting Man...he brought us together. This place is his home. If'n you just talk to him, he might say live and let live with your folk."

 

[Binks]

I hope you don't mind but I edited my edit to create a new post for it. It seems to flow better when looking back through things.

After I learn he's sickly and after he reveals their numbers and the presence of "The Rotting Man":

[sblock]Primary check Heal + 11. Rolled 10. 21 passes the medium DC.[/sblock]

I gather some river water and set up to boil it over a fire. I make several bags of varying teas for the men, including some ginger root tea for the man with the dieing innards.

"I am a healer. You are ill and your teeth are not the cause of it. This is a pestilence I have seen before. It infests your innards and causes a slow and terrible death. Are all of your people suffering the same?" If he answers in the affirmative, I respond with "have you ever considered that this "Rotting Man" may be the source of your troubles? Tell me of him and leave nothing out."

As he responds I steep his ginger root tea. When he finishes I say; "Drink this, it will soothe your stomach."

I offer some tea to Terilion and his men to partake during our momentary respite.

[sblock]Primary check Nature + 14. Rolled 14. 28 passes.[/sblock]

I take in what he has to say about "The Rotting Man". Assuming I've settled the man's nerves a bit, I'm going to keep him off balance and upturn that disposition by dragging the body of one of his former companions near the water's edge. I'm going to use vocals or chumming of the water with the dead body (whatever is fitting for these creatures) to rouse the interests of the lizards. Once one of them comes and claims the body, I'll wash my hands in the river water and shake them out as I walk back. I won't say anything. I'll leave this little message to his imagination.

"Kennel and larder you say? I assume these are the two tunnels that don't lead to the upper levels of the complex? What will we find there? Are there any living beings in your larder?"

[sblock]Secondary check Insight + 8. Rolled 10. 18 passes the low DC.

Primary check Streetwise + 5 (augmented by + 2 from Insight). Rolled 10. 17 Passes the medium DC.[/sblock]

10s are wild! I've greased his palm by easing his suffering and at least played at being trustworthy. I want to milk him for the relevant info about this settlement:

- Does the river connect to tunnels that will let me access the upper complex? Are they well patrolled?
- I want to know about The Rotting Man's lair. Location, layout, and guards?
- Are there any potential mutineers here that feel their group has become mere thralls to The Rotting Man? Who are they and where may I find them?