The Forges of the Mountain King Chapter 1- Bottom's Up!

[Walking Dad]

Grim

"May you go straight to Moradin's Hall. Fly there with the Raven Queen's wings. You did your work. May your rest be final and your rewards eternal!"
Grim says to Len's corpse, seemingly also to be a bit envying and wishing for the fate he just described.

[sblock=OOC]

[sblock=Quick sheet]
Grim
Perception: 15 Insight: 10 Dark Vision
AC 18 Fortitude 12 Reflex 15 Will 15
Initiative: +4
Hit Points: 25 / 25 Bloodied: 12
Temporary Hit Points: 0
Resist: necrotic 5
Saving Throw: -
Action Points: 1 Second Wind: 1
Milestones: 0.5
Healing Surge: 6 Surges per day: 2 / 2
At-Will Powers: Penance Stare, Soul Drain, Anvil Touch
Encounter Powers: Dark Reaping, Soul Eater
Daily Powers: Dark Cloud

Condition:
[/sblock][/sblock]

 

[larryfinnjr]

Cinara

"I'm no priest of death, yet here I am, twice in the same day, called to pray over the remains of the fallen," Cinara whispers to herself. And aloud, "What is it you wish of me, of us, Dwarf-Father!? We are not heros, not great paragons of our kind! We merely wish to bring some much needed pride to our caste. And what have we become of it? Two of our band have fallen as you have watched on!!" Cinara's forgeborn flesh flares with waves of energy, courscating from red fire to blue ice. "Should we return home? Is that your message? Are we to abandon a foolish quest and submit to our place and standing? Or are we to push forward and bring some meaning to Thorgrim's and Lenoard's sacrifice? What do you want!?!?"

Cinara falls to her knees, torn between anger, sadness, and confusion. She looks over to Len's broken body, and, instinctively, begins a dwarven chant, deep and melodious. Her eyes half-closed, she gently rocks on her haunches, honoring the Apricot lineage as far as she and her order know it back through time.

She ends with a phrase known to all dwarves: "From the stone we were born, and to the stone we will return."

And finally, placing two small round rocks on his eyes, "Goodbye, Len."


To the others, "A pyre. Help me collect these verflixt ogres and we will bring them to the spider cave. They will burn, we will place Lenonard's body upon a bier, and they shall bear him to the Great Forge. Come."

 

[larryfinnjr]

Cinara

Len's impromptu funeral taken care of, Cinara addresses her companions, "Let not Len's death be totally in vain. There must be something here worth protecting, something those that wish no one to know what happened to the Tannheim wanted kept hidden. Why else disguise the entrance to this place and place undead guards? Let us search about and see what we can find...hopefully our efforts will bear fruit."

"Kazzigan, I'm sure Len would be honored for you to have his blade. May it bring us closer to our goal," and Cinara places a simple blessing upon it, asking the Forgefather to temper the steel and make it one with its wielder.

 

[Goonalan]

Silently, or at least as quietly as you can- possibly with Mardred to the fore you take a snoop around the caves, at least see where they go before you are forced to take any more decisions.

GM: Perception checks please.

The rank stench of rotting meat hangs heavy in the air still, more so perhaps. Ahead, the rocky corridor widens into a small chamber that has been filled knee-high in one corner with furs and skins.

Flies buzz and circle the chamber, here and there are the remains of the undead creatures passing- rotten flesh, great bloody hand prints, and worse.

Ahead- across the far side of the chamber, is a short corridor, a very short corridor which ends very abruptly, at least that's all you can see from where you stand.

GM: Describe what you are doing, and where you are looking, please.

New Map-

101 The Zombie Ogre Lair- An odd room

Happy hunting...

 

[Ressurectah]

Krogan

Before the Ogres burn on the pyre,Krogan checks if there is any value to them.
Also Krogan will look around for anything out of the ordinary....
" Len, my friend your time has come...keep a spare table for us at Our Fathers Forge.. we will share a beer soon..."
Krogan will let Threeways loose a little, couse he needs some feel-good energy right now..He can`t remember when was the last time he laughed...

 

[Goonalan]

Before the Ogres burn on the pyre,Krogan checks if there is any value to them.
Also Krogan will look around for anything out of the ordinary....
" Len, my friend your time has come...keep a spare table for us at Our Fathers Forge.. we will share a beer soon..."
Krogan will let Threeways loose a little, couse he needs some feel-good energy right now..He can`t remember when was the last time he laughed...

GM: Pyre... sorry just read back to this, where are you going to make a pyre- in the cave, you'd choke to death on the smoke if you could get it lit!

Krogan notices something odd even before Threeways is let loose, there's a handle sticking out the mess of furs and junk in the corner. The handle of a greataxe... Krogan grabs it out, covered in filth is a perfectly serviceable weapon- in fact, as Krogan examines the blade, a very serviceable and beautifully made weapon- it feels evenly weighted and perhaps even an example of Tannheim construction.

GM: Here's a thing though, and this is me being a bit bitchy- I need more direction, don't just say I look for something 'out of the ordinary', I've told you what's in the room- you decide what's out of the ordinary, and then tell me what you are doing, sorry Zoki but it seems I'm doing all the leg work here. What are you doing, exactly- where are you looking? Sorry again if this is a bit bitchy, the RP is great- genuinely, the description of what you are doing outside of combat in particular is minimal at times. Tell me off if you think I'm wrong, but please- a little more help.

 

[larryfinnjr]

GM: Pyre... sorry just read back to this, where are you going to make a pyre- in the cave, you'd choke to death on the smoke if you could get it lit!

OOC: oh come now, the prye is for literary/dramatic effect... we can light it out on the ledge by the ravine........

Cinara

OOC: now that we have a good view of what's beyond the ogre's area....

"Moradin's beard, what is that smell? Is it possible to smell worse than those rotten beasts themselves? Phewwwww...puts a Thundergut to shame!" Hopefully her mild attempt at humor draws the party back out of its collective despair.....

"What do you suppose this place is? Naturally hewn caves hiding a hand-made room at the end? OK, so the refuse over there might be just random junk the zombies collected/ate/slept in maybe? What else is there in here, and why? Someone with better eyes than mine have a careful look see, and do take note of that alcove over there," she points to the eastern end of the room. "And careful for anything set to murder us before moving about!"

Does anything about the construction of this room stick out to Cinara? Can she make any sense out of what's here? <Dungeoneering and Insight checks.>

 

[Goonalan]

OOC: oh come now, the prye is for literary/dramatic effect... we can light it out on the ledge by the ravine........

Cinara

OOC: now that we have a good view of what's beyond the ogre's area....

"Moradin's beard, what is that smell? Is it possible to smell worse than those rotten beasts themselves? Phewwwww...puts a Thundergut to shame!" Hopefully her mild attempt at humor draws the party back out of its collective despair.....

"What do you suppose this place is? Naturally hewn caves hiding a hand-made room at the end? OK, so the refuse over there might be just random junk the zombies collected/ate/slept in maybe? What else is there in here, and why? Someone with better eyes than mine have a careful look see, and do take note of that alcove over there," she points to the eastern end of the room. "And careful for anything set to murder us before moving about!"

Does anything about the construction of this room stick out to Cinara? Can she make any sense out of what's here? <Dungeoneering and Insight checks.>

GM: Pyre- I'm still laughing as I type this, can you imagine it great 400+ lbs rotting Ogres being dragged in to place- a dead Dwarf slung on the top. Then the whole lot set alight- somehow. In the cave you'd asphyxiate, out on the ravine ledge (should you be able to safely drag the Ogres down there), well... you might as well also scrawl on the wall- "we're up the stairs...". Pyre- LOL.

Back to the cavern...

Hmmm... there's something strange here, and Cinara has hit the nail on the head, why have a natural cavern- accessed via a secret stair (well built) and then a flagged well constructed chamber. It doesn't take much, the secret door, in the short passage is remarkably easy to spot once you've worked out it's there.

That said a degree of expertise is needed with these things- certainly a close observation required to spot the way in which it can be accessed (opened).

Obviously that's if you are going to just shove it open and go in... to wherever.

I think we need Mardred to get in to play, although maybe some others could help out with any other skills.

GM: Pyre- still tickles me...

 

[larryfinnjr]

Hey, who's great idea was this funeral pyre?!? ;-p

I'm going to be incommunicado for the day... having people over for a cookout starting around noon my time (3 hrs from now) and game night. Assuming I'm still cognizant, I'll check in before bedtime, but it might be in the morning....... (American holiday tomorrow).

 

[Herobizkit]

[sblock=Mardred]Played by Herobizkit (filling in for ripjames)
Dwarf Thief Level 1

Perception: 18 Insight: 13 Low-light Vision

AC 15 Fortitude 11 Reflex 15 Will 13
Initiative: 3 Speed: 5
Str 8 Con 13 Dex 17 Int 11 Wis 16 Cha 13

Hit Points: 25 / 25 Bloodied: 12
Temporary Hit Points: 0
Healing Surge: 6 Surges per day: 7 / 7

Resist:
Saving Throw: +5 vs Poison.

Action Points: 1 Second Wind: 1 (Minor Action)

Languages: Common, Dwarven.

Trained Skills: Acrobatics +8, Bluff +6, Perception +8, Stealth +8, Streetwise +6, Thievery +8.
Other Skills: Arcana 0, Athletics -1, Diplomacy +1, Dungeoneering +5, Endurance +3, Heal +3, History 0, Insight +3, Intimidate +1, Nature +3, Religion 0.

Feats: Backstabber.

Traits:
Stand Your Ground- You move 1 less square with Forced Movement, and get an Immediate Saving Throw to avoid being knocked Prone.
First Strike- At the start of any Encounter you gain Combat Advantage over any foe that has not acted yet.
Weapon Finesse- Use Dex not Str for Basic Attacks, with +2 damage for Light Blades, Hand Crossbows, Shortbows & Slings

At-Will Powers: Standard Actions.
Melee Basic Attack (Dagger): +6 vs AC 1d4+5 damage.
Melee Basic Attack (Shortsword): +6 vs AC 1d6+5 damage.
Ranged Basic Attack (Dagger): Range 5/10 +6 vs AC 1d4+5 damage.
Ranged Basic Attack (Shortbow): Range 15/30 +5 vs AC 1d8+5 damage.

At-Will Powers: Move Actions.
Ambush Trick: You Move your Speed. You have Combat Advantage over all enemies within 5 squares of you who are not adjacent to one of their allies. Move Action.
Sneak's Trick: You Move up to 3 squares (Speed -2), and then can make a Stealth Check to remain or become Hidden, providing you have some form of cover or concealment. Move Action.

At-Will Powers: Free Actions.
Sneak Attack: Once per Turn, when you have Combat Advantage and hit with a Crossbow, Light Blade, Shortbow or Sling, you do an extra 2d8 damage. Free Action.

Encounter Powers: Minor Actions.
Second Wind: Healing Surge & +2 to all Defences until end of next turn. Minor Action.

Encounter Powers: Free Actions.
Backstab: You make a Basic Attack (with a Weapon) against an enemy within 5 squares you have Combat Advantage against. You gain +3 To Hit and do an extra 1d6 damage. Free Action.

Conditions[/sblock]Mardred shuffles about wordlessly, helping the others with the funeral preparations.

When the times comes, Mardred throws Cinara an exasperated look, then heads to M-83 and searches for any means of ingress.