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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nephis" data-source="post: 8958452" data-attributes="member: 20459">“Gosb’tar, I think there is a way,” PA’AVU says hesitantly. She approaches the bedrock, kneels, and takes in a voluminous breath. Exhales. Inhales again, then, breathing out, strikes the stone with her iron palm. A crack opens. Pa’avu scrambles to her feet. The stone crumbles into a thousand pieces, revealing a dark stair carved into the very rock, descending deep below the surface.“Well done, Pa’avu,” the psion acknowledges, “we have found the way to StoneROOT’s perch!”"Gosb'tar, this ritual will be dangerous, and we will need to regain our strength before undertaking it and continuing our journey.""We will secure a camp and make our rest below," the psion decides.[HR][/HR]Make Camp atop Stoneroots Perch Skill Challenge1) Ensure low danger.“You would be surprised how often a barrister needs to assure herself she has left no trace,” BITA-BOUSSEH murmurs, as she uses the branch of a long-needled pine to brush much of the evidence of their footsteps out of the patchy snow. She pauses and glances briefly at the enormous goliath who gazes steadily back. “Or perhaps you wouldn’t!” Chanvati’s slave turns to continue gathering more pine branches and birch limbs as well. The barrister looks at her own handiwork – their footprints erased for the most part (particularly the gigantic ones of Pa’avu), the hound’s left in place, hopefully resembling wolf tracks. Bita-Bousseh moves on to her next task, concealing their entry into the earth with the additional branches, the goliath handing them to her when requested. Then they join the merchant-prince and the hound awaiting them on the stairs.CHANVATI lights one of his sunrods and heads cautiously down the stairs, his consort at his side, his slave and her hound following behind. As he suspected it would, the stairs terminate in a large natural cavern. He can hear Pa’avu at work behind him while he carefully studies the walls and ceiling of the cavern, examining them for cracks or other signs of structural weakness. Remembering his study of old buildings and ancient ruins, he also looks for other kinds of dangers, now monitoring the flare of the sunrod for any evidence of noxious gases, now checking the chamber’s walls and floor for droppings or dangerous molds.* Bita-Bousseh makes a Secondary Skill Stealth check to hide the traces of their passage: r(6) + 6 = 12 vs. 11 Easy DC = Success = +2 bonus to* Chanvati makes a Primary Skill Dungeoneering check: r(9) + 6 + 2 = 17 vs. 15 Moderate DC Success[HR][/HR]2) Locate/create shelter/concealment.As Chanvati begins his examination of their proposed bedchamber, PA’AVU lays down her bundles and prepares two soft “pillows” of the pine and hemlock browse close together. With the bedrolls, these should suffice for her gosb’tar and the barrister. Neither she nor her Hound have need of such bedding. Hers has generally been the floor outside Chanvati’s bedroom: she knows how to endure.* Pa'avu makes a Primary Skill Endurance check to transform the inhospitable space to something more amenable: r(11) + 9 = 20 vs. 15 Moderate DC Success[HR][/HR]3) Locate/create amenities (food/water/fire supply via hunting/foraging/survivalism etc).As he follows his Giant and her companions down the stairs, HAZARD sniffs his surroundings with great interest. There is a lot of dust along the way – and he sneezes more than once (immediately hush!-ed by his Beloved Friend). The Hound gives a great sigh: he is hungry and thirsty and tired.Then they reach the bottom of the stairs and enter the Great Room: more smells! Some kind of lizardy beast crawled through here long, LONG ago – the Hound can just smell traces of it. And … YES! Hazard hurries into the passageway beyond, following his nose, finding … WATER!! He slows down at the pool and looks in, looking for monsters (today’s battle has made him a bit more cautious of the dark) and daring a taste. Ambrosia! He begins to lap up the water in earnest, the sounds of which draw the attention of the horned one.* Hazard makes a Primary Skill Perception check to find potable water: r(11) + 9 = 20 vs. 15 Moderate DC Success[HR][/HR]4) Quartermaster/stewardship of supplies and spirits/setup camp (including consume 1 ration per).Having ascertained that the hound has indeed found potable water, BITA-BOUSSEH feels her spirits buoyed and returns to the large chamber to gather all of their near-empty waterskins. Glancing around before returning to the Hound and the pool, she witnesses Pa’avu’s efforts with great satisfaction: tonight’s bed might be the most comfortable since they have left civilization!Later, as they all sit together, dining on lentil wafers and smoked dactyl, Bita-Bousseh gives sustenance to their spirits just as the food replenishes their bodies by regaling them with the surely highly exaggerated story of Peta-Rivan’s cousin, a duel of honor at the Popular Assembly, a poisoned blade, a trail of loose-lipped servants, and a garden of rare and toxic plants.* Bita-Bousseh makes a Primary Skill Bluff check to raise the spirits of the fellowship: r(8) + 11 = 19 vs. 15 Moderate DC SuccessSkill Challenge complete: 4 Successes/0 Failures[HR][/HR]Bookkeeping matters:* With the switch from Brooch of No Regrets +1 to Choker of Eloquence +2, Chanvati's NADs rise to Fort 16, Ref 19, Will 20, and his Bluff and Diplomacy bonuses rise to +12.* Pa'avu's Weapon and Implement attacks go up by +1 due to Rain of Hammers Ki Focus +2, unless she is using the Vanguard property of her Weapon for extra damage on a Charge attack; then, she uses that weapon's property instead of the Ki focus's.* Current Loot totals (not counting the 15 GP Pa'avu has left over from CharGen): 200 GP residuum to use, 881 GP, 100 GP gems (3), jade hairpin (250 GP).</blockquote>

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