Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carlo-One" data-source="post: 8057071" data-attributes="member: 7015827">At this point, the early afternoon of Ches 14, there was still plenty of time remaining in the day for the party to gather their strength and reorganize before attempting another foray into the cavern. First, Rahnee headed out to see if she could locate and bring back Aerikoth. As Helrud watched her go, Dermot proposed that on their next sally, he should go down the rope first, then have his and Darrow’s equipment lowered separately, after which Darrow would join him and they could ready themselves as Shanni descended. Helrud would remain above to ensure that the rope stayed steady and nothing untoward happened up top, while waiting for Rahnee and Aerikoth. All agreed with this plan. Darrow grumbled that he’d prefer not to be separated from his armor, which however was impossible given the narrow space of the shaft.Dermot divested himself of his equipment and dexterously clambered into the hole, but then nearly lost his grip on the rope while descending and had to halt in order to stabilize himself against the shaft walls. The ranger then relied on his strength to get down the rope safely, with Darrow and Shanni carefully letting it play out from their end. Once he was on the cavern floor, they lowered his pack, but it wobbled during the descent and loudly clanged against the shaft wall. Darrow and Shanni winced and grimaced in reaction; the petite rogue expressed concern over the loud sound and advised Darrow to hurry down. The two of them hauled the rope back up, attached Darrow’s pack and then lowered it to the cavern without further incident.The dwarf told Shanni that he would climb down on his own, so all she needed to do was keep the rope steady. She and Helrud both did that as Darrow made the descent for the second time, moving more slowly and carefully. Despite some wobbling by Shanni up top, he reached the cavern floor easily and began putting on his equipment, having been warned by Dermot that something was out there. Shanni then made her way down the shaft, more quickly and assuredly now that she knew its dimensions, sliding down its final length and gracefully landing like a dancer.As Darrow picked up his axe and shield, he warned Shanni that Dermot had heard something moving, which prompted her to check the string on her bow. The dwarf then showed some curiosity about the papers strewn about the chamber, which Shanni had not been able to decipher. Neither of them touched the papers, which were falling apart; Darrow could only make out some impressions left by faded black ink on them.The three adventurers readied themselves to head out into the main cavern. Shanni first suggested that someone sneaky lead the way, but quickly discovered that she could not see anything in the inky darkness; evidently she did not want to march ahead with a torch announcing her presence. Darrow offered the alternate suggestion of him marching up front to be loud and attract attention; Dermot agreed with this. Shanni turned to him, surprised, but then acquiesced as the ranger explained they could stab anything that showed itself in the back. Darrow, now fully armed and armored, then stomped forward past the broken doors, his two companions following with much softer treads.</blockquote>

Verification