-
NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Welcome to the Halmae (updated 2/27/07)
- Thread starter spyscribe
- Start date
spyscribe
First Post
Part the Ninety-Fifth
In which: someone in the Sovereignty is pleased to see the party.
Evor’s father is the same bargeman who was up on deck before at the time of the “accident.” (And Lira does notice, when she really looks, that his beard is just a bit shorter than she would expect on a dwarf of his apparent age.) After freshly chilled ale, and a demonstration of Evor’s use of animate rope he eventually allows that this could be useful for a dwarf to know.
When Lira mentions a spell that allows a person to breathe underwater, Evor becomes entranced at the prospect of becoming perhaps the greatest lake-wader trainer of all time. Also, it turns out Evor and his father are both Stoneshapers, and have distant relations in the mines near Dar Und.
The rest of the afternoon passes quickly, interrupted only when the barge approaches shore and the dwarves are called to attend their duties, and Lira to finish her packing to disembark.
Once the barge has been unloaded, it’s a two day journey for the passengers and goods up the mountain road to the Ironroot mines. By the second midnight on the road, most of the party members could follow the Sovereign service in their sleep, and a couple of them do.
###
Thatch watches eagerly as they approach the entrance to the mines. From what he’s seen of dwarven building so far, he’s hopeful that this will be something to see.
He isn’t disappointed.
The road becomes a narrow trail, twisting between walls of rock, which, as they approach the mines, Thatch sees have been carved into immense statues of dwarves standing guard, watching over the passage into the mine itself.
Upon arrival, the party and the rest of the passengers from the barge pitch their tents in a flat clearing outside the entrance to the mines, while their horses are all corralled in a small paddock the dwarves have constructed for visitors’ use. Reyu—after making arrangements for a space for Paws in a small side-cave—asks the foreman if he knows an Olek Stoneshaper, cousin to Gurn Stoneshaper from the mines near Dar Und.
“Olek? Sure.” The dwarf leads Reyu and the rest of the party into a tunnel where several dwarves are clustered around a series of maps spread on a trestle table.
“Olek!” shouts the foreman, “visitors to see you.”
A stout, very dwarven looking dwarf comes forward, eyeing the party. “Oh?”
Anvil steps forward. “Olek Stoneshaper, your cousin—“
“Gurn Stoneshaper” Lira whispers discretely in his ear.
“Gurn, has given us letters of deposit he said we could redeem with you.”
He produces said letters and gives them to Olek to examine. After a few moments the dwarf is satisfied. “Shouldn’t be a problem.” He shrugs and continues, speaking as though to convince himself as much as to explain to the party. “Any friend of Gurn’s is a friend of mine. You want that all in gold, or some gems too? Easier to carry…” Olek trails off then, distracted by something behind Anvil.
Just at that moment, Thatch comes forward, bearing the half-keg of dwarven ale which the party got at the same time they obtained the letters of deposit, on the chance that it might help smooth relations. Anvil turns to see what Olek is staring at. “We have brought this as well,” he says.
Olek’s eyes go wide for a moment, as he eyes the keg. “Is that… the family label?”
The party, as one, nods.
Olek takes his pickaxe hanging at his belt and swings it with a mighty THUNK! burying the tip in the table-top. “STONESHAPERS!” he bellows. He turns back to the party, grinning wide. “Welcome! Any friend of Gurn’s is a friend of mine!”
Every Stoneshaper in the mines is soon gathered, and after Lira chills the keg, the ale begins to flow on a very convivial evening.
Well, mostly convivial anyway. Kiara gulps down half a mug of ale before Annika can stop her, and both women are soon feeling the effects. Perhaps fortunately, Kiara passes out in Thatch’s lap before the night is too advanced.
Reyu sits quietly by as Lira—the party’s unofficial goodwill ambassador in all dwarven matters—confers with Olek about routes into the mountains.
“So,” says Lira, after a mug of ale slipping into Dwarven almost by reflex, “I hear there are great tunnels in these mines.”
“Of course there are,” replies Olek with gusto. “Dwarves are the best tunnelers in the world. Tunnels!” he shouts, which is quickly echoed around the room, punctuated with a great slamming of mugs upon various tables, walls, and heads.
Lira joins in, draining her mug of ale. Reyu uses the commotion to discretely pass her own, nearly full mug, to the other woman who accepts it without looking. Once Olek is no longer the center of attention, Lira resumes her conversation. “Do you know if there’s an underground route to the Lord’s Spine?” she asks.
Olek thinks. “Yeah, we’ve charted that. Get you a guide and you could be there in six days.”
“Is that a quick pace?”
Olek shakes his head, “Nah. Hurry, and you can shave a couple off that.”
“Come up anywhere near the Sharpstone Pass?”
“Puts you a little past the ridge. Maybe two more days to the monastery.”
Lira nods, and asks about other places tunnels might go, including the Valley at the Center of the Storm, and various random locales with seemingly equal interest, but Reyu can see her eyes brighten at the news.
Benedic’s estimate is that over-land, the trail to the Sharpstone Pass and the monastery would take seven days travel. If they pushed themselves they might be able to pass the Inquisitors undetected, but it would be a punishing pace to gain even one full day on the officials. Underground, it seems they stand a good chance of gaining at least a day, perhaps two with significantly lower chances of being detected. And given that the Inquisitor has implied a painful death awaits them if they have lied about their intentions to visit the monks, avoiding her scrutiny is a high priority.
Lira quickly makes arrangements for a guide and boarding for their horses while they journey underground.
“Are the tunnels dangerous?” Lira asks as negotiations wind down.
Olek scoffs, “It’s not like the surface is safe, lass. Yeah, you got your wild lizards, your stirges, derro--”
“Derro?” Lira asks.
“Deep dwarves.” Okeck takes a sip of ale, then expands, “Sort of. Not proper dwarves, they don’t even have beards. Plenty of those lot never see the surface in their lives.”
“What kind of a dwarf doesn’t have a beard?”
“That’s what we say, lass.” He raises his voice to address the room in general. “Don’t we lads?”
This is greeted with loud and lusty agreement, accompanied by more mugs being drained and slammed, although what exactly the room is agreeing to is plainly rather murky to most of its inhabitants.
Arrangements taken care of, Lira goes off with a fresh mug of ale to find one of the dwarven wizards to compare notes. Reyu takes the opportunity to ask Olek about other travelers in the area.
“Hmm… not a whole lot from your part the world. Well… I guess, there was one fellow, came through a couple of months ago, back in September I think, looking to buy onyx.”
If Reyu had been drinking, that comment would have caused her to stop. “Did you sell it to him?”
(Note: remember way back, when the party found that Jelliana had been to the Stoneshaper mines before them, convincing Gurn not to sell a diamond to Professor Alexandra? One of the things she had been looking to buy from him was a large onyx. Gurn informed the party he didn’t have any, but suggested two mines that would be a more likely source. One of those was the Ironroot mines.)
Olek nods, “Sure. Great large hunk of it.” The dwarf holds his hands apart to demonstrate.
Reyu chooses her worlds carefully. “That’s… odd. A friend of mine was looking for onyx a while ago… What did this human look like?”
Olek describes a tall bearded human, who wore a non-sectarian holy symbol of Kettenek.
“Do you remember his name?” Reyu presses gently.
“Don’t think so,” he scratches his own beard in thought. “Human names all sound alike…” he trails off, then sits up with a triumphant smile. “Cyrus he said his name was. Yep, that’s it. Cyrus.”
(Note 2: When Guardians of the Barrier are ordained they take one of several names. Cyrus is one of them, so having the same name is not necessarily an indication that this was the party’s former companion. Also, that Cyrus was still traveling with the party at the time.)
Near midnight, Thatch heaves Kiara over one shoulder and carries her out to the tent to let her sleep the rest of the night. On the way back inside, he is met by the Madame Inquisitor. Although she is shorter than the fighter by a good head, she still manages to look down at him.
“Are your… companions enjoying their stay?” she asks archly.
Thatch ducks his head a bit. “We have some mutual friends.”
She sniffs his breath as he rises again. “I see.”
That night, Anvil is the only party member who rises at midnight, and he conducts his prayers alone.
In which: someone in the Sovereignty is pleased to see the party.
Evor’s father is the same bargeman who was up on deck before at the time of the “accident.” (And Lira does notice, when she really looks, that his beard is just a bit shorter than she would expect on a dwarf of his apparent age.) After freshly chilled ale, and a demonstration of Evor’s use of animate rope he eventually allows that this could be useful for a dwarf to know.
When Lira mentions a spell that allows a person to breathe underwater, Evor becomes entranced at the prospect of becoming perhaps the greatest lake-wader trainer of all time. Also, it turns out Evor and his father are both Stoneshapers, and have distant relations in the mines near Dar Und.
The rest of the afternoon passes quickly, interrupted only when the barge approaches shore and the dwarves are called to attend their duties, and Lira to finish her packing to disembark.
Once the barge has been unloaded, it’s a two day journey for the passengers and goods up the mountain road to the Ironroot mines. By the second midnight on the road, most of the party members could follow the Sovereign service in their sleep, and a couple of them do.
###
Thatch watches eagerly as they approach the entrance to the mines. From what he’s seen of dwarven building so far, he’s hopeful that this will be something to see.
He isn’t disappointed.
The road becomes a narrow trail, twisting between walls of rock, which, as they approach the mines, Thatch sees have been carved into immense statues of dwarves standing guard, watching over the passage into the mine itself.
Upon arrival, the party and the rest of the passengers from the barge pitch their tents in a flat clearing outside the entrance to the mines, while their horses are all corralled in a small paddock the dwarves have constructed for visitors’ use. Reyu—after making arrangements for a space for Paws in a small side-cave—asks the foreman if he knows an Olek Stoneshaper, cousin to Gurn Stoneshaper from the mines near Dar Und.
“Olek? Sure.” The dwarf leads Reyu and the rest of the party into a tunnel where several dwarves are clustered around a series of maps spread on a trestle table.
“Olek!” shouts the foreman, “visitors to see you.”
A stout, very dwarven looking dwarf comes forward, eyeing the party. “Oh?”
Anvil steps forward. “Olek Stoneshaper, your cousin—“
“Gurn Stoneshaper” Lira whispers discretely in his ear.
“Gurn, has given us letters of deposit he said we could redeem with you.”
He produces said letters and gives them to Olek to examine. After a few moments the dwarf is satisfied. “Shouldn’t be a problem.” He shrugs and continues, speaking as though to convince himself as much as to explain to the party. “Any friend of Gurn’s is a friend of mine. You want that all in gold, or some gems too? Easier to carry…” Olek trails off then, distracted by something behind Anvil.
Just at that moment, Thatch comes forward, bearing the half-keg of dwarven ale which the party got at the same time they obtained the letters of deposit, on the chance that it might help smooth relations. Anvil turns to see what Olek is staring at. “We have brought this as well,” he says.
Olek’s eyes go wide for a moment, as he eyes the keg. “Is that… the family label?”
The party, as one, nods.
Olek takes his pickaxe hanging at his belt and swings it with a mighty THUNK! burying the tip in the table-top. “STONESHAPERS!” he bellows. He turns back to the party, grinning wide. “Welcome! Any friend of Gurn’s is a friend of mine!”
Every Stoneshaper in the mines is soon gathered, and after Lira chills the keg, the ale begins to flow on a very convivial evening.
Well, mostly convivial anyway. Kiara gulps down half a mug of ale before Annika can stop her, and both women are soon feeling the effects. Perhaps fortunately, Kiara passes out in Thatch’s lap before the night is too advanced.
Reyu sits quietly by as Lira—the party’s unofficial goodwill ambassador in all dwarven matters—confers with Olek about routes into the mountains.
“So,” says Lira, after a mug of ale slipping into Dwarven almost by reflex, “I hear there are great tunnels in these mines.”
“Of course there are,” replies Olek with gusto. “Dwarves are the best tunnelers in the world. Tunnels!” he shouts, which is quickly echoed around the room, punctuated with a great slamming of mugs upon various tables, walls, and heads.
Lira joins in, draining her mug of ale. Reyu uses the commotion to discretely pass her own, nearly full mug, to the other woman who accepts it without looking. Once Olek is no longer the center of attention, Lira resumes her conversation. “Do you know if there’s an underground route to the Lord’s Spine?” she asks.
Olek thinks. “Yeah, we’ve charted that. Get you a guide and you could be there in six days.”
“Is that a quick pace?”
Olek shakes his head, “Nah. Hurry, and you can shave a couple off that.”
“Come up anywhere near the Sharpstone Pass?”
“Puts you a little past the ridge. Maybe two more days to the monastery.”
Lira nods, and asks about other places tunnels might go, including the Valley at the Center of the Storm, and various random locales with seemingly equal interest, but Reyu can see her eyes brighten at the news.
Benedic’s estimate is that over-land, the trail to the Sharpstone Pass and the monastery would take seven days travel. If they pushed themselves they might be able to pass the Inquisitors undetected, but it would be a punishing pace to gain even one full day on the officials. Underground, it seems they stand a good chance of gaining at least a day, perhaps two with significantly lower chances of being detected. And given that the Inquisitor has implied a painful death awaits them if they have lied about their intentions to visit the monks, avoiding her scrutiny is a high priority.
Lira quickly makes arrangements for a guide and boarding for their horses while they journey underground.
“Are the tunnels dangerous?” Lira asks as negotiations wind down.
Olek scoffs, “It’s not like the surface is safe, lass. Yeah, you got your wild lizards, your stirges, derro--”
“Derro?” Lira asks.
“Deep dwarves.” Okeck takes a sip of ale, then expands, “Sort of. Not proper dwarves, they don’t even have beards. Plenty of those lot never see the surface in their lives.”
“What kind of a dwarf doesn’t have a beard?”
“That’s what we say, lass.” He raises his voice to address the room in general. “Don’t we lads?”
This is greeted with loud and lusty agreement, accompanied by more mugs being drained and slammed, although what exactly the room is agreeing to is plainly rather murky to most of its inhabitants.
Arrangements taken care of, Lira goes off with a fresh mug of ale to find one of the dwarven wizards to compare notes. Reyu takes the opportunity to ask Olek about other travelers in the area.
“Hmm… not a whole lot from your part the world. Well… I guess, there was one fellow, came through a couple of months ago, back in September I think, looking to buy onyx.”
If Reyu had been drinking, that comment would have caused her to stop. “Did you sell it to him?”
(Note: remember way back, when the party found that Jelliana had been to the Stoneshaper mines before them, convincing Gurn not to sell a diamond to Professor Alexandra? One of the things she had been looking to buy from him was a large onyx. Gurn informed the party he didn’t have any, but suggested two mines that would be a more likely source. One of those was the Ironroot mines.)
Olek nods, “Sure. Great large hunk of it.” The dwarf holds his hands apart to demonstrate.
Reyu chooses her worlds carefully. “That’s… odd. A friend of mine was looking for onyx a while ago… What did this human look like?”
Olek describes a tall bearded human, who wore a non-sectarian holy symbol of Kettenek.
“Do you remember his name?” Reyu presses gently.
“Don’t think so,” he scratches his own beard in thought. “Human names all sound alike…” he trails off, then sits up with a triumphant smile. “Cyrus he said his name was. Yep, that’s it. Cyrus.”
(Note 2: When Guardians of the Barrier are ordained they take one of several names. Cyrus is one of them, so having the same name is not necessarily an indication that this was the party’s former companion. Also, that Cyrus was still traveling with the party at the time.)
Near midnight, Thatch heaves Kiara over one shoulder and carries her out to the tent to let her sleep the rest of the night. On the way back inside, he is met by the Madame Inquisitor. Although she is shorter than the fighter by a good head, she still manages to look down at him.
“Are your… companions enjoying their stay?” she asks archly.
Thatch ducks his head a bit. “We have some mutual friends.”
She sniffs his breath as he rises again. “I see.”
That night, Anvil is the only party member who rises at midnight, and he conducts his prayers alone.
spyscribe
First Post
On his way back to his tent following midnight prayers, Anvil notices a light burning in the tent shared by Eva, Lira, and Reyu.
Low voices fall silent at his approach, but a moment later, Reyu lifts the door flap to let him in.
"How did you know it was me?" Anvil asks as he sits beside them.
"I looked," Eva replies.
"I didn't notice."
"Good."
Eva and Reyu are examing a document, which Anvil quickly sees is the map of the Sovereignty given to the party by Lord Agasha. Off to one side, Lira sleeps soundly.
"I couldn't sleep," Eva explains. "I wanted to be sure the only place you could be going if you were on this road beyond the mines was the Monastery."
"What about the Vale?" Reyu points out, indicating a spot even farther into the mountains along the same trail.
"From my understanding," says Anvil, "the Vale of the Holy Spring is the reason why the monastery was built. Even if she is going there, she will pass the monastery."
"Do you know what the Vale is?" Eva asks.
"A holy site of some sort. Lord Agasha--"
Anvil stops talking as Lira murmurs something and rolls over in her bedroll. A few seconds later, her breathing resumes the steady rhythm of deep sleep.
Reyu spares a glance at the sorcerer. "I am not certain it is a good thing she can sleep through our discussion."
"That is true," Anvil agrees, adding, "Kettenek's Justice demands vigilance at all times."
Eva flashes a small smile. "Look closer."
Reyu does, and notices Euro quickly closing one eye under her attention.
"If we were something to worry about," Eva continues, "he'd wake her up."
Anvil shrugs, and returns to the prior topic of discussion. "Komatsu's concerns were clear. As we have decided he is trustworthy, we must assume the Inquisitors share our destination. And if that is the case," he adds, "we will not want to be delayed more than necessary in our departure."
With that he rises and taking his leave, returns to his tent. Reyu, having no need of sleep, also excuses herself. Alone, Eva puts out her small lamp, and crawls into her own bedroll. But it is a long time before sleep claims her, and when it does, her dreams are troubled.
Low voices fall silent at his approach, but a moment later, Reyu lifts the door flap to let him in.
"How did you know it was me?" Anvil asks as he sits beside them.
"I looked," Eva replies.
"I didn't notice."
"Good."
Eva and Reyu are examing a document, which Anvil quickly sees is the map of the Sovereignty given to the party by Lord Agasha. Off to one side, Lira sleeps soundly.
"I couldn't sleep," Eva explains. "I wanted to be sure the only place you could be going if you were on this road beyond the mines was the Monastery."
"What about the Vale?" Reyu points out, indicating a spot even farther into the mountains along the same trail.
"From my understanding," says Anvil, "the Vale of the Holy Spring is the reason why the monastery was built. Even if she is going there, she will pass the monastery."
"Do you know what the Vale is?" Eva asks.
"A holy site of some sort. Lord Agasha--"
Anvil stops talking as Lira murmurs something and rolls over in her bedroll. A few seconds later, her breathing resumes the steady rhythm of deep sleep.
Reyu spares a glance at the sorcerer. "I am not certain it is a good thing she can sleep through our discussion."
"That is true," Anvil agrees, adding, "Kettenek's Justice demands vigilance at all times."
Eva flashes a small smile. "Look closer."
Reyu does, and notices Euro quickly closing one eye under her attention.
"If we were something to worry about," Eva continues, "he'd wake her up."
Anvil shrugs, and returns to the prior topic of discussion. "Komatsu's concerns were clear. As we have decided he is trustworthy, we must assume the Inquisitors share our destination. And if that is the case," he adds, "we will not want to be delayed more than necessary in our departure."
With that he rises and taking his leave, returns to his tent. Reyu, having no need of sleep, also excuses herself. Alone, Eva puts out her small lamp, and crawls into her own bedroll. But it is a long time before sleep claims her, and when it does, her dreams are troubled.
Attachments
Last edited:
spyscribe
First Post
Actually, since we had sworn that we had no plans to go to the monastery, and in fact, that we were going in the opposite direction, we definitely wanted the Inquisitor and her party to be on the road before we were. Otherwise, the Inquisitor might noticed the giant bear tracks on the trail and figure that we had lied to her.
So, the kegger was all part of a well-orchestrated and long-laid plan... or something.
And speaking of other well-orchestrated and long-laid plans, I'm hoping to get an update up later today. Fingers crossed!
So, the kegger was all part of a well-orchestrated and long-laid plan... or something.
And speaking of other well-orchestrated and long-laid plans, I'm hoping to get an update up later today. Fingers crossed!
spyscribe
First Post
Part the Ninety-Sixth
In which: the bear goes under the mountain, and this is what he sees.
Understandably, the party is not up and moving the next morning at the crack of dawn. And between sleeping in and striking camp, by the time the party is ready to depart, the Inquisitors have already left.
Lira oversees the horses, who will be boarding with the dwarves while the party is traveling underground, and checks to make sure that the party is bringing or storing any identifying equipment, hoping to prevent anyone from asking pointed questions about the party’s destination.
Olek watches these preparations slightly askance. “Are you guys in some kind of trouble?”
“No.” Lira replies sweetly.
Thatch, in the middle of slipping the groom a few extra gold to take especially good care of Bob, elbows Kiara to keep her from adding, “Not yet.”
Lira continues, smile firmly in place. “We’re foreigners here. Some would take advantage of that, counting on us being far from our resources.”
Olek shrugs and goes on his way muttering, “Any friend of Gurn’s…”
Soon enough, the party does get going, following their guide—Groff Stoneshaper—deep under the mountains. Soon, they pass from carved tunnels into what appears to be a largely untouched natural cave system which Groff confirms runs throughout the region.
Although Groff leading them over punishing terrain which includes many steep climbs and drops, the party keeps to a brisk pace, or rather, ask brisk as they can under the circumstances. Thatch often finds himself having to go back over ground he’s already covered, to help boost and lift less able companions. No one—except possibly Groff—is having an easy time of it.
Still, the first day passes without major incident. There have been a couple slips and falls, but Lira suffered the only major injury. Fortunately, a major injury to Lira is almost completely healed by a good cure light wounds.
(Player note: in a shining moment during a night of low rolls, Lira managed to get a zero on her climb check for that day. Ouch!)
The next day, the party wakes in darkness, told it is time to rise only by Groff’s internal clock.
The going is easier on the second day and the party makes good time through the tunnels. Kiara realizes the trip is much easier if she just shifts into swallow form, allowing her to fly or ride on someone’s shoulder instead of climbing. Annika also prepares several reduce spells to help Paws through tight spots.
###
Thatch walks near the head of the column, right behind Groff, scanning the tunnels as best he can by the flickering torchlight. Olek’s warning about the dangers of cave travel is still fresh in his mind, and although he is not frightened, he keeps his sword out and ready. Behind him, he hears his companions whispering:
“Did you see that?”
“All I can see is your head.”
“I thought I saw something in the shadows.”
“Where?”
Distracted, what Thatch doesn’t hear is the quick >snick< of a hidden device, triggered and springing free.
But even though he doesn’t hear anything, some instinct kicks in and he leaps to one side just as a net lying on the floor of the passage suddenly tightens and flies upward. Groff is not so lucky and goes flying up with it. And before he even has time to register what has happened, two volleys of crossbow bolts come flying at the party… from both sides of the tunnel.
Thatch steps forward, shrugging off a crossbow bolt that wings his arm and sawing with his sword at the net above him while simultaneously trying not to stab the dwarf inside it. If we lose our guide. he thinks, we’ll never get out of here, and Bob is going to think I abandoned him again.
The rest of the party scrambles to react. They have found themselves in a relatively flat stretch of tunnel with three side tunnels branching off to their left. From each of these, crossbow bolts come flying. Additionally, there are also bolts coming from high up on the solid rock wall to the right. The party’s flickering torches show the outline of several hollows in the rock above them. Perfect nesting spots for snipers.
At the rear of the party, Reyu hears more noise coming from a passage behind her and off to the right. With a quick word and gesture, Paws is off roaring down after it while Reyu takes a shot down another corridor. The bear takes a bolt in the flank followed quickly by a second, but he doesn’t even seem to notice.
Lira is startled by a very loud “ffffff—thump!” noise quite close by. About three seconds later she realizes it must be the crossbow bolt buried in her stomach. Lira’s never been shot before, and she wonders if the burning sensation in the wound is normal. She starts to feel light-headed and vaguely nauseated. Nope, definitely not normal.
About the same time, a muffled yelp comes from one of the rock-shelves above the party. (DM’s note: don’t roll a 1 when using poisoned arrows.)
A bolt nicks Benedic’s shoulder, leaving a bloody gash and a burning sensation in its wake. He shrugs off the sudden wave of dizziness and lifts his torch, heaving it down a side passage towards their unseen attackers. He catches a glimpse down one of the tunnels of a humanoid, about the size of a dwarf, but deathly pale, and instead of the usual dwarven beard it wears a thin, limp mustache.
“Derro!” Benedic shouts, following up with a silent, crap.
Fighting back the urge to vomit, Lira raises her hands and casts. From her position next to the right-hand wall of the tunnel she’s too close for the snipers ambushing them from their hollows above to aim effective, but there is scant cover from the bowman hiding in the side tunnels. Another bolt flies out of the darkness to her left, and Lira manages to get her shield spell up just in time. The bolt hits the transparent disk of force with an audible >thunk< and slides to her feet.
Well, she thinks, that’s better.
Meanwhile, Kiara shifts to hybrid form, and draws her own bow. Eva has an arrow at the ready as well, while Annika casts mage armor on herself and falls back to a defensive position against the tunnel wall. For his part, Anvil holds out his holy symbol, invoking the blessing of Kettenek upon the party, who soon feel its effects.
At the rear of the column, Reyu is busy calling upon divine favors of her own. As the derro launch another volley, she finishes summoning a dire rat who—with a charge—flings itself at the nearest derro. Reyu cannot resist a smile of satisfaction as she hears a gruff voice yelling in bad dwarven, “What in the gods’ names?” as the four-foot long rodent bears down on him.
A few seconds later Reyu hears Paws bringing something to a very sudden end.
Eva curses as he hears her spent arrow clatter against stone. She can tell where the attacks are coming from, but their attackers stay stubbornly out of range of the party’s torches. And as good as she is, it’s nearly impossible to hit what she can’t see.
She spares a glance over at Lira who is rummaging in her pack.
“What happened to ‘magic missiles never miss?’” she asks sarcastically.
Lira rolls her eyes, “And what do you suggest I aim them at,” she asks, “the darkness?”
With that, Lira finds what she was searching for and pulls a sunrod out of her pack. She quickly strikes one end against the tunnel wall, and with a flare of sparks the passage is suddenly filled with light.
Down the side-passages, the derro shriek in pain and cringe backwards.
“Excellent!” Anvil calls, “you should do more of that!”
Kiara whoops as she sends an arrow whizzing after one of the cringing derro. Eva doesn’t say anything, but commences a steady rain of missile fire back at their attackers.
Thatch has hold of the net and is sawing hard with his sword. Finally, the strands give way, freeing Groff and giving Thatch a chance to put his sword to the use it was meant for.
With a lusty war-cry Thatch turns and hacks at the two derro nearest him, dealing the damage for which he is so justly known. Lira takes advantage of the light to cast magic missile at the derro who has been shooting at her, while Annika does the same, taking out one of the snipers. He crumbles, dropping his cross-bow inches from Lira’s head.
“Little warning?” Lira yelps, as she hops quickly to one side.
Annika ducks her head. “Sorry.”
While a rain of arrows from Benedic, Kiara and Eva keep the derro effectively pinned-down, Anvil casts light on a small rock, which he then heaves forward down the main passage. Sure enough, there is another crossbowman in front of them. Groff wastes no time and with a mighty bellow charges ahead to engage, axe raised.
Quickly adopting an effective tactic, Reyu casts flare in combination with her dire rat’s next attack, sending two derro cringing back with cries of pain. However, that sound is soon lost in the sudden >blast< of a hunting horn.
Lira lowers Sheesak’s horn from her lips. A rhinoceros would be too big, she thinks, but maybe something like a badger, or a wolverine, but nastier… However, at first it doesn’t appear that she had manages to summon anything at all.
Then there is a high “yip” at Lira’s feet, and she looks down. A very small, flat-faced dog looks up at her, little tail wagging so fast its whole rear-end vibrates. Lira looks at the dog skeptically, then points to the two derro still being harassed by the dire rat. “Uh… Sic ‘em?”
With a small growl, the dog bounds away down the passage.
Despite the lack of dire wolverines in the offing, the tide of the battle has clearly turned in the party’s favor. Eva and Annika with arrow and magic missile respectively, shoot and kill the last remaining snipers. Thatch charges after two derro in a side passage, and with a mighty swing sends two heads flying from shoulders in a single blow.
Anvil advances down the main passage, brandishing a new light ahead of him. The derro there shoots, misses and then takes to his heels. Groff, cursing the effects of the poisoned crossbow bolt in his thigh, lets him go.
Reyu adds a flaming sphere to the derro/rat/pug melee, and a last set of magic missiles from Lira finish the job. A few moments later, the rat and puppy vanish simultaneously.
At Groff’s urging, the party does not spend a lot of time searching the bodies of the fallen derro. They don’t carry much that is of interest to the party anyway, as none of them are proficient with the exotic repeating crossbows the derro carry. And although Kiara protests that she would be “very extra super careful” not to stick herself with them, the poisoned bolts themselves are deemed too risky to be worth carrying.
Benedic does take one from the body of one of the snipers and very cautiously tastes the sticky substance coating one end. He quickly spits it out, then takes a swig of water and spits it out for good measure.
“Green blood oil,” Benedic informs the party.
Annika nods, “That makes sense.”
(Kiara wrinkles her nose. “Eeew. Green blood of what?” Annika shushes her.)
“Is it lethal?” Lira asks. Although she and Groff were not the only ones hit during the attack, everyone else seems to have been unaffected by the poison.
“Not usually,” Annika reassures her, “and we’ve got the wounds clean now. A full day’s rest and you should both be fine.”
Lira rolls her eyes. “A day’s rest. Yeah, we’re likely to see that in the near future.”
In which: the bear goes under the mountain, and this is what he sees.
Understandably, the party is not up and moving the next morning at the crack of dawn. And between sleeping in and striking camp, by the time the party is ready to depart, the Inquisitors have already left.
Lira oversees the horses, who will be boarding with the dwarves while the party is traveling underground, and checks to make sure that the party is bringing or storing any identifying equipment, hoping to prevent anyone from asking pointed questions about the party’s destination.
Olek watches these preparations slightly askance. “Are you guys in some kind of trouble?”
“No.” Lira replies sweetly.
Thatch, in the middle of slipping the groom a few extra gold to take especially good care of Bob, elbows Kiara to keep her from adding, “Not yet.”
Lira continues, smile firmly in place. “We’re foreigners here. Some would take advantage of that, counting on us being far from our resources.”
Olek shrugs and goes on his way muttering, “Any friend of Gurn’s…”
Soon enough, the party does get going, following their guide—Groff Stoneshaper—deep under the mountains. Soon, they pass from carved tunnels into what appears to be a largely untouched natural cave system which Groff confirms runs throughout the region.
Although Groff leading them over punishing terrain which includes many steep climbs and drops, the party keeps to a brisk pace, or rather, ask brisk as they can under the circumstances. Thatch often finds himself having to go back over ground he’s already covered, to help boost and lift less able companions. No one—except possibly Groff—is having an easy time of it.
Still, the first day passes without major incident. There have been a couple slips and falls, but Lira suffered the only major injury. Fortunately, a major injury to Lira is almost completely healed by a good cure light wounds.
(Player note: in a shining moment during a night of low rolls, Lira managed to get a zero on her climb check for that day. Ouch!)
The next day, the party wakes in darkness, told it is time to rise only by Groff’s internal clock.
The going is easier on the second day and the party makes good time through the tunnels. Kiara realizes the trip is much easier if she just shifts into swallow form, allowing her to fly or ride on someone’s shoulder instead of climbing. Annika also prepares several reduce spells to help Paws through tight spots.
###
Thatch walks near the head of the column, right behind Groff, scanning the tunnels as best he can by the flickering torchlight. Olek’s warning about the dangers of cave travel is still fresh in his mind, and although he is not frightened, he keeps his sword out and ready. Behind him, he hears his companions whispering:
“Did you see that?”
“All I can see is your head.”
“I thought I saw something in the shadows.”
“Where?”
Distracted, what Thatch doesn’t hear is the quick >snick< of a hidden device, triggered and springing free.
But even though he doesn’t hear anything, some instinct kicks in and he leaps to one side just as a net lying on the floor of the passage suddenly tightens and flies upward. Groff is not so lucky and goes flying up with it. And before he even has time to register what has happened, two volleys of crossbow bolts come flying at the party… from both sides of the tunnel.
Thatch steps forward, shrugging off a crossbow bolt that wings his arm and sawing with his sword at the net above him while simultaneously trying not to stab the dwarf inside it. If we lose our guide. he thinks, we’ll never get out of here, and Bob is going to think I abandoned him again.
The rest of the party scrambles to react. They have found themselves in a relatively flat stretch of tunnel with three side tunnels branching off to their left. From each of these, crossbow bolts come flying. Additionally, there are also bolts coming from high up on the solid rock wall to the right. The party’s flickering torches show the outline of several hollows in the rock above them. Perfect nesting spots for snipers.
At the rear of the party, Reyu hears more noise coming from a passage behind her and off to the right. With a quick word and gesture, Paws is off roaring down after it while Reyu takes a shot down another corridor. The bear takes a bolt in the flank followed quickly by a second, but he doesn’t even seem to notice.
Lira is startled by a very loud “ffffff—thump!” noise quite close by. About three seconds later she realizes it must be the crossbow bolt buried in her stomach. Lira’s never been shot before, and she wonders if the burning sensation in the wound is normal. She starts to feel light-headed and vaguely nauseated. Nope, definitely not normal.
About the same time, a muffled yelp comes from one of the rock-shelves above the party. (DM’s note: don’t roll a 1 when using poisoned arrows.)
A bolt nicks Benedic’s shoulder, leaving a bloody gash and a burning sensation in its wake. He shrugs off the sudden wave of dizziness and lifts his torch, heaving it down a side passage towards their unseen attackers. He catches a glimpse down one of the tunnels of a humanoid, about the size of a dwarf, but deathly pale, and instead of the usual dwarven beard it wears a thin, limp mustache.
“Derro!” Benedic shouts, following up with a silent, crap.
Fighting back the urge to vomit, Lira raises her hands and casts. From her position next to the right-hand wall of the tunnel she’s too close for the snipers ambushing them from their hollows above to aim effective, but there is scant cover from the bowman hiding in the side tunnels. Another bolt flies out of the darkness to her left, and Lira manages to get her shield spell up just in time. The bolt hits the transparent disk of force with an audible >thunk< and slides to her feet.
Well, she thinks, that’s better.
Meanwhile, Kiara shifts to hybrid form, and draws her own bow. Eva has an arrow at the ready as well, while Annika casts mage armor on herself and falls back to a defensive position against the tunnel wall. For his part, Anvil holds out his holy symbol, invoking the blessing of Kettenek upon the party, who soon feel its effects.
At the rear of the column, Reyu is busy calling upon divine favors of her own. As the derro launch another volley, she finishes summoning a dire rat who—with a charge—flings itself at the nearest derro. Reyu cannot resist a smile of satisfaction as she hears a gruff voice yelling in bad dwarven, “What in the gods’ names?” as the four-foot long rodent bears down on him.
A few seconds later Reyu hears Paws bringing something to a very sudden end.
Eva curses as he hears her spent arrow clatter against stone. She can tell where the attacks are coming from, but their attackers stay stubbornly out of range of the party’s torches. And as good as she is, it’s nearly impossible to hit what she can’t see.
She spares a glance over at Lira who is rummaging in her pack.
“What happened to ‘magic missiles never miss?’” she asks sarcastically.
Lira rolls her eyes, “And what do you suggest I aim them at,” she asks, “the darkness?”
With that, Lira finds what she was searching for and pulls a sunrod out of her pack. She quickly strikes one end against the tunnel wall, and with a flare of sparks the passage is suddenly filled with light.
Down the side-passages, the derro shriek in pain and cringe backwards.
“Excellent!” Anvil calls, “you should do more of that!”
Kiara whoops as she sends an arrow whizzing after one of the cringing derro. Eva doesn’t say anything, but commences a steady rain of missile fire back at their attackers.
Thatch has hold of the net and is sawing hard with his sword. Finally, the strands give way, freeing Groff and giving Thatch a chance to put his sword to the use it was meant for.
With a lusty war-cry Thatch turns and hacks at the two derro nearest him, dealing the damage for which he is so justly known. Lira takes advantage of the light to cast magic missile at the derro who has been shooting at her, while Annika does the same, taking out one of the snipers. He crumbles, dropping his cross-bow inches from Lira’s head.
“Little warning?” Lira yelps, as she hops quickly to one side.
Annika ducks her head. “Sorry.”
While a rain of arrows from Benedic, Kiara and Eva keep the derro effectively pinned-down, Anvil casts light on a small rock, which he then heaves forward down the main passage. Sure enough, there is another crossbowman in front of them. Groff wastes no time and with a mighty bellow charges ahead to engage, axe raised.
Quickly adopting an effective tactic, Reyu casts flare in combination with her dire rat’s next attack, sending two derro cringing back with cries of pain. However, that sound is soon lost in the sudden >blast< of a hunting horn.
Lira lowers Sheesak’s horn from her lips. A rhinoceros would be too big, she thinks, but maybe something like a badger, or a wolverine, but nastier… However, at first it doesn’t appear that she had manages to summon anything at all.
Then there is a high “yip” at Lira’s feet, and she looks down. A very small, flat-faced dog looks up at her, little tail wagging so fast its whole rear-end vibrates. Lira looks at the dog skeptically, then points to the two derro still being harassed by the dire rat. “Uh… Sic ‘em?”
With a small growl, the dog bounds away down the passage.
Despite the lack of dire wolverines in the offing, the tide of the battle has clearly turned in the party’s favor. Eva and Annika with arrow and magic missile respectively, shoot and kill the last remaining snipers. Thatch charges after two derro in a side passage, and with a mighty swing sends two heads flying from shoulders in a single blow.
Anvil advances down the main passage, brandishing a new light ahead of him. The derro there shoots, misses and then takes to his heels. Groff, cursing the effects of the poisoned crossbow bolt in his thigh, lets him go.
Reyu adds a flaming sphere to the derro/rat/pug melee, and a last set of magic missiles from Lira finish the job. A few moments later, the rat and puppy vanish simultaneously.
At Groff’s urging, the party does not spend a lot of time searching the bodies of the fallen derro. They don’t carry much that is of interest to the party anyway, as none of them are proficient with the exotic repeating crossbows the derro carry. And although Kiara protests that she would be “very extra super careful” not to stick herself with them, the poisoned bolts themselves are deemed too risky to be worth carrying.
Benedic does take one from the body of one of the snipers and very cautiously tastes the sticky substance coating one end. He quickly spits it out, then takes a swig of water and spits it out for good measure.
“Green blood oil,” Benedic informs the party.
Annika nods, “That makes sense.”
(Kiara wrinkles her nose. “Eeew. Green blood of what?” Annika shushes her.)
“Is it lethal?” Lira asks. Although she and Groff were not the only ones hit during the attack, everyone else seems to have been unaffected by the poison.
“Not usually,” Annika reassures her, “and we’ve got the wounds clean now. A full day’s rest and you should both be fine.”
Lira rolls her eyes. “A day’s rest. Yeah, we’re likely to see that in the near future.”
Piratecat
Sesquipedalian
That was funny. Great update!
I liked the map in the previous update, too. Mind you, I'm now thinking of the "Valley of Untamed Fury" as the "Valley of Untamed Furry." One man, one fur suit, and a whole lot of misplaced aggression. . .
Ahem. Please excuse me. I haven't had my coffee.
I liked the map in the previous update, too. Mind you, I'm now thinking of the "Valley of Untamed Fury" as the "Valley of Untamed Furry." One man, one fur suit, and a whole lot of misplaced aggression. . .
Ahem. Please excuse me. I haven't had my coffee.
Similar Threads
