You step into the next chamber to examine the body. A dark cavern opens up here, its twenty-foot-high ceiling thick with stalactites. A rocky shore overlooks a placid pool and stream, fed by a trickle of water leaking from a narrow fissure to the north. A small garden of toadstools and dark mold grows along the banks.
There is a tunnel leading south (it looks like it bends southwest), and you see a tight crawl space that leads back to the room of stalagtite and stalagmites (where you found the deceased half-orc).
The belt pouch jingles when you pull it from the body. Opening it, you see a pair of vials with a pinkish liquid, a tidy sum of coins, and a silver amulet in the shape of a miner's pick, but stylized as a combination of a femur, skull and rib.
Cinder comments on the body, "I'm not sure anything could foul the water more than it already was." She looks strangely at the amulet, why shift the symbol to one of bones?
"I'd think we'd best search this room before moving on. I'm not sure what resources we have left, but I'd rather not turn tail at this point."
"I'm still ok, I didn't prepare many useful spells but I still got some bolts." Bosh comments and inspects the pink vials not much interested in looking at the room,
"It's liquid...and it's kind of pink...Oh man, today is not my day" He complains as he had bad luck with his aim and some spells...
Oleg looks at the body and quietly says "Rest a little easier, you've been avenged" Turning back to the party, he says grimly: "This makes four. Five counting Parda. This fella might be identified by that silver amulet, at least." Oleg sighs with a bit of sadness "We've got a body to carry out for each of us already, I hope our luck turns soon and we find some survivors. And some answers."
Oleg begins to walk towards the southern tunnel, pausing to look around and doing his best to keep quiet and stay wary for danger.
Bosh pulls the body out of the water and leave it close to the entrance, maybe it was a familiar face..
Scarlet helps move the body to the exit with Bosh. She keeps quiet and alert as they go about their business.
You search the rest of the chamber, but only find damp rock and a variety of fungi.
As Bosh pulls the body from the water, he sees that the face has been torn off, likely eaten by the frog thing. He could have been from any of the previous expeditions.
You tally up the coin contents of the pouch and find 42 gold pieces inside.
After checking herself down and making sure all her gear is good to go, Scarlet nods to the others that she is ready.
"Ugh...poor guy...now we know why they don't come back." Bosh is feeling nausea after seeing the torn off face, not a pretty sigh if the body was on water after a long time.
Oleg moves further down the tunnel along with the others.
The four of you turn south, and head through a narrow passage. Led by Oleg’s glowing bug abdomen, you come upon a small side cavern. A collection of crates, boxes, rubble, and scavenged metal lies heaped in the northwest section of this damp cave. Several strange chalk drawings of twisted, spiny plants, a strange three-legged creature, and emaciated four-armed humanoids mark the walls.
You look around for a moment, seeing only wires and pieces of metal. The wall paintings - though interesting - don't depict anything you recognize.
There are two passages that come out of this chamber - one to the southeast, another to the southwest. Each of these passages bends after a short time - you aren't able to see where each leads.
"I say go left, what you guys think? " Bosh peeks on both passages and sniffs around and recalls the land above them.
Bosh: You ponder a bit about the tunnels you have come through so far, and where their currently location puts your party. You think that - relative to the entrance from Weeping Pond - you are between 50 and 100 feet into the side of Black Hill. The hill above is generally barren, but you are still quite a ways from reaching the place that is underneath the flame that gives the town its name. Taking the left path might go further east and (you assume) towards your goal.
Oleg pauses for a moment to look at the wires and pieces of metal, trying to see if they come from anything he encountered before, a machine, tool or an enemy. Oleg also looks through the pile a bit to see if there are any more remains buried among the debris.
Pointing to the cave art Oleg mentions "Looks like someone decorating their home. If the frog thing didn't make these, I'd hate to meet the owner. Whoever it is, they don't fear living next to that murdering creature, and that's not a good sign."
Noticing that Bosh seems to know his direction down here, Oleg says quietly "I'm with you Bosh, but be careful"
Scarlet notes the things in the small cave but seems more interested in looking for things that might want to kill her.. or for other things to kill...
Cinder takes a moment to dig around in the scrap, searching for anything interesting. "It doesn't make a difference to me which way we go. We'll likely have to search the other way sometime!"
She stops for a moment, shakes her head, then murmurs a prayer to cast Detect Magic, and looks over the room, not expecting to find anything.
Cinder's spell does not reveal anything.
You proceed down the hallway the southeast (left). After a short distance, it bends to due east before opening up into a very large chamber.
The ceiling rises nearly thirty feet overhead. A five-foot-wide ledge runs along the western wall, sloping down to the cave floor ten feet below. Four ramshackle huts made of what appear to be strips of metal, hides, and some sort of fibrous plant matter sit in the cave, while to the south yawns a dark pit. You are standing on a ledge about ten feet above the floor of the cave - a ledge that slopes down to your right where it reaches the main floor.
As you spend a moment taking in the sight of this chamber, you are surprised by the appearance of three grey-skinned humanoids: one before you, one to the left on the ledge, and one to the right. Each is tall but skinny, with gangley arms and legs.
The one that stands before brandishes her dagger and - in halting Taldane - states, "Stop there! You trespass on our land. If you wish to proceed as the others have, we must come to an accord first. Which two of you will lay down arms and speak of this with our chieftan?"
Cinder is taken aback by the creatures, she's never seen the like before. "Uh... I think we found what happened to some of the others..."
Oleg looks at the skulk that is speaking and smoothly reaches for a bottle of ale while putting down his hand axe. "Sure, we can talk. Here, have a drink with me as a sign of friendship and peace." Oleg takes a good swig from the bottle to show it is not poison then all but shoves the bottle toward the female skulk.
He points to his axe, now on the floor as he unbuckles his cestus and continues. "It would make me feel a whole lot better if you put away that dagger. Marvelous blade, does it have a name?"
Oleg gives a long hard look from the dagger to Cinder and back. "Me, I'd call such a fine blade by a name, maybe Parda?" Oleg continues as he produces two more bottles of ale and tosses them to the other two skulks. "Hold on to good drink, friends, and let us talk as you wish. Who here is the artist, what are those pictures back there?"
Scarlet lowers her weapon, though she does not place it in its holster just yet.
She does seem to relax though. Almost slouching in her apparent apathy. She listens casually to Oleg talk to these cave dwellers. Scarlet tips her head, tilting her hat towards Oleg indicating she's comfortable with his lead.
"Yeah, let's talk" Bosh follows Oleg,
"There is nothing better than talking without weapons in hand" Bosh nervously smiles, he knows about the skulks and their ways, getting in their territory won't be a good idea...still he puts away his crossbow.
Cinder mutely steps to the rear of the group, hands behind her. Oleg looks to have things in hand, and there's no way to 'disarm' her of her hag's claws.
The three skulks back up a step as you approach, brandishing their daggers. They are obviously nervous that you are here at all, and the woman speaks up, "No honeyed words - the last of you surface dwellers to come through attacked us and slew our previous leader. This name you share was spoken by one of them - are you here for retribution?"
Scarlet just tilts her head at the other's words, though her gaze (Hidden behind the smoked lenses of her glasses) might also be looking to Oleg for subtly more information.
She takes a light step so as to offer Cinder some cover should the spell user need it if combat gets under way again.
Oleg raises an eyebrow slightly "No, we're here for answers, about Parda and more. Considering what you just said, I understand your nervousness around us. But.." Oleg points to his axe and Cestus laying on the floor "it's clear I've accepted your offer of parley."
Oleg holds out the drink once again and says "If we are to talk, we must drink on it, it's an insult to refuse! And it's an insult to keep pointing daggers with your hand while talking of peaceful accord with your mouth."
Oleg turns his face toward the party and shrugs "Talking and drinking is a lot better than fighting, right?"
The female skulk looks at each of the other two there as though uncertain. She lowers the tip of her dagger and holds out a hand to take the flask before taking the barest sip of its contents. "Two of you will come with me to our chieftan - you and you," she points to Oleg and Cinder. Gesturing to Bosh and Scarlet, she says, "You will stay here with Brath and Yadriss. Do not cross them."
She turns to begin walking to the northern side of the cavern, waving a hand for Oleg and Cinder to follow. She takes you through a passage and around a corner. This cramped cave is filled with metal junk covering almost every inch of ground. The precarious pile rises up in a heaplike hut to the northwest.
The skulk who led you gives a low whistle, and another grey-skinned humanoid comes out from the hut. She is bedecked in daggers - Cinder counts at least a dozen - plus a fairly nasty-looking short sword. The skulks exchange a few words in a tongue you don't recognize, before the leader steps forward to address you. "I am Sef, the leader of the tribe. You seek to pass through our territory, Luelpel tells me. Who are you to do this? Why do you bring trouble to us?"
Scarlet looks to Bosh, even as she begins to simply sit down on her @rse. "Dang... next time I'll bring a deck of cards." Is all she says.
"No need, we have rocks! I can show you how to find a good rock" Bosh smiles to Scarlet and starts looking for rocks around ignoring the skulks.
"I am Oleg and this is Cinder. We seek to find the others that have come to these tunnels from above. Their friends and families worry about their long absence. They hope for their safe return." Oleg continues "We have already found some of those we seek, though their lives ended tragically. We have come upon your home in looking for the rest.
Oleg takes out a bottle of mead and presents it to Sef. He takes out a second and takes a good swig. "To those resting from the troubles in this world, salut!
"I am a good man, and I always love to drink and to make friends. The only trouble you'll get from me is that we might drink all of the ale!" Oleg laughs as he pats his sizeable belly, trying to lighten the mood and be friendly before turning back to more somber subjects.
Oleg continues, "Luelpel tells me that you were attacked by some of the people that came down here, that you lost your leader. I am sorry for your loss. We found the body of Parda and noticed the dagger wounds. I am sorry but until Leuelpel spoke, I had assumed her to have been simply murdered. I thought we were about to be the next victims, ha!" Oleg takes another swig of mead and looks a little self-piteous. "I am a simple man, don't take offense by my prejudices. Is not that unreasonable a fear, right?"
Cinder can tell Oleg is the talkative kind of drunk too, not just the friendly type. "So, yes, we would appreciate coming through your home to help us find the others. Other than that, can you tell us how many others have come past here and which way they went? If you know of any others that did not survive the dangers down here, can you let us return their bodies and personal effects back to their families? Can you tell us directions around your tunnels and are there any dangers to be wary of? Would you like to help us search together, we could use a guide and one of your people could keep an eye on us "troublemakers" for you?"
Having exhausted all the questions mulling about his head, Oleg turns to Cinder "You've been very quiet, what do you think?"
Then, having remembered another question Oleg says "That is some interesting drawings on the wall back there, what is that a picture of, what does it mean?"
"No need, we have rocks! I can show you how to find a good rock" Bosh smiles to Scarlet and starts looking for rocks around ignoring the skulks.
[dice=Appraise]1d20+3
Scarlet is intrigued that there might be value in 'rocks'....
Cinder listens to Oleg speech with a slight smirk. She knows how to talk a customer into buying a product, but he goes above and beyond. Of course, it helps that its the truth.
"We mean no harm to those that wish us none. We've been attacked by beasts in these caves, and there are sure to be more, but I'd truly not like to harm another person, no matter their shape. I create, I try not to destroy."
The skulk watches Oleg the way someone might watch a comedy routine, and when Cinder affirms his words, she arches an eyebrow (or at least, the muscles there - she doesn't have eyebrows). Sef takes the bottle, but waits to drink - clearly distrustful of why she would get a separate bottle.
Pondering your questions, she answers each in turn as follows:
- Can you tell us how many others have come past here and which way they went? "There have been three other groups to pass our lands. We hid from them, lest they also overpower us. They went through the door at the east end of the main cave, opposite the path downwards. One returned and departed, the next two entered and have not re-emerged."
- If you know of any others that did not survive the dangers down here, can you let us return their bodies and personal effects back to their families? [b]"You may do whatever you wish with whatever bodies you find, but we have none in our territory."
- Can you tell us directions around your tunnels and are there any dangers to be wary of? Would you like to help us search together, we could use a guide and one of your people could keep an eye on us "troublemakers" for you?"
At this, she twitches her mouth. "There is a matter that I would ask of you, and for that I would permit your passage through our territory. Just through there," she points over your right shoulder to a passage going north, "there is a small band of gremlins that have infested the side passages. They must have come up from the Darklands, as we did, and they have been as gravel in a sandal. Not enough to damage the foot, but a nuisance all the same. Clear them from these caves, and I will not only grant you passage, but also provide information that you might need."
She looks at each of you as she makes this request. "Do you agree? Or will we be forced to remove you from our lands?" She holds out the bottle as though prepared to either drink it, or pour it out on the ground.
Oleg looks at Cinder "Sounds fair to me, you think the others will mind?" then looks back at Sef and says "Looks like you have a deal!" Then Oleg takes another drink.
"Gremlins, hmm? I don't think they were covered in my bedtime stories." Cinder laughs. " We'll do it. Although after we might need to take a bit of a break before we press on."
Sef nods in agreement, and - like Luelpel - takes the barest of sips from the flask before handing it back. She waves to Luelpel, who trots back to the other cave to retrieve the others.
When you are all assembled, Sef directs you to an opening to the north. "I am unsure of their numbers, but you seem capable. We await your success!"
"Sounds like you got an arragement" Bosh is not convinced about this task but if this got them to advance he will go with it...Gremlins...the name rings a bell but Bosh has no clue.
"Mmmm, let's scout and learn about this gremlins. Maybe we can pick them one by one, it will be slower but safer or I got a spell to spray them with an oily substance and then fire them up...any other ideas?"
"My... spells are near gone." Cinder waves her hand, claws easily visible. "I can still fight of course, but after this we really should rest."
Scarlet grimaces. "Gremlins? Ugh! Nasty, grubby lil' critters! What d'we know about 'em? What can they get up?" She asks her companions.
"I have no idea Scarlet! But Sef described them as more a nuisance than a threat. How bad can it be?" Oleg gestures a handwave brushing away danger. "Besides, Cinder is right, it's been a long day. Let's get up to seeing what we're up against and then go back to town and prepare properly to deal with it. It served us well to do that with the frog beast."
Oleg seems ready to start looking through the northern passage for signs of these "gremlins"
These narrow and nondescript passages have little headroom, with ceilings reaching a height of only five feet, forcing most of you to stoop slightly in order to navigate them.
There is a split almost immediately, forcing you to choose right or left.
Cinder looks at the two paths, and asks: "Did anyone think to ask directions to the gremlins?"
Scarlet is happy to settle into the 'Tail gunner' slot and 'keep an eye on every one's six'.