Cele's Jade Regent
Game Master Celestine8

Speaking very softly to the others... "Well, I guess the element of surprise is off the table. Shall we proceed? Ah, but which way, left or right?" Hijiro seems interested in entering the cavern, but waits for the others before doing so. "Balthazar, you might as well hang onto that dagger just in case we run into more nettles. I have a spare, so you can return that one later."

Irnk cleans & sheaths his dagger, then picks up his Heavy Flail, "Welp, that way, or that way?" he says, pointing with the flail.

"Thank you for your generosity, my friend". Balthazar puts away the dagger and walks past Irnk and Hijiro, looking inquisitively from one path to the other. He observes the ground searching for any tracks that might lead their way.

Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Oooh, good idea. Had a brain fart there, my son & his friend were playing video games in the same room & I had a bit of difficulty thinking.
Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (11) - 1 = 10
Irnk steps up beside Balthazar, peering deeper into the two passages. He cocks his head, ears perking in hopes of hearing the sounds of movement.

Hijiro too moves forward and tries to spot signs of passage or hear anything that might indicate which route to take.

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Irnk and Balthazar hear nothing besides the dripping of stagnant water echoing throughout the cave.

"Look out to the left! Giant spider!" Hijiro draws his rapier even as he takes a step back away from the left tunnel... "Maybe we should go to the right, eh?"

"I really don't like spiders and this one is as big as a man!"

At Hijiro's words Irnk peers into the darkness down the leftward passage. "Don't be so jumpy. Spiders are spiders, so this one is as big as a longshanks, so what? Spiders squish easy & this is all but made for squishing!" He says, hefting the Flail as though to emphasize his words. "But! We didn't come here to squish spiders it's true. Alright, let's see what the right way will bring us." Matching deed to word, Irnk proceeds cautiously down the right tunnel.
Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (11) - 1 = 10, wow, not spotting anything tonight!

Hijiro follows Irnk, wanting to put as much distance as possible between himself and the giant spider. He peers ahead down the tunnel, again trying to discern if there are any signs of passage or anything moving up ahead.

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

This time he is slightly less aware, but still trying.

The tunnel ahead is mostly submerged beneath brackish water and swings around to the right. There is a a tunnel that branches off and to the left, towards the spider's lair and other areas of the cave. The floor here is smooth, bare rock and very slippery. The water gets deeper as you proceed. Acrobatics checks all around and maybe a swim check from Irnk. The water reaches three feet in depth

Balthazar lights up his lamp and heads into the flooded tunnel watching his step and paying attention to movement in the water.

Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Acrobatics 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Hijiro moves cautiously through the water, keeping a sharp watch even as he works hard to maintain his footing.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Swim: 1d20 ⇒ 19
Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (12) - 1 = 11
Striding ahead of the others, Irnk sputters briefly at his first step into the water, sinking almost to below the surface. He then manages to thrust his head above the surface as he kicks through the water down the passageway.

Sienna casts a light spell and slowly joins the others.

I wonder if this counts as washing....?

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

The group navigates through the stagnant water, the goblin swimming with ease through the deepest murk. Sienna, Hijiro and Irnk manage to keep their footing across the slick surface, but Balthazar falls prone. As he does so, the light of his lantern falls across the scattered remains of four men, dressed in battered and moldy exotic armour, with unusually styled blades in swollen and rotted sheathes.

"The dead lie here under the water... I wonder what brought them here to die... they don't look like the walking dead that were described... these are definitely not 'walking'." He nudges one of the skeletons with his foot gently to see if it moves... or better yet, if doing so reveals any shinies or sparklies among its submerged belongings.

At Hijiro's words, Irnk kicks up out of the water, gulps a deep breath of air, and glares intently at each of the skeletal forms. Detect Evil

Sienna looks down at all the skeletons that have been unveiled.

...No ... No, this is not washing. I think I just got dirtier!

"Maybe we'll find something in this cave, maybe the boat we saw earlier got stranded here bringing these men." Sienna hears Balthazar fall over.

I really wish I could give him a hand there, beginning to wonder if that vow he took is really worth the hassle. It might be, I just would never have that commitment.

Sienna takes a cursory glance at the skeletons seeing if there is any obvious signs of battle on their armour or possibly some gashes or splits on their bones denoting what killed them. Maybe even a cracked skull or two.

Survival: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

Balthazar stands up and takes the lamp, putting it away and relying on Sienna's light spell. He smiles awkwardly, clearly embarassed by his fall. "Better watch my step here!"

Balthazar then points down to the skeletons and looks at his friends. "Beware." He pokes one of the skeletons with his feet and assumes combat position, ready for any kind of response from the dead men.

The map for this area is going up!

Here! https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1_4JOitmNYkHrWWM1qo4ZWgBnxO3obzRUe2tImFO tlW0/edit

Just tried the address, Google is giving me a 'page not found' message.

"I don't believe these are the ones we need to worry about." Irnk sputters as he comes back up for air. Pointing with his Flail further down the passageway, "There is where the danger lies."

Folks, remember to delete the space before "tlW0/edit" in Cele's link. Cele, where are we coming from? Can you mark the entrance?

"These men might well have come from the ship. Like the ship itself, their armor and weapons are of Tian design."

Done!

try this

Hijiro looks further down the passageway to see if he can discern anything in the direction Irnk has indicated.

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Whether or not he sees anything, he pulls out his sling and loads it, putting his rapier away, knowing the thin blade will do little to skeletons.

Celes, am I correct in figuring the squares are 5' on a side?

Irnk squelches out of the pool, shaking & stamping as much water from his clothes & armor as possible. Once he achieves a state of only 'mostly sodden' he moves up to the choke point, ears once more cocked for possible sounds. Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17, Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (10) - 1 = 9
Staying in between the others & the potential threat, Irnk cautiously edges forward down the passageway.

Hijiro stays right behind Irnk, sling at the ready, and moving as slowly and stealthily as the goblin. stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17 I guess that would be EXACTLY as stealthily as Irnk, lol

He keeps his eyes and ears open for trouble both ahead and behind, just in case those skeletons turn out to be more than they seemed. perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 obviously too nervous to be very perceptive.. or something like that

Balthazar follows Hijiro and Irnk trying to be just as silent as they are.

Stealth 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Clumsy day, I guess

Sienna whispers to them.

"Erm, I'm as loud as they come I'll hang back and support if anything goes wrong. I'll keep you all in sight though."

Sienna stays about 20ft away from the party and slowly moves with them.

Ahead, in the cavern sits a haunting sight. A large, dark chest, inlaid with vibrant green stones stands at the center of this cave. Sprawled across it, still clad in fine, but broken, Tian-style chain armour and with a sword jammed through its abdomen, is a skeleton.

Hijiro pauses behind Irnk and looks ahead at the sight. He whispers softly, not because he's afraid of being overheard, but more as if speaking fully aloud might somehow disturb the dead. "Do... you think it's a walking dead or just bones?"

Just in case, he draws out his sling again, loads it, letting it swing gently at his side.

"If it's just bones, whatever put this sword through his venter might still be protecting the chest."

Balthazar carefully and slowly approaches the dark chest, perusing ground, walls and ceiling for any threats.

Perception vs. traps or hidden enemies 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Irnk glares intently around the chamber, initially paying particular heed to the skeleton, the chest & the sword; but then his attention passes to the remaining contents.

Detect Evil, particularly as he detected faint evil from down the passageway. Once he has determined that one of the three mentioned items does not have an aura of evil, he moves on to the next, in that order. If none of those items has an aura of evil, he looks around through the rest of the chamber until he finds the aura. He will be 'on guard' while he does this.

"That is likely the chest they reclaimed from the Licktoad. Hey, Hijiro. You said the chest we found there was made back where you hail from. Is this one also?" Irnk asks, pointing with his flail.

Hijiro turns his attention to the chest, tearing his eyes away from the armored skeleton. "The armor is surely from the East as I am." He moves closer to examine the chest for some clue as to its origins.

"Maybe if you asked him why he attacked the goblins?"

Celes, do I see any other skeletons in this chamber?

It's Initiative time!

Fudge! Here we go!
Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

Aaand we post at the same time. Again. No, no other skeletons except this one here

Aaand we post at the same time. Again. No, no other skeletons except this one here

Heh, we are getting really good at that.

init: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

As he notices the skeleton's boney fingers reach for the sword, Balthazar's eyes widen and he tries to warn the others. "Watch out, it is moving!"

Initiative 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

lol 2 21's and 2 9's... I hope the skeleton rolls really low

Initiative for Tsutamu 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Sienna's up

The skeleton is near the rest of the party I'm guessing as I'm 20 feet back?

Sienna fires off a storm burst at the skeleton.

Ranged touch attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
(Non-lethal) if it hits: 1d6 ⇒ 4 and -2 to hit.

At Balthazar's words, Irnk steps forward, interposing himself between the now animate skeleton & his companions, his flail thrust forward defensively, Fighting Defensively, AC now 20. "Now might be a good time to try asking it why they attacked the Licktoad. Was it just to retrieve the chest, or is there a greater danger involved."

NM, I think Irnk was first on Initiative.

Sienna's spell hits the skeleton squarely, sending small splinters of bone flying. The sound of bone grinding against bone can be heard as the other dead men rise from the cave floor and move towards the four of you. The undead creature before you points a bony finger at Hijiro and speaks in

1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
His wakizashi threatens a crit
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
1d6 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Damage is at +2 from cavalier challenge

Hijiro sputters out when challenged... also in Tian..

Before he has a chance to say or do more, he drops, unconscious from the severe wound. thank goodness that didn't confirm or he might be dead lol...

and yes, I'd say he'd probably provoke from Irnk who was in his face ... btw what's the link to the map?