DougFungus' Crypt of the Everflame
Game Master DougFungus

"Wish I could feel the same way. Spent three nights up a tree because of a pack of hungry wolves outside Falcon's Hollow some years back. Terrible experience! Say..who has the brandy? Pip pulls out some dried beef and cheese and begins to eat.

Would wolves normally set upon a pack of travellers, with light and fire?
I peer into the darkness: Seems odd to me.

They may have just been hungry. Anyways, I'll do my best to tie them up securely. Their injuries are pretty bad so they should end up sleeping through the night anyways.

I don't suppose any of us brought any shovels?

"I didn't. If we can't bury him, then perhaps a pyre? We have plenty of wood around here." Lorant offers bread to anyone who wants a piece.

"So what surprises do you think everyone has ready for us in the tomb?"

A fire burial will do, but his faith demands he wear a death mask. Does anyone have any skill to craft one?

Kerret watches closely as Lorant pitches his tent, and manages to get his own up after no small amount of struggle. Once his tent is up, Kerret settles in with the others and eats a simple dinner of dried meat, cheese, fruit, bread and honey.

I've never made a death mask for anyone. Perhaps we could cover his face with a cloth? Should we burn the dead wolf with him? Maybe we can have the pyre in the morning before we break camp. Kerret turns to Kaylee. I can't say that I like leaving these wolves alive, but if we're going to do it, maybe we could tie them up with rope instead of twine. At least it would take a little longer for them to bite through.

As for the tomb, everything on this trip has been a surprise so far, illusions and wolf attacks and who knows what else. Maybe Kassen's tomb is trapped like the old Osirian pharaohs. He was an adventurer after all. Maybe there's treasure hidden within!

Kerret seems particularly excited by this last thought.

"Treasure! NOW your speaking my language!" Pip glances at each companion in turn looking for his bottle of brandy as he finishes off his serving of dried beef and cheese.

I smile at Kerret and Pip's returning enthusiasm Hasn't there been a visit there every few years? I think we'd have to be very lucky indeed to find some hidden treasure that generations of your ancestors have overlooked.

I shrug and begin putting up my tent: It's not a bad idea though, not a bad idea at all.

I look around at the group as I am staking my guide ropes What would you do with an armful of gold and rubies?

Hasn't there been a visit there every few years?

Small Edit: There is a visit once every year. Its only once every few years that citizens are chosen to in the place of the Mayor of Kassen. I only wanted to point this out because its very common knowledge.

Waving off Vastar's pessimistic outlook on treasure, Pip says, "I'd buy a manor in a city somewhere. Not sure where though. NOT Absalom, too much history for me there. Then I would invest in some local businesses. Settle down for a bit, but then I'd want to travel again."

Don't worry Kerret, their mouths are secured shut for now. Twine is harder to struggle out of when tied correctly. She then takes a minute to think about Vastor's question.

I couldn't imagine finding that much gold... but the first thing I would do is ensure that my family is taken care of. I don't want them to ever go hungry again. Some new clothing, another dairy cow, and... I would love to get a nice horse! I'd have to learn how to ride her though.

"With that much gold, I could have the finest sword and armor! I'd buy a great warhorse and travel to the capital. I'd learn to be a knight and general, serving the Forest Marshal in Tamran." Lorant looks up at the sky wistfully. "Imagine what Tamran must look like."

Well, if I were to find treasure, first I'd have to have a fine manor house and grounds where I could feast all my friends and raise fine horses for Kaylee and Lorant. Maybe I could also train others like myself so that they wouldn't have to make some of the, er, mistakes I have. I'd also need to travel though, and see all the great cities. Someday, I'd like to visit Starfall in Numeria. They say that there is magic there the likes of which is unheard of anywhere else in the world! Kerret pauses his excited ramble for a moment. Wow, I would probably need a lot of gold to make that happen. But who knows what's in Kassen's tomb.

Eventually, Kerret winds down and begins gathering wood to set up a large pyre.

Putting a large stack of wood at AP & AQ 56 for pyres for the wolf and the corpse.

I join Kerret in the wood gathering: I don't think I could leave Kassen for long, maybe a few years of travel would be fun but I think I'd always come back.

Lorant helps Kerret gather more wood for a pyre. At Vastar's comment, he looks at him for a second. It's clear Lorant hasn't even considered that he would have to leave Kassen to fulfill his dreams. "Well, of course we could all come back. I mean, we wouldn't have to be gone all the time, right? It's our home."

I hope so, Lorant. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't come back.

Once enough firewood is gathered for the funeral pyres, Kerret bids everyone a good night and retires to his tent, worn out from the rigors of the day. Unless woken, he sleeps the night through, and into the morning, as he is accustomed to rising later in the day.

Once the pyre is ready I say some prayers over the man's body and cover his face, but I leave the pyre 'til the morning so that it won't attract unwanted attention.

I make sure to get some food before hunkering down by the fire Make sure to wake me for the morning watch.

When the others seem ready to bed down, Lorant makes one last check around the camp to ensure things are in order and nothing seems suspicious. Then, he too, prepares for bed. "Don't forget to wake us, Kaylee. Any if anything is amiss, come get us. Don't try to investigate it on your own."

Kaylee takes small bits of jerky and tosses it to her little companion. Don't worry, Fenris and I will keep a good watch out for any monsters for you heroes to slay she says with a smile. After everyone beds down for the night she walks slowly around the perimeter of the camp, checking on the steeds and whispering occasionally to her familiar.

Assuming nothing of note happens on her watch, Kaylee wakes Lorant and waits until he is ready to assume the watch before she herself crawls into the back of the cart and curls up in a ball wrapped in her thick winter blanket. Before she dozes off though, she asks Lorant, would you and Vastor take care to look after my mule? I think I'll be sleeping in on the morning. Thank you.

Pip passes out by the fire, cradling the bottle of brandy like a new-born babe.

The night passes uneventfully. Morning comes with a chill in the air.

Everybody may wake up and prepare to set off. We will continue with the adventure as soon as everybody is ready.

Wiping the dried spittle from his lip, Pip wakes with a raging headache! "Gawds that is potent!" He says looking at the 2/3 empty bottle of brandy."Ugh...going to have to avoid any more of this till we get back to town. He puts the bottle back into the cart and heads over to his unused tent and starts to take it down.

I offer Pip a hand and help him up: It's not how potent the brew is, it's how much you drink.

I shake my head as I walk over to tend the pony, calling back over my shoulder: Never fear, you'll walk it off. Now where's that map?

Lorant yawns as he gets up in the morning. His watch had passed uneventfully, but the interrupted sleep clearly affected him. "Maybe I'll get used to it, but the midwatch is hard on a body." He looks around the group. "Everyone ready to move on today? Let's break down these tents and get moving. We have a tomb to find!"

Lorant takes down his own tent and helps everyone else with theirs. he puts the tents all in the cart. "Does anyone want one of these torches?"

Kerret is late to rise, but eventually emerges from his tent once Lorant begins taking it down around him. I was getting up. he grumbles petulantly.

Once roused, he assists in taking down his tent then eats a few bites from one of the food packs to break his fast while packing up his worldly goods.

Thanks for the offer Lorant, but I can make light for us similarly to the way Vastar does, and since I don't have to pretend around you guys, I won't be needing any torches.

With those tasks accomplished, he ties a kerchief around his face as a makeshift mask, and sets about dragging the burned wolf corpse to the pyre. As he works, he keeps a close eye on the bound wolves, alert for signs that they may break free.

After Lorant has piled the tents into the cart, he helps the others pack their equipment and build the funeral pyre. He puts the torches back into his pack for later.

As they stand and watch the man and the wolf burn, he looks back at Vastar. "How long to one of these things usually burn? Can we just move on?"

Kaylee stands at the pyre, offering a silent prayer to the powers that be, hoping that their souls pass on smoothly. I'm ready to travel. she informs Lorant. Her blanket was already folded up and her mule had finished grazing for this morning.

Kerret hitches up the old pony to the cart and leads it to the lake to drink while he fills his water skin and performs his morning ablutions. After he finishes he says,

Ok, I'm ready to go.

He pulls his crossbow out of the cart and loads a fresh bolt.

Assuming standard healing, Kerret regains 1hp from the night's rest.

Assuming standard healing, Kerret regains 1hp from the night's rest.

Standard healing is in effect. You will regain HP every time you rest for an elongated period.

This fire won't spread, and they don't require observance. Let's leave him be.

I make a prayer to the Wise Father, asking that this man's soul be speeded on its journey.

Then I grab my gear and move out with the rest of the gang.

Pip walks over to the lake to fill his waterskin and wash the taste of last night's drink from his mouth."Walk?!?! But...but...I practically have to run to keep up with you guys!"

Never one to be forced to do something he doesn't want to, Pip starts walking with everyone then, deftly climbs into the back of the moving cart.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
climb: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Kerret guides the wagon back to the path as the group makes their way toward old Kassen's crypt. He is oddly quiet, his usual gregarious personality somewhat abated by the funeral rites.

Never one to be forced to do something he doesn't want to, Pip starts walking with everyone then, deftly climbs into the back of the moving cart.

[dice=acrobatics] 1d20+10
[dice=climb] 1d20+7

You succeed

Happy to be back on the road again, Kaylee's thoughts returned to the tomb ahead and the possibility of treasure hidden deep inside. Did anyone one receive a map of the tomb itself? she asked thoughtfully. Maybe there is a secret passage that no one has noticed yet?! One with a huge fortune and a dragon and a magical talking sword who's actually a reincarnated elf searching for a lost love... she smiles thinking about the last story her brother Arynn told.

After leaving The Grey Lake, you travel for about 3 hours. The Fangwood starts to change, becoming particularly dense. The terrain becomes a thorn-covered maze of bushes, treacherous roots, and uneven rocks while the trees in this part of the forest are very old and gnarled. The weather makes the journey quite miserable as a cold rain begins to fall halfway through this part of the forest. The trail leads ever deeper into the Fangwood, through a twisting maze of trees and confusing ravines. As it tops a small rise, a broad valley spreads out before it known as Serpent Gorge. The opposite side of which looks like a writhing serpent. Yet between the two lies a steep hill sloping down into the valley where the Crypt of the Everflame lies. The cold rain makes the ground slick and treacherous.

In order to reach the crypt, you will need to make your way down to the valley. This will require a series of Acrobatics checks to maneuver your way safely. There is no map for this area. You are free to use your imaginations and build your own surroundings. Taking precautions will grant you bonuses on your checks as I see fit. There is no turn order so you may all post freely with your actions.

"Anyone have ideas on how we get down this? It's going to be bad enough just for us to walk down it. Getting the cart down may be a disaster."

If we tie the back of the wagon to my mount, it should help keep it slow and stable. Kaylee offers her advice. For everyone else, my father showed me this

Kaylee takes the length of 50 foot rope and loops it halfway around a tree and takes the two ends and holds them across her back and slowly repels herself downhill towards another tree. Pulling the rope free she repeats the motions again, slowly repelling downwards. About halfway down though she loses her footing and slips and falls on her behind. Tears gather in the corners of her eyes but she shakes them angrily away before deftly moving the rest of the way down, glaring at every root and mud puddle as if daring it to try to make her fall again. Even nature seems to make way for a wrathful woman.

I don't know, maybe we should bring things down with the donkey and leave the wagon up here?

It's only mid morning. Why dont we leave the animals and the cart up here? We can make our way down, light the lantern, and come back up when we're done, hopefully with daylight to spare. Kerret takes a moment and squints his eyes. Maybe the animals would be useful for getting back up though. We should probably bring them...

Kaylee, you have 3 checks but I don't know what their for because there are no labels. Could you let me know please.

somebody will need to roll checks for the Animals when you proceed. The Pony and Mule will need to take a -10 penalty for climbing down by themselves. The penalty will be -15 if pulling the cart. Your climbing down a gorge, this is a hazardous task for you, nevermind the Animals with 4 legs.

I should have mentioned in my previous post to only make 1 check as you start climbing down. I have a chart full of DC's to work off for the results. I will call for more checks as I need them. It looks like it will take about a half hour to descend to the valley.

"I think we need to leave the cart and the animals up here. We can grab the tents if we need them. There's just no way they can make it down this without falling and breaking a leg. Hell, I'm not even sure if I can do it and I have arms. I certainly don't want this weighing me down."

Lorant drops his pack and proceeds to take off his armor and shield. He put the armor into his pack and straps the shield to the front. He watches the others as they prepare to make it down the slope.

Could we slide/drop our gear down somehow so we're not encumbered by it at all?

Sorry, you mentioned "series of rolls" so I rolled three acrobatics checks. It's steeper then I imagined then.

Looking over the edge Kaylee feels a little bit of vertigo. That looks a bit steeper than I thought. I wonder how the mayor is able to climb it just about every year?

Could I make a survival check to search for a game trail or path that seems a bit less hazardous to take?

Could we slide/drop our gear down somehow so we're not encumbered by it at all?

Could I make a survival check to search for a game trail or path that seems a bit less hazardous to take?

I would encourage it. As stated above, you are allowed to use any methods available at your disposal to make this easier. Just describe how your doing things and I will modify your bonuses or penalties as I see fit.

Kaylee, I'm going to let you re-roll your Acrobatics check since I was unclear about how to progress.

Lorant takes everyone's gear and bind it together. Then he takes one of the canvas tents and uses the canvas to wrap the bundle of gear together for protection. He uses a rope to tie it together and then slowly lowers it down the slope.

"Hey we can even use this to help climb down. As long as the rope holds, you can use it to guide yourself down the slope. If someone nimble stays at the top, then we can pass the end of the rope down and retie it, allowing the gear to moves down the slope and us with it."

Kerret looks unconvinced. Kaylee has a point, the Mayor is not a young man. There must be another way to the tomb. Let's look around for a path.

Kerret moves to the east along the edge of the gorge, searching for a path, or easier way down. He uses his longspear as a walking staff.

Doug, what kind of roll do you want for this? Perception or Survival? Something else?

Doug, what kind of roll do you want for this? Perception or Survival? Something else?

Either, both or other are fine. I've modified this part from the book to make it more interesting. The book itself doesn't call for anything specific. As long as it makes sense in game you may roll whatever you like.

Kaylee follows Kerret's lead, moving towards the west and watching her footing as she goes.
Survival: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

There might be something over here, what do you guys think?

"I'd agree, there is no way the Mayor climbs down this on his own. If he isn't using magic, then there must be some other way. Worst case scenario...I can be the last to climb down. I'm small enough that my weight won't cause any kind of minor avalanche or mud slide. Pip says as he starts walking along the top of the ridge looking for some kind of path or goat trail or something.

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Kerret works with Kaylee to find a path or other feature that may make their crossing the gorge easier.

Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

The group looks around. There are other ways to get down to the valley but they are only slightly less hazardous than where the path leads off.