GM Dennis |
Desirea connects twice with her leg, scattering the remaining snakes to the wind! Out of combat.
Janira Gavix, friendly guide |
Janira breathes deeply, seeming to get her nausea under control. "Is everyone ok? Quick work, especially you, Desirea! Is anyone hurt?"
Seeing the wounds on Wu, she touches his arm, infusing him with positive energy that causes his wounds to close (casting cure light wounds), then draws a wand that's clearly labeled cure light wounds and heals her own wounds.
"We're running a little behind. We better hurry if we're going to get to the caves by nightfall, otherwise we may miss the gillmen entirely!"
Please make Survival checks to try to find efficient paths through the forest and make up some time.
Old Monk Wu |
Wu pockets a snake killed by Desirea. This cow seems rather tiny and underfed, but it has been well-tenderized!
As the group proceeds, Wu occasionally sniffs the air and wanders off ahead at random, but somehow always taking the easiest path.
Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16
Armiger Lucius Forensus |
Lucius goes back to Inesorabile and grabs his reins, while stowing his morningstar. He starts to follow Janira, Cacciatore at his heel.
Taking 10 on Survival for 11?
GM Dennis |
Despite his inability to see, Wu somehow sniffs out the tastiest paths and juiciest shortcuts, making up for lost time and keeping you on schedule!
The dense forest opens to a wide clearing as you approach the base of a sheer cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching 30 feet overhead.
GM Dennis |
As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth.
GM Dennis |
As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots the group.
Janira Gavix, friendly guide |
“A minotaur! There’s little chance we can stand against it. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling off her backpack, “and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!” She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.
GM Dennis |
You see a Minotaur in front of you, and Janira, who has ordered you into the caves, running off to distract it. What do you do?
Armiger Lucius Forensus |
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Lucius follows his commanding officer's orders. He nods at Agent Gavix, and says "As you command. I hope you rejoin us swiftly."
Desirea |
Finally a worthy foe! And yet you tell us to finish this chore first? Fine, but don't die leading him about. Keep him entertained until we come back to teach him a lesson!
GM Dennis |
@Palakar: It's tough to tell as she dashes off, but you think she really believes it.
Palakar |
@Palakar: It's tough to tell as she dashes off, but you think she really believes it.
Palakar will stare a moment, then duck into the cave. And lights up her sunrod. It's her second game, so I thought I had an ioun torch, but technically you still need 5 fame to get them
Old Monk Wu |
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Get off my lawn; quit that racket!
Wu chucks a half-eaten snake after the minotaur and then drags Jamila's bag along, grumbling. Yunguns, never finishing their chores. I said rake the leaves, not even a rake in this bag. See if SHE gets a butterscotch later…
GM Dennis |
As you retreat into the caves you see the Minotaur turn and chase Janira, crashing its way through the dense underbrush. Inside the mouth of the cave, a calm quiet returns as the sounds of the minotaur fade into the distance. Inside Janira’s backpack, you find the following items neatly labeled (please decide who’s carrying what):
All of the tunnels in this area are between 3 and 10 feet wide and vary equally in height, though most are a comfortable 7 or more feet wide in each dimension. The caves are damp, which increases the DC of all Acrobatics checks by 2.
Water dripping from stalactites and the distant rushing of underground streams creates an eerie backdrop as you explore. The caves’ walls are patterned with blue-green luminescent
fungi that provide dim light. Petroglyphs—most depicting marine animals or spiral shapes—periodically decorate the tunnels’ walls, becoming increasingly frequent as you progress deeper into the cave. The rough surface of the carvings provides a natural platform for the fungi, causing it to grow thicker and making the carvings glow slightly brighter than their surroundings.
The narrow tunnel twists and turns for several hundred feet before slowly opening to a wider passage. A large hole spans the entire width of the path and stretches ten feet ahead. At the bottom of the twenty-foot-deep pit lies a small bundle of cloth.
The tunnel here is 10 feet wide and 10 feet tall with a ceiling mostly devoid of stalactites.
Old Monk Wu |
Wu will take the smokestick (being blind, he can make excellent use of it).
He can't really target stuff unless he's in melee weapon reach so he doesn't need the splash weapons and can't use magic. The Barkskin should go to whoever will be up front — probably several of us can use it.
Old Monk Wu |
Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
Wu teeters on the edge of the hole, and then carefully feels its smooth edges with his hands.
Who dug this grave for poor old Wu? He shakes his fist at the ceiling. WU'S NOT DEAD YET, YOU WHIPPERSNAPPERS! With that, he leaps the pit!
Acrobatics-2: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (8) - 2 = 6
Reflex (grab edge): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
falling: 1d6 ⇒ 2
Silence from the bottom of the pit. Back in my day we dug graves twice as deep as this, so the old could never escape! HA!
A pause. Where is everyone!? Did they leave old Wu behind? Poor, poor old Wu…
A moment later, the sound of snoring whispers up from the pit.
Desirea |
Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 2
Desirea will take the scroll of mage armor and a potion of cure light wounds. As she picks up the scroll she says... Through trading blows one proves themselves but not all obstacles can be fought. I can use my ki to activate magic items but not reliably. Is anyone else more capable?
I have a +8 to UMD, anyone better?
Armiger Lucius Forensus |
Lucius reviews the items and says. "The magical items are beyond my ability. I could make use of some of those alchemical weapons, though."
Eyeing the hole, he goes over to his mount's saddlebags and retrieves a backpack with his adventuring gear - torches, rope, climbing tools, a couple of additional torches - before instructing Cacciatore to stay here and protect Inesorabile. He returns with the rope and begins knotting it. "Anyone have another one of these for the other side?"
Old Monk Wu |
Wu has rope and a piton; he can toss them up to someone on the other side if need be.
Palakar |
I would be quite good at UMD, if I'd had a skill point to put in it
Palakar will take the tanglefoot bag and the thunderstone, because there is much prank possibilities with those. And one of the Alch fires to replace the one she used earlier.
I've got another rope! Nothing to anchor it with though. It's made of silk and I got it .... (blabbers on)
GM Dennis |
You can easily lower down a rope to get everyone safely to the bottom. If one of you can make a DC 15 climb check to get up the other side and tie off the other rope, we'll move along.
As you make your way across the bottom of the pit you can pick up the bundle of cloth which reveals itself to be a finely made blue cloak with an unusual embroidery pattern in fine silver thread.
Armiger Lucius Forensus |
Curious.
Can you describe the embroidery? Is it something we might recognize?
Desirea |
It doesn't look like anyone else can UMD so I will take all the wands and scrolls except the cure light wounds wand, which James should have.
Climb: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
GM Dennis |
Desirea climbs up and secures a rope. With that in place, you're all able to make your way up to the other side. As you move forward, just out of sight of the hole, you find a wide plank that looks long enough to cross the pit. You think you won't need to worry about climbing on your way back.
The tunnels continue on, leading deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls.
Please make knowledge (history or religion), linguistics, appraise, or perception checks to decipher these carvings. One check per PC. You get a cumulative +2 bonus if you speak Aquan or Azlanti.
Armiger Lucius Forensus |
Take 10 on Knowledge (Religion) for a 15, 17 if it involves a Lawful Deity
Lucius looks around, the sounds of his armor moving echoing off the walls. The soft orange light of his torch clashes with the blues of the torches on the walls, basking the reliefs into an odd combination of the two.
Old Monk Wu |
Wu carefully runs his hands along the reliefs.
Take 10 on perception for 15.
GM Dennis |
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Lucius and Desirea are each able to decipher a section of the carvings. Palakar is too busy talking at it, while Wu spends his time admonishing the wall to stand up straight.
The sections you can make sense of depict parables about Aroden, in two of the twelve guises he takes on in History and Future of Humanity, the principal holy text of Arodenites. Those of you that have knowledge of that text find these parables to be slightly different than the ones you are used to, and you suspect this may be an earlier version of that work. You suspect that these carvings may have once acted as devotional instructions for ancient worshippers.
The two guises of Aroden you can decipher are:
When you've finished examining the carvings, you proceed down the torch-lit passageway to the inner section of the cavern. The soft light of the surrounding fungus mixes with the flickering glow of the nearby torches to reveal a grand chamber. A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west. Kneeling in the water facing away from you is lone man (picture in the slide deck). He makes no indication that he noticed your arrival.
Armiger Lucius Forensus |
Lucius notes the deviations from the book he read as a child. As they continue and come across the man, Lucius cautiously grips his morningstar and readies his shield.
Palakar |
Knowledge Local (take 10): 10 + 3 = 13
Oh, hello! You must be one of the Gillmen we were sent here to investigate. How are you doing? What are you doing here? I know someone who lives on Gilman street, have you been there? Do you mind if I share your pool?
The last one she actually pauses for an answer, and might perceive something about him.
perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7. Nope. Continues to babble like a brook.
Old Monk Wu |
An indoor pool? It's been weeks since I had a bath…
Wu meanders over, bumps into the gillman, and sticks a crusty toe in the pool.
He yells: ATTENDANT… WHERE ARE THE BUBBLES?
GM Dennis |
The gillman make no sign that he hears Palakar's babbling. In fact, he doesn't respond to your presence at all until Wu stumbles into the water, bumping into him. He turns to regard the old monk, a smirk on his face, and then looks the rest of you over, remaining silent. He does not seem hostile or even particularly annoyed by your intrusion, but neither does he seem very friendly.
Palakar |
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (17) + 0 = 17
Oh hey, you like the coat? We found it in a pit back by the entrance. Wu tried to jump over the pit but fell in, but luckily the coat broke his fall. So are you bonding with this pond? I love to bond with every pond I come to! Palakar tried to bond with the pond, but is a halfling not a Naiad, so it doesn't actually do anything. So mostly she just splashes around a bit.
coat, cloak, whatever...
Old Monk Wu |
Being blind, I don't think Wu can help with either of these checks. He will continue to splash about.
Old Monk Wu |
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DO YOU WANT THIS COAT?
The water's warm enough. My toes ain't grimy no more. A free gift of cleanliness, a free blanky to swaddle in, like I swaddled in the grave they dug back there. It was like a womb. Is it your grave? Maybe! This might be your cloak too, or your swaddle, to clutch in the dark while your daughters and sons forget you, ungrateful as they surely are, marching to forever!
YOUTH!
Wu shoves the cloak to the Gillman, clucking loudly: SOME PEOPLE, NO PLEASING THEM. JUST INSANE! NOTHING YOU CAN DO.
OFF WE GO. He splashes in the water.
He whispers: Where?
Desirea |
Desirea loudly sighs at how the situation has progressed. She goes to stand before the gillmen, holding her hands up in a gesture of peace and respect.
Honorable sir, please forgive our handicapped companion. Our elders have sent us here to give you greetings. We would like to learn of these caverns from you.
Diplomancy: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Armiger Lucius Forensus |
Lucius looks around, checking for potential danger. He is eager to complete exploration and return to their CO.
Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
Palakar |
Oh yeah, diplomacy. Should have tagged that into my last post
This is nice water. A bit salty. Sorry my friend threw the cloak at you - he can't see so his aim might be bad. Anyways, we wanted to know why you guys come here every full moon. A friend of ours noticed you guys while doing a project outside. Being naive and full of herself, Palakar tries to diplomacy herself instead of aiding.
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23
GM Dennis |
A smile cracks the man's stoic face. "Don't worry about it. Thank you for returning the cloak. I'm sure it belongs to one of my people."
”The waters of this place are holy to my people, particularly at the time of the full moon. Many of us make pilgrimages here to pay our respects."
I believe it was once a place holy to humanity as well, particularly the god Aroden. His influence has clearly faded, though, as evidenced by the carvings in the last room. Soon, I suspect, it will be gone entirely.”[/b]
-----
Now that you are closer, you can see more clearly the most unique feature of the cavern: Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
Old Monk Wu |
Many of us make pilgrimages here to pay our respects
WHAT? You pillage here and say threats? Wu crawls about in the pool, carefully feeling the miniature city. A centipede wriggles atop his head.
Well… Old Wu never knew such tomfoolery as this — not in all his days! This city here is too small for that — its denizens probably barter with grains of sand and the like! Nothing worth a pillage, I tell you. And nary a threat but the frogs! And the frogs, they don't listen. No one listens anymore. No good I tell you! They used to build cities proper in my day, none of this lackadaisical, lazy, tiny city building. Sure you save on parts, but it's too small for code! When good's it do ya when the folks come to move in, and no one can even fit a pinky toe in the door? They throw out grandpa first, is what they do! Where's that get ya!? Old Wu, in a tiny city, on the cold streets with the croaking urchins and sneaky frogs! Build it big, I say: sky high, like they did in the good old days. Those were the real cities, yessir!
While he rambles, he tries to catch some frogs for his lunch, but most jump into the water while he blunders about. Drool splatters on a tiny minaret like rain.
commere… ya tiny-city froggies. Old Wu jus' need some old butter and steal a nip of day-old milk… a twig and a hot fire…
dexterity: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
He puts the captured frog into his pocket and rubs his hands, mumbling about ingredients. A moment later the frog hops free; Wu continues to dream of buttery delights.
GM Dennis |
Wu, make me a handle animal check as you deal with the frogs.
The gillman looks at the rest of you with a look that clearly says "is he alright?".
You see two tunnels heading off in opposite directions, and a miniature city in front of you. What else would you like to do?