Min Maximus starts helping clear the rubble...
i never could get to sleep without a pitcher of ale... The name is min Maximus. Well met sir.
A smile replaces Ace's frown as he clears the rubble
Swell ta meet ya, you can call me Ace, and that lazy pooch over there is Moon-moon He gestures to the wolf watching them work.
What brings you to these parts?
Ah well there's an interesting story... When I was young I used to be... I guess you would call it a 'roadie' for a few bard troupes... we traveled all over putting on concerts and spreading peace and love and all that... anyways, those days ran their course and I ended up out of work and without a home... I found work as a mercenary and a guard when I could... I been here in Magnimar a while now, doing some guard duty at a few local pubs... keeping the peace and whatnot. Needless to say, I have meant most of my life by my blade, and it is a life well lived! So... what brings you to this parts? He stops to pet Moon-moon. That's sure an interesting blade you got there.
Xarol ponders for a moment then reaches down and carefully snatches the book on the floor.
Sputnikk says, Wait a moment, before we leave I wanna check and see what else may be in here that's magical. he begins waving his hands and making gestures with them while casting a spell. Detect the auras of magical things, hidden from eyes of the common beings.
The candles are magical, as is the journal but nothing else.
Moon-Moon continues to look uninterested as Min pets her, but her wags ever so slightly.
Ace stops short and reaches at his hip, but grasps nothing.
After a moments pause he gets back to work. After a few more moments his smile comes back and he remembered that he was asked a question.
The glaive? Yeah I've had it for a little while now, been tryin' ta wield it an get better at usin' it. I picked it up after this caravan I twas defendin' got attacked by some gnolls. Saw one of dem usin' it to pull riders off a horses and I thought it'd be a nice tool.
Fur the the most part I been traveling around, enjoyin a cup of mead, only workin' when it suits me.
Bout a year ago I found Moon-Moon in the snowy mountains. She twas a lil pup, all alone in the snow. I picked her up and we been best buds since, dough she doesn't like ta show it.
Ace gets in close to whisper to Min
Dun tell her, but I plan da' saddle train her, Ima sure shes a direwolf and shes gonna grow bigger den you or me eventually
In that case grab the book and hightail back to the tunnel.
The journal doesn't do anything nasty when you pick it up and you make it safely back to the group.
As quoted from a certain small yellow robot from a certain game with bazillions of guns;
"Wow! You're not dead?"
From his 3 foot tall vantage Xarol replies " Yes of course, it was as I expected, the defensive measures had already exhausted themselves and we retrieved this tome successfully."
He waits until Sputnikk rejoins them and then asks if everyone is ready to proceed.
The book is not written in a language that Xarol can read but nothing happens as he skims over the letters. The journal is written in Undercommon.
"The next time we rest I can ask Ferrakus to grant me meaning behind those words and maybe we can discover something of value in this." Stonz eyes are alight with anticipation, as if he held a valuable gem.
well y'all should rest while Aoi and I make some more progress on this here rubble
But he also thinks to himself not sure what we clearing this for... Ah well. Don't mind me some hard work. That's the problems with folks. Mind working hard. Always wanting reasons...
"Actually, now that we have retrieved the book, we should advance down the other way to ascertain whether there are any imminent dangers present. I agree that we should excavate that library eventually, but our more pressing concern is what was trying to get out in the basement. It was more than a few spiders that made those marks."
As quickly as it started, Min ceases digging out the rumble.
deal. Lets carry on. and he picks up his gear and his sword.
You proceed down the other tunnel. The tunnel is very long and as you proceed it turn to the north-east and grows larger as you walk and is about 15 feet wide and 15 feet high. You carry on for about an hour crossing about 3 miles of twisting tunnels going deeper and deeper underground. A this point you are no longer directly under Magnimar but somewhere to the north-east of the city and about a mile underground.
Suddenly the tunnel arrives at a sheer drop. Using the light of a torch you cannot see the ground or the ceiling as they are too far away. But you can make out vague shapes. Those who can see in the dark thought can see the ceiling 50 feet above and covered in Stalactites and the ground is 50 feet below but rather than Stalagmites the area seems to have spears planted in the ground at regular intervals with the pointed end aimed upwards. Strange totems and skulls are attached to the spears and they seems to be ornamental rather than intended to harm someone climbing or jumping down.
Min carefully takes a look around to see about anyway down the ledge.
There is a nearby Stalagmite you could tie a rope too. Also a good climber could make his way down (dc15 climb check without rope).
There is no other way down.
Moon-Moon continues to look uninterested as Min pets her, but her wags ever so slightly.
"What? What did I do ever so slightly. I never do anything ever so slightly. I do things ever so majorly, every time. Now that's been quite a walk, and look at this magic torch I'm carrying it never goes out, ever. That's awesomesuace there. Now while we wait to figure out how to get down to the floor, let me take a look at that book. I happen to have spent many years studying strange tomes and have a thorough understanding of several ancient languages and I've also been around so many writers that I know immediately what kind of book a book is just by reading the dust jacket."
Waglinde takes the book, studies it for a moment, snaps it shut hands it back and then announces.
"I got no idea what the hell that thing is. Hey can someone carry me down. I tired."
Anyone got any rope?
"But if course! A good adventurer must always be prepared! Only 50 feet though it is knotted to make climbing easier for those frail like myself."
If you dun mind can we lower ol' Moon-Moon down first? Seein' as she can't climb down herself she'll need ta be tied up.
We can lower her down along with someone else since she dun weight that much
Sputnikk snatches up the magical candles and runs for his life through the tunnel not stopping till he reaches the group safely.
When Ace mentions someone light to send down with Moon-Moon he volunteers.
Before he goes down, he sends Blackberry to see if the area below is clear or not.
"I don't know how to climb." Waglinde says with almost no lightness in the voice.
Looking over the edge, from a safe distance back, Wags swallows hard, and then whistles.
"That doesn't look too hard, but man oh man that's a long way to fall, and a lot of poke you in the spleen things to hit on the way down."
The bird flies down and searches the local area and comes back having found no signs of life.
What light sources are you carrying? Just Min's torch?
I am carrying a bullseye lanturn with a rock inside that I cast light on every 10 minutes or so. I take the rock out, recast light on it and drop it down so that it lands somewhere near the base of where we are. If it bounces away I pick up another one and repeat untill it lands somewhere favourable.
"Who's going last or are we leaving the rope here for our return?"
i am somewhat of a climber. I will come down with the rope f you wish, otherwise I also have rope in my oack
you begin by tying up the wolf and lowering it down. A process Moon-Moon is not very happy about. Sputnikk hangs on to the rope above the wolf and after a few minutes they arrive at the bottom.
Once at the bottom sputnikk notices big pieces of lumber piled right beneth the tunnel along with old ropes and some pulleys. It seems there was once an elevator in place here but it collapsed some time ago. Looking closer at the spears yu notice a mound of dirt at the base of each and realize these are graves hundreds, maybe thousands of them.
Aoi makes sure that the rope is firmly attached to the top
Might as well go down next
Aoi grabs hold of the rope and propels himself down.
Climb: Taking 10 + 1 = 11
I also take 10 on my climb, which is +4 while wearing armor, so a 14.
Firebeard remains mostly quiet as the group moved along through the tunnels, contemplating the vagaries of his life that led him here, underground once again. When they reached the hole, the agile monk easily rappelled down the rope, coming near the bottom in just a few moments
"Going down, down down. Going down, down down," Wags begins to hum while taking hold of the rope to begin the climb. And then once he/she has started over the ledge a song comes out of her/him with a rollicking intensity.
I wish I looked before I leaped
I didn't know it was so deep
Been down so far I don't get wet
Haven't touched the bottom yet
This river scene is gettin' old
I'm hungry, sleepy, wet and cold
She told me to forget it nice
I should have taken her advice
I only want to go on home
I'd gladly leave that girl alone
What a way to spend the night
If I don't drown, I'll die of fright
My pappy taught me how to float
But I can't swim a single note
He threw me in to teach me how
I stayed there floatin' like a mama cow
And now I've floated way down stream
I know this has to be a dream
If I could find my way to shore
I'd never, never do this anymore
I'll give you three, I've been down nine
I'm goin' down just one more time.
Goin' down.
Goin' down.
Sputnikk unties Moon-Moon and pets him as he looks around, a little unsure of what to make of the site. As Ronin makes his way down Sputnikk points around at all the mounds and says, Those look like graves! Lots of em.
Min Maximus makes it to the bottom last. He looks up at the rope, checks that it is secure, then says in a hushed tone
you know... Maybe we should leave this here in case we need to make a quick escape. I don't like the idea of being trappe against a wall... I have more rope if we need it
He will then take a look around, trying to figure out anything more about th area and the graves....
"Guess I am going down next."
When he gets to the bottom he says a quick prayer for the deceased.
Looking around you spot what looks like an entrance-way blocked by a stone door. While the rest of the cavern appears natural this entrance-way is clearly crafted and has carvings on it. You notice another such entrance on the other side of the cavern.
Link to google drive were you can view a map I made in paint.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_FXJLC5PfjGODl4bS1SckRpdms&usp =sharing
Aoi looks at the graves, his trademark smile is gone and his eyes are pained. In a wistful tone he says: You jeij warreorz of bhooj amj qarmagi, amj omi jay E zlahh doem you az bifetz a nurjirir.
He stares at them for a few moments then turns to the group.
These graves are of the Bonecrusher tribe...orcs who fer years raided these parts, pillaging everythin'. They disappeared suddenly a few years ago... We must be on our guard.
His voice has an unusual steely edge to it.
He turns away and starts walking, Moon-Moon by his side and crooning sadly.
Min grips his sword tightly, and takes a moment to pause an contemplate the graves of the Orc tribe, an what his companions connection to them is...
Feeling a bit of Ronin's sadness, Sputnikk thinks back to his younger days. Days when his small village was attacked by goblins on their fierce worg mounts. It was a sunny day for the most part and the small folk were going about their daily choirs when out of the forest they came. He can still remember the red pupils that dotted their eyes as a chill suddenly hits him. Over half of the townsfolk were killed, the others fled into holes that would provide safety. Sputnikk and his mother managed to find a safe place to hide, but his father on the other hand, a wizard in his own right was cut down by the leader of the marauding party in the middle of casting a spell.
Blackberry lets out low screach and Sputnik suddenly realizes he was being left behind as the rest of the group was venturing closer to stone door.
as a note the cavern keeps going I only posted that much as the light only goes that far.
if you move to a stone door indicate if it's the western or estern one. The entrance you use was at the north end of the cavern and of the two the eastern one is closer.
Sputnikk will be deep in thought when the others start moving on.
As Aoi stoically walks he wonders where the two paths lead, if they lead to any note worthy locations
knowledge (local)
Xarol clambered down with difficulty (taking ten), and after hearing Ronin's words ponders what could have possibly done this. "Shall we take the east door? We should be very careful in looking for traps. If any of you see them let me know. " he says quietly.
This is a rather worrisome scene....
Firebeard examined the graves he could see without joy or pity. Death was a constant in this world, and a tribe of orcs that made their way of life by raiding wasn't of particular concern for him. What did concern him was why the graves were here in this hidden cavern, instead of up in the light somewhere.
"There be no way fer a whole clan o' orcs t' be dragged down 'ere an' buried through tha' door in th' tavern. Like as not, one o' these passages 'ere leads t' th' surface. And near to, I'd imagine."
At the alchemist's suggestion, he moved over towards the east door to support anyone who might try to open it from anything that might try and stop them.
Maximus follows the dwarf to the east door,careful not to tread over and graves, as much out of respect as if caution.
aye, fire beard, either we have stumbled across an Orc cave, or there are very strange events at work here... We best be on our gaurd... I have an eerie feeling about all this....
Upon reaching the door, he will ask the wizard and the bard if they have ever seen anything or any symbols like this in their travels.
Oh my wonder of wonders, it can't be, no, wait, yes," Wags says as she approaches the door. Wags turns slowly to Maximus and then looks at everyone in turn, finally saying in a deep serious tone, "Do you realize what this means?"
"No, seriously. Do any of you know what this means? 'Cause I sure as hell don't."
"Now there's an honest story" Xarol snickers, but he gives the bard a grin. " I have no idea either"