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Basil represents a picture about as far from the traditional Image of a Paladin as possible...his plate armour is browned as a protection against rust..his shield bears a simple canvas cover with the symbol of Tyr painted on it..his eyes are covered by a single flimsy strip of white gauze which in no way impairs his vision..one gauntlet is coloured grey. He carries no backpack just his belt pouch in addition to his arms and armour.
"I'm ready to go"
The morning is nice. Even with Huergar sleeping late, you are able to get to the edge of the Shadow Gap. Thankfully, no Drow forces have been reported, and both of the hamlets you pass along the way seem to be in good order. You find a nice shrine maintained by a priest of Shaundakul, Piotre Redmark, who speaks highly of the safety of the pass, even given the recent... problems with the Drow. He doesn't know much more than that, as his wanderings take him into the stonelands more often than not, and he is only at the shrine for the evening before heading back.
The first day into the Shadow Gap goes very smoothly, outside of more breaks due to climbing uphill and checking for any signs of an ambush. You are all very wary, and, to your surprise, nothing happens. You find a defensible cave that closes twenty feet into the hillside, with no signs of an animal or other being using it, and sleep relatively fitfully for the entire evening. For those of you foraging, you are guaranteed a meal of rabbit this fine evening, as they are everywhere, and generally ignore passerby.
The second day in the Shadow Gap brings some insight. About midday, you find a large red circle... in the middle of the road. All around the circle are drow bodies, most of them in a state of decay , there are 45 bodies total. Many of the drow bodies have been branded , many with a spider symbol. Some of the drow are marked on, especially the females. None of the bodies have clothes, nor do they have any gear. There is a cave not far from here that has tracks leading from it, but it is caved in at this point . Noting the map, Sunaj and Finrod heartily agree that this is the first "ambush" point that there is. However, it appears that the ambush has already happened.
Knowledge (engineering) 1d20+14=31
Huergar can read Undercommon, but only translates the word "Heretic".
"Interesting," muses the other dwarf. "Have we happened upon a war of drow against drow? Though that prospect is very appealing, we must draw our conclusions carefully. Appearances, as they say, can be deceiving."
He examines the bodies as well as the surroundings.
Knowledge(arcana):14
Knowledge(religion):15
Knowledge(engineering):18
"I do not like this, not at all. What could have happened here?"
Basil looks across the slaughtered drow with no visible emotion
"It appears that our enemies do our work for us...only to be expected from Demon Worshippers though..no one ever claimed they were stable"
Basil looks across the slaughtered drow with no visible emotion
"It appears that our enemies do our work for us...only to be expected from Demon Worshippers though..no one ever claimed they were stable"
The tiefling cast a glare at de Fermer. "We know nothing of these men and women, except that they were branded heretics. Unless our work is wanton slaughter of dark elves whose hearts will now and forever be unknown to us, then no one's work has been done here." Greene walked past the paladin to kneel before the body of an open-eyed Drow woman. He closed the eyes and looked around for something to cover her violated flesh. "Try and remember which of us is more capable of mercy. "
Finrod circles the area trying to spot any tracks.
IF he finds tracks, try to follow:
"Be careful everyone, there may still be drow in the area."
Kara warily looks about for any drow that might be hiding...
Perception:26
Huergar:
Onyx:
The 'heretic' brand, in conjunction with the circle speaks of a possible civil unrest among one of the many Drow cities. There could be a religious upheaval among the Spider Queen's faithful going on here, but this alone is not enough evidence of this. Perhaps it's an interfaith dispute?
As to the cave-in, Huergar seems to be taking a number of notes to share with the group soon.
Finrod and Kara
Kara:
Basil:
The search around the day continues throughout the afternoon. The results aren't terribly fruitful, and it will be sunset very soon. There is a chill wind in the air, it feels... unpleasant.
Finrod narrows his eyes as he gazes skyward and tries to identify those birds.
Knowledge: Nature-- (1d20+9=12)
Seeing that it is close to sunset, Finrod starts looking around for a defensible campsite.
"Whatever and whoever was responsible this happened at least 3 days ago given the state of the bodies..though I find it strange that scavengers haven't been at them. The circle is associated with Lolths worship but whether these drow created it or their killers did I cannot tell."
"There's nothing we can do here..I suggest we move on"
Onyx responds to Basil.
"The circle was part of a gate spell. I imagine that's what allowed so many of these drow to come out of their underground realm. Not all of these inscriptions along the circle are magical; some of it is political graffiti. I can't say for sure what it means, but my guess is the drow have been fighting a war over religion."
"I was just wondering why someone would block this cave entrance from the outside. The cave is sound, and the entrance did not collapse on its own. Is it to prevent someone from getting in, or from getting out?"
Huergar climbs the rocks () to see if any can be safely removed from the top to allow entrance to the cave. If so, he begins dislodging them with his crowbar.
"Someone might want to try detecting if there is something nasty in there, before I let it out."
Onyx scales the rockfall as well, though with far less dexterity and confidence as Huergar.
"Detection, you say? Aye, my cousin, that's what I'm good at. All I need is a small opening ..."
L0
Detect Magic
Detect Poison
Read Magic
Light
L1
Detect Secret Doors
Detect Undead
Magic Missile
Magic Missile
Obscuring Mist
+Identify
L2
Detect Thoughts
Locate Object
See Invisibility
Knock
+Detect Thoughts
L3
Clairaudience/Clairvoyance
Tongues
Lightning Bolt
Arcane Sight
+Clairaudience/Clairvoyance
L4
Locate Creature
Scrying
Arcane Eye
Geas Lesser
+Arcane Eye
Finrod:
Huergar and Onyx
Finrod begins searching for a defensible campsite, and finds one a mile down the road, which is a nicely small cave with merely one entrance. He returns just in time for all of you to hear a rumbling from the cave that Huergar and Onyx are in!
Greene drew his weapons and said a prayer to Sir Andress' god, "Lathander, give me eyes to see into the heart of evil. If what comes deserves no pity or mercy, it shall have none."
** spoiler omitted **
Greene:
Onyx:
Coming back up the road, Finrod hears the rumble and immediately darts into the lengthening shadows of the treeline.
Huergar's balance is poor, and he totters ridiculously on the shifting rocks. He casts one worried glance toward Onyx before desperation demands his full attention. Not letting go of the crowbar, he tries to grab anything with his free hand.
Onyx:
Huergar:
From the cave mouth, you are able to see a puff of dust flying out, and, moments later, both Onyx and Huergar emerge, looking a little bit injured, as well as coughing and gagging on the dust they've come out of. Not far behind them, the cave mouth eventually collapses, and a small rockslide happens outside, fortunately everyone is well out of the way by this point.
Coated in dust from head to booted toe, Onyx plops down on the ground and continues coughing. When he recovers, he takes a few drinks of water, gets up, and reaches into a small sack tied to his belt. He plucks out what seems to be a glass eye, which he rolls between his stubby fingers as his hands trace arcane symbols in the air.
Kara barely supresses a laugh.
"How badly are you two hurt?"
"Go ahead and laugh. My father was a miner, and I can still see the shame on his face whenever he looked my way. Thankfully, Onyx is a little more spry than I am."
Greene sheathed his weapons and scanned the treeline for evil hearts or evil intent.
DM:
"Kara, if you want to conserve your healing energies, I can spare a little of my own to help them. Onyx, are you all right?" He noticed the dwarf seemed preoccupied.
Huergar:
Onyx:
Sunaj
Finrod:
Eyes still closed, Onyx's bushy brows furrow. He is obviously upset at something.
"They set two traps here, the cunning devils! The first one buried the drow. The second was meant to bury rescuers. Huergar and I are lucky to be alive."
He blinks, rubs his eyes and looks up to Sunaj.
"There's nothing in the cave, not even a tunnel."