I feel we are as prepared as we can be. I will lead ahead perhaps 50 feet, then you and you, pointing to the half elf and dwarf, come after then Uilisfuen, who draws a longbow can bring up the rear. If we make contact I will fire then run back towards you and we can fight as a group. Agreed?
Garnult grumbles Everyone has a plan until they get hit in the mouth...
I think that is fine plan. Darkleaf pulls his pack up and keeps his hands free for the moment.
Uilisfuen touches his insignia marking him as a scout, as he stares down at his feet. Does he not think I can lead the way? Is he purposely insulting me? He lifts his head and stares at Cererithil.
”Very well,” he says calmly. ”I will guard the rear. Let us depart.”
Before leaving he teaches the group tactical handsigns so that he can silently communicate with the group. Uilisfeun already knows these but the group does not.
As the party sets out from the gate of Zelkor's Ferry, one of the guardsmen, Bernhard, gives a friendly wave and send off. "Come back with tales to tell, and the first round is on me!"
Heading across the grasslands southwest toward the southern fork of the Kasai river makes for light, uneventful travel. There is a small forest growth to the southeast and a hilly outcropping. Following the river is easy enough, and it is lightly wooded along various points. You are making good time toward the ruined cottage.
Cererithil scouts in advance of the party, when he hears the distinct sound of a bowstring being drawn in front of him behind a small group of trees as a fox runs out from the underbrush. Peeking from behind one of the trees, drawing down on Cererithil is a gnoll!
Initiative
Cererithil
Garnult
Lorian
Uilisfuen
Gnoll
???
Round 1
Lorian
Gnoll 1
Uilisfuen
Cererithil
Garnult
???
Lorian is the first to act!
Lorian seeing the gnoll gets back from melee range and then casts his magic. Ancient forces of the Jungle Hear my call and burn this gnoll this down.
Lorian launches a firebolt at the gnoll, which seems to do more damage to the surrounding tree than the gnoll.
Round 1
Lorian
Gnoll 1 - 1 damage taken
Uilisfuen
Cererithil
Garnult
???
The gnoll moves out from behind the tree to get a clear shot at Cererithil and then takes cover again!
*miss*
The arrow flies wide though and splashes into the river.
Uilisfuen, Cererithil, and Garnult may act!
Garnult raises his axe and shield and moves forward Alright then! Let's do this ya furry bastards!
Cererithil takes a shot at the gnoll and the moves bend a nearby tree.
Shortbow for
Uilisfuen hurries to a spot where he can get an adequate shot at the gnoll. He’s practiced for years against targets obstructed by foliage and branches. Breathing calmly, an arrow practically leaps into his fingers. The sound of the bowstring and the ffffft of the arrow is music to his pointed ears.
Garnult readies himself to engage the gnoll, moving foward as Cererithil fires an arrow into the brush and moves himself behind cover.
Uilisfuen calmly takes aim and lets his arrow fly, striking the gnoll!
Round 2
Lorian
Gnoll 1 - 6 damage taken
Uilisfuen
Cererithil
Garnult
Gnoll 2
Further north along the river bank, a second gnoll comes out of his ambush spot and fires an arrow at Ulisfuen!
*miss*
Round 2
Lorian
Gnoll 1 - 6 damage taken
Uilisfuen
Cererithil
Garnult
Gnoll 2
Lorian is up!
Garnult hustles forward and raises his warhammer Take this ya furry devil!
Cererithil moves, breaking cover and now that the gnoll is in melee combat tries to take advntage of the situation (sneak attack).
Bow for and
Lorian still keeping his distance fires off another firebolt, while doing so he waves his hands and speaks Great Pharsma take this beast to your yard for your glory
Lorian turns and launches a firebolt at the second gnoll, but the magical energy slams into the tree in front of the creature instead!
The first gnoll turns his aim on the approaching dwarf and lets another arrow fly! The arrow bounces off the dwarf's shield harmlessly!
*miss*
Garnult then closes in on the gnoll and slams the furry beast with his warhammer!
Cererithil takes advantage of the gnoll's concentration on the dwarf and plants an arrow right in the creature's throat! It falls to the ground twitching and gurggling blood for a moment and then is still.
Round 2
Lorian
Gnoll 1 - 24 damage taken
Uilisfuen
Cererithil
Garnult
Gnoll 2
Uilisfuen has not yet acted for Round 2!
Seeing one of the gnolls out of the fight, Uilisfuen focuses his attention on the second gnoll. He draws an arrow and lets it fly, then retreats ten feet away from the river.
Uilisfuen lodges an arrow firmly in the chest of the gnoll! The beast growls, drops its longbow and picks up a spear leaning against the tree, and charges forward running Lorian through with a powerful two-handed thrust to the guts!
*hit*
Round 3
Lorian
Uilisfuen
Cererithil
Garnult
Gnoll 2 - 13 damage taken
All PCs may act!
Cererithil turns, nocks an arrow and lets fly at the surviving Gnoll, knowing it to be distracted by attempting to kill his fellow tribesman.
for plus damage.
Cererithil moves into position, not wanting his archery skills to be shown up by Uilisfuen, and releases another arrow which finds the gnoll's throat in a spray of blood! The beast falls over, releasing his grip on the spear still lodged in Lorian's guts.
And they have the following coinage between them:
Please let me know anything you would like to do before continting along the route to the Mouth of Doom.
Cererithil checks on his fellow tribesman before taking a longbow to replace his shortbow and a quiver (20) worth of arrows.
How fare you? Is the wound grave?
Uilisfuen pats his chest and examines his arms. ”No injuries. Thank you for asking. Did you fare as well?”
The elf then attempts to recover the two arrows he fired at the gnolls. While at each body, he shows respect for their fallen foes by bowing his head momentarily.
Lorain looks over the stuff and attempts to identify the gnolls tribe.
Garnult wipes some gnoll fur off his warhammer The fight was too short....only two of em! Next time they better bring friends... the sour dwarf grumbles.
Lorian is unable to identify the gnolls specific tribe, but at the rate such groups rise and fall it is not uncommon.
Gathering yourselves up, you continue onward toward the Mouth of Doom!
Traveling again along the river, you quickly find your way to the ruined cottage. It is a stone cottage that has been abandoned and fallen into disrepair. The thatched roof is gone, and grass grows from the dirt floor of the building. Turning south at the landmark you can see the wooded hillside that rises before you, your destination, your fate before you. As promised, the path to the Mouth of Doom is easy enough to pick up and follow to it's foul beginnings...
The Mouth of Doom is a huge, stone demon face carved into the side of the hill. Its open mouth is ten feet tall; within the gaping stone maw, stairs of black stone lead downward into the darkness.
Lets rest up in the cabin overnight to recover before pressing on - what say you?
Rest! Bah. Silly elves always thinking of sleep. No need for that!
Garnult casts a spell of healing on the elf Lorien
There. All better now? Let's go
”We should maintain the same marching order. You led well Cererithil,” the elf says.
Lorian thanks the Cleric and says My friend thank you so much. The next time at your one of temples I will offer a coin.
Very well... remain 50 feet behind me. He looks over the enterance checking it for traps and then enters.
Black stone stairs lead down to this room from the surface above in a staircase that Cererithil estimates has taken them about forty feet underground. The room at the bottom of the staircase has six doors leading out, each one set into the far end of a ten-foot-by-ten-foot alcove in the wall. There is a faint smell of old rot in the air, like a graveyard.
A. North Eastern Door. In the stone over the top of this alcove, there is a carving of a goat’s face, with curling horns, narrowed eyes and small fangs visible at the corners of its mouth.
B. South Eastern Door. There is a skull carved into the stone over the top of this alcove.
C. Southern Door. There is a pentacle carved in the stone over the top of this alcove.
D. South Western Door. There is a carving of a hand over the top of this alcove.
E. North Western Door. There is a wolf’s head carved into the stone above this alcove. There is also three holes in the ceiling which look like they are for a portcullis.
F. Northern Door. Nothing is carved into the stone above this alcove.
Cererithil takes a quick lap around the room while the others descend the stairs checking for traps and hazards. The perceptive elf is able to notice that in two of the alcoves (A. and D.) the stonework tile patterns do not appear to match the stone in the main room.
Beware of these two places... which shall our path be? The Northern door is the only one that does not seem to advertise
b]”The mouth of doom,”[/b] the elf whispers. ”The goat and the wolf. Is there any religious significance to these two animals being represented? Are they symbols for gods? What about the other carvings, do they represent other gods?”
Uilisfuen examines the openings above the northwestern door. ”Maybe we try the unmarked door first?” the elf indicates the northern door.
With the wild elves in agreement, Cereithil starts towards the northern, unadorned door. As he gets closer, a disembodied mouth pushes forward from the stone above the door and speaks:
"You stand at the threshold of the Rappan Athuk, the Dungeon of Graves. Turn back, trespassers, for you will find nothing but your death in these dark halls."
After delivering it's dire message, the mouth melds back into the stone over the doorway.
Well, no courage, no glory, he says moving under the arch and down the corridor.
Moving down a short hallway that opens into another chamber, Cererithil notices a slight dampness in the air as he moves into the room. It looks like passages head west at the northern end of the room, and another cuts back southwest at the closer end of the room. Along the eastern wall in several spots you notice some green-grey mold.
Be wary of the mold... in dungeons it can be bad news. He heads west, sneaking as he goes.
Bah. I ain't fraid of no damn sniffles... Garnult says as he trudges along
The southwestern hallway continues about another 30 feet before it turns straight south and seems to open up a bit and perhaps veer off to the northwest again. The angles of the walls make it a little hard to tell for sure from where Cererithil is.
Garnult wonders if he can collect the mold and brew it into some beer...:)
”Cererithil! Cererithil!,” Uilisfuen whispers loudly, confident the elf's hearing will pick up his words. ”Slow down, we can’t see you.”
The elf hands a piece of chalk to Lorian and Garnult. He marks the wall with an Elvish ‘U’ and an arrow pointing the direction they are moving down the corridor.
Lorain readies a spell.
Garnult follows behind, his stubby legs pumping furiously to keep up with the longer limbed elves.
Cererithil slows down and allows the others to catch up.
After the others catch up, Cereithil heads down the southwestern hallway to get a better look at the options. The southern hallway looks like it continues to the backside of the upper northwestern door from the main room. The northwestern hallway seems to run up into a larger room which he cannot fully see from here, even with his darkvision.
There is a wooden door set into the north wall, and a pair of boots and a metal gauntlet lying in front of the door. The floor directly in front of the door, the door and its handle are coated in a semi-transparent liquid of some kind.
Hah. Someone got the boots scared right off em! Garnult chuckles at his own wit.
”I thought he might have melted, but wouldn’t his other gear be left behind?” Uilisfuen comments as he picks up one of the boots, ignoring Garnult’s joke. He inspects it, noticing the material, design, and wear hoping to learn if it is from the Mwangi expanse. Once he has answer he puts the boot back.
”Strange though,” the elf contines. ”If he had companions why leave his boots and one gantlet, but take everything else?”
Through closer inspection, Uilisfuen realizes these items are slightly smaller than an adult human would use. They could fit a gnome or halfling, however.The boots look as if they were made to last quite a while, but only show fairly minimal wear and the gauntlet is likely a Chelixian style of metalwork, certainly not Mwangi tribal work. All the items have a small amount of dried yellow resin on them. The boots have it on the bottoms and the gauntlet has it on the palm and fingers.
”Look at this residue,” Uilisfuen points it out to his companions. ”Maybe an indicator of a...something digesting the person.” The elf looks to the ceiling above him, ready to roll away. ”Any traps on the door?” he asks Cererithil.