The team becomes hopelessly mired in the forest. Jundu leads the pack, but unfortunately it seems to be a pack of kittens that he is herding and they keep running off.. or back.. or doing circles.. Anything but going forward. Argor tries his best to help, but it just is not to be.
Finally, Janira calls for another break, trying to get her bearings with her wayfinder and her notes from the last trip. The suns rays slant through foliage, the late afternoon angle giving more light through the trees. "I am terribly afraid that we will not get there in time at this pace.." she worries. "We need to be there by sundown. If we press on hard, and I mean really pick up the pace, we should be able to make it. Jundu and Argor have lead the way so far.. If you agree, we should force march the rest of the way. I can use my magic to keep you from getting too exhausted, but it is still going to be hard on everyone. Since this is your Confirmation, I will leave the choice up to you. What do you say?"
[ooc]If you agree to the force march, Janira will prevent any of the normal penalties, but it is your choice. If you agree, lets get another round of Survival checks and RP to go with them. Trust your GM to make this work.. I have a plan!"[/b]
|AC 20, T 15, FF 16|HP: 48/48 (5 nl)|F +8, R +8, W -1 (+2 vs shadow/MA/emotion, +1 vs reptilian EX abilities)|Init +4, Perc +8|CMB 0 CMD 13|Burn 1/7, Light and Dark 1/1, Voices Say 1/1, Shadow Speaker 3/4
Survival:1d20 - 2 ⇒ (14) - 2 = 12
"It's been a long time since I've been in a forest. Oh, look! I say! I say, Mister! Mister, over here! We're travelers, and we're lost...oh, hello."
male kitsune bard 2 | HP 19/19, bardic performance 10/10 | AC 17, T 13, FF 14 | F +2, R +6, W +4 (+4 saves vs sonic/language-dependant) | CMB -1, CMD 12 | Spd 30' | Perc +7 | Init +5
Jundu is trying to hide his frustration at his bumbling companions. He gives Janira a conspiratorial eye roll.
"Yes let's hurry along as quickly as possible in order to reach our destination tonight."
Do I need another Survival check or am I still good? Use it as an AA if I don't need it.
What I normally do in this situation is on the second round of checks, the team is making up for those that failed the first time. Enough passes or aids between the two rounds for a rough average of the DC will get yall through in a timely manner.
After setting out once more, the team marshals their strength and fortitude to make it through the forest. This time, everyone is able to keep up and keep moving in the same direction. As you push yourselves to the limits, almost running through the trees, Janira keeps your spirits up with her words of encouragement and songs of praise and glory. Finally, just as the suns rays slant down towards the horizon, the dense forest opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching 30 feet overhead. “Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,” Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face. She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.”
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.
The halfling worriedly remarks, “Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!” 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.
Wisely assessing that a minotaur is beyond her charges’ capabilities, Janira screams, “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, calling out in another language. The minotaur hears this, and gives a mighty roar of anger before charging at the little Halfling. You may not be able to understand what was said, but you certainly are able to discern the tone of the taunt.
male kitsune bard 2 | HP 19/19, bardic performance 10/10 | AC 17, T 13, FF 14 | F +2, R +6, W +4 (+4 saves vs sonic/language-dependant) | CMB -1, CMD 12 | Spd 30' | Perc +7 | Init +5
"Ah! Finally!" says Jundu as they reach the cave. When Janira leads the minotaur away, he grabs her pack and hustles inside. When the group has safely entered, he does his dance.
OK, now I'm doing to do my Careful Teamwork performance. All allies within 30 feet gain a +1 bonus on Initiative checks, Perception, and Disable Device checks for 1 hour. They also gain a +1 insight bonus on Reflex saves and to AC against traps and when they are flat-footed.
The entrance of the tunnel is dark, but a little ways in, a dim glow can be seen. The tunnel is variable; as narrow as 3 feet in places, and as wide as 10 in others. Water trickles down the walls, leaving the floor damp and somewhat slick while echoes of dripping water reverberate around the stone walls. About 20 feet in, you find the dim glow to be radiating from a curious fungi on the walls. These illuminate curious petroglyphs depicting marine animals or spiral shapes. Sparse at first, as your exploration takes you deeper into the tunnels and small caverns of the complex, they slowly begin to grow more numerous.
Janira’s Bag:
potion of barkskin, potions of cure light wounds (2), potion of feather step, potion of vanish, scroll of entangle, scroll of gust of wind, scroll of identify, scroll of mage armor (CL 6), scroll of obscuring mist, wand of burning hands (CL 3rd, 4 charges), wand of cure light wounds (CL 3rd, 8 charges), acid, alchemist’s fire (2), holy water, smokestick, tanglefoot bags (2), thunderstone
DC 15 Survival:
You notice the recent tracks of a Gillman in the soft sand of the tunnel. The tracks are recent.. most likely within the last day or so.
Aerian runs into the cave and peeks in the bag. He takes one of the alchemist fires, a tanglefoot bag, a thunderstone and one of the potions of cure light wounds.
survival:1d20 ⇒ 20
"I hope Janira is going to be okay... she did seem rather sure she'd be able to elude that brute. Look! Tracks! A gillman came this way recently... let's investigate... "
Argor grits his teeth as he leaves Janira. Inside the cave, as the party looks over the contents of the halfling's bag, he picks up the potion of barkskin. "We have to trust in her strength that she will succeed."
"Into the cave then? Can everyone see? Does anyone need a light source?" Ajax asks and then not waiting for a response goes on "I'll carry Janira's pack and what's left in it, I'm sure she'll want it back when we see her again."
The narrow tunnel twists and turns for several hundred feet before slowly opening to a wider passage. A large hole spans the cave’s width and stretches ten feet down the path. At the bottom of the pit lies a small bundle of cloth nestled among some nasty looking spikes.
DC 10 K. Dungeoneering or Survival:
This hole in the ground is artificial.. carved out of the solid stone by hand
DC 15 K. Dungeoneering or Survival:
In addition to being artificial, this hole is roughly a year old.
GM:1d6 ⇒ 5
I do not have a map for this, but the hole spans the width of the tunnel.. and is 10' square. This will be theater of the mind.
|AC 20, T 15, FF 16|HP: 48/48 (5 nl)|F +8, R +8, W -1 (+2 vs shadow/MA/emotion, +1 vs reptilian EX abilities)|Init +4, Perc +8|CMB 0 CMD 13|Burn 1/7, Light and Dark 1/1, Voices Say 1/1, Shadow Speaker 3/4
male kitsune bard 2 | HP 19/19, bardic performance 10/10 | AC 17, T 13, FF 14 | F +2, R +6, W +4 (+4 saves vs sonic/language-dependant) | CMB -1, CMD 12 | Spd 30' | Perc +7 | Init +5
Cyclic casts a spell looking for poison while the others set up to try and find a way into the pit. She does not believe that there is any poison down there, so Argor climbs down while Ajax and the others hold the rope for him.
Once he is at the bottom, Argor discovers that the small bundle is actually a very well made cloak.
I will assume you do the same to rejoin the party, Argor. How are yall going to go about getting over/through/around/across the pit?
Detect magic:
You find that the cloak has a faint aura of abjuration.
"I don't suppose anyone has seen a plank around here? Otherwise I think we are either going to have to fly or climb, and since I very much doubt any of us fly..."
male kitsune bard 2 | HP 19/19, bardic performance 10/10 | AC 17, T 13, FF 14 | F +2, R +6, W +4 (+4 saves vs sonic/language-dependant) | CMB -1, CMD 12 | Spd 30' | Perc +7 | Init +5
Jundu says, "There definitely appears to be some magical effect from this cloak. I'm not sure what it is though."
I have detect magic but not trained in Spellcraft yet unfortunately. Perception check to stand in for it?
|AC 20, T 15, FF 16|HP: 48/48 (5 nl)|F +8, R +8, W -1 (+2 vs shadow/MA/emotion, +1 vs reptilian EX abilities)|Init +4, Perc +8|CMB 0 CMD 13|Burn 1/7, Light and Dark 1/1, Voices Say 1/1, Shadow Speaker 3/4
"It's enchanted? May I see?"
Guess who IS trained in Spellcraft? :3
Spellcraft:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
"I know these. These are warding glyphs. To protect you from *twitch* that which you fear."
Unfortunately, the rules are pretty clear that Detect Magic has to be used before an item can be identified. However, the rules are a bit fuzzy on who does what. So in my world, it is perfectly acceptable for Jundo to detect the magic and call it out to the others who may attempt to identify it. this is how we will work through this encounter.
Jundu: Unfortunately, Perception can not stand in for detect magic or spell craft.
Climbing:
Had this been at a table, I could have made some veiled allusion to the bad idea that it would be to attempt to climb out of a 10' deep pit loaded with spikes at the bottom without using a rope of any sort. I also should have been clearer in my description of the pit to include how smooth the sides are. With this in mind, I will tell you that you are unable to take 10, and your first two attempts to climb out failed. Should you wish to continue, you will take quite a bit of damage from the spikes.. enough that I do not see that ending happily for anyone at all. So.. I will allow you to recon this from the bottom of the pit and decide on a new course of action if you so desire. I leave the choice up to you.
The party looks over the cloak in wonder as Jundu casts a spell. Under his enhanced eyes, the cloak glows with a faint light. His exclamation leads Black Sun to look it over closer.. and she recognizes the magic built into the cloak. After some more discussion, it is decided that Cyclic should wear it!
From the bottom of the pit, Argor hesitates just before he attempts to climb out the other side. Without a rope to hold on to, he realizes that the unnaturally smooth face of the rock and the rounded corners give him very little purchase for climbing.. but the decision is his to make...
|AC 20, T 15, FF 16|HP: 48/48 (5 nl)|F +8, R +8, W -1 (+2 vs shadow/MA/emotion, +1 vs reptilian EX abilities)|Init +4, Perc +8|CMB 0 CMD 13|Burn 1/7, Light and Dark 1/1, Voices Say 1/1, Shadow Speaker 3/4
"Wait, give ME the rope!" Says Black Sun, snapping out of her daze before Argor climbs down (and hopefully the DM will cut us a bit of slack with that, what with never-before-played characters and all).
She wills gravity away from her...
Using Basic Chaokinesis to grant myself +4 to an Acrobatics check to jump.
...and bounds with unnatural ease across the gulf!
She then reaches out with her will and does the same to Argor, who suddenly feels substantially lighter...
Just so everyone understands, I can do this trick at will, but only one subject at a time (and with an unspecified range, but that probably means 30 feet by default).
...and she then looks around for somewhere to fasten the rope to (assuming I was given one).
Casting around for someplace to attach the rope, Black Sun steps a few feet away from the pit. In doing so, she stumbles over a board lying on the floor against the wall.. it is wide enough to stand upon, and about 15 ft in length..
Ajax looks at Jundu "Well that worked out, we won't have to follow that plan where I try to toss you over the pit after all." Rubs back of neck sheepishly "Did I say that last bit out loud?"
male kitsune bard 2 | HP 19/19, bardic performance 10/10 | AC 17, T 13, FF 14 | F +2, R +6, W +4 (+4 saves vs sonic/language-dependant) | CMB -1, CMD 12 | Spd 30' | Perc +7 | Init +5
"Yes, indeed," nods Jundu gravely. "I was not looking forward to that. Well done, Black Sun!"
He scurries across the plank when she sets it out.
Black Sun thinks quickly and logically as she finds the board. She drags it over to the pit, and with the help of the others, it is soon secured in place, allowing the party to simply walk over the pit. Ajax climbs back up his rope and then traverses the pit via the plank. 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.
GM:4d12 ⇒ (10, 2, 1, 3) = 16 If choosing Linguistics, you receive a +2 per language if you know Aquan and/or Azlanti.
DC 15 K. History, K. Religion, or Linguistics:
Make the DC and pick a number 1-4 and I will tell you what you found! For every 3 points that you surpass the DC, pick another number.
You recognize the friezes as depicting stories from the History and Future of Humanity, the principle holy
text of Aroden. However, the friezes seem to be a bit different than common translations and retellings portray. Not fundamentally different, but enough so to notice the differences.
The first frieze depicts a story whose main character is "The Artist". The Artist is depicted painting murals on the walls of impressive buildings, associated with Aroden having painted the city of Absalom with beautiful colors so that it might awe all who visited. You know that most pigments are obtained from rocks or other natural forms found throughout Golarion.
In the second frieze, The Beggar is depicted kneeling with an alms bowl raised high, representing Aroden espousing humility in
all, lest they forget their shared humanity. In this circumstance, you realize that everyone, yourself included, has shortcomings, and only pride covers them from your eyes and the eyes of your companions. True humility allows these shortfalls to see the light of day through admission and recompense.
Lastly, The Craftsman is depicted creating shoes, pots, jewelry, and other movable goods, referencing Aroden’s delight at seeing his people express their ingenuity in creating new products from raw materials. [ooc]You get the feeling that by creating something.. most of the time some trinket made by hand.. would please Aroden. Just to make this as clear as I possibly can without providing spoilers, this area does not give off the comfort and holiness that a temple of Arodan may. This does not appear to be anything more than simply a place to tell stories..
You recognise the parable of The Soldier within the friezes. This fable is well known to you from the legends and writings of and about Aroden, but just as with the others, this seems different from the legends you are familiar with. This depicts Aroden as The Soldier bearing a lantern through the city streets of Absalom, following the dead god's prophecy that the vigilant shall carry light to the darkest corners of the world to banish the shadows.
You get the feeling that this frieze is suggesting that you should bring light to others in some way. Just as with Ajax, you get the feeling that these friezes are telling a devotional of sorts... The various aspects of the god Aroden performing his Rites. However, The area that you are in has the feeling of a place for introspection and discussion, and not one of holy reverence you would expect of a shrine or alter.
Remember your task here in the caves.. to record and report!
I am waiting to see if either Aerian or Ajax share their knowledge, and the reaction of the rest of the team to this room. I will give it another 24 hrs before pushing on.
