As you stand over the fallen black-robed gnome, looking further south through the trees you catch sight of the blurred shapes of several big white birds. They are at least the height of a dwarf, with appendages that are more flippers than wings. They seem to be squawking occasionally at one another, and waddle along in the snow. Some of the odd bird-calls echoing through this forest may be from birds like them. Think really big white penguins here, although Nim has probably never heard of, much less seen such a bird before.
Edit:
Seebo, Nim, Donnie, Bronx:
Spoiler:
Rising above the continuing occasional strange bird-calls, and the echoes of Nim's warcry, the shrill, piping, wind seems to be starting up again; Nim in particular will notice that there seems to be a local source some way to the south. There seems some undefinably disquieting quality to it, that is starting to really play on your nerves; it reminds you too much of that maddening howling wind that you heard outside the boarding house, just as the fight with the 'beetle' things was finishing.
And that's the next initiative for PCs up; everyone post in any order, as appropriate, to detail or confirm actions.
Seeing the creature struck down Donnie will move up to the body and inspect the symbol further.
i'm hoping this allows me another knowledge religion... or maybe spellcraft or something, if not i'll roll untrained search on the body, and although the skill roll is the last part of my action i'm just waiting to confirm what i am rolling before i do
In response to the sound of the wind, Bronx begins to bounce up and down, whispering to himself between chattering teeth, "Come and bring your pretty face to my scythe. I will show you what a fey spawn can truly do." His eyes getting large and wild looking.
Ready an action to strike at any foes that come within reach.
Seeing the creature struck down Donnie will move up to the body and inspect the symbol further.
i'm hoping this allows me another knowledge religion... or maybe spellcraft or something, if not i'll roll untrained search on the body, and although the skill roll is the last part of my action i'm just waiting to confirm what i am rolling before i do
More a case of 'hearing' the thud of the gnome go over, given that the carcase is obscuring your view, unless Donnie has been leaping up and down to see what was going on over the top of the bear.
Donnie move around the bear carcase (and disappears from the sight of any gnomes around the north edge of it except for Bronx, and makes his way to join Nim, the snow crunching underfoot, and his breath steaming in the cold air.
Donnie & Nim:
Spoiler:
Arriving by Nim's side Donnie finds that Nim is not so much preoccupied by the defunct gnome, as by the sight, through the mists, of a number of curious white birds, the height of a dwarf, with appendages that are rather more flippers than wings, and several of which seem to be moving around, at the limits of Donnie and Nim's vision, to the south. Donnie, like Nim, discovers that from the sounds occasionally emanating from their beaks, that these birds appear to be responsible for some of the bird calls which have been echoing through these woods.
Donnie:
You just stop and stare at these birds. In the event of you making a DC 16 Knowledge (nature) check:
Spoiler:
You recognise these birds to be some variant of the fabled penguins reported from lands towards the northern pole, where snow lies upon the ground all year round; You've never heard of penguins this white or quite so large before though.
Donnie:
May I take it that until you have a better idea of what they're about that you would prefer to forego the search to keep your sword readied to strike in case these birds (some twenty or thirty feet off) prove unexpectedly dangerous and close to try and strike?
Bronx:
Spoiler:
You will have noticed that both Donnie and Nim seem to be staring at something further south, attracting their attention at least as much as the dead gnome that Nim dealt with.
the problem with not being able to discuss things and als0 being asleep when most of the posting is done is that i cant get in earlier enough to warn people before i take my action!!
Nim picks up the body of the dead gnome (with one hand) (standard action) says to donnie "lets go back, one group be safer for defence", nim moves back to the others (move action),when he gets back nim drops the body of the gnome at seebos feet "look at body" (free action)
With the torch held aloft Seebo moves around the bear carcass to find out what is going on.
I'll take to mean that that Seebo has moved to stand directly behind Bronx, to give him better light, and so that Seebo can look past him around the east end of the bear.
Nim moves back to join him, and drops the body of the black-robed gnome; at the same time, Nim will notice Davkul (and be mutually observable in return) having come back past the bear and now being within Davkul's range of sight, as far as the low cloud, falling snow, etc allow.
Now waiting for Davkul to post and Donnie (last seen heading south, sword in hand, and currently out of sight of Davkul) to make a Knowledge check and confirm his standard action.
With the torch held aloft Seebo moves around the bear carcass to find out what is going on.
I'll take to mean that that Seebo has moved to stand directly behind Bronx, to give him better light, and see past him around the east end of the bear.
Nim moves back to join him, and drops the body of the black-robed gnome; at the same time, Nim will notice Davkul (and be mutually observable in return) having come back past the bear and now being within Davkul's range of sight, as far as the low cloud, falling snow, etc allow.
Now waiting for Davkul to post and Donnie (last seen heading south, sword in hand, and currently out of sight of Davkul) to make a Knowledge check and confirm his standard action.
Donnie read this please!
Spoiler:
donnie use you standard action to come back to us!! you will NEVER live it down being pecked to death by a group of giant pengiuns!!
Rav
Davkul jogs up to the group declaring, "Boy are you lot a sight for sore eyes. Do beware there's likely to be one of those damn invisible things on my tail." Calling Nightsong to his shoulder, Davkul gives him a fond pat in thanks for his help.
sorry for delay in posting it seems i left the house right when things got good
Donnie arrives near the body just in time to see Nim heft the thing and run back to the group, looking around a little more Donnie sees the birds... "hmm i hope there not dangerous"
Davkul jogs up to the group declaring, "Boy are you lot a sight for sore eyes. Do beware there's likely to be one of those damn invisible things on my tail." Calling Nightsong to his shoulder, Davkul gives him a fond pat in thanks for his help.
Bronx's teeth suddenly stop chattering and he tilts his head as if listening to something.
Bronx thinks that he can hear a faint swishing and scrunching sound of snow being flattened by several sources approaching from the south. How far off he can't be certain given this darned cloud, louder background sounds, and the strange echoes hereabouts.
The current situation (for all the gnomes):
The group of five gnomes, Seebo, Nim, Donnie, Davkul, and Bronx are on a shelf a dozen or so feet wide, set into the side of a forested ridge (mostly pine trees)on the western side of the valley somewhere above the small mining town of Deadsnows. Seebo currently carries a lit torch. The gnomes are gathered on the northern flank of the corpse of a dead bear, sprawled across the eastern side of the shelf here, over the top of which only Nim is tall enough to look, although Bronx can see around the eastern end, as can Seebo immediately behind him.
The dead bear (which was apparently decapitated by some as of unidentified means) in life would have stood somewhere in the vicinity of fifteen feet tall, reared up.
There is the body of a dead gnome wearing black robes which Nim has just retrieved and dumped. Any attempt to quickly search it is likely to require two hands by the searcher.
There is a blackened metal chain, weight 11 lb lying nearby on the snow, the ends closed together, with some sort of large, apparently ornamental maple leaf attachment, also in blackened metal.
There is a glaive also lying nearby on the snow.
Somewhere (around the corpse to the south-west) nearby is the bear's head.
A rock-face forms the 'back' of the shelf, facing east. A short distance to the north, a series of strange flat objects have been placed together to form a wide circle, set into a vertical chiselled smooth area of the rock.
It is snowing, and low cloud severely restricts vision. (Maximum 40 ft.) There is at least an inch and a half of snow on the ground, where it has not been flattened by any agency.
A broad trail, several feet wide, of crushed snow led up here from the edge of the forest, before turning off south along the shelf. Just south of here, several mysterious smaller trails (only a foot or so wide) and less heavily compressing the snow begin and head south.
The forest echoes with the calls of strange birds.
A horrible shrill piping wind is rising from a southerly direction, and either it is growing louder, or the source from which it is emanating is drawing nearer.
Some of the bird-calls sound as if they may be altering, coming far more frequently, and nervously, as if something is disturbing those making them. The closest of these disturbed originators of avian calls may be within a hundred feet or so to the south of the group of gnomes' current position.
Donnie has his long-sword drawn, Bronx his scythe out, and Nim his axe at the ready.
The bat has come down from the tree it was roosting in, to join Davkul.
Davkul:
Spoiler:
You're picking up disturbances now in the shadow weave from a number of points, somewhere due south of here. You think that it may be within sixty feet, perhaps.
Okay. Please try to keep to actions that would take no longer than a full combat round, and acting in any order.
"It looks like we are going to have more company from that direction," Davkul warns while pointing to the south "Whatever that disturbance I feel is, it's close."
Davkul murmurs a quick incantation and both his and Nightsong's eyes seem to gain a heat shimmer as he shares a Detect Magic with his familiar, turning to look in that direction.
Please note that out of respect for the memory of Gary Gygax, creator of the Tomb of Horrors the first failed Search check made to attempt to locate traps before the end of the week (Midnight, GMT, Saturday 8th March, 2008) will automatically trigger any of such said traps in the vicinity, with maximised effect.
Since Davkul posted before Bronx, I'm currently working on the basis that Davkul moved out to the gap to the west of the dead bear, to get a clear view south, rather than head eastwards and part of the way down the slope to get a view around Bronx.
I will put Bronx five feet forward of the dead bear at the end of this 'round'- out on the east side- unless events dictate otherwise. (I 'creep' to mean that Bronx is moving relatively slowly and stealthily, probably taking 10 on a Move Silently check.)
stoopid!Gnomes!!
we stay we die!!
(Nim picks up his glaive and puts his axe away)
we go back now!!
you not be able to fight thing that kill bear, even i not be able to fight it!!
seebo we go now! look for fenwick later! please let us go now!!
ALL PCS
Spoiler:
guys we are going to die if we have any kind of serious fight! our spellcasters are out of spells, i am not even on full hitpoints, we could not kill a dire bear on a good day and will die if the thing that killed it comes back!
Using the torch Seebo trys to see if he figure out which way the tracks go (spot1d20+3=20). Donnie while you're doing a detect magic, check the satchel or maybe it's contents, see if we can use it and these markings in the stone for anything.
i'm busting to cast det mag and take a peak and the walls the symbol the chain the satchel everything i havnt forgotten, i just dont wanna do it mid combat, once we know what we have to kill (its d&d lets face it theres always somthing to kill) then det mag will be cast.
EDIT: also i see that the walls could very possibly be a door/portal and casting detect magic and figuring out how they work would probably be very handy, but Donnie doesn't know this, and he has no reason to think they be helpfull at this time. also davkul has cast detect so i think he'll be looking at everything soon
Donnie (with sword still in hand) moves to stand next to Davkul and readies an action to attack.
looking back over at the gnomes
"Guys i don't think theres any running from this one, I think between the bird things and whatever it is Davkul is sensing we going to have to fight our way out"
Seebo:
I'll take that as an (untrained) Survival check, not a Spot check, to determine information about tracks.
Spoiler:
As far as Seebo can determine, all the tracks around here (which haven't been made by those gnomes present) and including the ones which start suddenly were heading south along the shelf- with the exception of the big bear which came along the shelf from the south. Seebo has difficulty figuring where the black robed gnome came from; maybe he was just pacing up and down on the spot here, or climbed down the rocks at the back of the shelf, or was tucked away in an extra-dimensional space before whatever happened to him did so....
Looking due south along the shelf, from the west end of the dead bear, you aren't currently detecting any magical auras within the thirty five feet or so that your line of sight currently has in that direction with all this cloud and falling snow around.
Just to point out that some of the other characters including at least Donnie, seem to have gained the impression (maybe contributed to from what Davkul has said) that you are currently trapped between two fires, whereas unless Davkul suspects that something came up the slope behind him (whatever dropped on him from the tree ten or fifteen minutes of game-time back down the slope, for example) as far as I know haven't given any indication thus far that there is anything immediately to the rear. All the disturbances that Davkul is currently sensing are coming from up ahead, to the South. If you would like to clarification at this point on anything that I have posted to Davkul, please do not hesitate to ask. Although I agree that an absence of posted evidence from a DM does not guarantee that a trap to cut off retreat might not be being laid.
As the gnomes wait, with bated breath, the horrible maddening piping sound, most closely coming from somewhere out of sight to the south, continues to rise and/or draw nearer, before abruptly (in the case of the southerly source) falling silent. Some of the squawks of birds (again apparently coming from nearby, to the south) are also abruptly cut off. The cloud continues to swirl, and the snow to fall. Distant strange bird-calls and shrill piping sounds can be heard echoing from elsewhere in the forest- from higher up the ridge towards the mountain to the south, it seems most likely, although the echoes make it difficult to be sure.
Otherwise, apart from a state of increasing agitation of Davkul's bat, things in terms of who's carrying what, spells running, items apparent on the ground, etc, are much as they were the round before, adjusted for the most recent actions of your group of gnomes.
Again please restrict yourself to actions that could be carried out in a round, acting in any order of posting. If something's not clear (within the limits of in-character knowledge), please ask me about it; I am feeling slightly under the weather (tired/ill) at present, and may not be explain/detailing things with sufficient clarity.
nim says I do not think there are enemies the way we came, lets go back dat way, let us go NOW!!! bruther
Nim starts to go back the way we came, (he will go at half speed because he is twice as fast as the others)
Seebo turns to Davkul,
"How safe do you think it is the way you just came?"
"Or are we better off, trying to take a risk and not provoke the large birds?"
"We're supposed to be trying to save Fenwick!"
As Nim heads past you, you notice that since you last saw him back in town he has apparently picked up from somewhere a small black satchel that very much resembles one that Keswick used to own.
nim has only done a single move away, so can he come back??
"ok nim stay we all die together!"
ok people!! if we die becuase we should have rested then i will blame you lot, if we die because the thing we were hunting was an old dragon then well........... it would not have mattered if we had rested or not!!!!
ok people!! if we die because we should have rested then i will blame you lot, if we die because the thing we were hunting was an old dragon then well........... it would not have mattered if we had rested or not!!!!
i'm just role playing accurately, we have no reason to suspect the birds will harm us unless we attack them first, as for whatever was chasing davkul if we fight as a group we should be fine, as for OOC thoughts, a GM wont generally TPK a party on their first real mission.
whispering to Davkul "where is it?" (free action)
Donnies eyes are peeled for anything moving towards us Spot (1d20=19) (standard)
so i think it will roll high for me if i dont have a modifier >.<
also donnies move action depends on if he sees anything
"Something tried to ambush me about 10 minutes ago back the way I came, but I am pretty sure I managed to throw it off my trail with a well placed figment. Whatever it is that I sense ahead of us is about 60 feet or so in that direction" Davkul again points to the south. "I have a single offensive spell left for the day and it's not a very good one at that, so if you want to fight whatever it is I am not going to be of much more use than a distraction."
ok people!! if we die because we should have rested then i will blame you lot, if we die because the thing we were hunting was an old dragon then well........... it would not have mattered if we had rested or not!!!!
i'm just role playing accurately, we have no reason to suspect the birds will harm us unless we attack them first, as for whatever was chasing davkul if we fight as a group we should be fine, as for OOC thoughts, a GM wont generally TPK a party on their first real mission.
whispering to Davkul "where is it?" (free action)
Donnies eyes are peeled for anything moving towards us Spot (1d20=19) (standard)
so i think it will roll high for me if i dont have a modifier >.<
also donnies move action depends on if he sees anything
I think you are right about the birds, But nim is worried about whatever killed the bear, we have been following something big all the way up here.
I agree that most GMs would not tpk a party on its first mission but Charles is not most GMs!! (this is of course metagaming) perhaps we can ask charles his opinion??
by the way , it is worth mentioning that i am enjoying all of this!! I would personally want to run away but Nim is quite loyal and does not like being called a wuss!!
In case you haven't picked up on it. Bronx, though not stupid, isn't all that great with common sense sometimes. Especially if he believes that there is some fey mischief at work. In those cases he goes "psycho". Currently he is in one of those "moods", and so retreat isn't really being considered an option for him yet.
The group of you stand there, weapons or spells readied, looking south, straining you eyes, waiting for any hint of what is about to emerge into the coloured glows of the dancing lights lanterns that Bronx created. A tall white bird of some kind (Donnie and Nim have already glimpsed some of these), at least the height of a dwarf and with appendages rather more like flippers than wings, waddles furiously out of the swirling cloud and falling snow, into the illumination of Bronx’s dancing lights. Moments later, spread out across the width of the shelf, half a dozen ‘patches’ of something speckled greyish white, flat and hugging the ground, come swishing, throwing up the snow in little spurts to the fore, and leaving trails of lightly compacted snow perhaps half a foot wide in their wake. (Whatever they are, they certainly don't resemble any fey that Bronx has ever heard of or seen before). Three of them, having overtaken the white bird, smoothly skid around and rear up, squeaking, driving it backwards into the cloud and away from you. The remaining three power relentlessly on, undulating across the snow-covered surface of the shelf, towards you; one is heading for the gap between the dead bear and the rocky crags at the back of the shelf, the other two for the eastern side of the dead bear and the slopes falling away to the valley beyond. They are currently at a range of 15 feet, from the ways around the bear for which they are apparently making, and moving at a rate of at least 20 feet/round (40 feet/round on a double move). From out of the clouds to the south the ominous scrunching of snow beneath something large and heavy comes, and that horrible maddening shrilling, piping whistling starts up again nearby, sounding virtually upon you. Some ghastly quality about it this loud/close has the power to sap your courage. All characters make a DC 18 Will save, or become frightened for (cause fear) duration (1d4=2)rounds on a failed save, or shaken for 1 round on a success. (Davkul, please remember that Nightsong will need a save for this effect as well.) Davkul:
Spoiler:
The little things seem to be responsible for some of the shadow weave disturbances in the vicinity, but something that is causing disturbances of a magnitude sufficient to severely perturb you is moving rapidly into range. You have a nasty suspicion that it may be something similar to that which momentarily dazed you in the common room, with the disturbances which it was causing from some way off. Whatever it is, you need a DC 12 Will save, in addition to the one for avoiding being frightened posted above, to avoid being nauseated for nausea duration (1d4=4) rounds.
Davkul
In the event of your making a DC 25 Knowledge (Arcana) check:
Spoiler:
Sufficient evidence has accumulated by now to prompt a recollection of ancient wizardly lore regarding mysterious and terrible creatures from another dimension known as Shoggoths which a Calimshite vizier tried to summon and control thousands of years ago in a bid to seize power from a caliph. The creatures supposedly had a vague resemblance to oozes, although were much faster than most, horribly strong, and possessed of an ability to inspire terror and/or madness in those in close proximity to them; Davkul also has a nasty suspicion that the ones which he’s heard of were huge creatures that were resistant to most forms of attack save for the most powerful of weapons or planar banishing spells.
Bronx, with Seebo holding a torch standing behind him, is at the east end of the bear, where there is a narrow gap at the edge of the shelf before the slopes fall away down to the east (although they are by no means steep enough to be treacherous unless you try to run across them).
Nim has moved back to solidly occupy the western gap between the dead bear and the rocks at the back (the west side) of the shelf, which is five or six feet across. Davkul is situated behind Nim, and Donnie is sort of on the (left) flank of Bronx, occupying an awkward footing (DC 15 balance check each round for size medium or larger creatures without a stability option to avoid being flat-footed whilst in such a position) where the slope falls away to the east.
Bronx is armed with his scythe, Donnie has his longsword out, Nim has his glaive, and Davkul currently has a detect magic spell running. At the moment the only magic that he is detecting in a southerly direction is that from the dancing lights which Bronx created.
Hmmm. At no point do I seem to have indicated that the path of compacted snow and ice which you have been following, and which has had low-hanging tree branches snapped and broken off along the route, is some four or five feet wide. I thought that I had indicated so at some point; Ah well. It may have been a post that the message boards ate, and which I had to rewrite.
That’s your initiative up, and acting in order of posting. Please remember to include your saving throws.
Seebo looks around at the rest of the group,
" Guys it's time to make like a tree and LEAVE(1d20 5=11)! I think that Nim is right about this one!"
Startingto make his way northwards Seebo comments
"it's time to get out of here before we end up like the bear!"
Damn Invisiblecastle, it drop me me like a bad habit, right when I needed it most
Bronx seems to be broken from his "mood". "Let's get out of here now, back to the town quickly. Follow my lights!" Bronx starts back North, double moving and having the dancing lights move with him.
Davkul's eyes widen in terror as he sees the blobs, but cannot identify them. With a yelp he beats a hasty retreat, fighting the gorge that threatens to rise from his stomach at the sight.
nim fails his save and moves away, back the way he came at his full 40ft move, he will run if he can! or just do a double move if he cant run
Rav
Interesting question: Does it seem possible (in the absence of specialist foot-gear) to run down a slope in a forest with snow on the ground? Especially if a character's centre of gravity is relatively high up? Whilst Nim is on the flat, on the shelf, running and going much faster than his regular gnomes companions will certainly be possible, but I would think that he would have to slow to double move maximum, on the downhill stretch, or risk a tumble. I will certainly put Nim in the lead, but not as far ahead as he might otherwise get, since this is a situation of frightened, not panicked.
Still waiting for Donnie to post his saves/actions.
I'll take the liberty of assuming that Donnie is fleeing wth the others, and that those gnomes who have not specified a direction will also be heading back in the direction of Deadsnows.
Behind them, as they flee, the gnomes hear the squeaking of whatever those tiny greyish white things are, rising in frequency and volume, and the swish of snow being thrown up in front of the creatures increasing as they accelerate after the gnomes until, with a rattling of links, the squeaks emerging from one rises to almost a shriek. Anyone looking back at this point would see one of their pursuers colliding at speed with the discarded black chain and ornamental leaf, lying on the snow, and go flipping end over end to thump to a sudden halt, the other two almost immediately drawing up alongside it, making little squeaking noises and nudging it, as if too ascertain whether or not it is alright.
The gnomes turn right, off the shelf, and head madly east down the slope, Nim out in front, frantically stabbing away at the ground with his glaive as he goes to try to keep his balance, and avoid falling over to skid and slam into a tree....
Maybe a dozen seconds after whatever it was gave the gnomes such a fright, the gnomes start to regain some sense of control over their feelings of terror.
So far, the gnomes have been following the route that they took in ascending the slope. Nim is by now a good fifty feet out in front, and is out of sight of the others, between the trees, the cloud, and the falling snow. Bronx’s dancing lights bob around him, and Seebo has managed to hold onto the torch.
The shelf is out of sight some fifty or sixty feet back up the slope, lost in the cloud, and it is doubtful if anything up there would be able to see even the light of the torch, with normal vision.
There are currently no sounds of pursuit, the source of that horrible shrill piping having apparently receded as the gnomes put distance between themselves and that place.
For the time being you are out of a combat round actions only situation, although Nim, Davkul, Donnie and Bronx all still have weapons out and ready. What are you going to do next? (Nim, please spoiler your posts unless you wish to come back looking for the rest.)
Just posting to confirm that after a few moments the others will see Nim emerging from the cloud and snow, coming back up through the trees looking for them.
