No immediate sign of religion presents itself. There is the occasional mention of different gods in his journal much like his comment about Tymora in the handout. Not enough however to make you think he venerated any one god.
Near the base of the Stone Tooth the outcropping is very rocky and makes for hard digging but a shallow grave and a stone cairn above him is better than he would have received from anyone else.
By this time the moon can be seen in a clear dark sky above the scattered openings through the canopy. You are all quite tired. Although the sun going down has put a chill over the swamp, you feel a warm breeze flowing from the undergrowth choked cleft. Inspecting it you find a few small passages through. A halfling would have no problem traversing these but a human on the other hand would be tight a tight squeeze.
Rav peers through the passage, You think this is how they get in and out? There may be a little bigger opening around here, but I can try to squeeze. How about you, Raiden? Your armor may cause some issues...
"It may be their exit, but there could be others.
"I am fine to continue." Looking at the tired faces of the others, Anton says "but it may be best to wait until first light. Better for everyone to be well-rested. If we camp, I suggest moving to cover and foregoing a fire again. We should also pair off for watches."
Ravvek nods at Anton's wisdom, Aye, might be best. Cold rations again tonight.
Zayless nods approvingly at Anton's assessment, "It is wise."
At Myastan's suggestion:
"Someone say small passage? I can fit." Scramsax works his way through if it seems promising.
Later, Scramsax shudders at the thought of another cold potato. Once they find their next camping site, he goes back to setting his hunting trap...the taste of venison racing through his maddened psyche.
Scram starts to crawl through the bramble tunnel but is stopped only a short distance in as the group decides to move away from the tunnel and camp. The bramble goes on into darkness is all Scram can see before turning back.
You leave the warm air from the open crag and move back into the dark swamp Ravvek and Myastan work together on securing a good spot to rest that is fairly dry and solid. The night teams with the voices of the swamp. Even at in these cooler temperatures the Dark Mere is alive and lets the adventurers know it.
You all are able to get a long rest in. Its not exactly comfortable but it will do.
The sun peaks out the next morning and foggy vapor can be seen drifting from the watery ground and causes visibility to be cut down. After some cold breakfast the group breaks camp and moves back to the cave entrance. In the light of morning it looks no more welcoming than it did last night. The only improvement is the lack of flies buzzing around a corpse.
What do you do?
Scramsax checks his hunting trap for deer or any other meaty edibles first thing in the morning before even packing up his camp.
What is that, a fallen branch...? His eyes go wild with delight as the realization sets in "Ahaah! I got something, finally." he bounds over to the little capture, dragging it slowly back to the fire. "Know the best part of these? Back fat. Close your eyes and you'll think you're munching some Amnish bacon. Ah! If only we had some coffee...anyone care for a slice?" he starts stripping off the skin and butchering the small animal. His nose has been running all night and is quite swollen and red, but he can't even feel it anymore.
Anton tears off a piece of grilled rat and absently chews it, watching the entrance to the tunnels. “I am ready when all of you are.”
Maybe I should rub some of this fat on my armor! Going to be a tight fit, ha ha.
Uriah shudders at the sight of these adventurers eating rat. Dear gods. What have I gotten myself into?
Uriah miserably plucks at his lyre, eating hardtack and wishing it were something else.
After the breakfast Scram raps his belly like a drum "Want me to scout it out a bit? I feel like moving."
That’s a good idea, scouting ahead. Don’t go so far you get into trouble.
To Anton You wanna lead the way when Scram gets back or should I?
Ravvek picks his teeth, a bit of swamp rat stuck in there, I'll go first and cover the area so that the rest of you can make it down.
He absent-mindedly puts a hand on Scramsax' shoulder. A moment later, power pours through the little halfling curing his cold!
"I can take the lead Raiden."
Scram nods wiping his nose before realizing he no longer has to "Hey...I think something was in that meat..." giving Ravvek the lead.
The group discusses a plan and proceeds through one of the bramble tunnels. The oder is quite strong and light is quite dim. It gets darker as you peer down the tunnel. A light source will be needed, and nose plugs couldn’t hurt either.
You strike up a torch and squeeze through carefully. The heat of the flame singeing the residue in the tunnel makes the smell worse causing you to gag but you push through. The bramble tunnel falls away, opens up into a larger stonework cave. As you get close to the opening you almost crawl through a trip wire well concealed in the undergrowth.
Working together you all manage to make it through the tight tunnel of vegetation. The warren’s interior is warm and humid. The only light that is present is that which you have brought with you. The smell of rotting straw, vegetation, and fetid water permeate the cave. Further ahead you hear the chittering of voices in an unknown language and the noises of clawed feet scrapping across stone rapidly.
Zayless I assume is near the rear with Sashah
Zayless pulls a scarf over his nose.
When the sounds of conversation ahead come up. Zayless explains quietly what the words mean.
"Oh god...what is that? That stink, is it mucus? Are these walls covered in mucus?" Scram takes a closer look at the tripwire trying to understand its purpose...
...and if possible attempt to disarm or jam whatever hazard it poses...
Sashah follows with a grumpy look on his face.
Raiden checks out the crud covering the walls and if he deems it harmless he won't be too concerned, otherwise he'd try to avoid brushing the surfaces as he goes through the tunnel. When Zayless starts relaying the convo going on ahead, Raiden slows his pace both to hear and become quieter .
Anton motions the others back a bit, and whispers "Sounds like they're distracted (vermin races if I had to guess). I think we should strike fast before they know what hit them."
Ravvek nods to Anton, drawing his shield and blade.
Anton draws his sword and listens to the voices, tying to get a sense of how many there are and where they are.
With sheer luck the halfling finds where the wire slips through the wall clean and back out, it appears that the wire heads further into the tunnel. Perhaps some kind of warning device. Scram’s intuition telling him it’s probably best left alone and avoided.
Raiden examines the ichor on the walls and from what he can tell it seems to be harmless. Probably just a product of the brackish water outside and the warm humid temperatures in the cave.
Anton listens closely and comes to the conclusion that he hears two voices different voices and they are ahead in the cave, difficult to determine how far.
Being in the Zayless quietly casts light on the tip of his spear. Hanging in the back to not have the light interrupt stealth if possible.
Uriah stays well in the rear, he does draw his Rapier however. He makes sure to pose a bit with it as he enters the lair.
You hear Uriah humming a particularly heroic tune, no doubt casting himself in the central role.
Rav can't help but smile at Uriah's song, taking some strength in the heroic epic...
A solid *Hmph!* comes from Sashah at the sound of Uriah's humming.
Using the light of Zayless's spell the group moves into position and prepares to attack.
Raiden draws his weapon and will attack when he can see a kobold to attack. If there's a torch we're also carrying, I say one of the first in should grab it and toss it in the room as we rush in maybe?
Will move up to 30' on my move provided I have some light, and swing Big Bertha .
Anton picks up a rock and looks to the spellcasters. "One of you cast light on this, and I'll do the rest."
Once the spell is cast, Anton races into the room toward the black kobold, dropping the rock next to him. He slashes at the kobold and then backhands it.
Zayless hustles in and takes cover.
Rav moves in 30, which puts him right behind the rocks, where he readies a dagger throw for when Anton brings the light in!
That is likely a miss.
After surprise round, Ravvek draws his blade and moves in to skewer a kobold (if anyone is still alive), casting as he moves!
Scram zips into the room with incredible speed, dashing his shortsword out of the darkness and into the draconic flesh...
Now in position, Scramsax unleashes his full strike battery to complement Anton's assault...
Surprise
Uriah moves forward
Round 1
Uriah moves forward and then...
Uriah's hum grows louder until its a full fledged song.
Anton the Magnificent, his mighty form in sight, protect us mighty Anton for we are just too slight.
Anton gains Bardic Inspiration (within the next 10 minutes you can add 1d6 to any d20 roll)
Sashah grumbles something as he pulls out his amulet and touches the star on his hat. The star begins glowing brightly.
Sashah moves forward all the way to the middle of the room. He then grumbles another chant.
Since Raiden would not have made it to the kobold in the surprise round, he would double move or dash to get there. In Round 1, when it's his turn, use my original roll to whiff an attack (it was a 9).
Before the kobolds even have a chance to react they are dead. You also dispatched a giant weasel that the kobolds speared to be playing with.
The ground here is covered with a number of piles of straw, cloth, and leaves—most of which are wet and smelly. The only other remarkable thing are small openings in the walls. Crude pictures have been painted on the walls here; most depicting kobolds doing horrible things to people.
Scramsax dislodges the spear and stabs gently at the mounds and wall openings curiously...
Scramsax rummages around the cave moving bedding around and manage to find various little stashes of coin inside the piles. All told, the party recieves 34 gold. The cave has grown silent and only one exit, in addition to the way you came in, presents itself. What else would you like to do?