As the second wolf falls, Etam remains on guard “Good job, master Solmonath. It seems this was the last one, but do not let your guard down.”
He glances at Finnrick, waiting on his reaction towards the wounded wolves.
I'm not sure why I was chosen to go on this adventure with this group but there must have been a reason. As much as I would love to abandon my quest, heal these wolves, and go off into the forest as there pack leader, I have to continue this journey.
Finnrick walks over to each of the living wolves and in turn says a quiet prayer for their souls before putting them out of there misery. As he finishes up he walks over to Jaed.
"A good fight Jaed. I'll continue the watch, you get some rest." Finnrick says in a somber voice, void of any of his normal cheer.
He walks over to the fire and sits down to take his watch. Even Millsy senses that his friend wants to be alone and goes off to silently patrol the perimeter.
Etam, in silence and with a lowered head, stands by Finnrick’s side whilst he bids his farewell to the animals. Once the rites are finished, he bows towards the druid thinking ’Family is family, no matter what’.
He proceeds to pick up his javelin from the ground, and goes back to his bedroll, slowly falling asleep whilst reviewing the battle in his mind.
I got to start waking up quicker, I missed everything. See you all in the morning, I am headed back to sleep
"Thank you Finnrick. A good fight indeed although I would have chosen a calm and restful night. By the way, the third wolf fled after taking the food from the trap. Try to convince it to leave us alone in case it comes back."
After picking up his dropped crossbow and the used bolt from the fallen wolf Jaed prepares his bedroll and goes to sleep.
The rest of the night passes uneventfully. The next more you get up and prepare for the upcoming day of travel. After walking for a couple of hours, the trees begin to thin, revealing a field of short, green grass that leads to the shores of a wide, calm lake reflecting the overcast sky above. A dense fog hangs over the center of the lake, obscuring the far side. Near the shore of the lake, a dark form lies next to the water.
Next to the body you find a finely crafted short sword and a coin pouch with 87 gp inside. The coins appear to be newly minted from the capital city of Tamran and bear the likeness of Forest Marshal Gavirk, nomial leader of Nirmathas.
There is a dead body! With a sword and gold. What put these holes in him and why wasn't he eaten by something?
Etam crouches by the body These punctures…some sort of poisonous animal? Whatever did this might still be around.
Standing up, he looks around the area, looking for nearby threats “I do not think we are safe here. We should move on quickly before whatever killed this man comes back.”
After seeing the condition that the body is in Finnrick agrees with Etam
This area is not safe even if this happened a while ago.
He nods to Etam at his mention of moving on and hefts his pack to continue the journey.
Dead bodies have always given Runvald an unsettled feeling. Dead wolves and Orcs were one thing, but a poor man left unceremoniously dead by an eerie Lake? That's not good at all.
"I agree, I don't think weee should,"he pauses to take a slug off his bottle,"weee shouldnnn't stick arrrounnd lonnng...
"Let's get out of here. I have a bad feeling about this." Jaed says looking around nervously.
After observing the body, the group quickly hurries on to the crypt lest a similar fate befall them. About an hour and a half in, a cold rain begins to fall, making the journey cold and rather miserable. The trail you're on leads ever deeper into the Fangwood, through a twisting maze of trees and confusing ravines. After an hour and a half more of travel, it tops a small rise, a broad valley spreads out before it, the opposite side of which looks like a writhing serpent. Yet between the two lies a steep hill sloping down into the valley. The rain has made the ground slick and treacherous. At best, it will take another half hour of carefully navigating the loose and uneven rocks to the bottom.
I would prefer to get there quicker.
This might be fun. It reminds me when I jumped from rooftop to rooftop after a rainy day back in Kassen.
"Who wants to race to the bottom?"
Runvald lears over the edge and down the slope, "Doesn't look too of baaad, I'lllll go ffffirst."
Without waiting for the others to give their input, Runvald takes a sip off his bottle and steps down the slope, moving with his normal drunken stumble that looks like he's constantly about to fall on his face, but somehow always (usually) regains control at the very last moment.
As the reach the edge of a slope Finnrick pauses to take in the breathtaking view of the valley spread out before him.
Now this is more like it. Finnrick says to himself as he takes in a deep breath of the petrichor emanating from the freshly wetted earth. It had always been his favorite smell and seemed to lift his spirits a bit.
"I'm all for moving quickly, and I know Millsy is but we will slow down if you'd like. I'll take point and keep my eyes peeled for any danger. Millsy can take up the rear, just holler if I'm moving to fast." Finnrick says with a hint of his old sing-song voice.
I won't let a drunkard beat me!
"I'll give you a head start Runvald!" After which Jaed starts descending nimbly.
Despite looking like he's about to fall every step of the way, Runvald manages to make it to the bottom of the valley without incident. Artair and Jaed manage to do likewise, though they look a bit more graceful as they go.
Millsy unfortunately stumbles early on in her descent, sliding far down the hill and through a pair of thickets before landing hard on some rocks. In his rush to stop her descent, Finnrick also trips, sliding only a short ways before slamming into a tree.
Both manage to get to the bottom reasonably unscathed.
Erazmus barely manages to get down the hill safely while Etam trips over a rock. He's about to fall the entire distance down the hill when he pushes himself to one side using his spear, halting his descent with by hitting a tree and knocking the wind out of him.
You see an archway of stone is set into the side of a small hill at the bottom of the valley. Moss has overgrown many of the details, but one is still quite clear. The keystone of the arch is carved with a flame symbol with a stylized rune in the middle. Beyond the archway is a darkened tunnel that leads to a pair of massive wooden doors, one of which is slightly ajar.
A pair of horses and a trio of ponies lie slaughtered next to the archway, each corpse still tied to a post set into the ground nearby. A swarm of flies hangs lazily in the air above them, gathering around the dried blood of several long gashes.
"So here we are, the Crypt of the Everflame. And this view is not very welcoming."
Jaed inspects the horses more closely. "These horses were slain about 2 days ago with crude blades or perhaps claws."
He lets escape a soft groan. "Look, there are bones of a human skeleton underneath."
Jaed turns to the door. I wonder how many bad things are waiting for us behind that door.
He slowly inspects the surroundings looking for traps.
Looking at the bones pointed out by Jaed, Etam grips his spear tightly "A skeleton outside of the crypt…It seems unlikely a corpse would be put to rest outside the crypt. Master Solmonath, can you detect whether any foul magic has taken place here?"
"How common is it for the crypt to have other visitors, besides Kassen villagers on pilgrimage once a year? This all bodes very badly."
"Sarenrae preserve us." Finnrick says covering his mouth and nose with his hand.
"What a gruesome scene, who or what would do this to an animal. And while they were still tied to their post, they were defenseless this was a slaughter." Finnricks voice begins to deepen and he is visibly shaking.
"Does anyone have anything strong to drink?"Finnrick asks glancing at Runvald.
I too get the feeling that we are not the only ones on a similar journey, we should move with a combination of awareness and haste!
"These bones are probably at least a few months old."
Jaed examines his companions trying to discern the strongest one:
"Etam, could you try to move this dead horse so we can take a closer look to those bones? I'll pull from its rear legs to help you."
"I agree, master Zandorias…that is what I can say with any degree of certainty. I am not sure if all the meat would naturally fall away in that time – emphasis on naturally. Let us see if we can uncover anything else by moving this poor creature."
Etam kicks away whatever bones are not close to the corpse, sticks his spear on the earth away from the horses, and asks the others "Have your weapons ready, men." He attempts to move the body as respectfully as possible, having witnessed Finnrick's reaction to the dead animals.
With a slight grunt, Etam and Jaed are able to lift the horse and move it off of the skeleton, doing a good job of disturbing what lay underneath as little as possible. The bones look like they had been in the shape of a human until the horse had fallen upon it, at which point they had be scattered and crushed slightly by the heavy beast.
Once he is over his initial shock of seeing the mangled animals Finnrick approaches the scene.
"Thank you for being gentle with the beast Etam. Might I have a look at those bones?" He bends down and examines the bones now that the pony is out of the way.
"As you say Jaed at least a month."
Runvald shudders, "I don't like thissss, not att allll. He takes a drink and hands the bottle of whiskey to Finnick.
Uhhhhhh.... yeah, what he said.
Etam glances at the flask exchanging hands “I believe that the current situation will require us to be at our sharpest, master Finnrick. In any case, it does not seem we gain much from idling around. Unless anyone has a better idea, shall we enter the crypt and complete our task? Master Zandorias, did you find any traps?”
After saying that, Etam approaches the door, looking for signs of claws, ichor or anything out of the ordinary.
"No, I did not find any traps."
"Who wants to go first?" I'm sure someone will be proud to say he was the first to get into the crypt. Let them take the glory, the graveyard is full of brave men.
"Thank you Runvald, this is much needed." Taking a sip Finnrick winces but takes another just the same. "Whoo! I don't know how you drink that stuff, I think I prefer the sweetness of mead but that sure does the trick. Thank you again."
Handing the bottle back to Runvald Finnrick turns to Etam, "No worries Etam, just enough to quell the nerves. Say before we head in do either of you dwarfs recognize this stonework? I know much about nature but very little about masonry" Finnrick says pointing to the keystone in the Arch.
I will take a closer look...
Old, well built, but worn, but sturdy enough.
Putting his spear away with a tint of sadness, Etam straps his shield and draws the warhammer ’If my suspicions are correct, a pointed head will be useless inside.’
“Master Finnrick, is it possible to arrange for some light, focused perhaps on my shield? I would rather not waste one hand with a torch for now.” Then, turning to Artair “Master Artair, shall we do this together?”
After (if?) Finnrick and Artair agrees, Etam opens the gate to the crypt, warhammer in hand.
"Of course Etam, here." Finnrick walks over and places his hand on the shield and it illuminates as if it were a torch.
Finnrick readies his sling and gives Millsy a treat. "Stay close girl"
"Shall we?" Finnrick says to the group with a smile trying to hide his reluctance of going into the crypt. The forest at night is one thing but a dark crypt...Gives me shivers
Let's DO THIS!
Artair has his trusty axe in one hand and is ready to assist Etam with the other.
I don't think my crossbow would be the best choice inside that crypt. Time to get my hands dirty.
Jaed puts his crossbow away and draws his short sword.
"Whenever you are ready. I have your back."
Noticing a hint of doubt in Finnrick’s voice, Etam nods at him, trying to encourage the half-elf 'There is nothing to fear, master Finnrick. Enter, get the flame, go back to Kassen, that's all we need to do'.
He opens the gate, Artair by his side.
When you open the doors more fully, the first thing you notice is the stench of mold and rot heavy in the air. Lighting Etam's shield turns out to be a good move as there is absolutely no light in the crypt. The light illuminates the beautifully decorated walls that have a scrolling pattern of villagers fighting off masked bandits and monsters. Like the archway outside though, time has started to take its toll on the carvings.
Moving your eyes away from the walls, you see a long chamber with risen platforms on either side. A faded painting of Kassen is on the far wall, and there are two wooden doorways leading out of the room, one to the East and one to the West. However, your attention is drawn to the gruesome scene in the middle of the room, which appears to have been the site of some battle. There are two bodies piled in the center next to two backpacks and a number of skeletons scattered around. An echoing wail can be heard somewhere in the distance, beyond this foul chamber.
As the door opens, eight of the skeletons start to jerkily move, rising from where they lay. Their heads turn to you in unison as their teeth clack together in anticipation of more flesh. They're wearing very old rusted chain shirts, but not seem to have much else on them.
Finnrick fires a shot over the head of Artair at the Skeleton directly in front of him. Millsy is about ready to pounce but Finnrick holds her back until she feels it is the right time. "Wait for it Millsy"
"Damn." Finnrick curses under his breath.
As Etam opens the door the the crypt, Runvald guzzles some ale from a clay bottle, gotta stay frosty this time, the others might start thinking I'll of me if I keep reacting so slowly,some ale will definitely help with that!
As the door opens and the foul smell of rot and mold hits Runvald's nose and immediately gives him an I'll feeling. Then he sees the skeletons begin to move. He pushes the dread feeling in his gut down and prepares to fight.