DM Valkur's Age of Worms

Game Master Valkur

Kyle you unroll the parchment with Tara looking on over your shoulder. It appears to be a Greyhawk City Cartographers Guild Map of a mine claim survey about a days ride east of town. An interesting feature of the map is a nearby cairn called, the Whispering Cairn with a note written next to it.

Khellek check out this cairn after stirgenest. C.K.[Looks Like New Writing]

The map is stamped with Greyhawk City Cartographers sigil and dated 565 C.Y.

"Looks like an opportunity to get one step ahead, eh, lass?" Kyle says quietly. "I think I know where that place is."

"What've you got there?" Breda whispers, keeping her body language normal. "Looks like you scared our dwarven friend away with your bad jokes Kyle."

Tara nods and whistles sharply, getting the others attention. She beckons them over and speaks softly, nodding to Kyle. "Our charming friend here has found a way for us to get the drop on those four. If any of you feel inclined to watch them eat a bit of humble pie, let's talk. Outside?"

Queslin nods his approval of what Tara says. Once the others start to go outside, he also begins to move towards the door.

Breda downs the last of her whiskey, and with a bit of a swagger follows the halfling outside, still puffing on her pipe.

Gorivc yells out to the group as you file out of the Feral Dog, "What no credit to the bartender who brought you all together?"

"Not even a good bye?"

All you did was ask unsolicited about my romantic life, and ignore my question about work. Why would I give you anything? Breda thinks, ignoring the bartender on the way out.

Eldgrim taps his Orb on the bar, waiting for his second beer. After a moment he hikes a thumb at Terrin, 'is is on me.

"Gorvic, you wonderfully wretched mooch, you saddled dem with me. Yer lucky dey don't string you up." Kyle smiles, approaching the barkeep. "But seeing as subtlety doesn't seem to be among dere specialties, dey should be greatful to ya anyway. Tell ya what, keep yer trap shut." he places a gold coin the counter "and if dis little excursion pans out, dere'll be more fer ya."

"Well many thanks, you red headed little runt, har!"

Gorvic picks up the orb and gives it a bite, "Oie, its real!"

On to the Whispering Cairn? It is early afternoon, you would reach the site in the evening.

Aye. S'real. I'm 'opin' fer a pair o' drinks in retaern. mayhap some change.

Gorvic watches the four deport, leaving Eldgrim and Terrin at the bar.

"Hey stumpy don't you think you and sun boy should follow them, they look like they could use what you call a moral compass."

Eldgrim looks up to Terrin and hikes his head towards the door, Eh?

I'm good to FFW to the Cairn.

Tara gives the bartender a smile as she pauses at the door. "It's so BIG of you to help us out with no thought to how it may profit you. Truly, I would express my gratitude in diamonds and gold if to do so would not spoil the loftiness of your gesture."

Terrin looks over his shoulder at the four individuals as they leave before turning back to his ale and taking a long pull.

"Why? What are they doing? Is it something that we should be concerned with?" he asks Govric and Eldgrim as he sets down the mug.

"They are just going back to the mine right?"

Gorvic laughs at Terrin, "Kyle is no miner, well he tried, but he doesn't like calloused hands. The others, never seen them before, except the dark haired woman, I've seen her haunting around town for the last week or so. She is a strange one."

Gorvic is silent for a few moments, then adds,"I'd say Kyle has roped them into some scheme, maybe they are going to rob those idiots who were just in here tossing around coins. But I don't think the robbery is going to go well, that half-ogre looks like a bruiser. And the rest of 'em looked like they know their way around a blade."

Kyle looks back just before getting to the door, realizing that Eldgrim hasn't followed the others "Oye, Grimpa, don' go gettin too drunk now. We's gots us some bidness out in the wide world. Slam dose drinks down and come on." He looks at Terrin "Say, brother, that light you laid on us was pretty soothing. Don' suppose you're too busy helpin ungrateful backbreakers ta take a little walk wid us and see if Da Five might use a sixth?" He smiles his most inocent-looking smile, still looking a bit like a rabid dog.

After hearing Gorvic's profession of Kyle's perfidity, Terrin looks at Eldgrim, a slightly bemused expression on his face. Any comment is forestalled by Kyle turning around and calling out to them.

"You know, they will be less likely to engage in something that would 'darken the world' if we were along keeping a sharp eye out. After all: "Evil flourishes in the darkness, or when those with sight close their eyes." Not a great parable to be sure, I find it a bit simple, but it works." Terrin mutters to Eldgrim as he finishes his beer, stands and heads for the door.

"Kyle, I would be quite happy to accompany you and lend aid where I can. Let me stop by the shrine and pick up my gear. It should only take a moment." he replies as he heads out the door.

Terrin nods to the rest of the group as he walks past heads a few yards down the road and ducks into the small shrine to Pelor, where he grabs his pack, armor and aspergillium. He quickly dons the gear and walks back to the waiting group.

"May Pelor shine his blessing on our endeavors." he intones with a grin. "So...What are our endeavors?", he then asks.

"I'm sure we'll all need to fetch a nick-nack or two, brother. 'Cept maybe Pointy. Looks like he carries his world strapped across his back." Kyle's grin widens to a more natural looking, if slightly more vicious, grin. "I know I left a few tools useful fer dis kind of venture at da old homestead."

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22 Knowledge Local
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11 Knowledge Dungeoneering
What does Kyle know about this Whispering Cairn?

@Kyle, you recall that about six years ago a girl local girl named Freida went missing after telling all of the other kids in town she was going to brave the cairn and spend the night. Most people in town consider it haunted and stay away from it.

"We're going to explore a cairn, in hopes of finding something valuable."

Kyle says "I know a quiet spot we can talk not far from here." he leads those that will follow to a quiet nearby alley. Once the group has gathered, he holds open the parchment. All trace of his smiling and leering drop from his face, and his posture straightens some. "What we have here is an invitation to beat those 'great adventurers' to the punch. Their leader, the red-robed one with the flowery speeches, dropped this on his way out. It's possible it's a red herring, but I believe this seal is genuine. If the Whispering Cairn is the real deal, and I have reason to believe it is, we could increase our wealth, our fame, our honor, or whatever your coin may be. The Whispering Cairn's interred are said to be restless, so there may be real danger we face by embarking on an exploration of its contents. One local girl was already lost to its dangers, on a childish dare of all things."

Kyle pauses, judging the impression his speech has had on each of these strangers, and allowing them to ask questions or express concerns.

"I live to destroy undead, and I always need more gold for my studies. I will gladly go. If we do encounter the undead, you all should know that I can take control of them. Turn them into tools for our own use, until we no longer have need of them. So if you see one start acting like a puppet, don't kill it."

Queslin stands near Tara. Inwardly he is pleased that the dwarf and priest of light has joined them. "While I enjoy destroying undead, I don't trust you. Tell me, what reason do you have to believe that this Whispering Cairn is the real deal? If it is only that a girl died, I must say that your reasoning is wanting."

Terrin frowns at Breda's pronouncement.

"I do not believe that to be wise. It is too easy to see the dead as tools rather than corpses that need to be put to their final rest. I will have to pray on this a bit, but you must be aware of Pelor's stance on the unquiet dead. I cannot stray from this...they must be destroyed when they are found."

Terrin holds up a hand to forestall any angry words from the young lady. "I am not judging you, your studies or your methods. Please give me the time to pray on this before we discuss it further."

Terrin turns back to Kyle, "You know that I am not interested in glory or riches Kyle. I am interested in people. I am going with you because you and these others are going, if you understand my meaning."

Breda just sighs. "I am a priestess of Wee Jas. We see the undead as tools. As long as the remains were acquired lawfully, our church has no compunction about "fighting fire with fire" as it were. I would just as soon destroy them though. I usually use them to kill the other undead, and then destroy them once I have no further use for them."

Kyle listens to Breda and Terrin's discussion, making no visible sign of agreement with either. To Queslin, he says "Of course you don't trust me. But I've seen your boredom, your restlessness. A town like Diamond Lake can do that to people. Especially young people. The hills out there are full of cairns and barrows. They've been looted, explored, robbed of their valuables, and turned into places for bored teenagers to scare each other into fornicating. Places like the Stirgenest, they're little more than a local inside joke. But people avoid the Whispering Cairn. I'm not saying its a guarantee. I'm saying its worth looking into. And if you'd known Freida, you might think her death is worth looking into as well."

'M wi' th' Saervant. I'm nae goin' tae fin' gol' nor glory. 'M goin' tae protect th' paeple o' Diamon' Lake from whate'er may be in those tombs. The dwarf is avoiding the topic of undead tools all together, as is obvious to anyone that might notice. He's certainly not comfortable with the idea, but has to pray on it for a while.

Queslin does not respond.

Sounds like everybody is on board to move forward to the cairn.

You arrive at the the Whispering Cairn as the sun beings to set. As you look around the area you see no visible signs of the entrance. But you are sure you are in the correct location as the abandoned mining office (and the old iron mine) is on the ridge behind you.

After a few minutes of searching in the dying light of the day, Tara, Terrin and Queslin you find the entrance behind concealing overgrown brush.

Natural light dimly illuminates a long hallway extending north into darkness. A faint breeze brings with it sibilant whispers that sound almost like sighing breath. It must be a trick of the wind, but the effect is almost lifelike.

Tara listens to the others discussions and smiles to herself. This has the makings of an adventure worthy of song, if the obnoxious one is right. A cairn full of undead, a missing girl, and a challenge from a team as obnoxious as The Four. The one thing that troubled her was the way some of her new-found companions were looking at each other.

"Listen," she says, her eyes jumping from Queslin to Kyle, from Eldgrim to Breda. "We're mostly all strangers and we don't all exactly know, like, or trust each other. If this place is as dangerous as it is rumored to be, we're going to need to put that aside. We should make a pledge, that we all support and protect one another, until we all come back out of this hole."

Eldgrim nods at the suggestion. Walkin' er carried, I'll do me best tae see ye all leave this tomb.

Terrin looks slightly perplexed at Tara's words. "Of course I will do everything I can to aid and bring you safely back to Diamond Lake. If we lose someone in the depths of the cairn, then I will hardly have a chance to show them Pelor's loving radiance, now will I? To put it another way, my opportunity to save a soul ends when someone gets killed."

"Betrayal will not come from me." Queslin looks straight ahead at no one in particular.

"I give you all my word, I'll do my job and be a faithful companion for the journey ahead, forsaking none." Kyle says.

"We gonna sing kumbaya next? Yeah, I've got your backs. I won't leave any behind. You have my word."

"I love a good song, but I don't know that one," Tara says, satisfied that at least for the moment, she can focus on dangers outside their group. "Would you like to teach it to us, or are you just making noise?"

Okay sounds like everybody made the pact!
Does anybody need to pick up anything in town before preceding to the cairn?

"Heh. Nevermind. I'm ready to go in if you guys are."

Kyle will have picked up all of his listed gear before leaving town.

Kyle pours oil into his miner's lamp and lights it with his flint and steel. He then straps it onto an old mining helmet and nods,strapping the helmet to his head and drawing out a shortbow and notching an arrow. "This lantern should last about six hours on a pint of oil. Visibility is sixty feet, probably better for those that have keen night vision. Cairns can be pretty dark places. I suggest we have one light source at the front and one at the back, in case of separation or calamity."

Kyle pushes his way through the brush cover to see what lies beyond.

"Say, do you know Forlorn Flowers of the Forest?" Kyle whistles a bar or two. Perform(Untrained, Improvisation) 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

Breda says a short phrase in an arcane tongue and four orbs of light appear above her hand and then fan out to flank the group. They illuminate the area like four torches. "Will this work?"

Och! Kin all o' ye wi' th' lights stay baehin' me? Yer killin' me eyes.

Eldgrim moves forward, shielding his eyes from Kyle's lantern.

Kyle's eyes widen a bit as Tara does her magic. "Yes, that will probably do nicely."

To Eldgrim he says "Sorry, in the case of team exploration, the weakest eyes determine the amount of light, as the slowest legs determine the pace."

Whispering Cairn Entrance
The walls bear horizontal bands of deceptively simple geometric patterns at waist level. In places the bands reveal starting detail, but in others the walls look as though they have been hacked apart with weapons or eroded by the rigors of time. Flakes of ancient paint, brilliant purple and a dull mustard hue, still cling to the to the walls in places, hinting at what must once have been a riot of color. A thin coat of dust coats the floor.

Just inside the darkened tomb the hallway branches into shallow alcoves to the east and west. Here the walls bear the most significant damage. Dozens of clumsy etchings mar the beautiful ancient masonry like graffiti on a city wall. A clump of soiled cloth about the size of a halfling rests in the rounded terminus of the western alcove.

Outside the wind picks up, and a chorus of almost human sounds rise from the darkened hall.

Map
Wisphering Cairn Entrance

Tara and Terrin as you enter the cairn, you also notice a faint flickering green light to the north deeper into the complex.

Queslin stays in the second ranks with his bow at the ready.

"I'd prefer to stay out of any hand o hand combat if possible. I'll go in the middle." Breda says. She keeps the radius of light from her dancing lights just touching the back of Eldgrim's shoulders to avoid ruining his darkvision.

"How far back you want me to hang back, Eldgrim?" Kyle follows as close to the dwarf as he's allowed.

"Interesting...I thought I saw something further in. A sort of greenish light?" Terrin says quietly as they walk further into the tomb.

Perception, anything alive in the nest of rags?: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

"Wait, don't touch the rags yet." Breda says, chanting another brief phrase in her arcane tongue. When she is finished her eyes begin to glow a faint dull red. She examines the rags from a distance.

Casting detect magic and focusing on the rags for three rounds.