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"What! Uh!" Malusha jumps up quickly when Masym wakes him. Malusha looks around, on guard, for imminent danger. When Masym starts to explain why he was woken early Malusha relaxes. "Oh. I thought for a second that we were being attacked!"
Malusha quickly rolls up his sleeping gear. He takes a second to tap himself with the endure elements wand. "Does anyone else want some of this?" he asks again, while waving the wand.
Under Masym's urgings, you get moving early, with barely time to pack up your things. The sky is remarkably clear with only a few wispy clouds. You see no signs of this terrible storm he's referring to.
He maintains a normal pace for the first hour or so, as the sun finally comes up and the temperature settles in much the same as the day before, perhaps a bit colder... but after that first hour, he picks up the pace... and doesn't let up.
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Already awake since she'd been on last watch as well, it doesn't take Nella long to pack up what gear she has and make herself ready to get going once more.
Initially she powers along as if this sort of thing is old hat to her, barely breaking a sweat as they trundle onward through the snow. After awhile though, her energy finally begins to flag through she still maintains a decent pace considering the circumstances. "Ugh...we should've bought snowshoes too..."
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Throughout the morning, Masym leads the group at a brisk pace, his eyes constantly looking to the north, which remains clear with no sign of any storm. Luckily, the snow is not too deep, the winds constantly blowing down off the Icestair to the north seem to do a decent job of scouring the worst of it away. Even still, every once in a while, you hit the lee side of a hill or a narrow dip in the plains, where the snow gets much deeper. Only Phoebee manages to get through this without considerable effort, and only by donning the snowshoes she'd picked up almost a month before.
Some time after noon, the sky to to the north starts to get prematurely darker... and as the hours tick away, you finally see what has had Masym worried since the day before. A huge black wall of weather, descending down from the Spine of the World and sweeping across the planes like an invading army. You need no encouragement to pick up your pace even more, as it suddenly becomes a race. You trying to reach the only shelter you know of in the area depicted on Skagni's map, and the massive storm rushing to cut you off. The temperature takes a steep dive, almost as if the ambient heat of the land is hiding from the incoming storm as well.
Jones and Wei Tchak are the first to start laboring with the effort... but they continue on without complaint. Within the hour however, Masym too is gasping for breath, and Jones looks even more harried.
The lead of the storm hits you first, just small flurries of snow and gusts of wind that try to scour the skin from exposed faces. Even though you know the sun is still up there somewhere, it might as well be midnight by the amount of light getting through.
And all of this just a hint at the storm following in its wake.
Only Jones' irrepressible ioun torch, orbiting around his head, allows you to see where you are going and acts like a lighthouse in the storm, keeping you from wandering too far from each other.
There is strong sense of relief when finally, a dark undefined shape rises up in front of you, and Masym points towards it, yelling over the howling wind, indicating that it's the cave and shelter you were looking for. A proper cave this time, unlike the night before.
You all pile into the cave just in front of the storm, that seems to hit the side of the hill like some frost giant's maul, screaming in anger at losing its prize.
The shear ferocity of the weather quickly forces you to scramble back into the cave further, away from the entrance.
The dark granite cave takes a sharp turn almost immediately, and ten feet past that a large cavern opens up before you, its ceiling rising as high as thirty feet. You are shocked to feel warm humid air all around you, and a light mist seems to cover the entire cavern floor to about two feet.
Colorful fungi of all sorts cover the walls and poke up out of the fog. Beneath layers of slightly iridescent algae, you can just make out the faint images of cave paintings on all the walls you can see. The room is almost fifty feet across, and perhaps forty feet from side to side. There are signs of a rock slide on the far side.
Unfortunately, you are not the only ones seeking shelter here, as a large reptilian head pokes up out of the fog, and swivels your way, while a second head, and the creature attached to it rise up from another corner, not far from Masym, and bellows a loud screeching challenge!
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All of you, tired and still breathing heavily from the last dash from the storm, have no chance to react in time, as the two reptilian creatures suddenly burst into action. The closest one, charges across the room and pounces towards Masym. All he sees are talons and teeth, ripping and shredding clothing and flesh with equal abandon! The other hurries across the fungus covered cavern as well, but has more obstacles in its path. You lose sight of it for just a moment, before it suddenly appears, airborne! With one tremendous leap, it clears the large, man-sized, mushroom in front of you to land directly in front of Phoebee. She barely has time to cry out in surprise as it teeth lock down on her shoulder, biting deeply and trying to shake her into submission.
- Round 1 ------------------
blue reptile, red reptile
Nella (-1 NL, fatigued), Wei Tchak (-6 NL, fatigued), Masym (-18, -5 NL, fatigued), Phoebee (-7, -1 NL, fatigued), Jones (-4 NL, fatigued), Malusha (-1 NL, fatigued) <------ We are here!
Party is up!
Nella is the first to react, as she instinctively calls on the healing power of Shelyn, and a wave of positive energy pulses through the room. Suddenly, she, Phoebee, and Malusha feel the weariness in their limbs fade, though the energy is not enough to restore the others to their normal vigor.
Masym's legs still feel like lead as he tries to bring his sword up to defend himself from the creature, but can barely get the blade around, much less get enough force behind the sword to pierce it's thick hide.
Wei Tchak on the far side has slightly better luck, as he gets his blade out and slashes the creature chewing on Phoebee with his katana. The reptile gives a angry cry as it releases its hold on her.
The bard uses the moment to start up an inspiring song, though leaves herself in a vulnerable position to do so. Malusha then steps in and places a blessing of protection on her, in hopes of keeping her safe from both tooth and claw.
Jones concentrates for a moment, then fires a single arrow at the same dinosaur. Despite his weariness, his aim is still true, as he hits it directly in the eye, the arrow sinking in almost to the fletching. The creature collapses in a heap, the mist on the floor swirling around it like the tides around an island.
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The remaining creature continues to attack Masym, talons and feet slashing at its prey. Although he manages to avoid one talon, and just barely deflect away the smaller foreclaws, the other talon comes in too quickly, knocking him sideways. Off balance, he is then unable to avoid the vicious bite that follows and in his exhausted state, it takes him down to the floor, his sword quickly lost as it clatters across the floor unseen.
The beast then steps over its newly fallen prey and roars a challenge at the rest of you, ready to defend it's dinner.
- Round 2 ------------------
red reptile
Nella, Wei Tchak (-4 NL, fatigued), Masym (-33, -3 NL, fatigued, unconscious), Phoebee (-5), Jones (-2 NL, fatigued), Malusha <------ We are here!
Group Buffs: Inspire Courage (+1 to hit/damage)
Party is up!
Nella quickly puts up a blessing, while Malusha fires his crossbow at the nearby creature, though his bolt deflects harmlessly off the its hide.
Phoebee steps back and takes a mighty swing with her glaive, the weapon coming around in a vicious arc that nearly severs one of the reptiles legs!
Wei Tchak then steps in, sword weaving in an intricate dance and slashes it two more times. It lets out one last defiant screech, before it too collapses to the ground.
You lose site of Masym beneath the dead reptile and the layers of mist eddying about.
Nella, Wei Tchak (-4 NL, fatigued), Masym (-33, -3 NL, fatigued, unconscious), Phoebee (-5), Jones (-2 NL, fatigued), Malusha
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Masym feels the blissfulness of the cold soon banished by a fire, such a fire he had never felt before. It seemed to penetrate and invade every pore of his body. He staggers to his feet and glances around him, sweat pouring down his body.
He offers a faint smile to Phoebee, "Thank you my dear," before turning his attention to the dead lizard bodies, "Looks like they should be edible..." looking over the bodies.
Masym will be able to easily cut up some of the dinosaurs for the meat.... but there is still no way to cook it. A fuel source for a fire is not readily available. The storm still rages outside the entrance and will not let up any time soon. The cavern itself is very warm, and damp, with numerous large (and small) fungi in a wide array of colors and sizes covering the floor.
Warm air seems to be rising up through small cracks and fissures in the floor and cold air is coming in from the entrance. The warm air seems to win out, as far as the temperature goes, but where the two meet, they form a light fog that now covers the entire floor, making it hard to see your feet clearly. The mist seems to swirl and eddy constantly, as if there is something underneath it moving around.
A closer look at the rock slide on the far side reveals what may have once been a tunnel that went further in, but it is now completely blocked with no way to pass.
You will also find the long dead skeletal remains of a number of bodies as you look about, mostly from tripping over them, as they are hard to spot in the mist. Whoever they were, they appear to have left a number of possessions that are still intact, despite the damp conditions, though most of them appear scattered across the cavern and some are hard to see in the fog.
And, lastly, all of the walls are covered in painted murals of a crude design, all of them covered by a faint glowing algae of some sort.
The mural is then interrupted by a repeated design: two mammoths with a smaller one in tow marching east. This motif is repeated over and over in an orderly line from the top wall of the cave to the bottom. There are 30 copies of this design.
The next scene shows the wielder of the red axe lying on a raised mound within the castle, his weapon clutched to his chest. Other figures leave the castle carrying large bags on their shoulders.
The drawings continue on the other side of the cave, showing an avalanche cascading down to cover the tower.
The last drawing shows more of the humanoid figures standing over the edge overlooking the castle’s previous location, while four drawings of the moon in various states arc above the scene. In this last picture, all of the humanoid figures have a smear of white color around their lower faces.
Despite the dampness and various mushrooms, it seems a far better location to wait out the storm and rest for the night then any other choice you have.
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Masym looks up from the grim task of cutting up the dinosaur meat and starts packing it up as best he can, wrapping it up in some old cloaks and stacking it up next to the entrance. "Well, at least it won't spoil. Probably won't taste good though."
Once the other remains have been found, he slwoly walks over to where they are stacked. "Gotta be something to burn for fuel here...", he mutters as he sifts through the remains.
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"Well...could've done without the welcome party but I'm glad there's some warmth in here," Nella says, breathing a sigh of relief. "Here, let me take care of the rest of this..."
"That just leaves Masym still hurt. Hold still..."
With everyone patched up again, the priestess turns her attention to their surroundings as she helps rummage around for fuel for a fire.
She does give the cave paintings a look, wondering what they might mean. "Huh...looks like these paintings tell a story..."
Nella and Jones check out the cave paintings, while the rest root around the mushrooms to see what can be found in the cave.
The figure with the axe also had some white, now long gone, though mostly around the face, suggesting a white beard.
You do note the figure with the axe in the first scene is different from the other humanoids depicted, as he seems to have a beard of some sort, a feature uncommon amongst kellids.
You're pretty sure the images of the three mammoths is used to denote the passing of time, each one denoting the passage of a single year. The images of the moon in various stages would normally also depict similar meaning, but the two together lead you to suspect those are being used here to represent even larger periods of time that the mammoth migration symbols could not cover. Perhaps centuries.
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A search of the cavern provides very little that could actually burn. There is some dung left over most likely from the recently killed reptiles, but it is either too new, or the humid environment has kept it far too moist to be used for a fire. Especially one intended to cook food.
You do find a number of other items, some of which even prove to be magical!
You search turns up two masterwork throwing axes that have weathered the environment well, and a few more that didn't. A strange weapon consisting of a pair of stone weights tied together with a leather chord, that you almost dismiss, until you realize it radiates magic. One of the corpses also still wears sturdily made studded-leather armor that also radiates a magical aura.
Someone locates a large fang, from some kind of predatory animal that is magical as well, as well as four miscellaneous vials and small flasks and a masterfully made cloak made from the fur of a large mammal of some sort, all of which also detect as magical.
You find a large number of snow shoes, though many of them are broken or destroyed... you manage to pair together six miss-matched sets. You also dig up a number of topaz gems in various colors and a small leather bag with a handful of unworked gemstones.
The oddest item located are three sets of what appear to be some sort of bandages, or poultice wraps, that each have a magical aura of their own.
Clearly many folks have come in this cave, and not come out in the past.
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Tchak will cast detect magic and try to identify the items found:
(if they're all the same, ignore these last 3 rolls)
Tchak, while confused about some of the items, seems sure of others... He offers the ones he doesn't understand into the curious care of anyone else with spellcraft skill.
Wei Tchak will identify a potion cure light wounds, and a potion of endure elements from the ones liberated off of the kellids the night before.
From the more recent finds, he will point out a potion of barkskin, another potion of endure elements, a wand of longstrider (fully charged), +1 bolas, bandages of rapid recovery, and a +2 cloak of resistance.
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"Huh...these cave paintings are pretty neat," Nella remarks. "This bearded fellow here in the first scene, he sticks out because most Kellid folk don't wear beards. And here, the three mammoths? Passages of time, about a year for each mammoth," she explains. "Last of all the moons are probably markers of time too, but really long periods of time - possibly centuries, instead of just years."
She turns away from the paintings. "Too bad the circumstances aren't better, because I'm sure some of the more bookish folks in the Society would love to have a look at them."
"Anyway, are you two doing okay figuring out what all these items do? Need me to help with anything?"
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Jones listens and nods at Nella's interpretation of the paintings, That's more than I got out of it.
He then points to the flying creature and the bearded fellow, "It looks like the pigment has faded over time here. The creature here is white, as is the beard of this fellow. Anyone know anything of a story of a white bearded Kellid? Maybe more white dragons?"
You are able to determine the nature of all the remaining items, adding 3 more potions of endure elements, a potion of cure moderate wounds, and a suite of +1 studded leather armor to the mix of things identified already.
potion of cure moderate wounds
potion of barkskin
5 potions of endure elements
wand of longstrider [50]
+1 studded leather armor
+1 bolas
3 bandages of rapid recovery
+2 cloak of resistance
2 masterwork throwing axes
6 sets of snowshoes
some gems
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"Wonderful." Masym grunts once the others inform him of the loot discovered. "Too bad none of it will burn. Still these items will prove helpful once this storm lets up." He then takes the raw dinosaur steaks and ties them together in a large sack. "We will eat well later once these are well cooked."
When the others tell him of the paintings, he nods and strokes his cheek thoughtfully. "You say the bearded fellow was carrying an axe? Possibly that is the weapon we are looking for?"