The battle ends as quickly as it started. Idrix leaves nothing behind but charred goblin and thicket.
Grognard's eyes open in the stream.
Tracking:
Grognard could see three visible passages in the cave: The steps to the east, the passage to the west, and the main passage to the north.
Gelin gets to his feet, blinking away the surprise and the flash from the fire. He clears his throat as he surveys the sudden carnage. "Well that was...decisive. I...need to not go in first next time."
He grimaces at the arrow sticking out of Grognard. "Errr...is there a healer in the house?"
"Well done, Idrix -- coulda been in some real trouble, there!"
With the goblins scorched, Idrix starts to calm down.
"The goblins are toast, but my big guns are drained! I'll need a good night's sleep before blasting like that again! Oh, and someone should *really* patch up Grognard! I'm not a healer, unless you want a wound cauterised or something!"
"That could have gone better. I will remember next time to keep my head down when arrows are flying around, the pointy end hurts!"
"ye want to bed down on the doorstep of a goblin cave? Settin' aside even the issue of Gundren being held captive and in clear danger, do ye think that's a good idea?"
Idrix mulls, kicking over a stone.
And seemingly comes to a conclusion.
"Right, I say we push on! We still have some fire in us and the goblins would love to catch us napping! Let's finish them, rescue Gundren and Sildar, and have a good snooze after! What do ye say?"
Gelin scratches his ear in deliberation. "I think...I shouldn't have used those spells earlier. I don't really have anything left."
He stops, then smiles wide. "Then again, the best stories are the ones where the stakes are high, aren't they? Let's do it."
"Which direction there is a path east, north, and west? The main entrance looks like the north path"
"North then! Let's get this done!"
As you pass by the steps to the east, savage snarls and the sounds of rattling chains greet your ears where three wolves are chained up just inside the opening. Each wolf's chain leads to an iron rod driven into the base of a stalagmite.
As you pass by the western passage, in the shadows of the ceiling to the north, you can just make out the dim shape of a rickety bridge of wood and rope crossing over the passage ahead of you. Another passage intersects this one, twenty feet above the floor.
Idrix takes one look at the wolves and begins making motions, as if urging something to rise.
Flames erupt from nowhere on the ground underneath the middle wolf.
4/6
The middle wolf dances around as a magical bonfire appears underneath its feet, singing its paws.
Idrix maintains concentration and the bonfire continues.
Gelin frowns a bit at Idrix's attack, but says nothing. A bit mean, burning chained up wolves... He decides to keep watch at the bridge cavern, in case trouble catches wind of them. Then again, I guess wolves can be mean too...
16
1/6
16
The wolf continues burning its paws as the smell of burning flesh begins to fill the corridor. It desperately attempts to flee this confined space, throwing itself to the end of its chain as the other two wolves add yelping and snapping to their snarling.
Turning from his examination of the other corridors at the sound of the yelping, Rory frowns at the sorcerer. "Was that really necessary? The creatures are tied up - long as we kill their masters they'll do us no harm. And Ren or I coulda maybe made nice enough with 'em to let 'em loose. ...Before they panicked, at least."
"Good luck with that now..." Gelin muses. "Shouldn't we keep moving though? They've probably heard the noise by now..."
"Huh, good point! I'll leave it at that then! Let's move on!"
The flames immediately gutter and die.
Grognard having started walking down the north path looks around to see that there is no one followed. He comes back to the entrance:
"You lot coming?
"Aye!"
Idrix starts walking in the direction of north.
The yelping continues for a short time as you head north, but quickly fades once you're out of view.
The stream passage continues up beyond another set of uneven steps ahead, bending eastward as it goes. A waterfall sounds out from a larger cavern somewhere ahead of you.
A rickety bridge spans the passage, connecting two tunnels that are 20 feet above the stream.
Idrix does his best to suppress whistling a jaunty tune as he walks in the middle of the formation.
Grognard looks at the bridge wondering if it can hold his weight.
Grognard:
The bridge looks sturdy and well-supported. The 20-foot-high walls are slick with spray, so climbing to the bridge looks difficult, but possible.
Tracking:
This path continues to the north, curving to the east after about 20 feet.
The bridge above you connects an intersecting passage higher up.
There is a passage to the west behind you.
There is a room to the east behind you with the wolves.
"goblins and their twisty little warrens... " Rory grumbles, examining the ground. "you still seeing tracks here, Ren?"
Rory can see that the passage you are in is clearly well-traveled. Signs of goblins and goblin prints litter the banks of the stream in both directions.
"Guess even dragonslayers had to start somewhere..." Gelin snaps his fingers with a tch! then pulls a dagger from his belt. "You know I sometimes forget I have this thing..."
Idrix lights a fire in the palm of his right hand, then clenches his fist, crushing the flame out.
"I'm ready!"
Idrix waves a finger around and then stabs west.
"How about that-a-way?"
As you get closer to the passage to the west, you see that it is choked with rubble and steep escarpments. It is difficult terrain, but traversable.
At that moment, the main passage is suddenly filled with a mighty roar, as a huge surge of rushing water pours down from above!
w/ Inspiration = 18
Gelin, Grognard, Idrix and Rory leap to the western passage just in time as the watern churns and crashes against the walls in the main passage behind them.
Taken by surprise, Ren holds strong against the waters for a short time, but loses his footing as the waters begin to die down and is carried to the cave entrance, taking bludgeoning damage along the way.
"--a trap?! Make sure Ren's okay!" Rory calls, himself stepping back into the main corridor, hunched behind his shield as he peers up the corridor watching for further attack.
The flood has settled and the stream has returned to its previous state, rolling down the main passage and out of the cave.
Tracking:
You are standing at the entrance to the western passage.
The main passage runs north underneath the bridge seen earlier, which connects an intersecting passage 20 feet above.
There is a room to the east with the wolves.
Idrix managed to leap at the last second, though winding himself.
"Where in the hells did all that water come from!?" he says, wisps of steam starting to rise from his skin and clothing.
"I say we keep pushing west! The trap is already sprung!"
Having jump clear of the oncoming stream Grognard with a dexterity that you would believe possible by a half-orc, he says: West sounds good, but we need to keep an eye out for more traps... those goblins play dirty.
After catching his breath, Gelin chuckles anxiously. "Anyone else wondering how Goblins set all this up? Stories say they're not really this...inventive."
Falling in behind Grog and Idrix, he glances down at his dagger, bites his lip, then scans the cavern floor for loose rocks. Must be something small enough to throw around here at least...
"I'll bet they've had some help! Someone taking over and using them as expendables!"
Idrix settles back into the middle of the group as they move west.
The western passage slopes upward, and has somewhat loose gravel in parts that is not easy to traverse. Grognard climbs a ledge, and can see that this passage ends in a fork. To the left, he can see a light from some sort of fire. As he stands on the ledge, his weight loosens the whole mass, sending it tumbling down to the east!
Taking him completely by surprise, Grognard falls with the crumbling ledge, smashing his head against a large piece of falling rock, and taking bludgeoning damage along the way. He slides unconscious to the feet of Gelin and Idrix.
The mass settles, and leaves a path of nothing but loose gravel to the end of the passage.
Tracking:
The main passage with the stream is behind you.
This passage forks to the left, where light from a fire can be seen.
This passage forks to the right, into another narrow passage.
"Damn! Rory, can you patch him up?"
"I can keep him from gettin' any worse, at least," replies Rory and murmurs a quick prayer, touching his palm to Grognard's forehead.
"If he isn't getting up anytime soon, we need to pull back! I hate the idea, but we can't protect him and ourselves at the same time!"
Gelin winces as Grog bounces off the rocks and lies still. "We, uh...we do seem to be stumbling through this, don't we..." He rolls his dagger grip in his hand anxiously as Rory stops the profuse bleeding. "You're running out too, aren't you?"
"I've still got *fire*, just not the big blasts! But yeah, we're getting tapped! Damn sneaking goblins! Here, give me a hand to pick up Grog, I call arms!"
"Aye, we need a breather -- let's get back out to the daylight," Rory agrees, grabbing the downed half-orc's legs to help Idrix carry him out.