Looking back. "Well you got the bald covered my friend. We will be sure no giant shaves you I guess."
After a moment more. "Maybe this dwarf has something to hide. Putting himself way out here like this. Either a secret or a weapon he didn't want people to get."
"Be good at your craft, respect your family, work hard.", Lys shrugs. Tossing a glance at the nearest hopeknife, Lys sighs. That part, too..."At least that's what I remember about being a dwarf. And how often I shave is my own business, not Torag's.", she sends a dirty chuckle at Wulfrum.
The group arrives at the tombs entrance.
Aspen leaves rustle gently, glittering like the pale, golden embers of a forge fire. The wood seems peaceful and quiet.
Wulfrum will dismount and give the tomb it's reverence. He cracks his neck and stretches a bit once he hits earth and looks at the others before jerking his head slightly towards the winding path and starts walking.
Tombs were never a good thing, the undead always seemed to somehow breed in the location. He hoped this wouldn't be the case and the poor soul that chose this place as his resting place has gone undisturbed in their afterlife but prepares himself for the alternative.
Crom will load a large wad of tobacco into his mouth and will then follow Wulfrum in. He searches the area for any threats. "Careful cousin, I wager there be some clever traps here - it being a dwarven tomb and all."
Zekal joins the others for the approach.
"Traps I am sure. With luck that will be all but I have never heard a story where that is it. Lets keep our eyes peeled."
He pulls a silver arrow from his quiver and keeps it at the ready.
Varin tightened his hands round the haft of his axe, gritting his teeth tightly as he follows after the others, trusting in them to have sharper eyes than himself.
Lys stares up at the tomb. "Well. I don't know what I expected.", she shrugs. "But I know what to expect for the next one.", she shrugs, dismounting her horse and drawing a set of... things from her bag. "Okay. Don't touch anything and try to be about five times lighter than you are. And if there's weird, magical chicanery, warn me, since I can just about tell a wand from a staff." She sends a grin as she sets off into the tomb.
You see the perimeter of this territory is rigged with a series of Slate Shard Spring traps linked together with web tripwires. The traps are made from bent saplings that hurl wickedly sharp shards in all directions. They appear to be coated with some sort of poison. As soon as a single trap is triggered, additional traps suddenly trigger in a chain reaction throughout the wood, potentially striking anyone walking through the area.
Your disable check was not high enough.
The group moves on.
The aspen wood thins here, forming a small clearing around a large granite obelisk covered with runes. Pillars flank a small, dark archway leading inside the obelisk. Above the pillars, the symbol of a clenched fist is carved into the stone. A strange structure, resembling a tent of shimmering gray webs woven between logs, surrounds the obelisk.
This obelisk, a pillar nearly 100 feet tall, is Nargrym Steelhand’s gravestone, marking the location of his tomb in the ground below. The “tent” of logs and spider webs surrounding the obelisk is the shrine erected by Gertid Ederhild in honor of her son Lokmorr.
The tunes on the tomb spell out a traditional dwarven funerary prayer called “Torag’s Epicede.”
Two ettercaps and their pets—a female giant black widow spider and two males—keep watch over Lokmorr’s shrine. The ettercaps are performing maintenance around the shrine while the spiders lurk in the shrine’s webbing.
The 2 ettercaps move away from the group. It looks as if they are trying to build traps in a hurry.
Zekal gestures to the obelisk as he skirts around the to one side and lines up a shot.
"Its his gravestone, the tomb must be below, but these beasties seem to have tried to turn it into their own sort of shine. Guessing we will need to fight our way in."
Lys turns back with a pained look on her face as the saplings start raising a ruckus in the woods. "Well... At least we don't have to find whoever's coming to kill us?", an embarrassed grin slowly spreads across her face. As the ettercaps start running, she raises her crossbow, and fumblingly fires a bolt, flying away into the woods. If this is because of the shaving, Torag, we'll talk after I'm dead.
Crom growls, "Someone burn these webs!"
He double moves around the left side.
Wulfrum steps forwards, clapping the head of Agrimmosh upon his hand and suddenly sparks fly off the gauntlet and the warhammer catches ablaze.
He stepped up to the edge of the webbing and slams it down in the webbing, blasting out flames at the surrounding webs.
Zekal fires at the blue spider and hits right in its abdomen. The spider screeches in pain.
Elisa fires a crossbow, but misses.
Varin charges the red spider and crushes it instantly. She hears the crunching sound underneath her feet.
Crom moves closer. Wulfrum activates his sacred weapon and torches the spider web.
The spider bites at Crom.
The spider, feeling uneasy without its web, misses completely.
The giant spider moves up to Elisa and tries to bite her.
Combat round 2
Blue spider
"Ah, you little bastard!", shouts Lys, jumping back. Her crossbow snaps a bolt out, carving through the spider's carapace. Another two bolts snap away in rapid succession at the ettercap in the distance.
Muttering under his breath about spiders Zekal takes a small step towards and fires a pair of arrows.
Crom bashes the spider with his hammer. "Ain't gonna be nothin' but a bug splat!"
; power attack
; power attack
Varin double moved up towards the Spider assaulting the ranged party members.
Eliza fires at the biting spider. Her arrow goes right through it. The spider drops dead on the ground. She fires at the Ettercap and ends that as well. Zekal fires at the spider and sends his arrows right through its carapace. It drops dead without a sound. Crom smashes the dead spider at his feet, in anger for the vermin bothering him.
The remaining Ettercap moves toward Varin.
Seeing the spiders dead Zekal moves around to the other side of the building to see if anything is still alive.
Crom double moves around the web to get closer to the Ettercap.
Lys reloads her crossbow, looking around. "Well, if that's the last of them, I'm Wulf's uncle.", she blurts out, before shrugging. "And also, I'm not in the mood of chasing those whatever-those-weres. So, if we set in, and someone protects our tender hinds with their strong, supple armour, we should be all set. As long as I don't miss another trap.", she cheerfully adds the last sentence, as she glances at the entrance.
"Should we burn the web?", she asks, as she begins getting closer and closer.
Offering nothing but pragmatism Zekal wants to burn the web.
"Clearly we burn the web. Anyone got an easy fire spell or do I need a torch."
Crom grunts, "Get your torch!"
The last remaining Ettercap moves up to Varin and tries to bite her, but can’t seem to sink it’s teeth in. The remains Pathfinders think of what to do next.
Zekal is a bit suprised to see one enemy still standing. With a bit of a start he takes a short step and fires two arrows.
Varin let a loud bellow before lashing out with all his might, slashing once before twisting the axe and using the momentum to slash again.
The group dispatch with the remaining Ettercap. They carry on into the tomb.
The interior of the obelisk houses a flight of narrow and precariously steep stairs descending into a dark shaft that plummets to an unknown depth within the earth. The passing years have crusted the walls and stairs with overlapping rings of yellow and pale green lichen.
Crom checks for danger and then descends.
Staring down the shaft, Lys pouts. "Well. I wouldn't mind if someone lights something on fire, like a torch, before we go down. My eyes are a bit more acclimatised to the, not underground.", she shrugs.
Reaching into her backpack for a piece of cloth and fire oil, she looks around the more mystical of people, before starting to descend.
The lichen covering the walls and stairs is harmless.
“Here lies the pride of our clan, Nargrym, son of Torgrym. Called Steelhand, he was laid to rest with utmost honor in 4076 ar. May he be known forevermore as the Giantslayer.”
The runes continue down the walls of the shaft, describing Nargrym’s life and various deeds in great detail. The tale expounds upon his magical hand, which allowed him to heft the tremendous weapons of his hated enemies, and his enchanted coat of mail, fashioned entirely from the fingernails of slain giants. Eventually, the epitaph comes to a section entitled “The Tragic Fall of Steelhand,” which details his betrayal and murder at the hands of Lokmorr Edergun.
Wulfrum paused as he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He moved a gloved hand up to the wall and used it to scrap away the Lichen "Well, I'll be bloody damned. It really is a Dwarven tomb. “Here lies the pride of our clan, Nargrym, son of Torgrym. Called Steelhand, he was laid to rest with utmost honor in 4076 ar. May he be known forevermore as the Giantslayer" it reads. Hmmm, perhaps I'll time on once we know the place ta be clear of foes and worries to properly write down his tale so that he can be remembered in the halls of the Five Kings Mountains." he said, his words slowly falling off.
"So were in the right place. Good... good. I don't love the idea of what ammounts to stealing form a tomb but needs must if we are to protect those who need us. Lets see what we shall find shall we."
Crom shrugs, "I don't know if I would care for the fingernail armor. It doesn't sound hygienic. Just sayin'."
He leads the way deeper into the tomb.
Varin gritted his teeth and set himself, hunching slightly as they advanced down in to the crypt.
"I know I said I wanted to be buried in a barrow like this when I die but Pharasmas bones... just toss my corpse somewhere open and drenched in the sun instead. Preferably on a mountain top. Let the birds eat me."
"Would they want to?", quips Lys, following down the footsteps. Her eyes glance over the wall, as she glares at the saga of Nargrym. Grinning at Crom, she nods. "Yup. Giantslayer or not,", she reverently looks around. "I'd probably not want to be sharing a tent with him."
"Does anyone know anymore about this Lokmorr character?", she raises an eyebrow as the saga comes to an end. "Don't think I've ever heard of him. Wulfy, you remember him when he was little?"
"He was not a religous figure or part of the wooded world so outside of my sphere of knowledge. The nail armor does sound fascinating though. I imagine it would be quite sturdy and possibly disturbing as all heck to a giant you were fighting. Sounds like something you dwarves would actually get into.... he chuckles to himself. "Get into. Its armor. Funny."
Wulfrum shrugs "Aye can't remember him. I've either drunk too much since then or he was before my time. Hell, could've been he took off to young for me ta know the name before I left meself." he offered in response.
About 40 feet down the shaft, the stairs reach a narrow landing before continuing down in the opposite direction. At this point the shaft begins to fill with wisps of web populated by numerous hairy brown spiders.
Although the seething webs are unnerving, you identify the spiders as both mundane and harmless.
As the stairs descend ever deeper, the webs become thicker and the tiny spiders become increasingly active.
Eighty feet down the shaft, the stairs reach another landing. Up ahead you see a hideous creature that looks like a half human and spider woman. Beside her are two more Ettercaps.
You have heard rumors of this creature. Mother of Spiders, Stilgrit, is as insane as her mother and grandmother, Stilgrit believes she is the scion of a divine family and has no idea how revolting she appears.
Crom double moves down the stairs to engage the woman or nearest ettercap.
Before they head down. "These spiders are harmless. Well Unless you are a bug."
As the move down the stairs Zekal gives a little start when they see the half human figure.
"Stilgrit, Mother of Spiders? Crazy as a feral goblin."
Wulfrum starts plowing forwards himself "Aye, she can be the mother of whatever she wants...but she ain't getting nothing from me." he said, hefting the warhammer.