Elf Male Sorcerer 3 [HP14/14] [AC:13 T:13 FF:10 CMD:12] [Init +3] [Fort +0 Ref +3 Will +3] [Perception +1]
Smiling Verathis says, Thank you once more for you gracious hospitality."and gives Gareni and his wife friendly parting handshakes(or the local equivalent). Then he crouches to look Carlo in the eyes and tells him"Keep your folks safe out there." then musses his hair as he stands up to leave.
The tracks are consistent and direct, with signs of goblin movement heading North.
After four hours following the tracks you are deep within the forest when the tracks veer off slightly toward some cliffs.
A small stream passes along the base of a thirty-foot-tall black stone scarp. Strange, horse-sized cavities pock the face of the cliff, their edges smooth and warped as though etched or melted into the stone rather than carved. The air is thick with the stench of decay and rot, beneath which there is a faint tinge of an acrid, chemical odor. Despite the smell, things here are eerily peaceful.
DC15 perception if you approach the caves:
A metallic glint catches your eye from a cavity 20ft up.
Elf Male Sorcerer 3 [HP14/14] [AC:13 T:13 FF:10 CMD:12] [Init +3] [Fort +0 Ref +3 Will +3] [Perception +1]
perception:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
A tattoo of the bones in Verathis's left hand appear as he raises it and says a few arcane words.
Spellcraft DC15:
Mage hand
Verathis looks at the glint and closes his hand as if around an object and pulls upward.
GM Elberion:
I am attempting to pick up the object and float it toward me. if it is magical, attended, or more then 5 pounds it is an invalid target for the spell. The rules do not say what happens when your target is invalid beyond failure of the spell. Please tell me what I feel if anything.
Verathis works his magic and a gold coin comes down from the perch, two more coins, one gold and one silver, also fall down from the cavity.
There is a distinct sound of more sliding coins.
Elf Male Sorcerer 3 [HP14/14] [AC:13 T:13 FF:10 CMD:12] [Init +3] [Fort +0 Ref +3 Will +3] [Perception +1]
Fallowing beside Carson Verathis answers. "If it was an ambush we wouldn't be in the middle of it. If it was a trap it would trigger harmlessly. I failed to consider that it might be an alarm. Sorry."
There are three larger cave entrances at ground level and several more which are either shallow or small. More fissures pick the face as it climbs.
Would you like to climb for the coins, enter one of the caves?
The sun slants into the first 5ft of the caves but beyond 10ft it is black as the grave.
"I'm all for fighting Villainous goblins so they don't hurt more people, but I'm not so sure we are still the good guys if we kill them all without trying to reason with them. We should at least find a way to spare the kids."
Stepping into the cave, you find it hushed and abandoned. A few small signs of animal activity are the only things which break the sense of abandonment.
Searching the others, the left-hand cave is a little deeper and is the source of the stench of chemicals and decay. You find an old cook-fire, some rotting rat carcasses and splashes of Demon's Bile: the gooey, purple ichor that infested creatures in Saringallow and sent the apprentice alchemist insane.
One wall is of particularly dark stone and has been decorated with crude, white chalk drawings. You can make out a scarred goblin figure, a larger figure, slightly lop-sided, standing before something blocky, topped with a symbol of Lamashtu.
The caves are perhaps 30ft deep at their largest and you cannot find any passages up to the higher caverns. If you wish to reach them, you must climb, float, fly, build a ramp or find some other way up.
Within you find shed scales and claws, as big as your hand, all seem old and those nearer the entrance are beginning to decay.
Amongst these remains you also find a metal shield, lying face down like a dish, and within is a bed of gold coins, some of which are strewn across the floor instead. on the bed of coins rests a small, dark metal dagger and a rusty metal case (rusted shut), stamped with a sign of the Isgeri army.
A cold iron dagger, masterwork light steel shield and 73gp.
dc12 knowledge (nature):
The scales are from forest drakes.
dc12 strength check or disable device:
The metal case contains two potions of lesser restoration.
Skill check spoilers only for those Carson shows or asks to help with relevant stuff.
Male Dwarf Druid 8 (menhir savant) | HP 62/62 | AC 23/10/22 | F+9 R+4 W+12 | CMD 23 | Init +1 | Perc +17| Active Conditions: Resist Acid 10, Barkskin, GMF, Heightened Awareness, Wild Shape (DR 5/evil)
Grel will also reach into the ether ahead of him to detect any creatures not of this world. Aimed at the cave mouth they are heading to.
Spirit Sense (Sp): At 1st level, a menhir savant can detect the presence of undead; fey; outsiders; and astral, ethereal, or incorporeal creatures. This ability functions like detect undead, and the druid detects all of these creatures rather than trying to detect one kind.
As the light begins to dim, you find that a steep-sided ravine runs east to west here, opening at the far western end into a wide grassy depression. The scene would be idyllic if it weren’t for the scattered rusting weapons and pieces of armor, a few of which still contain moldering bones, strewn about the area. Pungent moss and a few patches of mushrooms dot the field; this place looks like it is the final
resting place for many unfortunate souls.
