Viewing the creepy graveyard; with its crumbling headstones and trampled and disturbed dirt, the dwarf spits.
We be here now. Can we be better prepared fer da trap?
The dwarf drinks his Mutagen (along with an Antiplague, Antitoxin, Deodorizing Agent,Alchemical Grease and Vermin Repellent) The sudden growth of his already muscled physique is still noticeable.
Let's be 'ploring!
Lifting his heavy pick, Bedlam begins to survey the route back underground.
”They should be killed or driven away. There are already too many settlements on this island.”
****
Adelie pokes his head into a shattered tomb--coffins are tumbled all around. Light leaks in through gaps in the walls.
Does Adelie see anything resembling a shattered tomb? He searches the graveyard carefully for the tomb or anything else of note.
”Last time, the trap didn’t spring until we futzed around with the door. Perhaps we should avoid doing that.”
Before returning back underground, Anzath searches the area for signs of visitation since their last delve.
Adelie quickly realizes that the mausoleum his earthier self had glimpsed must be one of the three big ones--and what he saw didn't resemble the trapped entrance.
The doors are closed. They are locked. If you seek the key, it's back in its place under the dwarf statue.
Anzath sees many signs of activity left by rats, ghouls, and humanoids.
Adelie investigates the third mausoleum, looking for the tunnel he emerged from earlier.
He knows at least one exit from the tunnels is blocked, and that his companions would have a difficult time squeezing through the narrow passages, but he still wants to confirm that the path is there.
Tragershen does no searching whatsoever. Instead, he keeps a close eye on his companions as they do their looking around. If one suddenly disappears or comes under attack, he wants to be ready to alert the others.
Adelie finds the tunnel. The rat hole has been cut off from the depths for long enough that it has deteriorate considerably, but it remains passable for a crawling Small creature or a Tiny creature (up to the cave-in, at least). Of course, an earth elemental would have no trouble here.
Bedlam attempts to snatch the dangling carrot that GM Parrot has in front of our druid...
We be finding da way in fer all of us.
Reassured, Adelie returns to where Tragershen is waiting. He ignores Bedlam’s nonsensical flailing.
Talathel does a more general search, partially to assess what if anything has changed in this area since the party last passed through.
Aurora brings her hands together, lacing her fingers. "Perhaps we could send Adelie to investigate what lay beneath the well?"
Adelie squints at Aurora.
"...Okay. I'll go."
He wildshapes into a small air elemental.
From Da Book:
As you descend through the darkness of the legendary well, the warnings of numerous adventurers resound in your mind: “Don’t go down the Well.” A group of bats surprises you and flies past you, into the sky above. A small cave appears to be opening below you at the end of the well. The entirety of the cave floor is covered in greenish-black water of unknown depth. Small objects float in the water. About three feet up from the water on either side of the cave are two small openings. There do not appear to be any other exits from this room— aside from the way you came in. The walls appear to have been clawed by some enormous monster, trying to climb out.
The well is 10 ft. in diameter and descends 90 ft. into a small cavern with two small, tunnel-like exits each about 3 ft. up the wall.
Without leaving 10-foot circle of the well, Adelie looks around the small cavern and down the tunnels to see if anything is obviously noteworthy. Whether he sees anything or not, he flies back up and reports as soon as he's looked around.
Anzath reports in, "Ghoulz have been out and about. Perhapz ve kan follow trackz down below, yez?"
Bedlam begins taking out his climbers kit. The dwarf then rigs up a line going down the well. He then points to everyone with a grin.
Let's be jumping down the well!
The smiling and laughing dwarf then does just that; he jumps into the well!
Anzath notes that all the tracks tend to cluster around the main door. The dirt chute mentioned by the ghouls must not be in frequent use.
Adelie can see nothing down the side tunnels, despite a careful look.
Bedlam feather floats down into the mucky pool that Adelie had described moments before.
Gelver whimpers. Ippolit's jaw hangs open in shock. Nico gleefully plunges down after Uncle Beddy. The hobgoblin baby yawns and starts to cry.
That's the NPCs covered--what do the rest of you do?
Adelie attempts to catch Nico and bring her back up to the surface.
Whether or not he is successful, once he’s back up, he writes a short message on a piece of paper, describing the location of the invaders’ fort and the hobgoblin camp. If he can estimate the number of foes at each location, he includes that. He writes that he and his allies intend to enter again into Rappan Athuk, and then casts animal messenger on an appropriate small bird (if he can see one) with the goal of sending it to the wolf druids’ lair.
He calls into the well, ”Do you see anything down there? Just to be clear, Mone and I are definitely not jumping in.”
Nico is still learning to fly--she can descend well, but she can't seem to figure out how to flutter up the well shaft. She settles onto Bedlam's shoulders, and she's fortunate to have him, because he's up to his knees in water and mud.
Aurora blinks in befuddlement as Bedlam jumps in — and cries out in shock as Nico follows. "Nico! Nicothoe come back here!"
Nico cackles from the depths of the well, her voice echoing up to Aurora and Adelie: "I can't! It's too hard! Hahahahaha let's be 'splorin'!"
Edit: If Adelie wants to physically haul up Nico, you'll have to do some STR+Fly checks, and she might resist.
Edit: If Adelie wants to physically haul up Nico, you'll have to do some STR+Fly checks, and she might resist.
When Bedlam leaps in, Tragershen resists the urge. Harness the madness. he tells himself.
Instead, he moves over the the dwarf statue and retrieves the key. If he hears a bellow from the well that doesn't sound like the dwarf, he'll sprint to the door to get inside.
Laughing and splashing, our dirty dwarf peers down each tunnel.
come on down; da water be fine!
Bedlam can't see anything down the tunnels. He'll have to crawl to continue. Nico cackles with glee. "Wet is fine! Hahahaha! Splorin!"
She grins.
Aurora grips the edge of the well as she continues to call after the wayward harpy chick. "Nico! Nico come back!"
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Anzath waits to see what eats Bedlam.
Bedlam takes an Invisibility Extract out. The dwarf then takes Nico, placing her gently (no one is watching) into his pack.
You be staying in dere safe. We be s'ploring!
The dwarf then tugs on the dangling rope.
We be go'n ta s'plore a bit.
He takers the Extract before crawling into one of the tunnels.
Bedlam hauls himself into the hole and starts shimmying forwards. Nico chirps when the tunnel roof squeezes her inside his pack, but she doesn't sound too upset.
And that's when Bedlam sees...
Bedlam merrily takes out a sandwich and shares it with Nico....
Adelie is most definitely watching, and yells, ”You ridiculous idiot! You absolute buffoon! Take Nico out of your pack right now! I would be thrilled if you got yourself shredded down there, but you’re taking Nico to her death. How do you manage to be so incredibly stupid and selfish? Send her back up, right now, before you scurry off to die. She deserves a chance to learn how to be a functioning person. You had yours, and failed miserably, but it’s not too late for her.”
"Bedlam, you risk both yourself and Nico without good reason. Return!"
Out of the woods! On phone, but will post in depth later. Buckhorn wilderness is amazing! Spent three nights listening to the Dungeness river rushing by 30 ft away. Hiked to the Royal Basin where the wind howling over the mountains actually... Howled over the mountains! Never heard that out of a movie. Royal lake has seen so few humans this season that the trout are no longer afraid and we counted 8 at once swimming in the clear green water. We're gradually leveling up our backpacking skills: hatchetcraft, firebuilding, camp cooking, and good ol hiking stamina in particular.
Bedlam, you just got yelled at pretty hard in game and Detroit got dissed simultaneously... What a rough weekend! Hope you're doing ok and you'll see the next chamber of the cave shortly. You definitely hear Adi's chewing-out echoing down the well, as does everything else down there, but how you respond is up to you.
Also, I'm unemployed! Weird!
Off to wait for the ferry across Puget Sound.
Bedlam doesn't seem to hear anything other than encouragement...glad you had fun!
We have been Laid Off for 12 weeks now...
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As Bedlam hauls himself out of the circle of The Well and into the tiny tunnel leading out, he gets the awful feeling that something isn't right about this place:
He is Shaken by the feeling.
In his pack, Nico feels it too:
She whimpers and asks Bedlam, "Can we go back, Beddy?"
Bedlam pokes his head into a cave with many stalactites and stalagmites.
Does he turn back, or does he continue?
Being ever the wise dwarf, Bedlam returns to the well. There the dwarf applies Blasting Jelly to both openings before climbing back up.
Dere be a funny not so funny feel'n down in dem tunnels!
The dwarf then feeds brave Nico a sandwich.
And so the party reunites above The Well, and Bedlam has a tale to tell back at the Boar's Board--down the well and back! If he makes it back.
What next?
Adelie, overwhelmed with relief, scoops up Nico and begins straightening and smoothing down her feathers.
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Nico coos musically. Adelie feels the harpy music working around the edges of his genuine happiness to see the little creature. Nico flashes a fanged smile in his direction. Adelie, as part of a large family that includes many wolves, probably doesn't even notice how disturbing that could be.
"Perhaps the rat tunnel excavation will prove safer than that mausoleum deathtrap.", notes Talathel with a wry note.
Adelie looks at Talathel in confusion.
”I don’t think so. The tunnels are very narrow, and they’ll be difficult for you to navigate. The only advantage I can see to using them is that we’ll enter Rappan Athuk farther in and perhaps avoid that disgusting toilet-monster. Is there any particular reason you don’t want to use the door here? It’s a perfectly good door. We just need to not mess around with it so we don’t squish ourselves.”
To confirm that everything is still working, Adelie retrieves the key from the dwarf statue and opens the mausoleum.
Anzath too votes for the mausoleum.
Anzath's closer inspection of the footprints reveals that parties of ghouls and humanoids seem to leave the dungeon occasionally, then returning. What their errands were, you know not, save that one group of tracks seem to cluster around a single freshly dug grave.
Her poking around disturbs nothing and nobody.
--
Adelie opens the mausoleum. The tomb appears exactly as it did last time you saw it, except that the broken weapons and tools are a little more broken. The sarcophagus rests in the center of the room, unopened and silent. Presumably, the secret door remains as well, but you'll have to go 'find' it again.
--
The sun is beginning to set in the West.
The dwarf looks at the setting Sun.
We be need'n ta sleep befores 'sploring? Speak now er we be going in!
The dwarf will examine the chamber for the secret door.
Bedlam confirms the presence of the door. It looks like it will work.
Anzath notes the new grave as peculiar, but saves it for later. The dungeon awaits.
Aurora shoots an absolutely venomous look at Bedlam before she joins Adelie in fussing over Nico when the harpy is returned to them. "As long as we can reach you we won't let you get hurt, darling, so don't go where we can't follow."
-----
As the others poke around the graves and the mausoleum, Aurora stands ready with her mace in hand should any trouble arise; favoring a position near Tragershen.
Nico chuckles and says, "I was with Beddy, Rora! Not hurt, just a lil scared. Scary place."