When Rurik speaks to Baern, a sad look seems to enter into the dwarf's eyes and his shield arm lowers down for just a moment. The dwarven left his lips softly, his voice barely a whisper now. "Мы были здесь для друга."
Looking back at the others, Baern would give a nod to agree with his cousin. "Hoddy, keep that crossbow leveled. If you see anything green come out of there, kill it."
"I have my Cantrips, but I am out of more powerful magic."
With Shianni's admission that their more powerful magic was tapped out, Baern would sigh before giving a nod. "To fight more would be foolish. Lead us out, Rurik and I will cover our retreat." Baern would carefully manuever over the barricade, surrendering the secure position in order to ensure that they would be able to come back and fight at full strength.
"Before we leave, why don't we destroy the barricade? It's only going to have more Orcs behind it, so why bother giving them a place to fight from?"
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Garret (and Hess, I assume) complies and begins stripping the orcs of anything of value as the group withdraws from the cavern. The treasure total comes to 63 sp. The withdrawal goes smoothly and the party is relieved to come back into daylight, having destroyed the barricade that the orcs were using for cover.
Hoddy keeps his crossbow trained on the empty tunnel as the others file out back into the sunlight.
"Should we return to the keep for the time, or try to rest here and go back in?
"I am ready to fight, but we need everyone if we want to clear this place"
He looks to his cousin,
"I did not know the friend, what would he want? I am wary to continue without the full capabilities of the casters"
"Let us leave and regroup at the keep then. We'll come back later, we'll find his body and give him a proper burial then." The reluctance is evident in Baern's voice but his cousin's question held merit. Would Teasag wish for them to die within these dark caves for a man that was already dead? No, he believed the monk would want them to survive and continue fighting another day.
The party slowly retreated back to the exit and escaped from the cave, stepping over the bodies of dead orcs. While they had lost a new friend, the orcs had suffered quite a bit of losses on their own part. Baern would lead them to the patch of trees that they had stowed the mule and cart in.
"Let us return to the keep and split what we have amongst ourselves. It didn't seem like much but it'd pay for a night, at least."
Baern will make his way through the gates, looking a little worse for wear. While there was merriment to be had in having his cousin arrive in time to help them, a dark cloud hung over his head at the fact that he had lost a friend that day. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he looks back to the others.
"Tomorrow when the sun rises, I want to return back to those damn caves. We'll kill the last of those orcs, find Teasag's body, and collect what loot we can." Baern murmured, looking at his fellows. They had been tried and tested and the faintest line of a smile spread across his face. [b]"You all did well today. Don't blame yourselves, you did the best you could. We'll get our friend back and after that, we'll hunt down the captives in the caves. Drink and rest as best you can, we all deserve it.
Baern moves off to the tavern, eager to drown his misery in cheap ale before falling asleep into a stupor. Rurik would've recognized that his cousin, despite his words, was still feeling quite guilty for the loss of his comrade. Properly pickled, Baern would stumble his way to a bed and fall asleep into a blessed empty sleep.
Baern would look up at the man and lift up his glass, with a solemn nod, Baern would speak. "To absent friends..." It would not be the last drink that Baern had, drinking until he forgot how Teasag joined the many other comrades and friends he had seen die in the field of battle.
Shianni also was drinking, although without the...voracity of Baern. The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur, and in the morning she awoke in someone else's room, Donning her clothes quietly, she slipped out before she woke, and made her way downstairs to eat something and get the taste of the horse trough out of her mouth.
Between drinking with Baern, telling stories of "The old days", eating and a room Rurik wakes in the morning with only a few coppers left. He gathers his gear and quietly exits the common room am heads over for a morning Ale and hunk of Bread.
Hoddy drinks initially with the others, then goes off on his own. He spends some time cleaning and fixing his gear to be ready for the morrow, as well as spending some time in the keep's chapel praying for Teasag. He drops all that he has gathered so far from the caves in the donation box before leaving and heading to bed.
When Baern awakens the next day, his head is pounding but the pain is a good reminder to fight better today. Today, there would be no reason for sorrowful drinks. Today, they would celebrate a well-earned victory and share a proper drink in memory of Teasag. He kneels at the side of his bed, whispering softly in Dwarven to his god.
"Могучий Всечеловек, пожалуйста, благословите наши путешествия сегодня. Сделайте нашу броню непроницаемой, как Мифриловый зал, сделайте наше оружие таким же острым, как зуб дракона. Даруй нам победу и приведи нас домой." The soft words leave his lips and as they do, the chainmail begins to shimmer. The simple metal curves and twists, almost as if it is alive, and the imperfections within it twist themselves away. When Baern opens his eyes, he smiles to see the fiery anvil of Moradin now proudly displayed upon the chest of his armor. "Today will be a good day."
Rising up from his bed, Baern would leave the common room and be awaiting all the others by the cart. Eager to begin his adventure anew, he'd give a firm smile to each one. "Let us go, the orcs won't kill themselves after all..."
Hess does not drink with the rest of the group, instead walking the keep at night, considering his motivations, and loyalty to this group. For some reason he was OK with losing an adventuring companion. He wasn't happy about it... just ambivalent. Was something wrong with him? The others were beside themselves with sadness and desire for revenge, but he found that he was more interested in finding anything to help him advance in life.
Still they had a common goal for now. He then found a quiet spot to practice the forms with his spear until he was exhausted enough to go to sleep. He climbed under the wagon to sleep, and woke early the next morning, ready to go back.
He is awakened from a fitful sleep by Baern's booming voice. "Top of the morning dwarf". He grumbles before heading to the watering trough, and ducking his entire head underneath to wake himself.
Rain fell from the sky and Baern would look skywards for a bit, letting the rain catch in his beard. Closing his eyes, he tried to place his faith once more in Moradin. When Hess finally joined them again, he gave the man a small nod and hoisted his backpack once more. "Again, into the breach." He would murmur, leading the caravan out out of the keep and back to the caves.
Shianni seemed rather unfazed by the rain. She also had the annoying Elven habit of not getting wet, as if the raindrops fell around her, rather than on her.
Hoddy takes a look around the cave entrance to see if anything has been going in or out...other than themselves.
Survival:
ADV. Survival:
Rurik grumbles to himself about the rain, and palms his Tinderbox to light a couple of torches as soon as they are in out of the rain.
Back at these damnable caves, Baern's face grows more grim and serious. It is quite an impressive feat, considering how grim and serious most Dwarves looked when they weren't drinking.
Nodding at his cousin as the torches are lit, he looks back at the others and gives a small smile to them all. "Today, we cut the bastards down, get back our friend, and eliminate the orcs. If all goes well, we'll take whatever pillaged goods they have and bring them home with us."
"Rurik and I will take the front. Hess and Shianni, you both take the middle. Hoddy, you watch our rear and make sure nothing comes up and spooks us, right?" He waited for any disagreements to the plan, hoisting his shield onto his arm and making his way carefully back into that dark, unwelcoming entrance to the orc's lair.
Stepping into the cave mouth Rurik holds a pair of torches in his hand and lights them with the Tinderbox. "Lets take the darkness from them!"
"Sounds good to me. Should we continue to the left, or try the right side this time"?
Hoddy moves quietly at the rear of the party, his darksight searching the path behind them for any movement.
Perception:
"Let us clear the entrance straight ahead and make sure no one is flanking our sides. Then we'll proceed west. Move carefully and as quietly as you can." It was a lot to ask for when it came to Rurik and himself but acting cautiously was the best plan that they had.
"Seems pretty reasonable to me, but if we're travelling in that manner, I would suggest a bit of space between us, so that any area offensive magic would likely miss one end or the other."
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The party proceeds first to the right, finding only an empty guardroom. From there they head north, finding that the corridor Ts, going right and left. To the right, there is another small chamber, deserted. To the left, the corridor wraps back around into the dining area. There is no sign of any orcs, nor any other foes. Just before the guard room is a small alcove covered with a black cloth where a guard could stand and appear to be one of the heads at the entranceway.
Baern would look around carefully for a moment, grimacing ever so slightly before he looked back at the others.
"It doesn't look like there is anything else here but...my eyes aren't as good as some. Check the guard room, see if there is any secret passages." He didn't doubt the cunning of orcs to use such devious methods, though he doubted their skill would ever match the beautiful craftmanship of the dwarves.
"Rurik, stay with me. We're going to take point going deeper in." Like before, Baern will maintain a fifteen foot lead ahead of the second rank, entering into the common room with trepidation.
Head darting about looking for anything out of place... or just scary, Hess follows Baern as he progresses.
Perception
Hoddy keeps back from the group and watches behind them to ensure nothing is sneaking up on them.
As the group walks, Shianni can feel something inside her wanting to get out. Maybe it's the heightened danger, maybe it's the fact they've returned to a place where she nearly died.
Subconsciously, she begins quietly scratching her arm.
Rurik moves to cover his cousin, His boots grinding on the floor.
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When nothing is found in the way of secret passages, Rurik and Baern move into the dining area. In stark contrast to the previous state of affairs, the fireplace has died to a dim glow or ash and embers and nothing moves in the darkness. If further orcs remain in the sleeping area to the west, they do not any sounds.
Baern watched the area carefully, eyes observing the shadows. They could be coming at any moment and Baern would be ready for it. With cautious steps, he head deeper into the cave looking for their foes. He moves quickly to the other passageway, looking down it and trying to catch sight of the orcs that are still within the cave.
The young dwarf follows his cousin, eyes darting.
"There hiding will do them no good"