|
Krennel's bomb explodes in a more spectacular fashion than normal, although this doesn't seem to affect the damage (didn't confirm), however the frail giant flea still dies to the incendiary cloud that comes with the bomb.
Mavenee easily bites into one of the fleas and kills it. Hopefully she doesn't pickup any normal sized fleas.
Finally, as the last flea goes to charge in, oblivious to the chances of victory, Lemmy's arrow takes it out mid-leap.
Combat Over! (Giant fleas aren't too tough ;P)
|
|
After witnessing the defeat of the fleas with relative ease, Janira makes sure no one needs healing, after that she says, "Now where were we...Oh right, the caves! We should get moving if we want to make it before nightfall."
As you continue to travel through the wilderness, you find trails blocked by fallen objects, shortcuts overgrown, and other minor delays that slow you down more than anticipated. Thankfully, Mahalak and Jinath frequently point out ways around these obstacles without even trying that hard that save the party precious time, allowing them to reach the cliff face with the cave entrance at dusk.
The party can see see the rays of sunlight from the golden disc in the sky, but they can also quite clearly see the full moon lingering overhead.
Lighting conditions are still just barely normal daylight, but the sun is setting soon.
|
|
The dense forest opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching 30 feet overhead.
"Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines", Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face.
She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. "This is where I saw the gillmen enter."
As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth.
The halfling worriedly remarks, "Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!" As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees.
Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots the group.
Janira screams, "A minotaur! There’s little chance we can stand against it. Take this bag", she continues, pulling off her backpack, "and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!" She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.
"I will stand with you Janira!" Zadim says and takes out his kukri.
"This is to much to bear - to leave an innocent unprotected. But I have to trust in the Society to have selected leaders that can judge the situation! Oh dear Dawnflower forgive me ..." Zadim says and runs after Krennel.
|
|
As everyone heads into the cave system without Janira, you hear her shout in Giant to the minotaur. For those of you that speak Giant, you clearly understand these are insults that don't translate well to common. For those of you that don't speak Giant, you can still these are insults thanks to her tone and the fact that she blows raspberries at the minotaur before luring it away into the forest.
Everyone has a flashback to what Janira said the day they started their mission, "Let's see... a potion of barkskin, two potions of cure light wounds, a potion of feather step, a potion of vanish, a scroll of entangle, a scroll of gust of wind, a scroll of identify, a sandwich...make that three.., a scroll of mage armor, a scroll of obscuring mist, a wand of burning hands with a couple uses left, a wand of cure light wounds with a handful of charges, some trail rations, an acid, two alchemist’s fires, one holy water, a smokestick, two tanglefoot bags, one thunderstone, an antitoxin, two sunrods, and about thirty bolts." she finally looks up after going through her backpack and blushes a little, "Always be prepared you know..." she says with a smile.
These are exactly the items you find in her bag, minus the food, crossbow, bolts, and whip (the food, she ate, the weapons, she's carrying).
Once the group finishes rummaging through her bag, they look around to get their bearings. This cave system stretches deep below the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, though most of it is accessible only through a narrow keyhole tunnel, the one that Janira discovered and led you to. All of the tunnels in this area are between 3 and 10 feet wide and vary equally in height, though most are a comfortable 7 or more feet wide in each dimension. Water from stalactites and the distant rushing of underground streams creates an eerie backdrop as you explore the caves. The caves’ walls are patterned with blue-green luminescent fungi that provide dim light.
Petroglyphs—most depicting marine animals or spiral shapes—periodically decorate the tunnels’ walls, becoming increasingly frequent you go deeper into the caves. The rough surface of the carvings provides a natural platform for the fungi, causing it to grow thicker and making the carvings glow slightly brighter than their surroundings.
1 potion of barkskin
2 potions of cure light wounds
1 potion of feather step
1 potion of vanish
1 scroll of entangle
1 scroll of gust of wind
1 scroll of identify
1 scroll of mage armor CL6
1 scroll of obscuring mist
1 wand of burning hands CL 3, 4 charges
1 wand of cure light wounds CL 3, 6 charges
1 vial of acid
2 alchemist’s fires
1 holy water
1 smokestick,
2 tanglefoot bags
1 thunderstone
1 antitoxin
2 sunrods
|
|
As you continue into the caves, you are greeted with a narrow tunnel that twists and turns for several hundred feet before slowly opening to a
wider passage. A large hole about 10ft across and 20ft deep spans the cave’s width and stretches down the path.
Upon inspecting this hole, the party realizes that it is an already exposed and flooded pit trap. The water in the pit rises nearly halfway up, about 10 feet, and upon further inspection you can see a bundle of cloth at the bottom. If you wish to continue going deeper in the caves, you will have to figure out how to get across the pit, whether by swimming and climbing, jumping, or some other solution.
"Hmmm, let me climb down and up with a rope." he says and climbs down.
Zadim will take out the cloth and then climb up again.
|
|
Having successfully navigated the pit, the party continues onward, with the more magically adept of the group possibly checking the bundle of cloth along the way.
This is a cloak of resistance +1.
The tunnels continue on, leading deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls. Even the most basic magical skills easily tell you that these are everburning torches.
The carvings here are different in style from the petroglyphs found elsewhere in the caves, and they appear to be extremely old. Scattered throughout the cave are phrases referencing Aroden, and images that depict these passages.
The carvings focus on parables that feature Aroden’s 12 guises, meant to illustrate his hopes for humanity, however many of the carvings are damaged beyond recognition and only four remain visible. These four are the craftsman, fisherman, merchant, and shepherd.
The Craftsman is depicted creating shoes, pots, jewelry, and other moveable goods, referencing Aroden’s delight at seeing his people express their ingenuity in creating new products from raw materials.
The Fisherman is depicted hauling in an enormous catch of small fsh to take back to Absalom, illustrating Aroden’s declaration that a great host of creatures could accomplish a great task, whether that be taming the wilds or feeding a nation.
The Merchant is depicted weighing and trading coins of different sizes, a reference to the holy text’s proverb that peace brings trade and prosperity to all people.
The Shepherd is depicted herding animals out of a crowded city to the pastures beyond, just as Aroden blessed leaders with the foresight to direct people to the tasks and places that best suit them.
The carvings focus on parables that feature Aroden’s 12 guises, meant to illustrate his hopes for humanity, however many of the carvings are damaged beyond recognition and only four remain visible. These four are the craftsman, fisherman, merchant, and shepherd.
The Craftsman is depicted creating shoes, pots, jewelry, and other moveable goods, referencing Aroden’s delight at seeing his people express their ingenuity in creating new products from raw materials.
The Fisherman is depicted hauling in an enormous catch of small fsh to take back to Absalom, illustrating Aroden’s declaration that a great host of creatures could accomplish a great task, whether that be taming the wilds or feeding a nation.
The Merchant is depicted weighing and trading coins of different sizes, a reference to the holy text’s proverb that peace brings trade and prosperity to all people.
The Shepherd is depicted herding animals out of a crowded city to the pastures beyond, just as Aroden blessed leaders with the foresight to direct people to the tasks and places that best suit them.
Even though Aroden disappeared or died over a century ago, these caves store a hint of his divine magic, akin to a wand with a single charge left.
Through the wide tunnel you can see the soft light of the surrounding fungus mixing with the flickering glow of the nearby torches that reveal a grand chamber.
A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west.
Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semi-precious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
Kneeling in the pool of water, back toward you, you see what appears to match the description of a Gillmen
|
|
Crawling along the board to make it across, Zone-tan follows the group further into the darkness. Whistling a tune to herself, the woman attempts to use detect magic on whatever is pointed out to her, but seems to not notice much.
Edging cloder and closer, she latches on to Zadim's free arm. "You'll keep me safe from whatever monsters lurk in here, right?" She flutters her eyes at the man as they make their way towards the central pool. Noticing the lone creature in the water, the woman calls out towards whatever it was. "Hello! Might I ask as to who you are?"
|
Laa' recognizes the depictions as Krennel describes them. Once he finishes speaking, she says, "Well spoken, Krennel."
The gillman in the distance catches her attention. She desires to slip into the water for a swim, but knows enough to be cautious. She murmurs softly, "Are there any traps around here?"
|
Holding the bundle of cloth, Mahalak senses a surge of magic emanating from it. "This is no ordinary cloth. This is made to protect its wearer from danger."
Mahalak then tries to take down notes as his half-orc comrade explains in detail the carvings on the wall.
He listens to Zone talk to the gillman and waits for a response from him.
"I am not a good talker. But I will try ... You. Creature! Do you understand us?!"
|
|
Forcing a lilting laugh, Laa' calls out, "Wait, Zadim, I just wanted someone to walk ahead, then allow me to speak to the person. I apologize for not being clearer." Oh, never mind. I just hope this area isn't trapped, or I may meet my doom before I even start. Laa' hurries forward to speak to the gillman.
|
|
The Gillmen looks up for a moment, then turns around. Upon seeing Krennel, as well as the rest of the party, he looks quite startled.
"Who are you and why are you here?" he says a little nervously due to the surprise of seeing so many new people behind him in an infrequently traveled cave.
You can tell that the Gillmen is eyeing the cloak of resistance with obvious interest.
The cloak of resistance you found looks extremely similar to the cloak that this Gillmen is wearing. Same color and same style as though they were made in pairs.
|
|
Mahalak calms Mavenee down before interacting with the gillman. He notices that he is eyeing the cloth with great interest. "I am Mahalak," he points to himself and then to the rest of the party, "and these are my friends. We are here to investigate these caves." He then shows the cloak to the gillman. "We found this in a pit over there," he points towards the area where they came from. "Does this belong to your people?"
|
|
The Gillmen looks intensely at Mahalak while he waits for him to finish speaking. Once Mahalak finishes, there is a small pause as the Gillmen thinks to himself for a moment.
"Ah, well met then, I am Uori. I do not frequently see non-gillmen visit these caves. To see so many people, armed at that too, was quite startling.
In regards to your investigation, I can tell you that these caves are a sacred site to us Gillmen, we come here on a pilgrimage, once every full moon. This wasn't always the case, I know of the human god, Aroden, and that this was some site of importance to his followers before it was sacred to us. They performed quite a number of strange rituals here, or so the stories of my people go. Sadly, it seems that his presence in the world is fading, as his magic in these caverns. While this makes no difference to us Gillmen, it is sad to see the passage of time, especially the loss of a race's deity, which is quite a rare occurrence.
To answer your question about the cloak, it actually belonged to my best friend, Uilo. We didn't expect a pit trap to welcome us on our pilgrimage to these caverns, sadley Uilo didn't didn't notice the pit in time and fell in a bad way, it seems time has flooded it now, alas, it wasn't flooded when we first came, if it had been, I bet Uilo would still be alive. I would greatly appreciate it if you could return it to me so that I may place it with Uilo's grave back home."
Finished speaking, he looks at the party intensely again, as though he expects them to vanish in an instant.
He is clearly reading the lips of the people speaking. Odd considering you can hear him quite easily and you believe he should be able to hear you fine as well.
"Are you reading our lips? I do not know you. Why should I give you something that cost me some trouble to retrieve?"
|
|
Rubbing Zadim's arm, Zone smiles as she makes her way towards the Gillman.
"Considering that it was his friend's, I think he might want it for memory's sake. Perhaps Uori may be willing to trade? Maybe information of what is further in?"
Turning towards the Gillman, and bowing slightly, hair falling in her face, which she pushes back into place.
"Maybe we could have some sort or trade? I see that you would like your friend's cloak back, but could we know as to why you are here, and what may lie further in these caverns? Our, ahem, esteemed instructor seems to have run off with a mino.... mino.... Cowman, and told us to gather some information as to why your kind come here every full moon."
|
|
"Yes, I am deaf. The gods saw fit to give me power over the ocean and waves, but took my sense of hearing with it. It serves as a constant reminder that power always comes with a cost and that to use it unwisely could cost me a great deal more than my hearing." he responds to Zadim.
He looks to Laafdahni, "In exchange for the cloak, I could give you this wand of Shield of Faith, it has a handful of charges left, but it holds no sentimental value to me compared to the cloak. Since you are here investigating for information, I could instead help you make sense of the murals here, my people have told stories about the rituals performed here and I could tell you the stories I know."
1 potion of barkskin
2 potions of cure light wounds
1 potion of feather step
1 potion of vanish
1 scroll of entangle
1 scroll of gust of wind
1 scroll of identify
1 scroll of mage armor CL6
1 scroll of obscuring mist
1 wand of burning hands CL 3, 4 charges
1 wand of cure light wounds CL 3, 6 charges
1 vial of acid
2 alchemist’s fires
1 holy water
1 smokestick,
2 tanglefoot bags
1 thunderstone
1 antitoxin
2 sunrods
“That is enough in exchange. Here, take the cloak and tell us about all that is occurring in these caves!“ Zadim says with a cold voice.
|
|
"I will give you a word of warning, be careful exploring the cavern to the east, it is filled with undead, some being lost gillmen, however there is secret passage there that leads out of the caves that we seldom use any longer. If you go to the west, I cannot guess what creatures may be there, as we do not travel or explore that side of the cave." he then waits patiently for the party to decide if they need anything else of him. If not, he returns to facing the model city and kneeling in the water.
1 potion of barkskin
2 potions of cure light wounds
1 potion of feather step
1 potion of vanish
1 scroll of entangle
1 scroll of gust of wind
1 scroll of identify
1 scroll of mage armor CL6
1 scroll of obscuring mist
1 wand of burning hands CL 3, 4 charges
1 wand of cure light wounds CL 3, 6 charges
1 vial of acid
2 alchemist’s fires
1 holy water
1 smokestick,
2 tanglefoot bags
1 thunderstone
1 antitoxin
2 sunrods
Wand of Shield of Faith CL 6th, 10 Charges