A hard pace is set and the horses soon eat up the distance. The road is rocky, but well-kept and after a few hours of galloping you end up on a ridge overlooking the valley below. In the distance you can see the town you've left behind, but no pursuit seems to be following you.
The woods around you are pine and spruce, and the sky is turning cloudy and grey overhead. You can smell a cold chill to the air and you suspect snow might be falling by nightfall. Clearly you're going to need shelter.
Allain stands in the stirrups and his horse and looks around, intently at the woods. "I think I know of a place where we can shelter. However, there are some rules. The owners of this place are easily spooked. No weapons drawn, no speaking to them unless they speak to you first. If we abide by those rules, they should grant us shelter while the storm passes."
Assuming you agree, he dismounts and leads his horse off the path, keeping watch for signs that you cannot seem to see. Finally after an hour of navigating tricky rocky paths and suddenly appearing and disappearing trails that look as if made by goats, he stops by a large boulder on the side of the mountain. He touches it, whispering a low phrase over and over in Elvish. As he does, the stone seems to glow with old runes. Dwarvish runes. After a moment the runes seem to flow through the stone and break apart to form a door large enough to walk the horses into. Allain pushes on the stone and it swings open with out a sound. "Let's go." he says and walks into the darkness.
Fleur dismounts and follows Allain, he seems to know what he's doing and where we're going. She stays silent even though we haven't yet encountered the residents of this place, almost as if it were a holy place.
Xochtli ponders quietly as she does the same.
The cave is dark and dry, and the passage narrows in places to an uncomfortable degree. Still, as you move ahead you see the passage begin to open up, until you arrive in a large cave. A small stream flows from one wall and runs through a shallow bed to the other, disappearing into a hole in the stone floor. Another exit lies across the cave, but Allain drops the reins of his horse here and bids you make yourselves comfortable. He walks away toward the far wall, where some sort of luminous fungus gives off enough light to see. He begins to speak in a low tone to what appears to be stone, until it responds in kind and in the dim light you can make out a hunched humanoid figure. Allain and the figure speak for a few moments, then the figure shuffles into the dark exit and is soon out of sight. Allain steps back. "We have safe passage for the duration of the storm. The rock folk will watch over us."
Bowing towards the hunched figure, Israfel says I thank you for your hospitality. Hopefully I will be graced with the opportunity to return it someday.
Xochtli suddenly elbows Israfel murmuring to her softly, "He said we weren't to speak to them!"
"Alright... interesting. Not at all what I was expecting." She begins removing packs and tack from her horse, rubbing the tired beast down as best she can. "How will we know when the storm is over?"
Kers is uneasy, but he follows the rules. In fact getting a word out of him at all right now seems difficult.
Reprimanded by Xochtli, Israfel finds a sudden interest in silently tending to the horses.
Allain nods at Fleur. "The stone folk will return and let us know. Do not worry, they are reliable and eager to see us on our way. We are occupying their gathering place."
At least the weather will hide our tracks. Kers offers absently to no one in particular.[/b]
Allain sets about building a fire in the small cavern's center, in a depression in the ground clearly built for that purpose. Far away you can hear a howling wind whistle through the cracks in the stone.
"They were not always as you see them, you know. The stone people. Once they were known by a different name: dwarf."
"Once, you mean before the darkness? What else do you know about those times? Can you tell us a tale while we rest here, warm ourselves and have something to eat?"
Yuck. Moving is the worst!
Hope all is well for everyone this weekend - hope your move goes well, Israfel. I've always hated moving! Good Travels to you OMB. See all of you on Tuesday!
Allain settles down next to the fire, sitting cross-legged and watching the fire flicker.
"I will tell you of the dwarves, then, and how they fell into despair against the Shadow."
Having finished his story, his eyes filled with tears, Allain looks up at the room around them. "We sit among them here, and know them not, for this is one of the chambers of Hillguard. Once a living city, now a tomb for those condemned to die."
"Allain, that is a sad tale indeed. Is there no other cure? What if the shadow were defeated, would they be freed from their stasis prisons then or is it a hopeless cause? My heart aches for them and I would like to do something to help if I could."
Fleur speaks with tears in her eyes and a choke to her voice as she looks around the chamber, now a tomb where there was once a vibrant city.
"We have lost so very much because of the shadow. We... well I... well, we've been going through the motions of chasing from one task to the next with no single goal in mind... yet. I would pledge my life to seeing an end to the shadow and the horror that he has wrought. Perhaps if the Shadow were to be defeated somehow, the gods would return and restore what has been lost."
Xochtli will listen to the tale with a bit of restlessness. Pacing around the area of the cave, she really doesn't care to be in such a closed in space. "We are already doing what we can about it Fleur, by going where we are."
"I know... but if the tale is true and the only cure is the blood of a creature that is dead, I wonder if anything we do can even help. I hope it can."
"The dwarves still search for the answer, but despair has taken many of them. Now they exist as you see them, more stone than flesh. Still, while there is life, there is hope." Allain pokes the fire, causing it to flare into sparks.
Fleur watches the fire and sighs softly. I guess hope is all they have now, but it seems to be dwindling in this world of shadow. I do hope that what we do might play a small part in bringing back a world without such darkness.
"In my home, we still sing the old songs. The Shadow does not fall everywhere, no matter what it may believe. As long as brave men and women resist, it will never win." Allain says this softly, hearing your sigh. "We should get some sleep. The dwarves will protect us, we need not set watch."
From where she has been sitting by the cave mouth Israfel proclaims, I do not know if there is an answer to the dwarves dilema, but if there is we will certainly keep an eye open.
You are right Allain, a nights rest is well and truly needed. Tomorrow our journey through the wilds begins in earnest and we may not have this luxury again for some time.
A day and a night passes before the shambling stone men return to the room. They wait just out of range of the campfire's light, and Allain hurries over to them. He has a brief conversation in a deep, grating language that sounds like hammers on metal. At the end he bows deeply to them and returns.
"The storm is abating. It is still snowing, but the worst is past. And Greybeard believes he has a tunnel that will take us farther north and exit in a safe location. Let's go." He saddles the horses and repacks his supplies as you do the same.
You are lead to a tunnel that is 20 feet wide, but terribly tall. Your footsteps echo through the stones as you are lead down several twisting turns and confusing tunnels that seem to appear from the stone without warning. Suddenly the shuffling figure turns and you get a decent look at his face. He is short and stout, his hair and long beard crusted with stone and dust. His eyes are hard, like gems and they glow softly in the torchlight. He murmurs something and it takes a moment for you to recognize it as Common.
"Keep yer eyes open, humans. These tunnels be ill-used and ill-defended. All manner of terrible things lurk in the dark and we have been lax in our defenses. It may be dangerous." With this, he turns and shuffles onward, his footsteps the sound of rock upon rock.
While Fleur and Xochtli scan the darkness, Israfel's keen eyes cut through it, to reveal a great hall stretching into the distance. She feels a sense of death, of loss here, and she can see vague stony statues, frozen as if in mid-life. This place must be one of the halls where the dwarf women were captured by the Night King.
As you step in the echoing stone chambers, you are lead down abruptly turning passages that twist and soon have you thoroughly turned around. A few times you believe you're walking through areas you've already been through, but you can't be sure.
Suddenly, Fleur lets out a choked cry as something grabs her around the neck, dealing damage and wrapping so tightly that she is unable to make any sounds! In the torchlight the party can now see a small hulking figure with long tentacle-like arms perched about 10 feet above the ground on a slight alcove. In the distance, smaller figures like the one holding Fleur swing into view.
Allain
Opponents
Dwarf
27 Opponents
21 Israfel
15 Xochtli
9 Fleur
8 Allain
5 Dwarf
Round 1:
The thing choking Fleur attempts to get another claw around her neck! Attack: , but fails to connect with the second claw. The first claw constricts around her for damage.
From the shadows 3 more slightly smaller things have swung into range. They appear to be about the size of halflings, but with glowing red eyes and long tentacle-like arms. Thing 1 attacks Israfel: and One claw hits for damage and attempts to latch on to her throat: . Israfel is now grappled!
Thing 2 attacks Xochtli! and . Only one claw hits for damage and attempts to choke her: . Xochtli is grappled!
Thing 3 attacks Allain: and . One claw hits for and attempts to choke Allain: . Allain is grappled as well!
Fleur attempts to wriggle out of the thing's grasp.
If she succeeds, she moves as far from the creature as she can while drawing a dart from her belt.
Xotchli will take her agile dagger and attack the creature that is grappling her. (I have no ranks in escape artist)
Surprised by the savagery of the creatures assault, Israfel draws her dagger, attempting to stab the foul beast.
HP: 16/22
AC: 14/10/14
Effects: arcane strike, -4 dex from grappled condition.
Israfel's attack nearly slices the creature, but its seemingly boneless arms evade the strike. Xochtli's attack is similarly avoided, but Fleur manages to break free of her captor and slip away while drawing her dart.
Allain draws a dagger and attacks! , hitting his captor for damage. The thing hisses and spits in its dark tongue, but keeps a hold of Allain.
The dwarf seems to pull a part of himself free as he surges unnaturally quickly toward the larger creature menacing Fleur. He swings what appears to be some sort of stone axe at the thing: . He hits, but only barely as the thing hisses at him. He inflicts damage on the thing, cutting a deep gash through the thing's rubbery hide, which oozes grey blood. The thing howls a roar of pain, which serves to rally the other creatures.
Round 2
27 Opponents
21 Israfel
15 Xochtli
9 Fleur
8 Allain
5 Dwarf
The injured thing attacks the dwarf: and , hitting the now slowed dwarf easily for and . Only a small amount of its force seems to get through the stone hide, but it still tries to choke the life from the dwarf: and . Only one hand gets a grip, but it's enough to lock the two opponents in battle!
Thing 1 attempts to maintain its hold on Israfel: but she slips free. It howls an angry yowl as it makes ready to attack again!
Thing 2 attempts the same thing on Xochtli: but succeeds and the thing tightens its claws into her neck for damage.
Thing 3 continues to try to choke Allain: and succeeds, dealing damage to the elf. His face turns slightly red as the blood pools there, unable to escape.
Fleur throws her dart at the one on the dwarf.
It misses badly and she draws another.
Israfel steps back from the monstrosity and begins to sing, weaving a defensive spell around herself.
HP: 16/22
AC: 20/12/18
Effects: mage armor, arcane strike
Israfel steps back and summons her armor. Xochtli's attack is repulsed by the creature's thick skin, while Fleur's dart actually hits the dwarf and snaps in two. The dwarf doesn't seem to notice.
Allain stabs at the thing again, , but his attack is repelled. The dwarf, finding the axe too large to swing effectively, hits at the beast with one stony fist: , but to no avail.
Round 3
27 Opponents
21 Israfel
15 Xochtli
9 Fleur
8 Allain
5 Dwarf
The brute attempts to choke the dwarf's life out: , but the dwarf breaks free, and the two opponents circle each other.
Thing 1 bounds forward at Israfel and swipes with a claw: , but is repelled by her arcane defenses!
Thing 2 attempts to squeeze the life from Xochtli: , and tightens its grip, dealing damage.
Thing 3 does likewise to Allain: , dealing a further damage to him, and turning him even more red.
Fleur throws another dart at whichever thing looks the most wounded.