GM Ahayzo |
The temperature drops noticeably in this passageway, and a
rime of white frost lines the walls and floor leading into the
cavern beyond. What seems to be a light layer of brown dust
carpets the cave floor beyond—a body of some sort sits slumped
against the eastern wall. At the opening to the room is a 10 foot ledge DC 10 Climb to scaled down
Man there's just bodies everywhere!
Everyone go ahead and move your tokens please
Iantha Narili |
"Woah, weird! Its super cold in here!" Iantha calls back to the others, breath suddenly steaming in the air.
"Dromer can you bring the rope? Its not that high, but I feel more comfortable if you can lower me down."
Iantha Narili |
Iantha squints, trying to make out details from up on the ledge.
perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
heal check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
"Sorry Miranda. I cant make anything out from this distance. If we want to know more we will need to inspect the body up close."
Hroren Ironbarrow |
perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
heal: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Hroren peers down from the top of the lip, trying to see from a distance if he can workout what causes the person's death.
"I'm not sure what's causing that cold, but given the weird things we've seen down here so far I'm not entirely happy with you going ahead by yourself Iantha. I'll come down with you."
Hroren will take 20 on the climb down the rope. Computer issues, could someone move me to the appropriate spot on the map?
Dromer Greyskin |
Knowledge (dungeoneering): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
Dromer flips his hair away from his face.
"Ummm... Yeah... I'll get the rope..."
Then, as he turns and sees Hroren starting to climb down, he puts his hand on the dwarf's shoulder.
"How good are you at fishing?"
Dromer will explain what Brown Mold is to the party.
GM Ahayzo |
I'm really glad someone found out what it was!
Luckily Dromer identifies the dust as Brown mold just as the group prepares to climb down. The fact that it fills the room so perfectly makes it almost look as if it was intentionally spread in this manner to block intruders from the opening in the southeast corner.
GM Ahayzo |
Dromer, the first time you pass it it still seems to be eating something. Not what you threw, but something. On your way back from getting your things, it doesn't seem to be there at all.
Smith_ |
"I can channel a small amount of cold, need it be much?"
If told a small amount will work Smith will channel ray of frost through the skymetal crystal in his staff.
Arcane bond: ray of frost is in spellbook but not memorized.
Iantha Narili |
Eyes shining, Iantha lies down on her belly, peering at the mold below. "Woah...... This stuff is awesome! Good thing you know what it is Dromer. Would have been painfull otherwise. Thanks."
With not much for her to do, Iantha follows closely the actions of her companions. She is clearly very curious about this. The cold however is making her fluff up her fur.
GM Ahayzo |
A pouch with 42gp
A silver pick on a chain, shaped as if made from bones
Two clear vials with a redish-green liquid inside
As you collect everything you find, you hear some movement behind you, but don't see anything
While normally an area this wide would need to be blasted with cold multiple times to destroy, something odd happens and Smith's ray sets off a chain reaction as all the dust in the room begins to turn a pale white.
Hroren Ironbarrow |
“Like I said before, smith lad, everything is weird down here. These caves don’t feel right. I’ve spent a lot of time in caves, it’s part of my dwarven heritage… but these caves don’t feel right.”
If Hroren notices the room getting warmer at all, he'll scale down the rope and head over to inspect the body more closely.
Dromer Greyskin |
** spoiler omitted **
Dromer wets his fingertips in the nearby mud, draws a pair of butterfly wings over the eyes of the cadaver, says a quick prayer to Desna...
...and then quickly grabs everything of use before returning to his companions.
GM Ahayzo |
GM Ahayzo wrote:** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **
The area seems to have lost the source of its cold, but there is still a chill in air at the moment.
Hroren, give me another Perception and/or Heal check for the body
Iantha Narili |
Seeing the mould crumble, and feeling some of the cold dissipate, Ianthe eagerly scrambles down the rope.
climb: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (9) - 2 = 7
Once on the ground, she waves for Miranda to join her. "Come on down. Its safe now."
Miranda had asked her just moments easlier about the body, so Iantha goes over to inspect it, hoping to be able to tell her something more now that she has a chance to see the body up close and study it.
perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
heal check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Dromer Greyskin |
A silver pick on a chain, shaped as if made from bones
Dromer returns holding two potions, a small pouch of gold (42gp), and a strange silver pick.
"Ummm. Found another body. The frog was eating it. Nobody I know. It left behind this, though..."
Dromer shows off the silver pick.
"I wonder if it's some sort of key?"
Dromer Greyskin |
Dromer flips his hair away from his face, and then nods to Smith. "I think so. It was pretty chewed up, though."
Then, turning to Iantha, "I... I think there's going to be a lot of bodies down here, Iantha. Nobody's ever come out before."
Dromer looks to the third body, down in the moldy pit, and then back to Iantha.
"Let's figure out what's happening down here, first. Then we can get the town down here to help sort through everyone we find."
Though I really hope we don't find any more...
GM Ahayzo |
Smith I'll let you make this check unpenalized for lack of training, due to being a weaponsmith
Smith_ |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Know Local: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Smith speaks flatly.
"I recognize the man, he recently became engaged to young Miss Otterbie, a daughter of a smith here in Torch. I was invited, but did not attend a party to celebrate. I believe his name was Gerrol"
Iantha Narili |
Iantha looks sad for a moment. "I know Dromer... I just had this weird hope that everyone just had gotten stuck in some way down here, with no way back up."
She sighs. "Guess I'll have to settle for reality."
With another heavy sigh, she finishes inspecting the body. "It wasnt the Brown Mold that killed this man. The cold in here actually helped preserve his body."
Touching the odd rust-colored ribbons around the man's throat, Iantha says a quick prayer to Brigh, letting the goddess knowledge reach her.
Face suddenly serious, she turns towards her companions.
"We will need to be very careful from this point on. This man was killed by russet mold. Its a very dangerous type of mold, that will kill you quickly. Its also a lot more sturdy then the brown mold that was down here."
Iantha explains the details about brown mold.
Dromer Greyskin |
Knowledge (dungeoneering): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Don't worry, I got you ;-)
Dromer flips his hair away from his face, and then pulls out a flask of silvery liquid.
"This is Alkali. It's sort of like acid, so it might work against this type of mold. Not sure. I usually carry it for the occasional ooze."
Then, looking at the man again, Dromer adds, "So... Do we think there's one of those... Things... Growing inside him?"
Iantha Narili |
Iantha frowns at the flask. "Well, an alkali is a base. So its caustic, not acidic. It still burns, so it might work against the mold. Although I'm not too keen on betting on it."
Taking a quick look at the corpse, Iantha shrugs. "There probably was, but the brown mold probably would have killed it too. The body is pretty much frozen solid, and although sentient, a Vegepygmy is still a plant and thus susceptible to cold. I do suggest if we take this man back up out of the cave, we dont bury him, but cremate him. You can never be too carefull."
GM Ahayzo |
As you finish up inspecting the body, you see a dark alcove that seems to go on into a larger room. A very faint hint of light seems to have just begun to come through.
Miranda Andegar |
"I'm very glad the two of you were chosen for this mission along with the rest of us. I knew nothing of these molds, myself. Thank you for the information, and let us be careful."
Iantha Narili |
Iantha smiles appreciatively. "Thank you Miranda. Now lets decide where to go. We can climb back up and continue searching that corridor, or stay down here and find out where that alcove leads."
Smith_ |
Eventually climbing down...
"I do not believe it would strengthen our cause to overburden ourselves with corpses at this time. That way looks no worse than any other."
GM Ahayzo |
After passing through the short alcove, you enter a very large room, with light just barely bright enough to see where the opposite walls are.
The ceiling of this vast chamber rises nearly thirty feet overhead.
A five-foot-wide ledge runs along the western wall, sloping
down to the cave floor ten feet below. Four ramshackle huts
made of what appear to be strips of metal, hides, and some sort
of fibrous plant matter sit in the cave, while to the south yawns
a dark pit.
The moment you step out of the alcove, you see a humanoid in the center of the room, who with a commanding voice says
Who are you and why do you enter our home?
Go ahead and put yourselves in order. I've PM'd Hroren and am going to wait for him before I post any more.
Iantha Narili |
Holding her hands up in the air, Iantha takes up a submissive pose.
"As my friend here said, we are looking into some disappearances. The town above this cave is in trouble, and people have tried to fix it by coming here, but they never returned. We hope to fix our problem. We did not mean to trespass. We did not know anyone was down here. We mean you no harm."
GM Ahayzo |
Those capable of seeing in dim and dark light can see that it is average height, has grey, smooth skin, and appears to be barely dressed (if at all, it seems to just have various leather pieces on its body). Think Fifth Element, only possibly even less. You can't tell much else from this distance.
GM Ahayzo |
I moved Miranda up to where she would be able to see the humanoid
Disappearances? Perhaps you can't tell, but light is scarce here. Perhaps your friends simply got lost. I care not whether you mean me harm or no harm, judging by your size I doubt you could inflict it if you tried.
As soon as Dromer's tumor begins to make noise, the female straightens up
What in all hells was that noise?
Smith_ |
Smith ponders at the strange discovery of creatures down here and whispers to his companions "Maybe we should just try the other path."
Iantha Narili |
Having been around medium humanoids for most her life, Iantha is unfazed by the hight remark. She has heard most small people jokes by now.
Hearing Smith's whisper, and having a good view of the ledge and opening to her left, Iantha doesnt trust the creature when it claims that others might have gotten lost. It avoiding a real answer is quite suspicious.
sense motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Not having anything bus suspicions, she adresses the creature again.
"Please. This is clearly your domain. You must have seen or heard something? We just want to restore the flame up above. Then we'll be gone and wont bother you again."
diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15