Mischa drops her torch where it is to keep it away from the bats and moves to a spot where she has a clear shot raises the bow that was in her other hand and in a smooth motion nocks an arrow and fires at the skunk.
Deciding to take more direct action, Newt pulls up his crossbow and takes a step over so he can see the large skunk.
Casimir charges the thing. "Ugh, die you overgrown rodent!"
Anya continues to move cautiously, closer to Casimir (L9). She whispers a question, What is wrong?
Anya continues to move cautiously, closer to Casimir while Mischa drops her torch where it is to keep it away from the bats and moves to a spot where she has a clear shot. Then she raises the bow that was in her other hand and in a smooth motion nocks an arrow and fires at the skunk. However in her attempts to avoid hitting Bec her shot misses the skunk. The arrow skids across the cave floor but does not break.
Casimir charges past Bec and swings wildly with his longsword, however he misses wide as the blade throws a spark off of the cave floor as it impacts.
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Current Location: The Back Door: The Bat Cave Time: 12:13 pm
Bec holds and waits for the Skunk to react, readying his spear if the skunk gets by Casimir.
Deciding to take more direct action, Newt pulls up his crossbow and takes a step over so he can see the large skunk. He loads and then fires the bolt striking the large skunk with the small crossbow bolt.
Bowen readies an arrow but now waits as the tight cavern is crowded and it is hard for him to aim.
The skunk bites at Casimir finding a weak spot in his armor he sinks his teeth into Casimir's ankle.
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Current Location: The Back Door: The Bat Cave Time: 12:13 pm
We have disturbed a skunk in its home, child Mischa says to Anya If Newt was not trapped on the other side I would suggest retreating, as it is we will need to incapacitate it
Mischa draws and fires another arrow
Newt takes a couple steps and fires again in an attempt to take down the large skunk.
[b]"Well, it's not like it can make me smell any worse,"[b] Bowen says. He unslings his axe as he weaves between Bec and Casimir. Once he gets within reach of the creature, he swings the axe down, aiming for its head.
Anya tries to look in, A skunk?
Mischa draws and fires another arrow and misses wildly as the arrow snaps in half against the cold stone floor on the other side of the skunk.
Casimir swings his weapon down at the creature but it darts out of the path of his weapon again as the longsword crashes once again into the stone floor with a flair of sparks.
Bec wanting to help Casimir with the creature moves up past so he can flank with Casimir. [ooc]F13 The skunk bites at Bec as he passes but barely misses. Once in position Bec drives his spear down toward the skunk with both hands, the skunk again jumps out of the way as the spearhead drives into the cavern floor as Bec yells "Be still you blasted pole cat!"
Newt takes a couple steps and fires again in an attempt to take down the large skunk. Once again his small bolt sails true and strikes the skunk in the back next to the other one.
Bowen unslings his axe as he weaves between Bec and Casimir. Once he gets within reach of the creature, he swings the axe down, aiming for its head. and splits it like a melon as skunk brains splatter on the three combatants.
for
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Current Location: The Back Door: The Bat Cave Time: 12:14 pm
Mischa sighs, she had hoped the skunk would fall unconscious and she would be able to stabilize it but there had been no choice. She searches the now empty cavern that had been the skunk's home.
and then heads down the corridor and retrieves her dropped torch. Let us make haste. The odorous members of the party should stay back now.
"Ahem. That would leave you, Anya and Newt at the front. Wouldn't it be wiser for a better armoured person in front?"
After searching the skunks nest and finding nothing of interest, Mischa moves back down the hall and picks up her torch. Gazing ahead down the passage she can make out a door on the right side of the passage wall before the passage curves out of sight into darkness.
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Current Location: The Back Door: The Bat Cave Time: 12:15 pm
Poor creature.... Anya follows Mischa, curiosity trumps sensibility.
Bec brushes at his arms and chest in disgust, attempting to wipe off the stench, before following Anya, his spear raised to protect from any more animals.
Bec picks up his torch from the floor of the passage and quickly follows behind Mischa and Anya down the corridor, the momentary separation of Bec's torchlight from Newt's magically lit stone cast a shadow over Bowen and Casimir who where at the edge of each light source.
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Current Location: The Back Door: The Bat Cave Time: 12:16 pm
For scouting, yes Mischa responds to Casimir. If more violence become necessary than you three can come to the fore again
Mischa moves up carefully and examines the door.
Seeing the smelly skunky down, Newt rejoins the others.
"Whew! I thought I was trapped. Thanks everyone."
Mischa heads down the hall toward the door.
As the corridor rounds a corner, you encounter a crude stone door with a large keyhole. Carved into the door's surface are two sets of runes. The first set has been defaced with scratch marks from a sharp instrument. The second set is intact, but in a different language. The door is locked.
Ahead some of Mischa's torchlight spills into the edge of an immense chamber where the floor is covered in debris and strange orange/reddish lights flicker around the chamber.
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Current Location: The Back Door: Corridor Time: 12:16 pm
How have the others been defaced? I can try, but have heard of magical writing used as a ward... explodes in the reader's face.. She seems nervous.
As Mischa looks over the runes they don't seem to be magical in nature but one set has been defaced with a sharp object to the point it is not readable. The language of the other set is unreadable to her.
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Current Location: The Back Door: The Bat Cave Time: 12:17 pm
Let me through... Stand a safe distance back.
Anya makes her way up to the door next to Mischa, her fears are soon put to rest as she realizes that the runes are not magical in nature. She then begins to try and translate what the set of readable runes say. The language is definitely a form of ancient common is the first thing that Anya realizes then after that the translation seems to fall into place....
Anya also notices that the runes that have been defaced are not readable but there is enough left to know that the language of those runes were ancient Dwarven. Why someone one only scratch out those paticular runes she had not a clue.
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Current Location: The Back Door: Corridor Time: 12:17 pm
A burial mound? Mischa says with surprise. There may be items in there that could help us. But best not to disturb the dead. If we cannot escape a skunk unscratched then do we wish to deal with a possible undead creature? We should move on.
Do you think one of your lights would fit through this rather large keyhole? And, let's keep an eye out for a rather large key...
As the two ladies discuss the runes the reddish/orange lights continue to flicker around the cave ahead casting eerie shadows of the pale light across the cave.
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Current Location: The Back Door: Corridor Time: 12:18 pm
Mishca nods and recasts Light on a smaller pebble and flicks it through the keyhole.
As Mischa peeks through the keyhole she sees:
Beyond is a chamber, roughly 20 feet wide and 30 feet long. At the far end of the chamber is a flat unadorned stone sarcophagus. Flanking it are two four-foot-high pyres of bone, with a weapon planted in the center of each. To the left is a greatsword, and to the right is a glaive.
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Current Location: The Back Door: Corridor Time: 12:18 pm
Mischa relays the information to the rest of the group.
They are probably of high quality. Still I would advise we move on and accomplish what we came here to do. Not divert into looting tombs
Anya looks into the keyhole, nearly salivating with anticipation. I nearly half agree. Which mind you, it much better than disagree.
But, where you see prizes or treasure... I see tools to help us against a rather large opponent. Do any of us know how to pick a lock?
She looks around. Newt, do you tinker? I hate to generalize, but Gnomes do tinker... yes?
"No Undead huh? Do you think we should go through or turn back."
Bec looks around in fright. "With treasures like that, there will probably be guards. If I had something like that, I know I'd guard it."
"Of course I can! What kind of gnome do you take me for?" he says with a sly grin.
Newt gets out his masterwork tools and gets to work on the lock.
Bowen and Casimir move up closer down the hall taking up a spot in the corridor between where the girls were and were Bec was bringing up the rear.
Newt moved closer and inspected the lock, it was of the standard type and proved no match for his lock-picks as he unlocked the door. He nodded to the girls to let them know the lock was no longer an obstacle if they wanted to enter.
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Current Location: The Back Door: Corridor Time: 12:19 pm
Anyone know who Tulwar is? Or about Dwarves in this area?
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Current Location: The Back Door: Corridor Time: 12:19 pm
I still do not think this is wise but if we must then the fighters of this group should take the lead.
As the door opens she looks around carefully.
There are no traps are there?
Bec moves closer to the door, craning his neck to peer through it.
Move to 16Q, where he should just barely be able to see through the door.
Bec, wait... Newt, what's down there?. The girl points south.
The stone door groans in protest as it swings open. You are buffeted by a blast of stale air. Beyond is a chamber, roughly 20 feet wide and 30 feet long. At the far end of the chamber is a flat unadorned stone sarcophagus. Flanking it are two four-foot-high pyres of bone, with a weapon planted in the center of each. To the left is a greatsword, and to the right is a glaive.
In the northwest corner of the room is an ancient dwarven skeleton wearing an ornate breastplate with a stylized griffin insignia. A waraxe is discarded nearby.
As everyone looks inside the light spell on the stone that newt is holding fizzles out.
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Current Location: The Back Door: Corridor Time: 12:20 pm
Ooh... a griffin. Wow.... Anya's curiosity leads her to try to touch the insignia. She moves towards the ancient dwarf.
Anya moves toward the ancient dwarf skeleton and gets as close as she can, the bone pyre with the glaive now blocks her path. The only way to get to the skeleton is to disturb either the bone pyre or climb over the sarcophagus directly to access the back of the room.
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Current Location: The Back Door: Corridor Time: 12:20 pm
Mischa moves to stand one south and one east of Anya and examines the sarcophogus and the two bone piles