"Hmm... best to continue on, wouldn't you say Edric? Best leave any other troubles that lie in wait in that room stay there."
Edric nods quickly. "Aye, Marhok. I don't want to find out what lives out here in these caves."
Marhok moves out to the new path, the one that leads on and hopefully on to safety and the surface.
"Be careful, all of you. If you see something coming from up behind you, give me a shout."
Marhoc notices that something is living in the rubble, just before it bursts out
init
ooo you lose
a snake of some sort pops out and strikes at marhocs, hand Marhoc pulls it back just a second late and afoot save of 13 or lose con
Look out! Edrick calls
go
"Ack, damn serpent. Luckily it's just a flesh wound, but you'll pay for it."
Marhok takes a swing with his greatsword at the snake and tries to chop it's head off.
"Edric this thing might be poisonous, better stay clear out of it's reach."
Edric stays clear for this combat, unless Marhok gets in real trouble.
The snake is sliced in two. Combat over.
Marhok walks over to the rubble pile, making sure there are no more snakes or other cirtters hidden among them. He sheathes his sword and draws his ranseur and starts to lift and move several chunks of rubble from a distance. He's had enough of being surprised by vermin leaping out at him.
When he thinks it's an all clear, he sweeps the rest of the room, to see if there's anything usable still, and then heads on.
Do you need me to look at that hand Marhok?
As everyone moves forward the see a tunnel that moves off to the left, which appears to have something inside it.
There is a green light coming from this side tunnel
"It's just a scratch, that spell that elf cast on me, seems to have prevented much further damage though. Thanks for the concern though Edric."
Marhok looks to move on further, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings.
Meanwhile Edric seems drawn to conversing with the rest of the group, he is wondering who they are and what they do usually in Kenabres.
"Pardon me for asking Anevia," He begins the conversation with the woman with the broken leg, "but might I know what your occupation or profession is in Kenabres? I beg your pardon if I'm bothering you, but Marhok isn't all that talkative, though he has a heart of gold. I myself in contrast, am quite the inquisitive talker." He looks curiously at the woman as she helps herself through the tunnel.
"Ohh, before I forget, my name is Edric, youngest son to lieutenant Archibald Morell of Kenabres. Pleased to meet you."
I spend most of my time at the Temple of Iomedae with my wife, occasionally leading scouting missions into the Worldwound. As she mentions her wife she very obviously becomes worried, then shakes it off. [b]I am impressed with the way your firmed fights, give him these, and let him know I have an ability to unlock doors if needed.
Edric looks confused for a moment, but then sees Anevia's face and understands. He nods to her as if to say 'I understand'. "You're very welcome for your help Anevia, hopefully if we all help out we might make it to safety all together."
He chats a little bit more with Anevia, just some general information, before he decides to walk next to the elderly elf.
"Greetings sir Arvanshnial, I'm sorry we haven't been introduced yet. I am Edric Morell, son of lieutenant Archibald Morell of Kenabres. Might I ask you how you came to reside in Kenabres yourself? I am obviously raised here myself and Marhok hails from a village close to Kenabres. I apologize if I'm too inquiring, it's a good or bad habit depending on how you look at it."
In the meantime the group is coming across the side-tunnel with the green light and Marhok looks back and raises an eyebrow.
"Edric come take a look at this. Isn't this green light strange? Something tells me we shouldn't leave a room at our back with such an unnatural light emanating from it."
"I'll investigate it, stay close." With that Marhok heads inside the sidetunnel.
The elf, turns his bandaged head toward Edrick. Ah the Lieutenant, him I have met once or twice. It has been a long journey that has gotten me here. I subsist in the city by creating and selling items of power. I am a mage of some sort, and I have some spells that I can cast. Though my aim is off due to my sight being taken.
MArhoc moves into the tunnel
A s i n g l e siza b l e 2 0 -foot-ta l l b u i l d i ng re m a i n s i n t h e center of
this 3 0 -foot- h i g h cave, a b u n ke r l i ke s t r u c t u re w i t h n o w i n d ows
and wa l l s of worked stone b l o c k s . A 1 0 -foot- l o n g c a r v i n g of a
h a m m e r decorates t h e b u i l d i n g 's facade. T h e r u i n s of c o l l a psed
o u t b u i l d i ng s sta nd to either s i d e .
"Hey Edric, isn't this the sign of..."
"Torag!" Edric calls out, interrupting Marhok's own train of thought. "Look at this place! I wonder who would have built it here."
Marhok looks at Edric with a raised eyebrow. "For once I know something just as well as you and you don't even let me finish." He smiles at his friend's enthusiasm.
"Let's have a look see around here."
As our brave heroes move forward they hear a buzzing just before something slams into Marhok
for
A giant fly bites hard into Marhoc (for save please)
baddies win init yay!
it bites Marhoc a second time (another save if you made the first one
Go heroes
"Damn bugs can't leave us alone can they?"
Edric moves into a flanking position with Marhok and attacks the bug.
Well that was silly. Lol the bug is in two pieces
Marhok wipes the blood and guts from his weapon and looks to Edric.
"That was annoying. Did you find anything before this thing attacked?"
"Not yet. That big fly disturbed my search as well. You all okay back there?" Edric asks their group of three followers.
Marhoc heads to the door, and tries to open it, into the building but finds it stuck.
he yanks the door open.
A sto n e b e n c h l i n e s t h e s o u t h e r n wa l l of t h i s c h a m b e r. At t h e
fa r s i d e of t h e ro o m , a b a s i n of water s i t s a t o p a sto n e p e d e s t a l .
A sto n e d o o r e n g raved w i t h a n i m a g e of a h a m m e r sta n d s t o
t h e n o r t h .
By this time the others have made their way in and have realized the temple is an abandoned temple of Torag.
Anevia speaks after letting out a huge pained sigh my leg hurts so much you should all just leave me behind.
To which Hergus replies. Yes that probably would be best, after all she is slowing us down.
Before anyone has a chance to reply Anevia roars. I should expect such cowardice by one that is afraid of his own faith!
He roars back I should expect such an answer by one that consorts with thieves!
Anevia's eyes narrow and she grows silent.
"If it's up to me, no-one is left behind." Marhok states as he looks at the fighting with disdain. "Not even a thief or a fallen cleric!" His voice sounds hard but the authority behind it indicates that he doesn't mean it to be harsh.
"Edric. What can we do to help Anevia? Could you fix her leg with a little magic?"
Edric seems to think for a little bit, then answers.
"What Marhok means to say is that we all need to work together to survive this. We can and will not leave anyone behind if it's up to us. Marhok has seen more than you could imagine and knows what could happen to someone who's caught alone."
Marhok glares for a moment at Edric, then looks the other way.
"He'll rather carry you Anevia, than to abandon you to your fate."
At this they can see Marhok nodding slightly at this idea.
Edric then turns to Horgus Gwerm and looks at him with interest and hopeful eyes. "It seems to me that you two already know each other, we however don't and we're not in any position or circumstance to judge. Horgus Gwerm it was right? May I call you Horgus or would you prefer mr. Gwerm? Would you mind telling us your story, I mean what do you do in Kenabres? Help us understand your position. Also our continued cooperation here and now only increases our survival chances, also yours. Please take that into consideration, continued infighting between us doesn't help any of us."
Anevia, nods her head that she will continue, but she seems unhappy with this turn of events.
Sorry Marhoc, I can't heal the leg, even with magic it needs some rest.
Gwerm replies You may call me Lord Gwerm. I am a very important man in the city. Now shall we move on. Now that she is quiet I have nothing more to say to her
Marhok shakes his head and sighs. "We'll check up on this door here first, perhaps this would be a good place to rest if we need to fall back."
"Edric, any idea as to what that basin of water is for?"
Edric inspects the basin of water from all sides.
Marhok walks towards the door with the hammer engraved on it and tries to open it. If there's a lock on it, he would ask if Anevia is willing to try her 'magic' on it.
Else he'll try to forcefully open the door.
Edrick shrugs. I suspect at one point it was filled with holy water, but now...not much.
The door opens easily
Broken stone b e n c h e s l i n e t h i s na rrow roo m . T h e a i r is co l d a n d
sta l e, a n d t h i c k layers of d u s t cove r t h e fl o o r, b e n c h es, a n d a
l a rg e a l t a r at t h e fa r e n d of t h e roo m .
Kneeling in front of the altar is , what looks like a dwarf, though it is hard to tell with his back turned. He does not respond to calling out to him.
"Careful Edric, this could be trouble or just a corpse."
Marhok approaches with his ranseur in hand and pokes the dwarven figure with his ranseur, to see if he's alive or dead.
A cloud of dust puffs off of it when touched.
rolling init-baddy wins
It moves quickly closing on Marhok, standing and moving next to him.
go
but he missed
Marhoc's attack slams into the creature but doesn't seem to do as much damage as he would have expected.
It's a Hecuva! Edrick shouts but he doesn't seem to know anything else.
"A Hecuva? What the heck is that?" Marhok shouts as the thing tries to attack him.
Seems stabbing won't work as well on him, perhaps slicing him up will.
Marhok drops his ranseur to the ground and draws his greatsword.
"Have at thee, you undead thing."
slashing did not work...but losing its head did.
make another religion check for me
Edrick is able to determine that the shrine is befouled. Additionaly Marhok finds 2potions, a signet ring worth 125 gp and a MW war hammer
A hecuva is a dead creature...now a redead creature.
Marhok takes up the hammer nad shores it to his belt.
"This could come in handy, you never know when I need to break things. Edric you can keep this signet ring with you."
Edric then looks at the potions and wonders what they would do, then looks back at the shrine and shakes his head. "This shrine has been befouled, not only by the undead presence in the room."
He looks back to Horgus Gwerm and the elderly elf.
"Lord Gwerm? Might we call upon your expertise? Anevia called you a cleric, could you perhaps clear this shrine of its taint? I'd reckon Torag would be very grateful if you did."
He then walks up to Arvanshnial and produces the two potions they just found.
"Mister Arvanshnial? I've got some knowledge about poultices and herbs and bandages, but my knowledge about magical potions is limited at best. Could you check to see what these might do for us?"
The elf sniffs the potion A healing potion.
Gwerm stutters, I am not cleric. I am a worshiper of [smalller]Abadar[/smaller] but I do not like that it is known...but even I can tell this shrine has not been holy to anyone for a long time.
Marhok turns his head as he hears the mention of worship of Abadar.
"Abadar? There's nothing to be ashamed of if you worship him. Though out here at the Worldwound his followers might be fewer, he's still a patron god that protects cities. He's a good deity to follow if you'd ask me."
Edric nods in agreement to Marhok's statement.
"He's right about that. Although I follow Iomedae, I wouldn't hold it against someone that he or she follows Abadar. It's a shame that this shrine has been so tainted and fallen in disrepair. Alas, there's nothing more to do about it."
"Hey Edric!" Marhok calls out as he picks up his ranseur again. "Isn't Torag more of a dwarven god? Perhaps we're inside old dwarven tunnels or something."
Arvash speaks up These tunnels date back to the first crusade, they are rumored to be inhabited by mongrels, those who were unable to deal with the magics of the Worldwound.
"Mongrels huh? So what do these creatures look like? Are they hostile to the crusdaers?" Marhok asks the blind elf.
"At least we now know where we are, more or less. Any ideas as to how far off we are from the surface?"
They may or may not be, and how far we are from the surface, I have no idea.
Hergus seems to relax slightly at Edrick's comments.
"Well if that is all that we can find in here, we should head back. This seems like a dead end to me."
Edric approaches Anevia.
"Are you sure you're alright Anevia? It would not be any problem if we were to support you, you know. As it is, we're travelling at a leisurely pace so as not to draw much attention. Helping you on would not be much trouble at all if it would ease your pain."
Marhok makes ready to head out back to the main tunnel again, but waits to see if Anevia accepts the help they offer her.
No it is fine. I am fine
The party continues down the path for another 40 minutes
Then they come to an opening
Sto n e fi g u res a re ca rved i nto t h e w a l l s of t h i s cave r n . E a c h
d e p i cts a d i ffere n t c r u s a d e r c l a d i n a rm o r a n d w i e l d i n g wea po ns,
but t h e i r ca rved stone fea tu res conta i n expres s i o n s of s a d n ess.
Edric walks alongside Anevia until they come across the next room. He lowers his voice to a whisper and begins to ask her a question, his curiosty burning inside him.
"I'm sorry for bothering you with this, it's probably none of my business, but I had the feeling you're worried about something else. That broken leg of yours isn't the only thing that troubles you right?"
Marhok holds up his ranseur in his hand and walks in quietly.
"I don't like this, all the other rooms were somehow occupied, what makes this room different?"
He looks around and tries to take in the scene.
"Edric, what do you know about these crusaders depicted in here? Arvanshnial, do you have an idea perhaps?"
He listens to the answers they may or not be able to provide.
"Right, let me check this cave out first. If this is a trap I don't want any of you to find out the hard way." The tall barbarian walks along slowly and cautiously across the floor, holding the ranseur defensively in his hands. He's looking from side to side and up the stone walls to see if there's any traps he might miss.
Anevia replies, It is nothing...just nothing. I am fine
the elf, listens to the description of the pictures and replies
that the soldiers depicted were from the First Crusade. The
first generation of mongrels born to this group erected
these statues in honor of their parents
Marhok sees nothing of danger in the room
Marhok is about 20 feet away when suddenly he is wrapped in darkness.
Then something slams into him , but does not manage to harm him.
Marhoc wins init. Edrick sees a bat like creature attached to the ceiling arcana is your check, a second one is in the darkness with you
Marhok looks and steps aside from the creature stabbing with the ranseur at it from short range.
"Marhok! There's some sort of bat-like creature clinging to the ceiling!" Edric calls to his friend.
"I've probably got it's brother right here!" Marhok calls back
Edric loads his croos bow and takes aim at the one on the ceiling.
Marhoc misses, even if it wasn't totally black there. Edrick's attack just misses.
Suddenly Edrick is backpedaling as the creature charges him
but it doesn't penetrate the armor
the creature slams Marhok then it attempts to grab him but fails.
Go Heroes
Edric flinches for a moment as the creature rushes for him, then drops his cross bow and draw his morningstar.
"Arvanshnial! Horgus! Could one of you create some light for us?"
He asks before he tries to hit the creature in front of him.
Marhok drops his ranseur, as apparently this sort of combat makes him unable to accurately anticipate the creature coming towards him.
He draws his greatsword and attacks the thing in front of him.
I cannot read my scroll! I am blind. The elf pulls out a scroll and holds it out to Edrick
both beasts miss their attacks
Go Hero
Edric steps aside closer to the elf and grabs the scroll, but can't make out the words himself.
"Horgus, can you read this?"
He holds out the scroll to him as he takes on a defensive stance.
Marhok swings away in the meantime and hopes he can hit the blasted bat-like critter.
"RAAH!"