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Nivla nods to Alistair, then moves closer and slightly to the eastkeeping siglent for the moment he searches his mind of anything he may know of Gilmen.
As boris moves to get closer to the Gilman, "Hold up Boris, perhaps interrupting his prayers may make him cranky. then making an obvious motion of looking around the cave"maybe wait a bit untill its finished.
is the gillman making any verbal noises in his prarers? now that Nivla is closer does he see anything in/under the water? What is the Gillman wearing and weapons?
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Holly will share what she knows about the cave carvings with the group. When we make it to the grand chamber, Holly will move up to Boris (Ew, ew, ew, now we have crazy-legged bugs in here. At least they aren't bigger than me. Oh, what if these are the babies and the big ones are hiding deeper in the cavern. and she gives a shudder) and tug on his jerkin. "Uh, yeah, I think we shouldn't disturb him if he is praying. Maybe we should wait a bit to see if he, or is it a she, finishes soon."
Does Boris wait as Nivla and Holly suggest, or continue to the Gilman tapping him on the shoulder?
Boris taps the gillman on the shoulder and he jumps with a startle. He slowly stands up and scans the room with genuine surprise at all the company he has in the cavern. Looking back at Boris, he speaks slowly, "How . . . What brings you here?"
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Saying a prayer, Holly moves closer to the water and says, "Hi, I'm Holly. I'm sorry that we disturbed you but we are exploring this cave and its inhabitants. Do you live here? Were you praying cause I do that too. Do you have leader or chief that we could talk to or are you here by yourself?"
Holly will be turning on her charm to full wattage.
Looking at Boris, the gillman smiles and relaxes a little. "My name is Uori."
Uori speaks slowly, but clearly.
Looking back at Holly, he's enthralled at the exuberant halfling and motions for her to come closer, "Can you speak slower please, and one at a time. I just didn't expect visitors such as yourselves. I don't live here, I just got here today and won't be staying more than a couple days. Yes, I was praying, this place is sacred to the gillman. I am here by myself, but there are other creatures that have invaded our sacred place as of late."
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Holly will approach Uori and slow her cadence to match his. "Hi Uori, it is a pleasure to meet you. Do you need to finish your prayers? We can wait and see to it you are not disturbed."
If it is OK to continue, Holly will say, "What creatures have invaded your sacred place? Are they hostile or are they like these crawly bugs with hundreds of legs, like an infestation? How long have the gillman been coming here? Do they only come here to pray?"
Holly will turn to the group behind her and ask, "Are there other questions we should ask Uori?"
Uori still conversing with Holly, "I'll finish my prayers in time. . . I know not what invades this place, just that some of my brethren that have visited this sacred place have gone missing over the past several months." Uori chuckles a bit, "These crawly bugs are no threat, this is their cave too. . . We gillman have been coming here for some time now; how many years I do not know."
@Alistair: Uori does not acknowledge your question.
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Noticing that Uori doesn't acknowledge others comments and that he asked her to speak slowly, Holly nods in realization. Turning to the group but where Uori can still read her lips, she says,"I think our friend is hard of hearing, since he didn't hear our approach." Turning back to Uori, Holly slowly asks, "This is true, is it not, Uori, that you have difficulty hearing sounds? That is a beautiful cloak. Where did you get it? We found one of the same color abandoned at the bottom of a pit a little distance from here. Might it belong to one of your companions? It had a magical glow to it, to those that can see magic.We saw no sign of anyone nearby so we took it as our own but if we find the rightful owner, we would be glad to see it returned. Would you like to see it?" and Holly gestures to Alistair to come closer and pull out the cloak.
Uori smiles at Holly, "You are very observant. it's true, I cannot hear." Uori continues, "You say you have one of my brethren's cloaks? Might I see it?"
"Yes, it is one of ours. Thank you." Uori reaches for the cloak, chuckling a bit at the exchange between the two halflings.
Calypso moves forward and catches the gillman's eye. He pauses for a moment at the sight of a tiefling in his holy place, but responds with a wry smile of his own, "It depends what you're looking for. If you're looking for enlightenment, this is the place. If you're looking for a fight, there are creatures that need slaying down either of those corridors," pointing down the passageways to the East and West. "If you're looking for something else, these are big caverns, perhaps you'll find that too."
Alistair, Calypso, and Holly all still notice the gillman's eyes keep bouncing back to the cloak Alistair is holding.
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Carefully maintaining his somber expression, Alistair reluctantly hands over the cloak. "Like my Kitsune friend here, I too am intrigued by both the murals and of your clear piety. Tell me friend, who or what is it that is worshiped here?"
Alistair watches the gilman's reaction carefully to determine the truth of the man's response.
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Holly motions to the cloak, saying slowly, "Go ahead and take the cloak, Uori. If it belongs to one of your people, maybe they need help and maybe you can find some clues. So you guys come here to pray as this is a holy place to you. Do you come here for other reasons? One of the reasons we are here is to find out more about your people and why they frequent these caves. We found a chamber further back that showed the parables of Aroden’s 12 guises showing his hopes for humanity. Is it Aroden that you pray to or another? Sarenrae has chosen me to be her representative." as she lifts her holy symbol to better illustrate. If the gillman is still hesitant to take the cloak, Holly says to Alistair, "Maybe you should set it on the ground."
Boy, he sure is cagey. Maybe he is afraid to touch one of us? Alistair? He doesn't seem to smell that bad. Holly thinks as she looks Alistair, giving a slight sniff in his general direction.
Looking over at Boris, "The tiny town is a source of ritual."
Uori gently takes the cloak from Alistair, "Thank you. It means much to me."
Turning back to Holly, "It's true this was once an alter to Aroden, but the dead god has no meaning to me anymore. Aroden has left a little spiritual energy left in this place and it is now a holy place for us gillmen."
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"It is clear even from this distance that the model is of Absalom."
Finally relaxing, Telandria moves closer to the rest of the party, gathered 'round and interrogating the gillman.
"It seems we know his peoples' purpose for visiting these caves. Alistair, I believe you had the mapping tools, correct? We should sketch the design of this cavern; those with latent artistic skills may also wish to draw out this...relic, as well as those on the way in."
Telandria shrugs, "Pass me some paper and quill; I may be able to make a passable version of this city, here. Beyond that, we should certainly tend to the "creatures" plaguing the rest of the complex; we were tasked with mapping it completely after all. And the longer we dawdle, the more time poor Janira has to fend off that minotaur..."
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Alistair looks at Telandria with mock offense, "I don't have mapmaking supplies, I have writing materials. It's a shame to waste my limited supply on such a task. Although I'm certain you'll replace what you use with a new sheaf when we get in town." Alistair hands over a paper from his pack and the pouch containing the capped inkwell and pen.
As he hands them over he whispers to Telandria, "I can't help but notice that our friend has redirected the conversation twice in regards to the object of his worship. Perhaps we should more carefully examine this place at a later date when our friend isn't present"
Alistair leaves her with that thought as he ambles back to his original position out of eyesight of the Gilman and watching the Western approach.
@Boris: "This is still a sacred place with the lingering effects of a once powerful deity." The turning to Holly, "I worship the great goddess of the waves and surf, Gozreh. . . Those of us who seek it find our own enlightenment, of course."
With your Knowledge check, you also believe the city is a source of ritual.
@Boris:
Uori looks on with amusement as the group looks over the area with curiosity. Uori laughs a bit at Boris's question, "I know not what "Vodka" is, but there might be such a ritual."
Nivla walks down the passage. It bends after about 20' and continues on. Nivla is as quiet as the rest of the cavern appears to him.
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Telandria blinks at the Halfling's offense, "Well, my apologies then, Alistair. I was under the impression that you did; my mistake. I appreciate the tools nonetheless."
She completes her diagram of the city, placing it carefully in her pack before returning the supplies to Alistair. Readying her bow and shouldering her load, she follows behind Nivla at a pace, doing her best to remain silent despite her encumbrance.
Before taking off, she gives Holly an inquisitive look, but shrugs, and passes the drawing to her. "As you wish, though I'm certain someone at the Lodge would like to see that, so do keep care of it."
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Holly adds some borders to the map but seeing Nivla, Telandria and Boris ready to move on, hands the map and mapping supplies back to Alistair. Turning to Uori, Holly says, "Well, looks like we are going. It was nice to meet you Uori. I hope you find your friend. What is their name, in case we meet them? Where will you go from here in case we need to find you again?" Holly will shoulder her backpack and strap on her shield while Uori responds. Unless he delays Holly with further questions, Holly will take her leave and join the group as they explore B4, moving up towards the front.
Ali was right about meeting interesting people and interesting sights, even in a stinky and damp cave. I hope we stop soon, it must be time for twoesse snackesse. thinks Holly as her belly give a slight rumble.
Uori smiles at Holly, "It was nice to meet you as well. It has made my trip here more interesting than I expected. I will be here for a couple days, while the strength of the moon is present."
Heading East (B4): The cave’s damp air becomes increasingly stale as the group continues down through this tunnel, and as you approach this area, the stench of decay grows increasingly evident. The passage turns to the east and opens into a small cavern littered with bits of broken glass, rotting pieces of paper, and other unusable detritus. The body of a male dhampir lies facedown toward the back of the cavern.
You also see the shamblings of 2 gillman zombies (Blue and Green) and 2 gillman skeletons (Red and Purple). They turn toward you as you round the corner.
Initiative
Round 1
Boris
Nivla
Telandria
Zombies
Calypso
Skeletons
Alistair
Holly
End of Round