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Sharimus looks around for clues that might point out where Sharrowsmith might be...
Sharimus looks at Gunther
I appreciate your concern for my safety, but I was told to strike first and hard. I saw an opportunity to take one down before we were beset upon. No telling if there would be more coming from behind us.
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After Shadow's channel reduces the undead to dust, you are once again beset by the hordes of flies and strange noises of the jungle.
Amongst the ruined mining equipment and bodies are two masterwork heavy picks and a masterwork heavy wooden shield. You also find a bloodied logbook. After the sounds of combat subsede, cries for help emerge from the collapsed tent:
Help! Help us, Dawnflower have mercy!
After you remove some of the debris covering the tent, you find three dwarves, obviously miners, severely injured and suffering from both starvation and dehydration.
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Once the debris is removed Lynn rushes over to the dwarves, seeing their intense wounds she digs into her pack for her wand.
"It will be okay, this should heal you." Pointing the wand at the first of three dwarves she spoke the word 'fiddlewarp' She would continue this until their visible injuries were gone.
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Sharimus looks at GuntherI appreciate your concern for my safety, but I was told to strike first and hard. I saw an opportunity to take one down before we were beset upon. No telling if there would be more coming from behind us.
"You did well, but also left yourselves and the others open. We must force foes to come to us, on our terms when we can."
Helping to clear the debris, "If you prefer, Lynn-Kuro, I can call on the spirits to heal some of their wounds as well." Looking on the dwarves, "Tell us friends, what happened here? Have a seat and rest. Let me look for some food and water."
"Here, take this. It should help. You are safe now. Tell me, have you seen a man around these parts? Sharrowsmith."
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After the combat Lilia sheaths her swords. While her allies heal the dwarves, Lilia takes a peek in the bloodied logbook. She realizes the value and quickly pockets it now everyone else is otherwise occupied.
Lilia walks up to the dwarves and looks at them.
"Hel- *cough cough COUGH*"
She hits her chest a couple of times before speaking with a hoarse voice, "Almost choked..."
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Lynn looked to the larger man, "No it is alright friend. Wands aren't really good for quick combat fixes like your abilities I'm sure. Besides it wouldn't have been worth it if I didn't use it."
Lynn brushed herself off as she helpped one of the dwarves into a sitting position. "Maybe we should move these corpses."
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The miners assert that they can return to Fort Bandu on their own. They also inform you that kobold raiders kidnapped 10 or more members of their crew and marched them off deeper into the Bandu Hills —likely to what the miners believe is a major kobold settlement in a forested valley about 15 miles away. They’re able to provide you basic directions to the settlement.
The fifteen-mile journey from the Gold Crown mining camp takes you on a long and treacherous route through the wilds of the Bandu Hills. The sun sets behind the hills and a full moon lights your paths through the jungle. It’s now dark and cool enough that there is no further danger from heat.
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Lynn was really excited to experience the area at night, she wondered what kind of insects and fauna would present itself.
"Such deadly beauty, a wondrous mistress is she, the bountiful unexplored expanse. Sad to think that we may never explore her all, even worse to think what she will become if we do."
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You avoid becoming lost on the trail, some of you even spot a feline creature stalking you from behind... it seems to wait for an opportunity to strike, disappearing into the thicket as soon as it notices you being aware of it. After a further uneventful night, you arrive atop the edge of a valley.
This ancient valley nestled in the Bandu Hills is well hidden, being almost impossible to spot from more than a mile away. Ancient megalithic stones—most of which are toppled and partly buried—ring the border of this deep valley. These stones, long since weathered by time and encrusted with vegetation, serve as the only indication that humanoids may have at one time settled this region. The thick forest canopy of the valley below hides any sign of civilization—ancient or otherwise— from outside observers.
If you investigate any of the stone megaliths that border the ridge you can take rubbings of the engravings on the stone.
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Lilia finds out that this must the Valley of Broken Blood, and a city that was once named Askurhall. While Shadow finds a safe path around the cliff Sharimus boos away the cheetah.
Once you have descended into the valley you find yourselves beneath a dense canopy of tall jungle trees. Due to the limited sunlight that comes through the canopy, the jungle floor is largely devoid of undergrowth, save for extremely small and sparse vegetation. The majority of the jungle floor is made of massive root structures from the ancient trees and moss-covered rocks.
You can easily follow the trail of the kobolds and miners, who did not work to conceal their tracks once they got this far. The tracks leads you through the jungle to a flowered clearing 2 miles from the ridge.
The dense forestation of the valley jungle thins here, opening up enough to reveal the sky through the canopy. Beneath this opening, an ancient ruin consumed by the jungle is barely visible. Vines and leafy foliage encrust toppled blocks of quarried stone, tall grass grows up between derelict paving stones, and squat statues depicting dwarves in heavy armor stand crooked or fractured entirely from the infiltration of twisting roots. Among the more notable features here are the exotic flowers—tall, pitcher-shaped, golden blooms with seven petals, the interior of each a deep red. The soothing fragrance of the flowers fills the valley, and motes of pollen drift lazily in the air.
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Lynn would pull out her journal and start taking notes on the flowers while also trying to identify them. She smelled the air delicately as she did so, "These smell absolutely divine." She got closer but only just so that she could draw a more accurate picture of the plant and get a more descriptive feel for the scent.
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Lynn watched as Gunther moved towards the plants before she realized what they were, "Gunther you should stay away from" *she watched him get gassed "them.. Quickly someone pull him away before the creep vines get to him."
Lynn would wait till someone tossed an end of rope to Gunther her weapons probably wouldn't be very effective here. "If we get a rope near him i can get the rope around him so we can drag him back."