As you move over to the eastern mausoleum, you are greeted by rain, and another peal of thunder. The rain starts as a slow weeping, but in no time, the wind is picking up, and the rain is coming down harder.
Finding and following the trail of the 13 ghouls is not difficult, even in the rain. Although if this keeps up, it will get more difficult as the day goes on. After about an hour travel, you find yourself at the entrance to a glen where a stream trickles out of a narrow defile. The walls of the glen rise up to about twenty feet above you. While they are climbable, the surface is buddy from the constant rain. The ground around the entrance is littered with the signs of a battle, including a broken sword, dried blood on the foliage, and a human hand that appears to have been gnawed off it's arm.
"This is where they took us." said Tony. "They poured out of that defile like a tide of hungry wolves, ripping into us."
Looking up the glen, a mist has started to rise, and shrouds your vision past ten paces or so.
"That is where we need to go then" - Garrosh retorts as they spy the place from afar - "Feel like going in and taking a look before we move in Tony? Scouting out that hole?"
"Maybe we should wait until it clears?"
Belle starts backing up and activates a detect magic, wondering if the fog is magical.
Tony stares at the ravine, listening to the howling winds and battering rain. He palms the paladin's symbol and thinks for a moment before turning to the group.
"I will go in. But I ask two things; that I may use that potion of sanctuary we picked up earlier and if I die...just make sure I don't die being eaten."
"You can take the pot as far as I am concerned Tony" - the half-orc nods - "And you will not be eaten" - he laughs.
"Gather as much information as you can, but take no unnecessary risks" - Garrosh puts a hand on the scout's shoulder - "I mean that"
"Please come back to us in one whole piece... And as yourself."
Getting a little closer she whispers, in case they are being listened to...
"Let me know when you are ready and I'll cast vanish on you. That will give you a half minute or so of invisibility."
Belle does not detect any magical aurae in the fog.
Agyen focuses, and creates a connection between him and Tony. "We should be able to communicate via whispers now. It should last well over half an hour."
Tony thinks the top of the ravine would be save, but that the sides could give way in this rain. If the sides gave way, it could cause a mudslide, which might weaken the edge of the ravine at the top. He is also a little concerned that with the narrow ravine, there is the potential for a flash flood.
"I'm going up, and will scoop it out for ambushes.
Tony winds up his grappling hook and toss up the small cliff wall. When he gets a firm hold he starts his climb.
"Perhaps we should all go up? But I think we should wait for Tony before we decide."
Using the message spell that Agyen cast,"Once I'm fully up give me a few moments to check the area and make sure its safe. I'll relay some knowledge back and continue forward. Let me know if you follow and I'll leave a obvious trail, otherwise prepare for things to go sour."
While waiting for Tony Reynaud, still remaining alert, decides to learn about his new companion.
Brodin, what made you decide to enter Rappan Athuk anyhow? You don't strike me as a treasure hunter.
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Brodin sighs,
"Well, the long and short of it is I'm the last of my clan. If I do not get gold and glory, my clan will die out, so I heard of this place, which is famous for gold, and I thought I'd better try it. Found a group, joined up and set off. Sadly, they were not as good as they made out; we lost a couple to a wolf pack, some more here and there until there were just 2 of us. I said we should go back, but the wizard said we were almost there and that he was skilled enough to protect us and he was going anyway, and I figured that we would be better together than apart. The rest you know."
My condolences for your family and clan. Will treasure attract people to join you, then? I'm sorry, I'm not very cultured, I grew up in a country estate and subsequently a monastery.
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"You bet. Dwarf women like Gold and Glory - it's a sign of virility among dwarves; a rich dwarf is one who is hard working, astute and generally good husband material. If I marry well, my clan goes up in social status and my children stand a better chance of marrying well too, which will reboot the clan."
"Seems like a solid reason, if I ever heard one" - Garrosh nods, as he observes Tony's ascent.
Tony gets up to the top of the small ridge without much effort. Looking around, he sees the land around the ravine is fairly flat for a while before rising up. The mist which was present in the ravine, is also present here, but only forming a low layer above the ground. Looking into the ravine, Tony can see maybe halfway down the slope, but the bottom of the ravine is shrouded in mist. The ravine continues into the mist, but he cannot tell how far.
Feel free to give me a Perception check if you continue.
"The initial area is clear; fog is present up here, but low to the ground. I'll proceed slowly." Tony communicates to Argyn via Message spell.
After getting an idea of what's around, Tony stays low to the ground as he moves forward.
Tony moves forward, keeping low, skirting the edge of the ravine. The rain and mist assist in his attempts to be stealthy, wetting the dry leaves underfoot, and providing some background noise. He moves up the edge of the ravine quickly and quietly for about a hundred feet. He sees little below but the mist swirling and the muddy sides dotted with ferns, rain-slicked leaves and an occasional felled tree across the span of the gully.
Tony, feeling the Message spell waning at this distance, decides to turn back. However, before turning back, he finds a nice rock. Using The Mage Hand cantrip, he floats it over to the opposite edge of the ravine before dropping it into the mist.
He waits for a reaction, ready to bolt away stealthily.
Tony drops the rock into the ravine eliciting nothing. He moves back towards the group communicating what he has found, or not found as he moves.
The rest of the group debates following Tony, with Garrosh and Agyen pointing out their lack of stealth, and Agyen's poor ability to climb.
"Well, we could pick things up from the opposite side of the mist and see if there are tracks continuing on from there, but I suspect that the mist is a permanent fixture protecting the lair entrance."
"If there is a way around without wasting days, I am up for that" - Garrosh ponders - "Though we may be forced to simply plod on ahead if we want this sorted"
Pondering some more - "But, to have such a mist as a permanent fixture would mean a caster of some sort - a powerful one?"
That would make sense. If this is a permanent fixture it would follow that the denizens of the area would have no trouble seeing through the mist themselves. Makes no sense to blind yourself just to spite the other guy. Anyone know a monster what can see through mist and make some?
"Guys...and miss. I don't know much about magic and such. But I know fighting blind will get you killed", Tony says plainly.
"I rather fight on the higher ground, where they at least have to work for their meal. No point delivering them easy pickings. Besides it's going to get dark and slippery soon."
"Ok, ok, ok. I can see everyone just wants to go up the ravine, instead of in" - Garrosh chuckles - "Let's go then, but keep in mind if anyone is in there, they will just laugh at us and walk away - best I can do from a distance is throw them insults"
The half-orc heads towards the wall, and starts pondering how he will get up there - "What's the plan to get up there then?"
With some time and effort, you set up a system of ropes to assist in getting you all up to the top of the ravine. Agyen struggles, but with your assistance, and the rope, even he is able to get up to the top. The thunder and rain have continued, and by this time you are soaked to the skin.
Once at the top, wet and muddy, you move up the ravine to where Tony stopped. Tony takes point and skirts the edge, looking down. Agyen, Garrosh and Reynauld are quite loud in their plate mail, even with the sound of the rain, it sounds like three people walking with cymbals to Tony as he slips through the mist ahead of the party.
The ground rises in the direction you are going. Another hundred feet or so and the ravine still continues, disappearing into the mist and rain ahead. You occasionally get a glimpse of the stream at the bottom, and it does indeed look like the water is higher than it was before.
Belle will sit comfortably towards the middle of the pack, or at least not in the back or front. She will attempt to be quiet, out of sheer nervousness if nothing else. Once at the point where Tony made it before she will ping herself from her wand of heightened awareness which will last for 10 minutes. If something happens after that it is a wasted charge, otherwise it gives +2 to perception, +2 to all knowledge rolls, and +4 to init.
, +2 more if withing 10 minutes of heightened awareness casting.
Remember, +4 init if attacked within 10 minutes of reaching Tony's furthest scouting point.
Belle is a bit spooked by all the mist and the ambushes they have suffered already. But oddly, instead of a heightened perception she seems startled by every snapping twig or animal movement. Her eyes are wide and her fists clenched.
Moving further up the gully, Tony finally sees what looks like the source of the stream. The ravine ends in a rather sharp incline. At the base is a dark crack in the earth and rock. With the mist, Tony can't really tell if this is truly the source of the water, but it seems like the obvious source. The rain has lessened somewhat.
What catches his eye more than the dark crack in the wall are the skulls and partially decomposed heads embedded in the mud of the ravine walls. At first there are just one or two, but closer to the dark opening in the ground, the more there are until it appears that the walls are almost a solid wall of skulls and decomposing faces.
And then there is the unmistakable putrid scent of decomposing flesh.