The Crucible of Freya (Inactive)

Game Master Grimmy

Ok you go less than half that far before you stub your toe on another bucket. There's a rotten segment of rope floating in the water.

Stifling a curse, Damien moves a few feet upstream of the bucket and holding his lit hand up, looks for any opening in the ceiling of the cave.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 8 + 2 = 22

"Think I might have found the access to the donjon, how's it coming on your end Deputy?"

Looks like you are staring up the well shaft. But it is dark up there. The rope doesn't go up, it rotted and broke and it's just floating down here in the stream.

Damien peers up the well shaft apreciatively, Basic rule of soldiering, only trust your own equipment, other rope was likely in no better shape than this one...

Damien whispers back to the others, "Found the well, no surprises this far. Rope's rotted though, need someone to scramble up with one of ours. I'll scout a little farther upstream. You lot hurry up, could use some backup."

While he waits for the others, Damien will scout further up the stream, say another 50ft provided there's still room to move easily.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 8 + 2 = 13 Sigh...

If he find's nothing he'll head back to meet the others at the well to the donjon.

Sam helps get Knotty up to join them.

"Knotty, you be careful. Let me know if this water is bad for you. I don't want you getting root rot from sewer water."

"Enroute sah! Be with you in a jiffy whot!"

Taking the cue from his (former) commanding officer Vhillish shoulders his arbalest and descends down Damien's rope to join him in the murky waters.

As the chill water meets the veteran, his moustaches twitch as he immerses himself;

"Rather bracing whot! Puts a bit of frosting on the family jewels eh sah!?"

Vhillish will move toward where Damien awaits further upstream

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

Jerrid follows the gnomish crossbowman down the rope. He moves slowly and carefully so that he can take his time and not fall.

Once at the bottom he scurries along to the soldiers checking everywhere for anything they may have missed in the shadows.

Take ten on climb down and then Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (19) + 15 = 34

Damien nods as the two gnomes make their way over, "Aye, much longer down here and my voice is like to be as high as Leo's..."

He gestures up to the well shaft, "You still got that ring, Deputy? Good, scramble up and drop us a rope, double-time."

Not sure if you have a rope on you, but it should be safe to assume Kev or Leo will happily lend you there's.

Vhillish nods and collects an offered rope (He does not have one)

"Right you are lieutentant. On the double it is sah!"

Climb: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

As the two 'little' men, in stature only, enter the tunnel, Kevezyat takes her turn on the rope, descending into the cool, damp stone.

Once on the bottom, she stretches to her full height and takes a deep breath

Though she'd taken up the Light in the surface-world, here, under the heaviness of the world, in the dark...was her birthplace.

Already, the small knot of tension between her shoulder blades began to loosen, she rolled her shoulders and grinned in the semi-darkness.

Looking up , she motioning to the others to follow, then bent and entered the tunnel...

checking if Leo has a rope.

Edit; nope no rope

He has one according to the equipment sheet. I'm guessing he gave it to Kev along with some of his other equipment, meaning she has one to spare :)

Ok Vhillish will need some help up the shaft it's a DC 20 but I'm sure it's something the party can manage without time constraints, with Sam and Knotty coming along too.

How high is the shaft? In terms of rounds needed to make the climb? Damien can use inspire competence to grant him an extra +2 on his climb check. If it's not too high, maybe Kev could provide an aid another by giving him a boost?

Barelli takes up the rear with Sam and Knotty. "My, what a fascinating creature...

At the well shaft, she points a gnarled finger. "Once we crawl up this well, we'll find those cultists trying to break into Eralion's tomb, I expect. But they won't have any more luck than Vortigern did. Not without Eralion's amulet. You should have seen his face when he realized his was a fake. Why I imagine he will be seeking revenge against whoever passed that one off on him..."

Damien can use inspire competence to grant him an extra +2 on his climb check. If it's not too high, maybe Kev could provide an aid another by giving him a boost?

Ok that will do the trick. It is 20' but with that inspire competence he can take ten his way up. And a boost on Kev's shoulders to get stuck in.

Consider Vhillish up and the rope dropped.

Shining his light up the shaft, Damien uses his vantage below to spot the easies path up the slick shaft for the nimble Deputy. Catching the rope as it falls he looks over his shoulder in Berelli's direction, growling, "Bloody prick'll have to show his face for that. Won't go the way he'd hope when he does..."

Stowing his weapons, the veteran hauls himself out of the icy water and quickly up the shaft behind the deputy.

Provided of course Vhillish doesn't see any surprises when he crests the top.

So that would be two rounds of bardic performance used for the climb, yes?

After securing the rope and dropping down for the others to climb., Vhillish quietly scans the area, unshouldering his arbalest in well drilled movements;

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

When Jerrid climbs up he reaches out to Damien and drags him close. "Listen - who has an imp? Who can use magic to change his looks? Who is Barelli!" he hisses with a little spittle so angry. So angry he cannot say what he wants to.

As Jerrid assails Damien with cryptic warnings, the serjeant-depute interjects, lifting the deep gnome's grip from his former commander;

"Now now Master Kinslarn. No time for riddles whot? Kindly remove your grip from the good Lieutenant eh, and we can all talk like civilised gentlemen..."

The veteran's words a quiet but firm.

Damien holds up a staying hand in Vhillish's direction and leans in even closer to Jerrid, growling, "I'm not blind! I'd wager my last two coppers on who that prick is pretending to be. But do you really think the Freyans will let you slit the poor cook's throat without proof? At least the problem's here under our nose, not left to scurry about. Now it's our job to test the bastard and look for the cracks. Got it?...Keep watch on Sam, if anything happens, it'll strike there."

Sam nods as Barelli speaks.
"You have the right of it. Barelli, head to the front. You have valuable insights that need to be ready to help quickly. Besides, I think your courage is being questioned by some. Hiding in a pot while others die may have been prudent, but now we need you up front."

Sam looks to Firean, sure she will back him up. He gives Firean a pointed stare, and waves one of his hands where Barelli can't see it, bit Firean can and points in Barelli's direction. That combined with the current conversation Sam hoped would be sufficient to convey his mistrust of Barelli to the savvy leader.

Sam then seeks out the paladin, and quietly asks her:
"Can you look about for evil auras? Freya is concerned."

Excellent plan, just what I was gonna suggest when she got up here. Pretty sure this is the kind of situation a bluff check was designed for though :)

So where have we crawled up into DMG?

Jerrid grips his lips together and steps back to Vhillish with a faint nod of acceptance that two soldiers understand his paranoia. He grins to himself again that the matter may be in hand.

"Don't leave me with the cook. I don't .... trust.... my mind on her," he grits out.

The well room beneath the donjon is as you remember it. This is the level that Jerrid was dragged down to by orcs. Down here you battled the half-fiend over the pit with the gelatinous cube, and spied the cultists in their quarters. It's a sprawling level with a network of tunnels housing jail cells, whose long dead inhabitants were raised to join the undead army now occupying the courtyard.

From the well-room a flicker of torchlight can be seen to the south from the room with four columns, where stair lead up to the donjon above and down to the crypt below.

I'll link the map in a moment.

Pretty sure this is the kind of situation a bluff check was designed for though :)

I have been rolling some opposed checks in secret dice rolling threads ;) But you can act according to your own suspicions and what you have figured out using your OOC noggins.

Eralion's Keep Donjon Basement

"M2" is the well room.

There is company right in M1.

Retrieving his hammer, Damien watches the flickering torchlight cautiously until the rest of the group has made the ascent. As the others climb, he gestures for Jerrid to scout closer and see what they're dealing with.

Janna eventually makes it through the well, shivering and soaking wet.

I am gonna need a long hot bath after all of this.

Janna makes use of her darkvision to get a good look around

perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20

Sam then seeks out the paladin, and quietly asks her:

"Can you look about for evil auras? Freya is concerned."

Kevezyat looks down at Samduc and smiles in the dark, her white teeth seemingingly suspended in the darkness, "But of course, Sam, we wouldn't want the Goddess to be worried." she says softly, somehow without a trace of sarcasm.

She then scans the tunnel area, focussing mainly on the edges of the water , where a mouse might find a safe passage. Her gaze lingers for a moment or two longer on Barelli's back as the 'cook' walks past in the damp tunnel.

Detect Evil

Kevezyat doesn't initially spot an evil aura, but once up the well shaft, she notes a small evil presence scurrying in the connecting area between the well-room, and the torchlit room with the four columns.

Mouse token added to battle map. The mouse is invisible but Kev knows the general direction.

Bad guy tokens added to the column room too. That room is awfully close, you all want to roll stealth checks?

Sam wraps his cloak around his small frame and melds into the shadows as he skulks forward.

stealth: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (17) + 18 = 35

Stealth: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 2 = 25

Damien waits silently with weapon ready, ears straining for any sign the opponent's in the other room have detected their incursion.

On my phone, please put Damien just south of the well. He'll want to be at the front of the main group should we be rushed.

I should ask, what do you do with the light source? You will see the flicker of torchlight as you reach the mouth of the well so the choice is yours.

The little gnome moves from the well to the east wall and slowly steps quietly round to the entrance to the next room where he can get a better idea of what they face.

Stealth: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (16) + 19 = 35

He watches and listens for any signs of what the cultists and their undead may be up to. Or if there were something they had not anticipated.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18

So that mouse/imp, where is it? Where, where?

Vhillish too moves forward slowly and carefully, attempting to keep noise at a minimum:

Stealth: 1d20 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 3 - 2 = 7

buts makes a poor job of it...

Good point. Damien will put the ring in his pocket as he climbs over and then slips it back on while keeping his hand in his pocket to hide the light till combat starts. Sound good?

One orc grunts and picks up it's spear. It walks lazily to the edge of the torchlight and rubs it's eyes before squinting into the dark... then it howls, seeing Damien, Kevezyat, and Vhillish around the well.

It does not see Samduc and Jerrid hiding in the shadows.

Knotty is next up the shaft with Barelli behind him and Leoven last.

A human voice barks an order from the southeast corner of the room with four columns, by the stairs to the under crypt, and the other three orcs stir to action.

Surprise Round

Samduc <<<<
Jerrid <<<<
Damien <<<

Round One

Sam <<<<
Jerrid <<<<
Damien <<<<
Vhillish <<<<
Kevezyat <<<<
Orcs and Acolyte
Janna
Leoven

Surprise & Round 1
Sam x2 <<<<
Jerrid x2 <<<<
Damien x2 <<<<
Vhillish <<<<
Kev <<<<

Orcs

Janna
Leo

^^^ order looks like this

surprise round guys remember you get standard or move action in surprise round, not both

Go

Surprise Round

Light flares in the well room as Damien uncovers his hand to take up his weapon, the veteran's commanding voice ringing out, "Draw them in! We stand our ground and break their charge here!"
Begin Inspire Courage, +1 Atk/Dam, +1 vs fear

Round 1

Capitalizing on his sudden challenge, Damien lunges forward and meets the first orc into the room with a deadly hammer blow. Connecting solidly, he shouts into the pillar room at the others, to draw their attention past the deadly pair hiding inside the entrance, "Come on you pig-toothed whoresons! Come and see how well you fare?"

5ft-Step : Move to threaten Dark Red Orc
Free Action : Maintain Inspire Courage
Swift Action : Arcane Strike
Standard Action : Attack Dark Red Orc

Lucern Hammer: 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 2 + 1 = 29
Damage: 1d12 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 9

Buffs: Inspire Courage : +1 Atk/Dam, +1 vs fear
Arcane Strike : +1 Dam, magic

This lot have the same longspears as the other's we've seen, yes?

Same longspears, and their backup weapon is light crossbow.

The orc teeters in place, head ringing from the hammer strike. staggered

Jerrid single moves into the room and then moves up the stairs above the cultist to attack him. Hopefully he can reach from where he is.

Jerrid ignores the nearby orc, Damien's hammer should take care of that and runs in to assess the situation. While the orcs and cloaked figure watch, he then legs it up the stairs above the head of the cultist. Then he stabs down into the hood.

sickle: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 5 + 1 = 16, Damage: 1d4 + 5 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + 5 + (1, 3) = 12

The magical sickle moves with sleek speed into the material.

The orcs feel the deep gnome slip past them, but before they can react he is up the stairs and stabbing down at the cultist below. Jerrid sees blue eyes look up at him, blond hair already matted with blood as the hood falls back.

Nice move Jerrid it will work. They are flatfooted too, so no AoO's.

Round 1 - Buffs: Inspire Courage (+1 attk, dam & fear saves)

As the orcs sally forth, Vhillish calmly loads his trusty arbalest (Move Action - Vigilant Loading Deed), shouting encouragement to his comrades in arms...

"Once more unto the breach dear friends! Whot-Ho!"

... before shifting (5ft Step), aiming and firing on the orc engaging Damien (Standard Action):

"Putting up covering fire sah! Heads up and hammer down pip-pip!"

Ranged: MW Arbalest (Small Heavy Crossbow): 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 9 + 1 + 1 = 21
Damage: Small Hvy Crossbow (Arcane Strike/Point Blank Shot)1d8 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 + 1 + 1 = 10

The orc lurches. It should be dead, but in it's death throes it clings to it's spear.

** spoiler omitted **

One orc grunts and picks up it's spear. It walks lazily to the edge of the torchlight and rubs it's eyes before squinting into the dark... then it howls, seeing Damien, Kevezyat, and Vhillish around the well.

It does not see Samduc and Jerrid hiding in the shadows.

Knotty is next up the shaft with Barelli behind him and Leoven last.

A human voice barks an order from the southeast corner of the room with four columns, by the stairs to the under crypt, and the other three orcs stir to action.

no Janna here, not noticed? take 20 on stealth? still in the well? still in the party? Heck someone say hello to Janna at least. Damien, give her an order or something, at least that way I know I'm somewhere?

I have you already up out of the well, I picked a square right behind Kev but you can change it if you want. It looks like you go after the bad guys in round one, but if you want to toss a stealth check, I used a DC 20 stealth to see who could act in surprise round, going by the enemies perception check. Hope that makes sense.

yeah me stealth... its all good really, just was feeling a little left out for a bit there.