After your breakfast, the faerie flies forward the tunnel but it stops at the first crossed tunnel and looks at you for the way further. You look at each, other, and only JJ, Ryan and Juraan seem to know about how to really track someone down.
DC: ?
After an initial discussion the three decide to take the westernmost corridor.
That is just the first decision, but one tunnel follows another one, and then another one. After one hour walking around you have not really seen any sign of a group of duergars.
DC: ?
Thus, you decide to walk back and try checking other tunnels again. Juraan wants to continue, but after some discussion Ryan finds out what seems a fragment of duergar beard. You do start walking in that direction.
DC: ?
After another hour of turns and downs, Juraan finds out the rests of peeing on one of the secondary tunnels. Further research makes him think these is product of the duergar, so you take the new alley and keep walking.
DC: ?
The hints turn faint and after four hours walking you find yourself lost and hungry so you stop for lunch.
DC: ?
The lunch serves JJ to reflect about some hint he found a mile ago, so you turn back that way and find back the tracks of the duergars. It seems they have been eating here and small bones are found.
DC: ?
JJ is determined to find the duergars and keeps pushing the team infallibly finding the duergar whereabouts tunnel after tunnel.
DC: ?
One hour later it is clear the track is lost once again and you are forced to call a small stop to reflect on the next move.
DC: ?
JJ reaches the conclusion the duergar must have taken a wide cliff you decided to avoid half-mile ago. You walk back and set camp under the cliff calling the day off. JJ examines the cliff finding what seems the marks of crampons he thinks product of the duergar tools.
You have walked for the whole day and you do think you have moved half-day into the duergars direction.
Kikinnin pulls out his Rope of Climbing, handing it to JJ. "No sense in stopping just yet. The longer we delay, the likelier we lose both fish."
"Oh...this p-place is a m-maze!" Marigold huffs as she leans against the side of the cliff. Her legs felt like jelly after all the walking but she knew that Kikinnin was right - the more ground they could cover in one day the easier it would be to find the duergar and their captives.
"I am so g-glad you have that K-Kikinnin," she puffs as the dwarf pulls out the magical rope. "B-because I think that's about the only w-way some of us are going to m-make it up that s-slope..."
Glad for the brief respite, Juraan takes a few deep breaths.
"Well, we certainly are getting our exercise! No doubt about that."
"Kikinnin's right of course. We better press on."
"With any luck, they aren't aware we're following them."
"I'm also not an accomplished climber, so lead on, Kikinnin.
Kikinnin nods to Marigold. "It's been a good investment." Turning to Juraan, he points to JJ. "Oh, I'm going to guard the rear, Professor. The boy's taking point."
"Some investments profit us more so than others, excellent choice on the rope as Marigold said. I'll go up behind JJ to guard the top as the others come up."
JJ quickly climbs up the rope, being as silent as he can as he reaches the top of the cliff.
Once at the top he carefully peers around before climbing over the lip.
JJ climbs up skillfully while the faerie flies around him, blue brilliant dust falling over his head. Once up he observes no menace around and sets the rope for the group to easily go up.
Ryan follows then, with the help of the rope the task is easy for the strong cleric.
Kikinnin reaches the ledge, pulling himself up, and rounding up the rope, while taking in the new space. "Can you tell which direction they took, then?" It's clear from the black-beard's energy that he's ready to continue on.
"I'm happy to continue on.." says JJ, admiring the view from the cliff top.
"But Marigold is still recovering from that fungus...Perhaps we should rest here for a bit."
"This climbing lark is Easy! Easy-peasy!"
"How much of a lead do you think those duergar could have on us?"
"But Marigold is still recovering from that fungus...Perhaps we should rest here for a bit."
Kikinnin shakes his head. "We've pressed on before, seen ourselves pushed to our capacity and then some. This strikes me as no different. We have ways of dealing with fatigue if and when it settles in. We are now committed to a hunt, and it won't do to let the prey rest easy."
"I'm f-fine," Marigold agrees stubbornly. "The c-climbing was the only p-part I was worried about. I can k-keep going...but th-thanks, JJ," she smiles, trying to ease her friend's worry.
Maxim easily scales the heights, then nods in agreement with his fellow dwur;
"Reckon so... Iffen the dvergr knew we was comin' my estimations would have been an ambush afore now..."
He checks over his kit, ensuring nothing has been dislodged in the climb, then tips his head toward the way ahead;
"Presumin' they don't know their being hunted, they'll likely make camp... Iffen we can come upon em, we'll be tired but have the element o' surprise..."
"Right then..." says JJ, giving Marigold a quick look of concern/
"Let us see if we can't make some progress and catch up on these greyfaces."
He cautiously moves into the lead and continues tracking the dwarves.
It takes a while for Kikinnin and Marigold to remove their heavy armors, lace them and pull them up. Eventually they are free to more securely climb up. The rest of the party profits the time to have a break.
JJ's understanding says the duergars have been in the cliff some days ago. It is difficult to establish the current number of days due to the solid nature of the ground.
After a quick supper the party continues walking down the corridors of the Darklands pushing forward.
DC: ?
DC 10
DC: ?
DC 12
The signs of the duergar are quickly lost and it takes a couple of hours until walking back to the cliff, Ryan finds a hole with marks of humanoids having passed by recently. After two hours of forced march the party is in the departure point and everybody is fatigued but Kikinnin whom still feels ok.
DC: ?
DC 14
Ryan has a lead on the tracks this time and so the party keeps walking in that direction. After one more hour of forced march JJ, Maxim and Juraan are visibly exhausted and walking half slower than the rest of the party.
Your faerie companion closes its wings and looks for a comfortable place to sleep within Juraan's clothes.
The group has walked three more hours and advanced two in the direction of the duergar. An hour rest is called for the exhausted to recover and you profit the opportunity to eat some more of your supplies.
Hours since breakfast: 13 Hours since cliff: 5
Hours taken to the duergar: 8
DC: ?
DC 16
JJ leads the way during the next hour. The ranger finding the track tunnel after tunnel despite the difficulties of the ground. The strong slopes down then up end fatiguing even Kikinnin. Maxim, Juraan and Ryan become exhausted and the group is forced once again to call for a stop.
Hours since breakfast: 14 Hours since cliff: 6
Hours taken to the duergar: 9
Darklands day: 3rd (+6 forced march hours)
Days since faeries lake: 1
Maxim wheezes and curses ever taking a cigar from his Uncle.
He spits, then offers his take on the situation;
"Hell's Teeth I'm done... We need to rest I reckon or it'll just be Kikinnin there that's fit for the scrap to come!"
Jurran will try to gesture to their new faerie friend that they are all exhausted.
He will point to himself and all the others and make gestures and/or faces to try to get it to understand we can barely stand and need a rest.
As they plan their next move (or stop) Maxim casts the Comprehend Languages incantation should the faerie speak to them at all.
"we should rest before we <yawn> become a danger to ourselves. I'm tired but I'll take first watch, so the rest of you can get some rest."
Weary as only a late teens can be, JJ slumps to the ground.
"I've not been this beat since Uncle Alex suggested we go on a picnic that turned out to be a day long forced march." sighs the boy.
"Anyone got something tasty to eat?"
"I think we've still got mushrooms. Yum, yum!"
As they stop for rest Ryan gathers everyone together and petitions Abadar to refresh them from the long day's march.
NL healed
3/5 channels used for today
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"At least after th-this I'll be able to f-fit into my m-mother's wedding dress..." Marigold huffs as they stop for another breather. "Th-Think I'll be able to f-find a husband to go-to with it down here?" she adds, trying to make light of their situation.
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JJ looks startled at Marigold.
"You're far too young to get married..." he says, grateful for the break.
"But when you are older... can I give you away?"
As he thinks of the creatures down under the young man can't quite repress a shudder.
"I don't think there are many nice people down here Marigold. You'd be much happier getting married under the stars, wouldn't you?"
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Maxim sets himself down and lights up the stub of a stogie he's been keeping primed.
He wryly smiles as he enjoys the cigar and the respite;
"That's better... Good surface smoke in my lungs o'er this stifling Darkland air."
At JJ and Marigold's interchange the gun-mage offers his 2 coins worth;
"Only agree to that Lil' Miss iffen yer fine with him makin' eyes at yer bridesmaids!"
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"I AM NOT DANDARION!" snarls JJ, rather upset at the ongoing poking of fun.
"I meet one woman. One. And she puts the moves on me, not the other way around. And yes, she turns out to be a psychopathic priest to some unholy god. IS THAT MY FAULT?"
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"T-too young!? We're the s-same age!" Marigold huffs. "A-Anyway I was m-mostly joking...unless we rescue a f-fairy prince I don't think m-my chances of f-finding anyone down here are very g-good."
Then she giggles. "And n-no...that's not your f-fault JJ. M-Maybe you're j-just like catnip to b-bad women..."
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Maxim raises an eyebrow at JJ's outburst;
"Easy there Surabar... Just yankin' yer chain that's all... We know you ain't no lothario!"
He stifles a chuckle as he mulls Marigold's analogy;
"Though Lil' Miss may have the right o' it. Catnip fer the bad 'uns..."
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"The boy's so worked up, he keeps confusing Ruben and Dandarrion." Kikinnin chuckles. "Catnip to badkips. There you go, boy. You've got yourself a new nickname, courtesy of the miss."
The black-beard claps JJ on the back. "'Catnip'. It suits you."
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Somewhat mollified, JJ sits down. "Catnip. That is kind of catchy actually. I like it."
He turns a grin to Marigold. "And I am far too young to get married!" he says proudly making his point.
Though Jack was married by my age. So was Bert. Harry didn't have any choice in the matter after Bertha's father found them...
He drifts off into a well earned cat-nap.
"I'll have a kip too. Don't let me oversleep!."
Juraan quickly uses a charge of his wand of Mage Armour as a precaution.
Then gets as comfortable as he can for a quick snooze.
As JJ and Juraan hunker down for rest, Maxim shrugs his shoulders and takes a puff of his stogie;
"Guess I'm on first watch..."
Following the good professor's example he activates a charge of his own Wand of Mage Armour whilst he maintains vigil.
:
Sensing a lull in the activity, Kikinnin sits down with his fellow dwarf. "Looks like I'll be joining you. Nothing happening at present, things have grown quiet. Here's to hoping we'll see something more after we rest."
The black-beard coughs a couple of times, listening to the resonance in the cavern. He cocks his head every so often, as if he heard something in reply to his own words, not coming from Maxim.
After an hour rest and Ryan's healing, everybody in the party feels much better. Reinvigorated, the forced march continues deep into the caverns.
Hours since breakfast: 13 Hours since cliff: 5
Hours taken to the duergar: 8
Hours since breakfast: 14 Hours since cliff: 6
Hours taken to the duergar: 9
Hours since breakfast: 15 Hours since cliff: 7
Hours taken to the duergar: 10
Hours since breakfast: 16 Hours since cliff: 8
Hours taken to the duergar: 11
Hours since breakfast: 17 Hours since cliff: 9
Hours taken to the duergar: 12
Hours since breakfast: 18 Hours since cliff: 10
Hours taken to the duergar: 12
DC 10
DC 12
DC 14
DC 10
DC 12
Kikinnin pays the toll of previous efforts and after three hours the dwarf is too exhausted to continue. Ryan is required to heal up the party once again.
After some minutes the party keeps walking in the direction the tracks are followed by JJ and Ryan.
Two hours later the tracks are lost and Marigold and Maxim are too exhausted to keep moving at the same rate. Eighteen hours have passed since the group had its breakfast and only magic is keeping everybody from passing out in the heroic effort.
After undoing some of the previously walked in order to try find the tracks of the duergar, the party enters into what seems a cavern made of ice. While fighting to avoid falling on the slippery ground, the group finds what seems a ruined structure.
The structure should have been an advanced defensive post. The frost of the environment seems to have eventually produced the collapse of the structure.
Protected of the ice by the rest of the ruins, you find more mushrooms.
Kikinnin finds himself stumbling a little too often. He starts stopping in place, allowing the scouters to take a decent lead, before his sight requires him to move forward to keep them in range. When the ruins come into view, as well as the shrooms, he pulls up, and waits.
"We, uh, see anything?"
"I don't see anything."
"Yep, pretty sure there's nothing there."
"Just take care, because the duergar are pretty good at making it look like there's nothing there, right before they decide to show themselves."
"Funny this cave being full of cold and ice!"
After looking about, Juraan says:
"This looks like an old outpost of some sort."
"Looks like it fell to rack and ruin because of the cold here."
"I hope those mushrooms aren't like the ones we fought earlier!"
Upon hearing Kikinnin's warning, Juraan tries to keep alert and observant:
"Why would there be ice here under a volcano? Or have we really travelled so far from Cauldron?" wonders JJ.
"Wait!" he calls out. "Don't go near those mushrooms....They are a warning....They look odd. But I'm sure they are shriekers, they make a horrible racket if you disturb them. Some of the merchants in Cauldron use them as guards..." he looks at Kikinnin, gulps and adds "..or so I hear..."
As JJ squeaks about shriekers, Kikinnin's gaze inexorably comes to alight upon the boy. "More menacing mushrooms. Suppose it shouldn't surprise us, given the environment." The black-beard looks ready to speak more words, then catches himself.
He takes a closer look at the shrooms. "So, what do you suggest we do about those? Let's say someone wanted to get past the guards," Kikinnin looks over his shoulder at JJ. "You hear about anything that worked?"
"This would be a good place for the Duergar to be alerted to us."
"If they haven't been already."
:
Maxim takes in the frigid vista with an equally cool expression.
"Surabar has the right o' it. Give them Shriekshrooms a wide berth... Otherwise they'll scream the place down and bring the dvergr with 'em..."
The gun-mage nods toward the frozen ground and then toward the outpost Juraan identied;
"Poor place for us to get in a scrap. They have higher ground... an' we got slippery ground. Odds are they'll be equipped for the cold and ice. Damn Greyfaces."
He eyes the area, concerned there may be more traps or tells;
:
"Best to avoid them. I think light might set them off. Once.." he grows quiet for a moment.
"Well, there are some priests who are able to cast a spell to keep them quiet. You just have to know the right priests.."
Maxim wryly smiles and nods at JJ's words;
"Yup. You know them holy men... always performin' miracles or some such. Right priests, o' the right god, with the right miracle... Then we're gold!"
The gun-mage taps his holster as he mulls things a little more;
"Course, we got another option. Set off the shriekshrooms and maybes draw some o' the dvergr into a trap back where we came from, o' our own makin'? Survivin' tongues could waggle to give us more o' a heads up on what we're gettin' into."
"I'm figuring the Grey-Faces would expect to find something nearby the shriekers when they go off. Since they already captured several of the fey, maybe our lone fey will do us the favor, and bait them out, lead them away and to us. They might not think it too odd that a straggler tried to stay on their trail." Kikinnin looks over the fey.
"That's only if it understands what we're asking."
Maxim shrugs his shoulders but resists reaching for a stogie;
"My spell means I can understand the fae, but I don't make me a mystic linguistic bror. We'll need to rely on trial an' error o' wording and signs to get the plan straight."
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Kikinnin nods as Maxim reinforces the limitations to their communications with the fairy. "Maybe we should turn Marigold upside down, and shake her, see if another language falls out." The black-beard glances a side-eye to the halfling, before turning back to watch the shriekers and ruins.
"Can't you cast your spell on the little faerie as well?" asks JJ of Maxim.
"Then you would both understand each other."
Maxim shakes his head at JJ's question;
"Alas no lad. Enchantment just works on the caster... Me an' me alone... Unlike the spell I've got up my sleeve for the Grey faces..."
The gun-mage claps his fellow dwur's burly shoulder with a hard grin;
"Dvergr might be able to grow as tall as Jotunn... but my enchantment'll give my bror here the strength o' one!"