Male Elf Rogue 3 | Init +8 | Perc +6, low-light vision | AC 18/14/14 | DR/1 Bludgeoning | HP 14/15 | F +1 R +6 W +1; +2 vs charm and compulsion | CMB +2, CMD 16 | acid splash at will | mwk rapier +7 (1d6+4/18-20)
Skills:
Acrobatics +10, Bluff +7, Climb +4, Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +7, Perception +6, Perform (sing) +5, Perform (string) +5, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +10, Swim +4
Perhaps a flatbear? They blow in on the northerlies.
Drop bears might be the most dangerous... but there are precious few who live beyond the initial encounter, so details are sketchy upon their capabilities.
As the crew ruminate on the various bear related genomes and their relative nesting and/or habitation characteristics... the path leads you inwards and deeper into the jungle. Under your feet you find that there are a few more trodden paths judging by the stunted undergrowth from tramping, and the tracks appear to follow along one of those passed by before. The sight of the shore disappears behind you as the path weaves and wends into the undergrowth.
Without too much concern you keep on the trail and take a slight elevation change upwards as you do. The more muddled tracks nearer to the beach thin out and there is just the single trodden path that you're following. A scant four or five minutes later the sand gives way to a more mixed volcanic rock and soil package. The sky isn't always seen but the snatches that you spy indicate that you're also being led towards the arse end of the smoke trail seen earlier. Just up ahead there's signs that the trail path you're following gives way into a more expansive clearing...
Any precautions before moving towards/into the clearing? - going straight in or attempting to come in via the bush?
Quillin pinches a scrap of leather to summon a bit of extra protection mage armor then sniffs at the smoke to see if we're looking forward to a campfire or bar-b-que...
"Careful, mates. I smell meat getting smoked, but I don't think that they're our kind of boucaniers." Curiosity gets the better of the gnome and he creeps forward with the others though he tries keeping cover in the brush.
HP 27/27, AC 12/9/12, CMD 14, F+5 R+0 W+2, Init -1
Knowing he isn't the best at keeping quiet, Bek merely nods and stays back waiting to see if Quillin gives a signal to come forwward.
No special prep for me.
HP 27/27, AC 12/9/12, CMD 14, F+5 R+0 W+2, Init -1
Realizing that Quillin only cares about staying hidden himself, Bek grins and moves up right behind James and Tipene.
Assuming we're on a 5 or 10 foot wide path.
Male Elf Rogue 3 | Init +8 | Perc +6, low-light vision | AC 18/14/14 | DR/1 Bludgeoning | HP 14/15 | F +1 R +6 W +1; +2 vs charm and compulsion | CMB +2, CMD 16 | acid splash at will | mwk rapier +7 (1d6+4/18-20)
Skills:
Acrobatics +10, Bluff +7, Climb +4, Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +7, Perception +6, Perform (sing) +5, Perform (string) +5, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +10, Swim +4
"Oh great, cannibals. How positively charming." Iscarel draws steel and readies a spell with his off-hand, his fingertips beginning to sizzle.
Taking care as they draw near to the clearing, Rackham is the first to spy the source of the smoke. A single timber shack lies on one side of the clearing and is in the mid to late throes of a fire that's already scorched through the roof and crumbled the walls. A thin charcoaled frame stands to line what it once was, but you'd need to progress into the clearing to get a decent view of the mound of charred contents to assay what it might have been. You can't spy any sign of bodies living, burnt or dead yet either.
The rest of the clearing sits between the hut and a small rise of rocky ground that houses a decline into what looks to be a cave complex of some kind. There's a decent spattering of guano around and a few pieces of accoutrement that suggest someone has been dredging out rocks from the cave.
Perception DC 15:
There's a hint of glint and sparkle in one pile of rocks...
The open ground shows similar tracks to what you've been following and found near to the beach.
Male Elf Rogue 3 | Init +8 | Perc +6, low-light vision | AC 18/14/14 | DR/1 Bludgeoning | HP 14/15 | F +1 R +6 W +1; +2 vs charm and compulsion | CMB +2, CMD 16 | acid splash at will | mwk rapier +7 (1d6+4/18-20)
Skills:
Acrobatics +10, Bluff +7, Climb +4, Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +7, Perception +6, Perform (sing) +5, Perform (string) +5, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +10, Swim +4
"I'll scout ahead a spell." he says, slinking toward the ruins of the house, 50ft. up the trail, and peering into the cave mouth. (Silent Hunter trait.) If any cover is avaliable, he'll conceal himself and beckon to the others. If not he'll double back.
Male Elf Rogue 3 | Init +8 | Perc +6, low-light vision | AC 18/14/14 | DR/1 Bludgeoning | HP 14/15 | F +1 R +6 W +1; +2 vs charm and compulsion | CMB +2, CMD 16 | acid splash at will | mwk rapier +7 (1d6+4/18-20)
Skills:
Acrobatics +10, Bluff +7, Climb +4, Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +7, Perception +6, Perform (sing) +5, Perform (string) +5, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +10, Swim +4
Iscarel will search the rocks at the gnomes behest, smirking at the conjurer's quip.
Padding first over to the burnt out shack, Iscarel furrows his brow to attempt to make some sense of what might've happened. Best guess he has is that it was a combined residence and work house - as he can see the remnants of burnt bedding smouldering in one corner... and can also pick out metallic pieces of what might've been mining and breaking tools. The smell of leather / flesh seems to have come from the fur bedding, some leathered clothing... oh... and the blackened corpse of what looked to have once been a human. It's too far gone for any easy recognition of what it once was... or how it met it's end though.
The sparkling that Quillin spied turns out to be a few chunks of raw gemstones similar to the ones salvaged from the seaside houses. Definitely looks like the source of the same is from the cave.
The interior of the cave is hidden from his eyes though, as a tunnel digs into the hillside and around a corner from where he stands. The cave itself is such that two men might walk side by side - but not much bigger than that.
There's cover enough and no sign of any immediate foes - so Iscarel calls the others forward to the fringes of the clearing.
Quillin shrugs upon viewing more of the 'costume jewelry'. "Welp. My curiosity is sated. Too late to save that burnt bastard and holes in the ground are for dwarves, not gnomes..."
Male Elf Rogue 3 | Init +8 | Perc +6, low-light vision | AC 18/14/14 | DR/1 Bludgeoning | HP 14/15 | F +1 R +6 W +1; +2 vs charm and compulsion | CMB +2, CMD 16 | acid splash at will | mwk rapier +7 (1d6+4/18-20)
Skills:
Acrobatics +10, Bluff +7, Climb +4, Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +7, Perception +6, Perform (sing) +5, Perform (string) +5, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +10, Swim +4
Iscarel gives the blackened carcass a disdainful sniff, gathering up the raw gemstones. He lifts up a pickaxe and looks pensive. "I've no thought of turning honest on you, lads. But I'd wager if they're willing to torch their own workshop there's something more valuable inside that they're guarding and don't want to be splitting sixways, savvy? Some pretty prize turning them against their own."
"Still. Storms a'brewing. Damned if I'm getting caught in the rain over a bunch of rocks."
Just playing devil's advocate until the others weigh in.
HP 27/27, AC 12/9/12, CMD 14, F+5 R+0 W+2, Init -1
"Don't care to see if there are more easy to recover gems in the cave? We're here for treasure aren't we? If none of the rest of you want to have a look, we can return to the ship."
HP: (29/29) AC 19 (FF 15, Touch 14) FS +3, RS +7, WS +0 (+3 vs charms, +5 vs compulsions), Initiative: +4 Perception: +4
I've a mind to peer into that cave--bears don't set fires. I think there's more folk alive in there. The crew'll want to to hear a better tale than just one burned corpse, right?
Quillin grumbles. "Should know when you're ahead. Well, I'm staying in the rear and if you try and pass me on the retreat, Gnomes got long lives and long memories."
As the group considers entering into the cave, a small issue of lighting presents itself...
What's your light source? - and who is holding / providing?
Quillin:
Your pragmatic nature keeps a second thought in mind... what if the clawed and bearish isn't in the cave right now... but returns after you've passed into the black...
Male Elf Rogue 3 | Init +8 | Perc +6, low-light vision | AC 18/14/14 | DR/1 Bludgeoning | HP 14/15 | F +1 R +6 W +1; +2 vs charm and compulsion | CMB +2, CMD 16 | acid splash at will | mwk rapier +7 (1d6+4/18-20)
Skills:
Acrobatics +10, Bluff +7, Climb +4, Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +7, Perception +6, Perform (sing) +5, Perform (string) +5, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +10, Swim +4
"Alright, whoever is leading, speak up quickly and I'll give you a bit of light. Anyone who's good at tracking should look around and maybe See what's been in and out recently."
HP 27/27, AC 12/9/12, CMD 14, F+5 R+0 W+2, Init -1
"Right behind Tipene. I can see a little further than most in the dark." Before proceeding, Bek has a look at the ground for tracks.
Survival (untrained):1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17
Quillin sees Tipene illuminated and the group tentatively makes their way into the mouth of the tunnel. The ground is fairly well travelled and torn up, however the best that the two forerunners can make of it is the following: that it has been frequently and commonly traversed by humanoids... and that the large bear-ish being has both come and gone from it at least once or twice. Details of exactly when and in what sequence are lost on you though.
The tunnel continues backwards and downwards making a gentle turn to the right. You wager that if you move in forty feet or so, you'll start losing sight of the entrance. Lining the sides of the tunnel are fragments of rock and cast off sitting atop the guano, but you don't see any sign of a wheel rut in the tunnel... meaning that the ore has been getting back-hauled. The air grows musty as you breach the entrance as well, a sense of stagnant dampness to it... atop the everpresent stink of batcrap.
I'm assuming you travel in past losing sight of the entrance?
Quillin shoos his familiar off. "Stay safe, Smudge. This ain't no place for a bird ... or gnome", he adds with a mumble, but nods his assent and follows along. Smudge flies out to take a high perch and keep watch on the mine's entrance.
Bek's concern proves to be at least initially unneeded as the tunnel continues on only a short while before widening into a larger chamber. The stench of guano intensifies as you travel, and there are smears of the same staining the earth beneath you. A twittering and flutter of wings warns that the cavern approaching is likely home to a large number of bats at roost.
Male Elf Rogue 3 | Init +8 | Perc +6, low-light vision | AC 18/14/14 | DR/1 Bludgeoning | HP 14/15 | F +1 R +6 W +1; +2 vs charm and compulsion | CMB +2, CMD 16 | acid splash at will | mwk rapier +7 (1d6+4/18-20)
Skills:
Acrobatics +10, Bluff +7, Climb +4, Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +7, Perception +6, Perform (sing) +5, Perform (string) +5, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +10, Swim +4
"That sound I like not. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, no?"
I think I can harm a swarm with acid splashes, although I might be mistaken. Not sure how weaponlike spells function in this circumstance. That said, Iscarel's options are limited. How about the rest of the party?
The bats in the chamber aren't likely to swarm and attack... but if disturbed by light they might scatter and make maneuvering and listening difficult.
HP 27/27, AC 12/9/12, CMD 14, F+5 R+0 W+2, Init -1
"Just a bunch of bats I think. If we move quietly, its probably nothing to worry about." I got nothin' for swarms yet. Knowledge (nature):1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Tipene holds his glow-stick back and to the left as he enters the main chamber... and gags at the stench. The tunnel opens into a significantly larger limestone chamber that looks to be forty or fifty feet in all cardinal directions. The floor of the chamber is carpeted by bat guano... thick and deep and pungent. The roof of the chamber is a living carpet of bats. They flitter and fret at the sudden influx of light into their roost...
Deep tracks can be seen in the guano both man and bear-claw-beast wading through and back to the far corner of the chamber... though thankfully neither of them is present yet. In the dim light you can see some sign of workings... but you'll need to get closer to get a truer reckoning of them.
HP 27/27, AC 12/9/12, CMD 14, F+5 R+0 W+2, Init -1
Bek looks somewhat apprehensive about continuing. "Disgusting. But, we've come this far. Shall we at least have a closer look or is it time to head back before we catch some awful disease?"
Male Elf Rogue 3 | Init +8 | Perc +6, low-light vision | AC 18/14/14 | DR/1 Bludgeoning | HP 14/15 | F +1 R +6 W +1; +2 vs charm and compulsion | CMB +2, CMD 16 | acid splash at will | mwk rapier +7 (1d6+4/18-20)
Skills:
Acrobatics +10, Bluff +7, Climb +4, Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +7, Perception +6, Perform (sing) +5, Perform (string) +5, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +10, Swim +4
"It's the dockside whores, not island coves you need to be worrying about, Mwangi." the elf smirks. "Take my word for it."
Male Elf Rogue 3 | Init +8 | Perc +6, low-light vision | AC 18/14/14 | DR/1 Bludgeoning | HP 14/15 | F +1 R +6 W +1; +2 vs charm and compulsion | CMB +2, CMD 16 | acid splash at will | mwk rapier +7 (1d6+4/18-20)
Skills:
Acrobatics +10, Bluff +7, Climb +4, Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +7, Perception +6, Perform (sing) +5, Perform (string) +5, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +10, Swim +4
Iscarel hangs back a little, keeping out of the light but ready to jump to Bek's aid.
Stealth:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14Why is it I can never roll halfway decently on stealth? Yeesh.