" Alright so there are at least 4 more traps, it looks like the wiring is at shoulder height, I'm going to move forward, until I reach 25 ft away from us. If nothing is triggered then let us follow the same path. Then Revery please cast Invisiblity on me, when you catch up to me, I'll move down the passage way to about 20 ft, check to see if I can hear anything, or see anything at all." Kwen pauses for a moment, the thought that this is such a bad idea.
"I'll move back and check the double doors for a lock and a traps, then we can go through the doors. Hopefully this will work better then last time, please stay quiet when I am scouting." Kwen says, then starts to move, keeping his hand trailing the west wall at shoulder height, while walking on the west side of the room.
"Sure, just let me know. I can cast it from a short distance, perhaps a dozen yards away.." says Revery.
Kwen, is well-versed in the tongue as the iksar, hell he is as fluent as a native speaker, but he is kept from reading, or knowing, the content of the blood writing on the ripped out tome page. He invisibly follows the blood trail up the stairs and to the double doors, which he finds to be unlocked.
It is not known whether it is his position in the room, or brushing against the wires, that keeps the traps from triggering, but nothing untoward happens.
(please include a search check for traps on the doors)
Kwen had passed by the hallway on the west side of the room, and it looked like it went about 15' before it turned southward.
Waiting for news from Kwen, Sajeek takes the time to tie one of his clawed handwraps to his left hand. He thought about attaching the other to his right and does so, leaning his spear on his collar bone. Flexing his hands, rolling his wrists, the vah shir takes up his spear.
In truth, he disliked these "false" claws. However, his own claws were suitable for annoying scratches, not lethal cuts. Nothing quite like the gutting power of Bast's deadly claws. Sajeek pats his spirit brother on the head, as he tries to wait patiently. Listing to the cries, he frowns, trying to not pace across the hallway.
It begins to dawn on the vah shir, as he replays the battle in his head. Swenj's dying prayer had been spoken in Shissar. Sajeek was certain of it , the more he thinks about it. A frown carves it's way across his muzzle as the realization begins to sink in.
"Swenj spoke in Shissar," the vah shir says out loud. "I think we might be standing over one of their relics. Maybe a buried pyramid or something. Or, something worse," Sajeek says with a shudder.
You have been going nonstop, at a full tilt, for hours now. Each of you has been dipped in horrors you would rather forget, but luckily your hours in repose has permitted the putrescent fluids to dry to your skin and clothing. Numerous wounds have been closed by magical prayers, but the remnants of the attacks remain in lines of fresh and dried lifesblood, and tears in your clothing.
Tales of your attack on the powerful gnolls, the defeat of the evil forces, and your part in the destruction of Swenj migrate through the women's
Revery is well versed on a number of subjects. His knowledge of the Shissar is as deep as any he has met. The Shissar were once the rulers of Kunark and the masters of the Iksar. These powerful sorcerers, large snakes with arms, challenged the gods and for their hubris were struck down by the Greenmist. While he knows a great deal it is a complete mystery how Sajeek would know what he knows.
Sajeek had been raised with stories of the Shissar teleporting their entire temple to The Grey, an airless region on the moon of Luclin. There was an attempt to teach the nigh-feral boy the language, but he only caught a smattering of it.
It appears that Swenj was empowered by dark magics connected with the ancient nightmares called the Shissar.
Waiting for Kwen to return from scouting, Gwendalyn moves among the women, tending injuries as best she can with mundane means. "We will rescue your children as quickly as possible. I know it's difficult to wait, but it wouldn't help them if we died in traps."
on the door
Revery sits and waits for Kwen. He wants to sleep, but knows these women wait for their children, and Revery has heard and seen the complete love and selflessness mothers have for their children. Most mothers.
He says, to nobody in particular, "I wonder... The wizard seemed to think he was onto something. And he was powerful, not stupid. Egotistical, yes. Anyways, let's free the children and get everyone out of here. Kwen, should we follow yet? Do you need my spell?"
Kwen finds no traps on the unlocked door.
Gwendalyn provides aid to the anxious women.
"Right, we can worry about what that madman was up to when we get everyone reunited," Sajeek looks back at the wires. "We should be keeping an eye out for the remaining gnolls," the vah shir says quietly. "If we are lucky, they don't come this way often."
The Beastlord hopes Kwen is able to get disable the traps for the rest of them. He was pretty sure the wires had something to do with it, but he wasn't to press his luck.
"Nothing on the door that I can find, I'll check out the passageway, everyone move up to 15 ft away from the door, STAY on the West wall. Don't touch the door, till I get back, I'm not comfortable with how things are going, I will check it out with my picks when I get back. Revery Hit me with the spell, I need to check out the passage way please."
The rogue says, feeling the weight of what could be a failure on the door, wanting to take the heat of whatever was on the door, or even if there wasn't a trap on the door, better for the rogue to open the door.
sneak at -5 for moving at half speed
Revery nods at Kwen, and provides him the spell (Invisibility, 5 Mana).
Not wanting to go second, he waits for someone else to move forward along the west wall.
(mana: 60/108, hp: 36/42)
Moving 15' from the double doors leaves the rest of the group, those that were wise enough to move up crammed into the west wall and touching the wires, near the bottom of the stairs. The group is spread across the wall, since bunching up would likely trip one of the traps.
The room feels voluminous due to the incredibly high ceiling. There are multi-armed carvings etched into the walls.
(include a DC 10 to determine that this was once a temple of Cazic Thule)
Kwen, visible for all to see, finds himself wandering off on his own, which was something that he swore off not so long ago. The double brass doors open without issue, revealing the anguished screams of perhaps as many as 7 voices.
Once the doors part the rogue sees a room 15' long by 10 wide, which opens both east and west to corridors. Two mummified guardians, literally parchment-thin skin draped lovingly over decaying bones and entombed in rotting treated linens, stand silent guardian over the entryway.
East leads down a 10' long hallway, which has two closed doors in it. A few feet down this hallway there is a small black lever that is currently in the "up" position. Kwen deduces that this would be the master level to disable all of the traps, or it is another trap that will activate all of the mummies at onces.
West has a set of stairs that lead up 5' to a larger room. The blood trail and screams lead in this direction as well.
Traps are sought out, and not found, permitting the group to hold back the mothers long enough to mount both sets of stairs and find wailing 21 children, of a wide range of ages and races, each sporting a deep gash upon their forearms. 9 have fallen unconscious, due to lack of blood. All are tied to each other by lengths of sturdy hemp rope. Near the doorway is a horrifying goblet containing the remnants of what you can only imagine to be children's blood.
The room speaks to abuse, since it stinks of unwashed children and their leavings. Though they are all close to dying of starvation, or dehydration, an expert hand has permitted them to barely eke out a living.
An exhausted Nogglegrop 48/48 hit points, 0/50 mana) launches into action as soon as he sees the children, using his divine magics on those that are the most heavily wounded.
Minor Healing:
Minor Healing:
Minor Healing:
Minor Healing:
Minor Healing:
Minor Healing:
Minor Healing:
Minor Healing:
No one really imagined that they would hold the mothers back, and they follow suit, hugging against the west side of the room, brushing their hands against the wires. They are reunited with a great deal of hugging and tears.
Trust is difficult to extend, but with one's child in their arms that trust is earned. With that trust comes a secret that was even kept from Swenj. "We will show you what the 'mas..." that bastard was looking for, and what we would never show him."
One mother, a footsome elven maiden, moves about the room becoming more and more desperate. With panic in her eyes she calls out the name that is no surprise to the party, "JUSTIS!!!!" You do not see the elven child here.
Following the wires to the children along with the others, Gwendalyn adds her healing to Nogglegrop's, though she mostly just binds wounds and comforts with a touch. Only the few worst off receive magical healing, for they're not done yet, and the horrors encountered so far are fodder for her fertile imagination of what they have yet to find.
Minor Healing:
Minor Healing:
Minor Healing:
45/45 hp, 10/50 mana
Kwen moves toward the elven maiden, trying to keep the hope that Justis is still alive and isn't dead. His stomach is a ball of ice, as the anger and fear start to fuse together; a mocking voice in his head echo's his last words I promise . Swallowing the bile that was threating to emurge from his stomach he completes his walk to the woman.
In Elvish " Justis was kept in a cage, away from the others, it looked more like a bedroom with a cage, there was music playing. We will find her, this is still a large place please, calm down while we search for her. I saw her, not to long ago I had to crawl through a very narrow hole to get to her. Alas I was unable to crawl any farther, the hole to get to her was much to small for even me to get out her."
Elven
diplomacy
Search check
A lever mocks Kwen because he has no idea how it connects to the others. It is a crap shoot either way.
Gwendalyn shows a pragmatism that Nogglegrop could not. The empathetic gnome hands over all of rations, magical power and tears to steal as much of the horror of this experience as he can. The shaman clinically assesses injuries and only treats the mortal ones, leaving children wailing in pain from slashing wounds that had not cut as deep.
Two gnolls had been previously encountered, and had done a great deal of damage to the party before they had been vanquished. 5 gnolls, as long as all gnolls were created equal, would tear through the group with the undeniable ease. They would hopefully be killed before they heard what the gnolls had in mind for the escaped slaves. Time is not on the party's side. The gnolls can return, from their hunt, at any moment. Every moment wasted threatens many more lives than your own. 74 tear-stained eyes implore the group to help them escape from this foul place. 2 almond-shaped eyes beg for the group to remain and find Justis. Elven eyes stare at the slain willowisp husk with horror. Her fears are momentarily assuaged, and she nods accepting the rogue's words.
Callously there is a push, by the desperate mothers that have been already reunited with their lost children, to leave Justis behind and escape now. These women start to leave with or without the party. The best exit, apparently least used by the gnolls, is near where the group rested among the rubble. It is a chimney of sorts, but simple to ascend. This tunnel has another advantage, for it is in a different direction than the evil party had gone.
The half-orc woman that spoke of them finding what Swenj searched for lets the group know that the door was en route in a small off shooting tunnel. The women had avoided the door, for it made them feel scared to approach it too close. They had never mentioned it because they knew that Swenj would have no use for them, or their children, the moment he found it.
Revery's eyes tear up at the reunions before him. How could they not? The emotion, even guarded because of the ever present danger, the joy, is as thick as fog. Its magic dispels the evil of this place, but only ephemerally, Revery knows. Such evil is much too strong.
Now he is a little torn between those wanting to leave and those wanting to rescue little Justis. They couldn't leave her behind, of course. He thinks of the layout of this place, this former temple of Cazic Thule, and the fastest likely route to the room in which Justis is held. He consults with Kwen, to see if together they can figure this out.
Knowledge/Religion
And he listens for the elf girl's cry.
Listen
Revery sees the signs of "The Faceless" everywhere. This place was meant to cause fear in those that were foolish enough to besmear its unhallowed grounds with their presence.
The east door the group passed in the trap room remains the most likely route to Justis, though it will force the group to leave the west wall to go to it, and considering the location of the wires you understand that there is a trap in your path.
Justis only whimpered, though she had stopped after the half-elf's pep talk, and the music box was very quiet, so you will likely not hear it until you get much closer.
Sajeek was overjoyed to see mothers ad children together again. They had suffered horribly down in these pits. What they had to endure to survive this long was simply incredible. While he bore the marks and occasional nightmare, Sajeek had been drugged through out most of his own slavery. These poor souls would not be so fortunate, their memories would be left painfully clear.
The vah shir tries to ignore the part of his mind that is thinking about how many more mouths their were to supply food and drink for. Getting everyone out of here and to the gypsy camp was going to be a challenge in and of itself.
"You shouldn't leave on your own," Sajeek cautions as reunited mothers get ready to flee up the chimney. "The plains are dangerous, and none of you are in any condition to hunt for food. That's something else we can help do. And we can help everyone get to the Gypsy camp."
The vah shir looks around, thinking for a few moments as he tries to etch together some sort of plan.
"Okay, we can arm some with javelins, for self defense, and there are the pick axes. The more of you that are armed, the scarier the group of you will look," Sajeek grins. "Not even dog-faces would be dumb enough to attack armed mothers protecting their cubs." The Beastlord offers up his spear, and the extra javelins he had picked up from the gnolls.
"We just have to get the last girl. None of you would abandon your child if they were trapped," Sajeek warm emerald gaze sweeps across the mothers. "The bastard you did this is dead. Very dead. Cut into pieces and run through dead. He can't hurt any of you anymore."
The vah shir takes a breath.
"Staying together is going to be everyone's best chance at living," Sajeek nods. "Running on your own, the chances of the plains predators attacking is greater."
" Alright, I'll spend a few moment to see if I can get a clear path for us, I don't want the gnolls from showing up again. We had a hard enough time with three, I don't think that five more would do us very good."
Kwen says while pulling his tools back out, laying on the floor when he thinks he has found a trap, it could be more arrow traps or something else.
knowing that we are on a time table, I can't take 20 on any of the search checks.
search number 1
if trap is found on first search check, then Disable Device
Kwen locates the trap (+2 circumstance bonus to find trap due to placement of the wires), and is able to jam a wedge under the pressure plate, thus making the trap impotent.
The door east, from the first hallway, remains locked and will require a fair amount of force (DC 22 STR check) or subtlety (DC 20 pick locks) to open.
The women are scared, so it is difficult to hold them to higher expectations of propriety, so they accept the call to wait, the weapons help greatly, as does the pep talk.
" You think you were so clever." Kwen mutters to himself as he jams the trap, ensure that it won't go off. "Got one taken care of." Kwen calls back to the others. Kwen pads off to the door checking for traps along the door and the frame.
search
Disable Device (if trapped)
" The door looks clear but I'd say stay back." The rogue calls back. Looking at the lock Kwen gives a scoff at it craftsman ship, then gets to work on it, using his tools
Crit success
People with keys don't open doors as quickly as Kwen is able to get this portal open (critical success). Everyone holds their breath, probably doubly so if they realized how cursory the half-elf's search had actually been. As with most things the illusion of aptitude was more important than actual skill in gaining the confidence of the masses.
As soon as the door leaves the jam your senses draw in the smells of incense, your eyes draw in steep stairs 10' east that conform to a 90 degree corner to lead north, you feel the breaths of those behind you being caught as the women slide out of the section of worked stone hugging the west wall, you taste fear death in the air, and finally you hear a whimpering and a music box.
No traps are found.
Clambering up the stairs you find a hallway that extends 15' to a closed door, and a corridor to the east at the end of the hall. Past a mouldering drape you find an ornately decorated room, festooned with tasteful hard wood furniture and rotten linens. The room is 10' wide by 15' long and has another door in it. From behind this door is where the smell of rot and death is coming from. Atop a fancy sideboard are a sheaf of what you imagine to be Swenj's notes. The notes speak of the coming of a honourable troop consisting of an erudite, gnome, vah shir, half elf and barbarian that will end the rein of Cazic Thule poison on Antonica. Only then will the innocent be released.
It appears that your arrival was expected. This was not encounter. Your arrival was foreseen.
Beneath the bed is the unharmed elven child holding the rogue's dagger and a serious crush on the half elf. The lock is no match for Kwen's lockpicks, and Justis is free.
Time presses, the gnolls might have already returned.
Nogglegrop cares only for the living and marches back to ensure that none of the women, or children, have run afoul of the traps, and to ensure that no gnoll has been sighted yet. They lead him back to the scene of the battle, and start to press back to the east.
The harsh clime of the North forces a certain stark pragmatism: the ability to set aside one's feelings and do what is necessary to survive, and then feel it all later. Gwendalyn finds that ability exercised to the utmost, as she withholds magic that could heal crying children, just because otherwise people might be killed by traps or gnolls or mummies or the Tribunal only knows what.
Tears roll down the tall mystic's impassive face as she considers how best to save them all. "It's dangerous out there, and will be worse here once the hunters come back." She looks around. "Two score nearly helpless without us. I hate to leave these mines for the torturers to explore, without seeing what the half orc found. But I think we need to get these to safety first, and then come back without them."
Distracted by the sounds of rustling paper, Sajeek spots the sheaf of papers. Moving to investigate, he glances at what he guesses where Swenj's notes or journal. Not really sure if he wants to get into the dead man's head, the vah shir pauses for a few moments. He hears the sounds of Kwen beating up a poor, defenseless lock, and decides to start thumbing through the papers.
Although he didn't really expect to find much, Gwen and especially Rev were the better learned, Sajeek decides to try and help the two. Since they were a little busy looking at the moment, and he was just standing around taking up space, the Beastlord figures he doesn't really have much to lose by reading. It's not like he really planned on getting a restful night of slumber. Not after dropping in the pit that had the bodies.
Before he dives into the papers, Sajeek gives the fancy looking sideboard a visual once over, seeing if it had any obvious drawers or the like.
Gathering up all of the papers he can see, Sajeek takes a few seconds to roll them up and shove them into his scroll case. He had glanced through them enough to get the creepy idea that Swenj had known that they were coming.
"Uh, Swenj knew that we were coming. He was prepared for us. His notes mention an honorable troop, it names our races, but not actual names or anything will end the rein of Cazic.. on Antonica..," Sajeek trails off, looking back in the direction of the room filled with rotting corpses. "That is so messed up. How did he even know we would be here? We didn't even know we would be here."
Revery is happy to see Sajeek saving Swenj's papers. He wants to get out of there as quickly as possible, but wonders if it might be worth it to just take a look at what the women wanted to show them.
When Sajeek suggests that the papers predicted their arrival, Revery's mind reels. How could this be possible? Oracular magic, of course, he supposes.
"This place is significant. Might we take a look at what has been found, on the way out?" he asks the others.
Sajeek finds the sideboard to be locked.
The ink was still wet on the top page, suggesting that Swenj had been aware of everything before it had happened. He never says who told him of the future, only saying "she" when he refers to the one that told him.
Swenj fully expected to die after bringing the group to his lair, if truth be told he brought them there to kill him, but the knowledge didn't stop him from fighting to his last breath. He died with a smile on his lips, likely bemused by the strangest reinforcements the very gods had summoned to bring him down. He wondered if the troop of evil forces knew they were nothing more than pawns in a cosmic chess game.
These were the fated ones, there could be no doubt.
His last words are written quickly, likely as he prepared to cut and drink the children's blood and engage the combined party in combat, "She will walk again with the sun on her innocent face."
It will take a great deal to fully sort through this man's ravings, but Sajeek sees something that catches his eye: his foster parents had been lead to the Karanas on a wild goose chase, with threats of a weapon that would destroy Luclin, simply to lure him to take part in events that were foreseen. They had been sent far south to die among the giants in the mountains.
The door certainly smells like it is holding back the majority of the stench of corpses, but the door remains closed, making one wonder what horrors lie beyond.
Each moment the group tarries is a moment that threatens many more than just them. Considering the power of the gnolls and undead they have met they are pressing their luck just rescuing Justis.
" There, I told you everything would work out Justis." the rogue says with a smile, glancing at the Sajeek he sees the beastlord struggling with another lock, shaking his head, after dealing with the lock on Justis, he says to Revery " All well and good, but I'd rather open up the sideboard, take anything and then not bother to check out the door. Whatever might be inside that door is something I want no part in, also we really need to move, the Gnolls are more then likely on the way back while we dither."
Moving over to the sideboard, he quickly looks at the lock then gets to work, moving as fast as he dared.
Kwen sticks his lockpicks into the latch and immediately regrets the action as a needle, coated in a blue sheath of poison, stabs him deep in the hand (2 damage). His knees go weak from the effects (4 constitution damage) and he feels sickly.
Reflex Save (Kwen): (critical fail)
Fortitude Save (Kwen): (fail)
Constitution Damage (Kwen):
Later the effects of the scorpion poison will rear its ugly head again (10 rounds hence), but though his body was caught unaware at the start, it is more than ready for the second round (critical success, no further damage).
Fortitude Save (Kwen): (critical success)
Constitution Damage (Kwen):
From the sounds of the receding voices it sounds like Nogglegrop has adopted a harem, not like it is likely to be much of a loss, considering that Swenj gave the riches to the gnolls in exchange for them keeping the slaves in line.
" Ai, too cocksure." The Rogue says turning a lovely shade of green. "Poisoned again today, Tis a potent one to say the lest " Kwen's head starts pounding, as his nerves bring the sting of pain, and poison, a cold sweat breaks out all over Kwen's body. His limbs tremble with the promise of the poison's embrace, his heart's tempo increases slightly, staring at the Sideboard's trap he says " Well at least Sajeek didn't get hit... Seriously...didn't think about that, I really want to get out, now let's go, we have more then just out lives on the line. Nothing else could be worth what we went through today."
trade skill poison
Kwen is unsure what the poison was that runs through his veins (failed tradeskill roll vs. higher DC), but he does knot that not much had an awfully potent kick. If he was to guess he would imagine that it was a mixture of poisons blended together for the express purpose of killing thieves. It really is an impressive mixture, since it is likely dried.
The slaves lead you back around the way you came.
A cunningly crafted tunnel is revealed on the return journey. It cuts back on itself so rapidly that you would never guess that there is a tunnel there. The women and children continue on to the area where you rested, and prepare for their ascent. They assure you that they can climb up without issue, for they had dreamed of this escape for months.
No guide follows you down the tunnel, leaving you to travel 15' to a single stone door with a 4-fisted symbol emblazoned in the middle, which Revery recognizes right away as the symbol of Cazic-Thule. The door is slightly ajar, as is the next one, leaving you to peek into an approximately 15'x15' chamber that has an altar on it. Hovering atop the altar is a ball of green flame, which lingers wafts of forest green smoke.
This magical flame is a thing of primordial terror, a thing that lurked in the dark recesses of the mind where one hides their deepest fears. It lacks substance or identity, but somehow you know that this is the flame you must douse to end Cazic-Thule's reign on Antonica.
It might be god's stuff, but it was only a flame, and was as susceptible as any other flame might be to water's touch.
Gwendalyn pulls out a couple of waterskins and hesitates as their proximity to the flame rouses old fears best left undisturbed. "Could it really be that easy?" she asks dubiously.
Sajeek's mind goes numb as he absorbs the words. His foster parents had been lead to Norrath. Just to get him to come after them. The vah shir blinks slowly. 'What so damned important about me,' the Beastlord thinks, emerald eyes roaming over the passage again as Kwen gets poisoned.
In a daze he carefully puts the papers away, blowing on the ink to dry it faster. He had been boxed enough between the ears by his teachers to make sure that mistake wasn't repeated. Following the others, his body pretty running on it's own as his mind chews on the tidbits of information.
Sajeek stops dead as a wave of deep fear hits him. The fur along his neck stands on end. Bast raises a mohawk down his back and growls uncertainly. The vah shir stares at the horrible, fearful altar, fear racing through his blood. The unnatual looking green fire burned, as if mocking there efforts to free the slaves and destroy Swenj.
Sajeek does what he normally does in response to being frightened. He gets mad.
"Oh yeah?!" he snarls, half to himself, half to the altar. Tearing off his mostly full waterskin, Sajeek tears the stopper out. "Here's what I think about your damn puppet!"
The angry Beastlord splashes the vile green flame and fearful altar with clean, divinely created water. Noggy was good to make sure none of them ran around thirsty.
As Sajeek empties his waterskin on the ball, the flame simply winks out, as if it never was, leaving no trace of its existence other than the wisps of tendrils of forest green smoke that linger for but a moment and are then gone.
You are left in a chamber devoid of supernatural fear, standing in a simple room that once was important, but now nothing to speak of.
Kwen shudders as he entered the room, but not from the poison, more from the altar room itself. His body telling him to run, forcing the trembling in his knees to lock into place, instead of trying to dump him on the ground.
The fear stopped as soon as Sajeek threw his waterskin on the fire, dispelling the fear that was emanating from the fire. Clearing his throat, trying force some bile back down from the poison's effects, the rogue hadn't felt this bad in a long time, each time he had been poisoned had brought the knowledge on how to work the body around the poison's power. Some no matter what, would still kill, those were the ones that were at times hard to find, or were very costly.
" Well that was fun." The rogue says quietly, trying to mull over the news that the group were 'fated' shaking his head but stopping as the motion makes his vision start to spin.
"Wow, that was... surprising. I get the strange feeling that that simple act has somehow blocked Cazic-Thule from continuing to act, here. Those women are to be commended. And Sajeek too, of course," remarks Revery, after the flame disappears.
"Well, then, that's done. We'd best be going."
Revery glances around the room for anything of value, and looks at the others.
"Huh." Gwendalyn puts her own waterskins away, thinks for a second, and then smashes the altar with her hammer. "Just in case. Now we'd better catch up with the captives, make sure they don't starve or get eaten on the plains." She's still processing the revelation that Swenj knew they were coming and yet couldn't avoid his fate, thanks to the coincidental arrival of their tormenters.
Swenj had given all of the found riches to the gnolls in exchange for them keeping the slaves in line. This was never more obvious than his pathetic garb, and this sparse room, once decorated by someone with refined taste for the finer thing, but currently a mouldering assortment of things once worth something.
The altar smashes without incident.
You return to the escaped slaves, those who had not received weapons had gathered their picks to wield, and assist them out of the depths.
The cheerful afternoon sun beats down upon you, embracing you with warmth.
" Well this is fine, fine day now. We should keep moving, Gypsy camp? After all the more road we can travel today and not meet up with gnolls the better." The rogue says, still reeling from the effects of the day, wanting to rest, but knowing that to sit down here would be asking for too much trouble.
The poison's drain on Kwen would pass... sooner or later, giving a shrug at the thought, Kwen gives a smile, glad to be out of the cave. With all the traps that the rogue had to deal with, and the failures of not being able to disarm them, had Kwen worried. Too much time spent trying to talk his way out of trouble, had given Kwen an to much to think about.
Giving a snort, feeling loopy for the moment, with all his bodies work at removing the feeling of pain, the endorphins were hard at work, a little side effect of working with poisons for many years allowed the rogue's body to do what it could at easing the effects.
"The portal is closer, we can go there," Sajeek says as they move. "Plus there are guards there. They can can send runners out to the gypsies or request aid for women and children from Luclin." The vah shir looks around the plains.
"So Swenj knew about us. He also knew my foster parents were tricked into coming to Norrath, to get me to come here. He knew that my foster parents headed south, so that's where I am heading." Sajeek looks at his friends. "The portal is closer and it is also south, so thats a double win. We would lose too many on the way to the gypsies.
He frowns looking at his friends, then down at himself. They were still covered in dried gore.
"And we are going to have to bath at some point. Not to mention hunt."
Revery is quiet as the group accompanies the mothers and their children to what is hopefully safety. There is a lot to take in. There are many unanswered questions, too.
Eventually Revery asks Sajeek about what he had said. "What I don't understand is what Swenj was trying to do. Did he want to die, to have his god cut off? And who tricked your parents, and why did they want you here? It makes no sense to me, not yet."
He trudges along, hoping for rain, but not cold.
"I haven't read through his ramblings. I was only flipping through his journal, such as it is. I caught the reference to my foster parents," Sajeek look oddly glum. One would think the news would have made vah shir overjoyed. "Whomever tricked my parents, wanted me there. And I would assume the rest of you as well. Because, there really isn't anything special about me aside for the fact trouble seems to follow me around. I'm a feral, clanless nobody from the moon."
The Beastlord falls silent once more. After a few hundred feet, he chuckles, and the smile that lights his furry muzzle seems forced.
"We'll be lucky if none of the guards recognize me. I'm not the most popular vah shir on Luclin." He looks at the freed women and their children. "Fortunately, my people are good folk and will be able to help the women and children. So my presence will hopefully not be noticed."
"As far as the dead bastard's papers go, I'll hand those out when we camp and I and Bast go hunting. That way you and Gwen can see what else you two can find." Actually, all of us were mentioned, so perhaps we should take a turn reading the pages, in case their is something each of us might recognize."
"To answer your question Rev, I think Swenj had captured a seer or oracle at one point," Sajeek looks over the gathered. "Or more recently. But I don't know, he might make mention of it in his journal."
You might be on the east or west side of the portal and guard station, but you know it is south of you, for it occupies a large bridge that crosses an all but impassable river. One need only travel south until the river and then guess whether to go east or west from there.
Though the group is in better shape than the women and children they are forced to do triple duty of constantly backtracking to help out, and more often than not they are carrying those that cannot go any further.
With 39 charges in tow, you push it as far as you can before no one can argue with the decision to stop for the night, even though it is nothing more than late evening. Hours, and hopefully the memories that accompanied them, were left behind you.
The evil group could rot in that underground tomb.
Your campsite is the bottom of a larger hill, which looks to have grown tall from the nourishment of a decent-sized stream that skirts its roots.
It is the shaman that notices the truth of the poison that lingers in Kwen
Gwendalyn (Heal):
Nogglegrop (Heal):
Normally a fire is a bad idea, for it attracts attention, but with this many children it is likely a good idea. There are few trees in your travels, but enough to keep a blaze going all night.
Resiliency is the name of the game. These women, of all different ages and races, leaned on each other for support during their trials, and they do the same now. They form a protective ring around their children, and those that break down, with surprising rapidity.
Nogglegrop walks straight into the stream, tosses his backpack to the shore and simply lies down in the frigid waters. A gurgled sigh of contentment bubbles up as the filth is slowly leaving him.
(please include a wilderness lore roll for all that are hunting for sustenance)
(please include a DC 20 INT check in your next post)
"Forty-four people will not be hard to track, if the now-freed gnolls are looking for some revenge, or entertainment. I suggest a double watch tonight, just us, unless any of the women nominates herself for it," says Revery, only for the ears of Sajeek, Kwen, Gwen and Noggy.
"So, Sajeek, tell us more about this portal. Is it a building, a town, some stones in a circle? Perhaps a giant ball of string?" he had asked jokingly to Sajeek. Turns out is is on a bridge. Revery wonders what it looks like.
When they reach the camping spot, Revery suggests someone with good eyes go to the top of the hill and look about.
Before Revery's watch, he will conjure up a new pet, but only after the children are asleep. He considers dispelling it before they wake, too, for though it should not interpret a playful tag as an attack, one could not be too cautious. One unfortunate attack from the pet on a child would be a terrible thing...
Wilderness Lore (if required)
Int check:
Kwen gives a shudder, his body was chilled, even though he felt warm. His body telling him that he needs rest, keeping his voice silent knowing that complaining wasn't going to do him any good.
Glad to make it to a stream, Kwen fills up all his extra water skins, up stream from where the gnome was washing all of the fluids off himself. Then after all that work, Kwen spends some time cleaning himself off, glad for a moment to have a chance to get clean from all the damage and other fluids off him. Stripping off his armor, seeing all holes off from all the blows that it had taken. Giving a sigh, then he perks up realizing that there was more armor to be had.
Finishing up Kwen, changes into his spare clothes, they were the desert garb, glad that he still had them, washing the stained clothes out, allowed the Rogue to feel better about himself. Going over to the women, he hands over most of the water skins, keeping two for himself, he gladly hands them over, then turns around to move back to the group.
Reaching the party, he throws his backpack next to the fire, finding some fallen wood, he hangs up his normal clothes, as best as he can. Pulling his bedroll out of the bag, he sets himself up to rest for a few hours before his shift. Pulling out some rations, he forces himself to eat something, stopping when he gets halfway through the ration, then shoves the rest back into it's pouch.
Wrapping himself up in a blanket, he sits down on the bedroll, shivering slightly, he rocks slightly back and forth, waiting until he could pass out safely. Agreeing for second watch the rogue sighs slightly.
The women, grateful for the waterskins, offer to tend the fire and take all of the watches, promising to wake the group should any sign of danger be sighted. Most will not sleep, and are eternally grateful in what the group has done/sacrificed, but more accurately are pragmatic enough to understand that their survival is dependant on the group operating at full efficiency. Many eyes will work in concert to protect those that slumber. It will be weird to trust themselves to strangers, but exhaustion is the order of the day.
Just like Revery and Kwen before him, Nogglegrop deduces nothing special from the reading of the Swenj's ramblings, though he is able to feed himself as Revery was able to feed himself. It is a far cry from feeding so many mouths. Luckily the proximity to the water allows all to clean themselves, and to slake their thirst.
Wilderness Lore (Nogglegrop):
INT Check (Nogglegrop vs. DC 20):
Both Kwen and Revery feel there's more to the message than just ramblings, but they are unable to deduce the pattern.
The portal Sajeek saw was like nothing anyone would have seen before. It dwarfs any structure seen before with runed spires, made of white marble, reaching up hundreds of feet towards the heavens. These spires are like 4 claws coming out of the ground and nearly touching each other.
After Nogglegrop is able to rest for a couple hours he removes Kwen's discomfort with a few castings of a spell (36 mana, lifeforce, repairs ability damage).
Lifeforce (Kwen):
Lifeforce (Kwen):
Lifeforce (Kwen):
The night passes without incident and all wake clean and refreshed (full health/mana, ding for those with sheets that have been vetted).
Nogglegrop works as hard as he can to help with the food supplies by summoning 3 loaves of bread per spell casting (2 mana each cast), which is enough to feed one human-sized person for a day.
Eager to be rid of the filth, Sajeek sets his somewhat clean backpack down. Leaping into the river, the vah shir sits himself in the frigid waters of the stream. Grabbing handfuls of sand and gravel, Sajeek begins to scrub himself clean, ridding himself of the scent of filth and rot. He peels of his armor and Dervish grab, scrubbing them clean as well.
Tossing his clean armor and clothing to the shore, he calls Bast over. The tiger looks at the water then his spirit-brother. Sniffing at his fur , the big tiger pads into the frigid waters. Sajeek gives Bast's fur the same treatment as his own. The tiger's ears lay flat against his skull and his mismatched gold-green eyes glare at the vah shir. Cleaned and fur raked mostly back into place by Sajeek the tiger leaps out of the stream.
Chuckling as he watches Bast begin to groom himself like a fussy house cat, Sajeek leaves the stream and redresses. Feeling wet, but so much better now that he was clean, Sajeek stretches. Picking up his pack, he digs out Swenj's papers, handing them off to his friends to see what they might discover.
Reclaiming his spear and a few javelins for hunting purposes, Sajeek and Bast go out hunting. They had a lot of mouths to feed.
Sajeek had almost fled the large group, needing to be alone with his thoughts. The vah shir quickly finds a bit of trail, giving him something to do so he could think. While it takes the two a fair bit of time, but the hunt went much better then Sajeek could have hoped for. Perhaps it was because his mind had been busy, letting his instincts rule over his body. Letting the hunter back out.
Getting the game back presented a bit of a problem. He settled for taking it back. He could stop a few hundred yards away from the big camp and gather up some help. He doubted any scavengers would be bold enough to come into a big group. And Sajeek had remembered fires being started.
Once the Beastlord gets back, he gathers up some aid and finishes dressing out the game. He returns his weapons to the mothers he had lent them to. Sajeek could see that as successful as his hunt was, it wasn't going to be nearly enough. The vah shir glances back out at the plains, realizing it was too late to go back out. He curses under his breath.
Finding that Bast had curled up near the small fire the group of friends had started, the vah shir takes his turn reading the papers, leaning up against Bast's back.
Blinking a few times as he is dragged out of his thoughts, Sajeek looks at Rev and has a "huh?" expression pasted across his dark grey furred face.
"The portal? Oh, it's not a town or anything. Trust me, you won't be able to miss it. Think of massive white claws trying to pinch a cloud," Sajeek looks at the enchanter and grins. "They are actually quite amazing. Of course, I was too busy running to really take time and admire them." The vah shir grins.
They reach a stream at the base of a hill and Gwendalyn examines Kwen, concerned about the injury that he took trying to open the sideboard. "I think it was a scorpion poison. One that attacks the whole body, not a wound that I can heal. It needs to be purged."
Spying Nogglegrop in the stream, she immediately becomes envious, and looks for a place where it gets deep enough for her to submerge herself fully. Accustomed to swimming in Halas Lake, she doesn't even count the water as cold.
Once she's no longer covered with enough filth to be smelled a mile away, Gwen starts to go out and look for food for their two score charges, but she can't put one foot in front of another while she has mana left and there are children still in pain. They made it out of the immediate danger, and so she comforts the five that are hurt the worst before collapsing into a bedroll, completely spent.
The outdoorsy Northwoman wakes at the first hint of light and moves upstream to fish. She manages to catch half a dozen before the increasing noise entices her back to their camp, where her breakfast doesn't go anywhere near as far as she had hoped.
Wilderness Lore:
Int check (don't laugh):
Sajeek is off the mark, but no where as much as Gwendalyn (critical failure), who would be as successful reading the document upside down as right side up.
The pattern is finally deduced as Revery and Kwen compare their notes (aid another +2). It requires a cipher in the form of a word, or possibly words, 11 letters long. Flipping through the pages does not reveal an obvious 11 letter combination that attracts your attention. You feel so close to solving this, but are missing a critical piece of the puzzle.
Between what the shaman and beastlord bring in, and Nogglegrop's (0/60 mana) summonings of black bread, all can subsist on partial rations. Suddenly the job of the gnoll slavers comes more clearly into the light. Feeding and restraining so many would be a serious pain in the ass. No wonder why Swenj paid so well, though of course it mattered very little for the man saw his death coming.
The march of days, or perhaps weeks, lies before you.
A comfortable routine falls over the group as they wander, hunt, camp for the night, and grow closer to the women that had escaped the horror. It takes a long time for the women to open up, but they eventually speak of their experience, which is exactly as one might expect: endless toil, being bullied by gnomes, watching their loved ones die, and worrying about their children.
You know not which of the slaves started referring to your company by the moniker, but it soon finds your ears, and considering that these slaves will scatter to the farthest corners of the major continents, it is this name that will echo through eternity.
Pravus Mortis
Meaning: "The Wicked Dead."
You are a guild of adventurers. These women, their children, and their families will ever be in your debt.
It is your selfless act, to risk your lives when you were exhausted, wounded, and low on resources, that will pay you back in spades in later days.
It is 13 days out that the attack happens, but the bandits are glimpsed by the party long before the first blows are exchanged (describe whatever prebuffing you would do before hand, daily spells are in force). It is 11 bandits, all hiding on the other side of a hill not 100' away, thinking they are hidden by the tall grass, but your party's eyes are sharper than that.
Initiative:
- Group
- Bandits (no action the first round)
(please include surprise round action, single action or move)
The sound of a raging river, likely within less than a mile ahead, rewards you for your perseverance, your travel south had brought you to a large landmark. The question was whether to turn east or west, should you survive this combat, is left lingering on your lips.
Perhaps one of the bandits can tell you.