"A guard? Is it a woman or a man? Can you tell what race they are?" says Anevia, with a little panic in her voice.
"Is there someone specific you're worried about?" asks Max, as he senses Anevia's concern.
With downcast and worried eyes, Anevia answers Max.
"My wife... She's part of the Eagle Watch, and we got separated when the battle started. She's an able warrior and can handle herself in battle, but with what we faced up there..."
She then trails off into her own worry and falls silent.
Rex grabs at the body pulling it towards him. He then begins to check to see if the man is alive.
As Rex looks over the guard, "Hey are you alive?"
Thick rivulets of blood begin to run down the southern wall as Rex moves the body around on the ledge.
Um..Ugh...That is a lot of blood, I don't think this will turn out well.
Max averts his gaze. "Is there any hope for that guard?"
Umm.. if you bring him down here, I can check. Rex?
Rex brings the body down from the ledge and sets it on the ground. With ample light now hitting the body it's easy to identify it as a middle aged elven man. His face is a broken mess, and his blonde hair is matted with blood. His left arm has been severely mangled by a large, blackened gash that cuts to the bone and runs almost the entire length of his forearm. Over top of his armor the man is wearing a tabard displaying a coat of arms, marking him as a crusader rather than merely a city guard. Though the tabard is torn and sections are missing, you can make out the Andoran eagle and the symbol of Iomedae.
The armor itself is chainmail, though it's been broken by the fall. Numerous split rings have caused holes to open in the weave. The man is also wearing a leather pack that seems to have miraculously survived the fall without much damage.
Inside the pack you find two small bottles full of liquid. One is marked with an H, the other is unmarked. There are also 12 days worth of trail rations, two flasks of oil, a flint and steel, a half-full waterskin, a bundle of twelve arrows, and a set of caltrops.
On seeing the body, Anevia breathes a deep sigh of relief.
"It's not her... Thank Iomedae it's not her..."
Max takes a look through the elf's belongings, but does not seem to have any particular insight.
He then forces himself to look at the elf. "Well, whoever it is, it looks like he fought something very strong and deadly."
Tina holds the bottles of liquid to see if she can figure out what they are.
At least we have some food and water in case we are stuck down here.
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Deia makes the sign of Desna over the body. "It looks like he had quite the fight before he died. I hope the rest of the city is fairing better than this Crusader." Then, after a short pause she continues, "He will never get a proper burial down here. Let's try to leave him with as much dignity as possible. Does anybody know proper elven last rites?"
Tina shakes her head.
"I'm not sure about elven burial rites, but I've seen my share of crusader funerals. From his emblem, he is a follower of Iomedae. Let's clean him up and find a proper spot. I still know a few basic rites."
Once the body is placed in some semblance of rest, Max will cast light to shine on his body, before uttering a few words. "Blessed Iomedae, this brave crusader fought tirelessly against the demons of the abyss, to defend the men, women, and children who call this land home. When forces of evil descended upon us this day, he did not flinch, but stood fast, a light against the tide of darkness. Let us bow our heads in rememberance of his valor." Max pauses, allowing a moment of silence.
"May his spirit find rest at last in your heavenly domain." Max allows the light spell to fade, allowing the body to enter relative darkness again.
Tina waits until the service is done. Where shall we head next?
"Poor guy." Kel says quietly, shaking his head.
As for the wounds on the man, you are unable to tell what made them.
The party gives the man his last rights and as proper a burial as they can. With the investigation into the scream over, there seems to be nothing of real interest left in this chamber. To the west is the cavern you found yourself in originally, and the northeastern exit from there. To the east is a passage that appears to bend northward after a short distance.
Horgus breaks the silence after the burial as he opens his crass mouth again.
"Well, now that that's done with can we get a move on? We've been down here for far too long as it is. For all I know, there could be looters raiding my home right now, and if that's the case I could be ruined!"
"As much as I hate to say it, I agree with Horgus. We've got to keep moving. We did what we could for that man, but there are plenty more above who may need our help. If you ask me, I say we should move as quickly as possible."
The bottle with the 'H' is a potion of Cure Light Wounds and the other one is a potion of Lesser Restoration. Very useful if we get wounded.
Let's head out, yes. Tina is ready to go with the others.
"The two of you in agreement? We'd best make haste!"
"If you ask me, I'd say the only way to go is forward. We know that what waits behind us in just an empty cavern."
The party proceeds about 80 feet down the curved path and finds themselves at an intersection. One path leads back to the west, one leads further east. Both open into larger caverns after about 30 feet. The dim light cast by the flickering torch and Max's spell reveal the cavern to the east to be strewn with piles of loose rock, likely from the quakes that brought you here. The cavern to the west appears mostly empty, but you can see a pile of something near the middle of the room.
West seems it would just take us back to where we landed, so east seems best.
"Let's keep heading east, then."
Kosz takes up the point position again and begins to head east.
The party travels down the eastern path and into the next chamber. The room is about the same size as the one you left earlier, but the ceiling has crumbled much more. Piles of loose rock of all shapes and sizes litter the floor. On the far end of the cavern is yet another tunnel leading east.
As the party passes through this cavern, Horgus slips on a patch of loose grit. As he stumbles to maintain his balance, he steps on a viper that was laying hidden amongst the rocks!
The viper hastily snaps at his errant foot, but misses its mark!
The snake sinks it's fangs deep into the man's leg, but aside from some mild discomfort there are no other ill effects.
Horgus slips on the rocks and stumbles about for a moment before finally regaining his footing. Almost as soon as he does, he screams out as a serpent strikes at him from beside his resting foot.
"By the gods! Get this thing away from me! AH!"
Tina stabs!
Horgus screams as the snake bites him.
"Get it off! It bit me! I bet it's poisonous! I'm going to dieeee!"
Unable to get a clear shot himself, Max decides to aid someone who can. Moving up to Rex, he offers a prayer to Aroden to guide his bullets.
Rex draws his club and moves up the snake. He strikes at the viper.
Even with Max guiding his attack, Rex is unable to land a solid hit on the Viper.
Anevia halts her steps and pulls Aravashnial away from the snake, checking for more as they move.
"Don't move, Aravashnial. Apparently we've stumbled into a snake's nest."
Aravashnial, still blind, lets himself be dragged away from danger without saying a word.
Kel had a hand on Horgus' shoulder and expertly spun him out of the way. The guardsman neatly interposed himself between the noble and the danger before he himself had even realized what it was.
He looked down at the snake and planted his shield on the ground making a wall between it and the others.
"Hold up Rex, it's just a snake. We stepped on it's home. Go on. I'll keep it blocked off while everyone passes and then we can just leave it be."
Looking over his shoulder for a moment at Horgus he said "Are you alright, sir?"
Wow. I'm a lot faster than I used to be.
Your body is borrowing my reflexes. Unfortunately, it has to drag your brain behind it like a plow.
Tina stabbed at the viper, inflicting a deep wound.
The viper bit at Horgus, but Kel stepped in to take the hit instead!
Max cast guidance on Rex.
Anevia pulled Aravashnial to what she hopes is a safe spot.
Rex used his new-found insights to swing ineffectively at the air above the snake.
Kel is attempting to block the snake from further attacks.