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The swarm is dispersed.
Janira beams with pride. That was quite the debacle. You could use with some practice throwing splash weapons, but otherwise you worked well together and overcame a serious threat. Janira produces a wand of magical healing and alleviates your wounds.
--
The dense forest opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer
cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching 30 feet
overhead. “Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,”
Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face. She
pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in
the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.”
As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods
come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen
danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth.
The halfling worriedly remarks, “Quick, take cover before
whatever it is spots us!” As if she’d summoned the creature
with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from
the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and
wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with
unbridled anger when it spots the group.
Wisely assessing that a minotaur is beyond her charges’
capabilities, Janira screams, “A minotaur! There’s little chance
we can stand against it. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling
off her backpack, “and head deeper into the caves. Finish your
mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and
join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!” She heaves her backpack
into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur
before turning to lure it away.
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potion of barkskin, potions of cure light wounds (2),
potion of feather step , potion of vanish , scroll of
entangle, scroll of gust of wind, scroll of identify, scroll of
mage armor (CL 6), scroll of obscuring mist, wand of burning
hands (CL 3rd, 4 charges), wand of cure light wounds (CL 3rd,
8 charges), acid, alchemist’s fire (2), holy water, smokestick,
tanglefoot bags (2), thunderstone.
The narrow tunnel twists and turns for several hundred feet
before slowly opening to a wider passage. A large hole spans
the cave’s width and stretches ten feet down the path. At the
bottom of the pit lies a small bundle of cloth.
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Qadri starts to shrug and then realizes that Mika won't see it. He gestures at Hakon as he continues so the others who aren't as light-limited can follow.
I can see in the dark pretty well. There's a human who cast a spell to help my aim here though, maybe he's got a spell to give you a light.
Just in case though, let me see if I can get that bundle from below - maybe we can make a torch for you if we need to.
Qadri secures Cabbage Pharaoh at the cave entrance and pulls out a rope and grapnel to investigate the pit.
As he does so, he checks to make sure the cave tunnel looks secure.
No worries - I can't see worth a damn in there either. I've got us...
Hakon touches the tip of his weapon, which begins to glow as a torch.
Stay close to me, and you'll be able to see.
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Qadri secures Cabbage Pharaoh at the cave entrance and pulls out a rope and grapnel to investigate the pit.
Luxurious grabs Heffalump's trunk and climbs down the pit with Qadri to investigate the bundle. "Stand fast, my friend. I'm going down to investigate. The darkness does not bother me."
The elephant pulls back slightly and cowers whilst his trunk is pulled down.
Once down there, the leshy looks around:
Whatever the plant finds, it scratches a few quick notes upon a piece of parchment.
Traveled to cave. Attacked by swarm of snakes en route. Found cave. Minotaur arrived. Janira Gavix ordered us into cave. Hakon cast light. Found pit, bundle of cloth. Qadri has rope. Mika jumps good. Heffalump does not like the dark.
Hakon will carefully lower himself down, then climb up the rope on the other side.
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Qadri will gladly let the more nimble Mika borrow the rope.
Once it's secured on the other side, he re-secure it on the beginning side in a manner which will allow him to use his sift ability to release the grapnel so he can retrieve the rope on the other side before using the rope to cross over.
He'll cross last, making sure that Cabbage Pharaoh has enough feed for a day and creating a small triangular pen for her via two uses of kinetic cover.
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Having successfully navigated the pit, the party continues onward, with the more magically adept of the group possibly checking the bundle of cloth along the way.
The tunnels continue on, leading deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls. Even the most basic magical skills easily tell you that these are everburning torches.
The carvings here are different in style from the petroglyphs found elsewhere in the caves, and they appear to be extremely old. Scattered throughout the cave are phrases referencing Aroden, and images that depict these passages.
The carvings focus on parables that feature Aroden’s 12 guises, meant to illustrate his hopes for humanity, however many of the carvings are damaged beyond recognition and only four remain visible. These four are the craftsman, fisherman, merchant, and shepherd.
The Craftsman is depicted creating shoes, pots, jewelry, and other moveable goods, referencing Aroden’s delight at seeing his people express their ingenuity in creating new products from raw materials.
The Fisherman is depicted hauling in an enormous catch of small fsh to take back to Absalom, illustrating Aroden’s declaration that a great host of creatures could accomplish a great task, whether that be taming the wilds or feeding a nation.
The Merchant is depicted weighing and trading coins of different sizes, a reference to the holy text’s proverb that peace brings trade and prosperity to all people.
The Shepherd is depicted herding animals out of a crowded city to the pastures beyond, just as Aroden blessed leaders with the foresight to direct people to the tasks and places that best suit them.
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The tunnels continue on, leading deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls. Even the most basic magical skills easily tell you that these are everburning torches.
The carvings here are different in style from the petroglyphs found elsewhere in the caves, and they appear to be extremely old. Scattered throughout the cave are phrases referencing Aroden, and images that depict these passages.
Luxurious uses parchment and chalk to take several sample rubbings of the carvings in the area.
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Looks like this place was once dedicated to the Last Azlanti, Aroden. These carvings appear to be older than his demise, so it's unlikely that it's intended as his tomb. I know little of Gillmen or others, but it may be that he was their patron as well as the patron of humans.
He pauses admiring the stonework of one and gestures to it as he continues.
Perhaps the Gillmen knew him when he was the Fisherman?
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"Ahh. Religious mumbo jumbo! My favorite!" Mika says sarcastically as he starts to draw Cayden Cailean's holy symbol in the dirt with his rapier. "Aroden was great and all, but The Lucky Drunk is miles better!" After admiring his own handiwork he starts meandering over to the cave on the far side, assured his team is gathering enough information for the report.
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Kronis studies the markings carefully, etching it into his brain for future reference. "Fascinating. I do not know much of the tenets of the Last Azlanti. This will be quite interesting to look into at a future time."
He frowns, trying to think if it would be likely for non-humans - particularly gillfolk - to follow Aroden.
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You emerge from the hall of carvings. Through the wide tunnel you can see the soft light of the surrounding fungus mixing with the flickering glow of the nearby torches that reveal a grand chamber.
A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west.
Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semi-precious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
Kneeling in the pool of water, back toward you, you see what appears to match the description of a Gillmen
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Speaking softly to her party mates, Lisette says, "That must be the gillman Janira told us about! I'm going to go try to talk to them. Let's see if they know anything about that cloth we found in the pit."
Lisette takes the magical cloth and casts create water on it in an attempt to clean off any mud. She then wrings it out as best she can and smooths the cloth. She approaches the gillman, holding the item out before her.
Lisette clears her throat as she approaches the gillman from behind in an attempt to announce her presence. ”Ahem. Pardon me; do you recognize this?” she says with a smile.
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Kronis opens his mouth to tell the others of the gillman's disability, but Qadri beats him to it. He nods in agreement, then watches Lisette approach the creature from around the pool. He Steps forward slightly, in order to be close to Lisette in case the gillman reacts poorly, but keeps his posture at parade rest and his hands clasped firmly behind him, away from the stakes or hand crossbow on his belt.
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Likely those inscriptions were not made by or for the gillmen then, he thinks, and makes a mental note to share the observation later with Luxurious, since the leshy seemed to be as interested in the find as he was.
The gillman doesn't seem to be making any aggressive movements, so Kronis keeps back so as not to crowd him and lets the others do the talking. His conversations tend to be more of the aggressive, inquisitive variety; making nice is generally not his strong suit. To each their task and a task for each, as Father was fond of saying.
As everyone else begins to take notes, Hakon begins muttering to himself and scribbling the beginnings to an epic poem detailing their adventures Something... something... Quadri's quintessential quakes...something...Lissette lighting fearsome wall of snakes aflame... something.. the plant and the pachyderm...
When confronting the Gillman, Hakon stands back and lets the others talk, but remains vigilant in case his specialties when dealing with people become needed - lying and intimidation.
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Qadri watches the Gillman, trying to ascertain the best way to communicate, but waiting for Lisette's lead.
If needed, he'll use his ability to move earth to create a miniature crevasse to mimic where they found the magical cloth.
He tries not to wince as he hears his name mispronounced by Hakon and makes a mental note to find some really painful things to mispronounce in Skald and Hallit.
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Upon hearing the gillman's questions, the naive plant responds honestly: "Hello. I am called Luxurious. These are my traveling companions. I also have an elephant friend named Heffalump, but he's not here right now. We found this bundle at the bottom of a pit. Who are you? I see you like water. Sometimes, I like sitting in water, too."
The plant continues on a little more (Forest Gump style).
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The gillman has been put at ease by your offer of cloak and kind words. The cloak belonged to a companion of mine. I came to look for him and pay my respects. You may have it. You have entered a site sacred to my people. It was once sacred to Aroden, the dead god of humanity, as well, but over the past century, the carvings in the nearby room have weathered and melted, and I speculate that soon Aroden’s influence will have faded completely. However, other creatures have invaded the caves and are not so polite as you.
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Can you tell us why or how this place is sacred to your people? We would not want to inadvertently cause offense and, as you can see from the frantic writing of my companions, we seek knowledge of other peoples, their histories and traditions. I have seen what the sacred dead are capable of when moved to wrath and would prefer to avoid the experience if I can.