Into the Dolmenwoods (Inactive)

Game Master Daniel Stewart

The first few lumps turn out to be the remains of furniture; table, chairs, etc. All are badly rotted, however the 4th one you kick actually reveals bones and rotten clothing. It seems to have been a body hunched over something...using its body to protect or shield something underneath it.

Careful removal of the corpse reveals a small wooden chest under the body. A tiny lock keeps the container closed.

"Anyone fancy having a go at that lock? Otherwise I can break it open."

Brother Jacob shakes his head in the negative at Siegen's question. "Anyone hurt?" he says taking out some bandages from his backpack.

"I am. One of them bit me." Voronwe lets the brother tend his wound.

"While I'll certainly not say no to a mysterious chest, it's obvious Kenny didn't come in here - or ran at once when he spooked the bats."

Brother Jacob nods as he binds the elf's wounds. "I'm sorry that this is all I can do at the moment."

Ziyad takes his hand off the bite wound for a moment, showing 2 tiny puncture wounds and a flow he can't stop. "Its fine...perhaps some gauze, though. More curious is that lock box...why would someone protect a chest instead of themselves?"

Pickles holds out his injured shoulder for Brother Jacob to bind.

"Yes. It looks like Kenny didn't venture here, so we should keep looking. After we find him we could come back with some moss and long poles, and smoke the bats out without burning the stuff in the cave. Might be able to block the entrance and they'll pass out from the smoke".

Pickles begins to look around the area for any signs of the young boy.

1d20 ⇒ 18 Wisdom Check

"Or simply leave them alone. They're not hurting anyone here." Voronwe will join in looking for any signs. 1d20 ⇒ 15

Does the path we were following continue beyond here?

While Pickles is thinking of ways to destroy the bats, he notices a very faint trail leading off to the right side of the ruins to an area surrounded by bushes and small saplings.

Following the path he comes to what looked like a hole covered with a wooden lid...however the lid is now broken as if something heavy stepped on it and fell through.

It looks like an old well.

Wow, just realized we don't have a thief...was thinking we did for some reason. I'll roll one if my character dies...thief is my favorite.

"You think you can break that lock, without smashing whatever is inside?" he asks Siegen hopefully.

Whoever is going to attempt to open the chest, please make a d6 roll. If you happen to think of a method to open the box, you will get a bonus depending on the method...

The chest is the one in the bat-cave, right?

Correct...the one the corpse was draped over. It is small..about 6" square. More like a jewelry box

Brother Jacob shrugs. "I'm afraid I'm not a burglar and therefore have to lockpicks. I could just hit it with my flail."

"Perhaps it is best taken back to town. A locksmith can surely be found there."

Siegen takes the box for his pack, first scraping off the worst of the gauno.

Siegfried takes the moment after the battle is done to relax, only for a moment before he looks over the guano-covered room in earnest. Seeing no sign of the boy brings a sigh of relief, even as the others are talking about the box they had found.

"I agree with Siegen. We should bring it back and have it looked at. It may even belong to someone back at the village." Seeing Pickles head off around the ruin, he follows after the small man for only a moment before calling out to him.

"Pickles, have you found something?"

Pickles hears Sigfried about the same time he notices the hole with the broken cover.

"Maybe! Hurry come quick and bring some rope".

Pickles walks up to the hole, and looks down it.

"Hello! Kenny are you down there"?

"If truly he fell, perhaps he is too unconscious to respond. I have an idea..." so the magic-user claims, tying his lit lantern onto the end of his rope.

He lowers the light down the well...

Also I dont think I said earlier, but I wanted to recollect the dagger I threw.

"Wait one moment...
Before he lowers the light, can I see anything down the well with my infravision?

The remaining cover is very rotted, and to protect yourselves you remove it. The pit is a stone-lined circle that seems to descend deep into the earth. As Voronwe looks down, he can see the pit goes down maybe 25-30 feet and opens up. Perhaps at the very edge of his vision, he sees water reflecting the light from above.

"Hmm, this is troubling." the priest mutters as he makes the sign of the Flayed Lord on his forehead. Jacob then looks around to see if the track they have been following lead AWAY from this pit.

Wisdom: 1d20 ⇒ 10

"No signs of life, but I think it opens up. There's water though, so this could be bad. We're going to have to go down, if we want to be sure."

"Aye. Who is most nimble here?"

"Good eyes my friend. Perhaps I can still hang this lantern just above the water...better to descend into light than descend into darkness." He secures the other end of the rope to a sturdy tree trunk nearby if possible and lowers the light down. Additionally, it offers a way for the fortunate first climber to make their way down...

With the lantern light, you can now see what Voronwe was talking about. The shaft drops about 30 or so feet and then seems to expand beyond the diameter of the shaft. There is also an area of water centred on the shaft of this well.

"Hmm, this is troubling." the priest mutters as he makes the sign of the Flayed Lord on his forehead. Jacob then looks around to see if the track they have been following lead AWAY from this pit.

Could we resolve this, please?

"Well I guess I'm the smallest and pretty nimble. Why don't you wrap my rope around me and if you hear screams of pain or terror yank me back up, and hope that I'm not just a worm on a hook".

The halfling pulls out his rope and begins to knot it around his chest.

"Hmm, this is troubling." the priest mutters as he makes the sign of the Flayed Lord on his forehead. Jacob then looks around to see if the track they have been following lead AWAY from this pit.

Voronwe will join Jacob in looking around before we do any climbing into wells. "Don't want to go down there if he's still wandering around out here."

You detected no other trace of tracks around this well. The break in the cover was recent, however.

"No tracks? That settles that."

"Wait!" Brother Jacob exclaims as he rushes over to the halfling. He is holding a small tin medallion stamped with the image of a knotted rope. "Take this with you, Master Twiddletoe, it will bring you luck."

Ziyad was hesitant to follow, and waited for the scout to report back. His main concern was of course the arcane notebook...just a few drops would ruin months of research!

He considered covering his carry-cloth with a pint of oil. But perhaps it would be worth it to cast a floating disc to hold the book safely above water, as he mused aloud to no one in particular "...a solid plane of force, evoked from the places beyond the stars. A scrap of geometry reassembled here, to hold and protect inks above the water in a sort of selfservice..."

Pickles quickly climbs down the tunnel and notices that once near the bottom the shaft flairs out into a tunnel running to the left and right. Directly below is a circle of water...it's depth unknown due to the darkness. You can easily swing to one side to the other to avoid the water. The tunnel is too dark to see very far.

"Then I guess it's down the well we go." Tie the rope off and we should all be able to use it to get down easily.

Voronwe's happy to be next down.

"By the elders...I shall go next."

Sigfried watches the others as they go about their investigation, noting the thoroughness in searching for the missing child. His first instinct was just to go headlong down the well, never once considering that maybe it broke but the child never entered it. As soon as Pickles returns from his scouting, he would wait in line to descend down into the darkness below following Siegen.

The small hole is cramped and claustrophobic, the air below being stirred by their movements. Once he is on solid ground, he takes out his sword once more and looks to see where they could go next.

The tunnel at the base of the well heads off left and right. To the right, you can see it ends. To the left, the tunnel heads off into the darkness. The tunnel is only 6' high and 3 feet wide, so you will need to move in a single file.

You also discover the pool of water is quite deep, but it looks like someone, or something recently dragged itself out of the water and a dripping path can be seen leading off down the left-hand path.

After climbing down and securing his lantern from the hanging rope, Ziyad takes in the surrounding architecture. "What was this place, to have such marvels of engineering...?"

Check for secret doors: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Siegen looks quite comfortable in the confined space, his gaze wandering over the stone.

Detect Construction Tricks 1-2: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Detect Room Traps 1-2: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Listen for noises 1-2: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Wisdom 14: 1d20 ⇒ 19

Brother Jacob is not overly excited to go into the hole and waits to hear back from the halfling before following the others.

Pickles tries to determine if the footprints look like those of a boy, or if the distance between the tracks is his stride or one of the others in length.

He then looks at the others, and holds one stubby finger to his lips, turning to face them.

"Shhhhh!"

He then takes a few steps into the corridor, and puts his hand to his ear listening.

1d6 ⇒ 6 Hear Noise (2 in 6)

If he hears nothing he will drop his pack, take out a torch, and light it.

The slowly drying watermarks do seem to be spaced out as if a youth had made them. There is no sounds coming from the depths of the tunnel, but you do notice a cold shift in the air that smells like old ice and...something else...you cannot be sure.

While Pickles is shushing us, Voronwe will listen as well: Hear: 1d6 ⇒ 4

He will also take a look down the passage before Pickles gets the torch lit.

Still at the top of the hole, Brother Jacob gets tired of waiting and climbs down the rope making plenty of noise.

"Brother Jacob, we have a likely direction for the boy."

Sigfried adjusts his armor once more, waiting near the hole for the cleric to climb down the rope into the darkness. With an offered hand, he would help the man into the tight quarters. The passageway up ahead was two narrow for them to travel abreast and with a small scowl, he'd assess the group before speaking up.

"Siegen, you should take the lead. The light will be above your shoulders and we'll have sight on what will be ahead of us..." His eyes move over to Pickles to offer an apologetic smile. "At least, most of us. I will guard the rear, who knows when we'll have have routes behind us and I think it wise to keep a shield in the back." After saying his piece, he looks towards the others. "Does that sound reasonable to the rest of you? I admit, I do not know your talents nor skills so correct me if my...assessment is wrong."

The party sorts itself out and begins to move a single file down the tunnel. The rocks all glint with wetness, and soon you can see your own breath fogging the corridor before you. You travel for perhaps 10 minutes or so when you realize that the rough tunnel has been replaced with smooth, tiled flooring and the walls seem to be smoothed and covered with white plaster. It is still cold and seems to be getting colder by the minute.

Another few minutes and the corridor widens and ends at a pair of iron-bound doors...one of which is slightly ajar. This is where the cold air is coming from, and it is a steady breeze flowing out of whatever is beyond the doors.

A hoar-frost covers the metal of the door, and under this covering, you can faintly make out some sort of embossing...

"Sigfried, that is reasonable."

*******

Siegen stops and raises his shield to signal a halt.

He watches and listens carefully in front of the door.

Detect Construction Tricks 1-2: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Detect Room Traps 1-2: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Listen for noises 1-2: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Wisdom 14: 1d20 ⇒ 9

Ziyad uses the heat from his lantern to melt some of the frost, attempting to read the embossing or tell if its a language of some sort he recognizes.

Have common, elvish, dwarvish, and dragon as languages.

The odd language seems to twist and turn as you attempt to read it. It at one point looked like some form of elvish, but perhaps that was just your imagination. After a few moments, your head starts to ache.

Siegeon also has no luck in determining anything about the construction of the door. Its craftsmanship is amazing, but foreign to the dwarf.

From within you all plainly hear what sounds like a child's laugh.