Sneak sneak sneak
Lumen looks over at the dwarves holding up their blankets to try to block the light. He chuckles to himself and moves over behind them, pulling out his own blanket and holding it as high as he can. At over 2 feet taller than the dwarves, he blocks more of the space above their blankets. He also glances back at the wall to see if he recognizes anything.
You all work together successfully to get a better view of the paintings and quietly replace the wand into the crypt. There is a brief tense moment when a burst of raucous laughter comes from the tunnels further away, but the Orcs seem not to have noticed your presence so far.
The paintings reveal symbology of the bear tribe. They tell a story of a fierce chieftain with dark magic who ruled by fear. They warn those who would trespass here that to disturb the crypt would have dire consequences.
He isn't the strongest one in the party but time is a wastin so he tries to move the slab
Come on, Netzer, ye gonna let the elf beat ya? Turq stage whispers.
The party moves to slide the slab into place but unfortunately it doesn’t budge.
HA! I knew you’d look!
What do you guys want to do?
1. Try again?
2. Leave it?
3. Prepare for battle because surely the Orcs heard that!
Or
4. Surprises me, come up with your own idea of what to do.
Okay, okay, again, one... two... THREE! Turq tries to time their effort again with his stage whisper... 'Mikh, Rodalas, and Rodney cover the doors!
Rodalas smirks as Netz redoubles his efforts. With a little louder than you’d have liked *THUD*, the tomb’s lid falls into grooves carved into the stone.
While the shifting of the slab is happening, Baldrick, head cocked to one side, has been puzzling over the paintings. Grabbing Rodney in a crushing grip, he whispers: "Hang on - so you're saying that er... chieftain? is the one in the tomb over there?! Amazing..." As Rodney tries to pull away, Baldrick yanks him back: "Wait! Who made the paintings, then?"
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Turq pats Netzer on the shoulder in a silent 'good job', Do we want to leave these orcs here? Do ye think they'll be a problem fer the folk o' the Towns?
"Should we ask them what their intentions are? Like, are they raiding or trading?"
Baldy, ye know what the elders say, the only good orc is a dead one... Do ye really think that any o' them will give us an opportunity ta talk?
"It's you play guys. But I have not heard of a peaceful orc, that will just talk to a group that has snuck into their lair." whispers Rodney
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Netzer looks to the bard and takes one of his off white bed rolls out and cuts out eyes and tosses it over the bard and says here's the plan. Run out and scare them. If they run off and keep running they live and we have a tavern story that lasts forever. If they don't run we come in and bash their heads and we have a tavern story that we saved a boy by beating a bunch of orcs this way and that Netzer whispers
This tomb is givin' me the creeps. I say we just sneak on back outta here, provided they didn't hear or see us knockin' about. If they did, well then it's a fight we be gettin'!
Turq shrugs, We are far enough from the nearest town, Easthaven, that it probably wouldn't hurt to just leave. Of course, if we alert them, then a fight it will be. Good with everyone?
The eladrin nods.
Baldy, ye know what the elders say, the only good orc is a dead one... Do ye really think that any o' them will give us an opportunity ta talk?
Baldrick looks uncomfortable at this comment, shifting from foot to foot: "Yeah... I mean, I've heard stories, but... our clan just relied so much on trade and... well, I don't think I've dealt with an orc directly..." he trails off, unsure what else to say.
When Umikh and Turq suggest leaving and alerting the nearest town, he nods enthusiastically and makes ready to leave.
On his way back out, Baldrick stumbles over a rock
but he manages to catch himself quickly before making too much noise.
sneak, sneak sneak
The party carefully sneaks out of the cave network and heads back north. It’s been a long day already and still quite the run ahead of you. With the wand replaced, the urgency of your mission has wained. The more experienced travelers are aware of the dangers of pushing hard into the darkness, but camping out in the open is hardly a good option either. It comes down to pushing west back over the icy lake, heading north to Easthaven to rest and then finish the rest of the journey tomorrow, or camping out in the open tundra.
Turq says, We'll head ta Easthaven, get a warm meal in our bellies and night's sleep in their inn. That will also give us the chance to give them a heads up about this small clan of orcs.
The stout human looks to his companions, Any objection?
The ex-soldier nods stiffly - prepared to make the long march if he has to, but much happier to spend the night in Easthaven. He would not admit it, but he's tired and a warm bed sounds wonderful.
"A hot meal and a warm bed sounds good to me."
I'd rather not sleep out here in the open so close to them, nodding his head back towards where they came from. Making it to Easthaven sounds great to Umikh.
"I don't look forward to marching through the dark but I like it more than camping out in this cold. At least these bracers are helping me stay warm," Lumen says, holding up his hand. "Before we start back, does anyone need any healing?"
Turq smiles at the offer but shakes his head, I'll live. It's nothing a good night's sleep won't fix.
You travel north using the lake as a guide. The Redwater’s feed water courses close to Easthaven, so using the tributary is an easy way to not get lost in this barren land.
The torchlight you carry for those of you who can’t see in the dark begins to show signs of trampled snow on the banks of the small frozen river. Hard to notice now that the weather has started to cover the evidence, you realize this must be a sight of the recent battle defending Easthaven. A reminder of how dangerous the land can be, but also assuring you must be getting close to your destination.
Exhaustion Effects
Level Effect
1 Disadvantage on Ability Checks (skills and initiative rolls)
2 Speed halved
3 Disadvantage on Attack rolls and Saving Throws
4 Hit point maximum halved
5 Speed reduced to 0
6 Death
As Turq helps folk over the fjord, the warrior says in a hushed voice to the closest , Something is watching us, be on guard.
Turq stays where he is, helping each of his companions across, and gives each of them the same warning.
Con Save
"Can we stop for a breather? My legs are killing me."
Baldrick, tired though he is, trudges on mechanically, looking forward but seeing nothing.
Umikh looks cold and worn out, but he's soldiering on.
Lumen trudges along with the group. The warmth of his bracers and the indication that they are almost to their destination seem to give him the energy to continue.
Mounds of snow scatter the tundra on n this area. The more you look at it though, you realize that some of the mounds are actually large beasts laying dead on the ground, covered by the snows that fallen since the battle.
You pass through the eerie battle field, the constant wind assaults the flame of your torch, causing it to whip endlessly. As you move further in, the more perceptive folk of the party notice evidence that the creatures corpses have been disturbed becomes apparent due to some areas having far less snow covering them.
Umikh brushes the snow off a couple of these animal mounds and points out that they have been partially harvested by someone. He asks if anyone can still spot any tracks to see where this person or people might have come from or gone to?
"What tha...?"
Baldrick takes a look at the creatures Umikh has unearthed, trying to figure out why someone would do such a thing, and try to figure out where they went...
We'd best keep moving. I don't want to be caught in someone else's territory... If we press on, we should be able to make it to Easthaven by dark. Well, darker than it is now, anyways, Turq is anxiously looking around, scanning for anyone that may be around...