Florence knocks another arrow and lets it fly at the green wolf. "Come on you mangy thing. Please go away."
Florence launches an arrow towards the last wolf. In an attempt to not strike Golos, the arrow misses and impales the ground further to the west.
The wolf snarls at Golos to enact revenge for his strike. In a fit of rage, he grabs Golos by the knee, ann pulls hard. The arcanist loses balance as the wolf pulls on his knee, spilling blood throughout the process.
- Round 3+4 -
Bolded can make their actions
Conditions: bright light 10 ft around the campfire
Therin - -7hp
Andrezzi - -3hp
Florence
Wolves - Red and Blue down / Green -5hp
Golos - prone / -2AC charge / - 5hp (ending turn 3)
Golos claws at the wolf's belly from his position on the ground.
Just go away dog! Therin screams as he steps forward and tries to crack the beast on the skull.
Andrezzi steps to the north, eyeing the wolf's unprotected hindquarters, in the beginnings of a flanking maneuver. He strikes.
Florence lets another arrow fly.
With a barrage of strikes and projectiles, you finally manage to take down the last wolf of the pack. It collapses to the flooor, overwhelmed by the delivered blows. Florence confirms the kill by striking the creature's neck. It gurgles for a moment, then stops moving altogether.
Golos picks himself up off the ground, retracting his claws and brushing off his clothing. He moves to the front of the campsite and peers off into the darkness, looking for more trouble.
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That was an unpleasant surprise...is everyone fine? Oh drat...I just bought this gear... Therin says as he checks his leather jerking and finds it covered in blood.
I need to sit down for a moment... he says as the realization of his wound sets in and the adrenaline wears off.
[b]I have one CLW left...[/ooc]
"Let's finish our night's rest. We can then return to town with the wolf pelts and perhaps get those wounds taken care of in exchange, hopefully. There's no point traipsing around in the wilderness on existing injuries."
Therin casts his last curative spell on himself.
So damage at the moment as follows.
Therin -5hp
Andrezzi -3hp
Florence
Golos -5hp
This is before your rest, so you can use some of your spells to get patched up. If you want, that is.
"Come close please." She channels positive energy to heal her companions.
"Oh! my ankle feels much better now... I... can actually put my full weight on it again... how did you..." stammers Andrezzi, taking a few steps around the camp, not believing the relief granted by Florence's ritual.
The remainder of the night is uneventful, and you gather your strength with a good night's rest. In the morning, the sun starts to slowly push it's way through the treetops, but the fog is somewhat slowing down the process. Flies gather around the corpses of the wolves already, and you decide to make your morning rituals and pack up. You continue south as per the trial, only to find that the trees begin to thin. Eventually, a field of short, green grass is revealed, and leads to the shores of a wide, calm lake reflecting the overcast sky above. A dense fog hangs over the center of the lake, obscuring the far side. Near the shore of the lake, a dark form lies next to the water. From a distance, it seems like vaguely humanoid, although the coloration is odd.
I'm o expert, but does something seem odd about the looks of that body? Florence...this seems a bit more in your area of knowledge...
Golos cautiously approaches the body, trying to figure out what is striking him as so odd about the dark form.
Once you get closr, you notice that this is a decaying body. There are numerous bite wounds on the torso, and the facial expression is stiff in pain and fear. Eyes rolled back, and the face is bloated. The opened mouth revelas a black, swollen tongue, and most of the gear is in disrepair.
Andrezzi points to the dead man's gear, asking if anyone wants to bear the sword or coins.
"This has been forged by a master. As you can see there's not one spot of rust on it. Anyone needs a sharp sword?"
Hmm...this man is not from this area....this clothing style is very different...and a tad pricey, if I'm being honest. And a good weapon is always a good thing to have. I'll carry it if that's fine with you guys... the bard says after examining the poor fellow's belongings.
"He was poisoned. Those bite marks came after; they had nothing to do with his death. And they're light, at that. Even the little critters could tell there was poison in this body and left it alone for the most part."
Once you are finished examinig the corpse, you move further south towards your destination. The trees become older as you go, and more and more twisted under the weight of their own branches. The trail leads ever deeper into the forest, through a twisting maze of trees and confusing ravines. As it tops a small rise, a broad valley spreads out before it, the opposite side of which looks like a writhing serpent. Yet between the two lies a steep hill sloping down into the valley. A cold rain starts to fall, making the ground slick and treacherous.
On the map, this is called the Serpent Gorge. If the map is correct, your destination is at the bottom of this slope.
As you look around for a possible pasage, you notice there is a knotted rope tied to one of the trees near the edge of the slope. The rope saw heavy use in it's time, and it is actually colored by dead leaves and mud. Even now, the mud caused by the heavy rain is covering the rope on the slope. Except the colour, it seems to be in good condition.
Andrezzi gives the rope a solid tug, then begins to repel down the muddy hill.
Along the way, he pulls the rope out of the mud where it's buried, so as to make everyone else's job more easy.
Ahh...good catch..we must watch ourselves as we go then...no telling where those creepy crawlies might be lurking... Therin says as he bends down to make sure his boots and shirt are done up tight.
Golos doesn't like the look of this slippery slope; he waits so see how others fare on their way down before he plans his own path. "Careful there; real slippery. You sure you want to be doing it that way?" He offers, concerned and not as helpful as he imagines he sounds.
Andrezzi inspects his own hemp rope, uncoiling it from his backpack. Satisfied he wasn't sold a defective cable, he attaches it to a nearby tree and begins his descent.
Andrezzi slowly starts descending the slope. The mud does not help, but fortunately, you have a rope to help.
Golos definitely doesn't have the physical skills that Andrezzi has, so he waits to see how the man fares before beginning his descent.
Therin will carefully pick his way down using the rope
Slowly, you all use Andrezzi's rope (note - rope stays put, so you will be missing 50 ft of rope in the tomb) to climb down one by one. When you reach the bottom, you find rocks, mud, and rainwater that formed a trickle down the Serpent Gorge. There is only few feet between the slope you descended, and the other one that goes up north to south. However, standing int he stream, you find a human woman scratching her head. She holds an end of another rope that you did not notice before you descended, and ponders something. When you reach the bottom and start making noise in the fresh-formed stream, she notices you and hails you from about 40 feet away.
"Hey! Could use some help here, if you're available!", she shouts towards you. WHen you come in closer, you find a woman dressed in light leathers, with a bow and a few daggers strapped to her belt. Her hair is long and wild, but the ponytail helps a bit. Her clothes are dirty of soild, and almost torn in a few places; very functional, however, and it seems it does not impede in function.
Next to the woman, there is a very young man with both feet in makeshift casts made out of hard branches, a few pieces of cloth and rope. He seems pale and in pain, and barely notices you.
"Whoa, what happened? Are you okay?"
What is going on...of course we can help... Therin says as he moves to aid the wounded man.
"Let me take a look at that leg." Florence moves forward to carefully examine the break. "Are you missing from the village by any chance?"
Even with a brief glance, you see swelling and bends in both shins - both legs broken. The woman tried to to her best, but the youngster simply needs medical care back home.
The boy is pale and clearly in agony. The woman gives him some leaves to chew on. "This should help with the pain. For now, at least. We need to get you up top, so you will need it.", the woman looks at the slope you just descended from.
"I might need some help with that. You have more rope? We'll have to pull him up before the gorge gets flooded. There are two more near the crypt, and should be coming down any moment. We can travel to Kassen, but I think the crypt will need some investigating. I'm pretty sure I've heard voices in the darkness. I'm Arnama, by the way. Hi..."
"We left some rope to get back up with; perhaps that could help?" Golos suggests.
Of course we'll help. I wonder...if Andrezzi here puts the lad over his shoulder, if we might be able to pull them up... Therin ponders aloud as he gets out his rope.
"Sure thing. Hang on friend," says Andrezzi, hoisting the lad effortlessly in a practiced fire brigade carry. "Now with your left hand, just grab a hold of your left pant leg, and relax. I'll do the rest."
Andrezzi then proceeds to climb back the hill, both hands on the rope.
"Oh you want to just pick him up and ... Okay, that works. Let me just get up top and help you."
Arnama ties a harness around the boy's chest, and ties the other end around her waits. Then proceeds to climb up the slope and pull several times to indicate she is ready.
Andrezzi proceeds to climb with the young man over his shoulder as Arnama pulls the rope from above.
As luck would have it, the pain of movement is too much to bare for the boy, and he lets go. He slips off Andrezzi's shoulder. The bounty hunter tries to catch the falling body. No dice, however. The youngster slips and almost starts to roll down the cliff again.
Fortunately, Arnama's rope catches his fall. He suffers fome minor bruises, but nothing worse than two broken legs. The boy remains in limbo on the slope, unable to grab onto anything as he tries to catch any rock. But the slippery stacks the odds against him.
"GRAB THE KID!", the woman shoults from above. You are close enough to hear her through the rain now. "I can't hold on much longer!"
She rope slowly moves as the wet soil under her feet is giving way...
Andrezzi quickly repels down to grab the youngster!
Florence rushes to help where she can. She tries to hold any swaying ropes steady.
Quickly! I can't hold the rope for much longer... Therin implores, the rope digging into his hands.
Andrezzi climbs a bit lower to catch the teen again. He grabs one of his hand as the boy struggles to catch onto anything that resembles a firm grip. At the bottom of the gorge, Florence is holding the ropes to add some stability, and Therin hels at the top .
Once again, the young man is held firmly, and Andrezzi picks him up over his shoulder once more.
"Thanks. I didn't really mean to let go. Must be the chewing leaves."
He holds on again, and after some collective effort, you manage to pull the boy to even ground.
Everyone takes a breather for a moment, and Arnama offers another "painkiller" leaf. The teen accepts, and lies down with his back in the mud.
"I'll go get the others. Be right back.", Arnama tells the poor fellow, then looks at you lot. "I would probably be best if someone waited here until I get back. HArd to run from wolves, when both your legs are broken."
She rushes down the slope with the help of her rope, and then slowly climbs up the southern slope towards the crypt.
Arnama returns after about 20 minutes with two other youngsters in tow. "There. That's everyone that is left. These kids say that one boy disappeared just after entering the tomb. I will take them back to town. Can you go look for the last one? His name is Jorad. We looked, but it seems the boy just ... vanished."
Andrezzi and Theril have a different plan in mind. "I'll help you carry the stretcher.", Theril volunteers. "I'm soaked. Should have bought some sort of rain cloak."
"I'll go as well. We can take carry the stretcher, and Arnama can lead the way. Good luck, you two. See you back in Kassen."
With that said, Andrezzi and Therin pick up the stretcher, Arnama leads the way, and the two healthy kids move back north with them.
And so the party splits, leaving only Florence and Golos to look at the temple ruin. After a careful descend and subsequent slow, but steady climb through the gorge, you reach the crypt entrance. The arch, made of stone blocks, carves an entrance into the small mountain covering the tunnels, and the steady rainpour slowly forces you inside the crypt tunnels. Once you enter, darkness covers the entire interior, and you barely see anything beyond the initial 15 ft or so. The tunnel is narrow, and has several torch holders on both sides. One of these has a rope tied to it, which leads to and sisappears in a hole in the floor. Probably the pit that broke the kid's legs earlier today. There are no torches in these holders, however.
Every few seconds, a soft wave of air comes from within the crypt, and hits your nostrils with the damp smell of moss.
Golos retrieves his flint & steel, lighting a torch so that they can see in the depths. He checks the rope, giving it a solid tug before looking to Florence. "I'll go first; keep an eye out."
He offers her the torch to hold as he descends. He lights another at the bottom. "Put that one out and come down. I've got you covered down here."