Daehalya looks around.
"This seems as good a spot as any. Are we close enough to Sarkoris that we should take preparations?"
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"We are still about a week out from your destination I'm afraid." Crisha explains as she rolls out her bedroll onto the ground next to the dusty road. "We should be fine here, isn't much traffic these days."
One by one you make watch beneath the beautiful starry sky. Several hours goes by and Sakuachi snaps awake and sits upright catching Daehalya's attention. Catching her breath Sakuachi turns to look at Daehalya. "I had another dream it seems. In my dream, I stood alone in a clearing among great pillars— stone monoliths, perhaps, or bare trees. Before me, a hole opened in the ground, perfectly circular and impossibly deep. Like a falling star in reverse, a divine being shot up out of the hole, and it floated before me so I could gaze upon it. It was a dazzling white bird surrounded by a whirlwind of snow. The bird swept toward me and wrapped me in its wings, which, though rimed in ice, felt impossibly warm on my skin.”
At this point in her story, something high above makes a faint popping noise. It’s the sound of a celestial object breaking through the atmosphere at incredible speed. As if on cue, the falling star arcs toward the western horizon and crashes somewhere far out of sight. Sakuachi, agog, points wordlessly at the meteorite’s trajectory.
She simply smiles knowingly at Daehalya with whom she’s just shared this special experience. “It looks like we’re leaving the caravan tomorrow morning,” she says quietly. In her excitement, she spends the rest of the night tending the fire, wide awake.
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Nicky sleeps through the starfall. When he wakes up, he seems impressed that dreams really do come true.
He preps his backpack to make sure he has everything he needs. If they are at least a week away from "civilization", he needs to make sure he has food and water and other necessary items. Like fidget toys to help him with his attention deficit issues.
I found this from one of the traders. It's so cool.
He holds up a long strip of fabric tied to a thin wooden stick. The fabric has many colors.
Wonder what happens if I sew sequins on it and twirl.
Anyway- is everyone ready? Sakuachi said we need to head west. Our destiny is that way. I'm saying good bye to Crisha right now.
Nicky is ready.
"Findeladlara!" Daehalya breathes, sure that's what the dream is off. But then fear grips her as the falling star seem to portend something horrible.
Still, in the morning, she's ready to go.
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In the morning you part ways with the caravan just after a few short days as Sakuachi explains the new task from her vision. "We must locate the site of the falling star to the west." She pulls out a map and points to roughly where it looks like the object landed. "A few days south of Kenabres, so wecan cut across the West Sellen River and reach the impact site as quickly as possible."
Gathering more supplies from the caravan you set off into the unknown. Your journey from the West Sellen River to the meteorite’s crash site takes at least a week.
About 50 miles from the West Sellen River, you pass a small bubbling lake, its waters clearly fetid and toxic. A low buzz drones beneath the sound of the bubbling muck in the pond here. The source of the buzzing quickly reveals itself as a pony-sized mosquito emerges from the rotten reeds, shrouded in a haze of much smaller but equally bloodthirsty insects.
Demonic energies caused this mosquito to grow to behemoth proportions as you are forced to fend off against several swarms of gigantic mosquitos.
A few days later you are able to find a good stand of trees to make camp. The evening is particularly cold, and Innumma starts a campfire to keep the group warm. After over 200 miles of trudging through the Sarkoris Scar, you finally catch another glimpse of their celestial objective. As you set up camp for the night, Sakuachi points toward the horizon and shouts, “Look!” In a dense forest of twisted trees and thorned brambles many miles away, a glowing green light emanates from a conspicuous clearing.
The green glow on the western horizon persists through the next day and evening, making it easy for you to determine the direction of their destination. By the next morning, however, the glow has vanished. Nevertheless, Sakuachi grows excited at the prospect of her quest coming to an end. Innumma warns her. "Temper your expectations Sakuachi, there is much about these lands we don't yet understand."
“Could it be a god?” Innumma asks. “Perhaps. But it could also be something much more dangerous.”
"I'm more concerned that whatever we were looking for is now gone. After all, the glow was there and... now there's no glow. We may have more hunting to do once we get to the crash site."
"Perhaps, Alvarius, but there's nothing we can do about that now, so it's no use worrying about it. If we must hunt once we arrive, we'll do so. I'm more worried that the glow may have attracted other creatures. We saw just a few days ago what kind of monsters are in this place!"
She still remembers the giant mosquito trying to suck away both their blood and their magic, and how close a call that was.
Alvarius shrugs. "Let's go find out."
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At the edge of the forest where the fallen star is located, you stumble upon a spooky situation: a wounded riding horse staggers out of the woods. Complicating the scene is the dead rider—a half-elf in tattered leather armor—slumped in the horse’s saddle. The horse is exhausted and badly
wounded.
The dead horse rider encountered on the edge of the forest left a trail of blood and trampled brush through the Needleglens. The trail lines up with the direction of the fallen star, so it’s a fairly simple matter to reach the spot where the meteorite struck ground.
The rider’s tracks lead to a strange clearing with some unusual features, chiefly a large knoll made of piled dirt like a giant termite nest. A steep mound of dirt, like an oversized insect nest, looms in the middle of this clearing. Much of the mound is covered with weeds and compacted from years of settling, but the eastern half is much looser and made of fresher soil. Above, scorched tree limbs suggest something recently came crashing down into the clearing, hot and fast.
A forty-foot-wide stone well punctuates the earth west of the mound. A trail of fresh blood spans the ground between the well’s western edge and the forest to the west. The well’s interior is lined with a rickety wooden spiral staircase.
"Any sign of the bit of meteorite? Or is it safe to say that we're going to have to climb down the well looking for it?"
"When the stars fell before, the stars tried to kill the tribe," the amurrun reminds his companions. He growls while inspecting blood trail and comments, "The construction must precede the fall of the star."
"But what is it?" Daehalya asks. She looks to make sense of it, and try to figure out if the rider was just unfortunately to be in this spot.
She starts to circumnavigate the area, trying to see where the rider may have come from and if he was alone.
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Well, well, well. This place is sure confusing! There's a star fall and crater. There's a mound of what's-it, and there's a stone well with a stairwell on the *inside*.
If there's a mystery. This sure is it. Well, an inspector dissects the mystery and cuts to the truth.
Nicky pulls out his magnifying glass. Spends a bit of time to follow these leads!
Large Knoll. or perception also +12.
Flexible Studies. Since we knew we were chasing a falling star.
On the half elven dead person and his possessions.
Daehalya isn't skilled in first aid or veterinary sciences, but she urges Onye to help. As he does, she starts going through the rider's possessions, not to steal anything, but to see if they can learn more about who he was and where he came from.
Ezgara tries to help the horse, but keeps calling it Donkey.
"You might consider me something of an expert on the dead," Alvarius says, taking a moment to inspect the dead man.
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The rider looks to have been dealt a mortal wound from bludgeoning force as something seems to have caved its chest inward. Something else surprising is the rider appears stripped of anything useful.
Ezgara isn't able to keep the horse calm as it bolts out into the forest.
Nicholo notices something odd as if whatever object landed from space was drug below ground.
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Two things I noticed. #1. The thing that killed the half elf rider of a bolting horse was intelligent. Someone or some thing that likes items.
So that rules out dire-animals, and places the death dealing culprit as a smart humanoid.
or.... many of them. Maybe Derro or Duegar. Just a rando-guess.
Because #2, I noticed that the space object that crash landed was dragged underground. I'm thinking we might find footprints or boot prints.
All point towards a trek down the stairs in the well. Who is going first? I can be second or third.
"Lead on, uh... any of you," Alvarius says, waiting for someone besides himself to make the descent. He does cast a spell though to give himself some light.
Ezgara inspects the staircase and heads down.
"Ezgara need not lead with donkey feet," the amurrun says deadpan. "Onye Dinta can hunt in the dark." With that, he slips into the shadows along the rickety stairs and creeps quietly down one foot at a time in advance of the light.
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Nicky looks at the others, and holds out his hands.
Anyone for Rock, Paper, Swords on who goes third and fourth? I've also been working in an extended variation. Rock, Paper, swords, Lizard, Nex.
Nicky then proceeds to explain his concept of the win,lose game.
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The well descends 50 feet; though the wooden stairs inside it are creaky and old, they’re strong enough to support 300 pounds of weight per 5-foot square.
The floor at the base of the well is made of tightly packed clay soil. Stones along the eastern wall of the well have been removed and replaced with a large, sturdy wooden door that does not appear to be locked.
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Nicky does not notice any immdiate traps. Slowly you push open the door and Onye feels the strain of a wire. Peering through slightly you see a nigh imperceptible flimsy wire slipped througha ring. If you were to push the door open any further it would release a satchel of scrap metal creating a loud noise.
Daehalya pushes forward to help eliminate this latest threat. She's easily able to snag the wire, but struggles to secure it.
It takes a frowning Daehalya another four seconds of work, but she's eventually able to secure it.
"It should be safe now. But a trap means there's something thinking down here that doesn't want people coming in," she notes, reclaiming her staff from where she'd laid it on the ground.
"In the scar, none would want to be caught unaware," the catfolk says quietly. "But Onye Dinta understands the point Daehalya is making."
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Daehalya cuts and catches the wire, securing it to the wall long enough to open the door and quietly lower the save of metal to the floor.
The door opens into a zig-zagging path of packed dirt descending down this ten‑foot-high underground chamber. A tattered red banner hangs from the ceiling near the two tunnels. On it is a stylized depiction of a regal human woman in profile, wearing a crown and surrounded by a halo of white light.
You recognize the woman depicted on the banner as Galfrey, the former queen of Mendev and a popular icon of the Mendevian Crusades
"The spirits whisper that this is the former queen of Mendev, Galfrey," he says enigmatically.
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Nicky is pretty good at remembering different things. It's a lot of by-product from traveling from town to town and country via the circus.
Onye wins the prize! He's right. I recall doing a skit about Mendev and we had a couple banners and dialogue that made mention of old queen Galfrey. I think it was the 4700's AR. SO a little while ago. She's also a good person so the denizens of these tunnels might not be bad. My guess about Derro or Duergar are probably off. I bet "the field" and the bones rolled an 8
Daehalya follows after Nicky, though looks up the other passage to make sure that way is safe.
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A long table surrounded by rough-carved chairs fills most of this cavern, which has all the trappings of a Mendevian dining area. Metal plates and small cups are arranged on the table, as if for a meal. Empty pantry shelves fill an alcove to the north. A row of four paintings adorns the area’s southern wall. Tunnels exit east and west.
The framed paintings on the southern wall were made by various traveling painters who rendered the horror of the Mendevian Crusades in art. These four paintings depict, individually, a flaming Mendevian pasture, a tranquil town along the Sellen River, a blood-soaked Sarkorian battlefield, and a somber tiefling in three-quarter profile.
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Somber Tiefling! That's my heritage. Maybe I recognize the guy.
Also, can we not take these paintings - until we determine they aren't a good guys paintings?
Anyone know this town that's in the painting? or the location of this battlefield. I'm thinking it's related to the owner of this place? Also, I'm counting 4, or 5 chairs? 4 of 5 people to expect elsewhere?
Nicky pulls out his magnifying glass and looks. Also looking for something odd.
Also using Something odd ability.
"Did you know the style and coloration of that banner was prevalent only during the Fourth Mendevian Crusade, which ended 15 years ago?" Alvarius says, surprised. "I'm not sure how I know that. But it's true."
"This is very strange," Daehalya murmurs. "Was this area transported underground, or did some crusaders decide to live in this underground bunker? Perhaps they sought refuge from demons?"
She shakes her head, upset she has no answers, but agreeing with Nicky that there's no need to take the art.
"Still no sign of the falling star," the amurrun says.
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Oh Lower Abyss!!
The footing underneath Nicky just erodes and he is the immediate victim to the powers of gravity.
DC 19.
The law of gravity is in full effect on Nicky.
F=GMm r2. Where G is the Gravitational Constant causes Nicky to land awkwardly and twist his ankle - with a POP. He tumbles to the ground and is nearly flat on his back.
"Nicky! Are you OK?" Daehalya calls out, using her staff to probe the area for other weak spots.
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Not wanting to give away his position to possible enemies. Albeit the noise of rock and soil and a body falling 20 feet gave enough of a THUD to do that already. Nicky gives Daehalya a thumbs up that he's okay.
He takes a quick look around at his surroundings.
I need to ammend my original statement. " A dead end almost always means a secret door, or passage or tunnel or *pit trap*!
He stands up.
Grundle enters the room and hisses a whisper in case they are not alone.
"You left me behind two days ago! Do you know how hard it is to catch up with these legs?!"
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"Why is Nicholo lying down? The pit is not so deep," the catfolk comments.
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Nicky falls into the dirt further below ground. A small cloud of dirt fills the tunnel. Though you can no longer see Nicky you hear him groan as he hits the bottom.
Nicky looks up grabbing his bruised rib and ego all at once. Half a dozen animal skins hang from iron chains attached to the lumpy clay ceiling. This corner of the caves is utterly frigid—a thick layer of frost rimes the animal skins and earthen walls. Much of the ground is, incongruously, made of white bricks. A sturdy wooden door to the southwest is one way out, while two tunnels to the north offer alternative exits.