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Brandishing her weapon Elinor moves cautiously towards the voice they heard in the darkness. Illuminated by Taedrics enchantments and supported by Bryndyn she rounds a large stalagmite. Nothing could prepare her for what she sees. There impaled on a another stalagmite is a troll. He uses his claws to push himself up, but the effort wounds him anew and he passes out. Moments later his regeneration lets him have another try. He has been here for a while as is evidenced by the gore on the ground. If this was a human, the pain would have pushed it well into madness, though who can say if things work the same for trolls. When the troll sees Elinor it lashes out with its claws. it is too far away to reach her of course, but it does not stop it from trying to cause harm.
In response to Elinors taunt, from the same area as the scratching sound comes a wet guttural yell, in giant. Somewhere in the blackness deep in the cavern the gravel noise is heard several minutes after Elinor speaks. Another quiet minute and then the scratching and gravel noise are heard again. If you speak giant...: The voice yells "Flayed! Flayed! Flayed!"
The light from Abbas staff does not reveal any hidden assailants. it also does not reveal the source of the scratching sound. Nor does it reveal what made that new noise deeper in... the sound that was very similar to what a tipped cart of gravel might sound like. But, then, it stops as soon as it starts.
The passage continues on, and in short order another goblin is found, it's head bashed in. A few feet later, one is missing an arm and a leg. Then another dead goblin is seen. Another one. Another. Now you are at a dozen. As you find the 13th body you also find that the passage way opens into a vast natural cavern. It is difficult to see the far side, of to estimate how tall the place is but it could be 80 feet or so to the center of the domed ceiling. The roof and floor are covered in stalagmites and stalactites and there are enough of them that there are no clear fields of vision. Just off to the right side you can hear a steady scratching sound. The floor in front of you has another group of dead goblins strewn about. From the brutality of their death it is hard to tell how many, but 5 would be a good guess.
The last path is like the others at first, but soon the worked stone gives way to a natural passage. It is clear that at intervals the rock has been chipped away to achieve a uniform minimal width of about 15 feet. The floor has also been worked so that any uneven spots are corrected, all the while the path slopes gently downward. The first 200 or so feet are unremarkable except as noted, but somewhere there after a goblin body is found bearing terrible wounds. It appears that the creature bled out while fleeing from something deeper in the dark.
The doorways Bryndyn investigated led to sleeping chambers. Three of are fairly small chambers, but the 4th is larger, more opulent and has a private bathroom. The door at the end of the room you are in opens into a large bathroom with large tub dominating the center of the room. The bath tub is fill of water, and in fact water continues to trickle into it from a hole in the wall, while at the same rate water over flows the tub and seeps through rocks in the floor. As expected all of these rooms are in a desperate state of disrepair, having been preserved for many long years and destroyed recently by the vermin that arrived before you got here.
Pluchak discerns nothing from the dark in the doorways from this room. It is quiet and dark here. The books are an ancient treasure trove! There are none of recent vintage but the titles, focusing largely on religious titles holds literally hundreds of books. Of the the religious books, a surprisingly large number focus on Aroden, and are esoteric treaties on the faith, the deity, the expected conduct of worshipers etc. More than a few take small pieces of scripture and expand and expound on them for 100's of pages. There are also books on science and the trades here. Farming, metal working, mathematics, healing, engineering and nearly any other advancement of culture you can think of. There are no bodice rippers, but there is a slim treatise called "Haugins Ear: From Barbarism to Enlightenment" that catches Elinor's eye. 3/4 or more of the books have only superficial damage. 1/8 or so are salvageable, 1/16th are partially salvageable and the remaining 1/16th is irrevocably ruined. The books have been burned, torn and used as latrines.
There is no drama in the trip across the floor. The opposing tunnel seems identical to the one you just left, save when you come to the place where the trap is, you find a doorway instead. The door was wooden and there are the marks of ornate carving, but having smashed to splinters there is little remaining to tell what the carving was. The destruction of the trolls made it this far. On the other side of the door there is a small room. It is in similar disarray. It appears to have been fairly oppulently furnished and those furnishings stood the test of time until the trolls came. Now they are like the door, destroyed. There are over-turned bookshelves here as well, the books scattered and torn, though large numbers of them are in fairly decent repair. Off this room are 5 doors, 2 on each side, and one straight ahead. The wrecking crew has ruined them all.
Heading back to that main room, the one with the statues, you see it unchanged. There lies Abbas' small pile of "treasures" and the empty cages and the pillared ring and the 2 entrances not yet explored. Back to the surface, or to what was the "right" option or the "straight ahead", the one Bryndyn detected a draft from?
Though Abbas lacks stealth and perception, even he could not miss what he finds some 80 feet down the tunnel to the left. In the floor, there is a great pit some 20 feet deep and 10 feet across. It appears to have been covered, until very recently, with boards that were painted with the rock pattern of the floor. Like all else here, the painting and the trap design are meticulous and of very high quality. The floor of the pit is lined with wicked spears, pointing up. Impaled on the spears are 2 goblins. The first is struck through the middle and the head and lays suspended about 8 or so feet in the air. The second one was caught through the upper leg, and curiously is missing a head and an arm. The mystery is quickly solved when you discover a third goblin, untouched by spears, but with a seeming broken leg from his hobble. It appears that the leg and head have served him as food stuffs. Foul. The goblin picks up rusty serrated sword and yells out. If you speak goblin.:
Come here pink skin, and I will gut you. Bryndyn: There is a steady current of air from the passage that is straight ahead.
Abbas is careful in his search and at uneven intervals finds something and puts it with the other somethings he has accumulated. A rock with carving or scratching on it. An arrowhead. A spoon. An unlit torch. And so on. When it seems there is nothing left to see the group explores the doorways. In each direction, left right and ahead, the tunnel yawns blackly but gives no clues.
Tzurkhan purrs deeply at Elinors touch. Aidan nods his head curtly and the weird lighting makes it look for a moment like he has a tear forming. Hisiv stretches. Seneca hands the wand to Harlynn. He gruffly tells the group, "Try to stay alive." Aidan assures the group that when the fire is over he will return. The shake hands with each of you. And then they are gone. Their footsteps fade and you are left to your selves.
The caged man tries to stand, hits his head on the cage and then, extricates himself through the hole Abbas made. He stands over 6 foot, but is very thin. LOoking directly at Aidan he begins making the oddest noise. A chirp, then a meow, then a chirp, a growl, a lower growl a whinney, a hoot, a hiss. All of these happen quickly and fluidly. And after a moment of listening, Aidan responds in kind! Back and forth they go, with the surreal exchange. A few minutes later Aidan looks to his companions and says, Hisiv SpiderLegs came to summon me to meeting of the Ash Staffs. A monastery, Asmodean was set upon by a goblin army. The burning there is intense and my first duty is to stop the spread of that fire. Seneca, the monastery is of your faith, so come help me. Hisiv looks at the group, and responding to the introductions says, I am Hisiv Monteb. I am in your debt. Aidan looks impatient, given his new purpose, Seneca, give them the curing wand. They need it more than we do. While Seneca does not like being ordered around by the druid, the fact that he can heal lets him yield the wand.
Pushing himself up, he seems to realize for the first time what a beauty he is speaking with. His eyes dart down, and back up again, and a deep crimson stains his cheeks and ears as he realizes he was significantly less than subtle. Armor as it turns out is not very revealing though he now averts his eyes, and says, I have a message for one Aidan Ayrvar and last I heard he was in Haugins Ear. Almost as an afterthought he adds. Did you kill the 2 headed troll?
Elinor and Harlynn:
These statues appear to be incarnations of Aroden. Pluchak:
Nothing is seen in the space beyond what had been doors. It is easy to see that the doors had once been beautiful, though in their current state not so much. This breakage is a very recent thing. The man in the cage is dressed in a long brown robe. His feet are bare and bloody as are his hands and head. The robe is dirty and leaves and brambles cling to it. His color is pale and he does not appear to be conscious.
As you enter the large room, these are the things that you notice, in order.
Moving further down the hall, you note that the progress has seemed to be continually made in a downward direction. Gradual but definite. All along the way you find the leavings of the recent invaders. Offal, rags, broken bits of armor or weapons, and far more mundane things. A bent spoon. A cracked bowl. A shredded book. A frayed bit of rope. All this stands in contrast to the ancient stonework that seems to be more or less in perfect condition. Soon, the passage opens into another room. Vast is the immediate word for it.
Hello Crew, So sorry I have been absent. Life has hit my family like a train wreck. Things are falling back into place now and I will have a real post up shortly. Thank you all for your patience. Best group I have ever gamed with. Ever. And unending gratitude to Bryn for keeping this going now, not once but twice. It is great to be associated with folks like you. Seriously.
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