"I say we move on. No offense, master thief, but you might just cover our scents if any of that hunter's friends are tracking us. We should put as much distance between ourselves and that body as possible. And to be perfectly honest, this place give me the willies."
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Nerek has no qualms about stopping to make camp. He'll cast detect magic, however, to make sure the witch didn't leave any other nasty surprises around, making a full sweep of the hut and surrounding area.
Your divination reveals lireally dozens of auras of formerly present magic, but only one still remains functional. It leads you to an odd shruken head on one of the shelves.
Otherwise, the area is devoid of magic.
And don't forget the hut reeks of skunk...
Geddoe glared fiercely at the mouthy bard. "I agree with Reno, here. Don't want any more of those short stumblers to sneak up on us in this damn forest."
Calar gets up and makes ready to march, waiting on the wizard and cleric to exit the hut.
Nerek grabs the skull before they leave the hut, hoping to study it at a later date.
Vishantos shoulders his pack and hoists his crossbow (not loaded) and gets ready to go.
Nerek grabs the skull before they leave the hut, hoping to study it at a later date.
Geddoe stares at the dwarf when he exits with the shrunken head. "What... that's sick, priest." He shakes his head.
"It's magical," Nerek explains to Geddoe. "Although I must admit that I don't know what it does, yet."
At camp Nerek will attempt to identify the object.
After looking at the skull for a while, Nerek will put it away, and offer to take the second watch.
Calar stretches, feeling a little better after the rest
"I suppose we should start getting a move on to the Dwarven Hold."
"Sorry, friends, I hope my coughing didn't disturb you too much last night..."
Nerek packs up his things, loads his crossbow, and readies himself for the journey.
Laurent puts hit things together and shoulders them. To Vishantos, "Are you gonna make it back?"
Calar doesn't worry about the hour difference. Chances are we'll need the healing more than the speed.
Vishantos looks up from his spellbook. "Hmm... what? Oh. Yes, I'm just a bit tired, what with this cough. must have picked up a cold sleeping out like this. Not used to it. I'm much better off than those poor souls who have this blackscour fever or whatever... I suppose we'd better get going."
He stows his book in his pack and shoulders it, then picks up his crossbow and gets ready to hit the trail.
Calar will eye Vishantos, a worried look on his face. "Yes the quicker we get these ingredients the better."
To Vishantos. "You sure you are holding in all right, V?"
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Sitting squat at the foot of an imposing mountain, a ruined monastery comes into view between ancient gnarled trees. Made of simple stone blocks, worn smooth with the passage of time, the stout building is falling apart. Sections of the slanted shale roof have collapsed
and portions of the outer wall have crumbled. Weeds and wild thorn plants run rampant across the field leading up to the place, leaving
only the slightest indication of a path that ends at the ruined front doors. Beyond, an overgrown yard sits in shadow.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is gonna be the worst part?"
Calar turns to his companions. "Stealth or might? Do we stick close together or let Geddoe scout ahead a bit?"
Nerek eyes the structure as he scratches idly at his chin. "Definitely dwarven," he says. "Tis a shame it has fallen into disrepair."
He'll examine any stone that appears to have writing on it to get a better feel for the monastery.
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Nerek eyes the structure as he scratches idly at his chin. "Definitely dwarven," he says. "Tis a shame it has fallen into disrepair."
He'll examine any stone that appears to have writing on it to get a better feel for the monastery.
A few razorcrows caw at you as you approach the monastery. The old path that leads up to the ruins ends about 50 feet from the monastery. Before entering the yard, the path passes between a pair of old stone statues. While one of them is little more than rubble, the other is relatively intact. The 5-foottall statue is incredibly worn but it can
still be made out as a dwarf holding aloft a great stone hammer. Moss and creeper vines cover most of its surface.
Vishantos loads his crossbow. "Who knows what find of animal has taken shelter in these ruins. Might be worse than a skunk. I think it is unwise to split up until we have at least done a quick investigation."
Vishantos gestures and mutters a few arcane words, a brief sparkle of energy surrounds him.
"I think we should be prepared for trouble."
Calar hefts his hammer, in response to V's casting and warning.
Nerek nods in response to Vishantos' pronouncement and stops only briefly to examine the statue. Particularly, he's looking for any religious symbols.
"Aye, these woods are more full of nastiness than I ever remember. Let's stay together and see what we can find out before we go in."
Vishantos starts imagining what kind of equipment he would need to fix this place up.
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Nerek nods in response to Vishantos' pronouncement and stops only briefly to examine the statue. Particularly, he's looking for any religious symbols.
Searching for symbols involves removing the flora. assuming you do:
Removing the vines around the base uncovers an old dwarven inscription that reads “All praise, [this part is defaced].” Unfortunately, the missing name was scratched off a long time ago and is no longer legible.
Knowledge (history) DC15:
Know (architecture) DC 20: (15 for Nerek)
"Well, they didn't like him if they scratched his name off, I'd guess. But this other fellow they smashed to pieces. A god or priest who fell out of favour I'd imagine."
"Yes, I believe you are correct," Nerek says as he looks at the various smashed bits.
He sighs before continuing.
"But we didn't come here for a history lesson, unfortunately."
Nerek gives the statues a last longing look, before following the others, crossbow at the ready.
Calar looks at the statue.
"Looks like it depicts someone from the area's last line of great kings. Perhaps Hordarg or Vendirer."
Calar looks back at the group. "Should probably go look for those mushrooms now."
Not to be difficult, but you are outside of the main gate, and the wall is breached in mutiple places, not to mention probably climbable
How do you plan on not being outside anymore?
"I'd rather sneak in one of the breaches than march through the gates, but, in truth, one is probably as dangerous as the other."
Nerek will walk up to the wall and take a peek through the main entrance.
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Tall grasses and chunks of stone debris have all but overtaken this small yard. Off to one side, a wooden stable has collapsed into a mound of rotting timbers and moldy straw. The outer wall on the east side has also collapsed, leaving a ragged hole. Three doors exit into this yard— a pair of double doors to the west, a single door to the north, and a lone door leading into the squat tower in the southeast corner.
"The court yard looks empty," Nerek says to the others, but he still waits for someone else to actually enter first. He'll spend the time visually searching to see if he can see any tracks leading through the gateway.
"The court yard looks empty," Nerek says to the others, but he still waits for someone else to actually enter first. He'll spend the time visually searching to see if he can see any tracks leading through the gateway.
Calar will enter first, keeping low. "Do we want to keep to the right, or circle around to the left?"
Vishantos moves up to the entrance and points his crossbow into the courtyard, watching for giant skunks (or any other dangers).
He whispers "Perhaps now is a good time for someone who's quiet to sneak in and peek around. Just don't go further than where we can see you."
"Someone called?" Laurant whispers as he tries to sneak by the others into the courtyard.
Nerek searches for tracks around the gate.