"I couldn't agree more!" He laughs out releasing the cliffs from his gaze. "What god do you pray to? For with that it surely MUST be GORUM, for his Grag is being shown favor this day. HOO HOO!" and the priest cracks a large grin, once again showing his canines disturbingly. I'll shoulder what I can, but we must be ready to go light at a moment's notice in case of further goblin mischief, for something tells me we haven't seen our last pest of this journey."
We'll anchor the barge on the left (north) side of the river. We tie it down with two of the mooring ropes (if possible) to any suitable looking tree or large rock.
We distribute the four waterskins to all but Clareg and I take the net and hooks in my own pack. I also rope a bottle of the vinegar to my pack, along with as much food as I can carry. The Kannonfodder brother are in charge of the tents, the bedrolls and the winter blankets. I suggest to the orc-blood that he carry the firewood and that everyone take as much food as possible.
"Are we all set then? Ready to be off," I ask. And when all is ready to be carried that can be carried and the barge is secure, we set off.
"I'll need another jug of that wine!" says Clareg, reaching into the stock.
"That's your third," complains Dareg.
"Well, I forgot me first back at the camp this morning and this one here is halfway empty," he responds.
The block and tackle is rather large. Two dwarves could carry it between them easily.
"I suggest we leave the block 'n tackle 'ere fer the time bein' until we make sure there are no wee monsters between the barge and the throne. Iffin' we be findin' the throne, it should be easy enough to come back and get the tackle. 'ow long can it be takin' us anywise?"
"I suggest we leave the block 'n tackle 'ere fer the time bein' until we make sure there are no wee monsters between the barge and the throne. Iffin' we be findin' the throne, it should be easy enough to come back and get the tackle. 'ow long can it be takin' us anywise?"
After half an hour of struggling with your burdens, you see a tall, thin waterfall over the top of which is a finely made stone bridge. The cut and arc of the bridge is so perfect that, even from this distance, you are sure dwarves have left their mark on this place. The 80 foot high cliff on your left side has several crumbling ledges with access granted by handholds carved into the stone. Dark, recessed nooks as tall as a man dot each ledge. The equally high cliff on your right side has no ledges and has not been improved in any way by industrious Dwarves.
Peering at the nooks and the bridge high above, I make sure to load my crossbow and then point at the bridge above.
"I be guessin' that priest was spot on in tellin' us what to be lookin' fer. Keep yer eyes open."
After stumping along in silence for most of time Hru stops to readjust his burden and take in the magnificent bridge, looking much like some sort of demented insect, with the wood and wine and pail bulging obcenely off his back,in contrast to his long and sinuous limbs and the pommel of his great blade and his quiver of javelins sticking out antennae-like. "I'm definately not going up that with all this on my back" he groans as his eyes move from the bridge down the crumbling left cliff face.
"We 'ave ropes and you 'ave dwarves wit' you. We can make it up."
Hru looks worried but puts on his orc/game face and tries to play it cool. "Oh that, t-that looks....no problem! I just meant with the pack and all...as long is we haul it up with ropes." His speech increasing in velocity nervously.
allright now i'm pissed! not only did this eat the post tha tKlyndak is referring to but it just ate another one!! I wish they habdn't taken the fetters off Arioch like that...
"Dareg, You can 'ead up first wit' the rope and that bucket and we can be 'andin' the stuff up to you. The elf can 'ead up second, followed by the priest. I'll be comin' up fourth and then Clareg can finish us up."
Hru looks worried but tries to put on his orc/game face "That...t-that's not so bad, I just meant with the packs and all......unbalanced, why once a monk I knew, REAL good balance, tried...." He trails off and tries return the bemused looks with a tough grimace but the increase in the velocity of his speech betrays his uneasiness at the thought of climbing.
I'll follow in Dareg's path then, and assist as needed.
As we climb, I'll also look around to see if I spot:
a) Anything of note about the wall's construction
b) Any unusual movements/potential hostiles above us
In case it is needed:
Climb Check (1d20+2=7)
Perception Check (1d20+6=17)
Dareg climbs the first ladder without any difficulty. The ledges are approximately 3-5 feet wide but are covered in moss, soil, animal droppings, occassional ivy, and even the rare bone. Ascending one by one and moving all the equipment up on to the first ledge is laborious.
You cross the first ledge and as you begin to ascend the second stone ladder, Dareg calls down "Watch for the third grip from the top, ... it be naught but mud marked with the grain o' the rock. A trap, but not one to fool the eyes o' a dwarf!". Nor the eyes of an elf it would seem, Rellios spots it too noting that it is actually the fifth grip from the top.
The second ledge has similar dimensions. You cross it slowly and carefully and are at no great risk of falling despite the slipperness of the moss in places.
Half way across the ledge, you see that a crevice in the rock goes quite deep and seems to open up into a cave.
On the wall of the crevice the stone has been polished smooth in a perfect 1'x1' square. On the square are engraved words in dwarvish. Despite a half-hearted effort to deface them, the following words can be made out:
We prot--t this tomb and bones wit-in,
for although they belo-- -- gi--tkin,
we share ------- ----- a love of stone,
and to their art but add our own.
* Def---ders of the F--hammer Spires, 2774
From this angle it is difficult to see clearly within the cave but the crevice is large enough to enter through.
I translate the stone for the benefit of the orc blood and the elf as I assume they have not the skill to read the literary wonder that is the dwarven alphabet. I use my wits to fill in the missing words as well...
" It reads,...We be protectin' this tomb and the bones within,
for although they be belongin' ta giant-kin,
we be sharin' wit' them a love of stone,
and to their art but be addin' our own.
signed by the Defenders of the Foehammer Spires, 2774..."
I rub my beard in thought a moment.
"There's no doubt that there be bein' a tomb back yonder in the rocks. We 'ave a priest wit' us so I fear no ghost as such. Curiosity makes me be thinkin' that we might be doin' well to look inside but I ain't after bein' too sure it would be bein' proper."
I take a look at the sun as I determine how much day we have left.
You spent a few hours on the river and a couple hours unloading and stowing the barge. It is just past midday.
I ask my companions, "Yer both companions in me quest to be findin' the sacred throne of the Dwarf Lords in the Foe'ammer Spires. But I am not after bein' so daft as ta be thinkin' yer not after a bit of adventure yerselves. I'll be leavin' it up to a vote then, do we be lookin' inside or climbin' up while there's still light."
"I'll respect your traditions, Master Klyndak...but I'll admit to being curious as to what we'll find in there. So, if we are in agreement, a quick check is fine by me."
Assuming that we all agree...is there a door on this tomb or just an opening?
"Some tombs are best left undisturbed, but if this be a place of your kin, I think we have little to fear, but I say we leave the equipment out here for now" Says Hru, gesturing at the weighty and awkward looking pile of equipment.
As you cautiously enter the cave, the smell of damp and rot wafts out. Once you get far enough down the passage to peer in, you see bones.
Bones line the wall ... every inch of the wall. Fixed to the wall by some sort of mud or clay, they climb the walls, crawl across the roof, and form a walkway on the floor. Bones from at least twelve species and more than forty skeletons have been used to create what only can be described as a mural of some sort.
Your eye follows from one skeleton to the other as the skeletons copulate with each other, eat each other, and grow out of each other. A skeleton of a pregnant tiger has in its womb the skeleton of a human infant being gnawed at by the skeletons of several rats. A skeletal outline of a bat wears a human skull and has the legs of a great cat.
The focal point of the entire mural is the skeleton of a 12 foot tall figure -- quite recognizably a giant -- that is positioned as if seated on a throne of bones.
The floor is caked with straw and mud out of which grow thousands of red mushrooms with blue dots.
Near one of the walls is a wide hip bone serving as a palette, a straw basket of bones, a bowl of water, and some fairly fresh looking mud near an unfinished section of the wall.
I slip my crossbow back onto my back and draw out me beloved warhammer. An uneasy feeling grows in my stomach as I survey this sacrilegious monstrosity.
"If these be dwarves fashionin' this... this... thing, then they be bein' no kin o' mine." I try to hide the disgust I am feeling as I speak lightly but I fear I fail.
Lifting my hammer up I intone, "Klybaxki," and light burst forth from the weapon, illuminating the room better for the benefit of the elf.
"... then they be bein' no kin of mine."
"Nor of mine," agrees Dareg.
"Nor o' mine," thirds Clareg.
"... ... if they ain't kin o' mine they cannot be kin o' yers," criticizes Dareg.
"Arright! On account o' our being cousins!!" says Clareg.
"Brudders!!"
"Are ye sure 'bout that, ... I been thinkin' ... if my mother's sister's husband is your uncle then we'd be second cousins, right?"
"Eedjit."
A bone in the floor snaps as Clareg steps on it.
The atmosphere of the room affects me and I speak more strongly to the brothers than is normal,
Hru, squinting from the light of Klyndak's hammer as his eyes adjust, slides his blade from it's sheath on his back. "I've got a bad feeling about this" he's heard to mutter as he scans the blasphemous chamber and disturbing fungal growth "anyone seen the likes of this before?" he goes on pointing the tip of his greatsword at the mushrooms.
"I'm a 'istorian, not a botanist," I reply to the priest but I too am wondering about the mushrooms.
Continuing to hold forth my warhammer, I intone the word, "Illimunatarik" and seek signs of magical activity.
Rellios looks around at the "things" in the mural...slightly dumbfounded...If this is a dwarven monument, I clearly don't know dwarves very well...
His misconception is quickly clarified upon hearing Klyndak's rant and anger.
Once light is activated, he draws his short sword and begins making his way carefully towards the "giant" on display. He's careful to try and not step on the mushrooms, while also checking the walls for any unseen/hidden exits
If possible, he'll also give everyone a gesture to slow their pace as he creeps forward.
As you creep into the room, the bones shift under your feet. The light fills the room exposing the unfinished bits, the gaps that make this 'artwork' seem less supernaturally sinister and more a sign that something more humanoid has been here ... and recently.
As far as the mushrooms, Dareg speaks wisely for a change "I be not seein' these particular colourin' o' mushrooms before, but I know enough not to eat them. ... Clareg. Clareg! Drop those now!".
You are just beginning to realize there is no immediate danger in this room, when you hear a noise from outside.
A loud 'zzz-zzz-zzz-zzz' starts to echo off of the walls of the gorge.
Then another joins it in the offbeat: 'Bss-zzz-Bss-zzz-Bss-zzz-Bss-zzz'. Then a third noise, a 'tok-tok', chimes in: 'BsstokzzzBsstokzzz'.
It gets louder and more complex and it is coming from the ledge outside.
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
'Ahh crap!' says Clareg dropping a handful of mushrooms.
'Smartest thing you said all week,' agrees Dareg.
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
The sound puzzles me but anything associated with bone art is likely not going to be too friendly.
"Look lively lads," I say and then I power up my warhammer with arcane energies.
Given that I am currently standing at the opposite end of the noise (and in the back of the party), I'll ready my bow for whatever is coming.
Hopefully I have a clear shot...
Clareg standing just in front of Rellios says "No way am I to be missin' all the fun" and steps off the path to push his way to the front of the party beside his brother.
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
Hru turns at the sound and slowly moves back towards the entrance, Battle blade at the ready. "I'm thinking big bug....more glory for Gorum! ...and possibly good eatin" he says, once again showing a mouthful of teeth.
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
Hammer at the ready, I strive to move to where I can see out of the tomb.
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK
BsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAKBsstokzzzBsstokzzzTAK