"In the face of any better ideas, I suggest I burn out those puffballs with the wand ... they could burst if we get too close, and the spoors even from normal fungi could cause disease. The flame should get rid of those drapes, too, in case there's anything behind them."
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OK
The flame cleanses the bed of puffballs and brings down the curtain. 2d4=5 It also reveals the Ogre Skeleton that was hiding in the puffballs.
Sasha gets initiative of 21+.
Gashelle gets initiative of 21.
Avinar gets initiative of 14.
Tristan gets initiative of 15.
Ogre, skeleton gets initiative of 11.
Eltariel(somewhat surprised obviously) gets initiative of 8.
Sasha moves to B6 and casts his heavenly fire
(Gashelle is up remember you get a +4 to hit a prone target in melee and a -4 to hit with ranged)
OK
The flame cleanses the bed of puffballs and brings down the curtain. 2d4=5 It also reveals the Ogre Skeleton that was hiding in the puffballs.
Gashelle is up.
Gashelle moves to C4 and casts Disrupt Undead again.
She hits, confirming the critical and delivering 4 points of damage (2 pts, doubled).
She puts both hands on the glaive. It may be the wrong weapon for fighting skeletons, but at least it gives her the chance to make an Attack of Opportunity against it when it stands up.
"If the r- restless dead could sleep, I'd say we woke th- this one up."
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Tristan adds his blow to the mix chipping the skeleton slighty. The thing struggles to sit up at which point Avinar hits it and sends it to it's long delayed rest.
Eltariel breathes a sigh of relief just as a second skeleton rises from one of the sarchophogi and lumbers down towards the party.
Ogre, skeleton gets initiative of 22.
Sasha gets initiative of 21+.
Gashelle gets initiative of 21.
Avinar gets initiative of 14.
Tristan gets initiative of 15.
Eltariel gets initiative of 8.
The skeleton on the bed continues to burn though the flames are dying.
If the ogre skeleton is still menacing us after Sasha's turn, Gashelle will:
"These m- massive skeletons. I thought these c- creatures m- might have b- been brutish servants here, charged to d-d- defend the place until death, and long b- beyond.
"B- but this creature was entombed in this crypt. These giants m- must have been the masters here."
"Let's just make sure we're clear," taking several steps into the room I incant a spell and cast a burning hands spell to sweep aside the other mouldy drapery.
Taking a five-foot step backwards out of the door Eltariel draws her sickle and releases it in her Hand of the Apprentice, striking at the Ogre-skeleton.
Gashelle makes sure the fire is out on both Avinar and herself, and makes ready for another great skeleton to rise from the othr sarcophogas.
"Again, with the flare. Some s- sort of signal, d- do you think?"
"Or a weapon they aren't getting time to deploy properly," I add, "We've managed to destroy both of them before they could hurt us, so far."
"Well if it isn't going to get up and walk, we'd better check it out if we don't want anything sneaking up behind us later," I sigh. "Of course it could be a trap of some sort."
I shift my vision to the arcane levels and see if there is anything magical about the sarcophagus - or the rest of the room for that matter.
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There are no Magical energies active in this room. Tristan examines the sarcophagus while the rest of you stand ready to attack anything that might attack him...he declares it trap free. The sarcophagus from which the skeleton arose contains a flask of aromatic oil of the sort usually interred with the dead..and a piece of copper jewellry
"Well, that's that then," I sigh. "I still have enough pitons and we have enough rope left to cross that river relatively safely, what say you all?"
Gashelle takes a look at the decorative screen between the sarcophagi, and the crypts themselves. Are they illustrated in any way? Is there any indication as to what the purpose of this place was, or why it has burning-head ogre skeletons in it now?
Well, that's that then. I still have enough pitons and we have enough rope left to cross that river relatively safely, what say you all?
Gashelle turns to look back out into the hallway where Eltariel is standing, and moves slowly through the mushrooms and moss to stand beside her.
She takes in the luminescent curtain of water. "It's sublime, and we're the only p- people who have seen it in who-knows-how-many years. Maybe we're th- the only people who have ever seen it at all."
Then, it's down to business. The walking dead, flesh-eating fungus, deranged water spirits, automatons; they can all function perfectly well in running water without needing to breathe air. "First step: c- cast a light enchantment on an arrow and shoot it through the c- cascade?" she proposes.
It's sublime, and we're the only p- people who have seen it in who-knows-how-many years. Maybe we're th- the only people who have ever seen it at all
...she said that in Elven.
"It is an awesome sight, beautiful, timeless and yet fleeting, for this will change and fade, and new sights of beauty emerge," I sigh sadly. I shake myself as well, and switch back to the common tongue.
"You are correct, a light source on the other side would tell us much. Tristan! we have need of your skill at archery."
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Heres a total rendering of all XP awarded so far
Medium Monstrous Hunting Spider 400
2 Gnomish automatons 800
2 Fire traps 1200
Hooked Net trap 600
Pit Trap 400
Spear Trap 600
Animated Mine Cart 600
Hail of Needles Trap 400
Flamethrower Gnome Statue 600
2 Small Water Elementals 800
3 Goblin Skeletons 205
1 ogre Skeleton 600
Shrieker 400
Fiendish Violet Fungus 800
3 Strange Dwarven Skeletons 600
2 Flaming Head Ogre Skeletons 1200
a total of 10205 for Monsters killed and Traps disarmed giving you each 2041Xp
plus
Roleplay bonus 50 each
Tristan Bonus 100
which comes to 2091 each 2191 for Tristan
Its been a bit since I awarded Role playing XP..so have an other 100 each for helping keep me entertained
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The screen is iron rusted now with the damp..but simply made with no distinctive pattern or decoration on it.
Opening the second Sarcophogus reveals more oil and a second piece of copper jewellry. Both pieces are qite intricately worked and will fetch up to 60 Gp on the open market. The oil should be worth something to a priest or embalmer possibly as much as 100Gp for each bottle.
The screen is iron rusted now with the damp..but simply made with no distinctive pattern or decoration on it.
Opening the second Sarcophogus reveals more oil and a second piece of copper jewellry. Both pieces are qite intricately worked and will fetch up to 60 Gp on the open market. The oil should be worth something to a priest or embalmer possibly as much as 100Gp for each bottle.
Gashelle is really baffled by this section of the underground complex. Can she identify any of the jewelry as being made by or for a particular race?
Staring through the waterfall, Eltariel is likewise deep in thought.
Why did the gnome mine connect to these tunnels? What were they for? Why the strange mix of creatures - goblins and ogres made sense, of a kind, but what about the dwarves? Whatever the faults of dwarves, associating with goblins and ogres wasn't generally one of them. Why the Tomb? Why the fiendish fungus?
What killed everybody and made the gnomes abandon this place, never to return?
Avinar sneaks long glances at Eltariel as she ponders the meaning of this place, he is happy he is at her side, he is happy to be with all of his new companions. "Maybe the gnomes and dwarves tunneled into something more sinister and dark, maybe it enslaved them and turned them into workers making a gnome mine into an extension of an unholy temple unearthed by the greed of harvesting gold and gemstones" Avinar offers flatley as he takes the lead of the group to defend his new family. "maybe its not important now, maybe its all a sick demented joke by some powerful being that enjoys watching victims get lured deeper into its spider web until they are too far in to escape...., either way I am exhilerated and would rather be nowhere else". Avinar beams a wide smile to the other two elven ladies.
"If it's the latter, Avinar, it would have to be a very patient creature - nothing's been down here in decades."
I start taking out pitons and a hammer and rope. Then I take another loose stone, cast light upon it, and hurl it as hard as I can through the maelstrom of water to where - I hope - the passageway continues on the other side.
By the size of the piece you'd say they were made for the ogres. the workmanship is very good though not ogre work at all..perhaps the dwarves were slaves forced to work for the ogres.
"Or the dwarves bought the ogres' services." Gashelle is confused by the tunnel system. "Has anyone kept track: from our initial cave entrance yesterday, what direction have we been traveling? Are we intruding into the dwarven lands?"
"Of course."
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You are going east..the complex shows no sign of the high grade stonework you would expect from dwarven builders. you are certainly still within the 'debateable' lands between the dwarves and the village
the light stone flys through the curtain of water quickly followed by one of Tristans arrows..there seems to indeed be a space beyond the waterfall
Avinar smiles and gesturers towards the Waterfall "Shall we? Avinar beams as he begins to lead the way
At the gorge's narrowest, how far a leap is Avinar going to need to make?
"We're still facing east," I tell the others. "This isn't dwarven stonework, and I don't think that they could legitimately lay claim to this place, though that may not stop an ambitious leader trying. What we may be able to do, though, is cede it to them as a goodwill gesture ... if there's nothing in here by the time we do."
I start hammering a piton into the stonework to act as an anchor for a securing rope.
"This isn't going to be easy for whoever goes first, but once they are across if they hammer in a piton we can rig a harness for those that follow."
I explain my plan to get us across ...
"Wh- what hold the d- draw rope in p- place?"
"Wh- what hold the d- draw rope in p- place?"
"Us, of course."
Tristan peers down into the chasm. He drops a lighted stone down there to try and get a sense of the depth.
"Perhaps I should go first." he suggests "If I don't make it across at least this damned ring will keep me from falling to my death."
"Well if we tie a rope to you as well, we can haul you back up if you fall," I point out. "Then, if you get across, just hammer a piton in, secure the line and we're ready cross as safely as we may."
Gashelle keeps looking across the chasm, at the hallway illuminated behind the waterfall. She's imagining one person, alone, wet, and off-balance, trying to gain his footing over there, attacked by some large, transparent, carnivorous jelly.
"Is there a w- way to secure the p- piton into the wall over there w- without risking anyone? You c- can levitate your sickle, ma'am. C- could you send over a piton and hammer?"
"I haven't got that much fine control ... or maybe I don't, but we have!" I muse. I turn to Tristan:
"Can you use your mage hand to hold a piton in place against the far wall?" I ask him. "If you can, I think I can use my own own hand to hammer it in. I don't think I can do both, though."
I take out the hammer I've used ... it should be feasable.
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The chasm isnt actually that deep before it narrows to a point where you couldnt fall any further..perhaps 20 feet..there's a distinct ledge some ten feet below you. The Chasm is only 10 to 12 feet across at its widest.
to jump the chasm will require a DC15 acrobatics check...the rope once secured will require a DC12 climb check to cross
"OK, scratch that plan ... we'll need to suspend a rope via pitons the hard way," I sigh. "I'm afraid athletics isn't my strong point."
"All right. But we send t- two people over, one to hammer, and the other to stand g- guard."
All right. "Tristan, Avinar; who's c- coming?"
Gashelle take the rope in one hand and crosses.
"right behind you"
"Wait for me!" Tristan jumps the chasm as well.
Taking a short length of rope I tie a loop around the longer length that is being strung out and then tie it firmly about my waist, and wait for the signal that the far end is secured.
Gashelle is convinced that this is the place for a transparent carnivorous jelly back here, but the creature is apparently out on a morning break.
Is this place also covered in mushrooms and fungus?
Gashelle can hammer in a piton as well as anybody else.