Quick will periodically Light their way, leaving a glowing handprint on the wall to guide their progress. Once they no longer need the Light from behind them, she'll end that spell, so as not to leave a glowing trace of their path.
Quick:
Carefully you enter the sewers, and Juliare is able to pick up the trail without too much difficulty. Thrakhir is using his darkvision to scout ahead and then the rest of you follow, Juliare first to try to follow the tracks.
The sewers are a series of 15-foot wide tunnels bisected by an 8-foot deep channel filled with slow-moving, foul-smelling waste. Narrow walkways line either side of the channel and narrow grating spand the sewage channel at each intersection (like where you descend).
Thrakhir pauses at each intersection to let Juliare indicate the direction. Quick lights your way with glowing palm-prints that fade soon after you've passed. The smell and the eerie silence (except for the scurrying of the omnipresent rats) fill you with misgivings. The narrow walkway forces you to walk in a single file (unless you want to make use of the opposite walkway).
The trail leads east, crossing a few intersections, but at the third intersection Juliare notices another set of prints, crossing your trail, which abruptly disappears. The other prints are smudged and partial, but they are much too large for a human.
Positions: it would make sense to have Thrackir south of the SW at the SW intersection . Juliare would be just at the intersection reading the tracks and the others would be behind him in the marching order
Questions : Is the survival check to follow the new tracks or the old tracks , how old are the new tracks and what do you mean by disappear ?
Fortitude Save (DC10) 20 Perception check 15 Survival check 24
Juliare studies the tracks carefully and they do indeed end abruptly. The footsteps coming here were the steps of a man, but from here there are only two sets of prints, those of an ogre (or something the same size) coming from the north and going south and those of a dire rat going east.
Brock , take care , there are tracks of big humanoids behind us now
You proceed carefully, following the rat tracks. There seems to be a lot of them actually, leading in all directions. Obviously there are a lot of dire rats around.
Suddenly Raven turns and utters an incantation. A glowing orb of light appears some 40 feet behind you, clearly outlining a shambling man-sized figure. He stretches out a hand and croaks at Brock: "Can you spare a few coppers, good sir?"
Brock looks shocked and at the moment just smiles at the man in odd surprise.
"Uhhh..?"
With the holidays , I'll be far from my computer till monday. Feel free to make the character act if necessary . And Merry christmas to all
Brock ! It must be a trap ! Don't let him close to you !
"You ask for coppers?", Quick snaps reflexively, her left hand crackling with electricity. "You'll find a great deal more than that if you're lookin' fer..." On edge, and forgetting herself in all this searching for were-rats, she acts too defensively toward this beggar.
"I'm sorry, I lost myself.", she apologizes, tossing the man a silver coin, using it as an opportunity to scrutinize the man as he catches it. "But why are you begging down here? I doubt you see very many charitable souls. Why aren't you up there?" she points toward the surface.
The man is obviously a half-orc. He looks like a derelict and smells worse. From his attire, he seems to be working on the principle: "You flush it, I flaunt it."
He deftly catches the coin and mutters to you: "And douse that accursed light! It ruins the sweet darkness."
"But we cannot see in the dark. There are few others who can. Perhaps you know of them. They scurry around here, with twitchy noses. Tough critters. You seen any?"
"But we cannot see in the dark. There are few others who can. Perhaps you know of them. They scurry around here, with twitchy noses. Tough critters. You seen any?"
"Aye, I have. They told me that the only reason I'm alive is that nobody in their right mind would want to drink my blood. Don't know what they meant by that. We ain't exactly friends as you hear, but I don't know where they live. Of course some silver might refresh my memory. Or even gold. I know I think a lot better when touching gold."
"For that kinda coin, I'd need to hear something up front.", Quick says as she repeatedly flips a gold coin in the air, catching it again. "I'm not going to waste my time with the forgetful. We'll find what we're looking for down here, one way or another. It'd be a shame if you were ta come out a gold coin poorer at the end of it all."
"For that kinda coin, I'd need to hear something up front.", Quick says as she repeatedly flips a gold coin in the air, catching it again. "I'm not going to waste my time with the forgetful. We'll find what we're looking for down here, one way or another. It'd be a shame if you were ta come out a gold coin poorer at the end of it all."
"Oh, bugger. Their nest is to the right after the next intersection, behind a crude secret door. But if you ask me, people who can't see in the dark shouldn't be down here anyway."
He casts a longing glance at the gold piece in Quick's hand.
Quick will toss the gold piece to the half-orc. "You best not be cheatin' us. I'll remember that face, at any rate.", she adds.
When the beggar leaves, she'll approach Raven. "That was pretty sharp of you, kid. Those lights'r gonna be a great help to us down here, but you gotta realize that whatever lives down here don't need 'em. Just be mindful that you're lightin' yourself up like that. Don't lose that sharpness, we're probably going into the thick of it here."
"Well then?", Quick whispers, "to tha nest?"
"I ain't no exterminat'r, but shouldn't we check around a bit and see if we find any other entrances? Maybe we can block 'em in and not be havin' to worry about 'em sneakin' up behind us. I'd also suggest ya be lettin' me move up and searchin' the entrance for traps and such as I'm not needin' light for the deed."
"Good idea," rumbles Kirwen. "And I'll take a quick peek and see if they've left any special surprises for us too."
"I ain't no exterminat'r, but shouldn't we check around a bit and see if we find any other entrances? Maybe we can block 'em in and not be havin' to worry about 'em sneakin' up behind us. I'd also suggest ya be lettin' me move up and searchin' the entrance for traps and such as I'm not needin' light for the deed."
You find the door rather easily, some 30 feet off the next intersection. There is always the possibility of a back door, but there are no immediately visible exits (going round the block so to speak). The door does not radiate magic of any kind.
" What do we do if there is really a vampire in there ? "
"It depends on how big the Vampire is. Any bigger than me, we run." Quick jokes.
"Alright Thrakhir, you want to risk your beard, be my guest. Open the door, and get ready to run if you need to."
Quick will cast Light on a small stone or piece of detritus, and keep it concealed in the palm of her hand, letting no light out. She'll pass it to Clark and ask him to do the same. "When we get in there, and you hear a hootin' and a hollerin', then throw that light in there so we can all see. I'd rather not get stabbed in the back, if I can help it."
Thrakhir would prefer the group stay around the corner to reduce the amount of visible light. Then he is going to attempt to be as quiet as possible while moving to the doorway, Stealth (1d20+6=25), and then search for traps.
Quick is amiable to that plan, though she will be straining her halfling ears to listen for a muffled squeak from Thrakhir. Dwarves squeak when frightened, right?
Quick is amiable to that plan, though she will be straining her halfling ears to listen for a muffled squeak from Thrakhir. Dwarves squeak when frightened, right?
"This one blows the whistle on wererats...quite literally," Thrakhir states then places a signal whistle between his lips before heading around the corner.
"Didn't you hear what the beggar said about being left alone because his blood was not being drinkable enough ?"
Thrakhir:
Thrakhir takes his time examining the door carefully, and is able to ascertain that it is trapped both with a pair of presumably poisoned needles and also a bell.
But before he has time to deal with those, he becomes aware of approaching steps. A wererat is returning to the nest, and it doesn't appear to be aware of him.
Thrakhir: ** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
OK, everybody, time to roll for initiative.
Juliare is quick . Init 19
Kirwen seems to have been waiting for trouble.
The ratman (a strange hybrid of man and rat) approaches out of the darkness and accosts Thrakhir . As it sees you all, it lets out three high-pitched squeaks in succession.
Thrakhir is up, and then it's regular initiatives.
The ratman (a strange hybrid of man and rat) approaches out of the darkness and accosts Thrakhir . As it sees you all, it lets out three high-pitched squeaks in succession.
Thrakhir is up, and then it's regular initiatives.
Thrakhir retreats 20' back towards the party dropping his caltrops as he goes. "Here they come," he says loud enough for the group to hear him.
",,,Don't go further than just in front of me as there's tacks on the floor."