[4th Ed D&D] First Steps

[Servbot]

Everyone:
The droning headache tells you that it's way beyond time to get up. A sluggish feeling's in your limbs, as if you've just run a marathon twice over. That, or you've just experienced the worst hang-over in your life, short as though it may have been so far.

You realise that you're not at home. Not yours, or anyone else's, for that matter. There's a leather skin beneath you, ample comfort from the hard floor. Your gear, the things you brought along when you set out from home, are stacked against a wall. From your position, you can see the room is decidedly square. A marvel of architecture, you're sure.

Off in the corner's a chest, a barrel and a stool. They look worn, as if they've been here for ages. A lantern hanging on the wall provides the room with its light; the fireplace seems like it hasn't been used in ages either, and the wooden door seems the only way out.

There's some others here with you, and by the look of things they're in the same situation you are: somewhere, some place you definitely did not intend to end up at. With a terrible ache to boot.

http://i.imgur.com/PXgP4.png

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern gingerly sits up, rolling his shoulders & his head and bending his arms to work out the kinks, looking over the others piled up in the middle of this room while he does. Quickly glancing around the room, he sees his items along with what must be theirs piled against a wall. On seeing the door he quietly moves over to it, trying to gather information to make sense of any of this.

[Vesth]

"Nnngh.....Chief Zeratos will probably kill me for this...".

He scanned the room blearily, until he noticed something was wrong.

"...where....where am I?!" he murmered, as his brain finally registered what was going on. He jumped to his feet, ignoring the blinding headache in his skull, retreating towards his stuff.

Hold on....these people don't look like enemies.... he thought to himself as he observed the others more carefully. There are dwarves, their race of which are friends of his tribe; there's a human, and humans have never once threatened Goliaths to his knowledge....and a satyr, a creature much respected by his tribe.

The only one he did not really recognise was the dark-skinned-elf-thing.
It's a Dree....or Drow.....definitely Dree....Nevertheless, if a satyr is in his presence, he shouldn't be a danger....

However, he is still cautious, his guard high as he remembered stories of spirits that befriended, then tricked his kind. As such, he gripped the mace and held it in front of him, a gesture that looks professional at first glance, but a skilled fighter would be able to tell his grip, his angle is all slightly off.
Growling out loud, he said "I am Kavak of the Jadar Tribe, son of Chief Zeratos and High Priestess Kora! WHO ARE YOU?"

[salt3d]

His eyes still closed, the satyr winces at the sound of the booming voice. "Pipe down, you lummox;" he mutters to himself, "there's no need to shout. I have a splitting headache."

Standing up gingerly, the satyr rubs his temples while he continues to mutter. "Well, I'm all here; none of me is missing. And they're all here," he looks around at his new companions, "but who are they? And where is here? And how did I get here?"

He shakes his head briefly and looks squarely at Kavak. "Right then, mister Kavak, son of whatsisname. Who I am is Romeus. I don't have any of those... honorifics, but feel free to make some up for me if you'd like."

Romeus makes an exaggerated bow towards the goliath, smiling at him all the while. He saunters to his belonging, and having collected them leans against the wall, arms folded and staff resting in the crook of his elbow. The corners of the satyr's mouth turn up in a half-smile as he observes the rest of the room's occupants.

[Servbot]

Baern: A quick inspection of the door learns you that it is, in fact, locked. It's made of solid wood; or at least, it used to be, as the wood has started rotting. It shouldn't prove to be too hard of a challenge to break it down, given you have unlimited time and a club.

Maxi: While you're still clearing the headache you're suffering from, your acute senses can hear the padding of feet moving away, from the other side of the door, coincidentally right after the Goliath's outburst.

Knocking down the door is either a Strength check against a Moderate DC (you may try unlimited times) or 20 HP worth of damage against an AC of 5.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern whips his head around to look at the goliath and others speaking so loudly, and glares at them while holding a finger up in front of his fat lips, and hisses out a quiet 'SHH' as the noise is preventing him to listening outside of the door, and might be alerting whoever brought him here. He turns his attention back to the door, putting an eye to the door, trying to gaze out a keyhole, perhaps a gap or crack in the rotting wood to spy whats on the other side.
Perception:[roll0] Edit:*facepalm*:smallannoyed:

[Servbot]

Baern: You spy through the keyhole, noting that there is a wall there, probably about ten paces across from the door. Aside from that, you note that the wall is of the same stones as the walls in this room. You don't hear much from beyond the door that you couldn't already hear before, and you don't note any specifics from beyond the keyhole.

It's possible you're still a bit sluggish from whatever happened before.

[Vesth]

Kavak relaxes, after seeing Romeus seemingly unpertubed by the situation they're in. After strapping his mace, he turned his attention to the chest, curious at what contents it might contain. Walking over to open it, he glances at Baern questioningly, and whispered "what is it?"

[JackOfAllBuilds]

The dwarf stands and moves away from the door, stepping softly as to make little noise as he gathers up his belongings. He cinches the belt around his waist, and loops the strap of his throwing hammer around it so it hangs ready at his hip, then pulls the backpack on over his shoulders before grabbing his greatclub with both hands. Turning to the goliath, in hushed voice "I was trying to see and hear if there was anyone outside. I didn't notice anything, but keep the noise down as to not alert whatever there may be."

[Servbot]

Kavak: The chest opens quite handily, but it doesn't appear to contain anything. From how clean the inside of the chest is, there's either magic at work, or something recently occupied the chest and it was emptied out not long ago.

Determining if magic was at work requires an Arcana check.

In the interest of stealth, you can also open the door with a thievery check against a moderate DC, provided you have something to pick the lock with.

[Vesth]

"Hey, I think there's something weird about this chest..." he whispered, as he stared hard at the chest, wondering what was wrong with it.....

Arcana Check: 1d20

[Vesth]

Sorry, botched the roll. Arcana Check: [roll0]

[Servbot]

Kavak: You've actually seen this type of magic before. Once, one of the tribe's shamans had tried to convince you of the utility of magic by enchanting a hide with a preservative magic. No matter how you'd tried, it was impossible to stain the fabric. Of course, it was vulnerable to tearing apart, proving that even preservation magic cannot stop a blow to the head.

This chest is enchanted with much the same magic, suggesting that whatever was inside must have been important enough to shield with such magic. You've no idea what had been inside, but clearly this room wasn't meant for detaining people, else such a chest would not be here.

[horngeek]

Leiana starts to wake up, blinking in surprise. "...bwah? Where am I and who are you?"

[salt3d]

"My dear lady," says Romeus with a bow, "I am Romeus. The large gent over there goes by the moniker of Kavak the something or other, and I'm afraid the others have yet to make their introductions. As to our location, it seems entirely a mystery to us all."

Romeus gestures towards the door, adding "There appears to be some excitement in trying to open the door, and apparently we're all to keep quiet. Why nobody has thought to knock is beyond me. But I digress; I haven't allowed you the opportunity to introduce yourself."

The satyr offers the drow a broad smile and a brief nod.

[Vesth]

Kavak nodded at the Dree, and said, "I am Kavak of the Jadar Tribe, son of Chief Zeratos and High Priestess Kora", a bit miffed that the satyr hadn't bothered with his title.

Turning back to the chest, he smiled as at that memory - oh how he tore that piece of fabric!
"What do you think could have been held in magical chest?" he asked, before inspecting the barrel.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

The stout dwarf rolls his eyes and groans quietly, then speaks hushed through his beard "I'm Baern, now shut up you whelps..." wielding his club he moves beside the door, prepared to smack anything coming through "The door is locked and we don't know how we got here, so let's not knock or alert our CAPTORS."

[Pepz]

A farmer's son is used to being woken by the cockerel in the morning, or his brothers throwing in his face. Anything smelly, cold, or alive will do. They'd hadn't been able to stop laughing for half an hour that time they'd thrown worms in his face.

So as long as nothing was happening Maxi kept his eyes shut and tried to get some more shut-eye. That is, until he turned around and took a peek to see how long he'd still have before he'd have to get up. What he expected to see was a tiny little room with two other beds, dark and very used. What he saw instead was a bearded man, a girl with dirt on her skin and a monstrous giant with a weapon looming over him.

Startled, Maxi scrambles backwards until he hits the wall and his hand instinctively closes around his spear. He points the spear at the giant and looks round. The bearded man is a lot smaller than he looked from the floor. "I don't know who you are or what you are going to do to us, but don't come closer or I'll stab you!" He feebly tries to jab the spear in the giants direction, but all it does is shake a bit less than it already did.

[Servbot]

Kavak: This is a barrel. In your expert opinion it is a hollow cylindrical container, which at present contains nothing.

[salt3d]

"Well, Baern," replies Romeus, "with such short legs I'd have thought you'd understand that one doesn't get far by jumping to conclusions. I don't know about you, but I've woken up in far less pleasant places with no memory of how I got there, only to find that the first person to walk through the door was carrying breakfast."

The satyr walks towards the dwarf, lowering his volume as he approaches until the two are side by side and his voice is barely a whisper.

"So if I may be so bold, I would suggest we entertain the possibility that we have not been captured. It seems just as likely that we've been rescued from something and we will be greeted by our hosts. And if we are in fact captives, we would do well to remember that our captors probably know we're here!"

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern looks to the satyr after he speaks and quietly grumbles "Don't be quite so easy going... Better to be on guard for the worst than expect a friendly welcome... And they won't know we are awake yet if you fools would keep it down..." as he turns back to eye the door. "Otherwise, why would we be locked IN?"

[horngeek]

Leiana sighs. "On the other hand, that door's pathetic. I'd say any captors would put more effort into it than that."

She does speak quietly, though. "Also: spear. If we've been captured, why in Bahamut's name would they leave us weapons?"

[Vesth]

"At ease, human, we are your allies..." Kavak said softly, staring at the dancing spear tip.

"Listen to Romeus, Baern. Satyrs are smart and wise. Romeus, do we knock on the door, or do we throw a barrel at it like civilized people?" he asked the two, one hand firmly on the barrel.

[Pepz]

Not intending to let anyone past his guard, Maxi listens to the conversation intently to figure out more about what's going on. "You won't need to worry about a guard, I think. I heard someone walking away when big guy over there made a ruckus."

[salt3d]

Baern looks to the satyr after he speaks and quietly grumbles "Don't be quite so easy going... Better to be on guard for the worst than expect a friendly welcome... And they won't know we are awake yet if you fools would keep it down..." as he turns back to eye the door. "Otherwise, why would we be locked IN?"

"You might find us more amenable to your wishes," replies Romeus, "if you ceased insulting us. Besides, apart from Kavak's initial - and entirely understandable - outburst, only you seem to be in danger of raising your voice. I will grant you that being locked in offers an interesting complexion to our circumstance, but I have no intention of expecting the worst at every turn; it does me no good at all. Far be it from me, however, to deny you the right to do so."


Leiana sighs. "On the other hand, that door's pathetic. I'd say any captors would put more effort into it than that."

She does speak quietly, though. "Also: spear. If we've been captured, why in Bahamut's name would they leave us weapons?"

"The lady makes a most salient point. Perhaps we are unwitting participants in some kind of game?"


"Listen to Romeus, Baern. Satyrs are smart and wise. Romeus, do we knock on the door, or do we throw a barrel at it like civilized people?" he asked the two, one hand firmly on the barrel.

"Given what our friend Baern appears to be preparing, I think the barrel option would be entirely helpful. You know for a big fellow, you're smarter than you look. I think I like you, Kavak of the Jadar Tribe, son of Chief Zeratos and High Priestess Kora." Romeus winks at the goliath.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern blinks for a few seconds, then shakes his head as he presses a palm over one of his eyes :smallsigh: "Oh for Kord's sake..." and gives a defeated chuckle. "Well, everyone grab what you need, and anything you can spot of use. I don't take kindly to being locked up if I'm not the one who turned the key." He turns back to the door, lining up and giving a few practice swings, and looks to be planning to bash the door down in a few moments.

[Lifeson]

Early to bed, last to rise.

...wait, that's not how that goes, Caliburn thought to herself as she shook the last of her sleep out of herself and tried to figure out what the hell was going on. First off: Lots of people. Different kinds.

Second: They were leaving, and they were all in a huff with each other, apparently.

If they were getting out of here, then it was time to get moving. Being left behind while crazy stuff was happening was the beginning of every horror play ever. Caliburn picked up her stuff first, and made sure it was okay, starting with her instrument. The simple little harp was her easiest way to communicate with people, and if it had been snapped or warped there goes her best form of "speaking". A quick run through the strings proved they were still in tune, and she picked up her farmer's scythe in preparation for the adventure beyond the little room. Just because she couldn't talk doesn't mean she planned on being a liability beyond that.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Readied action, once everyone is happy they've acted and gotten ready:
Martial Attack:[roll0] Damage:[roll1]

[Vesth]

And if that didn't break down the door....

Throwing the barrel at the door:
Attack: 1d20+4[
Damage: [roll0] +4 =9

If it's supposed to be a basic ranged attack for throwing it, then edit accordingly :smallbiggrin:

[Vesth]

and again, I botched the roll.
Attack: [roll0]

[Pepz]

Maxi shields his face in case any magics, arrows or splinters burst from the broken door into his face.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
After determining everyone's about as ready as can be, Baern pounds the door with his club. The wood immediately begins to crack, and it looks like a little more effort would break the entire door down; the barrel smashing against the door certainly does the trick.

Baern steps into the hallway now exposed through the door, noting immediately the vacancy of it all. There are two lanterns hanging from a post on the walls, at a height just over his head. Three more doors are down the hallway. The nearest door has a sort of scribble on it, vaguely related to the arcane symbols some wizards enjoy studying.

The rest of the hall seems empty and vacant.

http://i.imgur.com/NQvQN.png

[salt3d]

"Hooray!" Romeus claps excitedly at the spectacle. "The game is on!"

Stepping through the doorway behind Baern, Romeus spies the symbols on the door across the hall and trots over to it, a quizzical expression on his face.

Arcana: [roll0]

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Having broken through the rotted old door and gazed down the empty hall he turns back to the room "Nay a sign o' them, 3 doors, one wit' some sort o' magic-y scribblin's" Looking to the one with the spear, "You were a might perceptive, perhaps you could scout?"
Perception [roll0]

[Servbot]

Romeus: Your expert gaze tells you this is, in fact, something that could possibly, perhaps, with some chance, be some sort of arcane sigil, probably.

Baern: You look over the hallway, but without real indication of searching about, it's hard to determine what you find. There seems to be a weakness in one of the walls on the west side of the room, about fifteen feet south from the door. (Right behind the fireplace)

[Vesth]

Carefully stepping past the remains of the door, Kavak grabs a latern off the wall, and holds it closely to the scribbling, squinting at it.

Arcana Check: [roll0]

[JackOfAllBuilds]

OOC: Well I have low light vision, and I'm worried about what other people are here, but it's hard to track on a stone floor. What significance is the weak spot in the fireplace wall??

[Servbot]

Kavak: With the lamp lighting the sigil up for you, you expertly determine there is a possibility that this may be an arcane sigil. You aren't sure of this.

Baern: From the looks of things, you think someone or something passed by here recently. There's what looks like some kind of ooze on the floor, though it is disappearing - fast.

The weaker wall you detected earlier can very likely be knocked down, or even pushed with little effort.

http://i.imgur.com/HWbfW.png

The Lantern acquired sheds light in a 15-square radius.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Upon noticing the trail of slime on the floor, whatever it's source may be, Baern follows along it away from their shattered door. He had questions for whoever brought him here, and a firm boot if they had no answers.

[Pepz]

Still with his spear held tightly between himself and the others, Maxi tries to make a choice. Should he trust these strange non-humans, all armed and potentially dangerous (Make that certainly dangerous for the big guy who threw the barrel)? Or should he stay here, alone, no idea of where he is or where to go....

He gets up and says to the dark-skinned girl and the remaining dwarf "Well, I don't know how I got here, and I don't know who ya'll are, but I'm gonna find out." He walks past Leiana, extending a hand to help her off the floor (if she hasn't gotten up already), then joins the others in the corridor.

Pointing his spear in every direction, expecting danger from all sides, he follows the other three closely. "So what now?"

[Vesth]

"Can you see what this thing is?" Kavak asked, gesturing towards the Arcane Scribbling.

[Servbot]

Baern: The trail leads to the door at the far end of the hallway. You can easily tell that this door is not locked, because it does not have a locking mechanism. Come to think of it, none of the other doors are.

http://i.imgur.com/4XjXp.png

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Not wanting to loose the trail of ooze if it goes off in another direction beyond the door, as it seemed to be dissipating quickly, the dwarf tries to peer under/through/or around the door if possible without touching it. If presented with no way of seeing what lies beyond without handling the door, he will just barely open it and look around what lies on the other side.
Perception: [roll0] Stealth to hide in plain sight :p [roll1]
Upon seeing the first dead body rigt next to the door when trying to peek in, Baern is startled and freaks out, throwing the door wide open

[Servbot]

Everyone:
When Baern opens the door, the first thing the group notices, even at distance, is the smell of blood quickly drifting in, mixed with another smell. A sickly smell, as of rotting food and decay.

The room beyond the door seems to be some sort of guard post. A desk sits beside the door, a parchment nested on top of it. Off to the far end, a few bedrolls lie.

More disturbingly, however, are the four corpses on the ground. At a glance, anyone can tell these guys are dead: the blood and the wounds puncturing the bodies are obvious enough, and their positions are anything but natural or comfortable.

A creature stands in the room as well. At about three feet high, it is a seriously small creature, but its shape is hard to make out: it appears to be made of shadows, its form pulsating and wavering every passing moment. It settles its glowing eyes on Baern.

Baern:
As much as you'd like to be stealthy, you find it becomes a bit difficult when you're a squat dwarf, and there's little to hide behind.

You can tell it's plainly obvious the trail leads to the creature now observing you.

You are now in initiative.

It is Maxi's turn!

http://i.imgur.com/azp4L.png

INITIATIVE:
Maxi (20)
Lesser Shade (19)
Leiana (14)
Baern (10)
Kavak (9)
Romeus (5)
Caliburn (5)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|No ailments
Maxi|Full HP|No ailments
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Caliburn|Full HP|No ailments
Leiana|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|No ailments[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]Lesser Shade|P9|0 HP lost|No ailments[/table]

INFO
- You may use Religion or Arcana as a Free Action to determine if you know anything more about this Shade, either by observation or rudimentary knowledge of Religion.

[Pepz]

Maxi walks up to Baern before the stench of decay and blood becomes too much for the youngster. "What....is....that thing?"


Double move to K8

[JackOfAllBuilds]

"Whatever it be, smells revoltin' an' looks like no natural thing I've ever seen. Looks impure. And blacksmiths pound out impurities..."

[Vesth]

He had never seen him so angry, so.....furious.

With eyes burning so furiously that could melt iron, the tall, battle-scarred Goliath gave a heavy backhanded slap, which sent Kavak sprawling to the ground.

"Do not presume so, Kavak!" Trainer Garm roared with pained eyes, "You know not the dangers of shadow spawn, the horrors of the undead!". As he spoke, the fire in his eyes waned, replaced by sadness and pity. "You know not, and yet you still seek to battle them with the passion of the young..." His voice trailed off, and turned away from his pupil, and grabbed his spear, marred by a thousand battles. With one last glimpse at his student, he spoke as we walked away, the voice getting fainter and fainter with each step: "Tomorrow, Kavak. Tomorrow we resume training. Get some rest..."

After a moment, Kavak got up, his eyes showing a gleam of determination...

....and he grinned. But the grin was neither of madness or desperation. He felt no fear, no anxiety, no nervousness....just excitement. Excitement that grew warmer each second. His first real fight! His hand gripped the mace firmly. There would be some bloodshed soon...

[Servbot]

Arcana checks:
Shades aren't natural residents of this world. They come from another plane instead, where they are among the weaker residents, or so you've heard. Shades are often Summoned into this world alongside other entities: they are rather parasitical in that they travel along with the host, and then go about their own business.

Typically, Shades don't last longer than a week in this world before they dissipate and disappear.

Everyone: As Maxi approaches, the Shade moves as well. It quickly darts into Baern's blindspot, so that the dwarf, nor anyone else for that matter, can no longer see the creature.

It did not descend the spiral staircase the group can see, however, and so unless there's another way out of the room... it's still there.

It is now the PC group's turn!
(Everyone, from Leiana to Maxi, can take their turn when they please rather than wait for each other. This, to speed up matters for this one encounter.)

http://i.imgur.com/eTyGi.png

INITIATIVE:
Maxi (20)
Lesser Shade (19)
Leiana (14)
Baern (10)
Kavak (9)
Romeus (5)
Caliburn (5)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|No ailments
Maxi|Full HP|No ailments
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Caliburn|Full HP|No ailments
Leiana|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|No ailments[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]Lesser Shade|???|0 HP lost|No ailments[/table]

INFO
- You may use Religion or Arcana as a Free Action to determine if you know anything more about this Shade, either by observation or rudimentary knowledge of Religion.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Seeing the creature skitter away out of sight, Baern moves into the room, keeping to the area he can see and away from where the shadow went, but wanting to get sight of it again.
moving from my spot to O8, keeping in the 8 column past the first body. Looking for the shade with low-light vision if needed.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
Baern advances into the room, cautious enough. When he passes the first body, he soon catches sight of the Shade again, hidden in a corner of the room. It doesn't look like it's actually escaped.

Something about its stance warns Baern that approaching the creature may result in a counter-attack. (The Shade has a Readied Action.)

http://i.imgur.com/koh66.png

[JackOfAllBuilds]

The Dwarf lays down his great club, but lays a hand upon the hammer at his waist, and keeps unblinking eyes upon the critter.
free drop club, minor to "draw" throwing hammer, unclipping it but holding in place at side. Readied action to chuck it and cave it's head in.
"Oi, ya litt'l bugger, do yeh speak common? Maybe understand me? If yeh don' harm us, we don't harm you"
Diplomacy [roll0]

[salt3d]

Romeus bounds toward the room, his voice inquisitive and full of enthusiasm. "What is it? A clue to the door? Have you found our captors? Is breakfast ready? Is it-"

The satyr stops abruptly at the doorway and stares open-mouthed at the scene in the room. He opens and closes his mouth repeatedly but no sound escapes. Eventually he shakes his head and speaks, although in a more subdued tone than before.

"Oh. Uh. Ew. Um... did you see... what could have..."

Romeus tip-hooves his way through the corpses a short distance before noticing that Baern's attention is elsewhere. He looks up to see the shade, then lets out a startled squeal and scrambles backwards away from it.

Two moves actions to place Romeus at O6.

[Vesth]

Kavak walks calmly to his comrades, hooking the lantern to his belt as he gives the mace a few practice swings.

"Let's get this party started."

Double move to M8

[Servbot]

Everyone:
At Baern's words, the creature seems to relax its stance, the tendrils that had at first been portruding from it merging back into its squalid body. It gazes at Baern with a hint of distrustfulness, for as much as Baern can tell, but it seems content not to press the assault if the party does not.

Initiative has ended.

For now, the Shade seems content to huddle in its corner, eyeing the party with suspicion. The party, meanwhile, finds itself divided, with half still in the hallway and the other half surrounded by corpses.

There's a spiralling stairway that leads to a lower level, and there are two other rooms they hadn't yet explored.

http://i.imgur.com/b95t4.png

[JackOfAllBuilds]

"Well? Can ye speak litt'l shadow? This all be disturbing..."
Baern looks around the room, and at the trail of ooze again.
"I saw that you were outside our door, an' now you're in a room of dead guards. We dunnah how we got here or what's going on, and ye are the only thing we've seen close to these bodies..."

[Vesth]

Kavak looked curiously from Baern to the shade.....and he shrugged, a bit disappointed with the outcome. Strapping his mace, He proceeded to search the corpses carefully for anything useful, and anything that could clue him into what was going on.

At the same time, he called out to the rest, "It's safe, Baern used some magic speech thing. Now back to the question, does anyone know how to read that arcane sigil?"

[Servbot]

Baern:
The Shade regards you for a moment longer. Then, when it decides you really aren't going to hurt it (or it just got tired of looking at your face, it's hard to tell), it skids off, jumping down the spiral staircase and out of view.

You realise you're left (nearly) alone in a room full of dead people.

Kavak:
Sadly, the corpses have been attacked in such manner that their weapons and armour are hardly usable, if at all. You manage to uncover two daggers which are still usable, but the rest has been ruined beyond belief. For the leather armour you can find boots, gloves, even a shoulder plate, but nothing sufficient to grant you any adequate protection.

You'd need a Heal Check to determine the cause of death and how long these guys have been dead, but a cursory glance tells you it hasn't been more than a day.

[Vesth]

After setting aside the potentially useful equipment, Kavak proceeded to prod one of the corpses with his mace.

Heal Check: [roll0]

[Servbot]

Kavak:
The mace speaks to you, channelling the ancient spirits of... no, wait, that's just the corpse rolling over. You determine handily that these corpses died hardly two bells (hours) ago. Whatever killed them wielded sharp swords, or had sharp talons; it's unlikely the Lesser Shade you encountered was responsible for their deaths.

[Vesth]

Grabbing a dagger off the floor, Kavak stood up.

"This is interesting. These humans died only 2 hours ago, and by sharp blades, which I don't think our shade friends has..."

Gesturing towards the other dagger, he asks, "Does anyone want the second one?"

[JackOfAllBuilds]

The dwarf snaps his head around to look at the bodies at Kavak's words and again inhales deeply, with a grimace on his face.
:smallconfused:"If they truly be so freshly dead, there be no way I can think tha' the smell of rot be coming from them. So if nae the bodies, what be stinking so ill?":smalleek:
Perception for following my nose: [roll0]

[horngeek]

Leiana shrugs. "Probably won't get much... you'd think I'd have learnt some arcane stuff other than 'shoot energy' having a wizard for an adoptive father, but nooooo...

Note to self: LEARN."

Meanwhile, she moves up to join the rest of the party.

[salt3d]

"Oh," exclaims Romeus, "the little blighter is frightened! Or maybe he's trying to lead us somewhere!"

The satyr takes the pipes hanging from his belt and plays a short trill before hopping over the bodies towards the staircase, in pursuit of the shade.

[Vesth]

"Wait! Romeus! There could be other prisoners in those other doors!"

[salt3d]

Romeus stops short of the staircase and spins on his hoof.

"Ah yes! The doors! Well, let's not dally; if the little beastie really is trying to show us something we don't want to keep him waiting too long. To the doors!"

[Servbot]

Bloodhound Baern:
The distinctly unpleasant smell seems to be coming from down below. Although it isn't immediately poisonous, you do believe that heading down to the lower level is something that should be done after some preparation, or at least something to guard the nose from the scent.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern looks warily at the staircase, shaking his head slightly. "Tha' rank stench be brewin up from below, it be a thick maiasma down there, and I'd not be breathing it deep."
The stocky dwarf picks his club back up and heads to the desk, looking at everything laid out upon it and rifling through any drawers.
Thievery [roll0]
"We should see if there be any supplies to be had in the oth'r rooms ta craft masks, maybe a decent set of armor or shield..."

[Lifeson]

Hearing the drow mutter to herself, Caliburn would've chuckled if her vocal chords could have been of use. She followed closely behind of course, catching up to her teammates quietly but quickly.

Having not done much to aid the party just yet, she decided to take point. To deal with the really rank stench, she simply lifted her shirt over her nose, and slowly went downwards to check whatever could be making that gods-awful stench.

Stealth check! [roll0]

[Vesth]

Agreeing with Baern, Kavak proceeds to open the door without the symbol cautiously, one hand gripping the mace, with the dagger in his belt.

Stealth Check: [roll0]

[Pepz]

Maxi walks up to the door with the sigil on it. If he can't find anything special with it, he lays his hand on the door handle and opens the door.

[roll0]

Second post since dice roll didn't work.

[Servbot]

Baern:
Your study of the desk doesn't yield much news, save for the half-written note on the table. It reads, in Common,

'They arrived today─some sacrifices they are! A motley gang of kids, monsters and mishaps. Were I a deity, I would revolt at such──'

The note ends there, abruptly.

Caliburn:
You descend the stairs, assailed all at once by the awful, awful smell down there. You tread steadily and carefully, before long passing off into pitch-black darkness. No lights seem to shine in this area, and you do not know where you are.

Kavak:
Opening the door without sigil proves an easy task. The room beyond is bare, filled with nothing but urns. There is no light source in the room, all at once proving the wisdom of seizing one of the lanterns.

Maxi:
You know nothing of this particular sort of arcane sigil, and heedlessly open the door. Within, you are greeted by a warm draft, as of a pleasant wind. It seems a homely room, the sort someone stuck down here would fashion for themselves given enough time and materials. A desk stands against the far wall, with a bookcase beside it. A lantern, lit, hangs over the desk, suggesting that either the lanterns will never run out, or someone used this room not too long ago.

There's a bed in the corner of the room you can barely see, and a carpet sprawled out, even.

http://i.imgur.com/B1GWF.png

[Vesth]

".....urns? Is this some sort of burial ground?"

Kavak walks over to the nearest one, and looks at it carefully, then cautiously opens it if nothing suspicious can be found.

[roll0]

[Servbot]

Kavak:
When you search the room, you find that somewhere, there is a draft; it's not coming from the door and attached hallway, either, but it seems to come from somewhere inside the room, instead. As if there's another room attached to this one...

The urn shows nothing of real interest: it's filled with ashes. Blessed ashes, it should be noted, from the white colour and the distinct smell of divine powers, but ashes nonetheless.

[Vesth]

His curiousity piqued, Kavak tries to feel where the draft is coming from.

If needed: [roll0]

[Servbot]

Kavak:
Try as you might, you just cannot discern where the draft is coming from.

You cannot use Perception twice to check a room; sorry, forgot to mention. Someone else can use Perception to check the room, though.

[Vesth]

But the first was to check the urn, not the room!

"Guys, there seems to be some other room connected to this one, but I cannot find it. Perhaps someone would like to search?"

With that, he grabs the other lantern from the corridor and places it in the centre of the room for the others to see.

Knowing there is little else he can do in this room, he exits the room, and seeing that the other is open, goes into it, and proceeds to rifle through the bookcase.

[Vesth]

Since I forgot: [roll0]

[Servbot]

Kavak:
Departing from the urn room, you make your way to the sigil room. As you pore over the books in the book case, you note that most of these are written in the Rellanic script. Sadly, you have no idea how to read this script, so you become no wiser what the books contain.

A select few are written in Common, but these are books regarding history, none of which seems particularly relevant to the situation.

Rellanic script is used for Deep Speech and Elven; in this case, they are Elven, and anyone who can read Elven can decipher the books as being Ritual Books, though you lack the arcane training to understand the rituals.

Some of the rituals detail Summoning, a few detail Resurrection, and one is about Portals.

[Vesth]

"Gah! What is this written in? Can anyone read this? Dree?" he gestures towards the drow.

He looks through the desk, hoping for more success.
Hey! It rhymes! Somewhat.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern turns a bit pale upon reading the note, and brings it to everyone else's attention. But then he notices the other dwarf hasn't come back up the stairs. He runs over to grab a lamp, then runs to the top of the stairs, casting the light down and calling out.
"If you're still conscious down there play your instrument! One for okay two for distress!"

??????Using lantern with a passive perception 11, all senses down the stairs for the mute with a lute

[horngeek]

"Lemme see..."

Leiana heads over to Kavak. "...the writing's Elven."

She starts muttering as she looks over one of the books. "Um... ritual book, but I can't tell any more."

[Pepz]

With all the others coming into this room, rummaging with old books and other stuff nobody cares about, Maxi goes into the other room. He tries to see where the draft is coming from. He takes the lantern into all the corners to see if the flame gets blown one way or another. If that doesn't help, Maxi takes ashes from one of the urns and throws it across the room, hoping it will get caught in the breeze.

[roll0]

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Ooc: still no sign of the other dwarf? I called out and am shining a light down.

[Servbot]

Kavak:
The desk contains a few things you don't really know the function of, but also a pouch of alchemic reagents.

Kavak acquires 100 GP worth of alchemic reagents.

Baern:
You sense a mute with a lute at the bottom of the stairs. The light from your lantern illuminates the area below somewhat.

Caliburn:
You can see!

Maxi:
Your search of the room reveals that there is a draft coming, and you locate it to be the eastern wall. A further search reveals a small arcane sigil, touching of which causes the wall to disappear and reveal a smaller room right behind it. You can barely make out a small chest in the corner of the room.

http://i.imgur.com/tHMLc.png

[Vesth]

After giving the room one last search (look through and under the bed and the carpet), Kavak leaves.

Spotting Maxi standing next to a hole that wasn't there before, he lifts his lantern to help Maxi see...

[Pepz]

"Thank you, big guy" Maxi says as he looks at the chest. If it looks like a regular old chest, he opens it, waving the Goliath closer to light the contents.


I think this roll falls under either perception or dungeoneering so I'll just roll a d20 and let Servbot add +5 if it's perception.

[roll0]

[Lifeson]

Darkness.

Caliburn hated darkness. The way it envelops everything it touches out of sight set her on edge, as anything could be hiding behind the darkness. And without a voice, if anything happened she had to hope her lute would be loud enough to call for help.

"If you're still conscious down there play your instrument! One for okay two for distress!"

Ooo! Light! Picking up her lute, Caliburn played a single, nice, lovely chord to convey she was okay. Amaj, if you wanted to get specific. Having found nothing of note in the darkness, she ventured on to the edge of the darkness to try and find anything in the light.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern lets out a deep sigh and wipes his face, slightly relieved. "Good ta hear, lass. Now I'd be climbin' back up an' joining us. Don't want ta be spreading our forces too thin. We have yet ta finish gatherin' materials."
The Dwarf stays at the top of the stairs, providing light for the aspiring bard, but looks around the room for any usable materials to cobble together some piecemeal armor or shields for everyone. Maybe there is something he could do with the belts and leather strips, and shoulder-pads.
Baern calls out loudly for everyone back down the hall to hear "If ye be seein' any scraps or materials, bring 'em and I might be able ta craft us some better gear"
any sort of roll or anything you want for a check, or is there just not enough available materials?

[salt3d]

Romeus flits excitedly between the others as they explore the rooms, offering much encouragement but little genuine assistance. Returning to the room with the staircase, the satyr stops as he hears the chord drift up from below. Closing his eyes and tilting his head every so slightly, Romeus allows a smile to spread across his face.

Lifting his pipes to his lips, Romeus plays a note in harmony with the chord, then descends the stairs in pursuit of the bard.

[Servbot]

Maxi:
With the Goliath's light, you deftly open the chest. Thankfully, it is not locked, or you would've needed to try picking the lock. The contents of the chest are easy to identify: it is a stash of Potions of Cure Light Wounds, three in total.

A Potion of Cure Light Wounds is a level 1 Consumable. A Minor Action lets you drink the Potion: spend a healing surge (if you have one) and recover 1d8 + 1 HP. If you have no healing surges, but are bloodied, still regain 1d8 + 1 HP. If neither are true, nothing happens.

Caliburn:
From the very edge of the light, you can tell that it is dark beyond that. The room, however, feels decidedly small. As if it is just a staircase room, if such exists: likely you will find other rooms if you had some light!

Baern:
You'd forge stuff... if you had a forge. As-is, you have enough materials to fashion together a leather armour for one creature of Medium-size, or two creatures of Small-size. Now to find a forge.

Romeus:
You charge down after Caliburn. Like Caliburn, you can note that it is dark down here.

[Vesth]

Waiting for Maxi to pick up the potions (taking all the potions Maxi is not taking), Kavak hears the note.

"Is that....music?" Kavak muses.

Are the spirits calling me?

Ensuring that there is nothing else to do, Kavak climbs the down the staircase, his lantern leading the way...

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Noting that everyone is going downstairs, and never having gotten a chance to explore the other rooms Baern quickly grabs up every last useable scrap to make some leather armor when he has a chance, and grabs the note he saw earlier off the desk, as well as a couple of the pillow-cases. He seems to be fiddling with them, ripping noises accompanying as he follows the others down the staircases. "Seems we be goin' down a level! Everyone stay close!"
Baern is tearing two holes in the pillow cases on one side, towards the closed end.[8 ( Like so (http://www.evilontwolegs.com/uploads/corey/fashion13th/jason.jpg). Hoping to find something pleasant smelling to mask the odor or maybe reagents or something to eliminate the smell as we breathe in.

[Pepz]

"I'll just hold on to these, in case anyone gets hurt" Maxi says to Kavak. "Is that...music?" Maxi starts to respond but decides the question wasn't aimed at him.

Suddenly one of the dwarves shouts from the room with the corpses.
"Seems we be goin' down a level! Everyone stay close!" Maxi quickly gets up, then follows the Goliath out of the room, picking up the lantern in the middle of the room.

He quickly pokes his head into the room with the desk to check on the girl with the dark skin. "The rest of us are going downstairs, are you coming?" Finally, after everyone is either at the top of the stairs or downstairs Maxi descends as well.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
With Leiana hanging back a bit, at the top of the stairs, the rest of the group joins Caliburn downstairs. The throng of coming people pushes Caliburn ahead, into the room; Kavak's light (and subsequently, everyone else's) reveals that there is a body here. A dead one.

There's a great door, which looks easy enough to open, too. Doing so might put you at the mercy of whatever lurks beyond, though.

Maxi:
You can hear female voices speaking beyond the door. They speak in Elven, and seem to be having an agitated discussion.

http://i.imgur.com/MI4Gz.png

[Pepz]

The blond boy whispers to the others surrounding him "Sounds like voices beyond that door, and it doesn't sound like they're having tea"

[roll0]

[Vesth]

Kavak searches the body and pokes it again with his mace.

Heal Check!: [roll0]

[Servbot]

Maxi:
You successfully hide yourself. You have no idea what you're hiding from, but you're hiding.

Kavak:
Prodding the body reveals much the same information your mace keen medical senses told you before; it's been killed not too long ago, by what is likely some kind of eldritch monstrosity.

Or a bear.

[Lifeson]

Caliburn, hearing the elven language, did what any mute girl would in her situation: Get someone who spoke elvish!

She rushed up the stairs and tugged on the sleeve of the drow woman and pointed to her ear and down the stairs in quick succession. She knew that communicating via chalkboard would've been faster but her notepad and inkpen didn't come with her, and she didn't think the scary lady would appreciate the niceties offered by song, so she made due. Hopefully "Go down and listen for us not-elfs" would get across.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Bloodhound Baern:
The distinctly unpleasant smell seems to be coming from down below. Although it isn't immediately poisonous, you do believe that heading down to the lower level is something that should be done after some preparation, or at least something to guard the nose from the scent.
I have some face masks but you've mentioned no further thing about the stench. And gonna keep following my nose. Perception [roll0]
The Dwarf grits his teeth and keeps inhalIng the foul stench, trying to track its source. He sees the body on the floor but guesses again that it would be to freshly dead to make these putrid odors.

[Servbot]

Baern:
You remember the smell. Oh god, do you ever remember the smell. Like a homely wench at a bar, it assaults you without mercy. Why had you not noticed it before? As if some cosmic force in the world misplaced a simple note and, upon realising its wrong, reinstated the smell─that is a ridiculous presumption.

The vile smell seems to come from beyond the door, still. From what you smell, it is impossible for it to be very far away from your location. Indeed, it might be lurking behind the door, awaiting a heedless young (unwilling) adventurer's curiosity getting the better of him.

The body nearby has some more ruined pieces of armour: you are now the proud owner of three shoulder pads; five leather boots; half a leather chest plate; two times half a leather vambrace; finally, something that reminds you of faulds, but due to some cosmic lack of dictionary knowledge, is actually made of leather. You also own a few tools with which you might attach them together, although you (or the cosmic force) has no real wit of what they are called.

Kavak:
Your search of the corpse upturns very little, other than the fact the man had some sort of meat-deprived broth for lunch, dinner or breakfast: you're not sure what time of the day it is.

The man does own a small book, inscribed in simple, normal Common. Its cover reads plainly; "Don't Panic!", in what seems to be friendly handwriting. The contents contain some specific notes on what to in case of an awry summoning: Shades, it suggests, are among the most friendly by-products of a Summoning. This does not mean they are actually friendly, but they are least likely to tear you to shreds and make a nest out of your body; reasoning with them is actually recommended over combat, given that Shades have a tendency to call upon a great host of allies to unify against a foe.

The author, you note, was Sir Doff Laughs.

History or Streetwise check to know more about Sir Doff Laughs!

[Vesth]

Can we keep the book? Please? Please? And what chapters are there?
History check: [roll0]

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern:The body nearby has some more ruined pieces of armour: you are now the proud owner of three spaulders; five leather boots; half a leather chest plate(Curiass?); two times half a leather vambrace (huh? one vambrace total of two ruined halves?); finally some leather tassets. You also own a few tools with which you might attach them together.

I posted in OOC about armor and such, and what I'll try to craft when we might have a chance. But you will have to tell me when that is, and play baby-sitter to my allies that don't want to sit still while i work :P
As for if I have a leatherwork kit now; lets assume an awl & shears (or i can just use a dagger), grommets, buckles and maybe a few rivvets?


Kavak:The man does own a small book, inscribed in simple, normal Common. Its cover reads plainly; "Don't Panic!", in what seems to be friendly handwriting. The contents contain some specific notes on what to in case of an awry summoning: Shades, it suggests, are among the most friendly by-products of a Summoning. This does not mean they are actually friendly, but they are least likely to tear you to shreds and make a nest out of your body; reasoning with them is actually recommended over combat, given that Shades have a tendency to call upon a great host of allies to unify against a foe.

The author, you note, was Sir Doff Laughs.
History or Streetwise check to know more about Sir Doff Laughs!

Did we just get the HitchHikers Manual to the Multiverse? :smalleek:

The Dwarf looks at the door as he traces the origin of the foul odor. After determining as much, he holds the handful of cloth pillowcases over his nose and mouth, and tries to wave at and holds back his allies, shaking his head violently as he looks at the door, and begins backing to the stairs. He speaks, muffled by the fabric over the lower half of his face. "Whatever tha' smell be, it waits jus' behind them doors. I can make some armor for one, MAYBE two of us pretty quick up above. Who should we equip?"

[Vesth]

"But they might get away!" Kavak whispered.

Already he feels the excitement of battle; his heart pumps and his mace moves in quick, practiced strokes...

Will the armor be useful? Do we even have armor proficiency?:smallconfused:

[salt3d]

Romeus' ears prick up at the sound of the voices. He tip-hooves his way to the door and listens intently.

Romeus speaks Elven.

History: [roll0]

[Servbot]

Kavak:
You pocketbackpack the book. Even though you don't know the author, it may come in handy some time.

Romeus:
You actually know about Sir Doff Laughs. He was a renown author in his time, penning a few choice works that people took great interest in. Most were guides to survival, others were guides to magic, or guides to physical labour. He compiled them all in a friendly book dubbed the "Vagrant's Guide to Everything", but the tome has been lost to the ages, rumours and places.

Some claim it never even existed, and others say Doff Laughs may have taken it with him to the grave. Given that he was cremated, that would be extremely troubling.

The voices beyond the door seem to be having an agitated discussion regarding whether or not they should open a specific door: one of the two females warns the other it is decidedly dangerous, whereas the other claims that they must investigate, lest the cultists manage to finish what ghastly deed they have set themselves on.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

The Dwarf watches the Satyr closely as he approaches the door and listens to the voices beyond. But when he doesn't start translating or filling them in, Baern flings a piece of cloth at his shoulder and loudly whispers. "Och! Fill us in already, boyo..."

[salt3d]

Romeus recounts the entirety of the conversation he has overheard, even going so far as to mimic the voices of the two women, and adding in mannerisms as he deems appropriate.

After completing his dramatic performance the satyr adds, "So if they're talking about cultists, but they're not cultists, then maybe it wasn't them that did... this." Romeus gestures at the corpse lying on the floor.

[Pepz]

Maxi listens intently as the Satyr copies the conversation going on behind the large door. The comic qualities of a Satyr doing an impressions of a silly elf girl wearing a dress does a lot to lighten the mood, although the stench still puts a damper on things.

A bit lighter of heart, Maxi walks past the Goliath poking the corpse with his weapon. He opens the door slightly and steps out, making sure the large guy with the mace stays hidden from view.

As he looks at the people arguing,making sure he holds his spear in a non-threatening way, he puts on the cute and naive face his brothers always made fun of and asks the closest female "Please miss, my friends and I are lost and we don't know where to go. We saw a demon. Could you help us?"


Here goes nothing:

[roll0]

[Vesth]

Kavak facepalms while listening to Maxi talk like that. It would have made Chief Zeratos smash his head against a wall.

Coming out of hiding, with both hands in the air (and his mace stuffed into his backpack), he calls out: "To be exact, we have no idea what's happening. One minute I was drinking in some bar, and the next, I'm in a room with these guys. We were even attacked by some sort of creature of darkness. If you could enlighten us and not shoot us on sight, we'll be very grateful"

You better be grateful. If not for Romeus's Elven, you'll be nothing more than black patches on the wall he fumes silently to himself.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[salt3d]

Romeus steps forward and announces himself in elven with a flourish and a bow, before translating Maxi and Kavak's words.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern follows everyone else passing through the doors, and while the others speak with those in the room, he shoulders his club in one hand and holds his lantern up over his head. He looks around the room the elven voices were coming from, and tries to quickly take everything in and spot anything out of order.
Perception:[roll0]

[Servbot]

Everyone:
Initially, when Maxi and Kavak enter, the two eladrin females beyond the door look alarmed, their longswords brandished and ready for combat. However, when Romeus translates their words, their stances visibly relax as they regard the party with a mix of mistrust and caution.

"You claim no affiliation to this... cult?" one of the eladrin asks, in Elven. The two look at each other, then with a nod continue in Common.

"We are from the Coure of Midnight Tides, here to investigate a fell ritual to Summon into this world a creature of unimaginable darkness. Now, we would hear of you why you are here, and what makes you believe you owe no affiliation to this cult."

http://i.imgur.com/FFRxd.png

[Vesth]

"We were brought here against our will, and locked in a room where we managed to break out of, just to find this-" he gestures to the blood on the floor.

"I have no affilation to this cult, whatever it may be. I despise dark magic, being trained to be one of Nature from my Mother, Priestess Kora. Perhaps you have heard of her? She, along with some others of the Jadar tribe often leaves our village to see other villages and races...

[JackOfAllBuilds]

The surly dwarf, with a few more years of experience watches these hoitey-toitey high-elves, not sure if they should trust them yet. "Last I ken remember is droppin' back ales aft'r a hard day at the forge. Then I wake with all these whelps in a locked room upstairs." Baern tries to read their body language and responses for any deceptions.
insight:[roll0]

[Servbot]

Baern:
You do not understand women, let alone eladrin women. If they are women. Heavens know, one of the dwarves you know once came home with an eladrin 'bride'... turns out it was an eladrin 'groom'!

Everyone:
At the mention of Priestess Kora, one of the eladrin snorts.

"We know no such person," she says, not at all hiding her own sense of superiority. "The names of people below us is not for us to learn, nor to recall. Still, we have heard of the Jadar, and know them too be too... set on their own civilisation to attempt to Summon another's gods."

The two exchange glances again. "You all look equally dishevelled and out of place. We'll trust in your words. For now."

Finally, the one who hasn't said anything yet speaks up, but her words are in Elven. "We waste time. If these children and mongrels could pass by unharmed, doubtless the presence is not down this path. We must retrace our steps."

Without further word, they depart from the northern door, leaving the party in the room by themselves.

http://i.imgur.com/O4Vyx.png

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Feels perturbed by the eladrin women he just met, and visibly agitated at how snobbish they were. he swiftly steps over to the southern door and puts his boot to it hard, kicking it open and proceeding with his lantern held high and greatclub leveled over his shoulder.

kicking the door open, not down [roll0] +4 if strength, +9 if athletics.

[Vesth]

Following close behind, eager to get away from the elves, lest he smashes their heads against a wall, he looks into the southern passage.

[Servbot]

Baern:
You kick the door! But the door refused to open...

Everyone:
All things considered, it's easy to actually open the door by using its handle. The other door appears to have been left open, and offers view into another room. From what Kavak can see, there's a table with bread, and a trough with water. A large cage sits in the centre of what looks like a magic circle, but it doesn't feel as though there's anything magical about the room.

On the western side, the bars of the cage have been torn apart. A dead body lies in the room, and Baern can vaguely see some books lying on the ground.

http://i.imgur.com/l45Fd.png

[Vesth]

Casually walking into the room, Kavak comments,

"Huh, looks like an animal escaped from here. You think the elves chased it off or killed it?, the word elves sounding a bit off, as if he's trying not to spit the word out.

Noting the dead body, he prods it gently with his mace...

Heal Check: [roll0]

[Servbot]

Kavak:
You expertly determine the dead body is, in fact, dead.

http://i.imgur.com/RIhfY.png

[Vesth]

...gah. Maybe the books can provide more information

After a brief search of the body, he rifles through the books...

Do I have to roll a check?

[JackOfAllBuilds]

The dwarf takes a knee beside the giant and assist in going through the books, organizing them by language, and if he can read it, title, keeping any dwarven texts close.

I may not be fluent in reading all texts, but I can recognize the script of eleven or draconic from dwarven or common

[Pepz]

Looking at the Northern door, Maxi is somewhat disappointed with his first meeting with elves. They were graceful and pretty, sure, but the arrogance that just came off of them was enough to make the young boy think. The dark elf who woke up next to him not an hour ago seemed kind enough, if rather absent at times....

He shakes his head and follows the more physically inclined of his new friends. He walks up to the through and takes some sips of water if the water is clear enough. Maybe that'll get this droning headache to finally go away.

Now what about the centerpiece of this room?What could have been in that cage? It looks awfully large....

[roll0] It's either arcane or nature, both of which I have +0 in :smalltongue:

[Servbot]

Kavak & Baern:
Your search of the books reveals that most of these are written in the arcane language, and likely ritual books. Plenty have pages torn from them or seem to have suffered damage, as if someone threw them away in anger and the pile is the result of numerous failures.

You do find one book that is slightly interesting: even to your non-magical senses, the book radiates a certain type of power.

You've found the Tome of Command, an artefact. You cannot use this Tome. It is a simple book by looks, innocent enough that it could be hidden in any plain bookcase. You cannot read its contents, being written in the same language as spells. You'd need Arcane Training to even attempt to understand.

Maxi:
You have no idea what could have been in the cage, but for some reason you feel you understand the purpose of the magic circle. Although it has stopped functioning, this circle is warding magic. Whatever used to be in the cage had likely been trapped by the circle.

Drinking the water refreshes you. You feel a new energy coming through you. You regain a healing surge. Since you used none, this water has no effect on you.

http://i.imgur.com/Sqv0J.png

[Pepz]

Rejuvenated by the fresh water, he looks around the room to make certain there's no more doors hidden in shadows or nothing. "Come on, guys. Whatever it was that this cult summoned broke out of both a warding circle and a huge cage. And as we haven't seen it, it must be where those stuck-up elves went"

He quickly leaves the room to check what's behind door no. 2.

[Vesth]

"There's something wrong. If the beast had escaped out of this room, it would either have already met us or them. So it's either already dead, or there's a secret passage..." Kavak mutters out loud, scanning the room for tracks and the walls for secret passages.

Perception: [roll0]

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Begins moving around the walls of the room, holding his lantern up to inspect the walls, and heavily tapping on them with his club, sounding out for any hidden passageways.

Dungeoneering: [roll0]ANOTHER NATRUAL 1?!! $#!%

[salt3d]

Romeus bursts into the room. "Beast? Where?" he shouts as he looks around to find nothing but another corpse.

"Oh," he continues, "sorry, I was a bit distracted. Normally eladrin find me quite charming, but back there I was a little bit... tongue-tied. This place feels different than my home. And not just the ceilings, mind you, it's... it's the vibe. I can barely think straight."

Romeus takes a deep breath before offering assistance searching for hidden passages.

Perception: [roll0]

[Servbot]

Maxi:
You feel it might be a bad idea to open the door prior to getting everyone's consent, as a horrible eldritch abomination that wants to tentacle rape youmean eladrin lady may be waiting beyond.

Team Search:
You find no hidden passages, thus implying that whatever broke out will have gone the way of the eladrins... or disappeared in thin air.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern finishes walking around the room, and a deep frown crosses his face. Intimate with dungeons and tunnels being a dwarf, that he could find no tunnels or hidden doors confused him as to where the...thing that broke out went if the door was closed.
"Nowhere it could've snuck out of this room fr'm, seems that those snotty eladrin hadn't checked this room, and the door were closed when we came in... So where did the thin' go aft'r rippin those bars asunder?"
He returns to the books and picks up the one that had seemed the most special and hands it over to the cloven-hooved fellow.
"You seem ta' be one o tha weird magic-y type. Try givin' this a gander. Seems somethin...special about it."
The dwarf then heads back out to the 'eladrin encounter' room to look at the blood some more. Then gazes down the way the eladrin went after leaving the door open, and waits for the others, keeping an eye on the last door.

[Vesth]

Kavak looked at the book ruefully.

"Perhaps we can bring it to Priestess Kora if you cannot read it, Romeus. When we get out, that is."

Grabbing the bread off the table (hey, why waste perfectly fine food?), he searches the dead body, hoping for anything useful, before joing Bearn and Maxi.

[Pepz]

He had his hand on the doorknob, but just couldn't bring himself to open the door without some back-up.

Finally, Baern and Kavak are done with their pile of books, seeing they've joined him and assuming the satyr will be there shortly, Maxi finally opens the door.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
You swing the door open with an eerie creak. The passage beyond seems to deposit you in a hallway, judging from the way the pillars are arranged.

There are two problems you encounter immediately. For one, the foul smell seems to be at its strongest here, and it takes actual effort not to reel over from the stench. Breathing becomes as much a chore as anything else.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the two eladrin you had run into are dead. Their bodies seem to have been raked with claws repeatedly, and then shred apart with fangs for good measure.

For some reason, their bodies are strangely aglow with a fluorescent blue light, faintly increasing and decreasing in intensity like the beating of a heart. Looking at it is actually quite eerie.

The sound of grunting and heaving and growling can be heard from further down the hallway...

Putrid Smell: At the end of your second, fourth, sixth, eight and so forth turn, roll a saving throw. If you fail, you are dazed until the end of your next turn.

Map:http://i.imgur.com/v54f6.png

INITIATIVE:
??? (17)
Kavak (17)
Maxi (16)
Romeus (15)
Baern (15)
Leiana (7)
Caliburn (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|No ailments
Maxi|Full HP|No ailments
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Caliburn|Full HP|No ailments
Leiana|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|No ailments[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]???|???|0 HP lost|No ailments[/table]

INFO
- You can't see the enemy yet!

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Upon smelling the awful stench rolling out even stronger, and nearly knocking him off his feet, Baern grabs a few items from his belt, runs back into the cage room to the trough, and dunks the pillowcases into the water., then moves back out into the room, holding them out for everyone. "Okay ye whelps, these are what I could craft, should make breathin a wee bit easier. So, whats the plan here? Rush in and die or slam the door shut and run?"
Im gonna say I was at P27, moving 5 squares to stand infront of the trough at Q29. minor action to grab the bags and dunk them in water. trading in my standard to move back out to P27

[Vesth]

"Pass me one of those smell protection things." Kavak said, trying not to breathe in the stench, both hands on his mace.

Grabbing 10gp worth of alchemical reagents, he folds it over the mask and fits it over his face.

Minor: Get and wear mask.
Minor: Modify it.
Standard:
just go, "uhh, i wait to hit the first mean not-friend thing to get close"
(ala Torq from Major Spoilers)

Exactly what he said :smalltongue:.

[Pepz]

Closer to the door than any, the putrid stench almost overcomes Maxi. Oh gods, it's worse than our ol' cesspit. When taking a couple of deep breaths doesn't improve the situation, he reaches behind him and gladly takes one of the pieces of cloth from the dwarf with a thin smile. Anything more would surely open his mouth and let more of the stench in. He then ties it around his nose and mouth. He turns around again, tightens his hold around his spear and prepares to stab anything that comes into reach that could be an enemy.

For a moment though, Maxi's glance strays to the elves. Why are they glowing? Is the dimming and strenghtening of the glow an indication that they're still alive?

minor action to use the stench mask, standard action to ready an attack.

[roll0]

[salt3d]

"Well," says Romeus, a hint of frustration in his voice, "what is it?"

The satyr screws up his face at the terrible stench, then tip-hooves his way past the others and through the doorway.

Move Action: Move 6 squares to J28.

If by this stage Romeus can see anything obviously hostile:
Standard Action: Arcane Missile vs. obviously hostile creature
Effect: 3 damage.

If he still can't see anything obviously hostile:
Move Action: Move 'forward' until Romeus sees something obviously hostile, then turn back and use any remaining movement to retreat towards the doorway. If he doesn't see anything Romeus will end up in D28.

Free Action: Tell the rest of the party what he has seen, if anything.

Depending on how this plays out I will add in the description later.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
As Romeus moves forward, so too do the Drow and mute Dwarf. While the others enjoy a makeshift mask to protect them from the fumes to some effect, they shirk the use of one.

Romeus and Caliburn quickly notice that the room is too dark to see much, even with low-light vision. The Drow, however, can see in the dark, and she spots a door to the north.

"We can go along north," she whispers to Romeus and Caliburn. "I can see a door. No enemies."

She gestures to the others to follow.

In the distance, the three can still hear the scraping of claws and heaving of some large beast to the east.

Mask: Wearing a mask somewhat protects you from the smell. Roll a saving throw every four turns, rather than every two.

It is now round 2 (except for Romeus, who still has a Standard and Minor to use).

Map:
http://i.imgur.com/LisA4.png

INITIATIVE:
??? (17)
Kavak (17)
Maxi (16)
Romeus (15)
Baern (15)
Leiana (7)
Caliburn (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|No ailments
Maxi|Full HP|No ailments
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Caliburn|Full HP|No ailments
Leiana|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|No ailments[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]???|???|0 HP lost|No ailments[/table]

INFO
- You can't see the enemy yet!

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern shrugs, and puts the last hood on over his own head, improving his natural resistance to loosing his lunch over such foul stank. He levels the club on one shoulder and holds the lantern high again as he moves in to the room, looking around everywhere as the room becomes illuminated.
move in a straight line in from the door. so maxi's space will be one, then 4 more straight up.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
The dwarf advances, lighting up the path ahead enough. The alcove the door's in is illuminated now, although Baern still cannot see the door.

"Right ahead!" Leiana adds, pointing to the alcove. "It's right there."

The darkness on the east is still impenetrable, the light from the lantern not reaching far enough...


Map:
http://i.imgur.com/ueOgO.png

INITIATIVE:
??? (17)
Kavak (17)
Maxi (16)
Romeus (15)
Baern (15)
Leiana (7)
Caliburn (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|No ailments
Maxi|Full HP|No ailments
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Caliburn|Full HP|No ailments
Leiana|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|No ailments[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]???|???|0 HP lost|No ailments[/table]

INFO
- You can't see the enemy yet!

[Vesth]

"Who needs magic anyway?" Kavak muttered under his breath as he stuffs his lantern into the bread and tosses it, the light source bouncing off the wall.

Minor: Stuffing bread-lantern
Move: to J27
Standard: tossing the lantern to H37 (bounces off the wall at D33)

[Servbot]

Everyone:

In a display of serious over-estimation of the bouncing power of bread, Kavak tosses the lamp against the wall. This has two effects: one, the bread crumbles and breaks off, and the lamp falls limply to the side.

Two, Kavak stares at the darkness. The darkness stares back at you.

In this case, the darkness is a ten foot tall hound, blood streaming for various wounds in its body. The blood is green, seemingly acid to the ground. It does not seem friendly; it is likely this monster is responsible for the deaths of the eladrin, although they sold their lives at a price. It doesn't seem like the smell actually originates from this beast...


Map:
[spoiler]http://i.imgur.com/aTOvS.png

INITIATIVE:
Dark Hound (17)
Kavak (17)
Maxi (16)
Romeus (15)
Baern (15)
Leiana (7)
Caliburn (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|Mask'd
Maxi|Full HP|Mask'd
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Caliburn|Full HP|No ailments
Leiana|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|Mask'd[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]Dark Hound|G-37/F-38|0 HP lost|No ailments[/table]

INFO
- Religion or Arcana for Monster Knowledge! If you have Sir Doff Laughs' book, you may instead make a History or Intelligence check to peruse the book for info on this monster. All checks here are Free Actions, though you may make one only once in this encounter.

[Pepz]

Maxi joins the rest of the party in the next room, shuffling past people and over a dead eladrin before he even sees the dark hound. It's so big and black and bloody...Oh gods, if he didn't have the pillowcase the stench would surely overwhelm him.

He decides to use the pillars to his advantage, as the large dog might have trouble pushing itself between the pillars and the walls. He also puts his lantern down, no need to get burning oil on his body because the dog hits it, or worse, because he misuses his spear.

Now, ready for anything he shouts "Come on, little doggie. Let's see what you're made of"


Move action: go to I-30. Standard action: ready attack for when the dog comes within reach. Minor action: puts down the lantern against the pillar
Free action [roll0]

[Servbot]

Everyone:
Romeus strode forward just a while ago, reaching the other wall with ease. Maxi follows into the hallway bravely, dropping his lantern as he prepares himself for the attack.

With enough light now, nearly everyone can see the western door, while Maxi can faintly make out a door behind the Dark Hound.

Romeus:
Oh, you know the Dark Hounds all right. They're creatures employed by Sorcerors and Wizards alike to defend their strongholds from intruders. A Dark Hound has the uncanny ability to slip into the shadows and stalk its prey unhindered, provided there are any shadows.

When it strikes, it tends to focus on a single target and incapacitate them first, before going for others. It does not feed on humans, and so is generally considered harmless to those. However, it enjoys the taste of creatures of the fey origin.

Given that this one is wounded, its combat capacity is likely a lot less than regular Dark Hounds.

Map:
http://i.imgur.com/FBk1P.png

INITIATIVE:
Dark Hound (17)
Kavak (17)
Maxi (16)*
Romeus (15)
Baern (15)
Leiana (7)
Caliburn (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|Mask'd
Maxi|Full HP|Mask'd
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Caliburn|Full HP|No ailments
Leiana|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|Mask'd[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]Dark Hound|G-37/F-38|0 HP lost|No ailments[/table]

INFO
- Religion or Arcana for Monster Knowledge! If you have Sir Doff Laughs' book, you may instead make a History or Intelligence check to peruse the book for info on this monster. All checks here are Free Actions, though you may make one only once in this encounter.

[Vesth]

"Glad I brought this then"

Drawing his dagger, Kavak moves in range of the hound, then tosses it, hoping that the dagger will find purchace in the darkness.

Move: To G28
Standard: Throws dagger at hound:
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[salt3d]

"A dark hound! Argh!!"

Romeus' eyes widen when he spots the dark hound. He turns away from the beast and scrambles for an exit. Finding nothing but a small alcove, Romeus ducks into it and presses up against the wall.

A moment later, Romeus pops out of the alcove. Raising his pipe to his mouth, he fires a note at the dark hound. Instead of the sound, however, a shimmering bolt of energy can be seen streaking towards the creature. As the bolt strikes its target Romeus ducks into the alcove once again.

Move Action: Move to C27.

Standard Action: Arcane Missile vs. Dark Hound
Effect: 3 damage, and I'll spend an experience token to add 3 damage.

Free Action: Lure of Enchantment
Effect: The Dark Hound grants combat advantage until the end of Romeus' next turn.

[Servbot]

Romeus has no Line of Effect from C-27, so I assume he shot first and moved after. Kavak's turn is up after this, so confirm if you want to take that action again. :P

Everyone:
Romeus' bolt of magic hits the beast square on, dealing some damage to the creature. It does not look like this is enough to take the beast out, however. Leiana, in an attempt to assist, also fires off a magical bolt, this one not charged with extra power like Romeus's, while Caliburn finds cover behind Leiana.

The Dark Hound perseveres. It strides forward, hunger in its eyes. Maxi makes a strike at it when it comes around, narrowly striking past the pillar.

However, the stone pillar obstructs his view enough, and he fails to hit the Dark Hound.

The Hound, meanwhile, breaks into a charge at Romeus. It does not, however, manage to actually bite Romeus, who dodges at the last moment.

Romeus's Arcane Missile does 3 damage, plus 3 cold damage.
Leiana's Arcane Missile does 3 damage.
Hound moves to G-31, which triggers Maxi's Readied Action.
Maxi's Readied Action Melee Basic Attack rolls a 12 (-2 penalty as the Hound has concealment) and misses. Maxi's initiative is reset and he cannot act this turn.
Hound charges Romeus, but his attack rolls a 7 and he misses.
Leiana saves against Daze.
Caliburn fails the save, and is dazed until the end of her next turn.
Romeus saves against Daze.

Map:
http://i.imgur.com/4s54j.png

INITIATIVE:
Maxi (16+1)
Dark Hound (17)
Kavak (17)
Romeus (15)
Baern (15)
Leiana (7)
Caliburn (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|Mask'd
Maxi|Full HP|Mask'd
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Caliburn|Full HP|Dazed
Leiana|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|Mask'd[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]Dark Hound|G-37/F-38|9 HP lost|No ailments[/table]

INFO
- Religion or Arcana for Monster Knowledge! If you have Sir Doff Laughs' book, you may instead make a History or Intelligence check to peruse the book for info on this monster. All checks here are Free Actions, though you may make one only once in this encounter.

[Pepz]

Darn it, the hound simply stepped away from his attack. Not just that, he completely ignored Maxi and went straight for the funny Satyr. This wouldn't do.
With a huge wordless scream, Maxi hurls himself at the dog, with his spear aimed squarely at the large beast's body.

Standard Action: Charge to F27 [roll0]vs AC

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern sets the lantern down on the ground and puts both his hands on the big hunk of wood he swings around, and walks towards the monster. Once he has a clear unobstructed view of the beast, he runs headlong at it and swings the club around, hoping he can actually gain purchase on the things skull.

minor set the lantern down
free place off-hand on the handle of the 2h greatclub
then move to F27 with flanking
attack [roll0] (-1, not charging)
damage [roll1] and I'll cash in an experience token to knock it prone

[Servbot]

Everyone:
As Romeus dodges the beast's snapping jaws, Maxi plunges his spear into the beast's unguarded back, his weapon sinking deep and opening a new wound in the creature's hide.

Working in concert with Maxi, Kavak throws his dagger at the creature, hitting it in a weak spot in such spectacular fashion that the weapon disappears in the beast's hide. Uh-oh.

Baern meanwhile approaches as well, swinging his club with great strength, knocking the feet away under the beast, which falls flat on the floor. It looks very wounded now.

Maxi's flanking charge hits, but only barely due to flanking! The attack does 9 damage, and the Dark Hound is Bloodied.
Kavak's throw crits for max damage, which is 4 damage.
Baern's attack hits for 6 damage, and the Dark Hound is knocked prone.

Map:
http://i.imgur.com/RZo1i.png

INITIATIVE:
Maxi (16+1) (has acted)
Dark Hound (17)
Kavak (17) (has acted)
Romeus (15)
Baern (15) (has acted)
Leiana (7)
Caliburn (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|Mask'd
Maxi|Full HP|Mask'd
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Caliburn|Full HP|Dazed
Leiana|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|Mask'd[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]Dark Hound|G-37/F-38|28 HP lost|Bloodied, Prone[/table]

INFO
- Religion or Arcana for Monster Knowledge! If you have Sir Doff Laughs' book, you may instead make a History or Intelligence check to peruse the book for info on this monster. All checks here are Free Actions, though you may make one only once in this encounter.

[salt3d]

"Argh!! Get it off! Get it off! Oh Sehanine, the teeth!!"

Romeus squeals in terror at the beast laying at his feet before remembering the pipe in his hand, and blasting another note at the hound.

Standard Action: Arcane Missile vs. Dark Hound
Effect: 3 damage, and I'll spend an experience token to add 3 damage.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
Romeus shrieks and in a panic fires a bolt of magical energy. However, the conjuration of the magic permits the Hound an opportunity to attack, and it lashes out viciously, raking Romeus squarely along the chest. The attack leaves the Satyr bleeding from a profound and deep wound.

Leiana, alerted by the attack, runs deeper into the room, firing off a magical missile as well. This act, finally, ends the beast: it sighs deeply once, then its body starts to slowly melt and sink apart.

Romeus' ranged attack provokes an opportunity attack!
Dark Hound crits with his attack, dealing 14 damage. Romeus is bleeding.
Romeus hits for 3 damage, plus 3 cold damage.
Leiana hits for 3 damage, plus 3 lightning damage. Dark Hound expires!

The party is victorious! Everyone gains an experience token.
Total usage:
Baern: 1
Romeus: 2
Leiana: 1
Everyone else has 4 tokens.
Romeus is at 4 HP and bleeding.

http://i.imgur.com/HOGAl.png

[Vesth]

Retrieving his lantern, Kavak smashes at the remains of the beast, tearing it's corpse apart.

"Stupid magical beast. HOW DARE YOU ATTACK A SATYR?!"

Taking back my dagger, and a tooth as a trophy :smallbiggrin:

[Servbot]

Kavak:
Your smashes are met only with gooey ooze as the beast's corpse continues melting. It's really a rather ghastly and unsettling sight.

You do manage to retrieve your lost dagger. It has slightly eroded, and has begun emitting a faint, but ominous glow. This is the dagger you tossed into the beast, but the experience has changed it.

You have found a magical dagger +1, which confers a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls, on top of a 1d6 bonus to critical damage. However, it is plainly obvious this is not a regular magical dagger +1, and the way it has acquired its magical status is far from normal.
Proceed with care.
This spoiler can no longer help you.
Godspeed.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern huffs, and cleans off the blood from his club. He walks over to the bodies of the eladrin women and glowers down at them, seeing if he can find anything of use. "Well, we can't raise ya, and I doubt if we would, you haughty, useless, silver-spoons." He pulls the mask off his face and stuffs it back into his pack, as he continues to pilfer what he can from the corpses.

perception [roll0]

[Servbot]

Baern:

You find that the eladrin are quite dead. Their armour has been severely damaged, although not entirely to the point where it's completely useless. You therefore manage to acquire a few more parts of armour: a chest plate (intact!), another chest plate (half-ruined), one shoulder guard (other missing), and a set of greaves. Luckily, this is leather armour, and so refashioning a complete armour should not be hard, considering all you've gathered. It's probably not a good idea to do it here, though.

You also pilfer the longswords off the corpses. They're normal longswords, and it'd probably take some military training to be proficient with them. Still, longswords!

Your acute corpserobber senses also detect a small satchel on one eladrin's belt. The satchel contains some sort of yellow-ish powder.

The powder is woundstitch powder, a level 1 wondrous item. You can take a standard action to sprinkle some of the powder on a dying creature, and it will magically stop making saving throws against dying. You also end untyped ongoing damage on it. This is an at-will power and may be used as many times as there is powder in the item.
You also gain 2 longswords.

[Vesth]

"Hey, Baern. What'da find? Anything for me?"

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Holds up the weapons he found while he stuffs the leather goods into his backpack. "Well I found these swords, if'n you want 'em. And I could craft some armor, but it'd take a while."

[Vesth]

"Well, I guess I'll take one of those swords."

Kavak says as he admires his newfound trophy.

"Can anyone tell me what's wrong with the dagger?"

[Servbot]

Leiana:
At Kavak's question, the drow approaches, a curious gaze on her features. She examines the dagger momentarily, then suddenly recoils back.

"It's... it's invested," she stammers, inching away from the weapon. "But I don't know by what. My teacher, he'd... he'd enchant weapons. And the power can be felt. But this?" She points at the weapon, trembling. "This isn't enchanted in the way I know things to be enchanted."

Leiana gathers a deep breath, calming herself before she continues, "I... think it is stronger than a normal dagger. But I don't think I'd recommend using it. If it's baptised in... that's blood," she gestures to the Dark Hound, almost completely gone now, "I'd be even more wary of using it."

[salt3d]

Romeus collapses to the floor. A gurgling sound emanates from his throat. He touches his chest weakly, then stares at the blood on his fingers with a look of bemusement, as if he's never seen the substance.

A moment later Romeus' eyes roll back before closing.

Romeus will spend three surges to bring him to 16/18 with two surges remaining.

Besides that, someone should check on him. He probably won't wake up by himself!

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Romeus collapses to the floor. A gurgling sound emanates from his throat. He touches his chest weakly, then stares at the blood on his fingers with a look of bemusement, as if he's never seen the substance. A moment later Romeus' eyes roll back before closing.

Romeus will spend three surges to bring him to 16/18 with two surges remaining.
Besides that, someone should check on him. He probably won't wake up by himself!

After cleaning out the bodies of anything useful, the dwarf moves over to the satyr who was wounded in the battle, pulls out his hood. Holding the fabric in his hands over the resting allys' gurgling mouth, he wrings out the healing water in it.
Then after letting it do its work and refreshing the satyr, Baern uses the wet pillowcase to slap the pipers face a few times to rouse him.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
The satyr's mouth fills with water from the trough, and he can feel his strength returning... somewhat. Though not at full strength, it looks like he's at least somewhat regained his power.

The water restores 1 healing surge, one time only. You cannot drink more water to restore more surges.

[Pepz]

After the hound died, Maxi was somewhat shocked with the experience of an actual battle. Against something supernatural even! While everybody else goes along with their business, he stands still, looking at the ever-spreading pool of goo the hound is turning into. Was this the adventurer's life?

Suddenly Romeus collapses on the other side of the goo. After Baern uses the trough water, Maxi quickly jumps over the goo and grabs one of the healing potions from his bag. The Satyr already looks loads better though. It doesn't change the fact that his clothes are still messed up and bloodied but his face is already regaining it's usual colour... If there's a next time, the farmer's son promises himself, no-one's getting hurt if he can help it.

[Vesth]

Leiana:
At Kavak's question, the drow approaches, a curious gaze on her features. She examines the dagger momentarily, then suddenly recoils back.

"It's... it's invested," she stammers, inching away from the weapon. "But I don't know by what. My teacher, he'd... he'd enchant weapons. And the power can be felt. But this?" She points at the weapon, trembling. "This isn't enchanted in the way I know things to be enchanted."

Leiana gathers a deep breath, calming herself before she continues, "I... think it is stronger than a normal dagger. But I don't think I'd recommend using it. If it's baptised in... that's blood," she gestures to the Dark Hound, almost completely gone now, "I'd be even more wary of using it."

"Don't worry about it. I'll toss the dagger rather than strike with it then."

Kavak says nonchalantly, throwing the dagger into the air, and niftily catching it with a swipe of the other hand.

[salt3d]

Romeus' eyes snap open and he springs to his hooves, blathering incoherently.

"Blergh schnorck himunee cho! Clavel grerd teeth luems! Shrengus trow the teeth!"

The satyr's eyes come into focus and he grabs Baern by the shoulders.

"Sehanine's bosom, did you see the teeth? At first it was all 'chomp-chomp' and I was all 'eek', but then I was all 'pow' and it was all 'erk'. Whoa!"

Romeus notices how tightly he is gripping the dwarf, and drops his hands. Lowering his voice, he says to Baern softly, "Did I mention the teeth?"

[Pepz]

Seeing Romeus is somewhat coherent again, Maxi starts looking around the room. He first picks up his lantern, glad to see it survived the fight. Then, seeing there are two more doors here, he walks over to the left door, and tries to find out what could be behind it...

Maxi picks up lantern at I30, then walks over to G23 for a perception roll [roll0]

[Servbot]

Maxi:
From examining the doors, you learn they are big and robust. No sound comes from beyond it, but a draft does. A breath of fresh air, in fact, although it also smells distinctly of blood. You can't detect much beyond the massive stone doors, though.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Moves over to the door maxi is at, grabbing the handle and wrenching it open, wanting to get out of this place.

passive perception 11 for anything obvious

[Servbot]

Everyone:
The door opens after firmly pushing: massive stone doors don't seem as easy to open as the regular wooden doors, after all. Beyond, you can see what looks like a cavern; as if this very structure you are in was built into a cave, or some similar thing.

The ground is soft under the feet, and it looks like you could possibly burrow into it. There are two small braziers shedding a faint and weak light in the room, and alongside Maxi's lantern they reveal a distressing truth: it looks like there's been a cave-in, as large rocks and boulders block the path onward.

From beyond, you can hear the din of battle. It looks like a big battle is on-going there. The smell of blood emanating from beyond the rock only reinforces this idea.

It doesn't look possible to remove the rocks blocking your path.

http://i.imgur.com/xjf0C.png

[Vesth]

Kavak pushes past them, lifting his lantern to light up the path.

"Do you hear that? Sounds like a battle is going on!"

Moving to G21.
Perception check: [roll0] to see the structural integrity of the rockfall, and if we can make anything of the sounds, like screaming, voices talking, weapons being used, GM facepalming on trying to figure out what to post for 'structural integrity of rock' :smallbiggrin:

[Servbot]

Kavak:
Entering deeper just shows that the two coves to the north and south lead to nowhere.

The rock is made of rock. You feel very smart.

[Pepz]

Frustrated by the dead end, but relieved that he's not in another battle, Maxi quickly turns around and heads for the door on the eastern side of the room.

[roll0]

[Servbot]

Maxi:

The massive stone doors on the eastern side are absolutely locked. A magical barrier springs up when you reach for the handle, and it seems opening it isn't really going to fly over well too soon.

From inside, you can hear some kind of chanting, but only vaguely and if you listen intently enough.

[Pepz]

Buffeted by the magical barrier, Maxi turns around to the rest. "Well, that's all the doors there are. One's caved in, the other's blocked off" Frustrated he walks to what once was a big dog. He looks at Romeus, planning to ask if he had any bright ideas, but his eyes notice something behind the satyr. It's big, it's wood and pretty much hidden in the shadows. A third door! A way out, or at least, onwards!

The blonde boy steps over the hound, squeezes past the satyr and puts his hand on the handle. Well, let's hope this one opens....

[roll0]
If Maxi doesn't hear anything suspicious (growling, fighting discussions about how they're going to sacrifice him to an elder god, the distinct woo's of a BGF illusion) he opens the door

[JackOfAllBuilds]

The surly dwarf looks at the collapsed tunnel for a moment, growling under his breath at their exit being blocked to them, and considers if there might be any way past it.
Huffing and giving up on the three dead-ends through that door, he moves into the black puddle of shadow-hound to follow Maxi through the third door, figuring movement forward better than standing around.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
The door swings open easily enough, revealing that behind it is another small room, just barely lit by the dying light of a nearby brazier. Another corpse lies nearby, though this one looks cut up by regular swords, rather than raking claws... an interesting point, that: were all previous corpses made by the Dark Hound?

The doors seem to have been torn right off their hinges, revealing view of two rooms nearby. One room has an altar in it, while the other doesn't exactly reveal much about itself.

http://i.imgur.com/vCM5b.png

[Pepz]

Another dead Elf! But these doors aren't big enough to have let that dog through from any direction. He looks at this elf and the others in the previous room. Maybe they were from the same group? clan? friends? family?

A flickering shadow snaps Maxi out of his thoughts. Let's make sure the other rooms are clear before getting into a stranger's family history.....

"I'll take the left room."

[roll0] to search the elves for any insignia indicating Coure/group/family. Maxi knows the other elves were from Midnight Tides, so he'll look for insignia on them first.

After that he'll move into the northern room with another [roll1]

[Vesth]

Once they had reached the dead end, and tried to retrace their steps, Kavak hadn't been much for the talking. He hadn't really been listening, either, and he blindly followed the rest, for his mind had turned towards the dagger.

For all his earlier display of confidence, Kavak was uneasy. Holding the dagger in his hands, turning it this way and that, his mind ponders over what the Dree had said.

Investment? What does that mean? And if the hound was really a force of Darkness, and his power somehow carried on to the dagger...well, we were taught never to interact with the enemy of Nature. But what if this is key to our survival? Maybe...

Looking up, he notices Maxi entering one of the new rooms.

"Do you see anything, boy?"

[Servbot]

Maxi:
This human male is the same as the ones you encountered earlier, except rather than raked by claws he was cut down by swords. It's possible he had a run-in with the eladrin and died as a result; it's a curious fact altogether how he died from another cause than the other men.

A plus side is that his armour is entirely intact. There is, distressingly, no weapon to be found on his corpse.

You can find nothing linking him to the eladrin in the main hall.

Everyone:
Maxi saunters into the northern room, all at once spotting more of the distressing pools of blood they had encountered right where they first met the eladrin.

There seems to be more to the room, but from the farm boy's position it's hard to tell what else is there exactly. A sort of droning sound can be heard from the north, but it's not easy to make out what it is exactly.

http://i.imgur.com/Od0nb.png

[Pepz]

"Hey guys, there's even more blood over here, you think these guys are the cultists the elves were talking about? And I think I hear something, bees? I can barely hear it. I'll try to see what it is..."

[roll0] and move two squares diagonally towards the blood

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern stops at the bloody body on the ground and bends over to inspect further. Really though, he is checking on the armor to see if it's damaged, and why it let so many blades into his skin. Armor should defend, stupid human construction. They should just give up and accept that dwarves make it better.

[Vesth]

"But what about this room?" Kavak said curiously, as he slowly advanced into the room with the altar.

[Servbot]

Baern:
Those bloody humans and their stubborn refusal to invest in Dwarven armour! There seems to be no specific flaw with the armour, except of course that it was constructed by humans, and so it is inferior by default. Whoever cut this man up was extremely skilled with their blade, managing to punch through the armour in some places (no serious damage rendering the armour unusable) and apparently slicing the unarmoured places as well.

The dim lighting may have been partially to blame: it's difficult enough to see, and without your lanterns it would have been much more difficult.

Kavak:
As you enter the room, you find Leiana not far behind you, eyeing you intently. She's obviously worried about the weapon you've chosen to take along, but she also appears interested in the altar.

You can find nothing particularly unusual, though. The dim lighting makes it hard to make out much. Leiana, who can see through the dark, points at a dark spot.

"There's a door there," she says quietly.

Kavak cannot see the door, but Leiana can.

Maxi:
The farmer finds himself trailed by Caliburn, and finds that moving ahead doesn't really improve the situation much. More blood and gore can be seen further down the path, and you can also see a door. Off in the distance, a lone brazier illuminates a steel door.

http://i.imgur.com/NP1ft.png

[JackOfAllBuilds]

The dwarf wrestles with the body as he peels off the armor, as it may still be functional in some form of the word, and stuffs it into his pack. he proceeds forward, sticking close to Maxi to keep the squishy little boy protected, and peers around the blind corner with his lantern.

low light vision, so i should have twice the distance on the lantern, right? brightly illuminates at short range, dim illumination at long range

[Vesth]

Kavak walks towards the altar, lifting up his lantern as he does so.

"Dree, do you know anything about this altar?

Perception: [roll0] for traps, secret passages, and anything about the altar.

[Pepz]

"I don't know, guys, why is there so much blood here, and no bodies?" Maxi watches the one dwarf go to the blind corner. Well, there's three people in the room. Maxi gestures the speechless dwarf to come with him and walks towards the steel door.

Move to the door, duh :smalltongue: And to see if Maxi can hear anything behind it: 1d20+5

[Servbot]

Kavak:
Leiana shakes her head at you. "Never seen it before," she says, understandably. The drow points at the crystal.

"That, I have, though. It's a mineral I saw on the market, once. It values 500 GP."

You can spot a treasure chest in another side of the room from your spot at the altar, too.

The crystal is a treasure worth 500 GP.

Maxi & Baern:
With Caliburn trailing behind, you go deeper through the hall and towards the steel door. You instantly notice the warmth emanating from behind the door.

It appears to be a regular steel door, unlocked and ready to open. However, the warmth alerts you that it may be warm to the touch.

http://i.imgur.com/XTSus.jpg

[Vesth]

Kavak carefully takes the crystal, and proceeds to loot the treasure chest, passing the crystal to the Dree for safekeeping. For now.

[Pepz]

He feels the heat through his clothes. Some of the hairs on his forearms move with the heat. It's an odd contrast to the cold stone floor and cool corridors they had been walking through ever since waking up
"Why is there a steel door all of the sudden? Everything else is wood or stone... And it's hot too... Is it a kitchen or something? Let's get the others first." He walks to the wooden door behind them. "They should be behind here, right?"

Maxi opens the wooden door to the room Kavak and Leiana are in

[Servbot]

Kavak:
You poach the crystal, and Leiana carefully puts it in her pack.

The treasure chest, frustratingly, only contains some old robes. They are long, with a hood, a dark crimson in colour. It smells like they haven't been washed in ages, but you can't be sure: there's still that putrid smell hanging about.

Speaking of, it seems to be coming from the north...

Maxi:
... and it's entirely coincidental the farm boy's coming from the north. Hey, you found a drow and a Kavak.

[Vesth]

"Hey, boy. There's nothing much here, just some robes, red at that."

Kavak says, lifting the robe out of the chest.

[Servbot]

Kavak:
You acquire four crimson robes.

Baern:
You round the corner and find that there is more of the gore here. From beyond the door you see, the repulsing smell seems to be the strongest.

Everyone:
Four doors, six people, four robes and three bursts of blood. What will you do?

http://i.imgur.com/eCMG9.jpg

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Surly old Baern leans back around the corner and calls out loudly enough to be heard by all his companions "I don' found another door, an' more blood. This one denna seem ta be warded. Form up ranks NOW."

[Vesth]

"Another door? Which door?" Kavak calls back, moving towards Baern.

[Pepz]

"There's four doors in here. One's made out of metal and really warm. Two of them look like they may lead to the corridor where the cave-in was. Maybe we should try them first."

Not knowing how to "form up", Maxi just looks at Baern, to see what the dwarf expects...

[Servbot]

Everyone:
Caliburn and Leiana heed the call as well, standing around a bit idly. As if some greater cosmic force wrested their spirits from their bodies and some gestalt entity now controls them, wholly disinterested in their livelihood and the very events unfolding.

[salt3d]

Romeus plods distractedly towards the sound of Baern's voice, the usual spring in his step gone. He pokes tenderly at his barely-clotted wounds while muttering to himself, mostly in regards to teeth.

"What do you mean by ranks?" he asks the dwarf. "If it's handsomeness, can we do it in reverse order because I don't feel like being at the front of anything just now."

[Vesth]

As soon as everyone's gathered up, Kavak slowly opens the door, muscles tensed and ready for action.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Is right on the goliaths heels, holding a lantern high and expecting everyone to follow as the move into the northern room with the heavy stench of death.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
Kavak swings open the door, entering the room. From the looks of things, this appears to be a storage room: multiple barrels are stacked on one side of the room, with two crates with foodstuffs against another wall. There is a suspicious lack of water, but it's well possible the water is kept elsewhere.

There is nothing particularly exciting about the room, save for the floating, fungus-like, one-eyed monster. Its head is shaped very much like the head of a mushroom, with long, powerful looking tentacles falling down from its sides. Blood drips onto the floor from the tentacles. A single eye glares at Kavak from the hood itself.

It looks obviously wounded, and before anyone can react the creature utters a deafening cry... that seems only to resound in the mind. A powerful headache grips the party, disappearing as sudden as it came. Then, a stream of words, in various languages, none of which you quite understand until finally it settles on Common.

"You... are not with them," the voice rasps, an odd sensation given it resonates only in your mind. "Fellow prisoners, or deranged recruits?"

It strikes the party that this is the creature giving off the horrible scent, to such degree that just being nearby it is enough to make you reel from the smell.

The creature is not hostile. You may roll Dungeoneering, Arcana to recognise it, or History/Intelligence to check your handy compendium.

http://i.imgur.com/GjlUW.jpg

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern is a bit taken aback as he lays eyes on it, and takes a moment to size it up, before shouldering his club again and speaking in dwarven, but thinking in common.
"We woke in a room a'bov, clueless how we got 'ere. Found a note, 'sacrifices' it read. We jus want out, and to pummel tha ones who took us."
ooc: A FLUMPH?!?!? You're kidding me... Hahaha
Dungeoneering [roll0]
Diplomacy [roll1]
Praying the dice don't mess with me

[Servbot]

Baern:
The creature seems to consider this for a moment, hanging about in the air. It does not speak.

As for knowledge, you have no idea what you are seeing here. You have a feeling it is a familiar creature, however... you feel comforted by its presence, as if falling from great heights is no longer a problem.

[Vesth]

"A-are you ok? What happened to you?" Kavak asks, lowering his mace.

Arcana Check: [roll0]

[Pepz]

Seeing the Dwarf and Goliath be taken aback by something, Maxi creeps into the room after them. A strange, hooded, floating, one-eyed creature is addressing them all. As strange as the creature is, Maxi still feels an immediate connection with it. As if they both share something in their very core.

"We don't know the how or the why of how we got here, strange one. We woke up and since have been insulted by elves and assaulted by a dark hound. The hound killed the elves, we killed the hound. Like my gruff partner says, we seek nothing but to get out and get even for kidnapping us. Perhaps, we share these paths with you?"

[roll0]
I figured a psion and an abberation have a certain connection, since we're both connected to the Far Realm, like a Druid and a bear both have some primal link. :smalltongue:

[Servbot]

Everyone:
The creature blinks only once, the first time it's blinked since you started talking to it. Then, it lets out a strange, hissing sound... and you realise the terrible smell is starting to dissipate rather quickly.

"I am known as... no, you will know me as Trod," it communicates to you, "and you shall see me as ally, if your words are true; five times the sun has risen since my capture by these lunatics, and five times I have sought a chance to escape."

It continues, "Only today did I find my time to escape, while zealots stormed this place and drove off the cultists, only for the dark hounds to drive off the zealots. Fellow prisoners, it seems likely; these cultists were looking for sacrifices, and they spoke they had found some. Off to summon some wretched avatar from the farplane, or some such."

One of its tentacles points down the hallway you just came from. "What remains of them has gone down that hallway. I cannot approach; some foul ritual prevents anything not human from following them. Wretched little shadow got stuck in it already."

Kavak:
From the creature's wounds, you can just about tell they must have been caused by a dark hound; probable the bits of gore outside belonged to those hounds.

The creature before you is an aberrant called 'Fulph'. They are creatures known for opposing Evil where they find it, although still the subject of many discussions and debates on whether they can be trusted. After all, nothing good comes from the farplane, least of all an aberrant.

Fulphs can excrete a powerful toxic that dulls the minds of those that inhale it, and use their powerful tentacles to deliver shocking jolts of psionic energy to their opponents. They are able to communicate telepathically, but are also able to use their telepathy to assail another's mind.

[Vesth]

With a stiff bow, Kavak says:

"If so, we welcome you, Trod the Fulph, as our allies in escaping this place. Is there anything we can do to help you? Like removing the ritual or tending to your wounds?"

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern turns back around and lays a heavy hand on Maxi's shoulder, as they walk back out the door, perhaps with Trod following. "Well, since ye are the only human boy, seems yer up to try and get us through tha' door. Rest of us'd just bounce righ' off."
Thinks back, and wonders why Maxi might have rebounded off the door earlier. Perhaps there was something different about this boy.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
To Kavak's inquiry, Trod replies, "I will recover in due time. There is no need to inconvenience your escape and have you tend to me."

[Vesth]

"I insist. We are allies. Morally speaking, we should tend to the injured to ease their pain. In Nature, we help any fallen birds and injured foxes we pass, even if we are on an important errand. If hurts others as much as the victim to see one in pain. Practically speaking, the best chance of success would come if we work together, in tandem. If you're injured, not only will you slow us down, but any help you can give will be less effective than if you were at full strength. And to leave you will spell certain doom for you, and a lower chance of escape for us."

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Everyone:
To Kavak's inquiry, Trod replies, "I will recover in due time. There is no need to inconvenience your escape and have you tend to me."

"Well, ye pointed out tha door. Bars passin' of any nay-human. Other way caved-in. Way we came fr'm was a dead-end." Baern looks around at the others and back at Trod "We ain't escapin' soon or too fast, so easiest for us all to stick together, nay? Do you know which way leads out?"

[Servbot]

Everyone:
A cosmic force feels forced to play along. Trod relents, saying, "Very well. If you insist to have me along, then I shall protect you to the best of my abilty.

"As far as an exit goes, I am afraid I am as curious as you are. The cave-in was an unfortunate effect of a magical attack, and I surmise I could move those rocks, given enough time and some assistance."

I'll write up a statblock for Trod later, you hippiemancers. :P

[Pepz]

"Glad to have you come with, Trod. We shouldn't let any good people go through this alone, even if they aren't people. Ehm...."

Maxi looks embarrassed for a moment.

"So what about this non-human barrier, it's not the steel door surely, it's so warm...nothing good could possibly be behind there"

[Pepz]

He waits for a moment, even if it feels like a day, for any answer from the strange being. It seems to flollop for a moment, but seems unable to in the end. Maxi looks at his companions and shrugs.

"All right, I guess I'll take point again."

He walks over to one of the untested doors and opens it.

Maxi opens the northern door

[Servbot]

Everyone:
As Trod seems content to follow Maxi, and so do Caliburn and Leiana, the rest feel compelled to lumber along.

Maxi opens the door effortlessly, sensing a minor sting as if something repulsed him for just a moment, but then it is gone and the door swings open.

A magic circle there is keeping a shade quite captive.

Arcana to recognise the function of the ritual. History for Doff Laughs book check.
Arcana, Intelligence to disturb the ritual. Nature or Religion for the same purposes. Requires multiple successes, whereas multiple failures may cause things to go really wrong.

Successes required: 0/4
Failures permitted: 0/3
Primary Skills: Arcana, Nature, Religion
May improvise so long as it disturbs the ritual's function.

Also, yes, non-human creatures cannot enter the circle or move beyond it. Maxi can.

http://i.imgur.com/Z4Gr5.png

[Vesth]

"...what is this?" Kavak whispers, absentmindely rubbing one of the runes in the magic circle with his mace...

Arcana check to recognize: [roll0]
Nature check to disrupt: [roll1]

[Pepz]

Letting Kavak do his thing, Maxi looks at the room and the shade inside. The other shade was small and "cute" if such a word can be used for a shade... This one looks more dangerous...

Could he get to the door without disturbing ritual or getting too close to the shade? Highly unlikely, but perhaps by moving this way and that, Maxi could at least dodge those claws..

Basically, I'm looking whether I could get across the room without disturbing the ritual and getting killed. I doubt it with acrobatics+1. Thank you for reading this useless spoiler

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Moves up past his allies, grabs the doors handle, and closes it again. He turns to face everyone and scowls "Well, we know whats on the other side of this door, and that there is another door beyond. We can come back to it, lets check what is beyond the rest." Then he walks eastward and tries to open the door to the right of the one leading to the shade.

[Pepz]

"Oh, come on. I could have gotten to that door without getting hurt, I know it"
As the dwarf walks over the warm door, Maxi sulks. He didn't even get a chance to try, and now everyone's moving away...

"You know there another door we haven't tried either, right?" He whines while slowly following the rest to the steel door.

[tarsusc81]

As the party begins to walk away, they hear a faint voice from the door they just closed.

"Wait! Please! Don't leave!"

[Pepz]

It was faint, but it was just was Maxi wanted and needed.

"See, I knew had to go in!"

Slowly as he had followed the others to the steel door, now he was at the door in two bounds and quickly reopened it. "You guys check out that one, I'll worry about this guy in here"

"What's up, shady fellow? What can we help you with?" With a broad smile, Maxi looks expectantly at the shade....

[tarsusc81]

. . . only to find no shade there at all anymore. Instead, contained within the magic circle is a woman - young, slender, with long blonde hair . . . and, it doesn't take Maxi long to notice, completely naked.

She hurriedly curls up in a sitting position on the floor, making herself small and covering herself as best she can, and looks up at Maxi with a pleading expression. "Forgive the hasty disguise, please! My sudden fear was that you might be one of those . . . abominable creatures. They seemed not to trifle with that other shade running about. But thank Pelor, you seem ordinary enough. I don't know who you are or whence you came, but please, do not leave me in this place!"

[Pepz]

....and suddenly sees a young, naked girl.

For a moment, there's nothing the boy can do but stand still and gawk. Then he catches himself and looks down to the floor, up at the ceiling, down to his hands, and basically anywhere where there's not naked girl flesh to be seen.
His face turns red, as if caught doing something wrong.

"I'm sorry, miss, I didn't expect to see you here being all....naked and such." His voice trails away as he tries to make sense of the situation.

"I just expected a shade here, it was here a minute ago, don't know where it's gone, do you miss?" Finally, courtesy dawns on him.

"Ehm, could I give you my jacket, or somebody else's? Can you get out of the circle now?"

Wait, first things first....

"I'm Maxi, who are you?"

[tarsusc81]

"I'm Nissene. I'm a scribe of the temple of Pelor. The shade was me, you see. I thought it a good way to avoid attention from the horrors in this place. I saw a shade skittering around before, and the hound seemed to pay it no heed, and . . . I suppose I'm remiss in not mentioning that I'm a changeling." She says the last a bit more quietly and carefully, looking at Maxi as if she expects him to dart from the room again.

She clears her throat. "I don't think I can move past these runes on the floor." She pauses with a faraway look, as if waiting for answers from some extra-dimensional force. "In fact, I do not seem to recall how I got here."

She looks down and then starts, as if she'd forgotten the reason Maxi seemed so uncomfortable. She reddens, curling up tight again. "Well, I suppose, now I've stopped you leaving, there's little reason for me to remain like this," she mutters. With a quick, fluid shifting of flesh into scale, she is suddenly a lizardfolk. She relaxes a bit now, tail swishing on the floor. "All the same, attire of any kind would be most welcome," she hisses.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Lumbers his way back over to the open door when he hears Maxi talking to someone. The shade replaced with a girl and then a lizardfolk, he correctly assumes her to be a 'ganger.
"Might make ya a bit less on tha mark fer attacks, but I have enough scrap for leather armor." Dropping his bag he pulls out one of the full curiass, and the kilt-like bottom piece, also giving her a pair of boots and the dagger. "Not fine clothing, but it should cover ya. Jus don' be bendin' over."

[Vesth]

"For heaven's sake, put this on!" Kavak mutters, as he hands out one of the smelly robes he found earlier...

Although he was a bit distrustful of shapechanges (after all, one of them gods of elsewhere was a shapechanger- was his name Loki?), but seeing as she was in the same plight as them- or seems to be- he believed her, for now.

[tarsusc81]

The lizard girl lifts the armor with a scaly hand, turning it back and forth and looking it over. Then she wriggles into it with some difficulty. She pulls the robe on. "It must . . ." She stops at hearing her own croaking voice. A second later, she's morphed back into her more pleasant form. "It must do, I suppose. Very kind of you, dwarf, and . . . uh . . ." Her eyes widen as she looks up at the goliath. "And you as well. Thank you." She shifts and tugs at the armor a bit, trying to make the most of it. She sniffs a bit disdainfully at the robe. Then she looks back at the trio in the doorway, her pleading expression back again. "Now, please, can you get me out of here?"

[Servbot]

Kavak:
Your careful prying earlier did not seem to do much good earlier; your knowledge of primal energy is too little to really have much of an effect on the ritual circle, although it seems to have flared up a little.

Everyone:
You get the feeling it might be a good idea to break the ritual through whatever means.

Skill Challenge:
0/4 Successes
1/3 Failures

You can use athletics to go about the room with an Easy DC; humans aren't affected by the ritual.

[Pepz]

"Wait, Trod, didn't you say that any human could just walk through here? How did you know?" He looks at the floor again, and at the changeling getting dressed. Changelings? Weren't they children stolen by the elves? Or elves left behind in exchange for human children? So, is Nissene an elf?

Maxi takes an hesitant step on the outside of the ritual. Nothing happens. Another step, closer to the changeling, still nothing...
He grins at Nissene and at the rest behind him. As soon as the door comes within reach, Maxi grabs the handle and opens the door, eager to learn what is behind this strangely warded door ...

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern sets everything else down, and hefts his greatclub over head with both hands, then strikes the ground repeatedly where the ritual circle is drawn, literally trying to break it by breaking apart the surface it's on.
not sure which [roll0] +4 strength check or +9 athletics

[Servbot]

Everyone:

"I know a thing or two of magic," Trod responds, "[color="Plum"]and discerning the nature of a ritual was not at all difficult. Your... methods of dealing with it, however crude, seem effective, however.[/color"

Saying so, Baern's attempts to disrupt the ritual prove effective, and Nissene can feel the ward's bindings weaken.

1/4 Successes
1/3 Failures

Any plot holes do not exist.

[tarsusc81]

Nissene shifts aside a bit as Maxi walks through the circle, not knowing quite where to look or what to do. It's a bit awkward watching him effortlessly walk through the tiny area she's trapped in.

She starts a bit when Baern's club smashes down and cracks the floor. Finally, she's started to recover her wits a bit, and she kneels to examine the runes surrounding her. "I think . . . I think I may recognize some of these." She reaches out a hand a tries a short divine incantation she remembers.


Religion to disrupt the ritual: [roll0]

[tarsusc81]

Okay, how did I manage to roll the wrong die for the Religion check? Here's the real one:

[roll0]

[Servbot]

Everyone:
Nissene manages to slightly unravel the bindings of the magical ritual, but not in time. Maxi swings open the door, revealing to the group that beyond that is a room with some statues. Maxi can see in the farthest corner a magical portal of some sort, with a cultist nearby doing something to it... it seems like they're trying to seal it.

There are a few corpses in the room, and something that looks like half-man half-beast... a Shifter? A disc in the centre of the room gives off a bright light.

"The sacrifices escaped?" one of the red-robed men says on seeing Maxi, and with a few quick gestures the entire group lifts arms and staves up. "Subdue them! We must Summon his lordship!"

Initiative has begun!

The nearest cultist reacts quickly to Maxi's entry, firing off a bolt of eldritch magic at the farmer. The magic hits square on and Maxi can feel a strong singe.

Cultist's Eldritch Bolt does 5 damage to Maxi.

It is now Nissene, Kavak, Romeus and Claw's turn.

Map:
http://i.imgur.com/D8j2P.png

INITIATIVE:
Human Cultist 1 (22)
Nissene (22)
Kavak (18)
Romeus (17)
Claw (15)
Human Cultist 4 (13)
Baern (12)
Human Cultist 2 (11)
Human Cultist 5 (10)
Maxi (3)
Human Cultist 2 (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|No ailments
Maxi|-5 HP|No ailments
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Claw|Full HP|No ailments
Nissene|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|No ailments[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]Human Cultist 1|-K34|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 2|-M35|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 3|-P33|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 4|-Q31|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 5|-R37|-0 HP|OK![/table]

SKILL CHALLENGE
Successes: 2/4
Failures: 1/3

INFO
- Nature or Arcana for Monster Knowledge! If you have Sir Doff Laughs' book, you may instead make a History or Intelligence check to peruse the book for info on this monster. All checks here are Free Actions, though you may make one only once in this encounter.
- Creatures other than Maxi and the Human Cultists cannot pass through the magic circle area until the ritual has been discharged.

[Venetian Mask]

Indeed, in the middle of the room, amongst the dead and the cultists sits a boy who can't be more than 14 years old, covered in blood, visibly shaken and paralyzed in horror. As the boy, with distinct cat-like features sits you hear him babbling in softly to himself in what sounds like elvish.

For those who can actually speak elvish they can hear a mix of the following phrases:
Oh spirits, spirits... They... They... Killed them... Why... Why did they kill them... Why do they have me...? They'll kill me like they killed them... Oh spirits save me, they'll kill me...

The boy is obviously oblivious to his surroundings because of the severe trauma he is suffering from and not fit to act at the moment.

Actions when init hits me: Delay (unless you call sitting on the floor babbling in horror an action. I call it a free action.)

[Vesth]

"By the power of the gods, curse it all!" Kavak muttered angrily, tossing his dagger at the nearest enemy, shouting, "DUCK!"

"BOY! Can you hear me?! Get here, NOW!"

Move: To (-F,34)
Standard: Toss the invested dagger at (-K,34)
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[tarsusc81]

Nissene's eyes widen as she realizes she is trapped before these enemies. "Sacrifices? We can't let them take us! You don't know what they are! Oh Pelor, please let me get out of here!" She turns, nearly panicking, but trying to keep her head in her desperation to be free of her bonds. Her incantation seems to have done something, but apparently not enough. Nissene examines the cracked chips of stone where the goliath disturbed the runes. Perhaps if she . . . Ever so carefully, she picks up and rearranges a few of the chipped pieces that have landed in the circle with her, slightly altering the shape of one or two of the runes.


Intelligence check to disrupt the ritual: [roll0]

Seems that would occupy Nissene's full attention. But if by any chance it only counts as a minor action, she uses Total Defense for +2 to all defenses.

[Venetian Mask]

At the shout of the Goliath the boy stops muttering to himself and looks up, his eyes focusing at him. Obviously struggling for words he responds in common: Giant... Angry-man... Not want... Kill Claw?

I'm not holding action any longer, but I'll decide what Claw does when I get a response.

[Vesth]

"We won't kill you, but if you don't move, THEY will!"

[Venetian Mask]

The boy looks at you suspiciously, but something in his demeanor changes. His posture becomes less of a panicked crouch and more of a deadly slouch. Screaming he flings himself at the cultist standing guard next to him, trying to bite at the surprised cultists' throat.

Attacking 33P (VS Fort):[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]
If the cultist isn't dropped and the attack hits: spend an experience token to immobilize the defender until the end of his next turn.

[Servbot]

Everyone:
Pandaemonium, or something resembling it, breaks out just then. Nissene continues her efforts to unclasp the nature of the ritual, and she can sense that the magical bindings are weakening. Just a bit more should do it.

Kavak, meanwhile, throws his dagger at a distant cultist, finding the weapon passes through the barrier easily... but it doesn't quite hit the cultist. The moment the weapon hits the ground, it magically re-appears in Kavak's hand, as if it had never been thrown.

The Satyr makes some use of the situation to use a little bit of arcane might to dispel the ritual completely, freeing Nissene from her unfortunate position.

At the same time, Claw lashes out at the nearby captor, downing them with a fierce hit. A nearby cultist, witnessing the ordeal, decides flight trumps courageous and reckless charging. He runs to a corner, firing off a blast of eldritch energy at Claw in the mean time.

The attack lands a solid hit, but it's by far not enough to send Claw to the floor.

Cultist 4's eldritch bolt hits for 5 damage.
Claw's attack hits and kills the Cultist, as they are minions.
Nissene and Romeus score successes in the Skill Challenge and dispel the ritual. Everyone gains an experience token.

It is now Baern's turn.

Map:
http://i.imgur.com/O5na2.png

INITIATIVE:
Human Cultist 1 (22)
Nissene (22)
Kavak (18)
Romeus (17)
Claw (15)
Human Cultist 4 (13)
Baern (12)
Human Cultist 2 (11)
Human Cultist 5 (10)
Maxi (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|Full HP|No ailments
Maxi|-5 HP|No ailments
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Claw|-5 HP|No ailments
Nissene|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|No ailments[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]Human Cultist 1|-K34|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 2|-M35|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 3|-P33|-too much HP|Dead
Human Cultist 4|-M29|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 5|-R37|-0 HP|OK![/table]

SKILL CHALLENGE
Successes: 4/4 Success!
Failures: 1/3

INFO
- Nature or Arcana for Monster Knowledge! If you have Sir Doff Laughs' book, you may instead make a History or Intelligence check to peruse the book for info on this monster. All checks here are Free Actions, though you may make one only once in this encounter.

[JackOfAllBuilds]

Baern, seeing the way is clear now, shoulders past his allies and walks right up to the closest cultist. He glares at him with a deep scowl for several long moments, then swings his arm around and plants his throwing hammer right on the cultists forehead.
move 5 squares to J34, throwing hammer martial strike.
[roll0] 4 str, 2 prof, 2power [roll1]

[Servbot]

Everyone:
Baern advances forward into the room, striking down the cultist in front of him with skilful hammership unmatched by non-Dwarves. His deft handling of the cultist seems to send fright in the other cultists: the nearest yelps and starts moving away, desperately firing off a beam of energy at Baern.

However, due to his hasty and clumsy movements, the beam goes entirely awry. The cultist by the magical portal attempts to fire a beam of energy at Baern as well, this time hitting the dwarf square in the chest. The eldritch energy singes, but is by far not enough to send Baern to the ground.

Baern kills the cultist he hit!
Cultist 1 moves away and misses Baern.
Cultist 5 hits Baern with eldritch bolt for 5 damage.

It is now Nissene, Maxi, Romeus, Claw and Kavak's turn!

Map:
http://i.imgur.com/JiYmq.png

INITIATIVE:
Nissene (22)
Kavak (18)
Romeus (17)
Claw (15)
Human Cultist 4 (13)
Baern (12)
Human Cultist 2 (11)
Human Cultist 5 (10)
Maxi (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|-5 HP|No ailments
Maxi|-5 HP|No ailments
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Claw|-5 HP|No ailments
Nissene|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|No ailments[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]Human Cultist 1|-K34|-too much HP|Dead
Human Cultist 2|-Q37|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 3|-P33|-too much HP|Dead
Human Cultist 4|-M29|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 5|-R37|-0 HP|OK![/table]

SKILL CHALLENGE
Successes: 4/4 Success!
Failures: 1/3

INFO
- Nature or Arcana for Monster Knowledge! If you have Sir Doff Laughs' book, you may instead make a History or Intelligence check to peruse the book for info on this monster. All checks here are Free Actions, though you may make one only once in this encounter.

[tarsusc81]

Seeing Baern recoil from the cultist's magic assault jolts Nissene into action. Did they kill him? Nearly forgetting that, only moments ago, her terror at being trapped against these foes had all but incapacitated her, she has a sudden burst of courage that drives her straight into the room.

She runs to the dwarf, seizing him by the shoulders as he staggers, and pleads, "Sir dwarf, are you all right?" Seeing that he appears mostly unharmed, she turns and can do little but place herself between him and the remaining cultists, bracing herself for their next attack.


Move: To -K34

Standard: Ready Action
Faith Strike vs the first cultist that moves adjacent to her

[Vesth]

"You alright, Baern?"

Kavak asks as he moves forward, tossing the dagger again as he goes.

Move: to -J,35
Standard: Attack -Q,37

Attack: [roll0]
Damage : [roll1]

[Pepz]

After opening the door, everything suddenly sped up around Maxi. Almost before he could make sense of what was happening in the room ahead, he got hit by a magic blast on his shoulder. He gasps in pain as his allies and apparent enemies run around fighting and killing. Someone dispels the ritual he was standing on that was holding the changeling.

Another blast and a fairly hairy person in the middle of the room attacks another person. Baern rushes past and hits the guy in front right in the chest. A crunch and the cultist goes down

"Sir dwarf, are you all right?"

"You alright, Baern?"

His shoulder still throbs where the blast hit him. All the attention is going out to the dwarf. Well, what he can do, I can do.

Maxi grasps his spear and makes a run for the cultist that hid on the left. He rounds the corner and sees the older looking guy preparing to blast someone, anyone. The young boy jabs his spear forward. Let's stop this fight before anyone else gets hurt.

move to M30. Basic attack on M29 [roll0]
[roll1][

[Servbot]

Everyone:
The would-be heroes advance, Nissene guarding Baern's front where Kavak takes his back. The thrown knife again returns to Kavak's hand, after again fruitlessly throwing it at a cultist.

Maxi, for his part, only barely misses the cultist he's engaging. The situation doesn't look entirely bad, however.

It is still Claw and Romeus's turns! Feel free to submit actions for Romeus.

http://i.imgur.com/zvenr.png
INITIATIVE:
Nissene (22)
Kavak (18)
Romeus (17)
Claw (15)
Human Cultist 4 (13)
Baern (12)
Human Cultist 2 (11)
Human Cultist 5 (10)
Maxi (3)

PLAYERS
{table]Baern|-5 HP|No ailments
Maxi|-5 HP|No ailments
Romeus|Full HP|No ailments
Claw|-5 HP|No ailments
Nissene|Full HP|No ailments
Kavak|Full HP|No ailments[/table]

ENEMIES
{table]Human Cultist 1|-K34|-too much HP|Dead
Human Cultist 2|-Q37|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 3|-P33|-too much HP|Dead
Human Cultist 4|-M29|-0 HP|OK!
Human Cultist 5|-R37|-0 HP|OK![/table]

SKILL CHALLENGE
Successes: 4/4 Success!
Failures: 1/3

INFO
- Nature or Arcana for Monster Knowledge! If you have Sir Doff Laughs' book, you may instead make a History or Intelligence check to peruse the book for info on this monster. All checks here are Free Actions, though you may make one only once in this encounter.

[Venetian Mask]

Claw stands up from the cultist that now lies in his death troes and swerves around to the other cultists standing by the creepy shiny blue thing. Locking eyes with the first one he growls something in elven that none of you can make out. After that he charges the lead cultist and proceeds to chew on his windpipe.

Move to P36 to do an Unarmed Quaking Stomp against Q37
Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[tarsusc81]

Romeus trots into the room and flanks the door, shooting a blast of magic energy at one of the cultists.


Move: Move to -I35

Standard: Arcane Missile vs Cultist at -Q37
3 force damage

[Servbot]

Everyone:
Treading on with the rush of initiative, Claw moves in and attacks the nearby cultist. The quaking stomp lands a solid blow, and the cultist crumbles to the floor in a broken heap.

The Satyr advances, firing off a bolt of energy at the distant cultist, effortlessly disabling him. The final cultist, in a desperate attempt begins to weave the spell to fire another bolt of power at Maxi... but the psionic interrupts with a timely stab, taking down the cultist.

The battlefield littered with corpses, the group's emerged victorious. However, they can hear already that there are sounds emanating from the door nearby: some hurried movement.

Claw:
The cultists near you spoke completely in Common, but they spoke of a Summoning ritual being under way in the main chamber. Due to the fierce attack by an eladrin and human force, the ritual was interrupted, but the head priest still intends to carry it through. They're currently protected by a defensive ritual, the focus of which they said was in the other room, and they stood guard over it...

The non-cultists had attacked the group to no avail.

Initiative has ended!

Everyone:
From beyond the battlefield, Leiana, Caliburn and Trod approach, hovering near the doorway. They make no movements to come closer, and Trod appears to be in some sort of conversation with Caliburn. It is impossible to tell just what may be said between such minds.

http://i.imgur.com/VbrIY.png

You may use a Doff Laughs check (History/Int) to check whether it says anything about the broken statues in the room.
Arcana check to identify the use of the portal in the top-right of the room.
A Thievery check to unlock the locked door to the west.
A free action to backtrack and open other doors.