[IC] Novicefinders

[Servbot]

[OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14923510)]

It's been exactly a fortnight now, for most of you. Some of you joined the caravan a little later, but those who were there at the start experienced the Darkmoon Vale in all its glory. Experienced, also, Mister Vandelier in all his glory, shrieking at the height of his voice and making the caravan double-back after your first serious run-in with gnolls. Had everyone been in less of a panic, and had the group not lost the men it did, it might've been something you'd have looked back at with a laugh.

It had been a pretty cheerful journey before, too. Around the campfire, Vandelier had shared many tales of his dreams, and especially his countless exploits. None of these turned out to be successful, and by the eight story you can already guess his ninth won't be any more successful. It's nothing short of foolhardy (or admirable) that Vandelier keeps on trying regardless.

Now, though, the faces of the caravan are grim. A number of men were lost, and with them, most of the morale. The gathering in the camp is hard-faced and tight-lipped, and even the few children hide in the carts instead of running around in laughter.

Longrod was a welcome sight for sore eyes, and the possibility to resupply has done a little to improve morale. Not enough.

It's still early, by reckoning of most: The sun has begun its ascent a while ago, but it's clearly not near the height of its arc yet. The atmosphere is a tense.

Among all this, a man approaches the group. His armour looks haphazardly thrown together, with just about none of the pieces matching, and all of them worn. His pike has also seen better days. He stops to talk to the leader of the caravan's guard, Stratford, and after a short conversation you see gazes turned to your group, fingers pointed and coin exchanging hands.

Then the man approaches your group. He pauses when he draws closer, giving each of you a look-over. Seems a bit intimidated by the veritable gathering of long-eared people here, but scrapes his throat and speaks regardless.

"That man said you were 'able hands', izzat right?" the man starts, his voice gruff and low. "We're... I'm with the town guard. There's a matter I'd like ta discuss with you lot, but..." He looks about him, then leans a bit closer and his voice drops to a whisper, "The matter is delicate, get that?"

[QuidEst]

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii253/driftingaway92/leo-Avaula_zpsc7dc45d5.png

Avaula closed her book carefully, sliding it into her pack. "Able enough, I hope. If not, I generally have a few spares," she answered, hopping down from her seat in the wagon. "Hands, that is. I'm Avaula. By all means, lead on," she added, gesturing ahead. She would be more than glad for a chance to get away from the dour air of the caravan. It was depressing seeing the empty spots where travelling companions had sat. She missed the old sorcerer who'd been travelling with them… but enough of that. There was work to distract herself with.

[Burnheart]

Svenn eye's the man carefully, noting his haphazard gear and smirking Here's a man who knows nothing of battle, guess we're stuck helping him out then Svenn glances to his companions seated around him before hauling himself up and approaching the man, armour and bone clanking loudly.

"Name's Svenn the Beardless" he introduces himself before spitting into his hand and running it through his hair to smooth an errant strand back into its proper place "What about you?" he continues while holding out the same hand to shake.

[oyzar]

Despite it being bright sunlight outside and not very cold, there is one figure dressed in a fully covering cloak with a deep hood. The cloak is dark, almost black, but along the rims there is a thin strip of white fur. Firali Eyllistlarn does not like bright light, nor does he like that people he does not trust sees his skin color either. The thin tall elf is leaning against the side of one of the caravan vagons, he is almost a head taller than the second highest of the group.

Despite his shadowy appearance, Firali speaks softly. "Able hands indeed. I am willing to hear you out." Unlike the others, the hooded elf does not move to take the man's hand, his arms remaining crossed across his chest. Firali's head turns slowly as he studies the others and their surroundings however.

[roll0] Perception, what do I see around us, anything worthy of note?
Conditions:Dazzled
I assume it is indeed bright light outside despite it only being morning and Firali being covered in a hooded cloak.

[Servbot]

Firali
There is nothing of particular note. You do notice that more than a few of the caravan's guard seem interested in what's happening, but they are keeping their distance. Vandelier briefly pops his head out of his cart, but lazily retreats it when he spots the rather shammy looking town guard.

The light is too bright for you to really spot anything else.

The man nods consent, and with a gesture beckons your group to follow him. All of you. He leads you from the caravan through town. This does not take at all long, as the town is small, and the road sparsely populated: They weren't joking when they said you could count the inhabitants of Longrod and have time left to wrestle down a bear.

From within the homes and around you stare bleak faces. Some are wary, even distrustful. Only one seems... angry? An old man positively glares at you from the window, before the curtains are drawn. You can faintly hear angry whispers from the home.

Doesn't take you long before you reach a dilapidated shed. The man leading you opens the door, hesitantly looking at your group, as if trying to decide whether to formally invite you in or just go on... And then reaches a decision, and he goes on first.

Once inside, you find that the curtains match the drapes. The shed is not some sort of magically transformed place of arms the town guard use. Instead, a rickety wooden table occupies most of the 20ft by 20ft room, and it's quite the effort to fit you all in. There's no other town guards around.

"Pip and Longsight're gone," explains your guide, who sets himself down in the room's only chair. It creaks under his weight and begins to sag: It's in sore need of repair. "Name's Girdle. Least, s'what they call me around here. Now, matter is this... You understand, of course, that you tell none of this."

He unfolds a scroll, revealing a worn map. He circles a plain just outside of the village, towards the Darkmoon Vale. "Now kids here, there ain't much to do," Girdle explains. "So they've taken to dares, 'n tests of bravery. Right here, they go." He taps the area he just circled. "Wouldn't ya know it... we take our eyes off f'r one moment, and filthy TROGLODYTES attack!" His expression becomes pained as he explains how the troglodytes attacked and stole away two of the children. The town guard tried, but they were outnumbered two to one; Managed to kill one, but couldn't save the children in time.

"Long story short... We're not equipped to deal with those beasts, and that's where you come into the picture. We want you to save the children."

[oyzar]

Firali calmly follows the guard guiding them along. He studies the surroundings as they walk. Hmm what could be wrong here? He thinks. As he walks it is possible to see the sturdy dark leather boots on his feet, similar well made gloves are on his hands. Most of his wear is obscurred by the cloak, but if one pays careful attention it is possible to see cured hide around his chest, obviously for protection. His linnen pants are dyed black. With all the dark clothing Firali makes for a somber figure.

Even inside Firali does not take of his hood. Instead of speaking up he thinks to himself about what the man have said. During my travels I have heard of many things, what can I recall about this? Not one to take the first words, Firali let the other people voice their opinion before sharing his own.

[roll0]Perception, do I notice anything off as we walk through the village.
[roll1]Knowledge, Local what have I heard about the village and it's surroundings?
[roll2]Knowledge, Local what do I know of Troglodytes (they are humanoid so local should be used I think)
[roll3]Knowledge, Nature What matter of creatures have I heard live in Darkmoon Vale?

[brakisaurus]

Clos jumps down from the pile of crates he'd made his lounge for the ride.

"Able are my hands, aye. Able to do many things, as long as they're ably paid."

The stumpy dwarf follows the man into the wretched excuse for a hovel.

"Why's it such a big secret?! What's wrong with ye, man? Ye should be rallyin' all the townsfolk to protect your children, not hidin' the issue and pertendin nothin's happenin. Do ye at least know where the wee ones been taken?" He scratches his beard uncomfortably. Coin's a precious thing, to a dwarf, but family even moreso.

[Grytorm]

Dressed in worn clothing, a dirty cloak and his armor Niralel follows the guard hesitantly. The somewhat short elf listens to the explanation as he tries to keep a bit distant from the group. After the dwarf voiced his questions Niralel spoke up, "I doubt many of them are warriors, and the townsfolk would know what happened already. So, Girdle, are you trying to keep the Caravan from finding out about this?"

[Servbot]

Firali
Perception
Within the village, all seems normal. There's no particular reason to think anything is peculiar or odd. You do notice the angry man, and you can spot, right before the curtains are drawn, that the man's holding a staff. Years of experience has taught you that the peculiar design of the staff betrays the man as an arcane caster, though you can't guess at whether he's a sorcerer or a wizard. Maybe even a summoner. You just don't know.

Local knowledge (Longrod)
You haven't heard much about Longrod. Honestly, it's a tiny hamlet. There's only one particular thing you recall: When the caravan was in Olfden, there was this peculiar man who spoke of Longrod as a place that was better off burned to the ground, as its inhabitants were 'idiots clinging to ancestral lands like it's sacred, and yet their offspring leaves by the droves. Wouldn't be long until it's nothing but old farts, and not long after until they're all dead'. Well, those were his words.

Local knowledge (troglodyte)
Troglodytes are cave-dwellers, humanoid bipeds that resemble cave lizards. Generally, though they are numerous and fierce, they aren't considered a veritable threat. At best, gangs of troglodytes threaten small groups of inexperienced young adventurers, children or the elderly. Most cities and villages have guards capable of handling any troglodyte incursion. At times a troglodyte warchief will gather the tribes of troglodytes to raise a massive army, and there is strength in numbers... But you doubt that the troglodytes Girdle speaks of are so organised. If anything, they're a small tribe.

Often their chiefs are clerics or druids of nature, whose skill at magic gives them the right to rule the other troglodytes.

Nature knowledge (Darkmoon Vale)
You've heard some tales about gnolls, hobgoblins, kobolds and the like, but honestly, there isn't a lot you've heard about the Darkmoon Vale. You've at least experienced the gnolls first hand during the attack on the caravan, but beyond that, your knowledge can't be relied on.

Oh, oh dear. Clos's comment makes the good guard turn slightly red in anger, though this fury is quick abated when Niralel speaks. Still, Girdle is obvious spending a lot of effort into not raising his voice, and you can hear it tremble...

"Your caravan, among one, and the more... hot-headed among Longrod as well," answers Girdle. "Stoutfolk, I do not pretend to know wha' you think our hamlet's capable of, but puttin' up a good fight is not one of those things. We don't need th'townsfolk rushing headlong to their deaths!" Oops, he raised his voice after all.

Girdle takes a moment to take a deep breath, then continues, "And no, Stoutfolk, we do not know. Pip and Longsight are tracking them as we speak, as it happened only yesterday.

"Now, 'able hands', name your price."

[Starbin]

Vintr had been in the caravan long enough to realize it was simply a means to an ends - suitable employment until he could find a venue to test himself. As they arrived in Longrod, he simply accepted it with his typical stoic demeanor, already decided that he would not find what he was looking for here, either.

However, when the man approached them and asked for their time, he simply followed the others without saying much. He, too, wore a cloak, but it was light colored with fur lining, with the hood thrown back. He did present an odd image, however, with the smoky goggles he wore; they protected his eyes from the bright light better than pulling his hood down.

Once in the shack, he pulled the goggles up and peered at the map as others commented. Clearing his throat, he spoke quietly, cutting quickly to the chase. "Troglodytes prefer dark environs, yes? Where are the closest caves to this area?"

[brakisaurus]

"Easy there, lad. Didn't mean nothin' by that, an' ye never said there was kids involved. Might've come across a little brusque there, but ye have NO IDEA what we caravaneers get propositioned with. Erryone has a task or errand or...Nevermind. Can ye give us a good description o' the boys?"

Clos looks a little abashed, but he also looks like he's been in this position before. A lot.

[QuidEst]

Bluff, to seem at least moderately pious: [roll0]

Avaula considered carefully. "I can't say I'm used to putting a price on the lives of children, nor am I altogether comfortable doing so. If we are to risk our lives to rescue the children, I expect we will be compensated in a befitting manner. To be sure, you could send us off without a copper, but…" she paused here, shrugging, "I can think of few gods indeed who would smile upon such an act, and I would not wish the attentions of those who would."

Avaula was not, on the whole, a religious person. Wizards walked about with too much power and too little regard for the gods for her to worry about their personal intervention in affairs. She knew better than to disrespect them, though, since politeness cost nothing. But when it came to matters like exact payment for saving children, though, there was no better aid.

"Of course, there are certain practical considerations," she added, adjusting her glasses for effect. "If you have any minor healing draughts, it would be best if we took two or so. If they are not needed, they will be returned. If they are needed, they will be used. It seems reasonable as some measure of hazard pay, and it would be terrible to be in need of them and not have them."

[oyzar]

Having stayed mostly silent, leaning against the wall next to the door and studying the others instead of speaking, Firali now finally speaks in a soft voice speaks. "The nature of the rewards are indeed better discussed afterwards. Now for the task at hand. How can we find these people who have gone out in the forest, Pip and Longsight was it? Any supplies you have that could aid us in our task would also be helpful. A map of the forest might prove very useful, do you have a copy to give us?" The hood mostly drawn down to cover the face, it is not easy to make out the speaker from inside the hood.

[Burnheart]

"You would put a price on a childs life?!" Svenn loudly declares in shock looking stunned "Are you mad?! Just tell me where to go and i'll bring them back, even if i have to go alone" a look of stubborn determination is fixed on his face.

[QuidEst]

Avaula sighed. If there were any gods who waited upon her thoughts, she hoped that they would preserve her from hasty dwarves. "All well and good. You need not begrudge those inclined to put a price on their own life, though. Were you to go alone, you would quite likely get killed, and possibly jeopardize the lives of the children in the process."

She turned her attention back to Girdle, her face serious. "I hope you will pardon my inquiring, but… do you have any indication that the children are still alive? It is not necessary for us to proceed, but it is best that we know the facts of the situation, as can be related with little delay."

[Grytorm]

Niralel slightly shocked at the outburst shakes his head and says, "I doubt that anyone of us would put a price on a child's life. It might be fair to put a price on gratitude. Girdle, in the end do what you think is fair. Where were the, Trogdolytes you called them? Seen in the first place? I have no doubt that your men have done well but a few more eyes would not hurt. I can if you wish go to the two immediately."

[Starbin]

Vintr listened as the others continued to debate over the matter of payment to rescue stolen children. However, he was more concerned with the human's response to the number of questions asked. If the man could not provide answers, it would make the rescue effort that much more difficult.

But perhaps a challenge was just what was needed ...

[Servbot]

Girdle looks a bit overwhelmed when the group begins talking all at once, bombarding him with questions, accusations, and demands. He looks positively bewildered, staring from one person to the next, before he finally finds his voice and speaks, "One at a time, one at a time...

"There aren't any caves close to Longrod, though if you head to the mountains you might find some.

"Boys? We're talking one boy an' one girl. He's just seen 'is twelfth spring. Got red hair, cheeky grin. I recall, he'd just gotten a new tunic, what was the colour? Green. Girl's blonde, and she just wore a plain dress. Now, figure she's about his age.

"We ent got a doctor or anything, so healing draughts and whatnot, we don't have any.

"Forest? I didn't say 'nything about no forest! Pip and Longsight ought to return themselves, an' they'll be able to tell you where best to go.

"A price on their lives?!" he's practically roaring by this point, "It's a price on your @*(#$@* services! We ain't used to people workin' for free, but if y'r saying you'll do it free then do it!

"An' it's been a day. We ent know if the kids're alive, but we hope they are!"

He reclines in his chair, looking a bit drained from this ordeal. "Dawning's got'is store, you can get supplies there. Tell him Girdle sent ya, might be he's willing to give you some stuff no one here wants fer free. An' I'll get ye that map right when my men's back, clear?"

You can go explore Longrod a bit if you like, or you can wait here. There's a small general store where you might be able to get any non-weapons/armour for a good price. You can visit the mayor, and there's a small plaza where a few kids're gathered.

Gotta go cut post short whelp.

[QuidEst]

Avaula ran her hands through her hair. She was adding hasty humans to that list. Surely there was a patron deity of calm, rational discussion. "What I meant to say is that I do intend to help rescue the children. Putting a price on my services would imply that if you cannot afford the price, you would not get my services. I do so under the understanding that you will be grateful for those services afterward. Haggling may take time we do not have." She stood up and bowed slightly to Girdle. "And on that note, we should either visit the general store quickly, or start on our way immediately."

[Starbin]

Glancing at the girl with the glasses, Vintr frowned slightly. "Visiting this store is fine, but we should probably wait for these men to return before we run off to search. Their map may be useful, and they might have additional information.

Does anyone have any additional information concerning troglodytes? I always thought they lived in caves, but if the mountains are far from here, where have these things come from?"

[brakisaurus]

"Aye, I'm all for goin' after the runts, but not without knowin' what we need to. I'm stayin' right here with the caravan till those two come back. Wait...scratch that. We could ask 'round town, see if anyone else can offer more'f'a clue to's what's goin on."

Clos slings his longhammer jauntily over one shoulder, and heads for the door.

[Burnheart]

"I'll just wait right here, no need to waste time running around all over the place." Svenn says as he puts his feet up and starts to relax "Best to save your energy 'til the fighting starts"

[Servbot]

[/COLOR]The group comes to a consensus, and they all decide to await the return of Girdle's scouts. There is an uneasy silence while the group wait; Girdle hasn't much to say, and the group's members talk little if at all. Eventually, the cramped shed becomes an unbearable place to wait, and some if not all of the group are ushered outside by Girdle, as they can wait outside just as well: Not like it's bad weather!

Such a large group of strangers attracts interest, though, and more than occasionally a curious villager wanders over to exchange a few words, asking things like where they came from, and if they were with the caravan, and whether it's true that Golarion is huge.

The idle talk is eventually interrupted when a duo approaches the group. One is wearing the same mish-mash of armour Girdle has. Aside from his impressive beard (if he were not so tall you might mistake him for a Dwarf!), he is bald. He looks far more a formidable fighter than Girdle does.

The other is a lanky, short woman, wearing robes befitting a wizard. They are worn, dusty and filthy, and evidently have not been looked after well. The woman wearing them rolls her eyes when she sees your group and mumbles something to the other man. He looks at you suspiciously.

"Izzit the new hanging spot fer travellers?" he asks, but without waiting for an answer, the woman and he push past you and enter the shed. It doesn't take long before they emerge again, and this time the man looks at you more appraisingly. The woman's face is one of disdain.

"Well, you gotta 'scuse me there, didn't think you were here on business!" the man says. "Name's Pip, and I'm to understand you is all here to save the child'ren, yeah?" He nods and grimaces.

"Right good you're here, 'cos we was gonna fetch Gird and ask him what do, 'cos we gone right found that den of evil!"

"Don't expect that coward to go, don't expect him to get others on either," adds the woman. "Gots a track on 'em, can lead you there right now." She pauses momentarily. "'Less there's things you need done, aye."

[Starbin]

As the group waited, Vintr murmured to the others, "While we wait, I would suggest we let Stratford know what we are up to. Of course, given the exchange of coins we witnessed, it may be that he already anticipates our pending unavailibility."

Once the others arrived, he raised an eye at the initial rudness displayed, his face taking on an icy visage. However, when they indicate that they have found the location, Vintr withheld his judgement and asked, "Where are these troglodytes laired?"

[Grytorm]

Niralel shifts a little uncomfortably as the two come up, when they come back out he asks, "Um, I can't think of anything that I need to do. Perhaps you could tell us a little of what you saw before we leave?"

[Burnheart]

Getting to his feet after Pip and Longsight enter the shed Svenn echoes Niralel's question after they step back outside "Aye what do you know about all this that Girdle doesn't?"

[oyzar]

Not one to speak needlessly Firali certainly contributes to the awkward silence. It does not bother him. He goes outside without much fuss when told to. As the group is aproached by strangers he manages to deflect the curious people to the others.

The tall elf is bothered by the sunlight outside, though he does his best to hide it. Since he is hiding his face anyway it might be hard to pick up on. Leading against the wall deep within his own thoughts about how to best combine various alchemical ingredients together to achive different effects he does not immeadiatly notice the strangers.

As they do so he goes away from where he was leaning against the wall of a house, picks up his backpack that was put down on the floor and goes to meet the newcomers. These people seemed to have skills and were probably worth of his respect, maybe he could pick up a few tricks himself. "As you might have concluded from all rash the questions we are indeed hired to help you out rescue the children. My name is Firali Eyllistlarn, nice to meet you. Any information you might have found would be helpful, are you comming with us to rescue them?"

[brakisaurus]

"Aye, there's no time to waste! We're ready to go after the young'uns, so every second spent jawin' is another second they're in danger. Tell us what you've found, draw us a map, and let's be on with it!" Clos bellows, starting to get impatient. He never was one to sit around for a chat when there was adventuring to be done. Besides, maybe these "troglodytes" will yield up a trophy that'll make for an appropriate birthday gift to take home to his brother in the mountains...

[Servbot]

The woman shrugs. "S'all troglodytes. Don't got much to say. They hid under nets, make them cam... moo... camoo..." She frowns. "Gots a track on them, though. Lead you there, yes?"

So saying, she starts moving! Pip gestures for you to follow her, and he sets off after her as well. As you walk, he starts to explain.

"Aye, see, we don't know more than Gird does, we does. We heard a cry and cames running, just in time to see the damned beasts overpower one of the boys. An' yeah, we're coming with. Ain't old enough yet to sit by while those beasts prowl free!"

Longsight leads you to a nearby wood. Although it looks overgrown, and just about any path is the same, Longsight moves with unerring confidence, occasionally pausing to observe a tree, or examine the ground. Every time she comes back up, covered in dirt, she gestures heavily and resumes the trek.

"She used ta be a ranger," Pip explains, "but she ended up settling in Longrod. Said the rod appealed to her. Batty girl, but she's a right fair tracker, she is. Relied on her most of the time, but eventually we spotted 'em. 'least, we think it's them; All those monsters look alike, doesn't they?"

After a while, you find that the path through the woods becomes more open; Looks like you're nearing something, because the overgrowth's been controlled here.

Finally you come to a clearing, and about 120 foot away you can see a shrine. It is in surprisingly good shape, several floors high, though not quite as wide. There are some cracks from which long vines grow. From this range, it's difficult to make out exact details, but you can tell it's been maintained better than the shed Girdle had led you to. Longsight points insistently at the shrine.

"Is where they are. You take lead or we does?" she queries.

[Burnheart]

"I'll go first" Svenn declares striding forward and mentally prepearing himself for battle by picturing the face of the witch who's curse caused him to lose his beard.

[brakisaurus]

Clos readies his longhammer; never can be too ready to bash some skulls 'round shrines, especially overgrown ones.

"Keep them pointy ears of yers open, can't have these lizard men ambushin' us. The stories I've heard...nightmarish, aye, they can be."

[Grytorm]

Niralel tries see whatever he can inside the structure before saying,"The spells I have ready to cast are not perfect for a situation such as this. But they will probably be of some use."

After going quite once more he readies his bow. After a moments thought he asks, "Would one of you be willing to carry some of my arrows, they are rather heavy."

[Starbin]

Following the others, Vintr kept his eyes open, watching for signs of the children or their kidnappers.

Perception check: [roll0] (not sure about the exact bonus right now)

[oyzar]

Firali Eyllistlarn is walking along quietly, not speaking much to the others. His large cloak keeps most of his body obscured from view. If one pay attention it is possible to hear clinking and clanking sounds as he walks. Glass hitting other substances and metal doing the same. Obviously the elf is walking around with quite a few loose items somewhere on his person.

As they draw close to the temple his hands start running over his body under his cloak, making sure all the things are where he needs them to be. "We could charge ahead, that way if there are creatures there expecting someone to come they can ambush us. Or we could scout ahead. I am fairly decent at hiding and scouting, though not in broad daylight. I guess we'll see how it is inside the temple. Until we get so far, it would be best having our best protected party members in front."

Firali looks over at Niralel, trying to make out the features of the other elf. The daylight makes it hard, he was only able to make out the fact that his clothes were slightly dirty. Strangely the man doesn't appear to be carrying anything but weapons and armor, what if they had to stay out here for longer than one day? "I guess I could take a few arrows and still move normally, though arrows seems like something you might want to get at a moments notice, would not something else be better to give away?"

Conditions:Dazed
[roll0]Perception, do I see anything as we aproach the temple.

[brakisaurus]

"We don't have time for creepin' and scootin! Every second we waste is one less second those children have to live. Let's break down their front door and let the gods sort 'em out!

Arrows...you can't even carry your own arrows? What kind of warrior are you, Niralel?! Gods, do I have to do everything?"

Clos takes a bundle or two of arrows from Niralel, stashing them in his pack --among his bedroll, his torches, and the bewildering array of other gear he's carrying.

[oyzar]

Firali looks confused at Clost. Though hidden within his cloak it is not really visible. "The children have been gone for a while. If the troglodyte wanted to dispatch them, they could have done so already. We won't be able to save anyone if we run headfirst into a well prepeared ambush. Let's be careful once we get into the temple please. Until we get inside I suggest we keep somewhat close together, Svenn can lead the aproach." With that he prepeares to get ready to cross the clearing, his head hidden beneath his cloak.

[Servbot]

Vintr
You don't see any movement near the shrine. Looks perfectly quiet. There's also nothing around you... wait, hold on a moment? Are those doors... yes! The doors aren't closed! They're slightly ajar.

As the group approaches, lightly quarrelling among themselves on the best approach, they hear the sound of what very well is a deciding factor! Once they get within 80 feet of the shrine, they realise the doors are ajar, and from those doors emerge five dogs! They howl loudly and seem positively feral, denying any opportunity for the group to sneak towards the structure.

From the distance all around you, you can hear the echoing sounds of more wild dogs in the forest.

"Trouble," Longsight announces matter-of-factly, and after a brief glance at Pip she turns and, knife drawn, disappears into the forest.

Pip draws a heavy battle-axe, standing near the back of the group... and he seems to be shaking at the sight of these dogs rushing toward you.

Combat has begun!

Five dogs come rushing towards you. They are about 70ft away and closing fast. The area around you is a clearing and you have about 120ft manoeuvring space. Near the edges of the forest (100ft away), the area becomes trickier to navigate, and it is difficult terrain.

You can just all post, once everyone's posted I'll commence the next round and so forth. I'll use simulated initiative, which is to say I've rolled dice for everyone and it's not a straight up -all party actions resolve-, then -all monster actions resolve-, then back to party.

Let's see if this style works!

[brakisaurus]

"Hold strong, now! Stand together, don't let them get between us!" Clos calls out to his comrades.

Clos plants his feet, longhammer held in a two-handed fighting grip, and prepares for the onslaught of the hounds.

Clos maneuvers to be between the dogs and the rest of the party, and readies himself for the dogs to charge forward.

Longhammer has reach, so will get 1 attack of opportunity against the first dog that comes into range. Then, he will make his regular attack, if possible.

AoO:
To hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Regular attack:
To hit: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

[oyzar]

Firali quickly starts reading him for the aproaching dogs as well. He moves quickly, getting out a couple of different jars with various contents in rapid succession and pouring some of their contents into another small round clay container. Upon the dogs comming close enough he throws the clay jar towards the aproaching creatures trying to hit more than one. "Stay together" The elf says calmly as he works hurridly to prepeare his bomb.

Readied action: Create/Throw bomb if a dog comes within 20 feet, if two comes into range while next to each other he would prefer to hit two.
Attack vs Touch [roll0]
Damage [roll1] fire
Critical confirm (if the above roll is 25) [roll2]
Critical Damage [roll3] fire
Direction if miss [roll4] as per http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Throw-Splash-Weapon

[Grytorm]

Niralel ignores the insult and hands the dwarf half of his arrows leaving ten for himself in the moment of battle.

When the dogs charge he readies an arrow along with his bow and fires upon them when they come within a reasonable range.


Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
Crit Confirm [roll2]
Crit Damage [roll3]

[QuidEst]

Wild dogs? Avaula grimaced, pulling her light crossbow out of her bag and loading it. She doubted that the dogs would be able to get past Ishkin without being summarily dispatched. "Nice doggies…" she muttered.

Ishkin leaned forward, hissing menacingly at the dogs, ready to lash out.

Avaula: Move action to pull out crossbow, move action to load crossbow.
Ishkin: Ready Bite attack for any dog moving within ten feet. In addition, moving close than ten feet provokes an attack of opportunity.

Readied bite:[roll0], [roll1]
Attack of opportunity:[roll2], [roll3]

[Starbin]

Gliding forward, Vintr took up a spot near the dwarves that had moved forward, reading himself to attack as they drew near. "I shall stand with you stone-brothers ... but perhaps a fighting advance into the ruins would be best, if others are soon to follow ..."

Move up (move action), ready an attack (standard action).
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

EDIT - Good to know one of us will be absolutely unlucky!

If necessary, Vintr can make 6 attacks of opportunity per round (+5, 1d6+1 each). Feel free to make them as necessary!

[Burnheart]

Laughing like a manic Svenn darts forward Longhammer at the ready "Come greet skullcrusher doggies" he yells out as he passes Clos.

Because of the reach i'll probably get an AoO too so:

attack [roll0]
damage [roll1]

then a readied action to attack the first dog to enter his reach

attack [roll2]
damage [roll3]

[Servbot]

The dogs advance real well now! Clos interposes himself quickly between party and dogs, with Svenn and Dama joining their Dwarven companion. When the dogs close in on them, their rabid excitement giving flight to their movement, the first to respond is Niralel! An arrow zips past, hitting one of the dogs cleanly in the chest; It doesn't slow its movements, but it is seriously bleeding!

Once the distance is closed, the first hits start coming in! The dogs attempt to jump Clos, who handily bats one of them away with his hammer; The bloodied mess that flies away speaks of Clos's prowess.

In one fluid motion, he swings the weapon on, crushing another of the dogs that came for him flat into the ground.

Niralel's attack hits a dog for 4 damage. Clos's OA hits for 7 damage, killing one of the dogs. His regular attack also hits, killing another dog. Three remaining.

Svenn does his best to match Clos's attacks, but the dogs manage to jump out of the way of his attack and then jump him! Svenn manages to handle the snapping attack quite well, blocking with his weapon!

The second one sinks its teeth into Svenn's armour, and Svenn shakes him off handily!

But the third, och, the third. Dama makes a good attempt at attacking, but he can't prevent the dog from latching its teeth into his arm, and when he shakes the dog off, he finds the bite hurts quite a bit!

Dama misses, and the dog hits Dama's AC for 5 damage!

No dogs enter attack range of Firali and Avaula's eidolon.

Dog 1: Dead
Dog 2: Dead
Dog 3: Wounded (4 HP damage) (engaging Dama)
Dog 4: Fine (engaging Svenn)
Dog 5: Fine (engaging Svenn)

[Burnheart]

Backing off Svenn lets out a deep bestial growl before bringing down his hammer against the skull of one of the rabid beasts.

5ft step back then attack against dog 4.

attack [roll0]
damage [roll1]

AoO if one of the dogs tries to attack Svenn again

attack [roll2]
damage [roll3]

[brakisaurus]

"Oh, it feels good to swing a hammer again after bein' cooped up in that caravan wagon for so long. Here, pups, you just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!" chortles Clos. He steps over towards Vintr, seeing blood flow freely, and brings his giant hammer down in an overhand swing on the dog.

"Watch, elf; let me show you how it's done!"


Reach attack against dog that bit Vintr:
To hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

If something provokes an attack of opportunity, the attack and damage rolls are the same as for the regular attack.

[oyzar]

Firali moves up to get in range of throwing a bomb. He sees the two gathered up near the beardless dwarf and throws the claypot he readied from before at the other one than the dwarf hit.


Move Action: Move 10 or so feet to get in range
Attack [roll0] vs touch
Damage [roll1] fire
Splash Damage to creatures within 5: 5
Critical confirm(if above result is 25) [roll2] vs touch
Critical Damage [roll3] fire
Direction if miss [roll4]

[QuidEst]

Avaula swept her gaze across the remains of the brief battle, ready to shoot any dog that twitched a little too energetically for her comfort. "And that is why I'm a cat person. We are not blessed with an overabundance of clerics to intercede on our behalf, so I recommend a more defensive approach- let those with reach make up the front defensive line, with the other fighters behind."

[Grytorm]

Niralel keeps his eyes on the dogs as he fires at them again. "Poor things." he says under his breath.


Attack [roll0] Firing at any not in melee or a wounded one.
Damage [roll1]
Critical Confirmation[roll2]
Critical Damage [roll3]

[Servbot]

Between the six of the group, the remaining dogs are quickly and effortlessly dispatched. Only Vintr still bleeds from the wound somewhat, but he'll live; It's luck that the dogs don't seem to carry the rabies virus strongly enough to infect Vintr with it.

From the woods, they can hear the distant yelping of dogs and vaguely, some sounds of combat. Pip looks about a bit helplessly, gaze shifting between the direction of the yelps and the group of adventurers.

"I should... I should help Longsight," he stammers. "But I can't well leave the children!" He remains rooted in place, looking a bit helpless, occasionally throwing glances towards the source of the fight.

As far as the shrine goes, the group has a good chance to look at it thoroughly now. Details previously hard to see become visible now, and some details they really should've noticed but which, for some reason, eluded their grasp. Like the cosmic fabric of the world erred somewhere and clouded their vision.

The shrine sticks out from the woods like a sore thumb. The expanse of its smooth walls show no doors or windows, beside, of course, the doors used by the dogs. The building is quatrefoil, the entrance on the eastern wing. The walls look incredibly difficult to scale, but for an experienced climber, or someone with preternatural abilities to aid the climb, it's not outside of the realm of possibilities.

You can scale the walls on a DC 25 Climb check.

Otherwise, the doors have been slightly pushed open by the dogs, revealing a darkened interior. It seems like it'd be rather dark within the shrine itself, as no sunlight can pierce its interior. The ceilings look to be about 15 feet high, and the sturdy wooden doors seem difficult to break. They contain no locks.

[Burnheart]

When the last of the dogs falls Svenn lets out a loud boisterous laugh "Ah nothing like a good scrap to liven up your day and get the blood pumping"

Looking around Svenn spots the indecisive Pip "Ah just go help your friend man, we'll head in there" he gestures at the shrine "First and you two can follow after us once you've finished off the rest of those dogs"

After saying that Svenn turns and gives the outside of the shrine a through examination, trying to gauge things like who might have built it based on the style of its architecture and how old it is, also what kind of stone its made of and if there is anything else like this nearby.

Knowledge Engineering (style of its architecture and how old it is) [roll0]
Knowledge Dungeoneering (what kind of stone its made of) [roll1]
Knowledge Geography (anything else like this nearby) [roll2]

[Grytorm]

Turning his back on the group Niralel heads towards the sound of snarling, bow in hand, ready to lend aid to Longshot.

[Starbin]

Gasping in pain, Vintr nodded his thanks to the dwarf, before staggering towards the building with the others moving in that direction. His concern was being caught in the open again, seeing how poorly he fared in his first combat with the dogs. Another blow like that and he would be well on his way to join his ancestors in the Halls Beyond the Clouds.

As they approached the dark, he simply used his superior night vision to peer into the ruins, careful not to be too far from the reach of his companions long axes.

"Per-perhaps we should see if this temple offers security from more animals ... or if it is the lair of the beasts."

[Servbot]

Vintr (and anyone else with darkvision)
As you peer into the structure, you see the quatrefoil insides wrap around a wall in the centre. You can't spot any doors, and it's open passage from here on-out. The insides are not very large: You have about 40ft in each direction before hitting into a wall, though the outer walls are rounded, bulging outward, and grant you some extra leeway there.

Of particular note are the various large webbings on the ground level. They're by far not large enough to trap any humanoids, and you suspect the dogs would also be fairly safe from them, but it'd be a problem if you throw yourself into too large a stack of them. You can either pass by the northern or southern wing, but it's impossible to really tell anything more: The ground level is clean of anything, and the marble floor is covered in sand, dirt and greenery.

Svenn (and anyone else who hates the DM)
You're not familiar enough to tell the exact age on this architecture, nor have you seen this type of architecture much before. You've read or heard something about humans in Cheliax building structures with similar architecture.

You're pretty sure there's no such structure nearby, though. Its presence here is already a mystery, although it's probable that it was erected by worshippers of some faith to honour their god(ess), and they might've taken on a Cheliaxan architect for it.

As far as the stone goes, it's marble, chiselled finely and, through some wonder of architecture (or magic) shaped in its particular form.

Niralel
As you turn deeper into the woods, you find that finding a trail proves to be hindersome. Based on the sounds and their volume, though, you can estimate Longsight has gone about 50ft into the woods before presumably engaging the dogs. You can depart from the group and attempt to help her, but it'll take you half a minute to find a path through the foliage and overgrowth.

The rest of the group stand around.

[brakisaurus]

"Niralel, we didn't come out here to butcher hounds -- we came to find the children. The huntsman can fend for himself, surely."

Clos appraises the stonework of the building as he approaches, nodding to himself in approval. Whoever worked this sure knew what they were doing. As he comes to the doors, he uses his longhammer to throw both of them wide open.

"Nothin' but a few cobwebs waitin' for us in here. On we go!" Clos looks expectantly at the rest of the group.

[oyzar]

Firali says, "Maybe we should aid Longshot, it would not do much good to rescue the children only to lose one of our members. Splitting up is going to be recipe for disaster though. We should all go together one way or the other. Though it would take quite a while to find her and by then the fight might already be over." He peers into the darkness of the building, the aid of his drow lineage allowing him to see through. Seeing as the group already split up, Firali decides to follow Niralel while thinking, Silly that people can't spend a couple seconds to decide where to go before rushing ahead.

[Burnheart]

"Fine quality marble" Svenn grunts before stepping through the doors and moving into the shrine, probing the ground in front of him with his Longhammer to check for traps.

Perception check to search for traps [roll0]

[Servbot]

Svenn
Your Dwarven sense is tingling! ... There are no traps at the door that you can find. If you had some sort of light source, you could extend this examination to the inside of the structure... As is, it's a bit too dark to really spot anything.
(If you have a light source, you can use your current Perception check to also spot for traps inside. Otherwise, roll anew, and take the last result.)

[Burnheart]

"Looks like spiders live here, does anyone have a torch?" Svenn calls out to the others.

[QuidEst]

Avaula sighed. D'avrit, again with hasty dwarves. She kept her hand on Ishkin's arm, ready to rely on his excellent vision if they entered the dark. She was familiar enough with his clicking speech to know when he was trying to warn her of something. "No torch, I'm afraid," she answered. "Try and stick back with the group. We've had one injury to a dog already. I want us intact to get the children out safely."

[Grytorm]

Niralel stares into the forest for a moment before turning back towards the group. Not knowing if his decision would bring disaster or not.

[Servbot]

Niralel rejoins the group.

Svenn's search reveals absolutely no traps in the shrine itself, though he hasn't yet progressed in the northern or southern wings. It's relatively safe here, anyway. No hidden doors your Dwarvish senses reveal to you, either...

[oyzar]

Firali goes back to the group together with Niralel. He is still a bit dubious that it is best to prioritize things in this order, but before all it is better that they do stick together. As the question of a torch is brought up, he gets one from his backpack. He lights it with flint and steel, produced from within his large robe. "Let's go see what is in here then. Oh yeah, next time we fight, please do not run so far in front that my bombs can't reach. It is easier to hit things that are closer. We are better off all sticking closer together." As they move further in Firali studies his surroundings.

[roll0]Perception, What do Firali spot as we move further in

[Starbin]

With the group together and the dwarves up front, Vintr moved quietly in, his eyes scanning the southern and northern wing. "Firali, I think they wish you to burn the webs. The others of us should prepare, least whatever made the webs be larger than we expected ..."

Perception: [roll0]
KS (Religion): [roll1] - if this is a temple, does Vintr recognize anything?
Stealth: [roll2] - trying to keep out of sight, out of mind, out of dog biting range :smallsmile:

[Grytorm]

As he enters the shrine Niralel focuses his senses and reaches out seeking anything unusual. Keeping toward the back of the group Niralel steps up a bit towards Pip. "What exactly did you see here at the shrine? Did you just follow tracks or did you see the beasts with your own eyes."

Activate Spirit Sense. Detects undead; fey; outsiders; and astral, ethereal, or incorporeal creatures

[Servbot]

The group enters the shrine, somewhat hesitant and reluctant. Inside, they find, there are many webbings. A few of these webbings contain creatures, caught. All of them are dead, though very few show wounds; The ones that do are half-eaten. One of the webbings has a small coccoon, tucked away in a corner of the eastern wing.

No one spots anything untoward.

The northern and southern wings loom...

[Burnheart]

"Lets check this coccoon, then Firali should burn the webs " Svenn says pulling out his pick and moving towards the coccoon, carefully cutting into it when he reaches it.

[Starbin]

Vintr pulled forth a few black objects that looked like strange triangles, their tips extremely sharp. He watched carefully as the dwarf approached the cocoon, ready to assist from a distance should something occur.

Keeping an eye out for anything scuttling down from the ceiling or from out of sight, as one would expect a spider to do ...

Maybe I'm going out on a limb, but Vintr thinks these look like spider webs. :smallsmile:

[brakisaurus]

"Spiders....ugh" Clos shudders. "Never comfortable around anything with more'n 4 legs. I'm with ya on this one, we should try to clear out some of this mess. Webs like this, big POOF of smoke and they're taken care of. Let's see what else we can find around here..."

Clos slowly circles around the south side, towards the west side, poking and prodding anything suspiciously lumpy with his hammer.

[Grytorm]

"Such nice creatures. I have always kind of liked them." Niralel says as he draws his cloak tighter, "I am not certain if I will like any spiders here."

[Servbot]

Svenn's careful prodding and cutting slowly, but surely opens the cocoon. As an opening is cut, a waft of foul air escapes the cocoon. Aside from its smell, it poses no health risk to the Dwarf, who can now peer at its contents.

There is the carcass of a creature inside. It is decidedly bipedal, with its size quite unlike a human, but there being some uncanny resemblance. Hold a moment... It's a halfling! Or it used to be. It is now very, very dead.

Clutched in its right hand, however, is the interesting part: A wand, well-preserved within the web, though dusty and harsh to the touch, when it looks like it used to be well-kept and smooth.

A quick observation of the wand tells you it is magical, although the powers stored within cannot be as easily figured out. Perhaps someone with some skill at magic can identify it, though it's also possible to identify by trial and error. It's easy to tell, at least, that it has seen quite some use, and whatever magic is invested in could expire soon enough.

Clos, meanwhile, circles around while his allies inspect the cocoon. The southern wing seems similar to the eastern, though the webbing is a little lighter here, and the room remains dark as night. He can spot, however, that on the western-most wall of the western wing, there are some torches. They are unlit, but from this distance, look to be serviceable.

Just as Clos approaches, however, the soft scuttling of feet is the only warning he gets: A giant spider lunges upon him from the ceiling, its snapping bite catching the stalwart Dwarf by surprise! He can feel a burning sensation from the wound, even as the spider disengages and sits near him now.

No one spotted the large spider on the ceiling! (DC 21 Perception) It surprises Clos with a critical hit for 6 damage, and Clos rolls a DC 14 Fortitude save or take [roll0] strength damage.

The rest of the group is still in the eastern wing, about 50ft away from where Clos is attacked, with the spider sitting at about 5ft distance from Clos.

[brakisaurus]

Clos roars in pain. "TO ME! Eyes open, towards the ceiling! Turns out there are some living crawlies here after all!"

The sturdy dwarf backs away a step from the monstrous beast, and takes a swing at it with his longhammer.


Fortitude save: [roll0]

5' step away from spider towards the group, putting it at 10' away.
Attack with longhammer: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
(-1 due to STR loss if failed fort save for both of those rolls)

[oyzar]

Firali quickly prepeares a bomb and throws it at the large spider. Loads of different chemical from different vials quickly dissapear into a clay pot that is thrown towards the beast. "Damn, how did I not notice that?"
Move: Move 30 feet to 20 feet away from the spider.
Attack:[roll0] vs touch
Damage[roll1]fire
Critical Confirm(if above roll is 25):[roll2]
Crtical Damage[roll3]fire
Misdirection if miss: [roll4]

[Servbot]

The spider is quite happy with its surprise attack! Until, of course, Clos answers in the only way Dwarves answer slights and insult, and particularly venomous bites: With a mighty smash of his hammer, and he can feel a cracking sensation when hammer connects with spiderly skull. Things don't get better for the arachnid when, stumbling in its daze, Firali sets fire to it. When the flames dissipate, the spider no longer moves.

This, you can expertly tell, is an ex-spider. It has expired, and has joined the choir invisible.

And this module has awful encounters. I think I'll increase the number of enemies from here onward.

[Grytorm]

Niralel rushes towards the scene of battle hand on his sword. When he realizes that the beast is dead and his services are not really needed, he looks at the spider and says, "Are we sure it is dead? It could be pining."

[Starbin]

Vintr stepped forward, realizing he could do little good from almost 25 paces away. "Are you well, Clos, or do you require rest?" Peering around the area, now that they are further along, Vintr looks for more signs of trouble.

For the record, when Vintr is 'supporting from a distance' with shuriken, 50' is a little far away ... like maximum range. So let's just say that such support is at least 10 ft from whoever is taking point :smallbiggrin:

Perception check (darkvision): [roll0]

[brakisaurus]

"Aye...bit me deep...maybe deeper than I first thought...don't--I--I'm fine. I'll be fine. Don't suppose we have any hidden healing talent among us?", Clos replies, his face looking slightly green.

[Starbin]

Vintr shook his head. "I fear I have none, but I'll look at your wounds ..."

Heal check vs Poison DC: [roll0]

Vintr leaned close and peered at the bite, but couldn't tell anything more than it looked infected. "I am sorry, but it is beyond my knowledge."

[Burnheart]

"Maybe this will help" Svenn says striding over and holding up the wand "Anyone know how to use it?"

[Servbot]

Niralel determines with expertise that the spider is not pining for the fjords, or for anything. It is probably not going to do anything unless you revive it, at which point it might bite you.

Vintr doesn't see any other spiders. If there's any left, they have hidden themselves well. As it is, nope, nothing.

[Grytorm]

"May I see it? If it is something that would help I could probably use it." Niralel takes the wand and focuses on it. After a moment he tries tapping it on the wounded dwarf. "I have some skill in natural magic I cannot think of anything that could end up killing you if I did get this to work."

Attempting to activate the wand. It kind of is metagaming but the rules do say that I actually do need in game knowledge to activate. Damage healed [roll0]

[Servbot]

To Niralel's efforts, the wand responds by glowing lightly from its tip, and small waves of curative magic wash over the Dwarf tapped. The soothing waves of magic cause the wounds to slowly but surely knit themselves shut, and the pain fades until it is completely gone.

The Dwarf is as good as new, but Niralel can sense the magic in the wand has grown considerably weaker.

[Starbin]

Vintr raised an eyebrow at the casual way in which Niralel pointed the wand at the dwarf and activated it. He had heard of such items containing many kinds of spells ... and not all were healing.

Perhaps later he would be able to enjoy the healing touches of its magic. Until then, it was time to continue their search for the children ... and the troglodytes.

"Shall we continue?"

Yeah, well I took more than half my hps in one blow, too! However, Vintr probably won't say anything just yet. Let's press!

[Grytorm]

Smiling Niralel turns about, "Now that we know what this is. Vitnr was it? You were bitten by one of the dogs earlier. As I said I can call upon natures grace. May I restore you?" With his right hand he reaches out prepares to cast.

Cast Cure Light Wounds [roll0]

[oyzar]

Firali looks around at the others."I think we should be more careful from here on, let me scout ahead. I think I can stay hidden from most things. Can anyone take the torch? I can see in darkness and would rather not have it reveal me as I try to sneak in. I'll yell if I need help." The alchemist hands his torch over to Vintr, who is of course free to hand it to someone else should they voulenteer. Without saying anything more the dark skinned elf draws his cloak tigther around him as she tries to meld into the darkness further in.

[roll0]Stealth
[roll1]Perception

[Burnheart]

"So shall we follow behind him?" Svenn points to where Firali went "Or wait here for him to come back?" Svenn's face twists into an expression of scorn at the thought of remaining here.

[Servbot]

Firali sneaks further into the western wing, easily reaching the torches without problem. The western wing, too, is bare, and aside from the torches, there is only a door in the central wall that is worthy of note.

Trying the door proves unsuccessful: The door, while lacking any lacks, refuses to budge. It may be that it's just jammed on something, but unless the party manages to unjam it, progress will prove difficult indeed.

[Grytorm]

"I think we should follow quickly. He could definitely find anything in sight but my talents would help to find anything behind closed doors." Niralel says.

[Burnheart]

"Then lead on" Svenn replies with a huge grin :smallbiggrin:

[oyzar]

Firali decides to go back to the others. If we are going through the door it will be noticable no matter how we get through The hooded elf returns out of the shadow to the others. "The way ahead seems clear of enemies, though it is blocked by a barred door. I imagine there is no way to sneak through that silently." He waves a gloved hand for the others to follow him further in.

[Burnheart]

Following Firali to the door Svenn pats him on the back and says "Don't worry lad i'll have this door open in just a moment" he gives a toothy grin.

Perception check to examine the door and the surrounding wall for more detail:
[roll0] if there's any odd stonework invovled add another +4

Knowledge Engineering to try and figure out how to open the door or work out whats jamming it:
[roll1]

[Servbot]

Svenn's examination of the construction reveals an obvious flaw in the architecture: The wall supporting the door has sagged a little, causing the door to sink lightly into the floor... and the floor is broken, meaning it's stuck in the mud below the structure.

Luckily, it is not a crippling problem. The Dwarf determines that a strong enough tug should free the door without making too much noise. You could try unhinging the door, but Svenn's not sure if that wouldn't also include removing the door from the mud.

Lastly, a good few hits against the door should break it as well, although any chance of stealth is lost the moment that strategy is employed.

A DC 17 Strength check is required to unjam the door. You can take 20, but that'd take a while.

[Burnheart]

"The door is stuck in the mud, i should be able to just pull it out if we want to have the dark elf go scouting or we can just smash it down and let them know we're coming for them" Svenn has a wicked smirk on his face when he mentions smashing the door down.

[brakisaurus]

"I can lend a hand with openin' it up -- if a few of us put our backs into it together, should pop right outta that goop like a...well, like somethin' that comes unstuck really fast. Wouldn't be a bad idea to get some more sneaky scoutin' done while we work." Clos stage-whispers, doing his dwarven best to be sneaky and stealthy while having a staring contest with the door.

[Starbin]

Vintr moved forward to check the door with the others. "Can we dig out some of the mud first? Perhaps if someone could produce water?"

[oyzar]

Firali jerks as Svenn mentions dark elves. He must have gotten a look underneath my hood! Then he says. "I am not a dark elf. As for the door, good idea to combine our forces lifting it. I am not very strong but I'll help out. I am afraid there is nowhere else to go scout until we can get past the door." Firali goes up to the door, a bit over to the side and waits for someone else to take the brunt of the push so he can help them out.

[roll0]Aid Another Strength check(vs DC 10, add +2 to the main check).

[Burnheart]

"Makes no difference to me if you are lad" Svenn says with a shrug as he moves up to the door to start lifting.

Strength check to open the door [roll0]

[Starbin]

Vintr watched as the others proceeded to yank on the door. Apparently my words are not worth consideration ... he thought as he waited to the side.

[Grytorm]

As the others plan how to proceed Niralel focuses his senses seeking such spirits silently staying behind the door. If he senses anything he raises his hand to Sven's shoulder stopping the lifting.

Activate Spirit Sense.
"At 1st level, a menhir savant can detect the presence of undead; fey; outsiders; and astral, ethereal, or incorporeal creatures. This ability functions like detect undead, and the druid detects all of these creatures rather than trying to detect one kind."

[Servbot]

Svenn and Firali make a heroic effort on freeing up the door, but they find their combined efforts to not quite make it. The door is stuck solidly in the mud.

Meanwhile, Niralel's preternatural questing reveals nothing.

[Burnheart]

Svenn growls "Oh no you don't" as a crazy gleam of fury and bloodlust enters his eyes and he throws himself at the door to try and force it open.

Raging and trying that strength check again
[roll0]

[brakisaurus]

Clos tiptoes towards the door, scalemail clanking a bit jauntily. He slowly reaches out his fingers to touch it, sets himself, and with a grunting bellow of "HRNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" he tries to rip the door free in a show of pure muscle and might.

Strength check to open door: [roll0]

[oyzar]

Firali looks around at the dwarves trying to get up the door. "Water would hinder us not help. Let me see if I can get it unhinged without having to lift it out." Firali whips out his knife and some tools usually used for mixing alchemy ingredients and gets to work on the hinges and around the edges of the door.

[roll0]Disable device, to get the door free attacking the weak points rather than just pulling.

[brakisaurus]

Clos begins to look more and more uncomfortable as the seconds tick by. Finally, he puts his hand on the straining barbarian's shoulder and makes eye contact with him. Clos looks meaningfully at Svenn's longhammer, then at his own longhammer, then back at Svenn...and grins toothily.

[Servbot]

Clos and Svenn make a tremendous effort in their attempt to open the door, but it's stuck completely; The dwarves just can't get a good grip on the wooden door, and they can't use their full strength at the task.

Meanwhile, Firali attempts to unhinge the door. While he manages to undo the hinges of the door and loosen them up, the door is still... stuck in the mud. That door's a real stick in the mud there, unbudging and unchanging, like an old, stubborn cleric insistent on the ways of old.

[oyzar]

Firali gets up takes a step back and looks at the door. "Damn, that did not work, though maybe it is easier to get it down now." The elf steps back in towards the door and tries to lift it out. His leathery gloves grip the part of the hinges still attached to the door. "If you all just help me instead of everyone pushing by themselves we might have a better shot."

[roll0]Strength check to lift the door.

[brakisaurus]

"Maybe you loosened it up a bit. I'll give it one more shot, but if this doesn't work I'm going to proceed with some deconstructive engineering."

Clos aids Firali in trying to lift the door, giving him pointers on how to use his legs and not his back, don't let his knees bow out over his toes, keep his shoulders down and back, blink his eyelids in alternating succession to create the best mental patterns for improved strength (an old dwarven trick, passed down lovingly from father to son in the Lodehammer family for generation after generation), and other extremely useful bits of advice.

Aid another on strength check: [roll0]
If my result is above 10, add +2 to Firali's roll. Multiple characters can do this, as long as we can all feasibly be aiding him in the task.

[Servbot]

Clos's masterful directions help Firali carefully wriggle free the door, bit by bit, until he can feel the door's weight coming down toward him! With a gargantuan effort, the drow-like manages to prevent the door from falling down and crushing him underneath.

When the door has finally been laid down on the floor, the group has managed to go about this entire business completely silent, though it's taken some time.

Behind the door is a circular room. A spiral staircase allows the party access to the upper levels. A small bit of light shines down from above, not nearly enough to illuminate anything for those without darksight, but enough to guide anyone to the upper levels.

Dwarves
Your keen senses tell you that there is a trapdoor here... right there, beside the spiral staircase. The trapdoor doesn't strike you as particularly trapped or dangerous, in spite of its name.

[Starbin]

Watching at the difficulty the group had opening the door, Vintr cleared his throat and asked quietly, "Why would the troglodytes make their main entrance so hard to get through? Seems unlikely to me, but I do not know their ways ..."

Peering into the darkness, Vintr tried to help the others in by searching for hazards in the dark. His eyes were a match for most dwarves, even in complete darkness.

[roll0]

[Grytorm]

"You know you really do have a point. Something about all of this seems a little off. Don't go on I need to look at something." the elf steps out of the central chamber and begins to look around in the outer rooms checking to see if there is any sign that somebody else had been here before the group. Looking for any signs of habitation.

Perception [roll0]

[Servbot]

Vintr's search reveals nothing new: The central room seems bare, likely robbed of its decorations back when the shrine was still in use. Those times are distant. Very distant.

He does discover that one of the slabs passing for a floor isn't actually a slab passing for a floor: It seems loose, and carefully hidden is a sort of grip to open it... Vintr discovers the trapdoor the Dwarves have seen already, though of course, totally new to the elf.

It doesn't look particularly trapped.

Niralel's search is less fruitful. He finds some dogpoop in the corners, signs that the spider and dogs co-habited this level of the shrine. Or perhaps not: A bit further ahead, still in the western wing, Niralel discovers a dog carcass, stuck in the web. Its neck is adorned with a necklace, glimmering slightly. It might actually be worth something.

The rest of the wings turn up nothing special. There are some trails of troglodytes passing through, but none of people. Well, other than your group, that is. This area of the shrine doesn't seem to have been used as much more than a pen for the dogs and a nasty spider.

[Burnheart]

Svenns anger fades as Clos and Firali finally manage to open the door and he seems worn out by the brief bout of fury "That'll teach you to get in a dwarfs way" he growls at it before kicking the door with a statisfied smirk.

Moving over to the now open trapdoor he loudly whispers "So who wants to go scouting ahead?"

[oyzar]

Firali breathes heavily after lifting the door off together with the dwarf. "Well, we finally got it off, good job Clos." He pats the dwarf on the back. He peeks into the staircase looking at what the others are talking about. "I can scout ahead, though it would be nice if you guys do not run off in the other direction meanwhile. How about we start going down?" The elf goes over to the trapdoor and carefully checks if there are any problems before lifting it up if all should appear clear. "If I shout, come running" The elf says as he slips down further into the temple.

[roll0]Perception, checking for traps before opening
[roll1]Stealth, sneaking down to avoid detection.
[roll2]Perception, do Firali spot anything after going down the trapdoor.

[Servbot]

The trapdoor opens easily and almost soundlessly. One of the first things you can tell is that it has not been opened in quite a while, as dust cakes the lower part of the trapdoor.

Below, Firali spots a room caked with dust as well. The entire room is dusty. This is a dusty room, sure as the moonshine at night. You need to descend a ladder to get into the room below, but peeking his head down the hole, Firali can see that the only inhabitants of this room are quite dead: Sprawled on two beds are three skeletons, their clothes worn. They're simply staring upward, hands over their chests, with one letting his arms just hang loosely. The clothes they wear seem clerical, save for one, whose robes hint more at wizardry.

Bookcases line the walls, with a small altar wedged between them. There's a gold-inlaid statuette on the altar, but it's too far away to make out details. The room seems to be 40ft by 20ft, with the altar at the far 40ft.

[Grytorm]

Holding the wand that he had cast light on before leaving the group because it would have made on sense to have not Niralel looks at the dead dog. Staying back he focuses his senses reaching out to feel if any sort of poison is present near the corpse. If he senses none he steps forward to take the necklace, if a spider seems to lurk he readies his longsword.

Use a Detect Poison Spell Like Ability

[oyzar]

Firali looks up from the trapdoor to the others. "Does not look like there are any troglodytes down here. Just a bunch of skeletons. Worth a look though I think, we might find something useful down here. I do wonder why there is so much dust down here though, does the troglodytes not know about it? One of our better armored members should go down first, just in case there is something dangerous down there I don't see. Then once more of us are down we can search the chamber." The elf takes a step around the trapdoor to let someone else climb down first. He keeps alert in case anything actually appears.

Ready Action: Throw bomb if anything dangerous aproaches whoever goes down first, throw when enemy is 10 feet away from the vanguard. How far is it down to the room?
[roll0]Attack, at 10-20 feet (measured from the trapdoor) bonus is +5 20-30ft:+3, 30-40ft:+2
[roll1]Fire Damage
[roll2]Confirm Critical

[Starbin]

Seeing Niralel holding an illuminated wand, Vintr put out the torch and handed it back to Firali. "It seems many of us can see in the dark ..."

He waited for one of the dwarves to step forward, ready to jump in and help the others out if possible. From his vantage with the others, peering around them, he couldn't make out much. It looked like some sort of bedroom ... perhaps a barracks of sorts?

[Burnheart]

Svenn wearily climbs down into the room below the trapdoor after Firali asks for armoured volunteers, drawing out his Longhammer and casting his gazing around the room looking for anything odd.

Perception check [roll0]

[oyzar]

After seeing that Svenn makes it safely down, Firali takes the ladder himself and follows after. He looks around after more of the party joins. "We should investigate that altar." He says and walks over.
[roll0]Perception

[brakisaurus]

Clos peers down. "No one's been down there in quite some time...and we're not here on a treasure hunt. Come on, we need to find the children. We can come back and investigate this cellar once they're tucked safe back at the village."

[Starbin]

Vintr followed the others down, spending a little more time to investigate the altar.

Taking 20 on Perception (26 total). Also, KS (Religion): [roll0] to determine if anything hears rings a bell from his monastic training.

[Starbin]

Given I was posting when Clos made his statement ... :smallredface: Vintr stopped short, nodding at the dwarf. Instead, he turned his attentions to any additional ways out of the room, ready to follow the others back out as necessary.

Okay, will roll for perception instead of taking 20 (which is time consuming). Perception: [roll0]

[Servbot]

Part of the group descends, with the others standing guard on the surface level.

Descent party
The room is stacked with barrels and books, with two beds for rest. A candle-holder is tucked in the corner, but the candle has long since expired. On the altar, you find a small statuette. Closer examination reveals it to be a woman with an ample bosom. She is faceless, wearing no clothes, and holding her hands out as if in blessing. It's probably worth quite a bit.

A thorough search of the room reveals nothing of particular note. The barrels are completely empty, with some scratches on the inside. Tucked in another corner is a small bag of old... something, that falls apart at a touch. A pot that was likely used for toilet is entirely drained. The carcasses stare lifelessly at the ceiling, a dust-smeared overhead that, on a small gust of wind, would cover all of you in dust and likely provoke a mean coughing streak.

It is Vintr who searches most and longest, a complete survey of the room. The elf appears focused on unearthing everything this room has to offer, but finds that most books are too worn to still be read, falling apart when he grips them. The carcasses reveal nothing within their clothes, and their bones show only extreme age.

Aside from the statue, Vintr's search reveals nothing of value that the others did not find.

[brakisaurus]

Clos peers down into the gloom, obviously impatient, his keen eyes picking out his companions. "Well? Are ye gonna traipse around in the dust havin' tea with rags and bones, or are ye gonna help me rescue these children? Trogs must be up from here."

[Starbin]

Vintr followed the dwarf up the ladder. "My apologies. I was looking for an alternative route ... either to where the fiends might be laired, or an additional exit route. Lead on, friend dwarf."

The ascetic elf followed the others onwards.

[Burnheart]

A recovered Svenn follows Vintr back up the ladder "Well at least they don't know we're here yet, they'd have come looking by now if they'd heard us moving around"

[Servbot]

Vintr
The statuette you found is familiar to you. Well, to a certain degree. These days, it would be extremely blasphemous to depict her as a naked woman (with ample bosom), but this is surely an old statuette of the Dawnflower. Its market value is low, since these days it's just not accepted any longer, but the right buyer would probably put down quite a bit for it! You can't put a price on it immediately though.

Because Pathfinder is weird you need to roll Appraisal to get a price check.

Niralel
The dog's collar comes off easily. It is inlaid with a metal that looks like gold, but doesn't feel like it. You can't guess it's market value right away, but there's a good chance you're holding money in your hand.

[Starbin]

As the group returned to the main chamber and started towards one of the wings with troglodyte tracks, Vintr looked around, studying the chamber. Suddenly, he realized why the statuette looked so familiar - this was a temple of the ... "Sarenrae! This is a temple of Sarenrae, albeit very old. I wonder how old it is ..."

Standing around, Vintr pointed towards some of the tracks they had seen earlier. "Perhaps we should follow those. Wait, where is the tracker?" Glancing around, the pale-skinned elf looked for signs of the people who had accompanied them here.

Okay, perception check just to see if the bodies of our guides are hanging from the ceiling, or there are bloody tracks leading down the hall. [roll0].

Other than that, I think we're ready to press!

[oyzar]

Firali picks up the statue, both to examine it and to sell it if they make it out of here, then after a quick check stuffs it in his backpack follows the others up the ladder. "Yes let's continue. Though I still think we should proceed with caution, I will scout ahead." He gives the torch back to Vintr, continuing their game of "catch" before he disapears into the darkness up the stairs.

[roll0]Appraise the statue
[roll1]Stealth
[roll2]Perception

[Starbin]

Vintr stares at the torch, then shrugs and drops it on the floor.

[Servbot]

Your guides are gone. Both Pip and Longsight did not return... Hold on, Pip? Wasn't he with you when...? It's a mystery when Pip disappeared.

There are, luckily, no bloody bodies hanging from the ceiling or something similarly macabre. Definitely not your guides. No skeletons raising from their deaths either. It's a perfectly mundane scene, here.

Firali carefully ascends the stairs, finding himself reaching the first floor quite easily. The spiral stairway ends as part of a distinctive room: Racks upon racks are displayed in the room. Most of these are empty, but a few still contain some weapons. At this distance, telling anything about the weapons other than that they are predominantly spears is impossible.

What Firali does notice is a horrible stench emanating from the room. It smells of rotten eggs mixed with the dour odour of a sewer pit that has just been filled with excrements. Needless to say, it takes an iron stomach to gut this stench!

Make a Fort check if you go up the stairs.

The faint light in this room gives Firali perfect sight of the two troglodytes standing guard here. Unfortunately, the faint light in this room gives the troglodytes perfect sight of Firali scouting here.

Their javelins sail through the air, with only one grazing the brave elf by the leg, drawing some blood! The troglodytes begin their approach, grabbing hold of a mace each held on a belt at their side...

One javelin hits Firali for 2 damage.

The troglodytes are at about 20 feet away from Firali. It takes the others 20ft of movement to get up the stairs, though they must move more than 20ft to avoid blocking the stairs for the others.

Combat's begun!

[oyzar]

Firali Shouts "Get up, here there are troglodytes who saw me!" then quickly assembles a bomb from within the ingredients in the various pockets of his cloak. A clay pot bubbles and sputtle purple and green sparks before Firali throws it towards the troglodytes. Hopefully they are clustered together closely enough that he can hit both.

Conditions: None HP: 7/9 AC: 16
[roll0]Attack vs touch
[roll1]Fire Damage to main target
5 Fire damage splash to adjacent targets
[roll2]Critical Confirm vs touch
[roll3]Misdirection direction in case of miss
Move Action: Move so others can pass
In case it is needed to move so others can move past fortitude save: [roll4]

[brakisaurus]

Clos, hearing Firali's cry from the top of the stairs, hustles up to the next floor in typical dwarven sprinter fashion (surprisingly fast over short distances, you know). As he crests the landing and bursts into the room, eyes darting frantically back and forth, his keen darkvision finally pinpoints the approaching feral beasts. Clos, now moving with a grim determination, approaches them -- longhammer held ready and waiting in his burly arms.

Double-move up the stairs towards Firali. Clos tries to position himself to protect Firali.

Attack of opportunity, if they come within reach:
[roll0]
[roll1]

Current AC: 17

[Starbin]

Vintr flew up the stairs behind Cos, stopping partway between the dwarf and Firali. Coming to a halt, he pulled out a small star and flung it at one of the monsters closest to Clos.

Move action - 30ft advance.
Draw shuriken (free action)
Attack: [roll0], damage: [roll1]
Initiative (if necessary): [roll2]

EDIT: WOOT! Max damage! :smallbiggrin:

[Grytorm]

Fairly casually Niralel readies his bow as he begins the trip up the stairs ready for action. He looks around when he reaches the top trying to decide the best course of action.

Move up the stairs and ready his bow

[Burnheart]

Roaring like a madman Svenn rushes up the stairs and towards the nearest Troglodyte who remains just out of reach for now. "I'll get ya soon ya creep" he yells at it with a leer.

Fort save: [roll0] +2 if its poison, spell or spell like ability

Strike against the Troglodyte
Attack [roll1]
Damage [roll2]

AoO if one of the Troglodytes provokes in their turn
Attack [roll3]
Damage [roll4]

Ignore the strike 'cause i misread the distances between us so instead i'll try to demoralize it roll here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15019535&postcount=174).

[Servbot]

The battle breaks loose in earnest! Firali's bomb sails through the sky, and the troglodytes are far too slow to react. With a thunderous explosion the projectile explodes, blasting away a good chunk of one of the troglodytes. It remains standing, however, and its odour hasn't improved for it!

The Dwarves especially find this air repugnant, and their iron stomachs are no salvation here. They can feel the nauseous urge to retch at the disgusting smell of burnt flesh, rotten eggs and sewage.

The troglodytes approach, undaunted by the attacks launched their way: Only Vintr's shuriken manages to scratch one of the two troglodytes, but they both reach the group and set upon them with maces!

Clos tries desperately to fend them off, but his illness doesn't help and the attack goes wide, wide, wide! The troglodyte doesn't even need to dodge, and WHACKS Clos on the head with its mace!

4 damage for Clos.

The other one is looking quite hurt, but it's still eager to be in the fight. It, too, lunges at Clos, striking hard and straight, and as his club connects with Clos's skull, the group can hear a cracking sound, and Clos slumps to the floor, unconscious.

Aaand that's a crit for 10 damage. Clos is unconscious.

One troglodyte at -11 HP, the other at full.

[Burnheart]

"Clos!!" Svenn roars at the top of his lungs as he fills with fury and brings his longhammer down onto the injured troglodyde that just knocked down Clos.

Raging then attacking the injured foe:

Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
crit confirmation roll here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15028491&postcount=184), the injured guy takes 39 damage

AoO if one of them provokes next round:

Attack [roll2]
Damage [roll3]

[Starbin]

Vintr blinks at the sudden onslaught as Clos falls to the ground, bleeding. "Niralel, your wand!" Stepping forward, he attack the remaining troglodyte, lashing out with his fist and foot.

5' step, Flurry of blows (full action)
Attack 1: [roll0], Damage: [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2], Damage: [roll3]

[brakisaurus]

Clos, gagging and trying to prevent himself from retching, is completely taken by surprise by the speed and skill of the troglodytes. While narrowly missing blocking the first blow, he doesn't even see the second one coming. It catches him right on the helmet, and Clos slumps lifelessly to the ground.


Currently at -2 HP.
Stabilization check, DC 10+2 = 12
+1 from CON, -2 from sickened
[roll0]

Check failed. Now at -3 HP

[Servbot]

The troglodytes' undaunted advance is halted when Svenn surges forward with a primal roar. His hammer goes up and goes down, and with a gruesome SNAP and CRACK, the hammer cleaves the troglodyte right in two! The bloody pulp that remains staggers about in a daze for two more seconds, lost on what's actually happened, before it crumples to the floor, dousing Clos in its bloody remains.

Clos, for his part, remains unconscious on the floor, unaware of anything that's going on.

The troglodyte that remains attempts to engage Vintr, who manages to parry with a flurry of strikes, landing a solid hit in the creature's gut. It staggers back, but holds its mace up without fear. It's still rearing to go!

Niralel and Firali stand momentarily stunned, perhaps shocked by the brutal assault Clos had to endure, or else the amazing display of Dwarven ferocity by Svenn.

[Grytorm]

Shocked at the bloodshed Nirarlel hesitates for a few vital seconds as a companion bleed on the floor. "Yes... the wand." HE steps forward and goes to one knee. "Rise" he says as he taps the wand to the downed Dwarf.

[oyzar]

Firalel gets out a sling from under his cloak, the wide thing apparently hides many things and loads it with a bullet, "Damn you are all too close for my bombs to be effective" He tosses at the troglodyte trying to avoid his companions nearby.
HP: 7/9 AC: 16
Move Actions(including previous turn): draw sling, load sling, move to be able to see the troglodyte.
Attack:[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]
Critical Confirm:[roll2]
Critical Damage:[roll3]

[Starbin]

Stepping to the side, trying to create a flanking opportunity for others, Vintr lashed out again, his fists flying in a series of jabs towards the beast's midsection.

five foot step to try and flank, full round to attack
Attack 1: [roll0], [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2], [roll3]

EDIT: Ah, there's my normal luck!

[Burnheart]

Still filled with fury Svenn turns to the surviving troglodyte and smiles "Your turn" he hisses before slamming his Longhammer into the creatures chest.

Attack against the troglodyte

Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1] +6 str bonus is 13 damage

AoO if it provokes one

Attack [roll2]
Damage [roll3] +6 str bonus is 9 damage

[brakisaurus]

Clos splutters back into consciousness, barely alert and barely alive, as the jolt of life from the well-worn wand leaps into his body. The damage-prone dwarf tries his best to defend himself from where he lies, wary of drawing the remaining troglodyte's attentions again.

Take Total Defense action. +4 Dodge bonus to AC, which should offset the -4 for being prone. No other actions.

[Servbot]

Firalel's bomb goes astray, sailing over the troglodyte's head when it ducks down. The bomb explodes uselessly! However, it does give Vintr the opportunity to attack the troglodyte, who quickly finds himself on the defensive! It parries one attack, two attacks from Vintr... and then crumbles to the ground unnaturally.

One could say Svenn's strike was what broke the camel's back, or in this case, the troglodyte's.

Sprawled on the floor lay two troglodytes, nearly beyond recognition. They don't smell less worse for it, though, and the room is still filled with an awful stench; It's this stench Clos awakens to when Niralel invokes the healing powers of the wand they found.

The room lies before them now, ripe for the exploring. Looks like an armoury.

[Starbin]

Vintr ensured that Clos was able to stand, nodding to Niralel to use the wand again, if necessary. "Shall we search, or continue on? Between Firali and myself, we should be able to scout quietly ..."

[oyzar]

Firali survey the room. "Well scouting did not go so well last time. Lucky I did not get far ahead. I guess I am not as good at sneaking as I should be." If you could see Firali's face you would see a sad face, his confidence had certainly taken a hit. He looks at the others. "Clos looks like he could use some more healing. I also got scratched by one of the spears, but not enough to need healing."He starts walking around the room, carefully watching where he goes and also going in the direction where the bullet from his sling flew. He sees if he can find it and picks it up to see if it is still usable if he does.

[roll0]Perception to look around the room

[Burnheart]

As the last foe slips to the floor dead or close to it the furious light leaves Svenn's eyes and he seems to buckle and waver before he leans against a wall and croaks out "I need to catch ma breath for a moment lads"

Looking at the barely alive form of Clos, Svenn reaches into his backpack and pulls out a packet of foul smelling powder "Rub this into the lads wounds, it'll fix him right up" he says tossing it over to Niralel as he holds up the wand of healing above Clos.
Well there goes the last of my rage for the day and now 4 rounds of fatigue for Svenn and a dose of Troll Styptic for Clos:

This powder is stored in small packets, and when applied directly to wounds grants a living creature fast healing 2 for 2d4 rounds, as well as closing any open wounds the subject has or receives while the styptic is active, preventing ongoing damage from bleeding. This is a painful cure and requires the target to make a DC 15 Fortitude save to avoid being sickened for the duration of the fast healing.

[Starbin]

Vintr raised an eyebrow at the hooded man. "Just because they saw you this time does not mean that scouting is not a useful tool. If the results of a single action are to drive us for the remainder of our search, then we should probably avoid all encounters."

He glanced significantly at Clos, then moved to check the bodies of the troglodytes and then stand guard at whatever exit existed in this room.

Firali might be able to find a weapon in this room ... spears or javelins, at least!

[brakisaurus]

Clos splutters and coughs as he drags himself to his feet with his longhammer, leaning heavily on the weapon for support. He looks very weak, and more than once looks like he's fighting valiantly to suppress his gag reflex.
"ThouURGGK...thought they got me. Take back what I said about you elf-folk. Not bad. Scout sounds good. No more of this steBLURRCH...stench."

[Servbot]

Firali examines the armoury, and finds that most of the items here are worthless and useless. However, you find a few items that aren't completely useless: A masterworked silver dagger, and a masterwork light steel shield emblazoned with a flying dolphin.

The rest of the stuff here is worthless to anyone, as they are too worn to be reasonably used still.

[Burnheart]

Hauling himself up Svenn lurches over to Clos "Here lad i'll patch ya up" he picks up the Troll Styptic he tossed to Niralel and applies it to clos wounds.

Clos gets fast healing 2 for [roll0] rounds, make a DC 15 fort save :smalltongue:

[oyzar]

Firali picks up is intent on studying the various things in the armoury and does not answer Vintr immediately. He picks up a silver dagger and a light shield. "These items should be masterwork, I suppose I could use the dagger if anyone else does not need it more. It is better than my current melee weapon. As for the shield, I can't use it and my sling at the same time, but it should prove useful if I end up in melee. I am not very good with shields, but this seems light enough that it should not offer much problems. Though if anyone of you needs a shiled you can use it. If I do use it, it would mean I would carry a bit much though, I got a bunch of torches I could leave here that we could pick up on the way back. Or someone of you could carry them." If noone else moves to take the items, Firali empties the torches out from his backpack. For others to take or to lay on the ground until they do come back. He does not need light after all. If others want the weapon he gives them over.

The matter with the things resolved Firali speaks to Vintr. "I suppose you are right. We learn from our failures as well as from our sucesses, I'll try to do better in the future. Keep alert in case of danger. Firali loads up his sling with a new bullet since he was not able to recover the one he threw at the troglodytes. He takes the shield and sling in the same hand for easy access and dissapear into the darkness. The other hand is ready in case he needs to prepeare a bomb.

[roll0]Perception
[roll1]Stealth

[brakisaurus]

Fort Save: [roll0]

Clos, obviously struggling to control limb spasms and twitches as the styptic does its work, finally beings to look better after a minute or so.

"My thanks. Now, I have a bone to pick with some troglodytes, and I still have to find a birthday present for my brother. Let's keep moving once our scout gets some information."

[Burnheart]

Straightening up and seemingly recovered from whatever lingering weariness he had left over from the fight Svenn nods his agreement to Clos "Lets hope he gets back soon, i'm itching to show these trog's what a dwarf can do" he grin's wolfishly before adding "and we still need to find those missing children or whats left of them"

[Starbin]

Vintr waved away the dagger and torches. "Keep them ... I do not need them. Now, which door should we check first?"

Perception check on floor at both doors to see which one has been more disturbed ... Taking 10 (since we're not in combat) - total 16.

Stealth to scout ahead w/Firali: [roll0]

[oyzar]

Firali looks to Vintr, "Good to have you with me. Let's go north." he thinks a bit then fasten his sling to his belt, still loaded and similarly fasten the shield to his backpack. "Going to need both hands to make bombs."

Using rolls from last post.

[Servbot]

Scout Elves
The scouts move into the northern room! This door opens easily, swinging open with a slight creak. The many shelves lining the walls of this dark room show it may, once, have been a storeroom. Time has destroyed any of its contents, however.

Light pours in through a number of cracks in the northern wall, as has rain water. Large puddles of rainy water line the floor. In the centre of the room is a lizard... The small creature comes rushing towards you! Its tail raises up, sparks of electricity jumping between it and the two horns on the little creature's head.

Sense Motive DC 10
The creature is positively ecstatic to see you!

It's getting rather close now, and you can definitely tell the sparks are increasing in ferocity, jumping left and right... It'll zap you if you get too close!

[Starbin]

Vintr backed away a bit, trying to give the small beast a chance to go through the door. "I cannot tell, but it seems happy to see us ... perhaps it has been trapped and seeks freedom?"

Trying to not engage this thing, but Vintr will defend himself!
Any knowledge skills with DC that would know what this is?

[oyzar]

Firali quickly prepeares and throws a bomb at the creature while shouting out. Another clay pot spoting green flame flies towards the creature. "It's a shocker lizard! And it spotted us, again."
HP: 7/9 AC:17 Conditions: None Bombs left:1
Free Action: Identify Creature
Free Action: Shout
Standard Action: Prepeare and throw bomb
[roll0]Attack vs touch
[roll1]Fire Damage
[roll2]Critical confirm vs touch
[roll3]Critical Fire Damage
[roll4]Misdirection

[Servbot]

Scouts
Firali identifies the creature as a shock lizard! These creatures are known for their tendency to shock nearby creatures. It's completely unable to control these urges.

Both elves also identify the creature as being exceedingly happy to see them, and eager as well! Its advance is halted when Firali bombs it! The explosion catches the lizard completely unaware, which shrieks in shock (har har), scurrying to a far corner of the room the moment it is bombed.

It hisses dangerously!

Your bomb hits, the lizard retreats to the far end of the room, 40ft away from you. It does not look happy any longer.

Round 1

[brakisaurus]

Clos, at the sound of a muffled explosion, warily pokes his head around the corner, eyeballing the room suspiciously.

"Eh? What was that all about? I appreciate the enthusiasm, but it seems counterproductive if you're trying to get better at this sneakin' and scoutin' thing."

[Burnheart]

Svenn dashes round the corner when he hears Firali yelling about lizards and tossing bombs around "Bloody 'ell what's that?" he exclaims upon seeing the hissing lizard "Get back ya blighter" he growls at the lizard as he moves passed Firali & Vintr into the middle of the room.


Double move to enter the room.

AoO if it provokes one
Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

You didn't ask us to roll initiative Servbot so i'm not sure if i need to but incase i do here you go [roll2]

[Starbin]

Vintr sighed, looking at Firali with confusion. He is an edgy one ... Shaking his head, he whispered, "I do not think it was trying to attack, but it is too late now. I do not see an exit from here ... perhaps we should leave it be and check the other room."

I know, I know ... how can we leave free xp just lying around? And think of all the treasures in those barrels and such?

[oyzar]

Firali gets his sling from the belt. He just had one bomb left and who knows how many more encounters there will be? "It would have zapped us if it had come closer. There might be clues in the room, but I don't feel comforable searching the room with the dangerous lizard here". The sling is already loaded so he simply throws the bullet in it at the Lizard.
HP:7/9
Move Action:Draw sling
Standard Action:Throw bullet
Free Action: 5 feet step towards the lizard
[roll0]Attack, assuming the lizard is 40-50 feet away.
[roll1]Damage
[roll2]Critical Confirm
[roll3]Critical Damage

[Servbot]

Firali's bullet sails completely off course, tudding against one of the empty shelves without effect.

As the group surges into the room, the lizard backs down a bit... and a door swings open on the opposite side of the room! Two troglodyte come marching into the room, weapons ready! They come with maces bared in one hand and a javelin in the other. Moments later, said javelins fly through the room towards the party!

Luckily, the aim is unsteady and both javelins miss Vintr, but the troglodytes are ready to fight!

The lizard also seems ready to fight, but it doesn't approach just yet...

Round 2

[oyzar]

Firali moves up to get better Aim at the troglodytes. "Ah well, here goes the last one." Firali says dropping the sling before taking out another clay pot. Chemicals from vials of different colors disapear into the pot. It flies towards the troglodytes moments later.

Move action: move closer by 30 ft, stop if I get to 20 ft away.
Free action: drop sling
Standard Action: Bomb
[roll0] vs touch Ac range modifiers: 20-30ft:-2 30-40ft: -3, 40-60ft:-4
[roll1]damage
5 splash damage to the other troglodyte assuming they are next to each other since they came out of the door together.
[roll2] Critical Confirm
[roll3]critical damage
[roll4] Misdirection if miss

[Burnheart]

"Piss off back to hell ya gits" Svenn yells out as he dashes forward to attack the approaching Troglodytes.

Move into range of the nearest Trog then attack

Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
messed that up, i'll re-rolled herehttp://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15125516&postcount=243
AoO assuming someting provokes one

Attack [roll2]
Damage [roll3]

[Starbin]

Since my actions seemed a little bit off, I'd like to recant and revamp :smallbiggrin:

Seeing Sven and Firali advance towards the troglodytes, Vintr moved forward, standing next to the dwarf as he waited for the trogs to advance.

Move forward (30ft I'm guessing), to stand next to Sven. Ready an attack against the first trog to come w/in range.

If needed - attack (unarmed strike): [roll0], damage: [roll1]

Wow ... how horrible ... nm ...

[brakisaurus]

"Make 'em come to us! No need to run up to them stinkers...they got nothin' else to throw at us. Dash themselves on our hammers like waves on the craggy shoreline of Old Galterburg."

Clos takes up a defensive position just inside the door, ready to cover a retreat for the others.

[Servbot]

The troglodytes rush forward and are upon the group before they can react much. Firali's bomb misses the duo as they approach, singing them slightly. Vintr tries desperately to sway them, but his attack goes wide; So does Clos's, for that matter... and Svenn's!

All AoO's miss, and so does Firali's bomb, but he does 5 damage to both due to splash if I get this right.

The first of them swings its club, handily landing a direct blow in Vintr's face.

3 damage, Vintr!

The second one isn't so lucky, and his strikes don't connect with Svenn at all. The dwarf handily avoids each attack, striking back hard! Well, it would be hard, but he only manages to graze the nimble troglodyte.

Round 3!

[Starbin]

Grunting softly at the blow, Vintr lashed out quick with his left fist, suddently spinning around to catch the beast with the back of his hand. Then, weaving backwards, he kept his hands at the ready, watching his foe ...

Sorry for the delay! Flurry of blows (full round), 5ft step back (free action).
Attack 1: [roll0], Dam 1: [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2], Dam 2: [roll3]

EDIT ... I hate this roller ...

[oyzar]

Firali unties his already loaded sling from his belt and takes a step to the side to get better aim. The elf swings the sling faster and faster around before letting the projectile fly with a whistling sound towards the troglodyte just hit by Vintr. "Damn out of bombs for the day, and I am short on ammo as well. I hope we find the children soon." He gets another bullet from one of the many pouches at his belt and loads the sling.

Free Action: 5 foot step to get line of sight to a troglodyte
Standard Action: Attack the troglodyte just hit by Vintr, As it is 10 feet away from everyone he should not get a penalty. If he would get a penalty he waits with slinging until the rest steps away then let lose. I assume the distance is 30 feet or less.
Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
Critical Confirm [roll2]
Critical Damage [roll3]
Move Action: Reload sling

[Burnheart]

"Agreed lad" Svenn yells in responce to Firali before taking another swing at the Troglodyte that attacked him.

Strike against the Troglodye
Attack roll [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

AoO if one provokes
Attack roll [roll2]
Damage [roll3]

[Servbot]

The group begins fighting back the Troglodytes! While Clos seems momentarily lapsed, the others spring into the fight immediately! Vintr's flurry of attacks lands a solid blow on one of the troglodytes, though it doesn't look by far enough to take it out of the fight.

As it reaches back to retaliate, a carefully aimed stone from Firali's sling causes the attack to completely go awry, and the creature roars in fury.

Svenn and the other troglodyte lock weapons, unable to get a hit in through either's defences.

Round 4!

[oyzar]

Firali gets ready to throw, his sling spinning and says. "Please take a try to keep a bit away from them in between attacks, otherwise I might risk hitting you Vintr." He waits for an opening after Vinter's attacks and then let his stone fly. After tossing the stone he gets another one to get ready for the next gap between the combatants.


Standard Action: Wait for Vintr and svenn to attack then throw at whatever troglodye remains.
Attack:[roll0]
Damage::[roll1]
Critical confirm:[roll2]
Critical Damage::[roll3]
Move action:reload sling.

[Burnheart]

Bellowing several dwarven curses Svenn takes another swing of his hammer at the Troglodyte in front of him, trying to crush its ribcage.

Attack against the Troglodyte
attack [roll0] crit confirmation here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15197043&postcount=262)
damage [roll1] if its a crit the Trog takes 21 damage

[Starbin]

Well, you should never hit one of us, since that's part of the penalty, I think. :smallsmile: Also, I'm guessing Vintr is back in melee with the trog, right? If so, the FoB and 5ft step will work again ...

Vintr steeled himself as the troglodyte missed him, lashing out once more with two rapid kicks. Then he slid backwards, keep his hands up in defense.

Flurry of blows (full)
Att 1: [roll0], Dam 1: [roll1]
Att 2: [roll2], Dam 2: [roll3]
5ft step back

EDIT: Man, my luck on this roller is sooooo horrible.

[Burnheart]

Clos barrels forward and lets out a mighty bellow as he swings his longhammer with all his strength into the face of Troglodyte battling his frail elven companions.

striking the trog fighting Vintr with power attack
attack [roll0]
damage [roll1]