Darkest Dungeon

[metaridley18]

Not too long ago, Hampshire was a peaceful, if remote, town on the outskirts of civilization. The town's militia had their share of skirmishes, fighting off occasional bandit attacks, hungry beasts, and very, very rarely, some rampaging monster. The people lived a simple life, and made their living off the land, relying very little on trade from far off places that most had only dreamed about.

This not-quite-idyllic life came to an end 3 years ago, when a small tremor (barely felt at Brother Harding's small abbey down the road) cracked the foundation at the Broken Brick tavern. A narrow crack in the wall, barely able to fit a halfling, would bring the untimely destruction of their way of life. At first, nothing seemed amiss. The owner, Brick Atherford, disregarded the crack after the first rain, when it became clear that the weathertight nature of the basement was not compromised. But soon, rats began eating at the grain kept in storage by Brick. After a few failed attempts at sealing the breach in the foundation, he commissioned a few spry local lads to follow the crack and exterminate the pests.

The tales of that doomed expedition (to call the mindless wanderings of a few unwary pubescent scoundrels an expedition is quite an aggrandization, but it is ultimately what the townspeople settled upon in later retellings) soon spread as far as Haverbrook on the other side of the realm. Weeks after the teens journeyed into what appeared to be a simple tunnel, Bradley Smith crawled out, weak with hunger, covered in blood, and injured almost beyond the ability to move. The Crack was deeper than any had thought possible, filled with monsters and horrors beyond the reckoning of a group of simple townfolk. The teens had followed the first tunnel, armed with torches, pitchforks, and a few waterskins to find the rats' nest. Soon the tunnel branched and twisted, and the boys became lost, unable to retrace their steps. The rough natural cavework gave way to worked stone, staircases and doorways, and the boys found themselves hunted by kobolds, oozes, and eldritch horrors the children had no names for. For days the boys evaded capture and combat, ever seeking their way up and out.

But alas, it was not to be. One by one, tragedy and traps befell the troupe, until Bradley was the sole survivor. Desperate, hungry, and afraid, he managed to strike a bargain with one of the lesser creatures that inhabited the cave, and received an escort back to town. He recounted this tale to the fascinated townsfolk with a crazed look in his eye and a raspy voice, answering all questions save how he convinced such a fiend to safely return him to town. The price was not known until later that evening, when a weakened and maddened Bradley was seen heading back into the Crack by an apathetic Brick, a bulky sack in tow. The next morning it was discovered that his baby sister Adrianna was missing from their home, and Bradley was never seen again.

Ever since that day, Brick swore he would protect the town and began attempting anew to seal the Crack once more. All attempts to do so failed, each cement cracked, each fortification torn asunder by forces unknown. Calls were sent for adventurers, for spellcasters, for master craftsman to try their hand at sealing the accursed entry into what some believed was Hell itself. All attempts failed. The best that could be accomplished was a limited protection for the town itself, stopping any denizens of the Crack before they left to wreak havoc. Not all attempts at this were successful, and soon the surrounding region looked like a wartorn wasteland, far from the pleasant hamlet that stood here before.

One successful group of intrepid souls bravely ventured into the Crack, trying to seek out the source of its evil. They came back loaded with treasure and magic artifacts looted from the foul creatures within. Their success inspired them, further enticing them to seek greater riches inside the Crack. Those who knew the group said that their journies twisted them, changing them from a brave but happy group to a bitter and twisted party barely distinguishable from the evil they set out to fight. One day, the band set out for another expedition and never returned. After a few months, the treasure they had accumulated was seized by Brick to pay for the ever increasing costs to defend the town.

Stories like this became increasingly common as adventuring group after adventuring group ventured into the crack, finding early success and riches, before ultimately vanishing.

Attempts were made to map the winding and twisting cavern within the Crack, until early floors were well known by the community that had sprung up around liberating this pit of hell. However, 3 years to the day after the fist group of youths ventured into the Crack, a reverberating sound filled the town of Hampshire and the Crack's entry widened, doubling in height and width. Screams of terror were heard from with the entry by the ever-present guards, and all parties within the crack at the time were never seen again. New expeditions found that the well known early levels of the dungeon had shifted and twisted.

Today the Broken Brick looks more like a reversed castle: a squat set of four stone walls surrounding a deep pit with a winding earthwork ramp leading from a heavy iron door at the top down to the infamous Crack itself. Lining the walls are arrow slits, hot oil, caltrops, and stones to hold back invading forces. A constant post of militiamen with bows man the walls. Nearby, merchants, innkeepers, armorers, and weaponsmiths ply their wares to the brave and foolish who venture into the Crack for wealth and reward. None have been able to bring civilization into the Crack, and earlier attempts to build stable posts in its depth met their end with the Shifting.

Still, where there is treasure, there are those who seek it, and where there is evil, there are those to fight it. You are among a new band of 6 foolish souls who will venture into the Crack to seek your reward, and perhaps find the evil behind its horrors, ending the endless torture of the town of Hampshire. You have secured a safe for storage of any treasure that you find (with the understanding that after several months of no contact, any contents will be forfeited to the owner), and a standing room at a local inn. Your preparations have been made.

Your party stands at the entry to the heavy metal door of the Broken Brick, ready to be admitted.

Describe your character, marching order, and any standing preparations you make as you walk into and through the Crack.

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 3x Waterskins | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12
Thriddlepop stood waiting behind the large form of Griff, his upper body bare and the tattoos painted over his chest and shoulders standing out vividly against his pale skin, which refused to tan even after his long trek getting to Hampshire. To all appearances he was staring sightlessly ahead at the iron door that led inside the compound, a look of minor concentration on his face and his fingers twitching at his side. He was busy preparing the ritual spell in his head that would activate his defensive warding, which coincidentally also left him too preoccupied to let his nerves get the better of him.

The previous night he had walked around the walls defending the split in the ground the locals called the "Crack" and then had sent Sirius, his familiar, up above the walls to survey what he'd be facing today. The precautions put in place by those defending the walls had left him worried that they might not make it deep enough into the Crack to complete his mission and confirm his order's suspicions.

As the gates groan open to admit them, he's forced to quicken his steps to keep pace with the taller members of their party, but he focuses on the way ahead and tries to not let the sight of the crossbowmen on the walls or the barricades littering the courtyard unnerve him.

"A moment," he says when they finally step into the the darkness of the crack as he hangs back to let off his spell, placing a magical trigger on the ground behind them that would alert him if anything else passed through it. Then turning and running back to the others, his hand darts into the pouch at his waist and pulls out a dead bug, chanting a few soft words he touches Griff's armor causing it to magically glow and shed light for the blind humans to see by. Nodding at his handywork he takes his previous position following along after the big warrior.

Cast Alarm on the ground at the entrance of the Crack. Which activates his Arcane Ward for the day/long rest and also warns him mentally if something beside one of their party crosses it. (someone else entering the mines following them, or something leaving etc)
Then cast Light on Griff's armor, sheds bright light in a 20ft radius, and dim light 20ft further. (So bright light to 40ft for those with darkvision)

How wide is the tunnel? Can we march two abreast? or is it single file? If it's single file; Thriddlepop will take a position near the middle. If it's two abreast; he'll go behind Griff (Who i assume will be in the front rank)

[Samm]

Griff scratches his beard. He steps forward into the tunnel and motions for the others to follow. He smirks and says, "Don't have all day folks."

Griff walks forward, halberd in hand and splintmail clinking with regularity. With an expression of surprise and a little sarcasm, he thanks Thriddlepop for light up his armour. "Thanks. Well now, everyone can see me."

[Leliel]

Aoth Blackbird

"Aye. But the real question is whether you can remain sighted."

The thin, dark-haired paladin shows no hint of whether or not he is joking. Rather, he seems involved in pacing the nearby edge of the Crack, as if to learn as much as he can about it without actually diving in. Not out of fear; if glint of silver on both his swords is any indication, he's the most eager to slay whatever beasts may be down there.

Currently, he is engaged in securing his supply to his pack dog, a great white mastiff.

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 3x Waterskins | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12The small gnome frowns and scratches at his chest absently while looking around the entrance, "I can put the light on something else if you want?" He wasn't concerned himself, being able to see somewhat in the dark anyway, so if the humans had a better idea for the location of his spell it was no big deal to him to change where he had cast it.

"Did anyone think to bring some chalk or paint?" he asks wiping his clammy hand along the rock wall. "Should the tunnel split it might be a good idea to mark which way we head, in case we need to find our way back out. I have some ink i use for writing, but it's black..."

[Samm]

Griff turns around and shrugs. His luminous scale mail shifting providing interesting lighting pattens on his face and beard. "I think he's saying that we don't want to get separated. As for paint or chalk, I didn't bring any. But I do have a deck of cards and I'm sure we can attach them to the walls with something. Usually though, I don't have too much trouble navigating though."

[Leliel]

...Ah.

Aoth immediately realizes he should have thought of that when requesting his deployment provisions.

Eurgh, this was why he advised a larger detachment to examine the Crack, but no, there were other things in the world apart from one village and its giant monster nest. And of course, he wasn't a commanding officer in the Hospitaliers yet, not at all.

Dang it.

"My swords can probably scratch a design into anything relatively soft, but apart from that, I possess nothing. I submit to any reprimand."

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 3x Waterskins | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12The gnome raises an eyebrow curiously at Aoth's last words, "Yes, well we can hardly berate someone for something we all seem to have overlooked. Hopefully it's not a maze down there and scratching signs into the walls will be sufficient." Though from the tales he'd heard around town, having the chance to return would be an achievement in itself.

[Still_I_Rise]

Lanthar walks alongside his companions silently. They really should have brought some chalk, but now they would all have to make do.

"I might as well move to the front," he says. "I'll do my best to make sure we don't walk into anything unexpected."

[Leliel]

"I will be right beside you. My own capabilities are meant for the vanguard."

The paladin whistles to his pack dog.

"Come along, Tindal. We have the world's largest hole to dig."

[Samm]

Griff smirks. "Don't know about you, but I think the hole is plenty big enough."

[metaridley18]

You each nod to each other, ready to depart. The five of you attempt to walk two abreast into the Crack. The heavy wooden door in the walls of the sturdy keep slam and bar quickly behind the group. You hear a gruff and unceremonious farewell from the guardsman who mans the door. It becomes immediately obvious that marching typically will not work. Griff and Aoth briefly posture about who will lead the group into the Crack, before Aoth takes the lead with Tindal and Griff close behind. Thriddlepop finds his way into the center, with Lanthar trailing behind.

As the group enters and leaves the early dawn light behind them, an oppressive darkness soon lurks at the edge of Thriddlepop's Light spell. Even those with keen eyesight, used to piercing the darkness their whole lives, have trouble seeing beyond the edge of spell into the twisting, windy passage before you. The walls are tightly pressed against the heavily armored vanguard, and Thriddlepop has trouble maneuvering over the uneven floor. A sense of foreboding and evil presses on your very being, and no one deigns to speak. The group of you walk, crawl, and squeeze for over an hour, feeling as if at any moment the earth could suddenly open and swallow you whole, when suddenly it does, with a wide yawning cavern appearing in front of you. The rough and difficult rock that you've been climbing over for the past hour give way to finely carved stonework floors, and the damp, oppressive walls of the passageway break through what once was a carved and decorated hewn stone wall.

It is clear that whatever seismic event brought the Crack to the surface also brought it into this room. Beyond the edges of the cavern is where the Crack ends, and some other place begins. Aoth looks into the roughly finished, dry room, desperately trying to see beyond the edge of the light that weakly penetrates into the large open chamber. He can see that the walls spread far to the left and right, beyond the edges of the illumination, and that the ceiling, too, is beyond his vision. Out in the blackness in front of him, he can see glittering, inhuman eyes peering back at him.

Thriddlepop peers between the 8 legs of the trio in front of him and can make out a little more: a decorated stone archway, freely standing in the center of a very large chamber, absolutely covered in faintly glowing arcane runes. No less than half a dozen lizard like creatures return his stare; holding staves and wearing strange barbed cloaks that barely cover their tattooed, scaled skin.

If something comes up and you aren't going to be able to make the posting deadline, please PM me and we can work something out. I expect at least one post a week from everybody, and would like more if we're waiting on you!

You're standing in the order: Aoth, Tindal, Griff, Thriddlepop, and Lanthar. You've traveled about an hour into the Crack and it's impossible to know the distance without marking it with rope or something similar, but it's been VERY slow going. Thriddlepop, I rolled all the relevant knowledge checks for you on these creatures, and you don't know what they are. You believe the archway has magical runes written on it, but you can't know more about their function without a more detailed investigation.

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 3x Waterskins | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12The small gnome swallows nervously at what he sees then whispers to the others, "Don't make any sudden moves, there are some... creatures here. They might be friendly?" he warns them hoping his guess was right since they hadn't attacked the group even though they were aware of them.

Licking his suddenly dry lips Thriddlepop pushes through the legs of his companions and steps forward a few steps to attempt to speak with the lizards.

(If they don't spring into action when he steps forward...)
Gesturing to his own tattoo's covering his exposed chest and shoulders, he then holds his hands up in to show he was unarmed. "We come exploring. Do you speak this tongue?" he asks in common while watching them to try discern their reaction.

Readied action to take the Dodge Action should they decide to attack.

To try gauge their body language or their answer if they might lie about anything they say.
Insight: [roll0]

[metaridley18]

The creatures chatter at each other quickly in an unfamiliar tongue and begin to dart down away into the darkness to the right.

I rolled initiative for the group in case you want to chase the creatures or incapacitate them (you don't have to, just at your option). Lanthar and Griff, you each get the chance to take a turn (in that order) before the creatures go. You can squeeze past your ally's space for double movement in the tight corridor (so Griff must spend 10' of move before getting out into the open room, and Lanthar needs to spend 5' for Thriddlepop's space, who moved, and 20' to get through Griff and Aoth, so 25' to get into the room.) If Lanthar and Griff don't do anything, the 6 creatures will take their turn and Dash into the darkness, beyond the reach of your Light spell.

[metaridley18]

You all watch as they disappear into the darkness to your right. You're left alone in the empty chamber. Thriddlepop feels uncomfortably exposed in front of the group.

[Leliel]

"...Odd. But non-hostile. Return to the mission, but we should probably have a lookout, if at all possible."

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 3x Waterskins | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12Letting out a breath of relief he'd not realised he'd been holding, Thriddlepop wipes his sweaty palms on his pants and gestures the others forward into the room. "I think they may have been guarding this portal," he says indicating something beyond the range of the light spell. Walking forward himself as he talked the gnome started to inspect the structure carefully a frown creasing his forehead as he wracked his brain for what the symbols meant, making sure not to touch it or attempt to walk through it and hoping those things wouldn't come back to try attack them.

Trying to figure out what the archway does, how it works or any other information he can glean from the runes and it's make.
Arcana: [roll0]
Investigation: [roll1]
Religion: [roll2]
History: [roll3]
Perception: [roll4]

If his initial look yields up nothing and the creatures don't try to attack them, he'll attempt to ritual cast Detect Magic. Which would take 10 minutes to cast.

[Still_I_Rise]

Lanthar steps up behind Thriddlepop silently, keeping an eye on the passage the lizard-thing had disappeared down. Hopefully they hadn't made a mistake, letting the creatures go so easily.

[metaridley18]

Perception isn't going to get you much on the portal itself. I appreciate rolling all possible relevant skills at once so we can move along. As you may have guessed, Arcane gets you nothing, Investigation gets you a little of the following, and History and Religion get you the most. I made one Arcane roll for you, which you passed.

Thriddlepop cautiously begins to approach the archway in the center. As he gets roughly ten feet from the arch, he finds himself stopped by a circle inscribed in the floor. A quick review of the runes that make up its border reveals that this is a standard Magic Circle that somehow manages to function against humanoids, rather than the typical grouping of extraplanar creatures. This would be a very powerful spell if he could find the exact modification. He had never even considered that could be possible.

Determined to ponder this mystery later, he looks around and notices that once he's nearer the center of the room, he can faintly see two large tunnels, enough for side by side marching or a large warhorse, exiting in each of the three walls that make up this square chamber, with the fourth wall unbroken except for the large Crack. Rough carvings and decorations depicting beasts, fiends, celestials, the lizard creatures he saw moments before, and other creatures beyond his immediate knowledge cover every inch of the walls.

He puts his attention back on the archway in the center of the room. His initial glances and deep inspections of the simple stone structure reveal nothing more than he first noticed: it is a crude and simple set of roughly cut stones stacked in an archway, with no regard to its physical construction, but intensely detailed arcane symbols marked all over it. The manner of the construction reveals it is ancient beyond knowledge, but the fact that it is still standing despite its simple structure implies that it is equally magic.

Wracking his brain, he knows no magic that could create something useful out of a focus of this type. Thriddlepop suspects it may be a dimensional or planar travel aid of some kind (after all, who builds an archway to nothing freely standing in the middle of a room if it were not meant to contain a true portal?), but every travel spell he's ever heard of uses a two dimensional circle, some small token of the destination, or no focus at all.

Thinking of stories from his past, he can recall obscure tales of ancient Fey portals, that lead to their hidden homes where time travels differently. He seems to remember that when the gods created the planes, before the dawn of mortalkind, legends speak of a network of doorways that allowed travel between the planes freely. Frustratingly, he now recollects stories of archways that weren't portals at all, but rather arrays of protective wards built at the center of large magical empires.

Unfortunately, all these stories, while informative (and possibly useful down the line), don't give him any immediate practical information, such as what the exact function of this particular archway is, and how to activate it. Furthermore, without a method of dispelling the magic circle, none of the group can approach the archway directly unless they wait and hope the effect has a duration that will soon run out.

Thriddlepop is going to stand thinking for a while to come up with this and then start casting Detect Magic. So his portion will take about 20 minutes, including the ritual. This time passes undisturbed.
What does the rest of the party do in the meantime? If you do nothing but wait, that's fine too, but post something to that effect in the OOC or here if you want to fluff it.

This room is roughly 100' by 100' square, and about 40' tall (so Darkvision can see the whole thing, albeit lightly obscured, from the center of the room.) Two 10' wide by 15' tall open archways dot each of the west, north, and east walls (assuming you entered from the south). The carvings on the wall can be examined in detail if you approach them, although they are so numerous the only way Thriddlepop noticed that they weren't just a rough smoothed stone was his high Perception roll. The scaled creatures ran to the east, but are no longer in sight.

[Samm]

Griff sits near magic near Thriddlepop. While he waits for Thriddlepop to finish examining the room he pulls out his cards and fiddles with some of them. He examines them in the light from his armour.

When Triddlepop is finished he asks, "What's the significance of all this? What's special about the archway? And why would they try to keep people out?"

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 3x Waterskins | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12With a look of uncertainty on his face Thriddlepop looks up at Griff from his study, "It could be a number of reasons; in most cases you'd use a circle such as this (or at least the standard version of it) is to contain whatever you are trying to summon until you can bind it to service. Less often used, but obviously no less effective, is in the protection of something valuable. Keeping the unwanted, in this case us, out. I'd be interested to see if my familiar or that mastiff of Aoth's would be able to pass through unaffected, but i don't want to risk their lives if some other hidden protection is in place."

"I'm not sure what to make of the portal itself, it's old. Really old. It could be, as i first suspected, a doorway to another place. But their are tales that in ancient magical kingdoms, they used a ring of multiple such things, that when activated, would form a massive protective ward around a city." Thriddlepop sighs and shrugs, "I really have no clue, with luck a ritual spell i'm preparing may tell me more. But probably not enough to use this thing."

If they made it out of here alive, he'd have to come back with a crate full of rats and do some tests. For now though he satisfies his curiosity by finding a small pebble or rock and tossing it through the archway to see what would happen.

"What do you make of the murals on the walls?" he asks gesturing to the carved walls of the chamber.

If there is a rock or something laying around that's small enough for him to throw through the portal he'll go ahead and do that, just to make sure the thing wasn't currently active.

[Leliel]

Aoth leans a tiny bit closer, squinting in the relative dimness.

"...I believe there may be. I am just not certain how one of these runes would look in three dimensions."

[Samm]

Grif shurgs. "We do have ranged weapons. A circle against humanoids shouldn't stop them. And if a dog can get in, it should be able to quickly leave through the other side. As for murals, I don't know. Never seen much like it."

I'm assuming that perception can't really help me identify anything.

[metaridley18]

Thriddlepop easily finds a small pebble and throws it through the archway. It passes through the magic circle and the archway proper with no problem. Obviously whatever the archway is, it doesn't activate on inanimate objects; or at least, it is currently inactive.

Perception can't help you identify the meaning behind the murals but could help you look closer if you want more metagame knowledge. Investigation can help you notice fine details or deduce meanings. History could deduce meaning as well, if you want to take the time to examine the carvings.

Detect Magic shows that the arch emanates Strong conjuration and abjuration magic (is strength of aura still a thing in 5E? I honestly don't know.)

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 3x Waterskins | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12 | His Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dRmeYf8dVvgPmh9aG-rqt8S4YsfzzXXurXjrpJhlu6A/edit#gid=0)"Hmmm..." It was as he suspected, his magic confirming it was indeed a portal of some form, and heavily protected if the magic pulsing off it was any indication. Again something he could have guesses from the fact that the stones were still standing despite their obvious age.

Pulling a sheet of paper, ink and quill from his pack he does a brief sketch of the portal and the circle on one sheet, then on another he draws out the first part of a rough map. "I don't think this portal has anything to offer us until we learn how to activate it and get past the warding," he says moving over to stand with the others after picking up the stone that had passed straight through the arch and checking it for any changes.

[Still_I_Rise]

Lanthar shrugs. "We might as well move on then. Shall we follow the creatures, or take one of these tunnels?"

Lanthar's not exactly a leader, I was going to wait for someone else to make a suggestion about how to move on.

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 3x Waterskins | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12 | His Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dRmeYf8dVvgPmh9aG-rqt8S4YsfzzXXurXjrpJhlu6A/edit#gid=0)The little gnome looks up expectantly between the others of the group, then seeing they were all as confused as he was he holds out his map in front of them and points at it in the light of Griff's armor.

"See here; this passage was were those creatures ran off to. Now i'm not sure about you all, but i don't want to push our luck with them. There might be a lot more of them around and we don't want a tribe of lizard things swarming us," he says smiling weakly.

Pointing to the tunnel leading off in the other direction, "Now the opposite direction is where they would expect us to go if they are intelligent enough, so lets not do that. That leaves north!" he says coming to the only option left.

"Shall we?" he gestures for the metal-clad members to lead the way.

[Leliel]

"...I would follow the gnome's advice in this case. Avoid confrontation with the unknown. That is the basic rule of battlefield intelligence."

[Still_I_Rise]

"Ha! I suppose in that case, we might as well have stayed on the surface. But a tunnel it is."

[metaridley18]

The group cautiously re-assembles in their prior order and makes their way towards the two tunnels in the north. Shrugging to each other and picking essentially at random, the group marches down the tunnel directly ahead of them and to the left. The tunnel continues much as the previous chamber did, with even stone floorways and carvings along the walls. Marching for a scant ten minutes, the group approaches what appears to be a large ravine running through the hewn stone passageway, with a rudimentary wooden bridge hastily built across.

This ravine carves its way through the passageway much as the crack did not minutes prior, the walls giving way to empty space in both the left and right. Peering down, Aoth sees that the floor of the ravine falls away from the light on Griff's armor. The only choice to get across is to brave the bridge, as fragile as it seems.

Lanthar, you notice a hulking figure lurking in the shadows ahead, apparently hanging underneath the bridge. It's a scant 50' away from Griff, barely on the edge of the light. Additionally, you all entered the tunnel at 6 AM, on Day 1. It is now 7:40 AM, on Day 1, and you've been marching for 1':10".

[Still_I_Rise]

Lanthar stops and readies his bow, speaking softly.

"There's something under the bridge up there, and it doesn't look pleasant."

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 2x Full Waterskins, 1x 3/4 Full Waterskin | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12 | His Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dRmeYf8dVvgPmh9aG-rqt8S4YsfzzXXurXjrpJhlu6A/edit#gid=0)Thriddlepop glances around the taller members of the group to see what had stopped them, seeing the rickety looking bridge he figures they'll be stopped for a moment to check to make sure it was safe to cross, so he pulls out one his waterskins and takes a a few hearty gulps before stoppering it back up and placing it back in his pack.

He looks up sharply and Lanthar's warning, unclipping the clasp on his component pouch and running through the spells he prepared today. "Is it still alive?" he whispers trying to get a look at whatever it could be.

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 2x Full Waterskins, 1x 3/4 Full Waterskin | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12 | His Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dRmeYf8dVvgPmh9aG-rqt8S4YsfzzXXurXjrpJhlu6A/edit#gid=0) "Troll..." he murmurs softly as the recognition hits him. Quickly he scans his memories for what lore he knew of them, unfortunately it wasn't much. But not much still might save them a horrible fight or having to backtrack.

Placing a restraining hand on Lanthar's forearm, Thriddlepop steps forward again and searching for the words begins to speak in the language of giants. {Oh great Troll!} he calls out. {We seek passage across your bridge.} Then he steps back out of immediate reach of the bridge and waits, whispering quietly to the others, "We might be able to bargain with him, but no fast movements," he warns.

[Leliel]

"Affirmative," the paladin whispers back, holding on to his dog's collar and muzzle as gently as he can.

[metaridley18]

At the edge of your vision, the party sees the hulking figure awkwardly twist itself to clamber onto the bridge. The rough wooden construction strains against the force of its movement as it slowly pulls itself up. It clambers towards the party, stopping about 30' away, sniffing the air strangely. The creature is massive, 8 feet tall and over 40 stone. Its black claws are dripping with a strange fluid and the black locks that adorn its disgusting head are dirty and matted. As it stands at the edge of the pool of light, barely supported by the rickety bridge, the party wonders how the structure can even support its mass.

The troll continues to sniff and finally speaks in guttural Giant: {"Smell not right. No pass here. Strange smells, truth tells."} It chuckles heartily in a sickening tone while looking at the group, as if daring them to attempt to move past it.

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 2x Full Waterskins, 1x 3/4 Full Waterskin | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12 | His Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dRmeYf8dVvgPmh9aG-rqt8S4YsfzzXXurXjrpJhlu6A/edit#gid=0)Thriddlepop swallows and glances nervously towards his companions. He'd only heard tales of trolls before and the stories didn't quite capture their horridness in the full glory he was experiencing now. He looked quickly at the sagging bridge and ran through their options. There was the possibility of them destroying the hold on this side, dropping the brute into the darkness below. But he wasn't sure such a fall would kill it, he'd heard they could grow back severed limbs, whats a few broken bones for a creature like that? Alternatively they could back away slowly, apologize and hope he went back to his spot under the bridge. Either option had them heading back the way they'd came, but the second one meant there would still be a bridge across the ravine and they wouldn't have a vengeful giant troll hunting them through the tunnels.

Taking a deep breath through his mouth, not wanting to catch a whiff of the troll, Thriddlepop gestures for the others to back away into the tunnel while he replies, {"We bow to your wisdom and will leave you to your charge."} Bowing deeply and backing away carefully while trying to keep the troll in his vision should it start towards them.

Should the troll start towards us with a hungry look about him or anything that suggests he might be going to try attack and eat us...
Insight to make that check: [roll0]

Then Thriddlepop will cast Firebolt at this end of the bridge, catching it on fire.

[Samm]

Griff readies his Halberd to attack the troll if it comes within reach. "Well, we got ourselves a situation now."

Ready action to do a standard attack, if troll comes within 10ft of Griff.
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[metaridley18]

The troll continues to wait, obviously unperturbed by the group's aggressive posture. It makes no move either towards the group or away, but its hunched and ready position shows that it has no problem fighting if the situation were to come to that.

The air grows tense for a moment before the party realizes that nothing is going to happen without a more overt challenge for the bridge. A slight draft emanates from the deep ravine, indicating a vast empty space that challenges the claustrophobia of the tight tunnel behind and the narrow bridge ahead.

The troll's gaze begins to wander, with the air of a bored guard waiting for something interesting to happen.

[Leliel]

Aoth, on the other hand, has all the joyful look of a military rearguard who services may be needed very soon, and knows it.

"The other tunnel, then," he mutters as he tries to somehow cover himself with the shield and lead his dog out at the same time.

[metaridley18]

The party pulls themselves back from the situation; long years of experience has told a few of the members that a fight isn't for the best here. The party retreats back to the strange room with an archway and redouble themselves to go back into the breach of this strange environment. They walk into the south tunnel of the eastern wall, a familiar order building strength among the group of strangers that have barely spoken to one another.

A group of mercenaries, of pragmatists, they move forward into the large tunnelway. Walking forward, ever forward, the party goes into a large open chamber. This room, unlike every other area the party has been today is illuminated by a lone lantern dangling on a rope from the ceiling in the center of the cavern. A dim flame provides ample light to see a chamber filled with the tattoo lizard-like beings that were startled away from the archway.

The party pauses, staring at the creatures, waiting for them to make the first move. After a long series of moments it becomes clear that they are frozen in place. Some magic has caused the group of more than a dozen lizard creatures to freeze in place. In the center of the room below the lantern there is an alter with a large bell sitting on the top of it. Thriddlepop uses his incredible knowledge of magic and history but has not seen anything like this before.

Rolled Arcana and History and Religion for Thriddlepop and didn't find anything.

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 2x Full Waterskins, 1x 3/4 Full Waterskin | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12 | His Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dRmeYf8dVvgPmh9aG-rqt8S4YsfzzXXurXjrpJhlu6A/edit#gid=0)Thriddlepop lets out a nervous laugh and relaxes when he realizes the creatures weren't moving. Peering curiously at the bell in the middle of the room he tries to work out what might have happened here, but nothing springs to mind.

Should they get closer? Would the same happen to them? Was the bell the cause or the altar? He didn't know! And that worried him, he really wanted to poke the unmoving lizardmen with a stick, just to test to see if they were real or extremely lifelike statues, but he was worried if he got that close he might be trapped in stasis too.

"What do you make of this?" he asks quietly to the group.

[Still_I_Rise]

"I'm not sure," Lanthar mutters, "but I don't like it. It smells like a trap, or some sort of foul witchcraft... Can't you figure anything out about that bell?"

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 2x Full Waterskins, 1x 3/4 Full Waterskin | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12 | His Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dRmeYf8dVvgPmh9aG-rqt8S4YsfzzXXurXjrpJhlu6A/edit#gid=0)The gnome shrugs, "I could cast a ritual to confirm it's some form of magic, but that would merely confirm what seems rather obvious at the moment," he says gesturing to the room of frozen figures.

"I'm not sure if it's a proximity type effect or a result of one of them using the bell..." he muses as he moves cautiously closer to one of the lizardmen. (If nothing happens) Reaching out carefully he pokes at the frozen figure's legs, checking to see if they were indeed the same living creatures they had encountered before.

[Leliel]

"Wait, what are you-"

"That is not in line! We do not interact with anything affected by unknown spells, soldier!"

Even his tone of voice shows Aoth doesn't actually expect to be listened to.

[metaridley18]

Thriddlepop breaks from formation, distracted by the strange arcane phenomenon. He pokes and prods at the lizard creatures, their flesh pliant and cool to the touch, but ultimately unyielding and frozen. He's lucky, as whatever ails them does not seem to be contagious. As he gets to the center of the room, he sees that the tunnel they marched down continues onward past the frozen lizard beings and into further darkness.

[Foodle]

Thriddlepop, Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=74554) | AC: 13 | HP: 17/17 (Arcane Ward: 9/9) | Water: 2x Full Waterskins, 1x 3/4 Full Waterskin | Food: 8 Days | Weight Carried: 48lb | Sanity: 12 | His Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dRmeYf8dVvgPmh9aG-rqt8S4YsfzzXXurXjrpJhlu6A/edit#gid=0)"Sorry!" Thriddlepop calls back to Aoth. "It seems safe enough though. They're alive-ish, just totally unresponsive," he says as he pokes and prods the creatures. This must be the effect of that bell or some ritual that had been performed. Unless this was the creatures sleep state that is. Curious.

"The tunnel seems to continue also," he points to the other side of the room.

[Still_I_Rise]

"Well, might we as not take a closer look at this bell, then?" Lanthar asks, stepping forward himself to do just that. Still cautious not to touch it, or particularly to ring it, he tries to see what he can about it nonetheless.

Investigation [roll0]

[Samm]

"Haven't seen this before...", Griff mutters. He too examines the bell.

Investigation: [roll]1d20+1[roll]... Botched it. I'll roll it OOC