Walgrove (Dnd 5e)

[Krazyskooter]

Attention
In the name of Saint Cuthbert, through his loyal deciples, your presence has been requested at the entrance of Rattlebones Cavern.
You are to be prepared, as you have been instructed, to demonstrate your skills in combat. You are now ordered to put youthful ways aside and claim your place as a citizen of Walgrove.

As you well know, there was a time when Walgrove let down its guard. We had become lazy and foolish in our belief that we were safe. When the Undead armies struck many of our ancestors lost their lives. Many children, women, and men were slain without raising one hand in defense. Walgrove will never again see it's sons and daughters stand defenseless against an undead horde.

From birth you have been taught the skills that will earn you a place in our fair village. Some of you were taught the art of Blacksmithing, others are masterful tailors, and many of you will carry on the tradition of your mothers and fathers by tending our orchards or mining the precious metals from our great mountain, but all of you have been trained to defend our lands from foreign invaders.

Every citizen of Walgrove has stood where you will stand at the entrance to Rattlebone cavern and pledged their lives to the defence of our home. Those of you who cannot complete the trials will find employment within our towns sanitation brigade until the day comes that you can fulfill your duty and complete the trial.
May the wisdom and common sense of Saint Cuthbert Guide you.

~Signed ~ Billet Eddan, Aalard the Star, & Voltaries Thakum

[XianTheCoder]

So it's finally time... the trials... Darvin steps back into the little building that he uses as his workshop, closes the door, and places the letter down on the table, atop several random gadgets that he'd cast aside. Pacing nervously he ponders his situation, My control has gotten better, I'm sure I can keep myself from blowing everything up. Although what if my raw combat abilities aren't enough and I'm forced to rely on my gift? Do I possess THAT much control? And what would everyone think if they knew? With a sigh, Darvin sits down in the only chair in the small room, a room that suddenly begins to feel even smaller. Realizing that time is passing, and he accomplishes nothing more by sitting there, Darvin stands, approaches the mirror, and begins to prepare himself fir the trials, wanting to look his best. When he is ready, Darvin picks up his pack of equipment walks out of his tiny workshop.

Heading down towards the cavern entrance, Darvin calms his mind and prepares himself for the trials that await.

Arriving at the cave, Darvin finishes settling his nerves and speaks softly to himself, This is your moment, everything will be fine. Darvin will wait until there is an no one approaching the stage, before taking his first step forward. Letting momentum take him, Darvin slowly takes one step after another until he's standing in front of the assembled villagers. Turning to face them, Darvin clears his throat before speaking in a loud voice, "DARVIN EVENWOOD, APPRENTICE IN THE ARTIFICING ARTS. I'M HERE TO PROVE MY WORTH TO MY HOME AND MY BRETHREN." Satisfied with his performance, Darvin takes a couple steps to retrieve his amulet, and proceeds to the cavern entrance.

[SouthpawSoldier]

Vincent glowered at the letter Lyn had delivered while contemplatively sharpening his arrows and blades.

No matter how much he expressed indifference to being considered an adult by these rubes' standards, no matter his doubts at their "acceptance", she would not leave it alone. It wasn't until her threat of withholding books and writing supplies that he finally acquiesced.

Maybe his demonstrated skill would make them grateful; most were probably unaware of the various bullywugs, kobolds, and such he'd eliminated over the last few years. He doubted it though. The only reason he wasn't considered yet another monster of the wilds was his non-aggression and solitude.

[Picasso007]

((OOC: The first part of this is from the POV of her contact. Also, as per my suggestion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18710522&postcount=6), rather than using character-specific colors, Walgrove's dialect is black, and Elvish is green. I'll edit the colors if we decide not to use that suggestion.))

Merric Greenbottle looked out the door of his shop, frowning and tapping his bare foot impatiently. Behind him, journeymen and apprentices worked quietly, doing their best not to draw the master leatherworker's notice, and thus ire. Luckily for them, his intended targets soon came into view down the lane. A weary-looking mule pulled a laden cart, with a pair of figures riding along -- the larger one a grey-haired human man, the smaller one a dark-haired elven girl.

"Where have you two been? I expected you back almost an hour ago!"

The old man, Simeon, cringed reflexively, looking embarrassed. He was a grizzled old journeyman--and had been for decades--but Merric knew he was usually reliable, if a bit dim. Both of them looked over at Simeon's companion, whom Merric was sure was the cause of the delay. Bryn Moonbrook was bright and ambitious, and would probably be a master in her own right someday, but to say that she didn't always think things through all the way would be understating things greatly.

"Bryn? I sent you and Simeon to pick up a load of hides an hour and a half ago. What took you so long?"

"She started haggling over every single hide, sir," Simeon said, sheepishly.

"You WHAT?"

Bryn looked up from the back of the cart, where she was digging through the stack of hides. "You should see some of the junk they tried to pass off to us! Paying four silvers apiece for some of those would have been outright robbery!"

"And how many hides did we wind up paying *more* than four silvers for, then?"

She had the decency to look a little sheepish, at least. "A few..."

"So, how much did your haggling save us, then?"

She perked up, proudly. "Twenty-three silver, sir!"

Merric began rubbing his temples, both to stave off the headache and to buy himself a moment. If that many really had been sub-par, he might need to go have a word with the butchers' guild. Still, that wasn't the sort of thing for an apprentice to determine. "You delayed my delivery and tied up my best journeyman for an hour, holding up the work of the entire shop, over twenty-three silver?!?!"

"Err..."

"Look, Bryn, I know I've explained this to you before, but let me try it again and hopefully it will stick this time. We buy all their hides at a set price because if we don't, they'll realize that they could sell the best ones in the city for three times as much! And besides, even if this batch isn't as good, there are loads when we come out far ahead. All haggling like that does is waste time, and no amount of money in the world can buy more of that!"

"...Sorry, sir."

"And furthermore, it's not your place to even be doing that haggling! It's mine!" He sighed, forcing his voice back down to a normal tone. "Saint Cuthbert help me, girl, you're a fine worker, but you have to think if you're going to have your own shop someday. That is, if you don't wind up shoveling dung for the next three years..."

"You mean..."

"A rather important-looking letter came for you while you were out doing business." He held up the letter, making sure the official-looking seal was where she could see it. She scrambled down from the back of the cart with a rolled bundle under one arm, ran over, and reached for it, but he pulled it back with a flick of his fingers. "What is that?" He asked, using the rolled letter as a pointer to indicate the bundle.

"Oh, umm, just a few skins for a project I had in mind..?"

His eyes narrowed. "And did those come out of the twenty-three silver you saved us?"

Her green eyes widened, the picture of innocence. "No, sir! Of course not! I bought them with my own money!"

He sighed -- He would get the full story from Simeon later. "Very well." He offered the letter out, and she snapped it from his hand in a blink.

"Hah! It's the summons! May I go, sir?"

"Yes, yes. You're dismissed. But if they ask why you're late, you will tell them exactly why, yes?"

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!" She bent down and threw her arms around him, dropping her skins in the dirt and almost knocking him over in surprise. "Oops! Sorry. Oh, no! My skins!" She snatched them up, dusted them off as best she could, then tucked them under her arm again and ran off down the path. Merric just shook his head, before waving to the apprentices to get the cart unloaded and everyone back to work.



Bryn raced along the path, her skirt flying in the breeze. As much as she loved the smell of new leather, the smell of leather-making was downright odious, and the shop had been politely been positioned downwind and well outside the town proper for the sake of everyone's noses. Still, almost eight years as an apprentice had given her plenty of time to find the fastest routes, and within a few hurried minutes, she was clattering in the door of her home.

"Mom! Mom! It came! I've been summoned!"

"Yes, dear one, I know," her mother said, not looking up from the tome she was studying. "They came here almost over an hour ago, and I directed them out to the shop. What took so long?"

"Oh, umm, I was running an errand for Master Greenbottle. We kind of got, umm, delayed..."

"Ah. And what are those?"

"Oh, umm, some skins. For a project."

"You know what I've said about untanned hides in the house, dear one."

"Yes, Mother."

After stashing her skins in the shed behind the house, she ran to her room, shucked out of her work clothes in moments, and began pulling on her armor. She'd drawn the leather armor from the town's stores as soon as she had been permitted to, and had spent the past couple years tweaking and adjusting it for the best fit possible. It was far from perfect work, but it let her move properly and quietly, unlike the clunky, ill-fitting gear many of the town's militia donned once a week for drills and then dumped in a pile when they got home. Tucked away in her desk was an ever-growing pile of notes and sketches for the custom set she'd make for herself someday, but Master Greenbottle would never allow her to do something that complex as an apprentice, even as her journeyman project. But that was a concern for another day.

Her weapons went on next -- daggers on her leg and the small of her back, shortswords in their paired sheathes on each hip. She grabbed her pack and pulled it on, snugged the straps tight, then bounced in place a couple times to make sure everything was settled where it should be. Once she was satisfied, she hurried downstairs and ran to give her mother a kiss before leaving.

"Ugh! Sorry, dear one, but you smell like a tanning vat. Even skeletons with no noses will know you're coming. Stand there a moment." Her mother waved a hand at her and said a quick word of power, and Bryn felt a shivver run down her from head to toe. Her mother sniffed experimentally. "Much better! Now, give me that kiss and be off. And good luck!"


With a kiss and a wave, Bryn ran out the door and off towards the cavern.

[Creed]

The crowd gives Marcus a wide-berth as he approaches the cave, at more of a stagger than would be expected for someone who is about to face a life-defining test. The dark circles under the young man's eyes made it clear to any that dare make eye contact with him that he hadn't bothered to be "well-rested" for the "test" that lie before him. He has his crossbow resting against his chainmail-clad shoulder, a quiver of bolts on his hip, next to a knife that looked more ceremonial than practical and the broken hilt of a longsword, a "good-luck charm" as he had described it. Over his back he wears his greatsword, sharpened the day before. This was beneath him, and the worst part, everyone else knew it was too. And yet here he was, still compelled to accomplish this outdated coming of age ceremony as if he was some miner's son who had spent the last 22 years with coal on his face.

"Alright, alright, get out of the way," Marcus grumbled at farmers blocking his path, shoving past and approaching the front of the crowd, glancing around at the others who carry weapons, those who, he assumes, will also enter the cavern.

[SouthpawSoldier]

Vince nervously approached the group of youths. Hopefully, no one would try to start a conversation; in and out, and be released back to his swamp. The threat of being kept in town and made to shovel dung was paltry compared to the discomfort of the crowd. Thankfully, his size and his countenance were enough to quell most attempts at conversation. Most of the troublemakers were more concerned with the upcoming trial than proving themselves by picking a fight with him.

Using his height to his advantage, he scanned the crowd for Lyn. He didn't want his reputation as a misanthrope disproved by their friendship being public, but having a familiar face near would be soothing.

[Kynwric]

Adrick Ironfist had awoken that morning knowing it would be the day for his testing. He'd been assailed by Brother Gerbert about giving up his fool quest to avenge his parents and joining the clergy of St. Cuthbert, he'd rebuffed the latest attempt a bit more gruffly than before, knowing he'd soon be free to pursue his quest. All he had to do was make it through the upcoming test.

The night before he'd checked his gear thoroughly. Cleaning armor, axe and crossbow to make sure all were in working order. He had also sharpened axe and bolts to a razor's edge. He'd checked the seams on his clothes, polished his boots and oiled the other leather in his kit. He was as ready for this test as he could be, and he still found it silly. Still, it was what had to be done to accomplish his goals, and so it would be.

Now the time for preparation had passed and he girded on his armor and arms and adventuring kit and made his way through the town to Rattlebone Cavern, where all the other youths ready to face this trial had gathered. He made his way to the front, his axe resting over his shoulder and his shield resting with the point on the ground. He knew there would be a blessing, and he didn't mind it, but he really wanted to get on with this test. He spared a glance at the others gathered for it, but they didn't seem any more eager than he did for the coming day.

[DeltaII]

Lynelle Fireseeker readied herself for the trial only after she emerged from the swamp. This is his chance. He'll prove to himself and to Walgrove that he can fit in here. Lyn had no doubt the trial would go well. She only hoped that Vince would see things the way she did. Which, unfortunately, was not the most common occurrence.


Lyn donned her armor, ensuring her holy symbol remained visible above the mail. She checked the blade on her axe before affixing it to her hip. She slung a pack containing a few days worth of supplies across her back, and then took a few practice swings with her warhammer. Lyn placed the hammer in position on the side of her pack, slipped her shield over her right arm, and left the temple for the cavern.


Upon arriving at the cavern, Lynelle joined up with the group that was to be tested. She forced away a smile upon locating Vince. You don't know him, Lyn. He's just that crazy half-orc the bards sing about. Still, she was glad he at least decided to come.

[ncpunkin]

Lorilla yawned as she sat near the gate to the trails, Why didn't I sleep in?. Her pack sat beside her as she contemplated going to sleep right here, but she looked over to see the Leaders of the village and her own mentor standing several feet away, Should have slept in. She thought again, before fiddling with her wand and other effects for the hundredth time.

She was sure she was ready, but it never hurt to make sure. Eventually others started to show up, but she was more interested now in creating the perfect blue jay for this other blue jay to sing to. Sadly she was unable to create the song back so she whistled from the ground. "Lucky..." She said as she had her illusion fly behind the bird as it took to the air. The two birds flew beside each other, before one would start to fade and eventually vanish once it got to her maximum range.

If something doesn't happen soon I'm gonna take a nap. Her mind carelessly wandered as she watched the blue jay fly further into the sky and disappear, fading and disappearing as an illusion. "Breakfast!" She said and began to pull out a pre-made biscuit, some jam and peanut spread. Her eyes going up to the tall figures near the gates as more and more citizens turned out for the trail.

The little rock gnome eat contently as she filled the tree with blue jays and waited on the trail to begin.

[DeltaII]

Well, here goes nothing. Though she had long waited for this day, Lynelle couldn't help but feel nervous. While she knew, or at least knew of, all of the candidates, she had never needed to work with them before. I'm sure they're all capable. They have to be. There are seven of us. Most of us have been training for years. This shouldn't be difficult at all. Having convinced herself, she watched the first candidate make his oath.

After Darvin finished, Lyn marched up to the stage and faced the gathered crowd. "I am Lynelle Fireseeker, and I have trained to be a cleric of Saint Cuthbert. It is my duty to protect the citizens of Walgrove, and today, I shall prove myself capable of that task." After her brief missive, the dwarf retrieved a healing amulet and made her way to the cavern entrance.

[Krazyskooter]

Voltaries Thakum watches as the group of youths walk up to the stage one by one and makes their pledge. He gives each of them a nod of acknowledgement, places the enchanted necklace around their necks and walks them to the gated cavern entrance, the required silence from each leader deafening to the crowd who also holds their tongues. No citizen of Walgrove would speak until the last initiate finished their trial successfully or failed and was sent to the sanitation brigade's barracks.

He looked at all the necklaces in the crowd, each one held a small enchantment, some would grant a small surge of healing that would close minor wounds others would tingle and itch the skin if undead were near, the rarest necklaces though could send a short message once every two weeks to someone else who carried a necklace that had been synchronized with it. Those were usually reserved for members of the Walgrove trade caravans to be used in case of an emergency. Only the initiates knew which enchantment their necklace held.

[SouthpawSoldier]

His confidence bolstered after seeing Lyn, Vince stomps up to the stage. Fingering the eloquent speech written in his pocket, he instead opts to continue his charade.

Struggling to speak around his tusks, he rumbles "I am Half-Tooth. I fought. I will fight." He glares at the crowd, daring anyone to expect verbosity from him. Thankful for the required silence during his oath, he turns to the triumvirate, reaching for a detection token.

[ncpunkin]

Lorilla eventually makes it to the stage and stands up proudly, "I am Lorilla Mika Sparklegem Chillbreeze and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to defend Walgrove!" She would turn around and start owwing and awwing over the necklaces. Snatching one up out of the group, "This one." She would look up at Celadan with a moment of seriousness as it was the one tied to his necklace, "Thank you Elders for you tutelage." She moved to the entrance of the cavern, I get to see some of Celadan's work now , she thought to herself and looked up at the other two who had accepted their tokens.

[Creed]

Marcus steps up to the platform next.

"Marcus Jones, reporting as is required," he says loudly, before taking a necklace of detection from the chest. He gives the assembled a crowd a sarcastic bow, then heads into the cave.


EDIT:((Since its dark inside...))

Marcus takes a knee inside the cave, shrugging his pack off to pull out a tinderbox and torch. Within a few seconds, the torch is aflame. He looks to the others assembled inside and shrugs,

"Sorry, my eyes don't glow in the dark," he says with a smirk, looking at everyone else.

[DeltaII]

"We're to wait until everyone is inside before we advance, but perhaps we should begin working out what order we should move in." Lyn's voice was barely above a whisper. "Did anyone receive a detection amulet? Is anything close yet?"

[SouthpawSoldier]

As Vince shoulders his way through the narrow opening, he feels the amulet react. He immediately draws his weapons and scans the room. "Close". Skirting the edge of the room to avoid the stench of Marcus' torch, he peers his head around the corner to look down the narrow passage, trying to avoid being silhouetted by the light.

[Picasso007]

Bryn hurried down the road to the cavern, glad that, on her mother's advice, she had removed most of the food she had initially packed. A break in the trees gave her a glimpse of the crowd ahead, and she slowed so that she wouldn't be obviously out of breath when she arrived. "Wow, there are a lot more people than I expected here to see us off. Mom made it sound like no one ever bothered to come..." Just then, her thoughts were interrupted when a huge half-orc stomped across the stage, grunted something semi-coherent, grabbed a necklace, and stomped off to stand next to the others. "Woah!" she thought. There's a half-orc in this town? He's HUGE! This is going to be much more interesting than I expected.".

Some god of humor must have been orchestrating the proceedings, or maybe St. Cuthbert was just in a joking mood, because the next one on the stage was Lorilla, who looked absolutely tiny trailing after the massive half-orc. Bryn slowly began making her way forward as Lorilla gave her declaration, and then Marcus's brusque declaration drew everyone's attention long enough for her to reach the front. "Well, I suppose that Marcus hung over is better than Marcus drunk, for this..." She sidled in next to Adrick, who was waiting in his gleaming armor, and did her best to give off an air of "I've been here the whole time!". As Marcus vacated the stage, she took the opportunity to slip past Adrick and hop up onto the stage herself.

"My name is Bryn Moonbrook! I pledge myself to the support of Walgrove and its people!" She fought back the impish urge to make an off-color joke or shout praise for Corellon Larethian (just to get a rise out of Aalard, mind you), but instead spun neatly on her heel and muttered a "very sorry for being late" to the elders. After taking a second to remind herself not to try palming a second pendant, she grabbed a messenger pendant, gave a flourished bow to the elders and crowd, and bounced off the stage after the others.

[XianTheCoder]

Darvin draws his Light Crossbow and loads a bolt into it. So who wants to lead the way? With no melee weapon, Darvin is seemingly in no position to take up the lead.

[Creed]

Darvin draws his Light Crossbow and loads a bolt into it. So who wants to lead the way? With no melee weapon, Darvin is seemingly in no position to take up the lead.

Marcus slings his own crossbow over his shoulder, and steps forward, brandishing his torch.

"Alright, I've got places to be, things to do, lets get this over with," he says, stepping past Vince once the half-orc has had a chance to check out the hallway with his darkvision, then advancing forward.

[DeltaII]

Lynelle looks around the room at her companions. Adrick isn't here yet. And it appears we'll meet the enemy before he arrives. No one else here looks like they have the armor to be out front...except me. The dwarf readies her warhammer and falls in alongside Marcus. (If there's room, if not, she's behind him.) She too peers down the corridor, looking for silhouettes of the undead. (Perception roll in OOC thread.)

[ncpunkin]

Lorilla would walk into the dark cave, "Ewww it stinks..." She said, before moving to join the Half-orc at the corner, Aww this is to perfect...uggh trails...not a good time. She resisted the urge to create a illusion and instead asked, "Any sight of the undead, big guy?" Her eagerness showing with her posture as she stood ready her wand drawn as she tried to look fearsome.

[SouthpawSoldier]

Sighing inwardly, Vince surreptitiously shares a look with Lyn, grunting "These idiots are going to get us killed" before uttering a simple "Close, but no see" to the butterfly flitting by him. Glancing around, hoping the rest of the team is taking this seriously, he sheathes his blades and draws his bow, nocking an arrow. If the human and the dwarf want to take the hits, so be it. He stalks slightly down the hallway, following the wall so he can see and shoot past the human and over the dwarf. At least those two were drawing all the attention, of the team and threats alike.

[ncpunkin]

Lorilla would sit down where she was at and start to draw on the ground with some chalk. While she drew on the ground, she wouldn't really paying attention to any of the others who would look at her. Finally, She would finish by opening her spellbook and chanting a little as the weave whipped around her. Then just like that she stood up ready to go, a hue of teal over her eyes as she looked up at everyone's glowing necks.

"Worth a shot?" She said and smiled.

Detect Magic as a ritual - 10 mins and 6 seconds
I can see magical items/auras for 10 minutes. I should have done this sooner, sorry XD

[Kynwric]

Adrick waited until all the others had entered the cave and then looked around for the last amulet available, taking it he slung it around his neck and smirked at all the adults, "Back in a bit, got to make sure the rest of them don't forget the way. You know protecting the people of Walgrove and all that."

When he ducks into the cave and sees things already in motion he sets his face in neutral and works his way past everyone to near the front of the party, just beside Lynelle and allowing Marcus to lead with his torch. "No need to rush off, I was just saying m'goodbyes to the priests and such. They're always so happy and yet so sad when the young go off into this cave." He had his Axe in one hand and his shield in the other, with his crossbow slung across his back. "So, let's find us some ghosts and go back home so we can get on with the rest of our lives."

[Creed]

Marcus leads with his torch in his left hand, reaching back to his greatsword with the other, as he leads the group into the larger cavern.

[XianTheCoder]

Darvin raises an eyebrow at Marcus, Well.. better him than me... Once the first few people start down the path, Darvin will fall in behind them, paying attention to the surroundings and cautiously watching for an ambush.

[Krazyskooter]

The light from your torch shimmers off the walls of the cave as you walk into the larger cavern, as you look around you see that there's a purple glow pulsing out of the top of a staff that has been propped against the cavern wall to your right. There's also the sound of water coming from a vast chasm to your left. The stench of rot and mildew permeates the air and a cold breeze blows against you.

[Creed]

"Someone want to grab that? Might come in handy," Marcus says quietly, nodding to the staff. He takes a few careful steps towards the edge of the chasm, and kicks a rock over the side, listening to try to see how far down the pit goes.



Mayhaps an Intelligence check?

[roll0]

[Picasso007]

"Hey everyone!" Bryn says, as she ducks in the cavern entrance. "Sorry I'm late, Master Greenbottle had me on an errand, and we got delayed coming back. Oh, hey! Darvin? Good to see you! Where've you been hiding? I like the new look! Hey, Lorilla! Oops, you're casting, never mind..." Turning, she sees the others advancing into the first cavern, and calls quietly. "Hey guys, Lorilla's working on a ritual! Mind sitting tight for a few minutes?"

[XianTheCoder]

Darvin nods at Bryn as she enters, and shrugs at her question before following Marcus down the tunnel. Seeing the staff, Darvin is in no rush to run and grab it without knowing what it does and why it's there. This place is a test, and one of those tests could be how impetuous they are, so Darvin waits for one of the "casters" to determine it's known properties. He'll continue to watch for ambushes or things of interest while Marcus tests the depths to the water.

[ncpunkin]

Lorilla would hop up after finishing her ritual and smile up at Bryn, "Thank you. I didn't see you in the crowd....I ate your biscuit." She would smile as they walked further into the cave. Her eyes adjusted with the auras around their necks. Her eyes would lock on the staff, before moving to join likely group of other casters interested in the staff. She would test it momentarily trying to determine if it was magical and what properties it had.

[roll0]

[SouthpawSoldier]

Vince glances around as he notices the ambient violent light fading.

"Wha'ssat? Where light?" Scanning the darker room and counting heads, he notices their group has been reduced by one; "Where shorty-talky?" Turning towards where he last saw her, he notices the spider that wasn't here a moment ago. A logical supposition that she somehow changed into the spider, though he's not sure how; magic isn't really his forte.

Tucking away his arrow and slinging the bow over his shoulder, he approaches the spider. Crouching a few feet from the spider and waving his hand slowly; "You still unner'tan me?"

[XianTheCoder]

At the sight of the transformation Darvin immediately crouches, draws his crossbow, and aims hit at the spider. Unclear what happened and whether the Spider is a threat or still Lorilla, Darcin holds his crossbow aimed and at the ready, waiting to see what happens.

[ncpunkin]

Lorilla would blink with all eight eyes or the spider variation thereof. She started to laugh inside, "Brilliant, Now I can walk on walls." she looked up at the large creature and tried to not bare her fangs in a smile. She looked around momentarily and shrugged as many different thoughts entered her head. "Best not to cause them to go crazy." She lifted one leg and copied the gesture verbatim with him. She copied it with two legs, laid on her side and rolled over kicking all eight legs in the air straight and sending them out flat. She waited until they all stood down or shoot a defenseless spider on the ground. Either one could happen she knew, but she hoped the others would get her acting.

[Picasso007]

Bryn trails along behind Lorilla as she finishs up her ritual and approaches the glowing staff. "Hey, Rill? I don't know if you should touch-"

Too late.

She watches with growing horror as Lorilla's form changes, becoming rounder, darker, her face and limbs morphing and extra legs sprouting from her sides. In moments, one of her best friends transforms before her eyes into a giant, black, disgusting, spider.

She stands there for a few moments, dumbfounded and slackjawed, as her brain attempts to process what just happened. Something about the sight of the giant half-orc bending over to talk to it and it waving its legs in response snaps her out of her brief fugue, and she springs into action!

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH! GROOOOOSSSSSS! GETITAWAYGETITAWAYGETITAWAYGETITAWAYGETITAWAY!!!!" She dashes forward, catching up with Marcus and the two dwarves, grabs whichever one is closest at hand (though probably one of the dwarves), and spins them around, ducking behind them for cover from the giant Lorilla-spider. "Oh gods giant spider Lorilla's a spider oh gods..."

[Creed]

Marcus tosses his torch on the ground on the edge of the chasm, serving as a marker so no one walks off the edge, before turning and facing his spider-fied companion.

"Well this is new and exciting," he mutters, "Certainly wasn't in the brochure, at least. Maybe this will be harder than we thought."

He then takes a knee and shrugs off his pack, cutting 20 feet of rope from his 50 foot coil with his dagger, and then withdrawing his hammer and a piton from the pack. About a foot away from the edge of the chasm, he starts driving the stake into the ground, before tying a loop in the rope and hooking it over the stake, giving it a few tugs to make sure it is secure and hammering the piton a few more times for good measure. He then sets the rope next to the piton, and stands.

"So, you guys think the stick is safe to touch now? I need something to check the depth of the water down there," he says, as he sets down his pack and crossbow, preferring to repel with as little gear as possible weighing him down.

[Kynwric]

Adrick hears the screaming of Bryn and begins to turn around to see what could possibly be wrong and is instead grabbed by the arm and nearly spun to the ground as Bryn ducks behind him. "Lorilla is a what?" He asks trying to get his sight to adjust to the change in brightness and then comes to the realization about what Bryn was screaming about. He hefted his axe and shield for a moment, before realizing the Giant Spider was submitting itself to them. "Don't shoot or attack, it's still Lorilla." Then he turned his head over his shoulder to Bryn, "You can come out now lass, I dont think the spider will eat you. It is, after all, Lorilla."

[DeltaII]

Lynelle stares, somewhat shocked, Lorilla morphs into a spider. "That was...eventful. I...don't think I can fix that. Yet."

She turns her attention to Marcus. "The staff is gone; it was an illusion of some sort. Anyone got something heavy they don't mind getting soaked? We could tie it to the end of my rope and use that to gauge the depth."

[Creed]

Lynelle stares, somewhat shocked, Lorilla morphs into a spider. "That was...eventful. I...don't think I can fix that. Yet."

She turns her attention to Marcus. "The staff is gone; it was an illusion of some sort. Anyone got something heavy they don't mind getting soaked? We could tie it to the end of my rope and use that to gauge the depth."

"I'll just use my blade, the water doesn't sound very deep, but I'd rather know if I'm going up to my knees or up to my chest before I drop in," Marcus says, stepping back to his pack and taking out another piton and his hammer.

"Don't suppose any of you have any sort of light magic? Hard to repel with a torch in one hand, and it'll give me something to do while you figure out a solution to our spider problem," he says, picking up the 20 feet of rope and tying it about his waist.

[DeltaII]

"One moment." Lynelle concentrates for a bit, then lays a hand on Marcus' shoulder. A bright light emanates from him. "I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner."

Cast Light on Marcus.

[ncpunkin]

Lorilla would skitter towards the edge and tilt here eyes over as the others were doing what they were doing. I wonder how long this lasts? Her thoughts continued as she looked up at her companions. She moved to a wall and tried putting her legs against it slowly. Slowly now slowly... Her tiny bristles dug into the wall's rough texture, "ooo I'm sticky..." She pulled herself up the wall and skittered along it a few times, before doing a few more sharp maneuvers.

Getting used to her spider-legs she moved down the wall and skittered to the edge. Waited a few seconds to see if the transformation showed any signs of fading and simply placed four of her front feet over the ledge. After she moved downward and began to run down towards the bottom of the chasm. "Weeeeeeeee" She thought as she slowed her speed, before turning to skitter towards the rope.

She traveled down the length of the rope and moved to get a better view of the ground the others were repealing to. Spider-Lorilla would tread along the chasm wall, scanning with her eyes in attempts to spot any threats.

[roll0]

[Creed]

KS informed me of a few things via PM, which I'll relay to you guys now.


As Marcus descends, the piton holding the rope pops out of the ground, and with a cry, he drops downward. You don't hear a splash, however, and a few seconds later Marcus comes walking from the direction of the entrance of the cave, carrying his rope and looking very confused.

"I'm not 100 percent on what just happened, I fell, and then the water just went... poof. And I hit the ground back there," he says, jerking a thumb at the entrance.

[XianTheCoder]

Realizing that the obstacle before them is intellectual and not combative, Darvin puts his crossbow away and walks the perimeter of the cave, looking for any other paths or openings.


What other options exist? Can the cave be climbed? Any other interesting features?

[Picasso007]

After a few minutes, Bryn slowly gets her breathing under control, and decides that her breakfast is going to stay down. She vaguely notices Marcus climb down towards the water, though her interest is caught fully when he falls--and fails to hit the water. She creeps to the edge of the chasm and looks down towards the chasm, afraid to see Marcus's fate (and deliberately doing her best to NOT pay too much attention to Spider-Rilla skittering along the wall), but then whirls around when he comes back down from the entrance.

"Oh, thank the gods, a puzzle to solve," she thinks to herself, happy to have something else to focus on. "Okay, so if we can't get out via the water..."

((OOC: At this point, I'm assuming there aren't any obvious entrances to the cavern room that we're in besides the one we entered through. I'll edit if there are.))
Rising, Bryn begins looking around the cavern for any obvious exits. Not seeing any besides the main entrance, she stops and thinks, then notices Marcus's torch, still guttering on the edge of the chasm. Idly, she watches the flame flicker in the cool breeze flowing through the room. "Wait, a breeze?"

"Hey, guys? Where is this breeze coming from?" She watches the flame for a moment further, then focuses on feeling the air moving past her, trying to determine if the air isn't moving the way it should be.

Assuming that the air seems to be moving oddly given the visible cavern, I'm rolling Investigation to determine the source of the breeze. If the air is moving normally (e.g. the wind's obviously coming in from the entrance), Bryn will start searching for hidden doorways instead.
[roll0]

[SouthpawSoldier]

"Know better trick" Vince grunts. He oils, then wets the fletching of one of his arrows with his water bag, and lights it from the torch. Now instead of watching a sputtering flame, he has a thin, solid stream of smoke to watch. "Learn from burn incense. Smoke bend for crack".

This is an actual method we use to check for air leaks in structures, to ensure energy efficiency. Not incense, but specialized smoke sticks. Solid, vertical smoke means no air stream, and it will break or bend in the direction of the current.

Investigation : [roll0]

OOC Edit: So, instead of a solid stream of smoke, I'm getting a cloud that reeks of the stench of burnt feather. These rolls are REALLY helping me play the role of a dumb brute, aren't they?

[Krazyskooter]

The smoke rises off the top of the arrow and is immediately sucked towards the chasm. Flowing along the walls as it crosses to the other side.

[ncpunkin]

Would turn to watch as she heard a splash. The spider-Rilla tilted her head to the side as she heard the splash 'uh-oh' Her eyes stayed there, but what shocked her was no come up or bubbles. She scurried to the water that came up to the cave wall. She stayed near the water a moment, then shrugged, 'I'm a spider...time to do spider stuff.'

She moved along the wall traversing it as long as it took to come up on the underside of the ledge. She chose a random spot to pop her eyes over the top of the ledge. Trying to make out anything or anyone with her new perspective.

I'm gonna spider climb around and roll a stealth check.
[roll0] Stealth Check
[roll1] Perception Check

[Krazyskooter]

The first thing you see is a faint purple glow emanating from around a curve in the cavern wall to your left, then you hear it. The creak of an old wooden house, followed by a quick rattle as the skeleton looks down at you from the right side of the room. He inspects you for a moment and then turns to walk into the adjoining cavern. Looking back to the purple light you can make out a placard with stone jutting out from beneath.

[Picasso007]

Bryn raises an eye at the half-orc's suggestion, but quickly starts coughing in the cloud of feather-smoke. "Well, it was a good thought..." She steps back, waving a hand in front of her face, then looks around the room.

"If we had a way of getting a rope across..."

Suddenly, Spider-Rilla skitters across the wall to the other side and around a corner. Bryn closes her eyes, counts to ten, then, once her breathing is back under control...

"Hey, Lorilla! If we give you one end of a rope, can you carry it across for us?"

Without waiting for Lorilla's reply, she turns back towards the rest of the group. "We all brought rope, right? We need to tie some longer lengths. If we can anchor a couple ropes, one low, one high, that makes a bridge we can cross with. Umm, someone might need to climb over to the other side on the wall, though, to anchor the ropes on that side. Unless Lorilla can tie off the ropes." She pauses, shudders briefly. "I'm going to see if I can find somewhere to anchor them."

She frees her own coil of rope and drops it in the middle of the group, then starts searching for an anchor point or two.

Rolling Intelligence(Investigation): [roll0]

[Krazyskooter]

Bryn raises an eye at the half-orc's suggestion, but quickly starts coughing in the cloud of feather-smoke. "Well, it was a good thought..." She steps back, waving a hand in front of her face, then looks around the room.

"If we had a way of getting a rope across..."

Suddenly, Spider-Rilla skitters across the wall to the other side and around a corner. Bryn closes her eyes, counts to ten, then, once her breathing is back under control...

"Hey, Lorilla! If we give you one end of a rope, can you carry it across for us?"

Without waiting for Lorilla's reply, she turns back towards the rest of the group. "We all brought rope, right? We need to tie some longer lengths. If we can anchor a couple ropes, one low, one high, that makes a bridge we can cross with. Umm, someone might need to climb over to the other side on the wall, though, to anchor the ropes on that side. Unless Lorilla can tie off the ropes." She pauses, shudders briefly. "I'm going to see if I can find somewhere to anchor them."

She frees her own coil of rope and drops it in the middle of the group, then starts searching for an anchor point or two.

Rolling Intelligence(Investigation): [roll0]

Give me a survival check rather than an investigation.

[Picasso007]

Give me a survival check rather than an investigation.

Sure thing. Wisdom(Survival): [roll0]

[Krazyskooter]

You're confident you could tie the rope off to one of the stalagmites nearby.

[DeltaII]

Lyn ties her rope onto the end of Bryn's. "The two together are too long, but we can wrap the extra length around the anchor for some extra stability."

[SouthpawSoldier]

Vince eyes the ropes; "I'm heavy. Ropes break. Plan for me? More ropes? Braid together?"

[Creed]

Marcus sizes Vince up, then looks out over the chasm,

"We could each take another length of rope across with us as we go, then you'd have several to support your weight instead of just the one," he says, taking his rope off of his pack.

[ncpunkin]

Spider-rilla came back across the chasm and sat low on her legs, before jumping to get used to that movement. She seemed to be playing, but as soon as one of her companions offered a rope, she would stand high and grip it in her mandibles. Then she would start to wrap some very thick structure support silk around the foot mark from the end. Once it was a nice thick gooey ball. She took off, trying not to let it hit the ground. Soon she was running fast along the horizontal wall.

Where to tie it...Where to tie it.



Looking for a double stalagmite feature that would support 500 lbs+

[roll0]

[Krazyskooter]

Lorilla, as you cross over, you once again see a purple glow pulsing inside a curve in the wall. You see stalagmites and stalactites around this purple glow and a metallic sheen coming off what seems to be a rectangle placard. You don't see any danger as the skeleton from earlier has wondered off.

[ncpunkin]

Lorilla curses slightly as the twin structure she was looking for was so close to the glow. Her eyes remained alert for danger, but she did more trying to hide along in the darkness. Once she made it to the stalagmites she scurried to the top of the structure, circled the rope around the pillar and jumped to the next. What would commence would be a winding in a figure-8, of ten-to-fifteen of rope, between the two pillars. The cross point being compacted into the sticky ball. Then, she webbed the entire structure in a figure-8 for stability. Finally, she webbed the structure to the cave wall with the same kind of sticky thick web that formed the support of the cross, which would serve as support for her heavier friends. Once she was done she jumped on the center point to make sure it didn't fall.

If nothing happened she would run back across the rope to the other side.

Breathing heavily and sitting down, her eyes looked up at the group in exasperation, "Again?" She asked in an incoherent series of clicks, clacks and creepy noises.

[roll0]

[Krazyskooter]

As you go around the corner to the stalagmites you notice one is glowing purple. Give me an acrobatics check to make sure you don't accid. Touch one as you are anchoring them.

[ncpunkin]

Spider-rilla attempts to skip around the stalagmite that seems to be covered in the dangerous glow.
[roll0]

[SouthpawSoldier]

Spider-rilla attempts to skip around the stalagmite that seems to be covered in the dangerous acid.
[roll0]

Pretty sure that was an autocorrect for "accidently", since no INT roll to recognize acid.

Vince whips out his notepad, doing calculations to determine the amount of rope needed to support him.

(Will add roll when I get back to laptop).

[Krazyskooter]

Ok, so you guys have now built a sturdy rope bridge spanning the chasm. (Sturdy enough to hold all of your weights)

[Picasso007]

Bryn finishes tying off the first rope, then turns back to see Vince working out sums on a scrap of paper. "Huh. More to him than he lets on..." Before she can say anything, someone tosses her the end of another coil of rope and she ties that one off as well.

"All set!" she says triumphantly, then looks around at the others as no one makes a move to cross.

"Okay, well, I can go first, then..."

Suiting actions to words, she steps onto the bottom rope, grabs the top rope, and begins making her way across the chasm.

((OOC: Lemme know if I need to roll anything.))

[DeltaII]

(OOC: Assuming no roll is necessary to cross. If one is I'll edit accordingly.)

Following Bryn's lead, Lyn steps onto the ropes, pausing a moment to shift her weight onto them. She carefully but confidently makes her way across the chasm, meeting up with Bryn on the other side.

"That was a good idea. Good thinking!"