Age of Worms, Pathfinder Edition IC

[hpboy111]

It is late in the evening. At the perfumed arcade known as the Emporium, Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff rubs shoulders with common laborers, awaiting an appointment in the veiled corridor. In an adjoining antechamber, snakes and exotic dancers gyre to a sonorous weave of cymbals and seductive pipes. A floor below, a gaggle of grasping miners presses against the windowed door of a darkened cell, impatient for a glimpse at a two-headed calf.

Out in the street, a gang of rowdies screams obscenities at a crumpled halfing, kicking it as if scrambling for a ball. Their drunken laughter echoes off shuttered windows and bolted doors.

In a tower flanked fortress across the shadowy square, filthy men with nothing to lose shout hymns to St. Cuthbert, clutching to their idealism and principles like cornered animals. Their wild eyed chief minister smiles as he draws a cat-o-nine-tails across his bare back, awash in their adulation and the spirit of his god.

But this, is all just another night in Diamond Lake. Tonight, something far more interesting and abnormal is taking place. You have found yourself traveling north through the foothills rather than being safely away in your room or hard at work in the mines below. Tonight, you received a curious little invitation asking you to come to an old mining office about an hours journey to the north of town. Alongside the invitation was a small but detailed map of the surrounding hills as well as a clearly marked destination. The invitation says that you and several others are going to be given an opportunity that few in town are likely to ever have. What that opportunity is, remains frustratingly vague.

For whatever reason, whether you are curious, hopeful, or simply bored, you have decided to see this out.

Upon reaching your destination you found an old, run down building, about 30 ft. by 40 ft. and two stories tall, although the second story has long since collapsed, leaving only a single corner still standing. The wood creaks with each light breeze although the first floor does at least looks stable.

Within, the office lies in shambles. The lower floor is separated into four rooms, one large open office, 2 smaller office spaces, and small washroom, albeit, without the wash part. In the main room what few pieces of furniture still lie intact have been arranged in a small circle next to a large pile of back packs and bedrolls. When you arrive, a gnome that you recognize as Tidwoad, the owner of the safest building in town, the Jeweler's, motions for you to take a seat. He waits patiently, asking that any questions you may have be held until the rest of the group arrives.

Once the circle of six chairs have all been filled Tidwoad beams a devilish smile at you all and claps his hands together eagerly. Hello to all of you. So glad you could make it. Now, who here is interested in making some cash and putting this dump of a town back on the map?

[AvatarVecna]

[roll0]

If the gnome seems trustworthy, Jack says "How would you propose we do that, sir?". If the gnome seems to be pulling a fast one somehow, Jack remains silent.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

A dusty wanderer smelling like pine needles and gravel sits atop a four-legged chair missing its fourth leg in the meeting circle. There are more decent seating and complete chairs to choose from, but this man clearly chose to sit right there, perched on the tripodal seat as though he belongs on it. His dark hair and short, scraggly beard aren’t quite matted with filth, but strands of grass and leaves hang onto him as though his skin were just as nurturing as real dirt. A small, festively-colored spider crawls across the rugged backpack on his shoulders, apparently busy touching up a fresh web between his sling pouch and a thong of empty flasks. The backpack itself looks to be a hand-me-down from some forgotten army’s supply line, now repurposed into travelling gear. Surely the bag is older than he is, by the look of it.

He is leaning forward with interest as the gnome speaks, his quarterstaff held aloft. At the tip it, a point of simple magical light glows softly, helping to guide the steps and eyes of the occupants of the room. At the gnome’s question, he does not immediately respond, remaining thoughtfully silent.

Grigori has cast Light on his quarterstaff before coming to the meeting place.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair Farrow

A short, svelte woman wrapped in a hooded and slightly worn leather coat, her face mostly covered by a grey-white scarf slips into the room just slightly after everyone else. The cloak is, to put it mildly, distinctive, looking for all the world like a nobleman's coat that someone had added a half dozen discreet pockets and a bandolier to, but had taken the time to carefully remove the sleeves of. She moves to sit in one of the more complete chairs, and gingerly eases herself onto it, and almost seems to settle in before she glances at an empty corner of the room and flinches noticeably.

Clair's eyes, the only real part of her body that is immediately visible under her scarf, dart about the room wildly, dwelling most often on any visible weapons, windows, and the empty corner that seemed to terrify her so much earlier. Her hand shaking almost imperceptibly, her hand wanders down to some, previously unnoticed pocket and pulls out a flask, which she uncorks with practiced ease. It smells, or at least its contents smell, rather strongly of alcohol.

Her free hand pulls down her scarf, revealing her mouth long enough for her to take a swig of whatever is in her flask, before quickly pulling it back up.

"I'll never argue with more gold" she says, with almost a hint of bitterness, back underneath her scarf. She seems slightly calmer now with the alcohol in her system.


PROBABLY UNNECESSARY - Clair has come expecting an ambush, and has knives squirreled away all over her body. Her lucky knives are hidden in her pocketed scarf (at Sleight of Hand [roll0] and [roll1] (11= 7 Sleight of Hand + 4 Bonus from Pocketed Scarf + .5 Hidden Blade) and there are 8 other daggers, knives, switchblades and other small sharp implements scattered throughout the pockets of her armor and outfit. (At [roll2], [roll3], [roll4], [roll5], [roll6], [roll7], and [roll8] (9 = 7 Sleight of Hand + 2 Bonus from Pickpocket's Outfit + .5 from Hidden Blade))

POSSIBLY NECESSARY - Clair has some experience with deeply shady dealings, and so, possibly rightly, suspects Tilwoad of something. She, too, will make a Sense Motive check, focusing on figuring out if he is working for Smenk or is somehow out to harm her.
Sense Motive: [roll9]

[Springjack]

Kuramesh stood near the table in stony silence, preferring to remain on his feet rather than take a chair. The half orc was...an immediately noticeable presence; large, powerfully built and with a wild thicket of hair as white as snow, though grimy with dirt and mine dust. He was silent, save for a low, ominous rumble that escaped his throat every time he exhaled, along with a thin line of mist.

The large man's eyes, piercing and predatory, swept around the room, glancing over each other person before boring into Tidwoad as the gnome started making noise with his mouth. Why...Kuramesh...you want? he inquired, pointing at his chest. The bloodrager was curious to know what the little humanoid wanted with him, for he had enough self-awareness to understand that his talents lay mostly in the realm of destruction.

[hpboy111]

He seems eager and honest.

Well, I'm glad you ask Jack. Tidwoad grins, obviously excited at the prospect of whatever it is he is about to say. Now, I know a fair few of you haven't been around town very long, and those of you have aren't likely to be too familiar with the history of Diamond Lake. As such, I'd like to start with a short story.

Tidwoad clasps his hands together in a dramatic fashion while resting his elbows on his knees. He leans in and begins, in an unnecessarily dramatic voice to tell his tale.

Once upon a time, Diamond Lake was more than just a ****hole. It was a well known ****hole. It was once a center of cultural exchange. A place for the buying and selling of interesting artifacts and relics from ages long past. These hills are filled with old ruins, burial grounds, cairns and more. Adventurers from the Free City used to come here regularly to plumb their depths and expose their secrets. It was a glorious time to be a merchant.
Unfortunately, I was not around at that time and did not have the opportunity to capitalize on the economic boom.

Today, that's all gone. The ruins have all been thoroughly scoured and not a single interesting thing remains. Soon as adventurers stopped pulling oddities out of the ground, people lost interest in the town. Tourists stopped coming. Explorers stopped coming. It sucked. Still sucks. But, not for long.

Tidwoad reaches for one of the backpacks, one lying at the feet of chair, and carefully removes an old scroll of parchment which he even more carefully unrolls.

Now, everyone except our twitchy little friend here, he motions to Claire, was around last week when the constables raided the old Cartographers Guild building and imprisoned those halflings that were squatting there. During the raid, one of the deputies decided to liberate a few of the old records. He came to me hoping I'd be able to tell him they'd be worth anything. I looked em over, and found this. He sets the parchment down lightly in the center of the circle of chairs. It appears to be a map of Diamond Lake and the land surrounding it. Tidwoad points to section of the map. It's an old map, quite detailed, and it has the location of every abandoned structure, ruin, and tunnel in these hills marked. I compared it to other records and it holds strong. It's a good map. BUT, there's one location marked on it that doesn't show up on any other map. Here.

He's pointing to small small symbol that looks like a cave entrance, it is labeled "Whispering Cairn".

That got me wondering. So I bought the map off him and did a bit field research, and I discovered a tunnel at the location marked on this map. A completely untraversed ruin. One that never made the headlines and never got found back in the day. This is a chance to make history by plundering some history and getting it out into the world.

Now, the important bit, why you 5? Well big guy, that's simple. I decided to find a group of people with complimentary skills who could theoretically take on this new Cairn. Just as important though, I did a bit of research. None have a particular liking for the big wigs in town, so I figure there are no chances of any of you reporting what I tell you to anyone who can act on it.

As to why I picked you specifically big guy. Well, you're big. I hear you're quite handy with a pick. And there's bound to be something down there animate or not that needs smashin. I figure you are just the person for the job.

He looks at each of you in turn and then says, Thoughts?

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The magical light of the druid's quarterstaff clearly illuminates the gingerly-unrolled map in front of Tidwoad. He squints at the well-marked parchment, orienting himself to North as he knew it and moving across from known landmarks to other points of interest.

"I will go." he says, willing to be a part of this unexpected expedition. An unexpedidition? "What do you know about the Whispering Cairn?"

I'd like to make a Knowledge (Geography) roll to help a closer examination of this map. Grigori is curious to know who made the map. He will look in the corners for identifying marks, codes or serial numbers, or perhaps personal notes marked around particular ruins, all of which he should be able to see without the roll, the roll is just to help this action if necessary. I would also like to know what is the next nearest thing to the Whispering Cairn. Another ruin, or an old mine, or a forest, whatever.

[roll0]

[hpboy111]

The map's edges are frayed with age. The corners hold no maker marks serial numbers or other identifying marks. The next closest marked structure is about 2 miles to the southwest of the Whispering Cairn, about a mile and a half north west of Diamond Lake. It is labeled Stirgenest Cairn.

Not much unfortunately. I only got this map a couple days ago. I scouted out the entrance just to confirm it was there, and it certainly is. The entrance is partially collapsed and covered in underbrush. It's about a 10 minute walk east of here.

[Springjack]

It was hard to tell just how much of Tidwoad's story Kuramesh had understood, or even cared about, but after a minute of rumbly breathing, the half orc nodded curtly with a grunt. The gnome offered gold; more gold, more food. The gnome spoke of fighting; the possibility of a hunt stirred Kuramesh's blood. Mine work was enough to expend some energy, but the half orc felt restless in the recent days.

I...follow. Blood calls to...cairn. Kuramesh solidified his assent. He clenched and unclenched his hands, sending a ripple of energy through his arm muscles each time

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The dirtman smiles oddly. "The soil and earth won't be an issue."

It is not too shocking that the gnome knew little of the history of this forgotten cairn. He considers for a moment that there wasn't much in the way of a library or a center of learning in this reeking miner's armpit of a town. Any historical or occult records would've moved on when the adventurers dried up! And yet Tidwoad remained among them, didn't he? He wondered how long the gnome had been searching for something like this... Had some feeling drawn him to keep looking for that twinkling diamond hidden under miner's squat and plundered ruins?

His eyes return to the map once more. Due to its age, there was an important modern aspect missing from the map that could be troublesome. During his tutelage, and even back as a young farmboy, Grigori had become painfully familiar with mortal concepts of land ownership. Dotted lines on a map conveyed far more power than the ability to make a pretty shape, and too often had an endangered species or a small Duke's feudal pride led to loss of life. It was so hard to think of the wellbeing of the land when one was thinking about leeching money from it. The druid brings up the issue of borders now. "Who owns the land the Cairn is in, Mr. Tidwoad? Certainly not yourself."

[AvatarVecna]

Jack remains silent in his seat, thinking things over...an arduous task, to say the least; anyone knowing the man knows that he is more suited to direct conflict than critical thinking. Still, after mulling it over, something worth mentioning occurs to him: "If, as you say, this town dried up once the tombs were all plundered, what difference will one undiscovered tomb make? The five of us will investigate it, find a few artifacts, and that will be the end of it. Unless this cairn proves to be far more massive than your map would indicate, or if its absence from the records turns out to be more due to malice and deceit than to ignorance, it will hardly warrant enough outside attention to 'put Diamond Lake back on the map', as you put it." He lapses into silence briefly, before speaking once more. "I don't mean to imply that this venture wouldn't be personally profitable, but I just don't see how one new find will help the town. The best it could do in my eyes is briefly grab the attention of the kind of people who like to plunder old ruins, and even that would just result in more of the same problems that we had from the first wave of adventurers." The armored priest falls silent once more, waiting for a response.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair lets out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Just a job. A clean, legal job. Cuthbert if there hadn't been one of those in a while. Adventurer, after all, was far more respectable than wandering scoundrel. The drifter finally pulled her eyes away from the (still exceedingly empty) corner, focusing instead on Tilwoad.

Fix Diamond Lake? Clair made an almost inaudible sound of disgust. Even if it brought the adventurers back, it wouldn't much fix the numerous problems the town had. As far as Clair was concerned, the best way to fix the town would involve the judicious application of a torch.

"I hate to ask more questions, but everyone seems to have forgotten the realistic half of this enterprise. Obviously, you're looking for a cut of the gold. How much of what we get can we keep?" Clair asked, punctuating the statement with another sip from her flask.

[Piousknyte]

The small, furry shadow huddled in the corner shifts its weight and squeaks a bit in agreement. "Yes, what will we be getting for money?" The ratfolk in the corner clutches a doll close to itself, whispering to it now and then, eyeing each of the people in the room in turn.

[hpboy111]

"That's one on board, Tidwoad says with a smile. Regarding other concerns, we'll start with the ownership question. Funnily enough, nobody. Most of the mines are directly under the town or the land immediately surrounding it. 3 miles out, way up here, we don't have to worry about contracts and ownership. It's free plunder."

The smile is replaced by a determined frown as he turns to the next issue. "You are quite right Jack. One new tomb will hardly cause a new economic boom. BUT, it will raise interest. If one fresh tomb can be found, who knows how many others could still be hidden? With a bit of luck and some clever advertising, I'm sure that we can draw the adventurous crowd back and the can help provide a much needed stimulant to the economy here. Yes, a lot of the underlying issues will still be there, but it gives people a chance to start fighting back. With access to more money and resources the smaller businesses will be able to better compete. I won't pretend that this will change the town over night, or even over a month, but it can set the wheels turning. That's half the reason I'm here today."

"The other half," he turns to Claire, is the potential personal gain. Yes, I will be wanting a cut for bringing you all in on this. I run a shop in town, and wares for that shop are what I'm looking for. I want you to give me first pick on all gems, jewelry, and precious metals that you happen to find in there. If you find none at all, then I'll ask for a cut of the total profits. I'll pay you a fair price for what you find, 50-75% what I estimate them to be worth. Varying based on how impressive the piece is. I'll even help you find buyers for everything else. You all get an even share of raw cash and profits, and anything magical gets passed out to the person most likely to put it to good use. I hope this sounds reasonable to everyone?" He asks as he turns back to the group as a whole.

[AvatarVecna]

"Progress for the sake of progress," Jack mused. "Optimistic, to say the least. Still...you have a point. An unknown cave popping up could convince people others remain to be found, as long as the news of the find was spread far and wide...and the find was substantial enough to draw in adventurers." The discussion of profits and percentages seems to go over his head, but Jack seems to understand the gist of the terms. "Seems a fair enough deal to me. I will sign up for this venture as well."

[Piousknyte]

The ratfolk holds the doll up to her ear, nods, and then addresses the gnome. "Shadow wants to know if there are undead in the tomb."

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Grigori's magical light casts foreboding shadows across the room as he sits back in his three-legged chair. The thing threatens to collapse underneath him, but he continues to perch on it, practically daring it to bust.

"The terms sound reasonable to me, and I agree to them. For the purposes of the contract, I am Grigori, a Druid."

[hpboy111]

"I do not know, my furry little friend. I haven't gone in, merely peered from the entrance. Any other questions I can help you with?

[Piousknyte]

"No, we're good. You can count me in on this one."

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair paused for a moment, and, from what little of her face was visible, appeared to be doing some brief mental math.

"Now, if I'm not much mistaken, most grave goods are jewelry, right? Which puts a good bit of the resulting profit going to you. If I'm going to be risking my neck somewhere, I'd like to get paid well for it. And if there's nothing in the tomb, which may well be the case, I'd prefer to be compensated for my time. I'm not asking for much, but fully exploring an ancient crypt must be, what, a two-day affair? Three day? A sellsword would charge how much for that time, something like five gold coins a day? Seven? I think it's very reasonable to ask for something upfront, shall we say, 15 gold? Which is maybe, uh,"

Clair pauses for a moment, quickly doing sums in her head.

"Seventy-five for all of us together. That's not even the price of one piece of cairn jewelry, and it's a more than reasonable retainer. I don't mean to push for money, as the deal you've given us is quite good, I'd just like a bit of security if my neck is on the line,"

Clair almost seems apologetic, but, with all the fabric and leather, it's hard to tell. That could just as well be wary.

"With that satisfied, you can count me in."


Diplomacy: [roll0]

EDIT - Welp, rolls in the OOC thread

[hpboy111]

"Generally speaking you are right." Tidwoad lets out a small sigh. I can agree to compensating you for your time should you find nothing at all. 15 gold a person is acceptable. That means, everyone is up for the challenge."

The gnome hops to his feet and motions to the pile of bedrolls and backpacks. "I have here some bedrolls and enough food for you all for the weekend. This old office is pretty worn down but it's functional, out of the way, close to the Cairn, and," He looks Jack squarely in the eye, "not owned. I figured you could use this as a sort of base of operations, that way you aren't hiking back and forth from town each time you visit the Cairn. You can come back when you find something interesting or need some supplies. It's Friday. I figure you can be gone the weekend without batting an eye, and if you aren't done by the time Monday rolls around then you can either wait till next weekend to continue, or venture in the evenings when you aren't busy."

"I plan on staying here the night so that I'm not walking back to town while it's dark. I encourage you all to do the same. Tomorrow morning I'll show you to the entrance and then I'll get back to the shop."

He grabs one of the smaller bedrolls and begins to unfurl it off near a corner. Any other questions?

[Springjack]

Kuramesh would be fine sleeping here and exploring the ruins on his own time. He had a tendency to wander off once in a while, but he'd always come back, and didnt cause trouble unless provoked, so the other miners didnt question it. And Balabar, technically his "owner", tended to give the half-orc a wide berth; as long as Kuramesh brought in the goods, the obese mine owner was satisfied.

The large man went around the table, examining each of the other adventurers in turn. There were two kinds of people in Kuramesh's world: "prey" and "not prey". There was a third category, "friend", though that was an extremely small category at the moment.

Once Kuramesh was "acquainted" with everyone in his own way, he nodded in satisfaction. "Not prey."

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The skinny wild-man certainly takes notice as Kuramesh makes his rounds. He gets the feeling this was rather like a male sizing up other members of the pack. He had seen something very similar among the gnolls. He had happened to stand around the same time, and met the look without attempting to match it or put up any aggression. Just a returned look. You see me. I see you.

He addresses the assembled group in Common. "Fresh water this evening, for any who need a refill from the trip." Following a brief chant and a trickling motion made with his dirt-soiled fingers, water is conjured from the air, slithering into any container that the party might offer up to be filled. Grigori guides a stream of it into his own waterskin.

This done, he quietly moves outside, preferring to sleep under the stars. He plans on meditating out there to change how he'll call upon nature, considering the plans for adventure the next day!

I'll memorize new spells before the 'morning' IC post, based on what we plan on doing. I know we'll be traveling to an old Cairn, that has a closed-up entrance, and that it is likely there will be danger. Subterranean creatures perhaps, maybe even undead.

[Piousknyte]

Skyzich would slink out of the place if conversation seemed to be ceasing for the night, murmuring about finding a place to sleep, and would return at first light, assuming she's not disturbed in any way.

[hpboy111]

With everyone settling down for the night, Tidwoad curls up in his bedroll and drifts off.

The night is cool and relaxing, appropriate for early autumn. A light breeze drifts softly through the foothills, rustling leaves on the occasional tree and causing the old boards of the mining office to creak quietly. The night passes without incident.

The following morning, Tidwoad rises around 7:00 and sets out food from within the backpacks. A simple affair, barely better than trail rations, but filling enough to get you through the day ahead.

Once all of the casters have their spells prepared and everyone has eaten their fill, Tidwoad claps his hands together and says, "Alright everyone. We're going this way." He points east and takes off at a brisk walk.

It takes about 12 minutes following Tidwoad's lead to arrive at your destination. He motions you over to a particularly dense patch of underbrush and begins pulling some of it aside, revealing an arch carved out of the hillside. The top of the arch is ruined, and about a third of it is filled with collapsed dirt and stone. It doesn't look like it will impede entrance into the Cairn.

"Here you have it. I wish you all the best of luck." He smiles and motions to the tomb.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

In the morning, Grigori comes back inside, picking out nuts from the offered rations and a few chunks of an unidentifiable dried fruit that tastes rather like his own toenails. As the party ventures forth, the dirtman takes up a position near the rear of the group. In his hands is a small, leather-bound notebook and a charcoal pencil. His scribbling is interrupted by the occasional misstep into a gopher-hole or trip over a rock; clearly his Druid feet haven't kicked in yet to the point where he can traverse any landscape easily and without a trace. He does pause during the trip as they near their destination to withdraw three sling stones from a pouch. After rubbing away a bit of moss that had managed to get in among them, he casts a brief spell onto them, and places them in their own pouch at his belt.

At the entrance, the notebook is returned to his military pack as Grigori looks over the foreboding entrance. He moves forward, his eyes not on the stone arch but on the ground and the debris itself. He seeks tracks, footsteps, or any sign of passage over the pile and into the space within. What beings frequented this area? He also looks up to the top of the entrance, wondering if he might spy bits of bat fur there or other signs that flying creatures travel in or out of the ruined place.

Grigori is maintaining his own personal basic map of the area, indicating the Whispering Cairn with the codeword WC.

He casts Magic Stone on three of his sling bullets as they reach the arch.

Once there, he uses Survival to make an inspection of the entrance to the arch.

[roll0]

[hpboy111]

The ground around the entrance is much like the ground anywhere else in the hills. However, your keen eye and understanding of the movements of creatures allows you to identify several softly made paw prints. It would seem that a small pack of wolves has crossed the threshold recently and likely still remains inside. Perhaps they use the Cairn as a den?

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The druid, having knelt to take a closer look at the prints in the dirt, stands up to address the group.

"There are wolf tracks here. Some are recent, and the animals may still be within the Cairn. It's possible that they're using the place as a den." He wrinkles his face a little, wishing he could be more certain. He was glad it wasn't a great hunting cat at least, or worse. "They will fight fiercely if we corner them inside, and they may already smell or hear us if they are not too deep." He looks down at the tracks once more, then back up. "I saw no other recent tracks leading through this entrance."

I rolled decently well, but that doesn't mean there aren't other tracks, or flying things inside.

DM: How wide is the entrance? Is there any interesting terrain in the immediate area outside the entrance, like within 40 feet or so?

[Springjack]

Kuramesh had a backpack full of rations, torches and other simple survival tools slung over one shoulder and a thick coil of rope with grappling hook wrapped diagonally across his torso. Strapped to his back was what looked to be a war hammer of ponderous proportions, perfect for pulverizing rocks and skulls in equal measure. The earthbreaker had its fill of mine dust recently; perhaps it would finally taste blood and battle again?

The half orc stood gazing into the cairn's entrance, ignoring the others around him, seemingly transfixed by something in the distance. Upon hearing Grigori speak of wild animals, he slowly and deliberately pulled the earthbreaker off his back, hefting it around in his hands before laying the head to rest on his shoulder.

"If wolf fight...then wolf...is prey." Kuramesh very simply stated his opinion on the matter. Hunting was for food and for defense. Hunger was not an issue right now, so Kuramesh was content not to provoke fights. But if the wolves bared their fangs first, then Kuramesh would respond in kind, for nature demanded it. Strength was survival.

[Piousknyte]

Skyzich is lagging behind the group a bit, casting furtive glances behind the group as well as ahead of them, a sack slung over her shoulder and the doll tucked in her office rope belt.

Skyzich destroyed her zombie thrall last night, not wanting to risk the party discovering the extent of her power over the undead just yet.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair spent the evening curled up somewhere on the floor of the ruined office, kept warm by her jacket. It may not have been something she was particularly proud of, but she had spent the night in worse places. Not many, but there have been worse. As she stood, shaking off the sleep, her back audibly popped.

Blearily, Clair rooted through the dozens of small hiding places scattered around her body, checking if everything was still accounted for, making sure knives ended up where they were supposed to. Occasionally, she would fish one out, inspect it, attempt to polish it with her sleeve, and return it to its hiding place. Tilwoad's offer of food came midway through her pre-job checkup, and Clair barely acknowledged the meal, even while wolfing it down between knife-checks.

During the walk to the cairn, Clair falls into the heart of the group, keeping relatively quiet, seemingly sizing up the rest of the party, occasionally making little nods, or quietly muttering 'not very bright, that one'. No more than twice did she suddenly stop, and stare pointedly at some nearby hill, or shadow of a tree, with a slightly panicked look in her eyes.

When the group reached the Cairn, Clair took advantage of the stop to sit down on a nearby rock and rest her feet. This, she reflected, was why she preferred to hitch a ride on passing caravans. Fewer hikes on unpaved trails.

"Not in very good shape, is it?" She paused, "Actually, now that I think about it, that's probably a good sign. Means it's unlikely anyone picked it over," Of course, it could also mean that the traps inside were fully operational. Clair suddenly stiffened into full alertness. Traps. She knew how to spot a trap, right? Something Daft Milo had taught her, right? Or was that Raonar Ironfoundersson? Still, some of that knowledge had to be still around, right?

At the druid's pronouncement, Clair frowned slightly beneath her scarf. Wolves? Isn't that what they had the druid here for? Maybe adventurers didn't compartmentalize skills quite so heavily as she always had on any jobs she had previously run. On the other hand, if there were wolves, there probably weren't any traps. Probably.

"Grigori? It is Grigori, right?" Clair barely paused for an acknowledgement of her question, "Can't you...druid magic this? You know, talk to the wolves, try to work out a deal, maybe some safe passage? I think I have dried meat lying somewhere around here, you could bargain with that?" Any fight they could avoid just made for a cleaner job. And, perhaps, a good division of labor. This would work smoothest if everyone knew what they should be doing, and what everyone else should be doing.

Clair's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, hells, I forgot to give you my name! I'm so sorry, I should have informed you earlier. Clair Farrow. So you know what to write on my tombstone," she laughed a little at that. It was, in all likelihood, a very lonely laugh.

"It's best to think of me as a specialist with a facility in locksmithing, negotiation and knifework. And perhaps a bit of lightfooted padding-about and the suchlike. I figure the rat and I might want to work out whose best at what parts of that job afore we get into things, but that can probably wait,"


Oh, Clair, trying to plan all this out like a heist. Don't you know adventure is 90% uncontrolled mayham?

TRAPS (Perception Roll): [roll0] 5 = 1 Rank + 1 Ability Modifier +3 Class skill

It's worth noting that Clair doesn't actually have trapfinding due to an alternate class feature. She just doesn't get the bonus to Perception and can't do diddly squat to a magic trap.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Grigori blinks as the human woman talks at him. She spoke... a little quickly, and it takes time for each point to fall into place between his ears. As she relays her skillset, his eyes find for the first time the holy symbol she wears; St. Cuthbert.

"Ah, you're a Judge." he says blearily. "Well-met. I would also prefer to scatter these beasts rather then kill them." He appreciates that Kuramesh also at least implied the option that the wolves might become his prey, rather than the certainty. "I... do have a charm that may let me get inside and behind them. I can then try to urge them to flee the den." He gestures toward an area behind the entrance where the party might lie in wait. "If I can get them to run out, then you all here on the sides can shout and scare them off. If they're in the open fields, they may flee rather than fight, and may not come back if we do a good enough job of terrifying them."

He looks up at Kuramesh. It takes "If wolf come out, shout and scare wolf? Wolf run off." he suggests. He is not mocking the half-orc by speaking this way; he is genuinely communicating.

[hpboy111]

Aurethius+Everyone else: The entrance is 20 feet wide and 20 feet tall. A ten foot spread just outside the arch is difficult terrain because of the dense underbrush. Within the arch, as well as an additional 10 feet in, (the first 15 feet into the Cairn), is also difficult terrain due to the large amount of loose rock and soil. The natural light from outside extends far enough down the hall for you to see branches to both the left and right some 50ft. Into the Cairn and again approximately 100ft. in.

Clair is unable to identify any traps near the entrance to the Cairn, however, you could swear that you hear whispers emanating from within the tomb.To quiet to hear what they are saying and only barely audible to you. Could just be a trick of the wind.

[Springjack]

"Hrmm..." Kuramesh let out a low, thoughtful rumble before nodding to Grigori. Truth be told, he had already planned to use intimidation first; it was more efficient to scare away threats, for he could only call upon his boiling blood limited times per day.


"Go first...I." He stated, turning to meet each person's gaze. "Kuramesh fight, not-prey protected." Seems that the half-orc was ready to take point and fend off any potential aggressors during the group's cairn spelunking. This pack mentality was one of the big changes in Kuramesh's personality; when he was still a white dragon, there was no other concern outside of his own desires, his own hunger. Now he understood the benefits of working together, to be in the company of intelligent people who could plan ahead much better than he. Of course, seeing as how Kuramesh had no memory of his past life, he wasn't able to fully appreciate this shift in world-view.

Kuramesh pointed to the druid's staff, then poked his own earthbreaker. "Light?" the half orc inquired, asking Grigori to cast that brightening magic on his own weapon. Down in the mines, the other workers would oftentimes have Kuramesh walk point when delving deeper into the shafts. A few of the workers were able to cast the light cantrip, so this was all familiar to the half-orc.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair couldn't help but laugh, if that is indeed what the hysterical cackling sound bubbling up from underneath her scarf is. It sounds more like a pack of excitable goblins than a relatively sane human woman. "A judge?" she laughed again, apparently unable to contain herself, "Sure, we'll go with that."

Clair takes only a few seconds to compose herself, before straightening her scarf, and listening as the druid and the half-orc hashed out a plan. It was good to hear the half-orc, at least, was very clear on his role in the crew. Hearing something off, she pads over to the entrance to the Cairn, cupping her ear, a small frown on her face. The Cairn seemed to be...whispering to her.

"Well, that must be why they call it the Whispering Cairn. Saint if that isn't half-disturbing." Clair said, "The entrance is clear of traps, by the way, if you want to try out your plan,"

[AvatarVecna]

Jack took stock of their situation as he applied divine magic to his blade, causing it to shine with holy light. As he feels the inexorable power of Heironeous briefly flow through him, he relaxes in spite of the spooky location: no whispering caves or beasts of the land could pose him a real threat when he had the power of a deity at his side. Absentmindedly, Jack gave their surroundings a quick sweeping gaze, while sizing up his fellow adventurers to see if any seemed overly nervous.Jack casts Light on his katana, which he has drawn and is currently wielding one-handed.

Jack makes a Perception check: [roll0]

Jack makes a Sense Motive check: [roll1]

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The druid has no argument with Kuramesh's proposal of being first. For a moment, when he points at his weapon and says light, Grigori's face screws up with confusion. "No, my friend, that looks quite heavy. At least to me." Then the man's intent dawns on him, and he chuckles. "Oh! Yeah, stand by." He allows a decent magical glow to fall over the massive thing, knowing this would help all of them see more clearly down there in the dark.

Following that, Clair responds to him, and her hysterical cackling is more than a little startling. He tries to smile along with her, looking like a man who really doesn't get the joke. He isn't sure whether he'll continue to call her Judge, but she did say to 'go with that'!

The human with the curved blade hadn't said much yet today; in fact, Grigori wasn't sure he knew the man's name yet. He saw him casting light on his own weapon, but couldn't tell what deity he served. There didn't appear to be a holy symbol on his body. There is also the little ratfolk who Grigori hadn't seen in a few moments. Hadn't she been holding a doll of some kind yesterday evening?

"Alright, you fine folk move around behind the entrance. If and when a pack of wolves comes out, hoot and holler and scare them off. If you hear me call out for help instead, please do come inside."

Without casting light on himself, Grigori slowly enters the Cairn, his hands empty. He keeps his eyes low for two reasons; to more gradually adjust to the dimmer light inside, and to avoid giving off the body language of aggression. If he sees the wolves, he will move even more slowly, and will use his Druidic calling to attempt to calm them. He wants to use his power to ease the instincts of as many of them as possible, so he may wait until the whole pack is in view... Unless they start attacking!

Okay! If appropriate, I would like to Take 10 on a Handle Animal roll to enter the Cairn without startling or angering the wolf pack that I hope is inside. There is no immediate threat as I'm walking in, but there might be once they see me. Leading up to that, Grigori wants to be sure he moves the right way not to scare wolves (wolf whisperer).

His plan is to use Calm Animals once he thinks he has the majority of the pack in view. I can affect 2d4+Caster Level (1) of animals with the spell (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/calm-animals), provided they are normal animals. He will then try to walk around them and shoo them outside with a Handle Animal check after (if) they are docile.

I will also roll a Perception and Initiative check just in case to save the DM time.

Perception: [roll0]
Initiative: [roll1]

[hpboy111]

Grigori begins his cautious March into the Cairn.

Natural light dimly illuminates the hallway, extending north into eventual darkness. A faint breeze brings with it sibilant whispers that sound almost like sighing breath. A simple trick of the wind, but the effect is almost lifelike.

The walls bear horizontal bands of deceptively geometric patterns at waist level. In places the bands reveal startling detail, but in others it looks as if the walls have been hacked apart by weapons or eroded by the rigors of time. Flakes of ancient paint, a brilliant purple and a dull mustard hue, still cling to the walls in places, hinting at what must once have been a riot of color.

Fifty feet into the tomb the hallway branches to the east and west into alcoves thirty feet deep and twenty feet wide. Here, the walls bear the most severe damage. Dozens of clumsy etchings mar the beautiful ancient masonry like grafiti on a city wall. A clump of soiled cloth about the size of a halfling rest in the rounded terminus of the western alcove.

With no sign of the wolves, Grigori pushes forward, shortly arriving at the second set of alcoves and revealing more hallway to come.

At the second branch, the western alcove extends back some forty feet, ending in a small marble platform raised six inches off the floor. A strange, shattered apparatus rests upon this platform, its ovular frame giving the appearance of a nobles dressing mirror. Only a third of the frame remains. An unusual arcane glyph about the size of a man's head has been delicately carved into the baseplate of the marble platform.

The eastern alcove extends only fifteen feet back before ending in a pile of collapsed masonry and stone slabs. The debris extends from floor to ceiling and is so densley packed it would likely take weeks of effort to clear.

A faint flicker of green light grabs your attention briefly, coming from further down the main hall. Seeing this, and knowing that is the direction you must proceed, you continue with little extra caution.

Another forty feet in, the hall opens up into a large chamber with wings to east and west. Across the chamber to the north lies a twenty foot wide open arch draped from top to bottom in translucent cobwebs. An eerie green light flickers from beyond the webs, casting strange shadows about this room. The place smells of animal spoor and wet fur.

To the west, three short stair lead to wide marble dias but the far end of the wing is obscured by darkness.

Huge slabs of cracked masonry and irregular pikes of scattered debris choke the eastern wing, giving the appearance of total collapse. Something even a cursory glance could tell you is not the case. Stationed near the debris is a lone wolf, mangy looking and thin, laying down with its head resting on two front paws. As you enter the room it looks up at you and quickly struggles to its feet, letting out a growl which prompts movement from behind the debris. Two more wolves trot out and join the first, one equally thin and worn and the second slightly larger and healthier with a great scar practically bisecting its face. What is clearly the alpha moves to the front of the small group and lets a low bark as it sizes up what it clearly sees as its next meal.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Grigori’s heart pounds in his ears, a terrifying drumbeat to drown out the eerie whispers of the Cairn. He curses his own feet as they carry him further into the belly of this quiet nightmare; the play of light on the ruined surroundings, coupled with the knowledge of a very real, hungry threat looming around any corner is terrifically effective. The second branch, with its marble platform and the arcane markings, makes him worry, but the flickering green light does indeed catch his eye. His eyebrows furrow as he sees that the light is hidden beyond a wall of webbing; he would take a closer look at this later.

All the sensations of quiet fear fall away as the wolves come out; a sense of more immediate danger takes hold. The first beast, mangy and thin, provokes a feeling of pity in the druid. The second arrives, also skinny, and the third; a scarred leader among hungry wolves. He is not surprised at their hunger; the pollution and irreverence of the people of Diamond Lake often left the surrounding land more barren and treeless, leaving the natural prey of wolves like rabbits and voles to move on to greener pastures. Perhaps he should have taken Clair up on her offer of meat!

His mind blanking out that brief regret, Grigori allows his pity to fuel his spell, genuinely hoping that he could encourage these creatures to leave not just the cave, but this grey, mine-pitted land called Diamond Lake. The animals could come back once he had the time and power to complete his mission.

Grigori casts Calm Animals (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/calm-animals). The spell DC is 14. Crossing my fingers I can at least get the Alpha!

Following that, I will make a Handle Animals check to shoo them out of the cave and outside.

[hpboy111]

The Alpha gives you a strange look, a distinct change from the bared fangs earlier. One of the smaller wolves looks eaqually confused, but also at peace. The third wolf still has fangs bared but seems hesitant to make a move with its leader so calm.

Two failed saves, one on the alpha and one of the mooks.

[Springjack]

When Grigori started moving, so did Kuramesh, trailing the druid like an ominous shadow. His eyes swept from side to side as they made their way deeper into the tunnel, the glowing earthbreaker helping to illuminate each step taken.

At first sight of the wolves Kuramesh stopped and exhaled a low, hissing breath that sounded more like an angry serpant. The half-orc un-shouldered the massive weapon slowly but surely, but made no other move aside from keeping an eye on the animals. True to his word, Kuramesh refrained from making the first move and allowed Grigori to work his nature magic first.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Outstanding! With the alpha reducing his stance, even the other wolves under him would hesitate to attack. He focuses completely on the Alpha now, getting his attention and attempting to hold it to establish a kind of connection with it. Unless that horribly failed, he would then urge the Alpha, and therefore the others, out of the Cairn.

So, using Handle Animal to attempt improve relations with the wolves and get the alpha's attention completely. Then I will work to urge the Alpha, and therefore the others, out of the cave. I recognize I can't take 10 or 20 on this because there is imminent danger, so I'll need to roll both. If the first roll fails miserably, please assume that Grigori does not try to shoo them out of the cave, he will be able to tell that the wolves are not listening to him yet. I hope this isn't delaying the action overmuch, as long as this works, we'll be able to explore this creepy place more quickly.

First: [roll0]
Second: [roll1]

[hpboy111]

The leader seems hesitant to follow you or your orders. It isn't acting threatening but it is certainly acting stubborn.

As you try to gain the trust of the wolves the uncharmed one seems to have had enough. It lets out a bark and moves to engage, eager to prove itself and more eager to have meat in its belly.

Let's have Kurramesh and Grigori roll initiative and your initial actions.

The Alpha is 20 feet to the north east of your current position with the two betas 5 feet behind and flanking the Alpha. The hostile one is on the right hand side of the Alpha. No intervening difficult or dangerous terrain.

I'm going to run combat in a rather free form manner. Everyone participating rolls initiative and then gives their chosen actions for the round as well as as many contingencies as they feel necessary. After everyone has posted I will compile the player actions and enemy actions into a narrative explaining the events of the round. This will require some measure of trust on all of your parts in the event that none of your contingencies apply, I will do my best to use my knowledge of the character and past combats to move them appropriately. If you all find this doesn't work or that I make bad desicions, we can switch to a more tactical combat system with a true map. I would prefer not to start with this as most of my posts are via tablet and setting up a map on this tablet is hell. I can make it work though if necessary.

[Springjack]

As the one wolf bared its fangs and started advancing, Kuramesh suddenly slammed the earthbreaker on the ground, hard enough to send a small shockwave through the stone, and shouted at the top of his lungs at the rebel wolf. It was an inhuman sound, a draconic roar devoid of all meaning save for one; violence. It bounced off the walls and echoed throughout the tunnels, magnifying the noise to truly terrifying levels, surprising even the half-orc himself.

Kuramesh lowered his head and looked the wolf dead in the eye, menacing and predatory, daring it to take another step. He was the apex hunter here.

[roll0] Initiative
[roll1] Intimidate

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Damn! "Kuramesh! Let's kill this one and try to scare the other two off!" he suggests. To the entrance of the Cairn, hoping his comrades could hear, he shouts "Stick with the plan! Just need to kill one real quick!" His voice is a little shaky after entering this frightening environment and having a hungry wolf charge him.

To Kuramesh, he admits, "I'm pretty damned glad you came with me."

If the other wolves followed this one into combat, then he'd alert the whole party outside. Hopefully he and Kuramesh could end this one wolf swiftly and scatter the others!

Edit: But the half-orc acted quickly, his terrifying bellow working to scatter the beasts without need for bloodshed!

Fellow players: If you guys decide to intervene anyway, neither I or my character will take it personally. You do what you feel your characters would reasonably do in this situation. Grigori still hopes he can scare the other two wolves, just now with a show of violence.


[roll0]

[hpboy111]

Unleashing his great bellow, Kurramesh stares down the advancing wolf. The wolf is clearly cowed by the display of might and shies away from the half-orc. Shaken, the wolf bolts. The rest of his pack, not wanting to be separated, takes off in pursuit. All three bolt past you, making their way half way down the main hall in a matter of seconds.

Both of you can make AOO's if you wish. The uncharmed one is the first one past you.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The druid whips out with a quick whack from the back of his hand on the rump of the uncharmed racing wolf. "Hya! Go on now, here they come! Whoo!!" he hollers! He hopes that all this combines to ensure the wolves keep moving and don't come back.


Making an attack with my bare hand, nonlethal damage. I have no Str bonus or BAB, so it's just a raw 1d20 and 1d3 nonlethal damage, more to scare than anything else.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Springjack]

Kuramesh let the wolves run by without further assault, watching impassively (though with the barest hint of a smirk) as the animals made themselves scarce.

[AvatarVecna]

Jack walks into the cave upon hearing his companions yell out, one hand on his glowing blade the whole while.

[hpboy111]

@ Avatar of Vecna: 3 wolves come barreling down the hall toward you, the one in the lead looks like it has seen Erythrul himself. The other two are more calm, but not moving any less quickly. These are likely the wolves that Grigori had planned on needing out of the tomb. It would seem he met some success. The three wolves pass you, making for the cave entrance.

AOO's are allowed if you wish.

[AvatarVecna]

As long as Jack is not attacked, he makes no first move against the animals.

[hpboy111]

The wolves sprint out into the open where Clair and Skyzich still wait. The panicked one takes a quick look around, notices it no longer outnumbers the potential food and sprints off east, the rest of the pack following close behind.

Seeing the wolves, Tidwoad hops back and away, slightly startled by their sudden appearance. As they sprint away he takes a moment to regain composure and says, Well, I think I'll be off now, while the wolves are headed away from town. You'll be able to find me at my shop should you need anything. The food and bedrolls are a gift, make good use of them. Good luck. With that he takes off at a brisk jog, beginning his hour long trek back to Diamond Lake.

[AvatarVecna]

Jack wandered deeper into the ruin, until he reached his more eager allies. "What happened in here?" he asked. "Those poor wolves looked like they were being chased by an army of demons..."

[Kiranvonstrom]

"I guess now we earn our keep, eh, Jack?" Clair nudged the priest a few times before following him into the cairn, keeping a close eye to the shadows, on the off chance anything of value might have been left behind in them.

Occasionally, she pauses, briefly, to admire some architectural feature or another just within the glow of Jack's sword. If nothing else, the tomb's creators appeared to be at least above-average artists. Hopefully, the same could not be said of their security measures.


Perception: [roll0] (5= 1 Rank + 1 Wisdom +3 Class Skill)

Clair's just keeping an eye out in particular for valuable things that aren't nailed down.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The druid smiles breathlessly; though the mission had nearly turned nasty, the final results were bloodless and a resounding success. "They certainly did!" he says to the others as they all arrive. "Our friend Kuramesh here really has a way with beasts! He gave them just the prompting they needed to get moving." In his exuberance, he attempts to give the half-orc a muscular pat. Grigori being as slender as he is, and Kuramesh being as tremendously powerful as he is, it likely has the effect of a man patting a stone slab. This doesn't reduce the druid's excitement over their combined success in the least. "Good roar!" he says to the larger man.

After a moment, he composes himself and draws the attention of the group to their immediate, and somewhat terrifying, surroundings. "Now, you all see what we saw when we came in. If I may, I suggest we look about carefully, each according to our... specialties?" He has to stop and think for a moment, never having explored a proper dungeon or ruin before. "I feel we may want to confer as a group before we open any suspicious doors or chests, or read and strange and ancient books."

[hpboy111]

A brief glance around and through the alcoves as you pass them by doesn't reveal much of interest. However, a couple of small something sparkle in the magical light over by the mounted and broken apparatus. Perhaps a closer look is in order?

[Kiranvonstrom]

Grigori's enthusiasm is infectious, and Clair finds herself smiling along with the Druid. Kuramesh, apparently, either had titanic self-control, or was actually as dumb as he acted. Either way, Clair couldn't help but think rather better of the Half-orc for it. At least her crew seemed to be good people. (With the possible exception of the rat. That one made her a little uneasy) Nothing really got on her nerves more than running a job with the few people she disliked. Actually, that was a bald faced lie. There were...a lot of things that frayed Clair's nerves. Her smile dimmed a bit beneath her scarf.

"As a professional in antiquities liberation," Did an odd job or five count as a professional, Clair wondered, "I suggest you ask me before opening anything important. And then, uh, do it all careful-like. In case I missed some hidden poison or another. I have some experience with, you know, traps and locks and such."

"If you don't mind, I'm going to head over to the corner what with the magical light. Seems something worth looking at might be over there," Clair made a few quick illustrative pointing gestures, for the benefit of the half-orc. It couldn't hurt to make sure everyone understood.


I GO...TO THE LIGHT. Which, hopefully, will not end with Clair following the tunnel to the light.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Grigori moves with Clair, concerned about the webbing that spread across the wide archway near the odd green light-source. He was glad that his comrades had such useful skills!

Once they arrive at the northern part of this chamber, Grigori takes a close look at any tracks or signs here. It was likely that there might just be more signs of wolf habitation, but the wolves appeared to be denning in a different wing of the region that he'd inspect later. Finding it difficult to tell the exact color of things because of the damned green glow, Grigori casts Light on his own staff to help he and Clair see more clearly.

This done, he'll then look at the cobweb. He approaches close enough to touch the webbing, though he does not actually touch it! He visually checks the thickness of the translucent webbing, a detail that might help him guess the size and even the family or superfamily of arachnid that had made it. He also looks for the amount of dust and debris that has settled on it, and whether there are many dead insect hulls or animal bits on it. He wonders how long the web has hung here; was it fresh, or old? "Many spiders... Will detect prey by feeling for vibrations in the web." he comments to his female companion. "Let's be certain this is an unoccupied web before we try to tear through it."

I cast Light on my staff.

I first make a Survival roll to identify any tracks and animal-sign present in this area, the northern part of the chamber. It may also apply to signs Grigori has already seen, such as where the wolves were denning when they approached him (though he was pretty occupied at the time!)

Survival - [roll0]

I'll then make a Knowledge: Nature to more closely inspect the webbing.

Knowledge: Nature - [roll1]

[hpboy111]

There are no tracks or signs of animals around the webbing. The cobwebs look old, at least a year or two and there are no signs that the web's are currently occupied. Your best guess is that these webs were created by a number of Giant Crab Spiders, one of the smaller species of Monstrous Spider. The web's are maybe 3 feet thick but there does appear to be a passage on the other side from where the flickering light is emanating.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Clair, if she were watching, sees the druid's expression turn glum. He sighs, looking to her to explain.

"I'm reasonably certain these webs were made by a species of Giant Crab Spider, but they're at least a year old. They appear completely natural." he says, disappointment clear in his voice. "We can tear them down if you wish."

He tries to shake it off, and focuses on the light beyond the webbing, drawing on his connection with the magic of nature to try and identify what it was... Though he was far from the most qualified individual to try!

Well, Grigori is terrible at it, but he's going to try and look at the light using Detect Magic. He will concentrate until he can attempt to identify the school using Knowledge: Arcana, or the properties of it if it's a magic item using Spellcraft.

Knowledge: Arcana - [roll0]
Spellcraft - [roll1]

[Springjack]

"Fear first...then fang." Kuramesh had responded to Grigori with a nod. He returned the back pat with a gesture of his own in a show of fraternity, slapping the druid on the shoulder a couple times. It was a pretty vigorous pat, but surprisingly restrained; Grigori didn't go flying forward or anything.

Kuramesh lumbered on over to the eerie light, seeing as how everyone was drawn to it at the moment. Upon hearing the ok from Grigori, the half-orc just straight up plowed through the old webbing, seemingly unperturbed as the dusty strands clung to his body like gossamer spectres of some kind. Once at the end, Kuramesh swept his gaze across the stone hall...

Taking 20 on perception check for 25 total

[hpboy111]

The source of the light, whatever it may be is either non magical or too far away for you to get a read on it.

Kurramesh plows right through the cobwebs, absolutely coating himself in the dusty silk strands. The clinging strands prove to be rather troublesome to his sight and cause him to very nearly miss the step down, and the one after that, and the one after that. Kurramesh manages to catch himself before toppling down a rather long staircase. The eerie green glow continues flicker, it's source somewhere at the bottom of the stairs.

[Springjack]

Kuramesh nodded downward while picking off thick webbing from his face and body. "Stairs. Deep go down." He reported briskly.

LOL, for some reason I had it in my head that the green light was coming from cracks below a stone door or something

[AvatarVecna]

Jack follows, a bemused look gracing his face as two of his companions seem to race each other to be the first ones through the veritable wall of webbing, both managing to cover themselves head to toe in the stuff. Strange people...

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The druid is startled as the half-orc moves his massive bulk through the webs, clearing the path quite utterly. Where once there was a web wall, now there was just a web-covered half-orc, looking like some kind of half-baked mummy. Grigori does find it unusual that he said 'then fang'. Was he referring to his half-orc tusks? What an odd choice of words...

"K-kuramesh, please wait a moment!" He moves down quickly, joining the half-orc. "I want to try asking our sneaky-people to look down there first. Do you mind if we try that?" His politeness is genuine, and though he is keeping his language simple, he does not take the tone of a person talking to a child or simpleton.

He looks back to Clair after his request, or to the ratfolk member of their cast, if either would be willing to check the stairwell for traps and danger first. He was worried that if Kuramesh plowed through everything they saw, eventually he would plow through something that would kill him!

[Springjack]

Kuramesh eyed Grigori and the others with a slightly raised eyebrow as he rolled up the collected web into a ball and tossed it down the stairs. He was used to being commanded and/or feared; deference was...rare. "No ask Kuramesh. Do...what need to do." It is not necessary to ask for permission is what the half-orc was saying.

"I...listen."

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair produces a knife from somewhere inside the folds of her scarf, flicks it around in her hands a few times, settling into a backhanded grip that leaves the blade of the knife covered, for the most part, by her forearm. "I guess I'll scout ahead. If you hear frantic screaming, or the sound of a small woman being torn limb from limb, please come running," she said, before turning to follow Kuramesh's footsteps down into the tomb.

"Could you lot real quick search this floor? I'd hate to leave some poor lonely stack of gold lying around lonely. Seems unfriendly like." Clair asked, already on her way into the tomb.

Unlike the half-Orc, Clair picks her steps carefully, making little to no sound as she descends into the near-darkness. What she would give to have an elf's eyes some days. As she passes Kuramesh, she pats the hulking miner on the shoulder, nods at him, and then descends into the chamber below.


Stealth rolls: [roll0]
Perception for traps: [roll1]

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

"Sure thing." he says in response to Clair's suggestion that they go search about. He chooses the wolf den area as his spot to look over first. He wonders if the wolves, as emaciated as they seemed to be, were engaging in cannibalism on each other. The dirtman kneels and picks up bits of fur in his hands, checking the and length color of the strands by the light of his staff. As unpleasant as it might be, the scat might hold clues, so he pokes at these with an errant bone as well. This area was only a little less disturbing with the imminent threat of wolves having passed, but he's still on edge.

I'd like to take 20 on a Survival roll to identify the fur and poo and whatnot. I never did confirm the species of wolf, though it doesn't particularly matter. If I spot humanoid bones, I'll be very interested.

I don't know if I can take 20 on Perception or not to check this area over for hidden things. If I cannot, here is a roll.

[roll0]

[hpboy111]

The staircase is long and empty of traps. You decend the wide stairway some eighty feet before it opens into an immense domed chamber. Seven short tunnels branch from the room in all directions, extending thirty feet before endin in rounded walls. At the terminus of each passage a thick chain dangles from an unseen high ceiling. Five of the chains bear colorful lanterns, but two of them hold nothing at all. Opposite the stairs, a bright green lantern containing what looks like a torch casts a weird, murky light across the room. Countless chips of glass and shiny metal inset into the chamber's domed ceiling reflect this light, giving the impression of starlight and falling snow. The dome starts ten feet above the ground and reaches an apex of thirty feet at the center of the room.

Below the dome's peak, a long dais holds what appears to be a marble sarcophagus. A milky white bas-relief figure, perhaps of a human, rests passively upon the sarcophagus lid. Unlike the rest of the tomb, this chamber is completely silent.

A small passage between the rubble leads to the rear of the eastern wing where the wolves obviously formed their den. Back here the air is rank with the smell of animals. Hundreds of bones and bone fragments litter the ground amidst small piles of debris, evidence of the wolves' past meals. The majority of them look to be from small animals, but you do notice a few humanoid bones mixed in among them. In one corner is half a human skeleton with an old leather bag buried beneath it. The bag is heavy, definitely not empty.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The amount of picked-clean bones and other bits of eaten animal give Grigori a greater understanding of the story here. It suggested to him that the pack had, perhaps, once been a little larger, but the shrinking numbers of prey animals and the off-balance ecosystem led the pack to dwindle to what he and his comrades saw today. The humanoid bones were another clue; the wolves, in their hunger, had turned to hunting things they might not normally hunt. If Diamond Lake weren't an uncaring disconnected scumsack, there might even have been reports of people gone missing. He grimaces as he scans over the bones, the partial skeleton, the bag, then back to the-...

"Oh... Hello there." he mutters to himself.

Look around and seeing the ratfolk woman as the nearest party member, he gestures to Skyzich gently. "Ahh... Miss? Pardon me, do you have a moment? I need a little help moving these remains, there's some... bag of things buried underneath it."

It doesn't occur to the druid that she might be disinclined to touch a skeleton. She had mentioned some curiosity in there being Undead in the Cairn. Inviting her to help him with this task might tell him a little more about her.

[Piousknyte]

Skyzich approaches quickly, moving to aid you. She shows no sign of disgust or distaste when handling the remains, and she does not meet your eyes. She helps clear the bones away and steps back to watch you, doll held up to her chest. You notice, now that you're up close, that the doll appears to be made with actual skin and hair.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Grigori, likewise, isn't bothered to move the skeleton. In his own worldview, a body was only about as useful and relevant as its composite parts could be. He knew that many religions and cultures assigned significance to remains, but he did not. It seemed, by her behavior, that neither did the white-furred ratgirl. He thanks her, and he does take note of the doll now that he was closer to it. Was it a cultural symbol of some kind? A holy symbol, even? Grigori knew nothing about ratfolk culture, but he thought he recalled her talking to it at one point. "Thank you." he says to her, not trying to make eye contact with her.

With the bag uncovered, he gingerly begins to open it, leaning his head back a little but unable to hide his innate curiosity as to its contents...

Grigori is attempting a casual Knowledge: Religion check to see if the doll is a holy symbol or religious icon of some kind. I have no bonus to the roll.

[roll0]

[AvatarVecna]

Jack, too, is curious about this particular party member and how she fits in, so to speak.

Assuming this "clearing away the bodies" scene takes place in the immediate vicinity of the rest of the group, Jack is close by enough to observe, and will do so by attempting to discern anything unusual about her reactions, and any insight into her they might give him.

Sense Motive (Rank 1+Class 3+Wis 4=+8): [roll0]

[Piousknyte]

The doll isn't tied to any religion directly, and certainly isn't a holy symbol. It is, however, made in the style of a poppet or voodoo doll.

She handles the bones almost carelessly, as another person might toss aside dirt or twigs.She certainly does not seem to have any particular reverence for the dead.

[hpboy111]

@Aurethius&Company: The leather bag is old and somewhat cracked with age. Inside is a lantern of curious construction. It is composed of a brass frame with a multidue of decorative etchings carved into it. The glass components are a deep indigo. It's quite the beautiful piece of metal work.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The druid sets the brass lantern aside, instead gently and carefully lifting the leather bag. "How interesting... Very durable leatherwork. I wonder what skin was used to let it last so long in these conditions?" He runs his fingers over it, trying to determine its workmanship.

I make a closer inspection of the leather bag, setting the lantern aside as though I've already forgotten about it. Anyone watching may feel free to inspect it if they like!

[Piousknyte]

Skyzich will immediately snatch up the lantern when it is set down, inspecting it closely and guessing at it's value.

[roll0]+5 Int mod

[Springjack]

Kuramesh waited in silent vigil as Clair descended into the lower chamber. No screams. Good sign. The half orc glanced at those digging around the bones then turned and walked down the steps in Clair's wake.

Kuramesh entered the large domed chamber and parked himself next to the girl. His head slowly swiveled around, glancing at each of the short halls before finally settling on the prismatic ceiling. He stared at the light shards, seemingly enraptured for a good minute before shaking his head clear and grunting.

[hpboy111]

@Aurethius: The bag looks to be made out of ordinary leather, likely off of a cow or auroch. The fact that it is in such good condition would either stem from the curing procedure it went through or from a lack of time spent in these conditions.

@Piousknyte: The Lantern could maybe go for 25-30 gp based on craftsmanship and material alone. Add in potential historical significance and the price could go up.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Grigori pockets the leather bag, making a mental note to clean it, touch it up a bit, and put it to use. He looks to Jack for the next move. "What... ahh... What should we do next?"

[AvatarVecna]

Jack gives a slight grimace at the casual disrespect for the dead his apparent companion is shown, but makes no objection, feeling no need to rock the boat so early over a corpse that's likely been that way for a while. As he mutters a quick prayer, he realizes a question is being directed in his direction. Mulling it over, he replies "I'm not sure. There's bound to be a lot of interesting stuff in here, but I wouldn't know an artifact from a toy myself. Perhaps we should make notes of where we found each interesting thing? I don't know, I've never done this before..."

"Regardless, we should probably get moving once we've found and noted everything important in this room; there's no doubt plenty more to explore further ahead."

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

"Very well. To the pile of cloth, then." His glowing staff leading the way, Grigoi approaches the filthy pile of cloth. What could this be, discarded here in this abandoned place? It couldn't have been of interest to the wolves, or else they surely would have pawed at it. Unless it was somehow dangerous... Perhaps it had a stink to it that kept them away.

Carefully, Grigori extends his staff to disturb the pile, shifting the fabric left and right to determine what, if anything, was underneath it. He wrinkles his nose as he does this, expecting a bad smell based on his assumptions about the pile. "After this we should... look at the walls. Inscriptions and things, find out... who this place was actually for... Its purpose."

[Kiranvonstrom]

"Oh, wow" Clair breathes, "Talk about buried in style," She takes a moment to take in the beauty of the room, before immediately beginning to work out how to loot it. Sometime during that time, Kuramesh had joined her, seemingly as impressed by the room as Clair was.

Clair's heart then sank immediately. Lanterns were missing, and there wasn't anything scattered about besides them that looked at all valuable. The cairn had already been looted. Clair's eyes alit on the coffin itself. Alone among everything else in the room, it seemed undisturbed by the looting.

Clair crept over to it, immediately suspicious, still keeping as quiet as possible, spinning her knife in her hand to bring it into an easily-available stabbing position.


Moving over to the sarcophagus, planning to try to use a dagger to crowbar it open once she gets there and is able to get a better look at that.

Perception for traps:[roll0]

[hpboy111]

@Aurethius: The cloth cracks as you handle it, brittle with age. Shifting it about reveals a number of wood shavings beneath what you determine to be a small sized bedroll.

If I could get a perception check when you start examing the walls I'd appreciate it.

@Kiranvonstrom: An examination of the sarcophagus reveals a number of things. The platform upon which the sarcophagus lies is not symmetrical. To your left, the platform becomes angular, take on the shape of a stylystic arrow pointing down the westernmost passage. The bas-relief figure is androgynous, bald, and wearing a flowing robe. Afixed to its neck is a scarab like amulet with a large arcane rune inscribed upon.

The rune appears to be just a symbol, nothing magical. No other inscriptions or markings can be found that would signify a magical threat, nor are there and trips, triggers, switches, levers, or similar that would indicate a more mundane form of trap.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori - Fifty feet into the Cairn from the entrance at the terminus of the western alcove, then moving to the walls

The druid is confused for a moment. The moment lasts quite a while. "Wood shavings?" he asks aloud. It is clearly perplexing the man, and one can practically hear the gears in his head grinding to a painful halt.

He doesn't spend too much time puzzling over this, leaving the pile and returning slowly to the center of these alcoves to inspect the walls instead. His staff, with bits of the old cloth bedroll still falling off of it, provides the light to see by. Grigori does not hesitate to look for signs of magical auras as well, scanning the general area.



Perception: [roll0]

I would also like to use Detect Magic on the general area to see what strange auras appear.

[Springjack]

While Clair fooled around with the sarcophagus, Kuramesh took notice of the large arrow that the stone coffin was resting on and followed its direction to the end of the western-most tunnel. He stood stock still, there in the dim shadows of the green light, silently contemplating the colored lantern that hung in front of him. After another minute, life seemed to spark back into the half-orc; he leaned his ponderous weapon against the wall and retrieved from his backpack a torch and tinder. Soon the west tunnel was a-glow in warm firelight. Kuramesh stuck the lit torch into the lantern and took a step back to check out the results, grunting in satisfaction. Once that was accomplished, Kuramesh took a minute to scan the now brightly-lit dead end for any changes or strange things.

Lighting a torch and sticking it into the colored lantern, then taking 10 on perception check = 15

[hpboy111]

@Aurethius: The walls and hallways do not detect as magic, even as you walk the whole length of the main hall, examing the old carvings on the walls.

The walls of the hall and alcoves are much as described previously. Nothing new comes to light. However, upon entering the chamber and following the walls to the western wing, you discover a much more intact image. The wide dais at the end of the western wing calls attention to a faded fresco upon the south, west and north walls. From a vantage point at the center of the dais, the painting makes it look like you stand within a massive room with seven short hallways radiating outward from a central point. A chain dangles from the ceiling at the end of each hallway, and each chain bears a gleaming colored lantern. Clockwise the colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

@Springjack: A warm orange glow flickers through the tunnel now that the lantern is lit, joining the green glow in reflecting off the ceiling. Looking around now that the alcove is more thoroughly lit, you do not see anything that you hadn't been able to see before, nor does it look like anything has moved, shifted, or changed. From this position though you can clearly see the ceiling from which the chain hangs forty feet above you, just at the edge of the light provided by the lantern.

@Kiranvonstrom: With the sarcophagus safe, you wedge the the tip of your dagger under the lid and begin carefully shifting the lid. It takes a minute, but you are able to make progress and shift the lid. Once there is room, you are able to shift the lid further without the aid of your 'crowbar'. As the inside of the sarcophagus comes into view, you feel a sudden heat on your hands. You dive back as a column of flame erupts upward and outward.

Going to need a reflex save from Clair.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The druid shakes his head, bits of plant roots and moss flying free as he does so. With the power to sense magic having 'shaken' out of his eyes, he looks with the naked eye to the carvings. Staff in right hand, his left hand touches the ancient work, scrubbing away any dust or dirt that had covered them.

"Carving stone..." he mumbles to no one in particular, ...takes time. It's not a quick sketch; you have to work at it. Whoever made these carvings... was willing to put time into it. To dedicate weeks to it, or a team of people...

I do not know what rolls might be needed to observe these carvings.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair is already moving the second she feels the heat, working more on instinct and self-preservation than any rational thought."Oh harrowed hell!" Clair shouts as she desperately jumps away from the trap.


Reflex Save at: [roll0] (6=2 Base + 4 Dex+)

[hpboy111]

Clair is quick, and instinct goes a long way to helping her avoid the flames, but she isn't quite quick enough to avoid them all, merely the brunt of it. A few flames manage to lick against your hands, singeing them and sending pangs of pain up you arms.

Clzir takes one point of fire damage. Good save.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

His bleary, uncertain inspection of the artwork in the Cairn is interrupted by the shout of a comrade. "What? What!?" he manages to say, snapping himself out of it. Staff in hand, he hustles town to where Kuramesh and Clair had gone, down the stairs and toward the smell of smoke and, potentially, singed eyebrows!

[AvatarVecna]

At the sight of the injury, Jack makes his way over while withdrawing a length of cloth from his healer's kit, intent on wrapping the burn wound to prevent infection.

As he finishes wrapping the cloth around Clair's hand, he says "It's not much, but it will hopefully stave off infection for the moment. Proper healing would take time and magic, both of which I suspect will be in short supply in here, so it's all I can do for now; if it hasn't fully healed by day's end, I'll make sure to do so." He pauses briefly. "I'm sorry I can't afford to do more at the moment," he says quietly, before shifting his attention to the opened sarcophagus. "Let's see what you've unearthed, shall we?" he says a bit more cheerfully.

[hpboy111]

@AvatarofVecna: The inside of the Sarcophagous is bare. No bones, no ash, no jewels, weapons, or other decorative burial items. Either whatever once lay within it has long since been removed, or there was never anything in there to begin with.

[AvatarVecna]

"Hmm...an undiscovered tomb that's not on any map...and the sarcophogus is empty, already looted? Strange..."

[Springjack]

Kuramesh had burst out of the orange-lit hallway like a bat out of the Abyss when Clair yelled, earthbreaker ready to crack the skulls of whatever enemy that had dare to show its head around here. Once it was...ascertained that no attacker was in sight, the half orc shouldered his weapon and walked up to the group. He leaned over and gave Clair the once over with those piercing eyes of his, sniffing her a couple times before turning his attention back to the sarcophagus. A low growl, like the rumble of a distant thunderstorm, escaped his throat, and for a moment, it looked like Kuramesh was going to smash the stone tomb to pieces. But self-restraint won out; the half orc's muscles visibly relaxed. Instead he pointed at the base the empty coffin was resting on. "Arrow." he grunted, then started walking towards the next darkened hallway. "Lamp...colors, many. Kuramesh...gives light." Apparently Kuramesh wanted to light the other lanterns as he did the orange one. It was curiosity more than anything.

Unless otherwise redirected, Kuramesh will continue the pattern of lighting lanterns and taking 10 on perception checks until all the available ones are lit.

[Kiranvonstrom]

"Bastard son of a goblin-" Clair cursed from her seat on the stone floor, inspecting her slightly singed hands. "Urgh, the harrowed thing stings, too. Damned magical traps," she said, blowing at her hands.

In one fluid motion, Clair hopped up and bounded over to the sarcophagus, grabbing her dagger from where she had dropped it in her frantic dodging. Upon seeing the empty sarcophagus, she makes a small, but audible sernking noise. She pulls down her scarf, hissing a little at the pain from her burned hands, and grins crookedly at her companions racing down the stairs.

"I figured it out!" she says by way of greeting, holding out her hands almost as proof. She seems to bounce from foot to foot as Jack offers to bandage her hands. Rather than respond to his offer with words, she just shoves her hands closer to him, still grinning maniacally.

"It's not a real tomb! This first level had been looted all to the hells, but nobody ever takes a corpse. And, look, the traps on the coffin door were even live," she holds up her hands as proof, "Who the hell puts back a magic trap after you trip it? Nobody! But the coffin's empty. Do you know what that means, Jack? It's a false tomb! And...wait, arrow, seven lanterns, different- It's a combination lock!"" Her voice rose as she continued thinking aloud, getting louder and faster as she continued, almost shouting by the time Kuramesh had reached her.

Clair was already ecstatically nodding after the first word out of Kuramesh's mouth. "Light 'em all up, big guy!" She paused for a second, "Jack- Uh, your name is Jack, right? I think I remember that right? It was a long time ago we last spoke. Can you help me shift this sarcophagus to point there?" She pointed at the orange lantern Kuramesh had just lit. "I think this fake coffin rotates,"


I have no idea if it's actually a combination lock, but between this room and the painting of it upstairs, I think it's pretty clear that we need to get all the lanterns lit. With the sarcophagus shaped the way it is, it looks an awful lot like it's supposed to point at something.

I really should have made Clair's wisdom her dump stat. It kind of fits with this whole jumping wildly to conclusions thing that she does.

Also, does alchemist's fire stay good for long enough for this not to be a magic trap?

[AvatarVecna]

Nodding, Jack replies "Aye, that's me." Hearing her plan, he agrees and lends a hand in moving the sarcophagus.

A Strength check, if it's necessary: [roll0]

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The druid can only blink with confusion as he attempts to piece all this together. He had seen the frescoes upstairs, and now here they all were...

"There may be more to it." he points out. "There's art upstairs, on the walls. Colors. the lanterns are colored in a certain order." Looking at Clair's fingers with a sympathetic wince, he makes this next point. "If the order of the colors matters, and the colors aren't in the right order, we might get worse than burnt fingers."

Sadly, if pressed, Grigori would not be able to remember the colors of the lanterns off the top of his head! To save time, he hustles back upstairs, writes down the colors and the orders in his book using his charcoal pencil, and he comes back down.

I think the art upstairs gave us the color combination, and we need to make that now! We might need to use the lantern that our ratfolk player has though. Not entirely certain...

[Kiranvonstrom]

"You found the combination? Excellent! Can you run upstairs and get it for us?" Clair's expression darkens a bit after that, "Yeah...these traps seem to be well hidden in this room. If there was something else in here, I'm not sure I'd know."

Clair lowers her center of gravity into a squat, and braces herself next to Jack, with her back against the coffin, pushing alongside him.


Strength Check: [roll0]

Well, those were two exceptionally bad rolls. Maybe we should try taking 10 on this? Although, for Clair, that's really taking 8. Goddamit, Alba.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Grigori is a kind sort, who would never chuckle at misfortune or failure. But, one had to admit, the sight of these two folk both trying desperately to turn the coffin and failing was at least a little amusing.

Very slowly, Grigori turns to look at Kuramesh.

I'm sorry, but the two low rolls are a little funny, and my character just HAS to look at the giant half-orc to see how he'll react.

[AvatarVecna]

Jack gives a slight grunt as he tries again to move the massive coffin. He's not weak, but he seriously doubts this thing was meant to be moved. Still, puzzling things out wasn't exactly his area of expertise, and his new friend seemed so sure...he'd try once more, he decided.

[roll0]

Yeah, I'm kinda wondering why we sent the big strong guy to light candles and had our two weaker melee people stay behind to move the massive object.

EDIT: By the Nine, Jack... :smallsigh:

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair attempts to shift the coffin, slips, and nearly falls onto the floor, with only quick reflexes saving her dignity as she attempts to pass it off as leaning on the sarcophagus, a sheepish smile on her face.

"Yeah, tell you what, big guy, let's switch jobs," Clair says, chuckling slightly. She gives the coffin another push, just to demonstrate for the thick ( but admittedly strangely insightful) Half-orc.


Another strength check, just in case: [roll0]

I mean, Clair's Str 17, she's hardly a slouch in the muscle department.

EDIT: Really, dice gods? Really?

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

The druid coughs strangely, and bites his lip. He turns away, either to inspect something in a dark corner, or to politely hide some expression on his face. He feels really awful for being so amused!

I can't believe this is even happening. This is one of those priceless D&D moments.

[AvatarVecna]

Jack gives the coffin one last push of his own, hoping to hit it at just the right angle...

[roll0]

Come on...

EDIT: Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern. I'm throwing in the towel, since that's five checks between us that have failed to get into double digit totals.

...and once again failing to make any headway. Sometimes, he decides, it's wiser to know when to quit.

[Kiranvonstrom]

At Jack's last failed attempt to shift the coffin, Clair, too, finds herself incapable of holding back her laughter, and her loud, and unfortunately probably unforgettable laughter fills the tomb. Between the inability of both of them to shift the coffin, and Grigori's increasingly bad attempts to hide his amusement, the entire situation is quite amusing.

She puts an almost reassuring hand on Jack's shoulder, and, between bouts of laughter, manages to say, "Maybe we should...let Kurame-...try," before dissolving once again into hysterical laughter.

[Springjack]

Kuramesh cocked his head to one side like an inquisitive dog, watching with a mixture of confusion and amusement as his comrades tried impotently to exert their force onto the heavy stone coffin. He "sheathed" his hammer and walked over to the sarcophagus at Clair's bidding. The half orc studied his new "quarry" for a moment, then suddenly he scooped Jack underneath his armpits and plopped the cleric a few feet away like some kind of chair; the process was repeated with Clair (Kuramesh was surprisingly gentle when handling the two; it seemed that he had good control of his strength).

The bloodrager closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The veins on his forearms started bulging and pulsating as his breathing grew deeper and more rapid. When he opened his eyes again, they were painted with the color of blood and the strange mist that he always exhaled was tinged with the same crimson hue. He crouched down and shoulder checked the sarcophagus, throwing his entire weight into the push.

Attempting to rotate arrow downwards to the hallway next to the orange one. Red I believe.
Expending 1 round of rage for +4 strength bonus

Rolled strength check in OOC. Wanted to see the results so I could properly describe my post.

[hpboy111]

Throwing all of his weight against the side of the sarcophagus and its base, Kurramesh puts everyone else to shame. There is a sudden click and grinding noise as the platform rotates, quite a bit faster than expected, turning nearly 360 degrees before coming to rest pointing toward the hallway with the yellow lantern.

Another grinding noise emanates from the tunnel as a cylinder four feet in diameter emerges from the ground just in front of the yellow lantern. It rises up to a height of seven feet before a part of it slides open, revealing the cylinder to be hollow inside.

This was truly amusing. I am so glad I was busy with a IRL session and wasn't able to get in the middle of this.

For future reference, the Red lantern and the Indigo lantern are the ones missing. You guys have the Indigo lantern but have not yet returned it to its chain.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair lets out a triumphant whoop. "Aha! So I was right!" She grins, if possible, wider, "I mean, yes, as I thought would happen. With my professional experience tomb-raiding. Yes," she says, attempting to sound slightly serious. "Nice job, all,"

Clair hops back up to her feet and bounces halfway over to the cylinder before stopping dead, her smile wiping off her face completely. Her face, now that you can see it unobscured, is covered by an expression of complete horror. It's visible only briefly, before Clair once again tugs her scarf up over most of her face again. She takes a few steps back, somewhat unsteadily, before making a quick 'come forward' hand gesture.

"Maybe it's best if someone else went in that thing first. It's pretty small, it's not like we could all fit in, right," She laughs again, a little, but it sounds nothing like the ugly cacophony of earlier. If anything, it sounds a little forced.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

With the final aspect of the puzzle solved by some good old-fashioned muscling, the druid definitely notices Clair's expression. He doesn't immediately comment, wondering perhaps if she was claustrophobic. He feels it would be rude to point this out, so he moves over to the column and peers inside.

"I'll go." he volunteers. Rotate the ahh... dead-person box-thing and take me all the way down. When it hits bottom, wait six seconds, then rotate it and bring me back up. I'll let you know what I see."

Attached to his backpack was that chestnut-brown wooden shield, bedecked with bits of moss and old markings and idle carvings. He straps his quarterstaff to his back, its glow still providing decent light, and with two hands he grips his shield protectively. So armed, he steps into the column, grinning nervously at his fellows.

[hpboy111]

Stepping into the hollow column proves all that is necessary. The entryway closes slowly behind you, and then with a grinding of stone, you feel yourself begin to descend.

Those of you above see the cylinder descend into its original position, and then nothing else seems to happen.

The trip downward is surprisingly smooth. You descend for some 15 seconds before the door once again opens, revealing a whole new room.

The walls here are covered in bas-relief images similar to the slender figure on the sarcophagus lid in the chamber above. Nearly a dozen androgynous, hairless humanoids stand in poses of deference, almost as if they are paying homage to the viewer. Many extend their hands in adoration, their faces awash in adulation. Several of the images lack hands, arms, heads, or anything else easily hacked off by long absent tomb robbers.

Opposite the elevator, fifteen feet across the room, sits a large stone slab, just under ten feet wide, five feet deep and about eight feet tall. The two feet between the top of the slab and the ceiling reveal passageway beyond, bit it would be necessary to slide the slab out of the way, or perhaps knock it down before this passage could be accessible.

So what do you do now?

Does anyone upstairs listen to Grigori and try to rotate the sarcophagus again?

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

"Whoah... Whoah! Wait! Uh!" he says, surprised that the column begins moving as he steps in. The last bit of him his party members see is his startled expression as the floor seems to swallow him up!

When he reaches the bottom, for a moment, his startled mind thinks the androgynous figures carved into the walls are real! He blinks rapidly, keeping his shield up; damnit, this time he was in a terrifying underground tomb without a giant half-orc behind him!"G-greetings!" he says, then he shuts his mouth with embarrassment when he realizes they are art, not characters.

His eyes settle on the massive stone slab at the end... How curious. He waits inside the column, and if lifted by his comrades, he'll tell them what he saw, and that it appears to be safe. He isn't sure how this... elevating device works, but it transported him safely enough. If they all came down, how would they get back up?

Maybe a long-shot, but I want to make a raw knowledge roll to see if he happens to know what these figures represent. It's likely not Geography or Nature, which I have bonuses in, so it's just a 1d20 for... well any of the other knowledges!

[roll0]

[hpboy111]

Staying in the cylinder, you wait patiently. After twenty seconds, the door slides closed once again and you feel yourself moving up. When the doors open once again, you find yourself in the large chamber, looking at your comrades as Jack struggles to move the arrow nce again.

Nearly a minute after the the cylinder descended, there is a grinding of stone and the cylinder once again rises out of the ground and slides open, revealing Grigori to still be intact.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

"Ahh... It moves on its own." he says to the others. "There's nothing immediately dangerous down there. A giant slab of stone blocks the hallway. There are... carvings in the walls, broken, looks like tomb raiders already went at them." He shifts a bit inside the column, trying to think of what else he saw. "Clearly, at least one other group has been here. Wood shavings under old bedding upstairs, signs of broken statues, and then we-"

He had been standing the column again for 20 seconds...

I'm pausing his speech because, if this thing works the way I think it does, it'll close on him and send him back down after 20 seconds! Maybe a comedic interruption? If this does work that way, we can all filter down through it into the lower level and continue our exploration.

[hpboy111]

An excellent assumption.

The door slams closed, cutting Grigori off, and the cylinder once again descends into the ground. A minute later, when it returns, it is empty.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Below, Grigori waits, bemused by the column shutting him up earlier. While waiting for his comrades, he does spend some time detecting magic among the eerily-lit bas reliefs in this area, as well as any magic located on the stone slab.

[hpboy111]

@Aurethius: As Grigori steps out of the elevator to wait, he takes a look around the room for magic. None of the figures on the wall detect as magic, however, as the elevator door slides closed and the elevator rises, a gust of wind catches Grigori, nearly knocking him off his feet. The elevator begins to rise, propelled by a column of air. A small vent just beneath the elevator, where the wind seems to be emanating from, does detect as magic. A few moments of concentration reveal it to be a moderate strength aura.

You can drop a knowledge arcana and a spellcraft for additional info.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

"O-oh! Geeze!"he exclaims, nearly dropping his wooden shield. For a brief second, he wondered if it was the horrible breath of some hungry heaving monster! With his concentration returned, he does indeed focus on this strange magical power. So this was how it moved... Wind! Magical wind!

Cool! Wind-levators! My Arcana and Spellcraft are both raw 20's. Here goes!

Knowledge (Arcana) - [roll0]
Spellcraft - [roll1]

[Piousknyte]

Skyzich watches the group from halfway down the stairs, lantern at her side, doll in hand. She likes this lot of people. Shadow doesn't really care, though. Shadow just wants a new pet to play with. Hopefully there will be toys deeper within this false tomb...

[Springjack]

Kuramesh watched with curiosity when the stone cylinder popped out of the ground and grunted when Grigori entered it and was subsequently swallowed into the ground. The druid continued to talk; that meant nothing bad happened to him, which was good. Kuramesh looked back down at the arrow, then around to the other tunnels; maybe he'd give the sarcophagus a few more spins to see if more stone tubes popped out of the ground elsewhere. Once his companion re-emerged of course.

While gazing around the room, Kuramesh spotted the purple-colored lantern that the rat-girl was holding and wandered on over. He greeted Skyzich with a nod. "Kuramesh...give light. Lamp...need go back...to home." He explained, pointing first to one of the empty tunnels then to the lantern in the ratling's hand. Kuramesh made no motion to take the object away himself; instead he eyed Skyzich expectantly, awaiting the girl's answer.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair looked at the now very empty cylinder and sighed.

"Someone had better go down there, find out what happened," Clair said, and trudged toward the elevator. You can't help but notice that she has produced a knife from somewhere on her person and is nervously flicking it back and forth.

Hopefully, the thread didn't die? I think we all came down with a case of waiting for someone else to post.

[hpboy111]

The elevator ride down is short. Upon reaching the bottom, Claire finds Grigori waiting for everyone else to join him.

When the elevator returns to its original position, it is once again empty.

Claire gets the same description as Grigori did and feels the burst of wind once the elevator begins to rise.

[AvatarVecna]

Jack silently takes his turn making use of the magic enclosed platform.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori

Grigori gleefully greets his growing group of guys and gals. "Look at that Whoosh!" he exclaims to Clair. "Incredible, isn't it? No gears or chains to grease and maintain, no dwarven machinery! Just some magical blow-source in a hole!"

He gestures at the phenomenon to Jack when he comes down as well. "Isn't that something?"

[AvatarVecna]

A bemused grin sneaks onto Jack's face at his ally's enthusiasm. As he observes the phenomenon, a thought crosses his mind. "There's a joke about shooting the breeze that could be told here, but I'm not sure how to make it work."

[Trenchfoot]

"Let's take a quick peek of what's beyond that slab while we wait for our comrades." Grigori proposes.

Grigori moves over to the slab, making sure his gear was decently secured before taking a knee. He looks up, noting the 2 feet of distance between the top of the 8-foot tall slab and the ceiling. He links his hands together, looking to either Clair or Jack. "I can give you a bit of a boost, then you can look over." he offers.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair seemed to have returned completely to her previous quiet and suspicious self by the time she had descended to the level Grigori had scouted out. Clair notes the way the elevator works with what seems to be a small amount of detached interest, giving it a long sidelong glance before scanning the walls for threats and possible traps.

Rather than respond to Grigori's suggestion, Clair just rummages around in a small pack fastened on her lower back, and pulls out a complicated arrangement of tubes and metal screws that she deftly assembles into a long pole.

"No reason to have more dead people on this little venture," She says, darkly, before moving to a position in which she can safely attempt to check for traps atop the block. "Move away from the block and cover your everything," she warns, before probing the (probably trapped) crawlspace


I really hope the rest of the adventure path has fewer traps. I'd hate to think I gave up trapfinding for that. (I trust nothing in this dungeon. Nothing)

Traps: [roll0]

I assume the collapsable 11 foot pole sets off any traps up there, but my roll for that in case it matters is [roll1].

EDIT - AYYYY! Curse is broken!

[Trenchfoot]

The druid's eyes widen in a brief moment of horror as the woman withdraws some strange collapsible contraption from her pack. Wait, was she going to put a knife at the end of it? After a moment, the sensation of fear passes when he realizes it's just some sort of poking thing. He stands from the kneeling position and hustles out of her way, once more drawing his hunk of wood out and holding it with both hands to guard against any explosions of fire.

[Piousknyte]

Skyzich finishes a fierce bout of whispering to her doll, then picks up the lantern exasperatedly and skitters over to Kuramesh, setting it down a few feet away from him.

[hpboy111]

Claire takes a good long poke around the crawl space, setting no traps or contraptions off in the process. However, as you begin to fold the pole up once again you note that the crawl space isn't actually the issue. Kneeling down to get a better at the ground on which the slab sits, you notice a crack in the tiling running around the base of the stone slab. It would seem that it lies atop a pressure plate.

[Springjack]

Kuramesh picked up the lantern and nodded in appreciation to Skyzich, with the corners of his mouth curling upwards into the slightest hint of a smile. Then he spun around and walked to an empty hallway, hanging the lantern on a chain like the rest of them, but he did not take out a torch this time. There was one more empty chain, one more missing lamp. First find them all, then light them all. Fire was a hungry beast and a torch would die out if lit too long. This, Kuramesh knew.

Except, the green lantern housed a torch that did not follow this rule. Did it have a fuel source? Was it magical? Curious, the half-orc stared at this ever-burning flame, again seemingly transfixed for about a minute. Then he slowly reached into the green lantern and tried to pull the torch out.

[Piousknyte]

Skyzich clambers up on top of the sarcophagus and stares towards the elevator, wondering if those that entered the magic tube are going to come back. "Not a bad idea for a trap..." she muses to the doll. "Tube takes them down, one by one. Sometimes they come out safe, sometimes they're dumped in a spike pit, their companions none the wiser." A strange, chittering chuckle emenates from the ratfolk as she ponders how deliriously stupid it is to muck about in places like this.

[hpboy111]

@Springjack: The lantern opens and the torch is removed easily enough. It gutters and flickers a bit as Kurramesh grabs it, but otherwise continues to burn strong. Kurramesh notes that there is no heat emanating from the flame.

[Springjack]

Kiramesh grabbed the lit end of the magical torch and snorted when he felt no pain. Fire with no bite. Curious...but arguably useful, especially since it seemed to work on its own. The half orc hung the magical light source onto a loop on his belt (normally a bad place to store a blazing stick) and proceeded back to the sarcophagus. The green lantern would get another torch in exchange soon enough.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair maneuvers the pole, which, fully extended, is more than twice the petite woman's height, about as well as someone unused to using an 11-foot pole to check for traps could, which is to say with a great deal of muttered curses, near misses on her allies and a lot of banging. Setting off nothing, she slowly retracts the pole, breaking it down again section by section.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure the top is clear. Give me a little longer, something still looks off about this to me," Clair said, tucking the pole back into her pack as she walked over to the large slab blocking their path.

Clair's trap-checking motions are a blur of half-remembered bar-room lessons, which she tries to recite under her breath as she runs her hands over the blank face of the slab. Once, she reaches into a pocket, pulls out a knife, lightly plinks the pommel against the stone face, leans into the slab slightly, then, seemingly satisfied, returns it to its previous resting place in her coat. She ends her inspection on her knees, staring very intently at the bottom of the slab, before poking it, cautiously, with one finger.

Clair abruptly jumps to her feet, and spins around to face the rest of her companions."This" she gestures grandly at the slab "is sitting atop a weighted pressure plate. Which will probably trip something if we either add more weight, or subtract weight. Right now, I have no real idea which, but my money is on subtracting weight."

She pauses for a moment.

"I do not recommend trial and error for finding out which,"


Yo, Hpboy111, is the pressure plate depressed, or is it weighted so that when more weight is added, the trap is triggered? Can I tell?

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori watches the woman's remarkable investigative process. He keeps completely silent, occasionally lifting or moving his staff to provide a more helpful bit of light. With her final diagnosis, Grigori is very impressed, and gives her a brief bit of applause while looking at Jack and then back to her.

"That was impressive! Very nice!" he says. "Is it ahh... Is it pushed all the way down? Or could the plate be pushed down even more? If it's all the way down, then we could each climb over it, I'd think."

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair nods, then ducks down to look back at the pressure plate again. "It's down, I think. Looks like it should be safe for us to climb over, but not to push," She says.

"So, uh, who wants to go first into the unknown?"

[AvatarVecna]

"I shall go," Jack replies. As he accepts the offered boost, he wryly adds "If you hear me screaming in pain or horror, it's probably not safe to come after me."

[Kiranvonstrom]

"Thanks for the warning there, big guy. I'll be sure to clear out of here if you die screaming," Clair tries to grin, but conveying the smile is somewhat difficult with the scarf covering her face.

Clair braces herself, then offers a pair of clasped hands as a foothold.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori grins at Jack's grim gag, and grunts as he guides Jack's jump.

"I'll be right behind you!" the druid announces. Politely asking Clair to offer him a boost as well, the druid vaults his ungainly way up through the hole as well, wishing he felt the druidic calling strongly enough to take the shape of animals!

I hope you don't mind, if I assume that your character is willing to boost me as well! I'd hate to slow down the action by waiting for permission, but I also don't want to Godmod if your character would react differently. Grigori does have dirty feet after all!

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair shrugs, a motion that rolls fluidly into shoving Jack up. For her size and svelte figure, the thief is almost monstrously strong. Letting the heavily-armored priest scramble into the crawlspace, she offers her hands to Grigori

"Next time, Gri, you're wearing shoes," she grumbles, hoisting the druid up as well.

Letting the druid climb up, Clair backs off a bit, wiping off her hands throughly on her pants and idly squishing a small beetle that had fallen out of Grigori's robe with her heel. Out of the corner of her eye, she watches the others climb up, ready to sidestep out of their way should they fall. Satisfied that her companions are in no danger, Clair backs up a few steps, and scales the block with relative ease.

On the other side of the block, Clair drops fluidly out of the crawlspace, landing gracefully on the balls of her feet.


All good. I think of everyone down there, the skillmonkey* rogue is probably the one who least needs a boost.

Acrobatics: [roll0], (7= 4 Dex + 1 Rank + 3 Class Skill - 1 Armor) should it be necessary\

*Skillmonkey may be a stretch. Clair's actually designed for damage, but, you know, having a positive INT means I do a pretty good skillmonkey too.

[hpboy111]

The three of you drop down just on the other side of the block, revealing a ten foot wide hallway that extends beyond the range of your light source. Curious carvings that seem to represent a gathering tempest cover the walls of this passage. At ten foot intervals, small alcoves flank the hall and each alcove contains an androgynous humanoid figure with cupped hands held out before them. The figures stand roughly seven feet tall.

A faint wind seems to play through the passage, but it's difficult to tell where it might be coming from.

[Trenchfoot]

That old foreboding feeling was back. Grigori felt as concerned as he did when he had first walked into the Cairn, knowing that hungry wolves were near but knowing not where they would come from. The artwork implying a gathering storm lent a feeling of dread to the atmosphere, but the statues with their cupped hands... Was there an offering to be made to stem off the tempest?

"Their hands..." he says aloud, the apprehension clear in his voice. He is about to continue his sentence, but he doesn't know what else to say. He does have a moment of inspiration however! The druid withdraws an errant pebble from a dirty pocket in his robe, apologizing to the earthworm his fingers disturbed. With a wave of his hand and a bit of breath, he causes that same glow to come over the small stone. Pocketing the stone in the pouch of his sling, he tosses the stone down the hallway beyond the reach of their light, hoping to see what was down there...

[hpboy111]

The pebble flys down the hallway, travelling only twenty feet beyond the range of your own light source before impacting a wall and falling to the ground. In all, the hall is 65 feet from stone slab to far wall with 6 alcoves total, 3 on each side. The hall branches to the left and right at the end, two more 10 foot wide hallways now visible in the light of the pebble.

[Trenchfoot]

The druid rolls his crude sling back up and attempts to slide it into his belt where it usually dangles. The weapon pops out the bottom, and he has to kneel down to pick it up with a muted grumble. As he does, he remembers... "Oh! I should look for tracks. It looks like tomb raiders didn't make it in here, since all those hands are intact. Might be something else to see instead. One moment, please."

It occurs to him that with the odd wind, there may not be dust to show signs of passage. Instead, he has to look at debris that could have been blown into the corners. Bits of cloth perhaps, or hair, might be clues that someone walked down this windy corridor at some point. It was a long shot...

Naturally I would LOVE to take 20, for a total of 27. If that's not appropriate, here is my roll! Let's see if I got the bad rolls out of MY virtual dice!

[roll0]

[hpboy111]

Can't let you take 20 here, but you can take 10, so we'll run under that assumption. I'm also assuming that you are searching for signs over the whole hall, not just the corner you currently occupy.

The floor, as you rightly guessed, is surprisingly clean. Less dust than one might expect from a tomb this old. You slowly begin to wander down the hall, eyes peeled for anything that stands out.

As you pass by the second pair of alcoves you feel a light tingling sensation in your arm and your eyes begin to droop.

I'm going to need a Will save from Grigori. Followed by a perception check, for if he passes the save.

Everyone else back near the stone slab sees a small blue beam of energy fire forth from the statue on the left hand side of the hallway, hitting Grigori in the arm as he is busy looking down.

Everyone else can make perception checks. Also we'd better have initiative rolls from everyone including Grigori.

[Kiranvonstrom]

"What is it with this tomb and wind?" Clair paused, "D'you think you can bury an elemental of wind? Why would they even do that? Seems a little out of character? Who makes a tomb and goes, hey, this will be a wind-themed tomb, with nothing else but traps and ominous statues?" Clair's voice sounded somewhat playful, as though her earlier bout of terror hadn't happened at all. Underneath her mask, she seemed to be, as well as anyone could guess, smiling.

Seeing Grigori stagger, Clair instantly stopped her half-muttered tirade, and produced a pair of knives from her jacket.

"Well, that can't be good,"

[hpboy111]

Grigori shakes his head to clear the drowsiness and is able to resist the oncoming sleep.

All three of you, see a tiny sized creature attempt to dart back behind the head of statue, not quickly enough to avoid your gazes. The 'creature' consists of a pair of floating eyeballs connected by nothing other than a thin string of muscle. One of the eyes is a bright blue, the other a deep purple.

The creature, while it remains in the same space as the statue, has cover. Grigori is adjacent to the statue while Jack and Claire are 25 feet from Grigori. It's 20 feet to get to the near side of Grigori, 30 feet to get to the far side. Both while be diagonal from the statue and therefore the creature.

It's knowledge dungeoneering if anyone wants to identify the creature.

[Trenchfoot]

"Whoah-whoah!" Grigori manages to mumble out, shaking his head briskly and recovering from his stagger. That certainly felt strange! He had just suddenly had the sensation of being buffeted with a disarmingly comfortable pile of soft and downy pillows! "Oh, hang on, we've got something! Some kind of... eyeball creature. Not... quite like any animal I know of."

Grigori, being nearest to it, treats it as though it's an animal whose space he has invaded. Keeping his arms low, his posture gentle, he'll move backward, out of the windy passage and away from what was perhaps this thing's territory. He wonders what it might be, despite having little knowledge of such things. "I think it tried to hit me with a spell, or power, when I stepped into this hallway. We might not need to kill it."

Wow, I have no idea what this is. Creepy! I do want to roll dungeoneering to ID it, but I have no bonus. Some kind of dungeon monster? For my partymates down here with me, do you think your character would immediately attack... whatever this is? We might be able to pass by it peacefully once we see what it is.

[roll0]

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair peered at the rope of flesh, her eyes narrowed, sure she had somehow run into one in the past. Something about the pet of some crime lord or another in the Free Cities. He used to command it to strangle people, she thought. Strange man, he was. Seemed like a bit of a risky strategy, when your entire body was a garotte. What did he call it? Eyes. It had something to do with eyes.

"It's a beholder, I think. Just...maybe a baby one? Some mutant species? I don't remember the name, but I blame wizards for it's existence. I don't think we're going to be able to negotiate with it." Clair gestured at the creature with a knife. "Jack, can you go hit that thing? I need it somewhat distracted,"

[AvatarVecna]

"Will do," Jack replied, unsheathing his sword. He didn't know what the thing was, but he was pretty sure it was an abomination that existed in defiance of nature. Going over to the creature, he raised his sword in preparation to strike. "Have you any words for your defense, creature?" he asked.

Jack has drawn his sword and walked over to the creature; he is readying his action to strike the creature if it does anything other than try to talk its way out of getting hit with a sword.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori halts in his tracks when Clair identified the thing. His eyes narrow, and his whole demeanor shifts to the negative. The bright and happy druid fades, leaving a punishing vengeful thing standing in its place in this windy hallway. He moves aside to give Jack plenty of room, ready to support the destruction of this thing with his spells and sling, if necessary.

Ready for order of combat! Let's kill this abomination!

[Kiranvonstrom]

Trusting years of experience making pocket change in knife-throwing competitions, Clair sprints to get a clear shot at the beholderkin, and whips a knife perilously close to Grigori's head, attempting to land a hit on the creature. She does, however, aim much higher than she normally would, trying to avoid having the knife plant itself somewhere in a very different, and much less fortunate eye.


Given that I have no room to flank, and can't actually get to a useful tile for melee right now, my plan is to throw a knife now and then close after the thing (hopefully) moves somewhere else so I can set up sneak attacks. I think I can get into a place where I can safely through, if I move just behind Grigori, so he isn't actually in the way. If I am wrong, though, please let me know.

Attack roll [roll0] (0 + 4 Dex - 4 firing into melee)
Damage [roll1] (3= 3 STR)

EDIT - Oh, fer... I thought we were done with this? At least the damage is nice, unless this goes right into Grigori somehow. Thankfully not a 1?

And misses horribly. Clair swears, violently, under her breath, and resolves to just grab the thing and stab it in the vulnerable bits next time.

[hpboy111]

Jack is the first to make his move, closing and positioning himself within striking distance of the creature.

Claire follows up quickly behind him, telling the two what she knows and flinging her dagger which bounces of the head of the statue tat the creature is attempting to hide behind.

Grigori had begun to back off, only for Claire to reveal the abberational origin of the creature. He repositions himself so as to not be in Jacks way, while still having clear line of sight to the alcove.

The creature, quick to hide but slow to react now it is found out stare the closest target, Jack, in the face. It's blue eye glows briefly and then a beam of energy rockets forth.

Jack's readied action procks here. In the case of readied actions I'll make the rolls here so that the narration for the round isn't interrupted.

To hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]


In a fantastic display of swordsmanship, Jack thrusts his sword forward, high over the creature and brings his blade down in one quick, powerful stroke, severing the connecting muscle and causing the two eyes to plop to the ground, twitching slightly before falling still. The blue beam passes by Jack's head complements of a simultaneous sidestep, and misses those behind him by several inches.

Combat's over... That's two battles solved in a single round now...

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori moves up to Jack, looking down at the now-dead creature at their feet. "Good show, Jack." Using the big toe of his left foot, he rolls the two monstrous orbs closer together so that their heterochromatic pupils stared upward back at them. "Beholderkin... Aberrations... If there are more of these down here, we ought to eradicate them." he tells Jack, and Clair too if she comes near. "In my understanding, these things are completely unnatural. Practically anti-natural. They're worse than spell-bourne Undead." With the two orbs gathered together, he pushes his bare hands tightly together, shaping something like clay between his palms. He thrusts his right hand forward, unleashing a dart of burning, sizzling acid onto the tiny corpse of the thing. "I wouldn't even want the ants to eat this thing."

I use one of my six daily uses of Acid Dart from my Earth Domain to destroy the corpse of this weird thing.

[Trenchfoot]

With the corpse burned away, the druid shakes off the sensation of disgust. He knew that there may be more of these things down here, and surely something created it, right? Or were they spawned out of goo? Or did they breed? He made a mental note to ask Clair for instruction on the nature of these creatures; it had seemed as though she knew the thing was beholderkin.

He strides now, blinking rapidly against the strange wind. He wished, not for the first time, that he had a camel's eyelashes to keep the wind out of his eyes. He stops at the T-intersection at the end, looking right and left. He also picks up the little pebble unless something startling gets his attention!

[hpboy111]

As Grigori reaches the intersection, he notices the air growing chilly. To the right and left the halls extend a mere 15 feet, ending in more ten foot wide corridors that continue west, like the one with the alcoves.

To the right, you notice something curious coating the ground near the branching hallway. Some sort of fuzzy brown material extends into the westward running hall.

Knowledge nature check please, to identify the fuzzy brown material.

[Trenchfoot]

With an odd chill cutting through his protective layer of dirt and grime, Grigori suppresses a shiver. The sight of the fuzzy brown material coating the ground certainly gets his attention, and he gently tosses his glowing pebble into the center of it to better illuminate the stuff. If it was alive, it was reassuring proof that life continued to find ways to thrive in even the strangest of places.

Here is my Knowledge Nature check, if a Take 20 is not appropriate.

[roll0]

I would also love to know how far the material extends. Is it a 5x5 square, or larger than this?

Edit: Oh, and how far from the intersection is it?

[AvatarVecna]

Jack clears his throat. "If I might make a suggestion, perhaps we should wait until the entire group is together before continuing too much further? If this is, indeed the main tomb, we won't want to go too far without our full might ready to be brought to bear."

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair pads quietly two steps behind her companions, apparently deep in thought.

And, uh, while I'm sure the fuzzy brown stuff isn't harmful, I'd rather poke it a few times to make sure it's not some kind of carnivorous aberration. And, quite honestly, I'd rather Kuramesh or someone was doing that poking, just in case,"

[hpboy111]

Looking over the furry brown stuff, you can identify it as some sort of mold, but you know nothing in particular about this strain. The cold air does seem to be emanating from the mold, or at least, further down that hall.

The short 'hall' is made up of 6 5x5 squares, 2 wide, 3 long. On the left hand side, adjacent to the two squares farthest away on the left hand side, the hall turns and continues further west. Roughly half of these two adjacent squares is filled with the mold and it looks to extend further out of sight. Assuming you are standing on the right hand side of the intersection, without actually leaving it, there is one full 5x5 square between Grigori and the mold.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori scratches his head, loosening a brief cascade of caked dirt from his scalp. He liked molds; they were fascinating and, to his primitive understanding of science, quite amazing! "It's a mold!" he announces. "Not quite unlike what you'd find on an old apple or a rotten bit of bread. They don't need light like plants do. Instead, they feed on..." he pauses, squinting at the stuff and hesitant to approach it until he knew more. Clair was right... poking things could be dangerous with Kuramesh around. "I don't actually know what this species feeds on. Moisture in the air, maybe."

He turns to his comrades. "I don't know how to get that wind-rising contraption to come back down. What should we do?"

[Piousknyte]

Meanwhile, upstairs, Skyzich is, as usual, holding her doll close to her face and whispering to it. After a moment, she hops down from the sarcophagus and meanders towards the magic elevator. She'll snuffle at it, poke it a bit, and, assuming it opens for her, call to Kuramesh before hopping in it.

[hpboy111]

Skyzich rides the elevator down and steps out into the small chamber with the hacked at and damaged figures. A large stone block bars passge further into the tomb.

Those further down the hall hear the blast of wind as the elevator begins rising once again, and feel a brief change in the air currents. Someone has decided to come join you.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori peers back to where they had come from, wondering who might be there. He raises his glowing staff, trying to extend its light down the gusty hallway. He hopes it's their comrades from upstairs!

[Springjack]

Kuramesh, who had been busy inspecting his new trinket, the ever-burning torch, swiveled his head around and eyed the rat girl as soon as he heard his name being called. She seemed to be beckoning him over to the stone tube. He watched Skyzich silently as she entered the strange contraption and then disappeared into the ground, just like everyone else did. After a moment's deliberation (which consisted mainly of a lot of backside scratching), Kuramesh snorted and followed suit. Once the elevator popped back up to the surface, the half-orc squeezed inside and awaited the next leg of the trip with grand curiosity.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair eyed the mold suspiciously as she reconstructed the 11-foot pole. "I've heard stories about mold in dungeons. Somethin' about all the magic warping them into something hungry-like. Kinds with fangs and spring-loaded spears an' such. Maybe we should, uh, set it aflame, or try to cut it away, just to be safe?"

Clair straightened immediately hearing the elevator come down.

"Great. Now there's no-one to let us back up." She muttered.

[Trenchfoot]

"There are certainly dangerous molds out there, but this one isn't moving or biting. I don't see a need to harm this patch just yet. Why don't we take this other path for the time being?"

He gestures down the other direction, and moves cautiously down it, stopping once he sees anything unusual or of interest, such as a door or tripwire or giant horrible monster.

[hpboy111]

The left hand path extends the same distance as the right hand path. Upon looking around the corner, you find a large stone slab extending from the ceiling to fill the space below. It stops several inches from the ground and is large enough to leave only the tiniest of cracks between itself and the walls around it.

Posting from a tablet right now. As soon as I get home to my computer I'm planning on mocking up a simplistic map for all of you as I'm realizing how hard it might be to keep everything straight in your heads.

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori marches nearer to this next oddity; a stone slab extending from the ceiling now? How unusual! He looks to see if the stone slab comes *out* of the ceiling, or if it slides into it like a retractable tooth. He also drops down into the prone, pressing his face against the dirt to peek underneath the slab. If there were a few inches, maybe he could get a little idea of what lay beyond it. Perhaps this thing was some kind of door!

[hpboy111]

The slab is sliding out of the ceiling. It looks like normally it is part of the ceiling, or is concealed as part of the ceiling.

When Grigori ducks down to look underneath, he sees a glint of metal. By the looks of it, an old suit of armor, still worn by the now rather crushed skeleton of an ancient adventurer.

[Trenchfoot]

"Oh, there's a thing! There's a thing under this slab..." He squints at it. "It looks like a skeleton wearing metal armor. Very crushed. Probably dead." He looks to Clair, and then to the rest of his comrades. "I wonder if there's a way to get it to go back up?"

[Kiranvonstrom]

Clair, balancing on her toes, looked over Grigori's shoulder at the skeleton. "Probably dead? Gri, it's very dead. All skeletons are dead. It's a prerequisite. Even the moving ones."

Clair makes her way around the odiferous druid, examining the slab.

"I think we have here the good fortune to have come across a trap that has already been sprung. Better, I think, than a slab falling on our heads. D'you want to see if we can force this thing thing up?"

[AvatarVecna]

"Does this trap reset?" Jack asked, eyeing the pillar. "I know mouse traps can't reset themselves, but I think if I was choosing traps for my evil lair, or tomb, or whatever this is, I would choose things that worked more than once."

[Trenchfoot]

Grigori smiles weirdly at Clair. "Your skeleton is alive." he points out. He steps back, allowing any interested to get a look at the contraption. "This place has a wind-thing goin' on, right? Wind lifted that tube up and down. And you got burned by that big gust of fire. Maybe we need to blow this thing back upwards?" He thinks a little more about this idea, then shakes his head. "Maybe it resets once it's able to push all the way down? We should try to fish that poor fellow out from under there!"

Grigori pops a small, dirty shovel out of his backpack, knocking it with the palm of his hand to get a few chunks of dried soil off of it. He squats down again, wondering if he could try to get the metal-armored skeleton out of there by hooking onto it, or at least scooping it out. He might need Kuramesh help, in fact...