HERE THERE BE GIANTS

Part One: The Caverns


Stepping through the portal from Tienna to Allevia, you once again enter the enormous underground cavern where you briefly met the drow with his ominous words.  It is hard to believe that was only about 20 minutes ago.

But the cavern is very different this time around.  There is no gaping hole in the ceiling showing you the sky above.  There is no torrent of explosions as the world is being destroyed or view of Tienna as a far away moon.

No, this time the cavern is completely enclosed.  You stumble in, gather your bearings and let your eyes adjust, and the portal closes behind you.

As before, high walls surround you on all sides with no apprent exit.  The walls are lined with long and wide pink and purple crystals, some as large as a tree.  They are almost like angled mirrors surrounding you but part of the rock walls.  They emit a very low glow that gives a trace of light, enough to see but not much more.  The cave itself is immense, more than two hundred feet in diameter with walls that go up at least 50 to a hundred feet on all sides.  They curve in a dome like pattern of a ceiling.

There are two other very different aspects of the cave this time around.

First, in the center of the cave is a mass of skeletons and decaying flesh.  The smell is horrid, but the cavern is large enough that is not overly consuming. Above them in the ceiling about 100 feet above you is a hole about two meters wide.  It creates an upward tunnel that ascends to darkness.  If you had to guess, you would say these bodies fell through the hole to land in the pile.

Second, in the far corner of the room, you hear trickling water.  There is a puddle of fresh water, surrounded by mud.  It is far enough away not to be contaminated by the bodies.

You realize that since nothing appears to have disturbed the pile of bodies, this might be a safe place to rest and gather your strength while you make plans.

OOC: The new campaign in Allevia is a sort of exploration campaign.  You are on a new world that you know little about except through legend.  There will be some campaign "goals" provided along the way, but this is like a fresh start.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:04, Tue 16 July 2013.

Leo, staggers over to the wall closest to him and slides down to sit with an audible sigh. "I think we might have a chance to recover here for a little while. At least if we are careful enough to scout around first." Casually he looks over the state of the dead bodies while resting his burnt body against the comforting cold of the rock wall. "Could someone perhaps scout around a bit? I don't know why, but this feels like a hole prisoners are dropped into to feed some beast as punishment."

Shae nods in agreement.  "Looks suspicious to me too, but if they're decayed, then maybe the beast hasn't been around in quite some time.  Shae goes to the water to inspect and test it, taking a sip.  As a druid she feels she can best tell if it can be used or not.  She will also push her hands through the mud to see if there is any sinkhole or anything else that might give an exit besides going up the hole 100 feet above, and she will look for the source of water to see if there is some way out through there.

"Don't worry I have good ears, I could hear any menace coming our way with enough time to do something about it. After all it helped me a lot to survive." Shapfren sits on a spot and unfolds her spellbook "It is sad, knowing that everybody I've ever known and loved is gone. I wish things could have been different."

Borimer lashes the shield to his handless forearm before taking a longer look at the beautiful cavern.



Borimer nods and forces his burned and battered frame to remain standing as he prepares to scout about the cavern. But first he smiles at Kahan.

"Happen to have any healing benedictions left my friend? For luck..."

"Are you sure you want to go there alone? you haven't even had time to get used to the loss of your hand"

Borimer grins at his new companion.

"Nope, but we need to know what's in here sharing our new home...even if it's a temporary one I suppose."

Shae begins exploring the watery area.  The water's source is just from small pores in the side of the cave.

The water itself tastes like sparkling, carbonated water.  The water does not seem to have any effect itself, but the mud on Shae's hands begins to have a curative effect.  The longer she leaves her hands in there, the more it heals.  (Hit points fully restored.)

"In that case I'm going with you, I'm not the epitome of health, but at least I will be of help if soemthing bad happens"

Tahldar looks round him in wonder.  "It may be there is a tribe of people here that put their dead here." he says as he looks over the bodies.  Seeing that Shae is healed by the odd mud, Tahldar decides to have a mud bath, though he will be careful not to get his pristine elven clothes dirty.

"Would one of you like to accompany me while I cast detect magic on the dead?" he says to no one in particular.

OOC:  I will heal in the mud and once everyone else is healed (and as long as at least one other person joins me) I will cast detect magic on the bodies.  Area of effect is 10' x 60' and will last for 14 minutes.  If I have time after scanning the bodies, I will get as much of the rest of the chamber as possible.  This will be my 4th 1st level spell for the day.

Heath, Is my shield still running?  It was cast at the beginning of the last battle and was good for 35 minutes...
This message was last edited by the player at 01:37, Wed 17 July 2013.

DM said SHAE, not SHAPFREN ... so you know

"I'll go with you when we're healed up and in fightin' form again."

Borimer will watch for trouble while the other's heal before taking his own mud bath.

Kahan will let the others heal before healing himself in the mud, mace drawn just in case the dead decide to stop being dead.

The party all cures in the mud.  It is not instantaneous and the process for everyone to be healed takes about 30 minutes.  Tahldar's shield dissipates, but he has no need for it.

OOC: I believe detect magic is considered a level 0 spell under the house rules, so it wouldn't count against you.  Also, the entire group is fairly exhausted by now and might do with some rest soon (i.e., regaining spells).

Examining the bodies and casting detect magic reveals a couple of things:  first, that the bodies are not all humanoid.  About a third are humanoid, but most are animal remains of cattle and other creatures that have been decomposing.  Even those that are humanoid have been stripped of anything valuable -- some have tattered clothes while others have nothing.  And second, that the bottom of the pile of bodies have nothing but old skeletons, and it appears that they are less and less decomposed as you go up the pile (which is itself about 10 feet high).  The bodies on top have been decomposing for probably a month or so.  The total body count is hard to tell because the bones at the bottom are all crushed and intermingled and pressed into the dirt, but it is likely in the hundreds.  There is no magic aura from any of the bodies.

Borimer stretches and breathes as the strange mud tends to his wounds. Afterwards he turns to Shapfren while adjusting his armor one last time.

"You ready to look over the rest of the cavern? Maybe we can rest here for a while longer after we're done, everyone catch their breath and prepare for getting out of these caves."

"Let's go, but just for a customary search, we all need to rest"

Although everyone is healed to their maximum hit points by the sparkling mud, Borimer's hand does not regrow.

A quick search around the cavern shows nothing new -- no secret doors or passages, no other oddities, no other egress than the vertical tunnel 100 feet above you.

The walls are solid stone, and slightly slippery and wet.  Because they curve around in a dome and are smooth and wet, they would be hard to climb for even the best rogue.  The pinkish, purplish crystals do not respond to touch or interaction but simply glow slightly and solidly.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:54, Wed 17 July 2013.

When Borimer returns to camp he drops his large shield and rubs the arm where his clenched fist used to be, gingery rubbing the now-healed stump.

"Looks like no way out but up."

He lashes the shield back on and readies himself to take first watch when the others rest.

Tahldar looks up and shrugs.  "How about I cast a Fly spell on you Borimer.  Then you carry each of us up one at a time?  Though I would like to rest first.  This place seems safe enough, though I don't like the idea of sleeping so near a huge mount of dead things.  But if we fly up and rest up above, the gods knows what might be up there.  It could be even worse."

OOC:  Once we've rested I will cast Fly on Borimer if he agrees.  He could then ferry us up one at a time.

"That sounds like a plan, but I concurr on resting first. It is evident all of these bodies are of prisoners or slaves thrown into this hole to die of starvation, so I would like to be rested before trying to take up a potential group of guards or whatever they might be"

"Agreed, the sooner we can get up, the sooner we get out...to wherever we are."

"These corpses aren't very fresh. Its possible that whoever put them here is gone or dead themselves." the priest replies, stretching out their portable hole so he can get his bedding out.

"Before we try to possibly exit this cave, does anyone by chance have any containers we might take some of this mud with us? I am not sure if its curative powers will work outside of this cave, but if they do it would be a great boon in our travels." Leo askes the others after he has healed as well. "Also I would be happy to slip up top side and scout as well if there is an option for me to help out and carry my own share of the workload."

Edited to correct missing dialoge colors. LOL
This message was last edited by the player at 16:57, Thu 18 July 2013.

"I was thinking the same thing.  I have a spare wineskin that I don't mind filling with mud."

OOC:  I will fill a wineskin with mud and a bit of the water to keep it from possibly drying out.

OOC: I should have been clearer about the bodies, but I was typing fast and not thinking it through:


The bodies are in various states of decomposition, such that you can't really tell what killed any of them for sure.  However, a few toward the top of the pile seem to give some clues.  Some of them have limbs that appear to have been torn off and flesh ripped from their bodies.  Some appear to have what can only be described as large "bites" out of them, and some appear to have been burned (or cooked) prior to being thrown down here.

Leo, goes over to the pile of bodies and circles them looking more closely at the wounds, noticing the large bite like wounds,  pulled loose limbs, and *cooking* of what remaing flesh. Then looking up to the hole above his head he let's out a sigh.

"Um...I think we might have a problem outside this cavern up there. I think we are sitting in someone's garbage pile, and from the looks of what they are eating and bit marks, we are looking at someone VERY big. Is anyone else thinking what I am thinking?"

Upon investigation, the bites themselves appear to be for a rounded, humanoid-like mouth, but with a diameter that itself is larger than most human heads.  The bites are in all sorts of creatures, humanoid and animal alike.  That also explains why some of the bones are all mixed up at the bottom.  It might be due to more than decomposition.

Borimer grimaces and nods.

"Giants. Gods damn 'em all."

He fills his winesack with some of the mystical mud. But then he realizes something important that's missing and he grins.

"I'm Borimer-"

He looks at his arm and sighs.

"One-Fist...and I'm interested to know our new comrades."

OOC: Borimer can still strap his shield to his stumpy arm.  It should not affect stats in that regard--for combat, etc.  But it might affect other things such as climbing and where two hands are needed.

Kahan roots through the portable hole while introducing himself. "I am Kahan Singh, resident healer and vanquisher of death knights." he states with a grin up at Stumpy.

Borimer pats Kahan on the back with his handless forearm.

"Yep, any time there's a bully after me now I'm lookin' to you for protection."

Tahldar lifts his head from his bedroll.  "I am Tahldar.  I am no healer, but I am a mage of some power.  Though my spell book could use some filling out if I am to attain the true potential I am capable of.  But being that I have spent most of my years in study I have not had the chance to do so."

"I am no warrior and I will leave such duties to others, but I do have some offensive spells to help out there and I have further defensive spells to keep myself out of trouble.  Too, I know some spells that although will not help in battle will still he useful now and again."

"And lastly I have an eurudite mind and superior intellect.  I am learned in a lot of different things.  I have studied with the best teachers and am knowledgeable on a variety of subjects.  Not the least of which is Allevian history and the Xren codex."

OOC:  Tahldar is a grey elf and is a bit arrogant.  Though he has yet to show that side of himself.

"Just as long as you keep upsetting undead instead of, say, dragons or demons, I think I'll be okay." the priest replies with a wry grin.

Shae rolls her eyes at Tahldar's self-aggrandization.  She says, "I'm Shae.  My mother's got the Elvish blood and my father's all too human.  Or so she says.  I never met him.  The elves kicked us out when they realized my mother was pregnant by a human.  Haven't had much fondness for elves since then, even though I have their blood in me.  We fled from the Elven forest to the mountains, where I was trained by the Mountain Druids.  That's where I learned my trade, and my holy symbol is from Nature herself."

She touches an eagle feather in her hair.  "I am best in the mountains and on the slopes.  This spear of mine was given to me by my Master, and is a symbol of our people.  Alas, it is all that is left of them, I fear."

"Well met, both of you, although not in the best of circumstances. Then again, I'd rather have the company."

He looks around the multi-colored crystal cavern, and then the hole in the ceiling.

We will assume that the party rests at some point during all this, and everyone regains their spells and strength.  Total elapsed time is about 10 hours, but continue the meet and greet.

Shapfren also introduces herself, while hurrying to write the last notes that formed in her head as they left their homeworld on her spellbook. "I'm Shapfren Diditlew, I'm a keeper of the secret arts of my people, their most pure expression. Which it also means I'm the last mystic singer left. But not just because our world got destroyed, all other memebers of the order got taken out way before that by the orcs. And since my name is so similar to the off.. Shae, it is fine for you to call me Diditlew or just Didit. "
This message was last edited by the player at 00:14, Fri 19 July 2013.

Borimer pauses from working a chink in his armor and smiles.

"Glad to have you aboard Didit."

"My name is Leogold, I was a simple beggar before all this happened. But I have learned to protect myself some from those that have tried to hurt me." A pained expression crosses his face as says the last, and a brief flicker of anger as his eyes pass over the humans. But quickly this is replaced with his usual smile, and you almost wonder if you even saw it or just imagined it.

Shae looks up, and had heard Tahldar's talk of casting a fly spell.  "I have the power of shapeshifting," she says offhandedly, as if such a statement is perfectly normal among this group of powerful people, "and I can change into an eagle to fly up and see what is at the other end of that hole, if you like.  That will save you a spell to help us later."

Kahan finally emerges from the portable hole holding his backpack and a small shovel. "This should be able to hold some of the mud. Hopefully it will still heal us after it is removed from this place." the priest states, heading over and shoveling mud into his now useless backpack before stowing it away into the hole again. "Shae, do you think you could carry a grappling hook up the hole in your eagle form? If you could attach it to something sturdy up there we wouldn't have to waste any spells." he asks, pulling out some rope and a hook.

Before resting, Kahan will pull Tahldar aside and ask him a question.

"I think it would be better if the spell is cast on Borimer, he would have great difficulty climbing a rope or holding an eagle's leg, more important, cab you turn into a giant eagle? because otherwise you'd only be abl to carry Leo"

It doesn't take long for you to realize that the mud soon loses its healing properties.  It dries out very quickly.  Whatever water is in it does not bind long with the mud, or the mud quickly rejects the strange sparkling water.  The mud only seems to last about 15 minutes when removed from a constant source of streaming water.

That is probably why, you notice, it can continually seep in from the wall and yet not fill the entire cavern like a pool or create more than a small pooled area in one corner.

Borimer welcomes Leo while finishing the work on his armaments. He grimaces when talk turns to rope climbing.

"Better off having me fly up there, maybe with Shae backing me up in eagle form."

He pours the mud out of his wineskin and begins washing it out to hold more fresh water.

"I am no climber and I would never make the climb.  Better if I cast one fly since it lasts for at least eighty minutes and a strong man like Borimer here can easily transport us up above, albeit one at a time.  Plus he'll surely have time left over after getting us all up above.  Easily enough to do a fly over and scout a bit of the area.  This might come in really handy before deciding which direction to move.  If there are giants up there they should be easy to spot from the air and hopefully avoid."

Talhdar looks at Kahan with puzzlement.

"I suggest I go first with him and then fly with him while he does the recognoizance, I have good senses and my earing has developped by practice, can't hurt to try"

Shae turns into an eagle and flies up to scout out what is up the vertical hole.

Shae metamorphoses into an eagle, stretching out her wings, and then flies upward.  Her form disappears into the hole in the ceiling above the corpses.  A few seconds later she descends again.

PM

Shae returns down to the party but remains in eagle form, having told the party she can only turn to that form once per day.  She scratches in the dirt with her talons -- HOLE COVERED WITH ROCK

"Hmm.  I could cast fly on Borimer and he could try to lift the rock.  Though I know Borimer is strong, the lift though would be one without leverage so I'm not sure if that would work.  Or I could cast fly on myself then once I'm near the rock cast dimension door so I can get on the other side.  I would then see if there is a way I can move the impediment out of the way.  However I am not strong and I doubt I could move it.  And unfortunately dimension door can only be cast on myself."

"It also could be that the impediment is illusionary.  Shae would you mind flying back up and touching the rock to make sure it is what it seems to be?"

"In the meantime if there is one of us who is a strong swimmer it might be beneficial to see if the pool of water hides a way out.  I myself can swim but I'm not very good at it."

OOC:  I'm not sure if we have done so already, but being an elf I will scan for secret doors throughout the chamber.

Shae squawks once and flies back up to test the rock.

"I can cast Stone Shape on the rock if it is indeed real, which I have a feeling it is. Giants aren't much for spells, but do enjoy large boulders. You will have to get me up there so I can cast the spell, however, as I have to physically mold the rock with my spell." Kahan replies.

Shae returns just a few seconds later.

PM

"Just give the word when I'm needed."

Borimer guards against anything wandering through the cavern previously unseen, shadowing Tahldar as he searches for secrets.

generally keeping an eye out while watching tahldar's back against ambush

OOC:  Assuming that the rock is actually real, I will cast Fly on Borimer.  He can then carry Kahan up and let him cast Stone shape (or possibly Reduce) on the rock blocking our egress.

Shae scratches in the dirt -- ROCK IS REAL

When Borimer sees the Shae eagle scratching in the dirt he stands ready to be enchanted with flight.

Borimer gets "fly" cast on him and goes up to the top.  Here is what you find:

The vertical hole/tunnel is about two meters wide.  It goes straight up about 15 feet.  Then it stops. There is some sort of rock blocking it.  There is very little light for Borimer to see by, but the rock on top appears to be a separate rock.  In other words, it is not part of the wall, but is instead some sort of boulder that has been set on or otherwise put up to stop up the hole.  A six foot plus wide boulder is very heavy, even for Borimer on his best day.

Borimer returns gently to the ground with a thud and a grunt.

"Not sure, but even with my feet on the ground it's a really big rock. Damn giants."

"Would some oiling help?!"

"I think we need Kahan's rock magic, I can fly him up there..."

Kahan nods, ready to be lifted into the air, casting Stone shape when he gets there.

Leo shakes his head. Things are not progressing well so far, but hopefully they will have an exit soon.

Keep in mind the following limitation on the fly spell: it (the target) cannot carry aloft more weight than its maximum load, plus any armor it wears.  As I recall, Kahan wears plate mail armor.  :)

But it is magical, so it shouldn't weigh as much. If he has to, he can take it off.

This message was deleted by the player at 15:50, Thu 25 July 2013.

As I recall magic armor has weight, but doesn't encumber you if worn.  In any event I would add up your weight as I suspect Borimor might be strong enough to still carry you even dressed in armor.  He is Thor basically.

Kahan can stone shape 16 cubic feet of rock.

Borimer flies Kahan up, since he must touch the rock to peform a stone shape.  Kahan uses all his power, and the stone begins to change as he chants his spell and wields his will against the giant boulder stopping up the hole like a cork stopping up a drain.

But the rock is more than 16 cubic feet.  As Kahan is finishing his spell, he realizes the danger and urges Borimer down to get out of the tunnel, which is now like the barrel of a cannon as the remaining rock plummets down the hole now created by Kahan.  [Saving throw successful.]

Borimer and Kahan fly out of the hole and to the side as rubble and large breaking rock falls straight down into the pile of bodies and bones below.  You hear the crunch of bones and see the rise of dust.

But Kahan has successfully cleared the plugged hole above you without injury.

This message was deleted by the player at 19:19, Mon 29 July 2013.

OOC:  If the way is clear the plan was to fly people up one at a time.

Borimer drops off the priest at the top and then descends to the cavern floor.

"That was too close. Whose next?

Borimer takes everyone up one at a time, thx to talhdar for the reminder :)