Scarcely any time had transpired since Lhosof had foolishly gushed about his most excellent discovery. Thankfully, there were not too many men still at The Nail by the time he became too loose-lipped, but those few men who had been present were the sort where there could be little doubt whether they would hatch their own schemes. And fast!

Life was tough and there were no tropies presented to the "Most Decent Stormhavian".

No, a man got ahead in life only by virtue of his own initiative. True, one could ill afford to make too many enemies, but it wasn't like little Lhosof was being double-crossed. He had already got his. Time for others to get theirs!

Perhaps this was the premise that brought the companions together for this expedition? There was safety in numbers, even if it meant having to share the spoils. The fact was that one dead man earned less treasure than one live man splitting six ways. Didn't take a City Taxman to figure that much...

***

Lhosof's drunken recounting of the trek was been spot-on: sewer grate nearest Old Man Hatch's Tannery, bear west toward Witchlight Marsh, right at the the broken portcullis, down the natural stairs nearest the Slaughterstone, past the fetid pools, and just beyond the Weeping Grotto.

There it is...the Dark Gaping Maw!

It is aptly named, for the dark portal looks like the very earth has opened wide and is prepared to rend flesh from any unfortunate soul that happens to pass through. A placid, inky pool spreads before the mouth of the cave. Dark waters slowly trickle through the teeth and create an unsettling sound akin to perverse slurping. A human arm hangs limply through two of the teeth, while a clutched fist grasps firmly around a copper statuette of a curvaceous female form.

There is no clear path to the cave entrance without moving through the water, though it might be possible to scale the rock walls around the edge of the water to reach the entrance.

OOC: I am assuming someone in the party is carrying the light source, as there is no natural light available. Please let me know who has the torch/lantern/etc. Thanks.

---

PC          AC    HP      AP    Notes
Ben         7    06/06    2     Surprise +2
Hestilan    10   04/04    3
Norion      3    12/12    2
Ravick      3    09/09    1
Saliq       7    04/04    3     Surprise +2
Sularius    8    07/07    3     Surprise (4 in 6 nonmetal armor & alone or with elves & halflings)


This message was last edited by the GM at 03:34, Mon 06 Feb 2012.

"That's interstin'," says Ben and he muses for a moment. "That water dun't look too good."

Ben pulls one of the torches and his tinderbox from his pack and hands it to one of the other party members. "Here, get busy with lightin' this. I'm gunna try and scale around to that copper whatjamajig."

OOC: to DM,do you want me to roll Climb Walls, or do you want to do it?

Saliq accepted the torches and steel. The illusionist gave the water (if it was water) a distrustful look. Turning, he glanced at the others "Anyone have a pole or spear butt we can use to rtest it?"

As he waited a reply he started lighting torches, one for each of the adventurers.

Ben calls back to Saliq, "don't light all the torches at once, now, I only brung ten!"

Ben then assesses the smoothness and slipperiness of the rock face, deciding it was safe to try and traverse towards the gaping maw unaided by ropes. He grunts as he attaches himself like a limpet to the rock.

OOC:
15:17, Today: Ben Scristos rolled 17 using 1d100. climb walls (85% base chance).

Ben scrambles over the smooth limestone with ease, due to a combination of raw skill and a set of hand and foothold indentations that run along the right approach to the cave mouth.

The line leads to a narrow ledge just to the right of the cave entrance. Ben can see the body from this vantage point. A dark-haired human whose cloth tunic is torn to shreds and stained with blood.

Ben looks around for obvious signs of trickery or skulduggery (other than the obvious corpse, that is) before making any further approaches.

OOC:
16:09, Today: Ben Scristos rolled 26,30 using d100,d100 with rolls of 26,30. Find Traps (30) 1st, Hear Noise (10) 2nd.

Success at Find/Remove Traps, failure at Hear Noise. What?! I hear you cry. Hear Noise 10%? Get those ears cleaned, boy!

Oh, for the customisability of 2nd Ed

In reply to Ben Scristos (msg #6):

Ravick accepts the torch and nods thankfully at Saliq.  He pulls a 10' pole that is tethered to his pack.  Laying his torch on flat rock, he takes the pole and sluices it through the the stagnant water.  He watches Ben scamper monkey-like across stone, from the corner of his eye.

Sularius shakes his head in the negative when offered a torch being more than happy to rely on his infravision to see.  As Ravick began to test the waters, he drew his sword, prepared to attack whatever might leap out of the pool.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:23, Mon 06 Feb 2012.

The half-elven Acolyte of Avandra probes the pool with the pole and determines that it is quite shallow near the edge, where a narrow shelf seems to run around the edge of the pool. Just a few feet beyond the shelf, the pool drops off quite rapidly, descending to unknown depths below.

Ravick's probing of the water does not stir any activity within the pool, save for the water itself.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pool, Ben cautiously searches for any traps that might be lying in wait. There does not appear to be any. The thief strains his ear to hear anything above the sound of the water gurgling down into the cave's mouth, but hears nothing else of note.

From Ben's current vantage point, it is difficult to see very far within the cave, but it is obvious that the tunnel descends downward, rather than being a level surface.

Ben moves forward cautiously, with longsword at the ready, to examine the corpse a little more closely. Unfortunately, he discovers some loose gravel underfoot while he tries to cling to what ever shadows are available.


OOC: 22:25, Today: Ben Scristos rolled 84,16 using d100,d100 with rolls of 84,16. Move Silently (20) Hide in Shad (20).

The dwarf you collared in the Rusted Nail has been pretty quiet on the trek down here. Uncertain if he ever fully replied to any of your inquiries, he suddenly bursts out with "Alright then, if we've got to cross this water, then you go first my lad.", apparently speaking to his axe.

With his Battle Axe outstretched in his leading hand, Norion gingerly steps into the water and shuffles around the edge of the pool towards the cave entrance. As he approaches the mouth he says "Whatcha see in there?"

Ravick enters the pool and slowly wades through it by gingerly hugging the shallow rim.  He tucks pole through a hoop in his pack and draws his longsword.  He looks over at the rest of the group and waits for them.

Shrugging, Saliq follows the route Norion and Ravic took through the water, figuring he can always buy new boots with the gold he'll make. In his off hand (his left) he carries one of the lit torches. Reaching to his belt he draws a thin bladed dagger with his right hand and mentally runs through the illusions he had studied.

"Are you alright Ben?" he calls out in concern as he nears the entrance.

OOC: By my count we have two lit torches - one carried by Ravick, the other by me. The remaining unlit torches are in Saliq's backpack for now.

Ben hops onto a small outcropping next to the body to get a better look, while the rest of the companions begin wading their way around the rim of the pool.

The body is none other than Gerdi the Mouth, a regular at the Rusted Nail who acquired his nickname on account of his propensity to be loose-lipped and a fast talker to boot! Poor Gerdi was there last night to overhear Lhosof's tale. It seems he had the same idea, though beat you to the punch. Except, he didn't. Because, he's dead. You're not.

Scores of tiny puncture wounds cover his body from head to toe and these appear the end that did him in, for there are no other visible injuries. Bitten to death, by some unknown creature...

Gerdi is wearing a simple tunic and had a dagger at his side. Aside from the copper statuette he is still clutching in his left hand, Gerdi has nothing more of interest.
The copper statuette is a shapely woman with outstretched arms lifted toward the heavens. It is not overly impressive, but could probably fetch some coin in the Bazaar.

The other companions make their way around the pool with little fanfare, and if any monster were hiding in the pool, it has chosen to not reveal itself.

OOC: Copper Statuette of Shapely Woman (25 gp)
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:22, Tue 07 Feb 2012.

In reply to DM Storm (msg #14):

Ravick leans forward and bathes the corpse of Gerdi in torchlight.  "I like not the look of this," he says.  "Whatever did him in his bound to still be lurking hereabouts."

Gesturing at the corpse with his axe, "That right there is a lousy way to die my lads. I'd sooner shave my beard and court a gnome before suffering such an end."

Slowly stepping over the threshold, Norion enters the cave.

The dwarf does not suffer any calamity while navigating the ledge toward the cave entrance and boldly steps beneath the jagged stalactites that resemble fangs, and into the mouth of the cave.

Inside the cave is a short but reasonably wide chamber with a tunnel at the far end that slopes gently downward. The chamber walls are a mixture of dark soapstone and banded green limestone and appear reasonably sturdy to the dwarf. Dark water filters into the chamber, eventually leading down toward the narrow tunnel, which seems to continue on for perhaps 30 feet before dropping precipitously into darkness.

The water on the chamber floor is not very deep, perhaps a few inches at most and it is possible to walk along the sides and avoid the water altogether; however even the sides are slick.

Turning attention to the chamber itself, the walls are covered in crude rune-shapes, which appear to consist of some form of dried yellowish mucous.

"Spooky," whispers Ben as he moves to the mouth of the tunnel at the far end of the chamber. He sticks the pinky of his left hand in his ear and gives it a good wiggle before listening at the tunnel mouth.

OOC: 10:44, Today: Ben Scristos rolled 57 using 1d100. Hear Noise (base chance 10).

Saliq looked down at Gerdi and grimaced. They hadn't been friends but as frequenters of the Rusted Nail had known each other in passing. Not a pleasant experience to stumble across his body.

"Do you want to say a few words to the gods on his behalf?" he asked Ravick.

Sularius cautiously follows Norion into the gaping maw; it wasn't his practice to follow dwarves anywhere, but given the circumstances, and the fact that this cave led underground, following a dwarf seemed prudent.

In reply to Saliq Musfara (msg #19):

Ravick nods to Saliq and kneels beside the corpse.    "May Avandra commend your soul during each step of its final journey.  May your final destination be filled with warmth, peace, and pleasant voices."  He rubs damp soil on the bottom of each of the man's boots, and rises.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:54, Wed 08 Feb 2012.

Ben does not hear anything other than the sound of water flowing down the tunnel toward darkness below.

"I don't like the look of this tunnel, maybe we oughta look for secret doors," whispers Ben, before commencing the search.