"Very well," Guelph says as he turns the cart to follow the wheelruts up the hill.

If he can find a suitable place to leave the wagon he will get out and continue on foot with Mina and the others.

Haaj comes walking back to the group after a few minutes.
He points in the genera direction he came from.
"The tracks leads in that direction, towards what looks like a canyon."
"So lets just get the cart with us, as far as we can. I will scout towards the canyon."
Haaj moves off again towards the canyon he talked about.

  "All right, lead the way and we will follow."

 Desra will help in getting the cart out of the road and into the more rugged terrain. The mules will have no problem dealing with the treacherous path, but the cart might need a push from time to time so as not to get stuck.

Scalesa, too, assists in moving the cart.  "I've got some tools that might help out in a pinch, if anything on this gets damaged..." She offers.  Indeed, inside of her robe one can see the occasional glint of metal.

Travelling off the road is a bit slower going, but the previous cart trail does a good job of keeping you clear of obstacles.  Haajrayn takes the lead and scouts ahead as the rest of the party marches along with the cart and mules.

Traversing the hills is more difficult than the road however, and by the time the sun begins to descend in the sky you are fairly tired.  Coming to rest at the top of a ridge, you can see (much closer now) the canyon that Haajrayn mentioned earlier.  It appears to be a box canyon, opening to the north and ending in what appears (from your vantage point) to be a dead end.  Still, the cart tracks lead you in that direction.

You estimate it's only a mile or two left to travel towards the canyon, but the sun is setting and following the tracks in the dark could prove difficult.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:52, Wed 14 Aug 2013.

"No closer, we stop here. Eat, and set watch," Guelph grunts as he brings the mules to a stop and gets down from the cart. If no one objects to stopping, he will unhook the mules and tether them to a tree nearby so they can graze, and sit back in the cart to eat.

Scalesa shrugs.  "Sounds good to me..." She, too, gets off the cart, and stretches.  "So, are we going to be sleeping in shifts, or anything like that?"

  "We need to. It is dangerous out there, and treacherous creatures could slit our throats open without a sound..."
 Her tone is surprisingly calm, and cheerful even, when mentioning the grisly end they could meet.

  "But not if we watch and stay alert through the night ! There is five of us, it should not be too tiring."

 Desra is of no help in cooking, and her experience with mules is rather slim. She is willing to help though, and will assist whoever needs her. Gathering wood, preparing a small fire, fixing a shelter if need be.

ooc : given the opportunity, Desra will edit her spell list for the day
This message was last edited by the player at 10:04, Fri 16 Aug 2013.

"I will watch first. You sleep," Guelph says as he eats his meal before taking up a patrol around the perimeter.

Mina nods, setting up her bedroll near a cart, wanting to have things set up before "indulging" in her trail rations. "So long as all spellcasters receive adequate rest, I'm fine with whatever guard arrangements are made."

"Agreed." Scalesa sets her bedroll up near the protection of the carts, too, and gets to work on her trail rations once everything is in order.

The night passes without incident and the morning greets you with a clear and beautiful day.

The group quickly takes down camp and sets forth following the trail.  As expected, the trail leads to the entrance of a small box canyon.  Walls begin to rise up on either side and in front of you.  You proceed into the canyon, half expecting to run into a dead end or an ambush, but neither happen.

As you enter, you begin to feel as if the area is tainted with a hint of otherworldly evil.  Towards the back of the canyon, you find a rough opening seemingly hewn from the ground, all signs indicating that it might have once been a natural fissure or crack in the earth.

Do you mean a cave entrance or just a crack in the earth?

Sorry, should have been more descriptive.

Peering down inside the fissure:

This 10-foot-wide tunnel descends into the darkness.  Timbers shore up its walls and ceiling, and loose stone litters the floor.  A long rope has been attached to the middle of the tunnel floor with pitons every 20 feet or so.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:13, Sun 18 Aug 2013.

"Go down?" Guelph says as he gets off and peers into the hole in the ground.

Haaj walks up to Guelph and looks down.
"Yes, we should go down."
Haaj pulls out his bow
"You and Desra go first, I'll cover your decent from here."
Haaj steps away from the rope and let the others have some room.
He knocks an arrow and keeps the aim at the area below.

Ok.

Domain spell : magic weapon
Orisons : unchanged
1st lvl : command & protection from evil

"My people cannot see in the dark," Guelph says, peering into the fissure.

There are no lights inside the tunnel, and with the daylight shining you can see perhaps 60' inside.

The rope is mainly used to climb out of the tunnel, you can maintain your balance (without the rope) while walking down the slope.

"And," Guelph adds a bit disappointed,"I have no light."

Desra gladly accepts to take point and climb down with Guelph. She cannot see well in the dark either, and does not have a lantern or torch at hand. If no one has any, she will cast a light spell on her sword. She has put her shield behind her so as to keep a free hand during the descent.

Guelph grunts in appreciation before following Desra down into the fissure.

"I can call lights, but only for a brief period of time each... About a minute, enough to impress an audience." Scalesa offers.

"I can go first, if one of you carry a torch behind me, then I should be able to see fairly well." Haaj says as he stops his decent and pulls a torch from his pack.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:38, Tue 20 Aug 2013.

Guelph waits while Haaj light the torch then offers to carry it into the fissure.