Uthecar listens to the conversation, having nothing to add himself.  He is itching to get going and will lead off as soon as the others are ready.  It is pretty obvious his sole ability was the use of the axe.

Kullonar listens too and then makes a decision.
"The mound on this side of the river is closer...so let's head that way and do some investigating. Uthecar, lead the way my friend."

Kullonar hangs back and will gladly keep up the rear guard.

Bruno takes his place in the order keeping his eyes and ears open, so that he hears Ulrich and Zan's exchange as well as whatever might occur around them.

"My skills are not not that advanced just yet, but someday soon."

"I could use some missles to help flush them out. "

Ulrich gets in second place, detecting evil as he goes.

Uthecar and Ulrich lead the way. The Paladin notes a steady, small signal of evil that pervades the 60' range of his ability. You all take stock of distances - Myrrick's best guess is the mound is almost three hundred feet away to its base.

It is a slow march; the dwarfs are good at a distance, but hardly fleet afoot. Still, as inexorable as the tides, you work your way to the base of the mound. (Add another 15 minutes to time spent exploring).

Once you reach your destination, you take stock of what you see: pallid flowers ring the base of a mound that rises some 20' to it's top. The peak looks bare - there is no scrub or foliage to mar the landscape. There's a sense about it that it's man-made. From where you stand, you don't see much other than what's already been described.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:22, Mon 13 July 2020.

"Let us go around it and look it over. I'd guess the big mound would be the target, but it is hard to tell. There is evil everywhere!"

Bruno takes in the area, "Yes... To be honest your holy perception of evil only confirms what the rest of us might easily assume."

Pointing to his left, "Let us circle the mound in this direction and see if we can't discover an enterance."

"Sounds good to me. The entrance may be on top too." He follows the direction Bruno pointed out, continuing to detect evil absently.

The party moves along the base of the mound until you guess that you're directly opposite from where you were. Specifically, you're on the southern face of the mound. Not a lot distinguishes this side from the last, but you do note what looks to be a small tunnel partially obscured by flowers and tufts of dead grass.

It could be a fox den, or even a small bear's den; initial inspection from the outside doesn't offer much in the way of clues.

Thus far, you've spent just shy of an hour exploring. It is not quite Two Turns of the Clock in the afternoon, as Frutzii say.

Party actions?

"It looks like some sort of opening...", Bruno says pointing.

He begins moving towrds it, "Let's see if it is anything useful."

Uthecar scans for any scat, broken branches, boot or animal prints around the opening as he moves forward, axe out and ready in case something rushes out.

A couple points: the ever present miasma is still present.

You find the tunnel to be very narrow, about 3' wide, making the shields and larger weapons (such as longswords and Battle axes and halberds) impossible to wield. Missile weapons will not work in such close quarters. Handaxes, daggers, short swords are all in play as stabbing or slashing weapons. Not that I'm preparing for an encounter or anything...

And the narrowness of the tunnel will slow you down.

(is narrowness even a word???!)

In all seriousness, I am interested in seeing how the choices you guys make plays out. Good luck, and may the gods lend aid to your endeavor.

I posted at the same time as Uthecar:

No scat or prints that you can tell. Recall that the mound is man made, though perhaps in the past a local bear or wolves may have occupied the tunnel. As of now, though, you see no signs of any animals.

Uthecar straps his axe to his back, pulling 2 daggers from the bandolier across his chest.  "This is real adventuring," he comments as he ducks his head under the entrance and leads forward.

Magic Missles should still work.

After Uthecar, Bruno and Gilden go, Ulrich crawls in detecting evil as he goes.

Kullonar pauses at the entrance.
"Are we sure this is the best course of action? I could stay outside and wait for you..."

When Kullonar pauses and speaks Bruno is taken aback, "Why would waiting out here alone be better than coming in here with us to investigate?"

This is the first time he has ever seen Kullonar hesitate, "After all that we have been through together, my friend, I find your... Well, I find your hesitation odd."

Myrrick stows his halberd, "Bruno, I think his hesitation is not necessarily hesitation. The tunnel is small, we'll be crawling single file into whatever is down there. Perhaps we check the entrance briefly, maybe there's another way in? I can enter the tunnel last, after examining the rest of the mound, see if there's another way inside."

For the record, Uthecar is already in the tunnel, with Ulrich and Bruno having declared actions to that effect. Time for talk is over for those folks...they are moving slowly down tunnel.

Kullonar mutters something that is quite unlike him, and with a heavy sigh, he moves into the tunnel.

ooc: Okay so, before we move forward, I want you to know that I am DMing as if this is a tournament. So things like me asking if you have light source won't happen anymore. You cannot assume - I will penalize you for shoddy play. By the same token, I will reward you for outstanding play. So it does even out. Final instance of me being nice: do you have a light source, or are you relying on infravision (keeping in mind that the paladin does not have that skill).

OOC - I don't have a light source, I forgot about it :-(  I have a hooded lantern but never lit it.
 I light my lantern.

Uthecar leads the way, followed by Bruno, then Gildan, then Ulrich, who lights his lantern on the go. Kullonar, Zan and Myrrick bring up the rear. The ever present smell is still with you as you enter the mound. It is a slow slog, dark, on hands and knees. Fortunately, its a fairly straight shot. Entering what appears to be a small antechamber, Uthecar stands and looks around.

Suddenly you feel the earth about you crumbling. The noisome smell grows, enough that some of you feel the need to retch, an effect made worse when you see a roiling mass of what looks like giant wasp larvae tumbling from the dirt around you! Of particular note are the angry faces affixed to the top of each of them. It is...disconcerting. From somewhere deeper into the mound, you hear the baying of hounds.

Everyone roll saving throws vs poison (disease).

The creepy critters have a surprise round. I'm headed out the door, expect to be back in an hour or so. I will roll the surprise round when I get back.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:52, Wed 15 July 2020.