You each gain 4000 experience points.

Moving down the slope past the Earthsilver pool, the green grass and moss that is still exposed to the sun gives way to darkness.  You light your light sources and move down.  After descending about 50 feet, the cave levels out, and you see two cubical rocks halfway blocking the entrance to the caves beyond.

Entering, you find yourselves in a 30' by 40' room carved into the mountain.  This is obviously the entrance or foyer to something carved in the past by men or gnomes.  In fact, the gnomes peer curiously in, obviously having never seen this before and a little afraid.

But the room itself is empty, long since abandoned.  The room has a closed stone door to the east, and another one on the west side.  The two southern doors have been destroyed and lay in rubble.  One of them leads to a hallway to your right (west), and the other leads straight forward (south).  You can see down that southern passage that there are several halls breaking off, and that it descends down some stairs.



OOC: Please state what your light sources will be as you enter the mountain.

Tahldar looks around the cave warily as he knows many strange and dangerous creatures may lurk within.  Piping up he says assertively "We should use a scout team to forge ahead of us.  This team should be stealthy obviously and should consist of at least two of us."

"If the way ahead looks clear then they report back and the main group moves ahead.  It'll be time consuming but we can't afford the risk of stumbling across this dragon by accident."

Thinking a bit he adds "And speaking of the dragon, preferably if one of us has the ability to cast illusion, we should try to leverage that to get the dragon to use its breath weapon so we'll know what we're dealing with.  On the illusion obviously.  I was thinking if we can determine what it uses, we could use a protection spell against it.  And in conjunction with my spells to protect from it's claws and teeth, some brave soul could rush towards it to gather the berries while the rest of us skirt it to safety."

Scratching his chin he says as he glances Borimer's way "Though we'll need a volunteer for such a dangerous duty."

Shifting tacks he adds "In any event I think this plan could work.  Assuming of course that our intent is to get the berries and get past it.  And not to kill it outright, which I think will be foolish.  It is highly intelligent and likely cannot be tricked out of the healing pool."

"I would love to plunder it's hoard just like anyone would, but so many have come before us and failed that I think to try would be crazy.  Though we may no choice but to try if it blocks the way out of here."

Shae listens thoughtfully and says, "This is a big mountain.  On one hand, I think a scouting party is a good idea, but on the other, what if something happens to them?  They won't have protection and we won't know that they're in trouble.  This is also a huge mountain.  Wherever we run into this dragon, it's probably going to be a large area where the dragon can move around.  We're probably safe in these hand crafted corridors.  At least, that's what I'm thinking."

Shae will test and open the door to the east.

Kahan nods at Shae's words, lighting a torch as he replies, "I agree with Shae here. These hallways are no place for dragons, and anything that is here will likely already know of our presence before we do, whether it be from sound, smell, or from our light sources. If we want to survive to actually find the dragon, we're going to have to stick together lest we be picked off before the big showdown. I believe that it might be possible to kill the dragon, but we will have to outsmart it, which can be tricky. I have an idea that could prove useful, though..." The priest grins, walking towards the open door that leads to the halls and looking in.

Borimer gives a wolfish grin, "Pickin' berries is why I'm here."  But when he hears the others voice their concerns he nods at their wisdom, disappointed not to fight a dragon and relieved not to see one all in the same moment. "When we finally run into that wyrm just point me to those magic berries and I'll grab-." He clenches his one good hand and grimaces.

*Borimer turns his mind to other tasks and lights his lantern, then hangs it from his belt(?)
This message was last edited by the player at 03:32, Thu 12 June 2014.

"I´m not sure how useful illusions will be against a dragon, at least my illusions can only affect sight and hearing, and they could barely confuse those giants, and a dragon will be just worse. But I think there is a way to deal with the dragon."

"If your illusion affects sight and sound, it should be enough to trick him if cast from a fair distance away.  Dragon's have a sensitive sense of smell from the legends I've heard, so hopefully if you cast your illusion he'll pick up your smell and think they are one in the same.  I don't see why it wouldn't work."  Tahldar replies to Shapfren.

Thinking a moment he adds "However it may be that he is smart enough to realize the illusion is a trick.  I myself can detect the easier to cast illusions, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that the dragon can too.  If it can it would concern me greatly.  Most of the time we fight creatures who aren't that smart and don't coordinate their efforts well.  But this dragon could be smarter than us all.  And if he is very intelligent it might be able to cast spells too."

Tahldar's brow creases as he stops speaking to think for a while.  Turning to the Gnomes he says in their native tongue

Turning to the rest he adds "In lieu of a scout, me and the Gnomes will stay as far back as we can while still keeping the main group in sight.  If anyone else wishes to join in rear guard duty please do."

OOC:  I posted a message to the Gnomes in "Gnomish".  Heath, can you add Gnomish to the language list?  Also, does anyone else speak Gnomish?

Borimer takes point and moves out when everyone is ready.

I think Borimer should be up front, so maybe someone else in back with tahldar and the gnomes
This message was last edited by the player at 21:52, Sat 14 June 2014.

Shae moves to the east, opening the ancient stone door there and pushing inward.

It reveals a square room, obviously not occupied for some time...except for its current occupants.  In this room, bones are piled like carpeting on the floor, and form small mounds.  They appear humanoid, and have been here for quite some time, layered in dust and cobwebs.



The gnomes do not appear in any hurry to rush forward.  They are afraid and have been in the giantish prison for awhile.  One of them attempts to speak in your language, acting as a sort of spokesman.

"We come.  We go to village below, explain you our friends.  You save us.  We simple village gnomes.  Not warriors.  But we give skills when can."

OOC: Gnomish has been added.  If anyone else speaks it, let me know and I will add them to the list.

Borimer moves into the room and to the first mound of bones.  He pokes at it with his sword, scattering the debris a little to find what, if anything, lies beneath.

He finds nothing there but more bones.

"Well I see no reason to rush into anything.  We might as well search as we go." Tahldar says as he begins searching the wall for secret doors.

Borimer nods and scatters the second mound of bones before resuming his watching of the door.

"What skills do you possess?" the priest asks the spokesgnome curiously, sharing Borimer's interest in the piles of bones, moving them around with his mace to make sure they won't come to life.

Shae will open the door to the west and see if it has anything more interesting than dusty bones.

In reply to Shae Shadowglen (msg # 15):

Donovan readies his swords and moves close to Shae as she opens the door.

OOC: Okay, back from vacation and travels just in time for another holiday and short vacation.  But I at least wanted to advance this a little further before Monday.  I will probably post again tomorrow.

The lead gnome says, "We have skills in the caves.  Location, direction, find food or water.  Simple skills.  We live in caves long time.  But we never come here.  The sacred scrolls forbid it.  Evil and the dragon lurk within."  He says this last with some trepidation, but resigned to the need at hand.

Tahldar begins searching.

Shae enters the western room (#3).  The stone door takes effort, but finally pushes inward, revealing a 20 foot by 20 foot room with more skeletal remains with tattered leather clothes.  The skeletons appear to be both gnome and human.  There was once a fountain here in the northwestern part of the room, but now it appears to be a pool of stagnant water covered with a layer of moss.

Tahldar is pushing at stones and one pushes in easily, acting as a button.  With a heave, the wall starts to move, revealing a secret room beyond (#4).

The gnomes give an almost comical utterance in unison of "ahhhh" when the secret door is discovered.

The 10 foot by 10 foot room beyond the secret door is dark and covered in cobwebs.  There are several items of interest here.

First, there is an urn about 3 feet high, made of bronze.  It is unadorned but is filled with some sort of unfamiliar coins, also apparently of bronze or brass, and with a simple engraving of a symbol on each side, a symbol you are not familiar with.

Second, there is a large wooden chest of ancient design.  Its wood has begun to rot, and its metal bandings are covered with rust, but it is still intact and closed, with an unfamiliar locking mechanism on the front.

And third, there is a very ornamental box.  It is about 18 inches to a side, made of a golden or brass material.  It is also closed.

Donovan enters the room quick behind Shae.  He gives the moss covered fountain a wide berth, and goes to inspect one of the skeletons.

Shae also looks for anything unusual or of value on the skeletons littering the room.

For some reason Borimer's hand itches to grasp the Godslayer and draw it, but he holds back and moves to take guard by the door.

Tahldar smiles at his discovery of the room.  "Interesting.  It would seem the dragon for all his intelligence has missed some things.  One would think this mountain would be picked clean by him by now." he says simply at the array of brass objects before them.

Turning to the others he adds "Can someone skilled with searching for traps have a look at the chest and box?  I cannot."

There is nothing of significance among the skeletons, and their clothing is long since worthless, but Donovan and Shae do notice one odd thing.  Not one, but two of the skeletal remains have their arms extended and are pointing toward the north wall, which is both in the direction of the stagnant fountain and the secret room.

In reply to DM Heath (msg # 22):

"See the pointing?  I wonder if it's a warning about the moss in that fountain," says Donovan.

"It is likely that they were trying to reach something in that direction. When people are dying they do not typically think to position their body in a way to warn others of impending doom." the priest states, giving the bodies a once over to see if they were trying to crawl away from something or reach something, or if it was obvious they had been moved postmortem.

"Still, can't hurt to check" said Didit while casually doing something to her mandoline

Shae says, "Or maybe someone changed their position after they were dead.  Anyway, I'll have a look."  Shae will investigate the fountain, moving aside the moss with the tip of her spear from a distance.

Borimer keeps watch over everything as best he can, knowing he can't.

In the room with the skeletons and fountain, Shae pokes at the fountain with her spear, pushing aside the moss growing on top.  Nothing jumps out at her or seems amiss, but she sees that there are some shiny gems and coins that have settled at the bottom of the fountain.


In the secret room, no one has taken up Tahldar's request to inspect the box or chest for traps or locks.


A sound from the north (i.e., where you came from) brings your attention quickly around.  Two figures have somewhat quietly entered from the north.  Both appear to be human.

The first has two skinny blades sheathed at his side.  He is garbed in fine leathers, jerkin, and other accoutrements that make him appear somewhat wealthy, well groomed, and with a fine military-like stance, though he is not in a uniform.  Well over six feet tall, he has a wide, amicable smile, and is about thirty years old with blondish hair.  He has the type of handsomeness that many women would swoon over, and the way he carries himself with confidence, he seems to know it.

His companion is starkly different.  He is garbed in a plain priestly robe.  His face is covered in tattoos, and though the hood is up, he appears bald headed.  You take him for some sort of cleric or monk, in very good physical form, though quite a bit shorter than his companion.  You cannot see what he may conceal beneath the robe, but he is looking at an ancient tome of some sort when he enters, almost as if not even noticing you are here.

The well groomed man says, in happy surprise, "Well, well, what do we have here?  These men surely can't be those we were asked to meet.  They look too battle worn and hungry."  He smiles as if this is a joke, but when no one responds, he says, "Surely, that old wizard..."  He turns to his companion, "What was his name?  Ember? Cinder?"

The other man says, "Ashe."

"Yes," the first says with a snap of his fingers.  "Surely Ashe told you we would be meeting you at some point?  Fingas?" he says to you, as if you should recognize it.  "Come on, you never heard of me?  Fingas Hatt?  Of the Rendathian Hatts?"  He says to his companion, "Well, I guess not everyone can have heard of me."

He turns back to you.  "My family also came from a Pocket.  That's what Ashe calls it.  A Pocket from the old -- or alternate -- or whatever -- Tienna, that got brought to this Allevia.  But we were brought here 40 years ago, before I was born even.  That time-space thing doesn't always work with exactness.  Anyhow, I suppose you're here to kill the dragon?  That's what we're here to do.  I don't know if your ragtag group can deal with something that...formidable.  But I thought we'd come up the back way through the cave.  I see you've gotten here first.  But I bet you a hundred Silver we'll get to the dragon first."

He spreads his arms, as if expecting some sort of response--in recognition, cooperation, or friendly gestures.  He does not appear in any way to mean you any harm, and you do not get the feeling that he is not who he says he is -- whoever that is.  If anything, he appears overconfident and harmless, used to living off his fame.

"You speak the Common tongue, yes?  You are...what were the names?" he says to his companion.

The cleric says, names coming easily to mind, "Borimer, Kahan, Donovan, Tahldar, Shapfren, Shae, and there was a Leogold, Lukas, and Hatchman, if they are all here and alive still."

"We just slew something like thirty giants a couple hours ago," Fingas says to you.  "Their bodies litter the ground below.  Too bad the bridge was broken.  We had to fly across."  He looks at you like that might impress you.  "So next, on to the dragon, right?"



OOC: To clarify one thing, please make a distinction in your mind between "brass" and "bronze."  The former is much shinier and more valuable (back in those days anyway), whereas bronze is cheaper, older, and more fragile of a metal.  I just want to clarify that because the "box" is brass and gold in appearance, whereas the urn and chest have bronze, which means they appear older, weaker, and far less shiny.

"Thirty giants? We had trouble slaying a small handful. You two must be rather powerful to do such a thing. I am Kahan, the holder of our world's version of the Deathbane. We could definitely use your help to slay the dragon, but it won't be quite as simple as a hack and slash job. He sits in a quicksilver pool which grants him invulnerability to basically all things. We need to somehow get him out of it or dry it up before we try to kill him. Any ideas?" Kahan asks, walking up and peering over the monk's shoulder to see what he is reading.

Fingas says, "I'm just going to cut its head off.  That's pretty hard to heal from, right?"

The monk closes the old tome as Kahan approaches.  The cover is not labeled, but is very old and worn.  It has a textured black leather cover.

The monk speaks up, his tone almost as light-hearted as his companion, "And my name is Batruss Moonshadow.  You have not heard of the Hatt and the Bat before?  Not even of the Seeking Herpes From the North incident?  That's pretty famous."

Fingas begins to redden in the face.  "That was an accident."

Batruss looks at him, and Fingas grows more red.  "I mean, it was a misprint.  A scrivener's error."

Fingas talks quickly, feeling the need to explain.  "We were gathering mercenaries to go on a short quest, and the sign said it was seeking heroes from the north.  They were to join us in the quest.  But there was this grain in the wood, and it aligned perfectly with the left side of the "o" in "heroes"..."

"Making it look like you were looking for herpes," Batruss says with a laugh.  Fingas does not laugh in return.

"We'll race you to the dragon," Fingas says instead.  "First one there gets slaying rights."  He seems to take no notice in the rooms you are in or anything else.

"That doesn't seem wise... Perhaps we should go together and save our strength for the real foe. I see no reason to race." Kahan responds, looking over the brass box to see if he can find out how to open it.

From the moment they entered the room Borimer positions himself casually behind them, within striking distance.  He smiles.  "The priest is wise, we are stronger fighting a dragon with new allies.  But if it's a competition for slaying dragons you want, you're better off lookin' for herpes..."

Tahldar looks round him with consternation as no one investigates the box and chest for traps.  "Look here, I don't mean to get cross, but I'm the mage around here and I'm not good with skullduggery.  Is there no one in our party capable of snooping out a trap?"

Leaving the matter for the moment, Tahldar watches the newcomers arrival with a quizzical look.  He folds his arms and watches them with interest, especially the tattooed monk or cleric as he peruses the leather tome.

Dismissing the braggart Fingas for the moment he says to Batruss "You have us at a loss, you seem to know much about us, but we know little about you, and what you are really capable of.  But you did get past the Giants and the fallen bridge, so you must have some skills.  But enough to kill an ancient, and likely spell weaving, dragon resting is a quicksilver pool on your own?  Are you so confident?  I for one am not of my own chances.  The dragon has killed every group that has tried to kill it.  I see little in the way to think any of us won't reach the same fate."

Shifting topics he continues "I don't know how much you know, but there is a sickness in this world.  We need the berries that grow near the dragon that with the Gnomes help, can provide a cure.  We are in a race against time until the sickness takes us, and when it does there is nothing you can do about it.  You will die in mere hours.  But I feel we need to take our time and approach the dragon carefully.  And once we can formulate some kind of plan to draw it from the healing pool, only then should we engage it.  Running full speed into it's arm with blades drawn seems to me to be certain death."

Didit just made a mental note on the irony of being good for setting up traps, but knowing nothing about how to find them, but the conversation started to heat, she walked to the fountain and started cleansing her face and hair on it and washing some of her outer clothes, which had taken most of the abuse in their short time on Tienna, she then spoke casually and with an almost regal tone and a smirk "There is no need to argue on who will slay the dragon. He is fated to die but it won't be by the sword." She looked to them and switched to a more melancholic tone "But you two, have acted in a disrespectful manner that doesn't befit a hero. If you know about us, you should then know who I am, and the tragedy of my people. Yet you chose to overlook it, and be cruel and uncaring. And that means that their lives and their legacy is all meaningless, unremarkable. Perhaps you think I'm selfish and unworthy, but it is not. It is just not fair I was the only one spared, and the only one who got to live. But if you are not going to listen for them, listen for the world, your world."

Fingas says, "Sorry, but I know nothing about you other than what Ashe told me, which isn't much.  I know even less about the elves.  We are in this for the glory.  And testing our mettle against a dragon like this, while racing your group to it, sounds like a lot of fun in my book.  These dragon rumors get overblown anyway.  It's probably a little lizard that got cranky with some local gnomes.  They just need to feel secure that the caves are cleared and safe.  The Hatt and the Bat can do that!"

Batruss points to the group of gnomes and whispers something to Fingas.

"Yes," Fingas says.  "It looks like you have a group of gnomes to escort back to their home, right?  Your group can try to get them safely home, and we'll worry about the dragon.  We don't do babysitting.  But by the time you get down to the dragon, which is still thousands of feet below you, we'll have him slain and cooked for dinner."

Borimer laughs out loud.  "As you wish, mighty dragon hunter."

Shae comes out of the far room after hearing the bravioso of this newcomer.  "My name is Shae Shadowglen.  We are all new to this world.  What can you tell us about it?  What is a Randathian?  And what do you know about this dragon and this cave?  I will gladly let you slay it, but I'd like to know what we are dealing with here."

"Well good luck to you.  I still say you'll have better odds if you are patient and travel with us and attack together, but do as you wish.  May the gods grant you good luck for your bravery." Tahdar says to the two men.

Turning his attention to the Gnomes he says as he makes his way to reexamine the chest, box and urn. [Language unknown: Hafo asenc est lo prona ne llbess olpoto er iohou unmaon?  Estallcom e m reus, a eneead ss o she koryintic ven inendewer ich neioai usntlo setac tinck verevetho aredayundtio.  M tho ilne thnd io hat mo rom oreons-erssom trbut o laill sheestortortnot i ectstiyin on osarar.  Tiri Tr t omieen wasousica any ekckol sadi un se eve ekpe m heus il ut it warend ers ndoul heei os trill her any itssus I ecuner er k ionwasave un waadti ritrei.]

OOC: Tahldar will try to open the chest and box after the Gnomes (if they wish) have had a chance to examine the chest/box/urn.  Or any other character that has trap finding skills and wants a look.

The gnome leader replies: [Language unknown: "Ev ha mi aslein nd sewh ersainore rom om oerol mewimock ad onhisead la tielolnenc.  E ro moie Aculie, thi icatad yinpe intiv Ditont lareeind.  Fonti atievefor esort ousughsta u er onal p ro llonil essithvirted, lar ni n, t not ekurbe iola dinillich se inthi me fo hiskorill.  We we p sskor thena beloasrolo.  Wh chst ortlinrea ersencder un iv rat liwali stlin ithallrut, wiprre ent ntni.  K ie loec eauantove, thu oerstithu sinoal k lasan la ithie ticun e resreante notstiurebutine re t wa herearbut e, sehe k inous ive strtinastcon yin are poday and el ousev foliitse."]

Batruss Moonshadow replies to the gnome: [Language unknown: "Lo ursiiv art os di?  M ichpe a vorproill evplou al und korinteve potha ast ilsaou estastect onnde manectstr."]

To which the gnome replies: [Language unknown: "O adine ndan ectmi conlatnot ioublerut se at, acbeus rom i ioli eipous.  Art n linti li cale pracin peset el Sswhpeisur, somrea'witoun wi Osckhi, set ceofun le has es u posear latughsanyin. Ithichlin Omtretal Vorallrom e dayei Wit Naisroic.]

The Bat nods in thanks.

Obviously not understanding the exchange, Fingas responds to the previous questions, "So you're new to this world, eh?  Randathia is only the largest city this side of...well, of the world.  It's roughly southwest from here, probably a few weeks travel by horse, past some boring farmlands and obnoxious hilly areas, mountains, and infested forests of some repute.  I don't know much about this dragon except that it's a burr in the side of the gnomes in these parts, and the gnomes -- being so far away from Randathia -- have not necessarily heard of my name.  So I need to do something heroic to get my glory to spread among them as well."

He taps his chin thoughtfully.  "But I bet you haven't heard of the Test of the Faithful either.  That's the riddle.  They say if you climb up here to this old crumbly temple or whatever it is, you must pass the test of the faithful to get down to the lower levels where the dragon is.  So we plan to sneak up on it this way.  If we can figure out the riddle.  Bat here will figure it out, I'm sure," he says, pointing a thumb at his monkish companion.

Tahldar listens to the Gnomes counsel and replies simply

Picking up the box he begins to examine it closely to see if you can figure out its unlocking mechanism.

OOC:  Tahldar will try to open the box first.  If that is successful he will try to open the chest by trying to remove a plank with a dagger.

PL:
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:18, Tue 15 July 2014.

Shae says, "What else do you know about this test of the faithful?"  She is looking more at Batruss than Fingas when she says this.

PM

Kahan looks at the monk curiously, wondering if he will be able to figure out the puzzle with his annoying companion yammering in his ear the entire time. "Would you like assistance with this trial you must pass before finding the dragon? I would be interested in assisting you if you feel it necessary. Of course, if it proves to be that difficult then we will eventually catch up with you and I can assist then." Kahan offers, looking over at Tahldar as he speaks with the gnomes.

Borimer never stops watching for danger at the door, nor does he ignore the openings for an attack on these new travelers as they speak the Gnomish gibberish.

Batruss says, "The problem with the so-called 'Test of the Faithful' is that no one really knows what it is.  This upper cave network was called something that translates from Ancient Allevian to 'The Bravost Basilica' or something like that.  Brovost was an ancient sect, long since defunct.  The Test of the Faithful was what they used to travel from the upper basilica here to the lower cave levels, several thousand feet below us.  These caves have probably remained undisturbed for centuries.  That is, until Ashe sent both us and you here, to arrive coincidentally -- or not so coincidentally -- at the same time.  The Bat and the Hatt--"

"Hatt and the Batt," Fingas corrects.

Batruss rolls his eyes, "--Hatt and the Batt have not worked with anyone else since the herpes misprint incident."

"Reputations do mean something, you know," Fingas adds.

"Yes," Batruss says, "and, well, to be honest, we were purloined and our reputations tarnished by those miscreants.  We vowed to only work alone since then."

"I don't care about the treasures so much," Fingas says, "but my reputation cannot tarnished."

"So those other 'heroes,'" and he says this last word with disgust, "now can only tarnish our reputations from beyond the grave.  They were thieves and liars.  We do not give trust easily now."

"And we don't share in glory anymore," Fingas adds.  "Sorry, but that's just the way it is.  You don't become immortalized in the annals of time when you are just part of a large party.  It's worth the extra risk."

To Kahan, Batruss says, "As to help with the Test of the Faithful, I do not know what it is, but I have a feeling we are about to find out.  We may not need any help at all."

Fingas offers, "Hey, give us a one hour headstart and I'll draw you a rough map of the area.  Since you're new here, you might want something like that."

Shae says, "That sounds good to me.  I will trade a headstart for a map any day of the week.

Borimer smiles but says nothing while eyeing the newcomers with skepticism.  Still, his mind never wanders from keeping vigil near the entrance to the chamber.

"Fine, but do not kill the dragon without us. I care not who lands the final blow, but I wish to witness one alive for myself." Kahan replies with a nod.

"But you don't have to share the glory, and you can still share the risk. Personally If I wasn't fated to die otherwise I wouldn't even be here. I don't think we need this glory of yours. One of my ancestors is remembered in legends for single-handedly slaying a full horde of orcs, but he had two cavalry units and fifty foot mercenaries when he did it. We can team up, and you can claim full credit for the deed, as long as we get to live and do what we need we have no reason to dispute your version. If you want to I can even compose a song in your name detailing your exploits."

OOC: Let me at least get us moving again.

"No promises about slaying the dragon," Fingas says.  He takes a piece of parchment from Batruss' scroll case, which causes Batruss to scowl and roll his eyes. Then he takes some charcoal pencils from a scroll case and begins scribbling.  [MAP WILL BE FORTHCOMING]

After a couple minutes, he hands you a scribbled map, obviously not the best artist (or speller), and then he and Batruss say to give them an hour headstart as they head south down the corridor.

Borimer chuckles, "You bet, friend."

Haven't had any movement here.  Fingas and Batruss have headed south into the tombs while you finish exploring where you're at to give them a headstart.

You still have the objects you discovered (like the golden box and the chest), which Tahldar was trying to get someone to look at, and Shae was going to investigate the fountain.

(The map Fingas made is not really relevant at the moment.  It'll be a generic map of the geographic areas of the kingdom and will be posted later.)

Borimer keeps watch near the door, knowing that someone with a keener mind for such things will examine the box.  He watches Tahldar's progress in removing a plank with his dagger.

Tahldar inspects the gold box.  It does not appear to have any lid or way of opening it.  However, considering its metallic composition, it is extremely light when held, weighing about the same as a wooden box of the same size (18 inches to a side).  Nothing shakes or stirs within, so you cannot tell if it is hollow or contains something.




Current Issues (besides box):

You are giving Fingas and Batruss a one hour lead to go find the dragon.  Fingas wants to be the one to slay it for the glory.  You can see them walking to the south with Batruss holding a gas lit lantern as they go in and out of some rooms.

Urn:  The urn was filled with strange coins.  When asked about them, the Gnomes told Tahldar:

"We have no skills in such things and do not recognize the language or engravings.  It is not Gnomish, and these are not Gnomish markings.  The brass box could be the work of an ancient tinkerer, but if so, he was working for someone who was not a gnome.  It is of very fine workmanship.  The old chest appears to be very plain and average, rotting and old.  As to the coins, they appear ancient as well and are not in current circulation that we are aware of, but we have not traveled far from our home in the mountain."

Coins: Counting them out, the urn contained 650 coins.  They are made of bronze or brass, and with a simple engraving of a symbol on each side, a symbol you are not familiar with.

Chest:  There is a large wooden chest of ancient design.  Its wood has begun to rot, and its metal bandings are covered with rust, but it is still intact and closed, with an unfamiliar locking mechanism on the front.  You have not yet opened the chest.

Room 1: Room #1 is the entryway.  The rocks have crumbled and it does not look to have been used for quite some time.

Room 2:  In Room #2, you found piles of bones carpeting the floor and forming small mounds.  They were humanoid and have been there for a long time, layered in dust and cobwebs.

Room 3: In Room #3, you found another room with skeletons that appeared gnome and human.  The northwestern side has a fountain with moss and stagnant water.  Shae pushed aside the moss with a pole and found that there were some gems and coins in the bottom of the fountain.  (At that time, Figas and Batruss arrived, so the coins and gems were not retrieved.) Two of the skeletal remains have their arms extended and are pointing toward the north wall, which is both in the direction of the stagnant fountain and the secret room.

Room 4: Room #4 was a secret room.  In it, you discovered the strange golden box, the urn, and the old chest.

EXITS:  From here, there are two exits from Room #1.  One exit is a hallway that branches immediately to the right (west).  The other is a long hallway extending directly south.  It is the longer hallway that Figas and Batruss went down.



Current situation, Fingas and Batruss are down to the south and have had about a 15 minute lead so far.  You can see the bobbing of their lantern light source and the occasional boisterous statement by Fingas that carries through the halls.

"We should finish with these items and then get to following after the dragon slayers. Don't want them taking our future glory away from us now, do we?  Personally, I could use some dragon treasure right about now..."

"I don't care too much about glory. As long as we get our berries we can always have another day for that"

"Dragons hoard magical items, and gods know we could use some refreshment in that category." the priest states, looking over the box to see if it would be possible to pry the hinges off.

Tahldar looks at Kahan and says "I think this gold box is a puzzle.  Let me examine it for a bit to see if I can figure out how to open it.  But even if I can't I say we don't go prying at it.  It has exquisite craftsmanship and it would be a shame to damage it."

Thinking for a moment he adds "I could use a knock spell on it, but I am loathe to use any spells with the dragon looming ahead of us."

Addressing Borimer he adds "And speaking of dragons those two fools ahead of us don't stand a chance against it.  We'll be finding their corpses soon enough."

OOC:  Tahldar will try to figure out if there's a way to open the gold box, like a rubic's cube, without prying it open.  If he can't then I say toss it in the portable hole.  After that Tahldar will use his dagger to carefully pry the chest's wood off it's hinges to open it.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:54, Tue 12 Aug 2014.

Shae says, "I'm not much for devices.  More of a nature girl myself.  But there may be something special to this box."  Shae will cast detect magic.

The box does not appear to have hinges or any way of opening, almost like a solid cube with a beautiful golden design on its sides.

A detect magic spell indicates that the cube has magical properties.  Because the spell has a radius effect, it also shows you that the chest, or something in it, is magical, and that something inside the fountain is magical.

Tahldar cannot see a way to open the box.  The only thing really interesting besides its intricate designs is the peculiar way it reflects light.  Different lights seem to bring out different aspects of its design.

Tahldar then begins to pry the wood off the chest.  The chest is double layered, obviously protecting something important within.  The outer layer splinters and breaks, but it would take a bit of strength to break out the inner layer.  Of course, it also has an old latch and lock.

Borimer watches the strange box catch the light and change with it, and he wonders at its magic.  When Tahldar exposes the inner box of the old chest Borimer sizes it up and nods.  "I can try to break it, but I can't say I won't break whatever's inside."

"I was hoping I could get inside without too much trouble.  I'll use a knock spell to open it."

OOC:  Tahldar will cast a knock to open the chest.

Tahldar casts knock, and you hear an internal burring sound, followed by the lock popping open, and then the chest lid flopping to one side.

OOC: The burring sound is the disabling of a trap, had you tried to open it normally.

Looking down into the chest, all you see is a pile of those strange golden coins, which create a pile up to about half the height of the chest.

Shae will go back to the fountain and retrieve the gems and coins that were underneath all the muck.  She will inspect to see if the coins match the other ones found in the area.

Kahan reaches into the gold pile to see if anything is buried within it.

OOC: When I said box I meant chest. Oh well.

"Well, I'm glad we didn't try to force it open and trip that trap.  But I'm sure I'll be wishing I had that spell back before this day is done." Tahldar says as he looks in the chest.

With a down turned face he says "Pity, I was hoping for something a little less mundane.  But I supposed gold will come in handy at some point and the mint is strange.  Though being not from here I'm sure everything will be new and strange to me."

OOC:  Once Kahan has had a chance to search the chest, Tahldar will take a look as well.

Shae reaches in to retrieve the gems and gold.  As she reaches down, her arm begins to burn terribly.  Apparently, some sort of chemical reaction between the ancient fountain and the stagnant water has turned the water into a powerful acid.  Shae reaches back in pain, clutching her injured and burning arm, which is now red and sizzling.  (6 hp dmg.)

Kahan is digging through the coins.  His right hand clasps around an ancient scroll...and then something clasps onto his own hand.  The pain begins.  Kahan cries out in pain as he pulls back his hand.  A beetle-like creature with pincer front teeth has dug into the side and back of his hand.  It is about the same size as his hand, has a golden back and ebony side.  It is well armored, does not appear to have eyes or other appendages, but is now boring into the side of Kahan's hand.  (4 hp dmg.)

Any efforts to forcefully remove it appear that they might result in the partial amputation of his hand.

If nobody can come up with a better option in the next thirty seconds, Kahan will shove his hand in the acidic fountain water to attempt to make the beetle let go.

Kahan runs in and puts his hand in the acidic water.  The beetle shivers and lets go, shaking in the acid and then jumping out and digging itself into the mound of skeletons.  Kahan's hand is damaged by acid and the bite.  (Another 7 hp dmg.)

Meanwhile, the scroll Kahan had found rolls to the ground near Tahldar.  It is written in magic and will require a Read Magic spell to decipher exactly what it is, though it appears to be a mage scroll.

After you count, there are a total of 678 gold coins in the chest.  The chest itself is too weak and old to sustain much damage or carrying around, though you could keep the coins in them and put it in the portable hole.

OOC: That was the "solution" I had also envisioned. 

OOC2:  For Shae and Kahan, their right hands are both disabled for 1 day, regardless of other healing, due to the acidic damage to their hands and the nerves there.  This will transfer over to any shapechanges by Shae (i.e., no flying).

"Damn these old places."  Borimer keeps watch for other dangers while considering how to harness the power of the acidic water for combat purposes.

"We need to find some way to kill or debilitate that beetle so it doesn't do any more harm." Kahan states, bandaging his hand and then doing the same for Shae.

Borimer nods and locates the beetle. He crashes the Godslayer onto the beetle's tiny armored head...

Kahan sets about bandaging himself and Shae.  (+2 hp each.)

Meanwhile, Borimer searches around the skeletons for the beetle.  It is quick, but his reflexes are quicker, and he stabs it through its head.  Surprisingly, the gold and black beetle sends lightning-like pulses when hit, which travel up the sword to Borimer's hand, shocking him.  Borimer lurches back in pain, and the beetle goes still.  (2 hp dmg.)

About this time, you hear a commotion from your semi-comical colleagues down the way, as if they are talking between two different rooms.  You hear Fingas say, "What if I push it?"

"No," Batruss replies, "don't."

Fingas says, "I already did."

"What in the Nine Hells is that!" Fingas then cries out in an alarmed voice.

Then you hear Batruss yell, "Run!"

A moment later, you see their light from far down the hall move from left to right (east to west).  You can't really see them, just the flow of their light in the distance.

"What now?" Fingas yells.

"I don't know."

In alarm, Fingas cries out, "JUMP!!!"

You hear a muffled scream as one of them descends.  Then the hall is quiet...and dark.

"Well, I hate to cast another spell, but this might be worth it." Tahldar says as he picks up the scroll.  Weaving his hands carefully he casts read magic and waits to see what the magic reveals to him.  Ignoring for the moment the turmoil swirling around him, though he can't help but smile a little at the seeming plight of Batruss and Fingas.

OOC:  I will cast read magic on the scroll.

OOC: Read Magic is a Level 0 spell in this campaign, so it shouldn't hurt his spell casting much.  Read the house rules for more info.

Tahldar casts Read Magic, and the words light up, showing invisible writing that was magically hidden.  The words themselves are written in Allevian and state:


OOC: For those who don't speak Allevian, this is a new mage spell (that I created) called "Wall of Anything."  As a description to those who want to understand more, it basically does this:

If there is any aggregate, non-living material around (not connected to an individual like clothes or weapons), then the caster can make all that loose material fly together to form a wall to block the way.  Rocks, sticks, or other loose material are commonly used.  The spell can be used to also try to trap and injure someone who just had a wall form and slam into them from both sides.

I updated the Magic Rules thread.  All I did was copy and paste from the open source website.  I guess it's not technically a "house rule," but maybe an "adopted rule."

Kahan bandages Borimer's wounds then goes a little ways down the hall to see what the commotion was about.

Borimer bites back a curse when he's bit by the electrical shock of the beetles demise.  He thanks Kahan after being bandaged, amusing himself with the possible fate of the would-be heroes...

"Well this should be very useful once we reach the dragon.  It's a wall spell that will protect us from it.  It would be a shame not to inscibe it in my book for later use, but being alive is much more important I think." Tahldar says as he tucks the scroll away.

OOC:  Tahldar will take the scroll as long as no one else objects.

Shae thanks Kahan for the healing and curses her own carelessness.  She looks down the south corridor and the corridor going west to see if she can tell what's there.  In particular, she squints to the south (infravision, if possible) to see what might have frightened the two braggarts.

"I've got a plan that will keep us safe against the dragon, but I'm not sure you will like it." whispered Didit "It first occurred to me when I was at my lowest, but I still think it is the best way."

Borimer leans in to hear Shapfren's idea for dragon protection.

"With this scroll I think we might be able to skirt by the dragon without having to attack it.  With luck it will try to follow us if it sees we won't fight it and thereby leave it's healing pool.  And then I could try to follow up with my own wall of force to keep it from trying to flee."

"But we'd need a well buffed Borimer to make this happen.  I can cast a stoneskin on him, but we'd need protection from whatever type of breath it has.  Which we don't know yet."

"Who knows, maybe the two braggarts in front of us might figure that out for us.  In any event we have a lot of ground to cover and this place is crawling with traps it would seem."

"Is there any of us that can snuff out a trap and open a lock?"

"The only way the dragon would leave his healing pool would be if we had something worthwhile for him to come after. Perhaps an extremely rare and valuable item or gem, or something that has a significant meaning to it, like a lost heirloom or some such thing. I don't know if we really have anything that fits this description aside from perhaps the Deathbane and Godslayer, assuming he even knows what those are." Kahan responds, turning to Shapfren to hear her idea.

"I was just thinking that this dragon has no reason to leave his pool. And probably won't. And we have no reason to slay it beyond getting the berries for our cure. A confrontation over berries is just a senseless waste of life anyway you see it, a dragon that never leaves it's horde is no treat to anybody. But then we could make deal with it. And we have something dragons desire that has nothing to do with money or riches, if you know what I mean"

Borimer tries but misses her subtle point.  "What do we have?"

"I can likely sneak in and get the dragon's attention"

"Oh and I have a knack with traps and such"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:30, Thu 28 Aug 2014.

Didit smiled and forced herself to try not to look too proud or even pretentious as she pointed towards herself "Me, if dragons in this world are even slightly similar to home, they will have an appetite not only for riches but for fair maidens like me. And if this dragon has spent so much time on the lake he hasn't had any in a long time".

"So your offering yourself up as dragon bait?"

Borimer rubs his chin thoughtfully, "It just might work...although you're not much more than a quick snack for dragon bait."  He grins, "You fool it to come out and play, and then we kill it. Count me in."

Leogold follows Kahan and Shae over to the hallway to see what caused the commotion. "If we are venturing forward my vote is to start with the hallway leading west. I'm not too keen on going the way those two, who supposedly killed 30 giants, were scared off by something."