This team took the second cave, which is the one that Mithra had charged into the first  time. There are no Orcs in here except the two dead ones.

There's a passage at the back. It should lead to the next cave, but there might be some other way out.
This message was last updated by the GM at 06:26, Fri 08 Oct 2021.

Mostly just hiding behind one or the other of the larger people Cinnabar takes a moment or two to look at, but not to closely inspect the fallen Orcs and how they have just been left there.

Whispering quietly she offers advice they probably already know some of.  ”It seems unlikely that they did not notice the dead, but for some reason they are ignoring them.  We should be careful of a trap, and remain as quiet as we can and check for other paths out of the cave before we pick one to venture farther down.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:50, Fri 08 Oct 2021.

Prizzard only nods in answer to Cinnabar, concerned his own voice would travel well here. He will stick his blade in the orcs throats to be sure. He'd try to recall any information on this place while they looked around.

rolled  6 using 1d20+4 with rolls of  2.  Arcana.
rolled 14 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 10.  History.
rolled 17 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 14.  Perception.

Stonecrow gave a small nod at Cinnabar's words but it was almost absently done as his attention was mainly focused on the cave in front of them as he crept forward, taking the lead so the other two could stay more at range if needs be. He was looking, of course, but more importantly he was trying to listen for any sounds out of place. He figured the orcs must have regrouped somewhere, and had left their dead either because they didn't care or because they were more concerned with the ambush.

08:40, Today: Stonecrow rolled 21 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 17.  Perception.

Prizzard can think of nothing arcane about this place, and the only history he knows is what is common to the area, which is that there was once a nest of wyverns living here on the mountain. Whether they were in these caves or not he doesn't know.

Considering all the bedrolls still in here, the obvious deduction is that there were no Orcs that came back here to disturb the dead. If the other Orcs that had been camped in this cave had chased after the assault team, then none of them survived to return.

Stonecrow spots the same opening at the back that Mithra had charged down and into the next cave over. No sounds can be heard as you approach the rear of the cave and see that there is a branch tunnel off to the right. It's a bit narrow and at an oblique angle, which could explain why Mithra had never noticed it. Then again, she was charging forward to disrupt the enemy, not exploring.

Keeping his voice down "Maybe we should attract them with some noise?"

Stonecrow was moving carefully. He stopped when he saw the branching tunnel. Then Prizzard asked a question, and Stonecrow's masked head whipped around to look in his direction - and though his face couldn't be seen, you could just imagine the incredulous look that was facing that way. He then shook his head quickly several times.

He spoke quietly, "Unless we want to possibly get overrun, we should try to be stealthy for as long as we can and do what we can to kill as many as we can before we are truly engaged if we can."

He pointed out the passage way he had found. "I know that Mithra kept going down the other way. Do we wish to explore this new way or continue the way she went before?"

While clearly content to not be going first Cinnabar doesn't mind doing some direction from the rear.  ”Based on our styles we have a significant advantage in ambush, with ranged attacks, so we should use it.  Check a little ways down the first path, if there is something there we want to take it out as quietly as possible then check the other path for anything that might have heard us, or could come looking for bodies."

"Good point. I just thought this looked like a good choke point." Prizzard switched to his bow.

Stonecrow headed down the way Cinnabar had indicated, moving a bit slowly and quietly to try and avoid alerting any orcs - or other creatures - that might be ahead, just in case. For the moment, he had his crossbow in hand, as he could always find ways to strike with his body and not require his hands if needs be.

Constantly picking up little stones, pebbles really, when she finds a good round one without any points or edges Cinnabar keeps a set of three nearly perfect spheres ready and occasionally slows to whisper to them as she follows the others down deeper into the tunnel.

Stonecrow gets about halfway down the tunnel to the next cave when he hears movement ahead, and then hears Cunaar's whisper, letting him know that Mithra's team is in the next cave.

He found no traps or other passages, but he does spot two small ledges that have the remnants of a candle on them. He easily realizes that the dust of ages (well, maybe just years) has settled on these ledges and candle stubs, clearly indicating that these caves had once been used by people and not just wyverns.

At the side tunnel, Cinnabar hears a faint sound coming from deeper in the tunnel, but she can't identify it or tell how far away it is. She realizes that echoes can carry a long way in these caves.

Stonecrow moved back quietly to his two companions. He pointed the way he'd heard the other group of allies in. He did not whisper, because those carry much farther, but spoke very very quietly and said only the name, "mithra."

Then he started to move towards the other sounds to see what they might be, another group of allies, a beast, orcs or something else entirely.

23:52, Today: Stonecrow rolled 11,14 using d20+4,d20+3 with rolls of 7,11.  Perception and Stealth if needed.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:52, Tue 19 Oct 2021.

Prizzard followed quietly, nocked and ready.

rolled 18 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 15.  Stealth.

Aside from her pattern of whispering to the stones every so often Cinnabar remains silent, confining their change of direction by simply pointing in the direction of the distant sounds of movement as she lets the others pass by her to resume the rear position.

Proceeding down the other tunnel, you've gone about 60 feet when the way is blocked by a cave in, However, a side tunnel to the left seems to have been cut out of the stone. You do hear noise coming from there. At first, you can't quite make it out, but after a few seconds, you realize it's voices.

Making your way stealthily down this tunnel, it makes a right-hand turn after about 40 feet and goes 10 feet before opening into a cave.

This is where the Orcs have gone! There are seven of them, but after spotting the Orcs, it's the rest of the cave that grabs your attention--gold!

The cave is longer than wide and there's a golden throne at the other end. Just to the left of it is a chest that the Orcs are rooting through, pulling things out, looking them over, and then tossing them onto the floor.

It's only then that you spot a dead Orc on the floor only a few feet away from the chest. There appear to be half a dozen darts sticking out of his face.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:09, Fri 03 Dec 2021.

Stonecrow stopped and was very still as they came upon the scene. His eyes swept what they could see of the room. His eyes widened a bit and then he turned back to the other two. He held up both hands to indicate the number seven and then pointed back at the cave.

He looked questioningly at them but didn't speak for fear of being overheard. He didn't like the odds though and that was plain.

Keeping the current arrow nocked, Prizzard drew another. At worse than 2:1 odds it was already time to start with full force. He just nods that he's ready.

After a minute or two, it becomes clear that the Orcs have yet to realize that you are there. They are at least fascinated by all the gold they are seeing and rooting through.

Certainly with a ranged attack, you'd have surprise for one round and probably initiative for the second round. Thus, you could get two attacks before they can react.

Quietly recharging the small stones Cinnabar then holds up one of them to each of the others with her as she points suggestively at the Orcs still milling about, making her opinion reasonably clear without risking much in the way of talking.

He'd been looking for these ruins... well, he suspected that these caves on (or under) Wyvern Tor might be the Lost Monastery that he'd been looking for. Nothing so far had indicated that, but the sight of all this loot--clearly loot that the Orcs hadn't brought with them--went a long way to confirming it.

He felt it bordered on the blasphemous for the Orcs to be looting the place.

So, at Cinnabar's indication, that was all he needed to charge forward and launch his own attacks. Or, more precisely, launch a range attack and then charge forward.

He raised is light crossbow, took careful aim, and fired!

19:21, Today: Stonecrow rolled 7,11 using 1d20+5,1d8+3 ((2,8)).

Oh, fudge! Miss! Even I can't spin that into a hit. At least it wasn't a fumble, although it was close!

He flipped the crossbow over his shoulder to hang by its straps as he then charged forward.

That was the surprise round. He can close for the second round and attack with his quarterstaff. Per the GM, he can get between two Orcs and attack each of them with one end of his quarterstaff.

19:31, Today: Stonecrow rolled 12,6,13,8 using 1d20+5,1d6+3,1d20+5,1d6+3 ((7,3,8,5)).

More fudge! Pretty sure the first one misses, but the second just might do it.

After freeing his hand with two sub-par shots Prizzard accepts the stone Cinnabar offered, if it's still available.

rolled 13,4,14,5 using d20+5,d8+3,d20+5,d8+3 with rolls of 8,1,9,2.  Attack, Surge Attack.
rolled 4 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 1.  Initiative.

Stonecrow actually hits with both ends of his staff, but neither hit is enough to take out either Orc.

Prizzard hits with both attacks, but even if he targets a single Orc, it's not enough to kill one of the Orcs.


The two Orcs that Stonecrow hits scramble for their weapons which were apparently discarded on the floor when they found the treasure.


The others Orcs do the same.


Not sure what Cinnabar is doing.

As soon as it becomes apparent that the others are planning to attack the orcs cinnabar finds some cover about 50 feet away and flings one of the magic pebbles at the nearest orc even as the others close to point blank range, she follows up with another one as quickly as possible, always aiming for the nearest.

rolled 14,7 using d20+5,d8+5 with rolls of 9,2.  Rapier Attack.

Prizzard hastily set aside his bow and pressed the attack with Stonecrow, using his bond to summon his rapier in time for a stab on the orc he already shot twice.

There's nowhere for Cinnabar to hide or take cover... the two places that would allow that--the throne and the chest--are at the other end of the cave.

Cinnabar's two stone attacks hit the two Orcs that Stonecrow had been attacking, and the damage they do is enough to take both of them out.


Prizzard's next attack hits one of the Orcs and finishes it off.

18:08, Today: StarMaster rolled 9,13 using 1d20+5,1d12+3 ((4,10)).

The other Orc attacks and misses.

There were 7, we killed 3, 1 attacked us. What of the other 3?

The other three Orcs are still rooting through the loot. Either they weren't willing to pass on it, or else they felt their buddies could handle the problem. Now that the other three Orcs have been killed, they seem to be getting a bit concerned.

They grab up their weapons and assess the situation for a moment before they decide to attack Stonecrow.

Tossing the last of her stones at the nearest of the orcs, or somewhere near him, Cinnabar succeeds in little more than creating a distraction, and not even a very big one as the stone's magic doesn't have any effect on what happens if it misses its intended target.
Not inclined to stay close to them she backs away in the direction the group came from, staying just at the edge of view or range.

Stonecrow could scarcely believe they were still alive. He also noted, frowning, that some of the orcs hadn't even seemed to care what was going on. That was just shameful. He moved up to the next orc, swinging his quarterstaff around in a wide arc, following with a spinning kick as well.

21:54, Today: Stonecrow rolled 23,10,24,5 using d20+5,d8+3,d20+5,d4+3 with rolls of 18,7,19,2.  Quarterstaff and Martial Arts vs Orc.

Prizzard remains beside Stonecrow to prevent the orcs from flanking him. His attempt at following up on the one Stonecrow attacked was a bit uncoordinated.

rolled 11,8 using d20+5,d8+5 with rolls of 6,3.  Rapier Attack.

Apparently the Orcs have never seen anyone fight like Stonecrow with his whirling quarterstaff so they are a bit hesitant at attacking him until he attacks the other Orc and kills it. Somewhat in a panic now, the three attack Stonecrow, but get in each other's way and barely noticing Prizzard's presence.

All three miss, though one comes close enough to ruffle Stonecrow's hair.

It's not even clear if they are aware of Cinnabar, since her magic stone went way wild and had no other effect.

Persistent, if not necessarily effective, Cinnabar throws the third of her stones, this one is at least in the right area, and likely at least hits one of the Orcs hard enough to get their attention.

With the almost complete lack of pressure here Prizzard takes a short second to compose himself and find a clean opening. Nothing vital, but he managed to catch plenty of flesh.

rolled 21,10 using d20+5,d8+5 with rolls of 16,5.  Rapier Attack.

The one-two attack of Cinnabar's stone and Prizzard's rapier kills one of the two remaining Orcs.

Positioning only lets one of the remaining Orcs attack, but he hits Prizzard for 13 points of damage from his axe.

18:54, Today: StarMaster rolled 24,13 using 1d20+5,1d12+3 ((19,10)).

In an effort to continue helping Cinnabar retrieves three more tiny stones, enchants them with a quick word, and tosses one in the direction of the two remaining orcs, which is about all it does as impacts the ground far short of the melee then rolls to a stop just before reaching them the small amount of magic imbued into it already gone.

His focus elsewhere for a moment after the heavy blow and he missed again, but his bleeding was already slowing. In a world full of monsters one learned to fight normally despite pain, any sluggishness could mean death.


rolled 11,9 using d20+5,d8+5 with rolls of 6,4.  Rapier Attack.
rolled 4 using 1d10+3 with rolls of 1.  Second Wind.

HP 27/36

It's harder to make two attacks with his quarterstaff against the same target, but with two Orcs still standing, he's able to make his second attack against a different target as part of his follow-through!

13:38, Today: Stonecrow rolled 19,9,12,5 using 1d20+5,1d6+3,1d20+5,1d6+3 ((14,6,7,2)).

One hit, maybe squeezed in a second. Not much damage.

Due to Stonecrow also attacking the same Orc, Prizzard does manage to hit the Orc, and the twin blow finishes off that Orc. That leaves just the one Orc that Stonecrow hit but didn't finish off.

Prizzard adjusts his position to maybe allow Stonecrow a flanking position and he does a better job of creating a decent opening for a thrust this time. Most of a fight is but a banter of blades, a dance of skill to create a prime opening for the real attack. With that opening the stance and forms of a duelist allowed for greater force, nearly the full body weight behind each true attack. Finesse, rather than brute force, allowed this duelist to wedge into the armor gaps and adjust the angle of attack as part of the thrust, as one maneuver.


rolled 15,9 using d20+5,d8+5 with rolls of 10,4.  Rapier Attack.

Cinnabar throws one last stone, impacting the last Orc in the chest with what should be a harmless pebble, but makes quite a lot larger than expected impression, likely cracking a rib or two at least.

Without a lot more interest in the fight, and just as quietly as she has done everything else she retrieves a small pouch from her belt and begins dumping out berries from it, even before the last Orc hits the ground she has switched from rocks to fruit and approaches her allies, silently offering them what looks like nothing more than a mildly refreshing snack.

Stonecrow stayed quiet aside from the occasional grunt or sound from his movements. He didn't want to attract more orcs if it could be helped. He swung his staff in a low arc and then kicked up over it in a hard follow-up.

OOC: Not sure if you are using flanking rules or not, if not then hit AC 13 (likely a miss) and AC 19 for 7 damage.

18:38, Today: Stonecrow rolled 13,19,7,19,14,7 using d20+5,d20+5,d6+3,d20+5,d20+5,d4+3 with rolls of 8,14,4,14,9,4.  Attack/Damage vs Orc (2nd d20s if advantage from flanking).

The 1-2-3 attack from everyone hits and finishes off the last Orc.

You can now check behind the chest and the throne at the other end of the room to see if any Orcs are hiding there. They aren't. However, you notice there's a door in the wall behind the throne that you couldn't see before. It's not a doorway, but an actual door. It's not quite hidden but it is made to look like the rest of the wall.

The chest, of course, has been opened, which you now see was broken open, and the Orcs had been tossing the contents all over the floor as they rooted through it looking for 'treasure'. Most of what was in it was clothing such as fancy robes, but there were also some metal objects... several silver goblets, a silver plate, a crystal decanter, and a bronze brazier. Those have been set aside, naturally.


OOC: Because combat can get rather drawn out, especially when I can't get to a post frequently enough, I tend to go more with a 'fog of war' approach rather than trying to adhere to a strict Initiative sequence. That sort of includes flanking rules. It's mostly about what the player says his PC is doing (getting more at the role-playing aspects rather than the dice rolling.

In the case of the Orcs, they are just basic Orcs, only AC 12, and it takes at least two GOOD hits to take one out... or 3 smaller hits. On the other hand, they can do a lot of damage when they hit.

Prizzard cleans his gear and retrieves his stuffed backpack. He pays much more attention to the disguised door, mostly lacking interest in the treasure.

Based on the location and the fact that it's not a 'secret' door, Prizzard guesses it was some sort of 'escape' route for whoever sat on the throne. It doesn't really look like a throne... just a seat of authority or respect.

There's no handle or latch that he can see, so he has no idea how it's supposed to open.

"It's probably a switch reachable from the seat. Triggerable immediately, and would allow time for it to open while the owner flees." The search would follow from the seat to the wall if needed.

rolled 19 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 17.  Investigation.

The first thing Prizzard discovers on the seat is that both arms lift up from the front, but after lifting them in various combinations that don't seem to release the door, he continues examining the seat. It is only when he moves to the back that he spots the small slot, which he quickly realizes is a way to grab the built-in lever. He pulls it outward and hears the door click.

When the click sounds in the otherwise fairly quiet cave Cinnabar looks over from where she has been not quite force feeding their injured friend most of the dozen berries she pulled out of a pouch one at a time at a carefully measured pace.  Leaving him to manage the last of the berries on his own she makes her way across the room to help investigate, picking up several of the fancy goblets on her way.

The hidden door can now be pushed open, swinging away to the right. Thus revealed is a short 10-foot long passage that then makes a turn to the left. The passage after that is stairs leading downward for about 60 feet.

At that point, you can see that you are looking at the inner side of another hidden or secret door.

"This place is just too much fun, I hope there's another friendly floating skull to greet us." Sarcasm obviously, but he's having fun still, somehow.

Giving the loud human her best, if a bit miniature, stare Cinnabar makes a shushing motion at him then proceeds down the passage as quietly as she can.

No sooner does Cinnabar caution silence as you approach the inside of the hidden door than you hear the sounds of battle coming from the other side.

Stonecrow ventures to peer through the peep hole clearly visible in the door's center and recognizes Mithra fighting an Orc. There are others that he can't quite see or recognize, but there are definitely more Orcs!

There's a simple latch to the left of the secret door that probably releases it, but it opens toward you.

While the door is still shut Cinnabar speaks the quiet but still required keyword to charge another set of three stones, which she hands to the two more combat capable types, then reaches over to open the door so they can throw stones and help out with the next batch of orcs without getting to close.

Stonecrow gestured to Cinnabar to stand aside as he quickly unlatched the door and pulled in inward towards him. He was momentarily startled to see the front side of the door was shelves full of books!

Prizzard was ready to throw at the nearest moving orc.

rolled 17,5 using d20+5,1d6 with rolls of 12,5.  Stone Throw. Dunno what her casting modifier is.

This thread now merges with Team #2.

Magic stone uses the same attribute to hit and damage, my +5 from wisdom, it adds your proficiency bonus to the attack roll however.