Logan smiles sheepishly as Kassius leads the group towards their destination.  "Thanks.  All this," Logan gestures to the parrots, trees, greenery and everything alive, "stuff everywhere!  How can you find anything with all these animals?  Give me a nice city any day, and I can track someone from rooftop or rooftop, or find someone who someone who's talked to someone.  But this?"  The rogue shakes his head in disgust.  "Well, too each his own, I suppose."

The rogue lights up when he sees the trap door.  "This, though, is more like it."  Logan steps up and, with a theatrical flourish, bends down to examine the trap door.  "I think it's probably safe, given that they went through the trouble of hiding it all the way out here where no one ever comes, but it never hurts to be sure, right?"  Pulling out his thieve's tools, Logan inspects the trap door for any signs of traps.

10:58, Today: Logan rolled 14 using 1d20+9.  Perception (For Traps).

OOC: Secret roll for detect traps made... Public roll ignored.

Logan carefully inspects the surface of the stone trap door and the surrounding area. The stone slab is quite old and in poor repair - the thief thinks it must be have been put in place more than 100 years ago - but bears no sign of a lock let alone any traps.

OOC: Taking a little liberty here.

Once the rest of the part is also in the thicket, the rogue heaves open the trap door with Alohan's help and they peer down into the hole.

There is a five foot wide shaft leading down into the darkness below. It is difficult to see in the low morning sun, but the bottom is about 30' below. A rope hangs from a hook in the side of the shaft.

The air escaping from the cavern below smells wet and musty... plus something else. It smells like a butcher's shop on a hot summer's day - like sweet rotting meat.

Logan wrinkles his nose at the smell coming up.  "That can't be a good sign.  Something dead down there?"  The rogue thinks back to the rumors of the Lotus Dragons.  "I hope it's not an actual dragon."

Logan grabs a hold of the rope, staring into the inky blackness, straining to make out what he could with low-light vision.  Then he looked to Celene.  "Have anything to light our way?  Or should it be torches?"

Seeing Logan bending over the trap door, starting to examine it, Celene holds him back for a moment. "Wait Logan, just to guide your hand and perhaps avoid mishaps, let me give you the aid of the goddess." Celene goes through a short prayer, touching Logan briefly on the shoulder, and nods her approval. "Go ahead, she is with you".


OOC: Group, meet Celene, your new level 1/1 enchantress/buffress. After intense negotiations with her goddess (me figuring out her new level), she is now ready to use her new powers and spells. She is geared toward maximum boosting of you, but I am, as you know, new at this, so I may misinterpret rules and spells along the way. Bear with me, and John will surely let me know when I err!

First the simple one: Celene has nearly always prepared Guidance, with which she grants one +1 competence bonus for the person it's cast on (touch range), to one attack roll, saving throw or skill check within one minute, and you choose which roll to use it for. There is some issues regarding duration of the spell vs. duration of the skill use. John will steer us along, I hope.

She'll cast it anytime you want it, as long as she has the opportunity to do so. She can cast it unlimited times per day, lasting until used or for 1 minute (max).

If it's okay with our GM (John, is it ok?), and to save time and bother, i'd suggest you always presume she'll cast it when you want a free +1 bonus, AND she has the opportunity/time to cast it, i.e. is not preoccupied elsewhere, such as in a battle, or when a magic spell would be unwise to flag around. Else, you just ask for her guidance if you need it. You'll just have to suffer her sermons, sorry :-)

She has much more buffing up her sleeve, but she'll take it one at a time.

"A light? Sure, but it will only last us for a while. But it is actually a rather common incantation, so perhaps Angati can supply a longer lasting light?"

"But hold on a minute. Am I the only one getting an odd feeling about this? THIS is supposed to be the den of a powerful criminal gang? The only sign of life we have seen is probably from Vanthus and Penkus. A large gang coming and going could hardly cover up their tracks, when those two could not. Oh, and they have a green dragon down there too? I don't think so."

"And so far it's been all to easy. You said it yourself, Logan, your contact gave up the information far too fast - what for then? The question is, what would those two really want down here? Are they still down there? Or lurking around us? I for one do not relish the idea of being stuffed down a narrow hole underground, with a potential heavy lid above us. Any way you can disassemble the trap door, Logan? Or should we keep a guard behind?"


OOC: Celene has light only as a Sasserine Native trait, hence only usable once per day. But as both our other casters has it spontaneous and unlimited, I did not bother to have her prepare it as part of her clerical orisons

He couldn't help but think they should have moved last night. Each bit of evidence discovered of someone's recent travel had irked Alohan but he had kept his mouth shut. And now they stood above a 30 foot drop leading down into the depths of Parrot Island with not a clue about what was below. Thankfully, Celene echoed his sentiments. "I be getting a bad feelin' about dis," he muttered to himself.

Despite all the glaring signals and the feeling in his stomach, going down the pit had to get done. They had to be positive Vanthus wasn't lying dead down below eaten by a green dragon. And who but himself? Alohan was the best suited for the job. Plus, he hadn't wanted any of the others to put themselves in harms way despite knowing they were walking into something nefarious. Alohan wouldn't be surprised if Fartellmous himself was own there, ready to skewer his ebony skin in some jealous rage.

"It be okay Celene. Set de rope." He said promptly. "and give me a light. A torch or magiks. I be going in."

"Wait Alohan." Kassius suggests, and reaches around, grabbing a small pebble. With a quick prayer, he enchants it with light, causing it to glow brightly. Then, walking to the the hole, he casually tosses it in, causing the light to illuminate the bottom of the pit.

Celene:

"Or should we keep a guard behind?"

"Kibeti at least will stay behind. He hasn't quite figured out how to climb a rope yet." Kassius says with a smile. Kibeti just stretches luxuriously and curls into a ball for a brief nap. It's always important to stay catched up on one's beauty sleep after all.

As the incandescent pebble drops down through the shaft its light travels along the nearby walls, and then out to the walls of the room below. The five foot square shaft is only about ten feet deep, below this it opens out into a small ten by ten square room with a passageway leading off to the east from the south-western wall. The pebble reaches the floor and lands with a soft *plop* - no bounce. The floor of the room is covered is a thin layer of wet sand and silt.

OOC: Map will be delivered tonight, although there isn’t much to see at this point.

Logan ‘disables’ the trap door, which in actual fact just means that he unscrews the iron hinges and then with Alohan’s help drags the stone slab off to one side. The thief then checks both the old iron hook at the top of the shaft and the rope hanging from it, making absolutely sure that they are suitable for taking the islander’s weight. The hook is rusty, but thick and solid. The rope is very new, Logan reckons it can’t have been hanging there for more than a week or so.

Alohan then lowers himself down the rope into the pit (OOC: DC 5 climb check needed and passed) and stops a foot from the bottom to test the floor of the room with a tentative step. It is solid enough, and underneath the sand he finds the same flagstones that were used to mark the trail from the beach. He stands on the floor and hangs onto the rope with one hand. The room has red brick walls that are crumbling with age and have rivulets of water streaming down them on many sides to reach the floor where they travel across the dirty sand to combine into a thicker thread of water running off down the passageway to the west – apparently the floor runs a little downhill in that direction – but when he looks that way he only sees a few feet until the passageway turns to the north and his view is blocked. The room is about 20’ high, then closes over to the central shaft he just came in through. It is difficult to see more because the pebble on the floor provides like at a strange angle and Alohan makes strange shadows loom on the walls as he passes between the light source and what he is looking at.

The smell is thicker down here. It reminds the prince of the cured pork they used to serve as a delicacy at royal feasts - a smoked pig was buried deep in the sand just above the high water mark and left there for a month so that it would be salted. An acquired taste to be sure, but it did make the meat deliciously soft and succulent.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:14, Wed 26 Aug 2015.

OOC: I'm cool with that approach. It just needs to be a task that can be completed quickly e.g. within 1 minute. So it couldn't be used on a knowledge checking using a library for assistance as this takes 1d4 hours. Or crafting an item.

And please be fair when you are assuming Celene is nearby and able to use this on you. She can't teleport (yet!).

A very useful ability. I hope you guys can remember to use it.

Unable to hide her surprise completely, an eyebrow goes up slightly as Kassius intones a prayer. "Or perhaps Kassius can" Celene mumbled, mainly to herself. Knowing of many kinds of magic, she shouldn't really be surprised, but Kassius really never struck her as devout or magically inclined. The ranger prowed full of more tricks.

Despite Alohans confidence, Celene is not keen on this. Neither splitting up nor all of them descending seemed a good idea. Well, it couldn't be helped, they had to investigate. "I've grown fond of your cat, Kassius, but can she handle herself up here? Can she alert us in case of trouble?"

After Kassius having confirmed this, Celene slowly climbs down the rope, using her magic for aid. "Can you give me a hand here, Kassius?". Celene hopes for more worldly help too, climbing not being her favourite pasttime activity!

OOC: can't remember if she has seen K casting before. If she has, please excuse me!
This message was last edited by the player at 09:49, Wed 26 Aug 2015.

"Kibeti can warn us if something comes. Whether he will choose too I don't know." Kassius says with a shrug, before ordering Kibeti to stay. Hopefully Kibeti would be ok here on his own. Kassius had long since learned not to underestimate his cat.

Kassius climbs down easily, not even really paying attention to his own movements. Instead, he concentrates on Celene, staying close by to catch her briefly when she slips.

08:50, Today: Kassius rolled 10 using 1d20+5.  climb (Aid another Celene).
Celene, you get a +2 on this climb check.
Kassius automatically passes a DC 5 climb check, so I didn't bother rolling.

Going down the rope slowly, Kassius can surely sense Celene being tense and nervous. Once she feels herself slipping, but Kassius quickly grabs hold of her, helping her the last feet down. Once again thankful of solid ground beneath her feet, she stands to the side, letting the others down. "Kassius, before we all mess up the floor with our own prints, are there any tracks to tell us how many have been this way earlier?" She looks around herself, but mainly to learn what Kassius looks for when tracking.


This message was last edited by the player at 13:09, Wed 26 Aug 2015.

09:06, Today: Kassius rolled 11 using 1d20+9.  survival (tracking).
Any (fairly obvious) signs of tracks?

There are some clear and recent tracks, but Alohan has somehow managed to blunder through most of them. That said, Kassius is able to see the imprint of about half a dozen boots in the shallow sand covering the floor and figures that they were made 1 - 2 weeks ago. They all lead off in the same direction to the west.

The hunter scouts out towards the western passageway and discovers one set of tracks returning - probably to the bottom of the rope, but the barbarian has made such a mess that he can't confirm that.

Alohan attempted to make himself small, pushing against the redbrick walls careful to not touch the torrents of water pouring out of the ceiling. Based off of Kassius's unforgiving looks and grunts of disapproval, the damage was done and he had accidentally disturbed tracks that might otherwise be useful to the half-orc. He frowned and picked up the illuminated pebble. With light in hand, the Native slips further to the west to make room.

He paused at the turn north. With a glance back at the others, he silently put his hands to the wall and peeked around the corner. Holding the pebble in front of him, Alohan illuminated the path ahead.

Logan watches as the others climb down, maintaining a vigil as Kassius and Celene join Alohan.  He motions to Angati.  "You go next.  I'll keep watch with Kibeti here until everyone is down."  Once the party is safely down, Logan shimmies down the rope and joins them.

12:23, Today: Logan rolled 14 using 1d20+1.  Climb (w/ Guidance).

Angati goes next and manages to navigate the rope, although she doesn't find it easy, the Logan follows leaving just Kibeti on the surface looking down at them.

Alohan creeps a few feet down the passage way and looks to the north - all he sees is that the passageway continues to the west, with sagging wooden beams holding up the ceiling every five feet. The barbarian presses himself against the wall to try and avoid disturbing the tracks that continue down the hall, but he feels the brick behind him crumbling under his weight. When he pulls his body away he sees that a couple of new little trickles spring out from the friable blocks where he'd touched them - the bricks were so old and rotten that it was a miracle the wall was still standing.

Celene sniffs the air. "Logan, this smells familiar to you? Is it similar to what we found - and smelled - in that basement some days ago?"

GM? Smells the same, or different?

OOC: It smells about the same.

Seeing no sign of danger, Alohan glances back to his comrades. Noticing Angati safely touching down within the subterranean hovel Alohan motions for them to follow. Satisfied he had their attention, the native dips around the corner, sliding along the wall ever so carefully. He quickly shuffles across the sandy channel.

At the next bend he pauses, attempting to hear if anything was waiting. Upon working up the courage, he peeked around the corner, looking into the darkness.

Alohan slips along the passageway to the next bend and peeks around the corner – by the light of the pebble he can see that the crumbling corridor continues another 20’ before turning north again. Kassius stands at the previous corner, covering Alohan's back. When the barbarian motions that it is safe to continue, Kassius conveys the signal back to the rest of the group in the main chamber.

But, back in the first chamber a yelp of alarm draws the attention of the rest of the party to Kibeti at the top of the shaft. To their shock, the cat has been shoved half over the edge of the hole so that his back legs are now hanging down into the shaft, and he is desperately scrabbling with his front claws to try and regain his grip. The animal is hit by another invisible wall of force and with a despairing wail is flung into the hole back first! Fortunately the cat is agile enough to swivel in mid-air and land on his feet in the soft muck of the chamber floor, and Celene, Angati and Logan are able to leap back and make space for him in the middle of the room.

OOC: 2d6 points of damage from 20 feet + 1d6 points of non-lethal damage for the last 10 feet thanks to the sand cushioning the fall.
08:52, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 4 using 2d6.  Normal damage from fall.
08:52, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  non-lethal damage from fall.

Kibeti roars in rage – the first time that anybody in the party beside Kassius have ever heard him do so and it is an impressive noise in such a confined space – and looks up at the top of the shaft above. A second later a hand reaches down and slices the rope free from the iron hook - it falls to the ground with a heavy thump.

Then a face appears above them…
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:32, Thu 27 Aug 2015.

“<chortle>well, well, well Logan. Looks like you went a step too far this time, doesn’t it?” mocks Fartellamous as he leans over the top of the hole. “I told you boy. One day you were going to get yourself in big trouble and it looks like today is that day.”

The pudgy crook laughs roughly as he takes in the expressions on their faces. “Oh look. It’s nothing personal. Well, okay, maybe I am enjoying it a bit Logan, but Vanthus just made me a better offer! And gave me the potions of flying and invisibility I needed to pull off this little coup – then it just came down to my little ring that I use to help with my dice rolls and here we all are. Any last words before I seal you in your tomb boy?!”

This message was last updated by the player at 07:18, Thu 27 Aug 2015.

Kassius dashes over, his face dark with rage as Kibeti is assaulted and thrown into the pit. While this Fartellamous fellow begins taunting Logan, Kassius has only one response, the one the law of the jungle demands. Animals don't respond to treachery with words, demanding reasons. An eye for an eye, blood for blood.
Kassius draws his bow, taking careful aim.

Initiative rolls? Do we get to take actual actions, or just free talking?

Usually we do actions in big blocks ie the entire party at the same time and then the enemy all at once. But I think just this one time we should roll for initiative.

20:19, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 12 using 1d20+2.  Fartellamous Initiative.

Ho-hum. That means we have to wait for every player to roll before anyone takes an action though. Suddenly I am remembering why we abandoned this method.