Looking between the party's choices, Asano nods to the right. "I've always been partial to right hand turns," Asano says, a slight grin playing across his face. "Something about left turns just seems...low class." He moves to a position that allows him to scan down the tunnel, focus at the ready.

OOC:
Perception- 19
This message was last edited by the player at 15:39, Sat 11 Feb 2017.

Mayon sighs with relief as the last zombie falls. He then walks up to the boulder he had been going towards initially, hoping to get some sort of clue as to what in the name of the gods was even going on here.

Natural 20! Too bad it couldn't have been in combat...
08:05, Today: Mayon Graycross rolled 24 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 20.  Investigate boulder.
I see EVERYTHING.

Asano moves to the opening of the passageway off to the right, which is little more than a wide cleft in the rock. In the silence a few drips of water echo off the walls, but otherwise no sound can be heard. A sickly sweet odor wafts from the passageway, reminding Asano of a charnal pit.

Peering down the twisting cleft in the rock, it seems like the passage may open into a larger area perhaps forty feet away.

Mayon inspects the stained boulder, and can see that it is covered with dried blood. Dark red cuts in the boulder itself stand out on its surface, giving the rock itself the false appearance of being wounded and scarred. The stains are of a variety of hues, and some stains are more faded than others.

Mayon and Asano both see that the rock floor of the cavern, though made of solid bedrock, is littered with pebbles, dirt, and other natural detritus. Upon close inspection of tracks through the cave it is clear that many things have been dragged into the cave from outside onto the boulder. Tracks also lead from the boulder to the north passageway, and from the north passageway to the south.

---

Map updated.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:04, Sat 11 Feb 2017.

Mayon grits his teeth, feeling sick as he looks at the marks on the ground and the blood on the stone.

"I...I think there could be someone practicing necromancy here. Not just a plague." He says. "Dragging travelers in, killing them, and reviving them into...those." He gestures towards the rotten, ruined corpse of the zombie. "It's just a theory, but we should keep our guard up...maybe we should rest for a bit? I know this isn't exactly an ideal spot, but it would be a good idea to be prepared in case we run into something worse. Which, from the looks of it, could be from either direction."

Translation: Tossing a vote out for a short rest. I know some are injured and I'd like to get my slot back.
11:16, Today: Mayon Graycross rolled 17 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 13.  Arcana check--Necromancy.
I can edit my post if that's not enough to assume necromancers.

A far off drip echos through the cave as the group ruminates on Mayon's words.

---

Mayon believes everything he has observed is entirely consistent with the practice of necromancy.

In other words: bulls-eye. =)

"This way," Asano gestures toward the northern tunnel, "smells of blood and death. Perhaps where they keep fresh 'recruits'?"

"I could also do with a rest." Morg whispers, looking at the ledge, then up at the roof - paying careful attention to the area just above the boulder, and down at the boulder itself.

"I think we should investigate the southern passageway first, which I don't think can go very far before it'd reach the ravine wall. If we clear that, and then go north (which could be quite a distance), we're less likely to be attacked from behind by anything from the south." Grinning at Asano, he whispers, "If we face east, then south would be turning right."

---

10:06, Today: Morg Danforge rolled 14 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 11.  Perception check for ledge, roof, area above boulder, and boulder.

If any of those things were made via stone work, can I make a Stonecunning (dwarf trait) check?

If the party agrees to a short rest, I'll roll for Second Wind before resting.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:56, Sun 12 Feb 2017.

Morg examines various features of the cave and finds that the ledge, roof, and everything in the cave except the boulder are entirely natural formations. The boulder appears to have been crudely chiseled down in order for its surface to be roughly flat.

---

Morg's Stonecunning can indeed be used here, but to save time I gave you a description of the cave as if you'd rolled a 23 perception.

Jak let out a sigh of relief when the second zombie also stopped moving. He wiped off his weapon and re-sheathed it. He let the others look around and to the continuing passageways as he examined his wound. It was painful but not life-threatening he hoped.

"I certainly wouldn't mind a bit of rest an' tryin' t'heal up 'fore we jump, or get jumped, inta somethin' else." He sat down away from the boulder.

"A chance to catch our breaths would be good," Asano sighs, keeping an eye on the northern tunnel.

Morg cleans his warhammer and then picks up one of the rocks that was inside the box. He sits down facing the southern passageway while nursing the wound on his side.

"Bram and Verthel, I don't know much about the undead - other than not wanting to ever deal with ghosts that possess people again. What are the best ways to deal with them?"

---

Bonus action before resting: 2nd wind - heals 10 HP.

10:18, Today: Morg Danforge rolled 10 using 1d10+1 with rolls of 9.  HP recovered from second wind.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:25, Mon 13 Feb 2017.

Mayon also find a clearer spot to sit for a few minutes and recover. Though a bit drained from his unnatural spellcasting, his injury from earlier doesn't trouble him too much. He hears Morg's question and closes his eyes to think for a moment, trying to remember the late nights pouring through books on the many types of arcane magic and its uses, both fair and foul.


DM, would my earlier arcana check give me some info on undead--since they're sort of linked to necromancy--or should I make a new roll for that? If so, the new roll would be:
11:42, Today: Secret Roll: Mayon Graycross rolled 5 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 1.  Arcana info on undead.
*sigh* I hope the earlier one applies.
Also if we're doing a Short Rest, I get spell slots back, but I'm not rolling any hit dice since it'd be kind of a waste at the moment.

Bram relaxed slightly now that the immediate danger was dealt with, though he remained wary as he settled down to rest.  He looked to Morg and said, "Though common undead such as these are reanimated via supernatural forces, they are still physical beings.  Therefore they may be destroyed by most of the same means that one might destroy a living creature.  Weapons and the magical attacks we've employed thus far have seemed to work well enough."  Unable to inhibit his natural instinct for pedantry, he added, "Yet, their unlife does not rely upon the circulation of blood via the heart, nor the intake of breath.  Therefore, they are not subject to death by poison, suffocation, starvation, nor thirst.  Such methods would be inexpedient in this situation, in any case."  He added with some concern, "It was my understanding that zombies retain only a very rudimentary intelligence, so it ought to be a trivial matter to outwit them.  Yet, the ambush from above was more crafty than could be expected from such things.  I fear that these creatures must be under the command of a more intelligent being..."

---

Arcana (or whatever other knowledge skill applies) for undead lore!:

• 10:56, Today: Bramwell Caulder rolled 13 using 1d20+4.  Arcana.

Though Bram doesn't need it personally, a short rest is fine by me.

Jak let the others talk about the undead. He closed his eyes and kept an ear open for the information that was flowing, but didn't add anything. Bramwell, of course, took it as an excuse to start a lecture in a hall, dumping information by the wagon-load. Jak's lips twitched slightly in a smile as he listened.

12:31, Today: Secret Roll: Jakrynn Redgate rolled 8 using 1d8+2 with rolls of 6.  Hit Die roll recovery during short rest.

As the party investigates the cave, it suddenly becomes clear that Verthel has disappeared. Nobody remembers seeing him leave, but he must have slipped off during the zombie attack.

As they rest, eating a light snack, the cave remains still and silent.

---

Short rest completed! If anyone else wants to use HD or do other things you can do during a short rest, go ahead and include that in your next post.

Mayon and Bram both know the information Bram included in his post. You're also aware of course that some Paladins and Clerics have some special influence against undead creatures, and that oftentimes they are created by the work of evil necromancers. Undead are once-living creatures brought to a horrifying state of undeath through the practice of necromantic magic or some unholy curse. Undead include walking corpses, such as vampires, skeletons, and zombies, as well as bodiless spirits such as ghosts and specters.

Where to next?

This message was last edited by the GM at 00:31, Tue 14 Feb 2017.

"Vert? Are you here?"

Morg gets up and looks for the drow, trying to see if he can find Verthel's footprints anywhere.

---

Check? Survival, perception, investigation, straight WIS/INT?

Mayon also looks around, frowning a bit, then sighing.

"I think it'd be best to keep going. If he turns up, great. If not, there's not a lot we can do, especially with necromancers lurking around." It was a shame, but they had to keep moving if they wanted to keep more people from getting hurt.

"Aye, he's probably either gone on ahead, or returned to town," Asano nods to the exit. "I would bow to Morg's knowledge of stoneworks. If south seems a better way to initially explore, then let us go explore to the south."

Jak stood back up and dusted himself off. He checked on the mouse in his pocket and then got himself ready to continue on. He readied his shield again. "Right. Jakrynn re-reportin' fer duty." He grinned as he stepped up. "Either way is fine with me, lead on."

Morg finds a confusing swirl of tracks near the eastern entrance to the cave, and can't quite figure out which ones are Verthel's.

The group makes their way south. The narrow passage is about ten feet high in most places, and is only wide enough to make it through single file. The walls are rough and irregular, with numerous cracks and crevices. Some of these look large enough to squeeze through, for a smaller creature at least.

Protruding spurs on the walls are coated in dried blood.

It looks like the passageway up ahead may open into another larger area.

---

Map updated.

To save time I rolled Survival for Morg looking for Verthel tracks - 7. If you want to do any other Verthel-searching you can post what you want to do and we can recon it as having happened before you left the cave.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:45, Wed 15 Feb 2017.

"Ugh...I don't like the looks of this much." Mayon says, thankful for the moment that he's a pretty scrawny boy as he moves carefully behind Morg, trying not to get cut by mistake as it seemed many had before. "Never liked small spaces much..."

Checking to see if the spurs look like traps or natural...
20:14, Today: Mayon Graycross rolled 7 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 3.  Perception.
We'll never know. (Or at least Mayon won't until otherwise informed :P)

"That does not look promising," Asano says, pointedly looking at the bloodied stone. He waits for someone to lead the way through to whatever fresh horrors await.

Bramwell was perturbed to hear that Verthel had gone missing, but he reluctantly concluded, "We cannot go searching for him now.  Not here.  If he's left the cavern then he ought to be safe, and if he went deeper then we shall no doubt find him anyway."

The paladin peered into the narrow corridor with its many crevices and bloody barbs and agreed with Asano and Mayon that it looked rather unpleasant.  "Let me have a look..."  After a brief inspection of the cracks and the sharp spurs he said with hesitation, "I see nothing beyond the obvious dangers... Avoiding the barbs ought to be simple enough, but we must be cautious nonetheless.  If we were to be pushed or driven to haste they would be a danger."

He looked back to his comrades and said, "I believe my armor is the sturdiest among us, so I will lead the way through this.  Morg, would you mind guarding the rear?"  Bram raised his shield and advanced slowly into the narrow corridor, keeping a wary eye on the crevices to either side.

---

We're just finding nothing!:

• 20:39, Today: Bramwell Caulder rolled 6 using 1d20+4.  Investigation.

Temporarily putting myself at the front of the single-file marching order for this perilous-looking corridor.  Suggesting Morg take up the rear in case we get flanked, which would give us this order minus Verthel:
1 - Bram
2 - Mayon
3 - Jak
4 - Asano
5 - Morg

Morg takes up the rear, keeping an eye out for attacks from the north and any possible footprints left by Verthel.

Jak frowned at the fact that Verthel had just up and left them without a word - and no one had noticed, not even him! He heard what Bram said, however, and reluctantly agreed that they should push despite it.

"Sure you don't want me behind ya for trap-checkin', Bram? I'm good further back if you like. Means I'm less likely t'get eaten or killed."

He peered at the path ahead. "I don't like this. Not one bit. Watch out fer small things comin' from the side passages."

He kept his eyes and ears wide open!

OOC: I assume you are using passive for us unless we specifically roll?