Regdoc nodded grimly. "Yes, I believe so. Some are over there. And others are over there. And some of them are a little bit everywhere. How many were you?"

Chomper sniffed at some of the discarded rat hides, finding one to his liking he began tearing at it.

"If they are, they are long gone. You were the only statue revivable. The others lie broken."

Leohart's knees buckled and he dropped the crystal. He fell down on one knee and clutched a rock on the floor. A part of one of his fallen friends, or just a rock?

"There were...five of us. Four others. We thought, in our hubris, that with a stealthy approach we could catch the basilisks unawares. Such...such fools!"

It took a moment for him to compose himself and stand back up. "What day is it? What year is it?"

[The Entity told Pock that he was frozen when the gnomish mine was overrun 73 years ago, so it's up to Leohart's player, but I'd go with several decades...]

"...Thirty-six years?" Leohart blurted out loudly. "Madness! It cannot be! You...you must be lying!"

Leohart, losing it, produced a wand from the folds of his robes.

"No, he's telling the truth. There are a great number of things Brother Brodd is not very good at, and lying is one of them, near the top of the list I'd say."

Chomper added his confirmation with a low Woof!

Either or both were probably complimentary.

Dwarghar tucks the crystal in his pocket and follows the others. As they go he asks. Did our friend up there give anything else or other info besides these crystals?

When they find the man statue.
What were you doing here when the creature turned you to stone?

"A warhammer, a sword, a potion of underwater breathing and the salve to remove petrification."

Amalrik looks at the crystal, then laces it in a pouch. Ready for grabbing and use.

The calm reactions from the strangers around him kept Leohart from doing something hasty. He lowered the wand.

"We...we had come to kill the basilisks, if we could...or loot their treasure and run if we could not.

"What are your intentions? Are you trying to escape this nightmare realm, or attempting the same folly my comrades and I attempted...?"

Since no one answered immediately, Leohart stooped down and picked up the crystal he had dropped.

Einhard looks toward the newly found mage. "We are looking for a way out so we can rescue my nice, the Baron's daughter. The only reason we even came in here was because of some avalanche and a pissed off manticore." He moved toward the mage and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "You're friends are gone, and for that I am sorry. But you've got a chance to avenge them. Join us in defeating these basilisk and finding the exit."

"Wait...now there's basilisks and a manticore? The manticore is new..."

Leohart swallowed hard, but nodded. "Not without a thousand soldiers have we a chance against the basilisks...but I will help you find the way out, and your niece too, if I am able. What ways out have you tried already? It's been a long time and I'm all turned around right now..."

"The manticore is outside, back that way." Einhard pointed from the direction they came. "The entrance has collapsed, so forward is the only option. These shards can be used like mirrors to reflect the basilisk gaze back. The weapons given to us will work against the gargoyles. And apparently the mechanism to open the exit ahead of us is submersed under water... hence the water breathing potion." The knight shrugged. "If we survive all that, then I suppose we have a shot at rescuing my niece. The choice is yours if you wish to see some real adventure or die of starvation in this god forsaken mine."

"Gargoyles too??" Leohart gasped. He couldn't say anything after that; his breath had been taken away from him at the ghastly state of their situation.

He was, however, now prepared to follow these strangers for his own protection.

((Okay, DM, you can move us forward now.))

Regdoc yawned a bit, his joints popping as he stretched. "Yes, and probably even more than all of that! You wouldn't believe what's befallen us before this! It's almost as if the Wandering One has led us down a Winding Path, one which will test our soles as well as our souls, strengthen legs in preparation for some final hill. Manticores, basilisks, gargoyles and no doubt a feisty clutch of lava-hens at some point. No, this is by no means going to be easy..."

"Not to mention vermin, lice and sinister smells..." Regdoc added for Chomper's benefit.

Dwarghar stares in awe as the statue turns flesh. Amazed he listens to the story. Then they begin to discuss the manticore and going forward and he almost thinks about his rotten situation and the futility of being here.

I know what you’re thinking Rocky, it can’t get any worse right? Just wait, I think that every so often.

Then he decides to look around. Hmmm if this was where they were living, maybe they left something useful.

He searches the area half hoping to come across some Dwarven mail.
log  21:54, Today: Dwarghar Stoneblood rolled 6 using 1d6.  Search.

Brodd searches among the statuary for anything useful.

There appears to be a cairn of unfortunately shaped stones off to the side, by the edge of the cavern furthest from the track's ledge. It would be a macabre sight indeed if it weren't currently statuary.

Brodd investigates the cairn, carefully uncovering it to see what is buried, knowing it is not flesh.

After some reshuffling of rocks, lo and behold you find an iron chest underneath. Locked, of course.

"Well what have we here? Lockpicker or lock breaker needed I believe."

Just as Brother Brodd mentions the lock, there's a crashing sound up above of metal and rock, and a sound you already know too well...of falling rocks! Surely not or the magnitude of the disaster outside, but with the echoes of the cavern, just as thunderous nonetheless.

[Save vs. Petrification, everyone!]

10:25, Today: Brother Brodd rolled 14 using 1d20. save vs. petrification. modifiers unknown.

If he survives, Brodd draws the crystal and puts it between his eyes and the opponent!
This message was last edited by the player at 14:28, Tue 15 Oct 2019.

You're a bit too busy dodging large rocks and the tumbling minecart they spilled out of to stare up at the source of the hazard.