Dumoss and Jeffery took the lead with Dumoss following the footprints of the kids and Jeffery urging the kids to show the way.
Tobias ducked and dodged the branches that the children easily passed under while Alvar trudged along behind getting batted by the branches that had been pushed away by the others.
Nevyn was thankful that Alvar was blocking the swinging branches because the woods was not his element.

While not as close as they made it sound, the group soon arrived at the edge of a twenty foot oval in the ground.
At some time in the past a sink hole had opened in the forest floor. Fifteen feet almost straight down to the left was the mound of dirt that had been the roof of a limestone cave weakened by time till it had collapsed.
The top of the mound of dirt and rock was about five feet above the cave floor. From the crumbly edge of the hole, small bushes and clumps of weeds growing on the mound as well as marks were someone had slid down, could be seen.

Starting to the right and on around to directly in front, some of the cave roof remained and formed an overhang.

There was no sign of Leland or anyone else in the pit.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:32, Fri 09 Aug 2019.

"I don't imagine anyone has a piece of rope..." Tobias began to look around for a sizeable branch they might cut.

"Who's going down?" He certainly didn't seem to be too eager to volunteer.

In reply to Tobias Draigh (msg # 2):

"Dumoss, would you help me please? You are strong enough to lower me as far as your arms reach and let me drop onto the mound of dirt, that way I will only fall about 7 feet. If the rest of you hold onto Dumoss he won't be in any danger of falling in. Then while I am looking for Leland you all can look for a branch or something to allow us to climb out."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:04, Sat 10 Aug 2019.

In reply to Jeffrey Smith (msg # 3):

"Would you like me to help? I would be glad to help if you would like. Just tell me how I can." Alvar will wait for a response before doing anything.

In reply to Alvar of Ashwick (msg # 4):

"Yes, thank you, you can be a great help. I think you are even better suited to lowering me into the hole than Dumoss is. What do you think, does my plan sound reasonable?" Jeffrey asks Alvar.

"We may need to make a chain to get the lad back out. Let's send Dumoss down with Alvar here to yank him back up. I'll stay up here to assist, Jeffrey why don't you go down as well if needed."

Turning to the children, "why don't two of you go back to the Tannery and fetch us a rope, I think I saw one hanging near the woodshed. Hurry back!" If the child was dead or gravely injured, he didn't want the children seeing it, his own traumatic past coming to mind.

Pointing towards two of the others, "Russell and Wesley, you know where the stinky place is right? Go there and see if there is a rope to bring back."

"Hurry and don't let anyone stop you."

Says "Yes, a rope would make things easier. But I think there must be a way for me to get down." Dumoss looks around to see if there is something he can use to climb down while waiting to see if the kids locate a rope. Thinking to himself, this is a forest and the edge of the sink hole must have roots hanging out.  Locating a tree next to the hole, Dumoss grabs a hanging branch to look over the side and yells "Can anyone in the hole hear me!?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:59, Tue 13 Aug 2019.

Tobias directed Alvar to lower Dumoss down. "Let's try to find the boy before the others return."

Turning to Torr he asked, "Will you help keep watch? We'll be occupied with finding your friend. Let us know if Russel and Wessley are returning alright?"

While looking around for tree roots, Dumoss notices that there are cave opening to the right and left off of this sink hole.
He also notices there are roots of all sizes growing out some of the cracks in the rock around the main opening.
Dumoss thinks a few might be strong enough to hold a light person.
A few might even have weaken the cave roof that remains.

Private to Dumoss Nindir: Dumoss, after your yell, you heard a muffled grunt from the cave opening on the left side.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:08, Tue 01 Oct 2019.

"Good find Dumoss... if you or Jeffrey can't see anything if we lower you down, then perhaps we should go in through these cave openings. Why don't the two of you try those roots, Alvar and I will attempt to hold the roots steady from up here. The boys should be back with a rope before too long, but I'm not sure how long we have..."

"Aye, Jeffery, I'll help." Alvar helped lower Jeffery into the hole cautiously, making certain that he would be okay. He would stay with Jeffery in case he needed help.

Alvar carefully lowered Jeffery down the side of the cave onto the top of the pile of dirt.
Private to Jeffrey Smith: As you are lowered to the top of the pile, you hear a low shuffling sound from deep in the cave opening on the left, your right as you are lowered.

Dumoss calculated a route down using the exposed roots if care was used and the roots actually were firm.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:10, Tue 01 Oct 2019.

In reply to Oracle (msg # 13):

As quietly as possible Jeffrey tells Alvar "there is something in the cave on your left. I don't know what it is but I will try to find out," With that Jeffrey pears into the cave trying to see what is making the noise without actually going in.

Dumoss says, "I hear someone or something that sounds hurt. It is coming from the cave on the left side. I would check that way first, well I start my climb down."

In reply to Dumoss Nindir (msg # 15):

Jeffrey slowly enters the cave giving his eyes time to adjust to the darkness of the cave, while listening for what is inside. "Hello," he calls softly.

The Haggard squinted into the darkness of the cave, trying to discern what might be within. "You alright?" He asked Alvar who was helping to lower Dumoss.

He lifted his staff and uttered a few words in a strange tongue which sounded like the slithering of snakes over rough sand. "Shirak!^*" As he touched the tip, it began to glow with a deep burgundy light that gradually grew bright enough to give off enough light to see by, not unlike the intensity of a torch.

With a last glance at the others, Tobias stepped beyond the opening of the left-hand entrance, holding the burgundy light before him...


Mage Light Cantrip (Intelligence TN<=19): Tobias Draigh rolled 8 - Success!

* Yes, I'm a Dragonlance fan, this is my tribute to the Staff of Magius... ;-)

The wide opening to the left of the main cave, with the collapsed ceiling that you have come down from, is about sixteen feet high.
It goes away from the lighted entrance about eighteen feet and splits into a 'Y'.

The sounds that several people have heard seem to have come from the right side of the 'Y'.

The ceiling slopes down on both side but more steeply on the right side.
It looks like a tall person could touch the ceiling on the right by reaching up and maybe also on the left if they jumped.

The stone is all natural with no signs of having ever been disturbed, the floor on the other hand has some scuffle marks of animal and child foot prints.
Private to Dumoss Nindir: The child prints look to mostly be on the right side of the main cave. While the bear prints are on both sides.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:10, Tue 01 Oct 2019.

Tobias held the light of his staff aloft, gesturing toward the right. If there were a bear down here, he was the least equipped of those who'd come here with him, to deal with it! He crept down the rightward way.

They'll be dragging my corpse out of here... he said to himself, but thinking of corpses caused his thoughts to take a dark turn.

In the eerie burgundy light, there is a glint of the torch's reflection from water on the floor at what looks like the end of the passage.
The water fills the right half of this narrow tunnel, where a pool has collected. The pool seems clear from this distance and the floor beside it looks slippery with dampness.

Above the water the cave ceiling is down to seven feet above the floor.
The cave funnels down till the sides can be touched by extending both arms, starting about halfway down its length and then staying that width to the end.
Private to Tobias Draigh: At the pool of water, there may be a larger opening directly to the left with a step up but, from where you are at the very beginning of the narrow passage, it is hard to tell.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:09, Tue 01 Oct 2019.

In reply to Oracle (msg # 20):

Jeffrey having a bad feeling about what might be in the cave, backs out and draws his sword. "Guys, how about we talk about this, if there is a bear or something like that in there we need to have a coordinated plan of action."

Tobias took a quick glance around the chamber with the eerie light on the end of his staff. He was looking for bones or remnants of something that might have once been living. After a moment, he crept back toward the entrance to confer with the others.

"There may be another tunnel above the water down there, a little larger. Would be a good place for a lair."

He nodded at Jeffrey's weapon. "Good idea. Our priority is the child. If we can find him and get him out without disturbing the cave's tenant, that would certainly be best."

"I don't know if this light will frighten a bear, but fire might. If we take a moment to make some torches, perhaps we could keep it at bay..."

"Dumoss? What do you see down there?" Tobias called down.