You mount up the next day with everything packed onto your horses. Gundren is with you and Sildar is seeing you off along with some of the other townsfolk and of course Droopy. You then head off in the direction that Gundren signals. You travel East for a good portion of the day through the foothills of the mountain. Gundren signals down into a narrow gorge and then you find yourself at a narrow tunnel whose entrance is hidden within the Sword Mountain. Gundren unsaddles and says, "This my friends is Wave Echo Cave."

This message was last edited by the GM at 16:40, Tue 06 Oct 2020.

"Glorious," Gwen says breathlessly. "Also, very dwarfy. Or is that dwarvy?"

She looks around. "We should both disguise our tracks and look for others. The agents of the Black Spider are either ahead of us or behind."

Slinging her satchel over her shoulder, she sends Ripley aloft to scout the area. "Gundren, is there space just inside the entrance to set up a camp? Or is this the furthest you've been?

Gundren says, "There is a camp just inside that my brothers and I have established."

Ripley can only see nothing out of the ordinary.

Imbert nods at Gwen suggestion and dismounts.  He begins combing the path for tracks, before cutting branches and using the to obscure their passage.  "We should find a meadow for the horses." he says after the task is complete.

OoC;
Roll(1d20)+4:  12,+4  Total:16 - Survival looking for tracks
Roll(1d20)+4:  16,+4  Total:20 - Perception

There are some tracks leading to and from the entrance. It is difficult to tell number or race. Gundren suggests the horse be put into the glad above the gorge and leads them off that way after all the supplies have been unpacked.

"I can't tell numbers or races, but someone else definitely has found this location.  We should be ready for a dug in opponent."  Imbert remarks.

"Well, either we'll corner an angry animal in its den, or we'll let it spring all the traps while we walk off with the loot. Kinda hoping for the latter." She turns Dimple loose to graze without a picket, preferring that he be able to flee a predator. The timid creature wouldn't go far anyway, and Ripley could hunt him down if needed. She helps Imbert disguise the approach with a few magical gusts of wind, then hoists a flask of brandy near the mouth of the cave. "To us!" she says, "and down with the others!"

Jaskier eyes the bottle of brandy that Gwen produced from her satchel and exclaims "To us!"

"To Us!  If you guys would like, I can scout on ahead and return with any intel I may uncover."

"That may be our best plan.  I can cover you up to the entrance from here."  Imbert says hefting his crossbow.

The entrance tunnel leads into a large cavern supported by a natural pillar of rock and containing three stalagmites. In the western part of the cave, behind the column of rock, are three bedrolls and a heap of ordinary supplies-sacks of flour, bags of salt, casks of salted meat, lanterns, flasks of lamp oil, pickaxes, shovels, and other gear. Amid the supplies, you see the body of a dwarf miner, dead for at least a week.

The northeastern section of the cavern has collapsed, forming a ten-foot-wide, twenty-foot-deep pit. A sturdy hemp rope is tied off around a nearby stalagmite and dangles down the side of the pit, at the bottom of which is a rough-hewn tunnel heading northwest and east.

Zanben walks over to the deceased dwarf and investigates cause of death as well as searches the body for any clues.

[OOC] Investigation 1D20+2=14

Zanben walks back to the team to tell them what he saw.  "Hey guys, there is a dead dwarf inside who has been dead for at least a week.  There is also a rope that leads down into a tunnel that I am going to continue to scout out, you guys can make your way in and ready yourself at the top in case I need support down in the pit."


He than turns back around and heads back into the cave and attempts to stealth down the rope.  The party watches as Zanben tiptoes up to the rope and seems to disappear as he makes his descent down the rope in utter silence.

[OOC] Stealth 1D20+8=28

Zanben discovers that this Dwarf more likely died by what appear to be large spider bites.

Upon hearing the news Gundren rushes into the cave. He yells out, "NO! THARDEN. WHY!" He drops to his knees and begins to sob.

OOC: Zanben can I get a str check.

[OOC] Strength 1D20-1=6

The rest of the party sees Zanben grab hold of the rope and confidently goes over the edge only to hear a few seconds later a cut off yelp as his grip gives and he falls into the pit. He lands prone 20 feet down at the bottom bruised and beaten.

OOC: Zanben takes 8 points of falling damage.

After the cut-off yelp, Imbert follows Zanben down the rope.

OoC;  Roll(1d20)+2:  10,+2  Total:12 - Strength
(at least there is something to break my fall)

Imbert paying the Dwarf no mind grabs the rope and follows Zanben. His footing and grip are unsteady but not as unsteady as Zanbens had been.

OOC: You failed the Str Test but not enough for you to just fall. Give me a str save to maintain your grip.

Imbert tries to steady himself.

OoC;  Roll(1d20)+2:  19,+4  Total:23

Imbert holds on and lowers himself to the bottom of the Pit.

Zanben sits up and looks towards Imbert "Fuck, maybe I should be a bit more careful moving forward.  Take it easy coming down, the ground isn't as soft as it looks from up there."  He then stands to his feet and begins to progress towards the east tunnel taking his time not to make more commotion than his fall already had.