And so it is, with hired cleric in tow, the three intrepid adventurers find themselves once again in search of fame, fortune, danger, and rewards.  Two days of travel along the east coast is rough going at times, over rocky cliff strewn coastal land.  With no real road, only old broken bits of roads, and animals paths, you pass several structures.  On the first day, about half a days travel, you pass an old lighthouse that seems to be falling down and may not long before it is reclaimed by the sea.   Over the next day you pass several stone structures that could have been watchtowers long ago, fallen into rubble and ruin.  They seem like perhaps your destination but are too soon if the ghost is to be believed.   And sure enough, nearing nightfall on the second day of travel,  another ruined tower is found at the edge of a seaside cliff.  A very quick check of the tower finds only a few half ruined rooms, but nearby, the dark entrance to a cave.  Even not being rangers, it is clear something has been coming and going from the dark entrance.

Despite the danger at the end of their journey, Delta enjoyed the journey. The light house fascinated her, and if it didn't fall into the sea first, she hoped to return to it someday. She imagined the view from atop it was wonderful.

She also pondered the ruined watch towers, and wondered, should they survive, if the city might pay them to clean them out and fix them up. Seems like something the city might find value in.

In between the sights to be seen, Delta hummed, and sang, working on her tunes. Once or twice she pulled out her note book to jot down a particularly good turn of phrase and good rhyme.

As they neared they destination however, she quieted down, and became more focused. The tower, and the cave, both caught her eye. She patted her gear absently mindedly, checking to make sure it was all there, out of habit. Things would be getting difficult from here on out she suspected. Unless they could talk the Troll into giving up the hearthstone, which seemed possible. Maybe they could buy it off him.

"What do you guys think, might the troll sell us the stone?"

"He'd probably rather just eat us," Tanyl says.  "I guess it doesn't hurt to try, but he may just be attracted to it because it's a pretty bauble, so mere coin may not interest him."

Tanyl spends the trip trying to stay out of Nargion's way.  And out of his line of sight.

During your days of travel, you find Nargion to be easy to get along with.  Quiet but when prompted, intelligent, and knowledgeable.  Seemingly quite devout.  He appears very healthy and strong, one might wonder why he isn't a true adventurer in his own right, except, he moves very slowly, carefully one might think.  More than once, he stumbles over practically nothing, and is clumsy at times.

"Should we examine the tower first, or head right down in to the cave?"

Smiling at Vala, glad once again to have her strong arm and boundless courage around, Delta looks around the area, looking for signs of any burrowing rodents.

"I'd think the tower, just in case there's something there that provides insight with respect to the cave.

Plus, if we succeed with the cave, we may not want to stop at the tower on the way back."

Sound thinking from Tanyl. Unless Vala has a contradicting idea, off to the tower they go, but before they enter, Delta surveys the exterior to see if it is safe enough to go into without causing it to fall into the sea.

The old watch tower was circular and about 30 feet across.   At one point it had stone stairs that wound up through a second level and then to an open watch rooftop.  Almost all of it has fallen in. Only half of the exterior wall (that farthest from the sea) still stands, and the stairs go up to nowhere.  There is one small room on the back of the ground level that is still intact and fairly sturdy.   It has no door to shut but does offer shelter from the wind and only has a few holes in the ceiling, it 10 x 15 and would make a suitable campsite.

"Do you think we should find a way up to check the second floor?" Delta thought this would be a good place to set up a base camp, should their adventure require it. As it was nearing nightfall, it might be worth setting up now anyway.

Unless some other task or chore comes to the fore, she will gather some firewood, and start cooking something for dinner.

Tanyl eyes what remains of the second floor to see if there's any possibility of climbing up there.

It wasn't hard to climb to the ceiling/roof of the one remaining room, but there is nothing of interest there, and not where higher to climb.  Delta cooks up a fine road meal as usual, and you settle into the small room.


As night deepens, Nargion says, "Tomorrow,, I'll carry only healing spells, but we should all rest tonight, I'll set the watch, sleep well".

Praying for a bit, a shadowy small dragonlike figure appears into the doorway, flapping its smoky wings before seeming to roost there, on guard.

Dimming the fire, and covering it to hide it's existence from those outside as well as possible, Delta gives Angel Eyes a little kiss on the snout, and curls up in a shadow to sleep.

"If nothing else, our detour here confirmed there's nothing to find.  And gave us a place to rest."

Vala, Delta, and Tanyl have a night that reminds them why being an adventurer is worth all the dangers. They feel safe thanks to the strange shadow creature guarding the only entry, and there is the sound of the distant sea crashing on the rocks, the bit of sky and stars peeking through the gaps in the roof, and the small shelter keeps the worst of the cool salty air wafting in from the ocean to a pleasant breeze.  Dawn rises gray but not rainy.

Waking up early, Delta checks to make sure everyone is still safe. If they are, she will stoke the fire and make breakfast for everyone.

Having woken Vala stretches, and gets in a few pre-breakfast practices with her sword. Settling down again she smiles at Delta.

"Worked up any new magics?" she asks. The warrioress had always found her diminutive friend's gift remarkable.

"Not lately, but it is often as much about finding new ways to use what I have as it is new magiks all together."

Nargion is up at dawn and breaks his morning meditation for breakfast.

"With this good cooking and cozy location, I feel I'm on holiday, I do hope I'll earn my stay eventually".

"To be honest, I wouldn't mind if things went easy, and it was just a vacation for you, but it all depends on if the Troll is open to discussion, and from what I hear, that doesn't seem likely."

Sipping at her hot tea, Delta gets a thoughtful look on her face.

"You know, I sort of assumed he would speak common, but just in case, does anyone speak Troll? I, for one, cannot."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:37, Sun 26 Dec 2021.

"I don't, but I speak Goblin, Hobgoblin, Orcish, Gnoll."

Grinning a little, Tanyl adds: "And if we want to hurt its ears, I can always shower it with insults in elvish."

Laughter rings out as Delta was caught off-guard by Tanyl's delightful joke. She considered asking Angel Eyes, but suspected it was unlikely. She looked questioningly towards the Warrior Princess to see if she had anything to offer.

Moving into the mouth of the cavern, Vala and Delta lead with Tanyl and Nargion following behind.  The passageway is ten feet wide and descends into the side of the cliff, widening into a long cavern with multiple exits.  Four of these smaller exits branch towards the Northeast, a large passage continues to the North, and anther smaller exit heads due west.

What appeared to be three boulders, are spooked by your approached and turn and hop away into the northeast passages, looking for all the world lake man sized toads.


ooc: I'll update a map to the maps page shortly!  Hope everyone had a nice holiday.

Startled by the large toads, Delta examines the various options before them.

"I imagine the toads probably would steer away from the troll. I would think we wouldn't need to follow the path they took."

She wondered if there was any way to track the creature, but it was beyond her skill set.

"They were also remarkably calm, for toads, which may mean the troll is not near.  Or, it may mean that I know nothing about the temperamant of toads."

Nodding at Tanyl's deduction, Delta agreed with his assumptions. "Seems reasonable that he would drag his prey further from the entryway, to prevent bodies being stumbled upon, and calling attention to his lair."

Suggesting they move down, she examines each of the passages in time.

"Tanyl, might there me a passage we don't see? That would, Finding one, I imagine, would be your forte."

Do we need light yet, for Vala and Nargion?