"Oh, I'll take care of that part, even if I weren't entitled to a sixth share myself," Lani chuckled warmly. She certainly didn't pay for inns out of pocket when she could help it, and she had hoped to leverage her own respectability as a performer to make sure her traveling companions were treated well.

"Now come on, let's go blaze this trail! This is how all the epics start, a group of almost-friends become embroiled in the troubles of a land from whence none of them hail, fell a current threat, and in so doing discover the great and terrible threat lurking in the shadows! Ooooooo!" The grinning elf made spooky fingers, already starting to back up the trail the way they came.

"Davor isn't wrong," Yatari agreed, "insofar as the theft being an unfortunate slight against the duchy's defenses.  However, these sorts of molds are extraordinarily valuable--the Duke's men will almost certainly be in pursuit.  Leaving now will be in our best interests.  The longer we wait, the more interruptions may prevent us from tracking them.  Not that I doubt the capacities of our stalwart almost-friends--" she shot an amused look over at Lani, "but because nature has a way of erasing the past.  If Myre and Sakr wouldn't mind taking the lead in this fabulous pursuit?"

Sakr nods and turns to lead the party back the way they came.

The party retraces their steps back to where they saw Bruiser and the others leave the main road. There, they easily find the trail of six horses heading into the hills, following it to a wide (15') cave mouth in the side of a hill. There does not appear to be anyone guarding the entrance.

"Well, they seem to be making no effort to hide." Myre notes as she stands at the front of the cave.

Davor moves to stand by Myre and make a perhaps more imposing figure framed in the entrance. "All that means is that they aren't really afraid of being followed. I call it an invitation." He grins and the light in his eyes dances. He looks around at his companions with a look that says he's about to do something dangerous.

[Language unknown: "Undthiera."] The hollow eye sockets of the wolf skull on his shoulder glow briefly as he speaks the guttural word and he turns back to face to entrance of cave. "Holloway, your doom has arrived! The spirits of your ancestors are calling for you to join them. Hide in this hole if you will. Death is here for you!" The half-orc's voice is amplified many times and echoes off the stone walls of the cave.

Davor casts Thaumaturgy to make his voice louder.

Lani hisses softly through her teeth, and unsheathed her short swords with a twirling flourish.

"Oh, that's alright, she said mostly to herself, but still out loud for the group to hear. "I didn't want the element of surprise, anyway. Not like these people just robbed the ducal treasury and might be rather dangerous." The elf cast a sidelong, disapproving glance at Davor. Her instinct would normally be to get out of sight, but the possibility of danger coming out of the cave and friends who weren't great with someone stabbing them stayed her feet.

Using her own magic to ensure her appearance was immaculate--a tiefling must have her priorities straight!--Yatari assumed the stance of the spellcaster... which was, of course, one hand on her hip, the other extended before her.  "And let's not forget, he's wanted alive.  I don't believe the poster said anything about his compatriots... but perhaps best not to slay anyone until we can confirm which is Holloway.  Although Lani--he robbed the ducal mint, no?"

Lani shrugged to her lovely, towering tiefling comrade, palms up with swords carefully balanced. "I don't know much about minting. I thought the two might be the same building. I'd like to know more about all that later, though."

The elf got back into her ready position, and twirled her swords again for effect.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:28, Tue 18 May 2021.

Davor scoffs as he pulls his scythe from his back, but otherwise makes no move away from the entrance to the cave. When he speaks again, his voice has returned to normal, he even speaks softly so that his words don't carry into the cave. "Bah. Surprise is overrated. He knows someone will be after him sooner or later. Chances are this cave is his gang's hideout which means they know it well and we don't know it at all. If we go in there after him, the only people who will be surprised is us. On the other hand, if he comes out here after that, at least we'll know that he's an idiot."

He thinks for a minute before adding: "In fact, if anyone is halfway decent at hiding, now is a prime opportunity to get behind some cover. He doesn't know how many we are. We can have a little bit of surprise that way." He looks at Lani and shrugs, which might be an attempt an apology, or not.

Sakr draws his bow and nocks an arrow when the party approaches the cave. He winces when Davor calls out to Bruiser and whoever else is inside, but relaxes a bit when the half-orc explains his thinking.

He slips to one side of the cave entrance, attempting to conceal himself from view, and waits.

11:31, Today: Sakr rolled 17 using 1d20+5.  Stealth.

As they retraced their steps, Goon stayed near the middle of the group. With none of the practiced stalking ease but all of the indiscretion that came with being more than halfway to 7ft tall, Goon served more as a guidepoint than a high set of eyes. Nonetheless, they made it to their destination. He couldn't have been anymore excited. Granted, he wasn't very excited.

"Louder is the last 'ing we need," Goon grumbled at Davor's challenge, but their was no anger left to be stoked. It actually made it easier on him ,as he wasn't known to be a subtle figure anywhere he was. In fact, he was supposed to be seen as a part of the scenery around him. Even if that worked out for him, Yatari, guaranteed it was a futile idea.

With challenges issued and weapons blossomed to hand, Goon grunted as he moved to the side of the entry, not quite using it for cover. He pulled out a shortsword in one hand, a handaxe in the other. No flourish, no tight grip. His long arms held the blades low, he build hunched over like a butcher over a counter. They spoke of bringing him back alive. They never did say in how many pieces.

Goon's gaze tried to peel away the cavern's obscurity, delving deep for the dangers lurking in the abyss.

Darkvision 60ft; Perception 17

Myre reached up and slung her shield off her back, slipping it over an arm.

She then did take Davor's advice regarding cover, stepping back behind the lip of the cave she peered in. She wasn't able to make much out, not being able to see in the dark, but if the thieves had entered then they may have some light deeper in the cave.

When Davor bellows out his warning, the party hears a commotion inside the cave, followed by the exodus of hundreds of bats from the cave mouth.

"Well, at least we know the cave will smell terrible," Yatari snarked, glowering at her similarly-winged lesser cousins.  Sometimes, bats were very cute.  All times, they were smelly.  Or at least, their caves tended to be.  "There's a chance these caves have other exits--given the horses aren't tethered outside."  To her limited knowledge, horses didn't like caves.  Part of why mules ended up being used in mines so often.

Davor still waits in the cave mouth without so much as ducking as the bats rush past him, but he turns to look at Yatari and taps his head before before pointing at her as if to say 'good thinking'. "That's a good point. Best watch out for someone trying to sneak up behind us then."

After a moment, if there are no further developments within the cave, Davor will shrug. "Maybe they have half a brain between them. If our quarry won't come out, then we'll have to go in after him. I'll lead the way, since I tipped them off that we're here. Unless there's a different plan..."

Davor steps into the cave, which is about 60' wide, 50' deep, and 50' high. Six thoroughly spooked horses are tied up next to a dusty pile of oats just inside the cave mouth. A torch and a tinderbox lie on the ground next to the entrance. Davor spots a five-foot-wide tunnel leading out of the back of the cave.

Davor relays what he sees back to the others. "I found the horses. They, at least, are scared of me." He takes a few steps further into the cave, checking for any hidden danger and keeping one eye on the tunnel leading out the back.

Yatari moved in a few feet behind Davor.  She didn't mind having someone in front of her--having someone to bodyblock anyone attempting to stain her clothing with their blood at least saved her a few minutes of concentration as she erased the unfortunate crimson from her bodice.  Beyond that, it also stopped her from getting attacked with weapons.  Other people could carry scars so much more effectively than she could!

Stooping down a little to make sure her horns didn't scrape the top of the cave, Yatari suppressed a laugh at Davor's observation.  "You probably deafened the poor things.  Magically amplified voice, inside of a very echo-producing cave... anyone would be frightened!"

Her hand remained raised, ready to zap ne'er-do-'ells with the power of Kraznor the Gemgouger, Noble Dao of the Elemental Plane of Earth.

Sakr waits for the others to enter the cave, then slips in behind them, guarding the rear.

Myre peered in then took a step behind Davor. "If we're going in it's very dark. I can't see well so let hope there's some light deeper inside."

Goon slunk into the room with blood on his mind. He kept to the edge of the group, laterally aligned with Myre as he tried to cling to the cavern walls. The horses were not lost on him, tied and docile enough to suggest that this wasn't there first visit. Could be there last, though.

It was obvious that an individual of Goon's stature would be unaccustomed to walking in shadows, but he tried the dance, lurching more than lurking, prowling more than pacing his steps with the silence between sounds. He would stick along the walls,  circumventing the edge of the cavern as the group trudged forward.

11 stealth

Lani crept in at the periphery opposite Goon, skirting the edge of their group and the cave. She was a little edgy, not staying quite as still or moving quite as fluidly as she meant to, but her natural agility was (or rather, wasn't) on full display.

Between the natural darkvision she shared with much of the group -- she hoped Myre and Sakr would be okay -- and a practiced ear, the Antic also did her best to scout while they moved in.

If she had any talent for animals, she'd have tried to calm the horses. Alas, poor ponies. Lani hoped one of her nature-minded friends would help them when there was less pressure.

Stealth 18
Perception 14

Davor has been relying on his natural darkvision to make out details in the cave. When Myre reminds him that she can't see, he pauses. "Right. I could light a torch, but that would give away our position. The men we're hunting looked human too so they will be at the same disadvantage. Keep a hand on my shoulder for now." He waits for Myre to be ready, and then heads into the passage at the back of the cave.

Davor enters the narrow passageway at the back of the cave. About 10 feet in, he breaks a slim tripwire; a polearm swings down from the ceiling, narrowly missing the half-orc.

Ahead of him, a steep set of stairs leads to a flooded section of the tunnel.