August 29, in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning. Approximately 10:00 AM
After their more or less separate scouting ventures, the party meets up outside the door of the vault. Tom carries a lit torch. Kheldru and Draymun catch Tom and Kring up on their activities and Tom and Kring do the same.
Inside the vault, the two figures remain static. There is no sound but what the party makes. Peering down the unexplored hall one sees only darkness.
Use this post for discussion and when you're ready, let me know what you want to do.
(I've just heard that due to internet restrictions, Ghalen won't be joining us anymore. We'll assume he took his leave when Tom and Kring found the exit, explaining that he missed his brews more than he expected. You can find him back in town at the Stensterke Brewery anytime you want to reminisce.)
ReplyDeleteSo what's the plan boys? Are we gonna mess this party up? I want to get out of this place... But there are things here that might be losing one of us... Preferably one of you, but either way. Riches to be made?
ReplyDeleteHand over the goods before you do anything. I don't want all of the riches getting frozen in time with you... That or I launch my axe at your back on your way in. Your call. (( my guy isn't evil, just self centered))
ReplyDelete"The more time we stand here bickering, the less time we have. Kring, you may be unaware, but we're on a time limit. The entrance will only remain open for a little while longer, and I suggest we make the best use of the time we can."
ReplyDeleteWith that, Draymun enters the room and begins to circle around the right wall, attempting to get a better look at the frozen humanoids and the rest of the room.
Draymun sees a fairly large room, perhaps 25 by 25. The walls are worked stone and the ceiling is vaulted to a height of about 15 feet. The floor isn't as dusty as the rest of the place. The seal on the vault door must have been nearly airtight. There are shelves carved into the stone walls at regular intervals, probably places where family heirlooms or artifacts once stood.
ReplyDeleteAll of this is gone now and all that is left is the pedestal and the thing upon it:
Upon closer inspection it is gold. There are grooves cut into the glass face where small pins, attached to the concentric rings within, may be manipulated.
The human touching it is short for his age, but handsome. With black hair, grey eyes and pale skin. He wears a dark cloak with the hood up and has a mace and buckler equipped.
The female is, upon closer inspection, definitely an elf. She is crouched in a defensive position behind the human and holds a shortsword and dagger in her hands.
They remain immobile.
Kheldru sets his backpack on th far side of the pedestal with its flap open wide and his cloak bunched up to form a blanket within, he then seizes hold of the far side of the pedestal and attempting to use his heightened strength, heaves to lift the pedestal so as to drop the item unharmed into his bag.
ReplyDeleteKheldru's gamble works.
ReplyDeleteThe device falls into his cloak with a dull clank.
The human and the elf suddenly begin to move. The human's hand clutches at the air as he finishes a century old move to grab the device. The elf looks behind herself, searching for threats long gone.
Dwos swipes at the air, reaching for the device sitting on the pedestal with no success. He looks left and right, realizing that everything had suddenly changed. Dwos draws his mace and shield, taking a defensive stance.
ReplyDelete"Who are you and where did you come from?" he asks the strangers that suddenly appear out of nowhere.
Caris eyes everyone in the room, takes a defensive posture, notching an arrow and trying to determine who is the biggest threat. "Answer him, please. I would know the names of those who are able to sneak up on me" she growls
ReplyDeleteSettle down, settle down. We'd all hate for that arrow to go off half cocked. Do the math, you might get one of us, maybe two.
ReplyDelete"Tell me what year it is in your reckoning and my name you shall have." Kheldru declares while grabbing up his pack and stepping to keep the pedestal between him and the human calling himself Dwos.
ReplyDelete"It is the year 570, by Kingdom reckoning..." Dwos replied cautiously and confused.
ReplyDelete"So, you've been down here 100 years, welcome to the year 670. What's the last thing your remember?" Tom asks.
ReplyDeleteCaris lowers her bow slightly and says " We followed two Dwarves into this place; that is the last thing I remember before seeing you. Dwos, do you feel like 100 years have passed? Do you think we should believe them?"
ReplyDelete"Of those two dwarves you followed, one is a dear friend on his deathbed this day. We were dispatched to local the bones of his brother, sealed in this forsaken temple with you these 100 years..."
ReplyDeleteDraymun trails off and whispers a solemn prayer for the departed.
"Indeed, we stumbled upon the two of you frozen by some magik or device, I know not which. You look capable enough, and you wouldn't be the first we've found," he motions to Kring, "so I say if you want to rejoin the world with friends instead of foes, lower your weapons and let us proceed."
((Poof. We're a party! The all-powerful GM has spoken!))
"They may prove useful," Dwos said to Caris, eyeing the strangers. "We will follow your lead," Dwos said to Draymun, putting his weapons away. "If what you say is true, then your knowledge of this time is something that would be of help to us."
ReplyDeleteCaris puts away her bow and smiles at each of the others. "I am Caris" she says "I believe a grand adventure awaits us. But first, shall we not determine where we are headed next?"
ReplyDelete(Yes, what shall the party do next?)
ReplyDelete"My name is Tom and I am a ranger. We have at least one hallway left unexplored, we do need to gather the bones of the lost dwarf, as per our friend's wishes. Since we are headed back toward that room, perhaps we should stop there and then explore that really dark hallway? Tom asks.
ReplyDeleteLook, we've pulled in a good chunk of loot, I think we need to finish filling up our bags and head back to town. If that means going down that dark hallway, ranger, lead the way.
ReplyDelete"Dwos and Caris, we sorta know what each is capable of, where might your talents lie so we can use them to the best. I can track, but I can't see in the dark, so I have to carry this torch. The dwarves and I seem to have been in mines and such a good deal of our lives, the dwarves are better at seeing stuff than I am. Kring here is good at picking up big objects and heaving that spear of his. Draymun is a druid, but more offensive than healer. Kheldru is some sort of chemist. I don't mind leading, but if one of you sees better and can detect traps and such, perhaps you should go first?" Tom says.
ReplyDelete"I am not that familiar with peoples other than my own" Caris said "but I can find traps. How about I take the lead? I would that we get started soon, as I want to see the sky and trees again soon". Without waiting for a consensus, she turns towards the door and gesters for Dwos to step up beside her. Caris leans down and whispers in his ear "I do not wholly trust you my friend, but I would have you follow directly behind me to ensure no trickery on the part of our new companions". Caris checks her weapons, selects her bow and with a nod to the group steps into the dark tunnel.
ReplyDelete(Where to Caris? Your options are:
ReplyDelete1. Right down the dark, unexplored passage.
2. Left and out of the dungeon.
3. Left and back to the mold room?
4. Left and further into the dungeon, where the spider webs and stuff are.
I'm assuming the party has told you general directions of things.)
(From the previous comments, I think we are headed left and towards the 'piders - all in favor say 'aye')
ReplyDeleteDwos pulled a torch from his pack and walked over to stand beside Tom. Reaching with the torch, Dwos waited for the flame to spread evenly to his own torch. I gain my strength from the Pallid Princess, the mighty Urgathoa. In the past, I studied as an apprentice Cleric in the Temple of Torag... But those days have long since past, longer than even I realized if what you say is true, but my powers now, they lie in other areas..."
ReplyDeleteDwos walks away from Tom, falling in behind Caris, ignoring her subtle whisper. Meanwhile, his free hand slipped to a pocket sewn into his cloak and latched onto the Skull of Dwos hidden there. Having his holy object in his hand was reassuring to Dwos, especially when he was surrounded by so many strangers. But still, they could lead him to the power he'd been searching for for so long.
((I'm fine with w/e path, but to save time do we wanna perhaps decide that not everything needs to be a group decision. We can all take turns being at the 'front' of the group and making the decisions about where we want to go?))
((I think that's absolutely fine, Ryan. We'll only discuss it specifically if someone throws in an objection?
ReplyDeleteAlso: Spider-web area is fine with me, as long as we grab the bones on the way. I'd hate to have done all of this and fail the mission we set out to do!))
(At this point I'll throw in that the necklace you looted has Euri's family crest on it and would be more than enough proof. Your new party members might still be interested in visiting that place though.
ReplyDeleteIt's fine if you guys want to designate a "party caller" who makes decisions, that's pretty normal in big groups.)
((Okay so Dwos is a cleric and Caris is a thief? OOC of course, we only know what you tell us, hell as far as I know Kheldru is a mad scientist who is getting ready to experiment on us. I don't think any of us "trust" any of the rest of us, perhaps the dwarves trust each other some and maybe Kring and Tom have a bit of trust. I know Tom doesn't really trust the bomb throwing guy because he ran away from the fight before the moss zombie whomped him.))
ReplyDelete((Dwos is not a cleric, but he has some cleric abilities)).
ReplyDelete(Thief is what they call Rogues in earlier editions that Pie is probably more familiar with. But if you're wondering what Dwos and Caris are, check their blogs, conveniently linked by your benevolent DM at the top of the page.)
ReplyDelete((For the record Pie I asked for us both to fall back many times, and I only fell back in an attempt to draw the beast away from you, for the record. That does not mean I'm not thinking about experimenting on you all while you sleep.))
ReplyDelete((Sam can we assume while they discussed things I quickly brewed up another potion, one of enlarge again? I would hate to hold us up because the group has been posting while I was away. Also I'm good with the Scourge and Rogue leading the way... Makes it easier to say that we accidentally missed when throwing Krings spear through them. And the spider path is cool by me, I just don't want to be in the rear of the group... More in the middle.))
ReplyDeleteThe intrepid group sets off to explore the hallway filled with spider webs, with Caris leading, Dwos behind her, Tom behind him, Kheldru then Kring and bringing up the rear Draymun.
ReplyDeleteCaris takes off down the hallway, setting a fast pace and chuckling a bit as she wonders if the dwarf will be able to keep up. Almost immediately, she shakes her head to clear her thoughts and focus on looking for traps in the dark hallway. "Spiders" she mumbles "why are there always spiders? I bet they are big as a horse too!" Too soon, her attention wanders to trying to analyze her new companions and then to trying to determine what the passing of 100 years has done to the quest that she originally left her home to complete. Suddenly, she hears movement in the dark ahead of her and she brings up her bow and stops moving.
ReplyDeleteThere's a new post up.
ReplyDelete