Confident that they are on the trail of the goblins now, and having made what preparations they could, the group set off once again. The goblin raiding party had shadowed the road, following it north without actually using it themselves. In under an hour, the tracks turn away from the road, headed east deeper into the hilly moor. The forest is more broken here, interspersed with patches of wet, swampy ground and smaller hillocks you wind your way through and around.
The trail gets harder to follow, sometimes lost as it crosses patches of dank, ankle deep water. Lilli and Bran keep the group on-track though, and in another quarter-hour or so, a larger hill rises ahead, it;s peak visible over the trees. Proceeding more cautiously now, the group slows as they approach. They soon reach a vantage point where, still hidden among the trees, they can see a dark opening in the hillside. Not too far away, another, smaller crack is visible with a torrent of water issuing from it. From this distance, nothing else is visible, and no obvious sentries have been posted.
Loark ducks down behind the foliage and starts pulling his supplies from his pack. "Try to see if there's any other entrances or exits, I'll get everything ready," he says. "Meet us back here, or come running if you get ambushed."
He pulls the leather tarps from his pack and begins soaking them with oil. He also takes the pitch off of five torches and lathers some of his bolts with it. "We're going to need a lot of wood to cover the entrance," he comments. "Just dry pieces, no need to disturb the forest."
"Don't...don't...don't burn down the forest. Only..****y gather the dry stuff on the grounds. If...if we're in trouble you'll hear a wolf howl. Come...come Lilli and Golos. Golos, stay close to me." Bran says ready to scout.
“Golos close. Where to, Bran?” Golos asks quietly.
"We're scouting the cave, Golos," said Lillianna. "We need to check all their exits so we can block them and draw them out, like bunnies in their hole."
“Golos help. Tell Golos what to do.”
"Be very quiet," Lillianna said, putting a finger to her lips. "Quiet like mouse."
“Golos quiet like bear shadow.”
Lillianna grins and nods in approval.
Lillianna, Golos and Bran move off, leaving the others behind to make their preparations. Lilli moves ahead, blending effortlessly into the terrain with the other two behind, not quite as naturally. Keeping out of sight as best they can, the trio scouts the area looking for signs of other entry points to the caves they know are hidden within the hillside. With a closer inspection, it seems as if the smaller opening where the waterfall issues from its cleft in the hillside may just be large enough to allow someone in or out, if they wanted to struggle against the steady flow of the cold water. Further to the north, Bran finally spots what looks to be another cave mouth, well hidden in the shadows of an overhang and screened by a small copse of trees.
Golos holds up his hand to stop the others. He whispers. “Golos smell bear. Maybe den near.”
Bran whispers back to Golos “Is it coming from this cave.” Pointing at the one they found covered by the trees.
“Yes, that cave.” Golos says.
Bran looks at the other two “I...I don’t see any cub prints. The...the bear may not attack right away. Do...do you two want to learn how to speak to animals right now? I...I can speak to the bear. See...see what they know about the goblins and...and maybe it’ll help us.” Bran offers to the other two
Lillianna nodded, enthusiastically, ready to make a bear friend. "Go ahead, show us how it's done!"
“Okay...let’s...let’s be quiet but not too quiet. We..we don’t want to frightened them but...but we don’t want to seem to threatening either.” Bran starts to slowly and cautiously enter the bear den.
Lillianna follows, bow in hand, but not in a manner that would suggest she's about to attack.
Moving cautiously towards the cave mouth, you don't hear any noise coming from within. Edging closer until you can finally see inside, you can finally make out some debris - leaves, branches and a few bones lie scattered about. The air is heavy with the musky smell of the bear that obviously makes it's home here, but at the moment the cave is unoccupied.
"I don't think this is a good sign." Lillianna looked around for signs of the bear. "If it's out hunting, we shouldn't be here when it gets back."
Maybe it's because Lilli has spent more time in caves, hiding out up in the mountains, but she notices something odd about the cave itself. It's not overly large - maybe 15x20 in a rough oval - with an area of piled rubble along one side. The rubble catches your eye - you get the impression that it's a recent collapse. There might be (or have been) a passage there. You'd need to spend some time digging to be sure.
Lillianna will point to the back of the cave. "There's a passage through there. Maybe that can help us. But we'd need the bear's permission."
With Lillianna pointing it out Bran says “It...it looks like it might have collapsed. We..we really don’t have the time to dig it out and who...who knows when the bear will be back. We...we should get back to the others before...before it gets dark.”
Back at the main cave mouth, the others work on their leathers and firewood, planning the details of their trap. As he watches the opening for signs of the goblins you assume are hiding within, Craberos thinks he sees a flicker of something within. Catching Loark's attention he points it out. After some discussion, they believe that they are seeing the faint, fluttering light of a torch or lantern that must be deeper in and out of direct sight.
"Last I remember, goblins don't use torches." Loark says. "It looks like there might be more than goblins in there, possibly villagers... shit. "
“When we get in there, Dorobo and I will secure any villagers, everyone else focus your fire on the goblins.” Laila Says
Loark looks at the tarps and frowns. "No smoking them out either... huh?"
Dorobo emerges from his trance-like state.
“Huh, where am I? What’s going on?” Dorobo asks, very obviously confused.
“Must’ve been one of my trances...” Dorobo mutters to himself.
Upon reuniting with the group Bran explains their findings “We...we found two more potential exits. One...one is the rive. There’s...there’s a small hole that you can swim in to get inside but...but you’d be swimming against the river. The...the other looks to be a bear den now. It...it might have been a part of this cave but...but a collapse changed that. So....so don’t dig through the collapse and beware of a bear. It...it might be stuck on this side.”
“We think there’s survivors in there,” Laila said softly. “Dorobo and I will focus on securing any we find. We need to go in fast, hit them hard, and be quiet.”
"Let's kill some goblins; shall we?" Craberos says
Bran stands ready to go in. He'll stay within the middle knowing that others like Golos, Craberos, and probably Loark prefer to be up-front. He'll also light any torches that you ask him too.
"There is a bear in there. No hurt." Golos says
"We would never dream of hurting the bear." Craberos says.
"Well it's either people from the village trying to hunt goblins, or goblins using torches in their own cave." Loark shrugs, "But yeah... we can't let them die for a few coins."
“No, we’re not going to leave them,” Laila shook her head.
Loark slings his pack on his back and piles all four leather tarps on top of each other. He then starts to drag them over to the cave entrance. "In case we have to fall back, they'll be met with a wall of fire." He spreads them evenly about the entrance, covering a 10'x10' square.
"Golos. Stay by me. I'll heal your wounds in there." Bran says to the bearling but says the last part as he looks up to Loark. "I...I also have some light." Bran holds up one of his torches and will light it, once we begin moving inside, with Druidcraft and will keep his other hand free for spellcasting.
The group gets into formation. With Golos and Craberos up front, followed by Loark and Bran, then Laila and Lillianna, and Maikune and Dorobō on the rear.
Preparations made, the group forms up and moves cautiously into the cave mouth, stepping cautious as they cross the oil-slickened tarps laid as a booby trap before the entrance. A short tunnel opens up into a larger, natural cave, roughly 20x30 feet. Loark's suspicions have proven correct - inside the cave and off to the left as you enter, there is a lit torch jammed into a crack in the wall, about 3 feet off the ground, which provides a dim and flickering light that illuminates the chamber. Even to the untrained eye, you can all see evidence that the cave has been at least partially modified. The ceiling has been shored up with worked timbers in places and off to the right at the edge of the torchlight is the opening to a man-made tunnel, framed by more posts and timbers. At the back, the natural walls narrow and it looks as if a passage continues deeper into the hillside there as well. Underfoot, the rough surface of the floor has been worked to some degree as well, smoothing it out and clearing it of any major rocks or rubble. There seems to be only leaves and other natural detritus blown in from outside.
Bran, Straining to hear anything, doesn't at first. Shushing everyone for quiet, he finally hears something, very quiet. A hint of a skittering sound of some sort - whatever it is is either quite far away, or small.
Loark notices the torch burning, jammed into a nook on the wall just as Bran whispers, "There's movement up ahead, right passage."
"This has all signs of a trap," Loark whispers. "I can spring it..." He offers.
“Why...why don’t we find the traps trigger and then disarm it? Then...they you don’t have to purposely get hurt.” Bran offers in a quiet whisper
Loark shrugs, "Because then someone else might get hurt. If it's me... I can take it."
“Not...not necessarily. Based...based on the nature of the trap we can trigger from a distance with nobody getting hurt. If...if anybody has any metal picks used to pick lock mechanics I can also disarm those more complex traps using those” Bran offers
Lillianna leans forward between them and whispers, "What's going on?"
“Loark, you’re not going to spring the trap,” Laila hissed. “I’m not going to waste a spell healing you.”
"Trap? What trap? Our trap?" Lillianna looks between everyone.
"There's a torch so the goblins can see us from afar. Makes me think they have something to spring on us... from afar," Loark replies quietly.
"What if I just shoot out the torch?" Lillianna grins, preparing her bow. Loark nods to go ahead.
“Golos no like traps. Traps hurt bears. Golos no like Goblins. Goblins hurt bears. Golos hurt them.” Golos adds his wise words to the situation.
“I...I can get rid of the torch light from here.” Bran says, pulling Lillianna's bow down.
"Okay," Lillianna says to Bran. "You do it."
Bran waves his hands and the torch on the wall suddenly snuffs out.
"And now they know we're here." Loark says. "Do we wait, or make a lot of noise?"
"Let's...Let's go right and hit them instead of waiting for them. I heard some noises down that way so I'm sure thats where they are." Bran says
The group continues to the right hall, Loark stays back to take up the rear of the single file line.
Bran snuffs out the torch. Aside from the change in light, there are no other apparent effects. Moving to the eastern passageway, the group begins to file through the narrow (5' wide) opening. Just beyond that it opens up into a larger room - perhaps only 10' across, but more than twice that wide. Clearly mined into the stone, this chamber is neatly rectangular rather than having started as a cave that was expended upon by hand.
Across from the point where you've come in there is another opening, or was. This too is blocked by rubble as one in the bear cave had been. The ceiling has collapsed and while it could be cleared with time and the right tools, it won't be an easy task. At the edge of your light off to the left you can see another exit - this one looking man-made as well. The room itself is almost entirely empty. The only things visible are the crushed and rusted remains of a lantern thrown to one side. There is also a rusty pick-head with a broken off handle leaned against one wall.
Loark notices a buzz and flash of movement catch his eye just before he turns to follow the others. With the torch extinguished, he can see that there is a small hole in the cave wall that had been hidden from sight by the flames. Without that fire burning so close to it, he can see and hear wasps beginning to crawl from the hole and buzz around, each one emerging adding to a swarm that seems rather unhappy at having been held captive in their nest until now.
Loark whispers over to the others as he falls in behind, "Looks like Bran disturbed a nest of wasps. Watch yer arses."
"Bran," Lillianna whispered. "Tell them we're friends!" She gives him a huge grin.
“No. No no no no no. Wasps are not friends. Get rid of them. Get rid of them.” Bran says quickly as he attempts to get as far away from the wasps as he can
"Just talk to them," Lillianna said, nudging Bran forward gently. Bran actively resists getting closer to the wasps.
"Keep moving," Loark says. "They'll head our way soon, and I'd rather they got to us when there's goblins for them to sting."
“Let’s...let’s continue left.” Bran suggest, trying to get away from the wasps
Craberos moves everyone slowly into the next room, looking for any hiding goblins.
Golos follows closely behind, with Bran next holding his torch high for light and the remainder clustering up behind, trying to put some distance between themselves and the cloud of angry wasps now milling about in the cave.
This room too is obviously carved into the stone, and lying in a heap in the doorway are the remains of a door - now nothing more than rotting wood fragments and bits of rusted iron. Inside the small 10' x 10' side chamber, the floor is littered with mounds of debris. At first glance, it looks as if this was some sort of store room. The piles appear to be a handful of crates and barrels, long ago smashed apart and looted. Against the wall opposite the door, is the wreckage of what was once a long table.
Having moved into the side room, there is some shuffling around as Maikune is called to the front with his lighted wand and attention to detail, to aid on a quick search of the room. He coordinates a thorough investigation. At one point when a pile of debris is disturbed there is an angry shuttering as a small pack of 5 rats is chased from their home. The young wizard jumps back, startled, but the rats merely scamper among the feet of the party, fleeing the torchlight, and disappear into the collapsed rubble in the next room. The search turns up little of use among the smashed barrelstaves and broken boards. Six iron spikes and a small hammer that could prove useful, as well as a coil of rope that must have been missed by earlier scavengers.
"Well...well...well this seems like a dead end. Lets...lets try the other passage." Bran speaks up
"Pass those findings here, I'll hold on to them." Loark offers.
"What are we going to do about the wasps?" Maikune asks as he hands Loark the six spikes, hammer, and rope.
"Bran... didn't you say you heard something here?" Loark asks.
“Yeah...yeah I did. It...it was some light skittering. I...I...I thought it was the mice.” Bran states
Loark drops his crossbow, letting it hang on its tether, and pulls out two torches. He lights them both on Bran's torch and says, "Wasps it is... try to stay close. There's more torches in my pack, grab as many as you need."
“I...I don’t need a torch. Just...just be careful.” Bran says as he creates a small flame in his open hand.
"Ok. Lets go!" Loark walks slowly back into the entry chamber, waving both torches towards the wasps. "Back ye lil buggers..." He then calls out in a quick whisper, "Go! Down the other path."
The angry swarm has spread to fill a sizable portion of the cave, but Loark is undaunted, wading in, torches swinging (1 hp damage to the swarm). The insects seem to find every hole and chink in his armor and many of the tiny stingers find a mark (6 hp piercing damage to Loark). Still, he perseveres, giving the others time to make a dash past him and deeper into the caves.
As Bran runs past, he flings the ball of fire he'd conjured into his palm, but on the run his aim is rushed and the flame flies harmless by. Others too, try to attack the swarm as they flee. Maikune taps into his well of arcane power and the ominous tolling of a bell fills the cave, echoing off the walls, but to no apparent effect. The wasps aren't visibly bothered by the noise. Craberos, too calls upon thier magical strength, invoking the searing fires of Iphyl to burn the insects out of the air. "Iphyl burn them." Craberos points at the wasps and a gout of sacred flame blossoms amidst the swarm and you see tiny embers flare and die where it catches some of the wasps (Sacred Flame for 5 hp to the swarm). Everyone else, lacking any fire source, merely runs past. Finally, Loark retreats, following the others up the rough passage and deeper into the hillside.
The passage winds on for roughly 20' before opening out into another natural cave, this one stretching away beyond the light of Maikune's wand, the ceiling opening up as well, lost in shadows up above. To the left is a dark side passage, and Bran can hear the sound of running water coming from that direction.
“There’s...there’s running water to the left. Loark...Loark are...are you okay? Do...do you need some healing?” Bran asks him.
"I'll be feeling that later," Loark comments, tossing one torch back into the room and the other into the side-passage they just left. He adjusts his armor and shakes a few of the looser ends, letting the wasps that found a home there escape. "Keep going," he says. He then pulls another two torches from his pack and lights them on Bran's torch. "I'll light the chambers as we pass them."
Craberos puts up a hand, "No light. There are bats roosting, we don't want them to become aggravated."
"These things live in the darkness. We need the light, bats be damned," Loark responds.
Craberos frowns, "Oh, yes, humans. Dim the lights if possible."
The party pushes on, deeper into the cavern, ignoring the side passage for now. Despite the warning from Craberos, they must keep their torches lit else the majority is effectively blind in the darkness. The cave ahead opens up into a larger, vaulted chamber. The floor is thick with guano and the detritus of the bats which roost high overhead and the air is unpleasantly tainted by the musty smell of the inhabitants. As the space fills with torchlight, the bats above quickly become agitated and the air is filled with thousands of the small creatures whirling and swirling in a dense cloud that limits your sight to about an arms length away, or perhaps a bit more, and no further than the person next to you. The chaos is disorienting to some as the bats stream past, making their way past and towards the exit to the south. (Failed Wis saves by Laila and Loark imposes Disadvantage on attack rolls.)
Even as this happens, there is movement at the feet of Golos and Craberos, at the head of the column. Looking down, they see a number of large multi-legged insects emerge from the mess on the floor. Nearly 2 feet in length, they crawl towards the pair, antennae seeking them out and pincers agape.
“This not worth our time” Craberos says as they disengage and moves back towards the entrance to this room. Loark waves everyone to go past and says, "If they follow, I'll handle them. Keep going."
In the limited visibility and confusion of the swirling bats, it's unclear if anyone takes his advice.
“You malevolent myriapod couldn’t even malice a rock if you wanted to!” Laila called out to the centipede in front of her, ignoring Craberos' plans. Her vicious mockery seemed to confuse the little insect, and she stayed standing where she was.
As soon as she heard her sister insulting one of the creatures, and grin appeared on Lillianna's lips. She quickly released an arrow into the one her sister had insulted and got giddy when she saw the arrow sink deep. The creature screeched loudly then collapsed to the floor. "Come on, guys! This is easy!"
Bran, terrified of centipedes that are as big as him, nervously launches another Produce Flame at one but it misses. At the miss Bran scrambles to be in the back of the group.
Craberos and Golos both back away from the creatures and into the main hall. Seeing his sisters now at the front line, Loark, waving the bats away with his torch, takes position in front of them. He drops his torch and pulls his greatsword. "Go with them!" He calls.
Hearing the sounds of spells and flame before him, Maikune raises his wand toward where he believes the conflict to be, ready to shatter the minds of whatever may be lurking beyond the bats.
Hold Action: Toll the Dead Condition(s): First Enemy Seen by Maikune
As a seemingly endless stream of bats continues to flow past the group, there is a concerted effort to shuffle for position as the centipedes swarm after fresh food. From the front, Golos and Craberos back away defensively, fending off any attacks as they move away. Bran, too, puts some distance between himself and the multi-legged horrors, nearly overcome by his fear of insects. Loark moves to the front to take a spot by Lillianna as she urges her to flee as he guards the retreat.
The bugs skitter forward as Lilli and Loark bottle up the narrower entryway. One comes in under Lilli's guard and bites into her leg, mandibles piercing the armor protecting her. (To Hit: 15, Dam: 3) Another pair go for Loark, one moving over the carcass of the 'pede slain by Lilli's arrow to get at him. The burly warrior is able to fend off one, but that opens him up to a successful attack by the second - it too able to bypass the protections offered by his chain mail. (To Hit: 9, Miss, To Hit: 17, Dam: 5).
Loark slices downward at the centipede that just bit em. It's cut in half as the giant sword cleaves it. Just as he's about to follow through with his swing on another, a bell tolls. The tolling can be heard through the flurry of bats, but with each toll one of the other centipedes begin to curl up and shrivel. This gives him the room he needs to finish off the centipede on Lillianna. "One left," he says to his sister. Loark seems reinvigorated by the encounter, working at full strength.
Held attack: 19 to Hit, Killed Cent 1 Regular Attack: 13 to Hit, Killed Cent 3 Bonus: Second Wind for 10hp
"I... can't..." Lillianna groaned, giving her brother's shoulder a squeeze, before she retreated. The pain in her leg was incredible, causing her to see double, and walking only made it worse. She could feel... something... something coursing through her veins. "I... don't feel... well," she said, as she passed Maikune. She stumbled, catching herself against the cave wall a moment, before stumbling into Bran. "I... feel... ouch..."
Craberos shakes their head as they walk down the tunnel, leaving the fighting behind. TCraberos tries to move quietly, but the loose rock beneath their feet crunches as theymove. T he noise of rushing water comes up the tunnel and the noise covers Craberos's footsteps. The tunnel descends as they down it, and not too far beyond the light of the torch it opens up into another natural cavern. This one is bisected by a stream about 5-6' wide running in a channel cutting across. On the far side, the tunnel continues on. Craberos frowns, and walks back to the torchlight waiting for their companions to finish off the centipedes.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Taking some time to poke around, Maikune finds a scattering of humanoid bones - earlier victims of the centipedes perhaps. Consequently, He also discovers a couple of disintegrating belt pouches and the rusted remains of a dagger or two. He gathers up a total of 3 GP, 7 SP and 12 CP, along with a couple pretty rocks (no value) and what appears to be a large carved fang of some sort - it's a bit crude, but is almost a scrimshaw sort of piece (worth 15 GP).
Craberos motions to the group from another tunnel nearby. “There’s more this way. We’ll need to cross a stream but it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Loark moves up next to his sister and offers her his shoulder. "Looks like that thing got you good. Stay back here with me. We can guard the rear together."
Lillianna leaned against Loark. The healing Bran had given her had helped, but she was still in pain. "It did something to me," she whispered. "I can feel it"
“I think we should sit and take a short rest,” Laila stood next to her siblings, glancing at Lilli worriedly. “We can’t keep going, not with her like that.”
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lillianna said, standing suddenly. Not wanting to appear weak to her sister, she did her best to fake being well. "We should do what we came here to do." She smiled at one of the two Laila's, hoping she got the right one.
"Lilli, I believe your sister is right.” Maikune interjects. “We can't afford to continue on at anything less than full strength." His face is emotionless, but there's worry in his voice.
Lillianna frowned, looking from the two Maikune to double Laila, then finally a couple of Loark. "I... guess. I... don't feel well. It did something to me, and now I can't really see straight," she admitted.
“Lilli, we can’t have our sharpshooter not being able to see anything,” Laila smiled to cover her worry. “Let’s find a better place to rest.”
"Golos feel fine. Can keep watch while Lilli rest. Big bugs bad. Have poison."
Confident that they are on the trail of the goblins now, and having made what preparations they could, the group set off once again. The goblin raiding party had shadowed the road, following it north without actually using it themselves. In under an hour, the tracks turn away from the road, headed east deeper into the hilly moor. The forest is more broken here, interspersed with patches of wet, swampy ground and smaller hillocks you wind your way through and around.
The trail gets harder to follow, sometimes lost as it crosses patches of dank, ankle deep water. Lilli and Bran keep the group on-track though, and in another quarter-hour or so, a larger hill rises ahead, it;s peak visible over the trees. Proceeding more cautiously now, the group slows as they approach. They soon reach a vantage point where, still hidden among the trees, they can see a dark opening in the hillside. Not too far away, another, smaller crack is visible with a torrent of water issuing from it. From this distance, nothing else is visible, and no obvious sentries have been posted.
Loark ducks down behind the foliage and starts pulling his supplies from his pack. "Try to see if there's any other entrances or exits, I'll get everything ready," he says. "Meet us back here, or come running if you get ambushed."
He pulls the leather tarps from his pack and begins soaking them with oil. He also takes the pitch off of five torches and lathers some of his bolts with it. "We're going to need a lot of wood to cover the entrance," he comments. "Just dry pieces, no need to disturb the forest."
"Don't...don't...don't burn down the forest. Only..****y gather the dry stuff on the grounds. If...if we're in trouble you'll hear a wolf howl. Come...come Lilli and Golos. Golos, stay close to me." Bran says ready to scout.
“Golos close. Where to, Bran?” Golos asks quietly.
"We're scouting the cave, Golos," said Lillianna. "We need to check all their exits so we can block them and draw them out, like bunnies in their hole."
“Golos help. Tell Golos what to do.”
"Be very quiet," Lillianna said, putting a finger to her lips. "Quiet like mouse."
“Golos quiet like bear shadow.”
Lillianna grins and nods in approval.
Lillianna, Golos and Bran move off, leaving the others behind to make their preparations. Lilli moves ahead, blending effortlessly into the terrain with the other two behind, not quite as naturally. Keeping out of sight as best they can, the trio scouts the area looking for signs of other entry points to the caves they know are hidden within the hillside. With a closer inspection, it seems as if the smaller opening where the waterfall issues from its cleft in the hillside may just be large enough to allow someone in or out, if they wanted to struggle against the steady flow of the cold water. Further to the north, Bran finally spots what looks to be another cave mouth, well hidden in the shadows of an overhang and screened by a small copse of trees.
Golos holds up his hand to stop the others. He whispers. “Golos smell bear. Maybe den near.”
Bran whispers back to Golos “Is it coming from this cave.” Pointing at the one they found covered by the trees.
“Yes, that cave.” Golos says.
Bran looks at the other two “I...I don’t see any cub prints. The...the bear may not attack right away. Do...do you two want to learn how to speak to animals right now? I...I can speak to the bear. See...see what they know about the goblins and...and maybe it’ll help us.” Bran offers to the other two
Lillianna nodded, enthusiastically, ready to make a bear friend. "Go ahead, show us how it's done!"
“Okay...let’s...let’s be quiet but not too quiet. We..we don’t want to frightened them but...but we don’t want to seem to threatening either.” Bran starts to slowly and cautiously enter the bear den.
Lillianna follows, bow in hand, but not in a manner that would suggest she's about to attack.
Moving cautiously towards the cave mouth, you don't hear any noise coming from within. Edging closer until you can finally see inside, you can finally make out some debris - leaves, branches and a few bones lie scattered about. The air is heavy with the musky smell of the bear that obviously makes it's home here, but at the moment the cave is unoccupied.
"I don't think this is a good sign." Lillianna looked around for signs of the bear. "If it's out hunting, we shouldn't be here when it gets back."
Maybe it's because Lilli has spent more time in caves, hiding out up in the mountains, but she notices something odd about the cave itself. It's not overly large - maybe 15x20 in a rough oval - with an area of piled rubble along one side. The rubble catches your eye - you get the impression that it's a recent collapse. There might be (or have been) a passage there. You'd need to spend some time digging to be sure.
Lillianna will point to the back of the cave. "There's a passage through there. Maybe that can help us. But we'd need the bear's permission."
With Lillianna pointing it out Bran says “It...it looks like it might have collapsed. We..we really don’t have the time to dig it out and who...who knows when the bear will be back. We...we should get back to the others before...before it gets dark.”
Back at the main cave mouth, the others work on their leathers and firewood, planning the details of their trap. As he watches the opening for signs of the goblins you assume are hiding within, Craberos thinks he sees a flicker of something within. Catching Loark's attention he points it out. After some discussion, they believe that they are seeing the faint, fluttering light of a torch or lantern that must be deeper in and out of direct sight.
"Last I remember, goblins don't use torches." Loark says. "It looks like there might be more than goblins in there, possibly villagers... shit. "
“When we get in there, Dorobo and I will secure any villagers, everyone else focus your fire on the goblins.” Laila Says
Loark looks at the tarps and frowns. "No smoking them out either... huh?"
Dorobo emerges from his trance-like state.
“Huh, where am I? What’s going on?” Dorobo asks, very obviously confused.
“Must’ve been one of my trances...” Dorobo mutters to himself.
Upon reuniting with the group Bran explains their findings “We...we found two more potential exits. One...one is the rive. There’s...there’s a small hole that you can swim in to get inside but...but you’d be swimming against the river. The...the other looks to be a bear den now. It...it might have been a part of this cave but...but a collapse changed that. So....so don’t dig through the collapse and beware of a bear. It...it might be stuck on this side.”
“We think there’s survivors in there,” Laila said softly. “Dorobo and I will focus on securing any we find. We need to go in fast, hit them hard, and be quiet.”
"Let's kill some goblins; shall we?" Craberos says
Bran stands ready to go in. He'll stay within the middle knowing that others like Golos, Craberos, and probably Loark prefer to be up-front. He'll also light any torches that you ask him too.
"There is a bear in there. No hurt." Golos says
"We would never dream of hurting the bear." Craberos says.
"Well it's either people from the village trying to hunt goblins, or goblins using torches in their own cave." Loark shrugs, "But yeah... we can't let them die for a few coins."
“No, we’re not going to leave them,” Laila shook her head.
Loark slings his pack on his back and piles all four leather tarps on top of each other. He then starts to drag them over to the cave entrance. "In case we have to fall back, they'll be met with a wall of fire." He spreads them evenly about the entrance, covering a 10'x10' square.
"Golos. Stay by me. I'll heal your wounds in there." Bran says to the bearling but says the last part as he looks up to Loark. "I...I also have some light." Bran holds up one of his torches and will light it, once we begin moving inside, with Druidcraft and will keep his other hand free for spellcasting.
The group gets into formation. With Golos and Craberos up front, followed by Loark and Bran, then Laila and Lillianna, and Maikune and Dorobō on the rear.
Preparations made, the group forms up and moves cautiously into the cave mouth, stepping cautious as they cross the oil-slickened tarps laid as a booby trap before the entrance. A short tunnel opens up into a larger, natural cave, roughly 20x30 feet. Loark's suspicions have proven correct - inside the cave and off to the left as you enter, there is a lit torch jammed into a crack in the wall, about 3 feet off the ground, which provides a dim and flickering light that illuminates the chamber. Even to the untrained eye, you can all see evidence that the cave has been at least partially modified. The ceiling has been shored up with worked timbers in places and off to the right at the edge of the torchlight is the opening to a man-made tunnel, framed by more posts and timbers. At the back, the natural walls narrow and it looks as if a passage continues deeper into the hillside there as well. Underfoot, the rough surface of the floor has been worked to some degree as well, smoothing it out and clearing it of any major rocks or rubble. There seems to be only leaves and other natural detritus blown in from outside.
Bran, Straining to hear anything, doesn't at first. Shushing everyone for quiet, he finally hears something, very quiet. A hint of a skittering sound of some sort - whatever it is is either quite far away, or small.
Loark notices the torch burning, jammed into a nook on the wall just as Bran whispers, "There's movement up ahead, right passage."
"This has all signs of a trap," Loark whispers. "I can spring it..." He offers.
“Why...why don’t we find the traps trigger and then disarm it? Then...they you don’t have to purposely get hurt.” Bran offers in a quiet whisper
Loark shrugs, "Because then someone else might get hurt. If it's me... I can take it."
“Not...not necessarily. Based...based on the nature of the trap we can trigger from a distance with nobody getting hurt. If...if anybody has any metal picks used to pick lock mechanics I can also disarm those more complex traps using those” Bran offers
Lillianna leans forward between them and whispers, "What's going on?"
“Loark, you’re not going to spring the trap,” Laila hissed. “I’m not going to waste a spell healing you.”
"Trap? What trap? Our trap?" Lillianna looks between everyone.
"There's a torch so the goblins can see us from afar. Makes me think they have something to spring on us... from afar," Loark replies quietly.
"What if I just shoot out the torch?" Lillianna grins, preparing her bow. Loark nods to go ahead.
“Golos no like traps. Traps hurt bears. Golos no like Goblins. Goblins hurt bears. Golos hurt them.” Golos adds his wise words to the situation.
“I...I can get rid of the torch light from here.” Bran says, pulling Lillianna's bow down.
"Okay," Lillianna says to Bran. "You do it."
Bran waves his hands and the torch on the wall suddenly snuffs out.
"And now they know we're here." Loark says. "Do we wait, or make a lot of noise?"
"Let's...Let's go right and hit them instead of waiting for them. I heard some noises down that way so I'm sure thats where they are." Bran says
The group continues to the right hall, Loark stays back to take up the rear of the single file line.
Bran snuffs out the torch. Aside from the change in light, there are no other apparent effects. Moving to the eastern passageway, the group begins to file through the narrow (5' wide) opening. Just beyond that it opens up into a larger room - perhaps only 10' across, but more than twice that wide. Clearly mined into the stone, this chamber is neatly rectangular rather than having started as a cave that was expended upon by hand.
Across from the point where you've come in there is another opening, or was. This too is blocked by rubble as one in the bear cave had been. The ceiling has collapsed and while it could be cleared with time and the right tools, it won't be an easy task. At the edge of your light off to the left you can see another exit - this one looking man-made as well. The room itself is almost entirely empty. The only things visible are the crushed and rusted remains of a lantern thrown to one side. There is also a rusty pick-head with a broken off handle leaned against one wall.
Loark notices a buzz and flash of movement catch his eye just before he turns to follow the others. With the torch extinguished, he can see that there is a small hole in the cave wall that had been hidden from sight by the flames. Without that fire burning so close to it, he can see and hear wasps beginning to crawl from the hole and buzz around, each one emerging adding to a swarm that seems rather unhappy at having been held captive in their nest until now.
Loark whispers over to the others as he falls in behind, "Looks like Bran disturbed a nest of wasps. Watch yer arses."
"Bran," Lillianna whispered. "Tell them we're friends!" She gives him a huge grin.
“No. No no no no no. Wasps are not friends. Get rid of them. Get rid of them.” Bran says quickly as he attempts to get as far away from the wasps as he can
"Just talk to them," Lillianna said, nudging Bran forward gently. Bran actively resists getting closer to the wasps.
"Keep moving," Loark says. "They'll head our way soon, and I'd rather they got to us when there's goblins for them to sting."
“Let’s...let’s continue left.” Bran suggest, trying to get away from the wasps
Craberos moves everyone slowly into the next room, looking for any hiding goblins.
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Golos follows closely behind, with Bran next holding his torch high for light and the remainder clustering up behind, trying to put some distance between themselves and the cloud of angry wasps now milling about in the cave.
This room too is obviously carved into the stone, and lying in a heap in the doorway are the remains of a door - now nothing more than rotting wood fragments and bits of rusted iron. Inside the small 10' x 10' side chamber, the floor is littered with mounds of debris. At first glance, it looks as if this was some sort of store room. The piles appear to be a handful of crates and barrels, long ago smashed apart and looted. Against the wall opposite the door, is the wreckage of what was once a long table.
Having moved into the side room, there is some shuffling around as Maikune is called to the front with his lighted wand and attention to detail, to aid on a quick search of the room. He coordinates a thorough investigation. At one point when a pile of debris is disturbed there is an angry shuttering as a small pack of 5 rats is chased from their home. The young wizard jumps back, startled, but the rats merely scamper among the feet of the party, fleeing the torchlight, and disappear into the collapsed rubble in the next room. The search turns up little of use among the smashed barrelstaves and broken boards. Six iron spikes and a small hammer that could prove useful, as well as a coil of rope that must have been missed by earlier scavengers.
"Well...well...well this seems like a dead end. Lets...lets try the other passage." Bran speaks up
"Pass those findings here, I'll hold on to them." Loark offers.
"What are we going to do about the wasps?" Maikune asks as he hands Loark the six spikes, hammer, and rope.
"Bran... didn't you say you heard something here?" Loark asks.
“Yeah...yeah I did. It...it was some light skittering. I...I...I thought it was the mice.” Bran states
Loark drops his crossbow, letting it hang on its tether, and pulls out two torches. He lights them both on Bran's torch and says, "Wasps it is... try to stay close. There's more torches in my pack, grab as many as you need."
“I...I don’t need a torch. Just...just be careful.” Bran says as he creates a small flame in his open hand.
"Ok. Lets go!" Loark walks slowly back into the entry chamber, waving both torches towards the wasps. "Back ye lil buggers..." He then calls out in a quick whisper, "Go! Down the other path."
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The angry swarm has spread to fill a sizable portion of the cave, but Loark is undaunted, wading in, torches swinging (1 hp damage to the swarm). The insects seem to find every hole and chink in his armor and many of the tiny stingers find a mark (6 hp piercing damage to Loark). Still, he perseveres, giving the others time to make a dash past him and deeper into the caves.
As Bran runs past, he flings the ball of fire he'd conjured into his palm, but on the run his aim is rushed and the flame flies harmless by. Others too, try to attack the swarm as they flee. Maikune taps into his well of arcane power and the ominous tolling of a bell fills the cave, echoing off the walls, but to no apparent effect. The wasps aren't visibly bothered by the noise. Craberos, too calls upon thier magical strength, invoking the searing fires of Iphyl to burn the insects out of the air. "Iphyl burn them." Craberos points at the wasps and a gout of sacred flame blossoms amidst the swarm and you see tiny embers flare and die where it catches some of the wasps (Sacred Flame for 5 hp to the swarm). Everyone else, lacking any fire source, merely runs past. Finally, Loark retreats, following the others up the rough passage and deeper into the hillside.
The passage winds on for roughly 20' before opening out into another natural cave, this one stretching away beyond the light of Maikune's wand, the ceiling opening up as well, lost in shadows up above. To the left is a dark side passage, and Bran can hear the sound of running water coming from that direction.
“There’s...there’s running water to the left. Loark...Loark are...are you okay? Do...do you need some healing?” Bran asks him.
"I'll be feeling that later," Loark comments, tossing one torch back into the room and the other into the side-passage they just left. He adjusts his armor and shakes a few of the looser ends, letting the wasps that found a home there escape. "Keep going," he says. He then pulls another two torches from his pack and lights them on Bran's torch. "I'll light the chambers as we pass them."
Craberos puts up a hand, "No light. There are bats roosting, we don't want them to become aggravated."
"These things live in the darkness. We need the light, bats be damned," Loark responds.
Craberos frowns, "Oh, yes, humans. Dim the lights if possible."
The party pushes on, deeper into the cavern, ignoring the side passage for now. Despite the warning from Craberos, they must keep their torches lit else the majority is effectively blind in the darkness. The cave ahead opens up into a larger, vaulted chamber. The floor is thick with guano and the detritus of the bats which roost high overhead and the air is unpleasantly tainted by the musty smell of the inhabitants. As the space fills with torchlight, the bats above quickly become agitated and the air is filled with thousands of the small creatures whirling and swirling in a dense cloud that limits your sight to about an arms length away, or perhaps a bit more, and no further than the person next to you. The chaos is disorienting to some as the bats stream past, making their way past and towards the exit to the south. (Failed Wis saves by Laila and Loark imposes Disadvantage on attack rolls.)
Even as this happens, there is movement at the feet of Golos and Craberos, at the head of the column. Looking down, they see a number of large multi-legged insects emerge from the mess on the floor. Nearly 2 feet in length, they crawl towards the pair, antennae seeking them out and pincers agape.
“This not worth our time” Craberos says as they disengage and moves back towards the entrance to this room. Loark waves everyone to go past and says, "If they follow, I'll handle them. Keep going."
In the limited visibility and confusion of the swirling bats, it's unclear if anyone takes his advice.
“You malevolent myriapod couldn’t even malice a rock if you wanted to!” Laila called out to the centipede in front of her, ignoring Craberos' plans. Her vicious mockery seemed to confuse the little insect, and she stayed standing where she was.
(OOC: 3 psychic damage.)
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
As soon as she heard her sister insulting one of the creatures, and grin appeared on Lillianna's lips. She quickly released an arrow into the one her sister had insulted and got giddy when she saw the arrow sink deep. The creature screeched loudly then collapsed to the floor. "Come on, guys! This is easy!"
(18 to hit for 11 damage.)
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
Bran, terrified of centipedes that are as big as him, nervously launches another Produce Flame at one but it misses. At the miss Bran scrambles to be in the back of the group.
(11 to hit. Miss! Used movement to get away)
Craberos and Golos both back away from the creatures and into the main hall. Seeing his sisters now at the front line, Loark, waving the bats away with his torch, takes position in front of them. He drops his torch and pulls his greatsword. "Go with them!" He calls.
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Hearing the sounds of spells and flame before him, Maikune raises his wand toward where he believes the conflict to be, ready to shatter the minds of whatever may be lurking beyond the bats.
Hold Action: Toll the Dead
Condition(s): First Enemy Seen by Maikune
Dungeon Master - LSoL
Kaori - Battlemaster Fighter 5 / Paladin 2 (Kenku) - TSR
Cherna Godhari - Grave Cleric 4 (Human) - TW
Breena Mahi'ai - Divination Wizard 8 (Halfling) - WoE
Sharyn Savonath - Open Sea Paladin 4 (Triton) - PoPI
Zephyr - Four Elements (Revised) Monk 4 (Air Genasi) - IO
Takeshi - Mercy Monk 6 (Protector Aasimar) - TBW
Avrui Sirsash - Genie Warlock 2 (Wildhunt Shifter) - WotBS
As a seemingly endless stream of bats continues to flow past the group, there is a concerted effort to shuffle for position as the centipedes swarm after fresh food. From the front, Golos and Craberos back away defensively, fending off any attacks as they move away. Bran, too, puts some distance between himself and the multi-legged horrors, nearly overcome by his fear of insects. Loark moves to the front to take a spot by Lillianna as she urges her to flee as he guards the retreat.
The bugs skitter forward as Lilli and Loark bottle up the narrower entryway. One comes in under Lilli's guard and bites into her leg, mandibles piercing the armor protecting her. (To Hit: 15, Dam: 3) Another pair go for Loark, one moving over the carcass of the 'pede slain by Lilli's arrow to get at him. The burly warrior is able to fend off one, but that opens him up to a successful attack by the second - it too able to bypass the protections offered by his chain mail. (To Hit: 9, Miss, To Hit: 17, Dam: 5).
Loark slices downward at the centipede that just bit em. It's cut in half as the giant sword cleaves it. Just as he's about to follow through with his swing on another, a bell tolls. The tolling can be heard through the flurry of bats, but with each toll one of the other centipedes begin to curl up and shrivel. This gives him the room he needs to finish off the centipede on Lillianna. "One left," he says to his sister. Loark seems reinvigorated by the encounter, working at full strength.
Held attack: 19 to Hit, Killed Cent 1
Regular Attack: 13 to Hit, Killed Cent 3
Bonus: Second Wind for 10hp
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"I... can't..." Lillianna groaned, giving her brother's shoulder a squeeze, before she retreated. The pain in her leg was incredible, causing her to see double, and walking only made it worse. She could feel... something... something coursing through her veins. "I... don't feel... well," she said, as she passed Maikune. She stumbled, catching herself against the cave wall a moment, before stumbling into Bran. "I... feel... ouch..."
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
“Lilli...Lilli I told you. Bugs...bugs are scary and we should just run away.”
As Bran says this he puts his hands on her and lets his innate healing nature magic flow into her healing her a little bit.
OOC: Casted Cure Wounds for 5HP on Lillianna.
Craberos shakes their head as they walk down the tunnel, leaving the fighting behind. TCraberos tries to move quietly, but the loose rock beneath their feet crunches as theymove. T he noise of rushing water comes up the tunnel and the noise covers Craberos's footsteps. The tunnel descends as they down it, and not too far beyond the light of the torch it opens up into another natural cavern. This one is bisected by a stream about 5-6' wide running in a channel cutting across. On the far side, the tunnel continues on. Craberos frowns, and walks back to the torchlight waiting for their companions to finish off the centipedes.
Craberos rolls a 7 on a stealth check.
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Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Taking some time to poke around, Maikune finds a scattering of humanoid bones - earlier victims of the centipedes perhaps. Consequently, He also discovers a couple of disintegrating belt pouches and the rusted remains of a dagger or two. He gathers up a total of 3 GP, 7 SP and 12 CP, along with a couple pretty rocks (no value) and what appears to be a large carved fang of some sort - it's a bit crude, but is almost a scrimshaw sort of piece (worth 15 GP).
Craberos motions to the group from another tunnel nearby. “There’s more this way. We’ll need to cross a stream but it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Loark moves up next to his sister and offers her his shoulder. "Looks like that thing got you good. Stay back here with me. We can guard the rear together."
Lillianna leaned against Loark. The healing Bran had given her had helped, but she was still in pain. "It did something to me," she whispered. "I can feel it"
“I think we should sit and take a short rest,” Laila stood next to her siblings, glancing at Lilli worriedly. “We can’t keep going, not with her like that.”
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lillianna said, standing suddenly. Not wanting to appear weak to her sister, she did her best to fake being well. "We should do what we came here to do." She smiled at one of the two Laila's, hoping she got the right one.
"Lilli, I believe your sister is right.” Maikune interjects. “We can't afford to continue on at anything less than full strength." His face is emotionless, but there's worry in his voice.
Lillianna frowned, looking from the two Maikune to double Laila, then finally a couple of Loark. "I... guess. I... don't feel well. It did something to me, and now I can't really see straight," she admitted.
“Lilli, we can’t have our sharpshooter not being able to see anything,” Laila smiled to cover her worry. “Let’s find a better place to rest.”
"Golos feel fine. Can keep watch while Lilli rest. Big bugs bad. Have poison."
Dungeon Master - LSoL
Kaori - Battlemaster Fighter 5 / Paladin 2 (Kenku) - TSR
Cherna Godhari - Grave Cleric 4 (Human) - TW
Breena Mahi'ai - Divination Wizard 8 (Halfling) - WoE
Sharyn Savonath - Open Sea Paladin 4 (Triton) - PoPI
Zephyr - Four Elements (Revised) Monk 4 (Air Genasi) - IO
Takeshi - Mercy Monk 6 (Protector Aasimar) - TBW
Avrui Sirsash - Genie Warlock 2 (Wildhunt Shifter) - WotBS