A young white dragon has descended upon the Sword Mountains, claiming the snow-capped range as its domain. The dragon patrols the skies around the Sword Mountains, surveying its territory while hunting for food and easy treasure. With each passing day, the dragon ranges farther across the land, preying on anything it can catch with its claws or freeze to death with its icy breath. Sightings of the dragon are becoming more common, as are its attacks.
Your group has been assembled by Harbin Wester, mayor of the nearby town of Phandalin, to complete the following task:
“Dwarf prospectors found ancient dwarven ruins in the mountains southwest of here, and have been working an archaeological dig seeking treasure and relics. They need to be warned that a white dragon has moved into the area. Take the warning to them, then return to Townmaster Harbin Wester to collect a reward of 50 gp.”
The dwarven excavation lies due east of Leilon, 15 miles southwest of Phandalin, at the eastern end of a canyon. The canyon’s rocky walls rise to a height of eighty feet. At the end of the canyon, a twenty-foot-high wall of black stone has a broken gate carved into it, with one stone door hanging precariously by a hinge and the other door missing. Beyond this open gate, in the shadow of a great mountain to the east, lies a ruined settlement. All is quiet.
(Please introduce your character and then decide how you want to proceed)
A young, energetic High Elf named Elfa leaps into a group of strong willed looking individuals. Her beautiful silver hair flows behind her whilst she stands. She scans the beings around her, watching carefully their body language and eyes. The young Elf's mind starts to scan and think of a plan and how she can put all these minds together, knowing her knowledgeable nature she starts planning steps in advance. Elfa's trusty bear looks at her sadly. "I'm sorry Diplomat, I must go. I believe this is my destiny, I will see you at home". Elfa gives Diplomat a kiss goodbye. It is apparent to the others that Elfa has a strong connection with animals.
Elfa looks ahead in the direction she's about to go to warn the the dwarves. A ruined settlement, Elfa starts to think of all the possibilities that may happen heading that way. "Right let's get started" Efla advises the group. Elfa looks at the man next to her. A Golliath she thinks to herself. "Nice to meet you Golliath, what's your name. I think you should lead as you look the strongest here and we should continue to head east". Elfa smiles and nods at the rest of the beings, filled with hope and positivity she pats her backpack ensuring everything is safe and waits for confirmation from the beings before she looks to move on.
Lei-Tana opens her eyes with a start as a young elf joins the group rather energetically. She had been in a trance, ensuring she is well rested for the journey ahead.
She nods in agreement to Elfa ""Indeed"" and looks to the others for response.
Lei-Tana is a wizarding elf of few words since she lost her memory.
Nonchalantly whistling a jaunty folksong he heard in the tavern, Gregolas ThunderFist strolled up to broken gate at the front of the group. The whistling echoed off the canyon giving it an eerie overtone.
Like a typical Goliath, ThunderFist kept to himself for the most part and didn't particularly enjoy company, and he could already tell the animated elf in the party was going to be annoying. ThunderFist did offer to go alone but the mayor had insisted upon a group going.
ThunderFist stopped at the gate and inspected the damage, thinking to himself that this looked like the work of a giant beast, possibly even a dragon.
ThunderFist hoped this might be the challenge he'd been searching for and continued on towards the ruined settlement up ahead.
Unsure how exactly he came to be here, the rotund Half-Elf Monk named Cackie Jan could at least take comfort from the fact he still had his brewing kit in his backpack. This was the only possession of his that he felt had any value, so he could rule out a mugging. Cackie shrugged, rubbed his bloodshot eyes and took a swig from an empty beer bottle, muscle memory is a funny thing.
Cackie rolled his eyes at the High Elf swooning over this buttheaded Goliath. The lack of alcohol left in his system left Cackie feeling far from his peak powers - a few more strong beers would have seen him attempt to clear the 80 foot wall before he had even realised that there was a gate. As it was, he felt he just wanted to get this over and done with and was keen to see what this over confident Goliath was really made of, afterall 50 gp will buy the hops and malt Cackie needs to brew a fresh batch of beer.
Cackie proceeded to follow the Goliath with the rest of the group. He stopped at the wall to take a closer look, he then reaslises it is actually only about 20 feet tall and was glad he didn't make boastful claims about it earlier. He rubbed his eyes one more time and looked over to the Goliath inspecting the gate.
As you cautiously accept each other's presence, the only thing that seems really clear at this point is that you are all here on the same mission; to warn the prospectors of the danger that the newly-arrived dragon represents. You have not yet seen the beast yourself, but spoken to enough wide-eyed travellers and merchants to believe the rumours to be true.
Approaching the broken gate, you can see that beyond it lie the ruins of a long-ransacked settlement. Even the stone from the walls has been carried away, leaving only foundations and small piles of rubble. A stone well stands in the middle of the canyon, around halfway between the gate and a 10ft wall to your east. The wall has a gap in it about 10ft wide, beyond which you think you can make out a courtyard of some description.
Cackie's liquid-senses were tingling, he barges past Wonderfist, or whatever it is he's called and headed straight for the well and dips his hand in to discover what the well holds.
Cackie thrusts his hand straight into...a pile of rubble. It seems that someone has used the well as a depository for spoilage from pulling down the settlement, and it is now completely choked. It looks like it would take many, many hours to clear it.
Elfa looked ahead and witnessed the idiocy of the part monk. Well, this is going to be challenging she thought to herself but everyone has a role to play here, even the drunk.
"Cackie, I think it would be better to think before we act" Elfa said with a smile. Elfa looked around to see if anyone was watching before checking that everything was in place in her backpack. Elfa looked around at the rubble, something enormous has been here. Elfa started to think about what it would be like to have a pet dragon, but then focused herself back to the task.
Elfa began to cautiously make her way to a huge gap in the stone wall. She looked behind to check on the monk, Elfa struggled to understand how someone so wise could be so stupid. "Gregolas, I feel you thinking? would you like to share what your plans are before we continue?"
Elfa took a quick look at Lei-Tana, knowing immediately she is suffering from memory loss, Elfa starts to wonder why she's been put on this quest.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
ThunderFist finished his assessment of the gate damage.
22
Nature Check.
As he did this, he felt something brush his legs, the monk stumbled past barely able to walk.
At first, going on sight and smell, ThunderFist had thought that the monk was a beggar, following them in the hopes of a coin until he remembered that the monk was in the tavern the other night trying to convince anyone within earshot that he could jump over 80 feet walls, the response he got was laughter and derision.
The chirpy elf again tried to communicate with Thunderfist, to which he raised a hand and pointed towards the gap in the wall and reluctantly said "that way"
Trying to avoid giving off any impression that he was approachable.
Thunderfist strolled past the monk; who was now rooting around in what appeared to be rubble (perhaps looking for his next drink) and made his way over to the gap in the wall, questioning the recruitment process of the mayor, in particular the elf who seemed to have no recollection of anything up until now.
Gregolas studies the damaged gates for a moment and determines that no beast caused this damage, but two much more powerful forces; time and nature. An earthquake maybe helped, but this site is undoubtedly ancient.
As you walk through the opening in the 10ft stone wall, you enter a courtyard. Three heaps of rubble are piled high in this area. Hewn from the canyon’s back wall, a thirty-foot-high temple façade to the east features steps rising to a stone platform. Cut into this facade is a ten-foot-high open doorway flanked by crumbling, life-sized granite statues of cloaked dwarves. Evil grins can be seen on their weatherworn faces.
Sat on the steps before the doorway are two dwarves, deep in conversation and chewing on dried beef rations. They appear to be bickering, but in an amiable manner suggestive of a long-term friendship.
As soon as they see you, they stop their conversation and look startled.
“Oh! Company” says the first, slightly slender for a dwarf.
“No, they’re figments of your imagination”says the second, a notably more stocky-looking gentleman “because you’re clearly delirious if you think I’m going back in there”
Cackie lets out a scream, "My arm! The bastard got me!", his arm flailing inside the well, clearly unharmed. He looks around to see if his gag had successfully fooled one of the group, they had already moved on without him. Cackie knew that Brother Chuckle, his mentor from the Pih Sed Monastery, would have his head in his hands by now.
Determined to prove he is not just a hapless drunk, Cackie takes the lead for the group and approaches the nearby Dwarves. "Greetings, I am Cackie Jan of Pih Sed. With me are Thunderfury MegaDeath and...and some elves. We come in peace; we also have grave news. This region is now patrolled by a deadly white dragon, with a particular fancy for Crispy Dwarf. We must inform all who still live."
Pointing in the direction of the temple doorway, Cackie asks, "Tell us, what lies beyond these doors?"
Sensing that nobody in the group can read minds, Lei-Tana feels compelled to explain herself before they go any further.
"Nearly 200 years ago I woke up with no memory. I've been trying ever since to regain it, without success. Accepting challenges and tasks wherever I can in the hopes that someday someone will know who I am or I'll find out how to get it back. Mayor Wester was very kind in asking me to accompany you all on this occasion."
She looks at each of them, one by one, frowning slightly at the monks hastiness... Ah well, she thinks... Every group has one, and getting on is better than sitting about all day surely.
She finally rests her eyes on the dwarves - and offers them a reassuring smile, and waits patiently to find out what lies ahead.
The dwarves both raise their eyebrows at the mention of a dragon. “We’d heard noises, but assumed they were earthquakes or thunder. Oh my”, says that Dazlyn, the thinner dwarf.
“This” says the larger one – Norbus - “is why we should be getting out of here. If it wasn’t enough that we nearly got melted by those...things in there” he gestures at the doorway in the cliff face “now we have a friggin’ dragon on the prowl too!”
Dazlyn turns away from his sullen partner and back to you. He seems to pause a moment, as if taking you all in for the first time and appraising your potential to help.
“Please, you must help. We found these ruins and have begun to explore them, but it seems that we have disturbed a couple of the original occupants. If you could clear the way for us to finish our exploration, we’d be happy to reward you!”
Norbus stays silent at the suggestion, arms crossed. He seems to be interested in your response to his colleague’s proposal.
"FEAR NOT GREAT DWARVES, we are here to help you" cried Elfa. Determined to get the Dwarves on side Elfa checked that all her gear was in place."What are these things you speak of Great Dwarves? the more we know, the more we can help!".
Elfa knew she had been given the quest to warn about the dragon however would allow herself to be side-tracked from this if it meant helping others. Elfa knew this quest would be dangerous but knew whatever approached her on this journey was her destiny. Elfa had a flashback of herself and Diplomat sitting on the river bank watching the fish swim by. This not only made her sad, it made her determined to take anything face on so she could get home and continue searching for the answers she has been looking for her whole life.
"Right everyone! what weapons do you have? I have a wand, crossbow and dagger" Elfa looked at everyone who seemed to look fed up of her already. This can happen sometimes being the happy Elf however none of them knew what she'd really been through in her life.
Elfa started checking all her crossbow bolts whilst singing her favourite song. "PAAAANNNNAAAAMMMAAAAA"
Thunderfist didn't like dwarves at the best of times, they were a greedy, stubborn and cantankerous race who only cared about gold.
Combining the dwarf encounter with the monk-come-jester's buffoonery, the loud mouth and the elf who couldn't seem to even remember what day it was; Thunderfist knew it was going to be one of those days.
Thunderfist would normally have sent the dwarves packing, but it seemed as though the loud mouth had already offered to help on his behalf. And if he wasn't mistaken, she began to sing a traditional VanHalen clan song; Thunderfist made a mental note to ask her where she'd heard it later.
Thunderfist nodded at the dwarves to acknowledge their request, and strolled over to the doorway, whistling that traditional VanHalen clan song that was now stuck in his head.
Cackie drew a shortsword from his backpack, "This is for picking bits of dirt from between my toes" he explained to Elfa. He carefully returned the sword to his bag and then pointed to his sweaty forehead, his palms and then his feet. "These are my weapons."
By this point Cackie had forgotten that the Mayor had even tasked him with the initial quest, so for all he knew, there was no reason not to help these Dwarves. He knew that where there was a dwarf, there was likely to be ale. He placed a hand on Dazlyn's shoulder and smiled as they walked towards the temple "Let's talk about this reward".
The dwarves both look relieved as you accept their request to help. “The temple used to be used by disciples of Abbathor, the evil dwarven god of greed. It seems that their sacrifices stopped meeting the required standard, and Abbathor truck the temple down – and the priests within it. I have a horrible feeling that whatever is in there, is what’s left of the priests”
Looking at Lei-Tana, Dazlyn takes a sombre tone “I’m sorry to hear that you are experiencing some trauma. Knowing that you are the kind of good soul to not only warn us, but also to help, tells me that you will find your past in due course”
Swaying slightly under the weight of the personal-space-invading-monk, Dazlyn fights to remain polite as he proffers a pair of goggles. They seem cast from bronze, with turquoise lenses “These are Goggles of Night. We have no need of them, thanks to our dark vision, but they might be handy for...”he appraises the imposing ThunderFist, noticing that the goliath would be the only party member without the ability to see in the dark “...for those with different gifts”
Norbus puts a hand on his friend’s should and retrieves him from Cackie’s grasp “We thank you, friends. We shall wait here for your confirmation that the temple is clear”
With that, he starts to hum along to Elfa’s song, seemingly unaware that he is doing it.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(OOC: Thanks for confirming offline that you're happy to proceed!)
Kit checked and weapons prepped, you climb the rough stairs past the crumbling statues and into the temple, the light steps of the three elves punctuate the lumbering strides of the goliath.
As soon as you step through the outer doors of the temple you notice that it is pitch black inside (everyone has dark vision to 60ft except ThunderFist, who is going to need some form of illumination to see past the entrance).
The musty smell of ancient stone hits you within a few feet of the entrance, and you hear something dripping in the darkness within.
About 15ft in, on the left, is a formerly secret door that Dazlyn and Norbus discovered and wedged open; there is nothing inside but rubble. Returning your attention to the main chamber, a bloodstained limestone altar stands at the far end of the room, on the other side of four stone pillars. The ceiling is about 10ft high, and as you search the room you are horrified to see a large, gelatinous blob of yellow goo stuck to the ceiling above the altar. Your revulsion increases as you realise that the blob – an ochre jelly – is moving towards you, squelching along the ceiling in your direction.
You are just beginning to take this all in when you notice the second blob, crawling down the wall to your right (south)...
(Aaand we’re into our first ever combat! Everyone roll for initiative and declare your actions, either roll your own dice or let me know if you need a hand)
A young white dragon has descended upon the Sword Mountains, claiming the snow-capped range as its domain. The dragon patrols the skies around the Sword Mountains, surveying its territory while hunting for food and easy treasure. With each passing day, the dragon ranges farther across the land, preying on anything it can catch with its claws or freeze to death with its icy breath. Sightings of the dragon are becoming more common, as are its attacks.
Your group has been assembled by Harbin Wester, mayor of the nearby town of Phandalin, to complete the following task:
“Dwarf prospectors found ancient dwarven ruins in the mountains southwest of here, and have been working an archaeological dig seeking treasure and relics. They need to be warned that a white dragon has moved into the area. Take the warning to them, then return to Townmaster Harbin Wester to collect a reward of 50 gp.”
The dwarven excavation lies due east of Leilon, 15 miles southwest of Phandalin, at the eastern end of a canyon. The canyon’s rocky walls rise to a height of eighty feet. At the end of the canyon, a twenty-foot-high wall of black stone has a broken gate carved into it, with one stone door hanging precariously by a hinge and the other door missing. Beyond this open gate, in the shadow of a great mountain to the east, lies a ruined settlement. All is quiet.
(Please introduce your character and then decide how you want to proceed)
A young, energetic High Elf named Elfa leaps into a group of strong willed looking individuals. Her beautiful silver hair flows behind her whilst she stands. She scans the beings around her, watching carefully their body language and eyes. The young Elf's mind starts to scan and think of a plan and how she can put all these minds together, knowing her knowledgeable nature she starts planning steps in advance. Elfa's trusty bear looks at her sadly. "I'm sorry Diplomat, I must go. I believe this is my destiny, I will see you at home". Elfa gives Diplomat a kiss goodbye. It is apparent to the others that Elfa has a strong connection with animals.
Elfa looks ahead in the direction she's about to go to warn the the dwarves. A ruined settlement, Elfa starts to think of all the possibilities that may happen heading that way. "Right let's get started" Efla advises the group. Elfa looks at the man next to her. A Golliath she thinks to herself. "Nice to meet you Golliath, what's your name. I think you should lead as you look the strongest here and we should continue to head east". Elfa smiles and nods at the rest of the beings, filled with hope and positivity she pats her backpack ensuring everything is safe and waits for confirmation from the beings before she looks to move on.
Lei-Tana opens her eyes with a start as a young elf joins the group rather energetically. She had been in a trance, ensuring she is well rested for the journey ahead.
She nods in agreement to Elfa ""Indeed"" and looks to the others for response.
Lei-Tana is a wizarding elf of few words since she lost her memory.
Nonchalantly whistling a jaunty folksong he heard in the tavern, Gregolas ThunderFist strolled up to broken gate at the front of the group. The whistling echoed off the canyon giving it an eerie overtone.
Like a typical Goliath, ThunderFist kept to himself for the most part and didn't particularly enjoy company, and he could already tell the animated elf in the party was going to be annoying. ThunderFist did offer to go alone but the mayor had insisted upon a group going.
ThunderFist stopped at the gate and inspected the damage, thinking to himself that this looked like the work of a giant beast, possibly even a dragon.
ThunderFist hoped this might be the challenge he'd been searching for and continued on towards the ruined settlement up ahead.
Unsure how exactly he came to be here, the rotund Half-Elf Monk named Cackie Jan could at least take comfort from the fact he still had his brewing kit in his backpack. This was the only possession of his that he felt had any value, so he could rule out a mugging. Cackie shrugged, rubbed his bloodshot eyes and took a swig from an empty beer bottle, muscle memory is a funny thing.
Cackie rolled his eyes at the High Elf swooning over this buttheaded Goliath. The lack of alcohol left in his system left Cackie feeling far from his peak powers - a few more strong beers would have seen him attempt to clear the 80 foot wall before he had even realised that there was a gate. As it was, he felt he just wanted to get this over and done with and was keen to see what this over confident Goliath was really made of, afterall 50 gp will buy the hops and malt Cackie needs to brew a fresh batch of beer.
Cackie proceeded to follow the Goliath with the rest of the group. He stopped at the wall to take a closer look, he then reaslises it is actually only about 20 feet tall and was glad he didn't make boastful claims about it earlier. He rubbed his eyes one more time and looked over to the Goliath inspecting the gate.
As you cautiously accept each other's presence, the only thing that seems really clear at this point is that you are all here on the same mission; to warn the prospectors of the danger that the newly-arrived dragon represents. You have not yet seen the beast yourself, but spoken to enough wide-eyed travellers and merchants to believe the rumours to be true.
Approaching the broken gate, you can see that beyond it lie the ruins of a long-ransacked settlement. Even the stone from the walls has been carried away, leaving only foundations and small piles of rubble. A stone well stands in the middle of the canyon, around halfway between the gate and a 10ft wall to your east. The wall has a gap in it about 10ft wide, beyond which you think you can make out a courtyard of some description.
Cackie's liquid-senses were tingling, he barges past Wonderfist, or whatever it is he's called and headed straight for the well and dips his hand in to discover what the well holds.
Cackie thrusts his hand straight into...a pile of rubble. It seems that someone has used the well as a depository for spoilage from pulling down the settlement, and it is now completely choked. It looks like it would take many, many hours to clear it.
Elfa looked ahead and witnessed the idiocy of the part monk. Well, this is going to be challenging she thought to herself but everyone has a role to play here, even the drunk.
"Cackie, I think it would be better to think before we act" Elfa said with a smile. Elfa looked around to see if anyone was watching before checking that everything was in place in her backpack. Elfa looked around at the rubble, something enormous has been here. Elfa started to think about what it would be like to have a pet dragon, but then focused herself back to the task.
Elfa began to cautiously make her way to a huge gap in the stone wall. She looked behind to check on the monk, Elfa struggled to understand how someone so wise could be so stupid. "Gregolas, I feel you thinking? would you like to share what your plans are before we continue?"
Elfa took a quick look at Lei-Tana, knowing immediately she is suffering from memory loss, Elfa starts to wonder why she's been put on this quest.
ThunderFist finished his assessment of the gate damage.
22
Nature Check.
As he did this, he felt something brush his legs, the monk stumbled past barely able to walk.
At first, going on sight and smell, ThunderFist had thought that the monk was a beggar, following them in the hopes of a coin until he remembered that the monk was in the tavern the other night trying to convince anyone within earshot that he could jump over 80 feet walls, the response he got was laughter and derision.
The chirpy elf again tried to communicate with Thunderfist, to which he raised a hand and pointed towards the gap in the wall and reluctantly said "that way"
Trying to avoid giving off any impression that he was approachable.
Thunderfist strolled past the monk; who was now rooting around in what appeared to be rubble (perhaps looking for his next drink) and made his way over to the gap in the wall, questioning the recruitment process of the mayor, in particular the elf who seemed to have no recollection of anything up until now.
Gregolas studies the damaged gates for a moment and determines that no beast caused this damage, but two much more powerful forces; time and nature. An earthquake maybe helped, but this site is undoubtedly ancient.
As you walk through the opening in the 10ft stone wall, you enter a courtyard. Three heaps of rubble are piled high in this area. Hewn from the canyon’s back wall, a thirty-foot-high temple façade to the east features steps rising to a stone platform. Cut into this facade is a ten-foot-high open doorway flanked by crumbling, life-sized granite statues of cloaked dwarves. Evil grins can be seen on their weatherworn faces.
Sat on the steps before the doorway are two dwarves, deep in conversation and chewing on dried beef rations. They appear to be bickering, but in an amiable manner suggestive of a long-term friendship.
As soon as they see you, they stop their conversation and look startled.
“Oh! Company” says the first, slightly slender for a dwarf.
“No, they’re figments of your imagination” says the second, a notably more stocky-looking gentleman “because you’re clearly delirious if you think I’m going back in there”
Cackie lets out a scream, "My arm! The bastard got me!", his arm flailing inside the well, clearly unharmed. He looks around to see if his gag had successfully fooled one of the group, they had already moved on without him. Cackie knew that Brother Chuckle, his mentor from the Pih Sed Monastery, would have his head in his hands by now.
Determined to prove he is not just a hapless drunk, Cackie takes the lead for the group and approaches the nearby Dwarves. "Greetings, I am Cackie Jan of Pih Sed. With me are Thunderfury MegaDeath and...and some elves. We come in peace; we also have grave news. This region is now patrolled by a deadly white dragon, with a particular fancy for Crispy Dwarf. We must inform all who still live."
Pointing in the direction of the temple doorway, Cackie asks, "Tell us, what lies beyond these doors?"
Sensing that nobody in the group can read minds, Lei-Tana feels compelled to explain herself before they go any further.
"Nearly 200 years ago I woke up with no memory. I've been trying ever since to regain it, without success. Accepting challenges and tasks wherever I can in the hopes that someday someone will know who I am or I'll find out how to get it back. Mayor Wester was very kind in asking me to accompany you all on this occasion."
She looks at each of them, one by one, frowning slightly at the monks hastiness... Ah well, she thinks... Every group has one, and getting on is better than sitting about all day surely.
She finally rests her eyes on the dwarves - and offers them a reassuring smile, and waits patiently to find out what lies ahead.
The dwarves both raise their eyebrows at the mention of a dragon. “We’d heard noises, but assumed they were earthquakes or thunder. Oh my”, says that Dazlyn, the thinner dwarf.
“This” says the larger one – Norbus - “is why we should be getting out of here. If it wasn’t enough that we nearly got melted by those...things in there” he gestures at the doorway in the cliff face “now we have a friggin’ dragon on the prowl too!”
Dazlyn turns away from his sullen partner and back to you. He seems to pause a moment, as if taking you all in for the first time and appraising your potential to help.
“Please, you must help. We found these ruins and have begun to explore them, but it seems that we have disturbed a couple of the original occupants. If you could clear the way for us to finish our exploration, we’d be happy to reward you!”
Norbus stays silent at the suggestion, arms crossed. He seems to be interested in your response to his colleague’s proposal.
"FEAR NOT GREAT DWARVES, we are here to help you" cried Elfa. Determined to get the Dwarves on side Elfa checked that all her gear was in place. "What are these things you speak of Great Dwarves? the more we know, the more we can help!".
Elfa knew she had been given the quest to warn about the dragon however would allow herself to be side-tracked from this if it meant helping others. Elfa knew this quest would be dangerous but knew whatever approached her on this journey was her destiny. Elfa had a flashback of herself and Diplomat sitting on the river bank watching the fish swim by. This not only made her sad, it made her determined to take anything face on so she could get home and continue searching for the answers she has been looking for her whole life.
"Right everyone! what weapons do you have? I have a wand, crossbow and dagger" Elfa looked at everyone who seemed to look fed up of her already. This can happen sometimes being the happy Elf however none of them knew what she'd really been through in her life.
Elfa started checking all her crossbow bolts whilst singing her favourite song. "PAAAANNNNAAAAMMMAAAAA"
Thunderfist didn't like dwarves at the best of times, they were a greedy, stubborn and cantankerous race who only cared about gold.
Combining the dwarf encounter with the monk-come-jester's buffoonery, the loud mouth and the elf who couldn't seem to even remember what day it was; Thunderfist knew it was going to be one of those days.
Thunderfist would normally have sent the dwarves packing, but it seemed as though the loud mouth had already offered to help on his behalf. And if he wasn't mistaken, she began to sing a traditional VanHalen clan song; Thunderfist made a mental note to ask her where she'd heard it later.
Thunderfist nodded at the dwarves to acknowledge their request, and strolled over to the doorway, whistling that traditional VanHalen clan song that was now stuck in his head.
"I will be willing to help you, dwarves, what things do you speak of beyond those doors?"
Lei-Tana was prepared for dragons, but is curious to know what other obstacles must be overcome!
Cackie drew a shortsword from his backpack, "This is for picking bits of dirt from between my toes" he explained to Elfa. He carefully returned the sword to his bag and then pointed to his sweaty forehead, his palms and then his feet. "These are my weapons."
By this point Cackie had forgotten that the Mayor had even tasked him with the initial quest, so for all he knew, there was no reason not to help these Dwarves. He knew that where there was a dwarf, there was likely to be ale. He placed a hand on Dazlyn's shoulder and smiled as they walked towards the temple "Let's talk about this reward".
The dwarves both look relieved as you accept their request to help. “The temple used to be used by disciples of Abbathor, the evil dwarven god of greed. It seems that their sacrifices stopped meeting the required standard, and Abbathor truck the temple down – and the priests within it. I have a horrible feeling that whatever is in there, is what’s left of the priests”
Looking at Lei-Tana, Dazlyn takes a sombre tone “I’m sorry to hear that you are experiencing some trauma. Knowing that you are the kind of good soul to not only warn us, but also to help, tells me that you will find your past in due course”
Swaying slightly under the weight of the personal-space-invading-monk, Dazlyn fights to remain polite as he proffers a pair of goggles. They seem cast from bronze, with turquoise lenses “These are Goggles of Night. We have no need of them, thanks to our dark vision, but they might be handy for...” he appraises the imposing ThunderFist, noticing that the goliath would be the only party member without the ability to see in the dark “...for those with different gifts”
Norbus puts a hand on his friend’s should and retrieves him from Cackie’s grasp “We thank you, friends. We shall wait here for your confirmation that the temple is clear”
With that, he starts to hum along to Elfa’s song, seemingly unaware that he is doing it.
(OOC: Thanks for confirming offline that you're happy to proceed!)
Kit checked and weapons prepped, you climb the rough stairs past the crumbling statues and into the temple, the light steps of the three elves punctuate the lumbering strides of the goliath.
As soon as you step through the outer doors of the temple you notice that it is pitch black inside (everyone has dark vision to 60ft except ThunderFist, who is going to need some form of illumination to see past the entrance).
The musty smell of ancient stone hits you within a few feet of the entrance, and you hear something dripping in the darkness within.
About 15ft in, on the left, is a formerly secret door that Dazlyn and Norbus discovered and wedged open; there is nothing inside but rubble. Returning your attention to the main chamber, a bloodstained limestone altar stands at the far end of the room, on the other side of four stone pillars. The ceiling is about 10ft high, and as you search the room you are horrified to see a large, gelatinous blob of yellow goo stuck to the ceiling above the altar. Your revulsion increases as you realise that the blob – an ochre jelly – is moving towards you, squelching along the ceiling in your direction.
You are just beginning to take this all in when you notice the second blob, crawling down the wall to your right (south)...
(Aaand we’re into our first ever combat! Everyone roll for initiative and declare your actions, either roll your own dice or let me know if you need a hand)
Ochre Jelly initiative: 2
Map (1 square = 5ft):
Blob: