Finally, you notice that he is in fact not dead, even if he is unconscious and badly wounded. In fact, it seems that the wounds have stopped bleeding and he is in stable condition if you would like to take him prisoner rather than finish him off (you also may note that wounds usually do not simply stop bleeding... not wounds that are this grievous, anyway. He must have been aided by some kind of supernatural protection)
Once Erik is done examining the body, he sets the 3 potions on the floor and also indicates that the two pendants that The Hunter is wearing are magical. Pointing out the speed with which The Hunter's wounds have stopped bleeding, he says, "That's a neat trick. I wonder whether all of the Dark Lord's allies are protected by such magic." He is unsure whether the accelerated healing is something inherent to The Hunter himself or some arcane effect of one of the pendants, and he consults with Eppie about it. He suggests an experiment. Cut The Hunter and then remove the pendants one to test whether either one seems to be the source of the accelerated healing.
Erik is more of a scientist than a soldier. He's not enthusiastic about taking The Hunter alive, but he seems squeamish about "finishing him off." On the other hand, Erik witnessed the slaughter and torture of the previous expedition, and he believes that the Dark Lord and his allies are a terrible threat, especially when they're working together. "We were able to take him down quickly, but it was 6-on-1, and he was still able to drop Simon and cut up Toa pretty badly. I'd hate to have The Hunter shooting at us while we try to fight anyone or anything else."
Simon says nothing, still feeling the pain in his torso.
The party's goal was to locate Handril Kraggranite. If we haven't called in the bombing yet, we may have time to take a Short Rest down here and patch up the injured party members. (Erik had to drop Enhance Ability to cast Detect Magic, so there's no reason to hurry based on that spell.) If the party doesn't want to spare the time, Erik offers to provide some healing to Simon. That should at least help to staunch the bleeding, but it probably won't be enough to keep him on his feet if they run into The Beast or stumble into a trap or something.
After a bit of experimentation, Erik is able to determine that one of the two pendants is indeed responsible for the Hunter's remarkable healing.
What does the party do next? Stopping for a rest (short or long) seems unadvisable given the fact that the Brute is presumably still lurking down here, possibly with other minions of the Dark Lord.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
"We should leave, and blow this place up with an airstrike, I lost one of my 9 lives and I do not plan to lose another. If you all want to risk your lives, go for it." Simon is a little irritated but is happy that Erik is willing to heal him.
"We should leave, and blow this place up with an airstrike, I lost one of my 9 lives and I do not plan to lose another. If you all want to risk your lives, go for it." Simon is a little irritated but is happy that Erik is willing to heal him.
"But what if Handril Kraggranite is still down here?", Erik asks, but he sounds scared. "Should we wake him up," indicating The Hunter, "and ask him?" He doesn't sound enthusiastic about the idea.
Erik helps Simon remove one of the arrows. He quickly says some arcane words, and the crystals around his right wrist glow. He points at Simon's arrow wound, and instead of lighting, a cool, soothing liquid sprays from Erik's hand. As it hits the wound, it foams and expands, helping to stop the bleeding.
Action: Cast spell (LVL 2 slot) Cure wounds on Simon, Healing: 18 HP Free Action: Talking
Toa rises from his respectful kneeling pose once he realizes the Hunter is still alive, feeling a bit cheated.
No Hawaiki for you yet then, sneaky arrow-cat! Unless I take these, maybe?
He takes the Hunter's weapons, then picks up the pendants to examine them, asking Erik which is the one that keeps the Hunter alive.
As for resting, Toa does feel out of place in the cramped tunnels. "Maybe we can take a quick rest up there? Out of the tunnels I mean? Patch Simon up while the rest of us keep watch? Feels wrong to leave this, ah... Hand Crag guy down in the dark without at least trying to get him out."
"We should leave, and blow this place up with an airstrike, I lost one of my 9 lives and I do not plan to lose another. If you all want to risk your lives, go for it." Simon is a little irritated but is happy that Erik is willing to heal him.
"But what if Handril Kraggranite is still down here?", Erik asks, but he sounds scared. "Should we wake him up," indicating The Hunter, "and ask him?" He doesn't sound enthusiastic about the idea.
Erik helps Simon remove one of the arrows. He quickly says some arcane words, and the crystals around his right wrist glow. He points at Simon's arrow wound, and instead of lighting, a cool, soothing liquid sprays from Erik's hand. As it hits the wound, it foams and expands, helping to stop the bleeding.
Action: Cast spell (LVL 2 slot) Cure wounds on Simon, Healing: 18 HP Free Action: Talking
(OOC: Did The Hunter label any of his potions?)
(Why would he label his possessions? He knows what they are)
When you remove one of the arrows, you may notice that it has a silvered tip. The Hunter's rapier is also silvered.
Erik's experimentation was able to determine which of the pendants is responsible for the Hunter's survival (a periapt of wound closure), the second pendant seems to be some kind of luck charm.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
He takes the Hunter's weapons, then picks up the pendants to examine them, asking Erik which is the one that keeps the Hunter alive.
As for resting, Toa does feel out of place in the cramped tunnels. "Maybe we can take a quick rest up there? Out of the tunnels I mean? Patch Simon up while the rest of us keep watch? Feels wrong to leave this, ah... Hand Crag guy down in the dark without at least trying to get him out."
Erik thanks Toa for taking The Hunter's weapons. Even unconscious, Erik views The Hunter as a potential threat. He points out to Toa which pendant was accelerating The Hunter's healing.
Erik says, "I'm not sure how much hope there is of finding Handril Kraggranite. Then again, I'd hate to abandon him. If you all hadn't come for me, I would have died in this old ruin." His voice sounds crisp and cheery, but the tone sounds more forced than usual. "Maybe The Hunter knows more, but reviving him also seems like a risk. He may just lead us into a trap! That long-fingered abomination implied that the The Dark Lord and his allies had departed, but -- clearly! -- not all of them have. Perhaps The Brute is still be down here too?"
If the party plans to kill The Hunter and return to the surface to depart, Erik reluctantly agrees. He offers to put The Hunter's magic items in his bag for the group to divide up later.
If we plan to continue looking for Handril, Erik picks up one of the 3 potions (at random) and says, "If we're going to keep going, we should figure out whether any of these will be useful," before taking a sip. He's just hoping that The Hunter doesn't use poison in addition to silvered weapons!
(Why would he label his possessions? He knows what they are)
(OOC: I hoped that the bottles might be labelled commodities, like "J&J's Cure-All." Or maybe they came with cutesy labels that would give us a hint. Erik didn't prepare Identify, so he was just hoping to get lucky. 🙂)
When you remove one of the arrows, you may notice that it has a silvered tip. The Hunter's rapier is also silvered.
After healing Simon, Erik looks at the arrow. He wonders aloud, "Why are all of his weapons silvered? Did 'The Hunter' frequently hunt something that could only be harmed by silver weapons?" He hands the arrow to Toa to add to the collection.
Does Erik know anything the forces who thwarted The Hunter or The Dark Lord in the distant past? Perhaps that would explain why The Hunter needed silvered weapons? History22
Erik's experimentation was able to determine which of the pendants is responsible for the Hunter's survival (a periapt of wound closure), the second pendant seems to be some kind of luck charm.
Nice! Erik still views the group as his rescuers, and he's just "along for the ride" for now. He lets them figure out who will take each item. Or, as stated above, Erik can carry them until the party gets back to base.
(OOC: Erik gets two "free" infusions with his arcane armor, so he has a lot of magical kit already. I'll try to resist grabbing any of the new items that require attunement for a while unless no one else wants them. If I drop Erik's AC by 2, he could also infuse an item for someone else to use.
For now, the group just needs to vote on what to do with The Hunter and whether to keep exploring until we find Handril Kraggranite. If we revive The Hunter, he may be able to tell us what happened to Handril, which could confirm that there's no use in continuing the search. Of course, The Hunter has no reason to tell us the truth unless we're going to spare his life, and taking The Hunter back to base as a prisoner also seems dangerous.)
When you remove one of the arrows, you may notice that it has a silvered tip. The Hunter's rapier is also silvered.
After healing Simon, Erik looks at the arrow. He wonders aloud, "Why are all of his weapons silvered? Did 'The Hunter' frequently hunt something that could only be harmed by silver weapons?" He hands the arrow to Toa to add to the collection.
Does Erik know anything the forces who thwarted The Hunter or The Dark Lord in the distant past? Perhaps that would explain why The Hunter needed silvered weapons? History22
Erik:
There were several key figures involved in the ultimate defeat of the Dark Lord. The most notable creatures who opposed him that would have required silvered weapons to take them down would have been wearbears, who were once plentiful in these mountains. The werebears alone would have been unlikely to be a deciding factor in the war against the Dark Lord, but they may have been enough of an annoyance to prompt the Dark Lord to start issuing silvered weapons to his soldiers. It is also entirely possible that the Hunter intentionally sought out such creatures while looking for dangerous and thrilling hunts.
Since you rolled so well, other notable enemies of the Dark Lord included legendary wizards, war priests, etc. However, it is believed by most scholars that the central figure responsible for the Dark Lord's ultimate downfall was none other than his own son, Norman Blackridge, born to the Dark Lord by an elven slave and raised from birth to be a weapon. Unfortunately for Lord Tenebris, a lifetime of brutal 'training' was more than enough to motivate the young man to turn against the insane monster who was his father and cause a civil war within the Dark Lord's ranks, which ultimately gave the neighboring kingdoms the opportunity they needed to strike back against the forces of evil. Until now, no one knew for sure what had actually happened to Lord Tenebris and his servants after their defeat. It had previously been assumed that they had simply been killed, or perhaps driven into exile, after being defeated.
Does Erik know anything the forces who thwarted The Hunter or The Dark Lord in the distant past? Perhaps that would explain why The Hunter needed silvered weapons? History22
Erik:
Stuff...
(OOC: Thanks! Hm. Since it has no immediate impact, Erik will probably wait to share that info later when they're not stuck in the catacombs.)
Erik says, "I'm not sure how much hope there is of finding Handril Kraggranite. Then again, I'd hate to abandon him. If you all hadn't come for me, I would have died in this old ruin." His voice sounds crisp and cheery, but the tone sounds more forced than usual. "Maybe The Hunter knows more, but reviving him also seems like a risk. He may just lead us into a trap! That long-fingered abomination implied that the The Dark Lord and his allies had departed, but -- clearly! -- not all of them have. Perhaps The Brute is still be down here too?"
Erik asks, "What do you think we should do, Eppie?" He likes the little artificer, and she seems to have a good, analytical mind.
Once Eppie gives her opinion, Erik tries to get an opinion out of Adams:"You haven't said much. What do you think we should do with The Hunter? And how much longer should we search these catacombs for Handril?" The hairy man certainly seems like the big, silent type. Maybe that's why he hangs out with a bear?
Answering Eric, Adams says "No. Not rightly sure what we should do either. If I had to, we can press on after Handrill, but I think the a few others would like to get out of here." He pauses for a moment in thought. "My vote would be to leave for now. But, as for the Hunter. I say we tie him up good and take those magic items off him. We take him to the authorities and let them deal with him. Its one thing to take a life for food or in a fight, but this feels more like just murder."
"We're in over our heads,"Eppie says, matter-of-factly, tapping one side of her jaw. "There's not been magical power in the world of this caliber for... well, a long time. It's not just about Handril now. Someone will have to ascertain the level of threat that this place offers to the rest of the world. Either we've got powerful haunted relics of a bygone age here, or there's some source of magic coming through, and who knows what effects that will have?" As Vox IV comes up to her, she slaps the construct on its metal shoulder. "If someone's got to do it, why not us? You all seem pretty capable to me." The goblin grins, showing a mouth full of pointed teeth.
She stares at the downed Hunter, making a few adjustments to her goggles. "As long as he's incapacitated, I'd say he's more useful alive than dead. We know he talks. Let's keep him--as long as we can do it safely." Nodding confidently, she pulls a length of silk rope out of Vox IV's saddlebags. "If I had ever worked security, I might have thought to bring handcuffs. But this will have to do. Shall we?" If no one else offers to, shehefts the length of rope over and starts tying up the Hunter, each limb by itself, then twisted around and knotted together.
As Vox IV comes up to her, she slaps the construct on its metal shoulder. "If someone's got to do it, why not us? You all seem pretty capable to me." The goblin grins, showing a mouth full of pointed teeth.
Erik says uncertainly, "Why not us? Well like you said, Eppie: we're in over our heads. We got a little lucky with The Hunter here. Imagine trying to fight two of the Dark Lord's allies at once! Or a couple of those spikey long-fingered abominations we defeated in the courtyard at the same time as The Hunter was sniping at us from cover! But like Toa said, we should at least get out of the catacombs so that we can rest and regroup before we attempt any more exploration."
Erik seizes on one thing that they all seem to agree on, "Yes, despite everything he's done, I don't feel right about just slitting The Hunter's throat while he's out cold. Let's tie him up and drag him back up top-side with us. And having one of The Dark Lord's allies as a hostage could be useful!"
I might have thought to bring handcuffs. But this will have to do. Shall we?" If no one else offers to, she hefts the length of rope over and starts tying up the Hunter, each limb by itself, then twisted around and knotted together.
Erik asks Simon, "Didn't you have handcuffs?" If so, then Erik suggests, "Maybe we could cuff him and tie him up. The Hunter was both cunning and strong. Having two restraints should give us enough time to subdue him if he tries to escape." While the others tie up The Hunter, Erik will try to create some sort of sled or stretcher so that they can drag The Hunter out of there. It'll probably fall to Toa and Pinion to drag The Hunter out of there, but they shouldn't have to carry a limp body in their arms.
Next steps:
Follow Eppie's map out of the catacombs with The Hunter in tow. Erik suggests a Short Rest in the building. The hope would be:
A chance for party members to attune to the two magical pendants that they took from The Hunter.
Simon shrugs and says, "This is a bad idea. We need to leave and soon or the only people who know this evil is back in the world will die here searching for what is most likely a corps. We barely made and that was with a group of highly trained fighters, why would a little artificer be alive? If he is, he may be the one who is working for the Dark Lord."
Simon shrugs and says, "This is a bad idea. We need to leave and soon or the only people who know this evil is back in the world will die here searching for what is most likely a corps. We barely made and that was with a group of highly trained fighters, why would a little artificer be alive? If he is, he may be the one who is working for the Dark Lord."
"He might," Erik admits. "Or the Dark Lord may have simply kept Handril alive in an attempt to force him to do their bidding...like they did with me."
But Simon put in words the thought that had been worrying Erik ever since he realized that Handril was missing. Was Erik's whole expedition surprised at the discovery of the Dark Lord and his allies? Or did Handril know more than he shared with the rest of their crew? Did they really revive the Dark Lord by mistake, or had the gnome come to this facility with his own secret agenda?
"So we move up out of these tunnels for now either way, right? Whether we're resting up there to hunt some more, or just leaving like Simon wants?"
Toa, clearly getting antsy to do something... anything... hefts the body of the Hunter (bound by Eppie's silken rope) onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry.
"I already voted. I want to keep hunting after a quick rest. But I am far from home and do not know this place, nor these enemies. I will do what the group decides." The island warrior looks around at his companions, then at Pyx. A loud rumble of hunger emanates from his belly.
Eppie nods. "Let's go up and reconvene for a minute and secure the Hunter. We aren't going to want to leave him unattended. I'll radio base and see what they want us to do with him... and how they would like us to proceed with Handril."
Pyx looks up at Toa as he hefts up the body of the Hunter that she was sniffing. And chirps, swinging her long feathery tail, crouching down as if she'd like to pounce.
"Off we go then," Eppie says. Gesturing for Vox IV to follow, she leads the way back towards the courtyard, keeping an eye out for other dangers.
The party returns to the surface, with the unconscious and heavily bound Hunter in tow.
When you emerge from the catacombs, it has been a bit under an hour. If you attempt to contact mission control, there is heavy static, but you are able to communicate with your contact. The woman sounds both worried and intrigued when she learns that one of the Forsaken Five has been captured alive.
"I can send the helicopters to pick you and your prisoner up," Zana tells you. "I cannot recommend continuing the search for Mr. Kraggranite... we cannot risk losing all of you and a valuable prisoner. If Kraggranite is still alive, whatever he is experiencing now is likely worse than a swift death from the bombing run based on what you have already told me and the records of Lord Tenebris' war crimes from his own era. Find somewhere safe until the pickup arrives. We will begin bombardment as soon as you have been evacuated."
The party has time to take a short rest before the choppers arrive.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Once Erik is done examining the body, he sets the 3 potions on the floor and also indicates that the two pendants that The Hunter is wearing are magical. Pointing out the speed with which The Hunter's wounds have stopped bleeding, he says, "That's a neat trick. I wonder whether all of the Dark Lord's allies are protected by such magic." He is unsure whether the accelerated healing is something inherent to The Hunter himself or some arcane effect of one of the pendants, and he consults with Eppie about it. He suggests an experiment. Cut The Hunter and then remove the pendants one to test whether either one seems to be the source of the accelerated healing.
Erik is more of a scientist than a soldier. He's not enthusiastic about taking The Hunter alive, but he seems squeamish about "finishing him off." On the other hand, Erik witnessed the slaughter and torture of the previous expedition, and he believes that the Dark Lord and his allies are a terrible threat, especially when they're working together. "We were able to take him down quickly, but it was 6-on-1, and he was still able to drop Simon and cut up Toa pretty badly. I'd hate to have The Hunter shooting at us while we try to fight anyone or anything else."
The party's goal was to locate Handril Kraggranite. If we haven't called in the bombing yet, we may have time to take a Short Rest down here and patch up the injured party members. (Erik had to drop Enhance Ability to cast Detect Magic, so there's no reason to hurry based on that spell.) If the party doesn't want to spare the time, Erik offers to provide some healing to Simon. That should at least help to staunch the bleeding, but it probably won't be enough to keep him on his feet if they run into The Beast or stumble into a trap or something.
After a bit of experimentation, Erik is able to determine that one of the two pendants is indeed responsible for the Hunter's remarkable healing.
What does the party do next? Stopping for a rest (short or long) seems unadvisable given the fact that the Brute is presumably still lurking down here, possibly with other minions of the Dark Lord.
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Provide feedback!
"We should leave, and blow this place up with an airstrike, I lost one of my 9 lives and I do not plan to lose another. If you all want to risk your lives, go for it." Simon is a little irritated but is happy that Erik is willing to heal him.
"But what if Handril Kraggranite is still down here?", Erik asks, but he sounds scared. "Should we wake him up," indicating The Hunter, "and ask him?" He doesn't sound enthusiastic about the idea.
Erik helps Simon remove one of the arrows. He quickly says some arcane words, and the crystals around his right wrist glow. He points at Simon's arrow wound, and instead of lighting, a cool, soothing liquid sprays from Erik's hand. As it hits the wound, it foams and expands, helping to stop the bleeding.
Action: Cast spell (LVL 2 slot) Cure wounds on Simon, Healing: 18 HP
Free Action: Talking
(OOC: Did The Hunter label any of his potions?)
Toa rises from his respectful kneeling pose once he realizes the Hunter is still alive, feeling a bit cheated.
No Hawaiki for you yet then, sneaky arrow-cat! Unless I take these, maybe?
He takes the Hunter's weapons, then picks up the pendants to examine them, asking Erik which is the one that keeps the Hunter alive.
As for resting, Toa does feel out of place in the cramped tunnels. "Maybe we can take a quick rest up there? Out of the tunnels I mean? Patch Simon up while the rest of us keep watch? Feels wrong to leave this, ah... Hand Crag guy down in the dark without at least trying to get him out."
Sabetha(Monk2):DungeonMair's Rime/Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Barn(Paladin1):Nyx's ToA
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard3):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
(Why would he label his possessions? He knows what they are)
When you remove one of the arrows, you may notice that it has a silvered tip. The Hunter's rapier is also silvered.
Erik's experimentation was able to determine which of the pendants is responsible for the Hunter's survival (a periapt of wound closure), the second pendant seems to be some kind of luck charm.
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Provide feedback!
Erik thanks Toa for taking The Hunter's weapons. Even unconscious, Erik views The Hunter as a potential threat. He points out to Toa which pendant was accelerating The Hunter's healing.
Erik says, "I'm not sure how much hope there is of finding Handril Kraggranite. Then again, I'd hate to abandon him. If you all hadn't come for me, I would have died in this old ruin." His voice sounds crisp and cheery, but the tone sounds more forced than usual. "Maybe The Hunter knows more, but reviving him also seems like a risk. He may just lead us into a trap! That long-fingered abomination implied that the The Dark Lord and his allies had departed, but -- clearly! -- not all of them have. Perhaps The Brute is still be down here too?"
If the party plans to kill The Hunter and return to the surface to depart,
Erik reluctantly agrees. He offers to put The Hunter's magic items in his bag for the group to divide up later.
If we plan to continue looking for Handril,
Erik picks up one of the 3 potions (at random) and says, "If we're going to keep going, we should figure out whether any of these will be useful," before taking a sip. He's just hoping that The Hunter doesn't use poison in addition to silvered weapons!
(OOC: I hoped that the bottles might be labelled commodities, like "J&J's Cure-All." Or maybe they came with cutesy labels that would give us a hint. Erik didn't prepare Identify, so he was just hoping to get lucky. 🙂)
After healing Simon, Erik looks at the arrow. He wonders aloud, "Why are all of his weapons silvered? Did 'The Hunter' frequently hunt something that could only be harmed by silver weapons?" He hands the arrow to Toa to add to the collection.
Does Erik know anything the forces who thwarted The Hunter or The Dark Lord in the distant past? Perhaps that would explain why The Hunter needed silvered weapons? History 22
Nice! Erik still views the group as his rescuers, and he's just "along for the ride" for now. He lets them figure out who will take each item. Or, as stated above, Erik can carry them until the party gets back to base.
(OOC: Erik gets two "free" infusions with his arcane armor, so he has a lot of magical kit already. I'll try to resist grabbing any of the new items that require attunement for a while unless no one else wants them. If I drop Erik's AC by 2, he could also infuse an item for someone else to use.
For now, the group just needs to vote on what to do with The Hunter and whether to keep exploring until we find Handril Kraggranite. If we revive The Hunter, he may be able to tell us what happened to Handril, which could confirm that there's no use in continuing the search. Of course, The Hunter has no reason to tell us the truth unless we're going to spare his life, and taking The Hunter back to base as a prisoner also seems dangerous.)
Erik:
There were several key figures involved in the ultimate defeat of the Dark Lord. The most notable creatures who opposed him that would have required silvered weapons to take them down would have been wearbears, who were once plentiful in these mountains. The werebears alone would have been unlikely to be a deciding factor in the war against the Dark Lord, but they may have been enough of an annoyance to prompt the Dark Lord to start issuing silvered weapons to his soldiers. It is also entirely possible that the Hunter intentionally sought out such creatures while looking for dangerous and thrilling hunts.
Since you rolled so well, other notable enemies of the Dark Lord included legendary wizards, war priests, etc. However, it is believed by most scholars that the central figure responsible for the Dark Lord's ultimate downfall was none other than his own son, Norman Blackridge, born to the Dark Lord by an elven slave and raised from birth to be a weapon. Unfortunately for Lord Tenebris, a lifetime of brutal 'training' was more than enough to motivate the young man to turn against the insane monster who was his father and cause a civil war within the Dark Lord's ranks, which ultimately gave the neighboring kingdoms the opportunity they needed to strike back against the forces of evil. Until now, no one knew for sure what had actually happened to Lord Tenebris and his servants after their defeat. It had previously been assumed that they had simply been killed, or perhaps driven into exile, after being defeated.
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Provide feedback!
(OOC: Thanks! Hm. Since it has no immediate impact, Erik will probably wait to share that info later when they're not stuck in the catacombs.)
Erik asks, "What do you think we should do, Eppie?" He likes the little artificer, and she seems to have a good, analytical mind.
Once Eppie gives her opinion, Erik tries to get an opinion out of Adams: "You haven't said much. What do you think we should do with The Hunter? And how much longer should we search these catacombs for Handril?" The hairy man certainly seems like the big, silent type. Maybe that's why he hangs out with a bear?
Answering Eric, Adams says "No. Not rightly sure what we should do either. If I had to, we can press on after Handrill, but I think the a few others would like to get out of here." He pauses for a moment in thought. "My vote would be to leave for now. But, as for the Hunter. I say we tie him up good and take those magic items off him. We take him to the authorities and let them deal with him. Its one thing to take a life for food or in a fight, but this feels more like just murder."
D&D since 1984
"We're in over our heads," Eppie says, matter-of-factly, tapping one side of her jaw. "There's not been magical power in the world of this caliber for... well, a long time. It's not just about Handril now. Someone will have to ascertain the level of threat that this place offers to the rest of the world. Either we've got powerful haunted relics of a bygone age here, or there's some source of magic coming through, and who knows what effects that will have?" As Vox IV comes up to her, she slaps the construct on its metal shoulder. "If someone's got to do it, why not us? You all seem pretty capable to me." The goblin grins, showing a mouth full of pointed teeth.
She stares at the downed Hunter, making a few adjustments to her goggles. "As long as he's incapacitated, I'd say he's more useful alive than dead. We know he talks. Let's keep him--as long as we can do it safely." Nodding confidently, she pulls a length of silk rope out of Vox IV's saddlebags. "If I had ever worked security, I might have thought to bring handcuffs. But this will have to do. Shall we?" If no one else offers to, shehefts the length of rope over and starts tying up the Hunter, each limb by itself, then twisted around and knotted together.
Erik says uncertainly, "Why not us? Well like you said, Eppie: we're in over our heads. We got a little lucky with The Hunter here. Imagine trying to fight two of the Dark Lord's allies at once! Or a couple of those spikey long-fingered abominations we defeated in the courtyard at the same time as The Hunter was sniping at us from cover! But like Toa said, we should at least get out of the catacombs so that we can rest and regroup before we attempt any more exploration."
Erik seizes on one thing that they all seem to agree on, "Yes, despite everything he's done, I don't feel right about just slitting The Hunter's throat while he's out cold. Let's tie him up and drag him back up top-side with us. And having one of The Dark Lord's allies as a hostage could be useful!"
Erik asks Simon, "Didn't you have handcuffs?" If so, then Erik suggests, "Maybe we could cuff him and tie him up. The Hunter was both cunning and strong. Having two restraints should give us enough time to subdue him if he tries to escape." While the others tie up The Hunter, Erik will try to create some sort of sled or stretcher so that they can drag The Hunter out of there. It'll probably fall to Toa and Pinion to drag The Hunter out of there, but they shouldn't have to carry a limp body in their arms.
Next steps:
Follow Eppie's map out of the catacombs with The Hunter in tow. Erik suggests a Short Rest in the building. The hope would be:
Simon shrugs and says, "This is a bad idea. We need to leave and soon or the only people who know this evil is back in the world will die here searching for what is most likely a corps. We barely made and that was with a group of highly trained fighters, why would a little artificer be alive? If he is, he may be the one who is working for the Dark Lord."
"He might," Erik admits. "Or the Dark Lord may have simply kept Handril alive in an attempt to force him to do their bidding...like they did with me."
But Simon put in words the thought that had been worrying Erik ever since he realized that Handril was missing. Was Erik's whole expedition surprised at the discovery of the Dark Lord and his allies? Or did Handril know more than he shared with the rest of their crew? Did they really revive the Dark Lord by mistake, or had the gnome come to this facility with his own secret agenda?
"So we move up out of these tunnels for now either way, right? Whether we're resting up there to hunt some more, or just leaving like Simon wants?"
Toa, clearly getting antsy to do something... anything... hefts the body of the Hunter (bound by Eppie's silken rope) onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry.
"I already voted. I want to keep hunting after a quick rest. But I am far from home and do not know this place, nor these enemies. I will do what the group decides." The island warrior looks around at his companions, then at Pyx. A loud rumble of hunger emanates from his belly.
Sabetha(Monk2):DungeonMair's Rime/Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Barn(Paladin1):Nyx's ToA
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard3):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
Eppie nods. "Let's go up and reconvene for a minute and secure the Hunter. We aren't going to want to leave him unattended. I'll radio base and see what they want us to do with him... and how they would like us to proceed with Handril."
Pyx looks up at Toa as he hefts up the body of the Hunter that she was sniffing. And chirps, swinging her long feathery tail, crouching down as if she'd like to pounce.
"Off we go then," Eppie says. Gesturing for Vox IV to follow, she leads the way back towards the courtyard, keeping an eye out for other dangers.
Perception: 7
The party returns to the surface, with the unconscious and heavily bound Hunter in tow.
When you emerge from the catacombs, it has been a bit under an hour. If you attempt to contact mission control, there is heavy static, but you are able to communicate with your contact. The woman sounds both worried and intrigued when she learns that one of the Forsaken Five has been captured alive.
"I can send the helicopters to pick you and your prisoner up," Zana tells you. "I cannot recommend continuing the search for Mr. Kraggranite... we cannot risk losing all of you and a valuable prisoner. If Kraggranite is still alive, whatever he is experiencing now is likely worse than a swift death from the bombing run based on what you have already told me and the records of Lord Tenebris' war crimes from his own era. Find somewhere safe until the pickup arrives. We will begin bombardment as soon as you have been evacuated."
The party has time to take a short rest before the choppers arrive.
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