The kobolds look confused, but Bründir speaks with such authority that they instinctively hold, though they do not lower their bows.
The hobgoblin leader spits on the floor.
"We fight these white-scaled rats for days now! There is no glory here. Only death for masters we should not serve. If you would not fight us, then let my men and I leave this place, dwarf. I have no further business with your kind."
"One thing first," initial success emboldens the dwarf to push a bit further, "I wanna know who's in charge with Kung an' 'is boys dead. I need to know Sheercleft's not gettin' attacked again."
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
"Without the warlord, there is no horde," the leader rasps, his words full of condescension. "Your pitiful village is safe for as long as no leader rises to unite the Iron One's people."
The hobgoblins warily eyes the weapons still being brandished on all sides.
Bründir gives a wave to the kobolds, "Put those away or I'll gut each of ye." Bründir steps in front of the line of kobolds, presenting himself in the no-man's land. "Ye come to my 'ome, spilled blood of my people. Makes me hate ev'rything yer kind are. One thing I've seen, though: You tall ones 'ave honor. I can respect that at least. Can ye tell me what these wizard types're up to? Who's the Iron One?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
The kobolds reluctantly lower their weapons, clearly very unhappy with the situation after having been promised blood.
The hobgoblin leader rolls his eyes and scoffs.
"How your people survive, I do not know. You do not even know your enemy. I tire of this conversation. I am taking my men, and we are leaving."
The warriors form up in a block, covering each other with their shields as they advance towards their fallen comrades. After taking a second to retrieve a couple of things from the bodies, they begin to march towards the exit on the right-hand side of the cavern.
Thurston doesn't move and shove one of the hobgoblin's with his shoulder when they cross his way. He just turns and growls to him.
He is not as happy as the kobolds with the idea of letting that creatures go, he understands their need for speed, but that doesn't mean that he is happy.
The scouts of the Sheerscale kobolds gather together as the hobgoblins leave, watching their foes depart with a venomous look and chittering amongst themselves. Once the enemy warriors have left, three of the kobolds hurry off back up the tunnel from whence they came, while the other three head for Seid.
"Wux yenta petissei svent anqui, ti tailuen anqui! Nomeno ti iacoen! Wux dronilnr jewels ekess Rimem Sherternock, usv aryte!"
"You say kobolds kill goblins, not spare goblins! This not deal! You bring jewels to Chief Sheerscale, or war!"
As the party crosses the cavern, an enormous alcove mined out of the stone of the cave's wall appears. It forms a great archway, thirty feet tall and twenty feet wide, and beneath the arch is a wall of shining silver metal. The metal is engraved with many concentric circles of dwarven runes, all of which appear to have a line burned through them. At the centre of these circles is a series of terran symbols. Fortunately, Vark can read them:
In the mines' strange rocky walls, Bründir whispers to himself in a shaky, raspy tone, "Bigger problems 'ere....save it fer later....kobolds'll get'em, or the town if they don't."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
A diverse selection of arcane accoutrements litters the steps before the imposing edifice. Candles, parchment, charcoal and styli can all be found in the surrounding area.
"It seems that we are late and they had already done their... things..." says Thurston as he continues his approach and raises the shield so everyone can see better what's all around them.
Seid watches the scene quietly, keeping a close eye on the hobgoblins as they leave. A small group of the kobolds approaches him angrily and he looks down at the little creatures. “Kill astahi. Coi xurwkic thric difference ekess ve. Dout maekrix geou itrewic jacida qort.”
He turns away to follow the others as the kobolds leave as they cross over into the ritual area. He spends some time examining the area to attempt to get an idea of what happened here. He spots the symbols and does not recognize them; however, he does notice Vark seems to be examining them closely. “Are you able to read these? I cannot.”
Seid examines the area and comes to the conclusion with a heavy sigh. “We are too late, these were times of binding it seems. They have been dispersed and defiled. Whatever was held in here is likely released.” He looks at the dwarves. “Can you check the stone and see what it tells you?”
“Kill them. It makes no difference to me. Your leader will get his due.”
"Yes this is it! They were r-right here. And they were ah-" Vark's excited spiel is cut off by Seid's question. "I can! It says... well uhm actually they're numbers. And spaces like... some are missing. There's an eight, then three spaces, a one, another three spaces, a two and a zero." Vark thinks for a moment. "If... if this is an entrance to a prison... like the one Aureaonus told me about... well I would think that we'd know if something got released. Right? Maybe... maybe they didn't let something out... maybe they went in! Maybe those numbers are like uh- like a password. We have to figure out what fills in those spaces!"
Vark waits for Seid to make sense of the scattered notes with his ritual. Once the strings of numbers are translated, Vark inspects them, not really expecting to be able to solve anything. Seid is smart, and so is Jex, he is sure they can figure it out. Still, as he looks at the numbers, he notices a few consistent groups and pairings. It’s a simple angle, but as the others deliberate he figures he might as well try. It takes a minute for him to deduce the best way to go about scrawling the numbers, but eventually he lights a torch with a magic spark and prepares the metal stylus. He inscribes his first attempt: 8943157620. To his dismay , the terran numerals burst with flame, eliciting a yelp from the young sorcerer. “Well... I didn’t really expect that to work. B-but I think that four might have been right! It flashed blue, the others were red.” The small victory is enough that Vark doesn’t feel completely useless, and he stands by ready to write the next possible solution in the ancient script.
Bründir steps up staring at the wall and nudges Thurston's knee, "Oi, think some got on yer shield there. Looks a bit bright in 'ere, yeah?"
Shaking his head, the dwarf looks around the cave, "All this time, all these years...no one foun' this 'ere."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
The air in the chamber is charged as the group racks their brains trying to figure out the correct code. Notes are frantically written, every option discussed and attempted, mostly to no avail. But eventually some pattern becomes apparent: the correct numbers remain constant for each language. There are different solutions, and they had most of one. "Well... what if we just... tried everything? Try numbers in all the blanks... for the primordial codes I mean." Again, Vark's answer is seemingly simple: trial and error and process of elimination. He begins filling in blanks, checking notes to make sure he wasn't trying any previously failed attempt. At last, when all but two of the numbers flash blue, Vark is elated. He bounces up and down, a little gust of wind whipping about him and scattering some of the stray parchment. "I think I got it! I think I got it!" Quickly he swaps the two incorrect numbers, and as the entire sequence flashes blue, the boy turns to the others with a mile-wide grin.
As Vark enters the last number correctly, all ten digits are illuminated in the same soft cyan glow, followed by a blinding flash of white light. In their place, a short message in dwarven runes is left upon the adamantine surface.
This door was sealed by Lord Erik Spangelhelm
in Grumbar's name
Let he who opens it Beware
As the message fades, a dull clanking echoes from the walls of the cave and undetectable gaps in the metallic wall begin to open. In the centre of the wall, a circle retracts, leaving a small recess. Another follows, and another, revealing multiple concentric rings that then peel away in a spiral motion, opening a ten-foot wide circular iris, surrounded by the destroyed runic wards.
Beyond is a roughly square room, thirty-feet in both length and breadth. It is full of craggy, dull-edged boulders and the walls haven't a single flat surface among them. There is a lantern hanging from the ceiling with a soft, blue light emitting from it, and twinkling lights circling around. Veins of ore run through the room, and are sprawled intermittently along the floor and walls. On the tip of one particularly higher boulder is a perfectly smooth and flat cube that seems to be adjoined to the boulder itself. At the opposite end of the room is an iron door, engraved with the image of a figure in a robe holding a cube above his head with light rays protruding from it. He appears to be standing among snakes and vermin on the floor. Next to the door is a one-foot wide hole, the inside of which is pitch black, even to those with darkvision.
The kobolds look confused, but Bründir speaks with such authority that they instinctively hold, though they do not lower their bows.
The hobgoblin leader spits on the floor.
"We fight these white-scaled rats for days now! There is no glory here. Only death for masters we should not serve. If you would not fight us, then let my men and I leave this place, dwarf. I have no further business with your kind."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
"One thing first," initial success emboldens the dwarf to push a bit further, "I wanna know who's in charge with Kung an' 'is boys dead. I need to know Sheercleft's not gettin' attacked again."
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
"Without the warlord, there is no horde," the leader rasps, his words full of condescension. "Your pitiful village is safe for as long as no leader rises to unite the Iron One's people."
The hobgoblins warily eyes the weapons still being brandished on all sides.
"Stand down, and we will depart."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Bründir gives a wave to the kobolds, "Put those away or I'll gut each of ye." Bründir steps in front of the line of kobolds, presenting himself in the no-man's land. "Ye come to my 'ome, spilled blood of my people. Makes me hate ev'rything yer kind are. One thing I've seen, though: You tall ones 'ave honor. I can respect that at least. Can ye tell me what these wizard types're up to? Who's the Iron One?"
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
The kobolds reluctantly lower their weapons, clearly very unhappy with the situation after having been promised blood.
The hobgoblin leader rolls his eyes and scoffs.
"How your people survive, I do not know. You do not even know your enemy. I tire of this conversation. I am taking my men, and we are leaving."
The warriors form up in a block, covering each other with their shields as they advance towards their fallen comrades. After taking a second to retrieve a couple of things from the bodies, they begin to march towards the exit on the right-hand side of the cavern.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Thurston doesn't move and shove one of the hobgoblin's with his shoulder when they cross his way. He just turns and growls to him.
He is not as happy as the kobolds with the idea of letting that creatures go, he understands their need for speed, but that doesn't mean that he is happy.
PbP Character: A few ;)
Jex is already over the release of the hobgoblins and quickly crosses the cavern to see if he can find any sign of the wizards in the chamber beyond.
The scouts of the Sheerscale kobolds gather together as the hobgoblins leave, watching their foes depart with a venomous look and chittering amongst themselves. Once the enemy warriors have left, three of the kobolds hurry off back up the tunnel from whence they came, while the other three head for Seid.
"Wux yenta petissei svent anqui, ti tailuen anqui! Nomeno ti iacoen! Wux dronilnr jewels ekess Rimem Sherternock, usv aryte!"
"You say kobolds kill goblins, not spare goblins! This not deal! You bring jewels to Chief Sheerscale, or war!"
As the party crosses the cavern, an enormous alcove mined out of the stone of the cave's wall appears. It forms a great archway, thirty feet tall and twenty feet wide, and beneath the arch is a wall of shining silver metal. The metal is engraved with many concentric circles of dwarven runes, all of which appear to have a line burned through them. At the centre of these circles is a series of terran symbols. Fortunately, Vark can read them:
8 _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ 2 0
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
In the mines' strange rocky walls, Bründir whispers to himself in a shaky, raspy tone, "Bigger problems 'ere....save it fer later....kobolds'll get'em, or the town if they don't."
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
A diverse selection of arcane accoutrements litters the steps before the imposing edifice. Candles, parchment, charcoal and styli can all be found in the surrounding area.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
"It seems that we are late and they had already done their... things..." says Thurston as he continues his approach and raises the shield so everyone can see better what's all around them.
PbP Character: A few ;)
Seid watches the scene quietly, keeping a close eye on the hobgoblins as they leave. A small group of the kobolds approaches him angrily and he looks down at the little creatures. “Kill astahi. Coi xurwkic thric difference ekess ve. Dout maekrix geou itrewic jacida qort.”
He turns away to follow the others as the kobolds leave as they cross over into the ritual area. He spends some time examining the area to attempt to get an idea of what happened here. He spots the symbols and does not recognize them; however, he does notice Vark seems to be examining them closely. “Are you able to read these? I cannot.”
Seid examines the area and comes to the conclusion with a heavy sigh. “We are too late, these were times of binding it seems. They have been dispersed and defiled. Whatever was held in here is likely released.” He looks at the dwarves. “Can you check the stone and see what it tells you?”
“Kill them. It makes no difference to me. Your leader will get his due.”
Valaith "Rimehand" Kalukavi - Chronicles of Arden
"Yes this is it! They were r-right here. And they were ah-" Vark's excited spiel is cut off by Seid's question. "I can! It says... well uhm actually they're numbers. And spaces like... some are missing. There's an eight, then three spaces, a one, another three spaces, a two and a zero." Vark thinks for a moment. "If... if this is an entrance to a prison... like the one Aureaonus told me about... well I would think that we'd know if something got released. Right? Maybe... maybe they didn't let something out... maybe they went in! Maybe those numbers are like uh- like a password. We have to figure out what fills in those spaces!"
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
Vark waits for Seid to make sense of the scattered notes with his ritual. Once the strings of numbers are translated, Vark inspects them, not really expecting to be able to solve anything. Seid is smart, and so is Jex, he is sure they can figure it out. Still, as he looks at the numbers, he notices a few consistent groups and pairings. It’s a simple angle, but as the others deliberate he figures he might as well try. It takes a minute for him to deduce the best way to go about scrawling the numbers, but eventually he lights a torch with a magic spark and prepares the metal stylus. He inscribes his first attempt: 8943157620. To his dismay , the terran numerals burst with flame, eliciting a yelp from the young sorcerer. “Well... I didn’t really expect that to work. B-but I think that four might have been right! It flashed blue, the others were red.” The small victory is enough that Vark doesn’t feel completely useless, and he stands by ready to write the next possible solution in the ancient script.
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
Seeing the numbers burst into flames Thurston jumps on his feet
"Wichtcraft!"
Then he looks to his companions,specially Seid, seems to remember that they are always surrounded by arcane magic and shrugs.
PbP Character: A few ;)
Bründir steps up staring at the wall and nudges Thurston's knee, "Oi, think some got on yer shield there. Looks a bit bright in 'ere, yeah?"
Shaking his head, the dwarf looks around the cave, "All this time, all these years...no one foun' this 'ere."
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
The air in the chamber is charged as the group racks their brains trying to figure out the correct code. Notes are frantically written, every option discussed and attempted, mostly to no avail. But eventually some pattern becomes apparent: the correct numbers remain constant for each language. There are different solutions, and they had most of one. "Well... what if we just... tried everything? Try numbers in all the blanks... for the primordial codes I mean." Again, Vark's answer is seemingly simple: trial and error and process of elimination. He begins filling in blanks, checking notes to make sure he wasn't trying any previously failed attempt. At last, when all but two of the numbers flash blue, Vark is elated. He bounces up and down, a little gust of wind whipping about him and scattering some of the stray parchment. "I think I got it! I think I got it!" Quickly he swaps the two incorrect numbers, and as the entire sequence flashes blue, the boy turns to the others with a mile-wide grin.
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
"I know right?" replies Thurston to Bründir smiling a little bit embarrashed. "Seems to be spreading!"
Then Vark gives with the clue and he looks around
"Did it work? One cannot be sure with witchcraft..."
PbP Character: A few ;)
As Vark enters the last number correctly, all ten digits are illuminated in the same soft cyan glow, followed by a blinding flash of white light. In their place, a short message in dwarven runes is left upon the adamantine surface.
This door was sealed by Lord Erik Spangelhelm
in Grumbar's name
Let he who opens it Beware
As the message fades, a dull clanking echoes from the walls of the cave and undetectable gaps in the metallic wall begin to open. In the centre of the wall, a circle retracts, leaving a small recess. Another follows, and another, revealing multiple concentric rings that then peel away in a spiral motion, opening a ten-foot wide circular iris, surrounded by the destroyed runic wards.
Beyond is a roughly square room, thirty-feet in both length and breadth. It is full of craggy, dull-edged boulders and the walls haven't a single flat surface among them. There is a lantern hanging from the ceiling with a soft, blue light emitting from it, and twinkling lights circling around. Veins of ore run through the room, and are sprawled intermittently along the floor and walls. On the tip of one particularly higher boulder is a perfectly smooth and flat cube that seems to be adjoined to the boulder itself. At the opposite end of the room is an iron door, engraved with the image of a figure in a robe holding a cube above his head with light rays protruding from it. He appears to be standing among snakes and vermin on the floor. Next to the door is a one-foot wide hole, the inside of which is pitch black, even to those with darkvision.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
After entering the room Thurston smiles with confidence and says
"I got this one!" and he goes to the cube and try to move it. The thing does not move at all. Not even an inch.
Confused he says
" Ok the hard way then..." and raises his hammer to hit the base under the cube...
PbP Character: A few ;)