Traveling back to the second fork (2), you follow the path to the right. It descends rapidly, requiring you to be mindful of your steps. Within a few hundred feet you reach another fork (3). To the left are well-fashioned steps that lead steeply downward to a heavy wooden door set into a lintel and doorposts made of granite. It is securely locked, and you can tell a large skeleton key is what will open it. Following the fork to the right, you reach another locked door, which in nearly every way is like the first.
Gwin, Brevig, Patrin, and Donir:
(Assuming Gwin is explaining to the others what is revealed by her arcane eye).
After a span of 14 minutes, the four of you have the following understanding of what lies at the bottom of the chasm. The door to the right is well-made, appearing to be constructed from solid wood and set into a lintel and doorposts of granite. The arcane eye doesn't reveal any indications of life in the cavern.
(Moving things along, but will do so without making any significant decisions for Fargoth)
Fargoth rejoins the group after a few minutes have passed. He quickly summarizes what he discovered in the other tunnel. The five of you are able to deduce that the door seen by Gwin's magical eye is the same door that Fargoth encountered at the bottom of the stairs.
So, with Gwin's arcane eye and Fargoth's exploration of the other tunnel, here's what the party understands about their surroundings (and please ignore the question mark by the "3"; not sure how that crashed the party):
“I think that depends on how strong you are feeling, friend, for the door looked rather formidable.” Fargoth has a small smile on his face as he speaks.
“It is possible, however, that we could get it open without the need for such heroics.” At this, he jangles key ring equipped with a selection of lockpicks and other small instruments. “The keyhole was quite large though, so this may be wishful thinking.”
"Come then, this way. And mind you step as we go, the path is steeper than you have encountered."
Fargoth leads them back to the door, at which point he produces his tools of the trade and gets to work on the keyhole, talking as he does so. "Not many locks to pick in the forests while you're poaching. The Harpers though, like to teach you all sorts of little tricks that may come in useful while out and about..."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
19
Moving things along...
Despite its substantial weight, the door swings easily on its hinges--hinges that are oiled and well-maintained, allowing for you to open the door silently. Gwin's arcane eye has already provided the five of you with a decent understanding of the cavern that you are now entering, but you are able to discern a few additional details now that you are seeing it for yourself, with your own eyes. The cavern shows clear evidence of mining activity. The floor is smooth and level in many places, and the walls are reinforced with timbers in some locations. The path through the cavern is the clearest indication of design and intent. You have little doubt that this place has seen significant activity from the deep gnomes that you hope to find.
When you reach the point at which the path forks, the silence in the cavern is broken. The sound is faint, but you hear it nonetheless. The sound of rock scraping against rock reaches your ears, and it seems to be coming from the tunnel that exits the cavern in the southwest corner.
“I admit, maps are not my strong suit. But it seems to me, that the the path at the far end of this cavern might meet up with the collapsed passage we originally intended to traverse. I suggest we move in that direction, but carefully, as we seem not to be alone.” Brevig readies his shield.
Gwin has been lagging behind the others a bit, stooping to pick up a stone or remnant of some past occupant for inspection. Every now and again one of those objects finds its way into her seemingly bottomless pouch that Gwin wears slung over her shoulder, under her cloak. Not paying attention to where she is going, the cleric almost runs into the rest of the party who has stopped their progression down the path. It's clear by their demeanor they're all straining to hear something so the dwarf does the same. When the faint scraping sound reaches her ears, Gwin opens her eyes wide to the party and points down the path in the direction of the southwest tunnel. Fearing she might clumsily alert whatever might be making that noise, the cleric locks eyes with Fargoth as she mouths the words, do you want to investigate?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
‘The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.’ - Buffy Summers
Donir takes hold of his mechanical homunculus, then pulls a small ring out of his pouch. He slips it around its body, then lets it take flight once more. With a clicking sound and a motion towards the origin of the sound, it flies off to go scout out the disturbance.
(Enhancing the Homunculus' wisdom via enhance ability, and sending it to scout.)
Perception: 23
Stealth(if needed): 25
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Patrinstudies the cavern, his darkvision allowing him to see nearly the entirety of the place, but he finds nothing of note. Donir's magical contruct approaches the nearest tunnel entrance but immediately retraces its flight path, returning to its master. "Four grey gnomes, I see. With them is a xorn."
“Nicely done, Fargoth and Patrin,” says Brevig. “It seems we have found the cavern-dwellers we sought with a minimum of damage to their environment. Shall we announce ourselves?”
"That of my own kind, and some of the language of the forest spirits, but not gnomish. I do not tend to dwell in these places, unfortunately." Fargoth arranges his cloak to hide the rapier and daggers on his person, in order to seem as non-threatening as possible.
"If your construct can greet them, or at least alert them to our presence, then so be it."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
“If I hear the horn I will come with haste, keeping left, friend Fargoth,” Brevig says.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Fargoth:
Traveling back to the second fork (2), you follow the path to the right. It descends rapidly, requiring you to be mindful of your steps. Within a few hundred feet you reach another fork (3). To the left are well-fashioned steps that lead steeply downward to a heavy wooden door set into a lintel and doorposts made of granite. It is securely locked, and you can tell a large skeleton key is what will open it. Following the fork to the right, you reach another locked door, which in nearly every way is like the first.
Gwin, Brevig, Patrin, and Donir:
(Assuming Gwin is explaining to the others what is revealed by her arcane eye).
After a span of 14 minutes, the four of you have the following understanding of what lies at the bottom of the chasm. The door to the right is well-made, appearing to be constructed from solid wood and set into a lintel and doorposts of granite. The arcane eye doesn't reveal any indications of life in the cavern.
“The chasm you describe,” says Brevig, “is too wide for me to leap across. Let us wait another 30 minutes for Fargoth.”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Gwin gives Brevig a wink. You read my mind, friend.
‘The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.’ - Buffy Summers
(Moving things along, but will do so without making any significant decisions for Fargoth)
Fargoth rejoins the group after a few minutes have passed. He quickly summarizes what he discovered in the other tunnel. The five of you are able to deduce that the door seen by Gwin's magical eye is the same door that Fargoth encountered at the bottom of the stairs.
So, with Gwin's arcane eye and Fargoth's exploration of the other tunnel, here's what the party understands about their surroundings (and please ignore the question mark by the "3"; not sure how that crashed the party):
“Fargoth, is the door below (3) too heavy to crash through, or might I be able to break it down?,” asks Brevig.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
“I think that depends on how strong you are feeling, friend, for the door looked rather formidable.” Fargoth has a small smile on his face as he speaks.
“It is possible, however, that we could get it open without the need for such heroics.” At this, he jangles key ring equipped with a selection of lockpicks and other small instruments. “The keyhole was quite large though, so this may be wishful thinking.”
“I suggest we try that heavy door together, first with art — Fargoth’s tools — and if that doesn’t work, then brute force,” says Brevig to the group.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
"Come then, this way. And mind you step as we go, the path is steeper than you have encountered."
Fargoth leads them back to the door, at which point he produces his tools of the trade and gets to work on the keyhole, talking as he does so. "Not many locks to pick in the forests while you're poaching. The Harpers though, like to teach you all sorts of little tricks that may come in useful while out and about..."
Thieves' Tools: 32
Selecting just the right pick and using just the right technique, Fargoth hears a soft clunk as the lock mechanism releases.
(Making sure we're on the same page. Fargoth unlocked the door on the left, at the bottom of the stairs and leading into the cavern, right?)
19
Moving things along...
Despite its substantial weight, the door swings easily on its hinges--hinges that are oiled and well-maintained, allowing for you to open the door silently. Gwin's arcane eye has already provided the five of you with a decent understanding of the cavern that you are now entering, but you are able to discern a few additional details now that you are seeing it for yourself, with your own eyes. The cavern shows clear evidence of mining activity. The floor is smooth and level in many places, and the walls are reinforced with timbers in some locations. The path through the cavern is the clearest indication of design and intent. You have little doubt that this place has seen significant activity from the deep gnomes that you hope to find.
When you reach the point at which the path forks, the silence in the cavern is broken. The sound is faint, but you hear it nonetheless. The sound of rock scraping against rock reaches your ears, and it seems to be coming from the tunnel that exits the cavern in the southwest corner.
“I admit, maps are not my strong suit. But it seems to me, that the the path at the far end of this cavern might meet up with the collapsed passage we originally intended to traverse. I suggest we move in that direction, but carefully, as we seem not to be alone.” Brevig readies his shield.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Gwin has been lagging behind the others a bit, stooping to pick up a stone or remnant of some past occupant for inspection. Every now and again one of those objects finds its way into her seemingly bottomless pouch that Gwin wears slung over her shoulder, under her cloak. Not paying attention to where she is going, the cleric almost runs into the rest of the party who has stopped their progression down the path. It's clear by their demeanor they're all straining to hear something so the dwarf does the same. When the faint scraping sound reaches her ears, Gwin opens her eyes wide to the party and points down the path in the direction of the southwest tunnel. Fearing she might clumsily alert whatever might be making that noise, the cleric locks eyes with Fargoth as she mouths the words, do you want to investigate?
‘The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.’ - Buffy Summers
‘I don’t like leaving a potential threat behind us...’ suggests Patrin, looking around for anything out of place...
Perception: 7
Donir takes hold of his mechanical homunculus, then pulls a small ring out of his pouch. He slips it around its body, then lets it take flight once more. With a clicking sound and a motion towards the origin of the sound, it flies off to go scout out the disturbance.
(Enhancing the Homunculus' wisdom via enhance ability, and sending it to scout.)
Perception: 23
Stealth(if needed): 25
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Patrin studies the cavern, his darkvision allowing him to see nearly the entirety of the place, but he finds nothing of note. Donir's magical contruct approaches the nearest tunnel entrance but immediately retraces its flight path, returning to its master. "Four grey gnomes, I see. With them is a xorn."
“Nicely done, Fargoth and Patrin,” says Brevig. “It seems we have found the cavern-dwellers we sought with a minimum of damage to their environment. Shall we announce ourselves?”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
“Perhaps I ought to greet them with my construct, in case they are unfriendly.”
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
‘Does anyone speak Gnomish?’ asks Patrin
"That of my own kind, and some of the language of the forest spirits, but not gnomish. I do not tend to dwell in these places, unfortunately." Fargoth arranges his cloak to hide the rapier and daggers on his person, in order to seem as non-threatening as possible.
"If your construct can greet them, or at least alert them to our presence, then so be it."