The passage gets narrow and uneven pretty quickly, requiring the adventurers to stoop and squeeze in order to get through, but they are able to put the insects' cavern well behind them quickly enough. For the first time in a while, they feel the air moving. Just a gentle flow of the warm air from the chasm pushing past them into colder corridors. The walls around them will occasionally be marked by a small rivulet of water flowing down, but there is no sign of the mucous that marked the passing of the giant cave crawler from before.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
It takes all of Ashley's willpower not to scream when she sees the legs and how it attacks the spot she was in moments before, then she happily runs down the other tunnel, as best as she can anyways.
She does her best to keep her eye out for other dangers as they go
Joren finally exhales as they put distance between themselves and the chamber of huge, deadly creatures.
Uncharacteristically tentatively, he asks softly: "Is... Is everyone doing all right? Other than all witnessing unearthly horrors and nearly dying repeatedly that is. We must be staying together, seeing what we have, knowing what we do. We must not be falling apart. So much, there is to be speculating on. Is someone, perhaps the Razmus cultists, planning to use those deadly monsters as a trap for Cambria? Unleashing them just as their invasion starts? Is that why they were wanting Tensmith mining to remain closed? We must be warning the leaders, but will they be believing us? But no matter, we must be surviving to even have that chance."
He keeps his echo summoned and tries to maintain discipline, looking around for hazards or signs of where they are, but his racing mind distracts him.
"I'm ok now, I just feel like we don't have the choice or luxury to worry about those things right now, once we're out we can send message to warn the city of whatever those thing were and roughly where they are... we won't fall apart, don't worry." Vilus actually smiles for once as he looks around, taking in the faces of the people he has spent these past few days with, "we actually make a pretty decent team y'know. Oh and Joren, I know the whole name thing may have been confusing earlier, but Silas really was a fake name, and Vilus really is my real one," Vilus chuckles, making a little fun of himself as he tries to clarify for Joren"I was a little hasty when I first thought of the fake name so it wasn't very ...um... Imaginative"
Over the next few hours, only when not in conversation with anyone, Vilus reads some of his Book of Shadows. He asks Samir for something disposable he may have, an old trinket or failed contraption, he will then take whatever he is given and crush it, either on the ground or in his hand, making sure to keep all the pieces of the now broken object in his palm. Vilus then begins chanting something from his book, the words read somehow through their ever moving, swarming patterns on the page, the broken object undergoes several changes as the Goliath watches it become dust in his hand, and then slowly speeds up forming a solid once more, developing the traits and distinguished features of the unbroken item. from the outside it looks like Vilus brought the object back into existence by subjecting it to some kind of reverse aging process that flits between it looking too old to exist any more and then shining new before finally settling on its original unbroken form. (Vilus practices his Mending cantrip with is weird magic)
Ashley turns to Vilus after he talks with Joren, "Do you know anyone in Tensmith that can help us? You talk about these secret councils that you are apart of and how they shape parts of the Cambria. I know nothing of these things, but wondered if there was anyone there we could trust, that we could turn to?"
At Vilus' revelation about his name, Joren opens his mouth, then closes it again, then mumbles, "I, Oh... oh. Oops."
And here I was thinking I was finally understing the humor of these westerners...
He subsides, feeling a bit foolish, but sensing that Vilus is being sincere and that there's no malice or anything done at Joren's or the party's expense.
Samir scrambles away from the monster with Ashley, clutching his things to his chest, wide eyed. It takes no coaxing to keep him moving into the next passage.
He is mostly quiet along the way, his head slightly bowed. His response to Vilus is a soft agreement before he fishes some random trinket from his bag and hands it over. Briefly he thinks that he will have to procure some more small components for his workings when next they reach the next decent town. It is a thought that is quickly driven away by the next one, one that can only wonder if there will be a next town...
As Ashley turns to Vilus and asks her questions, His smile fades slightly, remembering all of a sudden the situation he has come from. "the contacts I have might not be trust worthy, but If I use a disguise and my genius fake name I'm sure I can get us an audience with someone who could help. This is definitely not without it's risks, mind you, but It'll probably be worth it."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Malachi scrambles down the tunnel with the rest of the group, hurrying to get away from the cavern. “Are you okay, Ashley? That was a close call!”The sight of those glass-like legs crashing down into the rock is still fresh in his mind and he wants to make sure she is doing well.
He smacks his forehead in frustration “I didn’t think to look up in the chasm, was there an opening at the top? Could those creatures fly out, could they be waiting for us at the end of this tunnel? Where are we going anyway, will this still lead to Tensmith?” Malachi turns, trying to get his bearings in the tunnel, at least trying to see what direction they are heading.
The tunnel narrows even further as the group moves forward, and an hour goes by. There are a few tight squeezes, bumped heads, and scraped arms, but then the tunnel widens back out a bit. If Malachi had to guess, he would say they were heading northwest. An hour goes by. Then another, with no sign of life, or branching paths. Finally, though, the group reaches... a dead end? The ground here is particularly wet, and there is a small pool of water against the stone wall at the very end of the tunnel.
"No, no, no," Marion says. "This can't be the end. There has to be somewhere to go from here. The Blue Lady wouldn't bring us all this way for nothing..."
Malachi realizes there is a sound interrupting the silence. Water? He looks at the pool and then looks up the wall. Several small rivulets of water run down its face in a steady stream. Moisture seems to be leaking through the stone itself. He isn't exactly sure what that must mean, but it seems significant.
"Yes it is seeming as if we need to follow the water to its source, through the top here perhaps."
As his companions investigate the ceiling, Joren inspects the pool on the ground where the water is accumulating. Looking for the same flecks of silver, and also checking whether there is any underwater tunnel apparent, though he guesses the pool is too small for that to be true.
Joren sees more of those silver flecks, though the ground beneath is solid. But... when taps on the leaking rock face, something about the sound speaks to the dwarf in him. There is a thinness to it. There is no gap in the wall, but it sounds like there is space on the other side. They might be able to shatter it with magic, or with the pick axe they picked up along the way.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"If there is water, then... hmmm..." Samir moves forward, adjusting his glasses and bringing his light closer to inspect the seeming dead end, poking at memories of classes on geology and hydrology.
I'll throw a general intelligence check and let you pick a skill to go with it, if any. 22
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Ashley's thoughts mirrors Marions as they arrive at the deadend. She looks behind them just in case and is relieved that they are not being followed and that she is certain they can figure this out. She watches as her friends look at all the different possible options in front of them. She stands behind trying not to get in the way as she looks around herself, seeing if any options appear to her.
Running his fingertips lightly across the leaking rock face, absorbing the feel of the stone as his father might, Joren straightens up.
"What are you all seeing? I am sensing this stone... úzký ... thinning with something beyond it. Knowing not what - enemies, air, a flood of water?"
His own pack gone from Jon Shep's death-explosion, he points at a rope such as the one that Vilus carries. "If... If we are deciding to break through with a pick axe or Shatter with magic, we should all be holding on to a rope together so if water is then surging through, it is not sweeping us apart and away."
Samir looks at the water coming through the stone and recalls that certain types of stone are more permeable than others. Namely, metamorphic and igneous rock.
Ashley does not know much about the intricacies of stone, but she does note one patch that seems to be the source of many of the rivulets. A particularly thin patch? Perhaps it is because of her fiery nature that she feels cautious, or just because of natural instincts, but when Joren mentions water surging through, she gets a gut feeling that his suggestion is a good one.
(This wall will have a +8 to its Save against shatter, but it will also have disadvantage. If someone wants to use the pick axe, they would roll either athletics or nature [using their strength modifier instead of int]. This would be to determine how long it takes.)
“Water is coming through the stone, is it safe to break through the wall? It is our only path forward.” Malachi shudders at the thought of retracing their steps back to the chasm. “I am not going back near those creatures.”
He bends forward and sticks his fingers into the pool, then tastes the water to determine if it is fresh or saltwater. “Could we have traveled so far to reach the coast already?”
"The water coming through could very well mean that this type of stone is more porous than the surroundings... it may be easier to break through here. I don't have much in the way of help, I don't think. A small hammer, some pitons. A crowbar." Samir fidgets with his glasses as he takes a step back, eyes still on the wall. "But it may be our only way through. I say we make some preparations and proceed."
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The passage gets narrow and uneven pretty quickly, requiring the adventurers to stoop and squeeze in order to get through, but they are able to put the insects' cavern well behind them quickly enough. For the first time in a while, they feel the air moving. Just a gentle flow of the warm air from the chasm pushing past them into colder corridors. The walls around them will occasionally be marked by a small rivulet of water flowing down, but there is no sign of the mucous that marked the passing of the giant cave crawler from before.
It takes all of Ashley's willpower not to scream when she sees the legs and how it attacks the spot she was in moments before, then she happily runs down the other tunnel, as best as she can anyways.
She does her best to keep her eye out for other dangers as they go
Perception 5
Joren finally exhales as they put distance between themselves and the chamber of huge, deadly creatures.
Uncharacteristically tentatively, he asks softly:
"Is... Is everyone doing all right? Other than all witnessing unearthly horrors and nearly dying repeatedly that is. We must be staying together, seeing what we have, knowing what we do. We must not be falling apart. So much, there is to be speculating on. Is someone, perhaps the Razmus cultists, planning to use those deadly monsters as a trap for Cambria? Unleashing them just as their invasion starts? Is that why they were wanting Tensmith mining to remain closed? We must be warning the leaders, but will they be believing us? But no matter, we must be surviving to even have that chance."
He keeps his echo summoned and tries to maintain discipline, looking around for hazards or signs of where they are, but his racing mind distracts him.
Perception: 5 (visible in campaign log)
Barn(Paladin1): Damian_May's Ereworn Under the Shadow | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest | Nivi(Rogue5): Erik_Soong's Netherdeep
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Quyen(Adept1, ba5ic): ConstancePhokas' Nentir Vale (Discord) | Seri(Druid1): Hunter_Orien's Saltmarsh
Xarian(Fighter3): Luna_Dust's Marks on the Map | Ophelia(Sorcerer2): BillM's Icewind Dale | Shin(Wizard1): Culuril's Strixhaven
"I'm ok now, I just feel like we don't have the choice or luxury to worry about those things right now, once we're out we can send message to warn the city of whatever those thing were and roughly where they are...
we won't fall apart, don't worry." Vilus actually smiles for once as he looks around, taking in the faces of the people he has spent these past few days with, "we actually make a pretty decent team y'know.
Oh and Joren, I know the whole name thing may have been confusing earlier, but Silas really was a fake name, and Vilus really is my real one," Vilus chuckles, making a little fun of himself as he tries to clarify for Joren "I was a little hasty when I first thought of the fake name so it wasn't very ...um... Imaginative"
Over the next few hours, only when not in conversation with anyone, Vilus reads some of his Book of Shadows.
He asks Samir for something disposable he may have, an old trinket or failed contraption, he will then take whatever he is given and crush it, either on the ground or in his hand, making sure to keep all the pieces of the now broken object in his palm.
Vilus then begins chanting something from his book, the words read somehow through their ever moving, swarming patterns on the page, the broken object undergoes several changes as the Goliath watches it become dust in his hand, and then slowly speeds up forming a solid once more, developing the traits and distinguished features of the unbroken item. from the outside it looks like Vilus brought the object back into existence by subjecting it to some kind of reverse aging process that flits between it looking too old to exist any more and then shining new before finally settling on its original unbroken form. (Vilus practices his Mending cantrip with is weird magic)
Ashley turns to Vilus after he talks with Joren, "Do you know anyone in Tensmith that can help us? You talk about these secret councils that you are apart of and how they shape parts of the Cambria. I know nothing of these things, but wondered if there was anyone there we could trust, that we could turn to?"
At Vilus' revelation about his name, Joren opens his mouth, then closes it again, then mumbles, "I, Oh... oh. Oops."
And here I was thinking I was finally understing the humor of these westerners...
He subsides, feeling a bit foolish, but sensing that Vilus is being sincere and that there's no malice or anything done at Joren's or the party's expense.
Barn(Paladin1): Damian_May's Ereworn Under the Shadow | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest | Nivi(Rogue5): Erik_Soong's Netherdeep
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Quyen(Adept1, ba5ic): ConstancePhokas' Nentir Vale (Discord) | Seri(Druid1): Hunter_Orien's Saltmarsh
Xarian(Fighter3): Luna_Dust's Marks on the Map | Ophelia(Sorcerer2): BillM's Icewind Dale | Shin(Wizard1): Culuril's Strixhaven
Samir scrambles away from the monster with Ashley, clutching his things to his chest, wide eyed. It takes no coaxing to keep him moving into the next passage.
He is mostly quiet along the way, his head slightly bowed. His response to Vilus is a soft agreement before he fishes some random trinket from his bag and hands it over. Briefly he thinks that he will have to procure some more small components for his workings when next they reach the next decent town. It is a thought that is quickly driven away by the next one, one that can only wonder if there will be a next town...
As Ashley turns to Vilus and asks her questions, His smile fades slightly, remembering all of a sudden the situation he has come from. "the contacts I have might not be trust worthy, but If I use a disguise and my genius fake name I'm sure I can get us an audience with someone who could help.
This is definitely not without it's risks, mind you, but It'll probably be worth it."
Malachi scrambles down the tunnel with the rest of the group, hurrying to get away from the cavern. “Are you okay, Ashley? That was a close call!” The sight of those glass-like legs crashing down into the rock is still fresh in his mind and he wants to make sure she is doing well.
He smacks his forehead in frustration “I didn’t think to look up in the chasm, was there an opening at the top? Could those creatures fly out, could they be waiting for us at the end of this tunnel? Where are we going anyway, will this still lead to Tensmith?” Malachi turns, trying to get his bearings in the tunnel, at least trying to see what direction they are heading.
Survival: 15.
.
The tunnel narrows even further as the group moves forward, and an hour goes by. There are a few tight squeezes, bumped heads, and scraped arms, but then the tunnel widens back out a bit. If Malachi had to guess, he would say they were heading northwest. An hour goes by. Then another, with no sign of life, or branching paths. Finally, though, the group reaches... a dead end? The ground here is particularly wet, and there is a small pool of water against the stone wall at the very end of the tunnel.
"No, no, no," Marion says. "This can't be the end. There has to be somewhere to go from here. The Blue Lady wouldn't bring us all this way for nothing..."
Malachi realizes there is a sound interrupting the silence. Water? He looks at the pool and then looks up the wall. Several small rivulets of water run down its face in a steady stream. Moisture seems to be leaking through the stone itself. He isn't exactly sure what that must mean, but it seems significant.
Following the line of sight that Malachi is making toward the top of the tunnel, Vilus pipes up "if there's a gap I could maybe shatter it?"
"Yes it is seeming as if we need to follow the water to its source, through the top here perhaps."
As his companions investigate the ceiling, Joren inspects the pool on the ground where the water is accumulating. Looking for the same flecks of silver, and also checking whether there is any underwater tunnel apparent, though he guesses the pool is too small for that to be true.
Perception: 13
Barn(Paladin1): Damian_May's Ereworn Under the Shadow | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest | Nivi(Rogue5): Erik_Soong's Netherdeep
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Quyen(Adept1, ba5ic): ConstancePhokas' Nentir Vale (Discord) | Seri(Druid1): Hunter_Orien's Saltmarsh
Xarian(Fighter3): Luna_Dust's Marks on the Map | Ophelia(Sorcerer2): BillM's Icewind Dale | Shin(Wizard1): Culuril's Strixhaven
Joren sees more of those silver flecks, though the ground beneath is solid. But... when taps on the leaking rock face, something about the sound speaks to the dwarf in him. There is a thinness to it. There is no gap in the wall, but it sounds like there is space on the other side. They might be able to shatter it with magic, or with the pick axe they picked up along the way.
"If there is water, then... hmmm..." Samir moves forward, adjusting his glasses and bringing his light closer to inspect the seeming dead end, poking at memories of classes on geology and hydrology.
I'll throw a general intelligence check and let you pick a skill to go with it, if any. 22
Ashley's thoughts mirrors Marions as they arrive at the deadend. She looks behind them just in case and is relieved that they are not being followed and that she is certain they can figure this out. She watches as her friends look at all the different possible options in front of them. She stands behind trying not to get in the way as she looks around herself, seeing if any options appear to her.
Perception 11
Running his fingertips lightly across the leaking rock face, absorbing the feel of the stone as his father might, Joren straightens up.
"What are you all seeing? I am sensing this stone... úzký ... thinning with something beyond it. Knowing not what - enemies, air, a flood of water?"
His own pack gone from Jon Shep's death-explosion, he points at a rope such as the one that Vilus carries. "If... If we are deciding to break through with a pick axe or Shatter with magic, we should all be holding on to a rope together so if water is then surging through, it is not sweeping us apart and away."
Barn(Paladin1): Damian_May's Ereworn Under the Shadow | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest | Nivi(Rogue5): Erik_Soong's Netherdeep
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Quyen(Adept1, ba5ic): ConstancePhokas' Nentir Vale (Discord) | Seri(Druid1): Hunter_Orien's Saltmarsh
Xarian(Fighter3): Luna_Dust's Marks on the Map | Ophelia(Sorcerer2): BillM's Icewind Dale | Shin(Wizard1): Culuril's Strixhaven
Samir looks at the water coming through the stone and recalls that certain types of stone are more permeable than others. Namely, metamorphic and igneous rock.
Ashley does not know much about the intricacies of stone, but she does note one patch that seems to be the source of many of the rivulets. A particularly thin patch? Perhaps it is because of her fiery nature that she feels cautious, or just because of natural instincts, but when Joren mentions water surging through, she gets a gut feeling that his suggestion is a good one.
(This wall will have a +8 to its Save against shatter, but it will also have disadvantage. If someone wants to use the pick axe, they would roll either athletics or nature [using their strength modifier instead of int]. This would be to determine how long it takes.)
“Water is coming through the stone, is it safe to break through the wall? It is our only path forward.” Malachi shudders at the thought of retracing their steps back to the chasm. “I am not going back near those creatures.”
He bends forward and sticks his fingers into the pool, then tastes the water to determine if it is fresh or saltwater. “Could we have traveled so far to reach the coast already?”
"The water coming through could very well mean that this type of stone is more porous than the surroundings... it may be easier to break through here. I don't have much in the way of help, I don't think. A small hammer, some pitons. A crowbar." Samir fidgets with his glasses as he takes a step back, eyes still on the wall. "But it may be our only way through. I say we make some preparations and proceed."