It happened so fast. Before Rosie had even a chance to swing over and try to help Lisana, she was gone. She stares at her wire pack, it suddenly dawning on her that this piece of equipment is the only thing between each of them and certain death. At Klage's call, something else occurs to Rosie: they had all put their lives in the hands of this one elf. The fancy house, the nice dinner, the eloquent speech: nobody had thought to question him on his motivations. She calls out in response to his question, a single word that comes out choked and anguished: "No." She waits for the others to descend, hoping that Geraine is OK but knowing that further splitting up their group would not be wise right now.
Fifi yelped in shock as the stirges swarmed Lisana. The satyr had reached for her lute to cast another Sleep spell on the swarm, but before she could strum her instrument, Lisana was already spiraling down into the canyon's depths. All she could do was stare into the abyss.
When Klage made his appearance and nonchalant comment, she briefly explained, "Mr. Klage... Lisana... She's dead..."
"Dead?" Klage says, the mirth still in his voice, as though doubting the report. After a few more seconds of silence, you hear his line unravel at a high speed as he drops down to where Lisana's body hangs.
"So she is." he says, effortlessly bouncing along the wall towards Geraine and Lisana, finding a handhold in the rock few feet away from the two. "And we haven't even begun our adventure. Such a shame." His tone is ambiguous in whether he conveys sorrow or disappointment in his words. He then inches closer, grasping the switch of Lisana's wirepack. He toggles the switch a couple times. Nothing happens. He lets out an exasperated sigh of annoyance. He then reaches into one of the pockets on his long coat, pulling out a lockpick. Geraine notices the entire front of the coat is lined with pockets. "Her switch got jammed, it seems." he says to Geraine as he starts picking through the switch mechanism, ignoring the cleric's funerary rituals.
The fragrance from Geraine's still smoldering block of incense has spread, rising up to all members of the expedition, establishing the somber mood, as is custom for a funeral.
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"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
"As an archeologist, Lisana wanted to explore and archive our discoveries, with excitement into the possibilities of Netherese history to behold. I didn't really know her, but in our short time together we shared a kindred interest there. If her journal is there, might I have it to continue this work on her behalf?" Geraine asks Klage.
He looks up and sees the wires spool being vastly depleted. He then looks below into the fog below.
"Unless it has fallen, it may be quite a ways down there." With this Geraine casts light on the ember of incense, and dumps it from his censer to fall into the chasm below.
Rosie stays quiet as she descends to join up with Klage and Geraine, keeping a close eye on everyone else and their surroundings for any more nasty surprises.
As the stirges swarmed Lisana he saw the streets of Athkatla being covered in fog and blood as he watched that boy being torn apart by fangs and claws. That stupid boy that no doubt had his own plans and dreams. Innocent by all accounts, specially for someone from the City of Coin. I could not help. Not then, not now. Clenching his teeth Radu watched as the elf was killed and closed his voice in bitter silence as the others spoke of the fact. He felt frustrated and fury took hold of his face. He would have smacked the stone wall if his hands weren’t occupied.
By the time he put the crossbows away it made no sense to punch rocks. The Blood Hunter assumed his inexpressive façade and resumed his descent. For the first time he was grateful for Geraine’s words. At least someone could pay the girl some of the respect she deserved. The worst part, he thought, is that I am grateful I survived. Again. A fact that filled Ashford with disgust.
“Klage! Any chance the body will reanimate?” Someone had to that the possibility into consideration. I will light the torch myself if necessary. “Should we make a sky burial?” If they kept enough distance, Radu imagined, this could led beasts away from them.
"Of course. Once we reach the bottom, we can search for her belongings. Mourn her loss how you wish." Klage says to Geraine, who notices a trace of guilt on the elf's face. After all, it was he who had provided the wire contraptions, of which Lisana's was faulty.
Geraine watches the gleaming fragments of incense plummet downward. Unfortunately, the mist blocks out the light at a certain point. There is no impact to be heard, suggesting that either the incense had not yet hit the bottom, or it had landed on something soft.
Klage turns to Radu after hearing his question. "Reanimate? No, that seems unlikely. We aren't yet deep enough for that to become a problem." He seems worried at the idea of future deaths in the expedition. "Sky burial? You mean leave her hanging, or dropping her off like sailors at sea? Either way would be quite improper. If I can unjam the mechanism, we'll be able to send her slowly to the bottom of the canyon, where we can give her a proper burial."
After a couple more seconds of fiddling with the spool and switch mechanisms, there is a click, and Lisana's wire spool begins to unravel once more at a controlled rate, slowly disappearing below the clouds. "We don't have much farther." Klage says. "Maybe another ten minutes." With that, he gives the signal to the rest of the crew to resume their descent.
You have all now descended into the thick, swirling clouds hiding the chasm's true depth. As you go lower, the mist becomes more and more opaque, to the point that you can't even see your fellow adventurer a mere five feet away. Since the tragedy that had occurred less than half an hour ago, all have been silent. Perhaps they have become more wary of the fact that the contraptions by which they hang above a lethal drop could fail at any time, like Lisana's had? From the depths of the abyss, a chilling wind sweeps up the face of the cliff.
As you reach a certain point, you notice that the mist has begun to thin.
Somewhere, far above you, the Sun has risen. Its golden rays pierce through the gloom, illuminating the landscape hundreds of feet below for all to see.
Green. A lush forest stretches the entire width of the chasm, and reaching across its length for as far as the eye can see. Its verdant canopies are rich with colorful blossoms that show like embroidered gemstones inlaid in an endless carpet of green. The arboreal paradise is interrupted in places to make way for great, glistening pools of water, nourished by rivers that weave their way through the trees. The sunlight, reflected in the water, dances like glimmering diamonds. The walls of the chasm have shifted in tone as well. The dirty sandstone of the upper layers is gone, replaced by a smooth, white limestone.
Strange, wondrous birds of vibrant colors glide over the treetops. Eagles soar at your elevation, picking off the occasional stirge. In the waters, large, reptilian beasts drink and wash themselves. As you descend further down, a quadrupedal beast with a particularly long neck notices you, watching your slow descend as though with caution.
Looking down, you see that you near the ground: An expanse of flowery grass at the edge of a small lake, adjacent to the looming jungle ahead.
Chapter One: The Forest of the Lost
As you finally set foot upon the ground, you are able to detach the wirepack contraption, giving your shoulders and underarms some much needed stretches. The ground is soft and damp. A canopy of pale blue and lilac flowers carpets the dewy green grass. The water is likewise blanketed in lily pads. From where you stand, you can see that the lake is not so deep. Perhaps six feet at the deepest. In the middle of the pond stands the behemoth that had watched you descent. It makes eye contact, but otherwise keeps its distance. The chirping of crickets provides a steady ambience. Off in the distance, an unknown bird begins its song.
Those who had not seen Lisana's death begin to spread out, taking in the surroundings.
Slumped in the grass a few feet from Torwin is Lisana's body.
NOTE: The canyon wall that you climbed down is about 20 feet north of the map's top border.
Rosie wasn't sure what she was expecting to find down here but it wasn't this. How did everything survive down here when surely the sun only shone overhead for but a few hours each day? At the bottom, she is eager to move away from Lisana's body, trusting that Geraine will do what is necessary. As soon as she has disentangled herself from her wire pack, she draws her rapier and sets off towards the water's edge. "Mr Klage, will Sheska watch where our wire packs are connected at the top? Seems it would be a great shame if we were to come back after our adventure and find the wire spooled at the bottom." She watches him carefully as he responds, trying to gauge his response to Lisana's death, and whether he has any hope anyone will actually return from this adventure. But the elf seems entirely implacable.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
“I wouldn’t call it improper. To many cultures that is the proper burial ceremony.” He would know since the Blood Hunters were so deeply connected with the Great Guide. “Just like ground burying or cremating. But I don’t what she would prefer so choice’s yours.”
From his part, Radu was satisfied to know that there was no risk of them fighting an undead version of Lisana. Leting her die once was bad enough. Having to kill her a second time was far from something he wanted to do. Besides there was a chance the others would find it too difficult to fight her body and being attacked from behind was a recipe for disaster.
He was grateful for the following silence and too busy feeling on the painful death a fall from the damned wire would cause to take in the scenery. At least until they reached the ground. When his feet touched the ground his first thought was that something was wrong. Sure, he always thought something was wrong, but they had descent for well over an hour. Should the sun be so vivid down there? Enough to give life to so many flowers? Was there any sign of the stirges by the ground? And bloody Hells, what was that giant creature?
Notes: Does Radu notice anything strange with the sun being so bright so deep underground (Survival Check)? Does he see any sign of stirge corpses (Perception Check)?
Geraine removes the wire pack and lies it on the ground, glad to be able to stretch his shoulders and neck from the long trip down but not spending time to focus on it. He walks immediately to Lisana and begins to remove her wire pack and backpack, carefully lying them to the side, as well as crossing her arms over her chest and covering her with his spare set of vestments.
Speaking to those near Klage, he states: "Elven funeral rites vary quite dramatically from family to family, as I am sure you know. I did not know Lisana well enough, though I suspect her family would have had her interred into a proper tomb, which is less of an option currently. In lieu of this, the two common rites would be cremation by pyre, or burial under a cairn."
He looks around at the group, as well as at their surroundings - his eye catching the large beast in the water for a moment before he continues: "I am unsure we will have a positive effect by burning a large pyre here, and so I would recommend we dig a grave and collect stones for a cairn."
With this Geraine begins to look about for stones (as well as any of Lisana's fallen belongings) in the immediate vicinity.
As Klage responds to Rosie, she finds his expression hard to read. He appears calm. Is he unmoved by the death? Or perhaps he hides distress so as to not bring down the morale of the group? Rosie can't quite tell. "Well, the plan was to set the wirepacks to auto-rewind their way back up the top of the cliff, where Sheska will retrieve and hold onto them until we return, at which point she can send them back down."
The illumination of the chasm is far from natural, as Radu can see. When the group left the outpost, the Sun hadn't even risen yet. It had only been a few hours, so it was impossible for the Sun to be directly overhead at this time. Studying the layer of clouds swirling several hundred feet above the forest canopy, he can clearly see that the rays of sunlight are being bent. The artificially curved rays of light evenly distribute light across the entire chasm floor, it seems.
Littered around the flowers are several mutilated stirges. Radu finds the two he had killed with his crossbow, the bolts still intact.
"I agree, burial seems like the better option." says Emilia. "Who knows what creatures might be attracted by the smoke from a pyre."
"As do I," says Gerard, drawing his green cloak around him. "The dead belong with the ground."
Angus pulls a short shovel out of his backpack. "I'll start digging."
"Well, I suppose that settles it." says Klage, clapping his hands and smiling. "Let us begin, then." He likewise pulls a small shovel out from the inside of his long coat. "But first," he turns to the rest of the group. "Everyone! If I may have your attention for a moment!" The adventurers turn towards him. "In order to ensure a possibility of return, I ask that you all press the 'rewind' button on your wirepacks. This will send them back up to my outpost, where Sheska will hold onto them until she receives my signal."
Once everyone has done so, Klage and Angus begin digging a grave in the ground next to the body.
Geraine finds no shortage of stones for a cairn. For the chasm's entire existence, stones have been falling in from the surface or falling off the cliff, landing down here. Some look freshly fallen, while others have been overgrown with vegetation. Bruno walks alongside him, bending down every so often to pick up a larger rock to set on his shoulder.
Suddenly, there is a crunch. The minotaur lifts his foot, revealing beneath it a crushed pair of spectacles.
Geraine presses the rewind button on his wirepack to send it upward and walks around with Bruno to gather stones. After hearing the crunch under Bruno's foot, he picks up Lisana's glasses and looks about for any of her other belongings while gathering stones.
Investigation Check (in discord): 9
Moving prayer for final rite forward as well:
"O Keeper of the Eternal Sun, guide this soul in her last hour with the strength of thy Brightness and the substance of thy consolations. Let thy Shining Mercy pour over her and guide her to Labelas Enoreth by your divine constellations. Lisana, we will miss your knowledge, and cherish your moments. Your legacy will continue on through us, and through us you shall live on. For in death, life."
The crunch snaps Rosie out of her reverie watching Klage and she watches as Geraine picks up the glasses. "Were those Lisana's? Any chance they could belong to some other adventurer?" At her own thought, she turns and scans the glade before them, looking for any sign of the hundreds of other adventurers seeking to test their mettle against the chasm. She wonders how many were lost during the descent in addition to their own.
(18 perception looking for signs of other adventurers)
As the satyr's hooves touch the ground, Fifi quickly unstraps herself from the backpack and hits the rewind button as instructed. She watches for a moment as her pack reels back up to the surface before allowing her eyes to wander and soak in the beautiful view. Fifi had expected surprises but assumed they'd be on the grimmer and colder side of things. However, the view before them was warm and pleasant. If it wasn't for their prior encounter with the stirges and Lisana's death, Fifi would have taken a minute to frolic and sing.
As the others began to dig and acquire stones Fifi decided to gather a vast array of flowers to create a bouquet for Lisana.
As Rosie scans their surroundings, she can't make out any definite signs of other adventurers. Save for the long-necked behemoth standing in the water, munching on water lilies, they appear to be alone. Anything that lies beyond the lake and the grassy expanse where they stand is obscured by an ominous shroud of dense, tropical trees and other vegetation. The alien, multicolored tree blossoms protrude from the leaves like watchful eyes. It becomes clear that their position, while momentarily safe, is quite vulnerable to ambush by whatever might hide in the forest.
Fifi, in her search for flowers, finds that most of the blossoms are one of two species: The pale blue lilies, and the lilac orchids. However, she notices that spread thinly across the borders of the lake are massive flowers of distinct shades of pink and yellow. The blossoms of these giant flowers are nearly five feet in diameter. However, drawing closer to these floral giants, FIfi smells something... foul. Like rotting meat.
After a few minutes of searching, Geraine and Bruno have collected enough stones for a sizable cairn. Klage and Angus have a ways to go with the digging of a proper grave. "We can't make it too shallow. We don't know what lives down here. Probably at least one species here would dig up a buried body..." Klage says to Angus. Gerard the dwarf has also joined in digging.
Emilia, seeing Radu's concern over the nature of the chasm's lighting, walks up behind him.
"So. What do you make of it?" She crosses her arms, looking up at the swirling clouds above. "Magic?"
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"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Fifi plucks away at the pale blue lilies and lilac orchids; making sure to pick a little from here and pick a little from there so as to disturb the ecosystem as little as possible. Upon encountering the massive flowers along the lake's edge, Fifi immediately raises a hand to pinch her nose. "Oh how foul!" she exclaims, moreso out of excitement rather than displeasure.
The massive flowers were intriguing. What a sight it'd be if I could incorporate this into my bouqet, she though to herself. However, the satyr knew better than to mess with things in the canyon. For now, Fifi observed the massive flowers from a safe distance, trying to gather why such a plant would need to let out such a distinct odor.
It didn’t take long to find the corpses of the stirges. Better yet, it didn’t take long to find the corpses of the stirges he had killed. On them his bolts rested intact. A small victory, Radu admitted to himself, still bitter by the death of Lisana. He decided to retrieve the ammunition, after all, down there, each piece could be the last necessary on the field of battle.
As he worked on the retrieval and looked the skies for the anything unnatural he hears Emilia’s voice. From behind. If she wanted to kill me I would be dead, the Bloodhunter admitted apathetically. Frustration seemed to have dulled his senses or at least caught his attention. Held it away of the chance that anyone in the group would attack. That much was a mistake, he knew for sure. There was no reason to trust that anyone there wouldn’t take the chance to put him underground. Although, technically, he was already underground. They all were.
“The light itself is natural. Aligns with the time of the day, considering the hour we started to climb down.” He answered focused on retrieving the bolts. Part of his mind focused on drawing the crossbows should the woman try attacking him. “But the way it is being bent is not. Not to mention the whole biome change, from desert to lush forest. The scale is absurd, but it must be magic.”
"I don't like how exposed we are here. Let's divide up into two teams: one to dig the grave, the other to keep watch. I'll keep watch. Time to put that natural suspicion to work, Radu: eyes out." The situation has Rosie on edge and in her nervousness, she perhaps has not noticed that she has adopted her 'mum' voice. When Benny had died, she had done the same thing: bossing her children about instead of taking the time to let them grieve. But lives were on the line this time and she does not give it a second thought. With rapier and shield in hand she takes up position looking out towards the forest.
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It happened so fast. Before Rosie had even a chance to swing over and try to help Lisana, she was gone. She stares at her wire pack, it suddenly dawning on her that this piece of equipment is the only thing between each of them and certain death. At Klage's call, something else occurs to Rosie: they had all put their lives in the hands of this one elf. The fancy house, the nice dinner, the eloquent speech: nobody had thought to question him on his motivations. She calls out in response to his question, a single word that comes out choked and anguished: "No." She waits for the others to descend, hoping that Geraine is OK but knowing that further splitting up their group would not be wise right now.
Fifi yelped in shock as the stirges swarmed Lisana. The satyr had reached for her lute to cast another Sleep spell on the swarm, but before she could strum her instrument, Lisana was already spiraling down into the canyon's depths. All she could do was stare into the abyss.
When Klage made his appearance and nonchalant comment, she briefly explained, "Mr. Klage... Lisana... She's dead..."
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
"Dead?" Klage says, the mirth still in his voice, as though doubting the report. After a few more seconds of silence, you hear his line unravel at a high speed as he drops down to where Lisana's body hangs.
"So she is." he says, effortlessly bouncing along the wall towards Geraine and Lisana, finding a handhold in the rock few feet away from the two. "And we haven't even begun our adventure. Such a shame." His tone is ambiguous in whether he conveys sorrow or disappointment in his words. He then inches closer, grasping the switch of Lisana's wirepack. He toggles the switch a couple times. Nothing happens. He lets out an exasperated sigh of annoyance. He then reaches into one of the pockets on his long coat, pulling out a lockpick. Geraine notices the entire front of the coat is lined with pockets. "Her switch got jammed, it seems." he says to Geraine as he starts picking through the switch mechanism, ignoring the cleric's funerary rituals.
The fragrance from Geraine's still smoldering block of incense has spread, rising up to all members of the expedition, establishing the somber mood, as is custom for a funeral.
"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
"As an archeologist, Lisana wanted to explore and archive our discoveries, with excitement into the possibilities of Netherese history to behold. I didn't really know her, but in our short time together we shared a kindred interest there. If her journal is there, might I have it to continue this work on her behalf?" Geraine asks Klage.
He looks up and sees the wires spool being vastly depleted. He then looks below into the fog below.
"Unless it has fallen, it may be quite a ways down there." With this Geraine casts light on the ember of incense, and dumps it from his censer to fall into the chasm below.
Horkur Beren in Tending the Garden
Geraine Lucineous in Onward Down
Rosie stays quiet as she descends to join up with Klage and Geraine, keeping a close eye on everyone else and their surroundings for any more nasty surprises.
As the stirges swarmed Lisana he saw the streets of Athkatla being covered in fog and blood as he watched that boy being torn apart by fangs and claws. That stupid boy that no doubt had his own plans and dreams. Innocent by all accounts, specially for someone from the City of Coin. I could not help. Not then, not now. Clenching his teeth Radu watched as the elf was killed and closed his voice in bitter silence as the others spoke of the fact. He felt frustrated and fury took hold of his face. He would have smacked the stone wall if his hands weren’t occupied.
By the time he put the crossbows away it made no sense to punch rocks. The Blood Hunter assumed his inexpressive façade and resumed his descent. For the first time he was grateful for Geraine’s words. At least someone could pay the girl some of the respect she deserved. The worst part, he thought, is that I am grateful I survived. Again. A fact that filled Ashford with disgust.
“Klage! Any chance the body will reanimate?” Someone had to that the possibility into consideration. I will light the torch myself if necessary. “Should we make a sky burial?” If they kept enough distance, Radu imagined, this could led beasts away from them.
"Of course. Once we reach the bottom, we can search for her belongings. Mourn her loss how you wish." Klage says to Geraine, who notices a trace of guilt on the elf's face. After all, it was he who had provided the wire contraptions, of which Lisana's was faulty.
Geraine watches the gleaming fragments of incense plummet downward. Unfortunately, the mist blocks out the light at a certain point. There is no impact to be heard, suggesting that either the incense had not yet hit the bottom, or it had landed on something soft.
Klage turns to Radu after hearing his question. "Reanimate? No, that seems unlikely. We aren't yet deep enough for that to become a problem." He seems worried at the idea of future deaths in the expedition. "Sky burial? You mean leave her hanging, or dropping her off like sailors at sea? Either way would be quite improper. If I can unjam the mechanism, we'll be able to send her slowly to the bottom of the canyon, where we can give her a proper burial."
After a couple more seconds of fiddling with the spool and switch mechanisms, there is a click, and Lisana's wire spool begins to unravel once more at a controlled rate, slowly disappearing below the clouds. "We don't have much farther." Klage says. "Maybe another ten minutes." With that, he gives the signal to the rest of the crew to resume their descent.
"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
Geraine nods silently, places his censer back in his backpack, and flips the switch to continue his controlled descent.
Horkur Beren in Tending the Garden
Geraine Lucineous in Onward Down
You have all now descended into the thick, swirling clouds hiding the chasm's true depth. As you go lower, the mist becomes more and more opaque, to the point that you can't even see your fellow adventurer a mere five feet away. Since the tragedy that had occurred less than half an hour ago, all have been silent. Perhaps they have become more wary of the fact that the contraptions by which they hang above a lethal drop could fail at any time, like Lisana's had? From the depths of the abyss, a chilling wind sweeps up the face of the cliff.
As you reach a certain point, you notice that the mist has begun to thin.
Somewhere, far above you, the Sun has risen. Its golden rays pierce through the gloom, illuminating the landscape hundreds of feet below for all to see.
*cue atmospheric music* (links to YouTube)
Green. A lush forest stretches the entire width of the chasm, and reaching across its length for as far as the eye can see. Its verdant canopies are rich with colorful blossoms that show like embroidered gemstones inlaid in an endless carpet of green. The arboreal paradise is interrupted in places to make way for great, glistening pools of water, nourished by rivers that weave their way through the trees. The sunlight, reflected in the water, dances like glimmering diamonds. The walls of the chasm have shifted in tone as well. The dirty sandstone of the upper layers is gone, replaced by a smooth, white limestone.
Strange, wondrous birds of vibrant colors glide over the treetops. Eagles soar at your elevation, picking off the occasional stirge. In the waters, large, reptilian beasts drink and wash themselves. As you descend further down, a quadrupedal beast with a particularly long neck notices you, watching your slow descend as though with caution.
Looking down, you see that you near the ground: An expanse of flowery grass at the edge of a small lake, adjacent to the looming jungle ahead.
Chapter One: The Forest of the Lost
As you finally set foot upon the ground, you are able to detach the wirepack contraption, giving your shoulders and underarms some much needed stretches. The ground is soft and damp. A canopy of pale blue and lilac flowers carpets the dewy green grass. The water is likewise blanketed in lily pads. From where you stand, you can see that the lake is not so deep. Perhaps six feet at the deepest. In the middle of the pond stands the behemoth that had watched you descent. It makes eye contact, but otherwise keeps its distance. The chirping of crickets provides a steady ambience. Off in the distance, an unknown bird begins its song.
Those who had not seen Lisana's death begin to spread out, taking in the surroundings.
Slumped in the grass a few feet from Torwin is Lisana's body.
NOTE: The canyon wall that you climbed down is about 20 feet north of the map's top border.
"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
Rosie wasn't sure what she was expecting to find down here but it wasn't this. How did everything survive down here when surely the sun only shone overhead for but a few hours each day? At the bottom, she is eager to move away from Lisana's body, trusting that Geraine will do what is necessary. As soon as she has disentangled herself from her wire pack, she draws her rapier and sets off towards the water's edge. "Mr Klage, will Sheska watch where our wire packs are connected at the top? Seems it would be a great shame if we were to come back after our adventure and find the wire spooled at the bottom." She watches him carefully as he responds, trying to gauge his response to Lisana's death, and whether he has any hope anyone will actually return from this adventure. But the elf seems entirely implacable.
(Insight: 3)
“I wouldn’t call it improper. To many cultures that is the proper burial ceremony.” He would know since the Blood Hunters were so deeply connected with the Great Guide. “Just like ground burying or cremating. But I don’t what she would prefer so choice’s yours.”
From his part, Radu was satisfied to know that there was no risk of them fighting an undead version of Lisana. Leting her die once was bad enough. Having to kill her a second time was far from something he wanted to do. Besides there was a chance the others would find it too difficult to fight her body and being attacked from behind was a recipe for disaster.
He was grateful for the following silence and too busy feeling on the painful death a fall from the damned wire would cause to take in the scenery. At least until they reached the ground. When his feet touched the ground his first thought was that something was wrong. Sure, he always thought something was wrong, but they had descent for well over an hour. Should the sun be so vivid down there? Enough to give life to so many flowers? Was there any sign of the stirges by the ground? And bloody Hells, what was that giant creature?
Notes: Does Radu notice anything strange with the sun being so bright so deep underground (Survival Check)? Does he see any sign of stirge corpses (Perception Check)?
Survival Check: 22
Perception Check: 11
Geraine removes the wire pack and lies it on the ground, glad to be able to stretch his shoulders and neck from the long trip down but not spending time to focus on it. He walks immediately to Lisana and begins to remove her wire pack and backpack, carefully lying them to the side, as well as crossing her arms over her chest and covering her with his spare set of vestments.
Speaking to those near Klage, he states: "Elven funeral rites vary quite dramatically from family to family, as I am sure you know. I did not know Lisana well enough, though I suspect her family would have had her interred into a proper tomb, which is less of an option currently. In lieu of this, the two common rites would be cremation by pyre, or burial under a cairn."
He looks around at the group, as well as at their surroundings - his eye catching the large beast in the water for a moment before he continues: "I am unsure we will have a positive effect by burning a large pyre here, and so I would recommend we dig a grave and collect stones for a cairn."
With this Geraine begins to look about for stones (as well as any of Lisana's fallen belongings) in the immediate vicinity.
Survival Check for finding stones: 6 in discord
Horkur Beren in Tending the Garden
Geraine Lucineous in Onward Down
As Klage responds to Rosie, she finds his expression hard to read. He appears calm. Is he unmoved by the death? Or perhaps he hides distress so as to not bring down the morale of the group? Rosie can't quite tell. "Well, the plan was to set the wirepacks to auto-rewind their way back up the top of the cliff, where Sheska will retrieve and hold onto them until we return, at which point she can send them back down."
The illumination of the chasm is far from natural, as Radu can see. When the group left the outpost, the Sun hadn't even risen yet. It had only been a few hours, so it was impossible for the Sun to be directly overhead at this time. Studying the layer of clouds swirling several hundred feet above the forest canopy, he can clearly see that the rays of sunlight are being bent. The artificially curved rays of light evenly distribute light across the entire chasm floor, it seems.
Littered around the flowers are several mutilated stirges. Radu finds the two he had killed with his crossbow, the bolts still intact.
"I agree, burial seems like the better option." says Emilia. "Who knows what creatures might be attracted by the smoke from a pyre."
"As do I," says Gerard, drawing his green cloak around him. "The dead belong with the ground."
Angus pulls a short shovel out of his backpack. "I'll start digging."
"Well, I suppose that settles it." says Klage, clapping his hands and smiling. "Let us begin, then." He likewise pulls a small shovel out from the inside of his long coat. "But first," he turns to the rest of the group. "Everyone! If I may have your attention for a moment!" The adventurers turn towards him. "In order to ensure a possibility of return, I ask that you all press the 'rewind' button on your wirepacks. This will send them back up to my outpost, where Sheska will hold onto them until she receives my signal."
Once everyone has done so, Klage and Angus begin digging a grave in the ground next to the body.
Geraine finds no shortage of stones for a cairn. For the chasm's entire existence, stones have been falling in from the surface or falling off the cliff, landing down here. Some look freshly fallen, while others have been overgrown with vegetation. Bruno walks alongside him, bending down every so often to pick up a larger rock to set on his shoulder.
Suddenly, there is a crunch. The minotaur lifts his foot, revealing beneath it a crushed pair of spectacles.
"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
Geraine presses the rewind button on his wirepack to send it upward and walks around with Bruno to gather stones. After hearing the crunch under Bruno's foot, he picks up Lisana's glasses and looks about for any of her other belongings while gathering stones.
Investigation Check (in discord): 9
Moving prayer for final rite forward as well:
"O Keeper of the Eternal Sun, guide this soul in her last hour with the strength of thy Brightness and the substance of thy consolations. Let thy Shining Mercy pour over her and guide her to Labelas Enoreth by your divine constellations. Lisana, we will miss your knowledge, and cherish your moments. Your legacy will continue on through us, and through us you shall live on. For in death, life."
Horkur Beren in Tending the Garden
Geraine Lucineous in Onward Down
The crunch snaps Rosie out of her reverie watching Klage and she watches as Geraine picks up the glasses. "Were those Lisana's? Any chance they could belong to some other adventurer?" At her own thought, she turns and scans the glade before them, looking for any sign of the hundreds of other adventurers seeking to test their mettle against the chasm. She wonders how many were lost during the descent in addition to their own.
(18 perception looking for signs of other adventurers)
As the satyr's hooves touch the ground, Fifi quickly unstraps herself from the backpack and hits the rewind button as instructed. She watches for a moment as her pack reels back up to the surface before allowing her eyes to wander and soak in the beautiful view. Fifi had expected surprises but assumed they'd be on the grimmer and colder side of things. However, the view before them was warm and pleasant. If it wasn't for their prior encounter with the stirges and Lisana's death, Fifi would have taken a minute to frolic and sing.
As the others began to dig and acquire stones Fifi decided to gather a vast array of flowers to create a bouquet for Lisana.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
As Rosie scans their surroundings, she can't make out any definite signs of other adventurers. Save for the long-necked behemoth standing in the water, munching on water lilies, they appear to be alone. Anything that lies beyond the lake and the grassy expanse where they stand is obscured by an ominous shroud of dense, tropical trees and other vegetation. The alien, multicolored tree blossoms protrude from the leaves like watchful eyes. It becomes clear that their position, while momentarily safe, is quite vulnerable to ambush by whatever might hide in the forest.
Fifi, in her search for flowers, finds that most of the blossoms are one of two species: The pale blue lilies, and the lilac orchids. However, she notices that spread thinly across the borders of the lake are massive flowers of distinct shades of pink and yellow. The blossoms of these giant flowers are nearly five feet in diameter. However, drawing closer to these floral giants, FIfi smells something... foul. Like rotting meat.
After a few minutes of searching, Geraine and Bruno have collected enough stones for a sizable cairn. Klage and Angus have a ways to go with the digging of a proper grave. "We can't make it too shallow. We don't know what lives down here. Probably at least one species here would dig up a buried body..." Klage says to Angus. Gerard the dwarf has also joined in digging.
Emilia, seeing Radu's concern over the nature of the chasm's lighting, walks up behind him.
"So. What do you make of it?" She crosses her arms, looking up at the swirling clouds above. "Magic?"
"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
Fifi plucks away at the pale blue lilies and lilac orchids; making sure to pick a little from here and pick a little from there so as to disturb the ecosystem as little as possible. Upon encountering the massive flowers along the lake's edge, Fifi immediately raises a hand to pinch her nose. "Oh how foul!" she exclaims, moreso out of excitement rather than displeasure.
The massive flowers were intriguing. What a sight it'd be if I could incorporate this into my bouqet, she though to herself. However, the satyr knew better than to mess with things in the canyon. For now, Fifi observed the massive flowers from a safe distance, trying to gather why such a plant would need to let out such a distinct odor.
Perception: 12
Passive Perception: 13
Nature: 20
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
It didn’t take long to find the corpses of the stirges. Better yet, it didn’t take long to find the corpses of the stirges he had killed. On them his bolts rested intact. A small victory, Radu admitted to himself, still bitter by the death of Lisana. He decided to retrieve the ammunition, after all, down there, each piece could be the last necessary on the field of battle.
As he worked on the retrieval and looked the skies for the anything unnatural he hears Emilia’s voice. From behind. If she wanted to kill me I would be dead, the Bloodhunter admitted apathetically. Frustration seemed to have dulled his senses or at least caught his attention. Held it away of the chance that anyone in the group would attack. That much was a mistake, he knew for sure. There was no reason to trust that anyone there wouldn’t take the chance to put him underground. Although, technically, he was already underground. They all were.
“The light itself is natural. Aligns with the time of the day, considering the hour we started to climb down.” He answered focused on retrieving the bolts. Part of his mind focused on drawing the crossbows should the woman try attacking him. “But the way it is being bent is not. Not to mention the whole biome change, from desert to lush forest. The scale is absurd, but it must be magic.”
"I don't like how exposed we are here. Let's divide up into two teams: one to dig the grave, the other to keep watch. I'll keep watch. Time to put that natural suspicion to work, Radu: eyes out." The situation has Rosie on edge and in her nervousness, she perhaps has not noticed that she has adopted her 'mum' voice. When Benny had died, she had done the same thing: bossing her children about instead of taking the time to let them grieve. But lives were on the line this time and she does not give it a second thought. With rapier and shield in hand she takes up position looking out towards the forest.