“I think that since you know these mountainous areas better than all of us Kathra, I will follow your direction on where the best place is to camp. I would however, like to scout that stream opening before the sun goes down. Maybe we can find some tracks near the riverbank that gives us a better idea what we may be dealing with.”
It doesn't take too very long to work your way down the the more level ground of the valley and head over to the warm steamy waters of the stream. The ground around here is a little soft from the melting snow, but also lush with grasses and flowers as well. From where you stand the stream runs a good 200 or so feet back towards the broken glacier wall before disappearing into the large cavern crack beneath.
((Feel free to make any checks you want to look around or inspect things. Perception, Investigation, Nature, and Survival would all be helpful here, but, as always, I'll be glad to offer up what I can for other skills used as well.))
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Looking around near the stream, there looks to be the remains of a small campsite there. You can see the spot where a campfire once was, and it looks like whoever was here hasn't been back in several days. There are two bedrolls and some scattered ruined supplies. It may warrant real Investigation.
For Gavin:
As you follow the stream to the cave-mouth crack, you notice that the temperature near the cave seems to be warring between the hot steam rising from the water and the cooler air radiating off the broken glacier. You test the water and find it very warm, almost simmering, but otherwise pure and untainted by the sulfurous taste or smell you'd expect from a warm-water spring. You think this is likely melted ice-water. The cavern crack seems to go about 60 or so feet back before turning to the right away from you. With the sky beginning to darken, the cavern seem a mix of steamy, yet cold and unwelcoming at the same time.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
You really try to creep along the water's edge quietly, but it just doesn't pan out well. Maybe nobody is noticing the squishing sounds your feet are making as the plop in and out of the lush grassy mud?
While scrounging around the mouth of the cavern, you see a glint of silver in the water caught in the fading light of the sun.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
The water is warm, like, really warm, but not quite scalding. It sort of reminds you of the mountain hot springs near your old village that the adults would take you to as a child during especially hard winters as a treat, however it does not have the same sulfurous smell. You reach down into the hot water and grab hold of the edge of a metal disk in the silt of the stream-bed. Lifting it out of the water, you brush the warm mud from its dull gray surface to reveal a glittering silver design not unlike the one from a similar disk in your party's possession.
For Gavin:
There look to be a few wolf tracks here and there around the edge of the cavern crack, but nothing coming in or out along the stream. Of course, anything walking through the waters would have their tracks washed away fairly quickly.
Kathra's eyes narrow and she makes her way back to the group. "Another coin for your collection, Mirabel," she says, flipping it to him. She looks over to Gavin. "It seems I might have been in error. There are more signs of these ancient druids (or whatever they may be) near the entrance, so perhaps we are better off taking our chances with the wolves after all."
((Is there any way to block the entrance with rocks, even stacking up little ones so that if we camp her that it will make a lot of noise if anything tries to come out? If not I let Kathra lead us to her ideal spot to camp)j
Before I leave the area, I ask Mirabel (or Kathra if I saw her find) to see the disc. I cast detect magic and see if the disc is magical. I also use the 10 min duration to walk the area including going 10’ into the entrance to see if anything else around gives off an aura and what school of magic.
A rough guestimation from what you see around the cave entrance leads you to believe that if two or three of you really worked hard for the next two hours, you could put up a knee-high blockade in and around the stream that may alert you if anyone or anything tries to come out and greet you during the night.
The disk, like its friend, radiates a slight magical charge. Both bear a strange mixture of magical auras, combining transmutation and evocation magic in a way you are mostly unfamiliar with.
As you walk the area you detect no other magical sources nearby.
Gavin asks Kathra, “so block the entrance to alert us if anything comes out and camp here, or go downstream a ways? Anyone else have anything to add to help us make this decision?”
I share my detect magic findings w Maribel “Do you think this is a key of some sort? You are much better at understanding how magic works than I ever will be.”
Kathra thinks deeply for a moment before responding. "We'll head downstream. I worry that anything hostile coming out of the cavern would not be deterred by any barrier we could create. I suggest we wade downstream as well, lest we make ourselves too easy to track."
“I think that since you know these mountainous areas better than all of us Kathra, I will follow your direction on where the best place is to camp. I would however, like to scout that stream opening before the sun goes down. Maybe we can find some tracks near the riverbank that gives us a better idea what we may be dealing with.”
((Seems good. To the river bank!))
It doesn't take too very long to work your way down the the more level ground of the valley and head over to the warm steamy waters of the stream. The ground around here is a little soft from the melting snow, but also lush with grasses and flowers as well. From where you stand the stream runs a good 200 or so feet back towards the broken glacier wall before disappearing into the large cavern crack beneath.
((Feel free to make any checks you want to look around or inspect things. Perception, Investigation, Nature, and Survival would all be helpful here, but, as always, I'll be glad to offer up what I can for other skills used as well.))
Perception: 14
I will check out the river banks and entrance to the cave to see if I notice anything of value.
I will use my perception: 25
and a survival check: 18
((Sorry i’ve been light today folks, work has reared its busy head))
((It's cool.))
Kathra seems mollified by this, and begins to inspect near the cavern entrance for signs of life, staying as quiet as seems prudent.
Stealth: 18
Survival: 21
((Boy I sure hope there's nothing in there))
For Thont:
Looking around near the stream, there looks to be the remains of a small campsite there. You can see the spot where a campfire once was, and it looks like whoever was here hasn't been back in several days. There are two bedrolls and some scattered ruined supplies. It may warrant real Investigation.
For Gavin:
As you follow the stream to the cave-mouth crack, you notice that the temperature near the cave seems to be warring between the hot steam rising from the water and the cooler air radiating off the broken glacier. You test the water and find it very warm, almost simmering, but otherwise pure and untainted by the sulfurous taste or smell you'd expect from a warm-water spring. You think this is likely melted ice-water. The cavern crack seems to go about 60 or so feet back before turning to the right away from you. With the sky beginning to darken, the cavern seem a mix of steamy, yet cold and unwelcoming at the same time.
For Kathra:
You really try to creep along the water's edge quietly, but it just doesn't pan out well. Maybe nobody is noticing the squishing sounds your feet are making as the plop in and out of the lush grassy mud?
While scrounging around the mouth of the cavern, you see a glint of silver in the water caught in the fading light of the sun.
Kathra narrows her eyes and, perhaps against her better judgment, wades into the stream to grab whatever the silver thing is.
Gavin looks for any tracks w his limited nature skills:
nature check: 7
For Kathra:
The water is warm, like, really warm, but not quite scalding. It sort of reminds you of the mountain hot springs near your old village that the adults would take you to as a child during especially hard winters as a treat, however it does not have the same sulfurous smell. You reach down into the hot water and grab hold of the edge of a metal disk in the silt of the stream-bed. Lifting it out of the water, you brush the warm mud from its dull gray surface to reveal a glittering silver design not unlike the one from a similar disk in your party's possession.
For Gavin:
There look to be a few wolf tracks here and there around the edge of the cavern crack, but nothing coming in or out along the stream. Of course, anything walking through the waters would have their tracks washed away fairly quickly.
Kathra's eyes narrow and she makes her way back to the group. "Another coin for your collection, Mirabel," she says, flipping it to him. She looks over to Gavin. "It seems I might have been in error. There are more signs of these ancient druids (or whatever they may be) near the entrance, so perhaps we are better off taking our chances with the wolves after all."
((Is there any way to block the entrance with rocks, even stacking up little ones so that if we camp her that it will make a lot of noise if anything tries to come out? If not I let Kathra lead us to her ideal spot to camp)j
Before I leave the area, I ask Mirabel (or Kathra if I saw her find) to see the disc. I cast detect magic and see if the disc is magical. I also use the 10 min duration to walk the area including going 10’ into the entrance to see if anything else around gives off an aura and what school of magic.
For Gavin:
A rough guestimation from what you see around the cave entrance leads you to believe that if two or three of you really worked hard for the next two hours, you could put up a knee-high blockade in and around the stream that may alert you if anyone or anything tries to come out and greet you during the night.
The disk, like its friend, radiates a slight magical charge. Both bear a strange mixture of magical auras, combining transmutation and evocation magic in a way you are mostly unfamiliar with.
As you walk the area you detect no other magical sources nearby.
Gavin asks Kathra, “so block the entrance to alert us if anything comes out and camp here, or go downstream a ways? Anyone else have anything to add to help us make this decision?”
I share my detect magic findings w Maribel “Do you think this is a key of some sort? You are much better at understanding how magic works than I ever will be.”
Kathra thinks deeply for a moment before responding. "We'll head downstream. I worry that anything hostile coming out of the cavern would not be deterred by any barrier we could create. I suggest we wade downstream as well, lest we make ourselves too easy to track."
Peren agrees we should make camp away from here
((sorry, I had to go install a server an hour away from my office this morning, and just got back))
((It's okay, once we hear from Thont and Mirabel, we'll move to setting up camp.))
Mirabel pockets the second ancient disc. "Likely another phase of the moon. Well, now I really want to be somewhere else. Lead on!"