The Undying Dragons - Campaign Thread

Jan nods.

Marrin scrapes her way through the short, curved tunnel, catching her clothes on the rough rock walls but managing to get through without any new rips.

As she does, Avaria opens up the sack and finds two makeshift but perfectly serviceable slings, a small pouch containing 20 small stones, ideal for use in said serviceable slings, and two sets of unlocked manacles. There are no signs of any keys to go with the manacles though.

Avaria looks up from the sack as Marrin enters the cavern, her gaze passing by the partially hidden tunnel to the south and the very low, very narrow tunnel to the east.

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Back in the first cavern you explored, Jan waits patiently, feeling hotter than she would expect to in the otherwise cool space.

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In the home cavern, the security grate in the door pops open, hobgobin guard eyes look out for a second, scanning the chamber. The grate slams shut, the sound of keys quickly turning in the lock echo around the walls, and then the door swings open.

Two hobgoblin guards enter the cavern, a third remains in the doorway.

The guards scan the chamber, their eyes taking in the prisoners, some of whom appear to visibly shrink in on themselves. Finally on guard points. "You, you, and you. Come now."

He's gestured at Ethel, Ula, and Geffroi.

Avaria hands the sack over to Marrin once she enters the cavern with her.  "Well, there is the South tunnel there and the East one there."  She points to her options.

"I'm going to try the South one first, work up my courage for that super narrow East one.  Thanks for joining me, I don't want to get stuck with no one around...." she trails off as she thinks about the possible situation.  "Jan doing alright?"

Then she heads into the South tunnel.

With Marrin left holding the bag, Avaria heads south.

The tunnel narrows slightly but not enough to slow Avaria down. She steps out into another chamber much like the last. This one is characterised by a number of natural niches along its walls. However, as she makes out the different textures in the grey and black world her darkvision is revealing, Avaria can see that most of these alcoves are thick with spider-web, some even appear to have humanoid-shaped lumps cocooned inside. The cavern’s ceiling starts off low, but rapidly ascends ahead of Avaria. The ceiling on the far side of the cave is high enough to be indiscernible through the gloom.

Marrin stands in the room after coming through looking all around. She turns towards Avaria as she speaks, scanning the walls behind the shifter.

"I've got your back Ava, no worries about that! Head in and I will poke around more in here."

She lowers her voice,

"Jan looked fine to me but I don't know. I don't think she got hit during the chicken event? Depending on how long we're here I will probably poke my head out to check on her."

She belatedly takes the offered sack. After a bit she calls,

"Anything?"

Avaria backs up as quietly as she can.  When she gets back to Marrin her voice is more hushed than before, "So many webs... and it looks like some hold creatures as well.  But what is interesting is that the ceiling raised up... further than I can see.  Definitely an area to investigate further, just a bit worried what might be hiding in the shadows."

She does a quick shake that starts from her head and ends at butt, almost as if her tail was back.  "I'm going to go check out that narrow passage to the East now though.  Hopefully I don't get stuck."

"Spiders you think? Okay I will be here, just going to poke my head out to check on Jan."

Marrin does so and asks Jan,

"Okay out here? Ava found this."

She passes out the bag to Jan and continues,

"Also found a room with webs and a very high ceiling. She's checking another tunnel now, bit tight."

After waiting for Jan's reply she returns to wait in the dark for Avaria.

Marrin finds Jan resting with her back to the wall, keeping an eye on any approaches. 

"Oh? Hmmm, certainly could come in handy, though lack of keys limits things a bit on the manacles.  You need me to follow, or better to stay out here?"

Ethel rises from her nook without grace but without audible complaint either.  She smiles confidently to Ula and Geffroi, her scarred face not betraying her concern.  

Is this a work detail?  Or more repercussions rising from this morning?

She makes sure to bring a little sand along, just in case.

Avaria kneels down and starts trying to work her way through the eastern tunnel she found. She manages to get her head around the last bend, but that's about it.  She is able to look around a little, propped up on her chest. This natural alcove is intersected by a tunnel. The tunnel goes off in two directions, roughly what Avaria would estimate are north and south. But it’s very cramped: even a halfling would have to crawl to squeeze through. The smooth, round edges of the tunnel suggest it was left by some sort of burrowing creature but one strong enough to work through stone. There's no way Avaria is getting any further this way unless she found a way to shrink. This will only be possible for someone smaller; halfling or goblin small.

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Jan sees no sign of the orcs taking any interest in what your trio are up to in this cavern.

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Ethel rises and makes her way towards the hobgoblin guards. Seeing Ethel go, Geffroi sighs and starts making his way across the cavern to join her. Ula, very quiet and lost in her own thoughts, mulling over what Xanthe has said about any escape attempt coming back to hurt those left behind, moves to join the other two. But her mind continues to be elsewhere, following on autopilot.

The guards quickly close and lock the door behind Ethel, Ula, and Geffroi and go through what has now become a familiar process. The sentry room door is knocked on and opened, other doors are locked and opened. Stairs are climbed. Ula recognizes the route as the one they took past the arena and into the underground 'village' they took the other day when she and Avaria were taken to the docks. The group passes through the hobgoblin barracks area, and out to the the arena viewing level. But instead of continuing up the main tunnel towards the shops and the port. The hobgoblins guide the trio right off the viewing area and into The Amorous Octopus.

As surprising as it might seem given you're still underground, but The Amorous Octopus is indeed a large tavern. A long bar lines the eastern wall, stools set in front of it, large kegs, casks and shelves of bottles fill the wall behind the bar. Tables and chairs fill the rest of the large space. Torches flicker in brass sconces along the walls. The main door way is framed with carved wood. The ceiling is higher in here than the tunnels you came through. Along the edges it runs to 10' high but it then quickly slopes upwards, going to at least 30', with light shafts at the top acting both as ways for outside light to come in and smoke to escape.

As you look up at the ceiling you can see that a massive, ornate mural of an octopus has been painted there. Rather than eight though, its nine tentacles traverse the breadth of the ceiling and even down some walls; ships and sailors are often shown tangled within the tentacles and large waves are painted elsewhere.

Behind the bar, a large half-orc bar tender moves about, quite gracefully for his size.

Around the room you estimate there are probably a dozen patrons, a mix of humans, goblins, and orcs and another pair of hobgoblin guards (in addition to the three that came with you) stand in opposite corners of the room.

A muscular human server, scars on her face, and daggers at each hip, wades through the crowd, dolling out drinks.

Other than that, you can see the place is a complete mess. Over turned chairs, empty cups and glasses, and what you very much suspect are puddles of vomit can be seen. The two for one drink special brought about by the Great Chicken Cull must have been a rousing success.

A familiar figure approaches, the same unkempt shock of red hair, and rapier at her side. Gertrude Hargrove stops in front of the three of you.

"This um, mess, is er, well, your fault." Gertrude Hargrove says. "You can help clean up."

Buckets, rags, and mops are handed to the three of you.

"Get going."

"Fault?" Ethel asks.  "It looks like your crowd enjoyed themselves.  And isn't that the ultimate goal in entertainment and hospitality?  To give the customer an experience that keeps them coming back for more?  When the patrons think of reasons to return here, this drink special will tug them back harder than any bullfight or chariot race."  She takes a mop without complaint.

[Persuasion 19 to see if she can get Gertrude to look at this from her perspective?]

[If possible, Ethel would also ponder on the significance of a 9-tentacles octopus.  Is that a reference to something in lore or literature?  History 16 ]

She will conjure her mage hand to assist her with moving the mop bucket and with scooping up any unmentionables that she would rather not touch bare-handed.

"Actually, you can head in Jan and take a look for yourself. I'll keep watch out here. Shout if you need me."

Marrin takes Jan's post.

There's a bit of a sigh as Jan heaves herself up and starts crawling in, after handing the bag back over to Marrin.

Ethel has heard that while 9 tentacles on an octopus are rare, they're not unknown. An octopus can grow a tentacle back if it loses one and it has been known that where it was only a bad injury or deep gash that didn't completely cut off one limb they'd still grow a knew one back. Ethel could take that as something to think about when dealing with a multi-faceted opponent but she also suspects that the artist may have just made a mistake.

Gertrude stares at Ethel for a moment, then sighs.

"I try to, um, make it easier on you," she says. She looks to the doorway before looking back at Ethel. "I don't have much more freedom than you do, but, er, stunts like that, with the chickens, well, um, they're not going to let me run games anymore if that keeps up."

She looks like she might say more, but she quickly turns and walks off to check on some of the kegs behind the bar.

Ula appears to keep her head down and just scrubs table tops and collects cups and glasses. Geffroi watches everyone with wide eyes until the server tells him to get cleaning.

As Ethel finds creative ways to clean up what some of the patrons have left behind, she catches sight of one of the patrons watching her move about.

She doesn't know him, but she does recognize him. He was at the arena earlier and he was the one at the end when the stands were emptying out who nodded to her companions as if he knew some of them - Avaria and Ula if she remembers correctly. He's a human male, probably middle age, a slight graying of hair at his temples. He's dressed well but not flashy. He gives Ethel a grin when he sees she's caught him watching her.

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Marrin takes up watch where Jan was before, but doesn't see anything or anyone taking an interest. She can hear some conversation from the orc chamber, but even if she understood orcish, it sounds to muffled to make out.

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When Jan comes into the chamber she can just see Avaria's feet sticking out of what at first looked like the wall. As her darkvision adjusts, Jan sees that there appears to be a small tunnel that Avaria has crawled into. It takes a moment or two but she also eventually sees the alcove on the southern wall that must lead to the chamber with the spider webs.

Avaria wiggles her way back out of the small tunnel and looks behind her.  Surprised to see Jan, she can't help but ask, "Are you feeling any better?  Did you need some water or something?  As for that tunnel," she points to the one behind her, "It is too small for any of us to get through.. but maybe our goblin friend?  Worth asking I figure, though I have no idea where it might head, looks to go both North and South."

She points to the South chamber, "There might be something more to explore there, I'm not sure.  Looks like spiders live in that one, large ones.  I couldn't tell where the ceiling was going, might be a way?  Either way, should we head back and see what's going on?  Maybe recruit a goblin?"

"Eh. Kinda thirsty, but kinda unsettled too. If we're recruiting goblins here, we ought to clear that with the orcs, let them know the little fellas want out too. You thinking large enough spiders to make a snack of goblins? Maybe ought to clear them out first, before sending a gobbo in to wriggle where we can't?"

Ethel makes a point to move closer to the grinning man as she cleans.  "You must be the dapper fellow who convinced a few of my friends that he can help them with favors."  As she cleans, without looking up at him, she uses her mage hand and sloshes some water from her bucket.  Not onto his shoes, but at the floor at his feet.

"It would be most upsetting to me if anyone were to lead them into false hope, or try to take advantage of them in their desperation."

"Harry," the man says, his smile broadening at Ethel's slightly veiled threat, "Harry Dodds."

He looks over at the bar and watches for a moment as Gertrude and the hulking bartender busy themselves moving a couple of kegs.

"I hope that wasn't the impression I gave your friends. I don't do favours for anyone. But I do enter into mutually beneficial agreements. I believe I even gave them each a token of my good will."

Dodds looks around the bar and at the chaotic state it's in.

"You were the mastermind of this, yes?" Dodds says with a half smile, which you can't quite decide whether it's honest mirth or it hides something darker. "It's too bad I didn't know about it. I could have made a quick couple of pennies."

He steps a little closer to Ethel, careful to avoid the slop on the floor.

"You and your companions wouldn't have anything else up your collective sleeves now would you? Something no one has seen yet?" Harry Dodds asks. "Something that could turn a losing battle into a glorious win? Perhaps with old man Hargrove officiating. Now that could generate some real coin."

Avaria nods to Jan, "Yeah, it would be worth clearing out that spider cave to see what is in there.  But should probably wait till you're feeling better.  C'mon, let's head back towards the others."

She gets back to the cavern with Marrin in it and relays what she told Jan on the smaller tunnel.  "Let's head back with the rest, hope they're doing alright, we've been gone awhile."

As they enter the orc cave again, she walks over to Haguur, "Do you mind if I took a quick swim in your pool?  You're right, there wasn't much back in those tunnels, but I think there might be some big spiders."

Haguur stares expressionless at Avaria for what feels like several very long seconds before shrugging and turning his attention back to finishing his meal. 

The other orcs speak excitedly in orcish when you mention big spiders. One holds his arms out wide, perhaps estimating the size. Another laughs and pats his stomach.