"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
Sparhawk approaches slowly so as not to startle the hobgoblin. The 6ft 5 half orc/ man with strange bug bear features, armored in blackened plate with strange eye tatooes. His eyes, blue and presence confident, relaxed yet clearly a soldier.
In fluent goblin, ”Hail friend, we mean you no harm, I am Captain Sparhawk, and he is Kos.”
From the shadows near the cavern mouth, the hobgoblin’s stance remains rigid, the warhammer already half-drawn across his body as if he'd expected to be ambushed. His armor—a deep iron hue etched with sigils in Celestial and Goblin script—catches a faint shimmer from the torchlight behind the adventurers. A cloak of midnight blue rests on his shoulders, unnaturally still despite the wind that stirs the air around him. His gaze—measured, unreadable—lingers on the pair that addressed him. The Warhammer lowers first, then the shield, though neither are set aside. His voice is even, disciplined, clipped with military precision. “You enter without herald. Speak your purpose.” Then, slowly, a hand lifts—not to threaten, but to tap two fingers against the dull silver insignia on his breastplate: a stylized eye staring outward from the stars. “I am Gharzun Tal-Vorrak. Watcher sworn, bladebound by Vorrul-Khaz, ward of the fractures between realms.” His eyes flick to Kos’s offered ration with the barest hint of curiosity—though whether it’s for the food or the gesture is unclear. “Food is secondary. But peace is acceptable. For now.” He takes a step forward, his posture neither hostile nor welcoming, but that of a soldier ready to shift either way. He gives Sparhawk a more measured look, replying in perfect Goblin: “Captain. You carry command well. Are you the lead voice here, or is this a warband of many leaders?” Then back to Common, with a flicker of dark humor under his tone: “If so, may your arguments be as sharp as your weapons.” His warhammer taps once against the stone floor—ritual, not threat. “Speak, and I’ll decide whether to stand aside, or stand with.”
Sparhawk smiles, at the man, In goblin, "Unfortunately, it is I that bears the mantle of leadership here, although the burden of the loss of some of my companions weighs heavily on me these days." Sparhawk is armed with an assortment of weapons and a large shield. Of interest is a huge greatsword that seems to have the teeth or claws of some beast he likely killed.
Then in common: "Gharzun Tal-Vorrak, it is our honor to meet you in this dark place." He points to Tess, "This is my companion, Tess Tombscribe, a priestess of Boccob.
"Although we have met some in these caves that merely search for treasure, our purpose here is to find the cause of such fractures between the realms and seek repair. Our worlds have all been affected by these fractures, and we seek to repair them. We have all seen the signs that point toward the destruction of our worlds." The captain comes across as sincere and straightforward.
The huge paladin reaches out an oversized hand (to shake). Gharzun notes that the man's reach must be enormous and he could likely attack with a sword from 10 feet away
"If our purpose aligns with yours, it would indeed be my honor if you should join us in our mission. If not, do you require any healing or aid?"
<very apprapos. Feel free to continue with dialogue if you wish.>
This vast, tubelike gallery's concave walls curve from long ledges about halfway to the ceiling down to the floor. Tracks have worn smooth paths from ledge to ledge across the curving floor.
The thunderous griding of stone echoes throughout the cave, as three boulders roll along the tracks at dangerous speeds. Other large rocks, worn nearly spherical, sit motionless throughout the gallery.
<Everyone make a perception check and give me an initiative roll>
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
The trio of rolling rocks seem to defy physics, or owrhaos the room has tilted, because they have all sufdenly changed durection and are rolling right toward you. (Initiative 12, so thise who rolled 12+ may acr first)
Sparhawk looks for a way to dodge the rolling rocks. He pulls out the huge mace. He will hit the cave wall next to him, trying to start a collapse but all companions are behind him
Gharzun studies the massive half-orc paladin with the quiet intensity of a soldier measuring the worth of another. The mention of fractured realms draws a sharp twitch at the corner of his mouth—not quite a smile, but recognition.
“Then we are not so far apart as I feared, Captain Sparhawk.” His voice is low, his Common sharpened by military cadence. “I do not seek treasure either. I seek to contain what slips through.”
He eyes the enormous greatsword slung across Sparhawk’s back. “You carry the weight of your dead well. That’s more than most.”
His gaze shifts briefly to Tess Tombscribe, the name Boccob catching like flint in his memory. “A priestess of the Uncaring One... then perhaps the gods are paying attention after all.”
Gharzun takes a step forward, his warhammer now held loosely at his side, and extends his own gauntleted hand to clasp Sparhawk’s forearm in the warrior’s greeting. “I will walk with you—for now.”
Initiative Roll: 5
Perception Roll: 9
The deep grinding sound cuts through Gharzun’s exchange with Sparhawk like a blade across stone. His brow furrows as the thunder of shifting weight grows closer. His eyes sweep the chamber, taking in the impossible movement of the boulders. Three of them, changing course... no, correcting course.
“They hunt,” he murmurs under his breath, the Watcher’s sigil at his neck growing faintly warm. His grip tightens on his warhammer, but he does not yet raise it. Instead, he turns his head slightly toward Sparhawk.
“Incoming. Something in this place bends force to will.”
He plants his shield and braces his stance, waiting—but not yet striking.
Kos watches the rolling rocks to see if there is a way to avoid them or any safe spots that would not be directly in their path.
"I only ask because if there's no way past we may have to backtrack and go another direction."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
The maul cleaves a chunk from the wall. The nearest boulder adjusts its course slightly, rolling directly into Sparhawk, as if attracted to him by some force. The other boulders in motion follow divergent paths, careening toward Kos and Tess, respectively.
1x Sparhawk 14 for 19 bludgeoning and prone (attack roll, no save)
<To clarify, the rolled number is an attack roll made by the boulder, hence, there is no save, but it misses if it's below your AC, as normal.>
<Actually, re-reading something, I think Sparhawk would not get the prone condition and damge is only 12 because he may have moved the full 30ft and the boukder has to slow to hook around to his present position. I think a 14 js a miss, so that boulder just smashes into the wall anyhow.>
As you depart the cavern, you find a hobgoblin withbhis back to you. He spins to meet your eye, smoothly drawing a weapon as he turns.
<this is a new PC joining the party. Welcome @DragonDenn. No hostiles are present in this corridor.>
Kos comes to an abrupt halt and holds up his hands, palms facing the hobgoblin, and speaks slowly so as not to startle him.
"Hail... Goblin... friend!... My... name... Koselig... what... be... your... name?... You... hungry?...Want... some... food?"
Kos will reach back slowly and produce a ration, holding it out gingerly in a slightly trembling hand.
Turning his head slightly to the side he will call back over his shoulder, "Uh guys, there's a really big goblin over here!"
Sparhawk approaches slowly so as not to startle the hobgoblin. The 6ft 5 half orc/ man with strange bug bear features, armored in blackened plate with strange eye tatooes. His eyes, blue and presence confident, relaxed yet clearly a soldier.
In fluent goblin, ”Hail friend, we mean you no harm, I am Captain Sparhawk, and he is Kos.”
From the shadows near the cavern mouth, the hobgoblin’s stance remains rigid, the warhammer already half-drawn across his body as if he'd expected to be ambushed. His armor—a deep iron hue etched with sigils in Celestial and Goblin script—catches a faint shimmer from the torchlight behind the adventurers. A cloak of midnight blue rests on his shoulders, unnaturally still despite the wind that stirs the air around him.
His gaze—measured, unreadable—lingers on the pair that addressed him.
The Warhammer lowers first, then the shield, though neither are set aside. His voice is even, disciplined, clipped with military precision.
“You enter without herald. Speak your purpose.”
Then, slowly, a hand lifts—not to threaten, but to tap two fingers against the dull silver insignia on his breastplate: a stylized eye staring outward from the stars.
“I am Gharzun Tal-Vorrak. Watcher sworn, bladebound by Vorrul-Khaz, ward of the fractures between realms.”
His eyes flick to Kos’s offered ration with the barest hint of curiosity—though whether it’s for the food or the gesture is unclear.
“Food is secondary. But peace is acceptable. For now.”
He takes a step forward, his posture neither hostile nor welcoming, but that of a soldier ready to shift either way. He gives Sparhawk a more measured look, replying in perfect Goblin:
“Captain. You carry command well. Are you the lead voice here, or is this a warband of many leaders?”
Then back to Common, with a flicker of dark humor under his tone:
“If so, may your arguments be as sharp as your weapons.”
His warhammer taps once against the stone floor—ritual, not threat.
“Speak, and I’ll decide whether to stand aside, or stand with.”
Sparhawk smiles, at the man, In goblin, "Unfortunately, it is I that bears the mantle of leadership here, although the burden of the loss of some of my companions weighs heavily on me these days." Sparhawk is armed with an assortment of weapons and a large shield. Of interest is a huge greatsword that seems to have the teeth or claws of some beast he likely killed.
Then in common: "Gharzun Tal-Vorrak, it is our honor to meet you in this dark place." He points to Tess, "This is my companion, Tess Tombscribe, a priestess of Boccob.
"Although we have met some in these caves that merely search for treasure, our purpose here is to find the cause of such fractures between the realms and seek repair. Our worlds have all been affected by these fractures, and we seek to repair them. We have all seen the signs that point toward the destruction of our worlds." The captain comes across as sincere and straightforward.
The huge paladin reaches out an oversized hand (to shake). Gharzun notes that the man's reach must be enormous and he could likely attack with a sword from 10 feet away
"If our purpose aligns with yours, it would indeed be my honor if you should join us in our mission. If not, do you require any healing or aid?"
<very apprapos. Feel free to continue with dialogue if you wish.>
This vast, tubelike gallery's concave walls curve from long ledges about halfway to the ceiling down to the floor. Tracks have worn smooth paths from ledge to ledge across the curving floor.
The thunderous griding of stone echoes throughout the cave, as three boulders roll along the tracks at dangerous speeds. Other large rocks, worn nearly spherical, sit motionless throughout the gallery.
<Everyone make a perception check and give me an initiative roll>
9
9
9
Kos' perception: 7
Kos' initiative: 12
(Sparhawk 17 perception, 14 initiative )
A scattering of treasure glints in the bottom of the cave: gold, silver and rubies scattered on the floor, along with a war pick.
The trio of rolling rocks seem to defy physics, or owrhaos the room has tilted, because they have all sufdenly changed durection and are rolling right toward you. (Initiative 12, so thise who rolled 12+ may acr first)
Your intuition suggests these rocks are a threat.
(How large and heavy do we estimate the rocks to be?)
5 to 10 feet (they vary one to the next) in diameter. Each likely weighs at least a ton.
Sparhawk looks for a way to dodge the rolling rocks. He pulls out the huge mace. He will hit the cave wall next to him, trying to start a collapse but all companions are behind him
23 damage, 15 damage
”anyone got an idea?”
Gharzun studies the massive half-orc paladin with the quiet intensity of a soldier measuring the worth of another. The mention of fractured realms draws a sharp twitch at the corner of his mouth—not quite a smile, but recognition.
“Then we are not so far apart as I feared, Captain Sparhawk.” His voice is low, his Common sharpened by military cadence. “I do not seek treasure either. I seek to contain what slips through.”
He eyes the enormous greatsword slung across Sparhawk’s back. “You carry the weight of your dead well. That’s more than most.”
His gaze shifts briefly to Tess Tombscribe, the name Boccob catching like flint in his memory. “A priestess of the Uncaring One... then perhaps the gods are paying attention after all.”
Gharzun takes a step forward, his warhammer now held loosely at his side, and extends his own gauntleted hand to clasp Sparhawk’s forearm in the warrior’s greeting. “I will walk with you—for now.”
The deep grinding sound cuts through Gharzun’s exchange with Sparhawk like a blade across stone. His brow furrows as the thunder of shifting weight grows closer. His eyes sweep the chamber, taking in the impossible movement of the boulders. Three of them, changing course... no, correcting course.
“They hunt,” he murmurs under his breath, the Watcher’s sigil at his neck growing faintly warm. His grip tightens on his warhammer, but he does not yet raise it. Instead, he turns his head slightly toward Sparhawk.
“Incoming. Something in this place bends force to will.”
He plants his shield and braces his stance, waiting—but not yet striking.
"Which way did you enter this chamber, Gharzun?"
Kos watches the rolling rocks to see if there is a way to avoid them or any safe spots that would not be directly in their path.
"I only ask because if there's no way past we may have to backtrack and go another direction."
The maul cleaves a chunk from the wall. The nearest boulder adjusts its course slightly, rolling directly into Sparhawk, as if attracted to him by some force. The other boulders in motion follow divergent paths, careening toward Kos and Tess, respectively.
1x Sparhawk 14 for 19 bludgeoning and prone (attack roll, no save)
2 x Kos 13 for 19 bludgeoning and prone
3 x Tess 28 for 19 bludgeoning and prone
<To clarify, the rolled number is an attack roll made by the boulder, hence, there is no save, but it misses if it's below your AC, as normal.>
<Actually, re-reading something, I think Sparhawk would not get the prone condition and damge is only 12 because he may have moved the full 30ft and the boukder has to slow to hook around to his present position. I think a 14 js a miss, so that boulder just smashes into the wall anyhow.>