Even without Aldric so much as saying anything, seeing something about the half orc's scowl(or perhaps even sneer) from sniffing at the cave is more than enough to leave Rumble on edge. But, he stood by quietly with jaw clenched and grip tightening upon the haft of an axe as he awaited the command. Although, at any hint -- any /suggestion/ of Rumble hanging back to guard the entrance would be enough to elicit an alarmed look in return.

But the suggestion never came, and for that, the earth genasi found himself smiling softly in appreciation at Aldric when assured he wouldn't notice. For a moment, it looked as if Rumble might follow Aldric's actions and shrug off his pack as well, only to second guess himself. Instead, he'd examine the tunnel from afar, and if he deemed swinging a greataxe within would cause naught but trouble for himself and others, he'd instead resolve to leave it resting against the cave entrance in favor of going forward after Aldric with shield and handaxe equipped. Of Aldric's command to leave him behind if he falls, Rumble... tactfully stayed quiet, but in his heart made plans to drag the half-orc out if it came to it!

Arkun finds no animals to communicate with, so he turns to Rylan and hears his request, nods and turns back to Brandy.  He begins to speak to the horse, in a series of neighs and huffs, occasionally stamping his foot.  

 Then he turns to Rylan, saying "All's good.  She'll wait here, only run if something serious is coming after her.  I told her to fly away to Red Larch if anything bad happens.  No need for her to get killed too.  That is, if we are facing the big bad unknown and come up short."  He straightens his pack, holding onto his staff with a strange look on his face, and begins to follow everyone in.

Brandy arches her head back and neighs in response:

Rylan watches Brandy's animated reply with hopeful anticipation. The moment the horse stops he turns his eyes to Arkun and asks. "All good?"

Arkun’s eyes widen for a minute and that faint smile returns to his face, he gives Brand’s neck a pat and then turns to Rylan, saying, “Yeah, all good.  She’s ready.”

Sylra lingered near the cave mouth, her gaze fixed on the shadowed opening as the faint breeze stirred her robe. The smell reached her a moment after Aldric named it, and though her face did not shift, the weight of it settled in her stomach. Death left a signature all its own, one that even the clean air of the hills could not disguise. She stood silent for a breath, listening not just with her ears but with the quiet of her senses, and the absence of birdsong or insect hum told her as much as the odor did. The land itself recoiled from this place.

As Rylan fussed with his horse and Arkun soothed the animal in low tones, Sylra let her attention drift back to the group. She met Aldric’s words with a steady nod, his blunt resolve neither surprising nor unwelcome. “You’re right,” she said quietly, her tone even. “Whatever waits inside won’t be lessened by hesitation. But if we are to step into a place of death, we should do so with our wits sharp and our eyes keen.” She let her gray gaze sweep across the others, calm but insistent. “Stay close enough to hear the shift of breath, but not so close that one strike could take us all at once. Watch the walls as much as the dark ahead.”

She shifted her shield into place on her arm and rested her free hand on the worn handle of the mace at her hip, the faintest stir of wind curling around her shoulders as if gathering itself. “This cave is not just stone. Something has made it theirs, and it is that truth we walk toward. If we falter, it won’t be because we forgot to listen.” With that, she took her place just behind Aldric, her steps quiet but certain, ready to follow him into the shadows.

Rylan lights his lantern and prepares to follow Aldric into the cave.

The rough maw of the cave swallows the light behind you, its jagged stone teeth casting long shadows along the uneven walls from the last light of the setting sun. Inside, the air is damp and cool, carrying the faint, mineral tang of wet stone and that fouler, cloying odor beneath it that clings to the back of your throat. The ground underfoot slopes slightly downward, pitted and slick in places, forcing careful steps to avoid loose gravel and shallow depressions filled with stagnant water.

The stone walls begin to grow closer further down the single passage that leads away from this entrance cave. About sixty feet into the passage, sprawled unnaturally across the passage floor, lying dead on its back, lies a humanoid shape. The body is motionless, pale against the dark stone and reflecting back Rylan's lantern light, limbs twisted at odd angles as though discarded.

Aldric pauses to scrutinize the body. Does it appear to have died from wounds, or is there any other unnatural cause of death that he can identify?

Sylra moved carefully down the sloping passage, the air growing colder as the stone walls pressed closer around them. The stench clung more thickly here, coating the back of her throat with every shallow breath. Her eyes settled on the body ahead, pale in Rylan’s light and sprawled in a posture that spoke of sudden, violent ending. She let her gaze linger only long enough to take in the unnatural twist of its limbs before she shifted her attention back to the walls and the dark beyond, unwilling to assume the danger was past simply because the body lay still.

She kept her shield raised and her hand near the grip of her mace, but her voice, when it came, was low and even. “Stay wary. A body left in plain sight may be no accident. It could be meant to draw us forward—or to keep us watching what lies at our feet instead of what waits beyond.” She glanced briefly to Aldric, acknowledging his scrutiny of the corpse, then let her eyes return to the shadows ahead. “See what you can of the cause. I’ll keep watch for what may yet stir.”

Her posture settled into quiet readiness, weight balanced lightly on her heels, the faintest ripple of air stirring at her shoulders as though the cave itself had taken a breath with her. She waited, calm and steady, for Aldric’s judgment, but her gaze remained fixed on the darkness that pressed in just beyond the reach of their light.

Rylan's eyes widen at the sight of the corpse. "I'm the furthest thing from an expert... But I don't think a plague did that." 

Wanting to reach for his sword, he realizes his hands are full.

"Would someone with a free hand mind terribly holding this lantern? I know I'd feel a lot safer with both my sword and shield at the ready."

Whereas a fire genasi might've cheekily taken any lowering of stance from Aldric to examine the body to as the Half-Orc 'falling', and thus all the more reason to recklessly carrying on forward deeper into the gloom, seldom had the earth genasi the thought for such mischief! Rather instead, Rumble while fanning out to the eastern wall*, had begun immediately scanning the nearby cave walls for any signs of some hidden danger lurking behind a face cave wall even before Sylra completed her warning. Though, her words all the same attracted an absent-minded nod out of the novice knight during his inspection.

-Perception: 6.

Unfortunately, all of Rumble's searching and gentle tapping of a nearby stone wall results in him inevitably looking to the others and giving a hapless shrug. In response to Rylan's query, Rumble glances down to his own equipment, furrowed his brow, then following a soft sigh, doft his shield and returned briefly to the opening of the cave to set it aside his greataxe. It wasn't exactly protocol. In fact, it probably even went against it if he thought long enough about it. But...

"Alright, pass it over. Won't do us much good for you to be left swinging your only light source in a pinch if there's danger. And, outta all of us, I'd wager I'm the better choice for keeping it safe if it comes to it. Though, if we do any more spelunking together in the future, we're gonna need to find ya somethin' a bit more reliable than this in the future." He said with a smirk, and would going forward keep one hand free and the other carrying the lantern.

Aldric's Medicine: 8

The corpse is that of a human male, Aldric can see as he moves up to examine it more closely. Sprawled on its back, it is wearing only a pair of leather breeches. Aldric cannot identify a manner of death very easily on this body, but it has not yet begun to badly decompose and cannot have been here for terribly long.

Shadows dance along the corridor as the lantern changes hands.

Aldric grunts, though his meaning, or what — exactly — has elicited such a wordless response, no one knows.

The half-orc turns and begins moving further into the cave, his eyes constantly watching, and his axe arm half cocked.

Rylan watches Aldric go and raises a hand to Rumble, wordlessly asking him to hold a moment with the light as he kneels beside the body.

Mouth still covered, it takes a moment for Rylan to feel comfortable touching the corpse... but as he reaches out with his hand and lays it gently on the body's shoulder, something shifts. His hand and arm start to relax. He holds the corpse's shoulder as if comforting one who was still alive. He imagines the man in his youth, full of hope and vigor and possibility... Only to end up alone, abandoned, discarded in this fell cavity of earth like a piece of wild carrion.

After taking a deep, reverent breath, Rylan whispers to the dead man.

"Your troubles are behind you, brother. May your soul find its way to Gates of the Moon, so you might dance with my lady and make merry in the fields of joy."

He kisses his own fingers, taps those fingers on the corpse's shoulder and repeats the process two more times. A traditional goodbye he learned from some visiting emissary once. No idea what it means or what culture it comes from.... but it just felt right in the moment.

Finally, after one last moment of silence, Rylan stands, nods his thanks to Rumble, and follows Aldric deeper into the cave.

Sylra stood a few paces back, her shield angled loosely at her side as the lanternlight threw shifting shadows across the damp stone. She watched in silence as Rylan bent beside the body, his words soft but carrying a note of reverence that echoed strangely against the walls. The gesture was foreign to her, but the sentiment was clear, and she inclined her head slightly in quiet acknowledgment of his offering. The dead deserved at least that much respect, even here in the cold dark.

When he rose again and moved to follow Aldric, Sylra adjusted her grip on the mace at her hip and let her gaze sweep once more across the narrowing passage. “The cave is not finished with us yet,” she said evenly, her voice low enough not to carry far but firm enough to reach her companions. “Stay close, and tread as if the stones themselves are listening.”

With that, she fell in step behind Aldric and Rylan, her boots light against the gravel as she moved deeper into the darkened maw, every sense alert to the silence pressing in around them.

Confused, Rumble looked from Rylan to Aldric at first as if expecting a stern denial of the request. But seeing the half-orc hadn't so much as glanced back, and by all initial appearance moved at a cautious steady pace, he turned to back to nod at Rylan even had the man already moved on to pray over the body. Though, it wasn't until the man spoke that Rumble not only finally realized his intent, but look away ashamed of himself.

"As Tyr as my witness, justice /will/ be served," He went on to mutter, if not for the departed sake, then in self-affirmation meant to alleviate guilt. Yet, if any chance to hear or glance at him afterwards, they'd see his mood hardly lifted by them. Though thankful nod from Rylan bolstered his spirit a little, and following a nod to Sylra in agreement, Rumble followed along with a steady hand on the lantern.

Arkun makes his way forward and squats, looking at the man on the ground, then stands and pushes him over onto his back.  He examines the body for signs of trauma, disease, trying to guess the manner of demise, looking for any sign of the illness warned of on the sign.  “What happened here, let me see… just a second, everyone.”  He makes his assessment, then moves on forward, following in the wake of the others.  

Medicine : 20

OOC: Before Arkun is able to make his assessment...

The corpse places its hand over Rylan's as it rests on its shoulder, a comforting gesture to the comforting gesture for a brief moment before Rylan realizes that is not what is happening. He looks down suddenly onto a dead face that opens its eyes, its jaw hinging open unnaturally as the undead creature grips his wrist with unnatural strength and pulls itself up, nearly dragging Rylan down in its place.

Initiative:

Party: 12.8
Zombie: 3

Round 1 Order:
Players <=====
Zombie

Placement:
The zombie is engaged in melee combat with Rylan.
All combatants are within movement range.

At the sounds of alarm behind him, Aldric stops and looks back. His eyes do not widen, but narrow at the sight of the corpse getting to its feet. How could he not have realized? How did he miss the trap? Now it is poised to attack all of them.

The half-orc turns and marches back toward the group, his axe arm rising into the air, and his shield arm preparing to push Sylra out of the way if needed.

Reaching the zombie, the knight brings his axe down, aiming to sunder the creature without hitting Rylan in the process.

Attack: 12; damage: 3 8 (savage attacker feat)

Topple weapon mastery: if I hit, the zombie must roll a CON save of 11 or it's knocked prone

Rylans eyes widen with horror at the sight of the rising zombie.

Stuttering horribly, he starts to quickly choke out the incantation for his Shield of Faith spell, then realizes he doesn't have a free hand to cast it with, "Oh bollox!" he cries as he thrusts his sword at the creature...