BE7s Frozen Sick (IC)

Vayne drops his pack to the floor, roots around for a few seconds, then emerges with a coil of rope.  "Back to back," he orders the beat down elves.  He gives one more quick search for any stashed blades and finds nothing.  He proceeds to bind their hands behind them before binding them back to back.  "I want my rope back.  If either of you think to try and somehow cut free I will find you and finish the job myself. "

"Lead on," he says, offering a slight bow and sweeping gesture with his arm towards the door.

Kitsune methodically adjusts her winter gear, pulling the thick furs tight against the biting chill to preserve her internal temperature.  "The environment is hostile...we should minimize exposure while maintaining our pace to the cave" she notes, signaling the group toward the exit.  Stepping back into the snow, she lowers her goggles and begins scanning the ground for the specific gait and depth of the bandits' retreat.

Survival check (to find the best trail to Croaker Cave): 17

The path to Croaker Cave is not difficult to find.  You travel due north, veering slightly west as you near the coast.  Keeping the ocean to the right, you enjoy a relatively peaceful walk.  The smell of the sea, gray sky, and snow covered landscape were your constant companions.  After an hour or so the terrain begins to change, becoming more rocky and difficult to traverse.  You work your way closer to the surf, eyes on the cliffs looming in the distance.  After another 15 minutes you see a large cave opening at the base of the cliff.

***OoC: pause here for everyone to catch up.  If you wanted to do something before hitting the road, we can work it in.  Croaker Cave lies before you.  What do you do?***

Torvil may wish to have a short rest to heal up, ready ourselves for this next step.  He would ask Kitsune, “What do you make out of what we found back there?  Any idea of the nature of this illness?  Any speriments you need to set up?”

***Figuring in the time after fighting the bandits, another 45 minutes gets it.  The party gets the benefit of a short rest.  Current in game time is 1 pm.***

After the trek up to Croaker Cave, Akira utilizes this rest time to sit down and meditate for a bit, then check her pack and organize it a little bit before heading into the cave. 
“My mentor instilled in me the importance of a calm and clear mind and body before entering upon things like which we see before us. In case something awaits us the moment we enter, I’ll have more of a level head to make quicker and more logical decisions.” 
She sees that her thieves’ tools are still wrapped in their leather bindings, her cards are still tied together, and her healer’s kit is also still in tact. 
Akira then stands up and waits patiently for her fellow adventurers to arise from their rested positions and is ready to enter the cave at a moment’s notice.

Kitsune uses the rest period to check her weapons, her movements precise and mechanical as she wipes the condensation from her goggles.  "The data is insufficient for a full diagnosis, Torvil, but the rapid crystallization of tissue suggests a magical catalyst...likely a weaponized frost effect or a localized environmental contagion" she explains, her gaze fixed on the looming cave mouth.  She stands as Akira finishes her meditation, her posture shifting back into an active combat stance.  "Maintaining cognitive clarity is logical...the cave’s acoustics and terrain will likely impose a penalty on our reaction times if we proceed without a structured entry plan."

Dark, heavy gray clouds are rolling in from the sea.  The wind is beginning to pick up, and it looks as if there is a band of heavy snow falling off-shore.  As the surf builds in intensity with the incoming storm, waves crash into the rocky shoreline.  The spray is quickly freezing to the rocks, leaving an oddly beautiful layer of slowly building ice.

***OoC:  Perception check please, from everyone. *** 

Torvil perception : 21

Torvil and Vayne:  (Perception check DC 20)

Kitsune Perception check: 9

Vayne quickly points out what he saw.  Two figures in the distance, hooded and making their way in the direction of the cave. 

***Any PC actions relates to the new information?***

Perception: 17

Kitsune’s eyes narrow as she stares into the swirling wind, her face tightening with frustration when the heavy spray blurs her vision.  "The shadows are shifting too quickly for my lenses...this storm is a chaotic veil I cannot pierce" she murmurs, her voice a low rasp that carries the weight of her concentration and frustration.

She shifts her grip on her blade, her movements possessing a haunting, liquid grace as she finally locks onto the distant figures Vayne pointed out.  "They move like those who fear the end, yet they walk straight into the grave's mouth" she observes, her gaze drifting momentarily to the freezing surf.  "We should use this growing gloom to our advantage...the transition from life to the void is swifter when the target cannot see the blade coming."

Stealth skillcheck to make sure she's fully hidden from the cloaked figures: 14

You can barely see them, they are making slow but steady progress.  They have given no indication that they have noticed the party.  You speculate that they will be impossible to see in about 30 seconds.

Akira states:

”We move as a whole, two by two. Torvil, you and I will take up the front, Kitsune and Vayne the rear. We walk low and possibly slow depending on the acoustics of the cave. Every step we make may make an echo and if we can avoid making noise we may avoid potential predators. Masks on, hoods up, and gloves on if you have them. We are going to risk exposure to anything and everything that we can.” She places her gloves on her hands, mask on her face, and moves her hood onto her head.

Akira crouches down bow at the ready in her left hand and right hand placed on the back of an arrow.

”Be ready adventurers, ANYTHING could be in there” she states with a slight crack in her voice.

Stealth check: 22

Kitsune acknowledges the command with a slow, fluid incline of her head, her gray cloak snapping in the rising wind as she retreats into the deepening gloom.  "The shadows are our only true allies in this waste" she murmurs, her voice barely a whisper above the crashing surf.  She falls into step behind Akira and Torvil, her boots finding the silent patches of soft snow and damp stone with the practiced grace of one who has walked the edges of the void.

She pulls her cowl lower, her pale eyes scanning the darkness between her companions silhouettes for any sign that the hooded figures have turned.  "Let the cold take the sound of our passing...we move as ghosts before the harvest" she adds, her hand resting light but ready on the hilt of her blade as they approach the cave's yawning mouth.

Perception check to make sure we're not being followed or flanked: 22

The crashing of the surf and thick, puffy flakes of snow make it a simple task to move unseen towards the mouth of the cave.  As you near the entrance:

You carefully approach the mouth of Croaker Cave.  You easily find two sets of fresh tracks heading into the cave, but at the rate the snow is falling, they will be covered back up in short order.  The mouth of the cave is about ten by ten feet.  It turns gently to the right about twenty feet in.  It is an unworked natural cavern from the little you can see. The slow dripping of water sounds out where it falls from stalactites somewhere from the tunnel ahead. Every few moments, a loud croaking sounds out from somewhere in the darkness beyond the bend in the cave.