The Blackmire Company: Campaign

"Dead goblins, gutted bear, creepy cavern, blah, blah, blah... Oh my gosh, are we there yet?!" Abigail complains to herself, as the alcohol hits her system harder than she realizes. Watching everyone else enter the cave, she pauses. "How is this a good idea? Did we not all just see the pile of dead bodies sitting here near the entrance?"

As the rest of the party starts to disappear into the darkness of the cave, Abigail starts drinking from another horn, "Well, if I am going to go die in a foreboding, dark, remote cave in some god-forsaken part of the world, I might as well be doing it drunk."

She then jogs to catch up with everyone already in the cave of certain death. 

Lafetha moves towards the shadowy area with Sim to see if she can see it better with her dark vision. She calls out, "hello, are you okay? Is anyone there? Can you hear us? We're here to help you."

If it is a person and I can see them then insight 20 to see what there intentions are ie if they are on guard/hurt/passed out....

Diadochi takes a large sniff of the air.  There certainly are smells, but none of them are gunpowder.  It could be this isn't where the figure died.  More likely, it's been too long and the smell has left due to the air and wind.

Sim points to the shadowy figure in the corner, as he and Lafetha both enter the cave.

Lafetha...

...seems to miss a beat, pausing mid step, for a moment as she walks into the cave.  

Eyes dart over to the shadowy figure.  You have a hard time trying to get a read.  It seems to be asleep but, as you study it and draw a few feet closer the truth is apparent.  The figure is dead.

Between Sim and Lafetha, one of them rolls the body over.  The familiar face of Eshe peering back up at you; dark eyes now a clouded milky white.  Dark skin losing it's color as his braids are still tossed about his head.  His legs sliding on the ground as if they're jello - the bones apparently crushed.  

Diadochi and Abigail both enter the cavern, causing the bird to caw a few more times.  Jumping from branch to branch.  It's easy to hear Abigail complaining to either Diadochi, or herself, as she walks in.  Talking a bit louder than everyone's accustomed by this point.

Yaalin enters the cave behind the others, "bloody dark in here..."  tapping her shield again Light Radiating out from it she will make her way towards the body.

Yaalin, as you step inside and begin to cast against your shield - the room lights up in a explosion of color.  Your detect magic becoming overwhelming to your eyes, as the aura the cave radiates floods your field of vision.  A swirling of colors that blind you in that exact moment you cast light out from your shield.

After a moment, you see the aura of light before you.  It's colors bleeding into the spell that's active in the room, swirling and mixing before you can no longer see its magical aura; only the radiant glow of transmutation magic flooding.  The source is easy to find, but difficult to look at.  The more you turn your head to the largest of three pools, the one with a stone pillar at the head of it that extends to the ceiling, is the source.  But to look directly at it, you have to squint.  The magical glow so bright its akin to looking directly into the noon sun.  

You do not yet know what this is.  But this magic is powerful, and old.

Diadochi will kneel by Eshe "Great Gods, what could do this to him? how did he get here?" He tries to close his friends eyes with his hand.  perception 22 investigation 12 . Diadochi gets into corners he goes into dark places, trying to figure out what happened, and how. He won't leave this part of the cave but he wants the part his friends are in thoroughly explored. 

Quote from seanodonnelloneword >>

Diadochi will kneel by Eshe "Great Gods, what could do this to him? how did he get here?" He tries to close his friends eyes with his hand.  perception 16 investigation 17 . Diadochi gets into corners he goes into dark places, trying to figure out what happened, and how. He won't leave this part of the cave but he wants the part his friends are in thoroughly explored. 

 Eshe's eyes close easily under Diadochi's hand.  Glancing down, one of Eshe's pistols can be seen by his side.  Probably was in his hand before he passed away.  It gently resting beside him.

Still, as Diadochi looks around the main cave chamber for a few minutes, he does begin to see some odd things.  Some of the stones of the pillar are not as flush as he would expect.  They could be moved, or at least it seems so.  But probably have not been touched in quite some time from the amount of moss and grime coating them.

Down one of the tunnels, Diadochi could hear a grunt and groan, followed by some..snoring?  Yes.  Something was snoring down in the tunnel.  The snore was definitely a echo, but impossible to tell if it was twenty feet away or two hundred.  The echo proving difficult to pin down further.

Rolling Passive Perception to see if Sim caught Lafetha missing a step.  9  (if he catches it he will ask her "what happened?")

Seeing the dead body of Eshe, Sim sighs. He had respected the man as a hunter and seeing him like this and his gun by his side, Sim has a pretty good idea what happened outside and his respect for Eshe went up another notch.  What happened inside the cave is a different issue.  He had heard of things that are big enough to crush a man but he had never seen a man's bones crushed to dust inside his body.

Sim then turns to eye the raven.  Red is an unusual color for the bird. Arcana 5  "And do you know what did this?" Sim asks then follows it up with "Can any of you talk to animals? Possibly of the magical variety?"

Quote from Saarkin >>

Rolling Passive Perception to see if Sim caught Lafetha missing a step.  9  (if he catches it he will ask her "what happened?")

Seeing the dead body of Eshe, Sim sighs. He had respected the man as a hunter and seeing him like this and his gun by his side, Sim has a pretty good idea what happened outside and his respect for Eshe went up another notch.  What happened inside the cave is a different issue.  He had heard of things that are big enough to crush a man but he had never seen a man's bones crushed to dust inside his body.

Sim then turns to eye the raven.  Red is an unusual color for the bird. Arcana 5  "And do you know what did this?" Sim asks then follows it up with "Can any of you talk to animals? Possibly of the magical variety?"

 Sim, you do catch Lafetha in the corner of your eye seeming to shuffle her feet a bit when walking in.  Maybe stepping wrong on a rock but it doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary or that you haven't seen her do before.  Looking at the bird, it is quite the unusual color.  You take a minute to try and remember if you've heard of anything like this in your travels.  But for the moment end up drawing a blank.

The raven looks back at you, tilting it's head to the side.  Caw 

" Would advise no one touch that pool," looking around the room attempting to adjust to the cacophony of colors bombarding my senses. "I suspect his place is not exactly what it appears to be" ((I will attempt to describe the scene as I see it to the group emphasizing the power level of the Magic from the pool))

I will shuffle slowly closer to the pool with my eyes averted and poke the end of my staff into the water.

Quote from Elitist_Scrub >>

" Would advise no one touch that pool," looking around the room attempting to adjust to the cacophony of colors bombarding my senses. "I suspect his place is not exactly what it appears to be" ((I will attempt to describe the scene as I see it to the group emphasizing the power level of the Magic from the pool))

I will shuffle slowly closer to the pool with my eyes averted and poke the end of my staff into the water.

 Yaalin describes to the best of her ability what she sees about the room and it's magical nature.  As she approaches the center pool, the staff taps the water.  It moves and bobs like one would expect water to do.  Moving the staff through, it feels like water as well.  You're not able to tell exactly how deep the pool is, besides it being longer than however long your staff is.  The combination of magical auras, and it's natural glow obfuscating it's depth.

The crow, however, begins cawing up a storm.  Hopping over to be in the ceiling branches closer to Yaalin, cawing over and over.

Abigail, becoming agitated at the crow's loud caws, has a strong instinctual desire to chase it.

Looking up at it she says, much louder than she ought, "Shut it bird brain. Your frantic calls are trying enough without the cave echoing your cacophony. Perhaps I should make a meal of you? Aid my ears and stomach all in one go. You know, kill two birds with one..." Abigail pauses, "...bird."

Realizing that she is drunk, Abigail exclaims, "Damn it, what was in those drinking horns?" 

Seeing the Crow freaking out Sim says "I wouldn't do that if I were you.  That there Raven seems to be intelligent enough to respond to what it sees and hears and I don't think he wants you to touch the pool."

Sim then turns to bend down and inspect Eshe more thoroughly.  Looking for anything that could indicate what happened to him.  investigation 12

I pick up his pistol and admire it.  "I will carry this to honor your sacrifice." then sim begins reloading the pistol and stores it for future needs.

Quote from Saarkin >>

Seeing the Crow freaking out Sim says "I wouldn't do that if I were you.  That there Raven seems to be intelligent enough to respond to what it sees and hears and I don't think he wants you to touch the pool."

Sim then turns to bend down and inspect Eshe more thoroughly.  Looking for anything that could indicate what happened to him.  investigation 16

I pick up his pistol and admire it.  "I will carry this to honor your sacrifice." then sim begins reloading the pistol and stores it for future needs.

 As you roll and maneuver Eshe's body, you're able to see what look to be wounds from blades, arrows, and other signs of combat.  His clothing has a dried caked layer of blood on it.  Some of it his.  Some of it goblin.  The rest could very well be that bear.  Short sword near him appears to be bent from some kind of impact; some stained goblin blood on that blade as well.  Arrowheads pepper his chest, appearing to have broken off the shaft during the fight or soon after, but unable to dig them out entirely.  Yanking one out, they're the familiar kind the Goblin raiders used back in the town.  A crude arrowhead made of stone; takes awhile to make but stone is in no short supply here.

(You find on Eshe:)

 You glance back to the entrance of the cave; that faint blood trail heading this way.  You don't think he had his bones pulverized until after getting into the cave.  He likely got into a fight with the Goblins.  Hid inside the bear, either to hide or to attempt to rest from the elements.  After, he came into the cave where he gave into his injures or was crushed and killed.

Diadochi stands in front of the tunnel where he heard the snoring, before he can tell the other's what he hears, the crow starts cawing loudly. He winces. The Abigail starts to loudly berate the bird. He speaks as though in a mock whisper "There is something else in this cave!"  the turns back to the tunnel, the snoring has stopped. A set of cold familiar eyes open up in the darkness, a deep gravelly voice "These fools play in darkness they do not know. The have neither the will nor the strength to do what needs to be done. But you know all about lacking strength, don't you?" A giant Loxodon hand comes out of the shadows and grabs Diadochi by the throat. Diadochi starts to quietly choke, He reaches into his pack, pulls a torch and lights it. There is no hand, no eyes. He looks back to his companions, and says very quietly "they are stronger than you know."   Then he goes down the tunnel whether he hears the snoring or not.

Lafetha agreeing with Sim, "yeah, funny how he reacts when you put your staff in the water."

She thinks back to see if she has ever heard anything about these pools, and what they might be Arcana 6. She thinks to herself, "Also, this bird, could it transform? It is maybe the snake I saw in my vision?" Arcana 16

Lafetha, as you look past the pool that Yaalin is investigating you take no note of anything special.  It’s a pool of water; could be a pool that was used for scrying.  Or perhaps it was used to help grow a sacred tree?  Many Druidic circles focus on the trees and nature - with the root like structure above it does make sense.  But you continue to look around at the raven.  The intelligence in it’s eyes suggests its more than what it seems.

You’ve heard loosely of serpents that can change forms.  While you don’t recall any direct information about such creatures, you do remember hearing that they normally as forces of good, rather than ill.  If such stories are true, at least.  There is something connecting it all though.  You find this beast, a red raven - after staying and helping protect the Blood Raven.  Still, those in the chamber hear Lafetha make a reference to her vision.  The bird caws a few more times at her.

Meanwhile...

Diadochi begins to head down the tunnel.  The smell and the sounds getting louder.  Eventually, there’s a grumble.  Followed by the sounds of a animal.  Then a voice.  It carrying past Diadochi and into the main chamber.  A low, deep, rumbling voice that simply sounds... frustrated.  Them come the sounds of something moving... then the eyes.  Diadochi, about thirty feet down the tunnel, sees the shadow of a brown bear.  A moment after, a ten foot tall shadow that sees his torch.

”SNACK” 

The voice booms out in common.  Diadochi about twenty five feet away from a bear, and a Ogre.  Both beginning to charge at Diadochi.

((I’ll need initiative rolls from everyone and your actions))

ROUND 1 (BEGIN)

Set-up:  Abigail, Sim, Yaalin, and Lafetha are all in the main cavern, which is lit with low light and Yaalin’s bright shield.  Everyone is about 40 feet away from the tunnel you now hear the words, and the charging Ogre.  The tunnel is about fifteen feet wide, making it a tight squeeze for too many people to go on top of each other.  Diadochi is about 30 feet away from the opening of the tunnel, with a bear and a ogre racing towards him, each about 25 feet away.

Initiative Order:  (Will edit accordingly)

DM Rolls

 Initiative: 7

Diadochi looks at the bear and then Ogre "the only thing that doesn't make sense now is how the scroll got into the other bear."  

Move to the ogre, tacking an attack of opportunity from the bear if he needs to, Then swing down with his Warhammer on the ogre's knee cap Attack: 6 Damage: 10 and use Action Surge and swing up at the ogre's face Attack: 5 Damage: 6. 

(On initiative count 17) The bear will move to engage whoever is the closest person to it.  Giving off a annoyed grunt as it swings with it’s claw, followed up by attempting to bite the same person.

Claw Attack: 12 Damage: 9

BiteAttack: 23 Damage: 10

If attack of opportunity occurs: Attack: 8 Damage: 11

(On initiative count 0) The ogre will shout something, the only word folks can understand is snack.  It brings up a giant rock on a stick, swinging it down at the nearest thing it assumes is a snack.

Attack: 13 Damage: 9

(If nobody is around, it’ll move to closest tasty person and attack)