Waterdeep: Camel Heist (2020)

 Strix joins Varinth at the door and - if there's no objections - opens it. Carefully.

Varinth will back away from the door as Strix opens it and Readies his Produce Flame 23  Damage: 8

Strix, the door opens onto an intersection, with tunnels leading straight ahead (south) and also east and west.  You can see that the tunnel south very quickly opens into a large cavern, though you cannot see much of what's in the cavern from here.

Can I use that readied Produce Flame to lob the little ball of flame down the south corridor and perhaps get a glimpse of what the cavern looks like?

Varinth, your ball of fire does give a little illumination as it flies down the corridor and just makes it into the cavern before it dissipates.  But it doesn't really tell you much; it's the angle more than anything that's stopping you seeing a clear view of the cavern.  There doesn't appear to be any response to your fire; perhaps that means the cavern has no creatures in it?  

Strix creeps forward, motioning Varinth to hold off for a minute.

Assuming it's dark, rolling with disadvantage : Perception 18

Scupper puts the boots on and makes a mental note to look for things that might give old Dek a better chance at being a shield wall...maybe a better shield.

Perception with Disadvantage 7

Stealth (should that advantage in the murky black? Rolling without advantage) 18

Maybe we should send a light arrow to one side and then after we get a feel, send another to the other, just. I can see feck all about now.

Strix and Scupper, you pass by the crossroad like shadows, and enter the cavern from its northern side. 

Many tunnels intersect at this natural, thirty-foot-high cavern. The walls are carved with simple reliefs showing dwarf and gnome miners hard at work. Below them, nearly two dozen skeletons in rusted scraps of armor are scattered across the cavern floor. Some are dwarf skeletons, while others are orc remains. Half a dozen large brass lanterns stand in niches or on ledges around the cavern, but none are lit.  You would guess that this was once the main entrance to the mine.

The passage west looks to head back to an area you've explored before; tunnels east and south head onwards.

Dekhan will examine the lanterns and see if any are  still functional 

Varinth will take a swig of wine while he waits for some kind of sign to continue

Incantis looks awed at the carvings on the walls and the corpses. “Looks like we found the entrance,” he says. “The light arrow could be good, to get a scope.”

((Does anyone have <30 movement or who finds themselves jumping a lot?))

18

Dekhan, the lanterns are made of metal; though somewhat rusted, they might still work with the right fuel.

(sorry... thought we'd already figured it. Halfling < 30 dex based character. ; )

Scupper looks at Dekhan inspecting the lamps

"I still have an oil flask...how many lanterns could we get going? Also, I have a hooded lamp if we're at that point, Dek."

He tosses the oil flask to Dekhan, and sets the lantern near Vaz. His voice comes out of the shadows "I'm sure ye can do something with this...firewalker"

Then he moves back and heads East to the Northern opening about 15 feet that direction. Scupper stays in the darkest parts of the place hoping to just expand their idea of the layout as opposed to deep searching...

Varinth will use his pyro powers to light torches, happy to push away the darkness.

As Scupper is moving north, and Varinth begins to draw on his magic to light the first torch, the silence of the mine is suddenly replaced by a rush of sound.  Not the same sound that you've heard twice before, but something different, a flapping noise, coming from above.  You just have time to glance up and react before the onslaught is upon you, and you find yourselves surrounded by tiny flying, and very familiar, little creatures.

Everyone roll initiative.

9 19 21

Initiative 9