Brask will buy two handaxes if he can (5gp each), a crowbar (2gp), a grappling hook (2gp), a tent (2 gp), a shovel (2gp) and an extra length of rope (1gp). He will look at a miner's pick and then ask Burik: This is a pick, right? Do we need a pick? What's it for anyway?
Burik will tell them of the layout, but leaves out what was mined where (doesn't want them going crazy over gold/gems that won't even be there). He'll also say where 'his' group went missing.
OK, so Burik basically tells the others that the first level is a bunch of old dwarven homes, with two areas splitting off to the right and left. Each contains more dwellings. Straight ahead is the great hall and stairs leading down into the deeper mines. If you keep going left at the next two forks, you'll reach the area where his crew went missing.
If there's nothing else to do or say, I'll get you all into the mine next time I'm online. Leaving work right now.
You head up to the mine entrance around mid-morning. It's only a short walk from the village into the base of the mountains. There are some small, stunted trees sitting around the entrance to the mine, but above the entrance is nothing but a steep slope of ice and rock traveling up the side of the White Wind Mountains. You step inside and are greeted by stale, slightly musty air and increasing darkness. Burik's axe and some torchlight are enough to illuminate the first area you pass through. Stone dwarven dwellings line the walls, and some cavernous holes branch off in each direction. Straight ahead you can see the mine opening into a large great hall, with the remnants of rotting tables and chairs. They're partly cleaned up - at least enough to leave a trail for miners to get through easily.
Shadows dance across the walls as you move the sources of light through the mine. At the back of the great hall, a set of crude stone stairs lead downward. Burik leads you confidently into the depths of the mine, through an increasingly tight tunnel. There's still plenty of room for most of you to move through, although Brask has to avoid smacking his head in a few places.
As you reach the bottom of the stairs and the tunnel begins to flatten out again, it opens up and branches to the right and to the left. Suddenly, you hear voices. A faint torchlight grows brighter as three dwarven miners come from the right, talking and carrying equipment and heavy canvas sacks. They don't seem particularly surprised to see you down here, and one of them smiles and nods as they move past.
Burik points his flaming axe to the left and lights up the path as you keep moving. The tunnels get narrower and wider again until you reach another fork. Again, Burik moves the party to the left. The mine again grows narrow and this time doesn't seem to be opening back up. Brask is hunching over quite a bit now, but is still able to stand. Finally, you reach an area that is somehow...darker, despite being lit up by your light sources. The shadows are darker here, and at the far end of what you can see, lies a small opening at the top of a pile of fallen rocks. Burik pauses. This is where it happened.
Burik pauses as he passes the dwellings near the entrance, almost seeming to look into the past, at what was once here. When they reach the dark area, Burik stops abruptly, clearly not happy about entering even the outskirts of this place.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Sensing something amiss, Effort casts guidance on herself. Then she says to Cadmael, who is on her shoulders, "Lend me your eyes for a moment, my friend." Her vision swims, then switches to Cadmael's superior nightvision as she looks through his eyes at their surroundings.
Arcana: 19 (with advantage from Cadmael?: 15 ) plus Guidance: 1
(would have been 15 with or without advantage, boo Cadmael)
Effort, as you move through the tunnels you slowly start to feel something...strange. Not quite good or bad...just something you can't quite place. By the time you reach this place, you come to recognize that the feeling is somehow related to your magic. You feel...stronger? Gain one point of inspiration to be used at your discretion.
Burik, you've felt a pull to this place for a long time, and it's only grown stronger now that you're back inside the mountain. This is the furthest you've been, and as far as you know, the farthest any dwarf has been. Yet there is something still calling to you beyond the rock fall...just through the dark opening...
Brask, if you are recalling correctly, there was a little bit of goat leftover from last night. If you can get back quickly enough, perhaps the Darkmines will let you have it for lunch...
Let me know how you proceed from here, and what your marching order is. The opening of the tunnel has become to narrow to walk side-by-side.
Effort's steps grow mechanical, as her eyes lose focus. This feeling of familiarity overwhelms her, and she hardly realizes it when she begins to speak.
"Ep torchlight, gn'th'bthnkor llll sweaty ahororr'e; Ep frosty silence ph'nglui n'ghft; Ep agony ph'nglui stony agll - Crying ng shouting, Ah'ehyeagl ng agl ng reverberation, Ot thunder ot ph' nafl'fhtagn looming mountains! H' mgepah ah'lw'nafh ah hai mglw'nafh, C' ahf' mgepah ah'lw'nafh ah hai ah'mglw'nafh. llll little patience..."
(In Abyssal language:)
After the torchlight, red on sweaty faces; After the frosty silence in the darkness; After the agony in stony places - The crying and the shouting, Prison and place and reverberation, Of thunder of spring over looming mountains! He was living is now dead, We who were living are now dying... With a little patience.
Cadmael, on her shoulder, is sitting still as a statue, the pulsing strands of blue and green light within his eyes glowing unnaturally in the darkness.
As Effort starts to pass Burik, who also feels compelled to walk forward, he places a hand on her shoulder. Starting to hold her back if her daze continues. "Whatever is beyond, is dangerous. They speak of horrors, of aberrations in the deep dark. And right now, we're looking at the deep dark." Seeing Brask seemingly daydreaming a bit, Burik will nudge him. "We'll need our wits about us if we push onwards, and our minds clear" Giving Effort a small shake with that last part.
He'll then cast Light on a small rock or something and throw it as far forward as he can.
Wits,replies Brask. Yeah, sure, wits and stuff. He pulls out his maul. So, horrors and aberrations. Great. We are getting paid for this, right? No? He gives an exaggerated sigh. Well, lead on then, let's get this finished and get back to more important things.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
You all follow the path of dim light as it travels through the air, arcing up and over the pile of fallen rubble. As the light fades, for a split second, Burik and Effort think they catch a bit of movement on the ceiling of the tunnel. Before they can react or process anything, Cadmael flaps and jumps backward off of Effort's shoulder. Watch out!
Something resembling a long, white rope whips itself downward, narrowly missing Effort. Burik ducks out of the way just in time, but the strand keeps swinging until it smacks up against Brask's chest. It makes a strange noise as it seems to stick to Brask's fur. Brask, roll a DC13 strength check with disadvantage or become grappled.
As Brask reacts and starts to struggle, the rest of you see the creature emerging from the dark. Burik's flaming axe casts light against the ceiling as the pale monstrosity crawls out into the open, revealing it's eight insectoid legs and two huge forelimbs which both bear enormous, razor-sharp claws. It's segmented body tapers at the back, but at the front is a grotesque, blunted face resembling a spider or scorpion.
Brask will buy two handaxes if he can (5gp each), a crowbar (2gp), a grappling hook (2gp), a tent (2 gp), a shovel (2gp) and an extra length of rope (1gp). He will look at a miner's pick and then ask Burik: This is a pick, right? Do we need a pick? What's it for anyway?
Burik will tell them of the layout, but leaves out what was mined where (doesn't want them going crazy over gold/gems that won't even be there). He'll also say where 'his' group went missing.
OK, so Burik basically tells the others that the first level is a bunch of old dwarven homes, with two areas splitting off to the right and left. Each contains more dwellings. Straight ahead is the great hall and stairs leading down into the deeper mines. If you keep going left at the next two forks, you'll reach the area where his crew went missing.
If there's nothing else to do or say, I'll get you all into the mine next time I'm online. Leaving work right now.
DM - Above & Below
You head up to the mine entrance around mid-morning. It's only a short walk from the village into the base of the mountains. There are some small, stunted trees sitting around the entrance to the mine, but above the entrance is nothing but a steep slope of ice and rock traveling up the side of the White Wind Mountains. You step inside and are greeted by stale, slightly musty air and increasing darkness. Burik's axe and some torchlight are enough to illuminate the first area you pass through. Stone dwarven dwellings line the walls, and some cavernous holes branch off in each direction. Straight ahead you can see the mine opening into a large great hall, with the remnants of rotting tables and chairs. They're partly cleaned up - at least enough to leave a trail for miners to get through easily.
Shadows dance across the walls as you move the sources of light through the mine. At the back of the great hall, a set of crude stone stairs lead downward. Burik leads you confidently into the depths of the mine, through an increasingly tight tunnel. There's still plenty of room for most of you to move through, although Brask has to avoid smacking his head in a few places.
As you reach the bottom of the stairs and the tunnel begins to flatten out again, it opens up and branches to the right and to the left. Suddenly, you hear voices. A faint torchlight grows brighter as three dwarven miners come from the right, talking and carrying equipment and heavy canvas sacks. They don't seem particularly surprised to see you down here, and one of them smiles and nods as they move past.
Burik points his flaming axe to the left and lights up the path as you keep moving. The tunnels get narrower and wider again until you reach another fork. Again, Burik moves the party to the left. The mine again grows narrow and this time doesn't seem to be opening back up. Brask is hunching over quite a bit now, but is still able to stand. Finally, you reach an area that is somehow...darker, despite being lit up by your light sources. The shadows are darker here, and at the far end of what you can see, lies a small opening at the top of a pile of fallen rocks. Burik pauses. This is where it happened.
DM - Above & Below
Burik, roll religion.
Effort, roll arcana.
Brask, roll perception.
DM - Above & Below
Religion 12
Burik pauses as he passes the dwellings near the entrance, almost seeming to look into the past, at what was once here. When they reach the dark area, Burik stops abruptly, clearly not happy about entering even the outskirts of this place.
Brask's Perception: 10
(He's wearing his goggles. He's also not really paying attention. It's been a while now since breakfast and he's thinking about lunch.)
Sensing something amiss, Effort casts guidance on herself. Then she says to Cadmael, who is on her shoulders, "Lend me your eyes for a moment, my friend." Her vision swims, then switches to Cadmael's superior nightvision as she looks through his eyes at their surroundings.
Arcana: 19
(with advantage from Cadmael?: 15 )
plus Guidance: 1
(would have been 15 with or without advantage, boo Cadmael)
Effort, as you move through the tunnels you slowly start to feel something...strange. Not quite good or bad...just something you can't quite place. By the time you reach this place, you come to recognize that the feeling is somehow related to your magic. You feel...stronger? Gain one point of inspiration to be used at your discretion.
Burik, you've felt a pull to this place for a long time, and it's only grown stronger now that you're back inside the mountain. This is the furthest you've been, and as far as you know, the farthest any dwarf has been. Yet there is something still calling to you beyond the rock fall...just through the dark opening...
Brask, if you are recalling correctly, there was a little bit of goat leftover from last night. If you can get back quickly enough, perhaps the Darkmines will let you have it for lunch...
Let me know how you proceed from here, and what your marching order is. The opening of the tunnel has become to narrow to walk side-by-side.
DM - Above & Below
Effort's steps grow mechanical, as her eyes lose focus. This feeling of familiarity overwhelms her, and she hardly realizes it when she begins to speak.
"Ep torchlight, gn'th'bthnkor llll sweaty ahororr'e;
Ep frosty silence ph'nglui n'ghft;
Ep agony ph'nglui stony agll -
Crying ng shouting,
Ah'ehyeagl ng agl ng reverberation,
Ot thunder ot ph' nafl'fhtagn looming mountains!
H' mgepah ah'lw'nafh ah hai mglw'nafh,
C' ahf' mgepah ah'lw'nafh ah hai ah'mglw'nafh.
llll little patience..."
(In Abyssal language:)
After the torchlight, red on sweaty faces;
After the frosty silence in the darkness;
After the agony in stony places -
The crying and the shouting,
Prison and place and reverberation,
Of thunder of spring over looming mountains!
He was living is now dead,
We who were living are now dying...
With a little patience.
Cadmael, on her shoulder, is sitting still as a statue, the pulsing strands of blue and green light within his eyes glowing unnaturally in the darkness.
As Effort starts to pass Burik, who also feels compelled to walk forward, he places a hand on her shoulder. Starting to hold her back if her daze continues. "Whatever is beyond, is dangerous. They speak of horrors, of aberrations in the deep dark. And right now, we're looking at the deep dark." Seeing Brask seemingly daydreaming a bit, Burik will nudge him. "We'll need our wits about us if we push onwards, and our minds clear" Giving Effort a small shake with that last part.
He'll then cast Light on a small rock or something and throw it as far forward as he can.
Wits, replies Brask. Yeah, sure, wits and stuff. He pulls out his maul. So, horrors and aberrations. Great. We are getting paid for this, right? No? He gives an exaggerated sigh. Well, lead on then, let's get this finished and get back to more important things.
Everyone, roll a perception check as Burik throws the illuminated stone.
DM - Above & Below
Effort snaps out of her daze, casting guidance on herself to clear her head.
Effort Perception: 13 + 1
Cadmael continues to watch silently.
Cadmael Perception: 16
15
Brask's Perception 4
You all follow the path of dim light as it travels through the air, arcing up and over the pile of fallen rubble. As the light fades, for a split second, Burik and Effort think they catch a bit of movement on the ceiling of the tunnel. Before they can react or process anything, Cadmael flaps and jumps backward off of Effort's shoulder. Watch out!
Something resembling a long, white rope whips itself downward, narrowly missing Effort. Burik ducks out of the way just in time, but the strand keeps swinging until it smacks up against Brask's chest. It makes a strange noise as it seems to stick to Brask's fur. Brask, roll a DC13 strength check with disadvantage or become grappled.
As Brask reacts and starts to struggle, the rest of you see the creature emerging from the dark. Burik's flaming axe casts light against the ceiling as the pale monstrosity crawls out into the open, revealing it's eight insectoid legs and two huge forelimbs which both bear enormous, razor-sharp claws. It's segmented body tapers at the back, but at the front is a grotesque, blunted face resembling a spider or scorpion.
Everyone, roll initiative.
Cave Fisher: 2
DM - Above & Below
Effort: 3
Cadmael: 7
Initiative 5
Brask's initiative: 4