This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Kicking the wolf off of his arm, Gnippen hurls a loud gnomish curse back towards the wolf. This is not how he imagined the day progressing when he woke up this morning.
Gnippen reaches back for his war pick, the loosened lance clatters onto the cave floor. "Let's finish him fast! This commotion is sure to attract attention!"
Tim takes the dodge action. Gnippen drops the lance to the ground. As part of the move action Gnippen retrieves his war pick. Gnippen's action is spent attacking the remaining wolf with the war pick.
The wolf, as it tries to tear at Gnippen but has teeth stuck in his ringmail, shakes violently just as Feredir makes his strike. Only one blade sings true, but the pained yelp is obvious. As Gnippen kicks the wolf clear and readies his warpick, a swift strike to the skull drops the wolf to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
As you quickly catch your breath, you hear no more sounds coming from further inside the cavern. You cannot see much past the entrance from your position.
Sia shouts from outside. "Figured you had it covered, well done!"
Gnippen re-holsters his war pick jumps off of Tim, picks up his lance, and drapes it across his back.
"Glad you could join us Sia. Feredir, you seem to travel light of foot. Think you could venture ahead and see if there is anything lying in wait for us without alerting it? It may be best to either clear these caves entirely before resting or camp a few miles away and return in the morning."
Feredir carefully steps over the corpses of the wolves, each footfall landing in complete silence. At one point, Tim shifts and is about to loudly shake his head to relieve an itch, but Feredir senses it and applies a quick scratch behind an ear to silence the animal.
Fifteen feet from where the scuffle with the wolves occurred, the cavern opens up, a small rivulet of water flowing from an underground pond, ten feet in diameter. Solid stone walls and a ten foot shelf arc around the pond, smooth and clean, if somewhat damp. You hear the trickle of water, the calming sound of water dripping down the side of the cavern wall into the pond from a crack in the limestone above.
The darkness inside the cavern is unable to hide anything from Feredir's keen eyes. Inside the cavern chamber are no additional threats, nor are there any further extensions of the cave into the hillside. There is a small camp made, three bedrolls of rough-sewn leather and fur and a few small satchels along one wall. You see an iron rod on the floor of the cavern, bent and surrounded by loosened stones, which you surmise held the wolves at bay for a short while before being pulled from its anchor point in the stone wall.
In addition, you see what appears to be a simple sled, made of two sturdy wooden shafts with a hempen cloth platform between them. It appears that the front of the sled could have been attached to the collars of the wolves to provide a quick transport. Lashed on top of the sled is a rough timber container, made of tar-blackened wood planks banded by iron, with an iron padlock on the front and sturdy hinges on the rear.
Watching Feredir search the cavern and beginning to feel at ease, Gnippen wanders over to inspect the sled. His hands run along its side checking the structures integrity until he reaches the collar. A quizzical look appears upon the small gnomes face as he glances back towards Tim. Tim undoubtedly reading Gnippen's mind looks up at Gnippen and let's loose a shrill whine. "All right, all right boy. We won't take the sled with us. Would have been nice though..."
Try opening the chest with your key Feredir! Additionally, did you ever mark down all the items and gold you received earlier on from the Orcs? If you did not I can start keeping track for the group.
Sliding the key into the lock, you find that it fits easily. With a twist of the hand, you hear an audible click, and the latch is released from the iron padlock.
Inside the chest, you find four cloth sacks containing a total of 37 gp, 35 sp, and 104 cp. You also find a quartz geode, about the size of a fist. It has been split into two halves, revealing the glittering white crystals within. In addition, there are a pair of long jagged daggers inside the chest, marked with the same symbol that Feredir noticed on the horn. Some additional rations, mostly dried jerky from some unknown animal, are wrapped up in a strip of burlap.
To re-engage everyone, the party should decide whether to set up camp here or proceed further into the mountains. The sun is but a orange glow past the horizon, and darkness falls in the forested foothills. Given the later start in the day before you left Phandalin, you could potentially travel another 2-3 hours without exhaustion.
You take stock of the cave and the surrounding woods. The cave entrance can easily be camouflaged using some of the surrounding plants, and the curving passage to the main cave chamber should keep any light from the main chamber from being visible outside. You see a decent amount of wood and kindling in the nearby area that you can use to make a fire that should not produce any smoke. There is a chance that scavengers might go for the corpses of the orcs and wolves if left unattended and in their current location.
Gnippen:
Tinker Tools (Int): 16
You are able to take the coinage and other items from the iron-bound chest, and put them safely into one of Tim's saddlebags. A decent haul, once you get a chance to split it with your fellows.
Looking at the geode, you think about potential uses in gadgetry and the worth to a decent artificer. You could probably get 50gp from the quartz inside, or use some of the crystals to power up a gadget or two.
Elyham:
As you look around the cave, you realize it's getting very dark inside. You spot a torch next to the sled with your darkvision, and while you can see objects decently enough in the dark, it's still very dull and dreary. With a quick flick of the hand and snap of the finger, the torchhead ignites, providing a nice enough reading light. Your mind drifts to the tome in your pack, or the case with your mapmaking set.
Cartographer Tools (Int) 2
You are confident you can accurately map out the path you've taken so far.
"Let's camp here in the cave, though Tim despises the smell of the dead wolves, it is likely safer within here than it would be out in the forest. We can have stealthy sentinels watching the entrance all night, and the cave will allow us to freely build a large fire for warmth and food. Additionally, I'd like to take a closer look at this quartz. While the trail for your friends may be growing colder, that ambush took a little too much out of us."
Gnippen proceeds to use his war-pick to dislodge the larger sections of quartz. For the sections requiring finer movements Gnippen puts down the war-pick and uses the dentist-like Tinker tools.
"Good idea Gnippen - I'll start looking for some wood to build a fire with. Will Tim have any oppositions to us feasting on wolf meat tonight?" Elyham says with a smirk on her face. "If he does... I have plenty of jerky left over for his to nibble on!"
Elyham sets to work arranging some loose limbs into a makeshift fire, large enough to warm the interior of the cavern without giving out too much light from the entrance. After finishing her teepee of wooden whimsy, she stands back and waves her arms in a small circle, snapping her fingers as they come back to meet in the center. A fire blossoms in the bottom of the pit, sending a warm glow throughout the cavern. Elyham retreats to a corner of the cave, opens her book, and starts flipping through the incantations.
"Indeed, Gnippen. I fear any impetuous advance will surely be met with an unfortunate end." Feredir finishes concealing the entrance of the cave with the surrounding foliage and long grass.
"Before we retire inside, give me a hand with these dead orcs. They are sure to attract foul creatures and enemies fouler still if we simply leave them to rot in the open."
Feredir attends to the bodies, scouting nearby terrain to find a suitable gully, ridge or open ditch and covering the bloody remains with loose vegetation and soil.
Survival? Nature? 7
Finishing this laborious chore, Feredir enters the cave and falls upon one of the makeshift bedrolls.
"Tim may be fine feasting on his distant cousins Elyham, but I will likely wait for healthier fare. Feredir, I can take the first watch. You and Feredir look like you could use the rest."
As Gnippen finishes speaking he clasps his hands together and touches his injured leg. The bite marks from the wolf appear to close and all superficial traces of the wounds across his small body disappear.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Feredir:
I'll call it Survival, and since you are still in the forest you get double proficiency, so a +6 on the 1d20 roll.
You are able to haul the bodies away from the cave area, and take some loose and dead foliage and cover them up. You notice that one of the orcs has left a trail of blood as you drug the body to its makeshift grave, you kick and brush some of it away but eventually give up as the dark of night covers the forest and your darkvision can't distinguish the blood from the greenery.
If someone wants to butcher the wolves for a meal, survival roll please, and I'll write that in.
Gnippen Perception 15
Gnippen:
You settle down, propped up on a small outcropping on the cavern wall where you can just see the outside environment through some of the foliage blocking the cave entrance. The first hour is calm, and boring. Your mind drifts, you thinks about the day's travel through the forest and how it felt to fight astride Tim again. Looking down at your feet, you realize there is still some dried stew coating the metal rings reinforcing your boots. Taking out your trusty rag, you start polishing with a laser focus. So focused, that in two hours you have completely cleaned every speck and spot of mud, blood, and stew off your footwear, armor, weapons, Tim's saddle, and everything else. Satisfied with a job well done, you quickly realize you haven't looked outside a single time in Gods know how long.
Sia nudges Gnippen, who comes out of his polish-trance in a bit of a shock, not noticing that she had risen from her bedroll and slinked towards his post. "See anything out there? No monsters in the night? I'll be up next."
Gnippen:
You have no idea how long she might have been standing there or watching you.
Sia Perception 21
Sia Stealth 11
Another two hours pass, and Sia does not wake anyone up. She looks over to Feredir, who is completing his nightly elven trance. With a nod, they exchange places, Sia returning to her bedroll.
Feredir Perception: 15
Feredir Stealth: 10
Feredir:
You settle into nearly the same spot that Sia had found, though you notice that if you shift slightly that even more of the foliage provides cover. You watch the exterior like a hawk. You hear a small twig snap, drawing your attention, but after patiently waiting a few moments you realize it is nothing more than a rabbit running past the cave entrance. The rest of your shift goes by smoothly, and you are focused on the outside surroundings of the cave. As the time draws to a close, you realize that Elyham is staring at you.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Assuming Feredir's post goes without incident, I'm going to put up my post for the final leg of the watch.
Elyham's body lay contorted on the floor amongst the rocks of the cave interior. The past few hours of rest have been wrought with dreams from the cave, probably due to Elyham's choice of literature prior to zonking out on her bedroll. Reaching over for her water, she gives a quiet whistle to Feredir, still minding his watch.
"Hey uh, you're doing that creepy stare thing again my friend..... everything alright out there?" Elyham slides out from the wall, quietly making her way to the cave entrance.
Elyham Stealth 12
"I brought you some of that delicious jerky I fed Tim earlier.... thanks for taking the watch. Go rest up, I'll rouse the group in a couple hours as day breaks." Elyham slyly changes the jerky to taste like pickled elfroot, hoping Feredir would enjoy the homage to his homeland.
I wanted to prestidigitation the jerky to taste rather putrid, but what a waste. Tim would still eat it likely.....
Throwing out a perception roll, wanting to know what I can discern with my darkvision in the nighttime Josh.
If anyone wants to add any interactions with the other characters, I'll happily shift parts of these posts around to make it work out, continuity-wise.
Elyham:
Your shift goes quietly at first. Too quietly. You think about your book, and how tiring it can be adventuring and shooting crossbows!
You look outside, but realize that outside the cave entrance is not the dried-up pond in the forest. No, it is something else. Wisps of arcane energy, ribbons of light and magic swirl a mere three feet from where you posted up! Small rocks and boulders float as if they were soap bubbles in the wind. This can't be right. You see a figure approaching you. You stand at first, but realize you recognize the silhouette. A man, wearing a crimson robe with pointed shoulders and a hood hiding his long black hair. An angry stare. You turn to run, but the cave gives you no where to go. Before you can do anything, you feel an almost crushing envelopment, a massive arcane green hand grabbing you around your chest and waist. The hand pulls back, and you go backward with it.
Elyham jerks awake with a small yelp, having nodded off and fallen backwards while in her sitting position. The others are stirring, or are also awake.
What you can see of the sky through the forest canopy is beginning to brighten, signs that the sun is rising. You hear the chirping of morning birds outside.
As the echo of bird chirps stir throughout the cave, Tim groggily gets up and begins to lick Gnippen's face. Within a few minutes a thick layer of dog saliva coats the Gnomes head. Gnippen's eyes shoot open, and he begins laughing. "Calm down boy, I'm awake! Let's see what Lathander brings us today!" And with that Gnippen kicks his small body into the air and lands on his feet and hastily begins to re-don his equipment.
"What's out there Elyham?"Gnippen asks excitedly. Before Elyham can respond Gnippen's mouth is already racing. "It is dawn! There is no better time to the day! Let us quickly wake the others and see what is in store out there!" From the quickened speech and the Gnome's body language you get the feeling that he is ready to explore, even if it is at the expense of breakfast. "No" might not be an acceptable answer.
Sia awakes, stretching her arms upward and binding her hair into a ponytail before standing from her bedroll.
"Bright and shiny this morning, aren't you Gnippen?" she says with a bit of a smile. She rolls up her gear, packing it away and tossing the forest green cloak over her leather armor.
"Once the others have gathered themselves, we are not far from the first waystone. Maybe a half day."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As the party gathers up their gear and depart the cave, they see that some creature had obviously found the orc corpses during the night. Fortunately Feredir had sequestered them far enough away that no curious critter had ventured to check out the cave.
Sia leads you back to the mountain stream, and you continue following it for several hours. Feredir takes more of a lead position this time, with Sia keeping eyes on the flanks and rear and directing changes in the path through the foothills.
Feredir Perception: 14
Feredir:
Your senses are sharpened after your rest, and you keep a wary eye on the trail for any additional signs of orcs. Outside of seeing a few deer paths (and a buck with its companion doe in the distance) this part of the forest is relatively quiet and unused. No warbands or scouting parties have ventured here.
The air gets chilly and you can tell from the effort required with each step and breath that you are ascending in elevation. Eventually, the thick forest gives way to craggy terrain dotted by coniferous trees and dry grass, and you are no longer hindered from seeing the Sword Peaks, the steep snow-capped mountains that always loomed over Phandalin. The gray limestone surrounds you as you cautiously make your way along increasingly narrow pathways, brushing your hands along the moss coating the northern side of most rocks. You still hear birds in the trees, though not as vibrantly as you did in the forest before.
As the path winds up the mountains, you come across a clearing, where trees are sparse and the moss and greenery open up to a view further to the south. Sia stops, pointing out the mountain range that is southeast of your vantage point.
"We found the first waystone near here. THAT..." she says, gesturing to the mountains "...is where they lead to, eventually."
She continues the path southward, ending in a copse of pine trees. She brings you to the waystone, an four-sided obelisk 10 feet tall and absolutely covered in moss. You can see where someone brushed off some of the moss on each side. Where the moss had been cleared, you see dwarven runes engraved into the polished limestone.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Gnippen walks over to the waystone. He uses his hands to further brush away the moss. "Can anyone read Dwarven? Sia and Feredir, is there any information you were able to glean from the waystone your first time through here?
You are able to determine the direction that points roughly towards the peak Sia identified. Tracing the runes out, with your finger, you clean out some of the remaining moss on that side, incase there is any more information to be gleaned by someone who actually understands dwarven.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Sia comes up to the waystone, tracing her fingers on the same worn dwarven symbol that Gnippen had finished uncovering, before moving to the other side. "The waystone has directions on each side, or at least what is left of them." She shifts over to the northeast side of the stone, facing southwest. "The runes here are directions to avoid the Mere of Dead Men, a wise direction for any traveler." Moving onto the southeast side, now looking northwest, she continues, "And this side gives directions that skirt around what is now Neverwinter Wood and Mount Hotenow."
"But the side pointing to the southeast? Just these three runes in Dwarven that sound out "Du-re-gan". And this script that I do not recognize."Below the three runes Sia points out is a script that is both curving and angular, with harsher letters that appear almost jumbled.
Elyham Intelligence: 13
Elyham:
You recognize this script... you have read very similar script before when you were plundering the tomes in the archmagi's hall. The letters are similar to the arcane language that is the basis of most magic, but in a more primal form... Draconic. You brush off the remaining moss surrounding the script, showing all the surrounding polished stone. You realize that there is a difference between the erosion of the dwarven runes above, and the crisp draconic script below... the draconic was carved significantly later in time.
<Those that challenge the might of Duregen will only add their bones to his horde. Be warned of the Heart of the Mountain. Go no further.>
Kicking the wolf off of his arm, Gnippen hurls a loud gnomish curse back towards the wolf. This is not how he imagined the day progressing when he woke up this morning.
Gnippen reaches back for his war pick, the loosened lance clatters onto the cave floor. "Let's finish him fast! This commotion is sure to attract attention!"
Tim takes the dodge action. Gnippen drops the lance to the ground. As part of the move action Gnippen retrieves his war pick. Gnippen's action is spent attacking the remaining wolf with the war pick.
Attack: 7 Damage: 7
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
The wolf, as it tries to tear at Gnippen but has teeth stuck in his ringmail, shakes violently just as Feredir makes his strike. Only one blade sings true, but the pained yelp is obvious. As Gnippen kicks the wolf clear and readies his warpick, a swift strike to the skull drops the wolf to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
As you quickly catch your breath, you hear no more sounds coming from further inside the cavern. You cannot see much past the entrance from your position.
Sia shouts from outside. "Figured you had it covered, well done!"
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Gnippen re-holsters his war pick jumps off of Tim, picks up his lance, and drapes it across his back.
"Glad you could join us Sia. Feredir, you seem to travel light of foot. Think you could venture ahead and see if there is anything lying in wait for us without alerting it? It may be best to either clear these caves entirely before resting or camp a few miles away and return in the morning."
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Feredir Stealth 23
Feredir Perception 23
Feredir carefully steps over the corpses of the wolves, each footfall landing in complete silence. At one point, Tim shifts and is about to loudly shake his head to relieve an itch, but Feredir senses it and applies a quick scratch behind an ear to silence the animal.
Fifteen feet from where the scuffle with the wolves occurred, the cavern opens up, a small rivulet of water flowing from an underground pond, ten feet in diameter. Solid stone walls and a ten foot shelf arc around the pond, smooth and clean, if somewhat damp. You hear the trickle of water, the calming sound of water dripping down the side of the cavern wall into the pond from a crack in the limestone above.
The darkness inside the cavern is unable to hide anything from Feredir's keen eyes. Inside the cavern chamber are no additional threats, nor are there any further extensions of the cave into the hillside. There is a small camp made, three bedrolls of rough-sewn leather and fur and a few small satchels along one wall. You see an iron rod on the floor of the cavern, bent and surrounded by loosened stones, which you surmise held the wolves at bay for a short while before being pulled from its anchor point in the stone wall.
In addition, you see what appears to be a simple sled, made of two sturdy wooden shafts with a hempen cloth platform between them. It appears that the front of the sled could have been attached to the collars of the wolves to provide a quick transport. Lashed on top of the sled is a rough timber container, made of tar-blackened wood planks banded by iron, with an iron padlock on the front and sturdy hinges on the rear.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Watching Feredir search the cavern and beginning to feel at ease, Gnippen wanders over to inspect the sled. His hands run along its side checking the structures integrity until he reaches the collar. A quizzical look appears upon the small gnomes face as he glances back towards Tim. Tim undoubtedly reading Gnippen's mind looks up at Gnippen and let's loose a shrill whine. "All right, all right boy. We won't take the sled with us. Would have been nice though..."
Try opening the chest with your key Feredir! Additionally, did you ever mark down all the items and gold you received earlier on from the Orcs? If you did not I can start keeping track for the group.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Sliding the key into the lock, you find that it fits easily. With a twist of the hand, you hear an audible click, and the latch is released from the iron padlock.
Inside the chest, you find four cloth sacks containing a total of 37 gp, 35 sp, and 104 cp. You also find a quartz geode, about the size of a fist. It has been split into two halves, revealing the glittering white crystals within. In addition, there are a pair of long jagged daggers inside the chest, marked with the same symbol that Feredir noticed on the horn. Some additional rations, mostly dried jerky from some unknown animal, are wrapped up in a strip of burlap.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
To re-engage everyone, the party should decide whether to set up camp here or proceed further into the mountains. The sun is but a orange glow past the horizon, and darkness falls in the forested foothills. Given the later start in the day before you left Phandalin, you could potentially travel another 2-3 hours without exhaustion.
Theme - Night Falls
Feredir:
Survival: 15
You take stock of the cave and the surrounding woods. The cave entrance can easily be camouflaged using some of the surrounding plants, and the curving passage to the main cave chamber should keep any light from the main chamber from being visible outside. You see a decent amount of wood and kindling in the nearby area that you can use to make a fire that should not produce any smoke. There is a chance that scavengers might go for the corpses of the orcs and wolves if left unattended and in their current location.
Gnippen:
Tinker Tools (Int): 16
You are able to take the coinage and other items from the iron-bound chest, and put them safely into one of Tim's saddlebags. A decent haul, once you get a chance to split it with your fellows.
Looking at the geode, you think about potential uses in gadgetry and the worth to a decent artificer. You could probably get 50gp from the quartz inside, or use some of the crystals to power up a gadget or two.
Elyham:
As you look around the cave, you realize it's getting very dark inside. You spot a torch next to the sled with your darkvision, and while you can see objects decently enough in the dark, it's still very dull and dreary. With a quick flick of the hand and snap of the finger, the torchhead ignites, providing a nice enough reading light. Your mind drifts to the tome in your pack, or the case with your mapmaking set.
Cartographer Tools (Int) 2
You are confident you can accurately map out the path you've taken so far.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
"Let's camp here in the cave, though Tim despises the smell of the dead wolves, it is likely safer within here than it would be out in the forest. We can have stealthy sentinels watching the entrance all night, and the cave will allow us to freely build a large fire for warmth and food. Additionally, I'd like to take a closer look at this quartz. While the trail for your friends may be growing colder, that ambush took a little too much out of us."
Gnippen proceeds to use his war-pick to dislodge the larger sections of quartz. For the sections requiring finer movements Gnippen puts down the war-pick and uses the dentist-like Tinker tools.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
"Good idea Gnippen - I'll start looking for some wood to build a fire with. Will Tim have any oppositions to us feasting on wolf meat tonight?" Elyham says with a smirk on her face. "If he does... I have plenty of jerky left over for his to nibble on!"
Elyham sets to work arranging some loose limbs into a makeshift fire, large enough to warm the interior of the cavern without giving out too much light from the entrance. After finishing her teepee of wooden whimsy, she stands back and waves her arms in a small circle, snapping her fingers as they come back to meet in the center. A fire blossoms in the bottom of the pit, sending a warm glow throughout the cavern. Elyham retreats to a corner of the cave, opens her book, and starts flipping through the incantations.
"Indeed, Gnippen. I fear any impetuous advance will surely be met with an unfortunate end." Feredir finishes concealing the entrance of the cave with the surrounding foliage and long grass.
"Before we retire inside, give me a hand with these dead orcs. They are sure to attract foul creatures and enemies fouler still if we simply leave them to rot in the open."
Feredir attends to the bodies, scouting nearby terrain to find a suitable gully, ridge or open ditch and covering the bloody remains with loose vegetation and soil.
Survival? Nature? 7
Finishing this laborious chore, Feredir enters the cave and falls upon one of the makeshift bedrolls.
"Who shall take first watch?"
"Tim may be fine feasting on his distant cousins Elyham, but I will likely wait for healthier fare. Feredir, I can take the first watch. You and Feredir look like you could use the rest."
As Gnippen finishes speaking he clasps his hands together and touches his injured leg. The bite marks from the wolf appear to close and all superficial traces of the wounds across his small body disappear.
Lay on Hands, Self, 10 HP.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Feredir:
I'll call it Survival, and since you are still in the forest you get double proficiency, so a +6 on the 1d20 roll.
You are able to haul the bodies away from the cave area, and take some loose and dead foliage and cover them up. You notice that one of the orcs has left a trail of blood as you drug the body to its makeshift grave, you kick and brush some of it away but eventually give up as the dark of night covers the forest and your darkvision can't distinguish the blood from the greenery.
If someone wants to butcher the wolves for a meal, survival roll please, and I'll write that in.
Gnippen Perception 15
Gnippen:
You settle down, propped up on a small outcropping on the cavern wall where you can just see the outside environment through some of the foliage blocking the cave entrance. The first hour is calm, and boring. Your mind drifts, you thinks about the day's travel through the forest and how it felt to fight astride Tim again. Looking down at your feet, you realize there is still some dried stew coating the metal rings reinforcing your boots. Taking out your trusty rag, you start polishing with a laser focus. So focused, that in two hours you have completely cleaned every speck and spot of mud, blood, and stew off your footwear, armor, weapons, Tim's saddle, and everything else. Satisfied with a job well done, you quickly realize you haven't looked outside a single time in Gods know how long.
Sia nudges Gnippen, who comes out of his polish-trance in a bit of a shock, not noticing that she had risen from her bedroll and slinked towards his post. "See anything out there? No monsters in the night? I'll be up next."
Gnippen:
You have no idea how long she might have been standing there or watching you.
Sia Perception 21
Sia Stealth 11
Another two hours pass, and Sia does not wake anyone up. She looks over to Feredir, who is completing his nightly elven trance. With a nod, they exchange places, Sia returning to her bedroll.
Feredir Perception: 15
Feredir Stealth: 10
Feredir:
You settle into nearly the same spot that Sia had found, though you notice that if you shift slightly that even more of the foliage provides cover. You watch the exterior like a hawk. You hear a small twig snap, drawing your attention, but after patiently waiting a few moments you realize it is nothing more than a rabbit running past the cave entrance. The rest of your shift goes by smoothly, and you are focused on the outside surroundings of the cave. As the time draws to a close, you realize that Elyham is staring at you.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Assuming Feredir's post goes without incident, I'm going to put up my post for the final leg of the watch.
Elyham's body lay contorted on the floor amongst the rocks of the cave interior. The past few hours of rest have been wrought with dreams from the cave, probably due to Elyham's choice of literature prior to zonking out on her bedroll. Reaching over for her water, she gives a quiet whistle to Feredir, still minding his watch.
"Hey uh, you're doing that creepy stare thing again my friend..... everything alright out there?" Elyham slides out from the wall, quietly making her way to the cave entrance.
Elyham Stealth 12
"I brought you some of that delicious jerky I fed Tim earlier.... thanks for taking the watch. Go rest up, I'll rouse the group in a couple hours as day breaks." Elyham slyly changes the jerky to taste like pickled elfroot, hoping Feredir would enjoy the homage to his homeland.
I wanted to prestidigitation the jerky to taste rather putrid, but what a waste. Tim would still eat it likely.....
Throwing out a perception roll, wanting to know what I can discern with my darkvision in the nighttime Josh.
Elyham Perception 19
If anyone wants to add any interactions with the other characters, I'll happily shift parts of these posts around to make it work out, continuity-wise.
Elyham:
Your shift goes quietly at first. Too quietly. You think about your book, and how tiring it can be adventuring and shooting crossbows!
You look outside, but realize that outside the cave entrance is not the dried-up pond in the forest. No, it is something else. Wisps of arcane energy, ribbons of light and magic swirl a mere three feet from where you posted up! Small rocks and boulders float as if they were soap bubbles in the wind. This can't be right. You see a figure approaching you. You stand at first, but realize you recognize the silhouette. A man, wearing a crimson robe with pointed shoulders and a hood hiding his long black hair. An angry stare. You turn to run, but the cave gives you no where to go. Before you can do anything, you feel an almost crushing envelopment, a massive arcane green hand grabbing you around your chest and waist. The hand pulls back, and you go backward with it.
Elyham jerks awake with a small yelp, having nodded off and fallen backwards while in her sitting position. The others are stirring, or are also awake.
What you can see of the sky through the forest canopy is beginning to brighten, signs that the sun is rising. You hear the chirping of morning birds outside.
You all have completed a long rest.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
As the echo of bird chirps stir throughout the cave, Tim groggily gets up and begins to lick Gnippen's face. Within a few minutes a thick layer of dog saliva coats the Gnomes head. Gnippen's eyes shoot open, and he begins laughing. "Calm down boy, I'm awake! Let's see what Lathander brings us today!" And with that Gnippen kicks his small body into the air and lands on his feet and hastily begins to re-don his equipment.
"What's out there Elyham?" Gnippen asks excitedly. Before Elyham can respond Gnippen's mouth is already racing. "It is dawn! There is no better time to the day! Let us quickly wake the others and see what is in store out there!" From the quickened speech and the Gnome's body language you get the feeling that he is ready to explore, even if it is at the expense of breakfast. "No" might not be an acceptable answer.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Sia awakes, stretching her arms upward and binding her hair into a ponytail before standing from her bedroll.
"Bright and shiny this morning, aren't you Gnippen?" she says with a bit of a smile. She rolls up her gear, packing it away and tossing the forest green cloak over her leather armor.
"Once the others have gathered themselves, we are not far from the first waystone. Maybe a half day."
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
As the party gathers up their gear and depart the cave, they see that some creature had obviously found the orc corpses during the night. Fortunately Feredir had sequestered them far enough away that no curious critter had ventured to check out the cave.
Sia leads you back to the mountain stream, and you continue following it for several hours. Feredir takes more of a lead position this time, with Sia keeping eyes on the flanks and rear and directing changes in the path through the foothills.
Feredir Perception: 14
Feredir:
Your senses are sharpened after your rest, and you keep a wary eye on the trail for any additional signs of orcs. Outside of seeing a few deer paths (and a buck with its companion doe in the distance) this part of the forest is relatively quiet and unused. No warbands or scouting parties have ventured here.
Theme - Ascent
The air gets chilly and you can tell from the effort required with each step and breath that you are ascending in elevation. Eventually, the thick forest gives way to craggy terrain dotted by coniferous trees and dry grass, and you are no longer hindered from seeing the Sword Peaks, the steep snow-capped mountains that always loomed over Phandalin. The gray limestone surrounds you as you cautiously make your way along increasingly narrow pathways, brushing your hands along the moss coating the northern side of most rocks. You still hear birds in the trees, though not as vibrantly as you did in the forest before.
As the path winds up the mountains, you come across a clearing, where trees are sparse and the moss and greenery open up to a view further to the south. Sia stops, pointing out the mountain range that is southeast of your vantage point.
"We found the first waystone near here. THAT..." she says, gesturing to the mountains "...is where they lead to, eventually."
She continues the path southward, ending in a copse of pine trees. She brings you to the waystone, an four-sided obelisk 10 feet tall and absolutely covered in moss. You can see where someone brushed off some of the moss on each side. Where the moss had been cleared, you see dwarven runes engraved into the polished limestone.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Gnippen walks over to the waystone. He uses his hands to further brush away the moss. "Can anyone read Dwarven? Sia and Feredir, is there any information you were able to glean from the waystone your first time through here?
Gnippen Investigation Roll: 14
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Gnippen:
You are able to determine the direction that points roughly towards the peak Sia identified. Tracing the runes out, with your finger, you clean out some of the remaining moss on that side, incase there is any more information to be gleaned by someone who actually understands dwarven.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Sia comes up to the waystone, tracing her fingers on the same worn dwarven symbol that Gnippen had finished uncovering, before moving to the other side. "The waystone has directions on each side, or at least what is left of them." She shifts over to the northeast side of the stone, facing southwest. "The runes here are directions to avoid the Mere of Dead Men, a wise direction for any traveler." Moving onto the southeast side, now looking northwest, she continues, "And this side gives directions that skirt around what is now Neverwinter Wood and Mount Hotenow."
"But the side pointing to the southeast? Just these three runes in Dwarven that sound out "Du-re-gan". And this script that I do not recognize." Below the three runes Sia points out is a script that is both curving and angular, with harsher letters that appear almost jumbled.
Elyham Intelligence: 13
Elyham:
You recognize this script... you have read very similar script before when you were plundering the tomes in the archmagi's hall. The letters are similar to the arcane language that is the basis of most magic, but in a more primal form... Draconic. You brush off the remaining moss surrounding the script, showing all the surrounding polished stone. You realize that there is a difference between the erosion of the dwarven runes above, and the crisp draconic script below... the draconic was carved significantly later in time.
<Those that challenge the might of Duregen will only add their bones to his horde. Be warned of the Heart of the Mountain. Go no further.>
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag