Zee listens to Freedrol intently, with warm affirmations punctuating every sentence. When he’s finished Zee replies, ”Yeah dude, seems like me and my fellows here could really help. I’m just the transporter though, I leave the heavy planning to these guys.” He turns to Gulin, “If you wanna go help your kin, I’m with you all the way brother.”
At Milliken’s request, Zee replies with a shrug, “Yeah sure, I‘m down for a game. I used to be pretty competitive down in the sailing clubs, but that was before I learned there’s more to life than winning.”
Caspia watched Gulin with interest as he entertained the dwarves with his tale.
"Should we help these dwarves with their missing miners? I am no expert on caves, but my sword is ready to help. I have never seen a mine before,"she murmured to her other companions.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Moonday Goodmonth 16th, 591 CY
Zee Dart Throws: 13
Milliken Dart Throws: 17
The game of darts between Zee and Milliken takes quite a bit of time. Neither of contestants seem rather adept at it. After a few dozen throws Zee finally strikes true against his remaining numbers on the board. Grudgingly Milliken hands over five gold, grumbling about the effects of intoxication. Before Zee can sit down another dwarf, one of the female miners named Grendral, challenges Zee to another game. As the standing champion Zee is informed that he has no choice but to continue playing.
Zee Dart Throws: 14
Grendral Dart Throws: 17
This match is over much quicker. Having gotten into the swing of the game, Zee begins to mark off numbers in perfect sequential order. Suprisingly, Grendral is able to match the same feat. It isn't until the second to last throw the Grendral misses her mark. The mistake is miner, but it is sufficient to allow Zee to clean up his board and defeat the female dwarf. After receiving his winnings of another 5 gold, for a total of 10 gold, Zee turns towards the bar to get a drink, but before he can move a barrel chested dwarf with short cropped brown stubble bumps him and stands in his way. "Your game's not over yet! Your skill may be sufficient to hustle Grendral, but Jilnoun of the Ironfeet won't go down as easily!"
Zee Dart Throws: 19
Grendral Dart Throws: 18
While the game isn't as clean as the previous, Zee eventually prevails. Jilnoun is obviously intoxicated and unable to capitalize upon any of the missed shots Zee makes throughout the game. As Jilnoun backs away, Zee counts the gold coins in his pocket, now totaling 15, before sighing when one more dwarf, a young dwarven woman with long braided hair approaches. "Been awhile since I've seen an outsider clean up in here, I must admit you have some skill. However, I'm the reigning champion here, and luck will only carry you so far." You hear hushed whispers from the dwarves around you, "Nina will finally put that upstart in his place!"
Zee Dart Throws: 20
Nina Dart Throws: 9
Similar to the second game, the play is nearly impeccable. Knowing that he is now facing stiffer competition, Zee opts to focus on cleaning up numbers he has partially closed out on the board opposed to his previously flashy play of aiming around the board in sequential order. There are few errors between either of the players, but in the end Zee prevails. There are now a total of 20 gold pieces in Zee's pocket from the series of four dart games, and it appears that Zee has earned a measure of begrudged respect from the dwarves. As Zee takes his leave from the game of darts, Nina and her cohorts look slightly dejected, and nobody further challenges Zee.
After playing darts for nearly an hour, Zee returns to the party. As Zee rejoins the group Freedrol remarks, "Perhaps this is a good stroke of luck, that was an impressive display of finesse back there Zee. I only hope that you and your compatriots will be as equally skilled down in the mines. Once again, meet myself and my crew in front of the mine entrance in about nine hours time. I'll speak to Verdun in the meantime regarding compensation and access to the mines. Between Gulin's heroics last week and the display Zee just put on, I'm sure he will agree."
The group leaves Miner's Respite, and arranges for quarter at the local barracks until there aforementioned meeting time with Freedrol arrives. Settling down the party is able to sneak in a long rest, though it is an uncomfortable one within the spartan and noisy barrack.
Moonday Evening Goodmonth 16th, 591 CY
When you awake, the sun has mostly set to the west. Rays of multi-colored light break through the clouds as a testament to it's passing. The party meets up with Freedrol and her mining gang at the entrance to the mines. Large reinforced wooden doors are guarded by nearly half a dozen of the crown's knights. Obviously Mainstrad Copperlock's operation has the full blessing and support of Keoland. Freedrol provides the knights with a signed letter from Verdun, and the knights open the door to the mines. As you begin to walk down the first tunnel, Freedol speaks to you over her shoulder as you are lead onward, deeper underneath the hill at a slight angle. "Verdun agreed to your presence within the mines, but I strongly recommend that you do not overstay our shift. My team's shift lasts for a total of ten hours. However, it will take about an hour to get down to the new cavern, and obviously about an hour to return. So once we reach the cavern you should have about eight hours to investigate the disappearances. Unfortunately due to the disappearances the Copperlocks are no longer maintaining a full time presence on that level. If you do not make it back in time you will have to survive until we return for tomorrows shift. As for compensation, Verdun is offering 30 gold for the bodies of each of the missing dwarves, we assume that they are all dead. Additional coin may be provided if you can solve the mystery behind their fate and insure that the issue is dealt with. While you're down there it may also be lucrative to map as much as the cavern as possible, though I highly doubt our shift encompasses enough time for you to explore the entire cavern."
While this conversation is being carried out, Freedol continues to lead the group through a series of tunnels, becoming increasingly steeper than the original one. The Copperlocks have obviously been busy in their limited time in the region, quickly exploring and hollowing out underneath their hillside. It is a variable maze down here, and you thank whichever deities you pray to for the string of weird electric lights that the Copperlocks have lined their tunnels with. At various parts of the journey the party and Freedol's team gather into makeshift elevators to descend even deeper underneath the hillside. It is at the third of these elevators that you notice a pair of Keoland Knights. Freedrol once again speaks up, "After the disappearances started we erected a reinforced door down at the bottom level of the mine before you reach the entrance to the cavern. These guards here are the closest stationed troops from the garrison to ensure that nothing untoward escapes from the lowest level, however, they will likely not be close enough to hear or respond to anything that happens below. That is why it is once again important that you return with us when our shift ends, or you will likely have to survive an entire day down here."
As you step out from the third mining elevator in front of you is a single nondescript wooden door with iron bar reinforcements. Freedrol removes a series of the iron bars carefully laying them against the side of the mining tunnel, before taking a nondescript key out of her pocket to open the door. After everyone passes through the door, Freedrol turns around, closes the door and locks it, though it is unable to be reinforced with the iron bars laying on the ground on the other side. Strangely you hear echoes of dripping and water from this tunnel. Freedrol leads the way a few hundred more feet before the tunnel opens up into a large natural cavern. Within the middle of the cavern is a massive underground aquifer. Apart from the lit lanterns Freedrol's team carries, biolumenecent kelp or a similar underwater plant are the only sources of light. The cavern is extremely poorly lit, and even those of you with darkvision are unable to identify where the cavern ends. "Remember you should have about eight hours before you must be back here. How you wish to proceed is up to you."
You watch as Freedrol and her group begin to travel clockwise around the underground lake as they occasionally stop to chisel away at the rock wall or inspect stones. The path in that direction is roughly 15-20 feet wide, though you cannot see where that path ends. In the counter-clockwise direction is a much narrower path. From where you are you can barely make out that it appears to wrap around the aquifer until it arrives at a massive stalagmite that forces the path towards the center of the cavern. From there the path disappears behind the stalagmite. In front of you lays the still water. Occasionally you hear a drip as moisture gathers from the bottom of stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and a faint splash as that same moisture falls into the aquifer. Very tiny ripples of waves barely perceptible to your eyes dance across the smooth watery surface. How would you like to proceed?
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
During the dart game, Gulin seems boisterously proud of Zee as he cleans up the board each time. Several more pitchers of ale are ordered for the party and some of the more social miners.
As the morning breaks, Gulin goes through his daily ritual - awaking early, studying his arcane tome, and forming the protective spell around his second most important item - alarming the silver thread of his coin pouch. Zee sees that the spell's magic seems to refract into a bubble around the dwarf, shimmering briefly. As the group gathers for breakfast, he goes over some of his spell selections - in particular, with a quick touch he can trace out a dwarven sigil on a weapon that infuses it with magical essence. Otherwise, there's a lot of fire and throwing things, so watch line of sight between the dwarf and baddies. He pulls out a rolled up piece of parchment... and the astute can see that he has written down some very terrible jokes for the last of his spells.
Before descending to the depths, Gulin swings by the quartermaster for several chunks of chalk.
Avalloc watches the group enter the mine, before a mental command from Gulin sends the bird to go hunt and enjoy the day.
Steve, let me know what the cost of the rounds of ale and chalk are.
As they descend, he whispers over to Caspia, "Lass, think your mapmaking skills will be key here. I feel like Reynnar and you can take the lead, him pathfinding and you marking the map. Zee can keep in the middle, and I'll take the rear and mark the passages we pass with some chalk so we know the path back, and can mark the location of any bodies we find." As the group proceeds past the iron door, Gulin makes occasional marks on dry stalagmites and cave walls as they pass.
At the sight of the aquifer, Gulin lets out a low whistle. "Ah, see Zee? Things of beauty exist below the sky too, occasionally. Some of the life down here almost makes the cave water look like it has starlight as well." As he assesses the paths, he thinks back to the old dwarven stories. What sort of creatures might use such an aquifer as a home?
Arcana or History 8 (if Stonecunning applies, add +2 to History)
After spending the better part of an hour ordering pitchers of ale for himself, the party, and nearby dwarven miners, Gulin may or may not be shocked when he approaches the barkeep at Miner's Respite to settle up. "That will be 5 gold total!" The barkeep explains, before walking Gulin through over the dozen pitchers of ale he ordered. Even with the quantity taken into account the price seems overinflated.
A similar story is encountered at the mining company shop. Here chalk is currently marked at 2 copper pieces each, which seems a little higher than Gulin recalled.
As they enter the mines, Gulin peers back through Avalloc eyes for one last moment. Despite the spirit of the bird being of fey origin, Gulin senses excitement and elation from Avalloc as he finds an updraft of warm air and begins circling in search of prey. Whether the familiar is merely imitating the motions of a hawk, or actual intends to hunt Gulin is uncertain.
Gulin History Check:
Gulin attempts to recall the lore from his family regarding underground caves. While Gulin did not grow up in the mighty underground keep of Korgan Duum, the stories of his great-great-grandfather, Duron Runehammer, were passed down through the ages. The first point that comes to Gulin's mind is the age old adage that fresh water will inevitably attract creatures.
While a typical cavern with a source of fresh water near the surface may be home to cave bears and wolves, the hour long trip from the surface has led Gulin to remember darker tales from his great-grandfather. While Gulin doesn't believe the party has traveled far enough to breach the first layer of the Underdark, known as the Upperdark, the dwarf recalls that it is not uncommon for displaced denizens of the Upperdark to search for sources of food and water closer to the surface.
Zee accepts his win humbly, not seeming too bothered by the coin he won. As each challenger resigns, he offers words of wisdom on how to improve their game, and assures them that they very nearly won. He does however, appreciate the increased hospitality of the miners, enjoying his ales and talking to everyone who's willing.
At night, he spends much of the evening outside foraging and stargazing. "I'm gonna miss you guys tomorrow" He laments to the skies "Stay with me down there."In the morning after his meditation he hands out a handful of goodberryto each of his companions before they set off. "I don't know if there's anything good to eat down there. I knew a guy who swore by blending fruit with charcoal, meant to cleans the toxins and all that, but I never got on board with it. Best to keep some good, fresh food with us, touched by the sun, moon and sky."
Zee is not his normal easygoing self as they descend into the mines, he twitches at the faintest noise or sensation. Once the dwarves have departed he responds to Gulin, "Y..yeah, it looks alright I guess. I find more comfort in the night sky.... so I brought a little of it with me." Zee's shaky voice still sounds whimsical, making it hard to tell if he is making some obscure metaphor or perhaps is just strung out on something hallucinogenic until he opens his hand. Cast produce flame What seems to be a miniature star appears floating in Zee's hand, throwing light over the faces of the group. "Now that's starlight! Lead the way Cass and Rey, I'll be ok now." The easy confidence seems to have returned to Zee somewhat, though he still seems slightly uncomfortable. As they move, Zee keeps his eyes on the star muttering in Sylvan. Cast detect magic as a ritual. (Produce flame should run out just as detect magic activates.)
Gulin nods at Zee, appreciating the light and return of his color vision. "Things that live in dark places such as this tend to be able to see into shadows, regardless. I expect that if there are beasties to be had... they might be holding close to the underground lake here as a source of water. I say we circle around the narrow path along the aquifer."
Caspia looks around the mine with interest while putting her navigation skills to use by marking the path both mentally and on a scrap of paper using her own obscure, navigational code. Her dark vision is helpful here, but Zee's light is illuminating. Her fin-like ears perk up at the mention of water.
"In a place like this, creatures will be drawn to sources of water and the food it attracts or grows. I agree with Gulin."she said.
She smiles at Zee's reaction to the caves and pats his shoulder.
"I too prefer the open sea and sky, but this place is very damp. At least I will not dry out here. We will complete our investigation and leave here soon."
Zee blushes, gripping Caspia’s shoulder tightly. “That….. means a lot, thanks. Hey, I love your drawings, looks like mine a bit. We should compare notes, artist to artist when we get back to the surface.”
Zee finishes casting produce flame and the party begins to treck along the side of the aquifer counter-clockwise away from Freedrol and her miners. The light is a welcome addition and helps the party avoid parts of the path that are slick. As they walk Gulin begins to mark the cavern walls every few hundred of feet. The dwarf observes that the cavern walls are moist, likely from the increased humidity due to the aquifer. The marks against the walls will last for awhile, but they probably aren't permanent.
Occasionally the path narrows forcing the party close to the aquifer. In those instances everyone immediately notices that beneath the dark still water kelp like plants light up in response to the proximity of Zee's flames. Nobody notices these plants until light was introduced near them, but they now glow beautiful hues of green, blue, purple, and pink. These lights appear to be within a few feet of the surface near your path, but quickly recede much deeper under water as you look out across the aquifer.
Interesting, ten minutes later when Zee finishes his ritual the glow from the kelp begins to quickly disappear, receding from view once again causing the floor of the aquifer to be indistinguishable from its surface.
As you finish casting detect magic, your vision of the multicolor pastel hues of the kelp is replaced by your newly acquired magical senses. Emanating from under the water your see the faintly pulsing red magical auras that you would associate with low level evocation magic. These pulses are closer to the surface, say within five feet, near the "shore" of the aquifer, but they quickly appear to sink much deeper as you look out across the aquifer.
After another five minutes of travel, the path narrows to mere inches against the wall before returning to a semblance of a walk-able path. The ground you stand on is damp and flat. The wall arcing around to your right, while gently sloped inward away from the water, looks similarly damp and smooth with no visible hand holds. The few inches of semi-flat ground present before the visible cave floor is engulfed by water look treacherous. Too your left lays the still water of the aquifer, circling around in front of you and creating about a ten foot section of water that must be traversed until an area resembling a path reappears. A few feet further into this secondary path across from the ten foot channel of water stands a sharp spindly stalagmite, the first of such in a forest of such rock formations creepily jutting out from both the cave floor path and nearby water as a ghostly and unmoving forest.
The lack of lighting makes judging the depth of the water near you impossible; recalling your visions of the illuminated kelp, you guess that the ten feet of interrupting water near the cave floor path must be relatively shallow. How do you wish to proceed?
Additionally, can everyone describe their current footwear in their next post. It may or may not matter for subsequent sections of this cave...
From the back of the pack, Gulin pipes up, "Hey, what's the hold up? Zee, you seein' anything, lad?"
As he looks forward to the two paths, he contemplates, "Well, I know Caspia and myself can swim just fine if we want to cross... assuming we aren't going to disturb anything going that way."He looks to the watery path, are there a lot of bioluminescent things floating that way?
With your source of light now down the water is once again a smooth reflective surface apart from the occasional ripple caused by water dripping off of stalactites. From your earlier visions when a source of light was present the bio-luminescent kelp appeared to be pretty much everywhere near the shore of the underground aquifer.
As Zee reignites the miniature star he contemplates. “Seems like something under there is casting some pretty rad magic. Evocation, but nothing too major, looks pretty cool. If we’re gonna cross we’d better be careful.” Crouching down, his dull, weathered sandals scraping lightly across the floor,; he dips his hand into the water pulling out some kelp. He rolls it around in his hands, trying to wonder what sort of creatures live in ecosystems with this kind of flora. “Generally, if there’s plants, there’s something that eats it, and something that eats that. There’s always a top predator, but is it a threat to us?” 5 -1 for Nature, +6 for survival
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Caspia kneels next to Zee to examine the water with him.
"I can communicate some simple thoughts to creatures of the water, but it may not be enough to project our friendliness if the predator is dangerous to us. Hunger and survival trump almost everything."
Caspia uses her ability as an emissary of the sea to see if she can communicate their status as allies to the water creatures or determine anything else about them before they cross the water. She also examines the kelp and the surface of the water to see if the species that feeds upon it is familiar to her from her sea.
Nature roll: 14
Steve, it doesn't say I need to roll for this emissary ability, so let me know if I should do something else.Note: had to delete an accidental extra roll characters, which is why it thinks my dice roll is manipulated.
As the light returns, the party watches as the water once again slowly fills with bright pastel colors. The kelp is indeed in the channel of water disrupting the path. This channel is only about ten feet wide. With the light once again re-lit you can tell that the water here is at most a couple of feet deep. Zee crouches down and dips his hand in the water pulling out some of the kelp. The bio-luminescent kelp is practically near the surface, and grabbing a sample to inspect is relatively easy.
Zee Constitution Saving Throw: 14
Success. The kelp instinctively wraps itself around Zee's hand. For a moment Zee feels his hand slightly numb and theorizes that this plant's defense mechanism might slightly interfere with one's nerves. Though in the end the druid's stout stature is sufficient to stave off the effects of the kelp.
Both Caspia and Zee examine the watery plant further. Despite Caspia's aquatic upbringing, and Zee's time sailing surface ships, neither have encountered this species before. It must be unique to this underground cave system. Speaking in the ancient language of primordial along with utilizing signal techniques passed down through generations of Tritons, Caspia attempts to convey the parties lack of ill-intentions towards the plant. It is hard to tell whether the message was received and acknowledged. After all, kelp lacks a way of communicating with humanoids... that you know of.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As Zee describes the magical nature of something under the water, and the way that the glowing kelp seemed to grasp at Zee's hands, Gulin considers his own studies into the arcane, attempting to remember anything similar.
Zee giggles, “It tingles a little….hehe. If we’re gonna pass through the water we may be a little wavy on the other side. “Rubbing his beard he judges the distance. “I think I can make the jump across, but that stalagmite will cause problems. You just gotta take a leap of faith sometimes though. Take a good run up, I’ll go last to calm anyone’s nerves that need it.”
From your studies you do know that basic spells such as light as classified under the evocation school. However, such a spell on it's own wouldn't account for Zee's reaction to the kelp. You do recall that many magical plants have defense mechanisms that can range from poison, to paralysis, or even death. Given the appearance and receding of the bio-luminescence you wonder if the kelp may be reacting to external stimulus.
As Gulin ponders, a gauntleted hand buried in his beard holding his chin pensively, he relays his thoughts on the strange glowing plant and how some of the luminescence might be magical instead of natural. "Zee, if you happen to be a good herbalist, I'd be fascinated to study the alchemical properties of some clippings of that kelp... but for now, it is a minor barrier, if it reacts to anyone swimming or wading past."
"Regardless, I believe I can make the jump. I can haul a piece of rope across, to give a helping hand to anyone who might follow."He looks for a spot to secure one end of the rope on the side the party is on.
Having a second thought, he ties a loop of rope around his waist, and hands the loose end to Caspia. "Can use it to pull someone back if needed... " he says, before sizing up the jump. He takes a running leap...
Zee listens to Freedrol intently, with warm affirmations punctuating every sentence. When he’s finished Zee replies, ”Yeah dude, seems like me and my fellows here could really help. I’m just the transporter though, I leave the heavy planning to these guys.” He turns to Gulin, “If you wanna go help your kin, I’m with you all the way brother.”
At Milliken’s request, Zee replies with a shrug, “Yeah sure, I‘m down for a game. I used to be pretty competitive down in the sailing clubs, but that was before I learned there’s more to life than winning.”
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
Caspia watched Gulin with interest as he entertained the dwarves with his tale.
"Should we help these dwarves with their missing miners? I am no expert on caves, but my sword is ready to help. I have never seen a mine before," she murmured to her other companions.
Moonday Goodmonth 16th, 591 CY
Zee Dart Throws: 13
Milliken Dart Throws: 17
The game of darts between Zee and Milliken takes quite a bit of time. Neither of contestants seem rather adept at it. After a few dozen throws Zee finally strikes true against his remaining numbers on the board. Grudgingly Milliken hands over five gold, grumbling about the effects of intoxication. Before Zee can sit down another dwarf, one of the female miners named Grendral, challenges Zee to another game. As the standing champion Zee is informed that he has no choice but to continue playing.
Zee Dart Throws: 14
Grendral Dart Throws: 17
This match is over much quicker. Having gotten into the swing of the game, Zee begins to mark off numbers in perfect sequential order. Suprisingly, Grendral is able to match the same feat. It isn't until the second to last throw the Grendral misses her mark. The mistake is miner, but it is sufficient to allow Zee to clean up his board and defeat the female dwarf. After receiving his winnings of another 5 gold, for a total of 10 gold, Zee turns towards the bar to get a drink, but before he can move a barrel chested dwarf with short cropped brown stubble bumps him and stands in his way. "Your game's not over yet! Your skill may be sufficient to hustle Grendral, but Jilnoun of the Ironfeet won't go down as easily!"
Zee Dart Throws: 19
Grendral Dart Throws: 18
While the game isn't as clean as the previous, Zee eventually prevails. Jilnoun is obviously intoxicated and unable to capitalize upon any of the missed shots Zee makes throughout the game. As Jilnoun backs away, Zee counts the gold coins in his pocket, now totaling 15, before sighing when one more dwarf, a young dwarven woman with long braided hair approaches. "Been awhile since I've seen an outsider clean up in here, I must admit you have some skill. However, I'm the reigning champion here, and luck will only carry you so far." You hear hushed whispers from the dwarves around you, "Nina will finally put that upstart in his place!"
Zee Dart Throws: 20
Nina Dart Throws: 9
Similar to the second game, the play is nearly impeccable. Knowing that he is now facing stiffer competition, Zee opts to focus on cleaning up numbers he has partially closed out on the board opposed to his previously flashy play of aiming around the board in sequential order. There are few errors between either of the players, but in the end Zee prevails. There are now a total of 20 gold pieces in Zee's pocket from the series of four dart games, and it appears that Zee has earned a measure of begrudged respect from the dwarves. As Zee takes his leave from the game of darts, Nina and her cohorts look slightly dejected, and nobody further challenges Zee.
After playing darts for nearly an hour, Zee returns to the party. As Zee rejoins the group Freedrol remarks, "Perhaps this is a good stroke of luck, that was an impressive display of finesse back there Zee. I only hope that you and your compatriots will be as equally skilled down in the mines. Once again, meet myself and my crew in front of the mine entrance in about nine hours time. I'll speak to Verdun in the meantime regarding compensation and access to the mines. Between Gulin's heroics last week and the display Zee just put on, I'm sure he will agree."
The group leaves Miner's Respite, and arranges for quarter at the local barracks until there aforementioned meeting time with Freedrol arrives. Settling down the party is able to sneak in a long rest, though it is an uncomfortable one within the spartan and noisy barrack.
Moonday Evening Goodmonth 16th, 591 CY
When you awake, the sun has mostly set to the west. Rays of multi-colored light break through the clouds as a testament to it's passing. The party meets up with Freedrol and her mining gang at the entrance to the mines. Large reinforced wooden doors are guarded by nearly half a dozen of the crown's knights. Obviously Mainstrad Copperlock's operation has the full blessing and support of Keoland. Freedrol provides the knights with a signed letter from Verdun, and the knights open the door to the mines. As you begin to walk down the first tunnel, Freedol speaks to you over her shoulder as you are lead onward, deeper underneath the hill at a slight angle. "Verdun agreed to your presence within the mines, but I strongly recommend that you do not overstay our shift. My team's shift lasts for a total of ten hours. However, it will take about an hour to get down to the new cavern, and obviously about an hour to return. So once we reach the cavern you should have about eight hours to investigate the disappearances. Unfortunately due to the disappearances the Copperlocks are no longer maintaining a full time presence on that level. If you do not make it back in time you will have to survive until we return for tomorrows shift. As for compensation, Verdun is offering 30 gold for the bodies of each of the missing dwarves, we assume that they are all dead. Additional coin may be provided if you can solve the mystery behind their fate and insure that the issue is dealt with. While you're down there it may also be lucrative to map as much as the cavern as possible, though I highly doubt our shift encompasses enough time for you to explore the entire cavern."
While this conversation is being carried out, Freedol continues to lead the group through a series of tunnels, becoming increasingly steeper than the original one. The Copperlocks have obviously been busy in their limited time in the region, quickly exploring and hollowing out underneath their hillside. It is a variable maze down here, and you thank whichever deities you pray to for the string of weird electric lights that the Copperlocks have lined their tunnels with. At various parts of the journey the party and Freedol's team gather into makeshift elevators to descend even deeper underneath the hillside. It is at the third of these elevators that you notice a pair of Keoland Knights. Freedrol once again speaks up, "After the disappearances started we erected a reinforced door down at the bottom level of the mine before you reach the entrance to the cavern. These guards here are the closest stationed troops from the garrison to ensure that nothing untoward escapes from the lowest level, however, they will likely not be close enough to hear or respond to anything that happens below. That is why it is once again important that you return with us when our shift ends, or you will likely have to survive an entire day down here."
As you step out from the third mining elevator in front of you is a single nondescript wooden door with iron bar reinforcements. Freedrol removes a series of the iron bars carefully laying them against the side of the mining tunnel, before taking a nondescript key out of her pocket to open the door. After everyone passes through the door, Freedrol turns around, closes the door and locks it, though it is unable to be reinforced with the iron bars laying on the ground on the other side. Strangely you hear echoes of dripping and water from this tunnel. Freedrol leads the way a few hundred more feet before the tunnel opens up into a large natural cavern. Within the middle of the cavern is a massive underground aquifer. Apart from the lit lanterns Freedrol's team carries, biolumenecent kelp or a similar underwater plant are the only sources of light. The cavern is extremely poorly lit, and even those of you with darkvision are unable to identify where the cavern ends. "Remember you should have about eight hours before you must be back here. How you wish to proceed is up to you."
You watch as Freedrol and her group begin to travel clockwise around the underground lake as they occasionally stop to chisel away at the rock wall or inspect stones. The path in that direction is roughly 15-20 feet wide, though you cannot see where that path ends. In the counter-clockwise direction is a much narrower path. From where you are you can barely make out that it appears to wrap around the aquifer until it arrives at a massive stalagmite that forces the path towards the center of the cavern. From there the path disappears behind the stalagmite. In front of you lays the still water. Occasionally you hear a drip as moisture gathers from the bottom of stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and a faint splash as that same moisture falls into the aquifer. Very tiny ripples of waves barely perceptible to your eyes dance across the smooth watery surface. How would you like to proceed?
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
During the dart game, Gulin seems boisterously proud of Zee as he cleans up the board each time. Several more pitchers of ale are ordered for the party and some of the more social miners.
As the morning breaks, Gulin goes through his daily ritual - awaking early, studying his arcane tome, and forming the protective spell around his second most important item - alarming the silver thread of his coin pouch. Zee sees that the spell's magic seems to refract into a bubble around the dwarf, shimmering briefly. As the group gathers for breakfast, he goes over some of his spell selections - in particular, with a quick touch he can trace out a dwarven sigil on a weapon that infuses it with magical essence. Otherwise, there's a lot of fire and throwing things, so watch line of sight between the dwarf and baddies. He pulls out a rolled up piece of parchment... and the astute can see that he has written down some very terrible jokes for the last of his spells.
Before descending to the depths, Gulin swings by the quartermaster for several chunks of chalk.
Avalloc watches the group enter the mine, before a mental command from Gulin sends the bird to go hunt and enjoy the day.
Steve, let me know what the cost of the rounds of ale and chalk are.
As they descend, he whispers over to Caspia, "Lass, think your mapmaking skills will be key here. I feel like Reynnar and you can take the lead, him pathfinding and you marking the map. Zee can keep in the middle, and I'll take the rear and mark the passages we pass with some chalk so we know the path back, and can mark the location of any bodies we find." As the group proceeds past the iron door, Gulin makes occasional marks on dry stalagmites and cave walls as they pass.
At the sight of the aquifer, Gulin lets out a low whistle. "Ah, see Zee? Things of beauty exist below the sky too, occasionally. Some of the life down here almost makes the cave water look like it has starlight as well." As he assesses the paths, he thinks back to the old dwarven stories. What sort of creatures might use such an aquifer as a home?
Arcana or History 8 (if Stonecunning applies, add +2 to History)
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Moonday Goodmonth 16th, 591 CY
After spending the better part of an hour ordering pitchers of ale for himself, the party, and nearby dwarven miners, Gulin may or may not be shocked when he approaches the barkeep at Miner's Respite to settle up. "That will be 5 gold total!" The barkeep explains, before walking Gulin through over the dozen pitchers of ale he ordered. Even with the quantity taken into account the price seems overinflated.
A similar story is encountered at the mining company shop. Here chalk is currently marked at 2 copper pieces each, which seems a little higher than Gulin recalled.
As they enter the mines, Gulin peers back through Avalloc eyes for one last moment. Despite the spirit of the bird being of fey origin, Gulin senses excitement and elation from Avalloc as he finds an updraft of warm air and begins circling in search of prey. Whether the familiar is merely imitating the motions of a hawk, or actual intends to hunt Gulin is uncertain.
Gulin History Check:
Gulin attempts to recall the lore from his family regarding underground caves. While Gulin did not grow up in the mighty underground keep of Korgan Duum, the stories of his great-great-grandfather, Duron Runehammer, were passed down through the ages. The first point that comes to Gulin's mind is the age old adage that fresh water will inevitably attract creatures.
While a typical cavern with a source of fresh water near the surface may be home to cave bears and wolves, the hour long trip from the surface has led Gulin to remember darker tales from his great-grandfather. While Gulin doesn't believe the party has traveled far enough to breach the first layer of the Underdark, known as the Upperdark, the dwarf recalls that it is not uncommon for displaced denizens of the Upperdark to search for sources of food and water closer to the surface.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Zee accepts his win humbly, not seeming too bothered by the coin he won. As each challenger resigns, he offers words of wisdom on how to improve their game, and assures them that they very nearly won. He does however, appreciate the increased hospitality of the miners, enjoying his ales and talking to everyone who's willing.
At night, he spends much of the evening outside foraging and stargazing. "I'm gonna miss you guys tomorrow" He laments to the skies "Stay with me down there." In the morning after his meditation he hands out a handful of goodberryto each of his companions before they set off. "I don't know if there's anything good to eat down there. I knew a guy who swore by blending fruit with charcoal, meant to cleans the toxins and all that, but I never got on board with it. Best to keep some good, fresh food with us, touched by the sun, moon and sky."
Zee is not his normal easygoing self as they descend into the mines, he twitches at the faintest noise or sensation. Once the dwarves have departed he responds to Gulin, "Y..yeah, it looks alright I guess. I find more comfort in the night sky.... so I brought a little of it with me." Zee's shaky voice still sounds whimsical, making it hard to tell if he is making some obscure metaphor or perhaps is just strung out on something hallucinogenic until he opens his hand. Cast produce flame What seems to be a miniature star appears floating in Zee's hand, throwing light over the faces of the group. "Now that's starlight! Lead the way Cass and Rey, I'll be ok now." The easy confidence seems to have returned to Zee somewhat, though he still seems slightly uncomfortable. As they move, Zee keeps his eyes on the star muttering in Sylvan. Cast detect magic as a ritual. (Produce flame should run out just as detect magic activates.)
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
Gulin nods at Zee, appreciating the light and return of his color vision. "Things that live in dark places such as this tend to be able to see into shadows, regardless. I expect that if there are beasties to be had... they might be holding close to the underground lake here as a source of water. I say we circle around the narrow path along the aquifer."
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Caspia looks around the mine with interest while putting her navigation skills to use by marking the path both mentally and on a scrap of paper using her own obscure, navigational code. Her dark vision is helpful here, but Zee's light is illuminating. Her fin-like ears perk up at the mention of water.
"In a place like this, creatures will be drawn to sources of water and the food it attracts or grows. I agree with Gulin." she said.
She smiles at Zee's reaction to the caves and pats his shoulder.
"I too prefer the open sea and sky, but this place is very damp. At least I will not dry out here. We will complete our investigation and leave here soon."
Zee blushes, gripping Caspia’s shoulder tightly. “That….. means a lot, thanks. Hey, I love your drawings, looks like mine a bit. We should compare notes, artist to artist when we get back to the surface.”
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
Moonday Goodmonth 16th, 591 CY
Zee finishes casting produce flame and the party begins to treck along the side of the aquifer counter-clockwise away from Freedrol and her miners. The light is a welcome addition and helps the party avoid parts of the path that are slick. As they walk Gulin begins to mark the cavern walls every few hundred of feet. The dwarf observes that the cavern walls are moist, likely from the increased humidity due to the aquifer. The marks against the walls will last for awhile, but they probably aren't permanent.
Occasionally the path narrows forcing the party close to the aquifer. In those instances everyone immediately notices that beneath the dark still water kelp like plants light up in response to the proximity of Zee's flames. Nobody notices these plants until light was introduced near them, but they now glow beautiful hues of green, blue, purple, and pink. These lights appear to be within a few feet of the surface near your path, but quickly recede much deeper under water as you look out across the aquifer.
Interesting, ten minutes later when Zee finishes his ritual the glow from the kelp begins to quickly disappear, receding from view once again causing the floor of the aquifer to be indistinguishable from its surface.
Zee Detect Magic:
As you finish casting detect magic, your vision of the multicolor pastel hues of the kelp is replaced by your newly acquired magical senses. Emanating from under the water your see the faintly pulsing red magical auras that you would associate with low level evocation magic. These pulses are closer to the surface, say within five feet, near the "shore" of the aquifer, but they quickly appear to sink much deeper as you look out across the aquifer.
After another five minutes of travel, the path narrows to mere inches against the wall before returning to a semblance of a walk-able path. The ground you stand on is damp and flat. The wall arcing around to your right, while gently sloped inward away from the water, looks similarly damp and smooth with no visible hand holds. The few inches of semi-flat ground present before the visible cave floor is engulfed by water look treacherous. Too your left lays the still water of the aquifer, circling around in front of you and creating about a ten foot section of water that must be traversed until an area resembling a path reappears. A few feet further into this secondary path across from the ten foot channel of water stands a sharp spindly stalagmite, the first of such in a forest of such rock formations creepily jutting out from both the cave floor path and nearby water as a ghostly and unmoving forest.
The lack of lighting makes judging the depth of the water near you impossible; recalling your visions of the illuminated kelp, you guess that the ten feet of interrupting water near the cave floor path must be relatively shallow. How do you wish to proceed?
Additionally, can everyone describe their current footwear in their next post. It may or may not matter for subsequent sections of this cave...
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
From the back of the pack, Gulin pipes up, "Hey, what's the hold up? Zee, you seein' anything, lad?"
As he looks forward to the two paths, he contemplates, "Well, I know Caspia and myself can swim just fine if we want to cross... assuming we aren't going to disturb anything going that way." He looks to the watery path, are there a lot of bioluminescent things floating that way?
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Moonday Goodmonth 16th, 591 CY
With your source of light now down the water is once again a smooth reflective surface apart from the occasional ripple caused by water dripping off of stalactites. From your earlier visions when a source of light was present the bio-luminescent kelp appeared to be pretty much everywhere near the shore of the underground aquifer.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
As Zee reignites the miniature star he contemplates. “Seems like something under there is casting some pretty rad magic. Evocation, but nothing too major, looks pretty cool. If we’re gonna cross we’d better be careful.” Crouching down, his dull, weathered sandals scraping lightly across the floor,; he dips his hand into the water pulling out some kelp. He rolls it around in his hands, trying to wonder what sort of creatures live in ecosystems with this kind of flora. “Generally, if there’s plants, there’s something that eats it, and something that eats that. There’s always a top predator, but is it a threat to us?” 5 -1 for Nature, +6 for survival
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
Caspia kneels next to Zee to examine the water with him.
"I can communicate some simple thoughts to creatures of the water, but it may not be enough to project our friendliness if the predator is dangerous to us. Hunger and survival trump almost everything."
Caspia uses her ability as an emissary of the sea to see if she can communicate their status as allies to the water creatures or determine anything else about them before they cross the water. She also examines the kelp and the surface of the water to see if the species that feeds upon it is familiar to her from her sea.
Nature roll: 14
Steve, it doesn't say I need to roll for this emissary ability, so let me know if I should do something else.Note: had to delete an accidental extra roll characters, which is why it thinks my dice roll is manipulated.
Moonday Goodmonth 16th, 591 CY
As the light returns, the party watches as the water once again slowly fills with bright pastel colors. The kelp is indeed in the channel of water disrupting the path. This channel is only about ten feet wide. With the light once again re-lit you can tell that the water here is at most a couple of feet deep. Zee crouches down and dips his hand in the water pulling out some of the kelp. The bio-luminescent kelp is practically near the surface, and grabbing a sample to inspect is relatively easy.
Zee Constitution Saving Throw: 14
Success. The kelp instinctively wraps itself around Zee's hand. For a moment Zee feels his hand slightly numb and theorizes that this plant's defense mechanism might slightly interfere with one's nerves. Though in the end the druid's stout stature is sufficient to stave off the effects of the kelp.
Both Caspia and Zee examine the watery plant further. Despite Caspia's aquatic upbringing, and Zee's time sailing surface ships, neither have encountered this species before. It must be unique to this underground cave system. Speaking in the ancient language of primordial along with utilizing signal techniques passed down through generations of Tritons, Caspia attempts to convey the parties lack of ill-intentions towards the plant. It is hard to tell whether the message was received and acknowledged. After all, kelp lacks a way of communicating with humanoids... that you know of.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
As Zee describes the magical nature of something under the water, and the way that the glowing kelp seemed to grasp at Zee's hands, Gulin considers his own studies into the arcane, attempting to remember anything similar.
Arcana 11
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Zee giggles, “It tingles a little….hehe. If we’re gonna pass through the water we may be a little wavy on the other side. “ Rubbing his beard he judges the distance. “I think I can make the jump across, but that stalagmite will cause problems. You just gotta take a leap of faith sometimes though. Take a good run up, I’ll go last to calm anyone’s nerves that need it.”
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
Moonday Goodmonth 16th, 591 CY
Gulin Runehammer Arcana Check:
From your studies you do know that basic spells such as light as classified under the evocation school. However, such a spell on it's own wouldn't account for Zee's reaction to the kelp. You do recall that many magical plants have defense mechanisms that can range from poison, to paralysis, or even death. Given the appearance and receding of the bio-luminescence you wonder if the kelp may be reacting to external stimulus.
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
As Gulin ponders, a gauntleted hand buried in his beard holding his chin pensively, he relays his thoughts on the strange glowing plant and how some of the luminescence might be magical instead of natural. "Zee, if you happen to be a good herbalist, I'd be fascinated to study the alchemical properties of some clippings of that kelp... but for now, it is a minor barrier, if it reacts to anyone swimming or wading past."
"Regardless, I believe I can make the jump. I can haul a piece of rope across, to give a helping hand to anyone who might follow." He looks for a spot to secure one end of the rope on the side the party is on.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Having a second thought, he ties a loop of rope around his waist, and hands the loose end to Caspia. "Can use it to pull someone back if needed... " he says, before sizing up the jump. He takes a running leap...
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag