Chilling Adventures in the North

Shad's Survival: 4

You begin to search the area looking for any signs of where the dwarf village might be. However, with all of the hills and Kelvin's Cairn it makes it difficult to see very far. For the first hour, you find no signs of any village out, or any other habitat, in the white wilderness of the north. All you see is some local wildlife continuing to search for what shelter that they can find.

Yet, you still keep searching, determined to help the residents of Caer-Konig. Another half-hour passes by, and still, you find nothing of interest to explore or investigate. However, nearing the end of the second hour, when you had almost given up hope finding anything with the sky turning darker and the temperature dropping, you see it.

You see a blocky stronghold bereft of warmth or charm jutting out of a hillside in a rough crescent shape. Only part of its construction is visible; the rest is buried in the stone.

"Proper fortress they got here," Arogna marvels. "Wouldn't call it a village, myself, but maybe your kin would, Muharg."

"Yes," Shad says, "a fortress, all right." He looks slightly nervous, intimidated by the hard edges of the buildings and lack warmth. "Please led the way, Muharg."

Qinfaren stops when they see the fortress and then he nods his head, impressed with what he sees. But then he notices something else, or more likely the absence of something else.

"Does anyone see anybody?" Qinfaren asks. "Does it seem deserted?"

Qinfaren does his best in the dying light to see if he can spot any sort of movement at all; any sign of guards; or animals.

Perception: 17  

Qinfaren examines the fortress but sees no indication of movement within. There are no lights shining inside the fortress, and therefore no shadows. However, if there were people, then there are a couple of spots, Qinfaren notices, that could be used for a lookout spot; one is the stone building outside the fortress, but other points around the fortress could also be used.

Qinfaren points out the limited info he's seen and then nods over at the stone building outside the fortress.

"That seems like a good place to start," Qinfaren says. "This place is a bit eerie. Do we want to just walk up and knock on the door, or maybe do this more quietly. I may have something that can help us stay a bit harder to see until we want to be."

He looks over at the dogs.

"Maybe we leave them back a little bit until we're sure it's safe to bring them in?"

"Approaching quietly seems smart to me too, Qinfaren," Shad says. "The Cat Lord has a blessing to help one person sneak and a more powerful blessing to help more of us pass without leaving a trace." He shifts nervously. "I'll try and creep up on the place."

@Shad 

 Qinfaren nods at Shad.

"If you scout ahead," Qinfaren begins. "You can signal back to us. Hold up one fist if we need to come quietly, and I can assist the rest with their stealth. If it's deserted, well, I guess you can just call back."

"Sounds good, Qinfaren." Shad begins to move forward stealthily: 15

Bjorn looks at the fortress and frowns as he tries to recall anything he has heard from the ancestors regarding the fortress before them.

(Bjorn, roll a history check.)

Shad approaches the fortress hugging the northern wall. When he gets closer, he passes the snow-covered stone bunker to the north. He continues along undetected by anyone who might be in the fortress. Eventually, Shad moves around the fortress to the barred culvert, the source of the frozen river. If the bars could be removed, he sees that the culvert could be crawled through. On the other hand, he is only a few feet from the main entrance.

Worrying about traction on the frozen river, Shad also wonders if he is strong enough to move the bars. 

First, he will creep toward the main entrance, looking for signs of life/occupation. If he discovers nothing that way, he will step toward the culvert. He hopes his white coats help him blend in with the snow and wishes he knew more about dwarves and how often they are outside.

Arogna keeps back with the dogs. She takes some meat from the bundle on the sled for them to make sure they are occupied. "I hope he's all right," she whispers.

History Check 13

(OOC: I know nothing.)

Muharg stays silent for a long while, completely in awe of the fortress, and wondering why there's no sign of life within or without it.

"I've been living in towns my whole life, so I'm not really an expert in dwarven fortresses, let me think if I can recall any useful detail." And so he starts going through his dwarven culture knowledge he learned from his parents while waiting for a sign from Shad.

OOC:

At the main entrance, Shad moves as quietly as he can. He will Investigate the entrance for signs of recent use. Has, for example, ice been chipped and snow cleared away so the entrance can open. Are there footprints? He will listen for the sounds of distant conversation. Also, he will lean against the fortress hoping for warmth.

Investigation: 15

(@Muharg do you want to roll for a history check can use stonecunning.)

The area in front of the doors is clear of snow. The doors must be used by someone in the fortress.

Shad will sneak back towards the others. He will raise his fist, indicating that they should move forward quietly. He plans to whisper that the doors have been used to his friends.

Seeing, Shad's signal, Qinfaren raises his staff, his thumb tight against the mistletoe twined around it.

He focuses for a moment then says "Sine ulla."

Casts: Pass Without Trace  

A dullness to the light seems to spread from Qinfaren to Muharg, Arogna, Bjorn, Shad and himself. Each of them realize that their steps, even on hard ground are quieter.

Qinfaren then smiles at the rest and moves as quietly as he can behind Shad back towards the fortress entrance.

Stealth: 25