# World's Largest Dungeon



## Kafkonia (Jul 15, 2006)

It's been a week since the minarets and steeples of Mandala were visible, and three days since the party entered the mountain range to the East of the Kingdom, retracing the route that was to be followed by the caravan that never arrived. The horses and riding dogs Dactyl Fakim provided to his hired adventurers have held up well to the travel, picking their way along the moderately well-travelled pass, and it seems like today will be yet another uneventful day of travel.

As the party crests a particularly steep rise, however, the halfling Carolina notices something unusual -- the animals in the area all seem perturbed. Birds are taking to the skies en masse, small mammals are hurrying down the slopes of the mountain, and the insects are buzzing about her head with an alarming insistency. Before she can mention any of this to her compatriots, however, the ground is rocked by a small tremor -- and then a larger, and a larger.

Without warning, the mountainside gives way beneath their mounts, and the five men and women find themselves tumbling downward, along with their animals and a sizeable amount of the terrain around them. Everything is a chaotic jumble of stones as they fall downward, and yet when they reach the bottom they find that, while they are scratched and bruised, they seem miraculously to have escaped without injury. Unfortunately, their mounts haven't been so lucky, as all have perished in the landslide.

The shock of the fall is soon overshadowed by a larger shock, quite literally -- a man the size a galleon lies before them, partly covered by the rubble.  A natural death apparently claimed him long before their arrival, and yet he seems not to have decayed in all that time. A single cave winds down into the earth beyond the fallen behemoth, seeming quite inviting as the sky begins to darken.


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## wmasters (Jul 15, 2006)

Aswan lies still for a moment, the shock taking it's toll. "Is everyone alright?" he calls, relieved when he hears everyone's voice. Sitting up, the huge man catches his eye. "Woah! What is that? He's huge. Some kind of mountain giant I guess. Wierd. Hey, maybe we should take stock in this cave," he says, "I sure hope there's no bears in it."

Aswan has a quick look around the cave mouth, and the fallen man to see if there are any signs of someone or something passing this way recently.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 15, 2006)

Baeril weeps for Bluebell, his faithful pony, wiping the tears from his cheeks with the back of his hand and blowing his nose loudly into an embroidered handkerchief.

"Sweet grass and warm sunshine, Bluebell." The gnome puts his handkerchief away and dusts himself off before removing his bags from Bluebell and undoing the saddle and bridle, making the pony comfortable for his trip into the afterlife. As he does so, he keeps glancing up at the giant, growing increasingly curious. "How odd that he has not decayed!"

Baeril's thrush flies around the dead giant, tweeting in Gnomish -- "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" -- to no avail. Finally, Half-Penny comes and lands on her master's shoulder, watching with interest.


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 16, 2006)

Thorg gets up, silghtly dazed, and runs around to the other party members to make sure that they are unhurt. When everyone comes up fine, he looks around, missing something... then he realizes it.

"Mr. Hoof! No!!!! And little Bluebell, too! And everybody's horses!"

Thorg raises his hands to the sky in prayer. "Please, great Pelor, make sure our horses find nice sunny plains to run around in. Give them lots of sweet flowers to eat. And they should get no mountains to fall down on them. They were good horses. And... wait, who's this big guy?"

Thorg clambers over and peers into the giant's nostril. "I don't feel any breath. Maybe he's dead, too?"



> "Hey, maybe we should take stock in this cave," Aswan says, "I sure hope there's no bears in it."




"Oh, I don't know, Aswan. The mountain might fall down again. We could get crushed like Mr. Hoof."


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## industrygothica (Jul 16, 2006)

Carolina slowly crawls up through the debris.  Still dazed, it takes her a moment to assess the situation and to finally realize what has happened.  She looks up at the cave-in and tries to discern a path back out of the mountain but quickly gives up, deeming it impossible.  She rests her hand for a moment on her fallen mount before removing any belongings it may have been carrying.

While she as curious as the others as the demise of the creature before them, she is more concerned with any equipment the thing might be carrying to aid them on their trek through this... place.

"Unfortunately," she says, "Answan is right.  Looks like there's no way out here; we're gonna have to go down in the cave."  
She looks up again at the gaping hole, and the ominous darkening sky beyond, "We may be wanting some cover anyway."

OOC: Carolina will take 20 and thoroughly search the dead man for any useful equipment or perhaps even a clue as to the cause his peculiar death.


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## Boddynock (Jul 16, 2006)

Jerolan lies for a moment where the impetus of the fall threw him, then springs to his feet, dusting himself off and looking around. "Lady's Grace, cutters, that was unexpected. Does the ground open up often on this plane?" He checks on his mount, then pats it on the shoulder saying, "Poor old beast. Still, it was quick."

He retrieves his pack from the riding dog's saddle, and checks its contents before drawing a small brush from his pocket and proceeding to remove the worst ravages of his fall. Only when he is satisfied that he presents a fair face to the world does he stroll over to the giant corpse. Puzzled, like the others, he contents himself with a raised eyebrow and a quiet "Hmm."

In response to Aswan's suggestion and Thorg's caution, and with an eye to the darkening sky, he replies, "Well, having survived a fall from great height, I certainly don't fancy being drenched in a downpour. Besides, all that mud would ruin these trews. Still, it might be wise to stay close to the entrance - at least for a while. That way, if we absolutely had to, we could duck out of the way of any falling rock."

He then turns back to examine the giant more carefully, assisting Carolina in her search for anything which could be of value or interest, or shed light on what happened here.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 16, 2006)

Searching the body, Carolina finds he had little in the way of possessions aside from the well-crafted chain shirt he wore. Lying a few dozen feet away, partially buried by rocks, is a halberd that was obviously sized for the deceased. Large sheets of paper, covered with notes in a script she does not recognize, have been torn apart and litter the scene. Upon investigation, Jerolan thinks that the script vaguely resembles Celestial; from what he can make out, the papers were part of a journal.

The cave mouth appears to have been dug out by hand -- hands much smaller than those possessed by the body in front of them. There are footprints and tracks in the dirt, and at the back of the cave a poorly lit tunnel, perhaps big enough for two humans to walk abreast, leads further into the mountain.

Aswan notes that the footprints all lead into the tunnel; none lead out.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 16, 2006)

Baeril watches Aswan walk back and forth, examing the footsteps, gearwheels turning in his brain.

"Unless he shrank himself down and walked out backwards, and then died and returned to normal size ... How intriguing! Things like this never happened back in Greenfields. Well, that's not true. My great-uncle Raeril once walked backwards 22 miles to settle a bet, but he walked smack under a plow being pulled by a pair of rams. He always lost his head over a bet, his wife always used to say, and she sure ended up being right, Sheyanna preserve him.

"I don't suppose this was a bet, though. He still has his head, after all."


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 16, 2006)

Thorg laughs. "I like rams. They're funny."

He looks around, thinking about the dead horses and the dead giant. "Do we need a big shovel? How do we bury a bunch of horses? Poor horses. Sometimes we eat horses when we don't have enough food, but I'm not hungry. And, uh, we don't eat giants."

Thorg picks around the rubble, picking up the rest of his belongings. He looks at the sky, at all the horses, and at the cave. "If it rains, we need to go inside. This mountain feels bad, but the cave is inside. I will pray to Pelor to keep us safe in the cave." He heads over to Aswan and Baeril by the cave.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 16, 2006)

Almost as if in response to Thorg's comments, the sky seems to crack open for an instant as lightning strikes higher up on the mountain and a peel of thunder echoes off the landscape. The first drops of rain start to strike the adventurers, and small pebbles begin to tumble down the steep incline towards them as the wind picks up.

The sky has become almost as black as night, with only a faint hint of the hidden sun providing light. A small, foot-long creature, its features obscured by shadows, scurries from the rubble and into the cave mouth, where it disappears into the darkness.


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## industrygothica (Jul 17, 2006)

Upon seeing the creature enter the cave mouth, Carolina loads a bolt into her crossbow.  After a few furtive glances to her companions she asks, "Anybody got a light?" and makes her way to the cave entrance with the assumption that she will be taking point.


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## Boddynock (Jul 17, 2006)

Jerolan picks up the pages of the journal. If it is too heavy for him to carry, he will ask one of his colleagues to put it in their pack. In response to Carolina's question, he draws his dagger and holds it aloft, so that the magical light illuminates the path ahead.

"Well, much as I'd rather stay out of holes in the ground, I think we'd better go into the cave. By the sounds of it, we could be facing a landslide, if that wind picks up and the rain loosens already loose rubble."

He moves to stand behind Carolina. Thinking of the creature they saw, he draws his rapier as well.

[sblock=OOC]If the journal weighs more than 3 lbs, he'll ask Thorg to carry it for him.[/sblock]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 17, 2006)

With a final sad look at Bluebell, Baeril hitches his backpack onto his back and steps into the cave, his walking stick in his hands, squinting into the shadows.

[[Low-light vision, naturally]]


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 17, 2006)

Thorg stows his shield on his back, pulls out his longspear, and lines up behind the small folk as everyone enters the cave. He nervously looks at the muddy entrance and big boulders as he goes inside.


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## wmasters (Jul 17, 2006)

Aswan follows the group into the cave mouth. "Curious, looks like creatures go into this cave, but it doesn't look like they come out. Guess it leads somewhere then."


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## Kafkonia (Jul 17, 2006)

Most of the papers have been torn into pieces, but the largest, most intact fragments are almost as big as Thorg. Jerolan can carry two or three such fragments without overly inconviencing himself.

In the light of the dagger, the party can see that the tunnel slopes downward and to the right, heading deeper toward the mountain. As they walk, the tunnel's size varies only slightly, just large enough for the tallest of them to walk, arms outstretched on either side, without touching the walls or bumping his head. About a hundred feet in, the tunnel opens out into what is obviously an artificial chamber -- carved from the stone, it appears to be a perfect cube, each side almost as long as the tunnel from which they had just emerged. Dim rods are stationed equidistant around the room, shedding a dim light that does little to enhance that supplied by Jerolan's dagger.

There are two identical iron doors set into the walls across the room from the party, one before them, one to their left. In the far corner of the room huddles a large rat, presumably the creature they followed into the tunnel. Its back is arched and its fur stands on end as it watches the interlopers warily, but it makes no move to attack.


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## Boddynock (Jul 17, 2006)

Jerolan stops just inside the doorway. "Oh my, this is unexpected. Ah well, at least it gives us some place to go."

He eyes the rat cautiously. "Hmm, what should we do about yon beast? It's not pretty - but then, not all of us can be."


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 18, 2006)

"Nothin', I guess. It's just a rat. It's not hurting anyone."

Thorg leans back against the wall next to the entrance to the chamber and looks around.

*OOC:*
[sblock]Thorg will look around with Darkvision. Does he Spot anything? Is there anything to Listen to?[/sblock]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 18, 2006)

"Is it just a rat that can turn doorknobs? I don't know ..."


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## wmasters (Jul 18, 2006)

Aswan looks curiously at the gnome. "Seems doubtful it can turn doorknobs. Whatever gave you that idea? I expect it's just sheltering from the rain, same as us. Let the creature be.

Aswan looks at the imposing doors in front of them, "Do you think we should knock?" he asks the assembled group.


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## industrygothica (Jul 18, 2006)

wmasters said:
			
		

> Aswan looks at the imposing doors in front of them, "Do you think we should knock?" he asks the assembled group.





"Only if ye want an answer," Carolina says offhandedly as she makes her way to examine the closest of the light-shedding rods.  "Interesting."


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 18, 2006)

wmasters said:
			
		

> Aswan looks curiously at the gnome. "Seems doubtful it can turn doorknobs. Whatever gave you that idea?".



"Don't see many rats in the mountains. Too much open air, too much chance for some bird to come pluck him off when he's looking for the food that's not there. Rats don't go riding horses around atop mountains, waiting for landslides. This rat is from inside this place and someone else opened that door recently and he got stuck on this side when it closed."


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## Kafkonia (Jul 18, 2006)

The rod is a nondescript metal bar, firmly bolted to the wall. It doesn't seem to be giving off any heat.

Thorg has trouble hearing anything over the sound of the now-torrential downpour, although it sounds like rain isn't the only thing that's falling out there now. His keen eyes, however, reveal that the rat looks somewhat the worse for wear, with its fur matted in places as though it had been scurrying over jagged rocks that had drawn blood. Despite that, it still seems to be in good health -- in Thorg's limited experience, he'd be tempted to say he's never seen a better-looking rat. Not that he's ever really looked at one this attentively before.

Aside from the rat, the room is non-descript. There are no symbols on the walls or any indication of what the room is, or what lies on the other side of the door. It was obviously constructed with great care and skill, but to what end no one could say.

OOC:[SBLOCK]Carolina's Search check = 2+6; Thorg's Listen check = 3+3; Thorg's Spot check = 20+3.[/SBLOCK]


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## Kafkonia (Jul 18, 2006)

Double post.


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## industrygothica (Jul 19, 2006)

Kafkonia said:
			
		

> The rod is a nondescript metal bar, firmly bolted to the wall. It doesn't seem to be giving off any heat.




Carolina shrugs as she finishes examining the metal rod, somewhat disappointed.  She was really hoping it would be something she could use.

Almost as quickly as the rods captured her attention, she forgets about them as she now focuses on the large iron doors.  She purposely gives the rat no obvious attention as she makes her way to the closest of the doors, although she makes sure the filthy creature stays within her field of vision at all times, ready to fire a bolt from her crossbow if need be.


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## Boddynock (Jul 19, 2006)

Jerolan moves up alongside Carolina.

"Clearly this is the entrance to some sort of structure. The question is, were the bloods who constructed it expecting visitors - and if they were, would those visitors have been welcome?"


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 19, 2006)

"There was a dead gentleman laying outside their front door, if what you're saying is true. That suggests we might need to try extra-hard to make friends with them," Baeril chirps, apparently without irony or sarcasm.

"Say, could he have even _fit_ through those doors?"


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 19, 2006)

"Friends are good, Baeril. I like more friends, too."

Thorg puts his spear away and crouches down, facing the rat. "Hello, rat. How are you? I am fine. Do you want a blanket? Mulgrave always gave me a blanket when I came inside out of the rain. It was warm and comfy."

Thorg pulls his vestments out of his pack and presents them to the rat.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 19, 2006)

The rat steps back as Thorg crouches down, but stops and watches him. When he presents it with his vestments, it hesitates, steps forward a bit, and sniffs. Slowly it moves forward and sniffs again, then climbs up onto the proferred clothing and from there to Thorg's hand. It begins exploring his arm curiously, moving up and down.

The doors, upon closer investigation, are surprisingly smooth, and Carolina would guess they're about four feet across by nine feet high. There's a slight indentation at eye level to the halfling on each of the doors, and combined with the lack of hinges on this side of the door it suggests that the doors, if pushed, would open inward. Given the size of the giant outside, it's likely he could not have fit through the doorway without substantial discomfort -- in fact, he may have had difficulty even travelling down the tunnel that led them here.

While the others are examining the door or speaking to the rat, Aswan notices that dirty water is slowly starting to trickle into the room from the hallway.


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## wmasters (Jul 20, 2006)

Aswan glances at the water trickling into the cave. "Looks like it might get as wet in here as it is out there. Do you think we should go in?


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 20, 2006)

"I don't know that we have a choice; the mud may block the way we came in. Hopefully we get a better reception inside than our large friend did."


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## industrygothica (Jul 20, 2006)

"Ready or not," Carolina says, more to herself than to her companions, as she slowly pushes open the door.


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 20, 2006)

Thorg smiles. He carefully looks the rat over as best he can without disturbing him. "Please, Pelor," Thorg prays, "Make sure this rat is safe, good, and happy."

Very slowly and carefully, he picks the rat up--with its permission--and fashions a sling out of his vestments so that the rat can travel with him.

*OOC:*
[sblock]I would like to make a Heal check to make sure that the rat is uninjured, and if it is injured, I'll spontaneously cast Cure Minor Wounds (replacing Guidance) on it. Then I'll try to give the rat a sling to travel in.[/sblock]


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## Boddynock (Jul 20, 2006)

Jerolan is torn between watching Carolina preparing to open the doors and watching Thorg's performance with the rat. He stands silently, with eyebrows raised, looking at the towering half-orc out of the corner of his eye.

"Barmy," he mutters quietly to himself. "Ah well, takes all sorts."

At Baeril's comment, he looks around and shudders at the thought of all that mud. "Right," he said, "let's go!" As Carolina pushes open the doors he steps through, blades raised. He's ready for trouble, if it comes.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 20, 2006)

Although a little wary at first, the rat relaxes as it sees the care Thorg takes with it, and soon is snuggled comfortably in the sling the half-orc has made for him. Although it looks slightly hurt, Thorg is pretty sure his Cure Minor Wounds spell will fix it up good as new.

As the door swings open, it slowly disappears into an impenetrable blackness -- not a sudden vanishing, but rather bit by bit, as though it were passing through a wall that blocked out sight. Nothing whatsoever can be seen or heard on the other side of the door. Jerolan steps through, and he too disappears.

Jerolan:[SBLOCK] Stepping through the doorway, you find that you can no longer see the light from the room you just left. The light from your dagger is the only light visible, and it illuminates a room similar in construction to the last. The exact dimensions disappear into the shadows, but it looks to be large enough to encompass two perpendicular sides of the preceding room.

In the darkness, you hear the sound of coughing and sniffling.[/SBLOCK]

OOC:[SBLOCK] Thorg's Heal check = 20 (17+3)[/SBLOCK]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 20, 2006)

"Jerolan? What do you see?"


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## Kafkonia (Jul 20, 2006)

Baeril waits for a while, but no response is forthcoming. He begins to wonder if sound, like light, cannot pass through the doorway.


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## Boddynock (Jul 20, 2006)

[sblock=Kafkonia]Jerolan turns and checks the doorway behind him. He is keen to know if he can return through the strange portal.

If not, he shrugs ruefully and moves carefully in the direction of the coughing.[/sblock]


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## Kafkonia (Jul 21, 2006)

Jerolan:
[SBLOCK]Unfortunately, the blackness of the doorway appears impassable, completely solid to his touch.

Stepping slowly forward, Jerolan sees that the noises are coming from three snaggle-toothed orcs huddle in the far corner of the room. They look quite bedraggled, and the show of bravado they make by baring their teeth and snarling is obviously just that -- a show.

Here is a rough map of the room:


```
_____________
|            X|
|_________    |
          |   |
          |   |
          |   |
          |   |
          |   |
          |___|

The X represents the orcs. The door Jerolan entered from is in the
bottom left-hand corner of the horizontal passage.
```
[/SBLOCK]


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## Boddynock (Jul 21, 2006)

[sblock=Kafkonia]Jerolan moves to the corner and looks around - making sure there's no-one else waiting in ambush. When he sees there is not, he moves towards the orcs and stops just out of reach.

"So, cutters, what's up with you? Is this a trap? And is there no way out? Or is there something else which has caused your distress?"

He speaks in Common. If they don't seem to understand, he'll repeat it in Infernal.[/sblock]


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## industrygothica (Jul 21, 2006)

When no answer comes from Baeril's question, Carolina also steps through the door, crossbow at the ready.


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 21, 2006)

Thorg smiles as the rat settles into the sling. "I need to find some cheese," he thinks aloud.

Only after the rat has been taken care of, does Thorg notice the incoming water, the open door, and the darkness inside. "That looks very black to me," he says, "Maybe we should bring a light." He turns to one of the rods on the wall, near the open door, and gives it a good, hard tug.


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## wmasters (Jul 21, 2006)

Nervous as the darkness in the doorway blocks even his darkvision, Aswan takes a deep breath before stepping through the doorway, fearing for Jerolan's safety.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 21, 2006)

"Well, this will be an adventure," Baeril grins as he waits on Thorg and then follows him through the portal.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 21, 2006)

Jerolan:
[SBLOCK] The orcs watch Jerolan without saying a word for so long he begins to wonder if he should switch to Infernal. Before he does so, though, the orcs begin to chuckle, and one of them speaks in broken Common. "You'll see," he says. This elicits more laughter from the group, which soon devolves into coughing.[/SBLOCK]

After tugging on the glowing rod repeatedly without it giving way, Thorg joins his companions in the room on the other side of the door. Carolina can see little but the faint glow of Jerolan's flaming dagger in the distance, while Baeril can see that the light illuminates four humanoid figures, one of whom is Jerolan.

Thorg and Aswan, gifted with better vision than their compatriots, can see that there are two closed doors across from the one they just entered through -- these doors are sized like those in human dwellings, however. Thorg also recognizes the three people with Jerolan as orcs.

OOC:[SBLOCK]Thorg Strength checks: 2+3; 13+3; 1+3; 7+3; 7+3. Aswan Spot check: 1+8; Baeril Spot check: 13+0; Thorg spot check 15+3. It's too dark for Carolina to make a spot check at this distance.[/SBLOCK]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 21, 2006)

"Hello, there! Don't mind us dropping in -- we didn't have much choice." Baeril snaps his fingers, calling upon his gnomish heritage to conjure up a glowing ball of greenish-yellow light that wobbles towards Jerolan and the other figures and he follows, smiling, but his walking stick in his hand.

[[Dancing Lights, naturally.]]


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## wmasters (Jul 21, 2006)

Looking ahead and seeing the orcs, Aswan moves towards them nonchalantly. "Hi! I do hope you don't mind our taking shelter here, it looks like there's going to be quite a downpour out there. How do you keep the water out down here?"


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## Kafkonia (Jul 21, 2006)

The orcs grimace and snarl in the face of Baeril's dancing lights, but take no action.

"Water?" the apparent leader grunts in Common. "Look there." Thanks to the light from the dagger and that from Baeril's spell, even those with only normal eyesight can (just barely) make out the fact that the door through which they entered is swinging shut.

When the door closes completely, the orcs begin to laugh, a sound that rattles with phlegm. "No way out," the leader says. "We go through doors. Stay here now." He then adds something in Orcish to Thorg.

Thorg:
[SBLOCK]"Were you with us, halfblood?" the orc asks. "Orghar would not be happy to see you with scaly ones." He indicates Aswan.[/SBLOCK]


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 22, 2006)

Thorg listens a moment, cocks his head and replies in Orcish.

Kafkonia:
[sblock]"Him? No, he is not a scaly one. He is a toad-man. He jumps really well. He's just bumpy. I don't like the scaly ones, either. They are mean and make bad jokes. The little ones are good at fighting scaly ones, and the toad-man can smack them. Let's go keep the scaly ones away!"[/sblock]

To emphasize his point, Thorg grins widely and pulls out his spear.


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## industrygothica (Jul 22, 2006)

Seeing Thorg pull out his spear, Carolina instinctively raises her crossbow toward the orcs with her finger on the trigger.  She'll fire at the first sign of (what she perceives as) aggression.


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 22, 2006)

"Put it down, Carolina!" Thorg shouts.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 23, 2006)

Angered by the halfling's show of aggression, the orcs snarl and attack.

"Surprise" round:

-The leader orc charges at Carolina, who immediately fires off a bolt from her crossbow, landing a shot on his shoulder. (AoO 18+, 4 pts) The bolt throws him off balance, causing his axe to swing wildly over her head (2+ miss)
-The second orc charges Baeril, striking a mighty blow to the wizard (19+ threatens, 4+ does not confirm, 6 pts of damage.) The third orc hesitates a moment before attacking Thorg, enabling the cleric to dodge out of the way (9+ misses.)

First round:

18- Jerolan thrusts his rapier at the Orc that struck Baeril. The orc narrowly avoids the blow, but his movement puts him in perfect position for Jerolan's follow-up strike with his dagger. (3+ misses, 13+ hits, 2 dmg)
17- Thorg moves to attack the orc that threatened Carolina, heedless of the danger to himself and narrowly avoiding a blow from the orc that missed him before (AoO 6+ misses.) He shouts something in orcish and stabs the orc with his spear (9+3 hits, 9 pts of damage.) The orc collapses to the ground.
16- Baeril (-6 hp) steps back and flings a handfull of colourful dust at the orcs, striking two of them with a varicoloured spray of energy. Both orcs stumble for a moment, then drop to the ground, unconscious. (Will saves 14+ fails, 15+ fails.) Only the orc that attacked Carolina remains standing.
11- Carolina, having evaded the first strike from the orc leader, moves back and reloads her crossbow, preparing for a second shot. (double move, reload)
9 Aswan - Moves to stand above the fallen orcs
8- Orc 1 (-13 hp)  lies unconscious on the ground, bleeding from a serious wound, breathing shallowly.
1- Orc 2 (-2 hp) lies unconscious on the ground.
1- Orc 3 lies unconscious on the ground.

Combat is over.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 23, 2006)

"I say!" Baeril exclaims, reeling from the blow. As his thrush chirps in a panic, whirling overhead in tight circles, he reaches into a pocket of his lederhosen and whips out a small packet wrapped in thin paper. Plunging his fingers into it, he pulls out a pinch of multicolored sand and flings it at his attacker. In mid-air, the sand turns into a bright cone of multicolored light, engulfing the orc. "Behave yourself!"

[[Baeril casts _color spray_ at his attacker, attempting to catch more than one orc in its cone.]]


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## industrygothica (Jul 23, 2006)

Carolina fires off her shot and instinctively withdraws from melee range, quickly reloading her crossbow for another shot at the wild orcs.

[sblock="OOC:"]She'll use a double move action to move about 20 feet in a clear direction and reload her crossbow.[/sblock]


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## Boddynock (Jul 23, 2006)

"Now then, berk, it's time you learned your manners." Jerolan lunges at the orc which attacked Baeril, seeking to make a tidy hole in his chest. He then segues into an offhand attack _en sixte_, striking low and hoping to gut the smelly creature.

"This ... is the way ... my Lady ... and her little sister ... school such oafs ... as you!"

[sblock=OOC]Rapier, primary +4      1d4          18-20/x2
Dagger, offhand +4      1d3          19-20/x2

Could we have a battle map, please, Kafkonia?[/sblock]


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## Kafkonia (Jul 23, 2006)

Map:
[SBLOCK]
I can't find the nice scanned in map right now, so for this fight we'll have to make do with an ascii representation. I'll fix this for the future (the maps are *huge* so it's hard to get them down to a manageable size. )


```
__d____d____________________________________________
|                                         JO       |
|                                        B  O   O  |
|                                      A    T      |
|                                                  |
|                                                  |
|                                                  |
|                                                  |
--D---------------------------                     |
                              |                    |
                              |                    |
                              |                  C |
                              |                    |
                              ''''''''''''''''''''''
```
The map shows where everyone is as of this point in posting -- Baeril and Carolina have 5' stepped back, Jerolan has moved into melee.

Everyone is represented by the first letter of their name. "O" is for orc. "D" is the door you came through, "d" are the doors you've noticed but not gone through. The line of apostrophes  (') are the extent of what you've seen; the room may go further.

I hope this makes do for now!

[/SBLOCK]


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## wmasters (Jul 23, 2006)

Aswan takes a breath to ready himself then charges the nearest orc (if he can't charge by his initiative he'll just move up and attack).


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 23, 2006)

"No! You were going to be our friends!" Thorg cries. Seeing the onslaught, he shakes his head, takes a step to the side at stabs at the leader orc who attacked Carolina with his longspear.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 23, 2006)

[[Will the whole combat be edited into that post?]]

Baeril steps back away from the fallen orcs, clutching his walking stick, ready to strike if he's approached.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 23, 2006)

The three orcs lie unconscious on the ground, two felled by Baeril's timely colour spray, one by the solid blow landed by Thorg's spear. All three are still alive, but by the looks of things the leader may not stay that way for long.

The rat Thorg is carrying peeks nervously out over the sling, squeaks, and goes back.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 23, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> [[Will the whole combat be edited into that post?]]




OOC: No, if there were a second round it would get a separate post, and so on. Not that that's an issue this time.


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 23, 2006)

*OOC:*
[sblock]I thought I only needed to take a 5' step to attack Carolina's orc, since the longspear has reach... In this case, it doesn't matter, but I thought I should mention it before the next battle.[/sblock]

"I don't know why orcs have to be so angry all the time," Thorg muses in Common. "They were nice and talky until Carolina raised her bow."

He moved over to the leader and pulled out some herbs (healer's kit). He wrapped some bandages over the spear wound, and tried to sit him up and give him a little water. "I'm sorry, but you were being mean," he said to the leader, still in Common.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 23, 2006)

"Well, that didn't go as well as I had hoped." Baeril puts a hand to his white shirt, sticky with his own blood.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 23, 2006)

InVinoVeritas said:
			
		

> *OOC:*
> [sblock]I thought I only needed to take a 5' step to attack Carolina's orc, since the longspear has reach... In this case, it doesn't matter, but I thought I should mention it before the next battle.[/sblock]




OOC:[SBLOCK] Sorry, the map wasn't very clear -- even with the five foot step, the other orc was 15' away, not 10'. In the future (if I can't get the grid-based maps up) I'll represent squares with a character, rather than blank spaces.)[/SBLOCK]


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## Kafkonia (Jul 23, 2006)

The leader sips thirstily at the water. "She wanted to shoot us," he replies in Common, indicating Carolina. "We don't want to die." He glances over at his fallen comrades.


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## industrygothica (Jul 24, 2006)

InVinoVeritas said:
			
		

> "I don't know why orcs have to be so angry all the time," Thorg muses in Common. "They were nice and talky until Carolina raised her bow."





Somewhat confused of the situation, Carolina lowers her loaded crossbow, but still keeps it close to her side.  "I might not've felt the need to had not raised your spear.  Don't tell me you were planning on giving it to them.  To make room for the rat, perhaps?" she says with a half smile that tells the half-orc that she will be willing to share any blame that comes, but will not take on the full load.


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## Boddynock (Jul 24, 2006)

As the orcs slump to the ground, Jerolan lowers his rapier. "Well," he says, nodding at the effectiveness of Baeril's spell, "I'm glad you're on our side, Master Spellwright."

As Thorg offers first aid to their enemies, Jerolan asks, with one eyebrow raised, "Do you intend to help your allies as well, Godsman?" He indicates Baeril's still-bleeding wound.


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 24, 2006)

Thorg looks at Carolina, oblivious. "The rat is fine. It has plenty of room. Isn't that right, rat?"

A moment later, Thorg calls to Baeril. "That cut looks really bad. O great Pelor, please make Baeril's owie go away."

He turns back to the leader orc. "I don't want you to die, either. Everyone will be okay. No more fighting. There are the bad scaly ones, right?"

*OOC:*
[sblock]Cast Cure Light Wounds on Baeril, replacing Magic Weapon.[/sblock]


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## wmasters (Jul 24, 2006)

Aswan stands, almost disappointed that his efforts to help his friends and prove himself to them were unecessary. "Well that didn't go quite as planned. Quite uneccessary."


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## Kafkonia (Jul 24, 2006)

InVinoVeritas said:
			
		

> Thorg looks at Carolina, oblivious. "The rat is fine. It has plenty of room. Isn't that right, rat?"




From its hiding place in the folds of cloth, the rat squeaks.



			
				InVinoVeritas said:
			
		

> A moment later, Thorg calls to Baeril. "That cut looks really bad. O great Pelor, please make Baeril's owie go away."




As Thorg speaks his supplication, Baeril's wound heals, and he feels good as new.

OOC:[SBLOCK] 6 hit points healed.[/SBLOCK]



			
				InVinoVeritas said:
			
		

> He turns back to the leader orc. "I don't want you to die, either. Everyone will be okay. No more fighting. There are the bad scaly ones, right?"




"He fights like a scaly one," the orc leader says, indicating Baeril. He then lets out a long breath, obviously fatigued. "Orghar said they betrayed us. We fight. Now we stay here."


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 24, 2006)

Baeril blinks as the orc gestures at him. Unable to follow the conversation, he begins rummaging in his pack, putting away his heavy cloak and green woolen sweater -- no point in getting them bloody, too.

"I doubt we'll be finding a washerwoman in here!" he chuckles.


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## industrygothica (Jul 24, 2006)

Carolina looks into the blackness in the coridor beyond.  "What's through there?" she asks the orcs without looking at them.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 24, 2006)

"Doors," the orc answers curtly.


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## Boddynock (Jul 25, 2006)

"And are they locked or can we open them?"

Jerolan taps his foot, the adrenaline of the past moments still flooding through his system.

"What are these scaly ones you speak of? And who is Orghar?"

[sblock=OOC]I assume that, since the exchanges between the orc and Thorg are not sblocked, they're now speaking in Common?[/sblock]


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 25, 2006)

Thorg laughs. "Oh, Baeril is definitely not scaly. His jokes are funny, not like the scaly ones jokes that only end in heads getting chopped off. Tell him the joke about the rams, Baeril!"


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## wmasters (Jul 25, 2006)

Aswan settles a little, content that the orc is fairly placid now. "So what's with the dead giant outside anyway?" he asks the orc.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 25, 2006)

Boddynock said:
			
		

> "And are they locked or can we open them?"




"You can open them," the orc answers. "Many doors here. Too many."



			
				Boddynock said:
			
		

> "What are these scaly ones you speak of? And who is Orghar?"




The orc cocks his head to look at Jerolan. "Orghar is boss. He say follow long tail, try work with scaly ones. Scaly ones..." He spits on the ground, a mixture of blood and saliva. "Scaly ones are small like you, fight like him." He indicates Baeril again. "Some are big like Cronk." He points at himself. "But Cronk fight better."



			
				wmasters said:
			
		

> Aswan settles a little, content that the orc is fairly placid now. "So what's with the dead giant outside anyway?" he asks the orc.




Cronk shrugs. "Dead before we come. No good things to take."



			
				Boddynock said:
			
		

> [sblock=OOC]I assume that, since the exchanges between the orc and Thorg are not sblocked, they're now speaking in Common?[/sblock]




[SBLOCK=OOC]That is correct.[/SBLOCK]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 25, 2006)

"He was dead before? How long have you been here? He is in very good shape for a dead person."


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## Kafkonia (Jul 25, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> "He was dead before? How long have you been here? He is in very good shape for a dead person."




"Can small man see sun in here?" Cronk asks sarcastically. "Cronk cannot. Slept many times." He lies down. "Tired. Sleep now."

Within moments he is snoring.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 26, 2006)

"What an odd person. Do you suppose his fellows will be equally peaceful when they awake?"


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## wmasters (Jul 26, 2006)

Aswan shrugs, "We can only hope, I don't want any trouble from these guys."

Looking to the group, "So what's the plan? Stay here to take shelter until the rain stops?" he asks.


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## industrygothica (Jul 26, 2006)

wmasters said:
			
		

> Aswan shrugs, "We can only hope, I don't want any trouble from these guys."
> 
> Looking to the group, "So what's the plan? Stay here to take shelter until the rain stops?" he asks.





"I don't think the rain is an issue anymore.  It doesn't look like we'll be leaving the same way we came."  Carolina nods in the direction of the unexplored hallway.  "I think we should see for ourselves what lies ahead."


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 27, 2006)

Thorg shrugs. "Okay. Let's go. Is Cronk gonna be okay, you think?"


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## Boddynock (Jul 27, 2006)

"I agree with Carolina. There's no going back. Let's check out this hallway, then go through the doors."

The halfling turns away, then pauses and turns back. "Of course, any information or assistance that you might persuade these burks to give us would be helpful, Thorg."

"There's no point in falling foul of Orghar if we don't need to. And what are these long tails and scaly ones he's talking about?"

Jerolan waits for a reply to his question, then moves off with Carolina to search the hallway.


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 27, 2006)

Thorg shrugs again. "I dunno. I once saw a small, scaly person play a joke on someone. The joke cut off his head. The scaly guy was laughing, but I didn't think it was very funny."


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## industrygothica (Jul 27, 2006)

Carolina looks from Thorg to the sleeping orc, and considers for a second playing her own "joke" on the snoring thing.  The idea of turning her back on an orc to explore a dark hallway does not settle well with her, though she does just that as heads into the darkness with Jerolan and his lighted dagger close by.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 27, 2006)

Baeril shrugs and shoulders his pack back on and follows the group, the bobbing light following him.


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## InVinoVeritas (Jul 28, 2006)

Thorg takes up the rear of the group, looking back occasionally, hoping Cronk and his group are okay.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 28, 2006)

As the five adventurers move down the hall, they see that the room ends only a few dozen feet ahead of them. There are two closed doors on the wall to their left, about twenty feet apart. To their right is a door identical to the one they came through -- presumably the other door leading out of the first room they encountered.


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## Boddynock (Jul 28, 2006)

Jerolan says to Carolina, "Check the door. I'll protect your back."


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## industrygothica (Jul 30, 2006)

Boddynock said:
			
		

> Jerolan says to Carolina, "Check the door. I'll protect your back."




Remembering Cronk's words before he passed out, "many doors here", Carolina quietly sighs as she moves up to check the first door, the first of many, she presumes.


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## Kafkonia (Jul 30, 2006)

Carolina checks the first door, and sees nothing unusual -- it is unlocked but does not appear to be trapped in anyway. The door beside it also seems to be a perfectly normal wooden door. Both doors have iron bands across them, reinforcing them, but Carolina is pretty sure that they will swing open without any extra effort being required.

[SBLOCK=OOC]Carolina Search checks of 23 and 8. I took the liberty of rolling for both doors to expedite the process; hope you guys don't mind.[/SBLOCK]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Jul 31, 2006)

Baeril looks back at the orcs, wondering just how long they've been here and if, perhaps, having a more pleasant attitude might have gotten them through safely. He resolves to himself to keep everyone in the party in high spirits until they can come out the far side of this complex and have a good laugh over their misadventure.


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## industrygothica (Aug 1, 2006)

Carolina pushes the door foward just a hair.  When she is certain it is not trapped she steps back and raises her crossbow to cover those more equipped to clear an area.


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## Boddynock (Aug 1, 2006)

Jerolan nods in approval of Carolina's caution, then steps quickly through the doorway, weapons at the ready.


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## InVinoVeritas (Aug 1, 2006)

Thorg hangs back, peering down the hallway as best as he can while he pulls out his shield.


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## wmasters (Aug 1, 2006)

Aswan walks forward, anticipating no problems or hostilities within and keen to see where they have found themselves.


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## Kafkonia (Aug 1, 2006)

This sparsely-furnished room obviously served as living quarters at some point, although it looks like it was more recently the site of violence. The reed mat has been tossed to one side, and the door on the far left side has fallen off its hinges. Lying about a third of the way across the room, face down and motionless, is an orc.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 1, 2006)

"Tsk."

Baeril directs his ball of light over to the orc's remains.


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## industrygothica (Aug 2, 2006)

Carolina goes to the fallen orc, checking for any sign of life (breathing, slight movement) before getting too close.  She keeps her crossbow aimed at the thing's head.


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## InVinoVeritas (Aug 2, 2006)

Thorg, bringing up the rear of the group, rushes as best he can over to the orc, ready to give assistance.


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## wmasters (Aug 2, 2006)

"Hmm... oh dear." mutters Aswan as he sees the orc. 

"Is he dead?" he asks Carolina as she goes over to the body.

Aswan looks over the rest of the room as Carolina and Thorg go to the orc, curious to find anything that might have caused any injury.


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## Kafkonia (Aug 2, 2006)

Sadly, the orc appears quite dead. Carolina can see that there are several puncture marks, each about the size of a fingernail, on his neck, arms, and legs, with each such mark surrounded by several smaller ones. Judging by the position of his body between the doors and the fact that one arm is stretched out in the direction of the room the party just came from, it looks like he may have been trying to crawl through this room when he passed on.

Looking about the room, Aswan notices a broken spear lying amongst the mess, just a few feet from the deceased orc. The shaft has shattered, leaving it more or less useless.

[SBLOCK=OOC]Carolina Spot check 8+5=13, Aswan Search check 18+3=21[/SBLOCK]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 2, 2006)

"Well, I suppose this means we will be meeting the 'scaly ones' shortly. This should be interesting!"


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## Boddynock (Aug 3, 2006)

"What are these scaly ones, anyway?" asks the swordsman with some frustration. He looks around the room carefully, holding up his dagger to search the ceiling as well as the floor and walls.


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## wmasters (Aug 3, 2006)

Aswan disgards the broken spear shaft, "I guess it won't be long before we find out. Hopefully we'll have a more civilised relationship than it looks like these orcs managed."


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## Boddynock (Aug 3, 2006)

[sblock=OOC]Now, if there are a lot of doors - a *lot* of doors - then it would be a good idea to define a protocol for door-opening. It'll save us a huge amount of time if we don't have to wait for everybody to post in a mundane, repetitive task like opening a door with due caution.

Based on this door:

Carolina listens at the door.
Carolina searches for traps.
If necessary, Carolina disables any traps.
If necessary, Carolina opens any locks.
Carolina steps back, bringing her crossbow to bear.
Jerolan pushes the door open, makes an initial assessment of risk, steps through and to the left and makes a more complete risk assessment.
If necessary, Jerolan takes action to deal with any risk.
Aswan steps through and to the right.
Thorg stands ready to come to Jerolan's aid if necessary.
Baeril has a spell readied in case of attack.
What do you think?

'Nock[/sblock]


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## wmasters (Aug 3, 2006)

Boddynock[* said:
			
		

> What would be Aswan's action?




OOC: Sounds like a good idea to me. Aswan would probably not be far behind Jerolan.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 3, 2006)

OOC: Sounds perfect to me.


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## industrygothica (Aug 3, 2006)

ooc: works for me.  I reckon that nimble fingers feat is looking appropriate.


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## InVinoVeritas (Aug 4, 2006)

OOC: I'm all for it. I'm the "Tower Shield and Heal/Buff Guy."


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## Boddynock (Aug 4, 2006)

*OOC:*



Well, that certainly sounds like consensus to me. OK, Kafkonia, that means that the protocol I've listed in post #107 will be our standard response to the door scenario.  

On with the adventure!

'Nock


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## Kafkonia (Aug 4, 2006)

[SBLOCK=OOC]I reckon that makes sense. There's lots of rooms with multiple doors, though, and there's always the choice of going back, so I'll still need to know when you intend to go through one, and which one. But when you do, I'll take that list the SOP.[/SBLOCK]

Jerolan cannot see much out of the ordinary in the room, aside from the dead orc. He does notice that it appears that some debris from the ceiling has fallen to the floor. There are two doors -- the one through which they came and the one the orc seems to have been crawling from -- and some damaged bedclothes.

[SBLOCK=OOC]Jerolan spot check 18+.[/SBLOCK]


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## Boddynock (Aug 5, 2006)

_"Hmm, the debris may well have been shaken loose during the earthquake which brought us here."_

Jerolan goes over to check the debris, and to search the bedding.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 5, 2006)

Baeril raises his thrush to his lips and whispers something to her in Gnomish. Half-Penny then leaps into the air and flies up to where the debris fell from the ceiling, looking to see if she can spot an upper level or even a way out of here.


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## InVinoVeritas (Aug 6, 2006)

Nervously, Thorg peers down what lies beyond the doorway at the far left end of the room.


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## Kafkonia (Aug 7, 2006)

As Thorg goes to peer through the far door, Jerolan searches the debris and bedding but comes up empty. The thrush Half-Penny flies up to the ceiling, but the distance from any of the adventurers' light sources makes it hard for the bird to make anything out -- when she returns to her Gnomish master, all she can say is that it's quite dark up there, with no sign of light.

Through the doorway, Thorg sees a largely featureless room -- it is empty of any furnishings, although there are bits of debris on the ground, much as in this room. An open door on the far end of the room, diagonally across from the one Thorg is looking through.

[SBLOCK=OOC]Jerolan Search check 14+.[/SBLOCK]


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## industrygothica (Aug 7, 2006)

Carolina gives the room a once-over to see if there is anything else of note and then meets with Thorg at the other door.


----------



## Boddynock (Aug 7, 2006)

Jerolan glances through the doorway, nods to the others, and steps through to examine the next room.


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## wmasters (Aug 8, 2006)

Aswan moves up behind Jerolan to see what lies ahead, "Funny place." he mutters.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 8, 2006)

"It would be nice if there was a clean bed here. And maybe a nice little restaurant," Baeril says, looking at the age and decay. "Unlikely, though, I'm afraid."


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## Kafkonia (Aug 8, 2006)

As Jerolan and Aswan enter the room, everything within goes black. The two can make out only vague shapes, and those outside the room can see nothing beyond the doorway but darkness.

Initiative Order:

21: Baeril enters the room; the _dancing lights_ spell is suppressed. He begins to yodel.
10: Carolina moves in cautiously and readies her sling.
8: Aswan assumes total defence.
7: Jerolan moves cautiously through the room.
7: Mysterious assailant fails to attack Aswan successfully.
5: Thorg uses shield for full cover


[SBLOCK=OOC]Jerolan Spot Check 19+0, Aswan Spot Check 11+8. I won't provide a map for this one because nobody can see much. The room is square, 40' on each side. Jerolan and Aswan are about 5' into the room, to the side of the door.[/SBLOCK]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 8, 2006)

OOC: Has Baeril's _dancing lights_ spell expired yet?


----------



## Kafkonia (Aug 9, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> OOC: Has Baeril's _dancing lights_ spell expired yet?




I'd say you have a round left.


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## InVinoVeritas (Aug 9, 2006)

"It's really dark in this place. Really dark."

Unsure of what's happening, Thorg waits, shield at his ready.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 9, 2006)

Baeril quietly yodels a little tune to himself -- "The Lusty Shepherdess" would probably not be recognizable to anyone within a thousand miles, he realizes wryly -- and steps through after Thorg, darting the light around briefly to see what's what.

"Oh, dear."


----------



## Kafkonia (Aug 9, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Baeril quietly yodels a little tune to himself -- "The Lusty Shepherdess" would probably not be recognizable to anyone within a thousand miles, he realizes wryly -- and steps through after Thorg, darting the light around briefly to see what's what.
> 
> "Oh, dear."




Baeril's dancing lights wink out as they pass into the darkness, as though overwhelmed by a more powerful magic.


----------



## wmasters (Aug 9, 2006)

"Ah!" cries Aswan, as his darkvision fails him. Realising he can make out rough shapes in the darkness means that he is not blind, he readies himself should they attack. 

OOC: I guess that translates to going into Total Defence this round


----------



## industrygothica (Aug 9, 2006)

Carolina passes through the door with the others.  "What the..." she whispers to herself as she puts her back to the nearest wall.  She's always felt at home in the shadows, but this is a little more shadow than even she's used to.


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 9, 2006)

"Well, this really is an adventure ..." Baeril clutches his walking stick tightly, ears peeled, attempting to defend himself against whatever is in the darkness.

OOC: Firing _magic missile_ blindly equals the spell going poof, no?


----------



## Boddynock (Aug 10, 2006)

*OOC:*



I can't believe you folks walked blindly (term used advisedly) into a room which you knew had gone dark! 







"Oh-ho," said the swordsman, brandishing his weapons and striking a flourishing pose, "are you so ugly that you dare not show your face? Never mind, my dear - my Lady still longs to kiss your night-black skin, her sister to stroke your cheek. And who am I but their servant, bound to fetch and carry, eager to dance to their desires."

As he hears the others enter, Jerolan's heart sinks a little. In this dark it will be as easy to strike friend as foe - easier, perhaps. Still, there's nothing for it but to brave the dark - and to do it with flair!

"Friends, move to the walls. Speak, so that we may know one another. And if anyone can raise this accursed darkness, do so - with all speed!"

Jerolan himself remains a little distant from the wall at his back. He will take it upon himself to search out and deal with their attacker.


----------



## InVinoVeritas (Aug 10, 2006)

Thorg presses against the wall to the right of the door, shield up. He slowly feels his way along the wall, trying to get some sense of the room.

Listening to Jerolan's instructions, Thorg replies, "Uh... Hi. My name's Thorg. What's your name?"

OOC:[sblock]Thorg will use his shield for full cover this round.[/sblock]


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 10, 2006)

Baeril yodels the "Song of the Lonely Lamb" quietly.


----------



## industrygothica (Aug 10, 2006)

Carolina stowes her crossbow in favor of her faster-loading sling.  While the others are busy making noise, she keeps her back to the wall and circles the room hoping to get a better feel for the layout, and possibly get into a flanking position.


----------



## Kafkonia (Aug 11, 2006)

The sound of something fleshy striking the ground echoes through the room, longer and louder than echoes you are used to.

[SBLOCK=Aswan and Thorg]
Although all you can really see are shadows of different depths, you're pretty sure something came from the ceiling and narrowly missed Aswan. It looked like it was about the same size as Carolina or Baeril, but you couldn't make out its shape. You have a pretty good idea that it's in front of Aswan right now.[/SBLOCK]

Round 2:

21: Baeril
10: Carolina
8: Aswan fails to grab hold of the creature before him.
7: Jerolan approaches and misses the creature before Aswan.
7: Mysterious assailant misses Jerolan.
5: Thorg draws his mace and moves over to Aswan.


----------



## Boddynock (Aug 11, 2006)

Jerolan hears the fleshy thump and calls out immediately, "Hey, cutters, are you all right? Quiet now - answer when I call your name. Carolina? Thorg? Baeril? Aswan?"


----------



## InVinoVeritas (Aug 11, 2006)

"I'm okay!"

OOC: Is Aswan in touch range from me?


----------



## Kafkonia (Aug 11, 2006)

InVinoVeritas said:
			
		

> OOC: Is Aswan in touch range from me?




OOC: No. I'm following the order of actions given previously, and since Thorg is supposed to back up Jerolan, and Jerolan steps to the left while Aswan steps to the right, I'd have to say you're on opposite sides of the doorway. Especially since Thorg acted last in the round. So it went as follows, going by initiative order:

Jerolan enters, steps left. Aswan enters, steps right. Baeril enters, steps left. Carolina enters, steps right. Thorg enters, steps left. So 3 of you are to the left of the doorway (Jerolan, Baeril, Thorg, door) and two are to the right (door, Carolina, Aswan.)


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 11, 2006)

"Here! I had no idea we'd be playing Blind Man's Bluff when I woke up this morning ..."


----------



## wmasters (Aug 12, 2006)

Aswan jumps as the thing comes close to him, feeling the air rushing past him as it came close to hitting him. 

"I'm okay," he says, "but I don't think whatever is here is friendly!"

If he's still close enough, Aswan will attempt to use his Neraph camoflague and grapple the assailant. Otherwise he readies to grapple it when it comes close enough. (ooc: Touch Attack = 16, Grapple check = 9)


----------



## InVinoVeritas (Aug 13, 2006)

Thorg pulls out his mace and heads over by Aswan. "A thing plopped by Aswan over there!"


----------



## Boddynock (Aug 14, 2006)

"Be careful not to lose track of where the wall is. Aswan, I'm coming towards you. Do you have any idea what it is?"

Jerolan takes a step forward, then turns to his right and moves in the direction of Aswan's voice.

"Blast this darkness," he mutters. "It's worse than the Wastes!"

[sblock=OOC]J moves 5 ft away from the wall, then turns right and moves forward, listening intently. He won't strike until he knows it's not one of his companions in front of him.[/sblock]


----------



## Kafkonia (Aug 14, 2006)

[SBLOCK=Aswan]Aswan tries to grapple the shadowy figure before him, but it evades his grip, at the same time dodging Jerolan's blind thrust with his rapier. The monk sees the form rise from the ground and move for Jerolan's head, but it doesn't seem to make contact.[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=Jerolan]Although he confident he knew where the creature was, Jerolan fails to make contact with his attack. He feels something move just beside his head, not quite touching it.[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=Thorg]As Thorg moves to try and assist his friends, he sees a flurry of activity. It doesn't look like anyone's made contact, although Aswan and Jerolan both seem to be trying quite hard.[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=OOC]Wmasters: I reread the racial write-up, and Neraph camouflage only comes into play with charges and thrown weapons.

Jerolan attack roll 8+4=12, miss; Mysterious Assailant attack roll 5+ miss.

In the future, don't worry about the die-rolling, I'll take care of that.[/SBLOCK]


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## wmasters (Aug 14, 2006)

"Come here, damnit" Aswan mutters to their assailant, reaching out once again trying to grab the creature in front of him and grapple him so that he might move the creature into the light. 

[sblock=ooc]Sorry, that was full of errors from me on the last post. I completely forgot that you were handling the dice rolls, and that I could only use the camoflague on a charge - well spotted! Not that I suspect it would have made much difference...[/sblock]


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## industrygothica (Aug 15, 2006)

Carolina remains quiet as she makes her way around the room.  She wants to call out to her friends so that they’ll know she’s okay, but doesn’t want to give away her position.  _Let them focus on the fray_, she thinks to herself. _ Perhaps I can find something--anything to put some light on the situation._  With a bit of _blind faith_ she turns toward the wall in hopes to find something amid the blackness before her.  Sut keeps a steady ear on the altercation behind her; maybe she'll be able to duck out of the way of a stray attack, and an even steadier hard on her sling.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 15, 2006)

Baeril quitely feels around in his backpack, fishing out his flint and tinder and a torch, quietly placing the torch on the ground before him. Feeling to make sure everything's in place -- and unlikely to set fire to himself along the way -- he strikes the flint and tinder together, attempting to light the torch.


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## Boddynock (Aug 16, 2006)

Jerolan ducks reflexively as he feels ... something ... swish past his head. Then he curses under his breath, recognizing that the reflex would have been too late to protect him, had the blow struck true. He stands quietly, listening intently, trying by hearing alone to pinpoint the position of this invisible assailant. Then he strikes again, twice, still in grim silence.

[sblock=OOC]Listen +2
Primary attack (rapier) +4, damage 1d4, 18-20/x2
Offhand attack, (dagger) +4, damage 1d3, 19-20/x2
AC 19, touch 15, flatfooted 15
hp 10/10[/sblock]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 18, 2006)

Baeril quietly strikes the flint again, mindful that the sparks may well give away his location.


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## Kafkonia (Aug 18, 2006)

Baeril attempts to light a torch. Miraculously, it catches on the second try...

[SBLOCK=Baeril]

Baeril can see... shadows. He's pretty certain that Aswan, Jerolan, and Thorg are all clustered quite close together, with something about the size of a large cat floating above them. Whatever it is, it is definitely *not* a cat, however. Too many bits flailing about.[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=Carolina] Carolina can now see Aswan, Jerolan, and Thorg, as well as something above them, but she's not quite sure what.[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=Aswan] Aswan can see Jerolan and Thorg quite well. Floating above them is some sort of airborne squid.[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=Jerolan]
 Jerolan can see the outlines of his fellows, and some sort of shape above his head.
[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=Thorg] Thorg can see his buddies, and a flying squid monster![/SBLOCK]

Round 3:

21: Baeril lights his torch.
10: Carolina slings a stone at the creature, but it bounces harmlessly off.
8: Aswan misses with his first blow, but a follow-up jumping roundhouse catches the beast firmly just above the tentacles, knocking it back slightly.
7: Jerolan attacks with both weapons, narrowly missing with his rapier but striking a glancing blow with his dagger.
7: Mysterious assailant (-4) misses as it attempts to slam into Aswan.
5: Thorg yells at the monster and swings wildly at it, missing badly.

[SBLOCK=OOC]
Bright idea with the torch! Everyone can now see something, so I'm giving you all (except for Baeril, who took his turn lighting the torch) a chance to give new directions in light of this illuminating knowledge. 

I guess this means I have to do up a map now....  [/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=OOC2]Carolina attack, 10+6 misses.

Aswan flurry of blows 5+0 misses, 18+0 connects. 20% miss chance, roll of 10 strikes true. 1+2 points of damage.

Jerolan two-handed attack: 16+4 hits, 19+4 hits and threatens. 20% miss chance, roll of 2 misses, roll of 9 strikes true. 10+4 fails to confirm. 1 point of damage.

Thorg attack, 2+1 misses.

Please not that the negative number after a character/monster is the total number of HP lost, not its actual number of HP. [/SBLOCK]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 18, 2006)

"My goodness! You don't see those back in Greenfields!"


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## Boddynock (Aug 18, 2006)

[sblock=OOC rules check]Kafkonia, if this darkness is caused by the Darkness spell (which is what I had assumed), how is it that a torch can vaguely illuminate the area? That's contrary to the spell description.

And another thing - why was the light from Jerolan's dagger quenched, when Continual Flame is a second level spell, and the spell description for Darkness states that "Higher [than the Darkness spell, which is level 1] level light spells (such as Daylight) are not affected by Darkness"? (PHB, p.216)[/sblock]


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## industrygothica (Aug 18, 2006)

Carolina launches a bullet from her sling in hopes to bring the thing down to eye level.


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## Kafkonia (Aug 18, 2006)

Boddynock said:
			
		

> [sblock=OOC rules check]Kafkonia, if this darkness is caused by the Darkness spell (which is what I had assumed), how is it that a torch can vaguely illuminate the area? That's contrary to the spell description.
> 
> And another thing - why was the light from Jerolan's dagger quenched, when Continual Flame is a second level spell, and the spell description for Darkness states that "Higher [than the Darkness spell, which is level 1] level light spells (such as Daylight) are not affected by Darkness"? (PHB, p.216)[/sblock]




[SBLOCK=Answer]
Second question: At work, I was going by the SRD I have access to, which lists Darkness as a 2nd level spell. I haven't checked the PHB.

First question: I was going by memory and working from the "20% miss chance" -- obviously, if you only have a 20% miss chance, you can still see something, right? I didn't check the wording on the spell.

At least that's an error in your favour -- unless you'd rather spend the next 298 rounds flailing about. 

[/SBLOCK]


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## wmasters (Aug 20, 2006)

Aswan's eyes adjust to the light "Blimey" he mutters as he sees the creature, quite glad that he didn't manage to catch hold of it. 

Aswan steps to attack the creature instead (with an unarmed flurry of blows)


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## Boddynock (Aug 20, 2006)

Kafkonia said:
			
		

> [SBLOCK=Answer]
> Second question: At work, I was going by the SRD I have access to, which lists Darkness as a 2nd level spell. I haven't checked the PHB.
> 
> First question: I was going by memory and working from the "20% miss chance" -- obviously, if you only have a 20% miss chance, you can still see something, right? I didn't check the wording on the spell.
> ...



[sblock=Kafkonia]Oh! Darkness is a 2nd level spell. My mistake.  How did I miss that? _(Sits in the corner, covered in shame and confusion.)_[/sblock]
Jerolan's eyes widen as he sees the creature in the dim light of the torch. "Right, berk, now you're for it!" He leaps upward, both blades seeking to puncture its vitals.
[sblock=OOC]Primary attack (rapier) +4, damage 1d4, 18-20/x2
Offhand attack, (dagger) +4, damage 1d3, 19-20/x2
AC 19, touch 15, flatfooted 15
hp 10/10[/sblock]


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## InVinoVeritas (Aug 22, 2006)

"Stop it, squid ploppy thing!" Thorg bellows as he swings his mace.

[sblock=OOC]Attack +3 (Str) -2 (Shield) = +1 for 1d8+3 damage[/sblock]


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## Kafkonia (Aug 22, 2006)

Everyone now has a general idea of where they are and what's going on. Carolina and Baeril are about fifteen feet away from their comrades, who have partially surrounded some sort of tentacled flying beast.

Round 4:

21: Baeril
10: Carolina
8: Aswan
7: Jerolan
7: Tentacled beasty (-4)
5: Thorg


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 22, 2006)

"Behave!" Plucking a bit of wool from the spell component pouch at his waist, Baeril hurls it at the flying creature. Midway through the air, it transforms into a burst of distracting sparks, flashing and popping around the creature's face, if face it does indeed have.

[sblock=OOC]Baeril casts _daze_ on the thingy. Will save. [/sblock]


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## industrygothica (Aug 22, 2006)

Carolina shoots another bullet from her sling, still hoping to bring the thing down, flanked, in the middle of the group.

ooc: I'll assume the last shot missed since you didn't say otherwise?


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## Boddynock (Aug 23, 2006)

The halfling grins fiercely as his dagger bites home. "Ha! Dance with me, cutter, dance!" As his blades flash through the air, he does indeed dance - a spritely step which brings him to the point of attack.

[sblock=OOC]Primary attack (rapier) +4, damage 1d4, 18-20/x2
Offhand attack, (dagger) +4, damage 1d3, 19-20/x2
AC 19, touch 15, flatfooted 15
hp 10/10[/sblock]


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## InVinoVeritas (Aug 23, 2006)

Thorg keeps swinging away at the beast. "Bad, bad, bad! Dark bad!"


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## wmasters (Aug 23, 2006)

Encouraged by making contact now that he can see the creature, Aswan throws a backfist at the creature before leaping and trying to plant the sole of his foot on the body of the tentacled monster. (OOC: Flurry of blows (again!))


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## Kafkonia (Aug 24, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> [sblock=OOC]Baeril casts _daze_ on the thingy. Will save. [/sblock]




[SBLOCK=Baeril]Before Baeril casts the spell, he remembers that it works only on humanoids.

OOC: (I gave him a K:Arcana roll with to remember that, and he made it.) I'll let you change your action if you want.

http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/spellsDtoE.html#daze [/SBLOCK]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 28, 2006)

[SBLOCK=OOC]Poopy![/sblock]
Shaking his head at his forgetfulness, Baeril readies his _magic missile_ spell, but will not cast it -- wanting to preserve his few spells that remain -- unless one of his fellows falls.


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## Kafkonia (Aug 29, 2006)

Carolina's sling stone strikes true, bringing down the beast. The darkness persists throughout the room, but the creature lies limp in the shadows.

[SBLOCK=OOC]Carolina attack 17+, 2 pts damage drops the creature.[/SBLOCK]


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## Boddynock (Aug 30, 2006)

"Right then, berk, let's see what you look like."

Jerolan grabs the creature and drags it bodily into the next room. Either the darkness will remain in the room he's just left, so that he can now see what the beast is, or it will follow the creature - in which case they will be able to get a good look at the room in which it attacked them.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Aug 31, 2006)

Baeril follows Jerolan, curious as to what this thing was.


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## wmasters (Aug 31, 2006)

Aswan shakes his head as they drag the creature back. "Whatever this thing is, I don`t like it."


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## InVinoVeritas (Sep 1, 2006)

"Not me neither."  Thorg stays put in the room they are in.


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## Kafkonia (Sep 4, 2006)

As the adventurers drag their assailant's body from the darkness, they see that it resembles a leather-skinned squid, nine crimson eyes ringing its body -- there had been ten, but a sling stone has smashed one of them in. There are bony ridges above each eye, and nestled amongst its ten arms is a razor-sharp beak. Nobody recognizes it, but both Jerolan and Baeril are confident that whatever it is, it came from one of the lower planes.

[SBLOCK=Baeril]Baeril also doesn't think this creature would have been capable of planar travel on its own. It may have been brought over, or it may have come through a portal.[/SBLOCK]

The room in which they fought the beast remains dark for several minutes.

[SBLOCK=OOC]Nobody has Knowledge: Nature or Knowledge: Dungeoneering. Baeril: Knowledge (Arcana) 18+7 = 25; Jerolan: Knowledge (The Planes) 18+4 =22.[/SBLOCK]


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## Boddynock (Sep 5, 2006)

Once the darkness disappears, Jerolan searches the other room. As well as any indication of how it got here, he also keeps an eye open for any pretties it might have gathered.


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Sep 5, 2006)

"If I were going to go to the trouble of bring something here from another plane, it wouldn't be ... that. I think it'd probably be a Harmonica Bird of Elysium. I'm told those are nice. Or perhaps a Neatness Inevitable to, you know, tidy the place up a bit. It certainly could use it."


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## wmasters (Sep 7, 2006)

"There`s a neatness Inevitable? That sure sounds useful! Maybe it came here of it`s own accord, you never know. Although this seems a pretty strange place to stay."

Aswan waits a little while to see if the darkness disappates. If it doesn`t he`ll put a hand to the wall and edge around, to see if there`s a way out.


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## industrygothica (Sep 7, 2006)

Carolina hangs back to check out the room when the lights come on.


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## Kafkonia (Sep 7, 2006)

The once-dark room is almost identical to the others the adventurers have seen, with an open doorway in the far wall. Neither Jerolan nor Carolina can spy anything of interest.

[SBLOCK=OOC]Jerolan search check 18+2; Carolina search check 10+6.[/SBLOCK]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Sep 7, 2006)

"There's also an Alphabetizing Inevitable and a Folding Inevitable, but the folding one can be a bit of a wet blanket if you don't have your sweaters folded _just so_. But that's a story for another time."


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## InVinoVeritas (Sep 9, 2006)

"Is everybody OK? Maybe we go on?"


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## Boddynock (Sep 9, 2006)

"Right you are, blood!" Jerolan steps up to the doorway and gestures to Carolina to check.

[sblock=OOC]Protocol in post #107.[/sblock]


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## industrygothica (Sep 10, 2006)

Boddynock said:
			
		

> "Right you are, blood!" Jerolan steps up to the doorway and gestures to Carolina to check.




She does...


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## wmasters (Sep 11, 2006)

"I hope that thing didn`t bring his friends here as well" Aswan comments as Carolina checks the door.


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## Kafkonia (Sep 17, 2006)

Approaching the open doorway, Carolina listens intently but hears no activity coming from the room on the other side. A search of the doorway reveals no traps, and she motions for Jerolan that it is safe to enter.

Jerolan steps inside the room and makes an assessment of the room -- it is completely empty and otherwise indistinguishable from the room they have just seen, about 25 feet to a side. To the north is another open doorway, possibly the only exit. Satisfied that the room poses no threat, he signals for his compatriots to follow him, which they do.

[SBLOCK=OOC]Followed the directions in post #107. Carolina Listen check 4+7 = 11; Search check 2+6=8. Jerolan Listen check 2+2=4; Spot check 2+0=2.

My apologies for the delay in posting.[/SBLOCK]


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Sep 17, 2006)

"I suppose it's unlikely that we're going to stumble across an inn or even a nice little restaurant, but I always keep my hopes up!"


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## wmasters (Sep 17, 2006)

"It seems doubtful, but the creatures here must eat something, so  I am sure we can cook something up. And if someone had the forethought to bring herbs then almost anything can be made into a hearty meal.

A quick scan of the room, and Aswan moves to the door ahead of them. "Carolina? he asks, waiting for her testing.


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## InVinoVeritas (Sep 18, 2006)

All this talk of food makes Thorg's stomach rumble. "Does anyone know if squid ploppy thing is yummy?"


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## Boddynock (Sep 18, 2006)

[sblock=OOC]Should we be searching for secret doors in each room? It would slow the party's progress down but we, the players, could include it in our protocol without any additional delay. So the pattern would be something like this: search for traps, listen at the door, enter the room, deal with any inhabitants, *search for secret doors* ... What do you think?[/sblock]


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## wmasters (Sep 18, 2006)

[sblock=ooc: ]I'm inclined to say we shouldn't be searching for secret doors. To me, it always seems like an odd thing to do - unless you have reason to suspect there's a secret door somewhere _(I know the wizard's hidden the amulet of ultimate power here somewhere...)_ it seems like spending a lot of time staring at a wall on the off chance that it's not actually a wall. To me it always seems a little unbelievable, and incredibly boring...[/sblock]


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## Kafkonia (Sep 18, 2006)

As Aswan approaches the doorway, he sees motion from the other side. At first he dismisses it as the flickering of shadows cast by Baeril's torch, but the rising tide of squeaking and the sound of claws against the stone floor convinces him otherwise. To his surprise, a swarm of vicious-looking rats spills into the room, washing over him!

*Initiative*
24: Jerolan slashes at the swarm twice, but does little if any damage.
20: Thorg approaches the swarm and swats it soundly with his mace.
18: Swarm washes over Aswan, clawing and biting at him.
16: Baeril holds his action until after Carolina.
15: Carolina
14: Baeril's new action.
6: Aswan (-3)

[SBLOCK=Map]

Here is a very small map.  = is the wall; D is the door.

As Aswan comes at the end of the initiative order and the whole room is only 5 squares per side, I will let you all decide where you wish to be for the start of the round -- except for Aswan, who must be at the door.

===D===
=  AS =
= TSS =
=   J =
=     =
=     =
===D===
[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=OOC]
Jerolan 12+2=14, hit, 4 points of damage; 19+2 and threatens, 10+2 does not confirm, 2 points of damage.

Thorg 20+3 threatens, 19+3 confirms; 13 points of damage.

Swarm automatically deals 3 points of damage.

Aswan's Fortitude Save: 19+4; resists infection.
[/SBLOCK]


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## wmasters (Sep 18, 2006)

Aswan lets out a cry as the rats approach him, frantically trying to kick them away trusting that the heel of his sandals will persuade them that he is not an easy meal.


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## InVinoVeritas (Sep 19, 2006)

Thorg looks at the oncoming swarm with confusion, and quickly looks back into his sling. "What? Are these friends of yours, rat? Could you tell them to stop, please? They're scaring Aswan, and we really don't want to have to smack them."


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## Kafkonia (Sep 20, 2006)

The rat in Thorg's sling squeaks indignantly and hides from the approaching swarm within the folds of fabric. Thorg thinks his rat is far more handsome than the ones scurrying towards him.


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## industrygothica (Sep 21, 2006)

As Carolina sees the approaching rat swarm, she pulls a torch from her pack and lights it.  She plunges the fire into the center of the swarm, hoping the heat from the flame will send filthy rodents on their way.


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## InVinoVeritas (Sep 21, 2006)

OOC: Well, of course! Rat is Thorg's friend. Rat is a very good rat. 

"If you don't like them either, they must be bad," Thorg replies.

Making sure his shield is ready, he heads toward the swarm, bellowing, "Stay away from Aswan, you bad rats!"


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## Whizbang Dustyboots (Sep 22, 2006)

"Oh, my!" Baeril backs up, gripping his walking stick, holding off on attacking until he sees the result of Carolina's assault.


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## Boddynock (Sep 22, 2006)

[sblock=OOC]Given that Jerolan has never encountered a swarm, and doesn't have Knowledge (Dungeoneering) or Kn (Nature), I would assume that he'll just launch an attack - and then be dismayed when it's ineffective.

Can I just mention here how much I *hate* swarms - both as a DM and as a player!  [/sblock]

Jerolan takes a short step closer to the swarm which has suddenly appeared and overwhelmed his colleague, and makes two flashing attacks against it. Then, when they make no appreciable difference, he falls back, appalled, and cries out, "There are too many. How do we defeat them?"


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## InVinoVeritas (Sep 29, 2006)

[sblock=OOC: ] I think Carolina wants to light a torch and attack the swarm with it.

Oh, and Boo-yeah!  [/sblock]


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## wmasters (Sep 29, 2006)

And for what good it does, Aswan's action is to attack (flurry of blows) on the swarm. Sorry if I didn't make that clear in the previous post. Although possibly that -3 is Aswan's hit points by his turn, in which case obviously, he'll bleed on the floor!


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