Into the Pit

The pig-shaped light brightly illumines the first dozen or so feet of the pit as Yatagan looks down, but it fades quickly into shadow - faster than should be the case. Nevertheless, the paladin proceeds down the rope, with Vox descending another.

Yatagan actually makes better time than the more agile shadar-kai, partly since
strength helps more than dexterity on the rope, and partly because gravity weighs more heavily on him. Seeing no enemies, the paladin drops to the ground at the end of the rope and looks around.

This area is a rocky cavern, about forty feet across with a ceiling some twenty feet above, which is pierced by the hole that the unfortunate Pit apparently fell into. Debris from the opening of the hole lies around the area. There's no sign of him or anyone else, however. There are marks in the dust and dirt, but neither Yatagan or Vox can decipher them. Though there are no large obstructions, especially to the light from Yatagan's breastplate, the light here seems dim and fairly shadowy.

The marks lead in the general direction of an opening like a cave mouth in the wall of the cavern, which is about ten feet wide and high. The area beyond seems especially dark from here. Both Yatagan's reptilian senses and Vox's trained ones are quite certain that's where the stench of decay is coming from.

OOC: Are you two waiting for Penelope and Odanais to join you or investigating first?

shilsen wrote:

OOC: Are you two waiting for Penelope and Odanais to join you or investigating first?

Waiting for the rest of the League.

In that case...

Once Odanais and Penelope are with the others, the archer's keen eyes confirm multiple tracks heading away from the area towards the cave opening. Some of them were booted feet, probably the dwarves who came down here to investigate. She also finds indications of what she thinks are bare feet, but the marks are strange, as if they were misshapen or malformed somehow. A little distance from the spot you landed in, she finds a couple of dried drops of blood. And near them, a small, apparently mummified, piece of flesh.


OOC: Rolled really high for Penelope on Perception. You guys are gonna suck when a fight starts.

Penelope relays the information she has gathered to the others. The archer feels justified in her dislike of being underground - something is obviously wrong here.

Odanais slips on a pair of leather gloves and slides down the rope as slowly as he can, while lifting his posterior with a casting of Mage Hand to take some of the weight off his hands and feet. Once safely down, he immediately begins to silently fret about how he's going to get back up. Perhaps some creative use of Tenser's Floating Disc....

gridley wrote:

Once safely down, he immediately begins to silently fret about how he's going to get back up.

The guards brought enough rope that it extends to the bottom, so it's just a matter of climbing up. Odanais isn't great at it, but he could always hold on and be pulled up.

So, is Vox going in first, or are you entering in a group? And if he goes first, how far behind are you guys following?

Vox draws his rapier and sketches a salute at the others. Keep talking, he mouths, Give me a moment, and then follow along. With that, he pivots on his heel and moves silently into the tunnel....

(OOC: Move about 20' ahead of the rest of the party, you think? Want me to roll for his Stealth, or would rather keep that to yourself?)

Rolzup wrote:

(OOC: Move about 20' ahead of the rest of the party, you think? Want me to roll for his Stealth, or would rather keep that to yourself?)

You can roll. Anything you guys roll saves me time, anyway. And don't forget that you can always take 10.

Quote :

And near them, a small, apparently mummified, piece of flesh.

Odanais sings to himself, "There are monsters in the pit... there are big, bad, terrible monsters in the pit..."

Vox proceeds into the cave opening, with the others following 20 feet behind. Though the aura of bright light emanating from Yatagan's chest would normally extend beyond that distance, the shadar-kai finds himself in shadow. The dim light around him is similarly diminished in distance, and even though hiss preternatural sight should pierce it easily, within it he finds patches of shadow. The shadows seem to coil and move, as if reluctant to let light into their domain. The Shadowfell certainly has an effect here, though only very faintly at this point.

As Vox steps through the opening, he finds a large tunnel beyond, well over a dozen feet wide and as high. It slopes faintly downwards and maybe twenty feet ahead of him, widens and splits into three. Something glints in the faint light, on the ground in front of the tunnel to the left, and Vox sees that it is a jeweled ring on a hand. The hand ends in a jagged stump right below the wrist. Patches of dried blood and small pieces of flesh, meat and bone lie around it.

Vox bends to examine the hand, trying first to determine if it belonged to a man or to a woman...

(Heal Check: 11)

...and then whether there is any enchantement lingering about it. Or the ring.

(Arcana Check: 20)

Assuming that the answer to his swcond inquiry is "No", he'll carefully pick the hand up and put it one of the pockets of his greatcoat before continuing on.

The member 'Rolzup' has done the following action : Dice Roller

'd20' : 10, 11

Rolzup wrote:

Vox bends to examine the hand, trying first to determine if it belonged to a man or to a woman...

Vox cannot determine the sex of the original owner, in most part because he's confident that it belonged a dwarf. And the distinction between dwarven males and females is subtle enough - even when the entire body is there.

Quote :

...and then whether there is any enchantement lingering about it. Or the ring.

The ring is non-magical, and Vox detects no magic in the area.

Quote :

Assuming that the answer to his swcond inquiry is "No", he'll carefully pick the hand up and put it one of the pockets of his greatcoat before continuing on.

Vox heads into the tunnel which the hand and other remains lay before. Though he is not a keen tracker, he can easily detect more small pieces and mortal remains as he advances. Less than thirty feet later the tunnel splits in two and more openings to left and right are quickly discovered ahead. This place is a maze.

Some distance behind Vox, Penelope hears a faint, constant, sound. After a little thought, she realizes it is the sound of flowing water, somewhere up ahead.

Vox sighs, and flattens himself against the wall as he waits for the others to catch up. No sense getting lost yet.

When they do arrive, he emerges from the shadows and gestures with his sword.

"Pick a direction and we'll stick with it," he suggests quietly. "I favor left, myself, but you're the one with the god in your britches."

Rolzup wrote:

"Pick a direction and we'll stick with it," he suggests quietly. "I favor left, myself, but you're the one with the god in your britches."

Strangely enough, just as Vox says that, Yatagan feels a twitch in his nether regions. And not the kind he feels after a particularly successful poetry reading. He's quite certain the god moved, and though it's hard to pick direction from a box in your codpiece, he's somehow quite confident it moved toward the right. Which also happens to be the direction that Penelope just told them she heard the water in.


OOC: I'm assuming you guys are sharing any information you pick up, mainly because it saves time. If you decide not to share something, just mention it in a post.

"The god has spoken!" exclaims Yatagan as he suddenly swivels his hips to the right, as if, inexplicably, he has chosen this exact moment to begin practicing the latest dance step sweeping the Port.

"We are going to the right" he says firmly. Yatagan proceeds down the right-hand passage, battleaxe in hand, walking for the first few steps in an odd waddle.

"Who am I to argue with a god?" Vox mutters, breaking into a jog. He moves up past Yatigan, once again taking the lead.

"Indeed," says Odanais, following, "who are we to argue with the god that makes men waddle..."

OOC: in addition to writing Treasure's scriptures, Yatagan's going to have to start a mystery cult based on his secret writings about the god-in-a-box, who'll be known to future scholars as the "Codpiece Gnostics".

The tunnels wind back and forth, with more opening to left and right, but the adventurers stick to the right and follow the sound of water. The sound is soon loud enough for everyone to hear, and eventually they emerge into a large open space.

Twenty feet ahead, the flat expanse ends in a cliff, the cliff descending to the source of the running water, going by the sound. To the left and right of the adventurers as they emerge from the tunnel, the flat area extends away, the far side from the cliff rising at a rough angle to a ceiling some twenty feet overhead. More tunnels open into this area to left and right.

The shadowy nature of this area is stronger here, and Vox feels a stronger touch of the Shadowfell in the area. Both ahead, and to the left. Penelope hears something as the group emerges. There's the faint sound of movement in the darkness on either side. And behind the group, come to think of it.

"Oh, great," says Penelope. "I think we're being surrounded by something..."

"Mr. Dare, can your floating disk support Ms. Pindar? This will go better if we can keep her out of the fray".

Yatagan surveys the chamber again then says "I'd like to fight with out backs to something. We could make a stand against the wall between two of the passage openings. Or we can see if fortune truly favors the bold and fight at the cliff's edge." It's clear the paladin favors that option. It's also clear the what they say about paladins and martyrdom is true.

"Though, admittedly" adds Yatagan "that stratagem is a bit of a double edged sword."

"You can stand with your back to the edge," Vox suggests blithely, "And draw their attention -- whatever they may be -- whilst we attack from behind. Classic pincer maneuver," he adds, wholly incorrectly.

Rolzup wrote:

"You can stand with your back to the edge," Vox suggests blithely, "And draw their attention -- whatever they may be -- whilst we attack from behind.

"That just might work" says Yatagan approvingly. "We can conceal Mr. Dare in one of the passageways while the rest of us lure our foes to the cliff's edge. Then Mr. Dare can have his way them... so to speak, with his wave of force."

Yatagan turns to Penelope. "Would you prefer to be bait or suppressing fire?"

Mallus wrote:

"Mr. Dare, can your floating disk support Ms. Pindar? This will go better if we can keep her out of the fray".

"A fine idea, but only if you can convince our unseen foes to wait ten minutes before attacking us."

Rolzup wrote:

"You can stand with your back to the edge," Vox suggests blithely, "And draw their attention -- whatever they may be -- whilst we attack from behind. Classic pincer maneuver," he adds, wholly incorrectly.

"Using the geography against them. I like that."

Mallus wrote:

"That just might work" says Yatagan approvingly. "We can conceal Mr. Dare in one of the passageways while the rest of us lure our foes to the cliff's edge. Then Mr. Dare can have his way them... so to speak, with his wave of force."

"Smashing... let's just be certain that you don't go over the edge with them!"