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Fëanor quickly drags Erut out of the tunnel, leaving Vidar to work alone on the digging for a few seconds. He leaves the grimlock to the ministrations of Xenobia: the priestess has stepped forward, eager to help, as soon as she saw Erut's distress.

The priest of Kelemevor has naturally recognized the life-draining energy present in the cave-in: it is the same sort that grants his sworn foes, the undead, a twisted semblance of life.
Thankfully his own strong - some would say unnatural - vitality is enough to keep him going.

He shakes his head in reply to Vidar's query:
"I have nothing more to offer there."

Melia is kept appraised via telepathy: thankfully, her powerful ability to locate creatures around her lets them know where they are in relation to her.

OOC: with Fast Healing 2, he only takes 3 dmg over the 1st minute and 7 over the 2nd... and he'll heal in little time once the digging is over. Resource conservation, I tell you.

Erut senses the rocks before him crumble as thick arms reach to pull him free of the newly dug crevice. He scrambles clear his gray skin blotched with sickly looking white patches where the cursed earth had touched him.

Gulping deep lungfuls of air — not fresh, but better then in the pile of rock — he grimaces as he pats his belt and pack for what he knew was not there. A stout iron crowbar had been lost in the sweeping underground river that ran deep beneath Szith Morcane, and he had grown too reliant on the Karashun's earth-magic to bother getting another. 

 "I have stone-eating acid, but you'd have a time using it to dig sideways," he rasps.

Aztari, seeing the off-white ectoplasmic creature she had built get the strange translucent material that it was formed of slowly eaten away to nothing before Meila was released, quickly brought forth another to keep digging forward.

Focusing and drawing forth the long strands from where ever the psychically pliable material came from, another brutish construct appeared, the whitish being looking as much like a marble gorrilla as anything else.

Aztari quickly sent it back down into the expanding tunnel. 


A 3rd level construct with muscle = 25 str. 
Enervation roll  11 % pass, just 
3 ppt spent.
Duration 9 rds.  

Vidar makes another hard push down the tunnel, working along with the construct, after about twelve seconds he becomes frustrated with the situation and it shows as he works furiously. He moves a good deal of loose earth in this time but quickly tires and has to stop altogether and rest.


It's Clobbering Time! Show  

 

With the dirt and stone that were blocking her telepathy mostly out of the way, Melia is able to direct the diggers to her location swiftly and she is pulled loose shortly after Erut, having only been a few feet beyond him.

While considerably more dirty and much more thoroughly pinned, Melia is in considerably better shape than the grimlock was for some reason.  After she is out, the construct continues digging for a bit longer and then melts into the stone he is digging in, only to have Vidar take over and begin pushing through to the other side.


Vidar, roll me an attack.  Feanor roll me a diplomacy and a profession (mining) (or if you have other ideas for directing the raging barbarian, feel free to suggest).  Not sure how well raging works when you're trying to be precise in your digging so as to avoid a cave-in.

Probably no taking 10 here, since this will be more a skin of your teeth moment.

Attack Roll Show  

Fëanor keeps on directing Vidar as best he can as the big man's motions grow more powerful but less controlled.
He keeps a wary eye on the structural integrity of the whole tunnel.

OOC: I rolled Intimidate instead of Diplomacy for being forceful instead of cajoling... but really I'm not sure how to model the situation. A social skill is not going to make Vidar more precise.
Profession: mining 1d20+12=24, Intimidate 1d20+6=12

In this case, I was more aiming for you getting through the battle haze/focus and making him listen or pull back when he starts pushing forward too fast or in the wrong direction.  Any other thoughts on that, I'm open to it.

OOC Show

Xenobia does what she can to help move some of the rock and debris that has rained down on her cousin Melia and her recent traveling companion Erut. The mephit Eilistraee has granted to aid them does far more than she ever could with her meager strength. Still, every little bit helps and the fact that she is desperate to recover the two before whoever set up this trap shows up lends her an extra bit of strength. (1)

Xenobia, seeing that Feanor seems to know what he is talking about as he directs the others to clear the cave-in, directs the mephit to follow Feanor’s orders. She watches the creature disappear into the cave-in, along with Vidar and another summoned construct. The only thing she can really do is continue to help pull aside the rubble and wait for the others to be found.

She can hear them pulling someone out and she rushes forward as Erut is pulled free of the cave-in. He gasps for air as she lays her hand on his arm, trying not to cause further pain with the wand she has pressed against him. She eyes the long white patches that resemble burns on the man’s skin as she quietly whispers the activation word for the wand. The white patch fades with each usage of the wand. (2)

Melia is then pulled free and Xenobia eyes her carefully. She seems in much better shape than Erut from the cave-in. Proof of how sturdy drow are.

Xenobia glances at the tunnel through the cave-in. “We want to be on that side, don’t we.” It is less a question and more of a statement as she points to the other side of the cave-in.

Mechanics Show

As soon as Melia is out of the way and Vidar is digging on his own, he releases his frustration and feels a surge of power much like in battle, his progress increasing drastically.  He does hear some forceful shouting behind, but simply proceeds ahead along the path that Feanor had pointed out, pushing forward.

When his rage finally runs its course, he is left panting and finally hears Feanor yelling at him to stop, noticing through a slight haze of gray that there is a sizeable rock that he was about to pull out of the way that appears to be supporting much of the tunnel above his head.

OOC Show

Right after Erut is freed…
Xenobia rubs some of the dust away from her eyes. They are all covered in it; fine silt that rained down on those who weren’t buried in the cave-in. She gives her head a shake to rid herself of the worst of it. Once her eyes are clear she reexamines Erut. The man is hurt worse than he is letting on. Her special training as a healer allows her to recognize that his wounds are of such severity that if they had happened to her, she would be dead. Not the most comfortable of thoughts.

She has already activated the wand and it will be a little over a minute before she can do so again. It is a great wand but a little slow. They cannot afford to wait too long and so once more Xenobia calls upon her goddess. She prays for healing for this man who has been so faithful a companion. Immediately much of the white burns on his skin disappear.

(Sorry, gotta run…finish later.)

Mechanics Show

Fëanor, who was worried about Melia - in spite of her always biting telepathic comments about their "snail's pace" -, is relieved and surprised to find her hale, if dirty.

After Vidar gets clear through to the other end, Fëanor does another tour of the tunnel, checking it one last time.
"Now, each of you in turn will cross to the other side. Wait for the person in front of you to be done before you start."

He himself waits so as to be the last through. As he does so, the instinctive knowledge of mining that helped save his companions' lives begins to evaporate from his mind.

Xenobia deftly moves toward the front, heading into the tunnel before any of the others. If anything happens, they’ll need a healer to greet them on the other side. Besides, she is worried about Vidar and anxious to see to his injuries. The thought of who might be coming in response to the cave-in spurs her into motion. (1)

The other side finds her grimacing at the pain of traveling through the tunnel. One look at Vidar and all thoughts of herself are forgotten. “Here, let me help.” She moves over to him and with a quiet prayer seeks Eilistraee’s healing for the man. (2)  Much of his wounds heal and she thanks Eilistraee for her blessings. Then she lays the wand she used on Erut across Vidar's arm and quietly whispers the activation word.

Mechanics Show

3 damage, 1 damage, and 4 damage for each round spent in the tunnel as you pass through.  So depends upon your speed-- the tunnel itself is 55 foot or so, since it winds a lot.  Also, dropping a 5th level spell gets you mass cure light wounds normally, rather than cure critical-- though I suppose you can choose to take the lesser spell.

Feeling warmth and feeling return to his flesh, Erut murmurs thanks to Xenobia and scrambles through the makeshift tunnel quickly after the priestess, feeling small stings as his arms brush against the floor and sides — still in his smaller form, he's able to quickly catch up to her as she exits, and scans the immediate area for any signs of further traps.

Spoiler: Show

The immediate vicinity does not seem to hold any traps, however, Erut does hear the sound of footsteps, albeit just barely, some way down the tunnel and heading back towards the party at a good clip.  When he warns Xenobia, a sharp glance upwards by her reveals nothing heading down the corridor, however, despite the fact that the footsteps sound as if they are within range of her vision.

"Someone's coming," Erut whispers to those behind him in the tunnel. Whoever was posted to guard this new approach surely heard the cave-in and the subsequent digging, but hopefully they didn't yet know how many intruders they faced.

Moving several steps ahead of Xenobia, Erut dismisses the world-skewing effect and feels the tunnel grow smaller around him again. He instinctively drops into a crouch, in case the ceiling is low. Pressing himself against the wall, he readies his club and waits, trying to count the footsteps.

Spoiler: Show

The footsteps come closer, then stop ... and Leah suddenly appears, standing in plain sight in the middle of the tunnel slightly ahead of the party. Looking at the familiar faces ahead, she speaks wryly, "Miss me? I nearly missed you".

(Note: If he has sufficient cover with which to hide, then Leah doesn't notice Erut)

She then looks toward Serina and catching the old woman's eye, she speaks directly to her, "We need to talk ... ", looking towards the others she continues, "... if you can give us a minute". It wasn't really a question.

It turns out the noise from the cave in did have at least one benefit ... it let Leah find you - she would have overshot you completely otherwise.
I'll let you guys react first before "the explanation".

"Leah!" exclaimed Aztari. "You're a welcome sight. But what brings yo..." then the significance of her request to Serina kicked in and she nodded in understanding quickly stepping back to allow the other two women a moment.

The older looking woman gives Leah a short nod, then strides off a bit further down the tunnel-- though not too far.  When the pair reach the cross-tunnel, Serina turns and says, "Well, what's gone wrong now?"

Leah walks with Serina down the tunnel and then speaks quietly, just barely loud enough for Serina to hear, "Nothing's gone wrong as such, ... it's simply that Lord Morn needs a compentent divination specialist to complete some of the wards and other supplementary defenses for the forward base, and thus he asked that I deliver the message to you and step in as arcane support.".
Leah pauses, "The reason I wanted to speak to you like this was that I figured that the fewer people who know that you will be involved in setting up the defenses for the forward base, the better ... just in case ..."

_{"Caution is never a wasted effort.  Understandable, dear.  Still, we'll need some excuse for my leaving."}  Putting on a scowl, the old woman said in a louder voice, "Speak up and stop mumbling!  I'm old, I don't have time for all the niceties.  Just give it to me straight."

"No, wait.  Let me guess.  It's the dragon, isn't it?"  A barely perceptible nod seemed to set her off again, and she muttered in a tone that carried, "Blasted thing is too picky!  What does it matter which of us is there as a liason?"

Scowling, she looked up and down Leah and said, "Well, no matter.  I'm sure you'll do fine and I'll catch up when I can assuming Lord Morn can talk to the thing.  I'd best get going soon."

Leah nods slightly as she walks back with Serina towards the others. Once they are all back in the same place, she speaks to the others, "Thank you all for you patience. Lord Morn needs the services of his witch, at least for a short while, and thus I'll be joining you for this little trek of ours."

Looking towards Xenobia, Vidar, and Erut (assuming Erut is not still in hiding), Leah looks contemplative, "Though we have all met, I'm afraid that some of us have never been formally introduced, so let me address that. I am Leigheas Uirlis, or simply Leah."

Vidar seems not only injured but fatigued as he nearly collapses at the feet of Xenobia, seeming momentarily as if he may fall directly onto her but then steadying himself by using his polearm as a crutch.

"Thank you much," the big man says as he is healed.

OOC Show  

Fëanor-the-rearguard comes out of the tunnel. He is wrapped in shadow, so no one gets to see the look of surprise on his face as he beholds the newly arrived Leah.

He becomes visible again, and when he learns of the modified plan there is a tinge of worry for Serina, who will now have to do the trip back on her own.
We just came that way. She should be fine.

He doesn't believe Leah is lying about the dragon being difficult... but he knows he probably wouldn't know if she were.

"We don't know if this trap was 'simply' a hindrance,or if it also forewarned enemies ahead. Let's be extra careful."

"Oh!" Leah added before Serina could leave, putting a hand on her shoulder.  "I almost forgot this."  Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a belt that looks as if it has seen better days-- leather, it is covered in cracks and fissures though it doesn't appear to be in danger of falling apart.  In fact, they are somewhat reminiscent of parched earth.  A large obsidian buckle completes the item.

"This should let you return more quickly."

Nodding, Serina takes the item and removes her own belt to don it.  Getting a quick explanation of how to use it, the witch makes her farewells and then vanishes, the belt buckle flashing briefly as she empowers it with her own energies.

Belt of the Wide Earth, from the Magic Item Compendium.

Throwing a brief glance with perhaps a hint of concern towards Vidar, Leah's eyes continue over her assembled companions and the edges of her mouth curl up in a small smile of greeting as she notes her companions of the last few weeks of training: Aztari, Feanor, Melia and Illanis.

Without further ado, Leah nods in respones to Fëanor, and mutters a minor cantrip. Then with a finger to her lips she mouths the words, "Lets proceed silently. Whisper if you need to converse". Though she is some distance away from some members of the group, everyone hears her whisper as if she were standing beside them.

Actions Show

Erut gives a quiet snort of surprise as Serina vanishes into the stone, but resettles himself as Leah greets the others and turns his attention once more down the tunnel.

"How far ahead did you come out?" he asks her, whispering as bidden as he moves forward, fingers brushing any bit of rock he can reach as he moves in what seems like — but is not — an absentminded gesture. She hadn't triggered any new traps running back here, but you couldn't be too careful.

Spoiler: Show

The beguiler indicated a distance a short ways beyond the crossing that the party had noted before the cave-in and Erut didn't find any traps within that area to the crossing or for a distance in any direction.  The crossing itself formed an X rather than being perfectly perpendicular and the path that the party had been on was pointed most directly towards the Dordrien Mountains and Szith Morcane.


Let me know if you want to continue on your current path or strike off down one of the other passages.  No real signs of markings or anything else to indicate the likely destinations of each branch.

Baffled at first, Erut gets on all fours lowers his head to the floor, mouth open but saying nothing, as he takes deep, slow lungfuls of air. An enormous mass of decayed flesh had been here not too long ago; it must have left some sign of its passage. "There's a chance the delver laired elsewhere than Szith Morcane; it'd be hard to hide a creature that size there" he remarks quietly. "Our quarry may have split up."

Spoiler: Show
 

The delver itself appears to have passed down the tunnel in the direction the party had been heading previously if Erut is judged correctly-- while the acids that the thing secreted masked much of the scent of its flesh, he was able to detect the more recent application of that acid on stone and faintly the scent of the rotting flesh itself as well.

Finding the path their prey took, Erut guides the group down the tunnel, travelling parallel to the surface for a long time after having resumed the previous formation-- albeit with the grimlock in the lead this time.  It is perhaps another six to eight hours before he stops, having received a whisper from Voice that there was... something... not more than 40 ft away.  A shadow or silhouette of a man, or part of one, though Erut himself smelled and heard nothing ahead.

Whatever it was, Voice did not see any sign that it had noticed the Grimlock-- Melia some 10 feet behind him, however, was another matter altogether.



It's looking like InvisibleCastle may not recover.  What was the link that you posted earlier, Omen?  No cover or concealment here, incidentally, so the only thing keeping Erut hidden is his ring of the darkhidden and from what I can see, Melia doesn't have one.

At Voice's warning, Erut freezes and catches his breath. To a slightless creature, the sudden silence would be as good as a wave of alarm, but Erut throws a hand out behind him to halt Melia. He's only half-certain she can see him, either — Feiggan, the Svirfneblin wizard who had carved his ring, had explained its function to him endlessly, it seemed, but Erut never quite got it. "Just wear it," the exasperated gnome eventually said.

The half-drow seemed to be some sort of mentalist; Erut didn't understand this, either, or particularly like it, but she'd demonstrated the ability to converse as Voice did, and so he accompanies his outstretched arm with a warning though: "Stop — there's something there."

 

Travelling a little back from Erut and Melia, Leah pauses as the Grimlock stops, and then her eyes search out the area ahead, the darkness itself being no impediment to her sight.
Reactions Show

While darkness does not impede the sight of a shade, Leah still sees nothing but a silhouette against the wall... or more accurately, partially through the wall.


Knowledge (religion) checks from those who can see it-- Leah or Melia (potentially).  Erut doesn't have any religion ranks and neither of the two who do have enough that it is a guaranteed success.  (Feanor probably would automatically recognize it, but he's far enough back that he can't see it.)

Leah frowns as she looks at the silhouette partially within the wall, it reminds her of something, something buried within her mind, something that she struggles to put a name to something born of darkness ... then it clicks - a wraith. With only a quick gesture, Leah renews the message spell then silently steps to the side and whispers to all of her companions, "Wraith up ahead. Incorporeal undead."

Actions Show

The creature does not appear to be responding immediately to the pause in Melia's progress, however its head is following her movements.


Let me know what you want to do-- I'll decide if we need initiative at that point.

Taking a position that gives her a good view of the tunnel ahead, and trusting in the invisibility granted by her ring and her own stealth, Leah prepares to unleash a spell should the wraith, or its potential companions move in to attack.
Actions Show

It knows we're here, Erut thinks, as Voice relays the wraith's vigilant movements. So why hadn't it attacked? Maybe it thinks the woman's a drow and it isn't sure what to do.

He doubted the creature would show any such hesitation if it noticed him, but so far it hadn't. Erut edges forward a bit closer, hoping there would be enough room around the thing. Erut was at a bit of a loss as to how much help he could be against such a foe — try as he might, he could sense nothing, he was relying on Voice to even stop him before he came to close; how could he hope to hit it? Still, if it came to a fight, better to be on both sides of the thing.

Spoiler: Show

If there's enough room, move ahead to get by the Wraith; otherwise stop at 10 feet.

Stealth: 28 (I didn't include the +10 he would normally get underground, since this seems to be more of a move-silently thing)
 

With Voice's guidance, Erut edges around the thing without seeming to notify it of his presence, ending up on the far side of the wraith.

Still no reaction

Xenobia stops and carefully moves over against the wall, away from the main traffic. The ring she wears keeps her hidden from darksight, a trick she guesses those coming might be using. They could simply be invisible, or the tunnels could be playing tricks on them by projecting the sound of the footprints from where they really are. Either way, Xenobia suddenly feels a hand pressing down upon her, making it hard for her to breathe.

Leah appears, pulling the attention of the others away from what Xenobia is dealing with. She gathers herself, silently praying to her goddess. It feels as if she is being warned and she gets the sense that something very, very bad is coming. After a few minutes she is able to breathe freely again and with a single nod of welcome to the newcomer, she resumes her journey with them. 

Aztari knew her place at this moment. She stayed still and did her best to keep her breathing to a minimum while the sneakier members of the team did their thing. A single lone scout needed to be dealt with instantly. She trusted with the message spell working they would be able to coordinate a combined strike and remove the wraith at once. She sent a whispered message to that effect. "Make sure it is alone. If it is hit it together if you can," came a suggestion through the spell.

"Whatever's being done, best do it quick, me thinks," quipped Illanis with a whispered message, "yon beastie's not like to remain staring at Melia for much longer, pretty sure the parts she likes to play on for that kind of attention aren't functioning in such as that one."  With the majority of the party back nearly a hundred feet from the forward scouts, getting everyone up to the undead (particularly quietly) was likely to take enough time more that the creature might notice something amiss.


i.e. time for someone to make a move and it probably needs to be Melia, Feanor, Erut, or Leah.

Erut takes up a position a few steps back from where Voice insisted the wraith hovered, his fingers closing around a ceramic flask that he draws from his pack. The container was entwined in leather to keep it from cracking, and he unwinds the wrapping as quietly as he can. "Bottled sunlight," the merchant had said — Erut had found the sun merely unpleasant on his skin, but this liquid was supposed to burn and immobilize even a vampire. 

Silently, he mouths a word of warning to the others. "I can strike it, I think," he says. "But it might make a lot of light."

 Spoiler: Show

As Erut barely speaks in order to pass his message on, Voice abruptly says, "He turned!"

From slightly further down the tunnel, Leah sees the undead spectre whirl around after Erut passes on his warning.



While you don't need to make much sound, message still requires some and the wraith rolled a 19 before bonuses while right on top of you.  Roll for initiative.

Edit:  In the interests of keeping things moving, the wraith gets a 13 for its initiative, so if you beat that you go first.

Init = 20

Erut grits his teeth. How could the thing have such good ears? It barely exists. Tossing the scraps of leather aside, he hurls the flask at the stone beneath the creature, and takes a few steps backward as he hears the glass shatter.

Spoiler: Show

To hit = 15 

10-foot radius burst equivalent to sunlight; creatures powerless in sunlight can take only take more or standard action.

move 10 feet back.

 

Melia, Leah, and Feanor can roll for initiative too, since they had warning.

ACK! Bad life! Bad! Go sit in the corner! Ahem...

Apr 10, 2013 -- 9:27AM, Omen_of_Peace wrote:

Fëanor, who was worried about Melia - in spite of her always biting telepathic comments about their "snail's pace" -, is relieved and surprised to find her hale, if dirty.

After Vidar gets clear through to the other end, Fëanor does another tour of the tunnel, checking it one last time.
"Now, each of you in turn will cross to the other side. Wait for the person in front of you to be done before you start."

He himself waits so as to be the last through. As he does so, the instinctive knowledge of mining that helped save his companions' lives begins to evaporate from his mind.

After being pulled free, Melia has a brief moment to clasp Fëanor's arm, forcing a smile past all of her spiritual luggage. She had clearly caught the concern in his face, no matter how fleeting. "Don't you worry about me, my dear. I have my tricks." Her grin widens. "All the same... sure took you long enough."

Their interaction is cut short by Fëanor's sudden need to rein in Vidar. Melia sees Xenobia glancing her way and assures her quietly, "I am well, kaoveh. Please attend to the grimlock."

- - -

Melia finds herself pleased to see Leah, yet fighting her/Zceryll's contempt for the sorceress. She follows the conversation between the shade and the old woman closely, finding the timing of Leah's appearance suspicious and again ruing the absence of Dantalion's gifts. The reason for Serina's departure seems valid enough, but Melia's inexplicable distrust of Leah leaves her questioning the whole thing. The binder again momentarily ruminates over whether living in a continual state of cognitive dissonance will begin to do permanent damage to one's psyche.

- - -

Apr 27, 2013 -- 3:06AM, Stormwind wrote:

With only a quick gesture, Leah renews the message spell then silently steps to the side and whispers to all of her companions, "Wraith up ahead. Incorporeal undead."

Damn these distractions causing me a lapse of coverage, Melia hisses mentally, shooting a foul-tempered look at the back of Leah's head upon finally noticing the wraith and realizing that it has been tracking her movements. As discreetly as possible, she repositions herself within the tunnel and renews Acererak's granted protection from the eyes of the undead. However, Erut's whispers seemed to have set the thing into action, and it turns to strike. "Get out of there and let us deal with it!" the thought-command is terse but almost desparate. The grimlock is a valuable ally, and given what she has learned about his way of "seeing" the world, Melia knows that toe-to-toe with a wraith is not a particularly good place for him to be.

Spoiler: Show

Initiative: (1d20+2)[14]

In spite of the bright light, Leah reacts bare moments after Erut, muttering a couple of arcane words and gesturing towards the incorporeal wraith. Shadows gather about the wraith and solidify into a web from one wall to the other, enclosing the wraith, and stopping just short of Erut.
Leah whispers, "That web should hold even a wraith. Erut, is there anything else up ahead?"
She then takes a step to the side, ensuring that she does not block her companions view of the situation.

Actions Show

The wraith hisses as the liquid sunlight spills out into the place, its arm coming up in a futile effort to block the rays now shining out from the rocks of the tunnel walls and floor.  It appears even more panicked when the webs of Leigheas's spell abruptly spill out of open air to surround it, but moments after that it stops abruptly and the arm that is not across its face swipes through the webbing as if through air.

Moments later, however, it lets out an unearthly scream as if in agony and writhes as it fades back into the stone wall.

OOC Show

Erut scrambles backward a bit as the strands expand across the place the wraith had been, still trying to be as quiet as possible to listen for any other approaching foes. He tells Voice to keep alert, asking, Is it still there? 

Spoiler: Show

Sense motive for Erut and Voice = 2 16s 

Perception for Erut and Voice = 21 and 31 

 

The answer is fairly curt for the stone, "No.  I think it was pretending to die with that scream, but it just moved into the earth."

That assessment meshes with what rilem heard-- the scream, while convincing, didn't quite have the edge to it of someone in true peril.

Leah mutters a whispered "Damn" as the wraith slips through her web and back into the stone. Its scream doesn't convince her of its agony and she whispers to her companions, "The web is naught but illusion and shadow, ... but I admit I didn't expect the wraith to have the will to resist it. I sugest we all stand ready to hit it with all we have should it reappear."
Leah then follows her words with action, ready to unleash eldritch energies upon the incorporeal creature should it show itself once more ...
Actions Show
OOC(Bal) Show

"So we can't see it now, either?" Erut remarks. He wasn't as dismayed at this prospect as he should be, he knew — at least this put everyone on the same page for the moment. He didn't enjoy being the helpless one.

Still, if it has a whisper of sense it'll come after me first, he thinks, and waits for the reassurance from Voice saying, "No, maybe not." Voice says nothing. 

After nearly a minute has passed without any attacks from the wraith, it seems clear that the creature is not returning-- possibly a sentry or just wise enough to know it was overmatched based upon the initial assault by the team.


I forgot about the save being based on the shadow conjuration level-- we'll keep it simple then and just set the DC in general off of the spell.

Melia's face twists into a grimace at this latest turn of events, feeling partially responsible for not detecting the undead but finding herself nonetheless unwilling to admit to such. She then speaks to the group telepathically as much out of the practicality of silence as of the acerbic satisfaction that she is ignoring the 'benefits' of Leah's magics.

"We may have just rung the doorbell and personally alerted the guards. Let's get moving. Speed over stealth at this point, if you ask me."

Erut pulls his face into a grimace, wondering exactly how long it would take the escaping wraith to raise the alarm — and who it might be alerting. A cadre of Drow would be preferable to a nest of similar creatures. 

At Aztari's words, he murmurs an assent. "Yes; if it was left to watch the path past the deathsand they'll know we were able to get past their trap."

Before moving on, he feels the stone around the place where the wraith disappeared — perhaps it had guarded some hidden way.

Spoiler: Show

While not truly expecting much, Erut's search does actually turn up what appears to be a hidden door-- or perhaps slab would be a better word for it.  There is a faint line around the area that he is able to feel and upon pushing upon that section of the wall, it slides back perhaps an inch at most.  At that point a truly prodigious effort is required to shift the wall without any real handholds present.  After they have shifted the slab perhaps a foot to the right, a small gap becomes visible and a deafening clamor of roaring, bird calls, and other animal noises seems to hit the grimlock with almost physical force.  And almost hidden beneath it, the sound of a small child sobbing in terror.

When Melia approaches the gap, it is wide enough she is able to sweep at least part of the room for undead with no results and her mindsight shows only a single intelligence, the remainder appear to be animals of various sorts.  With that much determined, the door is forced open the remainder of the way and a rush of foul air escapes into the tunnels.

Within, the room is fairly large, perhaps 20 foot across at the back and 15 foot deep.  The source of the sounds and scents are immediately obvious, however, for the back wall of the chamber is lined with cages filled with small animals or their rotting corpses.    Off to one side of the room, separated by a gap of no more than 5 foot is a larger cage that holds the child that Erut detected earlier as well as the corpses of a man and a woman-- possibly her parents and appearing to be more recently deceased, though their bodies are so withered and gaunt it is difficult to tell.



Would just go on, but given that we seem to be posting fairly rapid fire today, I'll give you a quick chance to respond if you'd like.  If I don't hear anything in a little while I'll follow up with opening the door the rest of the way.     

As Erut's search detects a hidden slab, Leah's eyes widen slightly in surprise and appreciation of the Grimlock's talents. Keeping a sharp eye out whilst Erut opens the slab, Leah finally looks past Erut and Melia into the room and her eyes harden at the sight that meets her eyes. Taking a quick precaution, Leah look over the room searchingly, looking for magical currents or effects that would indicate magical traps or wards.

Detect magic

... to be continued ...

There do not appear to be any spells active within the room that might indicate magical traps or wards and a quick sweep by Erut afterwards reveals it to be clean.  One corner of the room holds a barrel filled with what appears to be muddy rainwater and another of sodden feed.  Oddly, the metal ladle that is hanging from the bucket is enchanted with a faint transmutation spell laced with universal magics that are considerably more powerful.  Outside of that, however, the room is clear of any magic.


Spellcraft DC to identify the spells would be DC 22 and 25.  Which Leah can actually take 10 on, now that I look.  They're permanency and a spell that is similar to ghost touch weapon or ghost touch armor, though it isn't quite either of them and isn't something you're familiar with-- Leah assumes it is something like a ghost touch item spell.

Leah activates her natural invisibility and waits only for Erut to finish sweeping the room for traps before she moves within the room next to the larger cage. She murmurs briefly, "Sleep safely child" in the common speech even as she silently completes her spell.
Actions Show

With a slight sigh, the child's crying ceases and she slumps to the floor of the cage.  It is apparent that she was no stranger to whatever killed her parents, as her skin is sallow and her features drawn beyond what starvation might have accounted for.

Jeeze, the kid almost passed the save.  If commoners didn't have all bad saves, she would have.

"Where did she come from?" Erut asks as he shuffles along the room, examining the cages and their contents. "Is she one of Lord Morn's people? And what is this place?" 

The more pressing question — what were they to do with a plainly starving and infirm girl alone in the Underdark, miles from any help — he left unsaid.  

Leah pulls the shadows around her in order to jump into the cage. Kneeling beside the child, she gently strokes the child's drawn and sallow forehead.
She's not entirely sure why this little girl's plight touches her, perhaps it reminds her of something from her youth, perhaps it is the fact that the girl has lost her parents - likely killed before her eyes, perhaps it is the harshness of the childs life ... but whatever the reason, she is certain that to leave the child here, alone, in the dark, would be a betrayal of something undefined with herself, and that she will not accept.
Leah looks at the child's clothing, and the parent's too, trying to deduce what she can of where the child might have come from ...
She does hear Erut's questions, the ones he asks aloud, and the one left unsaid, but she has no answers to give ...

OOC: Leah hasn't forgotten the magical ladle, just first things first, ...

Aztari came up once the activities of the scouts in front had made it clear there was no immediate threat from the wraith, and some other issue was afoot. Coming to the open slab she made no comment, but immediately began her own detection for evil in room, but being careful not to move further out of the tunnel.

"Is there any other exits from here? We should check for tracks or signs of anything else other than the wraith. Let's post a sentry down the tunnel in case someone is approaching."


Detect evil in room.   

The entire room has a faint miasma of evil within it to Aztari's perception, but it is not the sharply defined aura of powerful beings or magic that has created it.  Rather it is the use to which this place has been put that has corrupted the place.  Great suffering over a long period of time can cause locations to feel like this room.

Leah's search on the other hand, simply reveals simple peasant clothing upon the girl and the corpses, there is also long ingrained dirt beneath the man's fingernails along some blood that is likely more recent.  She guesses that he is a farmer, though from where exactly is another question.


Probably need some knowledge (local) to pair with the search and perception rolls.  Heal or knowledge (religion) would probably be most appropriate for identifying what the room was used for and the causes of death.  Not that the basics aren't obvious.

Leah contemplates the peasant clothing of the girl and the corpses, and from her knowledge of the local area, she thinks about where precisely they might be from.
Although she does briefly consider what killed the parents, her mind is currently on other things.

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Reviewing the cut of the blouse and the materials used in the child's clothing, Leah suspects that the family was from northwestern Daggerdale.  Beyond that, there isn't really enough here to pinpoint a village or hamlet, if she could even recall those details-- her briefing had been thorough, but there were limits to what one mind could retain.  Still, this fit in with the raids that had been taking place in the region-- it was likely these people had been snatched during one of those.  How long ago, she couldn't say.

Yanking his hand back from a cage, where one of the still-moving creatures had snapped at it, Erut returns to searching the room and its entrance for clues of any other creatures save the wraith — the child's jailer, he supposed — and the unfortunate prisoners.


Spoiler: Show

While looking over the room, Erut does find traces of other activity within the room that indicate the wraith is not the only one that has been in the room.  While the scent of animal waste, rotting corpses, and decaying food overwhelm any more subtle scents, he is able to find tracks in the less traditional method he learned upon the surface and from Jama.  

Outside of the group's own footprints, there are perhaps a half dozen or more others that have been in the room, though none more recently than a week or two ago at best.  Most of the tracks that the grimlock is able to find are around the food barrel and generally they seem to just appear, rather than having walked into the room-- perhaps teleportation or something of that nature.  Many of the footprints that he runs across in the dirt floor around this area also have claws, which indicates they were likely not always drow.  Of the traces elsewhere in the chamber, it does not appear that the door has been opened for a month or more-- possibly not since this room was created.

Leah remains kneeling beside the child as she whispers, "By their clothing, I'd say that the child and her parents were from northwestern Daggerdale. A farming family most likely. Precisely where, I can't be sure, but definitely Randal's subjects. I'd guess they were taken in one of the raids."

Looking up at the others, Leah states, "I can't leave the child here, but neither can I abandon my task, our mission". She looks at Erut first and then the others, her gaze finally focusing on Xenobia, a question in her eyes, "If only I were stronger, I might get the child out of here by travelling the shadows, and be back within the hour ... but I'm not"



Ok ... an idea: Leah attempts to get the girl out (with some dvine assisstance in the form of an extended bull's strength from Xenobia). Meanwhile, you guys close the slab and hole up in this hidden room.
With what Erut has discovered, I'd say that there are two things that are likely to go wrong if anything happens - either the wraith comes back (although I think you guys can handle a wraith), or someone teleports in (unknown situation).
What do you guys think ... plausible?

May 5, 2013 -- 8:05PM, rilem wrote:

"Where did she come from?" Erut asks as he shuffles along the room, examining the cages and their contents. "Is she one of Lord Morn's people? And what is this place?" 

The more pressing question — what were they to do with a plainly starving and infirm girl alone in the Underdark, miles from any help — he left unsaid.  

Melia looks around the room, grimacing again and muttering more to herself than truly in response to Erut's last question, "It looks like a breeding pen..." ...for slaughter-bound livestock, she leaves unsaid.

She trails off, looking around the room and trying to definitively determine its purpose as well as the origin of the humans (and, if possible, the animals). As she opens her mouth to speak, Leah pipes up. Melia glances at the humans again, hoping to upstage the sorceress if at all possible...

Spoiler: Show

Aztari looked over the room with furious contempt. There was a reason she had volunteered to come fight the drow... and this was it. The tall woman snorted, a glint in her slitted dragon eyes that boded badly for any drow that crossed their path.

"I'll keep watch outside," she said quietly, focusing her evil divining power down the corridor. 

As she stood in the darkness she pondered the implications of what she had seen but it meant little to her.

Knowledge Religion. 5 +=3
Maintain detect evil in corridor    

That 32 is considerably better.  Melia actually can pretty much pinpoint the likely village they came from as somewhere around White Cloak Hallow to the west of Dagger Falls.  With the 19 knowledge (nature) [asked him over IM] you can also identify the animals as mostly coming from this region plus a few that come from the Underdark, mainly lizards and the like.  The animals also aren't really arranged in such a way as to breed, but the thought about livestock seems pretty dead on-- larder might be a better word than breeding pen.

Looking up at the others, Leah states, "I can't leave the child here, but neither can I abandon my task, our mission".

Erut quits his survey and leans against the wall, listening to the quiet breathing of the child and the continued cries and shrieks from the caged animals — and, below them all, the soundless waves of despair, which was present in this place like a living thing. The child's grim misfortune, and her likely fate had the group not chanced upon the room, were all too familiar to him.

Had Voice not called to him when it had, he too would have died, alone and wretched, leaving not even a memory. He too was rescued only by chance — and had Jama's group not aided him when it had, how long would his freedom have lasted? Not long.

"No, we can't leave her," he agrees, adding, "Are you sure you'll be able to make it back, though?" They'd never seen Sinwa again after she had left with another rescued victim.

Looking to Erut, Leah considers a moment before replying "I believe I have a good chance of doing so. I will be invisible, and so will the child, and travelling the shadows means that I will not need to travel much of the intervening distance .. simply put, I will be teleporting short distances several times a minute. The trip back should be easier."
She pauses to think and then adds, "Perhaps it would be good to keep in contact somehow, but I currently have no way of doing so."

"Actually, my dear," Melia snarks telepathically, sending her thoughts to all in the group, "I can almost certainly place them as residents of a village near White Cloak Hallow, to the west of Dagger Falls. Be sure to inform Morn of this when you return with the child, which I agree simply must be done. My conscience would not allow - and I know I, er, speak, for my cousin as well - us to leave the poor wretch here in this wraith's pantry... or whom or whatever else it is for."

Her thought-words are biting, and she seems to show no concern for Leah's well-being, but her eyes are apologetic. A part of her that wishes to urge the mage to take care and return safely briefly tussles with Zceryll and loses.

"I think it would be prudent for the rest of us to move on as well, lest this room's normal occupants return... with reinforcements..."

"If we move, how will she find us when she returns?" puts in Erut. "Besides, if reinforcements come, they'd find us in the tunnel first. That door was well-covered; they might not know we're here."

That sounded optimistic, he knew. The thing could walk through walls; it could be spying on them right now. Pretty sure it's not, Voice chimes in, but Erut worries anyway.

Spoiler: Show

Voice continues to insist that nothing is watching them, despite Erut's skepticism.

You passed the cross section right after the cave-in, but that was a good 6 hours or so back.  Other than that, you haven't really seen anything other than a straight tunnel for awhile-- you should just be getting back to settled Daggerdale territory at this point since the training grounds were in the Border Forest.

Leah listens carefully and looks searchingly at Melia as she speaks, however whilst she continues to think that something odd is going on with Melia, she still doesn't realise the extent of the influence Melia's bindings have over her.

Nethertheless, Melia's words have reminded Leah of something and whilst still kneeling beside the child she points to the metal ladle hanging from the bucket in the corner of the room and comments, "You might be right, calling this a wraith's pantry ... that ladle there is magical, the only thing in this room that is, and it appears to bear a ghost touch item enhancement and a permanency spell."

Leah then looks directly at Melia as she responds ever so politely, "Erut is right, it would be much easier for me to find you again if you guys hole up here, and judging from how well hidden this place was, I suspect you will be safer within than continuing down the tunnel. Besides, I can at least obscure your tracks so that anyone attempting to locate or follow either your tracks or your scent will need to be very strong willed in order to successfully do so"

Leah then casts Dead End on the entire party (although if Melia objects, she will leave her out of the casting): Any creature that attempts to locate a subject’s trail with a Search check, a Survival check for tracking, or using the Scent Ability must make a DC17 Will save to do so. Automatically bypasses SR24. Duration 90 minutes.

Melia responds with naught but a curt nod and a grunt that manages to carry both scorn and assent. She otherwise discontinues any objections to the proposed plan.

Aztari kept her thoughts to herself as the Leah prepared to take the girl home. That she was prepared to do so, at some risk to the enterprise, spoke well of her. Aztari understood the necessities of war. She had ordered soldiers to death before for the sake of the priorities of a mission. Still the thought of whose daughter she was, the value of a safe return could be weighed to her family and friends beyond price.

"We must keep moving," was the only comment Aztari added to the conversation. "Good luck and swift return Leah."

Allowing her heavier equipment to fall to the ground after she had made her preparations, Leah picked up the child with a small grunt of effort.  While the child was wasted and drawn, likely much lighter than most children her age she was not overly muscled.  Still, when the drow cleric approached and tentatively laid a hand on where she had last seen Leah, her burden lightened after the woman spoke a simple prayer.

Immediately jumping outside of the small room through the shadows, the shadovar took a moment to orient herself and then set back down the tunnel-- only to pause after a few passages through the dark.  Glancing upwards, she thought about how much the tunnel had sloped down-- her own travel had skipped much of the initial passage so she wasn't sure, but she thought this might be less than three hundred feet below the surface.  It was worth trying at least...



OOC Show

...shadow striding as far as she could upwards, Leah found herself perhaps fifty feet up in the air and rapidly stabilized herself with her wings, grateful that the child was no heavier than she was.  The moon was low upon the horizon, but the sky was still shrouded by darkness, for which she was grateful.

Pushing upwards further with wings that trembled slightly with fatigue and the weight of the child, she finally got to a height where she could see for a considerable distance in every direction.  Most of what she saw was, unfortunately, nothing more than the rolling hills that made up western Daggerdale.  There were few trees in the region, mostly a few copses that dotted the area.  However, she thought she saw a hint of smoke far to the west, much closer to the Desertmouth mountains and headed in that direction.

As she moved west, the smudge that she had seen at a distance resolved itself into smoke and then a small hut, built against a cliff that likely marked the official edge of the mountains.  A small waterfall maintained a low roar in the background and she saw a number of devices set up in the stream beyond that she thought were likely meant for panning gold.  The waterfall itself seemed to power a small watermill, which spoke fairly well for the ingenuity of whoever was living here.  At the moment, it appeared to be automatically sifting dirt though there were a number of other odd devices lying nearby.

Approaching the hut that had been erected against the cliff, she noted that the door was firmly locked and simply stepped to the other side.  The interior was, in a word, disgusting, strewn with half-built mechanical devices, discarded and half-eaten food, and the mess of what must be a lifelong bachelor's home.  With only a single room, the sole inhabitant was currently snoring sprawled over a couch, half covered in a collapsed pile of books that were dangerously close to sliding into the fireplace.

Still, beggars couldn't be choosers, and she had seen no other sign of inhabitants in the area.  Nor did she recall many settlements in the area if she was correct about where she had found herself.


OOC Show

Stepping through the shadows again to outside of the small hut, Leah banished her invisiblity and approached, knocking on the door and then pounding on it when that failed to wake the man.  When she finally heard movement within, she stopped and waited... and waited... then finally heard more sound within-- which she identified as snoring a moment later.  Peeved, she again pounded on the door, this time until a small section of the door slid aside and the head of a crossbow bolt poked out.

Stepping aside smoothly, it took some time to finally convince the man to open the door and let her in.  And she suspected it was only the fact that she was inside that prevented him from slamming the door in her face when she made it clear what she needed.  Finally though, the man grudgingly agreed that the next time he went down to the nearest village for supplies he would bring the child.  Which she suspected would be far sooner than he had originally planned.

Still, delivering the note and waking the child to explain what had happened, she dissappeared.  Leaving the panicked man with the again bawling child.

By the time she had arrived back at the "larder" again, she was exhausted all over again, the artificial jolt of magic that had allowed her to recover briefly having been undone by the hard travel.  She also found the party one less than she had expected, the barbarian Vidar vanished-- Melia explained that the wizard Voi had appeared out of nowhere and peremptorily requisitioned the man, simply saying she had need of an extra set of hands for her current task.

OOC Show

When the most of the party has climbed into the extradimensional space, the animals finally calm somewhat, the frenetic noises of the past half hour or more dying into the occasional growl, chirp, or squelch as the creatures sleep or eat respectively.



I'll need Perception checks from both Melia and Leah if they're the ones taking watches.  (And I'll need some direction for Melia's detect undead given that it's a cone.)

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Erut hadn't noticed how tired he felt until it was time to enter the strange space that the arcanist opened from nothingness, and then it settled on him abruptly. As he removed his pack, he plucked Voice from its pouch and bid the crystal to stay alert and let him know if anything returned. Voice scuttles onto the pack, wrapping a pair of its shimmering legs around one of the bag's many loops.

Spoiler: Show

Melia cantankerously insists upon first watch, plopping down cross-legged in the middle of the room. She mostly seems to stare at the "door" stone throughout most of her watch, occasionally getting up to stretch and scan the entirety of the room, though she does precious little of that so as not to rile up the livestock.
_  _  _  _  _

Though still lax to accept any manner of assistance from Leah, Melia does warily climb up into the rope trick if only for practical purposes - her ability to hide from undead needed to be refreshed frequently, and she could not do that and rest at the same time. And I do need it, like it or not, she thought, stifling a yawn.

stuff Show

In the middle of Melia's watch, she abruptly feels an intelligence intrude upon the area.  Not bright, but sentient and presumably not undead since when she turned her head to glance in that direction surreptiously nothing registered.  It had, in fact, felt much like an elemental though that was as much as she could say since it had just appeared from the middle of the wall to her right and then vanished as abruptly without her ever catching a glimpse of it.


Was going to use something else, but then I noticed something about this creature that would have made him the obvious scout.

Melia manages to disguise her glance toward the creature as a casual toss of the hair, but fails to get a very good look at it. Regardless: outwardly, she remains placid, but mentally she is coiling to pounce. Somewhere in a corner of the room, a dark shape begins to form...

thangs Show

Her alien guard dog in place, Melia instructs it telepathically to bay at any intruders (and then chew on them) before shimmying quickly up the rope trick. She nudges the nearest teammate awake and explains in shades of Acererak's aloof, megalomaniacal tones, "We have company in the rock... an elemental, probably a scout of some kind. Hopefully it is alone and I have managed to not betray our numbers. Nonetheless, rouse the others and prepare to descend if needed."

Moments after Melia dissappears into the rope trick, the baying rings through the small chamber with a tenor that causes shivers to course down spines.


Everyone roll a DC 13 Will save to avoid being panicked for 3 rounds.   Also, I would say that if you weren't the random person Melia just attempted to wake up, you're probably at a Listen check of 0 or so to wake.

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Leah wakes up immediately to the baying and immediately activates her invisibility and moves over to the entrance of the rope trick and looks through into the room below.

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Looking into the room, Leah actually sees nothing at all different for the moment-- even the mastiff that she can still hear baying is out of her sight.  She does note that the animals within the room have again gone into a frenzy, but it is hard to say whether that is because they have detected something or the baying has panicked the creatures.

"There's some sort of animal here," Voice remarks from below — needlessly, as Erut had awoken as Melia clambered into their resting space and could hear it perfectly well. Clutching his club, he scrambles to the entrance but, mindful of her warning, doesn't exit.

Spoiler: Show

"Oh, right.  And there was the enormous shadow that walked in, then ran away."  Voice added, unrepentant.  "The wall is poking the animal too."


Yep, still fatigued at this point.  Modified the wording on the post for Leah above a bit to reflect that it's partially that she can't see the entirety of the room causing issues.

May 20, 2013 -- 8:17AM, Balthanon wrote:

Yep, still fatigued at this point.  Modified the wording on the post for Leah above a bit to reflect that it's partially that she can't see the entirety of the room causing issues.

I'm hoping that Leah can lie down on the floor of the rope trick and stick her head out of the entrance and look around the room. Since she's invisible, it 'should' safer for her to do so than for anyone else ...

Leah drops prone to the floor and carefully sticks her head through the entrance of the rope trick, attempting to get a good view of the problem.

Peering out of the rope trick into the pitch black room, the mastiff that was summoned earlier appears to be the only thing remaining in the room other than the bags lying below and Voice.  Watching for a few moments more, however, she sees two arms appear out of the wall below and strike at the creature, causing it to snarl and snap, though the bite doesn't appear to do anything.

Waiting and paying close attention to the wall close to the mastiff, Leah attempts to identify the creature who's arms emerged from the wall ...

Actions Show

It is difficult to tell from just the arms, but Leah suspects the creature or creatures are wraiths similar to the one that fled from the group earlier.