Lost and Clueless (... and May the Gods themselves Weep at What we Have wrought)

[Highwarlord]

Unfortunately, the lamp light does not extend far enough up the ever-narrowing tunnel to allow you to see far enough ahead to discern what you could be approaching. The tunnel continues to narrow slightly, as it has for the past quarter-mile of the chute, but it does not do so in any particularly hastened manner.

[Lukmar]

Kovl

Unable to spot anything amiss with his lamp, Kovl turns to Mordo and the lizardfolk. What condition are the bones in? Have they been stripped clean of flesh? Can you tell how long they have been in the water?

As he and Valter keep their craft on course along the tunnel, another thought comes unbidden. Where are the clothes and tools from this giant? If it was killed by some phenomenon, those should have been left untouched… Do you see any remains of clothing, tools or other equipment in the water? The Gnome asks grimly, his eyes and ears alert to any signs of danger as the group keeps moving upstream.

[Meltemi]

Teira

Teira and Hex continued to maneuver their raft, following the others. Teira suppressed a growing feeling of unease as the skeletal remains continued to drift past, downriver. "If we can, we should continue. I should like to know if this...charnel house," she said with distaste, "is related to what few memories we have regained. At the least, if a giant could enter this stream to die, there may be some way up further onward."

[Seffbasilisk]

Garret

Shrinking his pole down to a more managable longspear, Garret gives the giant skeleton a prod, trying to shift it, to see if he can what killed it.

IntCheck - (1d20+3)[17]

"Or perhaps the Giant died trying to get out of the stream..." Garret says ominously.

[Highwarlord]

As it is moved out from under the raft, the rest of you get a better view of the huge skeletal object. The ribcage looks mostly humanoid, but increased in size by a factor of ten. The warlock's analysis may have been too simplistic - Garret spots spines sticking from the sides of the ribcage that from some corner of his consciousness, he recognizes to be abnormal for a true giant. The creature whose ribcage this belonged to was certainly of a giant's size, but it was not most likely not simply a giant.

The ribcage looks blackened and seared - picked completely clean of any flesh. Whether it died from burning a long time passed or was simply wiped totally clean of life by an immense blast is yet unknown.

Moving upriver, you see a shaft of light coming down into the tunnel. As you approach it, you are at first nearly blinded by the sudden glow of natural light. As your eyes clear, you can see that although the chute has not widened, the current has slowed, making your progress easier. Looking up once you approach the source of the light, you can see that your progress upriver is noticeable from your distance to the land above. The jagged path that the stream cuts is now a mere twenty feet below the surface. The slash in the earth under which you now move yourselves along is jagged in its motion, and the stream makes sharp turns. The walls squeeze up ever close to your craft, though it is still navigable. You have yet to see any signs of life, though you now have the option to abandon your craft and attempt to climb out of the well, or continue moving via the waterways up into the narrowing, twisting channel.

[Lukmar]

Relieved at seeing that the skeleton, although very large, does not belong to a giant, Kovl is nonetheless slightly shaken by the thought that such large creatures roams the area. Or used to roam the area, as the case may be… and again, the bones have been completely picked clean of any flesh and appear blackened. Glancing back towards Teira, the gnome voices his concern.

It would appear that this creature suffered the effects of some kind of blast, possibly powerful enough to strip it clean of flesh. Either it was caught on the surface and the skeleton somehow ended down here, in which case the question is: why were we not incinerated? Alternatively, the phenomenon occurred below ground and that is why we are seeing such a steady stream of skeletons… though again it does not account for the lack of life on the surface.

As the rag-tag fleet proceeds upstream, light shines into the tunnel through what appears to be another well. Kovl uses his pole to keep the raft as stationary as possible so as to study the well. After a short while, he looks down the dark depths of the twisting tunnel, as if hoping to discern which path would yield more answers to get them out of their predicament.

Which way? I would like to see what lies at the source of this stream, but at the same time, if this is a well like the one where we woke up, there may be people or clues up there. He looks around at the group, waiting to see how the others feel about this.

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Spot check: (1d20+4)[21]. Listen check: (1d20+6)[11]

[Meltemi]

Teira

"I would suggest that we at least check above ground in case there is something or someone there. Some of us can remain here to ensure our craft do not drift away, and we can continue upriver if there is nothing there."

[Lukmar]

Kovl

Looking up to study the well, Kovl shakes his head. I'll have a tough time climbing up there. Would someone else like to go up and have a look?

[Ethrael]

Mordo, who has remained silent in awe for the past few minutes, suddenly perks up when the climbing it mentioned. He clears his throat and offers himself, I'll go, I could try it. Does anyone have a grappling hook of some sort for this rope? He asks, taking a rope out from underwater, seemingly attached to his belt.

[Lukmar]

Kovl

Kovl quickly runs down his list of possessions and shakes his head. Sorry Mordo, no grappling hook. Perhaps you could use a stone from the bottom of the stream and tie the rope around that?

As the others check whether they have grappling hook or not, Kovl's face suddenly lights up. Well, it could just work... though it would only offer a limited visual...

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@ Highwarlord: could you please describe this 'well' in more detail? How far above us is it? What's it's diameter? Does it appear to have a wall circumscribing it or is it just an opening at ground level?

[Highwarlord]

From your vantage point, it appears more like the open top of a canyon than an actual well, with the stream's jagged path mirrored by the motion of the rough walls that arch up to the surface. You identify it as a 'well' because of the opened dome at the surface above, much like the well at which you awoke next to. This one, however, seems to have been torn open by whatever it was that made the gash that opened up the tunnel before and after it.

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For the more visual, here's a horribly made side-view. [[[ is the closed tunnel, ___ is the open tunnel. Although this looks straight, once past the last [, the stream is jagged. ////\ is the open top of the well, although it has also been torn open and only the sides on either bank of the stream remain standing.
. . . . . . . . . .////\
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[______________

[Lukmar]

Kovl

Kovl studies the jagged opening suspiciously, wondering at what or who could have created it. In any case, it's too steep for me...

He leans towards Sylvash. I think your strength makes you the best suited out of all here to climb up to the surface. Would you mind going up to have a look?

[Seffbasilisk]

Garret

Looking to the others, Garret quickly poles his coracle over and affixes it to the raft. Looking at the height, he says "I can do this."

Setting the end of the pole at the bottom of the riverbank as solidly as he can near the wall, Garret manipulates the rod so it's almost level with the water, and stepping cautiously onto it, leaning mostly on the wall, he gives a wide grin, then asks the group "Going up?" before manipulating the rod with one hand, keeping the other on the wall for balance as the rod shoots up, and he tries to keep his tiny feet on the pole end, as it rises from the water, perhaps being the first elevator in this realm.

Balance - (1d20+16)[31] (C'mon, big bucks no whammie...)

Riding the ascent with such a flair as to make it look simplistic, Garret even goes as far as to take his hand off the wall as he gets farther up. As he reaches the top, he hops off, onto the ledge, and pulls the pole up. Condensing it down to a shortsword again, he peers over the ledge down at the others and calls out as to what he sees.

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Setting the rod to call out "Warning! Warning! Garret is under attack! Assistance required! Warning! Warning!" if he gets struck.

[Highwarlord]

Garret sees the following, and the others are informed of it as he calls out his findings -

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No blow strikes at you as you disembark on the edge of the canyon. You land lightly on the grey, firm dirt, thin plumes of dust moving up as you land like smoke from a fire. The ground bears the same, inert consistency of the wastes which surrounded the well in which you awoke, thought this portion of the plane is not nearly as featureless.

The immediate vicinity of the well seems to be overrun with heaps of slag, the ferrous waste-metal piling up to almost forty feet in height at places. These dune-like piles of metallic waste are distributed in no discernible pattern, with spacing varying from five to thirty feet between the piles. Mounds of ash are intermingled with the slag heaps, the same shade of grey like the ground beneath you. The winds that were so prevalent when you first awoke seem to be blocked by the metal heaps, though the occasional breeze moves through you, shifting and shrinking the smaller piles of ash as they are slowly eroded to coat the ground. One such mound lying next to the canyon that lines the formerly-underground stream, a good ways upstream from your current point, dribbles its detritus down into the waterways below. The speckled metal heaps block your view past your immediate vicinity, though you can detect no signs of life within roughly one hundred meters of your exit point.

[Lukmar]

Kovl

Kovl awaits patiently for the Halfling to reach the surface and have a good look around, though he's half-expecting to hear the sounds of a scuffle at any moment.

After a short while, he can no longer contain his curiosity and calls out. Garret! What do you see?

[Seffbasilisk]

Garret

Looking around, Garret tries to size up the surrounding area as best he can, and calls down a description, with the caveat "I can't see too far, there's piles of burned and melted metal everywhere. I'm thinking of climbing one, seeing what I can see. Anyone else want to come up?"

[Lukmar]

Kovl

... piles of burnt and melted metal everywhere??? This I have to see for myself.

Garret. Can you lower a rope? You know, for those of us who don't have a rod of ascension...

[Seffbasilisk]

Garret

Patting his pockets theatrically, and checking his bag just in case, Garret says "Rope? Knew I forgot something..." Looking around for something that might be of use, he extends the rod again, and guaging the distance with his eyes, he asks "...how good is your sense of balance?"

[Lukmar]

Kovl

Not that great. Replies Kovl as he rummages through his backpack. If you had a rope, could you tie it to something up there?

He finally pulls out his own rope, and begins tying knots at regular intervals. Because I can send up my rope. He adds, as he keeps working.

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Tie firm knots, taking 10 on the use rope skill for a total of 14

[Highwarlord]

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If you're passing it up using the rod, you can assume success in passing the rope. Using the slag heaps to secure the rope would require a little bit of imagination, but it can be done with a near-certainty for success.

[Lukmar]

Kovl

Finally looking up from his work, Kovl says. Ok, the rope is ready. Shall we use the rod to bring it up so that you can tie it somewhere or do you want me to try and toss it?

Hmmm, what can I use to send one end up? Perhaps tie it to a bolt and shoot that? I really don't want to use a spell to do this. He muses while awaiting Garret's answer.

[Seffbasilisk]

Garret

Lowering the rod down again, Garret says "Tie it to the rod, and I'll try to find something to secure it to."

Assuming he passes the rope up, Garret looks to secure it, and help people climb up.

[Highwarlord]

Thanks to the assistance of the halfling at the top and the aid of the rope against the rough wall of the canyon, the climb proves easy for even the least skilled adventurer.

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Who all is going up?

[Lukmar]

Kovl

Kovl finally manages to hoist himself up the edge of the canyon with Garret’s help and is left utterly speechless by the panorama that greets him. As far as the eye can see, huge piles of metal slag constantly being covered and exposed by the perennial wind, though this area offers somewhat more shelter than the well they set off from.

Trying to make some sense of the heaps, Kovl wonders amongst them, looking around for any clues that might explain their presence or the cataclysm that befell the land. Eventually, he brushes his fingers against a slag heap, removing the film of dirt and ash to expose the metal underneath.

So many questions… are these part of the answer or do they simply add to the mystery? Turning to Garret and anyone else who may have come up, his expression is pensive. Metal does not lie in neat piles on its own. These heaps had a purpose before… before the Event. Whether part of a building, a work of art or simply a scrap metal dump; this is the second sign of intelligence at work besides the well.

He runs his hand on the metal once more, vocalising his thoughts. Everything is burned out, turned to ash and blackened. If the Event involved heat, it was sufficient not only to burn away living matter, but to melt metal…

Metal that has had enough time to cool off, so no way to know how long… wait! His tone is excited as he digs into his backpack and retrieves a short wand. Looking at the others he explains.

I should have thought about it back at the well. I want to see if there is any magic lingering around these heaps of metal slag. With that he turns to the closest pile and activates the wand.

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There are several assumptions in the post, ie that the metal is cool to the touch and that nothing happens when I touch it! If these are incorrect I will amend the post as needed.

Activating wand of detect magic, concentrating for as long as necessary to discern the auras, strength, school, etc. Spellcraft check (1d20+8)[17]

Search check: (1d20+15)[32]
Spot check: (1d20+4)[15]
Listen check: (1d20+6)[20]

[Highwarlord]

Kovl -

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The sky, slag, ash, and even the topsoil seem to be alight with the bizarre mix of necromantic and evocation magic present at the site of your awakening. However, the aura ebbing off of the land is dim. While your time in the stream certainly would have caused the power of the aura to begin to fade, you can deduce that the distance was likely to also have made a significant impact. Whatever caused this catastrophe must have been centered nearer to the well at which you woke up.

Additionally, the weakness of the aura of the land allows the auras of other items to be discernible as well, where they were previously overwhelmed by the power of the land. In plain view, you are able to discern that Garret's rod glows of moderate transmutation magic, and the spear reclaimed from the elf that is now attached across his back bears faint conjuration and strong divination magic.

You are able to discern that the heaps of slag each seems to be a medley of different metals, though all are primarily iron. Some of the ash adjacent to these mounds is slightly less fine, as though the buildings shielded it slightly from the blast, but not enough to protect whatever it was from its fiery fate.

[Lukmar]

Kovl

Upon activating the wand, Kovl almost drops it, such is his surprise. Magic… everywhere… the sky, the ash, even the ground and the slag… all of it. It is a melting pot of… necromancy… and evocation, I believe.

His tone is child-like in its wonder. He turns on himself, wand still in hand, taking the whole panorama in as if seeing it for the first time. The auras are dimming. Whatever created this it seems weaker now and was probably centred on the well where we awoke... I wonder, his voice suddenly shudders as the ramifications of the possibility hit him, ...I wonder if we are somehow responsible.

Abruptly he stops circling. The wand is pointing straight at Garret. That spear you hold. It is the strongest glow I can detect, stronger even than your rod… Divination. The aura is very strong divination. Have you tried using it yet?

Waiting for the Halfling’s response, Kovl lowers his wand and walks back to the rope, getting ready to join the others on the boats. He looks at the nearest pile of slag. The heaps are mainly iron, and judging from the patterns of distribution of the ashes, I would say that there were once buildings here.

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Did someone cast detect magic before? I think that may have been group B

[Meltemi]

Teira

Teira followed Kovl up slowly, due to her lack of skill. As she came out the top, he already had a wand out, panning it over the surroundings. As he identified the auras of magic around them, she shook her head slightly, trying to recall from her studies (studies? what studies had those been?) what spells could have accomplished such destruction across this distance. There seemed to be little she could otherwise do, especially since she was sure for some reason that those two schools he had named were far outside her unrecalled experience.

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Knowledge (Arcana): (1d20+10)[18]
Spellcraft: (1d20+10)[20]

[Highwarlord]

Teira -

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Though you cannot ascertain for a certainty what the spear does, you know that its enchantments are divine in origin.

The piles of slag that tower on all sides still hide the majority of the landscape from your view; there are no obvious traces of heat from these melted arrays, such that the lost and the clueless could make their way over or around these without injury.

[Lukmar]

Kovl

As he is about to climb down the rope, Kovl notices Teira standing amongst the piles of slag. Slowly, an idea forms in his mind and he studies the closest heaps, his right hand scratching his chin musingly. I wonder if… well, it would certainly afford a better view of the surrounding area.

He looks back at the Halfling. Garret. Do you recon we could climb one of the piles of slag? The view from up there must be real nice and… who knows? We may spot something useful.

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@ HWL: how tall are the piles? Does it look like they afford enough foot/hand-holds to make climbing one feasible?

[Highwarlord]

The slag piles range from twenty to forty feet in height, with the surfaces tending to be uneven, rough at some places, smooth at others. The taller mounds tend to have wider bases, however, so climbing one would not prove significantly more difficult than climbing the smaller metal dunes. Climbing any of the dunes would be feasible, though the larger heaps would be best left to experienced climbers simply due to their height.