The Wrong Guys IC

[Ajadea]

Rana

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You hear rushing water, labored breathing, and dim scratching sounds.

You kinda need to steal the lantern if you want to see...you can see the hole, but it's a good 30 feet away from where Audric (and the lantern) are, and around a corner. But even in this weak lighting, you can clearly see spattered blood on the edge of the hole.

[Savannah]

Audric/Llaars/Ajadea

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Rana nods. "Let's take a look. But we'd best be careful; just because someone's hurt doesn't mean they're on our side."

[Strawberries]

Everyone but Antal

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"You are right." he concedes. But I have to go check all the same. He makes way towards where the hole is, lighting the way with the lantern. "Here. Listen." he says when they arrive, taking this opportunity to obseve again the hole and the area around it, and trying to listen for more information of who may be under there.

(spot - (1d20+3)[22] listen - (1d20+3)[9] search - (1d20+1)[8]. Since he is at it, detect magic again ))

[Ajadea]

Audric

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Nothing changed, if that's what you're looking for. Same mess of tangled magic, same dry blood. You can't see all the way down the hole: it's too deep for the light to descend that far. You can, however, see the edge of a tiny tunnel connecting to this hole, about twenty feet down. Antal would fit, sorta. The rest of you would probably have to crawl.

There's also a little chipped place where a rock should be on the other side of the pit that you could probably wedge the rope into. No guarantees it would stay there.

Rana

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With the lantern here, you can now see wet pebbles glistening at the bottom of the hole, and the edge of a tiny tunnel connecting to this hole, about twenty feet down. Antal would fit. Shadow might fit. The rest of you would probably have to crawl if you wanted to go in.

There's also a little chipped place where a rock should be on the other side of the pit that you could probably wedge the rope into, and the rock itself seems to be about a foot away from you. You think the rope would stay there if you climbed down, but then again, you weigh a lot less than either of those giant humans.

[Strawberries]

Rana, Llaars, Ajadea

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Audric looks at his allies "Lower me down. And if you need to reach me, for whatever reason, I think the rope could be attached there" He points to the potential rope-hooking place. "I'll try to go down, see who's there, and get them back up. If I can."

[Savannah]

Everyone but Antal

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Rana seems to be considering something. "I'm lighter; it might be better to send me to scout first, since you could pull me up if you had to. On the other hand, if we all want to go down, the rope would be sure to hold me, if I went last."

Ajadea, I'm not getting where this hole is. We went down the shaft covered by an illusion, which lead to a....tunnel? And then another shaft we can hear breathing through?

[Ajadea]

Exactly!

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Kinda like this:
{table]X|X|X|X|X|X|||X|X|X
X|X|X|X|X|X|||X|X|X
X|X|X|X|X|X|||X|X|X
||||||||||
X|X||X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X[/table]

Except there's a turn.

[Strawberries]

Everyone but...oh, you get the drill.

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Audric was looking down the hole, considering its height, when Rana speaks. He turns sharply to her, raising an eyebrow. "You... are you sure about that?" She has healing magic, and her reasoning makes sense. However... "You don't have to. I am the paladin in this. It is my duty, not yours."

[Savannah]

Everyone but the impatient halfling

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"No...No, I'm not. But I'm the best healer we have, so if someone's hurt down there....Well, I'd rather not have to patch you up on top of whoever's down there.

"Hang on, have you tried calling down there before we go do anything further?"

[Strawberries]

The same people as before.

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Wait. She is right. Audric has to stop himself from slapping his forehead Did you hit your head when you fell, other than burning youself?He looks embarassed. "Ah...no. Sorry about that" He kneels at the border of the hole. "Who's there? Do you need help?" he shouts.

[Ajadea]

Non-halflings:

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No response.

[Savannah]

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Is there any change in the breathing? I'm assuming no, if there's no response, but just in case....

[Ajadea]

Rana

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You're right. No change, no response.

[Savannah]

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"I wonder if they're unconscious, since they didn't seem to hear us."

[Strawberries]

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"I don't know. We only have one way of knowing." he holds his hand out for the rope. "Last chance. You or me?"

[Savannah]

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"I'm lighter and I'm littler. You're more likely to get trapped in that little tunnel below, in that big armor of yours. Plus that person might not be able to move, and I have a better chance than you of patching them up so they can move." She's clearly not happy about going first, and trying to convince herself as much as you.

[Strawberries]

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Audric nods. She is right, even if sending her down there alone doesn't sit well with him. "Tie the rope around your waist and we'll hold it for you." he hesitates "I told you there is magic down there. A lot of confusing, overlapping auras. Be careful. We will be ready to pull you up." It sounds like he wants to say something more, but instead just waits for Rana to object something or simply handing him the rope to hold.

[Savannah]

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Rana nods. "I want everyone to check the rope, though. No sense in messing up the knot."

Can I take 20 on the Use Rope check to tie myself in? Rana really doesn't want to be stuck down there without a way back up, and she's willing to spend the two minutes to do so (assuming none of the others tell her to hurry up). That would make the check 22. Oh, and she's going to leave her bag of extra stuff up top, so she won't be weighted down. She will take her healing supplies, though.

[Ajadea]

Not the Halfling

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Yes, you can take 20.
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The rope seems secure enough. Are you going to take the lantern or find some other light source? Lowlight vision only gets you so far.

But whenever you're ready, you can lower Rana. How far are you going? The little secondary tunnel or all the way to the bottom?

[Savannah]

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"Does, ah, anyone have a spare light? I didn't bring one, since I'm not usually underground..."

[Strawberries]

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"Only this, I am afraid. " Audric says, motioning to the lantern he still has in his hands. He gives a worried look to Llaars. Without a lightsource, they'd end up almost blind. But the druid probably needs it more "Take it if you wish."

[Jallorn]

Antal

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"Er...no, I guess it can't."

He turns back to the others. "It's alright, I know this guy. Er...Shiri, he's kinda lost, can we take him back to the base or something?"

The bundle of leather and leaves slips off the dog and takes off her hood. You can see that it is a she, she is a brown-haired halfling, and the illusion of her being a bundle of leather and leaves was created by the fact that she seems to be wearing armor made from pieces of hide and thick leaves, and a cloak made of similar, but thinner, leaves.

"Absolutely not. We've enough issues with this small nightmare you dropped on us. A new trainee or somethin' would normally be great, don' get me wrong, but as of about twenty minutes ago, our priorities have shifted." She turns to you, and looks over you once, almost as if she is sizing you up. "D'you have a name?"

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Antal. And whether you like it or not, I've become involved in all this mess. You'll want the truth, and the truth is that I'm not allied with any side yet. Heck, I don't even know what they all are yet, but I can tell you that I don't really care for paladins, 'most paladin, anyway,' Antal adds in his head, thinking of Audric's reliability. Right now, I have one goal, I need to find my friend. I've been separated from the only people I'd call allies, and I'm hoping I can find some clues with you. I'm not accusing, but there might be knowledge you have that you aren't aware is useful to me, or you might stumble upon something. Besides, I don't really like being alone in this city anymore it's... changed.

[Ajadea]

Antal

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Shiri (assuming the leaf-clothed halfling is Shiri) frowns, glances at those around her, then nods curtly. "Come with us. We need to get out o' this city. We can getcha out too, if you want. Damn, never really thought 'bout the consequences o' not knowin' who our allies were, not before now. Stuck in the middle o' the capital of Tavetiir withou' anywhere to turn. I don' see a reason to leave you in that same mess."

She mounts her riding dog again, and the little group begins to move again. The cloaked being removes its hood, and the appearance is almost shocking. It resembles a warped human child with sickly gray skin, clothed in thin, furred, hides layered into something resembling leather armor. It would probably be taller than the gnome if it stood up straight, but in it's hunchbacked position, it is barely two inches taller than you. Its legs are bandy and bowed, and its bony arms dangle down past its knees. Its mouth is too wide, its deepset, beady, yellow eyes seem unable to stay focused on the same thing, and its knotted black hair is decorated with a bundle of little rat skulls. It carries two curved knives, and there is a shortbow and quiver visible behind its back. After a moment, you recognize them as kukris, if rather crude ones. It grins at you, showing sharp fangs.

"I be Ketokee. Well met, Antal." Its voice is gravely, and its accent seems to resemble that of a young halfling with severe mental retardation.

[Savannah]

Not the halfling

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Rana considers Audric's offer, but finally shakes her head. "A lantern could light something on fire or go out if it spilled. And now that I think of it, I can make a rock glow, so we'll both have a light, and mine won't go out." She glances around for a rock or other item of an appropriate size on the tunnel floor.

[Ajadea]

Character must be over 4 feet tall to read :

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Easy enough to find a rock. You're underground. There's rock everywhere!
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Also, are you trying to give the paladin a heart attack?

[Strawberries]

(Arguably) the saner part of the party only

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Audric turns sharply towards Rana at those words, and seems on the verge of saying something, before visibly restraining himself. Priorities, Audric. That's a simple enough spell, even the adepts cast it.. He shuts his eyes for a moment, though, as if in physical pain, before answering. "I asked you to be careful. You promised me you would. I'm still holding you to that promise." he says, scooping up a suitable rock and handing it to Rana, with a serious expression on his face.

[Savannah]

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Rana nods and murmurs something over the rock, which begins to glow like a torch. She takes a deep breath. "Okay, lower me down. Shadow, stay here."

I'm assuming we're going to lower her to the side tunnel, since that's where we can hear the breathing from, right?

[Ajadea]

Not Antal

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There is breathing down the hole and there is a side tunnel down the hole. One does not have to come from the other, but it might.

[Savannah]

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Ah.... Well, in that case: "Lower me down to the tunnel, and I'll see if it sounds like the breathing is coming from there. Once I look through it, I'll let you know if I want to go up, down, or into the tunnel. ....Um, be prepared to pull me up fast, if it turns out to be dangerous."

OOC: I just realized the other reason we want Rana going down instead of Audric is that that puts our two strongest on pulling duty

[Strawberries]

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"Of course." Audric takes one end of the rope from her, waiting for Llaars to do the same. If he does and when they are ready, he nods to Rana, carefully keeping a hold on the rope and peeking as far as he can down the hole as she goes down, to be as forewarned as possible in case of troubles.