D&D3.5 Caves of Doom (IC)

[russdm]

You awaken to the sight of a burning campfire and your comrades waking up. The smoke curls up to the stone ceiling above your head. Slowly your memory of the past 24 hours returns to you...a massive explosion and the earth shaking...having your head struck by something and losing consciencous for a time...being found by an old man in black robes...

Thinking of this, you turn towards the fire and see the old man who is watching you. He smiles at you.

"Welcome to my home, friend. What brings you to this ruined city of the dwarves? These Caves of Doom?" He asks you.

[Talon Sky]

Xanward groaned, stirring back to consciousness. His silver eyes flicked opened as the man spoke, and the young Elf made a quick mental note of his body, observing if he was bound or not, and taking in the surroundings. He also did not react at first to the man's 'welcome', instead racking his brains for the location of Caves of Doom.

Rolls:

Spoiler

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Spot: (1d20+5)[25]
Bardic Knowledge on Caves of Doom (1d20+4)[17]

[Chained Birds]

Talvos

“Hmm, how amusing old man, do phenomena like cave-ins happen often here… because I worry about the future.”

He looks around for other entrances or exits...

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If there isn’t enough light in this room, Talvos will light a torch to illuminate the area further. If there is decent light, then forget about it.

[russdm]

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The fire is large enough to give you some decent amount of light.

OOC: IF you look around, you see:

The room is somewhat large, looks to be 50ft by 60ft, there is an opening that you can barely see out of the range of the fire. You notice in one corner what appears to be a bedroll with someone in it, as the open end is away from you. Next to the bedroll is a backpack that looks to be filled with gear. By the bedroll against a wall close to it, is some debris that was piled up to be used as a table. Strewn about the room is trash, broken bits of wall, some pottery, variety of misc garbage.

[hunt11]

Aramil looked around slowly as he tried to recall anything that might have led up to the explosion.

---

* post roll count doesn't match database

[russdm]

For those trying to remember what happened before:

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You would recall taht you were standing on teh ground while a wagon was being moved towards a large wall of sorts for some kind of fortress. the wagon had 5 large barrels, with strings coming out that were to be lit.

Something caused either the barrels to explode or they misfired and exploded; that plus something you cant recall cause the ground to give dropping you down into the earth.

you recall last falling before apparently landing on something and seeing the old man before you blacked out and woke up beside the fire.

[Defiant]

Jamkas quietly sits in the corner feeling up his battleaxe.

Sharp enough? Yes... I think so. For now.

[russdm]

The old man smiles. "Well, cave-ins are frequent depending on where you are. Some areas of the ruins are quite destroyed and prone to caving in, while other areas are rock hard and sturdy thus posing no worry. Of course going hunting for cave-ins might be a little unwise." he says last with a smirk on his face.

[Vladislav]

Tibias, his consciousness barely returning to him, finds this smirk suspicious. He examines the old man thoroughly, peering into the depths of his soul.

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Detect Evil

[Defiant]

Jamkas stands up and grunts.

"We move on now?"

[Chained Birds]

Talvos

He peers into the bedroll to check it out, and wonders why there are so many for just one old man?

"There appears to be a passage up ahead; but before we go and find an exit, I would like to ask the old man something. Why are there so many bedrolls in this area, and is this one yours? If not, can I loot look through it?"

[Talon Sky]

Xan creased his forehead as several of the others made light conversation with the old man. He could see perfectly in the decent illumination, and there appeared to be nothing of impending concern. Xan turned his whole focus, then, on recalling the tale associated with this familiar name.

"This is a place that heralds woe," Xan said suddenly, rising to his feet in a refined, graceful manner. He showed himself in full to the old man, and likewise took him into full view of his piercing silver eyes. "And an odd place to bring those on the mend. Tell me please, I recognize several of my fellows here from before the blast....but not you. Are you our savior, sir, perhaps sent by the God of Luck at just the right moment to save our lives? Or perhaps someone a bit more....earthly?" the elf said with a cocky, yet still charming grin. "Perhaps with a more earthly concern than our simple well-being?"

This last bit seemed indeed a stretch, as Xan's silvery and well-trained eyes finally adjusted to the lighting. And gazing upon the old man revealed something....off. Mystical. Magical.

Blurry.

"What in the name of the Laughing Rogue....?" Xan said curiously, but loud enough to gather the others' scattered attentions.

[russdm]

The old man shrugs. "I saved you because it seemed like a decent thing to do. If I hadn't, you might have died. You did fall a long way after all." He says. He shrugs at Talvos, "Go ahead, i doubt you will find anything valuable, but search anyway." He says.

[Vladislav]

Tibias, almost ashamed of his own suspicions, smiled at the old man.

Thank you. You're a good man, doing this. What is this place? Is there a ruler to this domain? Is there a way out into the daylight?

He looked at the others. Looking for a way out seems to be a priority.

[Chained Birds]

Talvos

Talvos goes with the old man's words and digs through the bedroll regardless of the slightly morbid items within it or the potential smell.

Spoiler

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Search Check: taking 20 if possible = 26
- if not allowed to take 20: (1d20+6)[14]
- for any other items other than the robes
Hide Check: (1d20+5)[7]
+
Sleight of Hand: (1d20+1)[2]
- removing the robes from the corpse and setting them off to the side rogue-ishly

(Rogue Fail)

[hunt11]

Aramil had slowly started to stand up when he heard Xan's gasp. He quixkly looked over at Xan and asked "What is it?".

[Talon Sky]

Xan shot a sly grin to Aramil, giving a sign to his fellow Elven companion. Like most long-lived Elves, Xanward's sense of curiosity and amusement often overtook any sense of panic or surprise.

"Our friendly savior here is not corporeal," the bard said matter-of-factly, turning his silver eyes back to the old man for confirmation. "But never the less, thank you. Your actions have saved us, it would seem."

[Simba]

Virág

Virág seems to be dazed and only slowly gets her bearings. She raises her head and looks around, then focusses on the rest of her crew, looking for injuries and other negative effects.

[hunt11]

Aramil nodded at Xan. "Ah, now that is interesting, I wonder what it means about him."

[russdm]

the old man shrugs, "I don't know if there was a ruler, i can't recall. You should be able to find an exit on the top level of the ruin. This humble place is my home, although it used to be a fort that was used by the dwarves to defend against excursions from the surface. Unfortunately, for you atleast, the fort's route to the surface was buried decades ago so i'm afraid you can't get out that way. If you head out the tunnel, you should come to some stairs leading down to the 4th level i recall. Its been so long since i have had to think about it..." The old man looks somewhat confused.

The old man speaks again, "the stairs connect either to the 2nd or 4th level. its been so long since i was down them..." The old man pokes the fire with his hand, pushing some of the coals around. It does not appear that his hand is being burned...

[Chained Birds]

Talvos

"Well thanks old spirit for your help up til now. I think everyone is alright to leave, unless we have other matters to attend to here, I suggest we continue foward
Oh, and thanks for the book."

Talvos waves around an old book before stashing it away into his pack. Taking out a torch, he lights it with the flint & steel from another pouch in his backpack and wanders up ahead. He pauses and looks back at the group with a small grin,

"Wait, shouldn't we leave the ghost behind with a proper send off? I would do it, but I'm more of a magic buff and not a religious fanatic."

[Talon Sky]

Xan nodded in agreement, turning to the old man's spirit. "Can you pass on on your own, sir, or do you need assistance?" Xanward wasn't too well versed in religion beyond the basic tenants of his personal god. But enough stories had told him that once a spirit served it's final purpose, they could usually find piece.

And when they didn't, they often found the end of an adventurer's sword or spell.

[Defiant]

Jamkas

Jamkas turns to the old man, intrigued at the fact that he is apparently a ghost.

"Thank you."

He then turns to exit along with the group. He doesn't really understand what everyone is talking about. We said goodbye to the ghost, and there doesn't seem to be anything else. But Jamkas isn't one to seek explanations, or even get into much talking whatsoever.

"I no have magic thingy," he clarifies. He doesn't seem too repulsive or anything foul like that. In fact, he seems rather likable, as much as the average person. But being raised in the wild has left his grammatical skills lacking.

[Simba]

Virág

Virág faces the ghost, looking somewhat unsure of herself, then asks: "Sir ghost, I am but a very humble cleric, a sevant of Heironeous, but is there anything I can do to help you pass on? I don't even know if you would want to and I am not sure I can help you, but I will try if you wish me to."

[Vladislav]

As much as he's spooked by the old man playing with fire, the presence of a fellow Hieronite encourages Tibias. A good and benevolent ghost, who would have believed it...

Shall we bid this place farewell and take the stairs then?

[russdm]

the old man studies you briefly then smiles, "Yes, yes. you could help me. My daughter was lost in the ruins and needs to find her way home. Perhaps if you could help guide her then i can move on. Also if you find my former friend in life Griswald and lay his spirit to rest i can move on in my journey. I have remained here for so long, suffering for things i did not do! Find Elberek, kill him! Bring down that treacherous rogue! That foul wretch...!" the old man wrings his hands and appears to go on a rant for a bit.

the old man looks at you again. "Please help my daughter and Griswald. Avenge Elberek's wrong upon his head. I have waited for so long..." the old man finishes.

[Talon Sky]

Xan nodded gravely. "Rest well, friend. Your daughter will be in....safe hands, with us."

The wily, charismatic elf smiled in a knowing way.

[Chained Birds]

Talvos

"...rogue? Oh well, I guess the only way to put our savior at rest is to advance further. It works out pretty well for us now doesn't it? So let's head out then."

With that, Talvos starts to move further into the darkness, illuminating it with his torch light. He takes the time to look around for any obvious deterrents as he waits for the others to respond.

Spoiler

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Search Check: (1d20+6)[22]
- looking around the exit of this "room" for traps.
Spot Check: (1d20+2)[20]
- just a general spot check for the unusual

[Talon Sky]

Xan nodded and turned to follow the human, close behind, as he scanned the area. Xanward wasn't a seasoned adventurer, but it seemed like this human was....and sticking around someone who knew what they were doing was a good way to survive.

"What do you think of our situation?" Xan asked to everyone in general, drifting his silver eyes along the walls and ceiling of their escape route. He was not so much searching for anything as he was marveling, taking everything into account so that he might sing of it later. These were the famous Caves of Doom, after all....a huge piece of Dwarven history.

Rolls:

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Spot (1d20+5)[13] Just glancing around in general for anything interesting.
Knowledge (History) (1d20+3)[7]

[Vladislav]

Tibias follows with the group, while looking ahead for traces of unholy blight.

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Scanning ahead with Detect Evil