A Day in the Life of Dismal Hollow (IC)

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

"Hey, hey, hey!" the eldest interrupts. He looks down inside the depths again, then back to the relative safety of the space they are currently sitting in. He could not deny the pull of curiosity and adventure is well winning the tug of war within him, but he knows if things are such that the adventurers themselves could not handle it themselves, how could a group of young ruffians who had barely stepped out into the world be of any use? Nevertheless, he knows he could not stop his brethren.

"Okay, if someone should look things out, we should go together. Nobody goes alone, ya hear? This is no mere stroll outside on a winter day. Be on your guard."

He laughs at himself inwardly. When has he ever acted this way? Well a lot maybe, but not this outwardly. He knows this is not the same as the antics his brothers had been in before.

"Did you bring your gear with you?"

[mostly_harmless]

Rory

To his annoyance, Rory couldn't help but feel underpowered aside his better-equipped companions. Knowing his options were surely limited with bare hands, his mood defended along with the temperature of the cave. Looking down at his own hands, he chided. "Well, if a wolf comes to attack one of you, your ever faithful Rory will gladly press his foot down on the tail while you all club it to death," Rory mused with a sardonic smirk.

[Mordae]

Cautiously, not certain of what might be going on below, the four youths slip down through the trap under the false stone. Adrian is the first to go down into the dark hole, using his strong arms to hang himself down the narrow shaft, but the ground eludes his feet even then. It takes a few feet of climbing down before his boots touch the floor of the passage below, an almost pitch-black corridor leading left and right into total darkness both ways. The other three join soon after, and stand in the small circle of faint sunlight that leaks through the ruined antechamber above.

[gunnar11]

"So the question now is which way to go" Lance murmurs to himself. He soon repeats it, this time to the group.

The icy wind is cutting into him, and so is the tire of the happenings this day. He would have quite a story to tell if, no, when they got back to the village.
Lance looked left and right, trying to somehow find a rational answer as to which way they should go. They had to find the adventurers or the exit, one of both, and climbing back up wasn't that good an idea, he feared.

"Does anyone know which way to go? We can't call for the mercenaries, as that would alert the wolves, and we can't just guess, it could get us killed!" Yet in his head resounded his minds voice: You will HAVE to guess, there's no other way. and so he made a difficult and weird suggestion: "We could scan the area faster if we split up in two groups..." speaking softly now "And we could set a time to meet back here, or send each other a signal if we found something.... I for one have my violin right here" he gained more confidence of his plan, showing his precious instrument onto his private crowd.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

"No. No splitting up," Zeke replies vehemently. "We are not in a hurry here." He looks around in the darkness. "Anybody brought a torch or something?"

[Mordae]

Everyone checks their belongings, but naturally none of the lads was expecting to go spelunking. However, as their eyes adjust to the darkness, there is a bit of a faint glow coming from down the right-hand passage.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

As his eyes adjust to the darkness, the barber catches sight of the faint glow down the passage to their right.

"Shhhh. Down there. Something's...glowing. Come on, slowly everyone," he speaks in a low voice before inching his way towards the glow. He places his right hand on the wall to support himself in the darkness.

[Mordae]

Following Zeke's lead, the four lads carry on down the passage. The floor is flat, though strewn with crumbled rocks that have fallen from the ceiling of the low passage; the going becomes easier as the light grows stronger, illuminating more of these minor hazards.

After about a hundred feet, Zeke finds a leftward bend in the passage. Peeking around the corner, he can see the source of the glow is the party of adventurers who had preceded them into the secret passages beneath the tower. At least, it is the remains of said adventurers...

In the sourceless glow of a magic spell yet unexpired, the lads can clearly see that all four of the would-be heroes have been crushed to death, their mangled and bloody corpses flattened to the stone floor. The passage itself looks unremarkable, continuing on into darkness some sixty feet past where the other group met its end.

[gunnar11]

"Oh my... Oh my... Oh my...." Lance begins to say. He has trouble breathing, having just been confronted with the death of such high-skilled adventurers.

"Oh my god, Oh my god, Oh my god, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?" he's hyperventilating now, descending more and more into a state of panic. He can't walk anymore, fear taking over his heart, and as such he leans agains the wall, try to hold himself steady.

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? IF THEY DIDN'T MAKE IT ALIVE, WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO? I AM SO YOUNG, I AM SO..." finally it seems that the blood pressure or the emotions take over, and as a self-defence his brain says: "**** it!" and shuts down.
Lance loses consciousness and falls to the floor. His breath, luckily, seems to calm down.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

Zeke could not help but cover his mouth and look away. He has of course seen his fair share of blood, being the village barber, but this is just not similar to cutting up flesh cleanly with sharp tools; the brutality of it all is just too much for him to take.

As such he is not surprised to see Lance feint in shock, and he readily catches him to prevent his head hitting hard. Letting Lance's unconscious body lean on the wall, he looks at his brothers and speaks in a somber tone though trying to compose himself.

"We...we have to get out of here fast. This is enough."

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

Feeling sick himself, Adrian nevertheless forces himself to maintain his composure at least somewhat, even if he too has to lean on the wall slightly for support. "Yes, I agree... To go further would be too dangerous. However, it would be respectable to bring something back for proper burial instead of simply leaving them on cave floor. I will try something. Hold fast."

Grabbing a rock from the floor, he weights it in his hand before throwing it towards the place the adventurers met their end in. This should be a good way to test whenever or not whatever slew them is still there, waiting for it's next victim.

[Mordae]

Adrian's rock lands right in the middle of the mess, about fifteen feet away from where he is standing, and goes bouncing and skittering on the stone floor to end up almost forty feet away. During its travels, it does not manage to trigger anything, let alone the type of calamity that befell the dead adventurers.

In the tunnels, somewhere, something has heard the goings-on. A very faint, moaning howl carries through the stone passage and reaches the ears of the nervous foursome.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

"What was that?" he asks in a whisper while spinning his head around to look for the source. His right hand goes for the dagger on his belt, and stays firmly gripped on its hilt.

"We should leave. Let us just go back some other time, bring more people with us to get their bodies and give them a proper burial."

He taps Lance' shoulder. He knows they wouldn't be able to make a run for it if they were carrying him.

"Hey, wake up," he whispers. "Hey!"

[gunnar11]

Lance slowly lifts his head, awakening on the voice of Zeke "Hey, wake up, Hey!"
He stands up and tries to remember what made him fall asleep in such a desolate cave.
"Ouch, my head" he says, still not knowing where he is. Then he sees the bodies, remembers, and for some seconds almost faints again. He manages to steady himself though, with the thought that he hadn't to be a burden to his companions. He then notices everyone is standing a bit awkward, as if there was some kind of danger nearby.

He inquires about the happenings, speaking this time in a more quiet fasion. After that he decides that leaving this cave is indeed a good idea.

Spoiler

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OOC: I went on ahead and assumed you guys tell me the correct story, and don't make up one.

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

"Yes, let us get out of here. The wolves are enough of a problem as it is: I don't think we will be much of a challenge to whatever lurks in here if those adventurers did not stand a chance either" Adrian says, beginning to retreat towards the way they came in from. It is time for them to get out when it is still possible.

[Mordae]

Chastened by the experience, the four youths make their way back toward the entrance. It becomes evident as they hustle through the dark corridor that the wolves' howls are coming from the other passage that they did not follow. What's not clear, amid the disconcerting echos, is whether the wolves or the boys will make it to the secret trapdoor first.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

Zeke tries to pinpoint the source of the howls, but with their hustle and the echoing effect, it is rather hard to.

"Let's hurry. They might head us off!"

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

"If the beasts reach it before us, we might have no choice but to fight for our lives" the blacksmith muses darkly, gripping his mace as they hurry along. "In case we do get out before them, however, I suggest barring the trapdoor with a large rock or suitable substitute. We wouldn't want those beasts to get back out to threaten anyone else."

[gunnar11]

"ADRIAN!" Lance snaps at his companion "What we do after we get out of here is something to think of later. Right now, if you have breath to talk, you have breath to run!" he says. He's trying to quicken his tempo the best he can without falling or losing the group. Lance wouldn't like a fight with these wolves, but if the worst thing happens, he'll have to hit them with his.... violin.... or something...

[Mordae]

The boys hurry down the corridor, their booted feet slapping on the hard stone, and soon they see the blessed last hints of sunlight through snow from above. One by one, they hoist themselves through the narrow gap, and Lance slams the trap-stone shut while strong-armed Adrian pushes a bigger piece of rubble over to secure the spot.

As the adrenaline starts to fade, the bitter cold takes hold once again and the four realize exactly how much their breath is steaming in the confined space under the tower's wreckage.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

Breathing heavy and resting his hands on his knees, it takes a while before he could look up and speak.

"Let's...huff...let's go back to the village...now...shall we?"

He stretches his body upright and tries to fight the pain piercing through his sides.

Dammit, since when have I been in this so bad a shape?

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

Seemingly not even that much out of breath yet, Adrian looks at his eldest brother and nods. "We propably should return, yes... I still have orders to complete, and I somehow doulbt that lingering here would gain us anything but pack of wolves chasing us until we would have to fight them."

[mostly_harmless]

Rory

After spending moments reflecting upon the previous events, Rory simply blanked. As the musty air of the cavern filled his senses back into reality, the moments spent pondering upon the fate of those unfortunate folk, he rebound back into his blunt, stark view of this world. Nodding in thought to Adrian's suggestion, he simply said, "I happen to think the rocks did them in, not the wolves." With some more thought he added, "Look, if those things make it toward the village, we can probably lead them astray with some leftover cutlets from the butcher's block, eh?"

[gunnar11]

Lance

"They didn't seem that crushed by boulders, to be honest. But yeah, let's return as fast as possible, and drink these memories away." Lance says, grabbing his violin tightly out of fear.

[Mordae]

The foursome make their way back out into the swirling snow. Their footprints from the earlier journey have not quite been covered up yet, so it is fairly easy to follow them back toward the smoke-shrouded buildings of Dismal Hollow. It is, however, still bitterly cold, and none of the lads had quite warmed up during the brief foray into the musty tunnels below the ruined tower. By the time they reach the familiar warmth of the old gnome's tavern, teeth are chattering and fingertips are pink-pale from exposure.

The festivities of the evening are already in full swing, with dancing and merriment filling every square inch of the bedecked hall. The Crane boys' usual table is still empty, but Valleri quickly notices their arrival and starts pulling ales--oblivious to their unusually frigid and frightened apppearances.

The serving girl is not the only one in the tavern to recognize the Cranes. Over at a quieter booth opposite the bar, Wenser and his son Wyll cast twin steely stares across to Adrian and his brothers before leaning their heads together in private conversation.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

Zeke quickly gulps down his ale as soon as he could get his hand on one tankard, sloshing some of the contents into his face and neck and having to hold it with two shaking hands to prevent it from falling. As soon as he finishes, he slowly puts down tankard and looks at the serving girl.

"Mo..more alcohol thi-this way, Val!" he calls out in his best straight voice he could muster. Then, he turns to his companions as he rubs his palms together vigorously and places them over his cheeks and talks in a low, trembling voice.

"Listen, y-you musn't tell anyone about wha-what ha-ha-happened, yet. Well I d-doubt people would ta..ke our stories m-m-more than face value, but try not to tell them anyw-w-way. By the gods, it's cold!!" Zeke shivers again and rubs his shoulders and arms this time. "Let's t-talk about this tom-morow, before w-we do anything ab-bout it."

[gunnar11]

"What are you saying, Zeke?" Lance inquires. "Have you become crazy? We have to give those bodies a proper burial! and to do that we have to gather the village." he frowns.
He takes out his violin and walks onto stage. He doesn't care anymore. Those men deserved a grave, and Lance would do anything to make that possible.

With a still shaky voice, and all those memories running through his head he still musters the courage to speak to the public. "Hey there, everyone. Normally I'd sing songs about love or about happiness in life, we all must get through it, don't we?" he swallows and breathes before continuing. He's still a bit nauseated by the death men on the cave's floor.
"But I, no, We have to face the facts. Death is luring around every corner." he let's out a deep exhalation. This is very tiring but needs to be done. "Today I saw men of unbelievable power dead, on the floor of a cave. So puny and shattered. It made me realize I need to do my best to enjoy every moment they couldn't..."

And with that he begins to sing. It's the saddest song he's ever sung, but the more beautiful for it. Even so, with his shakey voice, it could turn out to be really horrible.

"In one of the purest of the black nights,
accompanied by lords of godly mights,
I entered the cave, reeking of beasts,
and saw something to be cured only by priests.

The corridors were dark, the air was damp
we could see nothing, the moon was our lamp,
and if it weren't for the hole and it's height,
we wouldn't have fallen on the full force of our weight.

But there we were, scared and scarred,
two passages, one by wolves barred,
but which was which? we didn't know, had to choose
a glow came from the right, so there went our shoes

something more horrible was encountered in the deed
something that made me cry for help, plead
the adventurers always tough to the very bone
now lay dead on the floor. Crushed by spell or stone.

We ran as fast as we could away from the place
we set a record time, running from the beasts at that pace
this tavern we turned to, as if by a race
I'm sorry these men are dead, I pray for their souls.

He finished. He let the song sink in to everyone's minds, and then requested, although it was a bit bold at the moment:
"These men deserve a burial. I'd like to request everyone to go with me tomorrow to gather those corpses and bury or cremate them. No wolves are mighty enough for a whole village!"

[Mordae]

The previously jubilant crowd falls silent as Lance's somber tune takes flight through the rafters of Underbarrow's inn. Silence gradually gives way to muttering as the patrons take stock of the interruption to their festivities. No one leaps to volunteer for the job, certainly, and after a few moments of staring at the bard they begin to return to their own conversations and libations.

For Lance:

Spoiler

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The crowd overall doesn't seem particularly interested in a cold and potentially dangerous venture when there's good food and drink and partying to be done. From his vantage on the stage, though, he can see that Wenser and his son were paying close attention, and their private conversation seems to take on more animation without so many dark glances toward the Cranes.

For DM:

Spoiler

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Lance performance - (1d20+7)[14]

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

"No, h-hey!" he shouts after Lance, but doesn't give chase, his tired body not responding to his commands.

"Uygh, that b-brat," is all he could say as he grabs another tankard and gulps it down. He looks at the crowd's reaction and sighs as they give the reaction that he had expected.

"That's why I said not t-to talk about it yet. Especially with this...this cheerful atmosphere about. Nobody's going to listen to us!" he directs his rant to his brothers.

He stares blankly at the empty tankard in his hands, and immediately his thoughts drift to the events he and his companions experienced earlier. He looks up and shakes his head to clear his mind, and shouts once more.

"More alcohol, Val!" As soon as the serving wench approaches their table, he inquires, "Y'hey Val, d'you have something stronger?"

[Mordae]

Val turns from her route back to the bar and comes back to the Crane table. Leveling Zeke in her gaze, she leans on the table, offering him a top-down view of her less-than-ample bosom from above the blue bodice covering her woolen winter dress. "What's this now? I thought you swore off the whiskey."