Under the School IC

[freebiewitz]

Chappe felt he needed to intervene, not because he was told to but because the arguement was starting to ruin his concentration when he should be cooking.

Frowning the words he spoke came out harsher then he intended.
"You two stop acting like children, we're adventurers out in unexplored territory, I don't care if you don't like each other but you'll have to work with each other whether you like it or not!"

Looking back down at the morsel of bug meat he paused realizing how aggressive that sounded.
"I'd prefer if we all got along, if you have any arguements then at least wait until after a meal before you talk again." If Chappe knew anything about food it was that it had the magical ability to bring people together and make them forget why they were fighting with each other in the first place.

[Man on Fire]

"Yes, mom." Stinky nods quietly, but leaves Gurlin alone. After showing him one, last vulgar gesture.

[Man on Fire]

(double post, because I'm not seeing new page)

[shugyosha]

Ceraphine

Obviously bored by the banter she asks, "Can we go now?""

[Grytorm]

"Yes please."

[Grytorm]

Chaff waits through the silence for a few minutes and sighs. "I'll be scouting the next tunnel, please save some of our friend the freak of nature for me." If no one stops him he begins to make his way up towards the juncture where he turns and looks back the way he came before taking a few steps down the other path.

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Hide (1d20+12)[24]
Move Silently (1d20+12)[30]

[freebiewitz]

Frowning Chappe finally decided to put business before pleasure. No matter how much he tried to play off said pleasure as business it seemed no one really agreed with him.

Cutting a few more chunks from the bug Chappe finally got up.

"Alright, I assume someone has taken note of the hole and it's location?" He asked Niko in particular. "If so we're going to backtrack and find what's down the other tunnel."

[Prince Zahn]

"Weht a mom'nt, We're jist goin' t'leeve this hohl? dun't we need to plug it? sumthin' cud crul uht egin 'n sit off the ilehrms,"
Gurlin lightly pokes Niko's shoulder with his ring finger, probably to get his attention or ask him a question, then does the same to Chappe.
dun't ye think we shud shut the hohl so nuthin' coms uht? Niko, cin ye think of whit to fill t'with?

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Here's a Suggestion: why don't we just seal it up before we go? if something pops out and wanders it could easily set off the alarms we toiled to to bury.

[shugyosha]

Ceraphina

"We'll place the warning rods like we were told to do," the girl says. "We weren't told to block the entrances only to explore."

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Is the caterpillar's body stuck in the hole?

[Marker Mage]

Niko Tezza

"I would agree with Ceraphina on this one. If we really need to block it though, we might be able to stuff the bug up in there."

[Sampi]

The bug is lying on the floor, it never got to the hole. There are loose rocks you could use to block the hole with a little effort. It would take about ten minutes of concentrated effort to do so, more if you really want to make sure nothing could get through.

[Man on Fire]

"In my infinite wisdom I agree with Ceraphina, in her infinite wisdom. Let just set alarm rods here, like we should do."

[shugyosha]

Ceraphina

SHe didn't realize that the group had turned into a democracy. She had thought that Chappe was the leader of this expedition. She looked at him to see what he decided.

[freebiewitz]

"It'll take too much time when we can use said time to explore, however the alarms are a fine idea though I believe they'll be unneeded for a few reasons." Coughing he continued.
"This is the first hole as far as we seen, the first evidence of such a creature existing, I doubt there are any more and if there are they don't venture far. If they did we would've seen more tracks or holes, so c'mon lets move. Besides if there are any more predators they'll be after the corpse here rather then us and if it's more bugs maybe they'll avoid the dead of their own kind doesn't matter which."

Slicing off one more portion of the bug Chappe stashes it away into his bag.
"This is of course not just emergency rations, I intend to submit this to the boys upstairs later for testing hopefully the meat will not have deteriorated too much by then."

[Marker Mage]

Niko Tezza

"I would think that my sketch of the creature and measurement of its length would be enough for identification purposes, but if you want to bring some of it to be analyzed later..." Niko retrieved a vial from one of his pockets. "This might make a better container."

[freebiewitz]

Nodding to Niko Chappe hands over a small sample of bug flesh."Good, then that's settled, let's move off then!"

[Sampi]

Okay, so you turn your backs on the hole and follow Chaff back down the tunnel.

After you pass the basement door, the going gets rather steep. You have to slow down to make sure nobody falls. The walls change from the striped rock to a uniform brownish white. The passage levels off, and suddenly widens to a large cavern. It's moist here and stalactites, stalagmites and pillars of stone fill the cavern. The ceiling is high enough that your torches' light cannot reach it, and the far walls are too far to be seen. The cool air smells slightly musty, and the underground silence is broken by an occasional "plink" of falling drops.

There is no clear passage now, how do you proceed? It seems the floor ahead has less stalagmites than the area near the walls.

[freebiewitz]

"Alright, we stick to the walls, the left one to be specific." Always remembering his fathers advice about direction Chappe nodded.

A good adventurer always goes left!

Chappe didn't know if there was an actual logical reason behind that saying or if it was just used to remove hesitation but it would serve well for the time being.

"We'll try and plot this room and see how large it is first, if there are any other passage ways we'll leave them until we figure out how many other ones there are first,after that we'll take the most left passage, if we're lucky we might come across the other side of the hole we found earlier."

Raising his glowing sword Chappe tries to get a better view of the surroundings.

[Man on Fire]

"Why the stalagmites are only close to the walls, not in the middle?" Stinky says. "Doesn't it look suspicious? Like a some sort of trap, maybe by some predators?" he hides behind Ceraphina, as if any monster was about to jump at them right now.

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Bardic Knowledge (1d20+3)[8] and Knowledge Local (1d20+4)[24] to answer Stinky's own question

[freebiewitz]

"A trap? I highly doubt it." Shaking his head Chappe takes a closer look anyways.

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(1d20+2)[10]
Spot check

"I doubt anyone would set a trap down here, it's supposed to be unexplored and even if there was a trap we just came from a path that until today was not used." Looking around his paranoia began to play up.

"If anyone had set up any traps it implies that there are multiple passages through this area that are used often." Well the sound of drip drops sounded like water. It wasn't a far stretch to imagine monsters coming here for a drink.

[Man on Fire]

"Who would set a trap? Undergrouds predators, of course. Duh." Stinky says, looking at Chappe like there was something wrong with him.

[Marker Mage]

Niko Tezza

"It seems that this area was hollowed out by a different method than the previous. Water erosion I expect. However, I am pretty sure that stalagmites usually form in the center of such caverns rather than up against the walls." Niko pulls out the cave guide again and starts skimming. "Stalagmites are usually made of calcium carbonate that is deposited by mineralized solutions that drip in..." Niko pauses a moment before translating it to layman's terms. "The water leaking in has stuff mixed in that slowly builds up a stalagmite. The water will usually dissolve a bit of the surrounding rock, which over a long time results in a cavern like this, but with the stalagmites in the middle rather than at the walls."

Niko does some thinking. "Perhaps sometime relatively recent, there might have been an object placed somewhere above here that would block the water to the center of this area, diverting it to places closer to the walls. I would bet that such an obstructive object would be part of the school that was built after the initial formation of this cavern. Not a trap, but nature being affected by the unnatural. If you don't believe me, just take a look at the bottoms of the stalagmites at the center. Look for them to be thinner around there due to erosion occurring but not deposits. Notice where the water dripping in is landing. Is it near the walls where I said it was landing, or near the center?"

Niko glances upward. "I am starting to wonder which part of the school can be found above here. I guess I'll just have to figure that out once we return."

[Grytorm]

Chaff takes a long look at the ceiling, hoping to see anything he can with his darkvision. After a moments thought he bends down and picks up a rock and considers throwing it at whatever is up there.

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Spot (1d20+4)[12]

[shugyosha]

Ceraphina

The young girl stopped at the edge of the cavern and takes a book out. She quickly jots down their position and a few observation of the cavern. Putting it away she continues with the others.

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(1d20+4)[17] Dungeoneering (ID potential hazards)
(1d20+5)[6] Geography (determine position relative to the school)
(1d20+6)[10] Nature (ID natural hazards/artificial nature of surroundings)
(1d20+4)[11] Spot

[Prince Zahn]

Gurlin held his torch high, trying to make the most of the illumination.

Still seeing nearly nothing noteworthy, he lowers it a pair inches and opens his water supply, taking a quick swig as the others babbled about the stones and their places, and addled his head with rocks and their shapes: "Stalag-mites, stalag-tites?", how would he know the difference?

He paused for a moment to concentrate away from the group's talk and more on what goes around him, true, his hearing isn't perfect, and, though he hates to admit it - his visual observation is not beyond average, as far as he knows.
But truth be told he knows that everyone needs to keep their eyes peeled and their ears keen, lest the secretive creatures behind the shadows sneak up on them.

He is not afraid, but he expects the worst when he hears rapid drippings in the dark, and the lone echos of footsteps, chafing cloth, and the almost rhythmic rattling and jingling of traveling gear.
when noise goes on, Other sounds hide, and he's doing his best to find them.

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not sure if I just cost myself a concentration check, I'll roll one later of necessary.
Listen:(1d20+0)[15]
Spot:(1d20+0)[5]

[Sampi]

The going next to the wall is very tough and slow. Many stalagmites fill your path and you have to climb and clamber over them, occasionally stumbling (and inevitably cursing). After an hours' labor you come to an area relatively clear of stalagmites.

What's more interesting, you see an opening in the wall. It's roughly triangular in shape, and very high and narrow. It also appears that a path is worn from the opening towards the center of the cavern. The path is narrow and disappears from sight behind a rather thick pillar of stone. There are no obvious tracks on the path.

[freebiewitz]

"Alright you all know the drill." Moving forwards Chappe raises his glowing sword for a better view. "Marching order with me in front, Niko you mark this place down and someone drop a couple of rods down if there are any left."

Walking through the narrow passage he wondered if it was artificial.

[Prince Zahn]

"Dorrei!" Gurlin cried as he grabbed the shovel he used earlier, What Gurlin means by "dorray" is really anyone's guess, though judging how he reacted and spoke in compliance an educated guess might be "yes, sir!"
He dug a hole similar to the previous ones- one-point-five feet in diameter, and a few feet deep, and placed and stood the first rod erect inside the hole.

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(I'm guessing about 3-4.5 feet deep is enough for future referrence?)

"Noh," pausing his sentence as he as he began shoveling dirt back inside, and saved the top layer for last.
"Wehr do ye-..." he dropped a big mound of dirt into the hole. "need..." after filling the hole he began stomping on the mound, avoiding stepping on the rod itself if it sticks out. "the nixt..." reaching to the shovel he made sure to keep the ground even-ish. "Hohl...? Gurlin actually grunted strongly with that last word, but after a few rushed breaths and shaking his arms a bit he was able to continue.

"Dorrei." he said again as he moved on to the next location.

[Marker Mage]

Niko Tezza

Niko puts away "Johnson's Guide to Caves" again and retrieves his pen to add onto the map tucked between the pages of his old spellbook. He draws the area the best he can and includes some "^"s to mark areas that contain stalagmites. Once he's through with that, he puts the pen away and closes his spellbook and stuffs it under his arm again.

[Man on Fire]

Stinky is visibly shaking as they walk futher and futher away. Now he starts looking around nervously and don't make any noises, like he was trying to listen to something. Or was thinking something is going to jump at him at any moment.

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Spot (1d20+1)[7] ad Listen (1d20+4)[6]