Sunless Citadel - Group 2

[tape_measure]

rat2 - 23
Graros - 19
cosette - 16
Kurthumalk - 13
Razia 13
Rat1 - 11
Aerowyn - 10
rat3 - 7


Moving quickly, the dire rat in front of Aerowyn moves in quickly trying to take a bite at the leg but misses poorly. Its teeth chatter together quickly as it causing foam to build around its putrid jaws.

Graros, sensing the danger below moves hand of hand as quickly as he can down the wall. The foot holds that had been in place serve well to aid you along the way and you find yourself a little more than half of the way down the rope.

>>Holding for Cosette<<

[Seharvepernfan]

Carefully dodging the inevitably-diseased rat fangs snapping all around him, Aerowyn draws his longsword in preparation to attack.

Spoiler

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This is why you always get a spiked gauntlet at 1st level, folks. Coulda tumbled across and skirmished that slow bastard, but nooo, I'm retarded.

Total defense action (AC 20), then draw longsword, likely provoking 2 AoOs.

[Cardea]

Cosette grabs onto the rope, sliding down, thankful for the covering on her hands. "Keep on the defense, I'll be right down!"

Spoiler

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Double move action. Accelerated movement. Need to beat DC 0.

Climb 1: (1d20-2)[14]
Climb 2: (1d20-2)[12]

Edit: so I'm 20 ft. down the rope. Sweet.

Drawing a weapon doesn't provoke AoO, btw.

[tape_measure]

Round 1 (finish)

Initiatives:

rat2 - 23
Graros - 19
cosette - 16
Kurthumalk - 13
Razia 13
Rat1 - 11
Aerowyn - 10
rat3 - 7

Cosette follows after Graros on one of the ropes that had been tied off previously. The foot holds are easy to findas you move, and you find yourself along side of Graros quickly. Aboev you can see Doken peering over the edge with half anger, and half concern as you move away into the ravine.

Kurhtumalk lets loose a bolt that lands true in the far rat (#1) and the creature screeches one last time as the blood from the mortal wound stains the ground below where it is now pinned to the floor dead.

Razia grabs a hold of the crossbow and attaches the bolt to pull the handle back as quickly as possible. He lifts the bow and takes aim at the last rat in the back, but finds he can not get the best, clear shot from where he stands. ((ooc: moves to the edge for a clear shot next round))

Aerowyn quickly unsheathes the sworn as the rats chatter vile teeth, seemingly to mock. Though, they clearly can not see the descending force belaying the side of the ravine.

The last rat moves up quickly trying to take a bits from Aerowyns legs
Attack:(1d20+4)[13] vs AC: 20
Damage IF hit: (1d4)[4] PLUS need fort save vs DC 11 to avoid disease

end round 1


Round 2

Map


Initiatives:

rat2 - 23
Graros - 19
cosette - 16
Kurthumalk - 13
Razia 13
Rat1 - 11
Aerowyn - 10
rat3 - 7

Having its companion bolster the assault, the rat (#2) attacks Aerowyn again, its mouth hissing as the teeth chomp at Aerowyn's legs.
Attack:(1d20+4)[11] vs AC: 20
Damage IF hit: (1d4)[4] PLUS need fort save vs DC 11 to avoid disease

>>Graros action

[Jthw]

Graros continues down the rope.

Spoiler: Climb

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(1d20+2)[20]
(1d20+2)[19]
Both accelerated movement to get into the bottom to E1

[Cardea]

"Too slow. I'm going in." Cosette hollars, moving fast down the rope, and letting go.

Falling, she pulls her sword out, and hacks away at the rats as she lands on the ground.

Spoiler

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So currently I am 30 ft. away from the ground.

Accelerated Movement on Climb, to move me to 20 ft. from the ground: (1d20-2)[1]

Tumble DC 15 to reduce falling damage by 10 ft.: (1d20+5)[8]

Falling Damage for 10 ft.: (1d6)[5]
Falling Damage if Tumble Fails: (1d6)[2]

Landing on G3. Attacking from Higher Ground as I fall gives +1 to hit.

Attack on Rat3: (1d20+5)[6]
Damage: (2d6+4)[10]

Edit: So everything here failed, but its only 7 damage.

[Sandviper]

kurthumalk releases some curses in draconic, and reloads his crossbow, shoots to rat 3.

Spoiler: rolls

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(1d20+5)[23]
crit. (1d20+5)[21]
damage (1d6)[2]
crit damage (1d6)[4]

[Seharvepernfan]

Sword drawn, Aerowyn immediately commences the attack, bringing his blade down in a vertical chop on the nearest rat. He nearly jumps when Cossette lands nearby.

Spoiler

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Attacking rat 3.
Longsword: (1d20+2)[4]
Damage: (1d8+2)[10]
if critical:
Longsword: (1d20+2)[9]
Damage: (1d8+2)[7]

5ft step to G1.

[tape_measure]

Round 2 (end)

Initiatives:

rat2 - 23
Graros - 19
cosette - 16
Kurthumalk - 13
Razia 13
Rat1 - 11
Aerowyn - 10
rat3 - 7

Graros descends quickly using as many hand and foot holds as possible. Stopping to reevaluate the situation, he sees he is only about 10 feet from the floor of the sandy area.

Cosette moves quickly at first, and releases the rope dropping to the floor with a solid thud. Her blade misses as she falls as the rat barely manages to recoil in time to avoid being impaled.

Kurthumalk lets loose another bolt into combat and lands a successful blow to the rat on Aerowyn. The rat screeches as the gash left in its leg begins to bleed badly.

Razia nearly lets the bolt go from his crossbow, but holds the action for fearing to hit a team mate, something the kobold has no obvious fear of doing.

Aerowyn's blade nearly cuts the rat with the bolt wound, but the blade narrowly misses, swiping just an inch above its head. Aerowyn sees the chance to move slightly to the right, trying to gain some advantage in the combat.

Map:

Spoiler: OOC Note

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Make sure to add who you are attacking in the post, please. I can assume a lot in this easy encoutner, but going forward may prove more difficult.

Also, Aerowyn should be in E1. G1 was occupied by Cosette so it should have moved the opposite direction. WE can leave as the map indicates if you like and easily wash that part of the post away.

[Sandviper]

Oh.... rats would you please.. die!!! *again in draconic* Reloads and shoots

Spoiler: rolls

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(1d20+5)[7](1d6)[6]
if critical (1d20+5)[17](1d6)[2]

[Cardea]

"Keep calm up there, or you're liable to pin us all with bolts!" Cosette hollars up, swinging her sword again.

Spoiler

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Attacking Rat3.

+2 on attack roll if we keep my mistake of typing G3 instead of G1.

Attack: (1d20+4)[21]
Damage: (2d6+4)[14]

[nolongerchaos]

"Well that was... impressive. Remind me to not get on your bad side Ms...?" Razia jokes as he puts away his crossbow. He then makes his way to the rope and climbs on down to the others at the landing, where he reaches down and picks up the rat that had been skewered by the crossbow bolt.

"Efficient. Well, though I've no desire to eat rat, we may yet be able to find use for this." And without further ado, Razia drops the rat into one of his empty sacks.

[Jthw]

Graros gets to the bottom of the rope, pulls out his scimitar, and slashes at rat3 (if alive, otherwise rat2.)

Spoiler: Rolls

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Accelerated movement down the rest of the rope:
(1d20+2)[18]
Attack:
(1d20+2)[21]
If crit (18-20) to confirm:
(1d20+2)[9]
Damage:
(1d6+2)[5]
Crit extra damage:
(1d6)[6]

If no rats are alive then Graros will just climb back up the rope, saying "Well, that's one way to deal with vermin."

[tape_measure]

Round 2

Initiatives:

rat2 - 23
Graros - 19
cosette - 16
Kurthumalk - 13
Razia 13
Aerowyn - 10
rat3 - 7

The rat snarled loudly as it turned its head to take another bite at Aerowyn. It's teeth snap shut, but just barely missed landing.

Graros is able to slip down the rest of the rope, and draw his sword. His attack lands true splitting a large gash into the rats back. The rat squeals and slumps to the ground as blood pours from its back.

Cosette follows suite with a flurry of swordplay that ends the last rat's life quickly.

The rats lay dead on the sandy floor of the landing, staining the ground with their blood.

Spoiler

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With the last rat dead, the group can each add 60 xp for the battle. Good work everyone!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=


Gathering the troops to the landing takes some time to accomplish, and Doken is visibly pleased to not be tied up in the harness anymore. The group finds a set of switch back stairs to the south of the landing that descend further into the ravine.

As the group descends into the darkness, carefully moving along the staircases as it creaks and moans with each step. The two sets of stairs take little time to traverse easily and as they climb, the view of he citadel begins to come into focus.

At the edge of sight, a fortress top emerges from the darkness. The subterranean citadel, though impressive, seems long forgotten., if the lightless windows, cracked crenellations and leaning towers are any indication. All is quiet, though a cold breeze blows up from below, bringing with it the scent of dust and a faint trace of rot.

The narrow stairs empty into a small courtyard, apparently the top of what was once a crenellated battlement. The buried citadel has sunk so far into the earth that the battlement is now level with the surrounding cavern floor. The floor stretches away to the north and south, and it is apparently composed of a layers of treacherous, crumbled masonry, which reaches to an unknown depth. To the west looms the surviving structure of what mist be the Sunless Citadel. A tower stands on the west side of the courtyard across from the group. A large set of doors seems to be the obvious entrance ahead. Though, the floor should be taken with caution.

Spoiler

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Just moving the group down the path a ways. Feel free to roleplay out the marching if you would like. Just let me know how you want to move across the crumbled floor in this area. As always, feel free to add rolls as you would like. If not, I'll roll for any that are needed that may take too long to request.

[Sandviper]

Hmm.. kurthumalk takes a big sniff of the air... looking for traces of smoke. Very well.. we should traverse this, getting trapped in this terrain will be a possibility... specially for me... kurthumalk takes a look at Doken...Wild idea here... could i ride Doken... well not ride ride...just climb on top of him to take me to the other side? waits for an answer...

[Jthw]

"Hmmm..." Graros things to himself for a second at the request. "Well, it isn't really my decision because I can't promise how Doken will react, we can try and I'll try to get her to understand that it is only until we get onto more solid ground." Graros then gets down on a knee next to Doken, takes out a piece of meat from a pouch on his side and gives it to Doken as he says in sylvian some calming words while petting her. "I'd suggest wrapping your arms around her neck and laying across her back and whatever you do not pull on her fur."

Spoiler: OoC

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If nobody has lit a torch by now Graros will light one after helping Kurthumalk onto Doken.

[Seharvepernfan]

"Hmm. I have an idea; I will wrap the rope around myself again and walk across. If the floor gives way, you will keep me from falling, and you will know where not to walk." Unless someone protests with a good reason not to do this, this is what he does, spear in hand.

[nolongerchaos]

"Hmph. Sunless Citadel indeed."
Kneeling, Razia reaches into his backpack and pulls out a hooded lantern and a small green cube that appears to be made of some gelatinous substance. He then places the cube into his lantern and pours just a splash of water onto the cube, which promptly ignites into blue-green flames. Satisfied, Razia stands back up and holds his lantern aloft in the gloom.

"Hmm. I have an idea; I will wrap the rope around myself again and walk across. If the floor gives way, you will keep me from falling, and you will know where not to walk."

"Very well, we'll try to keep an eye out for you, and be sure to call for us if needed." Razia then grabs the other end of Aerowyn's rope, making sure to leave enough room for the others to hold on to it as well.

[Jthw]

"I'd prefer that idea as long as you are willing." Graros says as he grabs an open piece of rope behind Razia.

[tape_measure]

Setting out carefully, Aerowyn moves across the broken battlefield slowly as the ground shifts with each step. You watch with caution at each step noting where was safe and where to avoid. The eerie light illuminating the cavern makes the suspense grow quickly as Aerowyn moves across the broken land.

Aerowyn

As you move, the ground seems shaky and unsettled. You feel it move with each step. About 10 feet from the door way, you spot a larger than normal crack in the flooring. You can the tell tale signs of a pit trap that has been recently set. You can see the work around with it, too, and the idea of getting around this trap seems like a very doable notion.

[Seharvepernfan]

Making sure he is a few feet from it's edge, Aerowyn bends down and picks up a very heavy rock, then lobs it as close to the center of the trap as he can.

[tape_measure]

The trap triggers swiftly, and the ground in the area crumbles away leaving only a small foot path no bigger that the width of a board to move across on. Examining it, reveals that it is definitely sturdy enough to move across on and poses no threat of breaking. In fact, the more you look, the trace of goblin footprints can be seen across the distance of the camouflaged board.

[Seharvepernfan]

Aerowyn turns and waves the others over. He indicates where it is safe to walk, then moves across the board to the other side.

[tape_measure]

Moving closer, Aerowyn opens the doors to the keep and peaks inside carefully. The lightless room is difficult to see in even with elven eyesight. It seems to be a large, rounded room that was once a tower. You do not see any signs of danger in the room as you look about, awaiting the rest of the group to catch up. There four corpses of goblins long dead on the ground, but not living threat.

As the group moves across the courtyard, you can each easily sense the floor beneath you and the unsteady nature of it. You move with care, making sure not to step anywhere to heavily or that does not seem able to hold you. Doken and Kurthumalk have a difficult time together, but are able to move across the area at a very slow pace. The board across the trap is by far the easiest part of traversing the courtyard.

This circular area is cobbled with cracked granite, upon which sprawl four goblins, all apparently slain in combat. One stands with its back against the western wall, the killing spear still skewering it and holding it upright. Three wooden doors lead off from this area. Above, a hollow tower of loose masonry reaches 30 feet, but the intervening floors and stairs are gone,except for a couple of crumpled ledges.

Spoiler

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Pausing to let roleplaying catch up and to get a sense what/where you'd like to go next

[Seharvepernfan]

Aerowyn lights his lantern, then inspects each of the bodies. Following that, he goes from door to door, looking each of them over for several minutes. After searching each door, he spends a while listening at each one.

Spoiler

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Assuming everyone is willing to wait, he'll take 20 searching the bodies, the squares in front of each door, the doors themselves, then listening at each door.

[Cardea]

"A waste," Cosette says, approaching the wall and pulling at the spear. "Anything of value, we take. It could prove useful. Waste not, want not."

[Sandviper]

I move forward, and finally catch up with therest of the group. as soon as i reach the tower... i dismount from the animal... Thank you you beast... your service has been appreciated.
Happy to be on his foots again... i see the bodies, well.. it seems that, the last group of adventurers. had a good time here.... disgusted by the goblins... i look at Aerowyn.... that´s a good way to announce our presece... nothing like a beacon of light in the middle of a dark citadel...

i take my crossbow, and load it.

[Jthw]

Graros kneels down and pets Doken, then he thinks for a moment. "Maybe we can track the previous group by the scent on that spear, let me see it if you don't mind."

Spoiler: OoC

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Assuming Cosette give Graros the spear Graros will bring it to Doken's nose to try to track the previous party.

[nolongerchaos]

"Curious. Well, clearly there have been others here, and somewhat recently, or the corpses would be further decayed than they are. Well, which door do you think we should progress through, unless someone feels adventurous enough to risk the tower...

Spoiler: OoC

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Razia will take some time examining the bodies, trying to determine, if he can, how long the bodies have been there, what sort of weapons were used, etc., taking 20s on whatever applicable skills he has. General forensic stuff to figure out who else was here and when.

[tape_measure]

Aerowyn

NE Door - As you move closer to the door, you can see that it is in shambles and just barely hanging on the hinges by the thick dust. You can see a few rocks that coming out from under the door, and with a quick glance you can see that there much larger rocks behind the door as the passageway seems crumbled in.

NW Door - This wooden door seems in much better shape, and recently used. You can make out a scratches on the door around the handle. Normal doors have the same wear and tear, this one just seems to have been handle by something with clawed hands.

SW Door - This door is also clear of any traps, but you can see this door is used far less than the last door. Listening to the door, you can hear something scratching in the room behind it. You then here what sounds like faint clicks of claws, as if some kind of quadraped is walking about the room.

Cosette and Graros

Removing the spear from the goblin allows gravity to take over and the corpse slumps to the floor. Looking over the spear, you find nothing special about the weapon. At Graros' request the two of you work with Doken on the scent still lingering.

Doken immediately withdraws from the spear and the fur on her neck stiffens and raises. She lowers her head with a low growl and you can tell she is not pleased by the scent. Something tells you its is not the scent that you were looking for.

Razia

Around the room, you find a few chair legs and table remnants littered amongst large rock debris and the broken road. Looking over the goblin corpses, you can discern they have been there for just a few days. Not enough to start stinking, but still recently that the bodies have some elasticity. The weapons carried are crude swords of poor quality. While still sharp, you can tell you won't be able to make any real money if you were take these back to a real craftsman.

Kurthumalk

As Cosette removes the spear holding the goblin, you can see something written on the wall in draconic. While it looks broken, you can tell its only dust that covers the markings. Moving forward, you are able to clear the dust on the wall enough to be able to read it more clearly. The word "Ashardalon" is scrawled in the old draconic.

Deep in your mind, the word rings clear. Ashardalon was perhaps the single most powerful wyrm in the history of the dragonkind. She is known by many names, including the Red Queen, the Dark Queen, and the Great Fire Wyrm. Most of the history of any such magical beast sounds more like tall tales that are meant to scare children into listening to theirs parents rules. Rumors of her sightings go through many bars close to closing time when wines flow freely and those tall tales seem to grow each night. Ashardalon's name is synonymous with destruction and desolation however. There has never been hero to have met her gaze and live to tell a true account of it.

There are many who worship the red dragon as a god and call her mother. Those that live on the fringe of society in small sects, having little to do with the world as most know it. Cultists, though, were as fabled as the stories of the dragon herself since none would so openly claim it as a hobby or a way of life and not have been hounded by local authorities.

As you think back on the old stories, you recall the land that you had come across on your way to the ravine and the smell of old smoke you have smelled since arriving in this area. Its desolation was clearly unnatural, and its barren nature could be explained by the hottest substance known to this world: dragon fire.