Agents of the Decemvirate (IC)

[Yawielas]

Jade watches concerned as Janira takes off, then looks to the others. "She's a tough little thing. Let's not let her bravery be in vain." She enters the cave after Shaun, asking quietly:"Should I go first? I can see better in the dark, I think, and I'm used to looking for traps..."

[Farmerbink]

Shaun nods the affirmative to Jade. "Of course, I just don't want to get stuck outside with that beast!"

He steps to the side to allow the woman to pass.

[DarkOne-Rob]

“Well done! You were lucky you had Geoffe with you AND that he had those fire spells memorized, however.”

Geoffe shows no sign of either pride or embarrassment at the halfling's praise, listening closely and inspecting the dead boar blandly.

“A minotaur!”

"How fascinating!" mumbles the wizard before realizing the danger and darting into the cave and out of sight.

"She'll get herself killed!"

Looking concerned along with his brother, Geoffe whispers, "I am worried too, but she is more experienced than us - let's hope she can lead it away and then hide long enough to give it the slip!"

"Should I go first? I can see better in the dark, I think, and I'm used to looking for traps..."

Nodding, Geoffe withdraws his own compass and some tools to start sketching a map of the party's explorations. As it gets darker he readies a torch and lights it with the casting of a cantrip and continues to follow Jade slowly.

Spoiler: OoC

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Given that we won't be using battle maps, how would you advise me to manage a map, Truwar?

[Truwar]

Jade leads the party deeper down the 5 foot wide tunnel as the sounds of the enraged minotaur and Javira’s taunts fade into the distance. Soft gusts of moist air ruffle the elf’s red hair as she scans the gloom.

As they move deeper under the mountains, the cave floor begins to become slick with condensation and blue-green luminescent fungi grows in greater and greater profusion as the relative dampness of the cave increase.

Small tunnels branch off from the main passage, but most of these are too small for anything taller than a pixie to explore or quickly dead-end. After some time marching under the dim light of the fungi, petroglyphs of marine animals and spiral geometric shapes begin to appear with more and more frequency.

The narrow tunnel twists and turns for several hundred feet before slowly opening to a wider passage. A large hole spans the cave’s width and stretches ten feet down the path. At the bottom of the pit lies a small bundle of cloth.

Spoiler: Map Question

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I will verbally map out the cave as you are going through. If you would like, I could provide a small “Orientation” spoiler at the bottom of each post to give you an idea where you currently are.

Spoiler: Environment

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1. The damp stone of the caves adds +2 to the DC of all acrobatics checks. 2. Did anyone pick up Javira’s backpack that she threw into the cave?

Spoiler: Orientation

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The party stands 10’ away from a pit that stretches across the tunnel. The have traveled about ¼ of a mile (0.4 KM) down a narrow twisting tunnel. More tunnel appears to lie beyond the path.

[Farmerbink]

Spoiler: Environment

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1. The damp stone of the caves adds +2 to the DC of all acrobatics checks. 2. Did anyone pick up Javira’s backpack that she threw into the cave?

Spoiler: Yes

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Hoppholderin did.

Shaun follows behind Jade, wondering at the luminescent fungus scattered across the walls and ceiling. "That's... convenient, don't you think? I'm not convinced this is simply a cave..."

They arrive at the pit, and his face melts into a deep frown. "Well, hell. This has never been my strong suit... Anyone have a ladder?" he asks sheepishly.

[DarkOne-Rob]

As the party travels Geoffe contents himself with using some chalk to make frequent arrows on the floor and walls pointing towards the surface and noting side caverns with an "X." The increasing ambient light inspires him to poke and prod at some of the fungi carefully, intent to see if its glow changes from external stimuli.

At the pit he takes the time to note the party's progress using his map-making kit before retrieving a hammer and four pitons, 50 feet of hemp rope, and a grappling hook from his pack. "As long as someone can make it across to secure the other end, we can make a rudimentary rope "bridge" or use the rope to first descend into the pit and then back out," he says as he returns to his pack and withdraws a journal in which he writes some notes about their explorations so far, seemingly content to let another, more physically-inclined PC take the next step.

[Yawielas]

Jade pulls out a silk rope from her pack. "I have a rope as well. I can try climbing down, then use the other rope with the grappling hook to climb up the other side. If I tie the two ropes together once I'm down, we can stretch them across to make a bridge."

[Smileybastard]

Denjan

"I can climb, this seems easy enough to get past and I wish to examine the bundle of cloth. I am less certain about the idea of building a rope bridge, in my experience it is not so easy to do."

Denjan looks into the hole to assess the difficulty of climbing it.

Spoiler: Crunch

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What is the DC for using no rope? How deep is it? Can one simply hang and drop?

[Truwar]

Looking into the pit, Denajn judges it is about a 20 foot fall to the bottom, where the odd bundle of cloth lies. As the others examine the pit Hoppholderim begins rifling through Javira's backpack. "Hat eine von ihnen eine gebrauch für diese dinge?” The dwarf offers to toss the bag to anyone who wants it.

Spoiler: Pit Facts!

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The pit is 20’ deep and 10’ across. The is a bundle of cloth at the bottom of the pit. The walls of the pit are very rough (DC 15 to climb without a rope) but the walls are circular so you can brace yourself in a corner to increase your odds of climbing out.

[Farmerbink]

Shaun nods. "Nah, there's no reason to try making a bridge. I'll need a rope to get down and back up, though, so we had best at least find something to tie off to. It looks like we might be able to use a single length of rope for both sides, if we want to try it..."

[Smileybastard]

Denjan

Denjan pulls out his grapple and rope and climbs down into the pit. "Just use a grapple or we would have to leave a rope behind, but if need be believe I can climb in and out without a rope."

Spoiler: Crunch

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Climb (1d20+8)[26]

[DarkOne-Rob]

Geoffe continues to draw and write, waiting patiently for the others to manage the pit as best it can be done by those more capable.

[Yawielas]

Jade nods at Denjan, and watches as he climbs down into the pit with ease. "What's that bundle of cloth down there?" She climbs down after him, using the rope.

[Smileybastard]

Denjan

Denjan carefully checks the bundle, visually first then carefully opening it if it seems safe.

Spoiler: Crunch

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Perception (1d20+6)[8]

[Truwar]

Denjan easily lowers himself into the deep pit. As soon as his feet touch the uneven surface of the bottom, he heads over to the bundle. After observing it for a time, he cautiously lifts it up. He is not sure what exactly he is holding. It appears to him to be some kind of streamers. Several long embroidered strips of a type of cloth he is not familiar with seem to be attached to a strip of a pale leather that he also is not sure of the origin of.

Spoiler: The bundle

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Denjan is not sure what he is holding. Feel free to make perception checks to see what it actually might be used for and knowledge history/nature checks to find out more detailed information. Or examine it any other way you might like. I will decide if those attempts apply or not.

[Yawielas]

Once Jade is down, she moves over to Denjan to get a look at the bundle. "What is it? Leather?" She frowns.

[Smileybastard]

Denjan

Denjan examines the odd object turning it over in his hand and looking at it closesly.

Spoiler: Crunch

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Perception (1d20+6)[19]

[Yawielas]

Jade looks at the bundle closely.


Perception: (1d20+6)[17]

[DarkOne-Rob]

Spoiler: The bundle

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Denjan is not sure what he is holding. Feel free to make perception checks to see what it actually might be used for and knowledge history/nature checks to find out more detailed information. Or examine it any other way you might like. I will decide if those attempts apply or not.

Geoffe looks up from his notes for a moment and asks, "Do you have enough light down there? You can pass the bundle up here if you like too..."

[Farmerbink]

Shaun carefully lets himself down the rope. He takes his time, knowing that his physical strength isn't sufficient if he's not careful.

Spoiler: Climb

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Taking 10 for an 8. Ropes with a wall are, I believe DC 5.

At the base of the pit, he approaches Denjan, peering inquisitively at the bundle of leather and colorful cloth.

Spoiler: Knowledge

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(1d20+9)[15] know history
(1d20+9)[25] know nature

[Yawielas]

"It looks like a cloak of some kind." Jade shrugs and looks around the pit for anything else they might have missed.

[Farmerbink]

Shaun suddenly steps forward, and grips the side of the central leather ring. "No, no. Here, let me show you!" Turning it, he places the ring at the top, revealing the shape to be an odd sort of cloak. "There! See now, it's a cloak- but not a normal kind. The strips bely its purpose, because it's normally worn by aquatic types. It's not designed to keep water off, just to be an attractive decoration." He rubs his fingers across the coarse leather collar. "Huh. Seems like shark skin. Odd place for that."

He looks up, out of the pit. "Anyone else feeling suddenly claustrophobic? Let's keep going." He shudders a bit as his overactive imagination takes hold, and urges Denjan to climb up the other side.

[Smileybastard]

Denjan

Denjan nods towards Shaun and noting that Geoffe has yet to climb down, begins to carefully climb the other face without a rope.

Spoiler: Crunch

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He will take 10 for 18.

[Truwar]

Denjan easily makes his way up the rough stone walls of the pit. Upon completing the twenty foot ascent, he clambers up over the edge of the pit. Laying in the shadows on the other side he spots a large plank that appears easily long enough to span the entire pit.

[Smileybastard]

Denjan

Denjan picks up the plank. "There is a plank here that looks like it would reach across ... if it is strong enough across ten feet and you are good at balancing."

[DarkOne-Rob]

Geoffe readies his gear to walk across the plank. Looking at it once placed he says, "If the gillmen can walk this, I figure I should be able as well," before setting out to cross the pit.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Acrobatics (1d20+1)[5] if necessary.

[Truwar]

Walking cautiously, Geoffe crosses the plank easily, making it to the other side of the pit with Denjan. Beyond the two the tunnel stretches off further into the eerily lit depths, the petroglyphs of marine life and spirals covering almost every square inch of the walls.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Geoffe takes the time to draw the image and any significant variations once or twice before realizing it is a task too involved to be worthwhile and puts his journal and writing tools away. "I think we are on the right track..." he muses, dryly.

[Yawielas]

Since she's already in the pit, Jade tries to climb up the other wall. "Yes, it looks like the caves might be connected to something nautical after all. Perhaps it's not so strange that the gillmen use it."

Climb: (1d20+3)[14]

[Truwar]

Jade attempts to replicate Denjan's easy scaling of the pit, but is unable to do so. After her finger strength fails her on a particularly difficult portion of the climb, she slides slowly back down to join Shaun.