Eberron Adventures

[Bigmac]

The beasts, engulfed in the swarm, have had enough. Finally managing to get their bearings, both animals decide that the chance for food is not worth the trouble and stings they are recieving. The animals turn and begin running away down the corridor, fleeing from the swarm and moving out of sight as they do so.

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

"Well, that was an unusually fortunate turn of events."

Wrench hurries back to working on the rope knots.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

Butch grumbles under his breath before speaking up. "We can't leave that passage unsecured. We're badly exposed out here. Is there any way to collapse the walls in around the opening to block it?"

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

"Not unless you carry some explosives with you that you haven't told us about. Now hurry up with the rope so we can get to the ship!"

As soon as the rope is ready, Wrench will start climbing down. (Take 10)

[Velvet Elvis]

Caskin

The cloud of aggressive little bats give chase, nipping at the bear-like creatures until they and the swarm are out of sight. Caskin continues concentrating for another few moments to ensure the creatures have reason to continue to flee for as long as possible, eventually sensing that the swarm has dissipated. The already dulled din of chittering and grey noise of thousands of tiny flapping wings suddenly ceases, leaving only the sound of the rushing water as it tumbles over the ledge.

"Well, that was interesting," Caskin says offhandedly as he scuttles down the wall and hops to the floor on his way to join the rest of the band near the falls.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

With the danger gone, Butch prepares again to leap the creak. With a running start, he vaults across easily.

He called out across the din of the waterfall. "WRENCH! YOU AND MR. CECIL KEEP WORKING ON GETTING TO THE SHIP. WE'LL SECURE THE CAVE."

Turning to Azmirith and Caskin. "Azzy, Mr. Caskin, I need you two to cover me while I take some of these corpses over there. If you've got some suggestions for a quick fire to block the passage that would be good as well. Hopefully, those creatures will be satisfied with the bodies so that a few arrows will be enough to keep them at bay. Mr. Caskin, that ledge to the south looks like a good point for your attacks. Azzy, you and I will take up a position at the other tunnel exit directly across from that cave. If the creatures decide to come out, we'll convince them that the corpses are plenty tasty."

Spoiler

Show

Take 10 to jump across river
Take bodies to N13
If available build fire at N12
Azmirith and Butch stationed at N2 and O2
Caskin stationed at T7

[Velvet Elvis]

Caskin

Caskin turns to look where Butch has decided was a good spot for him to lurk. "M'yeah, I suppose that's as good a spot as any. Can I borrow that sunrod you lit up earlier?"

Accepting the glowing stick from Butch, Caskin heads toward the ledge, but not in a straight line. Instead, he makes his way back almost to the same spot he was in earlier, taking a moment to peek down the corridor where the bear-things had disappeared. Seeing and hearing no sign of them, he continues along the wall and eventually scales it to achieve a vantage point allowing him to look into the passage that opens onto the ledge he's expected to man.

Seeing nothing untoward with his naked eye, the sunrod is flung across the ledge mouth and into the dimness beyond. He didn't mind being set out all by himself, but he wasn't about to do it with his back to an entirely unexplored passage.

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

With Butch occupied with other things, Wrench will take up the task of knotting the rope together, then tying it to the piton, and letting it dangle over the cliff.

As soon as he's finished, he calls out "Ready over here."

{OOC: Taking 10 on use rope checks to tie firm knots.

With a rope and a wall to brace against, the DC to climb is 5. easily accomplished by anyone who is conscious.}

[Bigmac]

Butch begins his grisly work of moving the corpses that are about under the watchful eye of Azmirith and Caskin. The bodies are noticably harder to move than bails of hay or any other farm debris that might have been moved by Butch in the past. While he is working with the reamins that are lying around, Wrench finishes up the rope and tosses it over the ledge. It unrolls as it begins its decent into the darkness of the chasm below.

Wrench grabs hold of the rope and swings his legs over the edge. HIs hands grip each know tight as his legs search for a knot lower down the rope. As the warforged puts his full weight on the knots, the rope grones as it stretches a bit, but the knots hold and the rope doesn't break. Cecil let's out the sigh of relief that Wrench is unable to do. He waits for the warforged to travel a safe distance down the rope towards the crashed airship before he too begins the climb down into the depts. While there are still some strings of sunlight that manage to sneak past the overgrowth of the chasm above, precious few manage to make it all the way to the bottom where the waterfall pools below the ridge. In addition to the lack of light, the spray from the nearby waterfall manages to land in annoying places for thosw who are climing down as well as making the rope more slick than usual.

Butch finishes moving the corpses next to the mouth of the opening from which the animals attacked. The work has left bloody stains on his cloths and armor an the foul stench of death hangs in the air near him. Seeing that he is finished with his task, Azmirith come out from his vantage point while Caskin remains in his elevated watch.

[Bigmac]

The airship, or what remained of it, was in bad shape. The hull had sustained massive damage as it made its way to the bottom of the chasm with splinters of soarwood strewn all across the deck. The wood creaks and feels as if it is about to give as Wrench shifts his weight from the rope to the wreckage. The sun rays barely mange to grace the walls of the chasm tens of feet above the rock floor. Butch’s sunrod is put to good use when the fighter eventually manages to reach the wreckage along with Azmirith and Caskin. Cecil orders a quick but through search of the wreckage, but advises that it would be best to stick together just in case.

As the group advances further into the remains of the ship, burned and charred bodies lie near the area where a fire elemental was once bound to serve as the ships’ power source. Investigating the area further, they find pools of dried blood but no bodies as well as a few pockets of wood that seems to have been eaten away by some sort of corrosive substance. The floor gives way in a few places as they pick their way through the debris and clutter that inhabits the ship towards the captain’s quarters. The door lists off to the side clinging to a single hinge to avoid falling to the deck.

Inside the captain’s quarters, it looks that someone or something has already come through here and sifted through the already disturbed items in the room. Objects are ripped asunder and shredded mementos litter the room. Furniture is overturned and destroyed, whatever contents it held either removed or thrown aside. Azmirith wades into this chaos, determined to see if he can find something that might have been missed. Butch stays with Azmirith providing him with light while the others begin to remove some of the destroyed contents from the room.

Caskin comments that whatever they were looking for is probably gone, but Cecil decides that they should give Amirith a few more minutes, not knowing what else to do. The decision pays off as the ninja manages to find a well hidden compartment that also happens to be trapped with a contact poison. Using a sheet of paper to grip the release mechanisim he avoids the toxin and opens up a small pocket in the wall. Inside is a plain lockbox.

As he reaches for the lockbox there is a loud crash as a boulder hits the floor near the airship. A moment later, there is a similar sound, this time accompanied by the sounds of wood shattering and debris flying. The ship lurches under the impact. The room tilts to the side as the whole ship rotates. What was clutter before becomes airborne projectiles as unsecured items go flying about. Amirith manages to grab the lockbox as the group begins to exit the captain’s quarters.

More rocks come flying in from the north side of the chasm, hurled by large creatures standing on the rim. Some fly wide of the ship, but others slam in to what is left of it, ripping gaping fractures in the hull. The impact keeps jilting the ship and the party does it’s best to simply survive the onslaught. As the ship continues to tilt, the group manages to jump off to solid ground and begin moving towards safety as a second volley of rocks begins to slam into the ship. Caskin notices a passageway behind the waterfall and the group quickly manages to follow it away from the sounds of the ship being destroyed. It leads them into a damp cavern that lead down into the depths, even below the chasm they were previously exploring.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch (9/16(18) hp)

"Did everyone make it?" Butch asks while shaking off the water. "I think we'll be safe from the rocks in here, but I've still got that feeling that we're about to be jumped by some vicious creature. Probably whatever melted the deck of the ship. Well, lets secure this cave and then we'll assess our situation. We're currently without rope unless someone has a hidden supply. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and those guys up top will cut the rope. But honestly, I think we need to find another way out of here."

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

Wrench looks towards the back of the cave. "This is not good. I still haven't had a chance to recover my infusions.

I'll check the back of the cave."

The warforged moves a bit farther into the cave, checking to see if it came to a stop or extended deeper into the earth.

[MandibleBones]

Cecil (HP 12/20)

Cecil limps slowly toward where Wrench is examining the cave. His falchion is on his back, hanging from only two of the three straps, and his left side looks bruised. The bedroll has fallen from his ragged pack and looks to be lost in the ravine. In his right hand, he holds his short sword as if expecting to be jumped at any moment.

"Status?" he queries to nobody in particular.

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

"Uninjured, but need rest before I can produce more infusions. I've got scrolls and potions to last us, but we should find a secure place where we can make sure we have retrieved the proper item."

[Bigmac]

The cave is damp and the roar of the nearby waterfall makes it difficult to hear the discussions going on. The only light, save the the dim, fading, glow from near the hidden enterance is that given off by Butch's sunrod. It illuminates a small tunnel the extneds out of the cavern area and away from the enterance. There is a pool of water in the south of the area, but it seems to drain off somewhere else. While somewhat defensable, the noise from the falls would be sure to mask the approach of most creatures.

[Velvet Elvis]

Caskin

While trying not to shout, Caskin suggests that everyone move farther into the cave and away from the entrance. No doubt the rush of sound from the falling water masked the quiet addenda that involved everyone being eaten at the same time. Or something to that effect.

Taking his own advice, Caskin follows Wrench's path, fishing out one of his own two sunrods in the process, but leaving it unlit for the time being. He slips it into an open slot next to his wands--a bit tight, but at least there's little chance of losing it. In so doing, he draws a thin blue wand with a silver tip and gives it a shake toward a swath of battered Caskin-flesh. The tip briefly glows blue as the energy transfers to the wounds, sealing them. For the most part.

Caskin smirks, and says, "I guess I'll live," as he returns the wand to its sheath.

Becoming less self-involved, he quips tentatively, "Might as well find out what we've gotten ourselves into before we settle down to tea...." while drawing and preparing his crossbow.

[KCiemir]

Azmirith

Azmirith breaths a sigh of relief, as he sees the entire party made it out with only minor injuries. As the adrenaline rush wares off, he notices he is still hurt from the earlier battles, and he feels a new throbbing pain in his right side, where a piece of the ship hit when he was trying to secure the box.
Ach, its nothing serious. He tells himself.

He follows Caskin's advice, and moves back away from the rushing waterfall: it was difficult to hear with all the noise, and he didn't like not knowing if something was sneaking up on him. As he drew even with Cecil, he bent down, put the lockbox in his pack, and readied his crossbow.

Rising back up, and slinging his pack over his shoulder, he turns to the others.
Speaking rather more loudly than he would have liked to overcome the noise of the waterfall, he says "Well, I think we should secure somewhere along here, and rest. Wrench undoubtedly needs some rest, I know it wouldn't hurt me, and I know everyone is tired after a long day of searching."

He considers further, and looks around "I think we should try not to move too far away from the waterfall, because we won't get lost, we will know if anyone comes our way. Also, we only have two directions to defend against, rather than an indeterminate number if we press on"

He then looks around for the reactions and responses of the others.

[MandibleBones]

Cecil

Cecil nods his agreement with Azmirith and Caskin, shunting aside a quick glance at the lockbox. He smiles, which turns into a grimace as he puts weight on his leg.

"Resting," he says, "is definitely a priority, I think."

[Bigmac]

Those exploring the passage see that it starts out fairly wide, about 8 feet across and about 7ft high, but begins to narrow after a few dozen feet. There is a slight slope downward that increases in angle as the walls get closer together. Eventually the walls close in close enough that it would take a fair amount of effort to squeeze through, although it could still be done. Holding the light into the narrows, Butch can see that the downward tunnel does eventually begin to broaden after the chokepoint, but not too much.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

"Looks like it widens out deeper inside. Maybe another cavern. If it is safe in there, we can use this passage as a choke point to defend against anything trying to get in. We'll need a volunteer to go in and check it out. Someone that can slip back out if there is trouble. Whoever goes in, don't attack anything because the survivors may have holed up in here."

Butch then pulls out another sunrod and chucks the failing rod down the passage to illuminate it.

[Velvet Elvis]

Caskin

Caskin's eyes follow the bounce of the dying sunrod as it clatters through the chokepoint, hoping to see something safely mundane.

[Bigmac]

The opening ahead is barely illuminated by the light of Butch's sunrod. As he tosses another sunrod into the opening, it looks to be a small cubby, no more that 25 feet across. There are some rock formations around the edges of the room and a few stalactites that hang from the ceiling. The shadows dance as the sunrod bounces along the floor to its final stopping point. Caskin thinks he might have saw something moving down there as the sunrod entered the room, but he isn’t sure if it was just the shadows dancing to the new light.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch gestures to either side of the crevice and then takes up a position with his scythe ready above the choke point. With the ambush set, he announces loudly over the din of the waterfall. "I LOOKS CLEAR. BETTER HAVE ONE OF THE WIZARDS CHUCK A FIREBALL IN THERE JUST IN CASE!"

[Fester]

Johann

Still groggy. Still hungry. Still cold.

The gnome heard a small clinking sound, unlike anything he had heard in the past few days. Light was flickering in front of him, but what it was, he couldn't say. Around the light were several figures; bigfolk, most likely. Before he could get a better glance, a second source of light came flying towards him. Johann dove, instinctively, retreating into the shadows and hoping that the interlopers couldn't see as well as he could in such conditions.

A booming voice echoes through the cavern, "I LOOKS CLEAR. BETTER HAVE ONE OF THE WIZARDS CHUCK A FIREBALL IN THERE JUST IN CASE!"

Wizards? Time to roll the dice.

"I'd rather you didn't char me alive, thanks", he called to the interlopers.

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

"BRELISH MILITIA RESCUE TEAM... STEP FORWARD PLEASE AND IDENTIFY YOURSELF." Butch calls down into the hole.

[KCiemir]

Azmirith

Azmirith, no novice when it comes to being double-crossed, raises his crossbow to the hole, and steadies his aim. He calls out "Come out with your hands open, and in the air. We will not hesitate to shoot if you make any aggressive motions!"

He signals the others to raise their respective weapons, whispering to his comrades "A hole like that would be a great place for some dangerous beast to hide. We need to be careful." He then returns his gaze to the hole, prepared to shoot if the thing inside is anything but peaceful.

[Fester]

Johann

It's been long enough. If this isn't a 'sign', then they've just sent me here to die.

Johann sighed, and walked toward the glowing object that was nearest to him. He scooped it up in one hand, and began to walk toward those who had called to him. As he walked, he talked.

"Imagine, if you will, that you are a beggar living in the streets of some large city; Sharn, let's say. It has not been a particularly good day's begging, and you find yourself without food late in the evening. This is not an uncommon problem for a beggar, it is nonetheless unfortunate. As you walk the streets toward whatever hovel you call home, you find yourself thinking, 'I would really like a sandwich right now'."

"This is not an uncommon thought for you to have, but what is not is a plea; you are not offering your soul to the Keeper in exchange for a sandwich, nor are you pleaing to Boldrei to bestow a boon upon you; you are simply expressing a desire to have a sandwich."

The sound of the gnome's footsteps echoes through the cavern as he continues he tale.

"As it happens, a sandwich appears in front of you. You did not create the sandwich, did not tap into some hidden power to summon it from beyond the aether. By the same token, it did not simply fall from a higher place; one moment there was air, the next there was a sandwich hovering in front of you, and the next it was fallen at your feet. What do you do? Do you spit upon the accursed sandwich and continue on your way, or do you thank the Host for their mercy and eat it? This is the problem that currently faces me, and, to a lesser extent, faces you."

By the time the gnome has finished talking, he has approached the group; a warforged, three humans, and someone in a mask. The masked one was probably human, but might be half elf or even something more exotic, but it was hard to tell.

Johann's round face was dirty, but he was smiling nonetheless. The hand that didn't hold the sunrod was buried deep in the pockets of his robe. With a slight bow and a flourish of the sunrod, he speaks again, after having examined those whom he was talking to.

"Johann Creely, at your service."

[Asmodeus]

Wrench

Wrench crouches down to look the gnome in the eye and says "I don't eat sandwiches."

[Citizen Joe]

Butch

Butch eyed the gnome before him suspiciously, not sure what to make of it. "I'm sorry, Mr. Creely, I was expecting half elves. Were there any other survivors? I won't ask what you were doing aboard the airship, but it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. However, anything you can tell us about what brought the ship down or what dangers you have since faced will be very helpful. Oh... how rude of me. I am Butch Grimm, from Shavalant. Mr. Caskin over there is our Finder. This is our mechanic, Wrench. The man in the mask is Mr. Azmirith, hailing from the Far East. And this is our leader, Secil of House Orien."

[Fester]

Johann

The gnome's heart sank. A dragonmarked? Damn them! Still, the smile never left his face.

"As for what shot down the airship, I can't say. What is of more importance is what happened after that; hordes of animals, foaming at the mouth, eating anything that moved. I've been here hiding here since the crash, waiting. But, more important than my life is what people think of me. While I will not divulge exactly what my goals were in boarding the airship, I am most curious as to what you think I was doing there."

Spoiler

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Taking 10 on a sense motive check to tell if the warforged is threatening me or is just stupid