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Nathros calls up, "Looks like our two missing men fell prey to the evil of necromancy. We have ended their undeath for now, but we best haul the corpses up in order to get them blessed and put to rest by a priest. As was suspected, there is more to this than two unfortunate workers, there is dark magic here."
Nathros examines the bodies in order to determine if they can be safely and relatively wholly hauled up with ropes.
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Talsarios' words don't gain him any additional recruits, but those that assembled grab up their ropes, tackle, tools, and the like and begin running behind the scholar to the cave mouth. Others do come out of their tents to watch the goings-on.
Mycah slumps against the wall a few feet behind the shaft and holds his hand to his neck hoping to slow the bleeding. {DM action}
Ashala's efforts at first aid seems to relax the young scout, but she knows as she finishes applying it that she hasn't really stopped the bleeding or effectively dressed the wound.
Nathros' inspection of the bodies shows that they are reasonably whole and could be hoisted out like any other corpse. They each have on their belt a pouch of flint & steel and a small knife.
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Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Still holding onto the rope, Brandon tells the workers, "Bad news, fellows. We think we may have found some of your missing men."
"We'll be pulling up the bodies, but we need to descend as a whole party, which means we want some kind of rope hooked very securely up here so we can climb back up when we need to."
"We'd be very obliged if you would help us do that. You have the experience needed, and we don't."
Nathros secures the bodies for hauling up and suggests Ashala keep an eye out for any more of their kind nearby. "Better get some more of our companions down here, as well."
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Mycah tries to lie still, and let Ashala tend to his wound. He keeps his eyes on hers, and tries to assure her as well as he can. Squeezing her hand with his own, he smiles weakly. "Thank you - not dead yet. That was not so fun though..."
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RC D&D: Old Ways OOC/IC/My PC My Blogs:Kingdoms in Trevail, for my RC D&D ramblings + other "old-school goodness" and RetroCyberpunk where I work on a Shadowrun retro-clone
Ash looks relieved to see Mycah surviving, despite her failure to bind his wound well enough. "Perhaps Alanna can help you better. A wound like this could put you out for the day to recover, but I've never seen the healing magics at work before. Or magic at all, for that matter. With any luck, you'll be back in the fray in only a few minutes." She smiles back at him sympathetically.
Hearing Nathros' suggestion, Ash squeezes Mycah's hand back with assurance. Then her expression becomes more resolute again as she re-dons her armor and weaponry. She'll stay alert and watchful for more threats with a protective and defensive stance toward the rest of the cave.
"Hey, guys?" Alanna calls down the hole. "Some new guys got here, and I think we're gonna be coming down... Hang in there, all right?"
Turning to Brandon and Talsarios, she asks, "Should I go down ahead and use my healing magic?"
The workers take Brandon's direction and quickly pound in some pitons and tie off both the ropes. They also setup a single block and tackle to hoist up the dead.
Ash can see most of the room, but the far end, opposite where Mycah sits, is still dark and unexplored. The sound of workmen above and rustling bats is all than can be heard.
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Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Ash borrows Mycah's torch or finds the other one that was dropped down before and relights it.
She'll put her shield over her back so that she can investigate the remaining darkness with her sword in her right hand and the torch in her left.
She'll proceed very cautiously, uninterested in provoking anything that hasn't already been provoked by them.
Spoiler
AC becomes 2. HP remains 11/11.
Alertness DC13:(1d20)[20] for anything that remains a threat down here in the immediate vicinity... or anything else of interest.
Alanna watches as Brandon lowers himself down into the hole. She calls out after she thinks a reasonable amount of time has passed for him to have reached the bottom. She repeats this procedure as many times as necessary until he has finished climbing. When he's at the bottom of the pit and no longer using the rope, she says, "If nobody says not to, I'm going down to tend to Mycah. If he needs it."
Nathros oversees the extraction of the corpses. "Not the fate I would hope for my corporeal remains. Makes you wonder about their spirits."
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
With no immediate danger, Mycah sits, back to the wall and waits for Alanna to arrive. He continues to keep one hand pressed to the wound in his neck as Ash showed him...
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Player:
RC D&D: Old Ways OOC/IC/My PC My Blogs:Kingdoms in Trevail, for my RC D&D ramblings + other "old-school goodness" and RetroCyberpunk where I work on a Shadowrun retro-clone
"Go on, Alanna, I'll follow in a moment."
Talsarios instructs the workers at the top of the rope to keep a light burning here: "So we can find out way back in a hurry."
Then, asking for a little advice on climbing with ropes, he descends.
Ashala relights Brandon's torch from Mycah's and begins to move forward, slowly into the cavern. The bats rustle uncomfortably overhead but keep to themselves. The cavern comes to an end ahead at stone block wall. Tunnels lead off to the right (north) and left (south). The tunnels are smaller and more rough hewn, and they proceed only a few feet before veering off, blocking any further view down the tunnel from the entrance.
Brandon reaches the bottom and scans the scene. With two torches going and Ashala almost to the far end of the room, it was pretty well illuminated, at least for torchlight. Dark as a cellar without them he'd bet, though.
Alanna arrives to find Mycah sitting against a wall, his torch propped next to him against the wall. He sits in a dry spot against the nearest wall, holding a hand to his neck, blood soaking through the bandage. He looks pale.
The workers begin to explain the basics of climbing to Talsarios, but stop as they finish setting up their hoisting contraption. They tell him to just hold on tight to a certain part of the rope, and they lower him down with instructions to tie up the bodies one at a time and they'll haul them each up.
It takes little time and effort to send the bodies up. Above, several lights are lit to ward off the darkness and the workers drag the bodies out into the sunlight.
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Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Before the bodies are sent up, Alanna asks the group to wait just one minute. She kneels next to them, and wipes away a tear at the thought of what they went through. They're in a bettter place now... I bet they're glad that their bodies aren't being defiled anymore... She says a quick prayer to the gods, and asks them to bless the souls of the miners and sanctify their bodies against any further desecration.
As the bodies are lifted to the surface, Alanna steps forward and stoops down so she and Mycah are at the same eye-level. Well, this doesn't look too good... she thinks.
"Mycah, I'm going to cast a healing spell now," she tells him. "It'll erase some damage, but probably not all. Don't worry, it won't hurt a bit." She then begins to mumble the words and perform the delicate hand gestures of the healing spell.
Spoiler
I've cast Cure Light Wounds on Mycah, so that uses up my spell for the day. The Basic Set says that CLW heals 2 hit points of damage, and Mycah's at 1/3, so...
Nathros takes up his position in the marching order and waits to see what his companions want to do. "Seems there is adventure ahead."
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
The Thyatian scholar dusts himself off as he reaches the bottom, and peers about in the gloom.
"Well, as far as I recall from the hints and obsfucated comments in the schooling my magical master gave me on this most vile subject," Talsarios says as the dead are borne away, "zombies and skeletons are made by a deliberate act of evil magic. If that's right, there will be some agent here creating undead minions. We must be careful."
Ash gestures the torch at the tunnels near her, "Looks like there's a few choices we'll have to make before we can deal with them. There could likely be traps, but I'll fair better on the receiving end than some. It's best I go among the first, so long as a deep pit of water does not await me, that is... And we should take at least one rope with us in case we come to another obstacle or someone needs rescuing."
I'll have their head skewered with arrows for this act of evil.
Alanna makes careful holy gestures before gently touching the wounded scout. Mycah's wound closes up instantly and a feeling of wholeness comes over him.
As others approach Ash's position near the far end of the cavern, they see what she does, an end to this room and narrower paths, right and left.
__________________
Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
As Mycah's wounds heal themselves, Alanna feels a rush of magic leave her body. Watching carefully, she is pleasantly surprised at how effective her magic was. Maybe I got lucky? she thinks.
"How are you feeling?" she asks Mycah as she stretches out her hand to help him to his feet.
"Well, left or right; when in doubt, right is as good as right," Nathros jokes.
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Mycah sits quietly under Alanna's divine ministrations. As the spell takes effect, he shudders slightly, eyes widening in shock as a chilling wave rushes through his body, as if he'd been dunked in ice cold water. That odd feeling is followed by a warming glow, which spreads from the site of his wound and washes away the cold. He relaxes visibly and looks at the young cleric with wonder and gratitude as he lets her help him to his feet.
"It seems I am in your debt, Alanna, thank you. That was a new experience to say the least." He shakes his head in amazement. "Best get back withe the others now, eh? I can't believe I'm good as new..."
Mycah will gather up his gear from the floor: dagger back in his belt, staff and torch in hand, then join the others. "Right is fine with me," he says. "Sorry about the scare, and thank you both for saving me," he adds, directing the words to Ashala and Nathros.
__________________
Player:
RC D&D: Old Ways OOC/IC/My PC My Blogs:Kingdoms in Trevail, for my RC D&D ramblings + other "old-school goodness" and RetroCyberpunk where I work on a Shadowrun retro-clone
"Wizards can certainly do so, if they feel the urge... As for priests - I don't know if there are dark unholy rituals by which it might be done, but I dare say some unspeakable Immortal might drive their followers to make the attempt."
Talsarios looks quite disturbed and disgusted by Brandon's question - trying to put himself in the position of one who would animate the dead is not a pleasing thought, apparently.
He shakes his head, as though to cast out the nasty thought. "Let us go right. It is, after all, less sinister," he suggests with a weak smile.
Ash glances back halfway to reply to Mycah, "Don't mention it." She starts to turn forward again, then gives a delayed nod before turning the rest of the way back toward the tunnels.
"Right it is." She'll pass off her torch to whoever next will take it, then proceed by leading the way with either Nathros or Brandon nearest her down the right (North) tunnel.
Alanna hops up, dusts herself off, and helps Mycah up. Mace in hand, she takes her position at the back of the group, ready to go whichever way everybody else is going.
Nathros chortles at Talsarios' continuation of his pun, then he turns to the newly healed thief. "Glad to help keep you amongst the breathing, Mycah, I would hate for the taverns and other entertainment establishments of Threshold to be deprived of your coin," he says with a wink.
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
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