Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 2021

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Jernau35
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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#101 Post by Jernau35 »

Does this look like a good marching order? (front to back)

Baxtaw Bremen
Lug Piers
Osuna Stanz
Clauson Rowine
Crowgar Dorbeck
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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#102 Post by Mister-Kent »

I approve of this!
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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#103 Post by Marullus »

Leaving the soldiers and horses behind, the party settles on the marching order, Bremen and Baxtaw out front. They light a torch and descend the stairway the light illuminating just ahead to the next turn as the stairway circles down into the mountain, and not far enough back to illuminate those in the rear ranks. The pace is painfully slow, allowing Baxtaw and Bremen to be wary of traps at each step.

One flight down, they find an archway that leads to a derelict hallway. The hallway stretches past the lantern light both right and left. A series of heavy stone doors appear on the far wall at regular intervals, plain and unadorned. Several of the doors are pushed partially ajar, dirt spilling through the forced doorjambs. "That'd be the sun fields," explains Dorbeck, "erosion filled in the field beds on the mountainside, which is what those doors show. It must be centuries since the dwarven field-keepers came this way to tend the patches." A quick look down the hallway in each direction with the torch shows nothing of interest here besides dirt and ancient leaves.

You continue further down the stair, next locating an archway on the other side of the stairwell. A simple wooden door once hung here, now broken and hanging to the side in several pieces. The room beyond looks to have been a store room - torn seed sacks (long since eaten by rodents), farming tools like shovels and hoes, and other items of that ilk lie here haphazardly.

The stairwell continues winding downward after that last doorway - after a few turns of the stair, Baxtaw halts the group - his sharp elven eyes spot a cleverly disguised goblin trap-wire, tracing it back to an old dwarven crossbow mounted and concealed to shoot anything coming around the corner. Bremen is able to carefully disarm it and the party continues onward, glad for their wariness.

Not long after they are not so lucky - the tripline and mechanism are more cleverly concealed and missed. It is Stantz who's foot catches it, and the crossbow bolt punctures his greave and embeds in his shin, clearly aimed for a short opponent (-3). He stifles his cursing, but indicates it is a minor wound and he can continue on.

The party takes some extra time to carefully check for any other snares before they begin moving again, relieved to find no others here. The slow crawl downward continues. This time, however, it is Lug who is shot in the leg (-1), forcing the party to pause again.


Date: 7:20pm, 25 July 2021
Light: Bremen's torch (until 8:00pm)
Effects: None
Injuries: Clouson (minor wound), Lug (minor wound), Bremen (minor wound), Stantz (minor wound)


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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#104 Post by Dram »

Baxtaw- It may be best to light another torch for the rear of the party. He then helps Lug tend his wounds.
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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#105 Post by Zhym »

"Hey! That smarts!" says Lug. "Stupid goblins."

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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#106 Post by Jernau35 »

Piers

"Does anybody have a spear or a staff or something we can use to set off these tripwires before we do? asks the cleric. "If not, maybe we could go back and pick up a hoe from all that junk upstairs and use that".
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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#107 Post by Zhym »

"Yeah, I got a staff," guffaws Lug. "It's a big staff!" He makes an exaggerated wink.

"But, uh, not if it's going to get arrows shot at it. Ow."

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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#108 Post by Mister-Kent »

"Big...staff? OH dear," Osuna says with a sigh.

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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#109 Post by Jernau35 »

Piers

"Baxtaw! How much further down do we have to go? Are we all going to be limping by the time we get there? And presumably whatever set these bloody traps will be down there waiting for us." grumbles the young cleric, waspishly.
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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#110 Post by Rusty Tincanne »

How far back to the gardening tools? Is there anything else 10-ft-pole-ish laying around?
Bremen is in agreement that Baxtaw has, so far, offered precious little leadership on his mission but says nothing on the matter. Instead, he turns to Piers. You're right, Brother. A pole would work well. Anyone see anything like that around? Or... Didn't you say Baudh can allow you to see traps, Brother Piers?

He checks on Stantz's condition before going any further.

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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#111 Post by Marullus »

It isn't far to go back to the storage room, where you do expect to find old long-handled tools. 30 mins round trip if you declare the action.

Bremen checks on Stantz, who insists his wounds are minor. He can bear them, if needs be, but doesn't wish to turn away the healer's attentions.

Date: 7:20pm, 25 July 2021
Light: Bremen's torch (until 8:00pm)
Effects: None
Injuries: Clouson (minor wound), Lug (minor wound), Bremen (minor wound), Stantz (minor wound)

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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#112 Post by Rusty Tincanne »

If Rowine and Crogar are willing to accompany him, Bremen will go back up to retrieve something akin to a 10' pole.

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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#113 Post by Jernau35 »

"I can indeed do that" replies Piers. "I was hoping to hold it for a future time, when perhaps we may need to inspect a locked door or chest. I'll go with you back upstairs, along with Rowine and Crowager. If we can't find anything useful up there, I'll cast that spell on our return".
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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#114 Post by Dram »

Baxtaw- I warned you all of the dangers. I told that there were many dangers within. We do not have much farther to travel, but as I said this place was full of goblins last I was here. Baxtaw move to the room where they slayed the goblin king. After they retrieve the 10ft .pole

Jernau35 wrote:Piers

"Baxtaw! How much further down do we have to go? Are we all going to be limping by the time we get there? And presumably whatever set these bloody traps will be down there waiting for us." grumbles the young cleric, waspishly.
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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#115 Post by Marullus »

Baxtaw move to the room where they slayed the goblin king.
I will help here...
Baxtaw remembers going down this stairwell to a goblin barracks, which they snuck through to get to the next stairwell. They then went down about 8-10 stories of winding stairs to get to the bottom, which connected to the great Central hallway of the keep. They then went down-slope in the hallway past the great library, the golden doors from which Scatha emerged, the hospital, the chapel, and then reached the goblin king's hall at the hallway's bottom end.

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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#116 Post by Marullus »

Bremen, Piers, Rowine, and Crowgar ascend back up the stairs, taking the only torch with them. The others spend an uncomfortable 30 minutes in the dark or go along. They return with wooden poles from old long-handled gardening tools. Now equipped to poke the steps ahead of them and search for tripwires, they descend further down the stairs, Bremen and Baxtaw still wary of traps as they lead.

The stair turns another turn, and another, but this time without further traps afflicting the party. You stop when you reach a heavy iron portcullis dropped across the stairwell and blocking your way, the chains and mechanisms hidden behind the stone. "...and probably on the downside, for defenders to safely work it," offers Dorbeck.

You can hear voices -- nasal goblin ones, by the sound -- along with the dragging of chairs, the banging of doors, and the rapid flapping of small feet on stone, all echoing up from somewhere near-enough below you that you can see the faint glow of torchlight instead of pitch blackness.

Bremen's torch is guttering low - you'll need to decide on new light as you proceed as well.

Date: 8:00pm, 25 July 2021
Light: Bremen's torch (until 8:00pm)
Effects: None
Injuries: Clouson (minor wound), Lug (minor wound), Bremen (minor wound), Stantz (minor wound)

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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#117 Post by Zhym »

Lug grins. "Finally, someone I can fight!"

What kind of roll do you need to try to lift the portcullis?

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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#118 Post by Marullus »

[1d6] Open Doors / Lift Gates roll.

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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#119 Post by Jernau35 »

Piers

"Those do sound like goblins" offers Piers. "I picked up some of their tongue from an old dwarven cook in the caravan on the way to Gaul. I mean, I speak their language, not that he gave me pieces of their bodies. Although that would have explained the quality of his cooking..." He trails off for a moment.

"Anyway, if we want to try and bribe them or something... what do you think?"
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Re: Expedition: Baxtaw - Seeking Scatha's Lair - 23 July 202

#120 Post by Zhym »

"I got lots of arrows I can give them," offers Lug. "And Reason."

He tries to lift the portcullis.

Open door: [1d6] = 3 (Str: +2)

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