I. Tree Cave

[Rusty Tincanne]

AdaRue rolls her eyes and smiles at Tippin's joking. Some good humor is just what we'll be needing, I suspect. But let's look to the tracks first. She moves to the different paths, looking for the tracks from above. Tracks that look like a child made them.

[Bluehorse]

Mila

Giggles softly at Tippin. But avoids Cannon's gaze. Her eyes keep scanning the shadows, holding her lantern high as she does.

[dmw71]

Junius cautions the group before they enter of the possibility of pits, and tricks hiding in shadows, and bats. The mention of the winged mammals seems to excite Tippin, who mockingly refers to himself as the 'Bat Hobbit!'

"You're bat-shit crazy is what you are," Watts says, urging the group to keep moving."Shall we continue following the footprints?" asks Keebler, pointedly ignoring the hobbit's antics. AdaRue concurs with getting a closer look at the tricks, and Mila follows closely behind the cleric, holding her lantern high. Rainey shrugs, following along, but mutters something about looking out for a private cave, instead of one that's occupied.

Tom nods and weaves his way through the various stalagmites posing as obstacles along his path towards the larger opening with the footprints. The stalagmites vary in size, with some climbing nearly the height of the halfling, and others barely reaching his knee.

While the intermittent dripping sound is heard coming from behind the party now, as they head away from it, the floor of the cavern grows wet in spots, and rock becomes dirt, and dirt becomes mud.

The prints at the base of the larger opening reveal heavy traffic. Much of it older, but some appear more recently. Many of the tracks have been walked over and distorted, but Watts spies a newer grouping of small tracks which appear to have been made my smaller rodents?

Multiple Small Tracks.jpg (85.96 KiB) Viewed 377 times

Tom reaches the wide exit first and notices that it extends into another passage... which quickly narrows. The 10-foot wide exit, after maybe 10-feet, constricts into a tunnel that is barely 5-feet wide, and, after approximately 20-feet, appears to branch left and right into a Y.

Cave Passage Y.jpg (121.68 KiB) Viewed 377 times

---

Actions?


---

Date: 20 Februarius, Year 7102
Time: 13:42 (Sunrise: 06:45, Sunset: 17:43)
Temp: 44F (53F topside)
Conditions:

• Cool
  Damp

Light Sources:

• Unknown
  Tom's Torch (AdaRue) (Extinguished: 14:26)
  Mila's Lantern (Mila) (Extinguished: 21 Februarius @ 13:30)
  Fire Beetle Gland (Tom: Sack) (Extinguished: 26 Februarius @ 18:37)
  Fire Beetle Gland (Watts: Sack) (Extinguished: 22 Februarius @ 13:22)
  Fire Beetle Gland (AdaRue: Backpack) (Extinguished: 23 Februarius @ 6:56)

Known Spells in Effect:

• None

Character Status

• Mila | MU: 1 | Mv: 120/40 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 9 | HP: 4 | Armor: Unarmored | Weapons: Dagger | Spells: 1st: 1
  Keebler| : Elf: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 7/6 | HP: 6 | Armor: Std Leather, Shield | Weapons: Longsword, Shortbow (20)
  Tippin | Halfling: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 7/6/5 | HP: 4 | Armor: Std Leather, Shield, Dex -1 | Weapons: Short sword, Shortbow (20)
  Junius | Dwarf: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 8/7/6 | HP: 10-8 = 2+4 = 6 | Armor: Leather, Shield, Dex -1 | Weapons: Scimitar, Sling
  AdaRue | Cleric: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 7 | HP: 5 | Armor: Std Leather | Weapons: Staff | Spells: 1st: 1, 0
  Tom | Halfling: 1 | Mv: 60/20 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 5/4/3 | HP: 5-4 = 1+3 = 4 | Armor: Chain, Shield, Dex -1 | Weapons: Handaxe, Shortbow, Dagger
  Canun | Cleric: 1 | Mv: 60/20 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 4/3 | HP: 4 | Armor: Banded, Shield | Weapons: Mace, Sling | Spells: 1st: 1, 0
  Watts | Thief: 1 | Mv: 90" | THAC0: 19 | AC: 8/6 | HP: 5 | Armor: Leather, Dex -2 | Weapons: Longsword, Longbow (20)
  Rainey | MU: 1 | Mv: 90" | THAC0: 19 | AC: 10 | HP: 3 | Armor: Unarmored | Weapons: Dagger | Spells: 1st 1

Marching Orders

• Scout:
  • Keebler
  5-foot:
  • Tom
    Junius
    Tippin
    Keebler
    AdaRue
    Mila
    Rainey
    Watts
    Canun
  10-foot:
  • Tom & Junius
    Tippin & Keebler
    AdaRue & Mila
    Rainey
    Watts & Canun

Rolls

• None

[AleBelly]

"Well, not anything" replies Canun as he turns to face his marching partner. "I doubt we'll find a comfortable bed and a warm supper."

"How about a hot bath with some oils for his lordship?" Watts comments as he moves past the cleric not waiting for a response.

"Bats?" repeats Tippin. "Cool! We could make this our hideout and fight bad guys!" He stands up straight, swirls his cloak, and puts on an expression of mock seriousness. "I am—The Bat Hobbit!"

"You're bat-shit crazy is what you are," Watts continues his tirade moving towards the larger opening. "We need to keep moving."

Canun gasps at Watt's vulgarity. He pulls a piece of parchment from his pack and scribbles something down. Then he follows the group.

[Rusty Tincanne]

AdaRue frowns in disappointment at not finding signs of the footprints again. We didn't see any sign of a fight with that beetle-thing, so we must have lost the tracks. Should we head back and see if there are any turns? Or... She trails off, unsure of what to make of this. Instead, she looks to one of the smaller passages leading outwards, approaching carefully.

[ybn1197]

Watts takes note of the newer smaller grouping. "The most recent set of tracks heads into the larger tunnel. I think it best to follow them. I'm not so concerned about older tracks as the makers may not longer be here. But these fresh tracks concern me."

[Alethan]

Tom Cobley

Tom nods.

"Better to have the maker of these recent tracks in front of us than behind us."

He leads the way into the largest tunnel entrance with the fresh tracks...

[Zhym]

Keebler nods in agreement and follows Tom.

[Zhym]

Tippin also follows, bow at the ready.

[drpete]

Rainey nods, and follows along. "Does anyone have experience with rabies...? Rats are major disease carriers..."

[dmw71]

AdaRue, frustrated at not being able to locate the footprints they discovered outside, wanders off to get a closer look at one of the smaller passages leading outwards, approaching carefully, and not daring to stray off too far from the rest of the group on her own. As she ventures further north into the entry chamber, in the direction of the two smaller exits, the light from the torch she's carrying reveals small droppings scattered in groupings on the hard, stone floor. Almost immediately after this visual discovery, she is hit by a pungent smell, and hears a scurrying sound coming from the nearest of the two smaller passages.

---

"The most recent set of tracks heads into the larger tunnel," Watts observes. "I think it best to follow them," he adds. "I'm not so concerned about older tracks as the makers may not longer be here, but these fresh tracks concern me."

"Better to have the maker of these recent tracks in front of us than behind us." Tom agrees, leading the way into the largest tunnel entrance. The rest of the group, in order, follow the halfling.

AdaRue, spying the rest of the group begin to disappear into the largest exit, hurries back to rejoin the others, falling into her rank in the order, just in front of Mila.

Sharing her findings, which were almost certainly signs of rats, Rainey nods. "Does anyone have experience with rabies...? Rats are major disease carriers..." he shares.

---

Tom enters the 10-foot wide entrance first, and almost immediately sees that it narrows, so he indicates that the group should enter single-file instead of side-by-side. After maybe a dozen (or two dozen halfling) paces, sure enough, the narrowing process begins and it doesn't take long before what was once a comfortable opening constricts into a sturdy stone tunnel that is barely 5-feet wide. At least it seems to hold at that width... for now.

The light from Tom's torch, still carried by AdaRue behind him, shines out about 20-feet in front of the halfling, and he quickly finds himself staring at a 'Y' split in their current tunnel at the edge of this light.

The first branch angles off sharply to the right; the other, a foot deeper into the current passage, branches off narrowly to the left.

Cave Passage Y.jpg (121.68 KiB) Viewed 351 times

Peering down each, the halfling can only see that they appear to wind in their respective directions as far as their light can shine. No sights, sounds, or smells emanate from either.


---

Actions?


---

Date: 20 Februarius, Year 7102
Time: 13:43 (Sunrise: 06:45, Sunset: 17:43)
Temp: 44F (53F topside)
Conditions:

• Cool
  Damp

Light Sources:

• Unknown
  Tom's Torch (AdaRue) (Extinguished: 14:26)
  Mila's Lantern (Mila) (Extinguished: 21 Februarius @ 13:30)
  Fire Beetle Gland (Tom: Sack) (Extinguished: 26 Februarius @ 18:37)
  Fire Beetle Gland (Watts: Sack) (Extinguished: 22 Februarius @ 13:22)
  Fire Beetle Gland (AdaRue: Backpack) (Extinguished: 23 Februarius @ 6:56)

Known Spells in Effect:

• None

Character Status

• Mila | MU: 1 | Mv: 120/40 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 9 | HP: 4 | Armor: Unarmored | Weapons: Dagger | Spells: 1st: 1
  Keebler| : Elf: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 7/6 | HP: 6 | Armor: Std Leather, Shield | Weapons: Longsword, Shortbow (20)
  Tippin | Halfling: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 7/6/5 | HP: 4 | Armor: Std Leather, Shield, Dex -1 | Weapons: Short sword, Shortbow (20)
  Junius | Dwarf: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 8/7/6 | HP: 10-8 = 2+4 = 6 | Armor: Leather, Shield, Dex -1 | Weapons: Scimitar, Sling
  AdaRue | Cleric: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 7 | HP: 5 | Armor: Std Leather | Weapons: Staff | Spells: 1st: 1, 0
  Tom | Halfling: 1 | Mv: 60/20 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 5/4/3 | HP: 5-4 = 1+3 = 4 | Armor: Chain, Shield, Dex -1 | Weapons: Handaxe, Shortbow, Dagger
  Canun | Cleric: 1 | Mv: 60/20 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 4/3 | HP: 4 | Armor: Banded, Shield | Weapons: Mace, Sling | Spells: 1st: 1, 0
  Watts | Thief: 1 | Mv: 90" | THAC0: 19 | AC: 8/6 | HP: 5 | Armor: Leather, Dex -2 | Weapons: Longsword, Longbow (20)
  Rainey | MU: 1 | Mv: 90" | THAC0: 19 | AC: 10 | HP: 3 | Armor: Unarmored | Weapons: Dagger | Spells: 1st 1

Marching Orders

• Scout:
  • Keebler
  5-foot:
  • Tom
    Junius
    Tippin
    Keebler
    AdaRue
    Mila
    Rainey
    Watts
    Canun
  10-foot:
  • Tom & Junius
    Tippin & Keebler
    AdaRue & Mila
    Rainey
    Watts & Canun

Rolls

• None

[Alethan]

Tom Cobley

Tom sticks to the left tunnel.

[onlyme]

Junius follows.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Still sweating from what she can only assume was a close call, AdaRue sticks with the others now, veering to the left. I was so nervous! she tells anyone that will listen.

[ybn1197]

Are we able to see any tracks and which tunnel they proceed towards?

[dmw71]

Are we able to see any tracks and which tunnel they proceed towards?

There are no discernable tracks at the junction.

I will move the group to the left later today.

[Bluehorse]

Mila

Keeping quiet and watchful, she follows AdaRue and turns around to Rainey seeming leary of all directions as they continue into the dark. She pauses briefly at the junction straining her ears and holding her lantern high to see if there is anything in range of its light before proceeding.

[dmw71]

Tom continues left. The tunnel quickly bends left, then, after maybe 10-feet, waves back right. The halfling, moving deliberately so as to exercise caution and minimize the noise the chains in his armor makes, slows to a stop shortly after this wave back right.

Just ahead, the passage dips and leaves the floor covered in water. The depth of this pooled floor varies from spot-to-spot, ranging from a few inches to over a foot.

Slightly ahead of your current position, a new branch forms leading off to the right.

Cave Side Passage.jpg (285.31 KiB) Viewed 323 times

Otherwise, the passage continues straight ahead; bending slightly back to the left.

Cave Continues.jpg (313.49 KiB) Viewed 323 times

As before, the cave is eerily quiet.

---

Actions?


---

Date: 20 Februarius, Year 7102
Time: 13:45 (Sunrise: 06:45, Sunset: 17:43)
Temp: 44F (53F topside)
Conditions:

• Cool
  Damp

Light Sources:

• Unknown
  Tom's Torch (AdaRue) (Extinguished: 14:26)
  Mila's Lantern (Mila) (Extinguished: 21 Februarius @ 13:30)
  Fire Beetle Gland (Tom: Sack) (Extinguished: 26 Februarius @ 18:37)
  Fire Beetle Gland (Watts: Sack) (Extinguished: 22 Februarius @ 13:22)
  Fire Beetle Gland (AdaRue: Backpack) (Extinguished: 23 Februarius @ 6:56)

Known Spells in Effect:

• None

Character Status

• Mila | MU: 1 | Mv: 120/40 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 9 | HP: 4 | Armor: Unarmored | Weapons: Dagger | Spells: 1st: 1
  Keebler| : Elf: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 7/6 | HP: 6 | Armor: Std Leather, Shield | Weapons: Longsword, Shortbow (20)
  Tippin | Halfling: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 7/6/5 | HP: 4 | Armor: Std Leather, Shield, Dex -1 | Weapons: Short sword, Shortbow (20)
  Junius | Dwarf: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 8/7/6 | HP: 10-8 = 2+4 = 6 | Armor: Leather, Shield, Dex -1 | Weapons: Scimitar, Sling
  AdaRue | Cleric: 1 | Mv: 90/30 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 7 | HP: 5 | Armor: Std Leather | Weapons: Staff | Spells: 1st: 1, 0
  Tom | Halfling: 1 | Mv: 60/20 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 5/4/3 | HP: 5-4 = 1+3 = 4 | Armor: Chain, Shield, Dex -1 | Weapons: Handaxe, Shortbow, Dagger
  Canun | Cleric: 1 | Mv: 60/20 | THAC0: 19 | AC: 4/3 | HP: 4 | Armor: Banded, Shield | Weapons: Mace, Sling | Spells: 1st: 1, 0
  Watts | Thief: 1 | Mv: 90" | THAC0: 19 | AC: 8/6 | HP: 5 | Armor: Leather, Dex -2 | Weapons: Longsword, Longbow (20)
  Rainey | MU: 1 | Mv: 90" | THAC0: 19 | AC: 10 | HP: 3 | Armor: Unarmored | Weapons: Dagger | Spells: 1st 1

Marching Orders

• Scout:
  • Keebler
  5-foot:
  • Tom
    Junius
    Tippin
    Keebler
    AdaRue
    Mila
    Rainey
    Watts
    Canun
  10-foot:
  • Tom & Junius
    Tippin & Keebler
    AdaRue & Mila
    Rainey
    Watts & Canun

Rolls

• None

[ybn1197]

The passage to the right, is the floor flooded with water or are there dry places to walk?

[Zhym]

"Oh, now, this is no good at all," says Tippin, dweller in hobbit-holes. "They've got a serious water infiltration problem! You can get mold that way if you don't fix it, you know!"