Carouge nods in agreement to Coat of Nine-Hides suggestion and follows her lead.
Évariste says to Brother Huxley "She means that we should block the hole from where the rats came from." To Carouge he blows a kiss and whispers "Be careful dear." He then swiftly walks to the rat hole (B) and tries to block it as fast as possible while at the same time being silent and vigilant.
Part One: The End of the Road
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Carouge and Coat of Nine-Hides with Boo close behind proceed carefully down the passageway scouting for dangers and checking the stability of the debris-covered floor. About 40' in, they discover a drop-off --a pit of some sort-- hidden by the bedding of sticks and leaves. How long or deep they do not know, but they do see that it is about 8' wide with a 1-foot ledge on either side. Carouge and Coat of Nine-Hides, both experienced trackers, notice the bedding/debris on the ledges appears to be trod upon. These ledges are likely how the diminutive humanoids bypass the pit.
(Unless someone is helping Evariste)Tun, Dumphey, Gebhart, and Huxley watch from the entrance (A) as the gnome, the bounty hunter, and the beastmaster scout the passageway...
Evariste begins the task of blocking the rat hole. He quickly realizes it will take much time and effort to block the 3' diameter tunnel well enough to prevent giant rats from burrowing out.
The sky darkens and the chill wind strengthens and buffets the heroes still outside the passageway. The flurry of snow threatens to become a full-on blizzard.
(Unless someone is helping Evariste)Tun, Dumphey, Gebhart, and Huxley watch from the entrance (A) as the gnome, the bounty hunter, and the beastmaster scout the passageway...
Evariste begins the task of blocking the rat hole. He quickly realizes it will take much time and effort to block the 3' diameter tunnel well enough to prevent giant rats from burrowing out.
The sky darkens and the chill wind strengthens and buffets the heroes still outside the passageway. The flurry of snow threatens to become a full-on blizzard.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Brother Dumphey eagerly joins Évariste by collecting rocks, although he keeps forgetting the purpose of the endeavor and collecting interesting-looking pebbles to show off to Tun.
Coat of Nine-Hides gestures to the others that she is going to cross the ledge along the pit.
Coat of Nine-Hides gestures to the others that she is going to cross the ledge along the pit.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Tun oohs and ahhs at his companion's rock discoveries as he resumes with blocking the entrance to the rat burrow.
Boo suspiciously eyes the area beyond the pit, wondering if there are ambush sites beyond to take advantage of any who fall into the pit...or of any who are carefully edging along the ledge. That's what I'd do. He also casts a critical eye on the ledges bordering the pit to gauge if Tun would have difficulty navigating it safely.
Boo suspiciously eyes the area beyond the pit, wondering if there are ambush sites beyond to take advantage of any who fall into the pit...or of any who are carefully edging along the ledge. That's what I'd do. He also casts a critical eye on the ledges bordering the pit to gauge if Tun would have difficulty navigating it safely.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Coat of Nine-Hides carefully traverses the ledge --traveling 10'-- and safely crosses the pit. The pit is 8'x10', depth unknown.
Boo watches Coat of Nine-Hides use the narrow ledge to cross the pit and judges that Tun could do the same if he were very careful.
Evariste, assisted by Dumphey and Tun. finally shove enough rocks into the hole to adequately block any rats from coming and going. Even working as a team it takes nearly 20 minutes to finish the task.
Boo watches Coat of Nine-Hides use the narrow ledge to cross the pit and judges that Tun could do the same if he were very careful.
Evariste, assisted by Dumphey and Tun. finally shove enough rocks into the hole to adequately block any rats from coming and going. Even working as a team it takes nearly 20 minutes to finish the task.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Évariste wipes his brow from sweat with the back of his hand. "Well done friends. Hopefully we won't have to tunnel through from the inside." He jogs back up the ramp to the pit. "How does it look? Should we take this path or go through the secret door? One could assume that this path has more traps and maybe even an ambush from those who left all these tracks. We should decide before the blizzard hits full force."
Carouge follows Coat of Nine-Hides across the ledge and then tries to discern the the outlay of the corridor between the pit and the torchlight in the distance. She whispers "Near impossible to track on these grounds. Could be an ambush ahead, could be those lurkers know where Nigh is. When there's no tracks, one have to search for other sources, like words given by captives." There's an hint of a smile.
Carouge follows Coat of Nine-Hides across the ledge and then tries to discern the the outlay of the corridor between the pit and the torchlight in the distance. She whispers "Near impossible to track on these grounds. Could be an ambush ahead, could be those lurkers know where Nigh is. When there's no tracks, one have to search for other sources, like words given by captives." There's an hint of a smile.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Coat of Nine-Hides nods in silent assent to Carouge, and waves Boo over. She looks around the area for anything that a rope could be secured on—if the whole party needs to cross this way, a guideline would make crossing the pit much easier on the others. If she finds anything, however, she doesn't tie the rope, yet. She wants to inspect the source of the light, first.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Tun, done with the rock play, goes into the main entrance to see where Boo has gone. Though Tun seems eager to cross, Boo motions for him to wait patiently for now. The gnome carefully crosses the ledge to join the vanguard in investigating the light. He carefully checks for traps, murder holes, and such.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Brother Huxley looks at the vanguard and wonders aloud, "Why do we not go as a group? Torm will protect us in our endeavor to end Nigh's evil."
Gebhart simply glares at Huxley, waiting patiently to know the way is clear before following.
Gebhart simply glares at Huxley, waiting patiently to know the way is clear before following.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Carouge, Coat of Nine-Hides, and Boo are across the pit and carefully pressing forward. The bedding of twigs and leaves thins out to nearly nothing some distance beyond the pit revealing the stone floor beneath. Carouge tries to discern the the outlay of the corridor between the pit and the torchlight in the distance. The passageway is 10’ wide, the ceiling is 20’ high. It is approximately 60’ from the pit to the end of the corridor which seems to open into a natural chamber or cavern. The trio are still too far away to get details other than the flickering glow of torchlight. As they inch forward they begin to hear voices coming from the cave ahead. Odd, inhuman voices. Boo recognizes the language… Kobold.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Boo raises a hand for silence. He will beckon them closer and quietly whisper kobolds ahead directly in his companions' ears only once they lean over far enough for him to do so. He will not speak out in the air, afraid of how it might carry. A quick glare is cast over his shoulder at the nincompoop speaking back behind them. His eyes squint as he looks anew at their surroundings. There is never just one trap when it comes to kobolds.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Coat of Nine-Hides follows Boo's searching eyes, and joins him in appraising the area for additional traps. If everything looks clear, she'll gesture for the others to hang back, and she will attempt to sneak forward and get a better look of what is going on in the cavern.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Bother Dumphey, while waiting for the others to tell him what to do next, engages Brother Huxley in a bit of theology. "What's Torm do?"
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Forgetting himself for the moment, Brother Huxley places the head of his mace on the ground and leans against it like it was a walking cane. "Torm is the great protector. He watches over all of us and protects us with his might and bravery. While you carry the belief of Torm in your heart, you have nothing to fear for you know that Torm watches over you. He is also a force of judgement. He culls the guilty like the chafe from the wheat.
"What of you Brother Dumphey, whom do you give praise to?"
"What of you Brother Dumphey, whom do you give praise to?"
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Bother Dumphey: "Oh! I serve Quases, The Angry Bridegroom of Wisdom! His temple is really fancy. There are candlesticks that are made of gold. And the bishop wears a really tall hat. And there are pearls on it."
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Coat of Nine-Hides creeps closer to the cave entrance. Carouge and Boo are close behind. Coat of Nine-Hides can only get so close without revealing herself to whoever/whatever is in the cavern. There appears to be two torches in wall sconces, one on either side of the doorway. From her position in the hallway, Coat of Nine-Hides can not see the torches, but she can see their flickering light, hear their crackling flames, and see their sputtering smoke. Some distance beyond the door is a ledge and a stone bridge that stretches off into darkness. It is shadowy and smokey in the cavern and Coat of Nine-Hides can not make out much details. She hears the humanoids talking, but she can not see them from her position. The three that are talking are to the right (east) of the door. From careful listening, she believes there might be one or more to the left (west) of the door as well.
Boo listens to the Kobold conversation:
Boo listens to the Kobold conversation:
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Boo pantomimes that someone is coming now! He looks for enough room on either side of the doorway that they could hide and grab and silence the little saurian from behind as soon as it comes through the doorway into the hall.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Coat of None-Hides, following Boo's example, does her best to hide in shadows, ready to ambush.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Boo gives one dramatic slashing gesture of his arm back toward the entrance. Tun recognizes this from their times of hiding from angry mobs in the forest and immediately is silent and crouching down, unsure where the danger is but knowing quiet and hidden are the first orders for safety.
Re: Part One: The End of the Road
Brother Dumphey watches Tun crouch out of sight without a trace of comprehension. He continues describing the Abbot's hat to anyone who doesn't actively look they're ignoring him.