Lost

[Rex]

A fire is built. Algrim chooses a spot up against a larger boulder to help screen the fire from view and piles rocks around it. Everyone huddles close round it to keep warm and help dry out.

Lharzin doesn't find anything on her short foraging trip, but does determine that as suspected the trail heads in the distance of the cave you spotted from the other side of the gorge.

Everyone is able to dry out and you make it through the night with no issues. Morning dawns with growing cloud cover, rain may be in the forecast before the day is out.


Foraging comments.

Foraging requires 1 watch (4 hours), as you only had 1 hour I allowed it but at 1/4 score, in your case 70/4=17.5=18 so a marginal failure. Note that a MF can still find some forage depending on conditions but this high in the mountains the conditions are only fair so nothing was found.

Actions?

[sulldawga]

Ingram helps to scatter the rocks Algrim collected and bury the campfire. He tries to make it look like no one camped here at all.

After that, he suggests they continue on down the trail.

[Ahlmzhad]

Murgar

Will assist with the dispersing of evidence of the camp, and then says Yes, lets move on down the trail we may find some place to get provisions and if the rain looks serious maybe that cave will give some shelter. First let me cast to see if we have any trials or blessing coming our way this day.

Tarotry vs 68 [1d100]=83

[Marullus]

"Well, a dwarven trail with a dwarven ford, leading up the cave, is far more promising than originally expected. Let's walk. Do you all want to spend the morning looking for food along the way? Just in case?"

Lharzin follows Ingram down the trail.

If a four-hour block is needed for forage checks, we should decide if we want to invest that and all roll.

[GreyWolfVT]

Algrim helps move the rocks back and bury the fire as Ingram is already working on. "Best ta make it look less like we were ere." he comments.

[sulldawga]

"Well, a dwarven trail with a dwarven ford, leading up the cave, is far more promising than originally expected. Let's walk. Do you all want to spend the morning looking for food along the way? Just in case?"

Lharzin follows Ingram down the trail.

If a four-hour block is needed for forage checks, we should decide if we want to invest that and all roll.

Ingram replies, I think we're better off getting downhill as quickly as possible. Food will be more plentiful at lower elevations anyway.

[Rex]

Just to clarify as I wasn't very clear. The cave is uphill in elevation from your current location. You spotted it coming down the other side of the river gorge. It isn't very far up, but it is up.

[gurusql]

Beryl

In general, I would like to head away from the cave, but if there is going to be a lot of rain perhaps we should check out the cave.

How can I use Survival skill in this situation?

[shaidar]

I thought we wanted to check out the cave as we thought it might be an entrance to a lost dwarven fortress?

[gurusql]

Beryl

"A reasonable idea."

[Marullus]

I thought we wanted to check out the cave as we thought it might be an entrance to a lost dwarven fortress?

That is what Lharzin is pushing for, and while she is bossy/assertive, it appears we don't have consensus yet.

Lharzin looks at them sternly. "The only reason to bother fording the river is the cave. It makes no sense to turn back, or downhill, now."

[sulldawga]

Ingram says, If we crossed the river to get to the cave, let's go to the cave. My apologies for any confusion on my part.

[Rex]

Beryl

In general, I would like to head away from the cave, but if there is going to be a lot of rain perhaps we should check out the cave.

How can I use Survival skill in this situation?

Survival is sort of a catch-all skill used for anything in the wilderness not covered under another skill like Foraging, Navigation, Tracking, or Herblore. Examples would be to determine the quality of a shelter you built or starting a fire in bad conditions (pouring rain for example). Under certain circumstances I might allow it to replace another skill you are missing at a penalty such as Tracking where someone without Survival would have no chance.

[GreyWolfVT]

Algrim "Aye, lets be gettin ta this durned cave so we can get ta where we're goin. Wherever that'd be."

[Rex]

It takes about an hour to reach the cave mouth. The trail is slow going, partially overgrown, no maintenance has been done on it in a very long time. The cave mouth appears natural and is large enough for a mule to enter. The cave itself is approximately 30 feet deep and from 8-15 feet wide, forming a turn towards the back and dead ending. The ceiling is 12-14 feet high once a few feet in from the entrance with stalactites hanging down in a few places. There are scattered rocks through out and a large pile of rocks filling the last 5 or 6 feet of the cave. It is somewhat damp, which isn't surprising considering it opens to a river gorge. It appears natural.

For Beryl

You recognize evidence of the cave having been worked but it was clearly done in a manner that was meant for it to appear natural, very subtle work. No one but Khuzdul would have that kind of skill. You could bring a mule or mule trail up/down the trail and all the way to the back of the cave if you wanted. There is no evidence of fire in the cave at any point, and carbon build up in a cave lasts a very long time unless intentionally cleaned up.

I rolled a critical success for your Mining skill, please make a skill improvement roll. 1d100+ your mining SB (16), if it is 81 or greater your skill increases to 81.

[gurusql]

Beryl

"Looks like this cave was enhanced by some skillful Khuzdul. Looks like it was not set-up for a fire inside the cave"

Mining Skill Improvement [1d100+16]=90+16=106
Looks like I got it.

[sulldawga]

Ingram says, So what's the purpose of the cave? Was it just a waypoint shelter or is there something else behind these rocks in the back?

[Ahlmzhad]

Murgar

"No problem, we can build a shielded fire outside the pit and should be fine.

[sulldawga]

Ingram says, We have the whole day left to us. The question is, do we use this as a temporary base and explore from here, or do we keep moving down the mountain and leave this cave behind?

Ingram gauges how far down the mountain they could get in the remainder of the day. Does it look like they could get to a spot where the forest thickens and food/shelter would be more plentiful?

[Marullus]

Lharzin looks around solemnly, running her fingers along the raw, natural stone. Near the back of the cave, she places her hands on a likely portion of stone and communes with the bedrock to learn the history of this place.
Voice of Ages [1d100]=25

Also, she searches for secret entrances.
Secret Entrances [1d100]=58