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Caelvanna quickly abandons her focus on their rear position and rushes forward. Instinctively, she grabs hold of the length of rope behind Bog and joins her hulking companion in his efforts to keep the rope from disappearing... especially with Lauranna attached to the near end of it. "Cut her free!" she snaps.

Bog begins backing down the rubble pile, pulling the rope and Lauranna as he goes. Once he gets her clear of the opening and gets to the bottom of the rubble, he grabs his spear and readies his shield and waits for whatever is coming to come...

NO!! Emm dives forward to grab whatever part of Lauranna she can to keep the Elfmaid from being dragged back into the tunnel.

Fearing undead influence, Ulrich pulls out his holy symbol and attempts to drive away the foul creature.

Turn Undead [1d20] = 11

~ The hasty return of their absent fellow explorer comes chalked full of drama and excitement...

Lauranna holds onto the edge of the opening for dear life, crying out an adrenaline-infused announcement that she has not returned alone. Emm cries out a refusal to give up the elf maiden to whatever is trying to pull her back and dives forward desperately to grab hold. She's able to get a good grip on Lauranna's leather-armored wrists and tries to pull back with all her might.

Caelvanna quickly yet gently places her prized bow on the hard rock floor of the cave and grabs up the pile of rope behind Bogdan as the big fighter scrambles back to recover his spear and shield. She pulls up the slack and suddenly feels whatever is yanking from the other side. The amount of force the Wild elf strains against allows her to quickly deduce that whatever is on the other side of the rock and rubble is very strong. She elicits a quick recommendation that the rope be cut post haste as Bogdan takes up his spear and shield and makes ready to battle whatever it is that is trying to yank Lauranna back through the uneven gap in the cave in.

While the others commit to their actions, Ulrich gets a sense that whatever loosed that soul-chilling scream from beyond the cave in is something much more diabolical than a mere animal denizen. The dwarf cleric steps to the side of Bog, letting his mace fall free on its wrist tether as he grasps hold of his holy symbol in his hand and focuses on the opening of the gap. He calls upon the divine power of Moradin the All-Father to turn what he suspects is something from beyond the grave...


A painfully slow, fleeting moment in time passes before the rope is either snapped or severed. Caelvanna catches herself from landing on her back as Emm yanks a grateful and kicking Lauranna all the way out of the opening. The two dirty and dusty female explorers come to rest on the rubble next to Bogdan, and the burly half-orc levels the business end of his Karagonian masterwork spear at the now open gap. Ulrich holds his symbol and continues to concentrate on turning whatever is beyond but unsure if it is having any effect. Caelvanna inspects the end of the rope that came flying by her and can see that it was severed, although not in a manner consistent with an edged weapon. More like from something that bit down with really sharp teeth.

The area beyond the cave in is eerily silent for another moment before everyone's heavy breathing, racing hearts and anxious anticipations are once again joined by the begging-dog whimpering they heard previously...


Actions?

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M.O./WIH/TOD updated below

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or need any further clarifications!

TOD: now 8:38am of Day 6 on island (Total time since departed Karagonia: 18 days)

HPs/Status: Bog 28/28 ; Caelvanna 22/25 ; Emm 9/10 ; Ulrich 12/16 ; Lauranna 9/9
WIH (primary/secondary): Bog – spear & shield ; Caelvanna – severed end of rope (arrows fired: 6/quiver: 18 left) ; Emm – Lauranna! (spear) ; Ulrich – holy symbol & shield ; Lauranna - Emm! (SC = spell component/spell to cast)
M.O./Location (In the coastal cave) At the west opening of the cave in: Bogdan , Emm , Lauranna , Ulrich , Caelvanna

Not taking his eyes from the opening, Bog asks in a quiet, but gruff voice, "Lauranna, what did you see back there? Speak quickly!"

Caelvanna darts to recover her bow and slings it over her shoulder in a well-practiced action. Once her prized weapon has been safely stowed, she quickly draws her short sword and waits at the ready.

Emm scrambles to her feet and retrieves her spear and shield, directing both toward the hole, imitating Bog's warrior stance, and repeating the Half-Orc's query. Lauranna, what was it?

"It was a small humanoid, maybe a kid, but it scared the shit out of me." Lauranna stands up, draws her sword and faces the opening before yelling "Come and get me you bitch!"

A child? Emm blinks hard, trying not to take her eyes away from the opening. In there?

The begging-dog whimpering changes to a low, long growl at Lauranna's taunt. It's almost as if it understood and is responding unhappily to the challenge she floated out there. A small humanoid or kid? Seems the last two things you'd associate with those blood-chilling, hair on the back of the neck-raising verbalizations...

Whatever it is is close. It has to be right on the other side of the rubble, or more likely leaning into the opposite side of the tight passage through by the way it echoes and reverberates. Hyper-alert senses, flexing muscles and razor sharp weapons await anything foolhardy enough to pop out. Nothing does, nor sounds to be getting any closer. In fact there is no sign of any movement whatsoever. Whatever it is seems either unable or unwilling to come closer. The growl eventually subsides to an offshoot combination whimpering of both begging and frustration.

Actions?

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As always, please let me know if you have any questions or need any further clarifications!

TOD: now 8:39am of Day 6 on island (Total time since departed Karagonia: 18 days)

HPs/Status: Bog 28/28 ; Caelvanna 22/25 ; Emm 9/10 ; Ulrich 12/16 ; Lauranna 9/9
WIH (primary/secondary): Bog – spear & shield ; Caelvanna – short sword (arrows fired: 6/quiver: 18 left) ; Emm – spear & shield ; Ulrich – holy symbol & shield ; Lauranna - short sword / dagger (SC = spell component/spell to cast)
M.O./Location (In the coastal cave) At the west opening of the cave in: Bogdan , Emm , Lauranna , Ulrich , Caelvanna

Keeping his holy symbol aloft, Ulrich says, "Stay back, friends! That foul creature is one of the living dead, I am certain of it. I think this abomination fears the power of the Dwarf-Father."

Looking at his companions, Ulrich asks, "Does anyone have a spare flask of oil?"

"I have one, but I am NOT going back in there." Lauranna states.

Nuke66 wrote:"I have one, but I am NOT going back in there." Lauranna states.

"Of course not, " replies Ulrich. "But fire cleanses the unholy. Light your flask and throw it, or throw a torch after it. With Moradin's aid, we may smite the foul thing."

"Unholy?" The Druid's dark eyes flicker between the Dwarven Priest and the pitch of the tunnel her spear is aimed at. Do you mean... Undead?

tkrexx wrote:"Unholy?" The Druid's dark eyes flicker between the Dwarven Priest and the pitch of the tunnel her spear is aimed at. Do you mean... Undead?

Ulrich nods solemnly. "Aye. I'd bet my beard on it."

~ Regardless of unanimous negatives on both visual confirmations and identifications, everyone remains at DefCon One in the cramped passage...

The forlorn whimper continues to reverberate steadily through the gap in the cave-in, but it does not climb through. Is it afraid of the light? Is it unwilling or unable to pass the cave-in for some reason? Or is it simply because it would rather wait for one of the party to come to it? The possibility of the later is almost as unnerving as its heavy breathing and nearby presence. Even though it can't be seen, it feels too damn close for anyone to relax or be comfortable.

So weapons, nerves and readiness remain taut and tense on the western side of the cave-in. The bright, unfaltering light of Gentleman Billy's magic coin shines into the western opening of the cramped passage but the party still can't see directly through to the other side. From what was witnessed of Lauranna's entry and exit, it's more of a climb in & then up & over before dropping down & out again, sort of like the shape of an arch, so no direct path to see it or shoot it by, unfortunately.


~ Convinced that the party faces something from beyond the grave, Ulrich continues to concentrate his divine attentions on the opening, announcing what he senses of the party's mysterious, whimpering adversary*. He calls for oil and fire to cleanse and hopefully help vanquish it, whatever it is. Lauranna agrees to the plan and offers up a vial of lamp oil. She remains eminently skeptical about taking part in the deployment aspect of the plan, however, and cites that she will not climb back through no matter what.
Ulrich attempts to reassure that High elf magic-user/thief that she need not worry about this and advises that the oil and flame be thrown through versus any melee-range applications. Emm shudders in fear and queries him about his certainty that the party faces the undead. The cleric says that he'd bet his beard on it. Certainly not a halfhearted boast for a dwarf.

As Ulrich stands steadfast with holy symbol to hand, attempting to encourage the others and solicit Moradin's Favor for possible upcoming action, the whimpering suddenly stops and is replaced by dead silence. Could it now be listening, or waiting to see what you'll do next?


Actions?

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* ~ ongoing PM to SL for Ulrich!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or need any further clarifications!

TOD: now 8:40am of Day 6 on island (Total time since departed Karagonia: 18 days)

HPs/Status: Bog 28/28 ; Caelvanna 22/25 ; Emm 9/10 ; Ulrich 12/16 ; Lauranna 9/9
WIH (primary/secondary): Bog – spear & shield ; Caelvanna – short sword (arrows fired: 6/quiver: 18 left) ; Emm – spear & shield ; Ulrich – holy symbol & shield ; Lauranna - short sword / dagger (SC = spell component/spell to cast)
M.O./Location (In the coastal cave) At the west opening of the cave in: Bogdan , Emm , Lauranna , Ulrich , Caelvanna

Bog grumbles, "Sod this. Bloody thing obviously can't make it through the rubble, so let's leave it be for now. We'll come back when we find a small dragon what can breathe fire into its gullet and burn the bastard to arshes. Let's waste no more time, though."

He turns and makes to head back to the crab hole where, if he still has any ability to breathe underwater, he will begin gathering coins from the silty bottom.

Ulrich lowers his holy symbol, a look of grave concern on his face.

"Something is wrong here," he says. "It is no mindless flesh-eater on the other side. That creature is one of great power, and great evil. It does not fear Moradin's wrath. " He pauses, swallows, and continues. "We should leave this place."

Every sense Emm possesses screams for her to flee, more so now that the whimpering thing is... listening? Fear induced anger bursts from her mouth. Answer me! she shouts into the darkness. Who are you? Why do you wait? Boastful demands, but she knows her current blessings of spells were not intended for combat with something like this.