Action Thread #11: The Greensward

[Stonjuz]

"Quite strange that we find all of these treasures just lying abouts. The rod, the amulet, the ...."
Stonjuz scans the party and adds, "Let us gather them together and compare, as Thurinor suggested."

[onlyme]

Malone keeps his weary guard, unsure what to make of this situation. He looks for movement around the perimeter.

[ChubbyPixie]

"Let me help you with this." Andin moves over and tries to help Ogirdor open the trapdoor.

Ozborn will scan the trapdoor to see if it is, ironically, trapped. Then he'll assist in the heaving, as well as the ho-ing, if there is any room for a third trap door lifter.

[ragnboneshopper]

Day 7, Early Evening: Trapdoors and Mysteries

Ogirdor hands the newest serpent-marked item to Thurinor and Stonjuz for examination, then moves back to where Ozborn and Andrin are checking the trapdoor in more detail. Meanwhile, Malone and Swilbosh keep a careful watch at the party's back, and they note that the sun is sinking quickly behind the mountain walls of the valley and that what little natural light can reach inside the burial mound is fading fast.

While standing there, Swilbosh begins to recall snatches of conversation from his youth, long ago, about men who lived in the valley, the "horse lords" he believes they might have been called (after hearing the word "horse" spoken by his new human companions), and he remembers a word spoken harshly at times, as if a curse: "kharg." But he knows not what the word means. As for an island, he recalls a "greater island" being spoken of as lying further downriver from the small isle on the weed lake where he made his solitary home for many years, though he has never been to this "greater island."

For their part, the mage and the dwarven cleric can make no better observation than that the serpent figures found on the various artifacts are all quite similarly crafted. They all depict a serpent entwined about an object: the staff, the pin, the haft of the sword. The staff and sword still give off fairly strong magical auras. Beyond this they can only guess. It seems almost certain that the same group of dwarves made all of the artifacts. But what became of these dwarves and why the serpent motif had been so important to them remains a mystery -- one that the harpy woman's song hints at but does not seem to solve.

Thief percentile roll: [1d100] = 58

By this time, Ozborn has declared the trapdoor trap-free, as best he can tell, and he and Ogirdor and Andrin haul on the ring set in the stone to open it by. A veritable gasp of stale air is exhaled from the opening, and an unnatural chill seems to enter the room, but all seems quiet down below. Holding a torch over the opening, you can see a rough and slimy shaft, just tall enough for a man to stand in, leading steeply down into darkness. It is very dim, but there appears to be a cavern of some sort about 30' below.


Ok, what's next? Bless spell from previous round of actions and taking of treasure noted. Don't forget to update your character sheet when taking an item...

[saalaria]

Swilbosh waits to see the "humans'" next move.

[zebediah]

Ogirdor will go down, bow ready with a silver arrow nocked.

[Stonjuz]

Stonjuz, while still examing all of the items, says to Og, "Let us merely make sure that evil does not brew inside and then we will let the dead rest, ok? My magic of protections wont last for long."

[onlyme]

Malone asks...
should we not find a campsite before nightfall?

[Grognardsw]

"Aye," says Thurinor. He puts away the medallion, stores the staff on his back, draws sword, and follows down the hole.

[Sir Clarence]

Andrin follows Thurinor.

[ragnboneshopper]

Day 7, Early Evening: Into the Darkness

Ogirdor leads the way down the dark shaft, with Thurinor, Andrin, and Stonjuz following close behind. Swilbosh and Ozborn follow at a little further distance, while Malone seems to hesitate and linger at the back, wondering aloud if it wouldn't be wiser to leave and find a campsite elsewhere. But the party as a whole is inclined to explore further, so he moves to take up the rearguard. As he does so, he thinks he sees movement from the corner of his eye: he could have sworn that a shard of pottery raised itself into the air, turned so that its sharp end was pointed at the party, then settled again to the stone floor.

But Ogirdor and the rest know nothing of this, and as they descend they note only the unnatural chill of the place. Scrambling and sliding down the slimy shaft, those in the front come out into a low, damp cave where a grinning skull lies on the floor amid a pile of mildewed bones. A dim shimmer appears as of a white flame atop the pile of bones, then raises itself into the shape of a skeletal human clothed in wispy tatters.

The ghostly form appears insubstantial: you can see through it to the cave wall beyond. Its skeletal mouth moves to speak, though the words you hear somehow do not quite match the timing of its movements, as if the ghastly shape is neither all here nor all there. "You come. I had known you would, but how long? So long it has been. I grow weary." A ghostly sigh emanates from the apparition, and you feel a renewed chill in the air. As the shape continues speaking, you note the grating edge in its voice: "And now, will you be all that was hoped? Are you worthy of that which you carry? How will you prove yourself?" The ghostly form raises the symbol of a snake entwined about a tree. The symbol pulses with light, and at this, the magical objects you have collected give forth a matching shimmer: staff and sword and magic potion.


Ogirdor, Thurinor, Andrin, and Stonjuz are at the bottom of the shaft leading into the cave. The rest are still in the shaft coming down, with Malone bringing up the rear. Actions? Also, how many/which of you are holding torches?

[onlyme]

Malone calls down to the others,Guys, we're not alone. Something is watching us as we entered.

[Grognardsw]

Thurinor / Before the Ghost


The elf dweomercrafter holds the staff and medallion aloft. “Who are you? What would you have us do?”

The magic potion must have been before me, first I heard of it. Not sure if the medallion glows or not.

[Stonjuz]

Knowing some of the group needs torch to see, and that he cannot use his infravision when the torchlight is prevelant, Stonjuz will hold it in one hand, staff in the other.
"Worthy of the tor?.....oh...."
Then softer, to the group, he says, "It's talking about the sword & such."
Stonjuz swallows his initial fear, "Yes, our fighting men carrry the items. What is the fate of such?"

[zebediah]

Ogirdor lowers the bow, keeping the arrow nocked, and waits for the reaction of the spirit.

[saalaria]

Swilbosh continues down the shaft - can he see into the room/the apparition?

[ChubbyPixie]

Oz, hearing voices in conversation, will hurry down the shaft, swords in hand(s) to come up behind the others, ready to help as needed.

[Sir Clarence]

Never feeling comfortable in the presence of unlife, Andrin keeps as much distance as possible to the skeletal warrior, waiting for the thing's response.

[ragnboneshopper]

Some in the party keep their distance. Some approach with weapons raised while others take care to appear less threatening, lowering weapons and uttering respectful words. Malone passes along a warning of possible danger from behind, and Thurinor addresses the ghostly form directly, asking who and what?

The ghostly being seems to ignore your weapons, whether raised or lowered, as of no concern. Its thin voice rises and falls, but with the same hard edge as it builds to a point. "It is true that I once had a name, though it is gone and no longer belongs to me. A man of the Kharg, the horse lords of the plains, I was, and friend of the Gravenfolk, the dwarves of these mountains. The Gravenfolk honored me in their day, but as foretold, they fell to ruin. Now their place of rest is fallen to ruin with them, desecrated by the robbers of tombs, made the breeding lair of some crazed wizard's odd creations. You have done well to drive them away, testy creatures. And now you see how I lie here, away from my place of honor, my casket overturned. Yet my bones were thrown here by no mortal hand. Above you haunts the grasping souls of three dwarves such as brought ruin upon the Gravenfolk, with greed so strong as to outlast death. I am trapped here, away from my rest! So I ask you once more: what will you do to prove your worth?"

All are now within hearing of the apparition, whose light pulses angrily, flashing on the damp walls of the cave. Even as the words echo loudly up the shaft so that even Malone can hear, a shard of pottery hurtles at him. And another. And a third. All three smash into the warrior, doing no real damage but filling him with a sense of overwhelming fright to the point of fleeing!

Pottery shard attack: [1d20] = 16

Pottery shard attack: [1d20] = 17

Pottery shard attack: [1d20] = 19


Holy crap! So I guess the dice roller has it in for Malone, who needs to save vs Fear (ie, save vs spells). You only need to roll one saving throw, OnlyMe, as the result of the first save will determine how Malone will react. No damage is taken, but failing means that Malone will flee in random directions...

For everyone else: actions? I will roll initiative and we will move to combat rounds, though you don't necessarily have to take combat actions. Only Malone is in imminent danger at the moment.

[zebediah]

These three dwarven shades are haunting your tomb, right above us? I will try to send them to their final rest, you have my word. Ogirdor responds to the ghost.

Do we see the pottery being thrown at Malone?