First Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

[Scott308]

Eglistrum Paharis

Seeing his attempted ruse had no effect on the orc, Eglistrum will instead attempt to aid the injured. He will try to drag Aron away from the orc and try to staunch the bleeding. If he cannot move him first, he will try to administer first-aid on him where he lays.

[Spartakos]

Initiative:
Initiative for monsters: [1d6] = 6
Initiative for party: [1d6] = 4

With Henry moving to join the fray, the mighty orc tries to finish off Geert quickly, but the tough little halfling dodges adroitly. Even as Henry raises his weapon for a blow, the spinning axe from Ampersand catches the orc chief directly in the face with a sickening crunch. He jerks backward, and crashes to the floor, where he lays dead as a stone.

Silence falls on the scene, except for the labored breathing of the combatants and the wet choking from Aron. Eglistrum rushes to Aron's side, but the poor elf has been too grievously injured; he has no hope of stanching such a terrible wound, without magical aid. In a few short moments, the elven cleric lies still, eyes staring.

From their position by the two dead orcs, Geert and Henry cannot see more than a few feet into the dark room, so they call softly for the lantern. Lardo, hearing no noise from the passageway, scoops up the lantern and brings it forward with him, shedding light into the room.
(Hope none of you mind; I just wanted to save time, and thought this was not an unreasonable assumption.)

The chamber is about twenty by thirty feet; the floor is smooth stone, with a few skin rugs thrown here and there. It has furnishings that look to be of decent quality; a bed covered with furs and skins, a low couch, a round table and trio of chairs, and a chest of drawers. On a low stool by the couch is a large bowl filled with some kind of weed, and a couple of clay pipes. Against one wall is a glass box with a wicker latticed top, which contains a layer of dirt and a half-dozen scorpions. There are no other exits.

Rolls:

Morale check for Orc Chief: [2d6] = 9
Target for Orc Chief (1-3 Henry 4-6 Geert): [1d6] = 5
Orc Chief on Geert: [1d20] = 8, damage: [1d8+1] = 7+1 = 8

Actions?

[badams30]

Henry - Cleric

Henry says to the others "This is a catastrophe. We need to gather what we can, including our fallen and get out of here while we still can."

Henry will quietly give last rites to the deceased and drag of the dead into one area.

OOC: Can we drag/carry everyone plus any loot we've found? I'm out of healing, and this place has dinged us up really good.

[Gelatinous Q]

Lardo tries to talk sensibly to his friend. "I don't like the idea of our fellows winding up in an orcish larder any more than you do, Henry, but I'm afraid if we try to haul their carcasses out of here we'll more'n likely add our own for these blighters to feed on. That said, the Lamorian still lives — him we might save."

He has a further suggestion. "We should take his head," he says cooly, prodding the chieftain's corpse with his boot. "It might get us out of a scrape if we run into any more of 'em on our way out, and it might convince the castellan to back us with men and arms."

He sets about looting the chieftain's corpse, and if no one opposes his plan, he'll do the decapitation himself. After that nasty bit of business, he'll move to the chest of drawers, searching for traps before opening anything.

[ragnboneshopper]

Geert slumps down, corpses all around him, overwhelmed, but soon spits and curses and comes back to his senses. "Aye. Aye," replies Geert at Lardo's suggestions. "We might do better to come back for our dead later. This business is out of hand now." But the halfling will help conceal the bodies of Aron and Littbarski from easy view using the furs to hand, if that seems a popular enough alternative. He checks for hidden escapes under the furs while doing so and feels about the walls for hidden doors, suspicious.

[Zhym]

Ampersand Mxyzptlk Kerfuffle Humperdink Wongdoodle Biddleshaft the Third takes a deep breath. Then he takes the fancy axe from the orc chief's skull.

He looks more closely at the scorpion tank. How deep is the dirt? "Box full of scorps---that's what I'd put my toys in," he says. "Right underneath some foul bugs that can poison!"

[Scott308]

Eglistrum Paharis

The mage will help Geert hide the bodies of their friends.

[Spartakos]

17th of Shining, 12:15 pm

As Henry sees to the party's fallen, Lardo sees to the orcish fallen; he removes the orc chief's gorget, and with two stout blows of Cormac's axe, decapitates him. The chief's head is a grisly but impressive trophy; he wears tattooed marks of rank on his forehead and cheekbones, and beneath the helm, his hair is bound in a long, glossy black queue.

Afterward, Lardo rifles the bodies while Eglistrum and Geert haul Littbarsky and Aron over to the corner where the bed is. They conceal the bodies beneath hides from the bed and floor.

The orc chief's armor is plain, with some pieces not matching, but it is sound and well cared for. His sword is a nice piece of steel, with three fullers on the blade, upswept crossguard, and the pommel shaped like a dragon's head with a black pearl in its jaws. He has a long dagger, with a brass hilt and horn grip, sheathed in the small of his back. His shield is triangular, of stout oak banded with iron, and bears no device. His swordbelt is crafted of linked silver disks, fastened with an elaborate gold buckle wrought in the shape of a scorpion. His belt pouch holds 8 gp and 17 ep.

The female orc wears a jerkin and leggings of horsehide, reinforced and accented with furs; her forearms are protected by leather bracers, but her upper arms are bare. One bicep is circled by an ivory bracelet, carved with fantastic beasts. Around her throat is a necklace of heavy gold links. In addition to her serpentine-bladed shortsword (stained with blood and a darker substance), she has a small curved knife on her left hip. Her shield is lighter than the chief's, double-thick hide over linden wood, and its face is painted with the orc-headed scorpion emblem in red and black.

(Kindly note what you're taking, and who's carrying it.)

Ampersand recovers the chief's throwing axe; he could tell from the heft and the easy way in which it flew to the mark that it is finely wrought and enchanted (+1 base magical bonus).
(The dirt in the scorpion tank is only a few inches deep; if you wish to search it, describe what you're doing with the scorpions.)

Geert takes some time to search the walls for any hidden passages...and hits paydirt. In the southwest corner, he finds a cunningly concealed lever, which causes a portion of the wall to slide open, revealing a dark room beyond.

Lardo carefully checks the chest of drawers, but finds no traps.

[Gelatinous Q]

Lardo swaddles the chieftain's head in some spare bedding and puts it in his backpack. He relieves both orcs of their daggers (added to his arsenal on his belt) and carefully wipes the female orc's short sword clean before testing its heft; if it's to his liking, he'll replace his rather generic blade with this one. Her bracers, bracelet, and necklace likewise go in the backpack, wrapped in his cloak. The coin on the chieftain goes in his belt pouch.

"Look at that sword belt, Henry," he says. "That'd swell the coffers at your temple, I wager."

Satisfied that the chest of drawers is safe, he'll rummage it.

[Note: the orc's head is topmost in Lardo's backpack, with the hank of hair protruding from the top. He wants to be able to produce it quickly and dramatically if he needs to.]

[Zhym]

Ampersand Mxyzptlk Kerfuffle Humperdink Wongdoodle Biddleshaft the Third looks for tongs or something similar. The orc chief must have used these scorpions for their poison, which means he either had a way of extracting the poison or simply killed a scorpion each time he needed its poison.

If no tongs present themselves, he asks to borrow a long arrow or pole with which to poke into the dirt.

Scorpions can't jump, can they?

[badams30]

Brother Henry-Cleric

After Lardo makes his comment about the chieftan's sword belt, Henry nods and gingerly rolls it up, placing it in his pack. He looks about nervously and says "Do be careful, everyone. We need to quickly search and make our way out of here, lest more of these creatures come calling. I'd doubt they'd be very happy at the fate of their leader."

OOC: Henry stands by with his mace ready, watching Ampersand with the scorpions, ready to jump in and help him if need be.

[ragnboneshopper]

Geert eyes the looting going on, one eye askance. "More than one of us had a hand in securing them trinkets. I expect to settle up later." Then he turns back to what he sees as more important matters for the time being.

The halfling lets out a low whistle as the secret door opens. He calls quietly for the lantern and, shield out in front, he shines the light into the secret room, wary of traps. He'll not step into the room as yet, wanting Lardo's advice depending on what the room holds.


Mostly just banter there, but we should have some discussion OOC about who gets what for good, once (knock on wood) some of us get back to the keep...

[Spartakos]

17th of Shining, 12:30 pm

Lardo secures his grisly trophy, along with the chieftain's coin, the bracers, bracelet and necklace, and the pair of daggers. He finds the female orc's sword to be a well-made but otherwise fairly unremarkable blade, but certainly no worse than his own, so he takes it as well. On his advice, Henry removes the orc chief's swordbelt and tucks it in his pack.

The chest of drawers proves to hold an assortment of clothes for both male and female orcs (presumably, the pair you have slain), none of which are of any real value. It does turn up two useful finds, though. In a top drawer is a pair of heavy reinforced gloves and some small vials and jars; Ampersand soon deduces these are likely used for scorpion-wrangling. While some of the containers have stains and odors reminiscent of the female's blade, all are presently empty. And in one corner of a bottom drawer (under some dresses) is a large pouch that has the heavy clink of coin...it proves to contain 40 bright platinum coins stamped with the shooting star emblem of the Galaxian mint.

Using an arrow from Geert's quiver, Ampersand scratches his way through the dirt in the scorpion tank, but finds nothing of interest other than the scorpions, who seem most displeased by his disturbing their home.

Geert peers into the hidden room. It is slightly smaller than the room in which he's currently standing (perhaps 20' square), undecorated and sparsely furnished, with a low ceiling. It holds a square table with 2 chairs, one on the side nearest you and the other opposite; set on the table are a pair of copper goblets, one at each place. A barrel stands beside the table, and a large wooden chest is against one wall.

[Gelatinous Q]

Mostly just banter there, but we should have some discussion OOC about who gets what for good, once (knock on wood) some of us get back to the keep...

ooc: Yes, we'll figure out shares at the Keep, provided we make it. Lardo's in grab-and-go mode at the moment.

Lardo pockets the pouch of platinum coin as well.

Sighting the chest, he lets out a soft wolf whistle. "Gold and glory, boys," he murmurs. "Nice work, Geert. The question is, do we want to take the time to rifle it? We can't very well take it with us. Brutus had it hidden for a reason and it'll likely stay that way 'til we come back, better armed and at full strength.

"Then again," he says gazing at it longingly, "it might not." He knows what he'd rather do, but he looks to Henry for guidance.

While his comrades come to a decision, he'll do a preliminary check for traps anyway.

ooc: Let's not forget that Cormac is fighting off the effects of the poison in the supply room. We might want to drag him back in here with us. I'm hoping the venom's effects won't last too much longer. Having him back on his feet would be a big boost to our chances of surviving this.

[badams30]

Brother Henry - Cleric

OOC: Yikes, sorry Cormac... forgot you were poisoned.

IC: As Lardo wistfully dreams of the possibilities of the future Henry says "Yes, we definitely want to come back and avenge our comrades. That's the spirit, Lardo!" Henry then raises his mace and says "Let's retrieve Cormac and try to get him on his feet so we can get moving. I'm leery of staying here any longer than needed."

[Yorick]

As the party is discussing what to do they hear Cormac croak out in a horrible voice: "w-water!"

[Spartakos]

As the group hesitates, deciding their best course, Lardo takes a minute to examine the chest. He finds no traps, nor even a lock; it is little more than a simple wooden box with a hinged lid.

Lardo basically questioned what to do, and Henry expressed a desire to leave. What now?

[Zhym]

"There's no point in leaving what might be good treasure," says Ampersand Mxyzptlk Kerfuffle Humperdink Wongdoodle Biddleshaft the Third. "I'll open the box; it'll be my pleasure!" He flips open the lid with the end of one of his axes.

[Spartakos]

Quick update, just to help people make decisions.

Ampersand flips open the chest's lid, but is less than thrilled to find it contains neither gold nor jewels. It holds a heavy woolen cloak, a pair of broadswords in good leather scabbards, a yew shortbow, and quiver of well-fletched arrows.

[Gelatinous Q]

OOC: let's bag it all up and get moving. Someone needs to grab the sword off the orc chieftain before we leave, too.