Quest #38 "Betwixt Water And Stone"

[Urson]

Luther
Luther was puzzled by the references to 'piercers', and now crouches at a safe distance to examine the thing.

Again, this is what I get for not following all the threads....

[Bluehorse]

Keg

Looking up. Yeah, gotta be careful. Those things fall on your head if you aren't paying attention. The good news is they are easy to deal with once they lodge in the ground.

[Urson]

Luther
Luther nods. I've heard they're like snails. I hope they taste better...

Once the group has had a few minutes to catch their breath, Luther leads on- giving Piercer Ledge a respectful distance.

[Jernau35]

The Knife

"They're deadly if you don't know they're there," The Knife says. "But fairly harmless once you do".

He stays well clear of the danger zone, then follows on when Luther leads off.

[gurusql]

Wake

Wake follows Luther's lead, keeping clear of the jungle Piercers.

[sastaz]

Amun tags along as well muttering something about "cursed island".

[OGRE MAGE]

Bug Hunt
Starday, 27th of Goodmonth
Mid Morning, Overcast, Warm, Buggy

Avoiding the dangerously cute and cuddly rock piercers along the overhead ledges, the group moves on until they reach the ogre campsite Keg and TK used to sleep in several nights ago.

The smashed down clearing looks the same as it did when they left it. No new threats to contend with are spotted anywhere. The heavy duty ogre lean-to remains built up against the rocky cliff wall, its huge logs locked into place under the rocky outcropping. There is also no sign of the huge bugs that roamed the cliff walls either.

The unexplored regions of the jungle to the north start a short distance past this area.

Actions?

Keg (F3) AC:1 23/23
Luther (R4) AC:3 30/30
The Knife (T2) AC:4* 8/8
Wake (C1) AC:3 10/10 3/3 first
Amun (F1) AC:2 13/13

[gurusql]

Wake

"Given that is only mid-morning, we can search the site if that was not done before and then keep going. Obviously if it had been searched previously then that is not required."

[sastaz]

Amun

"Just say and Amun will do."

She starts walking through the ogre camp, looking at stuff, turning something over with her sword, kicking a few rocks aside.

"Smells like shit."

[Urson]

Luther
Yeah, Ogres don't usually care too much about latrines- they just dump anywhere, like cows.

Keg- didn't you stay here a few days back? If you did, there's no reason not to push on.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bug Hunt
Starday, 27th of Goodmonth
Late Morning, Overcast, Warm, Buggy

Searching through the old ogre camp, nothing new is found and none of the big cliff dwelling bugs show themselves to the party. Luther suggests they continue exploring to the north, so that is exactly what the group does.

Bushwhacking along the cliff base for about another hour or so, a small opening into the massive rock wall is seen from a distance. There is no light or sound coming from within. The opening appears to be about human height.

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Actions?

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Keg (F3) AC:1 23/23
Luther (R4) AC:3 30/30
The Knife (T2) AC:4* 8/8
Wake (C1) AC:3 10/10 3/3 first
Amun (F1) AC:2 13/13

[Jernau35]

The Knife

The Knife eyes the cave dubiously. Finally he says, "As the only person here who can see in the dark, I realize that I'm the obvious one to go in there first and explore. However..."

"I also have very short legs, a sword that complains incessantly if it gets blood on it, and I'm quite certain I'm deliciously tasty to anything big and hungry. Oh hush up! You do and I am."

[gurusql]

Wake

"I have a torch we could use as well. So that we could all go in or a t least a larger group."

[sastaz]

Amun

"Amun has no torch but will shove sword through anything that threatens to eat gnome. She can go after gnome if torch bearer is behind her."

[Urson]

Luther

No reason for anyone to go in alone. Gimme a minute, though.
Luther approaches the cave opening cautiously. He approaches head down, studying the ground for any sort of tracks. About 15' from the opening, he stops to look, sniff, and listen.

[OGRE MAGE]

Black Cave Hole
Starday, 27th of Goodmonth
Late Morning, Overcast, Warm, Buggy

As the group discuss a marching order for entering the cave, Luther sneaks up for a closer look inside. The dirt and mud in front of the entrance gives the ranger no clues as to what might lurk inside, the last rain washing any tracks or signs away naturally. The big bear of a man gets no other impression that this cave has been used recently.

There is no light or sound coming from within, but taking a long look inside the entrance reveals one thing. The dark cave seems to get smaller the further in he looks, funneling down to a tight passage that Luther might need to crawl through eventually. He cant tell how deep the tunnel stretches beyond his vision.

Actions?

Keg (F3) AC:1 23/23
Luther (R4) AC:3 30/30
The Knife (T2) AC:4* 8/8
Wake (C1) AC:3 10/10 3/3 first
Amun (F1) AC:2 13/13

[gurusql]

Wake

Wake will light a torch so that we can investigate. When carrying the torch his shield is on his back.

[sastaz]

Amun will enter last, guarding the back, two handed sword at the ready, depending on the light of the others.

[Urson]

Luther
Luther reports what he's seen. One of our little guys might want to take over scouting.
I don't see any tracks.

[Jernau35]

The Knife

Being definitely the littlest guy in the group, The Knife blanches at the thought of crawling into the hole. Even if he probably wouldn't have to crawl that much.

"Can I just point out," he begins. "That it's unlikely that a powerful wizard with a big horde of treasure and magic, crawled out of a small hole on his hands and knees every time he wanted to visit the outside world".

"And that it's more likely that something that doesn't want to be disturbed by annoying jungle creatures like us, lives in somewhere like that."

He tilts his head to the side. "Say that again. Aha! Of course! What a good idea! Why don't we tie that torch to a long branch or piece of bamboo? We can stick it 10 feet further or so into the hole and get a better idea of what is back there".