Expedition - Markd/On A Mission From Baudh - 08 May 2021

[Marullus]

No, DM says your fine... Page 55. Save vs Poison or Death is 11 or higher for a cleric.

[onlyme]

As Markd has the patient almost stable, he asks the others.

We are down one if not a second for a guard. While we MAY could defeat these creatures and rest safely here this evening, we more than likely would all die trying. I say we get out while we can.

[Zhym]

"This place be more evil at night," says Olaf. "Camp tonight, enter in daylight."

[Alethan]

Bandy Sandybanks

Bandy shakes his head, muttering to himself, "When we heard voices from the other room, they wanted to leave! Now we know the skeletons reform a few hours after being destroyed and they want to stay!"

He looks at Markd, "You're leading the expedition. What do you want to do? This isn't the tower we're looking for, I assume..."

[onlyme]

Markd shakes his head.

Let's get out while we can. We need to get far enough away to find suitable campsite, which will be most difficult this time of night and with a crippled member...

[Keehnelf]

Irving stirs himself, after staring for a long time in horror at what happened to Brother Kells."Well, I can carry him if we need to. I think it's a good idea to get out of here too. But I think this is the place we're looking for."

[Marullus]

Bremen and Kellstrom have identified a good camp spot with some cover a bowshot away, and with your tent you can easily establish a comfortable place for Kellstrom to rest and stabilize. You can also choose to camp in one of the indoor rooms. (LL Basic has different timeframes for wandering monster checks indoors/outdoors.) You need Kells to rest overnight before he can be safely moved - either of those sites is fine, but moving back to the Ford is a problem.

We have several votes for getting out now, and one vote from Bremen that you loot the place before the skeletons reform. Let me know who does what. (Bremen can stay by himself to loot, but he'd have to say so.)

[Keehnelf]

Sorry if I missed it, but do we have an estimate for how long the skeletal reformation will take? If we can plausibly return Kells to the camp and return to do some looting before we run out of time, that would be Irving's vote.

[Marullus]

At 9 pm we were listening at the did. At 9:15 Markd was lighting his lantern, so the skeletons were already healing. It is 10 now. That means that in a bit over 45 minutes they regenerated 1/3 of the way., leaving us 1.5 hours to stabilize Kellstrom, explore/loot this place and be on our way. And there isn't any guarantee that we will be attacked again since we aren't opening the door again (it is already open).

If anyone else wants to just move out of here, say so, but I don't see us doing much aside from going back to town to have Kells treated. So we might as well get what we can from this outing.

[Keehnelf]

Wow, don't know how I missed that when reading before.

Irving nods. "I think if we can get Brother Kells in shape outside soon, we should come back and see if we can find the relic or other items the church might benefit from."

[Alethan]

Bandy Sandybanks

Bandy shrugs, "If that is the plan then we should move the man out of here and hurry back in; we haven't but a few hours it seems."

He moves to the sarcophagus and examines it to see if it there is an obvious way to open it. He does not open it yet, it should be noted.

[Keehnelf]

Irving grabs one end of the unconscious man and helps whoever else wants to do the lifting to get him outside.

[Marullus]

Bandy examines the sarcophagus. It is made of granite - a different material than both the natural stone of the hill and also that of the polished marble tables - and engraved with writing in a language not known to you. It doesn't appear to have any locks or closures - one suspects that the lid would slide off.

The group emerges from the hallway, encouraging the mounts out with you and carrying Kellstrom's injured form. You retreat to the cleft of rocks which Bremen and Kellstrom previously identified for cover and hurriedly set up your tent. The sky is oddly clear as you emerge from your time in the crypts- the stars and crescent moon shining bright overhead to help your work, but a cold front and more storm clouds blow in.

The mounts are hobbled within the cleft, Kellstrom is secured and resting within the tent, and the group faces the question of returning inward or waiting until the dawn.


Time: 08 May 2021, 10:45 pm
Light source: Mark's lantern (until 1:30am), Bremen's torch (until 11:15pm)
Astrology: Waxing crescent moon, set 1:21am, next rise 9:04am. Next sunrise 5:13am, sunset 9:07pm.
Weather: 59 F, 8-11 SSE
Injuries: Kellstrom (near death)

[Rusty Tincanne]

Captain Bremen
As the party leaves the burial mound, Captain Bremen uses one of his spikes to prevent the door to the room with the sun open as far as he can get it. It'd be foolish to need to struggle qith any more doors in the place if we dont need to. And if those skeletons want it closed, they can worry about that for the rest of the night.

Back at camp: Those diamonds will fetch a good price when we get them, but I'd not enter without all of us. But i also wouldnt leave the Good Brother out here for the night with any less than all of us, either. He wraps himself in his bedroll for warmth. I can take the first watch. You lot get some rest.

[onlyme]

Markd offers to take the 2nd or any watch depending on what the others need.

[Marullus]

It looks like there are no other votes for current-time actions, so moving ahead to dawn. If I missed something speak up.

The group settles into and around the tent, establishing a watch to make it through the night, Kellstrom resting comfortably within. The sky is clear most of the night - a scattered drizzle falls from light cloud cover around midnight but then passes. Both crescent moon and shining stars are a welcome sight.

It is a little after 1:00am and Markd is early in his watch when he notices some movement on the hilltop far above. The silver limning of the moonlight brings his attention to a set of stone plinths at the summit, the ghostly forms of translucent apparitions moving among them. The moon sets a few minutes later, the scene going dark and sign of movement by the apparitions disappearing as well.

The sun rises shortly after 5:00am and the group begins to rouse. After some breakfast they are ready to make decisions for their day. Kellstrom is still unconscious within the tent and likely needs the full day's rest before he can begin to recover. The entrance, a bowshot to the west, looks harmless again in the morning light. The mounts munch on the abundant fodder around them.

(Please subtract 1 day's rations each. Do you take action today without Kellstrom? If so, who remains on guard? If not, shall I advance camp until there is an encounter or until he wakes? Kellstrom has rested overnight and can be safely moved now, or remain resting and he gets 1d3hp back at 9pm tonight (and each night)).

Time: 09 May 2021, 6:00 am
Light source: Sun
Astrology: Waxing crescent moon, next rise 9:04am. Next sunset 9:07pm.
Weather: 46 F, wind 9-17 SSE
Injuries: Kellstrom (near death)

[Zhym]

Olaf: -1 ration, -1 feed.

I'd vote we wait for Kellstrom to recover, aided by any magical healing we can give him today.

[Keehnelf]

Though I don't think it's a great decision in-game, for the sake of keeping everyone in the mix as much as possible I vote we wait for him to recover.

[Marullus]

That's enough of a quorum - I don't expect that less-than-half of the group will go in alone.

The group settles in to their campsite for the day. The weather is cool and damp, a front bringing heavy rain through the first evening, then again clearing up for a starfilled night. As sunset approaches the first night, Bandy catches a glimpse of the translucent figures passing up the hillside once more.

Scattered drizzle punctuated an eventless second day as well. Whiling away the time for two days, some stood guard while others ventured out in the surrounding gorse and plains for foraging and hunting, but to no avail. Anything edible was ruined by the solid week of downpours and the animals are not yet brazen enough to be caught out by human eyes.

As sunset approaches on the second day, Kellstrom stirs. He awakens and gratefully accepts some water and supper. After his prayers, he rests again, the group already deciding that dawn is more propitious than dusk. The group again stands watch against the eerie, cold nights, but without anything beyond the moaning of the wind disturbing them.

Time: 11 May 2021, 6:00 am
Light source: Sun
Weather: 46 F, wind 9-14 SSW
Injuries: Kellstrom (lightly injured)

(Everyone deduct two more days of rations. No need to deduct feed as the mounts can graze. Kellstrom wakens with 2hp. He can cast Cure Light Wounds on himself to start with full HP, and then memorize a new spell list by dawn to set out on 11 May.)

[onlyme]

Markd declares,
I know some of you want to go into that ghost infected hellhole.
But, we signed up for a job, and I'd prefer we stick to the original plan. We can always stop here on the way back in.