==GM==
As usual, the light was dim in the Dancing Dragon tavern. Granted, part of that was because it was so cloudy and dark outside. The rain, which had been everyone's constant companion for most of the last week, had finally stopped the previous day. The clouds, however, remained. Weather like this usually put people in a bad mood, but the people sitting at the table in the back corner seemed to be in rather high spirits. Well, maybe not the halfling and one of the dwarves, who kept muttering to each other about how much money they lost at the dice game the previous evening. Their mood didn't seem to infect the others, though, who were discussing what they should do next, after their successful raid of the bandit lair north of town.
==/GM==
==Quint Greysmoke==
Well, I guess that's enough bellyaching for one day. Forsitis will smile on me some day, and then I'll show old Lumley that I'm not the chump he thinks I am! *burp* Ah, that is some good beer. So, friends, what do you want to do next?
==/Quint==
==GM==
At this moment, the door to the tavern opens and a pensive looking dwarf lass in clerical garb enters. Finri immediately recognizes the girl as Erani, a young dwarf maiden who works at the temple to Aequitas in town. She looks around nervously before spying the group at the back table. She quickly jogs over, nicely dodging two serving girls and a pair of lecherous hands, and grabs Finri's arm. "Oh Finri," she sobbed, "It's so horrible. Someone robbed the temple!"
==/GM==
==Finri==
(visibly angered) Aequitas will not tolerate such acts!!! Something must be done about this!!! (after calming himself down a bit) Erani, pardon my outburst if you will, but this is intolerable. Can you tell me what was stolen from the temple?
(Starts to gather his things and says to the rest of the group) We should start heading over to the temple to see what evidence might have been left behind. Will you be joining me?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Of course my friend. An attack one us is an attack on all of us
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Blasphemous. (outraged) To steal from a temple. Let's deal with this scum friend Finri
==/Condrasson==
==Erani==
Erani looks over everyone else at the table with pleading eyes before looking back at Finri. "Well, Finri, we know that they took most of the collection money from the past month, since the strongbox is gone, but the most important thing is that they took the golden icon of Aequitas that sat on the altar. I know you haven't been in Melinir for long, so you probably wouldn't know about it, but tradition has it that the icon was given to the original inhabitants of the Rift hundreds of years ago by Aequitas himself, and that the icon contains a bit of Aequitas' divine essence! I don't know if that is true or not, but priest Solis is beside himself with grief and anger at its loss. I know you are traveling to bring Aequitas' justice to all peoples, and so this doesn't directly concern you, but if you would help us, I... well, I would really appreciate you. I mean, your help." Erani smiles sweetly at Finri with hopeful expectation in her eyes.
==/Erani==
==Finri==
(with his best, comforting "priesty" smile) Erani, my dear, I would be happy to help. An act of theft is a violation of the law and must be dealt with. That this occurred to the temple of Aequitas is an even greater tragedy and shows that there is still much work to be done in these savage lands.
(to the others) Let's go speak with Priest Solis and investigate the temple. We've no time to lose if we want to remain hot on their trail.
(back to Erani) Erani, are there any groups or individuals you know of that may have some information about who may have done this?
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
*snoring by fire*
At Finri's outburst of emotion, wakes up and is on his feet, swinging his axe. "Have at you! What--" He barely misses the serving wench and his axe sinks a few inches into the mantle. He looks around, waking up and looking sheepish. He apologizes to the wench and others nearby, then approaches the table. "What's going on, now?" he asks. The others exasperatedly tell him. "Oh! An adventure! Excellent!" And whispering to Quint: "I wonder what this idol thingy is worth! I trust there will be a plum reward..." [Drugar has issues with authority-types--including the Dwarven church, and will be in this more for the fame and fortune than any sense of righting a wrong. Of course, he is not so impolitic as to annoy or alienate his comrades by voicing his opinions too often!]
==/Drugar==
==Quint==
*whispers to Drugar* "Yeah, at least enough to cover our losses in that dice game, eh? But it's the church, so they will probably promise us a multitude of blessings in the afterlife, and nothing else. And it's Aequitas, anyway. They'll probably just give you that 'justice is it's own reward' crap they like to spout. Still, it's probably worth a look-see. What can it hurt?"
==/Quint==
==GM==
Everyone gets up from the table and makes their way out of the tavern, led by Finri and Erani. They travel through the merchant district before arriving at the temple to Aequitas, a solidly-built wooden building that can seat 80 people in its main sanctuary. At the front of the sanctuary, near a large altar with a large silver scale on it, you can see two people; an older man dressed in the robes of a priest of Aequitas, along with an even older looking man in worn leather breeches and an old linen shirt and a dyed cotton coat. They are talking to each other, but the priest (whom Finri recognizes as Solis) sees the newcomers and calls out "Ah, Erani, I see you brought our friend Finri with you, but who are the rest of your friends?"
==/GM==
Priest Solis, these are my friends. Drugar, Condrasson, Ariel & Quint (introducing them as he points to each). We've come to see if we can help solve this theft, return the stolen items, and ensure that justice is dealt swiftly to the wrongdoers. Please, tell me what you know, we've no time to lose. Do we have any ideas who might have broken in, or how they got in here?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Priest Solis, Finri, does this temple have any enemies in the area such as another diety's temple?
==/Ariel==
==Brendan Solis==
"Welcome, all of you. Aequitas provides his justice to all peoples, and you are all welcome. Finri, as far as helping with the theft, may I introduce Mr. Solomon Grant." The priest motions towards the other man with whom he was speaking when you walked in. "He is the chief investigator in the town, and I have been answering some questions from him, to help him try to solve the theft. He is probably the man to talk to, but I can tell you that nobody broke in that we can tell. However, the back door was open this morning, so that is most likely how the perpetrators came and went. I know I locked that door, though. It's so odd."
"And, young lady, the temple of Aequitas does not have any enemies here in this town, and I am not aware of any Balor worshippers in this area, either. I have no idea who could have done this."
==/Brendan Solis==
==Solomon Grant==
"So you all want to help, eh? Sure you do. Everyone wants to 'help' these days. I know I can solve this on my own, but I'm willing to let you ask your questions of the priest, though I'm sure it will just end up being a waste of time." The old investigator scowls at all of you and scratches himself with annoyance at your presence.,br>
==/Solomon Grant==
==Finri==
Thank you, Investigator Grant, for your graciousness at letting us lend our hand to this matter. Though you're certainly quite capable of solving this task, maybe we can lighten your load to worry about the many other cases I'm sure you have to deal with.
Priest Solis? If you locked the door last night, but then found it open this morning with no signs of forced entry, it would leave me to believe that someone with access opened it, and either intentionally or unintentionally left it that way. Were there still others around when you locked that door last night, and who besides you would have a key to that door?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
In addition, to Finri's question Priest Solis, does the icon of Aequitas have any powers? Can you tell us more about its history?
==/Ariel==
==Solis==
"Finri, there are three people with keys to the building: myself, Erani, and Wesley Zadovsky, the primary acolyte. All three of us live in the rectory behind the chapel. None of us have spouses or children living with us, so it is just us three. All of us were present overnight, as far as I know. I was out last evening meeting with a local merchant, Stefan des Herbts, but I arrived back here before second watch, and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary."
"As regards the icon itself, there are old rumors that it contains a small amount of Aequitas' divine essence, and as such it is sacred to us. However, I am not aware of any specific 'powers' that the icon possessed. It didn't spontaneously heal disease or anything like that. It has been requested, however, to be present during some difficult court cases that the mayor has had to decide off and on throughtout the years, as the presence of the god of justice is felt to aid in properly deciding cases. That is all, however."
==/Solis==
==Ariel==
Then Ariel turns to Solomon Grant in a flirtatious way and says where would you look big guy? (slightly touching his shoulder)
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Investigator, would you be able to tell us what you've learned up to this point already? Is there anything you've determined beyond what Priest Solis has already informed us of?
Quint, you have sharp eyes, would you mind doing a little looking around to see if you can spot any clues around the sanctuary.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
[Drugar stands around looking somewhat bored. He is eager for action. His low WIS and CHA are not likely to be helpful in sleuthing anyway. He and Condrasson can be the "muscle" when needed, and scowl and finger their weapon hilts whenever appropriate. If need be, Drugar will be happy to "interview" any suspects.]
==/Drugar==
==Solomon==
Solomon quickly pulls away from Ariel and looks at her like she is diseased. "What the 'ell's wrong with you? Show some proper respect, girl." He then turns to Finri and says "Well, I've already talked to Wesley, and his story seems solid. He was in his apartment on the second floor all evening (OOC game note: an 'apartment' in this case is more like a small college dorm room than anything else), and he said he didn't hear anything. Erani was here last night, as well, and she says she didn't hear anything. I've checked both of their apartments, and the missing stuff isn't in their rooms. That about as far as I've gotten. My next steps are to talk to local merchants and see if anybody has tried to fence the stolen strong box or the icon. I'd be surprised if the thief was stupid enough to try to move such an obvious religious icon in town, but you never know."
He then pauses for a second, looks a little up and to the right, and then says "Oh, hey, wait a minute. Aren't you guys the ones that cleaned those bandits out of the mine a week ago or so? Yeah, your names sound right. That was some good work. Tell you what, if you want to help, I've got something that you could do, since I can't be in two places at the same time. If you head around back, you will notice some tracks in the mud. They look too small to be human, elven or dwarf to me. Maybe halfling or goblins or something. Check those out and let me know what you think, OK?"
==/Solomon==
==Quint==
"Hey! I didn't steal anything from here. What are you implying?"
==/Quint==
==Solomon==
"Cool it, halfy," he scowls. "Just do what I said. I'll be back in a couple hours after I talk to the merchants." With that, he walks out the front door, though you can hear him muttering about "upstarts" and "why me?"
==/Solomon==
==Finri==
"Well, let's start doing some looking around, shall we?"
Finri will do some examining around the sanctuary for any clues that may have gone unnoticed, focusing particularly on the areas around where the strongbox and idol were kept as well as the doorway. After he finishes, he'll make his way outside to examine the tracks and see what he can determine.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Follows Finri.
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Follows Finri
==/Condrasson==
==Drugar==
Drugar walks around towards the back corner and will stand there to warn off interlopers that might disturb any tracks. (I picture a kind of alleyway behind the temple and Drugar will stand outside of it, but looking down it.) He tries to be careful not to walk anywhere near the back door or otherwise disturb any clues himself. (His WIS may be low, but his INT is decent!)
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Finri and Quint spend a couple minutes looking around the chapel. The icon had been placed on the front altar, and no specific clues are found at the altar. However, at the place where the strong box was stored, according to priest Solis, Finri notices that there are a number of gouges in the wood floor. Some of them look like gouges from the corner of the oak strong box, like the box had been dragged a bit. However, some of the gouges look like they were made by long toe nails or claws.
Once Finri and Quint move outside to the back alley, the footprints are evident. It has rained for a number of days, so there is mud everywhere. There are a number of shoe and boot prints, but among them you also notice a distinct group, either four or five, smaller tracks that do look like they were made by halflings. Quint gets down and inspects them, and notices something.
==/GM==
==Quint==
"Hey, check this out! It's just like those scratches you saw inside, Finri! You can see where some claws or something are digging into the ground, here. No halfling could make a print like this. That inspector doesn't know what he's talking about."
==/Quint==
==Drugar==
Drugar calls out "Where do the tracks lead?"
If he gets the chance to inspect them, does Drugar recognize the tracks?
[OCC: We should make a circuit of the town to see if we can spot any more tracks. Have we seen any ranger-looking types about?]
==/Drugar==
==GM==
(Everyone hears the exchange) Drugar gets down and inspects the tracks, and he believes, from his prior knowledge, that they look like bare feet from a goblinoid creature, either a goblin or a small hobgoblin, or something along those lines. Nobody has seen (that they have recognized, anyway) any folks in town that look like rangers or hunters.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Pulls Quint aside out of eary shot of the rest of the the group and asks him to follow Wesley secretly and report back to the group if there is anything off about him.
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Points the tracks out to Priest Solis and says, "Is there anybody in town who might know about any goings on with any local goblin-folk?"
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
[OCC: I think Ariel is right that Solomon could be in on the caper, but
we might need Quint's skills close at hand right now.]
Drugar tries to follow the tracks as far as possible. He says,
"Comrades, if these tracks disappear, they will likely pick up again
ouside of town as these buggers probably live in the hills or woods near
the town. We may need to circle the outskirts looking for more
tracks--indeed, we may need to enlist the services of a professional
tracker or a ranger."
==/Drugar==
==Quint==
*loudly whispering to Ariel* "No, I will not! What good would that do? You want me to just hang around the church all day? 'Hey, don't mind me, I'm just hanging out here. I'm totally not keeping an eye on you.' How silly."
==/Quint==
==Solis==
"Goblin folk? Well, we have had troubles recently with goblins both north of here, in the Burning Hills, as well as south and east of here in the Horned Hills. It is definitely possible that some goblins could have moved into the Melinir Hills around the town, but I have never heard of that being the case. Solomon Grant might know if such reports have come in recently. You could also check in with the mayor's office, but Solomon probably knows everything they do, since he works for the mayor."
==/Solis==
==GM==
Drugar follows the tracks out the alley and into the street, and discovers (since he rolled a 20!) that the tracks meander a bit before heading to a sewer grate. The grate is closed, but Drugar can't find any more of those tracks past the sewer, so it looks like they went down.
(OOC: this isn't a sewer grate like in modern, industrial society, where it just provides access to the system. This is just some bars over a hole, and people take their crap (figuratively and literally) and just dump it down the hole, where it can eventually flow into the river and down to Lake Ganif.)
==/GM==
==Finri==
Priest Solis. Do you know where these sewers empty out? Also, being new to town, we haven't yet seen any trackers about. Do you happen to know of anybody in this town skilled at following tracks?
==/Finri==
==Solis==
"The sewers? Well, they feed into the river prior to its opening into Lake Ganif. It is a pretty simple system, just a handful of openings feeding to one main connector that dumps into the river. And trackers? I don't know any trackers. Do you mean hunters? There are some hunters that live out in the southern Gauntlin Forest and the Great Grasslands, but I'm not aware of any that are in town. And even I could follow these tracks in the mud, so why do you need a hunter? Do you think some kind of animal stole the icon and the strongbox?" Priest Solis says with a confused look on his face.
==/Solis==
==Finri==
Well, we probably don't need one yet, but just wanted to know if there were any in or near town in case the tracks start moving into a less trackable terrain.
(to the rest of the party) Do you want to walk through the muck of the sewers, or just head to the other and and start back up on the tracks there? I'd suggest we just avoid climbing down in the muck and just head to the exit on the river.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
Drugar thinks a minute. "Hmm... I suppose it couldn't hurt checking out the area where it dumps into the river, but we have these tracks right here and I don't mind getting a little dirty. I think we should just go down and ferret the buggers out!"
==/Drugar==
==Ariel==
Do you think there is a a connection to the goblin raids occuring near Kleine you previously mentioned Quint? If so, who could we talk to gather any more information?
==/Ariel==
==Quint==
"Well, Kleine is roughly 20 miles to the north of here. That is pretty far for a goblin band, so I doubt that there would be a connection. It is possible, though. And what kind of information do you want to gather? If you want info on the Kleine goblin tribe, you will have to go to Kleine to learn about that. Or did you mean something else?"
==/Quint==
==Ariel==
Quint you previously said "I have sources in Kleine that tell me that the mayor is pretty desperate for some mercenaries to investigate some goblin raids that have been hitting that area. Kleine's up north, on Lake Ostrel at the northern end of the Rift. " Are any of the sources available to speak to? Are these sewers going in the direction of Kleine?
==/Ariel==
==Ariel==
Could we gather any information of the goblins allying themselves with a Balor temple?
==/Areil==
==Finri==
I think those may be definite things to look into to see if we can put a stop to future raids if there's local goblin tribes that need to be rooted out. However, I think the more immediate task at hand is to follow these tracks while they're still fresh. Making a trip to Kleine and back will cost us any chances we have of being able to follow them back to where they took the stolen items.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Very well. In the interest of time lets proceed down into the sewers. How do you suggest we proceed guys?
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Well, it appears concensus is to start with the sewers. Shall we head on in, and start making our way to the other end, or wherever the tracks may lead?
(smirks and says to Ariel) I would say, "Ladies first" but I'm sure you don't mind in this instance.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Very funny Finri. I bet if I were a Dwarven lady you would not be so sarcastic about getting myself dirty (said sarcastically). I think Finri and Drugar should take the ends given there dark vision capability. Your truly should be in the middle safe and protected (smirking at Finri).
==/Ariel==
==Quint==
(to Ariel) "Nah, Kleine is to the north of here, at the top of the Rift. The river and the lake are immediately south of Melinir. If you head on to the south side of town, you can smell the water once you get near the docks. I like to go down there from time to time. In fact, just this last week, after we got back from killing those bandits, I spent half the day on a boat out on the lake, fishing and enjoying the weather. It sure was a nice day, wasn't it? Yeah, that it was. In fact, I... uh... Balor? Now why would you think I would know anything about that? Are you trying to accuse me of somethin', lady?"
(to everyone) "Hey, before we head down the hole, here, give me 10 minutes to go back to the Dancing Dragon and get my stuff, OK? Specifically, my old, nasty clothes that I can happily burn once we're through with this..."
==/Quint==
==Erani==
"I will come, as well. I feel awful about what happened, and I want to lend what assistance I can. Just give me a few minutes to retrieve some equipment from my room in the church."
==/Erani==
==Solis==
"I will be praying to Aequitas for your safety and success while you are gone. However, shouldn't we wait for Inspector Grant to return?"
==/Solis==
==Finri==
Solis, I think its best that we go ahead and get started while the tracks are still fresh. If the Inspector returns, could you please tell him we found some tracks and are following up on them? (OOC: I'm not 100% convinced we can trust the Inspector just yet, so I'd rather not wait until he returns.)
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Lets decide the marching order and proceed down the sewer
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
Drugar will be in front if that is OK with everyone. He doesn't mind, but he will tie a length of cloth around his nose and mouth in an attempt to minimize the odors. If he cannot see tracks with his darkvision, he has his hooded lantern along. (Of course, any tracks may be obsurred down here by now.) "It is good that all that rain fell to wash this sewage through, else this stench could be even worse!"
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar carefully makes his way down the slick and disgusting ladder built into one wall of the chute down to the sewer. Once down, he noticed that he would need the lantern he carried for light. He lit the lantern and motioned to the others to proceed down. Once everyone was down in the sewers, they noticed that tracking would be difficult down here. There was lots of food pieces, feces, and other offal down in the pipe, along with some mud and other junk.
The sewer tunnel everyone is in runs basically southeast to northwest. According to Quint, following the sewer to the northwest will connect this tunnel to the main line that runs to the river. Back to the southeast the tunnel probably runs about 500 feet or so before stopping. Nobody can get a good read on any tracks in the tunnel right where you are, so you will either have to head southeast or northwest to see if you can pick up any tracks later on.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Is it feasible there could be secret passages around here? If so Quint could you detect any?
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Smells like roses down here! I can't see any tracks guys, shall we start heading to the northwest towards the main line?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Lets head northwest
==/Ariel==
==Quint==
"Secret passages? Yeah, I can check for that." He walks around in the much for awhile, and then declares "No, I can't find anything like a secret passage. Let's just follow the passage and I'll try again later."
==/Quint==
==GM==
With Drugar and his lantern in the lead, the group trudges through the sewers. Soon, they arrive at an interesection with a larger passage. The refuse in this large passage is slowly flowing down to the west, toward the river, which everyone can hear. There is another sound, though, which only Finri can hear. To the east down the large passage he can hear a buzzing sound that he can't place.
On the far side of the large tunnel there is an entryway to another side tunnel, which looks to slope to the northeast, away from the main tunnel. Nobody is able to locate any "tracks" down here, as there is too much flowing 'you don't want to think about it' for there to be any tracks after more than a minute or two.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Guys, do you hear that buzzing sound down the passageway to the east? It almost sounds like rather large insects. Let's get a move on towards the river before they find us and make a meal out of us.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
Agreed! Condrasson, help Finri watch our back.
==/Drugar==
==Condrasson==
Agreed. Anyone who misses with us is going to be in for a rude awakening. (smiling as he admires his new great axe) Condrasson supports Finri watch the back of the group.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
The group heads west down the tunnel towards the river. They reach the end, and can see how there is a grate at the end of the tunnel, but there is about a foot between each of the bars, both up-and-down and side-to-side. This allows plenty of space for gunk to get out. It does not allow you to get out, though, with the exception of Quint, who could squeeze himself through if need be. Quint also checks around at the end of the passage and can't find any secret passages or anything of that nature. If the thieves went through here,
you aren't sure how they did it.
==/GM==
==GM==
The group stared at the outer grate for awhile, and Quint and Ariel searched around to try to find any passages or doors or anything like that, but to no avail. So, the group re-formed and headed back east. As the group approached the intersection that had previously been at, the buzzing sound was louder, such that everyone could hear it. Then, the light of Finri's lantern showed exactly what was coming at them: a flight of large insects, about one foot long with a two-feet winspan, each with a long, nasty-looking proboscis coming out of their face. The creatures flew straight at the group, and combat ensued!
Because of Finri's earlier warning, I am assuming that you had weapons ready. As discussed in a previous act, I have rolled everybody's initiative, and Finri has the first action, which actually makes sense since he could hear the insects better than anybody.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Finri will move forward about 10 feet and ready himself for some bug smashing.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri has moved up ten feet and readied his mace. Drugar has the next action.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar shoulder-rolls through the filth (yes, through the filth) and pops up on his feet next to Finri, axe in hand. This is a calculated move to cover his personal scent (his blood, pheromones, etc.) and discourage the bugs from tracking/attacking him. (Hey, his CHA can't get much lower anyway! :D )
==/Drugar==
==GM==
One of the insects flies in at Drugar, but it must have been confused by all of the feces the dwarf was now wearing, as it couldnt' figure out where to stick its proboscis and just buzzed the dwarf impotently. Erani then took a stone from a pouch at her belt, put it into a small sling, and then slung it in a straight line between Drugar and Finri's heads, pegging the insect buzzing around Drugar, with the only obvious effective being making it mad. Quint has next action, but with a short sword in one hand and a lantern in the other, there's not much he can do at the back of the group, so he turned to make sure nothing was coming at the group from the direction of the river.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Ariel casts magic missile on the one lead insects
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Condrasson takes out his magic longbow and fires an arrow at the lead insect. (Rolled 17 +2 dex+1 magic modifier= 20- rolled 3 for three ponts damage
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Ariel gathers arcane power around her, and unleashes it at the insect 'bugging' Drugar. A ruby red bolt flew from Ariel's hands and blasted
right through the insect. The bug drops, smoking, into the muck. Right after, Condrasson nocked an arrow in his longbow and let fly at one of the insects down the hallway (ooc: you know, the ones so far away that human shouldn't be able to see them well in low light?). Continuing his ridiculous luck, he nicks the insect, but does not take it down. The three remaining insects charge at the group, with both Drugar and Finri getting attacked, while the bug Condrasson nicked flies right over Finri's head and attacks Condrasson. The dung must be distracting them, though, since I can't roll over a 10 and they all miss trying to stick you with their proboscii.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Finri attacks the insect directly in front of him with his handy mace. I rolled a total of 18 on my attack roll. Damage of 6.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
Drugar swings his axe and misses (rolled a 3).
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Finri brings his mace up, and swings it down right onto the head of the insect in front of him, crushing it and dropping the remains of the insect into the muck. Drugar attempts to same action, but fails to make contact with the bug.
Erani puts another stone in her sling, but is unable to get a good shot at either of the remaining insects, since Condrasson is so big, and all. Quint slips past Ariel (getting a nice feel of her left thigh in the process, Ariel can't help but notice) and stabs his sword at the insect attacking Condrasson, nicking its carapace but not skewering it like he planned.
Ariel stands back to let the men get to it!
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
Condrasson swings his great axe and hits (rolled 19+2=21, damage 2+2 modifier=4)
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Condrasson brings his axe down right in the middle of the insect in front of him, splitting it in two and spraying bug juice all over himself and Quint.
The last remaining insect makes an attempt to spear Drugar, but must still be distracted by the poop the dwarf is wearing, as the insect misses its attack.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Takes a swing at the last bug. I rolled a total of 13. If that makes contact, I rolled a 3 for damage.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri connects with his strike, nicking the bug on its carapace, but not taking it down.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar swats at the bug with the flat of his axe. I rolled an 11+1 to-hit. In case that hits, I rolled an 8+1 damage.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar takes a valiant swat at the insect "bugging" him (am I funny or what?), and catches it flat on its head, smashing it down into the poopy mess. That eliminates the final insect from the fray. So, eveyrone is standing at the intersection where the southeast and northeast side tunnels move off of the main tunnel. The insects came from the main tunnel to the east. What do you do next?
==/GM==
==Finri==
Well, friends. Do you think we should follow the tunnel to the east past where the bugs came from?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Let's go easr where the bugs came from
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
Aye. Let's go East.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
The group trudged east down the sewer, looking for any evidence that the temple thieves went this way. Over 500 feet down the tunnel the group sees what looks like a number of desicated small animal corpses in a loose pile. Then tunnel continues to the east, though according to Quint it doesn't continue too much farther past this point.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar pokes at the corpses to see if they are goblinoids.
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Finri searches the area for any hidden passageways. "Quint, would you mind helping search the area for any hidden passageways?"
==/Finri==
==Quint==
"Yeah, I can do that for ya! Just give me a minute..." Quint then spends a couple minutes looking around, and poking at stuff with a stick he found. "Well, I'm not seeing anything that looks like a passage of anything. This tunnel looks clean, here. Well, not really 'clean' in the hygienic sense,
but... well, you know what I mean."
==/Quint==
==GM==
When Drugar pokes at the corpses, he notices that there are primarily smaller dogs and cats, along with a raccoon. However, there is also the corpse of a
goblin that looks, from the best you can tell, relatively fresh. It has been drained of blood by the insects. The goblin corpse is wearing some ratty pants and a torn jacket of indeterminate make.
==/GM==
==Erani==
Erani saddles up to Finri and puts a hand on his left arm. "Ooh, that was scary, Finri. Do you think we will encounter more dangers down here in the sewers? I'm sure you could protect me though. I mean, with your friends and all; you didn't seem to have any trouble dealing with those giant insects."
==/Erani==
==Finri==
*Straightens up proudly* Ah, well, it was nothing. I'm sure we'll encounter more difficulties before all is said and done, but don't worry, Ol' Finri here will protect you.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Stay alert Erani. Never become overconfident. Drugar do you see anything
of interestr on the dead Goblin. Should we search it.
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
"Hmmm... This could be what's left of the thief we're after." He digs around and under the corpses a bit, looking to see if the idol is hidden. He also searches the pockets of the goblin corpse, muttering to himself "When this is over, I'm taking a dip in the river and then a long hot bath."
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar's search of the corpse pile does not turn up the statue. Rather, it turns up 29 gold coins in a small leather pouch in the vest pocket of the goblin.
==/GM==
==Erani==
"Oh, certainly, miss Ariel, I will stay alert. But I know that Aequitas will not allow this grievance to go unpunished, and his justice will prevail. I take full confidence in Aequitas' power." Erani winks at Finri.
==/Erani==
==Drugar==
Of course, Drugar shows what he found and does not pocket it for himself. ;) "Well, this trip down the town's colon won't be a complete waste of time. But I am at a loss for what to do next. Quint, how do you know this tunnel doesn't go much further? I say we scout it out anyway and see if there are any secret passages down there. If not, we can retrace our steps and explore one of the side passages."
==/Drugar==
==Condrasson==
Condrasson now that the battle is over walks over to Quint. "Next time watch how walk near my sister or you will be wearing your teeth punk." (In furious voice)
==/Condrasson==
==Quint==
(to Condrasson) "What is your problem? What are you even talking about?" Quint then purposefully walks away from Condrasson, over to Drugar. "Well, I know it doesn't go much farther because the town just isn't that big. And, I may have, once or twice, used the sewers as a... shortcut to get around town without seeing certain people who were annoying me at the time. I didn't say we couldn't check it out, just that I know the tunnel doesn't go too much further."
==/Quint==
==Ariel==
"Drugar, Quint lets explore the rest of this tunnel first as Drugar suggested. " Then Ariel approaches Quint calmly and says "Earlier you brushed up against my thigh. My brother thought you were dishonoring me. He is very protective. I know you meant know offense."
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Yes, let's check out the rest of this tunnel just to be sure. If we find nothing then we move on to one of the side tunnels.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Then Ariel in her usual direct manner walks over to Finri and says. "Excuse me Finri, may I speak to about a private matter for a moment?"
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
*speaking softly, and taking Ariel off to the side* Certainly Ariel. What seems to be the problem?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
As your friend I think you need be careful about getting too close to Erani. As far as we know she is in on the plot to steal the statue. She could be tagging along to keep off track of cover up the evidence. If you can think of a way to flush out her true intentions to ensure that she is what she appears it would be helpful.
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Well, she was the one who alerted us to the theft, and has so far not tried to do anything to hinder the investigation, so I don't think she's involved in it, but until we know what's going on, you're probably right.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Hey guys can I have two hours of uninterrupted. (ooc:To memorize and cast one spell and then memorize another)
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
It'd be great if you have a spell you think would help us, but I'd rather get out of these sewers as soon as possible and back into fresh air. Its rather foul down here.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
"What?!? Down here? Are you mad, woman? You think you're going to sit down in this slop for two hours to meditate?" *laughs heartily* "I'm not spending any more time down here than I have to! Let's get a move on. We'll protect you--and you've got a dagger hidden away somewhere, don't you? Maybe it's time you learned to use it!"
==/Drugar==
==Ariel==
Very well my friends. Let's continue. I will need your protection in case of combat.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
The group continued walking down the sewer tunnel to the east, and after a few hundred feet it became noticeable that there was less stuff in the sewer. This
continued until, after a few more hundred feet, the group came to the end of the sewer tunnel. There was very little material in the sewer here. There was also an access grate in the ceiling and a ladder built into the left wall.
==/GM==
==Quint==
"Well, everyone, it looks like we've run this tunnel all the way. Give me a couple minutes to look around here, and then I'll let you know if I see anything unexpected."
==/Quint==
==Finri==
Is there any evidence that this is where they exited the sewers?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Hmm. One thing strikes me as odd about this whole situation. If the goblins planned this escape route why would they turned to corridor where the bees were and then one of them get killed leaving some gold behind? Could they hid out here until the heat was off and escaped another way?
==/Ariel==
==Quint==
After looking around for a couple minutes, Quint says, to no one in particular, "Yeah, I don't see any secret doors or passageways or anything hidden. This looks like a dead end. Either they didn't go this way, or they went up that ladder there and back up top." To Ariel he says "Lady, I have no idea what these goblin thieves are thinking. Maybe they aren't too good at planning? Or maybe those blood-sucking things just recently got through the outer grate and into the sewer. Who knows? It is totally possible for someone to hide down here for a while, they would just need to have no sense of smell at all to be able to take it. We haven't been down here an hour and we're reaching my limits, but who knows what a goblin can take? They live in filth their entire lives, from what I know of them, so maybe this is pleasant for
them."
==/Quint==
==Erani==
"I agree with Quint, the stench is giving me a headache. How much longer do we need to be down here, anyway?"
==/Erani==
==Finri==
What do you all say? Shall we climb the ladder and check above to see if this is where they got out of the sewers, and maybe get a little fresh air, or do you want to hit the side tunnels first? I'm thinking we should climb up and take a look around.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
I agree with Finri. Lets climb up the ladder and take a look around.
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
"Up we go!" Drugar starts to climb the ladder and pauses. "Anyone mind if I go first?"
==/Drugar==
==Ariel==
Please go first Druggy but won't you rolling around in the sewage.
(sarcastically)
==/Ariel==
==GM==
Drugar climbs up the ladder, reaches the top, finds the connection point, and pops off the grate. He moves it out of the way, and then climbs out into the street. In the merchant district. During a busy time, with lots of people around. Lots of people who are looking at a dwarf covered in sh*t who just crawled up out of the sewers.
Some women begin screaming, men begin moving away, and Drugar hears at least one person saying "Gods, what is that thing?" Drugar finds himself in the middle of a small hurricane of activity, as people try to get away from the awful stink monster that just crawled up from the sewers.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar looks around for a horse-trough or rainbarrel that he might jump in, while saying "Now, now, nothing to fear from me! I am Drugar! One of the heroes that eliminated the menace of the caravan bandits! Surely you merchants have heard of me and my friends?"
==/Drugar==
==Ariel==
Drugar perhaps you should move out of the way and perhaps I can calm down the crowd with my charms.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
Nobody seems to be listening to the smelly dwarf, as chaos continues in the market place. However, Drugar does spy what looks to be a pretty full rain barrel a couple dozen feet away under the edge of a sloped roof.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar jogs over to the rain barrel and jumps in, feet first. (If he passes a seller of soap, he will grab a bar as he goes past. He will toss the merchant a gold piece when he's done.) He does his best to quickly get the worst of the crap off. Luckily, he keeps his beard in a short braid, so that isn't too hard to clean up. Jumping out, he looks around the stalls for someone selling incense or perfumes. If lucky enough, he'll give a gold piece for a bottle of perfume or a handful of incense and either smash the bottle on his chest or light the incense and stuff it through his belt or into a dagger-sheath. Once back with the rest of the party, he grins widely and says "Fresh as a daisy!"
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Unfortunately for Drugar (and everything with a nose), he is unable to quickly find a bar of soap. He does, however, find a stall selling a incense. He grabs a fist of sticks while the merchant recoils, and tosses a gold piece at the poor woman. He then lights the incense and shoves it into his belt. The rest of the group then climbs out of the sewers, wondering what all the noise was about. They quickly see a very wet Drugar, with some of the poop and detritus cleaned off of him, with burning incense sticks in his belt. At this
point Drugar notices that a couple small children are staring at him from behind a post supporting a tent that has a couple merchant stalls under it. He is, most assuredly, the most interesting-looking thing they have ever seen in their short lives. The appearance of more people covered in slop seems to have a calming effect on the crowd, especially as Ariel begins calming people down (OOC: love those natural 20s). In fact, most of the people who originally ran away seem to be coming back to get a look at what exactly is going on. One brave soul actually approaches you and offers you hot baths behind an inn for only 2 gold pieces each.
==/GM==
==GM==
Everyone is taken behind a small inn a short distance away, where two of the stable stalls have been turned into bath stalls, with a large wooden tub in each. The ladies get one, while the men have to take turns. Your clothes are also dunked in a tub of soapy water and scrubbed by a worker at the inn, which gets them kind of clean, though none of them are anything you are likely to
wear again, once this is all over. This takes about an hour. In fact, you are all offered a modest lunch for the low, low price of only 4sp each, if you would like to actually eat something. Once this is all said and done, it is early afternoon and you need to decide what actions to take next.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Ariel agrees to the lunch and asks if anyone has seen globins, or anyone by description of Priest Solis, the Inspector, and/or Solomon without mentioning their names or description around Erani.
==/Ariel==
==Serving girl==
"No, maam, I have not seen any globins around here, not at all. And one of the men you describe sounds like the local priest of Aequitas. A good man, he
is. I see him around from time to time. Why do you ask? Does it have to do with why you all were in the sewers? You know, if you keep that up you will absolutely ruin your beautiful hair; you'll just have to cut it all off. You should totally bind it up on your head and wear a cap or something to protect it."
==/Serving girl==
==Ariel==
Ariel following the woman's advice binds her hair. Then follows up and asks
when was the last time you saw the Priest of Aequitas. Who was he with?
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
Drugar bathes last (he ate his lunch while waiting) and demands they refill the tub with fresh, hot water. He soaks for so long he falls asleep--or maybe it was the mead. :)
[OCC: BTW, Drugar paid the incense merchant and the innkeeper out of the
bag of coins taken off the goblin corpse. So, from 29gp, we're down to
13. (29 - 1 (incense) - 2x6 (baths) - 4sp x6 (rounded up to 3gp--Drugar
didn't want to mess around with change and felt he should tip the
wenches *something* for their troubles))]
==/Drugar==
==Serving girl==
"The last time I saw the priest? Hmmmm... I think that was a couple weeks ago. He was in the market buying some stuff. Mainly food, it looked like, but I think also some basic items, some cloth and stuff like that. I don't remember him being with anybody in particular. He was talking to lots of people. Oh, yeah, I think I remember him talking to the mayor that day, but I don't know what they talked about."
==/Serving girl==
==Ariel==
Was her carrying any icons or symbols? Also did anyone you know have a chance to hear what was being said? Also is there anyone in town you would know more about the local goblin tribes that you can refer me to?
(Ooc:Aaron, how long ago was the icon supposedly stolen at this point?)
Thank you patience ma'am. When was the last time you saw either with Solomon Grant (Chief investigator), Wesley Zadovsky, primarty acoloyte to the temple of Aequitas, or Stefan de Herbts? Do you know where we could find Mr. Herbts?
==/Ariel==
==Serving girl==
"'Was her carrying any icons or symbols?' Who are you talking about? The priest is a man, and there were no women with him. You should know the only woman at the temple is your companion. And I don't know anything about goblins in the area, nor would any of my friends. Talk to the guard if you want to know about that, I guess. Now, Stefan de Herbts is a local weaver. He has a workshop just a few blocks away. Are you looking to buy some of his
cloth? I hear from people that he does fine work, and in fact some merchants from outside of the area have bought stuff from him in the past. His prices are supposed to be very reasonable considering the quality of his work, from what I hear. Now, if you will excuse me, I must check on the dwarf lady." With this, the serving girl leaves Ariel to go see if Erani needs anything.
==/Serving girl==
==Ariel==
If the guard referred to by the serving girl is on the premises, then Ariel asks him about the local goblins, their allegiances, and their activities. Then after the Serving girl leaves Erani Ariel tips the Serving Girl 2gp and follows up with her if Priest Solis was carrying the statue once Erani is out of earshot.
==/Ariel==
==Serving girl==
"Oh, thank you, maam. Your beauty is truly matched by your generosity. No, I don't remember priest Solis having the icon with him in the market. I don't
think I have ever seen it outside of the temple."
==/Serving girl==
==Ariel==
"Excuse me mam but did you not say that you saw him a couple of weeks ago talking to the Mayor in the market?" Excuse my last comment ma'am. I misunderstood what you meant. Have a good day.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
The serving girl bows lightly and departs. Soon after, Erani comes into the bathing area. She is dressed, but is towling off her wet hair. ARIEL - you notice that Erani is wearing a rather odd looking necklace. It seems to be made of bronze, and looks rather crudely made. The necklace includes a small medallion, but you can't tell what kind of design is on it from where you are.
==/GM==
==Erani==
"Oh, my, that was wonderful. I was wondering if I would ever get the smell off of me. I'll have to ask priest Solis to give a special blessing to the people who run this inn. So, Ariel, what do you think we shoul do next? I think I can hear that older dwarf snoring, so I don't think we're going anywhere right away."
==/Erani==
==Ariel==
While Ariel is out of Erani eyesight and after she memorizes magic missile. She signals to Condrasson and Quint to get behind Erani slowly. Then once they casually get behind Erani Ariel says "Erani please take out your medallion that you are wearing for inspection. I am going to ask only once" If she refuses Condrasson does a subduing blow behind her head with the blunt edge of his great axe. If she hands it over she shows it to Finri for examination.
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Once Finri gets cleaned up and is waiting on Ariel to memorize her spell, he uses the time to examine the nearby grounds and see if he sees any physical signs of the goblins having traveled through the area. Even if they did travel through here, I don't expect to find anything since its a high traffic area, but I'll check just to be sure.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
* ZZZZZZZ *
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Once Finri is fed and cleaned-up, he goes out into the market area around the sewer entrance to look for any signs that the goblin thieves came this way. Unfortunately, he is unable to find anything to indicate that. He finds no tracks or clues of any kind. Once Ariel has her spell memorized, she signals to Condrasson and Quint to get behind Erani, who is resting behind the stable. Erani seems blissfully ignorant of anything around her, so Condrasson is able to get in position quickly. Quint is confused at first about what Ariel wants, and then figures out that she wants him to go stand by Condrasson.
However, Quint still remembers a couple hours ago when Condrasson threatened to punch his face in, so he decides against getting too close to the hot-headed warrior. Ariel then moves in and makes her request to see the medallion.
==/GM==
==Erani==
Erani visibly perks up at Ariel's question. "Oh, my medallion? Sure." She then pulls it out from her blouse and holds up the medallion so Ariel can see it, without taking the chain off from around her neck. Ariel can see that the
mediallion is pretty non-descript, with a design on it that looks like the result of letting a five-year-old bang on it with a hammer for a couple minutes. "I happen to like it quite a bit. It was a gift from a local child recently. He was paying me back for a kindness I had showed him, though I would have done that for anybody. Do you like it? Isn't it pretty?"
==/Erani==
==Ariel==
"Dont move Erani or you're going to be aced."
==/Ariel==
==Erani==
"Oh, Ariel, you're so silly. We're not even playing cards! *giggle* Ooh, would you like to? I'll bet they have some in the inn."
==/Erani==
==Ariel==
"I am not kidding Erani." "Finri is this a religious symbol."
==/Ariel==
==Ariel==
"The chain Erani as well"
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Walks over to Ariel to examine the necklace. "Well, let's take a look shall we my dear friend, Ariel?"
==/Finri==
==Erani==
Gets a cross look on her face. "I'm not giving this to you, Ariel." she says while holding the medallion, which is still on the chain around her neck. "You can look at it, but it's mine." She then holds the medallion out towards Finri so he can see it.
==/Erani==
==Finri==
Appears to be nothing more than a trinket, Ariel. Pardon my friend, Erani, but with this theft, I think we're all just trying to look at any possible solution we can think of.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Waiving off Condrasson and Quint from behind Erani Ariel turns to Erani and says to Erani. "My apologies Erani." "What can you tell me about the Icon of Aequitas? Wesley the acolyte at the temple? Do you know of anyone who would want to steal the Icon?'
==/Ariel==
==Erani==
"Well, I don't know that I can give you any extra information about the icon then Priest Solis did, as I haven't been at the temple for even a year. It has divine power, but I have not actually seen that power manifest, and I don't know how it would, exactly. Sorry, but I just don't know. Wesley the acolyte has been there for three or four years, now. He basically handles all of the priestly duties when Priest Solis is unavailable, for whatever reason. He's a pretty boring person, actually, and not that good dealing with the faithful, like the head priest is. Still, he does his duties well. And who would want to steal the icon? I have no idea, really I don't. I've never heard of anybody talking about such a thing. I know we have a couple thieves in the area, but why steal such a famous thing? It would be impossible to fence, at least anywhere within 100 miles of here. People would know what it was. Sorry, I guess I'm not much of a help, am I?"
==/Erani==
==Ariel==
Ariel takes an hour to memorize detect magic privately and then casts it on Erani's necklace.
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
Drugar's head eventually slides into the bathwater and he awakes with a start. Of course, the water is quite tepid now, so he gets out, shakes off, and puts on a fresh tunic and his armor again. "Nothing like a good nap!" he says to no one in particular. He walks out of the stall and finds the rest of the party just as Ariel is suggesting to memorize her spell. "Sure thing, lass." And to the others, "Did I miss anything?" [Finri relates everything.] "That's an interesting, er... token there, Erani. Doesn't look made by Dwarvish hands, though. I'm surprised you would stoop to wearing something of such poor craftsmanship. It is very curious, though. Where did you say you got it? Here, let me get a closer look," and he moves in closer so he can really eyeball it. "'Twould be easier if you could give me the chain
and all so I can take it over yonder where the sunlight is brightest."
[OCC: Does Drugar recognize anything about it or the chain it is on? What metal(s) it is made of, etc.? How is the chain made, very fine links, or crude wire?]
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Also while Ariel spends time memorizing Detect Magic, Finri will engage in a friendly discussion of theology with Erani. (OOC: With the appearance of just killing time while we wait on Ariel, but in reality to test her knowledge.) Now, I don't actually have a deep knowledge of Aequitian theology, so I'm assuming we can just pretend Finri's able to hold an intelligent conversation on the topic, and Aaron can let me know if Erani passed muster.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Erani will not take off the necklace, but will hold up the medallion for Drugar to see. Drugar (...rolled a 1...) does not recognize anything about the medallion or the chain, though he can tell that they are both of crude manufacture. The chain is crude links. They are both made of what looks to be a bronze alloy of some kind.
Finri's conversation with Erani (which she really enjoys, BTW) pretty much shows that Finri needs to go back to seminary (...rolled a 1...), as Erani (...rolled a not 1...) seems to know more than him about pretty much every topic related to Aequitas that either of them can think of. Erani says this is because Finri spends all his time bashing in the heads of heathens, rather than studying.
After the hour is done, Ariel comes back in sight and casts "Detect Magic" on Erani. Ariel gets a positive reading from the spell, and rolled high enough to be able to tell that the medallion on the necklace is enchanted with some kind of "charm" magic, which would affect the wearer. What exactly the spell is, though, Ariel can't tell.
BTW, at this point it is a bit after 3 in the afternoon, so there aren't
many hours of daylight left.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Ariel signals to Condrasson to restrain Erani. Once Condrasson has Erani restrained she attempts to remove the medallion from Erani's neck.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
Condrasson puts his right arm around Erani's neck and pulls back, trying to restrain her.
Condrasson has a hold of Erani, but she is struggling to break free and
is not really restrained yet.
==/GM==
==Quint==
Stares at Condrasson and says "He's gone crazy! He just hates short people!" while backing away.
==/Quint==
==Ariel==
Screams out "Her mind is being controlled by a charm spell." "Quint I told him to do it." "Get the medallion off her."
==/Ariel==
==Quint==
"She's controlled by a charm spell? Huh? How do you know that?" Quint continues to edge away from the competition between Condrasson and Erani.
==/Quint==
==GM==
Condrasson finally gets Erani fully restrained.
==/GM==
==Erani==
(in a choked breath) "What are doing, you ox? I can't breathe! Somebody help me!"
==/Erani==
==Ariel==
Ariel screams. "Condrasson don't choke Erani just restrain her." Ariel screams "I casted detect magic on her medallion. She is under a charm spell" Then Ariel attempts to remove Erani's medallion when she is restrained.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
As Ariel grabs a hold of the medallion, she can feel another presence attempt to enter her mind. Ariel must make a Saving Throw against Magic Wands to
resist the charm.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Lets go of the medallion and tries to remove the entire chain.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
Ariel gathers her mental defenses and blocks out the presence, which retreats back from whence it came. (i.e., she rolled a 15 and made her saving throw). She then removes the necklace and medallion from around Erani's neck.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Still somewhat taken aback at Condrasson's and Ariel's actions, Drugar stands there slack-jawed.
[OCC: Do we see any noticeable changes come over Erani, either physically or emotionally?]
==/Drugar==
==Ariel==
Puts the chain on a table with the medallion (without touching it) and attempts to smash the medallion with a dagger.
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Ariel, would you mind explaining what just happened there? Was there something about the medallion, or did you just decide you didn't like it?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
The medallion was charmed and controls Erani's mind. I determined this by casting detect magic on it. I am attempting to destroy it."
==/Ariel==
==GM==
(OOC: Drugar does not notice any obvious change in Erani's bearing (nor does anyone else, for that matter))==Erani==
(to Ariel) "Hey, what are you doing! I said a child gave me that, why are you trying to destroy it!?" (to Condrasson) "And let go of me, you oaf! Didn't your mother teach you about how to treat a woman?" (to Finri) "Help me, Finri!"
==/Erani==
==Finri==
Erani, that medallion was apparently enchanted with some kind of charm. Ariel, were you able to determine the nature of that charm, or did you notice anything when you were handling it? Erani, would you still be able to identify the person who gave that charm to you, or know how to find him?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Finri, I sensed a presence trying to enter my mind but I fought it off when I touched the medallion. I would be happy to return the medallion to Erani if I knew for sure it wasn't impacting her mind and therefore endangering the
group.
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
We should probably hold on to that medallion until we know what's going on and who was entering Erani's mind. It may very likely have something to do with this stolen artifact. (to Erani) Any ideas where we might find the child who gave it to you?
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
*whispers to Finri: Easy, lad. She may still be charmed. Perhaps we should get her to Solis for a "spiritual cleansing" or whatever it is you guys do, before we ask her a lot of questions.
*normal voice to Ariel: Ariel, put that thing in a sack and don't touch it!
==/Drugar==
==Erani==
(answering Finri's question) "Well, I don't actually know where to find that child. I'm not even really sure what he looked like, as he was shrouded in rags when he came into the church yesterday afternoon. Hmmm... I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me before, but I do remember he talked rather odd, like there was something wrong with his throat. He also had a weird accent that I couldn't place. Sorry, my head seems a little fuzzy now." (she gives a nasty
glance over her shoulder to Condrasson) "Probably the lack of air to my brain as this idiot tries to strangle me." (back to everyone else) "And what's this about that medallion being charmed?"
==/Erani==
==Finri==
(to Erani) I apologize for the rough handling, but considering what we've learned so far about this necklace, I'm sure Condrasson and Ariel did the right thing. Did anybody else at the church interact with the child? Were there others with him, or did he come alone? (to the party) Do you think we should we go back to the temple and question some of the others there about this child? Maybe Priest Solis or some of the other workers know something about him.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Follows Drugar's advice and throws the chain and medallion (without touching the medallion) into a separate sack and ties the sack securely so the medallion can't slip out. Then she turns to Finri and asks. "You are wisest among us, if you think Condrasson should let her go then he will". In addition, I think Drugar is right about bringing her back to Solis for conditioning. It seems likely the so called child was more than it appeared.
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
I think Erani may have been being used by whoever did this without her knowledge. The enchantment was probably magical rather than spiritual in nature, so I suggest we also have an experienced mage take a look at her as well after she's spent time at the temple cleansing her spirit, to make sure there are no lingering affected of the enchantment. Meanwhile, I suggest we look into this child, as it does in fact appear that he was more than first appeared. My instinct is telling me that this may have been some kind of mind control medallion used to help the thieves gain access to the temple. Erani was given this medallion just shortly before the theft, and there doesn't appear to be any forced entry into the temple.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
(Quietly to Finri out of Erani's earshot) There are two issues that we settle before going to find a Magic user :
1) Do we knock out Erani and then transport her or trust she is not going to give way our position to the enemy
2) We should speak to a guard about Balor in this area.
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
(responding quietly to Ariel) You probably know more about magic than me, but I would assume that the charm is attached to the medallion, so by removing it she's probably not being controlled any longer. However, to be safe, we should still protect ourselves until we've made verifications. Knocking her out might be a little extreme, but we should probably ask a mage come to us while we're at the temple so that they can examine her without her prior knowledge that they're going to show up.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
I agree if Drugar and Quint are in agreement. Also should Condrasson let her go
==/Ariel==
==GM==
At this moment, two town guards, in studded leather armor and holding spears, come around the corner.
==/GM==
==Town Guard==
"We heard a woman screaming over here, something about magic." He looks over at Condrasson holding on to Erani in what is obviously a non-romantic embrace, and lowers his spear into attack position. "Hey," he yells, "what are you doing? Release her!"
==/Town Guard==
==Drugar==
Drugar pulls on Condrasson's arm to get him to release Erani. "No harm here, gentlemen! Just a little quarrel between friends!" he tries to say reassuringly with a smile. "Can I buy you a flagon of ale?" (I could use some 1's on my charisma rolls instead of my to-hits!)
==/Drugar==
==Condrasson==
Releases Erani.
==/Condrasson==
==Ariel==
Approaches the two guards and says "My, my such strong fellows now I can truly feel safe." (Flirtatiously)
==/Ariel==
==Town Guard==
(to Ariel) "Huh. You do sound like the person we heard screaming. Why were you screaming when the dwarven lady was the one being manhandled?" (to Drugar) "And what kind of a chump do you think I am? You can't buy me off, mister." (OOC: Drugar didn't get a 1, but a 5 isn't too great, either) "How about all you follow us to the town hall so we can get this sorted out?"
==/Town Guard==
==Finri==
Pardon us for the disturbance, sir, but our friend Erani had a necklace that Ariel found out was charmed. We've managed to sort everything out though, and will be happy to go on our way now. We're in the middle of an investigation of a theft at the temple of Aequitas and need to get back to our investigation.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
(to the guards) "You may know us better as the group that clear the mine of the evil bandits. So if you fine gentlemen would not mind we need to get going to continue our investigation concerning the theft at the temple of Aequitas for its priest who if I recall correctly is friendly with the Mayor."
==/Ariel==
==Town Guard==
"Oh, yeah, I think I remember Inspector Grant mentioning something about that. He said that some people had gone running off chasing after some thieves or something. So that is you, eh? But what's this about someone being charmed? That sounds bad, I don't really trust magic users, myself. They're always trying to mess with your brain or blow you up, or something. If the girl really has been charmed, you should take her back to the church; maybe the priest can help her."
==/Town Guard==
==Finri==
Thank you for the advice, sir. That's exactly what we will do. Shall we head out my friends? (starts getting his belongings gathered up)
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Ariel gathers her belongings along the separate sack holding the medallion and says "Lets get to the temple guys."
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
"Yes! Let's be off!" and Drugar scuttles away from the guards, catching up with Quint. "These town guards aren't too friendly, are they?"
==/Drugar==
==Quint==
"Well, what do you expect? This isn't a big town, after all. With that girl (he motions to Ariel) screaming about charm spells and attacking people, of course someone was going to hear. Hell, half the town probably heard her. Now I'm going to be dealing with rumors of banshees in the town for the next month, at least. Let's just get to the priest and see if we can figure out what is really going on here."
==/Quint==
==Ariel==
Approaches Condrasson. "Condry I want to apologize to Quint for your rude behavior earlier"
==/Ariel==,/p>
==Condrasson==
"Come on sis why do I have to apologize."
==/Condrasson==
==Ariel==
"No back talk Condrasson." "Do it now"
==/Ariel==
=Condrasson==,br>
Condrasson approaches slowly to Quint from a safe distance and says "sorry about my temper earlier."
==/Condrasson==
==Quint==
"As well you should be! You just don't know how to deal with people, which is why you don't have any friends and get bossed around by your sister all the time. You're the man! You should be telling her what to do. That's the way it works in my family, anyway. Well, some of the time, anyway. But still, you need to learn to control that temper of yours, or you are going to get in real trouble one day. You mark my words." Quint pauses for a few seconds and then continues. "Still, no real harm was done, so I forgive you. Just don't let it happen again."
==/Quint==
==Finri==
OOC: Awww, I shed a tear. Now they need to hug and make up. :-)
==/Finri==
==GM==
It is early evening now, and everyone is gathered at the temple of Aequitas with priest Solis, acolyte Zadovsky, Erani, and Solomon Grant, whom the priest invited once he heard your story about the charmed necklace. You have just described the events of the day to everyone.
==/GM==
==Priest Solis==
"This is definitely not the way I expected this to go. To think that someone put our young cleric under a spell is un-nerving. Who would want to do such a thing? And why, especially, a child? And how could a child even make such a thing? It is all very odd."
==/Solis==
==Solomon Grant==
"Well, if you ask me, the whole thing stinks even worse than these folks" - he waves his hand towards the adventurers - "did when they came up from the sewers. I doubt that the individual providing that charm was really a child at all. But what could it be?"
==/Grant==
==Erani==
(almost in tears) "But I'm telling the truth! If it wasn't a child, then what could it be!? And we're still no closer to finding the icon; it might be out of the Rift by now!"
==/Erani==
==Solomon Grant==
"And whose fault would that be? If you people would have waited for me, like I suggested, I could have helped you track those goblins into the sewers and gotten this whole thing fixed." He softly says "amateurs." Then he resumes a normal voice. "Still, that was decent work determining the necklace she had was imbued with malicious magical power. An ugly thing, it is. We'll have a local wizard verify exactly what it is in a day or two, but I'm content to take your word for the time being. Now, Erani, let's go over the events of yesterday one more time, to make sure we're not missing anything."
==/Grant==
==Erani==
"Okay. For some reason my memory of yesterday has been pretty hazy until just recently. The morning went pretty much as normal. It wasn't a worship day, so the temple was pretty empty, without any visitors or supplicants. A little after noon, though, a child came to the temple. He was wrapped in rags that covered him from head to toe, and his voice sounded weird, too. He said he was an orphan and was looking for a place to spend the night. We don't really have any spare rooms at the temple, so I suggested he check and see if any of the local inns had any spare rooms, and I offered to give him some silvers to pay for it from our charity box. The child insisted, though, that he felt the temple would be better for him, and he offered to pay for a few days' stay with that chain and medallion, which he handed to me. It just really seemed like a good idea, then, so I agreed to let him stay. He left, then, and said he would come back later. I don't remember seeing him again, though. He didn't come by in the evening for me to let him in."
==/Erani==
==Ariel==
"Mr. Grant, Priest Solis, Mr. Zadovsky what do you know about the local goblin tribes and who are they allied to?" "Potential Balor temples in the area
==/Ariel==
==Solomon Grant==
"I'm not aware of any goblin tribes in the immediate area around the Melinir Hills, but that doesn't mean none have recently moved in. They have more problems with goblins up north, in the Burning Hills, near the village of Kleine. I know they have been having some problems recently. And the Horned Hills, southeast of here, have some goblin tribes. They have tended to leave us alone, though"
"And nobody would be stupid enough to build a temple to Balor and advertise it. If we knew of one, the priest would rally the locals and they'd go burn the thing down and desecrate it. What kind of question is that, anyway?"
==/Solomon==
==Ariel==
Given the evil magic being used and given the item stolen I would think it is possible that an evil cleric has stolen the Icon. What do you Mr. Grant
==/Ariel==
==Solomon==
"What do I what? Speak clearly, girl. I'm not a mind-reader like you are, miss 'high and mighty.'"
==/Solomon==
==Priest Solis==
"You think a cleric of Balor stole the icon? Do you have any evidence to support this?"
==/Solis==
==Ariel==
Given that evil charm magic was used and that a religious icon of Aequitas was stolen do you think it makes it likely to be a priest of Balor responsible given your vast experience?
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
Drugar paces about during this exchange. Eying the stonework of the temple and muttering "Men's work. Bah." Finally, he says, "Well, we know someone--or some*thing*--gave Erani a charmed medallion, but she doesn't know who. And somehow, someone gained access to the temple and stole the idol. From the tracks, we can see that a goblin took it into the sewers. Perhaps the child in rags was really a goblin or in league with goblins and duped poor Erani into opening the door for them that night, allowing the idol to be stolen. Regardless, I'm afraid we may have to return to the sewers and explore the other passages. Perhaps the great Solomon Grant would do us the honor of leading the expedition? Or does he have other suggestions?" Drugar looks at Quint and rolls his eyes as he finishes--obviously trying to hide such a look from Solomon.
==/Drugar==
==Ariel==
In addition to my prevous questions which if could respond to I would appreciate, Mr Zadvosky where were you when the icon was stolen?
==/Ariel==
==Solomon Grant==
"Now that, good dwarf," motioning to Drugar, "is a splendid idea. Granted, that is the same as my original idea, which we could have done if you all would have waited for me to return before charging off into the sewers on your own. But, I guess you are all too wet behind the ears to have known any better. *sigh* What is wrong with people these days? They just won't listen to their elders anymore. Anyway, yes, we will need to head down into the sewers to check them out and make sure you all didn't miss something today."
==/Solomon Grant==
==Wesley Zodovsky==
"Like I said this morning, I was in my apartment studying last night. I didn't hear anything before I went to sleep, but I was pretty involved in my studies, and wasn't paying attention to anything else."
==/Wesley Zadovsky==
==Finri==
(OOC: I think Solomon Grant is the "tracker" we had previously hoped for before entering the sewers the first time. I think we need to make a second trip to the sewers with him tracking the footprints for us. I think the only "insider" was an unwitting Erani under the charm spell.)
Yes, Inspector Grant, we do apologize for getting ahead of ourselves, but we had a lead on the theft and didn't want to waste any time in getting to the bottom of it. Would you be so kind as to join us for another saunter through the sewers to see if we can find where these goblins may have gone?
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
Drugar grunts and gits his teeth when he is called "wet behind the ears", but controls his anger.
==/Drugar==
==Solomon Grant==
"Good to see that common sense can still prevail. However, it happens to be dinner time now, so how about a quick bite to eat and then we will go into the sewers?
==/Solomon Grant==
==Priest Solis==
"That sounds fine, and I will be praying to Aequitas that you successfully recover the icon. However, I would prefer Erani to not accompany you, this time, as the magical charm that had captured her mind might still have some lingering effects."
==/Priest Solis==
==Ariel==
That sounds like a sensible precaution Priest Solis. The other day what did you discuss with Stefan de Herbts? The mayor? Are there any legends surrounding the icon of Aequitas? Mr Grant where do you want to eat?
==/Ariel==
==Priest Solis==
"Mr. de Herbts and I were discussing spiritual matters, and a donation he was planning on making to the church. He has been having significant success with his cloth and weaving business, and wanted to provide an offering to help the poor in the community. When I met with the mayor, we were discussing some issues related to the local justice system. The only legend about the icon is the one I have already told you, about the icon containing a small measure of Aequitas' own power."
==/Priest Solis==
==Solomon Grant==
"What about going to the Sarcastic Goat Inn? It has a stupid name, but great food."
==/Solomon Grant==
==GM==
After dinner, everyone gathered back at the sewer entrance down which the group had originally descended. Quint, Drugar, Solomon, and Ariel all held either torches or lanterns, providing significant lighting. Solomon was wearing the nastiest, grubbiest clothes anyone had ever seen, which looked to be even older than the man wearing them. Slowly everyone descended into the sewers, to see if they could find any trace of goblins or the thieves that took the icon.
Solomon Grant insisted on going over the tunnels that had been previously checked, to make sure that nothing was missed. After a good hour of work, nothing new had been found. The group then proceeded to head down the side tunnel to the northeast, which had not been explored yet. Twenty minutes of exploring turned up nothing, until Drugar shone his lantern upwards on a hunch and noticed what looked like a hole in the upper wall of the tunnel. Upon further inspection, it looks like someone or something had punched a hole in the sewer tunnel from the other side, about 4 feet up off the ground. The entrance is roughly 2 feet in diameter, and has been plugged by a boulder pushed in from the other side.
==/GM==
==Solomon==
"Well, well, well. Look at that. It's a good thing I'm down here with you all or we never would have found that. Looks like something tunneled into the sewer line at some point, and someone has decided to keep us out. Let's check it out."
==/Solomon==
==Drugar==
"It *was* my lantern and my eyes that spotted that, you old git. Since you're so experienced, why don't you go ahead and inspect it more closely. See if you can move the bolder out of the way--or if we can dig it out."
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Agreed, let's see if we can get this thing opened up. Solomon, do you know where exactly we're at on the surface above?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Before removing the boulder we should try to remove it with minimum exposure in case something jumps out. In addition, we should protect Mr. Grant with missile fire in case something slips out. and tries to attack.
==/Ariel==
==Solomon==
He slowly turns and looks at Drugar with a sly grin. "Well, if there is any digging to do, I'm sure that would be right up your alley.
==/Solomon==
==Condrasson==
Can you estimate the weight of the boulder based upon its mass.
==/Condrasson==
==Solomon==
He turns to stare incredulously at Condrasson. "'Estimate its' mass?' Are you $*%%&* kidding me!? What do I look like, the King's Astrologer? Just get up there and push it!"
==/Solomon==
==Condrasson==
Condrasson walks up to the boulder and says to Grant "Give me 5 ft of space to try to move the boulder out of the way ." "Everyone backaway unless Drugar wants to give me some help" Condrasson attempts this feat of strength.
==/Condrasson==
==Ariel==
Keeps an eye on Mr. Grant so that he doesn't attempt any subterfuge on her brother ready to launch magic missile against him.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
Condrasson walks up to the opening. He can put his hands on the boulder, which is currently about as high as his head. He pushes as hard as he can, but is unable to push the boulder out of the way.
(OOC: didn't roll well on his strength check)
==/GM==
==Finri==
Is there anything nearby that we can use for leverage?
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
"Quint, do you want me to boost you up to check for traps?" Yes or no, afterwards Drugar will attempt to move the boulder--assuming he finds no traps.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Finri looks through the muck and finds what looks to be a piece of scrap iron that somebody must have thrown into the sewer at some point. It looks kind of like a fence post, about a yard long, though with a sharp, broken end. And it very, very rusty.
Quint agrees to search for traps, so Drugar holds him up to the opening in the sewer wall and the boulder. Quint pokes and prods it with his short sword, and declares it "safe." Drugar, using his racial ability to roll 1d6 and identify traps on a 1 or 2, rolls a "1" and also declares the opening is safe. Drugar then attempts to push the boulder out of the hole, but he also rolls poor, and can not move it.
(OOC: because you don't have good leverage currently, you are rolling at a negative. However, you are rolling so bad it hasn't mattered yet. :P)
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
Tries to move the boulder out of the way again.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Condrasson is as successful this time as he was the first time (i.e., not at all).
==/GM==
==Finri==
Holding up the metal rod. "Do you guys think you could use this for leverage? Maybe it would help move the boulder." (OOC: I was so tempted to have him pray a blessing on the rod and exclaim "Holy rusted metal! Look what I found!")
==/Finri==
==Condrasson==
Hey Finri let have that metal rod. If Finri gives Condrasson the metal rod he tries once again with it.
==/Condrasson==
==Drugar==
Drugar will help Condrasson pull the rod as a lever.
==/Drugar==
==Condrasson==
With the power of two warriors working together that boulder doesn't stand a chance.
==/Condrasson==
==Finri==
Hands the metal rod over to Drugar
==/Finri==
==GM==
Condrasson wedges the rusted metal rod under the bottom of the boulder as best he can, and then he and Drugar pull down with all their might. The rod bends a bit, but they are able to roll the boulder back. Solomon shines a light into the hole to see what is down the tunnel.
==/GM==
==Solomon Grant==
"Hey, it looks like there is a hole dug into the side of this tunnel where we can shove the boulder." He then pulls himself into the open space at the beginning of the tunnel, grabs hold of the boulder, and shoves it, slowly, into the hole. "Man, that thing was heavy." He looks back at Condrasson, Drugar, and Finri. "That was good work, fellas, using that rusted bar as a lever." He then looks back down the tunnel the boulder had been blocking. "I can't see the end of this thing, and it looks like it is 'hands and kness' time, as this tunnel isn't even 3 feet high. We also need to move one at a time, as it isn't very wide. I'll take the lead, OK?"
==/Solomon Grant==
==Ariel==
Fine with me Solomon
==/Ariel==
==GM==
The group slowly climbs into the hole, where everyone (even Quint!) has to get down on hands and knees and crawl through the tunnel. For Condrasson, and to a lesser extent, Ariel, it is a very tight fit, and the going is slow. The tunnel itself looks like it may have originally been made by some kind of boring insect or worm that ate through the stone, though Drugar notes that there is evidence that the tunnel itself has been worked by tools at a later time. After what seems like at least an hour, you finally reach what appears to be the end of the tunnel. Solomon Grant quietly climbs out, and then quickly sticks his hand into the tunnel to stop the next person.
==/GM==
==Solomon Grant==
*whispers* Douse lights!
==/Solomon Grant==
==Drugar==
Drugar turns to look back at the others and puts a finger to his lips in a "sshh" sign and then shutters his lantern. Then he pokes his head out the hole to see what Solomon is on about.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar and Solomon can see (and the others soon will see) that they are in a cavern, roughly 20 feet or so wide, though it is quite rough and looks natural, so the walls are uneven. About 30 feet ahead down the cavern, there are two short bipedal beings (Drugar can tell they are goblins, but Solomon doesn't know). They are facing away from the entrance, and seem to be inspecting something on the ground. There is a torch in a crude holder stuck into a stalacmite on the ground, so the torch is about 4 feet off the ground. The beings have given no indication that they are aware of the group crawling out of the tunnel behind them.
==/GM==
==Solomon Grant==
*whispers* "Two ugly little things up the tunnel, I don't think they've seen or heard us. We should take 'em by surprise and not let them make any noise. Who's good at that? I can get one, but I can't get both of 'em at the same time."
==/Solomon Grant==
==Ariel==
*whispers* (to Quint) "Can you move silently, sneak up from behind on the other goblin, slit it's throat while covering its mouth." "In other words, can you kill the other goblin quietly while at the sametime preventing it from making any noise"
==/Ariel==
==Quint==
pulls himself out of the tunnel, and drops silently to the ground. *whispers* "Yeah, I could do that, sure." He walks over to Solomon and Drugar. *whispers* "You just let me know if you want the left one or the right one, old man, and I'll silence him right quick."
==/Quint==
==Solomon Grant==
*whispers* "I'll take the one on the left, and you take the one on the right. He looks about your height, shorty." (to everyone else) "Get behind some of these stalagmites and out of sight, in case one of them just happens to look over here."
==/Solomon Grant==
==GM==
Solomon and Quint glare at each other for a few seconds before they creep up on the goblins. Quint and Solomon each pull out a short sword and ready themselves to strike. Unfortunately, a small stone is kicked by one of them (good luck getting either of them to admit to it!), and the goblins turn around and stare at the halfling and the man creeping up on them.
The goblins quickly grab short spears that were propped up against a nearby stalagmite, and move to attack. One of them thrusts its spear at Quint, tearing a gash in his upper right arm. Quint does an excellent job at not making a sound, even though the wound must be painful. The other goblin thrusts its spear at Solomon, but misses poorly. Quint then stabs his sword forward, but it is deflected by the leather jerking worn by the goblin. Solomon Grant does better, slashing his sword right through the second goblin's spear, and taking off its left arm at the elbow! Luckily, the goblin goes down silently, though messily.
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
Pulls out his magic long-bow and if he can get a clear line of fire, fires an arrow at the goblin near Quint.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
(sometimes I love being a DM)
Condrasson quickly pulled out his longbow, nocked an arrow, and let fly at the goblin trying to kill Quint. Condrasson had made ridiculously difficult shots before, so he was sure he could peg that goblin right in the left eye. Unfortunately, the lighting was poor, and the goblin and Quint and Solomon were all moving around, so this might be his greatest shot ever!
(roll to attack: 11 - a miss)
(randomly determine if Quint or Solomon has a chance of getting hit: it's Solomon)
(roll to attack: 20! - that's a hit, even in the crappy lighting conditions you have!)
The arrow flies right past Quint and the goblin, and tears a chunk out of Solomon Grant's right forearm as he was readying an attack on the goblin. He shows incredible fortitude in not screaming and/or cursing at the unexpected attack.
Drugar sees what happened, rolls his eyes, readies his weapon, and charges. He comes in low and fast, and swings his axe up at the goblin as it stabs its spear towards Quint. Drugar's aim is true, and he severs the goblin's right leg above the knee. Again, the group is lucky, and the goblin makes no sound as it dies.
Whether anything else in the cavern complex heard the fighting, however, is unknown to you.
==/GM==
==Solomon Grant==
Solomon checks on Quint to make sure that he is still alive. Satisfied that the halfling is OK, he then stalks over to Condrasson and grabs the bow from his hands. *whispers, a bit loudly* "What the *%!&*^ were you thinking?! Did someone drop you on the head too many times as a child, boy? Whose side are you on, anyway? I'm keeping this, since you obviously don't know what it's for." He then walks back over to the area with the dead goblins to help Quint.
==/Solomon Grant==
==GM==
The area that you are in consists of a cavern, roughly 30' long by 20' wide. The tunnel entrance is to the SE, while Quint and Solomon are at the NW end of it. The cavern ends in a large stalagmite that has blended into a stalactite, making two small passages out of the chamber. By the weak torghlight, it looks like there is another chamber past this one.
==/GM==
==Condrassson==
Walks over to Mr. Grant politely says " I apologize for accidentally striking you with that arrow. However, I need my long bow to defend myself. I will be more careful in the future. May I please have it back?
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Drugar rummages in the goblin's pockets and finds a total of 18 electrum pieces, which are not of local coinage. Drugar does not know where they are from.
Meanwhile, Quint slumps down on the floor and starts digging through his pack for something to use as a bandage for the wound on his arm.,br> ==/GM==
==Solomon==
To Condrasson, he says "No, you may not, until we get out of this cavern. Seriously, what the hell would you do with a longbow inside a cavern, anyway? Caverns are close-in affairs, and considering your size that is where you should be, anyway. Pretty sad when the big boys send a halfling and an old man to do the dirty work."
He then turns to everyone, and motions for everyone to come together. When they have gotten together, (except for Quint, who stays seated rummaging through his pack) he says "Alright, who wants to scout ahead into the next section of the cavern?" He is specifically looking at Drugar and Finri.
==/Solomon==
==Finri==
*quietly to keep his voice down* Drugar, why don't you stay here with the others and keep them safe. I'll peek up ahead in the darkness and see if there's anything ahead before our lights give us away.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri creeps past the stalagmite and into the next chamber. With his darkvision, he could see that the chamber ran about 30 feet to the west, before it narrowed into a tunnel that looked to open into a larger chamber beyond. This chamber was about 15 feet wide, with an uneven ceiling no more than 7 feet tall. Also, back to the northeast, there seemed to be a tunnel, with a bad odor coming from it.
==/GM==
==Finri==
*Returning to the group* There's a chamber up ahead with some tunnels headed back out of it again. One tunnel in particular seems to have a particularly bad odor coming from it. That could be where those "filthy" goblins are coming from.
OOC: Did I spot any goblins in the chamber? If not when I head back to the others, I'll tell them the next chamber is safe and to go ahead and head on in it. If there are goblins, I'll go back and inform them of that instead.
==/Finri==
==GM==
No goblins were spotted in the chamber by Finri.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Do you recognize the odor?
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
My dwarven nose is more attuned to the smells of various ales, but if I had to guess, it seemed to be a blend of urine and feces, kind of like back in the sewers, but also mixed in with a scent of rotting flesh...and just a wee bit of jasmine to spruce it up a bit.
==/Finri==
==GM==
After a period of discussion, the gang slowly headed into the next chamber, with no lights and weapons ready, ready for anything. The next chamber smelled pretty bad, with the odor coming from the tunnel heading to the northeast, but the chamber itself was empty, same as Finri had reported.
From the tunnel to the west, Ariel (and only Ariel, based on die rolls) can barely hear some voices speaking in the goblin tongue.
==/GM==
==Quint==
*whispers* "All this sneaking around in the dark sucks. I could trip over something and impale myself on one of these stalagmites. Can't we have a light?"
==/Quint==
==Ariel==
*whispers* "Guys there are goblin voices coming from the tunnel to the west. What do you want to do?"
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
*whispers* Let's go take care of them, then follow down that tunnel to see where it leads.
==/Finri==
==GM==
The group got together and quietly as possible deaded into the tunnel to the west. After only 10 feet, it opened into a larger chamber. This chamber was 20 to 25 feet wide north-to-south, and 25 to 30 feet wide east-to-west. There is a passage heading to the north. There is a torch in a holder in the southwest portion of the cavern. And, there are five goblins in the cavern, two of which are looking right at you! You can see that four of the goblins have leather armor and short swords, while one goblin, who looks a little bigger than the others, has leather armor, an axe, and a shield.
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
Annoyed he cannot used his magical longbow. Condrasson uses his regular longbow and fires it an arrow at the closes goblin within reach (rolled 18+2=20 to hit) (damage 4)
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Condrasson puts the arrow right through the goblin's right shoulder, throwing him back into the cavern wall. The goblin screams in pain before passing out and slumping down to the ground.
Quint has the next action and loads a bolt in his crossbow.
One of the goblins then runs up to Drugar and attacks with his short sword, but Drugar just stands there and the goblin misses by a mile. Another goblin runs up and attacks Condrasson with his short sword, but his attack is weak and Condrasson easily knocks it aside with his longbow.
==/GM==
==Finri==
As it doesn't appear that he's able to accomplish anything at his current position, Finri will remain put.
==/Finri==
==GM==
One of the goblins runs into the tunnel exiting the chamber from the north. The goblin with the axe and shield readies his weapon and moves behind the two goblins fighting Condrasson and Drugar.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar swings his axe at the goblin that attacked him, yelling "Someone get that bugger! [meaning the one that fled the chamber] He's likely to bring reinforcements!" but I rolled a measly 6. :(
==/Drugar==
==Solomon==
Solomon Grant steps back from behind Drugar and readies his short bow. "Draw them back into the passage, so we can get better position on them!" he yells.
==/Solomon==
==GM==
Ariel has the next action. See the attached file for the current position. After Ariel's action, the round ends and the next one begins, with Condrasson having the first action in the round.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Ariel casts magic missile one the escaping goblin.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
Ariel moved her hands to form a mystic symbol, and a bright burst of energy shot from her hands, past the combatants in front of her, and rounded the corner after the fleeing goblin. An audible "urgh" came from the tunnel, though it is unclear whether the goblin is just injured or slain.
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
Swings his great axe about the goblin in front of him (rolled 12+2=14 if hit damage, damage 2+2=4)
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Condrasson swings his axe, but his blow doesn't get through the goblin's armor. The goblin fighting with Drugar is more accurate, however, striking the dwarven warrior on his lower left arm with a glancing blow of its short sword for 3 points of damage.
Quint retreats further back down the passage with his sling ready to use.
The goblin fighting with Condrasson almost lands a blow, but it is turned aside at the last minute by Condrasson's shield.
==/GM==
==Finri==
I think Finri's still positioned in such a way as to not be able to do anything, so he'll just stand back and keep an eye out for anything coming from behind us.
==/Finri==
==GM==
The two goblins in back of the two fighting Condrasson and Drugar look for an opening to move in, but are unable to find one. So, they stay back about 10 feet.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar shouts in Dwarvish "Finri! Fall back so we can all get at these buggers!" and starts a defensive retreat to draw the goblins back into the larger cavern where the rest of the party is.
==/Drugar==
==Solomon==
Solomon Grant moves further back, into the cavern, with his bow ready to strike.
==/Solomon==
==Ariel==
Following Drugar's lead Ariel's falls back
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Not willing to turn his back on his goblin foe Condrasson swings his axe (rolled 20+2=22- to hit damage 3+2 bonus) Assuming he has a free path he then falls back.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Condrasson brings his axe down on the goblin in front of him. The goblin tries to block the blow with his sword, but his aim is off, and he ends up blocking the axe with his arm, instead. Condrasson's axe goes right though the goblin's arm, dropping the goblin to the ground with a loud scream.
Quint moves himself behind as much cover as he can find and readies his crossbow.
The goblin that had been fighting Drugar, before he retreated back down the passage, steps into the space Drugar vacated and swings his sword at Condrasson, but he misses completely, as he trips over his own downed colleague.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Finri backs out into the open area with the rest of the group, with mace ready.
==/Finri==
==GM==
The larger goblin with the shield and axe moves into the tunnel to the north, yelling something in the goblin tongue. He moves far enough that nobody can directly see him anymore.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Well, if Drugar can do so, he'll run up and swing at the goblin fighting Condy and--once the bugger is dead--he'll pull Condyback so we can all ready missile weapons.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Seeing an opening, the dwarf warrior runs up and attacks the goblin fighting with Condrasson. The goblin hears him coming, though, and is able to block the attack with its sword.
Solomon Grant, back far enough that he can't see well what is going on, yells out "Get your asses back here, you idgits!" Under his breath, those close to him hear "Kids these days, they just have no concept of tactics. Now where the hell's my lantern, anyway?"
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Stays out of harm's way.
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Attacks goblin with great axe.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Proving that he just might be the luckiest bastard in the (game) world, Condrasson swings his axe at the goblin and buries it in the goblin's chest, killing it outright. As it slumps to the floor, everyone looks around and sees three dead goblins in the chamber, but at least one got away, and maybe two.
==/GM==
[LOTS OF TALKING ABOUT WHAT TO DO]
==Solomon==
"Well, if we're going to hole up in here and try to take them when they come after us, I say we retreat back near the entry hole, so at least some of us can escape, if need be. We can have our main defensive line at that tunnel into the area where we found the first two goblins. I don't think we have enough people to try to man two different lines at the same time, but I'm not a soldier, so I don't really know how that works. What do you think?"
==/Solomon==
==Quint==
"Umm... maybe I should go back through the tunnel to the sewers and into town to recruit more help? Get some more guards or something?"
==/Quint==
==Finri==
Quint, you're not looking so well, so that's not a bad idea. Let's all move back to the opening into the caverns from the sewers where we can more easily manage the situation. Quint, you go back up top and see if you can find some reinforcements.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
"Sounds like a good plan to me. Quint, you better come back!"
==/Drugar==
==Quint==
"And you guys better be alive when I get back! I need my cut of any reward to pay off some debts." With that, Quint scurries into the tunnel that leads to the sewers.
==/Quint==
==Solomon Grant==
"Alright. Now that squeaky is gone, let's get down to business. If we set up at our initial breakthrough (point 2 on the attached map), then we need to either block one of the ways past the big stalagmite, or put a fighter on either side along with a bowman. I'll hide in the hidey-hole to the south, so I can ambush any goblins that break-through the line. How does that sound?" He then looks over at Ariel. "Hey, missy, can you use a bow? I've got an extra here."
==/Solomon==
Act X - The Gobs Attack
==Condrasson==
"Solomon I realize I messed up earlier by hitting you but if I could have bow back I would appreciate it."
==/Condrasson==
==Solomon Grant==
"Huh? Yeah, sure, as long as you don't point at me, ya stupid git." Solomon then hands the bow back to Condrasson.
==/Solomon Grant==
==GM==
Once everyone was in position, it didn't take much time before the goblins came, running down the tunnels waving their weapons and screaming their unintelligible battle cries. Less than a minute, in fact. Before anyone was really ready for it, their vision was suddenly filled with fast-moving goblins bearing down on their position, swords and axes waving in the dank air.
Everybody with an open line of sight (which appears to be only Drugar and Condrasson at this point) can take a shot at a target they can see. After that, I'll roll for initiative for everyone, and we will go to normal rounds.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar lets loose an arrow at Goblin #8.
==/Drugar==
==Condrasson==
Hoping to end the battle against the evil goblins quickly. Condrasson uses his magic bow and fires an arrow at the goblin chief.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Drugar and Condrasson release their arrows almost simultaneously. Both arrows dig into goblin flesh almost simultaneously. However, the results are not the same. The goblin rushing at Drugar takes an arrow into its left lung and collapses down on its face, sliding a few feet forward as momentum continues to carry the corpse towards its slayer. Condrasson's arrow appears to strike the large goblin chieftain (which you can see is wearing chain armor and carrying a longsword in two hands; and he's wearing a golden crown that flashes very prettily in the torchlight) in the groin area, but the goblin shrugs it off and keeps coming.
Solomon Grant continues to crouch in his cuby hole, waiting for a chance to flank a goblin.
The goblin chieftain roars (from pain? anger? you'll have to ask) and charges right at Condrasson. He swings his sword mightily, but Condrasson is able to dodge away from the blow.
One of the goblins runs up and makes a weak swing at Drugar, which the dwarf easily blocks aside with his bow.
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
Drops his bow to the ground, and draws out his great axe and swings it at the goblin chief in one smooth motion.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Condrasson's blow is aimed straight at the goblin chieftain's head, but rather than the expected *crunch* there is instead a muffled *gong* as the crown on the goblin's head absorbs most of the blow, spinning off into the darkness of the cavern.
Seeing his chief being so brutally treated, a goblin runs up and tries to skewer Condrasson with his short sword. Condrasson barely gets his shield unslung in time block the blow, but only by the thinnest of margins.
Another goblin tries to get in close enough to attack Drugar, but there isn't enough space around the stalagmite for him to reach the stalwart dwarf.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Taking his handy mace, Finri approaches the goblin attacking Drugar and makes a valiant attack, but was unfortunately not able to make contact.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Out of fear that her friend Drugar will be harmed further, Ariel chants ancient words speaking of lost heroes fighting evil. She casts Protection from Evil on her friend Drugar.
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
Drugar throws down his bow and sweeps up with his axe in one motion, aiming an uppercut at the nearest goblin.
==/Drugar==
==Solomon Grant==
loudly whispers to Condrasson, "Hey, scoot back a bit to give me room to gank one of these fools!"
==/Solomon Grant==
==GM==
The goblin chieftain is suddenly overcome with fear, and he turns his back on Condrasson and slips away. The big man makes a weak axe swing at the back of the fleeing goblin, but the blow is late and misses.
The goblin engaged with Drugar and Finri makes a strike at Drugar, but he misses the dwarf completely.
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
Enraged by the goblin chief's lack of courage, Condrasson channels his anger as his warrior mother taught him on goblin#9 by swinging his great axe. If he can he moves into the flank of S1 goblin to create space for Solomon Grant to assist.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Condrasson's buries his axe deep into the goblin's chest. The goblin makes a gurgling sounds before sliding off the blade and slumping to the floor in a heap.
A goblin shifts down to attack Condrasson, but he misses badly. No doubt, he was unnerved by his comrade's grisly demise just seconds ago.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Finri masterfully swings his mace against the goblin next to him and Drugar, and deals a crushing blow to his skull.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Crusing blow to the skull indeed. The goblin's head bursts like a ripe melon, smashing brain and bone across the two dwarves. That goblin is definitely dead.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Stays out of harms way
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
Drugar runs up (west one square) and takes a swing at goblin 10.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar plants his axe right between the eyes of the poor goblin he charged, splitting his head open with a disgusting sucking sound, and dropping the corpse to the ground.
The goblin with the axe and shield looks down at the pile of corpses on the ground, looks up at Drugar and Condrasson, and then turns around and runs like hell after the goblin chieftain, who continues running himself.
==/GM==
==Solomon Grant==
Solomon Grant slips past Condrasson with his blade ready, but he finds a dearth of enemies to kill. "Huh. I guess you kids can do something right. We showed them, didn't we? Shall we chase them or hold position?"
==/Solomon Grant==
==Condrasson==
With adrenaline pumping through his veins Condrasson chases after the goblin chieftain and strikes if within range.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Weighed down as he is by two longbows, four melee weapons, chain armor, a shield, and only godsknow what else in his rucksack, Condrasson is too encumbered to reach the goblin chief. He does, however, get in melee range of the goblin with the axe and shield. He can not attack, however, as he had to run.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Finri will chase after the goblin to the extent that this stubby dwarf legs will take him.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
Drugar runs after the chief.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
The dwarves take off after Condrasson and the fleeing goblins; the lack of light doesn't bother them at all, as in fact they may see better down here than the goblins do! They sure seem to be able to use their weapons to find the goblins' heads, anyway...
The goblin with axe and shield realizes that with his short legs he can't outrun the big folks chasing him. So, he quickly turns and swings his axe at Condrasson, but he mis-times his blow and misses the fighter by quite a bit.
Solomon Grant moves forward a bit while yelling "Hey, hey, get back here! Don't leave the torch light, ya stupid gits, I can't see ya!"
==/GM==
==Condrassson==
Swings his axe at the goblin.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
The goblin intersects Condrasson's descending axe with his shield. The *clang* of the collision echoes off the cavern walls fairly loudly.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Looks around for gold crown with light source
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Hearing Solomon's voice, Finri stops running coming to a stop just past Condrasson and decides to attack the goblin they've all surrounded. Lifting his mighty mace, he takes a swing at the goblin dealing a solid strike to the ribs.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Ariel lights her lantern and shines the light around looking for the goblin's crown. She does not find it this turn.
Finri moves in past Condrasson and whacks the goblin in the ribs, which audibly crack under the blow. The goblin coughs up blood before going down in a heap.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar hurries over to the passage NW of his position and to see if he can spot the chief--or any other baddies. If he sees nothing, he begins plundering the goblin corpses for loot.
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Finri goes with Drugar to offer a second pair of eyes to check the passage. Then proceeds to head back to the rest of the group and check the goblins.
==/Finri==
==GM==
The two dwarves quickly jog through the cavern to the next passageway, and look for any signs of the fleeing goblin chieftain. They don't see anything like that (hard stone floors don't leave footprints); it looks like the chief has fled deeper into the caverns. [WISDOM check is rolled for both dwarves] However, both dwarves do hear a dull "thud, thud, thud" sound that they can't place.
Ariel continues to shine her lantern around, and after about 10 additional seconds of searching the light finally reflects off of the crown, which has rolled into a corner of the cavern.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Picks up crown and puts it in her knapsack
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
Drugar whispers to Finri, "Hear that?" then takes a few steps forward and strains his ears to determine what that thudding is.
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Whispers back to Drugar, "Yes. I wonder what it is." Follows Drugar up a few steps to try and more clearly hear the sound.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Just as Ariel leans down to pick up the crown, our two dwarves discover what is making that noise when a group of goblins comes running around the corner at full speed! As soon as they see the two dwarves they begin screaming some high-pitched incoherent battle cry. One of them runs right up to Drugar and tries to plunge its sword into Drugar's belly, but the glowing aura from Ariel's spell seems to harden as soon as the sword hits it, deflecting the blade off to the dwarf's right side.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Finri takes a swing at the goblin from around the corner.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri brings his mace down on the lead goblin, landing a blow on the goblin's right shoulder. It isn't a solid enough blow to break bone, though, and the goblin just grits its teeth with the pain and continues to try to kill Drugar.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar screams at Condrasson, and the rest of the party. "Oy!! A little help up here!" while swinging his axe in an arc across the goblin's midsection.
After this round, Drugar will fight in a backing-up manner so as to draw the goblins to Solomon and the others. He will basically fight defesively, never turning his back on his foes!
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar uses his axe to threaten the goblin as he backs away from the tunnel entrance. The goblin barely avoids the blows, and follows the dwarf a bit out of the tunnel, but then he breaks off to stay within threat range of Finri, who isn't glowing with magical power, and therefore probably a better target.
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
Hearing Drugar's cry for help, Condrasson drops all excess melee weapons and his extra long bow. Condrasson charges into position to help friend Drugar. If he has time he swings his great axe at the goblin
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Condrasson moves and attacks the goblin menacing Drugar. Condrasson's blow, however, is way off the mark and does the goblin no harm.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Puts the gold crown in her knapsack then concentrates on memorizing magic missile. She stays out of harms way.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
Ariel stuffs the crown in her pack, pulls out her spell book, and frantically starts memorizing a spell... which will take an hour.
A goblin runs down the tunnel, slips past Finri, and then launches an attack at Condrasson. The goblin misjudges his jump, however, falls short of Condrasson, and lands on his face. He quickly jumps up and tries to appear menacing.
At the same time, another goblin tries to run past everyone and attack Drugar. However, while the first goblin was on the ground, this goblin trips over that guy, and falls flat on his face, sending his short sword flying into the cavern.
(OOC: Holy shmoly, I can't roll higher than a 2.)
Solomon Grant then runs as fast as his old bones will carry him in response to Drugar's cry for help.
The goblin that Finri struck turns on him and tries to stab the dwarf in his face. He misses, but only by a few inches.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Finri takes a swing at goblin #11.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri's blow looked to be true, but the goblin side-stepped it at the last moment.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar stops his defensive retreat and brings the full weight of his axe down on the goblin lying at his feet. "Quint better get his fuzzy toes back here with some help!" Drugar yells in Dwarvish to no one in particular.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar is thrown off balance by the stumbling, bumbling goblins falling all around him. He chops down at the goblin on the ground to his left, but he misses and strikes a chunk out of the cavern floor.
The goblin chief, back down the corridor, screams something in the goblin language. It sounds like a curse, but you can't be sure if he is cursing you, or his incompetent underlings.
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
If the goblin chief is now exposed he swings his axe at him. Otherwise he swings it at goblin 12.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Condrasson brings his axe down on the toppled goblin next to him, burying his axe into the goblin's back, cutting right through the spine and basically chopping the poor goblin in two.
The goblin directly north of Condrasson rains a series of heavy blows against his shield, but Condrasson is able to hold off the attacks.
Finri, however, takes a heavy blow from a goblin coming out of the tunnel, slicing into the Finri's right leg and dropping the dwarven cleric down to just 1 hit point. (OOC: good thing you had that CON bonus...)
Solomon Grant moves up and attacks one of the goblins Finri is desperately trying to fend off. The old investigator's blade hits the mark, but doesn't get through the goblin's leather armor. That goblin turns and swings at Solomon, but the goblin's blow is parried well.
All the while, amid the screams of dying goblins and the clanging of steel, Ariel continues to study her spellbook.
==/GM==
==Finri==
While carefully backing away from the heat of the action, Finri musters a bit of righteous fury and takes a swing at the goblin right next to him (Goblin #11) dealing a crushing blow to the goblin.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri steps about 5 feet back, forming a wall with Solomon and Condrasson, and then, with all his strength, plants his mace right into the face of a goblin, smashing in its skull and sending it flying backwards a few feet, where it barely misses another goblin. (think an Albert Pujols home run shot; that's what you just did to the goblin's face.)
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar steps up to where Finri was to protect his Dwarvish brother (allowing the big, as-yet-unscathed lug Condrasson to move up to where Goblin 11 was if/when he gets the chance), and swings his axe at Goblin 14.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar moves up and takes a swipe at the goblin, but barely misses.
The goblin chief moves a little closer and continues to scream his weird goblin gibberish. I'm sure it's not helping Ariel concentrate on memorizing that spell.
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
While making taunting gestures at the goblin chieftain, Condrasson less than impressively swings at goblin 13
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
*whiff*
Goblin 13 attacks Condrasson while goblin 14 attacks Drugar. They both miss or can't do damage through your lovely chain armor.
Solomon Grant swings at goblin 13, but in the low light his human eyes just can't quite seem to find the target.
Goblin 6 then moves up to the space right in front of Solomon and tries to spit him on his sword, but the old investigator easily bats the blow aside and readies a counter-strike.
Hey, Ariel only has 59 minutes and 40 seconds more of study before she gets her spell memorized!
==/GM==
==Finri==
With righteous fury still flowing through him, Finri will take a swing at Goblin 6 and screams in Dwarvish "Justice shall prevail!!!".
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri's blow is true, and finds its mark on the top of goblin 6's head, which is now much flatter as the lifeless corpse flops messily to the ground.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar swings his axe again, but probably missed.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
*whiff* If it makes you feel any better, the goblins are looking a bit scared as they notice that all of you are still standing, while many of their cohort are not.
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
Continuing with taunting gestures at the goblin chieftain, Condrasson swings his great axe at the nearest goblin
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Considering how Condrasson's taunt including taking goblin 13 and slicing him in half from its right shoulder to the left side of its waist, I'm going to call that an effective taunt.
It might have had an effect opposite of what was intended, though, as the chief becomes enraged and charges right down the tunnel, jumping over his hacked up brothers, and lands a slice across Solomon Grant's chest. The old man grunts with the wound, but stays up.
Goblin 14 then takes a shot at Drugar, rolling a 20 (!!), and wounding the sturdy dwarf in the left arm with a vicious slash, leaving him with just 1 hit point!
Solomon Grant responds in kind to the goblin chief, smashing the chief in the face with the hilt of his short sword and then grievously wounding the large goblin in the left side. He looks like he's almost down for the count!
==/GM==
==Finri==
Finri's lucky streak seems to be continuing to hold up. He takes a swing at the chief, and deals a devastating blow.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri feels the divine touch of Aequitas, who uses his servant to mete out divine justice to the evil goblins that have stolen his icon. Finri's blow lands straight on the side of the goblin chief's head, smashing it in and flinging the body into the corner in front of Condrasson, where is slumps lifelessly to the ground.
(OOC: I have to admit, Finri has done extraordinarily well here; maybe Aequitas really is favoring him!)
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar exhaustedly swings his axe again.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
With his last vestiges of strength, Drugar brings his axe down on the last remaining goblin. The blow catches the goblin on its left shoulder, cutting right through and lopping off its arm. In a spray of glood, the goblin screams, gurgles, and then collapses in a bloody heap.
There are no more visible goblins, so we are now out of rounds. I'll let you guys debate your next steps, and then once I know what you all want to do, I'll start up a new act.
(OOC: and that fight was fantastic! I totally expected you to run for it when the second group came in.)
==/GM==
==Finri==
Finri will start searching the goblin chief to see if he happened to have the idol with him. If not, he will start checking the goblins to see what all they may have been carrying. (OOC: Finri apparently remembered to pack his "angry eyes" for this encounter.)
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
Drugar helps search the bodies, and rips up any convenient clothing for bandages. "I think I'd like to get back to the inn sooner than later. I really got banged up! I hate to leave any possible loot behind, though. Maybe we should just make camp over by the entrance to the sewers and rest up for a while." (Finri needs to be blessed with the Heal Light Wounds spell!)
==/Drugar==
==GM==
You are not interrupted as you loot the bodies. You find 106 electrum pieces of indeterminate minting (i.e., not local), as well as the following items: 14 small suits of leather armor in various states of disrepair, 1 small suit of chain mail armor that would most likely fit Finri with a bit of work, 14 short swords in various conditions from "they thought this dull edge would cut?" to "pretty good," 1 shield, 1 hand axe, and 1 longsword. And, no, you can't haul everything back through that hole you had to crawl through to get here without making multiple trips.
==/GM==
==Condrasson==
Takes his "crap" back.
==/Condrasson==
==Ariel==
Shows Finri the gold crown and says how much do you think it is worth. Then Ariel says to the group "If you give me sometime I can memorize Detect Magic and cast it on some of the more interestiing items. Then use my knowledge of Spell Craft to try to determine what type of magic item it is. It would take several hours. What do you gentlemen think
==/Ariel==
==GM==
Just in case you didn't figure it out from the above, none of the goblins you killed have the icon of Aequitas. So, now it is just figuring out if you want to hole up by the entrance, as Drugar suggested, or to leave completely and go back to the town.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I came down here to find an idol. I may be a little hurt at the moment, but Quint should be back soon with some reinforcements. I think we should just hole up, relax and wait for help to return.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Begins memorizing Detect Magic.
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
"I'm all for resting over by the entrance until I get my strength back. Hopefully, Quint will return with some healing potions!"
[OCC: We could also send Solomon Grant or Ariel up to get a cleric or a few potions for those of us with only 1 HP left!]
==/Drugar==
==Ariel==
Casts detect magic on the long sword captured from the goblins. (Assuming she has memorized in time). Then memorizes magic missile before the next act. (If GM allows it)
==/Ariel==
Act XI - Dark Powers
==GM==
The group huddled near the entrance to the cavern, tending their wounds and wondering if another horde of goblins would descend on them. The group waited for three hours before anything happened; three hours in a cold cavern, smelling of feces, and wondering if their wounds were going to get infected.
(OOC: This means that Ariel got to memorize / cast / memorize her spells. The sword is not magical.)
After three hours the group was bolstered by the return of Quint, along with two guardsmen, who looked like they were about to vomit up dinner after that treck through the sewers and then crawling a few thousand feet on their bellies through a small tunnel.
==/GM==
==Quint==
"Hey, guys!" says Quint as he squirms out of the tunnel. "I was able to get a couple of the town guard to come with me; the Mayor's office wasn't willing to give us more than that; they said they needed "proof," so I figure these guys can give proof. Speaking of that, it looks like you're all here; so are there any goblin bodies I can show these guys for their 'proof?'"
==/Quint==
==Guard Dude A==
"Inspector Grant! You look OK, sir. How have things been in here?"
==/Guard Dude A==
==Solomon Grant==
"Crazy! Just crazy! Right after shorty went to go fetch you boys we were attacked by a dozen goblins, screaming and yelling, and trying to cut us to pieces. These crazy fools wouldn't follow my instructions, but they're tougher than they look and cut down those goblins, anyway. Still no sign of that icon or the stolen money box from the church, but there seems to be a tribe of goblins living under the town, which can't be a good thing. I hope you're ready for some fightin', boys!"
==/Solomon Grant==
==Drugar==
"Quint! Did you bring back any restorative elixirs--or at least a skin of wine?"
[OOC: Nice that we finally got some "red shirts" (aka "phaser targets").]
==/Drugar==
==Quint==
With a sly grin, Quint tosses a glass phial to Drugar. "Hey, I wouldn't let ya down, would I? I could only get one from the priest, though, so don't swig the whole thing." Quint then tosses Drugar a metal flask. "Swigging is what the bitters is for!"
(OOC: I'm making up a rule: you can have two people drink from a healing potion, and each one will recover 1d3 hit points. Or Drugar can be greedy and down the whole thing.)
==/Quint==
==Drugar==
Drugar snatches the phial and flask out of the air (thanks for not requiring DEX rolls!) "Good on ya, Quint! I owe you one!" Drugar carefully imbibes half the potion and then passes it to Finri. "Here you are, kinsman. This will help you feel better!" He then chases the potion with a long pull from the flask. "Ha! One restores the body, the other, the heart!" He offers the flask to Condrasson.
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Snags the phial and drinks the rest. "Well, that was refreshing. I'm thinking we should go root out the rest of these goblins, and find the idol. I don't want to return to the temple empty handed. We've taken the chieftan out, so hopefully we've been able to weaken them quite a bit. The camp can't be that far off from here. Shall we head out?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Let's go so you guys can kill some monsters I can do my nails.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
With Ariel working hard to make sure that her manicure isn't messed up, the newly-expanded group ventured, slowly, deeper into the caverns. Each of the town soldiers had a lantern, and along with Quint led the way. Before long the group had covered the area up to where the last fight with the goblins had occurred. The bodies had not been cleared away, and had begun to attract flies, making the caverns even less enjoyable, and smelling even worse, than they had been before.
Past that point the caverns split, with a passages going northwest, northeast, and east. Which way would the group like to go?
==/GM==
==Finri==
Looks around to see if there is anything giving an indication of which tunnel the goblins they encountered earlier came from.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
Before they set off, Drugar removed the head of the goblin chief and placed it in an oilskin sack.
==/Drugar==
==Drugar==
Drugar stops in his tracks and says "Hey! We still have a restorative elixir from our run-in with the bandits!" He rummages in his pack a bit, producing a small phial in triumph. "Huzzah! Through the teeth and over the gums, look out stomach, here it comes!" and tosses back the potion. "*Hic* That deserves more bitters!" He chases the potion with a swig from the flask and then tosses it to Quint. "Here ya go, buddy! It'll put hair on yer toes!"
==/Drugar==
==Quint==
"Thanks, but I've got quite enough to last me, that I do!" says the halfling good-naturedly.
==/Quint==
==GM==
Nobody seemed to have a strong opinion about where to go, so the soldiers took the northwest passage. This led to a large cavern that seemed to have been a living area, based on the feces, animal bones, and other offal in the room. However, nothing of any value is found, and no other goblins are found, either. There is a passage that heads out from here to the northeast.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Smiling flirtatiously at Quint she says "Hey hunny did you miss me while you were gone." "By the way would you mind searching for secret doors."
==/Ariel==
==Quint==
Quint narrows his eyes and looks askance at Ariel. "Ummm... yeah, sure. Whatever you want to think to make you happy." Quint then glances over at Condrasson, half expecting the big man to run up and start beating Quint's head like a drum for being within 5 feet of his sister. "I'll check out this chamber." Quint spends a few minutes rooting around, but does not find anything of note.
==/Quint==
==Drugar==
"Let's press on down this passage," gesturing to the NE.
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Sounds good. Lead the way.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
In Dwarvish to Finri "I think we should let the big oafish humans stay
up in front, don't you think?" In Common to the guards as he starts to
gently shepherd them forward, "Alright, guardsmen, let's keep moving."
As they are walking, he asks "I didn't catch your names."
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Quietly chuckling, then Back to Drugar in Dwarvish "I agree. They look a little wet behind the ears still, lets do them the service of being the first to have an opportunity at combat if we come across more goblins." (OOC: They're expendable. It's like when Kirk, Spock, and Ensign Jones beam down to a planet. You know which one's not returning!)
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
"Hey Dwarves, why don't you ever talk to me, what am i not attractive enough?!"
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Smiles, looks at Ariel and says in Dwarven "What would you like to talk about, my beardless human friend? Dark down here, huh?" Then chuckling as he amused himself, says, "Of course not, Ariel. Just a little dwarven humor by the short, stout, hairy fellas." Then he starts urging the guards to lead the way into the tunnel.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
"Sorry, babe. Just sharing a Dwarvish inside-joke. You wouldn't understand. Besides, you're pretty--for a human, but prefer my women short and stout!"
(OCC: It's because you don't speak Dwarvish and I didn't want the guards to hear Drugar call them "big oafish humans")
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
OOC: Oh, sorry, I meant since they're "wet behind the ears" we need to do them the service of fixing that for them by letting them be the first ones to experience any combat we may come to.
==/Finri==
==Guard Dude B==
"Hmmm... what? Oh, yeah, I'm Rejlund, and that feller is Lennart."
==/Guard Dude B==
==Lennart==
"Howdy."
==/Lennart==
==Rejlund==
"So, you guys are the ones that rousted those bandits from the old mine, eh? I'd like to get some action like that, myself, but we usually just stay in town, breaking up bar fights that get out of hand and trying to track down the occasional thief. Nothing exciting at all, mostly."
==/Rejlund==
==GM==
After travelling through the tunnel, you find yourself in a long, but curiously narrow, chamber that slopes away out of sight. This chamber does not look like it was used as a living chamber. Still no goblins to be found.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
"Hmmm," said in a supercillious fashion. "No dwarven babe has anything on me."
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Laughs at the exchange.
==/Condrasson==
==Ariel==
"Hey Quint do you mind checking for traps and secret doors"
==/Ariel==
==Quint==
The halfling slowly turns and glowers a bit at Ariel. "Lady, who do you think you are, my mother? What do you think I've been doing all this time? You don't have to nag me every fifth feet about what I'm supposed to do. I'm older than you, anyway; you should be listening to me!" Quint then begins grumbling to himself. You can't catch more than "stupid girls" and "can't do anything themselves" and "runs from fights."
==/Quint==
==Drugar==
"Hold up, everyone!" *waits for everyone to stop* "This looks like an unused portion of the system. My Dwarven senses tell me we should turn back to before those living quarters we saw and take the NE passage this time."
==/Drugar==
==Ariel==
Finishes her manicure and admires her nails.
==/Ariel==
==GM==
The group tromps back through the caverns to the original decision point, and takes the northeast passage. As it turns out, this passage and the east passage both connect to the same chamber. This chamber looks like it was the living area for the chieftain, and perhaps some other goblins. Amidst a moderate amount of refuse, you find some sacks that seem to be filled with copper and silver coins, a nicely-crafted gold pin set with diamonds, a large silver bowl with greenstone worked around the rim (it looks like this was used to hold wine at some point, but it should clean up OK), and the strongbox stolen from the temple of Aequitas (Finri recognizes it). The icon, however, is conspicuous by its absence.
Let me know if you want to take the time to count up all of the coins or not, as that would take some time (there's easily over 2000 coins).
==/GM==
==Ariel==
"I like your Dwarven senses my friend!" "We should pack away the treasure and keep moving."
Takes gold pin and puts it away in knapsack securely with gold crown.
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
Drugar begins to search for hidden or secret doors. "The idol might be hidden here somewhere, or it might have been stolen by these goblins for someone else--who let the gobs keep the strongbox."
==/Drugar==
==GM==
No secret doors, or compartments, or traps, or flying gila monsters, are found in the cavern. And, I will note, that nobody is strong enough to carry all those coins around (by themselves, the coins weigh well over 200 pounds. The strongbox, with its allotment of coins in it, weighs a good 90 to 100 pounds by itself. It, admittedly, looks like the box has been drug alot, as its bottom is in bad shape and pretty soiled.
So, if you really want to pack up and carry all that stuff, let me know who is carrying what, so I can give those characters their allotted encumberance modifiers, because they are carrying so much dead weight.
Assuming that the treasure situation is resolved in a sensible manner, everyone heads back through the caverns to where you had turned back. After slowly working your way forward, you reach the end of the dark, narrow cavern, where you find yourself looking at a rough-hewn tunnel that has been carved out of the cavern wall. The light of the lanterns is barely enough to show that the tunnel ends and opens up into a chamber or room of some kind, but from here you can't really see where it goes.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Let's go see what's in that room. Maybe we should put out the lights and have Drugar go check peek his head in there.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
"Has there been either rumors of known goblin activities in nearby areas?"
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
Drugar days "Hey, you two. Let's cut those lights and see what my Dwarven eyes can see ahead." Once dark, Druagr creeps ahead to see what he can see. He will call out at the first sign of trouble, otherwise will describe what he sees.
(OCC: Aaron, am I understanding then, that we have exhausted all cavern passages we have found and that this chamber has no discernible exits beyond where we came in? If so, we could leave this room for later exploration while we take our haul back.)
==/Drugar==
==GM==
(OOC: Mike, you are correct in your above assertion, to the best of any character's knowledge. If you wanted to go back to the sewers and then the town for now, and return later, that is definitely an option.)
==/GM==
==Lennart==
"Nah, cutie, we ain't seen nor heard nuthin about gobs around here. We've heard about there bein' a bunch of 'em up north, near the waterfall, causin' problems for the farmers and stuff, but not around here. I don't know where those dead gobs you all cut up came from."
Lennart then shutters his lantern and motions to his colleague to do the same, plunging the chamber into near total darkness. Which, naturally, doesn't bother the dwarves at all!
==/Lennart==
==Ariel==
"Do you remember anyone walking around town with an Icon that looks like ...." (She describes the Icon of Aequitas)"
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
*whispering* Ariel, shhh! Drugar's checking out the area ahead of us. We don't want to give our positions away to anything that may be in there.
==/Finri==
==Lennart==
*stares at Ariel (the best he can, since he can't really see her in the dark* "Uhh... girl, are you stupid? I know you're not from around here, but why would someone parade something like that around town?"
==/Lennart==
==GM==
Drugar sneaks into the tunnel the best he can. After a few dozen feet it empties into what is obviously a man-made chamber. Off to the left, Drugar can see a pile of rubble on top of ascending stairs. There are also some murals carved into the walls, seeming to depict some kind of warrior hero. The murals have taken some damage, and the walls appear cracked in places. From Drugar's past experience, it looks like this chamber has taken some damage from an earthquake, or something similar, at some point in its history. There is open archway to the right that leads to another chamber. Drugar will have to enter that chamber to investigate it. He does not see or hear anything untoward at this point.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar continues forward carefully and guardedly, until he can get a peek into the new chamber.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar sneaks up and peers into the new chamber. It appears to be a burial chamber of some kind. He can see four sarcophagi at the corners of the chamber, as well as a large sarcophagus in the center. More details of the room can not be determined from the entryway. However, while Drugar is checking out the room, he does see a large goblin, armed with a sword and shield, appear in the archway at the far end of the chamber. He appears to be looking for something, but he hasn't acted like he sees Drugar; yet.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Drugar creeps back to the group and tells them what he has seen in hushed tones. "And that's the second time we've seen them looking for something. Maybe they lost the icon?" he says quietly. "Let's take that goblin out and have a closer look at those sarcophogi."
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Agreed. Maybe the icon is in the chamber somewhere. If not, maybe there are clues to its location there. Since he's by himself, maybe we should try capturing the goblin and see if we can get information from him.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
In a quiet voice)- Sounds good Finri. Either we should sneak up on him from behind or maybe fire an arrow through his ankles to take out his ability to walk. If we want to knock him out we could hit from long range. However, we may not be able to understand him given he may not know common.
==/Ariel==
==Drugar==
"There's no guarantee he's alone--he's just he only one I saw. But, I think trying to capture him would prove difficult at best. I say we stick to what we're good at and just take him out."
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Yeah, its possible he's not alone, and there's a good chance he won't or can't speak our language. Though if it turns out he is alone, I think it might be worth trying. However, if it turns out he isn't alone or is unwilling or unable to give us any information, then we should take him and any others in there out.
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
So as not to alert the goblin to our presence, Drugar and Finri creep towards the chamber and the goblin, with weapons at the ready. Drugar will have his bow out and an arrow nocked. They will attempt to force the creature to surrender and talk (Drugar will produce the goblin chief's head if it will help prove they have the upper hand), but will fight if necessary.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar and Finri, under cover of darkness, sneak back into the chamber with the sarcophagi. However, the goblin that they had seen earlier is not visible. What would you like to do?
==/GM==
==Finri==
Drugar and Finri look at each other and gesture to check out the chamber a little more before going back again. Finri then steps out into the cavernous chamber, keeping cautious eyes and ears on his surroundings and begins to do some investigating for additional signs of goblins.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri stepped into the chamber, and found that it was not very cavernous. While in the chamber, Finri noted that there were five sarcophagi, as Drugar had described. There was also an opening on the far side of the chamber, which seemed to lead into another chamber. Finri can see an odd glow coming from that chamber, but he can't tell what is causing it from where he is. To the left, Finri sees what looks like a passage hewn out of the wall of the chamber. Where it goes he can not tell.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Assuming the central sarcophagus is short enough, Drugar tip-toes over, hides behind it and peeks over it to see what's in the other room.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar creeps over to the large, central sarcophagus, ducks behind it, and then peeks out. He can see far enough into the next chamber to note that he sees some kind of statue on a pedastal. The statue seems to be glowing a bit. Interestingly enough, this statue is placed before the far wall, which is also glowing. Kind of a pulsing glow, actually. This wall seems to have some kind of symbol on it, but Drugar can't make it out from this far away.
Oh, and Drugar can see a goblin standing not too far off from the glowing wall. And we're in rounds.
The being Drugar saw steps to the entryway of the chamber, and Drugar can see it is a goblin. The goblin waves his hands in a striking motion, and a glowing hammer appears next to Drugar. The hammer proceeds to attack Drugar, striking him for 2 points.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Calls out the others, "Come in guys, we have trouble!" Then moves to attack the goblin.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri runs up to the goblin cleric to attack him, but has to cover more than 20 feet so he doesn't have an attack action to take. His movement, however, does put him in range of the goblin hiding around the corner of the archway leading into the back chamber. Fortunately for Finri's health and continued well-being, the goblin's short sword missed him entirely, scraping off the stone of the archway, instead.
Lennart and Quint, upon hearing Finri's yelling, take off running, with Lennart almost tripping over Quint in his haste. Lennart also opens the shutter on his lantern so that he doesn't run into Drugar, the wall, or anything else at high speed. They both run into the sarcophagus chamber, but can not make it to Finri this round.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Get into a line of sight with the goblin cleric and calls upon arcane magics and fires a magic missile at him.
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Charges ahead trying to reach the goblin cleric unless goblin in his way an then strikes.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Ariel blasts a small ball of energy at the goblin cleric. The cleric just absorbs it, though, without any seeming impact.
Condrasson attempts to run up to fight the cleric, but is unable to cover the distance this round.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Realizing that the hand-waving goblin likely is the cause of the demonic hammer next to him, Drugar lets fly an arrow at the jerk while whispering a prayer to Bongo, the Dwarven god of luck.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Drugar's shot is true, going right over Finri's shoulder and striking the goblin target; the arrow only grazes its arm, though, and does not do significant damage.
Redjlund and Solomon Grant race into the sarcophogus chamber, attempting to join the fray. Redjlund, weighed down by his equipment, can't cover the distance, but Solomon Grant slips in and lands a blow with his short sword on the goblin cleric. It doesn't hit anything vital, but it draws blood.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Still having injuries sustained in the earlier battle, and wanting to make room for those who are fresh and ready to fight, Finri steps back to make room for those who are running up to take his place in combat.
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri steps back to better defend himself, and neither goblin chooses to follow him and maintain contact. The goblin with short sword and shield stays back behind one side of the archway, and the goblin cleric steps back himself, readying himself to cast another spell. Lennart sees what the goblin is doing and rushes in to make an attack, but the other goblin strikes him down with his sword, and Lennart crashes to the ground, sending his lantern sprawling. The lantern goes out as its oil spills onto the ground, leaving only Redjlund's lantern working. This all becomes a moot point as the goblin cleric completes his spell and the entire chamber is cast into total Darkness. Oh, and the Spiritual Hammer hammers Drugar for 7 points of damage, dropping him to -1 hit points by my calculation. With the alternate damage rules I am using, this means you guys have 9 rounds to find Drugar and stabilise him before he perishes.
After all that fun, Quint has the next action. He yells "Hey, what happened?" and then tries to back up, but runs into Condrasson. Luckily, Quint is small and doesn't weigh much, so everybody maintains their balance.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Stays out of harms way, but somehow is screaming to Drugar how to move to get to the goblins.
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Condrasson screams "Drugar!!." Infuriated by the attack on his friend, Condrasson directly attacks the goblin cleric with his great axe if he can reach him this round.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Listening to his sister's commands, Condrasson nimbly steps around Quint, almost runs right into Finri, and then barrels towards the goblins. The one with the short sword swings at the big man and misses, and then Condrasson swings his axe at the cleric and gives the ol' goblin a good slash across the chest. Not a good enough slash to bring him down, though.
(OOC: I'm about to just give up on rolling for Condrasson. Even while blind, he still manages to roll ridiculously good and land a hit.)
Knowing that Condrasson was next to him, Solomon Grant is able to follow along with Ariel's screamed instructions to get in close to the goblins. He can't follow them good enough to keep from putting his sword into the stone wall, however. Poor Redjlund, blinded and not knowing where he's going, gets himself turned around and runs into the sarcophagus next to him.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Heads over to Drugar and attempts to do some first aid and try to stabilize him.
==/Finri==
==GM==
As Finri heads over to attempt to stabilize Drugar, the two goblins go to town on Condrasson. The goblin with a sword misses, but the goblin cleric draws his warhammer and clocks Condrasson with it, for 4 points of damage.
Quint attempts to back away from the fighting and yells "Hey, I can't see anything! Where should I go?"
==/GM==
==Drugar==
*wheeze* *gurgle*
==/Drugar==
==Ariel==
Guides Condrasson and Solomon Grant where to find goblin cleric in a very loud voice.
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Condrasson hopefully with luck strikes the goblin cleric.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Listening to his sister, Condrasson raises his axe for another vicious blow against the goblin. However, he sneezes at the last minute, and almost slashes his own leg rather than the goblin.
Solomon Grant tries to follow Ariel's instructions and attacks the goblin warrior, but his blow is easily blocked by the goblin. He then yells "Hey, if the girl can see, why don't we retreat to where she is?"
At the same time, Redjlund stumbles out into the side passage, and his light shines brightly again. "Hey," he yells, "I can see! My lantern works again!"
Finri is able to stabilize Drugar this round, and can take another action next round.
Amazingly, both goblins miss their attacks on Condrasson.
Quint wanders randomly, luckily doesn't run into Finri or Drugar, and even more luckily wanders into the back chamber with Ariel. He starts fumbling in his pack for a light source.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Guides Condrasson and Solomon Grant on where the goblin cleric by speaking loudly.
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Swings his great axe at the goblin cleric.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
As Condrasson's eyes adjust to the dim light from the icon, he gets a good look at the goblin cleric. The warrior's blow is solid, but does not penetrate the goblin's leather armor.
Condrasson hears Solomon Grant say "Screw this mess," and then the old man nimbly maneuvers himself over to where Redjlund is. "Damn, but it's good to see!" he says as he leaves the area of the Darkness spell and is greeted by the light of Redjlund's lantern. "What do we do now?" asks Redjlund.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Having stabilized Drugar, Finri dashes back over behind Condrasson, attacks the goblin around the corner, and yells out to the others "Follow my voice!"
==/Finri==
==GM==
Finri's blow is blocked aside by the goblin's shield. Both goblins then attack Condrasson, but he dodges the sword and barely gets his shield in the way of the cleric's warhammer. Quint finds a torch in his pack and tries to light it. It flares to life and the little guy can SEE!!!
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Continues to guide Condrasson and Solomon Grant.
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Swings axe at goblin cleric
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
Condrasson is beginning to get annoyed at his sister's yelling and carrying on; he can see the goblins right in front of him! Well, now that his eyes have adjusted to the dim light from the icon, he can see them. He decides to do his best to drown out his annoying sister, and brings down his axe with all his might on the goblin cleric. His axe bites deep into the goblin's right shoulder, driving the beast to his knees and causing him to scream aloud in pain.
Solomon Grant and Redjlund both hear the scream and look at each other. "That was no human scream." says "Redjlund. He grins at Solomon Grant and continues, "What say we follow the harpy's screaming to our enemies, sir?" Redjlund then runs into the darkness to try to find the goblins, but gets confused in the darkness and can't find his way as his lamp is enveloped. Solomon Grant stares at the inky blankness that swallowed the stout-hearted guard and decides that it sounds like the rest of the group has things well in hand on their own!
==/GM==
==Finri==
Stepping further into the room to get out of the doorway and next to the cleric, Finri takes his mace and slams it with his full force right into the cleric.
==/Finri==
==GM==
As Finri steps away from the goblin with the sword, it takes a parting shot at him. The blow is true, but it is only a glancing blow and inflicts 1 point of damage. Finri, however, does more than just a glancing blow to the goblin cleric. Driven forward by divine providence, the dwarven cleric delivers a mightly blow, caving in the goblin's chest cavity and sending it sprawling lifeless to the ground.
The remaining goblin snarls nastily as he sees his leader go down, and redoubles his attacks. He lands a solid blow on Condrasson, leaving the warrior with only 2 hit points left!
Quint, being able to see again, looks at Ariel and says "Hey, we should draw everybody back here, where we have light. Then we can fight the goblins over here. How does that sound? And who the heck are you yelling at, anyway? You surely can't see through that inky blackness, can you?"
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Ariel noticably uncomfortable about Quint's comments says "I casted a true sight spell enabling me to see through the darkness half-pint."
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Physically exhausted, badly hurt, and concerned about his friend Drugar, Condrasson swings his mighty axe at the goblin that last hurt him.
==/Condrasson==
==GM==
The goblin takes a grevious blow from Condrasson's axe. He stays on his feet, but is bleeding pretty seriously from a would to his upper left leg.
Solomon Grant lights a torch of his own and continues to stand guard in the side passage, in case someone comes through.
Redjlund, however, is finally able to home in on the yelling voices and the sound of combat, to get near the arch and get within striking range of the last remaining goblin. He needs a 20 to hit, since the arch gives the goblin partial cover and he can't see anything, but wouldn't you know it the plucky guard rolls a 20! He maxes damage with his short sword, sinking the blade right between the goblin's ribs, and the evil beast goes down in a bloody heap.
==/GM==
==Finri==
Directs someone to watch over Drugar for a few minutes. He then goes to carefully retrieve the Icon and then returns to Drugar to continue adminstering First Aid and examine his wounds now that the pressure of combat is over. While doing so, he directs the rest of the group to examine the rest of the room to see what was left behind. Does Finri recognize anything about the religion the goblins were practicing down here?
==/Finri==
Act XII - The Power Beneath
==GM==
For the next few hours, the group stayed within the caverns to rest. Solomon Grant, though battered in the fight, goes with Quint back into the sewers to bring news of what transpired to the town leaders, and to let the priest know that the ican was successfully found.
During that time Ariel casts Detect Magic on pretty much everything in sight. Much to her chagrin, nothing shows up as magical... except the glowing wall which the icon was next to. There seems to be a powerful magical seal on the wall, and Ariel can tell (due to a high die roll) that the magic has been weakened and the seal frayed somewhat.
Now that the goblins are all killed, the looting can begin! The gobin, among all of them, had a total of 125 electrum pieces, all of unknown minting. There are also many short swords and cut up pieces of leather armor. The goblins do not have anything else of value that has not already been found.
Finri can not tell anything specific about the goblin religion, though (due to a high die roll) he can tell that the chambers around the sarcophagi look to have originally been a burial chamber for an old civilization that must have been in Thunder Rift at some point in the distant past. Based on the carvings in the walls, it seems like somebody of some importance was buried here, along with his body guards, or honor guard, or something like that. It looks like this chamber was sealed and hidden by an earthquake many years ago, and the goblins, or some beast, had accidentally found it while digging tunnels in the earth.
As to why the one wall is glowing, Finri thinks that most likely something is magically sealed behind the wall. Anything more than that is beyond his experience and training.
Come morning, Drugar will be well enough to be able to move on his own, as long as he doesn't do anything too strenuous. He will be able to slowly work his way out of the caverns and back to town.
==/GM==
==Ariel==
Turns to Solomon Grant. "Can you retrieve the cleric from the temple of Aequitas." "Given his greater knowledge and wisdom he maybe able to determine if something evil behind the seal needs reinforcing or not."
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Speaking to Ariel, "No need to send Inspector Grant? I'm sure he has other important duties he needs to handle. We'll need to head that way ourselves anyway to return the Icon to the Temple, we can report our findings to Priest Solis and see if he'd be willing to go down there and take a look around as well."
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Quietly and while Condrasson is not looking approaches Finri and says can I speak to you privately.
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Certainly, Ariel. What seems to be the problem?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Pulling Finri clearly out of earshot of all present Ariel says to Finri. Do you hear confessions?
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
*Smiles warmly* Well, I am a priest. Do you have something you'd like to confess?
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Making sure that no one is even close to earshot Ariel looks around and checks then says to Finri. "What I am about to tell you, you must promise me by your oath to Aequitas never to repeat to another living soul. Do you agree?"
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Anything you tell me will he held in the strictest of confidence, Ariel. Its part of the client-cleric condintiality rules.
==/Finri==
Finri and Ariel's conversation removed so that Drugar's conscience remains unseared.
==GM==
The next day, Drugar was well enough to be moved, and his friends made sure that he was moved as carefully as possible out of the cavern complex. The town guard had a few more members scout out the caverns to make sure that there weren't any other goblins hanging around, but they could not find anything. The other passageway out of the chamber with the sarcophagi went all the way to the surface, not too far from the river to the west of the town, where it exited in a shallow cave. It seemed to have been initially carved by some creature and then enlarged by the goblins.
Priest Solis is thrilled to have the icon returned, as well as the strong box. Erani is also happy that everything was returned, and makes sure that everyone's wounds are taken care of as best she knows how. The priest does eventually make a trip into the chambers, and decides that they served two purposes. First, based on the carvings with the sarcophagi, he believes that you entered an old burial chamber from a civilization that existed prior to the current group that populates Thunder Rift. The sarcophagi were carefully opened, and the skeletons inside appeared to be of humans. Nothing of any martial value was found (though items of archaeological and historical value were found). This excited the priest very much.
The other discovery did NOT excite the priest. He determined that the symbol carved into the glowing wall is some kind of magical seal that sealed ANOTHER chamber beyond it. This chamber, which has no identifiable door (the wall appears copmletely solid) radiates strong evil. Priest Solis believes that some kind of evil entity, or a portal to some evil dimension, might be sealed behind the wall. he noticed that the seal seemed to have been weakened, and he suspects that the goblins had been trying to use the power of the icon to somehow break the seal. Priest Solis can't tell if the goblins were successful, though, or if the seal has weakened over time due to other forces.
Surprisingly, perhaps, Solomon Grant makes sure to let you know that he really appreciates your help in solving the theft of the icon and destroying the goblin threat. "Sure enough, those guys were looking to strengthen their position, and soon enough we would have murdering goblins coming up through the sewers at night. I doubt the entire town militia could have routed them out of those caverns, and you five took them on and dealt with 'em quite right.
And, gentlemen, we reach the end of the adventure. Sorry for being so slow to respond to stuff the last few days, but work got *crazy* and who knows when it will normalize. I would have liked to play out the end a little more, but I don't want to hold things up. To the victors go the spoils! Here is a rundown of what you all have (no need to split shares with the town guards):
125 electrum pieces
2000 copper pieces
1400 silver pieces
a fancy gold pin with diamonds in it
a silver bowl with greenstone worked around the rim
a small gold crown, set with rubies, slightly bent :)
a large, gaudy gold and platinum brooch (taken from the dead goblin cleric)
==/GM==
==GM==
The next day, Solomon Grant brought a local merchant over to check out the treasures they had found. Radajan was his name, originally from lands to the south. He looked over each item and gave his opinion:
(gold pin w/ diamonds) - "An excellent piece, this is. Fine craftmanship, and the diamonds are cut very well. A wonderful piece, indeed. You could sell this item to a fine lady for close to 600gp, to be sure. A merchant would give you less for it, of course, as they must make a profit."
(silver bowl w/ greenstone edging) - "A nice piece, though not made of the rarer metals. You could sell it to a merchant for 150 to 200gp, or more to a collector. I don't know anybody local who collects such bowls, but it is a nice piece."
(small gold crown w/ rubies) - "Hmmm... the dent does detract some from its beauty, but you could offload this to a merchant for at least 300gp. Its small size means that only a smaller person could wear it, but maybe you could find some rich dandy needing a birthday present for his daughter, or something, and get more for it."
(large gold and platinum brooch) - "Wow! This is a very nice, and very unique piece. I can't even guess at its manufacture. Look at how the gold and platinum is blended without any obvious pattern, but yet it is still pleasing to the eye. I would never have thought of making a piece like this. Definitely worth quite a bit to the lady that has everything but still wants something new. Easily worth 400gp, and to the right buyer considerably more."
"Unfortunately," he says, "I can't think of anybody locally who would have an interest in these pieces, with the exception of the bowl. Nicholas Maybruch, a local trader, may be interested in the bowl, but then again, maybe not. Anything else I can do for you fine people? Interested in buying some new clothing, perhaps?"
==/GM==
==Ariel==
"Thank you for your help Sir." "Where would your recommend we go to get top price for each of these items."
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Thank you for your help, good sir. After mucking through the sewers, my priestly garb could do well to be replaced, I'm sure my friends here may want to replace a few articles of clothing too as they were "playing in the slop" with me. You wouldn't be able to help with that would you?
==/Finri==
==Radajan==
"You are very welcome, young lady." says the merchant has he bows lightly towards Ariel. "Any friends of Inspector Grant are friends of mine. To get the best prices for these items, I would recommend heading to the city of Copperfield, to the east of the Rift. It would take you over a week to get there, but there is good trade there and therefore lots of merchants coming and going. You do have horses, yes?"
"And for you, good priest," says the merchant while nodding at Finri, "I most certainly can get some excellent outfits. I assume you prefer the standard Aequitas cut, yes?"
==/Radajan==
==Ariel==
"Unfortunately we do not good sir." "About how much would cost to provide minimal transportation of 6. Or how long would it take to get to Copperfield on foot."
==/Ariel==
==Finri==
Yes, the standard Aequitas cut would be perfect. Thank you!
==/Finri==
==Drugar==
Content with mending his own clothes when necessary, Drugar stands idly by.
==/Drugar==
==GM==
Ariel (and everyone else) learns that it will cost 20 gp each for transport to the Copperfield. Or, you can buy your own horses (ponies for the dwarves and halfling) at a discounted price of 50gp for each horse, or 30gp for each pony. These will be perfectly serviceable riding animals, not trained fighting animals. They don't train those in the Rift. Oh, and Finri's new clothes will cost him 10gp.
Once you all decide how you want to get a move on, you can pay the price and do so. I'm basically set for the next adventure, so we can get a move-on whenever.
==/GM==
==Drugar==
Being a dwarf, Drugar won't ride on the back of beasts unless his or his friends' life is in danger. He will opt for the 20 gp ride in the caravan wagon (or whatever). Most of the time, though, he will walk/jog ahead of the wagon train, on the lookout for danger.
==/Drugar==
==Finri==
Finri too will opt for the caravan ride.
==/Finri==
==Ariel==
Ariel will opt for the caravan ride.
==/Ariel==
==Condrasson==
Will opt for the caravan ride.
==/Condrasson==