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| Chapter 1. Wyfalls; (Noria Alpha Campaign) | |
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| Topic Started: May 14 2013, 10:49 AM (2,744 Views) | |
| meh | Jun 3 2013, 04:51 AM Post #26 |
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Fenris followed Glrch eagerly, impatient to arrive at the mine. The sooner he had his money, the sooner he could get back down south. |
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| East Anarx | Jun 3 2013, 04:50 PM Post #27 |
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The adventurers carefully made their way down the narrow road along the edge of the cliff. The ground was coated in places with a thin layer of something green and slippery, and even the exposed rock was wet and provided little traction, but it was at least fairly level. They found that as long as they went slowly and cautiously they could keep their footing. The falls roared over head, and the combination of a bend in the path and the spray of mist from the falling water momentarily shrouded the gnome from the view of the other adventurers. In the same moment that Fenris and Padrielor lost sight of him, Glrch lost his footing on the slick surface and tumbled over the edge of the cliff towards the lake below. He threw out his hands in a desperate attempt to grasp hold of something, anything, to stop from falling, and in so doing grabbed one of the many exposed roots poking out of the wall of stone. Pulling on the root triggered some unseen mechanism and a section of the wall slid aside, revealing an open doorway, a tunnel into the mountain. As the other two adventurers rounded the bend, they noticed the passageway trailing off into the darkness, but the little gnome was nowhere in sight. Glrch's screams of terror as he hung from the edge of the cliff, holding onto the root for dear life, were barely audible over the sound of the roaring falls. |
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| New Harumf | Jun 4 2013, 09:49 AM Post #28 |
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Glrich held on for his life, the water drowning out any sound above him. He pulled himself up enough to be able to see the shoes of his companions above him, but the surfaces were too slippery for him to get purchase and climb up. Thinking quickly, he used his ventriloquism spell, and threw his voice into Fenris' mouth, "I'm down here, below you. Help!" |
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| meh | Jun 4 2013, 10:22 AM Post #29 |
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Hearing Glrich's cries for help, Fenris sprung into action, grabbing his grappling hook from his pack. Bracing himself on the green slippery edge, he fastened the hook around the more sturdy roots and threw the rope around Glrich, trying to pull the gnome from the depths of the cliff. |
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| East Anarx | Jun 4 2013, 10:25 AM Post #30 |
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As Glrch was hanging from the cliff with both hands, he was unable to attain the proper focus needed to make the spell work. He dared not use one hand to take out the piece of parchment he had previously rolled into a small cone while preparing the spell, and so his attempt at casting Ventriloquism failed. However, his voice still managed to carry somewhat, and while the words were rendered indistinguishable by the roaring water, the other adventurers definitely heard something below them. Fenris pulled Glrch to safety with the rope, and the adventurers paused a moment to catch their breath. Unless they turned back, they could either continue west towards the Stonebelly manor and mine, (only a dozen feet ahead of them the path widened and emerged from under the falls,) or they could explore the newly revealed tunnel heading north into the mountain. Edited by East Anarx, Jun 4 2013, 10:33 AM.
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| meh | Jun 4 2013, 11:11 AM Post #31 |
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With Glirch now safely on the ledge, Fenris turned to the small gnome and whispered. "I've held your life in my hands. Consider it a favor that you aren't at the bottom of an endless waterfall. But my favors come with a price, and you can expect me to call upon that in a later day." After the short words with Glirch, Fenris began exploring the passageway hidden within the rocks and the roots, with no regards to his fellow companions. |
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| New Harumf | Jun 4 2013, 01:59 PM Post #32 |
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Glrich, still breathing hard, stood up and followed Fenris. "Well," he said to himself, "I will not let this treasure opportunity go to waste, but if that lug Fenris thinks I owe him anything . . . well, we'll see about that." |
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| East Anarx | Jun 4 2013, 04:33 PM Post #33 |
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The mouth of the tunnel was illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun, eerily refracted through the waterfall. Less than twenty feet into the mountain, the tunnel took a sharp turn left and then another sharp turn right, describing a zigzag, and effectively blocking the light from penetrating deeper into the passageway. The lit part of the tunnel was just wide enough to accommodate one person at a time, and in many places Fenris had to duck to squeeze under the low ceiling. The walls of the tunnel were hard rock, seemingly a natural cave formation in places and yet also deliberately chiseled and widened in others. After a few more zigzags, through which the adventurers passed by feeling their way along with their hands, the darkness became all-consuming. The waterfall behind them was now a dull rumble, and their breathing was now the most audible sound. |
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| meh | Jun 5 2013, 06:09 AM Post #34 |
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The narrow corridors of the tunnel put Fenris on edge. His size made for an uncomfortable fit in the small, damp cave, and he knew that it would be difficult to use his weapons if it came to that. The darkness made it impossible to continue forth, and even though it was already pitch black, the darkness seemed to be more encompassing the farther they went. He had noticed something of a lamp in the elf's pack, so Fenris spoke into the darkeness behind him. "Elf, it would be helpful if you could grab that lamp of yours." |
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| Al Araam | Jun 6 2013, 04:41 PM Post #35 |
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Pad trailed as far behind the party as he could while still staying within line-of-sight. He had planned on having a few more minutes to take himself firmly in hand before descending into the earth's claustrophobic depths, and already this narrow passageway looked worst than he had expected. Not being able to see the cave wouldn't get him out of it, he decided, and so he fumbled around in his pack for a few seconds before pulling the bullseye lantern free and lighting it. He allowed the circular beam of light to sweep over the area ahead of the party, hoping to find that the passageway widened ahead. |
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| East Anarx | Jun 6 2013, 05:10 PM Post #36 |
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The beam of light from the elf's lantern shone clear over the gnome's head, but most of it was blocked by the barbarian, who cast an imposing shadow down the tunnel ahead of them. As if dashing Pad's hopes against the rock walls, far from widening, the passageway actually seemed to get narrower ahead, and the floor rose up to come within mere inches of the ceiling. Perhaps an arm or leg could fit through the tight spot, but not even Glrch would be able to squeeze through to the other side. With Fenris blocking the light, it was impossible to see what lay beyond this impassable point, but they could feel air flowing, and the subtle change in the way sound echoed throughout the space seemed to suggest that a cavernous expanse lay just beyond. |
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| Al Araam | Jun 10 2013, 01:04 AM Post #37 |
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Hesitantly, Padrielor carried the bullseye lantern forward, kneeling as far forward in the narrowing cavern as he could and pointing the narrow beam through the gap in the cavern wall towards the cavernous space. |
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| New Harumf | Jun 10 2013, 08:47 AM Post #38 |
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"Ya know, from the shape of this tunnel it looks like a way those nasty deepwurms are getting into the minds. Just brain storming here," said Glrch. "Maybe, just maybe, someone from the outside is sending in the deepwurms from somewhere else. Big boy, take the elf's light and look through that hole. If the mine is on the other side we might have a clue here to what is going on." |
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| meh | Jun 10 2013, 12:00 PM Post #39 |
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Fenris reached back to the elf, motioning for the lantern. |
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| East Anarx | Jun 10 2013, 01:38 PM Post #40 |
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With Padrielor's lantern in hand, Fenris was able to peer through the narrow gap and into the cavern beyond. It was difficult to judge the size of the space, but it appeared to be at least 30 feet wide by maybe twice that long, and the ceiling was so high and distant as to be invisible. Sparkles danced before his eyes as light from the lantern reflected off of several large crystalline stalactites, apparently growing down out of the impenetrable darkness above. Visible just below these crystal formations was a vast and diverse garden of fungi; dozens upon dozens of different varieties of mushrooms, yeasts, and molds were growing out of the floors and low walls of the cavernous space. |
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| meh | Jun 11 2013, 05:11 AM Post #41 |
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"Do you reckon I could smash this hole into something larger? If I can get it wide enough, we could grease Glrich up and push him through. There has to be more than rotting plants in this cave; no one would go to that effort to hide just this." |
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| East Anarx | Jun 11 2013, 08:10 AM Post #42 |
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As Fenris ran his hands over the stone walls, feeling around for a spot that seemed weaker than the rest, he came upon a small indentation in the rock. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the indentation was meant to fit a small, hexagon-shaped object. Could it be a lock of some kind? And if so, then where was the key? After a little more searching, it was obvious that with the present set of tools and abilities, there was no way to widen the gap or break through. Until they had the hexagon key, they could go no further down this path. Discouraged, the party made their way back out of the tunnel and onto the cliff-side path. The roaring of the falls above and before them was again deafening, and compared to where they had just come from, the air was notably chilly. The sun had set behind the mountains while they were exploring the tunnel, and now only the lingering twilight illuminated their path. Unless they wanted to spend the night behind the waterfall, they could either continue west and head for the Stonebelly Manor and Mine, or they could turn back east and retrace their steps. Edited by East Anarx, Jun 11 2013, 11:34 AM.
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| meh | Jun 12 2013, 05:40 AM Post #43 |
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With the chill of the night in the air, Fenris was ready to bunker down for the evening. The manor was looking more promising the darker it became. He spoke to the rest on the matter. "We need to look for shelter. No use catching a cold out here trying to find that mine. We need to bein good shape for the deepwurms." |
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| New Harumf | Jun 12 2013, 05:39 PM Post #44 |
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"What makes you think we won't be attacked when we approach the Manor, Barbarian?" asked Glrch. "Why not push on? Elf, what say you??"
Edited by New Harumf, Jun 12 2013, 05:40 PM.
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| meh | Jun 13 2013, 02:59 AM Post #45 |
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"Who knows gnome, there might be some benefit for you. I can imagine a manor is loaded with things that they'll miss." |
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| New Harumf | Jun 13 2013, 12:12 PM Post #46 |
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"Oh, all right. To the manor it is." Glrch decided to take the walking time to Memorize Ventriloquism |
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| East Anarx | Jun 13 2013, 01:21 PM Post #47 |
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As the party left the narrow, treacherous, but relatively sheltered path behind the falls, they were chilled to the bone by cold gusts of wind. The twilight was inexorably giving way to the darkness of night. Suddenly the sky was lit up by a flash of lightning, and they were able to make out the details of the path before them. It widened considerably, but remained similar otherwise; sheer wall of rock to their right, long drop to the lake to their left. A few seconds after the flash, they heard the crack of thunder. Some distance later, another flash of lightning revealed the silhouette of a castle jutting out of the side of the mountain. Tall, jagged spires, massive bulwarks of precisely carved stone, flying buttresses, and a great deal of impressive masonry was momentarily visible just ahead. After a few more minutes of marching through the cold night, yet another flash of lightning revealed that they were at the front entrance. Giant stone pillars flanked an equally massive stone door. In the center of the door was carved the symbol of the Kingdom of Uzdur. Arrow slits dotting the walls high above them were the only visible windows, yet the adventurers had the strange feeling that they were being watched. As they stood before the door to Stonebelly Manor, considering their next move, the party noted that the path they were on continued around the castle to the northwest, where it passed by several smaller stone buildings on its way to the mine. |
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| New Harumf | Jun 14 2013, 02:31 PM Post #48 |
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"Humph," snorted Glrch. "I do not like the look of this fortress, and it stinks of dwarves. I think we should walk down to those houses up the road and seek shelter there." |
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| meh | Jun 17 2013, 03:11 PM Post #49 |
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"Castles are made to protect something. I wouldn't want to leave this town before we find out what that is. The smaller houses should be enough for now." |
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| East Anarx | Jun 18 2013, 10:51 AM Post #50 |
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The adventurers continued on, past the entrance to Stonebelly Manor, and up to the front step of the first house showing signs of occupancy. Warmth and light emanated from the cracks around the door and from the curtained windows. After knocking and then waiting for a few moments, a number of locks could be heard unlocking, and the door opened just a couple of inches. Below the thin chain keeping the door from swinging open entirely, the hirsute face of a Mountain Dwarf was visible. "Who's there?" the Dwarf demanded. "And why are you interrupting my dinner?" |
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11:48 AM Jul 13