The Runes of Oblivion [Game Thread]

The decision to leave your home and go out for adventures is still fresh in your mind. Your gear is still blinking new and unused and your new boots hurt as they are not worn in yet. You have been walking a few rather boring days and your rations begin to run low as well as your purse. Time to finally get some work or find an opportunity.
This part of the realm has not seen much exitement in decades and the lord is ruling well enough to keep his people fed and bandits at bay.
Following along the worn out merchant's trail you took though the peaceful hilly landscape you see a small village in the distance. Approaching further you spot the appropriately names "Forest’s Edge" hostel at the roadside. In fact it is the first building of the village and seemingly the only remarkable one. You only give the small farming cottages a small glance. Chickens and cats running between them a fwe farmers working in the fields. This is exactly what you have known all your life. It bores you. It sucks!
At least you'll get some beer and something to eat here. Maybe there is even some news.
You dust off your clothes and enter the inn though the inviting open door...

Veldebrand adjusted his rucksack with a sigh. "Terrific, another podunk village. Well, my feet are killing me." he said while stretching his arms out high. He cautiously sniffed his armpits as he finished his stretch. "...and I could use a bath" he muttered under his breath.

Veldebrand dusted off his gold bead-studded maroon robes, a last vestment of his time in the Wizard Circle of the Vestrach Merchant Guild. The beads were laid out in a pattern that matched the constellations, and supposedly the connection heightened one's mental connection to ley lines of magical power, increasing one's mental acuity. Such fetters were important to Veldebrand, who continually sought after greater magical ability. Rabbit feet and other fetters dangled from his belt, magnetized rings and bracelets adorned his fingers and arms - anything rumored to increase physical and meta-physical ability was quickly adopted by the young sorcerer. Since he chose to follow the path of what the other mages in the Guild called 'Black Magic" he was ostracized and removed from the Circle. That didn't matter now, on the road with his new found companions. A world of freedom and adventure awaited.

As they entered the tavern, Veldebrand rummaged around in his coin purse, finding just a few silver remaining. Looking at his road weary companions he smiled "One of you buy the first round? Deal!"

After a long day of walking a true man from the north needs a beer. Rollo still isn't used to the warmer climate here. His dog Flossi also has his tongue out of his mouth.
"Man, I need a beer!" he thinks to himself. "and Flossi needs a drink, too."
Sure enough, soon they step out in the forest with the village right ahead.
The sign of the inn puts a sparkle in his eye and he steps into the welcoming shade without hesitation.

Grapthor opens his eyes and raises his head from the table where he'd been asleep with his war-hammer as a pillow. His beat-up backpack is beside him, though a little worse for wear after having had ale spilled on it. He checks his purse out of habit and finds it empty. It's all starting to come back to him: spending nearly all his coin on ale, and then losing the rest of it dicing. He'd even lost his damn dice.

Grapthor turns bleary eyes towards the sound that had roused him. A human in ostentatious robes and coiffed hair. A mage of some sort. Fancy boots dusty from the road. Chattering to his companions, ordering a round of drinks. Grapthor's stomach grumbles. He licks his lips.

The door to the inn opens again and in walks a man with a dog. Grapthor watches and listens from his booth.

Barekeln has been sitting alone at his table for a while now. He still has not touched his ale in front of him, fidgeting with his holy symbol instead, lost in thought when he is suddenly brought back to reality by the noise of new patrons entering the inn. Looking around he sees the two humans enter and another dwarf, this one surly-looking, which also seems to have spotted the new patrons. Hmm, perhaps adventurers? Travelling companions would not be a bad thing as the company would help Barekeln take his mind off of things, and who knows, perhaps they'd be in need of the service of a priest... He waits for them to take their seat and rest from the road a bit before making his move.

The scene of the inn slowly fades to black...

Rollo, Graphtor and Veldebrand slowly awake from deep unconsciousness. Their last memory is that of entering the inn.

They find themselves in total darkness lying on a hard and smooth stone floor covered in a thick layer of dust. The air smells stale and old but dry. Veldebrand feels some kind of parchment in his hand. Rollo and Veldebrand both hear other creatures stirring nearby.

They have no clue on how much time has passed and apart from the memory gap are in perfect health.

Up to now only Graphtor is able to see his surroundings with his darkvision. He is situated in a 5x5 meter chamber. The walls, floor and ceiling consist of smothly hewn stonework of very good quality. There is a 3m wide passageway to the west. The trails of 4 men and a dog come from that direction and end at your bodies. Nothing else seems to have disturbed the thick layer of dust on the floor.
There are two closed wooden doors to the north and to the south. On the east wall is a lifesize relief of the blind godess of justice but holding an hourglass instead of a sword. Her blindfolded face seems to always stare at you.
There are two human men, another dwarf and a dog lying on the floor closeby. They are total strangers to you. The two humans are stirring, the dog and the dwarf are still unconscious. The robed human holds a parchment in his hand. It looks like a roughly scetched map of an unknown area.

OOC: None of you have any idea who the others are or why you are here, whereever here is...
The next bit happens in about one minute increments. When the conscious characters described their minute the others can roll 1d20 against BOD+CO to awake.
Rolling less or equal is a success. For D&D players: Criticals and fumbles are switched. Critical on a 1, Fumble on a 20. All checks are against attribute+ability (+ Modifier). All rolls are 1d20.

Veldebrand scratches his head "Damn. Must have over served myself again last night."
The wizard digs into his rucksack for a torch, lighting it with a flare of flame from his fingertips. Looking around, he notices the parchment. "If this is the bar tab I'm giving it to the dwarf before he wakes up."

Veldebrand opens the scroll and reads.

Sadly Veldebrand doesn't find a torch in his backpack. He didn't seem to have thought of buying some. Maybe some of the other guys around him have one...

Grapthor scrambles to his feet and grips his warhammer. He calls out angrily to the robed figure, "Hey you, fancy-pants! Where in the bleeding hells are we?! Did you do this? Did you bloody bring us here?!"

"Don't look at me, shorty. I'm as lost as you are. Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a torch would ya? I have a scroll here in my hand I could light but I have a feeling we'll need it." Veldebrand says as he waves the scroll towards the sound of the dwarf's voice. "So, how'd we get here? I was just heading into that inn and now I wake up here."

"What, can't you see me?" Grapthor waves his hand in front of Veldebrand's face "Oh that's right...human."

"I haven't the foggiest idea how we got here. I saw you and you," Grapthor says, pointing a stubby finger first at Veldebrand and then at Rollo, "walk into the damn inn and the next bloody thing I know, we're here."

Grapthor turns back to Veldebrand and points at the scroll, "You want me to read that fer ya?" He glances at the unconscious dwarf and human, and Rollo's dog. "I wonder if they're dead?"

"Yes, please" says Veldebrand as he hands the scroll to the dwarf. He then holds his hands out feeling for a wall, but reluctant to move too far lest he discover a trap the hard way.

Barekeln attempts to Wake Up (MND+IN) with all the noise... Edit: Oh, BOD+CO, sorry, I went a bit too much by the rules and looked at p.36 for the waking up check... XD

1d20
( 20 ) = 20

Hmm, the dwarf must appear quite dead to onlookers... XD

Rollo shakily gets up and scratches his head. He turns to his backpack and soon has a torchin front of him and is striking sparks from his flint and steel. Shortly after he holds up a burning torch and looks arount him with a questioning look. When he sees his Dog still on the ground he steps over and concentrates on waking it first. "C'mon Flossi! Whats up with you?" he mumbels.

OOC: Barekeln already fumbled for this minute...

Grapthor squints at the parchment Veldebrand has handed him and reads...

It is a roughly scetched map. In the lower right corner you find a spot marked "Forest's Edge" A large forest is detailed with an "X" somewhere towards the middle, northeast of the inn. A legend next to it says "Fandorai's hideout at the foot of Fir Mountain near Silent Pond - 4h on foot"
At the bottom in curly handwriting you read "Nude - Troll - Red and Black"

OOC: Veldebrand will recognize the last bit as his handwriting.

Now that a torch has been lit Grapthor hands the map back to Veldebrand. "What do you make of it?"

Grapthor walks over to the still unconscious dwarf to check if he is still alive.