Chapter 2: Birdsong in Hollow Valley
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Nov 4, 2019 1:34 pm
[ +- ] Feng, Kalam, Meng
Stooping low, you creep forward. Kalam and Feng's overlapped shadows, cast on the mud wall by Feng's flame, create about as monstrously arachnid an image as the very beast you hunt. The deeper you go, the narrower the tunnel becomes, until you begin to wonder how such a large creature could squeeze through. Twisted, slimy roots brush your skin and soiled garments.
Unexpectedly, something crunches underfoot -- crumbling stone tiles. And not just underfoot -- the suddenly square tunnel is lined with ancient, worked stone.
What do you do?
Unexpectedly, something crunches underfoot -- crumbling stone tiles. And not just underfoot -- the suddenly square tunnel is lined with ancient, worked stone.
What do you do?
[ +- ] Mimi, Iko, Wei
As Feng, Kalam, and Meng move deeper into the tunnel, Feng's light recedes. With the a6ky overcast, there's no moonlight either, and you are soon standing in inky darkness. All is quiet apart from the rilling of the stream, Orengi sniffing about, and your own measured breathing.
What do you do?
What do you do?
Nov 4, 2019 1:40 pm
Being plunged into darkness, Iko holds aloft his knife and whispers a prayer to ward the shadows away. The blade glows with soft blue light, bringing light to the area surrounding him.
[ +- ] Light
An item you touch glows with divine light, about as brights as a torch. It give off no heat or sound and requires no fuel but is otherwise like a mundane torch. You have complete control of the color of the flame. The spell lasts as long as it is in your presence.
Last edited November 4, 2019 1:41 pm
Rolls
Light - (2d6+2)
(66) + 2 = 14
Nov 4, 2019 2:22 pm
"I think we should keep watch above ground. The beast might resurface again. And also there is not much space in the tunnels if we all go in at once. Do let me know if you have a better idea." She draws an arrow, keeping her eyes and ears open to the surroundings.
Nov 4, 2019 2:27 pm
Mimi will also walk over to the crack on the ground that Kalam found, checking if it is weak enough to be broken through as an entrance underground. She takes out her spear and gives the ground a couple of stabs.
Last edited November 4, 2019 3:01 pm
Nov 4, 2019 2:30 pm
"Peculiar, and unnatural. I did not expect to see a man-made tunnel. Perhaps the beast made its lair in a former humanoid habitation. Or perhaps someone or something is controlling it."
OOC:
"Does this mean the tunnel is now humanoid sized, rather than the smaller twisty tunnel earlier?Nov 4, 2019 3:51 pm
OOC:
It's still low and narrow. You're scooting forward in a crouch (earlier, a low stoop). It's like a square sewer pipe. Or the mouth of a tomb.Nov 5, 2019 10:54 am
"You are right in your observations Kalam. Interesting to find sewers out here. Let us proceed with caution."
Nov 5, 2019 11:45 am
[ +- ] Mimi, Iko, Wei
The butt of Mimi's spear breaks through the stone. Inside is darkness, even when Iko's light is shone on it. A fetid miasma issues from the hole. What do you do?
[ +- ] Feng, Kalam, Meng
The three of you keep moving down what you now suspect is an ancient box culvert, sticky with the monster's web-like secretions. But the passage slopes downward rather than upward, which is what you might expect of a pipe designed to convey effluence.
At length, you emerge into an octagonal chamber and realize you were sorely mistaken. This is no sewer, it's a crypt! Eight upright tombs, each flanked by two stone guardians, stand against each of the chamber walls. Another tomb, larger than the others, lies in the center. The place is in utter disrepair -- though untouched by looters, this place has not escaped the ravages of time and the elements. The floor lies split by some long-ago upheaval. One half lies under ankle-deep water. Several of the tombs lie cracked open by tree roots, their contents spilled and long-ago rotted away. All but three of the stone guardians lie toppled and broken. The air here is thick with swamp vapors.
Something skitters, then melts into the shadows. It's the monster! What do you do?
Battle Music!
At length, you emerge into an octagonal chamber and realize you were sorely mistaken. This is no sewer, it's a crypt! Eight upright tombs, each flanked by two stone guardians, stand against each of the chamber walls. Another tomb, larger than the others, lies in the center. The place is in utter disrepair -- though untouched by looters, this place has not escaped the ravages of time and the elements. The floor lies split by some long-ago upheaval. One half lies under ankle-deep water. Several of the tombs lie cracked open by tree roots, their contents spilled and long-ago rotted away. All but three of the stone guardians lie toppled and broken. The air here is thick with swamp vapors.
Something skitters, then melts into the shadows. It's the monster! What do you do?
Battle Music!
Nov 5, 2019 4:39 pm
"Ugh, this stinks!" Mimi complains as she brings her arm to cover her nose. "What could this be?... Guys, over here! This must be another entry into the ground. But I can't seem to see through..." Mimi will attempt to recall this type of phenomenon.
Rolls
Spout Lore(Int 0) - (2d6)
(56) = 11
Nov 5, 2019 7:43 pm
Mimi, the hole stinks like a corpse rotting in a swamp. It's got to be an ancient burial site of some sort. Older than these marshes, if such a thing is even possible.
What do you do?
What do you do?
Nov 6, 2019 12:26 am
"There!" Feng hurls the last of her fireballs at the moving shadows.
OOC:
Last use of current burning hands.Rolls
Fireballs - (2d6+2)
(16) + 2 = 9
Nov 6, 2019 3:18 am
He's on edge and it shows, "I don't like this one bit. I'm not sure the creature is even alive. It may be a vengeful spirit. A creature of its size should not have been able to make it's way down here. And by the looks of our surroundings, a desecrated tomb..." he trails off his focus now wholly on his surroundings and defenses. Kalam draws his blades in quick succession whips around and strikes out blindly at the skittering sound.
OOC:
blind attack roll.. as I see no real targetOOC:
changed timing so it made more sense, talk first strike second.Last edited November 6, 2019 3:21 am
Rolls
Hack and Slash - (2d6, 1d8)
2d6 : (12) = 3
1d8 : (5) = 5
Nov 6, 2019 3:46 am
Mimi now remembered what the scent is. Memories of encountering carcasses came flooding back.
"Guys, this is the smell of rotting corpses... This might sound strange, but I think it's a tomb that's even older than the swamp... This is must be the lair of the beast. Iko, bring your light closer, and hold your breath! I'm going in."
Mimi uses her spear as a support and weapon as she climbs in.
"Guys, this is the smell of rotting corpses... This might sound strange, but I think it's a tomb that's even older than the swamp... This is must be the lair of the beast. Iko, bring your light closer, and hold your breath! I'm going in."
Mimi uses her spear as a support and weapon as she climbs in.
Last edited November 6, 2019 8:26 am
Nov 6, 2019 4:27 am
Wu Meng also flung a rock at the shadows of the monster, careful not to close in so soon as he did previously.
OOC:
Adding Ki damage. 3/4 ki used.Last edited November 6, 2019 9:54 am
Rolls
Volley attack and damage - (2d6+2, 1d8)
2d6+2 : (36) + 2 = 11
1d8 : (3) = 3
Ki damage - (1d8)
(5) = 5
Nov 6, 2019 6:38 am
OOC:
Am on the road. Narration later. In the meantime...Feng, roll your damage. Also, choose a complication for that 9 on the Volley roll. (Cannot be ammo).
Kalam, mark 1 XP.
Mimi, the hole you made is only as big as your spear haft. That's why Iko's light didn't really illuminate anything down there. Are you widening the hole and then climbing in? If so, then Roll+STR. Or do you mean climbing in through the burrow?
Nov 6, 2019 6:56 am
OOC:
I think I'm getting too caught up in thinking about burning hands and it is subsequently causing me to forget about damage.Thematically -d6 damage is interesting, seeing as light is an issue.
Nice.
Last edited November 6, 2019 6:58 am
Rolls
Damage - (1d8)
(6) = 6
Can't see anything - (1d6)
(6) = 6
Nov 6, 2019 8:29 am
Mimi continues to break apart the ground with her spear to create a big enough hole to climb in.
Rolls
Roll +Str(-1) - (2d6-1)
(13) - 1 = 3
Nov 7, 2019 8:07 pm
There's a tremendous cracking sound as a third of the crypt's vaulted ceiling collapses, taking Mimi and Orengi with it. When she tries to move, blinding pain shoots up Mimi's leg. The flash of Feng's wayward fireball lights the chamber up for a moment, then there is darkness.
Feng, there's no telling for sure if your flung rock hit your target, but there was definitely a grunt rather than the sound of stone hitting stone.
You can hear the monster skittering nearby. It's coming closer.
What do you do?
Feng, there's no telling for sure if your flung rock hit your target, but there was definitely a grunt rather than the sound of stone hitting stone.
You can hear the monster skittering nearby. It's coming closer.
What do you do?
OOC:
Mimi, mark 1 XP, and take the damage below. Your left leg is broken at the shin.Rolls
DamageDama to Mimi (ignores armor) - (1d8)
(7) = 7
Nov 8, 2019 3:42 am
Mimi made a scream as she fell through. She tries to quickly make sense of her surroundings, then she realised that her left leg is broken and panic overcame her. "Ah! Nature's Spirits! Guys I broke my leg!"
OOC:
XP: 2, HP: 13load next