2. The First Delve

"Yes," Jessica nods in agreement, "Let's hope this effort is wasted."

At least cobwebs should catch pretty easy. says Luther as he lifts his shield above his head.

After waiting a short time for a flame to catch Pickles shakes his head, and makes another couple of arrows which he fires into the web mess . . .

(It was a 1in-6 chance that the arrows would fail to light the webs, so the first two shots did the trick. No need for arrows three and four.)

High Vaulted Chamber
Pickles fires the two flaming arrows towards the roof. The old, dry webs light easily, and within seconds most of the ceiling is ablaze. But the webs are poor fuel, and almost as quickly they are consumed, leaving only a blanket of smoke towards the top of the room and a shower of dark grey ashes.

The smoke and cinders eventually dissipate, allowing you to get a clear look at the ceiling. You don’t see anything obvious lurking up there.

---
Day 2, 5:20 pm
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 4/7
Jessica, Cleric 1: 5/5
Luther, Cleric 1: 5/5 (Lantern)
Pickles, Halfling 1: 4/4
Ricard, Fighter 2: 12/14

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...

"...well, that's what we hoped." Gabbro proceeds into the room, testing the floor with the spear ahead of him as he goes toward the northern exit. "Shouldn't be a surprise...spiders don't use their webs once they collect that much dust..."

Good show Pickles. Let's move on and be wary. says Luther moving to follow Gabbro.

High Vaulted Chamber
You cautiously cross the smokey room, threading your way between the stone pillars, and arrive at the only other visible exit on the far side. Ahead of you, a corridor extends northwards beyond the range of your lantern’s light.

Luther notices that the lantern starts to gutter intermittently as if its oil reserves are running low.

---
Day 2, 5:30 pm
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 4/7
Jessica, Cleric 1: 5/5
Luther, Cleric 1: 5/5 (Lantern)
Pickles, Halfling 1: 4/4
Ricard, Fighter 2: 12/14

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...

"Good shooting, Pickles!" says Fenwick. She crosses the floor following in Gabro's footsteps after he checks it for traps; and joins the others on the far side

Ricard claps Pickle's shoulder after the successful shot to clear the cobwebs and breathes a sigh of relief when the path seems clear. When the lantern starts to sputter, Ricard offers up a torch,

"I brought a bunch of these, should last us six or seven hours till we get back to Kobold Korner."

Luther looks around at the group. Anyone have any oil? Looks like we are running out.

Pickles back straightens a little more at the thanks of his companions, "It seems the dust on the webs did more damage than my arrows." He says with a grin as the move off across the room.

As the others talk about the lantern sputtering Pickles pulls his pack off and quietly produces a three quarter full flask of oil. "I have one more full one in my pack as well, keep your torches Ricard until we really need them."

Luther accepts the used oil flask and refills the lantern. Thanks Pickles, that should hold us for a bit.

As he and Ricard slowly progress north down the passageway, Gabbro remains quiet for a few moments, to listen for any telltale noises. The only sound is the soft scrape and tap of the spear shaft testing the floor ahead of them. Then he whispers to Ricard: "As far as I can figure it, somewhere off to the west is a passage we never explored, and a bit further north is where the 'Dragon's Den' sign was...if we don't find a way west soon, we might want to start looking for secret doors..."

"Good point," replies the warrior,

"I also don't believe we fully explored the dragon's den itself, plenty to find up ahead."

Exiting the high vaulted chamber, the corridor continues north for 30’ before arriving at a junction. To your left, a side passage leads west for at least 30’. Ahead, the passage continues north for a further 10’ before opening into a larger space. It looks like the walls of the room to the north are covered with scrawled pictures and writing, although you can’t make out the details from this distance.

---
Day 2, 5:30 pm
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 4/7
Jessica, Cleric 1: 5/5
Luther, Cleric 1: 5/5 (Lantern)
Pickles, Halfling 1: 4/4
Ricard, Fighter 2: 12/14

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...

Holding the lantern up Maybe we should check out this space to the north. I can dim the lantern and allow someone with dark vision to look in.

"Looks like we've found your path west, " Fenwick notes to Gabbro before turning to Luther. "Though, I agree, we should clear the room to the north first. Be kind of funny if the dwarves were only separated from more of their art by a door they were afraid to open. "

"I’m hopeful," one elf nods to the other, looking west, "But by all means, let’s take a look." Gabbro moves north, testing the ground as he goes, to get a better look into the ‘Scrawled Room.’

Ricard nods in agreement and stands ready to charge in should anything leap out at Gabbro...

Graffiti-covered Room
The walls of the room to the north are covered in crude pictures, lewd slogans and various other forms of graffiti. So much so, that there’s too much detail to take in at a quick glance.

On the floor are the remnants of an old fire. There are also traces of webs, similar to those in the high vaulted chamber, in the room's corners.

Mapping information: rectangular room, 30’ x 20’. You enter through the centre of the southern wall. There are no other visible exits.

---
Day 2, 5:30 pm
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 4/7
Jessica, Cleric 1: 5/5
Luther, Cleric 1: 5/5 (Lantern)
Pickles, Halfling 1: 4/4
Ricard, Fighter 2: 12/14

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...