2. The First Delve

"I would say that depends on two things," Jessica responds. "What's the job and what's the pay?"

The Kopper Kettle
"The Boss’ll giv’ you the details. He’ll make it worth yer while though."

The orc continues: "We can take you now. Or head over yerselves when yer ready."

Pointing to the tattoo on his cheek: "Open Sore Tribe. You were spotted passin’ through earlier, so you know where to find us. Don’t leave it too long mind - the Boss isn’t know for his patience, and he's expectin' you."

---
Day 2, 1:40 pm
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 7/7
Jessica, Cleric 1: 5/5
Pickles, Halfling 1: 4/4
Ricard, Fighter 1: 5/7
Tiberious, Magic-User 1: 5/5

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...
Link to Tiberious' mega-maps ...

Ricard holds his tongue as the others converse with the orcs, the warrior would have likely refused had he been inclined to speak to an orc, but now it seemed the dungeon would make strange bedfellows indeed.

"Given our luck with directions so far," Fenwick mutters under her breath to Gabbro in Elvish. "We may want to follow them now if we're interested."

She quickly finishes off her rat kebab.

"Well, if we're going to go, it should probably be now." Jessica rises from her seat and grabs her gear.

Pickles nervously smiles before finishing his drink and shouldering his pack, "I hope the pay is worth it." He murmurs while jumping into step with Sister Jessica, quickly taking a bite of Rat-o-Stick to stop any further comments.

Fenwick finishes her ale and moves to join the others as they assemble. She fishes the pebble out of her pack to exchange for her weapons.

"Do you think this is a trap?" she whispers to Pickles as she moves besides him. (He had after all been watching the Orcs and humans interact.)

Ricard finishes his drink and stands with the others.

"We just go to listen, and we don't kill men for money."

The two orcs lead you out of The Kopper Kettle and back across the marketplace to the guard post, where you collect your weapons. Pickles relights his lantern and you follow the orcs back into the gloom of Stonehell.

The path you take is largely familiar - through the market entrance area to the Chamber of the Woods (there’s no sign of that dwarf), and from their north. However, at the ensuing T-junction, you turn east (rather than heading back west to the crossroads with the "Open Sore Tribe - Keep Out!" sign) and follow a corridor that eventually arrives at an orc guard post.

The guard post is lit with smoking torches (so Pickles can douse his lantern once more). It’s crudely furnished, and a moth-eaten bearskin rug covers the central area of the floor. A pale of oil stands in the room’s northwest corner. Seven orcs are congregated here, one of which is a particularly tough-looking character wearing a flamboyant gold necklace. Two of the orcs have short bows, and all are equipped with swords.

The orc you spoke to in the Kopper Kettle gestures towards a door to the south. You can hear guttural oinks and general sounds of commotion beyond. "Through there," he gestures. "Ask for the Boss and they’ll tell you where to go."

Mapping information: Extending what Gabbro’s map already shows east of the T-Junction … after the 10’ southerly corridor section that’s already drawn, the corridor opens into a square 20’ x 20’ room (the guard post). You enter through the eastern half of the northern wall. There is a door in the northern section of the eastern wall. And in the western section of the southern wall, a 10’ corridor ends at another door (the one to which the orc directs you).

---
Day 2, 2:00 pm
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 7/7
Jessica, Cleric 1: 5/5
Pickles, Halfling 1: 4/4
Ricard, Fighter 1: 5/7
Tiberious, Magic-User 1: 5/5

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...
Link to Tiberious' mega-maps ...

Ricard heads through the southern door as directed and asks the first orc he sees for the boss.

"We heard you had work that needed doing and coin to pay with."

Pickles thinks a little over Fenwick’s question, answering only as the enter the Orc’s den. "I’m not sure. The Orcs showed no aggression towards the Humans, but that may have been due to being in the market, but we’ll have to see how this plays out. I will meld into the shadows and see what I can find out."

As the move into the Boss’s ‘Office’ Pickles finds a convenient shadow and slips into it. While he waits for everyone to forget about him, he listens to the guards chatter.

Tiberious follow in behind Ricard. He does not say anything, but surveys the room and the people in it.

Fenwick is glad to think that Pickles believes the orcs aren't necessarily being duplicitous, though she's concerned with what they would want.

She will proceed through the indicated doorway cautiously, looking to introduce herself to this Boss and learn more about how he even knows who they are to be asking for them. Seems more likely he's searching for adventurers in general and they were the ones willing to take the offer.

Orc Barracks
The door that leads south from the Orc Guard Post takes you into a barracks area. A series of rough-hewn wooden bunks are arranged around the edge of the room, and a collection of barrels are clustered in the northeast corner.

The floor in the centre of the chamber has been cleared and two orcs, stripped to the waist, are engaged in some "friendly" wrestling whilst being cheered on by their colleagues (five other orcs, including another of apparently superior rank wearing a heavy gold chain).

Hanging from a hook on the southern wall of the room is a bloodied gnome that bears the wounds of orcs at "play". You can see that he is barely alive - his walnut-coloured flesh is gashed and burned and his hair has been singed from his head.

The orcs cease their wrestling match upon your arrival, looking distinctly non-plussed at being disturbed. Nevertheless, in response to Ricard’s enquiry, they point towards the only other exit from the room - a door in the centre of the eastern wall.

Pickles - please make a Halfling Hide in Shadows test (2-in-6 chance) to see if you are able to blend into the background.

Mapping information: square room, 30’ x 30’. You enter through a door in the middle of the northern wall. The only other visible exit is a door in the middle of the eastern wall.

---
Day 2, 2:00 pm
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 7/7
Jessica, Cleric 1: 5/5
Pickles, Halfling 1: 4/4
Ricard, Fighter 1: 5/7
Tiberious, Magic-User 1: 5/5

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...
Link to Tiberious' mega-maps ...

Ricard follows the direction and enters the eastern door.

"Whoops, sorry to interrupt boys, don't stop on our account," says Fenwick hastily, hurrying into the other room.

Well, that's not ominous or anything. Hopefully they'll be able to avoid joining the gnome.

Jessica is very clearly aghast at what she sees. She knew of the barbarities of the orcs, but to see it on display like this... Still, she manages to hold her tongue and follow the others.

Pickles finds a convenient shadow in the barracks and attempts to meld with it . . .

Orc Barracks
The battered gnome looks at you imploringly as you cross the barracks towards the door in the east wall. His lips part in an effort to speak, but no sound emerges.

Pickles lingers in the shadows in an attempt to hide, but it quickly becomes clear that the orcs have seen him. The patrol leader, the one with the gold chain, gestures for the halfling to hurry along and follow the rest of the party.

Orc Chieftain’s Room
The door in the eastern wall of the barracks opens into a short 10’ corridor, which in turn leads into a larger room. Within are three imposing orcs. The chieftain, sporting an ornate and extremely valuable-looking platinum circlet, sits upon an oversized wooden throne. To his left, sits his companion, her sapphire nose ring sparkling in the torchlight. And on the chieftain’s right, is a large and alert-looking guard who, like the other patrol leaders, wears a heavy gold chain around her neck.

The other furniture in the room includes a timber bed with an owlbear skin covering, a massive stone table, and a large iron-bound wooden chest.

"Ah," announces the chieftain as you enter, "our visitors are here. Welcome to the home of the Open Sore Tribe. I understand that you are looking for work?". His deep, but clear and virtually accentless Common speech seems most un-orc-like.

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

---
Day 2, 2:00 pm
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 7/7
Jessica, Cleric 1: 5/5
Pickles, Halfling 1: 4/4
Ricard, Fighter 1: 5/7
Tiberious, Magic-User 1: 5/5

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...
Link to Tiberious' mega-maps ...

Ricard bows to the chieftain,

"Not so much looking, sir, but rather we were told you had a task that requires our assistance. In the name of civility we have come to help."