Cerberus

Yeah...I guess I'll go ahead and rip the band-aid off and close it down. My family doesn't want to continue, which makes me not want to continue. Apologies for another loss of steam on a play-by-post game, but it is what it is. Life gets in the way in most cases of play-by-post games due to the protracted nature of the game. Appreciate the time we had.

Holding off until the new year. Mine, and I imagine your, focus is scattered this time of year. This ranking the lowest among priorities, I think it best to hold off until next year. Enjoy your holidays, Gundren can hang on until after...

Hang in there... will get things kicked back off this weekend. Enjoy the break.

HAPPY THANKGIVING everyone. Expect posting to be slow right now so no worries. We'll get going again after the turkey settles.

It took six pair of hands and a Dwarven Supervisor, but the grate heaved over with their combined strength. In a coordinated baby-step, the hunk of iron was moved a few feet to the left of the pit and dropped in a puff of dust to the cave floor. The opening now laid bare, at its bottom a thankful Paladin looked heavenward as if gazing on his savior. From deep in the cave, the report and vibration of the iron grate agitated whatever was lurking in the darkness. An ungodly hiss seethed through the dark spaces of the cave. It was a chorus of voices, three maybe four distinct snarls. They sounded closer than before...

No worries -- congrats on the new gig.

Gomrund joined Fengolor at the grate. A quick survey showed there was no mechanism, it was simply held in place by its immense weight. The pit could be accessed by merely lifting the grate away....which was proving a feat as both Elf and Halfling had their backs into the action only to barely budge it an inch. More muscle would be needed to evacuate the imprisoned paladin.

Sleeekch...hek. ...came a strange slurring sound from the darkness as if some lurking creature attempted speech but only managed a clumsy slack-jawed utterance. It was answered by a low, longing moan from deeper in the cave system.

Back in Elven form, Fengolor had new perspective on the iron grate that covered the prison pit. It was crudely forged black-orc iron and appeared to weigh a ton. A brief test of its weight proved without a doubt the elf would need help to lift it, not to mention assistance to get the prisoner out of the pit. At a glance he judged it's depth to be approximately 12 feet deep. DM NOTE: DC25 Strength check to remove the grate.

Fenogolor scampered toward the voice calling in the darkness of the lower chamber. His small feet kicked furiously as he beat a straight line over to the nearest iron grill. A short hop and he was perched atop the lip of the grate covering a deep pit. Inside, a noble, yet disheveled, blonde man stood looking up for any sign someone would come to his aid. The captive didn't notice the the mousy face staring back down at him. It was clear to Fenogolor this man was genuine. He couldn't have possibly been involved in the goblin slaughter.

The small chamber was proving to be quite the conundrum. The goblin host appeared to have been dispatched by both blade....and bite? It was all a bit confusing. Had a swordsman of some skill slain these goblins then knelt over them to feed on their corpses? And where was Gundren? Evidence of his capture had led the companions here, yet the voice that called from below was not Rockseeker's gritty baritone voice. In their hearts they began to suspect the worst. Gundren may lay dead somewhere beyond the ladder. The overwhelming smell of death and decay was beginning to weave a very depressing narrative. There was only one way to be sure. Fengolor displayed tremendous courage then, shaping himself into the form of a field mouse and silently slipping down the ladder. He deftly scrambled around the loop of intestine that grimly decorated the middle rungs of the ladder, then with a short leap, touched down into the hardpacked earth of the lower chamber. A pool of coagulating blood soaked into the cave floor a few inches from his landing. On the far side of the pool extended a swatch of dried blood as though something had been drug away. The trace terminated at a rough hewn lip of stone falling away into an even lower chamber. Whiskers twitched as he surveyed the room. A prominent feature of this lower room for three heavy iron grates. Beneath these grates were dark pits roughly six feet in diameter. He would have to get closer to see inside. Deeper in the chamber he could make out the rough shapes of some kind of furniture, but this was outside of his visual range without a light source.

Stat Block while in Mouse form. You'll retain your attributes and features as described in the players handbook.

*Clank* ...a metallic clink breaks the ambiance of shuffling feet and hushed voices. The companions heads instinctively bent toward the sound. It came from the lower chamber.

Coin turned an investigator's eye to the goblin corpses laying in broken clumps about the room. He noted the clean slash across the throats and bellies of the goblins. Each had been dispatched by a blade of some type. The precision of the cuts gave him pause. It was some swordsman who could combat this many and land such artful blows. As Gomrund had reported, Coin also noted some of the bodies had bites taken out of the limbs. Whole apple core bites, mostly around the extremities. One depression of pooled blood showed there must be a sixth goblin who had been moved post-mortem. Where was he now?

press on. Environmental Trap with relatively low DC. Failing it means the smell makes it difficult for you to operate while in the environment.