Barrowmaze Part One: The Barrowmoor

[Raistlinmc]

"Dwarf? Wha' dwarf? Who said anythin' 'bout a dwarf?" Zaivie asks. After all, she'd been dancing on tabletops and being wildly self-involved when these sorts of important pieces of information were being gleaned, generally speaking.

[Excior]

Allen stands at the ready waiting for a decision to be made "I think we should at least investigate the prospectors and determine if they are friendly or not."

[Sellsword]

Dougal is in agreement with Thomas about scouting ahead. "Two are easier to hear than one, but if you want someone along to watch your back, count me in!" Dougal will wait for instruction from Thomas, content to either lurk behind with the group or to accompany the footpad to investigate the other tomb-liberators and see what our competition might be up to.

[Malkavian Grin]

---

HP 6/6 | AC 13 | To Hit +1 | StatsStr 14
Dex 17
Con 14
Int  9
Wis 13
Cha 12 | SavesDeath/Poison.....12
Wands................13
Paralyze/Stone...14
Dragon Breath....15
Spells.................17 | Arrows x25

---

"Agreed we need to scout ahead--I'll go with you--but what if they really are bad or whatever. Let's try talking to them before resorting to murder..." Cyrus said, hoping to convince his fellows. Zaivie seemed of especially loose morals and so worried the young man most. Or perhaps he was scared that it was thrilling to see. His nerves were tense either way.

[Raistlinmc]

Well, one thing's for sure: Zaivie certainly has loose morals, though she doesn't see too many problems with that assessment.

(OOC: Frankly, neither do I. The girl's a hoot. haha)

[cailano]

You set off to the north, following the sound of the hammering. It has a sharp, resonant pitch. It's more like a hammer striking an anvil than a block of stone.

The sound is easy enough to follow, even though the mist hides everything farther than one hundred feet away.

Finally, you track the sound to its source. You stop once you can make out a group of people in front of a dark shape that seems like a burial mound.

You can hear some of the people talking, but you're too far away to make out what they are saying. It sounds like two men are arguing.

You think there are at least six people in the group. It's hard to be sure through all the mist.

What do you do?

[Raistlinmc]

Zaivie is impulsive, true, and gods know she isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but she does keep her mouth shut here.

This, she figured, was a good time to be quiet and wait to see what happens before doing anything particularly Zaivie-ish.

Edited April 3 by Raistlinmc (see edit history)

[Sellsword]

"It's dirty work, but someone has to do it. Wait here, lest we all be seen. I'll try to get a closer look." Dougal pauses a moment before adding, "But if you hear me scream, please come quickly!"

Lying face-down in the mud unceremoniously to stand the best chance at being unheard and overlooked in the fog, Dougal will creep forward on his belly towards the other tomb-robbers to get a better look and perhaps overhear their conversation.

[cailano]

Black Dougal

Staying low to take advantage of the tall grass, you creep towards the burial mound.

You get close enough to get a good look at the group in front of it. They are adventurers, of that you have no doubt. There are eight of them altogether.

1. A large human man wearing plate mail and a longsword. He has long brown hair and a heavy beard, and his armor looks like it has seen plenty of action. He seems to be the leader of the group.
2. A human man wearing a long chain hauberk and a shield over his back. The shield is emblazoned with the symbol of the god Thor.
3. A young human man wearing studded leather
4. An elven woman who isn't wearing armor at all. She has a heavy satchel slung across her body. From the shape of it, you'd guess it holds a large book.
5. A young human man with spectacles and a quarterstaff. He is also unarmored.
6. A slightly-built elven woman in chain mail. She is sitting on a rock and sharpening a longsword.

The last man of the group doesn't fit in with the rest. He's a young Dwarf, and he's neither armed nor armored. He has a sullen disposition and is currently sitting on a fallen log. A sledgehammer lies beside him.

The other point of interest is the tomb door. This seems to have been a sealed tomb, capped by one of the large stone blocks you've seen elsewhere in the Barrow Mounds. The adventurers seem to have broken through it already, and pieces of stone lay about the entrance to the mound.

This mound was different because there was another door behind the stone. It appears to be made of bronze, and the skull face of Nergal is embossed on it.

The leader and the cleric are both examining the door. A broken sledge hammer lies next to them. The door doesn't have so much as a dent.

[cailano]

Black Dougal (cont.)

Once you get a good look around, you try to creep away. Unfortunately, you step into a patch of soft mud that makes a loud sucking sound when you pull your boot out.

The elven woman with the satchel looks up immediately.

"We've got company!" she says, and her friends turn and look your way.

What do you do?

[Malkavian Grin]

---

HP 6/6 | AC 13 | To Hit +1 | StatsStr 14
Dex 17
Con 14
Int  9
Wis 13
Cha 12 | SavesDeath/Poison.....12
Wands................13
Paralyze/Stone...14
Dragon Breath....15
Spells.................17 | Arrows x25

---

Cyrus jumped a little at the woman's words. That sounded an awful lot like a fight was headed his direction. Adrenaline shot into him as his body anticipated violence. Part of him was terrified, but an equal part of him was thrilled. Bodily shakes wracked his limbs as he waited in tense silence. Silently he nocked an arrow and he looked to his companions for a sign of what to do.

Shit shit shit I don't wanna die, I just got here! I just got to my adventure! I'm too young! Come on, this isn't fair! Maybe it'll be easy... Yeah, sure, and I kill 'em... Never killed a man... Shut up, I can do it! I'm not like my father, shut up!

[matt_s]

Tharnakalian crouches low and whispers,

How do we want to play this? If we all jump out of the mist they will reckon it an ambush and with some justification. But we cannot let Dougal out to dry neither. I suggest we let Dougal hail them in response then we can reveal ourselves one by one. I don't know what's happening exactly but it'll be tense I reckon no matter what we do...

[Sellsword]

Dougal curses softly under his breath. All this accursed mud, makes it nearly impossible to do anything without making noise. It's going to take an hour in the bath to get the mud out of his beard, assuming he survives this encounter. "Now is not the time to be a hero, nor to panic!" he whispers to himself, quietly.

Staying on his belly, Dougal goes completely still. The urge to squirm is nearly impossible to resist, especially with certain presence of creepy crawlies in the mud under him, but he knows that stillness and silence is his best bet--at least for the moment. They know that something is here, not necessarily that it's me--and hopefully the rest keep their wits and keep quiet! Maybe we can take this Bertrand, but they don't look like pushovers. No, Black...let's just hope they don't get too curious!

Dougal does his best to remain still, belly down in the mud, hopeful that the tall grasses and mist will obscure any visual signs of his presence. If enough time passes without another sound, maybe they'll just go about their business instead of investigating. Nevertheless, he readies himself to scream at the first sign of any real danger.

[cailano]

Black Dougal

You can tell from watching the other adventuring party that they have a pretty good idea of where you are, but you might be able to use the grass and mist to change positions. The risk is that they might think you're looking for an attack or ambush position.

You're still about one hundred feet away from them, however. If you were to run for it, you can probably get away. None of them have a readied missile weapon, and by the time they do ready one, they'll have lost you in the mist.

If you wait where you are, they can walk right up on you if they choose to.

 

** OOC - You can take another stab at a hide roll (hide because you're moving while hiding, which only thieves and other stealthy classes can do). You're still at +20% from the mist and cover. It's a little lower of a bonus because now they're actively looking for you.

[Sellsword]

Dougal tries to creep away quietly and unseen, but his efforts to remain invisible end up being counterproductive. If they catch me, best case scenario they kill me. Worst case, I get press-ganged into service like Gern and end up as their barrow-tester. Not good, Dougal!

Reluctant to succumb to either fate, he takes what seems like his best chance at survival/freedom, and makes a break for it, trusting the mists to provide some measure of cover as he flees. "Aaaaaaah!" he screams as he runs away, in an attempt to alert the others--there is no pride in the act, and his voice cracks just a little.

OOC: If he makes it as far as his friends, he'll provide as quick a summary as possible--that it is indeed Bertrand's Band, that they're well armed, and from his [albeit limited] experience there are likely mages in the group. He will enthusiastically recommend that our party avoids direct encounters with the Band.