It Starts in a Village in a Clearing - Active IC Thread

[Blazeguard]

Eldrek snorts at the strange antics of the chicken-man and immediately begins examining the tunnel the duergar came from. If he is able to get past the burning oil he will advance a short distance (60') down the tunnel checking for any survivors or signs of ambush and/or traps. Once he has finished his reconnaissance, he will return and fill the others in on anything he has found.

[Rukellian]

Penuttler will silently search for salted nuts or sweets. He was kinda serious...

[Fearghus]

What to do?

Kargoth kneels over the commander and inspects the plated armor. He determines the fit is close and the damage minimal, making it suitable for his own wear.

Penuttler finds nothing flavorful on the bodies of the fallen. Strange that none of the deep-dwarf encountered have been outfitted for campaigning despite all of the talk of war.

Eldrek easily steps past the burning oil as it is only 3' in diameter. Shortly after the melee it burns out. The only illumination now from Brezebar's lamp and Penuttler's torch. Eldrek advances past the reach of the light, but finds no signs of new traps or ambush. He does however hear the distant echo of another of footsteps coming from deeper within the caverns.

Brezebar voices his desire to destroy the supports and leave the depths to the shadows. Petyr and the townsmen are in agreement with the Magician.

Eldrek's search for traps and ambushes: [1d6] = 1. Success!

[Rukellian]

The shepherd, having found nothing of what he was looking for, snaps his fingers in dissapointment muttering something about the "mealy faeries at work again" He raises his fist into the air and shakes it while saying in an angry and yet humorous way, "I'll get you... get you yet. You'll see! The nuts and sweets will be mine, sheep willing..."

Getting back up onto his feet, Penuttler dusts off his trousers and looks around a bit randomly. "What to do next, hmm.... Ooo Ooo, I know!" Quickly running back over to where he dropped his torch, the shepherd picks it back up and follows the individual that went off on his own. "Wonder what he's up to heehee!"

[Grognardsw]

Kargoth / the battle aftermath

(Assuming this is the only tunnel leading to the barrack and dark magician chamber...) Turning to the eager villagers, Kargoth exclaims: "Hold, my friends! We must first complete our mission to the duergar cavern, and upon our return collapse the tunnel!"

"Brezebar, you were curious to further explore the dark magician's chamber before we were interrupted," says the cleric. "Let us ransack and destroy the evil abode, the barrack and then collapse the tunnels."

Turning to the others. "Who would like Clangeddin's mercy to heal their wounds?"

[Blazeguard]

Eldrek comes trotting back up the tunnel and announces, "Looks like reinforcements are coming. I heard more footsteps from further down the tunnel." He will examine the area and see if there are any items or debris that could be used to set up a barricade/blockade of the tunnel for protection.

[NJWilliam]

Gutram, Ranger (12/15)

"Kargoth, I've just a scratch now, but may need some aid from Clangeddin in the future.
"Let's see where these duergar came from, no?"

Gutram kneels and closely examines the garments and possessions of the duergar to see if he can discern any telltale signs about the sort of area from which they immediately came - soil, dust, lichen, and such.

[Anivar]

Vane nocks an arrow and keeps a watchful eye down the tunnel, waiting for the next patrol.

[Fearghus]

Exit...Stage Left

Following the tunnel deeper will take the party to underneath the Magician's tower, and nearer the sounds of the distant echoing footsteps.

Brezebar responds to Kargoth, "The desired book was liberated from the Pariah's chamber when first we ransacked it. There is no fear that the abhorrent tome will fall into the hands of the poor townsfolk and cause further discontent, as the means to its obliteration are known to me".

The Magician watches Penuttler travel along the hall after Eldrek and then states aloud, "You have displayed your ability to meet these duergar in force and succeed. I see no further need for my presence in these caverns". He turns towards the passages leading to the chapel and parts company.

Petyr joins Brezebar, his only comment a shrug.

Gutram inspects the fallen duergar in detail. Each is covered in stone dust, on top of which is the dirt of these near-surface caverns. The ranger can only assume that this group came from the deeps recently. The words of the slaver echo in the ranger's memory, "The City Below stands ready to march".

Penuttler advances to Eldrek. The dwarf fighter does not identify any tools available to form a blockade. A partial cave-in could be attempted in order to force an enemy into a bottleneck. Or the team could fall back to the chapel cellar and use the crates there to narrow the entry from the tunnel to the cellar and fight nearer the surface. Penuttler can see the tunnel continues into a tight curve to the right and ascends, but otherwise does not notice anything exceptional.

Actions!

Grog, if you would like to outfit Kargoth with the plate armor please update his sheet.

[Grognardsw]

Kargoth considers options in light of just the four of them remaining. "Perhaps we should forego goinger deeper at the moment?"

"Whay say you to collapsing tunnel partially in two spots? Ambush them as they pass the first narrow space, then collapse it. If the fight turns against us, we retreat through the second partially collapsed area, with the villagers there to quickly complete the collapsing of that area behind us to ensure our safety."

Kargoth's sheet has been updated with the plate.

[Rukellian]

Penuttler returns to the group who remain in the tunnel and happens to overhear the plan of collapsing the tunnel. "So that's what all of those digging tools were for! Was wonderin' why the people were down here in the dark." The shepherd stops and thinks for a moment, finger and thumb holding up his chin, still hidden underneath his feathery mask. "If we collapsed the tunnel, wouldn't all the sheepies above panic from the shaking? Not to mention that guy with the funny moustache *giggle*... how does he get it to curl like that I wonder?"

After meeting the dead silence of the group in front of him, Penuttler just shrugs and then says in a nonchalant tone, "Well, at least the idea sounds exciting! Careful not to let the rocks hit you in the head though, I suspect they might do more than just tickle," he ends his phrase with a waving of a finger and a hand on a hip.

[Anivar]

Vane nods at Kargoth, That sounds like a good plan to me. I don't like the idea of running headlong into another party of duergar.

We need some bait to lure them up here if the blast scares them off ... Vane ponders, looking around. His gaze coming to rest on the chicken man, ... and I think I know of the perfect bait.

[Blazeguard]

"It appears that there is nothing that we can use for a makeshift barricade but partially collapsing the tunnel would provide a good chokepoint", Eldrek agrees.

[Fearghus]

The Collapse

One of the townsmen replies to Penuttler, "Those sheep up top will panic more from those vile sprites running about the Grassy Space than a little shake from these supports being broke". The other townsmen nod and verbalize their agreement. They heft their mauls and axes and batter the supports of the hastily made tunnel: first one near the bend in the tunnel past the dead duergar, then one before them.

To the eyes of Eldrek and Kargoth, what remains of the broken supports is, for now, sufficient to hold.

There is a pause as the dust settles and the townsmen retreat to the cavern in which Lorcan was defeated. Gutram is the first to hear the echoing foot falls, then the rest of the party, of the hastily approaching enemy. It is only moments before the duergar arrive, but the anticipation makes the wait an eternity. You can hear them, just beyond Penuttler's lamp light at the first set of broken supports.

Murmurs come from them, and then a gravelly voice calls out of the darkness, "I see you cousin. Surely there is a misunderstanding that you see fit to do battle with those that merely seek the light of day. Even more follow us, what good is it for you to impede our ascent?"

Does the tunnel collapse: [1d6] = 4 [1d6] = 5

Eldrek's and Kargoth's assessments: [1d6] = 5 [1d6] = 3

[Blazeguard]

"Cousin! COUSIN!!" roars Eldrek. "You are no cousin of mine. You defile the dwarven race and I will not stand by and let you terrorize and destroy the innocent people above." He will then light an oil pot and try to lob it just beyond the barricade.

OOC: if nothing else it should give us some light to see what we're up against

[Rukellian]

If another fight is about to break out, Penuttler will take cover behind some of the fallen debris and ready his slingshot for a clear shot; if he has one, he will fire!

[NJWilliam]

Gutram, Ranger

Although their foe obviously knows they are here, Gutram figures they do not know how many they are or their melee, missile, and spell capabilities. He quickly directs his companions to the positions he gauges would give them the best tactical advantage when the duergar do arrive.

For himself, he loads his light crossbow, and looks about for a second crossbow on one of the fallen duergar to also load and have ready from behind a barricade.

ooc: Gutram will load and ready as many crossbows as he can find and have time for.

[Grognardsw]

Kargoth / behind collapsed ceiling

Not having a missile weapon, the dwarf cleric waits for the enemy to reach the narrow passageway, at which point he will surprise attack with Godswrath and order Drog to attack low. The priest utters a silent prayer to Clangeddin for good battle fortunes.

[Anivar]

Vane retreats back to cover and prepares to fire an arrow at the first visible target.