Ch. 1: Rescue Penelope Primrose!

[Zhym]

You ride through the foothills of the Stone Mountains, keeping wary eyes out for sudden unfriendly acquaintances. Skeeter Holland and his men left a trail that's easy to follow. Grond rides unsteadily, eyes straight ahead. Molly tries not to fall off her horse and wonders whether this crew has any hope of rescuing Penelope. The nervous boys sent to handle the mounts look nervous and don't say much. Twiddle and Alton talk of luck; Finn declares any day he's not dead to be a good day. It's a good day...so far.

It really is a nice day, though, with clear skies, a soft breeze blowing through the hills, and the sweet smell of spring in the air. No one rushes out from behind a rock to ambush you. It's almost insulting when you think about it.

You arrive at Big Stone Mountain shortly after midday. At your feet, pale stones worn smooth with centuries of feet and weather tell of an ancient road. It winds eighty feet up the side of the mountain to a wide cave entrance that is partially blocked by rock fall. Through the entrance, you can barely make out stairs leading upwards, deeper into the mountain.

The nervous boys—none of you have bothered to ask their names yet—find a sheltered outcropping at the base of the mountain path and motion that they'll wait for you. They don't say for how long.

-----
Status: Finn (½1): 5/5; Grond (F1): 7/7; Alton (T1): 1/1; Twiddle (½1): 4/4; Molly (½1): 3/3; Cy (C1): 5/5; Geoff (T1): 4/4
Light Sources: None
Effects: None

[Rex]

Finn

Finn dismounts and starts to organize his gear. "I guess we may as well get to it. Grond, do you mind carrying the lantern? I have one if you don't. Anyone else have any suggestions?" Finn checks his sling tucked into his belt, stones in there pouch, hefts his shield into place and finally his trusty ax. "Yup, I am ready."

[Captain Kinkajou]

Molly

Molly awkwardly dismounts and then sets to business quickly adjusting her gear and readying herself for the climb up to the cave.

No offence pony, she thinks while she's doing it, but riding isn't really for me. Still, thanks for bringing me.

She unslings her bow and takes an arrow from the quiver, scanning the rocks above for any sign that they are being observed. As soon as she's ready, she takes a moment to enjoy the solid ground beneath her feet again, wiggling her toes with the pleasure of it, and then sets off, striding purposefully forward. There's no time to waste, Penelope needs me.

"Let's just get on with it," she says determinedly.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Twiddle swings a leg over his pony and drops to the ground, landing on two feet. He reaches up, grabs his pack from the pony and shoulders it. Noting everyone else's actions, he grabs his bow and an arrow. I'm ready too. he says brightly. Then he offers, Should I sneak up ahead to see what's to see? Come back and report?

[GreyWolfVT]

Alton dismounts and eyes their surroundings looking for anything that might be out of place or anyone hiding waiting to ambush. Taking out his sole dagger and twiddling it around in one hand as he looks around. "well I've got some torches but I'd like to save them until necessary. Otherwise I'm ready."

[The_Wanderer]

Cy

Cy stays in his saddle a few extra moments staring at the opening. He mumbles, ”He came to deliver us from the dark places...”

He sighs and dismounts. ”Why bring her here of all places. Why couldn’t it be a country house or something. Instead it’s a stair into Big Stone...” For the last few hours Cy’s mood had been improving as last night’s revelries wore off. All that seemed to have changed again.

[Zhym]

You adjust your gear and prepare to leave your mounts with the Nervous Boys (as they will now forever be known, much to their chagrin when they try to find dates). Finn asks if Grond minds carrying the lantern, but Grond seems distracted and doesn't answer. Cy wonders why Penelope Primrose couldn't have been abducted into a nice country house instead of this cave. Molly, glad to be on solid ground instead of a wobbly pony, scans the rocks for any signs that you are being observed. Seeing none, she strides purposefully forward. "Let's just get on with it," she says determinedly.

Alton and Twiddle are also ready to get on with it. Twiddle asks if he should ahead. The silence is...well, not deafening, because, really, that never happens. But until now you hadn't realized that crickets live up around the foot of the Big Stone Mountain. Huh.

You proceed on up the side of the mountain, wondering what you'll find. At the top of the path, large metal doors hang off their hinges about twenty feet into the cave. The doors are rusted and weather-worn, their once-lavish and ornate carvings all but lost to time. Above the portal where the doors once stood, a stone arch displays a word in dwarven runes that you can barely make out. Stairs, 20' wide, lead further up into the darkness.

-----
Status: Finn (½1): 5/5; Grond (F1): 7/7; Alton (T1): 1/1; Twiddle (½1): 4/4; Molly (½1): 3/3; Cy (C1): 5/5; Geoff (T1): 4/4
Light Sources: None
Effects: None

[Rex]

Finn

Finn leads the way in, his bare feet quietly padding along.

[The_Wanderer]

Cy

Cy is sweating heavily by the time he reaches the arch. In a low voice he says, "Can any of you read dwarven? Seems like a skill that would come in handy down here..."

Cy unslings his shield from his back and adjusts the leather strap. The old leather creaks in his grip. His roughly carved holy symbol hangs outside of his chain. He grabs it and kisses it. Then he grips his mace and follows the party forward, into the dark.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Molly

At Cy's comment Molly looks up at the Dwarven runes above the archway. She shrugs. "I don't reckon it matters a whole lot what it says. The Dwarves that carved those are long gone from this place"

As they enter, she quickly scans the ground about them for any signs that Penelope and her captors passed that way. She is about to point out the set of bare-footed halfling tracks that she can clearly make out when she realises they are Finn's. Perhaps someone should have checked for tracks before they all tramped through there. Oh well, no matter. It looks like there's only one way in, so chances were it was the right way.

[Zhym]

Anyone planning to light a torch or a lantern, or do you want to be eaten by a grue?

[Rex]

Finn

Finn will light his lantern and carry it in his left hand, hand ax in his right. Shield slung over his back.

[Starbeard]

Sorry for the delay!

Geoff prepares his bow and tells Finn not to get too far away with that damned lantern of his. "Nasty things lurk in the darkness… terrible things, with nasty, big, pointed teeth."

He keeps his place toward the rear, and attempts to slip into the shadows and move silently as they move up the stairs.

[GreyWolfVT]

Alton takes out a torch and lights it as he follows the others dagger in one hand lit torch in the other. "I didn't take the time to learn many languages at all." the thief admits.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Twiddle smiles as folks light their lanterns It's always cheerier with the warm glow of a lantern or a candle, wouldn't you say? With his bow and a couple arrows ready, he follows Finn. Why do you think such small folk bother building such big homes?

[Thebadgamer98]

Iliro

As the party readies themselves and prepares to enter the dark cave before them, they hear a horse approaching at full speed. As the horse nears, the rider pulls on the reins, slowing the beast down to a full stop and dismounting. He hurriedly hands the reins to a Nervous Boy(TM) and makes his way towards the group.

“So sorry I’m late, I must’ve had too much of that wine last night and overslept. I’m Iliro. Iliro Quinhorn. It seems I’m here right on time, are we prepared to enter?”

The Elf straightens his clothing, readies his spear, and prepares himself for whatever beasts may lay ahead within the cavern before them.

[GreyWolfVT]

Twiddle smiles as folks light their lanterns It's always cheerier with the warm glow of a lantern or a candle, wouldn't you say? With his bow and a couple arrows ready, he follows Finn. Why do you think such small folk bother building such big homes?

Alton "They have big families Twiddle." is the thief's reply to the question.

[Modric]

Grond

Having been distracted, comes up to Finn and snatches the lantern. He grunts and curses, hoping that the ceilings of the dwarven ruins aren't too low...

[Rex]

Finn

Finn will smile at Grond. "Thanks." Finn then unslings his shield.

[Starbeard]

Twiddle smiles as folks light their lanterns It's always cheerier with the warm glow of a lantern or a candle, wouldn't you say? With his bow and a couple arrows ready, he follows Finn. Why do you think such small folk bother building such big homes?

Alton "They have big families Twiddle." is the thief's reply to the question.

"And they like to stand on each other's shoulders. Haven't you seen Snow White? You need lots of headroom for that kind of circus baloney." Geoff looks at the camera and winks to the audience before retreating back into the fourth wall.