I. Entry

[dmw71]

The following is in addition to the individualized introductions posted in your private forums.

Please feel free to post responses to either (or both).

You each begin to sense your hearing returning and a steady sound of running water is heard echoing throughout your current location.

The sounds of the water are not so strong as to drown out the sound of other occupants in your immediate location as well.

You are not alone.

[AleBelly]

Trying to project confidence, Mulvey readies his longbow and arrow and faces the crouching figure on the western wall. He calls in what he hopes is a forceful and steady voice "I am Mulvey of the alpine wood elf Gladsheim clan, newly a Seasider. You two along the wall, friend or foe?"

He will launch an arrow at the crouching figure with any sign of aggression.

[dmw71]

After making sure your injuries stack up to nothing more than a few bumps and bruises (and sand in just about every exposed orifice), you first work to clear the sand from your eyes. Once you're able to stop all but the most incessant stinging, you attempt to survey your surroundings and, while non-human eyes are greeted with general darkness, those with infravision slowly begin to adjust to the new settings.

Suddenly, a lantern is lit by one of the humans spilling light 30' in all directions, completely illuminating the oddly shaped 50' x 30' cavern.

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The previously noted water sounds stem from water from above also falling into the cavern which, upon reaching the floor, drifts off harmlessly towards the eastern wall.

There are a total of four moving occupants in the room -- two human, one elf and one dwarf -- all still struggling to various extents to recover from the shock of their current situation. There are also two other human forms -- one propped up against wall in the north eastern corner, the other lying prone in the opposite corner, near what appears to be a pile of rubble.

There do not appear to be any obvious exits aside from the way you entered the room.

[dmw71]

The elf, now known to go by the name of Mulvey, produces a longbow and cautiously alternates aim at the motionless human forms, beginning with the figure lying prone along the pile of rubble in the southwest corner of the cavern. In a steady voice, the elf cautiously attempts to hail the unmoving humans. "I am Mulvey of the alpine wood elf Gladsheim clan, newly a Seasider. You two along the walls, friend or foe?"

The complete lack of any reaction by either form suggests the pair are dead; an observation which is now easily confirmed. Without closer inspection, the only obvious observation you're able to make is that the body in the southwest corner dons leather armor and the body in the opposite corner is without armor.

[dmw71]

The dwarf, hearing the elf asking the strangers whether they're friend or foe, assumes, because of the typical bad blood between their races, he is also a target of the question.

"Aye," he starts. "I don't believe I have too many foes at the moment. Name's Kernodle."

[AleBelly]

Mulvey stares hard at the dwarf. "Guess we'll be working together to get out of this. I'll hope you're not a mountain dwarf." He then walks over to the unarmored body and will search it, trying to determine if they fell through too or were here already. "I've had enough excitement for one day. Anyone have any idea how far we fell?"

[spanningtree]

Thena takes in her surroundings and those that are speaking: I am Thena... this has not been my day. She will say with a hard smile to Mulvey and Kernodle. As she brushes away what sand she can from her chest. Is everyone alright? Upon seeing the two lying on the floor she will make her way to them and check vitals.

[Alethan]

The only other person in the room stands, holding his lantern high to spread light into the room.

"That's better," he says, then turns his head to the side and spits a bit of sand out. Squinting slightly, he looks about the room and takes note of the other occupants.

"Good day to you, Mulvey," he says to the elf, "Or, rather, it, um, was..." He trails off in silence, not sure what to say, since it obviously has not been a good day for any of them. Instead, he turns to the dwarf and adds, "Kernodle, is it? I noticed you in the caravan earlier. I, er... I've never seen a dwarf before."

He stops abruptly again, closing his eyes and shaking his head at his own awkwardness. Then he turns to the woman, now stooping over one of the non-moving figures and says, "Hello, ma'am..."

"My name is Abelard, though you can call me Abe if you like. To answer your question, Mulvey, I am no foe. Is, umm... is everyone OK? Any idea where we are?"

[AleBelly]

"Fate seems to have brought us together, although I would have preferred to make your acquaintances over a flagon of wine." Rubbing a few spots on his slight frame, Mulvey complains "She didn't have to make it so painful, although I suppose it could have been worse..." he trails off as he looks over the two deceased Seasiders.

A look of mild surprise washes over his face as he rummages through the unfortunate's belongings on the southwest side of the cavern. "Some useful items here." Metallic clinking sounds reverberate through the cavern walls as he shakes a small but obviously heavy bag, "I'm happy to split what we find evenly if we all work together. Useful stuff in here - he was obviously a thief and a good one too - over 100 gold and a few silver, plus a silk rope, grappling hook, 6 days of preserved food..." Droning on, he runs through the entire inventory:

Leather armor
Short sword
Sling
- Bullets, sling (x10)
Backpack
- Bedroll
- Case, map or scroll (empty)
- Flint and steel
- Mirror, small steel (<-- broken)
- Oil (1-pint flask) (x3)
- Rations, trail (per day, preserved) (x6)
- Torches (x6)
Sack, large
- Empty
Sack, small
- Coins (103gp, 4sp)
Sack, small
- Thieves' tools
Rope, silk (50 ft.)
- Grappling hook
Waterskin

"I'm trying to keep light, so if one of you humans can take the coins to split later I'd appreciate it. I wouldn't mind taking the rope and a bit of food but otherwise am happy to leave the rest to all of you."

[Alethan]

Abelard takes a look through the dead man's equipment and shakes his head slowly. "We... we're trapped in a hole that is who knows how deep with..." he looks around,"with no apparent way out and you're worried about gold?"

"I have about 2 days of lamp oil on me. Anyone else have anything? If not, after that we're in the dark. What about food?" He bends down, rummages through the items and pulls some of them out. "This is what we should consider taking."

He has made a small pile with the 3 vials of lamp oil, the torches, the silk rope, the waterskin, and the rations.

"Light, food, water."

He picks up the vials of oil and packs them away in his backpack, along with one day's worth of the rations. "You can carry the coins if you want them."

Abe then moves across the stream to check the condition of the other body.

[onlyme]

Kernodle responds.
Well Mister Abelard, I suppose this is your lucky day after all, to finally meet one of my kind. Gold can save you as much as light sometimes. Wherever we end up, we may need some payment funds. Maybe each take 20 gold, so that no one sees the entirety of it if we do have to use it?


Oh ,and I have no light on me, but then again, I am a bit more comfortable in these surroundings then I suppose a mere human to be.

He goes on to suggest splitting the rations and asks for the sling/bullets if no one objects.

[Alethan]

After a brief moment of kneeling over the other body, Abe stands and says, "This unfortunate fellow seems to have fallen through the sand, as well, only he didn't fair so well with his landing. A man of magic, by the look of him. He has a number of items in his possession that might be useful..." He then lists off the items he and Thena have found:

Dagger
Quarterstaff
Backpack
- Bedroll
- Case, map or scroll (x3)
- Flint and steel
- Rations, trail (per day, preserved) (x7)
- Spell book
* 1st: Hold Person
* 1st: Read Magic
* 2nd: Web
- Torches (x6)
Sack, small
- Spell components
Sack, small
- Coins (93gp, 7sp)
Lantern
- Oil (1-pint flask) (x3)
Waterskin

"More food and water, torches and oil, should we need it. And it seems a bit more gold, as well."

After carefully considering Kernodle's comments, "I suppose having a few pieces of coin might not be a bad thing, though..." he glances at the others in the room, "it looks like each of us is already burdened with gear, so maybe we should divide it now and then each can carry what they want to keep." Abe then grabs 20 gold coins from one of the two sacks and tucks them away into his pack.

[onlyme]

Kernodle listens to the available items, sounding fairly similar to the previous corpse.
That sounds like 12 or so rations of food. Enough for each of us a half week if we conserve. And plenty of gold to do most bidding. If I counted right, it would be about 50 each if we desire. I suggest someone grab the oils and torches. I dont want to fighting with blind men beside me. I will take an extra waterskin if no one else is without. He thinks for a minute.

Say, does that scroll case have paper in it? might be useful for one of us to map where we are and where we go.

With that, he takes one of the sacks, and counts out 50 gold to take with him, knowing he is going to be a bit slower with the clinking around but willing to risk it for gold.


edit-
If no one argues, Kernodle will take the items he mentioned wanting (sling, 3 days ration, 1 oil flask, waterskin) and the grappling hook if not attached to the silk rope...

[Alethan]

Abe replies, "I'll check the map cases and might even grab one or two of them. I have paper and even ink and quills. Didn't expect to use it quite this way, though..."

Abe opens all of the map/scroll cases from both corpses to see if any of them contains anything useful.

[AleBelly]

"Well, dear Abe, need of gold brought me to Seaside in the first place. So perhaps I'm meant to find this here."

"If there are no other practitioners of the art of magic, I'll take the spell book and study it when we bed down for the night. Could be something interesting in there."

In the absence of objections, Mulvey takes the spell book, two torches, flint and steel, 3 days' rations and takes the small sack with 50 gp from the leather armored corpse.

Looking at the rubble, he addresses the dwarf "Kernodle, what do you make of that rubble? Does it look like it's been there awhile? Wonder if there's something behind it..."

[onlyme]

Kernodle answers somewhat aggitated.

Just because my kind is naturally superiod at mining, doesnt mean i can see through rubble..

But, with his own curiosity piqued, he will go over and investigate the rubble.

[Alethan]

After Abelard examines the scroll tubes, and tucks a few into his pack, he takes a closer look at the stream running through the room. He cups a little bit into his hand and sniffs it. If it doesn't smell bad or salty, he lets it drop from his hand then touches his tongue to the palm of his hand to taste it..

If the water is not potable, then he will take the waterskin, as well. If not, then he won't worry about it.

[spanningtree]

Just as well we loot them... poor souls. Thena will say as she motions last rights on both of them. Your right about being trapped... she will say to none in particular. I'll take a two of the oil flasks and the extra lantern in my pack if that's okay and a way to light it up if needed. With a shrug she'll also put the broken mirror in her pack: Never know what may come in handy. The coin is welcome in my purse but I have to wonder if it will see the light of day. Grabbing her share.

Moving to Kernodles side: What do ya think? She'll help move some rubble if the opportunity presents itself.

[dmw71]

The foursome begin informal introductions.

By appearances, Abe, stands five and three quarters feet tall, wears a high-quality suit of studded leather armor and carries a shield. In addition to his normal adventuring gear, he has a mace hanging from his belt. Thena, a towering female at six feet in hight, dons a suit of chain mail and proudly displays her deities symbol around her neck. Mulvey, a lengthy elf matches Thena in height and gives off a faint scent of pine needles. He wears leather armor and carries shield along with his long sword and short bow. Kernondle, a typical dwarf, stands a girthy four feet tall and has sandy brown hair and eyes, with a darker brown mustache and beard. He fills out a quality suit of banded mail armor and carries a shield. A long sword and light hammer hang from his belt.

---

Thena and Abe look to the body in the northeast corner while Mulvey, the elf, inspects of the body near the rubble to the southwest. Kernodle, uncertain of elves to begin with, and still a bit off-put by the "friend or foe" comment, allows the others to tend to the bodies of the deceased while he begins to take in the cavern itself.

---

The cavern, as previously described, is roughly circular, extending slightly more wide than it is tall. The chute above you which deposited you into the cavern is still spewing a sand/water mixture into the room, but the flow is noticeably slowing down. The water which falls from above hits the floor and flows off to the east, possibly suggesting a slightly uneven floor. In the southwest corner, where the thief body was found, is a pile or rubble -- rough fragments of stone and rocks of various sizes.

---

Abelard collects a water sample from what's falling from the chute above and quickly discovers that the falling water is still largely mixed with sand and, unless a way can be found to separate the two, will be undrinkable.

---

While responding curtly to the prompt from Mulvey, Kernodle does begin to move towards the rubble to being investigating it, but before the dwarf even reaches the pile, a scratching sound is heard from beyond it.

[spanningtree]

Looking at the rubble Thena will reach down to her belt and pull her mace out. I don't like the sound of burrowing... the cultured do not burrow unless they have to. Maybe there be others like us?...