The Hidden Way - A Second Expedition (In-Character)

[Paladin]

Expedition Two - Under cover of darkness...

"Our last expedition started out disastrously," the robed man explains as he guides you down a dark corridor. The only light emanates from the gnarled tip of his staff. It illuminates a face both wizened and youthful and deep-set eyes which gleam with intelligence.

"We had no more closed the gate than a horde of savages descended upon the poor fools. Only one fell, and I was able to send his spirit into the form of a beast nearby, so perhaps he will reunite with his comrades and fight another day. I am Anaximander, by the way. I don't know if they told you that. I'm the Arch-Mage of the spire."

He pauses at an intersection of four corridors, one running in each cardinal direction. "Let me see. I haven't come this way in some years. The door we're seeking hasn't been used since the reign of Tericles III some four centuries ago."

He strokes his sweeping white beard and contemplates the route ahead, then suddenly stabs a long finger toward the northern passage. "That one. I remember now." He strides off without waiting to see if you follow. "Perhaps we may win through by stealth where brute force failed. It was foolish of the court to assemble an expedition and feed them to the proverbial wolves, anyway. There's a reason we don't venture beyond the black spire. And haven't for centuries," he adds, almost as an afterthought.

You feel the passage sloping down, down, and down the farther you go. "This was intended to house the court in case the beasts from outside ever won through the gates and stormed the castle," he explains. "Such a thing has never happened, so these tunnels have long since fallen into disrepair." Finally, after what seems like an eternity, you reach a dead-end.

"Ah. Here we are." He regards you with a knowing smile. "One moment." The ancient wizard raises both arms and closes his eyes. He mutters arcane words beneath his breath. The words grow louder and louder with each passing second until the dry, dusty corridor rings with the fury of his spell. On the blank wall of smooth stone before you, a glowing outline emerges. Spidery runes appear and writhe like tongues of red flame, only to vanish as the spell subsides and a plain iron door appears.

He speaks a word of command and the door grinds open on heavily-rusted hinges. It protests loudly with an ear-shattering squeal. Beyond is only darkness and a cool breeze. Anaximander motions you forward.
"You'll need these," he tells you, and hands each of you a curious amulet. "You'll understand why when you see the way down." He smiles enigmatically. "Remember your mission. Find land where we might send settlers. Somewhere defensible, with a water supply and the ready availability of game and farmland. Create a map we can use to get there. Then return in one piece."

He motions for you to proceed. Once you're out the door, the old mage raises his staff and gestures sharply. '"Farewell!" The door slams shut and glows briefly, then vanishes once more into smooth stone.

You find yourself on the side of a mountain. The ledge upon which you stand is narrow and bare. There is no path down, and your sight cannot penetrate the darkness well enough to see exactly what lies above or below. There is no moon to guide you.

What do you do?

[Karaunios]

Sven Haukson

The fierce looking warrior follows Anaximander, attentively listening to what he says. Looking at every detail. His face doesn't show any sign of surprise, wasn't it for his eyes slightly widening at the enormity of the place and the unending length of the corridors and intricacy of the place. The interior makes it appear even bigger than what he saw from the outside. As if the walls weren't humbling enough.

The last straw is the opening of the door with the use of strange incantations that make the warrior feel a drop off sweat running down his forehead under his helmet.

Once they step out and find themselves on the ledge he grunts something that can be interpreted as a dislike of heights.

He takes a look at the amulet the sorcerer gave to him and his companions and tries to figure out if there's any sort of inscription on it that may hint at its function.

His hirelings stand flanking him.

Sorry for asking so many questions but, should we be doing the mapping ourselves? I wouldn't have any problem with that, mind you, just so I know it.

[Paladin]

If you'd like a map of the areas you explore, yes. I thought about posting one, then realized that it's more fun to let the players do it. So any of you good at cartography, feel free.

[Karaunios]

I can give it a try

I'm not good though

[Cougbeav]

Juan the Elder

Juan travels with his acolyte ( who acts as his torch bearer. Juan also examines his amulet attempting to divine if it has a divine aura which could lead to a clue to it's origin and use.

[Radrabbit]

Darion Tanor'Tass

Darion turn the amulet over in his hands, trying to ascertain its use or powers. He turns and grips the wall behind them.
Climbing the wall a foot or two , he jumps back and lands softly on his feet. He looks again at the amulet in his hand.

[Hadarai]

Josiah Belker

Josiah followed behind the others with his three retainers listening to the old wizard speak, his words almost muffled by the sound of everyone's footsteps as they shuffled down the corridor. Taking the amulet in his hand and inspecting it closely like the others, more so because they were doing it, before slipping it around his neck.

Once they found themselves out on the ledge Josiah immediately jumped back making sure his followers were behind him. "Tal, let's get some light shall we?"

[Paladin]

Expedition Two - Under cover of darkness...

Testing the amulets by jumping results in a slow, measured fall that deposits you gently back on the stone ledge.

The wind picks up while you stand on the ledge, bringing with it the chill of the wee hours. A light flares as a torch is lit, and the wildly-flickering glow reveals that each golden amulet is inscribed with a small, but highly detailed, hawk feather.

Actions?

[Karaunios]

Sven

"I imagined as much. These amulets allow us to fall slowly, so that we don't crush our bones against the floor down there."

He claps his hands twice. "Bautista! Bring some light, so we can see what's there. I'll take the lead."

If there's nothing weird in the way down, like bramble or hawthorn, or a demon, he'll jump down, holding his amulets. His retainers will ensue.

[Radrabbit]

Darion Tanor'Tass

Darion will gather his men beside him.
Morgan will light a torch and we will jump and try to float down keeping within ten feet of each other, if possible.
If we lose the light and/or getting buffeted by the wind, we'll try and grab a hold of each other to stick together

[Cougbeav]

Juan the Elder

Juan sighs grabs his acolytes shoulder and saysIt's a leap of faith my son and grabs his amulet around his neck and takes a step off the ledge.

[Hadarai]

Josiah Belker

"Now I don't want to hear you complain about not being apart of anything, first step to adventure boys!" With those boisterous words Josiah takes his step off the ledge.

[Paladin]

Expedition Two - Under cover of darkness...

As the party steps over the ledge, wind rushes up to buffet you back and forth. The torches flicker wildly and threaten to die.

Spoken words are snatched from your mouth and borne away on the swift current. Slowly, inexorably, the competing wind currents pry your tight formation apart and set you all adrift in various directions.

What do you do?

[Karaunios]

Sven

"Dammit! Bautista, Bob, try to... swim towards me!

Although he imagines his words don't reach his retainers, it's worth a try. Otherwise he doesn't really know what to do, other than being a thrall to the elements.

[Radrabbit]

Darion Tanor'Tass

Darion tries to keep sight of his retainers.
If he can't do that, he will try and angle his body in such a way to get close to whoever is closest.

[Cougbeav]

Juan the Elder

Can we use a strength check to grab onto another PC?

Juan will attempt to grab onto whatever PC is closest to him: [3d6] = 10 Strength = 13

[Hadarai]

Josiah Belker

Seeing Juan try to grab the others to keep everyone together, Josiah tries the same. "Great idea Juan. Boys, we gotta try to hold ourselves together grab my hands!

Strength Check (13): [3d6] = 11

[Paladin]

Expedition Two - Scattered to the four winds...

Sven shouts instructions to his hired help. They can't make out the words, but seem to get the gist of his command and begin leaning into the wind, fighting to close the ever-widening gap between them and their employer.

As the torch flickers and dies, Darion leans gracefully into the wind and uses the upward draft to direct himself back toward the others.

Juan makes a grab and latches onto someone--or at least something attached to someone. Whether it's a shoulder or a backpack he isn't sure. Poor Josiah attempts the same feat, but his fingertips catch only fabric before it slips out of his grasp.

The other men watch their employers and attempt to follow suit. Some succeed, others fail. But over all is heard an ear-piercing squeak. Dark shapes swoop past on every side and the same chittering squeak is repeated by at least a dozen additional creatures. Their silhouettes are impossible to make out in the absence of real light, but the wind from their passage suggests a massive wingspan.

Actions?

[Radrabbit]

Darion Tanor'Tass

Darion continues to try and get closer to his retainers.
He draws his rapier and dagger in case one of the winged creatures gets to close

[Karaunios]

Sven

Unsheathes his sword. "We have company. Ready yourselves!" he says looking in turn at his retainers.