Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
Posts: 706
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Post by Jarovbees on Apr 28, 2019 18:44:06 GMT
This wasn't the first time Solstice had quite literally leaped into the unknown and, fortune willing, it would not be the last. Even before her paladin's oath, before she grew to adulthood really, the firbolg was ever-curious and eager to explore. That her foster mother tried to emphasize the dangers of wandering off impulsively was little deterrent; if anything, learning about the dangers of the Feywild as well as its wonders had her excited to rise to the challenge. How could she grow if she didn't test herself, after all? That a crystalline cave, beautiful beyond compare, could also contain a vile hag only meant that she had to be faster than said hag in order to return home unharmed.
Now, however, she had no intention of fleeing, whatever was discovered. Solstice, grown and fully-trained, intended to make full use of said training. A kindly old halfling woman, Mrs. Mossrun had pleaded for help in retrieving a lost cat, following the appearance of a gaping hole in her basement. It had been two weeks since the disappearance, and any number of reasons could be responsible. But after learning about Undermountain and the horrors to be found in the Mad Mage's dungeon, Solstice is on high alert. It's better to be over-prepared than not, and for that reason she's grateful to have brought along her adventuring gear from the start.
At least this time, she wouldn't be venturing below on her own. Kara, the woman who had inadvertently changed the course of her life on Solstice's first day in the city, had agreed to join her for the task. Having noted her muscles and glaive from earlier, the paladin was eager to see her in action and learn how well they could fight alongside each other. Her instructor had said that the easiest, fastest way to know someone better was on the battlefield and while Solstice had seen Kara's character shine through without a fight, she was still curious to see how much there was still to learn. In any case, they were well-armed and as prepared as they could be for the unknown.
Wasting no time, Solstice jumped into the darkness below. It didn't remain dark for long, thanks to the lantern she'd just lit beforehand and held aloft. Her landing wasn't too rough; it wasn't a terribly steep drop to begin with, and her armor provided enough padding. Dusting herself off, she raised her lantern and peered around, then upward. The torch Kara had dropped was a few feet away, atop some of the soil that had come loose from the apparent cave-in. It seemed stable enough for now, given that such had happened a month ago, but she could almost hear her foster mother urging her to be careful nonetheless. Maybe such advice would stick, with company around.
As for the area beyond....Solstice squints, raising her lantern a little more. She heard nothing yet, but the sound of her own breathing. If there was a creature at fault for this, it wasn't here now. "Your turn, Kara! It's a mess down here, so watch your footing! The tunnel curves a bit, so I can't tell how far it goes yet...but it looks as though it might stretch in the direction of that house on the right she was talking about. That could explain why no one else has heard anything...."
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 28, 2019 19:41:30 GMT
Kara stood at the edge of the hole, legs spread in a ready stance, weight balanced. She glanced back over her shoulder at Mrs. Mossrun, took a deep breath, and nodded one last time at the halfling woman.
“Please be careful, dear!” Mrs. Mossrun smiled at Kara.
Kara looked back at the hole. With Solstice standing down below, Kara could easily see the floor; it wasn’t such a bad jump after all. All the same, she adjusted her rope so the javelins couldn’t spear her, and drew the glaive, gripping it tightly. It was sheathed, for now, but she still turned it, holding it so the point would be away from her and Solstice both.
Kara stepped off the edge off the hole. She landed in an even crouch, and rose smoothly. She was considerably smaller than Solstice; while she had no armor for padding, it also meant she hit with even less force, her small strong body capable of greater feats than this. She stepped over, carefully, and picked up the torch from the pile of dirt, tucking it into her makeshift rope carry. Last, Kara pulled the cover off her glaive and tucked it into one of the pockets of her tunic, letting the well-kept blade gleam in the light of Solstice’s lantern. She felt better with it drawn.
Kara turned to Solstice and nodded. With a last glance upwards at the basement above, Kara turned to the tunnel and started walking.
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Jarovbees
Approved
Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
Posts: 706
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Post by Jarovbees on Apr 29, 2019 4:46:23 GMT
"Of course!" Solstice shouted back up to Mrs. Mossrun with her typical confidence, and flashed a smile at Kara with the same tone. They didn't know what they were going to find, and a favorable outcome wasn't guaranteed, but in her view it never helped to go into a situation pessimistic from the start. Whether or not that helped them remained to be seen, but she was still striving to be the light, in her own way.
Kara's easier landing met with a nod of approval, and she understood the feeling of wanting to have a weapon out even with no threat immediately apparent. She kept her shield in one hand for now, the other on her lantern. This situation made her wonder about the arrangement, though. "Remind me when we return to the surface about investing in getting a hook or something for the lantern, to place on the shield. A bit awkward, maybe, but I'll need both hands free at some point.
"Do you see any cat tracks?" She squinted, raising her lantern just a little. It was a couple of weeks ago, so maybe any tracks wouldn't be the freshest, but perhaps Kara was a better tracker than herself.
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 29, 2019 15:53:51 GMT
Kara paused at the narrowest point she could find, thinking. Cat tracks. Kara had never tracked a cat. Criminals, yes, although that was mostly by word of mouth and not so much their actual tracks. Bandits in the woods, a few times. Never a cat. But, surely, she could figure out what they were supposed to look like. Cats were small. They had small paws. Kara liked cats. They weren’t very demanding; they never wanted more than a few minutes, and if you were busy they never seemed to mind. They had small round pads on the bottom of their paws, with little ovals above them. She didn’t think something so small would leave marks on this kind of ground, but it was worth a shot. Kara crouched down, carefully examining the dirt. Survival check for tracking: AlZKnQ_L1d20+3
After a moment, Kara rose and shook her head. If there were tracks left by the cat weeks ago, she couldn't see them.
((Note: the ruling that Kara's roll was too low to see any tracks came from Jarovbees!
EDIT: Okay, it re-rolled somehow! The original roll was a 6, so 6+3=9. I'm sticking with that.))
1d20+3 |
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Jarovbees
Approved
Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
Posts: 706
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Post by Jarovbees on Apr 29, 2019 16:18:00 GMT
As Kara bent down to look, Solstice paced around to get a better sense of the area...or at least try, but subterranean outings in the Prime Material plane weren't her forte. She didn't spot any such tracks herself, even with the lantern's help. It was a shame, too. She wanted some sign of hope for the halfling woman fretting above, though consoled herself with the fact that it would hardly be a job worthy of a posting if it was that easy to find Fluffers. She paused where the tunnel began to curve and frowned to herself, raising the lantern for a better look. The immediate area was still too full of fallen earth for her to get a better feel for what to expect, and she turns back to see Kara shake her head. Shrugging, the firbolg offers a wry smile as she waited for Kara to rejoin her. She couldn't fault her companion when she had failed to notice anything significant herself.
"Cats roam far and wide, don't they? I suppose it was a long shot, finding clues right away. We'll keep looking, then. I can see a larger tunnel off ahead after the curve, maybe that will yield something more."
Nature check: Q5aT_9uw1d20
1d20
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 29, 2019 16:27:58 GMT
Kara nodded. It was a long shot at best; cats were quick and light on their feet, and the earth was packed and dry. She couldn't help feeling like there might have been something to see, but it was dark down below, and the ground revealed no secrets to her. With a last glance, she kept walking, following Solstice down the long tunnel towards the curve faintly illuminated ahead. She examined the tunnel closely, searching for any clues about what was to come.
Nature check: NiNYox3G1d20 1d20 |
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Jarovbees
Approved
Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
Posts: 706
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Post by Jarovbees on Apr 30, 2019 0:08:29 GMT
Though Kara had failed to discover any sign of feline tracks, as they continued she would come to notice what had eluded her paladin companion regarding the nature of the tunnel itself. The walls and ceiling of the initial entry point and immediate pathway were as rough and uneven as the ground; it was more likely than not that this tunnel hadn't existed before the collapse in Mrs. Mossrun's basement. That itself wasn't especially surprising with the information given. However, as the tunnel curves and slopes downward to merge into another, larger tunnel, its shape is markedly different. The ground, walls and ceiling are all relatively smooth and rounded; it was not man-made, there were no signs of that anywhere in sight. Yet it was apparent that something had created it, something large.
Solstice raised her lantern and huffed as she glanced either way, thoughtful. She kept her voice casual, trying to ignore how the light from her lantern made the darkness on either side seem even more unfriendly. Or maybe it was her imagination. Clearing her throat, she combats her unease by breaking the silence. "Well, this suddenly got more complicated. I'm grateful for the higher ceilings, at least. That first part was a bit of a squeeze, to be honest."
The firbolg woman paused for a moment, then figured she might as well give it a shot. "Fluffers? Hey, Fluffers! Where are you, lovely?" She strained to listen for any responding noise, but all that could be heard was the sound of their own breathing. Glancing back to Kara with an 'oh, well' shrug, she then raised an eyebrow. "Hm, right or left? At the moment, it seems like the cat could have gone either way."
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 30, 2019 0:45:37 GMT
Kara kept her eyes on the walls and ground, and after a few moments she was confident enough in her confusion to speak. “Smooth,” Kara said, keeping her voice low. She stepped to the walls, resting one hand on them and tracing it over the rounded surface, waiting until she had Solstice’s attention. She shook her head, slowly. “Something made this.”
Kara kept walking; it was difficult to see much outside of Solstice’s pool of light, but she tried, and she tried to listen as well, as best as she could over the sound of their footsteps. It was hard not to feel a faint prickling of the hairs on the back of her neck as they descended deeper into the earth, the world around them black and grim and impenetrable.
Kara paused and listened as attentively as Solstice at the shout for the cat. No luck.
There was a turning. Kara exhaled, slowly, looking left and right.
“Light?” She asked. If Solstice agreed, Kara would crouch down on the ground again, checking once more for tracks. She thought it even less likely that she would find them here; the ground was less disturbed. The cat might have come weeks ago and never left again. On the other hand, there likely wasn’t much traffic here in the dark tunnels. Kara hoped.
Survival check for tracking: 1lMz3C9V1d20+31d20+3
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Jarovbees
Approved
Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
Posts: 706
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Post by Jarovbees on Apr 30, 2019 2:00:54 GMT
The moment Kara requested light, Solstice steps over to her side and shine the lantern on the earth below. It's faint, very faint, but there's just enough light for Kara to discern a small feline footprint facing left. The smooth ground doesn't give away too much, there isn't a long trail to follow, but there are no visible tracks facing the other direction. In all likelihood, the cat continued onward toward whatever was ahead of them. Any other information, such as the state of the cat at the time, isn't forthcoming. Even so, it's a literal step in the right direction.
"You said something made this...." Solstice braces a gloved hand against a wall, frowning as she looks it over. Now that Kara had pointed it out, it was easier to see the difference between the first stretch and this one. "It'd have to be something large, that's for certain. You know, I keep hearing from patrons of the Yawning Portal about Undermountain, that large dungeon below. I wonder just how far it stretches across Waterdeep. Could it have come up from there...?" There was no solid proof either way, but they weren't that far from the tavern and its well leading into the unknown, so it made her wonder. Now she'd wished she had paid more attention to individual stories.
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 30, 2019 3:54:12 GMT
Kara reached down and set her fingers against the track. She rose, looking back at Solstice, and turned left. “A cat walked this way.” Kara said.
Kara turned back to the intersection. She crossed to the tunnel they had come from and lifted her glaive, carving a four line crosshatch into the wall at just above the height of her head - a little high for her but low for Solstice, hopefully a fair compromise.
Kara looked back at Solstice. She grimaced at the mention of the Underdark and shrugged, glancing around. The tunnels were large and the cat’s paw print very small. Kara didn’t like to think about it. She very much wanted to bring Mrs. Mossrun her cat still alive, but she didn’t think it was really up to her.
At least now they had some proof that the cat had wandered this way, and not been dragged off by a something. Kara turned left, and started walking again, deeper into the tunnel’s depths.
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Jarovbees
Approved
Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
Posts: 706
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Post by Jarovbees on Apr 30, 2019 19:24:37 GMT
"Ah, good eye! That could have easily been overlooked." Well, that's a change in their luck. Solstice perked up and smiled at Kara for her find, a reassurance that they would be heading in the right direction. It was the best sign they had found so far, even as the tunnel created by something large made her wonder what they wound find ahead. Kara's grimace encouraged her to drop that line of speculation, for now. Truth be told, she didn't like dwelling on it, either. The sweet old woman deserved to have her cat back, not something to bury or nothing at all. Noting the notch, she nods; that will be good enough in terms of line of sight.
The firbolg follows alongside, raising the lantern as they walk. At least with the tunnel being at least ten feet tall, there's no need to slouch. The path gently slopes downward and Solstice hums in thought. "Impressive, if it managed to avoid the sewers at all. I guess we'll find out...." She frowned as it continued to slope downward; not too steeply, but it still made her wonder just how deep this search would take them. All the while, she was acutely aware of the light from her lantern and the clanking of her armor attracting unwanted attention...but there was no help for it. They needed to be able to see, and she didn't trust this to be the sort of place where she could forgo armor, especially if that burrowing something was still nearby.
About ten minutes passed with no apparent change in scenery or situation, other than some uncovered stonework that revealed the burrowing creature had narrowly missed a portion of the sewers. Further ahead, the smooth tunnel formed by a creature continued. However, fallen earth from what could be another cave-in another cave-in revealed another branching-off point. Solstice, keeping her lantern steady, paces ahead a few steps for a brief inspection. "The walls are different, I don't think anything has made these....should we follow the burrower's trail or have a look?"
(Make either an Investigation or Nature check if Kara approaches, too!)
Solstice Nature check: u5vCoYmk1d201d20
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 30, 2019 20:49:37 GMT
Kara didn’t like it. This was a large path – a very large path. She hadn’t spent much time learning about the Undermountain, but it was starting to feel less and less likely that there could be such a big path under the city, created by something large and worn smoothly down, that wasn’t a part of it. The prickling feeling on the back of Kara’s neck intensified, and she was grateful for the cold, smooth grip of the glaive in her hand.
Kara did not think of herself as claustrophobic. She had grown to adulthood in Sundabar, a city of dwarves. She had lived in the uppermost parts of the city, well above ground, with the rest of the human population, but she had spent time enough in the Undercity, as a child with Dwarven friends, as an adult with Dwarven colleagues. During her days resisting the Orcish occupation of the city, she had lived there, in secret tunnels and caves.
Despite all that, this tunnel still made the little hairs on her neck and arms stand up.
Kara followed Solstice to the new branching-off point, looking closely. A new cave-in could explain why the cat hadn’t returned; perhaps it was trapped in some closed off pocket. Perhaps even recently; Kara didn’t like to think what they would find if the cat had been without food and water for two weeks.
Kara Investigation check: b|p|uepd1d201d20
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Jarovbees
Approved
Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
Posts: 706
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Post by Jarovbees on Apr 30, 2019 22:18:49 GMT
Kara might have caught sight of some bones just beyond the branching, of something small and humanoid. However, neither of them noticed anything amiss about the ceiling almost just above it. That was an understandable mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. The ceiling moved, it's color shifting to reveal a manta-like creature just above them. It remained motionless just long enough for Solstice to stand in place just above, then dropped down atop the firbolg.
(Aaaand roll initiative. Solstice is surprised, but Kara's passive Perception was just high enough where she isn't. Yay?)
Solstice init:z3OaTGjM1d20
Trapper init: 1d201d20·1d20
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Post by moralhazard on Apr 30, 2019 22:28:50 GMT
Kara init: o4FUxpZN1d20+11d20+1
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Jarovbees
Approved
Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
Posts: 706
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Post by Jarovbees on Apr 30, 2019 22:43:39 GMT
(And the trapper goes first, sorry.)
The large, strange manta-creature wastes no time and wraps itself around the firbolg, trying to smother her. She was a fair bit larger than the bones of its apparent former prey; perhaps it saw her and got greedy? Before Kara can act, it attempted to force its new prey into submission, not making it easy for her to elude its firm grasp.
Which...she can't, not at the moment. The trapper's quick action, catching her off-guard, means its hold on her is too firm for her to attempt breaking free of its smothering, at least for now. She dropped her lantern, the light source not breaking but rolling over onto its side. Thankfully, it was intact, giving Kara enough light to see by.
Solstice Dex save: EADnAw371d201d20
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