Pause

I hope you're still with me.

I would guess that the four of you, not including Bergthora, weigh around 800 lbs.  This provides a near-guarantee of your safety; odds are about 1 in 450 that the rope would break, dropping you fifty feet for 15d6 damage.

You have every reason to believe you're perfectly fine.  But I do want to give the sense of discomfort you ought to feel as the rope strains and creaks, as the cage descends.  I also want to emphasize that the waters, viewed from 30 feet above, could easily conceal any number of creatures, things too small to be seen, flat things hiding in the water, things simply hiding in the dark.  I don't want this to be discarded as a possibility.  It would take 20 rounds for the cage to make a round trip from the bottom, where it let off half the party, to bring reinforcements.

But, let's take stock.

Can I count on the four of you going down together?  Are you fine with Bergthora making a trip as a solitary person.  She's fine with that.

If you're carrying your lanterns, you won't need to make a pot of fire for the cage.  Your legs would blot out most of the light it would give out anyway.  Petar and Willa have six torches between them, enough for two hours light, so you don't have to leave a lantern behind; you can take both of them.

What else needs to be discussed?

The Weather Worsens as Lothar Returns

Date: 1pm Saturday, April 30, 1650
Location: Store Stokka, Rogaland
Weather: a gentle breeze is blowing from the east, with brisk weather, verging on chilly. The sky is overcast.  Feels like 40 F/ 5 C.

Coming again to the party that stayed in the woods, the camp is fine and safe and you have no encounters.  Through the night, there were moments of scant rainfall, which came down as a light rain just after midnight, just enough to dampen everything.  But the party, I think, has a tent.  They usually sleep eight, so this was just an inconvenience.  Beginning in the mid morning, there is a continuous scant rain that starts and stops.

As you awake the next morning the temperature is definitely chilly, just above freezing in fact.  You slap yourselves to keep warm, build up a fire, eat some hot food, crawl in and out of the tent to keep out of the rain and try to feel better.  Please, everyone (including Lothar and Fjall), I will need the party and followers to please eat 6 lbs. of food each to compensate for the combat yesterday.  [I updated the food rules months ago, so we should use the adjusted numbers on the wiki].  You can make up for this with the food that arrives with Lothar, if you're short on your own.

Lothar will arrive without an encounter, hungry probably.  He and Fjall are wet and tired as they enter camp at 1pm.  Rain clouds are beginning to drop a steady light rain, enough to douse a torch, so the overall environment is unpleasant to say the least.  Within 20 minutes of the pair's arrival, everything not under the tent is thoroughly wet.

The Descending Chamber

The hall past the well room continues for about 120 feet altogether; the last forty feet of the hall begins to snake, first left, then right, descending more steeply until it is a thirty degree slope at the end.  You would guess, by then, that you are about 45 feet underground.

I will describe this as carefully as I can.  You find yourselves in a round chamber that is also a ledge over an uncertainly deep drop.  Somewhere below, you can hear the sound of water falling; it is not a roar, but it is a good deal more than a trickle.

The "hole," which is the top of a limestone cavern, depicted in black.  The walls surrounding the chamber, as well as the sheer wall on the other side of the hole, are depicted in grey.

The floor of the room has been made of stone bricks, shaped together and without mortar.  The floor is almost perfectly flat.  The walls are rough hewn out of the stone.

Near the lip, which simply drops away, there is a cage, about four feet wide. The cage has a ring on its top. Above the cage, and above the hole, you can clearly see a stone cylinder that has been carved into the ceiling, grooved in the middle.  Prodding the cylinder with a stick will show that it turns on axis that have also been carved into the rock.  You have no idea how this was done.

On the wall is a similar stone wheel, also seemingly carved out of the rock.  This also turns, and quite easily.  The interior stone must be naturally greasy, or incomprehensibly smooth.  The wheel is toothed.  There is a crude metal block that has been fixed as stop to disallow the wheel from turning one direction or - if the stop is lifted over the stone peg that holds it in place - the other.  Apparently, the wheel can be used to haul the cage up or lower the cage.  The cylinder in the ceiling would work as a windlass.  The cage would drop down through hex 0205.

There is no chain anywhere in sight.

Well Room, After the Battle

With Engelhart's second level, he picks up an amateur skill in Heroes.  This has two skills associated with it: that the character can recognize heroes on sight; the other is that the character will collect a list of "studied heroes" ~ and while the character can choose the hero to study, I do like to offer a hero for the character to know.

What is a "hero?"  I define it as any mythical/fictional figure that could conceivably exist in the 17th century, or any actual living person in the year of my campaign (1650 in this case) who is a recognized person of great importance.

Now, Engelhart can go and research for someone he would like to know.  If he wants someone in Scandinavia, I suggest checking out the royal families of Norway, Denmark and Sweden.  Prince Karl, who will become Karl I of Sweden in 1654 (assuming I don't change history), is 28, has recently just be named as successor to the Swedish throne and could conceivably be hunting in the area of Stavanger right now.  That might be the hero that Engelhart knows ~ and I could say easily that they've even met, opening the door to some sort of parley.

But if Engelhart has an alternative name, he should put it forward.

I am sorry.  I don't think that I have created any content for the fighter Pandred or the assassin Embla.  Please remind me again of your specialties and I'll update the sage page.

So, at the moment, still in the well room, with nothing actually done.  So we can start a new page with a whole fresh, empty comments list under it (saves scrolling).

They're Out on a Limb ~ Round 6

There is only one root-creature that can fight this round, and it is surrounded by followers.  At random, it whirls and attacks Fjall - it rolls a 9.  This hits AC 9, so Fjall escapes a bad attack.

So little has changed.  Here is the layout:

Petar is loaded and may fire.  He has a lot of extra possible targets between himself and the enemy, with the stumps in the way and all, but he has got a clear shot between Lothar and the creature that was lately stunned.

All others can act as they will.

Wood You Believe It? ~ Round 5

There are only two root-creatures left.  These have been engaged by Embla and Valda, so they turn away from Pandred and her difficulties, to attack the other two women.

A 2 is rolled against Valda, missing.

Against Embla the creature in 0509 rolls an 18.  This certainly hits.  Embla gets off lucky, however, taking but 3 damage.  Since she has 17 hit points before the hit, she isn't stunned.  This leaves the present arrangement:

Willa is loaded and may fire.  Petar can start loading this round.  No one is stunned, so everyone can act.

Following the player's move, the position is as follows:

Punishment is Given ~ Round 4

As Pandred moves, so does the end creature, it's tendrils shifting their connections with its adjacent fellow, moving into 0409 to attack the fighter.  It swings, rolls a 10 and hits AC 8.  I believe you established yourself as AC 6 with shield, so that is a miss.

The other creature in 0509 turns and considers Fjall a moment, then attacks Pandred.  It rolls an 18.  She takes 6 damage from the blow.  If Pandred makes a dexterity check [roll a d20], she can avoid being slammed hard enough against the wall to take 1-2 damage; she will hit the wall, it is just a matter of how well she can remain balanced.  In either case, Pandred is definitely stunned.

The creature in 0610 will attack Engelhart.  It rolls a 14, hitting AC 4.  That's good enough to pay homage to the cleric.  Father Engelhart will take 8 damage, more than enough to stun him and throw him into Valda's hex.

It does not follow.

Here is the layout for the player's round:

Embla's move was missed in the last round.  Her move
is indicated above.  She is in 0709, and can act this round.

This will enable the rest of the party to act.  Please note, especially regarding Fjall, that these creatures do not seem to have a "back" or a "flank."  The writhing root seem able to defend themselves in every direction.

Petar can fire.  Willa can load.  She can move up to one hex if she loads.

Following the player's moves, the position is as follows:

Valda Takes a Whack ~ Round 3

Begins with the creatures' movements.  The creature in 0611 turns and faces Lothar, swinging at Bergthora as it does.  Bergthora is missed by a 3, as the blow falls short of her shifting and dodging inside her hex (as everyone does when fighting ~ it is not a special ability]

The creature in 0510 adjusts to 0610, keeping the "hedge" of interlacing roots that has formed between the creatures.  It attacks Valda and hits with an 18.  She is just glanced, however, for 3 damage ~ still, it is enough to stun her and knock her into Engelhart's hex.

This leaves the last two creatures in 0508 and 0507 to thump on Pandred.  Luckily for her, however, the creatures roll a 7 and a 5.  Truly miraculous.

The final position of the creatures is, therefore:

The players can act.  Don't forget to move your followers.  Willa and Petar are willing to shoot their bows, but remember that a natural 2 will hit a party member.

The players having moved, here is the scene before the creature's return the attack:

I'm just going to forego putting up the x.p. from round to round, to save some time.  You've seen how it works; I'll put up the numbers soon.  But just to confirm: I think the only hits so far have been Pandred's 9, the creature's 3 against Valda and Lothar's group doing 13.  Oh, and there was a javelin for 6 damage.  Have I missed anyone?

All In ~ Round 2

The depiction this time has a lighter grey at the top of the map, showing the limit of the party's sight of the corridor at the top of the room.  I hope that makes everything clearer.

As promised, the party is allowed two rounds, to make up for moves lost before.  Pandred is stunned, so cannot take his second attack - but the rest of the party can act.  Lothar, please indicate Bergthora and Valda's move and attack; they will prefer to attack with hand to hand weapons.  I'll have Fjall and the others come down the stairs when the party's round is done.

The party can act.

UPDATE: the party has moved, here is their position:

Pandred is Attacked! ~ Round 1

The four creatures all act with radical speed, together rushing against Pandred.  Only two are able to get close enough to attack, but they do so with limbs flailing.  Meanwhile, between them, the rootish twigs quickly form a fence that runs from 0508 to 0611.

The two that can attack roll a 6 and a 7 ~ so Pandred is miraculously unharmed.

The rest of the party can now move.  Please let me know who is coming down the stairs behind Engelhart, once the stairs are clear, and IN ORDER.  Minimalize confusion, please.

I know it looks as though I have intentionally organized the move to trap Pandred, but I will now compensate for that by giving you TWO movement turns, with the exception of Pandred, who can have just ONE.

Go ahead and do your best.

Pandred's Walk

Between Pandred's schedule and mine, we're having some troubles ~ but we're getting there, we're getting there.

I'm going to dispense with the lighting issues now, since you've seen the whole next chamber several times and you have plenty of light.  Please note [because Engelhart will ask me about it] that the line of darkness across the hall at the very top of the image is the limit on how far you can see; it is not a wall.  Next time, I'll do the image so that this is a slightly different color than pure black.

At the point where Pandred reaches 0713 ~ precisely as she steps into the hex, the creatures will all become animate, without yet moving forward.  I want to allow the possibility of Pandred changing her mind about moving forward from this point, given that change, so I'll ask for an initiative roll with Pandred in 0713.  Pandred, please roll a d6.

I've put Embla in hex 0816, with Lothar and Engelhart behind them on the stairs.  The bless spell is in full effect.

[I can't wait to do this all again, with a different series of posts called "Embla's Walk," where the whole party leaves and only Embla comes back in by herself]

Pandred's Journey, Early Morning Friday

Date: 9am Friday, April 29, 1650
Location: Store Stokka, Rogaland
Weather: a gentle breeze is blowing from the east, with brisk weather. The skies are clear above, but there is evidence of a storm moving to the south of you, potentially three hours away.  Feels like 2.6 C.

It rained most of Thursday day, though little worse than a smattering of rain through the morning.  In the mid afternoon there was a light rain, unpleasant for Pandred and Willa, who were just planning on starting back by then.  Wisely, she waited until the rain lightened around evening, then as she made it back to camp again by dark the rain had stopped altogether.  Still, I'm going to rate that moving through a wet landscape counts as 1 point of damage that they both take on their way back.

[I'm going to try a rule of 1 h.p. per 3 hours of rain endured, if shelter is not sought against it ~ in this case, they had to strive through at least one period if they were to get back before dark]

Pandred found that the apothecary in Stavanger was willing to pay her 4 g.p. per gland or bladder that she was ready to sell.  She also learned that the glands rarely last more than 24 hours after they've been separated from the source; the party, back at camp, will learn this if Pandred did not take all the glands with her.  On the good side, Pandred learns that the gland contents have certain medicinal or fuel properties that will last for two to three weeks after the glands have been removed. So there is still time to take them back.

Pandred, if you will let me know how much actual gold you spend, I will assume that the coin from sales of the glands will count, thus x.p. can be awarded ~ ooo, new stuff!

Come the morning of the 29th, Engelhart can cast the cure light wounds spell a total of twice, one of those to restore Pandred and Willa, since they will be back by the second casting.

I strongly suggest sending one of the party members that hasn't suffered a point of damage to look at the eggs.  They will appear to be dead; without sustaining by the beetles, they die quickly.  The apothecary in Stavanger will confirm this for Pandred.  I'd rather no one lost a healing potential on account of this wild goose chase.

Anything else?