The Chamber [DM Post] Thursday February 17th, 2005 5:05:44 PM
Nauthiz'Ull begins to slide forward and Garret moves into his trailing legs, If there was a fight to be had Garret was making sure he wouldn't get cought in the tunnel.
Frigg whispers a silent prayer for her brother and then a set of magical torches wisk by her.
Glancing over her shoulder, Bohdi seems rather pleased, but Aiden is far less jovial. But when one gets startled and slams there head into a solid substance like ice, it is easy to see how your mood might darken.
Ahead the Danincing lights go, settling into the chamber ahead. The ice catches and refracts the lights into a dazzling and beautiful display. The property of the curved surfaces and galss smooth quality of the ice send the light bounding about nearly three times as far as would be normal.
The chamber itself is a half sphere roughly 8' in radius, easily able to accomodate the entire group. From it 2 other passges diverge and run straight away into the darkness.
Nauthiz'Ull d20+7=26 d20+7=14 d20+8=20 d20+8=23 Thursday February 17th, 2005 7:20:09 PM
Nauth reaches the opening and stands to straighten his back.
"I never thought that I would see anything like this in my life! Incredible!"
Quickly realizing what is needed, the dark-skinned boy drops to a knee and begins searching the floor of the chamber. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Survival-26 (tracks) Survival-14 (discern north) Spot-20 Listen-23
Bohdi Nackle Friday February 18th, 2005 10:44:52 AM
Bohdi joined Nauthiz'Ull in the small chamber with his torch. With the young ranger's torch providing illumination for the others to follow, Bohdi sent his multi-colored globes darting first down one of the passageways, then the other, to illuminate their contents. Bohdi's own people could see perfectly well in low light, of course--but he didn't want to be the only one who could see what might await them down those tunnels.
ooc: Dancing Lights move at ~110'/round. Assuming these actions are one round long, Bohdi sends the lights 35' down one passageway, then--assuming there isn't something nasty!--40' down the other (call it right, then left). The lights illuminate like 4 torches, so Bohdi should have low-light visibility out to (I'm estimating) about 100' or the limit of direct line of sight down both passages.
Aiden Friday February 18th, 2005 11:38:34 AM
Aiden looked at the others, "Let's not attract attention. We should stay hear and wait for the storm to pass. I would suggest not sending your ..." as he fought for a term for the balls of light, "lights to tell the ants that we are here."
He learned one valuable lesson a long time ago, why disturb something in its lair when you don't have to (and when you are uninvited)?
Frigg'Isa Friday February 18th, 2005 1:18:37 PM
Frigg'Isa stands up and turns around slowly in the chamber. A smile crosses her face as she watches the lights play off the ice.
"It's beautiful!"
Garrett Friday February 18th, 2005 2:28:01 PM
Garrett looks around in amazement, then quickly shakes himself back to normal.
"I agree with Aiden, let's sit here quietly, and hopefully undetected, until the storm passes and then get out of here."
Lights Out [DM Post] Friday February 18th, 2005 5:05:09 PM
The group pulls up into the chamber and most stand to give themselves a little stretch after teh crawl. Yodel bleets in appreciation of not being pulled and shoved along any longer.
The lights dart down the two passages but reveal nothing and the light sensitive eyes of Bohdi can see nothing further but straight shimmering smooth ice, which again lend themselves to reflect the light further. Estimates are anywhere from 200-300 feet of sheer smooth mirror like ice in a straight line in both directions.
The noise of outside is all but silent here beneath the snow and ice. only what seems to be a distant rumble can be heard, though the sound is almost constant. The surface is quite obviously a zone of death right now.
Time passes and the torch heat builds into the ceiling and water starts to drip and slide down the walls. it also forces the group to sit once again to escape the harsher air it creates. It become quite obvious it needs to be extinguished and it is.
The world plunges to a dark beyond any have ever known, but only for a moment as a sunrod flares to pale green life in Bohdi's hand.
Time continues to pass and weariness of the hard day begins to settle. The rumble conitues to drift down the entrance tunnel
Aiden Sunday February 20th, 2005 7:34:01 PM
Aiden looked around, squinting as he tried to see more in the darkness. "We should gather closer together for the warmth, and the same guards, except for Bodhi who may need the time for whatever he does for the magic."
garrett Monday February 21st, 2005 7:42:20 AM
"Agreed, keep watch and try to get some sleep while we have shelter and appear to have gone unnoticed."
nauthiz'Ull d20+10=27 d20+10=14 Monday February 21st, 2005 9:37:48 AM
Nauth tries feverishly to get his eyes aclimated to the mind-numbing darkeness. As he hears distant rumbles from above he realizes that the intrepid storm would last for hours to come.
"Wunjos, I will take first watch here tonight. I have a knack with creatures of this nature. You rest soundly and get rejuvinated as tomorrow we climb."
The lanky boy then begins to lay out his bedroll and gets his spot prepared for his turn to sleep. He will then find a spot to sit and close his eyes so that his sense of sound will become more intense. As the group falls asleep Nauth makes sure that his longsword is upon his lap and recounts the events that have already unfold. =============== Listen-27 (includes FE bonus) Spot-14 (includes FE bonus, if he hears anything)
Bohdi Nackle Monday February 21st, 2005 10:09:08 AM
Bohdi looked at the others as if they'd just sprouted antennae. "Rest, here?" he echoed querolously. "You can't be serious! The moment that storm passes, we ought to be back up that hole and out of here quicker than very large ants at a very small, gnome-sized picnic!"
And yet, as time passed and the storm did not diminish, Bohdi's eyes--at first round and wide as saucers--began to droop slowly, then steadily, until exhaustion took him and he allowed himself to lie down on his bedroll. He yawned. "Don' forget, the sunrod only ... lasts ... abou' ... six ... hourrrrrss," he mumbled into his furs, and he curled up and closed his eyes. "Bloody hell," he muttered at last, followed by intermittent snores.
The Long Dark [DM Post] Monday February 21st, 2005 3:20:11 PM
Nauth is sure as is Aiden the rumblings are thunder and collapse. The hours drag on hundled in the ice chamber for warmth threats imagined in every dancing shadow of the green alchemical glare of the sunrod.
Aiden takes watch from Nauth and there is more of the same. The sunrod flickers once, then sputters a few feeble times as it's life comes to an end with the last pop of green dim light that filters away into the darkness. Absolute and irrevoacable darkness
Fear grabs Aiden momentarily, in that last flicker, shapes. The ceiling walls and floor, or was it another trick of the shadow and this only more so because the light source was ending. Aiden pushes it down, but soon it becomes all to clear, the horror in the tunnels.
A voice rings to his head and indeed all the slumbering youths in the chamber. Nuetral in pitch, neither masculine nor faminine.
"Why have you come to our tunnels? We feel intruders so we come. Tell us why you come to our tunnels."
Frigg'Isa Monday February 21st, 2005 3:57:44 PM
Frigg'Isa lays there sleeping near her brother when a voice awakens her. Looking around in the deep dark does nothing.
Our tunnels? The ants!
Sitting up slowly, the young witch reaches to touch her brother to assure herself of his presence.
"The storm raging outside has brought us to your tunnels. We could find no shelter but your home. We apologize for intruding and we will leave as soon as the storm clears." Frigg'Isa feels a bit silly speaking to thin air, but does so anyway.
Aiden Monday February 21st, 2005 7:40:16 PM
OOC: When the sunrod starts to flicker, he WOULD alert the human members of the group (to see if there were extras)
Aiden took a step back, involuntarily, towards the rest of the group, his back towards them, as he strained to see the shadows that were moving about. His fingers seemed to wiggle as he was refrained himself from reaching for the handle of his axe.
Nauthiz'Ull d20+4=15 d20+9=13 Monday February 21st, 2005 9:18:26 PM There is a young man with dark skin and small, pointy dreadlocks standinng over the corpse of something....he cannot tell what...then the boy begins running...to something or away from something? he cannot tell but his fear is rising and panic chokes him...something is grabbing at him but everything is a blur as he runs....voices in his head....intruders...tunnels.....
Nauth bolts upright as his sister grabs his arm and the voices echo in his head. Confussion is crawling across his face but luckily the darkness masks it.
"We mean no harm noble ones. We are merely trying to get out of a deadly storm. We must find a red flower in the mountain and return to our village. We are merely harmless children."
Nauth uses soothing voices and calm manners when he speaks with the ice ants. ============ Handle Animal-15 (+2 FE) Survival-13 (+2 FE, if needed for anything)
Bohdi Nackle Monday February 21st, 2005 10:11:45 PM
Bohdi sat upright at the sound of the voice in his head, his eyes suddenly wide as saucers. "Tell me I'm dreaming," he whispered to his companions. "Please?" He added, quietly, "Waaauuggghhh ...." Then, still sotto voce, he uttered the incantation, Presto ensorcelsior digitorum ...."
A six-inch flame burst forth from Bohdi's index finger and he held it aloft, providing some shadowy illumination to the group's surroundings. (Cast: Prestidigitation) For most of the group, the simple trick provided light little better than a flickering candle. But Bohdi's gnomish vision, of course, was adapted to low levels of light. He scanned the chamber and the tunnels to the limit of his sight for signs of danger.
ooc: Sorry to "bookend" the DM post a bit, but I'll be traveling during the day tomorrow and unable to post again until about 9 pm Woldian time Tuesday.
This is the classic "fire-finger" trick. It lasts up to an hour, should Bohdi choose, but I interpret the description of this effect as little better than a candle--i.e., shadowy illumination to 5 ft. (PHB p. 165). I'm choosing Prestidigiation in this circumstance because the question of using Silent Image for light is, at this moment, unanswered. Dear DMs, if you find it appropriate to use Silent Image for light, then please substitute that spell here instead. It can fill five 10' cubes, so that could probably fill the chamber and a little beyond with light--think of it as an "illusion" of indirect lighting.
Garrett Tuesday February 22nd, 2005 8:24:09 AM
Garrett awakens quickly to the voice in his head. He goes to pull his sword, stopping himself from doing so until he has a better grasp on what is happening.
For now, Garrett waits and listens hoping Aiden and Nauth's way with animals extends to giant ants that talk to you in your head.
Ant Speak [DM Post] Tuesday February 22nd, 2005 4:29:18 PM
The group stirs quickly but all refrain from any hostile moves. The darkness closes about everyone it seems. Bohdi sparks a small soft warm yellow light on the end of his finger. Like the delicate breath of a newborn, the light flickers pale and yellow, reflected, mirrored and reflected again by the smooth walls.
The corridors to the chamber teem with movement. The floors, walls and ceiling stretching back to 50 feet Bohdi can see and the 20' eveyone else can, are covered in ants. The creatures are transparent appearing, deeper lines of blue and white can be seen near mandibles and thorax. Most are the size of a small dog, but there are several that would rival Aiden if he laid out next to it. Thicker lines marking the powerful jaws and almost black tips near the rear which sure must be a dagger sized stinger. It then occurs to the onlookers that they are not transparent, but a mirror-like ice coloration, refracting the candle glow conjured by Bohdi.
"The children have come then. Our time draws close. Shelter in our tunnels you may, but only in this chamber. Sacrifice we see, Black snow, Red ice, Summon the Pack. We will be there when it is time. To this destiny all points are fixed. Rest well children of the end dream. You must return to us and deliver the other flowers you find."
The ants silently withdraw, leaving each to his own thoughts marked only by a dulling roar from above.
Nauthiz'Ull d20+5=21 d20+5=14 Tuesday February 22nd, 2005 6:40:30 PM Black snow....Red ice....summon what pack? Are they the pack? Are we to summon them? But summon them for what?......
The lanky-boys head is swimming with questions.. Questions compounding questions but not a single answer intertwined. Groggily he shakes his head and runs his hands over his face.
"What in Gargul's Realm was that all about? We stay here and when the storm subsides, we leave."
The unproven ranger bites his lip as he tries to think back to what his father, Ull'Heimdall has taught him while grabing for his sisters hand and looking at her for a fleeting image of an answer. =========== Knowledge Nature-21 knowledge Geography-14
Aiden Tuesday February 22nd, 2005 10:50:09 PM
Aiden's retort was short and to the point, "Don't argue, we shall talk later..."
For Aiden, now was NOT the time to argue or deeply think about the meanings of the ice ants' words. Instead, it should be used to rest, and better prepare themselves for the task that lies ahead of them.
~we will need to talk once we are out of the caves though....~
Bohdi Nackle Tuesday February 22nd, 2005 11:33:45 PM
The ants withdrew. Bohdi's flame finger extinguished. From the darkness, the others could hear the gnome's weak, quavering voice.
"Bloody hell. Now I need to tidy up my knickers again."
A few whispered incantations and a hefty swig of ice wine later, the gnome slumped to his bedroll once more.
Garrett Wednesday February 23rd, 2005 12:23:49 PM
"Huh. Interesting. Well, I would guess that we are pretty safe to all get some shut eye without need of a watch. It seems they are quite attuned to what happens within their caves."
Garrett lays down and tries to get comfortable before falling to sleep.
Frigg'Isa Wednesday February 23rd, 2005 1:58:48 PM
Frigg'Isa clasps her brother's hand and looks at him. A confused look crosses her face and she shakes her head.
"I don't know. I just don't know."
She lays back down, but curls up next to Nauth for the extra bit of warmth. The words of the ants has laid a chill across her.
Abation of the storm [DM Post] Wednesday February 23rd, 2005 3:16:11 PM
The group drifts into sleep and the thunder rumbles quietly in the skies above. Eventually all awaken and begin to move about. Some light has been refracted from above dimly lighting the chamber. There is no sound, but your own movements now.
Feeling much more refreshed than any has in a few days, the group makes its way back up the tunnel, with the assistance of the rope.
The light grows and so does the airs temperature until finally you emerge from the spike. The ground has a thin fog about it and looks like the surface of some foreign world. The ground is pitted with holes ranging from the size of a human fist to Bohdi's entire body as far as one can see.
The air is warmer today than it has been in anyone's memory for this early time of year. Perhaps it has been the recent hard days which has muttled the memory of the first taste of true Nyr Kelda (New Spring). Overhead a blazing yellow sun sits in a open azure sky, a day full of promise.
Further to the north Búrfell awaits.
Nauthiz'Ull d20+8=23 d20+8=22 d20+7=17 d20+7=10 Wednesday February 23rd, 2005 9:11:56 PM
The climb out of the ice ant's tunnel helped to get the blood flowing the young boys veins. Upon reaching the surface, Nauth tilts his head back and shields the sun from his eyes.
"Friends, this is a most glorious day!"
The dark-skinned boy then kneels and inspects the pseudo-craters that riddle the tundra.
After getting his bearings and waiting for the others to get ready, the unproven ranger takes the lead along with Aiden if he chooses to stay up front.
"My friend, this is an experience that will lend great knowledge to both of us in our days. Consider yourself fortunate as you have seen and lived through a storm of perilous magnitudes."
While talking to his companions, he reaches into his pocket and removes a small furry ball of hair and lightly tosses it on the ground.
"Go play my friend. Stretch your young legs and grow strong." ============= Spot-23 Listen-22 Survival-17-any visible tracks Survival-10-predicting weather
Garrett Thursday February 24th, 2005 12:37:37 PM
After climbing back outside, Garrett prepares and prays for his spells for the day. After that is finished he turns to the others.
"Most interesting. I wonder if any of the elders back home have heard of this ability the ants have. They are obviously not just large ants."
"We need to remember to bring back the other flowers that we find with ours for the ants as they asked. Seems a fair price to pay for being allowed to safely shelter for the night. Especially considering what happened out here. In any case, looks like we have a lot of climbing to do today. Ready when you all are."
Spells memorized today:
0 lvl: Create Water, Detect Magic, Light
1st lvl: Enlarge Person(d), Endure Elements X2
Bohdi Nackle Thursday February 24th, 2005 1:47:03 PM
Bohdi emerged from the ice spike and squinted in the glare of ice and snow under the bright sunlight. He shook his head at the large potholes created by the storm. As Garrett prayed for divine favor, Bohdi likewise consulted his spellbook.
"Think I'll do things a little differently today," he announced, in his usual didactic fashion of soliciting input from the others. "Unless anyone thinks otherwise, I think I'll hold off on preparing spells for now. It'll mean stopping later to prepare more, and it'll also mean that I won't have spells available to cast on a moment's notice, but at least we'll get a better sense as we move what magic we might need. Sound good?" It takes Bohdi just 20 minutes, rather than his usual hour, to prepare as a result.
ooc: I'm assuming that Bohdi was able to gain sufficient rest after the ant episode that his available spell slots were not affected for the day. Please let me know if that's not true.
Bohdi's going to leave some spell slots open--the idea is to prepare spells again later, when the prospect of climbing approaches, so that he can better assess what they'll need (for example, Unseen Servant, Feather Fall, Prestidigitation, etc.). If the weather becomes an issue--i.e., if FORT checks become required--then he will at least ask to stop sufficiently long to prepare Endure Elements.
Proposed spell list: Level 0: Detect Magic, Two open slots Gnome abilities: Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound, Prestidigitation, Speak with Burrowing Mammals Level 1: Color Spray, Two open slots
Frigg'Isa d20+9=29 d20+9=14 Thursday February 24th, 2005 3:50:28 PM
Frigg'Isa climbs out of the ice spike and is amazed by the change in the landscape. Not wanting to use up her rations, Friga looks around to see if she can find anything to eat (Survival 29, nat 20).
Taking a look to the sky, she tries to get an idea of what the weather (Survival 14) will hold for them on their trek to Burfell and the flower.
"I want to get moving quickly. We can talk about the ants and their late night visit while we walk."
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