The torches may be useful, if not too wet. Fire scares off a lot of things.

"Ropes and piton can be useful too. Might be worth coiling one up?" asks Lisa.

OOC: I really appreciate the map; TY!
Which room is it that we're moving back from?

Returning from the barracks, Rolf is glad to see the way to the storage room free of the Slavers.  The mage is beginning to think they might be truly gone, or at least in this lair.

"We should give it a quick search." Rolf says as he looks over the disheveled mess of items strewn across the floor.

OOC:  Lisa, I believe we just finished searching h3 and h4.  We are now in h5.

I would like to spend 1 minute searching this room.  Rolf won't take any of the mundane items listed.

He does a quick searh for things that would be useful.  A couple of dry torches if available for sure, perhaps some rope too.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:08, Thu 11 Aug 2022.

While the others search the room, Sajaa keeps watch with her crossbow readied.



"I agree, Master Du Meseries." She replies softly.  "With your enchanted blade as our only light source, it would be wise for us to have a back-up."

OOC: Keep watch. If we can get a second light source going that would be best and ideally someone with a free hand (not Sajaa as she has both hands occupied with her crossbow) can hold it.

Gustav sifts through the flotsam across the floor, picking out two of the torches with his shield arm and a thirty yard coil of heavy rope which he throws over a shoulder.  All of the gear appears to be in good condition, the torches dry and the rope whole, despite their haphazard placement.

Rolf, however, seems less interested in the things on the floor than other things he can glean from the room.  Across a small back shelf, he notes several dust silhouettes where large tins or some other containers had been moved... littered across the area are tiny bits of aromatic, green leaves.

"Hashish."  Terri informs the group after looking at Rolf's find.  "It's a drug...  Usually doesn't grow this far north though..."

OOC:  Just a note that Lisa's rapier also has a light spell cast on it, so you do have two light sources.  I've mostly talked about Gustav's as he is the one in the front, and Lisa is behind.

Gustav, I have you holding two torches in your left (shield) arm.  I'm not sure where else you want to put them as you don't have any other bags with you, other than your purse which is much too small.

Sajaa’s top lip curls in disgust.

”I know of that foul drug.” She says.  ”It is grown widely in the foothills of my homeland.  It is a plant, yes, but it is not halal.  Allah forbids it as He forbids all manner of smoking.  Only brigands, cutthroats and other sinners smoke it.  There is an Order of Assassins who call themselves Hashishin for their propensity to imbibe in the stuff.”

She shakes her head.  ”I heard some of the bandits in these caves speak Arabic.  Given your finding of this drug here, and the language they spoke, I would not be surprised at all if the inhabitants here are some faction of Hashishin.”

She frowns.  ”All the more reason to eradicate them from this land.”

OOC:  Oops, I didn’t realize Lisa had a MAGIC SWORD!  Okay, no need to get a third light source going, then.  Sajaa will continue to keep watch for any intruders.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:59, Fri 12 Aug 2022.

Gustav will see if anyone can carry the torches and rope... he'd like to be free to fight if need be.

Lisa remains quiet, feeling that she hasn't really proved herself to this seemingly vastly more experienced crew with whom she's thrown in her lot. She's feeling emotionally exposed and just concentrates hard on not being incompetant.

With sword out, she follows in the rear of the group.

======
OOC: Magic sword? Yes, please! I wish!
The expert mage with us cast some kind of light spell on it.  (What's the strength, radius and duration of the spell. please?)

Rolf roots around a bit looking for anything that is not the mundane.  He notes the removal of some type of containers by the silhouette left in the dust on a shelf.

He takes a whiff of some type of green leaves speckled on the shelf and smells some sort of drug he surmises.

At Sajaa's behest he moves on from the shelf and helps Gustav store his torches.  Rolf takes his backpack and sets it down on an open spot on the ground.  Removing another bag from it's depths, he puts the torches inside this second bag and puts the bag away.

With his shield on his left arm and his backpack reslung on his shoulder he motions to leave with a head nod.

"Lets check that last tunnel."

OOC:  I would like to check the tunnel heading east off of 'h6'.

Lisa, I cast continual light "bright as day" on your sword previously.  Not sure how long it will last as it has a random duration.  The spell doesn't give a radius.

"Last tunnel, ok," acknowledges Lisa, and follows on.

OOC: TY Rolf
This message was last edited by the player at 14:51, Fri 12 Aug 2022.

Gustav asks the others to take the torches and rope, and Rolf agrees, stuffing the two light sources into the depths of his pack as the swordsman simply adjusts the thick cordage over his shoulder, crisscrossing the strap of his hanging crossbow.

The group wanders out of the storage, back down the slope of the tunnel and down the stairs to the prison below.

The smell of rot grows from the moment the five begin to descend.  Gustav wrinkles his nose as he holds his blade aloft, illuminating the path ahead.

The small room at the bottom of the stair remains much unchanged from the day before, a small table and some chairs, with the wall sconces meant for light, though all of the torches have been long since burned out or taken.

Without hesitation, Rolf points them on towards the left corridor, which turns abruptly right and then back to the left, before ending in another sort of prison.

The room is some thirty feet square, dank and smelling of piss.  Unlike their previous rescue however, the prison here is empty however, the iron lattice door knocked entirely free from the stone so that it uselessly hangs from just one side.  Where the door has been knocked free, the stone of the wall is gouged with fresh cuts, as if smashed with a chisel or pick.

Edited to reflect that Rolf took the torches.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:19, Tue 16 Aug 2022.

Sajaa moves along as quietly as she can. Her golden eyes probe the darkness for signs of enemy or traps or any feature that seems out of place.  She begins to wonder if, perhaps, yesterday's raid was enough to drive the rest of the Hashishin out of the caves for good...

Curiously, the prospect of the bandits having fled disappoints her...

She is ready for a fight ... eager for one ...

Rolf's nose crinkles in response to the offending odor permeating the room.  He turns his head and averts his gaze.  He doesn't want to ponder the despair that must have been felt by those who suffered here.

"We've exhausted this cave system it would seem.  We should move on." he says to the group pondering their next move.

"We could change course and try to track down Runt, but I'd rather stay focused on the slavers.  There's that cave high up across from us, but getting to it will be a difficult climb.  I just don't see the slavers using that entry way on a regular basis."

"Macchus mentioned a third cave through the river itself, hidden at the base of the canyon.  But I'm not sure we can get there without a boat."

"Lastly we could try to track the trail of the dead leading out of here to see where they were taken.  I'm leaning in this direction myself."

"What say the rest of you?"

Didn't Runt say something about they took the waons into the cave by the river mouth? That would implya fairly easy access.

Sajaa nods her helmed head thoughtfully.

"Yes. I believe that is what the boy said." She says softly.

"I think we should follow the stream to the caves and see where it leads. We may find both the bandits and Runt, if we're lucky!"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:52, Tue 16 Aug 2022.

Rolf laughs.  "Not sure what I was thinking about needing a boat.  Lets ford this stream and find this hidden cave.  Shouldn't be hard to spot if it's big enough to store their wagons!"

Lisa says simply, "Ok, we can do that."

After a few moments of conversation the five decide to head back out and attempt the cave at the source of the creek, knowing at least that was where Runt had been headed when he entered the canyon.  The trek back outside is uneventful, though Terri steps wide around the beetles and flies which still swarm over the dried and sticky blood which still coats the entranceway.

Outside the five do not tarry, but hurry down the slope and back back into the stream with plodding footfalls.  Here, the thicket is dense.  The shrubs grow wide and tall, spreading their limbs high overtop of the creek, creating a canopy overhead.  Gustav and Sajaa lead, the shadows above and the surface of the water below causing an eerie reflection from the lighted weapons up from underneath.  Only when the five approach the mouth of the cave does the cover of shrub break for a moment, giving a narrow view of the cliff walls above and the high cave to the south.

From the mouth of the cave, the room beyond appears fairly large, expanding back some twenty or more feet.  The room opens up both to the left and right as well, the left side climbing out of the water onto a damp stone and dirt while the river continues on, winding to the right, where it and continues as the cave ceiling droops down to meet it.  Unlike the last cave, where the cooridors where mostly straight and smoothed down, this cave appears much rougher in appearance, with the stony ceiling jagged at points and dropping low as it approaches the walls.  On both the left and right, there are darkening tunnels where the light of Gustav and Lisa's swords don't reach.

Though Runt had been sure this cave was where the wagons were taken, and had suspected the animals were here too, at first glance, this cave is empty.  For there is nothing on the dry ground to the left nor anything protruding from the water on the right.  It doesn't take long however, for Terri to find traces that suggest Runt was right all along.

"These are wheel tracks."  Terri says, stopping down as she steps out of the creek and up on the dirty rock beyond.  "Wagons...  lots of tracks.  Though I couldn't be sure they are all different.  That's a hoof print too..."  She stoops down to look.

"It's really hard to tell how old.  I bet these things never go away until they are stepped over... there's no wind or rain here."

OOC:  Feel free to roll vs. tracking for more information for those that have it.  The room is essentially broken down on two sides, the left side, which is flat stone and wet dirt, and the right side, which is mostly taken up by the creek as it surges from somewhere deeper in the caves.  It's pretty clear based on the tracks Terri has found that the wagons/animals were led up and out of the river and up on the left side of the cave.  There are passages that lead farther on to both the left and right, though you'll have to get back in the water to check the passage on the right.

Gustav also looks around, confirming Terri's findings.

Rolf sloshes through the creek water lamenting that his feet are getting wet.  He's not fond of having soaking wet feet and generally does his best to keep them dry, but there's no avoiding it in this situation.

He enters the dark, musty cave with trepidation, half expecting an ambush the moment they step inside, but none materializes.

He too notes the obvious tracks and bends down to take a look.

OOC:  Rolf will check for tracks around the cave.  He made the roll by 2.

Lisa pays attention to the tracking and follows the trackers around..

Having slogged along the creek with the others, Sajaa examines the bleak environment around her.  Fascinated with Terri and the others' woodcraft, Sajaa decides to assist as best she can hunting for tracks...

OOC: Failed default Tracking roll by 1

Gustav, Rolf, and Sajaa all make their own attempts to make sense of the chaotic tracks.  Animal prints litter the room, mostly single hoof, though here and there a print appears splayed at the toe.

Wheel tracks too, seem to be all over within.  There is a well used path, where ruts in the dirt fall one on top of the next, coming from out of the creek, though from there, the tracks seem to fan out.  Here and there, the dirt is hard packed in places, as if a wheel sunk down slightly, pushing the dirt and silt out to the sides.

The tracks appear to be consolidated mostly in the room however, for as they step deeper into the cave, the dirt thins, replaced instead with rougher stone.

OOC:  Everybody succeeded by about the same amount, so I figured I would just write about what you saw.  The synopsis is about what Terri has already said.

Rolf stands from examining the tracks.  "Lots of activity here." he says in short summary.

"Lets head off to the left first and wind our way right.  But keep alert, this place is bigger than most and they could still be hanging around."

OOC:  I would like to start searching to the cave's left where it's drier.