RPG, Chapter 4 : Into the Mines

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Rando

Guest
**STOP!!! Do not procede until you have finished chapter 3**

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To all players -
Your mid-day camp is broken and all your bellies are full. The bodies of the ogres are hidden and the trail of blood and gore is covered up.

Archway speaks, "Did anyone ever explore that shack? If anyone wants to, it should be done now."

Archway then walks over to the mine shaft and straps himself into the pully-system. "Very well, some one lower me down!"

**From this point on, only those that say that there are now in the mine will be continueing this journey. Everyone else will be presumed to have turned back and left the party.**
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
I had assumed someone would have while I was down in the shaft initially, but maybe the ogres distracted everyone before they could do it. SO while people are being lowered down, I'll take a look-see.

Also, I'd like to search the bodies of the ogres before we covered/buried them. You just said Kreb died and then went ahead and said we buried them without giving us a chance to respond so I hope this is okay.
 
R

Rando

Guest
To Dorgath -

**searching the bodies before hiding them is just fine**

On the body of Blethos is found: a small sack of coins; his club; a map of the area*; the skull of a cat.

On the body of Kreb is found: his club; a wad of string; a note written in the common tounge*.

*1 - The map shows the mine shack as the southern most point on the map and a trail leading north. The trail splits after a while and goes northwest and northeast. The east branch leads to a red "x" in the mountains. The west trail leads to a blue "b" close by to the "x". There is a second trail near the "b" that continues due north, off of the map.

*2 - The note is not written by an ogre's hand. It reads "A group of about 10 men is coming. They do not know of your presence. Ambush them at the mine shack. Beware of magical trickery. I'll be back soon".
There is no signiture.
I think this is a good leason in why not to hire an ogre.

The shack is full of crates and barrels. One of the crates is full of almost-fresh food and water jars. There are also a couple of bottles of rot-gut wine. In a barrel you find a grisly collection of animal's heads. They seem to have been ripped off. In another crate you find the records of the mining company that used to operate here. It includes transaction statements, supply orders from the home-land and amounts of goods produced. This is all that is of interest.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
If it's okay with everyone, I'll pocket any of the coins that I don't have. Then offer the rest to everyone else. If they don't want it, I'll hold onto the whole bag.

I assume the map is of the area above ground, the trail we were following? If no one objects, I'll hold into that as well.

Ready for the mineshaft when everyone else is.
 
R

Rando

Guest
**This is a crude rendition of the map Dorgath found. North is on the left, South is right.
......................................
...........................__________
........................../........
.........................B.AAAAA....
......................../.AAAA......
......................./.AAAAA.........
[shack] ---------<.AAAAAAA......
.......................\.AAAAA....
........................\.AAAAAAA...
.........................X.AAAAAA......
....................................

(my scanner broke, so I never was able to get you the maps I promised. :( Sorry. )
 
S

sageridder

Guest
"Hmmm,They were forewarned of our approach well before we even reached the mine.We had better watch our steps.Dorgath,Does the map seem to correspond with the tunnel directions you saw below?Archway,if they were warned we were headed hear be carful when you first go down."

***Alright archway is harnessed in,with dorgath waiting next.I will follow after him.As that I am feeling suspicious of Archway's true motives and alliances at this point,I will try to watch him as closely as possible without raising his suspicion.***

***Once Archway is out of earshot,In hushed tones***

"In recounting the events with the orgers it might almost seem the our friend archway didn't want us to get much out of the orgers.He also seemed to have some recognition of Narren who seems to have disappeared on us.I'm not sure whats what,All I'm saying is I think we need to watch our backs."
 
D

Daggertooth

Guest
I go and take some of the Rot-gut wine. I take some cloth that I find lying around and make a crude torch that will last for at least an hour (Hunters Resourcefulness. You understand ;)). I make a total of 3 and strap two of them to my pack. I then get in line to be lowered down.


"If I'm gonna be to cramped up to use my bow, I'll at least make sure I can see!" I say grumpily.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
"Zilore, no, down there there's two tunnels but they go north and east, not north and south. Well, the north one is probably the 'back door' since it roughly leads to the same place as the map.

"Who's going to lower the last person down? :)"
 
R

Rando

Guest
To all players -
As for who lets the last person down, the last one could just slide down, suffering some rope-burns to the hands.

As your eyes grow acustomed to the gloom, you see that there are two tunnels down here, a large, well worked one that goes east, and a smaller, more natuaral looking one that goes north.

The east tunnel slopes down. The north tunnel slopes up, and has a small stream of water flowing out of it and down the other passage.

The two dwarves easily recognize that the large, east passage is the old mine, and the small, north passage is a naturaly formed cave.

The east passage is about 20 feet wide and 12 feet tall, and you can make out support timbers in the darkness.

The north passage is only 2 feet wide and 4 feet tall. All but the dwarves will have to stoop if you go that way.

**So, I'm guessing that the party is now made up of:
Archway
Thedlyn
Stephen
Jaspar
Dorgath
Roland
Zilore
Nychus

Is that it?**
 
E

EricBess

Guest
I guess I'm the last one down. I keep my body pressed against the shaft wall going down for as far as possible. Then, I call down to the others to judge the distance. I tuck and roll when I hit the ground to minimize impact. That's assuming the shaft actually opens up and doesn't just lead straight to the bottom.

"Well, it certainly is dark"

- To Stephen (previously) "For whatever reason, I feel the same. Naran seems to have history with Archway and between you and me, Naren seems more personable. Either way, we should keep each other's backs."

- To Zilore "That seems to be common consensus. Either Archway knows a bit more than he lets on or he's used to the brute forward approach and working alone. Considering he was recruiting, I'm incline to suspect the former."
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
"Yub, yub, let's go! I say we should try the north passage as it leads in the general direction of the "b" on the map from the ogres. It also slopes up, following the mountain."
 
D

Daggertooth

Guest
"I'll guard the rear." I say.

****Rando, Does the path bend alot? How far can I see in this dark without a torch? Basicaly, is it in any way possible for me to fire an arrow succesfuly?****
 
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sageridder

Guest
***Rando few things,do the dwarves and elves(I think those are the only nonhumans in the group)have the ability of infravision?There was a draft at the top of the shaft is it noticeably stronger from one tunnel than the other?Do we smell anything,like smoke,food,plain old nasty monster funk,ect?Do we hear anything over the rushing water?***
"Nychus,perhaps this might serve you better here."
***I offer the use of my short bow, arrows,and jar of poison.***
"Tis much more compact then your grand bow,the site is true and accurate.It was a gift from my Sensei,treat it well and it will serve you well.I will expect it back in the same condition it is given."
To thedlyn:"You are from near here do you know anything of these mines that could be of use to us?"

***If in the darkness I can get close enough to Jaspar to whisper this I do.***
"Hope you are right,but I still wonder who was suppose to be seeking archway,and why they didn't make the appointment.Or did they?"
 
R

rkoelsch

Guest
** Sorry yesterday was an official holiday so I wasn't on line much. I am with the troop.


I pull out my Globe and suggest, "Maybe Dorgath and Thedlyn should lead off. If you can see without the lights, we could follow behind but I still think we are better served by staying together. We don't want to lose another like that Naren.

** Rando, looking at the records what kind of mine is it ore or precious metal? Can we tell who owned the mine?
When was it last active?
 
R

Rando

Guest
To Roland -
Recalling the papers found in the shack, you remember that this mine was owned and operated by a human guild, and produced iron. However, you also saw in the papers that a silver vein was found deep in the mine.

To Zilore -
Although I would not call it infravision, In my little fantasy world, Dwarves and Elves can see in the dark, more or less.
The cave is moist, but the water coming down the smaller, northern passage is mostly a trickle, thus no rushing water to be heared. You do not hear any other noises down here except for what you and your party is making.
The smell is musty down here, and all the moss near the shaft down puts out it's own "vegitable" smell. Nothing out of the ordinary.
There is a draft of fresher air coming down the smaller cave. The actual mine, on the other hand, seems to have very stale air.

To Nychus -
The range of ligt a torch gives out is about a 20 foot radias. You can see that the smaller passage does bend to the left after 15 or 18 feet. The main mine on the other hand is more or less straight, and continues out of your torchlight.

To Jaspar -
"Agreed", says Stephen. "This Archway has yet to win my trust."

To Dorgath -
If you are indeed scouting ahead, which path are you taking? I don't think that a concensus has been reached yet.
 
S

sageridder

Guest
"well shall we take the back door?"
***Can we see any footprints,or drag marks on the mine floor?***
 
R

Rando

Guest
To Zilore -
directly bellow the shaft that leads down into the mine there is a healthy amount of dirt and dust. However, any foot prints there may have been here have been rubbed out by a certain group of Dwarves, Elves and Humans you know.
The rest of the cavern is solid rock, and shows no foot-prints or marks on the floor.
However, while you are investigating, you do find a chalk mark on the wall of the smaller tunnel. It is an arrow, pointing into the cave, and next to it is written "n's". You then find another chalk mark on another wall that points into the actual mine. Next to this one is written "ca***". The last three letters are smudged out.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
* I suggested going to the north, the smaller passage, but no one else voiced an opinion. So whichever way we decide, I'll scout 50 paces ahead. *
 
E

EricBess

Guest
Alas, Jaspar is at the mercy of those who can see without the help of Roland's bauble. For once in his life, he has no opinion. ;)
 
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