Well, that takes care of that. Sophia is still at 0 HP, but we'll go ahead and call her stable.
Like the wolves on the bridge, the bodies of these kobolds fade into a black smoke. There's no wind down here to carry the smoke away, so it just lingers a bit before dissipating into the air. The green light from the room is coming from a cauldron full of glowing goo, perhaps something belonging to the kobold alchemists. After a moment the cauldron also fades into black smoke, leaving you in the dark.
Left to her own unconsciousness, Sophia will be back at 1 HP in one hour. It won't be hard for you to carry her, assuming that nothing materializes to harass you. Where are you going to go? Don't forget that you could still hear howling outside before you made your way into the barrow. The wolves weren't around then, but they may be now.
So I'll assume you light a torch or two so that you can actually see down here.
The room that the kobolds were in is dominated by several tall shelves that are full of mummified corpses. Most of them are wearing ancient clothing or armor, though some are simply wrapped in linen. Other than the bodies, the room is empty.
A staircase on the south side of the room leads down into further darkness.
Since we've got two party members at 1 HP and the white mage is out of MP, I'm going to assume you're all going to rest here for the night. Normally you would each get 10 XP for the kobold fight, but I'm going to bump that up to 100 XP because I want you to be able to actually level up this year. You should all be at 140 XP now.
You'll need to rest for 8 hours, after which you'll all be at full HP and HD. If there's anything you want to talk to each other about or investigate in a non-strenuous manner, go ahead. Otherwise just let me know when you're ready to delve deeper.
The corpses appear to be mostly dwarven, judging by their shape. They are hundreds of years old, but well preserved. Their armor and clothing are of ancient designs that aren't often seen in anything other than ceremonial applications these days.
As far as any unusual marks, you do notice that their armor and weapons all have the tell-tale signs of actual use. The notches and scars indicate that these people were probably adventurers, much like yourselves, and saw quit a bit of combat before being laid to rest here.
Geoffrey sets down his pack and begins unloading, "Well, if we're going to be here for a while, we might as well enjoy a nice, hot meal" he offers, pulling out first his rations, then a large pouch containing more, smaller pouches, metal vials, and various cooking implements.
Sophia sits down slowly--so as to not reopen her wounds--next to Geoffrey.
"Seems we've stumbled upon a burial chamber for some ancient adventures. Mostly dwarven. Tales of how Barrowtown got started sometimes mentioned the founders uncovering a sizable pile of treasure in mounds like this. Most claim it's a coincidence, but me?" She takes her lantern out and places it between herself and Geoffrey. "I don't believe in coincidences. If they were adventurers, they probably would have accumulated a pretty good amount of riches in their lifetimes. And it's not particularly uncommon to bury the dead with their wealth."
She pauses for a moment and frowns, lost in thought.
"I have...suspicions about what's going on here, and it's unsettling me. Even more than kobolds who can make and properly use firebombs. Feel free to steal some fire from that lantern, by the way. Beats scraping a piece of flint for minutes."
Halath frowns at the mention of firebombs, "Disappearing kobolds who know how to use firebombs... Well, I'm going to trance for a bit, then I'll take my turn at watch."
"Skilled kobolds are a rare thin, but not unheard of. I heard of a dungeon where a group of organized kobolds were basically the scariest thing there. Which to me, doesn't sound that bad." Theresa props herself up against her shield as she rambles. "Tomorrow we just need to focus on moving quietly and carefully and we'll get this place figured out in no time."
The night passes quietly, though not exactly peacefully, since you're sleeping in an ancient tomb surrounded by mummified corpses. In any case, enough time has passed that you feel rested and ready to proceed.
The stairs lead down to another hallway, though this one is quite a bit larger than the ones you've previously been through. Huge columns hold up a high ceiling that stretches for hundreds of feet in every direction. The light of your torches seems to extend farther here, and you quickly realize it's because the stone here is full of flecks of gold, causing it to glitter and reflect the light.
There are a number of passages that connect to this great hall. None of the passages are blocked by the large stones that you've seen on the higher levels.
There are runes in this great hall, Sophia, though there are a lot more here than in the hallways of the upper levels. Every single pillar is marked with at least one set of runes. Most of them are marked with several. The runes are names, dates, locations, and titles. You get the sense that if you spent long enough in here, you could piece together a pretty thorough accounting of the history of who built this place. Perhaps when you have a few weeks to sit down and take some notes you could come back and make a project of it.
One thing that you notice while examining the pillars is that some of them have been touched. You can see that the dust has been rubbed off in a few places here and there, as though someone ran their hand along the surface of a pillar, or perhaps leaned against it.
"On second thought, we could follow the pillars that have been touched recently, instead," Sophia says, pointing to the nearest pillar where dust has been rubbed off.
It's a bit difficult to figure out where the trail starts, and you end up following it in a bit of a haphazard, meandering loop through the great hall. After a few minutes you eventually find a place where the trail seems to head not toward an exit, but straight into a wall.
The wall has a scene carved into it depicting a group of dwarves building a bridge. There's a stylized point of light high above the bridge, with rays coming down and touching each dwarf.
Sophia puts her hands on her hips as she stares at the carving.
"Okay, so, three possibilities. One: we're not very good at following a trail. Two: This girl can phase through walls. Three: There's a hidden passage somewhere and this carving is supposed to clue us into the password or something. I'm gonna assume it's three, partly because I'm sick of being incompetent today and partly because I hate dealing with ghosts. So now to figure out what it means."
She looks toward the ceiling for a light source that the point of light in the carving might represent.
The ceiling is pretty high, but with just the right application of light from a torch you catch a glimpse of something shiny up there. If you can somehow get a beam of light pointed at said shiny thing...
It's a crystal, and a fairly large one at that. The light from the torch is enhanced significantly by the crystal, but it's not enough to produce the rays of light that you're looking for. You're going to need a light source that is brighter and more "pure" than a simple torch.
The magic light almost seems drawn to the crystal, and in an instant you see several rays shoot out toward the carving. The wall slides open, revealing a long hallway that is lit by softly glowing crystals. You see the shadow of a thin humanoid on the wall at the far end of the hallway. Its source appears to be around the corner somewhere, and judging by the shadow's stance, is about to start running.
Posts
A1 moves to D3, then attacks Halath with its Short Sword. The attack hits for 5 piercing damage.
A2 moves C3, then attacks Halath with its Short Sword. The attack hits for 6 piercing damage.
Round 3
Sophia - HP 0/8; AC 14
Loc: D1; Status: Dying (0/0).
Geoffrey - HP 5/7; AC 15
Loc: H3; Status: Normal.
Theresa - HP 9/9; AC 18
Loc: G2; Status: Normal.
Halath - HP 1/12; AC 14
Loc: G3; Status: Normal.
Kobold Alchemist 1 - HP 7/7; AC 15
Loc: D3; Status: Normal.
Kobold Alchemist 2 - HP 7/7; AC 15
Loc: C3; Status: Normal.
Up Next: @Stilts for a death roll, then @Tox.
Move H3 -> F1 -> E1 ->D2
Geth roll 1d20+4 for Shortsword 1 attack against A1
Geth roll 1d6+3 for Shortsword 1 damage
Geth roll 1d20+4 for Shortsword 2 attack against A2
Geth roll 1d6 for Shortsword 2 damage
Geth roll 1d6 for sneak attack damage (A2 if it hits, else A1)
Geoffrey slashes at both kobolds, hoping to end this before his allies sustain more injuries.
Like the wolves on the bridge, the bodies of these kobolds fade into a black smoke. There's no wind down here to carry the smoke away, so it just lingers a bit before dissipating into the air. The green light from the room is coming from a cauldron full of glowing goo, perhaps something belonging to the kobold alchemists. After a moment the cauldron also fades into black smoke, leaving you in the dark.
"We need to get them on their feet, then pull back somewhere safer."
"Outside isn't going to be any safer than it was before, maybe we should try to hold up here? Seems quiet enough now."
"Yeah, I--ow!--I'd rather stick to the spots we know are safe. This has not been one of my better adventures."
"Well, what we know is that, for now, it's as safe here as anywhere. Perhaps we should take a breather for a few, get our bearings."
The room that the kobolds were in is dominated by several tall shelves that are full of mummified corpses. Most of them are wearing ancient clothing or armor, though some are simply wrapped in linen. Other than the bodies, the room is empty.
A staircase on the south side of the room leads down into further darkness.
"Maybe a fire to warm us up and dry us out will make us less likely to get nearly killed next time?"
You'll need to rest for 8 hours, after which you'll all be at full HP and HD. If there's anything you want to talk to each other about or investigate in a non-strenuous manner, go ahead. Otherwise just let me know when you're ready to delve deeper.
Geth roll 1d20+3 for Search corpses
EDIT: I have no idea what I did wrong that time. So here's Orokos.
Search corpses: 1d20+3 23
Oh, sure, NOW I roll high...
As far as any unusual marks, you do notice that their armor and weapons all have the tell-tale signs of actual use. The notches and scars indicate that these people were probably adventurers, much like yourselves, and saw quit a bit of combat before being laid to rest here.
"Seems we've stumbled upon a burial chamber for some ancient adventures. Mostly dwarven. Tales of how Barrowtown got started sometimes mentioned the founders uncovering a sizable pile of treasure in mounds like this. Most claim it's a coincidence, but me?" She takes her lantern out and places it between herself and Geoffrey. "I don't believe in coincidences. If they were adventurers, they probably would have accumulated a pretty good amount of riches in their lifetimes. And it's not particularly uncommon to bury the dead with their wealth."
She pauses for a moment and frowns, lost in thought.
"I have...suspicions about what's going on here, and it's unsettling me. Even more than kobolds who can make and properly use firebombs. Feel free to steal some fire from that lantern, by the way. Beats scraping a piece of flint for minutes."
The stairs lead down to another hallway, though this one is quite a bit larger than the ones you've previously been through. Huge columns hold up a high ceiling that stretches for hundreds of feet in every direction. The light of your torches seems to extend farther here, and you quickly realize it's because the stone here is full of flecks of gold, causing it to glitter and reflect the light.
There are a number of passages that connect to this great hall. None of the passages are blocked by the large stones that you've seen on the higher levels.
Cracking a smirk, he offers, "Maybe we should just roll a die."
While she waits for a response, Sophia checks to see if there are any of those Dwarven navigational runes around here.
Search for runes: 1d20+3 18
One thing that you notice while examining the pillars is that some of them have been touched. You can see that the dust has been rubbed off in a few places here and there, as though someone ran their hand along the surface of a pillar, or perhaps leaned against it.
The wall has a scene carved into it depicting a group of dwarves building a bridge. There's a stylized point of light high above the bridge, with rays coming down and touching each dwarf.
"Okay, so, three possibilities. One: we're not very good at following a trail. Two: This girl can phase through walls. Three: There's a hidden passage somewhere and this carving is supposed to clue us into the password or something. I'm gonna assume it's three, partly because I'm sick of being incompetent today and partly because I hate dealing with ghosts. So now to figure out what it means."
She looks toward the ceiling for a light source that the point of light in the carving might represent.
Halath casts Mage Hand and lifts the torch up to get a better view of the shiny thing.
"Maybe we need more light." She quickly casts light on the tip of her spear and holds it up as high as she can near the torch.
Sorry guys! Been working like hell and didn't really have anything to contribute anyway
As Geoffrey notices the shadow dart off, he sighs, "Of course she's going to run."