Azax is not concerned enough about the orcs to want to intervene.  Besides, thye can only lead us to the fortress if they don't know we are following.  Plus, I would still like to get that dragon-riders sword away from them.  And a bunch of dead orcs would just hand it over once the wyverling is done.  Finally, I have a sneaky suspicion that our tail just might be the missing dragon rider.  No proof, of course, just a hunch.  But I'm inclined to say something like "Let the wyverling kill the orcs so we can claim that sword.  if we can find the rider it can be restored to its rightful owner."  If it is who I think it is, and they are close enough to hear us without alerting the wyverling, we may gain a friend.  And if it is the rider, they almost certainly have useful information.  So I say sit back and watch while making a brief comment we hope is overheard.  

The group hung around at the Bent Hook for a couple of days getting their pay at the keep and talking to the locals about the various possibilities for further adventure. It seemed that there were several “maybes” but nothing certain.  So after a couple of days of drinking Ortolf’s sludge they decided to head towards  Ludensheim and see what a bigger town had to offer. 

               Travel up river took about a day and a half.  It was a fairly easy walk and nothing of note seemed to happen.  The group didn’t even meet anyone on the road until they were within a couple of hours of Ludensheim – and those were all local farmers headed into or out of town.  Eventually they arrived at the town gates. The fact that the town had gates was a good indication that it was bigger than Botkinburg had been.  In fact, a wall circled the entire town – a large stone base that went up about 5’ and was then topped by a wooden palisade.  There were a couple of gates and even a small moat around the town.  The Hreusen River ran alongside the town on the east side.  The back half of the walled in area was taken up by the keep and its grounds.  The forward or southern part was the town.

Of immediate interest to the group were the three taverns in town – you got the names from the nice town guard at the gates, a man named Wilhelm (“You can call me Willy&rdquo.  The three options were:

*The Coach and Horses – the high-class establishment in the town.  But it was only high class as far as a provincial town can manage.   This seems to be where the merchants gather.

*The Catching Pike – Has a nice image of a fish catching a fish with a fishing pole.  Closer to the dockside gate and seems to be the location for the rivermen – fishing and bargemen.

*The Fainting Goat – A solid provincial tavern and Inn.  Your average farmers and townsfolk gather here in a large common room.

The group took rooms at the Fainting Goat.  (An assumption for the first night and you can certainly change this if you want.)  The owner/manager/innkeeper is a woman named Gertrude.  While many innkeepers are large and stout from years of consuming their own products Gertrude was actually quite young and petite – maybe 5’4” at the most and maybe as old as 30, but possibly quite a bit younger.  It seems she inherited the place from her father who met with an accident recently.  (An errant keg of stout being unloaded from a wagon and he failed the dex check.)  But from everything you have seen “Little Gerry” as people called her when she wasn’t there commanded her common room as firmly as any innkeeper you had met.  And at least half the folks there would have supported her if anyone even considered trying to push things the wrong way. 

The group spent time in the town and tavern looking for information on two main topics:

1. What sort of adventures were available in the area?


2. What sorts of shops were available?

Rumors of events and things to do or get paid for

*There were rumors of attacks on farmers and villagers to the South.  This seems to be including Botkinburg and so might be the mess you just cleaned up. Or maybe not.

*A farm in New Town, the area on the other side of the river between the reiver and the ridge, was attacked yesterday.  It looks like the house was burned to the ground.  What happened to the family?  There have been attacks recently but always to locations further out.  This home was close enough to New Town that people are surprised.

*The guard in New Town (A collection of homes and farmhouses not a walled town) is hiring more guards in the face of growing fear of attacks from the ridge.

*Nobody mentioned the old temple under the rock that looks like an eagle or dragon.  But when asked several had heard rumors of it and other hidden “caves, temples, fortresses, etc . . .” throughout the Ridge.  Some had heard that particular story and thought it was a bit to the Northeast.  Or maybe that was southeast?  Rumors varied but that story was out there. 

*A group of bandits seemed to be using the Barren Woods to the West of the town as a base to attack people on the road between Ludensheim and Posit – the next major town up the road.  The local guard is offering a small (100gp) prize to anyone offering proof that they have dealt with the threat. 

*Rumors of things in the Barren Wood exist – but you also get the sense that those rumors always exist amongst those living on the edge of the woods. 

*Merchants from Posit were heard talking about that town dealing with several dangerous attacks on ships on the river.  (You heard this from people who travelled with the caravan, not the merchants themselves who would likely have stayed at the Coach and Horses Inn.

*Several ogres were seen to the east along the ridge.  At least that is what the farmers guessed they were. Others said hill giants. Sheep and cows were also missing.

*A caravan going upriver to Posit is looking to hire a few guards, although the wages are low.

*Nobody has seen an elf matching Thaoran’s father at all. Elves are not common around here.

*Everyone has rumors of a general “these are dark times” nature.  A few whisper of the Dark One return.  But nobody has specifics beyond the stuff above.

Shopping in Ludensheim

The only specific request I have received is from Thaoran about special arrows.  There is a fletcher/bow maker in town.  He has a few special arrows available.  The main thing to remember about these arrow is that they are one-time usage arrows.  Shoot them and they are destroyed.  Shoot and miss?  Still used up.  There are lots of arrows available but only a limited number of magical ones as they require the services of both a fletcher and a mage.  What he has:  (For comparison a normal arrow does 1d6)

Arrow +1:  Arrow gives +1 to hit and +1 to damage.  20 gp each.  (4 available.)

Arrow of light +1:  +1 like above but when it hits it lights up with the light cantrip. 50gp (3 available)

Arrow Lightning +1:  +1 like above.  When shot it turns into a lightning bolt that does 2d8 damage. 75gp (2 available)

Arrow of the Net +1:  Attack/damage +1.  When it hits this arrow creates a large net that restrains and medium or smaller creature.  A creature may use its action to make a strength check to break itself or someone else out of the net.  On a successful check (dc 13) the net is destroyed.   125gp  (1 available)

Potions of Healing are available at one of the local temples for 50gp per potion. 

Has anyone been keeping track of group finances?

And now on with the story

After spending a day in town hunting down rumors and arrows you reconvene back at the Fainting Goat.  Little Gerry is back at her post directing traffic.  The tavern is moderately full with what appears to be a mixture of general townsfolk and travelers.  A few woodsmen sit in one corner telling stories about the woods.  A group of farmers appears to be discussing a particularly large pumpkin grown by “Fritz.”  Other small groups were at several other tables.  A young lady played a flute as she sat near the fireplace.

Reposting that big post to the game thread.

I know it says Daggerford but we are using it to be Ludensheim.  Don't worry about the detailed stuff on the bottom - just the general image.  The Fainting Goat is off Field Lane near the gate at #11 fo the left.

The group hung around at the Bent Hook for a couple of days getting their pay at the keep and talking to the locals about the various possibilities for further adventure. It seemed that there were several “maybes” but nothing certain.  So after a couple of days of drinking Ortolf’s sludge they decided to head towards  Ludensheim and see what a bigger town had to offer. 

               Travel up river took about a day and a half.  It was a fairly easy walk and nothing of note seemed to happen.  The group didn’t even meet anyone on the road until they were within a couple of hours of Ludensheim – and those were all local farmers headed into or out of town.  Eventually they arrived at the town gates. The fact that the town had gates was a good indication that it was bigger than Botkinburg had been.  In fact, a wall circled the entire town – a large stone base that went up about 5’ and was then topped by a wooden palisade.  There were a couple of gates and even a small moat around the town.  The Hreusen River ran alongside the town on the east side.  The back half of the walled in area was taken up by the keep and its grounds.  The forward or southern part was the town.

Of immediate interest to the group were the three taverns in town – you got the names from the nice town guard at the gates, a man named Wilhelm (“You can call me Willy&rdquo.  The three options were:

*The Coach and Horses – the high-class establishment in the town.  But it was only high class as far as a provincial town can manage.   This seems to be where the merchants gather.

*The Catching Pike – Has a nice image of a fish catching a fish with a fishing pole.  Closer to the dockside gate and seems to be the location for the rivermen – fishing and bargemen.

*The Fainting Goat – A solid provincial tavern and Inn.  Your average farmers and townsfolk gather here in a large common room.

The group took rooms at the Fainting Goat.  (An assumption for the first night and you can certainly change this if you want.)  The owner/manager/innkeeper is a woman named Gertrude.  While many innkeepers are large and stout from years of consuming their own products Gertrude was actually quite young and petite – maybe 5’4” at the most and maybe as old as 30, but possibly quite a bit younger.  It seems she inherited the place from her father who met with an accident recently.  (An errant keg of stout being unloaded from a wagon and he failed the dex check.)  But from everything you have seen “Little Gerry” as people called her when she wasn’t there commanded her common room as firmly as any innkeeper you had met.  And at least half the folks there would have supported her if anyone even considered trying to push things the wrong way. 

The group spent time in the town and tavern looking for information on two main topics:

1. What sort of adventures were available in the area?


2. What sorts of shops were available?

Rumors of events and things to do or get paid for

*There were rumors of attacks on farmers and villagers to the South.  This seems to be including Botkinburg and so might be the mess you just cleaned up. Or maybe not.

*A farm in New Town, the area on the other side of the river between the reiver and the ridge, was attacked yesterday.  It looks like the house was burned to the ground.  What happened to the family?  There have been attacks recently but always to locations further out.  This home was close enough to New Town that people are surprised.

*The guard in New Town (A collection of homes and farmhouses not a walled town) is hiring more guards in the face of growing fear of attacks from the ridge.

*Nobody mentioned the old temple under the rock that looks like an eagle or dragon.  But when asked several had heard rumors of it and other hidden “caves, temples, fortresses, etc . . .” throughout the Ridge.  Some had heard that particular story and thought it was a bit to the Northeast.  Or maybe that was southeast?  Rumors varied but that story was out there. 

*A group of bandits seemed to be using the Barren Woods to the West of the town as a base to attack people on the road between Ludensheim and Posit – the next major town up the road.  The local guard is offering a small (100gp) prize to anyone offering proof that they have dealt with the threat. 

*Rumors of things in the Barren Wood exist – but you also get the sense that those rumors always exist amongst those living on the edge of the woods. 

*Merchants from Posit were heard talking about that town dealing with several dangerous attacks on ships on the river.  (You heard this from people who travelled with the caravan, not the merchants themselves who would likely have stayed at the Coach and Horses Inn.

*Several ogres were seen to the east along the ridge.  At least that is what the farmers guessed they were. Others said hill giants. Sheep and cows were also missing.

*A caravan going upriver to Posit is looking to hire a few guards, although the wages are low.

*Nobody has seen an elf matching Thaoran’s father at all. Elves are not common around here.

*Everyone has rumors of a general “these are dark times” nature.  A few whisper of the Dark One return.  But nobody has specifics beyond the stuff above.

Shopping in Ludensheim

The only specific request I have received is from Thaoran about special arrows.  There is a fletcher/bow maker in town.  He has a few special arrows available.  The main thing to remember about these arrow is that they are one-time usage arrows.  Shoot them and they are destroyed.  Shoot and miss?  Still used up.  There are lots of arrows available but only a limited number of magical ones as they require the services of both a fletcher and a mage.  What he has:  (For comparison a normal arrow does 1d6)

Arrow +1:  Arrow gives +1 to hit and +1 to damage.  20 gp each.  (4 available.)

Arrow of light +1:  +1 like above but when it hits it lights up with the light cantrip. 50gp (3 available)

Arrow Lightning +1:  +1 like above.  When shot it turns into a lightning bolt that does 2d8 damage. 75gp (2 available)

Arrow of the Net +1:  Attack/damage +1.  When it hits this arrow creates a large net that restrains and medium or smaller creature.  A creature may use its action to make a strength check to break itself or someone else out of the net.  On a successful check (dc 13) the net is destroyed.   125gp  (1 available)

Potions of Healing are available at one of the local temples for 50gp per potion. 

Has anyone been keeping track of group finances?

And now on with the story

After spending a day in town hunting down rumors and arrows you reconvene back at the Fainting Goat.  Little Gerry is back at her post directing traffic.  The tavern is moderately full with what appears to be a mixture of general townsfolk and travelers.  A few woodsmen sit in one corner telling stories about the woods.  A group of farmers appears to be discussing a particularly large pumpkin grown by “Fritz.”  Other small groups were at several other tables.  A young lady played a flute as she sat near the fireplace. 

Ludensheim is a decent sized town - small city.  It won't have everything but it will have most basic shops and maybe a few more creative ones.  Potions of healing are likely available from a temple.  Arrows are certainly available.  Special ones?  Possibly.  I will include your shopping finds in the post.  

Other things people are looking for?

Post will go up tonight or, more likely, tomorrow night. (Wednesday)

I believe Tom is still around.  

I think the healer element may be solved.  I will keep you posted.  

Get a post up headed towards Ludensheim if that is the plan and I will move things onward.  I would generally assume that when you get there you will find a tavern to get a room and ask around about what is going on.  If that is wrong or there are other thing you know you want to do in a town that don't require specific information on that town let me know.  If there is anything in particular about the town that you want to know, let me know that as well.  Essentially the more information you can tell me (without knowing the details of the town yet, of course.) the further I can move things and the more I can put in the post.  

Choices do need to be made - you don't have clear information but you do need to pick a general destination.  Does the group have an opinion?  You can talk here and in messages but I can't go anywhere without some direction.  At this point things are wide open based on your desires.

A map of the region - hand drawn courtesy of my artistic abilities.  Apologies that it is a bit hard to read.  Although strangers to this land you have a general idea of what is out there.  This is just the big picture.  For a sense of distance - it is a bit over a days ride from Botkinburg to Ludenshiem. Some notes on locations on the map:  (North is to the top of the map.)

Botkinburg - Located in the bottom right of the map near a bend in the Hreusen River.  A small town and the parties current location. 

Ludensheim - A bit over a days ride to the west/north  along the river.  A fair amount bigger than Botkinburg and the biggest thing within any reasonable distance.

The Hreusen River flows through the region starting at Wickham lake in the West and travelling along the Ridgepassing into the Southlands.

South of this map are more thoroughly settled lands.  There is a lot of wilderness between these settlements.

Gronit Mirk - Dead center on the map is a forest of ill repute.

Town names starting at Botkinburg and going Northwest along the river are:  Ludensheim, Posit, Silverpike, Shiefell and Wickham.

Aufstrugg - The original and main fortress of the Horned One many, many years ago.  You don't know the exact location but it is roughly at the end of the hills in the middle of the swamp.  

Plains of Achrothos - A large region of plains and rolling hill.  There are few permanent settlements and it is primarly the home of nomadic peoples of various races.

Totten Hills - Low Mountains and as Gerdar could tell you, once home to a strong clan of dwarves before the coming of the Horned One.

Other notes:

Your previous adventure was generally south of Botkinburg.  The Vargolg is around the bend in the river on the bottom right of the map.  There is a bridge over the river (which some of you used at the start of the adventure) just barely south of the bend in the bottom right.  At that point there is a road up the Ridge.  You do not know if there are any other easy ways over the Ridge between there and the Witten Passage 4-5 days to the North.  If you remember the image I gave you earlier of the Ridge it is quite a vertical cliff line.  

Uthal - Your people were originally from lands North of here.  

If you have any other questions feel free to ask me or the people of Botkinburg.

*For reference I will also be placing a copy of this map with some of the general campaign info on PAGE ONE of the Q&A thread for easy reference.

I have a couple of questiosn about dwarvish history (Yes, there is a little info but not a lot.)  that I will respond to shortly.  But are there any other questions and do you know where you want to go?  I left it open at this point for you - I can always lead you around by the nose and tell you what the next adventure is by saying "go here" - but this is a point at which you can choose your own adventure and I will build it in that direction.  Like I said, answers to the few questions already posted will come soon.  

Dragon-Soul - I'll get you mor einfo on that shortly also.

With the Naga having disappeared and the rest of the tunnels seeming to lead to nowhere, the party decided that it was time to head back to the village of Botkinburg.  With the decision made they slowly made their way back out of the cave – past the cave with the howling water, through the various rooms, and into the gulley where the great battle had been fought a day earlier.  Bodies were still strewn everywhere, although many were missing their left ear, courtesy of the bounty that the party had been promised.  Passing through the remains of their fallen enemies they left them for the crows and continued onwards.  They crossed the river using the ford and made their way north along the western side of the river, eventually passing by the old bridge and joining the old road that would lead them on to the town. 

               All told it took about a day and half to return to town and the group arrived back in Botkinburg in the early evening.  There they received a hero’s welcome from the townspeople – the Malkin twins having arrived safely back home the day before bringing with them stories of the battle beside the river and the piles of dead goblins and gnolls in the gulley.  Back at the Bent Hook Tavern (Also known as Ortolf’s Houe of Sludge as you discovered on your previous visit due to the owners homemade dark brew which he called Kaiseren Bock but everyone also simply called Sludge, particularly after they’d had a few.) the group ate for free and was constantly pressed for stories of their daring during the battle and rescue. 

               After a couple of hours the sheriff, Aaron von Bedering, arrived in full uniform.  He announced himself with more pomp than expected in a little town as “the representative of Lord Volkmir Botkin.”  He announced that the Lord was pleased that you had rescued his citizens and killed the goblins.  If you present yourself at the keep in the morning he would see that you were appropriately rewarded.  The crowd cheered at that and you were bought another round.  (Although several suggested that you could buy the next one with your reward!)  Once he had made his announcement the sheriff seemed lose his sense of importance and mingled with the crowd. 

               The next day you went to the keep to claim your reward.  Volkmir Botkin met you in the main hall and gave a little speech about protecting his people.  You were then given your reward as promised – 50 GP for each of the twins and 2gp for each (right) ear of a goblin presented.  With 55 goblin ears your total take for the adventure was 210gp.  Lord Botkin spent a few minutes asking about he goblins and other creatures in the area – he seemed to be trying to find out if they presented a continuing problem and if you knew anything else useful.  In particular they wanted details on the location and nature of the Vargolg.  Afterwards you were sent on your way with a comment to “talk to the sheriff if there are other problems they should know about.”

(If you wish to do more with this portion or ask any specific question let me know.)

               Later that day you were approached by Erhardt – one of the Sheriff’s detectives and the one who had seemed to know the most about the woods and the Ridge when you first arrived.  Like those at the keep he pressed for more information about what you found on the Ridge – the Vargolg, the goblins, the bugbears and even Boris the talking fey otter.  When asked by the group he had some information of his own.  Over a meal at the tavern he told the group about a few different things that had come to his attention. 

               *A days ride to the northwest along the Hreusen River was the town of Luddensheim.  He has heard rumor of problems there as well.  It seems that at least one farm was destroyed and several people had gone missing.  This last news had arrived just a day before your return and so likely hadn’t been the work of the Redcaps, unless there were more of them then those at the Vargolg.  A small caravan headed to Ludensheim is scheduled to leave in two days. 

*Loggers and hunters had recently gone more to the west into the Barren Woods to ply their trade than along the Ridge due to the recent troubles.  There they reported seeing several deer and bear that were slaughtered and left to rot.  Nothing natural did that. 

*There were old stories about an old temple in the caves under the Ridge to the Northeast.  Rumor put it under a rock formation shaped like an eagle, vulture or dragon depending on who you asked.  Despite his years in the area, he had never spotted such a hill.  Perhaps it required being seen from the eastern side of the Ridge?  (The Plains of Achrothos – and area with numerous nomadic tribes but cirtually no permanent settlements is to the east of the Ridge.)  One way or another the Ridge has secrets.

*Continued stories that the old evil was returning persisted.  The Dark One’s old fortress of Aufstragg lay far to the north within the swamp of the same name.  But rumors also seemed to suggest that things of a foul nature had been seen throughout the Ridge. 

A few additional notes:

*Everyone can level up to level 5.

*If you want a town of any size by far the closest is Ludensheim to the North.  Past that there are several other towns along the river. 

*Go ahead and ask whatever questions you want of either Lord Botkin or Erhardt. Or anyone else in the town for that matter.  It is a small village with the usual types - you met some other folk in early posts for those who were here for those.  

*I will try to get a regional map up fairly soon but you should be able to make some decision without it.  If you have geography questions, please ask.   Please don't wait for the map - it may be awhile.  Besides, none of you really know the arean well anyway.  

A general overview from Botkinburg:

East and North East - across the river is the Blacktooth Ridge and then the Plains of Achrothos.

South and West of the River - the Barren Woods

Far South - More civilized lands and kingdoms - places most (but not all) of you came from.

Northwest - Following the river a series of towns leading eventually to the city of Wickham on Wickham Lake.

North - the Ridge which here runs North West but eventually turns straight north.  Past that the swamps of Aufstragg.

Azax and the rest of the group listened to the plans being discussed in front of them.  For the second time that day the Owlin itched to take on an enemy the deserved taking on and learn more about this mysterious "him" that suddenly seemed to be everywhere.  And that sword, that was appealing as well.  But for the second time that day he held back.  That wasn't their quest and their quest had a real deadline.  They needed to focus on the prize.

But somehow this chance meeting had yielded something of value.  It seemed that the group that now had the sword was going back to their fortress.  It seemed extremely likely that this was the same fortress that the three of them were trying to get to.  Trying to get to and didn't know the way to.  And now these orcs appeared right in their path to guide their way.  Finally, a little luck.  (Although, when he was in a mood to admit that his luck might also be good he had to admit that meeting the lizardmen might also have been a win.)  

He looked to Legion and the Lizardman ranger and extremely oftly whipered, "we can follow them."  The other seemed to get the idea.  When the orcs left the clearing on their way back to their fortress they were followed by three silent shadows.  Azax till wanted to get that sword, but for now he was happy enough to have a guide, even an unwitting one.

I'll post shortly.  I was waiting to see if Not-Tom had something else to add.

Hey.

The site isn't dead - I'll be updating my game tomorrow.  

And maybe with what Wizards/WotC is screwing up so badly perhaps traffic here will pick up a bit.

The names are fine.

That is what I expected from Legion, however I really do hope that you as a player voice more of an opinion.  I get that Legion follows his orders but if that becomes a straight path with little room for variation it puts all the choices on Azax.  I don't mind making the some decisions but it really should be a joint effort.  

As for the orcs - I gues I'd suggest that we follow them not fight them.  Agreed?

Also, if this is about that original war and you would have been on the side of the Golden Order, would he have any residual orders or thoughts based on that?  After all, there is aparently a sword from the order here and a wounded dragon rider out there somewhere.  

To Legion:

I don't see any reason at all to launch an attack before the second caravan leaves.  They don't have the item and simply add to the foes.  Personally, I see two options:

1.  Attack after the first group leaves.  That sword seems really valuable and like something we don't want them to have.  Of course, that isn't the quest either.  

2.  Don't attack.  Even better, if they are headed to the fortress we now have an unwitting guide to take us to where we want to go.  Just follow quietly along.

As much as I would like to get that sword, I think it probably makes the most sense to follow them.  My one argument against that really is that given the spooky nature of this meadow it would be fun to try and spook some orcs.  I suppose we could do that even if we do just follow them.  Thoughts?

You want dragons in the campaign . . . be careful what you wish for. 

I will consider the request.

Before I post again I want to ask a question - what sort of adventure do you want next?  I have a sort of plan and know where things could go next, but there are a lot of variations on the theme.   So, some thoughts here:

1.  A town adventure with discussion with the locals and whatever.  This can be hard and very slow with play-by-post but is doable.  Or I can zip through these portions.

2.  A puzzle type of setting.

3.  A true dungeon crawl.  

4.  A short quest with simpler plan and shorter completion line.

5.  A longer adventure with a bigger hook - whether you know it yet or not.

6.  Is there anything else you want?  For example, had Thaoran stuck around I might have worked his missing father into things.  What do your characters want to do?  You are currently headed back to a small village on the edge of wilder territory so we can go anywhere.

FYI - the adventure you just finished didn't go exactly as planned.  I'm not complaining as the party never does what the DM expects, I'm just saying that it could have played out very differently so you can never be really sure what you will get.  The group basically rang the doorbell on the cave system and so ended up fighting all of the monsters in one massive pitched battle instead of the usual dungeon crawl.  That meant that when you went into the cave system it had already been cleared out of everything but the mysterious naga.  FYI - there was a way to find where it went if you had thought about it a bit, but it isn't a big deal and you are already headed back to town.  I almost just completley skipped that part since you were already done with that part of the caves.  Anyway, I can go any direction imaginable depending on what you want.  If you give me ideas of what you want I can build towards that, but with or without that I will offer some options once you are back in Botkinburg.  

Nobody has posted in the other thread just yet, but I can post a back to town line soon.  If there is anything in particular you want to do in the caves, on the way back to town or in the town when you get back, be sure to let me know.

After the naga disappeared into the dust the group decided to explore the other tunnels.  Backtracking ot the other areas that looked like likely collapse zones, the group moved cautiously.  When Gerdar looked at the areas he didn't think they were about to collapse, but all it would take was some small push to initiate a collapse.  A load noise such as a hammer or a lightning bolt would likely do it, but if they moved quietly and cautiously they would be unlikely to collapse.  But all it might take is an accidently kickjed stone.  

So the group moved cautiously and quietly.  The passage on the left was traveresed with no problem but ended around a turn about 50' further on.  Another dead end.  Moving back to the other passage it simply did a little loop about 80' long with a small (20x20') chamber at the end.  There was nothing there either.  Overall, it apperaed that the only things present in these deeper caverns were the horrbily smelling sacrifice room and the disappearing naga.  

*If you want to do anything else specific in either of these tunnels or elsewhere feel free to let me know.  We can assume you did those things while there and don't need to retraverse the dangerous zones.  

I know it is the holiday so no rush but I want to be clear on where we are at.  Right now I have one suggestion that the group search the two unknown tunnels and a couple of "I'll follow the group lead" posts.  I'll assume that is the plan unless I hear something else within the next couple of days.

Warhammer figurines . . . now that is an addiction.  

I don't do it myself as I have too many hobbies (and expenses) but I know people who do and see it all the time at my local game store.  I'll try and ask around, but I don't know exactly myself.  And the holidays will make seeing people a bit of a challenge.  I'd encourage you to go to a local game store and ask.  And prepare your wallet for the result.  

They are not jumpable by normal means.  They cover most of the interstections and are thus somewhere around 15-20' in width.  It is a little hard to tell - Gerdar can pretty easily see where the risk of collapse is, but what level of sound or movement vibration might trigger it is harder to tell.  You can easily walk through these areas - nothing has collapsed yet beside some dust and smaller pieces.  But the dwarf can tell that it wouldn't take a lot to trigger some level of collapse.  

After seeing the figure in the woods Azax was troubled.  When he returned to the fire their new lizardman companion noticed that he was distrubed by something.  "There is someone out there.  Or something.  By our last camp I caught just a glimpse of something and now it has happened again.  It is quick and hard to catch a glimpse of but is it something native to these woods or something that is following us?  It didn't seem threatening - it seemed to flee a glimpse, but I don't like the idea of being followed.  We are small in number and stealth and secrecy need to be our allies."

He settled down by the others and tried to relax and enjoy a very small Hoarfrost celebration.  It wasn't much, but it was always nice to mark the passing of the seasons and feel connected to the rest of the world in even a limited way.  But soon he needed to rest.

In the morning the group continued on into bandit territory.  While they had hoped to avoid contact with the bandits it seemed that might not be doable.  But maybe it was - they could hear the croup speak as they approached but didn't appear to have been noticed themselves.  Legion spoke quietly in favor of avoiding an encounter.  

Azax looked at Legion.  "Agreed.  I'd like to find out if this "him" they speak of has some link to the "him" the orc wasreferring to, but now isn't the time.  We don't need a fight here."  

So Azax settled back into the landscape and stayed quiet, a thing that came natually to his kind.  

A Map of things as they are currently:

Cure Light wounds spell on Fenris = +11 HP.  

This is the same map you saw before except the tunnel in the upper left has been extended.  There are no distances marked on this map but that tunnel is around 100' long total starting from where the X is in the crossroads. There are two unexplored areas left, but they are both past potential collapse areas.