With the search for the source of the fresh air having come up empty, Fenris cast Detect Magic to try and find the source of the air. There was some indication of a magical source aroudn the doorway - in essence the entire outline of the door glowed.  There wasn't much to tell except that it was an old and subtle magic.  Apparently some ancient spell was the source of the fresh air.  

**I have offered a few quick post answers to some of the things that have been asked and examined.  The idea is to keep things moving since these things did not seem to need to wait on everyone - and indeed having the answers might help others know what to do.

A cool, moist and fresh breeze blows into the ruoom from the tunnel.  Hornet and Fenris both look for the source of the breeze.  There doesn't seem to be one.  Going out into the tunnel, the breeze simply disappears.  There is no breeze there.  But enter the room and the breeze pleasantly blows.  It seems to simply start right at the entrance.  Both look for any opening or gap that might account for the airflow, but there was nothing but solid rock.  The breeze simply started at the entrance.  Looking around, and even more smelling around, it was easy to know why the breeze was wanted.  But where it came from?  It was impossible to tell.  

(FYI - Soledad's detect magic spell would have lasted 10 minutes.  It would not have still been active when she arrived at this chamber.)

The group decided to take the path more travelled – the path of worked stone.  Not everyone thought the decision wise, but all went along with it.  The tunnel went only about 50’ to the right (East) be3fore it widened into a small chamber that was really just a slightly wide fork in the road.  One path went straight North and the other continued on Eastward.  A glance down the Northern passage showed that it was only worked stone for a few yards before it turned into another natural passage like you had previously passed by.  The passage to the East continued to be worked. 

               Following the same logic, the group continued on – but only for about 20’ when they came to a T intersection.  The Northern route again was natural stone.  But the Southern passage was worked.  Continuing down the worked paths the group quickly (30’ onward) entered a larger chamber – it was diamond shaped – and you were entering the northern point of the diamond.  The room was 50’x50’, square or diamond, depending on your perspective.  The floor of the room was reddish marble and the walls a solid black slate.  Two things immediately drew your attention. 

               The first was that a large stone dais was in the center of the room.  Manacles and chains were attached to it as if to hold a prisoner in position on top.  All around its base the dais appeared to be embossed with glyphs and carvings of various creatures. 

               The second notable thing about the room was the stench.  The place smelled rancid and the smell was almost acidic to the nose.  The source of the smell was obvious – there were rotted and decayed corpses, even skeletons heaped along the walls.  From the entrance it appears that there are humans, animals, goblins and other things mixed in – some quite old and some newer.  But all were dead and all stunk. 

               Incongruously, the opening to the room you stand by has a cool, moist and fresh breeze coming into that feels almost refreshing.  You had not noticed the breeze in the hallway.  There are no other entrances or exits.

Overview

This is the end of the worked passages as there are no other exits from this room.  I will get a map soon, but you do not need to wait for it to post about what you will do in this room or if you backtrack somewhere.  You have passed 3 side tunnels that were natural in appearance – the one just past the pool, the one at the fork in the tunnel, and the T intersection. All go mostly North deeper under the Ridge. Feel free to post about doing more in this room and/or moving on elsewhere.  

Post coming soon so get your comments in if you have any.

Azax looked down at the Orc and soared even higher.  (30' straight up - he should be out of normal range for a bow of any sort, meaning disadvantage on attacks should the orc survive to attack.)  He lined up his shots on the injured orc.  The plan was to take down the only one left fighting.  If one other orc wanted to hide in the caravan, he would let Legion go ferret it out.  Perhaps it would be afraid enough to talk.  

Whatever you think works.  Partial cover would make sense.

The ability doesn't clarify, but as it is force damage it would make sense to me that someone who has cover wouldn't be affected.  Or would be less effective.  

Wow, a use for dwarven stonecunning?  

Gerdar - you can tell that the stonework down here is very old.  The work in the front portion of the Vargolg was also very old, but showed frequent sign of more recent habitation and occaisonal "touch up."  Nothing down here shows any indication of having been changed in many, many years.  Nor does it show much sign of usage - you find a total of one scratch that might be newed - meaning not hundreds of years old.  The natural passage shows no real sign of having been shaped.  Maybe a bit - but a long, long time ago.  Nor is there any sign of recent usage.  As you look down the natural tunnel there is no real support for the rock and the things are loose enough that you suggest caution.  Nothing in the area you can see looks like it will collapse, but "solidly built" is not a phrase you would use, even if it had ever actually been "built,"

Both tunnels basically go back into the ridge - further in and a little down.  It is more of a Y intersection.  The only real difference is the condition of the stone - worked or natural.

After a quick search of the caverns the group concluded that the goblins had completely abandoned their former home and run for it.  The upper chambers were all empty of anything but debris and some trade goods.  But that left whatever was on the other side of the water. 

               Before crossing the group decided to take a rest to recuperate and get back their spells.  It turned out that there was a room just off the path to the water room that had a nice solid lock and door.  The room had piles of bedding – but not of a type that non-goblins would use so this was pushed to the side.  It also had a couple of torches (unlit) in sconces and a cooking pot and fire-spot to one side.  It made an ideal place to close the door and hunker down for the night.  This the party did.  As the group got ready to rest Tharoan noticed a secret door – a shortcut to the passage to the water room and a second way out of the chamber.  (Nothing else of value with the secret door – it is just a short passageway between two places you already know about.)

               Nothing happened during the rest.  The alarm spell that Soledad placed around their little shelter never went off.  From within the closed off room the Vargolg was completely silent.  In the morning (And it truly is morning) the group went back to a could of the other chambers in the area and removed the doors.  They looked like they would float and the plan was to use them as rafts.  With doors in hand, they headed to the water room to see what would come of the crossing. 

               The chamber appeared just like they had left it – I was about 60’ in each direction, although nobody would call this room square.  The water filled all but a couple of feet on the close and far sides.  The only way across was over the water.  The task of crossing first was given to Hornet who would take a door across and let the others know if it was safe. 

               He put his door down with a small splash and watched to see if anything happened – it didn’t.  So the elf climbed on top of the little makeshift raft and tried to find his balance.  The door was not made for this and was hardly stable, but he got the hang of it.  Using another board as an oar of sorts he slowly moved out over the water.  It seemed to be going well.

               Just as the elf reached the mid-point of the chamber a low howling noise erupted from the tunnel at the far end of the room.  Nothing appeared but the noise filled the room.  Hornet paused in his paddling as the noise started.  As he did so the water also seemed to be aware of his presence.  Ripples started to spread out (from no one discernable source) and the water thrashed a bit.  As Hornet held his position he realized that nothing else seemed to be happening.  The water splashed a bit, but not enough to tip the door.  And no ripple-making monster appeared.  After a brief pause, he continued on his way forward while the ripples and howling continued. 

               With a bit more paddling he reached the far shore.  A rocky shore led into a tunnel that went further into the ridge.  He got off the door and pulled it up into the tunnel.  Ahead the tunnel went about 20’ and then there was a T intersection.  To the left, a natural cave tunnel winded its way into darkness.  To the right, the stone was smoothly worked and finished. 

               As he looked at the tunnel Hornet realized that the howling had stopped and, looking back, that the water had stopped moving.  Looking back at the others he waved them across.  The rest of the group carefully clutched their doors and started across in a similar fashion.  It was not easy and a couple of them almost fell in, although none did so.  Again, at the midpoint of the chamber a howling emerged from the far tunnel (Hornet, standing at that entrance, can not detect a source for the noise.) and the water started to ripple and thrash.  But nothing else happened to follow up these ominous occurrences.  The group made it across with no major problems. 

               As the landed everyone prepared to go deeper.  For Soledad this meant her typical cleansing ritual.  For Uthal, it meant a torch.  Now they face a choice – to the left into the natural looking tunnel twisting its way into the ridge?  Or to the right down smoothly worked tunnels that would also take them deeper?  As you stand contemplating your choice the howling dies down and you are left in silence again.

Overview

I could have stopped and let Hornet decide what to do about the noise (And in hindsight – next time will probably do so with a message to the one player involved.) but since he was stuck in the middle of the room and nothing actually happened, I decided that he would go on as that seemed to be the plan.  Likewise, for everyone following.  This is the sort of adjustment I think is needed for a weekly posted game.  If I ever make an assumption you don’t like, feel free to let me know and we can back track as necessary.

               So now, where do you go?  There is the proverbial fork in the road.  Also, should there be more forks in the road, if there is no big difference between the passages (At which point I would need to make a post.) how would you decide which way to go? 

Time for another post.

At this point I know there is a long rest coming but I'm not entirely sure how everyone is getting across the water.  

Azax looks to the othes in the little group.  "I think we need to intervene."  He seens Momhal preparing to do so and nods.  As the other moves to cover to start work he takes flight off of his horse and shoots straight up.  As he flies upwards he looses two arrows at the group of four orcs.  If either hits he will use his bursting shot ability and cause the arrow to explode - causing damage to everyone within 10' of the target.  He is hoping to take out all four before they even know what hit them.

Ok, then get things posted.  

Also, if you are looking at finding things that float - be a bit more specific.  There are doors you could use.  A few tables that could be taken apart as well as a cart.  Building a raft?  Floating on doors?  Who is on what?  If you leave such decisions to me it is random.  Who do you want to get to the opposite shore first?  What lights do you have down here or does everyone have darkvision?  

The more detail you can give me the better.  There are enough supplies of various sorts that you have options.

f you plan on taking a long rest, that is fine.  Just tell me if you want to take it inside the cave or outside.  There are plenty of room you can use.  Will it be the one by the water?   Also include what you want to do after the rest - assuming nothing happens during the rest (?) we can keep it moving.

Two things worth commenting on:

1.  Since one of you asked - the water appears to be about 20' deep and you don't see anything nasty swimming in it.  But you can't see all that much of the pool either.  (60x60 - 20' deep)

2.  Tann - I'm glad you mentioned your gear.  I forgot about that.  When searching the upper levels of the cave you found your gear in a room not far from your old cell.  All of it is there except cash.  You are broke.

If you have any questions - just ask.  I can try and help.  The math isn't hard once you get the general idea.  And remember that you described this as freeform.  There is a lot of room in that for "faking it" and doing what you want.  Honestly, in D&D the numbers are there to make it easier - to give the DM a way to judge what should happen.  But do what you want and we will live with it.  At least I speak for myself since I know I signed up for a freeform game. 

Also, I should note that this is the perfect situation for an Owlin Arcane Archer to strut his stuff  - Outdoors, with the ability to make use of the skies and shooting from a distance.  If Azax seems very strong in this situation it is because he is.  The only thing that could make this further to his advantage would be to make it at night.  Shove him inside a fortress where he can't fly and where shooting at range is somewhat limited and he will be much weaker.  

There is nothing wrong with what you have done so far - half the time you don't know what is important until we start pestering you about it.  Don't worry.  

Since this is our first combat - how do you want to do it?  In my game I do all of the rolls.  But this is also a free form game.  I'll post below what Azax would do and how the numbers work in D&D, but then you need to figure out what is actually happening.  And how you want us to post this.  

Azax would take off from his forse and fly straight up.  Since he has the sharpshooter feat he doesn't get disadvantage from ranged shots.  So he can shoot from 600' and not be at disadvantage.  If that is 600' UP - it is hard to get hit back.  That is the plan.

He gets two shots per turn at 6th level.  So he would go up and shoot twice at the group of four.  His to hit roll is +10.  He gets +4 for dexterity, +3 for his proficiency bonus, +2 for his archery fighting style and +1 for the magic bow.  (Note that because of the sharpshooter feat and all of those plusses, he could choose to take a -5 to hit (so still +5 total since he had +10 to start) and then get +10 to damage.  I'm opting not to do that.)  

When he hits he does 1d8 +5 damage (+4 for dex bonus, +1 for the bow.)

But as an arcane archer he also has a couple of Arcane Shots.  He can only do this twice per short or long rest - and he can decide AFTER he knows the attack hit if he is going to use the ability.  The one he would use now is:  

• Bursting Arrow: You imbue your arrow with force energy drawn from the school of evocation.
  
  
  
  • The energy detonates after your attack. Immediately after the arrow hits the creature, the target and all other creatures within 10 feet of it take 2d6 force damage each.
  
  
  
  

He would likely do this on both of his shots - if they hit.  (He would target two separate orcs hoping to kill them all.)

So the result would be:  Two attacks at +10 to hit.

If they hit he does 1d8+5 damage and then everyone (including the original target) within 10' takes an additional 2d6.  

That is how the math works in fifth edition D&D.  You weren't really looking for all those numbers I don't think, but it gives you an idea of what would happen.  Sixth level characters can do some cool stuff.  Do you want that sort of detail?  Is it easier for you if I tell you that or would you prefer to just get the general idea of what I'm doing without all the D&D numbers?  

*I will still post in the game thread - this is just to figure out what you want in the game.  Plus, the two stuck on the ground may want to slow up his attack since they can't get there as quickly, but I don't know.

As the battle wound down and the cleanup began the group split up for a few different actions.

Dok and Silver took their leave of the group, at least for now, and headed back to Botkinburg.  They would bring the Twins along with them.

               Thaoran went a little way up the gulley (Assumed far enough for privacy but not all the way to the cave entrance.) to perform his ritual with his weapons.  He sat peacefully for a while and once the bonding was done, got up and rejoined the group.

               Gerdar, meanwhile, headed downstream a bit to see if there were more goblins to collect.  Most seemed to have been far enough midstream that they were carried well along by the current, but it wasn’t far before he found a pair of corpses tangled in the branches of a tree that had fallen into the water.  Scanning the water carefully for signs of danger he waded out a bit and dragged them to the shore.  Between them they only carried 8 silver pieces, but they did have full sets of ears.  He trimmed the ears and left the bodies.  (This was vague – if you want to bring them back to be burned tell me what exactly you are doing.   Also, if you wish to do anything with the other bodies you saw that were further out or on the other side of the river.) 

               The rest of the group spent about an hour continuing to burn the bodies of the goblins and gnolls.  The smell was awful, and a black smear of smoke towered upwards.  When Thaoran and Gerdar returned from their tasks everything wasn’t yet burnt, the stack of bodies was too large, but it was at least burned down a bit. 

               At that point everyone left (Thaoran, Hornet, Uthal, Gerdar, Fenris, Soledad – did I miss anyone?) prepared to enter the cave.  It was late in the afternoon, almost evening, and the group passed back up the gulley they had fled down the day before.  Signs of their previous battle were everywhere:  broken arrows, broken branches, dark stains on the ground, a few dropped weapons and torn up earth.  When they reached the entrance the ashes of their original fire (to smoke out the goblins) had been scattered by countless feet but smoke stains remained on the back wall of the gulley over the entrance where the door hung open. 

               The caves had clearly been abandoned in a hurry.  As the group moved through it some things became quickly obvious.   First, the place was fairly large and could probably have held twice as many goblins as you had yet seen.  As expected, it was an older garrison site from the age of the Horned One.  These rooms were fairly well made – clearly carved and shaped and not simply natural.  Second, They had been abandoned and anything of significant value had been taken.  Yet a fair amount remained.  There was one ox cart near the main entrance (but no oxen) and you could easily locate enough stolen trade goods (cloth, food stuff, tools and cooking implements and such) to fill it a couple of times over.  There is also some furniture – although none of it is in great shape.  Third, the throne room contained a few surprises.  Fourth, there appears to be a natural area further in.

               The throne room is fairly large and holds a large slate throne.  The floor was a checkerboard of colored tiles – a row of black down the middle and blue and red alternating along the sides.  The group discovered quickly that the black tiles were safe, but anyone stepping on the red or black tiles suffered various negative effects.   Temporary paralysis was the most common effect, but illness (temporary) and small injuries also happened.  But once they realized that the black tiles were safe the room was easy to search.  There was nothing there but a secret passage to what was likely a side temple. 

               That left the deeper region of the caves.  Having gone to the furthest back of the rooms there was a large iron door that opened (with a loud creak) to what seemed like a guard room.  There was a spot for a small cooking fire, a couple of spears and a few stools in this room.  Nobody remained to guard it.  On the far side of the room a natural (meaning not carved and shaped by miners) passage went about twenty feet and then opened into a chamber about 60’ across.  It was likely that wide as well, but a part of the room to the right (East) was hidden from view as the room bent around a corner.  But the main feature of the room was water – A large pool filled almost the entire room.  There was a small dry area on the near side of the pool and a small area on the far side, but no way around without getting very wet.  On the far side a tunnel extended into the darkness. 

Overview

I can provide details of the main caves if desired, but since the goblins had abandoned the place, it didn’t seem worth taking months to go through.  However, this back cave looks different and requires you to decide if you want to cross the water to keep going and thus it requires your input.   It is also worth noting that there is no light in the caves if anyone in the group is lacking darkvision. 

So Momhal and Azax are in for the fight.  

Tom - what will Legion do if we do join in?  Or do we just post and find out?  I guess Azax would ask before doing anything, but a nod from Momhal would likely be enough.  Then he is in the air and shooting.

*I was about to post that Azax flew up and took a shot, but realized that he probably needs to know what you two want to do on the ground first.  

DM:

1.  Is there any way to approach in a stealthy way or is it all open ground until we get there?  I suppose this would include trees that a flyer could use for some cover.

2.  Are they grouped at all?  One of Azax's special archer abilities does damage to anyone within 10' of a strike so I'm looking for a cluster to target.  

I'm not sure if it will be today or tomorrow, but a post is coming. 

From what I have I am assuming the following:

1.  There is a little break while people do 1 of three things:  A) Burn the bodies and collect ears.  B) Perform a weapon ritual (Thaoran) 3) Search the river for bodies (Gerdar).

Anyone who hasn't posted I will assume is doing A.

2.  Silver and Dok will be guiding the twins back to town.

3.  Once those tasks are done everyone will be participating in a search of the caverns.  

If you want to do anything else prior to going into the caves (or anyone doesn't want to do so) please speak up quickly.

For those able to do so - lets get some posts up.

I don't know about the rest of you but Azax would 100% want to aid the merchants.  The fact that they are orcs also might provide information, although I doubt it.  Azax would say charge - for him that means going up in the air and preparing to shoot arrows down.He could do it pretty quietly.

To the DM:  I am a bit confused about what is happening. Are the merchants fighting back?  If the orcs are digging stuff out of the caravan it doesn't really seem like they are in mid-battle, especailly if the merchants outnumber the orcs 7-5.  Are orcs that strong in your world?  

Yes

Until I have posted you can change things.

Azax listened to the sorcerer speak about the plants.  Herbology was a field honored amongst the Owlin.  He knew of fireholly, but not of the others.  They didn't seem like plants that were native to the areas he knew well.  But the information was most welcome.  

When the King provided all of their gear he took his new materials and looked at his new-found companions.  "It seems we are to on the road together on this quest.  May it go well for all of us and we find what the princess so badly needs.  As has been mentioned, this whole situation seems to convenient to be an accident.  And since the King's decree went out to all, it is possible that some resistance might come well before we get to the keep - and not just from the wyverlings.  It seems we must go by way of the woods, no?  Let us make use of the daylight."  

Azax is ready to move out and begin this quest.