day 4 at sea... drinking a lot of my own urine.
the sun feels like lava on my skin, it blinds me, sharks hungry, down to my last bag of F's given.

Mindful of Gilius' earlier warning about everything being a potential deathtrap, Grog'tial examines the scrape on his hand for signs of infection, poison, or splinters, asking Gilius to take a look if he sees anything like that.

Once the party has reached the large dark room, and the lilting voice speaks out, Grog'tial is instantly on guard, feeling certain that this is some kind of trap. They sorely lack information about what's going on here, so the best course of action might be to play along, but he's not trusting that "playing along" is indeed what everyone responding to the voice is doing. Staying to the back of the group, he slowly edges to the side, repositioning himself (besides the archway?) so that he's out of sight of the source of the voice, carefully peering into gloom and trying to get a sense of the place. If anything seems to warrant it, he'll shoot first, and ask questions later.

Grog'tial isn't particularly worried about dehydration yet, given that he carries holy water, and knows most of his fellow crew do, too. He's never drank any, but figures his constitution should be able to handle it.

Upon hearing the voice in the room, Gilius slowly advances using his dwarven sight to try to dinstinguish something in the darkness, hailing the source of the voice : " Arrr ! We be a band o' pirates who lost their track to their ship. Could you help us find our way out ? Show yerself ! Who be ye ? What do ye want ?"

Trying to ignore the growls of her belly and focusing on the voice ahead, mumbles: "Arrr, whomever thar may be, sounds like fellow sailor'o'fortune, not like hag..." Speaks louder "Show yerself , matey! We be the cursed crew, an' we be afraid o' no task."
She is anyway looking around for any ambush or traps.

Mission 7 - The Tunnels, Turn 4
*Turn Ends 7:00PM UTC, 21 March 2025.*
[GM note: Slight turn extension by request.]

In order: Count, BenKii, Bellandra, Kyp, Gilius, Grog'tial, Argy ... Baldbeard.

Count Karnstein: [+3 Strength lasts thru Turn 5] (roll dice*3) You grab one of the torches as you ascend the staircase. Standing before the large archway entrance to a dark room you hear a small lilting voice requesting help and gesture for everyone to halt. "Show yerself, creature, or state yer business briefly. Then we shall consider our willingness to 'elp ye. Take no offense: 'tis merely a precaution. We be so capable precisely on account o' our famed common sense, y'see," you say. While waiting for a reaction or reply, you try to pierce the darkness ahead while reaching out with the torch in front of you to shed some light into the room for others of the Crew. At the very edge of the range of your darkvision you see a large form in the middle of the room that you recognize. It is a beholder, fallen on its side on the floor, two of its eye stalks broken off as it lies unseeing. Somehow it has been turned to stone.

Captain BenKii: (roll dice*2) "It was a bit touch and go there gents but we made it out alright," you say to the Crew. "Now how about that door? I'm sure we can find some way to unlock it." *CRACK*. Suddenly, Count Karnstein kicks the door open. "Aye... That works too." As you ascend the seemingly endless stairs beyond the door you remember you didn't even get to drink your Earl Grey tea, hot, before the Hag rudely transported you all here. Facing the archway into a dark room at the top of those stairs you hear a person call out for help and wonder if it is a trap. Since you cannot see through the darkness beyond what little is shown from Count Karnstein's torch, you whisper to your half-dwarf companion, Grog'tial. "Can you see anything in these dark halls? That person calling out, can you make out what it is or if it intends us harm?" you ask Grog'tial. Composing yourself in a captainly manner you address the unseen being while ready to draw and fire your musket should the being prove hostile. "My name's Captain BenKii and these are my companions Grog'tial, Argy, Kyp, Gillius, Bellandra, and Count Karnstein. We mean you no harm, we're simply trying to find a way out of this dungeon. You mentioned you were in need of assistance? What seems to be your predicament?"

Bellandra: (roll dice*3) You had been distracted by your search for secrets, missing BenKii's and Argy's attempts to tame the rats. Thankfully nobody was hurt, but neither had you found anything. Stopping on the landing before the dark room, you use your senses to see if there is anything ahead you can speak to with your mind. While you sense nothing of your kin or like mind you can communicate with, you do get just a slight tingle in your form, as if the very wood you are made of senses a similar wild fey magic. "Who be ye, and what be the aid ye seek?" you call out to the voice.

Kyp: (roll dice*2) You ascend the stairs with the others, thinking that if all else fails you can always eat the rats. They seem decently sized and have at least some meat that might be edible ... if nobody cares about taste that is. Arriving at the landing your half-mer low-light sight can at least make out some color and penetrate some of the darkness.

Gilius: (roll dice*3) Upon hearing the voice coming from the dark room ahead you slowly advance, using your dwarven sight to try to distinguish something in the darkness. You hail the source of the voice. "Arrr! We be a band o' pirates who lost their track to their ship. Could you help us find our way out? Show yerself! Who be ye? What do ye want?" Your eyes finally land on the very small male being dressed in green with wild red hair and a beard, apparently caught in a web off to the right side of the room. Your druid senses recognize the wild natural fey magic in him. It's a leprecaun!

Grog'tial: (roll dice*5) You examine the scrape on your hand, mindful of Gilius' earlier warning of everything being a potential death trap. There appears to be no splinters or signs of infection or poison currently. Upon reaching the large dark room where a lilting voice speaks out, you are instantly on guard. You feel certain this is some kind of trap, and Captain BenKii seems to suspect the same, asking what you see. You need information. Staying to the back of the group you edge your way to the side of the archway, trying to remain out of sight of the voice while carefully peering into the gloom to get a sense of the place. You are prepared to shoot first and ask questions later should the situation warrant it. As you scan the darkness ahead, your eyes finally pick up a small figure caught in some strung up twine between two pillars on the right side of the room. Then you realize that isn't twine, several places between pillars in this room are strung with large webs!

Argy: (roll dice*4) It is a very long walk up the winding stairs following the others. Trying to ignore the growls of your belly, you focus on the small lilting voice asking for help, but you can't see him in the vast darkness beyond the light of Count's torch. "Arrr, whomever thar may be, sounds like fellow sailor'o'fortune, not like hag..." you mumble, before speaking louder "Show yerself , matey! We be the cursed crew, an' we be afraid o' no task." While you wait for a reply you look around for any ambush or traps, but see none nearby within the range of the flickering torchlight.

All Crew: From the light of the torch you all can see the room must be very large with thick pillars standing approximately 2.5m (8 ft) from the walls on both sides disappearing into the dark of a high ceiling above and the room beyond. The first pillar on the left is collapsed as if blasted apart with large chunks of scorch marked masonry lying tumbled about. Inside the archway there is ash on the floor. From the darkness some distance back on the right side of the room comes a very faint glow as if through the slit of a door left ajar.

Count, Gilius, Grog'tial, Kyp: (Roll dice w/some darkness vision) Beyond the torchlit portion, in the beginning darkness of the room you can see the room is indeed vast, with a high vaulted ceiling. The pillars continue towards the back. There are several large spiderwebs strung between the pillars. Many bones appear to be impaled on spikes through the middle of the room. There is a small male being dressed mostly in green with wild red hair and a beard which appears to be stuck in a web a slight ways from the ajar door on the right side of the room.

Only Count, Gilius: You cannot see where the room ends, but you can see the large petrified form of a beholder with a couple stone eyestalks broken off to the back of the room in the middle area. There appears to have been a big fight here some time ago.

"Och. I find meself in a wee bit of a sticky situation," the voice replies to your questions. "Pirates, be ye? Well, laddies, I hear there be plenty o' treasure. Aye, getting out with it be the tricky part. A dwarf named Ug'Rialt, short for Ugly Rialt I be thinkin', went and stole me pot o' gold. Stories from some mercenary in a tavern said he left behind riches in this place, so I thought maybe to find him or me pot o' gold here. That be mine, ye can 'ave the rest. Just me luck I tripped a magical trap meself and ended up stuck 'ere. Aye, I may be knowin' a way out, but ye need to free me first. I be appreciatin' it if ye could do it without waking the welcoming committee." He points upwards to the ceiling between him and the archway above you.

Count, Gilius, Grog'tial, Kyp: Looking up you make out two huge dark spiders hanging almost concealed from webs high in the shadows of the vaulted ceiling.

-----

Captain Baldbeard: Now that your ship is free of the ice, your first mate asks your course. Do you go towards the lighthouse, and the eerie howling and cackling sounds you heard which some of your crew swear must be a banshee or sirens? Or do you pursue the scent of another ship which you now suspect is one of Beckett's come from the Harbor Port where you and the Crew freed the prisoners?

-----
Dungeon Tunnels: Argy, Bellandra, BenKii, Count, Gilius, Grog'tial, Kyp
Baldbeard's Ship: Baldbeard
???: Aylar, Devin, Cliodhna, Aeshma, Refyx, Rummyfangs

To cheat her hunger, Argy will start chewing a leaf of her Bnglish breakfast tea, and will offer leaves to other crewmates if they want.
Argy scratches her head, putting some pieces together in her mind: "Howdy, was the mercenary call'd Balderion? Nice fellow, met 'im once time ago. 'e also mentioned the dwarf Ug'rialt, a landlubber that there couldn't avast chatterin' an' 'ad strange ideas... an' other mateys too, like a clever wizard, an impetuous elf an' a fellow halflin'... an' there been this here dark elf that there followed an' stalked them constantly... probably it been 'er the one who rob ye. From what I 'eard, Ug'rialt wasn't able to do such thing, but the dwarf been jolly at killin' filthy 'ags, an' any clue on him could also lead us to the floatin' skull that there gives away books. Because... ye 'adn't spied a floatin' skull o'er 'ere, by chance?"
Note to other players: Argy's knowledge is based on the tales of a tipsy Beldarion, so it might not be 100% reliable :)

If the spiders attack before ending her speech, she will prepare to fight them with her pan, and will set fire to the webs if it is possible to do so without roasting any friend alive.
If she notices she shouldn't be making noise, she'll also shut up and try to sneak towards the voice, using her Dust of Disappearance, ready to free him with one of her knives.
She can also use her cure poison bandage on herself or any matey that needs it, should combat with the spiders take place and any crewmember be injured.

(funny that a leprechaun shows up on Saint Patrick's day of all days.)

Captain BenKii hears the trapped individual speak of a person named Ug'Rialt. That sounded very close to Og'rialt, a dwarf the Captain met in the central chamber in this dungeon years ago. 'Then that means Og'rialt did make it out alright.' thought BenKii, 'But if he stole something from this individual then it may have been deserved.' Something didn't seem right to the Captain. Besides the fact that this person caught in a web is merely bait set by the spiders waiting above. But that this man himself didn't seem trustworthy. He says he knows a way out but anyone in his position would say anything to be freed. Yet, it was his duty to help those in need. "Fear not sir. We'll get you out in a jiffy. But would you mind answering a few questions first? Like how did you come to know this Ug'Rialt and why would he steal your gold?"

The Captain suggests to the crew that those who can see better in the dark try to free the person caught in the web. Those who can not, should stay close to Karnstein's torch or perhaps find another one. "Karnstein, lead the way. I shall follow and provide support with me weapons."

Captain BenKii will stay within the radius of the torchlight and provide backup shooting his musket toward any spider that attempts to attack one of the crew or use his rapier if they get within range of himself or Karnstein. If there is a spare torch then he will wield it in his left hand and the musket in his right.

Count Karnstein registers scarcely any words said by the stranger, his eyes and mind transfixed by the petrified ball of unadulterated awe lying ahead. He needs to see it up close: it can be opportunity of a lifetime.

Prompted by BenKii, he collects himself. "Careful, I doubt this wretched bum ever saw a pot o' gold unless he'd pissed in one, let alone ownin' such," Count says quietly enough so only those in close earshot could hear. Then he will slowly start toward the room, torch in hand.

"What 'bout those traps ye mentioned? Where they be, eh?" Count inquires aloud before entering the room. He will step with caution, taking into account what others may say about traps.

First, he will disinterestedly provide light and, if needed, assist with cutting the stranger free. Then, if it's relatively safe, he will want to take a closer look at a beholder, just for a minute. How big are these broken off eyestalks anyway? If one could be pocketed, Count would hardly resist the temptation.

If at any stage the spiders attack, Count will use the torch to keep them at a distance from himself and/or crew. As the strength potion should still work, he would use his other hand to throw debris with maximum velocity. Or could try to roll them over with the beholder's bulk.

(If I can recall correctly, leprechauns are supposed to be tricksters and have an over obsession with their gold. Almost as much as a Ferengi is with their latinum. As long as it believes it will get it's gold back, we can trust it to only about that extent.)

(I bet you're wanting to throw that stoned beholder head at some spideys.)

Not a bad idea, perhaps not to throw but run them over with.

GM Note: Turn extension. *Turn Ends 7:00PM UTC, 21 March 2025.*

I have been informed that a couple Crew are delayed in posting, so I am extending the turn slightly.

-----------
Beholders are approx. 2.5m (~8ft) in diameter and this one is a larger one ... so just under 3m (just under 10ft) diameter. The eye stalks would be the size of Mighty's arms. So no on the putting them in his pockets, but while the giant strength lasts he could possibly use them as a stone club. ;)

Gilius gets close to the leprecaun while keeping an eye on the spiders. If any of them reacts to him, he will immediately fall back to the group. If nothing happens he will examine the leprecaun from closer for anything suspicious. "How be it that these spiders 'aven't eaten ye already ? Fer 'ow long 'ave ye been 'ere ?"

If Gilius feels nothing treacherous and his answer makes sense, he will begin to help free him (while still taking a look at the spiders from time to time, ready to jump back if necessary).

(Also, be careful when approaching the leprechaun for additional traps. You could unintentionally spring another one like what the leprechaun got trapped in.)

When the curious figure caught in the web speaks up, it takes all his many years of training for Grog'tial to keep his face carefully neutral. He'd had his suspicions after what the hag said, but didn't trust in it as she might've lifted some knowledge from his mind - but this confirms it. Finally! A solid lead to his half-brother. This is what he'd joined this crew for. It's taken far longer than intended, and he's found things he never even went looking for - but from here on out he should be able to just follow up on this lead and take care of that little problem permanently, and after that he'd finally be able to get going again with all his original schemes!

Also, Argy had knowledge about his half-brother??! He'd have to sit down with her for some quiet time with a couple of mugs of grog as soon as they were back on the ship! Just the lead of the name "Balderion" would be gold once he'd fed it to his network - and who knows what else she might remember?!

Using a soft voice, Grog'tial informs the non-darkvision-enabled part of the crew about the spiders above (why does it always have to be spiders?!) and the impaling spikes in the middle of the room. He strongly recommends probing the floor ahead with whatever is at hand before taking a step, so as to avoid becoming the next corpse to be impaled on additional spikes.

Seeing some crew members move toward the little green man, Grog'tial loads a stun bolt into his crossbow. If the spiders - or any currently unseen enemy - become active, he'll shoot them (obviously aiming so as to not catch crew in the stun effect), hoping to make them fall to the ground, following up with a regular bolt if necessary, and then immediately reloading. He'll also keep a careful eye on the little green man, if necessary repositioning himself so as to keep a clear line of fire where he could shoot either the green man, or anything threatening it, depending on how the situation resolves. He really hopes the green man will turn out be benign, as he has lots of quiet questions to ask him about this "Ugly Rialt" (why did he never think of that nickname?)
If the leprecaun attempts to run off upon being freed, the stun bolt will also work to prevent that.

Bellandra peered at what she could see of the dark room. Ash on the floor, a collapsed pillar - certainly what had happened here had involved beings of either strong magic or potent alchemical fire. And she had sensed fey magic in the room. Was the voice one of the fey, she wondered? And the voice spoke of being stuck, and a welcoming committee awaiting somewhere in the darkness.

She did not trust the voice, but if there was deceit in it, they would uncover it later. At least the voice seemed willing to warn the Crew of ambush, rather than leading them into it unawares.

"Methinks we should keep our voices low, if this committee be still asleep let us keep them so," she whispers to the crew. "I have not the eyes to see them in this darkness, but those who can spot them may whisper where they be to the rest of us, and direct our shots if need be."

She heard Grog'tial's response about the spiders and spikes. So, now at least they all knew what they were facing.

While she listened to Argy's comments of Ug'rialt and Balderion, and BenKii and Karnstein's requests for information, she kept her cutlass and crossbow ready. She would go along with Karnstein and BenKii, staying near Karnstein's torchlight, prepared to slash or shoot at any monster that appeared - spider or otherwise. Taking Grog'tial's warning about traps in the floor, she planned to keep a careful watch for any loose-seeming stones and use her cutlass to test any part of the floor that seemed suspicious before setting foot on it.