The Third Adventure

[kipper]

Dame Simonetta makes sure the rope is secure, and then with the other end in hand she leads the way (as best as she is able) westwards towards the secret door.

[waysoftheearth]

Oi see. Mumbles Tet, still figuring in his head what it all means. Right you are then. he concludes and follows along with the others...

[acodispo]

"Thank you, Ms. Ursa, ma'am! Good luck with your experiments! We'll see you in a bit!"

Willie's good with the "corkscrew tunnel".

[mushgnome]

Turns 4-9

Our Heroes say farewell to Ursa and grope their way westward through the puffball grove, in search of the not-so-secret door, trailing their rope behind them. Dame Simonetta has the clever idea to call out and listen for the mechanical clicking sounds of the door. It's like a game of Marco Polo: You do not talk about ADVENTURE CLUB. tick tick tick You DO NOT talk about ADVENTURE CLUB!! tick tick TICK TICK CLICK.

There is some debate whether to cut the rope into sections, allowing the secret door to shut tight, or keep the rope continuous, propping the door open a crack. What's the decision?

Once the party enters the secret passageway, the air is still and the glow of the phosphorescent creatures fades away. But it is replaced by a new light: Some of the chalk is glow-in-the-dark, and centuries worth of Hobbet graffiti shines out cheerfully! The Heroes pass through the second door, hug the left wall so they don't fall into the crevasse, pass through the third door, and emerge into the western side of the Grand Chasm (area 6) which once again is dancing with the glow-motes of the deep cavern ecosystem. Thoughts of Spider-Goats, Ghouls, and worse keep our heroes on their toes, and the vast yawning chasm a few feet to their north causes a sense of vertigo.

OOC: This is one of those occasions where, if we were tabletop gaming, your DM would have a lot of fun rolling mystery dice behind the DM screen, to keep the players guessing.

Our heroes are easily able to locate the passage leading south, because it appears dark and drab compared to the bioluminescent living cavern. Imagine being in a planetarium full of stars, and then just a 10' round, dark circle on the south wall. This is the north end of the so-called Corkscrew Tunnel. Noh in particular as a Druid feels a sense of passing from edge of a wild ecosystem into an "ordinary" 1st level dungeon tunnel. It's 10' wide and tall, easy to stand upright and walk two abreast. The stone feels not quite rough yet not quite smooth under the Hobbets' feet. Our Heroes follow the curve of the tunnel for about 50' until they feel it is safe to light their torches and lanterns without violating Ursa's "no light in the research area" request.

OOC: Please state for the record who has light sources.

The tunnel begins to slope upward, always curving clockwise, until it has made a complete 360 over itself like a corkscrew and gained perhaps 100' in elevation. The air is still and dry and this area supports the bare minimum of life forms, just the occasional beetles and salamanders, or sparse patches of lichen and jelly fungus.

Finally, as it seems just about time for a short rest, the Hobbets find themselves at a Y intersection (area 7). The left fork continues southwest, while the right fork enters a rough 60x40' cave with a 20' ceiling (area 9). At the veteran explorers' suggestion, our Heroes have a quick peek. This area used to be a small vein of copper ore, which is now completely tapped out. The floor is littered with old supplies and mining equipment, most of it irreparably damaged by time. But perhaps, if an enterprising explorer spent a turn or two looking, they might find a semi-salvagable object like a few iron spikes, a half-empty flask of oil, or an overlooked copper nugget.

This seems as good a place as any to pause and consider the next play.



Full size image: https://photos.app.goo.gl/A39ThmVqMyZ22Aow5

[kipper]

There is some debate whether to cut the rope into sections, allowing the secret door to shut tight, or keep the rope continuous, propping the door open a crack. What's the decision?

If there are available tie-off points, I think it's best to cut the rope. Otherwise we'd be in violation of the "no spoilers" rule. Even having a rope leading directly to the secret door (let alone propping it open) is a bit borderline.

OOC: Please state for the record who has light sources.

Dame Simonetta will light her lantern.

Finally, as it seems just about time for a short rest, the Hobbets find themselves at a Y intersection (area 7). The left fork continues southwest, while the right fork enters a rough 60x40' cave with a 20' ceiling (area 9). At the veteran explorers' suggestion, our Heroes have a quick peek. This area used to be a small vein of copper ore, which is now completely tapped out. The floor is littered with old supplies and mining equipment, most of it irreparably damaged by time. But perhaps, if an enterprising explorer spent a turn or two looking, they might find a semi-salvagable object like a few iron spikes, a half-empty flask of oil, or an overlooked copper nugget.

Dame Simonetta is in favour of moving on southwestwards after a brief rest, she doesn't feel the need to scavenge in this room.

[mushgnome]

Sure, lots of stalagmites and rock features to do tie-offs on the rope. It is kind of funny to think, how this whole scene would look if a hypothetical second adventuring party were to enter the dungeon following in our Heroes' footsteps. I wonder if Frederick would make an exception to No Spoilers to warn them not to ruin Ursa's research with their light. Is he the kind of NPC who would bend The Rules to help his friend accomplish her goals? (I already know the answer to that question, but I ain't sayin'.)

I assume the party is no longer trailing out rope behind them, now that lanterns are lit?

Let's say they've used up all of Ursa's scientific rope and are down to just the 50' on Willie's character sheet.

[acodispo]

Cutting the rope to preserve secret doors sounds good. And let's save our rope for other adventures, now that we can have light.

Here's the marching order from the previous adventure:

  Code:

                           ^
| D. Simonetta (lantern)   | Willie         |
| Dougal                   | Noh            |
| Tet (torch)              | Kiplyn         |

So our light sources would be Dame Simonetta's lantern at the front & Tet's torch at the back.

"Let's take a breather here in the old mine & make sure we've got our weapons ready!"

Willie takes this opportunity to take a sip of water & to ready his sling. He's worried about ants & rats...

[mgtremaine]

Kiplyn takes moment to also a have sip and bite. "It's good to have some light back, all that nothing and spooky spots, well let's just say I'd rather not."

[mushgnome]

Turn 10

After catching their breath, the Hobbets continue southwest until they reach a fork. The west fork continues 30-40' and then appears to open up into a larger area. The floor in this direction looks slightly... scorched? The south fork is a broad tunnel with several narrow cracks in the eastern wall. Our heroes can hear the faint, distant twittering of many rats.

Which way, Hobbitses?



Full size image: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO ... RFbFdEbXJB

[mushgnome]

The abandoned copper mine in Area 9 ties in with my idea of a "Lawful dungeon." Think of it like a "resource zone" where your PCs have the choice to trade time for the possibility of reward. If you desperately needed a piece of equipment, like for example you were almost out of torches, you could probably find some here. But it would come at the expense of time, which is also a valuable resource in dungeon exploration. The longer you spend searching this area, the more resources you consume, and the greater the chance of wandering monsters.

I agree with the party's decision to soldier on and look for greater treasure. There's nothing here but standard equipment and a few coppers, so the risk vs. reward ratio is probably not worth it in this case. But I did want to introduce you to the concept, and plant the seed in your imagination, that you might encounter more of these resource zones (with proportionately greater reward, but also greater risk) as you move deeper into the dungeon. For example, hypothetically imagine a "wishing well" type of situation, where you could dive down into the water to recover an essentially limitless quantity of coins from the bottom, but there is also a risk of a wandering monster from the Aquatic table.