Skull Mountain: The Lake

[greyarea]

You wake from your rest undisturbed through the night, and are healed as usual after a good night's sleep. Your spells are refreshed and you eat some more of your rations, wishing for water. This being a corridor, it is not safe to stay another day for fear of being stumbled upon by patrols or wandering monsters.

Both Dandy and Grimes are still hurting but are not in as dire a place as they were.

Einar slips off in that unsettling way as his cloak turns him from rogue to a shimmer in the air. Minutes later he returns with news: the passage continues down and winding until it comes to a large underground lake. He saw no enemies in his scouting.

You all head down the passage and, after some time, find yourself at a small, rocky beach of rounded black stones at the edge of a vast underground lake. A few lights can be seen out over the water, winking in the distance, but the scale is hard to judge in the darkness.



A large, flat-bottomed boat with heavy oars is pulled up on the shore, essentially a mastless lifeboat with two sets of oars and a tiller. There is a heavy crossbow on the boat with 10 bolts. Three of the bolts are wrapped with pitch-soaked rags and used to send up signal flares or ignite other boats. The boat also has two 100' hemp ropes with grappling hooks, a shuttered lantern, flint and steel, and six flasks of oil.

Einar tests the water, finding it fresh and drinkable, but quite cold.

Actions?

Hit points and marching order
Grimes 18/34
--Furuk 29/36
Dieter 18/18
--Dandy 13/23
Einar 11/11

[badams30]

Grimes - FIghter

Grimes laughs at the luck of finding the water, and promptly fills his watershins, and takes copious gulps of water while he's at it. He'll also freshen up a bit, keeping his weapons handy (and assuming the area appears clear and quiet.

"Nice boat. Wonder what the crossbow is about?" He'll stand by, ready to continue on, presumably by boat.

[Spanningtree]

Dieter - Mage

Dieter will refill his water skin from the lake. Putting two flasks in his pack he will look at the lights in the distance. We head toward the lights I would think. Perhaps light the lantern and shutter it... approaching in the dark and striking when in range? We can use the lit lantern to ignite the bolts if needed.

OCC: Spells chosen and reflect on sheet.

[Craigers07]

Furuk walks over to the lake and drinks water until he feels hydrated again. He fills his waterskin to the top and looks across the lake to analyze it.

“It looks like we don’t have much of a choice where to go next.”

[badams30]

"Looks like it's time for a boat ride, boys..." Grimes will load one of the pitch-soaked bolts to the crossbow, just in case we need it, it'll be really handy. Do we hear any noises at all, or does anything seem to break the surface of the water?

[greyarea]

You hear no noises other than your own and nothing breaks the surface of the water, at least as far as you can tell. Wait, there was a small splash but that might have been a fish. What kind of fish would live in a dark lake like this?

Will you take a direct route to the lights or will you try to follow the cave walls or something?

The boat can support up to two rowers, will one person row or two, and if so, who? You estimate maybe half an hour rowing time with one person, perhaps half that with two, providing your eyes aren't deceiving you about the distance to the lights.



Party is at the beach (marked as 1 on the map). Each hex is about 30 yards.

[badams30]

Grimes - FIghter

After loading the crossbow, Grimes will start to secure his gear so if he takes a dunk in the water, he won't lose anything. Perhaps he'll tie it to the boat so if it were to capsize, it will stay with it. (He is very suspicious of water, and with all the surprises this place has tossed at us, he expects the worst at every turn...)

[Craigers07]

Furuk gets in and volunteers to row the boat.

"Should we stay close to the wall?"

[badams30]

Grimes - FIghter

At Furuk's comment, Grimes shrugs and says "Fine by me. Who knows, maybe we'll find something on the way over toward the lights."

[greyarea]

Row, row, row your boat

You get into the boat and cast off. Furuk takes the oars and puts his back into it. The rest look out into the lake. Grimes secures the gear so that, in case of a capsize, it won't sink to the bottom.

Dieter hides his light source and lights the lantern, hooding it to run dark. You follow the wall as best you can, heading northerly. The lights are a nice indication of your progress in the dark cave. All you can hear are the creaking of the oars, the slight woosh of the water as Furuk rows, and your own breathing.

About ten minutes into the rowing, something nudges your boat. At first you think it's your imagination but then it happens again. A harder nudge. More of a bump. You are jostled in the boat.

Then a giant fish breaks the water, its gaping mouth open. Einar has seen one of these before, a sturgeon, but never one so large. In the weak light of the hooded lantern, it looks huge, maybe thirty feet long.



And the Giant Sturgeon is coming and it's decided to make your boat its lunch!

Actions?

Hit points and marching order
Grimes 18/34
--Furuk 29/36
Dieter 18/18
--Dandy 13/23
Einar 11/11