Corsin and Pelf #3
Solo Shadowdark TTRPG play in Giathos
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Sneaking Into The Moppel Shrine
Solmuth 23, 1671
Stealth Checks
Pelf (Advantage) (2D20 K1) +2 => 22
Corsin 1D20+1 => 9
Corsin
My eyes took a second to adjust after the torch was lit. The cave we were entering smelled of damp and minerals. Pelf said this was a shrine. Who builds a shrine in a cave? I have never seen a shrine with traps keeping people out. The poor bastard who triggered the spear trap at the entrance was a clear sign that we should not expect to be the only ones down here to make a payday of this abandoned place.
Pelf was tense and it was making me tense. He shushed me at the entrance but was out in front with his torch in one hand and a long knife in the other. After descending about sixty feet down and into the ground, the cave opened up far wider and a footpath was worn into three directions. Straight north, west , and east. The light pushed into the darkness ahead of us and we could see our options were an underground pond of brackish water to the east, and two similar looking wooden doors with iron hinges and pulls. Even from across the cave it was apparent the doors were old. Rust was awash on the metal and the wood had something carved into it we couldn't make out the detail from afar. Both doors had wrought stone bricks they were set into suggesting they should both lead to the shrine proper.
Encounter Roll
Danger Roll 1D6 => Encounter! (1)
Encounter Table 2D6 => Bandits (10)
Quantity? 1D4+1 => 3 Bandits
Reaction One-Roll
Mood 2D6+2(Corsin) => Suspicious (8)
Distance 1D4 => Far (4)
Activity 1D8 => Carousing (5)
Oracle
Chaos Level 1 (+1D4)
Are the Bandits located at the water? (Likely) D100 +1D4 => Emphatic Yes (99)
Are the Bandits aware of Corsin and Pelf's approach? (Unlikely) D100 +1D4=> No (18)
From the east, voices echoed off the rock walls. Two figures were standing at the water's edge looking into the pond.
"It's takin' too long and this place gives me the creeps." said the larger of the two, holding a torch aloft.
A grizzled female voice shot back a harsh whisper "Shut your mouth Kags, if we aren't careful in here we're all like to end up like Tink. I am all for a bigger cut of the prize, but I can't spend it if I'm filled with holes..."
Kags had a bald head and a snake tattoo curled out of his collar and reached around his left ear. His boiled leather armor was well worn and dirty. "Come on Sarge, I'm the one who had to watch Tink die, my nerves are shot and he's just taking a long time down there." The torch was waving around the room causing the light to make chaotic shadows on the cave walls.
At that moment a wet bearded face burst out of the water and a third person's gasps for air filled the space. Kags and Sarge visibly relaxed and then tensed as the man collected himself and let a low grumble out. "It's no use Sarge, the thing is chained. I pulled it out of the mud and when I got it halfway up till the chain pulled fast. I tried to pick it, I gave it what I could, but the damned thing wouldn't let go. It's a chest Sarge."
“Whatever’s in that chest has to be worth the trouble to make it stuck like that. I want it Bill. The longer it takes you to bring it to me the smaller your cut will be. I’ve seen you pick a lock or two, so go do.your.fucking.job.” said Sarge. Bill looked at Kags with a dour expression and then took a deep breath and went back down below the surface.
Pelf handed the torch to Corsin and pulled his crossbow up by the leather thong under his arm. Corsin shook his head no and motioned to the doors to the north and northwest, trying to remind Pelf they were there for a purpose. Pelf squinted his eyes in argument and Pelf widened his in response as if to say “COME ON”.
Corsin won the argument and the pair moved to the door directly north of them. Being careful and slowly looking for traps, they were able to make egress by pushing the door in and closing it behind them. Once on the other side of the door, they took a moment to take in their surroundings.
The sandstone bricks reached out ahead of them reaching beyond the illumination of the torch light. Turning, Pelf said “Keep the light on me for a second.” He pulled out two iron spikes and hammered them into the door jam with his crossbow butt to provide a challenge for the treasure hunters they’d just sidestepped.
“Do you think they’re guildmates of yours?” Corsin asked.
“Hard to say, but likely. Let’s keep moving and get the hell out of here. It would be convenient if there was another way out of here. Now we’re in the shrine proper, be on the look out for traps and mischief that mean us harm.” Pelf whispered.
As the two settled themselves and checked their gear, they noticed the torch Corsin was holding was likely halfway burned through. They had about four hours worth of torches left.
“I think that will be more than enough time” said Pelf. “We’re lookin’ for a jade figurine, you want a wager what the subject of the sculpt’ll look like? I got 2 shiny Sil-diman B and T’s for ya says it’s a monkey.”
“Pelf, I already told you no but I really want to get out of here so I’ll tell you what, if the gods-be-damnd figurine is a monkey you can have 2 more gold from the reward than me. THAT is how badly I want to get this thing and be gone from here.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal, friend.” Pelf said through a wide smile.
Continuing down the hall. Pelf took the torch back and was keeping a keen eye towards corners, walls, and floors looking for signs of traps. His vigilance paid off when the pair reached another door at the end of the hall, and he noticed something off about the door handle, it was different than the last door but only slightly. Upon further examination, he found there was a small needle coated in poison that was meant to shoot out of the handle on an unwitting someone trying to go through the passage. Above the door there read an inscription in the stone:
“Welcome to the faithless, Moppel hears your prayers and laughs.”
Pelf didn’t feel rushed, so he took his time. Pulling a few instruments of his craft, he made quick work of the trap. There was a thin wire connected to a spring, without which, the pin would not shoot out of door lock mechanism and he left it in a way it could be re-armed. He pushed the door in slowly and it made some mild noise as it groaned forward.
Stealth Checks
Pelf (Advantage) (2D20 K1) +2 => 21
Corsin 1D20+1 => 17
Encounter Roll
Danger Roll 1D6 => Encounter! (1) Again !
Encounter Table 2D6 => Bandits (8)
Quantity? 1D4+1 => 2 Bandits
Reaction One-Roll
Mood 2D6+1(Pelf) => Suspicious (7)
Distance 1D4 => Close (4)
Activity 1D8 => Working (4)
Oracle
Do the bandits in this room have a treasure on them? (50/50) 1D100+1D4 => Yes (91)
Treasure Roll Lvl 1 => 1D100 => (100) !! +1 magic weapon (benefit) (200 gp)
Magic Weapon Roll => Club +1 (4) w/ Benefit regain 1D6 Hp when you slay a creature with this weapon (Named: Monkey’s Paw)
Are the bandits surprised? (Likely) 1D100+1D4 = > Yes (60)
Pelf almost walked right into two men of middling height carrying a weapon case with the sigil of a monkey in a bronze emblem that reflected the light of the torch back. Without skipping a beat, Pelf did not wait to see what Corsin would do, the two men were too close to use his crossbow but their backs were turned, so in one quick motion he drew his long knife and leapt forward.
Combat Initiative
Pelf (13), Bandits (11), Corsin (8)
Pelf - Dagger - 1D20+2 => Hit! (15) Target Unaware - 5 Damage
A scream is cut short to a gurgle as Pelf puts all of his momentum into the dagger strike and it bites through the leather armor, between the ribs, and through the lung. Blood exploded both out of the bandit’s mouth and a wound on his chest where the blade tip punched through. The weapon case skittered across the stone floor ten feet away.
“Jimmy! No! You sons of bitches…” the second thief let out in stabs of stilted common as a large club appeared in his hand and took a swing at Corsin.
Bandit - Club - 1D20+1 => Hit! (11) - 4 Damage
Corsin Death Timer => 1D4+CON (2)
Corsin was still getting his bearings as the club cracked him across the head and the lights went out. He went limp, and Pelf heard him hit the ground and looked back to see blood pooling out from the wound.
Pelf bared his teeth and grunted, using his momentum to turn and back up ten feet from the bandit that just put his mage down for the count. He pulled his trusty crossbow up by the leather thong, leveled it, and loosed the bolt right at the target’s chest.
Pelf - Crossbow - 1D20+3 => Hit! (22) - 5 Damage
The bolt slammed into the bandit up to the feathers and he was slammed backwards a couple steps. After a stumble, and then falling to his knees, the bandit expired in a death rattle with his mouth agape and eyes staring into the void. In the immediate aftermath of the fight Pelf is deafened by the slamming of his heartbeat in his ears. After a moment, Pelf realized there were no more enemies in the room and he sprinted over to Corsin and looked him over. Blood was pouring out of a wound on the side of his head, it looked dire if he could not stop the bleeding.
Pelf - Stabilize Corsin - 1D20-1 => Failure (3)
Pelf - Stabilize Corsin - 1D20-1 => Failure (0)
Pelf - Stabilize Corsin - 1D20-1 => Failure (1)
Pelf scrambled, panic set in as every attempt to stop the bleeding was immediately failed. Corsin’s breathing went shallow as flashes of Pelf’s mistakes shimmered before his eyes from memory snapshots forcing their way into his panicked mind. The sound of his heartbeat slammed into his ears over and over.
After some amount of time, Pelf realized he was pushing on Corin’s chest and it was no longer rising and falling. The silence of the room was absolute. Pelf screamed in anger and slammed his fists down on Corsin’s chest. Pelf felt a familiar hole in the pit of his soul. A decision he had made in the moment cost him yet again. This was supposed to be an easy get to start things out. Somehow, he kept getting by, but those around him were destroyed. Pelf felt cursed. So much weight dragged him down, kept him knelt over this would-be friend who was no more. A heavy sob escaped him as he wiped away tears and began looting Corsin and these bandits.
“I am pretty sure 2 gold of this you owed me anyway pal…” Pelf muttered to break the silence for himself. He didn’t have much room to carry anything, but he took what gold he found and opened the weapon case. A beautiful treated wooden club showing off its wood grain and knotting with a bronze-plated monkey’s paw in a fist at one end. This thing could easily sell for 150 gold, if only it didn’t cost the kid’s life to get it. Pelf took hold of the leather-wrapped handle and held if aloft.
The flame from Corsin’s torch kicks and spurts…and slowly goes out.
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Oh no, what an ignominious and sudden end for young Corsin. We all just learned Giathos is a harsh place, even to the main characters. I don't know how combat works in Shadowdark at all and I'll learn, but the fact that Corsin couldn't dodge or attack first (you didn't seem to roll for either) really turned Pelf's surprise attack into a blunder. I imagine he'll carry the guilt of not coordinating an attack for a long time.
Oh my! I didn't see that coming. I thought Pelf would be the one to die if anyone.