Sour Spring Hollow

[Raven_Crowking]

Okay. De-hinging the door goes easily enough, and the slab of wood comes down with a thud. It seems too loud in the stillness. A lonesome-sounding wind sighs through the cornfield.

My understanding is that you plan on looting the house, piling the stuff on the door, and then dragging the door to the well.

Well, as the house is being looted, that same evil-sounding bird calls again. A single phantom, nothing more than a bilious cloud of drifting gas, sighs out of the field and begins to move towards the house. Its face is blank except its terrible, hungry green eyes.

[Guang]

Ah, crap. Ok. Gran and Luc take what they have already collected and cower under the door, with the symbol facing upward. Luc holds up one end and is on the side closer to the phantom to make this possible. Nan hurries to collect the few remaining items and join them.

If someone dies, pls let me know what items from the cabin they have on them, and what was left in the cabin.

[fireinthedust]

OOC: sorry for the delay, the site keeps eating my post. I rolled an 18, then rolled a 1 for damage, throwing my torch at the ghost. Amalthia is right behind the two with the door, either popping around it to throw, or (if it's low enough) throwing at the ghost and then ducking behind the door with the others.

Let's see if this works!

[Raven_Crowking]

The phantom seems not to care about the door, or the mark on it, now that is is off its hinges. It swoops towards Luc, reaching bilious arms through the door's very surface.

24 + 1, 1d5 damage as it draws sustenance from poor Luc....

[fireinthedust]

OOC: sorry Guang, thought the torch could help. She's right with you, though. Should we flee towards the house, or towards the well and jump in?

How close are we to the well? Or are we basically just at the porch?

[Guang]

OOC: NP, fire. I thought for sure the door would do it. Maybe it needs to be in an enclosed space or something. I'm just really glad I had Luc stand in front of Gran. Not quite ready yet - I'm going to have to look things up (like who's carrying what) to take my turn properly.

[fireinthedust]

QUESTION: did the phantom go first, or Amalthia? Is there a chance that it got him before the elf could throw her torch? I don't think anyone's ever attacked while they're full of blood. Maybe it got Luc before she could react?

[Guang]

3 damage. He only had 2 hp, and is a gonner. Gran already had the rope. Not sure if Luc had a lantern or not, but if so, Gran snatches it and sprints for the well before the door falls on her. Nan hopefully has finished gathering up everything and sprints for the well as well. They tie the rope securely and get ready to descend.

OOC: Fire, Amalthea has the hawthorn stick. Since it's broken, do you think we need to fix it with something? Do you think it would work against the phantom by itself or not worth the risk?

[Raven_Crowking]

Gorged with Luc's blood, the phantom drifts back towards the corn field. Have 1 XP.

Grabbing your gear, and the items you have found, you rush to the old well. The well has no roof, cover, or winch, although a tin bucket lie nearby, a severed strand of rope still dangling from the handle. The field stones around the well appear to be as ancient as the buildings, almost as though something has sucked all the vitality from this place.

You notice another corn husk doll laying near the bucket. It reminds you of Luc.

Although broken, the two pieces of the hawthorne staff could be used as makeshift clubs, doing 1d4 damage each.

[Guang]

OOC: Been waiting for fire......I guess he can catch up while I get the rope tied.

IC: Nan and Gran search for something, anything solid to anchor the rope to with a secure knot, testing it to make sure it will hold.

OOC: Or are we literally talking about flat ground here outside of the well?

[fireinthedust]

OOC: thought I'd posted! I really had written up what I'd meant to do, I'm sure of it.

Amalthia helps tie the rope, and grabs the Luc doll, putting it with the others they've collected.

"Can we get Sir. Cudsworth down with us? He's likely to come in handy, and I don't want him to die out here. I'll hold onto him, and maybe you can lower us down?"

[Guang]

OOC: Are you volunteering to go first? I was going to send Nan. If you are going, pls check the water depth to see if we can jump down safely if neccessary.

And too bad about that door, eh?

Nan picks up the pail. Ya never know.

[Raven_Crowking]

There is a fieldstone wall around the well, but testing that shows that even a half-hearted effort sends stones into the darkness below. Apparently, there is water down there....maybe 30 feet down?

The pail appears old and corroded...there are several holes in it.

[Guang]

OOC: ok, reality check: can one person hold a rope while another climbs down? Can two?

[Raven_Crowking]

Two healthy people could certainly hole a rope for a third. One really strong person could do it.

[fireinthedust]

OOC: It's just Nan and Amalthia now, right? Luc was your other character, and he's gone; so now it's Nan and Amalthia, right? So basically one hit and either of us are dead. The phantoms are coming out of the ground, I'm thinking the solution is somewhere down that well. We can't tie the rope on the wall, and one of us can't face what's down there alone.

Neither character is strong enough to pull a rope for the other one, and we can't tie it off on the side of the well. How are we going to get back up without leaving a rope hanging here?

Ergo: Unless the graveyard has a secret staircase, like in the Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame, we're going to have to jump down that well and hope there's water deep enough to catch us.

I want to run over to the graveyard and see what's there. It's the last piece of the puzzle above ground, and if we don't have a rope to climb down, and there isn't enough water to just jump (and remember, a cottage turned into a monster and gobbled up two of my guys, so I've determined not to assume anything), we may need to use whatever's in that graveyard to survive. Heck, maybe there's a magic wand or something that can repair the staff?

[fireinthedust]

OOC: It's just Nan and Amalthia now, right? Luc was your other character, and he's gone; so now it's Nan and Amalthia, right? So basically one hit and either of us are dead. The phantoms are coming out of the ground, I'm thinking the solution is somewhere down that well. We can't tie the rope on the wall, and one of us can't face what's down there alone.

Neither character is strong enough to pull a rope for the other one, and we can't tie it off on the side of the well. How are we going to get back up without leaving a rope hanging here?

Ergo: Unless the graveyard has a secret staircase, like in the Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame, we're going to have to jump down that well and hope there's water deep enough to catch us.

I want to run over to the graveyard and see what's there. It's the last piece of the puzzle above ground, and if we don't have a rope to climb down, and there isn't enough water to just jump (and remember, a cottage turned into a monster and gobbled up two of my guys, so I've determined not to assume anything), we may need to use whatever's in that graveyard to survive. Heck, maybe there's a magic wand or something that can repair the staff?

[Guang]

OOC: I have 2 characters left. Nan and Gran. My lack of imagination in coming up with names has caught up with me.

[Guang]

OOC: 3 of us, so basically we have a choice, I think.
a. Send a scout down the well to prepare the way (if possible) for the rest of us to jump down. No return possible if we do jump.
b. Check out the graveyard, probably lose another PC, and have to jump down the well sight unseen.
c. Pound a stake or something. Secure the rope by any means possible. a and b remain options.

Can we do C, somehow? What kind of STR score would be needed for one person to hold the rope? How much would the goat be able to help? Can I somehow summon or conjure a boy scout to teach us how to do something between the rope and the ground to secure it? Any of the rocks sunk deeply enough into the ground to hold a person's weight?

[fireinthedust]

OOC: Are Nan and Gran both old ladies?

Graveyard: I suppose we could lose a PC, but what if we need something from there to survive? Or it could be a trap like the cabin-mimic. Really tough choice on this one, and we don't have time before one of those phantoms come and eat one or more of us...

IC:

Amalthia nods. "Good idea, let's pound in a stake. We could use... one of the pieces of firewood as a hammer. Now we need a pin. We could use my dagger, maybe? And if we jam it in close to the wall's bottom, it should hold. I'll go down first with my elven sight, and if it's safe, or there's enough water to jump, Sir Cudsworth can come with us. Wish me luck!"

OOC: Okay, make or break time! Should we roll to see if we tie off the rope? Should I roll to see what I find?

[Guang]

OOC: Nan is maybe mid-30s. Gran is older than anyone has any right to be.
OOC: Do you have a lantern? If not, Gran helps you tie one on so both hands are free. Nan watches for phantoms. Good luck, and come back quick if you need to. We can always send Nan......

[Raven_Crowking]

No need to roll to tie off the rope. Amalthia climbs downward.

The quiet murmur of flowing water echoes in the limestone cave below. A pool of clear water fills most of the cavern, flowing out of the space through a narrow point to the east end. A raised, irregular patch of stone is littered with dried branches and other debris, seemingly washed here by floods and long-ago rains.

It is 30 feet from the lip of the well to the ground below, and the water is 4 feet deep.

[Guang]

Nice. Gran waits for Amalthea to get clear, then drops the goat into the water
OOC: Feel free to have the elf yell for Gran to stop if you don't want the goat down with us, Fire.
IC: Gran and Nan climb down and join Amalthea.

[fireinthedust]

Amalthia tests the bottom, finds it's deep enough, so while she moves towards the debris she calls back "Okay, toss down Sir--" (splash) "--Cudsworth... Okay then."

OOC: if he's not injured, she'll help him above the surface.

[Raven_Crowking]

There is a thin layer of sand, stones, and debris at the bottom of the pool - Amalthia can feel that easily enough with her feet. She is not long in the well when Sir Cudsmore is dropped down, 30' with 4' of water at the bottom - I'm going to call that 2d6 damage. As normal, a 6 results in a broken bone.

No sooner is the goat in the water, for good or ill, than a creaking, dripping noise is heard behind Amalthia. When she turns to look, she can see the debris blocking the water exit pulling itself together into a rough humanoid form, some 7' tall.