Arc 3 - Glimmers in the Dark (Main Roleplay)

[Rain Yupa]

"Right. No lowering of guard then," Revenge would say, scowling at his shield before sighing and began strapping it to his left forearm.

"I'll be ready to move out in about three minutes," Revenge would mention, turning his attention to gearing up and collecting his belongings.  

[Southern Cross Nemesis]

"True, but don't tell her that. She already lead us into a hole." Ruin said with a slight chuckle at the bad joke.
"Get it, a cave is a hole" he would add as he got his stuff together and made a sandwich with the bread and ham.  

[Kowsauni]

Once everyone had eaten their fill of breakfast Irene would pack up the camp with a single magic word, erasing any trace that they had been there.

As the party headed out the going forward got much easier then before. The ground leveled and the caverns became much more cavernous. Local flora began to appear in the form of bioluminescent mushrooms so the party was no longer in complete darkness. They were really in in Underdark now and for Kuori it was coming home. She new all the curves of the cavern walls, the shapes of the rock formations, she even remembered the place where she made her first kill on a hunt. Not much had changed in the decade she had been gone.

After a few hours of traveling the party reached a crossroad. Kuori new one path led to the nearby shine to Kuliak, the other, to Lightlost. What path does the party take?  

[PupSage]

"That's where I made my first kill. It was a giant spider, my dad had already stuck it pretty good, but it was making off with some of our food. So I got it right in the side."

"Oh, and over there is where we went scouting once and found a few Duegar mining the area. That was a battle of attrition, after a few months they finally stopped."

"And there! The water in that pool used to be heated by a volcanic vent, it looked like it would be fun to swim in if it wouldn't boil you alive, but one day we came by and the water was tepid and filthy."

"And there ..." She paused, "The shrine to Kuliak should be just off of the road here, not too far I imagine. I sort of feel like I owe it to her to clean it up a bit and pay tribute." She looks on towards Lightlost, "But time is short and precious right now."  

[Southern Cross Nemesis]

"Sooo... you won't mind if I go over to the shrine and spuce the place up?" Ruin spoke as he summoned his blade. "I owe your god that much. I could catch up after I burn a cobweb or two."

show spoilerhide spoiler

Besides You said, your death god was also your god for exiles. I would think it would be a perfect place for an ambush for devoted goliath exiles, for both the drow and Aria. Maybe, I am wrong and vacate a spider or two...

The short one thought to keep his reasons his own  

[Rain Yupa]

"Tieflings have a higher heat tolerance than most races, so that pool I bet would have been lovely. A shame that it fell to ruin. Right, er... Ruin?" Revenge would say aloud as they walked.

As they reached the crossroads, Revenge turned in place, turning both torch and gaze down each road. "While I have no problems with escorting you to that shrine, I agree that there might be more urgency to head towards the settlement. Unless you think there might be refugees at the shrine who need our assistance? You would know the evacuation habits of your people best, so I will defer to your judgment in this manner," Revenge would say.  

[PupSage]

"Heh, evacuation riiiiiiiiiiight." She looks toward the shrine road, "Our odds are already grim, I don't want to add pissed off water Goddess turned Goddess of Death and Exiles to that list. And while the other shrines are in the city, they aren't the ones that gave me the power to get here."  

[Southern Cross Nemesis]

"Agreed," Ruin answered Revenge, "Though, if we find a second one, You think we could toss your armor in the pool, after we finished. To cool it down for the others, I mean."  

[Mongooseh]

"He might even be still wearing it when it gets chucked in. Less chatter more walking where we going?" Asked Valac waiting for the guide to guide.  

[PupSage]

"Not angering the Gods it is then." Kuori begins to head towards the shrine.  

[Kowsauni]

Kuori leads the party towards the shrine. As they get closer the party realizes the shrine is actually a collection of large graves lit up by bioluminescent mushrooms. Kuori knows the ancient graves belong to great goliath heroes who fell in battle clearing away the monsters from what would become Lightlost.

Despite of what might have come to the settlement this place looks relatively untouched. In fact, it obvious the place has been well taken care of even up to now.

((Anyone who wants to can roll me a perception check or any other check they feel might be appropriate to gather information.))  

[Southern Cross Nemesis]

"That would be a great idea, Valac!" Ruin would state as they followed Kouri to the shrine. "He would be a life-saving ice block. Win-win."

"This is not what I expected." Once there he would look at the graves and around the shrine.

(Arcane 18 for the names of known Arcane heroes and other things of magical note.)  

[Kowsauni]

Ruin does not notice anything magical of note. Most of the names on the giant monolith tombstones are written in giant and none of them stand out to him. Goliath's are not known for the mastery of the arcane.  

[Rain Yupa]

"I gave the barbarian a paladin-tossing opportunity and you wussed out with your little pulley system stunt back at the canyon. Don't encourage things you won't follow up on, Ruin," Revenge said straightfaced, before tossing the shortest tiefling a sly smirk after a few seconds.

His expression would wash to neutrality as they reached the shrine, and he would take in the sight. "It's surprisingly more well-kept than I expected it to be, Kuori."

Walking towards the nearest grave, bowing his head in silent respect as his heart whispered a prayer to the gods. After a few moments, he'd take stock of his surroundings.

Quote:

Perception 14 to check for survivors that might be hiding about.
Religion 24 to gauge the state of the shrine as a holy site - how sincere and traditional is the current upkeep here?
History 18 to size up the ancestry here; is there anything significantly newer than the rest, be it in the form of graves or other ritualistic structures?