Ulric checks the three gallon-sized kegs strapped to his pack and ponders the question for a moment.

"Nae, I'm good, unless ye be expectin' me t'share, or ye happen t'have a dorn dergar that be needed t'bathe in some skaven blood," the young dwarf says as he looks at the others.

[ooc]Feel free to add a dorn dergar to your equipment list.[/ooc]

The dwarves make their way through the ancient hold of Ekrund. The going is easy at first, as the tunnels are (at first) filled with the voices of dawi and the sound of ironshod boots on stone floor. However, as they go deeper, the signs of dwarven inhabitation fade. Eventually, only ironbreaker waystations show signs of civilization. Ancient halls echo at your footsteps.

Bjorn Survival to follow directions to Droskar's forge: 17.
Reminder, please get your characters posted here: http://trueds.nl/wartales/topic.php?id=131

Fortunately Bjorn is able to lead the party to the runelord's halls. Following a cunningly hidden stairway, it opened into a large rectangular chamber. The stone walls of this area are covered with intricate carvings of dwarves toiling in mines or smithies. In the center of the chamber stands the bottom half of a broken ob­sidian obelisk. Crude picks, hammers, and other tools lie scattered around the chamber.



A pair of malnourished skaven slaves can be seen gathering up the obsidian shards. They have not noticed the party yet...

When looking at the above map...Ubba and Bjorn have 20ft movement. Ulrik has 30ft movement. Each square is 5ft. The first diagonal move is 5ft, the second is 10ft. Difficult terrain takes 2x the normal movement to get through.

As a refresher, normally during a turn you can make a move + standard action (such as an attack), or 2 move actions.

What you have now is called a surprise round. You can take either 1 standard action or a move action.

This means that right now, you have (barring a surprising move on your part) the following options:


(1) Make a move action to get into swinging reach of the slaves
(2) Make a standard action to shoot a bow or crossbow at one of the slaves
(3) You could all try to roll for stealth to sneak into the room as they haven't seen you yet
(4) Try diplomacy/intimidation if you wish


Also, for the purpose of rolling initiative, the way that I will be doing it is to have 'enemy turn' and 'play turn.' I will do this by averaging initiative rolls. This way the gameplay isn't slowed down by waiting for someone to log in and make their moves.

Ulrik grins as he looks to his fellows.

"I'll get th'one on the right," he whispers before moving quickly get up to the skaven and ready his axe before it can turn around. He waits a moment for it to turn and look at him.

"Boo," he says sotto voce before trying to cleave it in twain the long way.

Ubba will fire at the one on the left with his bow. Trying to kill it quickly and quietly.

Bjorn readies his crossbow and aim at the one on the left, so if it doesnt go down by Ubbas shot, he will put a bolt through the head of the skaven. Bjorn thought by himself *there is no reason to risk anything*.

Bjorn fires his crossbow at the slave on the left. The bolt flies through the air, striking the slave square in the back. The bolt goes through the malnourished frame.

(24 hit, doesn't confirm. 6 damage, slave is at -1 wounds)

Ubba's arrow is fired a moment later. The skaven, already about to bleed out, is hit again. The force of the blow sending it falling to the ground.

(18 hit, 6 damage. Slave is at -7 wounds)

Finally, Ulrik went for the other slave. The creature, seeing him, stabbed wildly at him with the hammer that it was using to break up the obsidian shards. The blow goes wide as it squirts the musk of fear.

(4 hit, miss)

(Surprise round over, initiative rolls)
(Slave: 23)
(Ulrik: 20)
(Ubba: 12)
(Bjorn: 9)

Seeing how hopelessly outclassed that it was, the slave turned to run. However, exposing one's back to a dwarf like Ulrik is not the best of ideas. The dwarf's axe swept through the skaven as it turned to run, nearly cutting it in twain.

(attack of opportunity: 18 hit, 14 damage, at -9hp)

Combat over

The entire 'fight' lasted little more than ten seconds. Two skaven slaves lay dead on the ground, and the dwarfs found themselves inside a suddenly quiet room. Dark hallways can be found to the west and north, while the glow can be seen and heat felt from the east. The room itself has also yet to be explored, if you wish to do so.

Ulrik looks around a moment before seeing that there were no more threats. The fight hadn't lasted long enough for him to really enjoy it, but now there was something more pressing on his mind.

How much meat is on them rat bones?

"Hmmm, let's see how ye taste," he mutters to himself before proceeding to dress the two Skaven, and sampling the taste.

Ubba studiously ignores whats happening with the Skaven to quickly search the room. "What were they working on?" He says to the others.

As Ubba searches the room, he comes across the inscription on the obsidian monument that the skaven were destroying. He is able to put together the following:

“…Toil is the only true path to Salvation.
Those who will not work shall have
their blood boiled in the Dark Furnace
for all time… there is no decadent paradise
awaiting us after death, as our corrupt
forefathers claimed, only industrious
labor in...awaits the faithful,
this great work is its own reward…
the unfaithful, they will serve in the end,
their blood and bones shall stoke the fires
of our industry…"

Obviously, the sickness of the mind that Runelord Droskar suffered from was not exaggerated. The ranger is unable to find anything else among the wreckage, nor on the bodies of the slaves.

As for Ulrik, he gets to work preparing the skaven bodies. However, there is little meat on their bones and there is no fire here to cook it. However, the heat of open flames can be felt coming from the room to the east.