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Narrator (played by Ambrosia)

Ah yes, weary travellers, welcome to my humble home. There's not much in the way of material possessions unfortunately but I can offer some stories if you lend an ear.

Here, have a scone and sit by the fire my darlings, I do have a treat for you. You see, not many know this but, there was a group of travellers long ago brought together by tellings of fortune and fame and united in a single goal. Many would call them unlikely heroes, and to some extent, I agree but I'll leave that to you


On this dreary night in Ravenloft, our band of misfits see themselves in quite the pickle.

You see, there were some unseemly sights around edges of Ravenloft skulking around at night

Indeed there were. Odd humanoid shapes that seemed malevolent in nature moving in sporadic patterns with odd twitches. Never in full view of anyone but hovering just in the periphery.

Why there were odd humanoid figures skulking the poor dull village of Ravenloft, no one could tell you, they seemed to be growing though and something had to be done.

And so the word was sent out to neighboring towns, villages and cities which caught the attention of our current… heroes?

Thunder ripped through that very night, they were cornered in the woods by moving shadows of malformed limbs. Croaks and groans, hisses and grunts surrounded them. Drenched in rain and covered in mud they ran, panting as flashes of light illuminated their predators

But one found a cave. They made a mad dash for it and as the last of them entered, by sheer chance the lightning crackled and whipped the cave entrance causing it to collapse behind them.

Were the fates to thank for their turn of events? Or was it simply luck? That’s where our story begins
Crocus Willowbrook (played anonymously)

Crocus clutched her cloak around herself as she scampered towards the cave. She'd rarely felt rain like this before, lashing down around her, and she'd had very little reason to ever be out in it. Usually, by the time thunder struck, she and her family would be bundled up inside, watching the lightning flash and wondering what they would do if it ever struck the willow tree.

Her heart was pounding, a flurry of beats, and her lute bounced on her back beneath her cloak with every step. Her feet sloshed against the muddy ground, the fur wet and cold. Crocus could hear her grandmother's voice in her ears, chiding her with threats of the cold that she would surely catch from staying out in the rain.

It was almost overwhelmed, though, by the sound of predators around them. Crocus' sensitive ears caught every movement, even through the sounds of the rain around them, and she so very desperately did not want to become a meal for one of them. Every instinct told her not to enter the cave - caves housed all manner of beasts, who'd quite happily devour a curious bunny - but her party wasn't slowing down, and Crocus stood a better chance in there with them than out here alone.

She darted inside, pressing close to one of the walls, and stopping only at the sound of the cave entrance crashing down.
"Are we all here?" she asked, peeking around at those closest to her. Her voice, quiet the majority of the time anyway, was particularly hushed now, out of fear of disturbing anything which might be resting deeper into the cave.
Athos (played by Dantelli)

Shivering from the cold, Athos wrapped his cloak further around is body as he sat in the cave. Anger flash through his thoughts as he never imagined this poor luck following them. How likely was it that the cave entrance would collapsed in on itself because of angry water?

Scowling at the girl's voice he curled up further, his pointed ears starting to become numb. Looking up at the others he didn't look pleased. "It's freezing," he hissed as his white hair dripped, droplets of rain making him look like a cloud. "We'll need to go further down if we ever want to get out as I don't see opening it would help anybody." Standing up the man took out his flute and tapped it, attempting to cast 'light' on the object in his hand
rolled 1d20 and got a natural 7. After the modifier of +2, got 9

Note: Here we go

“Yes, go deeper into the cave to get out. Because that’s always worked for everyone who’s ever tried it. By the gods you people are fools. I should have known better than joining up with you. But what I’ve done cannot be changed. If you insist on going down then we’ll need more light.”

The voice came from a fellow who looked about as average as one could get. Like a monk on a pilgrimage, or a bars traveling from inn to inn. What he worn under the black robes was unknown, and a sinister aura radiated from him with ease.

Why this man had joined up with a group such as this was truly a mystery for the ages, one that could be pondered later. “So, it doesn’t matter to me, but I don’t recall everyone going over their names. Let’s start with you, Lightlover. I suppose this way we can give the poor rabbit her wish of knowing if everyone is here.”

He paused and shivered, his robes soaking wet. An issue in itself, with hyporthermia and all that. As a result he stripped from the robe, revealing the clothes beneath, somehow remarkable less wet than everything else. Two finger snaps to get everyone’s attention and a sentence or two was his next and final move. “Come on. Hurry up.”
Crocus Willowbrook (played anonymously)

As the flute in Athos' hand flared into light, the cavern was revealed in all of its - questionable - glory. The walls were made of a dark stone, slick and slimy with water. A few brave plants had attempted to take root in the cracks of the stone, and some of them had even survived. Most notably, some sort of fungus seemed to be flourishing, with its uneven and bubbly heads prying their way along the walls.

There were strange markings on the walls, perhaps accidental scratches from previous adventurers, or merely citizens using the cave for shelter as the party was now; some of them were obscured by the growth of fungus, but others might still be just about discernible.

Perhaps more pressingly, though, was the way the cave swept on beyond this little entrance. It continued back a short distance and then burrowed further down, the tunnel falling out of sight of those stood near the entrance. Besides the steady dripping of water from somewhere around the cave, and the thrumming of rain on the ceiling and outside - now muted by the stone walls that enclosed the adventurers - there were no immediately notable sounds, or at least none that would be noticed without listening a little more intently. Other than, maybe, Crocus' shivering.

The rabbit's eyes flicked between her two companions, but she made no attempt to interrupt, eager for someone else to take charge - although she did offer, tentatively, in a small and shy voice,
"Would it be okay if I warmed your clothes a bit? It might help dry them."
Ulfurinn looked the the rabbit with slight disdain in his eyes. Perhaps it came from seeing her race, or maybe it was the fact that she could actually help him and thus held a few cards against him. It truly didn’t matter however.

He did hold up his robe, his hands grabbing the long sleeves at their halfway mark before spreading it out in the air for her to dry or heat or whatever she planned to do with it.

What she did truly didn’t matter to the necromancer. He only cared about getting out of this cave and finding someone, or something, that would buy his book. Or ways to corrupt it. Either was fine.

If achieving such a thing meant that he had to ally with this ragtag cluster or people, then so be it. He may have tagged along since he needed coin for some food and lodging, but that idea has went to hell faster than a hand basket.

“So, we have to mages and a bard? If we find anything more frightening than a goblin horde within this cave we’re, to put it bluntly, screwed. Yes, I said screwed, if that offends you then grow up and plunge your ears. Otherwise, we should probably figure out how we’re going to support a battle formation like this. And finish drying our clothes.”

He gave the rabbit a clear, meaningful glare before continuing. “As much as I hate to say it, our rabbit is going to have to be in the rear. She can probably do more good there than she could on the front lines anyway. Any arguments?”

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