C2 E30

We get split up and we are none too happy about it. But we meet an unlikely ally in the mines...

## **Story**

### Long Story

The party says goodbye to their friend Little Petey 2. Big Petey then leads them deeper into the realm of the Knockers... They find that the tunnels here are not Dwarven in nature. They appear to be made by the Knockers, as they are rougher, shoddier. And there are symbols etched into the wall. As the party gazes at them, they find that their eyes are starting to hurt. "Like looking at a 3-D movie without the glasses." Soon, the party is led to a ladder going downward. A nearby pictogram warns them not to enter. At this point, Big Petey takes his Big Leave-y. I mean, he leaves. That's okay, they still have Lucee with them.

T'Chuck, after making an etching of one of the strange symbols on the wall for later, goes down the ladder first. R'Oarc follows close behind, and then the others. At the end of the ladder, surprise surprise, is more tunnels, but these seem to be looping underneath the other tunnels, the mines up above. This isn't good, this could be causing the instability, with so much open space below the tunnels. Following these tunnels reveals another Knocker settlement, but this one's empty. Before the party can get their wits about them, the ground begins to quake. Dirt falls. There's a huge explosion, and then... everything goes black.

Dahlia Woodford-Blackwell-Stovitch-Garrison is a Summer Aladrin. She's tall and slender, with glowing skin, and extravagant makeup on her face. The rest of her is covered in ornate jewelry, and she's wearing studded armor, underneath a flowing velvet cape/dress. She's currently exploring the mines, and, laying on the ground in a ruddy tunnel, are three unconscious bodies. Dahlia taps one of them with her foot to wake them up, and it turns out to be R'Oarc! She, in turn, wakes up T'Chuck (what's upchuck?), and everyone introduced themselves. Lucee also wakes up next to them. They're all suspicious of each other just showing up in the mines like this, but with no choice but to help each other out, they agree to explore the mines together.

Dahlia explains that she's from Farhold, and she also doesn't know how she appeared down here. She does ask to see where the actual mining happens. T'Chuck and R'Oarc defer to Lucee on this, though they don't trust Dahlia enough to offer any insight. After Dahlia casts *Friends* on Lucee, she's more inclined to help, but doesn't know anything about this area. Their ant "army" is too far away to be of any assistance. They do, however, offer up their plan of bringing the mine down from the inside, to prevent The Order from using Theonite to subjugate the people any further. This leads to a classic Ethical Discussion. Dahlia is on Lucee's side, claiming everyone should be allowed to use magic (though, some of the more fanciful spells should be reserved for the "upper crust" [rich] members of society). R'Oarc also thinks magic should be a universal right, and T'Chuck doesn't want to upset the status quo. Typical T'Chuck.

They press on, to explore, and discuss their useless friend Screech Echo and his weird "dollars". Eventually, the group comes upon a wooden door, which they enter. They're immediately attacked by three Knockers! These creatures have bleary eyes, that might have spiral symbols for pupils. They don't appear to be acting like themselves. During the fight, Dahlia casts *Crown of Madness* on one of the Knockers, forcing it to turn on it's friends and fight them. T'Chuck commands them all not to kill the Knockers, but R'Oarc kills one anyway. Lucee kills another, but the third one is kept alive, knocked out by T'Chuck. After expressing her concern over R'Oarc disobeying her father by killing a Knocker, Dahlia wakes the surviving one gingerly.

Now no longer possessed, the Knocker introduces itself as "Rick". Though it can't speak any language the party knows, it does appear to be listening to Dahlia. T'Chuck unties it, and it begins pointing around the room: first to a door on the southern wall, and then to an empty part of the wall to the east. There doesn't seem to be anything here at first, but closer examination reveals a secret door, and another tunnel beyond...

### Short

Big Petey leads the party down into the tunnels, and T'Chuck makes an etching of the strange symbols on the walls. They seem to be giving the party headaches. There's a cave in that splits the party. T'Chuck, R'Oarc, and Lucee wake up and meet Dahlia. Together, they explore and find some Knockers that appear to be mind controlled, or something. They are attacked, and the party kills all but one of them, who is no longer possessed. This is Rick, and Rick reveals a secret door, which everyone goes through.

## **Trivia**

* Day 8 of the campaign.
* R'Oarc's hair is white.
* Dahlia is not married right now. She's "between gigs", as she calls it.
* Dahlia believes that she can profit off of the revolution somehow, so she is all for it.

## **In This Episode...**

### **Cast and Player Characters**

* Michael DiMauro - *Dungeon Master*
* Tim Lanning - T'Chuck
* Nika Howard - R'Oarc
* Diana Dimicco - Dahlia Woodford-Blackwell-Stovitch-Garrison

### **Non-Player Characters**

* Little Petey 2
* Big Petey
* Lucee
* Rick

### **Locations**

* Drunkeros
	+ Whispering Peaks
		- Rimeford
			* The Mines

### **Quest Log Updates**

* [Active] - Investigate the mysterious goings-on in Rimeford
	+ [Active] - Rid the mines of the Tommy-knocker "threat"?

### **Quotes**

* **"I don't intend to die first, you see."** ~ *Dahlia*

* **"I'm rich, darling. Nothing is illegal for me!"** ~ *Dahlia*

## **Rolls**

* **Dahlia** rolls *Insight* to see if T'Chuck is a murderer - 11
	+ He may have gotten into some shady shenanigans during the war.

* **T'Chuck** rolls *Perception* to see if there are any clues around - Nat 20
	+ He finds the entrance leading them further into the settlement

*Combat Begins vs 3 Knockers*

* Initiative
	+ **R'Oarc** - 21
	+ Lucee
	+ **T'Chuck** - 15
	+ Knocker 1
	+ **Dahlia** - 8
	+ Knocker 2
	+ Knocker 3

*Round One*

* **R'Oarc**
	+ Casts *Bardic Inspiration* on T'Chuck
	+ Melee Attack (Rapier) vs a Knocker - 12
		- Hit - 8 damage

* **Lucee**
	+ Ranged Attack (Crossbow) vs a different Knocker - ??
		- Hit

* **T'Chuck**
	+ Casts *Words of Radiance*, requiring Constitution Saving Throws from all three Knockers
		- One of the Knockers - 6
			* Fail - 4 Radiant damage
		- Another of the Knockers - 19
			* Success - No damage
		- The third Knocker - 20
			* Success - No damage

* **Knocker 1**
	+ Melee Attack (~~Pick-axe~~ Bite) vs T'Chuck - 20
		- Hit - 4 Piercing damage
	+ Melee Attack (Claw) vs T'Chuck - 6

* **Dahlia**
	+ Casts *Crown of Madness* on Knocker 1, requiring a Wisdom Saving Throw - 7
		- Fail - It must attack its friends next turn
	+ Casts *Bardic Inspiration* on R'Oarc

* **Knocker 2**
	+ Melee Attack (Bite) vs R'Oarc - 11
		- Miss
	+ Melee Attack (Claw) vs R'Oarc - 23
		- Hit - 4 Slashing damage

* **Knocker 3**
	+ Melee Attack (Bite) vs T'Chuck - 12
		- Miss
	+ Melee Attack (Claw) vs T'Chuck - 7
		- Miss

*Round Two*

* **R'Oarc**
	+ Melee Attack vs Knocker 3 - 13
		- Hit - 9 damage - *Kills It*

* **Lucee**
	+ Ranged Attack (Crossbow) vs Knocker 2 - ??
		- Hit - *Kills It*

* **T'Chuck**
	+ Melee Attack (Mace) vs Knocker 1 - Nat 20
		- Hit - 10 Bludgeoning (non-lethal) damage - *Knocks it out*

*Combat Ends*

* **Dahlia** rolls *Insight* to see if the Knocker is still possessed - 19
	+ It seems to have regained its faculties

* Some of them roll *Deception* to deceive Rick the Knocker about his dead friends
	+ **Dahlia** - 24
	+ **R'Oarc** - 11
		- It isn't listening to R'Oarc, but does listen to Dahlia

* **T'Chuck** rolls *Investigation* to see if something's up with this wall - 13
	+ He notes that there seems to be a shiny area on the floor in front of the wall