An Ember RPG Actual Play Adventure
A Change of Direction
After their less-than-diplomatic encounter with the Ratatos, the Misfits found themselves back in familiar territory: hiding in a cave, nursing their pride and considering their next terrible decision.
Their expedition into the forest had led them to an abandoned settlement, a grotesque tentacled monstrosity and an overwhelming force of squirrel warriors who had offered them a simple choice: leave their lands forever or die.
For once, the Misfits had chosen the sensible option.
A few days passed before the party resumed its journey. Their ultimate destination remained somewhere in the mountains at the center of the island, but getting there presented a problem. The Ratatos had made it abundantly clear that the direct route through their territory was no longer available.
The alternative was to follow the rocky coastline, hopefully finding a safer passage inland.
Naturally, this required a lengthy discussion of geography, leadership, swimming, rafts and the possibility of digging a tunnel beneath the water.
One member of the party was particularly opposed to anything involving water.
He would make this position known repeatedly.
The Cave Beneath the Shore
Several hours along the coast, with the tide receding and the sea exposing more of the rocky shoreline, the adventurers spotted the mouth of a cave.
It was an inviting discovery, assuming one considered a dark hole leading deep beneath the earth inviting.
The Misfits did.
After some discussion about torches, lanterns and whether an illumination spell could actually illuminate anything, the party ventured inside.
The cavern opened into a network of passages. Strange mushrooms grew in the darkness, stairs descended into the rock and a narrow bridge crossed a chasm through which seawater surged.
The movement of the tide gave the entire cavern an unsettling rhythm. Water rushed inward, then withdrew with a hollow, echoing sigh.
The cave seemed almost to breathe.
It was an eerie and potentially dangerous place, made somewhat less intimidating by the party's immediate concern over who would have to cross the bridge first.
The bridge, naturally, had water beneath it.
This was unacceptable to at least one adventurer.
Crossing it proved almost as challenging as deciding to cross it. Party members somehow found themselves below the bridge rather than on it, requiring considerable assistance to restore everyone to the proper elevation.
Eventually, the Misfits managed to get across.
Mostly.
Bones, Copper and Questionable Leadership
Beyond the bridge lay a winding passage littered with bones.
Most appeared to belong to animals, but humanoid remains were scattered among them. Whatever inhabited the caverns had clearly been feeding well.
The Misfits investigated the remains, hoping to discover weapons, armor, treasure or anything remotely useful.
Their efforts produced a handful of copper coins.
This modest fortune inspired Darius Crow to embrace a new identity.
Henceforth, he would be known as Dick Darius.
He was enormously pleased with this development.
His companions were equally pleased, though perhaps for different reasons.
Armed with newfound confidence, a hammer and a name that provided seemingly endless opportunities for unfortunate declarations, Dick Darius prepared to lead the Misfits farther into the darkness.
The cave had other plans.
Things With Too Many Teeth
The first creature emerged from the shadows ahead.
It was a hideous thing, with sharp claws, a strange helm concealing its upper face and a lower jaw formed from grotesque mandibles. Long, writhing appendages protruded from its mouth.
Nobody seemed particularly interested in asking whether it was friendly.
Arrows flew, weapons were drawn and the narrow passage quickly became a crowded battlefield.
The creature proved frightening in appearance but somewhat less impressive in combat. Its attacks were evaded, its defenses battered and the Misfits soon brought it down.
A second monster received much the same treatment.
Dick Darius was particularly enthusiastic about his contributions, repeatedly announcing his arrival and the devastating power of his hammer.
The party survived the encounter and pressed deeper into the cavern.
Upon closer examination, the creatures appeared to possess armor that was not worn so much as grown. Thick, chitinous plates formed part of their bodies, suggesting something distinctly unnatural about the things living beneath the shoreline.
This was troubling information.
The Misfits responded with more jokes.
The Battle in the Tunnels
Farther inside, the passages divided and the party began spreading out to investigate.
This proved to be a questionable tactical decision.
More creatures waited in the darkness, including strange humanoid figures armed with blades. They attacked as the Misfits attempted to regroup, turning the cramped tunnels into a chaotic series of engagements.
Garrick found himself facing an armed enemy and took a painful hit. Elsewhere, Corvvis struggled to find room to maneuver, while the group's ranged combatants discovered that shooting past several companions in a narrow corridor was more difficult than it sounded.
The Misfits had an abundance of courage, arrows and opinions.
Clear lines of fire were in considerably shorter supply.
Fleck maneuvered through the fighting, occasionally struggling to reach the battle at all. Magical attacks flashed through the passageways, arrows struck their targets and the enemy continued to press forward.
The party began to suffer injuries. Some were wounded badly enough to limit their actions, forcing them to rely on simpler attacks and defensive maneuvers.
The situation grew increasingly dangerous.
Dick Darius, however, was having a wonderful time.
He charged into melee, swinging his hammer and repeatedly declaring himself the superior combatant. Some blows missed, others were dodged, but enough connected to leave the cavern's inhabitants considerably worse off.
His companions contributed their own attacks, gradually reducing the enemy's numbers.
At one point the creatures seemed almost endless, with another emerging whenever the Misfits thought the battle was finished.
But eventually, the final enemy fell.
The tunnels grew quiet.
The Misfits had won.
Nobody could say the victory had been elegant, but elegance had never been among their primary strengths.
A Brief Recovery
With the immediate threat eliminated, the adventurers gathered to recover their strength.
They had survived the fighting, although several carried wounds that a short rest would not mend. Resting restored some of their spent resources, but it did little to erase the damage already suffered.
Searching the bodies revealed little of value. The dead carried short swords and unpleasant armor that smelled of death.
At least one member of the party acquired a short sword, adding another weapon to an increasingly questionable collection of equipment.
The group then resumed exploring the cave.
Stairs led deeper underground, and the Misfits descended into another network of passages. There were more problems navigating the twisting chambers, more confusion about where everyone had gone and still more water.
The underground environment offered chambers, ledges, bridges and a waterfall that suggested the caverns extended much farther than the party had yet explored.
Unfortunately, investigating some of these areas meant approaching or crossing water.
Once again, objections were raised.
Loudly.
Deeper Into Trouble
The party continued searching the lower tunnels, occasionally finding themselves back where they had started.
Despite the confusion, they eventually identified another unexplored section of the cavern.
A bridge offered a possible route toward it.
And beyond that bridge, more enemies appeared.
The warning went up as the Misfits tried to determine where everyone was standing, who could reach the enemy and whether occupying the bridge would prevent the others from attacking.
It was an all-too-familiar situation.
Somewhere ahead, hostile creatures waited in the darkness. Behind them lay a twisting network of tunnels, the bodies of their defeated foes and a shoreline they had originally hoped would provide a safer route toward the mountains.
The Misfits had traded an army of angry squirrel warriors for an underground labyrinth full of unnatural monsters.
Whether that represented progress was open to debate.
For now, the adventure continued.
And one thing was certain.
They still hated water.
The Misfits have survived the first battles beneath the coast, but the caverns remain unexplored, the party is wounded and more enemies are waiting. The mountains are still a long way off — assuming they ever manage to get out of the cave.