Ask the oracle: does the party make it to the cliff top without mishap/encounter (somewhat likely)? Answer: No! Let's see what happens to Dorn, Exie, and Aele.
It's a goblin patrol! Ask the oracle: how many (2d4); Answer: 5. Great, we're outnumbered! Still, the tunnel isn't terribly wide. Exie gasps, "We've got company!" Light flares as Dorn unshutters his lantern fully. "Blinded goblins. Let's take advantage of that!" he yells as he sets his lantern down, rips his sword from his scabbard, and advances.
Checking initiatives, the goblins all have 1, Dorn is 3, Aele is 1, and Exie is 5. The goblins are AC 14 and +1 BAB with short swords. Exie gets an additional +1 bonus this round because the suddenly flaring bullseye lantern is painfully distracting to the goblins. Exie's normal full attack bonus is +2 (0 BAB plus a +2 mod for Dex 17). She'll get +3 now, and her d20 roll result is a 19, a strong hit. Damage is 1d6 with shortsword, then +2 bonus from Strength 16. Damage 1d6+2 results in 2. The southwesternmost goblin is now at 2/4 HP. Dorn, with the next best initiative, feints toward the goblin directly in front of him, but then thrusts his long sword at the goblin that Exie has injured. Dorn is specialized in the longsword, +4 to both hit and damage, and he'll get another +1 this round due to the sudden lantern light's effect. His attack roll vs AC 14 is only 11, however (a miss). Aele launches a Spirit Bolt (when a PC's iniative ties that of a non-boss foe, the PC acts fractionally faster) at the injured goblin, dealing it another 4 damage, killing it.
Now the goblins act. The one closest to Dorn attacks him. Dorn has AC 14 and the goblin gets +1 to hit. It's attack roll results in 20 (natural 19) — that's a hit, for 3 damage, dropping Dorn from 12 to 09 hp. A second rank goblin steps forward past the corpse of its slain fellow and attacks Exie, with a to-hit result of 16 versus her AC 14, a hit for (fortunately) just a single point of damage, dropping her to 7/8 hp. The remaining second rank goblin lunges past its fellow with a spear, attacking Dorn with a to-hit roll of 6 (a miss). The rear goblin doesn't have a projectile weapon, and is too far away to bring its spear to bear. Round ends:
Round 2. Exie leads the action, stabbing at her immediate foe: she misses. Dorn attacks his nearest foe, killing it, and another steps forward, taking it's place. That's 2 dead goblins and our heroes are only scratched. Rear goblin needs to make a morale roll, and remember that other than to-hit and saving throws, we want to roll low; it gets a result of 1 — cool as a cucumber. Aele launches another Spirit Bolt for 6 damage to the goblin menacing Exie, killing it, and giving the rearmost goblin an opening to step forward into the fray. A goblin attacks Dorn: miss! The other attacks Exie: a hit for 3 damage, dropping her to 4 hit points.
Round 3 begins. For map clarity, I'll hide the slain goblins. Also, I forgot to give Exie her specialization in short sword, and have corrected it.
Exie misses, rueing the cramped space. Dorn hits and kills his goblin, at which point the remaining goblin tries to turn and flee, only to be taken out by Aele's Spirit bolt.
End of Combat Report: Dorn at 9/12 hp, Exie at 4/8, Aele at 7/7. Five goblins slain. Total party XP gained: +75. Adding that to the 400 XP for negotiating past the ropers, total party XP now is at 475. Chaos Factor drops back to 5. Danger Dice pool now at 3. Lantern usage die d10, Aele's remaining daily Surges: 0/3. Let's see if the goblins have any valuables: 50 cp and 210 sp, plus a blue quartz worth 10 gp.
Our three heroes patch one another up as best they can, deciding to forego using the only three healing potions that Aele is carrying. Exie 5/8, Dorn 10/12, Aele 7/7.
Ask the oracle: any more encounters between here and cliff top (Very Unlikely)? Answer: No. Good deal! They make it to the top of the cliff and begin to make camp.
"Keep an eye peeled for goblins. Those in the tunnel may not have been alone," Dorn says, pounding a tent peg into the hard clay.
Aele glances skyward. "It'll be dark soon, and it will snow tonight."
"How do you do that?" Dorn asks, shaking his head.
"Do what?" Exie inquires.
"Korvin has the touch when it comes to weather. He's never wrong."
"One of my many talents," the wizard-priest says as he continues setting up tinder and kindling for a fire.
Not long after, the three are sitting around a crackling fire. "So who keeps firewood stocked here on the tree-less cliff top?" Aele asks.
"There's a group out of Gosterwick that frequents this area in the Spring and Summer, catering to adventurers. They keep potable water, firewood, stuff like that in good supply up here as a courtesy for the Exarch's approval for them to conduct business here. There's a dungeon entrance nearby. This whole cliff-top was once the site of a thriving city," Dorn expounds.
"You hear that rushing sound?" Exie asks Aele? That's the Arden-Flow River waterfall about a three miles from here. The river flows out of the Dragon Peaks to the northeast."
"Oh, I've sent it from the Valley before," Aele says, nodding. "I've just never been up here on the clifftop."
Dorn nods. "I wish we had more of that wine you brought, Zorvin." The big balding man is using the priest's familiar name simply to encourage Exie to do the same — even though their long association enables Dorn to use 'Aele' without giving offense. "The tunnel we took from the Mouth of Arden travels underneath Burdock Valley, so we bypassed it entirely."
"I'd like to see it, someday," Exie says, breaking cured meat and other hardtack out of her pack, and passing it around.
"Oh, it is truly magificent," Zhorvin says. "The falls are two hundred yards across, and bounded by the Colossal Defenders — the largest statues in all of Arandia."
"I thought the river was named The Swift," Exie says.
"It is," Dorn replies, after the Falls, but upriver from there, it's called the Arden-Flow. Don't ask me: I didn't get consulted on that or a good many other choices." All three chuckle at this, and then Exie asks, "So tell me more about the area. I've not been more than a stone's throw from Prelm in the last decade."
Dorn continues, "The old Imperial Road runs along the east side of the Swift River and eventually leads to Newmarket. It is made of large rectangular cobblestones, and originally boasted curbs and drainage. Today it is largely overrun, cracked, with grasses and small shrubs growing out of it. Within five hundred feet of the Falls it is slick and treacherous."
Ask the Oracle: do the PCs have any overnight encounters on the plateau atop the cliff (unlikely, given that it's the cold season — but, then again, the goblins in the tunnel probably came from up here)? Answer: No.
The Next morning dawns windy and with three inches of snow as our companions emerge from their tents. They retrieve heavy woolen cloaks from their packs and don them, then quickly break camp. "We can eat while traveling," Dorn decides. "We're lucky to have been unbothered during the night." Each had spent four hours tending the fire and keeping a lookout.
"Which way?" Exie asks.
"Follow me," Dorn says, and the three head off across the plateau, the noise of the waterfall slowly receding behind them.
Some ten minutes later the trio draws up abruptly as a vast edifice seems to emerge loomingly from the blowing snow. The Pyramid of Thoth rises majestically amidst the surface ruins of Arden Vul, its ancient stone façade adorned with intricate carvings that depict hieroglyphs and celestial motifs. This monumental structure, dedicated to the god of light, healing, wisdom, magic and knowledge, serves as both a shrine and a gateway to the mysteries hidden within the megadungeon’s depths.
Surrounding the pyramid, the remnants of crumbled buildings and tangled vegetation hint at a once-thriving civilization drawn to the pyramid's allure. Dorn says, "The Temple of Thoth. Inside, adventurers discover a series of chambers filled with eerie silence, punctuated only by the soft echo of their footsteps on the granite floors."
"Oh my, you'd make a great tour guide," Exie says, slapping Dorn on the shoulder. Aele hasn't spoken. He's moved apart from the other two and is staring up at a massive statue of a baboon who holds a staff in its right hand. An ibis perches on the baboon's left shoulder. A carved necklace rings the baboon's neck, and from it an ankh depends. "It's Cromm," Aele breathes in awe.
"If you say so," Dorn says, stroking his chin stubble. "But scholars say this depicts the ancient god Thoth." Aele turns to his old friend. "I was trained that Thoth is one of the Twelve, and that he is no more. But this is his iconography — all of it. Strange, and now that I see it I recall an argument years ago among two factions of the temple. One insisted that Cromm is the ancient one, Thoth..."
"Well, you did say yesterday afternoon that you sought answers to questions, in joining us. Perhaps we'll learn more inside. Lead us in, Dorn."
The group picks its way around snow-covered statuary, fountains, other plinths and plaques, but none as large and imposing as towering statue of Cromm/Thoth. Just before they enter the great pyramid, Aele looks back at it, and it seems the baboon stares into his soul. The priest steadfastly ignores his hindbrain as it screams that the statue has turned to look at him.
Inside, Aele lights one of the bullseye lanterns and turns up its intensity, holding it aloft and close to the walls as he studies the glyphs. He moves slowly, reading carefully. Exie draws breath, perhaps to encourage haste, but Dorn lies a hand on her shoulder and when she looks at him, he shakes his head no, give the priest some time...
Here and there amid the carvings in the walls are chalk or charcoal writings, added centuries after the pyramid was constructed, some of them perhaps in just the last few years. One reads: "Beware the smithered fecking half-men!"; another "The secrets of the Paleologue will not remain hidden. Look to Gog for directions." As the group approaches the chute-link, time-worn stone steps to descend, Aele reads another piece of adventurer-penned graffiti: "The feathery blessing of Maat fends off the walkers! Do not ignore her soft offering!"
Aele shakes his head ruefully. "I wish I had brought parchment and charcoal, to record these, make rubbings of engravings..."
Dorn nods and says reassuringly, "Perhaps we can find such supplies within, and no doubt we will make trips to Gosterwick from time to time, to consult sages, to hopefully sell valuables, and to rest."
And to pray someone there can remove curses Exie thinks, but does not say aloud. Regretfully, the wizard-priest turns down his lantern as Dorn takes the lead with the other lantern. "Now, to find a way down," Dorn says. But ten minutes later no way downward has been found. Exie sees the tension on Dorn's face and wisely says nothing.
After a few moments, Aele says, "Oh, the statue, of course!" and leads his two curious companions back to the baboon and ibis statue. "I should have thought of this earlier. Cromm loves trap doors. Try moving the staff. Exie, try one leg. Dorn, help me with this free arm. One of the statues' arms moves grudgingly a few inches as both Dorn and Aele apply their strength, and a square section of pavement slides aside behind the statue, revealing a set of stairs leading downward.
They are steep and cramped. They descend more than thirty stories. The stairwell walls are blackened with soot, grime, and desecration. Little meaningful is left to decipher, and in many places the touch of living hands has deposited oils which over time has faded whatever writings may once have been here.
Finally exiting the staircase, the three find themselves in a long pillared hall. It is not well-lit, but further into the hall are four burning torches, placed on sconces about three feet above the floor. Dorn decreases the flame intensity in his lantern. Usage check on d10 results in 4. All three heroes are back to 3/3 Fortune Points. Overnight, they each regained 2 hit points: Ale 7/7, Dorn 12/12, Exie 7/8.
Dorn cautions, "Watch out. Others are here, or nearby," he says, nodding toward the torches.
Ask the Oracle: Is the party surprised by the three giant rats that attack from the shadows? Answer: Yes! Giant rats have been semi-trained/tamed by the halfling thugs here to act as guards and shock troops. Dorn and his companions have been set upon from all sides. And not only are they outnumbered, but they're also surprised. The rats are a single hit point each and inflict 1 damage on a hit, with a 10% chance of passing disease the first time a foe is bitten, and 5% each time thereafter. They have AC 12.
Dorn and Exie each get bitten once, and somehow Aele doesn't. Neither contracts disease.
On the first non-surprise round, Dorn kills a rat, as does Exie, but Aele misses with his mace, then the rats attack: everybody's getting bitten. Nobody contracts disease. First regular round is over. On to round 2: all three PCs miss with their attacks. Aele gets bitten twice more (no disease, though). Round 3: Dorn misses but Aele and Exie each kill a rat, and then the remaining three rats attack: Dorn gets bitten and drops to 8 hp; Aele gets hit with a critical for 2 damage and drops to 2 remaining hit points!
Round 4: Dorn kills a rat, Exie misses, and Aele cries out to Cromm (Thoth?) for healing and regains five hit points and is back at maximum health. Two rats remain. One bites Dorn for another point of damage and the other misses Aele. Round 5: Dorn misses, but Exie hits, killing the rat that attacked Dorn. Father Truemas kills the remaining rat, and the PCs are victorious!
Slow, mocking, languorous applause comes from the shadows, and then mutliple halflings come into view. One steps forward, though not within melee range. "Welcome friends, my name is Roskelly; just call me Rosk." The other halflings spread out, and have crossbows trained on the PCs.
Rosk continues, "I regret the loss of my pet rats, but it won't be difficult to acquire more. They're abundant on this level, and most fecund. Oh, some of you are bitten. My apologies. They aren't ... weren't ... housebroken. On behalf of my boss, welcome to Arden Vul. I just need to collect the appropriate fees and issue you your explorers' licenses. Let's see, there are three of you, so that comes to ... seventy-five gold coins."
Dorn draws himself to his full six feet and glares down at Rosk. "How do you do? Where are your parents? We'll speak to them."