{Modern Setting} The Whispering Cave (Entrance)

A game that seems to change settings every couple of years; currently following the Age of Worms Adventure Path.

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{Modern Setting} The Whispering Cave (Entrance)

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After consulting with Professor Alan Stanley in his room at Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital, the Gamma Team climbs back in the van and sets the coordinates of the GPS for the Whispering Cave. A short drive (about 10 minutes) brings them through what appears to be the main street of Coal City, West Virginia. The most noticeable buildings are:
  • A motel with a news van parked prominently in front. The news crew appears to be actively filming a report, although there's nothing obvious going on.
  • A tavern called the Thirsty Dog, with a huge parking lot. The entire row of parking nearest the building is filled with motorcycles.
  • A pawn shop with a neon sign advertising "Guns – Guns – Guns"
  • A small office park. The list of tenants on the sign in front is almost entirely mining companies
  • Although it's not on the main road, you also notice a domed building, possibly an observatory, sitting on a hill about a half mile northeast.
A few twists and turns and the road takes you out of Coal City and into the mountains. Fifteen minutes later and the GPS tells you to turn left where there is no road. Parking the van on the shoulder, you find a hiking trail leading uphill in the direction the friendly GPS lady's voice is telling you to go. So you unload your gear and set off up into the woods. The trail winds sharply upward between rocks and boulders and there are a number of spots where you almost have to scramble on all fours. You can see why Professor Stanley took a fall on his way down.

Upon reaching the first of these difficult spots, Linda says, I'm totally not wearing the right shoes for this! I'm going back down to the van. You guys call my cell if you find anything interesting up there, okay? No amount of persuading can convince her to keep climbing and she scrambles back down the trail to the road.

Another half hour of climbing the steep trail brings you to what is obviously the so-called "Whispering Cave." The wide mouth of the cave is partially obscured by underbrush and boulders, but a small pathway through to the entrance has been recently cleared, probably Professor Stanley's work. It is now nearing 4 pm and the heat of the afternoon is wearing off. A faint breeze picks up and, as it does, you can hear sibilant whispers echoing from the mouth of the cave that sound almost like sighing breath. It must be a trick of the wind, but the effect is almost lifelike.
OUT OF CHARACTER
No map until you actually enter the cave, but you'll probably want to decide what you're readying (flashlights, guns, cameras) and a marching order first

 

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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by valinor »

Mind we visit the pawn shop, I actually need a few spelunking gears and maybe a map of the cave if any available. asks the doc.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

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A quick stop at the pawnshop reveals that they really mostly carry "Guns - Guns - Guns." There's also some jewelry, cell phones, TV's, and the like, but no climbing equipment and certainly no maps of the cave.
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If you really want to go on a shopping trip for climbing gear, it will mean delaying the party's arrival at the cave until after dark.

 

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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by valinor »

That answers that. states Dr. Alexander. No need to prolong this any further. Lets go. he adds.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

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Feeling no need for special preparations, the Gamma Team makes its way through the overgrowth into the cave. Beyond the mouth, the "cave" is obviously not a natural cave at all. The squared off floor, ceiling, and walls indicate that this place was carefully hewn into the rock of the mountain. Natural light dimly illuminates a long hallway extending north into darkness. Just inside the darkened tomb, at the edge of where the light from outside penetrates, the hallway branches to the east and west. A thin coat of dust coats the floor.

The walls bear horizontal bands of deceptively simple geometric patterns at waist level. In places the bands reveal startling detail, but in others the walls look as though they have been hacked apart with tools or eroded by the rigors of time. Flakes of ancient paint, brilliant purple and a dull mustard hue, still cling to the walls in places, hinting at what must once have been a riot of color. The patterns are identical to those you saw in Professor Stanley's pictures, although not in as good condition. Clearly, the Professor must have found some better examples to point his camera at.

Outside, the wind picks up, and a chorus of almost human sounds rises from the darkened hall.
OUT OF CHARACTER
The mouth of the cave, if it's not clear from the map, is in row 1236-1539.

Next validation will be Monday the 23rd. Hopefully by then, you can pick a place to put yourselves on the map and make some decisions about what items you have readied, if anything. I tried to hint that you're going to need a light source to go any farther :)

 

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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by valinor »

OUT OF CHARACTER
Dr. Alexander is in 1338.

 

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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by tdsprouse »

Brad will loosen the catch on his holster, and get a flashlight out. He'll take the front of the group.

Ok, the wind is a little creepy.




OUT OF CHARACTER
Sorry, i missed this thread last week.

 

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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by CGM3 »

Eric Lightner will ready his flashlight in his off hand and take position in square 1236.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by klakxor »

Sahid will take out his camera and stand next to Dr Alexander at 1438
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

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The beams from Brad's and Eric's flashlights do not reach beyond what the daylight from the entrance already illuminates, but you're certain they'll be helpful once you proceed any further. The wind continues its humanlike whispering throughout the hall.
OUT OF CHARACTER
I'm moving this week, so I'm uncertain on the timing for the next validation. I hope to have everything up and running in the new house by Sunday, but it could certainly slip... especially if the cable company can't get my internet connection worked out...

 

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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by tdsprouse »

Brad moves forward to 1530 and sweeps the room with light. trying to see what's in there.


anyone have a lantern, or some source of omnidirectional light?
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by klakxor »

Sahid will move up behind Brad to 1532

Sorry Brad. I don't do a lot of camping or field work, so I guess I am not that prepared. Lets just get moving in, these winds are strange and I am not sure I am comfortable with them.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by tdsprouse »

No worries Sahid, we'll make do...
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by CGM3 »

Eric mirrors Brad's action by moving to 1230 and sweeping the cave beyond with his flashlight.
Over on Discord, I go by Gryphon
"And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a plowshare, he's going to know he's been hit." - The Wisdom of Nodwick
"Nothing says love like two hundred feet of parachute cable and a cargo net." - Fred Jones, Scooby Doo: Mystery Inc.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

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Moving up and sweeping the area with flashlights reveals that the hallway branches into shallow alcoves to the east and west before continuing on into darkness. Here the designs on the walls bear the most significant damage. Dozens of clumsy etchings mar the beautiful ancient masonry like graffiti on a city wall. A clump of soiled cloth about the size of a child rests in the rounded terminus of the western alcove.
OUT OF CHARACTER
Two maps here: one showing the full layout of this area, which you determined by sweeping the area with the flashlights; the other showing what you can see at the moment, assuming Eric keeps his light on the pile of cloth and Brad points his forward down the hall

 

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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by tdsprouse »

I'll watch teh hallway, can you guys check out that pile of cloth?

Brad moves to 1127, watching the hallway.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by klakxor »

Sahid moves slowly up to the pile of rags. If this has been here a while, it surely should have turned to dust.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

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Brad moves up to shine his flashlight up and across the hallway as Sahid goes to investigate the pile of rags. The rags, it turns out, are not rags at all, but rather a moldy old sleeping bag. Underneath the layer of dirt and mold, Sahid can make out a pattern imprinted on the cloth of the sleeping bag: some sort of white cartoon cat with ridiculously large eyes.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

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OUT OF CHARACTER
Waiting on PC actions...

 

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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by tdsprouse »

Nothing in the pile of cothes, brad moves down teh hallway untill he finds something interesting.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by klakxor »

Looks like an old sleeping bag. Possibly from those stories of kids using this cave as a testing ground. Best to move on.

Sahid moves along with Brad down the hallway
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by CGM3 »

Expecting Dr. Alexander to follow closely, Eric will step forward, shine his light down the right-hand "offshoot" just to make sure nothing's changed, then follow Brad and Sahid, flashing his light along the walls and ceiling.
Over on Discord, I go by Gryphon
"And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a plowshare, he's going to know he's been hit." - The Wisdom of Nodwick
"Nothing says love like two hundred feet of parachute cable and a cargo net." - Fred Jones, Scooby Doo: Mystery Inc.
"I know, the first rule of Robot Fight Club is, you don't talk about Robot Fight Club." - Jack Darby, Transformers Prime
"Always. Expect. Ninjas." - Sydney Scoville, Grrl Power
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

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OUT OF CHARACTER
With only three active players, I'm going to try validating ASAP after everyone has posted, rather than on a set schedule. Anyone see a problem with that?

 

Eric's flashlight check of the right-hand alcove reveals that nothing has changed, so the Gamma Team continues up the hallway. Only a little way farther reveals another pair of branching passages. Fifteen feet down the east passage, a huge pile of collapsed rubble blocks the way from top to bottom. It looks like it would take weeks to tunnel through the densely packed debris. About thirty feet down the western hall is something interesting: a small marble platform raised about six inches off the floor. A strange, shattered stone apparatus rests upon this platform, its curved ovular frame giving the appearance of a dressing mirror. Only a third of this frame remains. An unusual glyph about the size of a man’s head has been delicately carved into the baseplate of the support platform:

It's fairly clear you have now penetrated deeper into the Whispering Cave than Professor Stanley did, since you'd assume he would have at least taken a picture of the strange apparatus, had he gotten this far.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by klakxor »

Sahid will take his camera out and make sure to get a picture of the whole as well as ask Brad or Eric to move up with him to get a close up of the glyph on the base.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by tdsprouse »

Brad Moves with Sahid to help him get multiple pictures of the Stone Apparatus.

This is pretty interesting, anyone know what these markings might mean?

OUT OF CHARACTER
I am definitely Pro validating often

 

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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by CGM3 »

Eric will advance to 1418 and keep his flashlight trained down the main corridor.
OUT OF CHARACTER
Hmm, maybe I should have named this character Daniel Jackson... :wink:

 

Over on Discord, I go by Gryphon
"And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a plowshare, he's going to know he's been hit." - The Wisdom of Nodwick
"Nothing says love like two hundred feet of parachute cable and a cargo net." - Fred Jones, Scooby Doo: Mystery Inc.
"I know, the first rule of Robot Fight Club is, you don't talk about Robot Fight Club." - Jack Darby, Transformers Prime
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by patransom »

Sahid and Brad move west to investigate and photograph the shattered stone apparatus. As Sahid snaps his pictures, he observes a few things about the artifact [PM on the way].

Eric moves north, keeping his light trained up the hallway. Dr. Alexander follows and then speaks up, Lower your light a moment, Mr. Lightner... When Eric does so, the good doctor says, Yes, I thought I saw something in the dark. There's a greenish glow up ahead. Eric can see it now, too: a faint flickering green light some distance to the north.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by tdsprouse »

Get what we need, Sahid? Make sure you get a lot of angles, front and back.


When Sahid is finished, Brad will lead him back to the others.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by klakxor »

Sahid takes several photographs of the pedestal and the frame. A couple close ups sround the inside of the frame.

Kneeling down next to the frame, he scoops up a couple shards of stone and moves back to Brad. There are some remarkable glyphs and runes on that structure. Seemed arcane from the looks of them. Couldn't really tell what they meant, but got some good pictures. Something about travel or transportation and something about air. Also, these strange shards were nearby the frame. I think they could be something as well. Definitely something to keep.

Sahid holds his hand out to Brad briefly showing him a couple shards of a shiny black substance. He then puts them in is pack and follows Brad to catch up with the others.
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Re: [Active Thread] The Wispering Cave (Entrance)

Post by CGM3 »

Eric Lightner will try to shine the beam of his flashlight at the green glow, in an attempt to see what is there.
Over on Discord, I go by Gryphon
"And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a plowshare, he's going to know he's been hit." - The Wisdom of Nodwick
"Nothing says love like two hundred feet of parachute cable and a cargo net." - Fred Jones, Scooby Doo: Mystery Inc.
"I know, the first rule of Robot Fight Club is, you don't talk about Robot Fight Club." - Jack Darby, Transformers Prime
"Always. Expect. Ninjas." - Sydney Scoville, Grrl Power
Image - Cyrius of the Sudden Blade, human soulknife
Image - Jephthryam Davian, human tinkerer
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