Across the black water

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Lac Dinneshire - Crossing the Black Water

The Hidden Cove

Inside the Cave of Lac Dinneshire

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Across the Black Water

The cold cuts hard as the Howlbears step away from Dinev’s Rest, but the sight of the lantern out on Lac Dinneshere cuts harder still.

Mutt flips through the stolen ledger just long enough to confirm what matters, then looks up and curses under his breath as he watches the dim light moving east across the black water. He stuffs the ledger into his pocket and looks to the others.

“Looks like they’re already on their way with the shipment. OK, with any luck we can get to that boat before it signals the cave. I want us to be the ones making that delivery. If that doesn’t happen, we can at least follow in close behind.”

He rolls his shoulders and shakes out his hands, already halfway into a new idea.

“I’ve never actually done this before, but I think it will work. Once I transform, Orin and Azalie climb on my back, and I’ll pick up Dorf and Fizz.” He glances at Fizz. “If I can get us close to that boat, do you think you can stall it or push it off course for a bit?” Then he looks to Dorf and Azalie. “Do you two think you can take over that boat without sinking it or making a noticeable ruckus?”

“As intriguing as riding on top of you might be… I’m not sure that’s how I pictured this.”

Azalie says it without missing a beat, then gestures toward the water.

“What about that boat?”

A weathered fishing skiff rocks quietly near the shore, half-frozen at its mooring.

“Between your giant mage hand, Fizz’s… thunder farts, and Orin’s magic…” She gives a small shrug. “There has to be another way across.”

Then her expression hardens.

“This won’t be an in-and-out operation. We’ll need all our gear… and potions.”

That settles the matter faster than any argument could. Whatever else the cave holds, they are not going in half-prepared, and they are not going to catch the other boat by trying to race it across open water. But they can still follow. Still watch. Still learn where it lands.

Mutt exhales, the urgency still plain on his face, but he gives a short nod.

“Fine. We trail them. Quietly. We see where they land, and then we move.”

Dorf is already scanning the shoreline and the black shape of the boat ahead, judging distance and timing the way only someone used to trouble in the dark really can. Fizz, for once, does not waste breath on protest. If there are Duergar on that boat and crates full of black crystal being moved into some frozen hole in the rocks, then following them is good enough for now.

Azalie lifts her arm and calls softly to Mellon.

“Scout ahead. Tell us what you see. And be careful.”

The hawk launches into the darkness without hesitation, climbing into the cold air above the lake while the Howlbears turn to the skiff. Lines are loosened, frost cracks along the hull, and the little boat is pushed free into the water. Oars dip quietly into the black surface of Lac Dinneshere as they angle east, keeping distance between themselves and the lantern ahead.

The crossing is tense, but not chaotic. No alarm is raised. No light turns toward them. Ahead, the smuggler’s boat continues eastward until the rocky shoreline begins to rise in dark, broken shapes above the water. There, tucked into a narrow cove, the lantern-bearing vessel slows and glides in near the rocks.

With darkvision and Mellon circling silently overhead, the Howlbears are able to make out the shapes on shore clearly enough.

Duergar.

Several of them.

Small, solid figures moving with practiced purpose as crates are dragged from the boat and carried toward a cave mouth hidden in the cove. No shouting. No wasted motion. Just a clean, quiet unloading under cover of night.

The Howlbears hold back and watch from the lake until the other vessel finishes its approach. Then they bring their own borrowed skiff in closer, choosing a quieter stretch of shore away from the cove itself.

By the time their boots touch land, the trail is no longer in doubt.

They have found the cave.

They have found the Duergar handoff.

And somewhere ahead, perhaps three days farther down the same path, Hagag has already passed this way.

Decision Point

The Howlbears reach the eastern shore and now stand near the rocky cove while the Duergar unload crates into the cave.

In your next post, tell me what your character does:

• sneak closer to the cave

• search for a better entrance or vantage point

• watch the Duergar and count numbers

• inspect or interfere with the unattended boat

• remain back and let Mellon scout first

• or take another approach

Skill Checks

Possible strong-impact checks here include:

• Stealth 

• Perception 

• Investigation 

• Nature / Survival 

Caer-Dineval will available for a short time then the new location will be active - so do any last minute shopping, vaulting, or town actions before my next post.

Current Time: 11:15 PM

Date: Fifthday 15, Ches, 1742

Temperature: 18°

Current Phase: Exploration

The Hidden Cove

The borrowed boat grinds softly against the frozen shore, and for a moment the Howlbears hold still, listening to the dark.

Dorf is the first to break the silence. He rummages in his pack, downs a blessing potion, and looks to the others, voice low but direct.

“Are we all going in or just a few of us? I’m open to ideas but I don’t want the Duergar getting away with chardalyn.”

Azalie is already watching the shoreline, counting shapes and measuring distances with her eyes.

“They wouldn’t expect anyone to come here. I bet their guard is down.” 

She slips over the side of the boat without a sound, raises her hood, and gestures toward the ridge above the cove. “I’m going high.” Mellon circles overhead as she starts her climb, and before she disappears fully into the dark she adds, quieter now, “Hagag came this way and she’s more than likely captured or worse.” The thought brings old memories with it—Nildar, the fungal horror, the kind of fight the Howlbears barely survive once and do not forget. If the Duergar are here in force, there may be worse things in the cave than dwarves alone.

Orin remains low near the edge of the group as they disembark, his eyes moving between the shoreline and the cave mouth beyond. He exhales softly.

“If we stay out of sight and quiet, perhaps we can learn more of their operation.” As Dorf prepares to move, Orin watches him and offers what support he can. “I can conceal one of us if we want eyes closer to the cave. Or hold one in place if things go poorly.”

Mutt slips off the boat in silence, pulling his hood up as his darkvision settles over the shoreline. There is pride in the way he watches the others fall into motion without needing to be told twice. He murmurs a quiet

“be careful” after Azalie as she disappears upslope, then looks down to Dorf with a smile and over to Orin.

“Are you able to make the Bearzerker here invisible? If not, I can do it.” The plan forms around action more than discussion. If one shadow can get close enough to hear, the rest can still choose how and when to strike.

Fizz nearly ruins the mood by toppling awkwardly over the side of the boat and barely saving his muckluck boots from a freezing soak. He dusts himself off, looks from Azalie to Orin to Mutt and then to Dorf, and even in the dark it is obvious he feels the party settling into something serious.

“Right behind ya Mr. Dorf!” he whispers, reaching into his weathered swamp pouch and tossing a light sprinkle over himself and Dorf, preparing to cover the halfling’s advance if needed.

Dorf waits only long enough to see that everyone is ready. He motions his intentions, gets a nod from Orin as he passes, and then begins to move.

Once he commits, he vanishes into the rocks with far more grace than a raging halfling has any right to possess, slipping toward the Duergar camp quiet enough to hear before he is heard.

The shoreline takes the Howlbears quietly.

Azalie slips away first, climbing toward the ridge with Mellon circling higher above her. Dorf moves low and careful along the rocks below, while Fizz stays back near the boat, ready to follow or cover as needed. Mutt and Orin remain nearer the waterline, crouched in shadow and watching the cove unfold through darkvision.

From above, Azalie gets the clearest look.

The cove is active.

A narrow boat sits pulled in against the rocks, its lantern dimmed low. Five Duergar can be seen clearly: four hauling crates from the boat toward the cave mouth, and one standing nearer the entrance with a loaded crossbow, watching the shoreline more than the lake. A narrow, awkward path also winds above the cave along the ridge, steep but usable for someone light on their feet.

Below, Dorf works his way closer without a sound.

(Skill Roll) Dorf – Stealth 21 Dorf slips into position near the Duergar cove without drawing so much as a glance, using the rocks, darkness, and the noise of the unloading crates to cover his approach. His quiet advance gives the Howlbears a much better look at the operation and lets them confirm the Duergar are focused on the shipment, not on watching for trouble from the lake. (Added +3 for blessing)

From his position among the rocks, he can hear the Duergar speaking to one another in low, clipped Undercommon. He cannot make out the meaning, but their tone is practical and disciplined, more like laborers finishing a job than guards expecting a fight.

Crates are dragged over stone, boots scrape, and once or twice one of the dwarves gestures sharply toward the cave as the others move the cargo inside.

Mellon circles silently overhead and then drifts back in Azalie’s direction, unharmed and unnoticed. The Duergar continue their work. No alarm rises. No one has seen Dorf. No one appears to have noticed the second boat pulled in farther down the shore.

For the moment, the Howlbears have the advantage.

Five visible Duergar. One cave entrance. One boat at the cove. And crates still being unloaded into the dark.

Decision Point

The party now sees:

• 5 visible Duergar at the cove (others went inside, but you are not sure how many in total)

• crates being unloaded into the cave right now

• 1 Duergar guard near the entrance

• a ridge path above the cave

• the unloading party speaking in Undercommon

In your next post, tell me what your character does:

• keep observing

• sneak closer to the cave

• move for the ridge path

• investigate the Duergar boat

• prepare an ambush

• or take another approach

Strong-impact rolls if used next:

Stealth, Perception, Investigation, Survival.

Current Time: 11:20 PM

Date: Fifthday 15, Ches, 1742

Temperature: 18°

Current Phase: Exploration

Inside the Cave of Lac Dinneshire

The last crate disappears into the cave before the Howlbears move.

Azalie waits above the cove, breath held, watching the final Duergar shoulder their burden through the entrance below. Once the last of them passes inside, she shifts from the ridge and works her way down toward the mouth of the cave. Below, Dorf is already close, already hidden, already poised to move the moment the coast clears. Mutt and Orin remain nearer the shoreline, keeping low in the shadows, while Fizz hangs back just beyond the light, ready to choke the entrance in vines if anything comes rushing back out.

Dorf goes in first.

He slips past the cave mouth and into the first chamber with the kind of quiet that makes it easy to forget he is built for rage, not patience. Azalie follows soon after, coming in from above and dropping into position once she is sure the entrance is clear. The rest of the Howlbears remain outside for the moment, close enough to support, far enough not to crowd the opening.

Inside, the cave opens just enough to reveal the first layer of the operation.

The entrance chamber is a cold, worked shoreline landing point, half natural stone and half smuggler’s depot. A small dock and tied boat sit back near the water. Ropes, barrels, crates, and hooks are scattered near the landing area, with drag marks and boot tracks crisscrossing the ground where cargo has been hauled inside.

To the left, a darker side tunnel mouths open into a shadowed cave passage.

To the right, the main chamber continues around a bend into a broader, lantern-lit section of the cave, but from here only the edge of that larger space can be seen.

The smell settles over them a moment later.

Cold lake air. Wet rope. Old wood. And beneath it all, the same wrong scent they found at Dinev’s Rest—damp rot, sharp chemicals, and fungal corruption packed into something meant to travel.

Low voices carry from farther in, rough and clipped in Undercommon, impossible to understand from here but steady enough to suggest the Duergar are still working deeper in the cave. No alarm rises. No one seems to have noticed the intrusion.

For the moment, the Howlbears have made it inside unseen.

(Map posted, check locations & Area map to see the layout)

Decision Point

Dorf and Azalie are now inside the outer chamber of the cave.

Visible from here:

• the boat landing area near the water

• scattered crates, barrels, ropes, and dock gear

• a dark cave passage to the left

• the main chamber opening to the right, continuing around a bend

• voices deeper inside speaking in Undercommon

In your next post, tell me what your character does:

• inspect the landing area

• check the dark left-hand tunnel

• move right toward the larger chamber

• signal the others inside

• stay hidden and observe

• or take another action

Strong-impact rolls if used next:

Stealth, Perception, Investigation, Survival.

Current Time: 11:40 PM

Date: Fifthday 15, Ches, 1742

Temperature: 18°

Current Phase: Exploration

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