Eldreth Feldroon
Ront
Jimjar
Drow
Shoor Vandree
Giant Centipedes
Vargouilles and Maw Demon
Skeletons with Giant and Diseased Rats
Quasit and Troll Dragonpriest
Goblins and Dolgrims
Calcryx the White Wyrmling
[Scrolling text] https://starwarsintrocreator.kassellabs.io/
In a world of magic and mystery...
Intra Tenebras Lux
Episode 1 Carpe Diem!
The long peace between the surface dwelling nations of the LORD'S ALLIANCE is being disturbed by strange whispers and rumors from below. Under the ground, in the vast complex of tunnels and caverns known as the UNDERDARK, an ancient evil stirs.
From the depths of the world, the DROW, dark elves imbued with unholy magical powers, gather slaves to sacrifice to their horrific spider queen LLOLTH, one of the great demons of the Abyss...
[The camera pans quickly down from the night sky and stops on a flat black triangle shape overlapping an out of focus shiny pattern for one or two seconds... and then SPLASH... a footstep... torchlight... the camera pans up from the puddle in the cobblestone street to chaos... two figures run charging past the camera hotly pursued by two drow wearing leather armor with shortswords and torches. The camera catches a close up of a bird-like face]
Beneath his feathery brow Aranala has large, eerie, black pools for eyes, and they gleam with mischief and excitement
"Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange?"
[The camera pans across to empty space, and then down to show the other's face... a gnome]
The gnome's features are pinched in effort as she strains to keep up with the long legs of the fast running kenku. With tears streaming down her cheeks and a unruly mop of muddy brown hair obscuring her eyes, she yells in between hard breaths,
"Strange or not...huff.. get .. huff.. them ... Huff.. to... Huff.. slow .... Huff... DOWN!!"
[SOUNDTRACK fades in: Hurry FFVII] https://soundcloud.com/triarque/hurry-ffvii-rpg-ambiance-dangeureuse
[There's a thud as a crossbow bolt lands in the wooden pillar of a door by you. You are in a chaotic street full of nightwatch guards, civilians running and screaming, and a legion of drow seeming to close in on every side. The street you are standing in is in a commercial district, with a blacksmith and apothecary on one side and a tavern with large stable on the other side of the street. There's an alleyway behind the inn to the right of the direction you are running, but there are two drow that have their eyes on you coming up quickly behind.]
INITIATIVE ORDER:
Drow: 21 (19+2)
Aranala: 12 (9+3)
Vaxraff: 8 (8+0)
Roll initiative and then tell me how you would like to use your surroundings to get an advantage.
The Drow each take a shot with their hand crossbows, one at each:
7 (3+4) at Aranala
9 (5+4) at Vaxraff... two misses!
They move to close the gap.
Aranala lets the bag of all 1000 ball bearings loose upon the cobblestone street behind them to buy some getaway time, and wants to take the most familiar path to the stables, preferably alleyways, where he feels most able to get away unnoticed. Just before going stealth Aranala hands the Gnome the end of a long thread and says,
"My dearest friend, if you don't mind, I'd like to join you by your side.”
The other end of the long stringy thread is tied to my belt. Aranala takes off stealthily. Stealth roll: 18 (13+5)
Steel bearings scatter across the street. You make for the alley. It's dark and wraps around the back of the inn towards the stables.
Vax, taking the string in one hand while still point with the other, watches the kenku disappear. barely registering his cryptic message.. her voice dies in her throat. She looks at the thread in dismay while her thoughts race in her mind. What am I supposed to do with this?! Maybe he has a plan? Bird brain has a plan... He does... Right? But as her mind races her body continues onward. Gripping the thread tightly she tries to make it to the shop and hopefully inside before the drow can get their filthy hands on her. Her hope, to find something chemical and lethal to drow or make them believe it is.
The drow split up to follow but are slowed by the steel bearings. The one chasing Vax runs to the store, but doesn't quite reach the door on this turn. The one chasing Aranala makes it to the entrance of the alleyway and then speaks a filthy word of the abyss. The alley lights up with a glowing light that looks like northern lights that sticks to every surface.
DEX save 24 (19+5)
Aranala deftly moves aside preventing this gooey light from getting stuck his clothes.
Vax looks around inside the apothecary. The building has a storefront with shelves and a counter at the back, behind the counter there's an open door to what is probably the living space of the owner, through which Vax can see the glow and hear the roar of fire. Roll an Arcana check and I'll tell you what kinds of things you can see on the shelves of the shop.
Vax dashes into the shop, whipping her hair out of her eyes. Not having any offensive spells prepared she scans the shelves for anything in a bottle that looks dangerous. Something preferably that will burn. She also looks for any simple object she can quickly tinker to make it release an odor of burning flesh. Honestly they could have given prior warning before pillaging this town she thinks to herself in half exasperation and half desperation. Arcana 15+5 so.. 20.
In the dim light it’s tough to see what exactly is in each of the vials and pouches on the shelves but you grab see a clear glass jar with a semitransparent liquid in it that could be some kind of flammable oil or ointment. What do you do?
Vax holds the jar in her hand and turns toward the door she came in. As she turns she looks for any other material she can use to tinker in order to make the odor maker...but time is probably not so kind. Vax curses luck and tries to aim at where she thinks the drows head will come in... What should she cast?... Something dangerous sounding.. like uhh.... Dragons venom!! She will yell it in undecommon while she lobs the vial. Hopefully they understand undercommon. Ranged attack roll 14 (14+0). Deception roll 10 (8+2)
The drow rolled 14 for wisdom to detect the deception and wasn’t fooled, and the jar flew past her shattering with a splash on the door, but the fluid soaks her. She steps in the room and laughs, saying,
“I’m going to enjoy giving you to Llolth. Now come easily and maybe I’ll make it quick on you.”
She swings with her short sword. 18+4. A hit. 3+2=5 slashing damage
Very well. Vax grunts in pain as the short sword finds it Mark. In glutteral Dracoian language she retorts with a deep snarl dragon's fire!! as she weaves magic to create a bit fire where the drow is standing. [SPELL CREATE BONFIRE DEX DC13]
The drow rolls 10 (8+2). DC13 so you hit with the bonfire. The oil catches and she is engulfed in flame. She spends the next few rounds rolling in the street trying to put out the fire.
Backing away from the burning drow vax's red eyes flash in hatred for the drow and her filthy god, while trying her best to keep the bonfire going wherever the drow tries to roll. Vax waves a hand down palm down whispering "dragon's..." and brings it back up, finishing the encantation "fire!" fingers curled fiercly facing upwards as her red eyes flash and her hair blows with magical wind. The fire starts as a spark and a roar as it comes to life before settling into a patient crackling.
This time the flames burst from within and come streaming out her mouth. She lies still, smoke rising in the gentle rain.
Vax roll a perception check.
4+3 a whopping 7.
Okay. While you’ve been focused on the drow, you didn’t notice the flames inside the house growing behind you. The room is now an inferno, and your first hint is that the heat behind you is hotter than the heat of your flame on the door frame.
Vax's danger senses are tingling or it's the ends of her hair on the back of her head that are on fire...
(Meanwhile) Aranala captures the sounds of the drow spell and keeps it perfectly memorized in his repertoire for later. Finding himself still enveloped in darkness while the rest of the alley lights up, he Ducks (quack) into the stables making a beeline for the best looking shadows to hide in...and tosses his thread in a misleading direction away from his hiding place. I want to mislead the drow, and while stealthed, hold a short sword attack until they come within 5 feet.
The drow comes hot on your heels. Attack and roll with advantage.
15 + 5 = 20 to hit
That’s a hit! roll 1d6+3 plus sneak attack 1d6
5+3+6 = 14 damage
One shot. The short sword goes in through the throat and straight into the skull carried on by the force of the drow’s running momentum. It’s about this moment that you hear the screaming in the street of a drow burning to death... sounds like Vax is doing alright as well.
Holy @#%&
The body slumps off your sword into a pile in the mud and straw with a fleshy slurpy sound. Do you head out to the street to check on Vax?
No I seek a mount.
The stable is empty. Except for that drow corpse. Anything living had the good sense to run long ago.
Okay...might be a long shot, but it's time to look for anything useful on the body. Aranala takes their torchlight. In addition to weaponry, gadgets, and gold...are there any signed messages, symbols of lords or patrons, etc. that will give any clue what or why they are here for??
Their armor is emblazoned with a spider in a web. The drow is traveling light and doesn’t have much else than the weapons they were carrying and some manacles.
I loot their person and look out across the street to the apothecary through the nearest opening in the stable.
You grab the manacles and then look out across the paddocks just in time to see Vax give the finishing blow. But from your vantage point, something else stands out... the entire shop is engulfed in flames and looks ready to collapse and all you can make out of Vax is a silhouette in the doorway. But it's not just the apothecary, there's something else... roll a perception check.
Aran gets a 17.
It’s not so much what you notice as what you don’t. The sounds of chaos from the raiding of the town seem to have grown softer. The alarm bell at the garrison has stopped and the only sound in the air is that of burning buildings. As the pounding in your ears from adrenaline subsides, it is the silence that bothers you.
In the ominous silence Aranala calls (caws) once at Vax and breathes out through his beak holes while readying his shortbow. He moves steadily to the stable exit to take a better look up and down the town. Can he find the quickest and safest possible exits?
Aranala, as you look out at the scene on the street looking for safety, you suddenly feel a sharp pain from behind and then a warm numbing sensasion spread through your body. Your vision fades to black as you hear a voice from far away.
My name is Shoor Vandree.... you will pay for his death many times over. I will see to that.
The last thing you remember is a black face framed with white hair and black orbs of eyes.
Vax, smelling the ends of her hair starting to singe, and her body screaming in her brain to get away from the angry heat behind her reflexively staggers out of the shop while half turning to see the blaze.
* Oh no!.. no, no, no...* She looks at the blaze in dread. it's jail time for sure. Oh I pray, Luck, nobody be inside. If the town survives the raid.. The singular caw in the darkness behind her, smashes reality back into focus. * The raid!!*.
Shoor Vandree
Snapping back to the reality at hand, her offhand tightens on the end of thread she was given, she quickly glances up and down the road to ascertain the status of the town…
Vax turns around again and ends up looking into the eyes of a powerful drow standing over you with a wand pointed directly into your eyes.
"My name is Shoor Vandree. The pain you inflicted on this one will not compare to your suffering."
*Cruel laughter*
[FADE TO BLACK… white text on a black background]
[SOUNDTRACK: FFVII Trail of Blood] https://soundcloud.com/final-fantasy-7-ost/36-trail-of-blood
How long you've been unconscious is hard to tell, but as you think back you catch fleeting memories of the sound of rushing water coming and going, flashes of light from fluorescent mushrooms, bumping on the back of a large beast with rough scaly lizard skin against your body, but mostly moving ever downwards into darkness, and... owww... what a headache you have. Best not to try too hard to remember things now.
You open your eyes slowly to see darkness. You are naked and lying on a cold stone floor. Your ankles and wrists are sore, and weighed down by heavy metal shackles. Sitting up you see you are not alone. Sharing your cell are people that look like they may have come from the same town where you were attacked, and others as well. Both men and women share the cell, peoples of various races chained together by metal collars in groups of four, all left with bare skin completely exposed to the cold dampness. The cell reeks of untreated waste, the sour sweatiness of unwashed bodies and fear. You are connected to your companion, as well as a male orc and female dwarf. The orc lies unconscious with bruises on his face and whip lashes across his torso. The dwarf sits silently sobbing with her knees pulled close to her chest.
Aranala stares Vaxraff in her face.
“We all know interspecies romance is weird.”
At first confusion and a sickening sense starting to form in her belly as the stories told to her by her grandparents start to creep in.. Vax looks directly at Aranala and takes in his message. The sickening feeling disappears as she lets out a loud but short laugh.
"Inappropriate but timely... "
Vax feeling a bit better further looks around the room itself to see what entries/exits there are, light sources, as she tries to stand.
"I would like to say we have been in worse situations..."
As a native to the Underdark, your darkvision kicks in. There’s no apparent light sources in the cell, but not far from you is the barred entrance. The barred gate is embedded in the rough stone of a natural opening, and appears to be engraved with obscene runes. You stand, a little wobbly, but you seem to have recovered from the sword wound you took in the town.
Vax turns back to Aran saying
"There is a door, but it's magical, in a very bad way" ....
She begins to inspect the bindings binding them all together while she continues,
"I can see fine... How about you, birdie?"
(Purposely accenting the term "Birdy".. to indicate no real names yet...)
The bindings are made of some kind of metal. As an artificer you would say iron or iron alloy? Both the chains and the bindings themselves look unmagical and, while too much for your strength, poorly enough made that with a stronger person or with enough leverage perhaps they could be bent or even broken.
Aranala blinks in the darkness, and sits still, continuing to face Vaxraff's voice. He uses her words, repeating parts of her sentences in the exact same tone and volume in her voice instead of his usual whimsical speech.
"How about..birdy? See...very bad. Very bad way."
The dwarf beside you Aranala, shudders at your voice, and shuffles, still legs tucked to her chest, a little further into the wall.
In a very instinctual and habitual manner, Aranala uses mimicry to play back a record of the dwarf's sobbing. It's clarity is accurate enough to replay the dwarf and all of the sounds that make up the background...rustling of chains, ramblings and whispers of the other captives, and the atmospheric winds...playing on a 10 second loop. He imits this midi loop a few times, his dark pools for eyes staring ahead into darkness.
He attempts to feel around, whatever is nearby he grabs.
She kicks at your hand and gaining some courage says, “Stay away you. What are you?”
Aranala uses his usual way of talk learned from his first human bond, raised in the alley and sewers alongside a homeless man who went by the name Tim Button.
"I think we are all somewhat screwy, every... Single... One of us..."
He backs off the dwarf, sensing her vitality. And attempts to grab around in another direction.
" that's so weird. We don't talk about that."
Vax watches the exchange with some bemusement recalling her own first encounter with Aran. She faces the dwarf directly directing her voice at her.
"Sorry deary, being kenku it's his way of trying to communicate. Otherwise he is pretty harmless. How is your sight in here? Can you see?"
Vax looks around to see if she can identify anyone else that may also have dark vision.
There are other monstrous humanoids in here that should be able to see in the dark, including the orc also chained to you but still not awake.
“I can see fine. I’m just not sure what I’m seeing. Who are you? I guess you got caught too…”
Vax motions to herself,
"I'm ... Lilly."
She then motions to Aran.
" He's Birdy. A nice birdy to his friends. Not so nice to not-friends."
Biting her lower lip she looks around the cell again and down at the orc.
"It seems we were all caught. What's his story, do you know?"
Aranala continues rambling apparently nonsensical things to anyone who doesn't understand a kenku's way to communicate.
" they sit and stare and stare and sit, until they're hypnotized by it. Oh yes, we know it keeps them still. They don't climb out the window sill... But did you ever stop to think, to wonder just exactly what..."
he keeps searching, feeling out for the supposeddly slumbering orc...
" we'll answer this by asking you, what did the darling ones used to do?"
He turns to face the dwarf pointedly during the last sentence.
Vax turns her head back to Aran, tilting her head and smiles amiably while considering where he heard those lines from.
She shudders and says
“I’m just glad that monster is finally asleep. The drow must have chained us together for sport. He hates dwarves and doesn’t stop hurting me whenever they’re not looking. I’m Eldreth…. Eldreth Feldrun. Did they get you here in the darkness too?”
Vax frowns deeply at the orc... She thinks to herself.. a liability... And then back to the dwarf pensively.. * ..or this one too.*
Aranala hears this about 'that monster' and gathers any chains nearby...
"And treasure aisles, and Distant Shores where Smugglers rode with muffled oars."
...still seeking the lying orc figure in the dark...
She looks to Vax,
“… I’m sorry… I know this is a little sudden but time may be short and there’s no way to tell who I can trust. Please listen carefully. There’s something important… If … If I don’t make it out of here I need you to promise me something… My father needs to know… what we found…”
“My father is Bruenor Battlehamer of Gauntlgrym. Rumors from the Underdark about something stirring in the darkness had reached us. I accompanied Sir Hammerstone in a party to investigate and find some truth to the rumors. Many days passed of us traveling into darkness. And then we found it… Gibbering insanity… Chaotic demons… Multiple portals connecting the Abyss to this realm… I was the only survivor… … … The world must know if there’s to be any hope of stopping it…”
Vax frowns deeply again thinking back on her past in the Underdark. [Religion roll to learn something about this: 15 (12+3)]
{You know that the Abyss is the home plane of the demons, chaotic fiends that seek only to uncreate the created order. You also know that the drow worship a spider-demon goddess they call Llolth. Her talk of portals and so on… this is news to you.}
Vax's mind shudders at the thought of the demon spider goddess of the drow...so many of her own people disappear frequently in the Underdark. To think that it may be related to Llolth and now demon portals also. She turns away from the dwarf, doing her best to suppress a shudder of fear that races down her spine into the pit of her stomach.
Taking a deep breath Vax rallies her courage, turning back to the dwarf she takes a defiant pose.
"I have escaped the underdark once before, and I aim to do it again. If you have decided to die we will deliver your message, but maybe it's best if you do it yourself."
She waves her hand in the air whispering "hand arcanus" casting a mage hand and balling it up into a fist.
Before the mage hand can form, the runes on the gate flash and your magic fizzles. The orc groans, stretches, scratches and then stands up. He turns to pee on the wall but the angle ensures some splashes on Eldreth, who takes it quietly.
"That's right quiet little log. I pass bigger loaves than you when I fart... what do we have here... new friends..."
He turns to face you, the stream of filth now spraying directly across her and onto Aran's feet.
As soon as the spell Fizzles and the gate flashes he lunges at the orc and aims his beak for the orc’s eye. [Roll with disadvantage 16/19+1 = 17: hit for 1 damage]
INITIATIVE ORDER
Vax 16
Ront 12
Aran 11
Eldreth 8
Vax being only 3 feet tall circles to the orcs side jabbing at his softies, but doesn’t connect.
Ront also swings with disadvantage missing Aran wide and roaring, "I'll make you into a pie!"
Aran strikes for his eye again but misses.
Eldreth punches and connects in the kidney. Ront spits, "that all you got runt!" A light appears outside the cell and starts moving closer.
Vax quickly spits out "a guard. If they come in here we kill it" and jabs at the other kidney. [HIT for 1]
He gnashes his teeth and kicks at you. (8/19) 8. A miss.
Aran attempts to knock him prone using Vax to trip him up but fails.
The footsteps draw closer and light fills the cage from three floating glowing orbs. Eldreth recoils in fear and goes against the wall. The hairy face of a giant blue ape-like creature appears at the door, accompanied by Shoor Vandree walking further back with a fourth glowing orb floating over his shoulder. "Get me some useful flesh this time, dimwit!" A key squeals in the lock, the door thunks open and the quaggoth steps into the entrance.
The quaggoth grabs the chain near the neck of Ront and pulls the four of you out of the cell. Shoor Vandree sees you and remembers and says, "You there. Finally awake I see. Welcome to Velkynvelve. Let's put that well rested body to work shall we. Here, work will make you free."
Outside the cell you can see now you are on a roughly hewn stone ridge at the top of a bottomless dark pit. The ledge you are on has two other caves besides the one you came from and is linked by bridges to doors into stalagmites in the ceiling of the cave and another nearby ledge. The other ledge has a pool of water fed by a waterfall and a crude crane-like elevator with a platform suspended by ropes leading below. Also around the ceiling of the cave you can see many webs with ominously large forms crawling through them. Shoor leads the way and the quaggoth follows, pulling the chain. Ront and Eldreth allow themselves to be led.
Once outside, you are led past the waterfall. With the noise and some bodies as cover, Shoor and the quaggoth fail to notice Vax casting a spell.
Vax lifts her hand to her face while whispering the incantation for mage hand "hand archanist". The mage hand materializes as a golem's hand. It appears as if it would be made of white stone with gold filigree, gems encrust each knuckle and inset in the palm is a large faintly pulsing Ruby. As the hand moves the pulsing increases with its speed. Once it forms she moves it into the cell as she watches the runes on the gate.
As it passes between the runes they flash and the hand disappears.
In the better light you can see Eldreth and Ront. This is how you imagine they would look if you met under better circumstances.
Vax watches the back of Aran, his head going back and forth scanning the ledge they are walking upon. As she watches Aran her brow creases as she tilts her head slightly, causing her bangs to shift obscuring one eye. She takes hold of the chain connecting them together ana pulls lightly, twice, to try to get his attention, but as she does one of her eye brow shoots up, her sing unobscured eye gleaming with curiosity on what mischief he has in mind.
Aranala, instead, brought out of his eagerness to set the score straight with the orc, keeps an eye out for any recognizeable resources that they can hold, and thinks of what kind of activity this place produces, and any potential ways of getting or sending messages to any individuals or organizations that could help. His dark-feathered head keeps tilting as he strains his senses. But his pace normalizes to follow the chain lead at a calmer pace, rough talons hardened from normal wear and tear of the outdoors and slum life carrying him along.
The quaggoth drags you to a central platform a little wider than the rest of the base. Waiting for you there is a tall proud woman dressed in jet black armor and holding a grotesque spider emblem in one hand and a whip with three tentacles that seem to move on their own in the other. She grins wickedly at Shoor.
"If you've failed me again, you'll taste my whip. Like you did last night. I'm starting to think you fail on purpose."
She cackles, winks and kisses the air at him (Shoor grimaces and nods his head in submission mouthing "milady") and then turns to the quaggoth. Looking at Eldreth, still dripping with Ront's piss, she says,
"Put them to work. I think latrine duty is in order."
The quaggoth starts to pull you towards a nearby cave, through the grate of which you can see several bunks, some occupied by what must be lower ranking grunts.
Vax watches the exchange, noting Shoor's aquiesence. Though the mention of latrine duty sound unpleasant, it can't be bad as cleaning up the pig pens on the farm she worked at during her first excursion to the surface... hopefully. As she is pulled along by the quaggoth, she tilts her head, looking sidelong at Shoor, she tries to put on some brovado as she wonders outloud in undercommon.. loud enough for shoor but not so much for the lady
"Whatever could poor shoor have done to earn the fine ladie's ire?"
She's already gone onto do something else and he also turns to leave you in the hands of the quaggoth. He smiles and stares into the distance for a moment brushing away his hair so you can see the deep bite marks in his ear, neck and the side of his face and says in a low, startstruck voice, "I'm her favorite toy..." before walking away to take care of some other duty.
The quaggoth pulls you into the barracks and then stands at the door and points under the bunks and says "BEDPANS ... DONT SPILL"
Vax shudders at the thought before turning her attention to the barracks. She looks at location of the bedpans then around the room for any other runes, tools, occupants while asking "and where do you want them?"
The quaggoth points to a large wheel barrow that he pulls into the room from standing on the wall outside the door. Ront starts to lead the way towards the bunks. It seems like he’s done this before, and he’s not so tough now as he was when there were no drow around.
The drow in the barracks ignore your arrival. Some resting in meditation, one polishing boots, another doing pushups.
Aranala shifts his clawed hands and taloned feet...the shackles were a nuisance and uncomfortable to walk in. He peers about the room, as he follow suit with the rest of the gang in their forced labor, keeping his eyes peeled for anything he can swipe.
This being a location they allow the slaves to maintain, there are no large obvious weapons laying around. Can you roll investigation for me?
Aranala 11: Aranala... as you reach for a bedpan, you catch sigth of a black cloth bag slightly sticking out from between the frame and the mattress of the bed you are servicing. The drow on the bed is in a meditative sleep. If you want to try to grab it roll sleight of hand.
At the risk of being caught, Aranala simultaneously slides the bag out with one hand as he lifts the bedpan, attempting to conceal it underneath with his hand covering the bottom.
Fortunately, the drow is deep in their meditation and doesn't notice.
Vax 24: Vax, near the bedpost of the bedpan you reach for there is a broken metal bar about 7 inches long with a pointy end.
Vax will attempt to take the shiv along with the bedpan. Don't suppose it is small enough to fit inside the pan?
It will fit inside the pan if you want to hide it in the nightsoil
That's a very kind way to saying dark elf poo.
So you put the shiv in the bedpan. the four of you now head back to where the quaggoth is waiting with the wheelbarrow... this is your third trip through the barracks collecting the waste, and there's already quite a lot in the barrow. This being the last "dump" it's going to be time to take the wheel barrow to "unload"... roll perception.
Aranala 7, Vax 15
Aranala you don't notice whether Eldreth or Ront got any contraband, but Vax thinks there's Ront is moving kind of stiffly... there's a good chance he might have something. Next up to the wheel barrow is Aranala. How do you try to hide the cloth bag before or as you dump the bedpan in the wheelbarrow?
As Aranala approaches the wheelbarrow to pour the bedpan contents in, he makes a face that resembles a rubber chicken saying "Do you know...what...is made of?" He puts the bedpan up to the quaggoth's face to obscure its view as he quickly moves the black pouch into his armpit with one hand. Deception: 24
The quaggoth doesn’t flinch, but he does blink. He doesn’t react as you turn away to make room for Vax to approach the wheelbarrow.
Aranala: "there is something about very cold weather that gives one an enormous appetite."
Thinking now or never, that it might be crucial for his next move... as he walks back, the pouch comes into his hands. He spares a final glance back to see if Vaxraff is walking up to the wheelbarrel, and then looks inside the pouch.
It's a small pouch of cosmetic supplies including a small pair of tweezers, a small nail file, narrow bladed scissors, hair pins... it's not an officially branded theives' toolkit, but it should do the trick. Add Thieves' Tools to your equipment Aranala... and put that away again quickly before someone notices!
Yes! Oh yeah, I quickly close it and put that pouch back under my armpit.
Hmm... 3ft gnome trying to palm/hide something almost 1/3 her size. She dumps the pan in the wheel barrow with the shiv inside.
Okay, so squelch... in goes the last load. "NOW YOU PUSH" Since you were the last to put it in, the quaggoth wants Vax to push the cart sized for an elf. He seems to take cruel enjoyment of watching the undersized gnome struggle with the wheelbarrow and will block any attempts to help from Aranala. He points out of the barracks door and to the right.
Nearby drow laugh cruelly as you pass. The quaggoth directs you towards the waterfall. There's a narrow passage behind that leads to a large heap of filth and two shovels.
"DUMP IT ON THE PILE AND THEN SHOVEL INTO WATER"
Vax hesitates at the pile and looks at the quaggoth. She tilts her head to the side and asks with a glint "are you sure? Dump the poo on the pile and shovels into the water?"
As you stand near the heap and ask your question... the heap starts to move. Two long giant insects with many legs and sharp pincers come out. The quaggoth seems amused. Roll initiative.
INITIATIVE ORDER: Eldreth Aranala Vax Centipedes Ront
Eldreth grabs one of the shovels and gives a swing, but it goes wide.
Aranala groans in detest at the onslaught of the poo worms, but quickly follows suit to protect his gnomish friend. he begins stomping on one of them. A hit for 1 damage.
What’s the wheel barrow made of?
Zurkhwood… a kind of woody underdark fungi that can be made into flour.
That sounds flammable to me. Vax will attempt to tip it onto one of the bugs or close at least. ATHLETICS 1
So you already have trouble pushing it, but as you lift the handles to try and dump it, the wheel barrow falls on its side spilling its contents wide of the centipedes.
Vax moves back away from the wheel barrow.
The first centipede strikes at Eldreth and hits. The fangs dig deep into her side and a pulse of poisonous ichor is pumped into her. She's still up and ready to fight.
The second centipede tries to bite at Aranala but is caught under its foot.
Ront's turn. He laughs and says, "the dung heap is a fitting ending place for my little log." He jabs at Eldreth in the back with an arrowhead. She's hurt really bad now but not completely down.
Top of the turn order, Eldreth turns and swings with the shovel at Ront and connects on his arm with a giant "gong" sound.
Aranala grabs the shiv from the poo and stabs the one he hit before connecting in the mouth. The tail end squirms hard left and right twice and then goes still.
Vax's eyes go wide in horror as she sees Ront's underhanded attack. She curses Luck pouring her anger and hatred on ront with a cry and a bonefire on ront. "burn in the depths of the abyss!!"
Ront dodges the flames and growls, "You're next floater." The centipede lashes out and gets a 3 going wide. Ront swings for Eldreth again, but this time she deflects with the shovel and then she connects on his head. He's starting to look worse for the wear.
Aran blinks at the welcomed presence of firelight and dives at the last centipede, hoping this attack is enough to stop it.
Aranala misses as it coils and turns.
Vax maintains the bonfire. Ront is burnt badly.
The centipede takes a swing at Aranala but Aranala is too swift.
Do a barrel roll
Ront roars and charges Vax: attack roll 13 (9+4). Ront stabs and connects with a deep gash in your chest for 7 piercing damage.
Ouch! Vax is very hurt. She cries out in pain as the arrowhead bites deep.
Oh no he didn't touch my fren!
Eldreth doesn't want to go through the fire after Ront so she swings at the centipede with the shovel but misses.
All of the hate for Ront builds up in that moment as aran looks up from the ground. In a mad dash the kenku leaps at the orc and attempts to grab him with the chain, but the orc is too strong.
Vax takes a step back as she watches the grappling happen. She stretches out her hand imagining the orc as a lump of coal and attempts to ignite him again. "Flames swallow you and your dishonorable ancestors!'
The orc tries to dodge but fails miserably (DEX SAVE 2-2 = 0) 5 points of damage
The orc screams a primal roar... that no one hears because of the waterfall but the few of you in the cave, and drops dead on the ground.
The centipede turns back to Eldreth and lunges at her throat. 14+4 = 18 ... ouch. The pincers close around her neck and squeeze. A sickly spray of crimson pours down her body as she collapses and goes still.
Aranala turns and lunges. WOOOSH… Nothing but air.
Vax steadies herself as Aranala keeps it's attention. Clutching her chest with one hand she grits her teeth against the surge of pain from the effort. "You also, to the abyss you flith. Burn!"
The centipede rolls a dex save vs. DC13 (1+2=3) Roll for roasting flame damage. 7 damage… that kills it.
Aranala swings wide but glint of the shiv keeps the centipedes transfixed on the kenku. As it begins to recoil, tightening it's body to stirke a small spark forms before it's eyes. It hesitates for a moment before a ball of fire explodes out of the spark. The black shell of it's exoskeleton blackamd bubble. It's wounds sputter as the blood in it's head rises to a boil. For a moment it is frozen and the. It's head explodes, the body falling limp upon the refuse pile, flames still licking at its corpse sizzling.
The quaggoth laughs and says. "THANK YOU FOR THE FUN. I'LL LET YOU KEEP YOUR LITTLE BLADE, BEAKY BOY, AND YOUR MAGIC SECRETS ARE SAFE WITH ME TOADSTOOL. AS LONG AS YOU BOTH COME QUIETLY YOU CAN LIVE ANOTHER DAY. NOW NOD AND PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN." He bares his teeth at you in an expression you're not entirely sure is a threat or a sign of peace.
Vax clutches her chest, she staggers to Eldreth and collapses to her knees next to her. Through tears she passes her hand through eldreths hair. "Shoor already knows my magic well. I already burned a drow from the inside out before his eyes." She turns and regards to quaggoth. " Do you honestly think a drow slaver mage doesn't know about your fun trap?"
PERHAPS SO. IT MATTERS NOT.
After seeing you relax from a fighting posture, the quaggoth makes a strange gargling sound.
Out of the pool, a gray slimy film rises, and then in a motion too quick to see easily, an appendage-like column of goo jabs at the chain connecting Aranala to Eldreth. A hiss sounds and the metal melts away. Then a large blob of the gray surface lobs out of the pool like a small wave and washes away shovel, wheelbarrow, centipede corpses, and the bodies of Ront and Eldreth in one quick flooding action before subsiding in the surface of the water.
COME NOW. TIME TO GET YOU BACK. TOMORROW WE CAN WORK AGAIN.
He offers you each a small piece of bread.
Vax takes the bread silently and slowly gets to her feet. "I don't suppose I can see a surgeon to close up this wound before it's back to the filth pit?"
SLEEP WILL HEAL YOU.
The quaggoth takes you back to the cell and chains you to two other prisoners; a deep gnome male and a fish-like humanoid who are already sleeping. As you collapse from exhaustion, you wonder if you will ever escape.
[FADE TO BLACK]
Take a long rest to recover, and then level up to level 2.
Your sleep in the slave pen is troubled and fitful, filled with strange dreams and disturbing images. Dark shadows seem to move and reach out toward you as you wander lost through endless mazes of tunnels. Oily tentacles slide to brush up against you, while a great buzzing and howling rises in the distance. Suppurating wounds burst open in clouds of spores or crawling masses of maggots or insects. You both wake in a cold sweat from these nightmares feeling as though something is out there in the dark depths — something far worse than the drow.
"GRRRRGGGLLLLGLGLGLGL... You lack balance. That is why your sleep is disturbed. Shuushar the Awakened recommends meditation."
The other dark gnome male chained to you grins at Vax and introduces himself, "I am Jimjar, and some say I'm the luckiest guy that ever lived." *winks* "Stay with me and we'll be out of here in no time."
(You are chained in this order: ARAN VAX JIMJAR SHUUSHAR)
Vax considers Jimjar for a few moments as she recovers from her dream. She shakes her head back and forth, her hair tosseling around like a muddy brown mop. She looks at Jimjar again and busts out laughing. "If that was a pick-up line, you picked the worst venue, but if you mean you have a plan of escape then I will forgive you."
Jimjar: “I'll bet you 5 gold we'll be out of here in less than three days. How about it. Nothing to lose?”
Shuushar: "Material things, like this world, are mere illusions."
Aranala groggily lifts his birdbeak head. He squints down the chain at Vax and the other two. "Not a speck of light is showing, so the danger must be growing..."
Jimjar: "So we have a deal then. Now who's this then?"
Vax's eye brow shoots up as she listens to Jimjar and Shuushar.. she opens her mouth to speak but turns to Aran.. "you too Birdy?" She bites her lower lip and whispers to herself mostly" Something is crawling around the belly of the dark."
She smiles at Jimjar and sticks out her dirt covered hand "I will bet the illusionary gold if it get us out of drow town. My sightless friend is Birdy. I'm Lilly."
Out of a different voice, comes another reply to Jimjar's inquiry "I'm her favorite toy."
Vax visibly shivers at the thought, but watches Jimjar to see his reaction.
Shuushar: "Toys and games. Also vanity."
Jimjar: "Well Birdy, Lilly, we got to make the best of this situation. I have a feeling we are going to have some good things happen to us today. How about you Birdy, are you the gambling type?"
Birdy directs his quirky answer towards the voices of the two new cohorts. " ... and because we are all a great deal luckier than we realize... We usually get what we want## or near enough."
Vax waggles her hand at Jimjar. "Are we going to shake on it or what?"
Jimjar spits in his hand and stretches it out to you.
Shuushar: "Desire is ..."
Jimjar cutting him off: "Looks like it's show time."
The floating orbs of light approach the cell again. This time it's the quaggoth alone who opens the cell and points at Aranala.
YOU FOUR, COME WITH ME.
Vax grabs Jimjars hand and gives it a firm shake. "Luck be lucky this time around."
The black feathered Kenku gazes around at the others in the orbs' lights, then glares at Quaggoth with half lids before standing and leading the way.
Aranala takes the lead and follows the quaggoth out of the cell. You are led to the main central platform and into a room beside the barracks you were in yesterday. It's a mess hall... you pass by the mostly empty tables and are led into the kitchen at the back.
TODAY, FISH SOUP.
The quaggoth stares into the eyes of Shuushar, who gulps, flaps his gills and turns to look for ingredients.
Vax looks at the quaggoth and then around the kitchen. She thinks to herself he can't be serious. It's like he wants us to poison the drow. Vax will help Shuushar with the search. "Anyone bring the recipe?"
There's a barrel in one corner of the kitchen with a variety of strange pale colored fish with spikey shapes and eye tentacles like a deep sea lantern fish meets beholder monster. A few shelves are stocked with various kinds of underdark fungi and lichen. There's a butcher's block with some knives, an oven for baking, and a large cauldron on a fire. Near a washtub is a stack of clean dishes and utensils made from zurkhwood. An open counter connects the kitchen to the mess hall. The quaggoth stands watch.
Aranala looks around for an apron of some kind.
Quaggoth: ONE CUTS FISH, ONE CUTS FUNGI, ONE MAKES BREAD, ONE TENDS FIRES. NO KNIVES LEAVE HERE.
Shuushar: Shuushar is awakened. All living creatures contain life force. I am sworn to never harm them. Please let the woke one do the bread.
Jimjar: Birdy here looks good with a knife, but I know a trick or two myself. What's it gonna be beaky? You pick fish or fungi and I'll bet today's scrap of bread that I can finish chopping faster than you.
Aranala goes over to the fungi. Turning the chopping utensil in his hand, he meets Jimjar's gaze and nods.
Shuushar heads over to the counter and starts making dough from powdered zurkhwood.
Jimjar grins. "May the best gnome win then" He heads to the bucket/chopping block and flips out a knife and twirls it. "Give us the go signal Lilly"
Vax gives the signal…
ROUND 1: Jimjar 18 - Aranala 25
ROUND 2: Jimjar 19 (37) - Aranala 24 (49)
ROUND 3: Jimjar 17 (54) - Aranala 13 (62)
ROUND 4: Jimjar 10 (64) - Aranala 11 (73)
ROUND 5: Jimjar 5 (69) - Aranala 14 (87)
Final Score Aranala 87 to Jimjar 73...
Jimjar: "You're good with a knife. That's lucky for me, because we're going to need those skills soon. I know it. I'm a man of my word... tonight you'll be feasting on a double portion of bread. Hahah!"
Aranala feels the pride puffing up his feathery chest. He never likes to lose, but he does not yet trust these new cohorts. He eyes Jimjar up and down, flips the knife in his hand and stabs it into a piece of fungi.
Jimjar: "And now you Lilly. I have a little secret stashed away in the cell. I'd be willing to wager it, if you can spit in the soup and then hide it so no one's the wiser. Of course if you fail we might all be punished, but this place is so dreary... we could use the fun. What do you say? Do you feel lucky?"
Vax wrinkles her nose at Jimjar as she tends the fire"I may hate the drow but I'm not gross." She then looks at Jimjar and in a very serious tone she adds "also I may worship Luck, but it's not nice to test her so often, less you want bad luck."
Jimjar: "Well, I feel lucky. I'm the luckiest guy you'll ever meet. I'll bet on you." *HOOORRRRK *
Quaggoth: THIS SHOULD BE GOOD. I LOOK FORWARD TO PUNISHING YOU WHEN THE MASTERS TASTE IT.
Jimjar: "Of course it only counts if they actually eat it. You need to make sure it's edible too... "
Vax recoils from the pot and without thinking she strikes him across the face with an open palm. Fury burning in her eyes. "How dare you waste food. Food is precious no matter who is eating it. You may never have been starving before, eating nothing but pig slop just to stay alive. Do think food is in great supply down in the dark? "
Jimjar: "Aww well, I was looking forward to surprising you with the prize. I guess it's up to me to save the soup."
Aranala examines the strange kinds of fish and guts. He will help determine how much to use, as he puts a taste of bitter morsel in his mouth.
Vax will go calm down in a corner.
He get through the steps of cooking, and then Shuushar comes over to take a look...
As Shuushar comes over, Aran holds a sea lantern up to him by one of its tentacle eye stalks and squacks loudly to deter him from getting close to the cooking pot. "You look like you wanted that one, sonny."
The meal is ready, it appears without a hitch.
Quaggoth: OTHERS WILL CLEAN. BACK TO YOUR CELL.
Vax moves toward the exit with her eyes down cast.
You get back in the cell. The Quaggoth grins a little too widely... you're not sure whether all those teeth are hoping you get away with doing something back to the drow or hoping he gets to torture you when they find out.
Jimjar is a man of his word. He gives Aran his piece of bread before setting down.
"You earned it"
Vax turns to Jimjar with her eyes still downcast and says flatly "sorry" before trying to get some sleep.
Aranala scarfs his bread, both pieces, and then slowly crawls about the room. He is searching for Jimjar's hiding place. INVESTIGATION 1
As you fumble around, the already snoring Jimjar, snorts and rolls over... Seems to wake and then is asleep.
Aranala grumbles and goes back to rest near Vaxraff. He checks his items, the shiv and black bag, then sets to work on his shackles. Using thieves tools he figures out the trick to opening them. He caws quietly and nudges Vax. After showing her his hands, he closes the shackles again. (They close without locking)
Vax will brush her bangs aside opening one sleepy eye and regard Aranala... "Hmm?" She grins at Aran and says in a hushed voice. "Don't forget how to do that trick later."(then Aranala unlocks her hands, his feet, her feet, his neck, her neck, then puts them back on all closed but unlocked.)
The last thing before curling up and drifting off to sleep is Eldreth Feldrun's words, which Aranala will say each night as a mantra, "many days passed of us traveling Into Darkness. And then we found it... the world must know if there's to be any hope of stopping it..."
You both pass into fitful dreams... It starts as complete darkness (think Stranger Things). Then there's a sound rushing. A wild, chattering, gibberring madness. Unnatural forms swoop by and suddenly you are one with them, soaring. Sounds of flapping, snapping, creaking, screaming, flailing... Tentacles and melting... in front of you a portal... you pass through it and then another sound. roaring, dripping... shapes.... pointy, hanging, swirling, skittering... dark skinned elves... a scream... an alarm... a twanging of a cross bow... pain ... elves on a shelf... your sisters and brothers also close in.... swoooop.... now one is in your mouth... you enjoy the crushing sensation as you break its back in your beak... but then bright spots... a spear jabbing in your eyes... in your head... it hurts... its hurts... let the chaos come.... ahead of you bars... no strength to turn... a crash...
[Both take a long rest if you need it and Aranala gets 4 temp hp after waking from the bread he won]
Vax and Aranala awake ... Jimjar is pulling on the chain connecting your necks. "I told you I'm lucky... look" Other prisoners have already left the cell the tentacles demon smashed into the gate and opened the door ... hanging out of its beak is a crushed drow... outside are the sounds of maniacal gibbering and drow fighting off a multitude of demons.
Jimjar: "Let's go!"
Shuushar: "Dying is merely another state of glglglglg ..." he chokes as Jimjar pulls towards the door
Aranala's hands shoot up to his face in a panicky reaction, feeling his eyes, then his beak. For a few seconds the kenku is trapped in the dream.
Vax wakes and takes in the scene. Her skin crawls at the sight of the tentacled demon, the drow a minor detail, she struggles to her feet. "This far up, already? I thought we had... I don't know... This bad. This is really baaaad." She sheds her chains.
Jimjar runs pulling Shuushar along by the neck and pulls a drow spear out of the eye socket of the demon letting ichor pour out onto the ground.
Jimjar: Let's get out of here. Grab this guys' stuff and lets get to the elevator!
Vax searches the body of the drow for anything useful while shouting to Jimjar. "How about you guys ditch the chains first. It's going to get in the way."
Shuushar: "Yes... I have never been fond of any kind of bond. Mortal or otherwise"
The crushed drow has a short crossbow with 24 bolts and a rapier.
Aranala comes to his senses, shedding his chains along with the remnants of that dream. They're in the real nightmare now, so he takes Jimjar's advice and loots the drow. He holds them up for Vax to choose.
Vax will grab the light crossbow saying, "buy me a few seconds" Using the infused neck chain that was around her neck she will infuse the crossbow, then infuse the rapier.
Aranala unlocks Jimjar and Shuushar.
Vax takes the neck chain in one hand and the crossbow in the other. She closes her eyes a s starts to whisper. Her cadence is at first slow as a mystical wind surrounds her. Her cadence increases as the neck chain glows, drops of magic coming to the surface and then peeling off. Likes threads of red glowing gossamer they spindle away from one on to the other, etching themselves into the crossbow like inlaid gold filigree before cooling and then disappearing. She repeats the action with the poo shiv and rapier. She looks at Aran after finishing the rapier. Handing it to him she says "If I had my Goldsmith's tools I could do a better job, but this will have to do."
Outside strange sounds echo and reverberate. Strange heads gibbering on bat-like wings swoop in to attack you. Roll initiative.
INITIATIVE ORDER:
VAX > Vargouilles > ARANALA > JIMJAR
Vax carefully lines up and shoots at the nearest flying head with the crossbow: 14 to hit, hits, 1+1 = 2 damage
The flying heads swoop in to bite... one catches Shuushar with a deep crunch. The other flies at Vax and bites in... 14 to hit, 3 piercing damage and 3 poison damage (total 6 damage)
Schnick schnack Aranala slices at the one near Vax. (23 to hit and 1+4+1=6 dmg) Jabbing at the flapping gibbering face, the rapier strikes deep and leaves the skin on one side hanging below the chin revealing the skull around the eye and chattering jawbone.
Jimjar skewers the one on shuushar and the head for a moment looks like a strange scarecrow before pulling free and swooping around again.
Vax side steps keeping the crossbow between herself and the flying head in an attempt to let Aranala hit it from behind and then fills the air around the vargouille with flame! It fails the save and takes 6 fire damage.
It is badly hurt already, the fire burns and blackens the skin and it screams in pain, but it seems to not be as affected as you would like, the hair on it's head for example doesn't seem to singe like a normal persons' hair would.
The vargouille closest to you turns and takes a bite at aranala but misses, but there's not a lot of space for it to move out of the fire. it rolls a 6 on it's dex save. Roll for fire damage. (8 damage reduced to 4… it’s enough) Smoke billows around it and then only cinders slowly falling remain as it returns to the Abyss. One down.
The other one let's a chaotic undulating shriek, your team all needs to make wisdom saving throws. VAX 13 ARANALA 7
Vax and Shuushar are safe and are immune to further shrieks for an hour. Jimjar and Aranala fail and grow stiff with fright, their bodies locking in place.
Vax's grits her teeth and charges into melee range of the other flying head attempting to limit it's moving options. She closes her left fist, focusing on the head, she puts forward the crossbow but does not fire. Instead it's magical runes flare to life as she casts a bonefire on its location.
It dodges with a 18 Dex save. seeing jimjar frozen in place it flaps up to him and sticks its tongue in his mouth giving him a gross french kiss. Jimjar makes a charisma saving through and rolls a 17, avoiding falling under the curse. The vargouille ends in the fire and rolls 11 on its dex save.
5 toasty goodies of toastiness. (It takes 2)
The flapping head is looking pretty bad now. Having been stunned momentarily, as the vargouille ends its kiss, both jimjar and aranala return from their fear and their muscles relax.
Okay, birdy reluctantly moves 5 feet towards it, and hopes to skewer it dead but swings and misses.
Jimjar rolls an 19 with his spear and does 6 piercing damage pushing the jabby end into its nose and coming out the back of the skull before it vanishes in smoke as it is sent back to the Abyss. With both dead, he spits and shudder and then says,
"Quick, we've got to get to the elevator before the base is overrun and while the drow are distracted... with my luck on our side, I bet nothing will even notice us."
Shuushar: "I hope so. Violence is a tool of oppression, even in the hands of my friends."
You step out into the chaos. Large floating clouds of tentacles with only a beak and other demons that look like mosquitoes the size of a car are assaulting the drow. Bursts of magical energy and poisoned crossbow bolts fill the air. For now it seems no one has a moment left to care about the prisoners. The bridge to the larger platform where the elevator is is clear.
Vax shoots a sharp look at Shuushar. "Up above where there are kings and guards you can expect others to defend you but down in the dark, violence is the only law. Your nonviolence is implicit violence against us. Don't think the gods don't see." She will push past Shuushar in anger as she follows Jimjar.
Shuushar: Interesting perspective. Failure to commit violence as an act of violence. I will need to meditate on this thought.
Jimjar takes the lead and runs across the bridge. You come behind him. On the larger platform now, you can see the main force of drow and their quaggoth servants fighting a battle of life and death. on the opposite end of the space, about 100 yards away is the elevator.
Jimjar takes a moment to look for a clear route throught the chaos.
"This is it. One quick dash and we’re free..."
Aranala whistles sharply to get the group's attention. He then points up ...
Above you there are spider webs on the roof and giant spiders also fighting with various crawly goopy forms between the ginormous stalactites that hang down between the base. looking back at the battle. Jimjar says, "There! Go go go!" and takes off through the chaos. 10 yards... 20... dodging, weaving, 30 ... slimy ichor ... 40... tentacles....
"You! I promised to make you suffer."
Shoor Vandree. Son-of-a-bitch. Standing there in the middle of all this. And he wants you. Two scimitars in hand. blocking your way. He's only about 10 yards away and he's coming at you. Roll initiative.
Jimjar goes first and gets a crit, 12 damage with the spear, but Shoor uses a superiority die to parry 11 of it.
The kenku watches as Jimjar leaps at Shoor, and takes the fight up beside him, slashing with his rapier and then uses Cunning Action to Disengage after his attack. 13 to hit is a miss.
That means Shoor is up... jimjar is the only one in range at the moment... so he swings three times: and gets 9, 9, 13, and then uses an action surge to swing two more times. 21 and 15... jimjar dodges the first two hits but then takes three hits from the scimitars... 5, 8, 7 = 20 damage. jimjar is not looking good, but he's still up.
Vax curses Luck and backs up another 10 feet. She shouts at Shoor as shifts back to face toward him raising the crossbow upward. "Shoor , really?! Pricking slaves while your city falls to chaos?" She casts her fire on him.
DEX Save 17, Jimjar pokes and misses…
Aranala scowls as he is sidestepped and runs out of the drow's immediate periphery. He slides a shiv out into his throwing hand and throws it end-over-end at Shoor. Hits with a 23 for 5 damage.
Just as Shoor raises his weapons to strike again at Jimjar one of the enormous tentacle beasts flies in crashing into shoor and pulling him away as he screams.
Jimjar: "Uhh... wow that was close. I told you I'm lucky! We're clear... To the elevator!"
He starts running again with everything.
Aranala's eyes twinkle as the shiv hits, then sadden as it is carried off along with Shoor.
"Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it," he shrugs as they take off again.
Vax is frozen in place as she watches Shoor get carried away. In her minds eye a memory returns. a sister that never returned from the dark. After a few beats she carries on after Jimjar.
50 yards to elevator... 40... 30... 20... The elevator is a large platform held in the corners by chains. it's currently unoccupied but has several barrels and cloth sacks near the center.
Jimjar yells: everyone get on!
Aranala hops on and abruptly sticks his beak into the nearest container.
It's a large barrel of water.
He drinks his fill of the barrel water, his mouth and chest dripping wet as he finishes.
Jimjar: Lilly! Hurry up!
Shuushar runs behind the pile of supplies and ducks low
Vax runs into the elevator and sinks down next to the barrels. She says nothing but rubs her earlier wound.
Jimjar you notice now hasn't gotten on the elevator. He's at a big contraption with winches and levers. He pulls a lever and the elevator starts to descend.
Jimjar: Someone needs to make sure it goes down in a controlled fashion. I'll climb down the chain after you are safe away.
You sink down 30ft before it really sinks in that he's staying behind.
"wait.. what?!" Vax springs to her feet. "Jimjar!!!"
Aranala frets as they descend, "There's no way of knowing...where they're rowing, or which way the river's flowing!"
Down, down you go into dark nothingness.
Vax shivers at the thought.
Both of you roll perception.
Vax:19 / Aranala: 6
As you descend... Vax you feel it more and see, but something moves in the pile of supplies... what appeared to be a black burlap sack opens two orange eyes... and looks at you...
Vax shivers again as the hairs on the back of her neck go on end. She spins around pointing at the .. whatever it is.. shouting "who's there?"
Pointing the crossbow.
It nearly splits in two, teeth and slobber going everywhere and then sprouts clawed hands and legs. Roll initiative.
Summary of live events:… our brave adventurers fight to the end but are nearly defeated until Shuushar is shocked into action by the falling corpse of a drow. The three flee from the scene taking supplies left by the drow on the elevator including some fortunate pieces of equipment including Eldreth’s belongings…
Shuushar leads the way for two days through forests of fungi towards a dark stair that will lead to his hometown of Sloobludop. They reach the stairs and make friends with the local kobolds who are willing to grant passage on the stairs if they will help with a few tasks. First they are sent to rid one wing of the castle of mutant rats. Along the way Aranala finds a whistle that can raise the dead. As a reward for killing the mother of all mutant rats, they are given a key to a long sealed puzzle. Solving the riddles and opening the crypt of the dragonpriest, enriches the heroes with some well needed wealth. Now they must push forwards down the stairs, which have become unfortunately occupied by enemies of the kobolds.
Aranala’s sleep was mostly not disturbed by dreams, but near the end, there was the face of your zombie slowly morphing into a much larger bloated form, the dead eyes slowly rolling towards you and then laughing. The dream faded rapidly as you awoke and put the night terror away from you.
Vax had a mostly dreamless sleep. Just before awaking though the dream had hints of wine, relaxation, merriment, emotional vulnerability, jimjar, and then waking the dream evaporated rapidly as you turned to the task of making goggles of the night.
Vax stirs then wakes. She opens her eyes and looks about the room, her body telling her that it is still too early. Though there is no sky down below, she feels her body slowly returning to the accustomed silent patterns of the dark. She frowns deeply. Peering around the room, lit by Aranala's ever burning candle, she notes Aranala's sleeping form in his new bedroll. A soft smile forms on her lips and a twinkle of mirth gaces her eyes. What a strange companion she found in the wallows of the world above, but down here.. down here.. again. Suppressing a shudder she takes a deep calming breath and as quietly as possibly makes her way out of the room.
Vax stirs then wakes. She opens her eyes and looks about the room, her body telling her that it is still too early. Though there is no sky down below, she feels her body slowly returning to the accustomed silent patterns of the dark. She frowns deeply. Peering around the room, lit by Aranala's ever burning candle, she notes Aranala's sleeping form in his new bedroll. A soft smile forms on her lips and a twinkle of mirth gaces her eyes. What a strange companion she found in the wallows of the world above, but down here.. down here.. again. Suppressing a shudder she takes a deep calming breath and as quietly as possibly makes her way out of the room.
There's a knock at the door of your room.
Meepo: "Yusdrayl the grand and majestic has ordered your appearance."
Shuushar finishes his meditation and stands to follow Meepo, "When the enemy thinks you are far, be near..." he half muses to himself, still coming out of his reverie.
Vax: "What about breakfast? "
Aranala looks pleasantly surprised at waking in relatively peaceful surroundings, until his gaze meets the zombie ranger staring directly at him. "SQUAK!?" He soon recalls Carakas, settles down, and shuffles after the others in quiet embarrassment.
Aranala bows too early as Yusdrayl begins speaking while Carakas shuffles forward too slowly a dozen feet behind.
Yusdrayl: "Bow before my majestic power."
Shuushar stares at Yusdrayl with unblinking eyes
... Vax tilts her head slightly as if thinking...
Yusdrayl: "You have completed the tasks I assigned for you my servants. For this I grant you the privilege of passage on the stairs without paying our toll... not that we can collect it any more that those goblins stole the bottom half of the stair and our dragon... but that's beside the point. You are charged with driving a passageway through the goblins to the bottom of the stairs so that commerce may recommence and all passers-by will resume their paying of our tolls"
Shuushar stares at Yusdrayl with unblinking eyes
Aranala stares at Yusdrayl with unblinking eyes. "...make nice!"
Vax: "Wasn't the original deal just to retrieve the dragon?"
Meepo: "How majestic and wise are you oh Yusdrayl. I will take our friends to the garrison and the entrance to the lower stairs."
Shuushar stares at Yusdrayl with unblinking eyes
Aran adjusts the Night Goggles on his face and blinks at Vax with a happiness bristling his feathery features, saying
"No one would come out here unless they have business, and no one would have business with me except you."
A low trill marks his satisfaction.
Vax: "Breakfast?"
Meepo leads the way shouting Ticklecorn and brings you to a barracks filled with the fiercest of the kobold warriors, well armored and armed including some with wings. A door like any other is unlocked and a plain hallway is revealed about 30 feet long with another similar door on the other side.
Meepo: "We locked our side and they locked theirs. This hallway has our pit trap so be careful. We haven't seen what they've done on the other side of their door, but it's sure to be nasty. There have been weird screams coming from that side and goblins saying "no, no, leave me aaaargh"... but I don't know what it's supposed to mean. Good luck!"
Vax: "that sounds dangerous"
Aranala: "You know what that means? It means it's gonna happen."
Shuushar tries to see the pit trap that Meepo was indicating. INVESTIGATION roll 19 VAX:13+5 so 18 Aranala:12
With an investigation roll of 10 or higher, you all see how there's a narrow beam through the center of the room and the floor on each side looks like it will fall away.
Aranala moves forward carefully, keeping himself squarely along the center path of the beam. About 10 feet out, he calls the zombie ranger forward.
The zombie shuffles forward carelessly missing the two foot wide catwalk and steps on the cantilevered pit cover. It drops suddenly 10 feet into an empty pit taking 6 bludgeoning damage.
Aranala's beak opens wordlessly and he stands frozen for a moment, realizing too late that was not planned through as well as it perhaps could have been. Not one to spend time on a failed plan, he gulps, and turns his attention back to the task at hand.
Shuushar follows next behind Aranala saying, "Attachment leads to suffering”
Vax Snickers from the back as she follows behind across the beam. She looks down at the zombie in the pit and waves pitifully at him before turning back to following the other two. With a bit of mirth in her voice she adds,
"I think he will be fine down there, besides, no need to hearald our approach with shuffling of feet, incessant moaning and the rancid smell of rotting flesh".
Aranala quietly approaches the door and investigates for traps.
INVESTIGATION 13 PERCEPTION 12
Okay, so the door and lock seem fine to Aranala. A couple jiggles of your thieves tool and the lock pops open. As you gently push open the door, your eyes catch the glint of a wire rigged to a bell about three feet off the ground on the inside of the door frame. Do you want to cut the wire with the scissors in the thieves tools?
No. Aranala steps over it and moves sneakily into the room along the left side wall. He looks back at whoever is behind him and points at the wire. And then his goggle-eyed face vanishes into the room.
Just beyond the door is a space for the door to swing open and then beyond that the ten-foot-wide hall is liberally strewn with sharp caltrops. On the northern wall, passage to the room beyond is partially blocked by a roughly mortared, three-foot-high wall, complete with crenellations. The wall beyond has large letters painted in blood red... but none of you read goblin.
Shuushar carfully enters after you stepping over the wire. Being 3 feet, Vax probably ducks under it...
Aranala stares up at the wall and readies his shortbow, sparing a look towards the others before sneaking forward quietly. His eyes are trained mainly on making his path through the caltrops.
STEALTH 11 PERCEPTION 9
Vax will follow behind as quietly as possible, listening and smelling the air…. ... 6 and a 2... Virtual dice hate me.
As the three of you carefully pick your way slowly across the field of caltrops, Vax, the big klutz that she is, accidentally kicks one. you have another 10 feet of caltrops to go when two goblin heads pop up over the edge of the wall and shout something at you drawing beads with their short bows.
Aran's begoggled face lifts up to the gobbies and so does his shortbow.
*incomprehensible goblin shouting*
Aran looks back at the others for any clarification.
Beads of sweat running down the forehead of one of the goblins. Holding the short bow drawn is tough... his arm starts to shake...
Vax throws up her hand reading to cast a spell but will shout in undercommon, "parlay?"
The sound of your voice shocks the shaking one... the bowstring twangs and an arrow flies past you over vax's head and sticks in the door behind you. Shuushar gives a mighty GRLGRLGLRLGRLGLGLRLGGGLL and charges.
Shuushar initiative 22
Goblins 7
Vax 3
Aran 20
"It's rude to talk about religion, you never know who you're gonna offend."
With a nod to Vax, Aran dashes and jumps the last 8 feet over the wall.
Shuushar is first up. Using the monk step of the wind he makes a hongkong kungfu on-wires style jump to the top of the wall and hits one with his fist and then chomps down taking off half of its face. One goblin down.
Aranala fails a DEX save and gets a caltrop under his foot but clears the distance to the wall. Aranala thwacks the goblin trying to knock him out not kill. A hit, and he’s down.
Vax watches Shuu launch into the first goblin, half the golins face dissapearing into a mess of blood. In the moment she opens her mouth to shout again..her voice dies in her throat as the other simply slumps at the blow from Aranala. She closes her mouth and chuckles as she makes her way over to the wall to climb over.
"Maybe we can get something from the survivor before his friends show up."
Shuushar's turn... he runs after the fleeing goblin shouting GRGRGRGLLLGLGLGL as he flies through the door and out of sight. Aranala?
Aranala lifts up his goggles and hearing the third goblin, quickly puts them back on. He is about to go after Shuushar when Vaxraff speaks.
He puts his rapier away and looks through the unconscious goblin's person. "This is why you should never show a work in progress!"
You see a small guard post with a giant rat roasted on a spit half eaten. The goblins have leather armor and crude shortbows (think ewoks). That's your turn... the goblins take their turn off screen and we hear goblin shouts and shuushar gurgles... vax?
Vax, seeing Shuu dissapear, yells after him "Shuushar!.. well hallifax and crumple buns, let's go after him. Let this one sleep for now" Vax goes after Shuushar through the door.
Okay, you've seen the way it bends... as you come to the corner, to your right you see dummies pincushioned with arrows against the wall... this must be a practice range, looking further... here is the situation. what will you do? (C has a shortsword and shuushar has an arrow in his shoulder)
A punch to the kidney and then a bite at his chest and the mutant goes down.
Shuushar turns to smile at you ... or whatever it means for him to smile... and then from the room beyond him you hear excited kobold voices. From cages on the south wall of the next chamber the kobolds shout.
"Adventurers! They're here to save the poor dragons in distress just like the stories... we're here. It's Leepo, Neepo and Cheapo!..."
And then a familiar voice...
Jimjar: "Look at this... Now I know I'm the luckiest guy in the world."
Aranala half limps, half collapses against the wall just inside of the entrance and slides down to a sitting position to rest and tend to his injury before all else. He lifts up his goggles.
"Now, I'm just not ready to end up anywhere."
Jimjar: "Hello Birdy, you're looking like you've seen better days. No hurry, but I'd appreciate a hand opening this cage after you've had a breather."
Shuushar finds a corner to meditate in as the party takes a short rest.
Vax steps into the room addressing Shuushar and Aranala, "Don't forget we have sleeping beauty back at the entrance. Won't be too happy if he realizes his friends are no more, but then with those mutants, maybe he would be?"
Vax will inspect the cages. "Maybe we should get these three back home and rest"
Neepo: Yes, yes...
Leepo: We're so thankful to have adventurers come rescue us.
Cheapo: Thank you kind sirs and madam.
Jimjar: Three?
Vax shoots Jimjar a cold look, her red eyes icy. She moves over to I front of Jimjar's cage with her small fists on her hips.
"Okay, start talking ghost of Jimjar. If there was another way down why did you send us on that elevator?"
Aranala begins unlocking the cages of the three kobold, Neepo, Leepo, and Cheapo.
"You must've took the shortcut," the kenku says to Jimjar when he finishes opening the last one.
Jimjar: "Listen, I just consider myself lucky to be here. The elevator went down and I manned the controls, a drow came so I hid. And then there was a strange sound as ... and I might not have seen everything right, but his brain jumped out of the front of his face. One of the larger demons crashed into the controls and then... I woke up in this cage with a strange goblin-in-goblin standing over me... and then lo and behold, my favorite people in the whole world came and found me. See? Luckiest guy that ever lucked
The kobolds stand before you, bow deeply and then scamper as fast as they possibly can back towards their home.
Jimjar: "You guys look like you could use a hand. I bet you I'd come in pretty useful... After I helped you guys get away you're not going to just leave me here... are you?"
Vax bends over, drawing her face close to the cage, with a deep frown and squinted eyes...
The a broad smile creeps across her face. "If you say 'Im sorry for worrying you' we may let you out.
Then…
"I'm sorry for worrying you" /sheepish grin/
Vax straightens back up and adds.
"the next time you have a hair brained plan to sacrifice yourself for the greater good, you let us know beforehand. Birdy, could you open this for our recently returned from the dead friend?"
Aranala nods to Vaxraff, then opens Jimjar's cage.
He reaches back and pulls something from out of his belt. The kenku looks at Shuushar, "Your friend just made himself a star!" Then hands the Ornate Dragon Tooth Dagger to Jimjar, meeting his gaze more affectionately than previously, or as best he can with the 3 foot deep gnome.
"You earned this."
Jimjar: Thanks guys. It was a real squeeze in there. Boy, this is a great blade, you guys have been getting rich without me?
Vax rustles through her bags and produces 5 gold coins. Handing them to Jimjar she gives him a big smile
Vax:" and thank you for saving our bacon back there."
Aranala:"Now, now darling, it's still your day. We were a part of destiny. We were part of the same equation."
Jimjar: So what all did I miss... Shuushar?
Shuushar: Deep breathing, gills rustling...
Jimjar: Thanks for the update buddy.
Vax lets out a laugh and let's herself relax.
"Let's see what goodies these goblins had."
The normal goblins have crude shortbows/short swords and a few arrows... not worth using for anything. Basically just ewok level tech. Most of the bows are practice ones for this archery range. The two mutant ones each had a pretty descent shield, morningstar, spear, hand crossbow and 5 quills. There's the one goblin you didn't kill that you could take hostage/for questioning I guess...
Jimjar discovers the one that's unconscious.
"Hey... this one is still breathing. Do you want me to talk to him?"
Vax's head pops up. " You understand their jibber jabbers?"
Aranala gives his poking stick a few good taps on the ground and then stands watch at the door.
Jimjar: “Well it's not exactly jibber jabbers, but it's hardly what I'd call a language either so we'll call it even. What do you want to ask him... do you want to tie him up before you wake him?"
Vax: "Haha, well for one, what's with the mutants and two, where is the dragon?"… "probably a good idea... Uhh Birdy, do you have rope?"
Aranala shakes his head no.
Shuushar holds out to you bowstrings from the goblin shortbows.
Jimjar: "I suppose that will work... there is of course the cages that we just got out of too..."
Jimjar nods and then hogties him with hands and feet in the air behind his back... He starts calling out softly in strange blurgling.
The goblin slowly comes to and tries to move. Jimjar hushes at him and starts to speak to him. The goblin responds calmly... but very long windedly...
The goblin just keeps going and going...
Aranala will poke out one of the eyes of a goblin mutie with the poking stick. (and slight-of-hand the thing into his pack)
"I'll do it. I'll talk to him." He saunters up to the now conscious goblin.
"You weren't allowed in the swamp... there were snakes, quicksand... The one about the witch."
"But I'm not scared. You get nightmares."
He shows the goblin the eyeball and points at Vaxraff. "She'll make soap outta you. That's what she does. She makes soap outta people."
Vax wrinkles her nose a bit as she thinks about what Aranala is saying trying to translate it to herself in her head. .. did he call me a witch? (Lol)
Jimjar and the goblin turn to look at you. The goblin cocks his head for a moment and then turns back to Jimjar to start talking again before you pull out the eyeball. He responds to the gruesome sight with slightly more intensified speach ... but it's like listening to a european language that you don't understand where one party is just talking and talking and jimjar is just sitting there nodding and listening.
Vax taps her foot "how long does it take to say hello in this language? Is he telling you his life story?"
Jimjar whispers back, "he's saying hello. In goblin, if you are a prisoner, it is important to beg sufficiently for your life before introducing yourself..."
the goblin finally goes silent for a few seconds and then adds "Gleb"...
Jimjar: "He says his name is Gleb."
Vax: "I see.. did he beg sufficiently?"
"I think so... my goblin is a little rusty..."
Jimjar makes a few short sounds and then the goblin tenses up and starts to talk wildly for a sentence or two.
Vax will glance at Aranala with a grin as Jimjar queries the goblin. "Soap?"
Aranala: “Truly I saw it in the eye”
Jimjar: "He says something about experiments? But with demons? He doesn't like the mutants but they've taken control of the big boss goblin in their village..."
Jimjar: Should I ask about the dragon now?
Vax: "Yes, please do."
He turns back to Gleb and makes a few more obscene sounds. Gleb responds in kind.
Jimjar: "It's a young white one... if the goblins weren't being taken over by mutants they'd have no problem reigning it in, but it broke free and is hiding in the goblin village treasure chamber and no single goblin has the courage to put the darn thing back in chains... We're pretty lucky if it really is as little as he says."
Vax's eyes twinkle at the thought of a real dragon."A dragon, a real dragon. For the first time in my life finally.... " She come back with a start.. "oh.. uh. Why did they take it from the kobolds?"
Jimjar bleaks and burps at the goblin. The goblin screeches back.
Aranala: "You shouldn't curse. There are ladies present."
Aranala drops the eye on the floor with a squish and wraps his cloak around him, shivering at the thought of meeting any dragon kind.
Jimjar: "Well they came to the stairwell when they found out how the kobolds living here were using it to make money, and they wanted to take over the racket so they started by stealing the dragon. But then... something about a drow... and then some dwarves came... and the drow did something to them... That last bit, I can't tell if I'm getting the conjugation right on the participle."
Vax eyes Aranala for a moment, noting the shivering quriously. Not understanding, she considers the current temperature and doesn't consider it that chilly. Crossing her arms and giving a deep exhale... She thinks for a few moments before turning to the others.
"I'm inclined to try to free the goblins of the mutants, if they are willing to trade our help for the dragon, but it's a long shot to get them to agree without having to put quite a few of them down I the process. I'm not too favorable on killing them outright since they aren't exactly pure evil like the demons are. Thoughts? "
Shuushar: "Evil is an illusion, but life is precious. I will only strike those that have struck at my friends."
Vax nods to Shuushar and looks expectantly at Aranala.
The goblin squawks and makes a strange hacking sound in his throat while trilling.
Jimjar: "Gleb here says he'll guide us past their traps if we let him go."
"Where are you going...? I'm going with you." Aran replies back to Vax. "I'm going with you."
The kenku then mimics the latest sounds and trilling noises of Gleb.
Vax smiles at Aranala and gives a short curt nod. She lowers her gaze for a moment, still smiling, and looks back to Jimjar.
"I'm ok with letting him go if he will speed us past his traps, though I would like to know your thoughts… as well as Glebs thoughts on trading for the dragon."
Aranala goes back to the doorway to keep a watch out.
Jimjar: "All told. I'm feeling lucky. I bet you we can take this baby little dragon no problem. If I'm right, I'll wager half my share his spoils. Isn't that right ol' Glebby" ... as;hasjhdflkjhasf
Gleb: asg;kjhaksjdhflk
Jimjar: He hopes you'll get freedom for his people, but there's a ... sadness?Vax: "Sadness?"
The goblin is freed and leads the way to the northern door.... beyond is a hallway
Jimjar: "Yeah... like he's not expecting it for himself or something..."
He leads you alittle past halfway down the hall and then tips open the trapdoors on both sides of the 2 foot wide catwalk down the middle of the pit in the last 10 feet of the hallway. Gleb points at the door on the other side.
Gleb: asdfapoiup;ija;soidhfuha
"ah.." Vax muses.. "He may be killed for failing his post... Or maybe he is already corrupted."
Vax moves along with Gleb.
Jimjar: "He says that this is the last trap, and through that door is their treasure room, beyond that is the goblin village."
Shuushar: "Did he just say treasure room? To have many possessions is to have many burdens."Depends on what you call treasure..." With a wry smile Vax turns to Shuushar. "Not all treasure is a possession, and the most valuable you can never hold in your hand."
Gleb starts to go on and on... and on and on... again Jimjar leans over and whispers so as to not inerrupt
"He's groveling his way towards letting us know that he's done all that he can, and he'd like very much to wait in this room on the right side of the hall or in the cage back there while you most esteemed and powerful, bloodthirsty and almighty, etcetera etcetera continue on your glorious journey into demigod-hood and legend eternal... "
Gleb pushes open the door to a filthy room that must have been their barracks. The stench, garbage, and carrion here are evidence of use by unsanitary tenants. Tattered hides stretched on frames form six unstable hammocks around a much-used firepit. Battered cooking equipment is mixed indiscriminately with broken or worn arms and armor.
Vax will approach the next door.
Alright. Vax in the lead you walk down the beam in the middle of the pit the goblin revealed and reach the door. Even from this side you can tell the door frame has been damaged. The door hangs a little loosely and there are splinters where the door looks like it has been hit like with a battering ram in the middle from the other side and it bows towards you.
As Vax passes her hand along the damaged portions of the door, she muses. "I guess this side used to belong to the kobolds too." Vax, looking back at her companions somewhat blank stares, shifts her shield and gently turns the handle and opens the door.
Mounted and stuffed animal heads adorn the walls. The mounting job is sloppy, and the assortment of heads includes cattle, rats, and other not particularly impressive specimens. A few grisly trophies share the wall with the animals, including a couple of kobold heads. Smashed and broken cabinets and small tables litter the periphery of the room, mute victims of some sort of rampage. A rusted iron spike stands in the center of the room, trailing a broken chain. Thin patches of frost coat sections of the walls, floor, and debris. Against the far corner, a table stands tilted over, and the tip of a white scaly tail sticks out from the north side.
Vax lets out a small enthusiastic "eep!" Her eyes glinting as she ventures in draconic. She motions to the others behind her to wait as she whispers. "The dragon baby.." She the. Ventures, as friendly as she can make it Hello...?" she ventures in draconic after she motions and whispers to her companions.
Shuushar and Jimjar follow... your voice hasn't seemed to have been noticed? Jimjar looks for cover on the left, shuushar moves quietly right
Aran exhales audibly, his breath a visible puff, "Halt."
Vax will try to grab each by the arm. " Woah slow down guys. There be a dragon in here. Let's try to communicate before anything else."
Jimjar shivers slightly in the cold... goosebumps rise on your skin... well maybe Aranala is warm? or gets ravenbumps?
"Let's get outta here." Suggests the kenku.
There's a slight shifting behind the table and the tail tucks behind... followed by a low rumbling and just the draconic eye peeking over the table at you...
"Leave it. We don't need it."
Aranala's hooded figure sounds tremulous as his stare remains locked on the upturned table in front of the of the dragon.
Shuushar stares with unblinking eyes... could it be that his scales glisten wetly? Jimjar seems entranced. Wings slowly rise...
Scratchy raspy voice in draconic: CALCRYX FREE...
Aranala kinda sidesteps into the corner and tries his best to attract the least amount of attention possible.
CALCRYX TREASURE...
It shifts so her neck is up and it's head fully risen but facing sideways looking at you out of only it's left eye. As it shifts so do Jimjar and shuushar gently
Gawking in the corner.
"Daylight come and I wanna go home."
Vax scowls at Jimjar and Shuushar and hisses at them both.
"Hey, what are you two doing? Get back. Let's not provoke him."
Vax will motion to her self and address Calcryx in draconic.
"I am Vaxraff. Calcryx isnt treasure. Calcryx is a free dragon. Let's be friends. Calcryx and Vaxraff. We help each other get free."
(hmmm... it has only 5 intelligence... roll an animal handling check)
(lol time to become a dragon snack.)
The sound of Vaxraff's voice strikes a chord in the kenku's mind. He remembers his promise to follow the gnome wherever she goes.
He will attempt to help Vaxa persuade the Dragon. He reaches into his backpack pulling out all three gems, two rings, and the silver amulet. And slowly walks towards them.
grand total of.. 5!!
WARM BLOOD...
It rises up and talons push over the table revealing the pile of goblin doohickeys it has gathered under itself... roll initiative
Vax puts her hands in front of herself, quickly realizing this is going pear shaped real fast.
“No, no, no, no...”
So at the top of the initiative, the dragon gets a lair action and creates a thick wall of ice around the doors.
Vax lifts her hands in the as magical tendrils gather at her fingertips and stretch to the ground. Rock appears to lift out of the ground clumping together into a rough form of white stone and golden emblazoned plate held together by lines of green moss. What appears before her, in the center of the room, is what appears to be a small wall. Eldritch Cannon Protector. As a bonus action she will "fire the cannon"
Aran uses insightful fighting with a bonus action.
He moves to the center of the room holding the shinies in one hand as his spear slowly rises in his other and looks for any opening...
"My town sent me for you to eat me."
You've caught it's patterns . It moves like a brute.. no tactics.
He strikes, throwing the spear but misses.
Shuushar charges and unleashes his full attack and flurry of blows
Punch: miss, Kick: hit, 6 damage ... open hand technique hit DEX save of 12 saves so it isn't knocked prone Elbow: miss Bite: hit 3 damage
Jimjar strikes out with the dragon dagger : a miss and a hit for 5 damage
Calcryx breathes out a cone of freezing cold catching Jimjar and Aranala... make a constitution save
Lair action... 3 icicles fall... 2 at Shuushar and one at Vax … one miss and one hit on Shuushar 15 to hit Vax (miss)
Vax steps up to Aranala and casts cure wounds upon him. As a bonus action she will fire the cannon again.
Vax shouts: "I can cast only one more spell before I am exhausted, make this count. Knock him down but don't kill it if you can help it."
Aranala getting his second wind after Vax heals him replies, "We're dead. I don't think we have very much to worry about anymore."
Vax will retort "Do something fancy then!"
He takes out his shortbow, aims his last +1 arrow and fires.
The arrow sinks deep into a chink in it's scales... the dragon lets out a massive roar...
Shuushar punches and connects in the torso of the beast (3 damage) and then bites but the dragon pulls away. Jimjar swipes twice and goes wide and then connects on the tail but the scales bump it aside. Calcryx snaps back at shuushar but the monk dodges.
The lair fills the room with a freezing fog. Everyone make a constitution save. The cannon takes full damage and collapses. Vax also takes full damage and the others take half.
Vax cries out from the biting cold. She shivers and curses luck, she closes her eyes tight and grits her teeth. Her breath coming raggedly she makes a split second decision and throws forward her hands advancing on the dragon. With the last of her strength she calls out another Eldritch cannon, this time a flame thrower next to the dragon "This won't miss!" As a bonus action she will fire the cannon.
That's enough... the flame clears the fog and after the spurt of flame finishes... calcryx lies still.. you killed her
Achievement unlocked: Wyrm wrecker
Vax collapses to the floor, still shivering, mostly from the shock of the cold than the remaining chill.
Aranala stands shivering the arrow in hand shaking... "My arms are stringy but there's good eating in my legs. I'm tempted to eat them myself..." then he notices Vax's flames kill the dragon and he hugs himself for warmth instead.
The wyrmling has scoured the room and gathered all items of worth into a nest she made behind the table. The valuables include a dragon-shaped, jade figurine (worth 20 gp), a crystal goblet (5 gp), and twenty-four pieces of fine silverware (1 gp each). Also, of particular note is a sealed scroll case carved of bone, carrying an inscription written with dwarvish runes.
The walls of ice remains around the doors. This looks like a safe place for a long rest and to level up...
Aranala is has made a fire with some wood scraps and his tinderbox...but is also timid of the dragon and procrastinating going near it, secretly hoping one of the others will figure out what to do with it.
Vax looks at everyone else and asks.
"Who's hungry? Dragon tastes like chicken down in the dark"
She will roast as best as she can.
All muscle is meat right.... you keep to arms and legs and not the organ meat I hope.
Aranala eats the last bread he has instead of partaking of the dragon meat. Aranala spends time reading the scroll contents and avoids touching the jade dragon figurine.
You have an eye for detail... although you can't read the dwarven runes, they get more rushed and sloppy as the letter goes on. The jade figurine looks similar to the statue that gave you the riddle earlier.
Vax, you have a dream in which you are approached by Luck... you've always known luck's presence. Luck led you to the surface, brought you good friends, and somehow still seems to be paying attention to you here in the dark. You don't see as Luck clearly as you would like, but when you wake you find a small silver coin with a satyr's head on one side and the goat tail on the back clutched in the palm of your hand. Somehow you know this symbol will empower you as you feel the understanding of new powers fill you.
(It's not really a pact that you entered into from your side (you didn't multiclass as a full warlock) just that Luck seems to have taken an interest in you.)
SUMMARY: Our brave heroes confront the goblins, overthrowing the leader and the mutants and discovering a shaft deeper into the complex. Oh, and Jimjar just about got himself killed…
Some loot found around: there’s an iron chest that is the throne… Beside it are a potion of healing and two vials of antitoxin, and two spell scrolls (faerie fire and expeditious retreat… both spells usable by artificers). Durnn wears a gold signet ring with dwarven runes on it, silver earrings set with moonstones (20 gp each), and a matching necklace (50 gp). He also has a key on a chain around his neck as well as a long sword, long bow with 20 arrows, splint armor and a shield. Using the key to open the chest you find 231 gp and two onyx gems (30 gp each).
