"I too fear for those that cannot stand against whatever this may hold. I too smell trouble, but do we stand against it, or let it stand to possibly harm many? I say, let's deal with this now!"
What in the name of Old Mother Tree are you blathering about? It's rocks. On fire. It's not going to hurt anyone. It happens all the time, here, in Aviona. Geez, you guys, are you brave adventurers born, or a bunch of old maiden aunts? (Not that we have those in the Tuelvi.) Now, let's get the hell out of here before it attacks!
Caspian squints and mutters, but just can't seem to get his eyes to register what his hands sense to easily.
You need a 3rd level spell (arcane sight) to read magical auras from a distance -- the range of the detect magic cantrip in these rules is Touch.
Ok so lets decide on what to do, either move on or deal with these "rocks". Jaegr gets a bad feeling from them and don't seem natural. He is not one to turn away from something like this so he votes to deal with it, and his version is trying to use his pick axe like a miner and break them apart. If a majority says leave it he will.
So, just to be sure I understand -- no one is particularly interested in these rocks in terms of whether there are old legends about similar monuments (Knowledge: lore); or what religious significance, if any, they might have (Knowledge: the planes); or what sort of arcane significance they might have (Spellcraft)?
So, just to be sure I understand -- no one is particularly interested in these rocks in terms of whether there are old legends about similar monuments (Knowledge: lore); or what religious significance, if any, they might have (Knowledge: the planes); or what sort of arcane significance they might have (Spellcraft)?
Yeah but our DM keeps trying to kill us with mean nasty things that are green! maybe a different color!
Caspian seems to recall that, among humans from Northwind especially, piles of stones are associated with cairns for the dead -- sometimes to commemmorate them, but sometimes to keep their restless spirits trapped so they don't come out and wreack havoc on the living.
"Any idea who this might be? I think we ought to better mark this cairn if we can to avoid someone less knowledgeable than Caspian from doing something he may regret."
I don't have any knowledge skills that would help, but I'll look around to see I can find a headstone. Take 20 for a total of 27.
Wyvurn sees nothing resembling a headstone, but realizes that one of the rocks has rolled away from the pile and isn't on fire. It has one wide, dark surface perfect for writing on with chalk or chiseling words into. There are also some trees nearby with wide trunks that might be carved into.
[Cricket is intrigued and begins searching in a perimeter around the flaming rocks--making sure to keep an eye on the rocks. He also whistles for Wolvie.]
Wyvurn will carve a warning into the rock in the common tongue and make marks for powerful magic in goblin, elven, and common on the trees surrounding the pile.
"Here lies powerful spirits. Do not disturb." or some such. Eloquence is not the hobgoblins strong suit, so any ideas from his companions is appreciated.
When he is finished, he'll drop the rock back where it look like it fits, careful not to touch the glowing rocks around it.
The rock that Wyvurn wrote on pretty clearly rolled off from the rest of the pile at some point. The flames subside a bit when he puts that rock back, and you can hear a bird chirp interrogatively in the background, the first animal sound you're heard since the flames sprang up.
Cricket:
Spoiler:
The bird said, "Is it safe to come out now?"
I won't translate what the halfling said.
Forest: Ignore undergrowth; speak with animals at will.
The bird, on an angry, shrill note, divebombs the startled goblin!
1d20 ⇒ 91d2 - 5 ⇒ (2) - 5 = -3 Critical failure on skill check:
Cricket:
Spoiler:
Apparently the bird had just built a nest for its female mate, and was looking forward to settling in and watching the Fox News equivalent of whatever it is that birds see in the air. Then he sees Caspian's antics and your "pride" colors, hears the word "Cock" in conjunction with him, misunderstands that you want to be more than "friends," and there you have it. The danger, apparently, is in encountering homophobia among the animal kingdom!
Cricket nearly manages to trip over his own weapon attacking the bird, but quickly recovers. The rest of you aren't certain, being largely unfamiliar with the facial nuances of goblins, but you suspect he's trying to look as if he meant to do that. With a shrug, the group moves on, with Cricket occasionally darting nervous glances over his shoulder, looking for angry robins.
Another half-day's walk brings a gleam ahead to Wyvurn's sharp eyes; he says, "Water -- a big lake." Eventually, the towers of a tall palace appear over the horizon, and by nightfall the next day you reach the shore of Estren Lake, rumored to have been formed by the impact of meteorites (and thus sometimes called the "Lake of Fallen Stars"). It is so huge you can't see the opposite shore (and actually has measurable tides). On the rocky southeastern shore, amidst strange glamors, sits Quinexxos, the palace of Käcia, Sorceress-Queen of the Southeast, who (it is whispered) is now imprisoned in a pore 45 miles beneath the surface of the earth. Sprawling along the shore of the lake north of the palace are the walls of Kaisersburg, largest city east of the Estren River, and former capital of an attempted colonial empire that largely collapsed after Käcia's imprisonment.
The main city gates are easy to find -- indeed, there's a whole gatehouse complex there -- and a couple of guys on duty -- humans, with maybe some elvish ancestry, wearing heavy armor decorated with brass wire in vertical patterns. Their cloaks have black-and-gold vertical stripes. They lower halberds in a slightly disinterested way, see Cricket, and look at each other. One says, "Jails are full; just go ahead and kill that one" -- the other chuckles.
Caspian the Clever has guessed how things really work, so he doesn't even bother with a Bluff. He knows that it doesn't really matter in this instance whether the guards believe him; what matters is that all the formalities are observed.
The head guard looks at the little hobbit more shrewdly, nods, and says, "I might be able to expedite the permitting process, but there is an administrative fee involved." The other guard tries for a cunning look, but it's clear that the big words like "expedite" have lost him.
Meanwhile, Cricket has been attempting to use pure muscle performance to substitute for acrobatic ability. As a result, he jumps really high (for a goblin, anyway -- not so high for a human), but he unfortunately lands flat on his back when he attempts a somersault. You are prone.
"Sure sure I assume the proper document is how much? With an administrative fee of expeditiousness so the total cost would be about 10 gold I surmise, payable half now and half upon delivery of papers."
"We shall await papers at the tavern then, as mah dwarf friend is thirsty."
Ponies up 5 gold......and shows the other 5 in reserve....
