Eli carefully stoops and hesitantly pats the creature on the head.
I want to see if it is friendly enough to climb on it's back.
Sense Motive? 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
You take a minute to study the lizard, but nothing about its movements suggests anything to you, because lizards don't behave like humans. If it were a human, it would be quite a ridiculous, slobbering one, and would probably be locked up for, well, behaving like a large animal of the reptilian variety. You could give it another shot with Knowledge:Nature and Perception, which would work better, I'd reckon.
You dredge up some memories of your encounters with lizards and other reptiles. Actually, you remember quite a bit about regularly-sized monitor lizards. They tend to protect their head, as a rule, and so laying it at your feet most likely shows submission to some degree. Also, the tail and claws are not poised to strike, which is yet another indication that this particular lizard, as Ariana put it, "likes you." It would probably be inclined to let you touch it, and would certainly not bite you right away if you tried to climb on top of it. One more note: you discern that this lizard is not behaving as those you've encountered in the wild. Instead, it is behaving like the small lizards you used to catch as a child and keep in that rickety wire cage near your bedside. In other words, it seems almost domesticated.
As Eli stands gazing at the lizard, it quietly closes its eyes, tail whipping gently back and forth across the surface of the water.
Suddenly, Carys' spellbook seems to be having another fit. It flies from her bag and hovers a bit in front of her, pages flipping of their own accord, then flops down at her feet, turned to page 249 (or 257, if one believes the goblin diary's most-likely mistaken page numbering).
This is ONLY if you choose NOT to ignore the book. If you ignore it, stop HERE. A bit of text is illuminated on the page, but to your surprise, it is in fact part of the goblin diary. The entry on this page is entitled "Walksing On" and details a routine journey of some sort. Three bits of text are faintly glowing in the entry:
A bit surprised, Carys cautiously grabs the book from the air. She seems to have forgotten that other people are around and have asked questions. One look at the text and her mind is made up. She slowly wades the rest of the way toward lizard, makes a half bow and cautiously attempts to climb on it's back.
I'd like to pick the place that would be the most comfortable for the lizard but also would give me access to the hole when it extends. Should I roll another knowledge nature, or would I already know because of my previous roll.
Lucas vaults onto the lizard, which seems not to notice his weight. Indeed, he looks small compared to the giant beast's huge, scaled form. Eli falters a bit, scrambling up the lizard's face to its back, but not without putting one of his boots in its eye and desperately grabbing a dripping nasal passage for support. If possible, the lizard looks slightly annoyed.
Ariana and Carys easily make their way up to the lizard's back!
No sooner have they done so, than the glowing symbols pulsate and disappear. The lizard makes its way to the shore, then skirts Keller's basin and begins to climb with huge webbed, clawed feet. It pulls back when it strikes the sunlight, but keeps climbing steadily upward toward the opening.
As it reaches the first ledge of the waterfall, our escapees catch a glance of what awaits them outside the cave mouth: giant dunes the size of mountains stretch into the distance, radiating heat in wave after wave of icy mirage. The sand itself is pure white near the cave entrance, and then stretches away into a multitude of browns, greys, and shifting pearl.
Just as they are beginning to feel the warmth outside, the lizard falters a bit, losing its footing on the slippery rock! At the final ledge, it is unable to hold onto the rock in the heat much longer, and is struggling to keep the group upright against the force of the rushing water.
The lizard climbs a bit further to a portion of smooth alabaster stone, still inside the cave's shadow, but above the waterfall. The heat seems to be wreaking havoc with the lizard's translucent white skin, and it throws its tail wildly about as it climbs even further.
Then, its back foot gives way, and its front...it begins to slide down, back toward the cave entrance!
"Hup!" Eli bellows in surprise. As the great lizard begins to slide backward, he scrambles and vaults to land on solid ground. Aiming for the ledge, out of the water if possible. Hopefully , the loss of his weight is enough to help the creature regain its grip.
Reflex? 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Acrobatics? 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Not sure what to roll for here...
Eli's quick reflexes and a surprisingly powerful jump land him over ten feet away from the struggling lizard. As he rolls onto dry ground, the beast gains a bit of stability, trying again to push against the water to reach the dry land. But again, it flinches and nearly loses its footing when the light strikes its back. It struggles against the water, neck writhing in the heat, and lands a clawed front foot near where Eli lay, bracing with its back feet against a ledge, and is stable for the moment. The heat seems to be taking its toll on its sensitive skin, however. The once pearly-white scales are quickly turning clouded and brown, as it continues to writhe in pain.
Xazt's survival instincts play out in a totally unexpected manner -- he pulls his bedroll out of his bag and attempts to cover as much of the creature as possible. "Help him! He helped us!" Xazt yells quickly.
Ari grabs her bedroll, lays it over the creature next to the one Xazt put down, then climbs the rope up to Eli, shouting to Xazt, "Hold on to mine too!"
Ariana is able to hang on to the rope, putting hand atop hand until she is safely to the smooth rock with Eli. The lizard seems to gain some strength back from the decreased weight, and pulls itself and the remaining group up and over the falls, gaining a firm stance near dry land. Its head and legs are still uncovered, however, and it is shaking in the heat.
Carys uses prestidigitation to move water from the waterfall onto the lizard's back. Grateful for the more stable platform, she leans toward the lizard and says, "maange taak du." [spoiler=celestial] Thank you very much. [/celestial]
With a nod to Eli she grabs the rope and attempts to climb down the rope.
climb1d20 + 0 ⇒ (18) + 0 = 18
If she falls of the rope, I would like to try and roll onto the ground in order to minimize damage acrobatics 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11
EDIT, uh, looking back, I'm not sure who has the rope, but it seems like Lucas probably took it with him. I guess then, I'll probably jump toward him and hope for the best!
Carys, the last member, takes Lucas's hand and makes it easily to safety. The water which she conjures seems to soothe the lizard's burnt skin a bit, but the second that she is safe the beast dives beneath the river waters, swimming a bit upstream toward the evident spring, and taking shelter under a (very) large rock about 300 meters away.
The group stands on a small stretch of smooth, white rock which gives way to mountainous dunes which now seem to be impossibly large, some nearly 6-7 thousand feet tall, by estimation. The large outcropping from which the water springs is where the lizard has taken refuge, and is the only shade to be seen. The sun beats down with penetrating force. At midday, it is nearly 115 degrees, or thereabouts, on the rock.
Our heroes seem to be out of the frying pan, but will they survive the fire?? STAY TUNED FOR THE NEW SERIES, "The Third Continent," which begins on July 2nd!
You escaped the Goblin Cave! Everyone takes 2000 XP! Achievement Unlocked: Trust the Glowing Lizard - bonus 500 XP Achievement Unlocked: Save the Lizard Friend - bonus 300 XP
*This campaign leg is now closed for actions other than speaking between characters, planning, and the like.
