A loud clank was heard from inside the well while the old priestess once more fell to her knees and started her sorrowful song.
Once the initial shock wore off and Bronwyn was satisfied that Palisade wasn't in dire straits, the noise that she heard as the dragon disappeared was finally able to register with her brain.
Before leaving she looked at the priestess with an intense stare, "Is the black dragon a prisoner? Imprisoned by the ones with no respect? Is that why you sing sadly?"
Rainn gathered her wits enough to raise her crossbow and point it at the well, following Bronwyn's lead and covering the 'forged as they worked.
Rainn nodded at Vi's suggestion
"Yes I think we should get out, if that dragon comes back it'll get the drop on us and spew acid again whether or not we fire back..."
She hurried to the door, a fearful look in her eyes, weight shifting from foot to foot as she waited for the others to follow.
A loud clank was heard from inside the well while the old priestess once more fell to her knees and started her sorrowful song.Once the initial shock wore off and Bronwyn was satisfied that Palisade wasn't in dire straits, the noise that she heard as the dragon disappeared was finally able to register with her brain.
Before leaving she looked at the priestess with an intense stare, "Is the black dragon a prisoner? Imprisoned by the ones with no respect? Is that why you sing sadly?"
The old priestess' head was down, her body hunched; it was hard to tell that she was sad from her facial features but her body language spoke volumes.
She shook her head softly, "I sad. I tear because Rhashak's children have no respect. Only love gold. Only love gold. No respect."
----------
OOC: something tells me there might be a dragon hoard (for a young dragon) somewhere here. Wouldn't it be great if I knew what magic items my PCs wanted? Maybe I could place one or two here? :)
"This one concurs - considering the damage caused by a single attack, this one doubts we are not in a state to forcibly resist such a creature," the 'forged said calmly, using its Goddess-given powers to mend its damaged gear. "Furthermore, we should first secure this level of the temple, ensure that it has been cleared of hostiles before risking a venture deeper, when we might be flanked by still-active combatants."
MAGIC ITEMS
The full post is here.
The short of it is: one major uncommon item and a major rare magic item. The items need to be as unique as possible (descriptions, history, quirks, etc.).
Questions?
Game on!
"Down to in the well then." said Fendir.
Bronwyn raised an eyebrow as Vi and Fendir gave their report. "I find it hard to believe that the lizardfolk would go up and down the well. Yes, I realize that dragons can fly but there would be servants of the dragon, yes? And then there's the large humanoid creature you spoke of. Where did they go? There has to be a way down below other than the well."
MAGIC ITEMS
The full post is here.
The short of it is: one major uncommon item and a major rare magic item. The items need to be as unique as possible (descriptions, history, quirks, etc.).
Questions?
Game on!
"Down to in the well then." said Fendir.
Squeak's eyes didn't widen at Fendir's words, but the glow within them turned a sickly green. "Are you suggesting..." Squeak hesitated "We lower ourselves down the well? That seems to bear unacceptable risks to... us. I suggest we take the time to construct a proper descent mechanism; like stairs."
"You all talk too much, and we don't have alot of time." snarls Fendir. He makes his way to the nearest well and peers down it.
Rainn stared fearfully around at the contents of the living area, clutching her crossbow tightly.
"Down that hole... really?.."
Her face went pale.
"It would seem we have now exhausted other options," Palisade said, its eye fixed on its elder brother who had got his tiny paws on a ceremonial candle and was not sitting on Palisade's armored shoulder, nibbling at it with evident pleasure, long steel whiskers twitching in excitement.
"We have not found what we came to look for on this level. Either the intelligence we were given was faulty, or we need to venture deeper. Indeed, this one believes were were let to believe what we seek would be found in older ruins this temple was later built on. Cautiously. The dragon we saw does present a sizable risk, and this one does not know how best to deal with it. It would not seem feasible to build a siege engine small enough to take with us into tunnels, while also large and powerful enough to deal meaningful damage to a dragon, even a small one."
"Option. We could always abandon our mission," it added, admitting to some doubt how well it could protect Bronwyn from the beast that had almost melted it into a puddle in passing.
"As for ensuring safe and comfortable access down... unit Squeak, if you were to provide this one with some measurements it's certain it could quickly create a serviceable ladder out of readily available materials.
Action 1
Vi helped Rainn rinse off the rest of the acid, and put an arm around her shoulder. "Buck up, kiddo, it can only get better from here." But the bard seemed set on leaving. Turning to Squeak, she asked, "Can we send her back with 183? She really shouldn't go back through the forest alone."
Action 2
Vi reported to the others what Sur'kil had said. "I guess we'll be splitting the treasure even more ways now," she grumbled. Though, to be honest, more help at this point would be better. Let's hope whoever he sends is acid-proof.
Turning to the others, she said, "I think we should wait until tomorrow. We've got backup coming, and we're looking pretty battered. We know we'll be up against acid - can anybody prepare anything that can protect us from that? Do we know anything about acid-spitters that will help us - what they're vulnerable to, anything like that?"
Looking at the big hammocks, she wondered aloud, "How certain are we that we've killed everybody? Do we dare sleep here? Should we ask the priestess?"
Fendir emphatically shook his head NO at Verve's question about sleeping in the temple, while never taking his eyes off the well.
Action 1:
"Can we send her back with 183? She really shouldn't go back through the forest alone."
Bronwyn gave an exasperated sigh, "Vi, you know that's not her name. It's 162. How would you like it if you were constantly called by the wrong name? Maybe I'll start calling you Verve."
Action 2:
"I think we should wait until tomorrow. We've got backup coming, and we're looking pretty battered. We know we'll be up against acid - can anybody prepare anything that can protect us from that? Do we know anything about acid-spitters that will help us - what they're vulnerable to, anything like that?"
Bronwyn nodded in agreement with Vi's suggestion. "I agree that we should wait until tomorrow. And as much as I don't want to stay here in the temple, every time we've tried to breach the temple we get quite hurt. Palisade and Squeak don't have to sleep so maybe we can rest relatively easily here in this room. I'm not really sure if the priestess will be of any help in making our decision."
The wizard added, "While we rest, I'll focus on recalling what I learned at The Twelve to see if I can help at all with our acid problem."
Shrugging, Fendir started moving back into the jungle, looking for a place for the group to camp; more specifically, he's looking for a place that is more defensible than comfortable.
Bronwyn nodded in agreement with Vi's suggestion. "I agree that we should wait until tomorrow. And as much as I don't want to stay here in the temple, every time we've tried to breach the temple we get quite hurt. Palisade and Squeak don't have to sleep so maybe we can rest relatively easily here in this room. I'm not really sure if the priestess will be of any help in making our decision."
"Agreement. While there may be more enemies about, it does seem prudent to prepare for an encounter with a dragon, and this temple offers decent defensive options, although the well openings into the underground level are a concern - perhaps we could block at least one of the openings with piled stones for the duration of our rest to limit potential avenues of attack?" the 'forged suggested, after briefly considering the temple's layout. While the building's single entrance was a mixed blessing - no easy avenue of retreat if they faced a superior attacking force - it also limited the attacker's option, particularly since the likely attackers would not wish to cause unnecessary harm to the temple itself.
OOC 1: it's because there aren't many ways to increase your AC in 5e and AC plays a major part in PC durability.
OOC 2: yes, all three of those wells seem to be 'doors' to an underground level. Remember that this temple was built on top of older ruins.
Questions?
Game on!
[dice=arcana for dragon knowledge?]1d20+6
Only one person at a time because it's 'concentration' and only Palisade could cast it but it's something.
OOC: I'm assuming the group will spend the night outside the temple but let me know otherwise.
Excuse me for stalling but I think Vee is almost ready with her new PC and I rather she be introduced before the group goes inside the temple.
In any case (even if she isn't ready), I will recap and move things along tomorrow.
Questions?
Game on!
Yes please, let's have a good sleep and get all healed up and acid proof before the morning. Since this is to replace a character, I assume Fabian won't be evil and attack us in the night.
Fendir's head shot up at the sounds of approaching footsteps, his senses helping him hone in on he location of the noise. He drew his blade and donned his shield before the Tiefling stepped into view.
After a moment without attack, Fendir sheathed his blade and put his shield back on his back.
Action 1
Mei'Vi cocked one eyebrow. "Verve. Sure, call me that. No worse than Mei'Vi, or Val, or Jorlyn, or Tiatha, or Amelia, or Bupinder, or Snak, or any of the other dozen of names I use. It's not my fault that the rest of you slavishly stick to one moniker. And anyway, it's not like it cares if we get its name right."
Action 2
Mei'Vi considered the information. "Sounds like we have the beginning of a plan. If the dragon can only breathe acid every 15 seconds or so, that gives us short windows of attack. Palisade can make himself, or maybe Fendir, acid-proof - they're the bait. We can use that person for cover, or whatever else cover is available. Then immediately after the acid comes out, the rest of us can fan out and attack with whatever we have. Then, when the next attack is coming, we dive for cover. Assuming we can't convince it not to attack, that is."
Action 3
Mei'Vi looked at the stranger down the length of a nocked arrow. "Identify yourself," she commanded.
”Identify myself?”
The tiefling laughed, raising her hands up slowly and moving forward a pace at a time till she was fully visible. She smiled at Vi.
”Nice bow.”
She wore mostly light and dark grey clothing, with dull black metal plates embedded in reinforced leather in all the areas a4mor usually covered. Aside from a gauntlet on her left forearm that looked to be formed of several smaller strips of the same metal, she did not appear to be armed.
”So does saying ‘Sur’Kil sent me’ count as identification? I left my Id papers in my other belt pouch you see...”
She lowered her arms slowly, seemingly unafraid.
”I can list you off by name if you like, or repeat I’m here to assist with a retrieval mission, whatever suits. Though I’d appreciate the professional courtesy of you kindly pointing the arrow in a direction other than my face if you don’t mind. If an accident were to happen it might take some time for me to get my hair right again, which would be tedious...”
Squeak shuffled "Designations are important." he insisted. "Multiple designations lead to confusion. 183 was male, for a start."
"We should also discuss the anatomy and vulnerabilities of dragons." Squeak suggested "Bronwyn; I believe you studied them, did you not?"
Squeak perked up 'She is more worried about her hair than physical damage, suggesting an obsession with her appearance, but felt confident she could repair it, suggesting she is a...' he mentally struggled for a second 'Hair-smith. With luck she will be able to address some of Bronwyn's concerns about the humidity, the sun, and the insects.'.
He nodded approvingly to himself, then to the visitor "So; We've been in need of someone with your... aptitudes. Vi: I certainly feel that if the lady can demonstrate this level of information, we either need to trust her or interrogate her. I defer to your superior knowledge of Lying as to which we should do."
"On the other hand, we were discussing the importance of designations. If you are reluctant to give us yours, we will designate you as..." Squeak grappled for a moment "183."
Action 2
Mei'Vi considered the information. "Sounds like we have the beginning of a plan. If the dragon can only breathe acid every 15 seconds or so, that gives us short windows of attack. Palisade can make himself, or maybe Fendir, acid-proof - they're the bait. We can use that person for cover, or whatever else cover is available. Then immediately after the acid comes out, the rest of us can fan out and attack with whatever we have. Then, when the next attack is coming, we dive for cover. Assuming we can't convince it not to attack, that is."
"A valid plan," Palisade said approvingly, quite willing to take on the role of a bait if it meant Bronwyn would be kept safe. "Concerned. We do not have any intelligence of the terrain on the underground level. Furthermore, at least 3 enemies we previously encountered never joined the battle this time. It is possible they retreated to the lower levels to rally, and have now prepared an ambush for us. Furthermore, the dragon we briefly encountered might not be the only creature calling the underground level its home, although this one has doubts a dragon would suffer just any other creature to share a part of its lair with it."
Action 3
”I can list you off by name if you like, or repeat I’m here to assist with a retrieval mission, whatever suits. Though I’d appreciate the professional courtesy of you kindly pointing the arrow in a direction other than my face if you don’t mind. If an accident were to happen it might take some time for me to get my hair right again, which would be tedious...”
Palisade nodded sagely at this, recalling well the grief maintaining Lady d'Deneith's hair had given her, and her heated objections when Palisade had offered to shave her head to save her from the trouble. "Agreement. This one has learned that females of many species do tend to value their secondary sexual characteristics to a remarkable degree. Thus any wear and tear of your hair should definitely be avoided, female individual number one," the 'forged said in its dead voice, quite willing to work around a lack of proper identifier for the moment.
"So you consider it professional to walk into someone's camp without identifying yourself?" snarled Fendir.
He hadn't redrawn his weapon, but he was definitely exuding a certain...menace.
"One eight three? Is that a random number or have there been one hundred and eighty two previously unknown female individuals?"
She shook her head, black tresses dancing for a moment as she considered the 'Forged then her own hair.
"Whilst I am not averse to being called by a number, I feel perhaps two different numbering systems may lead to confusion, having been designaed both one eight three and one. My preferred designation is 'Dusk', and as per Suk'Kil's instructions we may be traveling together for at least some time, if you need to include me in any group protocols."
She turned to Vi
"If you do wish to proceed with an interrogation, can it at least be sat down and with whisky?"
She produced a hip flask and offered it out, when there were no immediate takers she took a swig herself and offered it once more.
She turned to Fendir, ignoring his menacing demeanour
"You I don't know." she raised an eyebrow
"And to answer your question, that depends on your profession, it would be a poor thief or assassin who announced themselves when they entered someone's camp..."
She smiled and took another swig
Fendir said "Easy then. Prove who you are, or we'll kill you."
Dusk stared at Fendir, unblinking.
”Really? How very tedious of you, think what a pickle we’d be in if I demanded similarly, with the same threat.”
She stowed the hip flask.
”Sur’Kil asked me to assist Bronwyn d’Deneith, Mei’Vi, Palisade, Squeak and The Reverend Bastion-of-Unshakable-Belief who I presume has not made an appearance as he is wise enough not to be wasting his time with this pointless sabre rattling.”
She flexes her hands but still makes no threatening moves, though she takes a few steps back towards the edge of the clearing and turns slightly sideways so she can keep most of the group in view whilst still facing Fendir.
”Now unless you’re assuming authority of the group enough to speak for all present and want to take issue with Sur’Kil’s instructions, step up or step off. I’ve nothing to prove to you.”
It doesn’t take a warriors eyes to see she’s clearly ready to rumble.
Mei'Vi lowered her bow. "Enough, Fendir. We didn't put you through the ringer when we stumbled on you and Rainn. Dusk, pleasure to meet you. I'm Mei'Vi. You obviously know our names - Palisade is the tall one, and his elder brother is currently..." she looked around, "there - probably working on converting that chameleon to the one true faith of the Creator Goddess."
Grinning, she held her hand out to the tiefling to shake. "Glad to have you on board. We've taken care of many of the local lizard-folk, but have a few unaccounted for. And an acid-spitting dragon. And a friendly - or at least neutral - priestess. Welcome to the jungle."
While the others set up camp, Fendir made his way back to the temple and used his arms to measure the width of the well's opening. He then started looking around for something heavy and wide enough to be able to fill the hole; preferably something that he would be able to shove down far enough to make it not easily visible from the top of the well.
Once he found his desired chunks of stone, he rolled them neatly in a row near the outside well. He would need the machines' help to clog the wells.
Apparently satisfied that this person was the one mentioned by the others, Fendir returned to what he had been doing before Dusk showed up: using a stick to scratch into the earth.
Waiting until Fendir backed down, Dusk shifted back to a more relaxed pose and continued on as if nothing had happened.
She moved over to Vi, her eyes flicking over the elf, then took her hand and gently turned it over, thumb brushing the skin on the back of her hand.
"You have lovely skin Mei'Vi, I don't know how you keep it so smooth, even despite your recent trials and this 'delightful' heat."
She smiled and gently released Vi's hand.
"OK so good to know you've breached the temple, all progress is good progress. That's quite an obstacle though, the flying, acid-spitting, hard-to-kill kind. Still, that's why we get paid in Platinum is what I say."
She patted a pocket and glanced around at the group.
"Now I've got to report back to Sur'Kil, let him know we've met up and what progress has been made. Anything you'd like to add before I send?"
Grinning, she held her hand out to the tiefling to shake. “Glad to have you on board. We've taken care of many of the local lizard-folk but have a few unaccounted for. And an acid-spitting dragon. And a friendly - or at least neutral - priestess. Welcome to the jungle.”
Palisade leaned towards Squeak. "Clarification. Unit Squeak, you invited companion Mei'Vi to continue the dialogue because she was more skilled at lying. Yet this one believes she gave a reasonable accurate summary of our situation. Query. Does that mean she was lying about the individual Dusk being welcome in the jungle part?" the 'forged asked, its voice quite audible to everyone interested.
I'll give people a few more hours to post anything else and then gather what I have into some sort of plan and move things along.
I intend to recap tomorrow morning.
Questions?
Game on!
Action 1
"Was?" Mei'Vi asked. "Is he not a male any longer?"
Action 3
She moved over to Vi, her eyes flicking over the elf, then took her hand and gently turned it over, thumb brushing the skin on the back of her hand.
"You have lovely skin Mei'Vi, I don't know how you keep it so smooth, even despite your recent trials and this 'delightful' heat."
She smiled and gently released Vi's hand.
Vi smiled uncertainly, not certain what Dusk meant by the compliment. Was she subtly saying that she knew Vi was a changeling? Or did she truly notice things like skin softness when meeting somebody? Either way, it was a good lesson learned - Vi hadn't thought much about Mei'Vi's skin, aside from its colour. She would do well to consider climate and lifestyle, and be sure to account for it when planning a Face.
Palisade leaned towards Squeak. "Clarification. Unit Squeak, you invited companion Mei'Vi to continue the dialogue because she was more skilled at lying. Yet this one believes she gave a reasonable accurate summary of our situation. Query. Does that mean she was lying about the individual Dusk being welcome in the jungle part?" the 'forged asked, its voice quite audible to everyone interested.
Mei'Vi considered waiting to see what Squeak said, just for fun, but decided clarity was important at this moment. "I believe Squeak asked me to decide use my knowledge of the mystic art of deception to determine whether we should trust Dusk or not, and I did, and I do. He didn't require me to deceive her, so I didn't. She is truly welcome, as much as anybody is in this Seven-forsaken jungle." Okay, maybe not clarity, but...something..."
Merry Christmas!
Where are you at? You might be stuck on that strange island 'down under' with Squeak. :)
Recapping...
Merry Christmas as well from the GMT+2 zone ;^)
Turn 069 - Acid Spitting and Flying
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!