GM Rat Sass's Age of Worms

Game Master Governayle

Solrisa is happy to go chie-chat with people, loving making new friends. But she knows the path is to the north, probably.

She will around looking for intelligent life. Humanoidish, if possible.

Damsk tosses his towel over his shoulder, his head shaking in disbelief as he stands fully. The fold-down stool on the back wall of the bar folds back up, keeping the tight space open for the rotund man. He pours himself a drink, toasting you all before he tosses it back, then pours himself another. "Well, I certainly made out the better for our visit. The amount of business your stories will bring in will keep me busy for another month, I'd say." The bar owner takes the fine stack of coin from Ascaria, and slips it through a well-worn slot in the back wall.

"The least I can do is pass on a story on the street these days, and it even relates to your visit to the Palace. Might even provide you some insider intelligence, if you decide to visit the Prince again, anytime soon. I hear that he's been in a foul mood most of the last two weeks. That fool of his, one you mentioned in your stories just now, well he's no longer in the Palace, no longer entertaining Zeech, and the servants are walking on eggshells most of their work days. So, just a heads up, for what it's worth." Damsk pulls on his mustache with a twirl of his fingers. "Safe travels, and don't forget your old friend, Damsk, when you visit our city again."

...

The Overcasts descend through the true clouds, and alight upon a cliff face which shelters them from the sun, and gives them enough time to materialize into a form capable of casting spells, as Eidi desires to do.

The elderly half-elf doesn't require much time to ask his god for the Path, whispering the name Kongen-Thulnir into the palms of his aged hands, bringing his divination counters to glow. In the next moment, the counters begin to dim, while Eidi's eyes begin to glow, the transference of the divine knowledge complete.

Eidi looks up, tucking his counters away, then points... north. The Outcasts become Overcasts again, and the half-elf's eyes continue to glow with the new knowledge. It also helps to follow your new leader. Occasionally you're required to avoid multiple, pesky mountain tops which obstruct the true line towards your destination, but it never discourages the half-elf, who follows a Path only his eyes can see. Eventually, some might say inevitably, the mountains waste away and reveal an arid wasteland broken only by the occasional rock formation or copse of scrub oaks, stretching to the horizon in all directions save one.

In this direction, the land drops away into the immense gulf of the
Rift Canyon. It stretches as far as the eye can see to the east and west, a boggling gash in the face of the world. The wind blowing over the strange rock formations perched on the canyon’s lips makes a hollow moaning sound.

One hundred feet below the top of the cliff, an immense ruined city of stone lies nestled in a wide, open cavern. Hundreds of multi-leveled buildings and towers rise inside this cavern, creating a vertical city scape of spires, battlements, and stone bridges. Spires of rock protruding precariously from the cliff’s lower face rise up before the city scape. Some of these spires are barren, capped only by the odd bush or rock formation, but two support large castles of their own, and connect to the main city via slender bridges of stone. Smoke rises from several parts of the ruined city, and many of the buildings are recently damaged or destroyed. The source of this damage is readily apparent.

The city of Kongen-Thulnir is under siege by dragons.

When they have gotten some distance from the town, Ascaria wonders, ”I wonder why the prince is upset? Hopefully the work we did when we were here last set him back some.” he grins mischievously.

As they arrive at their destination and set down to begin to solidify, Ascaria asks, ”What’s all that noise. Do I hear shouting in the distance? I smell smoke, does anyone else smell smoke? Is there a BBQ?”

"Hmmm... thanks for the information Damsk. The Prince clown was most insidious, I would not be surprised any of the guests decided to show him some place... deep down in the ocean" the half-elf chuckles and accepts another glass of milk before departing.

-------

"So yes Solrisa! It's North! Follow me!" Eidi exclaims as he completes the find the path spell.

The elder is greatly impressed by the size of the ruins. Spotting the dragons attacks, he rushes to the top of the cliff, somewhere well hidden behind a rock where the group can safely transform back into themselves.

Once into solid matter again he points to the ruins alarmed "Have you seen that? The place is under siege... by dragons! Those must be Dragotha's minions..."

Eidi tries to look from a safe distance if the dragons are undead or alive, and if there is some structure in the ruins that seems inhabited.
Perception (low-light vision, see invisibility): 1d20 + 27 ⇒ (2) + 27 = 29
K. arcana (to ID dragons): 1d20 + 28 ⇒ (11) + 28 = 39

"NORTH!!?" Solrisa echoes excitedly. "OF COURSE! I KNEW IT!" Solrisa begins to march quickly to the north, but her stride slows as she sees the dragonkind.

"Oh no! Are those good dragons or bad dragons, Eidi!? I should know that before I go slay them all,"[b] she states with a serious, but sad face. [b]"If they are bad dragons, tell me how I should set my cape to avoid their worst pains! Then I will go kill them. Maybe using my new bow, which is very nice."

How many dragons are we talking about here? 5, 10, or 100s?!

Damsk or no Damsk, I don't really want to go back to ZeechTown. That stupid monument. Those evil angel things... Ugh.

Mortimer groans quietly as they take off for Alhaster, and tries not to breath the rank air once they arrive.

How does anyone keep an appetite around here?

He does not partake of second breakfast, though does accept a hoppy ale if offered so as not to appear rude. He glances at Ascaria, and when Ascaria gives the green nod, he immediately proceeds to nurse the brew.

"Oh it is fine Damsk, it is great to remember a good story"

Mortimer smiles once or twice and nods, fondly remembering as Eidi tells the tale of the Birthday Debacle, the outrageous gifts, and how much fun they had having a good time at the Evil Leader's expense.

"That fool of his, one you mentioned in your stories just now, well he's no longer in the Palace, no longer entertaining Zeech, and the servants are walking on eggshells most of their work days"

OH, crap! Did we make everyone's lives worse by irritating Zeech?! That guy has got to go!

"So, uh," he asks cautiously and quietly, "Is The Fool dead, or just in hiding? Does anyone know? He'd be hard to miss."

~~~~

Mortimer gazes sullenly out at the besieged city nestled in its bleak landscRaping, wondering what to do. He peers over at the citadel to see if he can see any form of civilian movement.

Perception: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (12) + 24 = 36 +2 more Spirit Sense

"Is this place supposed to be inhabited now by ... civilized beings?"

The Outcasts, fully formed but secure in their position some distance from the city proper, begin their reconnaissance. Four powerful beings, but only three sets of functional eyes. A full ten minutes of awestruck gazing yields an uncertain headcount of the dragon army laying siege to the city.

There are dozens of them.

There are approximately a dozen young adult black dragons, a dozen adult green dragons, about half a dozen mature adult blue dragons, as well as additional dragon bodies which can be seen here and there in the ruins. Certainly more of them lie hidden in a tangled heap hundreds of feet below in the misty depths of the canyon...

You also see giants active in the ruins, some manning the various siege engines that defend the ruins, others running for cover as the myriad of breath weapons are leveled against them in return fire.

”Oh, there is a lot of them. I don’t think i can kill more than 5 or 6, maybe, I dunno,” Solrisa draws her really nice new dragon hunting bow. ”Maybe a few more. But there is a lot of them. That’s the problem.”

Solrisa waits to see what others think is the right plan.

Ascaria is surprised by the large numbers, "But surely we're not going to do nothing. I dunno who's down there, but these dragons are evil, are they not? So surely their opponent could be good? Who would we be if we didn't help?"

Ascaria begins casting to support an offensive, or even a sneaking - just in case…

Air Walk Communal (40 minutes)
Protection from Energy Communal (40 minutes or 120hp of Acid damage, whichever comes first)
Protection from Energy Communal (40 minutes or 120hp of Electrical damage, whichever comes first)
Protection from Energy Communal (40 minutes or 120hp of Fire damage, whichever comes first)

When the party heads out, he’ll add two more (just before departure - unless we’re invisibly traveling in which case just the Prot Evil).
Invisibility Purge (80’ range)
Protection from Evil, communal (8 minutes - using rod of extend)

Group effects
Air Walk Communal (everyone)
Heroes' Feast (+1 att & will saves, +4 vs poison & fear (morale); temp hp) (everyone)
Protection from Energy Communal (up to 120hp of acid damage)(everyone)
Protection from Energy Communal (up to 120hp of electrical damage)(everyone)
Protection from Energy Communal (up to 120hp of fire damage)(everyone)
Protection from Evil, Communal (everyone)
Wind Walk (everyone)

"This is worrisome, a couple of those dragons I know and their presence can only mean doom" Eidi looks concerned and points at one notorious ancient red dragon perched on a far tower, watching the battle across the city "That is Brazzemal the Burning. Hundreds of years ago, his fury brought an age of fire down upon several southern nations, and countless adventurers perished in an attempt to locate the dragon’s lair in the inhospitable Hellfurnaces. Eventually, the dragon allied with the giant armies of King Snurre and played a part in the razing of Sterich. He hasn’t been heard from in nearly two decades"

Then he points to a building, to some invisible dragon "And that is Necrozyte. This one is a fiendish old green dragon that hails from the Nine Hells, where she served as a guardian over one of Tiamat’s hoards nonetheless. When a particularly sly adventuring party recently stole a book of infinite spells from this hoard, Tiamat exiled Necrozyte to the Material Plane, where she has maintained a relatively low profile"

"Indeed, battle is chaos Ascaria, but perhaps we could try to check out if the giants are potential allies or also enemies... Do you want us to try out sneaking into the city and talking with their leaders? It might be as risky as facing an army of dragons..." if so, Eidi will cast sphere of invisibility for the group to more easily get into the city.

"Maybe we're not here to do any of that. Maybe we're just here to sneak in and destroy something? You know, THE Thing?"

"Ah, sure, sure. Could be evil on evil battling each other. Who knows? We should find the thing, and then help here if it makes sense to do so. But the thing is more important as Mort said. Let's try to find it, and then talk to the giants after. If we can."

He'll still cast all of the above, except invisibility purge so the party can remain invisible.

Solrisa, now with bow in hand, thinks about what to do next.

”Do you want me to go kill them while you guys look? Or should we go together?” Solrisa asks, trying to help plan a plan.

’Which way are we going and how? A pretty cloudies? Or on our feets?”

"I think for now we are trying to figure out what is happening. So, yes, let's try this invisibility trick" seeing Ascaria does not use invisibility purge yet, Eidi casts sphere of invisibility and leads the party into the town to see what the giants are up to and what's the siege about.

The solid forms of the Outcasts become transparent, as the elder half-elf cloaks the four in a shroud of invisibility. With the gnome's ability to walk on air, you begin your approach to Kongen-Thulnir, ancient ruins of a once great druidic stronghold.

Built by ancient stone giants, Kongen-Thulnir was constructed in large caverns in the face of the Rift’s eastern cliffs. The city’s multi-level buildings mingle with the walls of the cliffside cavern and each other in a confusing array of alleys, stairs, doorways, and walls on a prodigious scale. The top of the upper city’s cavern lies 100 feet below the edge of the cliff, while the canyon bottom is obscured from view by a constant, dense fog.

The buildings of Kongen-Thulnir are primarily composed of thick superior masonry walls, though in some places they abut the cavern walls or actually delve back into the rock. Roofs are composed of the same masonry, supported by beams of petrified wood that protrude from the walls. Ceilings are twenty feet high. Doors are strong wood, fifteen feet high and inches thick.

You begin to assess its defensive capabilities, as well. Kongen-Thulnir has several special defenses designed to enhance the city’s natural defenses. The primary weapons are ballistae and heavy catapults which appear to be using both normal ammunition and something... unusual.

Mortimer is quick to point out several guylines, heavy steel chains that are strung at strategic places throughout the city and anchored to portions of the cliff face. These chains are painted to match the coloration of the stone of the city and cliffs. From the ruins themselves, the guylines are easy to see during the day when they stand out against the sky. At night, or when approaching the city from the air, they are much more difficult to spot. You'd imagine the damage from striking the chains would be proportional to the speed at which you're flying...

You watch as a bald hill giant takes up a ballistae, launching an attack at a blue dragon flying with the sun in its eyes. The harpoon flies true, and strikes the ribcage of the mighty beast, enraging it so greatly, it fails to understand that the harpoon is only the beginning of its problem. Instead of immediately attacking the hill giant, the blue dragon continues its arc, intent on bringing circling back for a flyby attack. In doing so, it seals its fate.

The chain linking the harpoon to the cliff's face straightens like a towel snapping, and the designated anchor rock breaks free. The five-ton boulder predictably plummets to the canyon floor, bringing with it the harpooned blue. Its roars of pain and rage can be heard for quite some time after it disappears into the mists.

From North to South, you take inventory of the various structures of the massive city ruins. Roll20 Map has been updated.

The only land route into Kongen-Thulnir is a thirty-foot-wide ledge that winds down from the edge of the Rift Canyon above. Access to Kongen-Thulnir via this ledge is controlled by the City Gate here Location A on the map, a forty-foot-tall, two-story structure made of bronzewood poles bound with heavy chains. A sixty-foot tower with a battlement roof and many loopholes watches over the area. No one appears to be manning the roof, as most of the northern section of the city is a war zone at present.

Location Area B is referred to as Northern Kongen-Thulnir on the map, highlighted in blue.

You can see water pouring from the side of the cliff, which draws your attention to what must be the City Well Location C on the map. Water gurgles up into a cistern cut in the rock, where it is funneled into an aqueduct that travels under a bridge and over the cliff’s edge. The river is only 5 feet deep and the current is not very strong.

Further to the south stands a flat-topped pinnacle of rock, which is connected to Kongen-Thulnir by a swaying bridge of wood and chains. It once held catapult and ballista emplacements, but they have all been destroyed by dragon attacks. The charred and melted corpses of dozens of giants lie on the stone.

Near the eastern side of the swaying bridge is another feature of the city- a giant-sized ladder Location E on both the large and the inset maps which descends to a second section of Kongen-Thulnir. An Undercity, if you will. Your eyes are drawn down the ladder to the Undercity Location Area F on the inset map, highlighted in green At the base of the ladder lies the ravaged body of a mature blue dragon. This area has been spared the brunt of the attack by the dragons. The buildings form a hive of overlapping walls, zigzagging alleys, and claustrophobic tenements. Many of the buildings have been
modified for use by Medium creatures. The ceiling of this cavern is only 60 feet high, and roofs of many of the buildings scrape against it near the back wall.

From the Undercity extends a Tower Bridge Location I on the map, which connects to a 110-foot-tall tower which squats atop this stone pinnacle Location J on the map. The tower is heavily fortified, with two heavy catapults and four ballistae atop it. A winch and pulley brings heavy supplies up from the bridge below. This tower’s position gives it a great tactical advantage over anyone who attacks the city itself, and its clear lines of fire allow for attacks on dragons throughout the ruins. The tower has taken a beating as a result. It is here you witnessed the hill giant harpooner take out the mature blue dragon...

Moving your observations south within Northern Kongen-Thulnir, your eyes alight upon a Round House Location K on the map. This heavily fortified tower rises to a height of 60 feet. Outfitted with two ballistae and one light catapult, this bunker has been targeted a few times by the dragons but remains undamaged for the most part.

A Ledge connects Northern and Southern Kongen-Thulnir Location Area L on the map, highlighted in red. This relatively narrow stretch of ledge hosts a single, still-functional ballista. Its hill giant crew lies dead nearby, victims of green dragon breath. Guylines have been strung between the cliff face 50 feet above the ledge and the side of the stone pinnacle Location J, as well as between the cliff and another rock pinnacle south of the stone pinnacle Guylines are marked as white on the map.

Beyond the Ledge stands a forty-foot-tall tower, alongside a twenty-foot-high set of heavy wooden gates built into a stone gatehouse Location M on the map. The tower now stands partially ruined and empty, appearances evident of a recent dragon attack.

Location Area N is referred to as Southern Kongen-Thulnir on the map, highlighted in yellow.

This section has suffered heavy damage, and bodies of giants litter the ground alongside a few dragon corpses. The whole area is split into terraces and 10-foot-deep fighting positions, allowing the giants to
gain cover, higher ground, flanking positions, and every other advantage possible against anyone who tries a foot assault on the impressive edifice, Kongen-Thulnir's Palace Location P on the map risen and recessed in the cliff face. Guylines are thick in the air above these buildings, for obvious reasons. At the eastern side of another bridge stands a sixty-foot tall arch, constructed of blood-red stone, which leads to an unsupported stone bridge Location Q on the map, which leads to a companion citadel built upon a promontory constructed of solid stone Location R on the map.

With your new perspective on the ruins which grow ever closer, you find yourselves at a crossroads, mid-air, considering where you will touch down in the city.

How do you proceed?

1d20 - 1 ⇒ (11) - 1 = 10 Perception

Solrisa mistily waves bye-bye to the chained blue dragon, prettily falling to its deserved doom.

That is one interesting map, and those guylines are something else.

Solrisa air points to the citadel, thinking that is a fine place to start. Area R.

That way, we get to go mostly north from here on out. That's the best way to go!

Ascaria asks for a description and, presuming one is granted, nods along with Sol. [b]"It's as good a place to start as any. Remember, we don't know if the giants are hostile, so be on your guard.

He takes out a light mace and grips the handle uneasily. He's not yet used to the weapon, and though he often carried something in his right hand, it was differently balanced - not as a weapon. So it feels different to him.

He moves as quickly as possible to the citadel.

For spell tracking purposes, how long will it take us to get to the citadel?

From your current position on approach, you've used five minutes traveling from your reconnaissance position Air Walking to take in the city. From this position to the Citadel, you use another 2 minutes.

For their concerted Air Walking, Sphere of Invisibility clustered migration to the Citadel, the Outcasts move as one flock, and seek out the grounds of the Citadel, which are numerous.

The army of giants appear to have largely retreated into the Citadel, and the dragons sieging this section of Kongen-Thulnir have turned their attentions elsewhere, for the time-being.

There are three fire giants patrolling the main doors on the lowest level, while the topmost tower sports a single, abandoned ballista.

Where do you choose to land?

Perpception: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (5) + 26 = 31
K. engineering: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (12) + 14 = 26
"Crawler Loads. That's the unusual ammunition they are using. Severed carrion crawler heads. The worse is not the impact but the large reservoir of carrion crawler brain juice poison inside. Nasty" explains Eidi, then realizing Ascaria does not see the whole picture "Oh, there is a huge giant city clinging on the cliff. There are three pinnacles to the west, two of them seem inhabited and connect to the main city with bridges. The streets seem a chaos, the place has been on fight for a while"

Arriving to the citadel, the half-elf points to the top of the tower "We probably are better landing on there to figure better out what is going on. We can then explore invisibly the citadel. My only fear is appearing unannounced might not be seen as very friendly"

Solrisa floats to the top of the tower, agreeing that starting there would be the best spot to start. "Yes, it's not quite as good as started at the bottom, but we'll make it work, Eidi."

Still under Eidi's cloak of invisibility, you manage to successfully touch down on the topmost level of the Citadel. The roof of the tower is surrounded by a 7-foot-high parapet. A lone ballista stands idle, along with 12 bolts and 2 harpoons. None of the crawler loads, unfortunately. There is a single trap door in the southwestern corner of the floor.

Looking over the parapet's northern face, you also notice an unguarded smaller balcony, 20' by 20', and a surrounding 10-foot-high parapet, as well as a door leading into the northern face of the tower upon which you currently stand. There are 15 throwing boulders stacked here.

Looking over the parapet's southern face, you spy another parapet standing 80 feet above the main gate. It has an excellent view of the approach to the citadel. You can see well enough a trapdoor in the southwestern arc of its floor. More interestingly, you discover the body of a fire giant slumped against the wall, horribly mauled by dragon claws.

Roll20 Map has been updated to highlight your current position, as well as the three ways immediately visible to you, by which you might gain entrance to the Citadel.

PerceptionDC30: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (5) + 24 = 29
KnowDungeon: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

"!Ah-ha!" Mortimer holds a finger to air as if to proclaim something very profound. "Uh, gimme a second -- it's on the tip of my tongue --" He looks around as a dragon screams past nearby.

KnowNothingPercept: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (1) + 24 = 25

"No, sorry," he says shaking his head. "It's gone."

He looks about the citadel roof. "Maybe we should work our way down as far as this goes, see if we can use some kind of magic to detect The Thing. If it works, we deal with the guards guarding It, away from the main fray. It'll distract the dragons away from us, at least until we can destroy The Thing."

He searches the dead Fire Giant in search of a clue as to who these giants are, via holy symbol or other possessions, as well as a way inside.

Perception: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (18) + 24 = 42

Ascaria follows the others as he listens to Eidi’s tales of what can be seen - and what it means. He’s even happier when they alight on the citadel and he can take some measure of where he is in all this space.

He looks about the citadel roof. "Maybe we should work our way down as far as this goes, see if we can use some kind of magic to detect The Thing. If it works, we deal with the guards guarding It, away from the main fray. It'll distract the dragons away from us, at least until we can destroy The Thing."

Ascaria nods at Mort's plan, ”Good idea! Eidi, do you have Locate Object handy? And do you think it will work? I’ve a scroll if you don’t have it prepped. Oh, and if we’re going to sneak inside as well, instead of talking, can you do that telepathy thing? That’s really neat and will keep us even quieter.”

Pending the outcome, Ascaria will cast another Protection from Evil, communal (8 minutes - using rod of extend) just before the group opens any doors.

Group effects
Air Walk Communal (everyone)
Heroes' Feast (+1 att & will saves, +4 vs poison & fear (morale); temp hp) (everyone)
Protection from Energy Communal (up to 120hp of acid damage)(everyone)
Protection from Energy Communal (up to 120hp of electrical damage)(everyone)
Protection from Energy Communal (up to 120hp of fire damage)(everyone)
Protection from Evil, Communal (everyone)
Wind Walk (everyone)

"So you think The Thing is in this giant city Mortimer?" the half-elf is impressed the idea has not happened to him.

"Pretty clever Ascaria, let's talk mentally" Eidi completes the telepathic bond spell linking everyone with it.

I do not have the locate magic prepared, but I can do it when we have the chance to rest. then pointing the northern door So far I suggest we start by opening this door, then we start going to the bottom

”OH, GIANT CITY! It sounds big!” Solrisa chimes in, getting ready for combat.

Solrisa will go to the door and open it when others are ready. Her shield and sword will be ready to go.

He searches the dead Fire Giant in search of a clue as to who these giants are, via holy symbol or other possessions, as well as a way inside.

The Outcasts en masse descend to the lower parapet, preserving their cloak of invisibility for the time being. The dead fire giant sports both a masterwork greatsword and a masterwork composite longbow with 50 arrows also adjusted for +10 Strength. He wears a set of +1 Full Plate armor. In his belt pouch, you find 2 oils of magic weapon, 2 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds, 2 Tanglefoot Bags, and 5 flasks of Alchemist’s Fire, as well as 4d100 ⇒ (13, 43, 58, 35) = 149 worth of various gold and silver trinkets on his person.

From your estimation of giants, and the floors of this Citadel, you gauge your current height in the building at roughly the fifth floor. The current parapet on which you stand hosts a single trapdoor in the floor.

As Eidi prepares a little communication magic for the Outcasts to speak in private, he discovers he is unable to do so. The spell fails.

It takes a little work to lift the trapdoor, but Mortimer makes it look easy. Just a more diminutive giant frame with more than adequate muscles to effect a giant's comings and goings through the wooden way. Fortunately, it's not barred from below when he tries and succeeds to dead lift it. Requires a Strength Check DC 15 to move the heavy giant door.

A ladder facilitates your descent into the Citadel, and you reach the floor 20' below Fourth Floor, likely. You have a single door leading from this room, as well as another ladder leading down another 20' to the dim floor below.

How do you proceed?

"For some oddity the telepathy spell just failed..." explains Eidi. He tries to cast detect magic an examine whatever auras are protecting the area.
K. arcana: 1d20 + 28 ⇒ (12) + 28 = 40

The elder picks up one of the tanglefoot bags and leverages it at his hands, twisting it around while he thinks on the scene "I fear we might have arrived late... the dragons have already attacked the citadel as it appears"

"Shall we check what is in this floor? Or shall we go to the bottom of it?" Eidi smiles kindly pointing to the next trapdoor.
Perception (low-light vision, see invisibility): 1d20 + 27 ⇒ (11) + 27 = 38

"Let's leave his gear for now," Ascaria cautions. "If the giants are to be our allies - by no means a sure thing! - we shouldn't be looting them. If they turn out to be our enemies, we can come back this way and loot later."

He'll watch as the others heave the doors open, ready with spell or mace as needed. His brightly lit headband is still deep in his (extra dimensional) pocket for now. He'll cast light on the interior to get the group in if needed.

He now casts the communal Protection from Evil he mentioned earlier.

"It's just a couple of tanglefoot bags and some alchemists fire he's not going to use anytime soon, we'll pay them back if they turn out to be friends and we end up using them, otherwise, we'll just return them."

"I'm fine leaving the rest."

Mortimer points downwards at Eidi's question, and if everyone concurs when they are ready he'll try and pop open the next trap door.

Hopefully it's not barred from below.

Str: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Str: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

"Urrrrrruuuuuuuugghhh!!!!!"

Otherwise, he follows along to check out the fourth floor.

"For some oddity the telepathy spell just failed..." explains Eidi.

Solrisa would look concerned about this, but she never really got the hang of being telepathic (it was always too confusing to have so many voices to listen to).

"Oh no. Should I smash something? Will that help, Eidi?" Solrisa asks, trying to help in some way.

Solrisa is happy to lead the way to the fourth floor, climbing down the ladder.

The gnome casts a protective magic against all things evil, which should shield the Outcasts against both dragon and giant alike.

Standing on the defensive tower's Fourth Floor platform, the giant among you decides to try for the trapdoor in the floor, and succeeds soon enough to open it, and you gaze down to the Third Floor, 20' down, which sports a similar door into the Citadel, but no more trapdoors in floors.

Mortimer's trapdoor flinging has provided you two paths. Enter the Citadel on the Fourth Floor, or on the Third Floor.

How do you proceed?

Roll20 Map has been updated to demonstrate your progress through the Citadel. Light blue doors are passages. Mortimer's token demonstrates your current position.

"I say, Citadel, not yet. Let's see what's there?" Mortimer says, pointing downwards to the third floor before remembering everyone is invisible. "I mean, down there -- floor three. What do you all think?"

"Three is a very good number, Mort!" Solrisa squees in agreement. "Yes, let's go to three!"

Solrisa will get people pointed in the direction of the Third Floor.

"I agree, Mort. Let us descend, as you suggested originally, to the bottom if we can. Then I shall use the scroll, or at least summon forth the spells energies for our purpose." He grins mischievously.

He follows the others to the third floor and prepares himself for the opening of the door.

"Remember, the giants may not be our enemies here, so let's try talking to them if we can, when we encounter them. But if a fight breaks out, stay close at the start - I've a new spell I want to try out. If they be evil, it is quite powerful, and if they're not it won't harm anything."

"As I thought..." Eidi messes his short beard as his detect magic is also disrupted "there is some kind of ward against divination magic in place"

"Sure Mortimer" the half-elf smiles to those able to see him invisible "let's give them a bottom-surprise"

"If divination magics are denied, my scroll won't be any good either. We'll just have to hunt the old fashioned way - one room at a time."

The ladder connecting the fourth and third floor is retractible, if a little heavy. Descending the ladder, your noses are treated to an increasingly pungent aroma of dung smeared along the floor of the garret. Arriving at the Third Floor, you also observe bones scattered about, gnawed upon by something bigger.

Another muscled move by Mortimer, and the single, giant iron door leading from this parapet's tower opens before you, allowing you entrance to the Third Floor of the Citadel. This time, the door is slightly ajar, and it creaks open to give you enough space to continue through, invisible.

This cavernous hall is dimly lit by two windows in the western wall and a heavy iron pot of glowing coals hanging from the ceiling beams above. The pot sways slightly, casting weird shadows throughout the room. The ceiling slopes down from the center of the room to a mere fifteen feet at the west end. A stone table surrounded by six giant-sized chairs dominates the center of the room. Another feature of the room is a Huge serpentine creature, with ten, wait, no, is that twelve heads? They keep writhing like a swarm of puppies, it's hard to tell. At least it's chained to the wall, though the chain looks very forgiving for the space of the room. Most of its heads are angling in your direction, despite your invisibility. Their nostrils flair, curiously.

At a very large stone table, in a very large stone chair, sits a very large fire giant, munching on an overcooked drumstick, occasionally looking through the windows over his shoulder and to his right. When the door creaks open in a scraping, metal against stone kind of way, the large black and red man sets his drumstick down.

"Looks like we got company, Noggins. Smell 'em, do you? Yeah. Who's at the door, I wonder. Who's come to play?"

Roll20 Map has been updated. The maneuverable map is to the right of the Main Map. You are not quite into Initiative, yet.

Solrisa moves into the room, shield and sword at the ready.

”Yes, hello. We’re not here to fight, but will fight. I, mean, I’m a very good fighter, but would also like to sit around an eat cookies too. And also would prefer to kill evil dragons more than giants, so maybe we can talk before you attack, okay?” Solrisa gurgles with enthusiasm.

”As I said, my name is Solrisa. And which one of you is Noggins?” Solrisa looks from one to the other, unsure.

1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21 Diplomacy

K. arcana DC 23: 1d20 + 28 ⇒ (13) + 28 = 41 To know about their regeneration, how to stop it and cut their heads, other special defenses and special attacks, lower saves, preferred eggs cooking style
"A Pyrohydra!" whisppers Eidi "Such a strange place for this volcanic loving magical beasts of fire nature. Be aware of their scent"

Eidi moves after Solrisa to maintain everyone inside the sphere of invisibility "Solrisa is very great, but I only rival her on cookie eating. By the way I am Eidi and we came here to end the dragon leader"
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34

"Who's come to play?"

Mortimer opens his mouth to speak, but then remembers that it is not a skill in which he is particularly gifted. He looks to the others for their reactions, but sees nothing.

I hate being invisible.

Nonetheless he sticks by the party and quietly reaches into his pack to pull out a thunderstone in case another need for chaos arises.

"I, mean, I’m a very good fighter, but would also like to sit around an eat cookies too."

Eidi wrote:

"Solrisa is very great, but I only rival her on cookie eating."

No, not the cookies! NOT THE COOKIES! S+!@. We don't have any cheese either, right!?!? Nope. No cheese, no cookies.

Mortimer struggles successfully in keeping silent. Only the flush on his face reveals his effort.

Maybe it IS good we're invisible.

He soundlessly waits to "see" what will transpire, gripping the thunderstone and looks about.

Perception: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (7) + 24 = 31 +2 more (spirit sense if applicable)

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 vs DC 23

”My lord, call off your, ah, pet! We would like to speak with you a moment. I am Ascaria, and we are not necessarily your enemy - will you consider a parley? If you agree, we will come out of hiding to show our good faith, and we can all chat.” Ascaria too doesn’t like being invisible when it comes to parley. Best to be up front. If they can avoid fighting everything from here to their goal, things will be a lot easier.

Diplomacy to aid Eidi automatically succeeds. +2

The big, burly giant doesn't bother looking in your general direction, with nothing to set his eyes upon. Instead, he tosses his unfinished drumstick at the pyrohydra, and watches as the several heads recede, leaving a single, focused head to snap the table scrap out of the air. Amused, the giant launches another drumstick, and another ungreasy head accepts the bone.

"How does it decide? You think one head is closer to its stomach than another?" The giant shrugs his shoulders, before casually tossing another drumstick, this time in your direction. It draws the pyrohydra's attention, and it moves towards you, before stopping at the length of its chain, not more than ten feet away from either the gnome or the maiden. It's still fixated on the meat before it, but several of its heads bob and weave, the ones not occupied by a thighbone. They look awfully interested in yours. Bones, I mean. The ones they seem to smell...

"Parley, you say? You want to kill the dragon leader? Your words are pretty slick. I'll give you a chance, then. Show your faces. Only cowards like you sneak around unseen. Especially in war time. You've seen the dragons outside. I don't smell their blood on you." The giant stands, placing both hands on the table. One of those very large hands now rests on a dragon's horn. It could be a drinking horn, might be a signal horn. Hard to tell, from your place on the floor.

Roll20 Map has been updated. And, somehow, we're still not in initiative. You folks, with the golden tongues...

Percept: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (11) + 24 = 35

Is Ascaria moving further away?! Where's Sol? Where's Eidi?! Aaugh!
.
.
.
.
... I hate being invisible.

Mortimer pouts at the doorway.

"How does it decide? You think one head is closer to its stomach than another?"

Ascaria frowns, for now there's one more thing in the world that he wants to know. The instinct is so strong, he wonders for a moment if he was ensorcelled, or just easily distracted. Sadly, he determines it's probably the latter, and he’ll have to live with it.

"Parley, you say? You want to kill the dragon leader? Your words are pretty slick. I'll give you a chance, then. Show your faces. Only cowards like you sneak around unseen. Especially in war time. You've seen the dragons outside. I don't smell their blood on you." The giant stands, placing both hands on the table. One of those very large hands now rests on a dragon's horn. It could be a drinking horn, might be a signal horn. Hard to tell, from your place on the floor.

Ascaria will move back, suspecting he’s within range of the hydra. He ‘attacks’ the wall with his new mace to make himself visible, and calls out, ”Lord giant, I am visible, and eager to speak with you, but I cannot get past your pet here. So to see me, you’ll either have to come to me, or pull your hydra back a bit.”

”But we’re serious. We’re no friends of the dragons, and could help you with that.”

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 32 ⇒ (5) + 32 = 37

Eidi ends the invisibility revealing the party "Oh sure they have one of the heads closer to the stomach, although what stomach?" the elder smiles.

"Sorry for coming invisibly, but we did not want the dragons to find out as we sneaked in to parley" the half-elf opens one hand and makes a prestidigitation small illusion of a dragon made of bones "Dragotha is menacing the stability of our world, we need to defeat it. The thing is, we have discovered there is something precious for him that was hidden in this valley. We need to find and destroy that thing before the dragon leader can be defeated"

"That is the reason of the dragon siege, isn't? The dragons want Dragotha's most precious treasure, am I right?"

Dimplomacy aid: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (12) + 14 = 26

”But we’re serious. We’re no friends of the dragons, and could help you with that.”

1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14 Diplomacy to aid

Solrisa smiles happily agreeing (not that anyone can see it, but she doesn't really get that).

"Oh yes, we're here to kill dragons. And if we have to kill all the many headed dragons and giants too, we'll do that but would prefer not to, I mean, it's not like the dragons aren't already winning and, like, you don't need the help or anything..." Solrisa chirps in.

Ascaria will move back, suspecting he’s within range of the hydra. He ‘attacks’ the wall with his new mace to make himself visible.

Ahhhhh-haa... So Ascaria's right there?! So where's Sol and Eidi? Mortimer pauses in thought invisibly now that the gnome is visible, waiting to see what will transpire. ... and doesn't he mean "pyrohydra"? Mortimer peeks at the pyrohyda to get a good look.

He breathes a sigh of relief when Eidi speaks and ends the invisibilty sphere. He steps into what passes as an antechamber.
"He means pyrohydra... so that's a pyrohydra?" Mortimer nods, pursing his lips. "Impressive."

"Lord giant, I am visible, and eager to speak with you, but I cannot get past your pet here. So to see me, you’ll either have to come to me, or pull your hydra back a bit.”

"Don't mind if I do." The fire giant gets up from his place at the head of the table. He picks up a rather nasty-looking greataxe, hefting over his shoulder. His hand on the horn grasps it, and he moves down the table to get a better look at the newly visible Citadel infiltrators. He sets the greataxe down, but he doesn't take his hand off the hilt. "Don't you mind Noggins."

"Dragotha is menacing the stability of our world, we need to defeat it. The thing is, we have discovered there is something precious for him that was hidden in this valley. We need to find and destroy that thing before the dragon leader can be defeated. That is the reason of the dragon siege, isn't? The dragons want Dragotha's most precious treasure, am I right?"

"We’re no friends of the dragons, and could help you with that.”

"Dragotha, you say? That's the leader? And they've laid siege to our city because... they're looking for something? What something?"

"Oh yes, we're here to kill dragons. And if we have to kill all the many headed dragons and giants too, we'll do that but would prefer not to, I mean, it's not like the dragons aren't already winning and, like, you don't need the help or anything..."

The fire giant points the horn in his hand at the maiden. "What is it, then? You here to fight giants and dragons, or are you here to find something precious? Ah, or are you here to loot the dead?"

Your parley becomes tenuous, as the giant's attention drifts from the gnome and half-elf, to the maiden, and back.

Roll20 Map gently tweaked.

Mortimer waves to the Giant before addressing Sol.

"No, Sol, no -- remember?" He reminds her, "We've just come to destroy the Dragon's precious Thing, not fight Giants. If we do that -- every dragon in this valley will surely feel that tremendous loss and lose their will to fight!"

He looks at the Giant. "We're not here to fight Giants. We're here to destory Dragotha's precious -- whatchamacallit -- Thing."

DiploAid: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Also, I forgot to mention, Mort auto-makes the Sense Motive check.