Let's get in position and open the door.
Olek points at the cell with the empty doors, 4 of the mud mephits hobble inside, the remaining 4 line up just outside of the cell. (marked as brown on battlemap). They all lie down and appear to be lumps of mud.
He then casts minor illusion and the sleeping goat appears nestled up in between the four lumps of mud in the open cell.
Olek hides around the corner.
.
"Alright guys, I think I'm ready. Olly, I could use your help before I go in there. These cages, can you cast some kind of spell to create what would appear to the dragon to be a sheep, a boar, and a goat inside them? Better yet if we could disguise some kind of weapon or poison..." He looks towards the doors. "Perhaps we could also line the doorway with more traps of any sort."
He tells the group the rest of the plan. "I can cast my own spell to create an illusion of myself entering the vault. When I find the dragon, I will try to convince him to come out here. If I can't, well we need a Plan B.
"Are you guys ready?"
"It's ironic, the poison and shrinking potion would have come in handy here! BAHha."
"Unfortunately my magical concentration is devoted to these creatures right now, but if the dragon chases and these tiny dust elementals prove inneffective, I'll drop a trap between it and us."
He stares for a second. "What about if we trick it into trying on the boots?"
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Olias stifles a laugh. "Assuming he could fit into them, can't he already fly? Plus, I'm not sure we'd want him stuck on the ceiling..."
"Stuck on the ceiling may be better than flying free. I'm not sure if they'd fit or if you could convince it to try them, but they are a valuable item despite the curse. Perhaps we could use its greed to our advantage?"
"Heh, I think getting the boots on this beast maybe a bit pie in the sky, but using it as an offering to his greed as part of Olias' plan might not be a terrible idea..."
Jorlitharr picks up a pebble and tosses it into the body of water.
Olek eyes the ripples on the water nervously.
The pebble lands several feet from the shore. Those who watch: You watch the ripples move slowly out from the place where the pebble broke the surface tension on top of the water. The rings look like the crossection of an ancient, blue tree. The pebble sinks slowly into the murky water and disappears from your view. You cannot see the bottom nor gauge how deep it is.
"Should I try a bigger rock, or should we try the door? "
"Bigger rock wouldn't hurt. I'd be slightly more confident that it won't come up behind us. Just please hold one moment."
"Rise"
His mini mud man mob stands up.
"That way"
They march toward the edge of the water.
"Down"
The all stop moving and resume their lump of mud looking disguise.
Olek then moves the hide around the corner inside the cell.
"Alright, I'm ready."
Olias stifles a laugh. "Assuming he could fit into them, can't he already fly? Plus, I'm not sure we'd want him stuck on the ceiling..."
"Heh...Mebbe if he's flyin around I'll put the boots on n' float up after 'im...heh..."
Thravum stands around the corner from the cells, with his back to the wall and with his axe in hand, the haft resting on the floor.
He is deeply engrossed in silent conversation. Whatever he says to himself seems humorous.
"Heh...Mebbe if he's flyin around I'll put the boots on n' float up after 'im...heh..."
Olias stifles a laugh. "Assuming he could fit into them, can't he already fly? Plus, I'm not sure we'd want him stuck on the ceiling..."
Jorlitharr ponders this.
Then throws a much larger, brick sized hunk of rubble into the water.
The hunk makes a large splash, which sounds thick - as if you threw it into a huge lake of pudding.
Ten seconds pass. Then several bubbles rise from the depths and break on the surface, sizzling as warm air is released.
Oleksandr stares at the bubbling water with a nervous curiosity. He is preparing to cast mirror image if the dragon emerges.
You watch the glowing rock sink slowly downwards into the depths. As its glow is about to become extinguished, you see a broad, dark shadow pass over it. The shadow is oblong and oval-ish in shape, and seems to have a tail.
Similar to the shape on the right but longer (and not to scale with the surfboard next to it.
Olek looks to Jorlithar.
"You have that grappling hook ready? I think we should try to fish this beast out of the water."
He waves a hand over the hook. It feels sweaty and smells like dwarf now.
"I'm going to create an illusion in the water making it look like Thravum is approaching with a spear. He may have been spotted earlier so this could be more believable and probably irritatingly invasive. Someone can throw in a few big rocks so it sounds like he just jumped in along with the hook. I'll create the illusion around the hook hopefully disguising it. Try to anchor it somehow so we don't get pulled in."
Olek looks to Jorlithar.
"You have that grappling hook ready? I think we should try to fish this beast out of the water."He waves a hand over the hook. It feels sweaty and smells like dwarf now.
"I'm going to create an illusion in the water making it look like Thravum is approaching with a spear. He may have been spotted earlier so this could be more believable and probably irritatingly invasive. Someone can throw in a few big rocks so it sounds like he just jumped in along with the hook. I'll create the illusion around the hook hopefully disguising it. Try to anchor it somehow so we don't get pulled in."
" I won't be able to root myself to the ground, I'm not longer attuned to the earthen rune. I could drink that strength potion and Thravum and I could give that thing a run for its money. I don't think well be able to pull him up, but we could sure set that hook, and that chain holds a surprise... "
" I won't be able to root myself to the ground, I'm not longer attuned to the earthen rune. I could drink that strength potion and Thravum and I could give that thing a run for its money. I don't think well be able to pull him up, but we could sure set that hook, and that chain holds a surprise... "
Thravum moves to stand next to Jorlitharr and takes hold of the chain, setting his feet.
"If we get drug in n wet, yer comin with me this time"
Olek looks at his small army of mud men.
"Olias, I think you'll need to create the illusion. You know the spell. I need to concentrate on keeping our new friends on this plane. I'll create the splash. Let me know when you are all ready."
" I won't be able to root myself to the ground, I'm not longer attuned to the earthen rune. I could drink that strength potion and Thravum and I could give that thing a run for its money. I don't think well be able to pull him up, but we could sure set that hook, and that chain holds a surprise... "Olek looks to Jorlithar.
"You have that grappling hook ready? I think we should try to fish this beast out of the water."He waves a hand over the hook. It feels sweaty and smells like dwarf now.
"I'm going to create an illusion in the water making it look like Thravum is approaching with a spear. He may have been spotted earlier so this could be more believable and probably irritatingly invasive. Someone can throw in a few big rocks so it sounds like he just jumped in along with the hook. I'll create the illusion around the hook hopefully disguising it. Try to anchor it somehow so we don't get pulled in."
"Jorl, take this." He hands him the Potion of Hill Giant Strength. Olias then readies a Phantasmal Force spell to create an illusion of a fake Thravum on the end of the hook. "You know, there's something about fishing with Dwarf that just seems so wrong. Oh, well." He looks at the water. "So much for my speech."
Olias will cast the spell as soon as he gets the go ahead. He will then hold onto the chain with Thravum and Jorl.
Jorlitharr will nod to Thravum. "I think we just need to attach the hook. I'm hoping she tangles herself up and tries to get out." he drinks the potion. "even if we had Aengus here I don't think weed be able to lift a dragon."
He drops the hook in when he gets the signal.
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Olek finds the largest rock he can handle. Maybe the size of a small watermelon if available. He looks to the group.
"Here we go..."
He plops the rock into the water about a dwarf's leap away. When he releases the stone he says a word and his staff returns to his hand. When the stone hits the water he spreads his arms wide and above his head. The sound of the splash echoes a bit louder. As if the stone were significantly bigger.
[dice=knowledge nature, are there any dragons that can breathe under water?]1d20+4
You recall reading that black dragons can breathe underwater.
You have no recollection that red dragons can do this.
Jorlitharr and Thravum, you feel firm tug at the chain. Several more tugs happen, each stronger than the last. You feel one more pull, and just as you feel you might lose your grip, the tugging stops.
Suddenly, an intense roiling of sizzling bubbles erupt on the surface of the water as if a large creature is exhaling hot air from its massive lungs.
You see a shadow rapidly approaching the top of the water. More bubbles erupt and sizzle. You see two long shapes branch off from the main shadow (so the shadow looks like a 'T').
A large red dragon head emerges from the water, grasping the grappling hook in its mouth. It looks like it has bitten the hook, with one of the barbs hooked in its mouth and the chain trailing out of its jaws. It is snarling and swinging its head, very obviously infuriated.
ROLL FOR INITATIVE!
The dragon currently has the hook, 5ft of the chain that Sighanna was bound with 20ft of chain and another 5 ft section of chain (the one Jorlitharr usually has around his waste) and the Stein rune embedded with the shards of the Heart of Tzchazzer.
"Holy! Good thing I didn't get a chance to talk to it!"
The dragon snorts and splutters, blood and water flying from its mouth. As it tosses its head, the chain yanks around in Jorlitharr and Thravum's hands.
You could swear you hear short bursts of words but none of you can quite make out what it's saying.
You see the places where the chain is touching the dragon's scales wither and flake away. Several of the teeth fall out of the mouth, rotted black. The dragon wails.
Thravum leaps forward and hacks viscously with his axe.
“Ye scaly wormy bastard!”
Action Surge:
Olek runs across the bridge and hurls an icy looking orb at the dragon.
The orb splashes harmlessly in the murky water and dissipates.
The western cloud of flying dust elementals breathe out a cloud of dust into the dragon's face.
The Eastern Dustmephits swarm the dragon clawing at it's face.
The dragon waggles its head in the dusty air.
It blinks angrily. You notice its focusing more on the creatures closer to it.
The dragon sharply shakes its head in the dusty air. Its eyes focus on Thravum, and it roars in anger.
It raises an arm from the water, reaching out with its bone-white claw to slash at Thravum's stomach.
It roars, then hisses, "Sssssahss trlak stasssssh!"
The grappling hook is still lodged in its mouth. Blood trickles out of the wound.
It then lunges and clamps its jaws around Thravum's leg.
The dragon clamps down and begins to dive back under the water with Thravum. They plunge into the murky depths, and you see their dark shadows dimly through the thick water. The dragon begins to swim east towards the wall.
"Hey, Dragon!" Olias points at the corrupted scales. "Not so beautiful anymore, eh?"
Olias uses cutting words.
*editing previous post.... *
The dragon grabs at Thravum, and is inches away from grabbing his leg. It snarls and stares furiously at Olias.
*Gulp*
The eight mud mephits on the edge of the water begin slapping and biting at the dragon. They chatter and giggle like gremlins at an amusement park.
Olias concentrates hard on a spell to boost his allies' damage, casting Faerie Fire in an area that affects only the dragon (marked on battlemat). "We need all the help we can get..."
Olias also cheers on Thravum to inspire him. [ooc] Thravum take a bardic inspiration (d6+1 to saves, attacks, and checks).
The dragon glances around at its glowing green scales, momentarily shocked. It looks back at Olias, staring at him intently.
Jorlithar squints in focus, his new muscles bulging, he side steps a few paces to the east, never turning his gaze away from the dragon. His eyes flash with purple fluorescence as he sweeps his hands rapidly from pointing at his runestone attached to the chain on the floor and shouts "HIN'wer'FEN" with the last syllable he thrusts his arms towards the dragon and his stone fires itself from it's place of rest into the dragons jaw at an impossible speed, like a cannonball fired from the bow of a ship.
Choose one object weighing 1 to 5 pounds within range that isn’t being worn or carried. The object flies in a straight line up to 90 feet in a direction you choose before falling to the ground, stopping early if it impacts against a solid surface. If the object would strike a creature, that creature must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 14 WITH DISADVANTAGE FROM HEIGHTENED METAMAGIC. On a failed save, the object strikes the target and stops moving. When the object strikes something, the object and what it strikes each take 3d8 bludgeoning damage.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the maximum weight of objects that you can target with this spell increases by 5 pounds, and the damage increases by 1d8, for each slot level above 1st.
Retcon post - Olias moved after casting Faerie Fire, hopefully so the blind dragon can't see where he moved to.