Now Elgan looks REEELy confused,...
Woo hoo!
You know to level up, right?Nagnagnag.....;)
That'll work; 1 att point like Vatter's said.
She shows you this....
"They went to this big place."
If you scroll down the page, there's a side-to-side scroll near the bottom; it's kinda big.
Map again; the one on "here you go."
You guys are in room three...the doors are a 30 foot climb on the upper floor, and the north door is also a 30 foot climb up some vines. Youse can take 10 and do it.
new page....wotwot...
Everybody's able to climb up to room 4's door; you enter from the west.
On the north wall there's a door out to the hallway, a set of stairs up to another door to an overpass of the hallway, and underneath the stairway another door; the first and third doors don't appear on the map.
There's 15 hobgoblins dressed as chefs or waiters or maids (gender is a mystery in form if not garb) bustling about, preparing food; it's a huge kitchen with rows of prep tables, ovens, all the usual.
The busy staff seems oblivious to your presence. You see one of the waiters taking a full load of food with toureens and the whole nine yards up the stairway to the overpass.
This room's (room 4) is pretty big, like 80 feet by 160 feet or so.
Oh, and the door out to the hallway would be at square "a1" on the north wall if this was a combat grid...
"Let's see where they are bringing the stuff."
You see a bugbear butler in fine black suit hoisting a tray on one shoulder with a boar on it; head and everything; apple in it's mouth....walking up the stairs.
Elgan (yes, STILL in wolf form!) sniffs at the distant platter appreciatively, then licks his lips.
<In Canine>
"Tenser my fine friend! What do you say we help our 2-legged friends by following that fellow there, and perhaps we can claim that platter as payment for services rendered!?"
Another bugbear butler carries a cooked trout.....about a ten foot long trout with the head still on it...on a platter, on his shoulder. Up the same way.
There's an overpass crosswalk outside in the hallway; across to another room on the north of the hall.
Who goes first?
Elgan is up the stairs (with Tenser)? He crosses the overpass. It has handrailing. To his left, the hall like the entrance hall, to his right it ends at a massive wroughtiron fence, beyond which is....an odd assortment of trees, and within which can be heard an odd assortment of....what sound like birds. These are like no trees, no calls Elgan has heard before.
He heads to the door across the walk, to the north room. There's a stairway down here, and a massive room with two long tables and a throne to the right....a good few platoons of dour, hard men in mail and skins eating a feast.
This room is unnaturally cold....
A fire is going in the fireplace to the northeast.
“This place just gets wronger and wronger,” mutters Beldan, watching the activity in the strange kitchen.
Yeah pretty much. one of them makes eye contact with you for a second, then goes back to cramming stuffing into the cavities of about 5 turkeys.
Yeah pretty much. one of them makes eye contact with you for a second, then goes back to cramming stuffing into the cavities of about 5 turkeys.
"Ah ... times like this make me glad I took up a life of adventure, rather than taking up a trade..."
There's one orc, amongst the hobgoblins.
He seems to be in charge of pies.
Elgan takes a last look around before heading back to the group, tenser in tow.
Pretty much a room full of about forty or so huge (I mean 7 feet tall) vikings in chainmail swilling grog and feasting. There's a dour-looking Jarl of a man sitting on a crudely carved throne in a bearskin cloak; the type with the bear's head still attached to it kinda like a rustic version of Batman's mask. He's got a wicked looking axe, and drinks from a steer horn wrapped in gold bands. Xvarts go from man to man with small casks, filling their drinking horns.
They all look really bored, which usually means dangerous. There's no music. No games. AND there's no wenches. That's a recipe for disaster.
"Gulp"
Elgan Turns, and very quietly leaves the way he came in,...
"Ah ... times like this make me glad I took up a life of adventure, rather than taking up a trade..."
"I've felt the same way for a while. My dad wanted me to be one more bean-counter at his textile emporium. Man, I'd rather stuff turkeys. Or do what we do."
What now, brave stalwarts?
"Ah ... times like this make me glad I took up a life of adventure, rather than taking up a trade...""I've felt the same way for a while. My dad wanted me to be one more bean-counter at his textile emporium. Man, I'd rather stuff turkeys. Or do what we do."
"My dad was an uncouth braggart and scoundrel, who never did an honest day's work in his life ... according to my maternal grandmother, Wee Jas love her at any rate. She always said she thought I'd go into the family business..."
He looks about. "I'd rather not mess with all these hobgoblins, especially with all those cleavers and fireplaces and grease and stuff about ... someone could get hurt. And by our little doggie here shaking his head," he ruffles Elgan-wolf's head, "I'd say we don't want to go that way. Isn't the garden we want to go through just on the other side of this kitchen?"
It's out the door on the north wall, and to the right. There's a double door of iron bars separating you from the bounteous garden; through it you can see sun, and intermittent drizzle; and odd birds calling.
Yes. There's a rectangular-shaped section that essentially locks both halves of the doorway in place.
Yes, he definitely could.
Beldan gives the gates a once over for traps , then, if he finds none, attempts to pick the lock.
With manual dexterity such as you display, my friend, you would have made a passable arcanist. You seem to possess a modicum of intellect so you would have done well enough, if not to my vaulted position of power....if you would wish to learn the mystic arts you have but to ask and I shall assist you in your studies. No thanks are necessary....
It's trapped--there's a bunch of holes on the walls set to shoot some poor sob up with arrows or something. The spring is bypassed....the door is unlocked....it creaks in the humid foggy atmosphere of the giant indoor terrarium.
Something tropical caws an flaps batlike wings in a palm tree to the left, and takes to the air. There's a path, a brick path going due east, surrounded by ferns and palm trees.
"Should we stay on or off the path? I was thinking we might want to stay off it and follow the wall going north."
Yeah; he's still with you guys.
Elan gives a 'wuff' of approval as Beldan makes the door safe and opens it. He sticks his nose in, peers intently at the flying creature in the trees, then gives Beldan a 'you first' head butt. But Elgan stays with him as they start to move along the wall.
;)
You can if you want to. How are you all travelling? Straight line? Wedge formation? Wha?....
Oh, yeah;....Altai's second question--he did say the chapel is to the north of the indoor jungle.
There's one orc, amongst the hobgoblins.
He seems to be in charge of pies.
"Me kill him, take pie?"
"Should we stay on or off the path? I was thinking we might want to stay off it and follow the wall going north."
"OK, me know lots about sneaking in forest. You follow me, walk slow, look where you put foot, weapon out, ear open. We go."
Gittik draws his weapons, nods grimly at his fellow bravos, steps into the undergrowth and trips over a projecting root.
He's also got blackberry pie schputz all over his face; the orc squealed like a pig and ran when the gnarly hobbit came at him with knives.
You can if you want to. How are you all travelling? Straight line? Wedge formation? Wha?....
Oh, yeah;....Altai's second question--he did say the chapel is to the north of the indoor jungle.
Tongue hanging out in a doggie-grin, Elgan trots over and helps up Gittik.
<In Canine>
"I like this little one Tenser. HE makes me laugh. And he's almost a force of nature all by himself!
Gittik notices that half a dozen tiny venus flytrap mouths on the root are angling to get at his bleeding shin.
"Blech! You no eat Gittik!" He slashes at the hungry shubbery.
Gittik notices that half a dozen tiny venus flytrap mouths on the root are angling to get at his bleeding shin.
Elgan yelps in surprise, then hastily helps the feral hobniz in fending off the vicious plantlife. All the while wondering what kind of Entangle this area might produce.
They are easily enough killed...odd, though, for their sap seems like blood.
“Oh bugger that,” says Beldan, not having moved far from the gate. He’s whining like a little girl. “Why don’t we just stick to the path? Didn’t the map show all sorts of rivers and hills and stuff in this garden? The path would be much easier, surely?”
Riese looks at the bottom of his boot.....he stepped on a butterfly.
"Sure, it would be much easier to follow the path. Also, anyone would see us coming. If we want to surprise the guys in the chapel, I'd suggest staying off the road."
Elgan the wolf looks around, and other than the party sees only the ghoul. HE shimmers briefly, and resumes his elvin form.
"Altee, Deh woods iz eazier tah hide in, but dese plant's an' t'ings, dey aint nat'chrel. Least-wise dey ain't nat'chrel tah where WE'RE frum! Wit out knowin' whut tah be lookin' fer, Ah cain't garrantee dat we ain't gonna win'd up steppin inta sumptin' wurser den dis!" He says with a shudder as he indicates the recently weed-whacked tiny hobniz-nibblers.
"If'n we keep tah deh road, we kin count on deh curve o' deh path an' deh growth tah hide us till we gets close tah somebody. But I'se ok wit whut yeh t'ink. Yeh tell me whut yeh wants tah do, an' ah'll try tah keep us from gitten' et by the flora!"
He looks over his shoulder into the woods nervously, then back again, waiting for the group to decide.
"OK. If the druid tells us the local flora is dangerous, I agree we should stay the hell away from it. The road it is, then! We should be extra careful, though."
"OK. If the druid tells us the local flora is dangerous, I agree we should stay the hell away from it. The road it is, then! We should be extra careful, though."
"I knew he was a smart fellow! DO you see why I like him?"