Opening one great yellow-glowing, serpentine eye, the ancient fire dragon rumbles a reply in Draconic: I'll make no such concession, lest your visit displease me, Witch of Eye By Westminster.... Speak, and be brief, or I'll stray from my usual diet of virgin maids and eat an old harlot witch for supper!
The colossal dragon stretches, shifting great dunes of gold and silver treasure studded with gems, weapons, armor, staffs, wands, scrolls, potions, and wondrous items in a cacophony of treasure-jingle....
Dropping to her hands and knees in supplication, Margary pleads for clemency....
In Draconic: Dying in your mighty fires would honor this wretched servant of thine, Great Beast of the Apocalypse.... But not yet, please.... That I might serve you further and better.... I.... I b-bring ill tidings, My Liege.... Our doppelgänger spy on the throne of France tells us that our ally in the catacombs beneath Notre Dame.... Pierre the Necromancer....has been murdered in his townhouse by a band of adventurers known to Paris as .... The Lusty Fools.... They also restored free will to our Graveknight Sir Grimulf, who has returned to his castle on The Rhine.... But there is also good tidings, My Liege! Daily, the whelp-King, Henry VI, grows more and more sickly in his bed, thanks to my witchcraft! He will not live to see his tenth year at the rate he weakens! Then we shall place Humphrey firmly in power in England, which places you directly in power there, forsooth, My Liege! .... Also....the Children of the Night, the Spawn of Satan, undead, lycanthropes, goblins, orcs, giants, and abominations.... All have begun to answer the call of The Antichrist and The Beast of the Apocalypse.... Soon, our ranks will swell with monsters of every vile kind, My Liege! And your brilliant creation, the chimerians, will be the storm troopers of our Army of Darkness!
In Draconic: Aside from this troublesome news of the loss of Pierre the Necromancer, and by extension, Sir Grimulf.... You tell me nothing I didn't already know, Witch of Eye.... You disturb my slumber to tell me what I already know, with additional irksome news, and expect me not to roast you where you stand!?
The great horned, scarlet-frilled head rears up on a massive, serpentine neck, towering several stories above the trembling Witch of Eye....
I beg thee for mercy, Great One! I....I live to serve Your Malevolence!
Frozen where she is on her hands and knees, head lowered to avoid looking upon the terrifying dragon, The Witch of Eye regrets, not for the first time, the choices in her life that led her down the path to this moment, and servitude to The Devil, The Antichrist, and The Beast of the Apocalypse....
Very well, Witch of Eye! Begone, before I change my mind....
The dragons lowers its great head once more to rest it on a dune of treasure.... It closes its eyes....
Breathing a deep sigh of relief, The Witch of Eye hastily departs, flying away on her magic broom back to England....
Kyleon was frustrated, not with the negotiations seemingly at hand, but his ability to understand them. I suppose I'll have to learn a tongue or two, thought the Swede, happy underneath to finally see a face that didn't want to consume them.
"Was Moechten Sie" he asked of the scholar, knowing he could likely provide some translation.
A few pieces did come through, languages aside. Money was asked for, then rejected. They must be aware of our deeds. Not all the townsfolk are crazy. The baron's name came up again too, though not in a positive way.
I don't know who to trust.
But their new arrival seemed helpful. In fact, so did the new crossbow bequeathed him by a mysterious benefactor. Blizzard. The word entered his mind as he hefted the object, the 2nd of its kind he'd seen. Something beyond the nature of man was at work here - both for and against them.
Soon, they would see which was stronger.
Kyleon was frustrated, not with the negotiations seemingly at hand, but his ability to understand them. I suppose I'll have to learn a tongue or two, thought the Swede, happy underneath to finally see a face that didn't want to consume them.
"Was Moechten Sie" he asked of the scholar, knowing he could likely provide some translation.
A few pieces did come through, languages aside. Money was asked for, then rejected. They must be aware of our deeds. Not all the townsfolk are crazy. The baron's name came up again too, though not in a positive way.
I don't know who to trust.
But their new arrival seemed helpful. In fact, so did the new crossbow bequeathed him by a mysterious benefactor. Blizzard. The word entered his mind as he hefted the object, the 2nd of its kind he'd seen. Something beyond the nature of man was at work here - both for and against them.
Soon, they would see which was stronger.
[dice=Know(Engineering)]1d20 + 8
Blizzard, like Kyleon's first prototype heavy repeating crossbow, is a unique mechanism of death-dealing, elaborate yet elegant in design.... It is sculpted from ash wood and blue steel to resemble a white dragon with gaping maw that spits frosted bolts....
The Lusty Fools resume their ride to London on the morning of the 12th of June, a gray and foggy day, with light rain from 11:00 in the late morning until about 3:00 in the afternoon....
They pass through verdant countryside, with rolling green hills cloaked in light forest, patchwork fields tended by peasant farmers, and here and there, foggy bogs and fens....
As the party is passing one of these foggy bogs, at around 3:30 PM (half hour after the rain stops), everyone can roll a Perception check, please....
Look everyone, a Bog Hydra!
Iommi-Tyr Magnusson points at the faux-dragon and shouts in English, French & Latin.
.
.
.
Rd 1 (Ranged Touch w/in 30')....
Rd 2 (Ranged Touch w/in 30')....
Rd 3 (Ranged Touch w/in 30')....
[dice=Perception]1d20+8
[dice=Initiative]1d20+6
Oh, you sneaky little vixen you...I see you. Watch out, lads. Trouble is here.
"Huh? I don't see anything."
The Ambush at Foggy Bog! Round 1!! Eeeeeek!! Eeeeeek!!
Green hag Crooked Maggie!
Kiyu!
Nacht!
William!
Alphonse!
Iommi-Tyr!
Bog hydra!
Paddy!
TBD: Hisao! Kyleon!
Ooh! Ooh!! Ooh!!
A grassy but otherwise relatively flat stretch of field separates the road from the great fog-cloaked bog some 90-100 ft to the east....
Creeping closer to The Lusty Fools invisibly and passing without leaving a trace, Crooked Maggie stealthily skips 30 feet closer to the road and the party....
She heads toward the vulnerable-looking witch at the center or near the rear of the marching order....
Oooh! This pretty brown skin will make Crooked Maggie a fine new mask and gown, it will!
Round 1; Take them Down to Round Town
=====================
Nacht looks to the paddy-being's alarm and and sound of many beating insect wings comes from the dark coat as he wills himself in the air from the Horse 30ft up and 30 ft out near the supposed bog. The uncomfortable sound of structure and bone twisting overheard beneath as a Keenstar is drawn. it was time.. for hunting.
Hisao goes invisible using his ring.
Updated Initiative List for The Ambush at Foggy Bog! Round 1!! Eeeeeek!!
Kyleon!
Green hag Crooked Maggie! (Skips closer to Kiyu invisibly, now 70 ft from Kiyu)
Kiyu! (Delaying....)
Nacht! (Activates fly with the Scales of R'lyeh and flies 30 ft up and 30 ft closer to bog)
Hisao! (Activates greater invisibility with his ring)
William! (Readies to attack the first foe he can see)
Alphonse! (Dismounts "Biscuit" and readies to reap a foe)
Iommi-Tyr! (Readies firebomb for hydra to come within 30 ft)
Bog hydra! (Rushes 60 ft closer to the party.... It's now 40 ft from the middle of the marching order)
Paddy!
Ooh! Ooh!! Ooh!!
More from his own comrades' reactions than his own senses, the marksman hefted his ponderous weapon, glancing about. "Etwas gefaerlich?"
"Something dangerous?"
Hisao goes invisible using his ring.
[dice=Perception]1d20+7
Hisao perceives a large, elephantine body, with five serpentine heads and necks, hissing and honking like giant snakes or geese, as it stomps out of the foggy bog and toward The Lusty Fools....
[dice=Perception]1d20 + 11
[dice=Initiative]1d20 + 7More from his own comrades' reactions than his own senses, the marksman hefted his ponderous weapon, glancing about. "Etwas gefaerlich?"
** spoiler omitted **
Though not surprised, thanks to Iommi-Tyr's timely warning, Kyleon cannot at first see any bog hydra....
Look everyone, a Bog Hydra!
Iommi-Tyr Magnusson points at the faux-dragon and shouts in English, French & Latin.
[dice=Initiative]1d20 +2
.
.
.
** spoiler omitted **
Tyr readies a bomb to lob as soon as the beast lumbers within 30 feet....
Not seeing any danger, but convinced it's about because of his allies' reactions, Alphonse hops off his horse (which he has decided to name Biscuit) and stands in front of it, readied to attack anything dangerous that might show itself.
[dice=Perception]1d20+4
[dice=Initiative]1d20+4
Emerging from the fog hanging over the bog, a beast with a scaly, slimy body the size of a horse, but shaped like the body of an elephant, with long reptilian tail, and five serpentine necks ending in serpent-like heads rushes closer to the party! The hydra hisses from three of its heads, and honks like geese from the other two heads as it charges nearer!
Waylaid by bandits on the road to Calais, Captain Roland and his four doughty lieutenants prove their mettle, fighting the dozen-some scoundrels off....
In French: Mon Dieu! Finding these Lusty Fools is proving to be a harrowing pain in the ass, non, my lieutenants!?
To which the four Frenchmen nod in bitter agreement....
Potions of cure light wounds later, the guardsmen resume their hunt for The Lusty Fools....
Seeing the way the monster is moving Hisao positions himself a bit in front of the group to get an AOO when the monster passes him.
Seeing the way the monster is moving Hisao positions himself a bit in front of the group to get an AOO when the monster passes him.
Updated Initiative List for The Ambush at Foggy Bog! Round 1!! Eeeeeek!!
Kyleon!
Green hag Crooked Maggie! (Skips closer to Kiyu invisibly, now 70 ft from Kiyu)
Kiyu! (Delaying....)
Nacht! (Activates fly with the Scales of R'lyeh and flies 30 ft up and 30 ft closer to bog)
Hisao! (Activates greater invisibility with his ring, positions himself to ambush the hydra)
William! (Readies to attack the first foe he can see)
Alphonse! (Dismounts "Biscuit" and readies to reap a foe)
Iommi-Tyr! (Readies firebomb for hydra to come within 30 ft)
Bog hydra! (Rushes 60 ft closer to the party.... It's now 40 ft from the middle of the marching order)
Paddy!
Ooh! Ooh!! Ooh!!
realizing his friends cannot see the hag as she approaches, Paddy draws his bow and shoots at her.
she's right there...
Paddy then moves up 30'
realizing his friends cannot see the hag as she approaches, Paddy draws his bow and shoots at her.
she's right there...
[dice=bow] 1d20+7; 1d6
[dice=crit]1d20+7
Paddy then moves up 30'
Paddy's arrow finds its invisible mark! She grunts in pain.... YEEOW!!
The monster shakes off the poison....
and the addiction...,
Kiyu swears as the hydra seems unaffected by her poison before redoubling her efforts and hexing him.