The bear roars once more, saliva and sound washing over Shattertooth.
"Easy, killer. Keep it in your pants. Save it for our real enemies," Princess says, laying a comforting hand on Lur's shoulder (which would be a crushing weight on anybody less strong).
"I'm on a mission of vengeance myself. Some dastardly adventurers slaughtered my clansfolk and stole our livelihood. It would please me immensely to tear them limb from limb and cook them in a stew! Unfortunately, these mercs happened upon me while I was napping and took me prisoner. Perhaps they were jealous of my radiant beauty!" The ogre chuckles, making a wet, phlegmy noise.
"These two were already locked up by the time those hooligans threw me in that wagon."
Wek cocks his head at Vorgo. "...where are you from, brother? I do not recognize your clan markings." He then looks at the human. "And you...sssss...what is your loyalty, human?
I'm from the desssssssssert of Korvalti. The ssssssun doesssss us well out there.
"Tell us, how were you locked up in there? We are on the trail of some murderous sunlovers who slaughtered our village."
How was I captured?
He remembered the events that lead to his imprisonment. He was camping nearby when he heard the gnomes singing. He tried to sneak up on them but lost his footing and fell into the swamp. The gnomes threw rocks at him until he lost consciousness and then dragged him into the wagon.
I...don't recall. They must have used a powerful memory charm...
"So, he's a bear," says Wek conversationally. "Good! Our lycanthropes keep dying around here. You'd think the ground is saturated with silver."
He flicks his crest twice in surprise and interest. "The desert tribes! I have never met one." Do they swim through the sand? Don't ask that, 'Uek. Don't be a hatchling. You thought they were myths and they are not. You are a mighty druid.
"What did these adventurers look like, Princess? Perhaps they are the same as the ones that slaughtered our tribes."
Princess describes the vile adventurers who lead to her ruin.
Shattertooth nods and releases the bear. Your motivations are pure and your cause true. We would welcome your strength.
What, prey tell, issss your quesssst? I am on a pilgrimage, but I sssssseek a quesssst to sssssanctify myssssssself for.
The bear stands on its hind legs and shifts back to the large human form maintaining a glare at Shattertooth.
Shattertooth ignores the glare. A band of nefarious sun-walkers recently destroyed or home and slew our families. We seek their show and painful end. And the ends of their families. And friends. While they watch helplessly. Shattertooth seethes.
Vorgo nodded slowly I'd be honored if I could join your quessssssst.
He knelt and began to pray to Tiamat for strength and power. He dedicated himself to the mission through prayer and ritual cleansing.
Oh, great Tiamat, I vow to sssslay the foul sssssssun-walkerssss who attacked your beloved children.
He raises his hands to the sky. Oh dragon-mother. Pleassssse besssssstow upon me the giftssss of Ssssssensssssesssss that pierccccce liesssss and invulnerability to fire.
He lowers his arms and kneels until his face is on the ground, his arms stretched in front of him. Beloved goddessssssss, tell me what vow you assssssk of me.
Shattertooth knows a religious ritual when he sees one. He walks around the holy warrior while he is paying and inscribes symbols related to holiness and dragon fire all around him while he prays.
Yes, Princess, it was the same group. For information's sake, the adventuring party you are pursuing consists of:
A dwarf alchemist that wears heavy armor and bears no weapons except his disgustingly potent potions that can dissolve a man where he stands
A fiery Salamander, that the Minotaurs dub a Holy Beast in their religion, that is bent on wanton destruction wherever it goes
A mage, a tricky elf mage, one that is fond of teleportation spells, levitating high above the fray, and calling down lightning bolts
An agile and elusive human fighter that wields a long blade with deadly efficiency. Also, he fought like a Spanish matador when he was challenging the Minotaur tribe, so it appears that this one has a sick sense of humor.
They are led by a terrifying paladin known as Kurtemos, the Templar of Purity. Of the Five, he is the most well-known, as he is considered a sex symbol throughout the sunlover kingdoms. All you care about, though, is that he wields a two-handed warhammer that smote your strongest Minotaur warriors with ease.
Newcomers, feel free to tell the tale to the other players of how you were captured using this information. It's a resting-time, a good time for introductions and a bit of dialogue.
The next fight will come sooner than you think, however...
Also, Stybar, you rolled a 9 so you have to choose between danger or cost.
To finish picking the lock, you have to keep a mechanism inside it from tumbling back down when you're picking it. Choose one:
You use an Adventuring Gear charge (you should be at 10/10 currently) to break one of your dining utensils for the job
or
Jab your finger in there to do it and get a nasty pinch, sustaining 1d4 damage that ignores armor
Once Stybar opens the lock, the gear that Vorgo, Lur, and Princess were each carrying on them when they were captured tumbles out to the ground. Stybar manages to catch most of the gear before it hits the ground by reflex, but a few weapons tumble to the dirt at his hooved feet.
Following Vorgo's prayer, he draws his broadsword and scale mail armor (complete with plating for his tail) and shield inscribed with the sigil of Tiamat from the pile on the ground.
Thank you for retrieving my armssss.
"Ah, my lovelies! Come to mama!" She picks up her staff and pouch with her spellbook in it, and dons her leather armor (which is little more than a few patchwork pieces sized for a much smaller humanoid, squeezing her blubbery body into interesting and disturbing shapes).
"Princess. You're a wizard?" Wek flicks his crest a few times, uncertain. He clicks his tongue.
"Ah, this portal. My fellow druids could not unlock its secrets, but the adventurers knew of it and used it. It showed a vast desert, perhaps on the other side of this one, and recently it has shown us an Ancient Minotaur labyrinth."
Wek shifts his weight from foot to foot.
"Now, we cannot directly pursue the adventurers too closely, but perhaps we can follow them at a distance. I am wondering if you can discern the working of this portal. Were the mercenaries going through there to this labyrinth?"
Lur quietly walk over to the chest and grabs his two-handed sword and dagger. He then begins tying the dagger sheathe to his waist.
"Yes, I am a mighty wizard!" Princess proclaims. "I ate another wizard and gained his power. The more I eat, the more powerful I will become!"
She purses her lips and thinks about the portal. "Hmmm... I may be able to enact a ritual to use the portal to follow them!"
Vorgo, there are a handful of times in your life when you have been granted a vision by the Lord of Dragons, Tiamat herself. This is one of those times.
Your eyes roll back in your head and it feels like your skull will split apart from the pain of the Dragonqueen's presence. Instead of words, you hear a draconian roar echo through the corridors and passageways of your mind, long and terrible. Somehow, you are able to glean meaning and intention from the roar just as if Tiamat had used normal speech; this is a power that dragons possess.
Valor (forbidden: suffering an evil creature to live)
Truth (forbidden: lies)
You know that in order to keep Tiamat's blessing against the burning tongues of fire, you must press on toward your goal of killing the adventurers, and suffer no sunlover to live.
For your ears to discern lies spoken by others, none may pass your own lips, for you must speak only the truth, Tiamat's truth.
Princess, you approach the portal that the druid spoke of, only to find to your surprise that it's already active. Rather than having to do the hard part of the ritual - opening a portal within the space provided by the elevated altar - it's being held open already, by someone or something else.
"Huh! Looks like the portal is already open! That was easy!"
Lur quietly follows with his two-handed sword leaning on his bare shoulder.
"Ah, my lovelies! Come to mama!" She picks up her staff and pouch with her spellbook in it, and dons her leather armor (which is little more than a few patchwork pieces sized for a much smaller humanoid, squeezing her blubbery body into interesting and disturbing shapes).
Stybar watches the struggle between armor and ogre with a worried look on his face. I do not think that is the intended use of that item, ma'am? mylady?
As he rubs his one small horn he thinks to himself. There is more to this strange creature than meets the eye
Stybar walks up to side of Princess and Lur and shares his knowledge of the portal, and what lies beyond with them.
While he is waiting for the rest of the group to get ready, he fills out a new version of the 'Interracial raid party form 86.4' as is standard protocol. He looks up from the paper and smiles to Lur, Gotta get the paperwork in order right? You know how it is
"My name is Princess, but you can call me whatever you like, cutie," the ogre says to Stybar, giving him a lurid wink. "Are those tentacles growing from your back, or are you just happy to see me?"
Once the minotaur explains the portal, Princess shrugs. "Alright, well, I'm ready to go into the caves when you are!"
Lur looks neutrally at Stybar then shrugs.
Vorgo sighs contentedly at the blessings of the dragon-mother.
He rises, then slithers over to Stybar.
If you fill out the name of our foessss, I’d prefer you refer to them asss ssssomething other than sssssunlover. Asss a cold blooded creature, I too love the sssssun for the warmth it bringsssss.
You can sibilate your s's or not, as you please, Vorgo. Bonds look good!
In-game, it's about 6 PM by the time everyone's rested, re-quipped their gear, and brought each other up to speed. The prisoners haven't been fed since their capture either, as a point of information...these sunlovers were cruel to their captives.
Let's camp for the night and move on first thing tomorrow. I will start a fire for us. I'm sure everyone is hungry.
Shattertooth makes the fire with a snap of his fingers and tends it carefully. Just before sleeping he spends time sitting very close to the fire and staring into the flame.
The next day he awakes with the sun and builds the fire up to a roaring, radiant glow for his lizard allies.
Princess huddles by the fire, warming her prodigious body. She roasts the lower half of the gnome that Wek bit in half over the flames, hungrily and messily biting the meat off and using the bones to pick her teeth when she's through. She drifts off to sleep soon after, her loud snoring filling the air.
In the morning, she studies her spellbook and prepares her spells.
Shattertooth spend a good portion of the morning staring into the flame as well. In the end he feels empowered and ready to step into the unknown.
After dining on some particularly succulent swamp bugs (Vorgo doesn’t eat animal flesh, he’s an insectivore) Vorgo nests directly in a pile of embers heated in the fire, Tiamat’s mercy protecting him. As a cold blood, he needs all the heat he can get.
The next morning he stretches, grateful for a good night’s rest.
What next? Through the portal?
Stybar looks to Shattertooth According to the our laws, you are the leader of the group. Do we go through?
Shattertooth thinks for a moment. All of the places we must master to challenge the scum are far from us. Let's take the chance and go where this portal leads.
"Right behind you, big boy!" Princess coos. She smacks Shattertooth on his furry rump and grins.
Shattertooth jumps involitarily and shakes his head. She was right. It's his idea. He goes first.
He gathers all the confidence he can muster. This was magic of an order far above his own. Hopefully this wouldn't hurt.
He takes hold of his fear, lifts his chin, and steps into the magic.
Shattertooth, when you step through the portal, you feel a sensation as if you are passing through a thin film of water, leaving you dry on the other side. There is no pain or discomfort, and those on the Laogan Tribe lands side see the Immolator vanish instantly.
You find yourself in a nearly lightless cave. You blink for a few moments, eyes adjusting to the sudden darkness.
Suddenly, your left wrist is caught in a grip of iron steel that squeezes until your strong bones creak, and a sharp blade is pressed to your throat.
"Shhhh," a voice admonishes in your ear, quietly. It's a female voice, and whispered in a harsh and gravelly voice, but you can't make out any more than that.
"Tell your companions that it's safe on this side, and to come on through," the voice continues in your native tongue, cooing against your ear as the blade presses hard against your jugular vein in accompaniment. It's difficult to even swallow past the pressure of the blade. All around you, you hear quiet chuckling at the speaker's words. You blink twice more, eyes still adjusting, leaving it difficult to see.
What do you do?
Vorgo looks through the portal, trying to see inside. Is it safe? Did you survive?
There's no way to see what's on the other side of the portal by simply peering at it. Unfortunately, all you see is a faint shimmer of magic, and the desert on the far side of the altar.
Unless you meant that you actually put your head through the portal's barrier. Is that what you meant? Important clarification!
If you put any part of yourself through the portal's barrier, the magic will pull you through to the far side. This is a safety measure that is built into the portal-making ritual, to prevent splinching.
Stybar follows his leader into the unknown.
It seems that Stybar does not share your sense of caution. The thief ventures boldly into the portal after Shattertooth.
Like the immolator, Stybar, your transition to this new place is painless and instantaneous, and your eyes need a few seconds to adjust to the gloom of the cave.
The first thing you see is a tall, lanky form in front of you, with Shattertooth held in her clutches. She's got what initially looks like a knife to his throat, but after blinking twice you see that it's actually a claw on one of her fingers. She's peering at you over Shattertooth's shoulder after turning him to face you, keeping your friend between the two of you. Her face is rough and plainly ugly even with your vision not functioning perfectly yet. Long, ratty hair falls over her face.
She's being flanked by three cave trolls that stare at you with eyes that glow with a bluish hue, indicating magic or an enchantment of some kind.
The hag cackles as she lifts up one of Shattertooth's hands that she's holding by the wrist, waving at you with it. "Helloooo..." she calls out, in a tone that could be described as...playful. The knife digs into the Immolator's throat until the minotaur grunts involuntarily, the threat implicit in her actions.
Princess shrugs. "Nothing ventured...something something. I forget the rest." She steps through the portal.
Shattertooth speaks. You seem like the lovely sort. I appreciate a good ambush. You should know, however, that one of my companions is a wizard. And she ate half a human this morning.
Then Stybar comes stumbling through and the lady raises his hand in a wave. He sees the talons and revises his idea. Instead of unmaking the knife, he reaches up with his other hand and channels flame into her talon.
He then calls out, Come on in, guys, we're alive!
Then Princess makes her entrance and Shattertooth smiles. There she is! This will go very poorly for you if you don't back off.
The hag was waiting for just such a move, Shattertooth. Though your action was fast, she's fast too, and her blade was already pressed tightly to your jugular. It only had to move a centimeter to inflict a lethal wound.
Your flame lashes up at her claw, but she drags it across your throat as she tries to bat the flames away and shouts in frustration. Your jugular is lacerated by her talon, and you begin to bleed out. You try to call out to your friends, but you choke on the blood that floods your windpipe.
Falling to your knees, you watch your blood spill to the floor of the cave as you try to hold your hand to your bleeding jugular. You cannot speak, and if you take the pressure off your wound, you will bleed out faster. Unless you receive immediate medical attention, you'll be dead within minutes. You can still take actions, but obviously your options are growing more limited pretty quickly!
I would normally ask you to roll for Parley due to your demand that she back off, but you can't parley when choking on your own blood. Nothing you tried to say after "And she ate half a human this morning" came out as words, but rather as bubbly bloody froth.