"You are no ordinary travelers. Please, come eat."
Yorc takes out a big basket of juicy looking red apples, which he holds out to you.
Korvak and Valasca notice that the apples are coated in something odd.
His paranoia seems to be paying off
"The apples are coated in something .. I don't think we should trust him.. " and he takes a defensive stance
Lillie, hearing Korvak's warning, readies her weapon. 'I knew he was being to friendly, especially considering what we are'
+7/+6
Lillie, Arcavic, you know everything located here.
"Tell me, Yorc, does the part of the forest we seek to walk through belong to your tribe?"
"I have no tribe. There is only me. Come, eat, and we will talk of what you are doing here. I know much about this area, and perhaps I can help you."
Korvak moves up next to the Centaur
"After you my friend, let us be assured that these coated apples are safe?"
The centaur glares at Korvak and then begins to attack.
[spoiler=initiative rolls]
bold may post:
Lillie
Korvak
Arcavik
Yorc
Valesca
As the Centaur begins attack, Arcavic sighs and speaks words of magic, and a dart flies from his hand straight at the Centaur's shadow.
Lillie quickly shoots two arrows at attacking centaur
Korvak makes a flurry of blows at the Centaur with the quarterstaff held in both hands
The centaur goes down under the assault of arrows and quarterstaff.
You search Yorc's body, and find:
6 doses of oil of taggit in a large glass bottle, as well as
375 gp
a rough map to the troglodyte caves
a package sealed with parchment and wax
The package contains a note and an amulet of natural armor +2.
Salutations Children of the Stone,
My emissary approaches you as
a sign of respect, but by now you
have seen my soldiers move unchecked
across this green and fertile land.
The Ironfang Legion means to make
all of Nirmathas a home to those the
humans would hunt, and turn those
same humans into our servants and
prey. You would be wise to join our
alliance. There is no room for neutral
parties when war is all around you,
and only one side in this conflict will
offer you strength and shelter.
As a sign of the protection the
Legion offers, kindly accept this
token of my generosity. Take your time
in making your decision, but I trust
you will come to the conclusion that
provides your small and vulnerable tribe
a future.
Kindest regards,
General Azaersi
Arcavic reads the note through twice, then smiles. "This might get us in to speak with the leader of the troglodytes without having to fight our way through the guards. If we can get there, perhaps we shall convince him to relocate his tribe. Does anyone know who this General Azaersi is?"
"Arcavic, this amulet seems to be protective, do you need it?"
Says Korvak as he gestures to the amulet.
You would all know that a few years before, Azaersi was the general of one of Molthune's monster regiments, called the Ironfang Legion. They were blamed for the Ramsgate Massacre, and disappeared soon after it, until they reappeared in Phandaer at the beginning of this tale.
"I believe that there are others who will likely need to avoid damage more than I. After all, I typically do not stand on the front lines."
"Korvak, I can heal myself with magic when I need, and my armor is strong you should take the amulet."
Korvak will slip the amulet over his head, "Your generosity humbles me." and he bows
Lillie agrees with the others "I fight for range, you need it the most"
"Let's move on to the caves, we still ultimately need to find shelter for our friends."
"Agreed. And perhaps we can convince the troglodytes to vacate without too much bloodshed."
The rest of your journey to the troglodyte caves is uneventful.
Beyond the tangle of roots shading the cave entrance, a narrow tunnel slopes sharply down. The tips of tree roots protrude from the ceiling like stained teeth. Faint light from outside catches on a streak of cloudy teal crystal running along the length of one wall. Bulbous brown and purple fungal growths sprout from the ground, and an unpleasant,
faintly sulfurous odor hangs in the air.
"I suspect the Trogs have joined with the legion."
The mushrooms are shrieker mushrooms, and will make loud sounds if anyone approaches them or if they are struck with light.
"According to the note we took off that messenger, not yet. We have two options. Bluff our way past the Trogs to talk to the leader and convince them to relocate, or slaughter every single one of them. Any preference?"
"We should try the diplomatic approach, but be ready for them to try to kill and eat us and be ready to react accordingly "
"We should attempt to talk it is the civilised thing to do, but be wary of sneak or sudden attacks."
"Very well, then. Shall we let these mushrooms cry the alarm, or kill them before we approach?"
"they will probably start to scream if we attack one of them, unless you can get all of them with a single attack. But assuming the troglodytes leave their cave without informing everything not deaf in a wide area, there should be another entrance "
"Depends how fragile the shriekers are, and whether or not they count magic as movement. An alternate entrance may not be a bad idea, however - if we could leave the shriekers there and allow the citizens of Phaendar to settle in the cave, they could add to the defense of the area."
The description does not make it quite clear that the mushrooms are far enough into the cave they are in the shade most of the day, but they will be hit every day at sunset by the sun.
"Does anyone know what specifically sets off a shrieker?
We could wait till sunset when the light is going to make them shriek anyway and come in then.
poke, poke. You guys need to decide what you want to do here.
+7 nature/+6dungeneering
"Lets withdraw a bit and wait it out til they are set off anyway. That way we aren't sneaking in."
It depends on the history of this particular group of trogs. Drow are known to have trog slaves, and are not unusually cruel to them (for drow). They would see bugbears and lizardfolk as racial enemies, but their reaction to drow and driders is less predictable.
"Agreed, let's wait until sunset when the shriekers scream regardless, then go in."
So are you all agreed to wait until the mushrooms go off normally, and then enter the caves? Do you try to sneak into the caves, or walk in boldly and talk to the first creatures you see?
Let me know when you have all the details of what you're doing worked out and are ready to move on.