The Dragon's Demand PbP

Game Master dickie

The kobold druid takes flight and skims along the roof tops of the monastery. In a courtyard in the center he spots the feathered cap of Azmur Kell. The human druid sits on a large rock there. A tower to the east holds a belfry with a shape moving about. When he gets closer he sees a woman standing in the tower, writing in a notebook and looking out every once in a while to watch the grounds. Nothing and no one else seems to be visible from the sky, but Spitter gets a good sense of the size of the grounds and can see how signs of recent maintenance and repair.

I will reveal more of the map to reflect his knowledge of the exterior when I get a chance.

Unless something else catches his eye, Spitter will head back and inform the others.

Renliat casts mage armor on himself, and taps Leng with the wand. Otherwise he waits for Spitter's report.

"Hmm, guess we're going in then."

On the way to the monastery.

"I either had too much or not enough to drink last night. Oh well a good fight will fix me right up."

As Spitter flies off.

"Take care little dragon, don't get eaten by anything."

Stroking his beard and studying the area. "Nope. This just doesn't look like a dragon's lair. Oh he might well be using it for something but I doubt he's here much. Shame."

Map is updated following Spitter's flight.

"Feels good to stretch my 'wings' so to speak. I've seen at least two potential pink-skins, but no direct enemies yet. Should we enter directly or wait until dark to enter? Please note, I will be unable to shape-shift again today until at least early tomorrow some time. So do we enter? Or wait an watch some more?"

Ugg...I should have thought to set down next to Azmur and try and see if he could talk to me in bird form. He's supposed to be a Druid...sorry guys. I'm tired.

"Only some of us can see in the dark, I say we go in now."

Spitter shrugs and spits off to the side.

"Fine by me. That Pink-skin who walked up to us and walked off after his little 'speech'? He's in there...just sitting on a rock. Really. Feather'd cap and all that."

Spitter hooks a clawed thumb in the direction of the monastery.

Everybody OK? I'm hoping everyone is just busy. Anyway...I say we move in now during daylight.

I think everyone's normal rhythms are just thrown off. You should be able to tell there are a couple of out buildings as well as the main monastery itself. Two things to remember: the dragon instructed you to bring the ransom to this location and Spitter saw a woman in a high space with good visibility.

I believe we're just going in and scouting the area, through the front door, buffed up and ready to fight or talk as needed.

"Leng, take point. Spitter, give him a little room. Wilfried, the middle. Renliat, follow Will and I'll bring up the rear. Leng, you encounter any traps and we switch positions. Any questions? Good, let's move."

Nodding, Spitter ruffles his wings and hangs back about 10 feet behind Leng, and a little to his left for a clearer view of what coming ahead. His small staff making the occasional clicking noises on old broken cobblestones.

The guard building at the end of the statued path or heading straight to the big building?

Leng nods and moves to the front, his flaming chain unwrapping and spinning around with a low whoosh-ing sound.

Whichever is closer.

The group move openly down the processional towards the guard house. The bell in the belfry rings out across the monastery grounds.

A voice calls from behind an arrow slit in the guardhouse. After knowing Spitter these last couple of weeks the Draconic accent is easily identifiable as coming from a kobold speaker. "You there! You bring the money? Where is it? Show us! Quickly, Lord Aeteperax awaits!"

Looking at the others quickly, Spitter turns and spits then replies easily with a hand on hip.

"Lord Aeteperax will have to wait! There isn't that much gold in the entire county much less the local pink-skin Barony! We are here...to negotiate with the dragon's representatives. Is that you green-scale?"

He then whispers to his compatriots carefully.

"If things go badly from here I will throw up my heavy mist spell...it will conceal all of us long enough to make a run for the trees...if needed."

Renliat nonchalantly taps Leng with a wand, cloaking him in invisible armor.

Mage armor for Leng!

"Lord Aeteperax does not want to hear excuses, come back with the ransom or do not come back at all!"

Getting angry now, Spitter raises his small wings to look bigger and remind the other kobolds of his obvious draconic ancestry.

"Excuses are not the reality of the situation! Even a Dragon must acknowledge reality! If he could ignore it, then he would not even NEED the gold he demanded! He could make it with a whim! Now...get off your lazy green-scaled ass and stop acting like a idiotic egg-baby! Inform your SUPERIORS we are here to negotiate! Otherwise attack us and see how well THEY treat you for slowing us down!"

Intimidate (Unskilled): 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (18) + 0 = 18

"Pinch off, soft-belly!" shouts the speaker to a chorus of laughter from behind the wall.

Renliat leans against a wall, folding his arms and shaking his head. Surely this isn't our charisma, is it?

Would love to help but I'm sitting on 7 charisma and no trained social skills. But let me know if a fireball would help negotiations!

"Uh Little Dragon. Tell them we'll make our apologies to the Dragon when present their bodies to him." He says as he moves a few steps forward.

"Oh, we are real scared!" There is another burst of laughter.

How high are the walls? Is the gatehouse something you can just walk into?

Very Militant monks it seems. I get the impression we are in a fenced 'Killing' area. The enemy kobolds are in the building in front of us with arrow slits pointed right at us. I can only assume a gate-house would be as tall as the gate itself. So...about one or two-story or so? I could waste a bunch of magic trying to get at them, but that that would be very little result for such use of power. I could just cast obscuring mist and we 'walk' right by them without them really seeing us...although arrow/bolt potshots would be coming out at us probably. The door appears to be just around the corner however too. Do none of us have any real Diplomacy skills?

It's a ten-foot tall metal fence. There is a closed door to the gatehouse and Spitter is correct, they're able to fire their crossbows through the arrow slits.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

"We are here to...I mean we came to...uh...oh screw it. Renliat, light 'em up. Spitter, cover us. Now let's move."

Renliat sucks in air and pushes off the wall. Apparently they were getting violent.

Do we have enemy placements on the map, can we see and/or locate them? With my whopping +14 initiative I'm hoping to land something painful before we all get mixed up in melee.

They are inside a fortified stone building with tons of cover bonuses, a locked door, and by my guess...poisoned bolts to fire? That's what I would give Kobold guards at least. Unless you can throw a fireball into a small arrow slit??? I will wait until everybody gets a shot off/action, then throw up an Obscuring Mist spell to give us some basic concealment unless someone has another suggestion.

"Enough of THIS!"

A shimmering field envelopes the dwarf as he moves to cover behind one of the statues.

Cast shield of faith and moves. Current AC 24 plus cover.

Looking at the others. "Use the statues for cover to advance. Save the spell until we close. I might be able to suppress them with this." Holding out a alchemist's fire flask.

According to the description of fireball I can actually throw it through an arrow slit, it just requires a ranged touch attack. However this seems an incredibly disadvantageous position to be in, literally laying siege to a keep in broad daylight when they know we're here. If our plan is violence it may be better to simply retreat and come back from an unexpected angle, I only suggested approaching now because I thought diplomacy would work.

"Just go away already! You're making fools of yourselves."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

I'm not really sure what we hope to accomplish with Diplomacy. Besides, we're here, we're spelled up, we may as well test the waters and see what kind of resources and responses our enemy has.

Sense Motive(Unskilled): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Moving closer to the building, using cover if he can, Spitter spits and raises his staff.

"Enough of this foolishness."

Red Lines on the map delineate the mist's borders. So let's just run past and duck around the corner. Maybe jam their door so they cannot get out? Simple yet effective.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Fair enough!

Renliat frowns as the mist rises. I guess we're testing their defenses directly. Damn, I really wished I had finished researching that flight magic. Renliat follows Spitter, hoping the kobold has a plan.

A pair of crossbow bolts fire out from behind the arrow slits

LCB: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
LCB: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

But neither has a chance at hitting anyone.

One kobold shouts in Draconic at the others. "What are you doing? Just throw some more stuff on the door, we don't want them getting in here! We could end up like our tribe: dead!"

Okay, full regular chat round starts now! You guys are up.

He turns back to the others and speaks only loud enough for them to hear.

"Sneak past while I talk to them. Try and maintain stealth. Jam their door once you get up to it if you can, and we will just leave them here to stew in their own worries until we come back this way."

Regular chat round should be "combat round" lol. I should be more careful sending updates via phone.

Nodding to the Kobold Wilfried takes off at a run. (Well the Dwarven equivalent of a run). Ending on the far side of the door.

Full round run move

"You heard him. Let's move out."

Pavo hustled forward and found himself in the middle of the cloud. The armor slowed him down more than he had anticipated and suddenly he found himself wondering where everyone else was.

Leng and Ren?

Leng, likewise, rushes into the cloud and through.

I'm down with the plan, running and following the others, seeing what happens.

The group hustles last the fog and door, while Wil moves toward the door. The dwarf can hear the song and of heavy objects slamming into the stout wood door.

If you're just interested in slipping past them, you can. Honestly, they're not going to stop you. If you want to bash, break, or use magic on the door then round two is now live!

Spitter moves past, and whispers to Pavo.

"Should we disable the door? That way they can't follow after or warn the others we are coming."

Stumbling blindly through the fog, Pavo finally emerged from the other side.

"Go. Push forward. I'll see about making sure this door doesn't open any time soon."

Spitter points toward the area where he saw the other 'druid' and whispers to the others.

"This way pink-skins. I think it might be a good place to start from what I saw!"

If the others follow, we will move in the general direction of the Druid whose wife is kidnapped by the dragon. I know he's in an open air area somewhere here from my recon earlier. Nearest building/obvious entry/direction to that please?

"Stay to the 'north', along the wall. The murder hole has less sight there. But I doubt they will fire anymore. IF THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR THEM." Moving in the direction the Kobold indicated.