Kemras nods slightly. "I can try to make sure there aren't any prisoners in the barracks, but... it's a bit of a risk." He sighs. "One I'm not terribly keen on taking."
Cleo frets a bit, chewing on risk vs right, and then nods "okay" she says softly "There is too much at stake, which includes your life Kemras."
There's the two potions of Invisibility which should make sneaking a little easier. I also have a potion of Talk with Birdies here in my pack. Maybe one of us could drink it and ask the birds what they know. It should probably be either Cleo or Furnok. The both of you are better with animals than I am
School divination; Level bard 2, druid 1, psychic 2, ranger 1, shaman 2, sorcerer/wizard 2, witch 2
CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
EFFECT
Range personal
Target you
Duration 10 minutes; see text
DESCRIPTION
You utter a question in the form of a low-pitched bird call that can be heard up to a mile away, and can understand the responses given by birds in the area. Over the next 10 minutes, the birds reply as if you had asked them the question using speak with animals, giving you a general consensus answer to the question based on their knowledge. For example, you could ask if there is drinkable water in the area, the location of predators or other creatures, directions to a mountaintop or other natural feature, and so on, and the local bird communities would answer to the best of their ability.
If there are no birds in range, the spell has no effect and you do not get a response. Any creature using speak with animals (or a similar ability) who hears this bird call can understand your question, though it may not be able to reply in a way you can hear.
I'm more of a farm animal person. Cleo is better with birbs.
"I can try" Cleo says, though she has never been good with birds. A memory of a little Cleo having a cookie taken by a crow might be the reason or the difficulty of simply getting the right CaCaws or Coos.
ask if there are any non-ogres, non-goblins in the fort. If there are, how many and where? Also how many ogres and goblins?
Cleo drinks the potion which tastes faintly of old feathers, then tweeks into the air trying to draw in any night birds to chat about ogres and goblins, and not ogres and not goblins.
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Cleo drinks the potion of Commune with Birds. After tweeting out her intentions, she waits by the waterfall for any reply. It takes a moment, but she hears a rather aggressive "Hoo Hooooo!" before three snowy owls slip around the waterfall and into the cave. Perching on anything or anyone nearby, one of the large owls hoots "Hoo has a question? One of the hoomans?"
The second owl says "It's so early. Couldn't yhoo give us just ten more minutes?"
The third owl says "I haven't had breakfast yet. Dhoo yhoo have snacks?"
"I always have snacks" Cleo says matter of factly, shuffling about in her pouch for dried jerky, and offering it up to the sleepy owls. "And I'm not a human, but a halfling. There is a difference, much like there are between owls like yourselves and your smaller cousins."
"[b]Um... but to the question, which does have to do with types of creatures walking about on two legs around here. The ogres and goblins have driven out the humans. Would you by any chance know if there are any humans left? And do you know about how many ogres and goblins there are?
"One question!" Snaps the first owl. The second owl starts dozing, while the third hungrily gobbles down the jerky. "Mmm taste like roadkill. Salty roadkill."
"Just one... okay, do you..." wait don't ask if they know something, just ask for the answer. Cleo rubs her head as her head corrects her "Have you seen, heard, or smelled any humans in the fort in the last few days?"
"I have not seen a hooman in the last few days." Says the first owl
"I yawn have not heard a hooman in the last few days." The second owl moans.
"I smelled lots of hoomans in the last few days." Mutters the third owl as it searches Cleo for more jerky.
As the third owl bumps her with its head, searching for another treat, she reaches out and scratches it lightly, while digging in her sack for another ration for him. "Alive or dead humans?" she asks him for an opinion on the matter of his smells.
"One question! Them's the rhooles." The first owl screetches. But as the three owls fly away, the last owl mutters "S-hooper dead hoomans."
The appreciation of the third owls answer is drowned a bit in the sadness that they have already failed another group of people. "all we can do now is hope to stop them from hurting others." she whispers to herself. Then to Kemras, she nods "Let's burn the place down."
The half-elf scholar watches bemusedly as Cleo talks with a group of owls, waiting patiently. I suppose adventurers are excellent at lateral thinking...
"Understood." Kemras nods slightly, before looking to Jakardos. "Be ready for me to come back rather quickly."
With that, he opens the secret door cautiously, peering out into the new barracks. Looking around the room the door opens into, he seeks out a particularly flammable-looking spot to toss his alchemist's fire.
Time to get a little revenge going. Furnok mutters and prepares to crack ogre skulls.
Jakardros cracks open the secret door just long enough for Kemras to slink through. He finds himself at the rear end of the New Barracks. The wattle and dorb building is in fairly poor repair and seems almost to lean overtop of Kemras against the cliff wall behind it for support. It stands on raised timbers over the uneven, sloping ground below. Excess lumber is stored haphazardly in the space below. There are no windows from this side, nor doorway. Kemras can hear Ogre voices some ways away. They aren't coming from inside the building.
Not inside... troubling. Kemras rubs his chin thoughtfully. If they're not inside, then setting a fire to it wouldn't help much. On the other hand, there may be some that are sleeping in there, and it would provide a reasonable distraction, so...
He slams the wall as hard as he can, hoping to beckon the ogres inside, before whipping the flask forwards and letting it crash against the selfsame wall. With that, he practically dashes back to the secret door.
Once within, he speaks rapidly. "We should move fast. I don't know whether there were any ogres inside - if there were, they were sleeping. So I tried to lure them in, but if that fails, the fire will be a distraction. I can't say for how long, though."
Kemras does hear a startled Ogre when he bangs on the wall, but he dashes back into the hideaway before he can see the effects of his arson. Jakardros closes the door behind him. "Well it'll be a distraction either way. How d'you wanna take advantage of it? We could go to the other door. It opens near the old guard tower and a tunnel leading up to the eagle's nest."
Yea, let's try that way.
Let's hit the eagle's nest first. That way we'll remove any archers. I've had my fill of arrows today
"Okay" Cleo worries as plans change, but she is far from an expert at attacking a fort full of ogres so she goes along.
"This way." Jakardros leads the group to the north tunnel. A deep ravine stretches across the cavern, splitting the room in half. Geodes and veins of glittering minerals shimmer along the walls of the chasm, which drops away into the dark. A ten-foot-wide wooden bridge spans the gulf. As Jakardros begins crossing the bridge, he says "No more than two humans at a time. It's designed to collapse if an Ogre crosses it."
I hope maintenance has been kept up.
Kemras looks over the bridge carefully, eyes narrowing. "Careful. Ogres are fond of traps, and they might've repurposed that."
Wabbit follows along content to let the scouts lead the way
"Ogres are dumb, there's no way they'd modify the bridge." Jakardros says.
Kemras takes a look over the glittering minerals over the chasm. Although they're nice to look at, their value is negligible. However, as he scans the walls, he notices something attempting to camouflage in the surrounding stone. A lizard, nearly the size of Kemras, is staying almost completely still as it looks at Kemras. Slowly, it opens its mouth, revealing a tongue covered in barbs. Furnok also notices just in time. The tongue launches out of its mouth faster than Kemras can comprehend, and suddenly he's being pulled towards the edge of the bridge. Thankfully, Kemras was not caught completely off-guard, and hunkers down to resist the pulling. The lizard's tongue doesn't hurt, but is incredibly sticky.
Kemras knows enough about caves to realize he's being attacked by a hungry Giant Cave Salamander.
Not to be confused with outsider salamanders from the elemental plane of fire, salamanders are common amphibians found on the material plane. They live in damp caves, humid wetlands, jungles, tropical forests, and similar places.
The Giant Cave Salamander is an air-breathing, rock-scaling salamander weighing roughly 400lbs. They can see quite well in the dark, and have excellent olfactory senses. Though not an apex predator, these salamanders are opportunistic hunters, and will eat anything that doesn't try to eat them.
With soft bodies and slow movement, giant cave salamanders aren't especially threatening opponents. The easiest way to deal with one is to look as big, angry, and threatening as possible. Bright lights and fire also tend to scare it off.
When attacked, a giant cave salamander has many different adaptations that help it survive.
- It has highly toxic skin. Though safe to the touch, if it is bitten or the flesh consumed, the toxin is more than enough to kill the average person. It does take some time before the poison takes full effect.
- It can regenerate vital organs. This is a slow process, but it can regenerate eyes, limbs, its tail. All of these function exactly as well as they did before.
- If grappled, it might detach its tail. The tail will flail around while the salamander escapes.
Salamanders are unable to speak beyond clicking sounds used to intimidate predators. Spells such as Speak with Animals will not function on them.
"Remember, the bridge can only hold a few people at once!" Cleo yells from way in the back.
Kemras yelps in surprise as the tongue of the giant lizard lashes out at him and sticks firmly. "Gah! What the- Cave Salamander? Is this one of yours?" He asks Jakardos and Kaven, struggling mightily against the tongue.
Wabbit rushes forward jumps on the lizard
And gives it one quick MIGHTY stab
Melee, Fighting Defensively-2,Flurry, Pirahna Strike -2 +4dam
WaveBlade +10/+10/+5 (1d4+6+4+5, 18-20x2, PS) +1Agile Waveblade, , Pirahna, Precise +5
Furnok Whacks at the tongue
[u]Good News:[/u] Wabbit successfully throws himself off the bridge, lands on the salamander, and kills it in a single stab.
[u]Bad News:[/u] The salamander is no longer capable of holding onto the wall, which means it, Wabbit, and Kemras (who's still attached by the tongue, since Furnok wasn't able to sever it) will plummet into the chasm.
[u]Good News:[/u] Kemras is able to position himself such that he's not dragged over the edge, and Wabbit can hold onto the dead salamander.
[u]Bad News:[/u] Furnok, Kemras, the 400lbs salamander, and Wabbit, completely overload the weight limit of the bridge.
[u]More Bad News:[/u] Furnok failed the saving throw to avoid the breaking bridge, I argue that Kemras can't make one due to being dragged down by a weight greater than his own, and Wabbit isn't privy to a check since he's already below the bridge. In addition, none qualify for the acrobatics check to avoid 10ft of fall dmg.
[u]Even More Bad News:[/u] Lots of damage
[u]Good News:[/u] No death!
[u]Bad News:[/u] I give Furnok an ouch
[u]Good News:[/u] Loot!
To the spectators, everything happens in an instant. Kemras is tethered to a massive sticky tongue. Furnok tries to bash the tongue to release Kemras, but it's ineffective. Meanwhile, Wabbit recklessly leaps off the bridge. Suddenly, Kemras is being pulled really, really hard. Kaven says "Kemras!? You need a hand?" But just as the words leave his mouth, the bridge collapses, and both Kemras and Furnok are pulled into the abyss. Kaven yells "KEMRAS!!!!!" as everyone else scrambles. Looking over the edge, the group can spot Wabbit's light far, far below.
Furnok, Wabbit, and Kemras feel time grind to a standstill, as they plummet into the dark abyss. Nothing but dark stone whirling upwards at breakneck pace passes their vision. A seemingly endless weightlessness, but with the constant, near heart-stopping expectation that their time is only moments away. It is not the falling that is dreaded, but the certain stop at the bottom.
Crunch
It takes time for the three to stir to their senses, but miraculously, they have all survived. Pain ripples through their bodies, and their minds waver in a haze. As each checks over their wounds, Furnok feels a sharp pain in his leg. He can't put weight on it.
In their surroundings, a desiccated corpse lies. Nought but skin and bone remains, with old leather armour as this small creature's burial shroud. Around it are its last possessions. A smashed flask, rusted prospecting tools, a pickaxe made of adamantine, a gold ring with a Thassilonian rune etched ontop, and a scrollbox containing 9 scrolls.
The pickaxe is a +1 adamantine pick, which can be used by a medium creature as a heavy pick, or a small creature as a two-handed pickaxe.
The scrolls are all scrolls of Detect Metal (CL1)
The ring is an ancient magical ring from the forgotten kingdom of Shalast. The wearer can sacrifice their life essence, or the life essence of a willing sentient creature to create valuable metals and minerals. The creature takes a permanent negative level, and in return gains 1,000gp worth of a single metal or mineral. This can include minted coins from a land that the wearer is familiar with, cut gems, special ores for crafting, etc. Multiple negative levels can be inflicted at one time. If the permanent level is cured, the material immediately disappears. Creatures that die from permanent levels are immediately transmuted into pyrite, which could be sold for 500gp (medium creature). Creatures that have the rage power (or similar) are unable to wear the ring.
With Kemras' low-light vision, he can see that the bottom of the chasm leads elsewhere.
It all happens so fast that Wabbits brain barely has time to register the event... One second he's stabbing deep into the lizard, the next, the bridge lizard Furnok and Kemras are falling rapidly away as Wabbit slowly sinks through the air into darkness pierced only by Tinkerbell
Kemras groans in pain as he slowly lifts himself off of the ground.
He looks over the items nearby swiftly. "Huh. Magical items, and one of Thassilonian origin, as well." He manages, drawing his wand and tapping himself with it three times.
"The pick's magical, and made from adamantine... the scrolls are for detecting metals, and the ring, well, the ring is decidedly less pleasant. You can make precious gems and stuff from your own life essence - or someone else willing. At least it's not on unwilling subjects..." He continues, turning to Furnok and healing him as well.
"I'd guess, then, that we're in a Thassilonian mine from Shalast." He looks back up at the ridge from which they fell. I wonder if they're alright up there. "We can move forwards, deeper into the mine - I'm not sure I have it in me to climb back up."
Sorry bout that guys. I should've sliced its tongue and not its neck
If we have rope, Wabbit can climb up and and lower rope to the others and make our way up that way... If the structure of the walls allows and has ledges where they can hang out while Wabbit climbs
Uhhhhhhhh..I've fallen and can't get up. Furnok's leg is bending the wrong way.
Bacon looks over the ledge and squeals in dismay.
"Are. You. Okay.?" Cleo whispers as loud as once can whisper, meaning just speaking about normal in an odd voice, down into the darkness toward Wabbit's light. "Wasn't there a rope ladder back with the supplies? Aggah can you go get it?"
Well, I have this levitation potion. Only enough for one though
Wabbit gently floats down the chasm, waiting to gain vision of his teammates who fell, likely to their death. Fortunately, both Furnok and Kemras are alive, though certainly hurt. Kemras patches himself and Furnok up as best he can, but Furnok's leg is damaged beyond what a simple cure spell can handle. He'll have a limp until he can get some special magic from Cleo. Up above, Cleo tries to call down, but between the distance and the echo, her words are unintelligible to the men below. They can hear her, they just don't know what she's saying.
Meanwhile, Aggah dutifully goes to the supply area in search of that rope ladder. There's a bit of commotion, but she returns with the ladder, there's a baby flail snail stuck to her back. "Aggah can't get snail off. It stuck." She says.
Furnok will drink his potion of levitation and float up, giving his rope to the others when he reaches the top.
Wabbit waits at the bottom of the chasm with Kemras hoping that all the rope tied together is enough to reach them
With the ladder, Jakardros' rope, and Furnok's rope, there is enough to tie together to reach the bottom of the chasm. With the ladder secured to the side, anyone or everyone could travel up or down without leaving someone behind.