"I'm in!" After listening carefully to the Wizard's instructions, Rheticus slides over to the owlbear skeleton and proceeds to fasten his continual light rod inside its ribcage.
"ooh even spookier!" cries Rheticus. He then joins whomever is searching the Derro and looks to see if the Derro weapons are indeed poisoned.
"A fair enough trade for your future assistance. I am in agreement." He moves over to the other exit from the room and peers into the darkness, keeping watch while the others organize themselves and search the dead.
Arius looks at the torch bemusedly, then shrugs.
"The secret door next?"
Derro1: short sword, metal tongs
Derro2: standard hammer
No poison can be found on them. There is blood on the hammer and tongs.
skeleton can fit in the passage...
"Hmm, I wonder if these little devils were torturing someone nearby? I'm not at all in favour of torture, even for other creatures - and not just because of my profession.
Not that it matters, but why are we looking for this necromancer? An important message? Delivering an owlbear skeleton?"
"No, actually the skeleton belongs to the necromancer. Given his criminal conduct, we have temporarily appropriated it as a useful tool for dealing with any other 'projects' that he may have. We intend to apprehend him and retrieve an important Shoati's body from him."
"Given the battle noise, I doubt that we still have the advantage of surprise. Shall we find out what this creature was doing with his tools?"
Arius recites a cantrip and briefly inspects the objects from the derro.
Nothing shows magic.. The Derro came from the main stairs and not the secret door. ( just as a reminder since I accidentally said they came from the secret door when posting from work without a book in front of me)
"Soooo, this skeleton is profoundly powerful, yet if we use it too much, we risk having it turned against us. Have you discussed exactly when you'd like to stop using it, or how to decommission it?"
"Soooo, this skeleton is profoundly powerful, yet if we use it too much, we risk having it turned against us. Have you discussed exactly when you'd like to stop using it, or how to decommission it?"
"An excellent point. For decommissioning, I was going to suggest either all attacking it simultaneously, but I had planned to wait until we had finished clearing the area."
Hoskuld speaks up, "These things came from outside, perhaps if one of your group has some skill at tracking they could tell where these things were hiding. It may also lead us to their victim."
He offers to join the skeleton on point, eager to aid this group and secure their goodwill.
"Perhaps one of us could scout ahead quietly, but whether we use a scout or not, we should move before the necromancer coordinates a more effective response."
map of what you can see from where you are or through any of the secret entrances.. let me know where you go though..
Current location (this is placement before the battle, so this might have changed slightly)
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Elizabeth takes note of the two newcomers, but doens't introduce herself, instead spending the time while they are talking examining the secret passage once more. She continues to monitor the conversation however and finally pipes up, "I could scout ahead if you like, although without a light source it would be slow going on my part. Perhaps Keth might be better suited, unless you are untrained in the arts of stealth?" She turns to Keth and raises an eyebrow, although with her mask on noone can see it.
Rheticus' head whips around to look at Elizabeth during her speech, a look of terror on his face. He scoots over to her and whispers: "should you being saying things like that? it might be a 'hurting' offense?"
"Do you want to risk it, Liz? Keth could join you to spot the corridors ahead to see if anything was lurking, and my brother could make a concealable light source. I could make you invisible if you think it necessary."
"A coin--or perhaps several coins--enchanted with a spell of light." Arius smiles. "I will even provide the coins, if my brother will provide Torag's blessing on them." He pulls three copper pieces out of his purse.
Full map
Rank with the stink of sweat and mud, this cavern contains
four filthy straw pallets and a low table covered with dice and
a miniature maze of carved clay. There is a pair of pliers on the floor and a hammer matching the one the derro that attacked you wielded.
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Elizabeth heads down the corridor, coming out into what appears to be some kind of crude barracks. She does a scout around the room before the others arrive, to see what's about and check for more Derro.
Perception Check. (1d20+7=25)
it appears that this is where the two derro that attacked you came from, and that the thunderstone interrupted their needlessly complex and cruel game using a rat, a maze, handfuls of stones marked with numbers, a hammer, and a pair of pliers.... There is nothing in the staw pallets, and nothing of real value on the table, there is a wounded rat in the maze, and 3 dead ones on the floor next to the table.
When Elizabeth signals that the path ahead is clear, Arius orders the skeleton to advance into the derros' room. "Skeleton, advance before us at our pace, and attack on my command."
He grimaces in disgust when he sees the evidence of the derros' cruel game and mutters something under his breath.
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it appears that this is where the two derro that attacked you came from, and that the thunderstone interrupted their needlessly complex and cruel game using a rat, a maze, handfuls of stones marked with numbers, a hammer, and a pair of pliers.... There is nothing in the staw pallets, and nothing of real value on the table, there is a wounded rat in the maze, and 3 dead ones on the floor next to the table.
Following the group sees the Derros grimey quarters as well. She is saddened by the maltreatment of the rats. She tries to scoop the wounded rat out of the maze.
Handle Animal
1d20+2 -> [18,2] = (20)
Using the Spell "Speak With Animals" Anju tries asking the rat about its captors and why they were here.
Using the Spell "Speak With Animals" Anju tries asking the rat about its captors and why they were here.
The rat doesn't tell you much, other than it's hurt and scared... and it lived in these catecombs all of its life
Rheticus examines the maze game.
"I wonder what this game means to the Derro? Will it show us how they see the world?"
Jumping back and forth between positions, trying to recreate the moves, Rheticus has to be reminded when it is time to leave this room.
"Wait wait wait I need the vermin to figure out this game."
'Clack-Clack' Rheticus snaps the tongs for emphasis.
Just put him, riiight here - he gestures to the center of the maze with the tongs.
"Does anyone have some way to heat these tongs up?"
Hoskuld bends over the maze and examines it, trying to determine if it is random or if it matches the tunnels they are in now by chance.
Nope, no relation that you can tell - Derro aren't coherent enough to build real models to scale
"Ahem... maybe it would be better if you put those down, Rheticus, before something else gets hurt."
"The next room, perhaps?"
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Elizabeth follows the discussion about the rat with distateful disinterest, instead concentrating on the room itself.
"Alright, it appears we have two exits. The one we came in through and that one ther," she point to the north corridor. "Do we want to go back the way we came and take a side passage, or out that one there, which appears to be the main entrance? Personally I don'r care which, as long as we find a room down here with some kind off valuables in it instead of this filth."
"I say that we try the new path."
"Well I can't say I condone feeding rats to dogs, but I'm clearly not the expert here."
He holds his nose experimentally with the tongs.
"Yeff yeff, luts take teh passage...ouch"
"Yes, let's go," says the unusually silent Pelgane brother.
"Let's try the passageway. If ve find nothing, then ve can split into pairs and search faster." Hoskuld moves to follow the scout and skeleton down the next passage.
The majority of this room contains a nasty-looking stretch of mud—a partially collapsed sinkhole—kept damp by rivulets of water seeping from the walls. A patch of solid ground extends into the mud to form an island, on which is heaped a reeking pile of body parts. To the north, a rickety wheelbarrow sits on its side against the wall.
perception 15+:
perception 27+:
Everyone: After the last person enters the room, you hear a delighted slobbery voice yell as the center 8 feet of the sinkhole raise up and lumber's toward you, mud falling to the ground all around it.
Perception:1d20+3=18
As the secret door opens, Arius tenses. "I heard something speak. Be wary."
"Now that's interesting. Do you think he's talking to us? Or about us? In the tight confines of a dungeon, I'd have thought some precision in language would be well rewarded. Hrrmpph!
Well, which one of you wants this one as a pet?"
Rheticus immediately starts to dig into his backpack for something useful...
Branham stares aghast at the monstrosity.
"By all that's holy, what is that thing?"