Tahldar looks the scene over.  Flying is the way to go, and fortunately his Fly spell is working.

"I can help those that can't fly by pushing the first wooden disc over to them and then push the next disc over as they cross.  You'll have to grab the chain yourself, but with my help the crossing shouldn't be too bad."

"Those anti magicked, you're on your own.  I can't get close to you without losing my spell."

OOC:  I assume my fly spell is still running, but I'm not sure for how much longer.  It lasts 10 turns plus 1d6 turns.  It was cast in the fight with the fire giant.  I can't find what the d6 roll was.  I searched but there's no record of it in the dice roller or story thread.

The fly spell is still active. Geebo is the only anti-magic individual.

In reply to Tahldar of Tyrannia (msg # 30):

"Would you be able to support Geebo with a length of rope, if it were long enough to keep far enough away so you weren't in his anti-magic field? That may be the only way we can get him across, I doubt he is agile enough to make it himself," Kahan asks the mage.

"Yes.  I think so.  I'm not strong, but I should be able to handle Geebo."

Also, I forgot to mention this, but the dagger embedded in the ceiling 20 feet above you with the glowing ruby in its hilt is above the point marked "A" on the map.

Not sure if you guys are ready or not. If so, maybe post what will happen and how, and order of how you will go across--flying with Tahldar, jumping from disk to disk, climbing walls, tying each other up in a chain, something else...

To go from disk to disk will require a Dex check for each jump --note that they are free hanging and will move when touched, so it's not as simple as just jumping to a solid platform.

Upon a missed DEX check, a table will be consulted depending on the roll. Most failures will not result in falling to the lava below but will have some other effect, and  may provide for additional rolls such as a strength or saving throw check.

Tying a rope between you adds +2 to each roll. However, falling (according to the table) while tied together will have the potential of dragging others down upon failed STR checks.

We should use rope to tie the crossers together.  With Tahldar unroped, but providing assistance as he can.

Remembering something he's had in the portable hole for a long time, he quickly folds open the hole and retrieves his 9 pitons. "These should help, if we affix them to the platforms and run the rope through them, so they can't move as much," he suggests, grabbing his rope as well so he can begin tying everyone up, with him at the end since he seems to be able to hold his breath the best and he is decently strong.

Shae says, "I am quite dextrous, if you will pardon my lack of humility. I can try to cross first and attach the pitons for the rest. But it will take time and we will be holding our breaths, so I may need to cross back when I finish to get a fresh breath. Time is not on our side in this." She likes the idea but is uncertain if there is time to do it since this looks like a one way trip. "In any case, I can go first and I can take Geebo with me, maybe tied to me, or Sark, whoever needs it most.

Tahldar and Shae start across, Tahldar flying and Shae tying the pitons to each chained disk as quickly as possible.

Shae begins to stumble...but makes it to #9 (almost failed even with an 18 DEX). She chalks it up to nerves. Tahldar flies next to her to help in case she makes an error.

20 seconds holding breath

Shae ties the piton and attempts the jump to #8...making the jump with ease and tying on the piton.

41 seconds holding breath

Shae then leaps to #7...and the disk wobbles and slides as she slips on algae (Dex check missed). She tries but then overcorrects (critical miss), and the disk swings wide to the north...she reaches out, missing the chain, but then grabs the disk, holding on with one hand while her feet swing toward the burping and splattering lava, which splashes onto her legs, burning intensely. (6 hp dmg). She also loses half of her breath, but Tahldar helps her to her feet and she ties on the piton.

70 seconds holding breath (equivalent to 190 seconds for Shae now)

She jumps across to #6, making it easily, and ties on the piton.

90 seconds holding breath (210 for Shae)

Shae realizes she only has about 30 seconds of air left in her and will have to turn back soon. Just then, as they are at the edge of disk #6 and start to move forward, they see a the ruby pommel on the dagger flash brightly, and Tahldar feels his fly spell fail! The magic is totally dispelled and he finds himself falling without any support beneath his feet.

Shae reaches out...and easily snags Tahldar while holding onto the chain with the other hand. But he is heavy...and he begins to pendulum down and under the disk, making it swing wildly. Shae...successfully helps him climb up, but now she is completely out of air and afraid she will gasp in the air in the chamber.

Leaving Tahldar, she quickly uses her newly pinoned disks to head back, and slips when going from the last disk across (critical fail), falling on her face on the ledge and unwittingly gasping in breath.  (2 hp from slamming nose on rock and 1 from poison entering her system.)

Shae runs, out of breath, back to the party, where she breaths deeply and starts to relay what happened.

Tahldar, meanwhile, is holding his breath (90 seconds held--starting from when Shae left) and standing on platform 6. (He has 330 seconds left, halved for strenuous movement.)

NOTE: Normally, I wouldn't narrate so much and add so many actions but I wanted (1) to give you an idea of how this will work, and (2) move this along so it doesn't take months of real time. In your actions, state as clearly as possible what you will do, including upon any contingencies. I will infer the rest as much as possible.

Tying the pitons adds +2 to each roll. This is in addition to a +2 if you tie a rope between you (totaling +4 each).

EDIT: Also, each jump takes 6 seconds worth of breath (3 seconds of time plus 3 seconds of exertion). Shae took longer because she was tying on the pitons.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:39, Sun 05 Sept 2021.

Tahldar flies slowly as Shae moves from disc to disc.  He helps as he can as she carefully moves from rope to rope.

In a flash from the ruby dagger, Tahldar finds himself falling!  Before he realizes it he feels himself get hoisted up to a disc with the help from Shae, out of harms way for now.

He looks down at the flowing lava and then the remaining jumps either to get back or move forward.  He knows his body is not built for this.

Without a word to Shae he casts a spell...

OOC:  With the dispel magic dagger my options are limited.  I will try to cast the 1st level spell reduce (reverse of enlarge) on the dagger.  My range is 50 yards.  At 10th level it will be reduced by 90%, then another 1/10.  It is my hope this will cause the dagger to fall in the lava.

Leo debates between jumping the discs or climbing the walls, and decides on the disks since they are now more stable than they were.

Shae decides to just tie Geebo and Sark to her and try to get across, hopefully with others nearby to assist in case they fall.

Kahan decides its now or never and follows after Shae, making sure the four of them were tethered together with his ropes.

While Shae is back taking some deep breaths and explaining what happened to the others, Tahldar casts a spell. The dagger starts to shrink and fall out of its crack, but even as it does so, its ruby light flashes again, and it immediately expands. The result is that it dangles momentarily at full size and then teeters and falls into the lava. The rising lava is so thick that the dagger bobs on its surface.

Shae starts across with Geebo and Sark and Kahan. They make it across the first two platforms and then see the dagger below flash its ruby flash. All magic on them is dispelled.


They continue forward, holding their breaths, and make it all the way to the last platform without difficulty. Then a major disaster strikes as Kahan (whose DEX is only 8 and had a critical miss) slips falls, dragging Shae with his weight, and then Sark begins to slip as well, grabbing onto the chain holding the disk but about to lose his grip. Geebo also grabs on, but they can hardly support the weight of both Kahan and Shae.

Kahan is hurt by the fall from both the impact of the rope and being too close to the lava that is burping up heat at him. (5 dmg) Kahan is also facing straight down toward the lava, in a bad position to help himself. He is also right by the periodic geyser of lava that shoots up (point A on the map). It does not shoot up lava at the moment but you notice that it does about once per minute.

Leo makes it across the disks with no problem. Luckily, he is right behind Shae's group, and he reaches out to help...

After about 30 seconds, he, Geebo, and Sark are able to lift Shae to the disk. The geyser of lava explodes toward Kahan and Shae, splashing them both with its intense heat. (19 dmg for Shae and 22 dmg for Kahan.) They pull up to the disk, but the five of them on that ancient wooden disk that has been splashed with lava proves to be too much. It begins to crack... and they all jump across to the far side just as the wood breaks apart and falls down into the lava below.

This leaves Tahldar and Kahan with the need to either jump 12 feet (not possible for them), to let the others throw them a rope (which will take time with them holding their breaths), try to swing across the last chain without the disk (DEX -3), or something else.

Tahldar begins to cross the last few disks to the broken one...and makes it to #8 with no problems (critical success--no loss of breath control).

Leo and Tahldar are now on the disk marked 2 in the map. The disk marked 1 has broken and is just a chain hanging from the ceiling. It is just over 12 feet from disk 2 to the ledge where the others wait.

(120 seconds of holding your breath have passed. This is also true of Tahldar-- due to his critical success, his extra time is not counted against him)
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:52, Mon 13 Sept 2021.

Tahldar grabs hold of the chain on disc #2 and attempts to coordinate with Leo to swing towards the chain on #1.

OOC:  Using the action one would use on a kids swing, I want to gets us pendulum moving in the direction of #1.  Me and Leo will have to be on different sides of the chain/disc.  Taking turns pulling and pushing on #2's chain.

Using the chain like a pendulum swing, Tahldar and Leo swing and make it across to the far ledge. (Great rolls so it turned out to be easy.)

Everyone has now made it to the far ledge.

130 seconds have passed.

Talhdar is glad their attempt to brachiate across worked without a hitch.  Time is running short.  The mage points to the door and the way north.

OOC:  Open the door and move north.

OOC: I'm not entirely sure what's going on but I'm assuming we're out of danger from the lava at the very least.

Kahan nods and follows along with the others, hoping not much else would go wrong or this would be a short trip.

With everyone safely across, you move north and out of the lava platform room. This leads through a rocky cavern sloping up. Then it curves west until you arrive at some natural stairs carved into the stone floor, leading steeply up.

There, the cave branches south and north. The northern area appears to be an empty cavern room with some barrels of food and wine products. The southern way is a passage that passes by a pool of apparently fresh water.

Sark points to the south. You can tell he cannot hold his breath for too much longer. With over two minutes gone, you are all starting to feel the strain. Some of you have only 30 seconds left before you will be forced to start breathing the poisoned air. (Each of you have lost 1 additional round of breath holding due to exertions on the disk crossing.)

149 seconds passed...150...

ROUNDS OF BREATH HOLDING REMAINING:
Fingas: 2.5 rounds
Kahan: 1.5 rounds
Leo: 0.5 rounds
Shae: 0.5 rounds
Tahldar: 3.5 rounds
Geebo: 0.5 rounds
Sark: 0.5 rounds


This message was last edited by the GM at 04:43, Sun 19 Sept 2021.

Shae is almost out of breath and very concerned. She will follow Sark closely without delay, hoping the journey is nearing its end.

Kahan shrugs and follows Shae. He didn't know what else to do, and hoped there would be some fresh air soon.

After you enter from the stairs (2)  and turn south, Sark leads you down to the pool area (3) and then turns left (west). He stops, his eyes wide, and points to the west.

Where there once had been an exit to the west, now a cave in has blocked the tunnel. Behind you is the pool of water, and overlooking it from above and to the east is a ledge area about 15 feet above you (4). But there do not appear to be any other exits.


This message was last edited by the GM at 07:22, Thu 23 Sept 2021.

Tahldar follows Sark along.  His breath is running short and he hopes they find a spot with fresh air soon.  His eyes bulge at the sign of the blocked passage way.

Knowing this will cost him most of his precious breath, the mage casts a spell.

OOC:  Tahldar will cast dig on the blockage.  I haven't looked up the spell but I'm pretty sure Tahldar can move a lot of earth.

While Tahldar is casting, Shae is not remaining still. She searches the areas just to the north and south of the cave in to see if there is a narrow wall or other way to easily push through to the chamber beyond. She is getting very short of breath and is thinking of transforming into one of her animals that does not need much breath, but that won't help her companions.