Two days ago the six of them had individually been summoned to Lord Toede's Mansion. The latest rumors talked about ships arriving weekly with imported goods from as far as Palanthus. The most interesting rumor claimed that he recently had bought a clutch of amphi dragon eggs from a group of surly Dargonesti. And his Chamberlain confirmed that six such eggs had been stolen from Lord Toede, to his master's great distress, and the bandits had taken them to the ruined village of Micah. It was generally avoided by travelers as it was too creepy. The group agreed to retrieve the eggs and deal with the bandits.

They traveled for a day and a half. Neither Caitlin nor Eucharista ate or drank for the entire trip.

A wide curving wall of pure white stone marked the boundary of the ancient ruined town. The walls, like the ruins themselves, seemed to disappear at the far end into the hill and beneath the ground, as if the land itself was in the process of consuming it. A road paved with bleached flagstones entered through a gate and wound through crumbled buildings. Pieces of once-mighty structures were scattered about like the toy blocks of a giant child. There were no sounds in the ruins. Unless they came from the group.

They followed the road into the hill and when they entered the hill single file, they were about 25 feet underground already. The area beyond might once have been a garden, but now it was merely a bizarre, shadowy remnant of what once was. Spectral images of lush trees, flowering plants, and bushes flickered in and out of sight.

As they looked around the garden, a ghost manifested! Ready to strike.

[OOC: We are in combat time. For simplicity in combat, I will be trying out https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r for our map. On this map, each square is 20 by 20 feet. This is why the square is so much bigger than your tokens. Your token, based on the image you use here, is on the list to the right. As are representations of familiars and animal companions. Place your token(s) where you want to start in the revealed rectangle.]

Moonflute makes good use of the travel time to Micah, feeling out her companions and studying their movements, their weaponry, their demeanour. She notes with interest the apparent fasting of Eucharista and Caitlin, wondering if perhaps it is a ritual preparation for battle.

When the chatter among the group lulls, or in the evening, she takes to playing one of her instruments of choice; a flute, some pan pipes and an ocarina - seemingly oblivious to her environment or the upcoming perils of their quest.

She shivers a touch as the group enters the side of the hill, more out of anxiety than any aversion to the change in temperature. She looks about at what might once have been a well kept entry and sighs.

As they advance, Moonflute takes up a position towards the rear of the group, her senses piquing as they enter a place of danger.

Micah! - Why did it have to be Micah? Caitlin wondered while they traveled to the place she'd call godforsaken first if asked for a word to describe the former city. Athena sensed the tenseness of her human friend and hooted a couple of times as owls do when they wanted to express concern - or any kind of emotion really. "Of course I don't like the thought of going to a place like Micah. Add in the fact that we're going to engage a group of bandits who make their lair at this godforsaken town and don't seem to feel any worry doing so. Something's very wrong, I tell you." the raven haired woman answered with a shudder, causing the feathered friend on her shoulder to flutter briefly. Whatever the hoot meant was only understood by Caitlin and she did not choose to comment further.

And it all had started so nicely, they gathered in the mayor's mansion and he laid out the mission for them. Bandits had taken some stuff from him and he needed it back, in one piece. The group was introduced, luckily the sorceress had met at least some of the people - if in passing, or had heard of what they were said to be capable of. Happily she noticed Dialis, her duett partner, joining the trip as well, but when the destination was given, Caitlin immediately regretted agreeing to the job.

Armed with a sturdy-looking spear and protected by shiny breastplate armor, the woman looked ready for battle and was focused like a rapier's pointed end. Which in turn meant that she was brooding over the potential enemies they would have to engage over paying attention to their surroundings. Which was probably one of the reasons why she did not notice the danger until it got right into their faces. "Damn!" was her only comment when the apparition appeared.

"If they make their lair here, it couldn't be that dangerous.  Any threat we face they'd have already encountered."  Keliantharas mused back, listening for the bandits and admiring the architecture more than he was on guard for supernatural threat.  Somewhat underestimating human visual acuity, he had drawn a flaming strip of cloth from a pocket and bound it to his right wrist.  "There may even be some ruins worth exploring, once the eggs are safely recovered."

The spirit's appearance gave the elf a start.  He raised his staff warningly in his flaming hand, his other poised to loose eldritch wroth on the ghost.  While he had a number of defensive spells at his disposal, the need to start strong pressed aggressively against Keliantharas's mind.  "Stay your path, spirit, as we stay ours."  He cautioned.

OOC: Readying an action to release a [Maximized] Magic Missile if the ghost does anything aggressive (approach, attack, cast a spell, etc)

In just a short time with him, Korzak quickly established that about the only thing bigger than his body was his personality. He would constantly prattle on about half-remembered tales of adventure, both his own supposed deeds as well as those of Lord Toade that seemed far too flattering to be true. But he did seem to forget a lot of details. This meant that his anecdotes often seemed to have no real point, at least not by the time he reached the end.

He took great effort in his appearance to look like some storybook brave knightly hero. Although he seemed either quite naive or quite delusional about how the real world worked. In fact, he takes no time in demonstrating this when the ghost manifests.

Stepping forward to the front of the group, readying his shield, if only to show off the infinity symbol painted upon it, but not drawing his sword he called out to the ghost in as friendly a manner possible.

"Greetings, good spirit! How tragic it is to still dwell beyond the end of one's mortal coil! Might I perform some task to lift the curse that still binds you here and allow you to peacefully pass to your next life?"

One would hope that if they ever reached the bandits he would be a bit more cautious rather than just openly approaching with warm greetings and offers of assistance like this-- but thus far, it seems this is the only way he knows how to approach a situation.

Eucharista knew nothing about dealing with ghosts so she backed away behind the others, gently urging Petra back with her even though Petra was gamely barking and snarling at the ghost like the good terrier she was.

She kept quiet and hoped in the name of all the gods that somebody else knew how to deal with such a creature.

Dialis breathed in the air as they walked to their objective, enjoying the simple most things in life.  When Moonflute played her instrument Dialis would listen intently and ask if she ever wanted to perform together.  Noting that both Dialis and Caitlin were also performers and maybe even the three of them could do so together sometime.    Though she was amazed with one of her cohorts, Korzak was as tall as she was!  The first time in her life she had been side by side with someone else who stood 6'4"  She laughed at how the group must look to anyone they met as her armor clanked along with the progress they made.

When the ghost appeared her hand wrapped around her Medallion of Faith that hang from her head, her thumb tracing the bottom of Branchalas symbol, the harp. As she stood ready for what may come.

OOC: Ready an action to turn undead if the ghost harms any member of the party.

Moonflute, the pale nature child, was the shortest, but not the smallest of them. And calling the Kagonesti elf a child was a misnomer to say the least, as she was three times as old as most of them, but still, she was not the oldest. More graceful than most of them, but not the most graceful. At least she was the most observant. Her leather armor and cloak were clearly of elven design.

Eucharista was smaller and taller and less graceful than Moonflute, making her by comparison seem even slighter than she really was. The weathered human wore no armor and a thin, very unmanly sword. In a group such as this, she was very much the one you didn’t pay attention to. However, when push came to show, both elves could vanish better than this light brown-haired dog owner could. Fortunately, a cute little dog could help out in so many different situations.

Keliantharas was taller and smaller than Eucharista and by comparison, the Silvanesti wizard with stormy eyes and unmistakable voice seemed even slighter than he really was. And being the smallest and the oldest, he had that going for him. And like Eucharista, he didn’t wear armor either. Unless one could call the elven-designed silver bracers he wore armor. But they were way too thin to have any but artistic purpose. And dressed like an explorer, it was only his staff and more importantly his spell component pouch that betrayed his secret.

Caitlin was also a master of the arcane arts, but hers were subtler and most persuasive. And dressed in a silver breastplate, was that mithral, and a sufficient number of weapons, she might just be anything else. Her hair was decorated with a circlet and so was Moonflute’s, while Keliantharas had braided silver beads into his. She was also both the tallest and the largest female in the group. Well, unless you counted Dialis who was in a league of her own. And Caitlin’s owl circled the group.

Dialis, covered in full plate, wore her Branchalan Medallion of Faith with great pride and towered more than a foot over the tiny Moonflute. She was the spokeswoman of the goddess of music, Caitlin had a magnificent singing voice, and Moonflute played the wind instruments as well as Dialis played the strings, well enough to be enjoyable. At least half of them had some skills to fall back upon if adventuring didn’t pan out.

And Korzak. The hobgoblin. While Dialis might be as tall as him, he was twice as big as the others. He had made the controversial choice, for a hobgoblin, to follow Mishakal. Not as a flimsy cleric, but as a well-armed and armored holy warrior in chainmail. Their quite persuasive front-line warrior.


Two of the divine, two of the arcane, and two of nature. It seemed Lord Toede had done something right at least.



[OOC: This is sort of a post to compare the characters to each other, based on what you have seen. Or what I know/think you would have seen. While also tweaking/having fun with some stereotypes. The actual combat post will come next, as soon as I’ve written it…. No offense is intended. And I hope there isn't any.]

The huge ghostly walking tree appeared some distance before them, exuding terror and horror in waves around them.

[
Characters have suffered Ability Damage and they return 1/day.

Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Dex -3, Con -1.
Korzak is Str -3, Dex -4, Con -4.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -4.
]

[As they acted first, readied actions have unfortunately no effect. But at least now it is your turn to act.

What do you do?]
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:42, Fri 07 Oct 2022.

Gazing at the horrible presence before her, Caitlin gasped sharply at the physical pain coursing not only through her body but also her mind when she felt Athena nearly dying from the evil spirit's aura. "Go! - Fly away!" the warmage shouted out to her feathered friend, worried sick that she might not survive if her familiar stayed around. The horned owl understood Caitlin's intention through the emotional bond they shared and quickly fled the scene, worried her bipedal friend might get into more trouble than she could handle.

The translucency of the tree told the young arcanist that her weapons were likely to be ineffective against this enemy and in turn her armor would not protect her either. What was she to do? Normally she would have tried to burn this abomination, but somehow that didn't feel right. She had to do something... anything! The woman reached out with her gift, gesturing with her hand as if she was gathering the air when it was actually the arcane energies that surrounded them, then pointed her outstretched fingers at the ghost-tree. Four bullets of bluish glowing energy sped towards the unnatural creature and Caitlin would have held her breath if she hadn't been retreating already...

Eucharista still knows nothing about ghosts but she still has an idea or six.  She looks to the right and notices some rocks.  They should help her with what she has in mind.  She sprints as fast as she can to one of those rocks [OOC: to the rock at the top right hand corner of the square forward and to the right of us - her speed is 50 so sprint speed is 200ft per round, which means it will take her approximately (SQRT (900+400))/200 or between one fifth and one sixth of a round to get there.]

Perhaps because his powers were so reliant on positivity, the necrotic depression energy sapped Korzak way, way harder than anyone else. His smile vanished, he finally stopped incessantly chatting. His generally sunny skin tone went flush and a just slightly green as the blood rushed from the surface of his skin. His skin, quickly cooling and becoming clammy, shivered uncontrollably. While he had no fear not of creatures or of death, for he had a goddess protecting his soul, his flesh was still quite weak and as he spoke, "I guess it doesn't want to talk," the words came out rushed, raspy and desperate as though he was trying to avoid vomiting as the necrotic energy seeped all the way down into his guts. His chainmail suit and heavy shield seemed to have doubled in weight in a second and he knew he wouldn't be running anywhere.

His hand reached down instinctively drawing his sword. Although-- what was the point? Hacking as something incorporeal with steel was like trying to fight an elephant with a tree branch at the best of times. Now that the sickness had washed over him and he felt his vitality gone, it was an entirely pointless endeavor. It's why he would have prefered to find what was causing this spirit to linger and dealing with it rather than engaging in the pointless exercise of trying to blow apart its energies, only for them to coalesce again later to attack the next person who walks through here as it has no doubt done to countless before since this place had been destroyed-- however many decades or centuries that could have been, he could only imagine.

There was only one thing he could do, "Stay behind me and do your thing," he spoke in that same sicked voice as he held his shield up. If he could himself between the mages and the creature, then they could be free to unleash their arcana upon the creature without disruption.

Actions: Draw sword, Total Defense.
AC should now be 27 25 -2 from lowered Dexterity, +4 from Total Defense.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:27, Fri 07 Oct 2022.

"Stand firm, Korzak, I've got your back!" the warmage called her traveling companion, trying to bolster his resolve.

ooc: Arcane Aegis grants one ally +4 morale bonus to AC (Korzak)

The wave of horror and terror rolled over her and Dialis realized just how bad this could get.  She looked around at her companions and watched how much they were all affected.  For a moment doubt took hold of her, what should she do?  Help her companions or hurt the ghostly presence.


As Dialis looked ahead of her she had only one course laid bare.  This affront to the gods could not stand in front of a servant of said gods.  She had to trust her her groups ability to stay alive.   Dialis was not unfamiliar with the undead and grasped her medallion of faith tightly as she pulled forth an ability only so many servants of the goods possessed.  And she was better at it than most.

Dialis held her medallion of faith high.

"Back foul creature; BACK!"


OOC:
Turn Undead check: 13:44, Today: Dialis Neti rolled 22 using 1d20+4.  Turn Undead check.  (+2 from Charisma bonus, +2 from having 5 ranks in Knowledge religion.)
So thats a 22 and I turn as as a cleric 2 level higher than I am since I have the Improved Turning feat. So I can turn an undead with up to 14 HD.:
Turning Damage check: 13:48, Today: Dialis Neti rolled 20 using 2d6+10.  Turn undead damage. (+8 from cleric lvl +2 from Charisma Bonus
Knowledge:Religion Check
15:59, Today: Dialis Neti rolled 20 using 1d20+19.  Knowledge: Religion

This message was last edited by the player at 21:00, Fri 07 Oct 2022.

As both Caitlin and her familiar were shaken to their cores by the floating/flying ghost tree, her compassion for her companion was evident and on her master's command, Athena retreated. The battle sorceress then focused on her arcane energies and shot forth four darts of energy toward the ghost. And one by one they struck the entity, but they didn't seem to do as much damage as one might suspect.

Eucharista and her animal companion Petra found some rocks to hide behind and rushed forward as quickly as possible to take advantage of them.

Korzak drew his sword and entered a defensive stance between the ghost and his traveling companions.

As the ghost's horrific visage physically assaulted her, Dialis took the time to breathe. This affront to the gods had to end! She lifted her gold Medallion of Faith and called upon the divine to press it back. She could feel the hand of Branchala rest upon her soul as divine energy rushed toward the ghost.

Keliantharas did what Caitlin had done and another four darts of magical energy rushed forth and struck the entity. But as last time, it didn't seem to do as much damage as expected.

The ghost frantically started to look this way and that and then it turned and ran for its life.

[What do you do?]


[
I'm just listing this again so we have everything in one place.

Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Dex -3, Con -1.
Korzak is Str -3, Dex -4, Con -4.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -4.
]


[OOC Using a Supernatural Ability, like Arcane Aegis, is a standard action. But this time I'll allow that it was used before combat started. So that gives Korzak a +4 morale bonus to AC.]

[OOC: As Keliantharas hasn't posted, I'm assuming that he's continuing with the Maximized Magic Missile. And as Moonflute didn't say anything, she's unfortunately not doing anything this turn.]

Moonflute takes a while to recover from the wave of dread released by the ghostly tree. Once in control of her senses she lets forth a seething growl at the abomination which may have once been a great tree. She takes a couple of steps and points in the direction of the ghostly apparition as it is engulfed by a pillar of flame.

Casting Flame Strike on the ghost (doing 28hp of fire damage).

16:10, Today: Moonflute rolled 28 using 7d6.  Flame Strike damage.

Eucharista returns to her companions and says, "I was planning to attack it from behind with my one magic weapon, but you know what?  I still don't know whether it would have worked on a ghost.  I can tell you though that I feel as weak as Khurish Ale.  For future reference would any old magic weapon kill a ghost?  Failing that, what about sunlight?"

While not usually one prone to violence, Keliantharas was amazed at just how easily the apparition was driven off, though perhaps that was the cleric's work more than his and Caitlin's barrage.  For good measure, though, he rained down more bolts; clear prisms that sparkled and refracted like cut gems as they streaked through the air and hammered into the ghost with force deceptive for their delicate appearance.  Hopefully it, and any of its undead kin, would think twice about attacking the adventurers.

Turning, the elven mage shrugged at the question.  "I believe it might.  Most things tend to be affected by magic of one flavor or another, and magical weapons are a fairly generic form.  Specifically, though...."  Keliantharas glanced at the fleeing ghost with a raised eyebrow, considering the problem further.

OOC:
I THINK Keliantharas gets +1 casting level for Red and Black moons being aligned in Low Sanction together, meaning each casting would be at CL 9, with no effect from Silver.
Immediate Action: Quickened Maximized Silent Magic Missile
Standard Action: Maximized Magic Missile
So, either 50 or 40 damage depending for round 2
Free: Knowledge check Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 10 using 1d20+8.  Know: Religion (Ghost Vulnerabilities). - not sure if that makes it.

Moonflute took a couple of steps and cast a spell. Fire rained down on the ghostly tree, but it hit the ground without doing any damage.

Eucharista returned to the others.

Keliantharas quickly released a second volley of arcane darts onto the ghostly tree fleeing before them. Followed by a third. All eight darts struck home with precision. But they didn't seem to do as much damage as one might expect.


The ghostly tree continued fleeing and squeezed into a narrow passageway. And soon it was beyond their sight.


[What do you do?]

[OOC: For now, we are still acting turn based.]

[
I'm just listing this again so we have everything in one place.

Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Dex -3, Con -1.
Korzak is Str -3, Dex -4, Con -4.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -4.
]

Eucharista tries to get her breath back but se feels weaker, stiffer and aches all over.  "Eeeurgh", she says, "Am I ill or is this magic?"

Although Korzak only the faintest amount about undead-- what he has heard from fables, he does remember that the spirits of the dead only linger to this plane if there is something that is preventing a proper rest. And, while hardly the most clever person around, he is pretty sure that if the ghost appeared and ambushed them here-- then whatever was causing its spirit not to be at rest must surely be here too.

He looks around the general area where the ghost first appeared, sheathing his sword again in the meantime as he simultaneously tries to figure out what he should be looking for that would keep a tree spirit at such unrest and also looks for anything out of the ordinary that might support such an idea or give him some clue as to how to proceed.

06:54, Today: Korzak rolled 18 using 1d20+10.  Knowledge (Religion).
06:54, Today: Korzak rolled 18 using 1d20+9.  Perception.

Caitlin was still in a bit of a shock, Athena's near death had shaken her resolve and she found herself unwilling to press on in their current physical state. Although the hobgoblin had not said anything, it was visible in his stance, he had suffered worse than everyone else. But that wasn't her problem.

"Uh... mind somebody tell me what that was?" she asked, somewhat irritated. "How do we fight... this... this thing?" she wondered, looking at the two people she knew were religious.

GM passing a message.

[And let us move out of combat time so all of us can act freely.]

With the ghost having retreated, Moonflute moves over to Korzak who had taken the brunt of the Ghost's draining attack. She murmurs under her breath, then lays a hand on the hobgoblin.

Restoring 4 points of CON to Korzak

09:26, Today: Moonflute rolled 4 using 1d4.  Lesser Restoration on Korzak.

Eucharista strokes Petra as she sits on the floor feeling more than a little superfluous when ghosts are around.  "We weren't expecting that were we?  Was there anything we could have done to prevent it?"

Moonflute touched Korzak and with a prayer and some hand movements, she called upon the powers of Branchalla and restored some of what had been lost to him.

Petra was more than happy to be petted and returned the favor by licking Eucharista's hand.

[
Korzak had Con +4 restored to him.

Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Dex -3, Con -1.
Korzak is Str -3, Dex -4.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -4.
]

Keliantharas gestured wordlessly at the retreating ghost.  While its potential remained unknown, surely if it fled it had been significantly weakened?  Perhaps even enough to destroy it.  The elf took a few steps after the spirit and paused when none of his companions made to do the same.

In the aftermath of the short battle, Keliantharas's weakness caught up with him and he suddenly understood more of the reluctance.  He turned towards Caitlin for a moment and echoed her question a bit more elegantly.  "If anyone is better versed in the lore of restless spirits, it would be appreciated.  No doubt our quarry has found a way to avoid the creature, else they would not have been able to take this place as their refuge."

As soon as Korzak shows signs of responding to the magical healing, Moonflute again intones a spell and lays her hand once again on the warrior.

Casting Lesser Restoration on Korzak, restoring 3 DEX

03:25, Today: Moonflute rolled 3 using 1d4.  Lesser Restoration on Korzak (dex).

After dealing with their hobgoblin, Moonflute turns to Caitlin. "If you call Athena over to me, I will tend to her," the Kagonesti says calmly.

Moonflute cast another spell on Korzak.

[
Korzak had Dex +3 restored to him.

Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Dex -3, Con -1.
Korzak is Str -3, Dex -1.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -4.
]

Briefly distracted by Moonflute's offer, Caitlin replied "Thank you Moonflute, that is very kind of you." Closing her eyes for a couple of seconds she communicated the feeling of safety to the owl, knowing that Athena would understand it as a signal to return. The sorceress smiled gently at the helpful druid and soon after the owl returned and perched on Caitlin's raised arm.

"Please, go ahead." she told the woman, stroking her feathered friend in a calming manner. She could still feel how upset the familiar was after the experience.

Athena heeded her mistress' mental call and returned to her on silent wings and sank her claws into her raised and waiting arm and folded her wings around her. Accepting the comforting hand on her feathers.

Moonflute once again murmurs a spell before gently laying her hand on the owl.

Casting Lesser Restoration on Athena, restoring 3 CON.

10:44, Today: Moonflute rolled 3 using 1d4.  Lesser Restoration on Athena (con).

Although Korzak was quite busy searching for something that he had yet to explain to have even noticed Moonflute approach, he did look over to her once she placed her hand on him. With some of his health restored he gave a smile as a brief, "Thank you."

He turned his attention towards the group and began explaining what rested on his troubled mind and why he was so distracted after the spirit had fled.

"A spirit like that is one that has been trapped in this world," he began. He motioned to the general area around them as he continued, "I would think if it was haunting here, then its grave or body or... something should be here to explain its presence. Even if we blasted it apart, I think it just reforms and will forever attack everyone who comes through here until someone fixes the problem and allows it to rest. So we could walk away, but it's just going to attack the next person who comes through here. And who knows how many it has already killed."

He conveys that he wants to stop any future tragedies, but having failed to find what he was looking for is at a loss for what to do.

The owl hooted and fluttered at the elf's gentle touch "Thank you, Moonflute, on behalf of Athena. She feels much better already." the young woman told the Kagonesti with a smile. Caitlin didn't have much love for the gods, but she would never say their servants were useless.

Looking quizzically at the hobgoblin she tried to digest what he had said, not at all happy where he was planning to go. "Korzak, that is not part of the mission. Call me a greedy mercenary but trying to set right what is wrong in this place will take decades, if the stories I heard about this place are anything to go by. We should also consider that none of us are prepared to face such an abomination more than once." the arcanist explained, holding her spear tightly.

"My suggestion is: We deal with the thieves, get what we came for and deliver the items to Lord Toede. Only then, we gather some more information about this creature and return to put it to its final rest." she suggested, feeling ill-suited without the means to actually destroy the undead creature. "Is that a compromise you can live with?" Caitlin asked, hoping the paladin would agree, rather than follow through with his grand idea of righteousness.

Eucharista thought about this and then asked, "What would it take to put this ghost to rest? and if you did put it to rest, would we all suddenly feel better, because if that's the case, it's probably worth doing."  She left the converse part of that equation unspoken.

Korzak frowned, but couldn't deny that Caitlin made some devastating points. As much as he liked to be the hero and solve situations, he didn't know what ritual to perform. Still, it didn't sit right to just turn a blind eye to this.

Another look around the area with one last futile hope he might spot something, he sighed and relented.

"I suppose you're right. We might not be able to fix this today. We should mark it on our map to report to Lord Toede though." He really seemed to have a whole lot of faith in the Lord of Flotsam.

With a bit more thought he gave a nod and spoke more confidently as his mind, though hardly sharp as others in the group, formulated a plan. "Perhaps he could send some priests experienced with the matter of the dead out here to perform the correct rituals. We may even be assigned as escort. Until then, any caravans should be made aware of the lingering danger lest the restless spirit harm more travelers."

Caitlin nodded in agreement with Korzak's suggestion. At least he was not resistant to logic, she had to give him that. "Perhaps we could restore some more of our health before we move on, I'd hate for the bandits to take advantage of our weakend state." she stated for the record.

The mage wasn't keen on meeting the ghastly creature again, with or without Lord Thoede's backing and the promise of a reward. But if she had to choose, she preferred being paid for putting her life on the line.

The elven wizard considered Korzak's declaration, once he got over the initial shock that the hobgoblin was the authority on haunt lore.  "Perhaps not today, but perhaps we can linger long enough to handle the spirit ourselves - I do not belive there is any debate on handling the bandits prior.  I will confess that there are said to be troves of lost arcane knowledge in this very town, which would be best be suited returned to the world.  Perhaps you would be good enough to outline the best methods for handling the spirit, both in terms of our own protection as well as for an offensive strategy?  I don't sense that my spells had much effect."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:34, Tue 18 Oct 2022.

Moonflute nods at Caitlin's request and moves over to Korzak, intoning a familiar chant before laying her hand again on the warrior.

Casting Lesser Restoratio (str) on Korzak, restoring all 3 STR he had lost.

15:40, Today: Moonflute rolled 4 using 1d4.  Lesser Restoration (str) on Korzak.

Moonflute cast another spell while touching Korzak.

[
Korzak had Str +3 restored to him.

Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Dex -3, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -1.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:55, Wed 19 Oct 2022.

Moonflute continues her ministrations on those with the malady, moving to Eucharista and laying a hand on her. She then does the same to Keliantharas.

She turns to address everyone. "I am spent, though still hale. Do we move further in, or take rest to be rid of the ghost's breath?" she asks.

Casting Lesser Restoration (downranked) on Eucharista, restoring 4 DEX

Casting Lesser Restoration (downranked) on Keliantharas, restoring 4 DEX

09:49, Today: Moonflute rolled 4 using 1d4.  Lesser Restoration (dex) on Keliantharas.
09:48, Today: Moonflute rolled 4 using 1d4.  Lesser Restoration (dex) on Eucharista.

Moonflute cast two more spells.


[
Eucharista had Dex +3 restored to her.

Keliantharas had Dex +3 restored to him.

As they had only lost 3 points to Dex each, I updated how much the spell restored.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -1.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]

"I... wouldn't actually know what ritual to perform," Korzak admitted sheepishly. "There are some ancient holy texts that were kept here long ago that might provide some insight-- but I was kind of hoping it would be obvious what to do if only we found the body."

The tales he had heard of ghosts had never really explained the exact details. It was always something like the ghost asking someone to carry out one last task they couldn't do while they were alive or finding their body and giving it a proper burial or funerary ritual.

Eucharista smiled up at Moonflute. "Thank you Moonflute. That is very kind of you."

Given the animosity between branches of the eleven family tree, Keliantharas was somewhat taken aback by the savage's immediate reflex to provide succor.  His people in particular had a history of mistreating hers.  He tilted his head, muttering his thanks in the high dialect of the elvish language.

"I thought we had agreed to handle the bandits first.  Very well; the ghost.  A creature you say remains trapped here due to some wrongs done to it.  Let us assume logic - a walking tree.  We might also assume that the ghostly topiary, though far less aggressive, is somehow related.  I would surmise that something happened here so terrible that even the landscape is mystically scarred.  Perhaps our ambulatory tree is a demi-personification of the land's trauma.  Any relevant spell or ritual, then, would no doubt need to focus on the restoration of blighted nature, rather than any personal injury dealt a single tree."  He eyed the flora flickering in and out of reality.  "As I believe I mentioned, I expect any bandits residing in this area must have first found an effective way of warding off the spirit.  Else, no doubt the ghost would have been the end of them by now.  Perhaps we can eliminate the bandits, recover the dragon eggs, and gain their insights into avoiding the spirit.  Once we've done that, we can contemplate its release from this world at greater leisure."

Caitlin rubbed her face when Korzak once more began speaking about the ghost. She had pointed out to postpone any attempt to put the spirit to rest, finishing the mission first before going back, better prepared. As Keliantharas spoke, the sorceress tapped her foot impatiently, this was wasting time. "Yeah yeah, thanks for the reminders. Can we now, please, focus on getting the dragoneggs back so we can leave this place before we have to face that spirit tree again? - Thank you." she said, not wating for an answer.

Without further ado the mercenary moved forward, her spear at the ready, casting a glance at Dialis who had been unexpectedly quiet.

They spoke. Offered suggestions. And Caitlin continued forward.

Eucharista moved with Caitlin.  Now that she was feeling her old nimble self, albeit a sicker and weaker version, she felt ready to take on the bandits.

Moonflute lets the party move out before falling in at the back of the group, using all of her senses as they advance.

Caitlin bit her lip, unsure where they should go from where they were and she wondered how they could figure out the most sensible route without running into a tree spirit or other ugly creature again. Her eyes went to Athena and the owl fluffed her feathers knowing from the emotional link that something was going to happen. "It seems we need your aid to get through this my friend. Be our eyes in the sky and tell me which way leads to the thieves or warn me of dangers you may find." she told her feathered friend and raised her arm to the sky so Athena could lift off easily from there.

ooc:
10:24, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 29 using 1d20+17.  Stealth check Athena.
10:24, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 20 using 1d20+18.  Perception check Athena.

Athena flew off to the north.

Caitlin sensed the emotions of Athena and was worried harm would come to the owl. Closing her eyes briefly she sent the emotion of longing through their connection, the agreed signal for the sorceress' feathered friend to return. Waiting with bated breath she searched the sky for her friend to return and share what she had discovered...

Athena soon returned.

The sorceress hooted a few times before asking the bird in a low voice, after all the owl had excellent hearing, about what she had seen that scared her so much.

GM passing a message.

Caitlin's face became serious as she nodded in understanding. "Athena told me the tree is waiting towards the north, and it has company: Several dead or undead, I believe the latter, around surrounding it." she told her companions.

"Thank you for your courage, please check the path to the west and let me know again if there is anything dangerous." the sorceress requested of the owl.

ooc: Try again, to the west.

The owl flew away, and remained away for some time, before returning.

Korzak replied to Kelianthharas by saying agreeingly, "Of course, you are correct! I only see a soul in need and it is my duty to provide assistance if I can. But I understand little of the natural world. That is more your expertise." He was used to dealing with people and his first instinct was to deal with a spirit tree the same way he would deal with a spirit person-- assuming its grudge was quite personal in nature.

He hummed and looked up and to the side as he stroked his chin and pondered, "But, it is odd that the bandits didn't run into this issue, isn't it? Surely if the spirit felt aggressive enough to attack us, it would no doubt have attacked the bandits as well. Yet not a one of them fell to it's fury."

It's not like possession of dragon eggs would have provided any protection against a raging ghostly tree.

Caitlin received Athena with the same concern as before and related the message to the others "I am afraid that this path is a circle, whether we go north or west we will always end up facing the ghost tree." she told her friends, thinking for a few heartbeats. "I cannot be sure, but Athena said the people around the tree were dead. What if that is correct and they are the bandits we are looking for, who paid for their stupidity with their lives?"

Looking at Dialis the sorceress wondered if her friend was completely overwhelmed with the situation. Although, the priestess had turned the ghost once already. "Do you think you can drive away the tree once more? - Perhaps, your gods willing, the eggs are right there and we can take them and leave this place?" she suggested hesitatingly.

Athena had settled on her shoulder again when Caitlin addressed Korzak "I agree with helping those in need, but the way the ghost attacked us - unprovoked - with an attempt to kill us, doesn't that make it evil? Are you not supposed to fight evil in this world?" the sorceress tried some different logic. "Please, let us go ahead, carefully, and see if we can get the eggs, then take care of the ghost?" the mercenary asked hopefully.

The group continued on, taking the route forward that the ghostly tree had not.

They came to some white marble ruins. The facade was cracked and chipped with decorations of harps and icons of beauty and literature.



[OOC: Please move your tokens to newly revealed area to the left on https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r. Remember that each square is 20 x 20 feet.]

Caitlin moved forward, following the mission goal to retrieve the eggs for Toede. But it wasn't just the drive to complete the mission, she also wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible. A desire that Athena picked up and hooted, concentrating on what she could see and hear...

ooc: 22:16, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 32 using 1d20+18.  Perception Athena.

After healing much of the ghost's draining, Moonflute gathers herself and follows Caitlin, keeping towards the back of the party and using all senses as they move forward.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:24, Mon 31 Oct 2022.

Eucharista moves at the edge, trying to keep herself close to the rocks and hoping she's as invisible as she can get without magic.

Keliantharas was hardly the one who to throw himself into the middle of the fray.  The further he was from the middle of the fight, the more effective he could be in it.

As the group moved forward, in an attempt to circumvent the ghost tree, creatures moved out of the ruins.

The two larger and closer creatures were almost nine-feet-tall and had long spiked tails. They seemed to be constantly molting or shedding their scaly gray skin in loose, tattered folds. Their features were something of a cross between insect and reptile, and it had sharp claws
and fangs.

The four smaller and farther creatures were man-sized humanoid’s with rubbery flesh in pasty greenwhite. Uneven areas of their bodies sprouted darker colored chitinous shells. A green jellylike substance polluted with black specks of dirt oozed out of their pores. They stood hunched over, arms raised before them like praying mantises with wicked claws. Their heads were similarly insectlike, though fleshy with wet jowls around their cheeks and necks. Their lower jaws jutted out from their skulls with tusks and long rasp-like tongues.


[https://writeups.letsyouandhim...2627662f4098223a.png is an image of these creatures. The creature in the back is the larger creature and the creature in the front is the smaller one.]

[You move first. What do you do?]

Eucharista signals for Petra to hide then runs to the nearest wall and begins to climb, aiming to mount a surprise attack from above against the creatures but more to the point, to get a view of how many more such creatures there might be.  It's always best to try to ambush the ambusher because when they think they have the element of surprise is the time an enemy is most vulnerable.

21:19, Today: Eucharista rolled 29 using 1d20+19.  Climb (Athletics + ring of climbing).

GM passing a message.

Korzak had always been taught that all the peoples of Krynn were one large extended family, that one should seek out to restore the broken bonds between people, heal the broken and sick and restore the world to a more peaceful and prosperous one.

And while he had no hesitation to extending the hand of freedom to every sort of gnome, dwarf, elf, minotaur, lizardfolk, dragonfolk or even those 'orcs' that are rumored to be a people somewhere out there, though he'd never encountered one... they were all things smaller than him with two arms, two legs and a face he could read the emotions of.

These things-- they gave him pause. Although they didn't entirely defeat his spirit.

"Do you suppose I should go greet them?" he asked in a hushed tone to whichever party member happened to be closest.

He merely needed confirmation that his usually routine was best to fearlessly make his approach.

Startled by the sudden and completely silent appearance of the monsters, Moonflute scurries back behind the others.

Keliantharas motioned a warning to his companions, gesturing at the creatures and then making the impersonation of fangs.  He waited for the others to be in position before firing off a volley of spells.  He conjured a mass of writhing tentacles, centered to take on the four smaller foes and one of the larger.  Impressively, he did so without a single utterance.

OOC:
Swift action: Quickened Silent Maximized Shocking Spark on the Tyin not in the Black Tentacles area

• Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 15 using 1d20.  Ranged Touch Attack 1 (unmodified). Touch AC 24, or 27 if wearing/carrying lots of metal
• Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 14 using 1d20.  Ranged Touch Attack 2 (unmodified).Touch AC 23, or 28 if wearing/carrying lots of metal
• Each hit deals 24 Electricity damage (no save, SR applies)

Standard: Silent Extended Black Tentacles

• Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 31 using 1d20+18.  Grapple. Applies to Tyin 2 and the 4 backup dancers
• Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 9 using 1d6+4.  Grapple Damage.
• No save, SR does not apply

"Up, up and away!" Caitlin told her feathered companion, sending the owl out of harms way. Unable to determine what kind of threat they were dealing with, the sorceress retreated into the narrow street behind her then used a spell to change herself. Swiftly the color of her skin changed to a motled grey-green-brown and toughened significantly. Her features changed to look distinctly reptilian with claws, sharp teeth and a crest on top of her head.

Grabbing her spear firmly in both of her hands she readied herself for an incoming attack. "Oy you uglies! Looking for anyone in particular.

ooc: Send Athena up and out of reach. Move backwards. Cast Alter Self: Troglodyte form (Nat.AC +6), duration 80mins, HP 72/64 - AC23/T11/F22
This message was last edited by the player at 16:09, Wed 09 Nov 2022.

Eucharista climbed up one of the cavern walls.

Korzak wanted to know if he should go and say hi, but no one responded to his question.

Moonflute made sure to keep her distance.

Keliantharas cast a spell, lightning crackled around his hand, and shot forth to one of the large monsters. Another bolt arced to the creature and brought it to the ground.

He cast another spell and black, rubbery, tentacles grew from the ground, and enveloped the remaining five monsters. Holding them. Crushing them. Only one of the smaller monsters was able to save himself from being grappled and it started moving closer to the heroes.

On Caitlin's order, Athena flew as far up toward the ceiling of the cave system to stay out of the way. Caitlin also moved out of the way and cast a spell, transforming herself into a humanoid lizard.

One of the disir broke free from the tentacle holding it and together with the disir that never was grappled, they both moved towards the heroes. But they were moving very slowly.



[Eucharista is up to 25 feet up the wall.
Caitlin has Altered Self into a troglodyte.


Disir 1: Grappled.
Disir 2:
Disir 3: Grappled.
Disir 4:
Tyin: Grappled.
]

[Round 2. What do you do?]

[OOC: Eucharista, please let me know how high you climbed.]

Caitlin didn't like these creatures at all, she had no idea what they were capable of and the slime covering their skin did look mighty unclean and so she went and cast another spell to improve her protection. A silvery shield appeared before her only to fade from view again immediately. Satisfied the battle sorceress began to advance on the large creature, spear in both hands intending on drawing its attention to her so the 'softer' targets would be spared whatever attacks it wanted to unleash upon the enemy.

ooc:
Std. action: Cast 'Shield'. Duration 8mins. AC27/T11/F26
Move action: Close distance to creature.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:16, Wed 09 Nov 2022.

OOC, Eucharista climbed high enough to find some kind of ledge or shelf from which she can aim her bow and shoot down on the monstrous creatures.  If she doesn't find anywhere like that, then she'll make her way sideways until she finds somewhere she can drop down and sneak attack them from behind.

Eucharista nocks an arrow and shoots at the disir that was never grappled.  Afterward she will reload and aim ready for her next shot.

21:21, Today: Eucharista rolled 17 using 1d20+10.  Shortbow versus disir 14.
21:21, Today: Eucharista rolled 6 using 1d6+1.  damage versus Disir.

Moonflute takes a step back then releases two arrows at the nearest creature.

Move: 5ft step as shown
Standard: full bow attack on nearest enemy

07:57, Today: Moonflute rolled 12 using 1d20+5.  bow2.

07:57, Today: Moonflute rolled 8 using 2d6.  crit damage.
07:57, Today: Moonflute rolled 5 using 1d6.  damage.
07:56, Today: Moonflute rolled 24 using 1d20+10.  roll to confirm crit.
07:56, Today: Moonflute rolled 30 using 1d20+10.  bow1.

With the element of surprise used with devastating effect, Keliantharas allowed himself a brief respite.  He took a step back, staff raised warily, while his conjured mass of writhing flesh tried to squeeze the life from the insectoid creatures.  Despite the rate with which Keliatharas could expend his spells, he was generally a more frugal combatant.  Already, he looked to have downed one foe and temporarily neutralized three more, meaning his companions could pick off the monstrosities one by one with a minimum of further involvement on his part.

"Beware their venomous fangs!"  He called out in warning, with the need for subtlety gone.  "And the Tyin's spit!"

OOC:
Free action: 5' step backwards
Standard: Readied action - cast Extended Silent Shield if attacked (Changing full AC to 23)

---

Black Tentacles (15 rounds remaining)
Keliantharas Warden rolled 30 using 1d20+18.  Grapple.
Keliantharas Warden rolled 7 using 1d6+4.  Grapple Damage.

It seemed that any chance for a tactful approach was thrown out by the other members of the party. He drew his sword and shield and made his approach, keeping a defensive posture as he surely wasn't yet close enough to to take a swing at the creature. If he could just place himself between the creatures and his party members using arrows, that would be enough for now.

(Honestly, I am lost with everyone's current positioning.)

OOC:
Move Action: Draw Sword & Shield
Move Action: Move forward

Caitlin cast a spell and moved towards the monsters.

Eucharista fired at the only disir she could see from her vantage point and it barely hit.

Moonflute fired two arrows, one of them hit perfectly, but the other went wide, and hit nothing but air and rock.

Keliantharas took a step back and prepared himself to be assaulted.

Korzak prepared himself for battle and moved toward the monsters.

One of the disirs was able to liberate themselves from the dark arcane tentacles and started moving towards the heroes.

The disir with two arrows sticking out of its chest moved out of the area of the spell.

The other liberated disir continued towards them.

The tyin failed in getting itself lose.


[Eucharista is up to 25 feet up the wall.
Caitlin has Altered Self into a troglodyte. Protected by Shield.


Disir 1: Suffered additional grappling damage.
Disir 2:
Disir 3: Grappled. Suffered additional grappling damage.
Disir 4: Shot by Eucharista and Moonflute.
Tyin: Grappled.
]

[Round 3. What do you do?]

[OOC: The pink circle is the area in which Black Tentacles are having an effect.]

Eucharista aims again at the same disir two arrows this time unless it falls, in which case, she'll put her bow away and climb upwards again then sideways as soon as she can, seeking another target.

<Orange>19:54, Today: Eucharista rolled 30 using 1d20+10.  First shot same Disir.
19:55, Today: Eucharista rolled 6 using 1d6+1.  Damage first shot (treble for crit). (=18)

19:55, Today: Eucharista rolled 27 using 1d20+10.  Second Shot same Disir.
19:56, Today: Eucharista rolled 2 using 1d6+1.  damage second shot.</Orange
note second shot should be at +5 sp that should be 22 not 27>
This message was last edited by the player at 20:53, Thu 10 Nov 2022.

Seeing that Korzak was moving to block the advancing monsters, Caitlin decided to follow suit and swiftly moved to attack the small creature heading for her companions...

ooc: Move and Attack (not a charge) AC27.
20:31, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 5 using 1d8+4. Damage.
20:30, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 15 using 1d20+10. Attack small monster.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:55, Thu 10 Nov 2022.

Moonflute releases another two arrows at the creature she has already tagged.

Standard: full bow attack on disir4

07:45, Today: Moonflute rolled 2 using 1d6.  damage.
07:44, Today: Moonflute rolled 18 using 1d20+5.  bow2 on Disir4.
07:38, Today: Moonflute rolled 1 using 1d6.  damage.
07:37, Today: Moonflute rolled 19 using 1d20+10.  bow1 on disir4.

Once Caitlin charged ahead, helping to keep the creatures blocked off from approaching the more vulnerable party members, Korzak followed suit and charged forth towards the first of the creatures to approach, while she hit it on the side, he rushed straight-on, lunging his sword forward, his shield drifting a bit to the side as he did so.

Full-Round Action: CHARGE!!

01:47, Today: Korzak rolled 24 using 1d20+12.  Attack Roll.
01:50, Today: Korzak rolled 3,7 using d8,d6+4.  Damage Roll (Merciful Longsword +1).

24 to hit, 10 non-lethal damage
AC reduced to 22 until his next turn

With the brief pause in fighting, from his part at least, Keliantharas had a fair amount of time to consider.  There was a bloodthirsty part of his soul that, even somewhat placated by the destruction of the first tyin, was still eagerly calling for the mage to rain terror down with all the fury of the abyss.  It seemed so unnecessary at this point.

"That's it!  Push it back into my spell!"  The elven mage cried out triumphantly when Korzak and Caitlin engaged the disir, his free arm punching the air.  While he kept his eyes on the monsters, Keliantharas relaxed slightly and let his companions carve up the odd monster and his spell squelched against several more.

OOC:
Standard action: Readied Action - Shocking Spark on any monster with the audacity to attack Keliantharas

---

Black Tentacles (14 rounds remaining)
Keliantharas Warden rolled 38 using 1d20+18.  Grapple
Keliantharas Warden rolled 5 using 1d6+4.  Grapple Damage.

Eucharista continued to fire her shortbow, the first arrow pierced an eye and the disir rowered in pain. The other arrow shut it up, not just because it hit it straight through the mouth and out the back of the head, but because it dropped it to the ground.

Caitlin swung at another disir, but it moved out of her way. Unfortunately for it, it moved straight into Moonflute's two arrows and Korzak's sword swing.

Keliantharas' spell continued to crush the captured.

The disir facing Korzak and Moonflute slashed both its claws at Korzak who had injured it, but Korzak defended himself. And having figured Korzak out, it then struck with a perfect bite. Fortunately, he was asble to shake off the effects of the poison.

Another ran away.

Both of the remaining monsters now broke free from the grapple. The smaller just powered through to get out of the affected area while the larger monster moved towards the heroes. Claws, bite, and tail all targeted Caitlin, but her invisible shield absorbed all the damage.







[OOC: I just remembered about these penalties from the previous encounter. So please take those into account for next round if you haven't already.

The disir doesn't have some ability to read people and get crits, I rolled a crit and went with that for the narrative.]

[OOC: As Eucharista brought the monster down both Caitlin and Korzak were planning on attacking, I moved them to the next monster for fairness sake.]

[Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -1.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]

[Eucharista is up to 25 feet up the wall.
Caitlin has Altered Self into a troglodyte. Protected by Shield.
Korzak takes 14 points of injury. 84 hp remains.



Disir 1: Running away
Disir 2: Damaged by Moonflute and Korzak
Disir 3: Took grappling damage.
Tyin: Took grappling damage.
]

[Round 4. What do you do?]

[OOC: The pink circle is the area in which Black Tentacles are having an effect.]

The beasts may have freed themselves, but they looked to remain within reach of his conjured tentacles.  Still, the sweeping victory he had expected after handily dispatching the first tyin and entrapping the second seemed to be slipping away.  So he interfered.

With barely more than a gesture, Keliantharas folded time around himself and as many of the others as he could reach.

OOC:
Swift Action: Quickened Silent Extended Haste - according to the map every non-animal is within 30' horizontally of one another, but Eucharista being 25 feet up might put her out of range.
Standard action: As per usual, readied shocking veangence if an enemy attacks the mage

---

Haste (16 rounds)
Black Tentacles (13 rounds remaining)
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 34 using 1d20+18.  Grapple_
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 7 using 1d6+4. (Grapple Damage)

Feeling fortunate that the larger creature had been unable to penetrate her defenses, Caitlin switched her attention to the bigger threat. Kel's magic washed over her and she noticed the rest of the world slowing down, a telltale sign she had been targeted by a haste spell. Smiling grimly the battle sorceress began poking the bear, or rather insectoid. Her spear found several openings in its armor and she hoped to keep it away from her companions.

ooc: Caitlin's -1 to attack/damage and -1 to AC/touchAC was taken into account already.
Not sure if Caitlin is hastened before attacking, if so add +1 to hit and +1 to AC.

Attack #1: 20, damage 7pts.
Attack #2: 8, miss.
Attack (haste): 19, damage 8pts.

18:07, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 8 using 1d20+5.  Spear attack #2.
18:14, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 8 using 1d8+4.  Damage (hasted).
18:06, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 19 using 1d20+10.  Spear attack (haste).
18:06, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 7 using 1d8+4.  Damage.
18:05, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 20 using 1d20+10.  Spear attack #1.

Eucharista dropped down, allowing herself to drop to the ground so that she could see the fleeing creature and shoot into its back.  The firt shot was perfect and then, feeling the power of magic surging through her, she fired again, not quite perfect this time but still a palpable hit.  That should slow it down, she hoped.

Move Action - drop and sprint
Attack action - Fire at running Disir
21:48, Today: Eucharista rolled 30 using 1d20+10.  Bow shot.
21:50, Today: Eucharista rolled 3 using 1d6+1.  Damage (treble for critical).
21:53, Today: Eucharista rolled 19 using 1d20.  Bonus shot. Add +10 = 29
21:54, Today: Eucharista rolled 4 using 1d6+1.  Damage bonus shot.

This message was last edited by the player at 20:56, Sat 12 Nov 2022.

Moonflute continues firing arrows at the creature snapping at Korzak, though with greater difficulty now that they are all in melee.

Standard: Full bow attack on Disir2

11:22, Today: Moonflute rolled 1 using 1d6.  damage.
11:22, Today: Moonflute rolled 16 using 1d20+7.  bonus bow shot on disir2.
11:22, Today: Moonflute rolled 2 using 1d6.  damage.
11:22, Today: Moonflute rolled 17 using 1d20+2.  bow2 on disir2.
11:22, Today: Moonflute rolled 1 using 1d6.  damage.
11:21, Today: Moonflute rolled 25 using 1d20+7.  bow1 on disir2.

Korzak formed a line of defense, trying to keep the creatures at bay in front of him. His sword swiped at the nearby creature as it attacked him, trying to see to it that it would not do so without receiving damage.

Full Round Attack
04:23, Today: Korzak rolled 23 using 1d20+10.  Attack Roll 1.
04:24, Today: Korzak rolled 1,9 using 1d8,1d6+4.  Attack Damage 1.
04:24, Today: Korzak rolled 23 using 1d20+5.  Attack Roll 2.
04:24, Today: Korzak rolled 6,7 using 1d8,1d6+4.  Attack Damage 2.

Keliantharas cast a spell and prepared for what was to come.

Moving very quickly now, Caitlin attacked the tyin three times with her spear, and was able to penetrate it twice.

[OOC: As I mentioned in a PM to Eucharista, I'm not sure who she's attacking, so I'm not adjudicating her turn right now. And to help with that, I've tagged the icons in Owlbear.]

Moonflute continued to fire arrows at the disir facing her two companions and though two of her three arrows hit, they did very little damage.

Korzak swung twice and made two powerful hits.

The runner continued to run away.

One of the disir moved to flank Caitlin and attacked her, but its attacks were stopped by an invisible barrier.

The remaining disit swung his claws at Korzak and tried to bite him too, but both of his attacks missed.

The tyin completely missed Korzak with his claws and its bite and tail both missed too.



[Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -1.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]

[Eucharista is up to 25 feet up the wall.
Caitlin has Altered Self into a troglodyte. Protected by Shield.
Korzak takes 14 points of injury. 84 hp remains.



Disir 1: Running away
Disir 2: Damaged by Moonflute and Korzak
Disir 3:
Tyin:
]

[Round ´5. What do you do?]

[OOC: The pink circle is the area in which Black Tentacles are having an effect.
I'm assuming you've now figured out the AC of the disir.]

MOVE ACTION
Eucharista climbs along the rockface in search of another ledge.

CONDITIONAL ACTION A
If she finds a suitable perch, then Eucharista fires at the Tyin.

CONDITIONAL ACTION B
If she does not find a perch before she reaches the edge down which the running Disir escaped, then she will stash her bow and then draw her rapier, leaping out into air and letting herself float down ready to attack the nearest target next turn.

Condition A
22:31, Today: Eucharista rolled 20 using 1d20+10.  Shot versus Tyin.
22:32, Today: Eucharista rolled 2 using 1d6+1.  Damage v Tyin.

Condition B
22:36, Today: Eucharista rolled 35 using 1d20+19.  Jump. (Jumping as far as possible directly out from the rock and and silently)
This message was last edited by the player at 23:07, Tue 15 Nov 2022.

It seemed to Caitlin that her opponent was not doing its best evading her attacks, but then again she had trained hard to be better than a farmer. Again she poked the creature with her spear, hoping to end the threat swiftly.

ooc: Full attack vs. Tyin
Spear #1: 15, damage 9.
Spear (hasted): 19, damage 6.
Spear #2: 18, damage 12.

23:49, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 12 using 1d8+4.  Damage #2.
23:49, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 6 using 1d8+4.  Damage (hasted).
23:49, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 9 using 1d8+4.  Damage #1.
23:48, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 18 using 1d20+5.  Spear attack #2.
23:48, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 19 using 1d20+10.  Spear attack (haste).
23:47, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 15 using 1d20+10.  Attack 1 (Tyin).

Realizing that one of the creatures had somehow slipped past him despite his defense, Korzak turned on it rather than concentrating on the one in front of him.

"Where do you think you are going?" he roared with confident grin. He swiped his sword towards the creature even though it meant turning his back on the other one. He would just have to rely on his heavy armor to cover his back while he prevented the creature from making a dash towards his allies.


Full Attack vs. 3

01:21, Today: Korzak rolled 20 using 1d20+10.  Attack Roll 1.
01:21, Today: Korzak rolled 12 using 1d20+5.  Attack Roll 2.
01:21, Today: Korzak rolled 1,10 using 1d8,1d6+4.  Damage Roll 1.
01:22, Today: Korzak rolled 8,9 using 1d8,1d6+4.  Damage Roll 2.

While technically part of the fight, Keliantharas's assumed spectator role gave him a different take on the fight than he felt the others had.  Viuolence was happening around him, but he thought of himself as detached of it.  When the second disir moved out from the hammer and anvil made by his spell and two of his companions, that shell cracked for the mage.  For a moment.

"Halilintar."  He uttered, most of the rest of the spell swallowed up in the sheer speed the elf could cast.  Lightning flashed from his palm at the beasts, crackling with intense fury.

OOC:
Swift Action: Quickened Silent Maximized Shocking Spark on Disir 3 and Disir 2
Standard action: As per usual, readied Maximized Shocking Spark if any of the monsters targets Keliantharas
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 23 using 1d20+10.  Touch Attack Disir 2.
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 13 using 1d20+10.  Touch Attack Disir 3.

Each hit deals 24 electricity damage

---

Haste (15 rounds)
Black Tentacles (12 rounds remaining)
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 6 using 1d6+4.  Grapple Damage.
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 33 using 1d20+18.  Grapple.

This message was last edited by the player at 23:43, Sat 19 Nov 2022.

Having achieved modest success with her bow, Moonflute lets loose another three arrows at her target that she has already injured.

Standard: Full attack on disir 2

19:19, Today: Moonflute rolled 5 using 1d6.  damage.
19:19, Today: Moonflute rolled 24 using 1d20+6.  bonuns shot on disir2.
19:19, Today: Moonflute rolled 3 using 1d6.  damage.
19:18, Today: Moonflute rolled 16 using 1d20+1.  bow2 on disir2.
19:18, Today: Moonflute rolled 2 using 1d6.  damage.
19:18, Today: Moonflute rolled 24 using 1d20+6.  Bow1 on Disir2.

Eucharista climbed along the cave wall until she found another perch. She fired her bow and another arrow stuck in the Tyin.

Caitlin eviscerated the tyin with two slashes of her spear and turned around to stab the disir that was trying to get past her and Korzak in the back.

Korzak turned too and almost knocked the disir out with the first swing of his sword. Unfortunately, the disir stumbled with the best timing ever and Korzak's second swing missed.

Keliantharas cast a spell and lightning shot forth from his hand to the left disir that exploded in sparks of fireworks. Another lightning spark shot forth towards the right one, missing it singing the hairs on Caitlin's ear as it passed her by way too close for comfort.

Moonflute unleashed three arrows at the remaining disir and though one of them missed, she turned it into a pincushion and brought it to the ground.


[Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -1.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]

[Eucharista is up to 25 feet up the wall.
Caitlin has Altered Self into a troglodyte. Protected by Shield.
Korzak takes 14 points of injury. 84 hp remains.



Disir 1: Running away

]

[Map: https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r. Thanks to Moonflute for suggesting to include the link.

We are no longer in combat. Let me know what you want to do.
]

[OOC: The pink circle is the area in which Black Tentacles are having an effect.]

Eucharista steps from her perch and allows herself to float down to the ground.  Then she calls Petra to her making a fuss of her and telling her what a good dog she is, before checking to see what anyone else is doing.

Petra and Eucharista reunited on the ground.

Keliantharas dismissed the tentacles but let the time magic fade on its own.  "Well, that was certainly an ordeal."  He remarked, picking some imaginary lint off of his sleeve.  "I suppose we should continue on in search of the eggs, the source of the wraith's agony, and the lost wealth hidden amongst these ruins?  And perhaps one or two of our scaly friends should they return."

The black tentacles vanished on Keliantharas command.

The creatures having either been downed or fleeing, Korzak wiped off and then resheathed his sword. Although he had taken a blow in the fight, it didn't seem to dampen his general positive attitude.

"Anyone know who these creatures are?" He called out to the rest of the group. He generally prefered to deal with sentient beings socially, so he wasn't . It is why he chose to use a blade that did not end life and tried to approach diplomatically.

Moonflute shakes her head as she closes in with the others. "They moved with great stealth if they could evade my senses until we got so close," she says.

"The larger two are known as tyins, the smaller disir.  Were they not resistant to flames, I might have been able to eradicate the lot of them with a single spell, though that would have meant more damage to the already tortured flora.  Should it come up, the tyins can spit acid and boast venomous maws.  I don't recall if they have proper fangs, but either way avoid letting one bite you for reasons beyond the obvious."  The mage readily turned the simple question into a much longer lecture than it needed to be, his strong bent as an academic clear.  He gestured in the direction that the smaller creature had fled.

"Shall we?  In the event that it decides to alert some friends, I'd rather catch them off their guard."

Caitlin shrugged, there was little to consider at this time, they had to complete the mission. "I say we move on, no time to waste and the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go home and put this all behind us."

Moonflute nods at the suggestion and falls in toward the rear of the group, her senses alert for any more ambushes.

The group continued in the direction the disir had fled and saw a big rift in the ground. To their right, they also saw the ghost tree seemingly on its way back to where they first encountered it. It didn't seem to have noticed them yet.

A number of roads lead off into the darkness beyond.


[Map: https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r. Please move your icons to your new location, so that we all know where you are.]

Moonflute follows the others forward.

As shown.

Eucharista moves close to Caitlin and checks out the rock besides her to see whether she thinks she can climb to the top and get a better view from up there.

[That's not a rock, that's a hole in the ground.]

Oh... well in that case, she'll look across and down.

The rift was about 25 feet deep and there was a lot of debris and some bodies down there. The entire floor area was not visible from the surface.

Caitlin looked at the place before her but her human eyes were unable to make out much. Sending a short jolt of affection up to where Athena was keeping watch in the sky, the mercenary hoped her sharp-eyed friend could see any dangers that she should be aware of...

ooc: 11:37, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 22 using 1d20+18.  Perception Athena.
If there's anything that Athena would consider dangerous for Caitlin, she can answer with worry or fear. So at least we'd be warned something is waiting for us.

Eucharista gazes down at the bodies.  "I wonder if they are the bandits", she said, "And whether we'd get paid extra for their bodies."

Caitlin looked where Eucharista was looking, raising an eyebrow "What if these bodies are not the bandits but undead who didn't notice us, yet?" she answered, not really keen on making that particular discovery. She couldn't even remember if they had been given a description of the thieves, so how would they identify the culprits? To her what matters the most was getting the job done with her own skin intact, or as few bruises as possible. For a fleeting second the mercenary wondered what could have happened to a tree that would make them into a ghost after its death, but shook it off quickly since distraction was not useful right now.

GM passing a message.

Keliantharas paused, extending an arm to his side as though to block others from passing him.

"The spirit.  However we handle it, we best ensure we have an exit strategy in case it starts to get the better of us."  His cautioned sotto voce.  "Do we have a plan this time?  Does anyone have any suggestions regarding wards in preparation of battle?"

Caitlin felt the emotion of worry from Athena when the bird noticed something at the bottom of the rift and warned her companions accordingly. "Athena noticed something in that rift, we should stay clear of it as long as we don't know in detail what we are dealing with." she advised.

"And I am with the elf on the ghost tree, stay the heck away, though I was hoping to check the bodies once it has moved far enough from them to check." the mercenary concurred. Then it was apparent that she had some kind of an idea. "However, if one of us could turn invisible, they could search without getting noticed!" Caitlin suggested, looking hopefully at Kel and Dialis.

"Our mission is to retrieve the egg," Korzak explained, "We were never required to execute the bandits much less return with their bodies. All that is important is the egg."

Granted-- if the leader if the bandits is someone quite noteworthy, there might be others who would offer a reward to ensure the individual is no longer an ongoing menace. But it would be too convenient for the leader to fall prey to the horrors here-- such cowardly types would over hide behind waves of their weaker followers and run away, leaving them to die if the situation became bad enough.

As the group talked about what to do next, Dialis walked among them, touching each and every one of them while she prayed. Even touching Petra. "I can hide us from undead. And if you bring your owl close enough for me to touch her, it can hide her too."

By this time, the ghostly tree had left and they couldn't see it any longer.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:25, Fri 02 Dec 2022.

"Thank you, Dialis." the mercenary answered the priestess' offer. Caitlin whistled sharply and Athena flew down at the agreed signal. Once the owl had been included in the glamor, the sorceress sent her up into the sky again.

"Well, no time to waste." Caitlin said, grinning, then moved forth to examine the bodies on the ground.

The elf mage shook his head.  "I wear the White, not the Red; we more concern ourselves with revealing truths rather than obfuscating them.  I can create a magical eye to scout with, but the casting will take ten minutes.  We could withdraw long enough for me to complete the casting, though if we are cornered I would have to lose the spell to be of assistance."

As the problem was addressed by the cleric, Keliantharas nodded his approval.  His spellbook was apparently lacking in methods for handling the undead, as their first encounter with the ghostly tree had revealed.  "Nicely done."  He echoed in encouragement, trailing behind the others into the pit.  As they descended, Keliantharas cast a spell of his own, though to reveal rather than obscure.

Casting Extended Detect Magic

Dialis touched Athena too and completed her prayer.

Caitlin headed over to the bodies near where they had seen the ghostly tree.

Keliantharas cast a spell.

Both the road near the fissure and the road where the bodies were were made of large, flat flagstones torn up and broken by the collapse of the city and pointing in all manner of different directions. There were enormous pillars of white marble at the bottom of the slope, surrounded by another road.

The bodies were those of half a dozen of disir.



[Hide from Undead: The group cannot be detected by undead for 80 minutes.]


[Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -1.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1. Can't be affected by his Horrific Appearance again for 24 hours.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]

[Korzak takes 14 points of injury. 84 hp remains.]

[Map: https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r.]

Moonflute stays close once the spell is cast on her.

Upon identifying the corpses as disirs Caitlin felt disappointment, she had hoped for this mission being easy for once. Obviously those hopes were dashed. She walked back to the rift and Eucharista, looking down into the darkness. "Just more dead disir over there." she told the others. "So, what's up over here?"

"Haven't looked yet." said Eucharista.  "I don't think they're undead but they're too far for Petra to smell.  That said..."

Eucharista carefully made room in her backpack for Petra and pressed her nose to Petra's own before placing her in the backpack.

With that, Eucharista begins climbing down very slowly as she makes her way toward the bodies. She doesn't just jump down this time because she wants to get back up again.

Caitlin grimaced when Eucharista moved into the hole in the ground, something that looked even stranger on a troglodyte's face. While the tough skin and sharp nails of the reptilian were significant advantages of this form, its attractiveness was far from it. Looking on, loosing sight of the short woman in the darkness quickly, the mercenary hoped Athena would warn them if something dire was about to happen to her companion.

With the protection of both the cleric's spell and the intimidating presence of his companions, Keliantharas wandered to and fro.  He weaved back and forth in relative silence, looking for any auras and in particular those that might indicate the hidden caches leftover in the ruined town.

Before reaching halfway, and with Petra's helpful guidance, Eucharista reached into her backpack and withdrew a sunrod, which she knocked against the nearest hard surface she could find and then hurled among the bodies.

Korzak stayed out of the hole for the time being, for there really hadn't been a compelling reason yet to go digging around in a heap of bodies if they were neither related to the mission nor gave any obvious assistance towards helping other lives be spared.

He simply called out from the top of the hole, "Are you all about finished yet?"

It was difficult for him to believe that the bandits had all been wiped out and the dragon egg somehow lay among the bodies in this pit.

As Eucharista climbed down the hole and Keliantharas looked around, the others waited.

Halfway down, Eucharista dropped a sunrod to the floor to better illuminate things down there. The ground was covered by some organic substance, like webbing or mucus, and there were some large, discarded, eggshells among the bodies. And other detritus.

Eucharist began to climb upwards once she'd seen what was down there, or what she suspected was down there.

Eyes half closed, Keliantharas glanced at the returning human.  "Anything of note down there?"  He asked peeking down at the glow and any magical auras he might be able to pick up from the bottom of the ditch.

Caitlin chewed her lip as she worried for Eucharista, while the sight of the eggshells seemed to indicate the mission would be an automatic failure. Unless... unless the eggs hatched and the dragonspawn escaped alive. She sighed sadly, chances for that were slim to none though.

As the rogue made her way up the mercenary reached out to help her out the hole. "Are you alright?" she asked with concern.

Korzak called down the hole, "Hold on a moment!"

He probably would have acted sooner had he not been distracted by the bodies down there. He slipped off his backpack, pulled his hemp rope from it and then lowered one end down into the hole while keeping the rest of the 50' rope neatly secured to himself.

"Just tie this around yourself," he called out to Eucharista, "Then we'll pull you up."

With help from the others, Caitlin returned to the surface.

Not liking anything left unchecked, Caitlin moved further to the east, keen on finding out what they might have missed. "I wish we had a tracker among us, perhaps if we could find some recent tracks we might be able to find those we seek more swiftly." she commented as she looked around.

Moonflute moves over to Caitlin and clears her throat. "All of my clan can track. What would you like me to find?" the elf asks, already crouching lower to read the ground.

OOC: DM, should I make one or more tracking rolls? I'd like to check all ground around the chasm, out to maybe 40'.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:41, Thu 15 Dec 2022.

Moonflute gets to tracking.

11:45, Today: Moonflute rolled 38 using 1d20+24.  Tracking (Survival check).

"Teriffic! - What we are looking for is human prints, I assume the thieves were humanoid at least." the mercenary elaborated, keeping her fingers crossed hoping Moonflute would be successful.

Even after their companion had been hauled back up, the mage sent a hopeful look down at the marble pillars below.  "On our way from here, I should very much like to further explore this place.  Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but I believe those pillars mark where ancient secrets and magics away recovery."  He sounded excited about the prospect, but his focus on his spell dulled any show of his mirth.

As the druid began her search of tracks Keliantharas drifted behind, still maintaining his spell.

GM passing a message.

Caitlin's eyes darted to the Elven mage as he made his wish to explore the ruins known, her face kind of indicating she felt he was a madman. "I uh... guess that with that tree and those other creatures present, the secrets of the temple can wait until AFTER we concluded our business with Lord Toede and AFTER we found a way to release the spirit tree from his existence." the mercenary specified. "Should we be able to recover the eggs none of us wants to see them broken by some monster we encounter inside that hole, nor do we want to suffer from the ghost tree again." she elaborated, hoping her focus on completing one objective before picking up another was relatable.

Moonflute completes her sweep and rerturns to Caitlin and the others. "Many tracks all bipedal, but they're not human. Most of them run between here and those pillars at the bottom of the depression," she says, gesturing to a point roughly 100 feet distant from her.

The mercenary nodded at the information on the tracks. "Are you able to determine what kind of creature left these tracks? We might encounter them at a later point and it never hurts to be prepared." Caitlin asked, her eyes going this way and that, wondering where the thieves went.

GM passing a message.

After returning to the top, Eucharista returned the rope to Korzak. "Looks like the nest of something very hungry down there."

"Mostly disir, some tyins," Moonflute replies.

"Hmm... I see." Caitlin said, nodding in affirmation. "But those were not the thieves. Perhaps we should have started looking for tracks as we entered this godsforsaken place. Anyone else got an idea where we should look for the thieves?" the mercenary asked.

Caitlin looked up to her winged friend circling above the group then sighed, they would never find the thieves if they just stayed here. Resolved to get this mission completed, the mercenary moved further north, making sure to stay out of the ghost tree's sight.

Moonflute moves out, following Caitlin and staying out of sight of the tree.

The group continued heading downhill until they reached the circular road that circumscribed the white stone pillars that reflected beautiful rainbows of flickering colors. Deep cracks crisscrossed each pillar, giving the impression that they were not entirely stable. But still they supported a sandstone roof about 100 feet above the ground.

Thin filmy sheets of web-like curtains have been put up between some of the pillars.



[OOC: I added some indications of which pillars have been connected by this web-like material. There may be others, but these are the ones you can see from your current vantage point.


What about the rest of the group? Staying where you are or heading downhill?]
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:38, Mon 26 Dec 2022.

"And yet, we are already here.  Once 'here' becomes tamed, better to take the opportunity to explore before another snatches it from us."  The mage explained calmly, as though to a child.

---

The consensus to continue onward excited Keliantharas, though he remained more focused on his spell and in a trained observation of pillars and of the silken substance roped along them, or as well as he could from the distance.

OOC: Keliantharas has a handy number of Knowledge skills, I'm happy to use any or all that would be relevant.

GM passing a message.

Caitlin whistled and called down her winged friend to exchange a few words and hoots with Athena, soon she raised the arm where the owl had perched upon and the bird quickly lifted up into the air and out of sight.

With her fragile familiar out of immediate danger's range, the mercenary moved on and got closer to the web-like curtains, hoping to find some gaps to peer through and look at what was hidden behind.

ooc: Instruct Athena to scout from above at a safe height. Move closer and look inside without touching the webbing.

Caitlin sent Athena on a scouting mission beyond the web-like curtains and got a closer look at them herself.

[OOC: I added some more web-like curtains to the map. From Caitlin's and Athena's points of view.]

Moonflute shadows Caitlin down to the depression, keeping her eyes peeled.

Disappointed Caitlin furrowed her brow and wondered how they should proceed and in the end she took the easiest way she could think of. Unwilling to touch the web-like sheeting, she stepped back then gathered the arcane energies that permeated the ground and air around them, causing a burst of fire in the form of a sheet of flames, to hit the unknown material. Since the pillars and roof was made from stone, the mercenary believed they would not suffer harm from the brief exposure to heat.

ooc: Cast 'Burning Hands' at max distance (15ft) to burn away the cobwebs. Roll damage if required.

Caitlin cast a spell and fire rushed forth from her fingers. And from the way, it was clear that it was some type of fabric that looked like cobwebs rather than the real thing. But it still burned and opened up a path a little further among the pillars.

Hopefulness turned into recognition at the sight of the pillars.  "The pillars!  Look at the spacing and structure; do you see?  They supported towers!  Truly remarkable!"  He gushed, his excitement growing still as he drew closer to the structures.

The mercenary raised an eyebrow at Kel's outburst of knowledge which did not seem particularly helpful at that time. Shrugging mentally she focused on the path ahead and stepped up to the next sheet that blocked her view, the previous success of her fire burst was good, but she wasn't going to waste more arcane resources. Caitlin was still in the shape of a lizardkin when she drew her longsword and slashed through the odd fabric...

Caitlin continued onward and with her sword, she slashed her way through another curtain.

Moonflute follows closely behind Caitlin moving through the holes made in the fabric.

Moonflute followed Caitlin towards the center.

Caitlin moved on to the next opaque cloth, waiting for a moment as she tried to spot her winged companion in the dark sky above her. She was hoping the bird would warn her by sending the agreed emotion of worry or fear if she saw anything dangerous from above.

ooc: Moving to next cloth, holding until Moonflute catches up with her.

Moonflute stays close by Caitlin and continues to use all of her senses to spot trouble.

Keliantharas was quite happily rattling off a lecture about pre-falling mountain architecture in this part of the world, as well as the history of Micah.  When the group came closer, he strained both natural as well as magically enhanced senses on the strange cloths, clicking his tongue disapprovingly as a layer was burned away out of hand.

Caitlin cut through the next curtain.

The sharp tang of acid commingled in the thick, heady smell of musk and nightmare of this place. Surrounded by filmy curtains of webbing and hunched over a thick mass of writhing larval forms was a creature at least three times as large as a man, armor-plated and glistening with ooze. Its head, enormous and wasp-like, swiveled on a spindly neck, jaw opening and shutting. The voice that issued forth from it was eerily feminine, but filled
with hate. "Kill them! Kill them! Bring their bodies that my children may feed on them!"



[OOC: The shadowed area also represents a nest that is a mass of larva and eggs protected by soft jelly. And is thus also an attachable target.

The four numbered individuals are disir and the larger individual, seems to be a Queen like entity.]

[What do you do?]

The mercenary grimaced, despite having expected to encounter hostile creatures eventually, though she had hoped for later, rather than this soon. She set her jaw with determination and invoked a small flaming sphere that, with a gesture from Caitlin, sped towards the group of desirs ready to engage the woman. With a low oomph the sphere blossomed into a large ball of fire, washing over the hostile creatures and expanding only to stop inches from the caster. Caitlin felt the hot air blowing in her face, her hair lifting in the unnatural breeze - and then it was over, just as suddenly as it began.

Taking a deep breath she lifted her sword, ready to defend herself.

ooc: Cast 'Fireball', maximized/empowered, 72pts fire damage, Refl. save DC17 for half.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:33, Sun 08 Jan 2023.

Moonflute casts a short spell on her club and prepares to see what's left of the fireball.

Casting Shillelagh on club.

[OOC: Just posting the link to the map so that we have it. https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r]

The aura of the fireball and weapon enhancement flashed for a moment before Keliantharas turned his attention off his detection spell and on to the ensuing combat.  A few quick strides brought him in range to shower the queen in lighting... or tried to.

OOC: Movine, launching a Quickened Maximized Shocking Spark, then a Maximized Shocking Spork on the queen.

Each hit is 24 electrical damage

Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 11 using 1d20+9.  Ranged touch attack 2.
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 12 using 1d20+9.  Ranged touch attack 1.
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 10 using 1d20+9.  Ranged touch attack 2 take 2.
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 14 using 1d20+9.  Ranged touch attack 1 take 2.

A bead of fire proceeded forth from Caitlin's finger and when it was amongst the disir it exploded in a ball of expanding fire that almost reached all the way back to her.

There was also a deep, grinding, and creaking sound that increased in volume as the fire started eating away at the pillars supporting the sandstone roof about 100 feet above them.

But like the disir, the pillars still seemed to be all there, though creatures and constructions all seemed to be in a sad condition now. And the nest looked even worse.

Moonflute cast a spell on her club.

As the flame from the fireball reflected in Keliantharas' eyes, he moved to get into range and line of sight of the queen and unleashed a barrage of electric arcs in her direction. But all of them missed her.

The disir all ganged up on Caitlin and she was only able to swat the claws of one of them away from herself.

The Queen couldn't get as far as she had hoped as the disir were in her way. Not that she seemed to move very quickly. And she said something in a language they didn't understand.


[Caitlin: She lost a total of 15hp from the claws. 57/72hp remaining. She succeeded at two Fort saves, but failed the third. And the poison caused another temporary -5 to Dex. Ouch.
The hp loss rolls were low, but the Dex loss roll was unfortunately high.


]

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

What do you do?
]

While the mercenary was used to being injured, the amount of poison she suffered made her draw a hissing breath. Her face contorted in pain and her movements suddenly became significantly more clumsy. But the battle sorceress was no stranger to armed conflict and one of her own rules was taking out the leader of a group, which typically lead to less coordinated attacks.

Caitlin stepped forward going toe-to-toe with the queen. She routinely went through the motions of a spell, causing arcs of electricity to leap over the palm of her hand, lounging for the aggressive creature.

ooc: Shocking Grasp (max/emp+warmage) = 50pts electric damage
Casting defensively (automagic success). Touch attack 13.

22:42, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 19 using 1d20+3.  Touch attack #2.
22:41, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 13 using 1d20+8.  Touch attack vs Queen.

After a long time of following the group in silence, the Hobgoblin finally steps up once the combat has become more intense. Moving from the back of the group to place himself between the monsters and the squishier members of the party, he takes a few swipes of his sword while primarily keeping cover behind his shield.

With Caitlin having taken some significant damage, he primarily only aimed to make himself another target rather than expecting to sway the battle with his strikes.

01:45, Today: Korzak rolled 27 using 1d20+10.  Attack Roll 1.
01:46, Today: Korzak rolled 5,5 using 1d8,1d6+4.  Damage 1.
01:45, Today: Korzak rolled 8 using 1d20+5.

This message was last edited by the player at 16:49, Fri 13 Jan 2023.

Moonflute swings her enchanted club at the nearest creature before taking a step back to give Korzak better access.

Standard: club on #1

08:56, Today: Moonflute rolled 10 using 2d6+3.  damage.
08:56, Today: Moonflute rolled 21 using 1d20+3.  club2 on Disir1.

08:56, Today: Moonflute rolled 11 using 2d6+3.  damage.
08:55, Today: Moonflute rolled 17 using 1d20+8.  club1 on Disir1.

Caitlin moved to the Queen and while she did so one of them took the advantage to swipe at her as she moved away from him, but he missed. She touched the Queen's hard shell, but there was a gooey, gelatinous layer on top of it, even sticking to the sorcerer's fingers. Lightning played around her fingers as it shot into the Queen's body which shook as it ran through her.

Korzak stepped forward and struck one of the disir.

Moonflute pummeled another with her staff until she beat it to the ground.

Dialis cast a spell and healed some of the effects of the poison.

The Queen swiped her claws at Caitlin, but they went wide.

One of the disir (one) swiped at Korzak and hit and the poison worked its way through his body.

The other two disir drank potions.

[
Caitlin: 57/72hp remaining.
Korzak: Lost 7hp. 91/98hp remaining.

]

[
I added the old list the to the current one so that we have everything in one place.

Caitlin had Dex +4 restored to her.
Korzak lost Dex -1.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]


[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

What do you do?
]

It was almost thoughtful, the way the disir all bunched up with their queen in one tidy bundle.

"Go to sleep!"  Keliantharas boomed, though his words had no ties to the spells he hurled like insults.  A cloud of vapor, scented heavily with citrus and alcohol, billowed forth around the creatures, and within the thick cloud stirred alien limbs grasping in the cover.

OOC
I'd prefer not to try to draw these on the map because I think it'll get messy, but how the disir are spread out any large area effects should be able to hit all of them and no party members.  So.

Swift Action: Quickened Silent Extended Stinking Cloud (Fort DC 20 to avoid being Nauseated)
Standard Action: Silent Extended Black Tentacles
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 35 using 1d20+16.  Grapple

Move Action: Hope the Disir fail their saving throws
This message was lightly edited by the player at 19:45, Mon 16 Jan 2023.

With a cloud enveloping the creatures and tentacles springing up among them, Moonflute retreats to let the magic take care of the enemy.

Move: as shown

Not being feint of heart, the mercenary repeated the effort, striking the queen again with another shocking attack.

ooc: Cast 'Shocking Grasp' (maximized, empowered, warmage bonus), defensively. Attack Queen 17. Damage 50pts electric damage.

20:30, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 17 using 1d20+8.  Touch attack vs Queen.

Keliantharas cast a spell and a yellow cloud with an exceedingly foul smell billowed forth. He cast another and huge black tentacles grew out of the ground. Only one of the disir wasn't affected by the cloud's stench and only another disir wasn't grappled by the black tentacles the wizard had used so effectively earlier. The Queen was no exception. The black tentacles even wrapped around the nest! Completely destroying it. One of the disir collapsed.

When the nest was destroyed, the Queen screamed in anger and there was nothing but hate in her eyes.

Moonflute moved away from them.

Caitlin barely hit the Queen with her lightning wrapped hands.

One of the disir vanished into the cloud.

Another disir tried to liberate itself from the tentacle holding it in place.






[
Caitlin: 57/72hp remaining.
Korzak: Lost 7hp. 91/98hp remaining.

]

[


Caitlin had Dex +4 restored to her.
Korzak lost Dex -1.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]


[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

Both the Queen and 4 are grappled. Queen is nauseated.

What do you do?
]

With the combined spells incapacitating and slowly strangling the queen and her foot soldier, Keliantharas discretely stepped away from the disir.  One of them was of yet unaccounted for.  Perhaps it would be foolish enough to think that resisting both fog and tentacled would give it immunity, or that perhaps the queen's need would make it desperate enough to brave the cloud again.  If not, it might get a nasty surprise when it wandered into view.

OOC
Standard Action: Ready a Maximized Magic Missile in case the disir shows itself anywhere outside of the poison cloud
Move Action: Noted on map
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 28 using 1d20+16.  Grapple.
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 6 using 1d6+4.  Grapple Damage.

Noticing the queen was caught up in the choking mists the mercenary figured a change of tactics made sense. Dropping her longsword she switched to her spear and began poking her opponent with the pointy end as she was trained to do.

ooc:
Free: Drop weapon.
Move: Draw spear.
Std.: Attack 17, damage 7pts.
21:19, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 6 using 1d8+4.  Damage #2.
21:19, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 13 using 1d20+4.  Spear attack #2.
21:18, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 7 using 1d8+4.  Damage #1.
21:17, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 17 using 1d20+8.  Spear attack #1.

Moonflute keeps well away from the carnage in the centre and instead scans about for signs of more trouble as the spells do their work.

Keliantharas cast a spell, but held it, and moved away from the foes he could see to make sure he covered their back. But the tentacles continued to crush them.

Caitlin dropped her sword and picked up her spear and tried to stab the Queen twice, but the second time the angle was wrong and the tip slid off the side.

Moonflute keeps an eye out for trouble, but let the magic already in place have its effect.

The disir moved further into the cloud and now only the Queen was still visible in the outer edges of the stinky cloud.

The spell Keliantharas held in his hand fizzled.


[
Caitlin: 57/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.

]

[
Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]


[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

Both the Queen and 4 are grappled and nauseated.

Caitlin, you can do a AoO on either Queen or 4 that will be adjudicated before all other actions next round.

What do you do?
]

The queen was Caitlin's primary target and seeing that the creature would not go anywhere soon, the mercenary continued her efforts to remove the enemy from the living...

ooc:
Full attack vs. Queen: 18, damage 11pts. / 5, miss.
AoO: 15, damage 6pts.

21:49, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 5 using 1d20+3.  Spear attack #2
21:48, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 11 using 1d8+4.  Damage.
21:48, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 18 using 1d20+8.  Spear attack #1.
21:47, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 6 using 1d8+4.  Damage.
21:47, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 15 using 1d20+8.  AoO vs Queen.

This message was deleted by the player at 23:25, Fri 20 Jan 2023.

As the Queen started moving away, Caitlin stabbed at her but, she avoided the attack, and then she was out of reach.

The only disir still in view were the two on the ground.


[
Caitlin: 57/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.

]

[
Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]


[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

Both the Queen and 4 are grappled and nauseated.

What do you do?
]

The mercenary was not going to let the queen go without pursuit, but rather than following inside the cloud, she picked up her sword and only then tried to go around the columns...

ooc: Pick up sword, moving on as per map.

Caitlin picked up her sword and regrouped to see where their foes would exit, but they haven't seen them yet.


[
Caitlin: 57/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.

]

[
Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]


[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

Both the Queen and 4 are grappled and nauseated.

What do you do?
]
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:07, Tue 24 Jan 2023.

Caitlin continued circling around the column, carefully not wishing to run into the strange web-like sheets or into a retreating desir.

ooc: Map position updated.

Moonflute waits for the spells to run their course to see if they kill the queen.

As they spread out, Caitlin found one of the desir and it seemingly was working on liberating the Queen.


[
Caitlin: 57/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]


[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

Both the Queen and 4 are grappled and nauseated.

What do you do?
]

Caitlin couldn't let the queen go, the rest of the disir would be hunting the group with a coordinated effort, making their search for the dragon eggs even more difficult and dangerous. The sorceress reached out to the magic that permeated the atmosphere and shaped it into something tangeable. Suddenly the air burst into a myrad of sticky strands forming a tight web around the creatures hoping to escape the effects of the Sylvanesti.

ooc: Cast "Web" centered on the queen. 20ft rd. Everyone inside is entangled. Refl.DC16 or be stuck in place.

Moonflute holds to see if the magic can continue to damage the enemy until they are dead.

Unphased by the combat as a whole, the wizard let his spell slowly strangle the queen.


Anyone in the gas cloud who isn't yet nauseated gets an fresh chance to be nauseated.(Fort DC 20 to avoid being Nauseated)
_Keliantharas Warden rolled 32 using 1d20+16.  Grapple_
Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 5 using 1d4+4.  Grapple Damage.

Caitlin cast a spell and her web caught all of their remaining foes. And Keliantharas's spell continued to eat away at their enemies, bringing two more, including the Queen, to the ground. The remaining desir worked on freeing itself, but to no effect.




[
Caitlin: 57/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]


[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

The Queen is grappled and nauseated.

What do you do?
]
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:12, Tue 31 Jan 2023.

As a mercenary Caitlin had learned the value of patience, rather than rushing in for the kill and putting herself at risk unnecessarily, she stayed put and waited for the elf's magic to run out. Switching to her favored spear she readied herself should the desir finally get free and charge her to take revenge for its queen.

Moonflute waits patiently by Kelianthas allowing the spells to continue their work.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:57, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

The disir worked frantically to liberate itself from the web, but almost seemed to get more entangled than he had been.


[
Caitlin: 57/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]


[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

As a point of order, the only remaining disir is out of the area of Keliantharas' spells and is no longer affected by them. So nothing is damaging him at this time.

What do you do?
]

With his spells having done their part, Keliantharas waved his hand and let the spells disperse.  All they were doing now was adding a moat around the immobile disir.

OOC - Dismissing Stinking Cloud and Black Tentacles

Caitlin heard the remaining disir struggle against its bonds and decided to end its troubles. The sorceress began moving around the pillar, avoiding any spell effects, to approach the creature from 'the rear'. Preparing for what had to be done the mercenary pulled a wand from her belt and readied using it.

Moonflute circles around the pylon, moving to try and get a look at the remaining disir.

Move: As shown

Keliantharas dismissed his spells.

Caitlin moved and drew a wand.

Moonflute moved.

The disir continued to fight against the strands of Caitlin's spell, but to no avail.



[
Caitlin: 57/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]


[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

What do you do?
]

The mercenary activated the wand and grew to giant proportions, including all her gear. Stowing her wand she moved on until she reached the border of her spell. Patiently she setup her attack against the remaining creature...

ooc: Moving, casting Enlarge Person from wand. Next round: Poke the Disir

Moonflute takes a step and fires off a pair of arrows at the remaining disir.

Move: 5ft step
Standard: Full round attack on Disir

11:11, Today: Moonflute rolled 6 using 1d6.  damage.
11:11, Today: Moonflute rolled 18 using 1d20+5.  Bow2 on disir.

11:11, Today: Moonflute rolled 6 using 1d6.  damage.
11:11, Today: Moonflute rolled 13 using 1d20+10.  Bow1 on disir.

Keliantharas stifled a sigh.  It was rather inconvenient that the last disir wouldn't just die like its queen had.  It wasn't going anywhere, so he didn't really feel the need to throw more magic into the mix, but he readied his staff in any event.

Caitlin noticed the disir's struggles and thrust with her spear into the webs, hoping to end this threat once and for all...

ooc: full attack
10:09, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 10 using 1d8+5.  Damage #2.
10:08, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 21 using 1d20+5.  Spear poke #2.
10:08, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 11 using 1d8+5.  damage.
10:08, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 25 using 1d20+10.  Spear poke.

Moonflute unleashed two arrows into the disir and Caitlin who had considered casting a spell on herself to increase in size, determined that the disir was on his last leg so she instead stabbed him with her spear twice and brought the creature to the ground.

Caitlin dismissed the magical webbing and watched the lifeless body of the disir slumping to the ground. She would have preferred to avoid fighting the creatures but their mission did not allow for such luxury. Carefully she stepped over the body and inspected the remains of the next, making sure the queen did not accidentally mistake the dragon eggs for her own and incorporated them in the nest.

Caitlin rummaged through the nest. And though she found eggs, none of them looked remotely like dragon eggs.

With the Disir all dead, Keliantharas eased out of his slightly elevated battle stance and approached the dead queen and her hive.

"Just a moment; I will search for any magical auras."  The mage proclaimed, then made a gesture and began scanning.

OOC:  Casting Detect Magic again, scanning the disir, their hive, and the ruined tower.

Keliantharas cast a spell and walked around the battleground.

Moonflute keep close by Caitlin after the battle, keeping her sense alert while the others inspect the area.

Moonflute moved with the others to be on guard while the others looked around.

Her hopes to end the mission quickly were dashed as the search was unsuccessful, so the mercenary decided to look around, moving away from the covered area towards the eastern parts, always making sure some cover remained between her and the undead tree.

Athena noticed she could see her bipedal companion again and swooped down to perch on her shoulder.

Somewhat dejected, Caitlin and Athena moved away from the nest and the others Lord Toede had employed to get his eggs back.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:14, Sat 11 Feb 2023.

Moonflute catches up to Caitlin and catches her breath. "We should keep exploring, I wouldn't imagine there will be much left about to hidner us. The nest would have kept interlopes to a minimum," she says as she heads east with Caitlin.

Gingerly, Keliantharas probed at some of the downed disir, the queen chiefly included.  With his magically honed senses, he gingerly shifted the corpses trying to find something not immediately obvious to his natural eyes.

"I'll just be a moment."  He assured his companions as he shifted a broken arm out of his way with as few fingers as he could manage to maneuver with.

Keliantharas looted two of the disir bodies and the Queen's body.

While he had hoped the queen of the disir might have had more on her, Keliantharas carefully extracted a few vials from the downed disir before rising and facing his companions.

"I have located a few items that may be useful once they can be categorized.  I shall continue to sweep the area for further magical auras; perhaps someone else can gather the more mundane trinkets while we are already here, and then we can continue in search of the lost knowledge hidden here.  And the eggs, of course."

The mercenary nodded, concurring with Moonflute's assessment but when the elf mentioned sweeping the area, she held up a hand to grab their attention. "There is movement further down the cave." she said, pointing to the east and a bit further north. "We should be careful but whatever it is, I don't want to give it the chance to sneak up on us." she told them and began moving in the direction mentioned.

Moonflute makes sure that Kelianthas knows which direction they're moving, then hurries along to catch up to Caitlin, her sense on high alert for whatver movement she was referring to up ahead.

Keliantharas continued his search before joining the others in determining if they had found the next group of disir.

As they moved forward, they could see a large, dark shrine next to a hideous totem statue carved out of rock and slick with ooze. The totem statue depicted an individual with a fly-head, many legs, and claws, that was surrounded by several blue-green eggs on the ground, each the size of a child's head and covered in slime. Filmy webbing and organic growths stuck to the rock in many places. And the floor was covered with mucus. And to the far side of the shrine was a closed chest.

There were five disir there, one of whom you have fought previously, while the other four are all dressed in black robes that were slick with slime.. The final creature seemed to be a cross of a toad and a humanoid blowfly, oozing acidic goo from its pores and making dreadful croaking noises.

[The red rectangle is the shrine, the orange circle is the totem, and the gray rectangle is the chest. I haven't drawn the eggs, but they surround the orange circle.]

[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

What do you do?
]



[
Caitlin: 57/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]

Caitlin noticed the creatures in the distance and decided to use her wand. Upon activation the mercenary slowly grew to double her usual size and readied her spear, anticipating an attack.

Noticing the threat that the new disir posed, Caitlin felt she had no other choice but to slow them down by casting a spell. Once the last syllable dropped from her lips a thick webbing exploded outward from the designated point, centered on the creature she had not seen before.

ooc: Cast 'Web' centered on toad-blowfly thing.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:41, Mon 13 Feb 2023.

Caitlin cast a spell and a web engulfed many of their opponents.

[The yellow area is the web. The blue circle on the icon shows which ones can't move and orange is the one that's only entangled.]

Three of the disir drew closer to the group and two of them cast spells summoning three dire rats. And the rats ganged up on Caitlin. She defended herself valiantly, but one of them got through and bit her in the leg. Fortunately, she's too healthy to succumb to the disease carried in its bite.



[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

What do you do?
]



[
Caitlin: Caitlin lost 3 hp. 54/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]

Keliantharas smirked.  They had spellcasters.  Finally, a challenge worthy of his extensive talents.

"Pale in Sulinari's radiance!"  The elf bellowed in challenge.  With a flick of his fingers, Keliantharas sent his now-familiar bolts of lightning towards one of the disir casters.  Then, with a dramatic slam of his staff into the earth, Keliantharas erupted out in soft, silvery moonlight - easy to miss in the normal daylight, but enough to give him and the space around him a silvery shimmer.

OOC
Standard Action: One of the disir casters (ideally one no entangled) gets targeted with a Silent Maximized Magic Missile (20 damage)
Free: 5' step forward
Swift: Quickened Silent Extended Lesser Globe of Invulnerability

Caitlin gritted her teeth when the giant rodent's bite penetrated her armor. She took a step back and put her hands together, adding a couple of syllables and a fan of flames shot out and washed over the dire creatures. The smell of singed fur suddenly hung in the air...

ooc:
Free: 5ft step back
Std.: Cast 'Burning Hands', maximized, empowered for 30HPs fire damage. Refl. save DC15 for half.

Alarmed by the sudden appearance of the dire rats, Moonflute casts a spell and smites the nearest one with a bolt of lightning.

OOC: DM, Are the conditions conducive to lightning (see spell blurb) as it would increase th damage they do?
Standard: Cast Call Lightning (Duration 70 rounds) and strike Dire rat 41 for 15hp damage (make reflex save at DC:17 for half damage)
Move: 5ft step as shown

10:15, Today: Moonflute rolled 15 using 3d6.  Lightning strike on Dire Rat 41.

Keliantharas cast two spells, four daggers of magical energy rushed forth from him, traveled over and around the rock, and all impacted one of the disir. And then a faintly shimmering sphere expanded from him, engulfing Moonflute. And intersecting Dialis Neti and one of the dire rats.

Caitlin stepped inside the sparkling sphere and cast a spell. A cone of translucent flame shot forth from her hand and as soon as it had passed through the sparkling sphere, it turned into a wild conflagration of flame and though one dire rat took more damage than the other, neither took as much as Caitlin would have expected. Fortunately, it was still enough to bring both of them to the ground.

Moonflute cast a spell and a bolt of lightning was hurled down from the sky and brought the final dire rat to the ground.

Their healer also stepped into the magical sphere.

One disir cast a spell, but it impacted on the sphere with no effect.

Another disir clambered up on the shrine, took one of the two candelabras on it, and started setting the web on flame, to burn it away.

One of the disir liberated himself from the web.

One of the disir caught in the web cast a spell, but it impacted on the glittering sphere without effect.

The toadlike dragon was able to break loose and push itself out of the web! [OOC: It rolled a natural 20 on its Escape Artist roll.]




[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

What do you do?
]



[
Black 3 is hit with Keliantharas' magic missile spell.
Rat 42 takes "full" damage from burning hands. Down.
Rat 41 takes "half" damage from burning hands. Down.
The red area is where the web has been burnt away.
Black 2 and Black 3 were the ones to cast spells.

The yellow area is the web. The blue circle on the icon shows which ones can't move and orange is the one that's only entangled.

The blue circle protects against level 1-3 spells.


Caitlin: 54/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]


[OOC: You would not get the extra damage for Call Lightning. And as your targeted Dire Rat is down, I picked another target for you.]

The mercenary took a breather, relieved the immediate threat had been disposed off. She was aware she needed additional protection, so she created a magical field of force to protect herself. Now for the rest of them. A glance over her shoulder showed Keliantharas being the 'softest' target and so she moved to interpose herself between the elf and any incoming monsters, readying her spear should one of them try to charge...

ooc: Cast 'Shield'. 5ft step. Ready spear for an incoming charge.

Moonflute lines up the toadlike dragon and a beam of red light shines from the circlet on her head directly towards it.

Using Circlet of Blasting on Toadlike dragon, doing 13hp of damage.

10:21, Today: Moonflute rolled 13 using 3d8.  Circlet damage.

Caitlin stepped in front of Keliantharas, cast a spell to protect herself, and readied her spear.

Moonflute projected a beam of red light from the circlet that she wore that slammed into the  toadlike dragon.

Dialis readied a healing spell, to be cast if needed.

The Disir Toad dragon moved to line up most of them and then it exhaled this long line of green gooey acid. But as soon as the acid penetrated the magical sphere around them, Dialis cast a healing spell on Caitlin.

One disir started a second fire with its candelabra in the web as the first one spread. It then moved around the webbed area and stepped down from the shrine onto a chest next to it.

One disir cast a spell, but it impacted on the sparkling sphere protecting the group without effect.




[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

What do you do?
]



[
The yellow area is the web. The blue circle on the icon shows which ones can't move and orange is the one that's only entangled.

The blue circle protects against level 1-3 spells.


Caitlin was healed 12 hp and lost 33hp. 33/72hp remaining.
Keliantharas lost 16hp. 32/48hp remaining.
Moonflute: lost 16 hp. 56/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]

The mercenary screamed in pain as the acid ate away her flesh and only calmed down when Dialis cured her and the blisters were getting better. Her hands had a hard time gripping the spear but she would not give up. Quickly she gathered the thermal energy that was lingering in the soil and poured it into a spell. A small glowing sphere sped from her outstretched finger to impact and blossom into a ball of fire in the midst of the disir, engulfing as many as she could while including the dragon-toad.

ooc: Cast 'Fireball', maximized, empowered. 72HPs fire damage, refl DC17 for half.

After letting the enemy sorcerers break against his shield, Keliantharas extended his staff towards the disir and once more unleashing a mass of tentacles on the monsters.

OOC
Casting a Quickened Silent Extended Black Tentacles on the area marked on the map.

Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 8 using 1d6+4.  Grapple Damage.

Today: Keliantharas Warden rolled 26 using 1d20+16.  Grapple.

Caitlin cast a spell and a small pea of fire was ejected from her finger. It landed in the webbed area and quickly engulfed several disir as well as a large portion of the web. The flames affected four of their opponents, but not as much as expected.

Keliantharas cast one of his favorite spells and a forest of black tentacles erupted in the same place where Caitlin's fire had just been.

Dialis cast another healing spell on Caitlin.

The toadlike dragon moved out of the tentacled area and breathed acid on them again. It was fortunately fairly ineffective, but still an important hit as it still injured three of them.

The fire one of the disir had started on the other side of the web, continued to spread.

Two of the disir just moved closer to them. And one disir fought its way out of the spells Keliantharas had cast on him.



[

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/game/7C1AANw_r

What do you do?
]



[
The yellow area is the web. The blue circle on the icon shows which ones can't move and orange is the one that's only entangled.

The blue circle protects against level 1-3 spells.

The green area is both the fireball and the black tentacles.

One and Black 2 failed their save against the fireball while the dragon and Black 1 made their saves.

The green circle of the icon shows who are grappled, Black One and Two in this case.


Caitlin healed 17hp. Lost 15hp. 35/72hp remaining.
Keliantharas lost 15hp. 17/48hp remaining.
Moonflute: lost 7hp. 49/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.
Moonflute is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -1.

Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]

While Dialis' healing spells helped keeping Caitlin alive, they did nothing to counter the damage on her clothes and mundane gear. Frustrated and disappointed her friend was so slow to understand the mercenary took her wand and activated it, growing larger with every passing heartbeat. "Dialis! - Cast a protection from acid spell on me, or I won't last much longer!"

ooc: Cast 'Enlarge Person' from wand, for real now. Spear now has 10ft reach.

Keliantharas answered the pleas with a spell of his own, flicked out effortlessly before taking a little longer on a spell for his own benefit.  He wasn't quite panicking, though he wasn't liking the pace in which he was now throwing magic around.

OOC: Extended Silent Resist Energy on Caitlin and himself; Caitlin's is Quickened.

Both gain Acid Resist 20 for the next 2 hours 40 minutes

The group defeated the disir and the strange dragon that had fought with them.


[OOC: What do you do?]

"We should inspect the area to see if we can find any trace of the eggs," Moonflute says after it is clear the monsters are dead. She moves in and behins her search.

"Agreed, lets take a look around." Caitlin concurred.

As they inspected the area, they found 11 amphidragon eggs surrounding the hiddeous totem statue. Each egg was cushioned in mucus. Close by there was a closed chest.


[OOC: As a reminder, Lord Toede had lost 6 eggs.]

The mercenary stood thinking for a while as she regarded the eggs they had found. Did they split and multiply? Impossible. So the creatures had obtained more eggs from other places. She looked at the chest and was tempted to open it, but there was a risk it was protected by a trap. "Anyone seen Eucharista?" she asked, wondering if the short one had been scared off.

Slightly frustrated she cast a spell that might help her open the box.

ooc: Cast 'Mage Hand' to open the chest's lid.

Moonflute staands by, ready to heal Caitlin if the chest is trapped.

The lid opened without a problem.

Inside were a few disparate objects.

A small and delicate wooden box of curious workmanship.

A sword made out of a single crystal.

A fist-sized pale blue sapphire that was cut to look like a teardrop.

A dull gray prism with an illumination equivalent to that of a torch.

By this time, the entire group was back together again.

Keiliantharas flicked a drop of dragon acid off his hand in disgust.  Thanks to the ward he had tossed up around himself, the small quantity of the substance was more a cosmetic annoyance now than an actual nuisance.  He was intrigued by the contents of the box far more than the eggs themselves, but he seemed almost disappointed than no tomes were stored within.

"A moment."  He said, then cast his detection charm once more to closer view the items in question.  He similarly swept the loot gathered by the newest batch of foes, and their corpses in case any more subtle trinkets had been missed, and finally began examining the dragon corpse under the guidance of his spell and expertise for any samples that might serve a member of his order in construction or research.

OOC: Casting an Extended Detect Magic, spending the time needed to identify any auras associated with the magic items.

Anything on the defeated disir or dragon?

Lastly, he will try to identify the exact type of dragon and harvest any potential reagents.

GM passing a message.

Standing back, letting Keliantharas do his thing, the mercenary watched with keen interest...

Moonflute's eyes go wide when she sees the sapphire in amongst the other treasures. "Could that be? One of the Tears of Mishakal?" she asks at a whisper.

"...Hmmmm?  Oh, I suppose it might be.  It's quite powerful.  I would need more time to examine it."  Keliantharas replied without looking up, as he stated sorting through the corpses of the disir for the auras he detected on their persons.  "We -I- will need to examine the dragon egss as well, to see if they have also been altered."

The web burned away, the tentacles had already vanished, and so had the bubble that had protected them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:19, Fri 03 Mar 2023.

Caitlin couldn't help her curiosity and carefully took the wooden box from the chest, inspecting it thoroughly and checking the opening mechanism. Putting it aside she used the same spell to open it, worried it might be trapped.

ooc: Taking the box 20ft away from the others and opening it with Mage Hand from the same distance.

Looking at it, it seemed as if a key was inserted in the lower portion of the right side of the box. But the lid didn't seem to have a lock.

Caitlin took it approximately 25 feet away from the others before returning to them. From there she used the partially translucent hand she had conjured to open the box.

As soon as the lid was fully opened, a haunting melody started playing and a figurine in the center of the box started spinning around its axis, as if it was dancing. There was a mirror on the inside of the lid that reflected the lithe female form in its unending twirl.

"Why don't we find out," Dialis responded to Moonflute's question about the sapphire. So she picked it up. And she started whispering prayers until the sapphire started glowing with a soft blue light with the intensity of a torch. Some of the light seemed to dislodge itself from the gem and lightly float into the druid.




[
All temporary ability damage Moonflute had suffered have been restored.


Caitlin 35/72hp remaining.
Keliantharas 17/48hp remaining.
Moonflute: 49/72hp remaining.
Korzak: 91/98hp remaining.


Caitlin is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Dialis is is Str -1, Dex -2, Con -2.
Eucharista is Str -2, Con -2.
Keliantharas is Str -1, Con -1.
Korzak is Dex -2.


Petra is Str -1, Dex -1, Con -1.
Athena is Str -2, Dex -3, Con -1.
]

Unaware of Dialis and Moonflute, the mercenary listened to the melody and smiled slightly at the twirling figurine. A musicbox, how wonderful. She thought and moved closer to inspect the box and its contents further.

Caitlin approached the music box.

And she turned the key-like implement on the right which cranked the music box so that it could play longer. And she examined it further.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:42, Fri 03 Mar 2023.

As the music played on, Caitlin wondered about the previous owner of the music box and where she had gotten it from. Did her parents gift her with it, or was it a lover who wanted her reminded of 'their song' and thus leave her a memory for the times he had to be absent? Of course she couldn't know, but it was an interesting thought. Subconsciously she picked up the tune and sang along without lyrics, just going along. It wasn't bad but not as enchanting as the music box itself, perhaps she was too intrigued by what the box could be hiding...

ooc: Perfom: Song (15)

Caitlin hummed along to the music of the music box and her humming was quite enjoyable.

She pulled on the winding key, but apparently, it was attached to the music box and couldn't be removed. Caitlin pulled out her knife and tried to do something to the music box with it.

Caitlin sighed in frustration, this was trickier than anticipated, or she just didn't have the skills required to open the box' hidden compartment. "Hey Eucharista!" she addressed the rogue with her small dog. "Would you be able to open the compartment at the bottom of this?" she asked, hoping the young woman would be deft enough to do what she could not do herself.

Eucharista walked over to her and took a look at what Caitlin wanted to show her. And with the help of one of her tools, she was able to remove the four threaded pieces of metal and removed the rectangular piece of wood from the bottom.

But all there was inside was the mechanism that made the music box work. Not that it sounded like other music boxes. She returned it to Caitlin. "There you go," she said.

"Wow!" the mercenary exclaimed. "You make it look so easy, thank you." she told the short woman and looked at the mechanical device inside. Fascinated with the piece Caitlin watched the gears as she winded it up again, noticing the spring tightening and experimenting with the release lever.

Caitlin experimented with the internal workings of the music box.

Moonflute thanks Dialis for the assistance and retrieves the tear. "We have at least the six eggs that were stolen, and some more, which the Lord may wish to buy off us. Are we ready to declare this quest completed and return?" she asks Caitlin and Kelianthas as she inspects her tear further.

Keliantharas soon returned with a decent trove of potions.  He had left the medallions, not sure if it would be safe to touch them even if their bearers were dead.  "While we are already here, I would like to take the opportunity and a few hours to search.  The city that once stood here was rumored to be quite the center of magical know-how - who can guess at what lost knowledge might be recovered here?"

"I agree, but we would be better served going back to Lord Toede and returning after we have rested for that task. We can have our people identify these potions and other relics. I have been busy with spells and have nothing left besides some cantrips," Moonflute says.

Caitlin pursed her lips thinking about the suggestions made by her companions. "I understand your thirst for knowledge, Kel, but I must insist we leave to complete our mission." she replied. "Searching would put us in an exposed position and should the tree-thing find us I shudder at the thought of what it might do to us in our weakened state. We already agreed to returning with Korzak after finishing the mission and arming ourselves with the knowledge to take down that ghost tree, so you will get your chance at recovering whatever lost knowledge is buried here." the mercenary told the elf. "It's been waiting here for years or decades, it can wait a little longer." she finished her statement, slightly surprised at the elf's impatience.

The group discussed their next step.

If the lead trio are at a consensus, Moonflute gestures that they should exit the area and make their way back to Lord Toede.

Heading out if there are no objections.

OOC: Ready to head back.

The group took the things that they had found and returned to Flotsam.

They took the opportunity to heal and restore themselves on the way home.

[Everyone in the group, including familiars and animal companions, are now back to full hp and all temporary ability damage is gone too.]

[OOC: Are you going back to Lord Toede directly or is there something else you want to do first?]

OOC: Keliantharas will try to identify the magical items founds.

GM passing a message.

They returned to Flotsam with the eggs and the other things they had liberated on their quest. They stopped at the Jetties to plan and decided to bring the eggs to Lord Toede first and decide what they were going to do with the rest afterward.

[What do you do?]

OOC: Unless Caitlin wants to employ the boat plan (which sounds a bit risky as well), I think the plan is to head straight to Lord Toede with the eggs (separated into their own sack from the others).

ooc: We can do it that way."

"Well then, I guess we should go directly to Lord Toede, we don't want to risk anything happening to his precious cargo." the sorceress suggested, worried something or someone might cause trouble and foil their mission last minute.

Moonflute nods and gathers her gear up for the trip up to Lord Toede.

The three of them went to The Rock. A hill that rose above the bay on the eastern side of town was scorched red from years of red dragon attacks, but buildings still stood upon it. Rebuilt by industrious locals. A large manor house topped by an observatory dominated the hill and the town with its just-finished opulence.

Most of the residents on the Rock were wealthy bureaucrats, senior clerks, or merchants with considerable assets. And an unreasonable amount of space has been left between these homes and Toede's manor.

As they were on a mission from Lord Toede, the sentries let them through the gate in the 10-foot fence surrounding his estate. A number of guards were patrolling the grounds and Toede's puppies, six fully grown hell hounds, did whatever they wanted inside the fence. And according to rumor, they only listened to Toede and his half-ogre groundskeeper/kennel keeper.

There were plenty of leaded glass windows in the manor. And when they knocked on the door, one of Lord Toede's servants let them inside. The hallways were decorated in the latest style of the rich and famous, including cherrywood panels, white plaster, and ornate fixtures cast from steel and brass.

They were led straight ahead, thru the large double doors, flanked by two sentries, into the great hall where Toede and his Chamberlain had met them when they were given this mission. It was lavishly decorated with marble busts, paintings, and tapestries, all depicting the manor's hobgoblin master in glorious finery.

Both then and now, the Lord and Chamberlain were protected by two sentries stationed inside the double doors. Lord Toede of Flotsam sat upon his throne looking like a drooling white raisin. Much older than any hobgoblin had the right to be. The former Dragon Highlord spoke in barely audible murmurs, further muffled by his fur-lined robes and drowned out by the clink-clink of the ostentatious rings and bejeweled trinkets he wore.

The Chamberlain was a lanky man in a well-tailored livery and he stood next to the throne. He wore a ridiculous cloth cap and adjusted Toede's accouterments fastidiously every few minutes. He cleared his throat when they entered. As his majordomo and mouthpiece, the Chamberlain repeated what Toede said so that guests could actually hear him.

"Lord Toede gratefully acknowledges your return," the Chamberlain said after Toede had said something none of them had heard. "He expects you to have returned the eggs he sent you to bring back to him. Please state your business."

We have the eggs you asked us to retrieve," Moonflute says.

"Bring them before Lord Toede," the Chamberlain said after Toede had spoken. "So that he can inspect them."

Caitlin approached 'the Rock' with mixed feelings. On the one hand side she was looking forward to getting rewarded for the blood, sweat and fears she had suffered, on the other hand side she despised the Lord of Flotsam for the, how she believed, undeserved riches on display. But she knew better than to openly display her displeasure, instead she kept a neutral expression towards the guards and tried a faint smile when facing the ancient hobgoblin.

As they were asked to produce the eggs they had been sent to retrieve, the mercenary took the bag from her pack and opened it far enough so it was easy to see inside. She was making sure it was apparent that there was no weapon hidden inside, and slowly walked up to bring their treasure forth so Toede and the chamberlain could see.

"Here are your precious draconic eggs. We faced ghosts and poisonous insectoid monsters as well as draconic acid-spewing mixed breed of dragon and toad to return these eggs to you." the sorceress embellished their exploits, hoping to persuade the ruler into a generous reward.

ooc: Diplomacy 20.

When Lord Toede saw his eggs, he bounced on his throne like a wrinkled jack-in-the-box, and made sure that the eggs were taken care of quickly. After he spoke, the Chamberlain related his words.

"The insectoids were the thieves who took Lord Toede's eggs, so that is to be expected. But his Lordship is not without heart. Each of you will get the fully equipped horses you need to be able to take on all the missions Lord Toede might send you on and will thus help you make more money. He will grant you access to his library. In addition, we have some magic items for you, but it will take some time to get them here."

The Chamberlain then gave some orders to a servant who returned about half an hour later with a dark green cloak, a feather, two potions, a light crossbow, and a small sack. The servant gave the group these items.

"The Stablemaster will help you with the horses and their equipment."

"Did you find anything else?"



[OOC: It's a good thing that a natural 1 isn't an automatic failure on skill rolls.]

[ooc: I am as relieved as everyone else it is so. ;)]

Caitlin allowed herself a smirk, if these eggs made him so happy, how would he react to even more? "Thank you very much for your generosity, Lord Toede. May I ask if we will be told the properties of the items we were given?" she asked, hoping they could skip the cost of identification.

"As fate would have it, my good Lord Toede, we did recover a few more eggs of the same kind." the sorceress began, lifting another bag from a different pocket in her pack. "It appears that these creatures were quite the thieves and robbed somebody else, too. We are assuming the original owners are not interested in them anymore, hence we are happy we can offer them for purchase." the mercenary elaborated, presenting the additional eggs, offering them for sale. Of course, she began to assume that even the original six eggs might never have been in Toede's possession and that he had used the adventurers to steal them from the rightful owners. However, the hobgoblin would never admit the truth if her assumption had been correct, and at this point in time it did not matter anymore.

Lord Toede spoke and so did the Chamberlain who explained what the items were.


[OOC: Cloak of Elvenkind, Feather Token - Fan, Potion of Lesser Restoration, Potion of Fox's Cunning, Light Crossbow +1, and Bag of Tricks - Rust]

"Thank you for the information, we will put the items to good use." she replied, hiding the slight disappointment she felt. "So... would you like to buy the other eggs from us, your lordship?" the mercenary reiterated.

"Lord Toede would like to see these additional eggs first," the Chamberlain said after the hobgoblin had spoken. "And if they are what you say they are, he might be interested."

Caitlin inclined her head in an affirmative gesture "As you command." she agreed and opened the bag like she had done before. Five more eggs lay on rugged cloth, clearly the same origin as the others. "Don't they look just as beautiful as the others?"

Lord Toede said something and the Chamberlain walked up to Caitlin and examined the eggs before he returned to his master. After Lord Toede spoke again, the Chamberlain addressed them. "Lord Toede will take those too. Was there anything else?"

"Anything else?" she repeated, "Do you have anything specific you refer to?" the sorceress asked, feigning ignorance.

ooc: Bluff check 28.

Moonflute waits quietly as Caitlin haggles with the Lord over the remaining eggs, giving their first reward the once over.

"Our agents often discover more than they were looking for," the Chamberlain said. "Many prefer the simplicity of letting us take it off their hands." He stopped there to give Caitlin an opportunity to add something.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:58, Wed 03 May 2023.

"Just these extra eggs," Moonflute adds and waits to see what Toede will offer for them.

"Excellent," the Chamberlain said after Lord Toede had spoken. "In that case our business is done for today. Let us know when you want to use the library. Or we will be in touch when we have a new mission for you." It seemed as if Lord Toede expected to get the additional eggs for free. He had already paid for the eggs after all and finding eleven where there should have been six didn't make their job any harder.

Upon the Chamberlain's answer a cloud seemed to cross Caitlin's features and with a deft movement, she closed the bag with the remaining 5 eggs. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. The mission was to recover six eggs that were stolen, anything beyond that could be kept by us. Since your Lordship has received the items in question any extra eggs are ours to keep. As you decided not to make an offer, we shall take them for appraisal and see who is interested in purchasing them from us for a fair price." she said, delivering her perspective with a friendly smile, which did not reach her eyes.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, your Lordship." the sorceress added, taking a step backwards, causing the large owl on her shoulder to rotate her head by 180 degrees.

ooc: 13:23, Today: Caitlin Merrywick rolled 33 using 1d20+19.  Diplomacy.

Moonflute nods to Lord Toede and moves back ready to exit the room with Caitlin.