"Alright, let's get moving then," Orila agreed, rising and moving to pick up Arthua's body to carry it back to Ashford.

OOC: carrying Arthua's body and moving with the others back up to gather the freed prisoners and then barring any further trouble, heading back to town.

Since so many of us are bringing in new characters let's leave the dragon hoard for the newbies to find again or win back from whoever moves into the dungeon after we're gone. 

"We're not even going to check to see if the swarm dispersed? Try to kill it now that we've gathered our wits? We're just going to lose an ally to those damn bugs and leave them alive and leave the gold to whatever's left in here?" Shalimar stands up, "We could literally just be ready with magic, two people on the lever, one flips open the door, blast it, the other one on the lever shuts it right after and repeat. We owe it to Arthua to throw everything we've got at that swarm and get out with that loot."

Talia hefted her halberd and swung it so the flat of it was the working side. It felt weighted wrong and awkward to do so, but it might work as a makeshift sly swatter. "Yes, we must at least try to send those bugs to hell. If that is where bugs go. Plus, the hoard would make a prize and help the village." Truth to tell, Talia didn't feel all that much better, buit she was resolute.

---

10:38, Today: Talia Alden rolled 4 using 2d12 with rolls of 1,3.  hit dice short rest. Yay!!!

No, if we can we take the hoard, we take it. The old group worked for it, they earned it. Plus, no guarantee, per GM, it will be here when we get back. Whoever finds it will spend it on traps or gear.

Alyssa looked between Orlia and Glyynnelis, and Shalimar and Talia as if trying to make her mind up between the two differing opinions about how to proceed. Pausing for just a moment the halfling inclined her head towards the door to the dragon's horde, "Lets at least have a look before heading back home!" And then moved over to the levers waiting for the signal.

Yielding to the will of her companions, her tribe now and in this place, Orila gently put down Arthua's body and waited at the ready to aid them as they checked on the swarm...

OOC: Go ahead, I bow to the will of the majority.

Yry stands up and dusts herself off, tossing her black hair behind her shoulders, the silver strands mixed into it glinting in the cool, clean magical light she carries with her. She readies the crystal ring and waits for the others to join her.

06:27, Today: Yry Sweetwater rolled 7 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 4.  short rest hit die.

ready a ray of frost if the swarm is still violent

"Alright the two of us with the least combat power should be on the lever to get it up and down. I'll be one ready to close it up again. The rest of you ready to blast it with range the second you see it. The rest be ready to hit it with anything you can if it gets in before we get the door closed. Who all is blasting it with range so I know my timing to shut it again?"

Talia strode toward Shalimar and set a hand upon his shoulder, "I am not as effective as some at range, if that is our strategy, I shall stand with you, friend." That said, Talia stood, ready, to close the door if that was the required course of action.

Glynnelis held his holy symbol aloft, ready to summon the sacred flame...

"I'll be shooting ice magic," Yry tells Shalimar.

Once everyone is ready, Shalimar casts the bird trick and readies to shut it again after the last of our agreed upon ranged attacks and gives the waiting Alyssa the signal she was waiting for.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:08, Mon 21 Sept 2020.

Seeing Sahlimar's signal, Alyssa pulled on the lever to open the door. Once it was opened the Halfling shifted her weight in anticipation of closing it immediately.

Once the door opened, Talia tenses as she expected the swarm to come billowing through. She reacted by reaching for the lever to close should the swarm be present and move toward the opening.

Readied action to close the door should the swarm come within ten feet of it.

The lever is pulled and stone grinds against stone. Everyone holds their breath as the secret panel slowly pulls to the side. In the flickering torch light it is hard to tell if those are shadows moving or a swarm of stinging insects ready to swarm the party. The stone panel opens more and more and the party can see the faint glint of reflected light in copper, silver, and gold underneath the dead dragon. The sound of buzzing fills the air and an acrid smell hits their nostrils.

The archers and casters ready themselves. Every flicker of light sends the shadows spinning but the tiny dots of a swarm never appear, the buzzing sound never gets louder.

Cautiously the party peeks the heads out ready to bolt but while there are a lot of insects around, they aren't swarming like they did when the black dragon called to them. It appears the danger has passed...

"Okay, ranged folk be ready to blast at them if they start to swarm again. Everyone else start gathering. Keep an eye out for traps. We might also want to skim this small middle room here. Might have some interesting stuff in here aside from that tome."

There is no "quick" when it comes to a mound this large. Granted most of it is copper pieces but there are thousands of them piled up. It is enough to fully fill about two backpacks, assuming they're empty to begin with. It will likely take several minutes to scoop everything into a container and that isn't addressing the baubles and gems or the circle and helm that look suspiciously magical.

In addition, clutched in the dead dragon's claw, is a long silver staff. It has an elven look to it from the slender grace of it with a silver curved haft leading to an ornate head set with a brilliant glowing blue sapphire. It has several sharp blade-like protrusions but they seem too delicate to be used as a weapon and seems more like a particularly aggressive design choice.

Talia heaved a heavy sigh when only foul stench and some wayward bugs attracted to the fresh corpse presented themselves. Once again, she gripped her halberd in the swatting grip and crept into the cavern. She beamed back at the others, ”Well, better to worry when time allows than not. Let’s loot the blighter and run?” That said, Talia’s grip on her weapon did not loosen as the others came in and began to process of finding storage for the horde of coins. She did allow her own pack to be stuffed as much as possible.

Yry is relieved and puts her crystal torc back on. "You speak my mind, Talia. Let's not tarry."

OOC: Who is grabbing what?

Glynnelis reaches out and grabs the staff. He looks it over curiously and his voice comes out in an excited rush.

"Well isn't this a pretty thing...interesting, very interesting indeed..."

He tilts it back and forth letting the light play over its silvery length. Where moments before he was in a state of shock now it seems he has snapped back to reality and his focus is fixated on the staff.

"I had been planning on continuing my travels after this and it seems a shame to let our companion die like this. I plan to go to the capital. Let me take this staff, some gold, and Arthua and I shall find a cleric who can raise him from the afterlife. Does that sound acceptable?"

Glynnelis looks over the gold and coppers and pulls out 160gp worth of coin and gems.

"Eighty for me, eighty for dear Arthua here. And the staff, of course. Here look..."

He points out there is about 80gp worth of valuables in addition to the seven magical items they had recovered.

"I think a fair split would be eighty gold, or the equivalent there of, and one item of magic for each. Whatever item is left unclaimed we can add to Arthua's share. Does that sound fair?"

OOC: GM here. Putting this up here to get things going so we can get back to town.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:44, Thu 24 Sept 2020.

Yry considers Shalimar for a long moment, not liking the sudden change in Shalimar's demeanor. She sighs, however, figuring that everyone has had a difficult time. "I think it would be better if we all just get to town and take time to cool off and think things through, but if you're set on that plan then do what you must."

20:03, Today: Yry Sweetwater rolled 10 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 7.  insight on shalimar.

"Take everything we can." Orila said with a smile when she saw all of the treasure on the ground. "I'm strong. Get as many sacks as you can. Stuff the helmet and the other things too. Then fill the bags with coin until the bags filled."

Orila looked at the dead dragon. "What about those scales? Do you think that we might be able to peel a few large scales? Maybe it can be fashioned into armor or something." The goliath smiled, "Someone give me a knife. This maul that I use isn't going to be able to cut into the dragon. I'll take what scales I can. I'm going to see about making some armor from it."


Planning on taking as much dragon scales as Orila can carry. Hopefully enough for one suit of armor :)
And she will volunteer to carry extra treasure weight as necessary.

Alyssa moved cautiously into the horde room behind her companions and was struck with awe upon seeing extent of the dragon's cache, without a dragon activity guarding it. After a moment her focus returned and the halfling set about stowing what gems and loose coin she could into her pack. "This will do wonders back home! Were there any sacks with the prisoners?"

---

OOC: Not sure if any of the named treasure items would appeal to Alyssa. She will pack and carry as much as she can.

The dragon isn't large enough for a full suit of armor but it could definitely be crafted into something else. A belt, some bracers, a shield even...

Orila picked up one the scales, "Not enough for a full suit of armor. But I'm going to have someone to work these into bracers. It would be good for me to have something to remember this fight." The goliath prized treasures such as the one she described. She turned to Glynnelis, "Yes, it would be right and proper to send a Arthua's family a share. His story should be shared with his tribe."

Orila will take enough scales to make some bracers for herself.