Dangers prowl the wilds and wreck havoc on unsuspecting towns. What seems to be random events may indeed be connected... will Khessa overcome her struggles and solve this dark mystery or will the darkness consume her first? ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
Dramatis Personae Khessa (Human Fighter) portrayed by Painted_Beyond
Song (Tiefling Peasant) image HP 35, AC 14 (Damaged Chain Shirt + Shield) STR 16 (+ 3), DEX 10 (+ 0), CON 14 (+ 2), INT 8 (- 1), WIS 10 (+ 0), CHA 16 (+ 3) Skills: Athletics, Persuasion Damaged Longsword, + 4 to hit, 1d6 + 2 one-handed, 1d8 two-handed, slashing Morningstar, + 4 to hit, 1d8 + 2 one-handed, piercing Spells: Thaumaturgy Special Notes: Darkvision 60 ft. Inventory: 29 gp, 2x potion of healing
Clara (Human Priest) image HP 20, AC 16 (Spiked Armor, disadvantage on Stealth checks) STR 9 (- 1), DEX 15 (+ 2), CON 13 (+ 1), INT 15 (+ 2), WIS 16 (+ 3), CHA 9 (- 1) Skills: Nature, Medicine, Arcana Spells: Guidance, Create Bonfire, Cure Wounds,Entangle 4/day for 1st level spells, Moonbeam 1/day for 2nd level spells Special Notes:
Aster (Drow Sacrifice) image HP 26, AC 14 (Drow Studded Leather) STR 8 (- 1), DEX 17 (+ 3), CON 14 (+ 2), INT 8 (- 1), WIS 14 (+ 2), CHA 12 (+ 1) Rapier, + 5 to hit, 1d8 + 3 piercing Skills: Perception, History, Sleight of Hand, Stealth Spells: Dancing Lights, Mage Hand, Frost Fingers 4/day Special Notes: Darkvision 120 ft., Trace, Resist Charm, Cannot be magically put to sleep, Sunlight Sensitivity (ailment will disappear after some time on the surface.)
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
"Is the coast clear?" A human woman asked a half-elven man. At the moment, the man peered out the window of a room full of escapees. Some of them were armed and armored (barely in some cases), but most of them had only the clothing on their backs. The man frowned as he shushed the woman as he ducked out of frame.
Sickly groans echoed all around them outside these walls. This group found themselves in a most claustrophobic part of the Underdark, with ceilings varying from 15 ft up to no more than 40 ft. Each tunnel they found sometimes had them in single file lines. The closure of space presented itself as a blessing and a curse. The paranoia of creatures potentially falling from high on the ceiling decreased, but what they hadn't expected was the fear of being trampled.
Just moments before this group ran for their lives down a long and seemingly endless tunnel chased by unknown creatures. Some number of the escapees died turning their heads back to see what exactly could sound so inhuman yet sad. Everyone else had to run for their lives and managed to break out from the tight tunnel into a smaller cavern that seemed to have a forgotten settlement of some kind. There was no time to admire the architecture, however, and the group flung themselves into a building and quieted down as much as they could. They were in a home of some kind, long abandoned based on the dust and cobwebs inside. They counted their blessings, limited as they were, when nothing else was discovered inside the home.
The house is fairly small and a single floor. There are 3 bedrooms, a kitchen/dining area, and what seemed to be a combination living room and forge. The escapees did their best to stay out of sight of the windows. The young and strong of this group were near the windows and doors, armed with what they could steal from the drow slavers.
Khessa, you see Song, both a tiefling and an outcast from your village, hovering near a door. She holds a dinged shield she found much earlier off the skeleton of an explorer or adventurer presumably killed while lost. Clara, a woman you barely know, is tending to the wounded who struggle not to groan loudly from their pains on the kitchen floor. Finally, there is a drow with you. Unlike all the other escapees, he seems to look... well. He is outfitted in fine leathers with an intricate pattern and he carries one of the few weapons that is not tarnished in anyway.
Begrudgingly, the drow has been allowed to come with all of you because he was encaged in the slave pens. You had no idea who was in the cage until he was already out. For now, it seems the group is weary of the drow, but recognize they need strength in order to survive, but otherwise there are always a round of men from the village that keep a close eye on the drow for fear he may turn out to be just like the rest of his kin or worse.
Khessa, please describe your character's appearance and what she is doing right now. If you would like to interact with any NPCs, you need only walk up and speak to them.
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DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
(Jewelry apart, Khessa would look like the woman in the center of this beautiful cover - cover of a beautiful D&D book, by the way)
Blue eyes that sparkle with determination. This is the first thing that strikes anyone of the refugees who find themselves looking at Khessa. Khessa Cabbagefield, the eldest daughter of the Cabbagefield family, who have been cabbage farmers for generations, no longer looks like a captured and enslaved commoner.
Seeing the self-confidence with which the tall, tanned woman moves on her long legs, no one would say that she is an inexperienced and frightened twenty-year-old paesant. Indeed, she almost looks like a real warrior, with the chain mail she wears (stolen when she escaped) and the greatsword she wields (the same weapon with which one of the drow slavers, the brutal Zrutt, had killed Anator, her brother - that weapon will never be needed again by the original owner). But it is that light in her eyes that is most striking - as if a fire burned deep within them, a flame that provides her strengths and resources that she did not even know she had before.
Despite everything she went through, she managed not to break down. She had the audacity and the cleverness to prepare an escape plan. And now, there she is; not only did she manage to escape, but she also freed several other prisoners. And she intends to bring them out. Life without freedom is not life.
'I am Khessa and I am free as the blowing wind' thinks the woman, as she pulls her long wavy blonde hair away from her forehead and examines the fugitives one by one. 'I will return to the surface. Out of here. And I'll take you all with me, people, whatever it takes'.
Examining the house in the light of one of the few torches she could steal in the course of her escape, Khessa decides: "The three beds are too few for us; they will be more useful if we tear them apart and make torches out of them. Torches will help us to get out. Plus, one can use them as improvised weapons, if needed".
Another weapon she got hold of while fleeing is a mighty maul, which the drow may have stolen from some soldier who had had the misfortune to meet them. She brandishes it with both hands, she smashes the beds unceremoniously, then she tears sheets apart and she passes pieces of wood and shreds of sheets to all the refugees who seem able to take part in that simple work: "I rely on you" she smiles at them. "Try to get some torches out of this. They'll help us get out."
'And focusing on this' DOES NOT say Khessa 'will help distract you from your fears. Unfortunately quite justified'.
She speaks naturally, not as if she were in command; she has become accustomed to the fact that refugees tend to try to do what she asks. Was it because she was the one who set them free? Is it because she seems to be so self-confident? Khessa doesn't even wonder. She has taken on the role (and responsibility) of bringing them to safety almost without even realizing it. But she is keen to succeed.
She approaches Clara, who she barely knows, but who, as she seems to her, is doing a great job: "Hi Clara" she gently places a hand on her shoulder. "How are the wounded? Will they be able to walk a few more hours? We have managed to go up a lot... and we have also found this small settlement. The surface shouldn't be far. Take care of them as best you can, okay? And find a moment to rest too, if you are tired. What you do for us is priceless. Try to conserve enough strength" fondly caresses her cheek "to be able to continue doing it, okay? I..."
'... I will lie down on the ground and sleep for three straight days' Khessa would like to complete the sentence.
Instead, she chooses to say: "...I'll try to explore the surroundings and look for a way that allows us to go up even more".
She then approaches the drow. She would like to look at him with compassion... after all, even though drow, he was also a prisoner, a slave... but her expression is a little harsher and more suspicious than she herself would like: "I'll need your help too. We will all have to help each other to get out of here. Let's start by introducing ourselves: my name is Khessa" reluctantly holds out her hand "and yours? What's your name?"
'We really all have to cooperate,' Khessa thinks. 'I have to start getting him to do something useful with someone. This will strengthen our mutual trust. And I also know what to make him do and with whom'.
The sudden destruction of the beds cause some alarm from the other survivors, but rather than chide Khessa, they join her in the dismantling. Some of the survivors seem thankful for the makeshift weapons, though others seem even more quiet somehow. Angry faces look up at her, but say nothing and do nothing. They continue to sit against the walls in stoic or fearful silence.
"I don't think they will be able to move for some hours. So many of these people are weak from hunger and the lashing some of them received from the drow." Clara responds. When she speaks of the drow, her voice is laced with venom. She steals a glance at the very drow that has accompanied you all. She is a woman possibly in her late 20s you would guess, and human like you. Her brown hair clings to her head, damp with sweat. You see that she has beads of sweat on her brow. Without asking you first, she grabs some of the pieces of cloth you tore up from the bed. No doubt she plans to use them as bandages. "You should rest as well. That fighting spirit you feel, it will dwindle. If you aren't careful, you may be my next patient."Clara smiles and returns to her work.
The drow man was gazing out the window across the room from him, but his eyes do not seem to be focused. Once you address him specifically and introduce yourself, he is slow to speak at first. He spends a moment in silence studying your face and your body. He seems to be sizing you up. Once he does speak, his voice is rich like chocolate and his manner of speech refined like you imagined a noble from a city might sound. "My dear, are you speaking to me? And here I thought I'd be without any chatter for another few days..." He seems pleasantly surprised judging by the expression on his face. You think back and realize the only 'conversation' this drow man has experienced since the escape consisted mostly of humans giving him orders or the grunts and groans of battle. "Miss Khessa, it is a pleasure to have your name. Aster, at your humble service..."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
Khessa is confused by the drow's courtesy, as well as by the fact that his voice is so pleasant. She almost expected...
'Yeah, what was I expecting?' she thinks 'That he attacked me? That he spoke to me with hate? That he mocked and humiliated me like those who held prisoner me... as well as him?! I have to put aside the mistrust... at least for now. If I don't do it first, how will others do it? And we need to do it... We need to trust each other in order to collaborate. And to come out alive'.
So she smiles at him and claps him on the shoulder: "Aster, you're a dear boy, but no one has ever called me 'miss', so you don't need to start doing that. I'm just Khessa. And you are by no means 'at my service'; here none of us are more servants than anyone... fortunately! We will only try to work together to get out of here and reach a not too dangerous place where we can start a new life, okay? We help each other to the best of our ability".
"Speaking of abilities, I think there is a way you can now make yourself very useful! You and..." Khessa turns a moment to the tiefling and outcast from Twardens, her village, calling it near with a broad arm gesture "... my friend Song!" she introduces him, as soon as he approaches "Song, this is Aster, a runaway ex-slave like us. Aster, this is Song, a runaway ex-slave like us. Since we are all ex-runaway slaves here, it's good that we put aside any other differences and work together. I know that both of you are perfectly capable of seeing in the dark. The injured will need to rest for a few hours. During this time, I will try to explore the surroundings to find a way that let us continue to the surface. You two, however, will cooperate, help each other, in exploring this building. There is a forge, so my hope is that there may be some metal artifacts left. Maybe a weapon or an armor. Or that someone may have left something useful. I don't know... dry rations? Or a note, a map? That would perhaps be even better... any clue as to which direction to take could be valuable. And you two, who see perfectly well in the dark, have a very good chance of seeing details that might escape those who, like me, would be forced to strain their eyes in the uncertain light of a torch. I count on you," her blue eyes are fixed now in those of one, now in those of the other "okay?" then she smiles "I hope to be able to come back soon with good news".
'Or, at the very least, to be able to return' does NOT say aloud Khessa.
After that, with a torch in hand, Khessa exits the building, beginning to explore outside as she said. She starts by trying to walk around the perimeter of the settlement and examine the entry and exit routes, paying attention to signs of passage (signs left over time by wheels of wagons or heavy vehicles? Or by any horseshoes or similar?) and trying to evaluate if, holding the torch still, the flame seems to move slightly in some direction (indicating an air flow, potentially towards the surface).
The drow and tiefling both eye each other suspiciously as Khessa leaves. It will be a wonder if they work together or not.
Once outside, Khessa hears the moaning and groaning of the creatures that attacked her and the escapees. The sounds grow somewhat louder with each passing minute. No doubt this will not be a safe place to be out in the open for long.
Khessa, make a perception check and survival check both, please.
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DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
Khessa stays in the same area as the house that homes the escapees currently as the next set of events do not allow her to stray far. This settlement features paved roads and other attempts to keep the ground level, but these efforts have degraded over time. She notices that there are a few tunnels that may lead elsewhere after her evaluation for wheel tracks or other tracks of any kind fail. Before she can reach these tunnels, she is halted as the inhuman sounds are upon her. She has enough time to duck behind a building, but she spots strange, human-like creatures that stand at about 2 feet tall. There appear to be about 7 of these wretches walking together en masse like a wave of moving flesh.
These are the very creatures the escapees escaped from only an hour ago. It would appear they are on the prowl for more victims. What will Khessa try to do?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
'Seven against one would be an uneven fight...' Khessa thinks 'And I certainly can't lead these monsters into the house where our wounded are hidden! Will there be any way to even the odds? Or to send them on a red herring?'
Khessa tries to quickly look around trying to spot one of these two things.
Either a particularly unsafe building or wall, which can easily collapse (and bury those who cannot move away in time) if hit with particular violence, such as with her maul...
...Or an object that can roll if thrown down one of the corridors, such as an abandoned wheel or something like that.
'Or a ravine' Khessa also thinks. 'That also could work, to fool them. I think I could lead them to think we descended'.
So she also tries to spot a ravine, if she can't find an unsafe building or an abandoned wheel.
(OOC: We can keep the rolls above, I think? She is simply looking for three possible things instead of two... But if you prefer a separate roll for this last idea of hers just tell and I roll)
If Khessa does not spot anything of her interest, she will simply enter one of the buildings, both to avoid getting discovered and to see if she can find anything useful.
There does indeed seem to be a wall that could crumble and deal some damage to the mob of strange little zombie-like creatures, but you would need to have perfect timing. If you are committing to this course of action, I will need a DEX CHECK.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
Khessa quickly tries to assess if the wall, by crumbling, would hit all of them or only some. And also... deal some damage would be great, but would it also bury them? She is looking for a way to get rid of them; so damaging them but leaving them able to chase her (or even worse the other fugitives) would be less appealing...
The wall would hit them, but there is no way of knowing how it will crumble. No way to tell how many would be hit. However, they would definitely not get buried.
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DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
'I can cause some harm, if i get the right timing and make that wall collapse on them... but I'm not especially good with timing... plus, I wouldn't get rid of them for sure, the wall would not bury them anyway' reflects Khessa. 'So, they will chase me. And then? Maybe I could outrun them. After all, we outrun them before, when the wounded were with us. I alone should be quite able to. But then? They'll most likely start searching... And our wounded need some hour of rest... It is a lot of time! And if these monsters find them... No, I can not allow this. My only chance would be for me to outrun them so badly to fool them. Let them see me fleeing in direction of an exit of the settlement. Then run out of their sight. Then run a circle to come back to the settlement and to the others. Would it be possible?'
Khessa tries to estimate how fast the monsters can move. She already thinks she can outrun them. But by how much? In a run of, let's say, a minute, how much advantage she could gain? Meters? Tens of meters? Hundreds of meters?
She also tries to infere something from the monsters. During the chase, they sounded 'so inhuman yet sad'. This sadness... Is there any obvious cause of physical suffering in these monsters? I don't know, something like sores, wounds ... Or is it more likely that it is an internal torment? And how smart do they look? Do they seem moved by their own will or do they move more automatically, like constructs or undead doing someone else's will?
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd[Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player] Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale Ru's Current Status
'I wonder if these wretched creatures were sent to us on our trail by the drow slavers...' shivers Khessa 'Zer'lan, the drow wizard, maybe could have done it. But he can't anymore, I'm pretty sure!'
And how sure she is... She remembers the scene as if it had just happened. She entering his tent with her hands tied, pretending to have been sent by Zrutt (the big brutish drow that had killed Anator, her brother), something he had done already in the past. The drow wizard who looks at her with contempt, hissing to her face: "What was that big idiot thinking !? Did he send you here without even getting you cleaned up first? You smell like... GURG!"
And no, GURG was not some particularly smelly substance. GURG was the muffled gurgling the wizard managed to emit as she suddenly pulled the ropes from her wrists (she was NOT bound, in fact!) and wrapped them around his neck. Twisting them.
Zer'lan... so powerful in magic... but not physically. Getting his hands to the rope or her wrists didn't help him. And in an instant he had collapsed. Khessa had kept to strangle him for some more time. She had time to kill. She had to give the impression to the drow outside the tent that he was having a good time with her, after all... although, for this one time, the pleasure of their company had been all hers!
So no, Zer'lan no...
'But Xen'farya? Maybe she could have done it...'
Yes, Xen'farya, the priestess of Lolth leading the expedition. Maybe she would be able to. During her escape, Khessa had caught her off guard and ripped her sacred symbol from her neck. And she had thrown it into a ravine. And as soon as Xen'farya, horrified, had approached the ravine to see if her precious heirloom was recoverable... Khessa had reversed her course, charging her unexpectedly and pushing her into the ravine too. But Khessa had not been able to ascertain the final fate of the other... she had had to take advantage of the chaos of the situation to complete her escape. If Xen'farya was still alive, perhaps she could have sent those creatures on their trail...
'Or maybe those creatures have nothing to do with the drow slavers, after all. Not that it matters too much, since they are trying to kill us anyway'.
Dangers prowl the wilds and wreck havoc on unsuspecting towns. What seems to be random events may indeed be connected... will Khessa overcome her struggles and solve this dark mystery or will the darkness consume her first?
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Dramatis Personae
Khessa (Human Fighter) portrayed by Painted_Beyond
Song (Tiefling Peasant) image
HP 35, AC 14 (Damaged Chain Shirt + Shield)
STR 16 (+ 3), DEX 10 (+ 0), CON 14 (+ 2), INT 8 (- 1), WIS 10 (+ 0), CHA 16 (+ 3)
Skills: Athletics, Persuasion
Damaged Longsword, + 4 to hit, 1d6 + 2 one-handed, 1d8 two-handed, slashing
Morningstar, + 4 to hit, 1d8 + 2 one-handed, piercing
Spells: Thaumaturgy
Special Notes: Darkvision 60 ft.
Inventory: 29 gp, 2x potion of healing
Clara (Human Priest) image
HP 20, AC 16 (Spiked Armor, disadvantage on Stealth checks)
STR 9 (- 1), DEX 15 (+ 2), CON 13 (+ 1), INT 15 (+ 2), WIS 16 (+ 3), CHA 9 (- 1)
Skills: Nature, Medicine, Arcana
Spells: Guidance, Create Bonfire, Cure Wounds,Entangle 4/day for 1st level spells, Moonbeam 1/day for 2nd level spells
Special Notes:
Aster (Drow Sacrifice) image
HP 26, AC 14 (Drow Studded Leather)
STR 8 (- 1), DEX 17 (+ 3), CON 14 (+ 2), INT 8 (- 1), WIS 14 (+ 2), CHA 12 (+ 1)
Rapier, + 5 to hit, 1d8 + 3 piercing
Skills: Perception, History, Sleight of Hand, Stealth
Spells: Dancing Lights, Mage Hand, Frost Fingers 4/day
Special Notes: Darkvision 120 ft., Trace, Resist Charm, Cannot be magically put to sleep, Sunlight Sensitivity (ailment will disappear after some time on the surface.)
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
saved
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
/--Day & Time Unknown, Underdark--/
"Is the coast clear?" A human woman asked a half-elven man. At the moment, the man peered out the window of a room full of escapees. Some of them were armed and armored (barely in some cases), but most of them had only the clothing on their backs. The man frowned as he shushed the woman as he ducked out of frame.
Sickly groans echoed all around them outside these walls. This group found themselves in a most claustrophobic part of the Underdark, with ceilings varying from 15 ft up to no more than 40 ft. Each tunnel they found sometimes had them in single file lines. The closure of space presented itself as a blessing and a curse. The paranoia of creatures potentially falling from high on the ceiling decreased, but what they hadn't expected was the fear of being trampled.
Just moments before this group ran for their lives down a long and seemingly endless tunnel chased by unknown creatures. Some number of the escapees died turning their heads back to see what exactly could sound so inhuman yet sad. Everyone else had to run for their lives and managed to break out from the tight tunnel into a smaller cavern that seemed to have a forgotten settlement of some kind. There was no time to admire the architecture, however, and the group flung themselves into a building and quieted down as much as they could. They were in a home of some kind, long abandoned based on the dust and cobwebs inside. They counted their blessings, limited as they were, when nothing else was discovered inside the home.
The house is fairly small and a single floor. There are 3 bedrooms, a kitchen/dining area, and what seemed to be a combination living room and forge. The escapees did their best to stay out of sight of the windows. The young and strong of this group were near the windows and doors, armed with what they could steal from the drow slavers.
Khessa, you see Song, both a tiefling and an outcast from your village, hovering near a door. She holds a dinged shield she found much earlier off the skeleton of an explorer or adventurer presumably killed while lost. Clara, a woman you barely know, is tending to the wounded who struggle not to groan loudly from their pains on the kitchen floor. Finally, there is a drow with you. Unlike all the other escapees, he seems to look... well. He is outfitted in fine leathers with an intricate pattern and he carries one of the few weapons that is not tarnished in anyway.
Begrudgingly, the drow has been allowed to come with all of you because he was encaged in the slave pens. You had no idea who was in the cage until he was already out. For now, it seems the group is weary of the drow, but recognize they need strength in order to survive, but otherwise there are always a round of men from the village that keep a close eye on the drow for fear he may turn out to be just like the rest of his kin or worse.
Khessa, please describe your character's appearance and what she is doing right now. If you would like to interact with any NPCs, you need only walk up and speak to them.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
(Jewelry apart, Khessa would look like the woman in the center of this beautiful cover - cover of a beautiful D&D book, by the way)
Blue eyes that sparkle with determination. This is the first thing that strikes anyone of the refugees who find themselves looking at Khessa. Khessa Cabbagefield, the eldest daughter of the Cabbagefield family, who have been cabbage farmers for generations, no longer looks like a captured and enslaved commoner.
Seeing the self-confidence with which the tall, tanned woman moves on her long legs, no one would say that she is an inexperienced and frightened twenty-year-old paesant. Indeed, she almost looks like a real warrior, with the chain mail she wears (stolen when she escaped) and the greatsword she wields (the same weapon with which one of the drow slavers, the brutal Zrutt, had killed Anator, her brother - that weapon will never be needed again by the original owner). But it is that light in her eyes that is most striking - as if a fire burned deep within them, a flame that provides her strengths and resources that she did not even know she had before.
Despite everything she went through, she managed not to break down. She had the audacity and the cleverness to prepare an escape plan. And now, there she is; not only did she manage to escape, but she also freed several other prisoners. And she intends to bring them out. Life without freedom is not life.
'I am Khessa and I am free as the blowing wind' thinks the woman, as she pulls her long wavy blonde hair away from her forehead and examines the fugitives one by one. 'I will return to the surface. Out of here. And I'll take you all with me, people, whatever it takes'.
Examining the house in the light of one of the few torches she could steal in the course of her escape, Khessa decides: "The three beds are too few for us; they will be more useful if we tear them apart and make torches out of them. Torches will help us to get out. Plus, one can use them as improvised weapons, if needed".
Another weapon she got hold of while fleeing is a mighty maul, which the drow may have stolen from some soldier who had had the misfortune to meet them. She brandishes it with both hands, she smashes the beds unceremoniously, then she tears sheets apart and she passes pieces of wood and shreds of sheets to all the refugees who seem able to take part in that simple work: "I rely on you" she smiles at them. "Try to get some torches out of this. They'll help us get out."
'And focusing on this' DOES NOT say Khessa 'will help distract you from your fears. Unfortunately quite justified'.
She speaks naturally, not as if she were in command; she has become accustomed to the fact that refugees tend to try to do what she asks. Was it because she was the one who set them free? Is it because she seems to be so self-confident? Khessa doesn't even wonder. She has taken on the role (and responsibility) of bringing them to safety almost without even realizing it. But she is keen to succeed.
She approaches Clara, who she barely knows, but who, as she seems to her, is doing a great job: "Hi Clara" she gently places a hand on her shoulder. "How are the wounded? Will they be able to walk a few more hours? We have managed to go up a lot... and we have also found this small settlement. The surface shouldn't be far. Take care of them as best you can, okay? And find a moment to rest too, if you are tired. What you do for us is priceless. Try to conserve enough strength" fondly caresses her cheek "to be able to continue doing it, okay? I..."
'... I will lie down on the ground and sleep for three straight days' Khessa would like to complete the sentence.
Instead, she chooses to say: "...I'll try to explore the surroundings and look for a way that allows us to go up even more".
She then approaches the drow. She would like to look at him with compassion... after all, even though drow, he was also a prisoner, a slave... but her expression is a little harsher and more suspicious than she herself would like: "I'll need your help too. We will all have to help each other to get out of here. Let's start by introducing ourselves: my name is Khessa" reluctantly holds out her hand "and yours? What's your name?"
'We really all have to cooperate,' Khessa thinks. 'I have to start getting him to do something useful with someone. This will strengthen our mutual trust. And I also know what to make him do and with whom'.
The sudden destruction of the beds cause some alarm from the other survivors, but rather than chide Khessa, they join her in the dismantling. Some of the survivors seem thankful for the makeshift weapons, though others seem even more quiet somehow. Angry faces look up at her, but say nothing and do nothing. They continue to sit against the walls in stoic or fearful silence.
"I don't think they will be able to move for some hours. So many of these people are weak from hunger and the lashing some of them received from the drow." Clara responds. When she speaks of the drow, her voice is laced with venom. She steals a glance at the very drow that has accompanied you all. She is a woman possibly in her late 20s you would guess, and human like you. Her brown hair clings to her head, damp with sweat. You see that she has beads of sweat on her brow. Without asking you first, she grabs some of the pieces of cloth you tore up from the bed. No doubt she plans to use them as bandages. "You should rest as well. That fighting spirit you feel, it will dwindle. If you aren't careful, you may be my next patient." Clara smiles and returns to her work.
The drow man was gazing out the window across the room from him, but his eyes do not seem to be focused. Once you address him specifically and introduce yourself, he is slow to speak at first. He spends a moment in silence studying your face and your body. He seems to be sizing you up. Once he does speak, his voice is rich like chocolate and his manner of speech refined like you imagined a noble from a city might sound. "My dear, are you speaking to me? And here I thought I'd be without any chatter for another few days..." He seems pleasantly surprised judging by the expression on his face. You think back and realize the only 'conversation' this drow man has experienced since the escape consisted mostly of humans giving him orders or the grunts and groans of battle. "Miss Khessa, it is a pleasure to have your name. Aster, at your humble service..."
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
Khessa is confused by the drow's courtesy, as well as by the fact that his voice is so pleasant. She almost expected...
'Yeah, what was I expecting?' she thinks 'That he attacked me? That he spoke to me with hate? That he mocked and humiliated me like those who held prisoner me... as well as him?! I have to put aside the mistrust... at least for now. If I don't do it first, how will others do it? And we need to do it... We need to trust each other in order to collaborate. And to come out alive'.
So she smiles at him and claps him on the shoulder: "Aster, you're a dear boy, but no one has ever called me 'miss', so you don't need to start doing that. I'm just Khessa. And you are by no means 'at my service'; here none of us are more servants than anyone... fortunately! We will only try to work together to get out of here and reach a not too dangerous place where we can start a new life, okay? We help each other to the best of our ability".
"Speaking of abilities, I think there is a way you can now make yourself very useful! You and..." Khessa turns a moment to the tiefling and outcast from Twardens, her village, calling it near with a broad arm gesture "... my friend Song!" she introduces him, as soon as he approaches "Song, this is Aster, a runaway ex-slave like us. Aster, this is Song, a runaway ex-slave like us. Since we are all ex-runaway slaves here, it's good that we put aside any other differences and work together. I know that both of you are perfectly capable of seeing in the dark. The injured will need to rest for a few hours. During this time, I will try to explore the surroundings to find a way that let us continue to the surface. You two, however, will cooperate, help each other, in exploring this building. There is a forge, so my hope is that there may be some metal artifacts left. Maybe a weapon or an armor. Or that someone may have left something useful. I don't know... dry rations? Or a note, a map? That would perhaps be even better... any clue as to which direction to take could be valuable. And you two, who see perfectly well in the dark, have a very good chance of seeing details that might escape those who, like me, would be forced to strain their eyes in the uncertain light of a torch. I count on you," her blue eyes are fixed now in those of one, now in those of the other "okay?" then she smiles "I hope to be able to come back soon with good news".
'Or, at the very least, to be able to return' does NOT say aloud Khessa.
After that, with a torch in hand, Khessa exits the building, beginning to explore outside as she said. She starts by trying to walk around the perimeter of the settlement and examine the entry and exit routes, paying attention to signs of passage (signs left over time by wheels of wagons or heavy vehicles? Or by any horseshoes or similar?) and trying to evaluate if, holding the torch still, the flame seems to move slightly in some direction (indicating an air flow, potentially towards the surface).
The drow and tiefling both eye each other suspiciously as Khessa leaves. It will be a wonder if they work together or not.
Once outside, Khessa hears the moaning and groaning of the creatures that attacked her and the escapees. The sounds grow somewhat louder with each passing minute. No doubt this will not be a safe place to be out in the open for long.
Khessa, make a perception check and survival check both, please.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
Perception : 8
Survival : 5
Khessa stays in the same area as the house that homes the escapees currently as the next set of events do not allow her to stray far. This settlement features paved roads and other attempts to keep the ground level, but these efforts have degraded over time. She notices that there are a few tunnels that may lead elsewhere after her evaluation for wheel tracks or other tracks of any kind fail. Before she can reach these tunnels, she is halted as the inhuman sounds are upon her. She has enough time to duck behind a building, but she spots strange, human-like creatures that stand at about 2 feet tall. There appear to be about 7 of these wretches walking together en masse like a wave of moving flesh.
These are the very creatures the escapees escaped from only an hour ago. It would appear they are on the prowl for more victims. What will Khessa try to do?
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
'Seven against one would be an uneven fight...' Khessa thinks 'And I certainly can't lead these monsters into the house where our wounded are hidden! Will there be any way to even the odds? Or to send them on a red herring?'
Khessa tries to quickly look around trying to spot one of these two things.
Either a particularly unsafe building or wall, which can easily collapse (and bury those who cannot move away in time) if hit with particular violence, such as with her maul...
...Or an object that can roll if thrown down one of the corridors, such as an abandoned wheel or something like that.
In case Perception and/or Investigation are needed:
Perception: 16
Investigation: 6
'Or a ravine' Khessa also thinks. 'That also could work, to fool them. I think I could lead them to think we descended'.
So she also tries to spot a ravine, if she can't find an unsafe building or an abandoned wheel.
(OOC: We can keep the rolls above, I think? She is simply looking for three possible things instead of two... But if you prefer a separate roll for this last idea of hers just tell and I roll)
In case another roll is preferred looking for a ravine
(will I finally be able to avoid the infamous manipulate tag!?!?!? Last time I DID NOT EVEN edit the post! It was BORN manipulated!)
Perception: 13
If Khessa does not spot anything of her interest, she will simply enter one of the buildings, both to avoid getting discovered and to see if she can find anything useful.
There does indeed seem to be a wall that could crumble and deal some damage to the mob of strange little zombie-like creatures, but you would need to have perfect timing. If you are committing to this course of action, I will need a DEX CHECK.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
Khessa quickly tries to assess if the wall, by crumbling, would hit all of them or only some. And also... deal some damage would be great, but would it also bury them? She is looking for a way to get rid of them; so damaging them but leaving them able to chase her (or even worse the other fugitives) would be less appealing...
The wall would hit them, but there is no way of knowing how it will crumble. No way to tell how many would be hit. However, they would definitely not get buried.
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
'I can cause some harm, if i get the right timing and make that wall collapse on them... but I'm not especially good with timing... plus, I wouldn't get rid of them for sure, the wall would not bury them anyway' reflects Khessa. 'So, they will chase me. And then? Maybe I could outrun them. After all, we outrun them before, when the wounded were with us. I alone should be quite able to. But then? They'll most likely start searching... And our wounded need some hour of rest... It is a lot of time! And if these monsters find them... No, I can not allow this. My only chance would be for me to outrun them so badly to fool them. Let them see me fleeing in direction of an exit of the settlement. Then run out of their sight. Then run a circle to come back to the settlement and to the others. Would it be possible?'
Khessa tries to estimate how fast the monsters can move. She already thinks she can outrun them. But by how much? In a run of, let's say, a minute, how much advantage she could gain? Meters? Tens of meters? Hundreds of meters?
She also tries to infere something from the monsters. During the chase, they sounded 'so inhuman yet sad'. This sadness... Is there any obvious cause of physical suffering in these monsters? I don't know, something like sores, wounds ... Or is it more likely that it is an internal torment?
And how smart do they look? Do they seem moved by their own will or do they move more automatically, like constructs or undead doing someone else's will?
Please make an insight check!
DM: Adventures in Phandalin [Khessa], The Dread of Strahd [Darya], Dragons of Stormwreck Isle [Rook], Baldur's Gate Mysteries [4-Player]
Player: Oona in MO's Icewind Dale
Ru's Current Status
'I wonder if these wretched creatures were sent to us on our trail by the drow slavers...' shivers Khessa 'Zer'lan, the drow wizard, maybe could have done it. But he can't anymore, I'm pretty sure!'
And how sure she is... She remembers the scene as if it had just happened. She entering his tent with her hands tied, pretending to have been sent by Zrutt (the big brutish drow that had killed Anator, her brother), something he had done already in the past. The drow wizard who looks at her with contempt, hissing to her face: "What was that big idiot thinking !? Did he send you here without even getting you cleaned up first? You smell like... GURG!"
And no, GURG was not some particularly smelly substance. GURG was the muffled gurgling the wizard managed to emit as she suddenly pulled the ropes from her wrists (she was NOT bound, in fact!) and wrapped them around his neck. Twisting them.
Zer'lan... so powerful in magic... but not physically. Getting his hands to the rope or her wrists didn't help him. And in an instant he had collapsed. Khessa had kept to strangle him for some more time. She had time to kill. She had to give the impression to the drow outside the tent that he was having a good time with her, after all... although, for this one time, the pleasure of their company had been all hers!
So no, Zer'lan no...
'But Xen'farya? Maybe she could have done it...'
Yes, Xen'farya, the priestess of Lolth leading the expedition. Maybe she would be able to. During her escape, Khessa had caught her off guard and ripped her sacred symbol from her neck. And she had thrown it into a ravine. And as soon as Xen'farya, horrified, had approached the ravine to see if her precious heirloom was recoverable... Khessa had reversed her course, charging her unexpectedly and pushing her into the ravine too. But Khessa had not been able to ascertain the final fate of the other... she had had to take advantage of the chaos of the situation to complete her escape. If Xen'farya was still alive, perhaps she could have sent those creatures on their trail...
'Or maybe those creatures have nothing to do with the drow slavers, after all. Not that it matters too much, since they are trying to kill us anyway'.