This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Katryl also whispers to Sylas, "Our equipment is in the tower closest the cell."
When the time comes, Katryl is trying to scrub the floor. Near at hand is a small display table with a couple of very small statues on it. Standing, she makes a large show of slipping and yelling out loudly. She launches her body right into the table to topple it over. For good measure, she tries to tip over the bucket she was using as well.
While you manage to slip up the rope stairs the commotion caused attracts several other guards. You have only a scant minute to look on the upper level before the guards come in to see what's going on. What do you do?
Meanwhile, completely unaware of how much Silas intends to test her goddess, Khessa thinks back to the imposing waterfall and the waters of the underground river she glimpsed beneath the drow outpost.
'We'll probably have to dive in there to escape... and at least I'll get rid of all this filth I'm feeling on! Being deprived of liberty is the worst thing ever. But also not being able to take a real bath... Sometimes it seems to me that Traydark looks at me with appreciation; I wonder how he does it, given the condition I'm in... Maybe' the blonde warrior forces herself to smile 'is that my skin is so dirty it's turning black like his?'
And a little relieved from having joked at least with herself, she resumes refining her ideas about her escape, waiting to be able to share them with others.
While waiting for everyone to be back at the prison cave, Traydark leans over to Khessa, speaking softly for her ears only. "I'm afraid my assessment of the orc, the fungus and the fish is that they could all be liablities during our escape, the only contribution we could expect is the orc to be goaded into fighting off the guards while we make our escape."He says softly, watching closely for the blonde's reaction. You realize there is no intended derisiveness with the drow's words, simply the words of one brought up knowing drow were born to rule the underdark. "As far as I can tell the only fast way out of here is diving into the water below us but apparantly there is some slimy monster down there to watch out for." He finishes his brief report quietly to the tall and somewhat dirty blonde. There were some human slaves at Menzoberranzan but none who made it into the service of house Duskryn. It was quite exotic seeing her blonde hair and he considered himself fortunate to have at least someone who weren't about to stab him in the back as soon as they made their way out of this drow outpost. He'd better stay close and on her good side. The way she took command fascinated him, he didn't expect that from a female of other races than his own, she would make an excellent matriarch should she been born a drow, he smiled to himself.
At the end of his shift, when back in the cell, Ebzer will share with the others that the guards seem to be very disciplined, and that he saw no obvious flaws or weak spots in their captors' routine. "If'n we makes a break for it, 'twon't be easy. Our best hope is some sorta distraction, but it would hafta be somethin' big."
"Of course there are no obvious flaws, they are drow."Traydark says somewhat haughtily to the duergar. "But we will find some not so obvious flaws in time." He adds quickly, seemingly trying to hide behind Khessa. As Ebzer mentions a big distraction the drow glances over at Ront with a wry smile. "That we can take care of I think."
Silas specifically tries to understand the layout of the room, where the prisoners' items might be, and to see if there is anything useful he can nick. Then he'll try to slip back down unnoticed while the distraction continues.
While waiting for everyone to be back at the prison cave, Traydark leans over to Khessa, speaking softly for her ears only. "I'm afraid my assessment of the orc, the fungus and the fish is that they could all be liablities during our escape, the only contribution we could expect is the orc to be goaded into fighting off the guards while we make our escape."He says softly, watching closely for the blonde's reaction. You realize there is no intended derisiveness with the drow's words, simply the words of one brought up knowing drow were born to rule the underdark. "As far as I can tell the only fast way out of here is diving into the water below us but apparantly there is some slimy monster down there to watch out for." ...
As Traydark speaks, Khessa seems increasingly concerned. When the drow is done, the bonde warrior struggles with her chains to be able to put a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring way, but her blue eyes look at him steadily: "Traydark, I know that you drow are smart and calculating, so I am grateful to you for exposing your doubts about some of the other prisoners; I am convinced they are well founded doubts. However," she sighs "I would rather give everyone a chance to escape with us. And I certainly would rather not 'use' anyone as you are suggesting to do with the orc. And mind," she does her best to clarify "this not only because I am a non-drow, therefore a deluded sweet-hearted member of an inferior race. But also because in the difficult situation in which we are, we must exploit every possible advantage. Such as our number - when we will strike to free ourselves, the more we will be the better. And as our cohesion - each one of us must be able to rely on others without fear of being cheated or betrayed".
"Just think about it:" the tall adventurer's voice vibrates with conviction "what if someone, fearing a deception, does not carry out some fundamental part of the plan... it would be a problem for everyone, woundn't it? And more, what if, once we escaped from here, everyone begins to feel authorized to betray, oppose or kill members of the group that they don't like? How many possibilities do you think you would have in such a scenario?"
The blue-eyed woman gives the interlocutor a moment to understand the implications, then goes on: "So, no, not only for ours, but also for your own sake, I would suggest that we all commit ourselves to the utmost loyalty among ourselves. In time, we will of course remove or abandon those who prove to be a danger to us, but the others we will try to bring them to safety with us. Because in this way we will all have a better chance of reaching salvation".
"As far as diving into the water below is concerned, it is precisely the way I too had thought of to escape for good," Khessa smiles, delighted that they independently had the same idea - so there's a better chance it's a good idea "as soon as we have recovered our things and left a good memory of us here at the outpost. I did not know anything about this 'slimy monster' of you say;" the blonde warrior is surprised "but I think this is still the safest way. Perhaps if we throw some drow guard corps into the water before we dive, the monster will prefer to eat a motionless and helpless meal, rather than wait for meals capable of trying to escape or defend themselves".
At the end of his shift, when back in the cell, Ebzer will share with the others that the guards seem to be very disciplined, and that he saw no obvious flaws or weak spots in their captors' routine. "If'n we makes a break for it, 'twon't be easy. Our best hope is some sorta distraction, but it would hafta be somethin' big."
"Of course there are no obvious flaws, they are drow."Traydark says somewhat haughtily to the duergar. "But we will find some not so obvious flaws in time." He adds quickly, seemingly trying to hide behind Khessa. As Ebzer mentions a big distraction the drow glances over at Ront with a wry smile. "That we can take care of I think."
"I'm sure that, if I try a little, I can find some 'flaw' in the drow too..." Khessa smiles askew, fitting into the speech between Traydark and Ebzer "... such as being too self-confident, too convinced of always being the best. When instead, with a little commitment, a poor prisoner can manage to hide under their nose and bring to the cell..." the blonde warrior briefly shows the fork stolen in the kitchens "... this one! Which may not seem a great thing, granted, but I hope that Katryl, when she returns, will be able to use it, perhaps with some modifications, to pick the locks. If she can free us from the chains and also open the cell door, while there are only a few guards in the tower who do not suspect anything, it will be easy to surprise them. And overpower them, since we will outnumber them and we will able to use our unlocked chains as improvised weapons (or our magical powers, if somebody has... out of the cell magic works)".
"However, as soon as we are all there we can work out the details" waits for all to return the tall adventurer. "We can probably try to escape tonight".
The noble drow does not flinch this time as Khessa puts her hand on his shoulder. Matriarchs most often used their whips to get their point across. How could the blonde human possibly hope to make this work with such a motley group of lesser beings. It would only take one of them to falter to make them all perish, maybe not even being able to make it down to the water far below. "This is not the way of the drow, but I will follow you Khessa. I can only hope you will prove me wrong and that we can make this work, taking everyone." He says softly into the blonde's ear, laying an slender affirming hand on hers. His purple eyes widen as Khessa reveals what she stole. "Well, house Mizzrym has obviously not the strict routines and tight security I expected." He says with a scoff. "Katryl would need to be skillful indeed if she are to pick all our locks with a fork though." He adds with a quick chuckle. "You've done well though Khessa, really well." He adds quickly.
Observing the human female and the drow whispering together, Ebzer rolls his eyes. She is clearly being bewitched by some sort of dark magic. Can't she see how he is manipulating her? Well, I tried to warn her... maybe she will see through the trickery before it's too late. As soon as we escape, I'm leaving these fools anyway. I do better on my own, don't need all these others getting in my way...
Khessa can't help but notice that once again, when she put her hand on Traydark's shoulder, he responded by leaning his on hers. And also that, despite the fact that what she proposes is actually quite 'undrowish', he is willing to follow her.
'Is he really different from the other drow, from the worshipers of Lolth?' thinks to herself the blonde warrior 'For sure, he has something different... I feel it with my feminine instinct... He seems willing to try to behave differently, after all... I wonder if he could...' but she doesn't know how to continue the thought, exactly. 'Could' what?
However, the tall adventurer can't help but appreciate him and she smiles gratefully: "Thanks Traydark for the trust you place in me. I guess it's not easy for you! I'll do everything to make sure you don't regret it".
The drow's purple eyes glares back at the duergar. He sincerely hoped the blonde human could convince the deep dwarf too that they should all put their differences aside, at least until they reached safety.
"I don't really see I have much choice than to put my trust in you Khessa, seeing the others would likely kill me as soon as we reach the tunnels of the underdark. I don't know if you ever walked the underdark but believe me when I say, getting out of these shackles is only the beginning of our trials." The dark elf said grimly, glancing around the prison cave at the non-drow around him. Trust? There wasn't even a word for that in the language of the drow, an alien concept of the gullible lesser races to be exploited by those who knew how to do that. How could there be any other way?
Silas specifically tries to understand the layout of the room, where the prisoners' items might be, and to see if there is anything useful he can nick. Then he'll try to slip back down unnoticed while the distraction continues.
While getting up without being noticed and checking things quickly is in your favor, sadly in the rush you weren't able to find the box that holds the prisoner's things before needing to get back down by the time the guards show up. While the guards did not see what you did, the commotion did arouse their suspicions enough that they hurried you off to your cell right after.
(If there was still something you wanted to finish outside the cell feel free to add it in)
Shortly after you are all locked back in your cell, the slow shuffling feet of Jorlan is heard as he brings the bowls for your dinner. You see him cast a quick glance about before quietly whispering to whomever is closest to the door:"If I could give you a means to escape from here, would you take it?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Assuming he becomes aware of what Jorlan said, Traydark speaks to him quietly in the tongue of the drow. "What would you expect of our escape? Will it make your former mistress look unfavourably on her new lover for some reason, or might she even lose command of this outpost? We would need a way to retrieve our property if we are to play along with your little scheme." The noble drow claims, trying to secure the best terms possible for any help in their escape.
Persuasion if needed: 18
(Traydark would in fact use drow sign language if that is available in spite of getting lost in this edition of the game :-)
'I don't trust this Jorlan very much...' thinks to herself Khessa, while the two drow speak 'Traydark is probably right: that petty conspirator only wants to take revenge on Mistress Ilvara... (And as for that I wouldn't blame him)... But I think that his glory would be even greater, should he manage to kill the prisoners just escaped under the nose of the incompetent priestess... Ilvara would be discredited... We would be dead (and thus not able to reveal anything)... And he would be the one who saved the situation. If Traydark can get him to tell where our things are kept, that's great; but as far as the escape is concerned, whatever we say to him, I much prefer to go by our own strength, if possible'.
The blonde warrior, however, remains silent, consistent with the fiction she has kept up to now as a resigned and submissive slave, and lets the two drow keep speaking.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Once she and Silas are returned to their cell, she quietly asks, "What did you manage to grab?" She was kind of excited, hoping that he had at least collected a few useful items. Khessa then slipped the fork to her, suggesting she use it as make-shift lockpick. She could certainly try but doesn't have much chance to say more before Jorlan starts whispering to Traydark. With the drow close she doesn't dare to say anything and instead listens to the two. But of course, Traydark then chooses to speak in a different language. 'Probably doesn't want us to know what he's telling him. Traydark must be in league with Jorlan,'she thinks. She then looks around at the others to see if anyone appears to be understanding the words. (Insight: 19)
Katryl dependent action:
If Katryl tells Silas that she has discovered where the gear is located, then this will take place in the tower across from the cell.
If Katryl doesn't tell Silas, he will try to slip away in the tower that has the highest quality gear.
When they enter the guard post, Silas give Katryl the sign and awaits her distraction to attempt to slip away.
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
Katryl also whispers to Sylas, "Our equipment is in the tower closest the cell."
When the time comes, Katryl is trying to scrub the floor. Near at hand is a small display table with a couple of very small statues on it. Standing, she makes a large show of slipping and yelling out loudly. She launches her body right into the table to topple it over. For good measure, she tries to tip over the bucket she was using as well.
(Acrobatics: 8)
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Lokilia Vaelphin | Sabina Featherwound | Liivi Orav | Vanizi | Dirtbrain | Elielle Hillwind | Britari/Halila Talgeta/Jesa Gumovi
(Silas make a stealth check with advantage)
Stealth: 16 (game log)
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
While you manage to slip up the rope stairs the commotion caused attracts several other guards. You have only a scant minute to look on the upper level before the guards come in to see what's going on. What do you do?
Meanwhile, completely unaware of how much Silas intends to test her goddess, Khessa thinks back to the imposing waterfall and the waters of the underground river she glimpsed beneath the drow outpost.
'We'll probably have to dive in there to escape... and at least I'll get rid of all this filth I'm feeling on! Being deprived of liberty is the worst thing ever. But also not being able to take a real bath... Sometimes it seems to me that Traydark looks at me with appreciation; I wonder how he does it, given the condition I'm in... Maybe' the blonde warrior forces herself to smile 'is that my skin is so dirty it's turning black like his?'
And a little relieved from having joked at least with herself, she resumes refining her ideas about her escape, waiting to be able to share them with others.
While waiting for everyone to be back at the prison cave, Traydark leans over to Khessa, speaking softly for her ears only. "I'm afraid my assessment of the orc, the fungus and the fish is that they could all be liablities during our escape, the only contribution we could expect is the orc to be goaded into fighting off the guards while we make our escape." He says softly, watching closely for the blonde's reaction. You realize there is no intended derisiveness with the drow's words, simply the words of one brought up knowing drow were born to rule the underdark. "As far as I can tell the only fast way out of here is diving into the water below us but apparantly there is some slimy monster down there to watch out for." He finishes his brief report quietly to the tall and somewhat dirty blonde. There were some human slaves at Menzoberranzan but none who made it into the service of house Duskryn. It was quite exotic seeing her blonde hair and he considered himself fortunate to have at least someone who weren't about to stab him in the back as soon as they made their way out of this drow outpost. He'd better stay close and on her good side. The way she took command fascinated him, he didn't expect that from a female of other races than his own, she would make an excellent matriarch should she been born a drow, he smiled to himself.
At the end of his shift, when back in the cell, Ebzer will share with the others that the guards seem to be very disciplined, and that he saw no obvious flaws or weak spots in their captors' routine. "If'n we makes a break for it, 'twon't be easy. Our best hope is some sorta distraction, but it would hafta be somethin' big."
"Of course there are no obvious flaws, they are drow." Traydark says somewhat haughtily to the duergar. "But we will find some not so obvious flaws in time." He adds quickly, seemingly trying to hide behind Khessa. As Ebzer mentions a big distraction the drow glances over at Ront with a wry smile. "That we can take care of I think."
Silas specifically tries to understand the layout of the room, where the prisoners' items might be, and to see if there is anything useful he can nick. Then he'll try to slip back down unnoticed while the distraction continues.
Investigation: 2
Sleight of Hand: 25 (nat 20)
Stealth: 21
(game log, also sigh)
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
As Traydark speaks, Khessa seems increasingly concerned. When the drow is done, the bonde warrior struggles with her chains to be able to put a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring way, but her blue eyes look at him steadily: "Traydark, I know that you drow are smart and calculating, so I am grateful to you for exposing your doubts about some of the other prisoners; I am convinced they are well founded doubts. However," she sighs "I would rather give everyone a chance to escape with us. And I certainly would rather not 'use' anyone as you are suggesting to do with the orc. And mind," she does her best to clarify "this not only because I am a non-drow, therefore a deluded sweet-hearted member of an inferior race. But also because in the difficult situation in which we are, we must exploit every possible advantage. Such as our number - when we will strike to free ourselves, the more we will be the better. And as our cohesion - each one of us must be able to rely on others without fear of being cheated or betrayed".
"Just think about it:" the tall adventurer's voice vibrates with conviction "what if someone, fearing a deception, does not carry out some fundamental part of the plan... it would be a problem for everyone, woundn't it? And more, what if, once we escaped from here, everyone begins to feel authorized to betray, oppose or kill members of the group that they don't like? How many possibilities do you think you would have in such a scenario?"
The blue-eyed woman gives the interlocutor a moment to understand the implications, then goes on: "So, no, not only for ours, but also for your own sake, I would suggest that we all commit ourselves to the utmost loyalty among ourselves. In time, we will of course remove or abandon those who prove to be a danger to us, but the others we will try to bring them to safety with us. Because in this way we will all have a better chance of reaching salvation".
"As far as diving into the water below is concerned, it is precisely the way I too had thought of to escape for good," Khessa smiles, delighted that they independently had the same idea - so there's a better chance it's a good idea "as soon as we have recovered our things and left a good memory of us here at the outpost. I did not know anything about this 'slimy monster' of you say;" the blonde warrior is surprised "but I think this is still the safest way. Perhaps if we throw some drow guard corps into the water before we dive, the monster will prefer to eat a motionless and helpless meal, rather than wait for meals capable of trying to escape or defend themselves".
"I'm sure that, if I try a little, I can find some 'flaw' in the drow too..." Khessa smiles askew, fitting into the speech between Traydark and Ebzer "... such as being too self-confident, too convinced of always being the best. When instead, with a little commitment, a poor prisoner can manage to hide under their nose and bring to the cell..." the blonde warrior briefly shows the fork stolen in the kitchens "... this one! Which may not seem a great thing, granted, but I hope that Katryl, when she returns, will be able to use it, perhaps with some modifications, to pick the locks. If she can free us from the chains and also open the cell door, while there are only a few guards in the tower who do not suspect anything, it will be easy to surprise them. And overpower them, since we will outnumber them and we will able to use our unlocked chains as improvised weapons (or our magical powers, if somebody has... out of the cell magic works)".
"However, as soon as we are all there we can work out the details" waits for all to return the tall adventurer. "We can probably try to escape tonight".
The noble drow does not flinch this time as Khessa puts her hand on his shoulder. Matriarchs most often used their whips to get their point across. How could the blonde human possibly hope to make this work with such a motley group of lesser beings. It would only take one of them to falter to make them all perish, maybe not even being able to make it down to the water far below. "This is not the way of the drow, but I will follow you Khessa. I can only hope you will prove me wrong and that we can make this work, taking everyone." He says softly into the blonde's ear, laying an slender affirming hand on hers. His purple eyes widen as Khessa reveals what she stole. "Well, house Mizzrym has obviously not the strict routines and tight security I expected." He says with a scoff. "Katryl would need to be skillful indeed if she are to pick all our locks with a fork though." He adds with a quick chuckle. "You've done well though Khessa, really well." He adds quickly.
Observing the human female and the drow whispering together, Ebzer rolls his eyes. She is clearly being bewitched by some sort of dark magic. Can't she see how he is manipulating her? Well, I tried to warn her... maybe she will see through the trickery before it's too late. As soon as we escape, I'm leaving these fools anyway. I do better on my own, don't need all these others getting in my way...
Khessa can't help but notice that once again, when she put her hand on Traydark's shoulder, he responded by leaning his on hers. And also that, despite the fact that what she proposes is actually quite 'undrowish', he is willing to follow her.
'Is he really different from the other drow, from the worshipers of Lolth?' thinks to herself the blonde warrior 'For sure, he has something different... I feel it with my feminine instinct... He seems willing to try to behave differently, after all... I wonder if he could...' but she doesn't know how to continue the thought, exactly. 'Could' what?
However, the tall adventurer can't help but appreciate him and she smiles gratefully: "Thanks Traydark for the trust you place in me. I guess it's not easy for you! I'll do everything to make sure you don't regret it".
The drow's purple eyes glares back at the duergar. He sincerely hoped the blonde human could convince the deep dwarf too that they should all put their differences aside, at least until they reached safety.
"I don't really see I have much choice than to put my trust in you Khessa, seeing the others would likely kill me as soon as we reach the tunnels of the underdark. I don't know if you ever walked the underdark but believe me when I say, getting out of these shackles is only the beginning of our trials." The dark elf said grimly, glancing around the prison cave at the non-drow around him. Trust? There wasn't even a word for that in the language of the drow, an alien concept of the gullible lesser races to be exploited by those who knew how to do that. How could there be any other way?
While getting up without being noticed and checking things quickly is in your favor, sadly in the rush you weren't able to find the box that holds the prisoner's things before needing to get back down by the time the guards show up. While the guards did not see what you did, the commotion did arouse their suspicions enough that they hurried you off to your cell right after.
(If there was still something you wanted to finish outside the cell feel free to add it in)
Shortly after you are all locked back in your cell, the slow shuffling feet of Jorlan is heard as he brings the bowls for your dinner. You see him cast a quick glance about before quietly whispering to whomever is closest to the door: "If I could give you a means to escape from here, would you take it?"
Assuming he becomes aware of what Jorlan said, Traydark speaks to him quietly in the tongue of the drow. "What would you expect of our escape? Will it make your former mistress look unfavourably on her new lover for some reason, or might she even lose command of this outpost? We would need a way to retrieve our property if we are to play along with your little scheme." The noble drow claims, trying to secure the best terms possible for any help in their escape.
Persuasion if needed: 18
(Traydark would in fact use drow sign language if that is available in spite of getting lost in this edition of the game :-)
'I don't trust this Jorlan very much...' thinks to herself Khessa, while the two drow speak 'Traydark is probably right: that petty conspirator only wants to take revenge on Mistress Ilvara... (And as for that I wouldn't blame him)... But I think that his glory would be even greater, should he manage to kill the prisoners just escaped under the nose of the incompetent priestess... Ilvara would be discredited... We would be dead (and thus not able to reveal anything)... And he would be the one who saved the situation. If Traydark can get him to tell where our things are kept, that's great; but as far as the escape is concerned, whatever we say to him, I much prefer to go by our own strength, if possible'.
The blonde warrior, however, remains silent, consistent with the fiction she has kept up to now as a resigned and submissive slave, and lets the two drow keep speaking.
Once she and Silas are returned to their cell, she quietly asks, "What did you manage to grab?" She was kind of excited, hoping that he had at least collected a few useful items. Khessa then slipped the fork to her, suggesting she use it as make-shift lockpick. She could certainly try but doesn't have much chance to say more before Jorlan starts whispering to Traydark. With the drow close she doesn't dare to say anything and instead listens to the two. But of course, Traydark then chooses to speak in a different language. 'Probably doesn't want us to know what he's telling him. Traydark must be in league with Jorlan,' she thinks. She then looks around at the others to see if anyone appears to be understanding the words. (Insight: 19)
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Lokilia Vaelphin | Sabina Featherwound | Liivi Orav | Vanizi | Dirtbrain | Elielle Hillwind | Britari/Halila Talgeta/Jesa Gumovi