These are the first words that Eylf has heard spoken in days, and she can't tell where they are coming from. The forest is still - well, except for the black mud or ooze or whatever it is that's creating little puffs of smoke from the forest floor. These words, urgently spoken but from a distance, are coming from about the same direction as the screech she heard only moments ago, and what stopped her in the first place.
Looking about she called back, " I wasn't planning on it!"
" What is it? Uh....and where are you?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
Athene remained out of sight behind a nearby tree. The elf kept her bow at the ready, arrow nocked. She weighed her words carefully. Talk too much, and she might reveal her position. 'Silence is life.' She mentally repeated her training mantra.
"The Blight. Deadly to the touch." She let her pause hang in the air. "You're trespassing. What is your business?"
Eylfs stub of a tail flicked back and forth beneath her cloak, she drew herself up to full height and hissed hoping to at least look scary enough not to eat.....assuming the invisible thing was the kind of thing that ate folks....
" I'm.............fine...........I'm lost."
She span her fingers and the faintest strains of a nursery ryhme tune played across the branches...
Athene chanced a peek at the stranger. She watched as the reptilian human hissed and puffed herself up. "I'm not trying tofight. I'm tracking the mold. What about you? Why are you here?"She waits for an opportunity to move unseen to a new hiding place, closer to the outsider.
Athene chanced a peek at the stranger. She watched as the reptilian human hissed and puffed herself up. "I'm not trying tofight. I'm tracking the mold. What about you? Why are you here?"She waits for an opportunity to move unseen to a new hiding place, closer to the outsider.
" I was sent by the Academy.....sorry.....uh....where are you?"
Athene considered her options. By custom, the Vaelahryn avoided being seen on patrol. She had already broken with her training by speaking with the intruder. If this stranger meant harm, Athene would have a much better chance of dealing with her by striking from the shadows. But something told her this wasn't the case. Not all outsiders were untrustworthy. Right?
Athene silently stepped into the edge of the clearing behind the dragonborn. She held her bow and arrow in hand, ready to draw and aim if needed. She didn't point it at the stranger. No need to threaten a potential ally. "Where were you going?"
Seeing an outsider smile at her felt odd. Especially one that looked so predatory. Athene let her features soften. She let a moment hang between them, and then, sensing no hostile intent, placed her arrow back into her quiver. "Kindermarsh is nearby," she said. "I'll show you the path. Were you making that sound earlier?"
Seeing an outsider smile at her felt odd. Especially one that looked so predatory. Athene let her features soften. She let a moment hang between them, and then, sensing no hostile intent, placed her arrow back into her quiver. "Kindermarsh is nearby," she said. "I'll show you the path. Were you making that sound earlier?"
Eylf relaxed as well, " The music? It keeps me from stressing out too much......its one of the few nice things I remember from my childhood..."
" Thankyou SO much! I haven't really left the Academy before so this whole navigation thing is kind of........hard....."
" Sorry for babbling.....I haven't had much conversation.......................lately.......well, ever. But especially lately....unless trees count..."
Athene glanced around the shoreline, paying little heed to the torrent of words coming from the outsider. The sheer number of words rankled her. This was more than she would hear in a week normally! "Not singing. Wailing. Screeching. A sound of pain." Her guard was up, her hand reached back for an arrow. She turned her gaze back to the dragonborn. "Did you hear it?"
Almost on queue, the sound again. It is equidistant between you but in order for you to get to it, you will need to pick your way through the mire, choosing a careful path or come into contact with the blight.
Eylf has not had any contact with it yet--so does not know how scared she should be. But Athene has seen its impact: of the birds that accidentally flutter down on it and then bring their talons, dripping with the stuff, back to their nests where it starts to fester there too--eating through the nest like an acid, inch by inch, day by day, until the nest and everything in it is gone. The bird, having flown away days ago, the pain in her talons relentless and maddening, finds that the stuff is now on her tummy, and she she flies herself into the lake, crazy with pain. The ooze spreads into the water, eats whatever organisms and bacteria it can before the lake takes it--but the lake struggles against such a small insignificant thing. Why doesn't it dissolve? It defies the laws of nature. It is neither an oil or nor a water, but something other.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
Athene moves cautiously towards the sound. She's always mindful of her feet, carefully choosing spots that don't look contaminated. At times she takes a stick and prods the ground ahead of her to make sure it's safe. "The Blight corrupts everything it touches. Watch your step."
Eylfyou are about to jump across to where you can easily see the green/brown of a normal (if wet) forest floor but you stop. It's too hard to see. Your choices are to either go left or right from where you are, as shown here.
(OOC Note that you are represented by the white square and that each square around you is 5 feet. The green space is "safe" and the black space represents the mold. I think 5 feet of visibility in all directions is appropriate visibility given the light conditions but I am the kind of DM who loves to think about rules and logic etc, so please feel free to present a case.)
Eylf, note further that to the right of you is basically where the shoreline is, and to the left is deeper in the forest.
Atheneyou have been a little more careful with your placement in the forest, given your familiarity with this terrain and with the mold, and so it is ahead of you as opposed to surrounding you. Here is what you see. Note that in your case, and for what it's worth, the shore is to your left.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
OOC To simplify gameplay, I am going to put you in initiative order. Given the uneven path (not to mention the danger) of the mold and your limited view, I think you can clear no more than 5 feet at a time safely but I will allow you to move 10 feet at a time if you wish--it just means you're going in basically blind. Please start your turn by telling me whether you wish to move 5 or 10 feet, and then finish your turn with the check of your choice. The check will be resolved at the top of your next turn, as will any consequences to your movement (if any).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(OOC Note that you are represented by the white square and that each square around you is 5 feet. The green space is "safe" and the black space represents the mold. I think 5 feet of visibility in all directions is appropriate visibility given the light conditions but I am the kind of DM who loves to think about rules and logic etc, so please feel free to present a case.)
As a wood elf, Athene has darkvision to 60 feet. She also has Forest listed as her favored terrain from her ranger class features and oozes listed as her favored enemy (not sure if mold counts as an ooze).
Good point, I will give you 10 feet of vision-assisted movement, with a possible 15 that won't be based on vision. I also forgot to mention that you Athene is represented by a blue box. New visual is here
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
Eylfyou carefully pick your way across a couple of feet, seemingly away from the creature making the sounds, but you figure it's the only way to get to it safely. The path ahead seems quite clear except for one spot of mold which means you will have to roll another acrobatics check to ensure you are able to keep your feet and tail away from it. (How long is your tail anyway?)
New map is here (note that I am including not only the area of your current view but also what you were able to see the turn before in case you need to circle back.)
Atheneyour situation is a little more precarious as you can see that a tiny thread of the stuff is running a rivulet within two feet of completely saturated territory. Your footing takes up all of the space between both sides of the mold and if you continue in this direction it will continue to be narrow, therefore tricky. You will need to roll acrobatics as well regardless of which way you proceed. And, just in case this wasn't clear, the noise is coming ahead of you and to your left (so in the direction of the shoreline, but not quite at the shoreline). Your map is here...
...and to help you get a vague sense of direction, the (very rudimentary) aerial map is here. You are dealing with trees, some alive, some dying, some dead. The red arrows depict the direction you should be navigating in (though your road will be quite windy as you pick a clear enough path). Athene, you are coming from the top and Eylfyou are coming up from the bottom.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Don't touch that! It's dangerous!
These are the first words that Eylf has heard spoken in days, and she can't tell where they are coming from. The forest is still - well, except for the black mud or ooze or whatever it is that's creating little puffs of smoke from the forest floor. These words, urgently spoken but from a distance, are coming from about the same direction as the screech she heard only moments ago, and what stopped her in the first place.
Looking about she called back, " I wasn't planning on it!"
" What is it? Uh....and where are you?"
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
Athene remained out of sight behind a nearby tree. The elf kept her bow at the ready, arrow nocked. She weighed her words carefully. Talk too much, and she might reveal her position. 'Silence is life.' She mentally repeated her training mantra.
"The Blight. Deadly to the touch." She let her pause hang in the air. "You're trespassing. What is your business?"
Real Life Healbot
Eylfs stub of a tail flicked back and forth beneath her cloak, she drew herself up to full height and hissed hoping to at least look scary enough not to eat.....assuming the invisible thing was the kind of thing that ate folks....
" I'm.............fine...........I'm lost."
She span her fingers and the faintest strains of a nursery ryhme tune played across the branches...
Athene chanced a peek at the stranger. She watched as the reptilian human hissed and puffed herself up. "I'm not trying to fight. I'm tracking the mold. What about you? Why are you here?" She waits for an opportunity to move unseen to a new hiding place, closer to the outsider.
Real Life Healbot
" I was sent by the Academy.....sorry.....uh....where are you?"
Eylf squatted down on her haunches and sighed.
Athene considered her options. By custom, the Vaelahryn avoided being seen on patrol. She had already broken with her training by speaking with the intruder. If this stranger meant harm, Athene would have a much better chance of dealing with her by striking from the shadows. But something told her this wasn't the case. Not all outsiders were untrustworthy. Right?
Athene silently stepped into the edge of the clearing behind the dragonborn. She held her bow and arrow in hand, ready to draw and aim if needed. She didn't point it at the stranger. No need to threaten a potential ally. "Where were you going?"
Real Life Healbot
Eylf smiled toothily when the elf? appeared...she was never quite sure what the exact differences were between most of the soft-skin folks...
" Kindermarsh....I'm headed to Kindermarsh."
" I'm supposed to meet some people there. From the Academy."
Link to Character Pic: https://www.heroforge.com/load_config=508186483/
Seeing an outsider smile at her felt odd. Especially one that looked so predatory. Athene let her features soften. She let a moment hang between them, and then, sensing no hostile intent, placed her arrow back into her quiver. "Kindermarsh is nearby," she said. "I'll show you the path. Were you making that sound earlier?"
Real Life Healbot
Eylf relaxed as well, " The music? It keeps me from stressing out too much......its one of the few nice things I remember from my childhood..."
" Thankyou SO much! I haven't really left the Academy before so this whole navigation thing is kind of........hard....."
" Sorry for babbling.....I haven't had much conversation.......................lately.......well, ever. But especially lately....unless trees count..."
Athene glanced around the shoreline, paying little heed to the torrent of words coming from the outsider. The sheer number of words rankled her. This was more than she would hear in a week normally! "Not singing. Wailing. Screeching. A sound of pain." Her guard was up, her hand reached back for an arrow. She turned her gaze back to the dragonborn. "Did you hear it?"
Real Life Healbot
Almost on queue, the sound again. It is equidistant between you but in order for you to get to it, you will need to pick your way through the mire, choosing a careful path or come into contact with the blight.
Eylf has not had any contact with it yet--so does not know how scared she should be. But Athene has seen its impact: of the birds that accidentally flutter down on it and then bring their talons, dripping with the stuff, back to their nests where it starts to fester there too--eating through the nest like an acid, inch by inch, day by day, until the nest and everything in it is gone. The bird, having flown away days ago, the pain in her talons relentless and maddening, finds that the stuff is now on her tummy, and she she flies herself into the lake, crazy with pain. The ooze spreads into the water, eats whatever organisms and bacteria it can before the lake takes it--but the lake struggles against such a small insignificant thing. Why doesn't it dissolve? It defies the laws of nature. It is neither an oil or nor a water, but something other.
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
" Oh! That wasn't you?"
" Lets find it."
Eylf did her best to step over and around the muck as she headed towards the sound.
Acrobatics: 18
Athene moves cautiously towards the sound. She's always mindful of her feet, carefully choosing spots that don't look contaminated. At times she takes a stick and prods the ground ahead of her to make sure it's safe. "The Blight corrupts everything it touches. Watch your step."
Perception: 12
Real Life Healbot
Eylf you are about to jump across to where you can easily see the green/brown of a normal (if wet) forest floor but you stop. It's too hard to see. Your choices are to either go left or right from where you are, as shown here.
(OOC Note that you are represented by the white square and that each square around you is 5 feet. The green space is "safe" and the black space represents the mold. I think 5 feet of visibility in all directions is appropriate visibility given the light conditions but I am the kind of DM who loves to think about rules and logic etc, so please feel free to present a case.)
Eylf, note further that to the right of you is basically where the shoreline is, and to the left is deeper in the forest.
Athene you have been a little more careful with your placement in the forest, given your familiarity with this terrain and with the mold, and so it is ahead of you as opposed to surrounding you. Here is what you see. Note that in your case, and for what it's worth, the shore is to your left.
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
OOC To simplify gameplay, I am going to put you in initiative order. Given the uneven path (not to mention the danger) of the mold and your limited view, I think you can clear no more than 5 feet at a time safely but I will allow you to move 10 feet at a time if you wish--it just means you're going in basically blind. Please start your turn by telling me whether you wish to move 5 or 10 feet, and then finish your turn with the check of your choice. The check will be resolved at the top of your next turn, as will any consequences to your movement (if any).
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
As a wood elf, Athene has darkvision to 60 feet. She also has Forest listed as her favored terrain from her ranger class features and oozes listed as her favored enemy (not sure if mold counts as an ooze).
Initiative: 17
Real Life Healbot
Good point, I will give you 10 feet of vision-assisted movement, with a possible 15 that won't be based on vision. I also forgot to mention that you Athene is represented by a blue box. New visual is here
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle
Eylf headed to her left picking her way southwest ( assuming north is at the top of the image) as carefully as she could.
Acrobatics: 12
Athene moves two squares to her right, away from the shoreline
Perception: 23
Real Life Healbot
Eylf you carefully pick your way across a couple of feet, seemingly away from the creature making the sounds, but you figure it's the only way to get to it safely. The path ahead seems quite clear except for one spot of mold which means you will have to roll another acrobatics check to ensure you are able to keep your feet and tail away from it. (How long is your tail anyway?)
New map is here (note that I am including not only the area of your current view but also what you were able to see the turn before in case you need to circle back.)
Athene your situation is a little more precarious as you can see that a tiny thread of the stuff is running a rivulet within two feet of completely saturated territory. Your footing takes up all of the space between both sides of the mold and if you continue in this direction it will continue to be narrow, therefore tricky. You will need to roll acrobatics as well regardless of which way you proceed. And, just in case this wasn't clear, the noise is coming ahead of you and to your left (so in the direction of the shoreline, but not quite at the shoreline). Your map is here...
...and to help you get a vague sense of direction, the (very rudimentary) aerial map is here. You are dealing with trees, some alive, some dying, some dead. The red arrows depict the direction you should be navigating in (though your road will be quite windy as you pick a clear enough path). Athene, you are coming from the top and Eylf you are coming up from the bottom.
GM & Wild Envisioner for the Kingdom of the Four Gospels
GM for Waterdeep Dragon Heist
Playing:
Kethra Moonraven / Human socialite and occasional Sorceress if you piss her off in Sri Raji, the Barovia of the jungle