Zaxx's eyes light up at the thought of being ever nearer to his goal.
"Cragmaw ... at last," he whispers to Mr Skittles, who squeaks excitedly.
"Master dwarf! Perhaps we should approach closer and ascertain the strength of their numbers, as the good elf suggests, before we wade in with axe and bow, staff and fang?"
Addressing Kryinor, Zaxx asks, "What say you, druid and wolf-brother?"
"the greenskins wont give up gundren alive, if they have him they're more likely to just kill him out of spite.... A ruse is risky, while the small greenskins are stupid we have already seen that the taller more orc like ones are more than capable of military discipline..... leaving us but one option, we take Cragmaw by storm.
If we hit them hard and fast, they will be disorientated and confused, we can use that to our advantage. If Gundren is there we will save him and any other captives this so called king might have collected and then we will make certain this clan will not harm anyone else.
I will be fully fit and ready to fight by this afternoon Titus. I will prepare the appropriate spells for combat.
If we strike tomorrow morning as Kargan suggests that will give titus the night to gather information on there numbers and strangth?"
To Titus later "Thank you for taking proper care of our kin, it must not have been easy, I'm sorry I was not there to share the burden with you."
"Dinnae fuss manling, I have a plan! The Grobbi hate the sun, I say we wait till the first rays of the sun strike the castle walls, then attack wi' the sun at our backs. The guard will no see us whilst they cover their eyes, the first they will know of us will be when mae axe removes their heads!!"
"You do your kin proud Kargan, I think that is a brillant idea, What do you think titus and Breecha? you all have the more battle experience if im not mistaken, do you think it will work?"
"I admire your pluck my vertically challenged friend, but, storming a castle is always gambit at best. Perhaps we attack the weakest area? It seems to me that this stronghold has been breached quite harshly in the past, we should attack in one of those spots. it is there that the defenses will be more likely to be goblin constructions than original. if we are to attack tomorrow, I agree that morning is best."
"perhaps we move off from here 2 strike before dawn, get into position well before dawn and attack at dawn. we could attempt to move into the castle without fanfare and go from there, alternatively, one could create a demonstration at the front gate and skewer a couple of greenies and whilst they are standing to at the front the rest move into the castle via one of the breaches?"
To Kryinor: "Their passage has been made, we will avenge their loss!"
’Titus, you said there was a large breach to the northeast, that should be our way in. I dont think we should split up until we know what we are fighting, if another winged beast flies out to confront the member at the front gate, i doubt any one of us could handle them alone or escape if it chooses to pursue.
I agree that we should not announce our arrival with battle cries and warchants until after we are in the castle and in the thick of our enemies. we use the sun to mask our advance, greenskins can see in the dark just aswell as dwarves, elves and gnomes.’
When Kriynor sees Zaxx flicking through his spell book he will wander over to him inquisitively ‘Zaxx, Your spellbook, does it contain only destructive magics? I only ask as i have heard that wizards can recite certain spells from a book without draining there magical energies? At present i have been casting rituals to detect the presence of magical energies when we enter hostile territory or if we find a magical item but it is not my strongest ability, i wondered if you had any spells in that tome of yours that might help us? If you do then i can focus my magic on other spells to broaden our options in tight situations.
OOC: Some information that Titus would have gathered in his earlier scout of the ruined castle that will be useful :)
Titus discovered three points of ingress;
The castle consists of seven crumbling towers of different sizes and heights, but the upper stories are all in varying states of collapse.
A. On the west side a short flight of steps leads up to a terrace in front of the main entryway. Past the wreckage of a pair of sundered doors lies a shadowed hall. Round towers loom over the entrance way, with dark arrow slits looking down on the terrace.
B. On the south side of the old castle, an overgrown path leads to a passage that climbs up into the wall. A large iron door stands here, sheltered from direct outside attack. Arrow slits ten feet above the ground overlook the path.
C. On the north face of the castle one of the smaller towers has completely collapsed on the side. Your excellent elf eyes spot a tarpaulin that has been camouflaged, reasonably well, to look like the neighboring outer walls. Tracks leading to and from this part of the structure suggest a secret entrance.
Captured items of interest form the goblin raiding party;
A set of bracers, inscribed with skulls and bones with a necromantic aura. A silvered long sword with an aura of transmutation. A military belt with stylised eyes in relief on metal plates that emits an aura of divination. A plain gold ring with an aura of illusion. A black bow with a confusing aura that seems to shift between evocation and something more...divine.
Do you want to take the time to identify the items?
There will be time while you wait for everyone to be ready :) [you are all essentially having two long rests!]
Can either Kryinor or Titus roll a Wisdom check please :)
Diving into his storage Zaxx finds things have been messed around and his usual system for ordering his spell components has been muddled. Pesky greedy goblins!
In moments he locates his stash of pearls and is ready to go.
At some stage during talks of battle plans and goblin killing, as the party prepares to storm Cragmaw, Zaxx takes his spell components pouch and the mystical items, wanders away a little from the camp, and sets up an area of peaceful study.
Plucking a pearl and a somewhat battered owl feather from his pouch and flipping open his spellbook, Zaxx begins etching out a large circle surrounded by sigils into the earth with his quill.
"Yes, Mr Skittles, it's crude but it will work."
Zaxx looks at the pile of gear, picks up the silvered long sword and places it into the circle.
"Let's begin ..."
[OOC: Zaxx will use Identify as a ritual (taking about 10 minutes per item) and will identify the items in this order: silvered long sword, plain gold ring, black bow, military belt, bracers.]
Mr Skittles moves around the circle as Zaxx casts and recasts the ritual, sniffing and occasionally moving a leaf or pebble that he seems to think is too close to the perimeter of the magic construct.
Placing the items into the circle one by one all give up their arcane nature and secrets bar one.
The first object the silvered long sword:
Quicksilver Longsword
Weapon, uncommon, The bearer may use a bonus action to change the form of the weapon to any other simple or martial melee weapon. It always counts as a silvered weapon no matter what form it takes.
The second, a plain gold ring:
Ring of Holographic Tome [Wizard Item]
A golden ring with a magical aura of illusion. When worn and concentrated upon the ring brings forth a holographic spell book in the form most preferred by the owner. The illusionary tome counts as a magical spell book and will hold a great many spells. To copy spells into the tome the Wizard needs to place the ring on top of their spell book for 8 hours. The Contents of the book will be copied into the tome during that time.
If the ring is worn by another all stored spells will be unavailable, but the wearer will know that something is there, and in time, with appropriate study the new owner may gain understanding or access to the stored spells form the previous owner. [Requires attunement.]
The third item a black long bow. This item resists the spell and only very basic information is obtained by Zaxx's divination. Zaxx thinska tht the conflicting presence of Arcane and Divine energies may be interfering with his spell work.
OOC: Zaxx's passive / take 10 scores for Arcana, History, and Religion skills [Go go gadget Indiana Wizard :)] are more than up to the task of figuring out what this item may/must be. Zaxx is is about 99% sure that this is one of the....
Black Bows of Corellon
A beautiful masterwork bow made form shining black lacquered yew. The bow has a faint magical aura and if carefully studied a thin shimmering blue haze is observed just above the surface of the wood. Any arrow fired by this bow counts as magical. Many stories and rumors are told of these mythical bows no one knows what is true, but all agree they are fine powerful weapons blessed by the creator of Elven kind. [Requires attunement.] Legends say that the power of the weapon scales with the power of the owner and the graces of Corellon, and deeds done in the service of the god and Elven kind.
The fourth item, a military belt:
Vigilant Belt
Wonderous item, uncommon, The bearer gains +2 to their Passive Perception.
The fifth item, Set of bracers:
Heroic Bracers of the Reaper
Wonderous item, uncommon, The bearer has advantage on saving throws vs. fear and has advantage on death saving throws.
At the end of his divination Zaxx looks down to the small gathering of his magical tools and the newly identified items and finds Mr Skittles curled up snoring faintly his nose stuffed into a rather pungently stocked pouch.
Still slightly wary of the new wizard, Kryinor looks on from a respectable distance watching Zaxx as he performs his rituals awaiting his findings of the magical artifacts.
When he seems to have finished his final ritual Kriynor will wander over to him ‘Did you find out what the items do? Will they aid us in our battle against the greenskins?’
The Sun dips below the horizon, the night passes peacefully in the forest. All make their preparations for the assault on Cragmaw Castle tomorrow.
It is the early hours of the day the suns light still below the worlds edge, dew lies heavy on the shrubs and leaves of the forest floor. All are ready and the ruined castle looms out of the mist in the middle of the forest clearing.
As the first light of day floods the cleared space stealthy footsteps near their assigned places ready for the attack!
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Zaxx's eyes light up at the thought of being ever nearer to his goal.
"Cragmaw ... at last," he whispers to Mr Skittles, who squeaks excitedly.
"Master dwarf! Perhaps we should approach closer and ascertain the strength of their numbers, as the good elf suggests, before we wade in with axe and bow, staff and fang?"
Addressing Kryinor, Zaxx asks, "What say you, druid and wolf-brother?"
"Och, dinnae bore me wi' details manling, just say when th' grobbi killin' is ta start, then stay out o' mae way!!"
"the greenskins wont give up gundren alive, if they have him they're more likely to just kill him out of spite.... A ruse is risky, while the small greenskins are stupid we have already seen that the taller more orc like ones are more than capable of military discipline..... leaving us but one option, we take Cragmaw by storm.
If we hit them hard and fast, they will be disorientated and confused, we can use that to our advantage. If Gundren is there we will save him and any other captives this so called king might have collected and then we will make certain this clan will not harm anyone else.
I will be fully fit and ready to fight by this afternoon Titus. I will prepare the appropriate spells for combat.
If we strike tomorrow morning as Kargan suggests that will give titus the night to gather information on there numbers and strangth?"
To Titus later "Thank you for taking proper care of our kin, it must not have been easy, I'm sorry I was not there to share the burden with you."
"Blindly charge in to our dooms it is then!" laughs Zaxx, slapping the dwarf on the back, while inwardly panicking.
"That's the spirit manling, the greatest victories of legend were won when there were naught chance of survival!!"
"Dinnae fuss manling, I have a plan! The Grobbi hate the sun, I say we wait till the first rays of the sun strike the castle walls, then attack wi' the sun at our backs. The guard will no see us whilst they cover their eyes, the first they will know of us will be when mae axe removes their heads!!"
"You do your kin proud Kargan, I think that is a brillant idea, What do you think titus and Breecha? you all have the more battle experience if im not mistaken, do you think it will work?"
"I admire your pluck my vertically challenged friend, but, storming a castle is always gambit at best. Perhaps we attack the weakest area? It seems to me that this stronghold has been breached quite harshly in the past, we should attack in one of those spots. it is there that the defenses will be more likely to be goblin constructions than original. if we are to attack tomorrow, I agree that morning is best."
"perhaps we move off from here 2 strike before dawn, get into position well before dawn and attack at dawn. we could attempt to move into the castle without fanfare and go from there, alternatively, one could create a demonstration at the front gate and skewer a couple of greenies and whilst they are standing to at the front the rest move into the castle via one of the breaches?"
To Kryinor: "Their passage has been made, we will avenge their loss!"
Don: seeing as we have more time before assaulting the castle I will also cast detect magic on the new gear.
’Titus, you said there was a large breach to the northeast, that should be our way in. I dont think we should split up until we know what we are fighting, if another winged beast flies out to confront the member at the front gate, i doubt any one of us could handle them alone or escape if it chooses to pursue.
I agree that we should not announce our arrival with battle cries and warchants until after we are in the castle and in the thick of our enemies. we use the sun to mask our advance, greenskins can see in the dark just aswell as dwarves, elves and gnomes.’
When Kriynor sees Zaxx flicking through his spell book he will wander over to him inquisitively ‘Zaxx, Your spellbook, does it contain only destructive magics? I only ask as i have heard that wizards can recite certain spells from a book without draining there magical energies? At present i have been casting rituals to detect the presence of magical energies when we enter hostile territory or if we find a magical item but it is not my strongest ability, i wondered if you had any spells in that tome of yours that might help us? If you do then i can focus my magic on other spells to broaden our options in tight situations.
OOC: Some information that Titus would have gathered in his earlier scout of the ruined castle that will be useful :)
Titus discovered three points of ingress;
The castle consists of seven crumbling towers of different sizes and heights, but the upper stories are all in varying states of collapse.
A. On the west side a short flight of steps leads up to a terrace in front of the main entryway. Past the wreckage of a pair of sundered doors lies a shadowed hall. Round towers loom over the entrance way, with dark arrow slits looking down on the terrace.
B. On the south side of the old castle, an overgrown path leads to a passage that climbs up into the wall. A large iron door stands here, sheltered from direct outside attack. Arrow slits ten feet above the ground overlook the path.
C. On the north face of the castle one of the smaller towers has completely collapsed on the side. Your excellent elf eyes spot a tarpaulin that has been camouflaged, reasonably well, to look like the neighboring outer walls. Tracks leading to and from this part of the structure suggest a secret entrance.
Captured items of interest form the goblin raiding party;
A set of bracers, inscribed with skulls and bones with a necromantic aura. A silvered long sword with an aura of transmutation. A military belt with stylised eyes in relief on metal plates that emits an aura of divination. A plain gold ring with an aura of illusion. A black bow with a confusing aura that seems to shift between evocation and something more...divine.
Do you want to take the time to identify the items?
There will be time while you wait for everyone to be ready :) [you are all essentially having two long rests!]
Can either Kryinor or Titus roll a Wisdom check please :)
Wisdom : 23
Kryinor will look over the items of intest, perhaps asking his question to Zaxx at the same time :)
19
"Ahhh! Yes! I sense these spoils of war are all enhanced with various dwimmers," Zaxx cries, elated.
"Now ... I'm sure I've got some pearls somewhere ..."
Zaxx starts searching through his various pouches and pockets.
[OOC: See FB message group]
Diving into his storage Zaxx finds things have been messed around and his usual system for ordering his spell components has been muddled. Pesky greedy goblins!
In moments he locates his stash of pearls and is ready to go.
"Ah-HA!" cries Zaxx with elation. "Pearls!"
At some stage during talks of battle plans and goblin killing, as the party prepares to storm Cragmaw, Zaxx takes his spell components pouch and the mystical items, wanders away a little from the camp, and sets up an area of peaceful study.
Plucking a pearl and a somewhat battered owl feather from his pouch and flipping open his spellbook, Zaxx begins etching out a large circle surrounded by sigils into the earth with his quill.
"Yes, Mr Skittles, it's crude but it will work."
Zaxx looks at the pile of gear, picks up the silvered long sword and places it into the circle.
"Let's begin ..."
[OOC: Zaxx will use Identify as a ritual (taking about 10 minutes per item) and will identify the items in this order: silvered long sword, plain gold ring, black bow, military belt, bracers.]
Mr Skittles moves around the circle as Zaxx casts and recasts the ritual, sniffing and occasionally moving a leaf or pebble that he seems to think is too close to the perimeter of the magic construct.
Placing the items into the circle one by one all give up their arcane nature and secrets bar one.
The first object the silvered long sword:
Quicksilver Longsword
Weapon, uncommon, The bearer may use a bonus action to change the form of the weapon to any other simple or martial melee weapon. It always counts as a silvered weapon no matter what form it takes.
The second, a plain gold ring:
Ring of Holographic Tome [Wizard Item]
A golden ring with a magical aura of illusion. When worn and concentrated upon the ring brings forth a holographic spell book in the form most preferred by the owner. The illusionary tome counts as a magical spell book and will hold a great many spells. To copy spells into the tome the Wizard needs to place the ring on top of their spell book for 8 hours. The Contents of the book will be copied into the tome during that time.
If the ring is worn by another all stored spells will be unavailable, but the wearer will know that something is there, and in time, with appropriate study the new owner may gain understanding or access to the stored spells form the previous owner. [Requires attunement.]
The third item a black long bow. This item resists the spell and only very basic information is obtained by Zaxx's divination. Zaxx thinska tht the conflicting presence of Arcane and Divine energies may be interfering with his spell work.
OOC: Zaxx's passive / take 10 scores for Arcana, History, and Religion skills [Go go gadget Indiana Wizard :)] are more than up to the task of figuring out what this item may/must be. Zaxx is is about 99% sure that this is one of the....
Black Bows of Corellon
A beautiful masterwork bow made form shining black lacquered yew. The bow has a faint magical aura and if carefully studied a thin shimmering blue haze is observed just above the surface of the wood. Any arrow fired by this bow counts as magical. Many stories and rumors are told of these mythical bows no one knows what is true, but all agree they are fine powerful weapons blessed by the creator of Elven kind. [Requires attunement.] Legends say that the power of the weapon scales with the power of the owner and the graces of Corellon, and deeds done in the service of the god and Elven kind.
The fourth item, a military belt:
Vigilant Belt
Wonderous item, uncommon, The bearer gains +2 to their Passive Perception.
The fifth item, Set of bracers:
Heroic Bracers of the Reaper
Wonderous item, uncommon, The bearer has advantage on saving throws vs. fear and has advantage on death saving throws.
At the end of his divination Zaxx looks down to the small gathering of his magical tools and the newly identified items and finds Mr Skittles curled up snoring faintly his nose stuffed into a rather pungently stocked pouch.
Still slightly wary of the new wizard, Kryinor looks on from a respectable distance watching Zaxx as he performs his rituals awaiting his findings of the magical artifacts.
When he seems to have finished his final ritual Kriynor will wander over to him ‘Did you find out what the items do? Will they aid us in our battle against the greenskins?’
Bearing any other interplay titus will solemnly take the bow and study it, trance and pray in the time we have before attacking the castle.
The Sun dips below the horizon, the night passes peacefully in the forest. All make their preparations for the assault on Cragmaw Castle tomorrow.
It is the early hours of the day the suns light still below the worlds edge, dew lies heavy on the shrubs and leaves of the forest floor. All are ready and the ruined castle looms out of the mist in the middle of the forest clearing.
As the first light of day floods the cleared space stealthy footsteps near their assigned places ready for the attack!