Ellis was very relieved as he was able to calm down the other prisoners, glad. When he saw the ten year old boy, he felt so horrible that the Yuan-ti would even be willing to capture and harm children, wanting to make sure that he gets out of here. He had been a little fascinated by the firenewt, but snapped out of it as he heard Darion reassure the little boy and then warn them all before he turned himself into Liss'ard. Ellis had heard Daner, nodding back as he was unlocking the manacles and hearing from Tempest that they should be near the front as well. He had finished with that as he heard Darion, nodding back to him that he was done before falling in behind Darion along with the others. Ellis will put on unlocked manacles like the others, ready as he nodded back and was looking like he was nervous and anxious before following. As they were crossing the altar room, he heard the whimpers of the other prisoners and only imagined how terrified the little boy must be right now, wanting to protect and save him especially. Ellis was really nervous as they were spotted by the snake-armed Yuan-ti who was Fenthaza's guard and he asked about assisting. He listened to Darion lie to the guard, pretending to be very anxious about this 'punishment' and hoped that the guard will have believed Darion's act.
Snake Arms is obviously confused by this breach of protocol, as the expression on all three of his faces would attest. He makes a movement to knock on Fenthaza’s door to ask for guidance, but Dar’issard’s silver tongue finally convinces him to take action based on the circumstance set before him. At Dar’Issard’s suggestion, Snake Arms makes for the nearby prisoner pits to check on Slizzy.
Not causing a sufficient ruckus, Fenthaza’s door remains closed. Up ahead you see the front gate room where the numerous reptilian humanoid monstrosities mill about at the behest of their Yuan-ti masters. There doesn’t seem to be any traffic incoming or returning out of the front gate at this present moment, but this could of course change at any given time.
Dar'issard breaths a little sigh, thanking Tymora yet again, but knows that time is running out - Snake-arms may well get more suspicious very quickly as he goes to the prisoner pits! Dar'issard tries to maintain a steady pace, trying to achieve that air of confident I-am-totally-allowed-to-be-doing-what-I'm-doing that is essential to a good con.
"Pick up the pace, oh err.. ugly onessss" he hisses, and the others may detect the strain in his voice as he urges them on. He will attempt to march them through the gatehouse then to the long south corridor. He will not particularly try to interact with any other Yuan-ti, trying to appear focused on pushing the prisoners along, knowing that his nerves risk giving them away if he tries too much talking. He makes sure he stays close to Daner in particular, ready to hand over the sword if needed.
He desperately wants to ask the others for advice, but knows it is to risky at the moment; all his focus is on keeping the charade going for as long as possible.
Daner shuffled along behind Darion, quietly impressed with how well the ruse had worked so far. He had considered following the Yuan-ti back toward the pits and dispatching him, but it was more important that they move as quickly as they could.
Finding Slizzy in the bottom of the pit bound in ice would be a dead give away though and they needed to put as much space between them as possible. Maybe when the call does come we could change the ruse. Slizzard is protecting the slaves from something terrible happening back at the pits. Releasing the beast in the stables might add to that tale, but only if they could keep themselves safe.
Daner allowed himself to drop back a little so that he was close to Tempest, risking a whisper.“I know you can turn into them, but can you talk to or control animals? We may need to convince that beast in the stables not to attack us.”
"I don't have that ability right now. That would be a good diversion though and may buy us more time." Tempest whispered back fearing they had cut their escape short. As soon as the guard went back to the pits he'd discover the guards and then the escape would be determined by speed. Something Tempest knew some of the prisoners couldn't handle. Should we even visit the storeroom?Tempest thought. Every second wasted looking for items would be another second the guard would discover their trick. Tempest hurried along behind Darrisard and Daner wanting to make it past the gate and to the stable or storeroom.
Speaking of beasts, (and I forgot to detail this before) in the dinosaur pens in the next room (Hall of War), there was a resident dinosaur. Daner would have been pretty close when he was mucking out the stalls. It was a triceratops. It was locked in the pen with his head facing towards the front gate room.
This was in addition to the creature chained up in the shadows in the alcove also in this room.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As you round the corner and emerge into the Main Gate room, you can hear Snake Arms struggling with the lever to raise the portcullis to the prisoner pit room (hard for a guy with snakes as arms) and you can hear him calling out for Slizzy.
As the prisoners pour into this room, the hunched, bipedal lizard creatures (called broodguards from here out) become immediately agitated and start getting close and sniffing everyone intensely. It is clear that they do not smell what they would expect when they sniff Dar’issard.
They make a saving throw vs Darion’s illusion: 18 (whatever the result it doesn’t automatically mean that the ruse is failed to all onlookers, it just creates some more complications)
As the three broodguards swarm the prisoners, the yuan-ti in charge of this room laughs. He slithers up to Dar’issard and which a chuckle, he asks what fun is going on. “Thissss sssseems a bit... recreational. Does our Lady Fenthaza know about this excursion? You know how sssshe feelssss about her preciousssss sssubjects.” He says this menacingly. It’s not immediately as if he suspects Liss’ard isn’t who he says he is, so you think that he’d be menacing Lis’ard as well.
You may make an INT roll to see if you can recall the bit about this guy. Daner may as well, with advantage.
The broodguards, who seem to be somewhere just north of a beast in intelligence, start yammering and snapping their huge jaws. Spittle dribbles off of their large snake-like fangs and it sprinkles you as they snap and growl. Their keeper arches an eyebrow and he gives them a sharp command to heel, so they relent for a moment. He looks at Dar’issard with more than a little suspicion, wondering what is up with the broodguards. The yuan-ti and the three broodguards stand between you and the next room.
Still struggling to picture the room - are we now heading south, out of sight of the prisoner pits? In the Dinosaur room heading towards the treasure room? Can we see any other Yuan-ti at the moment, or is it just these three - how clearly can we see into the room to the South?
Good to see this plan is going as well as any D&D plan ever does!!!
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Tempest watches the exchange and looks around to to gauge the best place to push the potential fight. His hands begin to sweat as he clinches them tightly.
(All good! You’re pretty much on target. Yes, you are now heading south, just out of sight of the corridor that leads to the prisoner pits. However, you did not make it far into this room before you were stopped by the broodguards. You are about 25ft away from the entrance to the next room, the Hall of War, to the south. There are no doors to the south room, but the entrance to the south room narrows to be 10ft across. In the Hall of War to the south, you are currently about 35ft away from the massive cobra statue in the middle of that room. The dinosaur in the pen is in the Hall of War, and his head is pointed north, towards you. The pen is situated about five feet to the west of the cobra statue. You also might refer back to the bold-titled room descriptions from earlier for some extra help! Let me know if that is more clear. I do have a map after-all, so it is easy for me.)
As for numbers, you see the three broodguards and one Yuan-ti in this room. You don’t see them now (perhaps they are on the other side of the large statue), but you will also recall a Yuan-ti who led some broodguards in the next room as well. Daner worked under his supervision earlier.
For the INT rolls: You might recall Daner’s story that this was Nahth, who he learned is susceptible to bribes. With this information, you might suspect that Nahth is currently trying to extort you (Liss’ard) by threatening to snitch on you to Fenthaza for breaking protocol.
One more thing! You get the sense that if Nahth were to let go of the chains that leash the broodguards that they would attack you immediately. He is holding them back to prevent that (because he thinks you are Liss’ard).
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Dar'issard weighs their options - if they can get past this idiot quickly, it may be worth bargaining. But he feels time is fast running low, and will keep an ear out for snake-arms. It might soon be time to fight rather than talk. His heart is pounding, and underneath the disguise he is drenched in sweat. He tenses himself, ready to drop the scimitar and cast a spell. But he will give talking one more try, and hope his voice does not give out.
"These foolssss have been disssrepectful and disssruptive. I am teaching them all the consssequncies! It should be fun asss well!" he then gives an exaggerated sigh "I am sssure Fenthaza would approve, but I would hate to disssturb her. I am ssssure we can find a way to avoid that - perhapssss you have a sssuggestion?"
He is not going to haggle too much, if it looks like Nahth is going to keep them talking, he will change tack. But for now, as he is talking he gives Daner a 'shove', and gestures for the others to move "Keep walking, our conversssation doessss not concern puny thingsss!" he barks at the prisoners as he waits for Nahth to reply. He will ignore the Broodguards, reasoning he does not want to draw attention to their reaction.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(Looks like we're screwed)
Ellis was so relieved as the snake-armed guard had bought Darion's act, seeing him leave but worried that he would discover the truth soon. Ellis would move along with the others, listening to Tempest and Daner talk about how to handle the beast in the stables. Then as they got into the Main Gate room, he was shocked and shivering as the broodguards were swarming them, snapping and growling before the yuan-ti stopped them, questioning Darion. He remembered from what Daner said that this is Nanth and how susceptible he is to bribes and guessed that he is trying to extort Darion by threatening to snitch on him to Fenthaza. Oh god, how are they supposed to bribe him? Ellis listened as Darion spoke, trying to persuade Nanth to leave them alone and even suggest how to avoid that. But even Ellis wasn't convinced of it, hearing Darion tell them to keep walking. He had a bad feeling that they were going to get caught, knowing that he has to do something. "Guys, go and get these prisoners out of here." Ellis would whisper to Daner, Tempest, and Darion as he uses Mantle of Inspiration, giving them five temporary hp and each of them can immediately use their reactions to move up to their speed without provoking opportunity attacks. He would have made his way to the back of the group, telling the other prisoners to just follow the other three out of here before looking back. The second that he sees that Nanth has caught on to Darion's act and is about to let go of the chains holding back the broodguards, he will take off the manacles and cast Sleep, targeting only the broodguards.
Mantle of Inspiration to Daner, Tempest, Darion - 5 temp hp and immediately use reaction to move up to speed without provoking
Ellis was very relieved as he was able to calm down the other prisoners, glad. When he saw the ten year old boy, he felt so horrible that the Yuan-ti would even be willing to capture and harm children, wanting to make sure that he gets out of here. He had been a little fascinated by the firenewt, but snapped out of it as he heard Darion reassure the little boy and then warn them all before he turned himself into Liss'ard. Ellis had heard Daner, nodding back as he was unlocking the manacles and hearing from Tempest that they should be near the front as well. He had finished with that as he heard Darion, nodding back to him that he was done before falling in behind Darion along with the others. Ellis will put on unlocked manacles like the others, ready as he nodded back and was looking like he was nervous and anxious before following. As they were crossing the altar room, he heard the whimpers of the other prisoners and only imagined how terrified the little boy must be right now, wanting to protect and save him especially. Ellis was really nervous as they were spotted by the snake-armed Yuan-ti who was Fenthaza's guard and he asked about assisting. He listened to Darion lie to the guard, pretending to be very anxious about this 'punishment' and hoped that the guard will have believed Darion's act.
((The hot streak continues))
Snake Arms is obviously confused by this breach of protocol, as the expression on all three of his faces would attest. He makes a movement to knock on Fenthaza’s door to ask for guidance, but Dar’issard’s silver tongue finally convinces him to take action based on the circumstance set before him. At Dar’Issard’s suggestion, Snake Arms makes for the nearby prisoner pits to check on Slizzy.
Not causing a sufficient ruckus, Fenthaza’s door remains closed. Up ahead you see the front gate room where the numerous reptilian humanoid monstrosities mill about at the behest of their Yuan-ti masters. There doesn’t seem to be any traffic incoming or returning out of the front gate at this present moment, but this could of course change at any given time.
Dar'issard breaths a little sigh, thanking Tymora yet again, but knows that time is running out - Snake-arms may well get more suspicious very quickly as he goes to the prisoner pits! Dar'issard tries to maintain a steady pace, trying to achieve that air of confident I-am-totally-allowed-to-be-doing-what-I'm-doing that is essential to a good con.
"Pick up the pace, oh err.. ugly onessss" he hisses, and the others may detect the strain in his voice as he urges them on. He will attempt to march them through the gatehouse then to the long south corridor. He will not particularly try to interact with any other Yuan-ti, trying to appear focused on pushing the prisoners along, knowing that his nerves risk giving them away if he tries too much talking. He makes sure he stays close to Daner in particular, ready to hand over the sword if needed.
He desperately wants to ask the others for advice, but knows it is to risky at the moment; all his focus is on keeping the charade going for as long as possible.
Do you like my Boots of Flying?
Daner shuffled along behind Darion, quietly impressed with how well the ruse had worked so far. He had considered following the Yuan-ti back toward the pits and dispatching him, but it was more important that they move as quickly as they could.
Finding Slizzy in the bottom of the pit bound in ice would be a dead give away though and they needed to put as much space between them as possible. Maybe when the call does come we could change the ruse. Slizzard is protecting the slaves from something terrible happening back at the pits. Releasing the beast in the stables might add to that tale, but only if they could keep themselves safe.
Daner allowed himself to drop back a little so that he was close to Tempest, risking a whisper. “I know you can turn into them, but can you talk to or control animals? We may need to convince that beast in the stables not to attack us.”
"I don't have that ability right now. That would be a good diversion though and may buy us more time." Tempest whispered back fearing they had cut their escape short. As soon as the guard went back to the pits he'd discover the guards and then the escape would be determined by speed. Something Tempest knew some of the prisoners couldn't handle. Should we even visit the storeroom? Tempest thought. Every second wasted looking for items would be another second the guard would discover their trick. Tempest hurried along behind Darrisard and Daner wanting to make it past the gate and to the stable or storeroom.
Speaking of beasts, (and I forgot to detail this before) in the dinosaur pens in the next room (Hall of War), there was a resident dinosaur. Daner would have been pretty close when he was mucking out the stalls. It was a triceratops. It was locked in the pen with his head facing towards the front gate room.
This was in addition to the creature chained up in the shadows in the alcove also in this room.
As you round the corner and emerge into the Main Gate room, you can hear Snake Arms struggling with the lever to raise the portcullis to the prisoner pit room (hard for a guy with snakes as arms) and you can hear him calling out for Slizzy.
As the prisoners pour into this room, the hunched, bipedal lizard creatures (called broodguards from here out) become immediately agitated and start getting close and sniffing everyone intensely. It is clear that they do not smell what they would expect when they sniff Dar’issard.
They make a saving throw vs Darion’s illusion: 18 (whatever the result it doesn’t automatically mean that the ruse is failed to all onlookers, it just creates some more complications)
As the three broodguards swarm the prisoners, the yuan-ti in charge of this room laughs. He slithers up to Dar’issard and which a chuckle, he asks what fun is going on. “Thissss sssseems a bit... recreational. Does our Lady Fenthaza know about this excursion? You know how sssshe feelssss about her preciousssss sssubjects.” He says this menacingly. It’s not immediately as if he suspects Liss’ard isn’t who he says he is, so you think that he’d be menacing Lis’ard as well.
You may make an INT roll to see if you can recall the bit about this guy. Daner may as well, with advantage.
(And complicated this has become!)
The broodguards, who seem to be somewhere just north of a beast in intelligence, start yammering and snapping their huge jaws. Spittle dribbles off of their large snake-like fangs and it sprinkles you as they snap and growl. Their keeper arches an eyebrow and he gives them a sharp command to heel, so they relent for a moment. He looks at Dar’issard with more than a little suspicion, wondering what is up with the broodguards. The yuan-ti and the three broodguards stand between you and the next room.
OOC:
Still struggling to picture the room - are we now heading south, out of sight of the prisoner pits? In the Dinosaur room heading towards the treasure room? Can we see any other Yuan-ti at the moment, or is it just these three - how clearly can we see into the room to the South?
Good to see this plan is going as well as any D&D plan ever does!!!
Do you like my Boots of Flying?
INT: 8
INT: 12
Do you like my Boots of Flying?
INT: 18
Tempest watches the exchange and looks around to to gauge the best place to push the potential fight. His hands begin to sweat as he clinches them tightly.
Perception: 10
(All good! You’re pretty much on target. Yes, you are now heading south, just out of sight of the corridor that leads to the prisoner pits. However, you did not make it far into this room before you were stopped by the broodguards. You are about 25ft away from the entrance to the next room, the Hall of War, to the south. There are no doors to the south room, but the entrance to the south room narrows to be 10ft across. In the Hall of War to the south, you are currently about 35ft away from the massive cobra statue in the middle of that room. The dinosaur in the pen is in the Hall of War, and his head is pointed north, towards you. The pen is situated about five feet to the west of the cobra statue. You also might refer back to the bold-titled room descriptions from earlier for some extra help! Let me know if that is more clear. I do have a map after-all, so it is easy for me.)
As for numbers, you see the three broodguards and one Yuan-ti in this room. You don’t see them now (perhaps they are on the other side of the large statue), but you will also recall a Yuan-ti who led some broodguards in the next room as well. Daner worked under his supervision earlier.
For the INT rolls: You might recall Daner’s story that this was Nahth, who he learned is susceptible to bribes. With this information, you might suspect that Nahth is currently trying to extort you (Liss’ard) by threatening to snitch on you to Fenthaza for breaking protocol.
One more thing! You get the sense that if Nahth were to let go of the chains that leash the broodguards that they would attack you immediately. He is holding them back to prevent that (because he thinks you are Liss’ard).
Dar'issard weighs their options - if they can get past this idiot quickly, it may be worth bargaining. But he feels time is fast running low, and will keep an ear out for snake-arms. It might soon be time to fight rather than talk. His heart is pounding, and underneath the disguise he is drenched in sweat. He tenses himself, ready to drop the scimitar and cast a spell. But he will give talking one more try, and hope his voice does not give out.
"These foolssss have been disssrepectful and disssruptive. I am teaching them all the consssequncies! It should be fun asss well!" he then gives an exaggerated sigh "I am sssure Fenthaza would approve, but I would hate to disssturb her. I am ssssure we can find a way to avoid that - perhapssss you have a sssuggestion?"
He is not going to haggle too much, if it looks like Nahth is going to keep them talking, he will change tack. But for now, as he is talking he gives Daner a 'shove', and gestures for the others to move "Keep walking, our conversssation doessss not concern puny thingsss!" he barks at the prisoners as he waits for Nahth to reply. He will ignore the Broodguards, reasoning he does not want to draw attention to their reaction.
Perception (keeping an ear on snake-arms): 8
Deception: 2
Do you like my Boots of Flying?
(Looks like we're screwed)
Ellis was so relieved as the snake-armed guard had bought Darion's act, seeing him leave but worried that he would discover the truth soon. Ellis would move along with the others, listening to Tempest and Daner talk about how to handle the beast in the stables. Then as they got into the Main Gate room, he was shocked and shivering as the broodguards were swarming them, snapping and growling before the yuan-ti stopped them, questioning Darion. He remembered from what Daner said that this is Nanth and how susceptible he is to bribes and guessed that he is trying to extort Darion by threatening to snitch on him to Fenthaza. Oh god, how are they supposed to bribe him? Ellis listened as Darion spoke, trying to persuade Nanth to leave them alone and even suggest how to avoid that. But even Ellis wasn't convinced of it, hearing Darion tell them to keep walking. He had a bad feeling that they were going to get caught, knowing that he has to do something. "Guys, go and get these prisoners out of here." Ellis would whisper to Daner, Tempest, and Darion as he uses Mantle of Inspiration, giving them five temporary hp and each of them can immediately use their reactions to move up to their speed without provoking opportunity attacks. He would have made his way to the back of the group, telling the other prisoners to just follow the other three out of here before looking back. The second that he sees that Nanth has caught on to Darion's act and is about to let go of the chains holding back the broodguards, he will take off the manacles and cast Sleep, targeting only the broodguards.
Mantle of Inspiration to Daner, Tempest, Darion - 5 temp hp and immediately use reaction to move up to speed without provoking
2nd Level Sleep on the broodguards: 23
OOC: I guess we are into this. I was going to try and help the deception, but here we go :|
Initiative: 17 (Details to follow)
((Oh snap! I didn’t see that coming. This will be quite exciting. Darion, note that Nahth still technically doesn’t need know you aren’t Liss’ard.))