Barleyden strolls near the guard and starts singing a lovely rendition of the tavern favorite, "She Said She Could Dance" [Feel free to share the lyrics if you wish]. About halfway through the first verse, Fjordix stumbles into the light, sees the guard, and challenges him to an arm wrestling match, which the guard accepts without really knowing why.
Meanwhile, Arliden and Jamna sneak around the other side of the wagon and manage to slip inside. The wagon is almost entirely filled with crates that have been nailed shut. Jamna whispers, "Hope you're still there, Arliden. Take this crowbar and try to quietly pry open one of these crates to get a peak inside. I'll make sure no one comes checking in on this shipment while we're still in here."
[Arliden, make a Dexterity check (no modifiers) to try to open the crate.]
The nails make a bit of a squeaking noise as they are pried out of the wooden sides of the crate, but Arliden does a great job of getting the crowbar right at the point where the nails are and, slowly, makes he way around the crate multiple times, opening the lid just a little bit each time. The sound is quiet enough that you don't think anyone outside the wagon would have heard it.
Inside the crate, you see a king's ransom. Gold jewelry, exquisitely cut gemstones, strings upon strings of pearls. And that's just the top layer. You could probably live an aristocratic lifestyle for at least the next year (if not more) with the contents of just this one crate.
Jamna realizes you have the crate open and comes to see what's inside for herself. Her eyes widen as she notices what's inside. She slowly scans the rest of the wagon, her eyes widening even more. She looks at Arliden and slowly gestures toward the crate with a questioning look on her face. [Forgot that Arliden was invisible.]
She slowly extends her hand toward the crate and says, "Surely they wouldn't notice if a few of these went missing."
Arliden's invisible hand grabs her wrist, "I don't know if that's a great idea," he whispers. "What if this is booby trapped, what if they can use it to spy on you besides, that's still stealing, at least unless we can prove that they stole it. Our goal was to find out what they were carrying, not rob them. And no we know, I don't think it's a crime to transport treasure.
So now what?"
Arliden does want to take a look to see if he notices anything odd, or that he might recognize from Greenest in the treasure.
The two of you seem pretty evenly matched, but Fjordix eventually wins the match. The guard looks at you and says, "Well done. I thought I had you there, for a bit. Now, I really should be getting back to my duties."
As he starts to move back toward his post, he shakes his arm and massages it with his other hand.
Fjordix shrugged, he hoped that what he had done had helped, but if worse came to worse it might not feel too bad to beat up on these Dragon lovers. He headed back to his place in the camp to wait for the others to reconvene.
Arliden, you see a string of pearls as well as a gold-and-sapphire ring that match a description you overheard a family in Greenest say was taken during the raid.
The guard stops as he notices 'Barleyden', seemingly mesmerized by his performance.
Arliden, as you are searching through the crate, you hear the muffled voice of the guard say, "I don't know who you are, but I like the cut of your jib."
[Just realized I didn't state a clear opportunity for response. My bad.]
Arliden, the guard is distracted now, but who knows for how long. The crate is still open, and you see items matching the description of things taken from Greenest. What do you want to do?
Arliden (still invisible) will take a few things that are small enough to easily stuck in a pocket but are the most obviously from Greenest. And then uses his body weight on the lid of the crate to quietly close it. [The goal being to take a few things that are easy to carry but are easy evidence that they stole items from Greenest. I also want to be sure to leave at least a few things that are from Greenest in the loot].
Then Arliden whispers to Jamna, "I think it's time we get out of here."
Jamna looks a bit upset that Arliden took some things out of the crate after saying she couldn't rob the cultists, but she moves to the entrance of the wagon, peers out, and motions for Arliden to follow her as she jumps out and runs back to the tree line.
Eventually, you all meet up back at the original copse of trees. "Looks like they're carrying crates and crates of treasure. I wonder where they're planning to take it and what they're going to do with it all when they get there. Are they going to raise a mercenary army? Fund their own city-state? Whatever they're up to, it's nothing good. If we're going to stop them, we need to know what they're doing. I'm assuming you're not following the Cult of the Dragon around because you had nothing better to do with your time. What do you know about them and their plans?"
Barleyden strolls near the guard and starts singing a lovely rendition of the tavern favorite, "She Said She Could Dance" [Feel free to share the lyrics if you wish]. About halfway through the first verse, Fjordix stumbles into the light, sees the guard, and challenges him to an arm wrestling match, which the guard accepts without really knowing why.
Meanwhile, Arliden and Jamna sneak around the other side of the wagon and manage to slip inside. The wagon is almost entirely filled with crates that have been nailed shut. Jamna whispers, "Hope you're still there, Arliden. Take this crowbar and try to quietly pry open one of these crates to get a peak inside. I'll make sure no one comes checking in on this shipment while we're still in here."
[Arliden, make a Dexterity check (no modifiers) to try to open the crate.]
For just a moment Arliden thinks....Crowbar + Pry has never equaled quiet.
Dex: 19
And then he peaks inside the crate
The nails make a bit of a squeaking noise as they are pried out of the wooden sides of the crate, but Arliden does a great job of getting the crowbar right at the point where the nails are and, slowly, makes he way around the crate multiple times, opening the lid just a little bit each time. The sound is quiet enough that you don't think anyone outside the wagon would have heard it.
Inside the crate, you see a king's ransom. Gold jewelry, exquisitely cut gemstones, strings upon strings of pearls. And that's just the top layer. You could probably live an aristocratic lifestyle for at least the next year (if not more) with the contents of just this one crate.
Jamna realizes you have the crate open and comes to see what's inside for herself. Her eyes widen as she notices what's inside. She slowly scans the rest of the wagon, her eyes widening even more.
She looks at Arliden and slowly gestures toward the crate with a questioning look on her face.[Forgot that Arliden was invisible.]She slowly extends her hand toward the crate and says, "Surely they wouldn't notice if a few of these went missing."
Arliden's invisible hand grabs her wrist, "I don't know if that's a great idea," he whispers. "What if this is booby trapped, what if they can use it to spy on you besides, that's still stealing, at least unless we can prove that they stole it. Our goal was to find out what they were carrying, not rob them. And no we know, I don't think it's a crime to transport treasure.
So now what?"
Arliden does want to take a look to see if he notices anything odd, or that he might recognize from Greenest in the treasure.
[Roll an Intelligence (Investigation) check.]
"Now, we close the crate and get out of here before that guard outside notices something is up."
[Switching to Fjordix and Rex.]
Fjordix, go ahead and roll a Strength (Athletics) check.
Rex, are you going to continue singing during the arm wrestling match?
Athletics: 17
[Opposing Strength check: 16]
The two of you seem pretty evenly matched, but Fjordix eventually wins the match. The guard looks at you and says, "Well done. I thought I had you there, for a bit. Now, I really should be getting back to my duties."
As he starts to move back toward his post, he shakes his arm and massages it with his other hand.
Fjordix chuckles and looks behind the man quickly to gauge whether he needs to delay him any longer!
Perception: 5 in case it's needed.
Fjordix doesn't notice anything one way or the other.
Fjordix shrugged, he hoped that what he had done had helped, but if worse came to worse it might not feel too bad to beat up on these Dragon lovers. He headed back to his place in the camp to wait for the others to reconvene.
Rex shall! The show must go on!
DM - Elustran Days ~ Fate/False Revelation
Rex'aliha - Hoard of the Dragon Queen ~ Mozu of Worms - The Stormpoint Mountains ~ Muireach Maon - Shepherd’s Crossing ~ Crownsguard - Storm King’s Thunder ~ Gunnar Wayland - Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians ~ POUF! - Ex-Ravens ~ Pascal LaRoux - Long Road Dragon Heist
Investigation: 22
[I really think the dice roller is giving me good rolls now, just to build up my hopes and kill my character in the next combat]
Rex, make another Charisma (Performance) check.
Arliden, you see a string of pearls as well as a gold-and-sapphire ring that match a description you overheard a family in Greenest say was taken during the raid.
TIME FOR DANCE ONCE MORE: 9!
DM - Elustran Days ~ Fate/False Revelation
Rex'aliha - Hoard of the Dragon Queen ~ Mozu of Worms - The Stormpoint Mountains ~ Muireach Maon - Shepherd’s Crossing ~ Crownsguard - Storm King’s Thunder ~ Gunnar Wayland - Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians ~ POUF! - Ex-Ravens ~ Pascal LaRoux - Long Road Dragon Heist
The guard stops as he notices 'Barleyden', seemingly mesmerized by his performance.
Arliden, as you are searching through the crate, you hear the muffled voice of the guard say, "I don't know who you are, but I like the cut of your jib."
[Just realized I didn't state a clear opportunity for response. My bad.]
Arliden, the guard is distracted now, but who knows for how long. The crate is still open, and you see items matching the description of things taken from Greenest. What do you want to do?
Arliden (still invisible) will take a few things that are small enough to easily stuck in a pocket but are the most obviously from Greenest. And then uses his body weight on the lid of the crate to quietly close it. [The goal being to take a few things that are easy to carry but are easy evidence that they stole items from Greenest. I also want to be sure to leave at least a few things that are from Greenest in the loot].
Then Arliden whispers to Jamna, "I think it's time we get out of here."
Jamna looks a bit upset that Arliden took some things out of the crate after saying she couldn't rob the cultists, but she moves to the entrance of the wagon, peers out, and motions for Arliden to follow her as she jumps out and runs back to the tree line.
Eventually, you all meet up back at the original copse of trees. "Looks like they're carrying crates and crates of treasure. I wonder where they're planning to take it and what they're going to do with it all when they get there. Are they going to raise a mercenary army? Fund their own city-state? Whatever they're up to, it's nothing good. If we're going to stop them, we need to know what they're doing. I'm assuming you're not following the Cult of the Dragon around because you had nothing better to do with your time. What do you know about them and their plans?"
OOC: Can we perhaps get a bit of a recap of what we know? It’s been a bit since Greenest for me haha
DM - Elustran Days ~ Fate/False Revelation
Rex'aliha - Hoard of the Dragon Queen ~ Mozu of Worms - The Stormpoint Mountains ~ Muireach Maon - Shepherd’s Crossing ~ Crownsguard - Storm King’s Thunder ~ Gunnar Wayland - Boats, Rocks, and Ruffians ~ POUF! - Ex-Ravens ~ Pascal LaRoux - Long Road Dragon Heist
Here's the gist of what you know so far:
There may be some other details you know, as well, but that's all I have down in my notes as info you've uncovered.