Another Dragon at Icespire Peak - IC Thread

A small box full of gears flies towards the gnome, impacting the forward facing crossbow. The crossbow snaps in two, gears spread everywhere, destroying another crossbow. The gnome is visibly shaking from the experience, speaking to herself in gnomish.

Rhok goes next.

22 Lothlién
20 Rhok
18 Xarroth
14 Mad gnome (23 damage to the rotating crossbow contraption)
8 Lia

Rhok shouts "Stop this! We are on a task from your King!" 

if it looks like the gnome isn't going to stop, Rhok, looks to shoot any other working crossbow or any parts that could disable the machine

Perception check: 6

Attack roll: Attack: 26 Damage: 9

Rhok's bolt flies into the contraption, cutting one of the main strings. One of the remaining crossbows snaps under the tension, the recoil hits the remaining string and the last crossbow falls to the ground useless. The gnome curses in her own tongue, fruitlessly moving the levers forward and back. She redoubles her effort on the pedals, making the contraption spin in place harmlessly.

OOC: I don't see the point of keeping initiative order at this point. Those damage rolls were brutal.

"What was the point of that?" lia calls to the gnome. If the gnome seems too caught up in their work, she would shrug and continue along, waving hte others to follow, chalking it up to the strangeness of gnomes.

Cautiously lowering his crossbow, Rhok scans the machine to make sure the gnome isn't planning any other surprises "We should move onward just in case"

OOC Nat 20!

Quote from DragonDenn >>

"What was the point of that?" lia calls to the gnome. If the gnome seems too caught up in their work, she would shrug and continue along, waving hte others to follow, chalking it up to the strangeness of gnomes.

The gnome stops spinning to reply "the defense mechanism needed a field test, now it needs reassembly and upgraded armor." She does not seem concerned for your safety or hers. She steps out of the machine, walks to the nearest desk and grabbing a quill starts writing corrections on a schematic.

You spend some more time in the room, prodding at every possible thing that could be a shapechanger. Xarroth opens a box full of springs and recoils when they jump at him. Convinced that there is no monster lurking here you continue south.

Twenty feet into the passage, you find a way going west where you can see daylight. Rhok goes to take a closer look and finds himself in a legde overlooking the river. He goes back to the group and keep marching.

The passage turns east and you get to a T shapped crossing. The wine cellar is some 15 feet up front, and the passage going south goes to a different room that you have not explored.

"We can check that room later, if we don't find the creature at the wine cellar" Lothlién suggests, nodding to the other room, but keeping his pace towards the cellar.

"Good enough." Lia agrees and follows towards the wine cellar.

You pass the dorrway and keep walking east into the mointan. You arrive at the wine cellar.

The smell of alcohol is strong in this room. Twelve forty-gallon barrels rest along the north, east and south walls, secured by wooden braces. The ones on the south wall have spigots tapped into them. A young gnome in a purple stained apron, with two empty buckets at his feet, is filling a small mug out of one of them.

"Excuse us, but the kings have asked us to check everything in the complex for a shapeshifter." Lia explains as she starts into the room.

Rhok starts looking around the wine room as well

Perception: 13

Lothlién goes in poking everything, again. "Excuse us" he says, after Lia.

The gnome jumps at the sound of your voice and almost drops the mug "I was just testing the spigot flow" he stammers embarrassed. He quickly downs the wine and turns to Lia "a shapeshifter? that would explain so many things". He picks up the empty buckets and makes way for the exit "you look more than capable of dealing with that, I'll go back to the kitchen."

The room is colder than the other you have passed before. You walk around poking at the barrels and their wooden braces. When Lothlién gets to the third barrel on the north wall, the crossbow bolt he was using to poke at things gets stuck, as if it were just glued in place. The barrel opens a wide mouth full of fangs and a purple tongue sticks out grasping for prey.

Mimic initiative: 9

We need Xarroth's initiative to start the fight.

12 Rhok
10 Lothlién
  7 Lia
  3 Mimic

(Just for consistancy...)

As the gnome moves to leave Lia would poke the bucket with a dagger.

The gnome looks at Lia with fear and scurries away.

This room is almost 40 by 40 foot, the entrance is on the west wall. There are 4 wine barrels in each of the three other walls. One of the barrels on the north wall was a mimic in disguise, Lothlién is standing right in front of it. Rhok and Lia are inside the room, checking other things, Xarroth is near the entrace, keeping guard just in case.

Rhok goes first.

12 Rhok
10 Lothlién
  9 Xarroth
  7 Lia
  3 Mimic

Rhok lets out a growl, as a bonus action, he'd like to cast hunters mark on the mimic so it can't hide away so easily, and fires a crossbow bolt at it hoping to adhere it to the wall

Attack roll: Attack: 15 Damage: 8

Hunters mark: 2

OOC: I had to add the hunter marks damage roll, not sure why its flagging it as a potential tampered roll, total damage is 14 (8+6)

Rhok's bolt flies through the room and hits the mimic's tongue. The creature lets out a snarl and opens it mouth even wider, preparing to bite.

Lothlién is up next.

12 Rhok
10 Lothlién
  9 Xarroth
  7 Lia
  3 Mimic (14)

Lothlién get's scared for a second, and almost as a reflex he moves his hands in some specific forms and blows a chill wind on the monster.

Frostbite: DC 13 CON or take 1 and have disavantage on next attack

If he notices the attack landed, he'll run as far as he can from the hungry barrel

OOC: wow, much damage

Let's see how this goes, first CON save: 14

Half-surprised by the monster's sudden movement, and distracted by the crossbow bolt that just flew inches from him, Lothlién's spell misses the monster, creating a frost patch in the wall behind it.

Xarroth goes now.

12 Rhok
10 Lothlién
  9 Xarroth
  7 Lia
  3 Mimic (14)

The dragonborn lets out a ferocious growl as as he exclaims, "The source of our tedious, meticulous searching... you shall meet your end in righteous flame!" A light shimmers underneath his scales and forms an orb in his hand that roars into a fire before being slung towards the creature!