"You were in the Cult's camp," Rogram begins to the human. "Did you see any way that once Cult member might identify another Cult member?"
...
"Hmmm," Karib pauses and stares a Rogram. "That's a good question."
He takes his hat off and rubs his head then rapidly replaces the hat, annoyed by the unaccustomed regrowth. Thinking back on his time before he made it to the bandits camp, then working at the camp, and after his capture, he tries to recall the details of the behaviour, clothing and words of the cultists. He looks, in retrospect, for patterns or things that might have seemed normal enough at the time, but now are worthy of consideration.
"They had their coloured cloaks and all -- I've still got one of those -- but I'm thinking you mean more than that..."
This is a question for the DM, perhaps: Is Karib able to piece anything together from his recollections?
Aside from Frulam Mondath (the Wearer of Purple), Langdedrosa Cyanwrath (the blue-scaled half-dragon, now dead) and Rezmir (the black-scaled half-dragon), the only uniformed members of the cult wore masks over their faces shaped like a claw - the aptly named Dragonclaws. There were only a few of them in the camp, and they stood guard at the entrance to the hatchery and Rezmir's tent. Their masks and black leather armor were the only semblance of uniform in the entire camp.
Aside from them, draconic imagery was common - motifs on scabbards and emblazoned into armor, etc.
OOC: Not advancing too far into the fungus situation while folks catch up.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The next morning, Merric leaves the shelter of the wagon, shaking the water out of his cloak. He pulls up short at the sight of the fungi and waves back the others, “watch where you step.” He kneels down to inspect them, trying to determine what he knows of the strange spores.
Merric has never seen or heard of fungi like this before.
"What in the devils are these--" Lai shouts, wincing as the Rangers saunter over to the group, stepping on several of the mushrooms and they emit pained moans, "--things, and what do we do about them?"
"The horses are already skittish," Edhelri states. "Something will need to be done about them before we start moving again, or we're asking for panic."
Lai looks to his guards. Barron shrugs, looking to the others, who have similar expressions on their faces. The glances of the merchants pass to the others gathered. In the hour it has taken to awaken, investigate, and gather to discuss, the fungi have grown noticeably larger - most have grown to around six inches tall.
Scared of how the black clouds might affect them if the mushrooms get too big, Rogram begins stomping around, breaking as many as possible. If the spore cloud begins to approach his face, he moves to a new spot, trying to destroy the fungus without breathing in the spores.
"Would be good to know how far these go," Karib says, waving at the mushrooms. He looks for a nearby hill or other vantage point, wondering if he should climb to get a better view while he continues to ponder the cult.
@DM:
So other than clothing, there were no other behaviours -- keywords, secret hand shakes(!) etc that Karib can recall?
He then settles down in the cart, pulling out some what look like carved metal dice, and starts a brief ritual. Uppermost in his mind is the question, of how things might go if they blinker the horses and drive as quickly as possible through the mushrooms.
Merric considers the mushrooms for a moment, then calls back to Lai “I have no idea, never saw anything like it, but try to avoid breathing in the spores, just in case.” As Rogram stomps through patches of the fungi, Merric pulls out a torch, lights it and attempts to burn away a small section of the mushrooms, careful to place the torch where the fire will not spread out of control. “We need to clear a path for the wagons and get out of here.”
That's correct - other than the well-guarded hatchery and the tent of the half-dragon that led the camp, the camp was a very disorganized blend of initiates, mercenaries, and kobolds. There wasn't much distinguishing one person from another, which made it very easy to infiltrate.
The omen that you receive from your course of action is "Woe."
The result of Merric's method of burning the fungi is not dissimilar from Rogram's stomping. As each fungus dies, it emits a puff of black spores and a pained moan, regardless of its manner of death. The horses begin whinnying and shifting as the noises continue; Edhelri and Nyerhite move among them, trying to keep them calm as possible.
Akira does not detect any magic about the fungi; they seem to be natural.
"The elf's got it right," one of the drivers of the presumed Cult wagons says. "We don't need to get rid of 'em all, just need to clear the road for the wagons and then get moving."
Encouraged by the driver’s response, Merric calls to Rogram and any of the other nearby guards, especially their newfound Rangers, to help clear a path wide enough for the wagons to pass. He tries to stay far enough ahead to prevent the horses from being spooked by the shrieks of the dying mushrooms. On a whim, he cuts away a small specimen and sticks it in his pouch for later research, it is not often he comes across something he has never seen before. As a final precaution, he fashions a makeshift mask covering the bottom of his face from a cravat. "Quickly, let's get the wagons moving."
Orvustia and Tyjit follow Akira's lead, and a guard from one of the Cult's assumed wagons joins Rogram and Merric in cutting, stomping, and slashing through mushrooms along the road. The mushrooms continue their rapid growth, making each cut and swing harder than the one before, and within another hour, each of the mushrooms is a foot tall. The shrieking, moaning, and groaning emanating from the dying fungi continue to spook the horses; it is all Edhelri, Nyerhite, and the others near the wagons can do to keep the animals from bolting, and a growing sense of dread mounts among the caravan. The worry only increases when eight minutes into the efforts, Akira suddenly breaks down in apparent grief from the thousands of tiny cries of pain and death groans and turns away from the path, refusing to assist any further. Only minutes later, the other guard assisting follows suit, tears streaking down his face as he returns to the wagons, hunched over with his hands clutching his ears.
Seventy minutes after beginning the efforts, the road has been cleared of the growths, and an uncomfortable silence fills the air once the terrible symphony of the fungi has concluded.
For Akira:
These tiny shriekers look familiar to you and resemble a deadly poisonous fungus you have seen in shallow caves.
The sounds the mushrooms emit is distressing to you. Shortly into the process of stomping them, you are overcome with feelings of grief and remorse and are unable to face the sounds anymore.
Once the task is done, Rogram moves over to the side of the caravan and looks at the field of fungi that remains as the horses, wagons and people move past. Looking down at his feet and legs, the half-dwarf leans over and brushes at the spores that are clinging to him. He finally takes a moment and sits until the last caravan has caught up to him. He gets up and begins plodding along behind, glad to be done with that!
OOC: Looks like everyone is unphased and we're moving on!
Happy to be leaving the strange growths far behind, the caravan rumbles on with a nervous tension until the fungi are no longer in sight. From there, the sun returns, continuing to warm the entirety of the day, along with the following two. Most are in good spirits as the wagons roll closer to Daggerford, the next and nearest stop to Waterdeep, with the exception of Akira, who suffers from intense nightmares each night. To sour her spirits further, Aldor Urnpoleshurst makes another appearance two days after the humungous fungi.
"Madame Akira," he bows as he walks alongside her, "Thank you for your time. I know you have preached patience and sent me away empty-handed in the past, but I have been sleeping on it, and after the terror of those screaming mushrooms, I have come to increase my generous offer even further. I am certain had I access to spells and time to learn them I could have been of great assistance in clearing those growths, and I am reticent that I did not offer more previously. Please accept my offer of fifteen gold pieces for your spellbook. I know, it's an outlandish amount, but desperate times call for desperate measures and I simply cannot get it off of my mind. This will be my final offer, however. I could not possibly bring myself to offer more."
Elsewhere on the caravan, talk abounds of Daggerford. Those travelers making it their final destination speak of its grand Ducal Castle, home of the Duke of Daggerford, and Morninglow Tower, the beautiful temple built to honor Lathander. Foremost in the tales of its citizenry is the storied Sir Isteval, a retired Cormyrian knight of great renown known to have battled a dracolich, a black dragon, and a green dragon in his time - and, more importantly, survived.
OOC: Each character has received 300 XP for assisting the caravan through the fungi.
Rogram continues to ponder ways to try to get into the Cult of the Dragon. He has had so little success with any of those he's identified as members. He finally decides to boldly approach the woman the night before they anticipate arriving in Daggerford.
OOC: Should I go ahead and begin that conversation, DM?
Akira wears a bedraggled expression, weary from the noise still reverberating in her head from the screaming.
As she is confronted by the intensely persistent businessman, she looks over to Rogram and other to get their attention. Once she has done so, she clears her throat loudly: “It seems we have arrived at a place where your wit’s end meets the thinnest stretch of my patience. For the modest offering of 15 gold, I could, at best, scribe a scroll to cast a cantrip of my choosing. Your persistence would make you a great student but your lack of discipline and consideration for the time, effort, and gold that goes into my craft makes me unsure I would want to aid you in this way. I will say outright - my spell book is NOT now, NOR will it be for sale or even of use to anyone on this caravan who is not me. Your ridiculous inability to hear what I have told you each time makes me concerned not only for your ears but what might be creating such a sense of urgency. Tell us truly what your need is and we can began anew. Otherwise, I should ask that we stop with these meetings altogether.”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A) Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter -Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5) Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
"Hmmm," Karib pauses and stares a Rogram. "That's a good question."
He takes his hat off and rubs his head then rapidly replaces the hat, annoyed by the unaccustomed regrowth. Thinking back on his time before he made it to the bandits camp, then working at the camp, and after his capture, he tries to recall the details of the behaviour, clothing and words of the cultists. He looks, in retrospect, for patterns or things that might have seemed normal enough at the time, but now are worthy of consideration.
"They had their coloured cloaks and all -- I've still got one of those -- but I'm thinking you mean more than that..."
This is a question for the DM, perhaps: Is Karib able to piece anything together from his recollections?
For Karib:
Aside from Frulam Mondath (the Wearer of Purple), Langdedrosa Cyanwrath (the blue-scaled half-dragon, now dead) and Rezmir (the black-scaled half-dragon), the only uniformed members of the cult wore masks over their faces shaped like a claw - the aptly named Dragonclaws. There were only a few of them in the camp, and they stood guard at the entrance to the hatchery and Rezmir's tent. Their masks and black leather armor were the only semblance of uniform in the entire camp.
Aside from them, draconic imagery was common - motifs on scabbards and emblazoned into armor, etc.
OOC: Not advancing too far into the fungus situation while folks catch up.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
The next morning, Merric leaves the shelter of the wagon, shaking the water out of his cloak. He pulls up short at the sight of the fungi and waves back the others, “watch where you step.” He kneels down to inspect them, trying to determine what he knows of the strange spores.
Nature: 3.
.
For Merric:
Merric has never seen or heard of fungi like this before.
"What in the devils are these--" Lai shouts, wincing as the Rangers saunter over to the group, stepping on several of the mushrooms and they emit pained moans, "--things, and what do we do about them?"
"The horses are already skittish," Edhelri states. "Something will need to be done about them before we start moving again, or we're asking for panic."
Lai looks to his guards. Barron shrugs, looking to the others, who have similar expressions on their faces. The glances of the merchants pass to the others gathered. In the hour it has taken to awaken, investigate, and gather to discuss, the fungi have grown noticeably larger - most have grown to around six inches tall.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Do the ones that have been stepped on appear to be gone/dead? Or are they coming back and growing as well?
OOC: No, there's no regrowth of the ones that have been trampled.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Scared of how the black clouds might affect them if the mushrooms get too big, Rogram begins stomping around, breaking as many as possible. If the spore cloud begins to approach his face, he moves to a new spot, trying to destroy the fungus without breathing in the spores.
"Would be good to know how far these go," Karib says, waving at the mushrooms. He looks for a nearby hill or other vantage point, wondering if he should climb to get a better view while he continues to ponder the cult.
@DM:
So other than clothing, there were no other behaviours -- keywords, secret hand shakes(!) etc that Karib can recall?
He then settles down in the cart, pulling out some what look like carved metal dice, and starts a brief ritual. Uppermost in his mind is the question, of how things might go if they blinker the horses and drive as quickly as possible through the mushrooms.
Merric considers the mushrooms for a moment, then calls back to Lai “I have no idea, never saw anything like it, but try to avoid breathing in the spores, just in case.” As Rogram stomps through patches of the fungi, Merric pulls out a torch, lights it and attempts to burn away a small section of the mushrooms, careful to place the torch where the fire will not spread out of control. “We need to clear a path for the wagons and get out of here.”
Akira will examine the mushrooms from an arcane perspective, using Detect Magic as a ritual.
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
For Karib:
That's correct - other than the well-guarded hatchery and the tent of the half-dragon that led the camp, the camp was a very disorganized blend of initiates, mercenaries, and kobolds. There wasn't much distinguishing one person from another, which made it very easy to infiltrate.
The omen that you receive from your course of action is "Woe."
The result of Merric's method of burning the fungi is not dissimilar from Rogram's stomping. As each fungus dies, it emits a puff of black spores and a pained moan, regardless of its manner of death. The horses begin whinnying and shifting as the noises continue; Edhelri and Nyerhite move among them, trying to keep them calm as possible.
Akira does not detect any magic about the fungi; they seem to be natural.
"The elf's got it right," one of the drivers of the presumed Cult wagons says. "We don't need to get rid of 'em all, just need to clear the road for the wagons and then get moving."
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Encouraged by the driver’s response, Merric calls to Rogram and any of the other nearby guards, especially their newfound Rangers, to help clear a path wide enough for the wagons to pass. He tries to stay far enough ahead to prevent the horses from being spooked by the shrieks of the dying mushrooms. On a whim, he cuts away a small specimen and sticks it in his pouch for later research, it is not often he comes across something he has never seen before. As a final precaution, he fashions a makeshift mask covering the bottom of his face from a cravat. "Quickly, let's get the wagons moving."
.
Rogram moves to the road and begins stomping on mushrooms as quickly as possible.
Akira will join the stomping efforts while trying to recall studies around anything like these mushrooms.
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
Orvustia and Tyjit follow Akira's lead, and a guard from one of the Cult's assumed wagons joins Rogram and Merric in cutting, stomping, and slashing through mushrooms along the road. The mushrooms continue their rapid growth, making each cut and swing harder than the one before, and within another hour, each of the mushrooms is a foot tall. The shrieking, moaning, and groaning emanating from the dying fungi continue to spook the horses; it is all Edhelri, Nyerhite, and the others near the wagons can do to keep the animals from bolting, and a growing sense of dread mounts among the caravan. The worry only increases when eight minutes into the efforts, Akira suddenly breaks down in apparent grief from the thousands of tiny cries of pain and death groans and turns away from the path, refusing to assist any further. Only minutes later, the other guard assisting follows suit, tears streaking down his face as he returns to the wagons, hunched over with his hands clutching his ears.
Seventy minutes after beginning the efforts, the road has been cleared of the growths, and an uncomfortable silence fills the air once the terrible symphony of the fungi has concluded.
For Akira:
These tiny shriekers look familiar to you and resemble a deadly poisonous fungus you have seen in shallow caves.
The sounds the mushrooms emit is distressing to you. Shortly into the process of stomping them, you are overcome with feelings of grief and remorse and are unable to face the sounds anymore.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Once the task is done, Rogram moves over to the side of the caravan and looks at the field of fungi that remains as the horses, wagons and people move past. Looking down at his feet and legs, the half-dwarf leans over and brushes at the spores that are clinging to him. He finally takes a moment and sits until the last caravan has caught up to him. He gets up and begins plodding along behind, glad to be done with that!
OOC: Looks like everyone is unphased and we're moving on!
Happy to be leaving the strange growths far behind, the caravan rumbles on with a nervous tension until the fungi are no longer in sight. From there, the sun returns, continuing to warm the entirety of the day, along with the following two. Most are in good spirits as the wagons roll closer to Daggerford, the next and nearest stop to Waterdeep, with the exception of Akira, who suffers from intense nightmares each night. To sour her spirits further, Aldor Urnpoleshurst makes another appearance two days after the humungous fungi.
"Madame Akira," he bows as he walks alongside her, "Thank you for your time. I know you have preached patience and sent me away empty-handed in the past, but I have been sleeping on it, and after the terror of those screaming mushrooms, I have come to increase my generous offer even further. I am certain had I access to spells and time to learn them I could have been of great assistance in clearing those growths, and I am reticent that I did not offer more previously. Please accept my offer of fifteen gold pieces for your spellbook. I know, it's an outlandish amount, but desperate times call for desperate measures and I simply cannot get it off of my mind. This will be my final offer, however. I could not possibly bring myself to offer more."
Elsewhere on the caravan, talk abounds of Daggerford. Those travelers making it their final destination speak of its grand Ducal Castle, home of the Duke of Daggerford, and Morninglow Tower, the beautiful temple built to honor Lathander. Foremost in the tales of its citizenry is the storied Sir Isteval, a retired Cormyrian knight of great renown known to have battled a dracolich, a black dragon, and a green dragon in his time - and, more importantly, survived.
OOC: Each character has received 300 XP for assisting the caravan through the fungi.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Rogram continues to ponder ways to try to get into the Cult of the Dragon. He has had so little success with any of those he's identified as members. He finally decides to boldly approach the woman the night before they anticipate arriving in Daggerford.
OOC: Should I go ahead and begin that conversation, DM?
Akira wears a bedraggled expression, weary from the noise still reverberating in her head from the screaming.
As she is confronted by the intensely persistent businessman, she looks over to Rogram and other to get their attention. Once she has done so, she clears her throat loudly: “It seems we have arrived at a place where your wit’s end meets the thinnest stretch of my patience. For the modest offering of 15 gold, I could, at best, scribe a scroll to cast a cantrip of my choosing. Your persistence would make you a great student but your lack of discipline and consideration for the time, effort, and gold that goes into my craft makes me unsure I would want to aid you in this way. I will say outright - my spell book is NOT now, NOR will it be for sale or even of use to anyone on this caravan who is not me. Your ridiculous inability to hear what I have told you each time makes me concerned not only for your ears but what might be creating such a sense of urgency. Tell us truly what your need is and we can began anew. Otherwise, I should ask that we stop with these meetings altogether.”
Halsen - Human Monk - Winter Splendor
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's Blade Bizarre
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Betrayal at Devilsfall
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Hidden War" (Doom Portals Part 4A)
Aradurk - Half-Orc Fighter - Barty's "The Whispered Word (Doom Portals Part 5)
Garu - Tabaxi Paladin - Barty's "Beyond Twilight" (Rikirta Part 3)
OOC: Absolutely, feel free to get that dialogue going, I'll resolve it along with the Aldor situation
See my profile for all my PbP threads!