Zyllith follows along with the rest of her companions, though not entirely happy getting drenched, she has clearly had enough experience with the state to handle it fairly effortlessly as she makes her way to the opposite side.
Belkas is pleasantly surprised when Arisa uses her magic to dry them off. "Thank you. Your kindness is appreciated. There is little worse than long days walking in wet leather armor and boots."
He turns his head to adress the imp on his shoulder, "Crowley, could you turn invisible and take a quick look inside the entrance of the cave?"
Once you're all across and have been suitably dried by the use of Arisa's magic, Crowley complies, and vanishes form sight. A couple minutes later, he returns and tells you that the entrance to the cave that's set into the bank goes back about 10 feet before opening up into a larger cave about 20x30 feet in size. He also tells you that the cave is filled with a number of large purple mushrooms about 4-5 feet in height, and that there might be another chamber beyond this initial cave, but he wasn't sure, since he didn't go any further.
“Sounds like underdark fungi of some sort, perhaps?” Arisa tries to remember what she might know of anything matching that description. 5 nature, +3 more if arcana or herbalism kit works.
Arisa knows that there are many kinds of mushrooms and fungi that are found in the underdark and in other dark, damp places. Unfortunately, based on Crowley's description, nothing comes to mind as far as exactly what type these might be.
The five of your head towards the cave entrance, which is a 5-6 foot tall dark hole that's set into a muddy, rocky bluff on this side of the river. Grasses and weeds overhang a little bit of the top of the entrance, so brushing those aside, you make your way inside, with Siobhan ducking a bit so as not to bump her head. About ten feet past the entrance, which slopes down just a little bit, the narrow cave opens up into a much larger chamber, just as Crowley described. It's about 20 feet wide and 30 feet long with a damp, dirt floor and a strong, musty, rotting smell. (Enough light is cascading into his room that you can see at least a little bit without dark vision.
You now see the mushrooms that Crowley was talking about. There appear to be about 8 of them, spaced at regular intervals, each about 5-7 feet apart, the first ones just over 10 feet away from you. They're about 4-5 feet tall, with thick gray rooty bases, cone-like purple tops and long root-like stalks that protrude from within the fungi's central mass.
At the far end of the chamber, you can see that there's a exit that obviously leads even deeper into his cave.
(Let me know your marching order, and if you activate any light sources. Also, does Vernon dispel his Steed or leave it outside the cave? Finally, both Elion and Shalvus who are still with you have decided to remain outside on the other side of the bank and keep watch.)
Vernon will dismount, telepathically telling Misniúl, "Stay out here and alert me if those two make a fuss or if anything happens to them." He will switch to his Warhammer configuration and lead the way, assuming someone faster doesn't.
Zyllith will quietly move in behind Vernon. She will be trying to move quietly in case they run into someone, or something, which she would prefer didn't notice her. The tiefling is frowning slightly as she moves forward, she's hardly an expert when it comes to caves of this sort, after all, and has no idea what to expect.
Arisa knows that there are some fungi that feed on living things, and although she doesn't have any experience with this specific kind of mushroom that's currently in front of you, based on its anatomy, she has a feeling that this could be one of those types.
“These look dangerous- like carnivore fungi…let’s be ready in case they can lash out with those tentacles..” Arisa says, recoiling a bit from the sight.
Belkas follows the others into the cave. A wave of unease passes over him. This is the first time he has been underground since escaping from the Underdark. He almost feels sick to his stomach, but he takes a deep breath to calm himself and continues on.
He cautiously examines the large mushrooms from a distance, trying to recall if he has seen or heard of them before.
Like Arisa, Belkas knows from his experiences in the Underdark that some fungi can indeed feed off of living things, even man-sized creatures. He can’t remember the exact name of this particular species, but the purple tops seem to ring a bell in his mind as one that’s best avoided if possible.
( Zyllith will move ahead of Arisa, since she needs to be in melee if anything happens, but still letting Vernon go before her. )
Zyllith was hardly in her element, and so was happy to take Arisa's warning at her word as she kept her distance from the nasty looking mushrooms. She continued moving forward behind Vernon, using her darkvision to scout ahead for the rest.
Ok, I'm going to assume that you proceed with the marching order specified above, moving in single as you try to thread your way through the mushrooms while trying not to disturb them. Going by your observation and instincts, based on how the mushrooms are scattered about the chamber, it would seem that the best route would be to hug the right hand wall of the cave, which would put you about 10 feet away from 3 of them, 5 feet away from two of them, and 15 feet away from the three that are furthest to your left.
So... you proceed, keeping your steps as light as possible, as you move across the damp stone floor, while keeping your bodies as close to that left wall as possible. Soon, Vernon is beyond the halfway point, with Arisa just behind. They find themselves as close as they're going to get to any of the mushrooms, passing just a few feet away from those two that are on the right side of the grouping. They can smell the musty, rotting odor that emanates from these large fungi, while keeping their eyes on the long tall, long stalks that remain motionless, sticking up in their above the purple heads.
Then suddenly, you see one of them move... then another, and before you know it, the two closest mushrooms each swing their four stalks down towards Vernon and Arisa. The, you see another one move... the one that's closest to Zyllith.
Vernon will spin around, shouting "Ladnalf!" As he presents his old shield strapped to his back, sparks will fly from the flaming hammer emblazoned upon it at the mushrooms. Word of Radiance targeting all mushrooms within 5 ft. (He ends the spin facing them again.)
Zyllith follows along with the rest of her companions, though not entirely happy getting drenched, she has clearly had enough experience with the state to handle it fairly effortlessly as she makes her way to the opposite side.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Belkas is pleasantly surprised when Arisa uses her magic to dry them off. "Thank you. Your kindness is appreciated. There is little worse than long days walking in wet leather armor and boots."
He turns his head to adress the imp on his shoulder, "Crowley, could you turn invisible and take a quick look inside the entrance of the cave?"
Once you're all across and have been suitably dried by the use of Arisa's magic, Crowley complies, and vanishes form sight. A couple minutes later, he returns and tells you that the entrance to the cave that's set into the bank goes back about 10 feet before opening up into a larger cave about 20x30 feet in size. He also tells you that the cave is filled with a number of large purple mushrooms about 4-5 feet in height, and that there might be another chamber beyond this initial cave, but he wasn't sure, since he didn't go any further.
“Sounds like underdark fungi of some sort, perhaps?” Arisa tries to remember what she might know of anything matching that description. 5 nature, +3 more if arcana or herbalism kit works.
Arisa knows that there are many kinds of mushrooms and fungi that are found in the underdark and in other dark, damp places. Unfortunately, based on Crowley's description, nothing comes to mind as far as exactly what type these might be.
Belkas thanks the imp and then looks at the others, "Shall we we go in and explore, or would you like Crowley to scout further in first?"
“Let’s go in.. but don’t touch the mushrooms until we get a closer look.” Arisa suggests. “And be ready in case anyone is home..”. She smiles,
The five of your head towards the cave entrance, which is a 5-6 foot tall dark hole that's set into a muddy, rocky bluff on this side of the river. Grasses and weeds overhang a little bit of the top of the entrance, so brushing those aside, you make your way inside, with Siobhan ducking a bit so as not to bump her head. About ten feet past the entrance, which slopes down just a little bit, the narrow cave opens up into a much larger chamber, just as Crowley described. It's about 20 feet wide and 30 feet long with a damp, dirt floor and a strong, musty, rotting smell. (Enough light is cascading into his room that you can see at least a little bit without dark vision.
You now see the mushrooms that Crowley was talking about. There appear to be about 8 of them, spaced at regular intervals, each about 5-7 feet apart, the first ones just over 10 feet away from you. They're about 4-5 feet tall, with thick gray rooty bases, cone-like purple tops and long root-like stalks that protrude from within the fungi's central mass.
At the far end of the chamber, you can see that there's a exit that obviously leads even deeper into his cave.
(Let me know your marching order, and if you activate any light sources. Also, does Vernon dispel his Steed or leave it outside the cave? Finally, both Elion and Shalvus who are still with you have decided to remain outside on the other side of the bank and keep watch.)
Vernon will dismount, telepathically telling Misniúl, "Stay out here and alert me if those two make a fuss or if anything happens to them." He will switch to his Warhammer configuration and lead the way, assuming someone faster doesn't.
Zyllith will quietly move in behind Vernon. She will be trying to move quietly in case they run into someone, or something, which she would prefer didn't notice her. The tiefling is frowning slightly as she moves forward, she's hardly an expert when it comes to caves of this sort, after all, and has no idea what to expect.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Arisa studies the mushrooms carefully(without approach) and thinks about what she knows…
17 just a flat d20. +3 for nature, +4 for survival, +6 for herbalist kit.
Arisa knows that there are some fungi that feed on living things, and although she doesn't have any experience with this specific kind of mushroom that's currently in front of you, based on its anatomy, she has a feeling that this could be one of those types.
“These look dangerous- like carnivore fungi…let’s be ready in case they can lash out with those tentacles..” Arisa says, recoiling a bit from the sight.
Belkas follows the others into the cave. A wave of unease passes over him. This is the first time he has been underground since escaping from the Underdark. He almost feels sick to his stomach, but he takes a deep breath to calm himself and continues on.
He cautiously examines the large mushrooms from a distance, trying to recall if he has seen or heard of them before.
--
Nature check: 15 (12+3)
Like Arisa, Belkas knows from his experiences in the Underdark that some fungi can indeed feed off of living things, even man-sized creatures. He can’t remember the exact name of this particular species, but the purple tops seem to ring a bell in his mind as one that’s best avoided if possible.
Having nothing to add to Arisa's warnings, Belkas proceeds onwards, careful to stay as far away as possible from the mushrooms.
As the cave gets darker he says, "Do you want those of us with darkvision to scout farther in before we use lights and draw attention to ourselves?"
--
(How does this look for Marching Order for now, until we decide what to do about light? I believe Arisa and Siobhan will need a light source soon.
1. Vernon
2. Arisa
3. Zyllith
4. Siobhan
5. Belkas)
( Zyllith will move ahead of Arisa, since she needs to be in melee if anything happens, but still letting Vernon go before her. )
Zyllith was hardly in her element, and so was happy to take Arisa's warning at her word as she kept her distance from the nasty looking mushrooms. She continued moving forward behind Vernon, using her darkvision to scout ahead for the rest.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Ok, I'm going to assume that you proceed with the marching order specified above, moving in single as you try to thread your way through the mushrooms while trying not to disturb them. Going by your observation and instincts, based on how the mushrooms are scattered about the chamber, it would seem that the best route would be to hug the right hand wall of the cave, which would put you about 10 feet away from 3 of them, 5 feet away from two of them, and 15 feet away from the three that are furthest to your left.
So... you proceed, keeping your steps as light as possible, as you move across the damp stone floor, while keeping your bodies as close to that left wall as possible. Soon, Vernon is beyond the halfway point, with Arisa just behind. They find themselves as close as they're going to get to any of the mushrooms, passing just a few feet away from those two that are on the right side of the grouping. They can smell the musty, rotting odor that emanates from these large fungi, while keeping their eyes on the long tall, long stalks that remain motionless, sticking up in their above the purple heads.
Then suddenly, you see one of them move... then another, and before you know it, the two closest mushrooms each swing their four stalks down towards Vernon and Arisa. The, you see another one move... the one that's closest to Zyllith.
Everyone roll initiative and state actions.
Initiative: adv(12, 11) = 12
Vernon will spin around, shouting "Ladnalf!" As he presents his old shield strapped to his back, sparks will fly from the flaming hammer emblazoned upon it at the mushrooms. Word of Radiance targeting all mushrooms within 5 ft. (He ends the spin facing them again.)
CON 13 save or take 6 + 6 = 12 Radiant damage.
Zyllith lets out a sharp scream at the nearby moving fungus before stabbing it with her rapier.
Initiative: 16+7 = 23
Rapier Attack: 5+8 = 13 Damage: 9+5 = 14
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn