[OOC: Deadones, to be clear, you're saying Shoowaa got loose from his manacles and took those and his belt off and is not trying to appear as if he is still chained up?]

"Shoowaa - careful please.  It is wonderful that you are free of your manacles, but we need to hide our freedom until we are ready to all move together.  Also, elves are not easily charmed, and I don't think drow are any different in that respect."

Tanis is whispering urgently, even though there is no need to whisper telepathically.  He looks to the other goblin, Phodoxia, for help.

"The darklake is likely our best option, we can decide what to do once there." Vethna says with a nod. "For what to do here, I think, as we already discussed, a small group goes in to get the supplies and what gear they can get. This group should be the most sneaky of us, while those with less stealth keep an eye out. We all meet up where we can tie a rope off to get down to the lake. From there we head towards the dark lake."

Shoowaa sighs and puts the belt back on, a bit annoyed. <Ah…fiiiine.  I guess charm won’t work very well. I thought it would help…I don’t know about drow except most are mean.> Shoowaa perks up, <I can go with sneaky group, I cam sneak pretty well!>

(he’ll keep it on…for now.)

Quote from DeadOnes >>

Shoowaa sighs and puts the belt back on, a bit annoyed. <Ah…fiiiine.  I guess charm won’t work very well. I thought it would help…I don’t know about drow except most are mean.> Shoowaa perks up, <I can go with sneaky group, I cam sneak pretty well!>

Petmailer looks Shoowaa straight in the eye when he says "I don't know about drow except most are mean.", says "You are right about that.  We are rather... stern.  I sense from Jorlan that the time for his distraction will be soon, but I'm not sure exactly when.  I didn't want to talk too long or draw attention to us.  I do have a 5 foot segment of silk rope.  We could cut it into strands around a foot long, loop it over the spider strands and ride it down like a zip line.  At then end, jump off and dive into the water.  Does anyone have anything else that could help, or a way to cut the rope into lengths for us?  Perhaps smaller members could climb onto the backs of the bigger ones and ride down.  Any other ideas?"

Tanis nods thoughtfully.  "We may need to use any or all of these techniques.  I don't have anything useful on me.  Worst comes to worst, the pool is deep and there did not appear to be any rocks sticking out.  I think we could even survive a straight jump.  And Stool doesn't have any hands to climb down or hold on to anyone, so someone would either need to carry them or jump down with them."

Tanis smiles ruefully and nods when he thinks about the "sneaky" group getting supplies from the first stalactite tower.  "I am a scout.  I'm supposed to be sneaky.  Apparently didn't do such a good job of it when these bastards caught me.  But I can be part of the sneaky group going to the tower when the time comes."

"Shuushar, or any of the rest of you, can you remind me which passageway we should use to head for darklake?  And which passageway towards Menzobarranzan (let's avoid that one)."

Tanis also tries to think how tough it was to cross the rope bridges.  Do we feel we can all cross them safely and quickly for a raid of the first tower if it comes to that, especially with hands loaded down with equipment?

Shuushar would reply that the passage to the northwest leads to the dark lake. The northern passage heads toward Menzoberranzan.

Jimjar adds "Blingdenstone also lies to the North"

Phodoxia frowns, twisting her hands back and forth in the manacles she wasn't able to get out of. She looks at the other goblin who is giddy with freedom and ideas. Silly ideas. <Yeah, you can't charm elves.... have you ever tried? Don't try. On the other hand, there's some BIG spiders in those webs, I'm pretty sure. Why don't you make friends with those?>

<Nooooo, I have not, I don’t like using that spell uness needed.  Yes yes yes!  I have many spells that can help be friends with spiders!  I love making animal friends!  I have some animal friends wt home, Some squrrels, a rabbit, some other animals>

[OOC: Last call for any planning or discussions. If there's nothing else anyone wants to do or talk about, I'll progress the action later this evening.]

As everyone considers plans, Kisiki reiterates his discovery from earlier, "The lift is lowered by spider silk. We cannot all fit on the lift, but we can slide down the silk very quickly if we can safely get to that area."

Other than that he also lets everyone know that he can speak with animals. "Semuanya is mother of all beasts. Once they know I am her chosen, they will welcome us in their web."

DAY 3 - Days without water 0 Days without food 0 Days without rest 0 

You chat some through the night, trying to decide on different potential paths for escape. You keep watching to see if Jorlan will return and listening for signs of a distraction, but nothing happens. Eventually, one by one, you drop off to sleep, exhausted from the days work. As the day before, you are rudely awakened by a guard clanging his sword against the bars. It's still as dark in the cave as it ever has been, but apparently it's morning.

"Alright, today we'll need a kitchen crew again, a small crew to empty chamber pots, and the mistress wants her quarters swept and cleaned, as well as the shrine. We're expecting visitors in a couple of days and she wants everything clean and shiny. I think we'll go with the same crew for the kitchen, fish man, the dwarf and the derro will be on chamber pot duty and... (he covers his ears as there is a horrible screeck) AHHHH!!!!   What in the 9 hells is that??!! 

You hear a horrific piercing screech coming from somewhere in the cavern. A large shadow passes swiftly over the ledge outside the entrance to the prisoner's cave, then another a few seconds later. There is another loud screech, closer this time. 

47

The guard standing by the gate clutches his ears again and then drops to his knees before falling forward, face down. In addition to these screeches, you begin to hear a horrible droning noise coming from the north. You hear an alarm trumpet sound from somewhere north of the cave, then another trumpet blast twice from the south. Mixed in with the unbearable droning noise that continues to get ever louder, you hear shouts and running in the distance. A few quaggoths come charging up the stairs to the right of the cave and then rush across the rope bridge toward the guard tower. The guard who collapsed by the gate is stirring, struggling to get up to his knees. You see blood trickling down from his ears.

The screeches and droning have been horrific inside the cave, but you think you aren't getting the full force of the sound. 

The drow outpost has been thrown into chaos. 

What will you do?

Vethna rushes to the guard and attempts to get the keys off of him...

Sleight of hand: 14

If she gets the keys then she will immediately unlock the gate. "Those who can move quickly, let us get to the armory and get what we can. Everyone, try to meet down at the lake, getting there anyway you can..." With that she is off, moving towards the armory.

You can just reach the guard as he struggles to sit up and leans back against the gate. He is dazed and struggling and doesn't notice you snatch the keys from his belt. As you unlock the gate, a drow guard comes running up the stairs from the direction of the quaggoth pen. 

And with that, let's roll initiative to have a turn order for taking actions. I'll mix in some of the other NPC prisoners where it seems appropriate.

Vethna initiative: 17

Tanis Initiative:  24

Petmailer initiative :  4 

“Grab his weapons!”  He does a quick look around the cell to see the reactions of others.

Initiative for the stunned guard (at disadvantage) 4

Initiative for the guard running up the stairs (not stunned) 5