Oten pays very close attention to both the ritual and Ro's explanation afterwards, actively processing the whole time. By the time Ro makes a request to hang on to the book, Oten seems already decided. With no hesitation, he says "It seems only natural, at least to me, that you should retain the book. I feel it is far more valuable in your hands then mine, even if I could link with it in the way you describe. However, my sensors detected no external attempts to interface with my neural structure, so I sense I may be... incompatible. in my current form." Oten steps away from the crate and turns to speak to Ro once more. "Though if I may, I would certainly appreciate an opportunity to put our heads together at a later time, so to speak, to discuss the fascinating mechanisms of the book's function. I would like to ask you some questions regarding its unique method of information storage and dissemination once you have had more chance to explore its intricacies yourself. If you wouldn't mind, of course."
Greko finishes freezing the lock and steps aside to see if it works. He turns to Ro upon hearing him talk about the book "If Kazek doesn't feel slighted by your new-found love of a different book, Greko thinks it is appropriate for Ro to keep the book. Well on your way to becoming a powerful wizard hmm?" Greko smiles
The lock bulges, resists, bulges...and explodes, spraying metal shrapnel into the room. It clatters on floors and off crates as the chest bursts. Inside is a pile of gold pieces that, when later counted, would amount to 700 GP...
Given the band's approval, Ro smiled wide, "Thanks everyone, I truly appreciate your praise and trust in me. Hopefully it's another step towards Ro the Red, ay Greko?"
Ro addresses Oten, "I would be thrilled to work with you. Seeing the way you fight and your mechanical companion simply inspires me with so many ideas. I hope we can work on many more projects together after this as well."
Without any further delay, Ro focuses on the book once more. Allowing his mind to connect with the grimoire.
“It makes sense for you to keep the book friend Ro”, Rum says agreeing with the decision whilst he helps pack up the gold.
”Now, Lelith wandered off some time ago, and although I am sure she can handle herself I would feel better catching her up”.
With that he heads back to the entrance room and looks around. Deciding it was most likely Lelith would choose to go up rather than down, he wanders up the stairs. When he gets to the broken area, he simply jumps against the wall and digs his claws in, hanging for a moment before leaping back onto the stairs and continuing up.
Greko follows Rum into the other room. He looks up at the climb and grumbles about not being a spring chicken "Perhaps there is a ladder that you can drop for ole Greko?"
Ro returns to his paused state once more. A wave of information floods his mind, but unlike before he allows it to wash over him.
He finds himself naked, wading above the surface of a calm ocean. The water's depths beckon the elf-dwarf to dive deep into its abyss and he obliges.
As Ro swims down, the sea light dims until darkness takes over. However, the darkness lasts for only a moment as faint, blue lights begin to appearance around him. Jellyfish? Were Ro's first thoughts, but as he looked closer he saw they were arcane runes. An infinite number of these runes appeared, lighting up the darkness like stars in the night.
It was the first time Ro had ever seen runes like this, and yet somehow he knew what they meant. Though they were infinite in number and variations, Ro understood each one intimately.
Suddenly, the runes flew towards a single direction at impossible speeds. Or was it Ro, flying past them? The sigils left streaks of blue as the went past, until everything seemingly zoomed out and Ro stood in a white void staring at a perfect copy of his naked self.
Ro inspected the copy briefly, and when he stared into its eyes he could see the same, starry, runic sky deep in the elf-dwarf's pupils.
Then, as if he had merely blinked, Ro found himself back in the Great Deku Tree with Oten standing at his side.
Sensing his arrival back to reality, Kazek broke the silence, "Ro, are you ok?"
A single tear rolled down the elf-dwarf's cheek, and he wiped it away. He placed a reassuring hand on Kazek, then looked to Oten, "I'm more than ok. I can't describe the experience in any other way except beautiful. Absolutely and peerlessly beautiful."
Ro took a deep breath to further calm himself, then explained to the warforged, "I've come to understand a mere sliver of magic in its rawest form. I can't begin to explain its machinations, but I can call upon it as naturally as taking in a breath of air. Like how a great dragon breaths fire or a changeling shifts form; I can attempt to charm the minds of a great, many others."
Ro pauses a moment, "I thought I understood the fundamentals of magic. But all my studies in the arcane pale in comparison to the way I understand this one spell."
It is only then that Ro notices Rum and Greko's absence. He turns to Oten, "That is all the grimoire offered me, though I still feel a magical presence within its pages. There is something I wish to do later involving Kazek, when time permits. If you'd like, I can call upon you to be present when I perform the experiment."
Ro allows Oten to respond before catching up with the others.
At Greko's inquiry, Ro responds, "We could potentially use that table to bridge the gap. I have tools to nail it down for stability."
The elf-dwarf approaches the table, placing his hands underneath it and looking to the others, "Though I'll need some help putting it in position."
"That would be much appreciated," Oten says in response to Ro's offer.
"Allow me to be of some assistance,"Oten says, grabbing the other end. A whirring sound can be heard from within his chest, as the air above his shoulder vents begins to distort with heat, as if whatever was responsible for powering his body was shifting into high gear in preparation for the exertion.
Lelith's companions who were still on the ground floor heard her voice cry out in both surprise and pain from the first floor, it was quite a commotion as they heard what sounded like chairs and tables either falling or being broken. "Shit! Damn you, you craven creature!"
"Ro, Rumble, anyone! HELP!" Lelith had never cursed before nor called for help, yet there was a first time for everything. She was simply outmatched and at a great disadvantage, there was little she could do but call for her... friends.
Lelith is instantly grappled when she reaches out to inspect the rope. A sticky mucus glues her to the thing as it wraps around her arm and jerks her upwards with little effort, overpowering her quickly. She goes up twenty five feet, over the rim of the third floor up, and sees the Gnolls just before they jump down...
The Second Level
The Gnolls leap down and land all around the second level of the Deku Tree, with two landing pretty close to Rum who is at the top of the stairs...
The First Level
The table gets thrown over the hole in the stairs, covering it and making it passable terrain.
Rum hears Lelith’s calls and turns away from the other’s and heads up to the next floor into the darkness. His keen eyes and ears work together to determine Lelith was pulled up to the third floor just as the Gnolls drop down.
A quick scan of the room shows the grey outline of a ladder heading up, but it was over the other side of the room, holes in the floor and Gnollls between him and it.
He reaches within to his Ki and fuels his muscles before darting towards the closest Gnoll in the centre of the room. He leaps up and aims a kick at it before sailing passed and landing back on the floor, still at full run.
As he reaches the drop his Ki fuelled muscles propel him through the air, sailing over the gap and landing on the floor on the other side, right by the ladder. He expertly ascends onto the next floor, where he takes in his surroundings...
Passive Perception: 17 (Hopefully enough to know where Lelith went and to spot the ladder) Special: 1 Ki - Step of the Wind (Bonus Action Disengage or Dash, jump distance doubled to 24ft) Bonus Action: Dash Movement: Straight to the ladder (40-45ft), up ladder (20ft due to climbing speed), 15-20ft left on third floor. Action: Draconic Strike: : 9+8=17 Damage: 3+6= 9 [Fire] Defense: Until he takes damage any attacks are at disadvantage against him Reaction: He does have reactions, will post again if applicable
Lelith feels herself jerked upwards another 15 feet.... And suddenly she's face to face with the bastard child of a spider and a lobster. The thing reaches out with its claws and attacks her upper body while drawing her in close...
Hearing Lelith's cry for help, Oten turns to look up the stairs, javelin immediately back in his hand. Plates in Otens legs and hips slide apart, allowing heat to vent more efficiently. Gears churn underneath, and muscle-like fibers heat to red. A hiss of steam escapes, and then wood splinters under his feet as he takes off sprinting up the stairs.
Reaching the top of the stairs, he turns on a dime, kicking up more splinters, and launches himself in the direction of the second set leading up to the third floor. Seeing gnolls in the way, he flicks his arm out, sending his javelin at the nearest one in his path.
Ro had just hammered in the last nail to the makeshift table-bridge when he heard Lelith call out for him. The elf-dwarf fumbled a bit to put his tools away before following Oten up into the second floor. Whilst running up the stairs, he called out, "Lelith, where are you!?"
As he enters the new room, Ro sees the five gnolls and after some quick thinking he taunts them to gain their attention, "Hey uglies, this way!"
When the gnolls turn to look at Ro, he snaps his fingers. For a short moment, the dark room is lit up with light as the air around the gnolls is filled with an infinite void of starry runes. As quickly as they appeared, the runes vanish but not before leaving the gnolls in a daze.
Ro then musters up a commanding tone and yells to the gnolls, "Grovel before me!"
Afterwards, Ro dashes towards the stairs leading to the third floor.
Action: dashing to double movement speed (50 ft total)
Movement 1: up the stairs to the second floor.
Bonus Action: casting Hypnotic Pattern against the group of gnolls (they must succeed a DC 15 wisdom save or be charmed, incapacitated, and have speed reduced to 0)
Free action: verbally command charmed gnolls to grovel (go prone). If needed, intimidation check: 18.
Movement 2: proceeding towards the stairs that lead up to the 3rd floor, while avoiding triggering opportunity attacks
Note: although charmed gnolls have a speed of 0, dropping prone costs 0 movement
Oten's javelin misses the Gnoll as he moves by, and the Ro appears behind him. Busting out Hypnotic Pattern absolutely wrecks the mental faculties of all the Gnolls on the second level as they begin to get down and kneel...all, that is, except one.
The one right next to Ro.
As the rest of the Gnolls kneel, this one surges forward and attacks Ro, doing its best to kill the Wizard. Its jaws snap, its sword slashes and arcs off the Wizard's armor...and Ro is, miraculously, unhurt.
Tuto makes a a-line for the stairs after his companions. As he watched Ro command the gnolls to kneel with arcane, he decided to follow suit. He grabbed the whistle around his neck, took a deep breath, and blew. The high pitched note bounced off the trees walls and to the gnoll that managed to resist Ro's spell. For a second, the creature felt like its ear drums would burst, then nothing, save for it's own heartbeat. Soon after, there was a light crackling of arcane fire, as Tuto's mask was lit ablaze.
"Help Lelith!" (Tuto casts Suggestion. Wis Save DC 14)
Greko hears Lilith call for Rum and Ro and watches everyone so nimbly jump up to level 2 of the tree. Greko begins to climb up onto the table groaning about no one helping him. He pulls himself up and begins to head up to the second level when he hears the Auryn calling. He loses his footing at the scare the Auryn caused at chiming at another inopportune time. "God's be damned!" Greko dusts himself off and listens to the Auryn and climbs up to level 2
Lelith once she stabilized herself which wasn't too difficult as the "vine" held her tightly, managed to unsheath her rapier and strike the "vine" with it. That was enough to release her, and she did not fall thanks to her own ability to fly. She flew some distance away from the crab creature while facing it, she headed in the general direction of Rumble.
Oten pays very close attention to both the ritual and Ro's explanation afterwards, actively processing the whole time. By the time Ro makes a request to hang on to the book, Oten seems already decided. With no hesitation, he says "It seems only natural, at least to me, that you should retain the book. I feel it is far more valuable in your hands then mine, even if I could link with it in the way you describe. However, my sensors detected no external attempts to interface with my neural structure, so I sense I may be... incompatible. in my current form." Oten steps away from the crate and turns to speak to Ro once more. "Though if I may, I would certainly appreciate an opportunity to put our heads together at a later time, so to speak, to discuss the fascinating mechanisms of the book's function. I would like to ask you some questions regarding its unique method of information storage and dissemination once you have had more chance to explore its intricacies yourself. If you wouldn't mind, of course."
Greko finishes freezing the lock and steps aside to see if it works. He turns to Ro upon hearing him talk about the book "If Kazek doesn't feel slighted by your new-found love of a different book, Greko thinks it is appropriate for Ro to keep the book. Well on your way to becoming a powerful wizard hmm?" Greko smiles
The lock bulges, resists, bulges...and explodes, spraying metal shrapnel into the room. It clatters on floors and off crates as the chest bursts. Inside is a pile of gold pieces that, when later counted, would amount to 700 GP...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Given the band's approval, Ro smiled wide, "Thanks everyone, I truly appreciate your praise and trust in me. Hopefully it's another step towards Ro the Red, ay Greko?"
Ro addresses Oten, "I would be thrilled to work with you. Seeing the way you fight and your mechanical companion simply inspires me with so many ideas. I hope we can work on many more projects together after this as well."
Without any further delay, Ro focuses on the book once more. Allowing his mind to connect with the grimoire.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
“It makes sense for you to keep the book friend Ro”, Rum says agreeing with the decision whilst he helps pack up the gold.
”Now, Lelith wandered off some time ago, and although I am sure she can handle herself I would feel better catching her up”.
With that he heads back to the entrance room and looks around. Deciding it was most likely Lelith would choose to go up rather than down, he wanders up the stairs. When he gets to the broken area, he simply jumps against the wall and digs his claws in, hanging for a moment before leaping back onto the stairs and continuing up.
Greko follows Rum into the other room. He looks up at the climb and grumbles about not being a spring chicken "Perhaps there is a ladder that you can drop for ole Greko?"
Ro returns to his paused state once more. A wave of information floods his mind, but unlike before he allows it to wash over him.
He finds himself naked, wading above the surface of a calm ocean. The water's depths beckon the elf-dwarf to dive deep into its abyss and he obliges.
As Ro swims down, the sea light dims until darkness takes over. However, the darkness lasts for only a moment as faint, blue lights begin to appearance around him. Jellyfish? Were Ro's first thoughts, but as he looked closer he saw they were arcane runes. An infinite number of these runes appeared, lighting up the darkness like stars in the night.
It was the first time Ro had ever seen runes like this, and yet somehow he knew what they meant. Though they were infinite in number and variations, Ro understood each one intimately.
Suddenly, the runes flew towards a single direction at impossible speeds. Or was it Ro, flying past them? The sigils left streaks of blue as the went past, until everything seemingly zoomed out and Ro stood in a white void staring at a perfect copy of his naked self.
Ro inspected the copy briefly, and when he stared into its eyes he could see the same, starry, runic sky deep in the elf-dwarf's pupils.
Then, as if he had merely blinked, Ro found himself back in the Great Deku Tree with Oten standing at his side.
Sensing his arrival back to reality, Kazek broke the silence, "Ro, are you ok?"
A single tear rolled down the elf-dwarf's cheek, and he wiped it away. He placed a reassuring hand on Kazek, then looked to Oten, "I'm more than ok. I can't describe the experience in any other way except beautiful. Absolutely and peerlessly beautiful."
Ro took a deep breath to further calm himself, then explained to the warforged, "I've come to understand a mere sliver of magic in its rawest form. I can't begin to explain its machinations, but I can call upon it as naturally as taking in a breath of air. Like how a great dragon breaths fire or a changeling shifts form; I can attempt to charm the minds of a great, many others."
Ro pauses a moment, "I thought I understood the fundamentals of magic. But all my studies in the arcane pale in comparison to the way I understand this one spell."
It is only then that Ro notices Rum and Greko's absence. He turns to Oten, "That is all the grimoire offered me, though I still feel a magical presence within its pages. There is something I wish to do later involving Kazek, when time permits. If you'd like, I can call upon you to be present when I perform the experiment."
Ro allows Oten to respond before catching up with the others.
At Greko's inquiry, Ro responds, "We could potentially use that table to bridge the gap. I have tools to nail it down for stability."
The elf-dwarf approaches the table, placing his hands underneath it and looking to the others, "Though I'll need some help putting it in position."
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
"That would be much appreciated," Oten says in response to Ro's offer.
"Allow me to be of some assistance," Oten says, grabbing the other end. A whirring sound can be heard from within his chest, as the air above his shoulder vents begins to distort with heat, as if whatever was responsible for powering his body was shifting into high gear in preparation for the exertion.
Lelith's companions who were still on the ground floor heard her voice cry out in both surprise and pain from the first floor, it was quite a commotion as they heard what sounded like chairs and tables either falling or being broken. "Shit! Damn you, you craven creature!"
"Ro, Rumble, anyone! HELP!" Lelith had never cursed before nor called for help, yet there was a first time for everything. She was simply outmatched and at a great disadvantage, there was little she could do but call for her... friends.
The Third Level
Lelith is instantly grappled when she reaches out to inspect the rope. A sticky mucus glues her to the thing as it wraps around her arm and jerks her upwards with little effort, overpowering her quickly. She goes up twenty five feet, over the rim of the third floor up, and sees the Gnolls just before they jump down...
The Second Level
The Gnolls leap down and land all around the second level of the Deku Tree, with two landing pretty close to Rum who is at the top of the stairs...
The First Level
The table gets thrown over the hole in the stairs, covering it and making it passable terrain.
Post Order
Rum (2nd Level)
Enemy Grappling Lelith (3rd Level)
Oten (1st Level)
Gnoll 1 (2nd Level)
Gnoll 2 (2nd Level)
Tuto (1st Level)
Greko (1st Level)
Gnoll 3 (2nd Level)
Lelith (3rd Level)
Gnoll 4 (2nd Level)
Ro (1st Level)
Gnoll 5 (2nd Level)
It's Rum's turn
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
The Second Level
Rum hears Lelith’s calls and turns away from the other’s and heads up to the next floor into the darkness. His keen eyes and ears work together to determine Lelith was pulled up to the third floor just as the Gnolls drop down.
A quick scan of the room shows the grey outline of a ladder heading up, but it was over the other side of the room, holes in the floor and Gnollls between him and it.
He reaches within to his Ki and fuels his muscles before darting towards the closest Gnoll in the centre of the room. He leaps up and aims a kick at it before sailing passed and landing back on the floor, still at full run.
As he reaches the drop his Ki fuelled muscles propel him through the air, sailing over the gap and landing on the floor on the other side, right by the ladder. He expertly ascends onto the next floor, where he takes in his surroundings...
Passive Perception: 17 (Hopefully enough to know where Lelith went and to spot the ladder)
Special: 1 Ki - Step of the Wind (Bonus Action Disengage or Dash, jump distance doubled to 24ft)
Bonus Action: Dash
Movement: Straight to the ladder (40-45ft), up ladder (20ft due to climbing speed), 15-20ft left on third floor.
Action: Draconic Strike: : 9+8=17 Damage: 3+6= 9 [Fire]
Defense: Until he takes damage any attacks are at disadvantage against him
Reaction: He does have reactions, will post again if applicable
Rums kick nails the Gnoll as he runs past.
Lelith feels herself jerked upwards another 15 feet.... And suddenly she's face to face with the bastard child of a spider and a lobster. The thing reaches out with its claws and attacks her upper body while drawing her in close...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Hearing Lelith's cry for help, Oten turns to look up the stairs, javelin immediately back in his hand. Plates in Otens legs and hips slide apart, allowing heat to vent more efficiently. Gears churn underneath, and muscle-like fibers heat to red. A hiss of steam escapes, and then wood splinters under his feet as he takes off sprinting up the stairs.
Reaching the top of the stairs, he turns on a dime, kicking up more splinters, and launches himself in the direction of the second set leading up to the third floor. Seeing gnolls in the way, he flicks his arm out, sending his javelin at the nearest one in his path.
Attack: 12 Damage: 8
Bonus Action: Dash
Ro had just hammered in the last nail to the makeshift table-bridge when he heard Lelith call out for him. The elf-dwarf fumbled a bit to put his tools away before following Oten up into the second floor. Whilst running up the stairs, he called out, "Lelith, where are you!?"
As he enters the new room, Ro sees the five gnolls and after some quick thinking he taunts them to gain their attention, "Hey uglies, this way!"
When the gnolls turn to look at Ro, he snaps his fingers. For a short moment, the dark room is lit up with light as the air around the gnolls is filled with an infinite void of starry runes. As quickly as they appeared, the runes vanish but not before leaving the gnolls in a daze.
Ro then musters up a commanding tone and yells to the gnolls, "Grovel before me!"
Afterwards, Ro dashes towards the stairs leading to the third floor.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Oten's javelin misses the Gnoll as he moves by, and the Ro appears behind him. Busting out Hypnotic Pattern absolutely wrecks the mental faculties of all the Gnolls on the second level as they begin to get down and kneel...all, that is, except one.
The one right next to Ro.
As the rest of the Gnolls kneel, this one surges forward and attacks Ro, doing its best to kill the Wizard. Its jaws snap, its sword slashes and arcs off the Wizard's armor...and Ro is, miraculously, unhurt.
Post Order
Rum (2nd Level)
Enemy Grappling Lelith (3rd Level)
Ro (2nd Level)
Oten (2nd Level)
Gnoll 1 (2nd Level)
Gnoll 2 (2nd Level)
Tuto (1st Level)
Greko (1st Level)
Gnoll 3 (2nd Level)
Lelith (3rd Level)
Gnoll 4 (2nd Level)
Gnoll 5 (2nd Level)
It is Tuto's turn, followed by Greko
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Tuto makes a a-line for the stairs after his companions. As he watched Ro command the gnolls to kneel with arcane, he decided to follow suit. He grabbed the whistle around his neck, took a deep breath, and blew. The high pitched note bounced off the trees walls and to the gnoll that managed to resist Ro's spell. For a second, the creature felt like its ear drums would burst, then nothing, save for it's own heartbeat. Soon after, there was a light crackling of arcane fire, as Tuto's mask was lit ablaze.
"Help Lelith!" (Tuto casts Suggestion. Wis Save DC 14)
Greko hears Lilith call for Rum and Ro and watches everyone so nimbly jump up to level 2 of the tree. Greko begins to climb up onto the table groaning about no one helping him. He pulls himself up and begins to head up to the second level when he hears the Auryn calling. He loses his footing at the scare the Auryn caused at chiming at another inopportune time. "God's be damned!" Greko dusts himself off and listens to the Auryn and climbs up to level 2
The Gnoll lays flat and begs Ro for mercy...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Lelith once she stabilized herself which wasn't too difficult as the "vine" held her tightly, managed to unsheath her rapier and strike the "vine" with it. That was enough to release her, and she did not fall thanks to her own ability to fly. She flew some distance away from the crab creature while facing it, she headed in the general direction of Rumble.
To Hit: 1d20 (16) + 6 = 22
Damage: 1d8 (7) + 4 [piercing] = 11
Movement: 30ft in the direction of Rum
The Gnolls on the second floor continue to grovel as Ro holds them in Hypnotic Pattern.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York