Greko quickly does as Ro says. He will bonk him on the head to daze him if the cube causes him to struggle and fight against Greko. “Greko could use a little help for a moment Rum”
”It is a fair point about the tunnels, Lelith. Following the inhabited path does at least have the security that it is safe for rats. I don’t really want to find out what keeps them out of the other tunnel”, Rum replies to Lelith as they wait for the others.
“It is certainly not pleasant down here, but neither is the idea of facing what is to come in the city alone, even if we could both get into the city easily using cleaner routes. But our fellow Embers more than make up for their inability to fly and climb in other ways”, he says with a half smile in response to her statement about flying into the city if she was alone.
It is then that he hears Ro’s message and wonders as to the reason Ro’s sentence was half finished.
“Friend Ro says that Lady Kaede advises the same about the tunnels, to be wary of the quiet path, but his words were cut short”, he says, a frown on his face.
“It may be..”, he starts to say as he turns to look back down the tunnels, and at the edge of his vision sees Greko followed by the others.
He hears Greko’s request for assistance as it echoes softly down the tunnel.
”We should go and see what is happening”, he says and lopes back to the group.
He hears Lady Kaede mention the cube as he reaches them. “Not that again! What can I do, friend Greko?”
”Do not worry, Lady Kaede. We do this for the best. I am sure we will explain at some point, but right now we don’t know you well enough I am afraid”, he says as he notices Lady Kaede watching them, after asking about the cube.
As the Twilight Embers hit the first eastern tunnel, the sound of the rats becomes louder and clearer. There is a faint purple glow emanating down the corridor, close to what looks like a corner. The rats in this tunnel are thick; there are many of them, and the Embers can see tiny, dark figures darting in and out of the storm drains lining the bottom of the corridor. Rats sit in the darkness and watch the passing of the band as they approach the left turn in the corridor and proceed.
Something stirs ahead in the dark as they move toward the next eastern turn, and then the corridor lights up.
There is a pile of rats in front of them, including one giant rat that's as big as a person, sitting in the midst of the sea of its smaller brethren, and they all look at the Embers at one time. The tops of their heads light up a violet-purple color...though some light up green, and even fewer light up yellow. There's hundreds of them, but none of them appear hostile. They look curious.
The rats that had been previously spied peering out of storm drains begin to light up as well.
“My apologies, friend Ro”, Rum says after they finish tying him up and Greko is leading him down the tunnel holding onto the rope binding his hands.
As they come to the tunnel full of glowing rats, he becomes wary, taking up a defensive stance.
”Is this usual, fellow Embers? Where I come from the rats do not glow, or grow as big as that. Mind you there are plenty of cats to keep them in check”, he says with a grin as he spots the giant rat.
That’s when the voices start to invade his mind, a thousand of them all saying the same thing.
He steels his mind using techniques taught him during his training at Dragonclaw, attempting to block them out.
Greko feels a sensation that they’re trying to communicate but can’t grasp how or what “I am stumped as to how they are communicating. They don’t speak out loud and so I tried sending a thought with my mind in which I got this feeling they were trying to communicate but I’m not sure how”
Kaede sticks her finger in her ear and wiggles it around a bit. Popping it out, she shakes her head side-to-side and quietly responds “When thoughts arise, then do all things arise. When thoughts vanish, then do all things vanish.”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Kaede raises her arms up chest high, palms facing forward, as if to imply she means no harm, and follows up with a gently spoken "We mean you no harm. Will you let us pass?" to the apparent rat king or leader.
Greko looks around after hearing a voice "Well Greko has now heard something from somewhere saying "Back"...perhaps they want to escape and we are blocking their way? There was another way? Maybe we wait and let them pass?"
Oten crosses his arms and observes the situation, while splitting his attention to take note of the disconcerting sounds coming from his pack. "I heard '...Twilight Embers...' and '...know...' It feels like I received only fragments of a completed message, and I am wondering if we may each have received a piece of said message."
"Oo..ooo...O!" Tuto turned his attention from the pyramid to the rats. An odd sensation to be on the receiving end on mental communication, but welcome nonetheless. The group gives what they heard, incomplete sentences, as did Tuto. He takes out his maracas and gives them a quick shimmy. Blazing blue letters appear in midair spelling, in common '...that you should...'
Rum looks around the group, and after removing Ro's gag briefly for him to update them on what he heard, shakes his head with a frown.
"I do not believe these creatures want to harm us, fellow Embers, but I do not believe they are benevolent either. They are just trying to survive. We now get to choose whether we let that happen", he says.
"The fact they don't want us to use this tunnel does make me curious as to what they are protecting though. Is it just a nest, or something more. And why is the other tunnel so quiet?"
As each band member shared what they were told by the rats, Ro shimmied a bit to communicate that he had a bit to share too. Once Rum removed his gag, Ro spoke, "I received a message as well: '...we mean...' is what they said to me."
As the band continued to speak about the rats' intentions and what to do with them, Ro voiced, "The rats have gone out of their way to communicate to us when they could've ambushed us. I believe that speaks to some merit for the rats, so I don't want to resort to annihilating them if we don't have to. If the group agrees, I'd prefer to at least check the other tunnel first before forcing our way through this one. Plus, if we do engage the rats I wish to remain bound and gagged as I don't want to risk any further trouble."
After sharing his piece, Ro concludes that he will confer with whatever the group ultimately decides. He then has Rum help reapply the gag.
Greko quickly does as Ro says. He will bonk him on the head to daze him if the cube causes him to struggle and fight against Greko. “Greko could use a little help for a moment Rum”
Kaede looks on in bewilderment and adds "What is wrong with Master Ro? Any what is this cube you're referring to?"
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
”It is a fair point about the tunnels, Lelith. Following the inhabited path does at least have the security that it is safe for rats. I don’t really want to find out what keeps them out of the other tunnel”, Rum replies to Lelith as they wait for the others.
“It is certainly not pleasant down here, but neither is the idea of facing what is to come in the city alone, even if we could both get into the city easily using cleaner routes. But our fellow Embers more than make up for their inability to fly and climb in other ways”, he says with a half smile in response to her statement about flying into the city if she was alone.
It is then that he hears Ro’s message and wonders as to the reason Ro’s sentence was half finished.
“Friend Ro says that Lady Kaede advises the same about the tunnels, to be wary of the quiet path, but his words were cut short”, he says, a frown on his face.
“It may be..”, he starts to say as he turns to look back down the tunnels, and at the edge of his vision sees Greko followed by the others.
He hears Greko’s request for assistance as it echoes softly down the tunnel.
”We should go and see what is happening”, he says and lopes back to the group.
He hears Lady Kaede mention the cube as he reaches them. “Not that again! What can I do, friend Greko?”
Greko continues to subdue Ro by tying him up and gagging him “Help bind and gag him. The cube is calling him”
Rum nods to Greko and moves to help tie up Ro.
”Do not worry, Lady Kaede. We do this for the best. I am sure we will explain at some point, but right now we don’t know you well enough I am afraid”, he says as he notices Lady Kaede watching them, after asking about the cube.
As the Twilight Embers hit the first eastern tunnel, the sound of the rats becomes louder and clearer. There is a faint purple glow emanating down the corridor, close to what looks like a corner. The rats in this tunnel are thick; there are many of them, and the Embers can see tiny, dark figures darting in and out of the storm drains lining the bottom of the corridor. Rats sit in the darkness and watch the passing of the band as they approach the left turn in the corridor and proceed.
Something stirs ahead in the dark as they move toward the next eastern turn, and then the corridor lights up.
There is a pile of rats in front of them, including one giant rat that's as big as a person, sitting in the midst of the sea of its smaller brethren, and they all look at the Embers at one time. The tops of their heads light up a violet-purple color...though some light up green, and even fewer light up yellow. There's hundreds of them, but none of them appear hostile. They look curious.
The rats that had been previously spied peering out of storm drains begin to light up as well.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
“My apologies, friend Ro”, Rum says after they finish tying him up and Greko is leading him down the tunnel holding onto the rope binding his hands.
As they come to the tunnel full of glowing rats, he becomes wary, taking up a defensive stance.
”Is this usual, fellow Embers? Where I come from the rats do not glow, or grow as big as that. Mind you there are plenty of cats to keep them in check”, he says with a grin as he spots the giant rat.
That’s when the voices start to invade his mind, a thousand of them all saying the same thing.
He steels his mind using techniques taught him during his training at Dragonclaw, attempting to block them out.
Rum pushes the voices out of his mind, and regards the rats quizzically.
”They do not seem to be hostile, fellow Embers. Are any of you able to communicate with them? They seem to be trying to tell us something”.
At the sight of the rats Greko begins to ritually cast speak with animals. “Hello friends, what is it you seek?”
Greko sensing the rats stare at him not wanting to speak, asks them the same question but without speaking.
Greko feels a sensation that they’re trying to communicate but can’t grasp how or what “I am stumped as to how they are communicating. They don’t speak out loud and so I tried sending a thought with my mind in which I got this feeling they were trying to communicate but I’m not sure how”
Rum shrugs, “I am not sure either, friend Greko”.
He looks around the group.
”Did you all hear their words in your minds, fellow Embers? They said ‘you no harm’ to me, was that the same for the rest of you?”.
Kaede sticks her finger in her ear and wiggles it around a bit. Popping it out, she shakes her head side-to-side and quietly responds “When thoughts arise, then do all things arise. When thoughts vanish, then do all things vanish.”
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Rum looks at Lady Kaede quizzically.
"Those rats are really profound, Lady Kaede", he says sending her a wink of his feline eye, showing he is only joking.
Kaede raises her arms up chest high, palms facing forward, as if to imply she means no harm, and follows up with a gently spoken "We mean you no harm. Will you let us pass?" to the apparent rat king or leader.
Persuasion: 23
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Greko looks around after hearing a voice "Well Greko has now heard something from somewhere saying "Back"...perhaps they want to escape and we are blocking their way? There was another way? Maybe we wait and let them pass?"
Oten crosses his arms and observes the situation, while splitting his attention to take note of the disconcerting sounds coming from his pack. "I heard '...Twilight Embers...' and '...know...' It feels like I received only fragments of a completed message, and I am wondering if we may each have received a piece of said message."
"Oo..ooo...O!" Tuto turned his attention from the pyramid to the rats. An odd sensation to be on the receiving end on mental communication, but welcome nonetheless. The group gives what they heard, incomplete sentences, as did Tuto. He takes out his maracas and gives them a quick shimmy. Blazing blue letters appear in midair spelling, in common '...that you should...'
Rum looks around the group, and after removing Ro's gag briefly for him to update them on what he heard, shakes his head with a frown.
"I do not believe these creatures want to harm us, fellow Embers, but I do not believe they are benevolent either. They are just trying to survive. We now get to choose whether we let that happen", he says.
"The fact they don't want us to use this tunnel does make me curious as to what they are protecting though. Is it just a nest, or something more. And why is the other tunnel so quiet?"
As each band member shared what they were told by the rats, Ro shimmied a bit to communicate that he had a bit to share too. Once Rum removed his gag, Ro spoke, "I received a message as well: '...we mean...' is what they said to me."
As the band continued to speak about the rats' intentions and what to do with them, Ro voiced, "The rats have gone out of their way to communicate to us when they could've ambushed us. I believe that speaks to some merit for the rats, so I don't want to resort to annihilating them if we don't have to. If the group agrees, I'd prefer to at least check the other tunnel first before forcing our way through this one. Plus, if we do engage the rats I wish to remain bound and gagged as I don't want to risk any further trouble."
After sharing his piece, Ro concludes that he will confer with whatever the group ultimately decides. He then has Rum help reapply the gag.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN