(Thanks to Tybard's successful dex check, Marion can remove that two points of damage )
Marion starts by checking Ashley's forehead, and is immediately concerned about fever. After a moment of consideration though, she wonders if it is perhaps simply in a fire genasi's nature to run hot like that. Looking her over and checking her breathing, Marion concludes that she doesn't seem to be suffering anything worse than acute exhaustion, perhaps exacerbated by the climate shock of going from the Smoking Sands to the Shield Mountains. It may be best not to move her and simply allow her rest, though if a situation arises, that choice may be taken away.
(Malachi investigation 21/4) Malachi tries to figure what to do about the shelf, but his mind is having trouble focusing on the task. When Samir pulls out the pitons and mentions using them to secure the bookshelf, it snaps Malachi back into focus and he immediately identifies a few places he could wedge the pitons to completely lock the opening mechanism from inside the room in a way that would be very quick to undo if they needed an emergency escape. (Treating Samir's contribution as a help and taking Malachi's first roll, which was a nat 20)
As the room is secured, Vilus watches intently through his new Half orc eyes as the exhausted group tend to their unconsious and wounded, If anyone is attacking him soon, It likely would not be these folk.
He pulls his cloak off his back revealing his darkened grey leather armour, perfect for sneaking, He eyes the group still somewhat warily as he lays the cloak across his knee like a blanket and brings out a small thick book the title of which is difficult to focus on properly. He flips nonchalantly through the pages for a while, apparently spending his time trying to learn the contents without putting much effort in, in his tired state.
Samir hears the strangers voice enter his head;
"Gotta focus up and figure this out, this Magic is gonna get me in trouble if I can't control it, control.. focus... what's this?"
As Vilus flips through the ever-shifting script (if it could be called a script) of the book, he turns to a page containing a drawing of one large eye that seems to stare back at him. He flips the page and there it is again. Every time he turns the page, the eye is there. Watching him. Inviting him. Soon, Vilus can't help but be drawn into the eye, suddenly appearing deeper than a 2-dimensional object on a page.
Further and further Vilus is drawn in, feeling his vision tunnel, until in the depths of the pupil he sees a new symbol. He slowly traces his finger along the symbol, strange words coming to his lips.
The thoughts in Samir's head devolve into incoherent rambling that do not match the words coming from Vilus's mouth. Samir head begins to ache.
"...Any vase bleeds until the subsequent leg deigns fit, but why too the tangos make four honey..."
Vilus, sweating, completes the symbol and suddenly his vision returns to normal, except he now sees a spectral double of the hand he had used to trace. The hand grabs the corner of the page and slowly turns it over. The eye within the pages is gone, replaced once more with the chaotic scribbles of before.
The doors both secure thanks to Joren’s work and Samir’s pitons, Malachi slumps back against the wall, exhaustion overtaking him. Perhaps it was the food, their first good meal in days, the shock of the battle and the gruesome rat creatures, or the relative safety of the room, but he was at his last. Perhaps it was a combination of all three. As Marion advises against remaining here long, Malachi can not imagine moving forward. He doesn't even register Silas reading his book. “Perhaps we should stay a little longer”he slurs his speech and eyes the cots longingly “the room is secured, Ashley needs some rest, we all need sleep. We can take turns on watch, even double up on watch for extra caution. I will volunteer for the first watch, but I am almost spent.”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Joren lets his echo go and draws on what little reserves he has left (using his Second Wind to heal himself further): 12
"If we are all agreed to rest here, I can take first watch. But how long are we staying here? An hour? 8 hours? If 8 hours, let's decide on a watch order."
He takes a deep breath and decides to do very slow, (non-strenuous) stationary standing exercises and stretches (hopefully silently) with his greatsword to keep himself awake, focusing on the discipline as he was taught once.
Samir's thoughts, as sluggish and chaotic as they were at the moment, seem to almost crystallize as Silas' words echo within his mind.
Uncontrolled magic.
The thought itself was somewhat horrifying to the orderly half-orc, whose work and practice revolved around quantifying and ordering the arcane arts so they could be more fully understood and utilized. To have powr that was outside of line's control... it was a horrible thought, indeed.
Samir winces outwardly as the words devolve into so much gibberish, a spike of pain shooting through his skull to throb behind his right eye. He pulls the glasses from his face and shuts his eyes tightly, trying to will the sharp agony away. He speaks quietly, shifting a touch closer to Silas.
"Silas... Silas, I can hear your thoughts in my head. I know you didn't mean to, but still. I can try to help you learn to control this, but I fear that my own arts are far different than yours. Try breathing, centering yourself. Deep and slow, in and out. A teacher once told me that if you picture in your mind a single candle flame in the darkness, it can help with keeping your mental control and focus..."
Once his chanting and casting is complete 'Silas' looks up from the book smiling as the mage hand turns the page, "apologies for the thought intrusion, it appears I've learnt something new" the mage hand floats slowly over to Samir in a handshake type gesture, 'Silas' grunts and strains in concentration, he begins to sweat a little, forcing himself to focus.
As Samir looks, at the hand it seems to shift imperceptibly, one hand, six fingers, no, three, no, a hoof?, Skeletal hand, something alien, clawed fingers, no fingers? The hand floats over wobbly and unpracticed, it's movements copied by the stationary half orc Silas behind the thing.
If Samir accepts the handshake it explodes into harmless purple static electricity which dissipates over Samir's hand and is reflected on Silas too as his form now shifts back to that of the Goliath that entered the room to begin with, Samir feels the mental connection between the two sever and 'silas' slumps against the wall, eyes wide open, but exhausted, he leaves the book open on his knee. "Nearly.."
Samir reaches wearily up to the floating hand, his eyes widening slightly, only to watch as it fizzles out in a cascade of energy across the two of them. "Fascinating..." He tucks his glasses into the pocket of his coat, letting his eyes close and leaning his head back against the wall. He means to speak, to say something more to the strange Goliath next to him, but goes silent instead for a moment. Then, with a small grunt of concentration he pushes himself back to wakefulness, slapping his own cheeks lightly. "You all should rest, my friends. I will stay awake for a while longer to keep watch." With that, he reaches into his satchel, pulling out a small cube of interlocked metal pieces and begins manipulating it. Faint light emits from the cube, passing gradually between soft colors as he plays with the small device.
As Joren and Samir both look up to see the other getting settled in to take watch and start discussing the respective merits of each taking first shift, “Silas” tries to get settled. He sits back and closes his eyes. Then he tries lying down on the cold stone floor with his cloak as a blanket. Then he drags one of the cots out as quietly as he can and lies down atop. It’s no good. Despite his weariness, he doesn’t seem to feel sleepy in the slightest. In fact, when WAS the last time he’d slept? So much has happened the last few days that it feels like it has been a week.
As Samir and Joren also offer to take the first watch, Malachi graciously gives up his offer “I will let you two haggle over the first watch” he smiles. He turns and looks at Ashley, still asleep “she needs her rest as well. I will take the third shift, then wake up Ashley for the final shift. That will allow Marion a full, interrupted rest. I believe she was among the most injured and can benefit from it.”
With that, he pulls a cot over and collapses on it, covering himself with his heavy wool cloak and is soon lost in sleep. Hoping with his last waking thought that his sleep is not haunted by strange rat man creatures.
Winning the bout of rock, paper, and scissors, Joren takes first watch. He spends time going through slow exercises focusing on flexibility, range of motion, and breathing, both to keep him sharp, and to ease the tension out of his muscles so he can get a proper rest when his time comes. He keeps an ear out for anything happening on the other side of the door to the main cellar room, but there is only silence.
Joren, give me a Con check DC 13 to stay wakeful and alert. The disciplined exercises are going to cancel out Joren's disadvantage, so just make the roll flat.
After an hour, Joren feels his lids growing heavy, despite the activity. 'Silas,' still feeling oddly awake and restless, sees Joren bend over to touch his toes and then hang in the position just a little too long. He sways forward, losing his balance and steps forward with a jolt in order to keep himself standing. He shakes his head trying to clear his mind and gain victory in the uphill battle against sleep, before he resumes his stretches, opting for something a bit more dynamic.
During the first shift change, Joren consults with Samir and Silas if they think it makes sense to do a quick check of the other room, and then re-secure the door with multiple pairs of eyes in case we slip up.
- Is the gas still there in the other room? - Are the rat-man corpses still there and still dead? - Is Razmus still there? - Is the necklace still thee?
At this point, he is so tired, he merely asks and goes with whatever the others say, doing nothing and heading to a cot if no one seems to want to do it.
Samir yawns, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as Joren wakes him. He is a bit surprised to see that Silas is awake as well, but turns his attention to Joren's question. He gives it a moment of thought as he cleans the lenses of his glasses and perces them once more on his nose, before shaking his head.
"I can understand the reasoning, but I think at this point unsecuring the door and trying to get a look would be a mistake. For one, I fear the noise would wake the others. Adn should there be something on the other side that would need dealt with immediately, I fear that we are still not in the best of shape to do so."
Joren nods as the half-orc artificer's logic seems sound, at least to Joren's addled mind. He mutters "Dobrou noc" to Samir and Silas as he stumbles to a cot, barely pausing long enough to take off his Chain Mail, asleep almost before his head is down. Dreamless this time.
'Silas' gives a chin up nod to Samir as a greeting, he is lazily slumped back against the wall his head leant back looking at the group. He appears non threatening as he pats the empty space next to him in the cot if Samir wants to sit down there, the offer silently hangs in the air.
All the while Vilus' has been using his body against the cold wall to keep his a keen sense of whether there is any movement coming from upstairs, between the vibrations that would likely cascade down the walls and any noise, Vilus remains wary and somewhat alert.
The candles start to burn low, but Samir's tinkering bolsters the light in the room. Vilus and Samir sit in silence for a time, and nothing can be heard from next door, nor felt from above.
(Thanks to Tybard's successful dex check, Marion can remove that two points of damage )
Marion starts by checking Ashley's forehead, and is immediately concerned about fever. After a moment of consideration though, she wonders if it is perhaps simply in a fire genasi's nature to run hot like that. Looking her over and checking her breathing, Marion concludes that she doesn't seem to be suffering anything worse than acute exhaustion, perhaps exacerbated by the climate shock of going from the Smoking Sands to the Shield Mountains. It may be best not to move her and simply allow her rest, though if a situation arises, that choice may be taken away.
(Malachi investigation 21/4) Malachi tries to figure what to do about the shelf, but his mind is having trouble focusing on the task. When Samir pulls out the pitons and mentions using them to secure the bookshelf, it snaps Malachi back into focus and he immediately identifies a few places he could wedge the pitons to completely lock the opening mechanism from inside the room in a way that would be very quick to undo if they needed an emergency escape. (Treating Samir's contribution as a help and taking Malachi's first roll, which was a nat 20)
As the room is secured, Vilus watches intently through his new Half orc eyes as the exhausted group tend to their unconsious and wounded, If anyone is attacking him soon, It likely would not be these folk.
He pulls his cloak off his back revealing his darkened grey leather armour, perfect for sneaking, He eyes the group still somewhat warily as he lays the cloak across his knee like a blanket and brings out a small thick book the title of which is difficult to focus on properly. He flips nonchalantly through the pages for a while, apparently spending his time trying to learn the contents without putting much effort in, in his tired state.
Samir hears the strangers voice enter his head;
"Gotta focus up and figure this out, this Magic is gonna get me in trouble if I can't control it, control.. focus... what's this?"
As Vilus flips through the ever-shifting script (if it could be called a script) of the book, he turns to a page containing a drawing of one large eye that seems to stare back at him. He flips the page and there it is again. Every time he turns the page, the eye is there. Watching him. Inviting him. Soon, Vilus can't help but be drawn into the eye, suddenly appearing deeper than a 2-dimensional object on a page.
Further and further Vilus is drawn in, feeling his vision tunnel, until in the depths of the pupil he sees a new symbol. He slowly traces his finger along the symbol, strange words coming to his lips.
The thoughts in Samir's head devolve into incoherent rambling that do not match the words coming from Vilus's mouth. Samir head begins to ache.
"...Any vase bleeds until the subsequent leg deigns fit, but why too the tangos make four honey..."
Vilus, sweating, completes the symbol and suddenly his vision returns to normal, except he now sees a spectral double of the hand he had used to trace. The hand grabs the corner of the page and slowly turns it over. The eye within the pages is gone, replaced once more with the chaotic scribbles of before.
The doors both secure thanks to Joren’s work and Samir’s pitons, Malachi slumps back against the wall, exhaustion overtaking him. Perhaps it was the food, their first good meal in days, the shock of the battle and the gruesome rat creatures, or the relative safety of the room, but he was at his last. Perhaps it was a combination of all three. As Marion advises against remaining here long, Malachi can not imagine moving forward. He doesn't even register Silas reading his book. “Perhaps we should stay a little longer” he slurs his speech and eyes the cots longingly “the room is secured, Ashley needs some rest, we all need sleep. We can take turns on watch, even double up on watch for extra caution. I will volunteer for the first watch, but I am almost spent.”
Joren lets his echo go and draws on what little reserves he has left (using his Second Wind to heal himself further): 12
"If we are all agreed to rest here, I can take first watch. But how long are we staying here? An hour? 8 hours? If 8 hours, let's decide on a watch order."
He takes a deep breath and decides to do very slow, (non-strenuous) stationary standing exercises and stretches (hopefully silently) with his greatsword to keep himself awake, focusing on the discipline as he was taught once.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Samir's thoughts, as sluggish and chaotic as they were at the moment, seem to almost crystallize as Silas' words echo within his mind.
Uncontrolled magic.
The thought itself was somewhat horrifying to the orderly half-orc, whose work and practice revolved around quantifying and ordering the arcane arts so they could be more fully understood and utilized. To have powr that was outside of line's control... it was a horrible thought, indeed.
Samir winces outwardly as the words devolve into so much gibberish, a spike of pain shooting through his skull to throb behind his right eye. He pulls the glasses from his face and shuts his eyes tightly, trying to will the sharp agony away. He speaks quietly, shifting a touch closer to Silas.
"Silas... Silas, I can hear your thoughts in my head. I know you didn't mean to, but still. I can try to help you learn to control this, but I fear that my own arts are far different than yours. Try breathing, centering yourself. Deep and slow, in and out. A teacher once told me that if you picture in your mind a single candle flame in the darkness, it can help with keeping your mental control and focus..."
Once his chanting and casting is complete 'Silas' looks up from the book smiling as the mage hand turns the page, "apologies for the thought intrusion, it appears I've learnt something new" the mage hand floats slowly over to Samir in a handshake type gesture, 'Silas' grunts and strains in concentration, he begins to sweat a little, forcing himself to focus.
As Samir looks, at the hand it seems to shift imperceptibly, one hand, six fingers, no, three, no, a hoof?, Skeletal hand, something alien, clawed fingers, no fingers? The hand floats over wobbly and unpracticed, it's movements copied by the stationary half orc Silas behind the thing.
If Samir accepts the handshake it explodes into harmless purple static electricity which dissipates over Samir's hand and is reflected on Silas too as his form now shifts back to that of the Goliath that entered the room to begin with, Samir feels the mental connection between the two sever and 'silas' slumps against the wall, eyes wide open, but exhausted, he leaves the book open on his knee. "Nearly.."
Samir reaches wearily up to the floating hand, his eyes widening slightly, only to watch as it fizzles out in a cascade of energy across the two of them. "Fascinating..." He tucks his glasses into the pocket of his coat, letting his eyes close and leaning his head back against the wall. He means to speak, to say something more to the strange Goliath next to him, but goes silent instead for a moment. Then, with a small grunt of concentration he pushes himself back to wakefulness, slapping his own cheeks lightly. "You all should rest, my friends. I will stay awake for a while longer to keep watch." With that, he reaches into his satchel, pulling out a small cube of interlocked metal pieces and begins manipulating it. Faint light emits from the cube, passing gradually between soft colors as he plays with the small device.
As Joren and Samir both look up to see the other getting settled in to take watch and start discussing the respective merits of each taking first shift, “Silas” tries to get settled. He sits back and closes his eyes. Then he tries lying down on the cold stone floor with his cloak as a blanket. Then he drags one of the cots out as quietly as he can and lies down atop. It’s no good. Despite his weariness, he doesn’t seem to feel sleepy in the slightest. In fact, when WAS the last time he’d slept? So much has happened the last few days that it feels like it has been a week.
As Samir and Joren also offer to take the first watch, Malachi graciously gives up his offer “I will let you two haggle over the first watch” he smiles. He turns and looks at Ashley, still asleep “she needs her rest as well. I will take the third shift, then wake up Ashley for the final shift. That will allow Marion a full, interrupted rest. I believe she was among the most injured and can benefit from it.”
With that, he pulls a cot over and collapses on it, covering himself with his heavy wool cloak and is soon lost in sleep. Hoping with his last waking thought that his sleep is not haunted by strange rat man creatures.
Winning the bout of rock, paper, and scissors, Joren takes first watch. He spends time going through slow exercises focusing on flexibility, range of motion, and breathing, both to keep him sharp, and to ease the tension out of his muscles so he can get a proper rest when his time comes. He keeps an ear out for anything happening on the other side of the door to the main cellar room, but there is only silence.
Joren, give me a Con check DC 13 to stay wakeful and alert. The disciplined exercises are going to cancel out Joren's disadvantage, so just make the roll flat.
Joren's Con save (straight roll): 18
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
After an hour, Joren feels his lids growing heavy, despite the activity. 'Silas,' still feeling oddly awake and restless, sees Joren bend over to touch his toes and then hang in the position just a little too long. He sways forward, losing his balance and steps forward with a jolt in order to keep himself standing. He shakes his head trying to clear his mind and gain victory in the uphill battle against sleep, before he resumes his stretches, opting for something a bit more dynamic.
Vilus' sits up in the cor that he dragged out and after trying for so long gives up on sleep...
He watches Joren exercise and keep himself awake, just, he also watched as the shift changes and Silently keeps an eye on the developing process.
During the first shift change, Joren consults with Samir and Silas if they think it makes sense to do a quick check of the other room, and then re-secure the door with multiple pairs of eyes in case we slip up.
- Is the gas still there in the other room?
- Are the rat-man corpses still there and still dead?
- Is Razmus still there?
- Is the necklace still thee?
At this point, he is so tired, he merely asks and goes with whatever the others say, doing nothing and heading to a cot if no one seems to want to do it.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Samir yawns, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as Joren wakes him. He is a bit surprised to see that Silas is awake as well, but turns his attention to Joren's question. He gives it a moment of thought as he cleans the lenses of his glasses and perces them once more on his nose, before shaking his head.
"I can understand the reasoning, but I think at this point unsecuring the door and trying to get a look would be a mistake. For one, I fear the noise would wake the others. Adn should there be something on the other side that would need dealt with immediately, I fear that we are still not in the best of shape to do so."
Joren nods as the half-orc artificer's logic seems sound, at least to Joren's addled mind. He mutters "Dobrou noc" to Samir and Silas as he stumbles to a cot, barely pausing long enough to take off his Chain Mail, asleep almost before his head is down. Dreamless this time.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
'Silas' gives a chin up nod to Samir as a greeting, he is lazily slumped back against the wall his head leant back looking at the group. He appears non threatening as he pats the empty space next to him in the cot if Samir wants to sit down there, the offer silently hangs in the air.
All the while Vilus' has been using his body against the cold wall to keep his a keen sense of whether there is any movement coming from upstairs, between the vibrations that would likely cascade down the walls and any noise, Vilus remains wary and somewhat alert.
The candles start to burn low, but Samir's tinkering bolsters the light in the room. Vilus and Samir sit in silence for a time, and nothing can be heard from next door, nor felt from above.
(Vilus, give me a perception check)
(still with disadvantage?)