Khessa, as you move towards the door to lock it you hear talking on the other side of it. You hear someone say "I didn't see her in there. Did you?" And you hear another speak up "no. I don't think she's in there, but they did claim guards were coming, so she must be near."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Tristan shakes his head "No, no fire. We are in a residential area. If there is even a chance of it spreading it is too risky. Coming here may have been a bad idea in the first place, we are too restricted in our options."
Dropping his satchel and the rest of his belongings, save his weapons, in a corner, Tristan heads out of the cellar and towards the door. Once he reaches it, he quickly opens it and slips out. He hastily slinks away from the tavern, looking for a spot on the roof of a nearby building that would be sufficient to keep watch from. If he spots one, he will climb up and perch there, attempting to remain unseen.
Khessa, while waiting for eventual trap ideas, beckons all closer and whispers: "I heared the guys that just exited speaking outside... They are looking for T'bitha! They are either drow in disguise or working for them, I guess. If someone sneaky wants to try to go and spy on them, feel free to do it. Else, let's stay ready for visits".
After that, as additional trap, Khessa leaves the grate for the cellar open and covers it with material from a bedroll to hide the pit. If somebody is unaware of it and walks on, he should fall down.
They continue speaking, Khessa, but they quickly switch from common to a language you're familiar with, but don't understand. It's the same language the drow who had captured you were speaking. The door on the cellar is on a hinge, Khessa. So you can cover up the staircase itself, the door would still be sticking up in the air. Someone not paying much attention could definitely not spot the grated door though.
Tristan, you push out of the tavern to an immediately empty road. You see the four men who were just previously in the tavern with you walking away, seemingly fine, and not drunk at all. Or at least not stumbling like they were. You manage to find a alley just a few buildings down with ease of access to the roof, then you move across the buildings until you get back closer to the tavern itself. You've found a pretty decent perch to watch the front door of the tavern.
However, hearing the fake drunks talking in undercommon, Khessa thinks, ideally addressing the voice that had spoken in her mind earlier: 'My apologies, Anonymous Voice In My Mind - waiting for us to introduce ourselves properly I can call you Avimm, for short? Apologies, anyway, I was saying, Avimm; it seems you were right to worry. The drunken group was not what it seemed. Apparently you know a lot. I would really like us to be friends. I'm not kidding: your information was helpful... so if I can help you somehow later, try asking, okay? I see that for you it is not a problem to communicate with me, when you feel like it!'.
You wait a few moments, Khessa, after mentally speaking to whoever this person was that spoke to you and there's still no response. Whoever it was doesn't seem to be paying much attention at the moment. At the moment Khessa, Dimitri, and Hadi what are the three of you up to?
Also, Tristan, give me a perception check as you hang out on the roof of this building across the road.
Khessa, while waiting for eventual trap ideas, beckons all closer and whispers: "I heared the guys that just exited speaking outside... They are looking for T'bitha! They are either drow in disguise or working for them, I guess. If someone sneaky wants to try to go and spy on them, feel free to do it. Else, let's stay ready for visits".
"I'll try to have Laza follow them." Hadi says, sending a message up to his owl to track the 'drunks'.
"They are going to be back soon." Dimitri says, lowering his voice. "We should have T'bitha hide, delay engagement as long as possible. Actually, we should all hide. Get ready." Dimitri looks around. Is it possible to rearrange the tables/chairs in a sort of barricade where they can hide behind? If not, he looks for a corner to conceal himself so he can shoot in stealth.
As they walked away and began speaking undercommon, Khessa. For the little bit you were capable of hearing, it just sounded like gossip talk you heard one of them ask the other "so, what do you think of the new priestess?"Hadi, Laza follows the drunks for a bit, but they slink into an alley way, and as Laza gets into position to see into it, they've disappeared into the darkness of the alley and he loses sight of them. Dimitri you can absolutely move the tables around to create a barricade. There aren't many tables left available, because T'bitha used a handful to create her makeshift bedroom and Khessa used one to make her door trap, but there are some.
So it sounds like you're all prepared to hangout here in the tavern and hope the drow return?
As Dimitri starts his fortification efforts, Khessa approves: "Good idea"and helps. She also takes care to block access to the bar (blocking sides shouls suffice, I think? There is a wall behind, right?) so no one can easily come to the side where she is watching and T'bitha is sleeping. Then Khessa hides behind the bar, keeping an eye on the door and anyway ready if she hears noises or the alarm, prepared to trigger the deadfall.
She is then ready to wait for the drows to return.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Tristan frowns, thinking to himself Where are you off to now? Not drunkards it seems. Perhaps you can lead me back to your superiors...
Tristan stands up and slowly starts to follow the group across the rooftops. He leaves enough distance that he is out of earshot, but keeps them within sight.
Stealth 9
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
While the wait goes on, Khessa, seeing T'bitha sleeping next to her, apparently so vulnerable, begins, in a natural way, almost without even realizing it, to think of Eilistraee, this mysterious drow goddess whose her friend did not still found the time to speak to her properly.
And so, in the secret of her own mind (which is not SO secret, she knows - but at the moment she has nothing better) she says to the goddess (hoping that Avimm does understand that this conversation is not directed to him): 'Hi Eilistraee! I'm Khessa, can you hear me? I hope you can hear me... I don't know how it works with you gods, no one has ever taught me to pray... Or maybe I have never been too careful about how it was done, I don't know... You know, working in the fields was much more important, at that time...'
'Anyway, if you hear me, hello and well met. I'm here, with a priestess of you, T'bitha... Do you remember her? I really hope so, because, you see, she remembers you. And she spoke well to me about you. So well, that I admit it, I find it hard to believe her - because if you were as good as they tell me, why didn't you intervene, when my village was razed, my brother killed, my family kidnapped and enslaved? But maybe we'll talk about it another time; after all I'm not too angry with you in particular, you know? You're a goddess of the drow, after all... You at least HAD this excuse not to intervene. But you have been in good company: not even the good gods of the humans intervened; none of them intervened to prevent what I told you - evidently, they all had something even more good to do'.
'But I'm digressing; it is not about me that I wanted to talk, but about her, about T'bitha. She needs a hand, you know? You see, she didn't hesitate to get into trouble, to worship you - when she would have had such an easier life adoring that other... that vermin that so many other drows insist on worshipping! But she worships you instead. She does more than worshipping, in fact: she... SHOWS you, with her life and her actions - to the point that I am here, now, to pray you for her. Because she now has a team of drow on her trail. Me and... some others who are with me, we will do our best to defend her and neutralize the threat. I think we have good chances. But if you'd like to give us a hand too... I would feel safer. And I'd also have a lot more respect for you for that. Now, the respect of a human daughter of a cabbage farmer kidnapped by drow may not matter too much to you, that I would understand... But at least do it for her, okay? Do it for T'bitha. Because she deserves it'.
Tristan you follow the men across the roof tops until they turn and move down an alley way. You then notice a familiar owl flying around in the sky as well, that was following the men before it lost them. As they turned down they alley, they disappeared into the darkness. Give me a perception check Tristan. It's now getting truly dark. Most lanterns around the town have been put out, with only the bare minimum still lit to get the more popular roads barely lit.
Dimitri, Hadi, and Khessa, the three of you continue to wait inside this abandoned tavern for something to happen. For anyone to walk through the front door. Unless someone has a light source going, Dimitri and Khessa, the two of you are having difficulties seeing. Khessa, you begin attempting to pray to Eilistraee. You're not really sure what to expect-- whether it be a response, a sign, or something else, but where T'bitha is typically completely still in her meditation, she has occasionally been moving as you prayed.
Tristan, you lose sight of the men in the same alley you notice Hadi's familiar follow them into, but after a few moments, you hear something fall, and while you can't see the men, you can see clear signs of someone or someones climbing one of the buildings in the alley. They're not doing it as well as they could, and for that, they've knocked plants off window sills and knocked a few bricks loose. They are however, invisible. You can't physically see the men. Once they get up on top of the roof, your lock on them disappears, as they seem to move silently across the roof tops.
(OOC: Good to know you keep a light near the door, Khessa, thank you)
Khessa, as she waits patiently for visits, begins to be more and more tempted by the idea of setting up some more fire-based traps.
'It would be perfect, sprinkle some oil around the bar, cover it with scraps of wood so that it doesn't show, maybe mask the smell with the contents of some of the bottles and leave a thin tongue of liquid that gets to us, from under the bar, which we can light to suddenly create a curtain of fire around us. Upon entering, the drow will almost certainly assault the bar defended by me (and by whoever stays here with me). T'bitha is here and she is the one they want most of all... And it would be nice to be able to give them a warm welcome once they crowd around the bar to swarm us!'
'Tristan was afraid that the fire could then spread too much and burn down other buildings or endanger other people...' remembers the blonde arcane warrior 'But I don't think this is very likely. Tirstan... Tirstan is a delightful person, with his concern for the safety of the innocents, and I must say that I appreciate him very much for that. I care very much for them too! But, in my opinion, he sometimes worries a bit too much for no reason...'
'And he's not even there, now ...' she can't help but notice the tall warrior-mage 'If I set the fire trap, he wouldn't notice. And it would only be for the good of all. After all... do we want to do everything possible or not, to save T'bitha? I'm sure he'll thank me in the end...'
Khessa is already practically about to move and put her intentions into action when she, in retrospect, stops: 'However, doing so would be cheating him. I don't like it... He doesn't deserve this. Not after we risked our lives together to retrieve Ambriel's urn. If I was going to go my own way and ignore his advice, I could just have avoided asking him, right? Asking him and then cheating him... no, it would be too disrespectful of him. It would seem that I don't care what he thinks. What do you say, Avimm? Nothing, as usual? It's ok, Avimm, it doesn't matter; I have already decided. This time I'll respect his opinion and we'll get by without a fire trap. Hey, even Eilistraee is with us after all, right?'
Khessa, as you move towards the door to lock it you hear talking on the other side of it. You hear someone say "I didn't see her in there. Did you?" And you hear another speak up "no. I don't think she's in there, but they did claim guards were coming, so she must be near."
Tristan shakes his head "No, no fire. We are in a residential area. If there is even a chance of it spreading it is too risky. Coming here may have been a bad idea in the first place, we are too restricted in our options."
Dropping his satchel and the rest of his belongings, save his weapons, in a corner, Tristan heads out of the cellar and towards the door. Once he reaches it, he quickly opens it and slips out. He hastily slinks away from the tavern, looking for a spot on the roof of a nearby building that would be sufficient to keep watch from. If he spots one, he will climb up and perch there, attempting to remain unseen.
Stealth 10
Athletics 8
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Khessa, while waiting for eventual trap ideas, beckons all closer and whispers: "I heared the guys that just exited speaking outside... They are looking for T'bitha! They are either drow in disguise or working for them, I guess. If someone sneaky wants to try to go and spy on them, feel free to do it. Else, let's stay ready for visits".
After that, as additional trap, Khessa leaves the grate for the cellar open and covers it with material from a bedroll to hide the pit. If somebody is unaware of it and walks on, he should fall down.
They continue speaking, Khessa, but they quickly switch from common to a language you're familiar with, but don't understand. It's the same language the drow who had captured you were speaking. The door on the cellar is on a hinge, Khessa. So you can cover up the staircase itself, the door would still be sticking up in the air. Someone not paying much attention could definitely not spot the grated door though.
Tristan, you push out of the tavern to an immediately empty road. You see the four men who were just previously in the tavern with you walking away, seemingly fine, and not drunk at all. Or at least not stumbling like they were. You manage to find a alley just a few buildings down with ease of access to the roof, then you move across the buildings until you get back closer to the tavern itself. You've found a pretty decent perch to watch the front door of the tavern.
Note: if the language is the one of the drow (Undercommon - I love you DM, thank you for your kindness), Khessa DOES understand it!
OOC explaination: it is the bonus language she choose as a human
IC explanation: she learned it during her ordeal in the Underdark
However, hearing the fake drunks talking in undercommon, Khessa thinks, ideally addressing the voice that had spoken in her mind earlier: 'My apologies, Anonymous Voice In My Mind - waiting for us to introduce ourselves properly I can call you Avimm, for short? Apologies, anyway, I was saying, Avimm; it seems you were right to worry. The drunken group was not what it seemed. Apparently you know a lot. I would really like us to be friends. I'm not kidding: your information was helpful... so if I can help you somehow later, try asking, okay? I see that for you it is not a problem to communicate with me, when you feel like it!'.
You wait a few moments, Khessa, after mentally speaking to whoever this person was that spoke to you and there's still no response. Whoever it was doesn't seem to be paying much attention at the moment. At the moment Khessa, Dimitri, and Hadi what are the three of you up to?
Also, Tristan, give me a perception check as you hang out on the roof of this building across the road.
"I'll try to have Laza follow them." Hadi says, sending a message up to his owl to track the 'drunks'.
stealth 13; perception 13
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
Ok, but since we agreed that Khessa csn understand undercommon, what were the false drunken saying?
Anyway, Khessa sets up the cellar door trap then goes behind the bar, ready to welcome intruders.
"They are going to be back soon." Dimitri says, lowering his voice. "We should have T'bitha hide, delay engagement as long as possible. Actually, we should all hide. Get ready." Dimitri looks around. Is it possible to rearrange the tables/chairs in a sort of barricade where they can hide behind? If not, he looks for a corner to conceal himself so he can shoot in stealth.
As they walked away and began speaking undercommon, Khessa. For the little bit you were capable of hearing, it just sounded like gossip talk you heard one of them ask the other "so, what do you think of the new priestess?" Hadi, Laza follows the drunks for a bit, but they slink into an alley way, and as Laza gets into position to see into it, they've disappeared into the darkness of the alley and he loses sight of them. Dimitri you can absolutely move the tables around to create a barricade. There aren't many tables left available, because T'bitha used a handful to create her makeshift bedroom and Khessa used one to make her door trap, but there are some.
So it sounds like you're all prepared to hangout here in the tavern and hope the drow return?
As Dimitri starts his fortification efforts, Khessa approves: "Good idea" and helps. She also takes care to block access to the bar (blocking sides shouls suffice, I think? There is a wall behind, right?) so no one can easily come to the side where she is watching and T'bitha is sleeping. Then Khessa hides behind the bar, keeping an eye on the door and anyway ready if she hears noises or the alarm, prepared to trigger the deadfall.
She is then ready to wait for the drows to return.
Tristan frowns, thinking to himself Where are you off to now? Not drunkards it seems. Perhaps you can lead me back to your superiors...
Tristan stands up and slowly starts to follow the group across the rooftops. He leaves enough distance that he is out of earshot, but keeps them within sight.
Stealth 9
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
While the wait goes on, Khessa, seeing T'bitha sleeping next to her, apparently so vulnerable, begins, in a natural way, almost without even realizing it, to think of Eilistraee, this mysterious drow goddess whose her friend did not still found the time to speak to her properly.
And so, in the secret of her own mind (which is not SO secret, she knows - but at the moment she has nothing better) she says to the goddess (hoping that Avimm does understand that this conversation is not directed to him): 'Hi Eilistraee! I'm Khessa, can you hear me? I hope you can hear me... I don't know how it works with you gods, no one has ever taught me to pray... Or maybe I have never been too careful about how it was done, I don't know... You know, working in the fields was much more important, at that time...'
'Anyway, if you hear me, hello and well met. I'm here, with a priestess of you, T'bitha... Do you remember her? I really hope so, because, you see, she remembers you. And she spoke well to me about you. So well, that I admit it, I find it hard to believe her - because if you were as good as they tell me, why didn't you intervene, when my village was razed, my brother killed, my family kidnapped and enslaved? But maybe we'll talk about it another time; after all I'm not too angry with you in particular, you know? You're a goddess of the drow, after all... You at least HAD this excuse not to intervene. But you have been in good company: not even the good gods of the humans intervened; none of them intervened to prevent what I told you - evidently, they all had something even more good to do'.
'But I'm digressing; it is not about me that I wanted to talk, but about her, about T'bitha. She needs a hand, you know? You see, she didn't hesitate to get into trouble, to worship you - when she would have had such an easier life adoring that other... that vermin that so many other drows insist on worshipping! But she worships you instead. She does more than worshipping, in fact: she... SHOWS you, with her life and her actions - to the point that I am here, now, to pray you for her. Because she now has a team of drow on her trail. Me and... some others who are with me, we will do our best to defend her and neutralize the threat. I think we have good chances. But if you'd like to give us a hand too... I would feel safer. And I'd also have a lot more respect for you for that. Now, the respect of a human daughter of a cabbage farmer kidnapped by drow may not matter too much to you, that I would understand... But at least do it for her, okay? Do it for T'bitha. Because she deserves it'.
Tristan you follow the men across the roof tops until they turn and move down an alley way. You then notice a familiar owl flying around in the sky as well, that was following the men before it lost them. As they turned down they alley, they disappeared into the darkness. Give me a perception check Tristan. It's now getting truly dark. Most lanterns around the town have been put out, with only the bare minimum still lit to get the more popular roads barely lit.
Dimitri, Hadi, and Khessa, the three of you continue to wait inside this abandoned tavern for something to happen. For anyone to walk through the front door. Unless someone has a light source going, Dimitri and Khessa, the two of you are having difficulties seeing. Khessa, you begin attempting to pray to Eilistraee. You're not really sure what to expect-- whether it be a response, a sign, or something else, but where T'bitha is typically completely still in her meditation, she has occasionally been moving as you prayed.
Against the darkness, Khessa keeps a lighted pebble near the door, renewing the enchantement when it expires.
Perception 16
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Tristan, you lose sight of the men in the same alley you notice Hadi's familiar follow them into, but after a few moments, you hear something fall, and while you can't see the men, you can see clear signs of someone or someones climbing one of the buildings in the alley. They're not doing it as well as they could, and for that, they've knocked plants off window sills and knocked a few bricks loose. They are however, invisible. You can't physically see the men. Once they get up on top of the roof, your lock on them disappears, as they seem to move silently across the roof tops.
(OOC: Good to know you keep a light near the door, Khessa, thank you)
Khessa, as she waits patiently for visits, begins to be more and more tempted by the idea of setting up some more fire-based traps.
'It would be perfect, sprinkle some oil around the bar, cover it with scraps of wood so that it doesn't show, maybe mask the smell with the contents of some of the bottles and leave a thin tongue of liquid that gets to us, from under the bar, which we can light to suddenly create a curtain of fire around us. Upon entering, the drow will almost certainly assault the bar defended by me (and by whoever stays here with me). T'bitha is here and she is the one they want most of all... And it would be nice to be able to give them a warm welcome once they crowd around the bar to swarm us!'
'Tristan was afraid that the fire could then spread too much and burn down other buildings or endanger other people...' remembers the blonde arcane warrior 'But I don't think this is very likely. Tirstan... Tirstan is a delightful person, with his concern for the safety of the innocents, and I must say that I appreciate him very much for that. I care very much for them too! But, in my opinion, he sometimes worries a bit too much for no reason...'
'And he's not even there, now ...' she can't help but notice the tall warrior-mage 'If I set the fire trap, he wouldn't notice. And it would only be for the good of all. After all... do we want to do everything possible or not, to save T'bitha? I'm sure he'll thank me in the end...'
Khessa is already practically about to move and put her intentions into action when she, in retrospect, stops: 'However, doing so would be cheating him. I don't like it... He doesn't deserve this. Not after we risked our lives together to retrieve Ambriel's urn. If I was going to go my own way and ignore his advice, I could just have avoided asking him, right? Asking him and then cheating him... no, it would be too disrespectful of him. It would seem that I don't care what he thinks. What do you say, Avimm? Nothing, as usual? It's ok, Avimm, it doesn't matter; I have already decided. This time I'll respect his opinion and we'll get by without a fire trap. Hey, even Eilistraee is with us after all, right?'