Panwan looks around the group and smiles. "Are we setting up camp here? Or are we going to move on? "
"Once everyone has sufficiently sorted their equipment, I suggest we press on. We have enough daylight to put some ground behind us aye? What do you guys think?"
Kvothe takes a swig of water and a small bite of his rations and says "let's press on!". He then takes up his usual position at the rear of the party. As per standard practice he constantly scans both sides of the jungle, the trees above and where he is placing his feet.
As the hour ends and everyone seems to be ready to go, Ezio grabs battle-ax and looks it over for any runic markings, noticing several. Without the time for his ritual, he slips it between loops of the rope around his chest, he also grabs the shortsword from the archer and does the same without the time to look it over. As he was preparing to leave, Ezio sees Kvothe standing over the body of one of the warrirors and calls to him, "It would be a problem if that shield there is magical and could save someone's life and we just left it here. Mind proactively solving that problem by bringing it with us? I can examine it when we stop for the night."
Kvothe holds up the shield and says "What I am going to do with this, make soup in it. Somebody else might find it useful so I will bring it along."
Ezio helps carry any of the coin gathered from the adventurers, but suggests leaving the rest of the equipment from their packs behind. In the order of movement, he'll go in the middle somewhere.
Panwan gets up from his rest and looks over at Kaslo and notices he is still not fully healed. He begins to chant in Abyssal and his hands glow a soft white color when he is done chanting he points towards Kaslo and his body is surrounded by the white light soothing him, healing him. (11 hp healed)
"Okay. Let's get out of this place. I've had enough." Panwan heads into the jungle once more hacking his way through the dense brush and vines that cover every inch of this place. From time to time you can hear the croaks of the Grung and a few times they were pretty close and Panwan stopped you and waited until the Grung had passed before continuing onward. The hours go by and the sunlight is quickly fading from the sky as the croaking sounds start up again. They seem to be coming from the direction you just came from and they are getting closer.
Panwan picks up the pace and you finally come to the great ravine. The wooden bridge that spans the 100' ravine looks to be in decent condition. A lot better than the rope bridge from the day before. You figure you have one more hour of light before it gets dark. You can hear the river below and as you look over the side of the cliff the river is 100 feet below and you can see that it looks pretty calm. Across the river, on the other side of the ravine at the bottom of the cliff, you notice a campfire with a man sitting by it leaning against the side of the cliff wall. It's hard to tell from here but he looks injured as you can see a blood trail that leads to a cave to the east, that starts near him. From the looks of things, he has what appears to be armor that the Order of the Gauntlet soldiers wears.
Across the ravine, you can see a huge tower sticking out of the jungle covered in vines. It is 100 feet tall and it looks to have been here since the beginning of time. The walls are crumbled and thick vines scale the walls all the way to the top of the tower. You can't see the base of the tower in the jungle. There is a light coming from the top of the tower, it looks to be a fire of some kind.
Panwan points down to the man at the campfire. "He looks like one of ours. What do you want to do?"he asks.
Ezio squints, looking for a walking path that leads to the campfire on the opposite of the river. In the growing darkness, he's unable to make out anything. Turning to the group, he says, "Can anyone see a safe path to walk down there? I can't see one from here. If the path is dangerous or too far out of the way, we can simply jump off the far side of the bridge. I'd be able to slow us down like I did with Kaslo before."
Ezio squints, looking for a walking path that leads to the campfire on the opposite of the river. In the growing darkness, he's unable to make out anything. Turning to Panwan, he says, "Is there a safe path to walk down there? I can't see one from here. If the path is dangerous or too far out of the way, we can simply jump off the far side of the bridge. I'd be able to slow us down like I did with Kaslo before."
"How would I know if there's a safe path down below. I'm seeing this for the first time just like you." Panwan says as he looks around the area.
"This jungle is your order's base of operations and you are our guide in this endeavor. But, never mind, as I said, we can just jump off the bridge or a suitable cliff on the far side, unless any of you others can discern a path?" Ezio says, turning to the party. "We'd have to jump in two groups and slowing both groups would drain my magic stores completely until I've had suitable time to rest, so it may be prudent to look for a path first."
Maybe we should walk over there and look first to see if there is a path? It is getting dark, if we get over there and he is dead we might want to camp up high and go down in the morning
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Rockcrusher lvl 2 Goliath Barbarian Horde of the Dragon Queen
Taggart lvl 6 Air Genasi Blood Hunter Tomb of Annihilation
Shadow lvl 3 variant feral tiefling rogue Shackled City
“Panwan have you ever come across this tower before, or heard any information about ? Something doesn’t add up here- why would this man be down there by himself injured, when there is a seemingly occupied tower just right there.
I don’t trust the looks of that tower. But I do feel we should see if we can help that man camping down there. “
"Yes, I agree completely. From the looks of it, that tower and that cave are likely connected. Rather than walk into that tower blind, with no information, we can jump down to that Order soldier and, if he lives, get valuable intelligence on what happened here. On the other hand, if we waste time looking around for another way down, the soldier could die and we lose the chance to gain his knowledge and stumble into a yet another hostile situation unknowingly." Looking again at the terrain around them, Ezio comes to a decision.
"That decides it then, we will cross the bridge then jump down onto that shelf of land the campfire and cave are on. We'll need to do this in two groups, do exactly as I say and you'll land safely, with no damage to yourself or your belongings. Remember how I saved Kaslo from that fall into the ravine and trust I will do the same for you. The first group will be: Panwan, Yellow, Kaslo, and Kvothe. The second will be Krav, Taggart, and myself. Make sure you jump at the same time with the rest of your group. I will count down 3,2,1,0; jump on zero without hesitation. The second group will wait until the first has finished their descent then do the same and land seconds apart from the first, so make sure you clear out from the landing area immediately and head into the direction of the campfire. I can only cast the spell once per group, any hesitation will lead to some number of us stuck down there and up here until I've had time, at least an hour likely more, to recover my strength. Several people hesitating will lead to the death or grevious injury of the last person or persons to jump, I can only cast this twice in a short time period." Looking around at everyone's faces to ensure his instructions were clear, Ezio finished with. "Splendid, let's move. Kvothe, if you'd be so kind as the lead the way and keep your eyes out for any traps along the bridge."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Hold your horses. Let's not go leaping off the bridge just yet and scare the soldier, he may open fire. I know I would. Let me have a look around" Kvothe says. He then does a perception check 7 to see if he can find a path down. "Over there" Kvothe points to a path on the other side of the river. "Best if I go by myself first" he says. He turns to Ezio and says "Get ready to cast that Feather Fall, in case I need it".
He loosens his Leather Duster and sets off checking for partly cut rope, loose planks etc. (Perception Check 18).
He is also constantly scanning the jungle on the other side, particularly near the rope going down to the soldier. He is looking for anything hiding in the jungle that may be trying to set-up an ambush. He is also scanning the sky for any threats. Second Perception check 9.
Panwan looks at Ezio and smiles "So you have some backbone in you. I'm glad. I thought I was traveling with a bunch of civilized sissy types." Panwan looks around the area for a moment before continuing. "While the Order does have a fort based in this jungle, we have never been here in this region, hence we sent out the patrol to go investigate it and take care of the evil lair of undead that was told to us."
Panwan points towards the tower. "That tower looks to be of Yuan-Ti design. A very evil society and one that should be avoided at all costs. The yuan-ti were once humans who thrived in the earliest days of civilization and worshiped serpents as totem animals. They lauded the serpent’s sinuous flexibility, its calculated poise, and its deadly strike. Their advanced philosophy taught the virtue of detachment from emotion and of clear, focused thought."
Panwan scratches his chin while he continues his story. "Yuan-ti culture was among the richest in the mortal world. Their warriors were legendary, their empires always expanding. Yuan-ti temples stood at the centers of ancient metropolises, reaching ever higher in prayer to the gods they longed to emulate. In time, the serpent gods heard those prayers, their sibilant voices responding from the darkness as they told the yuan-ti what they must do. The yuan-ti religion grew more fanatical in its devotion. Cults bound themselves to the worship of the serpent gods and imitated their ways, indulging in cannibalism and humanoid sacrifice. Through foul sorcery, the yuan-ti bred with snakes, utterly sacrificing their humanity to become like the serpent gods in form, as well as in thought and emotion."
"Hold your horses. Let's not go leaping off the bridge just yet and scare the soldier, he may open fire. I know I would. Let me have a look around" Kvothe interrupts. "Over there" Kvothe points to an area near where the campfire is. "Can you see that?"
Panwan looks to the area Kvothe is pointing at, his eyes begin to glow and small flames appear where his eyes should be for a moment before turning back to normal. "There is a rope attached to the cliff above the campfire that descends all the way down to the camp. I assume that's how the patrol climbed down there. Why they climbed down is another question."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Best if I go by myself first"Kvothe says. He turns to Ezio and says"Get ready to cast that Feather Fall, in case I need it".
He puts the Black Shield down as well as his backpack. He turns to Krav and says "Can you hang onto this lot." He loosens his Leather Duster and carrying only his crossbow and weapons, sets off checking for partly cut rope, loose planks etc. (Perception Check 9).
He is also constantly scanning the jungle on the other side, particularly near the rope going down to the soldier. He is looking for anything hiding in the jungle that may be trying to set-up an ambush. He is also scanning the sky for any threats. Second Perception check 9.
After Kvthe hands off his pack and shield to Krav, he heads out onto the bridge making sure it is safe. The bridge is made of sturdy wood and looks to be in good shape considering how long it has been here. The ropes are actually made of thick vines and are in great condition. The bridge looks safe enough and Kvothe makes it to the other side as he begins scanning the sky and jungle for any threats.
The last ravine you crossed was a Grung ambush and you are still in Grung territory. Nothing seems out of the ordinary as you make your way across to the far side of the bridge. You notice that the rope hanging down to the campfire below is fastened securely to the ground with multiple pitons, as well as tied around a nearby tree with quadruple knots. The rope leads all the way down to the ground with some rope to spare.
You did not get off the bridge. You are still standing on it but at the far end of the ravine.
Kvothe takes a swig of water and a small bite of his rations and says "let's press on!". He then takes up his usual position at the rear of the party. As per standard practice he constantly scans both sides of the jungle, the trees above and where he is placing his feet.
DM - Stopping a god in his tracks
Krav looks up from his new sword.
"I agree. I'd rather not stay in this place long."
Assuming the group continues on, Krav will stay in the middle of the line, unless Panwan walks in the middle, in which case Krav will stay up front.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Taggart is ready to proceed
Rockcrusher lvl 2 Goliath Barbarian Horde of the Dragon Queen
Taggart lvl 6 Air Genasi Blood Hunter Tomb of Annihilation
Shadow lvl 3 variant feral tiefling rogue Shackled City
As the hour ends and everyone seems to be ready to go, Ezio grabs battle-ax and looks it over for any runic markings, noticing several. Without the time for his ritual, he slips it between loops of the rope around his chest, he also grabs the shortsword from the archer and does the same without the time to look it over. As he was preparing to leave, Ezio sees Kvothe standing over the body of one of the warrirors and calls to him, "It would be a problem if that shield there is magical and could save someone's life and we just left it here. Mind proactively solving that problem by bringing it with us? I can examine it when we stop for the night."
Kvothe holds up the shield and says "What I am going to do with this, make soup in it. Somebody else might find it useful so I will bring it along."
Ezio helps carry any of the coin gathered from the adventurers, but suggests leaving the rest of the equipment from their packs behind. In the order of movement, he'll go in the middle somewhere.
After the packs are poured out onto the ground, Yellow walks over and picks up one of the lengths of rope.
As the group leaves the clearing, Yellow will fall in line right behind Panwan.
Just for the fun of it: perception: 17
Panwan gets up from his rest and looks over at Kaslo and notices he is still not fully healed. He begins to chant in Abyssal and his hands glow a soft white color when he is done chanting he points towards Kaslo and his body is surrounded by the white light soothing him, healing him. (11 hp healed)
"Okay. Let's get out of this place. I've had enough." Panwan heads into the jungle once more hacking his way through the dense brush and vines that cover every inch of this place. From time to time you can hear the croaks of the Grung and a few times they were pretty close and Panwan stopped you and waited until the Grung had passed before continuing onward. The hours go by and the sunlight is quickly fading from the sky as the croaking sounds start up again. They seem to be coming from the direction you just came from and they are getting closer.
Panwan picks up the pace and you finally come to the great ravine. The wooden bridge that spans the 100' ravine looks to be in decent condition. A lot better than the rope bridge from the day before. You figure you have one more hour of light before it gets dark. You can hear the river below and as you look over the side of the cliff the river is 100 feet below and you can see that it looks pretty calm. Across the river, on the other side of the ravine at the bottom of the cliff, you notice a campfire with a man sitting by it leaning against the side of the cliff wall. It's hard to tell from here but he looks injured as you can see a blood trail that leads to a cave to the east, that starts near him. From the looks of things, he has what appears to be armor that the Order of the Gauntlet soldiers wears.
Across the ravine, you can see a huge tower sticking out of the jungle covered in vines. It is 100 feet tall and it looks to have been here since the beginning of time. The walls are crumbled and thick vines scale the walls all the way to the top of the tower. You can't see the base of the tower in the jungle. There is a light coming from the top of the tower, it looks to be a fire of some kind.
Panwan points down to the man at the campfire. "He looks like one of ours. What do you want to do?" he asks.
DM Tomb of Annihilation X2
DM Curse of Strahd
Redleaf Moutain Dwarf Circle of land(Moutain) Druid
Ezio squints, looking for a walking path that leads to the campfire on the opposite of the river. In the growing darkness, he's unable to make out anything. Turning to the group, he says, "Can anyone see a safe path to walk down there? I can't see one from here. If the path is dangerous or too far out of the way, we can simply jump off the far side of the bridge. I'd be able to slow us down like I did with Kaslo before."
DM Tomb of Annihilation X2
DM Curse of Strahd
Redleaf Moutain Dwarf Circle of land(Moutain) Druid
"This jungle is your order's base of operations and you are our guide in this endeavor. But, never mind, as I said, we can just jump off the bridge or a suitable cliff on the far side, unless any of you others can discern a path?" Ezio says, turning to the party. "We'd have to jump in two groups and slowing both groups would drain my magic stores completely until I've had suitable time to rest, so it may be prudent to look for a path first."
Maybe we should walk over there and look first to see if there is a path? It is getting dark, if we get over there and he is dead we might want to camp up high and go down in the morning
Rockcrusher lvl 2 Goliath Barbarian Horde of the Dragon Queen
Taggart lvl 6 Air Genasi Blood Hunter Tomb of Annihilation
Shadow lvl 3 variant feral tiefling rogue Shackled City
“Panwan have you ever come across this tower before, or heard any information about ? Something doesn’t add up here- why would this man be down there by himself injured, when there is a seemingly occupied tower just right there.
I don’t trust the looks of that tower. But I do feel we should see if we can help that man camping down there. “
"Yes, I agree completely. From the looks of it, that tower and that cave are likely connected. Rather than walk into that tower blind, with no information, we can jump down to that Order soldier and, if he lives, get valuable intelligence on what happened here. On the other hand, if we waste time looking around for another way down, the soldier could die and we lose the chance to gain his knowledge and stumble into a yet another hostile situation unknowingly." Looking again at the terrain around them, Ezio comes to a decision.
"That decides it then, we will cross the bridge then jump down onto that shelf of land the campfire and cave are on. We'll need to do this in two groups, do exactly as I say and you'll land safely, with no damage to yourself or your belongings. Remember how I saved Kaslo from that fall into the ravine and trust I will do the same for you. The first group will be: Panwan, Yellow, Kaslo, and Kvothe. The second will be Krav, Taggart, and myself. Make sure you jump at the same time with the rest of your group. I will count down 3,2,1,0; jump on zero without hesitation. The second group will wait until the first has finished their descent then do the same and land seconds apart from the first, so make sure you clear out from the landing area immediately and head into the direction of the campfire. I can only cast the spell once per group, any hesitation will lead to some number of us stuck down there and up here until I've had time, at least an hour likely more, to recover my strength. Several people hesitating will lead to the death or grevious injury of the last person or persons to jump, I can only cast this twice in a short time period." Looking around at everyone's faces to ensure his instructions were clear, Ezio finished with. "Splendid, let's move. Kvothe, if you'd be so kind as the lead the way and keep your eyes out for any traps along the bridge."
Krav follows the others. His new greatsword swings awkwardly from its position on his belt.
I'll have to move that before I stab myself, he thinks.
And that's all I have to say about that.
"Hold your horses. Let's not go leaping off the bridge just yet and scare the soldier, he may open fire. I know I would. Let me have a look around" Kvothe says. He then does a perception check 7 to see if he can find a path down. "Over there" Kvothe points to a path on the other side of the river. "Best if I go by myself first" he says. He turns to Ezio and says "Get ready to cast that Feather Fall, in case I need it".
He loosens his Leather Duster and sets off checking for partly cut rope, loose planks etc. (Perception Check 18).
He is also constantly scanning the jungle on the other side, particularly near the rope going down to the soldier. He is looking for anything hiding in the jungle that may be trying to set-up an ambush. He is also scanning the sky for any threats. Second Perception check 9.
DM - Stopping a god in his tracks
Panwan looks at Ezio and smiles "So you have some backbone in you. I'm glad. I thought I was traveling with a bunch of civilized sissy types." Panwan looks around the area for a moment before continuing. "While the Order does have a fort based in this jungle, we have never been here in this region, hence we sent out the patrol to go investigate it and take care of the evil lair of undead that was told to us."
Panwan points towards the tower. "That tower looks to be of Yuan-Ti design. A very evil society and one that should be avoided at all costs. The yuan-ti were once humans who thrived in the earliest days of civilization and worshiped serpents as totem animals. They lauded the serpent’s sinuous flexibility, its calculated poise, and its deadly strike. Their advanced philosophy taught the virtue of detachment from emotion and of clear, focused thought."
Panwan scratches his chin while he continues his story. "Yuan-ti culture was among the richest in the mortal world. Their warriors were legendary, their empires always expanding. Yuan-ti temples stood at the centers of ancient metropolises, reaching ever higher in prayer to the gods they longed to emulate. In time, the serpent gods heard those prayers, their sibilant voices responding from the darkness as they told the yuan-ti what they must do. The yuan-ti religion grew more fanatical in its devotion. Cults bound themselves to the worship of the serpent gods and imitated their ways, indulging in cannibalism and humanoid sacrifice. Through foul sorcery, the yuan-ti bred with snakes, utterly sacrificing their humanity to become like the serpent gods in form, as well as in thought and emotion."
"Hold your horses. Let's not go leaping off the bridge just yet and scare the soldier, he may open fire. I know I would. Let me have a look around" Kvothe interrupts. "Over there" Kvothe points to an area near where the campfire is. "Can you see that?"
Panwan looks to the area Kvothe is pointing at, his eyes begin to glow and small flames appear where his eyes should be for a moment before turning back to normal. "There is a rope attached to the cliff above the campfire that descends all the way down to the camp. I assume that's how the patrol climbed down there. Why they climbed down is another question."
DM Tomb of Annihilation X2
DM Curse of Strahd
Redleaf Moutain Dwarf Circle of land(Moutain) Druid
"Best if I go by myself first" Kvothe says. He turns to Ezio and says "Get ready to cast that Feather Fall, in case I need it".
He puts the Black Shield down as well as his backpack. He turns to Krav and says "Can you hang onto this lot." He loosens his Leather Duster and carrying only his crossbow and weapons, sets off checking for partly cut rope, loose planks etc. (Perception Check 9).
He is also constantly scanning the jungle on the other side, particularly near the rope going down to the soldier. He is looking for anything hiding in the jungle that may be trying to set-up an ambush. He is also scanning the sky for any threats. Second Perception check 9.
DM - Stopping a god in his tracks
Krav nods, shouldering the shield and pack awkwardly. He watches Kvothe's progress carefully, one hand on his greatsword.
And that's all I have to say about that.
After Kvthe hands off his pack and shield to Krav, he heads out onto the bridge making sure it is safe. The bridge is made of sturdy wood and looks to be in good shape considering how long it has been here. The ropes are actually made of thick vines and are in great condition. The bridge looks safe enough and Kvothe makes it to the other side as he begins scanning the sky and jungle for any threats.
The last ravine you crossed was a Grung ambush and you are still in Grung territory. Nothing seems out of the ordinary as you make your way across to the far side of the bridge. You notice that the rope hanging down to the campfire below is fastened securely to the ground with multiple pitons, as well as tied around a nearby tree with quadruple knots. The rope leads all the way down to the ground with some rope to spare.
You did not get off the bridge. You are still standing on it but at the far end of the ravine.
DM Tomb of Annihilation X2
DM Curse of Strahd
Redleaf Moutain Dwarf Circle of land(Moutain) Druid
Well let’s get a move on off this bridge, some of us are back here just waiting while you all stand at the front
Rockcrusher lvl 2 Goliath Barbarian Horde of the Dragon Queen
Taggart lvl 6 Air Genasi Blood Hunter Tomb of Annihilation
Shadow lvl 3 variant feral tiefling rogue Shackled City