Reidoth points to the north, toward the broken tower on the hillside. "Take heed. Do not take a dragon lightly," he offers.

Argos and Roland look to the rest of the party for instruction.

“Reidoth, will you help us? I do not ask you to charge headlong into a fight with a dragon, but could you help us get the jump by scouting for us? Or can you give us anything to help with the poison this dragon will spray upon us.”

Nemean grinned and swung his tale with urgency, he implored the old Druid to aid them in whatever manner he saw fit, taking care to address the man with respect. His Tabaxi accent shown through as he flashed his insignia of the Harpers, did his best to persuade his potential ally.

persuasion 7

"Finna is all that I am and more," Reidoth says calmly. "There is a reason that she was the one to find you and bring you here, and not me."

"I have been here for some time, and I can tell you only what I have seen. It is a simple task to avoid the ash zombies and mutated plants that have overrun this place. Dangerous spiders lurk in the ruins at the base of the hill, and I suspect someone is hiding out on the eastern end of town. I have seen folk in black masks and cloaks skulking around," he says in a weary voice.

"Once we clear off the dragon - the rest will be easier or not needed at all. Yet, if we first fight those things, we can wake up the dragon and get him as well when we are already busy. I say we go to the lair."

“Yes”, nods Nemean in agreement “We can quietly make our way through this old decrepit place... we can scout ahead and move without being seen. Best to avoid these forsaken things and focus on stalking our prey”

OOC: Once you have a gameplan and have taken an action (or confirm that the party is moving toward the tower) I will be ready to resolve and advance.

"Then let's just go. For dragon day and night make no difference, for us - it's better go while we are not that tired. I'll can make some of you more resilient to the poison, but not immune, mind you, so be careful."

Protection from Poison on Nemean, Argos and Roland.

"Nix, you and I will have to do as we are and  better stay a bit behind - my magic is limited."

"Well, if we all are ready - then to the entrance, around the places with undead and cultists."

(if the tower has some entrances too small for the dragon - then this is where Finna leads the group.

DM Screen:

At an intersection near the middle of the village, a narrow lane winds up the steep hillside to the north, where the tower lies. Directly to the south is a ruined building that might have been a store or workshop at one point. Webs stretch across the lane, from the building to the trees on the north side of the road.

OOC: The path up to the tower is choked with webs. The brush around you is thick but traversable (difficult terrain).

I'd say our goal is to reach the tower unannounced, so we proceed as slow as need to be to stay hidden and unprovocative, avoiding fighting and any creature attention. In this case we go around very carefully, doing everything to prevent a sudden run in with any creature.

OOC: Yes, let’s use the stealth approach. I believe Finna, Nix, and Nemean can all move around quietly when they need to. Lets stick to the brush, do we need stealth rolls?

OOC: I'll make stealth rolls if they become needed.

The brush along the hillside is incredibly thick and overgrown, and the flora seems to compress around you as you travel around the webbing and parallel to the path that leads toward the tower. Moving through the dense foliage is noisy, but easy to keep yourselves from being openly visible.

At the top of the hill stands a round tower with a cottage attached. Both are in good condition, although half of the tower's roof is gone. A door, currently closed, leads into the cottage, and several arrow-slit windows are visible in the tower. You can't help but notice an eerie quiet in the immediate vicinity and a strange, acrid smell in the air.

The forms of two giant spiders in the brush ahead of you take you by surprise, but you quickly realize that they are unmoving corpses, apparently dragged into the brush judging by the markings in the ground nearby. Their bloated bodies are puckered and blistered, and appear to have been mauled by a large animal.

((Is the door the only entrance? If Finna and Reidoth were watching dragon for some time, I would assume they know ins and outs of the tower))

OOC: Reidoth hasn't been able to get this close to the tower, for fear of being eaten by a dragon and all that. What has been described is as much as Finna knows about the tower/cottage at the moment, though that doesn't mean there isn't more to be learned.

"Should we just go forward and try to open the door or do you want me to check it out fist? It seems dragon does not like spiders but may be he would not notice a mouse right away..."

“Let’s stick to the outside a bit more...”

Nemean holds perfectly still and stares at the arrow slits in the tower walls watching for any sign of movement

Nemean Perception: 9

Nemean does not detect any active movement through the arrow slits, but does see flashes of green, gold and grey glinting through them from the sunlight leaking through the hole in the tower.

Quote from BartyMcDougal >>

Nemean and Finna recognize Reidoth. He is quiet, and speaks as if doing so is unfamiliar to him. He eyeballs Nemean, nodding in recognition, then looks over Nix. His brow furrows; he grunts and says, "You were the survivor."

Nix just nods and mutters, "And soon to be avenger."

Quote from BlueBayou >>

"Nix, you and I will have to do as we are and  better stay a bit behind - my magic is limited."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I survived last time by being quick on my feet. I hope to do the same here."

Looking to the group, "Once I have sight of the dragon, I can cast Silence on the dragon so that it won't hear us coming. Should give us an edge at the start of the fight."

Neman nods to Nix and stares at the arrow slits, then he whispers to the group as he sits perfectly still.

“He may be in there right now... I can see something green in there.” 

He puts away his bow, and smoothly steps down from his perch and strides silently forward until he is pressed against the wall of the cottage. If he senses no danger he proceeds to scurry up the wall and onto the roof in one swift movement. He crouches and peers towards the tower, hoping to get a better look without being seen.

Nemean Stealth: 26

With his claws, Nemean is easily able to climb silently to the top of the cottage, pressing forward to get a better view.

For Nemean:

Nemean will continue to prowl along the rooftop, until he quietly peers through the closest arrow slit.