Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Yes, I doubt than anybody will be able to get a result higher than Traydark's... Errde better be content on his lame 25 😉
Unless she prefers my 20, of course!
(Katryl Persuasion: 19)
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Ebzer Persuasion: 18
Ebzer involuntarily snorts in derision as his companions are speaking, and sends himself into a sneezing fit.
Errde continues a hard stare at you in a long, uncomfortable silence perhaps before finally speaking again. "Return the egg to the Keepers. Hells forbid our city crumbles and falls from an easily fixable problem. The rest...is not so easily fixed. But hand the egg over and we can consider our deal complete." Errde stood up and waited for the answer.
"Return the egg to the Keepers? So who are these Keepers and what right do they have to this egg that we have found if I may ask? I am quite aware that we are at your mercy Captain but we have also performed some quite valuable service for you and some kind of reward for what we have accomplished could perhaps be considered as you are very powerful and influential and we will find use of many things that you could easily provide us with." The noble drow continues in a polite but firm tone.
"We are the Keepers of the Flame," the priest butted in. "We attend to Thenberchaud, the great dragon that fires our forges. This is his egg and so rightfully ours, to watch and tend to until it is needed. If it weren't for the meddling Gray Ghosts and their leader, Droki, the egg would have still been in his clutches." Errde waits for him to finish before speaking again, "I had planned on allowing you some access to our armory, again with the provision that you hand over the egg. If the madness is as rampant as you say, then it is even more important to keep this egg safe in case something should happen."
'There's no denying it...' Khessa thinks in the meantime, although trying to keep a neutral expression 'Errde's sympathy grows with every passing minute... I wonder if she followed a special crash-course or is a natural talent?!'
'First,' the blonde arcane warrior remembers 'she finds a pretext to arrest us — that after we just saved her fellow citizens and some of her soldiers from the attentions of a rampaging giant. Then she asks us to arrest a guy who, up to now, her guards haven't even been able to get close to... A task that we manage to do in the day. She also wished we could find evidence of demonic activity. And, go figure, during the same day, we find them - and not only one evidence, but two - plus we eliminate the cultists that drove the giants mad - so the next adventurers who pass by Gracklstugh no longer have to save civilians and soldiers from being reduced to pulp. As if that weren't enough, still during the same day, we recover a dragon egg that these guardian champions - the Keepers of the Flame - had allowed to be stolen from under their noses - and which Errde obviously hadn't been able to find at all. And what does she do? What does she do!? She begins to play the role of the pissed off - as if we had stolen the egg, instead of finding it and bringing it back (even if not requested). Then, out of great courtesy, she tells us that by returning the egg we earn the right to 'some access to the armory'. Huh? So what? Will we be able to choose some items as a reward from there? Or the reward should be the privilege of being able to buy items from her f4cking armory!? And to think that Traydark's speech had seemed so convincing to me...' (OOC: 25... He rolled a 25...)
Perhaps by staying with me,' the tall adventuress can't help but smile, seeking consolation in irony 'he too is becoming insolent, even without realizing it - and without of course I realizing it either, since I already am, he says'.
Katryl speaks up, speaking in Dwarvish. "Being allowed a selection from your armory is certainly a great reward. Thank you. Perhaps we can take care of that and be on our way." She hopes the 'had planned' part didn't mean they were now to be denied.
Her gaze shifts to Traydark as she shifts to Common. "Surely we can give up the egg. Errde's reward will surely compensate us for our troubles."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"So you are quite sure this particular egg is Thenberchaud's egg then? For arguments sake let's say it is, what exactly would gaining access to your armory mean? I doubt I would personally find anything particularly interesting in an armory, but that would of course depend on the contents of your armory." The noble drow continues, not quite ready to hand over his precious red dragon egg.
Errde didn't blink. "Absolutely certain. And it means exactly what it sounds like. We open the door, you pick something. We close the door. I would be surprised indeed if you found nothing of worth to yourself. But lastly, I will make sure you are able to leave the city safely."
"As much as I'd like to shove a spear with white-hot tip up her 4ss and use it to bring her in a Gracklstugh trip as if she was a banner," Khessa discreetly communicates with Traydark - thanks to Rumpadump's spores "remember that she is the one in position of power, dear... at the moment at least. So don't be too insolent, will you? That's my role, not yours!" and she winks at him.
"Let's visit the armory then shall we?" The noble drow says with a poilte bow, ready to follow Captain Blackskull.
Ebzer finally ceases sneezing and nods in assent, rubbing his reddened nose vigorously. Not like the drow was gonna lug that big egg around, I'm sure he expected me 'n his girlfriend to do it for him....
Errde nods slightly and the priest and his acolytes heft up the egg and begin carrying it out. "Excellent. I need to prepare a report for the Deepking then, my captain here will show you the armory. Once you've had a look they can escort you to the city gate if you wish and point you in whichever direction you wish to go next. Your assistance has been appreciated and noted. Figures some outsiders," she looks at Ebzer briefly, "mostly...were able to see things my guard couldn't. Strange party indeed. Very well." She points to the captain nearby who opens a door in the back of the room and waits for you all to head down to the armory.
OOC:
At this point you can select a total of 350 gp worth of equipment, including weapons, armor, and common potions and scrolls. No wondrous items or particularly unusual items. Basic things like a +1 weapon or something should be fine though. You can post your choices in the ooc thread. When you're ready though you can post here to move on out of the city and where you wish to go next.
A bit confused over the military rank system of Gracklstugh where a captain apparently can have a subordinate who is also a captain, the noble drow follows the captain of Captain Blackskull to the armory, eager to see what is on display.
Entering the armory, the noble drow is quite impressed with what it holds, enchanted weapons of duergar make, not as elegant as drow crafted ones but nothing to be scoffed at either. He is then somewhat surprised to realize Captain Blackskull was quite right in her prediction, Traydark does find something quite valuable to him, on display in an open stone box lies a black rod with purple eldritch symbols etched into it that starts pulsate with eldritch power as the noble drow picks it up and feels the potantial of this item. "Yes, this will do nicely." He says with a sly smile to the escorting captain.
Traydark would suggest the team then returns to Gholobrorn's lair to collect the other fungoid sprout and then set out towards Neverlight Grove to follow the tainted trail of demonic corruption to save the Underdark from utter annihilation, or so he says ;-)
Errde finally seems to duly acknowledge the value of achievements... plus, apparently, access to the armory is preparatory to the reward - not the reward itself; this pushes Khessa to smile more convinced - and to set aside thoughts that contemplate sadistic interpenetrations between white-hot weapons and duergar captainesses.
Indeed, the blonde arcane warrior also tries to make Errde think about what seems so surprising to her; she places a hand on her shoulder confidentially and speaks to her in a calm voice: "We are not a 'strange' party. We are a versatile and varied one. We have been able to 'see things your guard couldn't' for this very reason. Variety is a great strength. Any race, no matter how strong it thinks it is, can do better if it learns to cooperate with other races. I don't pretend to convince you right now, Errde... but I hope you will remember these words of mine - and that maybe you'll think about it once in a while. If all races worked together... the world would probably be a much better place. Anyway," she smiles "live well, Errde! May you and Gracklstugh be safe".
The armory where the other captain leads the party thankfully does not disappoint - the tidy racks, easy to browse even for those, like Khessa, who have never been there before, show well-crafted equipment... and also, as the blonde arcane warrior discovers with delight, some magic-enhanced weapons!
"Look at this!" the tall adventurer can barely hold back her excitement, trying to wield a Greatsword whose blade has been engraved with arcane runes. The weapon is heavy ('brutish', would Traydark perhaps say?), but extraordinarily well balanced - so balanced that, after just a couple of test shots, Khessa is in no doubt "It's magic! No common weapon weighting this much could be handled so easily! It's magical, no question about it. I'll take this!"
"To Gholobrorn's lair to recover Stool, yes, sure thing" agrees Khessa. "Rumpadump will be so glad to see him again! But we also have a couple of other things to do before leaving Gracklstugh once and for all".
"We need a quick visit to the Bazaar to sell and divide some loot" the blonde arcane warrior remembers. "And we also need to visit Stonespeaker Hgraam (or at least his apprentiice Dorhun). Don't you remember? Dorhun, when he came to recover the body of his friend - the first maddened giant we met as soon as we arrived in the city - said that perhaps he could give us directions to reach 'The Dreamlands', i.e. the surface!"
"And, while I certainly don't intend to let the Demon Lords run wild in the Underdark," the blue eyes of the woman shine with determination "warning the peoples of the surface is necessary! Do you remember what kind of beast Demogorgon is? We'll need the help of the realms of the surface, to stand a chance (and they'll help us - if not, the demon, once conquered the Underdark, will surely come and take over the world above too)! So better find out what the giants know. Not to mention, since we stopped the cultists who were driving them crazy with extra heads… maybe they'll want to give us a prize too, right?"
"Yes yes, I do remember the stone giants, there is nothing wrong with my memory, whether they actually have some useful information for us remains to be seen." The noble drow scoffs but reluctantly agrees to visit Stonespeaker Hgraam before leaving Gracklstugh.
Hgraam is waiting for you all outside the cavern. He looks at you all with his stony face but an amicable demeanor. "What can I do for you?" He asks in a low, slow tone.