The rope snakes upward and attaches to a railing. A quick tug and the rope seem to hold.
Valrieth looks up at the balcony and wonders how fragile it is. She asks, "Do one of you want to go first in case there's something dangerous up there? Or should I go first since I'm the lightest?"
(OOC: @Snievan - I assume that Finley will have the rope knot itself as long as it's no higher than 50' to top of the railing. I'm fine with Val going first or Finley going first. It makes some sense to have a melee character go up first so that they're already on hand in case something attacks. On the other hand, Val is both lighter and stealthier, so she's more likely to successfully get onto the balcony without attracting attention.)
"Rope's all good, ah could go first just in case," Finley nods at her, "ah won't budge once ah'm up there, dunnae worry ah'll motion for ye ta come up if it's clear. Wish me luck." He cracks his knuckles together and has the rope form up knots so that he can climb up easier and he makes his way to the top.
(OOC: He'll go up, that way if something happens the others can try and row away if it comes to it.)
(Athletics: 13, Stealth: 9)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
"Rope's all good, ah could go first just in case," Finley nods at her, "ah won't budge once ah'm up there, dunnae worry ah'll motion for ye ta come up if it's clear. Wish me luck."
"OK. But wait...", Valrieth says. Before he goes, she consults her star chart and casts Guidance on Finley. "May the stars guide you to success!"
Val holds the bottom of the rope to keep it steady as Finley gets started. Once Finley has climbed up about 5', she has Octavian row the boat a few feet out from under the house so that they're not right under Finley. That way, if he falls, Finley wouldn't hit the boat and would just land in the water. Rowing out from under the house would hopefully also give Val an angle to make a ranged attack in case anything on the balcony attacks Finley.
Octavian does as Val asks and Finley climbs up and finds himself on a balcony.
This ten-foot-wide balcony runs almost the length of the cottage and is covered from end to end with living frogs. At each end of the balcony, attached to one corner of the cottage just beyond easy reach, is a clothesline draped with patchwork garments. The two lines stretch out over the lake and disappear into the thick fog.
On the map it is B6
There is a door here on the balcony that leads to B1, but it is firmly locked. There is also 2 windows that looks into B1 Through the windows you see a recessed pool with stagnant water, and no one is seen here. The windows have an odd shimmer to them as you take a closer look.
If nothing attacked Finley, then Valrieth and Octavian will tie the boat to one of the pillars with one of their other ropes, leaving enough slack that the boat can still reach Finley's rope.
Then they can join Finley on the balcony. First, Val (Athletics19, with advantage from the knotted rope) and then Octavian.
Finley nods at the others as they arrive and points at the windows to help them see the shimmer and then to the door he makes a knob turning motion and a shrug to indicate it being locked. He then tries to quietly go to the windows to see if they are locked.
(Investigation: 19)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
The windows too do not budge, and they feel more solid than they should be. There is no give at all when someone pushes on the window or the frame. On closer inspection you see the trapdoor located in B1 that is next to the window. The trapdoor is closed, but it does not seem locked as far as you can see peering in from the window.
"Trap door right there," Finley points in the window, "looks like it leads from underneath th' house unless someone can unlock this door." He motions to still locked door that leads inside.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
With a bit of effort everyone is now on the balcony. There is no sign of anyone nearby, besides the frogs on the balcony.
Valrieth squats down and looks at the frogs and their behavior. She tries to nudge one toward the edge of the balcony to see whether it moves or jumps down into the lake. Do the frogs just look like normal frogs? (Nature12)
If the frogs look like normal frogs, Val says, "I could try speak with animals. I'm not sure how much the frogs could tell us, but maybe they've seen some other entrance or have seen the residents hide a key to the door?"
"Trap door right there," Finley points in the window, "looks like it leads from underneath th' house unless someone can unlock this door." He motions to still locked door that leads inside.
Valrieth glances up from looking at the frogs and, with a confused tone, asks Finley, "Well, did you try to pick the lock? Gan-Re isn't with us, but weren't the two of you sharing your lock-picking tools?"
(OOC: Doesn't Finley have proficiency in thieves' tools? He may only have a +2 bonus in that skill, but he could try picking the lock on the door with Guidance from Val. Both Guidance and Speak with Animals are concentration, so just let me know which order you'd like to try them.)
Valrieth glances up from looking at the frogs and, with a confused tone, asks Finley, "Well, did you try to pick the lock? Gan-Re isn't with us, but weren't the two of you sharing your lock-picking tools?"
(OOC: Doesn't Finley have proficiency in thieves' tools? He may only have a +2 bonus in that skill, but he could try picking the lock on the door with Guidance from Val. Both Guidance and Speak with Animals are concentration, so just let me know which order you'd like to try them.)
To be clear, Valrieth doesn't actually know whether Finley is proficient in Thieves' Tools, but she assumes that he wasn't just carrying them around for the fun of it. :-)
She'll let Finley decide which they should try first. If he wants to try picking the log on the door first, she'll wait to see whether that succeeds. If it fails or if Finley wants her to ask the frogs first, she'll switch her concentration to perform a ritual casting of Speak with Animals so that she can croak with the froggies.
Finley scratches the side of his face, "Ah can give it a try, kinda had them so that Gan-Re would always have a set if he needed them since it was easy for him to get distracted, aye?" He attempts to unlock the door.
(Thieves Tools: 16, the program didn't add the luckstone so I added the +1 here.)
A recessed pool lined with moldy clay tiles takes up most of this large square room. Stagnant water fills the depression to a depth of one foot. Rising from the pool’s center is the head of a stone well that gives off an unpleasant, pungent odor. In one corner of the pool stands a tall, dirty, freestanding mirror in an oval frame, and floating on the water is a large lily pad.
Creaky wooden floorboards are arranged in a ten-foot-wide raised walkway around the pool. This walkway is crowded with shelves, tables, and stools in all shapes and styles. Almost every available surface is littered with stacks of dirty plates, scraps of food, and old junk. Dressing dummies are pushed together in one corner, and a wooden staircase spirals up from another corner. Five closed doors lead from the room.
Valrieth suppresses a cheer. She silently pantomimes clapping, giving Finley a bright smile. She knew he could do it!
As the party enters B1 they see.
(OOC: is there enough light here from the windows? That is, without the Moonlight Monocle, would it be brightly lit or dimly lit for Valrieth? If it's dimly lit or darker, then she'll put on the Moonlight Monocle. She doesn't want to risk a torch or even the light from produce flame until they know whether the hag is nearby.)
Valrieth wrinkles her nose and at the pungent odor. Worried that she's going to sneeze, she rubs her nose with the back of her hand. Seeing the plates and other clutter, Val lets out a quiet, "Oh! Oh my." She's not sure what she expected from a hag's lair, but it wasn't this.
Realizing that they're now in the hag's lair, Val feels her fur standing on end. Her ears quiver as she looks around the room, looking for movement and listening carefully for any sound of activity in this room or even coming from the other rooms or from the rooms above them. Perception11
She says, "I'm going to cast Detect Magic again, but it'll take me a few minutes. You two can look around while I'm doing that, but be careful! Remember that we're looking for Clapperclaw's stag's head and Octavian's heart and anything that could help us get past the hag if we meet her. Don't open any doors, yet, and don't touch the water!"
If she doesn't see or hear any signs of life, Val settles down to cast the spell. Hearing Finley's heavy boots, she warns, "And try not to make too much noise! Once we check this area, I can cast a spell to help with that."
Unless she's interrupted by something else that happens in the room, Val performs a ritual casting of detect magic while the other two investigate the room. (She's trying to preserve spell slots for healing word and guiding bolt, just in case of combat later.) Before they go much farther into Bavlorna's lair, Val wants to scan this area for magic. In particular, she wonders whether there's some sort of magical alarm on the doors or whether the hag trusts the pillars and the locks and her reputation to keep out intruders. Val also wants to check whether the pool is magical before any of them touch the water.
It's not dark and you can clearly see your surroundings. There is no signs of life.
As soon as the spell is cast the spell you notice a glow from the doors and windows, but not the rest. You can't tell if the doors are set to some kind of magic that alerts Bavlorna, but it's not unheard of.
It's not dark and you can clearly see your surroundings. There is no signs of life.
As soon as the spell is cast the spell you notice a glow from the doors and windows, but not the rest. You can't tell if the doors are set to some kind of magic that alerts Bavlorna, but it's not unheard of.
(OOC: Just on the door to B6? Or also on the doors leading to B2, B3, B4, and B5? What about the trap door down to B12?)
Once Valrieth casts Detect Magic, she reports to Finley and Octavian that the doors and windows are magical, but she's not sure what that means.
She will take 1 minute to move slowly on the walkway quietly (Stealth21) around the central pool, moving clockwise from the door to B6. She wants to get a good look at the lily pad, the mirror, and the stone well in the pool without getting in the water. She'd also like to get a closer look at the shelves. She avoids touching the plates and old food, but she looks through the "junk" for anything interesting or unusual (or magical).
Finally, she motions for Octavian (and Finley) to come over to the corner with the dummies. She says, "Would Bavlorna keep Octavian's heart in a jar, do you think? I feel that it would be more like a hag to put it in a scarecrow or doll or something like that." She points at the dummies as she talks and then puts her hand on one of the dummy's chests for a moment, saying, "If the heart is still beating, I guess we'd be able to feel it?"
On closer inspection Val finds more magic that was subtly hidden. None of other doors or trapdoor has magic.
Hat on the Dress Dummy - Transmutation
The mirror - Conjuration
The Lily Pad - Transmutation
(OOC: Heh, I just realized that the map actually shows one of the dummies wearing a kind of witch's hat. Nice!)
Valrieth reports this information to Finley and Octavian, but she's not sure what to do next. "What do you think, Finley? Should we look into each of these magical items? Or...I don't know. We're in a hag's lair, so maybe the magic items are dangerous? Should we just 'look but not touch' for now?" After staring for few moments at the dummies, she says, "Like...maybe the hag put this hat here for safekeeping, and it's a hat that the wearer can use to transform their appearance or to...I don't know...change their size. On the other hand, maybe the hat has transformed a creature into this dummy, and when we remove the hat, the dummy turns back into that creature, whatever it was."
Valrieth looks up at the balcony and wonders how fragile it is. She asks, "Do one of you want to go first in case there's something dangerous up there? Or should I go first since I'm the lightest?"
(OOC: @Snievan - I assume that Finley will have the rope knot itself as long as it's no higher than 50' to top of the railing. I'm fine with Val going first or Finley going first. It makes some sense to have a melee character go up first so that they're already on hand in case something attacks. On the other hand, Val is both lighter and stealthier, so she's more likely to successfully get onto the balcony without attracting attention.)
"Rope's all good, ah could go first just in case," Finley nods at her, "ah won't budge once ah'm up there, dunnae worry ah'll motion for ye ta come up if it's clear. Wish me luck." He cracks his knuckles together and has the rope form up knots so that he can climb up easier and he makes his way to the top.
(OOC: He'll go up, that way if something happens the others can try and row away if it comes to it.)
(Athletics: 13, Stealth: 9)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
"OK. But wait...", Valrieth says. Before he goes, she consults her star chart and casts Guidance on Finley. "May the stars guide you to success!"
Val holds the bottom of the rope to keep it steady as Finley gets started. Once Finley has climbed up about 5', she has Octavian row the boat a few feet out from under the house so that they're not right under Finley. That way, if he falls, Finley wouldn't hit the boat and would just land in the water. Rowing out from under the house would hopefully also give Val an angle to make a ranged attack in case anything on the balcony attacks Finley.
Octavian does as Val asks and Finley climbs up and finds himself on a balcony.
This ten-foot-wide balcony runs almost the length of the cottage and is covered from end to end with living frogs. At each end of the balcony, attached to one corner of the cottage just beyond easy reach, is a clothesline draped with patchwork garments. The two lines stretch out over the lake and disappear into the thick fog.
On the map it is B6
There is a door here on the balcony that leads to B1, but it is firmly locked. There is also 2 windows that looks into B1 Through the windows you see a recessed pool with stagnant water, and no one is seen here. The windows have an odd shimmer to them as you take a closer look.
What do you do next?
If nothing attacked Finley, then Valrieth and Octavian will tie the boat to one of the pillars with one of their other ropes, leaving enough slack that the boat can still reach Finley's rope.
Then they can join Finley on the balcony. First, Val (Athletics 19, with advantage from the knotted rope) and then Octavian.
With a bit of effort everyone is now on the balcony. There is no sign of anyone nearby, besides the frogs on the balcony.
Finley nods at the others as they arrive and points at the windows to help them see the shimmer and then to the door he makes a knob turning motion and a shrug to indicate it being locked. He then tries to quietly go to the windows to see if they are locked.
(Investigation: 19)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
The windows too do not budge, and they feel more solid than they should be. There is no give at all when someone pushes on the window or the frame. On closer inspection you see the trapdoor located in B1 that is next to the window. The trapdoor is closed, but it does not seem locked as far as you can see peering in from the window.
"Trap door right there," Finley points in the window, "looks like it leads from underneath th' house unless someone can unlock this door." He motions to still locked door that leads inside.
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Valrieth squats down and looks at the frogs and their behavior. She tries to nudge one toward the edge of the balcony to see whether it moves or jumps down into the lake. Do the frogs just look like normal frogs? (Nature 12)
If the frogs look like normal frogs, Val says, "I could try speak with animals. I'm not sure how much the frogs could tell us, but maybe they've seen some other entrance or have seen the residents hide a key to the door?"
Valrieth glances up from looking at the frogs and, with a confused tone, asks Finley, "Well, did you try to pick the lock? Gan-Re isn't with us, but weren't the two of you sharing your lock-picking tools?"
(OOC: Doesn't Finley have proficiency in thieves' tools? He may only have a +2 bonus in that skill, but he could try picking the lock on the door with Guidance from Val. Both Guidance and Speak with Animals are concentration, so just let me know which order you'd like to try them.)
To be clear, Valrieth doesn't actually know whether Finley is proficient in Thieves' Tools, but she assumes that he wasn't just carrying them around for the fun of it. :-)
She'll let Finley decide which they should try first. If he wants to try picking the log on the door first, she'll wait to see whether that succeeds. If it fails or if Finley wants her to ask the frogs first, she'll switch her concentration to perform a ritual casting of Speak with Animals so that she can croak with the froggies.
The frogs appear to be ordinary frogs and the nudged frog jumps off the balcony and into the lake with a splash.
Finley scratches the side of his face, "Ah can give it a try, kinda had them so that Gan-Re would always have a set if he needed them since it was easy for him to get distracted, aye?" He attempts to unlock the door.
(Thieves Tools: 16, the program didn't add the luckstone so I added the +1 here.)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Finley hears a click, and the door is unlocked.
As the party enters B1 they see.
A recessed pool lined with moldy clay tiles takes up most of this large square room. Stagnant water fills the depression to a depth of one foot. Rising from the pool’s center is the head of a stone well that gives off an unpleasant, pungent odor. In one corner of the pool stands a tall, dirty, freestanding mirror in an oval frame, and floating on the water is a large lily pad.
Creaky wooden floorboards are arranged in a ten-foot-wide raised walkway around the pool. This walkway is crowded with shelves, tables, and stools in all shapes and styles. Almost every available surface is littered with stacks of dirty plates, scraps of food, and old junk. Dressing dummies are pushed together in one corner, and a wooden staircase spirals up from another corner. Five closed doors lead from the room.
Valrieth suppresses a cheer. She silently pantomimes clapping, giving Finley a bright smile. She knew he could do it!
(OOC: is there enough light here from the windows? That is, without the Moonlight Monocle, would it be brightly lit or dimly lit for Valrieth? If it's dimly lit or darker, then she'll put on the Moonlight Monocle. She doesn't want to risk a torch or even the light from produce flame until they know whether the hag is nearby.)
Valrieth wrinkles her nose and at the pungent odor. Worried that she's going to sneeze, she rubs her nose with the back of her hand. Seeing the plates and other clutter, Val lets out a quiet, "Oh! Oh my." She's not sure what she expected from a hag's lair, but it wasn't this.
Realizing that they're now in the hag's lair, Val feels her fur standing on end. Her ears quiver as she looks around the room, looking for movement and listening carefully for any sound of activity in this room or even coming from the other rooms or from the rooms above them. Perception 11
She says, "I'm going to cast Detect Magic again, but it'll take me a few minutes. You two can look around while I'm doing that, but be careful! Remember that we're looking for Clapperclaw's stag's head and Octavian's heart and anything that could help us get past the hag if we meet her. Don't open any doors, yet, and don't touch the water!"
If she doesn't see or hear any signs of life, Val settles down to cast the spell. Hearing Finley's heavy boots, she warns, "And try not to make too much noise! Once we check this area, I can cast a spell to help with that."
Unless she's interrupted by something else that happens in the room, Val performs a ritual casting of detect magic while the other two investigate the room. (She's trying to preserve spell slots for healing word and guiding bolt, just in case of combat later.) Before they go much farther into Bavlorna's lair, Val wants to scan this area for magic. In particular, she wonders whether there's some sort of magical alarm on the doors or whether the hag trusts the pillars and the locks and her reputation to keep out intruders. Val also wants to check whether the pool is magical before any of them touch the water.
It's not dark and you can clearly see your surroundings. There is no signs of life.
As soon as the spell is cast the spell you notice a glow from the doors and windows, but not the rest. You can't tell if the doors are set to some kind of magic that alerts Bavlorna, but it's not unheard of.
(OOC: Just on the door to B6? Or also on the doors leading to B2, B3, B4, and B5? What about the trap door down to B12?)
Once Valrieth casts Detect Magic, she reports to Finley and Octavian that the doors and windows are magical, but she's not sure what that means.
She will take 1 minute to move slowly on the walkway quietly (Stealth 21) around the central pool, moving clockwise from the door to B6. She wants to get a good look at the lily pad, the mirror, and the stone well in the pool without getting in the water. She'd also like to get a closer look at the shelves. She avoids touching the plates and old food, but she looks through the "junk" for anything interesting or unusual (or magical).
Finally, she motions for Octavian (and Finley) to come over to the corner with the dummies. She says, "Would Bavlorna keep Octavian's heart in a jar, do you think? I feel that it would be more like a hag to put it in a scarecrow or doll or something like that." She points at the dummies as she talks and then puts her hand on one of the dummy's chests for a moment, saying, "If the heart is still beating, I guess we'd be able to feel it?"
On closer inspection Val finds more magic that was subtly hidden. None of other doors or trapdoor has magic.
Not feeling a heartbeat in any of the dummies, Val shakes her head and says, "Sorry, Octavian. I guess it's not here."
(OOC: Heh, I just realized that the map actually shows one of the dummies wearing a kind of witch's hat. Nice!)
Valrieth reports this information to Finley and Octavian, but she's not sure what to do next. "What do you think, Finley? Should we look into each of these magical items? Or...I don't know. We're in a hag's lair, so maybe the magic items are dangerous? Should we just 'look but not touch' for now?" After staring for few moments at the dummies, she says, "Like...maybe the hag put this hat here for safekeeping, and it's a hat that the wearer can use to transform their appearance or to...I don't know...change their size. On the other hand, maybe the hat has transformed a creature into this dummy, and when we remove the hat, the dummy turns back into that creature, whatever it was."