There is light streaming in from a gaping hole in the tower wall. Assortments of tables and old alchemist equipment. Moth eaten papers are scattered on the floor. There is a ladder on the far wall that leads to a hatch.
There in the middle of the room is the large flying snake.
(OOC: Clarifying.
The spiral staircase ends at the second floor, so the ladder is the only way up?
Which direction does the hole in the wall open? Can we see the balloon basket through the hole?
Valrieth will check first that Gan-Re is OK. Then she informs the others, "I can only maintain this form for several more minutes, and then I'll need to rest before I'll have the strength to do it again. We should finish checking the tower quickly so that I can help in case we find any other hostile creatures inside. That way, we'll know it's safe to rest here for a while." Her voice has a cold, echo-y quality, or maybe you're just imaging it because you're not used to seeing your little harengon friend literally glowing.
Val suggests:
Start by going up the ladder to the hatch
Continue up to the very top of the tower, checking any rooms that they find as they go.
Go back downstairs to check what's in the crate (if anything) that was on the first floor.
Then, find a way to contact Sir Talavar in the balloon basket.
Gan-Re climbs out of the dead snakes embrace “Ah, a good hunt. Thank you Val, your magic was very powerful. And thank you Lady for your impressive dart throwing. Agreed Val, let us make use of your magic form while it lasts. Who knows what else we will find”. Gan-Re retrieves his Javelin and says “Well done Gan-Far, I knew you could do it.” Holding his shield ready Gan-Re climbs the ladder to go through the hatch. He looks for traps and other monsters on the way.
Perception2 (game-log, he really isn’t very perceptive :-))
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Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
Gan-Re says to the rest of the party “I cannot see anything up here, shall I open the hatch before Val’s magic runs out or does anyone need to do anything?” Gan-Re looks longingly at the dead snake, he will be back to strip it for meat later.
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Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
A rune glyph flares sky blue before the room is engulfed in white smoke. The hatch does not budge. Its become harder and harder to breath. The smoke does not flow out of the the tower and is contained within. Any who try to leave via the gaping holes finds a force field barring exit.
Everyone can hear footsteps and the clack of a cane of something approaching the party at a slow pace. Though no one can see who this is. A silken man's voice is heard saying
I am always hungry I always must be fed The finger I touch, Will soon be red
A rune glyph flares sky blue before the room is engulfed in white smoke. The hatch does not budge. Its become harder and harder to breath. The smoke does not flow out of the the tower and is contained within. Any who try to leave via the gaping holes finds a force field barring exit.
Everyone can hear footsteps and the clack of a cane of something approaching the party at a slow pace. Though no one can see who this is. A silken man's voice is heard saying
I am always hungry I always must be fed The finger I touch, Will soon be red
What am I?
Valrieth was standing at the base of the ladder, waiting to follow Gan-Re and face whatever is above. As the smoke starts filling the room, she first thinks of Fog Cloud, a spell that she rarely uses since she can't see through it any better than anyone else. But before she can even consider casting Create or Destroy Water to eliminate the fog, the smoke reaches her nose and makes her cough. Not fog: smoke!
Alarmed, Val crouches even lower. She puts her star chart in her pouch and covers her mouth with the sleeve of her robe. Keeping low, she moves toward the stairs leading down. (She doesn't even try the hole in the wall. Better smoke than snakes, she thinks.) Hearing the man's riddle, Val scoops up a random collection of the papers from the floor on her way to the stairs, hoping that they might contain a clue to his riddle.
Once Val gets to the stairs, she checks to make sure that the ground floor isn't already filled with smoke. Seeing that the air there is clearer, she takes a deep breath of the fresh air and then shouts to any of the others who have not already gone downstairs: "Over here! Downstairs! The air is clear!" Val waits at the top of the stairs, her eyes starting to tear up from the smoke, to ensure that everyone makes it to the stairs. She doesn't want to attack into the smoke since she could hit one of her friends, and she hopes that her glowing form helps them find the stairs more easily through this smoke. She doesn't want to leave anyone upstairs in case whatever fey or spellcaster who created the smoke trap attacks the party.
Gan-Re has heard lots of these riddles in the old stories and was never very good at them. The things are never simple like a parrot or an Ogre and it's always something odd that cannot speak like a river with a mouth or a chair with legs. He looks around for inspiration, but all he can see is smoke. Well as Gan-Do would alway say There is no smoke without fire so Gan-Re shouts “Fire” for want of anything better to say and makes his way towards Val, taking his Axe out on the way.
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Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
Finley runs down the stairs and sighs shaking his head as he tries the front door. Should've known there was something strange happening with this tower. "Th' whole tower a trap? Never woulda thought in a thousand years... Sorry everyone!" He narrows his eyes as the voice rings out, he nods towards Gan-Re as Finley believes that his answer is correct.
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
There is a bright flash of fire that almost reaches the party before disappearing. For a split second the party saw a hazy figure with a cane before also vanishing. The smoke is mostly gone though the smell of smoke hangs heavy in the air. The party hears the hatch popping open.
There is a bright flash of fire that almost reaches the party before disappearing. For a split second the party saw a hazy figure with a cane before also vanishing. The smoke is mostly gone though the smell of smoke hangs heavy in the air. The party hears the hatch popping open.
Valrieth was still on the second floor, trying to herd the others down the steps. After the flash, she takes a look around and then calls downstairs to Finley: "Finley, Gan-Re solved the riddle. The smoke has cleared, and the hatch at the top of the ladder is open now!"
Since Gan-Re is the most resilient, Val waits at the bottom of the ladder so that he can go up first. But before they do that, she has him wait until Finley has rejoined them on the second floor.
While they wait, Val glances at the papers that she gathered from the floor in a hurry. Is there any legible writing on them? If not, she'll set the papers back down on the floor in a pile.
Val also tries to picture the image of the "hazy figure with the cane" that she just saw and thinks about the silken voice that asked the riddle. He looked kind of familiar...
(OOC: I wonder whether it was an illusion of Madryck Roslof, and I guess Val would recognize him if it was. If that was Madryck Roslof, she shares that information with the party although Hisa is the only other one who met him.)
Once the whole group is back together, Val asks, "Do you think that that was the last trap?" Val suggests that she could cast Detect Magic, which might help them detect other magical items or traps that they find in the tower, but it's a trade-off.
If she casts that spell as a ritual, they'll have to wait 10 minutes before going up the ladder, and she'll no longer be in her Archer starry form when they do that, leaving her less able of helping with hostile creatures. If she casts it without using a ritual, that would leave her less able to cast other spells today (healing, etc.).
Val was hoping that they could clear the tower while she was still in her Archer form in case they had to confront the other giant snakes again. But now she wonders whether it's more important to be able to detect magic as they explore the rest of the tower.
In any case, when they go up the ladder, Val thinks that they should go up Gan-Re and then Val. Since Finley is still the most injured, she doesn't know whether it makes more sense for him to go up third or last. She doesn't think that it's likely that something would sneak up behind them at this point, but she'll leave that to Hisa and Finley to sort out.
He comes back up the stairs and waves his hand around in front of his face to try to clear any residual smoke from his face. "Hmm, let's see what's through th' hatch afore ye cast any spells, aye? It's possible there are more, but a lay o' th' land would be best." Finley replies and pulls a goodberry out of a belt pouch, wipes it off and eats it. "Ah believe ah'll be alright, but if Lady Hisashi would like to cover th' rear just in case somethin' springs outta th' walls ah dunnae mind."
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
What do you do next?
Any fluids in the old equipment has long evaporates away.
(OOC: Clarifying.
The spiral staircase ends at the second floor, so the ladder is the only way up?
Which direction does the hole in the wall open? Can we see the balloon basket through the hole?
)
Valrieth will check first that Gan-Re is OK. Then she informs the others, "I can only maintain this form for several more minutes, and then I'll need to rest before I'll have the strength to do it again. We should finish checking the tower quickly so that I can help in case we find any other hostile creatures inside. That way, we'll know it's safe to rest here for a while." Her voice has a cold, echo-y quality, or maybe you're just imaging it because you're not used to seeing your little harengon friend literally glowing.
Val suggests:
No the hole is on the opposite side from the basket and yes the ladder is the only way up.
Gan-Re climbs out of the dead snakes embrace “Ah, a good hunt. Thank you Val, your magic was very powerful. And thank you Lady for your impressive dart throwing. Agreed Val, let us make use of your magic form while it lasts. Who knows what else we will find”. Gan-Re retrieves his Javelin and says “Well done Gan-Far, I knew you could do it.” Holding his shield ready Gan-Re climbs the ladder to go through the hatch. He looks for traps and other monsters on the way.
Perception 2 (game-log, he really isn’t very perceptive :-))
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
Gan-re fails to notice anything amiss.
Do you open the hatch?
Gan-Re says to the rest of the party “I cannot see anything up here, shall I open the hatch before Val’s magic runs out or does anyone need to do anything?” Gan-Re looks longingly at the dead snake, he will be back to strip it for meat later.
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
“Go ahead if ye don’t hear anything outside it.” Finley says, glancing at the snake and its scales.
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Gan-Re says "OK Finley" and opens the hatch
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
A rune glyph flares sky blue before the room is engulfed in white smoke. The hatch does not budge. Its become harder and harder to breath. The smoke does not flow out of the the tower and is contained within. Any who try to leave via the gaping holes finds a force field barring exit.
Everyone can hear footsteps and the clack of a cane of something approaching the party at a slow pace. Though no one can see who this is. A silken man's voice is heard saying
I am always hungry
I always must be fed
The finger I touch,
Will soon be red
What am I?
Heading down will buy the party some time as the white smoke descends the tower.
The door is also locked tight.
Valrieth was standing at the base of the ladder, waiting to follow Gan-Re and face whatever is above. As the smoke starts filling the room, she first thinks of Fog Cloud, a spell that she rarely uses since she can't see through it any better than anyone else. But before she can even consider casting Create or Destroy Water to eliminate the fog, the smoke reaches her nose and makes her cough. Not fog: smoke!
Alarmed, Val crouches even lower. She puts her star chart in her pouch and covers her mouth with the sleeve of her robe. Keeping low, she moves toward the stairs leading down. (She doesn't even try the hole in the wall. Better smoke than snakes, she thinks.) Hearing the man's riddle, Val scoops up a random collection of the papers from the floor on her way to the stairs, hoping that they might contain a clue to his riddle.
Once Val gets to the stairs, she checks to make sure that the ground floor isn't already filled with smoke. Seeing that the air there is clearer, she takes a deep breath of the fresh air and then shouts to any of the others who have not already gone downstairs: "Over here! Downstairs! The air is clear!" Val waits at the top of the stairs, her eyes starting to tear up from the smoke, to ensure that everyone makes it to the stairs. She doesn't want to attack into the smoke since she could hit one of her friends, and she hopes that her glowing form helps them find the stairs more easily through this smoke. She doesn't want to leave anyone upstairs in case whatever fey or spellcaster who created the smoke trap attacks the party.
Gan-Re has heard lots of these riddles in the old stories and was never very good at them. The things are never simple like a parrot or an Ogre and it's always something odd that cannot speak like a river with a mouth or a chair with legs. He looks around for inspiration, but all he can see is smoke. Well as Gan-Do would alway say There is no smoke without fire so Gan-Re shouts “Fire” for want of anything better to say and makes his way towards Val, taking his Axe out on the way.
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
Finley runs down the stairs and sighs shaking his head as he tries the front door. Should've known there was something strange happening with this tower. "Th' whole tower a trap? Never woulda thought in a thousand years... Sorry everyone!" He narrows his eyes as the voice rings out, he nods towards Gan-Re as Finley believes that his answer is correct.
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
There is a bright flash of fire that almost reaches the party before disappearing. For a split second the party saw a hazy figure with a cane before also vanishing. The smoke is mostly gone though the smell of smoke hangs heavy in the air. The party hears the hatch popping open.
What do you do next?
Valrieth was still on the second floor, trying to herd the others down the steps. After the flash, she takes a look around and then calls downstairs to Finley: "Finley, Gan-Re solved the riddle. The smoke has cleared, and the hatch at the top of the ladder is open now!"
Since Gan-Re is the most resilient, Val waits at the bottom of the ladder so that he can go up first. But before they do that, she has him wait until Finley has rejoined them on the second floor.
While they wait, Val glances at the papers that she gathered from the floor in a hurry. Is there any legible writing on them? If not, she'll set the papers back down on the floor in a pile.
Val also tries to picture the image of the "hazy figure with the cane" that she just saw and thinks about the silken voice that asked the riddle. He looked kind of familiar...
(OOC: I wonder whether it was an illusion of Madryck Roslof, and I guess Val would recognize him if it was. If that was Madryck Roslof, she shares that information with the party although Hisa is the only other one who met him.)
Once the whole group is back together, Val asks, "Do you think that that was the last trap?" Val suggests that she could cast Detect Magic, which might help them detect other magical items or traps that they find in the tower, but it's a trade-off.
If she casts that spell as a ritual, they'll have to wait 10 minutes before going up the ladder, and she'll no longer be in her Archer starry form when they do that, leaving her less able of helping with hostile creatures. If she casts it without using a ritual, that would leave her less able to cast other spells today (healing, etc.).
Val was hoping that they could clear the tower while she was still in her Archer form in case they had to confront the other giant snakes again. But now she wonders whether it's more important to be able to detect magic as they explore the rest of the tower.
In any case, when they go up the ladder, Val thinks that they should go up Gan-Re and then Val. Since Finley is still the most injured, she doesn't know whether it makes more sense for him to go up third or last. She doesn't think that it's likely that something would sneak up behind them at this point, but she'll leave that to Hisa and Finley to sort out.
He comes back up the stairs and waves his hand around in front of his face to try to clear any residual smoke from his face. "Hmm, let's see what's through th' hatch afore ye cast any spells, aye? It's possible there are more, but a lay o' th' land would be best." Finley replies and pulls a goodberry out of a belt pouch, wipes it off and eats it. "Ah believe ah'll be alright, but if Lady Hisashi would like to cover th' rear just in case somethin' springs outta th' walls ah dunnae mind."
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Gan-Re has a quick look round the room for any tools or anything that could act as a finesse weapon.
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire