The Bullywug guard just says "move along" with a disinterested look.
Valrieth says to Finley in Common: "Well, they're not going to be of any help. I guess we'll just have to hop across the stepping stones to the other bank. Hopefully, I can do that without falling in again. Unless we want to ask Gan-Re to fly us across?" She puts her notebook near the top of her backpack to prevent it from getting wet if she falls in again.
Val walks with Finley from the docks at D2 over to the bank where the stones at D3 cross the river. If the first stepping stone is close enough to the bank, Val reaches out with a foot and steps on it to make sure that it's solid, stable, and not too slick.
(OOC: How far are the stones apart? That is, would Val simply step from one stone to the next? Or will she need to jump between some of the stones? Does it require an ability check to cross on the stepping stones? If not, Val will go first and cross slowly: the Trio is in no hurry. She stops on each stone to look at the next best stone to use and checking for hazards, such as slick stones or snakes warming themselves on the rocks.)
"Ah think that you've got it now, Lady Valrieth. Gan-Re is busy up in th' air at th' moment," Finley chuckles, "Ah'll be right behind ye, though ah think we'll have to be on our guard around King Bullywug, but we can worry about that when we get closer."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
The stones are spaced 2 ft apart. So Val can easily reach them and the stone step nearest you feels solid.
Valrieth decides that they have plenty of time to cross the water, and she really doesn't want to get wet again. Here's how she proceeds:
Val first casts shape water to freeze a section of river that's as large and deep as possible and surrounds at least the stone that she's about to step onto. (She can freeze two 5' cubes at once.) She does not attempt to freeze the rock itself. If needed, she can first cast shape water to cause any water on the stone to flow off of it so that it's as dry as possible before she freezes the river around it. Even if the water is flowing past the rocks, the rock should keep the ice block in place because the ice will have a hole in the middle with the rock sticking up through it. That way, if she falls off of a stepping stone, she'll just step on the ice. She might get her feet wet, but she shouldn't get soaked.
Val steps onto the first stone and stops there, looking for the best stone to use for the next step, checking it for hazards. If it's close enough to reach without leaving her current stone step, she'll squat down to reach out and check whether the next stone is stable.
Then she freezes the next block of ice around that stone. That way, Val's current stone and the next one to which she's stepping should always be surrounded by ice. Depending on how widely-spaced the stones are, Finley may also be surrounded by an ice path, but he should at least always be stepping onto a stone that's still surrounded by ice (i.e., the one Val just left).
It'll take a little longer to get across the river this way, but it should keep them both reasonably dry.
All the stone steps are stable. Except when you check the stone in the middle. You hear "Who dares disturb me"
The stone step is a stone creature and it raises to its full height. It breaks free of the ice with its immense strength.
(Heh. It turns out that Valrieth was afraid of the wrong thing! Does she recognize what type of creature that is? Some sort of INT check?)
Startled, Valrieth lets out a shriek, "Eek!" She's just glad that she cast shape water before hopping onto the creature itself.
She glances back to check that Finley is still behind her on his stepping stone and then looks back at the creature. "We're terribly sorry! My name is Valrieth, and we did not mean to disturb you, but the bullywugs told us that we could cross the river here. They didn't tell us that there was anyone here to disturb. Again, we apologize for the disruption. If you could just let us cross the river, then we'll leave you in peace."
(Apparently, not. Nature: 5 (in game log). The low d20 rolls continue!)
The creature stares at Val and then says "Sing me an apology and I may let you pass"
Valrieth looks surprised by this request, but quickly starts mouthing lyrics and counting the measure on her fingers, bobbing her head.
She looks back to Finley and says, "If you recognize this tune, feel free to sing backup."
Val clears her throat and starts singing in a quiet, nervous-sounding voice that grows stronger as she gets going. She sings (to the tune of Mr. Sandman):
"Mr. Rock-man, please let us through. We're very sorry / for bothering you. Please forgive us: we are all on a quest. Now lives are at stake. I am not in jest. Rock-man, may I atone? If you forgive us, we'll leave you alone. I didn't mean to surround you with ice. If you for-give us, that'll beeee niiiiiice!"
Finley clears his throat, stopping on a rock just a little bit away. "Mr. Rock-man, give us a chance, To apologize in this song and dance, We'll make it right, we'll make amends, Please forgive us, let our wounds mend."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
The rock creature sways a bit to the songs and then sinks beneath the waters satisfied.
Now there is a 4 ft gap to the next stone.
As the rock creature settles back under the water, Valrieth finally relaxes. Her shoulders drop, and she lets out a big sigh. Val turns her head slightly so that one eye is aiming back at Finley and says, "Nice singing, Finley!" She tilts her head back to scan the sky where they last saw Gan-Re doing aerial stunts. "I love how Gan-Re puts himself between us and any danger, but sometimes it's useful not to start a conversation with stern words and intimidation. Now let me see whether I can get us over the rock-man."
Val dismisses any remaining shape water effect. She then attempts to make a sort of ice bridge.
Val casts shape water to animate the water into a thick, flat arc that starts at her rock, goes over the rock-man, and ends at the stone that's 4 ft away. She makes it 30 in wide and about 12 in thick.
Then she casts the spell again to freeze that arch with a thick anchor of ice around the stepping stone at each end.
Once she has created the arch, she pushes on it with her foot to make sure that it's stable. If it doesn't wobble, she carefully scrambles up and over the ice arch to the stepping stone on the other side of the rock creature.
"Let me know if you need a hand." Gan-Re offer to help anyone with the jump.
(OOC: Oops! Concurrent posts. If Gan-Re is paying attention, another option is for Val to make an ice boat for her and Finley, like before, on the downstream side of the stepping stones. Then Gan-Re could get one end of Finley's rope and reel in the boat to the far shore.)
I will say the ice arch is slippery, but with Gan-re help the party reaches the other shore. You see a wooden structure standing on stilts above the lake. It is topped by a steep, conical roof made of thatch. Smoke curls up from a hole at its apex. Its windows are blacked out, and the air carries the smell of burned wood. A clothesline attached to one corner of the building’s exterior is hung with a variety of frayed, patchwork garments. The Trio needs to head through this building to reach the Gazebo.
Once inside the room is a charred mess. Hazy smoke hangs over scattered piles of burned and broken shelves intermixed with whatever those shelves contained. Wisps of smoke snake into the air from several spots where smoldering wreckage threatens to ignite.A distressed bullywug in a leather smock scurries around the room with a bucket of water whose contents spill out over the sides in his haste.
A commanding Bullywug approaches the party "I am Duke Ickrind. Now grab a bucket! We have to make sure the fires are out!”
A low workbench—the only piece of undamaged furniture in the room—has three wooden buckets on it. Two of them are filled with water.
"Take th' garments from outside and use them to smother any flame tha' shows up! Ah know it doesn't make sense, but fire needs air ta burn." Finley runs over and grabs a filled bucket, "Only one other with water, what th' hells happened in here?" He stares at the duke. "Also use yer smock to help smother any flames as well!"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
The Bullywug guard just says "move along" with a disinterested look.
Gan-Re flies around the village. He decides to imitate Val in her attempted acrobatics.
Acrobatics: 20
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
Valrieth says to Finley in Common: "Well, they're not going to be of any help. I guess we'll just have to hop across the stepping stones to the other bank. Hopefully, I can do that without falling in again. Unless we want to ask Gan-Re to fly us across?" She puts her notebook near the top of her backpack to prevent it from getting wet if she falls in again.
Val walks with Finley from the docks at D2 over to the bank where the stones at D3 cross the river. If the first stepping stone is close enough to the bank, Val reaches out with a foot and steps on it to make sure that it's solid, stable, and not too slick.
(OOC: How far are the stones apart? That is, would Val simply step from one stone to the next? Or will she need to jump between some of the stones? Does it require an ability check to cross on the stepping stones? If not, Val will go first and cross slowly: the Trio is in no hurry. She stops on each stone to look at the next best stone to use and checking for hazards, such as slick stones or snakes warming themselves on the rocks.)
The stones are spaced 2 ft apart. So Val can easily reach them and the stone step nearest you feels solid.
"Ah think that you've got it now, Lady Valrieth. Gan-Re is busy up in th' air at th' moment," Finley chuckles, "Ah'll be right behind ye, though ah think we'll have to be on our guard around King Bullywug, but we can worry about that when we get closer."
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Valrieth decides that they have plenty of time to cross the water, and she really doesn't want to get wet again. Here's how she proceeds:
Val first casts shape water to freeze a section of river that's as large and deep as possible and surrounds at least the stone that she's about to step onto. (She can freeze two 5' cubes at once.) She does not attempt to freeze the rock itself. If needed, she can first cast shape water to cause any water on the stone to flow off of it so that it's as dry as possible before she freezes the river around it. Even if the water is flowing past the rocks, the rock should keep the ice block in place because the ice will have a hole in the middle with the rock sticking up through it. That way, if she falls off of a stepping stone, she'll just step on the ice. She might get her feet wet, but she shouldn't get soaked.
Val steps onto the first stone and stops there, looking for the best stone to use for the next step, checking it for hazards. If it's close enough to reach without leaving her current stone step, she'll squat down to reach out and check whether the next stone is stable.
Then she freezes the next block of ice around that stone. That way, Val's current stone and the next one to which she's stepping should always be surrounded by ice. Depending on how widely-spaced the stones are, Finley may also be surrounded by an ice path, but he should at least always be stepping onto a stone that's still surrounded by ice (i.e., the one Val just left).
It'll take a little longer to get across the river this way, but it should keep them both reasonably dry.
All the stone steps are stable. Except when you check the stone in the middle. You hear "Who dares disturb me"
The stone step is a stone creature and it raises to its full height. It breaks free of the ice with its immense strength.
You see this medium sized creature rise out of the murky water
(Heh. It turns out that Valrieth was afraid of the wrong thing! Does she recognize what type of creature that is? Some sort of INT check?)
Startled, Valrieth lets out a shriek, "Eek!" She's just glad that she cast shape water before hopping onto the creature itself.
She glances back to check that Finley is still behind her on his stepping stone and then looks back at the creature. "We're terribly sorry! My name is Valrieth, and we did not mean to disturb you, but the bullywugs told us that we could cross the river here. They didn't tell us that there was anyone here to disturb. Again, we apologize for the disruption. If you could just let us cross the river, then we'll leave you in peace."
You can roll nature check DC 15
The creature stares at Val and then says "Sing me an apology and I may let you pass"
(Apparently, not. Nature: 5 (in game log). The low d20 rolls continue!)
Valrieth looks surprised by this request, but quickly starts mouthing lyrics and counting the measure on her fingers, bobbing her head.
She looks back to Finley and says, "If you recognize this tune, feel free to sing backup."
Val clears her throat and starts singing in a quiet, nervous-sounding voice that grows stronger as she gets going. She sings (to the tune of Mr. Sandman):
"Mr. Rock-man, please let us through.
We're very sorry / for bothering you.
Please forgive us: we are all on a quest.
Now lives are at stake. I am not in jest.
Rock-man, may I atone?
If you forgive us, we'll leave you alone.
I didn't mean to surround you with ice.
If you for-give us, that'll beeee niiiiiice!"
Finley clears his throat, stopping on a rock just a little bit away.
"Mr. Rock-man, give us a chance,
To apologize in this song and dance,
We'll make it right, we'll make amends,
Please forgive us, let our wounds mend."
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
The rock creature sways a bit to the songs and then sinks beneath the waters satisfied.
Now there is a 4 ft gap to the next stone.
"Let me know if you need a hand." Gan-Re offer to help anyone with the jump.
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
As the rock creature settles back under the water, Valrieth finally relaxes. Her shoulders drop, and she lets out a big sigh. Val turns her head slightly so that one eye is aiming back at Finley and says, "Nice singing, Finley!" She tilts her head back to scan the sky where they last saw Gan-Re doing aerial stunts. "I love how Gan-Re puts himself between us and any danger, but sometimes it's useful not to start a conversation with stern words and intimidation. Now let me see whether I can get us over the rock-man."
Val dismisses any remaining shape water effect. She then attempts to make a sort of ice bridge.
Val casts shape water to animate the water into a thick, flat arc that starts at her rock, goes over the rock-man, and ends at the stone that's 4 ft away. She makes it 30 in wide and about 12 in thick.
Then she casts the spell again to freeze that arch with a thick anchor of ice around the stepping stone at each end.
Once she has created the arch, she pushes on it with her foot to make sure that it's stable. If it doesn't wobble, she carefully scrambles up and over the ice arch to the stepping stone on the other side of the rock creature.
(OOC: Oops! Concurrent posts. If Gan-Re is paying attention, another option is for Val to make an ice boat for her and Finley, like before, on the downstream side of the stepping stones. Then Gan-Re could get one end of Finley's rope and reel in the boat to the far shore.)
I will say the ice arch is slippery, but with Gan-re help the party reaches the other shore. You see a wooden structure standing on stilts above the lake. It is topped by a steep, conical roof made of thatch. Smoke curls up from a hole at its apex. Its windows are blacked out, and the air carries the smell of burned wood. A clothesline attached to one corner of the building’s exterior is hung with a variety of frayed, patchwork garments. The Trio needs to head through this building to reach the Gazebo.
Once inside the room is a charred mess. Hazy smoke hangs over scattered piles of burned and broken shelves intermixed with whatever those shelves contained. Wisps of smoke snake into the air from several spots where smoldering wreckage threatens to ignite.A distressed bullywug in a leather smock scurries around the room with a bucket of water whose contents spill out over the sides in his haste.
A commanding Bullywug approaches the party "I am Duke Ickrind. Now grab a bucket! We have to make sure the fires are out!”
A low workbench—the only piece of undamaged furniture in the room—has three wooden buckets on it. Two of them are filled with water.
Gan-Re grabs a bucket and goes to throw it. He shouts "Val can you turn this to snow as I throw it?".
Gan-Re: Aarakocra Barbarian - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | DM - Keys of Empire
"Take th' garments from outside and use them to smother any flame tha' shows up! Ah know it doesn't make sense, but fire needs air ta burn." Finley runs over and grabs a filled bucket, "Only one other with water, what th' hells happened in here?" He stares at the duke. "Also use yer smock to help smother any flames as well!"
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
(OOC: to be clear, there are just 2 bullywugs in the building? The one with the smock and the duke?)