Sha - with disengage - will be able to make it into the hut before the Froghemoth acts. Lam can easily follow with a readied dash. So no need to wait for the post, the intent is clear. Instead, narrative:
Sha jumps over the tentacle to the ground, and keeps his momentum into a quick sprint inside the hut's door. Lam twists inside and shuts the door, just in time for the door to block a long pink tongue rocketing towards Sha-Gravis. The door is pulled the rest of the way into a closed position, slamming with a loud bang and violent force. It warps outwards, and for a second looks like it will be pulled off of is hinges, but thankfully the elven-made door holds fast. You can hear the creature roaring outside, and its tentacles slamming into the walls of the sturdy hut.
Saoirse's question is answered when they all gather inside the hut. The slams on the door only make her want to go down the hatch even quicker, but as Hemlock warned, they also have to prepare for whatever is inside.
"I haven't been able to see much down there. There's some kind of magical darkness and a repeating sound I couldn't identify. We should proceed carefully, but ... I'm not sure we'll be able to move unnoticed. We'll need some kind of light to see, or a way to dispel the magical darkness. In any case, I guess Lam and I should go down first, yes?"
Even with Eyes of Night, the room down the hatch is dark. Now with powerful dark vision all around, it is Lam's vision that is the most limited, but it is dim for everyone. The room expands far out under the lake, elaborately furnished with large lounge sofas and chairs, organized for luxurious stays under the once clear water. Some of the furniture is decked with animal pelts, which may once have been soft and inviting, but have gone over to slow rot after many years of neglect. None of you can make out those small details in the darkness, but you can certainly smell it. Towards the west in the large room, there is a shape that is probably a humanoid corpse, and further on than that, the room disappears into darkness not even the eyes of night can pierce, a magical darkness.
There is whispering. A muttering phrase repeating again and again, in Dwarvish: "Tabets Dronning vil sætte mig fri. Hun er vejen ud. Tabets dronning......" The voice seems to echo around the room, coming from everywhere and nowhere, never louder than a whisper.
The lady of loss will set me free. She is the way out.
"Well this is no good", Hemlock says as he struggles to make out details in the darkness, and has no idea what is being said in what he assumes might be dwarvish.
"Do not be afraid, but I think a change outfit might be in order", he adds. "Something snakey".
Hemlock has, as he has begun to experiment with wildshape, experienced many different ways of walking, running, climbing, jumping, and standing on two or four, or even eight legs. Now, somehow, in his snake brain stem, he knows that he can do all of that with no limbs at all. it would be wrong to say he felt confident, Hemlock has never been so emotionless in his life. He knows where his companions are by the vibrations in the air and through the floor, and can taste their scents on the air. He feels nothing to them. Each one of them is too large to comfortably digest, though the tabaxi may well fill his belly for months if absolutely necessary. The room is cool, but not cold, and his blood flows freely in his endothermic veins. It is strange for his head to be so low to the ground, at close to the same level as his belly, but he can adjust. The room grows colder towards the magical darkness. It would not strip him of his senses, that darkness, but he still can not see through it without going to it.
"Is that Dwarvish?"Saoirse asks in a whisper. "Sha, you speak Dwarvish, right? What is the voice saying?"
When she hears Hemlock saying that he's going to transform into something "snakey," the genasi is almost thankful for the darkness of the room. Of all the transformations the druid has undergone, the spider was the one she liked the least so far. But, not being exactly a fan of snakes, this wildshape marks a new low. So, she is a tad bit spooked when Sha's blessing allows her to see the sinuous body he's turned into, and much more when Snake-lock moves too close to her, touching her leg slightly. Saoirse gasps and tenses, and has to remind herself that this is her friend and not an real snake that might bite or constrict anyone.
With that in mind, she approaches the body and tries to examine it, but whether it is the darkness of the room or the fact that she's still thinking about snakes and where that aversion to them might come from, she doesn't get to find out too much. She whispers to the others, "Can you help me here?"
Snake-lock slithers forward, almost marvelling at how the muscles all along his lengthy form work together to propel him across the floor. Powerful muscles too, he can feel the strength.
He moves across to the body and starts to push his snake-ish snout amongst it.
"Yessssss, I can help", he says into mind Saoirse's mind.
Saoirseshivers slightly when the hissing voice resounds in her mind, and steps back as the constrictor snake begins to slither over the body. The genasi reminds herself once again that the large snake is her friend Hemlock, and asks, "Uhm... so ... anything of note?'"
Saoirse is mostly just grossed out by the rotting corpse whose details are difficult to make out in the dim light - all the more so when Snakelock brushes past.
The snake is aware of shape and texture and touch, and the strange combination of smell/taste that his forled tongue gathers to tell him of the world. Not worth eating. Many years dead, sickly thin before death. This creature died of starvation. Runnning his sensitive belly over the fallen man, he also notices dents and bruises that may have preceded death. The dwarf had many minor self-inflicted woulda before he succumbed to starvation.
“I believe he is calling on my goddess’ darker personality to erase his memory. I would certainly help this tortured soul, I just need a rest I’m at my limit. Let me try to talk with this one.
You may make your request seeker. If you need to unburden your mind tell me your troubling tale. I will intercede for you.”
Even without spells or channels bloodied battered and bruised, Sha takes on a calm composure stands confidently, ready to see his Godess’ will be done. There is a warmth and goodness exuding from the tabaxi as he prepares himself for any sacrifice…
Saoirsenods slowly as Snakelock's voice sounds again in her mind. She repeats the druid's words to Lamand Sha, then adds after the cleric, "Poor man. What must have happened for him to end up like this?" She then remembers the papers she found on the upper floor and hands them to Sha. "Here, I found these upstairs. Looks like they’re written in Dwarvish. I hope they'll offer some insight into what has happened here." (ooc: she'll produce a little bit of light if needed to read)
Having said that, she waits to see if the voice responds, or if something emerges from the darkness.
Lam is used to being able to navigate in the dark, but he isn’t used to this amount of dark. The room smells of death. He grips his greataxe tightly and sticks close to his friends. When Hemlock transforms, Lam seems to be paying close, wary attention to his snake friend. He may be reminding himself in his head that it’s a friend, and not a dangerous creature to be avoided or killed. When Sha reveals what the voice is saying, Lam thinks if he has ever heard about any of it. Sha seems confident that he can speak to the voice. Lam joins his snake friend in stepping close to Sha, watching around him to make sure nothing tries to leap out of the darkness at the tabaxi.
History, to see if he knows anything about these words or voices: 8
Perception, to watch for threats: 3
Hm, I’m guessing he’s a bit thrown off by the darkness, and a bit too wary of his snake friend, to be much help right now.
A ghastly form materializes in front of Sha, and seems to consider him for a moment. Then, it's horrible whisper addresses him. "You worship light. She is no light, only void. She is the way out. The Lady of Loss will set me free. She is the way out..." The specter wails at Sha, then recedes again into the impenetrable darkness.
The papers are a diary, one that becomes more detached from reality with each page, more scattered, and more broken. The first page is this (translated from Dwarvish):
Selúne either does not care, or does not exist, and I am useless. The moment he told me this, I knew the little king was right - more certain than I ever was of my faith, I am now certain that it was false. He asked me to go hide somewhere I wouldn't bother anyone else, and this beautiful underwater lounge is a finer place than most to begin my exile.
Knowing of Selúne's weakness or apathy, I now turn to her dark sister. Shar will guide me to a new purpose, and make me atone for my failures and actions against her. I have begun to construct a shrine to her, at the farthest side of the underlake lounge. I pray she will accept me.
The next page:
My mistress is cruel. I tried to leave, and find I could not open the door to outside. No, I must hide here, and not bother anyone else, until the Lady of Loss sets me free. My provisions are almost gone.
But as I suffer, I feel her presence growing stronger. I have bled for the shrine, and the room is growing darker in her influence. Useless, he called me! Useless, that I could not cure his pet wizard. Well, useless I may have been, but I will not remain! Shar will guide me to strength.
The third:
I have given her an eye, and all my strength, and have not eaten in four weeks. All light is gone. Soon, she will let me leave this place. She is the way out. The Lady of Loss will set me free. And then, I will visit her wrath upon the young king Jeremy. Please, mistress, let me live to spread your word.
Her power here is growing. I have seen. Some fish on the other side of the glass are becoming like her monstrous children. She is the way out.
There is more, but it is only the phrase "the lady of loss will set me free. She is the way out," repeated over and over. In ink, then blood, then other unidentifiable bodily fluids.
“There is room in the twilight for you. I have read your written words, your journal. It seems you have been magically bound in your prison without bars. I truly worship the goddess of monsters and of the void as surely as the goddess of light, they are one. (Sha cradles his harpy egg as he explains this) you seek release. I will intercede for you. We have freed others trapped like you, please let us try.” Sha pleads with the specter.
Lam watches Sha with a confused look on his face. He cannot understand the specter’s words any more than he can read the writing on the pages. He does not have the full context of what’s happening- he can only tell that Sha really believes in what he is saying, and guess that the specter is in possibly a similar situation to the one they found Fitzwhistle in. He puts one hand on Sha’s shoulder in an attempt to demonstrate support, then speaks toward the darkness where the specter seemed to go: “We can help. Sha has strong magic.”
If Lam cannot see the specter, or if he can understand the specter’s words (which I assumed to be in dwarvish), I’ll edit this. As it is, can Lam give Sha the help action?
Initiative: Lam, Sha, Froghemoth
Sha - with disengage - will be able to make it into the hut before the Froghemoth acts. Lam can easily follow with a readied dash. So no need to wait for the post, the intent is clear. Instead, narrative:
Sha jumps over the tentacle to the ground, and keeps his momentum into a quick sprint inside the hut's door. Lam twists inside and shuts the door, just in time for the door to block a long pink tongue rocketing towards Sha-Gravis. The door is pulled the rest of the way into a closed position, slamming with a loud bang and violent force. It warps outwards, and for a second looks like it will be pulled off of is hinges, but thankfully the elven-made door holds fast. You can hear the creature roaring outside, and its tentacles slamming into the walls of the sturdy hut.
We are not in initiative, everyone is inside.
DM: Heavy is the Head
Saoirse's question is answered when they all gather inside the hut. The slams on the door only make her want to go down the hatch even quicker, but as Hemlock warned, they also have to prepare for whatever is inside.
"I haven't been able to see much down there. There's some kind of magical darkness and a repeating sound I couldn't identify. We should proceed carefully, but ... I'm not sure we'll be able to move unnoticed. We'll need some kind of light to see, or a way to dispel the magical darkness. In any case, I guess Lam and I should go down first, yes?"
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
Sha touches Saoirse and Hemlock with eyes of night.
Even with Eyes of Night, the room down the hatch is dark. Now with powerful dark vision all around, it is Lam's vision that is the most limited, but it is dim for everyone. The room expands far out under the lake, elaborately furnished with large lounge sofas and chairs, organized for luxurious stays under the once clear water. Some of the furniture is decked with animal pelts, which may once have been soft and inviting, but have gone over to slow rot after many years of neglect. None of you can make out those small details in the darkness, but you can certainly smell it. Towards the west in the large room, there is a shape that is probably a humanoid corpse, and further on than that, the room disappears into darkness not even the eyes of night can pierce, a magical darkness.
There is whispering. A muttering phrase repeating again and again, in Dwarvish: "Tabets Dronning vil sætte mig fri. Hun er vejen ud. Tabets dronning......" The voice seems to echo around the room, coming from everywhere and nowhere, never louder than a whisper.
The lady of loss will set me free. She is the way out.
DM: Heavy is the Head
"Well this is no good", Hemlock says as he struggles to make out details in the darkness, and has no idea what is being said in what he assumes might be dwarvish.
"Do not be afraid, but I think a change outfit might be in order", he adds. "Something snakey".
With that, he starts to transform into a constrictor snake
Hemlock has, as he has begun to experiment with wildshape, experienced many different ways of walking, running, climbing, jumping, and standing on two or four, or even eight legs. Now, somehow, in his snake brain stem, he knows that he can do all of that with no limbs at all. it would be wrong to say he felt confident, Hemlock has never been so emotionless in his life. He knows where his companions are by the vibrations in the air and through the floor, and can taste their scents on the air. He feels nothing to them. Each one of them is too large to comfortably digest, though the tabaxi may well fill his belly for months if absolutely necessary. The room is cool, but not cold, and his blood flows freely in his endothermic veins. It is strange for his head to be so low to the ground, at close to the same level as his belly, but he can adjust. The room grows colder towards the magical darkness. It would not strip him of his senses, that darkness, but he still can not see through it without going to it.
DM: Heavy is the Head
"Is that Dwarvish?" Saoirse asks in a whisper. "Sha, you speak Dwarvish, right? What is the voice saying?"
When she hears Hemlock saying that he's going to transform into something "snakey," the genasi is almost thankful for the darkness of the room. Of all the transformations the druid has undergone, the spider was the one she liked the least so far. But, not being exactly a fan of snakes, this wildshape marks a new low. So, she is a tad bit spooked when Sha's blessing allows her to see the sinuous body he's turned into, and much more when Snake-lock moves too close to her, touching her leg slightly. Saoirse gasps and tenses, and has to remind herself that this is her friend and not an real snake that might bite or constrict anyone.
With that in mind, she approaches the body and tries to examine it, but whether it is the darkness of the room or the fact that she's still thinking about snakes and where that aversion to them might come from, she doesn't get to find out too much. She whispers to the others, "Can you help me here?"
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
Snake-lock slithers forward, almost marvelling at how the muscles all along his lengthy form work together to propel him across the floor. Powerful muscles too, he can feel the strength.
He moves across to the body and starts to push his snake-ish snout amongst it.
"Yessssss, I can help", he says into mind Saoirse's mind.
Investigation: 18+1=19
Saoirse shivers slightly when the hissing voice resounds in her mind, and steps back as the constrictor snake begins to slither over the body. The genasi reminds herself once again that the large snake is her friend Hemlock, and asks, "Uhm... so ... anything of note?'"
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
Saoirse is mostly just grossed out by the rotting corpse whose details are difficult to make out in the dim light - all the more so when Snakelock brushes past.
The snake is aware of shape and texture and touch, and the strange combination of smell/taste that his forled tongue gathers to tell him of the world. Not worth eating. Many years dead, sickly thin before death. This creature died of starvation. Runnning his sensitive belly over the fallen man, he also notices dents and bruises that may have preceded death. The dwarf had many minor self-inflicted woulda before he succumbed to starvation.
The whispering voice continues to echo
DM: Heavy is the Head
“‘The lady of loss will set me free. She is the way out.’what does this mean?” Sha looks perplexed as he ponders this new mystery.
"This one starved to death. Long time ago", Snakelock replies into the mind of Saoirse. "And they were sick before that".
He hears Sha's translation, and tries to think if he has ever heard the name Lady of Loss.
History: 2+1=3 (I guess not :) )
“I believe he is calling on my goddess’ darker personality to erase his memory. I would certainly help this tortured soul, I just need a rest I’m at my limit. Let me try to talk with this one.
You may make your request seeker. If you need to unburden your mind tell me your troubling tale. I will intercede for you.”
Even without spells or channels bloodied battered and bruised, Sha takes on a calm composure stands confidently, ready to see his Godess’ will be done. There is a warmth and goodness exuding from the tabaxi as he prepares himself for any sacrifice…
Snakelock slithers close to Sha, making sure his senses are attuned to anything moving closer from the darkness.
Saoirse nods slowly as Snakelock's voice sounds again in her mind. She repeats the druid's words to Lam and Sha, then adds after the cleric, "Poor man. What must have happened for him to end up like this?" She then remembers the papers she found on the upper floor and hands them to Sha. "Here, I found these upstairs. Looks like they’re written in Dwarvish. I hope they'll offer some insight into what has happened here." (ooc: she'll produce a little bit of light if needed to read)
Having said that, she waits to see if the voice responds, or if something emerges from the darkness.
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
Lam is used to being able to navigate in the dark, but he isn’t used to this amount of dark. The room smells of death. He grips his greataxe tightly and sticks close to his friends. When Hemlock transforms, Lam seems to be paying close, wary attention to his snake friend. He may be reminding himself in his head that it’s a friend, and not a dangerous creature to be avoided or killed. When Sha reveals what the voice is saying, Lam thinks if he has ever heard about any of it. Sha seems confident that he can speak to the voice. Lam joins his snake friend in stepping close to Sha, watching around him to make sure nothing tries to leap out of the darkness at the tabaxi.
History, to see if he knows anything about these words or voices: 8
Perception, to watch for threats: 3
Hm, I’m guessing he’s a bit thrown off by the darkness, and a bit too wary of his snake friend, to be much help right now.
(ooc: forgot to add a history roll just in case. 16)
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
A ghastly form materializes in front of Sha, and seems to consider him for a moment. Then, it's horrible whisper addresses him. "You worship light. She is no light, only void. She is the way out. The Lady of Loss will set me free. She is the way out..." The specter wails at Sha, then recedes again into the impenetrable darkness.
The papers are a diary, one that becomes more detached from reality with each page, more scattered, and more broken. The first page is this (translated from Dwarvish):
The next page:
The third:
There is more, but it is only the phrase "the lady of loss will set me free. She is the way out," repeated over and over. In ink, then blood, then other unidentifiable bodily fluids.
DM: Heavy is the Head
“There is room in the twilight for you. I have read your written words, your journal. It seems you have been magically bound in your prison without bars. I truly worship the goddess of monsters and of the void as surely as the goddess of light, they are one. (Sha cradles his harpy egg as he explains this) you seek release. I will intercede for you. We have freed others trapped like you, please let us try.” Sha pleads with the specter.
persuation 12
Lam watches Sha with a confused look on his face. He cannot understand the specter’s words any more than he can read the writing on the pages. He does not have the full context of what’s happening- he can only tell that Sha really believes in what he is saying, and guess that the specter is in possibly a similar situation to the one they found Fitzwhistle in. He puts one hand on Sha’s shoulder in an attempt to demonstrate support, then speaks toward the darkness where the specter seemed to go: “We can help. Sha has strong magic.”
If Lam cannot see the specter, or if he can understand the specter’s words (which I assumed to be in dwarvish), I’ll edit this. As it is, can Lam give Sha the help action?