"I can smell the residual magical aura of the Nefarious Duo..." Khessa notes, for the benefit of all "But they fled. They are no longer in this room. Let's continue our cleaning work".
Tyekanik cooled off and stopped raging while Khessa performed a ritual casting. He stood guard at the double doors and also watched the stairs in case anything else was trying to follow them up to the throne room.
"Shall we try this door first?" the blonde arcane warrior points to the southernmost one, the single door "Perhaps it leads to some less important room, so we'll be quicker to explore this branch... and then we can go back and explore the other one".
"Yes, good plan," Tyek agrees. He waits patiently for the satyr to check the throne and listen at the single door. Assuming that Vrox found nothing -- or at least nothing that would divert them from opening the door -- Tyek prepares to open the door for the group and to face whatever is beyond. He hefts Annam's Greataxe, enters a rage (imbuing the weapon as his Elemental Cleaver (thunder)), and opens the door and looks at what's on the other side. Perception18
Since Tyek is Huge-sized while raging, he'll barely be able to squeeze through the door and only if the room or passageway beyond is at least 10-ft wide. If the space is constrained and nothing attacks him when he opens the door, Tyek will step aside to let the others through before deciding whether and how to follow them.
You open into a room where you see hundreds of dusty scrolls and tomes lining the walls of this room. More scrolls and books lie scattered on the floor, around four heavy wooden chests fitted with study iron locks. The only unobstructed floor space is directly in front of the doors on the east and west walls. In the center of this clutter stands a great black desk. There is blood on the floor near the chair, and it leads towards the other door.
Khessa gazes longingly at the assortment of writings... "How much knowledge could be stored here..." Her enchanted ability to see magical auras has certainly not been exhausted yet, so any magical tomes or scrolls should stand out to her. If she spots any, she moves closer to examine them - they could be of use, perhaps even immediate!
Immediately afterward, however, the blonde arcane warrior focuses on the traces of blood: "Perhaps some victims managed to escape... It would be nice to be able to save someone". And, unless someone stops her with urgent considerations, she hurries to the door, intending to open it.
The door opens into a tower staircase, the blood trail goes down. There are torches lining the walls of this circular staircase, showing that it is inside one of the castle's towers.
Khessa gazes longingly at the assortment of writings... "How much knowledge could be stored here..." Her enchanted ability to see magical auras has certainly not been exhausted yet, so any magical tomes or scrolls should stand out to her. If she spots any, she moves closer to examine them - they could be of use, perhaps even immediate!
Immediately afterward, however, the blonde arcane warrior focuses on the traces of blood: "Perhaps some victims managed to escape... It would be nice to be able to save someone". And, unless someone stops her with urgent considerations, she hurries to the door, intending to open it.
You do not detect any magical tomes or scrolls in the room
The door opens into a tower staircase, the blood trail goes down. There are torches lining the walls of this circular staircase, showing that it is inside one of the castle's towers.
[[OOC: Are those squares still 10' x 10'? That is, the room with all of the scrolls and books is 30' x 30'? Also, are we at the top of that spiral staircase, or do they go both up and down?]]
Vrox has a better head for wild places and the strange ways of the Feywild, but he's still pretty good with directions and distances indoors. As Khessa moves to the staircase, he says, "Khessa, I think that we're above the banquet hall here, and," pointing past her to the spiral staircase, "that's the tower stairs we saw across from the banquet hall downstairs. Do you want to skip the rest of this level and move down to the basement already?"
Vrox is fairly certain now that the double doors from the throne room (eventually) lead to the balcony level of the chapel and that the spiral staircase goes down, past the banquet hall, and down into the dungeon levels beneath the castle.
If the party wants to go down, Vrox suggests that Khessa lets him go first so that they he can scout the way quietly, descending 1 level ahead of Khessa to check for an ambush. If she agrees, Vrox stows his bow and switches to his shield and rapier. Vrox will also take a moment to examine the trail of blood. The trail of blood from a wounded person (or demon) who fled would look different from the trail of blood of a murder victim whose body was carried downstairs to be a sacrifice.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
When Tyekanik sees nothing but books and scrolls, he lets go of his rage, shrinking back to a big, but Medium-sized goliath. For a big guy, Tyek can move very quietly. It might make sense for him to go second after Vrox. If there are guards at the bottom of the stairs, Tyek has the best chance (without magic) to knock them back so that the others can get into the room.
If Tyek goes second, he'll follow closely behind Vrox, trying to move quietly: Stealth23 (advantage when trying not to make a sound fromBoots of Elvenkind)
Khessa stops and turns, at the words of the hero of the Feywild: "That would not have been my plan, Vrox... But you see the blood trails... They make me hope that perhaps someone has managed to take refuge somewhere and is still alive! I would give priority to finding and saving him... What do you think?"
The blonde arcane warrior takes the opportunity to consult with everyone else as well: "And you, my friends? Do you agree to follow the blood trails first? Or do you think it is better to act differently?"
Since all the companions who spoke were in favor of prioritizing the search for any survivors, Khessa leaves room for Vrox and Tyekanik, so that they can scout ahead as the party descends.
[[ OOC: Of course, if someone has something against it, by all means post ]]
[[ OOC: Of course, if someone has something against it, by all means post ]]
[[OOC: Yep, all active players except for @Mister_Whisker have posted, and I doubt that Lord Akkron will object to Khessa's goal here. Let's descend the stars, following the trail of blood.]]
You follow the blood trail down the stairwell as it twists downward. You come to a landing where there is a door, but the blood trail keeps going down. You know you are the one floor below you just were at. Do you continue downward and follow the blood trail?
NOTE-I will be out of the net for the next three days, I am heading up to Ashville NC to do some humanitarian stuff. I might be able to log on, not sure
You follow the blood trail down the stairwell as it twists downward. You come to a landing where there is a door, but the blood trail keeps going down. You know you are the one floor below you just were at. Do you continue downward and follow the blood trail?
[[OOC: Hmm. That's a long trail of blood from the first room and going down 2 flights of stairs now. Referring to Vrox's Survival / Investigation check above, is the volume of blood consistent with an injured person who was dripping blood as they fled? Or is it more like a river of blood created by dragging a bunch of freshly decapitated corpses down the stairs? We were rushing downstairs to attempt a rescue, but that might not make sense, depending on the amount of blood loss implied by the trail of blood we're following.]]
NOTE-I will be out of the net for the next three days, I am heading up to Ashville NC to do some humanitarian stuff. I might be able to log on, not sure
[[OOC: Cheers! That's awesome, @Aaggie! No hurry. The game with the imaginary heroes will still be here whenever you get back. Go be a hero in real life! 🙂]]
Tyekanik cooled off and stopped raging while Khessa performed a ritual casting. He stood guard at the double doors and also watched the stairs in case anything else was trying to follow them up to the throne room.
"Yes, good plan," Tyek agrees. He waits patiently for the satyr to check the throne and listen at the single door. Assuming that Vrox found nothing -- or at least nothing that would divert them from opening the door -- Tyek prepares to open the door for the group and to face whatever is beyond. He hefts Annam's Greataxe, enters a rage (imbuing the weapon as his Elemental Cleaver (thunder)), and opens the door and looks at what's on the other side. Perception 18
Since Tyek is Huge-sized while raging, he'll barely be able to squeeze through the door and only if the room or passageway beyond is at least 10-ft wide. If the space is constrained and nothing attacks him when he opens the door, Tyek will step aside to let the others through before deciding whether and how to follow them.
You open into a room where you see hundreds of dusty scrolls and tomes lining the walls of this room. More scrolls and books lie scattered on the floor, around four heavy wooden chests fitted with study iron locks. The only unobstructed floor space is directly in front of the doors on the east and west walls. In the center of this clutter stands a great black desk. There is blood on the floor near the chair, and it leads towards the other door.
Khessa gazes longingly at the assortment of writings... "How much knowledge could be stored here..." Her enchanted ability to see magical auras has certainly not been exhausted yet, so any magical tomes or scrolls should stand out to her. If she spots any, she moves closer to examine them - they could be of use, perhaps even immediate!
Immediately afterward, however, the blonde arcane warrior focuses on the traces of blood: "Perhaps some victims managed to escape... It would be nice to be able to save someone". And, unless someone stops her with urgent considerations, she hurries to the door, intending to open it.
The door opens into a tower staircase, the blood trail goes down. There are torches lining the walls of this circular staircase, showing that it is inside one of the castle's towers.
You do not detect any magical tomes or scrolls in the room
Still hoping to find a survivor to save, Khessa keeps following the trail downstairs.
[[OOC: Are those squares still 10' x 10'? That is, the room with all of the scrolls and books is 30' x 30'? Also, are we at the top of that spiral staircase, or do they go both up and down?]]
Vrox has a better head for wild places and the strange ways of the Feywild, but he's still pretty good with directions and distances indoors. As Khessa moves to the staircase, he says, "Khessa, I think that we're above the banquet hall here, and," pointing past her to the spiral staircase, "that's the tower stairs we saw across from the banquet hall downstairs. Do you want to skip the rest of this level and move down to the basement already?"
Vrox is fairly certain now that the double doors from the throne room (eventually) lead to the balcony level of the chapel and that the spiral staircase goes down, past the banquet hall, and down into the dungeon levels beneath the castle.
If the party wants to go down, Vrox suggests that Khessa lets him go first so that they he can scout the way quietly, descending 1 level ahead of Khessa to check for an ambush. If she agrees, Vrox stows his bow and switches to his shield and rapier. Vrox will also take a moment to examine the trail of blood. The trail of blood from a wounded person (or demon) who fled would look different from the trail of blood of a murder victim whose body was carried downstairs to be a sacrifice.
Checking the trail of blood: Survival 20 (or if it's Investigation: 15)
Then, sneaking down the stairs: Stealth 28 (advantage from Shadowfell Brand Tattoo)
and watching/listening for any traps, guards, or other dangers: Perception 29 (advantage from Sentinel Shield)
When Tyekanik sees nothing but books and scrolls, he lets go of his rage, shrinking back to a big, but Medium-sized goliath. For a big guy, Tyek can move very quietly. It might make sense for him to go second after Vrox. If there are guards at the bottom of the stairs, Tyek has the best chance (without magic) to knock them back so that the others can get into the room.
If Tyek goes second, he'll follow closely behind Vrox, trying to move quietly: Stealth 23 (advantage when trying not to make a sound fromBoots of Elvenkind)
Khessa stops and turns, at the words of the hero of the Feywild: "That would not have been my plan, Vrox... But you see the blood trails... They make me hope that perhaps someone has managed to take refuge somewhere and is still alive! I would give priority to finding and saving him... What do you think?"
The blonde arcane warrior takes the opportunity to consult with everyone else as well: "And you, my friends? Do you agree to follow the blood trails first? Or do you think it is better to act differently?"
"I agree with following the trail. I think it is our best, if not only lead." Aya says
D&D since 1984
Clarac agrees with Aya, "Let us follow the blood trail. If it leads us nowhere, we can double back."
Since all the companions who spoke were in favor of prioritizing the search for any survivors, Khessa leaves room for Vrox and Tyekanik, so that they can scout ahead as the party descends.
[[ OOC: Of course, if someone has something against it, by all means post ]]
[[OOC: Yep, all active players except for @Mister_Whisker have posted, and I doubt that Lord Akkron will object to Khessa's goal here. Let's descend the stars, following the trail of blood.]]
You follow the blood trail down the stairwell as it twists downward. You come to a landing where there is a door, but the blood trail keeps going down. You know you are the one floor below you just were at. Do you continue downward and follow the blood trail?
NOTE-I will be out of the net for the next three days, I am heading up to Ashville NC to do some humanitarian stuff. I might be able to log on, not sure
[[OOC: Hmm. That's a long trail of blood from the first room and going down 2 flights of stairs now. Referring to Vrox's Survival / Investigation check above, is the volume of blood consistent with an injured person who was dripping blood as they fled? Or is it more like a river of blood created by dragging a bunch of freshly decapitated corpses down the stairs? We were rushing downstairs to attempt a rescue, but that might not make sense, depending on the amount of blood loss implied by the trail of blood we're following.]]
[[OOC: Cheers! That's awesome, @Aaggie! No hurry. The game with the imaginary heroes will still be here whenever you get back. Go be a hero in real life! 🙂]]
I have returned, is the group continuing to follow the blood trail down?
Yep, following the ominous blood trail seems like a solid strategy to Lord Akkron.
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