Zeds nods along with Serge, showing solidarity in his words. "The Bullywugs are lowly and untrustworthy though," Zeds adds in a thoughtful and concerned tone. "When we convince Dralmorrer of the proper course of action, the Bullywugs could cause trouble..." Zeds pauses as if to consider his own words.
"But of course you all," he then adds, gesturing to indicate the lizardman he is talking to as well as the others, "would of course not put up with any Bullywug nonsense. If those creatures tried to rebel you honorable folk would of course have our backs. Though it may be wise if word spread to watch out for such trouble... If it could be done discreetly..."
(Persuasion, with the Guidance, to try to get the Lizardfolk on our side and to spread the word: 14 only. But if I have advantage due to Serge helping it jumps to a much better 16? Ok, not 'much better' but at least better...)
"If the wretched bullywugs try to harm Dralmorrer then of course we would not sit on our tails, and I can tell my tribe as not many know our language. If you need to find me later then ask for Snapjaw among my people" says Snapjaw.
Ixsas nods at what Zeds says, pleased that everyone seems to see the same opportunity here. He asks, "This bullywug--Pharblex? How did he kill your shaman? It seems unlikely unless he used some dishonorable trickery!" Ixsas wants to determine whether Pharblex is some sort of sorcerer or whether he maybe has some magic item that helped him resist the lizardfolk shaman's magic. Or maybe Pharblex just used some potent poison to disable the shaman more quickly.
The lizardfolk man opens the door and points to the tower in the Inner Ward that is patrolled by Guard Drakes "He is usually there on the second floor in his office"
Ixsas is not pleased to see that Dralmorrer is protected by the guard drakes, but it makes sense. He says, "This is our first time visiting this castle." He peers out the door and up at the tower. He indicates the stairs in the corner of this forge room and asks, "Are any of these towers connected to each other upstairs?" If he needs to give a reason, he just says that he'd prefer to avoid walking back through all of the mud in front of area G again, but he wonders whether they can somehow avoid the drakes in area D by entering the tower from the second floor.
Ixsas also asks Snapjaw, "Does the bullywug Pharblex also live here? In the castle?"
(OOC: @weathervision - I'm assuming that Snapjaw pointed to the tower marked with "U" and "V" on the map, right? Also, how tall is the castle? I don't know whether the artwork is accurate, but from that, it looked like curtain wall has a second story or at least a wall-walk above ground level. The towers extend above that. Are they 3 stories tall? 4?)
Snapjaw says "It was a duel between shamans. They went into the swamp to an old battleground. Only Pharblex came back. We found the body of our Shaman a day later. The spiral stairs head up but does not connect to any tower. Only 2 towers are connected L and R. No tower connects to U/V Pharblex lives here yes in the castle at G"
He had been angling to get directions to the cult leadership, but was disappointed to learn they hide behind guard dogs/lizards. He doesn't have any idea yet for how to get around them. He notices that the rest of the party seems to be fomenting a schism among the help.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"It seems we have much to discuss with Dralmorrer," Zeds says with a foreboding tone. "He doesn't know we've come yet... Will the drakes let us pass or...?"
"Maybe we should visit with Pharblaxx the murderer before we go visit Dralmorrer," Zeds suggests with a look to the others. He definitely saw value in pitting the two groups of minions against each other but wasn't yet quite sure how to best do it. Dralmorrer most assuredly needs to be knocked off but if they could find a way to pin it on Pharblaxx that would be ideal... And it does seem like getting to see Pharblaxx may be the easier visit.
Krackle would have allowed Jr. to be lead away without any argument... he knew that Jr. had been well cared for when they found him and he suspected that they wouldn't do him any harm. Seeing the drakes, Krackle thought back to the battle where they found the egg strapped to his chest. He still had scars that seemed to burn slightly at the memory.
"Sorry for your loss..." Krackle says in draconic to Snapjaw before moving away and talking with his companions. "I think we can use all the help we can get... I think we need to get these lizardfolk to kill as many bullywugs as possible... I'm not looking forward to fighting drakes again though... perhaps I could try to befriend them? Maybe it would be good training for when the latest addition to our crew hatches.." The kobold says while giving the egg a gentle pat.
Did we get any information about what's behind the other doors from the Inner Ward? If not, Ixsas would ask (or suggest asking) about them:
"Are any other areas that the bullywugs have not covered in their filthy mud? What about those other doors across the courtyard, along the south wall?"
((OOC: Just trying to see whether there are any other areas to explore that will not involve a public fight.))
Snapjaw says the rooms over to the south houses the dining hall Q, kitchen P, and chapel L. "There could be bullywugs in the dining hall, but I don't believe there would be any in the kitchen or chapel."
"Pardon us for just one moment," Zeds says with charm and a smile as he pulls the others back a bit so they can have a private, whispered little powwow.
"So? Anyone have a way past the bullywug guards?" he whispers to the others, looking particularly at Krackle and Ixsas. "I'm sneaky but I don't know if I'm THAT sneaky... and even if I could slip past them, it would be just me..."
"Still, I think our best bet may be to go see this Pharblaxx, likely put the kibosh on him, and blame it on the bullywugs somehow to get the lizard folk on our side...?"
Serge shakes his head. "Unless someone wants to bluff that we are to visit the Bullywug leader on Dralmorrer's orders..." he shrugs.
"My powers of persuasion are limited to small talk and swordplay."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"So? Anyone have a way past the bullywug guards?" he whispers to the others, looking particularly at Krackle and Ixsas. "I'm sneaky but I don't know if I'm THAT sneaky... and even if I could slip past them, it would be just me..."
Ixsas says, "If they speak Common or...well...the language of elementals, I know a spell that may convince one of them that he should take us to see Pharblaxx." He says apologetically, "Given my expectations of today, I prayed mostly for Kossuth to help us with healing and putting our enemies to the fire. If you want to talk them into taking us to Pharblaxx, I could provide you with Kossuth's Guidance or even empower your charm and wit the way I did with your perception yesterday."
Ixsas would use Clairvoyance to spy on Pharblaxx, but he suspects that the bullywugs would just be croaking at each other in their unintelligible language. He explains that he has also prepared Augury if the party wants him to ask for some foresight into the wisdom of a specific plan of action.
Ixsas says, "If we are quick, and no one else is watching the Inner Ward, I could Silence the area in front of Pharblaxx's quarters. That way, we might be able to kill the guards before anyone notices, as long as you can keep the guards 'contained' and prevent them from getting away to sound the alarm." The cleric views these bullywugs and even the lizardfolk as expendable. Ixsas believes that he's on a mission from his god to defeat the dragon cult and thwart their plans: anyone willingly working with the cult is working is guilty of evil. In his mind, their lives were forfeit as soon as they aligned themselves with the dragon cult.
Ixsas agrees that they will eventually need to see Pharblaxx, but he would vote for exploring the dining hall Q, kitchen P, and chapel L at the south end of the Inner Ward first. "If it comes to a fight, which I'm sure it will, we should know as much as we can about this castle beforehand. If we have to fall back or regroup, it would be good to find a place that a small group could defend. Somewhere with a door or stair that we could hold and where we would not be exposed from multiple sides." He looks around the current room with the lizardfolk. "Like this room, for example. And we don't want to blindly chase our enemy into a place that's perfect for an ambush."
((OOC:
Ixsas speaks Common and Primordial. Perhaps the bullywugs here speak one of those languages? He needs a shared language to use Suggestion.
IIRC, Ixsas boosted Zeds's WIS checks when Zeds was breaking into the strong room all by himself at Carnath House: that's what he was referring to when he mentioned "yesterday."
Note that we know that Pharblaxx's quarters are in area G, but I don't think that we confirmed whether Pharblaxx is there at the moment. Perhaps the bullywug guards bristled because they're guarding Pharblaxx's stuff while he's not in his room.
((OOC: Zeds could try to talk our way past the guards... IF they speak common, Goblin or Dwarvish... But I also wonder if us not being able to speak to them may make us more noticeably out of place? Zeds is a little more in favor of a fight we choose over exploring and accidentally ending up in a fight in a kitchen and alarming the whole place because of a stupid fight instead of cause we just took down the big bad?))
Zeds nods along with Serge, showing solidarity in his words. "The Bullywugs are lowly and untrustworthy though," Zeds adds in a thoughtful and concerned tone. "When we convince Dralmorrer of the proper course of action, the Bullywugs could cause trouble..." Zeds pauses as if to consider his own words.
"But of course you all," he then adds, gesturing to indicate the lizardman he is talking to as well as the others, "would of course not put up with any Bullywug nonsense. If those creatures tried to rebel you honorable folk would of course have our backs. Though it may be wise if word spread to watch out for such trouble... If it could be done discreetly..."
(Persuasion, with the Guidance, to try to get the Lizardfolk on our side and to spread the word: 14 only. But if I have advantage due to Serge helping it jumps to a much better 16? Ok, not 'much better' but at least better...)
With a 16
"If the wretched bullywugs try to harm Dralmorrer then of course we would not sit on our tails, and I can tell my tribe as not many know our language. If you need to find me later then ask for Snapjaw among my people" says Snapjaw.
Ixsas nods at what Zeds says, pleased that everyone seems to see the same opportunity here. He asks, "This bullywug--Pharblex? How did he kill your shaman? It seems unlikely unless he used some dishonorable trickery!" Ixsas wants to determine whether Pharblex is some sort of sorcerer or whether he maybe has some magic item that helped him resist the lizardfolk shaman's magic. Or maybe Pharblex just used some potent poison to disable the shaman more quickly.
Ixsas is not pleased to see that Dralmorrer is protected by the guard drakes, but it makes sense. He says, "This is our first time visiting this castle." He peers out the door and up at the tower. He indicates the stairs in the corner of this forge room and asks, "Are any of these towers connected to each other upstairs?" If he needs to give a reason, he just says that he'd prefer to avoid walking back through all of the mud in front of area G again, but he wonders whether they can somehow avoid the drakes in area D by entering the tower from the second floor.
Ixsas also asks Snapjaw, "Does the bullywug Pharblex also live here? In the castle?"
(OOC: @weathervision - I'm assuming that Snapjaw pointed to the tower marked with "U" and "V" on the map, right? Also, how tall is the castle? I don't know whether the artwork is accurate, but from that, it looked like curtain wall has a second story or at least a wall-walk above ground level. The towers extend above that. Are they 3 stories tall? 4?)
Yes Snapjaw is pointing to the tower with U and V.
Yes 3 stories tall
Snapjaw says "It was a duel between shamans. They went into the swamp to an old battleground. Only Pharblex came back. We found the body of our Shaman a day later. The spiral stairs head up but does not connect to any tower. Only 2 towers are connected L and R. No tower connects to U/V Pharblex lives here yes in the castle at G"
Serge nods along at all of this.
He had been angling to get directions to the cult leadership, but was disappointed to learn they hide behind guard dogs/lizards. He doesn't have any idea yet for how to get around them. He notices that the rest of the party seems to be fomenting a schism among the help.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"It seems we have much to discuss with Dralmorrer," Zeds says with a foreboding tone. "He doesn't know we've come yet... Will the drakes let us pass or...?"
"The drakes only answer to Dralmorrer" says Snapjaw if asked.
The party also saw when they came near the inner ward, the guard drakes had eyes ready to kill.
"Maybe we should visit with Pharblaxx the murderer before we go visit Dralmorrer," Zeds suggests with a look to the others. He definitely saw value in pitting the two groups of minions against each other but wasn't yet quite sure how to best do it. Dralmorrer most assuredly needs to be knocked off but if they could find a way to pin it on Pharblaxx that would be ideal... And it does seem like getting to see Pharblaxx may be the easier visit.
Krackle would have allowed Jr. to be lead away without any argument... he knew that Jr. had been well cared for when they found him and he suspected that they wouldn't do him any harm. Seeing the drakes, Krackle thought back to the battle where they found the egg strapped to his chest. He still had scars that seemed to burn slightly at the memory.
"Sorry for your loss..." Krackle says in draconic to Snapjaw before moving away and talking with his companions. "I think we can use all the help we can get... I think we need to get these lizardfolk to kill as many bullywugs as possible... I'm not looking forward to fighting drakes again though... perhaps I could try to befriend them? Maybe it would be good training for when the latest addition to our crew hatches.." The kobold says while giving the egg a gentle pat.
What would you like to do next and where do you go?
The map can be found in the private chat.
The party is currently at H
"I am good with visiting Pharblaxx" Krackle replies to Zeds.
Reminder that there are 3 bullywugs outside guarding the door to G and they croaked loudly the last time the party came near.
Did we get any information about what's behind the other doors from the Inner Ward? If not, Ixsas would ask (or suggest asking) about them:
"Are any other areas that the bullywugs have not covered in their filthy mud? What about those other doors across the courtyard, along the south wall?"
((OOC: Just trying to see whether there are any other areas to explore that will not involve a public fight.))
Snapjaw says the rooms over to the south houses the dining hall Q, kitchen P, and chapel L. "There could be bullywugs in the dining hall, but I don't believe there would be any in the kitchen or chapel."
"Pardon us for just one moment," Zeds says with charm and a smile as he pulls the others back a bit so they can have a private, whispered little powwow.
"So? Anyone have a way past the bullywug guards?" he whispers to the others, looking particularly at Krackle and Ixsas. "I'm sneaky but I don't know if I'm THAT sneaky... and even if I could slip past them, it would be just me..."
"Still, I think our best bet may be to go see this Pharblaxx, likely put the kibosh on him, and blame it on the bullywugs somehow to get the lizard folk on our side...?"
Serge shakes his head. "Unless someone wants to bluff that we are to visit the Bullywug leader on Dralmorrer's orders..." he shrugs.
"My powers of persuasion are limited to small talk and swordplay."
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Ixsas says, "If they speak Common or...well...the language of elementals, I know a spell that may convince one of them that he should take us to see Pharblaxx." He says apologetically, "Given my expectations of today, I prayed mostly for Kossuth to help us with healing and putting our enemies to the fire. If you want to talk them into taking us to Pharblaxx, I could provide you with Kossuth's Guidance or even empower your charm and wit the way I did with your perception yesterday."
Ixsas would use Clairvoyance to spy on Pharblaxx, but he suspects that the bullywugs would just be croaking at each other in their unintelligible language. He explains that he has also prepared Augury if the party wants him to ask for some foresight into the wisdom of a specific plan of action.
Ixsas says, "If we are quick, and no one else is watching the Inner Ward, I could Silence the area in front of Pharblaxx's quarters. That way, we might be able to kill the guards before anyone notices, as long as you can keep the guards 'contained' and prevent them from getting away to sound the alarm." The cleric views these bullywugs and even the lizardfolk as expendable. Ixsas believes that he's on a mission from his god to defeat the dragon cult and thwart their plans: anyone willingly working with the cult is working is guilty of evil. In his mind, their lives were forfeit as soon as they aligned themselves with the dragon cult.
Ixsas agrees that they will eventually need to see Pharblaxx, but he would vote for exploring the dining hall Q, kitchen P, and chapel L at the south end of the Inner Ward first. "If it comes to a fight, which I'm sure it will, we should know as much as we can about this castle beforehand. If we have to fall back or regroup, it would be good to find a place that a small group could defend. Somewhere with a door or stair that we could hold and where we would not be exposed from multiple sides." He looks around the current room with the lizardfolk. "Like this room, for example. And we don't want to blindly chase our enemy into a place that's perfect for an ambush."
((OOC:
))
((OOC: Zeds could try to talk our way past the guards... IF they speak common, Goblin or Dwarvish... But I also wonder if us not being able to speak to them may make us more noticeably out of place? Zeds is a little more in favor of a fight we choose over exploring and accidentally ending up in a fight in a kitchen and alarming the whole place because of a stupid fight instead of cause we just took down the big bad?))
Some of the bullywugs do indeed speak common.