This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The young blonde selûnite follows the others for cover behind the pine trees, calling upon her divine powers to stay warm. "This was...unexpected." She says, peeking over at the large lodge. "I believe we must assume the cult is in control of the building and that it at least serves as another waypoint for the stolen treasures. We should try to take this opportunity to rest though, before investigating the lodge. I suggest we try to find shelter closeby where we can recuperate and prepare to enter the lodge."
(Prestidigitation) (Arcana to determine if the teleportation circle can be disabled somehow: 14 + Guidance: 3 )
The young blonde selûnite follows the others for cover behind the pine trees, calling upon her divine powers to stay warm. "This was...unexpected." She says, peeking over at the large lodge. "I believe we must assume the cult is in control of the building and that it at least serves as another waypoint for the stolen treasures. We should try to take this opportunity to rest though, before investigating the lodge. I suggest we try to find shelter closeby where we can recuperate and prepare to enter the lodge."
Ixsas agrees with a least a brief rest before attempting to approach the buildings. He says, "I'd at least like to find a spot where we I can examine Zeds again and make sure that he's not getting any worse!"
Ixsas also responds to Seraphina, saying "Yes, I am also surprised. I expected that we'd leave the Castle only to go further into the swamp, perhaps to the lair of the black dragons we saw. Now, we have followed the trail of the treasure, but we don't know where we are! Based on the cold, I'd guess that we're close to the frozen north." Again, since he lived near the Calim Desert, Ixsas has never experienced freezing temperatures.
Ixsas continues, "As you say, this building is clearly another waypoint on the journey..." Here, he looks from his left to his right and opens his arms to encompass their surroundings before saying, "...there's not even a village in sight. Nowhere to spend the treasure. Unless they're just gathering a dragon hoard in the Lodge." That was clearly meant as a joke since Ixsas chuckles a little behind his headscarf. He explains his thinking, "There's no road suitable for a wagon here, and we seem to be on a mountain. So, no seaport nearby. If the cult brings a wagon of stolen treasure here, then they must have some way to move it on from here. If not through the sky, then there must be another one of these wizard circles. Who knows where that one will lead! But we must attempt to find out. The only question is how long to rest before we investigate these buildings..."
"We could go back," Zeds suggests. Or perhaps just questions. There was that querying inflection in his voice.
"I mean, does the circle work both ways? If so we could maybe do something like go back and rest in the caves but be ready to jump back through the circle again if they did come for us there. We could jump back here and destroy the circle, hopefully preventing them from following... But if they don't hunt us in the caves it would be a warmer place to rest with far less traveling?" Zeds says, explaining his thought process.
"Besides, they didn't bring wagons full of treasure though the casts and down that cliff to the circle to transport here, I would guess? How would a wagon fit through the castle doors to get down into the caves? Or get down that cliff?"
"Or... do we not care?" He asks a bit rhetorically. "Are we trying to solve the whole puzzle or just trying to get to the end?"
Zeds would do his part to follow through whatever plan is decided. The idea of retreating to the caves and maybe not having to travel miles on horseback just to return to the same spot has some appeal to him but he's not really in the mood to debate or argue so after proposing the idea he leaves the decision to the others...
Both Arcana checks fail to reveal whether you can break or stop the teleportation circle.
To Thrax Dralmorrer says "I suggest you release me as if whoever is here knows I am here they will know something amiss. I will not help you any longer"
Thraxinthos grimaces as Dralmorrer wiggles firmly in his grasp, despite his bindings. In the arms of one less mighty than he, their captive might have found escape. Instead his claws find the cult leader's throat, sharp nails pricking into the skin as scaled fingers tighten around the man's neck. "Worm. Enough with your squirming, worm."
He looks to his companions meaningfully, stuffing the cloth back into Dralmorrer's lips, closing the gag over his mouth. "We cannot carry this one forever. We must decide what must be done."
"You are right mighty Thrax, but if we release him I expect him to rejoin with the cult at his first opportunity. If at all possible I suggest we bring him with us until we have investigated the lodge and then see."´The young blonde selûnite says to the massive red dragonborn, then turning to the others. "I too am curious over what is done with the treasures brought here. I doubt it all ends up here, more likely it is brought on somewhere, but it seems unlikely to me that it would be either by teleportation or wagon. I'm sure we will find out once we investigate the lodge though. How far we pursue this would depend on what we find in there in my opinion. I suppose we can return to the castle but I would still prefer to find shelter in the wilderness, and I would very much prefer if we rested until we are all fully rested and recuperated. I don't think I have anything else to add and suggest we move to a decision." She finishes with a hint of impatience.
"Or... do we not care?" He asks a bit rhetorically. "Are we trying to solve the whole puzzle or just trying to get to the end?"
Ixsas is clear about his own goal. "Kossuth charged me with preventing a cataclysm," he says proudly."The world will end in fire one day," he continues in a matter-of-fact way as though he's describing how the sun rises each morning, "but not before the Firelord is ready to reclaim Toril! I want to know what the Cult of the Dragon is trying to do, and I will hinder them however I can. I hope that following the trail of their stolen treasure will lead us to answers."
"Besides, they didn't bring wagons full of treasure though the casts caves (?) and down that cliff to the circle to transport here, I would guess? How would a wagon fit through the castle doors to get down into the caves? Or get down that cliff?"
Ixsas says, "Yes, you are right, Zeds. Of course, they must have unloaded the wagons at the castle and brought the treasure here in sacks and chests. But we heard of entire towns being looted! The wagon tracks to Castle Naerytar were deep and recent. I think that the Cult of the Dragon must be gathering this treasure to use in some way...to further their goals. Maybe they have to buy steel to equip an army that they are raising? Or maybe they need to bribe officials or buy the loyalty of some small nation? But what can the cult do with gold and jewels here?"
Ixsas explains his thinking, "Merchants put their storehouses in a place where transport is easy. A city with a good sea port, like Calimport or Waterdeep. Or at least in a town along a big road, like the Trade Way. Here?" He looks around again with a shrug. "How do they transport the treasure from here? If it's a waypoint in the transportation, they must have a way to move a large amount of treasure from here. Maybe another magic circle? Or having a djinni carry it through the sky? I don't know, but the answer must lie in that building."
Ixsas immediately puts this question to the test. He gets up and moves to the spot where they arrived and says, "Draezir."
Assuming nothing happens, Ixsas says, "No, it seems that we are stuck in this frigid place, at least for now. If it is possible to travel from here to the circle under Castle Naerytar, we do not know how. Perhaps it requires a different word of command? Or maybe the portal can only be used once per day? If there is a way to do it, it may only be known by the Cult of the Dragon leader who controls this building." He nods toward the Lodge as he moves back to a spot that provides cover from anyone who may be looking out from the Lodge.
Ixsas nods in approval as Thrax again subdues their prisoner. He never would have guessed how useful it would be to have a Dragonborn in their group.
Based on what Dralmorrer has said, Ixsas is less concerned about what he will do once they release him. He says, "Dralmorrer has served his purpose, and he showed us the way out of Castle Naerytar as he promised. I believe that he is not eager to return to the Cult of the Dragon. I suspect that the cult is not kind to those who fail. Dralmorrer lost control of Castle Naerytar, and if they do not simply kill him for his failure, he will have lost all of his position and power within the cult." He looks at the gagged prisoner and asks shrewdly, "It is better to take your 'talents' elsewhere, is it not? Build a new base of power separate from the Cult of the Dragon."
On the other hand, Ixsas admits, "But it would be unwise to release him here: if Dralmorrer could betray us to the cult, I'm sure he would! We must keep him with us for a little while longer, until we are rested and ready to return here to explore this building. I do not think that he would risk following us back here. If we do not kill him, his rivals within the cult almost certainly would!"
"Fine, fine, let's be away from here for the time being and get some rest then," Zeds agrees. "We'll drag that one along for now, releasing him at the Cult's doorstep is a no go... But further on..." Zeds gives a bit of a shrug.
Assuming Seraphina is going to be summoning some horses, Zeds will take that time to try to break the carved teleportation circle here. He'll use one of his spare daggers to try to etch out a break across several of the lines, perhaps pull up some of the fine silver inlay... Nothing too drastic but if it works, it works. No harm in trying, specially as the circle is useless to them now anyway.
"The castle. Dralmorrer said the treasure was under the castle."Thraxinthos looks confused, wondering if he is misremembering after being struck by the mysterious tentacled creature in the misty cavern who attacked his mind.
The barbarian tightens his grasp on the smaller form of the fallen cult leader, once the ruler of the Castle Naerytar. As Zeds crouches to begin defacing the teleportation circle, the crimson dragonborn's thick, scaled brow ridge descends into a frown. "This worm will keep trying to wriggle. Not useful. Not any more. If we let Dralmorrer go, he will carry on. Cause pain. Hurt. Suffering."
He reaches over his shoulder, fingers curling around the haft of his massive great-axe, the weapon of a warrior that might easily be repurposed as the instrument of an executioner. "I can make it fast."
There is a quiet giggle from the young blonde selûnite as the kossuthan boasts about his tyrant-king that he expects to reclaim something that he never had in the first place. She didn't particularly approve of the man's zealous dogma but it could easily be tolerated as long as they fought a common enemy that was far more real than any threat the Firelord could ever pose to Faerûn. Hearing him speak she couldn't help but wonder if he had heard anything she had said, or was that simply what should be expected from someone like him. He certainly had a way of speaking about the obvious at length though. "I'm quite sure the treasures was brought on here Thrax, question is where and how they are moved on." Seraphina says with a small smile to the red dragonborn before turning to the others. "I will summon some steeds to take us quickly where we can rest more safely than in the proximity of the lodge." She says quickly before moving farther away from the lodge to start her ritual.
(Casting Phantom steed as a ritual twice and then using two spell slots to summon four phantom steeds appearing as unicorn servants of the Moonmaiden.)
Ixsas speaks the command word, and nothing happens.
The spectral steeds stand at the ready to carry the party deeper into the woods and away from the lodge.
After riding for a bit of time the forest ended as if the earth itself had taken a sudden breath. One step past the last line of roots and the ground sloped away sharply, an abrupt bluff of tangled shrubs, loose soil, and jutting stones. Not a true cliff, but steep enough that a misplaced foot would send someone skidding and tumbling downslope for a bone-breaking fall. A narrow trail clung to the side of the slope, a goat track at best. Loose stones skittered underfoot, and the path tilted outward just enough to make the stomach clench. It could be descended, but the mountainside made no promises.
Thrax looks less than convinced by the plan, such that it is. "Trust. I do not trust Dralmorrer. But I will trust the saviours."The dragonborn says gruffly, stowing his weapon once more.
As the Selunite begins her rituals, the dragonborn ponders his new companions - Ixsas' prophecies of fiery apocalypse that bore a disturbing similarity to the beliefs of the Cult despite his fierce opposition to them, the indefatigable sunniness of Seraphina whatever their troubles, the stubborn bravery of Zeds that was belied by his modest stature. Krackle remained a quiet mystery to him, but his fondness for Thrixie only grew by the minute.
The barbarian keeps watch for trouble, but looks startled when the unicorns emanate from nothingness. He is tempted to draw his axe once more, but Seraphina looks untroubled by its emanation from nothingness. And so with a degree of trepidation, Thrax climbs onto the strange animal, looking rather like a full grown iguana mounting a horse figurine. Thankfully, the phantom steed doesn't appear to buckle under his considerable size and with a light squeeze of his knees, he spirits the unicorn down the narrow trail. Molten gold eyes scan the path for both danger and a camp site where the party can recuperate and gather their strength.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Seraphina can't help but let out another soft giggle as she watches the massive red dragonborn mount the obedient servant of the Moonmaiden. Still mounted on her divine steed, the young blonde selûnite uses her vantage point to scan the surrounding cliffside for any shelter they might have while they rest and recuperate.
The young blonde selûnite follows the others for cover behind the pine trees, calling upon her divine powers to stay warm. "This was...unexpected." She says, peeking over at the large lodge. "I believe we must assume the cult is in control of the building and that it at least serves as another waypoint for the stolen treasures. We should try to take this opportunity to rest though, before investigating the lodge. I suggest we try to find shelter closeby where we can recuperate and prepare to enter the lodge."
(Prestidigitation)
(Arcana to determine if the teleportation circle can be disabled somehow: 14 + Guidance: 3 )
Ixsas agrees with a least a brief rest before attempting to approach the buildings. He says, "I'd at least like to find a spot where we I can examine Zeds again and make sure that he's not getting any worse!"
Ixsas also responds to Seraphina, saying "Yes, I am also surprised. I expected that we'd leave the Castle only to go further into the swamp, perhaps to the lair of the black dragons we saw. Now, we have followed the trail of the treasure, but we don't know where we are! Based on the cold, I'd guess that we're close to the frozen north." Again, since he lived near the Calim Desert, Ixsas has never experienced freezing temperatures.
Ixsas continues, "As you say, this building is clearly another waypoint on the journey..." Here, he looks from his left to his right and opens his arms to encompass their surroundings before saying, "...there's not even a village in sight. Nowhere to spend the treasure. Unless they're just gathering a dragon hoard in the Lodge." That was clearly meant as a joke since Ixsas chuckles a little behind his headscarf. He explains his thinking, "There's no road suitable for a wagon here, and we seem to be on a mountain. So, no seaport nearby. If the cult brings a wagon of stolen treasure here, then they must have some way to move it on from here. If not through the sky, then there must be another one of these wizard circles. Who knows where that one will lead! But we must attempt to find out. The only question is how long to rest before we investigate these buildings..."
"We could go back," Zeds suggests. Or perhaps just questions. There was that querying inflection in his voice.
"I mean, does the circle work both ways? If so we could maybe do something like go back and rest in the caves but be ready to jump back through the circle again if they did come for us there. We could jump back here and destroy the circle, hopefully preventing them from following... But if they don't hunt us in the caves it would be a warmer place to rest with far less traveling?" Zeds says, explaining his thought process.
"Besides, they didn't bring wagons full of treasure though the casts and down that cliff to the circle to transport here, I would guess? How would a wagon fit through the castle doors to get down into the caves? Or get down that cliff?"
"Or... do we not care?" He asks a bit rhetorically. "Are we trying to solve the whole puzzle or just trying to get to the end?"
Zeds would do his part to follow through whatever plan is decided. The idea of retreating to the caves and maybe not having to travel miles on horseback just to return to the same spot has some appeal to him but he's not really in the mood to debate or argue so after proposing the idea he leaves the decision to the others...
Both Arcana checks fail to reveal whether you can break or stop the teleportation circle.
To Thrax Dralmorrer says "I suggest you release me as if whoever is here knows I am here they will know something amiss. I will not help you any longer"
He tries to struggle free
Athletics Disadvantage.
16
Thrax can roll athletics to keep hold of him.
Thraxinthos grimaces as Dralmorrer wiggles firmly in his grasp, despite his bindings. In the arms of one less mighty than he, their captive might have found escape. Instead his claws find the cult leader's throat, sharp nails pricking into the skin as scaled fingers tighten around the man's neck. "Worm. Enough with your squirming, worm."
He looks to his companions meaningfully, stuffing the cloth back into Dralmorrer's lips, closing the gag over his mouth. "We cannot carry this one forever. We must decide what must be done."
Athletics: 22
"You are right mighty Thrax, but if we release him I expect him to rejoin with the cult at his first opportunity. If at all possible I suggest we bring him with us until we have investigated the lodge and then see."´The young blonde selûnite says to the massive red dragonborn, then turning to the others. "I too am curious over what is done with the treasures brought here. I doubt it all ends up here, more likely it is brought on somewhere, but it seems unlikely to me that it would be either by teleportation or wagon. I'm sure we will find out once we investigate the lodge though. How far we pursue this would depend on what we find in there in my opinion. I suppose we can return to the castle but I would still prefer to find shelter in the wilderness, and I would very much prefer if we rested until we are all fully rested and recuperated. I don't think I have anything else to add and suggest we move to a decision." She finishes with a hint of impatience.
Ixsas is clear about his own goal. "Kossuth charged me with preventing a cataclysm," he says proudly. "The world will end in fire one day," he continues in a matter-of-fact way as though he's describing how the sun rises each morning, "but not before the Firelord is ready to reclaim Toril! I want to know what the Cult of the Dragon is trying to do, and I will hinder them however I can. I hope that following the trail of their stolen treasure will lead us to answers."
Ixsas says, "Yes, you are right, Zeds. Of course, they must have unloaded the wagons at the castle and brought the treasure here in sacks and chests. But we heard of entire towns being looted! The wagon tracks to Castle Naerytar were deep and recent. I think that the Cult of the Dragon must be gathering this treasure to use in some way...to further their goals. Maybe they have to buy steel to equip an army that they are raising? Or maybe they need to bribe officials or buy the loyalty of some small nation? But what can the cult do with gold and jewels here?"
Ixsas explains his thinking, "Merchants put their storehouses in a place where transport is easy. A city with a good sea port, like Calimport or Waterdeep. Or at least in a town along a big road, like the Trade Way. Here?" He looks around again with a shrug. "How do they transport the treasure from here? If it's a waypoint in the transportation, they must have a way to move a large amount of treasure from here. Maybe another magic circle? Or having a djinni carry it through the sky? I don't know, but the answer must lie in that building."
Ixsas immediately puts this question to the test. He gets up and moves to the spot where they arrived and says, "Draezir."
Assuming nothing happens, Ixsas says, "No, it seems that we are stuck in this frigid place, at least for now. If it is possible to travel from here to the circle under Castle Naerytar, we do not know how. Perhaps it requires a different word of command? Or maybe the portal can only be used once per day? If there is a way to do it, it may only be known by the Cult of the Dragon leader who controls this building." He nods toward the Lodge as he moves back to a spot that provides cover from anyone who may be looking out from the Lodge.
Ixsas nods in approval as Thrax again subdues their prisoner. He never would have guessed how useful it would be to have a Dragonborn in their group.
Based on what Dralmorrer has said, Ixsas is less concerned about what he will do once they release him. He says, "Dralmorrer has served his purpose, and he showed us the way out of Castle Naerytar as he promised. I believe that he is not eager to return to the Cult of the Dragon. I suspect that the cult is not kind to those who fail. Dralmorrer lost control of Castle Naerytar, and if they do not simply kill him for his failure, he will have lost all of his position and power within the cult." He looks at the gagged prisoner and asks shrewdly, "It is better to take your 'talents' elsewhere, is it not? Build a new base of power separate from the Cult of the Dragon."
On the other hand, Ixsas admits, "But it would be unwise to release him here: if Dralmorrer could betray us to the cult, I'm sure he would! We must keep him with us for a little while longer, until we are rested and ready to return here to explore this building. I do not think that he would risk following us back here. If we do not kill him, his rivals within the cult almost certainly would!"
"Fine, fine, let's be away from here for the time being and get some rest then," Zeds agrees. "We'll drag that one along for now, releasing him at the Cult's doorstep is a no go... But further on..." Zeds gives a bit of a shrug.
Assuming Seraphina is going to be summoning some horses, Zeds will take that time to try to break the carved teleportation circle here. He'll use one of his spare daggers to try to etch out a break across several of the lines, perhaps pull up some of the fine silver inlay... Nothing too drastic but if it works, it works. No harm in trying, specially as the circle is useless to them now anyway.
"The castle. Dralmorrer said the treasure was under the castle." Thraxinthos looks confused, wondering if he is misremembering after being struck by the mysterious tentacled creature in the misty cavern who attacked his mind.
The barbarian tightens his grasp on the smaller form of the fallen cult leader, once the ruler of the Castle Naerytar. As Zeds crouches to begin defacing the teleportation circle, the crimson dragonborn's thick, scaled brow ridge descends into a frown. "This worm will keep trying to wriggle. Not useful. Not any more. If we let Dralmorrer go, he will carry on. Cause pain. Hurt. Suffering."
He reaches over his shoulder, fingers curling around the haft of his massive great-axe, the weapon of a warrior that might easily be repurposed as the instrument of an executioner. "I can make it fast."
There is a quiet giggle from the young blonde selûnite as the kossuthan boasts about his tyrant-king that he expects to reclaim something that he never had in the first place. She didn't particularly approve of the man's zealous dogma but it could easily be tolerated as long as they fought a common enemy that was far more real than any threat the Firelord could ever pose to Faerûn. Hearing him speak she couldn't help but wonder if he had heard anything she had said, or was that simply what should be expected from someone like him. He certainly had a way of speaking about the obvious at length though. "I'm quite sure the treasures was brought on here Thrax, question is where and how they are moved on." Seraphina says with a small smile to the red dragonborn before turning to the others. "I will summon some steeds to take us quickly where we can rest more safely than in the proximity of the lodge." She says quickly before moving farther away from the lodge to start her ritual.
(Casting Phantom steed as a ritual twice and then using two spell slots to summon four phantom steeds appearing as unicorn servants of the Moonmaiden.)
Ixsas speaks the command word, and nothing happens.
The spectral steeds stand at the ready to carry the party deeper into the woods and away from the lodge.
After riding for a bit of time the forest ended as if the earth itself had taken a sudden breath. One step past the last line of roots and the ground sloped away sharply, an abrupt bluff of tangled shrubs, loose soil, and jutting stones. Not a true cliff, but steep enough that a misplaced foot would send someone skidding and tumbling downslope for a bone-breaking fall. A narrow trail clung to the side of the slope, a goat track at best. Loose stones skittered underfoot, and the path tilted outward just enough to make the stomach clench. It could be descended, but the mountainside made no promises.
Thrax looks less than convinced by the plan, such that it is. "Trust. I do not trust Dralmorrer. But I will trust the saviours." The dragonborn says gruffly, stowing his weapon once more.
As the Selunite begins her rituals, the dragonborn ponders his new companions - Ixsas' prophecies of fiery apocalypse that bore a disturbing similarity to the beliefs of the Cult despite his fierce opposition to them, the indefatigable sunniness of Seraphina whatever their troubles, the stubborn bravery of Zeds that was belied by his modest stature. Krackle remained a quiet mystery to him, but his fondness for Thrixie only grew by the minute.
The barbarian keeps watch for trouble, but looks startled when the unicorns emanate from nothingness. He is tempted to draw his axe once more, but Seraphina looks untroubled by its emanation from nothingness. And so with a degree of trepidation, Thrax climbs onto the strange animal, looking rather like a full grown iguana mounting a horse figurine. Thankfully, the phantom steed doesn't appear to buckle under his considerable size and with a light squeeze of his knees, he spirits the unicorn down the narrow trail. Molten gold eyes scan the path for both danger and a camp site where the party can recuperate and gather their strength.
Perception: 18
Seraphina can't help but let out another soft giggle as she watches the massive red dragonborn mount the obedient servant of the Moonmaiden.
Still mounted on her divine steed, the young blonde selûnite uses her vantage point to scan the surrounding cliffside for any shelter they might have while they rest and recuperate.
(Perception: 24 + Guidance: 1 )