Chronicles of the Accursed Campaign Thread (Group 1)

Lord Amir would drag the naughty cultist back the chamber for questioning.
Yasmina thanks Heyya for their service and turns them back into a staff for now.
Al-Asfeh flutters down the corridor to keep a look out for the next wave.
If given time Yasmina would then question their captive.

You wait for a while... but for the time being, it doesn't seem as if another wave is coming...

You are free to question the captured cultist leader.

With his hands and feet bound tight, the cowardly cultist squad leader is held up by Lord Amir who glares at his prisoner while the red-haired Half-Elf steps closer to speak to the captive. "Since you fled I can only assume you prefer life over death. You can still get out of this with your life, but you would need to tell us all about this attack, who and what else is coming for us and where we can find your master Firion." She says with a smooth but quite threatening tone.

Persuasion/Intimidation assisted by Lord Amir: 16

The cultist looks around at the, to be frank, terrifying posse that surrounds him, and at the carnage you have already wrought. Reluctantly, he speaks.

"There is a adult deep dragon searching for you in the tunnels," he says. "I don't know why it hasn't found you yet... but I think it might be biding its time on purpose. Waiting for the right moment to strike... frankly, none of us expected you to survive the long enough to face the dragon, so I don't think there is anything else coming for you down here if you escape or defeat the dragon... above ground is a different story, though...

I... I cannot tell you where to find The Exalted of the Dragon... he made sure that his own role in the battle would be a secret known only to him..."

"Oh, I knew that scamp Firion would have a themed surprise for us!" Duwamilly exclaims, satisfied that she guessed right "It was obvious that a dragon had to pop out, sooner or later!"

"Do you have anything else to ask the naughty boy here?" the gnome cleric turns her brown eyes to the others Accursed "Or shall we let him go, now? Without weapons and with his hands tied, perhaps... so that he doesn't want to continue fighting on the wrong side of the battle. We have to prepare a little prank, to beat the dragon, in the state we're in - and I wouldn't want to plan while we're within earshot of this fellow".

"And as for you, naughty boy..." the ex-preceptor admonishingly waves her wand at the prisoner "I don't know why you put yourself at the service of a scamp like Firion, but I hope you treasure of today's lesson... Taking the side of the first bully you meet is not always a wise choice. Many times you will be on the side of the strongest... But what will happen, when once you are not? 'if', but 'when'... because, as you saw today, it's something that will happen, sooner or later, as the exalted sends new opponents against you. And even if, out uf dumb luck, it always goes well for you... and you were to help Firion succeed... the way you know him... do you really think he will care much about you? Do the best thing. Abandon him. Others have done this before you. And now they have a more peaceful life. Abandon him and change your life, while you still have time. You will not regret".

Waiting for any others to have questions for their captive, the red-haired Half-Elf purses her lips and seems very skeptical to letting the cultist leave even before the battle is over instead of tucking him away safely in the chamber below.

Insight rolls regarding the Deep Dragon

Yasmina: 14
Lord Amir: 12
Al-Asfeh: 18

DC 15 Insight:

Al-Asfeh would whisper his insightful thoughts into the pointed ear of his mistress who nods with a concerned look and then shares what her familiar had told her. "What a coward." Lord Amir exclaims with a booming voice, drawing his massive scimitar. "I will not be idle with this pitiful lizard hiding in fear." He continues, seeming intent to go after the Deep Dragon. The red-haired Half-Elf looks less convinced. Her companions already looked quite roughed up and the dragon would surely be their worst adversary yet. "What do you think, can we stand up to that dragon?" She asks the others but there was no doubt what at least Zander, or rather his blade would answer.

You hear Snicker say "Dragon you say. We shall go and vanquish this foul beast at once." You see Zander being drawn towards the coorador. 

Duwamilly's Insight: 22

"Just wait a moment the two of you." Yasmina says, rolling her eyes, then looking intently between the djinni lord and the dragon slaying blade. "If we are seeking the dragon out then lets make a plan first." Lord Amir stops and scratches his chin while pondering a plan. 

"We're going to need a lot more than a plan," Delvindra says as her tail flicks in agitation, "we need an honest assessment of how much more damage we can actually do. I don't think the voices are going to offer much more in the way of help."

"Milly, what about your wand and cube? Are there limits on their power?"

Quote from Painted_Beyond >>

Duwamilly's Insight: 23

"Hmmm... It occurs to me that the dragon may be aware of the items we carry... particularly the ring of djinni summoning" Duwamilly muses aloud. "Being the cunning beast it is, perhaps the dragon is waiting for Lord Amir's time on the Material Plane to expire so that it will have one less opponent to fight!"

"Perhaps the ghostly guide that Lord Akkron sent with us might have some useful insights as well," the ex-preceptor continues "as he has better knowledge of the catacombs than we do!"

At that point, the gnome cleric responds to Yasmina: "I think we can stand up to that dragon. Personally, I was hoping to prepare a new trap, one that would cause an even greater collapse than the last... a collapse that would seal the passage (with us and the dragon inside) once and for all. Or at least seal it for enough time for the dragon to run out of breathable air and suffocate to death. We, obviously, after the collapse, would have left with my last Gate. It seems, however, that the dragon will come looking for us only after he is sure that Lord Amir has abandoned us... so, if we choose to continue with the trap idea, we will have to face it ourselves - where 'face it' then just means waiting for it to fall into the trap, and remain closed with us - a few moments later, we leave".

"But if setting a trap like that requires too much skill or too much time," Duwamilly considers "then it's best to find the dragon and deal with it now, while we're all still there and while some magical effects that protect us still remain. I think we can beat it - and if things get bad, I can still open my last Gate to allow us to escape".

[[ OOC: DM: If we actually wanted to consult the ghostly guide... do we know where it is? Is it in sight or nearby? ]]

"Um...yeah, that is what we've been talking about Milly, did someone just have a senior moment?" Yasmina says with an amused smile as the ex-preceptor starts repeating what she already has explained. "I don't know anything about Deep Dragons but I would assume it has some kind of breath weapon, and most of us won't be able to handle that I think."

Quote from groverbloom >>

"We're going to need a lot more than a plan," Delvindra says as her tail flicks in agitation, "we need an honest assessment of how much more damage we can actually do. I don't think the voices are going to offer much more in the way of help."

"Milly, what about your wand and cube? Are there limits on their power?"

"Delvindra, honey," Duwamilly admits smiling "of course the cube and the wand also have their limits..."

"The cube is only able to act one more time, before having to recharge, so I would keep it for a possible emergency Gate" the ex-preceptor explains. "The wand, however, is still in great shape... I can still use it several times; but its effects are unpredictable, so I would hesitate to use it when some of us are already in melee with the dragon".

"Considering the nature of the dragon's special attacks," the gnome cleric points out "the winning move would be to be able to turn undead against it. But I don't know how, so my preference goes to the trap, if feasible".

[OOC: Your ghostly guide has been hanging out in the embalming chamber... as the only creature here who actually knows how to navigate the catacombs, I figured you would probably want him to stay out of harm's way]

Quote from Mister_Whisker >>

[OOC: Your ghostly guide has been hanging out in the embalming chamber... as the only creature here who actually knows how to navigate the catacombs, I figured you would probably want him to stay out of harm's way]

Duwamilly explains the situation to the ghostly guide, then inquiring: "Do you think you can help us finding the Dragon? And can you think of any way to turn the undead of the catacombs against it? After all, the Dragon is an uninvited intruder... with no protection by Lord Akkron... the undead should easily perceive it as an enemy, if only we could make them feel its presence... aren't most undead usually hostile to creatures who still live?"

Meanwhile, the ex-preceptor, based on how much work it took to create the first trap, tries to estimate how much would be necessary to create a larger one, one capable of causing a collapse that definitively blocks the corridor - with Dragon and Accursed inside. She also recovers the gems with which he had previously stoned some of his enemies, during the process.

[[ OOC: It's clear, isn't it? Duwamilly would like to estimate:
- how easy it can be to locate the Dragon
- how feasible it is to unleash the undead against him
- how feasible is the creation of the trap
so as to make, together with the Accursed, an informed decision on the course of action... ]]

[OOC: I think I'll need a straight Intelligence check to make those kinds of estimates. And I'll need a separate check to answer each of them]

Ok, rolling in order, with Guidance. But she will also involve the other Accursed (so, if some smarter character wants to roll as well...)

Locate dragon: 3

Unleash undead: 18

Trap feasibility: 10

(The ghostly guide can provide insight, anyway?)