I'd say it is absolutely possible to get through the difficult terrain and tie up Oliver. This allows Theldrin to cast Identify with Oliver protesting the whole time, reaching a fever pitch when Theldrin reaches out his hand to touch him. You feels the same magic at work on Oliver as was on Abramo, the curse of the naga.
After the spell is done Oliver stops screaming, seemingly confused that he doesn't feel any difference. Knowing that he's made a huge scene, he goes quiet, looking at you all questioningly.
The question i'd ask next is... what are you going to do with him?
"I'm hoping that once the naga is defeated, the curse will lift, or we will discover a way to lift it. Perhaps loosely tie him up when we break camp with a threat to only return to town."
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Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
"I'm hoping that once the naga is defeated, the curse will lift, or we will discover a way to lift it. Perhaps loosely tie him up when we break camp with a threat to only return to town."
Xanrym checks the rope that binds Oliver. In response to Liarin's comment, he asks, as though the curse is a real thing, "Well, the enchantment should still bind him, isn't that right, Theldrin? The curse would only strike him dead if he tries to follow and hinder us, or if he goes back to Orlane and sends the other cultists after us. If he wanders off to Hookhill, then he should be fine, right?" Xanrym tries to do all of the lying here so that Theldrin doesn't have to say much. Deception18
"We can keep him bound until morning," Xanrym suggests. He gives Oliver a sympathetic look, adding, "It'll be an uncomfortable night, but then we'll set you on your way in the morning. By the time Theldrin's curse runs out, we'll either have freed you from the naga's will, or we'll already be dead."
If they agree to this scheme, Xanrym searches Oliver to make sure that he doesn't have a hidden knife or any other way to free himself or cause mischief during the night. Investigation7
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Theldrin will help with searching Oliver, assuming that gives Xanrym Advantage. He is also looking for any notes, in case the cult gave Oliver instructions as to how to subvert the party's mission. And if a Deception roll is needed:
Your search of Oliver turns up nothing, possibly he was just trying to come along to betray you at the best possible time. Oliver keeps his head down as you explain his situation to him and the threat to not head back to Orlane. Afterwards he looks at you all with a new glean in his eye, "You will never make it through the Rushmoors, let alone make it to the mistress' lair. You'll never rescue Mayor Ormond, and you could never defeat our queen. She is the darkness." His head turns back down as you tie him up, becoming unresponsive. He's clearly said all he wants to say.
Toska seems disturbed by Oliver's behaviour, but is willing to settle down for the night if you all are. She feels she will get better sleep here rather than in Orlane.
Theldrin will help with searching Oliver, assuming that gives Xanrym Advantage.
(OOC: sorry. Missed that at first. Not sure what happened to Xanrym's post. The original rolls were 15 and 19, respectively. 😜 In case it's still relevant, here's a second roll for searching Oliver.)
Since they're trying to keep the true purpose of Theldrin's spell secret, Xanrym simply nods to Theldrin, and says, "I'm glad we have your magic, my friend. I don't know what we would have done do without it."
Afterwards he looks at you all with a new glean in his eye, "You will never make it through the Rushmoors...." He's clearly said all he wants to say.
Xanrym is happy to leave Oliver alone and bound for the night: he's tired of talking to crazed cultists anyway.
Toska seems disturbed by Oliver's behaviour, but is willing to settle down for the night if you all are. She feels she will get better sleep here rather than in Orlane.
Toska has been trustworthy, and after Theldrin's spell, Xanrym feels more comfortable relying on her. Once they've finished setting up camp and feeding and watering Heckle, their draft horse, they can finally have some dinner and decide the watch rotation. During dinner, Xanrym asks Toska more about her background and faith and what role she hopes to play in overthrowing the cult.
Xanrym asks Liarin to speak with animals to ask Whiskers what he (she?) would like to eat and how they could make a protected nest for their guide among all of their baggage. Maybe she could also talk to Heckle, their draft horse, to make sure that the horse is comfortable and happy. A horse who likes them will mean that they don't have to use a hobble and can trust that it'll return to them even if it gets scared away by a fight.
As far as Xanrym knows, none of them have any spells that would help secure their campsite, so they'll just have to trust to the gods and their own vigilance on watch. They're close enough to Orlane that Xanrym is more worried about cultists from town than he is about beasts or monsters attacking their camp over night.
Xanrym volunteers to take first watch. (Perception15)
Awesome, now that you're in the wilderness, you'll need to worry a little more about watches and random encounters. There will be three watches, Xanrym is taking the first, Toska is perfectly willing to take another, so you'll need to decide who takes the last watch. Keep in mind that you will need to remove any Medium or Heavy armour to sleep. So if you roll a random encounter while asleep you'll not be able to fight in your armour.
On random encounters, while out on the plains east of Orlane, one of you will need to roll a d6 each night. With a roll of 1 resulting in a beast from the Dim Forrest venturing out and attacking the party. So when working out your watches, anyone feel free to roll that.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Theldrin sighs with relief upon not finding any spell effect on Toska, then thanks her for cooperating with the spell.
"Well it's been a long day and I'm sure we could all use some rest," he says wearily, before offering to take the third watch. On his way to bed down for the night he pauses by Oliver, seeming to be about the say something but then just giving the noble a compassionate look before walking away.
Xanrym talks quietly with the others, out of earshot of Oliver, about what they should do with the man. There don't seem to be any great options.
FYI - Xanrym's original suggestion was to set Oliver free in the morning and to use the threat of the "curse" to scare him into going back to Hookhill, where he said that he's from, instead of returning to Orlane or following the party to the naga's lair:
Xanrym checks the rope that binds Oliver. In response to Liarin's comment, he asks, as though the curse is a real thing, "Well, the enchantment should still bind him, isn't that right, Theldrin? The curse would only strike him dead if he tries to follow and hinder us, or if he goes back to Orlane and sends the other cultists after us. If he wanders off to Hookhill, then he should be fine, right?"Xanrym tries to do all of the lying here so that Theldrin doesn't have to say much. Deception18
"We can keep him bound until morning," Xanrym suggests. He gives Oliver a sympathetic look, adding, "It'll be an uncomfortable night, but then we'll set you on your way in the morning. By the time Theldrin's curse runs out, we'll either have freed you from the naga's will, or we'll already be dead."
Xanrym is not sure whether that it's a good idea, and he still worries that Oliver will manage to cause trouble if they let him go. But the only way to be certain that Oliver does not cause trouble is to kill him here and now.
The reason Xanrym was trying to prevent Oliver from returning to Orlane is that he knows that the party left Maajid and Cirilli with Ramne. As far as they know, he's the only cultist who even knows that the party talked to Ramne.
1. Oliver is not related to anyone else they know, so they could probably kill him without repercussions. On the other hand, Xanrym says that it doesn't feel right to kill any cultist who was "turned" by the naga against their will except in defense of their own lives or other innocents.
2. They could leave him tied up since they're "just outside of Orlane":
Evening sets in when your just out of town, and you set up a camp not far from the town.
It seems like they're close enough to the town that someone would find him in a day or two, but then it seems somewhat more likely that he'd be taken back to Orlane.
3. They could do what Xanyrm originally suggested: untie him, remind him of the curse, and warn him against following him or contacting the other cultists in Orlane. Hopefully, he'll just go back to Hookhill for a while.
4. They could bind Oliver's hands and march him in front of the party for a day or two. (He's not sure how long it will take to reach the naga's lair, but based on villagers vanishing for "a week," he guesses it'll take another 2 days of hiking to get there.) Before they get close to the naga's lair, they could send Oliver off into the wilderness with just his hands bound and "leave his fate to the gods." Hopefully, the party would find the naga's lair and defeat the monster before Oliver could catch up to them, make it back to Orlane, or get himself killed. Then they could hopefully gather Oliver on their way back to Orlane after killing the naga.
"It is a difficult decision," Theldrin says with a grim scowl after a long silence, then continues as he anxiously rubs his beard. "Perhaps the best plan is to bring him along as our prisoner... I certainly don't want to kill him, nor do I like the prospect of his returning to Orlane and telling the other cultists about our visit with Ramne."
It’s a sticky situation for sure. Oliver makes no secret about his intention to return to Orlane, he’s not particularly worried about any spell cast upon him to do otherwise because the nags magic cast on him is so strong. Basically I think the question at this point is whether you take him with you or be cool with him going back to Orlane. You could set him loose in the Dim Forrest or the Rushmoors. But if he runs into a random encounter there he is as good as dead.
Avery likes the idea of bringing him into the Dim forest, and then releasing him. "Fate will determine the outcome, if it so choses he dies, then its not on us."
"Well that may be true, yet in the end perhaps the same as killing him ourselves given the dangers out here... but I suppose we are in agreement to bring him along for now?" Theldrin replies thoughtfully, then adds, "Gagged probably so he doesn't cause any mischief."
Xanrym also agrees with Avery. It's too dangerous to take Oliver into the naga's lair, but killing a bound prisoner goes against his understanding of the gods he follows. At least releasing Oliver in the wilderness leaves the matter to the gods.
They can just bind Oliver's hands and take him along with them for now. Xanrym is not even sure that they need to gag him. Now that they're heading into the wilderness, there wouldn't be anyone to hear him yell. And if Oliver attracts the attention of anything other than members of the naga cult (highwaymen, wild animals, goblins, undead, etc.), he would probably be the first one killed since he's bound, unarmed, and not wearing armor.
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Theldrin suggests to Avery that they try to tie up Oliver if they can reach him easily through the difficult terrain.
I'd say it is absolutely possible to get through the difficult terrain and tie up Oliver. This allows Theldrin to cast Identify with Oliver protesting the whole time, reaching a fever pitch when Theldrin reaches out his hand to touch him. You feels the same magic at work on Oliver as was on Abramo, the curse of the naga.
After the spell is done Oliver stops screaming, seemingly confused that he doesn't feel any difference. Knowing that he's made a huge scene, he goes quiet, looking at you all questioningly.
The question i'd ask next is... what are you going to do with him?
As the next course of action, Theldrin suggests he now cast Identify as ritual on Toska.
"I'm hoping that once the naga is defeated, the curse will lift, or we will discover a way to lift it. Perhaps loosely tie him up when we break camp with a threat to only return to town."
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Xanrym checks the rope that binds Oliver. In response to Liarin's comment, he asks, as though the curse is a real thing, "Well, the enchantment should still bind him, isn't that right, Theldrin? The curse would only strike him dead if he tries to follow and hinder us, or if he goes back to Orlane and sends the other cultists after us. If he wanders off to Hookhill, then he should be fine, right?" Xanrym tries to do all of the lying here so that Theldrin doesn't have to say much. Deception 18
"We can keep him bound until morning," Xanrym suggests. He gives Oliver a sympathetic look, adding, "It'll be an uncomfortable night, but then we'll set you on your way in the morning. By the time Theldrin's curse runs out, we'll either have freed you from the naga's will, or we'll already be dead."
If they agree to this scheme, Xanrym searches Oliver to make sure that he doesn't have a hidden knife or any other way to free himself or cause mischief during the night. Investigation 7
Theldrin will help with searching Oliver, assuming that gives Xanrym Advantage. He is also looking for any notes, in case the cult gave Oliver instructions as to how to subvert the party's mission. And if a Deception roll is needed:
21
Toska comes up clean from the Identify spell.
Your search of Oliver turns up nothing, possibly he was just trying to come along to betray you at the best possible time. Oliver keeps his head down as you explain his situation to him and the threat to not head back to Orlane. Afterwards he looks at you all with a new glean in his eye, "You will never make it through the Rushmoors, let alone make it to the mistress' lair. You'll never rescue Mayor Ormond, and you could never defeat our queen. She is the darkness." His head turns back down as you tie him up, becoming unresponsive. He's clearly said all he wants to say.
Toska seems disturbed by Oliver's behaviour, but is willing to settle down for the night if you all are. She feels she will get better sleep here rather than in Orlane.
(OOC: sorry. Missed that at first. Not sure what happened to Xanrym's post. The original rolls were 15 and 19, respectively. 😜 In case it's still relevant, here's a second roll for searching Oliver.)
Investigation 23
Since they're trying to keep the true purpose of Theldrin's spell secret, Xanrym simply nods to Theldrin, and says, "I'm glad we have your magic, my friend. I don't know what we would have done do without it."
Xanrym is happy to leave Oliver alone and bound for the night: he's tired of talking to crazed cultists anyway.
Toska has been trustworthy, and after Theldrin's spell, Xanrym feels more comfortable relying on her. Once they've finished setting up camp and feeding and watering Heckle, their draft horse, they can finally have some dinner and decide the watch rotation. During dinner, Xanrym asks Toska more about her background and faith and what role she hopes to play in overthrowing the cult.
Xanrym asks Liarin to speak with animals to ask Whiskers what he (she?) would like to eat and how they could make a protected nest for their guide among all of their baggage. Maybe she could also talk to Heckle, their draft horse, to make sure that the horse is comfortable and happy. A horse who likes them will mean that they don't have to use a hobble and can trust that it'll return to them even if it gets scared away by a fight.
As far as Xanrym knows, none of them have any spells that would help secure their campsite, so they'll just have to trust to the gods and their own vigilance on watch. They're close enough to Orlane that Xanrym is more worried about cultists from town than he is about beasts or monsters attacking their camp over night.
Xanrym volunteers to take first watch. (Perception 15)
Awesome, now that you're in the wilderness, you'll need to worry a little more about watches and random encounters. There will be three watches, Xanrym is taking the first, Toska is perfectly willing to take another, so you'll need to decide who takes the last watch. Keep in mind that you will need to remove any Medium or Heavy armour to sleep. So if you roll a random encounter while asleep you'll not be able to fight in your armour.
On random encounters, while out on the plains east of Orlane, one of you will need to roll a d6 each night. With a roll of 1 resulting in a beast from the Dim Forrest venturing out and attacking the party. So when working out your watches, anyone feel free to roll that.
Theldrin sighs with relief upon not finding any spell effect on Toska, then thanks her for cooperating with the spell.
"Well it's been a long day and I'm sure we could all use some rest," he says wearily, before offering to take the third watch. On his way to bed down for the night he pauses by Oliver, seeming to be about the say something but then just giving the noble a compassionate look before walking away.
Perception: 10
Random Encounter: 3
Avery will take his watch: Perception-12
You wake up the next morning on the grassy plains east of Orlane uninterrupted throughout the night.
Just double checking, your plan is to leave Oliver here right. He’s still bound and unresponsive.
Xanrym is not sure whether that it's a good idea, and he still worries that Oliver will manage to cause trouble if they let him go. But the only way to be certain that Oliver does not cause trouble is to kill him here and now.
The reason Xanrym was trying to prevent Oliver from returning to Orlane is that he knows that the party left Maajid and Cirilli with Ramne. As far as they know, he's the only cultist who even knows that the party talked to Ramne.
1. Oliver is not related to anyone else they know, so they could probably kill him without repercussions. On the other hand, Xanrym says that it doesn't feel right to kill any cultist who was "turned" by the naga against their will except in defense of their own lives or other innocents.
It seems like they're close enough to the town that someone would find him in a day or two, but then it seems somewhat more likely that he'd be taken back to Orlane.
3. They could do what Xanyrm originally suggested: untie him, remind him of the curse, and warn him against following him or contacting the other cultists in Orlane. Hopefully, he'll just go back to Hookhill for a while.
4. They could bind Oliver's hands and march him in front of the party for a day or two. (He's not sure how long it will take to reach the naga's lair, but based on villagers vanishing for "a week," he guesses it'll take another 2 days of hiking to get there.) Before they get close to the naga's lair, they could send Oliver off into the wilderness with just his hands bound and "leave his fate to the gods." Hopefully, the party would find the naga's lair and defeat the monster before Oliver could catch up to them, make it back to Orlane, or get himself killed. Then they could hopefully gather Oliver on their way back to Orlane after killing the naga.
But Xanrym is open to any other ideas.
"It is a difficult decision," Theldrin says with a grim scowl after a long silence, then continues as he anxiously rubs his beard. "Perhaps the best plan is to bring him along as our prisoner... I certainly don't want to kill him, nor do I like the prospect of his returning to Orlane and telling the other cultists about our visit with Ramne."
"I do not like keeping prisoners, but dislike murder more."
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
It’s a sticky situation for sure. Oliver makes no secret about his intention to return to Orlane, he’s not particularly worried about any spell cast upon him to do otherwise because the nags magic cast on him is so strong. Basically I think the question at this point is whether you take him with you or be cool with him going back to Orlane. You could set him loose in the Dim Forrest or the Rushmoors. But if he runs into a random encounter there he is as good as dead.
Avery likes the idea of bringing him into the Dim forest, and then releasing him. "Fate will determine the outcome, if it so choses he dies, then its not on us."
"Well that may be true, yet in the end perhaps the same as killing him ourselves given the dangers out here... but I suppose we are in agreement to bring him along for now?" Theldrin replies thoughtfully, then adds, "Gagged probably so he doesn't cause any mischief."
Xanrym also agrees with Avery. It's too dangerous to take Oliver into the naga's lair, but killing a bound prisoner goes against his understanding of the gods he follows. At least releasing Oliver in the wilderness leaves the matter to the gods.
They can just bind Oliver's hands and take him along with them for now. Xanrym is not even sure that they need to gag him. Now that they're heading into the wilderness, there wouldn't be anyone to hear him yell. And if Oliver attracts the attention of anything other than members of the naga cult (highwaymen, wild animals, goblins, undead, etc.), he would probably be the first one killed since he's bound, unarmed, and not wearing armor.