Xanrym scowls darkly and nods in agreement with Liarin. He responds to Theldrin, saying, "So did I! In any case, you did better than I: at least you hit the will-o-wisp! My apologies, everyone. It surprised me! Based on the stories, I thought that an undead spirit like that would have a cold, life-draining touch. I didn't expect a jolt of lightning!"
Looking at the dead bodies, Xanrym says, "When we find the naga, that blasted will-o-wisp will probably be with her, but at least she won't have Garath there to defend her!" The naga will be a hard enough challenge for them on her own. He hopes that she won't have too many guards with her. Xanrym speculates about the naga herself, saying "I wonder whether she'll just wait for us in her lair. Or maybe we could draw her out by eliminating all of her servants and worshipers first." He doesn't like the idea of confronting the naga on her home turf when she has warning of their approach and plenty of time to prepare for them, but he's not sure whether they've seen any room in this dungeon where he'd rather fight the naga.
Xanrym says that there don't seem to be any other guards in this area. Unless the naga (or the will-o-wisp!) comes to find them, he doesn't see any reason to rush now. Garath is dead. That's the last of the 4 "Naga's Teeth." He's not sure what else is down on this level of the dungeon, but it seems like they've already deprived this cult of its (human) leadership.
Did Liarin make any goodberries the previous night? If not, the party might want to take a short rest before proceeding.
(OOC: In the last fight, Xanrym and Avery both took 7 HP of damage, and Nithrissa took 8. That's not terrible, but if we stumble into the naga down here, I want to be at max HP!)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As long as no one else wants to hurry, Theldrin and Xanrym thinks that they have time to perform ritual castings of Detect Magic and Comprehend Languages, respectively. That way, they'll be sure not to miss any magical loot, and Xanrym will be able to interpret any writing they find.
Xanrym will help to go through any of Garath's belongings. (Was Garath wearing any armor or jewelry? Did he have any pouches?)
Xanrym will also help search this room. If they don't find any secret doors, he'll also be interested in searching the other 3 rooms in this area of the dungeon:
The current room (some sort of chapel?)
Garath's necromancy "lab"
The jail cells where they found the prisoners
The will-o-wisp room with the single column
The party found Garath's staff in the bedroom on the first level, but Xanrym expected to find some private room for Garath on this level. Perhaps there's a secret or concealed door that leads from one of these rooms to a second bedroom or some sort of office for Garath. After the will-o-wisp vanished the first time, they were rushing through the rooms with only a brief search. Now, they could spend some time to tap the walls, yank on sconces, move furniture, etc.
You search the bodies and find very little. While Garath did have a very fine sacrificial Dagger, he clearly was a true believer in the naga and carried no gold on his person. The ghouls also have no equipment. You do find a folded up note of Garath however which reads, "She stands before us, shaking her head, and the pathway to the abyss opens before us. The glory... The horror."
(I'm counting Xanrym's Investigation as a Help action for Theldrin. While I do allow re-rolls of ability checks, it can only count if the roller has Proficiency in that skill, which Avery does not. So unless anyone has Proficiency in Investigation and wants to have a roll, i'm only counting the 11 and 7 that Theldrin and Xanrym rolled.)
Xanrym and Theldrin search the Altar of Evil and surrounding rooms but find nothing as you all complete a Short Rest.
Xanrym and Theldrin search the Altar of Evil and surrounding rooms but find nothing as you all complete a Short Rest.
(OOC: I went ahead and spent 1 HD of healing for Xanrym: +9 HP (in game log). That gets Xanrym back to max HP. Xanrym can use Song of Rest to boost give if anyone else wants to spend HD to boost the amount of healing they receive. Since we're about to take a Short Rest, I guess Avery can use Second Wind before hand instead of spending HD. I'm not sure whether Nithrissa gets to spend a HD on healing too.)
Xanrym and Theldrin search the Altar of Evil and surrounding rooms but find nothing as you all complete a Short Rest.
(OOC: I went ahead and spent 1 HD of healing for Xanrym: +9 HP (in game log). That gets Xanrym back to max HP. Xanrym can use Song of Rest to boost give if anyone else wants to spend HD to boost the amount of healing they receive. Since we're about to take a Short Rest, I guess Avery can use Second Wind before hand instead of spending HD. I'm not sure whether Nithrissa gets to spend a HD on healing too.)
Theldrin takes some time to study his spellbook as he rests (Arcane Recovery: two 1st level slots). He then will cast Detect Magic as a ritual and scan as much area as he has time for, starting with the current room and statue.
This is a long room whose walls are covered by wooden panels. At the far end is a raised wooden dais with an altar supporting a statue of the reptile god — a snake with a human head.
You do find a folded up note of Garath however which reads, "She stands before us, shaking her head, and the pathway to the abyss opens before us. The glory... The horror."
you all complete a Short Rest.
While they search the rooms, Xanrym seems somewhat preoccupied. He can't stop thinking about the odd note, and he takes it out to study it while the party rests and recovers. After they're done resting, Xanrym says, "This note we found on Garath puzzles me." He holds up the note to read it again out loud, commenting as he goes:"'She stands before us, shaking her head.' Does that strike you as odd? Snakes don't really shake their heads, do they? Ever since I learned my letters, I've read every story, poem, history, and treatise I could get my hands on. With my magic, I've read books in many languages. I've never heard anyone describe a snake as 'shaking' its head. Imagine it!" He points to the naga statue on the dais so that you can imagine a naga "shaking" its head. He continues, "'Shaking her head, and the pathway to the abyss opens before us.' If this is a prayer or devotional invocation, I'll eat my boots. Garath would have had to be the worst poet in all of Oerik! But maybe this note isn't a prayer. Maybe it's something else. A coded message perhaps? Or maybe some hint or directions for the other cultists."
What do the others think? Do they agree that there's something more to the note that they found on Garath?
Avery muses, "A key perhaps, that will open a door?" He will walk over to the statue with the human head on a snake's body and investigate it for mechanisms and traps. Investigate: 21. He will see if moving the head on the statue opens a door or something
Theldrin ponders the meaning of the note, then watches as Avery works. "Hmmm, you two may be onto something," he says thoughtfully as he rubs his beard.
As Avery looks at the statue, at first he sees nothing. But then on closer inspection, he notices that the neck has a tiny perfect crack that runs all around it. As he grabs hold of the head and turns it, the wall behind the statue slides open and the smell of damp decay becomes immediately stronger.
As soon as the door opens you hear a terrible voice come from behind the door, although you can't see it, you feel the slithering magnitude of the voice pierce deep into your bodies. It screams, "DIE, FOOLS." And a triggered action goes off and a Fireball flies into the room and detonates.
In the split second when the heat is about to engulf you, you hear a bell sound, and the squirrel Whiskers flies into the air from Toska's shoulder. He gives a little chirp and explodes in a magical burst. As he does so, you each feel a cool magical shield surround you and the flame from the fireball doesn't touch you at all. Toska gasps as Nithrissa exclaims, "Sweet dark lord!" Whiskers is gone.
You hear a slithering sound coming from behind the statue. Something big is about to enter the room. Initiative:
Group 1: Liarin
Group 2: Enemy
Group 3: The rest of you.
Liarin is up, something really big, with great magical energy, is coming from the room to the north.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Whiskers! NOOOOOOO!!" shouts Liarin as the rodent explodes.
"I can use orbs of flame too," says Liarin into the darkness, summoning a flaming sphere in front of the open secret door. Transforming into her dire wolf form, she steps to the right of Avery, while commanding Asclepius to go left and prepare to attack.
[[Action: Spell, BA: wild shape]]
[[Asclepius moves up and readies an attack on the next creature not in the party to enter his reach, which is 10ft.]]
Bite: Attack: 25 Damage: 14
Flaming sphere damage if the creature ends its turn within 5 ft. 7
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
Toska gasps as Nithrissa exclaims, "Sweet dark lord!" Whiskers is gone.
(OOC: Clarification. Was that exclamation more like an interjection of surprise, like "Great Scott!", or a direct address, like "My liege!"? Or was it (meant to be) ambiguous?)
As Avery looks at the statue, at first he sees nothing. But then on closer inspection, he notices that the neck has a tiny perfect crack that runs all around it. As he grabs hold of the head and turns it, the wall behind the statue slides open and the smell of damp decay becomes immediately stronger.
Xanrym hadn't put the note together with the statue on the dais. He was more focused on deciphering the wording of the message like a puzzle, thinking that it was a coded message. When Avery grabs hold of the statue's head, and it moves, Xanrym starts to say, "Oh, I see! How clever, Aver---aaaah!" His words turn into a sudden, surprised cry when he hears the voice scream from the passage beyond, and a fireball explodes into the room! He sees Whiskers somehow burst into a magical shield just before he closes his eyes and crouches, expecting to be burned alive.
(OOC: Not Xanrym's turn, just role-playing these initial moments.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Xanrym realises that Nithrissa was just exclaiming at the sight of the naga.
Out of the hallway slithers a huge snakelike being. Although you felt prepared for what you'd be facing, nothing could have prepared you for this monstrosity. With the large horrible head of a human woman, the large snake stinks of death and curses at you, "You who have entered my lair, killed my children, and hope to save the village, know this: Now you face Explictica Deflilus! The Queen of Darkness, consort of The Undying King. Some of you will die here, while the others will serve as slaves and rebuild all that you have destroyed the last few days." She looks around her eyes focus on Avery, "Starting with you!" She casts Dominate Person on Avery.
Avery DC 14 WIS Save or Charmed and controlled by the naga: 14
She takes the damage from Flaming Sphere and laughs, "I hope that is not the extent of your powers, I was hoping for strong slaves, not pitlings."
At the same time as the naga's spell, the Will-o-Wisp appears before Theldrin, "Now you will see the true power we serve." The Will-o-Wisp Shocks Theldrin:
Shock against Theldrin Attack: 20 Damage: 5 Lightning.
Avery hears a whispered word in his head, "Kill the Druid!" And Avery feels compelled to attack Liarin.
You all are up, you face both the Will-o-Wisp in your back rank and Explictica Deflilus in front of you. Avery must attack Liarin if no one does anything to stop him.
Xanrym scowls darkly and nods in agreement with Liarin. He responds to Theldrin, saying, "So did I! In any case, you did better than I: at least you hit the will-o-wisp! My apologies, everyone. It surprised me! Based on the stories, I thought that an undead spirit like that would have a cold, life-draining touch. I didn't expect a jolt of lightning!"
Looking at the dead bodies, Xanrym says, "When we find the naga, that blasted will-o-wisp will probably be with her, but at least she won't have Garath there to defend her!" The naga will be a hard enough challenge for them on her own. He hopes that she won't have too many guards with her. Xanrym speculates about the naga herself, saying "I wonder whether she'll just wait for us in her lair. Or maybe we could draw her out by eliminating all of her servants and worshipers first." He doesn't like the idea of confronting the naga on her home turf when she has warning of their approach and plenty of time to prepare for them, but he's not sure whether they've seen any room in this dungeon where he'd rather fight the naga.
Xanrym says that there don't seem to be any other guards in this area. Unless the naga (or the will-o-wisp!) comes to find them, he doesn't see any reason to rush now. Garath is dead. That's the last of the 4 "Naga's Teeth." He's not sure what else is down on this level of the dungeon, but it seems like they've already deprived this cult of its (human) leadership.
Did Liarin make any goodberries the previous night? If not, the party might want to take a short rest before proceeding.
(OOC: In the last fight, Xanrym and Avery both took 7 HP of damage, and Nithrissa took 8. That's not terrible, but if we stumble into the naga down here, I want to be at max HP!)
As long as no one else wants to hurry, Theldrin and Xanrym thinks that they have time to perform ritual castings of Detect Magic and Comprehend Languages, respectively. That way, they'll be sure not to miss any magical loot, and Xanrym will be able to interpret any writing they find.
Xanrym will help to go through any of Garath's belongings. (Was Garath wearing any armor or jewelry? Did he have any pouches?)
Xanrym will also help search this room. If they don't find any secret doors, he'll also be interested in searching the other 3 rooms in this area of the dungeon:
The party found Garath's staff in the bedroom on the first level, but Xanrym expected to find some private room for Garath on this level. Perhaps there's a secret or concealed door that leads from one of these rooms to a second bedroom or some sort of office for Garath. After the will-o-wisp vanished the first time, they were rushing through the rooms with only a brief search. Now, they could spend some time to tap the walls, yank on sconces, move furniture, etc.
Investigation 13
Someone (Liarin?) should keep watch to make sure that nothing sneaks up on them while they search.
Avery will help to look: Investigation-17
You search the bodies and find very little. While Garath did have a very fine sacrificial Dagger, he clearly was a true believer in the naga and carried no gold on his person. The ghouls also have no equipment. You do find a folded up note of Garath however which reads, "She stands before us, shaking her head, and the pathway to the abyss opens before us. The glory... The horror."
(I'm counting Xanrym's Investigation as a Help action for Theldrin. While I do allow re-rolls of ability checks, it can only count if the roller has Proficiency in that skill, which Avery does not. So unless anyone has Proficiency in Investigation and wants to have a roll, i'm only counting the 11 and 7 that Theldrin and Xanrym rolled.)
Xanrym and Theldrin search the Altar of Evil and surrounding rooms but find nothing as you all complete a Short Rest.
What is the plan now?
(OOC: I went ahead and spent 1 HD of healing for Xanrym: +9 HP (in game log). That gets Xanrym back to max HP. Xanrym can use Song of Rest to boost give if anyone else wants to spend HD to boost the amount of healing they receive. Since we're about to take a Short Rest, I guess Avery can use Second Wind before hand instead of spending HD. I'm not sure whether Nithrissa gets to spend a HD on healing too.)
Concur, Avery will use second wind to heal up 6
Theldrin takes some time to study his spellbook as he rests (Arcane Recovery: two 1st level slots). He then will cast Detect Magic as a ritual and scan as much area as he has time for, starting with the current room and statue.
(OOC: Copying the description of the "chapel" room here for reference...)
While they search the rooms, Xanrym seems somewhat preoccupied. He can't stop thinking about the odd note, and he takes it out to study it while the party rests and recovers. After they're done resting, Xanrym says, "This note we found on Garath puzzles me." He holds up the note to read it again out loud, commenting as he goes: "'She stands before us, shaking her head.' Does that strike you as odd? Snakes don't really shake their heads, do they? Ever since I learned my letters, I've read every story, poem, history, and treatise I could get my hands on. With my magic, I've read books in many languages. I've never heard anyone describe a snake as 'shaking' its head. Imagine it!" He points to the naga statue on the dais so that you can imagine a naga "shaking" its head. He continues, "'Shaking her head, and the pathway to the abyss opens before us.' If this is a prayer or devotional invocation, I'll eat my boots. Garath would have had to be the worst poet in all of Oerik! But maybe this note isn't a prayer. Maybe it's something else. A coded message perhaps? Or maybe some hint or directions for the other cultists."
What do the others think? Do they agree that there's something more to the note that they found on Garath?
Avery muses, "A key perhaps, that will open a door?" He will walk over to the statue with the human head on a snake's body and investigate it for mechanisms and traps. Investigate: 21. He will see if moving the head on the statue opens a door or something
Theldrin ponders the meaning of the note, then watches as Avery works. "Hmmm, you two may be onto something," he says thoughtfully as he rubs his beard.
As Avery looks at the statue, at first he sees nothing. But then on closer inspection, he notices that the neck has a tiny perfect crack that runs all around it. As he grabs hold of the head and turns it, the wall behind the statue slides open and the smell of damp decay becomes immediately stronger.
As soon as the door opens you hear a terrible voice come from behind the door, although you can't see it, you feel the slithering magnitude of the voice pierce deep into your bodies. It screams, "DIE, FOOLS." And a triggered action goes off and a Fireball flies into the room and detonates.
In the split second when the heat is about to engulf you, you hear a bell sound, and the squirrel Whiskers flies into the air from Toska's shoulder. He gives a little chirp and explodes in a magical burst. As he does so, you each feel a cool magical shield surround you and the flame from the fireball doesn't touch you at all. Toska gasps as Nithrissa exclaims, "Sweet dark lord!" Whiskers is gone.
You hear a slithering sound coming from behind the statue. Something big is about to enter the room. Initiative:
Group 1: Liarin
Group 2: Enemy
Group 3: The rest of you.
Liarin is up, something really big, with great magical energy, is coming from the room to the north.
"Whiskers! NOOOOOOO!!" shouts Liarin as the rodent explodes.
"I can use orbs of flame too," says Liarin into the darkness, summoning a flaming sphere in front of the open secret door. Transforming into her dire wolf form, she steps to the right of Avery, while commanding Asclepius to go left and prepare to attack.
[[Action: Spell, BA: wild shape]]
[[Asclepius moves up and readies an attack on the next creature not in the party to enter his reach, which is 10ft.]]
Bite: Attack: 25 Damage: 14
Flaming sphere damage if the creature ends its turn within 5 ft. 7
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
(OOC: Clarification. Was that exclamation more like an interjection of surprise, like "Great Scott!", or a direct address, like "My liege!"? Or was it (meant to be) ambiguous?)
Xanrym hadn't put the note together with the statue on the dais. He was more focused on deciphering the wording of the message like a puzzle, thinking that it was a coded message. When Avery grabs hold of the statue's head, and it moves, Xanrym starts to say, "Oh, I see! How clever, Aver---aaaah!" His words turn into a sudden, surprised cry when he hears the voice scream from the passage beyond, and a fireball explodes into the room! He sees Whiskers somehow burst into a magical shield just before he closes his eyes and crouches, expecting to be burned alive.
(OOC: Not Xanrym's turn, just role-playing these initial moments.)
Xanrym Insight check: 19
Xanrym realises that Nithrissa was just exclaiming at the sight of the naga.
Out of the hallway slithers a huge snakelike being. Although you felt prepared for what you'd be facing, nothing could have prepared you for this monstrosity. With the large horrible head of a human woman, the large snake stinks of death and curses at you, "You who have entered my lair, killed my children, and hope to save the village, know this: Now you face Explictica Deflilus! The Queen of Darkness, consort of The Undying King. Some of you will die here, while the others will serve as slaves and rebuild all that you have destroyed the last few days." She looks around her eyes focus on Avery, "Starting with you!" She casts Dominate Person on Avery.
Avery DC 14 WIS Save or Charmed and controlled by the naga: 14
She takes the damage from Flaming Sphere and laughs, "I hope that is not the extent of your powers, I was hoping for strong slaves, not pitlings."
At the same time as the naga's spell, the Will-o-Wisp appears before Theldrin, "Now you will see the true power we serve." The Will-o-Wisp Shocks Theldrin:
Shock against Theldrin Attack: 20 Damage: 5 Lightning.
Explictica Deflilus DC 10 Con Save to remain focussed on the spell: 13
Avery hears a whispered word in his head, "Kill the Druid!" And Avery feels compelled to attack Liarin.
You all are up, you face both the Will-o-Wisp in your back rank and Explictica Deflilus in front of you. Avery must attack Liarin if no one does anything to stop him.