Avery, leaning back against the wall, sword recalls a similar time. "I was serving during one of these many wars with those bloody Orcs in the south of the Wild coast, near the Celene Pass. My company was trying to hold and slow down those beasts long enough for reinforcements could arrive. The commanders kept saying it was only a probing action, to check our strength, but by the carnage we faced and felt, well it was bloody well more than any damn probe I can tell you. We fought for days, no quarter asked, no quarter given. Soon, the land smelled like that Trog hole back there, brought back some bad memories." He pointed over his shoulder at the room.
Avery drifts off for a moment, his memory caught up in the battle. "They just kept coming in wave, after wave, after wave. They had the numbers and could take the loses while they ground us down. We had ran out of food, little water, what archers we had were down to their last arrows, and even some of those were Orcish we had collected. Our company was down to only 30, so we prepared for our last stand. Forming a solid square in the pass, we would follow our orders to the very end. As the Orcs yelled out their war cries and charged, we prepared to give them one hell of a fight, when the reinforcements arrived, and we were able to stop them and sent them back."
Avery shrugged and snorted, "They still claimed it was only a probe, but who am I to argue with these battle experts, eh?" He went back to honing and oiling his sword.
Theldrin nods sympathetically as he listens to Avery. "The chain of command..." he murmurs with a grim half smile. Then with another sigh, he pulls his spellbook out of this pack and studies for a while.
Xanrym responds to Theldrin, "Yes, I remember that you said something to Maajid about being from out west, having come through Ket. A 'Battle Mage'?! That sounds exciting."
Xanrym says, "Oh, that sounds awful, Avery." He gets lost in thought for a bit. "Making a last stand" sounds heroic, but in reality, it must often be a desperate act born of despair as much as it is of bravery.
Finally, Xanrym says, "For me...I don't know. Walking into that other chamber -- the smell seemed to strike me! It was overwhelming, like walking straight into a wall! And...well, I've read many stories of heroic fights and hopeless battles. But I suppose the old bards felt that bold deeds, both noble and vile, were better subjects for their poetry than the smell of death. I never could have imagined..." He swallows hard, trying to forget how much worse the other chamber smells. He worries that the odor will cling to his hair and clothes for days. "I mean, I've been in fights before, and I've seen death," he clarifies, shaking his head, "just nothing like this place."
Since the others shared some of their background, Xanrym decides to open up a bit. With obvious pride, he says, "Until recently...well, have you heard of the Citadel of Eight? Maybe not if you haven't been around the Free City of Greyhawk in the east. Yrag the Lord? Maybe Mordenkainen the Mage?" He continues talking, but if no one recognizes the names, he's somewhat crestfallen. "I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel with Yrag, documenting his exploits so that his deeds could be recorded in prose and song. Well, I gather that he has angered some evil cabal in his past adventures, before I met him. More powerful than this grubby cult in Orlane, who apparently debase themselves for a naga! No, Yrag has powerful enemies. We were on our way to Orlane to meet up with one of his old friend when we were set upon by demons in the wilderness. Actual demons from another plane! Can you believe it? It was terrifying. Yrag is brave, but he's also cautious. He always has a back-up plan and an escape plan. As planned, our group split up. Luckily, none of the demons followed me, but my horse was killed. I don't know what happened to Yrag, but if we got separated, but plan was to meet in Orlane. Before we were attacked by the cult, I was just planning to find Yrag's friend to find out whether Yrag had been here yet."
"Imagine my surprise at finding this town beset by an evil cult!", concludes Xanrym. "I'm just glad that I met all of you back there at the Inn of the Grey Chain! Praise the gods! If I hadn't, those cultists would have probably killed me last night or captured me and then left me down here to die. Isn't it funny how a chance meeting at an inn along the road can change your whole life?"
At the end of their short rest, Xanrym will take 10 minutes to perform a ritual casting of comprehend languages. He normally uses that spell when doing research and pouring over ancient scrolls in forgotten languages. But after meeting an ettin and more troglodytes, Xanrym thinks that it might be useful to understand what their opponents are saying to each other. That way, he'll also be prepared in case they find any secret writings by this strange cult.
So you finish your short rest and no one comes to find you. Additionally it seems you’ve reached the end of this tunnel system. Your options now all include going back to the temple unfortunately.
Theldrin seems very interested in Xanrym's story, nodding enthusiastically at the mention of Mordenkainen. When the bard finishes he replies with a warm smile, "Indeed, very fortunate we all met at the Inn the other night."
Avery stands, "Do we head back and check on this chest we left behind, before venturing upwards and paying a call on the temple and seeing what answers we get."
Xanyrm asks, "Did anyone search the troglodtyes' lair? Like Avery, I was...um...too indisposed to notice." He feels less embarrassed about getting sick since he wasn't the only one. "If not, should we attempt to do that before we leave this wretched dungeon?" He doesn't sound enthusiastic about the prospect, but they have already found at least one secret door since coming down into the temple's cellar.
Avery stands, "Do we head back and check on this chest we left behind, before venturing upwards and paying a call on the temple and seeing what answers we get."
"Sure!", says Xanrym. "We've dealt with the troglodytes: we deserve some reward! it looks like the cult has been robbing and killing travelers who were passing through Orlane for quite some time now. What could be better than getting richer by depriving this murderous cult of that ill-gotten wealth?! It still seems odd that so much treasure would be left with no guard but the ettin down here, but perhaps that's just where the cult kept whatever treasure they stripped from the unfortunate people they kidnapped before leaving them down here to die."
Xanrym asks the others, "Once we go back and check on the chest, do you just want to get out of here and return to the mayor? I think that the the bodies in these cells and the people killed by those troglodytes -- not to mention the two-headed giant! -- should be plenty of evidence for the people of Orlane that this temple has been taken over by the cult. The Orlaners will have to believe us if we can show them."
"But that wouldn't really solve the big questions, would it?", Xanrym says. He holds up one finger and asks, "First, what happened to the old high priest, Abramo? I don't think we've found his body yet. If they didn't lock him down here to die, do you think that they could still be keeping him captive upstairs?"
"And both this dungeon under the temple and the tunnels under the Inn seem to be dead ends. But then," Xanrym now puts up a second finger, "where does the naga that this cult worships make its lair? As I said before, I'm beginning to think that it must be in some cave or ruin outside of Orlane. That would explain why people vanish 'for days' before returning different or changed. If we could capture a cultist or find some sort of map up in the temple level, then we'd finally know the source of this dark cloud of evil that has descended on Orlane."
You can tell by Xanrym's enthusiasm that he's motivated to find an answer to those two questions. He seems almost as disturbed by an unsolved riddle as he is by the cult that's slowly taking over the town. He's definitely interested in exploring the rest of the temple if the others are. He'd also be willing to leave and return with reinforcements, but since Sir Grover and the other guardsmen seem to be in league with the cult, he's not sure who else they could get to help them.
(OOC: I think that the plan / questions are:
Search the smelly troglodyte chamber?
Check on the treasure chest in that L-shaped hallway?
Go back up through one of the trapdoors. Do we take the one we originally used under the bed or the other trapdoor at the north end?
Just get out of the temple and return to the mayor or try to search the rest of the temple?
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(OOC: agree with Xanrym's votes above)
Theldrin agrees to assist with searching and will search the trog lair as well as the trogs themselves. "Perhaps if we're fortunate we could locate the pearl I'm looking for, in the treasure chest hoard," he muses, once he's done.
Xanrym is eager to search, but as soon as gets close to the troglodyte lair, he starts to feel sick again and has to retreat. CON Save: 9 (in game log)
As you explore the troglodyte lair at the back of the tunnels, you notice a strange sight. These tunnels seem to have had some sort of cave in in the past… a long time on the past. Holding your breath and digging through the dirt and debris, you find an old wooden chest, left here by some collector of old.
In it you find some old coins and an old brooch, the coins are: 86gp, 152sp, and 480cp.
you find an old wooden chest, left here by some collector of old.
In it you find some old coins and an old brooch, the coins are: 86gp, 152sp, and 480cp.
"Brilliant work, guys!", Xanrym says once they bring the chest up the tunnel far enough from the troglodytes' chamber. Seeing the old brooch reminds him...
"Theldrin, you know a spell to detect magic auras, don't you?", Xanrym asks. "Maybe you should cast that before we head back upstairs? That way, you'll be able to tell whether any of the treasure is magical. And if it lasts until we get up into the temple again, the ability could be useful there, too."
Before the group returns to the troglodyte bodies and heads up the stairs, he proposes that they destroy the screaming mushroom. They could all attack it from a distance and hopefully destroy the [Tooltip Not Found] before they get close enough to trigger it again. That way, it won't alert anyone upstairs that they're on their way back.
Theldrin nods and casts Detect Magic as a ritual once the party is ready to examine the treasure more closely. He seems indifferent about attacking the mushroom, but not opposed to the idea.
As you explore the troglodyte lair at the back of the tunnels, you notice a strange sight. These tunnels seem to have had some sort of cave in in the past… a long time on the past. Holding your breath and digging through the dirt and debris, you find an old wooden chest, left here by some collector of old.
In it you find some old coins and an old brooch, the coins are: 86gp, 152sp, and 480cp.
Avery will carefully bring out the stash to the party to be divided up
"To kill that screaming mushroom, I don't have anything that I can use from a distance. I could always use wax or something to plug my ears and then go hack at it," Avery states. "Bering in a tunnel, burning it may not work as it may suck the air away, and we'll have to deal with that problem."
"To kill that screaming mushroom, I don't have anything that I can use from a distance. I could always use wax or something to plug my ears and then go hack at it," Avery states. "Bering in a tunnel, burning it may not work as it may suck the air away, and we'll have to deal with that problem."
Xanrym suggets, "You could throw a dagger." He offers Avery his own dagger if Avery doesn't have one. He also says, "I think that we're done down here, so a brief fire from Theldrin and Liarin is probably fine. Once we pass the mushroom, we'll be going right upstairs back to the cellar level with the treasure chest and the ettin we killed."
They could split into two pairs in each of the tunnels (Liarin and Xanrym on one side and Avery and Theldrin on the other). As soon as Liarin casts create bonfire on the shrieker, the others could all attack. Hopefully, they'll kill it immediately and before it can make another sound.
You detect a magical aura emanating from the brooch you found in the old chest.
"Ah! So it's more than a pretty bauble!", Xanrym says, fascinated by such magic. He's happy to leave it to Theldrin to study during the party's next rest.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Avery, leaning back against the wall, sword recalls a similar time. "I was serving during one of these many wars with those bloody Orcs in the south of the Wild coast, near the Celene Pass. My company was trying to hold and slow down those beasts long enough for reinforcements could arrive. The commanders kept saying it was only a probing action, to check our strength, but by the carnage we faced and felt, well it was bloody well more than any damn probe I can tell you. We fought for days, no quarter asked, no quarter given. Soon, the land smelled like that Trog hole back there, brought back some bad memories." He pointed over his shoulder at the room.
Avery drifts off for a moment, his memory caught up in the battle. "They just kept coming in wave, after wave, after wave. They had the numbers and could take the loses while they ground us down. We had ran out of food, little water, what archers we had were down to their last arrows, and even some of those were Orcish we had collected. Our company was down to only 30, so we prepared for our last stand. Forming a solid square in the pass, we would follow our orders to the very end. As the Orcs yelled out their war cries and charged, we prepared to give them one hell of a fight, when the reinforcements arrived, and we were able to stop them and sent them back."
Avery shrugged and snorted, "They still claimed it was only a probe, but who am I to argue with these battle experts, eh?" He went back to honing and oiling his sword.
Theldrin nods sympathetically as he listens to Avery. "The chain of command..." he murmurs with a grim half smile. Then with another sigh, he pulls his spellbook out of this pack and studies for a while.
Xanrym responds to Theldrin, "Yes, I remember that you said something to Maajid about being from out west, having come through Ket. A 'Battle Mage'?! That sounds exciting."
Xanrym says, "Oh, that sounds awful, Avery." He gets lost in thought for a bit. "Making a last stand" sounds heroic, but in reality, it must often be a desperate act born of despair as much as it is of bravery.
Finally, Xanrym says, "For me...I don't know. Walking into that other chamber -- the smell seemed to strike me! It was overwhelming, like walking straight into a wall! And...well, I've read many stories of heroic fights and hopeless battles. But I suppose the old bards felt that bold deeds, both noble and vile, were better subjects for their poetry than the smell of death. I never could have imagined..." He swallows hard, trying to forget how much worse the other chamber smells. He worries that the odor will cling to his hair and clothes for days. "I mean, I've been in fights before, and I've seen death," he clarifies, shaking his head, "just nothing like this place."
Since the others shared some of their background, Xanrym decides to open up a bit. With obvious pride, he says, "Until recently...well, have you heard of the Citadel of Eight? Maybe not if you haven't been around the Free City of Greyhawk in the east. Yrag the Lord? Maybe Mordenkainen the Mage?" He continues talking, but if no one recognizes the names, he's somewhat crestfallen. "I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel with Yrag, documenting his exploits so that his deeds could be recorded in prose and song. Well, I gather that he has angered some evil cabal in his past adventures, before I met him. More powerful than this grubby cult in Orlane, who apparently debase themselves for a naga! No, Yrag has powerful enemies. We were on our way to Orlane to meet up with one of his old friend when we were set upon by demons in the wilderness. Actual demons from another plane! Can you believe it? It was terrifying. Yrag is brave, but he's also cautious. He always has a back-up plan and an escape plan. As planned, our group split up. Luckily, none of the demons followed me, but my horse was killed. I don't know what happened to Yrag, but if we got separated, but plan was to meet in Orlane. Before we were attacked by the cult, I was just planning to find Yrag's friend to find out whether Yrag had been here yet."
"Imagine my surprise at finding this town beset by an evil cult!", concludes Xanrym. "I'm just glad that I met all of you back there at the Inn of the Grey Chain! Praise the gods! If I hadn't, those cultists would have probably killed me last night or captured me and then left me down here to die. Isn't it funny how a chance meeting at an inn along the road can change your whole life?"
At the end of their short rest, Xanrym will take 10 minutes to perform a ritual casting of comprehend languages. He normally uses that spell when doing research and pouring over ancient scrolls in forgotten languages. But after meeting an ettin and more troglodytes, Xanrym thinks that it might be useful to understand what their opponents are saying to each other. That way, he'll also be prepared in case they find any secret writings by this strange cult.
So you finish your short rest and no one comes to find you. Additionally it seems you’ve reached the end of this tunnel system. Your options now all include going back to the temple unfortunately.
Theldrin seems very interested in Xanrym's story, nodding enthusiastically at the mention of Mordenkainen. When the bard finishes he replies with a warm smile, "Indeed, very fortunate we all met at the Inn the other night."
Avery stands, "Do we head back and check on this chest we left behind, before venturing upwards and paying a call on the temple and seeing what answers we get."
Xanyrm asks, "Did anyone search the troglodtyes' lair? Like Avery, I was...um...too indisposed to notice." He feels less embarrassed about getting sick since he wasn't the only one. "If not, should we attempt to do that before we leave this wretched dungeon?" He doesn't sound enthusiastic about the prospect, but they have already found at least one secret door since coming down into the temple's cellar.
"Sure!", says Xanrym. "We've dealt with the troglodytes: we deserve some reward! it looks like the cult has been robbing and killing travelers who were passing through Orlane for quite some time now. What could be better than getting richer by depriving this murderous cult of that ill-gotten wealth?! It still seems odd that so much treasure would be left with no guard but the ettin down here, but perhaps that's just where the cult kept whatever treasure they stripped from the unfortunate people they kidnapped before leaving them down here to die."
Xanrym asks the others, "Once we go back and check on the chest, do you just want to get out of here and return to the mayor? I think that the the bodies in these cells and the people killed by those troglodytes -- not to mention the two-headed giant! -- should be plenty of evidence for the people of Orlane that this temple has been taken over by the cult. The Orlaners will have to believe us if we can show them."
"But that wouldn't really solve the big questions, would it?", Xanrym says. He holds up one finger and asks, "First, what happened to the old high priest, Abramo? I don't think we've found his body yet. If they didn't lock him down here to die, do you think that they could still be keeping him captive upstairs?"
"And both this dungeon under the temple and the tunnels under the Inn seem to be dead ends. But then," Xanrym now puts up a second finger, "where does the naga that this cult worships make its lair? As I said before, I'm beginning to think that it must be in some cave or ruin outside of Orlane. That would explain why people vanish 'for days' before returning different or changed. If we could capture a cultist or find some sort of map up in the temple level, then we'd finally know the source of this dark cloud of evil that has descended on Orlane."
You can tell by Xanrym's enthusiasm that he's motivated to find an answer to those two questions. He seems almost as disturbed by an unsolved riddle as he is by the cult that's slowly taking over the town. He's definitely interested in exploring the rest of the temple if the others are. He'd also be willing to leave and return with reinforcements, but since Sir Grover and the other guardsmen seem to be in league with the cult, he's not sure who else they could get to help them.
(OOC: I think that the plan / questions are:
)
Summarizing Xanrym's votes:
(OOC: agree with Xanrym's votes above)
Theldrin agrees to assist with searching and will search the trog lair as well as the trogs themselves. "Perhaps if we're fortunate we could locate the pearl I'm looking for, in the treasure chest hoard," he muses, once he's done.
Investigation trog lair: 18
Investigation searching the trogs: 23
Xanrym is eager to search, but as soon as gets close to the troglodyte lair, he starts to feel sick again and has to retreat. CON Save: 9 (in game log)
Taking a deep breath, Avery will give it a shot again: CON Save- 23 Perception: 17
As you explore the troglodyte lair at the back of the tunnels, you notice a strange sight. These tunnels seem to have had some sort of cave in in the past… a long time on the past. Holding your breath and digging through the dirt and debris, you find an old wooden chest, left here by some collector of old.
In it you find some old coins and an old brooch, the coins are: 86gp, 152sp, and 480cp.
"Brilliant work, guys!", Xanrym says once they bring the chest up the tunnel far enough from the troglodytes' chamber. Seeing the old brooch reminds him...
"Theldrin, you know a spell to detect magic auras, don't you?", Xanrym asks. "Maybe you should cast that before we head back upstairs? That way, you'll be able to tell whether any of the treasure is magical. And if it lasts until we get up into the temple again, the ability could be useful there, too."
Before the group returns to the troglodyte bodies and heads up the stairs, he proposes that they destroy the screaming mushroom. They could all attack it from a distance and hopefully destroy the [Tooltip Not Found] before they get close enough to trigger it again. That way, it won't alert anyone upstairs that they're on their way back.
Theldrin nods and casts Detect Magic as a ritual once the party is ready to examine the treasure more closely. He seems indifferent about attacking the mushroom, but not opposed to the idea.
You detect a magical aura emanating from the brooch you found in the old chest.
Avery will carefully bring out the stash to the party to be divided up
"To kill that screaming mushroom, I don't have anything that I can use from a distance. I could always use wax or something to plug my ears and then go hack at it," Avery states. "Bering in a tunnel, burning it may not work as it may suck the air away, and we'll have to deal with that problem."
Xanrym suggets, "You could throw a dagger." He offers Avery his own dagger if Avery doesn't have one. He also says, "I think that we're done down here, so a brief fire from Theldrin and Liarin is probably fine. Once we pass the mushroom, we'll be going right upstairs back to the cellar level with the treasure chest and the ettin we killed."
They could split into two pairs in each of the tunnels (Liarin and Xanrym on one side and Avery and Theldrin on the other). As soon as Liarin casts create bonfire on the shrieker, the others could all attack. Hopefully, they'll kill it immediately and before it can make another sound.
While Theldrin does his ritual casting of detect magic, Xanrym quickly makes 4 piles of the gold and silver.
(OOC: Please the following to your character sheets:
Everyone can also take up to 120 cp, if you want it.)
"Ah! So it's more than a pretty bauble!", Xanrym says, fascinated by such magic. He's happy to leave it to Theldrin to study during the party's next rest.