Kneecap follows, making a crunching sound. "I think the seeds are the best part of the Noriberries" he says tossing the guards a wink and a smile as he walks by.
As you move past the gates of Westhaven, the setting sun and the ominous forest beyond seems all too familiar to all but Sabina-- just about this time yesterday, this is where you all met for the first time. Callim, Kneecap, Volneer... you all know where you're headed, and can successfully guide Sabina through the short walk through the Norean wilderness before approaching the sinkhole and the apparent Guild-members who are guarding the entrance.
I'll permit an opportunity for some dialogue before approaching the sinkhole. If its not needed, just say pass in OOC and we'll continue :)
As she follows the others towards the sinkhole, Sabina mentions to the others, "We should just keep saying we spoke to the guild master and are there to investigate. Let's not give them any reason to confront us or question why we're there." She's eager to get there and see the place, so she urges the others along quickly.
“Ok, here is what I think the plan should be when we get to the sink hole. Sabina tells them what she just said… We are here to finish the job we started, approved, etc. Volneer, your magic is strong, but you’re as skilled in diplomacy as a teenage dwarven sailor. Hahaha, and I should know! You might actually be one level below, because you don’t laugh. Do you laugh?”
Before waiting for Volneer to answer, he turns to Calim and says you, “you seem to have something to prove. Not to me, not to me, but something. Let’s go down there and make this town safe for your daughter, and grandchildren! BUT! Let’s let Sabina” he looks at you Sabina, “if she is OK with it, talk to the guild, because, well, I think it’s the smoothest way for us to get in there so we can put our life in danger. And, I’m out of Noriberries.”
Kneecap wipes his hands on his pants, and mutters I hate how sticky those berries are, taps his holy symbol and says, “Lets go do something good” and quickens his step, now fully determined in the task.
Approaching the clearing, the party finds themselves face to face with a large sunken hole in the ground that drops about 20-30 ft downward. On all sides, trees have been uprooted and fall inward toward the opening in the soil. the musky odor of moss, mildew, and death reek from the insidious crevasse. just in front, stands a large man, clad in leather plates and strapped armor. off to the side of him, sitting against a torn and fallen tree is an elf woman in the same garb. your approach has gained the attention of the standing soldier, but the elf woman seems to be off in a daydream. Though your presence has been noticed, the human male does not speak to you at the distance (~40 feet) and awaits your approach.
Sabina gives the large man a smile as she approaches, only speaking when she gets in close. "Hi! I'm Sabina Featherwound. Anything of note to report from the crevasse?" she asks. But she continues on without allowing for a response. "We spoke with the guild master earlier. We're going to head down and do some more looking around."
I would like to roll to see if I know either of these two (or perhaps your roll). It stands to reason that I would know a few people in the guild, my business and time in the city would afford that. If so, I'd also like to know if I know any of their secrets/background. It would certainly aid in our persuasion.
Calim removes his helm and takes a swig from his water bladder. He shuffles around in his pack, diligently looking for something while he attempts to remember any tidbit of backstory that might help them massage the current situation.
Even with advantage, I am rolling so low. Thought History might be the right roll here. 6 (2+4) and 12 (8+4). DM guide me toward anything else, if you want a different check.
Sabina gives a look over to Calim, trying not to give the guard the impression she had no idea what to say! Looking back she tries to fill in the silence. "The guild master didn't say anything about having our badges with us. We were honestly just worried about getting out here so we could continue investigating! It's rather important!"
She pauses, hoping Calim, or anyone really, can fill in with something clever to say!
Coming up empty on the guild badges, he does his best attempt to play act confusion and frustration.
Performance 10 (9+1)
They seem unfazed by his stumbling about. Calim changes tactic. "It is our great honor to protect and defend this community from the terrors that lie below. The guild master has his hands full arming and patrolling against the Norean threat." Calim waits to see if they have a visibly negative reaction to a mention of Noreans.
"I bet this is not your first choice for assignment. And, I can also bet that you have no interest in spelunking down into the murky mess down there." Again, trying to track their reactions to his speech, hoping for ways to shift and change tactic for effect.
"The guild master has suggested that he has no interest in preventing whatever is below from coming above. So, we are going with his quiescence, not acuquiecense. This is strictly off book and meant to not detract from his full throated support for the repelling of any Norean advantage. He may consider us expendable. But, we consider the village, our families, our very way of life at risk from what lies below."
Hoping this was making some headway with the guards, trying to clock if they are showing any signs of their feeling toward the dangers of the pit. "We were actually hoping you might join us on our journeys into the rancorous descent, for Westhaven, for the gods, for civility, for justice."
Persuasion 13 (12+1)
He stands back and waits on their reply, breathing kind of erratically...watching their eyes.
Callim has apparently gained the full attention of the towering guard standing in front of the party. Captivated by the idea of a black ops mission, the guard speaks up:
”an actual off books mission by the Guildmaster… and I’m allowed to be a part of it? This is fantastic! I can prove my value to the guild and maybe even get recognized by the overseer himself!”. He will begin clamoring about and gearing up from the small camp he and his sister-in-arms created just hours ago. The elven female scoffs and rolls her eyes at him. “Larrind, you actually believe these goons? I’m going back to the guildhall and verifying all of this with the captain, there hasn’t been a peep of activity down there anyway.” And she will begin to walk off back to Westhaven.
the guild member remaining heard his name called out by his colleague and raises his eyebrows “my apologies friends, I’ve forgotten to give you my name. I’m Larrind stormhall. I’ve only been here at west haven for a few tendays, though I do think I’ve seen you around Elder. I wasn’t aware you served at the hand of the overseer” As he points to Callim.
"Ah, excuse me! Ma'am!" Sabina calls out the elvish woman as she leaves. Hoping she will stop, she continues. "You're not just going to completely abandon this post are you? Larrind here has kindly offered to lend his aid to our endeavors. But what is the captain going to think when you left this place completely unwatched!" At some point the ruse will catch up with them. But surely if their efforts prove of benefit to the town there will be less of an issue. But she'd rather not have guard waiting for them when they come back.
“Well, you heard the boss Larrind, if you’re coming let’s go” Kneecap says, walking up to the hole. He will look for a way down, if it looks a bit precarious like when we first entered, he will offer Guidance to everyone as they descend.
Calim cinches up his pack, stashes his shield and tightens the straps connecting his various pieces of armor. The elf's mistrust is of little concern to him. His carefully cultivated identity as the village simpleton will likely remain intact. He suspects that no one would be entirely surprised at him trundling into danger unwittingly. If they succeed, they will make the guild look good. If they fail, the guild will feel justified in refusing to sanction their trip.
Calim opens his senses again, tapping back into that feeling of heightened presence that he felt the day before. "We're heading back into the thick of it, friends," He says almost to himself in a hoarse whisper.
Acrobatics 14 (11-1+4)
His armor feels a bit heavier with less adrenaline pumping. But, he still picks his way down the fallen trees.
The first thing he does is to swivel around to check the alarm that he had placed on the door the night before, the false tripwire placed clumsily on purpose and his more carefully placed real alarm. He wants to know if this door has been opened.
The elf seemingly ignores Sabina, as she walks out of sight. descent into the sinkhole seems easy enough, given that Larrind and Sabina follows someones route who has already descended into the sinkhole prior. Touching down into the round sanctum, the remaining sunlight perices through illuminating a bit more of the sanctum than the original adventurers had noticed before. Overgrowth, fallen trees and damages statues cover this rooms floor, with two hallways leaving to the south and west. to the north lies a large stone door, with ornate carvings and cavities set inside the door itself. Sabina immediately notices a poorly crafted trap planted in the floor of this room.
Sabina ignores the elf in return, hoping things will resolve themselves later when they come back. She does follow the route Calim had picked out into the sinkhole. Below she is intrigued by what is there. "Oh, look at those statues. What were those?" she ask. But before she has a chance to get a closer look, she pauses though as she sees the trap in the floor. "Watch out for that though," she says, pointing out the trap to others. She stays put for the moment waiting to see what course the others might want to follow. She does look at the hallways to the south and west. "Which way did you all go yesterday?"
"To the south, a chamber with a dais at the end that reminded me of a throne room. To the west and then a turn northward, there was a chamber with some oozing horror. I believe the most logical next move would be to explore the stairs in that same direction, westwardly. Larrind," Calim turns his attention to the guard, "we bring holy power, sorcery, imbued magics and, for me, muscle and tenacity. What are your skills, so we might know how to rely on you in a pinch?" With each description Calim gestures to the corresponding teammate.
Calim pulls a torch out of his pack, affixes his shield and pulls out his light hammer. "Volneer, mind illuminating this young man to some of your skills?" he gestures to suggest that Volneer might light his torch.
"I'm ready. Per usual, until I can get a more stealthy form of armoring, I'll keep watch in the rear as someone heads to scout."
As Calim says “holy power,” Kneecap points at himself. As Calim continues, Kneecap hesitates when he says “sorcery”, but when “Imbued magics, muscle and tenacity” are all mentioned, Kneecap points at himself, each time.
He then says, “Yes there were stairs we have not yet climbed, and this door, we have yet to figure out how to open.” He then turns to Larind and says, “be careful of that trap, it’s deadly. Hahahaha”, he bursts out.
He then turns to Calim and says, “hey, you forgot funny," and he makes a show of pointing at himself again, bursting out even louder, Hahaha’s can be heard echoing through the silent corridors, and probably halfway back to town.
“Ok, here is what I think the plan should be when we get to the sink hole. Sabina tells them what she just said… We are here to finish the job we started, approved, etc. Volneer, your magic is strong, but you’re as skilled in diplomacy as a teenage dwarven sailor. Hahaha, and I should know! You might actually be one level below, because you don’t laugh. Do you laugh?”
"I've found that people are often terrified of magic. Everytime I try to talk nice, people think I'm trying to magic them into being charmed. I've trained myself in appealing to their fear, not their... I don't know. As for laughing, rarely." He gives a small smile.
Calim pulls a torch out of his pack, affixes his shield and pulls out his light hammer. "Volneer, mind illuminating this young man to some of your skills?" he gestures to suggest that Volneer might light his torch.
Volneer prestidigitates a puff of smoke out of his hand. "I have more, but I don't want to waste it. You'll see it if we run into trouble."
Kneecap follows, making a crunching sound. "I think the seeds are the best part of the Noriberries" he says tossing the guards a wink and a smile as he walks by.
As you move past the gates of Westhaven, the setting sun and the ominous forest beyond seems all too familiar to all but Sabina-- just about this time yesterday, this is where you all met for the first time. Callim, Kneecap, Volneer... you all know where you're headed, and can successfully guide Sabina through the short walk through the Norean wilderness before approaching the sinkhole and the apparent Guild-members who are guarding the entrance.
I'll permit an opportunity for some dialogue before approaching the sinkhole. If its not needed, just say pass in OOC and we'll continue :)
As she follows the others towards the sinkhole, Sabina mentions to the others, "We should just keep saying we spoke to the guild master and are there to investigate. Let's not give them any reason to confront us or question why we're there." She's eager to get there and see the place, so she urges the others along quickly.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
“Ok, here is what I think the plan should be when we get to the sink hole. Sabina tells them what she just said… We are here to finish the job we started, approved, etc. Volneer, your magic is strong, but you’re as skilled in diplomacy as a teenage dwarven sailor. Hahaha, and I should know! You might actually be one level below, because you don’t laugh. Do you laugh?”
Before waiting for Volneer to answer, he turns to Calim and says you, “you seem to have something to prove. Not to me, not to me, but something. Let’s go down there and make this town safe for your daughter, and grandchildren! BUT! Let’s let Sabina” he looks at you Sabina, “if she is OK with it, talk to the guild, because, well, I think it’s the smoothest way for us to get in there so we can put our life in danger. And, I’m out of Noriberries.”
Kneecap wipes his hands on his pants, and mutters I hate how sticky those berries are, taps his holy symbol and says, “Lets go do something good” and quickens his step, now fully determined in the task.
Sabina agrees reluctantly, "I'm not always the most persuasive, but it did work last time!"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Approaching the clearing, the party finds themselves face to face with a large sunken hole in the ground that drops about 20-30 ft downward. On all sides, trees have been uprooted and fall inward toward the opening in the soil. the musky odor of moss, mildew, and death reek from the insidious crevasse. just in front, stands a large man, clad in leather plates and strapped armor. off to the side of him, sitting against a torn and fallen tree is an elf woman in the same garb. your approach has gained the attention of the standing soldier, but the elf woman seems to be off in a daydream. Though your presence has been noticed, the human male does not speak to you at the distance (~40 feet) and awaits your approach.
Sabina gives the large man a smile as she approaches, only speaking when she gets in close. "Hi! I'm Sabina Featherwound. Anything of note to report from the crevasse?" she asks. But she continues on without allowing for a response. "We spoke with the guild master earlier. We're going to head down and do some more looking around."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
The man standing watch sees the group approach, and after Sabinas words, takes a brief look at his colleague who is now beginning to stand up.
"Ahhhh, sure? nothing out of the ordinary... only been here for the past few hours. You lot have your guild badges on you?"
I would like to roll to see if I know either of these two (or perhaps your roll). It stands to reason that I would know a few people in the guild, my business and time in the city would afford that. If so, I'd also like to know if I know any of their secrets/background. It would certainly aid in our persuasion.
Calim removes his helm and takes a swig from his water bladder. He shuffles around in his pack, diligently looking for something while he attempts to remember any tidbit of backstory that might help them massage the current situation.
Even with advantage, I am rolling so low. Thought History might be the right roll here. 6 (2+4) and 12 (8+4). DM guide me toward anything else, if you want a different check.
Sabina gives a look over to Calim, trying not to give the guard the impression she had no idea what to say! Looking back she tries to fill in the silence. "The guild master didn't say anything about having our badges with us. We were honestly just worried about getting out here so we could continue investigating! It's rather important!"
She pauses, hoping Calim, or anyone really, can fill in with something clever to say!
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Coming up empty on the guild badges, he does his best attempt to play act confusion and frustration.
Performance 10 (9+1)
They seem unfazed by his stumbling about. Calim changes tactic. "It is our great honor to protect and defend this community from the terrors that lie below. The guild master has his hands full arming and patrolling against the Norean threat." Calim waits to see if they have a visibly negative reaction to a mention of Noreans.
"I bet this is not your first choice for assignment. And, I can also bet that you have no interest in spelunking down into the murky mess down there." Again, trying to track their reactions to his speech, hoping for ways to shift and change tactic for effect.
"The guild master has suggested that he has no interest in preventing whatever is below from coming above. So, we are going with his quiescence, not acuquiecense. This is strictly off book and meant to not detract from his full throated support for the repelling of any Norean advantage. He may consider us expendable. But, we consider the village, our families, our very way of life at risk from what lies below."
Hoping this was making some headway with the guards, trying to clock if they are showing any signs of their feeling toward the dangers of the pit. "We were actually hoping you might join us on our journeys into the rancorous descent, for Westhaven, for the gods, for civility, for justice."
Persuasion 13 (12+1)
He stands back and waits on their reply, breathing kind of erratically...watching their eyes.
Callim has apparently gained the full attention of the towering guard standing in front of the party. Captivated by the idea of a black ops mission, the guard speaks up:
”an actual off books mission by the Guildmaster… and I’m allowed to be a part of it? This is fantastic! I can prove my value to the guild and maybe even get recognized by the overseer himself!”. He will begin clamoring about and gearing up from the small camp he and his sister-in-arms created just hours ago. The elven female scoffs and rolls her eyes at him. “Larrind, you actually believe these goons? I’m going back to the guildhall and verifying all of this with the captain, there hasn’t been a peep of activity down there anyway.” And she will begin to walk off back to Westhaven.
the guild member remaining heard his name called out by his colleague and raises his eyebrows “my apologies friends, I’ve forgotten to give you my name. I’m Larrind stormhall. I’ve only been here at west haven for a few tendays, though I do think I’ve seen you around Elder. I wasn’t aware you served at the hand of the overseer” As he points to Callim.
"Ah, excuse me! Ma'am!" Sabina calls out the elvish woman as she leaves. Hoping she will stop, she continues. "You're not just going to completely abandon this post are you? Larrind here has kindly offered to lend his aid to our endeavors. But what is the captain going to think when you left this place completely unwatched!" At some point the ruse will catch up with them. But surely if their efforts prove of benefit to the town there will be less of an issue. But she'd rather not have guard waiting for them when they come back.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
“Well, you heard the boss Larrind, if you’re coming let’s go” Kneecap says, walking up to the hole. He will look for a way down, if it looks a bit precarious like when we first entered, he will offer Guidance to everyone as they descend.
Calim cinches up his pack, stashes his shield and tightens the straps connecting his various pieces of armor. The elf's mistrust is of little concern to him. His carefully cultivated identity as the village simpleton will likely remain intact. He suspects that no one would be entirely surprised at him trundling into danger unwittingly. If they succeed, they will make the guild look good. If they fail, the guild will feel justified in refusing to sanction their trip.
Calim opens his senses again, tapping back into that feeling of heightened presence that he felt the day before. "We're heading back into the thick of it, friends," He says almost to himself in a hoarse whisper.
Acrobatics 14 (11-1+4)
His armor feels a bit heavier with less adrenaline pumping. But, he still picks his way down the fallen trees.
The first thing he does is to swivel around to check the alarm that he had placed on the door the night before, the false tripwire placed clumsily on purpose and his more carefully placed real alarm. He wants to know if this door has been opened.
Investigation 5 (3+2)
The elf seemingly ignores Sabina, as she walks out of sight. descent into the sinkhole seems easy enough, given that Larrind and Sabina follows someones route who has already descended into the sinkhole prior. Touching down into the round sanctum, the remaining sunlight perices through illuminating a bit more of the sanctum than the original adventurers had noticed before. Overgrowth, fallen trees and damages statues cover this rooms floor, with two hallways leaving to the south and west. to the north lies a large stone door, with ornate carvings and cavities set inside the door itself. Sabina immediately notices a poorly crafted trap planted in the floor of this room.
Sabina ignores the elf in return, hoping things will resolve themselves later when they come back. She does follow the route Calim had picked out into the sinkhole. Below she is intrigued by what is there. "Oh, look at those statues. What were those?" she ask. But before she has a chance to get a closer look, she pauses though as she sees the trap in the floor. "Watch out for that though," she says, pointing out the trap to others. She stays put for the moment waiting to see what course the others might want to follow. She does look at the hallways to the south and west. "Which way did you all go yesterday?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"To the south, a chamber with a dais at the end that reminded me of a throne room. To the west and then a turn northward, there was a chamber with some oozing horror. I believe the most logical next move would be to explore the stairs in that same direction, westwardly. Larrind," Calim turns his attention to the guard, "we bring holy power, sorcery, imbued magics and, for me, muscle and tenacity. What are your skills, so we might know how to rely on you in a pinch?" With each description Calim gestures to the corresponding teammate.
Calim pulls a torch out of his pack, affixes his shield and pulls out his light hammer. "Volneer, mind illuminating this young man to some of your skills?" he gestures to suggest that Volneer might light his torch.
"I'm ready. Per usual, until I can get a more stealthy form of armoring, I'll keep watch in the rear as someone heads to scout."
As Calim says “holy power,” Kneecap points at himself. As Calim continues, Kneecap hesitates when he says “sorcery”, but when “Imbued magics, muscle and tenacity” are all mentioned, Kneecap points at himself, each time.
He then says, “Yes there were stairs we have not yet climbed, and this door, we have yet to figure out how to open.” He then turns to Larind and says, “be careful of that trap, it’s deadly. Hahahaha”, he bursts out.
He then turns to Calim and says, “hey, you forgot funny," and he makes a show of pointing at himself again, bursting out even louder, Hahaha’s can be heard echoing through the silent corridors, and probably halfway back to town.
OOC: Sorry again for having been gone for this long.
"I've found that people are often terrified of magic. Everytime I try to talk nice, people think I'm trying to magic them into being charmed. I've trained myself in appealing to their fear, not their... I don't know. As for laughing, rarely." He gives a small smile.
Volneer prestidigitates a puff of smoke out of his hand. "I have more, but I don't want to waste it. You'll see it if we run into trouble."
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-