Badger: "Yes, I suppose so, too. But sir, I want to warn you about the orc enemies. They are planning to infiltrate this hallowed area with the help of an evil mage named Nezznar, or the Black Spider. Should you see this elven mage, know that he intends to take control of this Forge away from the dwarves and human wizards."
Ash finally speaks up. "And you know, sir, we are fighting a terrible and powerful foe. Any help you could grant us in our mission would be welcome."
Badger: "Yes. The brazier for example. Could it help us defeat our shared foes?" Persuasion (+help from Ash): 12
Badger: "Okay. I see you will not help us further. We will leave you be. Remember, an elven mage with a spider staff: he is your enemy."Badger starts squeezing out.
When they are outside, Ash whispers, "Why are we bowing to that thing? Sure, it's scary as hells, but we're now rested and there are magic items in there that we need."
Badger just waits quietly, not sure how to respond.
Kristofferson ponders, then says, "I think I agree with Ash. That thing will need to be sent back to its realm now or later if the Rockseekers are to take over this operation anyway. If we do it now, we'll have magic items to help us beat that Spider."
Badger just waits. Then shrugs. Then nods. He squeezes back into the room. "Noble one, we thought of another question if you don't mind."He waits for the others to get in. "We've decided that you'll be helpful to us or die."
The spectator laughs out loud, the first time you've heard sound come from it. "While I appreciate your boldness, I question your tact. If you're on our side, why not just get approval from my summoner?"
Badger allows frustration to show. "I've told you, your summoner is long dead. The wizards and dwarves failed to save this mine, and the orcs failed to take it. It has been lost for centuries. Your job here is done."
The spectator groans and whines and already looks quite bloodied, but it remains floating in the air. It turns two of its stalks, one at Ash, one at Badger, and rays shoot out of them
Badger: You are Confused. You cannot use a reaction nor move on your next turn. You must attack a creature at random (1-2: Ash, 3-4: Spectator, 5-6: K. d6: 5 rolled in your character sheet; you must attack K).
You both can attempt to save at the end of each turn.
Badger looks at each creature with confusion on his face. He pulls out his hand axe and throws it at the halfling in the gray cloak (10 to hit). Wisdom save: 7
K dodges the handaxe. "Badger!?" He regains his focus and swings his quarterstaff at the spectator (12 to hit) but is still too distracted by the handaxe. He breathes deeply and channels his Ki to do a Flurry of Blows (13 & 22 to hit, 8 bludgeoning).
Badger (d4: 3) throws a handaxe at K (8 to hit); wisdom save: 16
K ducks and yells at Badger. He runs back into the other workshop, then notices Ash not moving. He grabs Ash and starts dragging him back into the workshop.
Ash constitution save: 13
Badger shakes free of his confusion. "My gods I'm so sorry!" He retrieves his handaxes.
K: "Don't worry. Those magic rays were affecting you." He starts investigating the tables.to the north. Investigation: 3
Ash investigates the brazier, poking at the flames with a dagger to see it's reaction. Investigation: 17
Badger investigates the south tables. Investigation: 20
K: You find nothing but burned and ruined supplies, books, and other materials.
Ash: After poking around for a minute or so, you notice the dagger takes on a green glowing hue. Should you ask Badger, who is proficient in Arcana, he would tell you that it is now a +1 dagger, but that the magic is weak and won't last longer than a few hours.
Badger: Among the ruined materials, you find three magic items: bracers of defense, a necklace of prayer beads (with one bead of blessing, one bead of curing, and one bead of smiting), and a dagger of lightning.
Badger calls the others over. "Check these out!" He holds up the necklace of prayer beads to try to determine if there is a specific God to which they belong. Religion: 3 (nat 1!)
K picks up the dagger, admires it, then hands it to Ash. He then looks at the cloak. It seems a bit looser a fit than his current cloak, but he likes the older vintage look and replaces his old cloak with it.
Ash thanks K for the dagger. "This is great! Check this out, too. We can dip weapons in this brazier for some temporary magic. At least it'll help today with defeating the Spider and his spiders."
K dips his quarterstaff in the brazier for a while, then meditates while wearing his new cloak.
Ash also dips his shortswords in the brazier for a while and spends time studying and practicing with his new dagger.
You hear in your minds: "Well, you've had your rest. Back into the battle, I suppose."
Badger: "Yes, I suppose so, too. But sir, I want to warn you about the orc enemies. They are planning to infiltrate this hallowed area with the help of an evil mage named Nezznar, or the Black Spider. Should you see this elven mage, know that he intends to take control of this Forge away from the dwarves and human wizards."
Ash finally speaks up. "And you know, sir, we are fighting a terrible and powerful foe. Any help you could grant us in our mission would be welcome."
Badger: "Yes. The brazier for example. Could it help us defeat our shared foes?" Persuasion (+help from Ash): 12
You hear: "Help? Sure. Get my summoner's approval and I would grant your use of it."
Badger: "Okay. I see you will not help us further. We will leave you be. Remember, an elven mage with a spider staff: he is your enemy." Badger starts squeezing out.
When they are outside, Ash whispers, "Why are we bowing to that thing? Sure, it's scary as hells, but we're now rested and there are magic items in there that we need."
Badger just waits quietly, not sure how to respond.
Kristofferson ponders, then says, "I think I agree with Ash. That thing will need to be sent back to its realm now or later if the Rockseekers are to take over this operation anyway. If we do it now, we'll have magic items to help us beat that Spider."
Badger just waits. Then shrugs. Then nods. He squeezes back into the room. "Noble one, we thought of another question if you don't mind." He waits for the others to get in. "We've decided that you'll be helpful to us or die."
The spectator laughs out loud, the first time you've heard sound come from it. "While I appreciate your boldness, I question your tact. If you're on our side, why not just get approval from my summoner?"
Badger allows frustration to show. "I've told you, your summoner is long dead. The wizards and dwarves failed to save this mine, and the orcs failed to take it. It has been lost for centuries. Your job here is done."
"Enough," it verbalizes through its massive mouth.
Initiative:
K runs to the north-east of the eye monster and swings his quarterstaff (22 to hit, 4 bludgeoning) and kicks it (24 to hit, 7 bludgeoning)
Ash runs to the south of it and slashes away (20 & 23 to hit, 25 piercing)
The spectator groans and whines and already looks quite bloodied, but it remains floating in the air. It turns two of its stalks, one at Ash, one at Badger, and rays shoot out of them
Ash: give me a CON save.
Badger: give me a WIS save.
Ash constitution save: 6
Badger wisdom save: 6
Ash: You are Paralyzed for 1 minute.
Badger: You are Confused. You cannot use a reaction nor move on your next turn. You must attack a creature at random (1-2: Ash, 3-4: Spectator, 5-6: K. d6: 5 rolled in your character sheet; you must attack K).
You both can attempt to save at the end of each turn.
Badger looks at each creature with confusion on his face. He pulls out his hand axe and throws it at the halfling in the gray cloak (10 to hit). Wisdom save: 7
K dodges the handaxe. "Badger!?" He regains his focus and swings his quarterstaff at the spectator (12 to hit) but is still too distracted by the handaxe. He breathes deeply and channels his Ki to do a Flurry of Blows (13 & 22 to hit, 8 bludgeoning).
The spectator is dead.
For each of the next 9 turns:
Ash: attempt to save from your paralysis
Badger: roll a d4 and attack Ash (1-2) or K (3-4) with your handaxe or javelins, then attempt to save.
K (and Ash if you save): You are free to act as you like.
Ash constitution save: 10
Badger (d4: 3) throws a handaxe at K (8 to hit); wisdom save: 16
K ducks and yells at Badger. He runs back into the other workshop, then notices Ash not moving. He grabs Ash and starts dragging him back into the workshop.
Ash constitution save: 13
Badger shakes free of his confusion. "My gods I'm so sorry!" He retrieves his handaxes.
K: "Don't worry. Those magic rays were affecting you." He starts investigating the tables.to the north. Investigation: 3
Ash investigates the brazier, poking at the flames with a dagger to see it's reaction. Investigation: 17
Badger investigates the south tables. Investigation: 20
K: You find nothing but burned and ruined supplies, books, and other materials.
Ash: After poking around for a minute or so, you notice the dagger takes on a green glowing hue. Should you ask Badger, who is proficient in Arcana, he would tell you that it is now a +1 dagger, but that the magic is weak and won't last longer than a few hours.
Badger: Among the ruined materials, you find three magic items: bracers of defense, a necklace of prayer beads (with one bead of blessing, one bead of curing, and one bead of smiting), and a dagger of lightning.
Badger calls the others over. "Check these out!" He holds up the necklace of prayer beads to try to determine if there is a specific God to which they belong. Religion: 3 (nat 1!)
K picks up the dagger, admires it, then hands it to Ash. He then looks at the cloak. It seems a bit looser a fit than his current cloak, but he likes the older vintage look and replaces his old cloak with it.
Ash thanks K for the dagger. "This is great! Check this out, too. We can dip weapons in this brazier for some temporary magic. At least it'll help today with defeating the Spider and his spiders."
K dips his quarterstaff in the brazier for a while, then meditates while wearing his new cloak.
Ash also dips his shortswords in the brazier for a while and spends time studying and practicing with his new dagger.
K: Your quarterstaff is a magical +1 quarterstaff for the next 12 hours.
Ash: Your shortsword and dagger is a magical +1 shortsword and dagger for the next 12 hours.
Ash: "Let's go save these dwarves." When they're ready, Ash will lead the way back to the Hall, passing the wave chamber and through the rift.
When you get to the rift, you find two hobgoblins standing guard on the west side of the rift. A giant spider curls in an upper crevice.