The party treks two hours north-east across the hills until they come upon the rocky outcrops that mark the beginnings of basilisk territory. Up ahead, the top of the watchtower is visible over the rise of the hills and Dorno takes this moment to work his magic upon them all. The long grass seems to cling to each of the rag-tag group as they cautiously make their way up the slope towards the tower, weaving between crags of stone and dark cave entrances as they go. Periodically, they hear deep, rhythmic snoring emanating from within.
There seems to be a local high point here where the hills come together and this structure has been built atop it. Near the top, the layout of the area becomes clearer. The watchtower and cabin are in the middle of a low fenced area. Not like the tall palisade of the bandit camp, but more like the country fences of a farmyard animal pen. The tower is obviously manned and outside the cabin stand two other men, cautiously watching an enormous basilisk that slumbers just outside the gate, enjoying the warm sun on its scales.
Outside the fence six different tunnels emerge out of the hillside.
At the sight of the scaly beast, Bründir immediately drops to a knee and begins to sling his shield and draw his crossbow, "Shite, shite! What's the plan? We attack, there might be more. We sneak 'round, we might get spotted and def'nitely eaten!"
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Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
“Are... are they f-farming the basilisks?” Vark says as he also crouches low. “Do... we want to try talking to them? I could uhm... obscure the basilisk if we wanted to approach a bit and speak.”
Jex has watched his companions take strange routes through the hills that without magical aid would have left them very obviously standing out against the terrain. He was not keen to lose his element of surprise by one of them spoiling it so he carefully picks his way downwind of the sleeping beast to get a better look at what the men are doing with it.
Thurston is about to jump out, holding his hammer with a firm grip, but Jex stops him and he keeps himself low, waiting for the others to decide the course of action.
"Either try to lie to them or just kill them and ask questions later... but we have to do something soon... before they discover us..."
Before leaving the camp, Hurrig blesses his Hammer in his usual manner.
When arriving at the outcropping, Hurrig says, "I can make some noise as a distraction. But who knows what might come crawling out tha tunnels..." He looks over to Vark, "Friend, you'll be needing a little extra protection for this fight I think. May Moradin protect ya." And with that, the anvil around Hurrigs neck glows a slight red, and a faint shimmer of light surrounds Vark before it quickly dissipates. Shield of Faith
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Mavi Göz Mal - Half Orc Monk Level 1 Not Another Lost Mine of Phandelver
Drita - Aasimar Hexblade Warlock Lvl 3 Tomb of Annhilation
Dorno lies low in the grass and whispers to his friends "Dorno and snake man go make the bad man in the tow-er quiet?" "Shiny man and friends sneak on other two bad men? Shhh, no wake bas-lisk!"
"Go fer it! Le's go 'round th' left an' hop the fence, though. No sense runnin' straight at a tower hopin' it won' se ye." Bründir slings his crossbow once more, draws his shield and readies to move around the field to the fence.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
A look of surprise passes over Vark before he gives Hurrig a grateful nod. "O-oh! Thank you Hurrig." Seeing Jex run off and the rest of the party prepare for action, Vark grips his staff tightly and braces himself as well. "Uhm m-maybe I can hang back a bit... once a fight breaks out I can join in. And I can watch the basilisk. If it tries to turn anyone to stone then I'll drop a cloud on it."
Dorno transorms into a giant wolf spider the size of most of the rest of the party members and scampers off following Jex. They round the encampment avoiding the gaze of the two guards looking west at the basilisk as well as the tower guard looking east. Sneaking between the two, he follows Jex up the ladder and prepares to strike at the man pending the result of Jex's initial assassination attempt. Not typically one for tactics, but knowing they need to do this quietly, Dorno hopes that the rest of their friends are successful in their mission at the exact same time as Jex and spider dorno. All the while he keeps focus on the spell he is using to conceal the party.
OOC 17 total stealth including pass without trace.
Jex leads Dorno over the wall and up the ladder, his shimmering cloak blends with the wood and Dorno cannot afford to take his eyes off him without losing him entirely.
Silently, Jex clambers onto the platform behind the guard, who never knows his end is upon him. Jex's dagger slips downwards between the guards clavicle and scapula, entering through the jugular vein and into the spinal chord, effortlessly sliding between 2 vertibrae, the guard let's out a little dribble and slumps over onto Jex's outstretched arm which is ready to prop him back up against the watchtower post.
Jex gives an apologetic glance at Dorno for not needing him before gliding back down the ladder. He aims a knife at the nearest guards throat whilst flinging a second sideways at the next guard. His split attention causes him to miss the throat, and instead he slices straight across the man's mouth, his thrown dagger embeds itself in the second man's armour, startling him, but it lacks the power to penetrate the rib cage into the man's lung as Jex had intended.
Bründir slips over the fence - as smoothly as one could expect from someone accustomed to mine work - and prowls to the cabin's side. This armor was amazing! It had the feel of something truly formidable, but moved as smoothly as an undershirt. Drawing his sword, he peeked out around the side and waited. When Jex leapt out from the opposite side, Bründir followed suit and thrusted his blade high, aiming for the neck. The man bent over as the knife hit him and Bründir's thrust went high, slicing across the man's face under the nose (mouth wound).
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Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Vark, ready to go but not sure of his roll in the group's tactics, follows after the others. He watches as Jex descends and flings daggers, and Bründir ahead of him charges in as well. Thinking it best to get rid of these guards as fast as possible, Vark aims his staff at the opponents. A layer of frost grows on the sculpted wings at the top of the weapon before a beam of icy blue magic shoots out, immediately followed by another blast that seems to surprise Vark. The first ray nails the man next to Jex, freezing his arm solid before it shatters from the impact. The other ray careens across the side of the second man's head, crystals of ice spreading into his eyes.
Still moving from his original strike, Jex kicks the still falling body in front of him to help its fall and propel his movement into the second man. Driving his dagger through the man's eye, Jex disappears back into the shadows, landing back to the cabin, taking a glance through the window. He sees a dragonborn finishing a spell and hisses a warning to his companions.
Thurston moves towards the other window and looks at it pondering if he can break it. He decides that he could make it if he runs fast enough so he starts to rush towards it...
The view from this high ground already extends for miles around, but from atop the watchtower Jex and Dorno can see even further. Far to the east, where the bandit was looking, the Ice Cap Peaks rear up in the distance. At their foot a great stone fortress can be seen, built into the side of the mountains where they meet the hills. A kind of encampment has been built up around it, but it's too distant to make out any details.
The guards fall rapidly to the assault from the shadows, but as Jex fells the last of them he spots the cabin's inhabitant. A single, female dragonborn. Blue, not white. She casts a series of spells and vanishes.
Meanwhile, at the gate to the enclosure the sounds of battle have awakened the sleeping basilisk. It turns to face the offending persons and snarls at them, but then looks at the fence and seems to rethink this, cantering off towards the nearby caves.
"Val!" Bründir calls behind him, "To the door! Get it open!"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Amidst the commotion Dorno sees the basilisk leaving and panics. He does not want to have to go underground to find one. He chases after it in his spider form, skittering over the fence and doing what he can to keep up with it. Dorno struggles to balance the mental strain of his true self, the spider's instincts, his spell concentration, and then a new task of summoning the familiar bear spirit the group has seen before. The druid calls on the spirit to appear and block the basilisk's path, perhaps even rearing up on the bear's hind legs to challenge the basilisk and get it to stop its retreat.
OOC Spider movement is 40ft, along with some climb speed if needed to get over the fence. Spirit summon range is 60ft (bonus action). He will dash as his action if need be but not get too close to the basilisk as he doesn't want it to turn on him. The spider will stealth if need be to ensure the basilisk takes more notice of the bear spirit than the spider. Please let me know if a roll for that is appropriate/required.
Valaith comes rushing around the corner, leans back and smashes her foot into the cabin door. It opens without resistance, slamming into the side of a counter inside and almost flying off its hinges. The room contains a bed, a desk, a chest, a dining table, several chairs and the walls are lined with bookshelves and drawers. The floors are lined with fur rugs and the room is lit by candles and oil lamps. The dragonborn is nowhere to be seen.
The party treks two hours north-east across the hills until they come upon the rocky outcrops that mark the beginnings of basilisk territory. Up ahead, the top of the watchtower is visible over the rise of the hills and Dorno takes this moment to work his magic upon them all. The long grass seems to cling to each of the rag-tag group as they cautiously make their way up the slope towards the tower, weaving between crags of stone and dark cave entrances as they go. Periodically, they hear deep, rhythmic snoring emanating from within.
There seems to be a local high point here where the hills come together and this structure has been built atop it. Near the top, the layout of the area becomes clearer. The watchtower and cabin are in the middle of a low fenced area. Not like the tall palisade of the bandit camp, but more like the country fences of a farmyard animal pen. The tower is obviously manned and outside the cabin stand two other men, cautiously watching an enormous basilisk that slumbers just outside the gate, enjoying the warm sun on its scales.
Outside the fence six different tunnels emerge out of the hillside.
Intelligence (nature) checks please.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
At the sight of the scaly beast, Bründir immediately drops to a knee and begins to sling his shield and draw his crossbow, "Shite, shite! What's the plan? We attack, there might be more. We sneak 'round, we might get spotted and def'nitely eaten!"
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
“Are... are they f-farming the basilisks?” Vark says as he also crouches low. “Do... we want to try talking to them? I could uhm... obscure the basilisk if we wanted to approach a bit and speak.”
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
"Shh, wait here. I will see what is going on."
Jex has watched his companions take strange routes through the hills that without magical aid would have left them very obviously standing out against the terrain. He was not keen to lose his element of surprise by one of them spoiling it so he carefully picks his way downwind of the sleeping beast to get a better look at what the men are doing with it.
The men appear to be standing guard outside the house, which is a good sixty feet from the perimeter fence, outside which the basilisk slumbers.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Thurston is about to jump out, holding his hammer with a firm grip, but Jex stops him and he keeps himself low, waiting for the others to decide the course of action.
"Either try to lie to them or just kill them and ask questions later... but we have to do something soon... before they discover us..."
PbP Character: A few ;)
Before leaving the camp, Hurrig blesses his Hammer in his usual manner.
When arriving at the outcropping, Hurrig says, "I can make some noise as a distraction. But who knows what might come crawling out tha tunnels..." He looks over to Vark, "Friend, you'll be needing a little extra protection for this fight I think. May Moradin protect ya." And with that, the anvil around Hurrigs neck glows a slight red, and a faint shimmer of light surrounds Vark before it quickly dissipates. Shield of Faith
Mavi Göz Mal - Half Orc Monk Level 1 Not Another Lost Mine of Phandelver
Drita - Aasimar Hexblade Warlock Lvl 3 Tomb of Annhilation
Iznik Sylnithas - Half Drow Blood Hunter Level 2 Precipice of Voids
Dorno lies low in the grass and whispers to his friends "Dorno and snake man go make the bad man in the tow-er quiet?" "Shiny man and friends sneak on other two bad men? Shhh, no wake bas-lisk!"
"Go fer it! Le's go 'round th' left an' hop the fence, though. No sense runnin' straight at a tower hopin' it won' se ye." Bründir slings his crossbow once more, draws his shield and readies to move around the field to the fence.
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
A look of surprise passes over Vark before he gives Hurrig a grateful nod. "O-oh! Thank you Hurrig." Seeing Jex run off and the rest of the party prepare for action, Vark grips his staff tightly and braces himself as well. "Uhm m-maybe I can hang back a bit... once a fight breaks out I can join in. And I can watch the basilisk. If it tries to turn anyone to stone then I'll drop a cloud on it."
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
Dorno transorms into a giant wolf spider the size of most of the rest of the party members and scampers off following Jex. They round the encampment avoiding the gaze of the two guards looking west at the basilisk as well as the tower guard looking east. Sneaking between the two, he follows Jex up the ladder and prepares to strike at the man pending the result of Jex's initial assassination attempt. Not typically one for tactics, but knowing they need to do this quietly, Dorno hopes that the rest of their friends are successful in their mission at the exact same time as Jex and spider dorno. All the while he keeps focus on the spell he is using to conceal the party.
OOC 17 total stealth including pass without trace.
Jex leads Dorno over the wall and up the ladder, his shimmering cloak blends with the wood and Dorno cannot afford to take his eyes off him without losing him entirely.
Silently, Jex clambers onto the platform behind the guard, who never knows his end is upon him. Jex's dagger slips downwards between the guards clavicle and scapula, entering through the jugular vein and into the spinal chord, effortlessly sliding between 2 vertibrae, the guard let's out a little dribble and slumps over onto Jex's outstretched arm which is ready to prop him back up against the watchtower post.
Jex gives an apologetic glance at Dorno for not needing him before gliding back down the ladder. He aims a knife at the nearest guards throat whilst flinging a second sideways at the next guard. His split attention causes him to miss the throat, and instead he slices straight across the man's mouth, his thrown dagger embeds itself in the second man's armour, startling him, but it lacks the power to penetrate the rib cage into the man's lung as Jex had intended.
Bründir slips over the fence - as smoothly as one could expect from someone accustomed to mine work - and prowls to the cabin's side. This armor was amazing! It had the feel of something truly formidable, but moved as smoothly as an undershirt. Drawing his sword, he peeked out around the side and waited. When Jex leapt out from the opposite side, Bründir followed suit and thrusted his blade high, aiming for the neck. The man bent over as the knife hit him and Bründir's thrust went high, slicing across the man's face under the nose (mouth wound).
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Vark, ready to go but not sure of his roll in the group's tactics, follows after the others. He watches as Jex descends and flings daggers, and Bründir ahead of him charges in as well. Thinking it best to get rid of these guards as fast as possible, Vark aims his staff at the opponents. A layer of frost grows on the sculpted wings at the top of the weapon before a beam of icy blue magic shoots out, immediately followed by another blast that seems to surprise Vark. The first ray nails the man next to Jex, freezing his arm solid before it shatters from the impact. The other ray careens across the side of the second man's head, crystals of ice spreading into his eyes.
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
Still moving from his original strike, Jex kicks the still falling body in front of him to help its fall and propel his movement into the second man. Driving his dagger through the man's eye, Jex disappears back into the shadows, landing back to the cabin, taking a glance through the window. He sees a dragonborn finishing a spell and hisses a warning to his companions.
"Dragonborn caster inside. She's getting ready."
Thurston moves towards the other window and looks at it pondering if he can break it. He decides that he could make it if he runs fast enough so he starts to rush towards it...
PbP Character: A few ;)
The view from this high ground already extends for miles around, but from atop the watchtower Jex and Dorno can see even further. Far to the east, where the bandit was looking, the Ice Cap Peaks rear up in the distance. At their foot a great stone fortress can be seen, built into the side of the mountains where they meet the hills. A kind of encampment has been built up around it, but it's too distant to make out any details.
The guards fall rapidly to the assault from the shadows, but as Jex fells the last of them he spots the cabin's inhabitant. A single, female dragonborn. Blue, not white. She casts a series of spells and vanishes.
Meanwhile, at the gate to the enclosure the sounds of battle have awakened the sleeping basilisk. It turns to face the offending persons and snarls at them, but then looks at the fence and seems to rethink this, cantering off towards the nearby caves.
Dorno's action.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
"Val!" Bründir calls behind him, "To the door! Get it open!"
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Amidst the commotion Dorno sees the basilisk leaving and panics. He does not want to have to go underground to find one. He chases after it in his spider form, skittering over the fence and doing what he can to keep up with it. Dorno struggles to balance the mental strain of his true self, the spider's instincts, his spell concentration, and then a new task of summoning the familiar bear spirit the group has seen before. The druid calls on the spirit to appear and block the basilisk's path, perhaps even rearing up on the bear's hind legs to challenge the basilisk and get it to stop its retreat.
OOC Spider movement is 40ft, along with some climb speed if needed to get over the fence. Spirit summon range is 60ft (bonus action). He will dash as his action if need be but not get too close to the basilisk as he doesn't want it to turn on him. The spider will stealth if need be to ensure the basilisk takes more notice of the bear spirit than the spider. Please let me know if a roll for that is appropriate/required.
Valaith comes rushing around the corner, leans back and smashes her foot into the cabin door. It opens without resistance, slamming into the side of a counter inside and almost flying off its hinges. The room contains a bed, a desk, a chest, a dining table, several chairs and the walls are lined with bookshelves and drawers. The floors are lined with fur rugs and the room is lit by candles and oil lamps. The dragonborn is nowhere to be seen.
Hurrig's action.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva