Zephyr can't help but clap along with Lyra's song, and he joins Fenric in applauding at the end. He says in a carrying voice to his companions, "It's too bad that these fey won't show themselves! If they could help us locate the bandits, we could have shared some of that kelpvine liqueur with them later when we're on our way back to Birakruut."
Now that Zephyr has discerned the illusion, the gaudily-dressed dancer appears translucent to him. The shadow-touched artificer can practically see the shadow-stuff that was oven into together to make the illusion seem real. But while he talks, he looks at the bubbling, purple bog. While a levitating lizardfolk dancer seemed unlikely, unexpectedly boggy ground is certainly possible. He wonders whether the illusion wasn't just fairy nonsense but an attempt to draw attention to the hazard.
Zephyr examines the purple, boiling bog, trying to discern whether the color, the boiling, and/or the bog itself are illusory. Investigation26
[[ For Zephyr, going to assume the investigation is against the dancer. Examining other things to see if they're illusions would be separate checks. ]]
[[ Yes, good assumption. That's the part that tipped off Zephyr that there was some sort of illusion at work. ]]
[[ It took me longer to figure out Lyra's song than I'd like to admit... xD ]]
The giggling in the foliage reaches a height as Lyra sings her ditty. And little sounds imitating her lyrics can be heard playing, perhaps favorites of the listeners.
Perhaps to Fenric's relief, it's revealed that the yet-unseen pranksters are not drunken satyrs but rather little tiny dragons with iridescent hues and butterfly wings. One of them, with red scales seeks a perch on Fenric's shoulders while another three, two with yellow scales and another with orange, flutter around Lyra. Finally two others, acting like leaders of the group, with violet colors, dance around in the air, merry from excitement.
[[ Side note, the thought of having to deal with a drunken satyr fills me with dread. They're known for partying and huge indulgences so how bad does it have to be for one of them to get drunk? ]]
The younger ones have a host of questions, speaking in Sylvan, "Did you like my violins? How'd you like the dancer? Do the pointy ears give you sharp hearing? How can I learn to play like that? Would shooting me from a longbow make me go super fast? What the final rhyme?" and so on.
Zephyr's focus on the bog reveals to him that it too, like the dancer, is an illusion. As he starts to see through it the road forward appears to be normal. At his mention of kelpvine liqueur the tiny dragon horde perks up with its interest piqued, "What's kelpvine liqueur? What bandits? Where does it come from? What's it taste like? Does it go good with sweets? When will you be back for the liqueur party?"
[[ For sake of pacing, will assume for you the additional info is auto-supplied for descriptions of bandits. ]]
One of the violet faerie dragons thinks about bandits. After a moment she says, "I think we've seen them! They weren't too fond of our little pranks." she giggles. "Living in a small meadow in the forest!" She then goes into some more details of what the path is like.
[[ With the info, advantage on survival checks to find the bandits. ]] [[ Note to self: Fenric gets double-proficiency bonus in favored terrain for INT/WIS checks. So +9 survival not +6. ]]
Other dragons chime in, "One of them had a lute! Not as good at singing though. I saw one look like a lizard. Didn't they all look like lizards? But this one looked even more like one! One of them threw a javelin at me. I dodged it! The big one had a shiny spear." And other chatter.
[[ If there's any lingering details you want to check, lemme know. Otherwise I'm good to go to your nightime preparations. What's your camp setup like? Who's taking which watches? ]]
Zephyris delighted to meet the little dragons! (He was expecting pixies or sprites or some other Fey cousins of his own fairykind.) Their silly illusion didn't harm anyone, so he sees no reason to be upset about the prank. He flies around with them, tries to humor the younger ones' questions, and peppers them with questions of his own. That "conversation" always seems to have at least 3 creatures talking at once and is filled with non sequiturs, random questions, and non-sensical answers. Therefore, it's unclear whether any information was actually exchanged, but they all seem to have a good time!
[[ If there's any lingering details you want to check, lemme know. Otherwise I'm good to go to your nightime preparations. What's your camp setup like? Who's taking which watches? ]]
Zephyr tries asks the older faerie dragon whether they any idea how many bandits live in the meadow in the forest? ("Just a few bandits? Or a few dozen? Or is it a whole village in the meadow?") He also tries to figure out from their answers whether the bandits really are all lizardfolk, other humanoids disguised as lizardfolk, or just a bunch of humanoids who ride giant lizards, assuming that the faerie dragons paid enough attention to notice.
Lyra smiles beatifically at the fey dragon-butterflies as a visiting adolescent cousin might at younger children, jogging around in circles to give them someone to chase. She does her best to answer their questions playfully but thoughtfully, save for two of them.
1. She puts a sly finger to her dark-stained lips and winks when asked about the final word of her song. In Sylvan: "Some mysteries are best resolved with time. Supposing we survive our rendezvous with these lizard-bandits, perhaps you can convince me to reveal the secret ending if we return this way with the liqueur. In return, I ask that you keep watch for them from hiding in case they come back this way. For them or any other large or unusual creatures. Careful you don't get hit with a flying javelin or spear, though!"
(Lyra'sPersuasion if necessary, still at advantage, through hour-long concentration on Enhance Ability and Eagle's Splendor: 24)
2. She grows more somber when one of them asks if they can learn to play like that. Also in Sylvan: "I did enjoy your violins, truly. Perhaps you may learn my style in time, with enthusiasm, which you have in abundance, patience and practice, which is up to you. But not with this. This is mine alone while I draw breath." She holds her dark harmonica up to the dappled afternoon light, as if examining it for the first time. The shadowy instrument seems to drink the sun's rays. Her voice drops to a murmur. "Mine alone. More's the pity, perhaps..."
As for the rest, Lyra listens on as Zephyr and the others ask most of the questions, contenting herself with playful discourse among the tiny pranksters.
She leaves decisions related to the eventual evening camp up to Fenric, but volunteers to take first watch.
She leaves decisions related to the eventual evening camp up to Fenric, but volunteers to take first watch.
[[ To be clear, we were planning to continue south on the road at a normal pace for about 6 hours. That is, after the party finishes our conversation with the Faerie Dragons in the "early afternoon," we still have another 4 hours of travel to go before we stop to set up camp about 12 miles south of where we met the Faerie Dragons. ]]
Zephyr was not expecting to leave Birakruut so soon, so he did not prepare [Tooltip Not Found] today. He doesn't have much experience with setting up / breaking camp. As a specialist / sapper with the Gildaran army, other people handled those types of logistics. He helps however he can and would prefer to take 3rd watch shift. ("YugJug should take the 4th watch shift so that he can make breakfast before we all have to wake up!")
Zephyr can help rig a type of tripwire trap with a bell or something, but he only has enough supplies to protect one or two narrow paths. That is, he cannot encircle the camp, but if they want to get an alarm when someone approaches their camp along a specific trail, he could set that up. He can also use his Magical Tinkering to create 3 items that would cast light as bright as a candle, if that's helpful.
During the second half of his watch, Zephyr mixes a concoction with his All-Purpose Tool to help "stimulate the senses." Enhance Ability - Owl's Wisdom
Perception21 (or for the 2nd hour of his watch, max(21, 10) because of advantage from Enhance Ability)
Fenricwas quite thrilled at the tiny dragon perching on his shoulder, but did his best to play it cool on the outside. He pulls his day's worth of rations out and gives the red-scaled dragon a bit of jerky, trying to be as stealthy as he can to avoid catching the attention of the others. He does his best to answer their questions, as silly as they seem to him.
"Yes actually, I've got quite good hearing! I can't say if it's because of how pointy my ears are though." He wiggles his ears a bit, showing them off to the tiny dragons. "I'm afraid you'll be a bit too heavy for one of my arrows. And kelpvine liqueur tastes... spicy. Very spicy. You wouldn't like it." Despite having never tasted it, Fenric tries to discourage the flying balls of energy from trying to drink it.
Fenricproposed that he should take first watch. Then he could take the last watch too, so long as Lyraand Zephyrstood watch during his meditative trance. He hoped to avoid leaving YugJug to watch over the party, given his lack of combat ability.
"Around a couple dozen of them!" replies the violet faerie dragon to Zephyr. "Living in small wooden huts."
The faerie dragons find Lyra and Fenric's answers amusing. Anticipation of learning the final lyric on the party's return. Mild disappointed they can't be fired like an arrow. And the red faerie dragon nibbles on Fenric's jerky with delight. "More. More!" he seems to say with his eyes. And despite Fenric's warning the mention of kelpvine liqueur having a spicy taste seems to only pique their interest all they more!
The rest of the journey for the day is rather uneventful. Mostly trees and forest fauna. As the day draws to a close with the setting sun you're able to make camp. Zephyr sets up his bells and you're able to take watches. YugJug settles in for the night after making a simple, yet flavorful, one-pot meal of veggies and meat.
Watch Order 1st: Fenric 2nd: Lyra 3rd: Zephyr 4th: Fenric
As a city girl, Lyra's skills lie elsewhere, but she does not mind putting her back into it as directed, nor getting dirt between her fingers as she helps Fenric and Zephyr set up camp. While she works, she sings a soft tune, subtle and almost melancholy, with no dark harmonica for accompaniment.
"Fey forest fine, our campfire shine shall light our wandering way To yet divine, Yug's lost Kelpvine And recover it well, we pray My watch or thine, soon comes the time To break our bright new day."
The way she draws out the word break in the final line hints at a secondary meaning and regret at the blood that will likely be shed on the morrow.
Lyra agrees to take second watch after Fenric's first watch, assuming Zephyr takes third. In her own way, she too casts Enhance Ability once more, sounding her dark harmonica softly so as not to wake anyone, Owl's Wisdom for advantage on WIS checks.
Zephyr can't help but clap along with Lyra's song, and he joins Fenric in applauding at the end. He says in a carrying voice to his companions, "It's too bad that these fey won't show themselves! If they could help us locate the bandits, we could have shared some of that kelpvine liqueur with them later when we're on our way back to Birakruut."
Now that Zephyr has discerned the illusion, the gaudily-dressed dancer appears translucent to him. The shadow-touched artificer can practically see the shadow-stuff that was oven into together to make the illusion seem real. But while he talks, he looks at the bubbling, purple bog. While a levitating lizardfolk dancer seemed unlikely, unexpectedly boggy ground is certainly possible. He wonders whether the illusion wasn't just fairy nonsense but an attempt to draw attention to the hazard.
Zephyr examines the purple, boiling bog, trying to discern whether the color, the boiling, and/or the bog itself are illusory.
Investigation 26
[[ Well, now it's two! Zephyr is a fairy: "Creature Type: You are a Fey." ]]
[[ Yes, good assumption. That's the part that tipped off Zephyr that there was some sort of illusion at work. ]]
[[ Nice! These rolls are really helping with the frivolous and smart characterization that I'm going for with Zephyr. ]]
[[ It took me longer to figure out Lyra's song than I'd like to admit... xD ]]
The giggling in the foliage reaches a height as Lyra sings her ditty. And little sounds imitating her lyrics can be heard playing, perhaps favorites of the listeners.
Perhaps to Fenric's relief, it's revealed that the yet-unseen pranksters are not drunken satyrs but rather little tiny dragons with iridescent hues and butterfly wings. One of them, with red scales seeks a perch on Fenric's shoulders while another three, two with yellow scales and another with orange, flutter around Lyra. Finally two others, acting like leaders of the group, with violet colors, dance around in the air, merry from excitement.
[[ Side note, the thought of having to deal with a drunken satyr fills me with dread. They're known for partying and huge indulgences so how bad does it have to be for one of them to get drunk? ]]
The younger ones have a host of questions, speaking in Sylvan, "Did you like my violins? How'd you like the dancer? Do the pointy ears give you sharp hearing? How can I learn to play like that? Would shooting me from a longbow make me go super fast? What the final rhyme?" and so on.
Zephyr's focus on the bog reveals to him that it too, like the dancer, is an illusion. As he starts to see through it the road forward appears to be normal. At his mention of kelpvine liqueur the tiny dragon horde perks up with its interest piqued, "What's kelpvine liqueur? What bandits? Where does it come from? What's it taste like? Does it go good with sweets? When will you be back for the liqueur party?"
[[ For sake of pacing, will assume for you the additional info is auto-supplied for descriptions of bandits. ]]
One of the violet faerie dragons thinks about bandits. After a moment she says, "I think we've seen them! They weren't too fond of our little pranks." she giggles. "Living in a small meadow in the forest!" She then goes into some more details of what the path is like.
[[ With the info, advantage on survival checks to find the bandits. ]]
[[ Note to self: Fenric gets double-proficiency bonus in favored terrain for INT/WIS checks. So +9 survival not +6. ]]
Other dragons chime in, "One of them had a lute! Not as good at singing though. I saw one look like a lizard. Didn't they all look like lizards? But this one looked even more like one! One of them threw a javelin at me. I dodged it! The big one had a shiny spear." And other chatter.
[[ If there's any lingering details you want to check, lemme know. Otherwise I'm good to go to your nightime preparations. What's your camp setup like? Who's taking which watches? ]]
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo Malololomologalo Tumagalokumagalo, Sunny
Eggo Lass, Bone and Oblivion
Tendilius Mondhaven Paxaramus, Drakkenheim
Silverwood Group 1 | Silverwood Group 2 | Hacking the Hackett
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 51, 10/23/25, Viva La Vida
Zephyr is delighted to meet the little dragons! (He was expecting pixies or sprites or some other Fey cousins of his own fairykind.) Their silly illusion didn't harm anyone, so he sees no reason to be upset about the prank. He flies around with them, tries to humor the younger ones' questions, and peppers them with questions of his own. That "conversation" always seems to have at least 3 creatures talking at once and is filled with non sequiturs, random questions, and non-sensical answers. Therefore, it's unclear whether any information was actually exchanged, but they all seem to have a good time!
Zephyr tries asks the older faerie dragon whether they any idea how many bandits live in the meadow in the forest? ("Just a few bandits? Or a few dozen? Or is it a whole village in the meadow?") He also tries to figure out from their answers whether the bandits really are all lizardfolk, other humanoids disguised as lizardfolk, or just a bunch of humanoids who ride giant lizards, assuming that the faerie dragons paid enough attention to notice.
[[ Huh. I would swear that the tooltip / monster image was working when I first saw the post yesterday. ]]
Lyra smiles beatifically at the fey dragon-butterflies as a visiting adolescent cousin might at younger children, jogging around in circles to give them someone to chase. She does her best to answer their questions playfully but thoughtfully, save for two of them.
1. She puts a sly finger to her dark-stained lips and winks when asked about the final word of her song. In Sylvan:
"Some mysteries are best resolved with time. Supposing we survive our rendezvous with these lizard-bandits, perhaps you can convince me to reveal the secret ending if we return this way with the liqueur. In return, I ask that you keep watch for them from hiding in case they come back this way. For them or any other large or unusual creatures. Careful you don't get hit with a flying javelin or spear, though!"
(Lyra's Persuasion if necessary, still at advantage, through hour-long concentration on Enhance Ability and Eagle's Splendor: 24)
2. She grows more somber when one of them asks if they can learn to play like that. Also in Sylvan:
"I did enjoy your violins, truly. Perhaps you may learn my style in time, with enthusiasm, which you have in abundance, patience and practice, which is up to you. But not with this. This is mine alone while I draw breath." She holds her dark harmonica up to the dappled afternoon light, as if examining it for the first time. The shadowy instrument seems to drink the sun's rays. Her voice drops to a murmur. "Mine alone. More's the pity, perhaps..."
As for the rest, Lyra listens on as Zephyr and the others ask most of the questions, contenting herself with playful discourse among the tiny pranksters.
She leaves decisions related to the eventual evening camp up to Fenric, but volunteers to take first watch.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(Sorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(Monk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(Cleric3/Sorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
[[ To be clear, we were planning to continue south on the road at a normal pace for about 6 hours. That is, after the party finishes our conversation with the Faerie Dragons in the "early afternoon," we still have another 4 hours of travel to go before we stop to set up camp about 12 miles south of where we met the Faerie Dragons. ]]
Zephyr was not expecting to leave Birakruut so soon, so he did not prepare [Tooltip Not Found] today. He doesn't have much experience with setting up / breaking camp. As a specialist / sapper with the Gildaran army, other people handled those types of logistics. He helps however he can and would prefer to take 3rd watch shift. ("YugJug should take the 4th watch shift so that he can make breakfast before we all have to wake up!")
Zephyr can help rig a type of tripwire trap with a bell or something, but he only has enough supplies to protect one or two narrow paths. That is, he cannot encircle the camp, but if they want to get an alarm when someone approaches their camp along a specific trail, he could set that up. He can also use his Magical Tinkering to create 3 items that would cast light as bright as a candle, if that's helpful.
During the second half of his watch, Zephyr mixes a concoction with his All-Purpose Tool to help "stimulate the senses." Enhance Ability - Owl's Wisdom
Perception 21 (or for the 2nd hour of his watch, max(21, 10) because of advantage from Enhance Ability)
Fenric was quite thrilled at the tiny dragon perching on his shoulder, but did his best to play it cool on the outside. He pulls his day's worth of rations out and gives the red-scaled dragon a bit of jerky, trying to be as stealthy as he can to avoid catching the attention of the others. He does his best to answer their questions, as silly as they seem to him.
"Yes actually, I've got quite good hearing! I can't say if it's because of how pointy my ears are though." He wiggles his ears a bit, showing them off to the tiny dragons. "I'm afraid you'll be a bit too heavy for one of my arrows. And kelpvine liqueur tastes... spicy. Very spicy. You wouldn't like it." Despite having never tasted it, Fenric tries to discourage the flying balls of energy from trying to drink it.
Fenric proposed that he should take first watch. Then he could take the last watch too, so long as Lyra and Zephyr stood watch during his meditative trance. He hoped to avoid leaving YugJug to watch over the party, given his lack of combat ability.
"Around a couple dozen of them!" replies the violet faerie dragon to Zephyr. "Living in small wooden huts."
The faerie dragons find Lyra and Fenric's answers amusing. Anticipation of learning the final lyric on the party's return. Mild disappointed they can't be fired like an arrow. And the red faerie dragon nibbles on Fenric's jerky with delight. "More. More!" he seems to say with his eyes. And despite Fenric's warning the mention of kelpvine liqueur having a spicy taste seems to only pique their interest all they more!
The rest of the journey for the day is rather uneventful. Mostly trees and forest fauna. As the day draws to a close with the setting sun you're able to make camp. Zephyr sets up his bells and you're able to take watches. YugJug settles in for the night after making a simple, yet flavorful, one-pot meal of veggies and meat.
Watch Order
1st: Fenric
2nd: Lyra
3rd: Zephyr
4th: Fenric
Nighttime Encounter: 2
Whose watch: 4
[[ Interestingly it's still working on my end. ]]
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo Malololomologalo Tumagalokumagalo, Sunny
Eggo Lass, Bone and Oblivion
Tendilius Mondhaven Paxaramus, Drakkenheim
Silverwood Group 1 | Silverwood Group 2 | Hacking the Hackett
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 51, 10/23/25, Viva La Vida
As a city girl, Lyra's skills lie elsewhere, but she does not mind putting her back into it as directed, nor getting dirt between her fingers as she helps Fenric and Zephyr set up camp. While she works, she sings a soft tune, subtle and almost melancholy, with no dark harmonica for accompaniment.
"Fey forest fine, our campfire shine
shall light our wandering way
To yet divine, Yug's lost Kelpvine
And recover it well, we pray
My watch or thine, soon comes the time
To break our bright new day."
The way she draws out the word break in the final line hints at a secondary meaning and regret at the blood that will likely be shed on the morrow.
Lyra agrees to take second watch after Fenric's first watch, assuming Zephyr takes third. In her own way, she too casts Enhance Ability once more, sounding her dark harmonica softly so as not to wake anyone, Owl's Wisdom for advantage on WIS checks.
Lyra's Perception during her watch, at advantage due to Enhance Ability and Owl's Wisdom: 19
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(Sorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(Monk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(Cleric3/Sorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Quick Perception for Fenric: 25 | [skill]1d20+9[/roll]
//two numbers to account for disadvantage in darkness beyond the light of Zephy'rs candles
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo Malololomologalo Tumagalokumagalo, Sunny
Eggo Lass, Bone and Oblivion
Tendilius Mondhaven Paxaramus, Drakkenheim
Silverwood Group 1 | Silverwood Group 2 | Hacking the Hackett
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 51, 10/23/25, Viva La Vida
derped out on that second roll
19
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo Malololomologalo Tumagalokumagalo, Sunny
Eggo Lass, Bone and Oblivion
Tendilius Mondhaven Paxaramus, Drakkenheim
Silverwood Group 1 | Silverwood Group 2 | Hacking the Hackett
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 51, 10/23/25, Viva La Vida