The party settles in for the night, each finding a space in the small house. Though there are a few uneasy moments, hearing strange sounds outside, you each manage to fall asleep. The night is restful, and you all awake refreshed and ready for the day in the early morning. As the party begins to awaken, Reidoth is already up, busying himself with his meager belongings and muttering under his breath.
Delg stretches, moving his body to get rid of the creaks. He takes his warhammer and walks over to Reidoth. "Can we count on you in the battle, or will you just be there to tell others what happened?"
Reidoth pauses, looking at Delg, his eyes narrowing. "Nothing is more important right now than the dragon," he says tightly. "I am preparing so that we are not distracted by the other dangers - the undead, the mutated plants, or whatever other surprises we might find in this cursed place," he continues. "I hope your hammer is as harsh as your tongue," he says with a sarcastic smirk.
Mulligan wakes up, stretches, and drowsily looks to the druid already involved in his morning preparations. "He's a morning person. Of course he's a morning person. If he's a cheerful morning person he might not even make it to the dragon," he grumbles to himself as he slowly rises.
Slowly the rest of the party awakens and begins preparing for the short trek to the dragon's lair.
"It's not far - perhaps 5 minutes walk north," Reidoth says. "I recommend we sneak, to try and give ourselves an advantage. Though admittedly, I'm not sure how much that will matter against a dragon," he muses aloud.
((On the map below, 4 is the house you are currently in and 7 is the building with the tower and the dragon. The green line is the road/path between the buildings, though you are of course free to travel there however you wish))
Delg smiles at Reidoth. "Good to know." He puts his hammer over his shoulder and heads out the door. He scans the sky, not expecting to see the dragon, then starts to walk up the road but slow to let all catch up.
"Under the trees as we get closer? Do we value cover over flammable?"
Listening to Delg and Mulligan, Reidoth frowns. "It's possible, but it's much safer to stay on the path. The undead lurk in dark places and the walking twigs in the leafy cover," he says. "I will, however, do as you wish."
A small smile appears on Reidoth's face, then disappears quickly. "I can handle undead," he says, "but it would be better to save all our energy for the dragon. The best outcome is to persuade him to leave, but the chance of success is minute. So squandering resources on things we could evade seems the better solution." He pauses for a moment. "Besides, it's likely the dragon already knows we are here, there is also likely no element of surprise," he says.
"A dragon awaiting our arrival. This may be a fast battle. And even if we do persuade him, what is it to say he won't come back? Let us hope he is foolish."
Reidoth nods his head in agreement. "Truly, the dragon is young - which often also means foolish, as you say." He looks around at the rest of the group. "Lead the way," he says, gesturing towards the door.
Delg continues down the road, listening more than looking for the dragon. But he keeps his eyes out for the twigs Reidoth mentioned. He'll continue along til the top of the tower is just in sight. "There we are."
((You got in a good night's sleep, so it's fairly early in the morning))
Leaving the house, after a few yards, the road splits and Reidoth indicates the left fork. The party moves down the road Reidoth pointed out. The path meanders east and west a bit, but eventually straightens out and you can see the tower up ahead. At the top of the hill stands a round tower with a cottage attached. Both are in good condition, although half of the tower's roof is gone. A door leads into the cottage, and several arrow-slit windows are visible in the tower. You can't help but notice an eerie quiet in the area and a strange, acrid smell in the air. The corpses of two hideous giant spiders are sprawled near the edge of the pathway, apparently dragged there. Their bloated bodies are puckered and blistered, and appear to have been mauled by a large animal. As you get closer, Reidoth puts a finger to his lips and starts to move a bit more quietly.
((If you are trying to be quiet, please make a stealth check))
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Stealth: 5
Mulligan tries to move quietly. He spots the cottage, and looks to the rest of the party with a nod toward the cottage as if to say, "should we check that out?"
Mulligan finds an empty spot along the floor and quickly falls asleep.
The party settles in for the night, each finding a space in the small house. Though there are a few uneasy moments, hearing strange sounds outside, you each manage to fall asleep. The night is restful, and you all awake refreshed and ready for the day in the early morning. As the party begins to awaken, Reidoth is already up, busying himself with his meager belongings and muttering under his breath.
Delg stretches, moving his body to get rid of the creaks. He takes his warhammer and walks over to Reidoth. "Can we count on you in the battle, or will you just be there to tell others what happened?"
Reidoth pauses, looking at Delg, his eyes narrowing. "Nothing is more important right now than the dragon," he says tightly. "I am preparing so that we are not distracted by the other dangers - the undead, the mutated plants, or whatever other surprises we might find in this cursed place," he continues. "I hope your hammer is as harsh as your tongue," he says with a sarcastic smirk.
Mulligan wakes up, stretches, and drowsily looks to the druid already involved in his morning preparations. "He's a morning person. Of course he's a morning person. If he's a cheerful morning person he might not even make it to the dragon," he grumbles to himself as he slowly rises.
Slowly the rest of the party awakens and begins preparing for the short trek to the dragon's lair.
"It's not far - perhaps 5 minutes walk north," Reidoth says. "I recommend we sneak, to try and give ourselves an advantage. Though admittedly, I'm not sure how much that will matter against a dragon," he muses aloud.
((On the map below, 4 is the house you are currently in and 7 is the building with the tower and the dragon. The green line is the road/path between the buildings, though you are of course free to travel there however you wish))
Delg smiles at Reidoth. "Good to know." He puts his hammer over his shoulder and heads out the door. He scans the sky, not expecting to see the dragon, then starts to walk up the road but slow to let all catch up.
"Under the trees as we get closer? Do we value cover over flammable?"
Maybe we can take the road all the way east, then north through the woods?
"Fine by me."
Delg begins whistling softly to himself.
Listening to Delg and Mulligan, Reidoth frowns. "It's possible, but it's much safer to stay on the path. The undead lurk in dark places and the walking twigs in the leafy cover," he says. "I will, however, do as you wish."
"Well, that changes things. I'm not really looking for a fight with anybody who died and then got better."
"I suppose we'll see better when we get there."
((We going at a fast walk?))
A small smile appears on Reidoth's face, then disappears quickly. "I can handle undead," he says, "but it would be better to save all our energy for the dragon. The best outcome is to persuade him to leave, but the chance of success is minute. So squandering resources on things we could evade seems the better solution." He pauses for a moment. "Besides, it's likely the dragon already knows we are here, there is also likely no element of surprise," he says.
"A dragon awaiting our arrival. This may be a fast battle. And even if we do persuade him, what is it to say he won't come back? Let us hope he is foolish."
Reidoth nods his head in agreement. "Truly, the dragon is young - which often also means foolish, as you say." He looks around at the rest of the group. "Lead the way," he says, gesturing towards the door.
Mulligan will position himself to protect the back line, as usual.
Delg continues down the road, listening more than looking for the dragon. But he keeps his eyes out for the twigs Reidoth mentioned. He'll continue along til the top of the tower is just in sight. "There we are."
((What time of day is it?))
((You got in a good night's sleep, so it's fairly early in the morning))
Leaving the house, after a few yards, the road splits and Reidoth indicates the left fork. The party moves down the road Reidoth pointed out. The path meanders east and west a bit, but eventually straightens out and you can see the tower up ahead. At the top of the hill stands a round tower with a cottage attached. Both are in good condition, although half of the tower's roof is gone. A door leads into the cottage, and several arrow-slit windows are visible in the tower. You can't help but notice an eerie quiet in the area and a strange, acrid smell in the air. The corpses of two hideous giant spiders are sprawled near the edge of the pathway, apparently dragged there. Their bloated bodies are puckered and blistered, and appear to have been mauled by a large animal. As you get closer, Reidoth puts a finger to his lips and starts to move a bit more quietly.
((If you are trying to be quiet, please make a stealth check))
Stealth: 5
Mulligan tries to move quietly. He spots the cottage, and looks to the rest of the party with a nod toward the cottage as if to say, "should we check that out?"
With his armor on, Ajax finds difficult to stay quiet at the moment, so, for the time being, he closes the rear