Khial approaches the hobgoblins (goes to M11) and tries to examine their seemingly dead corpses, hoping to find something valuable in their person....err...hobgoblin later on. He tells his companions, "I'm going to check what's so special about these creatures."
Khial finds that the hobgoblins are, indeed, dead. Their faces are twisted in agony, their weapons (longbows and longswords) fallen beside them. They are all wearing chainmail armor that, while not new, appear to be well-maintained. There are no rents on the armor, and no visible wounds on the hobgoblins.
Two of the hobgoblins have pouches with ten silver pieces each; the third has a small red gem in his pouch, as well as a sheet of parchment. Written on the parchment is the following rhyme:
Khial manages to reach for only the red gem and slips it into his pocket. He leaves the sheet of parchment where it is since enigmas are not really his forte. He turns to his fellow companions, "There seems to be a parchment here, some poem, but it could be a riddle. Perhaps someone among us can decipher it."
OOC: Khial, roll a Sleight-of-Hand check to determine if you're able to pocket the gem unnoticed; I'll let you roll with advantage since no one is nearby.
OOC: The parchment is not magical. Xel, I can't see your Medicine roll.
Xel goes to Epos and motions to Khial to join the discussion.
"Epos, you've seen the corpses and remains, how did each group die? The ones I have just examined have no wounds or any physical damage. Khial also found this parchment on one of the bodies. Since he found it on a hobgoblin, I would expect that it is of some importance. The passage written on it may be a clue to either the enchantment, the treasure, or how they died."
Epos responds to the magic man: "They were burned alive. Probably unwillingly. Since the grass beneath them seems to also have been burned, it probably happened on the spot they fell -- so it might have happened very quickly... and intense enough to melt the flesh or burn the flesh off their bones." OOC: Investigation Check: 18
"Can you sense if this was magical flame?"
Moving back a bit (OOC: To I5), and indicating to his companions to move back as well, Epos grabs a fallen branch from the ground then throws it over the pile of corpses (OOC: on I7) toward the centre of the clearing. OOC: fearless DM, what happens to the branch, what does the group observe? DEX Roll: 13
Xel asks Khial: Khial, how did the other group perish. One was burned. Another was killed without any physical violence yet their faces were left in agonizing pain."
OOC: Epos, based on your Investigation check, you're fairly sure that whatever killed the goblinoids emanated from the trees. The position of the bodies suggest they were right next to the trees when whatever event that killed them happened.
OOC: Xel, I think it was Epos who found the melted and disfigured bodies.
Epos throws a fallen branch into the grove, and it lands near the center of the clearing.
"Try walking into the clearing," the Herr Doktor Professor suggests from behind them. Looking back, they see a smirk on his face.
OOC: Khial, you successfully pocket the red gem without anyone noticing. Since you didn't specify which group of bodies you were examining ... you arrive at the same conclusion as Epos -- whatever killed the goblinoids probably emanated from the trees. Being a rogue, you suspect a trap of some kind.
"Take my suggestion," the Herr Doktor Professors says. "Try walking into the grove."
Epos walks towards the center of the grove but finds himself prevented from entering by an unseen force.
"I tried that too before the goblins drove me off," says the Herr Doktor Professor. "There is a magical barrier here of some sort. It appears to start at the tree line and completely surrounds the grove."
He approaches the fallen bodies. "I didn't try whatever they tried, though. Good for me, neh?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Xel flatly tells Epos: "No Epos, it does not look like your levitating. But it does prove that the barrier is quite sturdy."
Xel goes to each group bodies (burned, melted, died from mysterious forces) and checks to see their weapons. He wants to find out if they attacked the trees. He also wants to visually check the trees to see if they are damaged in any way. He also checks if the Cult of the Dragon Sigil is the same on each one and if there is any noticeable difference in any of the five trees like additional symbols or markings. While checking the bodies...he also loots the bodies for valuables. He is also keeping an eye out for any tracks which appear to move beyond the threshold of the barrier, like someone walking straight into the clearing.
For the group of bodies which were melted. He would also want to check what caused them to melt.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Epos looks at the parchment and says the to group: "The poem keeps talking about going from left to right - four times, in fact. I wonder what that means?" OOC: Insight: (does this apply? or is this just for people's intentions, etc." 21, if not INT/Investigation: 11
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Khial approaches the hobgoblins (goes to M11) and tries to examine their seemingly dead corpses, hoping to find something valuable in their person....err...hobgoblin later on. He tells his companions, "I'm going to check what's so special about these creatures."
Perception check: 6
Khial finds that the hobgoblins are, indeed, dead. Their faces are twisted in agony, their weapons (longbows and longswords) fallen beside them. They are all wearing chainmail armor that, while not new, appear to be well-maintained. There are no rents on the armor, and no visible wounds on the hobgoblins.
Two of the hobgoblins have pouches with ten silver pieces each; the third has a small red gem in his pouch, as well as a sheet of parchment. Written on the parchment is the following rhyme:
"From left to right,
Walk the path
To the great queen.
From left to right,
Traverse the dangers
Left unseen.
From left to right,
Our queen's plan
Slowly unfolds.
From left to right,
The queen's return
Brings riches untold."
Khial manages to reach for only the red gem and slips it into his pocket. He leaves the sheet of parchment where it is since enigmas are not really his forte. He turns to his fellow companions, "There seems to be a parchment here, some poem, but it could be a riddle. Perhaps someone among us can decipher it."
Xel asks Khial to show him where he found the parchment.
When they get to the hobgoblin corpses, Xel checks the parchment.
OCC: Does his Detect Magic reveal anything magical about the parchment, if anything?
Xel would also like to examine the bodies and tries to determine how they died.
Medicine Check:
[ roll]1d20+3[/roll]
OOC: Khial, roll a Sleight-of-Hand check to determine if you're able to pocket the gem unnoticed; I'll let you roll with advantage since no one is nearby.
OOC: The parchment is not magical. Xel, I can't see your Medicine roll.
Medicine Check: 8
OOC: The lack of any visible wounds makes it difficult for Xel to determine what killed the hobgoblins.
Xel goes to Epos and motions to Khial to join the discussion.
"Epos, you've seen the corpses and remains, how did each group die? The ones I have just examined have no wounds or any physical damage. Khial also found this parchment on one of the bodies. Since he found it on a hobgoblin, I would expect that it is of some importance. The passage written on it may be a clue to either the enchantment, the treasure, or how they died."
Epos responds to the magic man: "They were burned alive. Probably unwillingly. Since the grass beneath them seems to also have been burned, it probably happened on the spot they fell -- so it might have happened very quickly... and intense enough to melt the flesh or burn the flesh off their bones." OOC: Investigation Check: 18
"Can you sense if this was magical flame?"
Moving back a bit (OOC: To I5), and indicating to his companions to move back as well, Epos grabs a fallen branch from the ground then throws it over the pile of corpses (OOC: on I7) toward the centre of the clearing. OOC: fearless DM, what happens to the branch, what does the group observe? DEX Roll: 13
Xel asks Khial: Khial, how did the other group perish. One was burned. Another was killed without any physical violence yet their faces were left in agonizing pain."
OOC: Epos, based on your Investigation check, you're fairly sure that whatever killed the goblinoids emanated from the trees. The position of the bodies suggest they were right next to the trees when whatever event that killed them happened.
OOC: Xel, I think it was Epos who found the melted and disfigured bodies.
Epos throws a fallen branch into the grove, and it lands near the center of the clearing.
"Try walking into the clearing," the Herr Doktor Professor suggests from behind them. Looking back, they see a smirk on his face.
"Try it," he says again. "I have."
Sleight of hand check: 17
Khial tells Xel: "This must have been the work of some magical entity." He examines the body once more.
Investigation check: 16
OOC: For some reason, my dice roll isn't working whenever I put the modifiers. I'll just add the modifier manually.
Therefore the rolls are.....
Sleight of Hand check: 17+5 = 22
Investigation check: 16-1 = 15
OOC: Khial, you successfully pocket the red gem without anyone noticing. Since you didn't specify which group of bodies you were examining ... you arrive at the same conclusion as Epos -- whatever killed the goblinoids probably emanated from the trees. Being a rogue, you suspect a trap of some kind.
"Take my suggestion," the Herr Doktor Professors says. "Try walking into the grove."
Epos tells the group that the flames likely emanated from the trees. Steering clear of the trees, Epos moves towards the centre for the grove.
Xel looks on as Epos passes the threshold.
Epos walks towards the center of the grove but finds himself prevented from entering by an unseen force.
"I tried that too before the goblins drove me off," says the Herr Doktor Professor. "There is a magical barrier here of some sort. It appears to start at the tree line and completely surrounds the grove."
He approaches the fallen bodies. "I didn't try whatever they tried, though. Good for me, neh?"
A guffaw escapes Epos as he tries in vain to move past the circle of trees.
He calls to Xel, "If I press my face really hard against this unseen force, what does it look like?"
He tries clambering up the unseen force... "Does it look like I'm levitating?"
Xel flatly tells Epos: "No Epos, it does not look like your levitating. But it does prove that the barrier is quite sturdy."
Xel goes to each group bodies (burned, melted, died from mysterious forces) and checks to see their weapons. He wants to find out if they attacked the trees. He also wants to visually check the trees to see if they are damaged in any way. He also checks if the Cult of the Dragon Sigil is the same on each one and if there is any noticeable difference in any of the five trees like additional symbols or markings. While checking the bodies...he also loots the bodies for valuables. He is also keeping an eye out for any tracks which appear to move beyond the threshold of the barrier, like someone walking straight into the clearing.
For the group of bodies which were melted. He would also want to check what caused them to melt.
Investigation Check: 25
Medicine Check: 21
Epos looks at the parchment and says the to group: "The poem keeps talking about going from left to right - four times, in fact. I wonder what that means?" OOC: Insight: (does this apply? or is this just for people's intentions, etc." 21, if not INT/Investigation: 11