This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
DM rollz: 11
Moving forward onto solid ground again and out of the "mud room", the party finds the passage widens to form a slender cavern that bends out of sight. Midway to the bend, a squat form sits facing you atop a small boulder. It is clearly lifeless and almost skeletal, yet still sports a thick beard and matted hair. An unusual weapon akin to a flail rests on its lap, still clutched in one bony hand.
Someone is about to comment when the party turns quickly at two successive sounds from behind. The first sounds like two pieces of parchment being rubbed together, and the second is skittering rocks. As everyone looks, the noisemaker half runs/half flies back into the mud room and around the corner out of sight. What you all saw before it disappeared was a winged lizard, red and orange in color, of similar size to Sagitta.
Someone is about to comment on that when the sound of footsteps draws your attention back toward the bend. Ebokk is walking toward the lifeless form. He stops about five feet from it, just staring at it. You can't see his face, but his body posture looks ... deflated.
Jambiya is torn between chasing the flying lizard and Ebokk’s distress. She decides to stay with the party. “ Is that... him? The pirate?” she asks. The beard does not have a beard ring, does it?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
she/her Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands.
Sorry; I'm being more cinematic than narrative in my head right now. The party is about 15-20 feet away, and Ebokk is standing between you and the form, so you can't see whether it has the beard ring. Ebokk, at least, does not respond to your question.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Erric tries to figure out what the sound of papers was - he's seen people use scrolls before... was it similar to how scrolls are used? And he looks around for anything in the walls that look loose now, or a pile of rocks on the ground, or anything out of place.
Perception: 7
He also steps a bit closer and to the side of Ebokk to get a better visual read of the skeleton and their dwarven companion. Is Ebokk just disappointed or grieving to see what might be his dead father? Is something else happening to the live dwarf? And is there anything where a beard ring might be on the dead one?
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Maldorn is glad to be out of the mud, but the creature that rubbed some parchment together and run away bothers him more than whatever Ebokk is doing. He notices Erric paying attention to it also, and voices his concern: "What do you think that noise and that creature were, Veric?"
He tries to draw conclusions from the rock noises he heard (survival: 6) and from the brief appearance of the creature (nature: 6).
“Maybe I can talk to it,” Jambiya says, as the group seems interested in the lizard. She creeps out to look into the mud room with her darkvision. “Hello?”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
she/her Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Anafrey would wipe the mud from her the best she could before spinning around at the sound behind them. When she fails to really see what it was, she quickly moves towards the corpse and stands beside Ebokk. She wouldnt say anything but would be closely examining the corpse without touching it or appearing disrespectful.
OOC: Sorry for the long absence. Vacation then sick. Still sick, but gonna make it! :) Happy new year.
Erric, you look around for a source of the strange sliding/papery noise. You don't see anything hidden in the walls. Everything kind of looks out of place, but it's a strange place. The torch light is dancing, so the shadows are as well. When you step up beside Ebokk, you can immediately see a piece of jewelry — which you assume to be a beard ring — within the thick beard of the dead form. You give the dwarf a sideways glance and see that he is staring at the dead form looking very sad.
Maldorn, as you begin to think back concerning creatures you've dealt with in the past, your mind suddenly switches from connecting the sound you heard with paper being rubbed together to leathery/papery wings being rubbed together, and you realize it was the creature's wings you heard.
Jambiya, you peek around the entrance/exit to the mud room and call out to the creature. You can see it clinging to the wall about 10 feet away. It backs up another five feet, keeping its eyes on you. Seeing it with your darkvision, the red and orange you remember is now shades of gray, but the creature is small and lithe with keen eyes. Its wings are folded, but pulse with each quick breath as if it is ready to take off at any moment.
Anafrey, as you step up, you also immediately notice the piece of jewelry within the corpse's beard. It appears to be a collection of intertwined rings of varied colors: gray, silver, and yellow to name a few. The weapon resting on the lap of the form is a kind of flail: a two-part chain-linked iron rod.
Erric claps his small hand on the dwarf's shoulder and gives a friendly squeeze.
"I'm really sorry for what it seems you've lost, Ebokk. Is that your father? Was that your father? He looks like he's been here a long time, and there might be something in his beard there. Our search might have found success. But, my friend, let us be aware of our surroundings. Things might be watching us, we've encountered some truly weird creatures, we are in a barrow that is much older than your father, and there is strange magic happening outside. And that is not a normal way for a creature to find his final resting place. I've listened to enough stories to know this could go upside-down very quickly. Do you recognize that weapon? And before we rescue your beard ring, are you sure there is nothing we should know about it first? I do think it would be smart to be careful about touching it. Why don't I have Jack grab it for you and see what happens."
Erric looks around the cavern to see if there is anything in the dirt, any tracks, any other sign to give a clue about what happened here. (OOC: I hope you feel better!!)
Recalling Jambiya's ability to speak with diverse creatures, Maldorn lets the goblin girl talk without interrupting. He does his best to not look menacing, though if Jambiya's gaze catches his even for a brief moment, the ranger nods to reassure her that he is ready to act if needed.
(Taking a little bit of liberties here.) Maldorn moves to peer around the corner behind Jambiya. His human eyes can't see the creature as Jambiya can because of the dark, but the goblin girl sees the creature's eyes shift to look at Maldorn and then back at her. The eyes blink, but continue to stare.
Ebokk doesn't respond as Erric makes his small speech, even when Anafrey leans forward to pick up the strange weapon. When the bard has finished, and as Anafrey is lifting the weapon, the dwarf sniffs. "It's him," he sighs. "My papa," he says in a voice much younger-sounding than usual. He pauses. "I told myself there wasn't any way he could have been Captain Flindbar. Papa didn't have anything to do with gnolls or pirates. But ... but here he is. It has to be him."
Anafrey, as you pick up the weapon, you can feel it has power, but it will take attuning to it or having it identified to know how much. Until then, it is a standard flail.
Erric's still looking around. Is there anything else moving, or can he hear anything down the passage? How much farther does it seem to go?
"Jambiya? Maldorn? Do you know what those rocks were, and if someone did something with paper behind us? I think we found Ebokk's dad's remains here, and Anafrey just took his flail. I was going to have Jack pick up the beard ring if it's there, unless someone has an objection to it."
He picks up his songhorn (a type of flute) and begins to play a soft version of the closest thing he can remember to a dwarven dirge or song of remembrance. Very short, but he wants Ebokk to have time to process. Then, if there's no objection, he'll have Jack pick up the beard ring and see what happens.
Jambiya ignores Eric’s talking in the other room. She glances up at Maldorn as the creature does. “Oh, this is Master Whitehare, he’s okay. He has a flying snake friend. Were you a friend of the dwarf in the other room? Can you tell us anything about what happened here?”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
she/her Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands.
Maldorn continues to follow Jambiya's lead, unsure of who she is speaking to since he cannot see it. Though he heard the halfling plainly, like the Goblin girl, he does not respond to Erric for now. At the mention of Sagitta, Maldorn allows the winged serpent to slither out of his sleeves and coil around his left wrist in plain sight.
@DDP: Did Maldorn gather anything concerning the rocks as per the survival roll in this post?
Erric, you peer around the bend further down. It's hard to tell because of the limited (torch) light and the bend, but it looks like you're about halfway through a 90-degree turn to the right. There's another opening into another larger space, but you're not sure how big.
As you begin playing your dwarven tune, it seems to give strength to Ebokk. After only eight bars or so, he clears his throat and leans forward. Holding the beard above the ring with one hand, he pulls downward on the piece of jewelry with the other. It takes a few tense moments, but the mass of hair finally lets go, and he manages to keep from displacing the beard still clinging to remains of the form's chin. It's a bit macabre to see the young dwarf manhandle the corpse, but you manage to keep playing.
Ebokk holds up the ring and then curls his fingers around it possessively. "I might never know exactly what happened, but at least I have this back."
Back at the entrance to the mud room, as soon as Sagitta makes his appearance, Jambiya sees the other creature perk up. It sits up a little off the wall and silently opens its mouth a bit toward the winged snake. Sagitta flicks his tongue out, but doesn't appear to notice the lizard. The new creature's eyes dart to Jambiya and back to Sagitta.
Maldorn, given the sounds and the creature that was there when you turned, you're pretty sure all the sounds were generated by the winged lizard.
DM rollz: 18
Maldorn, you're suddenly curious how the creature would react if you offered it some food.
Jambiya will wade back into the mud, checking on her wounded friends. “Magic mud bats, actually made out of mud? What is this island?”
she/her
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands.
"Strange. That's what this island is..." Maldorn responds. "Let us keep moving, young'uns."
Maldron looks around for Jack's flickering light and starts moving that way.
Erric, getting equally overwhelmed by the island, totally does a "guys... where are we?" straight to camera like in "Lost."
DM rollz: 11
Moving forward onto solid ground again and out of the "mud room", the party finds the passage widens to form a slender cavern that bends out of sight. Midway to the bend, a squat form sits facing you atop a small boulder. It is clearly lifeless and almost skeletal, yet still sports a thick beard and matted hair. An unusual weapon akin to a flail rests on its lap, still clutched in one bony hand.
Someone is about to comment when the party turns quickly at two successive sounds from behind. The first sounds like two pieces of parchment being rubbed together, and the second is skittering rocks. As everyone looks, the noisemaker half runs/half flies back into the mud room and around the corner out of sight. What you all saw before it disappeared was a winged lizard, red and orange in color, of similar size to Sagitta.
Someone is about to comment on that when the sound of footsteps draws your attention back toward the bend. Ebokk is walking toward the lifeless form. He stops about five feet from it, just staring at it. You can't see his face, but his body posture looks ... deflated.
Jambiya is torn between chasing the flying lizard and Ebokk’s distress. She decides to stay with the party. “ Is that... him? The pirate?” she asks. The beard does not have a beard ring, does it?
she/her
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands.
Sorry; I'm being more cinematic than narrative in my head right now. The party is about 15-20 feet away, and Ebokk is standing between you and the form, so you can't see whether it has the beard ring. Ebokk, at least, does not respond to your question.
Erric tries to figure out what the sound of papers was - he's seen people use scrolls before... was it similar to how scrolls are used? And he looks around for anything in the walls that look loose now, or a pile of rocks on the ground, or anything out of place.
Perception: 7
He also steps a bit closer and to the side of Ebokk to get a better visual read of the skeleton and their dwarven companion. Is Ebokk just disappointed or grieving to see what might be his dead father? Is something else happening to the live dwarf? And is there anything where a beard ring might be on the dead one?
Perception: 7
Maldorn is glad to be out of the mud, but the creature that rubbed some parchment together and run away bothers him more than whatever Ebokk is doing. He notices Erric paying attention to it also, and voices his concern: "What do you think that noise and that creature were, Veric?"
He tries to draw conclusions from the rock noises he heard (survival: 6) and from the brief appearance of the creature (nature: 6).
“Maybe I can talk to it,” Jambiya says, as the group seems interested in the lizard. She creeps out to look into the mud room with her darkvision. “Hello?”
she/her
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands.
Anafrey would wipe the mud from her the best she could before spinning around at the sound behind them. When she fails to really see what it was, she quickly moves towards the corpse and stands beside Ebokk. She wouldnt say anything but would be closely examining the corpse without touching it or appearing disrespectful.
perception or investigation 10
OOC: Sorry for the long absence. Vacation then sick. Still sick, but gonna make it! :) Happy new year.
Erric, you look around for a source of the strange sliding/papery noise. You don't see anything hidden in the walls. Everything kind of looks out of place, but it's a strange place. The torch light is dancing, so the shadows are as well. When you step up beside Ebokk, you can immediately see a piece of jewelry — which you assume to be a beard ring — within the thick beard of the dead form. You give the dwarf a sideways glance and see that he is staring at the dead form looking very sad.
Maldorn, as you begin to think back concerning creatures you've dealt with in the past, your mind suddenly switches from connecting the sound you heard with paper being rubbed together to leathery/papery wings being rubbed together, and you realize it was the creature's wings you heard.
Jambiya, you peek around the entrance/exit to the mud room and call out to the creature. You can see it clinging to the wall about 10 feet away. It backs up another five feet, keeping its eyes on you. Seeing it with your darkvision, the red and orange you remember is now shades of gray, but the creature is small and lithe with keen eyes. Its wings are folded, but pulse with each quick breath as if it is ready to take off at any moment.
Anafrey, as you step up, you also immediately notice the piece of jewelry within the corpse's beard. It appears to be a collection of intertwined rings of varied colors: gray, silver, and yellow to name a few. The weapon resting on the lap of the form is a kind of flail: a two-part chain-linked iron rod.
"Hey there," Jambiya calls out. "We're not here to hurt you... we're just looking for something the dwarf lost. Why are you here?"
she/her
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands.
Erric claps his small hand on the dwarf's shoulder and gives a friendly squeeze.
"I'm really sorry for what it seems you've lost, Ebokk. Is that your father? Was that your father? He looks like he's been here a long time, and there might be something in his beard there. Our search might have found success. But, my friend, let us be aware of our surroundings. Things might be watching us, we've encountered some truly weird creatures, we are in a barrow that is much older than your father, and there is strange magic happening outside. And that is not a normal way for a creature to find his final resting place. I've listened to enough stories to know this could go upside-down very quickly. Do you recognize that weapon? And before we rescue your beard ring, are you sure there is nothing we should know about it first? I do think it would be smart to be careful about touching it. Why don't I have Jack grab it for you and see what happens."
Erric looks around the cavern to see if there is anything in the dirt, any tracks, any other sign to give a clue about what happened here. (OOC: I hope you feel better!!)
Anafrey would slowly move to pick up the flail as Erric discusses picking up the beard ring
Recalling Jambiya's ability to speak with diverse creatures, Maldorn lets the goblin girl talk without interrupting. He does his best to not look menacing, though if Jambiya's gaze catches his even for a brief moment, the ranger nods to reassure her that he is ready to act if needed.
(Taking a little bit of liberties here.) Maldorn moves to peer around the corner behind Jambiya. His human eyes can't see the creature as Jambiya can because of the dark, but the goblin girl sees the creature's eyes shift to look at Maldorn and then back at her. The eyes blink, but continue to stare.
Ebokk doesn't respond as Erric makes his small speech, even when Anafrey leans forward to pick up the strange weapon. When the bard has finished, and as Anafrey is lifting the weapon, the dwarf sniffs. "It's him," he sighs. "My papa," he says in a voice much younger-sounding than usual. He pauses. "I told myself there wasn't any way he could have been Captain Flindbar. Papa didn't have anything to do with gnolls or pirates. But ... but here he is. It has to be him."
Anafrey, as you pick up the weapon, you can feel it has power, but it will take attuning to it or having it identified to know how much. Until then, it is a standard flail.
Erric's still looking around. Is there anything else moving, or can he hear anything down the passage? How much farther does it seem to go?
"Jambiya? Maldorn? Do you know what those rocks were, and if someone did something with paper behind us? I think we found Ebokk's dad's remains here, and Anafrey just took his flail. I was going to have Jack pick up the beard ring if it's there, unless someone has an objection to it."
He picks up his songhorn (a type of flute) and begins to play a soft version of the closest thing he can remember to a dwarven dirge or song of remembrance. Very short, but he wants Ebokk to have time to process. Then, if there's no objection, he'll have Jack pick up the beard ring and see what happens.
Jambiya ignores Eric’s talking in the other room. She glances up at Maldorn as the creature does. “Oh, this is Master Whitehare, he’s okay. He has a flying snake friend. Were you a friend of the dwarf in the other room? Can you tell us anything about what happened here?”
she/her
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands.
Maldorn continues to follow Jambiya's lead, unsure of who she is speaking to since he cannot see it. Though he heard the halfling plainly, like the Goblin girl, he does not respond to Erric for now. At the mention of Sagitta, Maldorn allows the winged serpent to slither out of his sleeves and coil around his left wrist in plain sight.
@DDP: Did Maldorn gather anything concerning the rocks as per the survival roll in this post?
Erric, you peer around the bend further down. It's hard to tell because of the limited (torch) light and the bend, but it looks like you're about halfway through a 90-degree turn to the right. There's another opening into another larger space, but you're not sure how big.
As you begin playing your dwarven tune, it seems to give strength to Ebokk. After only eight bars or so, he clears his throat and leans forward. Holding the beard above the ring with one hand, he pulls downward on the piece of jewelry with the other. It takes a few tense moments, but the mass of hair finally lets go, and he manages to keep from displacing the beard still clinging to remains of the form's chin. It's a bit macabre to see the young dwarf manhandle the corpse, but you manage to keep playing.
Ebokk holds up the ring and then curls his fingers around it possessively. "I might never know exactly what happened, but at least I have this back."
Back at the entrance to the mud room, as soon as Sagitta makes his appearance, Jambiya sees the other creature perk up. It sits up a little off the wall and silently opens its mouth a bit toward the winged snake. Sagitta flicks his tongue out, but doesn't appear to notice the lizard. The new creature's eyes dart to Jambiya and back to Sagitta.
Maldorn, given the sounds and the creature that was there when you turned, you're pretty sure all the sounds were generated by the winged lizard.
DM rollz: 18
Maldorn, you're suddenly curious how the creature would react if you offered it some food.