The Summit Road Campaign Thread

River coos softly as she hears these words, pulling her scarves back over her face and turning away.

Arthem hesitates, then nods. "Okay," he says softly. "Okay...Dad." He suddenly runs forward, wrapping his arms in a hug around Caelius's waist.

Caelius begins to cry uncontrollably and gives Arthem a hug back.

The big brown bear waddles closer to Caelius and his son, then nudges both of them gently, licking their faces with his massive, wet tongue. After which he goes back to the soldier he just sat on, sniffs at the unconscious body a little, then sits on its haunches and scratches his back against the wall thoroughly.

Caelius smiles and wipes the slime off his face. With a big grin, he looks to Arthem and signs,

Taran chuckles again, gesturing to Caelius's signs, "Th-the B-bear is M-Mister Dr-druhdaar. H-Hes usually a man, and n-not the t-touchy f-feely type."

"He's very big," Arthem squeaks.

Taran nods, then heads back out into the main hall. The glimmer in his eyes fades as he steps back. He heads to the stairs to listen and see if the commotion drew any undue attention.

OOC: Taran, give me a Perception

As Arthem wonders about the size of the plantigrade, the bear form seems to shimmer as the air around the beast vibrates and throbs in a disturbing frenzy. Soon the frequency diminishes and Druhdaar stands before them once again. The big druid realizes he's still rubbing his backside against the wall and quickly straightens up with an embarassed grunt.

He fixes his limpid green eyes on Caelius and then his son. Squatting next to Arthem - but not too close so as not to alarm the boy - he says in a deep but unusually gentle baritone:

" So you're Arthem, right ? Nice to meet you, soldier. I am Druhdaar. You're a lucky boy, you know why ? One: you look nothing like your da. Two: you're amongst friends here. "

He points at Arthem's tiny biceps:

" Mmmph. Pretty strong uh ? Been lifting stones, aye ? Good, that way you can watch over your old man... He needs it. "

Standing back up, he gives the kid a military-like salute with a sausage-sized finger, followed by a quick, discrete wink for Caelius. He then slowly shuffles towards Taran to stand silently by the young man as he checks the stairways, his quarterstaff clutched in both hands.

" Okay boy-wonder, get us outta here before the kid gets hurt. " the big druid whispers, " I'll be right behind ya. "

Perception 9

"Uh...hi," Arthem squeaks out as the massive Druhdaar speaks to him.

Taran hears no signs of commotion.

All NPCs are ready to go. When Arthem sees Ilaan, he blinks, looking a bit confused, and Ilaan moves over and whispers something to him before pulling him to the back of the group next to Ryder.

Caelius lays a reassuring hand on Arthem's shoulder and gives him a thumbs up. Caelius then takes his position in the middle of the group, looking back over his shoulder at his son.

He heads forward, keeping to the route they took to get in, and hoping to exit from the kitchens.

OOC: Okay everyone. I'm going to need 3 checks from each person to get out unnoticed. These will be group checks. You can roll whatever you want, so long as you can justify it. For example, Deception for tricking your way past guards, or Stealth to slip past patrols. It can even be something like History to remember patrol movements. As long as you can justify it, you can roll it.

Stealth to sneak past patrols 27

Perception to keep an eye out for trouble 8

Sleight of hand for tossing a smokestick down a hallway as a distraction 21

Persuasion for Arthem to keep his cool: 14

Stealth (Charisma) to pretend to be a guard: 21

Persuasion to redirect guards' attention: 20

Seeing an opportunity to act up as Taran makes a smokescreen. Vishal goes about acting out fear and panic that the kalashtar are attacking. They’re here. That was their explosion. We need to move and act now. Protect the Lord. He does this every time he is able. Some pep returning to him as he does. Excited to go home he gives Druhdaar and River some inspiration. A nice head pat for River and a bro butt slap for Druhdaar. 

Performance 1: 15

Performance 2: 20

Performance 3: 15

The big druid grunts in surprise and irritation at the renewed butt slap, and shoots Vishal a furious look that says it all. Sighing in exasperation, he proceeds to stride firmly through whoever stands in his way, eyes fixed straight ahead, intent on getting to the exit as fast as he can.

Perception to keep an eye out for the quickest and surest way out : 10

Insight to judge which groups of guards and other kintam personnel will be easiest to bypass on the way : 8

Stealth to avoid patrols and use dark corners and other nooks and crannies whenever necessary :  19

NOTE - the butt slap makes Druhdaar a lot more careful and utterly distrustful about his immediate surroundings. NO-ONE is getting close to this rear again if he can help it ! Bardic Inspiration to Insight + 3

River coos softly at the pats, seeming a bit out of herself but quickly getting back on track.

Perception: Watching for any possible things that could cause an issue, or anything that could be useful; Guards getting suspicious, easiest ways to leave, etc - 16+4=20
Deception: In case she has to talk to a guard without giving away that she's a bird - 13+4=17
Persuasion: For the actual 'talking' part of the last roll - 8+4+5=17