"I'd like to kill him, but obviously not now, when it would endanger everyone. Let's do what we were supposed to do and worry about my vendetta later."
Messalina casts Message so that she can speak to Bell. "You're very sweet and I love you to bits, but when it comes down to it, I don't know you all that well. So I would just like to ask you a few questions about yourself and if I ask something that you don't want to answer, you can tell me that. And if you want to ask me something about myself, you can do that too. Does that sound good?"
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Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
For a moment, the kenku could be seen taking a look around, confused as to where her voice is coming from.
Until she realizes that it was a spell. Silly Bell! "Okay!" She chirps back loudly, then catches herself and apologizes to the people around her. Her claws cover over her beak as she whispers back, "Okay!"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Aeydof the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm /ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
Messalina giggles as Bell tries to figure out where her voice is coming from. "Oops. I should've told you. This spell allows us to communicate in little whispers that only we can hear, so use that. First I would like to ask you where you're from."
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Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
One night, you can all hear hissing and other crate moving noises coming from underneath the storeroom. Peeking in, you can tell that a group of lizardfolk are moving the crates from the storeroom through an underground tunnel leading who knows where.
The other merchants are gathering up things to head either back to Waterdeep, or further north. You don't have much time to make a decision as what to do.
"There's lots of people around,"Camilla noticed that evening, "but we've got to see where that tunnel leads to. I have a feeling our investigative adventure isn't quite over yet."
Astrid excitedly nods her head in agreement with Camilla...”My Harper clan charged me with investigating these weird shipment as well. I indubitably agree, young Camilla. Let’s proceed with haste!”
As if Messalina flipped on a switch, Bell whispers back, in the voice that (if she remembered) she first introduced herself, “I come from a small town and was raised in the Church of Ilmater—“ She pauses moment to think of something else to say. Her voice switches to one of a little boy on the verge of tears although at most she looked dejected. “And I got lost...”
She shook her head and continued. “Never mind.” Instead of whispering she speaks to everyone. “Yes let’s go!”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Aeydof the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm /ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
The cultist caravans have stopped at a roadhouse between Waterdeep and Neverwinter near the Mere of Dead Men, a vast marshland. In total, we've been on the road for over two months. The half orc superintendent was directing the cultists and workers to move the crates into the storehouse. Messa recognized the superintendent. At night, we saw lizardfolk take the contraband from the storehouse and walk into a large tunnel underneath it in waves. There would be time to enter the tunnel, but we'd have to be careful.
We had lizardfolk, cultists, the half black dragon cultist leader, the bald man with tattoos on his head, Bog Luck, and merchants around the complex. Messalina had a bone to pick with Bog Luck, but there were lots of people around - starting a fight now would probably not go in our favor - we were greatly outnumbered. The cultists, and lizardfolk were the only ones going into the tunnel carrying the contraband. The half black dragon cult leader and the bald man just left into the tunnel. The merchants began to depart to various destinations, some north, some south.
If we time it right, we could slip in undetected and find out what was down there, so we did.
The tunnel was wet, and slimy. It was dark, and we could barely see. We could feel the thrum of magic as we hurriedly walked down it, and we must have tripped a magic portal of some sort because the next instant, we were not halfway between Waterdeep and Neverwinter anymore.
We crawled out of the tunnel and found ourselves much wiser in experience from our massive journey so far, in a place we have never heard of before in a location we didn't recognize. We followed the tracks the lizardfolk made, they were easy to see as they left footprints since the loads they were carrying were so heavy.
We slipped to the side of a building to hide and found ourselves in a village called Parnast. Off in the distance was something I had never seen before. Docked by a bridge was a floating castle. The lizardfolk, the half black dragon leader, cultists, and the man with the bald tattoo'ed head were making their way there.
The village has a few dozen houses and a small square, with buildings that include a tavern, a stable, and a shrine. In contrast to this rustic burg stands a mighty ice castle half hidden in a fog-shrouded ravine: walls stand forty feet high, huge narrow towers loom upward — one of blue ice, one crumbling — and all of it is built to a scale for giants. Wisps of fog hide much of the castle’s detail, but you see two statues standing just before the enormous gate. Most of the people here appear to be under the sway of the cult and we received very concerning or strange looks as we walked around somewhat covertly.
We got the feeling that if we continued to walk around dressed as adventurers at this stage of our journey, so close to what appeared to be a headquarters of some sort, surely we would be found out and attacks. Besides the villagers, there were cultists walking around and going about their business, we were sure one of them would find our suspicious and alert someone. Whatever was going on, we knew we had to reach and infiltrate that floating giant castle.
Astrid whispers to the rest of the group: "We need to blend in with the cultists! We're sticking out like sore thumbs here, and I don't think we'll last much longer without getting apprehended. Any ideas of where we can get some cultist garb?"
"I certainly agree with the plan of getting cultist garb and sneaking in. As you know, I can change myself to look like almost anyone and I'm incredibly persuasive, as well as magically gifted, so I think that I might be able to make the task of disguising ourselves and bluffing our way in slightly easier."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Astrid will casually look around for a place to pick up cultists garb (perhaps there is a local Cultists-R-Us store? Or someone left their cultist cloaks out to dry on a clothes line?):
Li'riya nods in answer to the suggestion of sneaking in. "I'm sure there are some large cultists. We can just give you a bigger than usual cloak and a hat." She smiles faintly.
A group of cultist initiates are coming out of the tavern, The Golden Tankard, pretty drunk and zombie walking. Strange, because it's only 10:30am. I guess it's 5pm somewhere in Faerun. They seem oblivious to everything around them and seem to be heading back to their barracks.
Camilla thought for a moment while Astrid spied them.
"Alright Bell."she kneeled down, and Bell cocked her head to look at the tiefling. "Two things."she said, "I know you like corn chips, and I know you liked my old robe, so I cleaned my robe and made it into a blanket while we've been travelling. I hope you like it! Smell!"Bell cautiously pecked the blanket and smelled it, it smelled like Camilla! "Might remind you of me, and, plus, I appreciate how you tried to fix my robe when it got slashed up. So, that's for you."Camilla then produced a large pouch and opened it. Inside, it defied physics with how many corn chips were contained inside such a small bag. Bell’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "I had a bag of holding I wanted to give you, too, so you'd have a place to hide in while we infiltrate the floating castle. I filled it with corn chips for you so you wouldn't get hungr-"In a suddenly splash of corn ships, Bell had dove into the bag of holding, burrowed deep into the bag, eating her way down, and then it was quiet. Camilla smiled and tied up the bag, slinging it around her backpack. On the bag, it said: "AVERNIAN CORN CHIPS. HELLISHLY DELICIOUS."
"We better get in that castle fast, because Bell will have eaten all of those chips within the hour, maybe less. It still astounds me how that tiny bird body can store all of those corn chips. But those drunken cultists should provide us with the disguises that we need to get in. They're drunk, so I imagine that killing them won't be too difficult."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
"I'd like to kill him, but obviously not now, when it would endanger everyone. Let's do what we were supposed to do and worry about my vendetta later."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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Messalina casts Message so that she can speak to Bell. "You're very sweet and I love you to bits, but when it comes down to it, I don't know you all that well. So I would just like to ask you a few questions about yourself and if I ask something that you don't want to answer, you can tell me that. And if you want to ask me something about myself, you can do that too. Does that sound good?"
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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For a moment, the kenku could be seen taking a look around, confused as to where her voice is coming from.
Until she realizes that it was a spell. Silly Bell! "Okay!" She chirps back loudly, then catches herself and apologizes to the people around her. Her claws cover over her beak as she whispers back, "Okay!"
Aeyd of the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk
Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm
Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid
Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue
Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm
/ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
Messalina giggles as Bell tries to figure out where her voice is coming from. "Oops. I should've told you. This spell allows us to communicate in little whispers that only we can hear, so use that. First I would like to ask you where you're from."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
One night, you can all hear hissing and other crate moving noises coming from underneath the storeroom. Peeking in, you can tell that a group of lizardfolk are moving the crates from the storeroom through an underground tunnel leading who knows where.
The other merchants are gathering up things to head either back to Waterdeep, or further north. You don't have much time to make a decision as what to do.
"There's lots of people around," Camilla noticed that evening, "but we've got to see where that tunnel leads to. I have a feeling our investigative adventure isn't quite over yet."
Astrid excitedly nods her head in agreement with Camilla...”My Harper clan charged me with investigating these weird shipment as well. I indubitably agree, young Camilla. Let’s proceed with haste!”
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
"Well then. Let's get going."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
As if Messalina flipped on a switch, Bell whispers back, in the voice that (if she remembered) she first introduced herself, “I come from a small town and was raised in the Church of Ilmater—“ She pauses moment to think of something else to say. Her voice switches to one of a little boy on the verge of tears although at most she looked dejected. “And I got lost...”
She shook her head and continued. “Never mind.” Instead of whispering she speaks to everyone. “Yes let’s go!”
Aeyd of the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk
Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm
Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid
Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue
Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm
/ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
Messalina gently pats Bell on the head. "Ok. We'll continue this later if you're okay with that."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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Li'riya nods. "We should follow them."
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
The cultist caravans have stopped at a roadhouse between Waterdeep and Neverwinter near the Mere of Dead Men, a vast marshland. In total, we've been on the road for over two months. The half orc superintendent was directing the cultists and workers to move the crates into the storehouse. Messa recognized the superintendent. At night, we saw lizardfolk take the contraband from the storehouse and walk into a large tunnel underneath it in waves. There would be time to enter the tunnel, but we'd have to be careful.
We had lizardfolk, cultists, the half black dragon cultist leader, the bald man with tattoos on his head, Bog Luck, and merchants around the complex. Messalina had a bone to pick with Bog Luck, but there were lots of people around - starting a fight now would probably not go in our favor - we were greatly outnumbered. The cultists, and lizardfolk were the only ones going into the tunnel carrying the contraband. The half black dragon cult leader and the bald man just left into the tunnel. The merchants began to depart to various destinations, some north, some south.
If we time it right, we could slip in undetected and find out what was down there, so we did.
The tunnel was wet, and slimy. It was dark, and we could barely see. We could feel the thrum of magic as we hurriedly walked down it, and we must have tripped a magic portal of some sort because the next instant, we were not halfway between Waterdeep and Neverwinter anymore.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
CASTLE IN THE CLOUDS
We crawled out of the tunnel and found ourselves much wiser in experience from our massive journey so far, in a place we have never heard of before in a location we didn't recognize. We followed the tracks the lizardfolk made, they were easy to see as they left footprints since the loads they were carrying were so heavy.
We slipped to the side of a building to hide and found ourselves in a village called Parnast. Off in the distance was something I had never seen before. Docked by a bridge was a floating castle. The lizardfolk, the half black dragon leader, cultists, and the man with the bald tattoo'ed head were making their way there.
The village has a few dozen houses and a small square, with buildings that include a tavern, a stable, and a shrine. In contrast to this rustic burg stands a mighty ice castle half hidden in a fog-shrouded ravine: walls stand forty feet high, huge narrow towers loom upward — one of blue ice, one crumbling — and all of it is built to a scale for giants. Wisps of fog hide much of the castle’s detail, but you see two statues standing just before the enormous gate. Most of the people here appear to be under the sway of the cult and we received very concerning or strange looks as we walked around somewhat covertly.
We got the feeling that if we continued to walk around dressed as adventurers at this stage of our journey, so close to what appeared to be a headquarters of some sort, surely we would be found out and attacks. Besides the villagers, there were cultists walking around and going about their business, we were sure one of them would find our suspicious and alert someone. Whatever was going on, we knew we had to reach and infiltrate that floating giant castle.
Astrid whispers to the rest of the group: "We need to blend in with the cultists! We're sticking out like sore thumbs here, and I don't think we'll last much longer without getting apprehended. Any ideas of where we can get some cultist garb?"
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
"I certainly agree with the plan of getting cultist garb and sneaking in. As you know, I can change myself to look like almost anyone and I'm incredibly persuasive, as well as magically gifted, so I think that I might be able to make the task of disguising ourselves and bluffing our way in slightly easier."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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"Yeah....I'm not going to pretend to be a cow. So I hope someone is good at disguising." Edward says.
"I didn't say to disguise yourself as a cow. I said that you would disguise yourself as a cultist. Massive difference."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
Astrid will casually look around for a place to pick up cultists garb (perhaps there is a local Cultists-R-Us store? Or someone left their cultist cloaks out to dry on a clothes line?):
Investigation: 23
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Li'riya nods in answer to the suggestion of sneaking in. "I'm sure there are some large cultists. We can just give you a bigger than usual cloak and a hat." She smiles faintly.
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
A group of cultist initiates are coming out of the tavern, The Golden Tankard, pretty drunk and zombie walking. Strange, because it's only 10:30am. I guess it's 5pm somewhere in Faerun. They seem oblivious to everything around them and seem to be heading back to their barracks.
Camilla thought for a moment while Astrid spied them.
"Alright Bell." she kneeled down, and Bell cocked her head to look at the tiefling. "Two things." she said, "I know you like corn chips, and I know you liked my old robe, so I cleaned my robe and made it into a blanket while we've been travelling. I hope you like it! Smell!" Bell cautiously pecked the blanket and smelled it, it smelled like Camilla! "Might remind you of me, and, plus, I appreciate how you tried to fix my robe when it got slashed up. So, that's for you." Camilla then produced a large pouch and opened it. Inside, it defied physics with how many corn chips were contained inside such a small bag. Bell’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "I had a bag of holding I wanted to give you, too, so you'd have a place to hide in while we infiltrate the floating castle. I filled it with corn chips for you so you wouldn't get hungr-" In a suddenly splash of corn ships, Bell had dove into the bag of holding, burrowed deep into the bag, eating her way down, and then it was quiet. Camilla smiled and tied up the bag, slinging it around her backpack. On the bag, it said: "AVERNIAN CORN CHIPS. HELLISHLY DELICIOUS."
"She'll be fine." Camilla nodded, pleased.
"We better get in that castle fast, because Bell will have eaten all of those chips within the hour, maybe less. It still astounds me how that tiny bird body can store all of those corn chips. But those drunken cultists should provide us with the disguises that we need to get in. They're drunk, so I imagine that killing them won't be too difficult."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More