"You're wise not to trust it. Even I'm not certain my magic is fine," Effort admits. "It's the price one pays for power... the delicate balance between using it to further your ends, or being consumed in the process." She frowns, staring forward. "Sometimes you have to be willing to pay any price to achieve your goal. Needing a thing and liking a thing don't always coincide. Though, I suppose there are times that I feel I could learn to appreciate the powers I was granted." She looks up at her owl as she says this.
You finally have everything packed up, have said your goodbyes to Sam and the rest of the folk at the church, and head out of Lovilra. Walking down the main avenue, the city is bustling with life, as people walk hurriedly up-and-down the street. Some carrying sacks of grain, some pulling horses or donkeys behind them, some holding the hands of loved ones. You take in the low hum of city life as you exit through the western gates, knowing you'll be apart from civilization on this scale for quite some time.
The gates fade behind you as you walk east. The sun is still low in the sky, but the road out of the the city is mostly wooded once you get a few minutes outside the city wall. Flecks of sunlight hit you as you pass beneath the trees, a welcome bit of warmth on an otherwise chilly morning. Cadmael cruises just above the tree line, scanning the horizons on all sides and taking the occasional break on a high branch and waiting for everyone to catch up.
There are initially plenty of people on the road. Traders, farmers, some city guards. Little settlements dot the landscape outside of Lovilra, all of them interconnected with the economy of the city. After a few hours of walking, though, you start seeing fewer and fewer people on the road. An old man rides by on his horse and nods politely, and a few squirrels scurry across the road. Then, you're by yourselves.
You find yourselves enjoying the travel, actually. The afternoon wears on, and you exit the woods onto a somewhat less impressive portion of the road. Here it's mostly dirt, but the sun is now at your back and warming you as you trudge on. Eventually you find a few large tree trunks set up in a circle next to a stream. It seems like the perfect stop to break for a bit, eat some of the fresh fruit and bread that Sam gifted you, and rest your feet.
Everyone, roll perception checks (including Cadmael).
The minotaur is glad to be out of the city and back on the road, with the promise of adventure and coin. As they go, he enjoys staring down the various peasants and travellers they encounter, making them back off and leave the group alone - it seems to be a game for him.
As the group stops, he freshens up at the stream and pays little attention to whatever dangers might lurk in the surrounding area.
Bread and fruit? We're gonna need something better for dinner tonight. Let me know if Cad spots anything tasty.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Cadmael's Perception, advantage because hearing/sight: 23
Effort's Perception: 1
Effort sends a thought up to Cadmael: Try to find food or game that we land-bound creatures down here might be able to eat, if you can.
(I think survival is for hunting, for Cadmael, that is also with advantage: 10 )
Effort slows as they approach the circle, eying it warily. "You both may trust all this beauty and nature, but all I see are trees in a circle. And from what I know of the arcane, anything in a circle is usually a bad idea to be at the center of. You remember that cultist's portal, don't you? What if these are all dryad trees, waiting to eat some napping adventurers?" She skirts the outside of the circle of trees, still partaking in the rest and the shade, but shuns joining the group (if they chose to set camp in the middle of the circle of trees, that is).
As they approach hell say to effort, "there is more to see than with just your eyes, but yes it is never bad to maintain vigilance"
Burik will sit against a tree near the edge and the water, watching the stream go by. He lays his hammer and shield in front of him, closes his eyes, and begins to do something akin to meditation.
You get the feeling that he's still paying attention to the world around him however.
His attention however shifts from watching the water of the stream with his eyes open, to feeling the weave of magic with his eyes closed.
The cold water feels incredible on Brask's tired face. He closes his eyes as he splashes upward, unable to remember the last time he felt this relaxed around a group of people before. Not that he would let them know it, of course.
Burik tears a piece of bread from the fresh loaf as he sits down on one of the fallen trees. He chews the first bite as he looks downstream toward the mountains. Out of sight still, but he can almost feel them. They were the only thing he knew for a long time.
Effort sends Cadmael up into the skies to look for something to eat, but he spots something else. Actually, Effort isn't sure if it was her or the owl that noticed it first. It's almost as if they are sensing things simultaneously. The smell of smoke is unmistakable. Cadmael spots the rising plume a few hundred yards to the east and lets out a scream to alert everyone just as Effort is sitting up to find the direction of the smell.
Burik seems to catch sight of something too. A faint flicker coming from between the forest. It's off in the distance, but it fades in and out, as if it were flames breathing as they ate.
"Heads up," Effort says to the other, rolling to her feet. "We have company." She takes a moment to trance, losing her senses to her surroundings, only to see through Cadmael's eyes. It's disorienting at first, but after a moment, she manages to process the information. Releasing the bond to her familiar, she commands Cadmael to keep high to the air and travel ahead silently, trying to spot the cause of the smoke without raising attention to himself.
"To the east, a few hundred yards out... there's smoke, and where there's smoke, there's always fire." She hisses, her tail lashing. "Probably trouble. Let's find it, before it finds us."
As you peer through Cadmael's eyes, you see a narrow dirt path leave the road ahead and enter a large clearing in the forest. A moderately sized home sits at the front of the clearing, with fields of crops sitting between it and the source of the smoke: a large barn structure that is being engulfed by flames. At least half...maybe three quarters, is already burning with ravenous flames licking at the sky. Cadmael instinctively scans for signs of activity around the barn, and you see two figures frantically running across the field toward the burning structure.
"Fire," Effort shouts when she regains her vision, trying (but mostly failing) to keep up with Brask's thundering pace. "A barn is on fire, nearly consumed from the looks of it. The farmers were unaware. It may be an ambush for them, if something set it!"
You all begin to race toward the farm, the strong smell of burning wood filling your nostrils as you get closer. Burik lags a few steps behind, still eating the bread as he runs. You cut through the crop fields, attempting as best you can to avoid the heads of cabbage as you go. A few pigs and sheep are rooting around the fields. The heat from the barn gets hotter and hotter until you're standing in front of the blaze. You assume the two farmers screaming at the entrance are a husband and wife, each grasping at one another as they panic. When they see you coming, the woman rushes forward. "My boys! Please, help my boys!" She points up at the burning building.
The barn is enormous, and the entire back side is engulfed in huge flames. Even standing at the far end, the heat is nearly unbearable. Looking into the open front doors, you can see all the way in. The bottom is stalls on both sides, with most of the doors open. They probably belong to the livestock you ran past. There are ladders on either side, heading up to a huge loft area. From this angle you can see some hay bales, but that's about it. "They're...up there." The father points as calmly as he can, but his eyes give away his grim outlook.
Panting, Effort reaches out a hand to lean on Brask‘s shoulder. „Getting through that will be difficult if you can‘t stand the heat,“ she tells the minotaur, casting guidance upon him as she does. Straightening, she reaches out towards the the side of the barn where the flames are weakest. She can partially sense their ebb and flow, thanks to her infernal heritage; grasping at them, she uses thaumaturgy to lower them, providing a bit of respite to ladder on that side. „Go,“ she tells the others, concentrating, „I will hold the flames back as I can!“
Burik will run alongside Brask, but goes towards the parents first. "in there?" he asks, pointing at the inferno. As soon as he gets a 'yes' to the question hell run forwards. Just before heading inside, he takes a deep breath and mutters a few words that echo and carry, but are unintelligible.
A shadowy sheen covers him before he charges in, taking the ladder that brask doesn't.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Burik - your dice roll for False Life didn't work. Roll again for temp HP.
Effort focuses her energies on the ladder Brask is climbing up. The flames are raging at the top of the ladder, where it meets the loft, but as she senses their energy, she pushes them back and they lower just a bit. It creates an opening at the top of the ladder where the flames are only licking at the steps.
Brask, roll a DC 15 DEX saving throw. On a failed save, take 4 fire damage.
Burik runs to the other side and starts moving up the ladder. He can feel the heat trying to break through his necrotic barrier as he nears the top. A huge flame erupts from some hay that had spilled into the loft landing. Burik, roll a DC 15 DEX saving throw. On a failed save, take 3 fire damage.
As you both enter the loft area, you look down the long length of the barn. Against the back wall, you see a boy curled up and panicking. Next to him is another boy, a little smaller, lying on the wood. There are flames all around them, with no clear path out. The left side of the barn is filled with hay and is burning fast. Huge flames snap up into the air as the wood cracks beneath the weight of the burning hay. There are windows on that side, though, and the draft is blowing most of the smoke into the right side of the barn. The black cloud is almost opaque, throbbing as more smoke is added to it. Running down the center of the loft area is a wooden frame, so you'll each have to decide which side to head down.
"You're wise not to trust it. Even I'm not certain my magic is fine," Effort admits. "It's the price one pays for power... the delicate balance between using it to further your ends, or being consumed in the process." She frowns, staring forward. "Sometimes you have to be willing to pay any price to achieve your goal. Needing a thing and liking a thing don't always coincide. Though, I suppose there are times that I feel I could learn to appreciate the powers I was granted." She looks up at her owl as she says this.
You finally have everything packed up, have said your goodbyes to Sam and the rest of the folk at the church, and head out of Lovilra. Walking down the main avenue, the city is bustling with life, as people walk hurriedly up-and-down the street. Some carrying sacks of grain, some pulling horses or donkeys behind them, some holding the hands of loved ones. You take in the low hum of city life as you exit through the western gates, knowing you'll be apart from civilization on this scale for quite some time.
The gates fade behind you as you walk east. The sun is still low in the sky, but the road out of the the city is mostly wooded once you get a few minutes outside the city wall. Flecks of sunlight hit you as you pass beneath the trees, a welcome bit of warmth on an otherwise chilly morning. Cadmael cruises just above the tree line, scanning the horizons on all sides and taking the occasional break on a high branch and waiting for everyone to catch up.
There are initially plenty of people on the road. Traders, farmers, some city guards. Little settlements dot the landscape outside of Lovilra, all of them interconnected with the economy of the city. After a few hours of walking, though, you start seeing fewer and fewer people on the road. An old man rides by on his horse and nods politely, and a few squirrels scurry across the road. Then, you're by yourselves.
You find yourselves enjoying the travel, actually. The afternoon wears on, and you exit the woods onto a somewhat less impressive portion of the road. Here it's mostly dirt, but the sun is now at your back and warming you as you trudge on. Eventually you find a few large tree trunks set up in a circle next to a stream. It seems like the perfect stop to break for a bit, eat some of the fresh fruit and bread that Sam gifted you, and rest your feet.
Everyone, roll perception checks (including Cadmael).
Encounter check: 1
DM - Above & Below
Brask's Perception 10
The minotaur is glad to be out of the city and back on the road, with the promise of adventure and coin. As they go, he enjoys staring down the various peasants and travellers they encounter, making them back off and leave the group alone - it seems to be a game for him.
As the group stops, he freshens up at the stream and pays little attention to whatever dangers might lurk in the surrounding area.
Bread and fruit? We're gonna need something better for dinner tonight. Let me know if Cad spots anything tasty.
Cadmael's Perception, advantage because hearing/sight: 23
Effort's Perception: 1
Effort sends a thought up to Cadmael: Try to find food or game that we land-bound creatures down here might be able to eat, if you can.
(I think survival is for hunting, for Cadmael, that is also with advantage: 10 )
Effort slows as they approach the circle, eying it warily. "You both may trust all this beauty and nature, but all I see are trees in a circle. And from what I know of the arcane, anything in a circle is usually a bad idea to be at the center of. You remember that cultist's portal, don't you? What if these are all dryad trees, waiting to eat some napping adventurers?" She skirts the outside of the circle of trees, still partaking in the rest and the shade, but shuns joining the group (if they chose to set camp in the middle of the circle of trees, that is).
21
As they approach hell say to effort, "there is more to see than with just your eyes, but yes it is never bad to maintain vigilance"
Burik will sit against a tree near the edge and the water, watching the stream go by. He lays his hammer and shield in front of him, closes his eyes, and begins to do something akin to meditation.
You get the feeling that he's still paying attention to the world around him however.
His attention however shifts from watching the water of the stream with his eyes open, to feeling the weave of magic with his eyes closed.
The cold water feels incredible on Brask's tired face. He closes his eyes as he splashes upward, unable to remember the last time he felt this relaxed around a group of people before. Not that he would let them know it, of course.
Burik tears a piece of bread from the fresh loaf as he sits down on one of the fallen trees. He chews the first bite as he looks downstream toward the mountains. Out of sight still, but he can almost feel them. They were the only thing he knew for a long time.
Effort sends Cadmael up into the skies to look for something to eat, but he spots something else. Actually, Effort isn't sure if it was her or the owl that noticed it first. It's almost as if they are sensing things simultaneously. The smell of smoke is unmistakable. Cadmael spots the rising plume a few hundred yards to the east and lets out a scream to alert everyone just as Effort is sitting up to find the direction of the smell.
Burik seems to catch sight of something too. A faint flicker coming from between the forest. It's off in the distance, but it fades in and out, as if it were flames breathing as they ate.
DM - Above & Below
"Heads up," Effort says to the other, rolling to her feet. "We have company." She takes a moment to trance, losing her senses to her surroundings, only to see through Cadmael's eyes. It's disorienting at first, but after a moment, she manages to process the information. Releasing the bond to her familiar, she commands Cadmael to keep high to the air and travel ahead silently, trying to spot the cause of the smoke without raising attention to himself.
"To the east, a few hundred yards out... there's smoke, and where there's smoke, there's always fire." She hisses, her tail lashing. "Probably trouble. Let's find it, before it finds us."
Effort:
As you peer through Cadmael's eyes, you see a narrow dirt path leave the road ahead and enter a large clearing in the forest. A moderately sized home sits at the front of the clearing, with fields of crops sitting between it and the source of the smoke: a large barn structure that is being engulfed by flames. At least half...maybe three quarters, is already burning with ravenous flames licking at the sky. Cadmael instinctively scans for signs of activity around the barn, and you see two figures frantically running across the field toward the burning structure.
DM - Above & Below
Oh hell yeah, says Brask, drawing his maul and running towards trouble, or at least to the east, and to the smoke when he can see it.
"Fire," Effort shouts when she regains her vision, trying (but mostly failing) to keep up with Brask's thundering pace. "A barn is on fire, nearly consumed from the looks of it. The farmers were unaware. It may be an ambush for them, if something set it!"
Let's hope so! Brask laughs as the adrenaline starts to kick in.
You all begin to race toward the farm, the strong smell of burning wood filling your nostrils as you get closer. Burik lags a few steps behind, still eating the bread as he runs. You cut through the crop fields, attempting as best you can to avoid the heads of cabbage as you go. A few pigs and sheep are rooting around the fields. The heat from the barn gets hotter and hotter until you're standing in front of the blaze. You assume the two farmers screaming at the entrance are a husband and wife, each grasping at one another as they panic. When they see you coming, the woman rushes forward. "My boys! Please, help my boys!" She points up at the burning building.
The barn is enormous, and the entire back side is engulfed in huge flames. Even standing at the far end, the heat is nearly unbearable. Looking into the open front doors, you can see all the way in. The bottom is stalls on both sides, with most of the doors open. They probably belong to the livestock you ran past. There are ladders on either side, heading up to a huge loft area. From this angle you can see some hay bales, but that's about it. "They're...up there." The father points as calmly as he can, but his eyes give away his grim outlook.
DM - Above & Below
Panting, Effort reaches out a hand to lean on Brask‘s shoulder. „Getting through that will be difficult if you can‘t stand the heat,“ she tells the minotaur, casting guidance upon him as she does. Straightening, she reaches out towards the the side of the barn where the flames are weakest. She can partially sense their ebb and flow, thanks to her infernal heritage; grasping at them, she uses thaumaturgy to lower them, providing a bit of respite to ladder on that side. „Go,“ she tells the others, concentrating, „I will hold the flames back as I can!“
Brask looks around as he runs: There are pigs and sheep - is there a water trough? Perception 6
If he sees one quickly, he will douse himself in water. Otherwise, he will just put his maul away and rush into the barn to get the kids.
(With Guidance roll of 1, that takes me to 7)
Effort, give me an arcana check to see how much you can bring down the flames.
Brask, you don't immediately see any troughs. You're guessing they're probably in the stalls, but most of those are already burning down.
The two ladders seem the best way up to the loft area. I'm going to wait a bit to see if Burik can post today.
DM - Above & Below
Up the ladders it is, then. :)
Arcana: 15
Burik will run alongside Brask, but goes towards the parents first. "in there?" he asks, pointing at the inferno. As soon as he gets a 'yes' to the question hell run forwards. Just before heading inside, he takes a deep breath and mutters a few words that echo and carry, but are unintelligible.
A shadowy sheen covers him before he charges in, taking the ladder that brask doesn't.
False Life @lvl 2 12
Burik - your dice roll for False Life didn't work. Roll again for temp HP.
Effort focuses her energies on the ladder Brask is climbing up. The flames are raging at the top of the ladder, where it meets the loft, but as she senses their energy, she pushes them back and they lower just a bit. It creates an opening at the top of the ladder where the flames are only licking at the steps.
Brask, roll a DC 15 DEX saving throw. On a failed save, take 4 fire damage.
Burik runs to the other side and starts moving up the ladder. He can feel the heat trying to break through his necrotic barrier as he nears the top. A huge flame erupts from some hay that had spilled into the loft landing. Burik, roll a DC 15 DEX saving throw. On a failed save, take 3 fire damage.
As you both enter the loft area, you look down the long length of the barn. Against the back wall, you see a boy curled up and panicking. Next to him is another boy, a little smaller, lying on the wood. There are flames all around them, with no clear path out. The left side of the barn is filled with hay and is burning fast. Huge flames snap up into the air as the wood cracks beneath the weight of the burning hay. There are windows on that side, though, and the draft is blowing most of the smoke into the right side of the barn. The black cloud is almost opaque, throbbing as more smoke is added to it. Running down the center of the loft area is a wooden frame, so you'll each have to decide which side to head down.
DM - Above & Below