Nate, you travel for another ten minutes, and finally the tunnel emerges onto the surface and you see stars above you. You are on an island, sort of a rocky hill, in the Mere. The tunnel sloped upwards towards the end, and you can see you are a few feet above the water that covers most of the mere. You look around, and don't see any predators yet, but the Mere is teeming with life at night as during the day, and no doubt many creatures that would gobble a little spider up very quickly.
Your instincts and experience of living in wilderness areas are enough to give a general sense of where you are, and the roadhouse is pretty much due east from here.
Nate breathes a little spider breath of relief when he emerges from the tunnel. He's going to immediately change back into human form, hoping the light from the moon and stars helps him see at least a little bit. He will check his immediate surroundings to see if any imminent danger exists.
How long would it take Nate to walk back, just walking due east, given he's kind of been keeping a mental note of the length of time he was in the tunnel for? Really just looking for if it would be under an hour.
Can he even walk through the swamp water? How deep is it?
He also takes a look at the whistle, grasps it and thinks I wonder if they are still tracking this
There's no immediate danger that you can sense, other than that your in a deadly swamp that you were warned not to enter. Probably fine.
Nate can walk through the swamp, as Soar, Nub and Jalt have been doing. There are parts where the water gets above your knees, and it's slow going, but it's doable. You were in the tunnel less than half an hour total. But you get the sense that moving through the mere, at least this part of it, will be slower going than through the tunnel.
[OOC: Flipping Heck, lucky roll! Yay, Nate is still alive and found the exit, yay!]
Nub (not knowing Nate has escaped) will answer Soar "I can cast a very powerful illusion spell on an individual, which they tend to believe to be real even if the illusion seems illogical. Should we go back to the roadhouse and I can cast it on the guard? Otherwise, we could try and lure something from the Mere to follow us back to close to the roadhouse, and we could cause a distraction by fighting it while Jamna sneaks in and searches for Nate? If we are fighting something, the cultists aren't going to assume we are doing something suspicious in the locked room at the same time."
Where are we with Soar Jalt Nub and Jamna? I know OOC why the link broke but Soar would have had the link disappear when the whistle went into the spider, and then had to decide if she wanted to keep going/pause to see if it reappeared, or return. How long/how far till the whistle reappears?
My instinct is the optimistic Soar would have kept going after a minute or two, in the direction the tunnel has been going, hoping to get a ping again for the length of the spell. Refusing to give up. If she did not pick up any ping, she’d have shouted for Nate a few times and then recommended the group follow the chalk marks back to the roadhouse to try to get to Nate from the strong room, assuming he got stuck in the tunnel.
Nub suggests "I can create a roaring fire a fairly safe distance away, as I know that can be used to lure creatures of the night. I can then drop that, we can move and I can cast a new one, hopefully getting any creature to follow. Do you think that is a good idea?"
If the others agree, Nub will cast bonfire 60 ft away into the Mere in front of them (away from the roadhouse, so they are not blocked from getting back).
(OOC: No worries, I don't think it's metagaming to say that Soar and the others would have continued in the same direction that Nate was going when the signal was lost. Jalt would have voted in favour of that, I think. Is that what you want to do?)
[It seems we are doing both? If not, ignore this post.]
Nub whispers ignem terrae and makes a twisting motion with his claws, Creating a Bonfire at 60 ft in front of where the party are currently standing, hoping to attract some creature to it.
[OOC: I'm guessing we would have kept moving at least 5 minutes at the same pace as we had been moving, hoping that Soar would get a ping, but I'm happy to leave it entirely to rkmobius's judgement.]
Nate gets accustomed to the moonlight and stars quite well. For some reason unknown to him, he feels at peace in this moment in the moonlight, in this Mere of the Dead which he's been told to stay out of. Maybe it's just because he's coming off an adrenaline dump.
He knows he has to get back to the roadhouse... to the others. He slowly lowers his head, and at the same time, both of his arms rise. join me he thinks to himself as 2giant spider appear before him, one on each side of him. He's becoming quite fond of arachnids, and while Nate doesn't understand what these beasts truly are (fey spirits) he's been having visions of them recently, and has now just made them appear.
"Lead the way east, my friends. Protect me, my friends."Nate says in a very dark tone as he lowers his arms and puts them behind his back with a sinister grin as he slowly follows the 2 giant spiders who are leading the way, due east.
Jalt, Nub, Soar and Jamna continue to head west. The water is getting a little deep for Jamna in some places, and she jumps up onto Jalt's back suddenly. The dragonborn whispers a comment to her, but what they say you cannot hear.
About five minutes in, Soar gets a reading. Nate, or at least the whistle he presumably carries, is to the west, and headed directly towards you. I would assume that you continue in his direction.
So just as the spell is ending for the second time, and without the need for casting bonfires, you see Nate, flanked by two massive spiders as though this were the most natural thing in the world, headed towards you.
Nate, you see Soar, Nub, Jalt, and Jamna on Jalt's shoulders, all walking towards you.
“Nate! Don’t move. There are two spiders following you, hold on a second...”
She approaches slowly, and wields her sword like a rolled up piece of newspaper about to whack a fly on someone’s hat.
She also flashes another divine sense, grabbing her holy symbol, feeling for Kelemvor’s guidance in what she understands to be a place he would not be a fan. “My lord, I have ventured without fear into the heart of an unnatural swamp of the undead to save a friend and loosen the strands of a plot that could unsettle the world. I hope you approve.” Soar prays almost audibly aloud for the first time anyone here has really ever heard her.
OOC: thank you benevolent DM for letting us find each other, was not counting on that!
Nub says "Thank Corellon you are alive Nate. I grew concerned when Soar could no longer track you and feared that you had run into something under the trapdoor. How did it go? Where is the exit?"
Soar, Divine Sense does not reveal the presence of celestials, undead or fiends nearby. You don't feel any response from Kelemvor, but you wouldn't normally expect that. Not a very touchy-feely God.
Nate raises his arm to Soar "Lower your weapon. They... they are my friends."
Then to everyone, after looking oddly at Jalt who was carrying Jamna on her shoulders "Everyone, we have to get back to the roadhouse, now. I'll tell you about what happened once we get back, but there's at least 10 lizard creatures headed straight for the roadhouse. I saw them all in the tunnel. They were speaking draconic (looks at Jalt). They may likely be there already. Who knows what is going down tonight."
Nate keeps walking, even happy to lead the way with his spiders, overconfident in them, likely.
What time is it?
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Nate, you travel for another ten minutes, and finally the tunnel emerges onto the surface and you see stars above you. You are on an island, sort of a rocky hill, in the Mere. The tunnel sloped upwards towards the end, and you can see you are a few feet above the water that covers most of the mere. You look around, and don't see any predators yet, but the Mere is teeming with life at night as during the day, and no doubt many creatures that would gobble a little spider up very quickly.
Your instincts and experience of living in wilderness areas are enough to give a general sense of where you are, and the roadhouse is pretty much due east from here.
Nate breathes a little spider breath of relief when he emerges from the tunnel. He's going to immediately change back into human form, hoping the light from the moon and stars helps him see at least a little bit. He will check his immediate surroundings to see if any imminent danger exists.
How long would it take Nate to walk back, just walking due east, given he's kind of been keeping a mental note of the length of time he was in the tunnel for? Really just looking for if it would be under an hour.
Can he even walk through the swamp water? How deep is it?
He also takes a look at the whistle, grasps it and thinks I wonder if they are still tracking this
There's no immediate danger that you can sense, other than that your in a deadly swamp that you were warned not to enter. Probably fine.
Nate can walk through the swamp, as Soar, Nub and Jalt have been doing. There are parts where the water gets above your knees, and it's slow going, but it's doable. You were in the tunnel less than half an hour total. But you get the sense that moving through the mere, at least this part of it, will be slower going than through the tunnel.
[OOC: Flipping Heck, lucky roll! Yay, Nate is still alive and found the exit, yay!]
Nub (not knowing Nate has escaped) will answer Soar "I can cast a very powerful illusion spell on an individual, which they tend to believe to be real even if the illusion seems illogical. Should we go back to the roadhouse and I can cast it on the guard? Otherwise, we could try and lure something from the Mere to follow us back to close to the roadhouse, and we could cause a distraction by fighting it while Jamna sneaks in and searches for Nate? If we are fighting something, the cultists aren't going to assume we are doing something suspicious in the locked room at the same time."
Where are we with Soar Jalt Nub and Jamna? I know OOC why the link broke but Soar would have had the link disappear when the whistle went into the spider, and then had to decide if she wanted to keep going/pause to see if it reappeared, or return. How long/how far till the whistle reappears?
My instinct is the optimistic Soar would have kept going after a minute or two, in the direction the tunnel has been going, hoping to get a ping again for the length of the spell. Refusing to give up. If she did not pick up any ping, she’d have shouted for Nate a few times and then recommended the group follow the chalk marks back to the roadhouse to try to get to Nate from the strong room, assuming he got stuck in the tunnel.
“That’s a great idea, Nub! Anyone see a beastie to lure?”
Nub suggests "I can create a roaring fire a fairly safe distance away, as I know that can be used to lure creatures of the night. I can then drop that, we can move and I can cast a new one, hopefully getting any creature to follow. Do you think that is a good idea?"
If the others agree, Nub will cast bonfire 60 ft away into the Mere in front of them (away from the roadhouse, so they are not blocked from getting back).
Soar nods and draws her sword. She readies another divine sense for a minute after the bonfire goes up.
(OOC: No worries, I don't think it's metagaming to say that Soar and the others would have continued in the same direction that Nate was going when the signal was lost. Jalt would have voted in favour of that, I think. Is that what you want to do?)
Or you're going with the bonfire thing?
[It seems we are doing both? If not, ignore this post.]
Nub whispers ignem terrae and makes a twisting motion with his claws, Creating a Bonfire at 60 ft in front of where the party are currently standing, hoping to attract some creature to it.
How many minutes did you continue along the way before stopping to create the bonfire?
[OOC: I'm guessing we would have kept moving at least 5 minutes at the same pace as we had been moving, hoping that Soar would get a ping, but I'm happy to leave it entirely to rkmobius's judgement.]
Alright then.....
Nate gets accustomed to the moonlight and stars quite well. For some reason unknown to him, he feels at peace in this moment in the moonlight, in this Mere of the Dead which he's been told to stay out of. Maybe it's just because he's coming off an adrenaline dump.
He knows he has to get back to the roadhouse... to the others. He slowly lowers his head, and at the same time, both of his arms rise. join me he thinks to himself as 2 giant spider appear before him, one on each side of him. He's becoming quite fond of arachnids, and while Nate doesn't understand what these beasts truly are (fey spirits) he's been having visions of them recently, and has now just made them appear.
"Lead the way east, my friends. Protect me, my friends." Nate says in a very dark tone as he lowers his arms and puts them behind his back with a sinister grin as he slowly follows the 2 giant spiders who are leading the way, due east.
Conjure Animals
I am loving this visual.
Yes I think probably for the length of the spell, so another ten minutes.
Okay, so...
Jalt, Nub, Soar and Jamna continue to head west. The water is getting a little deep for Jamna in some places, and she jumps up onto Jalt's back suddenly. The dragonborn whispers a comment to her, but what they say you cannot hear.
About five minutes in, Soar gets a reading. Nate, or at least the whistle he presumably carries, is to the west, and headed directly towards you. I would assume that you continue in his direction.
So just as the spell is ending for the second time, and without the need for casting bonfires, you see Nate, flanked by two massive spiders as though this were the most natural thing in the world, headed towards you.
Nate, you see Soar, Nub, Jalt, and Jamna on Jalt's shoulders, all walking towards you.
“Nate! Don’t move. There are two spiders following you, hold on a second...”
She approaches slowly, and wields her sword like a rolled up piece of newspaper about to whack a fly on someone’s hat.
She also flashes another divine sense, grabbing her holy symbol, feeling for Kelemvor’s guidance in what she understands to be a place he would not be a fan. “My lord, I have ventured without fear into the heart of an unnatural swamp of the undead to save a friend and loosen the strands of a plot that could unsettle the world. I hope you approve.” Soar prays almost audibly aloud for the first time anyone here has really ever heard her.
OOC: thank you benevolent DM for letting us find each other, was not counting on that!
[Yes, thanks DM.]
Nub says "Thank Corellon you are alive Nate. I grew concerned when Soar could no longer track you and feared that you had run into something under the trapdoor. How did it go? Where is the exit?"
Soar, Divine Sense does not reveal the presence of celestials, undead or fiends nearby. You don't feel any response from Kelemvor, but you wouldn't normally expect that. Not a very touchy-feely God.
Nate raises his arm to Soar "Lower your weapon. They... they are my friends."
Then to everyone, after looking oddly at Jalt who was carrying Jamna on her shoulders "Everyone, we have to get back to the roadhouse, now. I'll tell you about what happened once we get back, but there's at least 10 lizard creatures headed straight for the roadhouse. I saw them all in the tunnel. They were speaking draconic (looks at Jalt). They may likely be there already. Who knows what is going down tonight."
Nate keeps walking, even happy to lead the way with his spiders, overconfident in them, likely.
What time is it?