Berrus takes a good while to climb up above the cave, all while the rest of the crew is anxiously keeping to their assigned posts and Shae and Maxine watching from below. Finding a solid footfhold, Berrus starts to examine the rock, tapping it with the blunt end of his axe with an ear to the rock. After some minutes, he's found a set of cracks that seem to run deeper, and he indicates them to Maxine. Berrus, you know that the cracks go deep into the rock, but you're still not sure whether they penetrate the rock all the way down to the roof of the cave.
---------------------------------
Approching the grung village, you can sense the tension in Gruk and B'ark. From an antrhopological standpoint, what was particulalry interesting was to see the way that the current situation seemed to be heavier on the leaders of the group, with the scouts not appearing any more nervous than before. You spot the edges of the village, and immediately notice a clear difference to the lizardfolk colony you saw earlier. While their settlements were functional, built from any nearby materials, in a rather haphazard manner, the grung buildings was a reflection of their tiered society: The village was made up of several large rectangular halls made up of tiles of bark and twin, built around large tree trunks, with smaller circular huts out of clay clustered around. Up in the trees, you can spot several hammocks serving as the sleeping quarters of the green warriors. The center of the village was an empty square around a pond, guaranteeing easy access to water. Close to the pond is a cage, but to your dismay, it is empty.
After a few tense moments, you notice only a hanful of guards posted in the trees, with apparently most of the rest of the village gathered in the larger huts. You can't make out any sign of Faekin, but neither do you spot any sign of the priests or elite warriors. Gruk turns towards you: "Bro-fasser, if Gruk speaks to tribe, it's better if all grung hear. Can Bro-fasser get attention of other grung?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Union!- Errydha (Homebrew) Setting Embers in the Dark - Errydha (Homebrew) Setting Welcome to the Jungle- Far Realms Citadel of the Unsleeping Sun - Erathis (Grim Hollow) Setting
Yevelda the Mutt- 3rd Level Half-Orc Battlemaster Fighter- Far Realms Rehgys- 5th Level Satyr Bard of Eloquence- Far Realms
After a few tense moments, you notice only a handful of guards posted in the trees, with apparently most of the rest of the village gathered in the larger huts. You can't make out any sign of Faekin, but neither do you spot any sign of the priests or elite warriors. Gruk turns towards you: "Bro-fasser, if Gruk speaks to tribe, it's better if all grung hear. Can Bro-fasser get attention of other grung?"
The Professor:
From his position at the edge of the village, Snively begins to swirl his arms together. At the back of the village square, behind the pond, the ground begins to writhe and shift, with dirt flowing towards a central location rising about five feet above the rest of the square. The back side of the newly-formed dirt podium is sloped with stair-like indentations, but the front is sloped at a 45 degree angle and smoothed, looking out over the pond and giving a commanding view of the square and the rest of the village. Looking at Gruk and nodding in satisfaction, the Professor again swirls his arms together, but now the motions look like a painter's strokes instead of a potter's molding. An image of the stone amulet, broken in twain, forms on the front of the podium, visible to all who would watch the speaker. Smiling at Gruk, Snively says, "Well, now you have a place from which to address the village."
Now swinging his arms wider, as if to hug the sky, Snively continues his gesticulations, tugging at the air and causing the wind to whip through the village, fluttering a tent flap there, whistling a tuneless song through a tree over there, fanning a guard's humid brow nearby--all swirling around the podium in a wordless call to gather for this momentous event. "We'd better get over there Gruk. I'll follow your lead while you speak, showing the evidence we have gathered from the foot of the podium while you stand atop it."
OOC: Multiple castings of Mold Earth and Gust for effect. Be careful what you ask for--the Professor knows how to make an entrance!
Shae would wait in anticipation, watching Berrus and Maxine work together to administer the acid. As they did, she began wondering about a plan B if the acid wasn't enough. Could they blast it from the weakened point if so? Only time will tell.
As Gruk takes the podium, the grung slowly appear one by one, drawn to the central square. After a short while, several dozen grung had gathered in a multicoloured mix, all curious to see what was going on, and surprised to find one of their own thought dead before them. All the murmuring speculation stopped, as soon as Gruk opened his mouth:
"Friends! Are you happy with how things are going in tribe? How many of you have lost sons, daughters, siblings or parents to senseless raids? How many of you have seen even one kernel more for effort? How many of you remember the days before Koro-arak?
Gruk has been left for dead by Koro-arak. All grung can see and know that Koro-arak does not care for them. But Gruk has proof, and Gruk knows why. Koro-arak, and many of elders of tribe have posioned minds. Ambition, without purpose, greed, without need is fuelling Koro-arak. Chief because Koro-arak knows ritual for making skin golden, Koro- arak wants tribe to go to war against lizardfolk, and against long knives. Gruk asks you, how many grung will die that way?
Over many days, Gruk has met, and gotten to know different people in jungle. Gruk has made friends with wise priest and magician of long knives- Bro-fasser. Bro-fasser helps Gruk to understand, that working together, much more is possible. Gruk even make friends with lizards. There is no need for war. Any promise that Koro-arak makes for war, any reason for it, Gruk has already made possible with talk, understanding, and knowledge. Gruk is ready to lead grung to new era, era of working together. But Gruk does not want to order you. First thing necessary for working together, and first thing Gruk had to learn- every grung can make decisions for themselves. Gruk asks all of you- do you want to follow Koro-arak into death and destruction, or do you want to work with Gruk for bright and peaceful future?"
As he finishes, the crowd is dead quiet, and not a sound is heard. Then, one by one, different grung spoke out, raised their hands and voices, proclaiming their support. Many of the higher status grung looked about themselves, fearful and confused, unsure what to make of the radical shift in their societal structure that was proposed by one of their elders. Was he right in accusing Koro-arak of being little more than a charlatan? Before they could spend too long thinking about their position or alliance, a large amount of the green and purple grung on the plaza seemed to have agreed with Gruk, and in doing so had already proven that the old ways of blind obedience to superior castes was likely dead for good.
Gruk gave Professor a very relieved look, mouthing the words "thank you", as the crowd was still proclaiming their support. After a while, he spoke up once more: "Thank you! Gruk thanks you! Now, Koro-arak has taken friend of Bro-fasser hostage. Gruk will let Bro-fasser speak to you, to tell you what Bro-fasser and long- knives need from grung." With that, he invites you to take the podium.
As Maxine applies the concentrated citric acid to the fissures in the rock using her mage hand, you quickly hear a sizzling sound and see bubbles forming, as the acid is reacting with the surface of the rock, working its way along the fissure to the inside of the stalactite. The sizzling gives way to popping sounds, as the heat released by the reaction leads to sections of the rock expanding further, widening the cracks. Suddenly, the entire stalactite and a sizable portion of the cave roof around it collapse, just a few feet shy of where Maxine had been standing. As the dust settles, you can see that the cave-in was sizable, with the crevace in the rock face reduced to little more than a five foot square hole on top of a rather unstable- looking rubble heap. While not completely blocking off the cave, if Koro-arak and his men tried to leave through here they'd be in single file upon leaving the cave, vulnerable on three sides. Remarkable, what a little bit of alchemical, geological and engineering knowledge could result in!
You're all pretty sure that the rumbling cave in would have been heard further inside, but given the rubble, Koro-arak would have a very hard time trying to fight his way out of the cave through here, as long as a few guards were kept around the cave entrance.
Berrus, Maxine and Shae, you get 150 Xp for delaying Koro-arak and his priests significantly.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Union!- Errydha (Homebrew) Setting Embers in the Dark - Errydha (Homebrew) Setting Welcome to the Jungle- Far Realms Citadel of the Unsleeping Sun - Erathis (Grim Hollow) Setting
Yevelda the Mutt- 3rd Level Half-Orc Battlemaster Fighter- Far Realms Rehgys- 5th Level Satyr Bard of Eloquence- Far Realms
Maxine wiped her brows. "Not bad, guys, not bad. Now... Does anybody remember if we are supposed to wait for Professor here or meet him in the main village?"
Shae would hop up and down a little bit in the excitement that they succeeded, mostly. Melding Berrus' knowledge and Maxine's skills definitely made this possible. She'd walk up close to Maxine to examine the cave in as she considered the artificer's question. The warlock would close her eyes trying to recall all of the conversations that were had with the Professor translating for the grung. "Days like these I wish I succeeded in my divination studies..." She'd mutter to herself. Suddenly a realization would hit her and her eyes would open wide as a gasp escapes her lips. "Faekin!" Shae would glance to Maxine, Berrus and back "If the good Grung didn't take Faekin... it was Koro-arak right?" She'd then look at the opening remaining from the rubble. Instead of her initial sliver of disappointment, she was now relieved. "Could he be here!?" Shae would clap her hands on her face, completely baffled with herself for not clueing in earlier when she thought about his wine. "We have to stay."
"Now that would be quite unfortunate!" Maxine looked with a horror on her face at the unstable pile of rocks. "We would have to dig for days to get him out!" She scratched her head. "But thinking logically, did not they have some kind of important meeting there? Something religious? Why would they take a slave with them? Gungs did not mention some sacrificial rituals, slaves were for menial labour."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The Professor:
The Professor watches Gruk with admiration as he speaks, perhaps noticing something new about his demeanor or...coloration? (Perception: 4 )
When he is done and steps down from the podium, he mouths a quick, "Well done," as he makes his own way up so he can be easily seen.
Looking out over the crowd, the Professor begins, "Gruk is wise in the ways of the noble Grung people and will serve you well as a leader in the days to come. I am merely a visitor, passing through--an outsider, a scholar, in the jungle by chance, but the nobility of Gruk's quest to bring peace and prosperity to his tribe has motivated me to risk my life to follow his dream. I follow the ways of knowledge and magic, as indeed I am using magic to speak with you now since I am not yet proficient in your language, so I will leave the leading and decision-making to others while I just tell you what I have seen with my own eyes and learned through my studies."
"Our group was stranded in the jungle when our sky-ship crashed. We are headed to the north to the coast to find our people, but along the way we found some unusual plants that tried to paralyze and eat us! We fought them off, and through my magic I was able to find a magical stone necklace," Snively says, indicating the sigil on the front of the podium and the real item on Gruk's neck. "Later, we were attacked by Grung, although we knew not who you were. After defending ourselves, we went to find water and discovered Gruk here, nearly dead. Did we kill him? No! The Grung are not our enemies, and we were puzzled as to why they would attack us. We got water, brought Gruk back to camp, and offered him healing. My magic allowed us to converse and discover that the new chieftain, Koro-arak, was responsible for the violent attack, and the stone necklace we found was a symbol of authority for the Grung."
After a short pause, he continues, "As soon as we discovered this, we gave the stone necklace to Gruk, as it rightfully belonged to the Grung, and the Grung are not our enemy. Another member of my group received a vision of the Horned Lady, and we decided to visit her and determine her role in this. My companions and I went to talk with her, and were greeted by aggressive elementals and wisps, but we did finally find her. This Hag--for that is what she is--laughed at us when we asked if she was trying to poison the minds of the Grung against us, and continued working on her great summoning circle. She attacked us, but some of us were able to sneak into the skull she uses as an abode and retrieve THIS!" he proclaims, holding the hag's journal high above his head. Looking towards the elders of the tribe, he asks, "Who among you are wise in the ways of magic or languages? I will give this to you to read to verify the truth of my words." The Professor hands the book to whomever steps forward for their inspection.
...to be continued...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
After the book is handed off, the Professor continues to speak, "What I found troubled me greatly, for the Horned Lady is a Hag, powerful in her own right, but separated from her two sisters. Her plot is to use the violence and death generated by the Grung's attacks on the lizardfolk as well as my people to fuel her great summoning spell and bring her sisters back here, reforming her coven and subjugating the whole area to their will! The stone amulet was nothing more than an enchanted bauble designed to poison the Grung leaders' minds and make them mindlessly violent, so they would spend their lives killing and dying to fuel her evil ritual! I told Gruk this, and he took off the stone amulet and broke it in two, symbolically sundering the hold her magic had on him. This is the very amulet you see around Gruk's neck and picture here in the dirt before me."
Looking at Gruk, Snively continues, "We spoke to patrols and told them our story; they follow Gruk now. We spoke to the Lizardfolk and told them our story; they will fight alongside Grung to end the Hag's threat. We have spoken to you, and you have decided to forsake the path of destruction Koro-arak had planned for you due to the poisoning of his mind by the hag. This is what I ask of you--fight for your freedom; send warriors with us tomorrow to meet with the Lizardfolk and destroy the hag and her minions so that we may all live in peace afterwards!"
Now looking sad, he finishes, "But there is one thing more. Right now Koro-arak and the others who have been manipulated by the hag are in a cave, making perparations to follow her evil plan. It is my fervent hope that, when confronted with the truth, they can recover from the poisoning of their minds. If they cannot, we may have to fight them to keep them from joining with the hag against us. It is this sad responsibility that my companions are preparing for as we speak." Looking to the Grung who took the book, the Professor says, "What do you say? i will not manipulate you, only tell you the truth and ask you to decide for yourselves. Do you see the truth of the hag's plan written in her own book? Will you join me in freeing your people from her evil influence?"
Snively stands and waits for their response, hoping that his words were enough.
after examining the opening and figuring out a tactical plan
"If he be in there i dinna ken what we can do, but we can send some o' us back to the professer now, don need as many to cover this entrance, unless this isnt the only one"
The grung seemed happy with the general sentiment and the powerful words spoken about their new leader, but it seemed that a fair few of them seemed overwhelmed by the plethora of information that the Professor had just given them. Not wanting to weaken the moment, Gruk stepped up to the podium and said: "Take time to reflect. Tomorrow, WE shall gather here." Then, turning to the Professor, he adds :" Thank YOU, Bro-fasser. What about YOUR friend?"
Snively, you notice that Gruk seems to have adapted certain words from gnomish to use in his speech, such as the concepts of personal pronouns and the individual versus the collective notions they entail.
------------------------------
After the cave in, you all struggle for a while to try to explain to B'rup that you're looking for a friend among the grung, to little avail. Seeing the wisdom in Berrus' words, you all start to make preparations to head to the village, but since you don't know what to expect, there is some discussion among the crew where the best fighters should be: Thasselandra is of the opinion that the best fighters should guard the cave, since they would have to trust the Professor and Gruk to have swayed the grung in the village to their side. Falx on the other hand raised the point that it is doubtful that the Professor and Gruk managed to intercept the scouting force and managed to convince the village, and that they should be prepared to defend themselves in case the village was hostile. Lastly, Brax spoke up, trying to mediate, and said that it could well be that the Professor's mission had been a success, but that he hadn't gotten to the village yet, and that they might not know anything of their presence yet, and that instead the majority should stay behind and send only two people to the village to scout out the situation, with one able to inform back, if the coast was clear.
Shae, Berrus, Maxine, what do you want to do?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Union!- Errydha (Homebrew) Setting Embers in the Dark - Errydha (Homebrew) Setting Welcome to the Jungle- Far Realms Citadel of the Unsleeping Sun - Erathis (Grim Hollow) Setting
Yevelda the Mutt- 3rd Level Half-Orc Battlemaster Fighter- Far Realms Rehgys- 5th Level Satyr Bard of Eloquence- Far Realms
Maxine was not a great strategist but to her the question was simple: "I say keep fighters here. We do not have to just waltz into the village. We can approach carefully and see what is going on in there. If Professor managed it - you saw his work, really, the man is practically a Prophet - we go in and bring villagers here to deal with those inside. If something is wrong - we rush here, pick all on the watch up and try to free Professor."
After it is clear that Faekin is not in the village--or any other slaves, for that matter--the Professor says to Gruk, "Since he is not here, I can only hope he was taken to the cave but is still alive. I must get there quickly to help my friends." Suddenly thinking about the cave, Snively realizes with a soft utterance, "I doubt they can even communicate with each other..." Spending a minute to ask the villagers what they know of the slave's plight and asking B'ark to join them, the Professor says, "You have much work to do here to help the tribe understand what is happening, Gruk, but your word will carry much more weight than mine if we are to convince the tribe leaders in the cave to abandon their reckless path. Do you wish to stay here or come with me to the cave?" Turning to the patrol leader, he asks, "B'ark, can you guide me to the cave?"
Despite the still-desperate situation, Snively smiles as Gruk becomes more and more comfortable in leadership of his tribe with each decision. As much as he would like to take an hour and pause to replenish his magical energies (Arcane Recovery), the Professor knows that time is of the essence, especially if Koro-arak is intending to spill the slave's blood in the cave to help fuel the hag's ritual. He awaits the answers from the two Grung somewhat anxiously, ready to leave quickly to rejoin his friends.
B'ark quickly takes the lead, but Gruk joins as well: "Bro-fasser is right, maybe some tribal elders will see reason." Both of the grung are surprised to find a young female red grung that has joined them. "N'ala is name of this grung. Gruk, friend of gnome is powerful wizard and priest, like Gruk. Koro-arak wants to learn secrets of why half-elf can change colour like grung. Koro-arak takes prisoner to cave near village. No other slaves are here." Puzzled, the three grung lead the way with the Professor quickly following suit.
------------------------------
As you're debating the options open to you all, Bertrand is calling you all to attention, as something or someone is approaching through the brush. You all tense up, until a few moments later he shouts cheerfully: "It's the Professor and Gruk, with two other grung in tow! Looks like they succeeded!"
After a few more moments, you are all reunited and brought up to speed on the respective parts of the mission.
Union!- Errydha (Homebrew) Setting Embers in the Dark - Errydha (Homebrew) Setting Welcome to the Jungle- Far Realms Citadel of the Unsleeping Sun - Erathis (Grim Hollow) Setting
Yevelda the Mutt- 3rd Level Half-Orc Battlemaster Fighter- Far Realms Rehgys- 5th Level Satyr Bard of Eloquence- Far Realms
Shae would pace around in thought. Back and forth. Back and forth while the others discussed. She'd finally stop and look to Maxine, then Berrus. "I agree. We stay. This was and is our task." She trusted the professor and believed that all they needed was to be patient. Sometime's that's the hardest part. "Take our positions in ambush and keep a lookout for the professor."
(lol nvm. I need to refresh more often.)
Shae's excessive pacing would come to an end at the sight of the return of the Professor and the grung. After the update, she'd finally ask, "And Faekin?"
“Our new friend N’ala tells us that Faekin was taken into the cave with Koro-arak, and they are trying to learn the secrets of his ability to change colors,” related the Professor. “Do we have time for a short rest for me to replenish my magic before we go in, or do you think we should head in immediately?” he asks the others, thankful to be with his companions again.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Berrus takes a good while to climb up above the cave, all while the rest of the crew is anxiously keeping to their assigned posts and Shae and Maxine watching from below. Finding a solid footfhold, Berrus starts to examine the rock, tapping it with the blunt end of his axe with an ear to the rock. After some minutes, he's found a set of cracks that seem to run deeper, and he indicates them to Maxine. Berrus, you know that the cracks go deep into the rock, but you're still not sure whether they penetrate the rock all the way down to the roof of the cave.
---------------------------------
Approching the grung village, you can sense the tension in Gruk and B'ark. From an antrhopological standpoint, what was particulalry interesting was to see the way that the current situation seemed to be heavier on the leaders of the group, with the scouts not appearing any more nervous than before. You spot the edges of the village, and immediately notice a clear difference to the lizardfolk colony you saw earlier. While their settlements were functional, built from any nearby materials, in a rather haphazard manner, the grung buildings was a reflection of their tiered society: The village was made up of several large rectangular halls made up of tiles of bark and twin, built around large tree trunks, with smaller circular huts out of clay clustered around. Up in the trees, you can spot several hammocks serving as the sleeping quarters of the green warriors. The center of the village was an empty square around a pond, guaranteeing easy access to water. Close to the pond is a cage, but to your dismay, it is empty.
After a few tense moments, you notice only a hanful of guards posted in the trees, with apparently most of the rest of the village gathered in the larger huts. You can't make out any sign of Faekin, but neither do you spot any sign of the priests or elite warriors. Gruk turns towards you: "Bro-fasser, if Gruk speaks to tribe, it's better if all grung hear. Can Bro-fasser get attention of other grung?"
Union!- Errydha (Homebrew) Setting
Embers in the Dark - Errydha (Homebrew) Setting
Welcome to the Jungle- Far Realms
Citadel of the Unsleeping Sun - Erathis (Grim Hollow) Setting
Yevelda the Mutt- 3rd Level Half-Orc Battlemaster Fighter- Far Realms
Rehgys- 5th Level Satyr Bard of Eloquence- Far Realms
Berrus motions the spot to Maxine marking it in some way (branch -pile of small rocks) then climbs down
"Im no positive it'll work but it be our best shot to bring it doen"
Laissez les bons temps rouler
The Professor:
From his position at the edge of the village, Snively begins to swirl his arms together. At the back of the village square, behind the pond, the ground begins to writhe and shift, with dirt flowing towards a central location rising about five feet above the rest of the square. The back side of the newly-formed dirt podium is sloped with stair-like indentations, but the front is sloped at a 45 degree angle and smoothed, looking out over the pond and giving a commanding view of the square and the rest of the village. Looking at Gruk and nodding in satisfaction, the Professor again swirls his arms together, but now the motions look like a painter's strokes instead of a potter's molding. An image of the stone amulet, broken in twain, forms on the front of the podium, visible to all who would watch the speaker. Smiling at Gruk, Snively says, "Well, now you have a place from which to address the village."
Now swinging his arms wider, as if to hug the sky, Snively continues his gesticulations, tugging at the air and causing the wind to whip through the village, fluttering a tent flap there, whistling a tuneless song through a tree over there, fanning a guard's humid brow nearby--all swirling around the podium in a wordless call to gather for this momentous event. "We'd better get over there Gruk. I'll follow your lead while you speak, showing the evidence we have gathered from the foot of the podium while you stand atop it."
OOC: Multiple castings of Mold Earth and Gust for effect. Be careful what you ask for--the Professor knows how to make an entrance!
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Maxine did her best to help Berrus to apply the acid.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Shae would wait in anticipation, watching Berrus and Maxine work together to administer the acid. As they did, she began wondering about a plan B if the acid wasn't enough. Could they blast it from the weakened point if so? Only time will tell.
just an unstable unicorn.
As Gruk takes the podium, the grung slowly appear one by one, drawn to the central square. After a short while, several dozen grung had gathered in a multicoloured mix, all curious to see what was going on, and surprised to find one of their own thought dead before them. All the murmuring speculation stopped, as soon as Gruk opened his mouth:
"Friends! Are you happy with how things are going in tribe? How many of you have lost sons, daughters, siblings or parents to senseless raids? How many of you have seen even one kernel more for effort? How many of you remember the days before Koro-arak?
Gruk has been left for dead by Koro-arak. All grung can see and know that Koro-arak does not care for them. But Gruk has proof, and Gruk knows why. Koro-arak, and many of elders of tribe have posioned minds. Ambition, without purpose, greed, without need is fuelling Koro-arak. Chief because Koro-arak knows ritual for making skin golden, Koro- arak wants tribe to go to war against lizardfolk, and against long knives. Gruk asks you, how many grung will die that way?
Over many days, Gruk has met, and gotten to know different people in jungle. Gruk has made friends with wise priest and magician of long knives- Bro-fasser. Bro-fasser helps Gruk to understand, that working together, much more is possible. Gruk even make friends with lizards. There is no need for war. Any promise that Koro-arak makes for war, any reason for it, Gruk has already made possible with talk, understanding, and knowledge. Gruk is ready to lead grung to new era, era of working together. But Gruk does not want to order you. First thing necessary for working together, and first thing Gruk had to learn- every grung can make decisions for themselves. Gruk asks all of you- do you want to follow Koro-arak into death and destruction, or do you want to work with Gruk for bright and peaceful future?"
As he finishes, the crowd is dead quiet, and not a sound is heard. Then, one by one, different grung spoke out, raised their hands and voices, proclaiming their support. Many of the higher status grung looked about themselves, fearful and confused, unsure what to make of the radical shift in their societal structure that was proposed by one of their elders. Was he right in accusing Koro-arak of being little more than a charlatan? Before they could spend too long thinking about their position or alliance, a large amount of the green and purple grung on the plaza seemed to have agreed with Gruk, and in doing so had already proven that the old ways of blind obedience to superior castes was likely dead for good.
Gruk gave Professor a very relieved look, mouthing the words "thank you", as the crowd was still proclaiming their support. After a while, he spoke up once more: "Thank you! Gruk thanks you! Now, Koro-arak has taken friend of Bro-fasser hostage. Gruk will let Bro-fasser speak to you, to tell you what Bro-fasser and long- knives need from grung." With that, he invites you to take the podium.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As Maxine applies the concentrated citric acid to the fissures in the rock using her mage hand, you quickly hear a sizzling sound and see bubbles forming, as the acid is reacting with the surface of the rock, working its way along the fissure to the inside of the stalactite. The sizzling gives way to popping sounds, as the heat released by the reaction leads to sections of the rock expanding further, widening the cracks. Suddenly, the entire stalactite and a sizable portion of the cave roof around it collapse, just a few feet shy of where Maxine had been standing. As the dust settles, you can see that the cave-in was sizable, with the crevace in the rock face reduced to little more than a five foot square hole on top of a rather unstable- looking rubble heap. While not completely blocking off the cave, if Koro-arak and his men tried to leave through here they'd be in single file upon leaving the cave, vulnerable on three sides. Remarkable, what a little bit of alchemical, geological and engineering knowledge could result in!
You're all pretty sure that the rumbling cave in would have been heard further inside, but given the rubble, Koro-arak would have a very hard time trying to fight his way out of the cave through here, as long as a few guards were kept around the cave entrance.
Berrus, Maxine and Shae, you get 150 Xp for delaying Koro-arak and his priests significantly.
Union!- Errydha (Homebrew) Setting
Embers in the Dark - Errydha (Homebrew) Setting
Welcome to the Jungle- Far Realms
Citadel of the Unsleeping Sun - Erathis (Grim Hollow) Setting
Yevelda the Mutt- 3rd Level Half-Orc Battlemaster Fighter- Far Realms
Rehgys- 5th Level Satyr Bard of Eloquence- Far Realms
Maxine wiped her brows. "Not bad, guys, not bad. Now... Does anybody remember if we are supposed to wait for Professor here or meet him in the main village?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Shae would hop up and down a little bit in the excitement that they succeeded, mostly. Melding Berrus' knowledge and Maxine's skills definitely made this possible. She'd walk up close to Maxine to examine the cave in as she considered the artificer's question. The warlock would close her eyes trying to recall all of the conversations that were had with the Professor translating for the grung. "Days like these I wish I succeeded in my divination studies..." She'd mutter to herself. Suddenly a realization would hit her and her eyes would open wide as a gasp escapes her lips. "Faekin!" Shae would glance to Maxine, Berrus and back "If the good Grung didn't take Faekin... it was Koro-arak right?" She'd then look at the opening remaining from the rubble. Instead of her initial sliver of disappointment, she was now relieved. "Could he be here!?" Shae would clap her hands on her face, completely baffled with herself for not clueing in earlier when she thought about his wine. "We have to stay."
just an unstable unicorn.
"Now that would be quite unfortunate!" Maxine looked with a horror on her face at the unstable pile of rocks. "We would have to dig for days to get him out!" She scratched her head. "But thinking logically, did not they have some kind of important meeting there? Something religious? Why would they take a slave with them? Gungs did not mention some sacrificial rituals, slaves were for menial labour."
"Can you, may be, ask our guide?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
The Professor:
The Professor watches Gruk with admiration as he speaks, perhaps noticing something new about his demeanor or...coloration? (Perception: 4 )
When he is done and steps down from the podium, he mouths a quick, "Well done," as he makes his own way up so he can be easily seen.
Looking out over the crowd, the Professor begins, "Gruk is wise in the ways of the noble Grung people and will serve you well as a leader in the days to come. I am merely a visitor, passing through--an outsider, a scholar, in the jungle by chance, but the nobility of Gruk's quest to bring peace and prosperity to his tribe has motivated me to risk my life to follow his dream. I follow the ways of knowledge and magic, as indeed I am using magic to speak with you now since I am not yet proficient in your language, so I will leave the leading and decision-making to others while I just tell you what I have seen with my own eyes and learned through my studies."
"Our group was stranded in the jungle when our sky-ship crashed. We are headed to the north to the coast to find our people, but along the way we found some unusual plants that tried to paralyze and eat us! We fought them off, and through my magic I was able to find a magical stone necklace," Snively says, indicating the sigil on the front of the podium and the real item on Gruk's neck. "Later, we were attacked by Grung, although we knew not who you were. After defending ourselves, we went to find water and discovered Gruk here, nearly dead. Did we kill him? No! The Grung are not our enemies, and we were puzzled as to why they would attack us. We got water, brought Gruk back to camp, and offered him healing. My magic allowed us to converse and discover that the new chieftain, Koro-arak, was responsible for the violent attack, and the stone necklace we found was a symbol of authority for the Grung."
After a short pause, he continues, "As soon as we discovered this, we gave the stone necklace to Gruk, as it rightfully belonged to the Grung, and the Grung are not our enemy. Another member of my group received a vision of the Horned Lady, and we decided to visit her and determine her role in this. My companions and I went to talk with her, and were greeted by aggressive elementals and wisps, but we did finally find her. This Hag--for that is what she is--laughed at us when we asked if she was trying to poison the minds of the Grung against us, and continued working on her great summoning circle. She attacked us, but some of us were able to sneak into the skull she uses as an abode and retrieve THIS!" he proclaims, holding the hag's journal high above his head. Looking towards the elders of the tribe, he asks, "Who among you are wise in the ways of magic or languages? I will give this to you to read to verify the truth of my words." The Professor hands the book to whomever steps forward for their inspection.
...to be continued...
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
The Professor:
After the book is handed off, the Professor continues to speak, "What I found troubled me greatly, for the Horned Lady is a Hag, powerful in her own right, but separated from her two sisters. Her plot is to use the violence and death generated by the Grung's attacks on the lizardfolk as well as my people to fuel her great summoning spell and bring her sisters back here, reforming her coven and subjugating the whole area to their will! The stone amulet was nothing more than an enchanted bauble designed to poison the Grung leaders' minds and make them mindlessly violent, so they would spend their lives killing and dying to fuel her evil ritual! I told Gruk this, and he took off the stone amulet and broke it in two, symbolically sundering the hold her magic had on him. This is the very amulet you see around Gruk's neck and picture here in the dirt before me."
Looking at Gruk, Snively continues, "We spoke to patrols and told them our story; they follow Gruk now. We spoke to the Lizardfolk and told them our story; they will fight alongside Grung to end the Hag's threat. We have spoken to you, and you have decided to forsake the path of destruction Koro-arak had planned for you due to the poisoning of his mind by the hag. This is what I ask of you--fight for your freedom; send warriors with us tomorrow to meet with the Lizardfolk and destroy the hag and her minions so that we may all live in peace afterwards!"
Now looking sad, he finishes, "But there is one thing more. Right now Koro-arak and the others who have been manipulated by the hag are in a cave, making perparations to follow her evil plan. It is my fervent hope that, when confronted with the truth, they can recover from the poisoning of their minds. If they cannot, we may have to fight them to keep them from joining with the hag against us. It is this sad responsibility that my companions are preparing for as we speak." Looking to the Grung who took the book, the Professor says, "What do you say? i will not manipulate you, only tell you the truth and ask you to decide for yourselves. Do you see the truth of the hag's plan written in her own book? Will you join me in freeing your people from her evil influence?"
Snively stands and waits for their response, hoping that his words were enough.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Berrus gives a quick smile to Maxine "well done"
after examining the opening and figuring out a tactical plan
"If he be in there i dinna ken what we can do, but we can send some o' us back to the professer now, don need as many to cover this entrance, unless this isnt the only one"
Laissez les bons temps rouler
The grung seemed happy with the general sentiment and the powerful words spoken about their new leader, but it seemed that a fair few of them seemed overwhelmed by the plethora of information that the Professor had just given them. Not wanting to weaken the moment, Gruk stepped up to the podium and said: "Take time to reflect. Tomorrow, WE shall gather here." Then, turning to the Professor, he adds :" Thank YOU, Bro-fasser. What about YOUR friend?"
Snively, you notice that Gruk seems to have adapted certain words from gnomish to use in his speech, such as the concepts of personal pronouns and the individual versus the collective notions they entail.
------------------------------
After the cave in, you all struggle for a while to try to explain to B'rup that you're looking for a friend among the grung, to little avail. Seeing the wisdom in Berrus' words, you all start to make preparations to head to the village, but since you don't know what to expect, there is some discussion among the crew where the best fighters should be: Thasselandra is of the opinion that the best fighters should guard the cave, since they would have to trust the Professor and Gruk to have swayed the grung in the village to their side. Falx on the other hand raised the point that it is doubtful that the Professor and Gruk managed to intercept the scouting force and managed to convince the village, and that they should be prepared to defend themselves in case the village was hostile. Lastly, Brax spoke up, trying to mediate, and said that it could well be that the Professor's mission had been a success, but that he hadn't gotten to the village yet, and that they might not know anything of their presence yet, and that instead the majority should stay behind and send only two people to the village to scout out the situation, with one able to inform back, if the coast was clear.
Shae, Berrus, Maxine, what do you want to do?
Union!- Errydha (Homebrew) Setting
Embers in the Dark - Errydha (Homebrew) Setting
Welcome to the Jungle- Far Realms
Citadel of the Unsleeping Sun - Erathis (Grim Hollow) Setting
Yevelda the Mutt- 3rd Level Half-Orc Battlemaster Fighter- Far Realms
Rehgys- 5th Level Satyr Bard of Eloquence- Far Realms
Maxine was not a great strategist but to her the question was simple: "I say keep fighters here. We do not have to just waltz into the village. We can approach carefully and see what is going on in there. If Professor managed it - you saw his work, really, the man is practically a Prophet - we go in and bring villagers here to deal with those inside. If something is wrong - we rush here, pick all on the watch up and try to free Professor."
"What do you think?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
The Professor:
After it is clear that Faekin is not in the village--or any other slaves, for that matter--the Professor says to Gruk, "Since he is not here, I can only hope he was taken to the cave but is still alive. I must get there quickly to help my friends." Suddenly thinking about the cave, Snively realizes with a soft utterance, "I doubt they can even communicate with each other..." Spending a minute to ask the villagers what they know of the slave's plight and asking B'ark to join them, the Professor says, "You have much work to do here to help the tribe understand what is happening, Gruk, but your word will carry much more weight than mine if we are to convince the tribe leaders in the cave to abandon their reckless path. Do you wish to stay here or come with me to the cave?" Turning to the patrol leader, he asks, "B'ark, can you guide me to the cave?"
Despite the still-desperate situation, Snively smiles as Gruk becomes more and more comfortable in leadership of his tribe with each decision. As much as he would like to take an hour and pause to replenish his magical energies (Arcane Recovery), the Professor knows that time is of the essence, especially if Koro-arak is intending to spill the slave's blood in the cave to help fuel the hag's ritual. He awaits the answers from the two Grung somewhat anxiously, ready to leave quickly to rejoin his friends.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
"I will stay, better than tramping round looking fer a fight, ill jus wait fer this one" Berrus says with a grin
Laissez les bons temps rouler
B'ark quickly takes the lead, but Gruk joins as well: "Bro-fasser is right, maybe some tribal elders will see reason." Both of the grung are surprised to find a young female red grung that has joined them. "N'ala is name of this grung. Gruk, friend of gnome is powerful wizard and priest, like Gruk. Koro-arak wants to learn secrets of why half-elf can change colour like grung. Koro-arak takes prisoner to cave near village. No other slaves are here." Puzzled, the three grung lead the way with the Professor quickly following suit.
------------------------------
As you're debating the options open to you all, Bertrand is calling you all to attention, as something or someone is approaching through the brush. You all tense up, until a few moments later he shouts cheerfully: "It's the Professor and Gruk, with two other grung in tow! Looks like they succeeded!"
After a few more moments, you are all reunited and brought up to speed on the respective parts of the mission.
Union!- Errydha (Homebrew) Setting
Embers in the Dark - Errydha (Homebrew) Setting
Welcome to the Jungle- Far Realms
Citadel of the Unsleeping Sun - Erathis (Grim Hollow) Setting
Yevelda the Mutt- 3rd Level Half-Orc Battlemaster Fighter- Far Realms
Rehgys- 5th Level Satyr Bard of Eloquence- Far Realms
Shae would pace around in thought. Back and forth. Back and forth while the others discussed. She'd finally stop and look to Maxine, then Berrus. "I agree. We stay. This was and is our task." She trusted the professor and believed that all they needed was to be patient. Sometime's that's the hardest part. "Take our positions in ambush and keep a lookout for the professor."(lol nvm. I need to refresh more often.)
Shae's excessive pacing would come to an end at the sight of the return of the Professor and the grung. After the update, she'd finally ask, "And Faekin?"
just an unstable unicorn.
The Professor:
“Our new friend N’ala tells us that Faekin was taken into the cave with Koro-arak, and they are trying to learn the secrets of his ability to change colors,” related the Professor. “Do we have time for a short rest for me to replenish my magic before we go in, or do you think we should head in immediately?” he asks the others, thankful to be with his companions again.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
im good but we might need one o yer spells to get in, unless there is another way
Laissez les bons temps rouler