Chrys grunts, peering up the stairs and testing one with her foot for stability. "'M thinkin' we should still try ta be kinda quiet if we can. But anybody got a way ta try an' find them kids inside? If tha' dragon ain't keeping post outside, mightas well stick together fer now."
"Yes, I think staying close together is a good thing. Chrys, I think in this situation you would excel as a rearguard. Make sure no one is sneaking up behind us with your keen ears and sturdy fortitude. Those of us who don't clunk around as much can look ahead, quietly, and let you know what we see," Lumen says.
He looks to Kess."Perhaps you and I take point, stay quiet, while Nym, and Vesper handle the middle, looking and listening as best they can? We're looking for the library, and if not, Nym has the pendant to try to find its match the kids should have, don't you Nym?"
He squints up at the floating rock. "I don't have much to prepare, but I will say the silence spell I was working on I think will come in handy. Once we're up there and we find a candidate for a base of operations, I can cast it immediately, or I can take my time to cast it and there's no limit to how many times I can do it. But it might be helpful to have a portion of a building we're using to hide where it doesn't matter how loud we are. As long as I leave some space for us to whisper to communicate just outside the globe."
He's ready to begin moving as soon as others are. He also listens for feedback and other ideas.
"We got time, but we ain't got a bottomless well o' magic ta pull from, 'specially if we're potentially fightin' a dragon"Chrys says as she takes up a position at the rear. "Take yer time settin' up our 'safe space' is my vote."
With Lumen and Kess in the lead, with Nym close behind, followed by Vesper and Chyrs, who's binging up the rear, you begin to ascend the natural stone stairs that have been carved through this narrow passage that ascends within the foundation beneath the keep. You try to remain as quiet as possible as you take slow, careful step, brushing away the thick strands of dry, dusty cobwebs that hang in front of you.
As you climb, you notice that the dark walls start to reflect light, mimicking a night sky full of stars. Chrys recognizes this as being flecks of citrine, a glassy yellow variety of quartz that’s interspersed within the stone. She knows that citrine has value and it can be mined; with the proper equipment and a few days, once could extract a decent take.
After about twenty methodical steps, you begin to hear a muffled noise up ahead... at first it sounds like some kind of cleaning, but then then it's accompanied by what sounds like snarls from a living creature.
Nym shook her head despondently at Chrys' suggestion that perhaps the broken bridge could be mended with magic. At least she didn't have such capability. "Let's just make sure we've scouted out all possible entries and exits. Even if we enter one way doesn't mean we have to leave that same way."
Nodding in agreement at Lumen's question on whether or not she had the pendant turned into a shake of her head. "The pendant I have doesn't find the children's on it's own. It just matches it so that they'll know we were sent by their mother. But I think I can use the Locate Object spell to find their pendants and hopefully them. The spell only lasts ten minutes though and I have to be somewhat nearby them. I think within a thousand feet or so for me to be able to pick them up."
At mention of a spell to Silence an area, Nym nodded hesitantly before it turned enthusiastic as the half orc tacked on that he'd leave space for them to communicate or cast spells if they were outside of its radius.
Freezing as the group hears sounds of a creature, the drow reaches forward to touch Lumen's shoulder to give him Vigilant's Blessing.
Lumen casts minor illusion about 20 feet ahead of himself to create a stalagmite or pillar or some visual illusion of a large object covered in cobwebs that would make sense to be in a stairway like this judging from what had been seen so far. He then moves up to quietly occupy the space, using the illusion as complete cover from whatever what up ahead. He'd try to judge it by where he imagined the sound came from.
Stealth: 19
Ideally he'd get a good lookout, and a sense of what was happening up ahead. And rely on Vesper to send her messages to allow him to communicate what he sees back to the group.
Chrys hangs back, her hand pressed against the wall. Mining was never her calling, but she still appreciates the appearance of the gems in the wall. Now is not the time, however, and she refocuses on the mission at hand. Hearing the snarls and the sounds, Chrys closes her eyes and strains her ears, trying to determine what she can from as far back as she stands, without giving away Lumen's game.
As you cast your illusion and then move forward to occupy the space, you look up ahead and faintly see that the stairway continues before it appears to open up into some sort of chamber. You can still hear the clanging and occasional snarls, but you see no signs of any creature from this vantage point.
As Nym gives her blessing to Lumen and sends him further up the stairway to scout what lies ahead, the rest of you remain rooted in your current positions on the steps, trying to be as quiet as possible. Then, suddenly, the silence is broken when you hear a hushed voice behind you that speaks in loud whisper.
"No!!! Not that way!!"
Looking behind you towards the source of the noise, you see a humanoid creature standing down near the base of the stairs. Whoever it is, the creature is wearing a familiar looking cloak, and you suddenly realize that it's an elf... You recognize him as Fivin, the companion of Aelar and Lia who you met back at Dauric's tree, the Chronicler of their tribe.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Spinning around at the sudden whisper that felt much louder than it truly was in the tense silence, Nym had right hand outstretched with white flame beginning to grow in her palm before it died out as she blinked at the person at the bottom of the steps. Mouth opening in surprise to see just who it was, she shook her head, almost asking aloud what in the Moons name he was doing here but realized they should still be quiet. Assuming everyone else follows suit, the cleric retreats down to the elf as quietly as possible before finally whispering, "Have you been following us the whole time?!"Lips pursed in concern at the sound of the beast further up, the drow's expression becomes more serious as she demands, "Where should we enter then?"
Chrys, never one to trust only her eyes alone, clasps her hands together and murmurs a small prayer as she stares at Fivin intently. "Nice o' you ta show up now,"she mutters under her breath, still concentrating on her Divine Sense.
She also continues to stare hard, despite what the tingling of her detection of good and evil is indicating, at Fivin himself, searching for the tell-tale signs of illusory magic.
Fivin continues up the stairs, his thin frame padding quietly up the stone before stopping about 10 feet behind you. He looks at you through his half moon spectacles and answers Nyn's questions in a similar hushed tone.
"No, I have not been following you the entire time. I set off behind you the day after you left, when I was sure that Aelar and Lia were ok. I arrived yesterday evening, and was surprised that I made it here before you. Perhaps you got lost... this forest is thick and it can be difficult to navigate within its vast expanse. At any rate, I've been hiding, not wanting to encounter the dragon, but I just emerged and saw you approach, so I came to warn you."
"You should not take this way, it is too dangerous. We need to find another way into the keep if you are to rescue the children. The Sky's Ascend appears to have been damaged, but perhaps there is a way to get across the gaps from the destroyed rope bridges."
Chrys
Looking at Fivin, you don't see anything that would lead you to believe that there is some kind of illusory magic at work here, nor do you sense the presence of any kind of celestial, fiend or undead with your Divine Sense.
”This passage, if you could call it that, is infested by gigantic poisonous spiders, the likes of which even Aelar and his Warriors have not been able to remove. I fear for anyone who sets foot in there, which I would suggest we find another way in.”
Nym's ears flicked downwards in embarrassment at the fact that he had gotten here a whole day ahead of them though she did reply weakly, "The map helped, but one always gets there quicker when heading home. We encountered a few obstacles." Glancing behind them to the way they had tried to go through as Lumen asked why they couldn't, the drow's head whipped around at Fivin's answer, white hair flaring around her as she frowned deeply. "The fact that creatures of Lolth are right underneath a topsider elven home does not bode well, dragon aside." Her left palm gripped the pommel of her longsword tightly, wanting to try and dispatch the foul creatures but knowing that there was no point and it would put their entire mission at risk. There was no point in killing the spiders when the dragon remained. She had to focus on the task at hand: finding and rescuing the children. Taking a breath, she nodded and glanced between Fivin and her companions, "So back outside then." Retreating to where the precarious rope bridge began.
"We can try looking again for another way, but otherwise, we'll have to chance the spiders. Did you see any options on your approach?" Lumen says. He's fine with trying to find another option, again. Perhaps the broken stairs are not so bad after all.
Lumen's fine with taking another loop around to look for another way in, since he doesn't really see other options. He'll try to chat up the new arrival to get a sense of him.
With the decision to turn around and find another way into the keep, you reverse your course back down the stairway, squeeze through the narrow gap and once again emerge out of the crevice that's located behind the waterfall. Beads of water from the spray cover your armor and clothing as Fivin leads you back around to the front of the keep.
Once in front, you look upward at the long stone, precarious, damp stairway that leads up to the plateau that will give you access to this magnificent elven citadel. Fivin refers to these stairs as Sky's Ascend. You see the destroyed wooden rope bridges that normally span the gaps between sections of rock replace the stairs. These seem to have been recently shattered since their remains can be still be seen at the base of the butte. Taking a few minutes to survey the damage, you see that there are five 15-foot segments where the bridges have been shattered. To get past them, you would either have to figure out a way to overcome these gaps, or else traverse around these sections by climbing across the wet rock face.
Chrys crosses her arms and grunts. "Now, I did grow up in the mountains o' Twilight Tor. Not underground like most dwarves. Rock climbin' is somethin' I can do. But I ain't likin' the looks o' that water. It'll be dangerous 'nough crossin' in, let alone layin' in lines ta make it safer fer the rest o' ya. Have we got 'nough spare rope an' pitons to make a handhold, an' bind ourselves together so we don't fall when we cross?" Rooting through her pack, she pulls out a grappling hook and 50 feet of hempen rope. "I ain't got much else than this here, personally."
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Chrys grunts, peering up the stairs and testing one with her foot for stability. "'M thinkin' we should still try ta be kinda quiet if we can. But anybody got a way ta try an' find them kids inside? If tha' dragon ain't keeping post outside, mightas well stick together fer now."
"Yes, I think staying close together is a good thing. Chrys, I think in this situation you would excel as a rearguard. Make sure no one is sneaking up behind us with your keen ears and sturdy fortitude. Those of us who don't clunk around as much can look ahead, quietly, and let you know what we see," Lumen says.
He looks to Kess. "Perhaps you and I take point, stay quiet, while Nym, and Vesper handle the middle, looking and listening as best they can? We're looking for the library, and if not, Nym has the pendant to try to find its match the kids should have, don't you Nym?"
He squints up at the floating rock. "I don't have much to prepare, but I will say the silence spell I was working on I think will come in handy. Once we're up there and we find a candidate for a base of operations, I can cast it immediately, or I can take my time to cast it and there's no limit to how many times I can do it. But it might be helpful to have a portion of a building we're using to hide where it doesn't matter how loud we are. As long as I leave some space for us to whisper to communicate just outside the globe."
He's ready to begin moving as soon as others are. He also listens for feedback and other ideas.
"We got time, but we ain't got a bottomless well o' magic ta pull from, 'specially if we're potentially fightin' a dragon" Chrys says as she takes up a position at the rear. "Take yer time settin' up our 'safe space' is my vote."
With Lumen and Kess in the lead, with Nym close behind, followed by Vesper and Chyrs, who's binging up the rear, you begin to ascend the natural stone stairs that have been carved through this narrow passage that ascends within the foundation beneath the keep. You try to remain as quiet as possible as you take slow, careful step, brushing away the thick strands of dry, dusty cobwebs that hang in front of you.
As you climb, you notice that the dark walls start to reflect light, mimicking a night sky full of stars. Chrys recognizes this as being flecks of citrine, a glassy yellow variety of quartz that’s interspersed within the stone. She knows that citrine has value and it can be mined; with the proper equipment and a few days, once could extract a decent take.
After about twenty methodical steps, you begin to hear a muffled noise up ahead... at first it sounds like some kind of cleaning, but then then it's accompanied by what sounds like snarls from a living creature.
Nym shook her head despondently at Chrys' suggestion that perhaps the broken bridge could be mended with magic. At least she didn't have such capability. "Let's just make sure we've scouted out all possible entries and exits. Even if we enter one way doesn't mean we have to leave that same way."
Nodding in agreement at Lumen's question on whether or not she had the pendant turned into a shake of her head. "The pendant I have doesn't find the children's on it's own. It just matches it so that they'll know we were sent by their mother. But I think I can use the Locate Object spell to find their pendants and hopefully them. The spell only lasts ten minutes though and I have to be somewhat nearby them. I think within a thousand feet or so for me to be able to pick them up."
At mention of a spell to Silence an area, Nym nodded hesitantly before it turned enthusiastic as the half orc tacked on that he'd leave space for them to communicate or cast spells if they were outside of its radius.
Freezing as the group hears sounds of a creature, the drow reaches forward to touch Lumen's shoulder to give him Vigilant's Blessing.
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
Lumen casts minor illusion about 20 feet ahead of himself to create a stalagmite or pillar or some visual illusion of a large object covered in cobwebs that would make sense to be in a stairway like this judging from what had been seen so far. He then moves up to quietly occupy the space, using the illusion as complete cover from whatever what up ahead. He'd try to judge it by where he imagined the sound came from.
Stealth: 19
Ideally he'd get a good lookout, and a sense of what was happening up ahead. And rely on Vesper to send her messages to allow him to communicate what he sees back to the group.
Chrys hangs back, her hand pressed against the wall. Mining was never her calling, but she still appreciates the appearance of the gems in the wall. Now is not the time, however, and she refocuses on the mission at hand. Hearing the snarls and the sounds, Chrys closes her eyes and strains her ears, trying to determine what she can from as far back as she stands, without giving away Lumen's game.
Perception: 14
Lumen
As you cast your illusion and then move forward to occupy the space, you look up ahead and faintly see that the stairway continues before it appears to open up into some sort of chamber. You can still hear the clanging and occasional snarls, but you see no signs of any creature from this vantage point.
As Nym gives her blessing to Lumen and sends him further up the stairway to scout what lies ahead, the rest of you remain rooted in your current positions on the steps, trying to be as quiet as possible. Then, suddenly, the silence is broken when you hear a hushed voice behind you that speaks in loud whisper.
"No!!! Not that way!!"
Looking behind you towards the source of the noise, you see a humanoid creature standing down near the base of the stairs. Whoever it is, the creature is wearing a familiar looking cloak, and you suddenly realize that it's an elf... You recognize him as Fivin, the companion of Aelar and Lia who you met back at Dauric's tree, the Chronicler of their tribe.
Spinning around at the sudden whisper that felt much louder than it truly was in the tense silence, Nym had right hand outstretched with white flame beginning to grow in her palm before it died out as she blinked at the person at the bottom of the steps. Mouth opening in surprise to see just who it was, she shook her head, almost asking aloud what in the Moons name he was doing here but realized they should still be quiet. Assuming everyone else follows suit, the cleric retreats down to the elf as quietly as possible before finally whispering, "Have you been following us the whole time?!" Lips pursed in concern at the sound of the beast further up, the drow's expression becomes more serious as she demands, "Where should we enter then?"
Stealth: 19
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
Chrys, never one to trust only her eyes alone, clasps her hands together and murmurs a small prayer as she stares at Fivin intently. "Nice o' you ta show up now," she mutters under her breath, still concentrating on her Divine Sense.
She also continues to stare hard, despite what the tingling of her detection of good and evil is indicating, at Fivin himself, searching for the tell-tale signs of illusory magic.
Investigation: 13
Fivin continues up the stairs, his thin frame padding quietly up the stone before stopping about 10 feet behind you. He looks at you through his half moon spectacles and answers Nyn's questions in a similar hushed tone.
"No, I have not been following you the entire time. I set off behind you the day after you left, when I was sure that Aelar and Lia were ok. I arrived yesterday evening, and was surprised that I made it here before you. Perhaps you got lost... this forest is thick and it can be difficult to navigate within its vast expanse. At any rate, I've been hiding, not wanting to encounter the dragon, but I just emerged and saw you approach, so I came to warn you."
"You should not take this way, it is too dangerous. We need to find another way into the keep if you are to rescue the children. The Sky's Ascend appears to have been damaged, but perhaps there is a way to get across the gaps from the destroyed rope bridges."
Chrys
Looking at Fivin, you don't see anything that would lead you to believe that there is some kind of illusory magic at work here, nor do you sense the presence of any kind of celestial, fiend or undead with your Divine Sense.
"What is dangerous about this way that is more dangerous than destroyed rope bridges?" Lumen says.
Fivin answers.
”This passage, if you could call it that, is infested by gigantic poisonous spiders, the likes of which even Aelar and his Warriors have not been able to remove. I fear for anyone who sets foot in there, which I would suggest we find another way in.”
Nym's ears flicked downwards in embarrassment at the fact that he had gotten here a whole day ahead of them though she did reply weakly, "The map helped, but one always gets there quicker when heading home. We encountered a few obstacles." Glancing behind them to the way they had tried to go through as Lumen asked why they couldn't, the drow's head whipped around at Fivin's answer, white hair flaring around her as she frowned deeply. "The fact that creatures of Lolth are right underneath a topsider elven home does not bode well, dragon aside." Her left palm gripped the pommel of her longsword tightly, wanting to try and dispatch the foul creatures but knowing that there was no point and it would put their entire mission at risk. There was no point in killing the spiders when the dragon remained. She had to focus on the task at hand: finding and rescuing the children. Taking a breath, she nodded and glanced between Fivin and her companions, "So back outside then." Retreating to where the precarious rope bridge began.
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
((So, what’s the call? Following Fivin’s advice, or continue up the stairs?))
"We can try looking again for another way, but otherwise, we'll have to chance the spiders. Did you see any options on your approach?" Lumen says. He's fine with trying to find another option, again. Perhaps the broken stairs are not so bad after all.
Ok, I’m back from vacation. Time to resume… what are you guys gonna do?
Lumen's fine with taking another loop around to look for another way in, since he doesn't really see other options. He'll try to chat up the new arrival to get a sense of him.
With the decision to turn around and find another way into the keep, you reverse your course back down the stairway, squeeze through the narrow gap and once again emerge out of the crevice that's located behind the waterfall. Beads of water from the spray cover your armor and clothing as Fivin leads you back around to the front of the keep.
Once in front, you look upward at the long stone, precarious, damp stairway that leads up to the plateau that will give you access to this magnificent elven citadel. Fivin refers to these stairs as Sky's Ascend. You see the destroyed wooden rope bridges that normally span the gaps between sections of rock replace the stairs. These seem to have been recently shattered since their remains can be still be seen at the base of the butte. Taking a few minutes to survey the damage, you see that there are five 15-foot segments where the bridges have been shattered. To get past them, you would either have to figure out a way to overcome these gaps, or else traverse around these sections by climbing across the wet rock face.
Chrys crosses her arms and grunts. "Now, I did grow up in the mountains o' Twilight Tor. Not underground like most dwarves. Rock climbin' is somethin' I can do. But I ain't likin' the looks o' that water. It'll be dangerous 'nough crossin' in, let alone layin' in lines ta make it safer fer the rest o' ya. Have we got 'nough spare rope an' pitons to make a handhold, an' bind ourselves together so we don't fall when we cross?" Rooting through her pack, she pulls out a grappling hook and 50 feet of hempen rope. "I ain't got much else than this here, personally."