This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
OOC: Six of the raiders are wearing standard Leather Armor, and two have no armor and were wearing robes. One raider wore splint armor, which can be taken but will need to be refit by a smith before it can be worn in combat situations.
Using a Slow pace as travel resumes. Group Stealth: Rogram (Disadvantage-Scale Mail): 8 Smoke: 9 Thia: 10 Yevele: 14
The land surrounding the trampled trail grows thicker over the course of the next hours, until eventually you are surrounded by thick brush growing between four and six feet high. The brush soon rises with the ground as you approach a circular plateau surrounding a lower bowl-like area. The trail that you walk on continues forward, going out of sight 100 feet ahead as it winds into the lower bowl. The brush is tough and dense (providing three-quarters cover to a creature inside it).
Smoke will look around to see if he spots any raiders. Lets try to get a good look and stick together.
Having said that he will try to stay stealthy and move up trying to get to the surrounding plateau if possible to see if they can get a better view of the bowl from there.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Yevele will also head up toward the plateau, hoping to get a look down into the bowl. She will try to use the brush for cover and keep an eye out for any movement in the brush that may indicate a hidden foe. Perception: 21
OOC: The bowl looks like a natural canyon. This is far enough outside of Greenest that it's not very likely that anyone from the town has been out this way.
Pausing to see if Rogram and Thia are moving into the brush with Smoke and Yevele or taking a different route.
Smoke leads the party through the veritable thicket, moving carefully and ascending the slope gradually until you emerge along the ledge of a cliff.
Below you, a practical city has arisen in the large hollow of a rocky plateau that's shaped roughly like a horseshoe. The lower portion of the plateau, nearest the trail you were previously traveling, rises gently from the surrounding land, but it quickly steepens and ascends to a height of 150 feet above the landscape. Boulders form jumbled heaps at the bases of the cliffs. The level shelves and top of the plateau surrounding the entire bowl are covered in the same long grass, and brush and scrubby trees grow in patches.
The steep sides of the plateau are dotted with cave openings; most seem small and shallow aside from one large opening at the end of the hollow. The sides rise sharply, while the floor of the hollow slopes up gradually toward the back of the hollow. There are two towers in the area, one at the entrance to the hollow and one atop the plateau, which has a long ladder lashed to cliff to reach. The towers are 20 feet high, constructed from rough timbers, and look large enough for a few lookouts.
There are two distinct clusters of tents in the horseshoe. Those in the mouth of the hollow are crudely built and decorated with skulls, occupied by kobolds. The upper area seems to be dominated by humans, and the huts there look sturdier, cleaner, and decorated with draconic designs. All of the huts vary in diameter from 10 to 25 feet, and in height from 5 to 10 feet, with the exception of one large tent set apart from the others by an open space. Four heavily armored individuals stand guard around this tent with four hulking blue drakes.
Most of the people throughout the camp look human, and are sitting by pits and fires, or roaming around the area, but below you are a number of humans and dwarves that are hard at work, striking the cliffside with pickaxes under the warm afternoon sun. One unfortunate individual has been tied to a stake at the back of the camp, currently motionless.
OOC: The red square indicates the party's current position. The upper left of the map is where the trampled trail you have been following enters the camp.
Yevele will crawl to the edge and look down toward the prisoners to see if she recognizes any of them. The monk will also look at the cliff face to see if there is anyone down from end, particularly in the vicinity of the humans and dwarves with the pickaxes.
After looking over the area, she will crawl back and join the rest of the party, whispering "We need to figure out how many raiders there are, who the leaders are, why they attacked Greenest and where they plan to attack next. If the people swinging the pickaxes are prisoners, they may be able to answer some of those questions."
Thia also takes a look over the camp, crawling up alongside Yevele. What a camp. That is one sizable army they have there.
OOC: Are the raiders in any sort of uniform? Are they just humans and kobolds or are there dwarves and stranger creatures around, e.g. Tabaxi? The reason for the question is to determine if it would be easy/possible to just stroll into the camp and pretend that we belong there?
Rogram had not noticed the individuals swinging pickaxes prior to Smoke's comment. At the mention of prisoners, Rogram quickly steps to the edge of the cliff to look down upon them in hopes of spying someone he recognizes.
The camp looks to be dominated by humans and kobolds, but Thia sees other races scattered among the raiders as well, upon closer inspection; a few dwarves, halflings, dragonborn, and even a tiefling or two.
Yevele and Rogram notice, as they look closer at the individuals working along the cliff side, that those working are doing so under the watchful gaze of four raiders, each wearing a five-pointed mask resembling a dragon's claw. These, and the armored guards at the large central tent, appear to be the only raiders in any sort of uniform. The rest of the army is anything but uniform; some roam in a variety of leather armor, others wearing simple traveling clothes.
It does not take Rogram long to spot the pair of dwarves working with pickaxes below the party: His aunt and uncle, toiling away next to the others.
Rogram begins to clench and unclench his fists as he watches his aunt and uncle slaving away. Turning to look at the others, his face now red, and his eyes narrowed, he growls, "What's the plan?" He appears to be held from barreling forward by a whisper and a prayer.
"I think we need to wait and watch for an opening. If we try to free the prisoners now, we'll probably get ourselves and them killed. Maybe after dark, we can sneak in there and free them without getting caught. But, we should keep an eye out to see if an opportunity presents itself sooner."
OOC Is Yevele able to spot any path downward from near where the prisoner's are working?
Smoke looks around the camp. We could try both, it might increase our chances. He stares in the distance a bit Did i ever tell you the tale of the goblin Snot Glimmerspark? He was a very successful at sneaking into the den of a dragon.
Mad he was! Or so many believed, but he had permanent case of goldfever. He once even pretended to be a large worm to feed a dragons young or so they say.He grins Must of been a white dragon, not to bright them lot. He looks up at the others as they most likely have angry faces about this not being the time for a tale. Uhm right anyway.
We could go in as Thia suggests, try and trick them like we did at the camp. Perhaps Rogram could hide his weapons and be brought in as a slave. That would explain us being late. Rogram would be placed with his family and we can find the right moment to escape.
Perhaps we could lower a rope down here as far as we can so we dont have to climb up as much... Yeahhe stares in front of himself as if hes watching it unfold in front of him.
Rogram will need to hide his weapons and give his shield to Yevele, she can take Rogram to the prisoners and keep watch there to help Rogram escape. Thia and myself will see if we can learn something in the camp and create a diversion at nighttime. If we split up we can meet back at the original campsite where we found the first raiders. Are we in agreement?
He's carrying it, but doesn't have it armed. Is that a pun?
OOC: Six of the raiders are wearing standard Leather Armor, and two have no armor and were wearing robes. One raider wore splint armor, which can be taken but will need to be refit by a smith before it can be worn in combat situations.
Using a Slow pace as travel resumes. Group Stealth:
Rogram (Disadvantage-Scale Mail): 8
Smoke: 9
Thia: 10
Yevele: 14
The land surrounding the trampled trail grows thicker over the course of the next hours, until eventually you are surrounded by thick brush growing between four and six feet high. The brush soon rises with the ground as you approach a circular plateau surrounding a lower bowl-like area. The trail that you walk on continues forward, going out of sight 100 feet ahead as it winds into the lower bowl. The brush is tough and dense (providing three-quarters cover to a creature inside it).
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
OOC: How big is the bowl-like area?
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
OOC: Large enough that you can't see the full extent of it. It could be a thousand feet or more from the entrance of the bowl to the opposite end.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Smoke will look around to see if he spots any raiders. Lets try to get a good look and stick together.
Having said that he will try to stay stealthy and move up trying to get to the surrounding plateau if possible to see if they can get a better view of the bowl from there.
When the group pauses, Rogram steps forward to see what they are seeing.
Does Rogram have any clue if this bowl is natural or unnatural? Is this something he knows about being from Greenest?
Yevele will also head up toward the plateau, hoping to get a look down into the bowl. She will try to use the brush for cover and keep an eye out for any movement in the brush that may indicate a hidden foe. Perception: 21
OOC: The bowl looks like a natural canyon. This is far enough outside of Greenest that it's not very likely that anyone from the town has been out this way.
Pausing to see if Rogram and Thia are moving into the brush with Smoke and Yevele or taking a different route.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Thia will happily sneak along behind the others.
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Rogram doesn't want to separate from the group again. He will follow, but 20 feet back to keep from blowing their cover if he isn't quiet enough.
OOC: Sorry for the delay, my D&D energy went to a big RL session yesterday.
Group Stealth:
Rogram (Disadvantage-Scale Mail): 8
Smoke: 20
Thia: 9
Yevele: 18
Smoke leads the party through the veritable thicket, moving carefully and ascending the slope gradually until you emerge along the ledge of a cliff.
Below you, a practical city has arisen in the large hollow of a rocky plateau that's shaped roughly like a horseshoe. The lower portion of the plateau, nearest the trail you were previously traveling, rises gently from the surrounding land, but it quickly steepens and ascends to a height of 150 feet above the landscape. Boulders form jumbled heaps at the bases of the cliffs. The level shelves and top of the plateau surrounding the entire bowl are covered in the same long grass, and brush and scrubby trees grow in patches.
The steep sides of the plateau are dotted with cave openings; most seem small and shallow aside from one large opening at the end of the hollow. The sides rise sharply, while the floor of the hollow slopes up gradually toward the back of the hollow. There are two towers in the area, one at the entrance to the hollow and one atop the plateau, which has a long ladder lashed to cliff to reach. The towers are 20 feet high, constructed from rough timbers, and look large enough for a few lookouts.
There are two distinct clusters of tents in the horseshoe. Those in the mouth of the hollow are crudely built and decorated with skulls, occupied by kobolds. The upper area seems to be dominated by humans, and the huts there look sturdier, cleaner, and decorated with draconic designs. All of the huts vary in diameter from 10 to 25 feet, and in height from 5 to 10 feet, with the exception of one large tent set apart from the others by an open space. Four heavily armored individuals stand guard around this tent with four hulking blue drakes.
Most of the people throughout the camp look human, and are sitting by pits and fires, or roaming around the area, but below you are a number of humans and dwarves that are hard at work, striking the cliffside with pickaxes under the warm afternoon sun. One unfortunate individual has been tied to a stake at the back of the camp, currently motionless.
OOC: The red square indicates the party's current position. The upper left of the map is where the trampled trail you have been following enters the camp.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Reaching the ledge Smoke sits carefully trying to stay out of sight for possible lookouts.
He gazes in awe at the large camp. They have an army down there. He says somewhat to himself but loud enough for the others to hear.
Blue drakes! he says pointing to the large tent. That must be where the dragon lady is, their leader.
Looking to Yevele and Rogram Look the prisoners, do you recognize any of them?
He looks around some more trying to think of what they should do to help the prisoners escape.
Yevele will crawl to the edge and look down toward the prisoners to see if she recognizes any of them. The monk will also look at the cliff face to see if there is anyone down from end, particularly in the vicinity of the humans and dwarves with the pickaxes.
After looking over the area, she will crawl back and join the rest of the party, whispering "We need to figure out how many raiders there are, who the leaders are, why they attacked Greenest and where they plan to attack next. If the people swinging the pickaxes are prisoners, they may be able to answer some of those questions."
Thia also takes a look over the camp, crawling up alongside Yevele. What a camp. That is one sizable army they have there.
OOC: Are the raiders in any sort of uniform? Are they just humans and kobolds or are there dwarves and stranger creatures around, e.g. Tabaxi? The reason for the question is to determine if it would be easy/possible to just stroll into the camp and pretend that we belong there?
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Rogram had not noticed the individuals swinging pickaxes prior to Smoke's comment. At the mention of prisoners, Rogram quickly steps to the edge of the cliff to look down upon them in hopes of spying someone he recognizes.
The camp looks to be dominated by humans and kobolds, but Thia sees other races scattered among the raiders as well, upon closer inspection; a few dwarves, halflings, dragonborn, and even a tiefling or two.
Yevele and Rogram notice, as they look closer at the individuals working along the cliff side, that those working are doing so under the watchful gaze of four raiders, each wearing a five-pointed mask resembling a dragon's claw. These, and the armored guards at the large central tent, appear to be the only raiders in any sort of uniform. The rest of the army is anything but uniform; some roam in a variety of leather armor, others wearing simple traveling clothes.
It does not take Rogram long to spot the pair of dwarves working with pickaxes below the party: His aunt and uncle, toiling away next to the others.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Rogram begins to clench and unclench his fists as he watches his aunt and uncle slaving away. Turning to look at the others, his face now red, and his eyes narrowed, he growls, "What's the plan?" He appears to be held from barreling forward by a whisper and a prayer.
"I think we need to wait and watch for an opening. If we try to free the prisoners now, we'll probably get ourselves and them killed. Maybe after dark, we can sneak in there and free them without getting caught. But, we should keep an eye out to see if an opportunity presents itself sooner."
OOC Is Yevele able to spot any path downward from near where the prisoner's are working?
“What about brazenly strolling into the camp as if we belong there?” asks Thia. “It’s big enough that they can’t all know each other.”
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Smoke looks around the camp. We could try both, it might increase our chances. He stares in the distance a bit Did i ever tell you the tale of the goblin Snot Glimmerspark? He was a very successful at sneaking into the den of a dragon.
Mad he was! Or so many believed, but he had permanent case of goldfever. He once even pretended to be a large worm to feed a dragons young or so they say. He grins Must of been a white dragon, not to bright them lot. He looks up at the others as they most likely have angry faces about this not being the time for a tale. Uhm right anyway.
We could go in as Thia suggests, try and trick them like we did at the camp. Perhaps Rogram could hide his weapons and be brought in as a slave. That would explain us being late. Rogram would be placed with his family and we can find the right moment to escape.
Perhaps we could lower a rope down here as far as we can so we dont have to climb up as much... Yeah he stares in front of himself as if hes watching it unfold in front of him.
Rogram will need to hide his weapons and give his shield to Yevele, she can take Rogram to the prisoners and keep watch there to help Rogram escape. Thia and myself will see if we can learn something in the camp and create a diversion at nighttime. If we split up we can meet back at the original campsite where we found the first raiders. Are we in agreement?