Py does not answer Auger’s call, and the warlock intuits that the familiar’s material form was destroyed, and that Py waits in the Fey Wild to be summoned once again.
Upon Auger’s signal, Tagwerramt makes deft, steady cuts with her blade, down from the window and across the floor, then, peeks in before lifting a triangular flap of the tent to allow access.
The chamber pot room is now open. It is vacant, and you hear no signs of motion nearby -- only the steady pulse of the booming drum, the drone, the rough, dancing, song.
With the chamber pot room open, Ednyss creeps forward. Before he steps in, he waits for Varielky to pass him and grants her some divine strength (Bull's Strength) by touching his shield to her arm. He will wait until at least Varielky has entered the room, before following in after her.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
(OOC: hearing no sounds of movement, your party is able to quietly -- at least, quietly compared to the loud music -- creep inside the tent, and pull the flap mostly closed.
(If Firecat5 doesn’t object,) Varielky leads you into the chamber pot room, and then into the next hallway, which is lined with curtains to many rooms. You encounter no one and nothing else.
The music seems to be coming through a curtain on the hallway’s western wall, and you peek through into what seems to be a large central space with a throne at the northern wall facing what is probably the entrance to the tent, a wide curtained doorway in the room’s southern wall. The music is louder in the throne room, and dust puffs from the tent fabric with each beat of the big drum. You also hear more voices, responding to the music, roughly egging on the players, and, you suspect, also encouraging a dancer or dancers. You smell hot food: roasted goat and root vegetables. But still, you see no one.
Auger finds Py’s inanimate form crushed under the curtain just outside the chamber pot room. Perhaps an orc thought it was a snake, concealed under the folds of fabric, and stomped on it.
Granophyre answers softly, “I only have one bracelet, which is now upon Tamazaert’s wrist.”
Tears at his eyes, Auger collects the pieces as best as he can and puts them away in his bag.
"This was merely poor chance. Another will be along soon and will yell if they see us. We must move quickly and quietly." Looking at the nearby Azhvuv Auger asks, "Can any of you check ahead and see if this dance involves Benita?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
In answer to Auger’s question, Izilmeddur looks to Lunja, who nods once briskly, then slides past the curtain into the throne room, which is lit by various lanterns hanging from hooks upon support poles throughout the room. Edging along the walls, Lunja makes her way to the curtain opposite the one at which your party waits. En route, she glances at the two desks, and peeks into the southern curtain, very carefully — and quickly pulls back. She waits a moment, then like a winter wind, moves in perfect silence past the opening, waiting again on the other side, her back to the wall. Nothing happens, and several breaths later, she turns her attention to the west curtain. Keeping to the wall, she arrives, immediately pulls back again, waiting several breaths, then quickly peeks through the space between the curtain and the wall, before pulling back just as quickly. She does this again, shifts across to the other side of the door, peeks in the other direction, then freezes, her back to the wall, her eyes searching for you and sending a warning.
A moment later, the curtain opens briskly and an orc steps through, belching loudly. He does not see Lunja, and is walking across the throne room, directly towards you. As the curtain opens, then shuts behind him, you are made certain that the music, dancing, and eating are coming from the space beyond it. The vibrations from the big drum rebound once every second or two, while the drone and singing carry on. In the brief moment when the curtain is open, you see another orc or human walking right to left through your line of sight.
Lunja has drawn her hand crossbow, and keeping it aimed at the orc’s back, eases open the sack containing her alyasub, now a sphere of black chitin reflecting rainbow colors which unfurls on the aged Shian rugs covering the floor, then spreads its paper-thin wings, shivering slightly as it stretches out.
The three Azhvuv with you likewise release their pets.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Seeing that they might have trouble, Auger signals the Azhvuv, hoping to get them to silence the Orc.
To assist them if needed Auger readies a differing power he had been thinking on, an ability to reach into the mind of others and allow them to briefly perceive the Sea of Stars. The idea was that the experience would be daunting and unusual and potentially disorienting. If it worked, that is. Auger readies the spell, planning to use it to knock out the Orc, once it was held by any of the others.
Auger
Readies Mind Sliver and casts it once the orc has engaged any of the others. INT save, DC 16 or take: 1. Also upon a fail, lose 1d4 on next saving throw if that saving throw happens before the end of Auger's next turn.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Varielky tries to tell the others to follow her using gestures alone. She doesn't want to be part of killing an Orc this way. She starts walking towards the sound of the music, looking for an alternative entrance. There are curtains all around, after all.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Ednyss just waits patiently for the others to strike and will ready himself to lunge at and cover the mouth of the Orc if he doesn't go down in the first onslaught.
Varielky walks south down the corridor and peeks through the southernmost curtain, the most likely candidate to ajoin with the source of the music in the southwestern corner of the tent. Behind the curtain is an empty bedroom -- hay mounds covered with lambskins where three or four could sleep -- and a dead-end.
The orc continues walking through the throne room, enters the curtain you have been looking through as you stand to either side, and Ednyss, with the help of Izilmeddur, leaps up to latch onto another chin lock, and successfully grapples the orc, his throat too constrained to yell. The orc’s circling eyes, bursting with fury, widen in pain as Auger’s spell overwhelms his mind, and Sakinatadla delivers a forceful kick to his kidney which knocks him out. The orc is now on the ground, unconscious, and again, this was accomplished silently.
Lunja crosses back to you, her alyasub on her shoulder, and informs you that the room west of the throne room is crowded with orcs eating a meal, and she saw a woman fitting Benita’s description sitting at one of the tables at the far end of the room. She tells you that the throne room’s wide southern curtain leads to a wide corridor, the opposite end of which is framed by the main entrance to the Chief’s tent, at which stand two guards.
Varielky returns to the others, glad to see nobody murdered the foe in cold blood. Once she hears the Azhvuv's report, she whispers: "Okay then, sneaky-planned." This doesn't refer to anyone in particular, but also all at the same time. "How do we get to the other end of the room, take Benita with us, and go unnoticed, when all the Orcs are there? Unless one of you and your strange magics can pluck her out of the room in an instant..."
(Which I'm pretty sure you can't do, but Varielky doesn't know that.)
Auger looks around and thinks for a moment. How were we going to separate Benita from the others without the Orcs realizing? A distraction seemed to be in order.
Auger outlines a plan for the team. "I think we will need to set a fire. In the confusion we grab Benita and head out the way we came in and straight for the fence behind the Harem." Looking to the Azhvuv, Auger continues, "Can any of you still appear as an orc, even for a short time? We need someone who can grab Benita and bring her to us."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Varielky shakes her head. "Back when I was in service, we had trained various times in how to respond to various things, such as a sudden fire, to avoid being caught in surprise in case it is a distraction. I could imagine these Orcs practising the same. Especially in a place where they know the area but we do not, this does not seem a wise move. Besides, even if a fire does get them confused, you can't predict whether they'll run to the fire to put it out or away from the fire to save their lives. Thus, that might just cause them to see us." Varielky thinks. What can they do? She thinks about the area, and the way they came through. Then, an idea comes to mind. She turns to Granophyre. "How long will the bracelet's magic last? If long enough, perhaps one of us could go undetected and whisper to Benita she should go relieve herself. Even if Orcs accompany her, as long as they don't enter the chamber with her, we can then take her and run away."
Granophyre replies to Varielky and Auger, “I have no powers to free Benita without being seen.” He looks to Izilmeddur, who shakes her head firmly. “No. Our powers of disguise have limits.”
Strewn continues, “A fire could work, although…these skins used in the making of the tent have been treated so as not to be flammable, and it would take a great deal of heat to make the walls or rugs do anything but smoke,” says the scholar. “And how would we light a fire, undetected, in their dining hall? Perhaps we must use force. How to do so without drawing the attention of the entire town?” He scratches his beard for a moment, then continues.
“When we enter, and enter we must, in a show of force, no orcs can leave the room, or they will alert the guards. Varielky and Auger can attempt to forcefully persuade Shulong Xurl, the Chief, to allow Benita to leave with us. If he does not agree, and we come to blows, the music is an ample distraction. Ednyss, if you and I command the musicians to perform, then whatever scuffle ensues might not attract undue attention.”
In answer to Varielky’s question, Granophyre says, “Alas, if I remove it from Tamazaert, and transfer it to someone else, I would not be able to make her invisible again. But suppose we accept that. Who could quietly enter the room, find Benita and convince her to go? What if Benita doesn’t trust her ears? What if the way is blocked?”
“Mister,” comes the disembodied voice of Tamazaert, tremulous but firm, “I can do it.”
“Oh!,” gasps Granophyre quietly, and lifts his hand to show that Tamazaert no longer holds it. The curtain to the throne room parts, then falls.
Ednyss freezes in surprise as Tamazaert heads into the throne room. At first, he is stunned but realizing that a plan is moving forward, Ednyss just quickly mutters to the others. "I can attempt to make all of the Orcs indifferent towards us for a short period of time, but I will only have one shot at it, and the spell might fail against some of them. If it does, we would just need to run from them until we were out of sight of the ones that were affected. The indifferent Orcs shouldn't chase us, and once we are out of eyeshot, we can deal with the orcs that have followed us, but it is still a gamble." In response to Granophyre's idea of commanding the musicians, Ednyss simply says, "I am unsure of your magics, but the divine guidance of Takal Demesh will only allow me to take control of the musicians for a period of time barely longer than 5 seconds. I don't know if that is really long enough to subdue all of the orcs."
Meanwhile, Ednyss is still keeping most of his focus in the direction of the throne room to see what happens with Tamazaert.
"She has gone? With the baby?"Auger says disbelievingly. Py! If only I could know what is happening, Auger thinks to himself. "She cannot even know who Benita is." Folly. Ruin would come of this. "Prepare to rush the dining area if need be. We may need to overpower them to get out of this."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
In a moment, the curtain to the dining hall parts, then falls, indicating that the young woman has entered it. Three minutes later, the curtains open and close again, and Tamazaert has returned.
“I can’t get to her,” comes her voice, disappointed. “The new woman called Neeta with a long black ponytail is the only female human in the room. She sits between the chief and one of his Hands. I am scared of the Hands, I didn't want to bring Suya closer, and he doesn’t like the drum. He was fussing,” and indeed, the invisible baby is making soft noises of discomfort and small cries: “Mmmmu! Nnnnnu!,” which are nearly inaudible compared to the music. Tamazaert’s voice continues, “And there was one orc who kept looking around at the curtain, like he is expecting someone. Maybe him,” she says, pointing to the unconscious form of the orc you overpowered a few minutes ago. “I waited until he wasn’t looking to slip out again.” She describes what she saw, and your combined explorations of Xurl’s tent now draw this picture in your imaginations. (OOC: M=Musician, D=Dancer, X=Xurl, H=Hand, G=Guard)
Py does not answer Auger’s call, and the warlock intuits that the familiar’s material form was destroyed, and that Py waits in the Fey Wild to be summoned once again.
Upon Auger’s signal, Tagwerramt makes deft, steady cuts with her blade, down from the window and across the floor, then, peeks in before lifting a triangular flap of the tent to allow access.
The chamber pot room is now open. It is vacant, and you hear no signs of motion nearby -- only the steady pulse of the booming drum, the drone, the rough, dancing, song.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
With the chamber pot room open, Ednyss creeps forward. Before he steps in, he waits for Varielky to pass him and grants her some divine strength (Bull's Strength) by touching his shield to her arm. He will wait until at least Varielky has entered the room, before following in after her.
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
(OOC: hearing no sounds of movement, your party is able to quietly -- at least, quietly compared to the loud music -- creep inside the tent, and pull the flap mostly closed.
(If Firecat5 doesn’t object,) Varielky leads you into the chamber pot room, and then into the next hallway, which is lined with curtains to many rooms. You encounter no one and nothing else.
The music seems to be coming through a curtain on the hallway’s western wall, and you peek through into what seems to be a large central space with a throne at the northern wall facing what is probably the entrance to the tent, a wide curtained doorway in the room’s southern wall. The music is louder in the throne room, and dust puffs from the tent fabric with each beat of the big drum. You also hear more voices, responding to the music, roughly egging on the players, and, you suspect, also encouraging a dancer or dancers. You smell hot food: roasted goat and root vegetables. But still, you see no one.
You have all moved into the hallway, and you are now positioned like so.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Auger enters the hallway and looks around for any broken wooden parts, as the remains of Py would appear. What had happened to the familiar's body?
Auger looks over to where Granophyre is and quietly asks him, "Can you make anyone else invisible? Like Varielky and Ednyss perhaps?"
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Auger finds Py’s inanimate form crushed under the curtain just outside the chamber pot room. Perhaps an orc thought it was a snake, concealed under the folds of fabric, and stomped on it.
Granophyre answers softly, “I only have one bracelet, which is now upon Tamazaert’s wrist.”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Tears at his eyes, Auger collects the pieces as best as he can and puts them away in his bag.
"This was merely poor chance. Another will be along soon and will yell if they see us. We must move quickly and quietly." Looking at the nearby Azhvuv Auger asks, "Can any of you check ahead and see if this dance involves Benita?"
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
As Auger takes the lead, Ednyss waits quietly to the side ready to move if Auger or the Azhvuv give a signal.
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
In answer to Auger’s question, Izilmeddur looks to Lunja, who nods once briskly, then slides past the curtain into the throne room, which is lit by various lanterns hanging from hooks upon support poles throughout the room. Edging along the walls, Lunja makes her way to the curtain opposite the one at which your party waits. En route, she glances at the two desks, and peeks into the southern curtain, very carefully — and quickly pulls back. She waits a moment, then like a winter wind, moves in perfect silence past the opening, waiting again on the other side, her back to the wall. Nothing happens, and several breaths later, she turns her attention to the west curtain. Keeping to the wall, she arrives, immediately pulls back again, waiting several breaths, then quickly peeks through the space between the curtain and the wall, before pulling back just as quickly. She does this again, shifts across to the other side of the door, peeks in the other direction, then freezes, her back to the wall, her eyes searching for you and sending a warning.
A moment later, the curtain opens briskly and an orc steps through, belching loudly. He does not see Lunja, and is walking across the throne room, directly towards you. As the curtain opens, then shuts behind him, you are made certain that the music, dancing, and eating are coming from the space beyond it. The vibrations from the big drum rebound once every second or two, while the drone and singing carry on. In the brief moment when the curtain is open, you see another orc or human walking right to left through your line of sight.
Lunja has drawn her hand crossbow, and keeping it aimed at the orc’s back, eases open the sack containing her alyasub, now a sphere of black chitin reflecting rainbow colors which unfurls on the aged Shian rugs covering the floor, then spreads its paper-thin wings, shivering slightly as it stretches out.
The three Azhvuv with you likewise release their pets.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Seeing that they might have trouble, Auger signals the Azhvuv, hoping to get them to silence the Orc.
To assist them if needed Auger readies a differing power he had been thinking on, an ability to reach into the mind of others and allow them to briefly perceive the Sea of Stars. The idea was that the experience would be daunting and unusual and potentially disorienting. If it worked, that is. Auger readies the spell, planning to use it to knock out the Orc, once it was held by any of the others.
Auger
Readies Mind Sliver and casts it once the orc has engaged any of the others. INT save, DC 16 or take: 1. Also upon a fail, lose 1d4 on next saving throw if that saving throw happens before the end of Auger's next turn.
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Varielky tries to tell the others to follow her using gestures alone. She doesn't want to be part of killing an Orc this way. She starts walking towards the sound of the music, looking for an alternative entrance. There are curtains all around, after all.
Varielky
Ednyss just waits patiently for the others to strike and will ready himself to lunge at and cover the mouth of the Orc if he doesn't go down in the first onslaught.
Athletics (When triggered): 5
(OOC: Hmmm... Well... Here's to hoping he goes down after the first round of attacks!)
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
Varielky walks south down the corridor and peeks through the southernmost curtain, the most likely candidate to ajoin with the source of the music in the southwestern corner of the tent. Behind the curtain is an empty bedroom -- hay mounds covered with lambskins where three or four could sleep -- and a dead-end.
The orc continues walking through the throne room, enters the curtain you have been looking through as you stand to either side, and Ednyss, with the help of Izilmeddur, leaps up to latch onto another chin lock, and successfully grapples the orc, his throat too constrained to yell. The orc’s circling eyes, bursting with fury, widen in pain as Auger’s spell overwhelms his mind, and Sakinatadla delivers a forceful kick to his kidney which knocks him out. The orc is now on the ground, unconscious, and again, this was accomplished silently.
Lunja crosses back to you, her alyasub on her shoulder, and informs you that the room west of the throne room is crowded with orcs eating a meal, and she saw a woman fitting Benita’s description sitting at one of the tables at the far end of the room. She tells you that the throne room’s wide southern curtain leads to a wide corridor, the opposite end of which is framed by the main entrance to the Chief’s tent, at which stand two guards.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Varielky returns to the others, glad to see nobody murdered the foe in cold blood. Once she hears the Azhvuv's report, she whispers: "Okay then, sneaky-planned." This doesn't refer to anyone in particular, but also all at the same time. "How do we get to the other end of the room, take Benita with us, and go unnoticed, when all the Orcs are there? Unless one of you and your strange magics can pluck her out of the room in an instant..."
(Which I'm pretty sure you can't do, but Varielky doesn't know that.)
Varielky
Auger looks around and thinks for a moment. How were we going to separate Benita from the others without the Orcs realizing? A distraction seemed to be in order.
Auger outlines a plan for the team. "I think we will need to set a fire. In the confusion we grab Benita and head out the way we came in and straight for the fence behind the Harem." Looking to the Azhvuv, Auger continues, "Can any of you still appear as an orc, even for a short time? We need someone who can grab Benita and bring her to us."
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
Varielky shakes her head. "Back when I was in service, we had trained various times in how to respond to various things, such as a sudden fire, to avoid being caught in surprise in case it is a distraction. I could imagine these Orcs practising the same. Especially in a place where they know the area but we do not, this does not seem a wise move. Besides, even if a fire does get them confused, you can't predict whether they'll run to the fire to put it out or away from the fire to save their lives. Thus, that might just cause them to see us." Varielky thinks. What can they do? She thinks about the area, and the way they came through. Then, an idea comes to mind. She turns to Granophyre. "How long will the bracelet's magic last? If long enough, perhaps one of us could go undetected and whisper to Benita she should go relieve herself. Even if Orcs accompany her, as long as they don't enter the chamber with her, we can then take her and run away."
Varielky
Granophyre replies to Varielky and Auger, “I have no powers to free Benita without being seen.” He looks to Izilmeddur, who shakes her head firmly. “No. Our powers of disguise have limits.”
Strewn continues, “A fire could work, although…these skins used in the making of the tent have been treated so as not to be flammable, and it would take a great deal of heat to make the walls or rugs do anything but smoke,” says the scholar. “And how would we light a fire, undetected, in their dining hall? Perhaps we must use force. How to do so without drawing the attention of the entire town?” He scratches his beard for a moment, then continues.
“When we enter, and enter we must, in a show of force, no orcs can leave the room, or they will alert the guards. Varielky and Auger can attempt to forcefully persuade Shulong Xurl, the Chief, to allow Benita to leave with us. If he does not agree, and we come to blows, the music is an ample distraction. Ednyss, if you and I command the musicians to perform, then whatever scuffle ensues might not attract undue attention.”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
In answer to Varielky’s question, Granophyre says, “Alas, if I remove it from Tamazaert, and transfer it to someone else, I would not be able to make her invisible again. But suppose we accept that. Who could quietly enter the room, find Benita and convince her to go? What if Benita doesn’t trust her ears? What if the way is blocked?”
“Mister,” comes the disembodied voice of Tamazaert, tremulous but firm, “I can do it.”
“Oh!,” gasps Granophyre quietly, and lifts his hand to show that Tamazaert no longer holds it. The curtain to the throne room parts, then falls.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Ednyss freezes in surprise as Tamazaert heads into the throne room. At first, he is stunned but realizing that a plan is moving forward, Ednyss just quickly mutters to the others. "I can attempt to make all of the Orcs indifferent towards us for a short period of time, but I will only have one shot at it, and the spell might fail against some of them. If it does, we would just need to run from them until we were out of sight of the ones that were affected. The indifferent Orcs shouldn't chase us, and once we are out of eyeshot, we can deal with the orcs that have followed us, but it is still a gamble." In response to Granophyre's idea of commanding the musicians, Ednyss simply says, "I am unsure of your magics, but the divine guidance of Takal Demesh will only allow me to take control of the musicians for a period of time barely longer than 5 seconds. I don't know if that is really long enough to subdue all of the orcs."
Meanwhile, Ednyss is still keeping most of his focus in the direction of the throne room to see what happens with Tamazaert.
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
"She has gone? With the baby?" Auger says disbelievingly. Py! If only I could know what is happening, Auger thinks to himself. "She cannot even know who Benita is." Folly. Ruin would come of this. "Prepare to rush the dining area if need be. We may need to overpower them to get out of this."
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
In a moment, the curtain to the dining hall parts, then falls, indicating that the young woman has entered it. Three minutes later, the curtains open and close again, and Tamazaert has returned.
“I can’t get to her,” comes her voice, disappointed. “The new woman called Neeta with a long black ponytail is the only female human in the room. She sits between the chief and one of his Hands. I am scared of the Hands, I didn't want to bring Suya closer, and he doesn’t like the drum. He was fussing,” and indeed, the invisible baby is making soft noises of discomfort and small cries: “Mmmmu! Nnnnnu!,” which are nearly inaudible compared to the music. Tamazaert’s voice continues, “And there was one orc who kept looking around at the curtain, like he is expecting someone. Maybe him,” she says, pointing to the unconscious form of the orc you overpowered a few minutes ago. “I waited until he wasn’t looking to slip out again.” She describes what she saw, and your combined explorations of Xurl’s tent now draw this picture in your imaginations. (OOC: M=Musician, D=Dancer, X=Xurl, H=Hand, G=Guard)
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer