You are awoken by the sounds of whimpering. Somebody is sobbing passionately near you. You have no idea where you are or even who you are for that matter. Slowly, your consciousness and your memories start to come back. That's right. You remember now. You were abducted. The last memory you have is the memory of being attacked by several hooded creatures, knocked unconscious, and dragged away. But who were they? What did they want? And where did they take you? What is this place?
Map of Cell Block X
With a severe throbbing pain coming from the back of your head, you try to move and analyze your surroundings but you find that moving is quite burdensome at this moment. You are cold and nearly naked, wearing little else than a loincloth, locked in a cramped prison cell and upon looking down you notice that your ankle has been chained to the wall. That is not the reason for your immobility, however. The real reason is hunger. Your stomach growls at you with such ferocity that it almost drowns out the cries coming from outside your cell. Almost. As far back as you can recall you have never been this hungry in your life! You have no idea how much time has passed since you were captured but judging by the hollow, empty feeling in your stomach it had to be several days. You are downright starving. Rising to your feet is extremely challenging but you manage it anyways. The manacle strapped to your ankle is freezing and uncomfortable but does allow for free range within your tiny cell at least. You walk over to the cell door and through the bars you see the source of all the loud moaning and crying.
In a cell labeled #8, you see the faint image of a petite woman hunched over, crying into her hands. Her frame and ears look elvish but you can't quite tell-- her cell is far too dark. She mutters to herself. You can't make out everything she is saying but you catch bits and pieces of it. "Stupid! Stupid O-Ren! How could you let yourself be locked away in here again! Of all places! Why here? Stupid O-Ren!" As the petite woman admonishes herself she stands up from her hunched over position and exclaims to the skies, stepping into the light in the process. Yep. She's definitely an elf, you think to yourself. Half-elf maybe, but she's definitely got some elvish qualities about her.
The next thing you notice is that adjacent to her, in cell #8 there appears to be a man crunching on something. "Crunch! Crunch!" No, wait. He's not crunching on anything, he's simply making a crunching sound with his mouth for some reason. Also, you're not entirely sure that is a man. He kind of looks like a bird. Or a half-man, half-bird of sorts. The idea hits you all at once... that's exactly what he is! He's a Kenku! "Crunch! Crunch! Freedom wants. Crunch! Escape must! Crunch!"
What is this place? you think to yourself. You take a deep breath, try your best to keep your cold, naked body from shivering, and process what you're seeing. You do your best to look into the other cells and analyze the rest of the inmates. This is what you see:
Cell #1 appears to be empty. It just seems to be a cold, dark cell with no one in it.
Inside cell #2 you see another elvish woman, this one even more obscured than the last one. You make out strands of long silver hair, elvish ears, and not much more. [Inside roams Ilithienne, the Drow Fighter. Played by LiofDanzig]
In cell #3 you notice the silhouette of a man. It is far too dark to get any concrete details on his appearance but the one thing you do notice is his ears-- elvish in nature. Yet he's not thin enough to be an elf. He has to be a half-elf. [The fourth cell contains the Half-Elf Hexblade Warlock, Daryan Seltyiel. Played by Oberon99.]
Cell #4 holds yet another half-man, half-bird. A second Kenku. This one much quieter. You manage to catch a glimpse of his naked bird feathers but his immobility is quite concerning. [Inside lies Hoot, the Kenku Cleric. Played by Worldwind.]
At the end of that wall, inside cell #5 there is a ginormous, hulking figure much too large to be inside that cell. It would be a funny visual, like a cat trapped in a bird cage, but you wouldn't dare laugh in the presence of this figure. The thought strikes you. That is no ordinary man... that's a Goliath! [In the cell, the menacing Goliath Fighter, BOAGRIUS! Played by MasterManipulator.]
On to the other row of prison cells, inside cell #6 is another woman. Tall, beautiful and radiant. Her clear eyes sparkle in the torchlight and-- wait a minute! That's not a woman at all! That is simply a lovely, beautiful man! He appears human but you can tell he's not. He exudes an angelic presence that humans don't tend to have. [Inside cell #6 is the Aasimar Ranger, Ekant Agarwood. Played by WhiteByakko.]
Next to him, in cell #7 stands a rather large, imposing man. A young, full-blooded human by the looks of things. His muscular frame is intimidating enough but what you really notice is his icy blue stare that screams of violence and yet maintains a certain level of tenderness and innocence. [Inside cell #7 stands Bambotta, the human barbarian. Played by Bambotta.]
As you saw before, cell #8 contains the emotional elf who you can now confirm is actually a half-elf. She continues to whimper and mutter to herself. [Cell #8 contains O-Ren, the Half-Elf Rogue. Played by Kurda_Smith.]
Next to her, in cell #9, the crunching Kenku. [He is a Kenku Fighter by the name of Crunch. Played by Kurda_Smith]
Lastly, your eyes arrive at Cell #10. Inside, there is a stunning rose-colored figure. Definitely a young woman but... are those horns? It is very rare nowadays to see a Tiefling and yet that is exactly what you're looking at. A stunning yet scary Tiefling. You can count on one hand the amount of Tieflings you've ever seen. You're not even sure you've ever been this close to one. Then again, you are in a prison and that is precisely where most Tieflings are and where they belong. At least that's what their terrible reputations would have you believe. [Inside cell #10 lies Tisiphone, the Tiefling Bard. Played by chloe_jane.]
Well, that's everybody. Nine people locked away in this cell block. You begin to observe other matters when you suddenly hear a sound... what was that? It came from cell #1. But that cell was empty, you thought. Oh, wait... now you see it. It's definitely not empty, it's just inhabited by a very tiny creature. You strain your neck and manage to catch a glimpse of a tiny glass box inside the already tiny cell. But what's in the glass box? It's a Pixie! In the name of [your deity]! It's a Pixie! They're even more rare than Tieflings! You always thought they were made up but nope, here she is. Locked away inside a glass prison. [Inside cell #1 is the Pixie Arcane Trickster, Sylviana Silverwood. Played by WilliamOTheWisps.]
This is incredible! you think. A real life Pixie!
So that makes ten people including yourself. Ten people locked away in this cell block. Every single one is cold, naked, hungry and whether you admit it or not... afraid. You're all chained to the wall (except for the Pixie who resides in a glass box inside her cell). Your weapons and equipment are nowhere in sight. For those accustomed to utilizing magic, you quickly realize that your magic is not working in this prison. It must be a dead-magic zone. There is no guards patrolling the prison. Just you ten prisoners. The only sounds you hear are the wails of the half-elf rogue and the crunching sounds of Crunch. What do you do?
[OOC: Please utilize the attached map to visualize everyone's positioning and movement. Remember, nobody has any clothes, weapons, equipment, or magical abilities at this point. This would be a great time for your characters to converse amongst each other and introduce themselves as well as examine your surroundings. I gave your characters each a base-level, surface introduction but it's up to you guys to paint a detailed picture of your appearance and your personality. I put a ton of time and work into this campaign and would really appreciate some quality, high-effort in-character responses. Let's shy away from lazy, generic, one-liners please. Above all, I hope you all have fun, exercise your creative muscles, and have an engaging, meaningful experience!]
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Suggested layout for posting in this thread:
Your character's dialogue posted in quotation marks. Use a unique color exclusive to you and your character, boldened.
Example: "I need to get out here! I hate this place!" O-Ren screams at the top of her lungs.
Your character's actions can be posted in traditional font (unless you want to spice things up and utilize a unique font) but I suggest their thoughts be posted in italics so we can tell the difference.
Example: Crunch stands tall and stares his opponent square in the eye. He refuses to be intimidated! This is terrifying! he thinks to himself. "Me not scared!" he states to the public.
Example: O-Ren uses her darkvision to search for her special dagger in the dark. She wants it! She NEEDS it!
Make rolls for attacks, damage, skills, etc. on their own line. Formatting will be crucial in this thread and this allows for better organization and a cleaner look to your posts. Please use the dice roller found on the right side of the dashboard. If you are new to the dice roller, feel free to utilize the recruiting thread to play around with it. Note, the dice roller is not mobile friendly. You will most likely need to post on a desktop or PC.
Example: O-Ren decides to attack the first goblin with her dagger! Attack: 19 Damage: 4 Example: O-Ren will try to use stealth to retrieve the keys from the sleeping guard. Stealth check: 9
OOC (out of character): This is for any comments or questions you may have for me or your peers. OOC text is usually held in parenthesis or brackets and is reserved for the first or last line of your post. I will be sharing the OOC Discord Chat for this campaign with all you as well.
Example: [OOC: Individual1, have you had a chance to check your private messages? I sent you some crucial information.]
I understand this might be a lot of information for the newer members of this campaign but don't worry, you'll get the hang of everything with a little practice. Also, keep in mind that while this is my suggested layout you are not obligated to post in this format. I look forward to seeing the unique style that each of you bring to the table.
Lastly, I do want to make a point of repeating this again... this will be a writing-heavy campaign. Each of you was chosen out of a multitude of applications for your interesting and varied writing styles. Please refrain from falling into the PbP habit of boring one-line responses every post. Don't just tell us what your character does. Tell us what they're thinking, how they're feeling, how they're observing the world around them, their insecurities, and points of pride. Be descriptive. Entertain the reader. Lose yourself in your writing. Remember, this is narrative-driven campaign. Don't feel obligated to reply to a post right away if you're tight for time. Instead, wait until you get some free time and craft a meaningful, quality response instead. Quality over quantity.
Of course, as always... don't forget to be kind, patient, and understanding.
Covering herself with her arms, Ilithienne approaches the bars at the entrance to her cell. The chain makes a distinct sound when dragged on the stone floor. Short spasms of shivers run through her body. Her face twisted with hunger is black as well as her skin, especially in comparison to her silver, untied hair that reach her mid chest. Her hand goes up to her neck as making sure something is still there. Not finding it, she turns around to check the floor with darkvision.
[skill]Perception[skill] check: 6
"No.. no... no... where it is? Nooo!" long cry fills her cell followed by deep breathing. Her speech, although understandable has a clear, strong accent. Common is definitely not her first language.
She comes back to the bars looking directly at O-Ren.
"Hey! You... O-Ren..., I'm Ilithienne... Can you hear me?" she speaks firmly "What is this place? Where are we?" - asks impatiently.
When standing next to the bars, you can see she looks young. It's hard to determine her exact age but she looks young and quite beautiful. Not too tall, thin and quite nimble. Typical elf one would say except the color of her skin.
"Come on, speak up!" - Ilithienne urges her. Good goddess, make her speak!she screams in her mind.
"Listen to me... Everything will be fine, just tell me where are we?" she looks down the corridor as far as the bars allow her and back to O-Ren. Her voice is not as calm as she'd want to.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM in Tyranny of Dragons
"I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me..."
The sleeping young man looked almost peaceful and serene, his rosy cheeks smooth and delicate as fine porcelain, his long black ink hair cascading down his shoulders. His brows shaped cleanly and the soft lips pink as peach blossoms, that made him seem both handsome and beautiful, masculine and feminine all at once. There was no trace of distress on his smooth, unblemished skin, except for the slight frown between the brows and the greenish shadows under his eyes that revealed his frail state. The intermittent wailing from outside his cell combined with the hunger finally woke him up from unconsciousness. Ekant's feathery eyelashes blinked lightly as he slowly awoke.
He realizes he is locked in a cell. Narrow bed, dirty floor, rough walls. That's right - he recalls the last scene before he lost consciousness. He was with his duck, Hunter, catching rabbits for dinner in the forest. The plump rabbit was about to jump into the trap when someone had hit him behind and knocked him unconscious. Now his head aches almost to the point of splitting, his stomach rumbles and he lets out a soft groan, wrapping his arms around his abdomen. Has he really gone that long without eating? More importantly, how is Hunter right now? He prays to Mielikki that Hunter had run away and is now safe. But would a duck really safe alone in a forest? He does his best not to think of an eagle swooping down from the sky and snatching Hunter.
Ekant rises slowly to his feet, the chains on his ankles rattling against the stone floor. Satin black hair falls over his shoulders. Beneath his long, slender lashes are the most beautiful green eyes you have ever seen, clear as morning dew. Stands 5’11, he doesn’t look anymore than twenty. Despite the fact that now hunger tortures him, near-naked, and having been held captive for days, the young Aasimar still exudes a subtle, supernatural radiance. There are more questions in his mind. Who had kidnapped him? Was it the same people that had taken his mother? He walks up to the cell gate and sees people of all shapes and sizes locked in the same kind of cell he is in now.
But then, he catches sight of the tiny creature enclosed in the glass box in the cell right across from him. His green eyes wide and full of youthful wonder as he realizes he’s looking at a pixie. Quite easily distracted, he wraps his long fingers around the iron bar and speaks quietly. “Are you really a pixie?”When Ekant talks, he speaks with a slight lilt, like how you would imagine a young man who grew up in a rural town and never stepped outside would talk. He tries to whisper, but he had to raise his voice a little bit for it to be heard over the wailing coming from the other side of the cell block. “Did they abduct you as well?”
The first thing Bambotta becomes aware of is pain. As of a split skull. Mild at first but growing and growing, dragging him insistently back toward consciousness. Then the nausea hits. And the hunger.
He rises from his prone position into a squat, holding his ringing head in his hands. Bambotta feels a scabbed-over knot on the back of his skull and blood clotted in his black hair. Everything comes flooding back. The old man. The knock on his head.
His stomach reels. Empty and dry. Like a burlap sack. Bambotta tries to shake it off. He has known hunger before.
A desperate voice calls out and Bambotta pulls himself from his daze. He forces open his crusted eyes. Looking about in the dim light he sees only stone walls and iron bars. And a chain!
He thinks,
"Where am I? What is this place?"
Never in his young life had Bambotta even imagined that such a dungeon as this existed. Walls and chains and bars. What cruelty!
His dazed mind wanders to the jagged mountains and forests of his home in The North and how far he is from the free, open spaces of his youth. He longs for his family and his clan and his home. All now behind him.
He pictures the cold blue sky and a deep and familiar sadness sets again within his heart.
Quickly it boils to anger.
"What hateful devil would confine a man so!?"
He rises to his feet as he hears a second voice call out, equally as desperate.
Bambotta approaches the bars and grasps them in both hands. He begins shaking them violently. The rattle and bang echoes through the jail joined by a feral growl emitting from deep within his chest. The discord grows in intensity before, finally, it cuts off in frustration.
The effort brings renewed pain to his skull. His knees go soft. Dizziness…
Gathering himself and peering across the way, into the dark of the opposing cell, Bambotta spots a shadowy figure. Almost one with the darkness. Maybe elven. The source of the second voice.
Still holding the bars tightly, more for balance than escape, he gathers what strength he can and calls out boldly,
"Who is that out there?"
You can see him standing at the bars. A tall young man. Pale and muscular and wild. His icy blue eyes shine with primal intensity. Glowering in the darkness.
(OOC: Eh, this is great stuff so far, mates! Cheers everybody!)
*A severe, throbbing pain invades the back of BOAGRIUS' head. He's had headaches before but never anything quite this severe. The nearby annoying cries of a woman don't help any either. Slowly, his heavy eyelids open and disorientation kicks in. In a flash, he remembers everything. He was walking back with Thori and Magnus after being crowned champion of the coast! It was his biggest victory to date! They were heading back to his underground village to celebrate. His chief and hero, King Triopas would be so proud. But then he was attacked. He tried fighting them off with some success at first but there was just so many assailants. Where are Thori and Magnus now? He ponders the whereabouts of his militant comrades as he rubs the back of his head. He feels a sizable bump in the area where the club connected with his skull. That wasn't there before.
BOAGRIUS massive 8-foot, 340 pound frame rises to his feet a bit too swiftly and bumps his head on the low ceiling of his prison cell.*
BOAGRIUS: OUCH!!
*His loud exclaim reverberates through the entire prison and muffles the crying of O'Ren. The very iron bars of his prison cell shake and dust flies off the rocky walls just through the vibrations created by his giant mouth. It suddenly occurs to BOAGRIUS that people are probably staring at him now after that scream. It was a tad louder than he intended but he hardly cares. He feels around his head for blood and as he does so an immense hunger invades his stomach. Once again, the pain catches BOAGRIUS off guard and he lets out yet another exclaim but this one even louder.*
BOAGRIUS: Wow! Oww!
*One thing is for sure... BOAGRIUS is loud! He composes himself from the pain in his head and stomach and walks up to the tiny prison door that contains him. This section is well lit so his malnourished form becomes evident for all to see.
BOAGRIUS takes a look around and takes in all the creatures around him. By my lord Tempus! Is that a Tiefling? What kind of infernal prison is this? And what the hell is that bird-man munching on? Has he got food?*
BOAGRIUS: Hey birdman! What have you got there? Care to share some of your nourishment? BOAGRIUS is big hungry.
*Just as he finishes his sentence BOAGRIUS realizes that the Kenku doesn't in fact have any food and he's just making munching/crunching noises with his beak. BOAGRIUS shrugs him off and moves on. It is at this point where BOAGRIUS' stomach begins rumbling loudly. BOAGRIUS is a fierce militant warrior undefeated on 1on1 combat but has never been known to skip a meal. This stomach pain is something he's never experienced before. He doesn't like it. He's beginning to lose his temper and the crying lady in cell number 8 is making everything worse.*
BOAGRIUS: Hey lady! You wanna quiet down a tad? BOAGRIUS hungry too but you don't see BOAGRIUS cry about it.
*Hungry, annoyed and slightly cold BOAGRIUS is miserable in this cramped prison. Many thoughts race through his head. BOAGRIUS got to get out of here! BOAGRIUS wonder how sturdy prison bars are? BOAGRIUS head hurt. Crying elf is making BOAGRIUS anger.But the most prevalent throught... BOAGRIUS big hungry!
Finally BOAGRIUS reaches his limit and in a fit of rage he yanks at the shackles that bind his ankle to the wall.*
(BOAGRIUS will make an outright simple Strength check to see if he can yank the ball and chain restraints out of the wall and increase his mobility.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Feverish nightmares are racing through Hoot's mind.
A young human with a pleading look on his face, clutching an egg. As Hoot looks down, there is a dagger in the boy's chest. Hoot takes the egg from him and as he does, the boy opens his mouth. He tries to say something, but only the sound of chimes in the wind escapes.
Then, images of shapeless shadows grasping for his wife. Her, desperately trying to protect something. She is alone. Hoot wants to help her, but he can't get to her. The shadows grow stronger, darker.
The egg in Hoot's hands cracks. He can't allow the shadows to reach it. He needs to do something, anything. They can't take her too. But the shadows grow stronger, darker. And there is nothing he can do to make it right.
It is dark. Everything around Hoot is dark. He tries to clutch the egg closer to his chest, and when he realizes that it isn't there he is startled. He realizes that he is on stone floor, in some kind of cell. Then, his head explodes. Everything hurts.
THE ATTACK!
The last thing Hoot remembered was that a hood was pulled over his head and someone knocked him on the back of the head, hard. It couldn't have been those same thugs from Cullfield, could it? He had tried so hard to start a new life...
Ultimately, it didn't matter much. Whatever this is, he probably deserves worse. But Kelemvor wouldn't take him into his service only to let him rot in a prison cell a few weeks later. And even if he did, Hoot would welcome death.
Death is but part of life: fear it not, evade it not, and view it not as evil.
That was about the first thing that the old priest had told him, and it since became a mantra for Hoot. He had spent several weeks travelling the countryside, visiting many temples and churches of Kelemvor, helping out wherever he could and learning as much about Kelemvor's teachings as possible. But no other psalm in the book of Kelemvor had such an effect on him as this one. It freed him.
Hoot tried to get up to analyse his situation. He was in a small cell, with his ankle chained to the wall. His was not the only cell in the vicinity and in the cells across from him he could see a crying half-elf woman, a Kenku man and a Tiefling woman. But those weren't the only prisoners, he could hear others, talking to one another or yelling.
Hoot tried to do get a better look at the other prisoners, and the general surroundings through the bars,
when he heard the half-elf woman mention that she had been locked in here before. He cocked his head and stared at her:
"let yourself be locked away in here again!" Hoot imitated her own exasperated voice back to her. "again! again!" he repeated.
Thinking back to one of Kelemvors prayers that he picked up recently, he added"those who have gone before. Guide me" in a voice that the woman did not recognize.
"No.. no... no... where it is? Nooo!" long cry fills her cell followed by deep breathing.
Ilithienne, despite her highly functioning darkvision abilities, is too hurried and panicked to learn anything new about her prison cell. She simply scans the floor momentarily before her attention gets diverted to the lamenting half-elf in cell #8.
O-Ren is still crying passionately but the several sounds of movement in the cells around her provide her with a sense of self-awareness that makes her realize she's not the only person awake anymore. She does her best to stifle her distress but fails miserably. O-Ren is lost in her own thoughts and dejection and doesn't even realize that the elvish woman across the corridor is speaking to her until the very end of her sentence, "Everything will be fine, just tell me where are we?"
O-Ren scoffs and snaps at the elf. "Everything will NOT be fine! You don't know what you're talking about. This place is--" for the first time, O-Ren looks up and makes eye contact with the elvish woman. As soon as their eyes meet O-Ren stops talking entirely as if caught in a trance. Ilithienne feels this as well. A remarkably unique sensation. Suddenly, Ilithienne can't look away from O-Ren's piercing, golden eyes. Her pupils are mesmerizing. Where has she seen those eyes before? Why does she feel such a sense of familiarity? Who is this and why does--
Her thought gets interrupted by a violent commotion coming from cell #7. A well-built, muscular man has started violently shaking the iron bars of the enclosure directly across from her. "Who is that out there?"
Before any response could be delivered, another loud commotion...
"OUCH!" The booming roar comes from cell #5. Instinctively both elvish women look over but neither woman nor the wild cage-rattler can quite make out who is in there. One thing is for sure, whoever it is... he doesn't sound happy.
"Wow! Oww!" Another thundering bomb. This could be trouble. In the midst of all the upheaval and some further screaming coming from cell #5, O-Ren notices the Pixie that dwells in the first cell and lets out a high-pitched screech. More surprise than anything else.
The screech causes more anger from cell #5. "Hey lady! You wanna quiet down a tad? BOAGRIUS hungry too but you don't see BOAGRIUS cry about it." But it's not hunger or even sadness that caused this shrieking... it was the Pixie. A real life Pixie. But they're supposed to be extinct. The last time O-Ren saw a Pixie had to be... she can't even remember. It had to be at that old grove in Ker-Ys before it was decimated. Anyways, that doesn't matter right now. What matters is getting out of this [deity]forsaken place!
O-Ren, who has finally ceased her crying, scans her surrounding looking for escape options but instead catches the stare of the obscured elvish woman across the hall once again. They make eye contact but it's different this time. The connection is gone. Ilithienne feels the dissipation as well. She looks for that twinkle in O-Ren's eyes from a few seconds ago but it's fully gone. Her eyes look different now. Normal and unexceptional. They're not even golden. Maybe she imagined the whole thing?
Ilithienne gets snapped out of her thought by the sound of O-Ren's voice. Yet, O-Ren's lips aren't moving at all. In fact, the voice is coming from the cell next to hers. "let yourself be locked away in here again! again! again!" How could this be? Is there a second O-Ren in the cell next to hers? Then the Kenku from cell #9 joins in... "why here? here? here?" Ah, they must be Kenkus. Half-bird, half-men capable of speaking only by replicating sounds and voices they have heard in the past.
After a perceptive study of his surroundings, the first kenku manages to catch a glimpse of the prisoners inside cells number eight, nine, and ten. What's more, he notices a sizable boulder sitting in the center of the hallway. Something about it looks quite out of place. On the other side of his cell, all the way at the end of the block there appears to be an etching of a hawk or a raven on the grainy floor. These observations raise more questions than answers so he collects his analysis and looks directly at O-Ren before stating, "those who have gone before. Guide me."
O-Ren takes a deep breath and with most attentive eyes on her, she goes to speak. "Okay, here's the deal--"
YANK! O-Ren and her captive listeners get startled by the aggressive sounds of a heavy chain getting jerked and jostled. Once again, the loud sound blares from cell #5. Whatever creature is in there is surely causing a scene.
Finally BOAGRIUS reaches his limit and in a fit of rage he yanks at the shackles that bind his ankle to the wall.*
(BOAGRIUS will make an outright simple Strength check to see if he can yank the ball and chain restraints out of the wall and increase his mobility.)
Strength check: 7
BOAGRIUS' attempt to yank the chain out of the wall proves tumultuous yet unsuccessful. You would think the hulking goliath would have no difficulty with such a task but the giant is severely starved, weak, and frail (at least as "frail" as a goliath can be).
His morale in this prison block is well and truly low. Nothing he's tried is working and his hunger only gets more and more drastic.
(OOC: Due to all of your character's famine and weak condition, any rolls you make from here on out that require strength, dexterity, or any other physical component will now have disadvantage until you feed.)
Sylviana slowly opens her groggy eyes and, remaining stock still, she slowly raises her hands to her face and begins rubbing them. Pushing the cedar-red hair out of her face, Syl smacks her lips a few times and then sits bolt upright. With a look of shock and confusion, one tiny hand darts to the back of her head, while the other rests on her grumbling stomach. She sits still for a moment, then looks slowly down at the hand she laid upon her tummy. With wide, lilac eyes, she scans her mottled brown and green skin. She closes her eyes again then opens them, looking almost shocked at the audacity of her hand to still be there. A look of slight panic coming over her face, she squints her eyes and clenches her jaw, then looks again at her hand. Sticking her tongue out and smacking her raised hand with the other, she looks back at her wings.
The wings strongly resembled large, hardened butterfly wings, and shine like silver and gold in the dim light. Her wings beat once. Then twice. She quickly jumps into the air and begins fluttering them wildly. Suddenly, Syl seems to be enclosed in a tiny golden snowstorm, with miniscule grains of glitter blowing all over the inside of the box. Touching down again, she picks up a handful of the golden dust and grins at it. Closing her eyes, she tosses the handful into the air . . . and watches it fall to the ground like common sand. Slapping both hands against her forehead, the pixie falls to her knees and edges up to the wall of glass.
Frantically slamming both fists on the box’s side, Syl’s mouth twists in a horrible, silent scream. (Like watching a film without sound) She seems to begin mouthing words in between the sobs, and slowly stops pounding the glass with her fist. With yawn and another eye rub, she slumps against the side of the glass box. She sighs as if she may fall back asleep, then her eyes freeze. A particularly noticeable string of sobs echoes through the cellblock. Immediately adjusting her position, she presses her face into the box’s corner so she can get a better view of O-Ren.
As Ekant addresses her, Syl’s eyes widen and slowly fix on the beautiful creature across the block. She’s immediately struck by Ekant’s face. There is something familiar about it. Not familiar in the sense that they’d met, something deeper than that. There was a trace of something in his face that reminded Syl of the Feywild, though it was, simultaneously, nothing like the Feywild. Timelessness. That was it. She blinks her eyes and slumps down again, exhausted from hunger and her silent tantrum.
“Yes, I’m an abducted pixie,” she says in a clearly audible voice, slightly high and firm, with a noticeable but vague accent. “And I’m starving! Are you starving? How long have I been asleep? Were you asleep? You also got abducted? The crying woman too?”
Despite a gnawing desire to ask more questions, O-Ren's screech silences the pixie. She raises herself up to her feet, looking to O-Ren's cell, but collapses again, acquiescing to the voice in her head begging her to stop talking, to lay down and rest, and to pray that food was on the way.
Ekant stares in wonder at the beautiful wings and the golden dust falling down around the pixie, sure it’s the most magical thing he’s seen. Then, realizing staring is not very polite, he smiles a little sheepishly. The magic seems to break as the wonder slowly fades to the cruel reality he’s in. The wailing, the screaming, the rattling. The already cramped prison seems to grow narrower, suffocating him. “Yeah, I just woke up. Really hungry too. Reckon it’s been a few days since I last ate.”
The sinking feeling settles deep in his stomach, bitter and heavy. Not only he failed to find his parents, he failed to protect Hunter, and let himself get captured. Though knowing he’s not the only one in this predicament made him feel a little better.
His bare feet move soundlessly and gracefully on the stone floor. The crying woman calls herself O-Ren. The young ranger tries to crane his neck to see her better. A few strands of satin hair falls down between the iron bars, though he still couldn’t get a good look. “Excuse me, ma’am.” Ekant says, not forgetting his manners. His da raised him well. “Do you have any idea what this place is?”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Those golden eyes... I know them... but where from?her thoughts are racing but the feeling fades as suddenly as it has appeared.
Hearing voices mentioning food and starvation her hands drop lower felling the immense hunger again.
"Could you please stop talking how hungry are you? We all are...", Ilithienne says in elvish holding her stomach. Even her elvish is not as melodic as the one you can hear on the streets. R's, H's and Z's are spoken much harder making it almost impossible understand, especially without any notice.
Translation from elvish:
[spoiler]"Could you please stop talking how hungry are you? We all are..."[/spoiler]
Switching back to common, she looks again at the half-elf.
"What is this place? You managed to escape before, right? You were let go? What's going on in here?" she keeps asking O-Ren.
Ilithienne has seen many slaves in her life. She knows their worst enemy is not a whip but the despair and lack of hope. This is what every slaver, every guard tries to kill as soon as possible. Hope is not yet dead in her... I just need to give her a push... Something to keep the flame up... she thinks. Keep her focused. Keep her talking. Goddess give her hope!
"You are not alone. We are here with you and we can work together, do you hear me? We may help each other..." she speaks to O-Ren trying to sound as confident as possible.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Whimpering...the girl...he has to save her. The pale half-elf quickly regains consciousness, too quickly, reaching for his blade and sitting up in his simple prison cot, immediately struck down again by the pain to his head and the excruciating hunger in his stomach, realizing his blade is not there, nothing is, only a simple loincloth around his waist and cold shackles at his ankle, the freezing cold almost as strong as his hunger. He lies back again for a moment, trying to assess his surroundings, his gray eyes piercing the darkness around him. He was in a small dark cell, had been for quite some time judging by his hunger, a prison cell block judging by the cacaphony of voices from outside his cell.
What had happened? Hooded creatures had attacked him, and now he was here, but why? Why wasn't he dead already? He certainly deserved as much. It seemed the peace of death was a gift not yet to be recieved. Get up! Your work is not done. Your road to redemption is yet far to travel.The blade wasn't even there and yet he could hear it's voice as clear as he was holding it in his hands.
The pale half-elf sits up and glances over at the petite dark-haired woman in the cell across from his. She seemed to have been here before and somehow got out, so there should be a way out that she knows about. A female speaking elven in the cell to his right is trying to get her to share what she knows. He tries to join in, reaching for that calm comforting voice in spite of his less than presentable appearance. "Yes, listen, whoever is in the cell next to me is right. You have evidently left this place before. You would just have to do it again, and this time you would have help. I will not sit here and starve to death, and neither should anyone else in this prison. Tell us what you know of this place and how you managed to get out of here last time and I will make sure we will leave this place together."Or die trying.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Hearing several voices calling to O-Ren, the source of the sobs, Sylviana keeps her ear on the conversation while she paces around the box, looking for hinges, latches, a keyhole, or anything that may open. She investigates the box.
Investigation (1d20 + 2): 16
(OOC: woops forgot to add this and make the check at the end of the last post)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Walks in [insert absurd situation].
Honorary Leader in the Pixie Peewee Powderpuff Pals!
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Inhaling deeply, Bambotta grips the bars tightly, refusing to fall as his head clamors and swims. A second breath. A third. A fourth. Until, finally, the calm begins to fall over him and his anger subsides. His legs steady. His head clears.
And all around him a chorus of voices rings out. Each as desperate and pained and hungry as he. Biting his tongue, or perhaps hiding his wounds, Bambotta remains silent. And calm. And he observes.
In the cell across from him stands a drow. He is sure of that now. Bambotta has heard rumors of the drow but has never seen one. Not until now.
"Are they are as wicked as I have heard?", he wonders.
Bambotta squints his eyes in suspicion. He will watch this one.
Having just decided this, a dusty glimmer shines in the next cell, catching his attention. Silver and gold.
Bambotta's narrowed eyes widen. Bigly. And in one long, breathy, wondrous gasp, he exclaims,
"The Fu-Engi!"
A memory stirs.
The story of the Fu-Engi is one of retribution and protection. A small woman with the wings of an insect and magical powers, she would lure strong men and misbehaving boys alike into their comeuppance. And thus teaching them the lesson of their misdeeds.
In the evening, around the fire, grandmothers of his clan would flap there arms and dance a high kneed dance and cry "Beware the Fu-Engi!" and the children would run and shriek and giggle. And they would behave.
But cruel men. Cowardly men. Men with malice of heart. Those men who would abuse the weak and the helpless, especially animals and children, they would fare much, much worse. The Fu-Enji would cast a glamor and lure them off a cliff. Or lead them into a bear's den. Or wolves to them. Always a violent end. Always.
Among Bambotta's clan, the Fu-Engi is a hero. Both feared and cherished. At once, a punisher and a protector. As are all things wild.
It is said among his people that a man, strong and kind, need not fear the Fu-Engi.
"But this cant be the Fu-Engi. It's a myth!. And we are so very far from home... And she is in a cell!!!"
Bambotta instantly feels a connection to this creature. The sight of her caged brings a familiar burn to his chest. Anger flaring.
But he breaths. And he seethes. And he vows his vengeance.
Casting his eyes about the cell block, Bambotta wonders what other rumors, what other myths, draw breath in this skyless pit..
Pixies are no fun when it comes to exhaustion. Like some other small creatures and animals, a starving or exhausted pixie flits back and forth between short periods of frantic, illogical hyperactivity and long periods of physical and mental exhaustion. Syl sits in the latter camp, having dumped too much energy on her desperate mime show begging to get out of the glass cube. She lays back in the corner of the box with her shoulders against the wall. Everything remains completely still aside from her mouth.
“Fu-engi? Fuuuu-engi?” She says, sounding like a six-year old fighting sleep. “Fun-jee? Funengi? Fungi? Fungi!? Oh, I wish I had some mushrooms.” She blew a short raspberry.
She waves a greenish hand in front of her and watches her fingers flex, a sort of dazed amazement on her face. I must’ve been caught stealing that horse, she thinks to herself. But how could they catch me? They’ve never caught me before. Something in her brain couldn’t reconcile that she was suddenly in jail. First, there was no way the town guard had gotten her; she’d have noticed them the minute they were within range. Second, this lot didn’t seem like jail material. The shiny man across the way seemed too pretty—in mind and spirit—to be locked away. The second man, the one shouting a bit with the piercing blue eyes, was perhaps more the sort based on his outburst. But something didn’t add up there, either. He just didn’t seem the type to be arrested. She scooched up into a sitting position and rested her head on her knees, watching the cells she could see from her cage (O-Ren’s, Bambotta’s, and Ekant’s).
(Sorry, changing my font color on a whim. Let me know if pink is too annoying and I'll find something darker.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The rose tiefling in the corner seems to be the last to awaken. She lies in the cell, still. She is young, perhaps in her early 20s. Her horns curve back delicately over her head, keeping her hair out of her face. Her eyes are closed. She doesn't move, but she is awake.
Tisiphone was awoken by the sounds of unfamiliar voices. She is overwhelmed by fear, confusion, hunger. She has never known hunger to this degree and it hurts. Flashes of emotion, course through her against her will her mind brings her back to a dark room that she wishes she could forget. She holds back a whimper. When the heroes in a story escape, it's always with some clever and well thought out plan. Her limbs feel heavy, best not to give myself away...
I just have to think. How did I get here? It was just missing mail. A simple job for a client she has worked for before - how did it lead to this mess. I'm in trouble, big trouble. Lel is going to FREAK when I don't come home. I can't do anything about that now. Not until I know where I am and who I'm with. She dares to glance forward out of what she now realises is a cell.
She catches a glimpse of a few uncertain looks in her direction. She watches the small kenku figure and notices how his eyes dart around but her gaze freezes as she takes in the hulking 8ft figure across from her. 'Imposing' is the word that comes to mind. She has seen a goliath before but never interacted too much with one that appeared so rough. It could make a good story I suppose.
With this information she dares to scoot forward, body still close to the ground and peer out the cell to see if she can get a better view of any other prisoners and around the corner. Maybe there is someone on guard out there. As she focuses into the dark around her using her darkvision, her solid white eyes brighten slightly. perception check: 10
She tries to keep her voice level-headed and soothing as she says adds to the calm persuading of a male voice, "Surely if we put our minds together we can find a way out of this. We must."
[OOC: As discussed on the OOC chat, it appears the roller defects aren't defects at all. The mouseover displays some random, errant rolls but it does appear the correct dice are getting rolled and calculated. It seems merely a visual/mouseover problem not a mechanical one. As such, I'll be utilizing the first rolls of what's currently posted.]
With this information she dares to scoot forward, body still close to the ground and peer out the cell to see if she can get a better view of any other prisoners and around the corner. Maybe there is someone on guard out there. As she focuses into the dark around her using her darkvision, her solid white eyes brighten slightly. perception check: 17
When the recently-awaken tiefling inspects the surroundings of her prison cell, she does notice a large boulder sitting in the middle of the corridor across the cell next to hers. She finds this weird as the boulder doesn't match the grainy, rough, moldy surface of the rest of the prison. It looks highly out of place as if placed there as a decoration the same way one places a house-plant in their living quarters. She then turns to inspect the other side and while she doesn't see a guard she does notice in the distance, maybe 25 or 30 feet away, what she believes is a large stone door. The door is half-lit by a dim torch but she can clearly see the letter B plastered on it. As she struggles to make out more details about this door she looks down and notices, for the first time, a very clear etching of a raven on the floor at the end of the hall.
She's amazed that she hadn't noticed it before because now she can't unsee it. The etching is perfectly crafted and highly manicured, a bold contrast to the run-down, sharp, rusty prison environment it's crafted on. With these new gatherings she listens to the words spoken by the oddly familiar voice of the half-elf woman in cell #8. Where has she heard this voice before?
Keep her focused. Keep her talking. Goddess give her hope!
"You are not alone. We are here with you and we can work together, do you hear me? We may help each other..." she speaks to O-Ren trying to sound as confident as possible.
He tries to join in, reaching for that calm comforting voice in spite of his less than presentable appearance. "Yes, listen, whoever is in the cell next to me is right. You have evidently left this place before. You would just have to do it again, and this time you would have help. I will not sit here and starve to death, and neither should anyone else in this prison. Tell us what you know of this place and how you managed to get out of here last time and I will make sure we will leave this place together."Or die trying.
Persuasion: 18
The composed, persuasive statements from O-Ren's elvish peers across the hall manage to bring her calm and soothe her anxious disposition. She takes a deep breath and looking at Ilithienne and Daryan, she begins.
"It happened a few years ago. I was going through hard times and I became involved with some shady characters. I did some really bad things that I'm not entirely proud of." O-Ren's gaze trails off and she falls silent, clearly remembering some difficult events in her past. A look of affliction and regret... yet the slightest hint of a smile. She quickly snaps out of her head and resumes, "anyways, one small crime led to a bigger and bigger one and before I knew it, I was in way over my head in a dark, crime-ridden world I wasn't prepared for. I was eventually caught and locked up in here... although not this exact cell bock.
You see, you are currently standing inside the Tower of Death forged by the Matron of Death herself!"
"The wh0?" a very interested, eavesdropping Crunch interjects.
"The Matron of Death, also known as The Raven Queen. She's not nearly as popular or worshipped as other gods or goddesses of death but she's just as powerful... and much more wicked. She created this dead-magic prison to punish the treacherous wizards who turned their backs on her but then she just ended up killing them instead hence the name, the Tower of Death.
This is a giant tower atop an immense mountain on the edge of what was previously known as the Sword Coast. The tower is surrounded by water on three fronts and to make matters worse, if you hadn't noticed, the entire structure is a dead-magic zone. And if that wasn't challenging enough... the cell block that we are in is the most secure, reinforced section of this entire prison." An exasperated sigh. "We are in Cell Block X."
She lets out a tired, defeated groan. Her morale has seen better days. She quickly shakes it off and resumes, "Last time I was here, I was imprisoned in Cell Block Q. I had heard of this cell block but I always thought it was just a story. A rumor started by bored prisoners. Unfortunately, it appears to be real. Very real. You see, Cell Block X is reserved for the absolute worst of the worst. The most heinous and wicked criminals in all The Realms. This cell block is on the very top floor of the Tower of Death and escape is said to be impossible. Even if we managed to get out of our cells, it is rumored that in lieu of traditional guards, this block is guarded by savage, crazed wolves. Now I haven't seen or heard any wolves so that part could've just been bored-prisoner flavor but I don't want to be the one to find out."
Suddenly, a voice chirps in from the edge of the block, "Surely if we put our minds together we can find a way out of this. We must." O-Ren stops dead in her tracks... that voice, so familiar. Could it be? Never mind that. I'll deal with that later.
"Whoever said that, you might be right." A wave of optimism seems to come over O-Ren. "I had heard through the grapevine that this prison was shut down after my escape and from the looks of the rust, dust, and mold that might be right. Plus, I've not seen any patrolling guards at all, human or wolf. Additionally, for all the awful stories I always heard of Cell Block X, there were always tales of tunnels and secret pathways. Again, could just be hearsay but we can hope."
"Crunch! How you previously free?"
"Ah, yes. Well, my last escape was rather simple. The same shady characters that I was involved with in the first place broke me out. I'm afraid, that won't be the case this time around. I left that world of crime, darkness, and pain a long time ago. If I am to get free, I must do so on my own."
"No... do together."
O-Ren can't help but smile. A warm moment, indeed. Yet, when she flashes her teeth, Ilithienne gets a shudder through her body. Must just be the cold. What else would it be.
"Okay, fine. If we are to work together, we need to know we can trust each other. I can't quite see all of you but I can hear you perfectly. I think formal introductions are in order and then we can start investigating our cells looking for anything out of place or potentially helpful. I'll start... my name is O-Ren Shi. The Tower of Death is the westernmost point in all The Realms and I am from the Eastern Realms, if you hadn't picked up on that, which means I am literally as far away from home as I could possibly be." This thought brings distress to O-Ren. Her lip quivers but she composes herself and continues.
"I have many friends and a pet turtle that I hope to see again one day. I do have a regrettable criminal past that I'd rather not get into at this moment but more recently I spend my time traveling and searching for precious metals. I'm a bit of a rock collector, you could say. In fact, I was captured as I was on my way to collect a new stone from an old... friend of mine." The way she says "friend" is rather eerie and unusual. "Anyways, the drop didn't go quite as well as I would've hoped and alas, I am back in here after all these years." O-Ren exhales loudly and then turns her attention to her prison cell.
"So that's a bit about me. Why don't you all go ahead and introduce yourselves while I investigate my cell and then you all can do the same."
Sylviana keeps her ear on the conversation while she paces around the box, looking for hinges, latches, a keyhole, or anything that may open. She investigates the box.
Investigation (1d20 + 2): 16
Sylviana is way ahead of O-Ren. She had been investigating every square inch of her glass prison this entire time. She found that the top of her glass encasement has tiny holes which allow for some air circulation. Thank Titania for that, otherwise the tiny Pixie would have most likely suffocated by now. In her investigation she also learned of some scuff marks and chips on the glass itself, signs of long, bumpy travel perhaps. But most substantial of all, she notices an area of the glass box-- the top, front area that faces the prison bars-- has some tiny, miniscule cracks on it that could potentially make way if something hard were to hit it in just the right spot...
Ilithienne listens to O-Ren's story in silence. When the half-elf has mentioned things she is not proud of she whispers to herself with a small tear in her eye:
"You are not the only one..."
Through the O-Ren's story about the Raven Queen, Ilithienne stays silent. She knows so little about the other gods, she tries to remember every detail of it. With the conclusion of O-Ren's story, Ilithienne feels she is being drown to the half-elf. They are quite similar if you take into account their past that is.
"... I left that world of crime, darkness, and pain a long time ago. If I am to get free, I must do so on my own."
"No... do together."
O-Ren can't help but smile. A warm moment, indeed. Yet, when she flashes her teeth, Ilithienne gets a shudder through her body. Must just be the cold. What else would it be.
When Ilithienne hears this, she gasps. THAT IS MY STORY TOO!she screams in her mind but the sudden chill brings her focus up. When O-Ren ends her story, Ilithienne keeps silent for a long time looking at her, into the other cells. She is afraid what will happen, but she trust the goddess - She will not leave me. Not now.
"I'm Ilithienne..." she looks into O-Ren's eyes scared how the others will react. Will they leave her here? She gathers all of her courage left, takes a deep breath and starts again.
"I've escaped the Underdark few full moons ago. I am a drow..." for a split second a faint, sad smile visits her lips but then she takes another deep breath "I was part of a slave hunting party to the surface... and believe me, you are not the only one who did things... There are times I wish I wasn't born at all." she speaks slowly and even when O-Ren is focused on checking her cell, Ilithienne sees she listens carefully. The confession is a bit easier when not everyone can see her, so with yet another deep breath she speaks again.
"I have left everyone there... but they are not my family any more nor they think of me as their I guess. Since the escape, I have lived in a small village up north but some time ago I left it and went south for a job. To be independent. To take care of myself... Well, that was a stupid idea, right?" With a sad smile she looks up to see any hint of approval in anyone's eyes.
"Anyway... I will help you in any way I can..." she ends taking a step back deeper into her cell. After a moment, she starts checking the floor and the rest of her cell.
The Evil Queen of Snakes Official Campaign
Chapter One: Cell Block X
You are awoken by the sounds of whimpering. Somebody is sobbing passionately near you. You have no idea where you are or even who you are for that matter. Slowly, your consciousness and your memories start to come back. That's right. You remember now. You were abducted. The last memory you have is the memory of being attacked by several hooded creatures, knocked unconscious, and dragged away. But who were they? What did they want? And where did they take you? What is this place?
With a severe throbbing pain coming from the back of your head, you try to move and analyze your surroundings but you find that moving is quite burdensome at this moment. You are cold and nearly naked, wearing little else than a loincloth, locked in a cramped prison cell and upon looking down you notice that your ankle has been chained to the wall. That is not the reason for your immobility, however. The real reason is hunger. Your stomach growls at you with such ferocity that it almost drowns out the cries coming from outside your cell. Almost. As far back as you can recall you have never been this hungry in your life! You have no idea how much time has passed since you were captured but judging by the hollow, empty feeling in your stomach it had to be several days. You are downright starving. Rising to your feet is extremely challenging but you manage it anyways. The manacle strapped to your ankle is freezing and uncomfortable but does allow for free range within your tiny cell at least. You walk over to the cell door and through the bars you see the source of all the loud moaning and crying.
In a cell labeled #8, you see the faint image of a petite woman hunched over, crying into her hands. Her frame and ears look elvish but you can't quite tell-- her cell is far too dark. She mutters to herself. You can't make out everything she is saying but you catch bits and pieces of it. "Stupid! Stupid O-Ren! How could you let yourself be locked away in here again! Of all places! Why here? Stupid O-Ren!" As the petite woman admonishes herself she stands up from her hunched over position and exclaims to the skies, stepping into the light in the process. Yep. She's definitely an elf, you think to yourself. Half-elf maybe, but she's definitely got some elvish qualities about her.
The next thing you notice is that adjacent to her, in cell #8 there appears to be a man crunching on something. "Crunch! Crunch!" No, wait. He's not crunching on anything, he's simply making a crunching sound with his mouth for some reason. Also, you're not entirely sure that is a man. He kind of looks like a bird. Or a half-man, half-bird of sorts. The idea hits you all at once... that's exactly what he is! He's a Kenku! "Crunch! Crunch! Freedom wants. Crunch! Escape must! Crunch!"
What is this place? you think to yourself. You take a deep breath, try your best to keep your cold, naked body from shivering, and process what you're seeing. You do your best to look into the other cells and analyze the rest of the inmates. This is what you see:
Cell #1 appears to be empty. It just seems to be a cold, dark cell with no one in it.
Inside cell #2 you see another elvish woman, this one even more obscured than the last one. You make out strands of long silver hair, elvish ears, and not much more. [Inside roams Ilithienne, the Drow Fighter. Played by LiofDanzig]
In cell #3 you notice the silhouette of a man. It is far too dark to get any concrete details on his appearance but the one thing you do notice is his ears-- elvish in nature. Yet he's not thin enough to be an elf. He has to be a half-elf. [The fourth cell contains the Half-Elf Hexblade Warlock, Daryan Seltyiel. Played by Oberon99.]
Cell #4 holds yet another half-man, half-bird. A second Kenku. This one much quieter. You manage to catch a glimpse of his naked bird feathers but his immobility is quite concerning. [Inside lies Hoot, the Kenku Cleric. Played by Worldwind.]
At the end of that wall, inside cell #5 there is a ginormous, hulking figure much too large to be inside that cell. It would be a funny visual, like a cat trapped in a bird cage, but you wouldn't dare laugh in the presence of this figure. The thought strikes you. That is no ordinary man... that's a Goliath! [In the cell, the menacing Goliath Fighter, BOAGRIUS! Played by MasterManipulator.]
On to the other row of prison cells, inside cell #6 is another woman. Tall, beautiful and radiant. Her clear eyes sparkle in the torchlight and-- wait a minute! That's not a woman at all! That is simply a lovely, beautiful man! He appears human but you can tell he's not. He exudes an angelic presence that humans don't tend to have. [Inside cell #6 is the Aasimar Ranger, Ekant Agarwood. Played by WhiteByakko.]
Next to him, in cell #7 stands a rather large, imposing man. A young, full-blooded human by the looks of things. His muscular frame is intimidating enough but what you really notice is his icy blue stare that screams of violence and yet maintains a certain level of tenderness and innocence. [Inside cell #7 stands Bambotta, the human barbarian. Played by Bambotta.]
As you saw before, cell #8 contains the emotional elf who you can now confirm is actually a half-elf. She continues to whimper and mutter to herself. [Cell #8 contains O-Ren, the Half-Elf Rogue. Played by Kurda_Smith.]
Next to her, in cell #9, the crunching Kenku. [He is a Kenku Fighter by the name of Crunch. Played by Kurda_Smith]
Lastly, your eyes arrive at Cell #10. Inside, there is a stunning rose-colored figure. Definitely a young woman but... are those horns? It is very rare nowadays to see a Tiefling and yet that is exactly what you're looking at. A stunning yet scary Tiefling. You can count on one hand the amount of Tieflings you've ever seen. You're not even sure you've ever been this close to one. Then again, you are in a prison and that is precisely where most Tieflings are and where they belong. At least that's what their terrible reputations would have you believe. [Inside cell #10 lies Tisiphone, the Tiefling Bard. Played by chloe_jane.]
Well, that's everybody. Nine people locked away in this cell block. You begin to observe other matters when you suddenly hear a sound... what was that? It came from cell #1. But that cell was empty, you thought. Oh, wait... now you see it. It's definitely not empty, it's just inhabited by a very tiny creature. You strain your neck and manage to catch a glimpse of a tiny glass box inside the already tiny cell. But what's in the glass box? It's a Pixie! In the name of [your deity]! It's a Pixie! They're even more rare than Tieflings! You always thought they were made up but nope, here she is. Locked away inside a glass prison. [Inside cell #1 is the Pixie Arcane Trickster, Sylviana Silverwood. Played by WilliamOTheWisps.]
This is incredible! you think. A real life Pixie!
So that makes ten people including yourself. Ten people locked away in this cell block. Every single one is cold, naked, hungry and whether you admit it or not... afraid. You're all chained to the wall (except for the Pixie who resides in a glass box inside her cell). Your weapons and equipment are nowhere in sight. For those accustomed to utilizing magic, you quickly realize that your magic is not working in this prison. It must be a dead-magic zone. There is no guards patrolling the prison. Just you ten prisoners. The only sounds you hear are the wails of the half-elf rogue and the crunching sounds of Crunch. What do you do?
[OOC: Please utilize the attached map to visualize everyone's positioning and movement. Remember, nobody has any clothes, weapons, equipment, or magical abilities at this point. This would be a great time for your characters to converse amongst each other and introduce themselves as well as examine your surroundings. I gave your characters each a base-level, surface introduction but it's up to you guys to paint a detailed picture of your appearance and your personality. I put a ton of time and work into this campaign and would really appreciate some quality, high-effort in-character responses. Let's shy away from lazy, generic, one-liners please. Above all, I hope you all have fun, exercise your creative muscles, and have an engaging, meaningful experience!]
Be Kind. Be Patient. Be Understanding.
Suggested layout for posting in this thread:
Your character's dialogue posted in quotation marks. Use a unique color exclusive to you and your character, boldened.
Example: "I need to get out here! I hate this place!" O-Ren screams at the top of her lungs.
Your character's actions can be posted in traditional font (unless you want to spice things up and utilize a unique font) but I suggest their thoughts be posted in italics so we can tell the difference.
Example: Crunch stands tall and stares his opponent square in the eye. He refuses to be intimidated! This is terrifying! he thinks to himself. "Me not scared!" he states to the public.
Use tooltips when helpful like Stealth or Persuasion. I really suggest you all check out the following post to help you out with tooltips: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/general-discussion/11983-how-to-add-tooltips
Example: O-Ren uses her darkvision to search for her special dagger in the dark. She wants it! She NEEDS it!
Make rolls for attacks, damage, skills, etc. on their own line. Formatting will be crucial in this thread and this allows for better organization and a cleaner look to your posts. Please use the dice roller found on the right side of the dashboard. If you are new to the dice roller, feel free to utilize the recruiting thread to play around with it. Note, the dice roller is not mobile friendly. You will most likely need to post on a desktop or PC.
Example: O-Ren decides to attack the first goblin with her dagger!
Attack: 19 Damage: 4
Example: O-Ren will try to use stealth to retrieve the keys from the sleeping guard.
Stealth check: 9
This should go without saying but you are not allowed to edit your rolls.
Here is the link to the dice roller if you need it: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/2985-rolling-dice
OOC (out of character): This is for any comments or questions you may have for me or your peers. OOC text is usually held in parenthesis or brackets and is reserved for the first or last line of your post. I will be sharing the OOC Discord Chat for this campaign with all you as well.
Example: [OOC: Individual1, have you had a chance to check your private messages? I sent you some crucial information.]
I understand this might be a lot of information for the newer members of this campaign but don't worry, you'll get the hang of everything with a little practice. Also, keep in mind that while this is my suggested layout you are not obligated to post in this format. I look forward to seeing the unique style that each of you bring to the table.
Lastly, I do want to make a point of repeating this again... this will be a writing-heavy campaign. Each of you was chosen out of a multitude of applications for your interesting and varied writing styles. Please refrain from falling into the PbP habit of boring one-line responses every post. Don't just tell us what your character does. Tell us what they're thinking, how they're feeling, how they're observing the world around them, their insecurities, and points of pride. Be descriptive. Entertain the reader. Lose yourself in your writing. Remember, this is narrative-driven campaign. Don't feel obligated to reply to a post right away if you're tight for time. Instead, wait until you get some free time and craft a meaningful, quality response instead. Quality over quantity.
Of course, as always... don't forget to be kind, patient, and understanding.
Let's get this role-playing party started!
Be Kind. Be Patient. Be Understanding.
Covering herself with her arms, Ilithienne approaches the bars at the entrance to her cell. The chain makes a distinct sound when dragged on the stone floor. Short spasms of shivers run through her body. Her face twisted with hunger is black as well as her skin, especially in comparison to her silver, untied hair that reach her mid chest. Her hand goes up to her neck as making sure something is still there. Not finding it, she turns around to check the floor with darkvision.
[skill]Perception[skill] check: 6
"No.. no... no... where it is? Nooo!" long cry fills her cell followed by deep breathing. Her speech, although understandable has a clear, strong accent. Common is definitely not her first language.
She comes back to the bars looking directly at O-Ren.
"Hey! You... O-Ren..., I'm Ilithienne... Can you hear me?" she speaks firmly "What is this place? Where are we?" - asks impatiently.
When standing next to the bars, you can see she looks young. It's hard to determine her exact age but she looks young and quite beautiful. Not too tall, thin and quite nimble. Typical elf one would say except the color of her skin.
"Come on, speak up!" - Ilithienne urges her. Good goddess, make her speak! she screams in her mind.
"Listen to me... Everything will be fine, just tell me where are we?" she looks down the corridor as far as the bars allow her and back to O-Ren. Her voice is not as calm as she'd want to.
"I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me..."
The sleeping young man looked almost peaceful and serene, his rosy cheeks smooth and delicate as fine porcelain, his long black ink hair cascading down his shoulders. His brows shaped cleanly and the soft lips pink as peach blossoms, that made him seem both handsome and beautiful, masculine and feminine all at once. There was no trace of distress on his smooth, unblemished skin, except for the slight frown between the brows and the greenish shadows under his eyes that revealed his frail state. The intermittent wailing from outside his cell combined with the hunger finally woke him up from unconsciousness. Ekant's feathery eyelashes blinked lightly as he slowly awoke.
He realizes he is locked in a cell. Narrow bed, dirty floor, rough walls. That's right - he recalls the last scene before he lost consciousness. He was with his duck, Hunter, catching rabbits for dinner in the forest. The plump rabbit was about to jump into the trap when someone had hit him behind and knocked him unconscious. Now his head aches almost to the point of splitting, his stomach rumbles and he lets out a soft groan, wrapping his arms around his abdomen. Has he really gone that long without eating? More importantly, how is Hunter right now? He prays to Mielikki that Hunter had run away and is now safe. But would a duck really safe alone in a forest? He does his best not to think of an eagle swooping down from the sky and snatching Hunter.
Ekant rises slowly to his feet, the chains on his ankles rattling against the stone floor. Satin black hair falls over his shoulders. Beneath his long, slender lashes are the most beautiful green eyes you have ever seen, clear as morning dew. Stands 5’11, he doesn’t look anymore than twenty. Despite the fact that now hunger tortures him, near-naked, and having been held captive for days, the young Aasimar still exudes a subtle, supernatural radiance. There are more questions in his mind. Who had kidnapped him? Was it the same people that had taken his mother? He walks up to the cell gate and sees people of all shapes and sizes locked in the same kind of cell he is in now.
But then, he catches sight of the tiny creature enclosed in the glass box in the cell right across from him. His green eyes wide and full of youthful wonder as he realizes he’s looking at a pixie. Quite easily distracted, he wraps his long fingers around the iron bar and speaks quietly. “Are you really a pixie?” When Ekant talks, he speaks with a slight lilt, like how you would imagine a young man who grew up in a rural town and never stepped outside would talk. He tries to whisper, but he had to raise his voice a little bit for it to be heard over the wailing coming from the other side of the cell block. “Did they abduct you as well?”
The first thing Bambotta becomes aware of is pain. As of a split skull. Mild at first but growing and growing, dragging him insistently back toward consciousness. Then the nausea hits. And the hunger.
He rises from his prone position into a squat, holding his ringing head in his hands. Bambotta feels a scabbed-over knot on the back of his skull and blood clotted in his black hair. Everything comes flooding back. The old man. The knock on his head.
His stomach reels. Empty and dry. Like a burlap sack. Bambotta tries to shake it off. He has known hunger before.
A desperate voice calls out and Bambotta pulls himself from his daze. He forces open his crusted eyes. Looking about in the dim light he sees only stone walls and iron bars. And a chain!
He thinks,
"Where am I? What is this place?"
Never in his young life had Bambotta even imagined that such a dungeon as this existed. Walls and chains and bars. What cruelty!
His dazed mind wanders to the jagged mountains and forests of his home in The North and how far he is from the free, open spaces of his youth. He longs for his family and his clan and his home. All now behind him.
He pictures the cold blue sky and a deep and familiar sadness sets again within his heart.
Quickly it boils to anger.
"What hateful devil would confine a man so!?"
He rises to his feet as he hears a second voice call out, equally as desperate.
Bambotta approaches the bars and grasps them in both hands. He begins shaking them violently. The rattle and bang echoes through the jail joined by a feral growl emitting from deep within his chest. The discord grows in intensity before, finally, it cuts off in frustration.
The effort brings renewed pain to his skull. His knees go soft. Dizziness…
Gathering himself and peering across the way, into the dark of the opposing cell, Bambotta spots a shadowy figure. Almost one with the darkness. Maybe elven. The source of the second voice.
Still holding the bars tightly, more for balance than escape, he gathers what strength he can and calls out boldly,
"Who is that out there?"
You can see him standing at the bars. A tall young man. Pale and muscular and wild. His icy blue eyes shine with primal intensity. Glowering in the darkness.
(OOC: Eh, this is great stuff so far, mates! Cheers everybody!)
*A severe, throbbing pain invades the back of BOAGRIUS' head. He's had headaches before but never anything quite this severe. The nearby annoying cries of a woman don't help any either. Slowly, his heavy eyelids open and disorientation kicks in. In a flash, he remembers everything. He was walking back with Thori and Magnus after being crowned champion of the coast! It was his biggest victory to date! They were heading back to his underground village to celebrate. His chief and hero, King Triopas would be so proud. But then he was attacked. He tried fighting them off with some success at first but there was just so many assailants. Where are Thori and Magnus now? He ponders the whereabouts of his militant comrades as he rubs the back of his head. He feels a sizable bump in the area where the club connected with his skull. That wasn't there before.
BOAGRIUS massive 8-foot, 340 pound frame rises to his feet a bit too swiftly and bumps his head on the low ceiling of his prison cell.*
BOAGRIUS: OUCH!!
*His loud exclaim reverberates through the entire prison and muffles the crying of O'Ren. The very iron bars of his prison cell shake and dust flies off the rocky walls just through the vibrations created by his giant mouth. It suddenly occurs to BOAGRIUS that people are probably staring at him now after that scream. It was a tad louder than he intended but he hardly cares. He feels around his head for blood and as he does so an immense hunger invades his stomach. Once again, the pain catches BOAGRIUS off guard and he lets out yet another exclaim but this one even louder.*
BOAGRIUS: Wow! Oww!
*One thing is for sure... BOAGRIUS is loud! He composes himself from the pain in his head and stomach and walks up to the tiny prison door that contains him. This section is well lit so his malnourished form becomes evident for all to see.
BOAGRIUS takes a look around and takes in all the creatures around him. By my lord Tempus! Is that a Tiefling? What kind of infernal prison is this? And what the hell is that bird-man munching on? Has he got food?*
BOAGRIUS: Hey birdman! What have you got there? Care to share some of your nourishment? BOAGRIUS is big hungry.
*Just as he finishes his sentence BOAGRIUS realizes that the Kenku doesn't in fact have any food and he's just making munching/crunching noises with his beak. BOAGRIUS shrugs him off and moves on. It is at this point where BOAGRIUS' stomach begins rumbling loudly. BOAGRIUS is a fierce militant warrior undefeated on 1on1 combat but has never been known to skip a meal. This stomach pain is something he's never experienced before. He doesn't like it. He's beginning to lose his temper and the crying lady in cell number 8 is making everything worse.*
BOAGRIUS: Hey lady! You wanna quiet down a tad? BOAGRIUS hungry too but you don't see BOAGRIUS cry about it.
*Hungry, annoyed and slightly cold BOAGRIUS is miserable in this cramped prison. Many thoughts race through his head. BOAGRIUS got to get out of here! BOAGRIUS wonder how sturdy prison bars are? BOAGRIUS head hurt. Crying elf is making BOAGRIUS anger. But the most prevalent throught... BOAGRIUS big hungry!
Finally BOAGRIUS reaches his limit and in a fit of rage he yanks at the shackles that bind his ankle to the wall.*
(BOAGRIUS will make an outright simple Strength check to see if he can yank the ball and chain restraints out of the wall and increase his mobility.)
Strength check: 7
Feverish nightmares are racing through Hoot's mind.
A young human with a pleading look on his face, clutching an egg. As Hoot looks down, there is a dagger in the boy's chest. Hoot takes the egg from him and as he does, the boy opens his mouth. He tries to say something, but only the sound of chimes in the wind escapes.
Then, images of shapeless shadows grasping for his wife. Her, desperately trying to protect something. She is alone. Hoot wants to help her, but he can't get to her. The shadows grow stronger, darker.
The egg in Hoot's hands cracks. He can't allow the shadows to reach it. He needs to do something, anything. They can't take her too. But the shadows grow stronger, darker. And there is nothing he can do to make it right.
It is dark. Everything around Hoot is dark. He tries to clutch the egg closer to his chest, and when he realizes that it isn't there he is startled. He realizes that he is on stone floor, in some kind of cell. Then, his head explodes. Everything hurts.
THE ATTACK!
The last thing Hoot remembered was that a hood was pulled over his head and someone knocked him on the back of the head, hard. It couldn't have been those same thugs from Cullfield, could it? He had tried so hard to start a new life...
Ultimately, it didn't matter much. Whatever this is, he probably deserves worse. But Kelemvor wouldn't take him into his service only to let him rot in a prison cell a few weeks later. And even if he did, Hoot would welcome death.
Death is but part of life: fear it not, evade it not, and view it not as evil.
That was about the first thing that the old priest had told him, and it since became a mantra for Hoot. He had spent several weeks travelling the countryside, visiting many temples and churches of Kelemvor, helping out wherever he could and learning as much about Kelemvor's teachings as possible. But no other psalm in the book of Kelemvor had such an effect on him as this one. It freed him.
Hoot tried to get up to analyse his situation. He was in a small cell, with his ankle chained to the wall. His was not the only cell in the vicinity and in the cells across from him he could see a crying half-elf woman, a Kenku man and a Tiefling woman. But those weren't the only prisoners, he could hear others, talking to one another or yelling.
Hoot tried to do get a better look at the other prisoners, and the general surroundings through the bars,
Perception check: 15
when he heard the half-elf woman mention that she had been locked in here before. He cocked his head and stared at her:
"let yourself be locked away in here again!" Hoot imitated her own exasperated voice back to her. "again! again!" he repeated.
Thinking back to one of Kelemvors prayers that he picked up recently, he added "those who have gone before. Guide me" in a voice that the woman did not recognize.
Ilithienne, despite her highly functioning darkvision abilities, is too hurried and panicked to learn anything new about her prison cell. She simply scans the floor momentarily before her attention gets diverted to the lamenting half-elf in cell #8.
O-Ren is still crying passionately but the several sounds of movement in the cells around her provide her with a sense of self-awareness that makes her realize she's not the only person awake anymore. She does her best to stifle her distress but fails miserably. O-Ren is lost in her own thoughts and dejection and doesn't even realize that the elvish woman across the corridor is speaking to her until the very end of her sentence, "Everything will be fine, just tell me where are we?"
O-Ren scoffs and snaps at the elf. "Everything will NOT be fine! You don't know what you're talking about. This place is--" for the first time, O-Ren looks up and makes eye contact with the elvish woman. As soon as their eyes meet O-Ren stops talking entirely as if caught in a trance. Ilithienne feels this as well. A remarkably unique sensation. Suddenly, Ilithienne can't look away from O-Ren's piercing, golden eyes. Her pupils are mesmerizing. Where has she seen those eyes before? Why does she feel such a sense of familiarity? Who is this and why does--
Her thought gets interrupted by a violent commotion coming from cell #7. A well-built, muscular man has started violently shaking the iron bars of the enclosure directly across from her. "Who is that out there?"
Before any response could be delivered, another loud commotion...
"OUCH!" The booming roar comes from cell #5. Instinctively both elvish women look over but neither woman nor the wild cage-rattler can quite make out who is in there. One thing is for sure, whoever it is... he doesn't sound happy.
"Wow! Oww!" Another thundering bomb. This could be trouble. In the midst of all the upheaval and some further screaming coming from cell #5, O-Ren notices the Pixie that dwells in the first cell and lets out a high-pitched screech. More surprise than anything else.
The screech causes more anger from cell #5. "Hey lady! You wanna quiet down a tad? BOAGRIUS hungry too but you don't see BOAGRIUS cry about it." But it's not hunger or even sadness that caused this shrieking... it was the Pixie. A real life Pixie. But they're supposed to be extinct. The last time O-Ren saw a Pixie had to be... she can't even remember. It had to be at that old grove in Ker-Ys before it was decimated. Anyways, that doesn't matter right now. What matters is getting out of this [deity]forsaken place!
O-Ren, who has finally ceased her crying, scans her surrounding looking for escape options but instead catches the stare of the obscured elvish woman across the hall once again. They make eye contact but it's different this time. The connection is gone. Ilithienne feels the dissipation as well. She looks for that twinkle in O-Ren's eyes from a few seconds ago but it's fully gone. Her eyes look different now. Normal and unexceptional. They're not even golden. Maybe she imagined the whole thing?
Ilithienne gets snapped out of her thought by the sound of O-Ren's voice. Yet, O-Ren's lips aren't moving at all. In fact, the voice is coming from the cell next to hers. "let yourself be locked away in here again! again! again!" How could this be? Is there a second O-Ren in the cell next to hers? Then the Kenku from cell #9 joins in... "why here? here? here?" Ah, they must be Kenkus. Half-bird, half-men capable of speaking only by replicating sounds and voices they have heard in the past.
After a perceptive study of his surroundings, the first kenku manages to catch a glimpse of the prisoners inside cells number eight, nine, and ten. What's more, he notices a sizable boulder sitting in the center of the hallway. Something about it looks quite out of place. On the other side of his cell, all the way at the end of the block there appears to be an etching of a hawk or a raven on the grainy floor. These observations raise more questions than answers so he collects his analysis and looks directly at O-Ren before stating, "those who have gone before. Guide me."
O-Ren takes a deep breath and with most attentive eyes on her, she goes to speak. "Okay, here's the deal--"
YANK! O-Ren and her captive listeners get startled by the aggressive sounds of a heavy chain getting jerked and jostled. Once again, the loud sound blares from cell #5. Whatever creature is in there is surely causing a scene.
BOAGRIUS' attempt to yank the chain out of the wall proves tumultuous yet unsuccessful. You would think the hulking goliath would have no difficulty with such a task but the giant is severely starved, weak, and frail (at least as "frail" as a goliath can be).
His morale in this prison block is well and truly low. Nothing he's tried is working and his hunger only gets more and more drastic.
(OOC: Due to all of your character's famine and weak condition, any rolls you make from here on out that require strength, dexterity, or any other physical component will now have disadvantage until you feed.)
Be Kind. Be Patient. Be Understanding.
Sylviana slowly opens her groggy eyes and, remaining stock still, she slowly raises her hands to her face and begins rubbing them. Pushing the cedar-red hair out of her face, Syl smacks her lips a few times and then sits bolt upright. With a look of shock and confusion, one tiny hand darts to the back of her head, while the other rests on her grumbling stomach. She sits still for a moment, then looks slowly down at the hand she laid upon her tummy. With wide, lilac eyes, she scans her mottled brown and green skin. She closes her eyes again then opens them, looking almost shocked at the audacity of her hand to still be there. A look of slight panic coming over her face, she squints her eyes and clenches her jaw, then looks again at her hand. Sticking her tongue out and smacking her raised hand with the other, she looks back at her wings.
The wings strongly resembled large, hardened butterfly wings, and shine like silver and gold in the dim light. Her wings beat once. Then twice. She quickly jumps into the air and begins fluttering them wildly. Suddenly, Syl seems to be enclosed in a tiny golden snowstorm, with miniscule grains of glitter blowing all over the inside of the box. Touching down again, she picks up a handful of the golden dust and grins at it. Closing her eyes, she tosses the handful into the air . . . and watches it fall to the ground like common sand. Slapping both hands against her forehead, the pixie falls to her knees and edges up to the wall of glass.
Frantically slamming both fists on the box’s side, Syl’s mouth twists in a horrible, silent scream. (Like watching a film without sound) She seems to begin mouthing words in between the sobs, and slowly stops pounding the glass with her fist. With yawn and another eye rub, she slumps against the side of the glass box. She sighs as if she may fall back asleep, then her eyes freeze. A particularly noticeable string of sobs echoes through the cellblock. Immediately adjusting her position, she presses her face into the box’s corner so she can get a better view of O-Ren.
As Ekant addresses her, Syl’s eyes widen and slowly fix on the beautiful creature across the block. She’s immediately struck by Ekant’s face. There is something familiar about it. Not familiar in the sense that they’d met, something deeper than that. There was a trace of something in his face that reminded Syl of the Feywild, though it was, simultaneously, nothing like the Feywild. Timelessness. That was it. She blinks her eyes and slumps down again, exhausted from hunger and her silent tantrum.
“Yes, I’m an abducted pixie,” she says in a clearly audible voice, slightly high and firm, with a noticeable but vague accent. “And I’m starving! Are you starving? How long have I been asleep? Were you asleep? You also got abducted? The crying woman too?”
Despite a gnawing desire to ask more questions, O-Ren's screech silences the pixie. She raises herself up to her feet, looking to O-Ren's cell, but collapses again, acquiescing to the voice in her head begging her to stop talking, to lay down and rest, and to pray that food was on the way.
Walks in [insert absurd situation].
Honorary Leader in the Pixie Peewee Powderpuff Pals!
Ekant stares in wonder at the beautiful wings and the golden dust falling down around the pixie, sure it’s the most magical thing he’s seen. Then, realizing staring is not very polite, he smiles a little sheepishly. The magic seems to break as the wonder slowly fades to the cruel reality he’s in. The wailing, the screaming, the rattling. The already cramped prison seems to grow narrower, suffocating him. “Yeah, I just woke up. Really hungry too. Reckon it’s been a few days since I last ate.”
The sinking feeling settles deep in his stomach, bitter and heavy. Not only he failed to find his parents, he failed to protect Hunter, and let himself get captured. Though knowing he’s not the only one in this predicament made him feel a little better.
His bare feet move soundlessly and gracefully on the stone floor. The crying woman calls herself O-Ren. The young ranger tries to crane his neck to see her better. A few strands of satin hair falls down between the iron bars, though he still couldn’t get a good look. “Excuse me, ma’am.” Ekant says, not forgetting his manners. His da raised him well. “Do you have any idea what this place is?”
Those golden eyes... I know them... but where from? her thoughts are racing but the feeling fades as suddenly as it has appeared.
Hearing voices mentioning food and starvation her hands drop lower felling the immense hunger again.
"Could you please stop talking how hungry are you? We all are... ", Ilithienne says in elvish holding her stomach. Even her elvish is not as melodic as the one you can hear on the streets. R's, H's and Z's are spoken much harder making it almost impossible understand, especially without any notice.
Translation from elvish:
[spoiler]"Could you please stop talking how hungry are you? We all are... "[/spoiler]
Switching back to common, she looks again at the half-elf.
"What is this place? You managed to escape before, right? You were let go? What's going on in here?" she keeps asking O-Ren.
Ilithienne has seen many slaves in her life. She knows their worst enemy is not a whip but the despair and lack of hope. This is what every slaver, every guard tries to kill as soon as possible. Hope is not yet dead in her... I just need to give her a push... Something to keep the flame up... she thinks. Keep her focused. Keep her talking. Goddess give her hope!
"You are not alone. We are here with you and we can work together, do you hear me? We may help each other..." she speaks to O-Ren trying to sound as confident as possible.
Persuasion check: 11
Shivers go once again through her body so she keeps her arms tightly crossed on her chest trying to keep any warmth left in her.
"I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me..."
Whimpering...the girl...he has to save her. The pale half-elf quickly regains consciousness, too quickly, reaching for his blade and sitting up in his simple prison cot, immediately struck down again by the pain to his head and the excruciating hunger in his stomach, realizing his blade is not there, nothing is, only a simple loincloth around his waist and cold shackles at his ankle, the freezing cold almost as strong as his hunger. He lies back again for a moment, trying to assess his surroundings, his gray eyes piercing the darkness around him. He was in a small dark cell, had been for quite some time judging by his hunger, a prison cell block judging by the cacaphony of voices from outside his cell.
What had happened? Hooded creatures had attacked him, and now he was here, but why? Why wasn't he dead already? He certainly deserved as much. It seemed the peace of death was a gift not yet to be recieved. Get up! Your work is not done. Your road to redemption is yet far to travel. The blade wasn't even there and yet he could hear it's voice as clear as he was holding it in his hands.
The pale half-elf sits up and glances over at the petite dark-haired woman in the cell across from his. She seemed to have been here before and somehow got out, so there should be a way out that she knows about. A female speaking elven in the cell to his right is trying to get her to share what she knows. He tries to join in, reaching for that calm comforting voice in spite of his less than presentable appearance. "Yes, listen, whoever is in the cell next to me is right. You have evidently left this place before. You would just have to do it again, and this time you would have help. I will not sit here and starve to death, and neither should anyone else in this prison. Tell us what you know of this place and how you managed to get out of here last time and I will make sure we will leave this place together." Or die trying.
Persuasion: 18
Hearing several voices calling to O-Ren, the source of the sobs, Sylviana keeps her ear on the conversation while she paces around the box, looking for hinges, latches, a keyhole, or anything that may open. She investigates the box.
Investigation (1d20 + 2): 16
(OOC: woops forgot to add this and make the check at the end of the last post)
Walks in [insert absurd situation].
Honorary Leader in the Pixie Peewee Powderpuff Pals!
Inhaling deeply, Bambotta grips the bars tightly, refusing to fall as his head clamors and swims. A second breath. A third. A fourth. Until, finally, the calm begins to fall over him and his anger subsides. His legs steady. His head clears.
And all around him a chorus of voices rings out. Each as desperate and pained and hungry as he. Biting his tongue, or perhaps hiding his wounds, Bambotta remains silent. And calm. And he observes.
In the cell across from him stands a drow. He is sure of that now. Bambotta has heard rumors of the drow but has never seen one. Not until now.
"Are they are as wicked as I have heard?", he wonders.
Bambotta squints his eyes in suspicion. He will watch this one.
Having just decided this, a dusty glimmer shines in the next cell, catching his attention. Silver and gold.
Bambotta's narrowed eyes widen. Bigly. And in one long, breathy, wondrous gasp, he exclaims,
"The Fu-Engi!"
A memory stirs.
The story of the Fu-Engi is one of retribution and protection. A small woman with the wings of an insect and magical powers, she would lure strong men and misbehaving boys alike into their comeuppance. And thus teaching them the lesson of their misdeeds.
In the evening, around the fire, grandmothers of his clan would flap there arms and dance a high kneed dance and cry "Beware the Fu-Engi!" and the children would run and shriek and giggle. And they would behave.
But cruel men. Cowardly men. Men with malice of heart. Those men who would abuse the weak and the helpless, especially animals and children, they would fare much, much worse. The Fu-Enji would cast a glamor and lure them off a cliff. Or lead them into a bear's den. Or wolves to them. Always a violent end. Always.
Among Bambotta's clan, the Fu-Engi is a hero. Both feared and cherished. At once, a punisher and a protector. As are all things wild.
It is said among his people that a man, strong and kind, need not fear the Fu-Engi.
"But this cant be the Fu-Engi. It's a myth!. And we are so very far from home... And she is in a cell!!!"
Bambotta instantly feels a connection to this creature. The sight of her caged brings a familiar burn to his chest. Anger flaring.
But he breaths. And he seethes. And he vows his vengeance.
Casting his eyes about the cell block, Bambotta wonders what other rumors, what other myths, draw breath in this skyless pit..
(OOC Scan the cell block for anything unusual)
perception 13
(OOC That's odd. it clearly said roll d20+2 but then rolled 4d6 instead. Want me to roll again?)
(OOC Here's the new roll)
22
Pixies are no fun when it comes to exhaustion. Like some other small creatures and animals, a starving or exhausted pixie flits back and forth between short periods of frantic, illogical hyperactivity and long periods of physical and mental exhaustion. Syl sits in the latter camp, having dumped too much energy on her desperate mime show begging to get out of the glass cube. She lays back in the corner of the box with her shoulders against the wall. Everything remains completely still aside from her mouth.
“Fu-engi? Fuuuu-engi?” She says, sounding like a six-year old fighting sleep. “Fun-jee? Funengi? Fungi? Fungi!? Oh, I wish I had some mushrooms.” She blew a short raspberry.
She waves a greenish hand in front of her and watches her fingers flex, a sort of dazed amazement on her face. I must’ve been caught stealing that horse, she thinks to herself. But how could they catch me? They’ve never caught me before. Something in her brain couldn’t reconcile that she was suddenly in jail. First, there was no way the town guard had gotten her; she’d have noticed them the minute they were within range. Second, this lot didn’t seem like jail material. The shiny man across the way seemed too pretty—in mind and spirit—to be locked away. The second man, the one shouting a bit with the piercing blue eyes, was perhaps more the sort based on his outburst. But something didn’t add up there, either. He just didn’t seem the type to be arrested. She scooched up into a sitting position and rested her head on her knees, watching the cells she could see from her cage (O-Ren’s, Bambotta’s, and Ekant’s).
(Sorry, changing my font color on a whim. Let me know if pink is too annoying and I'll find something darker.)
Walks in [insert absurd situation].
Honorary Leader in the Pixie Peewee Powderpuff Pals!
The rose tiefling in the corner seems to be the last to awaken. She lies in the cell, still. She is young, perhaps in her early 20s. Her horns curve back delicately over her head, keeping her hair out of her face. Her eyes are closed. She doesn't move, but she is awake.
Tisiphone was awoken by the sounds of unfamiliar voices. She is overwhelmed by fear, confusion, hunger. She has never known hunger to this degree and it hurts. Flashes of emotion, course through her against her will her mind brings her back to a dark room that she wishes she could forget. She holds back a whimper. When the heroes in a story escape, it's always with some clever and well thought out plan. Her limbs feel heavy, best not to give myself away...
I just have to think. How did I get here? It was just missing mail. A simple job for a client she has worked for before - how did it lead to this mess. I'm in trouble, big trouble. Lel is going to FREAK when I don't come home. I can't do anything about that now. Not until I know where I am and who I'm with. She dares to glance forward out of what she now realises is a cell.
She catches a glimpse of a few uncertain looks in her direction. She watches the small kenku figure and notices how his eyes dart around but her gaze freezes as she takes in the hulking 8ft figure across from her. 'Imposing' is the word that comes to mind. She has seen a goliath before but never interacted too much with one that appeared so rough. It could make a good story I suppose.
With this information she dares to scoot forward, body still close to the ground and peer out the cell to see if she can get a better view of any other prisoners and around the corner. Maybe there is someone on guard out there. As she focuses into the dark around her using her darkvision, her solid white eyes brighten slightly. perception check: 10
She tries to keep her voice level-headed and soothing as she says adds to the calm persuading of a male voice, "Surely if we put our minds together we can find a way out of this. We must."
On a quest for exciting stories and moments of character development.
[OCC] New perception roll: 7
On a quest for exciting stories and moments of character development.
When the recently-awaken tiefling inspects the surroundings of her prison cell, she does notice a large boulder sitting in the middle of the corridor across the cell next to hers. She finds this weird as the boulder doesn't match the grainy, rough, moldy surface of the rest of the prison. It looks highly out of place as if placed there as a decoration the same way one places a house-plant in their living quarters. She then turns to inspect the other side and while she doesn't see a guard she does notice in the distance, maybe 25 or 30 feet away, what she believes is a large stone door. The door is half-lit by a dim torch but she can clearly see the letter B plastered on it. As she struggles to make out more details about this door she looks down and notices, for the first time, a very clear etching of a raven on the floor at the end of the hall.
She's amazed that she hadn't noticed it before because now she can't unsee it. The etching is perfectly crafted and highly manicured, a bold contrast to the run-down, sharp, rusty prison environment it's crafted on. With these new gatherings she listens to the words spoken by the oddly familiar voice of the half-elf woman in cell #8. Where has she heard this voice before?
The composed, persuasive statements from O-Ren's elvish peers across the hall manage to bring her calm and soothe her anxious disposition. She takes a deep breath and looking at Ilithienne and Daryan, she begins.
"It happened a few years ago. I was going through hard times and I became involved with some shady characters. I did some really bad things that I'm not entirely proud of." O-Ren's gaze trails off and she falls silent, clearly remembering some difficult events in her past. A look of affliction and regret... yet the slightest hint of a smile. She quickly snaps out of her head and resumes, "anyways, one small crime led to a bigger and bigger one and before I knew it, I was in way over my head in a dark, crime-ridden world I wasn't prepared for. I was eventually caught and locked up in here... although not this exact cell bock.
You see, you are currently standing inside the Tower of Death forged by the Matron of Death herself!"
"The wh0?" a very interested, eavesdropping Crunch interjects.
"The Matron of Death, also known as The Raven Queen. She's not nearly as popular or worshipped as other gods or goddesses of death but she's just as powerful... and much more wicked. She created this dead-magic prison to punish the treacherous wizards who turned their backs on her but then she just ended up killing them instead hence the name, the Tower of Death.
This is a giant tower atop an immense mountain on the edge of what was previously known as the Sword Coast. The tower is surrounded by water on three fronts and to make matters worse, if you hadn't noticed, the entire structure is a dead-magic zone. And if that wasn't challenging enough... the cell block that we are in is the most secure, reinforced section of this entire prison." An exasperated sigh. "We are in Cell Block X."
She lets out a tired, defeated groan. Her morale has seen better days. She quickly shakes it off and resumes, "Last time I was here, I was imprisoned in Cell Block Q. I had heard of this cell block but I always thought it was just a story. A rumor started by bored prisoners. Unfortunately, it appears to be real. Very real. You see, Cell Block X is reserved for the absolute worst of the worst. The most heinous and wicked criminals in all The Realms. This cell block is on the very top floor of the Tower of Death and escape is said to be impossible. Even if we managed to get out of our cells, it is rumored that in lieu of traditional guards, this block is guarded by savage, crazed wolves. Now I haven't seen or heard any wolves so that part could've just been bored-prisoner flavor but I don't want to be the one to find out."
Suddenly, a voice chirps in from the edge of the block, "Surely if we put our minds together we can find a way out of this. We must." O-Ren stops dead in her tracks... that voice, so familiar. Could it be? Never mind that. I'll deal with that later.
"Whoever said that, you might be right." A wave of optimism seems to come over O-Ren. "I had heard through the grapevine that this prison was shut down after my escape and from the looks of the rust, dust, and mold that might be right. Plus, I've not seen any patrolling guards at all, human or wolf. Additionally, for all the awful stories I always heard of Cell Block X, there were always tales of tunnels and secret pathways. Again, could just be hearsay but we can hope."
"Crunch! How you previously free?"
"Ah, yes. Well, my last escape was rather simple. The same shady characters that I was involved with in the first place broke me out. I'm afraid, that won't be the case this time around. I left that world of crime, darkness, and pain a long time ago. If I am to get free, I must do so on my own."
"No... do together."
O-Ren can't help but smile. A warm moment, indeed. Yet, when she flashes her teeth, Ilithienne gets a shudder through her body. Must just be the cold. What else would it be.
"Okay, fine. If we are to work together, we need to know we can trust each other. I can't quite see all of you but I can hear you perfectly. I think formal introductions are in order and then we can start investigating our cells looking for anything out of place or potentially helpful. I'll start... my name is O-Ren Shi. The Tower of Death is the westernmost point in all The Realms and I am from the Eastern Realms, if you hadn't picked up on that, which means I am literally as far away from home as I could possibly be." This thought brings distress to O-Ren. Her lip quivers but she composes herself and continues.
"I have many friends and a pet turtle that I hope to see again one day. I do have a regrettable criminal past that I'd rather not get into at this moment but more recently I spend my time traveling and searching for precious metals. I'm a bit of a rock collector, you could say. In fact, I was captured as I was on my way to collect a new stone from an old... friend of mine." The way she says "friend" is rather eerie and unusual. "Anyways, the drop didn't go quite as well as I would've hoped and alas, I am back in here after all these years." O-Ren exhales loudly and then turns her attention to her prison cell.
"So that's a bit about me. Why don't you all go ahead and introduce yourselves while I investigate my cell and then you all can do the same."
Sylviana is way ahead of O-Ren. She had been investigating every square inch of her glass prison this entire time. She found that the top of her glass encasement has tiny holes which allow for some air circulation. Thank Titania for that, otherwise the tiny Pixie would have most likely suffocated by now. In her investigation she also learned of some scuff marks and chips on the glass itself, signs of long, bumpy travel perhaps. But most substantial of all, she notices an area of the glass box-- the top, front area that faces the prison bars-- has some tiny, miniscule cracks on it that could potentially make way if something hard were to hit it in just the right spot...
Bambotta's tremendous visual acuity leads him to immediately notice a trio of fist-sized rocks just outside of his prison cell..
[OOC: You guys can introduce your characters in any way you want and then go ahead and do an investigation check in your respective cells.]
Be Kind. Be Patient. Be Understanding.
Ilithienne listens to O-Ren's story in silence. When the half-elf has mentioned things she is not proud of she whispers to herself with a small tear in her eye:
"You are not the only one... "
Through the O-Ren's story about the Raven Queen, Ilithienne stays silent. She knows so little about the other gods, she tries to remember every detail of it. With the conclusion of O-Ren's story, Ilithienne feels she is being drown to the half-elf. They are quite similar if you take into account their past that is.
When Ilithienne hears this, she gasps. THAT IS MY STORY TOO! she screams in her mind but the sudden chill brings her focus up. When O-Ren ends her story, Ilithienne keeps silent for a long time looking at her, into the other cells. She is afraid what will happen, but she trust the goddess - She will not leave me. Not now.
"I'm Ilithienne..." she looks into O-Ren's eyes scared how the others will react. Will they leave her here? She gathers all of her courage left, takes a deep breath and starts again.
"I've escaped the Underdark few full moons ago. I am a drow..." for a split second a faint, sad smile visits her lips but then she takes another deep breath "I was part of a slave hunting party to the surface... and believe me, you are not the only one who did things... There are times I wish I wasn't born at all." she speaks slowly and even when O-Ren is focused on checking her cell, Ilithienne sees she listens carefully. The confession is a bit easier when not everyone can see her, so with yet another deep breath she speaks again.
"I have left everyone there... but they are not my family any more nor they think of me as their I guess. Since the escape, I have lived in a small village up north but some time ago I left it and went south for a job. To be independent. To take care of myself... Well, that was a stupid idea, right?" With a sad smile she looks up to see any hint of approval in anyone's eyes.
"Anyway... I will help you in any way I can..." she ends taking a step back deeper into her cell. After a moment, she starts checking the floor and the rest of her cell.
"I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me..."