Awesome, so this means that Sweep Tail can potentially come with us to kill ogres who killed his band and offer his tribe's services to a good dragon, who is likely to accept if he helps out. What you think @Goldfish?
Now that you mention it, instead of doing a Divination about the Ogres, maybe we should instead do one about what difficulties, if any, the expedition might encounter while we are gone?
Not unless Cob does not come, the people who are hanging from the tentacles can't really carry someone on their shoulders, it would throw them off balance.
Not unless Cob does not come, the people who are hanging from the tentacles can't really carry someone on their shoulders, it would throw them off balance.
Fair enough, how about instead @Goldfish we tell Sweep Tail that we will pass on message to dragon he and his tribe are looking for that they want to pledge themselves to and serve her, and depending on her answer we can let them know where she is. In exchange, he has to be on best behavior and if any more of his tribe come across caravan convince them not to attack it.
Fair enough, how about instead @Goldfish we tell Sweep Tail that we will pass on message to dragon he and his tribe are looking for that they want to pledge themselves to and serve her, and depending on her answer we can let them know where she is. In exchange, he has to be on best behavior and if any more of his tribe come across caravan convince them not to attack it.
That's similar to what I was thinking. We don't have room for him, but we can carry a message to Sylestrix on his behalf and ask him to remain with the expedition while we are gone to explain what's going on to any other Kobolds that show up.
That's similar to what I was thinking. We don't have room for him, but we can carry a message to Sylestrix on his behalf and ask him to remain with the expedition while we are gone to explain what's going on to any other Kobolds that show up.
And don't forget do a safety divination, just to make sure nothing else strikes caravan while gone, like fey who are likely still hoping to mess with kobolds or something.
And don't forget do a safety divination, just to make sure nothing else strikes caravan while gone, like fey who are likely still hoping to mess with kobolds or something.
[X] A Friend In Need
-[X] "She aided us in our fight against Gavhaul and the Demons. We, in turn, should aid her against the Ogres that now hunt her for sport. If we're quick about it, it shouldn't take more than a few hours."
-[X] Using the Abductor Figurine, Gorok, Cob, Mina, Kori, and Sirim will return to Fusil to seek out Sylestrix to warn her of the Ogre hunting party, and offer her our aid in eliminating then if she desires.
-[X] Gorok will prepare two Ant Haul spells the next morning, one to cast on the Abductor for the trip to reach Sylestrix and the other for our return. We will leave Leontas in charge of the Ohancanu, Iruxi, and Warty while we are gone. Ask that they remain at the campsite for the day, if possible.
-[X] Kori will perform a Divination to discern what difficulties, if any, the expedition will encounter while we are gone.
-[X] Sirim and Mina will explain to Sweep Tail that we don't have enough room to carry him with us when we go to warn Sylestrix, but that we will tell her of his tribe's journey and impending arrival. Ask that in exchange, he stays with the expedition to act as a point of contact should any other Kobolds stumble across them while we are gone.
Random note, since we are dealing with nine or so ogres, this would be a great time to use launcher to fire a bomb at them or an AOE spell to do as much damage to a group if possible, especially if we make it a sneak attack.
Even better if we do it from air, since might as well get full use out of abductor beast.
Random note, since we are dealing with nine or so ogres, this would be a great time to use launcher to fire a bomb at them or an AOE spell to do as much damage to a group if possible, especially if we make it a sneak attack.
Even better if we do it from air, since might as well get full use out of abductor beast.
It depends on how closely they're positioned. The only thing we've really got with any kind of respectable AoE are the Fungal Stun Vials, but those things are precious and best saved for emergencies.
If it comes down to a fight, I would say rely on Web, Glitterdust, Hypnotic Pattern, and Burst of Radiance spells to incapacitate them, while Gorok, Cob, and Sylestrix carve them up. It's also a good opportunity for Mina to finally blast something with her Lightning Bolt spell.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Sep 14, 2024 at 5:59 AM, finished with 35 posts and 5 votes.
[X] A Friend In Need -[X] "She aided us in our fight against Gavhaul and the Demons. We, in turn, should aid her against the Ogres that now hunt her for sport. If we're quick about it, it shouldn't take more than a few hours." -[X] Using the Abductor Figurine, Gorok, Cob, Mina, Kori, and Sirim will return to Fusil to seek out Sylestrix to warn her of the Ogre hunting party, and offer her our aid in eliminating then if she desires. -[X] Gorok will prepare two Ant Haul spells the next morning, one to cast on the Abductor for the trip to reach Sylestrix and the other for our return. We will leave Leontas in charge of the Ohancanu, Iruxi, and Warty while we are gone. Ask that they remain at the campsite for the day, if possible. -[X] Kori will perform a Divination to discern what difficulties, if any, the expedition will encounter while we are gone. -[X] Sirim and Mina will explain to Sweep Tail that we don't have enough room to carry him with us when we go to warn Sylestrix, but that we will tell her of his tribe's journey and impending arrival. Ask that in exchange, he stays with the expedition to act as a point of contact should any other Kobolds stumble across them while we are gone.
Getting dragged through the air back the way you'd come by the abductor beast figurine, you in one tentacle, Mina in the other, while Gorok rides on its back, and Cob on his shoulders, is not an experience you will soon forget, nor soon wish to repeat. Though you do manage to keep from sharing the contents of your lunch with the trees and whatever fey may dwell among them. Why, by the half-bell mark you even trust yourself enough to open your mouth to share the thought with Mina.
"Kori! Don't talk about...! Damn it, it's hard enough to hold on without you making me laugh!" she calls back through the sound of the wind whistling in your ears.
The creature dutifully deposits all of you into the clearing just in front of the ruined tower that Sylestrix had taken for her own with a gurgle of what you could swear is satisfaction before folding itself back into stone before you even had the time to dust yourself off.
The dragon herself had popped a head over the parapet for a better view of the strange interloper into her temporary domain only for her neck frills to straighten a little when she sees the five of you. Dare you hope glad for it?
One wonders why she is still here, the demons' masters vanquished, the treasures recovered, and more beside in the shape of the Ghol-Ganish artifact? Perhaps she needs to gorge herself on prey to make the long journey into the black heavens, or maybe she's considering staying, finding a lair close by. What you know of dragons would make for six inches of scroll-work, but as dragons go Sylestrix is young.
A fact she proves again when upon hearing that giant-kin are aiming to make a meal of her, she proposes instead to hunt them. "Though I shan't eat such fetid meat and have little interest in their petty gleamings," she looks in your direction, obviously the sort of folk who would be interested in ogre meats and gleamings.
"We're not supposed to eat stuff that walks on two legs and talks!" Cob shouts back dutifully. "We could get sick and... other people might be scared we'll eat them." He looks to Mina to make sure he'd gotten that right. You refrain from adding that if you were to stack the corpses on a pyre you'd get some sustenance from it at least. If there is one thing the Burnlands do not lack for it's light to sup on.
Gorok considers the matter a moment. Thankfully the divinations for the fate of the expedition had been uneventful and the fey giants were willing to stay put in Leontas' keeping, though it's anyone's guess how likely they'd be to take his orders. Dead ogres and a tribe of grateful kobolds, maybe you could get some more treasures in trade from Sylestrix.
Those same thoughts are probably going through your friend's head when he nods and says simply: "We will fight the giant-kin."
"Good, then lets be off. Can your stone beast..."
Not many would interrupt a dragon, even if that dragon has interrupted them first, but Gorok is made of sterner stuff. "We should send warning to Fusil and the landward spirits to it carry to the keth, lest their hunters be caught as the Soot Eyeswere. You are faster, you should go."
Sylestrix appears startled for a moment, but she seems to grasp that expecting flowery speech from an iruxi is like expecting honey out of rock. "Very well. You may guard my treasure. Keep it well."
With that she is off, leaving you outside the broken gate of a ruined tower that holds a dragon's treasure as night creeps in.
"My curiosity is peeked," Sirim admits wordlessly. "Should we not take the chance to observe this serpentstone 'core'?"
I don't think we should chance it. We might not learn anything useful, and even if we do it could be information that isn't currently relevant to anything we can or are willing to do. And we risk damaging Sylestrix's trust in us, which is not insignificant, considering that she left us unsupervised in her lair.
And as @Artemis1992 said, we might not be as unsupervised as it may initially appear.
If we keep up the partnership, we'll likely get to ask Sylestrix directly. Don't think it's worth our time to poke at it while we know nothing, and do not own the thing.
Before we return to the expedition, we should find out from Sylestrix if she plans to set up a longer term residence here in this tower. Depending on whether or not she intends to take Sweep Tail's tribe into her service, she might stay here for a while or relocate to a suitable pair in the nearby mountains.
If she's going to be setup here or relatively nearby, we'll have a destination point we can use for Gorok's Animal Messenger spells. The spell has a duration of one day per caster level, so even if we use a normal bird bird like a hawk and it only travels at its normal movement speed with overly exerting itself, the spell would last long enough for the bird to travel a bit over 163 miles at Gorok's current caster level.
That's not a great distance in the grand scheme of things, but it's still pretty for the setting. Before we get access to spells such as Sending, Animal Messengers will be a pretty solid way to keep in basic contact with allies.
That's not quite how the Animal Messenger spell works. It sends the animal to a place rather than a person, so a destination, such as the tower, should be fine. Once at the destination, the animal waits until the spell elapses or the message is delivered.
It would be easy enough to Sylestrix to notice a waiting messenger from pretty far off, or just a Kobold minion on guard duty.
Before we return to the expedition, we should find out from Sylestrix if she plans to set up a longer term residence here in this tower. Depending on whether or not she intends to take Sweep Tail's tribe into her service, she might stay here for a while or relocate to a suitable pair in the nearby mountains.
"Alas, not all of us would have as easy a time at hiding from an angry dragon as you and Cob," you give an answer as droll as it is dark. Taking a quick look around you add, as though for emphasis, "Where is Cob?"
For a few breathtaking moments you wonder if he hadn't decided to act on Sirim's interest on his own, but he is just taking advantage of his new jumping prowess to jump and dash from branch to parapet and back again, balancing on branches that seem far too thin for him. No doubt he'll keep a pretty good watch too.
In place of ancient secrets, the time until the dragon's return is spent chewing on trail bread and wild roots, cheese having long since regaled to memory while no one wanted to risk hunting on fey ground. Those ogres must have some wholesome supplies, surely?
Heh... bored of rations. A long way from worrying if you'll get pushed out of the tribe if you fail to earn your knife and still-stone season is harsh.
No sound heralds Sylestrix's return on her soft wings, though she is quick to speak of what she had seen and heard. "The men did not know of the giant-kin, though the tinkerer did and he claimed they have been meandering north for many moons. How strange to tell time by the face of the moon, but not unlovely. They had not expected them to come south quite so quickly. It is as though something drove them to move through the night. It hardly seemes of note to me. So what if they shall die tired?"
"Is that all they knew?" Gorok asks before she can get too sidetracked. You wonder if he's getting better at reading dragons, or if he is just skilled in dealing with the young and distractible.
"Nine there are, but three are more mad than usual for their wretched kin." From the growl in her voice the dragon does not want to say more, but the words mean nothing to any of you. "They are servants of Haggakal."
You look to Mina, she looks at you just as confused, but, wisely, does not choose to push the dragon any further. Some manner of daemon perhaps? Either way it seems wise to assume magicians and prepare for them.
Mina Knowledge Religion (DC 18/23): 1d20+13 = 15(Critical Failure)
***
Following a dragon through the woods manages to get you to wish you could see more of the sky for once, if only so you could know where she is. Sylestrix seems to recall the rest of you don't have wings only rarely and briefly at that, head popping between the budding branches to urge you on, until at last, about two hours and a full six miles later, she swings about to say there are fires ahead, about the right number and smelling of meat. You had most likely found the ogres' camp, with the dragon they are hunting in tow no less, or the other way around. Normally you'd be inclined to scout and spy, to work out numbers and weapons, but 'normally' does not include Sylestrix. In the span of her talk with the fey she had gotten a lot angrier at the enemy, and when one considers that they mean to make a meal and a coat out of her that's saying quite a lot.
She's at least reasonable enough to slow down so that you can arrive at the camp at about the same time, but any hope of stealth is shot through the heart unless dragon fear should strike the enemy blind.
[] Write in buffs
Bursting out into a clearing, not unlike the one that had seen the end of the unfortunate Soot Eyes, you are greeted with a scene of almost willful disorder. Bones and refuse lie in heaps alongside half-charred branches, a half-rotted ruptured stomach full of rocks hangs from a tree, the target of a macabre game. But none of that compared to the sight of the ogres themselves, misshapen hulking figures garbed in rawhide and bone sprawled throughout the camp, some hooded as though to hide their faces from the world, others proudly sporting knotted scars, chewed ears, and missing eyes.
"It's come to us! Give us wings, Great One!" The largest and best armored of the bunch bellows at the sight of Sylestrix descending, raising a two handed knight's sword the way a man might heft a rapier. Of stolen chain and rusted plate is his armor, seeming to have been hammered onto him by a foe's blows, not set by a craftsman.
"Shadow-thing, watch out!" Cob's shout gives you just enough time to look up and see the hateful ember gaze of a demon you had hoped would stay lost lurking above. Is it just the one?
