Game Thread Strange maps - Page 17

Mindsiege · #**241** Mar 26th, 2023, 10:43 PM

Voice of the Mountain
Stirred from his restless sleep, Rhazor was one of the first to jump to his feet as he glared left and right, yet no signs of an approaching enemy were in sight. Then when the voice from below began to speak in several languages that the human rogue could not understand, he realized belatedly that it really seemed like the mountain itself was talking to them, at least from the direction where the voice was coming from. It was truly uncanny, and the dark night sky gave him nary a clue how it could be that the barren stone had gained the ability to speak.

At about the same time, Snap Kick had come to the same realization, and although he at least was able to decipher the final two sentences of the strange voice's address, he also had no idea how it could be that their campsite had been approached from inside of the mountain itself. Still, the kenku knew that all of the primordial dialects were similar enough to vaguely translate into the other, so whoever the voice belonged to might certainly appreciate a demonstration of his adventuring party's good intentions. The applause that they had earned from the grungs and newts at the beach made for the perfect opener to seek this mysterious visitor's approval, and thus Snap Kick's mimicry rang out as he perfectly imitated a whole chorus of chanting voices.

Still with his lantern secure in one of his strong hands, Arrogaio took a moment longer to come to his own conclusions, and then he refuted Rhazor's first idea that they might have been sought out by the guardian of the Shadow Temple which was thousands of feet below their current rest on the Silver Wyrm's peak. Instead the plated warrior suggested that the voice belonged to some sort of spirit of the land, and on that notion he picked up after Snap Kick's performative opening and informed the entity about their nightly rest, as well as about his intentions to march on the yuan-ti camp as well as the Shadow Temple. For a moment there was no response, but when it came, the voice had suddenly changed its tone.

<<The snakefolk, eh? They're just terrible, aren't they?>> The voice was still deep, gravelly, and rumbling up from below the adventurers' feet, but all of a sudden it had lost all of its previous gravitas. <<So what? You're some kinds of heroes who have come to disturb the snake ritual and then you'll also want to go and challenge the shadow witch? You've got your work cut out for you, I will say. Are you sure you've brought enough lives with ya? Hah!>> The voice joylessly laughed out at its own joke, and then it continued in a conversational manner. <<Well, for what it's worth I'll welcome it if you clear out the stone circle. And I suppose you'll not be the first to assault the Shadow Temple. I almost guessed that's what you are here for. Sounds like you'll want to get what sleep you can get for the big day tomorrow then, eh? One last thing. How did you do that? Wake up all at the same time like that?>>

secretID · #**242** Mar 27th, 2023, 03:42 PM

Arrogaio Deveste, Champion of Skuld, Beacon of Estagund

“It is called 'telepathy,'” Arrogaio informed the voice, without further elaboration. “Excuse me one moment,” he said, before turning his voice to Cha-kra. “Is this voice the presence you warned was approaching?” he asked the taciturn bug-man.

"Your nature contains many more mysteries to us," Arrogaio continued to the voice. "Are you the spirit of this mountain?" he asked. "I suspect that you created the dragon sculpture. What do you desire? What do you value, and dislike?

“Is this ‘stone circle’ the location of the snakefolk? Does that have anything to do with what the frog people call ‘the Stone Serpent?’

“If you would like us to rid this land of these things, perhaps you will offer us some aid.”

Mindsiege · #**243** Mar 27th, 2023, 07:48 PM

Deals in the Dark
After Arroagio had paused his conversation with their visitor for a moment to turn to Cha-kra, the Thri-kreen gave a brief confirmation which allowed the human warrior to proceed without jumping to conclusions. ~Correct. It started talking to me, but it stopped when you started to rise, only to resume once you had calmed. I understand none of its languages.~ Arrogaio got the impression that there was a lot that the mantis had left unsaid, but as bothersome as Cha-kra's minimalistic approach to sharing information was, at least there wasn't a second entity out there which had caused the alarm.

With their watcher's confirmation received, Arrogaio turned back to the conversation with the ownerless voice, largely talking to the floor itself in the absence of any person to fix his eyes upon. He had several questions for the presumed spirit of the mountain, and one by one the voice answered with a similar nonchalance as before. <<Well that I am, mysterious. Maybe I created that statue, maybe not. What will you give me if I tell you?>>

Giving no additional information after the initial proposal to make a deal out of their exchange, the voice still responded further when Arrogaio hoped to learn more for free. <<Yes and no. The snake people hold their ritual at the circle, far too frequently if you ask me. But while the mountain is made of stone, the witch is not. Such is the fun of naming things, no?>>

Struck with another figure in his life that refused to be straightforward or helpful, Arrogaio proposed a sort of alliance to get rid of the yuan-ti together. The voice replied further. <<Hmm, interesting terms. Unfortunately, there are some old agreements in place here. Let's see. If you can convince the snakes to find a new place of power to conduct their dirty work, I will answer as many questions as you have for me, until I grow bored. And I know many, many things.>>

The rumbling voice abated for a moment, before it picked up again to consider the adventurer's proposal. <<As for helping you, I can't lay a hand or stone on them directly. But I might be able to help you. My offer still stands. What do you have that I might like?>> Gratingly, with the voice unwilling to elaborate on its identity or desires, its question to Arrogaio almost sounded like a riddle.

secretID · #**244** Mar 29th, 2023, 05:57 PM

Arrogaio Deveste, Champion of Skuld, Beacon of Estagund

“The speaker will not identify itself,” Arrogaio informed his compatriots, “but it is probably some elemental or spirit. I don’t know why it woke us, but I don’t think it will cause us any more trouble."

“As you say,” Arrogaio said to the dirt, “tomorrow is a ‘big day.’ Now is not a good time for riddles. So, if there is nothing else…” Arrogaio finished his thought by covering his lantern and beginning to resettle himself. “One thing,” he said while still sitting up. “Four men present have been travelling beside my party, though we are not truly allied. They have planned to take some of the silver from the dragon statue away as treasure. Do you have any objection?”

LeDragon · #**245** Mar 30th, 2023, 03:40 PM

Rhazor Blackhand

Rhazor kept looking back and forth restlessly. There was a conversation, but he understood only half of it - despite translation by the others. Who was the spirit of the mountain and why had it awakened them? Did it just want to chat or help or did it need help itself?
Maybe I'm just overtired. Rhazor sighed and waited to see what the conversation would bring. In the meantime, his eyes continued to scan the area for possible enemies or hidden people who might just be playing a trick or distraction on the group.

Rhazor Blackhand (level 4 rogue)
AC 15, 33/33 HP, passive perception 18
Link to the character sheet.

Yoshimi · #**246** Apr 2nd, 2023, 03:44 PM

Snap Kick

Snap Kick listens to the negotiations with his head tilted, occasionally making small whistles or clacking noises as he processes what the Voice is saying. Thoughts begin to form, and the kenku paces back and forth muttering, "Hmmm...Hmmm..." as he tries to translate his slowly developing ideas into words.

The monk holds up a finger with a shout of "Aha!" then saunters to one side of the party's camp. He gets down on his hands and knees and begins to slowly and painstakingly crawl along the ground. He reaches out a clutching hand, and in a hoarse, desperate voice he cries, "Water! I...I gotta have water! C-cool, c-clear, tinkling..." His voice freezes and his eyes grow wide. "WATER!" With the last exclamation he dives forward into the dirt and begins pantomiming splashing himself all over and flopping around as if in a pool of some kind, before slowly coming to a halt and looking around in sad realization. He stands and dusts himself off.

With a sheepish look back at the party, he goes to look down to where the yuan-ti camp lies. He projects in a mournful voice, "Snakes. Why'd it have to be...snakes?"

He raises a scaly fist and shakes it before continuing in a cocky voice, "Hey, I tell ya what I'm gonna give you, Snakes." He pauses for a moment. "I'm gonna give you to the count of 10, to get your ugly, yella, no-good keister off my property..." The voice rises to a shout, "before I pump your guts full of lead!"

Snap Kick takes a deep breath and turns back toward the camp. He bows with a flourish, then looks from the ground to the sky and back again, watching and listening expectantly.

secretID · #**247** Apr 2nd, 2023, 08:56 PM

Arrogaio Deveste, Champion of Skuld, Beacon of Estagund

Arrogaio watched Snap Kick's long interruption of his question. Before the voice might ask, Arrogaio simply said, "I believe that the bird-man is suggesting that you give us some water in exchange for removing the snake-folk. Our stores are temporarily depleted, you understand."

Mindsiege · #**248** Apr 6th, 2023, 08:41 PM

Oaths and Bargains
Not quite appreciative of having their sleep interrupted by this voice and its rather nebulous offer of striking some sort of deal, the adventurers tried to make sense of why they should even bother interacting with this unidentified visitor at night. Arrogaio at least saw little merit in humoring whatever entity had come to pester him and join the rows of unhelpful acquaintances that he was surrounded by, and so after informing his group that they shouldn't be worrying about the voice, he laid back down onto the uncomfortable stone. In primordial he explained to the voice that he wasn't very fond of riddles at a time like this, and on a last note he inquired from it whether the shabby sailors had the voice's blessing to dismantle the Silver Wyrm, seeing as they had made mention that they would want to do so. After a moment of silence, the voice gave its reply.

<<Objection? I wonder. You will not trick me into revealing the statues maker, no no. >> Even though the voice was still grumbly and slightly muffled, it seemed rather calm even with its accusatory tone. But there was a bit of playfulness in its conduct too, because only moments later it partially relented. <<That said, what would I be objecting to anyways? It is good craftsmanship, that I will agree with. A bit of a shame seeing to break it apart when it has stood here so long, but it won't be me who you'll upset by taking it down. Frankly, with your arrival it seems that the statue has outlived most of its usefulness anyways. And if your aim is to line your pockets with these scales, then isn't it fortunate that you'll have a chat with the snakes come morn? Then you'll be able to explain to them that they and their plots aren't welcome on this mountain anymore.>>

While Arrogaio was once more left to wonder why the voice was being this obtuse and whether the implied connection between the Silver Wyrm and the yuan-ti was real or just some spirit playing tricks, Snap Kick decided that he did after all have something that he was interested to strike a deal over. While the kenku thought to himself how he would be able to communicate his terms, Rhazor kept scanning the surrounding area, but the mountain peak seemed still as forlorn as before. Then it was Snap Kick's moment to shine. With the help of his mimicry he pantomimed his desire for water and denounced the yuan-ti with a shaking fist. Having more context to the performance, rather than leaving it up to the voice to interpret Snap Kick's recourse to communicate, Arrogaio helpfully summarized and received the voice's reply after a moment of deliberation. <<Water? Well, that is a bargain. I accept.>> The voice spoke with a sense of finality. <<If you give me your word that the snakes shall not return to this place in any other season, you shall have water aplenty.>>

While the voice waited for either of the adventurers to accept its deal, the grung who had once more been listening in his taciturn manner began to raise its blubbery voice. <<Oh great master of mountain, I have plea as well! I will give you my word to help heroes to send off snake people if you may reveal to me what has happened to Yuyule!>> Even though the grung's facial expression was a bit difficult to read, he seemed rather hopeful as he made that offer. The voice retorted after a moment of deliberation. <<Maybe. Possibly. But what is a Yuyule?>> For once the grung was eager to elaborate. <<Yuyule is from my village! Has been missing, but why go north? Too dangerous. Is pretties newt in hidden village, but not warrior!>> This time the reply came quickly. <<Very well. Your word has been given, and I shall accept. Woe will be you if you break it.>> Having spoken with its original gravitas, the voice paused for a moment for greater effect. Then it actually gave a comprehensive response. <<Your given word will lead you just where you need to go. Your Yuyule has been captured, you see. By the snakes, and they have her tied up and will kill her tomorrow, or the day after if she shall be so lucky. I have seen her with my own eyes. Go forth with the heroes then.>> Another pause. <<Unless the heroes have changed their mind?>>

Yoshimi · #**249** Apr 6th, 2023, 11:33 PM

Snap Kick

Exuberant with his successful negotiation, Snap Kick throws himself into a wild cartwheel. As he springs back into his feet, he cries in a defiant woman's voice, "Yeah? I'll tell you what. Until I get back my five thousand dollars, you're gonna get more than you bargained for. I'm your goddamn partner!"

Mindsiege · #**250** Apr 7th, 2023, 08:33 PM

The VoiceThere was a moment of silence after Snap Kick laid down the law in an insistent tone, but then it was quickly revealed that his true meaning had gotten lost in translation. <<What's that? You will not give me your word?>> Although there was little emotion to be gleaned from the muffled voice, Snap Kick realized that this was a difficult position for him to be in. Not only was the unknown bargain maker still lacking any knowledge of common, but also it seemed to be putting a lot of value on the formality of giving one's word. For all intents and purposes any creature capable of understanding the merchants' tongue would have understood Snap Kick to be in agreement with the terms that the voice had arrived at giving them. But he had not given his word. As Arrogaio gathered that the voice had only understood the misleading emotion in his kenku companion's mimicry, he also realized that maybe Snap Kick needed help to actually facilitate this deal that he wished to strike.

secretID · #**251** Apr 8th, 2023, 07:50 AM

Arrogaio Deveste, Champion of Skuld, Beacon of Estagund

"Hold, spirit," said Arrogaio, still only sitting up. "The bird man does not speak for all of us; he barely speaks for himself. We seek to stop the snakefolk's rituals and to drive them off. We leave to do so at first light. On those points, you have the word of Arrogaio Deveste, Champion of Skuld and Beacon of Estagund." Arrogaio, who had touched his fingers to his chest, let this important information sink in. "We do this for our own reasons, not due to some threat or obligation from you.

"We need water. If you have some, and you wish us to remove the snakefolk, I would think that you would provide it to us. If you do not, then so be it."

LeDragon · #**252** Apr 9th, 2023, 01:23 PM

Rhazor Blackhand

Rhazor rises one eyebrow, no both. A minute ago, there was a conversation, but he understood only half of it. Now, he was completely lost. Whatever the raven is talking about, it obviously takes a wrong turn.
"What the hell are you talking about, Snap Kick? Why does the spirit of the mountain owe you five thousand dollies?" This doesn't make any sense.
"Arrogaio, does the spirit possess our feathered friend?" he whispers to the Champoin of Skuld. Get ready to run, Rhazor, get ready to run!

Rhazor Blackhand (level 4 rogue)
AC 15, 33/33 HP, passive perception 18
Link to the character sheet.

secretID · #**253** Apr 11th, 2023, 07:30 AM

Arrogaio Deveste, Champion of Skuld, Beacon of Estagund

"I do not think so," Arrogaio reassured Rhazor. "Our friend is an...odd bird, no? I think that this is just his way.

"The owner of the voice may not be very helpful, but I do not think that it means us harm."

Mindsiege · #**254** Apr 16th, 2023, 03:08 PM

In Agreement
With Snap Kick's enthusiasm misunderstood by the adventurers' nightly visitor, it fell to Arrogaio Deveste to step in when his kenku companion was noticeably struggling to make a deal happen by himself. The human warrior explained that he could give his word that the yuan-ti would be driven off on the following morning, though he also said that he was going to do this out of no sense of obligation or due to any threat made by the unidentified voice. Any gift of water would solely amount to a favor of reciprocation. <<Threat? Who has been making any threats? Hmm, hm hm...>> Then the voice remained quiet for another few moments.

While Rhazor had his own difficulties parsing Snap Kick's peculiar way of communicating, Arrogaio assured the rogue that there was no harm going to befall his party, fully convinced that his retort to the voice couldn't possibly have offended it. Finally, the hidden bargainer came to a conclusion about how he felt. <<Setting aside any rude remarks that were made, I do believe that a bunch of self-titled heroes like yourselves will have quite the time driving off the snakes as is. If you go to chat them up with parched throats and wobbly legs, that would be quite the embarrassment, wouldn't it?>> Even muffled, the adventurers heard something that sounded a lot like a mean-spirited snicker. <<Oh, but I'll be having a laugh either way. You don't want to strike any deals with little old me? Fine. When the sun rises, look to the east. There you will find the water you seek. Heh, heh, heh.>> And then the voice fell silent and wasn't heard again.

As the adventurers digested how the unexpected visitation had turned out in the end, there was a certain sense in the air that the voice had made itself a jest at the adventurers' expense since in the east was where Duha had found the little rivulet at the base of the mountain. With little more to discuss at this untimely hour, one after another the adventurers went back to sleep, leaving the rest of the night watch to Cha-kra who only inquired once for Arrogaio to explain what the nightly disturbance had even been about. But considering how tired everybody still was after having been roused in the middle of an uncomfortable night of sleep, that exchange was rather brief, and Briggs for example let sleeping dogs rest, postponing any further arguments to the coming morning.

The rest of the night turned out to be rather peaceful, though when the adventurers were woken by the break of dawn, they realized that they were aching all over and certainly not in peak condition. The chilly mountaintop and its unyielding stone had made for a rather inconvenient campsite, but at least the adventurers had escaped the bugs and humidity that would have brought its own challenges down in the jungle. As the group of warriors overcame their sore muscles with willpower and the determination to bring justice to those who had apparently been sacrificed in some sort of twisted ritual, Cha-kra as the one who had remained awake all night suddenly drew their attention to the east.

~Look. Those weren't there yesterday.~ The Thri-kreen's claw pointed at three identical basins that had been assembled by the eastern edge of the mountaintop. When the adventurers carefully approached them, they found the stone vessels filled with very clear-looking water. It was quite mysterious, but Cha-kra denied ever having noticed how they had been put there. Although Brigg's looked a little conflicted about this gift of water, the pirate spokesman at least seemed to lack any suspicion. "That's a good thing though, aye? Now you won't have to share your bottles with me and me boys no more." He let out a mirthless laugh. "I see it as quite serendipitous even. Taking down all of those scales will be sweat-drenching work!"

GM instructionsFor the sake of moving forward I covered a bit more ground with this post. There are a few things I would like you to cover before the next update.

Arrogaio's stance was received with mixed results. The voice took it as a refusal to make any deals, but in the end it did provide your party with plenty of water, even enough for the grung to take a bath if he wanted. While the voice won't reply, feel free to add any dialogue that your characters had in response to the voice's final comments.

Cha-kra would have asked Arrogaio to give an explanation for the encounter that he lacked the language skills to understand. He would ask before everybody went back to sleep. You may have Arrogaio brush him off if you want. The NPCs' understanding will partially depend on Arrogaio's reply, because for now they only know that they were woken up by an unidentified elemental or spirit that's most likely harmless and of no use in Arrogaio's opinion.

Your narration should cover the rest of the night until dawn. Under normal circumstances you would have had to worry about exhaustion, but since the scenario didn't leave you much choice, I've decided to keep the uncomfortable night as mere flavor. Just consider that it wasn't the greatest experience that your characters have had.

The basins seem to have appeared out of nowhere. Your post may have your characters inquire from Cha-kra how it is that he didn't notice anything, but he has nothing to tell you. Feel free to address him though for the RP.

Please let me know if your characters partake of the water that was gifted to you. There's enough to fill up your reserves, to take care of any immediate thirst, and then some. If you descend the mountain and get into any strenuous activity (like combat) I'll have your character make a save to fend off exhaustion from thirst.

You'll have to figure out your course of action for marching against the yuan-ti. Cha-kra, Briggs, and the grung are on board. The pirates have conveniently forgotten anything that has been said before, seemingly expecting to stay on the mountain to dismantle the statue. It's your choice to take them along or not. It's your choice to give them any equipment to dismantle the statue, because right now they only have daggers. It would also help if you give me a marching order in case there are any encounters mid-journey.

Rolls: Lady Luck

Initiative

Character

AC

HP

Hands

Status

Action

Position

Character	AC	HP	PP	PI	Movement	Conditions	Resources
Arrogaio Deveste	20/18	28/28	15	12	30'	-	wip
Briggs Ravenpike	17/16	29/29	9	15	30'	-	wip
Cha-kra	20/16	16/16	13	14	30'	-	wip
Snap Kick	17	29/29	13	11	40'	-	wip
Rhazor Blackhand	15	29/33	18	20	30'	-	wip
Duha	11	1/1	18/13	6	5' / 60' (fly)	-	-

Yoshimi · #**255** Apr 17th, 2023, 07:07 PM

Snap Kick

Snap Kick squawks when he sees the basins, and his eyes nearly pop out of his head. He proclaims in a gruff voice, "For too long I've been parched of thirst and unable to quench it. Too long I've been starvin' to death, and haven't died!" Then he leaps straight up, lands on his feet, and zips over to the water.

The raven man dips his beak repeatedly into the basin before him, then tilts back his head and lets the water run down his throat. When he is finished at last, he refills his water skin, then turns to salute Arrogaio. He shouts, "I've had it with these @#!% snakes on this @#!% plane!" somehow managing to articulate a series of unintelligible symbols.

Are you confused and wondering what is going on here? Check out this YouTube video to get the scoop.

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