Against the cult: the Forest Ruin (1.5)

load previous
Mar 31, 2024 12:02 am
OOC:
He can't see anything himself - it's blindingly bright. If Aanbo wishes, he can climb up onto the table and feel the stone to detect the correct place to crack off one of the globes. If so, roll an INT (Insight) check, with ADV from Kragga's aid (and doubling the proficiency bonus for the dwarf's Stonecunning). The result will determine whether you get one or both Continual Light globes successfully.
Mar 31, 2024 7:31 am
"You're looking stumped! Need any help from me?" Xana looks over at Kragga and Aanbo. She can tell they're planning something. They've both got one of those thinking looks on their faces.
Mar 31, 2024 4:25 pm
Not being able to see from the ground, Aanbo tests the stability of the table before climbing up to get a better look. "Anyone have a bedroll or a blanket? Maybe we can cover the light for a bit."

He feels the stone for a good location to separate the globe from the wall.

Rolls

Insight (INT) (Advantage) (Prof Bonus) - (2d20H1+5)

(173) + 5 = 22

Apr 1, 2024 1:44 am
The old stone speaks its secrets to Aanbo through his fingers, and he is able to feel exactly where to strike with the pommel of his dagger - crack! crack! crack! - at five points around the rock stalk supporting the globes. They drop easily into his hands.

The party now has two globes that shed light as bright as the sun 30'. Each one is one pace boot across and is surprisingly light, weighing only 25 pounds. You'll need to decide what you will do with them, and with the antidote mixture that has cured in the silver bowl. At some point, Joseph extinguished his candle, and has slid the silver candlestick into his bag.
Apr 1, 2024 1:58 am
"I'd like to hold onto one of these globes for a bit longer," says Aanbo, leaving the second to the others to decide. "If nobody minds, I'd like to make additional doses of this antidote, especially since we have an abundant supply of ingredients. Please call for me if you need me."

The monk will first look for more containers to hold the mixture, venturing into the kitchen if need be.
OOC:
Not sure how much I could make given the supply, but I'd like to try for as much as our time and resources might allow.

Len

Apr 1, 2024 5:42 am
Kragga hefts the second sphere. Though not heavy for a stone of this size (perhaps it is hollow?), it is still not lightweight. Thus, because he is the strongest, even above Ogbar, he volunteers to take it.

"I can haul this out of here. Quite a find!" Kragga will put the orb in his backpack, rearranging everything to fit. He can't help but think of this as a good omen, a positive sign that he was indeed meant for this kind of mission, as the priests had foretold.
OOC:
So, the orbs are basically the size of a basketball?
Last edited April 1, 2024 4:41 pm
Apr 1, 2024 3:24 pm
Len says:
So, the orbs are basically the size of a basketball?
OOC:
You know, that makes a lot more sense than what I described; I'm revising the description to say that the orbs are about a boot across. I was forgetting how long the original measurement, a pace, is. If the globes were a pace across, they wouldn't be able to fit in a pack! A boot is much better; I'll amend the previous description.
Apr 1, 2024 3:34 pm
Using the Continual Light orb he retrieved, Aanbo can craft more of the mixture for as long as he wants and the party remains in the ruin. The first batch of mixture is apparently ready to use. After completing the translation/inscription work, Kragga hands the completed letter to Theran and then rearranges his pack to fit the other glowing orb. Xana asks whether they want any help. Theran has the completed letter. Tired of his fruitless daydreaming about the chieftain's daughter, Ogbar approaches Albertus: "I'm tired of all this study. I want to do something. What about you? Would you like to try to get into the room on the first floor, or see what's down the stairs from the kitchen?"
Until he's specifically called out to help with something, Joseph occupies himself by counting the exact amount of coins in the strongbox.

Len

Apr 1, 2024 10:18 pm
Quote:
You know, that makes a lot more sense than what I described; I'm revising the description to say that the orbs are about a boot across. I was forgetting how long the original measurement, a pace, is. If the globes were a pace across, they wouldn't be able to fit in a pack! A boot is much better; I'll amend the previous description.
OOC:
No worries! I googled what a 'pace' was, and there were a lot of different answers, but the average was about 30", which is pretty much the diameter of an NBA regulation basketball (29.5"). Just wanted to make sure I am on the same page with you.

I appreciate that you're trying to use units of measure that conform to the time period. Nobody would know what a basketball is, for example!
Apr 1, 2024 10:22 pm
Quote:
Ogbar approaches Albertus: "I'm tired of all this study. I want to do something. What about you? Would you like to try to get into the room on the first floor, or see what's down the stairs from the kitchen?"
OOC:
I see that WhiteDwarf is away for another 48 hours or so (according to the absence thread), so I'll answer the question.
Kragga steps in. "Very well, Ogbar. Let's go see what is below the kitchen. Since it's excitement you're looking for, I invite you to go first down the stairs."
Apr 2, 2024 1:12 am
Len says:
I googled what a 'pace' was, and there were a lot of different answers, but the average was about 30", which is pretty much the diameter of an NBA regulation basketball (29.5"). Just wanted to make sure I am on the same page with you.

OOC:
Heh. That pretty tidily matches what is written up in our world book thread for the distance of a pace, at least for a size M creature. I'm tickled to learn that my game-invented term has some resemblance to historical measurements!

Although I should note that the measurement I was talking about was the diameter, not the circumference. An NBA basketball is a bit under 10" in diameter.
Apr 2, 2024 3:44 am
Ogbar
Ogbar leads the way eagerly into the meditation room and down the stairs into the kitchen again, pushing eagerly at the edge of the darkness beaten back by the light. The wizard and the paladin follow more cautiously. The northman hesitates for a moment at the top of the stairs, setting a foot on the top step then withdrawing to wait for a wall of spikes to emerge from the wall. Seeing that no such trap is triggered, he tightens his grip on his axe, flashes a wild-eyed grin at his companions, and proceeds boldly down into the depths ahead of the others.
OOC:
Someone has to provide illumination. Is Kragga holding the globe or a torch, or are the three proceeding in the light of Albertus' torch?
Apr 2, 2024 2:23 pm
Theran positions the letters together (offset a bit) in a conspicuous location the man should easily see upon waking before placing something with a bit of weight to hold them. Not knowing what else can be done, he will ask Joseph to relock the door to the man's room before heading off to find the others.
Apr 2, 2024 5:17 pm
Albertus attempts to hold his torch out for kind companions to benefit from its light.
Stay close friends, I will do my best to light the way.
Apr 2, 2024 9:25 pm
MaJunior says:
Theran positions the letters together (offset a bit) in a conspicuous location the man should easily see upon waking before placing something with a bit of weight to hold them. Not knowing what else can be done, he will ask Joseph to relock the door to the man's room before heading off to find the others.
Finished with his task, Theran calls Joseph out of the office (where he was counting coins) into the hallway. With the door to the conservatory open, Xana and Aanbo can hear this conversation, too. Joseph points out that there wasn't a lock on the door, just a trap. "I can flip the switch to re-engage the spear trap if you want," the halfling shrugs, "Or you can. The switch is right here." He shows the previously-hidden switch and demonstrates how to activate and deactivate the trap (no roll needed). "We can set it to active again, if we're going to leave him here to wake up on his own at some point in the future. The traps were to protect the sleepers, after all." He frowns. "It only just occurred to me that there isn't a switch for the trap on the inside of the room. Maybe I missed it? Or maybe the old man can just remove the spear from the wall somehow? Or maybe the expectation was that others would wake first, and go around deactivating the traps before the others awoke?"
OOC:
Which group of people will Theran join: the people in the conservatory, making more mixtures (Aanbo & Xana), or the three headed into the basement (Albertus, Kragga, & Ogbar)?
Apr 2, 2024 9:40 pm
[ +- ] Forest Ruin basement
With torch in hand, Albertus proceeds down the stairs after Ogbar, followed by Kragga. The clear floor of the kitchen gives way to stone steps leading down into progressively thicker layers of dust. As they walk, they stir up the dust and smell the rich, cloying aroma of mildew and other fungus. The stairs open into a cellar tiled with stone. Blackened with age, wooden boxes and barrels are piled high in the corners. A doorway into another room to the south is blocked by a closed and rusted iron portcullis. A chain emerging from a hole in the wall by the portcullis is wound around a winch by the doorway.
Apr 3, 2024 11:15 pm
Al examines the portcullis and then the winch. He tries drawing upon soldierly expertise, to gauge how sturdy the operation is, given the extent of rust and age.
Apr 3, 2024 11:44 pm
The portcullis and chain are both lightly corroded, suggesting that there is some amount of moisture in the air (also supported by the darkening of the wooden boxes and barrels stacked throughout the cellar room). But only a bit of moisture; they otherwise seem sturdy enough. The anchoring of the winch seems quite solid, as are both the chain and the gate. Shining the torch through the iron grid of the portcullis, Albertus can see some of the the room beyond: sturdy tables covered with dusty shapes that might be tools or weapons, what is definitely an anvil, and a dark wooden door on the left/east wall. So far, Kragga has hung back by the stairs, and Ogbar has ventured into the center of the room, wary (yet half-hoping) lest something jump out at them.
[ +- ] Forest Ruin Cellar
Albertus, looking at the rusty metal, can roll a WIS Insight check. Aside from that, what is everyone doing?
Apr 4, 2024 12:18 am
Aanbo continues the creation of sleeping antidotes, though he keeps a eye on any call or signal that might indicate his companions need assistance.

The monk considers actually leaving behind his Continual Light stone, suddenly remorseful of how its absence will cause the conservatory to perish. He looks to see if there's a different location for it to be hung so that it can provide at least half of the original capacity.
Apr 4, 2024 12:46 am
OOC:
Rolling.

Rolls

Insight - (1d20+3)

(8) + 3 = 11

load next

Thread locked