Urixes scowls at the barricade, and the lights, and just sort of everything. Not one for feats of raw strength when he can avoid it, he fires a blast of force at the wood, then scowls back at the lights. Perhaps there's some foul magic at play here...
Geth, roll 1d20+5 for Eldritch Blast
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Arcana Check
The Arno-Spider scales the side of the walls overhead here and practically disappears into a nook in the ceiling, watching warily to the North. They’re almost impossible to make out amongst the jagged rock, even to those who just watched them run up the wall and nestle…
The rest of the Wild Bunch, all here convinced the lights bearing down on them are probably malevolent, begin to *hack and tear* at the wooden barricade, ripping it to pieces with a combination of strength and Urixes’s magical might. The roughly assembled lumber and rope is soon destroyed, and drops into the water; is swept away into the wash, and the next room…
The group can now see why someone would’ve boarded up this place. Directly on the other side of the barricade, a *MASSIVE* black sinkhole in the Earth is greedily sucking in water: both from a tear in the Earth above, and the water from beneath your feet. The entire room here is every inch awash with dripping wet, either coursing or slick (although you can *just* make out, about forty feet from where you now stand, the other side of the tunnel, and safety).
The Dancing Lanterns, feeling the nearby disturbance in the water and sensing it’s prey trying to escape, now decides to stop playing coy: emerging fully, it *ZIPS*across the water towards you all in the water, faster than you would’ve thought possible…
[CURRENT MAP-]
OOC: There is an absolutely *MASSIVE* Whirpool/Overhead Falls/Sinkhole ahead of you in the next room to the South. Traversing it will be *incredibly* Dangerous, and require a Dexterity Check (DC 17) to get across safely. However, after the first person safely gets across, they can leave a rope for the others to follow on, reducing the challenge for those who come after (Dex Check (DC 13)). WARNING: Failure here may be game-changing.
The Dire Anglerfish is bearing down on your group at 50 ft. per turn in the water. He’ll close the distance next turn and be upon you all. Any Dexterity Check made to cross the Whirpool with the Anglerfish directly at your back ( ie within 10 ft) will be made with Disadvantage
There is also the strong current to contend with, which will push everyone (except Arno currently on the ceiling, and the other side of the Whirpool room) and their craft 5 ft. towards the Whirpool *EVERY* turn you’re in the water.
Arno sees the mighty Dire Angler, it being not what was expected at all. Why couldn't it just be a group of kobolds with candles on their heads instead?
But, while the whirlpool and falls are dangerous, Arno's sticky feet may make the journey far easier. Waving pedipalps now, Arno hopes the wild bunch understands the "throw me the rope" gesture being made.
would my wall crawling let me skip the dex check, or grant advantage? Or possibly neither, I don't know how slippery your making the side walls.
OOC: *VERY* slippery. How about this: Arno will get Advantage if they want to try to head over the Whirlpool first, but if they fail both DC 17s- *straight* down into the Sinkhole in Spider-form, and they immediately disappear
Jack watches the barricade remains circle and disappear into the sinkhole, taking a step back. Noooooope. He turns around and eyes the Anglerfish. All bad options.
"Um. Any ideas? I'd almost prefer fighting that thing over a dip in the death hole over there..." He watches the spider do a little dance and, after an especially frustrated waggle, finally catches on.
"Oh, sorry Arno, here..." He digs out his rope and throws the coils up to the large spiderform, still holding one end, "Should we tie this end here first, give you a way back up? You know, in case you..." He gestures a diver leaping into a pool with his hand.
Oak sees the large fish charging towards them, and turns to the room that they just uncovered. The swirling drain in it gives him pause, and before he can act, Arno's spider form climbs in trying to scale the walls. Oak can only look on in horror as Arno plummets into the whirlpool. "Arno! Damnit!"
Oak pushes past the others into the opening, searching for any sign of the spider in the whirlpool, but Arno looks to have disappeared completely. Acting quickly, knowing the creature was bearing down on them, Oak grabs a rope from his pack and secures it in the rocks on this side, then attempts to cross over the whirlpool, dragging himself along the walls as quickly but carefully as he can.
OOC:Dang. I was going to suggest Oak try the whirlpool first, but didn't reload the page in time... We'll build an Arno spider shrine.
Edit: Geth has decided this hole isn't to be crossed.....
Jack's expression is hard to read as he watches Arno fall, followed shortly by a plummeting Oak. He slowly turns to look at Urixes and just lifts an eyebrow expectantly. You next?
"I..." Urixes falters as he looks from Jack back to the whirlpool, then to the approaching monster, then back to Jack. "I thought we were all going to make it this time. I don't ... what do you think? Fight or dive?"
Looks at the whirlpool. Looks at the monster. Back at Urixes, with a bemused expression, "You know, I always wanted to do this." He steps to the edge and turns around, watching the approaching monster for a moment before grinning, flipping his helm mask down and trustfalling into the abyss with a whoop.
A smirk breaks through Urixes' trademark scowl, and he wonders if this might just be the shortest cycle yet. But as soon as the smirk comes it's gone, wiped away with a sudden concern for Strike and his part in this journey. "I don't know why, but I have to follow them. First let's see if I can't get you across. If I don't make it, my friend, know that I believe in what you're doing and I hope you can make it the rest of the way."
With rope in tow, Urixes begins the perilous crossing. Just as he begins, he turns back to Strike with another smirk. "I'll be back."
Strike holds onto the rope as long as he can stand, until his arms finally begin to strain and shake under the pull of the water. Suddenly jerked down onto his knees, he is *WRENCHED* forward with Urixes into the Whirling Sinkhole, down with the rest of the Wild Bunch….
Each member of the crew experiences a different descent down the sinkhole, but they all experience things in common: the journey batters and bruises your body, *destroys* your craft. It feels like forever that you fall, underwater and having the current forced into your mouth and eyes. Eventually, most of you black-out…
[ You may wake suddenly to see visions of a large lake, and a beautiful morning sunset over the water. Familiar trees lay at the edge of your vision. You all smell a strange but familiar clove smoke, and feel reptilian hands checking, and then moving you…after attending to some of your wounds first… ]
When the Wild Bunch awakens, one-by-one, they find themselves inside of a small, dark, and dusty cavern. The light in this room comes from a single candle near the door. Everyone has been stripped of their valuables and left with nothing to their person. Each cage is made mainly of a strong animal bone and steel composite, built into the wall, and has as an only exit a hearty, steel door. Each cage the Wild Bunch finds themselves inside of is built for their particular size and build: a large, almost mesh cage, the wires glowing with a blue magical charge for Arno; a large Wolf run of Steel for Jack, and a similar one for Strike ; a larger, heartier cage, made of much thicker steel to contain Oak ; and a normal sized human cell, magically charged to contain Urixes.
Guarding the staircase and door leading out of this place are familiar faces: Victor and Gary*, holding redstone tipped spears and watching the cages. As you all come to, you notice some familiar faces inside the other cages the Wild Bunch *DOESN’T* currently occupy…
[ This underground room contains steel-reinforced bone cages containing the entire Wild Bunch, *in addition to*: Rax the Ragged, Shin (Kitsune), Fiver (Lapine), Ril (Aarakorra), Bluuurg (Grung), An unknown, Quiet and Rather Dingy Looking Human Male. Rax's group are mostly asleep save Rax; currently awake and nursing a missing hand. ]
* [ARNO]
But not Victor and Gary anymore: the Chameleons are now wearing them, and *NOT* doing the best job of it...
Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Jack is lying on his back and awakens to something fiercly biting his ear, drawing blood. He blinks awake and rolls his head to the side, to much protest from the wet and ragged little griffon that'd been hiding under the arch of his neck and hair scruff. "Wassum...?"
He blinks, slowly regaining his senses. Limb wiggle. Not entangled in clothes, must not have been knocked out too long... Memories flooding back he stops moving, taking in his surroundings with his senses first, getting a good sniff of the air around them.
Rax? Well there goes that theory. Not sensing anyone not a prisoner he sits up and gets a better look around, not interested in talking to the non-Bunch just yet. While he was hoping they would survive that drop he did not expect to end up in a cage all the same. He gently taps Fusspot's beak to keep him quiet. That is, Fusspot bites him and muzzles himself with the fingertip.
Oak sits quietly by a large lake, a strange sense of calm completely overwhelming him. For the first time he can remember, he doesn't feel any small sliver of anger inside of him straining to build or break out. He takes a deep breath, smelling clove smoke and stares out into a sunset. For once, his life is just peace.
It shatters quickly, as his eyes open and he forces himself to sit up. He aches, and feels drained, and as he blinks to clear his eyes, he sees the cage. That familiar feeling of rage builds up immediately, telling him this was all real, as his hands wrapped themselves around thick bars. Oak looks around to check on everyone else, seeing the rest of the Wild Bunch, plus Rax and others, but says nothing. He would observe for now, and hope that something slips him out of these bars, to give him a chance to free the rest.
Arno shakes off the cobwebs (but oddly, not literally, weren't they just in spider form) and gets their bearings.
"Hi cuz, how's it going? See you've got these cages pretty personalized, been working on this for a while?" Arno touches the glowing bars of the cage. "I'd call you Vic and Gary, but we both know that's not who you are." Arno changes to kitsune and orc "Harder to trick a trickster. Or have you been in the Vic and Gary skin for a long time, and just dropped the act for now? Either way, would like to address you properly. I'm Arno, one of the wild bunch, and you are?"
Should the Chameleons be unresponsive, or leave us alone for a bit:
Arno turns to Rax "Hey Rax, just wanted to let you know, no hard feelings. You're not the first person to try and kill me, but I'm willing to call truce if you are. Maybe we can help each other? And don't you dare say something downbeat like 'there is no escape' because that is quitter talk. Lets try and be optimistic, maybe starting with if you know anything about these magic cages."
OOC: Anything happen when I touch a bar? Is this small enough that being an actual mouse would still be too tight?
((OOC: I'll second and inverse the question for Jack's cage. Could it hold him if he were bigger? I don't know if it's feral wolf sized and/or how strong the steel mesh is, but I don't exactly want to extrude him like a salami ))
Not-Victor chuckles at Arno. He walks up to your cage and peers over to get a better look at you. “…Well, you’re even more charming in person, aren’t you! Didn’t I tell you Arno’d be charming in person?” Not-Gary nods along agreeably.
“…so, introductions! I’m Dikku,, this right here is Kiko. You’ve probably seen us…around, or at least Arno here has! Ha! And, I know what you’re thinking about the whole,” Not-Victor waves a hand over his face, and then smiles good naturedly. “But, telling the *ABSOLUTE* truth, we just found these guys, didn’t we Kiko?”
“Bashed down the side of a cliff,” Kiko wearing Gary says, almost sadly.
“Right, fell two hundred feet to their deaths in the forest few nights ago…running point in the dark for this bunch of charmers,” Dikku accusingly nods towards Rax and the Fox Gang. “Not that we didn’t appreciate the donation, of course…*damn hard* to come by Humans out here.”
“Been *FOREVER*,” says Kiko longingly.
Dikku walks up to the cage containing Strike, and gives it a few bangs with the back of his spear. “You’re the Rak’Ta on a Vision Quest, ya? You all understand…we been listening in when we can, so we get the gist of this…listen, if you want, Rak’Ta, you can just go.”
Strike sits back and blinks, confused. “…Jussst…go?”
“Yeah man, your island too, right? We try to watch out for our own when we can, you know? We can give you a guide to the Dark Glen and *everything*, if you’d like.”
Strike stares ahead, slightly baffled. Finally, he looks around at the Wild Bunch in their cages. “And…my friendsss? Our zings? And…the Red Ssskull…?”
Dikku tuts and shakes Not-Victor’s head. “Nah, man, your friends gotta stay…She wants to see em’. Wants the Red Skull, too. We’re getting a pretty good deal on it….” Kiko hushes him, and Dikku quickly changes the subject.
"Zen...*I* will ssssstay," says Strike defiantly, after a beat. Not-Victor shrugs: makes no difference to him.
“Ugh, and since you all know anyways, might as well take these off…it gets impossible to breathe in them for too long, and we’ll have to put them on later when we bring you to the Lady of the Woods…” with the closing of their eyes, the Victor and Gary in front of you have their features and shapes contort in strange and awful ways, and suddenly two Lizardfolk-Chameleons stand in their place. The Chameleons stretch out in their original forms and take some space from the group, gathering up next to the exit with their spears to talk in private.
Rax stops licking at his stump for a second and listens up when Arno speaks. He pretends to ignore you in a *HUFF* at first. However, about twenty minutes later, as the Chameleons begin a hissed conversation, he comes up to the bars and leans out, pretending to stare into space. He speaks in a hush only the people in the cages can hear:
“…Zat’s what I like about you, Arno…you can alwaysss keep an open mind. Alright zen. *FUCK* it. Until we get out of here: free ourselves, and recover the Red Sssskull, let’sss call it a truce.” Rax looks over at the assorted members of the Fox Gang, who take a moment and then nod in a quiet agreement.
Shin the Fox sees Arno go to grasp the bar. “…I wouldn’t bother with that, if I were you. Bluurg tried ta’ lick one for about an hour earlier, and all it did was about stripped his damn tongue out of his head. Whatever they’ve got going through here is some kinda…anti..?”
“Anti-magic,” Fiver the Rabbit confirms. “Looks like they built these cages for damn near every size and kind of thing, magic or otherwise. Even the doors, if you look, don’t have proper handles. They use those red-tipped spears to magically *pop em’* from the other side, for the meals.”
Shin the Fox snorts, “*YEAH*, but they bring in about twelve more guards when they do meals, spears pointed like they’re daring us to bolt.”
Ril the Aarakorra chirps up,. “And if you manage to get out, where will you go? This bunker clearly lies within the tunnels the Chameleons use to shortcut around the woods…you’re as likely to die in the dark, or end up lost fifty miles across the wood, as have them hunt you down and bring you back again.”
Rax’s throat rumbles, and he seems reticent. He finally contributes his thoughts, “…Thessse cagessss were built for Animalssss. Za Chameleonsss have two main tradessss: za spy trade, out in za Expanssse, and za Animal trade…here. Zey keep za Animalsss here before drugging zem, and bringing zem to za Keeper.” Strike perks up at the mention of the Keeper. Rax notices, and laughs evilly. “ But zat’sss not where zere bringing *US*, though, Softskin!”
Shin the Fox nods and continues the story, having already heard this part. “…right, so there’s some kinda war on out here in the wood right now… see, usually, the Elwood works with the Chameleons getting the run of the rivers and woods, and the goblin-folk getting the run of the dark woods and the swamps. Apparently, it’s worked out fine for…fer’fucking *EVER*, really. Now, some She-Witch popped up few years ago here and setup camp near the Dark Glen…started stealing Wargs from the Goblins….Chameleons let it be, because live and let die, right? Well, eventually she catches and breeds enough Wargs that she turns them against the Chameleons, and not only that? She uses em’ to buy off the Giants that roam these parts, get em’ to hunt the Chameleons and the Goblins and whatever strangers they can bring her.”
“She’s looking fer’…” Fiver the Rabbit cuts in, before Rax shuts him up with a death glare.
“…anyway, the Chameleons are bringing us to the Witch tonight. They’ll serve us one more meal here in a bit…then according to Rax here, they’ll drug us up with something nice and potent…handcuff, and march us up there. We *SEEN* the cuffs. We overheard, they’re buying some kind of truce of their own from the Witch, by handing us all over with our shit. Not sure what the truce gets the Chameleons…I mean, you’d think the Keeper would care more, having their people fucked with…”
“Demonsss don’t give a ssshit,” Rax intones bitterly.
OOC: Touching the bar does nothing, but Arno and Urixes’s cages both contain anti-magic fields. Everyone’s cage is rough but heavy-duty, specially built for a different size and strength of animal: if Jack grew much bigger, it would be highly uncomfortable for him. Arno's mesh cage is specifically built to hold a Changer. The steel doors contain a charm which only opens when touched by one of the red-tipped spears the Chameleon guards wield. As Shin the Fox described, you will soon be served a meal, followed by them drugging you, handcuffing you, and marching you to the Lady of the Wood.
Jack shakes his head, "Another hag? Great..." He touches the bars, gives one an experimental pull, however he's not exactly the muscle in the group and predictably it gets him nowhere. He scoops up Mister Fusspot into his shirt and pets the little monster to keep him calm.
"I don't suppose refusing to eat is an option? I mean, I am hungry, but..." He's always hungy. Looking around he spots Oak and walks to that side of his cage, "Hey big guy, can you break out of yours? It'd be a really useful trick right about now!" He begins pacing from one side of his cage to the other, over and over.
Oak turns his head towards Jack, and slams his fist into the thick steel bars, causing them to reverberate a little, ignoring the pain it causes.
"No."
Internally, he's torn. He should have been the one to attempt the whirlpool first, and then maybe none of the rest would have followed him down it. Once both he and Arno dropped, they probably didn't feel like they had a choice. Along with that, he doesn't like Rax, so is having a hard time with the prospect of any sort of alliance, even in these situations. Finally, there was this Witch to deal with. He didn't have a plan for that, and so when the time came, he was going to have to try and improvise.
"Hmm," Urixes grunts, peering around the room. "It seems there's little to do other than wait. Our captors were thorough."
While the others talk their way through the problem Urixes scowls at everything, looking for weaknesses, clues, anything the chameleons might have been careless about...
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Arcana Check
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Investigation Check
Sorry for the delay- I promise you guys didn't break the game (just...moved bits of the plot around I wasn't quite expecting, so I'm adjusting for something which I think will end up being even better) The issue these last two days has been having any time to adjust it, as it competes with, in the following order: roofers working directly overhead and outside, plumbing issue in the basement, kids last week of remote school before break (and them making it a living nightmare), dog being stuck inside because of roofers, holiday decorating, kids remote holiday parties, and kids or dog in my lap/ear the odd moment I've managed to get to the computer. The update is nearly finished and should be up soon- thank you all for your patience!
[Arcana- You recognize the Anti-Magic Cages and the Red-Tipped Spears are two *INCREDIBLY* strong, but nearly opposing types of Magic: the Cage a very Powerful Wizardry, and the Spears crafted by a very Dark Sorcery. The fact that the Chameleons possess them both, and somehow manage to wield and use them in tandem, points to a deep knowledge of Magic on their part, and a possible suggestion of powerful allies.]
[Investigation- This underground, bare room bunker has zero of interest in it except for the cages, the single candle lighting the place, and the door. But then, there *IS* the door itself: it’s of the “giant sliding barn” variety in order to let Enormous Creatures though. That suggests, just behind it in the catacombs Ril the Aarakorra was worried about, there are at least a few *GIANT* tunnels which would have to lead to the surface to get them down here in the first place.
Urixes also can see where the two jailers have secured multiple sets of handcuffs at their sides, which are the same blood-red (and channeling the same dark sorcery) as their spears. The handcuffs, similar to the cages, don’t have keyholes: it could be safely assumed the Chameleon-folk have a similar method to unlock them, but you’re not sure what…]
Caged, you all sit in the near dark, just…waiting. The hours stretch out until it feels like you’ve been sitting in this room *FORVER*. The only event which seems to break up the doldrums momentarily is when the ground overhead suddenly begins to shake for about fifteen minutes. You look at each other, somewhat confused: these are far from the full-body island quakes you've become almost used to by now. It sounded like marching overhead… you can see even Dikku and Kiko turn to each other nervously, converse quietly between themselves. Rax seems to find something funny; he's laughing meanly right now...
It’s hard to tell underground and bored, but it’s another hour before the door finally slides open and more Chameleon-folk arrive…nine in total, each armed with a red spear. One carries a box which he places on the ground and begins to unpack: he pulls out several raw leaf wraps, tightly tucked and the contents hidden; a giant jug of what looks like water; and a pouch of what look like sticky, coated beans.
The Chameleon-folk are engaged in a quietly heated discussion. Dikku and Kiko seem to be angry and accusatory at the newcomers, and then suddenly somber and questioning. Then, they all seem to come to a sort of rough consensus: your jailers Dikku and Kiko, performing the same hard-to-watch transformation you’d seen earlier (but in reverse) walk over to the cages as Victor and Gary, spears clutched defensively and looking dead serious this time.
“Alright, here’s how it’s gonna work,” says Kiko-as-Gary, pointing the spear menacingly at each of you. “We’re gonna pop the cages, one at a time. You’re gonna step out, one at a time. You will be given a wrap of rice and proteins, which we *SUGGEST* you eat. You are then to place your hands directly behind your back, where they will be secured with *THESE*,” Not-Gary pulls out a pair of the handcuffs to show you all, waving them slowly in front of all the cages. “…which I *SUGGEST* you don’t try to take off, or magic your way out of. But, just in case you *DO* get any ideas, we’ll be administering you one of these,” he holds up one of the sticky coated beans between two fingers. “We call them Crocodile Tear’s. Once you rinse one of these bad boys down, we’ll be taking a little hike to see a Lady…”
“A fast hike,” Dikku reminds him, looking nervous and in a hurry. “Gonna need to be more like a run.”
“PRISONER, STEP FORWARD” Spears raise and the steel gate clangs open for the first of you…
OOC:When you’re ready, one at a time the Wild Bunch and then the Fox Gang will be asked to leave their cage as a group of 11 Chameleon-folk with spears (one for each prisoner, but less than the dozen you’d expected) watch over you- it would be ill advised to fight them here (your gear is currently nowhere to be seen right now). You can choose whether or not to eat the Raw Leaf Wrap provided. You *CAN’T* Choose whether or not to swallow the Crocodile Tear’s, but you do have some options: you can try to “cheek” the hallucinogenic bean in the side of your mouth hidden, to be spit out later when no one’s looking (Stealth- Dexterity Check DC 14), *OR* you can take a deep breath and swallow it, seeing if you can hold it down long enough to spit out later when no one’s looking without it effecting you too badly (Constitution Check DC 14).
You may also choose to subtly observe the Chameleons as you eat or are cuffed (Investigation Check). They even seem distracted enough right now that, if you’re brave, you might attempt to accidentally bump into one of them, and see if you can’t make a grab at the loose pouches which hang in and around their hefty, laden belts…but you’d better not let them catch you at it (Sleight-of-Hand –Dexterity Check DC 16)
Oak steps out of the opened cage, hands not moving much from his sides. He isn't about to challenge this group, he's fighting the burning ember inside of him that is angry at himself for letting the group down. He takes the wrap from the guard handing them out, eating it quickly. The wrap gone, he puts his hands behind his back and waits for them to secure the bindings.
Finally, he waits for the tear to be held out, opening his mouth and staring at the guard with a scowl as they put it into his mouth. He swallows it quickly, planning to hold it as long as he can, until he can lose their attention and try to hack it back up. He isn't ready to start trouble, but he moves to the side as they move on to the next member of the group, his eyes carefully watching his companions for any sign of trouble.
OOC: You can do an Investigation Check on the guards in addition to attempting to not get drugged, in case I wasn't clear on that! You could even attempt to cheek a pill, investigate, and attempt to pickpocket the guard all at once, but the first person to get caught trying to lift something shuts the opportunity down for everyone else
((Well I won't pass up an opportunity for Urixes to peer at someone or something, so I'll throw in an investigation check. I'm not feeling brave enough for a pickpocket attempt though.))
[Your jailers seem to have expected their fellows to have brought a much larger force along. Most of the newcomers to the room are battered and a few are bleeding: these guys got into a fight on the way here.]
Jack is uncharacteristically quiet as the conversation happens, surreptitiously sneaking Fusspot into his shirt. Thankfully he doesn't have much of a frame and it hangs on him pretty loosely.
He shugs at the proferred food and swallows it down hungrily, looking more wary about the 'tear before swallowing it down and hoping he can hack it up later, keeping an eye on their guards as he does.
Then, feeling resentful at their treatment, he elbows a guard and makes a snatch at one of the pouches, "Whoops! Sorry mate, didn't see you there."
Geth, roll 1d20 for Investigation
Geth, roll 1d20+3 for Constitution Check
Geth, roll 1d20+3 for Sleight of Hand
((OOC: Unless that Investigation DC is pretty low I think I've failed all of mine 8-) ))
[Each of the Chameleons (in their natural forms) wears a sort of patchwork boiled leather armor built into a belt of leather pouches. The armors are highly unique to the individual, to the point that each was likely made by the wearer, but all have one thing in common: a small steel canister, (highly out of place among the natural armor, but nondescript enough to go unnoticed), looped loosely within leather strips into the center of the belt.]
The Guard puts the tip of the spear to Jack's neck nearly hard enough to draw blood. He pulls Jack's head up so the two of them are making eye contact. "Let's make one thing clear," Dikku says, walking over and taking in the situation. "The Lady of the Wood said to bring you in alive- she didn't say anything about *HOW* alive. One of you push it again, any of you and you'll find yourself at the end of our patience..."
[ The Guards are back on high alert for Monkey Business]
Arno decides to eat. Eat and talk. "You know, your in such a hurry no one would blame you if we weren't securely bound. And then 'oh no they were able to resist the sedative, now they are trying to kill the witch who invaded our territory, who could have foreseen!'. Just something to think about."
Geth roll 1d20+2 for cheek the bean
Geth roll 1d20-1 for investigate
Posts
Geth, roll 1d20+5 for Eldritch Blast
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Arcana Check
The rest of the Wild Bunch, all here convinced the lights bearing down on them are probably malevolent, begin to *hack and tear* at the wooden barricade, ripping it to pieces with a combination of strength and Urixes’s magical might. The roughly assembled lumber and rope is soon destroyed, and drops into the water; is swept away into the wash, and the next room…
The group can now see why someone would’ve boarded up this place. Directly on the other side of the barricade, a *MASSIVE* black sinkhole in the Earth is greedily sucking in water: both from a tear in the Earth above, and the water from beneath your feet. The entire room here is every inch awash with dripping wet, either coursing or slick (although you can *just* make out, about forty feet from where you now stand, the other side of the tunnel, and safety).
The Dancing Lanterns, feeling the nearby disturbance in the water and sensing it’s prey trying to escape, now decides to stop playing coy: emerging fully, it *ZIPS*across the water towards you all in the water, faster than you would’ve thought possible…
[CURRENT MAP-]
OOC: There is an absolutely *MASSIVE* Whirpool/Overhead Falls/Sinkhole ahead of you in the next room to the South. Traversing it will be *incredibly* Dangerous, and require a Dexterity Check (DC 17) to get across safely. However, after the first person safely gets across, they can leave a rope for the others to follow on, reducing the challenge for those who come after (Dex Check (DC 13)). WARNING: Failure here may be game-changing.
The Dire Anglerfish is bearing down on your group at 50 ft. per turn in the water. He’ll close the distance next turn and be upon you all. Any Dexterity Check made to cross the Whirpool with the Anglerfish directly at your back ( ie within 10 ft) will be made with Disadvantage
There is also the strong current to contend with, which will push everyone (except Arno currently on the ceiling, and the other side of the Whirpool room) and their craft 5 ft. towards the Whirpool *EVERY* turn you’re in the water.
But, while the whirlpool and falls are dangerous, Arno's sticky feet may make the journey far easier. Waving pedipalps now, Arno hopes the wild bunch understands the "throw me the rope" gesture being made.
would my wall crawling let me skip the dex check, or grant advantage? Or possibly neither, I don't know how slippery your making the side walls.
"Um. Any ideas? I'd almost prefer fighting that thing over a dip in the death hole over there..." He watches the spider do a little dance and, after an especially frustrated waggle, finally catches on.
"Oh, sorry Arno, here..." He digs out his rope and throws the coils up to the large spiderform, still holding one end, "Should we tie this end here first, give you a way back up? You know, in case you..." He gestures a diver leaping into a pool with his hand.
Geth roll 1d20+3 for doing what a spider can
Geth roll 1d20+3 advantage to not get flushed
Oak pushes past the others into the opening, searching for any sign of the spider in the whirlpool, but Arno looks to have disappeared completely. Acting quickly, knowing the creature was bearing down on them, Oak grabs a rope from his pack and secures it in the rocks on this side, then attempts to cross over the whirlpool, dragging himself along the walls as quickly but carefully as he can.
OOC:Dang. I was going to suggest Oak try the whirlpool first, but didn't reload the page in time... We'll build an Arno spider shrine.
Edit: Geth has decided this hole isn't to be crossed.....
Geth, roll 2d20k1+2 for Don't follow the spider
With rope in tow, Urixes begins the perilous crossing. Just as he begins, he turns back to Strike with another smirk. "I'll be back."
Geth, roll 1d20+2 for Dexterity Check
Each member of the crew experiences a different descent down the sinkhole, but they all experience things in common: the journey batters and bruises your body, *destroys* your craft. It feels like forever that you fall, underwater and having the current forced into your mouth and eyes. Eventually, most of you black-out…
[ You may wake suddenly to see visions of a large lake, and a beautiful morning sunset over the water. Familiar trees lay at the edge of your vision. You all smell a strange but familiar clove smoke, and feel reptilian hands checking, and then moving you…after attending to some of your wounds first… ]
When the Wild Bunch awakens, one-by-one, they find themselves inside of a small, dark, and dusty cavern. The light in this room comes from a single candle near the door. Everyone has been stripped of their valuables and left with nothing to their person. Each cage is made mainly of a strong animal bone and steel composite, built into the wall, and has as an only exit a hearty, steel door. Each cage the Wild Bunch finds themselves inside of is built for their particular size and build: a large, almost mesh cage, the wires glowing with a blue magical charge for Arno; a large Wolf run of Steel for Jack, and a similar one for Strike ; a larger, heartier cage, made of much thicker steel to contain Oak ; and a normal sized human cell, magically charged to contain Urixes.
Guarding the staircase and door leading out of this place are familiar faces: Victor and Gary*, holding redstone tipped spears and watching the cages. As you all come to, you notice some familiar faces inside the other cages the Wild Bunch *DOESN’T* currently occupy…
[ This underground room contains steel-reinforced bone cages containing the entire Wild Bunch, *in addition to*: Rax the Ragged, Shin (Kitsune), Fiver (Lapine), Ril (Aarakorra), Bluuurg (Grung), An unknown, Quiet and Rather Dingy Looking Human Male. Rax's group are mostly asleep save Rax; currently awake and nursing a missing hand. ]
* [ARNO]
Which means, well done mrpaku! Whatever the answer is, I'm thoroughly impressed!
He blinks, slowly regaining his senses. Limb wiggle. Not entangled in clothes, must not have been knocked out too long... Memories flooding back he stops moving, taking in his surroundings with his senses first, getting a good sniff of the air around them.
Rax? Well there goes that theory. Not sensing anyone not a prisoner he sits up and gets a better look around, not interested in talking to the non-Bunch just yet. While he was hoping they would survive that drop he did not expect to end up in a cage all the same. He gently taps Fusspot's beak to keep him quiet. That is, Fusspot bites him and muzzles himself with the fingertip.
It shatters quickly, as his eyes open and he forces himself to sit up. He aches, and feels drained, and as he blinks to clear his eyes, he sees the cage. That familiar feeling of rage builds up immediately, telling him this was all real, as his hands wrapped themselves around thick bars. Oak looks around to check on everyone else, seeing the rest of the Wild Bunch, plus Rax and others, but says nothing. He would observe for now, and hope that something slips him out of these bars, to give him a chance to free the rest.
"Hi cuz, how's it going? See you've got these cages pretty personalized, been working on this for a while?" Arno touches the glowing bars of the cage. "I'd call you Vic and Gary, but we both know that's not who you are." Arno changes to kitsune and orc "Harder to trick a trickster. Or have you been in the Vic and Gary skin for a long time, and just dropped the act for now? Either way, would like to address you properly. I'm Arno, one of the wild bunch, and you are?"
Should the Chameleons be unresponsive, or leave us alone for a bit:
Arno turns to Rax "Hey Rax, just wanted to let you know, no hard feelings. You're not the first person to try and kill me, but I'm willing to call truce if you are. Maybe we can help each other? And don't you dare say something downbeat like 'there is no escape' because that is quitter talk. Lets try and be optimistic, maybe starting with if you know anything about these magic cages."
OOC: Anything happen when I touch a bar? Is this small enough that being an actual mouse would still be too tight?
“…so, introductions! I’m Dikku,, this right here is Kiko. You’ve probably seen us…around, or at least Arno here has! Ha! And, I know what you’re thinking about the whole,” Not-Victor waves a hand over his face, and then smiles good naturedly. “But, telling the *ABSOLUTE* truth, we just found these guys, didn’t we Kiko?”
“Bashed down the side of a cliff,” Kiko wearing Gary says, almost sadly.
“Right, fell two hundred feet to their deaths in the forest few nights ago…running point in the dark for this bunch of charmers,” Dikku accusingly nods towards Rax and the Fox Gang. “Not that we didn’t appreciate the donation, of course…*damn hard* to come by Humans out here.”
“Been *FOREVER*,” says Kiko longingly.
Dikku walks up to the cage containing Strike, and gives it a few bangs with the back of his spear. “You’re the Rak’Ta on a Vision Quest, ya? You all understand…we been listening in when we can, so we get the gist of this…listen, if you want, Rak’Ta, you can just go.”
Strike sits back and blinks, confused. “…Jussst…go?”
“Yeah man, your island too, right? We try to watch out for our own when we can, you know? We can give you a guide to the Dark Glen and *everything*, if you’d like.”
Strike stares ahead, slightly baffled. Finally, he looks around at the Wild Bunch in their cages. “And…my friendsss? Our zings? And…the Red Ssskull…?”
Dikku tuts and shakes Not-Victor’s head. “Nah, man, your friends gotta stay…She wants to see em’. Wants the Red Skull, too. We’re getting a pretty good deal on it….” Kiko hushes him, and Dikku quickly changes the subject.
"Zen...*I* will ssssstay," says Strike defiantly, after a beat. Not-Victor shrugs: makes no difference to him.
“Ugh, and since you all know anyways, might as well take these off…it gets impossible to breathe in them for too long, and we’ll have to put them on later when we bring you to the Lady of the Woods…” with the closing of their eyes, the Victor and Gary in front of you have their features and shapes contort in strange and awful ways, and suddenly two Lizardfolk-Chameleons stand in their place. The Chameleons stretch out in their original forms and take some space from the group, gathering up next to the exit with their spears to talk in private.
Rax stops licking at his stump for a second and listens up when Arno speaks. He pretends to ignore you in a *HUFF* at first. However, about twenty minutes later, as the Chameleons begin a hissed conversation, he comes up to the bars and leans out, pretending to stare into space. He speaks in a hush only the people in the cages can hear:
“…Zat’s what I like about you, Arno…you can alwaysss keep an open mind. Alright zen. *FUCK* it. Until we get out of here: free ourselves, and recover the Red Sssskull, let’sss call it a truce.” Rax looks over at the assorted members of the Fox Gang, who take a moment and then nod in a quiet agreement.
Shin the Fox sees Arno go to grasp the bar. “…I wouldn’t bother with that, if I were you. Bluurg tried ta’ lick one for about an hour earlier, and all it did was about stripped his damn tongue out of his head. Whatever they’ve got going through here is some kinda…anti..?”
“Anti-magic,” Fiver the Rabbit confirms. “Looks like they built these cages for damn near every size and kind of thing, magic or otherwise. Even the doors, if you look, don’t have proper handles. They use those red-tipped spears to magically *pop em’* from the other side, for the meals.”
Shin the Fox snorts, “*YEAH*, but they bring in about twelve more guards when they do meals, spears pointed like they’re daring us to bolt.”
Ril the Aarakorra chirps up,. “And if you manage to get out, where will you go? This bunker clearly lies within the tunnels the Chameleons use to shortcut around the woods…you’re as likely to die in the dark, or end up lost fifty miles across the wood, as have them hunt you down and bring you back again.”
Rax’s throat rumbles, and he seems reticent. He finally contributes his thoughts, “…Thessse cagessss were built for Animalssss. Za Chameleonsss have two main tradessss: za spy trade, out in za Expanssse, and za Animal trade…here. Zey keep za Animalsss here before drugging zem, and bringing zem to za Keeper.” Strike perks up at the mention of the Keeper. Rax notices, and laughs evilly. “ But zat’sss not where zere bringing *US*, though, Softskin!”
Shin the Fox nods and continues the story, having already heard this part. “…right, so there’s some kinda war on out here in the wood right now… see, usually, the Elwood works with the Chameleons getting the run of the rivers and woods, and the goblin-folk getting the run of the dark woods and the swamps. Apparently, it’s worked out fine for…fer’fucking *EVER*, really. Now, some She-Witch popped up few years ago here and setup camp near the Dark Glen…started stealing Wargs from the Goblins….Chameleons let it be, because live and let die, right? Well, eventually she catches and breeds enough Wargs that she turns them against the Chameleons, and not only that? She uses em’ to buy off the Giants that roam these parts, get em’ to hunt the Chameleons and the Goblins and whatever strangers they can bring her.”
“She’s looking fer’…” Fiver the Rabbit cuts in, before Rax shuts him up with a death glare.
“…anyway, the Chameleons are bringing us to the Witch tonight. They’ll serve us one more meal here in a bit…then according to Rax here, they’ll drug us up with something nice and potent…handcuff, and march us up there. We *SEEN* the cuffs. We overheard, they’re buying some kind of truce of their own from the Witch, by handing us all over with our shit. Not sure what the truce gets the Chameleons…I mean, you’d think the Keeper would care more, having their people fucked with…”
“Demonsss don’t give a ssshit,” Rax intones bitterly.
OOC: Touching the bar does nothing, but Arno and Urixes’s cages both contain anti-magic fields. Everyone’s cage is rough but heavy-duty, specially built for a different size and strength of animal: if Jack grew much bigger, it would be highly uncomfortable for him. Arno's mesh cage is specifically built to hold a Changer. The steel doors contain a charm which only opens when touched by one of the red-tipped spears the Chameleon guards wield. As Shin the Fox described, you will soon be served a meal, followed by them drugging you, handcuffing you, and marching you to the Lady of the Wood.
"I don't suppose refusing to eat is an option? I mean, I am hungry, but..." He's always hungy. Looking around he spots Oak and walks to that side of his cage, "Hey big guy, can you break out of yours? It'd be a really useful trick right about now!" He begins pacing from one side of his cage to the other, over and over.
"No."
Internally, he's torn. He should have been the one to attempt the whirlpool first, and then maybe none of the rest would have followed him down it. Once both he and Arno dropped, they probably didn't feel like they had a choice. Along with that, he doesn't like Rax, so is having a hard time with the prospect of any sort of alliance, even in these situations. Finally, there was this Witch to deal with. He didn't have a plan for that, and so when the time came, he was going to have to try and improvise.
While the others talk their way through the problem Urixes scowls at everything, looking for weaknesses, clues, anything the chameleons might have been careless about...
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Arcana Check
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Investigation Check
[Arcana- You recognize the Anti-Magic Cages and the Red-Tipped Spears are two *INCREDIBLY* strong, but nearly opposing types of Magic: the Cage a very Powerful Wizardry, and the Spears crafted by a very Dark Sorcery. The fact that the Chameleons possess them both, and somehow manage to wield and use them in tandem, points to a deep knowledge of Magic on their part, and a possible suggestion of powerful allies.]
[Investigation- This underground, bare room bunker has zero of interest in it except for the cages, the single candle lighting the place, and the door. But then, there *IS* the door itself: it’s of the “giant sliding barn” variety in order to let Enormous Creatures though. That suggests, just behind it in the catacombs Ril the Aarakorra was worried about, there are at least a few *GIANT* tunnels which would have to lead to the surface to get them down here in the first place.
Urixes also can see where the two jailers have secured multiple sets of handcuffs at their sides, which are the same blood-red (and channeling the same dark sorcery) as their spears. The handcuffs, similar to the cages, don’t have keyholes: it could be safely assumed the Chameleon-folk have a similar method to unlock them, but you’re not sure what…]
Caged, you all sit in the near dark, just…waiting. The hours stretch out until it feels like you’ve been sitting in this room *FORVER*. The only event which seems to break up the doldrums momentarily is when the ground overhead suddenly begins to shake for about fifteen minutes. You look at each other, somewhat confused: these are far from the full-body island quakes you've become almost used to by now. It sounded like marching overhead… you can see even Dikku and Kiko turn to each other nervously, converse quietly between themselves. Rax seems to find something funny; he's laughing meanly right now...
It’s hard to tell underground and bored, but it’s another hour before the door finally slides open and more Chameleon-folk arrive…nine in total, each armed with a red spear. One carries a box which he places on the ground and begins to unpack: he pulls out several raw leaf wraps, tightly tucked and the contents hidden; a giant jug of what looks like water; and a pouch of what look like sticky, coated beans.
The Chameleon-folk are engaged in a quietly heated discussion. Dikku and Kiko seem to be angry and accusatory at the newcomers, and then suddenly somber and questioning. Then, they all seem to come to a sort of rough consensus: your jailers Dikku and Kiko, performing the same hard-to-watch transformation you’d seen earlier (but in reverse) walk over to the cages as Victor and Gary, spears clutched defensively and looking dead serious this time.
“Alright, here’s how it’s gonna work,” says Kiko-as-Gary, pointing the spear menacingly at each of you. “We’re gonna pop the cages, one at a time. You’re gonna step out, one at a time. You will be given a wrap of rice and proteins, which we *SUGGEST* you eat. You are then to place your hands directly behind your back, where they will be secured with *THESE*,” Not-Gary pulls out a pair of the handcuffs to show you all, waving them slowly in front of all the cages. “…which I *SUGGEST* you don’t try to take off, or magic your way out of. But, just in case you *DO* get any ideas, we’ll be administering you one of these,” he holds up one of the sticky coated beans between two fingers. “We call them Crocodile Tear’s. Once you rinse one of these bad boys down, we’ll be taking a little hike to see a Lady…”
“A fast hike,” Dikku reminds him, looking nervous and in a hurry. “Gonna need to be more like a run.”
“PRISONER, STEP FORWARD” Spears raise and the steel gate clangs open for the first of you…
OOC:When you’re ready, one at a time the Wild Bunch and then the Fox Gang will be asked to leave their cage as a group of 11 Chameleon-folk with spears (one for each prisoner, but less than the dozen you’d expected) watch over you- it would be ill advised to fight them here (your gear is currently nowhere to be seen right now). You can choose whether or not to eat the Raw Leaf Wrap provided. You *CAN’T* Choose whether or not to swallow the Crocodile Tear’s, but you do have some options: you can try to “cheek” the hallucinogenic bean in the side of your mouth hidden, to be spit out later when no one’s looking (Stealth- Dexterity Check DC 14), *OR* you can take a deep breath and swallow it, seeing if you can hold it down long enough to spit out later when no one’s looking without it effecting you too badly (Constitution Check DC 14).
You may also choose to subtly observe the Chameleons as you eat or are cuffed (Investigation Check). They even seem distracted enough right now that, if you’re brave, you might attempt to accidentally bump into one of them, and see if you can’t make a grab at the loose pouches which hang in and around their hefty, laden belts…but you’d better not let them catch you at it (Sleight-of-Hand –Dexterity Check DC 16)
Finally, he waits for the tear to be held out, opening his mouth and staring at the guard with a scowl as they put it into his mouth. He swallows it quickly, planning to hold it as long as he can, until he can lose their attention and try to hack it back up. He isn't ready to start trouble, but he moves to the side as they move on to the next member of the group, his eyes carefully watching his companions for any sign of trouble.
Edit: OOC:Geth has officially forsaken me.
Geth, roll 1d20+5 for Spew into this
Geth, roll 1d20+2 for Dexterity Check
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Investigation Check
He shugs at the proferred food and swallows it down hungrily, looking more wary about the 'tear before swallowing it down and hoping he can hack it up later, keeping an eye on their guards as he does.
Then, feeling resentful at their treatment, he elbows a guard and makes a snatch at one of the pouches, "Whoops! Sorry mate, didn't see you there."
Geth, roll 1d20 for Investigation
Geth, roll 1d20+3 for Constitution Check
Geth, roll 1d20+3 for Sleight of Hand
((OOC: Unless that Investigation DC is pretty low I think I've failed all of mine 8-) ))
The Guard puts the tip of the spear to Jack's neck nearly hard enough to draw blood. He pulls Jack's head up so the two of them are making eye contact. "Let's make one thing clear," Dikku says, walking over and taking in the situation. "The Lady of the Wood said to bring you in alive- she didn't say anything about *HOW* alive. One of you push it again, any of you and you'll find yourself at the end of our patience..."
[ The Guards are back on high alert for Monkey Business]
Geth roll 1d20+2 for cheek the bean
Geth roll 1d20-1 for investigate