Oak stands silently as the others look around, annoyed by the fog. From where they were standing, you could see hints of landmarks nearby, areas that they'd likely have to navigate as they searched for this sword, and hopefully, avoided a demon. Though, with their history so far, Oak wasn't counting on that second part, as his fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword.
"I don't want to get in tha' water." he says aloud. He points off towards the rocks to their left. "I think we need to head 'round it that way if we're gonna move forward."
Oak pulls his pack to his side and reaches a hand in, digging for the pistol that he was given now that they are all pausing for a moment and he is reminded of a possible fight to come. "Hey Jack." Pulling out the pistol, he extends it to the younger shifter. "I think this is more suited to you than me. Here, take it."
Jack swivels his head, then jogs closer with a grin. Ooooh, shinies! "Oh, I've seen Gary around with this one! He never let me try it..." He takes it and looks it over, eyes sparkling, "Thank you!"
"Hmm," Urixes scans the area, trying but mostly failing to remember anything specific about it. "I don't remember it being so foggy last time. Or, maybe it was. It's hard to tell what is dream and what is memory..."
Absent any good recollections, Urixes walks carefully toward the water, reaching out with his senses.
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Arcana Check
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Investigation Check
[GM Note: URIXES has relearned an old Bard’s trick from a past life during his reverie in the night, *Heroism*! ARNO can be assumed to have read another section of the [Formam Aquae] after their momentary intestinal distress in the night, and are now able to transform into any medium-sized aquatic creature (None of your stats change in altered form…*yet*…]
[ARNO’s clearing of the fog has provided cover to the group’s back and immediate area as they travel this part of the Glen….but ARNO themself is rather disoriented and bewitched by the surrounding glamour: distracted by the fantastical colors and impossible creatures they see dance and beckon within the fleeting mists…]
[URXIES searches the ground underfoot and discovers something among the overgrown weeds and moss…subtle, but horrible. Everywhere you walk, there are old (and sometimes, much more fresh) bones underfoot…lost animals…small critters, humans, Rak’ta, and even Giant bones line the weeds and grass everywhere along the Glen. The bones are most often found petrified and unnaturally aged; buried under years worth of moss and dirt. Urixes realizes that the beauty of this place is in *direct* proportion to the harm which seems to have been done to sustain its pristine nature. Something is magically draining the very blood from this land, and it’s source is *right here*…
URIXES remembers the Bas Relief to the North to be an Ancient part of the island…equal parts a memorial, a list of Legendary Treasure, and a Marker of the First Cycle. He also remembers something about a puzzle hidden in the carving, and a locked pathway beyond to an underground grotto…
As URIXES approaches the lakewater, he hears a sudden ringing voice in his head, and remembers something with a *surety*, “THIS IS AN OPENING TO A GATEWAY.” He feels a shiver go up his back. As he peers carefully over the water, he sees a deep mirrored pool…with a single point of brilliant, beckoning light at the very bottom, which shines up brightly, dancing in and along the fog, creating illusions on the damp swirling mist….]
[JACK…sees a pretty at the bottom of the lake! Something *BEAUTIFUL*, and…..veryhard to look away from. There’s something down there that’s…maybe the most beautiful sight Jack has ever seen! It draws him in and entices him…
Suddenly, from across the fog, JACK hears OAK’s familiar voice seemingly call out, “I think that’s the rest’a the sword down there at the bottom! You see it, don’t you fella? JACK, grab it, quick!”
Jack, please roll a Wisdom Saving Throw to not be Persuaded to listen to “Oak” (DC 12)
[OAK takes a brief look at the Bas Relief carved from the South Claw after handing JACK his pistol….as he examines the carving, he takes in what he can from the ancient artwork:]
Oak makes out the following from the Bas Relief:
[An Eldritch Evil, comprised of a hundred thrashing tentacles and an eye at the center, bequeath a [Pair of Magical Bracers] to a suspiciously familiar Tiefling…]
Oak please roll Perception to see if you find this Tiefling unnervingly, *immediately* familiar (DC 12)…
[A Broken Man, arms clasped and bleeding: the man hands a [Red Skulled Sword] to a Dashing Ranger. Oak almost laughs to himself as he takes in the absurdity: surely that same Broken Man…it couldn’t have been the destitute Ilmater, who wandered aimless about the Battle of the Elwood? (OAK finds an *Deep Indentation* where the sword should go...)
[An Ethereal Presence hands a [Moon Insignia] to a Man with the head of a Wolf…]
[A Simple Rak’Ta presents a Chameleon Monk with a [Giant’s Belt]…]
[A Fae King presents a [Leaf-knit Book] to a Drow Druid…]
[A Hulking Mass made of Bone curses a She-Witch with a [Black Candle]
Oak (or anyone who followed him to the Bas Relief), please roll Religion Check to learn additional information from the Ancient Carving
Jack nods, putting down his gear and the helm with Mister Fusspot sitting inside, "No problem Oak, I'll fetch it!" With a crack of his shoulders he sprints past the shifter and dives into the lake with an excited whoop!
Oak peers closely at the pictures carved in front of him. Something about it seems familiar, but he can't place it completely. Still, there's a slot where a sword would go, that seems to indicate they needed to put the sword in. There were other symbols as well, likely important artifacts, maybe things they should gather or be aware of. He tries to commit it to memory as he can, but is interrupted by Jack talking to him.
Oak turns, trying to understand what the younger shifter was talking about when he seems Jack jump into the lake. "Shit."
Geth, roll 1d20+2 for Perception
Geth, roll 1d20-1 for Religion
"Jack, don't go in the-" but it's too late. His hand outstretched, Urixes grimaces as Jack dives in. "Jack is in danger!" he calls out, coming to the edge of the water but not daring to step in. "Damn this cursed pact," he mutters, "I can't remember what's real!" Urixes' voice booms with a surge of arcane energy, far louder than it could be otherwise. "Jack! Come back to the surface! Follow my voice!"
(( Casting Thaumaturgy to make my voice louder, trying to be loud enough for Jack to hear under the water ))
"Don't worry, I've got him." Seeing Urixes fear Arno replies, "Well, not personally, but I've got a new trick to try."
OCC: if there is time, Arno will cast summon beast to get a spiritual creature that has 30 ft move and swim to guard Jack and possibly bring him to the surface.
OAK thinks he sees something…strange; familiar in the Carved Tiefling’s expression. Something about the way the Tiefling sets his jaw and arches his eyebrow. Oak can’t quite put his finger on it, but it’s driving him *mad*. Hmmm…..
[OAK understands that he stares upon an Ancient Depiction of some grand meeting of the Gods and their Champions. The Champions seem to be using their Magical Items towards some grand purpose, but…well, it’s a very busy piece, and art isn’t really Oak’s field. And then of course, Jack jumped into the Lake...]
JACK dives into the water and swims towards the bright light at the bottom…it seems to invite, almost coax you in…from out of the water in the Glen behind you, Jack hears URIXES’S voice call out from above the water, “Jack! Come back to the surface! Follow my voice!”…..strange…did Urixes and Oak have some sort of disagreement? Jack has barely enough time to process the thought, before you realize at the same time that the light is drawing you in, sucking you down, that the Gate is pulling Jack through it…
…from above, a spectral beaver *SPLASHES* into the water and swims down as fast as it can towards Jack…the tiny mammal has just enough time to grab Jack’s hand and try to swim up, before the portal sucks them both downwards, and as the summoned beast crosses the portal, ARNO feels a sudden *FLASH* of insight at the poor spirit’s final moment…
As it crossed the threshold of the portal, the beaver had a final sight of metal…bone…and stars on an impossible sky…
From out of the mists across the lake, ARNO hears the sound of their own voice returning back to them in Sylvan, mocking: “We come in friendship…Good lord, Arno…did you ever meet a pile of razor blades you didn’t try to give a *big hug* to?”
A Chameleon suddenly *shimmers* into sight across the lake, down in the direction of the wading pool. The chameleon is clothed in thick boiled leathers, dyed in places, and a strange jaunty cap, with a pipe sitting in their mouth at an unnatural angle. Pipes strangely steps forward and places his feet right at the edge of the small wading pool, stopping to light his pipe are he does so. A wreath of clove smoke encircles his head…
“Yes…I serve the Evvdia the Keeper. Faithfully, I might add. I’ve been watching him, the betrayer” here he gestures disgustedly towards Urixes. “..*and* the rest of you since the moment you wandered into the Lizard Shaman’s cabin.” Pipes has an unnerving gift with the common speech that you haven’t seen from any other lizardfolk in their natural form before. He also has a rather unattractive amount of dry, *horribly* cracked skin around his mouth, in the places where he plants his pipe.
“Didn’t take much convincing, to *get* your friend,” Pipes the Chameleon leers across the water sinisterly at Arno, as they puff frantically on their pipe. His feet move a few inches deeper into the shallow water (the Chameleon seems to suggest he might flee into the water at any second). “So…what do you think she’s doing to him right now?” he asks menacingly.
Jack comes back to himself on a cold metal dais, sitting at the end of an impossibly long hallway. The smell here is something…otherworldly. Jack has only smelled something like this once, for a brief moment on Ilmater: the smell of Stars, and the Beyond.
*Everything* about this place is claustrophobic, and feels like it presses in on you. As Jack looks around, he sees that the strange steel is interwoven with bones throughout: some small, but some *MASSIVE* and a part of the overhead infrastructure.
A window of what seems to be colored glass sits just behind the dais, woven through entirely with bone and metal. Looking at the sky beyond…Jack’s senses feel nearly *overwhelmed* as he looks out the window…
Overhead, a strange lamp hangs, the light having gone out shortly after Jack arrived. Silence looms ominously down the single giant hall; even the smallest sound sends echoes reverberating into the unknown…
[JACK has suddenly found himself in a strange, alien environment. He may decide to remain on the dais and wait…he may choose to fiddle with the lamp or the window…he may attempt to further Investigate the strange place he finds himself in…or he may head down the hall, towards the unknown….]
Jack's eyes pop open and he stares up at the ceiling, the sight of the metal secondary to the scents now filling his nose. This is... different. Normally he would blame it on hag magic, but he knows what hags smell like, and this is... different.
With a start he sits up and looks around. Pretty. And weird. He doesn't feel threatened, just weirded out. "Hello?" The echoes of his voice die out. Alone, then. His eyes peer down the corridor, but all he sees is more corridor, so he examines his surroundings instead. There's always time in life to be scared, but he might as well enjoy the time to be curious.
Geth, roll 1d20 for Investigation, Boy I Wish I Hadn't Left All My Gear Behind
((OOC: This feels like a reward for my character making poor choices. A lesson has been learned! ))
Investigation, Boy I Wish I Hadn't Left All My Gear Behind:
Oak is torn between charging the newly appeared Chameleon and holding his ground in the unknown state they found themselves in. His hand tightens and loosens repeatedly around the hilt of his sword as he attempts to hold back the anger that has started to bubble up inside himself.
"What's happening to him? And what do you want?" he manages to spit out, forcing his clenched teeth apart enough to speak, trying to control himself and remain calm a little bit longer.
The Dais you stand on (though in a strange architectural style Jack is not familiar with) is highly ornate, fancy-but-creepy, and in an ideal location, given the window and the hall. Jack can guess that this is probably the *official* entrance; a Front Door to whoever owns this place.
Out the window, the colors swirl and churn in ways that give you a slight and persistent feeling of vertigo the longer you look, and it’s easy to get lost in the colors from just a casual glance… even still, Jack gets the sense that wherever he stands now, it is *moving* (albiet it v-e-r-y slowly) through this alien environment…
As Jack examines the overhead structure, the alien bones held together with alien metal become immediately, almost laughably familiar: whatever else is going on, Jack knows that *those* gigantic bones belong to a fish (a big one…*probably* even a whale…)
As you arrived, some of the metal under the Dais *shimmered* underfoot: it temporarily took a subtle red coloration, which *darted* along the strange steel, headed down the long hall. (Maybe this was a doorbell or sorts?) The magical red coloration is highly familiar to Jack at this point: it’s the same type of magic that was infused into the handcuffs and spears of the Chameleons which took you captive
Jack walks back to the foot of the dais and does a bit of a tap-tap-tap with his feet, watching for the magical reaction. Hmm. Okay. He paces to one of the walls and leans against it, pulling some soggy jerky from his pocket and biting into it. He's going to give his companions half an hour, then he's going down that corridor.
Munch. Okay, 20 minutes should be enough.
Munch. They have 10 minutes before he's too bored to wait.
Pipes shrugs dismissively, maddeningly at Oak (you can tell-he’s trying to provoke you). “Dunno’. She’s fickle. He might be lunch already. Course, could always be better… he might just be her dog by now instead...”
Oak, please roll a Wisdom Check (DC 14) to see if he’s lying…
if you succeed, you realize he’s 100% bluffing…he has no idea where Jack is right now…
The next part Pipes is sharp and to the point about. “…what I *want*, is a deal. There’s gonna be a…change in management here, soon. And *I* need a ride.” The smell of the smoke is starting to drift to the Wild Bunch, even all the way across this lake in the fog: the Chameleon dumps the bowl of his pipe, before immediately reloading it. As Pipes relights, he *jabs* the stem of his pipe at Oak pointedly. “…and you’re gonna help give me one. Then…and only then…*maybe* I’ll help you get your friend back…”
[JACK]
[Every tap of Jack’s foot sends a small red *pulse* through the strange steel heading down the walkway of this hall, in *direct* proportion to the pressure of the footfalls. Nothing comes from down the hallway, as of yet…but from a distance, he can’t quite determine due to the echo, Jack suddenly hears a metallic *YAWNING*, as though machinery had settled, or a door had opened…]
"well, no hugging without permission, don't want to invade the razor blades personal space. Also, you learn more with friendship, like how our friend Jack is alive and with the one we seek. He's either lost an ear or is getting a belly rub, not much in-between with him.
We're already getting the rest of the chameleons on boat out of here, so you are welcome aboard. But since Jack's got the skull handle to the magic sword, I don't think we can spend much time haggling over the deal."
OCC: I think even Oak believes that one. Just for explaining, I'm hoping he'll panic and reveal key information rather than being cagey or tricky. I've still got the hilt on me.
Pipes chomps down on the stem as he mulls over Arno’s new information. “Hmmm…well, if *she* finds him before *you* do and gets ahold of the Red Skull hilt, the Chameleons, the Rak’Ta…they aren’t going anywhere. Can’t open the pathway without the whole sword, and the odds of your friend tracking down Fair William, finding and using a forge, and then getting his way back here? Without waking up the whole Crew? (shakes his head sadly; mocking) I’ve studied you all…I’ve watched Jack. It ain’t happening.”
Pipes look at each of the Wild Bunch in turn, eyes finally coming back to rest on Arno. “I’m *not* getting shoved off into the armada with the others. I don’t care for them...Rak’Ta…Chameleon… any of them. I want passage aboard the Whispered Curse: the recommendation and protection of the Wild Bunch. Do this for me, and I’ll help you get what you need. Otherwise,” the Chameleon takes another step into the water and towards the shimmering light. “…otherwise, I go find Evvdia right now, and tell her Urixes has come back to storm the place and get his stuff back…”
“Do we have a deal?”
Arno, please roll a Wisdom Check (DC 15) to see if you notice something peculiar about Pipes and his motivations…
The way he talks about Evvdia is with open bitterness…but a subtle longing. Pipes seems to equal parts be in love with/hate with the Demon. He acts like either a jilted ex-lover, or someone who's had his affections spurned, and become poisoned by it
Jack hears heavy, ominous footsteps descend down the hallway towards him. Given the length of the hallway, this continues on for some time before Jack even catches sight of anyone…and then, he sees a hulking shape with milk-white eyes come slowly into sight, striding towards him out of the dark…
The creature is moving right towards Jack as quickly as it can
Oh, here we go. His nostrils flair as he tries to catch the scent of the... person approaching him. When it gets close enough to see he narrows his eyes. Well that's a thing.
He casually chews on a piece of soggy jerky, his hand in the other pocket, playing with a small, leather bag. "Heya! How you doing? Nice place you have here." His voice echoes down the corridor, the return lost to the distance.
"Oh, no mouth. You know Common Sign Language? I'm a bit rusty, but I can make do."
The creature doesn't respond to Jack; at least, not verbally. As the thing bounds up, it comes to a sudden *HALT* when it gets about five feet away from Jack, and sways
The eerie humanoid monstrosity lifts his arm up and points down the hall, as he comes to stand near Jack's side and huffs through oddly distended nostrils (Jack understands through sign language that the creature wants you to accompany it down the hall, with itself following behind you)
[Jack, please make a History Check (DC 15) to see if maybe Jack realizes what this thing is...]
"I would be cautious about who you threaten here," Urixes finally growls, hoping he can scowl his way through clouded memories. "You know what I was capable of and how many problems I was able to cause. You know how things can turn out when I get proper pissed off. And you know that if it comes to it, I'll kill you without a bit of regret. And before you think about whether you'll win this fight, remind yourself that I don't give one single gods' damn about whether or not I die, because I'll come right back and try to kill you again. So maybe we set aside the power plays this time and you just be nice for once in your forsaken life."
Jack's fingers around the pouch of teleport stones relax. Not that he couldn't take the creature, of course he could, with one arm tied behind his back and all, but...
"Oh, come with? Sure thing buddy." He starts walking down the corridor, keeping an eye on his escort and, on reflex, offers, "Jerky?" And now he's holding a piece of soggy meat up to a creature with no mouth and feels really awkward.
"You wish to abandon your kin, neighbors, this entire island, just for convenience. You are worse than the Governor. No, we will not be dealing with you.
But thanks for outlining our steps. Find Fair Will, a forge, and then we put the sword together. I hope you learned... Oak grapple him now!"
Arno casts moonbeam
Geth roll 2d10 con save 14 at disadvantage radiant damage. Failure full damage and can't shape shift for a turn
The tall, grey creature shakes their head dismissively at Jack’s offer. Leaning in as if to convey as secret, it points out its own…lack of a place to put any jerky. The strange creature looks sad as it walks next to Jack…feet shuffling and featureless face downwards…
As you both start down the hall, the grey man takes a moment the next time Jack catches his eyes to nod his head in recognition…*directly* towards the space on him where Jack keeps his teleport stone pouch. The grey man gets Jack’s attention again and shakes it’s head in the negative, *ferociously*, pointing towards the walls, and then the pouch. The strange hulk mimics what seems to be choking to death, holding it’s hands around it’s own throat…before giving a strange growl at Jack, and puffing up its shoulders as if to display the creature’s strength…
Jack, please roll a Wisdom Check if Jack thought that was weird (DC 11)…
It seems like bullshit, you’re probably even just imaging it but…you could swear that creature somehow heard Jack talk to himself about the teleport stones, and about being able to kick Grey Man’s ass. He seems to be indicating that using the stones here would be suicide, and also that Grey Man is big and strong, and could take you *any day of the week*
[DARK GLEN]
Pipes can’t make direct eye contact with Urixes; he turns away, and tugs at his leather armor attempting not to be appear flustered and terrified of the Warlock, “…heh, you may have a point there, Fiendish… awful Tiefling, I always *knew* you hadn’t changed, not really…still the same bloodthirsty killer you ever were. Oh, you could kill me right now, I’m sure…I’ve seen you do it.” Pipes leers this bit of the story in the direction of Oak and Arno. Finally, the Chameleon musters up the courage to look at Urixes directly, and you see lizard eyes that hold equal parts jealousy and admiration. “I may not ever win a fight with you, Fiendish…but I can make *this* life hell…”
Pipes takes one more moment to listen to Arno’s words as they move to jump into the shallow pool. He snorts through the pipe smoke. “…get what you deserve then…they don’t want you any more than they…*ERRRGH*!”
Geth roll 2d20+1 Constitution Saving Throw for Pipes vs. Moonbeam (dis)
[Oak, please make an Athletics Check (DC 14); on a success, you *Spear Tackle* Pipes the Chameleon before he can make it to the underwater portal, and leave him GRAPPLED. *If* Arno’s Moonbeam spell succeeds, the surprise humble-pie for the arrogant Pipes will last just beyond him breaching the Planar Gate…]
Oak can feel the Chameleon thrash and squirm, trying to turn over in his arms. The lizard stretches itself at extreme angles (Oak can tell just from the motions: they're trying to shift right now, and finding it impossible). The lizard's pipe drops away and falls to the side of the small pool during the skirmish. A few seconds more, and the Chameleon held within Oak's arms gives up his physical struggle. But he continues to spit, both figuratively and literally, as he lays helpless clutched in the Shifter's arms:
"AaaaaRRRGHHH...kill me then, KILL ME." The Chameleon pants and raves inside Oak's iron grasp, staring up at the Urixes. "...if you don't kill me, I'll find you, Urixes...I'll never stop..."
The Chameleon looks up at the Tiefling from within Oak's crushing hug. He looks to be driven mostly mad,"...if you leave me here, I'll escape... I'll find my way on that ship. So...kill me..." Pipes hisses with fury at Urixes. "Kill me, and be done with it...show your precious Metamorphic the monster they've invited to their lives..."
Oak squeezes tighter, both to hold the Chameleon close but also to inflict the seriousness of the situation. The Shifter Barbarian didn't necessarily prefer to kill this one, but he also didn't trust him and leaving a threat alive seemed foolish in its own right.
Huh. The creature can almost hear the gears turning in Jack's head. He needlessly narrows his eyes and thinks 'loudly', "Mind reading? Neat!" He stops walking, looks over his guard, then grins and sits down, pulling his leg closer so his knee is propped up, then placing his elbow on his knee for support and wiggling the fingers of his open palm.
The creature takes in Jack's meaning very slowly, and looks confused as the implication. Stopping along the hall, Grey Man looks at his rather sinewy arm, and then flexes the muscles all along it, bending each finger one by one as he does so. Eyes wide and naive, the creature seems equal parts eager for new discovery, and afraid of being caught off task, as he turns and presents his elbow toward Jack...
"Um, it's weird that him saying 'kill me' makes me not want to kill him, right? But I also don't want him to change into an alligator and bite your face off so...."
Geth roll 2d10 for radiant damage dc 14 at disadvantage
((OOC: I see we're trying to under-roll each other! ))
Jack's grin broadens as the escort accepts his challenge. And, for a bit, he puts up a fight, but then the larger man sloooowly pulls him back and, once he's past the 45 degree point, he grunts and folds, his arm going down.
"Woof! Okay, you're right, you've some muscle on ya! Oh, I mean..." He thinks it again, probably unnecessarily since he needs to think something to talk anyway.
~Right then, down the corridor was it?~
He gets up, ineffectively dusting his pants with a couple of palm slaps and waits for the escort to continue.
~You been around here long? It's a pretty wild place, like...~ Fingers drawn along the walls of metal and bone. ~How the heck do you even build something like this? Hag magic? ...old hag magic?~
Posts
"I don't want to get in tha' water." he says aloud. He points off towards the rocks to their left. "I think we need to head 'round it that way if we're gonna move forward."
Oak pulls his pack to his side and reaches a hand in, digging for the pistol that he was given now that they are all pausing for a moment and he is reminded of a possible fight to come. "Hey Jack." Pulling out the pistol, he extends it to the younger shifter. "I think this is more suited to you than me. Here, take it."
Copying stats in here, since it's a new page.
Absent any good recollections, Urixes walks carefully toward the water, reaching out with his senses.
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Arcana Check
Geth, roll 1d20+4 for Investigation Check
[ARNO’s clearing of the fog has provided cover to the group’s back and immediate area as they travel this part of the Glen….but ARNO themself is rather disoriented and bewitched by the surrounding glamour: distracted by the fantastical colors and impossible creatures they see dance and beckon within the fleeting mists…]
[URXIES searches the ground underfoot and discovers something among the overgrown weeds and moss…subtle, but horrible. Everywhere you walk, there are old (and sometimes, much more fresh) bones underfoot…lost animals…small critters, humans, Rak’ta, and even Giant bones line the weeds and grass everywhere along the Glen. The bones are most often found petrified and unnaturally aged; buried under years worth of moss and dirt. Urixes realizes that the beauty of this place is in *direct* proportion to the harm which seems to have been done to sustain its pristine nature. Something is magically draining the very blood from this land, and it’s source is *right here*…
URIXES remembers the Bas Relief to the North to be an Ancient part of the island…equal parts a memorial, a list of Legendary Treasure, and a Marker of the First Cycle. He also remembers something about a puzzle hidden in the carving, and a locked pathway beyond to an underground grotto…
As URIXES approaches the lakewater, he hears a sudden ringing voice in his head, and remembers something with a *surety*, “THIS IS AN OPENING TO A GATEWAY.” He feels a shiver go up his back. As he peers carefully over the water, he sees a deep mirrored pool…with a single point of brilliant, beckoning light at the very bottom, which shines up brightly, dancing in and along the fog, creating illusions on the damp swirling mist….]
[JACK…sees a pretty at the bottom of the lake! Something *BEAUTIFUL*, and…..veryhard to look away from. There’s something down there that’s…maybe the most beautiful sight Jack has ever seen! It draws him in and entices him…
Jack, please roll a Wisdom Saving Throw to not be Persuaded to listen to “Oak” (DC 12)
[OAK takes a brief look at the Bas Relief carved from the South Claw after handing JACK his pistol….as he examines the carving, he takes in what he can from the ancient artwork:]
[An Eldritch Evil, comprised of a hundred thrashing tentacles and an eye at the center, bequeath a [Pair of Magical Bracers] to a suspiciously familiar Tiefling…]
Oak please roll Perception to see if you find this Tiefling unnervingly, *immediately* familiar (DC 12)…
[A Broken Man, arms clasped and bleeding: the man hands a [Red Skulled Sword] to a Dashing Ranger. Oak almost laughs to himself as he takes in the absurdity: surely that same Broken Man…it couldn’t have been the destitute Ilmater, who wandered aimless about the Battle of the Elwood? (OAK finds an *Deep Indentation* where the sword should go...)
[An Ethereal Presence hands a [Moon Insignia] to a Man with the head of a Wolf…]
[A Simple Rak’Ta presents a Chameleon Monk with a [Giant’s Belt]…]
[A Fae King presents a [Leaf-knit Book] to a Drow Druid…]
[A Hulking Mass made of Bone curses a She-Witch with a [Black Candle]
Oak (or anyone who followed him to the Bas Relief), please roll Religion Check to learn additional information from the Ancient Carving
Overhearing Oak, "wait, is that Gary's weapon. The one that uses exploding?"
Arno moves to follow Jack, as things are likely to get interesting.
Oak turns, trying to understand what the younger shifter was talking about when he seems Jack jump into the lake. "Shit."
Geth, roll 1d20+2 for Perception
Geth, roll 1d20-1 for Religion
(( Casting Thaumaturgy to make my voice louder, trying to be loud enough for Jack to hear under the water ))
OCC: if there is time, Arno will cast summon beast to get a spiritual creature that has 30 ft move and swim to guard Jack and possibly bring him to the surface.
[OAK understands that he stares upon an Ancient Depiction of some grand meeting of the Gods and their Champions. The Champions seem to be using their Magical Items towards some grand purpose, but…well, it’s a very busy piece, and art isn’t really Oak’s field. And then of course, Jack jumped into the Lake...]
JACK dives into the water and swims towards the bright light at the bottom…it seems to invite, almost coax you in…from out of the water in the Glen behind you, Jack hears URIXES’S voice call out from above the water, “Jack! Come back to the surface! Follow my voice!”…..strange…did Urixes and Oak have some sort of disagreement? Jack has barely enough time to process the thought, before you realize at the same time that the light is drawing you in, sucking you down, that the Gate is pulling Jack through it…
…from above, a spectral beaver *SPLASHES* into the water and swims down as fast as it can towards Jack…the tiny mammal has just enough time to grab Jack’s hand and try to swim up, before the portal sucks them both downwards, and as the summoned beast crosses the portal, ARNO feels a sudden *FLASH* of insight at the poor spirit’s final moment…
From out of the mists across the lake, ARNO hears the sound of their own voice returning back to them in Sylvan, mocking: “We come in friendship…Good lord, Arno…did you ever meet a pile of razor blades you didn’t try to give a *big hug* to?”
A Chameleon suddenly *shimmers* into sight across the lake, down in the direction of the wading pool. The chameleon is clothed in thick boiled leathers, dyed in places, and a strange jaunty cap, with a pipe sitting in their mouth at an unnatural angle. Pipes strangely steps forward and places his feet right at the edge of the small wading pool, stopping to light his pipe are he does so. A wreath of clove smoke encircles his head…
“Yes…I serve the Evvdia the Keeper. Faithfully, I might add. I’ve been watching him, the betrayer” here he gestures disgustedly towards Urixes. “..*and* the rest of you since the moment you wandered into the Lizard Shaman’s cabin.” Pipes has an unnerving gift with the common speech that you haven’t seen from any other lizardfolk in their natural form before. He also has a rather unattractive amount of dry, *horribly* cracked skin around his mouth, in the places where he plants his pipe.
“Didn’t take much convincing, to *get* your friend,” Pipes the Chameleon leers across the water sinisterly at Arno, as they puff frantically on their pipe. His feet move a few inches deeper into the shallow water (the Chameleon seems to suggest he might flee into the water at any second). “So…what do you think she’s doing to him right now?” he asks menacingly.
*Everything* about this place is claustrophobic, and feels like it presses in on you. As Jack looks around, he sees that the strange steel is interwoven with bones throughout: some small, but some *MASSIVE* and a part of the overhead infrastructure.
A window of what seems to be colored glass sits just behind the dais, woven through entirely with bone and metal. Looking at the sky beyond…Jack’s senses feel nearly *overwhelmed* as he looks out the window…
Overhead, a strange lamp hangs, the light having gone out shortly after Jack arrived. Silence looms ominously down the single giant hall; even the smallest sound sends echoes reverberating into the unknown…
[JACK has suddenly found himself in a strange, alien environment. He may decide to remain on the dais and wait…he may choose to fiddle with the lamp or the window…he may attempt to further Investigate the strange place he finds himself in…or he may head down the hall, towards the unknown….]
With a start he sits up and looks around. Pretty. And weird. He doesn't feel threatened, just weirded out. "Hello?" The echoes of his voice die out. Alone, then. His eyes peer down the corridor, but all he sees is more corridor, so he examines his surroundings instead. There's always time in life to be scared, but he might as well enjoy the time to be curious.
Geth, roll 1d20 for Investigation, Boy I Wish I Hadn't Left All My Gear Behind
((OOC: This feels like a reward for my character making poor choices. A lesson has been learned! ))
"What's happening to him? And what do you want?" he manages to spit out, forcing his clenched teeth apart enough to speak, trying to control himself and remain calm a little bit longer.
Out the window, the colors swirl and churn in ways that give you a slight and persistent feeling of vertigo the longer you look, and it’s easy to get lost in the colors from just a casual glance… even still, Jack gets the sense that wherever he stands now, it is *moving* (albiet it v-e-r-y slowly) through this alien environment…
As Jack examines the overhead structure, the alien bones held together with alien metal become immediately, almost laughably familiar: whatever else is going on, Jack knows that *those* gigantic bones belong to a fish (a big one…*probably* even a whale…)
As you arrived, some of the metal under the Dais *shimmered* underfoot: it temporarily took a subtle red coloration, which *darted* along the strange steel, headed down the long hall. (Maybe this was a doorbell or sorts?) The magical red coloration is highly familiar to Jack at this point: it’s the same type of magic that was infused into the handcuffs and spears of the Chameleons which took you captive
Munch. Okay, 20 minutes should be enough.
Munch. They have 10 minutes before he's too bored to wait.
Pipes shrugs dismissively, maddeningly at Oak (you can tell-he’s trying to provoke you). “Dunno’. She’s fickle. He might be lunch already. Course, could always be better… he might just be her dog by now instead...”
Oak, please roll a Wisdom Check (DC 14) to see if he’s lying…
The next part Pipes is sharp and to the point about. “…what I *want*, is a deal. There’s gonna be a…change in management here, soon. And *I* need a ride.” The smell of the smoke is starting to drift to the Wild Bunch, even all the way across this lake in the fog: the Chameleon dumps the bowl of his pipe, before immediately reloading it. As Pipes relights, he *jabs* the stem of his pipe at Oak pointedly. “…and you’re gonna help give me one. Then…and only then…*maybe* I’ll help you get your friend back…”
[JACK]
"Alright, so if we're to help ya, then talk. What do ya need?"
Geth, roll 1d20 for Wisdom
We're already getting the rest of the chameleons on boat out of here, so you are welcome aboard. But since Jack's got the skull handle to the magic sword, I don't think we can spend much time haggling over the deal."
Geth roll 1d20+4 for little white lie
Pipes look at each of the Wild Bunch in turn, eyes finally coming back to rest on Arno. “I’m *not* getting shoved off into the armada with the others. I don’t care for them...Rak’Ta…Chameleon… any of them. I want passage aboard the Whispered Curse: the recommendation and protection of the Wild Bunch. Do this for me, and I’ll help you get what you need. Otherwise,” the Chameleon takes another step into the water and towards the shimmering light. “…otherwise, I go find Evvdia right now, and tell her Urixes has come back to storm the place and get his stuff back…”
“Do we have a deal?”
Arno, please roll a Wisdom Check (DC 15) to see if you notice something peculiar about Pipes and his motivations…
The creature is moving right towards Jack as quickly as it can
He casually chews on a piece of soggy jerky, his hand in the other pocket, playing with a small, leather bag. "Heya! How you doing? Nice place you have here." His voice echoes down the corridor, the return lost to the distance.
"Oh, no mouth. You know Common Sign Language? I'm a bit rusty, but I can make do."
The eerie humanoid monstrosity lifts his arm up and points down the hall, as he comes to stand near Jack's side and huffs through oddly distended nostrils (Jack understands through sign language that the creature wants you to accompany it down the hall, with itself following behind you)
[Jack, please make a History Check (DC 15) to see if maybe Jack realizes what this thing is...]
Geth, roll 1d20+6 for Intimidation Check
"Oh, come with? Sure thing buddy." He starts walking down the corridor, keeping an eye on his escort and, on reflex, offers, "Jerky?" And now he's holding a piece of soggy meat up to a creature with no mouth and feels really awkward.
Geth, roll 1d20 for History My Best Skill
But thanks for outlining our steps. Find Fair Will, a forge, and then we put the sword together. I hope you learned... Oak grapple him now!"
Arno casts moonbeam
Geth roll 2d10 con save 14 at disadvantage radiant damage. Failure full damage and can't shape shift for a turn
As you both start down the hall, the grey man takes a moment the next time Jack catches his eyes to nod his head in recognition…*directly* towards the space on him where Jack keeps his teleport stone pouch. The grey man gets Jack’s attention again and shakes it’s head in the negative, *ferociously*, pointing towards the walls, and then the pouch. The strange hulk mimics what seems to be choking to death, holding it’s hands around it’s own throat…before giving a strange growl at Jack, and puffing up its shoulders as if to display the creature’s strength…
Jack, please roll a Wisdom Check if Jack thought that was weird (DC 11)…
[DARK GLEN]
Pipes can’t make direct eye contact with Urixes; he turns away, and tugs at his leather armor attempting not to be appear flustered and terrified of the Warlock, “…heh, you may have a point there, Fiendish… awful Tiefling, I always *knew* you hadn’t changed, not really…still the same bloodthirsty killer you ever were. Oh, you could kill me right now, I’m sure…I’ve seen you do it.” Pipes leers this bit of the story in the direction of Oak and Arno. Finally, the Chameleon musters up the courage to look at Urixes directly, and you see lizard eyes that hold equal parts jealousy and admiration. “I may not ever win a fight with you, Fiendish…but I can make *this* life hell…”
Pipes takes one more moment to listen to Arno’s words as they move to jump into the shallow pool. He snorts through the pipe smoke. “…get what you deserve then…they don’t want you any more than they…*ERRRGH*!”
Geth roll 2d20+1 Constitution Saving Throw for Pipes vs. Moonbeam (dis)
[Oak, please make an Athletics Check (DC 14); on a success, you *Spear Tackle* Pipes the Chameleon before he can make it to the underwater portal, and leave him GRAPPLED. *If* Arno’s Moonbeam spell succeeds, the surprise humble-pie for the arrogant Pipes will last just beyond him breaching the Planar Gate…]
Geth, roll 1d20+6 for Athletics
"AaaaaRRRGHHH...kill me then, KILL ME." The Chameleon pants and raves inside Oak's iron grasp, staring up at the Urixes. "...if you don't kill me, I'll find you, Urixes...I'll never stop..."
The Chameleon looks up at the Tiefling from within Oak's crushing hug. He looks to be driven mostly mad,"...if you leave me here, I'll escape... I'll find my way on that ship. So...kill me..." Pipes hisses with fury at Urixes. "Kill me, and be done with it...show your precious Metamorphic the monster they've invited to their lives..."
~"Come, best of one!"~
He wants to arm wrestle.
Geth, roll 1d20-1 for Strength Check
Geth roll 1d20 Strength Check (Grey Man)
Geth roll 2d10 for radiant damage dc 14 at disadvantage
Jack's grin broadens as the escort accepts his challenge. And, for a bit, he puts up a fight, but then the larger man sloooowly pulls him back and, once he's past the 45 degree point, he grunts and folds, his arm going down.
"Woof! Okay, you're right, you've some muscle on ya! Oh, I mean..." He thinks it again, probably unnecessarily since he needs to think something to talk anyway.
~Right then, down the corridor was it?~
He gets up, ineffectively dusting his pants with a couple of palm slaps and waits for the escort to continue.
~You been around here long? It's a pretty wild place, like...~ Fingers drawn along the walls of metal and bone. ~How the heck do you even build something like this? Hag magic? ...old hag magic?~
He begins to hum the Fox team shanty.