IC Knee Deep Iv.Shiny's Quest for the Giant's Stone

[Zman]

Valen follows Shiny...

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IC Knee Deep IV

[Admiral]

Once the pair is out of the party's earshot, Shiny starts to speak. The tone of his voice is hardly out of the ordinary for the prankster, but his eyes imply a great seriousness.

"I'm not the wisest gnome in the giggle (a giggle is what you call a group of gnomes, you see, like a pack of wolves, a pride of lions or a buttload of giants). But there's one thing I can see, and that's that your place is here, alongside these soldiers. Their place too," he adds, gesturing back to the party with his eyes for the briefest moment, as the two keep walking towards the stable.

"But mine isn't- mine is off robbing giants. Not just because I opened some envelope- I never made a promise I wasn't half-ready to break. Not because I don't care about the people here. But because I wasn't built for this..." he gestures at the barracks around him. "Taking orders, going by the plans of others... I've never been one for the military life. (Well, except when I was a colonel in the Revolutionary Army during the Cream-puff Crusade, but you can read all about my reasons in the history books."

The two round the corner into the stables. "So we don't have much time. I asked you to join for two reasons. First, I ask to borrow that useful rod you carry, that one that lengthens spells- I'll need it if I want half a chance of surviving the journey. Consider it a cost for getting to stay and guard the outpost. The second..."

"Valen, I'm a gnome of many introductions, but few goodbyes. Goodness knows my previous traveling companions deserved-" Shiny suddenly pauses to choke up, but quickly recovers- "different than what they got. I know you're not much for words, but you're all I got now. Tell them why I left, and tell them I'll be back. I will be back at the outpost in four days time. Tell Miriam I'll be safe on my own, and tell Kurt I'm sorry I made a liar of him. Tell Natalia that the crawfish flew in at night and squished the storm out, she'll know what it means." Shiny stares him in the eyes. "I will see you in four days time, here at the outpost, with the gem of the giants in my pocket."

[Zman]

Valen stands, still as stone as the Gnome divulges his plan...

"You take great risk gnome, and that is admirable. Our place is here. I wish you luck, what you have to face is both a daunting and difficult task. Good speed, Trickster of a Thousand Surprises."

Valen proceeds to quickly hand over the rod, "Know that if I do not collect this, of your corpse is risen again, it will be missing a finger.". Valen uncharacteristically winks as if the big man old miss the small gnome.

Valen also gives Shiny much of his provisions, all of his food, his rope, and any other things that would prove useful to the Gnome.

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Maybe Shiny should leave the wand?

[Admiral]

Valen stands, still as stone as the Gnome divulges his plan...

"You take great risk gnome, and that is admirable. Our place is here. I wish you luck, what you have to face is both a daunting and difficult task. Good speed, Trickster of a Thousand Surprises."

Valen proceeds to quickly hand over the rod, "Know that if I do not collect this, of your corpse is risen again, it will be missing a finger.". Valen uncharacteristically winks as if the big man old miss the small gnome.

Shiny smiles up as he takes the rod. "They might not all agree. The longer you wait to return from here, the lower their chances of stopping me. If I were you, I'd just pass the time here until they came looking for us- by then I'll be long gone." As if to accentuate the point, he claps his hands twice, then kicks both of his knees up to his palms in quick succession, casting his spell of speed.

"Four days, maybe five," he says, his eyes proud with his new noble attitute. "If I'm not back by then..." he smiles sadly and wistfully... "You spread the word of Shiny Giantrobber, cat burglar and gentleman deserter. And you take this party, and you take care of them..." He suddenly pounces up to grab Valen around the neck, staring straight into his eyes- "And then you come and rescue me!!!"

Shiny releases himself, his fingers already twisting in their arcane motions. Before he hits the ground, he has vanished from sight.

[Zman]

As Shiny vanishes from sight, Valen simply states, "Life is full of surprises, that Gnome...more than his fair share."

Valen proceeds to wait for many moments before deciding to find the Lt of the Outpost.

Upon locating Lt. Serne Valen volunteers the five of them for the defense of Hulburg, asking a fair price for their help... but the Lt. handily refuses and offers a reasonable counter offer.

Again, Valen waits for the rest to find him...

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Diplomacy(d20+5)[7]

[Admiral]

Once invisible, Shiny races from the barn, his feet quickened by his spell. Once he's outside, he sprints across the outpost, making sure to keep a wide distance between himself and the rest of the party. He allows himself to waste one second glancing back at them before he sets his mind fully on his task.

Shiny runs straight out the north side of the outpost. He intends to take the longer, safer route to the giant's hoard, but for now he wants to get as much distance as he can between himself and the rest of the party as he can, especially while his invisibility and speed spells are in effect.

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One thing- Shiny made sure he had enough provisions for the several days journey, and as much rope as he could get his hands on, before he cast the spells.

Whenever you want, ZMan, you can update the main IC thread with whatever Valen decides to do.

[Zman]

Shiny makes it out of the outpost sight unseen, an in a matter of minutes crosses a great distance reaching the edge of the woodline before his spell fails him, even while loaded down by the supplies Valen gave him.

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See Edit. Valen gave Shiny anything he needs.

[Admiral]

No sooner has his first spell of expeditious retreat finished than Shiny quickly casts a second one, increasing his head start even as he doubts anyone is following him. Only after several more minutes of furious jogging does he stop to take a few breaths, and settle in for a long journey. He misses riding Tinkerbell, but it would have been too dangerous to bring her- he can turn himself invisible at the first sign of danger, but such an animal would be much harder to hide, and easier to track.

As Shiny walks, he takes careful note of his surroundings. While he is taking the safest path he is aware of, he knows that danger could lurk behind every corner, and he was never the best at recognizing it. He especially studies the shapes of the rocks along the trail- if something dangerous approached, he could duck behind one, or if no good spot were available he could conjure up an illusion of a rock to hide behind.

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Shiny will continue the journey via the safest path he's aware of. If he makes it to nightfall safely he will find a place as safe as possible- something a decent distance from the trail, and camouflaged as best he can- and rest.

[Zman]

Shiny makes good time....for one of his stature. The journey is long and dangerous. Dusk approaches, Shiny keeps his eyes alert...

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Listen and Spot and Survival.

[Admiral]

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Listen: (1d20-2)[8]
Spot: (1d20-2)[2]
Survival: (1d20-2)[2]

Ouch!

[Zman]

Walks and walks, momentarily confusing himself that there are two suns. Realizing he was walking backwards he manages to right his direction as the sun it setting. He has yet to see any hint of the approaching Giants.

As Shiny beds for the night, in a small hollow almost perfectly suited for a Gnome of his size.... it ended up being horribly uncomfortable, damp, cold, and came with a complimentary hoard of bugs. But, it was safe and Shiny awoke the next morning rested, and ready to continue his journey.

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There really isn't much for trails, he's crossing rough terrain, but with general directions and map he should be able to find the Giant's.

At Shiny's current pace, it is a 2.5 total journey to the Giants. He will not have to wait until Nightfall as he will be arriving around Nightfall of the 8th day.

[Admiral]

Shiny stretches, the crimp in his neck from his cramped sleeping conditions bothering him, before he continues his journey.

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Same stuff, new day!

[Zman]

Another day faces the Gnome, his short legs growing weary as he trudges along. The terrain becoming more and more hilly as the days drag on.

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Another set of rolls.

[Admiral]

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I'll remember the rolls next time.

Should have brought Miriam along! Someone with a bit of wisdom wouldn't have gone amiss.

Spot: (1d20-2)[17]
Listen: (1d20-2)[6]
Survival: (1d20-2)[5]

[Zman]

As the day drags on, Shiny makes his way though a small woods in the valley of two hills. He is having difficulty navigating the rolling hills.

As he walks between two large trees he seems to suspend in mid air... as if caught in some kind of strong and sticky webbing.

As he looks up he notices a Large spider, maybe ten foot across scaling down the web towards him. Its maybe ten feet away, venom can be seen dripping from its fangs as it eyes its meal...

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Initiative
Shiny(d20+2)[13]
Monstrous Spider(s?)(d20+3)[23]

Escape DC 13(Full Round Action)

[Admiral]

For a moment Shiny thinks about nicknames- "Shiny Spiderkill? Shiny Webwalker"- before he remembers no one is around to hear them. He struggles to escape the web.

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Escape Artist: (1d20+1)[12]

Looks like I fell just short. Shame about that Armor Check penalty.

[Zman]

Shiny manages to struggle free, but not with enough time to evade the spider...

The large spider closes the distance and attempts to sink his fangs into the small morsel of a gnome... but free Shiny is able to nimbly avoid the poisonous fangs...

As the Gnome looks around he can see two others Spiders scaling down their webs, maybe 60' away.

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Shiny is still in contact with the ground, he gets a +5, so he escapes but it took a full round.

Attack(d20+4)[6]
Damage(d8+3)[6]

[Admiral]

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How surrounded is Shiny by webs? Is it correct that it looks like he can run back in the direction he came from? What direction are the two other spiders? (Don't need a map, just an idea). Finally, is he still within range of an AoO from the spider?

[Zman]

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Shiny can move any direction, I would say he escaped through the web. One spider on his right, one coming from his left. He can either go the way he came, or press on without hitting the web again.

[Admiral]

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And is he within AoO range of the spider who just bit him? That will decide whether he Expeditious Retreats before or after he keeps moving.

[Zman]

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Yes, the one who just bit at him is within AoO range. You can cast defensively then move away. Or tumble, or risk the AoO.

[Admiral]

Shiny moves swiftly away from the spider, careful to avoid giving the spider a chance at a bite.

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I instead decided to do a full-round Withdraw action, which allows Shiny to move 40 feet. Shiny is proceeding forward, away from the web and towards the giant's hoard.

[Zman]

Shiny is able to withdraw far enough from the two flanking spiders to deny them attack, but they are close are his heels. The one who's fangs he narrowly avoids charges after him....

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Charge(d20+6)[26]
Damage(d8+3)[7]

[Zman]

The Large spider sinks his fangs into Shiny, injecting a health dose of poison into the Gnome.... The fangs go deep, but Shiny's strong constitution keeps him free of the poison's ill effects...

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Critical Confirm
Charge(d20+6)[26]
Damage(d8+3)[7]

Fort DC13(d6Str)(d20+4)[22]

What are the odds of that.... a double 20 and identical damage....about 1 in 3200...

[Admiral]

Resisting the overwhelming urge to put as much distance between himself and the spider as possible, Shiny takes just a single step back. This step takes him into a familiar routine, where he first claps his hands then brings both of his knees up to touch his palms, casting a spell to give him great speed. Then he braces himself for the next attack.

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I apologize- I originally posted this in the main IC thread! Luckily there are no rolls in the post so it is easy to transfer over..

[Zman]

Dancing between the Spiders long legs, Shiny manages to get out of reach momentarily and cast his spell. The closest Spider again attempts to sink its fangs into Shiny, but it's large body prevents it's companions from being able to charge the small Gnome.

Shiny nimbly evades the Spider.

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Attack(d20+4)[14]
Damage(d8+3)[4]

[Admiral]

Shiny laughs as he evades the spider's reach, then skitters away, his speed far greater than before.

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Full round withdraw. I believe 100'.

[Zman]

As Shiny manages to break free and put distance between himself and the Giant Spiders, they seem to lose interest and begin to scurry back to their webs to await some other animal, easier prey.

[Admiral]

Once Shiny is at a safe distance and the spiders have lost interest, he tries to heal his severe wounds. Since he's alone and in a dangerous environment, he says his fake clerical incantation to Vecna, Master of the Spider Throne, only under his breath.

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I assume he has time to get a couple of spells in, though he keeps an eye on his surroundings as best he can and will stop if interrupted- he keeps casting until he is fully healed.

UMD: (1d20+10)[24] Heal: (1d8+1)[6]
UMD: (1d20+10)[25] Heal: (1d8+1)[3]
UMD: (1d20+10)[19] Heal: (1d8+1)[6]
UMD: (1d20+10)[21] Heal: (1d8+1)[8]
UMD: (1d20+10)[26] Heal: (1d8+1)[2]
UMD: (1d20+10)[25] Heal: (1d8+1)[7]
UMD: (1d20+10)[28] Heal: (1d8+1)[5]

Unless I am mistaken, that takes three charges in four rounds to get to full.

Once he is finished, he continues his journey, uninjured but more nervous than before.

[Zman]

Shiny doesn't encounter any more problems arhat day and encounters no dangers. The every steepening hills and gradual incline signify his approach towards his goal.

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1.5 days in, one more to go.

3 charges used.