Tempting Fate [IC]

[QuidEst]

Kyoni shook her head regretfully. "No. I had a couple small stones for hand-warming, but left those behind upon finding the passage to Nithveil."

[The Hellbug]

"I think we might be better off dealing with the trolls in another way than climbing down, then," Gil whispers to his companions. Of course, the spy would still rather avoid either, but getting ambushed by trolls seems preferable to whatever had killed their allies two days before.

Suddenly, an idea pops into Gil's head. "Ah! That might work!" the spy announces, slinging has pack from his shoulder and reaching in to retrieve a rather plain wooden box. Inside, though, are a hand mirror, makeup, wigs, and various other sundries. What Gil reaches for, though, is a compartment containing an assortment of jewelry: rings, a brooch, a necklace, and some earlings. One of the silver rings is set with a small obsidian. He takes this ring between his thumb and forefinger and unsheathes his dagger. "That's a rock, right?" he poses with a rare grin.

[TheOneHawk]

Finn returns Gil's grin and nods. "Even if it ain't, if you can't tell the difference I really don't think a troll will. So that's it, then, let's go pay up."

[The Hellbug]

It only takes a moment for Gil to pry the stone from the ring, which he drops back into the box. "I guess the secret'll be on me too, just to round it out," the spy muses before addressing the others, "unless one of you has something you're dying to get off your chest. Any last things I should know about these bridge-keepers before I deliver our due?"

[TheOneHawk]

Finn shrugs and looks at Kyoni, then back at Gil. "Uh, not really, no. They're trolls, man, what do you want from me? We should hurry up and do this if we're going to, we're burning daylight."

[The Hellbug]

"Ah ah, it's best not to rush through diplomacy with things that look like they could tear you limb from limb," Gil explains, "if you want to be the one to deliver our toll, you just have to ask."

The spy leaves Finn with that before approaching the troll at the end of the bridge. "The toll, as requested," Gil announces opening his hand and dropping the items onto his palm as he announces them, "one silver coin, one genuine rock--" he closes his fist around the two items and extends it towards the bridge-guard "--and one secret. How would you like that delivered?"

[ylvathrall]

"Write it on a scrap of paper," the troll replies.

[The Hellbug]

Gil looks up at the troll suspiciously. "Lucky I have some, then," he says as he reaches into his backpack for his sketchbook. He tears a scrap of paper on it and quickly scratches a message on it:

Rodrick Brevin, the informant for Nirmithas against Molthune until his execution, and his sister Elsa, who took up his treasonous activities after his death, never existed. I was one and, subsequently, the other, and all of my activities were in the loyal service of Molthune.

The former spy folds the paper in half and hands it to the troll. "I think that should be sufficient."

[ylvathrall]

The troll takes the handful of items and inspects each one for a moment before nodding and sidling out of the way. "Good toll," it says.

[The Hellbug]

Gil is relieved when the troll steps out of the way--the strange toll had seemed too easy--but he regardless tests the bridge with his foot before beckoning to Kyoni and Finn. "Looks like we're square," he tells them, "no need to hang around."

[QuidEst]

Kyoni nodded. "Well done… I was not looking forward to visiting the ground again."

[TheOneHawk]

Finn's ever-present grin widens as the trolls let them past. "Onward, friends!" He calls as he begins to half walk half skip down the path, until he nearly loses his balance and has to catch himself against a nearby tree. Once he's regained his footing he returns to a more sensible, if still bouncy, gait.

[ylvathrall]

After passing the trolls' bridge, the path is again clearly marked through the trees, along branches and across sheets of moss. Even the twigs, here, are thick enough to support your weight.

After another hour or so of working, an unusual sight catches your eye. Ahead of you, close enough that you would have seen it much sooner if not for the foliage in the way, is another tree. This one, though, towers over even the behemoths you're walking in. The crown of the tree has to be nearly two hundred feet above you. The circumference of the tree is so great that not only a building but likely a small town could fit within its trunk. Individual branches are as large as a fair-sized house.

[TheOneHawk]

Finn whistles as the massive tree comes into view, looking up to the top of the tree, then down to the bottom with a shake of his head. "Y'know, they said it was big, but this is ridiculous. Could fit my dad's mansion and the grounds all inside the trunk of that monster with room to spare. So I guess we go down, now?"

[QuidEst]

Kyoni took a moment to admire the massive tree before replying. "Hmm… we know that a lot of people don't return from here, and that the ground is more dangerous. It would be nice if we could find part of the tree that's over the spring. I can levitate a bucket down into the spring and back up. I don't know that it will work, but I'd like to give the cautious approaches a try first."

[The Hellbug]

Gil takes a moment to stare in awe at the sheer immensity of what presumably must be the tree at over the spring, and he's still squinting as he looks up to see if he can see the top when the others speak. "If this isn't it, I don't know what could be," he agrees lowering his eyes again, "and I like that plan, Kyoni, but there still won't be any finding the spring up here; we still have to go down. On that subject, did anyone come prepared for that? I don't have the gear for a reasonable descent, and you've already seen my other method--extremely risky from this height and more conspicuous than I'd like."

[QuidEst]

Kyoni answered after some thought. "I do have a method. I can levitate each of us individually, but that burns through quite a bit of magic. It doesn't last long, and I can only really manage one thing at a time. Repeated shaping is a possibility, but messing up has some serious consequences for you two."

Spoiler

Show

Perception for routes at least part way down: (1d20+9)[19]
Also, generally, how far would one fall to the next branch if one stepped over the edge?

[The Hellbug]

"Not as much as you might think," Gil corrects, raising one of his feet to rap the side of his boot with his knuckles, "it'd hurt, but I've walked off worse."

[TheOneHawk]

"We didn't get this far by not being willing to take a few risks when needed, though. I figure we see how far you can get us safely with the levitation thing while still holding back some magic for... emergency purposes. After that, we'll see how far we've got left to be going and figure things out from there."

[QuidEst]

"Well, we can at least get closer. There's the longest drop over there. Rope to get down, and we'll assess from a better vantage point. At that level, I should be able to get both of you either to or from the forest floor in a minute or so using the spell," Kyoni replied. She set to work producing enough rope to reach down to the moss-covered branch below.

[TheOneHawk]

Finn looks at the tree, then looks at the rope and blanches a bit before masking his fear. 'Sounds like fun! I'll go first," he says with a hesitant grin. Once the rope is knotted and secured he slowly begins his descent down to the lower branch.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Taking ten on climb

[The Hellbug]

Gil hmphs as he stares down at the drop a second longer. He had been hoping for anything other than a hand-over-hand descent, but he takes hold of the rope and follows Finn. If the spring's guardian demands combat, they'll have to do it sore.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Taking 10 as well.

[ylvathrall]

The descent to the branch below is quick, albeit perhaps a touch harrowing as you lower yourself hand over hand down the rope. The knots Kyoni shaped it with make the process a bit easier, and ultimately it's not too terribly difficult to descend.

Soon you reach the branch, low enough now that you can see the ground some two hundred feet below. The moss covering the branch is thicker than most tree trunks, providing a soft, spongy surface to walk on. More branches fill the space below you.

Spoiler: Perception DC 14

Show

One of the branches about ninety feet further down looks odd where it connects to the tree. After a moment, you make out a doorway leading into the tree's trunk.

[QuidEst]

Kyoni arrived behind the others, having gone last to make sure nothing interfered with the rope while the others climbed down. "Now that's interesting…" she said, pointing out a branch further down. "See that? There's a door leading into the tree itself. Perhaps the tree encompasses the spring?"

[The Hellbug]

"Yeah, I see it. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't," Gil replies uncertainly as he squints at the doorway, "but we don't know exactly what we're looking for either way. Here"--he finishes fastening the ropes once more and tosses them down before looking back up at his companions--"I'll have a look, and you two be ready to help pull me up if I need it. Can you manage that together?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

If he gets a yes, Gil heads down and approaches the doorway, lighting a torch if it's too dark to see in there.

[QuidEst]

"If we can't, I can cheat with some magic," Kyoni assured him.

[ylvathrall]

Spoiler: Gil

Show

Past the open doorway you see a large, cavernous open space. It appears that the tree is hollowed out entirely, leaving the interior as a single open space. How it's able to survive this way is not entirely clear. The doorway itself leads to a narrow ledge around the circumference of the tree's interior, which slopes very subtly downwards as it spirals around the curve of the tree. There is no evidence of life readily apparent within.

[The Hellbug]

Gil takes all of a few moments to take in the cavernous space inside the tree before returning to his companions. "It looks safe to come down--there's a path inside the tree," he announces, "easier than all this climbing for sure, and it doesn't look dangerous yet."

As soon as his companions join him at the entrance to the tree, he starts down the ramp. "Only one way to go..."

[TheOneHawk]

Finn flashes a worried grin at his companions before wordlessly following Gil down the ramp.

[QuidEst]

Kyoni pulled out a copper piece, casting a spell on it and cupping it in one hand to provide some illumination that could be concealed easily if need be. "Give me a second- I just want to check something." She took a look over the edge of the branch, seeing if there was a clear shot to the ground now.