Adventures in Aklor IC (5e)

[Arzanyos]

Where frost and fire had failed, blunt metal prevailed. With a resounding thunk, Kaladin's mace meets the drake's head, and it collapses to the earth, unconscious, but still alive... well, more or less as alive as it was before it got hit.

So, with the drake defeated, y'all get 90xp, and will not have to worry about a drake sneaking up on you at the ruins. Unless you guys let it go for some weird reason. Also, Whismur, shouldn't your mace be doing 1d6 damage, not 1d4?

[whiteflash]

Silence drops to his knees in relief. "I'd thought it might actually get a hit in." His eyes wander to Kal. "Glasya's greatness, it nearly did get a hit in."

[Arzanyos]

Spoiler: OOC

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Just gonna movin' right along this. Feel free to continue battle aftermath talking, though.

Now that the drake has been subdued, the group is able to take a closer look at its unusual physiology. Kal's suspicion that it could regenerate is unfounded, although plausible, as the golden gel that seems to make up the drake's innards bears a considerable resemblance to the stuff in Kaladan's vial. You're starting to have a theory on what happened to the town's Ichor.

Once the immediate question of what to do with a drunken sailor knocked out guard drake is resolved, the party should probably plan they're approach to the ruins proper. The setting sun could provide cover for a surprise attack, or, perhaps, an opportunity for negotiation.

[MrSandman]

So... should we finish it off, or is there any particular reason to keep it alive? Feanir asks, while sheathing his rapier and retrieving his dagger.

[Arzanyos]

Also, I forgot. Four of the scales knocked off during combat are of salable quality. They should fetch about 6gp for the lot.

[WhismurWanders]

Kaladan stoops down to pick up one of the fallen scales, examining it for a moment before pocketing it for later examination. He shuffles forward to look over the drake closely. "Disposing of it may prove dangerous. It seems to be made of more Ichor than I had initially thought."

Spoiler

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Is there a way to ""dispose"" of Ichor safely? If we left the drake 'alive', would the Ichor remain stable, or would it risk corruption over time? Arcana check, if needed. (1d20+4)[6]

[Gluteus_Maximus]

Jezean pockets the scales, walks over to the symbol the drake had carved and kicks it away.

[whiteflash]

"How long do you all think we have before it wakes up? Or do you think the injuries we've done it will kill it eventually even if we don't hasten the process? And... if we do kill this thing, will the Ichor still be usable? Will the town be able to salvage it?"

[WhismurWanders]

"How long do you all think we have before it wakes up? Or do you think the injuries we've done it will kill it eventually even if we don't hasten the process? And... if we do kill this thing, will the Ichor still be usable? Will the town be able to salvage it?"

"Difficult to say. I do not expect that my finishing blow was enough to cause its death any time soon. My sword-arm is not well-practiced. No, I suspect it will awaken in some time with a nasty headache." Kaladan stands up and frowns at the question of the Ichor. "As to the Ichor ... I am unsure. Ichor, once used, usually isn't salvaged, but there exist ways for corrupted Ichor to be refined. I am unfamiliar with these though. I can say that, should we let the drake live, there's no reason that the Ichor should go foul."

[whiteflash]

"Hm. Let the drake live... is that an option, longterm? How will the drake respond if it realizes its masters are dead? Will it look for revenge?... or for new masters? Or is there no way to know for sure other than finding out the hard way?"

[MrSandman]

Well, if killing it isn't an option, I suppose we should head over to the haunted ruins. We shall have to deal with the drake later if needs be.

[whiteflash]

"Hm. I... guess I see that killing it right now isn't the best option..." Silence sheathes his sword.

"Longterm, I think we should consider it. Once we figure out how to stop the Ichor from going foul afterwards. But it should take long enough to recover that we can ask the village's Ichorworkers... or whatever they're called."

[MrSandman]

I fully agree, Feanir says. We shall have to think about something regarding the drake later on.

And with that, I imagine that the party ties it up and heads off to the ruins.

[Arzanyos]

The drake securely tied and bound, the group heads off towards the ruins. In about five minutes, the reach the edge, and are able to assess them visually.
The ruins seem to have once been a small castle or other fortress. Now, most all that's left is the half-destroyed outer walls, and a few run-down minor rooms, such as the first floor of the north-east tower. Rubble strewn across the ground makes movement difficult, but not impossible. It seems the ruins are not abandoned, though, as inside the ruined walls is a clearing outlined with a few odd-looking torches, and at its center, a small campfire and a few bits and bobs, notably a large wooden chest.

[whiteflash]

"We've probably found the place," Silence says. (Probably unnecessarily.)

Do we see any people there? Failing that, do we see any light coming from any source other than the campfire?

[Arzanyos]

Sorry, was in a rush earlier.

Both the torches and the campfire are lit, the campfire with a normal flame, but the torches with eerie smokeless light, in a vague flame shape. You don't see any people around, although whispers can be heard if you listen hard enough. It's tough to determine where they are coming from. There are no other light sources. Only three shed-sized buildings, scattered around the ruins, still have enough walls and rough to qualify as buildings.

[whiteflash]

Silence quickly glances around to see if the whispers are coming from directly behind them, because his player has played too many video games.

[Arzanyos]

...no. The whispers, while you can't pinpoint their position, are not coming from behind you, but from somewhere either inside or on the other side of the ruins.

[whiteflash]

"They can't be sleeping. They'd have put out the fire. Could they have learned we were coming somehow?"

[WhismurWanders]

"I would think the fire is for whoever is keeping watch. I doubt they'd be careless to all sleep at the same time."

[Gluteus_Maximus]

"One of the few things we might agree on, blue," Jezean says, flipping one of the worthless dragon scales and catching it. "The prospects of banditry might be worthless, but they wouldn't leave their guard down because of that worthlessness." She pockets the scale. "Well, my spells are pretty worthless for this situation where we can't see anyone. Cough it up. You blues are always scheming some plan, aren't you?" She says, completely oblivious that she's very much describing green dragons- and moreso herself.

[whiteflash]

"But if that's who the campfire is for, that should mean we should be able to see someone standing watch, shouldn't it? I don't think we need to worry about blue dragon plots. I think the bandits are plotting something." Silence looks over the buildings to see if any of them look like ideal places to see from without being seen. He also looks for anything else that looks like ideal shelter.

[Arzanyos]

Okay, so you guys came in through the southwest corner of the ruins. The northeast tower could provide some concealment to the clever, but the top half or so of the door is missing, so its not ideal. From what you can see, nobody is hiding in it. Midway along the western wall is another room, what used to by a supply closet, from what you gather. The walls are oddly large for how small it is, though. The last building is in the south-ish part of the ruins, and while some of its walls have collapsed into it, rendering the actual interior unusable, the roof could make a suitable defensive platform. The wooden chest by the campfire could hide a small creature from view behind it, but currently isn't.

While Silence searches the buildings, the group starts to hear a different voice from the ambient whispers. It sounds like normal talking, coming from the northwest. With a little focus, you could pin down what's being said, but it would impede any other preparations you might want to make. (You can still prepare while somebody else is listening in, though. Just can't one person do both at the same time.)

[WhismurWanders]

Kaladan ignores Jezean's babbling in favor of attempting to listen to the whispers being carried on the wind.

Spoiler

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Perception: (1d20+3)[15]

[Arzanyos]

Spoiler: Listening Results

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You hear two voices, one kinda whiny(1) and another, a rougher voice(2). Here's what you can make out.
1: I'm just saying, I think boss is getting the short stick on this *unintelligble* for haunted treasure is just gonna make it worse.
2: Shut up, all we need is a nice easy target or two. Then th- *unintelligble*
1: You know I'm right. Cormix already upped and left with his best. So did Johr's mag- *unintelligble*
2: Cormix didn't take all his men. *unintelligble* You know his reputation with half-done jobs, right? So stop talking in ways *unintelligble* get us killed.

[WhismurWanders]

"It would seem the bandits have recently had disputes amongst themselves. There are at least two parties who have left the camp for some reason." He keeps his voice quiet, but not too quiet, as he is disconcerned with being caught. "If we move quickly, we should be able to surprise the two voices, and I believe they are alone."

[Arzanyos]

Well, it's been two days. I'll just assume you guys are going for a straight-up confrontation, because of the numerical advantage.


The stage is set, and soon, the whole party can hear the voices, as the two figures come into view. They are humans, clad roughly in leather armor, but both are draped with accessories of a rich, starry purple cloth. They level crossbows at you, but seem more cautious than openly hostile. One calls out to you, the whinier voice Kaladan heard earlier. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

Spoiler: Initiatives, if need be

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(1d20+6)[16]
(1d20+2)[13]
Whiny Bandit:(1d20+1)[10]
Rough Bandit:(1d20+1)[4]
Feanir?:(1d20+2)[20]
Jezean:(1d20+1)[7]
Kal:(1d20+1)[16]
Silence:(1d20+3)[5]
Kaladan:(1d20+2)[10]

[Gluteus_Maximus]

Jezean talks first. Having grown up by the teachings of the green dragons of old, her tongue was swifter than a pegasus who'd gotten into the sugar stores. "Oh, nothing. Just walking around the forest, looking for jobs to do. Do you need help? Would you be willing to pay well for help?"

Spoiler: Rolls (if needed, ignore if not)

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Deception: (1d20+2)[7]
Persuasion: (1d20)[11]

[Arzanyos]

"uhh..." The two bandits look at each other, confused. The same one who called out to you before speaks again. "Yeah, let's say I believe you. What kinda people would look for help while pointing crossbows at everything they see?" They stay out of melee range, but after a series of exchanged looks, continue the conversation. "Well, what kinda help?"

[Gluteus_Maximus]

"uhh..." The two bandits look at each other, confused. The same one who called out to you before speaks again. "Yeah, let's say I believe you. What kinda people would look for help while pointing crossbows at everything they see?" They stay out of melee range, but after a series of exchanged looks, continue the conversation. "Well, what kinda help?"

"...only one of us has a crossbow..." she mutters, before shaking her head and continuing. "The cautious kind. But not me. I'm the leader of this troupe, and no matter how scary these boys look they're pretty much gentle giants. If you need something moved they're the ones. But I need to know more about you to see what I can help with" she finishes as she makes a tentative few steps ahead of the rest.