D&D 5E [IC] The New World (Volo Monsters)

[tglassy]

Karok nearly grumbled at the Kobald for not answering directly when asked a direct question, but he swallowed his irritation. He had caught the bugbear eyeing him more than once, and would eventually need allies in this group. The bugbear was obviously favoring the hobgoblin, which is reasonable, and the hobgoblin was obviously against Karok. The snake woman hadn't picked sides, that he could see. She was wily, but could be an ally. And a powerful one, due to her magic. Perhaps an alliance with her?

Karok looked to the Yuan-ti, "Kobalds are simple minded, as you well know. It is possible his bridge is easier than my plan. It is also possible none of us will fit on the bridge, and will have to walk all the way back, loosing valuable time and our advantage. My preference is clear. Which way do you believe we should go, Lady Serpant?"

 

[Shayuri]

"Saashala will suffice," was her reply, as cool as ever. "And as I do not relish the idea of crawling or..." her yellow eyes fixed briefly on Moon Moon, "...slithering, I would say your boulder crossing is the better choice. Lead on, Karok."

 

[tglassy]

Karok nodded and turned back to his path, leading them to the crossing.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Drutha Keldret, Hobgoblin Fighter
Forest
Night
Round 0

[sblock=OOC]Imagine Drutha trying to use a bridge meant only to hold kobolds!

Are you saying I’m fat?! :O [/sblock]

Drutha considered Saashala’s words and the kobold’s naming of the bridge. “Perhaps the serpent is right,” she mused. “Let us try the boulder field, then. We will keep your bridge in mind, though,” she told Moon Moon. She was loathe to grant the issue to the orc, though, but had little better to offer at the moment.

[sblock=Stats]
AC: 17 (chainmail, defensive fighting style)
HP: 13/13 HD: 1/1d10
Saving Face (1/R)
Second Wind (1/R)
[/sblock]

 

[JustinCase]

Ripnek doesn't say anything, instead waiting for the others to come to a conclusion. When it is apparent to him that the orc will have his way, the bugbear stays close to Drutha as the group moves forward.

 

[ammulder]

With the bulk of the group deciding not to test the Kobolds' bridge for now, Karok leads on toward the crossing he remembers.

[sblock="Karok"]From time to time you find that you've gone on for a while without seeing a landmark. It can be nerve-wracking, as you know land navigation is not necessarily your strength, and I'm sure the last thing you want to do now is admit to the group that you're lost. Everything looks different in the full dark. Did you miss a turn? Was that weird forked rock a landmark and you just forgot? Is that a glow on the horizon? If dawn is here then you should have been there by now. There looks to be an odd stand of trees far below. Could you have chosen a path too high up on the mountain? If so you'd miss all the landmarks.

So my question is: how good is Karok at patiently waiting for the next landmark to appear, keeping his nerves under control, and presenting a happy face to the rest of the group? If that's him, you'll make it to the crossing without anyone else being the wiser. But if he's not the poker-faced type or tends to succumb to self-doubt, it would likely manifest before you get there.

I'm OK with whatever you decide.[/sblock]

[sblock="Moon Moon"]As the others declare their preference for Karok's crossing, you recall one more tidbit about the bridge at Fat Boy's Misery: you've never seen more than one Kobold on it at a time. When you've crossed with a group, everybody just seems to have silently agreed to go one at a time over the bridge. It seemed natural in the moment, as you had to squeeze through the rocks in single file anyway.[/sblock]

 

[ammulder]

Occasionally Karok looks to the side, at some particular rock formation either nearby or farther up or down the mountain side. In the dark, it's never quite clear what he's looking for, but it seems to satisfy him. Occasionally, the landmarks lead to a turn. Normally the turns seem to take you higher, and while you're always just taking a slope across the side of a mountain or across a ridge -- not heading straight up -- even so the endless climbing gets tiresome.

Then, the terrain flattens out a bit -- you'd call it a meadow halfway up the mountain if there was really any vegetation -- and you hear the gurgling of water ahead.

The first hints of light are peeking out over the peaks far above -- it'll probably be a proper dawn in a half hour.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Drutha Keldret, Hobgoblin Fighter
Forest
Night
Round 0

As they trudged along the mountain trail, Drutha was glad for the extensive training she’d received in the legion. The climb was quite tiresome. As the gurgle of water came from up ahead, she looked up at the peaks to see the first hints of light.

“Almost dawn,” she said. While hobgoblins operated just fine during the day, she knew many other races shunned the sunlight, and they had been up all night. “We pushing through, or making camp?” She looked at the others to judge their state of exhaustion after the climb.

[sblock=Stats]
AC: 17 (chainmail, defensive fighting style)
HP: 13/13 HD: 1/1d10
Saving Face (1/R)
Second Wind (1/R)
[/sblock]

 

[tglassy]

Karok looked at the rising sun. "Better that we make camp. Rest a while. Continue when we are refreshed." He looked to Saashala, "How far are we from our destination?"

 

[Creamsteak]

Moon Moon continues to follow, but curses the dawn, shaking his fist at the sun. "You no take candle!"