D&D 5E [D&D 5E] Tattered Memories: An Adventure in Tethyr (COMPLETE)

[CanadienneBacon]

[section] Brue replaced the sapphires back in the pouch, which joined the scroll tube in her backpack. The gems might belong to someone in Mosstone. I'll ask Greycastle if I ever make it out of here. Brue shivered, looking around. The light magically affixed to her truncheon wasn't so bright that she felt comfortable; the dark pressed close. She finished exploring the area. If she saw no further signs of anything out of the ordinary, she set off back into the water to continue exploring the reservoir for clues as to the problem with the town's sickness.[/section]

 

[Forged Fury]

OOC: Are you going to examine the ropes further?

 

[CanadienneBacon]

OOC: Yes. Sorry, I wasn't clear; I thought you knew I meant ropes included.

 

[Forged Fury]

With the threat of the troglodytes apparently neutralized, Brue returned to the rope she had been inspecting previously. The rope was securely anchored to the floor of the outcropping and the rope trailed into the water to the east. Tugging at it, she felt resistance on the other end, either anchored or simply something relatively heavy.

Shrugging, the genasi put her back into it and pulled, her arm muscles clinching. Feeling something giving on the other end, she continued to pull on the rope, trying to pull the submerged object free. After about a minute, she finally saw the object: a rusty iron cage, inside of which was a tightly bound bale of hay. Examining the water, she noticed a dull brown sheen coating the water where the cage breached. Depositing it on the floor of the outcropping, she noticed the puddle forming underneath the cage carried the same sheen.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

[section] Brue's heart beat quickened. She intoned a quick prayer for guidance from Ilmater, then crouched to inspect first the cage, then the bale of hay. Aware that more troglodytes might show up at any moment, she tried to work quickly. She touched the metal of the iron cage to see whether the brown residue came from corroded iron, then started work on getting the cage open. Here, she used brute force if need be. If she managed to get the cage open, she extracted the bale of hay and examined it...was it, too, coated in the residue? She carefully opened up the bale, trying to see if perhaps an object was stashed inside. Last, she tasted the brown residue to see if it tasted off, or perhaps like the bitter taste she'd detected in the barrel of ale with the waterkeep bottom.[/section]

OOC: I don't really know what sort of roll might apply here, if any, so I'm providing what I think to be the two most likely rolls, one for Strength and one for guidance. I'm not at home and can't check the PHB, so I'm guessing about what Brue can do and what she'd roll for dice. Feel free to re-roll for her or apply guidance to some other check, if applicable.

[roll0]

[roll1]

 

[Forged Fury]

Brue watched the water drip from the cage, it appeared dingy and left a sheen on the ground. The genasi attempted to force the lock built into the cage, but failed. Inspecting it, she noted the lock was also rusted, but appeared operable. Examining the cage more closely, she realized she could squeeze her hand inside if she held it just so.

Reaching in, she grabbed a handful of the hay and withdrew her hand. The hay was discolored, although it could have been from merely sitting in the water. As she watched water drip from the plant matter, she noted it also left a sheen on the puddle it created and was most likely the source of whatever was causing the sheen. Turning back to the cage, she squeezed her hand in again and attempted to work her way into the hay bale. After a bit of effort, she managed to reach her hand elbow deep, but found nothing aside from the hay itself.

Finally, Brue reached down and dipped her fingers in one of the puddles created. Touching it to her tongue, she nearly recoiled in how bitter tasting the water was. It tasted very similar, albeit much stronger, than what she had found in the keg at the Mossy Nymph.

OOC: I'd go with a Strength check, no proficiency bonus, but Guidance applies.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

[section] Brue blinked. She'd found something. She'd found something! She stuffed a large wad of the bitter hay into a separate pocket of her backpack, then quickly set to work pulling on the other three ropes to see if other cages of hay were similarly submerged. She tried to keep an eye out as she worked, worried more troglodytes might appear. She kept her longsword sheathed, but left the clasp unsnapped for ease of access.[/section]

OOC: Hot diggity! Brue will try the other two ropes. Not taking time for guidance right now. If she can't haul up one of the ropes, she'll cast guidance, but for now she's just going for brute strength.

[roll0] for the second rope.
[roll1] for the third rope.

 

[Forged Fury]

OOC: No STR check required. Your "passive" strength is good enough without a check. I'll apply those rolls to breaking the locks instead.

Brue managed to pull in the remaining two ropes. As expected, they both terminated in rusty caged bales of hay similar to the first. She tried to force the locks on these cages as well. While the first wouldn't give, Brue heard a satisfying snap as the lock on the third broke under pressure. Opening the cage, she inspected the bale of hay, cutting it open. Brue found nothing but hay inside, albeit hay that was darkly stained and bitter to taste.

In the echoing distance, possibly to the east, the genasi thought she heard a heavy splash of some sort.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

[section] Brue stiffened when she heard the heavy splash. She needed to get out of here and take her find back up top to Greycastle, but she hesitated. It wouldn't do to leave the bales of hay. If a troglodyte happened by, the bales might be reinserted in the water. She fumbled to get a torch lit. Odds were the water wouldn't kindle because it was damp, but she couldn't just scatter it and leave. She tried to light the hay on fire.[/section]

OOC: If pressed for time, Brue will resort to scattering the hay on the rocky outcropping. She'll use her longsword to cut the rope off each of the three cages, and will throw the cages into the water, where they'll hopefully sink.

 

[Forged Fury]

Brue considered the situation for a moment. The hay seemed too wet to burn, although whatever it had been infused with could be extremely flammable. After thinking through it, she came up with a plan. Stacking the cages one atop the other, the genasi pulled out and light the three remaining torches in her backpack. Inserting a torch into each cage, she watched as the hay slowly dried and smoked. She figured that as long as one of the torches did its job, the resulting fire would be more than enough to catch the hay in the remaining cages.

The stench and smoke increased. Once the fire started going, it would probably attract anything else that was down here. In her current state, Brue felt that was probably unwise at best. It was far more important to inform Greycastle of what she had found than to insure that the fire consumed everything. If Greycastle knew, he could send a larger force down here to check on it.

OOC: Head back to the well opening or explore to the east?