D&D 5E The Kalarian Precipice - Chapter Three

[97mg]

A Hatred of Bats

Finally, Annit stirs and leaps to her feet, immediately unsheathing a dagger and rushing over to Carthum. "What!" Dead bats lie all over the floor, such a mess. Clearly there were many more just moments ago! She moves beside the barbarian and strikes at them, managing to down just a couple with an agile swish.

The dark cloud breaks then, scattering upwards, before the mob flys away, retreating down the hole from whence they came.

"Did I miss anything?" She asks mischievously, before realizing that Carthum and Otiroth look out of sorts. They are bleeding in places, many places actually. "Oh hell, I'm sorry... are you alright?"

Everyone is awake now it seems, and somewhat rattled.

<Annit disadvantaged attack = 18. Damage = 4. Everyone's base speed is sufficient to chase the remaining bat brigade if you have a vengeful streak. That however, was the only encounter rolled for the rest period, so unless there are specific things you'd like to do, I invite everyone to post one last time and then we can fast forward to the end of a long rest. Horray!>

 

[Jeovanna]

Jeovanna: A Hatred of Bats

"It's fine! Everyone go back to sleep!" Jeovanna said. Her voice may have cracked a bit.

She would spend the rest of her watch skinning some bat corpses. Not entirely vindictively, since normally this wasn't the sort of hide that one came across. But kind of vindictively.

Stupid flying rats.

 

[Metea]

Metea blinked a few times. Smelled like burning fur down here... which was, actually, probably an improvement from the smell of demon blood and dwarf-scent.

She'd contemplate the situation, briefly. Otiroth and Carthum had gotten bit up a little, but they both looked fine!

Metea would lay back down and get back to sleep!

 

[Otiroth]

Otiroth: A hatred of bats

Otiroth blustered and harrumphed a bit; he clearly had been too distracted to notice anything Carthum had said.

He didn't have the half-orc's thick skin, so those bites and nips hurt a bit more! "Next time," he grumbled, "we build the fire on the unexplored side!"

The sorcerer took a moment to brush off any dead bats and clean bat guts off of his bedroll. Go back to sleep? Easier said than done, but he wasn't sure why Jeovanna was the one that was upset!

Actually, on second thought- maybe she was always upset?

Well, he'd try to settle back in for what was left of his hour.

<Spellcasting: Prestidigitation>

 

[Carthum One-Tusk]

Carthum One-Tusk: A Hatred of Bats

The squeaking of the bats trailed off. Giving chase hadn't worked out too well for them before; best to leave them to their defeat. Still, it did seem strange for wild animals to attack humans and demi-humans. Had they known better than to attack the demons? Their small band had certainly awoken a scourge underneath the soil. Would these threats have remained hidden forever, or would they have ventured out into the nearby city in time?

Carthum smiled and nodded to Annit- he was fine, really- it likely looked worse than it felt, with all of the bat's little teeth going for any bit of skin that didn't have armor on it.

A bit of rest to recover would not be amiss.

The half-orc recast his Light spell on the boulder, and would settle back in, though it'd take somewhat longer to drop back into meditation.

He would spend his following watches both keeping an eye out for any danger, as well as maintaining vigil by their rescued dwarf.

 

[daindarkspring]

Dain- A hatred of bats

Dain loosened his grip on his sword, watching through barely opened eyes as the bats flitted away. They had not needed his help, and in truth he had learned much from watching the group for the last bit of the skirmish.

He closed his eyes, falling back into the mists.

 

[97mg]

Small Discoveries

The remainder of the group’s attempt to rest passes uneventfully, although they awake to a rather grim scene. Bat carcasses litter the floor, in fact one could be forgiven for thinking the previous occupants of the space were better versed on the virtues of tidiness. Luckily, the explorers are only passing through.

Annit sits up and carefully redresses her wound, finding that the laceration is closing nicely. It will take a while to be back to normal, maybe with a scar to tell the tale, but the injury won't be affecting her performance anymore. She looks around to the others, wondering what direction they might be heading next, and starts to refill her pack in preparation to move on.

The dwarf. What were they going to do about him? His situation seems unchanged, although perhaps there is a little more color in his face.

Annit hopes with a fresh day, the gifted might have found or contemplated on a possible solution.

Somewhere within Metea’s dreams, her patron has woven knowledge into the fabric of a Tiefling’s subconscious musings. The spyglass. Somehow molten from the silica of Marix Isle sands. An item that is as fragile, as it is revealing! The tool of a miner no doubt, and one who was clearly an expert in seeing the truth within mysteries. When a magic or enchanted item/being is viewed through it, the properties of the viewed item are revealed. It identifies things! But at a cost. Each use causes the glass to fracture or chip just a little bit more, as it's own gift slowly dissolves away. Well that explains the pre-loved condition of the thing. Perhaps five or six uses left one might deduce?

<Metea Arcana check, then I’ll reveal more. Could be handy if there is ever a rush to identify an item or the magic properties of another being/object.>

Similarly, Otiroth has exposed himself to the power of one tiny but beautiful gem. It bleeds it's knowledge into him, not through dreams but by silent words as the sorcerer awakens.

What am I to you, to do as you please? Hold me and love me, and some small power will be yours. Your desire will forever be part of me, though outlive you I shall.

<Otiroth Arcana check, then I’ll reveal more. For now you understand that if someone holds it and describes the effects of a Cantrip, it will be added to their list of known ones. The Cantrip can be from any school, and can only be cast if you hold the item at the time. It can be used only once per day, but the Cantrip can never be changed.>

<Was Carthum praying for knowledge of any of the new items?

All Hit Points and Hit Dice are rejuvinated. Casters can have all spells / slots refreshed.

Aside from that, what would you like to do / where to go?>

 

[Metea]

Metea: small discoveries

It's her second watch when the warlock really gets a good look at the item, mingling with the tutoring of her patron.

Someday, perhaps, she will not be well-served in putting mysterious items up to her eye, but that day is not today.

Equally difficult to resist- tasting one of the charbroiled bats. Dain woke up for his watch before she could muster the nerve... but they did smell oddly good!

While the others prepared, she'd take a few more moments to peek at her prizes.

<Arcana check- 25>

 

[97mg]

Small Discoveries: Metea

Handling the spyglass further, Metea remembers further contents of the recent rest’s dream-state.

A lone human man takes slow delirious steps under a burning sun, his skin reddened and dry from drenching heat, and footsteps within endless sand dunes trail behind him to the north. Ahead, the tall peaks of the mountains await him some day’s trek ahead. A hand encrusted with flaking skin reaches down to touch a pouch at his side, hanging full and heavy with sand.

A big ask, to be sent out here alone to collect a specific variety of infertile grains. But Varisk had requested it, and Varisk was not to be refused, whoever he was!

A small furnace, somewhere in the mountains, where a dwarf pours well-sorted desert sands of pure white, through a sieve, down a stone pipe, and into a smouldering contraption.

It is revealed to you that a mage, probably in hiding somewhere in the mountainous regions, had this device crafted so he could have it sent to Kalair. A small tribe of miners would have used this trinket to appraise certain varieties of gems, most likely seeking something very specific as ordered by their master. The crafter of this device did far more than just allow it to identify the properties of magic gems. It can also identify the mysteries of other magic relics, as well as of magical beings viewed through it.

 

[97mg]

Small Discoveries: Otiroth

Such a sweet little thing, Otiroth’s gem. Somewhere, back in your bloodline a Dragon’s blood was mingled with some unknown ancestor, bringing with it both power and a delicate connection to treasures of the past. It is this deep innermost part of yourself which connects with the stone, as you appraise, study and enjoy it's innate beauty. Red Dragons, the ancient inhabitants of volcanous regions, dark places, and tranquility within the earth’s crust, know all too well the magic secrets that lie below common-man’s feet. You feel a tiny trickle of this knowledge flow into you...

The question of how magic came to be, is one that many have contemplated yet never solved. Somehow though, through a land’s violent creation, enormous pressures and massive shifts, items like this just simply came to be. The gem’s age reaches far into the past, to a land that was probably unrecognizable for what it is today.

In terms of stored power, the stone is considered minor, though the true potential lies in the wielder’s hands, and ultimately their choice. What Cantrip you request from it's connection with the past, will dictate it's future… and likely yours as well...

Give to me, and I shall give to you.

The act of attaching a Cantrip to the item is a simple one. Wish upon some small spell that you’ve witnessed or read of, and visualize the effects whilst holding it.

<I’ll allow you to choose any classes / school for the Cantrip, under the assumption that you’ve read / heard about it through a connection with The Burning Rose or something similar you like.>