Eye of the Serpent [D&D 5e]

[Fortuna]

Finally, after a long, cold and aching flight through the air, you are deposited unceremoniously in a vast nest. Trees, branches, an old wagon and half a small boat are woven intricately into the structure to make a shallow bowl shape with a central hollow, where you have been dumped. It is carpeted with leaves and straw, and contains a sad assortment of bones - mostly shattered by avian beaks - and scraps of miscellany.

You did not set out this day with any intention of visiting such a place. But when beset by birds as large as elephants, and armed with wickedly sharp beaks and talons, schedules tend to adjust to accommodate them rather than the other way around. You were scarcely able to process the sheer size of the two attackers before they had you in their grip and were bearing you aloft, away across the open country you were riding through for many miles, towards a distant mountain that loomed ever closer as the hours passed. The rocs flew high and fast, and the roaring of wind made any conversation in their grip impossible; some of you may be regretting not getting to know your companions better before you were snatched away.

At least as you finally approached the mountain there was some welcome distraction from your plight; few mortals are ever so blessed or cursed as to see from above and afar a landscape in this way. Passing over a dense forest and then a grassy plain, the mountain's sheer size soon became evident as the rocs approached. From the highest icy peak, a valley ran down, split by a river that finally spilled onto the plain below. Your eyes were naturally drawn from the snowbound plateaus at the top of the valley through meadows and woods set around a lake, and below that still a marsh steaming in the sun.

Now, however, all this is hidden by the peak of the mountain, for the rocs have nested on the opposite side from the valley. Those selfsame rocs circle the nest a few times, watching you closely, before flying away around the mountain. You may hope that they will not be back for some time, but you cannot be certain. It is now up to you to escape first the nest and then the mountain before you can pick up the pieces of the schedules shattered by the rocs.

[Galen]

Lobo stands up and squints at the distance, watching the rocs fly away. He looks around the nest, eyeing his companions to this predicament, then looks down.

I'm sure we'll become bird feed as soon as they return. Does anyone have a rope?

[josienoms]

Sarresh gets to her feet, dusting herself off. Her tail twitches in agitation. She's a slender and graceful Tiefling, with Navy hair so dark that it almost looks black, and skin tinted a reddish orange. Her eyes scan the nest, and her companions. She simply shrugs, her gaze falling to her own feet.

"I don't, but I wish I did. I wasn't expecting... Well... This."

She gestures around at the nest.

"But I do know that I won't allow myself to become bird food. There must be some way down."

[Kintua]

Morkat rolls into a kneeling position and starts rifling through her bag to see if anything fell during the trip.

"I've still got my rope. We need to find cover before they return. Getting out of the nest is no good if they just bring us back."

She pulls the rope from its strap on the side of her bag and starts unwinding it.

[BenTheJester]

Uuuugh Belros has seen better ways to say good morning!

Belros said as he was still stretching. He had actually managed to fall asleep during the flight, and only woke up when the bird released him from its talons.

Yes, Belros has a rope.

Belros looks around, trying to find his equipment.

Aaaaugh look at that. Belros will have to sort all his stuff again!
Well here's the ro-
THEY BROKE MY FAVORITE TANKARD. MY. FAVORITE. TANKARD. DAMN BIRDS.

While the tankard didn't really have any sentimental value to Belros, it was his favorite.

Belros tosses the rope to Lobo and starts getting his stuff back together.

[Yenek]

Well, I suppose we should tie all our ropes together, the cliffs go deep down I recall. One could be too short.

Ivor offers his rope to Sarresh.

And this thing about cover... I suppose we'd have to find a cave...

There's enough bones and twigs to take for firewood from here.

Anyone got a tinderbox?... Ah. Here it is.

[Galen]

Lobo helps tying the ropes together, taking extra time to make sure they have no weak spots and breaks. Seeing the shards of Belros' broken tankard reminds him of something a hedge wizard working for the guild taught him once ... but now is not the time for parlor tricks. He will revisit this later. Once one end of the rope is securely tied to something stable, he gives it a good tug. Does it reach all the way down?

[josienoms]

Sarresh takes Ivor's rope and helps Lobo tie them together. She looks down from the nest, and nods in approval.

"It looks like we should be able to reach that ridge down there."

She points towards a small outcropping of rock.

"From there, I think we can climb down the rest of the way. After that, I'm sure we can find a cave where we can shelter while the Rocs look for us."

[Fortuna]

In searching for a secure anchor for the rope, a gleam of copper shows between the great branches. It appears to be a beaten copper sheet, buried in the nest by some chance. Who knows what treasures might have been left here by past victims?

Sarresh's inspection of the cliff face reveals not only a small outcropping, but in fact a ridge - some forty feet below the nest, but broad enough to stand on and even march two abreast, and apparently winding its way back around the mountain.

[josienoms]

Sarresh investigates the gleam of copper, attempting to pull it free from the nest. It could turn out to be something useful, and if not, then there's no harm in looking.

[Yenek]

Oh, what's this?

Copper mirror? Nice. And not like the birds had any use for it, anyway.

Careful here. We don't want to dislodge half the nest, right?

[Fortuna]

It is in fact a beaten copper sheet, with two inscriptions in the common tongue. The first, straight and careful - obviously done with at least a little skill - reads:


TRIAL BY ORDEAL

JI SUREFOOT, HORSE THIEF, MURDERER.
FEARING THE GUARDIAN OF THE ISLAND, YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO SEEK
THE SERPENT'S EYE
ON HARDWAY MOUNTAIN.
SUCH IS YOUR RIGHT.
GO THEN.
NOTHING BUT DEATH OR THE SNAKE'S PRECIOUS JEWEL CAN
GIVE YOU BACK
YOUR HONOUR.

ARN FLOWMANE, GUARDIAN OF THE ISLAND.

Below the inscription is a stylised picture of a writhing snake and beside it the following words have been crudely inscribed, perhaps with a dagger's point:

Evil old fool, death and honour have I found but the Serpent's Eye was yours all along!

[Kintua]

Having passed Lobo the rope and slung her pack back over her shoulder, Morkat looks over Sarresh's shoulder to read the inscription on the plate.

"Not the best omen I've ever seen, but not the worst either. I wonder what the Serpent's Eye is, that the people of this island send their criminals to look for it."

With a shrug, she starts searching through the bones to see if she can't find anything more useful, particularly keeping an eye out for more rope.

[Galen]

The Serpent's Eye was yours all along. Lobo reads out loud. Someone fell for a classic swindle. I wonder if this Arn Flowmane is still on the island, and how much will he pay for out silence. But first, more pressing issues. He looks at the rope hanging down. No big deal, you've down window work before. Shall I go first?

[josienoms]

Sarresh shrugs.

"I'd assume that The Serpent's Eye and 'the snake's precious jewel' are one and the same. Whatever it is, it must be valuable, though dangerous to obtain. For now, I'm more concerned with getting out of here alive."

She checks the rope once more, then nods to Lobo.

"It seems as secure as possible. Good luck."

[Galen]

Lobo starts sliding down slowly, rope firmly clenched between his hands. Swinging forty feet above the rocks, rope burns are the least of his concerns.

Seems like Athletics might be relevant [roll0]

If he makes it down safely, he will hold the rope steady for the next person.

[Fortuna]

Lobo has no trouble descending the cliff face to stand on the path.

[Yenek]

Must be a chrysoberyl or something.

Go, I'll hold the rope from above.

[josienoms]

With a cavalier grin, the Bard grabs onto the rope and slides down next. She does it with grace and aplomb, expecting nothing less than a perfect landing, despite the twists she takes along the way.

I'll make an Acrobatics check, if that's okay.

[roll0]

[Kintua]

Finished with searching through the nest, Morkat walks over to the edge of the nest and looks down. She gives a pointed look at Ivor's comparatively wiry frame, unceremoniously shoves the extra pack into his arms, and gestures for him to go first.

"I weigh over fifteen stone. I'll hold the rope."

Once he's down, she'll double-check that the rope is secure, and then make her way down hand over hand.

[Yenek]

Fine. Just make sure it's holding and can be taked down once everyone climbed out.


[roll0]

[Fortuna]

Morkat's investigations turn up a few things buried among the bones. A helmet, painted with gold and decorated with an assortment of semi-precious stones. A silver dagger. A small wooden shield, surprisingly unrotted. A leather backpack. A long sword, still in its scabbard. And a quiver with almost a dozen arrows in it, six of them with silver heads. In the backpack are a length of rope, some sort of packet wrapped in paper, a wineskin, a jingling bag, a small vial of water and a ceramic bottle labelled 'healing brew'.

[Kintua]

With her feet on the ground again, Morkat drops the various treasures she found, pulling the loops in the sword's scabbard and the quiver out of her teeth, letting the helmet fall off of her pack, and the like. She then yanks on the rope to break the branch it was tied to.

"Grab whatever you have the means to carry."

She unties the two lengths of rope and passes one of them back to Ivor, coiling the other up to stow in her pack. Stopping for just a second, she picks up the dagger and shoves it into her waistband before setting off down the path.

[BenTheJester]

The rope


Belros tries to go down gracefully along the rope. While the goal was not achieved, he did get down.

Once down, he looks at what Morkat left at her feet, having little interest on the trinkets at hand, except for curiosity he says

Belros likes suprise. Belros take Jiggling bag and Mysterious-Jar-That-Is-Quite-Obviously-an-Healing Potion

Belros opens the Ceramic Jar, and dips in finger in it to at least get a taste.

Do I need to roll Arcana to identify the potion, I remember hearing you don't need to for potions, but I'm not sure.

In case I need it:
[roll]1d20
Welp that doesn't work, see OOC thread for my glorious roll.


If anyone opposes me taking the Potion, RP so. I don't mind giving it away

[Fortuna]

The liquid is tasteless, colourless and odourless, but fizzes slightly on the tongue unlike any drink in Belros's previous experience.

The trail winds around the mountain for a good half-hour of travel. It passes through a small valley, the view hidden by a rocky ledge, then abruptly emerges to provide a dramatic view of the long valley that runs from a few scant miles below you down to the plains. The mountain's shadow juts out eastward - even at midafternoon, its sheer height allows it to make an impression on the grasslands. Below you are two icy plateaus, one above the other, each mostly occupied by a large lake. The upper lake is frozen around the edges, but the lower looks to be running freely to an enormous waterfall which, you presume, cascades down to the plateau below. There you see mostly greenery, around another large lake. A large sub-peak obscures your view of what lies immediately below, but beyond that you see marsh, which appears to feed directly the river that snakes across the plains in ever-wider loops, terminating at a lake on the edge of view, at the boundary of a forest. A small island is just visible in that lake, and it gleams in the sunlight for a moment.

The trail continues around, switching back to run clockwise instead of anticlockwise around the mountain. After another fifteen minutes of hiking, a ledge below catches your eye. An idle inspection reveals a whole series of ledges, each no more than ten feet apart - it is probably a safe climb, and might save you a lot of walking. Alternatively, the trail continues around the mountain.

[Yenek]

I think we should go down right now, before the birds can find us.

[BenTheJester]

Belros likes fast, dangerous way! Makes for more interesting stories!

Athletic checks for the ledges

[roll0]

[Yenek]

Then down we go.


[roll0]

[josienoms]

"Well, I'm not one to be left behind! "

Sarresh takes a running leap, lightly touching down on each ledge, rolling and doing flips in midair.

Rolling for Acrobatics:
[roll0]

[Galen]

Lobo shakes his head at the Tiefling's flamboyance. If you bust an ankle, we're not going to carry you. He himself crouches by the edge, and hops down carefully, still coming down a bit heavier than expected.

Acrobatics [roll0]

[Kintua]

Morkat peers down over the ledge everyone is climbing down and blows a plume of smoke out her nostrils. Deciding that it should be mostly safe, she swings herself onto the ledge below, landing with a heavy thud.

[roll0]

"If anyone thinks they will have trouble climbing down, there's rope. If you don't mind being tethered to me, that is."

[josienoms]

"That,"

She calls over her shoulder as she handsprings down,

"is a big if!"

[Fortuna]

The party is able to descend to the plateau without any incident more significant than some slightly-dented pride. Now you stand on the plateau, a slight snowfall beginning to add to the covering already beneath your feet. Perhaps half a mile to the east, left as you face forward, the lake that dominates meets the sheer cliff that encloses this uppermost tier of the valley. It looks to be frozen over. Alternatively, you could hike several miles west-south-west and hope that the lake does not extend to the wall there.

[Yenek]

Should have used the rope, as always.

So, does anyone have any idea where we should go?

[josienoms]

"Well, we can head towards the lake. If it's not solid enough to cross over the ice, then we'll have only gone about half a mile, and it would be easy to turn around and go the other way."

[BenTheJester]

The half-orc's eyes grow wide at the sight of the lake

Belros has heard a lot about ice but never seen it.

Belros wants to know if the rumors about ice feeling like walking on oil are true!

[Kintua]

"Fine by me. If no one has any objections, I'm going to start heading that way now. Let's go."

[Yenek]

So if anyone falls down, we give them the rope and pull back. Literary and fuguratively.