Tychris' Tomb of Annihilation IC

[CockroachTeaParty]

Bean lingered near the entrance, away from the smell of blood and death, anxiously looking into the rainy street and bouncing on her heels.
"We should go help Azaka first. I feel bad, dragging her into our own troubles. It's as good a place to go as any, right? As long as we get out of town!"

[Othniel]

Aleandrae

"Where is this Orolunga?" Aleandrae asked, eager to add any points to their map. "Can we get their by canoe, or must we travel inland immediately? I would very much prefer to use canoes as long as we can so that we can put some distance between ourselves and any pursuers. I had thought we might try making for this location marked 'Vorn' on the map - where a construct was found some time ago, and work out way out from there." The Bard moved to show Azaka the map. "There are several locations marked here, but I know nothing of them. Are these camps - Vengeance and Righteous - friendly?

[Tychris1]

Kaya’s House of Respite

Azaka looked suspiciously at the map, visibly expressing her mental calculations, and her own doubts ”Orolunga hugs the Mistcliff mountains. You can save some time by sailing down river but it is ultimately still a lengthy trek on foot. Beyond which the place is.... well, it’s not so much found as experienced.” She gestured towards the indicated camps “I have never spoken to anyone in these camps nor entered before but I do remember two camps not too far apart on this river. They both seemed to be operated by foreign knights and mercenaries of a sort? Civilized folks atleast. Camp Vengeance seemed much more fortified then Righteous.”

“If you want me to lead you there first I would like my 90 gold before I help you escape this city.” She scratched at her throat and held her other hand out plainly.

[Tychris1]

The Jungles of Chult

Quickly escaping the city whilst gathering what resources they could, the intrepid party marched a few hours from the city into the jungle, and recuperated for the night amidst a mass of defensible foliage. Watches were set, goats were fed, and the night passed by uneventfully with the rhythmic drumline of pounding rain.

The sun broke on a particularly heavy overcast as the heavy downpour continued into the next day, broke on the fourth day, and then resumed lightly on the fifth day. The jungle was a twisting canopy of trees, buzzing insects, cooing birds, and the hissing of massive fanged reptiles all around. Cutting through the foliage day after day, the party steadily carved its way to the fringes of what their map ostensibly marked as "undead territory" and the sign of a dark infection in the jungle was evident enough once they had reached its fringes. Where once insects buzzed at an incredibly bothersome rate they seemed to dull to a low baseline at this threshold of the jungle. The light rain on the dawn of this fifth day would have been a welcome relief given the perturbing signs of the jungle's declining health had it not also been accompanied by a sun now fully unleashed from days of overcast.

Spoiler: Day 5: Heatwave!

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You travel for 4 days unmolested by dangerous forces, bloodthirsty animals, or malicious servants through the lush jungles of Chult before a heat wave grips you. Those of you with resistance to fire are unaffected but everyone else will need to make constitution saving throws if you wish to spend the day traveling. Alternatively they may imbibe three times the amount of water as normal.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Bean spent the days of travel bouncing along, either humming a tune to herself or chattering with anyone willing to carry a conversation. The party would learn that the gnome was of decidedly rural upbringing in an isolated forest populated sparsely with other gnomes and small animals. She was naive about the realities of adventuring clearly, but was nevertheless surprisingly tough and up for the challenge of bushwhacking. Bean was upbeat, and complained but little of the jungle's obstacles; indeed, she was prone to remark on its beauty, and happily spoke to any small animals the party crossed paths with. At first this habit suggested the gnome was off her rocker, but over time it seemed evident she had an innate ability to communicate with animals somehow.

Supplementing her rations with the odd fruit or edible root she came across (and goat's milk!), Bean was going strong until the morning of the fifth day. With the heat pounding down on them, she sidled up to their guide.
"Azaka, it seems far hotter today than usual. Is it safe to press on?"

[Tychris1]

The Jungles of Chult
Day 5

Azaka spoke little during the travel save to point out dangerous plants, lead the way, or volunteer for solitary watches. She listened to the whimsical gnome curiously, nodding her head in agreement to her bond with nature, and when pressed for advice on the hot weather she wiped her brow and said ”We’ve spent a good few days of food. Now would be the most ideal time to camp ourselves and replenish stock. In the face of corruption, rest will be harder earned. But, so long as we have enough water we should be fine to press on. Firefinger should only be a few days away at this pace.”

[TheDarkDM]

Siward

As the sun transformed the jungle from a sauna to a crucible, Siward called a short halt to the march. Working quickly, he deftly unlaced the ties to his doublet and shirt, folding both carefully into his pack before following suit with his trousers. He returned to the party clad only in his smallclothes and boots, his battle-scars finally visible for all to see. Removing a leather thong from a side pouch, he bound his hair behind him and wiped away the sweat beading on his brow.

"By Tempus, have you ever felt such heat? We have truly entered the embrace of a savage land!"

[Othniel]

Aleandrae

The party's archaeologist, who had the privilege of not only having lived in a land that included a great deal of desert, but was also blessed with infernal resistance to heat, was less bothered. "I like it. Though it's a bit wet for my preferences."

[Tychris1]

The Jungles of Chult
Day 7

The party decided to wait out the oncoming heat wave, dedicating their efforts to replenishing themselves, and camped for the night in the outskirts of the jungle's necrotically tainted region. Breaking camp the next day to a heavy downpour the party pressed on into the less richly populated section of the forest, what few creatures that did lurk about were quick to spook or of prodigious size and strength. Countless signs of rotting flesh, withering trees, and the newly redead wove itself through the jungles bright yet deadly tapestry. Shading themselves within the thick foliage of the tree canopy, the party broke their breakfast on the second day in this ostensibly undead jungle, and prepared to set out once more when a smattering of the party made a discovery.

Spoiler: Jack, Darion, Lyndal, Srirak!

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You notice a cleverly hidden outpost built into a tree side covered in brambles and foliage. Fifty feet away from the camp and twenty feet in the air.

[zabbarot]

Srirak

"I do not like this place. The undead bring much danger and little reward. We cut straight through?" Srirak's eyes darted back and forth. Most undead did not plan ambushes, but those weren't the ones that worried him. When he spotted the hidden shelter he acted unaware and turned his back to it. He spoke quietly, "Do you see that shelter in tree? Do not look at it. They may be watching now. We have been careless." He gestured to Azaka. "Have you been here before? Right here?"

[Tychris1]

The Jungles of Chult
Day 7

"I have been all throughout this jungle. It is a living thing, changing and breathing just as we do. I do not recognize the sight but perhaps it belongs to someone now truly dead." Azaka whispered forcefully.

[PepperP.]

Lyndal

Lyndal froze with her finger pointing at the treehouse, her inhalation caught in her throat. She brought her hands to cover her mouth to keep her surprised shout of discovery inside it. She whirled her back to the structure and released her breath.

"Why would an undead need to live in a treehouse??" She hissed "quietly" at the others.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Whispering is fun! Bean thought to herself as she listened to what the party was saying, the words not really sinking in. The mystery of the delightful tree house was too much for the gnome to contain. She walked up closer to the trunk, and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"HELLOOOOO! Anyone up there? I like your tree house! Hee hee!"

[Tychris1]

There is no response from the tree house.

[TheDarkDM]

Siward

Standing from his repose by their firepit, Siward readied his sword and trusty shield and moved to stand alongside Bean. Craning his head up towards the treehouse, he unleashed an echoing shout.

"No reason to fear! We come as friends! If there's anyone up there, just wait! I'll be up presently!"

He looked down at Bean with a wink before thrusting his salt-hardened fingers towards the tree's undulating surface, beginning the climb.

Spoiler: OOC

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Persuasion (If it matters!): (1d20+3)[7]

Athletics: (1d20+5)[19]

[Tychris1]

The Jungle
Day 7

Climbing up the tree with relative ease, Siward heard no stirring as he approached arm distance of the wooden construct, and with a bit of work cleared away the vines obscuring its entrance. Peering into the dimly lit construct revealed it to be ten by ten, spartanly decorated, and covered in strange scratch marks and symbols. A simple wooden box sat tucked away in the corner, its top slightly unhinged.

[TheDarkDM]

Siward

Removing the rope from his pack, Siward tied it securely around an upper branch before dropping it towards his companions on the ground.

"There's no one here! The walls inside are covered in some sort of arcane scrawl, and there seems to be a storage box of some kind! I'm going to see what's inside it."

Confident that the others could make the climb with the aid of the rope, Siward entered the ramshackle dwelling to examine the unhinged box.

[PepperP.]

Lyndal

"I'll be right up!"

She had whirled back around towards the treehouse as Bean had called out to its potential denizen and watched with excitement as Siward effortlessly scaled the tree. As the bear of a man yelled down to them about arcane marks, Lyndal took the opportunity to satisfy her seething curiosity and with a lot of help from the rope, made her way up to examine the writing.

[Nefarion Xid]

"I'm going to see what's inside it."

Darion said nothing, but began backpedaling a safe distance, tugging Lyndal with him.

[Othniel]

Aleandrae

"I'll keep a lookout below," the Bard offered. Aleandrae held her bow out with an arrow ready to nock. "Let's try not to shout anymore though, hm? Just in case there are dangerous things we might draw to ourselves."

[Tychris1]

The Jungle
Day 7

Siward opened the box to find it full of 3 casks of tej and a well maintained waterskin (Empty). The inside of the box was blanketed with carved in dates and abbreviated letter sequences next to them. As Lyndal entered the wooden house she looked about at the series of images and symbols and recognized it as elven. Though the words and meanings were jumbled about into some kind of a cipher.

[PepperP.]

Lyndal

"Thank you, Siward." She smiled at the barbarian as he hoisted her into the treehouse but her attention was quickly turned to the writing on the walls.

"Oh, it's Elven. It's written in some sort of code, though." She'd recognized her mother's language immediately but it took her a minute to decipher.

"Not a very complex one. It seems a group of people are using this as a mutual shared outpost for resupplying and observation." She shrugged and popped her head out the entrance.

"No undead to be found in here." She waved and called down to the others to relieve their anxiety.

[TheDarkDM]

Siward

Assessing the situation in an instant, Siward picked up one of the bottles and gave Lyndal a knowing nod.

"Sentries, no doubt, to maintain a watch on the undead for the forts to the west. We can make far better use of their libations, but I am no thief!"

Reaching into his purse, Siward placed two gold coins into the box where the tej had lain, before closing it securely.

"We should pay a premium - it is bad luck to be stingy in the face of good fortune."

[CockroachTeaParty]

Bean was easy enough to lift up into the tree fort; Siward could easily do it with one arm. The gnome giggled during the ascent, and wandered around the strange tree house with curiosity shining in her eyes.

"How fun, to be up in a tree like this! Do you really think this was built to watch out for undead? Are there really that many of them in the jungle? What makes the dead walk so? I thought you needed spells to do it?"

[PepperP.]

Lyndal

Lyndal nodded approvingly as she watched Siward leave payment for the tej.

"Yes, I'm sure that will help ease the sting of their discovery." She tossed her head from side to side to hear the little beads she had fastened to her hair jingle while she contemplated.

"I think I'll leave them a note along with your gold. It's the friendly thing to do." She began composing her note out loud to herself.

"Dear Sentries,
We found your outpost here in the jungle. I do hope it's not too much of an imposition, but we saw fit to purchase the tej we found. I am certain that we paid a fair market price for it.

Ps. The code you came up with is very clever! Well done.

Pps. We are not undead." She held up the note for Siward's examination which was written in Elven and also in the sentry code she had found here.

"That should do it!" She handed the letter over, quite pleased with herself and hoping the barbarian was planning to share. She smiled at Bean's query and sought to lend some answer.

"I am not an expert on them, but I think that undead might arise spontaneously if a land is appropriately cursed. Even if there isn''t anybody around to raise them.

[Tychris1]

The Jungle
Day 7

Leaving behind their coin and messages, the party abandoned the construction quickly, and made off further into the decrepit jungle newly ladened with loot. Many an hour passed since that moment, the rain still mercilessly beating down upon the party, when, at last a moment of levity came with the suns setting. The sky's continuous deluge relented briefly as the sky turned to a resplendent indigo and slowly began to peel into darkness. The relentless rain however removed much of the surface layer of dirt and revealed to the beleaguered party an assortment of rotting skeletons. Clattering bones soon stirred before their very eyes as the freed undead arose.

Spoiler: COMBAT!

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Everybody except Secret, Siward, and Azaka won initiative.

[Othniel]

Aleandrae

"Oh!" Aleandrae gasped as the dead rose to unlife and quickly snapped off a shot at the nearest foe before shouting the obvious, "Skeletons!" The Bard then danced backward to avoid being crowded by their assailants.

Spoiler: Pew Pew

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Targeting the one 2 squares south of Bean.
Attack: (1d20+4)[20]
Damage: (1d6+2)[4]

Move north 2 squares.

[CockroachTeaParty]

"Eek!" cried Bean as the skeletons popped out. She wasn't sure if she had ever been so thoroughly spooked. Backing away from the column and putting her back to a tree, she calmed herself, and concentrated on her fey magic. A patch of the jungle suddenly lit up with a strange green glow, highlighting the skeletons in queer eldritch luminance.

Spoiler: OOC

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Bean will cast faerie fire on the three boys. DC 14 Dexterity saves, or they're all glowy and peeps have advantage on attacks against them for a hot minute.

[Nefarion Xid]

Darion let out a beleaguered sigh, but the tiny voice in the back of his head was glad for the violence. He lurched to one side and slammed a dagger through the skull of the nearest skeleton. Imposing himself between the rest of the party, took a more cautious swipe at a second monster.

Spoiler: Move, slash, slash

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7 damage vs the first one, 2 damage against the second

[PepperP.]

Lyndal

Bean's shriek of alarm had made Lyndal jump as well. The sorceress's attention was quickly diverted as the source of the gnome's fright made their appearance. Lyndal whirled to see that the undead had them on all sides.

"We're surrounded!" She cried out the alert for the others and sent a flash of searing flames at the skeleton behind her.

Spoiler: ooc

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18 fire damage to the skeleton nw of Jack if a 17 hits.