CH. 03 - Dragon Hatchery

[HorizonsDream]

"What would you want in exchange for helping us?" Eliana asks cautiously.

[Bunny Commando]

Henry - HP: 28\28 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: None

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"We mean you no harm." Henry steps in the conversation, trying to give Eliana's words more weight "Would you be so kind as to show yourself so we could bargain eye to eye? That would help greatly in reaching an agreement." he flashes a reassuring smile to the darkness, even though he certainly doesn't know if whatever is speaking between the stalactites even understand what a smile means.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}
Henry uses Persuade to...well, persuade whoever is talking to them.
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1d20+5

[Daos]

"Meats ask what me want?  Me want...meats.  Fresh meats.  Tasty meats," the voice answers.

"Meats cannot see me?  Their eyes...poor?  Even though have two?  Why meats need to see me?  Why meats need to see eye?"  It sounds suspicious.

============

Henry makes a persuasion check (1d20+5):  6+5 = 11, fail.

[HorizonsDream]

"You blend into the ceiling, so our eyesight isn't good enough to see you," Eliana says. "We just like to know who we are talking too. As for...meat, uh, to help us, you will have to deal with the drakes and kobolds here. Wouldn't they be considered meat?" she asks.

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[Matt4]

Chantilly Sweettooth

HP: 27/27 - AC: 17 - Perception: 15 - Insight: 11 - Inspiration: No

Chantilly nods knowingly: "Ah yes, I see you're a connoisseur of culinary delights."

She then follows Eliana's proposal with her own: "Lady Eliana is right, if you help us to get out of here we'll give you a treat. And I'm not talking about the scaly, dry meat of those dragon-jerks! I know where to find a room full of fresh meat. Deer meat, goat meat... If I remember correctly there was even bear meat. Honestly, I thought it was such a waste that all of that good stuff was left there to rot! This is such a match made in heaven!"

[Daos]

"Meats have...weak eyesight.  Very well.  Will get closer," the voice says.  One of the stalactites seems to move on its own, growing a number of tentacles.  The tentacles grasp onto other stalactites and lowers itself down toward the ground.  The creature is quite disturbing.  It sort of resembles a stalactite, but with one giant eye and a toothy maw, covered in slimy tentacles.

"Meats...see me now?  Meats...feel better now?" it asks.

It continues their conversation, its tentacles writhing as it speaks.  "Kobolds bring meats.  Cold meats, but still meats.  If eat kobolds, no more meats.  Plus, dragonman get angry.  Lightning stings.  Made deal with dragonman.  Me no eats kobolds or eggs...kobolds brings me meats.  So want to...but can't."

It focuses its one eye on Chantilly.  "Place of meats?  Meat speaks true?  Where source of meats?"

[HorizonsDream]

~It was a bad idea to ask to see it,~ Eliana thinks to herself as she stares at the creature with wide eyes. It was rather terrifying, and she really wasn't fond of the teeth or tentacles. Matter of fact, out of instinct she moves close to Caelin as if he could protect her from whatever it was she was looking at. Did she really want to be helped by that thing? "That can be our deal," she finally says after Chantilly chimes in. "If you help us out of here, then we will tell you where the meat is located."

[Zero Prime]

Caelin Valaerys, pariah of Takhisis
ARMOR CLASS: 16 | HIT POINTS: 24 | CURRENT: 20 | HIT DIE: 3d8 | CURRENT: None.
PASSIVE PERCEPTION: 15 | PASSIVE INSIGHT: 17 | INSPIRATION: 0

Caelin felt Eliana press into him, despite how in days to come he may reflect on that small fact, in the moment it went unnoticed as his mind raced to make sense of what his eyes perceived. He had worked the the scavengers, their drakes, the dragonwrought soldiers, and the dragonblooded commanders, yet, they all, had an anatomy that a rational mind could make sense of, eyes to see, nose and mouth to breath, a heart to beat blood through their veins. This ... this ... was some sort of eldritch spawn, some aberration, stone formed hide, tentacles like he had seen on the fishmongers cart, and a maw like a dragon itself ...

He clutched his dagger tight, though he kept it hidden, in the event this creature would seem them as easier prey, their offer was meager, but still, all he could do was hope that this wouldn't be their end. He eyed their captors carefully, surely they too had witnessed the creatures descent. "Tell him, with his help, we can remove his tormentors," he whispered to Eliana, "making the caves his, and his alone." Once done, we can seal the cave so this abomination can languish in the darkness until hunger and starvation take it, this thought, he left unspoken, lest the aberration hear it, and act on such a betrayal.

[Igordragonian]

Zakkoth look at it.
"The kobolds are weak. They will soon die and you'l be alone and hungry anwyay." He try to push.
"The dragonman is planning to leave, and kill you before he does. Helping us is your only hope.'

---
Deception

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[Daos]

ELIANA:  "If you help us out of here, then we will tell you where the meat is located."

"Hmm...what help meats ask for?" the creature inquires, intrigued.

ZAKKOTH:  "The dragonman is planning to leave, and kill you before he does. Helping us is your only hope.'

"Dragonman many things, but always keep word so far.  Have proof otherwise?" it asks, skeptical.

[Matt4]

Chantilly Sweettooth

HP: 27/27 - AC: 17 - Perception: 15 - Insight: 11 - Inspiration: No

Chantilly was so excited, a day that seemed to become more and more unlucky was turning to be the best day ever!
A roper! An actual roper was standing - wait, was he standing? I don't really know. - in front of her, and a talking one at that!

But there was no time to lose, they needed to act fast. She catched Caelin's eyes as they were glaring at the kobolds that were guarding them.
The half-kender kneeled in front of the creature and as she did so, she started moving her hand, as if she was sculpting a statue.
Slowly a villainous visage formed in front her, the wicked smile of Mondath was now looking right in the roper's eye.
"Do you recognize her? She's the one in charge of this place."
While she talks, her hands keep on moving, as Mondath's face disappears. And in its place, there is a sentence being whispered by what seemed to be Mondath herself.

Make sure the remaining troops are ready to move out as soon as the newborns arrive.

"As soon as these eggs will hatch, they'll leave. No more meat for you. I think you can consider your deal with them finished, concluded, kaput! Help us get out of this cage, mr. Roper, and I'll guide you to the room full of fresh meat!" - Chantilly concluded, as she sneaks a look at the others. She hoped they had a plan ready.

[Daos]

The roper isn't so much standing as hanging; several of its tentacles are grasping stalactites on the ceiling, and it has sort of lowered itself down near to the party.  As it considers Chantilly's proposal, it makes an odd sound that is some kind of cross between a sucking noise and the sound of rocks grating against each other, while its free tentacles wiggle about in thought.

"Very well.  What kind of help meats ask of me?" it asks.

[HorizonsDream]

Since Chantilly already addressed what Caelin wanted Eliana to address, she decides not to say it again. "Well, to get out of here, we need to get rid of the guards and get the key to the gate," she says.

[Bunny Commando]

Henry - HP: 28\28 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: None

---------------

Asking the creature to show itself was really a bad call, Henry unable to unable to hide his disgust at the hideous form; still, the creature doesn't seem hostile and even willing to help them, so whatever opinion he may hold on it is not shared with the others. When Eliana reveals what kind of help they need, he decides to chime in "Well, I would say that what we really need is to leave this place, these caves. If no one is none the wiser we're leaving, it's even better. Maybe you know such a path, or do they keep you caged as well as us here?" then he shrugs and points at the guards with the head "Otherwise as our fair leader has said, guards have to go and we need a key. Weapons would also be nice."

[GorgonHeap]

Benyt listens to the negotiations with the horrible creature with a sense of unreality, but she understood. She was even impressed with their presence of mind, but she was still biased by her own bitterness of being in this position to begin with. She also had no idea how they could fight such a creature, which only enhanced her sense of defeat.

Feeling exposed, she crawls toward the outcropping of rock to her right and rest her back on it while taking stock of their terrible situation. However, if any of her companions had noticed the most immediate and compelling point of "negotiation," they weren't presenting it aloud. Probably best to keep it as a last resort. If the monster attacks or proves ultimately unhelpful, they can always threaten the only thing more helpless than themselves: The eggs. In fact, the moment it admitted it wasn't permitted to eat them, she'd decided if danger was threatened, she would immediately make for the closest one and use it as cover. The creature will have to back off or break its deal, and thus its source of food. The drakes on the other hand ... well, the kobold guards will likely have to come in and reign in their pets or also lose an egg.

It was probably suicidal - if she were alone. The others would have their own contributions. Unwilling to announce any of this out loud but want somebody at least to know the option exists and maybe share it by whisper. She mutters just a few words about threatening the eggs if worse comes to worst in camptalk, knowing nobody else speaks Khurish, and waits to see what happens next.





OOC: I checked, and only Zakkoth also speaks camptalk. So what, if anything, he does with this is up to him.