The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)

[thinkslogically]

The tracks seem to go up to the house before leading away into the trees again and getting lost amongst the roots and plants.

The elf follows.

"Gods... They came right up to the window..."

[Rodgeir]

"Hm. What were they?"

[thinkslogically]

"I don't... You just said it was lizardfolk!"

[WearsHats]

"This marks the entrance to the territory of a lizardfolk tribe. But not one that has been corrupted by the new dragon god (or whatever it is). They follow Semhuana, like the guard at that watchtower where we slept last night.* They respect strength, so I suggest we proceed boldly. These may be the allies we need. I'll take the lead. I've dealt with such tribes at home. It's why I learned to speak Draconic."

*(It was last night, right?)

What does Kal know of their customs?

[thinkslogically]

((yup, I think it was last night!))

[spiderwrangler]

"Well... After you then..."

[thinkslogically]

((apologies - you guys are still in a canoe. The ground here is really flooded, with trees growing up out of the water. It's a bit like a mangrove, but taller trees, darker, and not quite so closed in.))

[Dlover]

Mehr moves to eye the tracks, looking out into the swamp where they lead, "I believe I recall hearing something from the lizards about a star. Your elder may not be so senile as you believe, considering it looks as though they did indeed come to hear what he knew. If they were here for else, you would either be dead or no longer free... This becomes more and more strange. Now the questions is, do we try to track them, or do we hunker down on the odds that your little sleeping concoction kept them from hearing what they were after?"

[Rodgeir]

Varsk looks to his companions for help on this one,

"The Lizardfolk we've been dealin' with have, near as I can figure, are a little bigger than those that walked over there," he waves off to the larger tracks.

"The ones that made these tracks up to the hut are small by comparison to either. You know any small lizardfolk tribes? Or big lizards?"

Big lizards? Adv: 1D20+2 = [18]+2 = 20


((Does it seem like a lot of small lizardfolk tracks up to the hut? I rolled the looking for tracks with advantage and got a 19
, up from 14, and the last perception becomes a 14 instead of a 9.))

"I say we wait for them to come back."

[thinkslogically]

Druid Group
Varsk continues checking the tracks. On a second glance (to account for the ADV), it looks like only one of the lizardfolk tracks approached the window at the back of the house. Much like the front of the building, the window here is in a rather sorry state, with shutters that don't fully close in the swollen and warped wood frame.

Something about the tracks is annoyingly familiar to Varsk, but it takes him a moment to realise that it's the toes that are wrong. The small prints don't have enough toes to be lizardfolk. They look much more like kobold prints.

Mehriv follows.

"I believe I recall hearing something from the lizards about a star. Your elder may not be so senile as you believe, considering it looks as though they did indeed come to hear what he knew. If they were here for else, you would either be dead or no longer free... This becomes more and more strange. Now the questions is, do we try to track them, or do we hunker down on the odds that your little sleeping concoction kept them from hearing what they were after?"

"No... No-one's been to speak to him in months, I swear it. The old man's half deaf! I'd hear it if someone was trying to have a conversation with him, even if I was asleep."

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

Lizard Group

With Kal at the front of the canoe, the group paddle onwards into what they can only assume to be the territory of the tribe they've been searching for these past days. The main channel here is almost like a canal: full of clean, clear water, it is around 10 or 20 feet wide, maybe 5 - 10 feet deep, and easily passable. Small streams feed into it from the banks, but nothing large enough to travel down. Large fishes occassionally dart away from your paddles, and small fish, lizards, snails and (of course) spiders are easily spotted amongst the surrounding trees, as wading birds hunt around the edges. The tall, looming trees of the forest proper gradually give way to shorter trees and grasses and more and more sunlight begins to break through as you continue your journey south, and the swamp feels far less enclosed than it has done previously. But still, there is no sign of any of the lizardfolk you are searching for through the trees and the forest is quiet.

Soon enough however, the banks around you begin to rise more steeply around you until you have to stand up in the canoe to see over them. Ahead of you, they rise even higher as you come to a fork in the channel. It strikes you that you would be easy targets for an ambush from the land if you continue in the canoe, but you're not sure how easy it would be to try and continue on foot either.

[Rodgeir]

Varsk looks up from the tracks by the window and says to the elf,

"Now that I look closer, these ain't lizardfolk. I'd hazard that they are kobold or something damn near a kobold."

What does Varsk know about kobold?

Kobold: 2D20.HIGH(1) = [19, 17] = 19
+?

((Depending on the roll it can be +2 or 3 so, 21 or 22))

[thinkslogically]

((Let's do a Nature check))

[Dlover]

"You said he's been scrawling on the walls, yes?" Mehr moves over to the window the tracks lead to, peering through at different angles and heights to see if there's anything to spot, "There is more to conversing than the spoken word. Perhaps they recognised your interference and hoped to find wisdom another way. If they have been delivering gifts in the past, they may still respect this elder well enough to refrain from assaulting his home."

"Kobolds? Those little vermin? Why would those creatures approach the building and leave without doing anything? Unless they serve the same master as the lizards."

[Rodgeir]

((It's a 22 with a nature check. Varsk knows his kobolds.))

[thinkslogically]

Druid Group

"You said he's been scrawling on the walls, yes? There is more to conversing than the spoken word. Perhaps they recognised your interference and hoped to find wisdom another way. If they have been delivering gifts in the past, they may still respect this elder well enough to refrain from assaulting his home."

((I'll take a perception check for Mehriv, with advantage))

The man looks vaguely sick.

"Gods... maybe? But why spy on him? Why not just talk to him like they always used to?"

► Show Spoiler

Varsk's kobold knowledge

► Show Spoiler

It turns out meanwhile, that Varsk knows rather a lot about kobolds. They're sneaky, scheming, cheating little cowardly bastards for the most part who never fight fair and even then, they're as likely as not to turn tail and run as soon as things look bad for them. They are uniquely suited to life underground and are talented miners, capable of excavating intricate, clever warrens deep beneath ground and seem to take particular joy in using traps to defend themselves and their warrens rather than risking direct engagement. If they manage to work their way beneath a city, they can be nigh impossible to get rid of, as Varsk knows from painful experience. They cope poorly in bright light, and tend to avoid sunlight as much as possible.

In terms of their society, they tend to gravitate into the service of stronger and more powerful races, particularly dragons if they can find one, because they generally believe that strong creatures will protect them and save their cowardly hides from being eaten. Lizardfolk might do if necessary, but it would be unusual for the two races to willingly work together without a pretty strong incentive. When you find kobolds in the service of another kobold, that's when you know you've got a real problem because that kobold's got to be something special to beat out the competition.

[Nioca]

As the elf gets preoccupied with the tracks leading to the hut, Syli moves in closer to the elder; she still feels something's not quite right with this arrangement, and starts looking the dragonborn over, listening to whatever sounds he makes... maybe he was just old. Or maybe there was more to this than met the eye.

Medicine (+3 w/ Adv): 13 22

[Rodgeir]

"Kobold are spyin' little bastards and they'll rob you blind and stab you in the back as well as talk to you. Guessin' they haven't been by askin' questions or bringin' gifts. You know if there caves or holes nearby? Someplace dry enough to dig?"

((Be sure to roll advantage on that med check!))

[Arch Lich Burns]

"Maybe because they couldn't? You prevented others from talking to him. So they took matters to thier own little claws and try to find any information they could from the scrawlings."

[thinkslogically]

((Yup, Syli gets advantage on that medicine roll ))

[Rodgeir]

Varsk mutters,

"I'm surprised the little bastards didn't put a pit trap here under the window."

[Nioca]

((Oops, fixed. Also, how about that, advantage actually worked out in this case.))

[Rodgeir]

((I am tempted to hunt things down to maximize this advantage day!))

[thinkslogically]

((Right? You guys are doing good! I was in two minds over how strong a bonus it might end up being, but it's hard to guess until you see it in action You won't be getting it applied to attack rolls any time soon though ))

Druid Group

"Kobold are spyin' little bastards and they'll rob you blind and stab you in the back as well as talk to you. Guessin' they haven't been by askin' questions or bringin' gifts. You know if there caves or holes nearby? Someplace dry enough to dig?"

"No. No! I haven't seen anything like that! Only the couple of lizardfolk out front a few days ago. I don't know about any caves either... Not round here anyway. Maybe over towards the Copamyn*? I heard there was big holes in the ground over that way, but I've never... been... Shit..."

The elf looks pale, and slumps against the wall to squat on his heels. He's breathing pretty hard and looks like he's trying not to panic.

"Maybe because they couldn't? You prevented others from talking to him. So they took matters to thier own little claws and try to find any information they could from the scrawlings."

"Gods... We should have left...!"

Taking advantage of all the interest in the back of the house, Syli pads over to the porch and gives the old man a quick check. Two things are immediately obvious: he is extremely old, and definitely drugged. As it is, he seems to be fighting to wake up, muttering and whimpering under his breath, eyes darting frantically behind his eyelids. Still, over the rather unpleasant smell of the old man's breath, you catch the faint scent of sweetsleep, a drug which is all too recognisable to anyone who grew up on the streets. Functionally, it's a pretty powerful tranquiliser and pain reliever, but the strength of the effects vary wildly between plants. As a result, anyone using sweetsleep (who knows what they're doing) is never usually too far from a bit of saram root, which is pretty good at reversing the effects of the sweetsleep in the event of an accidental overdose.

-----------------------------------------
*Known as the High Reaches in Common

[Rodgeir]

((Ah come on! Just think of the crits we can roll!))

Varsk looks at the cowering, whimpering elf,

"Nah, I'm sure its fine. They definitely weren't gonna murder you in your sleep and take your stuff as you live in the middle of a swamp without any way of protectin' yourselves."

Varsk walks around to the entrance of the hut, ignores Syli and the elder, enters and gives its contents a once over.

What is in the hut?: 2D20.HIGH(1)+4 = [17, 9]+4 = 21

[thinkslogically]

((Is that a perception roll?))