Third Trip's The Charm

[Quonundrum]

Meinhardt

"How many priests were there? Are three of us going to be enough?"

"There were no priests in the bandit cave. The two that captured Rida and Haldric I believe were summoned by a surviving bandit from the cave next to the gnoll's (K)."

"There were also no guards, living or otherwise, yesterday in the orc cave. I expect that they probably put a couple zombies or skeletons there to guard our friends though as they await their fate. I'd hope that the four of us can sneak inside, dispatch any guards and leave with our friends. I fear that the gnoll raid will otherwise force the priests to accelerate their plans for them. Torture, interrogation, and execution, likely."

[OGRE MAGE]

One Short Of A Baker's Dozen
Splitting The Party
Early Afternoon, Warm Clear

Tammuz answers Daliedhur's question. "They call plant kajght. Give warriors more aggression. Good for hard fight. You chew some?" He will hand some over on your request, but neither him nor his followers have any means to silence the upcoming battle.

The scouts return for the second time to report what they found, though nobody offers a suggestion on exactly how to proceed. Keya suggests distracting the beast with a deer, but none in the group currently carries one of those. It is agreed that it would be in bad taste to kill a chained animal, but the newly enraged Gnolls don't seem to be as worried about such things. They growl and hiss, nearly frothing at the mouth by this point, ready to attack whatever gets in their way.

While Renna ties her rope and suggests oil might come in handy, Pim watches as Bugs rubs soot from inside the chimney all over his blue tinted face and hands, making the normally cheery gnome look downright dangerous all of the sudden. Again, there is no sign of a fire below. Nearly unable to control himself, Bugs grabs the rope and starts lowering himself into the opening, despite the others who have not mentioned their plan for the frontal attack yet. The dwarfs eyes move back and forth from Bugs to the others, wondering if he should grab the thief by his collar before he gets himself killed, or worse.


The group with Meinhardt continues along the top of the ravine, eventually dropping down one level to reach the area above the Bugbear cave. From the copse of trees, they can smell meat cooking as they spot wisps of smoke exiting a small vent hole in the rocky surface above their cave system.

Actions?

CoC layout.jpg (141.06 KiB) Viewed 622 times

Keya Redd H-E (C1/R1) AC:5 10/12
Stobart (C2) AC:5 17/20 CLW/CLW
Gyb the Meager (M2) AC:10 8/11
Pimlan (F1/T1) H-L AC:6 6/9
Renna (MU1/C1) Elf AC:4 7/9 CLW
Magdal (R1) AC:7 11/16
Crobeus (P1) AC:3 6/10
Bugs Donato G (T3) AC:3 24/24
Loyn Shortbeard D (F2) AC:5 22/23
Meinhardt (MU1) AC:10 5/5
Ithrandir (F1/MU1) AC:5 7/7
Daliedhur (F1/MU1) AC:3 9/9 (Cinder AC:6 4/4)

Tammuz
15 Gnoll Fighters

[Quonundrum]

Meinhardt


"Smells like we're in luck with the bugbears, at least. Lunchtime." He points to the next large copse of trees between the orc and bandit caves, (B) and (C). "I suggest that we climb down another tier and move quickly to those trees. We can get a good look at both cave entrances and decide whether to proceed."

[Karaunios]

Ithrandir

Ithrandir sighs for a moment. "The situation with the great bird complicates a frontal attack. It would still be a good idea to proceed. Yes, they will know we are here, but it will distract them from those entering through the chimney and the rescue team, although they are going a different way. Besides, our gnoll friends are already prepared for battle. I would suggest starting it before, in their fury, they turn against us."

He communicates all this information to the gnolls in their language, except for the last part.

[Edeldhur]

Tammuz answers Daliedhur's question. "They call plant kajght. Give warriors more aggression. Good for hard fight. You chew some?" He will hand some over on your request, but neither him nor his followers have any means to silence the upcoming battle.

"Not today, thank you" - Daliedhur nods - "But if we survive, I will want to try it"

So if I understand correctly, it seems it is Keya, Magdal, Ithrandir, Daliedhur, Tammuz and the remaining gnolls. Correct? Everyone else who was up for a frontal assault went to the orc caves.

"Ok, some of us can use the cover of these trees here to climb down" - the elf nods at the copse of trees closeby, and begins preparing a rope to climb down (about a 25' climb down right? Not too bad, but hopefully the ropes make it easier?) - "A third of us stand to one side of the cave, another third stand to the other, and the rest stays up top" - he continues - "Throw some javelins at the creature, draw it outside, then move away. Since it is chained it will not be able to get to us, so we can hopefully pepper it from afar with arrows and javelins - from both sides, and from above. Engaging that brute in melee should be the last resort"

He looked around - "Stay silent, and the trees should offer us some cover from the Priest's cave. Leave the ropes in place in case we need to get away fast. Are we agreed?"

That is my plan suggestion
The only problem I see is if for any reason the owlbear chain is not long enough for it to leave the cave, they we will not be able to target it from outside.

The Rangers move along with the Gnoll scouts for a second look at this Big Bird they are concerned about who is currently blocking the cave entrance. Both Keya and Magdal stand there in disbelief when they see what the gnolls were talking about, neither of them ever seeing such an odd looking creature before. One of the Gnolls points to a chain and rusty iron shackle wrapped tightly around one ankle of the monster.

@OGRE MAGE: Did any of the scouts get a chance to take a quick ballpark of the measurement of the chain holding the 'bird'? Does it seem to extend outside the cave entrance?

If Loyn was with us I would suggest him trying to immitate a mating call of some sort to try and draw the creature out, instead of throwing javelins at it Keya, Magdal, would this be something you could do though?
Or in alternative @OGRE MAGE - would Daliedhur be able to imitate such a call, perhaps mimicking an owl or a bear, or a mix of those, since he has a Huntsman background?

Lots of OOC questions - sorry about that.

[GreyWolfVT]

Bugs

"Oil is good, thanks. And the rope will help if we have to get back up quickly. Ok, it's go time Pim. Quiet-like everyone and good luck. Oh! if the rope is pulled three times quickly, then start pulling up."

Bugs grins at Pim. "Hey. Do you mind if I go first?" Bugs puts his hands on the chimney and tests for heat and soot. He'll cover his hands and face with any soot he finds. If there isn't any objection from Pim, or any clear fire from below, he'll start the descent.

Pim replies to Bugs "By all means, feel free to go first. Just don't try setting a fire before i get down there."

[Scott308]

Crobeus - Human Paladin

The paladin declines Meinhardt's offer of oil. "Unfortunately, Pholtus does not allow me to use oil as a weapon. I would risk losing all abilities he grants me. I do like your idea of making for the trees.

[ateno]

"I will honor my pact, if the group decides to attack while the magic they chewed is active. I will support all of you."

Keya Redd

[Karaunios]

Ithrandir

"Good idea, Daliedhur. I have a bow and arrows. I can position myself above the cave entrance. It would be better if you folks decide on where you want to position yourselves.

I would advise against the groups on either side of the cave throwing projectiles though... There could be crossfire, and they might harm each other. Perhaps it's better to use melee weapons. Better yet, polearms for those who have them.

We should be moving now."

[Hotgoblin]

Loyn-Dwarf fighter

Loyn grabs Bugs and says, “I think the plan is to come at them from both sides, SIMULTANEOUSLY, you’re too antsy! Unfortunately, the owl-bear is here against its will, although one can not simply walk up and remove the manacle, without being attacked. Poisoning it would be quiet, although I have no poison, but do have jerky we could taint and throw to the creature. Does anyone have any? He looks at Tammuz and the rest of the gnolls. Loyn will remain by the chimney in the chance Bugs and Pim need help from above.

[Monsieur Rose]

Bugs

"Whaddayamean? Oh. The others. Simultaneously can work, but I could also sneak over and unleash the thing while it's distracted." Bugs thinks a bit. "Then it would be loose. Is that worse?"

"Maybe I should take a look below, or a listen?"

[OGRE MAGE]

Sorry for the monster post again, but with several suggestions along with a half dozen questions…….not much I can do about that.

I always feel like the more I write, the less players read carefully and actually catch on to what I’m saying, but trying to be as detailed as possible while keeping the update short proves difficult at best sometimes.

Anyway……

Are my maps and other aids difficult to comprehend? Because Loyn is still with the main group. He’s the L next to the chimney.

Anyone can try to mimic the sound of a creature, though I might give a better chance of success to someone with experience in such things.

I assume scouting means peeking in for a quick look without attracting attention from the monster. Therefore, you have no idea how much chain hangs from the manacle. Unless someone wants to get a closer look?

Also, since the scouts have been there and back twice already, you can assume there is no need to provide more details about your approach. No need to muddy the waters more than I already have.

One Short Of A Baker's Dozen
Splitting The Party Again
Early Afternoon, Warm Clear

The Gnolls growl and gnash their fangs at each other, steadily succumbing to the violent effects of the psychoactive plant they’re chewing. This makes a few others nervous, wondering if they will need to fight them too, eventually.

Loyn hold Bugs up from the hole for a moment, the energetic Gnome’s mouth and feet still churning away while he’s suspended there in mid air for the moment at the behest of the dwarf.

A few more suggestions are made on how to deal with the threat inside the cave, but none of them sound any better than Daliedhur’s idea of simply firing arrows into the thing from a distance. Though Magdal and Keya believe that is probably against their Ranger ideals, both eventually agree to the unsettling plan.

Bugs wants to sneak around by himself, so Loyn lowers him back into the hole and gets Pimlan ready to climb down behind him. Renna stands at the ready in that area as well.

Tammuz shakes his head at the idea of poisoning a 900 pound creature, wondering how many gallons of poison that would actually take. The priests in the group also give the Dwarf a concerned look after such a horrifying suggestion.

Once the plan is agreed upon, the Gnolls follow the rangers and the elves down to the area of the cave mouth, wondering if there will be some kind of signal to attack once they arrive.



On the other side of the ravine by now, Meinhardt suggests his group move to the next copse of trees to reach a better vantage point to enter the cave. When he looks back to the opening where the Bugbears live, he sees a massive figure standing there waving for his foursome to join it.

IMG_2083.png (326.78 KiB) Viewed 543 times

Actions?

Keya Redd H-E (C1/R1) AC:5 10/12
Stobart (C2) AC:5 17/20 CLW/CLW
Gyb the Meager (M2) AC:9 8/11
Pimlan (F1/T1) H-L AC:6 6/9
Renna (MU1/C1) Elf AC:4 7/9 CLW
Magdal (R1) AC:7 11/16
Crobeus (P1) AC:3 6/10
Bugs Donato G (T3) AC:3 24/24
Loyn Shortbeard D (F2) AC:5 22/23
Meinhardt (MU1) AC:10 5/5
Ithrandir (F1/MU1) AC:5 7/7
Daliedhur (F1/MU1) AC:3 9/9 (Cinder AC:6 4/4)

Tammuz
15 Gnoll Fighters

[gurusql]

Renna

Renna will keep an eye on the surrounding area while the two two experts climb down.

[Quonundrum]

Meinhardt


"Mr. Crobeus, I normally couldn't tell a bugbear from its mother, but I'd wager that particular one is the same that was watching us yesterday."

"If they were allied with the priests, they could have simply attacked us. More likely, they saw us return with the gnolls and while maybe not on the best of terms with them, they are probably thinking the the same thing. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

He gestures with his arm in the direction of the bugbear cave. "Shall we make some new friends? We can definitely use your diplomatic skills, Crobeus. I suggest we present ourselves boldly, without fear." As if to set an example, Meinhardt does just that and begins to stride confidently towards the bugbear.

[Edeldhur]

Daliedhur

Just got a cool idea to try and draw the ‘bird’ out in a less suspicious way - will send Cinder out to the cave entrance to try and lure it
No time to post today since it is way past bedtime in Europe, but will post tomorrow.

[Jernau35]

Gyb

Gyb had been just about to suggest that the group stay well back from the edge to avoid being silhouetted against the sky. However, the bugbear's offer now made that point moot.

"Maybe so," says Gyb, sounding dubious. "But Gyb has enough friends right now. Gyb will stay here." He looks around the copse for a place of concealment.

[Quonundrum]

Meinhardt


He pauses, glancing back over one shoulder. "Well, the way I see it is, they could easily prevent us from entering the orc cave. I still owe a debt to Rida, Haldric, and you, though. I am willing to meet that bugbear alone, if I must. If it eats me, that would at least give you three time to escape or attempt to rescue the others."

[Karaunios]

Daliedhur

Just got a cool idea to try and draw the ‘bird’ out in a less suspicious way - will send Cinder out to the cave entrance to try and lure it
No time to post today since it is way past bedtime in Europe, but will post tomorrow.

Remember that the bird is chained. It won't be able to run that far from the cave.

Ithrandir

"The creature is chained. We should use that chance to kill it from a distance. The gnolls and anyone without ranged weapons can take care of any enemy exiting the cave and coming our way.

Let's go and do it NOW." The elf takes an uneasy look at the gnolls.

C'mon, guys we should start the action here and move this along. Besides, I'm sure the gnolls will turn agaisnt us if they don't hit anything else after taking those drugs. I'm gonna start firing next round.

[ateno]

"Fine, lets go."

Keya heads down the trail towards the cave opening.

He will plan to stay behind the attackers with bow support


Keya Redd

[Hotgoblin]

Loyn-Dwarf fighter

Loyn shakes his head…Ya Bugs, do your sneaksing stuff…I believe in you both…Bugs let your intellect guide you and Pim let your wisdom shine through! He releases Bugs. Moradin, Greater God of the Great ever-burning hearth and forge! Be with my companions as they enter thru this chimney! Loyn puts his ear and hands on the rock to listen and to feel for any vibrations coming from it.