In which our heroes finally execute a plan successfully   Book Two, Chapter 3.1 (session 60, 6 th September 2018)   The Party: Naergon Harna, elven wizard (diviner); Mads Rangle, human fighter/warlock; Jamna Gleamsilver, gnome rogue (arcane trickster); Tomaz Stormwind, human ranger (hunter); Druscilla Oakenrock, dwarven cleric (trickster)     Naergon, Jamna and Mads wait behind the closed door in the entrance chamber but there is no sound of pursuit. Jamna turns to Naergon, “ that may well have been the door guard but I’m not sure we have the ability to push on across that chasm at the moment. We need to regroup and plan. ” Naergon looks at Mads and then Jamna “ yes, perhaps. It’s hard to see where that pathway leads. We’ve announced our presence. Maybe that’s enough for now.” “ And I suspect that by the time we return to camp our reinforcements should be about due. I was promised mid-afternoon and I’d hate to be late to meet them.” The elf continues. “I’ve heard good stuff about this Tomaz but never met the cleric you mentioned, Druscilla was it?” “Yes” says Jamna, “ that’s what I was told too. Hopefully this Tomaz will be just as capable as poor Franz, though if we’re lucky he’ll be smarter and older. I can’t see a cleric taking Augustus’ place but having some divine assistance can’t hurt.” “ They friends of yours then?” asks Mads as they squeeze out of the entry chamber. “ No not really” says Jamna “ I was asked to keep in touch with the Council as was Naergon and we seem to have had the same idea at the same time. Were you not asked to report back regularly as well?” “Nope, not me. Guess I’m just a grunt” replies Mads gruffly, turning away. “ Where in Sehanine’s name is my hippogriff?” demands Naergon, standing in the empty cave. “ That damn cultist! No one said he could take my hippogriff” “Guess we should have seen that one coming ” mutters Mads. “ Come on, we would have had to climb down anyway” . The three heroes make their way down the long switchback stairway and to their temporary camp. Once in camp they settle down and take a short rest. After an hour or so there is a blue crack and a sizzle in the air as, with the smell of ozone surrounding them, a tall human clad in dark leathers and a sturdy dwarf in scale armour step out of nowhere to materialise at the edge of camp. Getting up, Naergon goes to greet them “ Well met, how are things back with the Council?” The human turns, looks him up and down “ Naergon Harm I presume? I was led to understand that you had some problems and I’ve been sent to assess and report back on your performance.” “What, you’re here to pass judgement on me, on us?” cries Naergon in disbelief. “ Yes“ says the tall man, leaning on his bow “ apparently you’ve been ‘doing things wrong’” “Madness, what things?” stutters Naergon, in the background Mads is chuckling just a little too loudly. “ That’s what I’m here to evaluate ” is the reply. “ So, am I under arrest?” “No, but we may need to make some changes. Now, what is the plan of action?” “We’ll come to that, first who do you work for and what are your motives?” demands Naergon. “ I serve the Council currently and my purpose is to ensure that this cult des not succeed. ” “ Yes, yes but who pays you?” insists Naergon. “G enerally my clients or benefactor, in this case the Council, why?” “Never mind why . . .” begins Naergon when Mads interrupts “ We used to have a ranger not unlike you and he seemed purely motivated by money, greedy to the point of recklessness. So, I guess what we’re asking is are you here for the money? What’s your drive?” “Rest easy on that soldier, money’s a means to an end, no more. There’s a higher calling and mostly it’s saying ‘put Tiamat back in her box’ right now”. Meanwhile, in the background, a few significant looks and some swift hand movements are exchanged by Jamna and Druscilla. Mads, turning asks “ and you miss dwarf, what god do you serve?” Druscilla turns, stares him up and down and says “ Mask, Lord of Thieves. Why, what’s it to you?” “Err, no reason, nothing really. Just asking ” replies Mads, rather disorientated and surprised at the response. “ Have you known Jamna long?” he continues, changing the subject, “I know of Jamna, that’s all ” says the dwarf, scowling up at the warrior. “ Ah, well, there she is ” says Mads pointing at the gnome, who stands, arms crossed, foot tapping, scowling at him to prevent herself from giggling at his discomfiture. “Glad we got that sorted out. Now, you look like a soldier, bit flashy perhaps but you have military written all over you. So, what’s the plan?” asks Druscilla, turning to face him. “ Ah, well we don’t really do plans. We wing it” says Mads, looking nonplussed. “I see, and how’s that been working out for you?” asks the dwarf aggressively. “ We do ok, I think don’t we Naergon ?” says Mads, stepping back. “ Eh what, well yes, we got this far ” says Naergon rather distractedly. “ So, why were we sent to assist you? Just how many companions have you lost against this cult?” asks Druscilla, scowling. “ Well, let’s see, there was Drax and Vilios, but that was sometime ago. It’s only recently that we lost Franz and Augustus ” says Naergon, rallying. “Don’t discount yourself elf” calls Jamna helpfully. “ You died too, remember .” Druscilla turns briefly, looking at each of them in turn “ so five then. Counting us, I’m making that somewhere between fifty and one hundred percent losses. Not good, not good at all. Got to make better use of the assets at our disposal and not be so wasteful. Now as I was asking, what’s the plan?” Mads steps up “err, well we’ve performed a reconnaissance in force and penetrated the initial guardroom of the cult lair, up their” he points up the escarpment. “ however, without further aid we thought it prudent not to push further. As that would be . . . err. . . wasteful?” “Good, ok, so what’s next?” scowls Druscilla. Naergon steps in front of Mads “ we climb back up, open the door, cross the lava chasm and kill the cultists.” She glares up at him “really, just like that? I’m not sure I’d even call that winging it, more like an abrogation of responsibility. These are valuable assets, not to be squandered unnecessarily!”. “Hang on a moment, Naergon” says Mads “she’s not wrong, how are we getting across that chasm?” “Well, I suppose that I could teleport us all across” says Druscilla. “ Really? How does that work?” “Well as long as I can see the destination I can teleport you across – you need to be within ten feet of each other is all” she replies. “ That’s going to be a problem” says Naergon, “ the path is crumbling and only five feet wide, no way you can get everyone across in one go” “Ok fair point. I can do this up to three times, so we should be able to make it across. Of course, the trip back may be tighter if we’re leaving in a hurry” clarifies Druscilla. “Hmm” Naergon, gazes up the escarpment, thinking. Mads continues “ that’s all well and good but does everyone have a way of saving themselves if they fall off? Last time we tried to cross we were swarmed by cultists with the capacity to fly. Even if we teleport across to the stable platform it will be a lot more dangerous fighting there than it was in the entrance”. Druscilla says “ I can teleport people I can see but again it’s only three times, my advice, don’t fall”. Mads and Druscilla look around at the others. “Tomaz” asks Mads “ if you fall, do you have any means of getting back up, can you fly, levitate, anything?” “I’m not planning on falling off ” grunts Tomaz. “ Not good enough! ” continues Mads “ if you fall off or are pushed off, and I assure you that it is a distinct possibility, what means do you have to save yourself?” Tomaz just glares at him. Mads, shrugging, turns to Druscilla “ so if you fall off, you can just teleport yourself back up right?” “Yes”. “That’s good, that’s a contingency plan. Does anyone else have a contingency plan?” asks Mads looking around. Naergon, still frowning at the escarpment, glances across at Mads “ always!” “Good, anyone else?” “I have my ring of feather fall” says Jamna “ so I might not be able to get myself back up but I’m sure someone else can in the time that buys me, ‘sides I’m not likely to fall” she grins at Mads. “ Ok, you fall slowly, I can get you back on the platform I think. If nothing else we can drop you a rope or Druscilla can teleport you. Tomaz do you have anything that will prevent you falling or at least allow you to survive the fall?” Tomaz looks around at everyone, shuffles his feet and grumpily admits “ no, no I don’t”. “Right” says Mads, “ this is going to be really dangerous for you then.” Naergon interjects “ why don’t those of you with the means to survive a fall go ahead, Tomaz can stay at the back with me and provide support?” As he ties a rope around his waist securing his immovable rod to his person, Naergon looks up and adds “ Druscilla, this teleport option, we all have to be within ten feet, right?” “Yep” answers the dwarf. “ And how accurate is it, from what I recall of my studies it’s not exactly infallible is it?” “Err, well I’ll be able to see the target, so it should be ok, say seventy-five percent?” nods Druscilla. “Hey now, hang on”, interjects Mads “ I have a contingency but those aren’t good odds when your life is on the line.” Adding in an undertone “ And I’m not a fan of gambling anymore. ” “So, how far across these rolling platforms did you make it last time?” asks Tomaz. Naergon turns, rather distractedly “we didn’t, we fought from the doorstep, where it’s safe”. “So, we don’t even know where we’re teleporting too in reality then?” “No, we don’t. It could just be more unstable rolling platforms. That’s why it’s important we have contingencies” says Mads. Naergon says quietly “ there is another way.” “What way?” demands Mads. “ I could drop a wall of force from the doorstep to the far platform, that will give you a ten-foot wide bridge to use”. “Awesome, that’s far safer than the ledges, or teleporting. How long will it last?” “About ten minutes, it’ll be invisible though, so be careful” adds Naergon. Mads turns to the group “So, we have a plan, we climb back up, open the door, cross the chasm on Naergon’s bridge and kill the cultists.” Druscilla glares up at him, slowly grinning “Ok, that sounds like a plan a dwarf can commit to!” Climbing the stairway and pushing through the cavern, they approach the door. Mads walks up to one side “ who’s going to help me with this?” After a moment’s silence, Druscilla says “I will”. Between them they depress the wings and turn the lock, the door sliding into the floor as smoothly as last time. Beyond, the chasm hasn’t changed, the lava still bubbles and roils far below. The broken path still hangs, suspended in space, the stones slowly turning and twisting. Naergon steps forward and casts wall of force to generate a safe platform direct from the doorway to the far south-western edge of the platform “ it’s done” he says “ you’ll just have to trust me on that.” Behind him Jamna casts invisibility on herself. “Ready?” asks Mads looking at Druscilla “leap of faith time” and they step out onto the invisible force bridge, the edges only discernible by the smoke and steam that boil up underneath as it’s forced to the side. Mads and Druscilla advance across the bridge. Stealthily, an invisible Jamna stalks behind them. Part way across a crossbow bolt slams into Mads, followed by a second that skitters off the platform into the void. Peering south they can just make out a series of arrow slits in the south wall. Tomaz steps forward a few feet but can’t get an angle on the area so just takes a defensive posture near the doorway [dodge] with Naergon. A dragonfang cultist steps around the southern wall, pulls an orb out from under his cloak, breathes on it and throws it at Mads. The orb sails past and shatters on the force bridge, sending ice and frost blooming across its surface, which almost immediately melts and steams away. Next, several dragonwing cultists race around the southern corner, flying and coasting on their ragged cloaks, stopping just short of Mads and Druscilla. Mads advances and attacks the first with a flurry of cuts and blows from his glaive. With a wail the cultist is swept off the platform. Druscilla also advances and wounds a cultist with a solid whack of her mace. A crossbow bolt shoots across, narrowly missing Druscilla as Jamna creeps along behind, carefully stepping in the others’ footprints [stealth 33]. The cultists in in the arrow slits fail to spot her [perception 4]. Tomaz casts hunters mark [bonus action] on the dragonwing in front of Druscilla and then shoots him. The dragonfang to the south pulls out another orb and hurls it at Druscilla, the orb shatters over the dwarf’s armour, ice blooming as a second dragonfang glides down onto the platform to the north and also hurls an orb at her. This orb shatters on her upraised arm, the cold freezing her to the core [critical]. The dragonwing facing Druscilla, attacks and wounds her twice. Another steps up to Mads, wounding him badly [critical]. Another jumps and glides up and over to land behind Mads, who swings at it as it flies past, wounding it and causing it to fear him [opportunity attack - menacing attack]. The cultist then attacks and wounds Mads twice. The next dragonwing glides over and lands behind Druscilla and again slashes and burns her with cold [critical]. With a groan, the dwarf crumples onto the bridge. The final dragonwing glides further, landing next to the invisible Jamna and advances on Tomaz. Jamna considers a sneak attack but opts to remain invisible instead. Mads casts misty step [bonus] and reappears on the western platform. He turns and casts eldritch blast on the dragonwings, the first is hit and knocked off the bridge, spiralling into the chasm, cloak fluttering. The second gets hit and shoved back, also falling. The third is hit and shoved along the invisible bridge. Mads then charges at the dragonfang on the southern platform [action surge] and chops into him with his glaive [reach], wounding it badly [critical]. On the bridge Druscilla groans and shivers [death save fail]. The cultists at the arrow slits scour the area for targets but still can’t spot Jamna [perception 17, 10, 4] who readies herself to sneak past the dragonwings when a route becomes clear. Tomaz casts hail of thorns [bonus] and shoots the lead dragonwing, thorns spread across the dragonwing’s head and shoulders, injuring it badly [failed save]. Tomaz then retires to stand alongside Naergon. Naergon casts cone of cold straight down the bridge. All the dragonwings and Jamna are pounded by a blast of freezing air, that sweeps the cultists into the chasm, the cries of the living ones dwindling as they plummet towards the lava. Jamna takes the full brunt of the attack but maintains concentration and uses the distraction to dash past [stealth 30] to stand behind Mads [readied action]. The dragonfang on the southern platform, pulls out an orb, breathes and throws it at Mads, the orb shatters across his dragon armour which protects him from the worst of the freezing damage [resistance]. The dragonfang to the north hurls another orb, that shatters on the platform behind Mads, cold blooming and steaming in the heat. Mads attacks the dragonfang nearest him, slashing him but failing to knock him from the ledge “hurry up Tomaz” he shouts behind him. Back on the bridge Druscilla remains motionless [death save pass – inspiration]. The sound of heavy footfalls running across stone can be dimly heard to the south, beyond the arrow slits. Jamna drops her invisibility to shoot the dragonfang to the south [sneak attack], the arrow taking it in the neck and dropping it instantly. Tomaz shoots at the remaining dragonfang, wounding it. Naergon casts firebolt from the doorstep, the bolt slamming into the dragonfang as well. The dragonfang, in return hurls an orb at Tomaz but it misses. Mads steps past Jamna and casts eldritch blast on the dragonfang on the northern platform, knocking it back and into the chasm wall. As it starts to slide down it is hit again, pushing it along the chasm wall. Wailing, it begins to spiral downwards, cloak fluttering. Back on the bridge Druscilla lies motionless [death save pass – inspiration from MR]. In the southern doorway a grizzled human warrior appears. Clad in splint armour, a longsword in one hand, shortsword in the other, he growls “ it’s been a wile ” at Jamna. Looking up, Jamna recognises the badly scarred visage as Wessic, one of the veterans accompanying Talis back in the Hunting Lodge. He then attacks Jamna, swords whirling, wounding her. Jamna staggers but doesn’t fall from the platform, she then disengages [bonus] to stand behind Mads and shoots, wounding the scarred veteran. A second veteran, Maelgot pushes past the first and advances on Mads, who wounds him as he presses forward [opportunity attack]. Maelgot retains his footing and attacks Mads, hitting him twice but fails to dislodge him. Tomaz runs up the bridge and casts cure wounds on Druscilla. The third of Talis’s veterans, Sorvik appears in the southern doorway and shoots at Mads with his crossbow but the bolt flies wide. Back in the entrance chamber Naergon cats firebolt at the dragonfang as it flutters down the northern wall, the bolt slamming home and killing it [critical] before it can recover from its fall. To be continued . . .       No levels were gained this session:   Naergon 13 th level Mads 12 th level Jamna 12 th level Tomaz 12 th level Druscilla 12 th level       XP earnt is now irrelevant as the rest of TOD is based on milestone XP   In-Game the session ended at 18:00 on 22 nd Tarsakh 1485 DR   (The last Long Rest was completed at 08:00 that morning, 1 short rest has been taken since by NH, MR, JG)   Next session Thursday 13 th September