Chapter 2: Hither

[RorytheRomulan]

Quill winces and gives out a pained yelp as she deals with the arrow in her shoulder and dresses her wound. She moves in the direction of the smoke from the balloon, keeping her eyes peeled for a tower poking up over the mangroves.

"If only! We better get out of here before they find out. Hey, I see that rapier's not just for show, huh Jack?"

[Muskrat]

Jack looks down at the slain Harengon. It was a little shocking for him, as he had never killed someone in battle before. He quickly hides his misgivings, turning to his friends with a smile and quipping, "Quite a 'reunion,' wouldn't you say?"

Shiloh sighs and nods. "I was hoping that the spell would kick in before we actually got locked in combat, but it didn't work out that way. I was also hoping to learn more. Hopefully, this Slanty Tower will be a helpful resource."

[ManWithDoor]

Continuing on after binding their wounds and wondering about the strangeness of the inhabitants of Prismeer, the party trudges through the fog in the direction of the falling balloon that they saw earlier. The ground turns swampy and unpleasant. A patch seems to be particularly sickly with a strange miasma, it can be skirted and so everyone remains safe.

In a couple hours a crumbling stone tower can finally be seen that rises out of the swamp, leaning at such an angle that it threatens to keel over. Black brambles surround the base of the tower and cling to its lower half. Hanging from the crenellations on the lower side of the tower's peak is a large woven basket at the end of a tangle of ropes and tattered fabric. The basket dangles 30 feet above the surface of the swamp.

The leaning tower is 50 feet tall and 20 feet in diameter, give or take, with an open door at the bottom on the side opposite where the basket is hanging. Black brambles cover the ground within 30 feet of the tower, clustering most densely around the open doorway.

Cautiously approaching the bramble patch, a whispered voice can be heard saying in Common, "Psst. you there, I need your help!" The whisper seems to be coming from the basket dangling from the top of the tower. Given the fog, nobody can see what or who is the in the basket where the whispering seems to be originating.

The Slanty Tower

[Muskrat]

Shiloh calls back, "Don't worry! We came to see if anyone needed our help when we saw the balloon go down." She looks around, trying to assess the situation. "What's your situation? Are you injured? Or just stuck?"

[Othniel]

"I can go take a look," Trixie offers, not waiting for an answer as she flits up higher toward the sound.

[RorytheRomulan]

Quill takes a closer look at the brambles. If they're going to reach the stranded balloon travelers, they will need some way to pass the brambles.

"We can't just carve our way through this... can we?"

rolls

Looking at the brambles to figure out a way through them, and try to remember something that would help us do that if they are magical.

Perception: 19
Arcana: 7

[ManWithDoor]

Quill examines the brambles in front of her. They don't appear to be magical, acting more as a pain in the ass to traverse rather than a deadly trap. As she lightly prods the thorny thicket, Jack tenses and then points out two giant constrictor snakes lying together, asleep, a few feet from the front door.

OOC

These brambles are difficult terrain. Each 5-foot-square section has AC 11, 15 hit points, immunity to psychic damage, and vulnerability to fire damage.

Jack passed the passive Perception check to notice the 2 giant constrictor snakes guarding the door.

When Shiloh talks up to the basket, a quick "Shush!" cuts her off. "I'm in a bit of a bind, as you can observe. I, Sir Talavar, as one of the Summer Queen's loyal servants, ask that you free me. You seee, I was in the midst of a daring escape from the vile Bavlorna Blightstraw when our balloon was set upon by an ill wind and sent plummeting to its current unfortunate location. My pilot, the honorable Wigglewog, did not survive. I've been trapped up here for a while now. Help me. I must tell my queen of the fall of Prismeer!"

Gifted with the ability to fly, Trixie flits high enough to see into the basket from above. Once she gets high enough she can see that inside the basket is a locked birdcage. She can see the corpse of the bullywug pilot, and an alive violet faerie dragon. Sir Talavar, presumably.

[RorytheRomulan]

Quill gapes at the giant - to her, extra giant - snakes and takes a few shaky steps backward from the brambles, and then her eyes light up. She's got an idea.

"I can lure them both away with illusions, hmm... I think pigs should do the trick. But I'll have to wake them up first. So we'll have to make ourselves scarce, or they might just come after us instead."

actions

I'm going to use Minor Illusion to wake up the boas, using the sound of a prey animal. When they stir and look around, I'll get their attention with the silent image of prey where I put the sound, and trick them into slithering off and out of our way.

I'll position myself such that I am closer to where I want to conjure the pig and further away from the boa constrictors, as far away from them as I possibly can be.

I'll let you guys take time to talk to the faerie dragon before I commit to this.

[Muskrat]

Shiloh stares at the sleeping boas. "I should be able to put at least one and maybe both into a magical slumber. They wouldn't wake unless attacked. But the spell would only last a minute."

She looks up and says, "Maybe Trixie could fly a rope up for Sir Talavar to climb down?"

OOC

Is there a reason the faerie dragon can't fly free?

If we lowered a rope from the basket, could Sir Talavar climb down past the thorns?

[RorytheRomulan]

"Mmm, maybe she could. But then he would have to get past those... 'snakes', instead."