Chapter 2: Hither

[ManWithDoor]

Once you fully pass through the portal, you find yourselves standing at the edge of a raised and broken causeway under a hazy, twilit sky. The causeway, which is built from pale stones that glow faintly from within, towers over the surrounding landscape, but large sections of it have crumbled away. The parts that remain in place are separated by large gaps where portions have collapsed.

A fog-shrouded swamp spreads out below you in all directions, and up from its murk wafts the smell of rotting plants. Also rising from the swamp is the music of nature - a discordant symphony of croaking frogs and singing birds. Your stony elevated position keeps you out of the swamp itself, but given the broken nature if you keep on the causeway you will have to periodically descend down a support pillar, and climb the next unbroken section.

In the distant sky, you spot a great balloon made of patchwork material. It spins out of control as though punctured, causing the wicker basket that hangs from it to swing wildly. The balloon plunges out of sight, disappearing into the fog approximately a mile away.

OOC

Welcome to Chapter 2! Also, please remember to upgrade to Level 2 on your Roll20 character sheets.

[Muskrat]

Shiloh look with alarm at the falling balloon. "We should go help those people!" she tells the others. "They might be badly injured in a fall like that." She hesitates then adds, "And if we help them, they might be willing to help us. It would be good to have allies or at least advisers in a strange place like this."

[RorytheRomulan]

"I hope they're lucky, I'm not a trained healer. What about you?"

[Muskrat]

Shiloh shakes her head and says, "No, I'm not a healer. But that doesn't mean there's nothing we can do to help. They might be trapped and need help out of something."

[ManWithDoor]

The highway is 20 feet wide, and 100 feet above the swamp. In the fog it isn't possible to determine north, but regardless the direction of the failing balloon was clear. Traveling in that direction along the highway, eventually a large fallen section is reached and descent to the swamp is needed. Here the support pillar is full of handholds and footholds, along with large, colorful shelf mushrooms dotted along its length. Taking their time, they are able to descend safely with needing any special training or equipment.

Upon reaching the swamp, they have descended into the thick fog layered across the face of the land. Sloshing forward through the water a giant crane previously hidden by the fog emerges and takes flight. It doesn't appear to be a threat despite its size, it just flies off in a random direction.

Sticky mud squelches beneath your feet. Tangled mangroves grow out of pools of rippling water, half hidden by the thick fog, and purple mushrooms cling to rotting logs and stumps scattered throughout the marsh. Crickets that glow like fireflies chirp serenely before they're snatched out of the air by the tongues of hungry frogs.

Coming from one direction are several voices joined in a marching song. The singing grows louder as six bipedal rabbits, harengon just like Jack, wearing clothing emerge from the fog. Two of them tug at the reins of a giant snail, and the others carry clubs and slings.

With stick sand stones, we'll break your nose;
We'll beat you blind and steal your clothes.
But none among us can compare
To one wily, swift, and stand-up hare -
Scarf that's glorious, thief notorious,
His deeds are truly meritorious!

With a wink and a grin, he'll show his cunning;
A flash of his scarf, he'll take off running.
Quick as a bolt, his long scarf trailing,
Gasping, grasping, you'll end up flailing.
You'll pout, you'll moan, you'll huff, you'll sneer;
Thanks to Agdon Longscarf, brigand prince of Prismeer!

Getting close enough to see clearly, you see four of the brigands have their weapons drawn but lazily leaning against their shoulders, and the other two browbeat their pack animal, the giant snail.

[RorytheRomulan]

"Over here. Let's hide." Quill ducks behind a mangrove, getting mud up to her knees. It's not perfect, though. Anyone bothering to look could spot her between the roots.

Stealth 9

[Bohemond]

Jack immediately hops up into at tree, trying to stay hidden as he looks for a Harengon with a large and glorious scarf as described in the song.

[Muskrat]

Shiloh is about to call out to the wayfarers when she hears their song and realizes they're bandits. She makes a face of disgust, then hastily looks for a place to hide, following Quill's suggestion. Once there, she tries peeking out to see if they have any captives or the like.

Action

Stealth 2: 17
Perception -1: 9

[ManWithDoor]

Shiloh does the best of the group on hiding in the fog, but Quill especially couldn't find a very good hiding place and unfortunately by chance the brigands are travelling right past your spot. When they come into clear sight, one of the brigands with a drawn weapon signals the others to stop singing with a wave of her hand. She introduces herself as Jebbek, and she calmly says to the group, "This is a robbery. If you resist, we'll beat you black and blue." The harengon says this in a quite friendly tone.

She demands that each person surrender the feeling of delight they remember when they were given the best gift they ever received. Jebbek produces a stoppered gourd that she indicates can hold these memories. All they have to do is touch the golden knob on the gourd, and voluntarily give up the memory.

Jack has not specialized his studies in the arcane arts, but he does have a keen ear and a discerning mind for what might be important or interesting to remember. Working as a Witchlight Hand he has heard all sorts of tales about the Feywild, some fanciful and others factual, and he has heard of artifacts such as this. He doesn't know if it has a formal scholarly name, but it can do what the brigand says it does - syphon off and store memories. The story he heard ends with a mighty hero smashing the gourd, releasing the stolen memories to their original owners. And winning the hand of the princess and living happily ever after, of course.

OOC

Oof, they rolled an 18 on Perception, and that's prior to adding their stat/proficiency bonuses. Yeah, they detect you.

Jack got a Nat 20 on his Arcana roll, so knows the general properties of this magical item.

Also, the Character Sheets for Shiloh and Jack are still at Level 1. Please upgrade to Level 2.

[Muskrat]

Shiloh crosses her arms and says, "I've already had my memories of my childhood home stolen. I'm not keen to lose more memories. Is there something else you might be interested in instead? Perhaps a performance? I'm a skilled musician."

Action

Persuasion 5: 7. That did not go well.

OOC

I intended to update my character sheet over Thanksgiving Break, but that was consumed with catching up on rest and grading midterms. I'll try to get to it in the next few days.