Off to the Mountain    

May 1, 2019

Luc is too tired to do anything with the recovered diamonds and tells everyone so.  The group says if he needs anything else, to let them know and he tells them he is grateful for that.  Commander Miller says she will be ready with supper that night.  

The group goes back to their home and rests.  Hang runs a few errands, Jinn looks at his books.  Tyrel starts working on a new song, humming and playing chords on his lute.  Maldar goes and speaks to Gregorivych, wondering if Gregorivych has a magic rapier.  

"Ah, my friend, I don't carry stock," replies Gregorivych.  "I only enchant when asked to do so.  We do other things here, mostly teach others, but it would be foolish to turn down both a teaching experience and coin!"  

"How long would it take to enchant a rapier," inquires Maldar.

"Ten days.  I tell you ten days."  At Maldar's gaze, Gregorivych amends with, "well, sure, if I made it, maybe two or three.  Five at most.  Or Ilayna did it.  But that would be extra as we have other duties we must attend to.  So, is ten day."  

Maldar accepts the answer but Gregorivych isn't sure Maldar is happy with the answer.  

They also get the rest of the potions they are owed from the various temples.  

That night, it turns out Commander Miller has gone all out.  Not beer this time but a decent wine.  Not stew but game hens.  Fresh vegetables and even fruits for dessert!  She is quite happy to be alive after that and does marvel at the group's ability to keep going out there into that situation again and again.  She also reports that the Duke is in much better spirits and has lifted the sanctions of elves.  No more badges required, to which Jinn takes his off and puts it in a pouch, and only Kelson, the one who attacked the Duke, is wanted to for questioning.  It's all back to normal.  Then she asks what else they are doing and they catch her up on many things.  The time goes fast and soon they must meet Gregorivych for drinks.  

The Lady Luck is quite busy and while speaking to Gregorivych, and listening to Tyrel's latest creation, Nisha arrives and joins them as well.  Maldar gives Tyrel a pointed look and Tyrel says that Maldar went looking at some of his contacts and found it.  He pulls out the ring, sister to the choker she wears.  Nisha holds the ring and is breathless for a while.  Finally, she holds it close, then reaches up and takes off the choker.  Jinn immediately feels Nisha pull on the Weave, drinking it in so much that her eyes glow.  Jinn wonders if she will cast something but she eventually releases it all back.  

"So much better, thank you."  

"Will you stay here or return to Waterdeep," asks Tyrel.  

"I will return to Waterdeep.  I have enjoyed my time here," she smiles at the group, perhaps lingering on Tyrel a bit longer, "but Waterdeep is my home.  I want to start making changes and now I can.  I do hope I will see you all again."  She stays a bit longer to hear some of the talk but soon leaves.  The rest eventually go home as well.  

The group takes several days to craft items, check on things, and work on other items.  They realize they probably need a safe place to store valuables and they are getting a lot.  Do they want to carry it all in the bag of holding?  Keep some of it at the home?  They end up dividing it around and making it safe.  

Eventually, they find themselves getting restless.  Well, not Hang.  She seems to be quite busy and isn't around that often but when she suggests they go to the mountain for the statue she spoke about, they all are ready to do so!  They gather provisions and then go to the Waterfall door in the cistern area.  They briefly consider asking for permission to go there but decide in the end not to do so.  In order to make it easier for Maldar to pick the locks, with a few notes, Tyrel shifts them into the room beneath the grates and Maldar climbs up and unlocks them for the others.  

The group doesn't like that the stairs are fixed.  No broken stairs and the lever is back as well.  They stare at each other but then pull the level and let Maldar scout it out.  Chandi is asked to go and she sighs but jumps onto Maldar's neck to let him carry her.  He rolls his eyes but doesn't object.  Maldar finds nothing and soon they are all in front of the waterfall door.  As Dorn arrives, they are still discussing options.  They could try more mage hands and then pry it open from afar.  Dorn shakes his head, opens the door, and walks through.  The others jump at this and then push to be next.  Soon, all are on the other side, in the mountains near the waterfall.  They travel the rest of the day, going toward the tallest peak.  Other than being surprised how tough it is to walk in the hills, nothing else happens.  Tyrel conjures a hut and they set watches and soon rest.  

It's the middle of the night, and Jinn hears rocks being pelted against the hut.  They don't get through and are creating a small pile.  He wakes up Dorn and says that something is out there and it got Chandi.  Dorn gets up and looks around but sees nothing and nothing happens.  Not hearing anything, Dorn goes back to sleep.  Jinn protests that something happened but Dorn shrugs and says nothing is happening now.  An hour later, when it starts happening again, Jinn doesn't wake up Dorn right away this time.  Jinn goes out and has Chandi go look.  She runs off through the brush, with a final complaint about not enough rest, before finding something to follow.  She runs out of sight to Jinn but sends back visions of the rock path and scrub that she passes.  She comes around a rock and Jinn watches as a dragon head snaps her into its jaws!  Minutes later, Chandi's statue appears at his feet and he knows he cannot summon her until the next dawn.  

Jinn again wakes up Dorn and they go outside looking.  Something is seen flying toward the camp!  Tyrel stays inside the hut, not wanting to dismiss it.  A huge bird appears and snatches Jinn!  It wheels around and starts flying back up the mountain!  Dorn can only stare and start to go after it.  Maldar and Hang join him when it turns around and starts coming back!  Confused, they ready attacks and when it does come back, Dorn hits it hard enough and spells slam into it, such that it decides they aren't worth it and leaves them.  Jinn, having used polymorph to turn into a much smaller bird, follows the Roc and sees he was meant to be supper for three baby rocs!  Glad he avoided that, Jinn heads back.  The others chastise him for not saying what he was doing as they had been wondering.  They go back to the hut.  

When more noise is heard, they again wonder what it is when a huge chimera shows up!  It's flame breath can't get past the hut, surprisingly, so they stay inside.  This time, it is Hang that steps outside as they others discuss what to do and uses Banishment on it!  Success!  Knowing they have a limited time to get ready, the rest positions themselves and attack when it shows up again!  The chimera didn't stand a chance.  Sure, it got some good hits in here and there and had it used its fire breath when they were all clumped up, maybe that might have changed things.  But Dorn's attacks and Jinn's spells prove to much and soon it is dead.  They realize it's close enough to dawn such that they decide to stay up.  They hoped to gather a lot from the body but only a few dragon teeth are really exotic and worth it.  

The next day is rain.  All day.  They are miserable.  Lots of mud, small mud slides, and slipping down the paths.  Many times, pouches get ripped off them and they have to backtrack to find them.  At one point, the rain got hard enough that they went down several blind valleys with no easy climb out and it forced them to walk back out and try again.  With an hour of travel left in them, they find a cave, maybe the cave?  But inside is better than outside as it is still raining.  Tyrel dries and cleans them off with prestidigitation, so that part is over, but it's still a bit cold for Eleasis.  They spend a few minutes warming up.  Maldar has found a chimney in a side passage of the tunnels.  While not having explored all of the caves, this seems promising, and they look at it.  Maldar can see well over a hundred feet and there is no end in sight.  Maldar uses his slippers of spider climbing and goes down nearly two hundred and fifty feet before coming out into a large cavern, sixty feet off the ground.  He pops out to look around and sees one area of the cavern is covered in ice.  Movement catches Maldar's eye and he looks to see a large, winged, four armed thing coming at him.  Decided that discretion is better, and not letting out a scared, whimpering scream, Maldar heads back up and tells the group what he has seen.  

6000 xp

GM Notes

• I do find it interesting how treasure can work now.  They don't need gold or items after every fight, it just has to average out.  I think they have too much, and they do in the bounded 5E system, but it just means that they can take tougher opponents. 
• Again, I thought about getting to the mountain area faster, as I had an idea that's the way it would go, but I didn't want to skip on the NPC interactions.  I think those play out well. 
• I don't think I ended on a cliff hanger but at least an interesting place to end. 
• We did discuss what would be normal and appropriate at times.  Specifically about
• Clothes to wear around town.  I think I have been good about NOT ambushing them or making them paranoid, even if John is, so they can just wear good clothes and not plate, scale, or green dragon leather armor around town.  As I said, it's like walking around in SWAT equipment today.
• I also liked that the hut does let them rest and 99% of the things that are out there aren't going to be able to do anything about it.  Then it's a matter of decisions like this.  Do they stay inside to rest or go out and attack?  I liked that. 
•  Still doing okay with descriptions and music.  I find that if I sit, I get complacent, so end up standing for a lot of the session.  For some reason that works for me.  

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