%% date:: [[2023-06-20]] %% # [[093_20230620 Temporary White Paratroopers]] ![[twc-093.png]] ## Session Summary > [!tldr] [[093_20230620 Temporary White Paratroopers]] > After our horses were murdered in the night, we decided there must be a reason for us to get to our destination faster than expected and subvert the expectations of the Horse Assassin (probably from The Crimson Order) and instead of walking to Nicodranas like expected, we ended up flying there by roc, using Dax's Quaal's Feather Token. We stopped by necessity at a halfway point, at the Tranquil Caravan Camp, where we were told by some zhelezo (whom we initially got into combat with until cooler heads prevailed) that we had better not land our roc in Nicodranas because we would be shot at on sight by the ballistas that kept the city safe from predators like rocs. > > We ignored that particular bit of advice and decided to ride the roc all the way in, reasoning that it would take a very long time to ride the roc and then make our way into the city. We decided that Xenia's Feather Fall could keep us safe. We approached the city from the west, from the sea, to avoid the ballistas (which we were told had a one mile range) and were in the process of landing on the beach when two griffons with riders on them (with crossbows and lances) were dispatched to take care of us. ^summary %% ## Video  [Video](https://youtu.be/7EmYAjEj7CU) // TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Recap 00:03:42 Didn't we tell you? We're building a boat 00:05:18 Andy can't DM if we don't tell him our plans 00:07:25 Andy asks how much we weigh and other logistics 00:21:49 Dax pulls out a feather 00:30:39 What we see from the air, and thinking of Music 00:35:47 We see the encampment as we land to rest 00:50:27 Do they look like Fremen? 00:51:45 Initiative - that escalated quickly 00:53:07 Hi, Alemtsehay! 00:57:26 Round 1 - Archers' turn 00:58:30 Initiative tracker woes 01:01:55 Scura's turn 01:03:37 Andy doesn't understand how these fucking status things work 01:06:30 Dax's turn 01:13:47 Wally's turn 01:15:43 Roc's turn 01:16:32 Milla's turn 01:18:23 Xenia's turn (Wand! Wand! Wand!) 01:21:38 Scura's turn 01:24:59 Archers' turns (end of combat) 01:30:04 OK Xenia, burn the webs! 01:34:43 I am Amir Khaldoun 01:35:47 We just care if they're hot 01:41:36 Maybe Milla can work her magic 01:46:49 Milla thinks Wally overexplained 01:49:04 Why does Wally have authority issues? 01:56:19 Necromancers are just misunderstood 02:01:23 Starting to scheme as we leave again 02:03:09 Is this back channel action going on? 02:04:43 Dancing when no one's watching 02:09:05 Our hypothetical plan to parajump 02:10:08 Calculating how fast we'll fall and the odds 02:16:13 The Dildo Tower 02:17:55 We're at least 500 feet in the air 02:20:50 What we also see... 02:23:12 Should we just land on the Dildo Tower? 02:26:49 Cliffhanger! %% --- ## Recap ![[ttrpgs/Temporary White Circle/092_20230613 Backstory for Zebras#^summary]] --- ## Log We're about two days away, maybe one if we pushed it. There's a [[Tranquil Caravan Camp]] about halfway that we could make it there by the end of the night if we went there on foot. But we're not going on foot. We're going by Quaal's Feather Token! Dax pulls out a feather, throws it up into the air, and it turns into a giant roc! We get the roc to bring the cart in its claws with us in it, and it flies up and we're very quickly in the air! We see [[The Quoraska Jungle]] to the left as we're flying south. On our right we see the [[The Cyrios Mountains]] and I imagine that somewhere there is [[Music]]. We see a pencil trail of smoke from the top of one of the mountains, but very far away. We see the ocean from a distance to the south, looking very turquoise. #sending to [[Music]]: > Look up in the sky! We're riding a big roc! Lots of adventures. None of them worth anything without you. Stay safe. ^9b5e59 From her: > We're trying to avoid big rocks. So cold! Stay safe! ^b9c067 The roc stops for a break. There's an encampment that is not too far away. There are some tents. There's a rocky outcrop, and there are some trees. It lands some way away from the settlement, near a pond by some trees. Some of us take damage. 4 [[ttrpgs/Temporary White Circle/Zhelezo|people]] on horses rush to us from the encampment. They're wearing more Bedouin-style robes: baggy, waistcoat and scarves in the desert. They're aiming at the roc. Initiative! ![[1687471078000 - Combat]] The archers say they are [[Zhelezo]], the law of [[The Menagerie Coast]]. There are 2 humans, 2 elves. Wally convinces them to lower their bows. They ask us to release their companions from *Web* and the two *Hold Person* spells. [[Amir Khaldoun]]. He's an elf. Tanned, lithe. He was the one who hit the natural 20. He says they're under the banner of the Clovis Concord. Two elves. The other elf is a woman, one that we paralyzed. The human is the most junior of the four. She's much more average-looking than the rest. The elves speak Elvish with a dialect. ^a958b9 He tells us that if we fly closer to Nicodranas, we will be shot out of the sky with ballistas they have because they'll see us as a threat. We won't have a chance to explain ourselves. Milla asks where we can land before Nicodranas. He suggests we go to [[Skystrike Perch]]. It's further down the coast from the lighthouse. It's a favourite nesting spot for all the coastal birds. He thinks it'll be the safest spot for us to land. He suggests we take a wide berth around the ballista, at least a mile. Wally asks what he can tell us about [[ttrpgs/Temporary White Circle/Tidepeak Tower|Tidepeak Tower]], in case we want to land there. He says he can't recommend landing there because [[ttrpgs/Temporary White Circle/Yussa Errenis|Yussa Errenis]] lives there and is a powerful mage. [[Luka]] and [[Alen]] (the two humans) go back to the camp. [[Zahir]] and Amir stay. They are both from [[Nicodranas]]. ^414238 [[Zhelezo]] are the law enforcement of the Menagerie Coast/Clovis Concord. They're a patrol that go back and forth between the Menagerie Coast and the Dwendalian Empire. The encampment is in the middle of the two and their job is to protect it and keep the roads safe enough for trade to continue. We leave for [[Nicodranas]]! As we approach the city, we see that it's more North African, like the Alhambra in Spain. It has that vibe. The city exterior has a lot of arches. Towards the coastline, the walls diminish. It's fairly rocky on either side. We see a lighthouse on one side, and on the northern side of the city, we see a tower. We're approaching it from the east. ==We're at least 500 feet from the air.== We are sort of going around and trying to approach the beach from the west, and we're aiming to land at the beach. ==We're 300 feet away from the beach at this point.== We decide to parajump our way into Nicodranas! We're going to ride our roc as far in as possible, and then Xenia's going to cast Faerie Fall (twice) just before we all jump and float to safety... ...or that's the plan, anyway. There are two griffons with griffon riders that are coming our way. What are we going to do? The griffon riders have lances and crossbows! ![[nicodranas-map.png]]