She pauses, offering, "We could also try to lure it outside where we might have more of an advantage? But if you do want to go in, can anyone offer Fire Protection beforehand?"
"You keep saying it and I don't know that the correct term isn't they. We don't know what is there. We definitely need a plan so I've got the start of one that we can work with."
She kneels on the ground and clears an area to draw on. "Bern and I are both good at stealthy hunting. If we stay about 15 feet apart, we can cover each other. But whisper offers us an excellent advantage. Jaliera can send her forward and we both know the hand signals Jaliera gives us to halt, proceed and what direction, count and strength of any opponents. But she has to stand still and is otherwise blinded while looking through Whisper's eyes so Davroar will likely need to stand side by side with her. And as for Davroar, if it seems too dangerous for one of us to approach as humanoids, perhaps a field mouse can infiltrate easier. If a battle should break out, I know that I don't want to be in hand-to-hand combat. My roll is artillery in battle and so is Bern's. We'll want to fall back and take cover so those who are adept at melee need to not be so far back as to not enter any fray. Those who can support from a distance, should not be so far back that they cannot support at a distance and they should protect themselves by taking cover. And while Bern and I scout further, before blood is spilled, we would be grateful for any good fortune that others could provide us to keep us safe and hidden."
She draws a map as she talks that provides a visual representation of what she said.
She listens to Zindra and looks at the diagram and nods agreement.
(OOC - It is reasonably easy for any good tracker to be able to tell the number of beings they are tracking so Bern and Zindra should know roughly how many Giants there are. Definitely if more than one.)
He looks over the plan and sees the group will be relying on his magic more. He nods and replaces one of his prepared spells with something a little more useful against possible fire giants.
[OOC: 2nd level spell takes two minutes to learn and replace another spell.[/b]
The party heads toward the cave, with Whisper helping them judge the distance. As they get close enough for tactics to matter, they enact Zindra's plan, continuing a more cautious approach. There are no threats outside the cave, and they arrive close enough that they need to decide what to do next.
The trackers have clearly identified two creatures walking -- a giant and a troll -- plus a third creature in a sack being dragged, all tracks leading to the cave entrance. The land around the entrance has sufficient vegetation to provide ample hiding opportunity for those who want it, other than the area used as a dig site, which is wide open for a few hundred square feet, should that space be desired tactically.
There are two openings going into the cave, one the path on land just wide enough to accommodate the huge girth of a giant. Rocky steps lead up slightly into a dimly lit area that looks like it may branch off in multiple directions.
To the left, a small stream comes out of another opening, whisps of steam emanating from the water as it slowly flows outward toward one of the bogs. Whatever is heating the water seems to be inside the cave. It also implies that water is coming in from somewhere, although that source is not obvious on this side of the rocky outcropping.
Heat can be felt emanating from the cave entrances.
Zindra Stealth Neptune rolled 1d20+6 and got 12 Zindra perception looking for any lookouts Neptune rolled 1d20+5 and got 16 Zindra Tracking Neptune rolled 1d20+5 and got 7 Zindra She studies the water flowing out of the cave and reaches down to place her palm over it to see if it is boiling hot or just right for a nice bath. Then, while still trying to stay out of sight, she checks for tracks to see how big they were and looked around for any lookouts that may be guarding the cave entrance. Then she looks over to Bern who is closer the the right hand entrance to see what he sees.
There's no visual evidence of any creature guarding the entrance to the cave. No movement can be seen, even with the keen perception of everyone in the party and Jaliera's familiar. If anyone is in the cave, they're well past the entrance.
The water in the stream is not hot enough to boil, but nearing the high end of what would be tolerable for bathing. It may be swimmable, but would likely cause the swimmer to become exhausted much faster than they would in colder water. Of course, that's the water at the exit. Clearly the water is being heated by something, so it could become warmer if one swam closer to that heat source.
OOC1: Imagine doing laps in an olympic sized pool the temperature of a hot tub. I'd have a swimmer roll constitution checks each turn to determine exhaustion levels. For the results of a nat 20 roll, see here.
OOC2: The map is copied from Roll20 where we can start placing tokens if/when anyone decides to go in.
He will dip his finger in the water to taste it. Usually with natural hot springs the water can have a heavier mineral taste to it.
Regardless of the heat source for the water, he says, "Don't think a troll or giant would see me if I scout ahead as a rat as Jaliera suggested. Want me lead the way then?"
"A bit ago, there was a discussion about providing resistance to fire," the elf notes. "I can provide such, but only once in several hours. And I'll just be honest here that I'm not exactly excited about giving such protection to a rodent on an experiment."
He looks at the entrance.
"We should assume we only get one chance at this. This heat does not seem natural... and the lack of guards seems intentional, perhaps as a lure? What are we really here for and what is our best chance to get it? If it means protecting a rat I'll do so... but I think between us we might have better options."
The water Davroar tastes gives no evidence of natural hot springs. Given the heat generally emanating in the air from the cave, it seems a more reasonable assumption that there's a heat source impacting both air and water somewhere within the cave.
She nods. "As long as it's available, we can wait to use it when we better know the specific need." Glancing around she adds, "Also, if this heat is not natural, perhaps it is a forge? In any case, we should try to figure out what the giant needs with a Troll? What can Troll blood be used for that would be of interest to a Giant?"
"Maybe the giants just like the color green?" he jokes.
"More seriously, I just remembered... I think I could actually offer that resistance to up to three... but only one at a time. I should also mention that I have the ability to bestow the same protection that potion offered on anyone.... else. Not myself, sadly. For about eight hours. And that, is only one."
"Heat poses less of an issue to me owing to my heritage, though my mastery of the Art in an offensive capacity tends that way also. I can certainly burn out the troll, but I suspect this will mainly be maul work," mused the Dragonborn.
Nearby, a frog's eyes lock onto a shimmering dragonfly hovering nearby. It launches itself from its lily pad perch, its sticky tongue unfurling like a coiled spring. With unerring precision, the frog's tongue whips through the air, extending to an astonishing length of three feet, as it ensnares the unsuspecting dragonfly in mid-flight, then hops back toward another spot in the bog.
"I prefer to not go first and to hang out behind our front lines along with Bern. We'll provide cover for those who prefer to swing those great big mauls, swords and battle axes."
"If we assume that this river to the left rejoins the main passage beyond the split then anyone who can travel in water, like Davroar, could go that way while the rest go to the right?" She offers a suggestion.
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