Nylar's Solo Flight

[carldjcross]

Being the true and amazing adventure of Nylar, a familiar of this parish, who took on and beat the dandy Strahd at his own game. Or did he? Let's find out.

More details about his rooftop adventures to follow...

[carldjcross]

The party were attacked by two Vistani gardeners. Edryss immediately let Nylar loose with instructions to track down the seeds from the Wizards of the Wines vineyard which they suspect to be in somewhere in the smaller of the two towers.

Nylar takes one round to fly to the top of the tower [if quicker let me know] and settles near the battlements to consider his options. There is a staircase leading down into the tower.

>>WHAT NOW?

[carldjcross]

Link to exterior castle map:

https://www.deviantart.com/code0end/art/Castle-Ravenloft-Maps-Overview-706248400

[Arnu]

Nylar will turn in to a spider and find a way in to the castle from the tower.

Once inside he will find somewhere to turn back to an imp and become invisible and start looking for the seed.  He will try to figure out where Roark's spell was pointing to.

[carldjcross]

Things look different as a spider. It must be all the extra eyes.

Ignoring the stone bridge to the second tower which is behind him, Nylar scuttles over to the staircase leading down.

Suddenly he's aware of a dark shadow passing over him, running and looking is even more difficult as a spider but Nylar manages to escape the beak and claw of a miffed looking raven as he runs down the stairs, finding a safe looking crack in the stone to hide while he makes sure the raven is really gone.  [Roll 11]

It doesn't occur to him to ask why the raven didn't follow him down the stairs. Perhaps he didn't look that tasty after all.

Changing back into his familiar (yak!) Imp form he looks about him.

Nylar eventually decides the coast is clear and cautiously makes his way to the next floor. The stairs continue down or there is a door in the west wall.

[Arnu]

Nylar will sneak under the door as a spider climbing to the ceiling and take a look around.

[carldjcross]

Transforming once again into a spider¹ Nylar crawls over the top of the door, finding a comfortable space to squeeze into the next room.

Although the room looks large and high ceilinged in his present form Nylar has done this enough to realise it's actually small and cramped with a low ceiling. Nylar can see torn and broken couches in heaps. Looking closer he notices deep claw marks in the soft furnishing where the once rich upholstery has been torn to shreds with shar claws.

From the dark shadows behind the broken furniture you notice three pairs of glowing eyes staring back at you.

The hairs on your spidery legs suddenly spring to attention.


1 Do familiars/imps get some sort of transformation sickness do you think? It must be disorientating at the very least going from arachnid to demon-thing, to whatever. Also^1a

1a Do you think my decision to put this in a nested footnote has anything to do with my re-reading the Colour of Magic?^1b

1b Could do.

[Arnu]

Nylar will whilst invisible turn in to imp form ¹.  Nylar looks in to the darkness (as clear as day with his devil's sight).

What can Nylar see (who to the eyes belong too)²


   1. Nylar is from Avernus he has a strong stomach (from tacho^1a chewdays)

    1a. Tachogaralathus ("Tacho" for short) is a damned Gold Dragon with a tough hide

     2. As myself I hope cats (I could be bias), PS I do like the Pratchett-esque foot notes (they made me smile)

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Cats it is! Three of them; one fat ginger moggy, one imperious looking white tom with a tabby tail and one pure black creature with cruel eyes.

All three are low to the ground, whiskers twitching.

They don't seem to have seen you yet but are nevertheless staring unwaveringly straight at the door.

[Arnu]

Nylar will carefully glide over to the other door. 

Whilst invisible turn in to a spider and climb through the gap at the top of the door.

Stealth Roll 21 (16 roll +5 modifier)

[carldjcross]

Nylar glides over the heads of the cats who soon forgot their curiosity and return to their grooming or looking for small, crawling or burrowing food.

Squeezing through the space in between the door and jamb Nylar finds himself in a room under heavy oak beams, the outer wall of which curves to follow the shape of the tower. Dim lights filter into the room through the steel lattice square of two leaded glass windows. Several tables stand throughout the room, weighed down by stacks of glass jars and bottles, all of them bearing labels.

Apart from the windows the door through which Nylar entered is the only obvious exit.

[Arnu]

Nylar whilst invisible will inspect the jars and read the labels.

Seeing if any of these are what he is looking for.

Edyss will look detect magic through Nylar's eyes.

[carldjcross]

The jars and bottles contain several different coloured liquid of various viscosities, one seems to be bubbling gently.

The neatly written labels identify the liquids as Eye of Newt, Hair of Bat, Snail Hearts and Frog's Breath.

As far as you can tell none of them, not even the gently bubbling liquid seems to be magical.

[Arnu]

What  can Nylar see from the window?

[Arnu]

Also Nylar will search for a hidden door way or trap door.

Investigation 15