Pud looks back at his friends with a concerned look.
“Guys, come over. You might wanna hear this.”
He then turns back to Ringlerun.
“Now, I ain’t suggesting anything about the queen. I’m just saying what someone else said. They said they heard whispers that the queens true name is Iggwilv. And this person is someone who knows a lot about this place and probably knows a lot about the queen.
And now that you mention it, someone else we bumped into said that the queen was messing ‘round with demons. Now the person who said that…isn’t someone I’d say is the most trustworthy, but they definitely know a lot about the queen too.”
Pud pauses for a bit as he takes all this in.
”Ringlerun, based on what you know about Iggwilv and the queen, is there aaaaaaanway they could be the same person?”
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Pronouns: he/him/his
Pud - lvl 7 Human Artificer - Alchemist (The Wild Beyond the Witchlight).
Quinn - lvl 3 Human Ranger - Hunter (Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk)
"Uh..." begins Ringlerun uncertainly. "Well, it's certainly an interesting hypothesis. They are both legendary figures in their own way, but Iggwilv is much older – I can't say I've ever met her, or know anyone who has. I saw her book, once. I would love to read it!"
Titaani tries the horn on the queen: Zybilna... nothing. Iggwilv... nothing.
"What's that gadget do?" asks Ringlerun, curiously.
" How many names does one person need?", Matilda grumped.
" Wait............Titaani!! Don't faeries and the like have secret names that they don't tell anyone cos it might give you power over them or something?"
Pud stood beside Horatio at the ready, just in case.
“I’m not saying shes a demon either. Thinnings said that they heard the queens true name is Iggwilv. I had no idea who Iggwilv was until Ringlerun spilled the beans.
Then that old hag spouted off about the queen peering into the abyss and summoning demons…”
Something about the statement peering into the abyss caught his attention. He turns and wanders over to the cauldron and looks in.
“Guys…that kinda looks like an abyss to me.”
Pud stands on his top toes and looks down into the cauldron.
The black iron cauldron sits atop a dais in the middle of the chamber. Dark vapors rise from it. It is embossed on the outside with images of bats, toads, cats, lizards, and snakes—eight of each animal. The cauldron is roughly 3 feet in diameter and has a 2-foot-wide mouth, a round lid with a molded handle at the top (set to one side), and eight clawed feet. It currently holds about 50 gallons of dark, bubbling liquid.
It's hard to see, exactly, but the cauldron does not seem to have any occupants, demonic or otherwise.
Finishing his rest, Ben comes out from the corner of the room as the others have gathered around the cauldron. "Greetings, Ringlerun, I am Ben the Stonecutter. We have the pleasure of now having rescued and freed all of Valor's Call. From what I can tell, we have also destroyed the League of Malevolence. Still, the time-stopping spell still holds the queen until we can surmise her true name. We think there may be clues in her private library, and also possibly some answers in the multi-locked chamber in the top of the central tower. Can you tell us anything about this time-stopping magic that seems to have taken hold of so many here?" Ben asks as he introduces himself.
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Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
"Not that I know of," Titaani responds to Matilda's question, scratching her head. "Say, I don't suppose any of you Valor's Call people have keys to some of the rooms here? I'm running out of charges on the chime."
"Oh yeah, there was that door with loads of locks on it, and that other one above the dining room that had its own balcony. Bet that leads to the Queen's room since it was above and private. Maybe she has a diary or something with her name in it? Even if you don't have keys, let's just start breaking doors down. We have enough people now to do major damage if we have to." Horatio adds.
"Keys?" responds Strongheart. "No... We had just arrived. It was clearly a trap."
"The time-stopping phenomenon is an unusual twist," adds Ringlerun. "It clearly was triggered by that cauldron. The hags did something with it."
"A poem, I recall," adds Mercion. "All three hags were here. They were reciting something about 'eight cats' and 'eight lizards' – a lot of 'eights' I remember. But I don't remember the words. I was confused, distracted. They were intentionally distracting Zybilna. I didn't know what was going on. And then you all were here."
"It's a powerful artifact," replies Ringlerun, stooping to examine it. "Breaking it would undoubtedly unfreeze everyone. But good luck with that."
Matilda shrugged and followed Ben, they had already destroyed all the current dangers in the castle.....that she knew of....maybe they could just take it over and leave the queen as a decorative statue.
" Ringlerun. Mercion. Do you know any way to get me brother out of this?", Matilda fished in her bag and pulled out the weird object her brother was trapped in.
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Pud looks back at his friends with a concerned look.
“Guys, come over. You might wanna hear this.”
He then turns back to Ringlerun.
“Now, I ain’t suggesting anything about the queen. I’m just saying what someone else said. They said they heard whispers that the queens true name is Iggwilv. And this person is someone who knows a lot about this place and probably knows a lot about the queen.
And now that you mention it, someone else we bumped into said that the queen was messing ‘round with demons. Now the person who said that…isn’t someone I’d say is the most trustworthy, but they definitely know a lot about the queen too.”
Pud pauses for a bit as he takes all this in.
”Ringlerun, based on what you know about Iggwilv and the queen, is there aaaaaaanway they could be the same person?”
Pronouns: he/him/his
Pud - lvl 7 Human Artificer - Alchemist (The Wild Beyond the Witchlight).
Quinn - lvl 3 Human Ranger - Hunter (Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk)
"The queen, a demon?" Titaani looks confused, but does what she's told, holding the horn up to the queen. "Um, Zybilna. Or Iggwilv, I guess?"
Horatio cracks his neck then his knuckles, squaring off towards the statue of the queen... just in case. ( He stands 5' behind her )
"Uh..." begins Ringlerun uncertainly. "Well, it's certainly an interesting hypothesis. They are both legendary figures in their own way, but Iggwilv is much older – I can't say I've ever met her, or know anyone who has. I saw her book, once. I would love to read it!"
Titaani tries the horn on the queen:
Zybilna... nothing.
Iggwilv... nothing.
"What's that gadget do?" asks Ringlerun, curiously.
" How many names does one person need?", Matilda grumped.
" Wait............Titaani!! Don't faeries and the like have secret names that they don't tell anyone cos it might give you power over them or something?"
Pud stood beside Horatio at the ready, just in case.
“I’m not saying shes a demon either. Thinnings said that they heard the queens true name is Iggwilv. I had no idea who Iggwilv was until Ringlerun spilled the beans.
Then that old hag spouted off about the queen peering into the abyss and summoning demons…”
Something about the statement peering into the abyss caught his attention. He turns and wanders over to the cauldron and looks in.
“Guys…that kinda looks like an abyss to me.”
Pud stands on his top toes and looks down into the cauldron.
”uh..hello? Any demons in there?”
Pronouns: he/him/his
Pud - lvl 7 Human Artificer - Alchemist (The Wild Beyond the Witchlight).
Quinn - lvl 3 Human Ranger - Hunter (Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk)
Matilda managed to restrain herself from pushing Pud into the cauldron just in case it was full of demons....
Horatio cocks his head at the cauldron. "Why don't we dump it out and find out?" He asks.
The black iron cauldron sits atop a dais in the middle of the chamber. Dark vapors rise from it. It is embossed on the outside with images of bats, toads, cats, lizards, and snakes—eight of each animal. The cauldron is roughly 3 feet in diameter and has a 2-foot-wide mouth, a round lid with a molded handle at the top (set to one side), and eight clawed feet. It currently holds about 50 gallons of dark, bubbling liquid.
It's hard to see, exactly, but the cauldron does not seem to have any occupants, demonic or otherwise.
Ben:
Finishing his rest, Ben comes out from the corner of the room as the others have gathered around the cauldron. "Greetings, Ringlerun, I am Ben the Stonecutter. We have the pleasure of now having rescued and freed all of Valor's Call. From what I can tell, we have also destroyed the League of Malevolence. Still, the time-stopping spell still holds the queen until we can surmise her true name. We think there may be clues in her private library, and also possibly some answers in the multi-locked chamber in the top of the central tower. Can you tell us anything about this time-stopping magic that seems to have taken hold of so many here?" Ben asks as he introduces himself.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
"Well... we did kill the hags before too though. Not sure we can kill them, to be fair." Horatio adds.
Matilda stared at the cauldron, " Is the number eight important in magic stuff?"
"Not that I know of," Titaani responds to Matilda's question, scratching her head. "Say, I don't suppose any of you Valor's Call people have keys to some of the rooms here? I'm running out of charges on the chime."
"Oh yeah, there was that door with loads of locks on it, and that other one above the dining room that had its own balcony. Bet that leads to the Queen's room since it was above and private. Maybe she has a diary or something with her name in it? Even if you don't have keys, let's just start breaking doors down. We have enough people now to do major damage if we have to." Horatio adds.
"Keys?" responds Strongheart. "No... We had just arrived. It was clearly a trap."
"The time-stopping phenomenon is an unusual twist," adds Ringlerun. "It clearly was triggered by that cauldron. The hags did something with it."
"A poem, I recall," adds Mercion. "All three hags were here. They were reciting something about 'eight cats' and 'eight lizards' – a lot of 'eights' I remember. But I don't remember the words. I was confused, distracted. They were intentionally distracting Zybilna. I didn't know what was going on. And then you all were here."
"It's a powerful artifact," replies Ringlerun, stooping to examine it. "Breaking it would undoubtedly unfreeze everyone. But good luck with that."
Titaani, shrugging, shoots an eldritch blast at the cauldron to see what happens. To hit: 17 Damage: 9
The beam of crackling purple energy glances off the cauldron harmlessly.
"Well, I don't think destroying it is an option," Titaani shrugs. "We'll have to figure out another way to undo the spell."
Ben:
”Shall we head to the queen’s library? We might have some clues there,” suggests Ben.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Matilda shrugged and followed Ben, they had already destroyed all the current dangers in the castle.....that she knew of....maybe they could just take it over and leave the queen as a decorative statue.
" Ringlerun. Mercion. Do you know any way to get me brother out of this?", Matilda fished in her bag and pulled out the weird object her brother was trapped in.