Octavian will offer up the crowbar. Anyone can give it a go as he is more npc than pc. Though using a crowbar or prying it open can possibly damage the coffer.
Anyone can roll athletics with advantage when using the crowbar. Then roll sleight of hand to minimize the damage to the frozen shut coffer.
Octavian will offer up the crowbar. Anyone can give it a go as he is more npc than pc. Though using a crowbar or prying it open can possibly damage the coffer.
Anyone can roll athletics with advantage when using the crowbar. Then roll sleight of hand to minimize the damage to the frozen shut coffer.
(OOC: Valrieth is a little more dextrous than Finley, so she'll give it a try with the crowbar.)
Valrieth takes Octavian's crowbar, figuring that she's the most nimble and light of the group and the least likely to damage the coffer. She tries to find a stable spot to place the crowbar so that she can gain some leverage without scraping the coffer.
Val is able to expertly pry open the coffer with barely a trace of damage. There is a rush of colder air as the coffer is opened. Inside is a still beating heart. Octavian rushes to scoop up the heart as he knows it is his heart. The heart beats with excitement perhaps knowing its master is near.
(OOC: Not sure what's happening on D&D beyond. After I posted, I was trying to jump to another page, but D&DB wasn't responding. When I reloaded the page, the values in my original post have changed, and the post has the anti-tamper warning even though I didn't edit it. Weirdly, when I pressed the Quote button, the quoted text here shows different values from the ones in the post that I'm now quoting: 18 & 20 instead of 15 & 13. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
The values quoted here may be the original rolls. I know that the original athletics check was 18 = adv(5, 19) - 1 because I checked it to see whether the advantage mattered. Now the page is showing a 15.
The original sleight of hand roll was 19, 20, or 21. I remember that it wasn't a nat 20, but it was the higher of the two rolls, so 19 - 21.)
Valrieth gasps as she sees what's inside. In an instant, a thought pops into her head. Is there a charm on the chest that keeps the heart cold and fresh? Or did Octavian's lost love render his heart so cold that Bavlorna is using the heart itself to keep the whole room cold?
But when Val sees Octavian move to take the heart, she throws herself in front of the coffer with her hands spread out to block his way. Eyes wide, she says, "No! Octavian, we can't take it yet." If he gives her a moment, she explains, "We still don't know how to get out of here without Bavlorna's permission. We could try the trap door in the pool room, but Bavlorna's there, and we're in no shape to fight our way past her now. And even if we get out of here with your heart," she glances back at the contents of the coffer, "this is strange, fey magic that I don't really understand. Finley, do you have any idea how we'd put Octavian's heart back inside him?"
Val waits to confirm that Finley doesn't know how this magic works. She continues to try to reason with Octavian: "We know that Bavlorna has your heart now. And that it's safe here in this coffer. But we may still need to make a bargain to get it back in your chest. If she discovers that we stole your heart back, she'll definitely attack us. Or...I don't know the rules a fey bargain... Since you traded your heart in a bargain, if we steal it back, she might be able to take something else from us in exchange. If we have to trade something for your heart, it would be better for us to set the terms of the bargain ourselves."
"Aye, wait a moment Octavian,"Finley says as he moves closer to him, "we may need a ritual of some kind, aye? How exactly did she remove it from ye? Ah cannae imagine exactly what must've taken place for ye ta be alive while yer heart was in th' box o' cold."He does try to think if he heard of anything like this at all during his adventures.
(Arcana:17)
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Finely has heard of hearts being taken but for the person to continue to live such as Octavian then some magical artifact must be placed in his heart to act as an artificial heart.
Octavian stops but his hand itches just to pick up his heart again.
Octavian says Bavlorna reached into his chest and ripped his heart out without the expected gush of blood. He then blacked out for moment before being kicked out of her home.
Octavian stops but his hand itches just to pick up his heart again.
Octavian says Bavlorna reached into his chest and ripped his heart out without the expected gush of blood. He then blacked out for moment before being kicked out of her home.
Valrieth tries not to picture that gruesome event again. She closes the coffer slowly but resolutely. "Well,"she says as she pats the lid of the coffer with a hand, "as I said, we know where your heart is now. I feel that the best option is to leave it here for tonight while we rest. I don't see the point in taking it now if we don't know how to put it back inside you. Maybe we'll find someone who can help, or maybe Finley or I know a spell that can help. I guess I could try a lesser restoration, but I'd want to consult my tarot deck to see whether that would work before we tried it. Or maybe we'll just have to strike a bargain with Bavlorna to put it back, but I don't imagine that she'll let such a prize go easily."
Val has been feeling nervous about the possibility that Bavlorna will return from downstairs. She encourages them to leave the coffer for now so that they can close the door and check the final room (B15) briefly before going to bed. Val checks the door for any sounds from the other side and for traps. Perception13 If it seems fine, she'll ask Octavian open the door and follow him inside.
This room contains dozens of pickling jars on wooden racks. Most of the jars are filled with pig snouts, toads, small birds, onions, mushrooms, and other cooking ingredients. One of the jars contains a strange tiny mushroom.
"Aye, ah dunnae any magic that could definitely put yer heart back inside o' ye. Since you must 'ave something in place of yer real heart, as Val said ah'm sure we ken figure something out. Ah do a lot of tinkering, given time maybe ah could come up with something, but ah think th' friend we're here for could possibly do better." Finley says.
His eyes go wide at the sight of the mushroom. "What th' devil is tha'?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
(Apparently, Valrieth has never seen any mushrooms before. 😀)
Valrieth looks around at the pantry. She frowns and wrinkles her nose at all of the pickled animals, but this room bothers her less after seeing the carcasses in the freezing room.
His eyes go wide at the sight of the mushroom. "What th' devil is tha'?"
Val smiles and giggle a little at the sight of the cheery little mushroom, saying, "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it."
After a quick look around the rest of the pantry, Val says, "Well, we've already found where she keeps Octavian's heart, and I almost suggested skipping this room once we found it." She covers her mouth as she yawns again. When she's done yawning, she continues sleepily, "Maybe I'm just tired, Finley, but I don't see anything here that would help restore Octavian's heart. We've been more successful that I dared hope, and I'm not inclined to poke around too much more tonight. I don't want to press our luck! Unless we've missed a hidden room, I think that we've seen every room in this house, and we can always investigate more tomorrow to see whether there's a potion or something hidden among all of this stuff." She waves her hand toward all of the jars on the wooden racks. "But what do you say to sneaking back to our room and getting some sleep before we do that?"
“Good idea, maybe we can look around some more tomorrow if we are stuck doing more chores for the’ lady of the house.” Finley nods, “let’s finally get some rest, aye?”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
“Good idea, maybe we can look around some more tomorrow if we are stuck doing more chores for the’ lady of the house.” Finley nods, “let’s finally get some rest, aye?”
Valrieth nods sleepily. Her fear of getting caught wandering around the house by Bavlorna or stumbling into some other sinister fey overpowers her urge to try making friends with the cheery little mushroom in the jar. She leaves the pantry, closing the door behind them. Then she tries to lead them quietly back to the guest bedroom, taking the same path that they did earlier that day (through B17 and B16 and then straight across the hall to B8). Val is careful to listen before opening the door to the dining room and to the hallway (B7), and when she opens those doors, she opens them them slowly in case Bavlorna has come back upstairs without their hearing her. The goal is to get back to the bedroom where they left Vansel, set a watch order for the night, and then get some sleep.
(OOC: As I mentioned in post #2298, each of the four of them will sleep 6 hours and keep watch 2 hours. Val prefers to have the last watch shift because she likes to be awake when the sun rises in the morning, even if she can't see it through all of the fog and dirty windows. She has no preference for the watch order of the others. Since she thinks it would be rude for her to use the bed all night while the men keep watch, Val unrolls her bedroll on the floor along the west wall. She's tired enough that she doesn't think that she'll have any trouble falling asleep.)
Finley follows along as quietly as he can. He'll take first watch once they hopefully get back without getting caught by the esteemed Lady of the House. He'll help keep an eye out for Bavlorna as they go.
(Stealth: 14 or 24 if still boosted by Pass without Trace, Perception: 22)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
(Stealth: 14 or 24 if still boosted by Pass without Trace, Perception: 22)
Valrieth is still concentrating on pass without trace at least until they're all safely in the guest bedroom.
(OOC: The spell's duration is 1 hour. They only spent a couple of minutes in the room with the squawking taxidermy bird, so even if they spent 15 minutes to search each of the other rooms, there's still plenty of time to get back to their room. Hopefully, Bavlorna likes to soak in her pool for at least 1 hour!)
Val does here and notice Bavlorna is in the Dining room chomping away at some meat that looks like it belonged to a humanoid. Luckily for Val's spell the party makes it back to the guest room unnoticed.
During Finley's watch Bavlorna enters the guest room smelling faintly of the swamp. Seeing Finley awake she whispers "What are you doing up dearie? You should be resting those peepers. Go one go to sleep."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Octavian will offer up the crowbar. Anyone can give it a go as he is more npc than pc. Though using a crowbar or prying it open can possibly damage the coffer.
Anyone can roll athletics with advantage when using the crowbar. Then roll sleight of hand to minimize the damage to the frozen shut coffer.
(OOC: Valrieth is a little more dextrous than Finley, so she'll give it a try with the crowbar.)
Valrieth takes Octavian's crowbar, figuring that she's the most nimble and light of the group and the least likely to damage the coffer. She tries to find a stable spot to place the crowbar so that she can gain some leverage without scraping the coffer.
Prying open the coffer: Athletics 5
Trying to avoid damaging it: Sleight of Hand 15
Val is able to expertly pry open the coffer with barely a trace of damage. There is a rush of colder air as the coffer is opened. Inside is a still beating heart. Octavian rushes to scoop up the heart as he knows it is his heart. The heart beats with excitement perhaps knowing its master is near.
Does anyone try to stop him?
(OOC: Not sure what's happening on D&D beyond. After I posted, I was trying to jump to another page, but D&DB wasn't responding. When I reloaded the page, the values in my original post have changed, and the post has the anti-tamper warning even though I didn't edit it. Weirdly, when I pressed the Quote button, the quoted text here shows different values from the ones in the post that I'm now quoting: 18 & 20 instead of 15 & 13. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
The values quoted here may be the original rolls. I know that the original athletics check was 18 = adv(
5, 19) - 1 because I checked it to see whether the advantage mattered. Now the page is showing a 15.The original sleight of hand roll was 19, 20, or 21. I remember that it wasn't a nat 20, but it was the higher of the two rolls, so 19 - 21.)
(no worries I know the dice roller is temperamental)
Yes!
Valrieth gasps as she sees what's inside. In an instant, a thought pops into her head. Is there a charm on the chest that keeps the heart cold and fresh? Or did Octavian's lost love render his heart so cold that Bavlorna is using the heart itself to keep the whole room cold?
But when Val sees Octavian move to take the heart, she throws herself in front of the coffer with her hands spread out to block his way. Eyes wide, she says, "No! Octavian, we can't take it yet." If he gives her a moment, she explains, "We still don't know how to get out of here without Bavlorna's permission. We could try the trap door in the pool room, but Bavlorna's there, and we're in no shape to fight our way past her now. And even if we get out of here with your heart," she glances back at the contents of the coffer, "this is strange, fey magic that I don't really understand. Finley, do you have any idea how we'd put Octavian's heart back inside him?"
Val waits to confirm that Finley doesn't know how this magic works. She continues to try to reason with Octavian: "We know that Bavlorna has your heart now. And that it's safe here in this coffer. But we may still need to make a bargain to get it back in your chest. If she discovers that we stole your heart back, she'll definitely attack us. Or...I don't know the rules a fey bargain... Since you traded your heart in a bargain, if we steal it back, she might be able to take something else from us in exchange. If we have to trade something for your heart, it would be better for us to set the terms of the bargain ourselves."
"Aye, wait a moment Octavian," Finley says as he moves closer to him, "we may need a ritual of some kind, aye? How exactly did she remove it from ye? Ah cannae imagine exactly what must've taken place for ye ta be alive while yer heart was in th' box o' cold." He does try to think if he heard of anything like this at all during his adventures.
(Arcana:17)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Finely has heard of hearts being taken but for the person to continue to live such as Octavian then some magical artifact must be placed in his heart to act as an artificial heart.
Octavian stops but his hand itches just to pick up his heart again.
Octavian says Bavlorna reached into his chest and ripped his heart out without the expected gush of blood. He then blacked out for moment before being kicked out of her home.
Valrieth tries not to picture that gruesome event again. She closes the coffer slowly but resolutely. "Well," she says as she pats the lid of the coffer with a hand, "as I said, we know where your heart is now. I feel that the best option is to leave it here for tonight while we rest. I don't see the point in taking it now if we don't know how to put it back inside you. Maybe we'll find someone who can help, or maybe Finley or I know a spell that can help. I guess I could try a lesser restoration, but I'd want to consult my tarot deck to see whether that would work before we tried it. Or maybe we'll just have to strike a bargain with Bavlorna to put it back, but I don't imagine that she'll let such a prize go easily."
Val has been feeling nervous about the possibility that Bavlorna will return from downstairs. She encourages them to leave the coffer for now so that they can close the door and check the final room (B15) briefly before going to bed. Val checks the door for any sounds from the other side and for traps. Perception 13 If it seems fine, she'll ask Octavian open the door and follow him inside.
B15 the pantry
This room contains dozens of pickling jars on wooden racks. Most of the jars are filled with pig snouts, toads, small birds, onions, mushrooms, and other cooking ingredients. One of the jars contains a strange tiny mushroom.
"Aye, ah dunnae any magic that could definitely put yer heart back inside o' ye. Since you must 'ave something in place of yer real heart, as Val said ah'm sure we ken figure something out. Ah do a lot of tinkering, given time maybe ah could come up with something, but ah think th' friend we're here for could possibly do better." Finley says.
His eyes go wide at the sight of the mushroom. "What th' devil is tha'?"
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Nature 22
(Apparently, Valrieth has never seen any mushrooms before. 😀)
Valrieth looks around at the pantry. She frowns and wrinkles her nose at all of the pickled animals, but this room bothers her less after seeing the carcasses in the freezing room.
Val smiles and giggle a little at the sight of the cheery little mushroom, saying, "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it."
After a quick look around the rest of the pantry, Val says, "Well, we've already found where she keeps Octavian's heart, and I almost suggested skipping this room once we found it." She covers her mouth as she yawns again. When she's done yawning, she continues sleepily, "Maybe I'm just tired, Finley, but I don't see anything here that would help restore Octavian's heart. We've been more successful that I dared hope, and I'm not inclined to poke around too much more tonight. I don't want to press our luck! Unless we've missed a hidden room, I think that we've seen every room in this house, and we can always investigate more tomorrow to see whether there's a potion or something hidden among all of this stuff." She waves her hand toward all of the jars on the wooden racks. "But what do you say to sneaking back to our room and getting some sleep before we do that?"
“Good idea, maybe we can look around some more tomorrow if we are stuck doing more chores for the’ lady of the house.” Finley nods, “let’s finally get some rest, aye?”
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Valrieth nods sleepily. Her fear of getting caught wandering around the house by Bavlorna or stumbling into some other sinister fey overpowers her urge to try making friends with the cheery little mushroom in the jar. She leaves the pantry, closing the door behind them. Then she tries to lead them quietly back to the guest bedroom, taking the same path that they did earlier that day (through B17 and B16 and then straight across the hall to B8). Val is careful to listen before opening the door to the dining room and to the hallway (B7), and when she opens those doors, she opens them them slowly in case Bavlorna has come back upstairs without their hearing her. The goal is to get back to the bedroom where they left Vansel, set a watch order for the night, and then get some sleep.
Stealth 17
Perception 12
(OOC: As I mentioned in post #2298, each of the four of them will sleep 6 hours and keep watch 2 hours. Val prefers to have the last watch shift because she likes to be awake when the sun rises in the morning, even if she can't see it through all of the fog and dirty windows. She has no preference for the watch order of the others. Since she thinks it would be rude for her to use the bed all night while the men keep watch, Val unrolls her bedroll on the floor along the west wall. She's tired enough that she doesn't think that she'll have any trouble falling asleep.)
I should have also mentioned that Val finally eats her last berry from yesterday's casting of goodberry.
Finley follows along as quietly as he can. He'll take first watch once they hopefully get back without getting caught by the esteemed Lady of the House. He'll help keep an eye out for Bavlorna as they go.
(Stealth: 14 or 24 if still boosted by Pass without Trace, Perception: 22)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Valrieth is still concentrating on pass without trace at least until they're all safely in the guest bedroom.
(OOC: The spell's duration is 1 hour. They only spent a couple of minutes in the room with the squawking taxidermy bird, so even if they spent 15 minutes to search each of the other rooms, there's still plenty of time to get back to their room. Hopefully, Bavlorna likes to soak in her pool for at least 1 hour!)
Val does here and notice Bavlorna is in the Dining room chomping away at some meat that looks like it belonged to a humanoid. Luckily for Val's spell the party makes it back to the guest room unnoticed.
During Finley's watch Bavlorna enters the guest room smelling faintly of the swamp. Seeing Finley awake she whispers "What are you doing up dearie? You should be resting those peepers. Go one go to sleep."