"Yes, let's get going"

Gorash says, "First you rescued my father from the driders.  Then Urgad said that you defeated an undead priestess of the Demon Queen of Spiders.  Now, we have rescued a dragon from his tormentors."  He gives a hearty, disbelieving laugh.  "You are a mighty war party, and I, Gorash, son of Zodagh, am glad to keep fighting at your side.  I will go with you to meet this powerful wizard, 'Lord Akkron'." 

Gorash claims one suite of mithral scale mail as his share of treasure from the defeated cultists.  He says that the war chief and his captains prefer heavier armor, but one of the chief's scouts or messengers could certainly use the scale mail that is lighter and not so noisy. 

Hewelathan asks about the nail.  He says, "The death cult allies itself with evil dragons, and Firion himself can supposedly transform into a dragon.  If this nail is a magic item that  somehow disabled or restrained Cynurrarth, we should take it with us.  Maybe we could use it the same way to hinder the cult."

If no one else wants to, Hewelathan can study the nail during their short rest to see whether he can learn its properties.  If not, perhaps Cynurrarth or Lord Akkron can tell them more about it.

Temphalic's detect magic detects... a LOT of magic.

Regarding the magic nail, you find out from Cynurrarth what it actually does: it can be driven into the flesh of a shape-shifter to prevent the creature from changing its form.

In exchange for the books you collected from Talice, Cynurrarth will offer to let each of you pick an Uncommon magic item of your choice from his horde. The items available to you are as follows:

• amulet of proof against detection and location
• armor of fungal spores, half plate
• bag of tricks
• cap of water breathing
• card sharp's deck
• deck of wonder
• dragon vessel (slumbering)
• gloves of missile snaring
• immovable rod
• mask of the beast
• plate of knight's fellowship
• robe of serpents

Each one of you and the two NPCs get to choose a single item from the list each. Choose wisely :)

Jodie picks up the mask of the beast.  "Interesting, I wonder if I wear the mask while playing the lute might beasts be strongly swayed like men.  It could be a powerful combination if there were beasts to tame.  Though perhaps the gloves would be more useful. Unless someone wants them.  That shimmering deck looks good for a surpise, as well... "

Tamphalic decides that the deck of wonder seems the most interesting item for him and tries it out picking 2 cards.

(DM: 13 or 22 cards?)

Korba, having dismissed his sword at the start of the Short Rest, picks up the immovable rod.  He turns it over in his hand, thinking about whether it could be used as a sort of club.  Then he pushes the button and feels the rod fix in place.  He tugs it briefly and then lets go.  The rod hangs there in the air at exactly the angle he was holding it at shoulder level.  Behind his dark glasses, you see his eyebrows raise for a moment, impressed.  He says, "Fascinating!"  Tugging at rod, he says, "It's as though it's rooted to the fabric of The Weave itself."  He presses the button, and the rod becomes unstuck in space. 

Korba holds the rod over his head, and then presses the button again.  Gripping the rod in both hands, he raises his legs and hangs from the rod with his whole body weight, saying, "Take a look at this!  Unreal, right?"

16

Quote from Secretfool >>

16

 Isolation: You disappear, along with anything you are wearing or carrying, and become trapped in a harmless extradimensional space for 1d4 minutes. You draw no more cards. You then reappear in the space you left or the nearest unoccupied space. When you reappear, you must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or have the poisoned condition for 1 hour as your body reels from the extradimensional travel.

d4: 1 (gamelog)
Con save: 11

"Okay, not all fun and games it seems" Tamphalic says after he suddenly poofs away and back after a minute, "but that wasn't to bad; their must be some good things in there; right?"

Quote from Secretfool >>

"Okay, not all fun and games it seems" Tamphalic says after he suddenly poofs away and back after a minute, "but that wasn't to bad; their must be some good things in there; right?"

At first Hewelathan thinks that Tamphalic maybe just became invisible.  Once it's clear that the wizard is nowhere nearby, I imagine that it causes a bit of a panic among the other "accursed" party members.  Hewelathan was just starting to suggest, "What do we do?!  Nickeline, maybe you could scry for him and find out where the card sent him and whether he's in danger," when Tamphalic suddenly reappears.  Once Hewelathan confirms that Tamphalic is OK, he asks where the wizard went.  Did the chronurgist simply pop forward in time?  Or was he sent somewhere else in the world?  Or in some other world?

"To be honest, I have no clue where I was"

(Would you be able to notice you are in a extradimensional space?)

Hildegard breathes in relief as Tamphalic reappears. "That's risky, playing with strange magic items," she scolds. And she remains further reluctant to look over the magic items for herself. The gleaming plate armor does catch her eye. That would be very useful. With a glance at Perdita, she finally approaches it, and gingerly touches it, seeing that it is clearly magical. But magical in what way?

A voice in her mind when she touches the armor begins to answer her question... Oh, that now I shall be tormented by the unforgiving visage of a fine lady, rather than sitting vigil in a dragon's hoard for all eternity... will this curse never end?

Pardon me? Who are you?

My name is Steven II the Valiant... I died centuries ago, but my spirit is cursed to be bound to my armor that I may help a warrior in a righteous cause to be shriven of my... um... sins.

I've never heard of you. I am Hildegard Deepwalker, Herald of the Seven Heroes. I have a righteous cause. Sserah Nightbane is trying to return.

How dreadful. I do think that, if we stop that from happening, it would count to fulfill my penance. Are you going to wear my armor? If you do, you can summon me to assist you, just as I was in life. Only for a minute each day, but a minute can make a difference in a tight situation, with the aid of someone of my skill and valor!

Why, that sounds excellent. I'll put it on here right away, and we can get started. Hildegard begins to pick up the pieces of the plate armor, sets down her shield and weapons, and begins to remove her pieces of chainmail armor, replacing them over her habit and tabard with the gleaming plate. When she finishes, and picks up her armaments again, she smiles. "It fits very well."

Of course it does. It's magical.

"Thank you, Steven the Valiant. I shall introduce you to the others."

Please don't. It's bad enough I have to share my shame with you.

Hildegard ignores the comment as she walks over to the others. "This armor has a soul bound to it. This soul is of a man named Steven II the Valiant. I have just been speaking with him. In penance for his sins, he is cursed to remain bound to his armor until he can aid in the fulfillment of a righteous cause. I told him we are trying to stop Sserah Nightbane, and he agreed that this was a worthy cause. For one minute each day, he can appear next to me as he was in life, and aid us." Hildegard smiles. "What a priceless gift! An opportunity to purify a soul for the life beyond, and help for our quest!"

Sigh...

Ruby looks at the magic items presented by Cynurrarth, still somewhat in shock she survived the battle and the Great Cynurrarth has bestowed a gift to her for her part.  Amidst the armor, magic cards,  amulet, and magic gloves Ruby spots a giant frog cap.  She knows the value such an item would have on surviving the perils of the Underdark.

"Oh Great Cynurrarth, I accept your gift."  With glee, Ruby grabs the cap and puts it on her head.

Thankfully Tamphalic reappeared by the time Nickeline gets her crystal ball ready. 

Although the other mushroom armor tempts Nickeline, she takes the magical amulet instead, for three reasons: first, because to wear nonmetal armor would be heresy; second, so she can return the ring Lord Akkron lent her; and third, because she knows better than most how valuable it is to be invisible to divinations. She thanks Cynurrarth as she puts on the amulet  

When Hildegard introduces her haunted armor, Nickeline runs over to her and admires the haunted armor from all angles. “Hilly, that is the coolest thing ever! Can Sir Steven hear us right now? Can he see us? Do you think he could warn you if someone was sneaking up on you from behind? Does he remember his mortal life? I guess he does if he knows who Sserah is. Oh, the stories he could tell! The knowledge one could share this way! Can he feel it when someone touches the armor? Can he tell when it is in need of repair? What happens if you take off one piece? Would you mind if I took a close look at your armor when we have a few days of free time, if that ever happens? Would he mind?” Nickeline continues shooting questions at Hildegard until she is told to stop talking or the time comes to move out and silence again becomes important.

Hewelathan - Bag of Tricks 8

Quote from Ben_Evolent >>

Hewelathan - Bag of Tricks 4

Hewelathan considers the treasures that Cynurrarth offers in exchange for the books they brought him.  The Mask of the Beast is tempting, but he thinks that it's most practical to take an item that he can use even while in a Wild Shape.  With his experience on sailing ships, the Cap of Water Breathing would have interested him in the past, but he has progressed far enough in his use of Wild Shape that he feels certain that he could now take the shape of a water breathing creature, like a fish or a crocodile or even an octopus.

Hewelathan finally settles on the Rust Bag of Tricks.  As the party gets ready to head for the teleportation circle, he reaches into the bag and tosses a fuzzy ball on the ground.  As it lands, the white furry ball transforms into a sure-footed adult goat.  Hewelathan laughs and says, "It seems fitting for a druid of my circle always to have the company of an animal or three!"  The goat walks over to him, and he scratches its head.  The goat lowers its head and tries to push against him, but with his belt, Hewelathan simply puts a hand on the goat's forehead, stopping it in its tracks.  (The goat will accompany them on their way back to the teleportation circle.)

I can hear her just fine. You just had to embarrass me, didn't you?

Hildegard, listening to Nickeline's questions, has a vaguely distracted look on her face, as if she's also listening to something else. She smiles, and shakes her head as if clearly away an intrusive thought, though in this case, the intrusive thoughts aren't hers! "I think Sir Steven's senses are limited to mine while I wear the armor, so I doubt he could warn me. I'm sure there would be time for experimentation later, or perhaps, I can call him here and you can ask him yourself... I'm sure he knows better than I do." Hildegard turns her head from side to side like she's hearing voices again.

Gorash is happy to claim the silver goblet that was sculpted so that it looks like a dragon's wings are holding the cup.  When he returns to his clan, he can drink from it and tell the orcs of the time he helped to rescue a dragon.  It is a fitting souvenir of the adventure and will help to build his status and mystique in the clan.

Quote from Secretfool >>

"To be honest, I have no clue where I was"

(Would you be able to notice you are in a extradimensional space?)

(You would probably have no idea where you went unless you actually had some prior knowledge about this card)

When everyone is finished choosing items, the dragon is ready to depart... and reveals the secret of how he is able to navigate the tunnels. He magically transforms himself into an imposing winged Dragonborn:



"Let us not linger," he says. "These cultists must be punished for their crimes with haste."