Quote from Faux_Beau >>

Quote from Mister_Whisker >>

Between Temphalic and Nickeline, it isn't hard to find either a the blade or a set of canopic jars... looking into them, you can see various bits of shriveled viscera. The heart, however, isn't in any of them. Instead, Nickelone can sense that it is inside a strange box... an infernal puzzle box. Lord Akkron might be able to open it and put an end to the Betrayor once and for all, but you can guess with near-certainty that opening the box is beyond your abilities.

So we found the luck blade then?  

Yep... it was in the middle of a pile of treasure. It seems that the undead priestess was simply too arrogant to think anyone could beat her and take it. The luck blade turns out to be a scimitar.

(Any other treasure of note?)

Quote from mamoduck >>

Nickeline breathes a sigh of relief as Hildegard cuts Talice down. "Is everyone all right?" she asks, looking around.

(OOC: Amazingly, I think that the only one who suffered any damage on our side was Perdita.  So, @Mister_Whisker was right that we were quite lucky in that fight.  I guess the Luck Blade was eager to get out of the Black Crypt!)

Quote from Secretfool >>

(Any other treasure of note?)

There are certainly quite a few tomes, written in a variety of languages. There is a LOT of gold (about 800 GP worth in coins alone), several statues, etc.

Oh, and a bag of holding, so the party finally has somewhere to put some of their stuff.

Quote from Faux_Beau >>

Jodie considers what she knows (21) about mummies.  "I think the mummy's heart is key to their return.  We are looking for luck blade, but if Nickeline could also locate Talice's heart...we'll at least know where she may return.  And if you could locate it, perhaps destroy her altogether."

Hewelathan-bear grumbles loudly, "As though it weren't already enough of a perversion of the natural order to extend her existence beyond death and into Undeath!  Now you're telling us that after being reduced to ash, the foul priestess still has a way to cheat death?!"  He lets out an angry sort of snort.

Quote from Mister_Whisker>>

Between Temphalic and Nickeline, it isn't hard to find either a the blade or a set of canopic jars...

Hewelathan-bear congratulates the pair on finding the Luck Blade in particular.  Then he goes to keep watch at the various hallways around the perimeter of the room, keeping his "keen sense of smell" away from the canopic jars.  You hear more muttering as he patrols from one exit to another, "Disgusting...grumble-mumble...unnatural rituals...grumble-mumble...even smells evil!"  Or, "Embalming...grumble-mumble...wrong-headed...grumble-mumble...afraid to embrace death......grumble-mumble grumble-mumble..."

Tamphalic will put all the treasure he can into the bag of holding to take with them. They can find out what everything is exactly at a later time and divide it than.

He also puts the tomes they found earlier into the bag.

Nickeline picks up the Luck Blade with both hands hands. She holds it in front of her face and stares for several seconds, feeling the magic emanating from it. "By Flandal's Hammer . . . ," she murmurs in Gnomish, trying to imagine what materials and techniques were used to make this scimitar. She continues speaking to herself, "If I could make a sword this fancy, I think they'd name me pope."

Thinking then of all the enemies who surely stand between them and the Shaded Isle, and that the very important sword ought to be with someone who isn't three feet tall, Nickeline looks to her companions. "Does anyone want to carry this? Please?"

Once someone takes the luck blade, Nickeline helps Tamphalic shovel gold and treasure into the bag of holding. "Was that thing empty when you found it?" she asks him.

Korba is impressed with how quickly the party finished off Talice.  He helps to finish off the remaining two mummies but stands with his sword held ready for a a minute after Hildegard smites Talice, scanning the room and expecting Talice to reappear or some other guardian to attack.  When it becomes clear that they've defeated Talice, he makes a low, whistle that descends in pitch as an expression of relief.  "Great work, everybody!", he says as he finally lowers his sword and dismisses it in a swirl of sand.  His voice expresses disbelief: "I thought it was crazy to attack the High Priestess and her mummies, but that was fantastic teamwork!"

When Nickeline finds the sword, Korba declines any interest in using it. 

Korba agrees with their wizard: "Let's pack up everything, and get out of here as quickly as we can.  If we don't run into any major trouble, we should be able to make it out of the city before the end of the day."  He helps the wizard gather the treasure to put in the Bag of Holding, but as a gesture of good faith, he'll offer for Urgad and his orcs to take as much of the gold as they can fit in their pouches.  "You've definitely earned it, and that magical axe!"  He feels confident that none of the party members would lay claim to the Berserker Greataxe.

Korba is interested in the puzzle box, but he gives up on it after a few minutes.  He understands the desire to finish off Talice once and for all, but he worries about what Jodie said.  He asks the bard more about what she knows about mummies returning after being reduced to ash.   "Do you know how long before Talice returns?", he asks.  "If we're to return the way we came, it could be a couple of days before we get back to the Broken Lord of the Shaded Isle.  If Talice reforms before we reach him, would she appear here in the crypt?  Or would she appear near this infernal box?"  If the party takes the puzzle box with them out of the city, he doesn't want Talice to appear suddenly among them.  They defeated her the first time, but if she appeared while they were sleeping or at some inopportune time, like in the middle of some other fight, it could be disastrous for them!  If she just reforms in her crypt, maybe they can get the box back to Lord Akkron before Talice finds them.

When they're ready to leave Talice's chamber, Korba summons his sword in another little vortex of spinning sand.  He winces as he draws the blade across his arm, spilling a few drops of blood.  Before the party leaves the chamber, he goes to Hewelathan-bear and takes two of the goodberries out of the bear's pouch to heal his cuts from using his sword.  He's eager to leave the Black Crypt while he still as the benefit of Nickeline's Aid.  "Back out the way we came?", he asks.

(OOC: @Mister_Whisker - you may set Korba back to his max HP)

"Many thanks, elf," Urgad says with a smile, twirling the axe a couple of times. "You all fight well. You would have made good orcs."

The two brutes nod in agreement, all of them smiling with glee after yet another fight won. Ruby, meanwhile, is in complete agreement with those who want to get out of here ASAP.

"Ruby would be very happy to go home now," the little kobold says, though she does stash a few gemstones in her satchel. "Maybe the nice orcs have already beaten the nasty spiders outside..."

(Regarding how long it will take Talice to come back, Jodie's Religion check was good enough that I think she could estimate that the Mummy Lord will return in about a day's time; she will be reborn somewhere close to her heart)

Hildegard lowers the rapier as the Divine light flashes from the roaring flames consuming Talice. She lets out a sigh, and then a prayer of thanks, and swings down off of Perdita's back, handing the rapier back to Jodie. "Thank you for sharing your courage," she says with a smile. "Together, we have been the lamp of truth and the sword of judgment." Perdita stands quietly, and Hildegard helps the others look for the sword. When Nickeline discovers the puzzle box, her expression becomes very serious, and she refuses to touch it. "This is the judgment that the gods have put on Talice," she says. "It is written on this box in the language of the hells. If we are going to take this with us, we must be very careful. It would be as well, I think, to leave her here in the grave she has dug for herself. But it would be a service to Lord Akrron, perhaps, to see her destroyed, rather than gloating in an eternity of undeath."

Hildegard too congratulates the orcs with a smile. "You fight well," she says. "Thank you for honoring our quest with your strength."

Quote from ConstancePhokas >>

 "It is written on this box in the language of the hells. If we are going to take this with us, we must be very careful. It would be as well, I think, to leave her here in the grave she has dug for herself. But it would be a service to Lord Akrron, perhaps, to see her destroyed, rather than gloating in an eternity of undeath."

Hewelathan-bear growls, "I'd say we take it with us, but we'll have to hurry back to Lord Akkron....unless we find a pool of lava where we could leave it."  He chuckles at the thought of Talice reforming near the box every day only for the fiery rock to reduce her immediately to ash.

Once Jodie is ready to lead them out of the Black Crypt, Hewelathan-bear is ready to follow.

Nickeline grins at Urgad and the other orcs. "You'd make for terrible gnomes!" she says, then starts laughing at her own joke. She hopes they take it as a compliment.

Nickeline looks at the puzzle box again. "We should definitely take the evil box with us. There might be a risk of danger, but it's wrong to give a powerful undead like Talice a chance to come back," she says. 'Plus, I really really want to see how the box is opened.'

She continues, "I think we could make it back to the island in less than a day if we don't get lost or eaten by monsters or held up by that dragon. Come to think of it, the dragon is supposed to be pretty smart, right? Do you think he could help us open the box? Or at least eat Talice if she reformed in his cave? And then not eat us for springing a mummy lord on him?" She directs her last few questions at Ruby.

Quote from mamoduck >>

 

Come to think of it, the dragon is supposed to be pretty smart, right? Do you think he could help us open the box?

You're still getting used to hearing words coming from Hewelathan-bear, but what Nickeline said reminded him of their compact with Cynurrarth.  Hewelathan-bear says, "We actually must meet with the dragon before we depart.  The agreement was that after we finished at the Black Crypt, we would return to the dragon to repay him for passing through his realm and borrowing Ruby.  The dragon will assign us some task, and we will have to perform task.  If we do not, Jodie must spend a year-and-a-day with the Cynurrarth.  Performing the dragon's task would definitely delay us in taking the box back to Lord Akkron.  We will either have to reveal the puzzle box to the dragon or resolve to handle Talice's return ourselves while we're performing the dragon's appointed task."

It's a problem, but it's not a problem for now.  Hewelathan is happy for them to take the puzzle box and discuss what to do with it on their way back to the kobold village and Cynurrarth.  For now, he's just focused on getting the whole group out of the Black Crypt and the drow city alive.

"Well I would certainly not expect to make a good gnome," Urgad laughs, giving the tiny Cleric a playful smack on the back that's probably harder than he meant it to be.

Meanwhile, Ruby shivers at Hew-bear's suggestion to give the box-o-heart to Cynurrarth...

"Ummm... maybe?" Ruby says meekly. "Ummm... maybe take the evil box away and then talk to the Great and Mighty Cynurrarth...?"

She shifts uncomfortably, her tail swishing back and forth with apprehension.

(Looks like the party has come to an agreement to take the box... I'll go ahead and move us along).

The party leaves the Black Crypt... Smiler's hallucinatory terrain is still there when you emerge. You can also see... orcs. Lots of orcs. It seems that they've been hacking and burning their way through first the spiders, then kept going when they got to the armies of the undead. And they've certainly done a good job hacking them apart... it's kind of terrifying just how effective the orc army was.

Zodagh approaches, his massive axe covered in spider blood. He looks incredibly happy. He is followed by a younger man, a half-orc whom you can assume is probably his son whom you contacted earlier. Interestingly, the younger man is dressed more like a mage than a warrior, even though he also has an impressive physique like his father's.



"You made it back alive!" Zodagh exclaims, clapping the first member of the party he sees on the shoulder with a huge smile. "Gruumsh has truly smiled upon us this day and delivered a glorious victory!"

The younger man is quieter, but he also has a satisfied smile upon his face.

"Perhaps now my mother and sister can rest in peace," the young man says, flicking a bit of spider-blood off the end of his staff. "Thank you, strangers."

On the way out of the Black Crypts and Talice's chamber, Jodie looks for any relics of knowledge that may please Cynurrarth.  "Perhaps the puzzle box itself may interest the dragon.  A new challenge, even if simple, may bring some delight.  If the dragon could open it, then we'd be all set.  If not, well then back to Lord Akkron.  Surely a Lich could solve it.  Or those two work out their issues through eternity."

Jodie is happy to see the orc have their victory against the spiders and Talice's machinations.  Jodie turns to the half-orc mage.  "Hey there.  The name is Jodie.  How would you like the chance to study in the dragon's library?  The dragon seems interested in knowledge...and surely magic.  You may benefit with a relationship with the dragon in the absence of Talice's rule."

persuasion: 22

Tamphalic is happy with how the fight went for sure

"Well we are quiet the group taking out Talice this quickly. Let's take the puzzle box with us to get rid of her completly. If only as a gift to the orcs for helping us" He says with a little not to Urghad. After which he wonders what kind of task the dragon would have for them. Based on his previous studies and encounters with dragon's does Tamphalic have any idea of what it could be?

Insight: 16 (or +6 if history would be better suited)

Quote from Secretfool >>

Tamphalic ....wonders what kind of task the dragon would have for them. Based on his previous studies and encounters with dragon's does Tamphalic have any idea of what it could be?

If Tamphalic brings it up rather than just pondering the question in silence, Hewelathan-bear would remind him that Cynurrarth mentioned some possibilities, "such as stealing a tome from a mind flayer magician or capturing one of the powerful aberrations that stalk the Underdark."

"And mine is Gorash," the half-orc mage said, stroking his beard thoughtfully as Jodie brought up the dragon. "You truly are something special, aren't you? Not many can defeat an undead monster of legend and casually gain audience with a dragon. Who exactly are you people?"

Quote from Mister_Whisker >>

"Who exactly are you people?"

Not sure that they want to encourage such questions, Hewelathan says, "No one of much consequence." 

Of course, those words might be more believable if they weren't being spoken by a large brown bear who is currently wearing a strange, wide belt and a finely-crafted cloak.

"Ah, but I am a scholar in dragons and have been studying them for ages. From time to time there are some dragon's that allow me to visit and ask them questions for my research." Tamphalic says