Sly looks up at the great tapestry. She wasn't a great appreciator of the arts, preferring a practical approach, but she could nonetheless see that this must have been a work of years.
She sits herself down and starts the ritual for detecting magical traces, thinking that this would be a good start to appreciate hidden things in the painting. Once that is done, she mixes a pinch of talc and a small sprinkling of silver dust. The wizard uses this mixture to paint a small dot, a third eye, onto her forehead. A new sense awakens within, giving her the ability to see invisible things.
Preparations done, she starts looking the tapestry over for hidden details. [if needed, investigation: 21]
Sly analyses the tapestry for hidden details, and first opens her magical senses to the possibilities around her. The tapestry itself holds no magic, but she can identify that the Tortle is a spellcaster, and there's also something behind her radiating a magical aura. Thinking it's just one of her party members, she ignores it for now as she notices scuff marks on the floor near a portion of the tapestry through regular investigation. They're barely noticeable, but it looks like the cobbles have been worn down from repetitive movement across this area, much more than anywhere else.
With potentially a few hypothesises on what this might mean, she then turns around to check what that magical aura from earlier was to cover all her bases and comes face to face with a ghost. She's slightly taken aback, but slowly realises that because she opened her awareness to the invisible, she's also tapped into the realm of creatures dwelling in the Ethereal Plane. Sure enough, the figure in front of her is a ghostly, solemn tortle woman, dressed in rich fabrics and robes. This must be the spirit of the High Priestess, who is now hiding within the Ethereal Plane, and must have been wandering in The Border Ethereal earlier to enjoy the sermon. However, Sly's breath catches in her throat as she looks down to see the Priestess's spiritual arm is mangled and torn, her side raked through as if by violent claws, and a horrific bite mark in her neck. The ghost has no reaction to Sly noticing her at all; she continues to look mournfully through her in silent prayer at the tapestry.
Path Of The Knight
The tortle grins to hear Bilyur accept, excited to let off some steam in combat, and says 'I'll be using my full force, and every tool in my arsenal will be expended, so...' she shifts into a mighty humanoid bear form, unrecognisable from what she once was, an icon of savagery and power, '...don't expect an easy fight.' Her voice is gravelly and harsh once again, and rather intimidating. She rolled a 12 on Initiative so goes first, and bursts forward with a powerful leap, raking down with a pair of claws and a maniacal glare in her eyes, but as she tears through Bilyur at a breakneck pace in a frenzy of blood, she realises that she might have gotten a bit carried away....
Tortle Werebear: Multiattack: Attacks Bilyur with her Claws: 10 + 7 = 17 to hit, 16 slashing damage on a hit Attacks Bilyur with her Claws: Critical hit for a 27 to hit, 34 slashing damage on a hit.
Bilyur is sent flying back before he can even act, and is immediately knocked unconscious by the searing pain and shock, to which the tortle quickly shifts back to her regular form, a look of horror on her face, and she runs to his side. She quickly healing him with cure wounds twice, expending all her spell slots, which seals up both of the great claw wounds down Bilyur's front and prevents any further blood loss, and also stabilises him. As he comes back to consciousness, she can do nothing but profusely apologise for her foolish error of ever even suggesting a fight, and just checks over and over to see if he's alright. She also doesn't mention at all how he'll need to go onto the other path now, or at least not for now. [Bilyur recovers 6 hit points and is stabilised]
[Okay, wow, sorry that was a huge oversight on my part, having you two spar was definitely a mistake, but it's VERY lucky that it was non-lethal combat else he'd nearly be dead on the spot, really sorry...since she got a Crit, Bilyur will get a scar, but I'll give you an extra option as well: You can either just have a huge raking bear scratch scar down your front, OR, you can get the scar and I'll allow you to roll a save against werebear lycanthropy. Technically it's only meant to be transmitted via the Bite attack but I think a Crit with the Claws could do it, especially if it's maybe a lower DC to avoid it and lycanthropy is also like one of the best things that can happen to a monk with those crazy unarmed strikes and immunities cough cough]
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
With Sly expertly handling the analytical side of studying the tapestry, Eggo Lass calls on the owls to look for the mundane to see if they notice anything peculiar with the tapestry.
Sly is taken aback by the revelation of the ghost. So that is where the high priestess went. And it seems like she had died in a gruesome way.
"What happened to you?", she asks. The wizard addressed the priestess, although for the onlooker it might seem like she had spoken to the tapestry.
Irrespective of if she gets an answer or not, she moves over to the frayed part of the work, probing it with her arcane hand, lifting the fabric if possible. Perhaps there was something hidden underneath.
Eggo sends out her owls to scan the area, and whilst 2 and 3 pick up on some hidden details within the tapestry (‘the swamp has a tiny hut like Lisa’s, hoo!’), 1 is the only owl that identifies anything valuable. It picks up on the same worn cobbles as Sly did, and pecks at the ground near it, tweeting at Salamander with ‘Something here, twoo!’
Meanwhile, Sly talks to the ghost of the High Priestess. In response to Sly’s question of what happened to her, the ghost mournfully says in a hollow voice that ‘Mathan Bán…pale prince of the frozen woodlands and savage tyrant of the werebears….he came to conquer this dungeon, tearing through everything in his path…I was slain, but my daughter managed take him on and push him through the Shadow Weave, banishing him from this place, though at a cost. She now bears his curse too, and he still likely prowls through these dungeons on his hunt for glory and bloodshed…as for myself, I wander this temple as a spirit, chained to this Mortal Plane by my unfinished business. I dedicated my life to the protection of this temple, and strive to do so even in undeath, so until Mathan Bán is slain and the Shadow Weave is lifted to bring true peace back to this temple, I cannot pass on.…’
Sly then ponders these words, and soon turns to check the tapestry with her mage hand, pulling up the area that the owl was pecking at to reveal not solid wall, but a hidden passage. Peltanon has no reaction to you discovering the secret, and simply continues to admire his tapestry in silence, likely having seen adventurers succeed this trial thousands of times over.
Sly points out the secret passage to Eggo and Salamander, but waits until they finish their own investigations to explore further.
The wizard also recounts the story of the High Priestess. "It seems the ethereal entity of the former high priestess is condemned to remain in this locale. We may remedy the situation if we ever have the misfortune of encountering her murderer; a werebear by the name of Mathan Bán."
The tiefling turns to the ghost, inclining her head towards a polite bow. "Thus it shall be."
Salamander's eyes open wide when Sly confirms the ghost hypothesis. He had been too preoccupied with the thought of the possibility of a ghost that he had failed to notice when Sly was speaking to the actual ghost. "Wha-? Huh?"He tuns his head over to the little owl who had been speaking to him, again thinking it had been Eggo's voice. "Looks like Lisa's hut." He blinks.
He turns over to the tortle who made this tapestry. "How long have you been here?"('wait I already know that') "Do you know anything about the other dungeons? Or of the Shadow Archivist?"
((Insight: 14 + 2 = 16))
"We can help catch that guy, the werebear, and put this thing to justice. Avenge you!" he announces to the air, wrongly guessing the location of the High Priestess. Though it appears playfully, he actually means in a solemn, genuine way. "People who use bears in the wrong way make me sick." He looks over to his own bear spirit, and in a whisper, coos, "Isn't that right, 'Rick?"
Peltanon, the Tortle Salamander is addressing, wisely strokes his chin and says 'Well, I have obviously been confined her for the 158 years the 100 Dungeons have existed, but I joined the clergy of the temple nearly 400 years previously, when the religion was a lot stronger...I don't know anything about the identity of the Blood Archivist, or what the next dungeons might hold. I tend to keep to myself and the other good souls I meet; no true inspiration can arise from evil...' Salamander listens closely and strongly believes that Peltanon is telling the truth on what he's saying.
The High Priestess then makes herself heard and seen on the Material Plane, and says 'Thank you...I wish you the best of luck, for Mathan Bán is a nightmarish enemy. He has no remorse at all, and is obsessed with savagery. He measures a good days work by the heads at his feet and the blood on his hands, yet always keeps his chillingly cool demeanour. To see him smile would be a terror, and an impossibility, for his heart is truly frozen solid.'
[So I was looking online at Tortle lifespans and apparently they only live for 50 years?! I think that's ridiculous considering that the tortoises they're based off can live for hundreds of years, so in this campaign I'm giving all the Tortles a lifespan similar to elves, maxing out at around ~750 years, though the effects of age appear much quicker, so a Tortle might appear wrinkled and elderly even if they still have a century or so of life still left]
Bilyur gets to his feet unsteadily. He feels invisible claws in his belly. He tries to resist them, a pitiful attempt. Con save: 4. He casts cure wounds on himself for 14 points of healing. He feels much better, and says to the Tortle, "ahh, that was just bad luck. I think I would have stood a chance with better reaction time, and you got a really good hit in there. But then again, only the weak rely on luck. Don't feel bad about it. I accepted the challenge, didn't I?"
*I had a way to take no damage... I just had to go first
[So I was looking online at Tortle lifespans and apparently they only live for 50 years?! I think that's ridiculous considering that the tortoises they're based off can live for hundreds of years, so in this campaign I'm giving all the Tortles a lifespan similar to elves, maxing out at around ~750 years, though the effects of age appear much quicker, so a Tortle might appear wrinkled and elderly even if they still have a century or so of life still left]
[[ From reading some online discussions, seems that 50 years is due to some inaccuracies. IIRC I remember some people saying earlier editions noted that most lived around that 50 year mark due to adventuring and mishaps like that. But that a tortle that didn't die prematurely due to a risky lifestyle could live far longer. ]]
Eggo Lass listens to Sly's statement of hoping not to run into the werebear, thinks for a moment, and asks, "We're not by any means the first group to come through this way. How would the other groups have been getting through?"
Xarkris helps Bilyur up after the challenge. "You fought bravely, my friend, but the challenge was unfair." When Bilyur is ready, Xarkris suggests that we leave this room and join the others in their challenge.
[Ah okay that makes a bit more sense with the Tortles lifespan, also who is Eggo asking? Unsure if she's asking Peltanon, the High Priestess, or just voicing a thought, and I'm not fully confident on what she's asking either. Is she just asking about how this dungeon has been run in the past, or is she asking about Mathan Bán and his presence in the dungeons?]
Path Of The Knight
[Assuming that Bilyur's Constitution Save was obviously against the Lycanthropy, and if it is, then it's a fail. Since there's no easy way to represent it on the character sheet, I'm working on a Homebrew Magic Item that grants all the effects, though it might need a bit of testing and tweaking as we go before it fully works well. Some effects might not be able to be added to the character sheet cleanly, so in that case we'll have to work with the regular dice on the sheet to create them. Also it's cool to hear you had a plan to avoid all the damage if you went first, I'd love to hear what it is! You could probably still use the strategy in another encounter later on!]
The Tortle girl is happy to hear that Bilyur isn't too wounded, but still is very apologetic. She says 'I'm sure that had you had the chance to strike first, you would have fared a lot better. Tell you what, when this whole dungeon fiasco is over, maybe you could return to the Temple a little stronger and we could spar again? Oh, and I forgot to tell you my name! I'm Elana, who are you? I only ask as I try to remember the identities of all the adventures who fight against me, for it is a sign of a true warrior to engage in noble combat willingly.'
Once Bilyur has finished chatting with Elana, Techi agrees with Xarkris and says 'Yes, let's head on!'
[Ha, yeah that reaction to tortle lifespan is most peoples initial response. It certainly was mine. I approve of the lengthening.]
Sly lifts the hidden flap of the tapestry and gestures for the others to head through.
"Let us advance, shall we?"
As always, it's clear that the wizard would prefer not to be the first person to go ahead. Before she enters the secret passage, she bows to the ghost and the architect.
The High Priestess looks over to Eggo Lass and says 'This system of splitting the temple into the Path of The Mage and The Knight was instated very, very early after the temple was put into the Shadow Weave. In fact, it started to be created just after Mathan Bán came through, only after a few years of being ensnared, and it was to create a challenge for adventurers and make sure such a tragedy as his arrival couldn't happen again by keeping them on a set path with difficult trials that had to be followed. Almost all adventurers who come through have succeeded, but this temple provides key training for them that they can refer back to in later dungeons.'
[We're just waiting on Bilyur's response to Elana before everyone in the Path Of The Knight comes through to the Path of The Mage, and I'm going to have them come through just after Eggo gets her owls back as Sly, Sal and herself head through so they don't also have to do the puzzle, even though I expect Xarkris would be quite good at it!]
Eggo Lass draws back the tapestry to reveal an arch, and sends her owls out to scout what comes next. They return after a short amount of time and tell Salamander to translate that 'Hoo, there's a long corridor, twoo, then a big room! Big room with tortle and Shadow Weave! Just through this way! Hoo!'
Bilyur smiles, still slightly wounded, and says, "I will definitely come here to spar after this is over, that is, if I'm alive. Death is a real possibility in these dungeons."
Elana chuckles and says 'Well, you'll have to make sure you don't perish then, else I'll be mightily disappointed!' Techi, Xarkris and Bilyur then bid their goodbyes and go across into the Path of The Mage, and find the rest of their party members with a Tortle and the ghost of a Tortle, Salamander receiving information from Eggo Lass's owls and an archway visible to the north that goes through into a corridor.
Sly looks up at the great tapestry. She wasn't a great appreciator of the arts, preferring a practical approach, but she could nonetheless see that this must have been a work of years.
She sits herself down and starts the ritual for detecting magical traces, thinking that this would be a good start to appreciate hidden things in the painting. Once that is done, she mixes a pinch of talc and a small sprinkling of silver dust. The wizard uses this mixture to paint a small dot, a third eye, onto her forehead. A new sense awakens within, giving her the ability to see invisible things.
Preparations done, she starts looking the tapestry over for hidden details. [if needed, investigation: 21]
Path Of The Mage
Sly analyses the tapestry for hidden details, and first opens her magical senses to the possibilities around her. The tapestry itself holds no magic, but she can identify that the Tortle is a spellcaster, and there's also something behind her radiating a magical aura. Thinking it's just one of her party members, she ignores it for now as she notices scuff marks on the floor near a portion of the tapestry through regular investigation. They're barely noticeable, but it looks like the cobbles have been worn down from repetitive movement across this area, much more than anywhere else.
With potentially a few hypothesises on what this might mean, she then turns around to check what that magical aura from earlier was to cover all her bases and comes face to face with a ghost. She's slightly taken aback, but slowly realises that because she opened her awareness to the invisible, she's also tapped into the realm of creatures dwelling in the Ethereal Plane. Sure enough, the figure in front of her is a ghostly, solemn tortle woman, dressed in rich fabrics and robes. This must be the spirit of the High Priestess, who is now hiding within the Ethereal Plane, and must have been wandering in The Border Ethereal earlier to enjoy the sermon. However, Sly's breath catches in her throat as she looks down to see the Priestess's spiritual arm is mangled and torn, her side raked through as if by violent claws, and a horrific bite mark in her neck. The ghost has no reaction to Sly noticing her at all; she continues to look mournfully through her in silent prayer at the tapestry.
Path Of The Knight
The tortle grins to hear Bilyur accept, excited to let off some steam in combat, and says 'I'll be using my full force, and every tool in my arsenal will be expended, so...' she shifts into a mighty humanoid bear form, unrecognisable from what she once was, an icon of savagery and power, '...don't expect an easy fight.' Her voice is gravelly and harsh once again, and rather intimidating. She rolled a 12 on Initiative so goes first, and bursts forward with a powerful leap, raking down with a pair of claws and a maniacal glare in her eyes, but as she tears through Bilyur at a breakneck pace in a frenzy of blood, she realises that she might have gotten a bit carried away....
Tortle Werebear: Multiattack: Attacks Bilyur with her Claws: 10 + 7 = 17 to hit, 16 slashing damage on a hit
Attacks Bilyur with her Claws: Critical hit for a 27 to hit, 34 slashing damage on a hit.
Bilyur is sent flying back before he can even act, and is immediately knocked unconscious by the searing pain and shock, to which the tortle quickly shifts back to her regular form, a look of horror on her face, and she runs to his side. She quickly healing him with cure wounds twice, expending all her spell slots, which seals up both of the great claw wounds down Bilyur's front and prevents any further blood loss, and also stabilises him. As he comes back to consciousness, she can do nothing but profusely apologise for her foolish error of ever even suggesting a fight, and just checks over and over to see if he's alright. She also doesn't mention at all how he'll need to go onto the other path now, or at least not for now. [Bilyur recovers 6 hit points and is stabilised]
[Okay, wow, sorry that was a huge oversight on my part, having you two spar was definitely a mistake, but it's VERY lucky that it was non-lethal combat else he'd nearly be dead on the spot, really sorry...since she got a Crit, Bilyur will get a scar, but I'll give you an extra option as well: You can either just have a huge raking bear scratch scar down your front, OR, you can get the scar and I'll allow you to roll a save against werebear lycanthropy. Technically it's only meant to be transmitted via the Bite attack but I think a Crit with the Claws could do it, especially if it's maybe a lower DC to avoid it
and lycanthropy is also like one of the best things that can happen to a monk with those crazy unarmed strikes and immunities cough cough]Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
((Bilyur, I can Lay Hands on you if you need me to…just let me know))
With Sly expertly handling the analytical side of studying the tapestry, Eggo Lass calls on the owls to look for the mundane to see if they notice anything peculiar with the tapestry.
Owl1, Owl2, Owl3 Perception: 21 22 21
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
Beneath the Mountain | Let's Test Monsters!
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 44, 1/3/25, Yellow Light
Sly is taken aback by the revelation of the ghost. So that is where the high priestess went. And it seems like she had died in a gruesome way.
"What happened to you?", she asks. The wizard addressed the priestess, although for the onlooker it might seem like she had spoken to the tapestry.
Irrespective of if she gets an answer or not, she moves over to the frayed part of the work, probing it with her arcane hand, lifting the fabric if possible. Perhaps there was something hidden underneath.
Path of The Mage
Eggo sends out her owls to scan the area, and whilst 2 and 3 pick up on some hidden details within the tapestry (‘the swamp has a tiny hut like Lisa’s, hoo!’), 1 is the only owl that identifies anything valuable. It picks up on the same worn cobbles as Sly did, and pecks at the ground near it, tweeting at Salamander with ‘Something here, twoo!’
Meanwhile, Sly talks to the ghost of the High Priestess. In response to Sly’s question of what happened to her, the ghost mournfully says in a hollow voice that ‘Mathan Bán…pale prince of the frozen woodlands and savage tyrant of the werebears….he came to conquer this dungeon, tearing through everything in his path…I was slain, but my daughter managed take him on and push him through the Shadow Weave, banishing him from this place, though at a cost. She now bears his curse too, and he still likely prowls through these dungeons on his hunt for glory and bloodshed…as for myself, I wander this temple as a spirit, chained to this Mortal Plane by my unfinished business. I dedicated my life to the protection of this temple, and strive to do so even in undeath, so until Mathan Bán is slain and the Shadow Weave is lifted to bring true peace back to this temple, I cannot pass on.…’
Sly then ponders these words, and soon turns to check the tapestry with her mage hand, pulling up the area that the owl was pecking at to reveal not solid wall, but a hidden passage. Peltanon has no reaction to you discovering the secret, and simply continues to admire his tapestry in silence, likely having seen adventurers succeed this trial thousands of times over.
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Sly points out the secret passage to Eggo and Salamander, but waits until they finish their own investigations to explore further.
The wizard also recounts the story of the High Priestess. "It seems the ethereal entity of the former high priestess is condemned to remain in this locale. We may remedy the situation if we ever have the misfortune of encountering her murderer; a werebear by the name of Mathan Bán."
The tiefling turns to the ghost, inclining her head towards a polite bow. "Thus it shall be."
((love the way Sly talks omg))
Salamander's eyes open wide when Sly confirms the ghost hypothesis. He had been too preoccupied with the thought of the possibility of a ghost that he had failed to notice when Sly was speaking to the actual ghost. "Wha-? Huh?" He tuns his head over to the little owl who had been speaking to him, again thinking it had been Eggo's voice. "Looks like Lisa's hut." He blinks.
He turns over to the tortle who made this tapestry. "How long have you been here?" ('wait I already know that') "Do you know anything about the other dungeons? Or of the Shadow Archivist?"
((Insight: 14 + 2 = 16))
"We can help catch that guy, the werebear, and put this thing to justice. Avenge you!" he announces to the air, wrongly guessing the location of the High Priestess. Though it appears playfully, he actually means in a solemn, genuine way. "People who use bears in the wrong way make me sick." He looks over to his own bear spirit, and in a whisper, coos, "Isn't that right, 'Rick?"
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now; Twimee'zah Roleplay
Player: Night Ravens; Dragonlance; 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist; LARP in Sharn; Last Chapters
Path Of The Mage
Peltanon, the Tortle Salamander is addressing, wisely strokes his chin and says 'Well, I have obviously been confined her for the 158 years the 100 Dungeons have existed, but I joined the clergy of the temple nearly 400 years previously, when the religion was a lot stronger...I don't know anything about the identity of the Blood Archivist, or what the next dungeons might hold. I tend to keep to myself and the other good souls I meet; no true inspiration can arise from evil...' Salamander listens closely and strongly believes that Peltanon is telling the truth on what he's saying.
The High Priestess then makes herself heard and seen on the Material Plane, and says 'Thank you...I wish you the best of luck, for Mathan Bán is a nightmarish enemy. He has no remorse at all, and is obsessed with savagery. He measures a good days work by the heads at his feet and the blood on his hands, yet always keeps his chillingly cool demeanour. To see him smile would be a terror, and an impossibility, for his heart is truly frozen solid.'
[So I was looking online at Tortle lifespans and apparently they only live for 50 years?! I think that's ridiculous considering that the tortoises they're based off can live for hundreds of years, so in this campaign I'm giving all the Tortles a lifespan similar to elves, maxing out at around ~750 years, though the effects of age appear much quicker, so a Tortle might appear wrinkled and elderly even if they still have a century or so of life still left]
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Bilyur gets to his feet unsteadily. He feels invisible claws in his belly. He tries to resist them, a pitiful attempt. Con save: 4. He casts cure wounds on himself for 14 points of healing. He feels much better, and says to the Tortle, "ahh, that was just bad luck. I think I would have stood a chance with better reaction time, and you got a really good hit in there. But then again, only the weak rely on luck. Don't feel bad about it. I accepted the challenge, didn't I?"
*I had a way to take no damage... I just had to go first
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
[[ From reading some online discussions, seems that 50 years is due to some inaccuracies. IIRC I remember some people saying earlier editions noted that most lived around that 50 year mark due to adventuring and mishaps like that. But that a tortle that didn't die prematurely due to a risky lifestyle could live far longer. ]]
Eggo Lass listens to Sly's statement of hoping not to run into the werebear, thinks for a moment, and asks, "We're not by any means the first group to come through this way. How would the other groups have been getting through?"
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
Beneath the Mountain | Let's Test Monsters!
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 44, 1/3/25, Yellow Light
Xarkris helps Bilyur up after the challenge. "You fought bravely, my friend, but the challenge was unfair." When Bilyur is ready, Xarkris suggests that we leave this room and join the others in their challenge.
Path Of The Mage
[Ah okay that makes a bit more sense with the Tortles lifespan, also who is Eggo asking? Unsure if she's asking Peltanon, the High Priestess, or just voicing a thought, and I'm not fully confident on what she's asking either. Is she just asking about how this dungeon has been run in the past, or is she asking about Mathan Bán and his presence in the dungeons?]
Path Of The Knight
[Assuming that Bilyur's Constitution Save was obviously against the Lycanthropy, and if it is, then it's a fail. Since there's no easy way to represent it on the character sheet, I'm working on a Homebrew Magic Item that grants all the effects, though it might need a bit of testing and tweaking as we go before it fully works well. Some effects might not be able to be added to the character sheet cleanly, so in that case we'll have to work with the regular dice on the sheet to create them. Also it's cool to hear you had a plan to avoid all the damage if you went first, I'd love to hear what it is! You could probably still use the strategy in another encounter later on!]
The Tortle girl is happy to hear that Bilyur isn't too wounded, but still is very apologetic. She says 'I'm sure that had you had the chance to strike first, you would have fared a lot better. Tell you what, when this whole dungeon fiasco is over, maybe you could return to the Temple a little stronger and we could spar again? Oh, and I forgot to tell you my name! I'm Elana, who are you? I only ask as I try to remember the identities of all the adventures who fight against me, for it is a sign of a true warrior to engage in noble combat willingly.'
Once Bilyur has finished chatting with Elana, Techi agrees with Xarkris and says 'Yes, let's head on!'
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
[Ha, yeah that reaction to tortle lifespan is most peoples initial response. It certainly was mine. I approve of the lengthening.]
Sly lifts the hidden flap of the tapestry and gestures for the others to head through.
"Let us advance, shall we?"
As always, it's clear that the wizard would prefer not to be the first person to go ahead. Before she enters the secret passage, she bows to the ghost and the architect.
I'm pretty sure werebear is a lineage in Tasha's.
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
Path Of The Mage
The High Priestess looks over to Eggo Lass and says 'This system of splitting the temple into the Path of The Mage and The Knight was instated very, very early after the temple was put into the Shadow Weave. In fact, it started to be created just after Mathan Bán came through, only after a few years of being ensnared, and it was to create a challenge for adventurers and make sure such a tragedy as his arrival couldn't happen again by keeping them on a set path with difficult trials that had to be followed. Almost all adventurers who come through have succeeded, but this temple provides key training for them that they can refer back to in later dungeons.'
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
After listening to the ghost's words Eggo Lass concurs with Sly, sending her owls ahead to see what's before the party.
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
Beneath the Mountain | Let's Test Monsters!
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 44, 1/3/25, Yellow Light
Path Of The Mage
[We're just waiting on Bilyur's response to Elana before everyone in the Path Of The Knight comes through to the Path of The Mage, and I'm going to have them come through just after Eggo gets her owls back as Sly, Sal and herself head through so they don't also have to do the puzzle, even though I expect Xarkris would be quite good at it!]
Eggo Lass draws back the tapestry to reveal an arch, and sends her owls out to scout what comes next. They return after a short amount of time and tell Salamander to translate that 'Hoo, there's a long corridor, twoo, then a big room! Big room with tortle and Shadow Weave! Just through this way! Hoo!'
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Bilyur smiles, still slightly wounded, and says, "I will definitely come here to spar after this is over, that is, if I'm alive. Death is a real possibility in these dungeons."
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
Elana chuckles and says 'Well, you'll have to make sure you don't perish then, else I'll be mightily disappointed!' Techi, Xarkris and Bilyur then bid their goodbyes and go across into the Path of The Mage, and find the rest of their party members with a Tortle and the ghost of a Tortle, Salamander receiving information from Eggo Lass's owls and an archway visible to the north that goes through into a corridor.
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Sparkles: Aasimar Monk: Drakkenheim: What's in the Here and Now
Lith Ja’mas: Githyanki Sorcerer: Ghosts Of Saltmarsh
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist! and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!