The grand library stands before you. It must have been at least five stories high, and many feet wide. It's large gates of polished dolomite shone in the sun, emblazoned by golden carvings of harpies. The library curiously had no windows, but it's smooth, tan stone shone like gold in the sunlight. In front of the library was a small garden. Water, about six inches deep in a landscaped circular pond, contained a smaller island accessible by bridges. On this island was a marble sundial with a painting of the moon and sun on either end. Doves were nesting in the trees nearby. As you approached the gates a man staggered out, he was a human who seemed in his early twenties. While he had a mage's robe he did not at all seem like a powerful, respectable wizard, but a clumsy commoner who had just begun studying the arcane arts.
"Oh! Why hello there adventurers, I am glad to see that you made it! I am Mattias Emberstaff, apprentice of Elzyrm Magius, the owner of this library." He wandered over to an ivory table beside the entrance. "Before we go in, take a seat and tell me about yourself. I will take any questions you have, my letter was a bit...cryptic. Tea is ready, I hope you like chamomile!"
Deksi is a wizened kobold. Back crooked from age, she is diminutive even for a kobold, but her presence is hard to ignore.
"You know who I am, young Mattias, or you would not have called upon me." She pauses, sipping chamomile from a cup much too big for her. "But for the sake of introduction to the others, let it be known that I am Deksi, shaman and medicine woman of the Rothkik tribe and servant of the less unruly spirits."
[OOC: She is a Kobold Cleric, Order Domain]
She finishes her tea before continuing.
"Your letter was cryptic indeed, but I have divined your purpose. And I can assist." Grinning, she continues, "For a price."
Maelyn's ears - one a little longer than the other, both artfully-pierced - twitched excitedly at the word price.
"Do go on," she insists playfully, but not without some genuine greed. "I'm told some honestwork would be good for me, though I do hope it pays well..." She lets her insinuation dangle as she downs her tea (milk and two sugars).
As high elves go, Maelyn would probably be better-described as medium-low; her fey silver hair and easy grace were perfectly elfish, but somewhat offset by her aloof candor, harlequin posture and knavish attire. She wore a slender new coat sharply-cut and fitted dark leather, and a shining rapier hung from her belt - its elegant quillions betrayed the splendor of a noble house rich enough to afford quality, but not quite so rich as to afford an investigator if it ever went missing.
[Rogue]
"My name's Maelyn, but my friends called me Misery, so that works, too... And I also decoded your cryptic letter, and totally understood it," she adds on the sly, her words remarkably almost believable.
Yuwure, a young tortle with paintings on his shell, refuses the chair to sit, those were made for shell-less creatures.
"My friend, even tho I could not figure out the full extent of your call, I get that something threatens the worlds, ow, my beloved worlds!"
Yuwure looks in a distant way.
He picks up a cup of tea and sits on the floor.
"I will take that tea, and I will do the most I can to save them, risk myself if I have to, for those are for all to explore and enjoy"
Taking a sip.
"Well as you know already I'm a druid and I like traveling through this library to know more of the wilds than the ones I could reach, nice meeting you all."
Taking another sip.
"So tell us, what threatens our precious garden of worlds?"
[OOC: to know more about my character, its sheet is in my signature]
A red haired stout Dwarf in gleaming armor steps forward. His armor and shield are adorned a gear with four spokes, the symbol of Gond. He is admiring the building, and lets out a low whistle.
[Dwarf cleric, Forge domain.}
After Mattis speaks, he will go up to him and grasp his hand and shake it vigorously "Hello there, young one! I'm looking forward to helping you with what ever is troubling you."
He heads over to the table, inspects it for a moment before sitting down. Mumbling to himself "Thats a fine table, well made."
He will set his warhammer on the ground beside him with a thud. He takes a cup and slowly drinks some tea.
He will nod along to the others questions.
"Yes, do tell. What have you summoned this motley crew for?"
Mattias grinned as Deksi approached. "Why yes, a price that will be paid...as soon as I have access to it." He gestured toward the library. "You see, master Magius never...gave me access to his vault, but I am sure he will reward you once you rescue him."
He looked around at the rest of the group exchanging nods and smiles as he got to know them all, the only one he had been acquainted with was Deski before now.
As Mattias looked at Maelyn he had an expression that was difficult to read(insight check if you wanna know more). "I don't know if I could call anyone misery so Maelyn will have to do."
He then turned to Yuwure. "And nice meeting you all as well." He then turned to notice the dwarf commenting on the Ivory table.
"Why yes, that table is made from the tusks of Horkers, a large marine animal. My master acquired it when he saved a town in icewind dale. Bryn Shander I believe."
He then placed his hands down on the table and stood, trying to appear business like, even as his rabbit familiar appeared on his shoulder.
"Alright, so, I bring you terrible news. Caelius, a devil from the nine hells has descended upon the library. Master Magius did all he could to ensure that the devil did not reach the forge of realms, which can be accessed through the library. The forge in of itself is very powerful, as it can be used to create dark and powerful weapons. I believe that if the devil could gain access to these weapons, elturgard would be finished. Master Magius knew this and he removed the four keys and seven crystals of the library and hid them away in several demiplanes, but unfortunately I....cannot retrieve them. Since Caelius arrived those demiplanes have become quite hostile. Unless you have any questions I can give you more answers once we get inside."
Surely there was something fishy about the way Matthias wouldn't allow Maelyn to be called by her favourite name, although she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Unless...
Wisdom (Insight): 8
Devils, danger, and the fall of Elturgard... not the sort of big-time heroics Maelyn normally associated with. But she liked the sound of keys and crystals and dark and powerful weapons, and untold manner of other glorious loot besides! Never-mind the risk, she made no hesitation to agree, and was shortly lost in a lusty daydream of strange magical artefacts and mountains of gold.
"By Tymora, I'd have never thought being a librarian could sound so... exciting!"
Deksi stops in thought, before speaking her thoughts aloud. "Master Magius separated the keys and crystals for a reason: to protect the Forge of Realms. Gathering them may save the wizard, but would collecting them not ease Caelius's path to the forge?" She squints at Mattias dubiously. "No, this does not make sense, you are leaving something out. To start, how do we know that you yourself are not under Caelius's control?"
After a pause she says something unexpected in Infernal, to judge Mattias's reaction to the language of dark spirits.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Mattias did have a very unreadable expression, Maelyn could not deciper it. Deksi however could easily see that Mattias had a bad past with devils. A tiefling was known to be potential offspring of a devil, and so Mattias did not seem pleased to have a tiefling on the crew. As the tortle asked for the bunny it retreated farther on Mattias' shoulder. He chuckled.
"Kelthas is a bit flightly, he doesn't take kindly to strangers, apologies." Mattias said.
He raised an eyebrow at Az. "Trust me? I'm pretty sure you can. I wouldn't ask for help if I didn't need it."
[Here's a persuasion check, you all can make an insight check if you want.]
9
"So are you ready to step inside and see for yourselves?"
"Only one way to score us some exotic plunder!" says Maelyn. "Besides, I'm sure that if Matthias does anything untrustworthy, we'll just make things right and unpleasant for him."
"I like you guys, by the way. I think we're going to have a fun time together!"
Az looks Mattias over, then laughs "I suppose that's true. Anyways, time will tell. Lead the way! This should be a fine adventure!" He follows Mattias and the others in.
Mattias grinned at the various comments. He proudly opened the gates and marched across the library. All of the books seemed to be alphabetized. The lack of windows did not hinder the light, as many lamps hung about, lighting the numerous bookshelves and the persian-styled rug. As he reached the end of the large chamber he led the group through a second door into a small, round chamber. In the middle was a magnificent flagstone well. Seven holes were evenly spaced around it's edge.
"These are for the crystals I mentioned earlier." He then gestured toward an open book on a wooden podium. It was open to a blank spread. "The demiplane is how you access the first one, and perhaps a few keys to the library."
He assumed they knew what he meant as he gestured.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Lingering at the back of the room, Maelyn waited until everyone, or at least Mattias, was through the next door before quietly plucking a book off the shelf (any old book would do, although preferably it was something gilt and magical) - Sleight of Hand is 18.
She holds the book behind her back with one hand. "I don't suppose we'd be so lucky to dive into a demiplane of beaches or cake or some such first... Do we just, er, jump right on into that there book? Can't blame a fellow getting accidentally lost if it's just that easy."
"Oh! Excuse me! Of course you've never used one of these demiplanes before." Mattias said, partly apologizing to them, partly scolding himself. "It's like a very good book, you simply touch the pages and you're inside! Simple as that, the book itself is the portal! This one in particular is the Sp-"
He turned to see Maelyn snatch a book and hide it behind her back. The book enchantments and enhancements was a book on crafting magical weapons. Mattias sighed and shook his head, inwardly thinking that this could have been expected from a tiefling.
"Dear me, the books in this library are free to all of you while you're here. I would appreciate it if you didn't remove any books from the library, but you are definitely allowed to study here." Mattias cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the book. "You see, the Spore Grove is a plane that consists of a vast forest. The forest is quite dark, although specimen of fungi light it enough for those who can't see in the dark. Anyway! The forest was once only the home to Myconids, but now I have heard reports of violence in this land. Myconids are the most peaceful folk I have ever had the pleasure to meet, and so I find this news very unsettling."
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The grand library stands before you. It must have been at least five stories high, and many feet wide. It's large gates of polished dolomite shone in the sun, emblazoned by golden carvings of harpies. The library curiously had no windows, but it's smooth, tan stone shone like gold in the sunlight. In front of the library was a small garden. Water, about six inches deep in a landscaped circular pond, contained a smaller island accessible by bridges. On this island was a marble sundial with a painting of the moon and sun on either end. Doves were nesting in the trees nearby. As you approached the gates a man staggered out, he was a human who seemed in his early twenties. While he had a mage's robe he did not at all seem like a powerful, respectable wizard, but a clumsy commoner who had just begun studying the arcane arts.
"Oh! Why hello there adventurers, I am glad to see that you made it! I am Mattias Emberstaff, apprentice of Elzyrm Magius, the owner of this library." He wandered over to an ivory table beside the entrance. "Before we go in, take a seat and tell me about yourself. I will take any questions you have, my letter was a bit...cryptic. Tea is ready, I hope you like chamomile!"
Deksi is a wizened kobold. Back crooked from age, she is diminutive even for a kobold, but her presence is hard to ignore.
"You know who I am, young Mattias, or you would not have called upon me." She pauses, sipping chamomile from a cup much too big for her. "But for the sake of introduction to the others, let it be known that I am Deksi, shaman and medicine woman of the Rothkik tribe and servant of the less unruly spirits."
[OOC: She is a Kobold Cleric, Order Domain]
She finishes her tea before continuing.
"Your letter was cryptic indeed, but I have divined your purpose. And I can assist." Grinning, she continues, "For a price."
Maelyn's ears - one a little longer than the other, both artfully-pierced - twitched excitedly at the word price.
"Do go on," she insists playfully, but not without some genuine greed. "I'm told some honest work would be good for me, though I do hope it pays well..." She lets her insinuation dangle as she downs her tea (milk and two sugars).
As high elves go, Maelyn would probably be better-described as medium-low; her fey silver hair and easy grace were perfectly elfish, but somewhat offset by her aloof candor, harlequin posture and knavish attire. She wore a slender new coat sharply-cut and fitted dark leather, and a shining rapier hung from her belt - its elegant quillions betrayed the splendor of a noble house rich enough to afford quality, but not quite so rich as to afford an investigator if it ever went missing.
[Rogue]
"My name's Maelyn, but my friends called me Misery, so that works, too... And I also decoded your cryptic letter, and totally understood it," she adds on the sly, her words remarkably almost believable.
Yuwure, a young tortle with paintings on his shell, refuses the chair to sit, those were made for shell-less creatures.
"My friend, even tho I could not figure out the full extent of your call, I get that something threatens the worlds, ow, my beloved worlds!"
Yuwure looks in a distant way.
He picks up a cup of tea and sits on the floor.
"I will take that tea, and I will do the most I can to save them, risk myself if I have to, for those are for all to explore and enjoy"
Taking a sip.
"Well as you know already I'm a druid and I like traveling through this library to know more of the wilds than the ones I could reach, nice meeting you all."
Taking another sip.
"So tell us, what threatens our precious garden of worlds?"
[OOC: to know more about my character, its sheet is in my signature]
A red haired stout Dwarf in gleaming armor steps forward. His armor and shield are adorned a gear with four spokes, the symbol of Gond. He is admiring the building, and lets out a low whistle.
[Dwarf cleric, Forge domain.}
After Mattis speaks, he will go up to him and grasp his hand and shake it vigorously "Hello there, young one! I'm looking forward to helping you with what ever is troubling you."
He heads over to the table, inspects it for a moment before sitting down. Mumbling to himself "Thats a fine table, well made."
He will set his warhammer on the ground beside him with a thud. He takes a cup and slowly drinks some tea.
He will nod along to the others questions.
"Yes, do tell. What have you summoned this motley crew for?"
Mattias grinned as Deksi approached. "Why yes, a price that will be paid...as soon as I have access to it." He gestured toward the library. "You see, master Magius never...gave me access to his vault, but I am sure he will reward you once you rescue him."
He looked around at the rest of the group exchanging nods and smiles as he got to know them all, the only one he had been acquainted with was Deski before now.
As Mattias looked at Maelyn he had an expression that was difficult to read(insight check if you wanna know more). "I don't know if I could call anyone misery so Maelyn will have to do."
He then turned to Yuwure. "And nice meeting you all as well." He then turned to notice the dwarf commenting on the Ivory table.
"Why yes, that table is made from the tusks of Horkers, a large marine animal. My master acquired it when he saved a town in icewind dale. Bryn Shander I believe."
He then placed his hands down on the table and stood, trying to appear business like, even as his rabbit familiar appeared on his shoulder.
"Alright, so, I bring you terrible news. Caelius, a devil from the nine hells has descended upon the library. Master Magius did all he could to ensure that the devil did not reach the forge of realms, which can be accessed through the library. The forge in of itself is very powerful, as it can be used to create dark and powerful weapons. I believe that if the devil could gain access to these weapons, elturgard would be finished. Master Magius knew this and he removed the four keys and seven crystals of the library and hid them away in several demiplanes, but unfortunately I....cannot retrieve them. Since Caelius arrived those demiplanes have become quite hostile. Unless you have any questions I can give you more answers once we get inside."
Surely there was something fishy about the way Matthias wouldn't allow Maelyn to be called by her favourite name, although she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Unless...
Wisdom (Insight): 8
Devils, danger, and the fall of Elturgard... not the sort of big-time heroics Maelyn normally associated with. But she liked the sound of keys and crystals and dark and powerful weapons, and untold manner of other glorious loot besides! Never-mind the risk, she made no hesitation to agree, and was shortly lost in a lusty daydream of strange magical artefacts and mountains of gold.
"By Tymora, I'd have never thought being a librarian could sound so... exciting!"
Deksi stops in thought, before speaking her thoughts aloud. "Master Magius separated the keys and crystals for a reason: to protect the Forge of Realms. Gathering them may save the wizard, but would collecting them not ease Caelius's path to the forge?" She squints at Mattias dubiously. "No, this does not make sense, you are leaving something out. To start, how do we know that you yourself are not under Caelius's control?"
After a pause she says something unexpected in Infernal, to judge Mattias's reaction to the language of dark spirits.
Wisdom (Insight): 21
"The beautiful planes became agrresive?!" Yuwure says with a grasp.
"May I see your bunny by the way? " He asks
[OOC: if i manage to touch his bunny I'll try grabbing a small patch of fur
don't know wich rolls should be used so will maxe aanimal handling, dex and deception one, choose the one/s you feel are more fitting]
AH 9
Dex 11
Dec 3
Az was staring off at the actual building again. Then he shakes his head, as if remembering he was in a conversation.
"Apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Aztar Shalecrusher! You can call be Az. I can't help but admire beautiful craftsmanship!"
"So, we what were talking about? Devils, Keys and crystals, Planes in disarry, and whether we can trust Mattias. Well, boy, can we trust you?"
Mattias did have a very unreadable expression, Maelyn could not deciper it. Deksi however could easily see that Mattias had a bad past with devils. A tiefling was known to be potential offspring of a devil, and so Mattias did not seem pleased to have a tiefling on the crew. As the tortle asked for the bunny it retreated farther on Mattias' shoulder. He chuckled.
"Kelthas is a bit flightly, he doesn't take kindly to strangers, apologies." Mattias said.
He raised an eyebrow at Az. "Trust me? I'm pretty sure you can. I wouldn't ask for help if I didn't need it."
[Here's a persuasion check, you all can make an insight check if you want.]
9
"So are you ready to step inside and see for yourselves?"
"Very well. Let us see." Deksi follows Mattias.
"always ready to explore more world's or different ones"
"Only one way to score us some exotic plunder!" says Maelyn. "Besides, I'm sure that if Matthias does anything untrustworthy, we'll just make things right and unpleasant for him."
"I like you guys, by the way. I think we're going to have a fun time together!"
Az looks Mattias over, then laughs "I suppose that's true. Anyways, time will tell. Lead the way! This should be a fine adventure!" He follows Mattias and the others in.
Mattias grinned at the various comments. He proudly opened the gates and marched across the library. All of the books seemed to be alphabetized. The lack of windows did not hinder the light, as many lamps hung about, lighting the numerous bookshelves and the persian-styled rug. As he reached the end of the large chamber he led the group through a second door into a small, round chamber. In the middle was a magnificent flagstone well. Seven holes were evenly spaced around it's edge.
"These are for the crystals I mentioned earlier." He then gestured toward an open book on a wooden podium. It was open to a blank spread. "The demiplane is how you access the first one, and perhaps a few keys to the library."
He assumed they knew what he meant as he gestured.
Moving in awe, yuwule gets in the front of the group "Where will we go? Where will we go???"
"The book is the key to the first demiplane, that much is clear. But how do we activate it? And where does it take us?"
Lingering at the back of the room, Maelyn waited until everyone, or at least Mattias, was through the next door before quietly plucking a book off the shelf (any old book would do, although preferably it was something gilt and magical) - Sleight of Hand is 18.
She holds the book behind her back with one hand. "I don't suppose we'd be so lucky to dive into a demiplane of beaches or cake or some such first... Do we just, er, jump right on into that there book? Can't blame a fellow getting accidentally lost if it's just that easy."
"Oh! Excuse me! Of course you've never used one of these demiplanes before." Mattias said, partly apologizing to them, partly scolding himself. "It's like a very good book, you simply touch the pages and you're inside! Simple as that, the book itself is the portal! This one in particular is the Sp-"
He turned to see Maelyn snatch a book and hide it behind her back. The book enchantments and enhancements was a book on crafting magical weapons. Mattias sighed and shook his head, inwardly thinking that this could have been expected from a tiefling.
"Dear me, the books in this library are free to all of you while you're here. I would appreciate it if you didn't remove any books from the library, but you are definitely allowed to study here." Mattias cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the book. "You see, the Spore Grove is a plane that consists of a vast forest. The forest is quite dark, although specimen of fungi light it enough for those who can't see in the dark. Anyway! The forest was once only the home to Myconids, but now I have heard reports of violence in this land. Myconids are the most peaceful folk I have ever had the pleasure to meet, and so I find this news very unsettling."