“Let’s Go!” Cerlinde, owl on her shoulder, steps through the portal, and turns back motioning to the others to enter. (Assuming she doesn’t disintegrate into ash when she steps through or worse)
Mohdrak looked at Ollezall, shrugged and dove into the portal as he said 'Scepter.'
Small tip: in cases like these (where the entire group has to take action X or else there won't be a story) it's safe for the DM to assume everyone just goes along and move the story further. Because the alternative would be that some people would not participate in the adventure and, well, that's not really why we're here, isn't?
Life is very busy unfortunately, gone from most Pbp's indefinitely. If you'd like to contact me, I am on Discord at GreatAxeblade#7595, always happy to chat :)
The party emerges from the portal into the grand foyer of what seems to be a modest mansion. From this side of it, the portal looks like a normal double doorway, outlined with a faint, shimmering light. At present, you still see the study room in Drusilla's Forest when you look through the doorway. Within the mansion, the ceiling arches to fifteen feet overhead, and long hallways stretch out on either side of the foyer. The foyer and hallways are illuminated by oil lamps and there are shiny brass fixtures throughout. On the wall immediately opposite you is a door, slightly ajar, on the left, and a staircase leading up on the right.
As you take in your new surroundings, speaking quietly amongst yourselves, you hear the sound of footsteps approaching hurriedly and can tell that someone is rushing down the staircase. Practically falling into the foyer with you is a middle-aged man wearing gray robes. "How did you... Who are you... Oh, thanks be to Oghma! I was beginning to wonder if I'd gotten myself trapped in here forever! Is the book safe? Did Cassandra send you? I'm Matreous, by the way, pleasure to make your acquaintance."
While Matreous is stumbling his way through an introduction, you remain cognizant of the portal behind you, its doors seeming to ever so slowly start to close.
Small tip: in cases like these (where the entire group has to take action X or else there won't be a story) it's safe for the DM to assume everyone just goes along and move the story further. Because the alternative would be that some people would not participate in the adventure and, well, that's not really why we're here, isn't?
( I appreciate the tip and I recognize that it seems obvious, but in a recent PbP campaign I played in, a DM was very "railroady" at times and the players were not amused. If I come off a little conservative in that regard, that's why. It does seem there is a balance in PbP between moving things along and maintaining player agency that is a bit different from live games and that I'm still figuring out.)
Cerlinde says, quickly and with a concerned voice”yes- Cassandra sent us. I am called Cerlinde . Now do you know what we need to do to get out again- these doors are closing-we don’t want to be trapped in here with you.”
Matreous appears appreciative and anxious. He tells the party, "Well, when I entered, I was so enraptured by what I had found that I immediately began taking notes. Before I realized what was going on, I found that the portal doors had closed silently behind me. As you can imagine, 'scepter' would not open the doors. I tried different command words, anything I could recall from the tome, for about a half hour to try to get the portal to reopen. Without success, obviously. Then, for the last hour and a half or so, I wrote down everything I could think of from my experience with the portal and started to wander around. I didn't make much progress and had only just walked up the stairs when I heard you all down here. Fortunately, now that you're here, we have multiple people that know the keyword, so there shouldn't be a risk of anyone else getting stuck! I imagine somewhere around this mansion is the keyword that allows one to exit."
Matreous notices Syd attempting to grab the doors and chuckles as his massive hands pass right through where the doors appear to be. They are moving quite slowly, you estimate that you have at least a few more minutes to agree upon a plan. "Unfortunately, I think Fistandia was a bit more clever than to allow the doors to simply be held open. Although, if anyone could do it, I'd give you very good odds, my large friend. Between you and the minotaur, I imagine you could break down any non-magical barrier placed in front of you. At any rate, I propose that I head back to Haven and report my findings to Cassandra immediately, which I should have done in the first place. The lot of you can continue the exploration of the treasures that this mansion holds. There is at least a study and I believe a laboratory upstairs, although I didn't get a close look. Likely other places of interest as well, some items of great value. Just look at this intricate carving of an imp, made from emerald!" He holds out his hand, showing a small statue, approximately 20cm in height and likely worth a nice pile of coin. "Once I return to the library with Cassandra and the other apprentices, we can re-open the portal and take over the cataloguing of the mansion's holdings. By then, there will be plenty of people with the knowledge to open the portal from the outside, and hopefully you will have discovered how to open it from inside as well. I'm sure Cassandra will see that you're well compensated for your time and trouble, and for saving her most talented apprentice, of course. What say you to this plan?"
As you take in your new surroundings, speaking quietly amongst yourselves, you hear the sound of footsteps approaching hurriedly and can tell that someone is rushing down the staircase. Practically falling into the foyer with you is a middle-aged man wearing gray robes. "How did you... Who are you... Oh, thanks be to Oghma! I was beginning to wonder if I'd gotten myself trapped in here forever! Is the book safe? Did Cassandra send you? I'm Matreous, by the way, pleasure to make your acquaintance."
While Matreous is stumbling his way through an introduction, you remain cognizant of the portal behind you, its doors seeming to ever so slowly start to close.
Does Ollezall notice the description of Matreous differ from the one given by Cassandra? He would be interested in seeing physical evidence of time passing quicker or slower in particular. Passive perception 15.
"I think this is a plan. However let's also be pragmatic; what supplies do we have? If we are going to starve there is no point letting that portal close."
Ollezall thinks for a while; " Did anyone send a message to Cassandra with what's happened and the passphrase? Since we know the passphrase to enter, perhaps it would be prudent to report back and secure supplies before our venture into the unknown"
Mohdrak let out a soft, low whistle. He was genuinely impressed by what he saw. Not so much with the mansion itself but by the fact that it was possible to just conjure something this big and intricate out of nowhere. He pondered the possibilities. If a mansion could be done, what else? A sports arena, food stands, athletes' area, anything. The ability to plop down a professional sporting area could prove invaluable.
He had scarcely begun to contemplate his vision for the sports entertainments future when he noticed that there was one person more in attendance than had entered: the apprentice they were sent in to find. He found it odd that the man in question was middle-aged. Weren't apprentices all supposed to be young people trying to learn or pick up the trade from someone more experienced? He just seemed too old to be called an apprentice.
'You haven't checked the rest of this place?' The minotaur asked. 'Just two rooms?'
"Well I, for one, am going to look into the nearest room for more goodies."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Life is very busy unfortunately, gone from most Pbp's indefinitely. If you'd like to contact me, I am on Discord at GreatAxeblade#7595, always happy to chat :)
For Ollezall and Mohdrak, who are contemplating the appearance and age of Matreous: from what you can recall, Cassandra never gave a description of Matreous' physical characteristics. In terms of timeline, Matreous described himself as having been trapped in the mansion for approximately two hours, while you can estimate that it has been about sixteen hours since his disappearance - 6pm the previous day was roughly when that occurred and the time is now around 10am on the following day.
Responding to Ollezall, Matreous says, "I believe I also came across a kitchen, although I didn't take a close look around. Oh, and now that you mention it, there was a cat wandering around. Very peculiar. In any case, I don't think Fistandia would have cloistered herself away in a place where she would starve to death! I shan't be gone for very long, just need to fetch Cassandra and we'll zip back over."
Turning to Syd, he responds sarcastically, "And you, you can't really be serious!? You think I'd just leave you all here with this wealth of knowledge and who knows what else all for yourself? Trust me, I'll be back right away as soon as I report to and apologize to Cassandra for causing her so much distress. No, my large friend, what could I possibly have to gain from forgetting about you here?"
And finally, to Mohdrak, Matreous explains, "I told you, I've only been here for two hours. That does sound like a reasonable amount of time to do some searching, but I spent a quarter of that time experimenting with other keywords. Then I took a lot of notes." Matreous jams his hand into his robe and pulls out a fistful of papers that seems to be covered with the same Celestial script that Ollezall saw in the library's study room. "If you saw my work in the study, you know that I take very extensive notes! I'm sorry if that took a while, but I was just getting into scouting the mansion out when you all showed up. Now here we are all, with your friend wandering off and that portal door closing, so do you mind if I go get Cassandra before we're all trapped?"
Cerlinde is suspicious, but barring one of them going with him, she doesn’t have a better idea. “OK. Well, in haven more like 16 hours have passed, but I suppose if you go then you can let us out if we can’t find the word anywhere here. It’s up to my companions. I want to explore this place. “
Matreous is first stunned, then elated. "Wait, what? Sixteen hours, you say? Remarkable... there were sections in the tome that I had not fully deciphered, but I did come across allusions to the warping of time. Apparently Fistandia figured out how to make the most of her time in this mansion! Only three hours in Haven time for a full day in here. That will certainly make it easier for us to uncover its secrets in a timely fashion."
Syd frowns, counting on his fingers. "Nope, you got it backwards. Two hours here was sixteen hours in Haven. At that rate, a full day in Haven would only be 3 hours here. One day here would be eight days in Haven. Anyone trapped here would be hurtled into Haven's future when they returned.
"As for what you stand to gain by 'forgetting' about us, you could be disposing of the only witnesses to whatever evil wizard-y things you have been doing here. You go back, you hide the book, and no one ever hears from us again. Kinda like when I killed all them kobolds; no witnesses, no evidence." He smiles somewhat menacingly at Matreous. "Uncle Bindlestiff always said, 'you gotta consider all the angles.'
"But," he shrugs, "I will follow Cerlinde's lead... she's the smart one. I'm just a goatherd."
"Syd is right. Let's check back in with Cassandra before we proceed further."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Life is very busy unfortunately, gone from most Pbp's indefinitely. If you'd like to contact me, I am on Discord at GreatAxeblade#7595, always happy to chat :)
“Syd- you raise good points. Perhaps I am too eager to explore. We know how to get back in- our initial mission was to rescue the apprentice after all. Let’s all go with him back to Cassandra’s and then we will come back. Perhaps we want to study the book a bit more- maybe the exit clue is there. We should go now if we are going!” Cerlinde says, and heads back to the closing door.
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“Let’s Go!” Cerlinde, owl on her shoulder, steps through the portal, and turns back motioning to the others to enter. (Assuming she doesn’t disintegrate into ash when she steps through or worse)
Ollezall follows after. "Scepter, heh. Bet that will be important later".
Mohdrak looked at Ollezall, shrugged and dove into the portal as he said 'Scepter.'
Small tip: in cases like these (where the entire group has to take action X or else there won't be a story) it's safe for the DM to assume everyone just goes along and move the story further. Because the alternative would be that some people would not participate in the adventure and, well, that's not really why we're here, isn't?
William Brackwater: Human Fighter - The Windward Isles
Tyrgram, the Butterfly Knight: Dwarf Warlock - Secret of Greenwold
Iòlinder Corrach: Half Elf War Cleric - Allansia Adventure
Valerius Sergius Publius: Dhampir Paladin - Vae Victus
"Geronim-uhh-SCEPTER!"
Life is very busy unfortunately, gone from most Pbp's indefinitely.
If you'd like to contact me, I am on Discord at GreatAxeblade#7595, always happy to chat :)
Homebrew races: ~Otterfolk! Play as a otter!~ Playable Dryad! (Literally just the monster sheet ported to player race)
Sauce Archpriest!- Join the Supreme Court of Sauces! Join the Cult of Cults! EXTENDED SIGNATURE Tooltips
Not to be left behind, Syd charges through the magical doorway, whooping with delight (delight at not having to be stuck in a library anymore).
The party emerges from the portal into the grand foyer of what seems to be a modest mansion. From this side of it, the portal looks like a normal double doorway, outlined with a faint, shimmering light. At present, you still see the study room in Drusilla's Forest when you look through the doorway. Within the mansion, the ceiling arches to fifteen feet overhead, and long hallways stretch out on either side of the foyer. The foyer and hallways are illuminated by oil lamps and there are shiny brass fixtures throughout. On the wall immediately opposite you is a door, slightly ajar, on the left, and a staircase leading up on the right.
As you take in your new surroundings, speaking quietly amongst yourselves, you hear the sound of footsteps approaching hurriedly and can tell that someone is rushing down the staircase. Practically falling into the foyer with you is a middle-aged man wearing gray robes. "How did you... Who are you... Oh, thanks be to Oghma! I was beginning to wonder if I'd gotten myself trapped in here forever! Is the book safe? Did Cassandra send you? I'm Matreous, by the way, pleasure to make your acquaintance."
While Matreous is stumbling his way through an introduction, you remain cognizant of the portal behind you, its doors seeming to ever so slowly start to close.
( I appreciate the tip and I recognize that it seems obvious, but in a recent PbP campaign I played in, a DM was very "railroady" at times and the players were not amused. If I come off a little conservative in that regard, that's why. It does seem there is a balance in PbP between moving things along and maintaining player agency that is a bit different from live games and that I'm still figuring out.)
Active - Player: Sleeping Gods ---- Complete - Player: Masquerade, Teleportation Machine ---- Complete - DM: Extradimensional Spaces
Come join the Worlds of Pphost, a new and growing PbP community! Adventures are currently running in the world of Haven or do some role-playing!
It never hurts to help! ---- PbP: [Rolling Dice] [Tooltips] ---- DDB Content: [Free Adventures] [Encounter of the Week]
Cerlinde says, quickly and with a concerned voice”yes- Cassandra sent us. I am called Cerlinde . Now do you know what we need to do to get out again- these doors are closing-we don’t want to be trapped in here with you.”
Syd will turn and attempt to prevent the doors from closing, grabbing them with his ham-sized fists.
Athletics 11
Matreous appears appreciative and anxious. He tells the party, "Well, when I entered, I was so enraptured by what I had found that I immediately began taking notes. Before I realized what was going on, I found that the portal doors had closed silently behind me. As you can imagine, 'scepter' would not open the doors. I tried different command words, anything I could recall from the tome, for about a half hour to try to get the portal to reopen. Without success, obviously. Then, for the last hour and a half or so, I wrote down everything I could think of from my experience with the portal and started to wander around. I didn't make much progress and had only just walked up the stairs when I heard you all down here. Fortunately, now that you're here, we have multiple people that know the keyword, so there shouldn't be a risk of anyone else getting stuck! I imagine somewhere around this mansion is the keyword that allows one to exit."
Matreous notices Syd attempting to grab the doors and chuckles as his massive hands pass right through where the doors appear to be. They are moving quite slowly, you estimate that you have at least a few more minutes to agree upon a plan. "Unfortunately, I think Fistandia was a bit more clever than to allow the doors to simply be held open. Although, if anyone could do it, I'd give you very good odds, my large friend. Between you and the minotaur, I imagine you could break down any non-magical barrier placed in front of you. At any rate, I propose that I head back to Haven and report my findings to Cassandra immediately, which I should have done in the first place. The lot of you can continue the exploration of the treasures that this mansion holds. There is at least a study and I believe a laboratory upstairs, although I didn't get a close look. Likely other places of interest as well, some items of great value. Just look at this intricate carving of an imp, made from emerald!" He holds out his hand, showing a small statue, approximately 20cm in height and likely worth a nice pile of coin. "Once I return to the library with Cassandra and the other apprentices, we can re-open the portal and take over the cataloguing of the mansion's holdings. By then, there will be plenty of people with the knowledge to open the portal from the outside, and hopefully you will have discovered how to open it from inside as well. I'm sure Cassandra will see that you're well compensated for your time and trouble, and for saving her most talented apprentice, of course. What say you to this plan?"
Active - Player: Sleeping Gods ---- Complete - Player: Masquerade, Teleportation Machine ---- Complete - DM: Extradimensional Spaces
Come join the Worlds of Pphost, a new and growing PbP community! Adventures are currently running in the world of Haven or do some role-playing!
It never hurts to help! ---- PbP: [Rolling Dice] [Tooltips] ---- DDB Content: [Free Adventures] [Encounter of the Week]
Does Ollezall notice the description of Matreous differ from the one given by Cassandra? He would be interested in seeing physical evidence of time passing quicker or slower in particular. Passive perception 15.
"I think this is a plan. However let's also be pragmatic; what supplies do we have? If we are going to starve there is no point letting that portal close."
Ollezall thinks for a while; " Did anyone send a message to Cassandra with what's happened and the passphrase? Since we know the passphrase to enter, perhaps it would be prudent to report back and secure supplies before our venture into the unknown"
Syd ponders. "You want me to go back with him, just to make sure he doesn't 'forget' to tell Cassandra about us?"
Mohdrak let out a soft, low whistle. He was genuinely impressed by what he saw. Not so much with the mansion itself but by the fact that it was possible to just conjure something this big and intricate out of nowhere. He pondered the possibilities. If a mansion could be done, what else? A sports arena, food stands, athletes' area, anything. The ability to plop down a professional sporting area could prove invaluable.
He had scarcely begun to contemplate his vision for the sports entertainments future when he noticed that there was one person more in attendance than had entered: the apprentice they were sent in to find. He found it odd that the man in question was middle-aged. Weren't apprentices all supposed to be young people trying to learn or pick up the trade from someone more experienced? He just seemed too old to be called an apprentice.
'You haven't checked the rest of this place?' The minotaur asked. 'Just two rooms?'
William Brackwater: Human Fighter - The Windward Isles
Tyrgram, the Butterfly Knight: Dwarf Warlock - Secret of Greenwold
Iòlinder Corrach: Half Elf War Cleric - Allansia Adventure
Valerius Sergius Publius: Dhampir Paladin - Vae Victus
"Well I, for one, am going to look into the nearest room for more goodies."
Life is very busy unfortunately, gone from most Pbp's indefinitely.
If you'd like to contact me, I am on Discord at GreatAxeblade#7595, always happy to chat :)
Homebrew races: ~Otterfolk! Play as a otter!~ Playable Dryad! (Literally just the monster sheet ported to player race)
Sauce Archpriest!- Join the Supreme Court of Sauces! Join the Cult of Cults! EXTENDED SIGNATURE Tooltips
For Ollezall and Mohdrak, who are contemplating the appearance and age of Matreous: from what you can recall, Cassandra never gave a description of Matreous' physical characteristics. In terms of timeline, Matreous described himself as having been trapped in the mansion for approximately two hours, while you can estimate that it has been about sixteen hours since his disappearance - 6pm the previous day was roughly when that occurred and the time is now around 10am on the following day.
Responding to Ollezall, Matreous says, "I believe I also came across a kitchen, although I didn't take a close look around. Oh, and now that you mention it, there was a cat wandering around. Very peculiar. In any case, I don't think Fistandia would have cloistered herself away in a place where she would starve to death! I shan't be gone for very long, just need to fetch Cassandra and we'll zip back over."
Turning to Syd, he responds sarcastically, "And you, you can't really be serious!? You think I'd just leave you all here with this wealth of knowledge and who knows what else all for yourself? Trust me, I'll be back right away as soon as I report to and apologize to Cassandra for causing her so much distress. No, my large friend, what could I possibly have to gain from forgetting about you here?"
And finally, to Mohdrak, Matreous explains, "I told you, I've only been here for two hours. That does sound like a reasonable amount of time to do some searching, but I spent a quarter of that time experimenting with other keywords. Then I took a lot of notes." Matreous jams his hand into his robe and pulls out a fistful of papers that seems to be covered with the same Celestial script that Ollezall saw in the library's study room. "If you saw my work in the study, you know that I take very extensive notes! I'm sorry if that took a while, but I was just getting into scouting the mansion out when you all showed up. Now here we are all, with your friend wandering off and that portal door closing, so do you mind if I go get Cassandra before we're all trapped?"
Active - Player: Sleeping Gods ---- Complete - Player: Masquerade, Teleportation Machine ---- Complete - DM: Extradimensional Spaces
Come join the Worlds of Pphost, a new and growing PbP community! Adventures are currently running in the world of Haven or do some role-playing!
It never hurts to help! ---- PbP: [Rolling Dice] [Tooltips] ---- DDB Content: [Free Adventures] [Encounter of the Week]
Cerlinde is suspicious, but barring one of them going with him, she doesn’t have a better idea. “OK. Well, in haven more like 16 hours have passed, but I suppose if you go then you can let us out if we can’t find the word anywhere here. It’s up to my companions. I want to explore this place. “
Matreous is first stunned, then elated. "Wait, what? Sixteen hours, you say? Remarkable... there were sections in the tome that I had not fully deciphered, but I did come across allusions to the warping of time. Apparently Fistandia figured out how to make the most of her time in this mansion! Only three hours in Haven time for a full day in here. That will certainly make it easier for us to uncover its secrets in a timely fashion."
Active - Player: Sleeping Gods ---- Complete - Player: Masquerade, Teleportation Machine ---- Complete - DM: Extradimensional Spaces
Come join the Worlds of Pphost, a new and growing PbP community! Adventures are currently running in the world of Haven or do some role-playing!
It never hurts to help! ---- PbP: [Rolling Dice] [Tooltips] ---- DDB Content: [Free Adventures] [Encounter of the Week]
Syd frowns, counting on his fingers. "Nope, you got it backwards. Two hours here was sixteen hours in Haven. At that rate, a full day in Haven would only be 3 hours here. One day here would be eight days in Haven. Anyone trapped here would be hurtled into Haven's future when they returned.
"As for what you stand to gain by 'forgetting' about us, you could be disposing of the only witnesses to whatever evil wizard-y things you have been doing here. You go back, you hide the book, and no one ever hears from us again. Kinda like when I killed all them kobolds; no witnesses, no evidence." He smiles somewhat menacingly at Matreous. "Uncle Bindlestiff always said, 'you gotta consider all the angles.'
"But," he shrugs, "I will follow Cerlinde's lead... she's the smart one. I'm just a goatherd."
"Syd is right. Let's check back in with Cassandra before we proceed further."
Life is very busy unfortunately, gone from most Pbp's indefinitely.
If you'd like to contact me, I am on Discord at GreatAxeblade#7595, always happy to chat :)
Homebrew races: ~Otterfolk! Play as a otter!~ Playable Dryad! (Literally just the monster sheet ported to player race)
Sauce Archpriest!- Join the Supreme Court of Sauces! Join the Cult of Cults! EXTENDED SIGNATURE Tooltips
“Syd- you raise good points. Perhaps I am too eager to explore. We know how to get back in- our initial mission was to rescue the apprentice after all. Let’s all go with him back to Cassandra’s and then we will come back. Perhaps we want to study the book a bit more- maybe the exit clue is there. We should go now if we are going!” Cerlinde says, and heads back to the closing door.