Elthana makes a hint of a disgusted face, "No. I am definitely not Sergor's wife. More like his... um.. enforcer? Man, there is so much to tell you and I cannot believe we found you, but well, we don't have a lot of time. We desperately need to get this Lodestone."
As the others come into the room, she turns to them, "This is Hector... wow, I have no idea how to introduce you. My maker's brother?" She chuckles in a forced, strained kind of way and looks over at Muir, the almost forced mirth draining completely out of her. "Please, these are my friends and yes, even the guard, though he does make stupid choices apparently." She looks around at the shrine and the condition of the area they are in, "What, what is this place?"
As Elthana draws people's attention around the room, you all see a 30ft floor to ceiling carved raven display, it has metal building highlighting the skull head, the rib cage and several wisps of shadow surrounding it, a grand shrine, dedicated to the raven queen and her aspects. This is also the only place in the room completely clear of any loss or mould.
Hector lowers his hood and gets a good look at Griff, "this armour is not of the sapphire guard, where is he from?" He looks around to the two dragon born one of which is busy healing himself with magic, they both acknowledge the look and remain on guard though apparently not for the party.
"Surrender? No. I spared you on the basis that Elthana here would shed some light on a few things. You still ventured into our shrine, with a guard, compromising our supply base..." He replies to Vin's question.
As Sam complains of the less than warm welcome Hector explains, "you are outsiders, unknowns... The Djiin and their guards are currently enacting a centuries long genocide against kobolds and dragon kind, we don't see friends often, the chances that you'd encroach this far down just to talk is damn near unheard of, especially with guard escort. His attitude speaks volumes no?" He grits his teeth as he notions toward Griff. "What is this lodestone that you want? And what's this treasury that you speak of?"
Elthana places a hand on Hector's forearm to try and slow things down a bit, "Hector, I will try and shed as much light as I can on whatever you want to know. I do understand your position and I thank you for halting the attack, I believe we are all on the same side." she side-eyes Griff briefly but continues, "Griff is from Akiin's Island, not here. But he is assisting us with our mission, no more, no less. As for our mission, we are trying to find a piece of the great dragon (forgot his name) bone to take back to our plane. We had one, Sergor had acquired it and it lifted a large land mass above our home city. It is failing and what we call the Treasury, this land mass, is falling and will soon crush our city, killing thousands. We are here to find another one and get it home before this happens."
Gewyn shrugs apologetically and says, "I recognize this may be a culture difference, but in our land, when there is a place that you don't want people to tread, a sign with words goes a long way. And if there is no sign, someone wandering in unawares could hardly be held at fault. I could do one up for you. Something like... 'Home of Hector and the Hooligans. Authorized personnel only past this point.' Or maybe, 'Beware of dog-people.' Or, 'Please shout "Zero!" if you would like to speak to a representative.' Just riffing."
"You spared us? Right", Vin replies dubiously as he watches the dragonborn having to heal themself, but says no more. He instead chooses to take a closer look at the Raven Queen shrine. He searches it for anything that might resemble Morris, or show truth to the theory that after death a person is harvested as three separate pieces by three different aspects of the Raven Queen.
Neferox stays close to Vin, positioning herself between him and the dragonborn, and looking around for any signs of the kobolds that vanished.
Vin Investigation: 4+3=7 (Passive 13) Neferox Perception (Advantage due to Infernal Sense): (10, 18)+8=26
"he's from Akiin?" Hector repeats caught off guard slightly, he then gives a nod to the two dragon born who then begin slowly walking around the room weapons drawn looking for something the white one stops just behind Sam and pushes Sam out of the way as it belches ice breath over something behind him. The group watch as frost begins to form on an invisible humanoid shape which was apparently standing right behind the half orc. The other dragonborn casts a spell, his voice ringing out in harsh draconic as his longsword glows, suddenly the invisible humanoid is hoisted upside down into the air where it dangles helplessly.
Hector turns into a blur approaching Sam at a blinding speed, he stabs out twice with claw like fingers extended and decapitates the previously unseen beast. A pale blue mist begins pooling in the floor below as the creature begins to evaporate into nothing. "Nasty bastards..." Hector mutters retracting his claw like fingers back into normal looking old man hands. Griff's eyes go wide in a bit of a panic once more. Then the dragon born resume walking around the room continuing their search for other possible invisible interlopers.
"Errr..." Sam asserts with vim and vigor. "What was that???"
"Look, I don't know what you all have going on here. Don't really want to know. You're beefs with others is your beefs. We got enough problems at home... That... whatever that thing you just killed? Not with us. Couldn't have been following for long or we'd have noticed. As said, all we want is a load stone and then we'll go back where we came from and I think everyone will be happy about that," Sam explains as he tries to get a good look at just what it is that they killed and wonders how it was behind him without him knowing.
Vin has not really noticed what has gone on behind him, so focussed has he been on the shrine.
”Look Nef, these metal portions of this shrine seem to highlight the Raven Queen’s three aspects as the collector of the dead. The skull signifies memories, the rib cage the body and these wisps of shadow surrounding her must be the soul”, he says pointing at the parts as he speaks of them. “Thinking about it, that strange creature I saw earlier when the wraith died had an exposed rib cage. Could it have been collecting its body, if a wraith even has one?”.
Neferox turns her head slightly as Vin speaks to her, but seems far more interested in staying vigilant.
Muir grabs the guard's hand and gets up. He brushes himself off while dabbing at his head. Muir repeats some of things said adds a few nuggets "The treasury was created after you left the realm. When Sergor came here he was gifted a dragonstone which he called a lodestone in which he created the treasury around. The treasury holds all of Marbelstead's wealth under Sergor's.....eye....Our friend from Djinn Akiin's realm came to our world when a riff in the portal was opened. We have befriended him and brought him home. He was showing us to the other island to find this lodestone. We came this way to get there....We accidently came upon your shrine to which I immdiately tried to explain to everyone that you were not the kobolds who Griff warned us about. We know about the Raven Queen and have met one of her, how do you say....one of her pieces of herself...." Muir turns as the Dragonborn finds an invisible humanoid who is dispateched by Hector. Without missing a beat he continues "Are you able to help us? We can walk and talk. Tell you what we know of your former world, our meeting with Morris the memory collecter of the Raven Queen, and answer other questions. We mean no harm as everyone else has said"
"are you suggesting we should advertise our presence to those who would wish to slaughter us?" Hector questions at Gewyn apparently finding no humour in his riffing.
"rifstejar marinxar" one of the dragonborn grunts at Sam in answer, to which hector clarified, "invisible stalkers, they are elemental beings summoned by Djiin, they are spies summoned for sole purposes and then when their purpose is done they cease to exist. My bet is that this thing has been following you since you left Akiin..." As vin speaks Hector's eyes widen, "you have witnessed the memory and the body? You have truly been chosen by the raven queen, what did they look like to you?"
At Elthana and Muir's plea for the bones, Hector sits and thinks for a moment, "sergor was behind the theft of Lumithor's bone? I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I also can't say I'm surprised. A floating island in the material plane, what an unnecessary display of grandeur, it's pathetic. I'm sorry Elthana, if you are close with sergor, but that's just... Disgustingly ostentatious.
Still, I do not wish for people in your plane to die because of my sister's husband. I will help you, but I need you all to help me and my cause too, the kobolds have been facing annihilation and just like that has nothing to do with you, your worries have nothing to do with them. I think we have ourselves a give and take scenario"
Muir continues with Hector unphased by th spies "It is not surprising that the Djinn would send spies to follow us....I do wonder" He pauses and looks at Griff "How much our friend knew....no matter there are more important things to discuss. You say Sergor stole the bone? That is quite interesting as he and Djinn Akin made it seem like it was gifted to him but for what they did not divulge other than a religious war....Sergor is still alive and full of vigor although he has kept an appearance of ancestors dying with a differnt version of himself replacing the "dead" ancestor. It does not surprise me that he is not telling the truth. Sergor is...." Muir stops himself from hurling insults and instead thinks about Hector's question "We all met Morris, the memory version of the Raven Queen, in the World Tree. He asked us to tell him a memory in exchange for a boon of sorts. There was a little what we would call a squirrel but this one was able to talk and listen to commands, but also a demon, Xazgan, was there....I will let Vin tell his story if he wishes to do so, but for the rest of us, that is what we experienced in the world tree. NOw perhaps you could indulge me a moment....The wights we fought above, were they with you protecting this place?
In response to Muir "the wights, or wraiths above, they're not with us, they are abominations of undeath which had become a rarity after the sealing of Nectyran in the shadowfell. Bit something is changing, slowly... Undead are springing up all over, it is concerning, not in the least because the kobolds and the followers of lumithor have taken up his mantle as guardians of the shadowfell..." Hector looks a little concerned at this, disappointed in himself somehow.
Muir looks at the others wondering how much more he should say.....His curisoity to know more...he can't help "The Shadowfell...This could all be happening because of the alignment of the realms. All the realms have aligned opening portals across the material realm, our realm. The Shadowfell encompasses the material plane but also this plane and possibly pieces of other planes....Maybe the gate is weakening as Nectyran's forces are trying to open it. This alignment could be causing changes all over these planes of existence. It is all very new us here but I have been researching and dabbling into the histories......" Muir trails off wondering what the others will say.
"you sound experienced in this kind of thing... Perhaps you should accompany us to the broken isle, see the remnants of the gateway for yourselves? And perhaps we can speak with the kobold elders and the good witch, they should be able to guide us on how to help you too" Hector suggests as the dragon born finish their search deeming the area free of invisible stalkers.
The sound of the birds cawing from the room further in become obvious to the group as the location of the noise from before.
Vin turns to look at Hector as he enquires about the forms the Raven Queens took when she revealed herself to him. He ponders for a while as Muir speaks, seeing how Elthana seemed to have some trust in this person, before finally answering.
"Muir is right, we first saw Morris at a place called the World Tree, but we didn't know what he was then. He was just an old man with greying hair, and he introduced himself as the Story Keeper. The next time he...appeared...to me, he looked the same as before but told me he was an aspect of the Raven Queen. That was when he said that the stories he collected were actually the memories of the dead", he says, deep in thought trying to remember the details properly.
"He said his brother is called Dec, and he is responsible for bodily death and collecting the flesh. And he has a sister that collects the soul of the dead".
He is uncertain whether or not to continue, or whether he has already said too much, but he desperately wants answers and this person seems to know more than most about the Raven Queen.
"And then I saw...something...when one of the wraiths was killed not long ago. A large creature that looked a bit like a vulture, with a skeletal face and blackened and cracked flesh, shrouded in ash. It had an exposed rib cage and hollow eye sockets that I felt looking at me. I think it was Dec collecting the Wraiths body", he says as a chill runs up his spine and makes him shiver.
"memento Mori's, inevitable Decay, and the last one is Charon, the soul collector, or grim reaper." Hector looks reflective, he stands near the shrine and gently touches the ribcage of the crystal raven, "I do believe that was Decay you saw yes. Tell me, have you died recently?"
Sam is resting. And half listening. Mostly Sam is trying to allow himself to recover from recent exertions.
"Advertise? Your presence is already known. You'll have to vacate this here spot unless you plan on killing us all... But even so, we found you easily enough so do you really think killing us is hiding your presence? Our never being heard of again after coming here would speak louder than we ourselves. You're best bet is deal making..." Sam grumbles to Hector's question to Gewyn.
"Disgustingly ostentatious is kind of the point," Sam chimes in again later. "Best way to keep people down is to seem untouchable to them. What better way than to float above them and toss down pennies, shit and scorn like gifts and candies?"
"Give and take, yeah. Let's get down to that. We've been clear what we want, tell us what you want from us..." Sam says with some perk in his voice, thinking for a moment that perhaps they are getting to the crux of the situation... Before more babbling happens.
"He got better," Sam says later, pointing out the obvious of Vin's death.
Vin looks up at Muir and gives a small smile of gratitude.
"Well, I'm getting there at least", he adds to what Sam says. "Is it...normal...for people who are brought back to have memories of Morris? And to be able to see the Raven Queen's other aspects?".
"Sorry, I'm distracting you. Maybe we can talk later after we have set the terms of this truce".
Elthana makes a hint of a disgusted face, "No. I am definitely not Sergor's wife. More like his... um.. enforcer? Man, there is so much to tell you and I cannot believe we found you, but well, we don't have a lot of time. We desperately need to get this Lodestone."
As the others come into the room, she turns to them, "This is Hector... wow, I have no idea how to introduce you. My maker's brother?" She chuckles in a forced, strained kind of way and looks over at Muir, the almost forced mirth draining completely out of her. "Please, these are my friends and yes, even the guard, though he does make stupid choices apparently." She looks around at the shrine and the condition of the area they are in, "What, what is this place?"
As Elthana draws people's attention around the room, you all see a 30ft floor to ceiling carved raven display, it has metal building highlighting the skull head, the rib cage and several wisps of shadow surrounding it, a grand shrine, dedicated to the raven queen and her aspects. This is also the only place in the room completely clear of any loss or mould.
Hector lowers his hood and gets a good look at Griff, "this armour is not of the sapphire guard, where is he from?" He looks around to the two dragon born one of which is busy healing himself with magic, they both acknowledge the look and remain on guard though apparently not for the party.
"Surrender? No. I spared you on the basis that Elthana here would shed some light on a few things. You still ventured into our shrine, with a guard, compromising our supply base..." He replies to Vin's question.
As Sam complains of the less than warm welcome Hector explains, "you are outsiders, unknowns... The Djiin and their guards are currently enacting a centuries long genocide against kobolds and dragon kind, we don't see friends often, the chances that you'd encroach this far down just to talk is damn near unheard of, especially with guard escort. His attitude speaks volumes no?" He grits his teeth as he notions toward Griff. "What is this lodestone that you want? And what's this treasury that you speak of?"
Elthana places a hand on Hector's forearm to try and slow things down a bit, "Hector, I will try and shed as much light as I can on whatever you want to know. I do understand your position and I thank you for halting the attack, I believe we are all on the same side." she side-eyes Griff briefly but continues, "Griff is from Akiin's Island, not here. But he is assisting us with our mission, no more, no less. As for our mission, we are trying to find a piece of the great dragon (forgot his name) bone to take back to our plane. We had one, Sergor had acquired it and it lifted a large land mass above our home city. It is failing and what we call the Treasury, this land mass, is falling and will soon crush our city, killing thousands. We are here to find another one and get it home before this happens."
Gewyn shrugs apologetically and says, "I recognize this may be a culture difference, but in our land, when there is a place that you don't want people to tread, a sign with words goes a long way. And if there is no sign, someone wandering in unawares could hardly be held at fault. I could do one up for you. Something like... 'Home of Hector and the Hooligans. Authorized personnel only past this point.' Or maybe, 'Beware of dog-people.' Or, 'Please shout "Zero!" if you would like to speak to a representative.' Just riffing."
"You spared us? Right", Vin replies dubiously as he watches the dragonborn having to heal themself, but says no more. He instead chooses to take a closer look at the Raven Queen shrine. He searches it for anything that might resemble Morris, or show truth to the theory that after death a person is harvested as three separate pieces by three different aspects of the Raven Queen.
Neferox stays close to Vin, positioning herself between him and the dragonborn, and looking around for any signs of the kobolds that vanished.
Vin Investigation: 4+3=7 (Passive 13)
Neferox Perception (Advantage due to Infernal Sense): (
10, 18)+8=26"he's from Akiin?" Hector repeats caught off guard slightly, he then gives a nod to the two dragon born who then begin slowly walking around the room weapons drawn looking for something the white one stops just behind Sam and pushes Sam out of the way as it belches ice breath over something behind him. The group watch as frost begins to form on an invisible humanoid shape which was apparently standing right behind the half orc. The other dragonborn casts a spell, his voice ringing out in harsh draconic as his longsword glows, suddenly the invisible humanoid is hoisted upside down into the air where it dangles helplessly.
Hector turns into a blur approaching Sam at a blinding speed, he stabs out twice with claw like fingers extended and decapitates the previously unseen beast. A pale blue mist begins pooling in the floor below as the creature begins to evaporate into nothing. "Nasty bastards..." Hector mutters retracting his claw like fingers back into normal looking old man hands. Griff's eyes go wide in a bit of a panic once more. Then the dragon born resume walking around the room continuing their search for other possible invisible interlopers.
"Errr..." Sam asserts with vim and vigor. "What was that???"
"Look, I don't know what you all have going on here. Don't really want to know. You're beefs with others is your beefs. We got enough problems at home... That... whatever that thing you just killed? Not with us. Couldn't have been following for long or we'd have noticed. As said, all we want is a load stone and then we'll go back where we came from and I think everyone will be happy about that," Sam explains as he tries to get a good look at just what it is that they killed and wonders how it was behind him without him knowing.
Vin has not really noticed what has gone on behind him, so focussed has he been on the shrine.
”Look Nef, these metal portions of this shrine seem to highlight the Raven Queen’s three aspects as the collector of the dead. The skull signifies memories, the rib cage the body and these wisps of shadow surrounding her must be the soul”, he says pointing at the parts as he speaks of them. “Thinking about it, that strange creature I saw earlier when the wraith died had an exposed rib cage. Could it have been collecting its body, if a wraith even has one?”.
Neferox turns her head slightly as Vin speaks to her, but seems far more interested in staying vigilant.
Muir grabs the guard's hand and gets up. He brushes himself off while dabbing at his head. Muir repeats some of things said adds a few nuggets "The treasury was created after you left the realm. When Sergor came here he was gifted a dragonstone which he called a lodestone in which he created the treasury around. The treasury holds all of Marbelstead's wealth under Sergor's.....eye....Our friend from Djinn Akiin's realm came to our world when a riff in the portal was opened. We have befriended him and brought him home. He was showing us to the other island to find this lodestone. We came this way to get there....We accidently came upon your shrine to which I immdiately tried to explain to everyone that you were not the kobolds who Griff warned us about. We know about the Raven Queen and have met one of her, how do you say....one of her pieces of herself...." Muir turns as the Dragonborn finds an invisible humanoid who is dispateched by Hector. Without missing a beat he continues "Are you able to help us? We can walk and talk. Tell you what we know of your former world, our meeting with Morris the memory collecter of the Raven Queen, and answer other questions. We mean no harm as everyone else has said"
"are you suggesting we should advertise our presence to those who would wish to slaughter us?" Hector questions at Gewyn apparently finding no humour in his riffing.
"rifstejar marinxar" one of the dragonborn grunts at Sam in answer, to which hector clarified, "invisible stalkers, they are elemental beings summoned by Djiin, they are spies summoned for sole purposes and then when their purpose is done they cease to exist. My bet is that this thing has been following you since you left Akiin..." As vin speaks Hector's eyes widen, "you have witnessed the memory and the body? You have truly been chosen by the raven queen, what did they look like to you?"
At Elthana and Muir's plea for the bones, Hector sits and thinks for a moment, "sergor was behind the theft of Lumithor's bone? I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I also can't say I'm surprised. A floating island in the material plane, what an unnecessary display of grandeur, it's pathetic. I'm sorry Elthana, if you are close with sergor, but that's just... Disgustingly ostentatious.
Still, I do not wish for people in your plane to die because of my sister's husband. I will help you, but I need you all to help me and my cause too, the kobolds have been facing annihilation and just like that has nothing to do with you, your worries have nothing to do with them. I think we have ourselves a give and take scenario"
Muir continues with Hector unphased by th spies "It is not surprising that the Djinn would send spies to follow us....I do wonder" He pauses and looks at Griff "How much our friend knew....no matter there are more important things to discuss. You say Sergor stole the bone? That is quite interesting as he and Djinn Akin made it seem like it was gifted to him but for what they did not divulge other than a religious war....Sergor is still alive and full of vigor although he has kept an appearance of ancestors dying with a differnt version of himself replacing the "dead" ancestor. It does not surprise me that he is not telling the truth. Sergor is...." Muir stops himself from hurling insults and instead thinks about Hector's question "We all met Morris, the memory version of the Raven Queen, in the World Tree. He asked us to tell him a memory in exchange for a boon of sorts. There was a little what we would call a squirrel but this one was able to talk and listen to commands, but also a demon, Xazgan, was there....I will let Vin tell his story if he wishes to do so, but for the rest of us, that is what we experienced in the world tree. NOw perhaps you could indulge me a moment....The wights we fought above, were they with you protecting this place?
In response to Muir "the wights, or wraiths above, they're not with us, they are abominations of undeath which had become a rarity after the sealing of Nectyran in the shadowfell. Bit something is changing, slowly... Undead are springing up all over, it is concerning, not in the least because the kobolds and the followers of lumithor have taken up his mantle as guardians of the shadowfell..." Hector looks a little concerned at this, disappointed in himself somehow.
Muir looks at the others wondering how much more he should say.....His curisoity to know more...he can't help "The Shadowfell...This could all be happening because of the alignment of the realms. All the realms have aligned opening portals across the material realm, our realm. The Shadowfell encompasses the material plane but also this plane and possibly pieces of other planes....Maybe the gate is weakening as Nectyran's forces are trying to open it. This alignment could be causing changes all over these planes of existence. It is all very new us here but I have been researching and dabbling into the histories......" Muir trails off wondering what the others will say.
"you sound experienced in this kind of thing... Perhaps you should accompany us to the broken isle, see the remnants of the gateway for yourselves? And perhaps we can speak with the kobold elders and the good witch, they should be able to guide us on how to help you too" Hector suggests as the dragon born finish their search deeming the area free of invisible stalkers.
The sound of the birds cawing from the room further in become obvious to the group as the location of the noise from before.
Vin turns to look at Hector as he enquires about the forms the Raven Queens took when she revealed herself to him. He ponders for a while as Muir speaks, seeing how Elthana seemed to have some trust in this person, before finally answering.
"Muir is right, we first saw Morris at a place called the World Tree, but we didn't know what he was then. He was just an old man with greying hair, and he introduced himself as the Story Keeper. The next time he...appeared...to me, he looked the same as before but told me he was an aspect of the Raven Queen. That was when he said that the stories he collected were actually the memories of the dead", he says, deep in thought trying to remember the details properly.
"He said his brother is called Dec, and he is responsible for bodily death and collecting the flesh. And he has a sister that collects the soul of the dead".
He is uncertain whether or not to continue, or whether he has already said too much, but he desperately wants answers and this person seems to know more than most about the Raven Queen.
"And then I saw...something...when one of the wraiths was killed not long ago. A large creature that looked a bit like a vulture, with a skeletal face and blackened and cracked flesh, shrouded in ash. It had an exposed rib cage and hollow eye sockets that I felt looking at me. I think it was Dec collecting the Wraiths body", he says as a chill runs up his spine and makes him shiver.
"memento Mori's, inevitable Decay, and the last one is Charon, the soul collector, or grim reaper." Hector looks reflective, he stands near the shrine and gently touches the ribcage of the crystal raven, "I do believe that was Decay you saw yes. Tell me, have you died recently?"
Vin is a little nervous about revealing that he died and was brought back after what happened at the time, but does give a little nod to Hector.
Neferox senses his nervousness and moves a little closer protectively.
Muir moves by Vin and puts a hand on his shoulder to reassure the boy that we are all together and everything is and will be ok
Sam is resting. And half listening. Mostly Sam is trying to allow himself to recover from recent exertions.
"Advertise? Your presence is already known. You'll have to vacate this here spot unless you plan on killing us all... But even so, we found you easily enough so do you really think killing us is hiding your presence? Our never being heard of again after coming here would speak louder than we ourselves. You're best bet is deal making..." Sam grumbles to Hector's question to Gewyn.
"Disgustingly ostentatious is kind of the point," Sam chimes in again later. "Best way to keep people down is to seem untouchable to them. What better way than to float above them and toss down pennies, shit and scorn like gifts and candies?"
"Give and take, yeah. Let's get down to that. We've been clear what we want, tell us what you want from us..." Sam says with some perk in his voice, thinking for a moment that perhaps they are getting to the crux of the situation... Before more babbling happens.
"He got better," Sam says later, pointing out the obvious of Vin's death.
Vin looks up at Muir and gives a small smile of gratitude.
"Well, I'm getting there at least", he adds to what Sam says. "Is it...normal...for people who are brought back to have memories of Morris? And to be able to see the Raven Queen's other aspects?".
"Sorry, I'm distracting you. Maybe we can talk later after we have set the terms of this truce".