Sets Rudy down once the bunny's gone and goes over to look at the crates and w nat1 for a 2 total... they are definitely crates....
They are very nice boxes. You look inside one but don't get a chance to investigate further. You saw some kind of cloth in the top of it. Neatly folded. Rudy making a bit of a coo noise seems to have you a bit distracted as they hop around in this apparent storage room preventing a more through search. They seem intent on following the bunny lady but are staying near you run around in circles around your feet. When asked if they sense anything it not hard to deduce they sense all kinds of new and curious smells here.
Ulmuur blinks and looks at the others. "Hey, one moment, Lady Hoppington?" Ulmuur will follow her out the door. "This explains very little. Is there anywhere we can learn more? Is there a library? Where are you going?" He will stop once he leaves the front door, to see where she is going.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(OOC: So sorry I haven't posted until now - we were out of town for the holiday and I had trouble with our internet.)
Up until now, the little fairy, dressed in leather armor dyed in an interesting pattern of greys and greens - a tawny owl perched silently above in the rafters - has been quiet, content to let the others interact with the odd rabbit creature and each other. He has been studying the odd designs in the doors and flooring, and suddenly pipes up - "Say ... I wonder if these odd symbols are keyed to specific locations, hence the shift when the big guy stepped on the design... oh, sorry. Wilwick's the name - but my friends - and I hope to call you all friends, as it seems we are - for the moment - fated to be together - call me Wil. "
He looks around in bemusement, also following the busy rabbit with his eyes, but otherwise making no move to follow. "It appears that umm ... Lady Hoppington ... is otherwise engaged, and not terribly likely to have further answers - at least not now. Perhaps we can look around and find some answers out for ourselves...?"
Saying that, the fairy turns his attention to the crates stacked around them, his curiosity moving from the strange arcane symbols to the many boxes. Hmmm... wonder what treasures these hold...? he wonders as, after a brief bow of introduction to the others, he focuses on the crates, scrambling up the piles to peer within.
Investigation: 19
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If your boyfriend asks you to join his game, he really likes you ... and also, he needs a healer.
"You can do a perimeter search," Norwin tells Rudy as she sidesteps his circles. She looks over at the fairy with an embarrassed smile. "He makes for a great distraction. Unfortunately, sometimes it's me he distracts."
"I suppose it would make sense that the patterns in the circle go different places. I've never heard of Gilead either and not to be rude, I don't see many fairies around." She gives up on the boxes and starts to look around the room, trying to pick up the sounds she heard before.
(A 3 investigation an 8 perception makes me think my dice are broken and will only roll 2s)
Ulmuur blinks and looks at the others. "Hey, one moment, Lady Hoppington?" Ulmuur will follow her out the door. "This explains very little. Is there anywhere we can learn more? Is there a library? Where are you going?" He will stop once he leaves the front door, to see where she is going.
Ulmuur follows the rabbit lady and its not hard as she is not trying to avoid you but rather really seems intent on heading home. As Ulmuur follows her out the door however, a strange thing happens. The circle glows once more but where Lady Hoppington was unaffected by the glowing everyone watching the Dragonborn leave to follow through the door notices that as they pass through the doorway threshold their size suddenly changes from that of a tall dragonborn to that of Lady Hoppington's height. The dragonborn now a smaller version more akin to the rabbit lady he was following. He's still taller then her but not by much now. (Ulmuur, you are size category small now. You deal 1d4 less damage with physical attacks.)
Outside in the courtyard it is an amazing sight. A vast wide field of grass and stone seems to comprise the courtyard. The grass seems to be over grown but stone lain pathways seem to lead in various directions. One seems to head towards a massive castle on the other end of the courtyard. The pathway diverges to head right as well which seems to lead to a large ornately designed gateway. The grass seems massive to Ulmuur as they can barely see over it but they catch up to Lady Hoppington to ask their additional questions. She doesn't stop but doesn't ignore him either "I'm really sorry I just can't wait any longer. You can certainly find out a lot about the place walking around and exploring. Kitchen might be able to answer a few things. No library here that I know of but then again I've never been a caretaker here either. I was just one of the many that stayed here. I'm heading home. I have 27 kids to get back to and it was hard enough to find a babysitter for this." They follow the path towards the gateway. As Ulmuur follows they see what is on the other side of the gateway into the humongous walled courtyard. A large bridge that hangs out over the ocean a bit leads to a smaller semi-attached island. One this separate island appears to be a circular archway surrounded by ornate arcane scriptures. Lady Hoppington is heading right to it.
(OOC: So sorry I haven't posted until now - we were out of town for the holiday and I had trouble with our internet.)
Investigation: 20
((Glad you could make it))
Searching the crates and barrels it becomes evident you have supplies of a huge variety. There are crates of fish, pork, cow and lamb. A supply of food far far far in excess of what you five need. There are assorted fruits, vegetables and grains in some of the crates as well. One is filled with nothing by flour. You do find an odd sack of some kind that appears to be empty but feels full when you pick it up. you also find 27 silver and 7 gold pieces. The crates also seem to have bedding, sheets, pillows and items for folks to sleep with. Probably about 100 sets total. However, the blankets range is size from very small to so big you could fit a dozen horses under it. There seems to be raw cloth as well like someone expected a need to make something with the cloth. Nothing fancy or super expensive like silk but some good warm wool and other cheaper materials.
The many many barrels seem to be filled mostly with water but there is a few barrels of ale as well. One is filled with what appears to be a caustic liquid that burns to touch but not so much it damages you. There is also one filled with lantern oil. All told it is like you have enough supplies in these crates and barrels to survive here for years if it was just the 5 of you. You'd need to spend a lot of time tallying the supplies and taking a proper inventory if you want to know how much you have exactly but it appears roughly enough food, water and supplies for 100 people to survive a month. When you check the last barrel it seems to be full of carrots and has a single note on the top of it. Written in common is
Here are the supplies you will need. Hopefully not all at once. You'll need to get some more at some point but I get the feeling I will be back. I have 27 kids though so my help for you will be secondary to them. I can't wait to see who has shown up next time I visit. There is always the most interesting characters every time and its been quite a few years since the place has been used. What happened to the last care takers anyway? They were fun.
Manira is a bit stunned with the revelation that they were to be the new caretakers for this area. What did that mean? Did they have to stay there? What about her duties back home? So many, many questions!!
She spies the castle behind the rabbit as she opens the door and a sense of wonderment takes over the dwarf. She is just about to follow Ulmuur out, when she sees what happens the the dragonborn. "What?? Are you ok Ulmuur?"
After listening to his response, she goes to sit next to the magical circle. She sits in silence for a bit, taking it all in - wondering why this one made him change size while the other one didn't do anything? At least not visibly she just realizes with alarm. She decides to cast identify on the circle on the floor to see if that helps on clearing up the mystery.
Ulmuur is amazed at the sights around him as he follows Lady Hoppington. Everything seems so much bigger. He follows and listens to what she has to say. Speak to the Kitchen? What does that even mean? 27 children!?! "Oh, oh, my. 27 children. Yes, that is quite the responsibility. Sorry for keeping you. You look very good for someone who had 27 kids. Also, you look much taller up close." He will watch her leave through the gate, then heads back.
To Manira he will respond "Hmm, what do you mean? Wait, did you get taller, as well? Wait, why does my voice have a higher register. Oh, Oh my!" Ulmuur will quickly go back into the storage room with everyone else, crossing over the circle again.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Roland listens to the Rabbit ladies explanation. He raises his hand, sticks his finger up a few times, offers a few interrupting 'pardons' and so forth...and then watches as she scampers toward the door to exit. His eyes wander around the room as this happens, and he isn't quick enough to follow her...and silently thanks the universe when the walking pair of boots passes over the circle and shrinks.
"Good talk." He says finally, then hears her explanation of having twenty seven kids. He looks surprised for a moment. "Well of course she does. She's a rabbit."
Roland takes the wide brimmed hat down off his hand and holds it to his chest, his eyes closing. He takes a deep breath and it seems like he is trying to keep himself calm. Then, when he's had a moment, he puts the hat back on and looks around the room, searching for anything that has writing or any sort of information on it. Other doors. He deliberately scans the room. Every wall. Every door and pane of glass. He looks for holy emblems and religious inscriptions. Any sort of information.
"This...this will not do." He says aloud as he soaks in the situation. "Every moment I am trapped here is another step for the walkin' man."
"Well, I'm guessing you may need to abandon that search for a bit. Seems like this is going to take up some time whatever this is."Norwin grabs Rudy and puts him back on her shoulders. "Wil, what have you found in the boxes?" She looks around for other doors, a bit suspicious of the shrinking effect of the big door.
She decides to cast identify on the circle on the floor to see if that helps on clearing up the mystery.
It is a circle of sizing. A powerfully built magical circle that allows the person passing through it to resize themselves. The two arrows going down and the two arrows going up represent that size change that is being enacted. Depending on which one is activated will determine what size a create passing though will be changed to. The two down arrows are for Small and Medium. The two up arrows are for large and huge. The circle doesn't see to affect creatures that are outside of these size categories. The effect given to a creature that is changed by this spell are the same as the Enlarge/Reduce spell except the effect can stack depending on size of the creature in question. In addition it seems to last much longer then a typical Enlarge/Reduce spell. Touching the arrows on the door frame will set the size you desire and when passing through the door it will enact the change.
There is something else at work here beyond just the circle though. Give me an arcana Check.
Ulmuur is amazed at the sights around him as he follows Lady Hoppington. Everything seems so much bigger. He follows and listens to what she has to say. Speak to the Kitchen? What does that even mean? 27 children!?! "Oh, oh, my. 27 children. Yes, that is quite the responsibility. Sorry for keeping you. You look very good for someone who had 27 kids. Also, you look much taller up close." He will watch her leave through the gate, then heads back.
To Manira he will respond "Hmm, what do you mean? Wait, did you get taller, as well? Wait, why does my voice have a higher register. Oh, Oh my!" Ulmuur will quickly go back into the storage room with everyone else, crossing over the circle again.
Lady Hoppington smiles and says "Thank you. It's no trouble. I wouldn't of come if I couldn't spare the time." She giggles a bit when it becomes apparent to her that Ulmuur wasn't aware of the effect of the circle. "Oh, hahaha. Sorry, I had that door set to small. Better for my kind, otherwise it'd be a pain to fit through doors at home. Of which, feel free to visit if you find me. I run a supply station between Temble Port and Truvale. I could spend more time answering a lot more questions if you come to me. Anyway. I'm off. No idea where this portal will send you if anywhere but it's my way home. It was nice meeting you all." With that she steps through the portal and seems to vanish. This is odd because you can see through the gateway that she stepped into and if you try to follow... nothing happens for you.
It seems to be a bit of a worn down archway more then a gate or portal and if not for watching Lady Hoppington disappear through it you would never have guessed. However, now on this island outside the walled courtyard you can see the majestic castle as well as part of the island. Its a very large island that goes a bit into the distance. A rocky coast line seems to surround it making scaling the island from this side look quite dangerous. However, that isn't what catches your attention. What does catch you attention is the massive rainbow colored tentacle that you spotted off into the ocean that then went back down under the water. There is something massive under the surface of the water. You'd have to get up really high to see what it is though. From this angle its a almost impossible to tell anything about it except that it has a tentacle and it shimmers like a translucent rainbow.
Roland, you look around for symbols and icons and you find a few. There seems to be symbols of Helm, the god of protection. Savras, god of divination and fate. Selûne, goddess of the moon. Gond, god of craft. There are also some you don't recognize. There is definitely a sense of divine here. However, the symbol that catches your attention the most is one just outside the door Ulmuur left through. It is a large emblazoned symbol that seems made out of some kind of shimmering metal. It stands above the castle's entrance like a beacon declaring something that many must of known at one time. It seems written in four different languages and seems to have incredible significance.
For Roland Eyes only
Roland has seen this symbol before. It was on some drawing and notes that he found connected to the Man in Black. There was also a demon that had a drawing of it on them. There is writing on this where in the drawing the demon had and the notes Roland found had none. The large ornate carving in the center mass of the castle almost like a blazing symbol of something here but it appears to be a mix of multiple languages. Infernal and Celestial you recognize. There is two others involve int he writing though.
In celestial "Grant hope to those imbued by fate. Help guide those who fall to build new paths."
In infernal "Grant ambition to those imbued by fate. Help guide the powerful to success."
There are two other languages involved in this symbol.
Norwin eyes:
On that symbol you can read in Draconic
"Grant strength to those imbued by fate. Help Guide the weak to new heights."
Ulmuur eyes
On that symbol you can read in Draconic
"Grant strength to those imbued by fate. Help Guide the weak to new heights."
In celestial
"Grant hope to those imbued by fate. Help guide those who fall to build new paths."
Wilwick Eyes
On that symbol you can read in Draconic
"Grant strength to those imbued by fate. Help Guide the weak to new heights."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Manira leaps up from where she was sitting once she figures out the circle, "No way!" she looks around to the rest, with an excited look on her face, "I can be bigger!! Watch this!"
And she presses her hand on the frame of the arrow pointing up. She hesitates, debating on pressing it again, but decides against it.
Taking a big breath, she crosses the threshold of the size changing door and delightedly looks at her now medium size body. Then, before heading to the castle, she takes a look around the courtyard.
Turns at Manira's exclamation and notices the dragonborn has altered size through the door. She quickly grabs Rudy to keep him from darting through. "You're big enough Mister. I can't imagine feeding you if you were panther size." She looks at the inscription again. "I only recognize the draconic message, the others aren't elven or dwarvish. Oh! Manira it's been so long since I've practiced my dwarvish!"
"I don't think you understand, Lady Norwin." Roland says as he searches. He squints, finally seeing something off in the direction Ulmuur went. "If he is here, he is looking to cause great harm. That is what Walter does. Everything in his wake dies. Everything. And usually most unpleasantly. I can't afford to be idle here. This world, if it is truly not All-World, cannot afford for me to be idle. And if we are ka-tet, then it's not just me. It is us. We cannot afford to be idle."
His eyes don't leave the symbol until Manira starts to jump up and down. He seems distracted for a moment as he watches her, then looks back at the symbol, and steps forward.
"I can't say I understand the sorcery here." He says as he pauses just outside the door. "Nor do I seem..."
He doesn't finish the thought. He keeps looking at the symbol and one of his eyes twitch. He takes a breath, exhales slowly, then steps through the door, moving with a singular purpose; to get to the symbol he's staring at. He points its direction.
"This. This symbol has his scent on it. I can read the parts in the High and Low Speech. Does anyone recognize the other languages on it?"
Ulmuur is amazed at Manira's discovery. Once she sets the door to medium, he will step back through to see if he's restored. ((Assuming he is)) "Ahh, much better. Thank you Manira! Good work figuring out the circle! Now we can all be bigger or smaller, if we wish. Yes? Good!"
He'll go up to the symbol that Roland points to. "Hmm, here, in Draconic, it says 'Grant strength to those imbued by fate. Help Guide the weak to new heights.' In Celestial, here, it says 'Grant hope to those imbued by fate. Help guide those who fall to build new paths.' Are we the ones imbued by fate? You said you could read the high and the low, yes? Was the high Celestial? Then, the low would be... Ahhhh. Dragons, Angels, Demons, and the Giants. You read the demons tongue, yes? Then the last must be Giant. Does anyone read there language? This is most interesting. Most interesting indeed. It seems we have some exploring to do. Does anyone want to come look around the Castle? Lady Hoppington said we could speak to Kitchen? I do not know what that means, but it is worth investigating."
As they look around, Ulmuur will ask the others. "So, I've told you where I'm from. Where are the rest of you from? Where do your doors lead?" He touches his amulet, which glows slightly as he gives himself guidance.
Edit: Adding perception check as they start looking around the castle. Perception23
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
After rummaging through the stored supplies for a while, Wil finally returns to the others, shaking the fingers of one hand as though he touched something briefly painful, and almost absent-mindedly tucking a bag into his belt; it doens't qappear to have anything in it, though he hefts it as though slightly encumbered. To Norwin he replies, "There's plenty of supplies here; food, bedding and such, appearantly meant for us, if the note I've found is addressed to us as I believe it to be."
Nodding approvingly at the discovery of the shrinking and growing circle, he says only, "I'm actually quite comfortable with this size, though it's nice to know there are other options."
Taking a closer look at the symbols, he concurs with Ulmuur. "That is, indeed Draconic, as he says. Sorry, can't Help with the others. And I'm all for exploring the castle. Don't know that I'm quite ready to find out what ... that is..." he says, pointing at the tentacle receeding beneath the waves. "Perhaps there will be more information about this place within. As for me", he says, turning back to Ulmuur, "I hail from a world called Vas, the Indaris Continent, a city named the East Bastion. Mostly men and Dwarves in those parts, but it's a port city, so we get our fair share of other travelers. Though I've not heard of the few places - and people - mentioned here..."
Like the others, he peers arpound him closely, examining both the symbols near the portal, as well as the portal itself, and what he sees lying beyond.
Roland chooses to remain his normal size, and seems to be hyper focused on the circle and it's inscription.
"Yes. The High Speech. Celestial, I believe." Roland says in answer to Ulmuur. "Infernal would be what I refer to as the Low Speech. That part says 'Grant ambition to those imbued by fate. Help guide the powerful to success.' "
He rubs his chin, trying to make sense of all this, but stows the information away for later. There is something there. Roland feels it in his guts.
"I am from All-World, where the Beams intersect, marking all paths to the Tower." He says in his cryptic way, but seems uninterested, at least for the moment, in discussing what this means in depth. The Beam and Tower parts, anyway. He does give a little more information about his home. "I come from the Kingdom of Gilead, the greatest city ever built by the descendants of Eld. I was a Gunslinger, a Knight of Gilead, on the eastern borders of the Wasteland. But, that's behind me now. Like my world, I have moved on. The door that brought me out of All-World...I found in the middle of the desert."
Manira leaps up from where she was sitting once she figures out the circle, "No way!" she looks around to the rest, with an excited look on her face, "I can be bigger!! Watch this!"
And she presses her hand on the frame of the arrow pointing up. She hesitates, debating on pressing it again, but decides against it.
Taking a big breath, she crosses the threshold of the size changing door and delightedly looks at her now medium size body. Then, before heading to the castle, she takes a look around the courtyard.
Arcana (for the circle) 12
Perception (for the courtyard) 17
Setting the doorway to medium it does indeed set the size to beings that go through it to medium. Looking around the courtyard she sees a lot of the similar things. The pathway spliting into 4 ways. One way to the door hall you find yourselves. One way to the castle. One to the island gate and one to a large tower. The grass is quite overgrown here but the paths seem in tact and well made. Even the test of time seems to have had no affect on the pathway.
Arcana Check: There is something else attached to this spell. You have no idea what though.
Perception: Nothing new seen beyond what has been described. You do see the castle and tower have different doors. The castle seems to have another huge doorway like the ones in the doorhall. The tower to the west seems to have a normal medium sized door though.
He doesn't finish the thought. He keeps looking at the symbol and one of his eyes twitch. He takes a breath, exhales slowly, then steps through the door, moving with a singular purpose; to get to the symbol he's staring at. He points its direction.
"This. This symbol has his scent on it. I can read the parts in the High and Low Speech. Does anyone recognize the other languages on it?"
The doorway being set to medium his size does not change. The brilliant doorway leading to enter the castle seems inviting and warm. The circle might give some pause but knowing it's purpose now it doesn't seem like something to worry about.
Ulmuur is amazed at Manira's discovery. Once she sets the door to medium, he will step back through to see if he's restored. ((Assuming he is)) "Ahh, much better. Thank you Manira! Good work figuring out the circle! Now we can all be bigger or smaller, if we wish. Yes? Good!"
Edit: Adding perception check as they start looking around the castle. Perception23
He is returned to medium size going through the door again. When he was out on the island gate though he notices that there is quite a lot around the coastline. Many small islands all down a cliff side that seems to be on this side of the land they find themselves on. He's fairly certain he spotted a wrecked ship trapped in a cove too. When he turns his attention to the castle in front of him he can see that same circular pattern around the front door. It seems to be set to the medium setting at this time. There is signs that this castle hasn't been used in several years. It's uncertain why however, there are what appears to be claw marks on the front door. Claw marks from something big and it doesn't look like it got in.
Nodding approvingly at the discovery of the shrinking and growing circle, he says only, "I'm actually quite comfortable with this size, though it's nice to know there are other options."
Investigation: 14 Arcana: 13
Simply touching the left most down arrow sets the size to small as Wil likes. The size change doesn't seem to happen until one sets the size and passes through the threshold of the door. Going out to the island gate to check out the archway here he sees a lot of arcane spell-work on it. Mostly conjuration type magic but also some abjuration work on the runes and symbols carved into the gate. There is nothing to see portal wise as Wil can step through and see through the archway but that makes it all the more impressive how this portal works that one person can step through and be transported while others are not. How the archway determines this is currently an utter mystery to Wil though.
Eventually you some of you begin to make your way to the castle. There another sizing door is setup once again designed to accommodate species of many sizes. You open the door hitting the symbol of the size you wish to be entering the castle. Inside, white pillars and grand architecture await you all. The first room one enters the castle is seems designed to accommodate size of even some of the largest of beings. There are multiple ways to go once inside the castle. Straight ahead seems to be some stairs that go up a few steps to a massive set of doors. There is also hallways to the left and right. The hallways seem far too small for someone of huge size but going straight should pose no problem.
However, just inside appears to be some kind of humanoid figure. It is just standing there holding a single tray and on that tray seems to be a small selection of cheeses, crackers and 5 glasses of wine. It seems to be made of roots of wood and you can see it has a shield attached to its back while on it's side is a wooden sword of some kind. The rootlike structure seems to give it a featureless face however the mowhawk of leaves growing from the center of it's skull seems to give the construct a sense of personality... or perhaps they were just made that way? Whatever the case leaves seem to grow in places joints are like a form of padding. The head of the construct moves just once to center it's face on the first person that enters. It doesn't say anything but holds out the tray of snacks and wine.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Passing through the front door after a brief inspection of the door itself, the claw marks in it, and the similar symbolism he's seen before, Wil crosses over to the viney statue. Bowing slightly, he says, "Thank you - very considerate. Can you speak? I'm Wilwick, who along with these folks, appear to be fated to be one of the guardians of this place. But given the reception, I'm guessing you know that."
Saying that, Wil somewhat awkwardly takes one of the glasses, and a sample of cheeses and crackers to enjoy, letting Luna nibble on one before setting her free outside the castle to hunt something more fitting for her palate. Let me know if something interesting shows itself outside; I'll be out again in a while, unless you can fly in through the windows once you are finished with your hunt - he silently communicates to his familiar.
Norwin sends Rudy through after Wil before resetting the door to medium and following everyone. She makes her way to the castle.
5 nature to try identify the claw marks 😅
Taking care to maintain correct sizes in good. Rudy seems to appreciate it and they rush out the door making yipping noises of happiness as they dive into the tall grass and out of it again. They seem to enjoy this kind of environment. As tot he claw marks... it was big.
Passing through the front door after a brief inspection of the door itself, the claw marks in it, and the similar symbolism he's seen before, Wil crosses over to the viney statue. Bowing slightly, he says, "Thank you - very considerate. Can you speak? I'm Wilwick, who along with these folks, appear to be fated to be one of the guardians of this place. But given the reception, I'm guessing you know that."
Saying that, Wil somewhat awkwardly takes one of the glasses, and a sample of cheeses and crackers to enjoy, letting Luna nibble on one before setting her free outside the castle to hunt something more fitting for her palate. Let me know if something interesting shows itself outside; I'll be out again in a while, unless you can fly in through the windows once you are finished with your hunt - he silently communicates to his familiar.
Perception (Luna, if there is anything to see as she flies around outside the castle) 18
Nothing seems to be different with the door as the ascetics stayed the same from building to building. The castle by far the largest structure you can see right now you're certain there is a platform or parapet of some kind up at the very top of it. It'll take a bit to find your way there though. It'll definitely gives you a view over the walls in this courtyard if you can get up there. There is also a gate to exit the sanctuary all together. For now, you head inside the castle itself. The claw marks are something big and semi-magical. You're not 100% but you are thinking dragon. What kind? No idea.
As Luna soars up they get a birds eye view of where you are. It is confirmed for you this is actually a large island and not just some coastline. There is some kind of rainbow colored absolutely massive jellyfish that is under the island. You are pretty certain it is carrying the very land you find yourself one right now. The size and scale of such a creature truly baffles the mind. Even the largest of dragons in tale do not come close to this this. Where as there are stories of dragons the size on mountains this thing is the size of a small continent. It's easily a day to travel from one side of the island you are on to the other and there seems to be various things to see on it like a forest. A small mountain like range. Some kind of structure near the forest too. Otherwise it appears to be all grasslands.
As you address the wooden being they do not reply. If they can speak they are not showing either way. They do not nod or shake their head. They stand there and just seem to face you. The cheese and crackers are not the best but its cheese and crackers. Still good. The glass of wine smells sweet with a faint odor of alcohol. It has a slightly blue tint to it but is otherwise crystal clear.
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They are very nice boxes. You look inside one but don't get a chance to investigate further. You saw some kind of cloth in the top of it. Neatly folded. Rudy making a bit of a coo noise seems to have you a bit distracted as they hop around in this apparent storage room preventing a more through search. They seem intent on following the bunny lady but are staying near you run around in circles around your feet. When asked if they sense anything it not hard to deduce they sense all kinds of new and curious smells here.
Ulmuur blinks and looks at the others. "Hey, one moment, Lady Hoppington?" Ulmuur will follow her out the door. "This explains very little. Is there anywhere we can learn more? Is there a library? Where are you going?" He will stop once he leaves the front door, to see where she is going.
(OOC: So sorry I haven't posted until now - we were out of town for the holiday and I had trouble with our internet.)
Up until now, the little fairy, dressed in leather armor dyed in an interesting pattern of greys and greens - a tawny owl perched silently above in the rafters - has been quiet, content to let the others interact with the odd rabbit creature and each other. He has been studying the odd designs in the doors and flooring, and suddenly pipes up - "Say ... I wonder if these odd symbols are keyed to specific locations, hence the shift when the big guy stepped on the design... oh, sorry. Wilwick's the name - but my friends - and I hope to call you all friends, as it seems we are - for the moment - fated to be together - call me Wil. "
He looks around in bemusement, also following the busy rabbit with his eyes, but otherwise making no move to follow. "It appears that umm ... Lady Hoppington ... is otherwise engaged, and not terribly likely to have further answers - at least not now. Perhaps we can look around and find some answers out for ourselves...?"
Saying that, the fairy turns his attention to the crates stacked around them, his curiosity moving from the strange arcane symbols to the many boxes. Hmmm... wonder what treasures these hold...? he wonders as, after a brief bow of introduction to the others, he focuses on the crates, scrambling up the piles to peer within.
Investigation: 19
If your boyfriend asks you to join his game, he really likes you ... and also, he needs a healer.
"You can do a perimeter search," Norwin tells Rudy as she sidesteps his circles. She looks over at the fairy with an embarrassed smile. "He makes for a great distraction. Unfortunately, sometimes it's me he distracts."
"I suppose it would make sense that the patterns in the circle go different places. I've never heard of Gilead either and not to be rude, I don't see many fairies around." She gives up on the boxes and starts to look around the room, trying to pick up the sounds she heard before.
(A 3 investigation an 8 perception makes me think my dice are broken and will only roll 2s)
Ulmuur follows the rabbit lady and its not hard as she is not trying to avoid you but rather really seems intent on heading home. As Ulmuur follows her out the door however, a strange thing happens. The circle glows once more but where Lady Hoppington was unaffected by the glowing everyone watching the Dragonborn leave to follow through the door notices that as they pass through the doorway threshold their size suddenly changes from that of a tall dragonborn to that of Lady Hoppington's height. The dragonborn now a smaller version more akin to the rabbit lady he was following. He's still taller then her but not by much now. (Ulmuur, you are size category small now. You deal 1d4 less damage with physical attacks.)
Outside in the courtyard it is an amazing sight. A vast wide field of grass and stone seems to comprise the courtyard. The grass seems to be over grown but stone lain pathways seem to lead in various directions. One seems to head towards a massive castle on the other end of the courtyard. The pathway diverges to head right as well which seems to lead to a large ornately designed gateway. The grass seems massive to Ulmuur as they can barely see over it but they catch up to Lady Hoppington to ask their additional questions. She doesn't stop but doesn't ignore him either "I'm really sorry I just can't wait any longer. You can certainly find out a lot about the place walking around and exploring. Kitchen might be able to answer a few things. No library here that I know of but then again I've never been a caretaker here either. I was just one of the many that stayed here. I'm heading home. I have 27 kids to get back to and it was hard enough to find a babysitter for this." They follow the path towards the gateway. As Ulmuur follows they see what is on the other side of the gateway into the humongous walled courtyard. A large bridge that hangs out over the ocean a bit leads to a smaller semi-attached island. One this separate island appears to be a circular archway surrounded by ornate arcane scriptures. Lady Hoppington is heading right to it.
((Glad you could make it))
Searching the crates and barrels it becomes evident you have supplies of a huge variety. There are crates of fish, pork, cow and lamb. A supply of food far far far in excess of what you five need. There are assorted fruits, vegetables and grains in some of the crates as well. One is filled with nothing by flour. You do find an odd sack of some kind that appears to be empty but feels full when you pick it up. you also find 27 silver and 7 gold pieces. The crates also seem to have bedding, sheets, pillows and items for folks to sleep with. Probably about 100 sets total. However, the blankets range is size from very small to so big you could fit a dozen horses under it. There seems to be raw cloth as well like someone expected a need to make something with the cloth. Nothing fancy or super expensive like silk but some good warm wool and other cheaper materials.
The many many barrels seem to be filled mostly with water but there is a few barrels of ale as well. One is filled with what appears to be a caustic liquid that burns to touch but not so much it damages you. There is also one filled with lantern oil. All told it is like you have enough supplies in these crates and barrels to survive here for years if it was just the 5 of you. You'd need to spend a lot of time tallying the supplies and taking a proper inventory if you want to know how much you have exactly but it appears roughly enough food, water and supplies for 100 people to survive a month. When you check the last barrel it seems to be full of carrots and has a single note on the top of it. Written in common is
Manira is a bit stunned with the revelation that they were to be the new caretakers for this area. What did that mean? Did they have to stay there? What about her duties back home? So many, many questions!!
She spies the castle behind the rabbit as she opens the door and a sense of wonderment takes over the dwarf. She is just about to follow Ulmuur out, when she sees what happens the the dragonborn. "What?? Are you ok Ulmuur?"
After listening to his response, she goes to sit next to the magical circle. She sits in silence for a bit, taking it all in - wondering why this one made him change size while the other one didn't do anything? At least not visibly she just realizes with alarm. She decides to cast identify on the circle on the floor to see if that helps on clearing up the mystery.
Ulmuur is amazed at the sights around him as he follows Lady Hoppington. Everything seems so much bigger. He follows and listens to what she has to say. Speak to the Kitchen? What does that even mean? 27 children!?! "Oh, oh, my. 27 children. Yes, that is quite the responsibility. Sorry for keeping you. You look very good for someone who had 27 kids. Also, you look much taller up close." He will watch her leave through the gate, then heads back.
To Manira he will respond "Hmm, what do you mean? Wait, did you get taller, as well? Wait, why does my voice have a higher register. Oh, Oh my!" Ulmuur will quickly go back into the storage room with everyone else, crossing over the circle again.
Roland listens to the Rabbit ladies explanation. He raises his hand, sticks his finger up a few times, offers a few interrupting 'pardons' and so forth...and then watches as she scampers toward the door to exit. His eyes wander around the room as this happens, and he isn't quick enough to follow her...and silently thanks the universe when the walking pair of boots passes over the circle and shrinks.
"Good talk." He says finally, then hears her explanation of having twenty seven kids. He looks surprised for a moment. "Well of course she does. She's a rabbit."
Roland takes the wide brimmed hat down off his hand and holds it to his chest, his eyes closing. He takes a deep breath and it seems like he is trying to keep himself calm. Then, when he's had a moment, he puts the hat back on and looks around the room, searching for anything that has writing or any sort of information on it. Other doors. He deliberately scans the room. Every wall. Every door and pane of glass. He looks for holy emblems and religious inscriptions. Any sort of information.
"This...this will not do." He says aloud as he soaks in the situation. "Every moment I am trapped here is another step for the walkin' man."
Investigation Check for Roland-
15
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
"Well, I'm guessing you may need to abandon that search for a bit. Seems like this is going to take up some time whatever this is." Norwin grabs Rudy and puts him back on her shoulders. "Wil, what have you found in the boxes?" She looks around for other doors, a bit suspicious of the shrinking effect of the big door.
12inv
It is a circle of sizing. A powerfully built magical circle that allows the person passing through it to resize themselves. The two arrows going down and the two arrows going up represent that size change that is being enacted. Depending on which one is activated will determine what size a create passing though will be changed to. The two down arrows are for Small and Medium. The two up arrows are for large and huge. The circle doesn't see to affect creatures that are outside of these size categories. The effect given to a creature that is changed by this spell are the same as the Enlarge/Reduce spell except the effect can stack depending on size of the creature in question. In addition it seems to last much longer then a typical Enlarge/Reduce spell. Touching the arrows on the door frame will set the size you desire and when passing through the door it will enact the change.
There is something else at work here beyond just the circle though. Give me an arcana Check.
Lady Hoppington smiles and says "Thank you. It's no trouble. I wouldn't of come if I couldn't spare the time." She giggles a bit when it becomes apparent to her that Ulmuur wasn't aware of the effect of the circle. "Oh, hahaha. Sorry, I had that door set to small. Better for my kind, otherwise it'd be a pain to fit through doors at home. Of which, feel free to visit if you find me. I run a supply station between Temble Port and Truvale. I could spend more time answering a lot more questions if you come to me. Anyway. I'm off. No idea where this portal will send you if anywhere but it's my way home. It was nice meeting you all." With that she steps through the portal and seems to vanish. This is odd because you can see through the gateway that she stepped into and if you try to follow... nothing happens for you.
It seems to be a bit of a worn down archway more then a gate or portal and if not for watching Lady Hoppington disappear through it you would never have guessed. However, now on this island outside the walled courtyard you can see the majestic castle as well as part of the island. Its a very large island that goes a bit into the distance. A rocky coast line seems to surround it making scaling the island from this side look quite dangerous. However, that isn't what catches your attention. What does catch you attention is the massive rainbow colored tentacle that you spotted off into the ocean that then went back down under the water. There is something massive under the surface of the water. You'd have to get up really high to see what it is though. From this angle its a almost impossible to tell anything about it except that it has a tentacle and it shimmers like a translucent rainbow.
Roland, you look around for symbols and icons and you find a few. There seems to be symbols of Helm, the god of protection. Savras, god of divination and fate. Selûne, goddess of the moon. Gond, god of craft. There are also some you don't recognize. There is definitely a sense of divine here. However, the symbol that catches your attention the most is one just outside the door Ulmuur left through. It is a large emblazoned symbol that seems made out of some kind of shimmering metal. It stands above the castle's entrance like a beacon declaring something that many must of known at one time. It seems written in four different languages and seems to have incredible significance.
For Roland Eyes only
Roland has seen this symbol before. It was on some drawing and notes that he found connected to the Man in Black. There was also a demon that had a drawing of it on them. There is writing on this where in the drawing the demon had and the notes Roland found had none. The large ornate carving in the center mass of the castle almost like a blazing symbol of something here but it appears to be a mix of multiple languages. Infernal and Celestial you recognize. There is two others involve int he writing though.
In celestial "Grant hope to those imbued by fate. Help guide those who fall to build new paths."
In infernal "Grant ambition to those imbued by fate. Help guide the powerful to success."
There are two other languages involved in this symbol.
Norwin eyes:
On that symbol you can read in Draconic
"Grant strength to those imbued by fate. Help Guide the weak to new heights."
Ulmuur eyes
On that symbol you can read in Draconic
"Grant strength to those imbued by fate. Help Guide the weak to new heights."
In celestial
"Grant hope to those imbued by fate. Help guide those who fall to build new paths."
Wilwick Eyes
On that symbol you can read in Draconic
"Grant strength to those imbued by fate. Help Guide the weak to new heights."
Manira leaps up from where she was sitting once she figures out the circle, "No way!" she looks around to the rest, with an excited look on her face, "I can be bigger!! Watch this!"
And she presses her hand on the frame of the arrow pointing up. She hesitates, debating on pressing it again, but decides against it.
Taking a big breath, she crosses the threshold of the size changing door and delightedly looks at her now medium size body. Then, before heading to the castle, she takes a look around the courtyard.
Arcana (for the circle) 20
Perception (for the courtyard) 25
Turns at Manira's exclamation and notices the dragonborn has altered size through the door. She quickly grabs Rudy to keep him from darting through. "You're big enough Mister. I can't imagine feeding you if you were panther size." She looks at the inscription again. "I only recognize the draconic message, the others aren't elven or dwarvish. Oh! Manira it's been so long since I've practiced my dwarvish!"
"I don't think you understand, Lady Norwin." Roland says as he searches. He squints, finally seeing something off in the direction Ulmuur went. "If he is here, he is looking to cause great harm. That is what Walter does. Everything in his wake dies. Everything. And usually most unpleasantly. I can't afford to be idle here. This world, if it is truly not All-World, cannot afford for me to be idle. And if we are ka-tet, then it's not just me. It is us. We cannot afford to be idle."
His eyes don't leave the symbol until Manira starts to jump up and down. He seems distracted for a moment as he watches her, then looks back at the symbol, and steps forward.
"I can't say I understand the sorcery here." He says as he pauses just outside the door. "Nor do I seem..."
He doesn't finish the thought. He keeps looking at the symbol and one of his eyes twitch. He takes a breath, exhales slowly, then steps through the door, moving with a singular purpose; to get to the symbol he's staring at. He points its direction.
"This. This symbol has his scent on it. I can read the parts in the High and Low Speech. Does anyone recognize the other languages on it?"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Ulmuur is amazed at Manira's discovery. Once she sets the door to medium, he will step back through to see if he's restored. ((Assuming he is)) "Ahh, much better. Thank you Manira! Good work figuring out the circle! Now we can all be bigger or smaller, if we wish. Yes? Good!"
He'll go up to the symbol that Roland points to. "Hmm, here, in Draconic, it says 'Grant strength to those imbued by fate. Help Guide the weak to new heights.' In Celestial, here, it says 'Grant hope to those imbued by fate. Help guide those who fall to build new paths.' Are we the ones imbued by fate? You said you could read the high and the low, yes? Was the high Celestial? Then, the low would be... Ahhhh. Dragons, Angels, Demons, and the Giants. You read the demons tongue, yes? Then the last must be Giant. Does anyone read there language? This is most interesting. Most interesting indeed. It seems we have some exploring to do. Does anyone want to come look around the Castle? Lady Hoppington said we could speak to Kitchen? I do not know what that means, but it is worth investigating."
As they look around, Ulmuur will ask the others. "So, I've told you where I'm from. Where are the rest of you from? Where do your doors lead?" He touches his amulet, which glows slightly as he gives himself guidance.
Edit: Adding perception check as they start looking around the castle.
Perception 23
After rummaging through the stored supplies for a while, Wil finally returns to the others, shaking the fingers of one hand as though he touched something briefly painful, and almost absent-mindedly tucking a bag into his belt; it doens't qappear to have anything in it, though he hefts it as though slightly encumbered. To Norwin he replies, "There's plenty of supplies here; food, bedding and such, appearantly meant for us, if the note I've found is addressed to us as I believe it to be."
Nodding approvingly at the discovery of the shrinking and growing circle, he says only, "I'm actually quite comfortable with this size, though it's nice to know there are other options."
Taking a closer look at the symbols, he concurs with Ulmuur. "That is, indeed Draconic, as he says. Sorry, can't Help with the others. And I'm all for exploring the castle. Don't know that I'm quite ready to find out what ... that is..." he says, pointing at the tentacle receeding beneath the waves. "Perhaps there will be more information about this place within. As for me", he says, turning back to Ulmuur, "I hail from a world called Vas, the Indaris Continent, a city named the East Bastion. Mostly men and Dwarves in those parts, but it's a port city, so we get our fair share of other travelers. Though I've not heard of the few places - and people - mentioned here..."
Like the others, he peers arpound him closely, examining both the symbols near the portal, as well as the portal itself, and what he sees lying beyond.
Investigation: 22 Arcana: 23
If your boyfriend asks you to join his game, he really likes you ... and also, he needs a healer.
Roland chooses to remain his normal size, and seems to be hyper focused on the circle and it's inscription.
"Yes. The High Speech. Celestial, I believe." Roland says in answer to Ulmuur. "Infernal would be what I refer to as the Low Speech. That part says 'Grant ambition to those imbued by fate. Help guide the powerful to success.' "
He rubs his chin, trying to make sense of all this, but stows the information away for later. There is something there. Roland feels it in his guts.
"I am from All-World, where the Beams intersect, marking all paths to the Tower." He says in his cryptic way, but seems uninterested, at least for the moment, in discussing what this means in depth. The Beam and Tower parts, anyway. He does give a little more information about his home. "I come from the Kingdom of Gilead, the greatest city ever built by the descendants of Eld. I was a Gunslinger, a Knight of Gilead, on the eastern borders of the Wasteland. But, that's behind me now. Like my world, I have moved on. The door that brought me out of All-World...I found in the middle of the desert."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Setting the doorway to medium it does indeed set the size to beings that go through it to medium. Looking around the courtyard she sees a lot of the similar things. The pathway spliting into 4 ways. One way to the door hall you find yourselves. One way to the castle. One to the island gate and one to a large tower. The grass is quite overgrown here but the paths seem in tact and well made. Even the test of time seems to have had no affect on the pathway.
Arcana Check: There is something else attached to this spell. You have no idea what though.
Perception: Nothing new seen beyond what has been described. You do see the castle and tower have different doors. The castle seems to have another huge doorway like the ones in the doorhall. The tower to the west seems to have a normal medium sized door though.
The doorway being set to medium his size does not change. The brilliant doorway leading to enter the castle seems inviting and warm. The circle might give some pause but knowing it's purpose now it doesn't seem like something to worry about.
He is returned to medium size going through the door again. When he was out on the island gate though he notices that there is quite a lot around the coastline. Many small islands all down a cliff side that seems to be on this side of the land they find themselves on. He's fairly certain he spotted a wrecked ship trapped in a cove too. When he turns his attention to the castle in front of him he can see that same circular pattern around the front door. It seems to be set to the medium setting at this time. There is signs that this castle hasn't been used in several years. It's uncertain why however, there are what appears to be claw marks on the front door. Claw marks from something big and it doesn't look like it got in.
Simply touching the left most down arrow sets the size to small as Wil likes. The size change doesn't seem to happen until one sets the size and passes through the threshold of the door. Going out to the island gate to check out the archway here he sees a lot of arcane spell-work on it. Mostly conjuration type magic but also some abjuration work on the runes and symbols carved into the gate. There is nothing to see portal wise as Wil can step through and see through the archway but that makes it all the more impressive how this portal works that one person can step through and be transported while others are not. How the archway determines this is currently an utter mystery to Wil though.
Eventually you some of you begin to make your way to the castle. There another sizing door is setup once again designed to accommodate species of many sizes. You open the door hitting the symbol of the size you wish to be entering the castle. Inside, white pillars and grand architecture await you all. The first room one enters the castle is seems designed to accommodate size of even some of the largest of beings. There are multiple ways to go once inside the castle. Straight ahead seems to be some stairs that go up a few steps to a massive set of doors. There is also hallways to the left and right. The hallways seem far too small for someone of huge size but going straight should pose no problem.
However, just inside appears to be some kind of humanoid figure. It is just standing there holding a single tray and on that tray seems to be a small selection of cheeses, crackers and 5 glasses of wine. It seems to be made of roots of wood and you can see it has a shield attached to its back while on it's side is a wooden sword of some kind. The rootlike structure seems to give it a featureless face however the mowhawk of leaves growing from the center of it's skull seems to give the construct a sense of personality... or perhaps they were just made that way? Whatever the case leaves seem to grow in places joints are like a form of padding. The head of the construct moves just once to center it's face on the first person that enters. It doesn't say anything but holds out the tray of snacks and wine.
Norwin sends Rudy through after Wil before resetting the door to medium and following everyone. She makes her way to the castle.
5 nature to try identify the claw marks 😅
Passing through the front door after a brief inspection of the door itself, the claw marks in it, and the similar symbolism he's seen before, Wil crosses over to the viney statue. Bowing slightly, he says, "Thank you - very considerate. Can you speak? I'm Wilwick, who along with these folks, appear to be fated to be one of the guardians of this place. But given the reception, I'm guessing you know that."
Saying that, Wil somewhat awkwardly takes one of the glasses, and a sample of cheeses and crackers to enjoy, letting Luna nibble on one before setting her free outside the castle to hunt something more fitting for her palate. Let me know if something interesting shows itself outside; I'll be out again in a while, unless you can fly in through the windows once you are finished with your hunt - he silently communicates to his familiar.
Investigation (door)18; Knowledge Nature (claw marks) 10
Perception (Luna, if there is anything to see as she flies around outside the castle) 8
If your boyfriend asks you to join his game, he really likes you ... and also, he needs a healer.
Taking care to maintain correct sizes in good. Rudy seems to appreciate it and they rush out the door making yipping noises of happiness as they dive into the tall grass and out of it again. They seem to enjoy this kind of environment. As tot he claw marks... it was big.
Nothing seems to be different with the door as the ascetics stayed the same from building to building. The castle by far the largest structure you can see right now you're certain there is a platform or parapet of some kind up at the very top of it. It'll take a bit to find your way there though. It'll definitely gives you a view over the walls in this courtyard if you can get up there. There is also a gate to exit the sanctuary all together. For now, you head inside the castle itself. The claw marks are something big and semi-magical. You're not 100% but you are thinking dragon. What kind? No idea.
As Luna soars up they get a birds eye view of where you are. It is confirmed for you this is actually a large island and not just some coastline. There is some kind of rainbow colored absolutely massive jellyfish that is under the island. You are pretty certain it is carrying the very land you find yourself one right now. The size and scale of such a creature truly baffles the mind. Even the largest of dragons in tale do not come close to this this. Where as there are stories of dragons the size on mountains this thing is the size of a small continent. It's easily a day to travel from one side of the island you are on to the other and there seems to be various things to see on it like a forest. A small mountain like range. Some kind of structure near the forest too. Otherwise it appears to be all grasslands.
As you address the wooden being they do not reply. If they can speak they are not showing either way. They do not nod or shake their head. They stand there and just seem to face you. The cheese and crackers are not the best but its cheese and crackers. Still good. The glass of wine smells sweet with a faint odor of alcohol. It has a slightly blue tint to it but is otherwise crystal clear.