"I see the book has returned to me, good. Can you describe this other thief and how the door to B19 opened." says Bavlorna as she picks up the spool of thread.
For now, she seems focused on the spool of thread thief.
Valrieth says, "Queen of Hither!" She does a hasty curtsy. "We didn't want to disturb you and your guest, and the Lornlings told us that you keep most of your things up here. We thought that we could just leave the book here for you. But when we got here, we heard a sound from that room." She points a glowing hand toward B19.
Val continues, "We found a dead Lornling. And the killer was still there: a dark shape, like a person, but amorphous, like a mist or a shadow. It was was stealing that spool. We tried to block the door, but the dark shape was able to twist right past us. When it got to this door," indicating the door to the balcony, "it didn't even try to open it. It was slipping right under the closed door, and I had to destroy it to prevent it from escaping with your spool. I've never seen anything like it, so I don't know whether it was a fey or a spirit or something conjured by magic. We do not know who sent the dark shape or why it was trying to steal that spool. We were just happy that we happened to arrive in time to stop it."
"This shadow was probably sent by my sister. After all this spool of thread belongs to her. If this shadow being can slip beneath the door, then why is the door to B19 open? Do you have some desire for some of my trinkets? I can offer them to you if we strike a bargain" asks Bavlorna.
"This shadow was probably sent by my sister. After all this spool of thread belongs to her. If this shadow being can slip beneath the door, then why is the door to B19 open? Do you have some desire for some of my trinkets? I can offer them to you if we strike a bargain" asks Bavlorna.
Valrieth says, "Your sister? Is that...is she the one you were having tea with today?"
In response to the first question, Val says, "Oh! The door? Yes, well--you know--we had to get into that room to check the noise. I'm just sorry that we didn't get here in time to save the Lornling."
Val is trying to avoid mentioning Jingle Jangle's key, so she quickly seizes on Bavlorna's offer: "But now that mention it, maybe there is a trinket or two of yours that would interest us. Perhaps we could go back downstairs and discuss it?" Val doesn't like being cornered up in this room with the hag blocking the stairs.
Finley swallows as Val talks, giving furtive glances up towards the wisp. He decides to stay quiet for the moment, hoping that Val knows what she's doing since they are quite trapped up here.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
"Before we head down was there something in my closet that you took a liking to? If you point it out, I could take it down with us." says Bavlorna enjoying how the party squirms.
"Before we head down was there something in my closet that you took a liking to? If you point it out, I could take it down with us." says Bavlorna enjoying how the party squirms.
Valrieth answers, "Well, yes, perhaps that stag skull on the wall?" She hears her voice getting squeaky and anxious, and she tries make it sound more calm and confident. After all, they did prevent one of Bavlorna's sisters from stealing from her. Maybe that's already worth a reward from the hag?
Bavloran gestures with her hand and the stag skull floats over to her hand. She then heads downstairs where the witchy guess as left "I see Charm has left. That was a lovely chat. To answer your earlier question, no she is not my sister." She then takes a seat on her couch. "Now let's strike a bargain. For this stag skull I have a task for you. You must have noticed that stagnate water in my pool below. Clean the pool and unclog whatever is stopping the flow of water in exchange for this stag skull. I believe that is a fair bargain, but if you are unable to complete the task, I will take something of yours as that you value most dear. Perhaps a part of your soul, arm, leg, a bit you mind."
She has a look of mischievous delight as bargains fill her with joy.
She has a look of mischievous delight as bargains fill her with joy.
Valrieth looks at Finley. She tilts her head to the side, gives a non-committal shrug, and asks, "What do you think, Finley? That sounds doable, as long as we have enough time."Her expression seems less anxious at the moment.
Indeed, Val thinks that between Finley's knack with tools and general arcana and Val's skill with water and things related to Nature, they should be able to figure out how to fix Bavlorna's plumbing.
"That sounds," Finley pauses before saying horrifying, "easy enough if th' bargain is done once th' water is cleared out and it unclogged. No last minute add ons, aye?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Octavian nudges Val. "What about my heart?" he whispers with a hint of urgency in his voice.
Valrieth makes a soothing gesture as she says, "Shh. Don't worry: we haven't forgotten. I want to see how this bargain goes before we make another." She keeps one eye on Bavlorna while she talks to Octavian.
Octavian has a look of worry, but he is willing to have faith in Val and Finely.
Bavlorna smiles as if she can smell another bargain is coming soon.
"I believe you know the way to the pool. Now get to work" says Bavlorna
Valrieth gives Octavian a reassuring smile and a firm nod. One problem at a time, she thinks. Before they leave the room, Val takes a moment to look around the room to see what's in the various cupboards that they couldn't see when they were in shrunken size. Perception18
Val makes another curtsy to Bavlorna and says, "Yes, thank you. We'll look for you here once we're done. Depending on what's blocking the water flow, we may need to rest and continue working on it tomorrow. If we have to return to our place in Downfall to rest, what's the proper way to get back here? We must not have found the 'front door' today, if you know what I mean."
Once they have that answer for Bavlorna, Val opens the door to B7 and lets the others through before closing it behind them. She leans against the closed door, closes her eyes, and takes a deep, shaky breath. Val realizes that she's trembling a little, but it's nothing like what Vansel has been going through. She points toward the spiral stairs and says, "Shall we?"
A recessed pool lined with moldy clay tiles takes up most of this large square room. Stagnant water fills the depression to a depth of one foot. Rising from the pool’s center is the head of a stone well that gives off an unpleasant, pungent odor. In one corner of the pool stands a tall, dirty, freestanding mirror in an oval frame, and floating on the water is a large lily pad.
(OOC: How long did the conversation with Bavlorna take? I'm trying to figure out whether Val is still in her archer starry form.)
Once they're down in the pool room, Valrieth looks around to make sure that they're alone and then says, "Well, that didn't go quite as planned, did it, Finley? But we've already found out more today than I expected. Maybe we can clear this pool and see whether Bavlorna upholds her end of the deal. If so, then we can get some rest and then figure out what we can do to get Octavian's heart back." Some of her natural optimism is returning now that they're no longer facing Bavlorna or cornered in the hag's bedroom.
Walking on the wooden floor around the pool, Val tries to crane her neck to see into the well, but it's too far away (and she's too short) for her to see anything. She says, "Bavlorna thought that the well was clogged. I guess the first thing to do is to get a light down into the well so that we can see what's clogging it. Maybe Bavlorna just dumped a bunch of her trash down there? Or perhaps it's clogged with mud from the swamp? I reeeeally hope that we don't have to swim down into the well." She wrinkles her nose at the pungent odor.
Val realizes that she's never tested something pretty fundamental. She walks around to the stairs that descend into the pool on the southeast. She steps carefully into the water, just her toes at first, and then a whole foot. If that doesn't seem to harm her, Val steps down until she's standing in a few inches of water. Then she casts produce flame and lowers her hand with the flame under the water. She has never checked to see whether the flame is extinguished by water or whether the magical flame continues to glow in her hand while underwater.
"I see the book has returned to me, good. Can you describe this other thief and how the door to B19 opened." says Bavlorna as she picks up the spool of thread.
For now, she seems focused on the spool of thread thief.
Valrieth says, "Queen of Hither!" She does a hasty curtsy. "We didn't want to disturb you and your guest, and the Lornlings told us that you keep most of your things up here. We thought that we could just leave the book here for you. But when we got here, we heard a sound from that room." She points a glowing hand toward B19.
Val continues, "We found a dead Lornling. And the killer was still there: a dark shape, like a person, but amorphous, like a mist or a shadow. It was was stealing that spool. We tried to block the door, but the dark shape was able to twist right past us. When it got to this door," indicating the door to the balcony, "it didn't even try to open it. It was slipping right under the closed door, and I had to destroy it to prevent it from escaping with your spool. I've never seen anything like it, so I don't know whether it was a fey or a spirit or something conjured by magic. We do not know who sent the dark shape or why it was trying to steal that spool. We were just happy that we happened to arrive in time to stop it."
"This shadow was probably sent by my sister. After all this spool of thread belongs to her. If this shadow being can slip beneath the door, then why is the door to B19 open? Do you have some desire for some of my trinkets? I can offer them to you if we strike a bargain" asks Bavlorna.
Valrieth says, "Your sister? Is that...is she the one you were having tea with today?"
In response to the first question, Val says, "Oh! The door? Yes, well--you know--we had to get into that room to check the noise. I'm just sorry that we didn't get here in time to save the Lornling."
Val is trying to avoid mentioning Jingle Jangle's key, so she quickly seizes on Bavlorna's offer: "But now that mention it, maybe there is a trinket or two of yours that would interest us. Perhaps we could go back downstairs and discuss it?" Val doesn't like being cornered up in this room with the hag blocking the stairs.
Finley swallows as Val talks, giving furtive glances up towards the wisp. He decides to stay quiet for the moment, hoping that Val knows what she's doing since they are quite trapped up here.
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
"Before we head down was there something in my closet that you took a liking to? If you point it out, I could take it down with us." says Bavlorna enjoying how the party squirms.
Valrieth answers, "Well, yes, perhaps that stag skull on the wall?" She hears her voice getting squeaky and anxious, and she tries make it sound more calm and confident. After all, they did prevent one of Bavlorna's sisters from stealing from her. Maybe that's already worth a reward from the hag?
Or maybe the reward is simply not eating them?!
Bavloran gestures with her hand and the stag skull floats over to her hand. She then heads downstairs where the witchy guess as left "I see Charm has left. That was a lovely chat. To answer your earlier question, no she is not my sister." She then takes a seat on her couch. "Now let's strike a bargain. For this stag skull I have a task for you. You must have noticed that stagnate water in my pool below. Clean the pool and unclog whatever is stopping the flow of water in exchange for this stag skull. I believe that is a fair bargain, but if you are unable to complete the task, I will take something of yours as that you value most dear. Perhaps a part of your soul, arm, leg, a bit you mind."
She has a look of mischievous delight as bargains fill her with joy.
The Will-O'-Wisp stays in the bedroom.
Valrieth looks at Finley. She tilts her head to the side, gives a non-committal shrug, and asks, "What do you think, Finley? That sounds doable, as long as we have enough time." Her expression seems less anxious at the moment.
Indeed, Val thinks that between Finley's knack with tools and general arcana and Val's skill with water and things related to Nature, they should be able to figure out how to fix Bavlorna's plumbing.
"That sounds," Finley pauses before saying horrifying, "easy enough if th' bargain is done once th' water is cleared out and it unclogged. No last minute add ons, aye?"
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Octavian nudges Val. "What about my heart?" he whispers with a hint of urgency in his voice.
Valrieth makes a soothing gesture as she says, "Shh. Don't worry: we haven't forgotten. I want to see how this bargain goes before we make another." She keeps one eye on Bavlorna while she talks to Octavian.
Octavian has a look of worry, but he is willing to have faith in Val and Finely.
Bavlorna smiles as if she can smell another bargain is coming soon.
"I believe you know the way to the pool. Now get to work" says Bavlorna
Valrieth gives Octavian a reassuring smile and a firm nod. One problem at a time, she thinks. Before they leave the room, Val takes a moment to look around the room to see what's in the various cupboards that they couldn't see when they were in shrunken size. Perception 18
Val makes another curtsy to Bavlorna and says, "Yes, thank you. We'll look for you here once we're done. Depending on what's blocking the water flow, we may need to rest and continue working on it tomorrow. If we have to return to our place in Downfall to rest, what's the proper way to get back here? We must not have found the 'front door' today, if you know what I mean."
Once they have that answer for Bavlorna, Val opens the door to B7 and lets the others through before closing it behind them. She leans against the closed door, closes her eyes, and takes a deep, shaky breath. Val realizes that she's trembling a little, but it's nothing like what Vansel has been going through. She points toward the spiral stairs and says, "Shall we?"
Bavlorna lets out a chuckle "All of you will be my guest until the job is done. You can rest here with me dearies. You can use my guest room."
"Oh!," Valrieth squeaks, looking sorry that she asked. "That's very generous of you. Thank you," she says as she hurries out of the room.
The party heads down to the stairs to the pool
A recessed pool lined with moldy clay tiles takes up most of this large square room. Stagnant water fills the depression to a depth of one foot. Rising from the pool’s center is the head of a stone well that gives off an unpleasant, pungent odor. In one corner of the pool stands a tall, dirty, freestanding mirror in an oval frame, and floating on the water is a large lily pad.
(OOC: How long did the conversation with Bavlorna take? I'm trying to figure out whether Val is still in her archer starry form.)
Once they're down in the pool room, Valrieth looks around to make sure that they're alone and then says, "Well, that didn't go quite as planned, did it, Finley? But we've already found out more today than I expected. Maybe we can clear this pool and see whether Bavlorna upholds her end of the deal. If so, then we can get some rest and then figure out what we can do to get Octavian's heart back." Some of her natural optimism is returning now that they're no longer facing Bavlorna or cornered in the hag's bedroom.
Walking on the wooden floor around the pool, Val tries to crane her neck to see into the well, but it's too far away (and she's too short) for her to see anything. She says, "Bavlorna thought that the well was clogged. I guess the first thing to do is to get a light down into the well so that we can see what's clogging it. Maybe Bavlorna just dumped a bunch of her trash down there? Or perhaps it's clogged with mud from the swamp? I reeeeally hope that we don't have to swim down into the well." She wrinkles her nose at the pungent odor.
Val realizes that she's never tested something pretty fundamental. She walks around to the stairs that descend into the pool on the southeast. She steps carefully into the water, just her toes at first, and then a whole foot. If that doesn't seem to harm her, Val steps down until she's standing in a few inches of water. Then she casts produce flame and lowers her hand with the flame under the water. She has never checked to see whether the flame is extinguished by water or whether the magical flame continues to glow in her hand while underwater.
I would say it took 3 minutes.
The water is slimy and awfully disgusting as Val steps into the pool. The light from the cantrip is snuffed out.