He walks as quietly as he can towards the dummy and thinks for a moment, “lemme see wha this does, ah dunnae think that it’s too dangerous since ah doubt she expects guests where we’re at.” He glances towards the mirror, “ye think that’s a talking or seeing eye mirror?”
(Stealth: 8, Arcana: 19 for the hat)
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
He glances towards the mirror, “ye think that’s a talking or seeing eye mirror?”
"No," Valrieth replies. "I mean, that's what I thought at first, but then you would expect a divination aura, right? So conjuration...I don't know. Maybe a way to summon...something?
"Or could Conjuration include creating a sort of 'gate', like the way we got to Hither from the Witchlight Carnival? That was a magical mirror, right? Maybe this mirror is a way for the hags in the Hourglass Coven to step into each other's realms?"
At first, the thought makes Val hopeful for a shortcut out of Hither. But then she imagines another hag stepping out of the mirror. As Finley investigates the hat, she keeps glancing back at the mirror just to reassure herself that nothing is stepping out of it.
"True, true, ah'm learnin' more about magic every day," Finley says, "we should go ahead and leave it all be, even though th' hat is magical, let's keep an eye out for what we need ta get. Which way do ye think we should go?" He slowly steps away from the hat and looks about at the different exits. "To that door perhaps?" He points towards (B2).
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
"True, true, ah'm learnin' more about magic every day," Finley says, "we should go ahead and leave it all be, even though th' hat is magical, let's keep an eye out for what we need ta get. Which way do ye think we should go?"
Valrieth agrees with the idea to be more cautious during their current reconnaissance trip. (OOC: "Touch nothing but the lamp.")
He slowly steps away from the hat and looks about at the different exits. "To that door perhaps?" He points towards (B2).
"Sure," says Val. "If the whole hut is this disorganized, then who knows where Clapperclaw's head or Octavian's heart is stored?! We'll probably have to check every room."
Before they open the door to B2, Val opens the trapdoor and checks that they can see their boat, tied to the pillar below. She leaves it open to give them a quick exit in case they need to run / drop down to the lake below.
Just like they used to do with Gan-Re, before they open the door to B2, Val listens at the door and checks the door for traps. Perception14
Then she stands aside, casts Produce Flame, and lets Octavian (or Finley, if he'd rather) open the door first.
Within the room a horse’s head leers at you with glossy eyes, its lips drawn back from pointed yellow teeth. The head is affixed to a large, eight-limbed armature made of wicker and wire, situated so that it faces the doorway where you entered. Near it is a wooden crate.
Flies buzz about this disordered room, landing occasionally on animal carcasses that lie strewn in small piles. On a low table rests an assortment of tools—saws, knives, scrapers, a hand-cranked drill, sewing thread and needles, and awls—around several taxidermic subjects in various stages of completion. A shelf that looks on the verge of collapse leans against the wall between two windows and bears the weight of dozens of stuffed horrors. Each one is an artless combination of two or more animals.
Within the room a horse’s head leers at you with glossy eyes, its lips drawn back from pointed yellow teeth. The head is affixed to a large, eight-limbed armature made of wicker and wire, situated so that it faces the doorway where you entered. Near it is a wooden crate.
Flies buzz about this disordered room, landing occasionally on animal carcasses that lie strewn in small piles. On a low table rests an assortment of tools—saws, knives, scrapers, a hand-cranked drill, sewing thread and needles, and awls—around several taxidermic subjects in various stages of completion. A shelf that looks on the verge of collapse leans against the wall between two windows and bears the weight of dozens of stuffed horrors. Each one is an artless combination of two or more animals.
When the light from Valrieth's flame falls on the horse's head, she gasps and raises her hand, ready to attack. But when it doesn't move or attack, she realizes in horror that the gruesome rictus is some sort of taxidermy construct, conceived by a twisted mind. She scans the room, taking in the whole grisly scene, the perverse and chimeric creations, the sound of the flies, the stench of death and the chemicals used to preserve the bodies, and the gruesome tools of taxidermy.
"That wicked, wicket hag," Val says in a shaking voice. "She's an evil, VILE creature!" For a moment, Val has a wild idea of burning the whole hut down. Her breathing comes in ragged, short gasps, and she swallows hard, trying to keep the horror and nausea at bay. Was she wrong about her Path? Is her Destiny to confront and destroy Bavlorna? She tries to clear her head: rescue the children and unfreeze Zybilna in time. If they could restore the Fey as Queen of Prismeer, she would surely throw down the hags and destroy Bavlorna.
Trying to think about the long term goal and not just marching into Bavlorna's room to confront her about her twisted taxidermy, Val goes back to her list of why they came to Bavlorna's hut: find Clapperclaw's head, find Octavian's heart, return the book, and gather info on how to defeat Bavlorna. And the 4th item on that list is rising in priority for Val.
It's at least becoming clear to Val why Bavlorna stole Clapperclaw's stag head and maybe even Octavian's heart. Val asks Octavian, "Keep an eye on that thing," indicating the horse construct, "and hit it if it moves. Finley, let's check the boxes for Clapperclaw's head and Octavian's heart and get out of here." Val helps Finley search the room and open the crate.
(OOC: I don't know how long it takes to search a room, but if they spent less than 10 minutes in B1, Val should still have concentration on detect magic. She will first check whether the horse thing or any of the other taxidermied animals show a magical aura. She fully expects one or more of these things are animated by some foul magic.
Let me know whether you'd like us to be rolling perception or investigation checks as we search the hut. I'm starting to suspect that the party will have a lot of cluttered rooms to explore.)
No need to roll unless you are checking something out or are looking for something.
Crate. Bavlorna’s name is scrawled on one side of the crate. Lifting the lid releases a harmless swarm of flies. The crate contains the carcass of a curled-up, eight-legged reptile with spikes running down its back.
Roll nature if you wish to identify the dead creature. DC 15.
Worktable. Along with the tools and specimens, the table has a small box with drawers that contain glass eyes. One of the eyes is made of wood.
No need to roll unless you are checking something out or are looking for something.
Crate. Bavlorna’s name is scrawled on one side of the crate. Lifting the lid releases a harmless swarm of flies. The crate contains the carcass of a curled-up, eight-legged reptile with spikes running down its back.
Roll nature if you wish to identify the dead creature. DC 15.
"Ugh! Pfff-pfff-pfff," Valrieth sputters to keep the flies out of her mouth as she holds the hand with the fire from produce flame close to her face to ward away the flies.
Then Val peers at the carcass in the crate. Unlike the wicker and wire armature, this body looks like it was a real, eight-legged reptile. "What is that?", she wonders outloud. Nature11
Worktable. Along with the tools and specimens, the table has a small box with drawers that contain glass eyes. One of the eyes is made of wood.
Val looks at the eyes and takes out the wooden one to check whether it's magical. (She's afraid that some of the other eyes could be real, not glass, so she tries to avoid touching them.) Does it really have an eye painted on it? Or is it just a round, wooden ball?
Val wonders what purpose Bavlorna has for a wooden eye. It wouldn't look right in any of these taxidermy experiments, but she remembers seeing dolls with wooden eyes when she was a kid. Or maybe Bavlorna also has a wooden construct nearby?
No, the eye is not magical, but it is incredibly well made to the point it looks like a real eye turned to wood. There is no color, but the details are incredible down to the veins in a bloodshot eye.
Finley is on the verge of puking in the room, “ah can’t stay in here too much longer, this was an awful decision and ah don’t see a still Beatin’ heart or Clappers head in here.” He pauses, holding a hand over his nose and mouth, “Ye alright, Val? This creature is clearly an evil beast, but ah think our friend could help us deal with it when we free her.”
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Then Val peers at the carcass in the crate. Unlike the wicker and wire armature, this body looks like it was a real, eight-legged reptile. "What is that?", she wonders aloud. Nature10
"Have you ever heard of an 8-legged reptile like this?", Val asks.
(OOC: I don't think that Finley tried a Nature check, and he has a better skill bonus than Val does.)
Finley is on the verge of puking in the room, “ah can’t stay in here too much longer, this was an awful decision and ah don’t see a still Beatin’ heart or Clappers head in here.” He pauses, holding a hand over his nose and mouth, “Ye alright, Val? This creature is clearly an evil beast, but ah think our friend could help us deal with it when we free her.”
Valrieth puts the wooden "eyeball" in her pouch and says, "Yes. Yes, of course, you're right. I just want someone to overthrow the hag and put an end to these twisted projects," she gestures at the grisly scene in the room. "It's probably not going to be us, and I guess the Queen will be able to do that, if we can free her. I just hope that we don't have to bargain with this evil hag to get out of Hither."
After they leave B2, I guess they can continue around the pool clockwise again and try the door at B3. Like last time, before they open the door, Val listens to check whether she can hear anything beyond the door. Perception12
Then, if Val doesn't hear anything, she raises her shield in one arm and re-casts produce flame, stepping back so that Octavian can lead the way into the room.
There is no sound coming from B3 and as you enter you see scraps of cloth and bundles of yarn are piled throughout this small room. Among the scraps you find two 1-foot-tall pincushions sewn into humanoid shapes. One of the pincushions is mounted on a tiny wooden rocking horse; the other has a pair of wooden wings.
"Ah've not read much about monsters like tha' eight-legged thing 'afore."Finley adds as they proceed to the next room and follows Octavian in, "this place is so strange, what do ye make o' those pincushion things?"He asks, walking towards the one with wooden wings to check it out. "Magic or just another sick display that seems to permeate this house?"
(Investigation on the pincushion with wooden wings: 19)
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
they proceed to the next room and follows Octavian in, "this place is so strange, what do ye make o' those pincushion things?"He asks, walking towards the one with wooden wings to check it out. "Magic or just another sick display that seems to permeate this house?"
Valrieth says, "I can check, but I'll need to cast the spell again." Val performs a ritual casting of Detect Magic again. If she's not interrupted by Finley and Octavian or anything else, she'll then examine the pincushions (vodoo dolls?) to see whether they're magical.
(OOC:
detect magic duration is 10 minutes. I figured that it took ~5 minutes each to search the clutter in B1 and B2. Valrieth can cast it again, but she's trying to preserve spell slots, so Finley and Octavian will have to wait another 10 mins for a ritual casting. Makes me jealous of Warlock's Eldritch Sight!
While Val does that, feel free to wait or to take Octavian back to B1 to explore the pool, depending on Finley's risk tolerance. Val can always stop her ritual and jump in if they get into trouble.
I'm not sure whether there's any time pressure before Bavlorna or some "wandering monster" shoes up. It seems like this level is currently empty, so probably not. Of course, once they finish the 1st floor, Val will probably want to drop detect magic and dedicate concentration to pass without trace. While the 1st floor is empty, I doubt the rest of the hut is!
Stepping back into the large room Finley glances over at the pool of water and the mirror briefly before he wanders down the room towards the table with broken plates. He pauses when he gets to the door that leads into B4 where he checks to see if it's locked and/or trapped. If he can open it he peaks through to see what is there, if there is nothing waiting for him there he slowly closes the door to proceed to B5.
(Investigation: 10)
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Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
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Finley smiles and nods at Val.
He walks as quietly as he can towards the dummy and thinks for a moment, “lemme see wha this does, ah dunnae think that it’s too dangerous since ah doubt she expects guests where we’re at.” He glances towards the mirror, “ye think that’s a talking or seeing eye mirror?”
(Stealth: 8, Arcana: 19 for the hat)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Well, you know its magical hat, but nothing happens as you look at it.
"No," Valrieth replies. "I mean, that's what I thought at first, but then you would expect a divination aura, right? So conjuration...I don't know. Maybe a way to summon...something?
"Or could Conjuration include creating a sort of 'gate', like the way we got to Hither from the Witchlight Carnival? That was a magical mirror, right? Maybe this mirror is a way for the hags in the Hourglass Coven to step into each other's realms?"
At first, the thought makes Val hopeful for a shortcut out of Hither. But then she imagines another hag stepping out of the mirror. As Finley investigates the hat, she keeps glancing back at the mirror just to reassure herself that nothing is stepping out of it.
The mirror is inert and seems like an ordinary mirror.
"True, true, ah'm learnin' more about magic every day," Finley says, "we should go ahead and leave it all be, even though th' hat is magical, let's keep an eye out for what we need ta get. Which way do ye think we should go?" He slowly steps away from the hat and looks about at the different exits. "To that door perhaps?" He points towards (B2).
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Valrieth agrees with the idea to be more cautious during their current reconnaissance trip. (OOC: "Touch nothing but the lamp.")
"Sure," says Val. "If the whole hut is this disorganized, then who knows where Clapperclaw's head or Octavian's heart is stored?! We'll probably have to check every room."
Before they open the door to B2, Val opens the trapdoor and checks that they can see their boat, tied to the pillar below. She leaves it open to give them a quick exit in case they need to run / drop down to the lake below.
Just like they used to do with Gan-Re, before they open the door to B2, Val listens at the door and checks the door for traps. Perception 14
Then she stands aside, casts Produce Flame, and lets Octavian (or Finley, if he'd rather) open the door first.
The door to B2 is unlocked.
Within the room a horse’s head leers at you with glossy eyes, its lips drawn back from pointed yellow teeth. The head is affixed to a large, eight-limbed armature made of wicker and wire, situated so that it faces the doorway where you entered. Near it is a wooden crate.
Flies buzz about this disordered room, landing occasionally on animal carcasses that lie strewn in small piles. On a low table rests an assortment of tools—saws, knives, scrapers, a hand-cranked drill, sewing thread and needles, and awls—around several taxidermic subjects in various stages of completion. A shelf that looks on the verge of collapse leans against the wall between two windows and bears the weight of dozens of stuffed horrors. Each one is an artless combination of two or more animals.
When the light from Valrieth's flame falls on the horse's head, she gasps and raises her hand, ready to attack. But when it doesn't move or attack, she realizes in horror that the gruesome rictus is some sort of taxidermy construct, conceived by a twisted mind. She scans the room, taking in the whole grisly scene, the perverse and chimeric creations, the sound of the flies, the stench of death and the chemicals used to preserve the bodies, and the gruesome tools of taxidermy.
"That wicked, wicket hag," Val says in a shaking voice. "She's an evil, VILE creature!" For a moment, Val has a wild idea of burning the whole hut down. Her breathing comes in ragged, short gasps, and she swallows hard, trying to keep the horror and nausea at bay. Was she wrong about her Path? Is her Destiny to confront and destroy Bavlorna? She tries to clear her head: rescue the children and unfreeze Zybilna in time. If they could restore the Fey as Queen of Prismeer, she would surely throw down the hags and destroy Bavlorna.
Trying to think about the long term goal and not just marching into Bavlorna's room to confront her about her twisted taxidermy, Val goes back to her list of why they came to Bavlorna's hut: find Clapperclaw's head, find Octavian's heart, return the book, and gather info on how to defeat Bavlorna. And the 4th item on that list is rising in priority for Val.
It's at least becoming clear to Val why Bavlorna stole Clapperclaw's stag head and maybe even Octavian's heart. Val asks Octavian, "Keep an eye on that thing," indicating the horse construct, "and hit it if it moves. Finley, let's check the boxes for Clapperclaw's head and Octavian's heart and get out of here." Val helps Finley search the room and open the crate.
(OOC: I don't know how long it takes to search a room, but if they spent less than 10 minutes in B1, Val should still have concentration on detect magic. She will first check whether the horse thing or any of the other taxidermied animals show a magical aura. She fully expects one or more of these things are animated by some foul magic.
Let me know whether you'd like us to be rolling perception or investigation checks as we search the hut. I'm starting to suspect that the party will have a lot of cluttered rooms to explore.)
No need to roll unless you are checking something out or are looking for something.
Crate. Bavlorna’s name is scrawled on one side of the crate. Lifting the lid releases a harmless swarm of flies. The crate contains the carcass of a curled-up, eight-legged reptile with spikes running down its back.
Roll nature if you wish to identify the dead creature. DC 15.
Worktable. Along with the tools and specimens, the table has a small box with drawers that contain glass eyes. One of the eyes is made of wood.
"Ugh! Pfff-pfff-pfff," Valrieth sputters to keep the flies out of her mouth as she holds the hand with the fire from produce flame close to her face to ward away the flies.
Then Val peers at the carcass in the crate. Unlike the wicker and wire armature, this body looks like it was a real, eight-legged reptile. "What is that?", she wonders outloud. Nature 11
Val looks at the eyes and takes out the wooden one to check whether it's magical. (She's afraid that some of the other eyes could be real, not glass, so she tries to avoid touching them.) Does it really have an eye painted on it? Or is it just a round, wooden ball?
Val wonders what purpose Bavlorna has for a wooden eye. It wouldn't look right in any of these taxidermy experiments, but she remembers seeing dolls with wooden eyes when she was a kid. Or maybe Bavlorna also has a wooden construct nearby?
(OOC: Heh. I'm glad that I made Valrieth a Circle of Stars druid. She has missed practically every nature check she has tried so far.)
No, the eye is not magical, but it is incredibly well made to the point it looks like a real eye turned to wood. There is no color, but the details are incredible down to the veins in a bloodshot eye.
Finley is on the verge of puking in the room, “ah can’t stay in here too much longer, this was an awful decision and ah don’t see a still Beatin’ heart or Clappers head in here.” He pauses, holding a hand over his nose and mouth, “Ye alright, Val? This creature is clearly an evil beast, but ah think our friend could help us deal with it when we free her.”
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
"Have you ever heard of an 8-legged reptile like this?", Val asks.
(OOC: I don't think that Finley tried a Nature check, and he has a better skill bonus than Val does.)
Valrieth puts the wooden "eyeball" in her pouch and says, "Yes. Yes, of course, you're right. I just want someone to overthrow the hag and put an end to these twisted projects," she gestures at the grisly scene in the room. "It's probably not going to be us, and I guess the Queen will be able to do that, if we can free her. I just hope that we don't have to bargain with this evil hag to get out of Hither."
After they leave B2, I guess they can continue around the pool clockwise again and try the door at B3. Like last time, before they open the door, Val listens to check whether she can hear anything beyond the door. Perception 12
Then, if Val doesn't hear anything, she raises her shield in one arm and re-casts produce flame, stepping back so that Octavian can lead the way into the room.
There is no sound coming from B3 and as you enter you see scraps of cloth and bundles of yarn are piled throughout this small room. Among the scraps you find two 1-foot-tall pincushions sewn into humanoid shapes. One of the pincushions is mounted on a tiny wooden rocking horse; the other has a pair of wooden wings.
Octavian steps to find no enemy.
"Ah've not read much about monsters like tha' eight-legged thing 'afore." Finley adds as they proceed to the next room and follows Octavian in, "this place is so strange, what do ye make o' those pincushion things?" He asks, walking towards the one with wooden wings to check it out. "Magic or just another sick display that seems to permeate this house?"
(Investigation on the pincushion with wooden wings: 19)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire
Finley does not discover anything else about the pincushion figures. Maybe an effigy of some sort.
Valrieth says, "I can check, but I'll need to cast the spell again." Val performs a ritual casting of Detect Magic again. If she's not interrupted by Finley and Octavian or anything else, she'll then examine the pincushions (vodoo dolls?) to see whether they're magical.
(OOC:
detect magic duration is 10 minutes. I figured that it took ~5 minutes each to search the clutter in B1 and B2. Valrieth can cast it again, but she's trying to preserve spell slots, so Finley and Octavian will have to wait another 10 mins for a ritual casting. Makes me jealous of Warlock's Eldritch Sight!
While Val does that, feel free to wait or to take Octavian back to B1 to explore the pool, depending on Finley's risk tolerance. Val can always stop her ritual and jump in if they get into trouble.
I'm not sure whether there's any time pressure before Bavlorna or some "wandering monster" shoes up. It seems like this level is currently empty, so probably not. Of course, once they finish the 1st floor, Val will probably want to drop detect magic and dedicate concentration to pass without trace. While the 1st floor is empty, I doubt the rest of the hut is!
)
There is no magic in B3
Stepping back into the large room Finley glances over at the pool of water and the mirror briefly before he wanders down the room towards the table with broken plates. He pauses when he gets to the door that leads into B4 where he checks to see if it's locked and/or trapped. If he can open it he peaks through to see what is there, if there is nothing waiting for him there he slowly closes the door to proceed to B5.
(Investigation: 10)
Finley Stoneshaft, Dwarf Artificer - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Falkas, Half-Elf Drow Warlock - Keys of Empire