Heavy is the Head - Campaign thread

(... natural one ....)

When Hemlock figures out the mirror is in the right place, he moves across to the sword, and takes hold of the webbing that spiderlock created. Making sure not to touch the sword itself, and to avoid Saoirse as she blindly moves with the book, he moves it across to the west workbench and places it gently down.

Saoirse stumbles forward slightly, and follow your body's natural instinct to put your arms out to catch you and open your eyes. Seeing the book that you're holding in front of your face, you fall almost instantly asleep, now lying in the middle of the room with your face in the book, like a student crashing while trying to pull an all-night cram for an exam.

Hemlock, sleight of hand DC 10 with advantage to carry the sword carefully and not touch it at all on the way.

Sleight of Hand: 11+2=13

Hemlock manages to carefully make it to the West workbench and place down the sword. Turning around as he hears a slumping sound, he sees Saoirse asleep.

"Oh dear", he says and wanders over to try and shake her awake again. "Maybe I should take the book", he says a little nervously turning his head away from the book then reaching back out for it. He will position it behind his back so he can walk to the bench whilst being able to see. He will then close his eyes as places the book down in front of him and then take a step back, turn around and open his eyes again.

The moment the book lands on the table, there is an audible click sound, and the abjuration tile flips upwards to expose the button for the stairs.

- Nnnghhh ... What? Again!? - the genasi says, infuriated, as a followed by a series of words in primordial that clearly sound like swearing - Let's just get the hell out of here.

She looks back towards Lam to check if he's already okay before heading upstairs.

When Lam picks up the key, he is ready to figure out where it goes and help his friends get out of here. He picks it up, and gets ready to take it… where? Where is he going? What is he doing? What’s going on? It takes him only an instant to lose all the drive he had before.

There are definitely things happening in the room. There are voices, and they’re saying things. What are they saying? He vaguely feels like he should know the voices all around him- one is right near him. He feels himself being lightly shaken, and then he is moving. Someone’s got his arm and is leading him somewhere? Why is he going along with this? But some part of him feels like he should trust this, like whatever he’s following has not guided him wrong before- so he follows with blind trust like that of a child being led by their parent. It’s almost a peaceful feeling, focusing only on remaining upright as he walks and on keeping hold of… uh. He’s not sure anymore what he has in his hand, only that he’s holding his fist closed around something small with a complicated shape. He continues to passively allow his arm to be moved when the rest of him stops. Someone is trying to open his fist- was he supposed to be holding onto this?- but then the key hits the table, and Saoirse is in front of him- she feels him slightly jump at the noise.

He looks at her trying to determine what just happened- why they are in a different place than they just were. When she sees the confusion still on his face, she softly slaps his cheek and says: “Hey, come on. We’re not gonna be defeated by a stupid book and a stupid key, right?”

He then moves himself for the first time in almost a minute, to slowly look at the key and then back at her. He realizes the key must have done something to him- just like the book put her to sleep before. Before he has his wits back about him enough to make words, Saoirse has already gone off to put the book back- and almost immediately fallen asleep again. It’s almost comical to witness. Lam goes to make sure she’s ok, and offers to help her up again if she accepts it, while Hemlock takes the book away and uses the smartest approach any of them have thought of to move it. When Saoirse swears in primordial after waking up again, a glimmer of humor dances in Lam’s eyes. A smile can be heard in his voice as he says, “Thank you for help with key.” He seems to still only have a vague idea what actually happened, but he seems to be himself again, and ready to follow everyone upstairs.

"Well, that was interesting", Hemlock says as he opens his eyes and not only sees the button for the stairs exposed, but Lam back to normal as well. "I won't be sad to see the back of this tower, that's for sure. And we haven't even got in to see what the problem with the artificer is yet!".

With that he walks over and presses the button to bring the stairs back.

"So, we all remember the right sequence for the door upstairs?", he asks the others, hoping that they had all the floors sorted now.

Saoirse once again takes the hand Lam offers and says:

- Answering myself: yes, it seems I can be defeated by the same stupid book *twice*! - she laughs a little, as she stands up with the bugbear's help.

She then nods to Hemlock. Seeing the back of this tower sounded like a dream. But he was right, they still needed to deal with the Artificer. 

- Abjuration. Evocation. Enchantment. Conjuration. Yes? Let's hope there are no more puzzles and tricks, at least for today.

With that, they return to the last arcane lock, and the blood hunter turns to Lam:

- Do you want to do the honors and complete the sequence?

Lam nods in response to Hemlock’s comment about getting to see the back of the tower, and then again in response to Saoirse’s hope that there are no more puzzles and tricks today. It feels at the moment like they have gone through the worst of it, but Lam won’t feel sure of that until they have fully left the tower. If they can head up the stairs now, Lam repeats the combination in his mind as best he can as he walks- thinking less of the words and more of the symbols and what the schools of magic feel like.

When they return to the lock and Saoirse turns to him, he nods and takes his place in front of the door. Remembering that they had already pressed the abjuration and evocation buttons before, he presses the enchantment one. If it seems to work and that voice doesn’t start happening again, he follows up with the conjuration one.

The door opens to reveal a beautiful large workshop/study/bedroom/studio, which is clearly lived in by the extremely excited gnome who greets you. The room has stacks of half-finished projects including some constructs, and many vials of liquid in all sorts of interesting colours. He has a long brown beard, with some flecks oglf gray spread throughout. His work shirt is covered in stains of various colours and textures, including a couple that must be burn marks.

"Welcome welcome welcome guests!!! See, cubert, I told you they were coming! Sorry about the locks, but i have to keep it locked. Cubert didnt think you could get past the locks, but i did." (The construct he calls cubert is clearly not sentient or conversant in any way). "And im pretty sure youre real, too! Most of my guests arent real, but some of them are very convincing. A couple years ago there was a guest who seemed very real. His name was Tux, and he was nice. But he tried to make me leave, and i can't leave, see? I have to stay locked in here until i rot. You unlocked the doors! But they lock again on their own, so thats OK. You are real, right? Youre a strange group if you're real."

The gnome, who had barely stopped to take a breath so far, runs up to the first of you through the door (Lam), and hugs your leg, burying his face in your fur and taking in a deep breath.

"Oof, you smell real! Real is great, unless you're trying to make me leave again, then no thank you. Can't do that, but I've got a plan. I'm Fitzwhistle Cobblepot, by the way. Thank you for coming please don't leave i hope I'm not overwhelming or anything."

He seems absolutely desperate for some company.

"You have to stay here till you rot?  Why?  Do you feel safe here, is there someone or something outside of this tower trying to harm you?"  Sha-gravis looks around the workshop any bed or food or sign he has been living (normal signs of living) in this one area?  Also looking to see if there is anything religious books idols even pictures...

Perception Religion 13 & 14

Lam finds Fitzwhistle Cobblepot just a little overwhelming- but he prefers this reception to a hostile or fearful one. He blinks in surprise as the small gnome hugs his leg- he moves out of the way just enough to make sure everyone can get in, doing his best not to shake Fitzwhistle off or hurt him.

Once the gnome has stopped to take a breath, Lam repeats the name, stumbling a bit with the syllables: “Fitz-whistle… Cobblepot.” He gives his own name: “Lam.” He does his best to make sense of everything Fitzwhistle said, wondering some of the same things as Sha- why can’t he leave? He struggles to form his own questions, but ends up asking what seems most pressing to him: “Will doors lock us in?”

He takes a quick scan of the room, trying to see if he can tell what it was that hurt Fitzwhistle’s head when he was in here alone with Cubert earlier, or anything that points to why he has to stay here.

Saoirse, who is still a bit pissed for all the puzzles, and riddles and tricks they've had to go through to finally be able to open the door, is about to make a comment about all this to Fitzwhistle. But seeing him so eager to greet them and so desperate for having someone to talk to - apart to the clearly non sentient Cubert - dissipates that feeling pretty quickly.

- So you are the famous artificer. You know already Sha and Lam. He is Hemlock, and my name is Saoirse. And ... woa ... that was a lot of information you've just spilled! We know about Tux. We in fact have read his journal and this is one of the reasons we are here, we need to speak to you about a certain and dangerous artifact that Tux's aunt is looking for desperately and, same as he, we don't want her to have it. 

Saoirse doesn't mention the Crown of Divine Right, though she doesn't have any doubt that Fitzwhistle will know what artifact she's talking about.

- Why did Tux want you to leave the tower? Why can't you? Is it because Silvia Strixwell has put a price on your head? We had to fight some thugs outside of the tower who wanted to claim that reward. One of them is still alive. Eliza, a wizard. She wanted to come inside with us but we didn't let her. I'm pretty sure she's still outside, waiting for an opportunity to come inside. Also ... have you not left this room in years, not even to visit other parts of the tower? There was a harpy infestation in the conjuration room. We've also dealt with it, though those could also come back in no time if you don't put any measures to avoid it.

Hemlock enters the room, his first concern being the same as that of Lam. He hopes that seeing as this Tux had managed to leave, they would be ok as well, but listens for the answer. Hearing Saoirse ask her questions, it dawns on him that he had forgotten a of the purpose of their visit, with all the drama of the attack outside, the puzzles and the harpies. He wondered if being a spider for an hour had had any effect.

He wanders the room, looking for anything that might be interesting, or for evidence of why Fitzwhistle is not allowed to leave. As he passes the gnome, he takes a good look for anything he is wearing that could be causing him to be controlled in some way.

"Greetings to you", he says as he passes the gnome.

(OOC: I rolled a nat 1, was going to leave the type of check to you, but whatever it, he fails haha)

Fitzwhistle's room is well-lived in. He seems to sleep in a window nook on a couple of large cushions, and there is a blancket lying beside them. There are scraps of various projects in various degrees of completion, including potion brewing stations and constructs partly or mostly built. There is a significant lybrary lining the walls. The geometry of the room is a little strange - it doesn't quite feel like it should all fit at the top of the tower, and yet looking out the windows you can tell that you are certainly seeing the view from the top floor of the tower. Just how the stairs led to that door is not clear - best not to think to much of it. There are also a few stairs leading up to a balcony, with a windowed door leading outside. There are many plants growing in the room that are edible, and evidence of nuts and fruit gathered from the forest in bags around the room. He seems to have been eating off of the same table he mixes potions on - probably wouldn't pass a safety inspection, but not your top concern. Near the exit to the balcony is a bucket that is cleaned regularly, but not enough to completely hide the smell that reveals its use as a chamber-pot. Among the books there are some describing gods and deities, especially Mystra, goddess of magic, but otherwise no obvious religious iconography in the room.

"Oh, thank you for your kind concern. I'm quite safe here, of course! This is my workshop, and for the past twenty years it's been my home, though I wish I could leave, of course. I raised Cubert and all his siblings here, isn't that right?" (He pauses as though the construct is partaking in the conversation). "Well, it's a father's right to be proud, no matter what you say. No, no, nothing outside the tower. Well, there's something. I think I found something once, but I can't remember - or I'm not allowed to remember. I do get terrible headaches sometimes, and I think it happens when I remember, so it's best to not remember. Though I'm certain it was very important! That's why this one of my projects is so important. But I've had lots of projects! I'm still doing all sorts of individual research, even alone up here. For example, my research on Minor Tasks of Varying Difficulty almost proves Mordenkainen's hypothesis that probability is always calculated in multiples of 5 percent for minor tasks. I'm not a good thrower, but I could still throw a paper ball into a wastebasket from all the way across the room 1 time in twenty, which suggests that the simulation hypothesis is not completely with---" (He seems to have been interrupted by a voice only he can hear). "Oh, you're right Cubert. I have no idea whether our guests have any interest at all in my arcane experiements. How very rude of me. I just have so many thoughts, and so very few people to share them with! Oh! You asked about Tux, right! That means he was definitely real, I think. He came just shortly after Snoflofagus, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't real. 20 years of solitary confinement can make you see things, that's what Tux said. He was very nice. Came in through the window - much easier to unlock than going through the tower by the way, I applaud you for taking the hard path. I've always been one to cut corners myself you see. Anyway Tux was lovely company. He had an idea that I could leave the tower if he knocked me out and carried me - it was a worthwhile experiment, but the headaches and the screaming.... I came back here right away, and he left feeling a little guilty, I think. Is he coming back by the way, I want to thank him for trying? Oh, are you staying for lunch? Flybert should be in in just a minute with some fresh nuts, or I think I still have some walnut bread from this morning. Please do stay, I have so few guests. Tell me about the world out there these days! How are the locals doing, I love the little community here in the woods."

Fitzwhistle does not seem to be wearing anything exerting control over him. He has a couple of rings on each hand, but they do not appear to be a threat at a glance.

"Oooh you already said something about the outside world! Strixwell put a price on me? She wants to bring be back and learn about my expedition. Well that's great. I'll just write a letter explaining that I have to stay in the tower until I rot, and that I don't remember most of my expedition, and she'll understand. She always was a crafty one. Might try to kill me if she thinks I'm keeping a secret from her on purpose, but I'm not, so that's ok, should be ok. As long as I finish my idea first, anyway, then I can explain. Sorry, I know I talk to much. Lunch?"

"This gnome talks too much," mutters Ali quietly.

The room is now in owlbear:

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/room/5nRs1L_uFdxM/HeavyistheHeadPBP

"He doesn't remember!? It was never going to be as easy as just speaking to him, wasn't it?", Saoirse thinks as she exchanges glances with her friends. And what were they going to do to make him remember?

- Lunch will be certainly nice, thank you very much. And ... you cannot remember? Well, that certaintly complicates things, since we need to speak about your research and most surely, about the specific thing you cannot remember. What is the extent of your memory loss? Just about part of your research, or is there more? For example, we found traces of some kind of fight that happened here long ago. Do you know what it was about? And do you know who caused your memory loss, and the headaches? Who told you to rot in here? 

The blood hunter wondered if some one had placed any kind of command on Fitzwhistle. Something similar to what happened to Sebastian, but perhaps not in the shape of a collar. She took a look just in case, but he didn't seem to have anything strange on him. Could it be related to the tower itself? To this room? If Tux had insisted so much on getting him out of here, perhaps it was something related to the place itself. But what could it be?

- I'm sorry to break the news, Fitzwhistle, but Tux is dead. Murdered. His research on the Crown of Divine Right - she mentions the name again, hoping to see any sign of recongnition on the gnome, though she it seemed that the memory loss included everything related to this artifact - got him to see it was dangerous, and that his aunt musn't get her hands on it.

Hemlock listens to Fitzwhistle's story and is frankly shocked that the gnome has lived here for 20 years, and is impressed at his ability to survive. When Saoirse speaks more about Tux, and his fate, he turns away from Fitzwhistle so he cannot see, and pulls the journal a little out of his bag, and motions to Tux as if asking permission to share it.

He is otherwise happy for Saoirse to lead the conversation, feeling that she is doing a great job delving into what they need to know.

Saoirse sees Hemlock motion and nods. She was also thinkin of showing Fitzwhistle the collar, but it was better to start with the journal.

Hemlock turns to Fitzwhistle and takes the journal out properly, showing the gnome.

"This is Tux's journal, maybe something in here will jog your memory", he says.