Heavy is the Head - Campaign thread

"Only half the truth... are you one of those black moon guys? I thought your faith was wiped out in the purge decades ago. I mean whatever floats your boat - doesn't bother me none. But I do think it's a little disrespectful not to honor Gordon the way his own faith dictates, now he's dead. I know his folk want buried, rather than burned. Again, no skin off my back, none of the gods ever stopped to help folks like me and Clark and all the others. Just seems a little rude. Keep his money, and tell yourself whatever you need to to make it feel right." Eliza's respect for Sha is slipping.

There are some sounds from higher in the tower, but muffled and a few floors away. It doesn't seem like anything is moving on the next floor up. On closer inspection, all of the stonework here is perfect - too perfect to have been done with tools and hands unless there was a huge team of expert masons. The only explanation is that the stones of the walls were hewn by magical means, and that this tower was built by magical experts plying their arts for not just function, but also beauty. Saoirse is reminded that one such tower also exists in her  cloister, and that despite that fact that the ARTS guild had fallen with the true king and left, their tower was still in perfect condition. The damage to the walls, the staircase  and some of the sculpted columns, is the result of some battle fought with magic a long time ago. Likely - putting two and two together - something like 101.62 years ago. The patches are of a completely different make, though no less extraordinary. Sheets of thin metal that are perfectly shaped to mesh with the intact stone, not fastened by screws, but rather by the perfection of the fit. This work seems more recent, matching the strange metal roof, and certainly bringing artifice to mind, rather than wizardry. There is less dust than one would expect after 100 years, and a line about shoulder-wide proceeding up and around the stairs that is completely free of dust -  something just that size frequently goes up and down the stairs. There don't seem to be any noticeable traps. The next floor up seems as large as this one, from what you can tell from the first floor.

insight 18

Sha can hear the sincerity in what Eliza is saying.  “For his family then, start digging.  What about the other?  Furthermore Eliza if you see someone about to swim in acid instead of water what they want to believe won’t save them only the truth.  As for the material possessions he has no more use for them and he carried no will that I’m aware of, even his devotion would suggest it be used by the church.”

"I've rarely heard a cleric with such disregard for faith without proof. Gordon couldn't himself, but some of the priests of his faith can do magics. Doesn't that prove something? I'll grab a shovel, will you help?"

"Clark... yeah, burning him feels right. I don't want him even by the harpies, on second thought. Just let me take his amulet, and the bracelet he wears. A friend of ours gave it to him, and I hope to return it to her. And if I can take the HMC seal... you're not going to let me starve out here, are you?" (With your insight, you can tell she's telling the truth, but she's also stalling.)

“Freund Lam, halte deinen Kopf in der Schwebe, ich glaube, Eliza erwartet Gesellschaft.” -goblin

 Sha will with his Goddess granted sacred flame cremate Clark, then, “Of course I’ll dig, let’s head in and see about a shovel.”

After inspecting the ground floor for a moment, Saoirse sits next to Hemlock. Thought the battle went spectacularly good for them, she got a little hurt too and she also felt the need of a little rest. As she does this, the light that shone on her rapier disappeared, along with the power her blood had granted to the blade. 

- Ally or captive of the Strixwells? Hmmm, both could be possible. I had imagined that this Fitzwhistle Cobblepot could have got to study - or even use - the Crown of Divine Right and its power affected him badly. But perhaps there is an easier explanation: there are signs that battle happened here a long time ago. Putting two and two together, I guess that happened 101.62 years ago. Perhaps the artificer got badly injured there? And now that I think of it, 101.62 years? The True K ... I mean ... Gareth Dayne died around that time. Could that be related somehow?

As they are resting, the genasi explains what she's found out while examining the stairs:

- I had completely forgotten about the ARTS tower back at home. I guess I just didn't pay it much mind, since it was completely emtpy and I haven't delved that much in the arcane. There is a lot of metal here, by the way, similarly to the top of the tower on the outside. Guess you don't feel that comfortable with it, right, Hemlock? 

As Saoirse sits next to him and they chat, Hemlock takes out his herbalism kit and starts to harvest the herbs from his pouch.

"I am not so sure. The illusion said this place has been unstaffed for that time, which is likely when the damage happened. But the artificer fixed the damage, so surely he must have come across the tower after that?", he says with a frown. "I think we have to go into this with an open mind, it seems unclear as to who or what we will find above, if anything", he adds as he gently manipulates the herbs, adding a little water.

He looks back again into the tower. "The metal is a little alien to me, it is true. In my village we make our structures out of what nature provides, in harmony with the forest around us. A bit like in Village Tree I expect, although not on such a grand scale. Metal always feels so cold and lifeless, as does the stone to a degree. At least this place is tall, not like most places I have seen where my head brushes the roof". With this he chuckles a little, "I expect Lam feels the same".

"Were these wizards and king you speak allies before he died, and this tower was attacked?", he asks, painfully aware of how little he knows about the history of the realm he is travelling within.

Lam takes Sha’s warning very seriously and is on high alert. If Sha and Eliza attempt to enter the tower, Lam will shout, “Sha and woman are coming in,” and will only let them in if he hears some sort of ok from Hemlock and Saoirse. If he does not get that, he will only let Sha in. He does not rest- he is on alert the entire time.

- Well, we'll figure out what happened to the Artificer soon enough. And yes, ARTS wizards worked under the blessing of the king. Though I don't really know much more about them, sorry. I'm more attuned to metal than the Arcane and History, it seems - she says smiling and tapping her weapons. Her smile widens when the druid mentions he's grateful for the tall roofs of the tower.

- Sha is taking a little too long, don't you think? I hope Eliza isn't sweet talking him into letting her in. I think I'm going to go check on them.

With this, she approaches the door and frowns when she sees Eliza still around. She suggest everyone that they shouldn't linger here, and that if Gordon needs to be buried, they might as well do it later, after they have dealt with whatever is wating for them at the top of the tower. They can get his body into the tower to make sure that wild creatures do not disturb it meanwhile.

- You need to leave now, Eliza - she adds, firmly.

"We will indeed reveal what needs to be revealed with a little patience", Hemlock replies to Saoirse, seeing she is becoming agitated. "But you are right, we have rested enough".

With that he reseeds his herb pouch, packs away his herbalist kit and the new healing potion, and moves to stand behind Saoirse to see what is happening outside.

Sha-gravis moves Gordon’s body into the tower.  “Thank you for letting me know the wishes of the deceased.  I’ll bury Gordon myself, hand over the amulet bracelet and seal to Saoirse, she might let you keep them.  Good bye Eliza.”

Lam looks between Sha and Saoirse, then at Eliza. He understands what is happening. He glares daggers at Eliza and lifts his greataxe just a little to remind her that he is still holding it.

Eliza does, in fact, hand over Gordon's small amulet to Selúne, and the HMC seal (one of these things, with a simple stone hammer and the letters HMC as the image). She maintains a stubborn and indignant expression as she backs away, turning to walk away from the tower only after getting a few meters away while looking in your direction.

The door to the tower stands open, and the stairs are just on the other side. Do let me know if you want to do anything more before ascending the stairs.

When you do ascend the staircase, up into the high ceiling of the first floor, a full rotation along the inside wall of the tower, you pass up to the next floor. You find yourself in a large round room, seeming even larger than the one you just left, although the ceiling is much lower - Lam and Hemlock can both touch it when reaching a hand upwards, although there is ample space for them to stand up straight. The broad staircase along the wall ends here, and on the opposite side of the room you can see a much narrower spiral stair, built of what looks like one solid piece of smooth white stone, that climbs higher, reaching 3 yards up to the ceiling above you. You are on the inside of a bit of a wall, next to an open window. Out the window, there are still some trees reaching much higher than you are, but you are beginning to have a view to the north. There is no glass in the window, just an opening in the perfect stone. Outside of it, there is a very thin ledge, ringing the tower. You would also have seen this outside. The floor is a beautiful, polished wood, though a little dusty. The dust does not hide a clearly marked grid on the floor, breaking most of it up into squares. 

There is barely space for the four of you to stand without stepping onto the gridded area. Doing so does mean that one of you is up against the inner wall. When the first of you gets to the top of the stairs, the same see-through image of an elf woman in wizards robes that you saw on the first floor appears on the opposite side of the room. This time, the expression on her face has changed from welcoming to stern. She speaks a message, which she repeats first in Elvish, and then in Dwarven. The image does not disappear after the message, continuing to glower sternly. "Please wait to be accompanied by one of our wizards. You do not seem to be accompanied by one of our wizards, and so the evocation room will resist your passage. It is not safe to continue until you are accompanied by one of our wizards. Espere a ser acompañado por uno de nuestros magos. No pareces estar acompañado por uno de nuestros magos, por lo que la sala de evocación se resistirá a tu paso. No es seguro continuar hasta que esté acompañado por uno de nuestros magos. Vent venligst på at blive ledsaget af en af vores guider. Du ser ikke ud til at være ledsaget af en af vores troldmænd, og så vil stemningsrummet modstå din passage. Det er ikke sikkert at fortsætte, før du er ledsaget af en af vores guider."

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

Hemlock makes his way up the staircase with the others, and looks out onto the floor that appeared to have a grid laid out onto it. He listens to the illusory woman and frowns as she mentions it will be dangerous.

"Well, waiting for a wizard is not really an option. I don't like the sound of it being unsafe though", he says to the others, moving into a crouch to get a better look at the floor. He focusses and looks to see if there are any marks in the dust that would denote a safe pathway across the grid.

As he does, he tries to talk to the illusion, "Can you answer questions?".

Perception (with guidance): 15+6+3=24

With a last look towards Eliza, Saoirse proceeds upstairs with the rest. With what they've seen from the the human wizard, the fire genasi is completely sure that's not the last time they are going to see her. What stops her from turning back and follow them after a short while? Or use whatever magic she has to interfer somehow? But also knowing that there's not much they can do about it that doesn't involve outright violence, she just keeps walking.

When they get to the next floor and the image speaks to them again, and seeing that Hemlock has started to check the grid and speak to the translucent wizard, Saoirse waits to hear what the druid can learn from it. Meanwhile she checks the stairs every one in a while, paying attention to whatever sound may come from the lower floor. She almost expects Eliza to appear at any time. 

Lam does not break away from unflinching eye contact with Eliza until she has turned to walk away from the tower. Only then does he go to join his friends and ascend the tower. The whole time, he tries to watch and listen for the presence of anyone who might be above or below them. He seems ready to attack anything that should try to surprise them.

The image of an elven wizard does not react to Hemlock's question, and remains with a frozen glower on its still face.

Hemlock can see that there is a clear line through the dust, leading directly through in a straight line towards the other staircase. It is the same cleared line that proceeds up the stairs you just climbed. This line, however, was clearly not made by feet. Whatever has cleared the dust along that route created an unbroken line. Perhaps something dragged? With your keen focus, you realize that that's not quite right either. The dust on the edges of line is not built up as thoughbsomething dragged through - it is more like the flapping of wings - air pushed down and cleared this path. Very odd, and unfortunately not a clear answer to whether following the line is safe. However, you do notice some markings on three of the grid squares right in front of your group - singe marks, a hint that some magical fire or lightning acted on those squares at some point. The square directly in front of Saoirse bears no such mark.

Saoirse might have noticed the marks as well, although her focus is more on potential threats from below. The door creaks somewhat, back on the first floor. It might have just been wind... but you don't think so. There are a few footsteps, so light you can only barely hear then, and from a creature that must be an expert at sneaking and stalking. Not Eliza, you realize now that her boots had a small leather squeak to them and you are certain that you would have heard it if she had entered the first floor. 

Lam does not notice these things, as his eyes dart wildly around the room and his knuckles whiten on the shift of the axe. Concern for his friends, and his own hammering heart, leave him.unaware of the little details he's missing.

“Would it be a way around if I was to climb the wall across?” Sha asks Hemlock who seems very focused on the tiles... Sha has a nervous shiver imagining the possibility of setting off magical traps, but for the goal they are working towards he steels himself to perhaps try.

As Hemlock keeps investigating and Sha proposes climbing the wall, Saoirse keeps staring at the stairs. Someone has definitely entered. And that someone is not Eliza. Perhaps a friend of hers? A sneaky one who had also relation to the Thieve's Guild? Saoirse had a name in mind but ... could it really be? In any case, despite these thoughts, she warns her friends whispering:

- ... someone has entered the tower. Not Eliza.

She slowly draws her dagger and goes down one single step of the stairs, waiting. This way she'll wait for the newcomer and will also allow more space for the Hemlock and Sha to keep investigating for a way in.

Saoirse’s warning makes Lam’s breath catch in his throat. He watches what she does and then does his best to get around his friends without making them step on the strange tiles. He tries to get back to the top of the stairway right behind Saoirse. He is still tightly gripping his greataxe, and now his eyes are darting around wildly trying to catch the first sign of the intruder.

The room beneath you has gone completely silent. You can hear neither breathing nor footsteps. The hologram stands with a still glower. Climbing the walls does look possible - though Hemlock might notice a little soot along the inner wall. 

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