Zentromya begins to fly around each one and examine bruises, burns, abrasions and wounds.
"Yes, poor thing..." she says telepathically, addressing Ilwythe, but including everyone in the communication "you are the one who has suffered the most, it seems! Here, let the restorative peace of Elysium descend upon you..." and she gently lowers her trunk in a gesture that touches the barbarian, leaving a faint colored trail similar to a rainbow, while a sweet breeze seems to blow for a moment from I don't know where, carrying a fragrance of rose and rosemary...
The next moment, Ilwythe feels as good as new: there is not the slightest trace of all the ordeals he has faced up to that moment, he seems as healthy and strong as the first time you saw him - perhaps even more so.
"You too must have suffered a lot..." the little celestial creature turns to Tarysaa (always including everyone), approaching her and examining her burns "Fire always causes such a suffering..."
Once again the trunk rises and, as if in a blessing gesture, she descends slowly, leaving a faint trail of light behind her, like the tail of a comet.
Even the bite marks from the flames that remained on the elf wizard's body suddenly disappear, as if they had never existed.
"For today I can only heal one more of you..." Zentromya confesses and after some evaluations she approaches Daisy "You seem to be the one who needs my help the most!"
Even in the case of the druid it happens as for Tarysaa: a blessing of the sacred trunk is sufficient to recall the invigorating vitality of another dimension, a dimension in which pain and sorrow are banished. A feeling of peace invades the dwarf and every wound disappears without leaving a trace.
"If you are afraid that the darkness will surprise us," the miniature winged elephant finally adds, "in addition to those beautiful flags you have, which I have seen shed light when you hold them, I too can lighten the darkness a little..." and immediately the throne begins to emanate a lively yellow light "I do as you wish! I don't know much about this place, except that it is the dimension of mortals, the one from which many of the blessed souls I spoke to in Elysium come from! All I know, I know from hearsay... I had never been here, until that ambition-driven wizard, Kylth Harpell, summoned and captured me to perform experiments on me - as on everyone else, anyway. Yes, in short, what I want to tell you is that you know more about this dimension than I do! So I'll leave it up to you to decide what is best to do".
Tarysaa sighs as all her aches and pains seem to fly away on the gentle breeeze. She makes a formal bow to the fluttering elephant mite, "Lady Zentromya, many thanks to you for the healing. Azuth's and Mystra's Blessings be upon you."
Turning to her companions, "What say you all? If we peek out the front entrance, we might get a good idea as to what time we have before full darkness falls. A brisk 2 hour trek and we can be back in Longsaddle. HOWEVER, it will be coming on dusk if not full dark before we hit the town. There might be those goblin hunting parties about or other denizens of these woods that only come out at night."
(OOC: Assuming that someone peeks out the front entrance: it is the beginning of sunset - the sky is largely obscured by clouds, but on the horizon you can see the sun which is now kissing the ground and turning to a strong orange colour)
"Well, that went a lot better than I figured!"Daisy says half out of breath by the time the group gets back to the throne room. "And y'all just had to set off one more alarm before we got out of here, huh?"she adds smiling, but only half kidding.
"Thanks! I'm glad you're one of your word,"the dwarf says to the strange creature. She rolls her neck as the aches melt away.
"The hard part's over, right? Why don't we head out fresh in the morning. Seems like we have quite the walk through the woods just to get back to the road. And while I'm sure nothing can compare to what we handled down there,"she jerks a thumb toward the secret passage, "there's no point in inviting getting attacked by something."
"So, 'Mya... Do you know why you got locked up down there?"
"You mean what was the purpose of the horrible experiments Kylth Harpell was doing on me and the others down there after he summoned and imprisoned us?" the telepathic voice seems to shudder at the memories "I'm not entirely sure... He said things that didn't make too much sense to me... He wanted to 'absorb us'... No, wait... 'absorb our soul'... Or 'our mind'... Or... yes, in short, he wanted to absorb something from us. And he was convinced that once he succeeded he would become a more powerful wizard".
"Poor man..." Zentromya sighs telepathically "Like all evil people, he was the first victim... This obsession with power didn't make him listen to anyone else. Do you know how many times I tried to explain to him the evil he was doing , the errors of his ways? But he didn't listen to anything or anyone... only to that stupid ambition of his... Which is what in the end became his downfall, when he imprisoned something too powerful for his wards".
"So, a long rest and journey back to Longsaddle 'with the dawn'. Alright.
We can use some daggers or wedges of wood from broken furniture to keep the throne room main doors secured. I can do the first 4 hours, but someone will have to take the third and fourth watches of 2 hours each. " Tarysaa turns and looks around the room; tapping her lip with a finger. "Think we need to wedge the hidden door too?"
[[ PHB -> A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps or performs light activity: reading, talking, eating, or standing watch for no more than 2 hours. ]]
Tarysaa will go out and collect bits of broken furniture for potential wedges (the room with the old beds we fought in before) as well as some for a potential small fire if anyone wishes to cook their food or boil water. She can Prestidigitation a small campfire easily enough in a corner that will not catch anything on fire nor make enough smoke to be a problem.
"Anyone need a ration before settling down? Perhaps our new furry friend?"
Once the doors are secured, she will pick a spot that allows her to watch both the main doors and the hidden door. Perhaps she can telepathically talk to Lady Zentromya (without Zentromya transmitting to everyone... so they can sleep!)
"Thank you, Tarysaa!" Zentromya is delighted "You're really kind" and begins to nibble on some food. "You are really different from Kylth Harpell! You seem to see your study of magic more as a path of personal growth than a frantic race towards power... and you have enough wisdom to commit yourself to conventional ways, to long hours of study, rather rather than looking for dangerous and inconvenient shortcuts".
The little creature willingly keeps watch together with the elf wizard - she even offers to take a guard shift herself, if necessary. While with Tarysaa, she willingly agrees to chat telepathically with only her.
When the party settles to rest, Nim pops the glaive held by his mage hand down in the corner of the room and looks over it carefully. He decides that the feeling it gives him from just looking at it is enough to take away his desire to touch it.
”Would anybody know anything about ancient weaponry? Or perhaps magic and curses?”
Clas rode Thunderhoof through the cold and wintery landscape, his breath forming small puffs of mist in the frigid air. Sharnshield Manor loomed in the distance, a welcoming sight after a long journey. He knew the importance of delivering this message promptly to Thia and her mistress, Martha.
As he approached the manor, he guided Thunderhoof toward the stables, dismounted, and patted the horse's flank. "Well done, my friend," he murmured to the loyal steed before handing the reins to a waiting stable hand.
With a confident stride, Clas made his way inside the manor, brushing snowflakes from his cloak. He sought out a servant and, with the air of someone accustomed to certain privileges, delivered his message. "I need to speak with Thia: and inform Mistress Martha that the adventuring company has found what she sent us to recover. We'll arrive no later than tomorrow."
He didn't wait for a response, assuming that his instructions would be carried out promptly. Instead, he continued, "Have Thunderhoof stabled and groomed. Draw a bath for me, make the bed, and see to it that a warm meal is prepared. It's been a long journey, and I intend to rest well tonight."
Clas's confidence and the way he carried himself made it clear that he expected these requests to be fulfilled smoothly.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Never underestimate the power of a finely crafted barrel, my friend! It is both a vessel of strength and a symbol of resilience.
Tarysaa turns to Nimblestep, "If it was an item or weapon of power, I might have seen or heard about it, however, I doubt that is the case here. Sadly, if I were to try to use an Identify ritual on it, I would have to touch it," she visibly shivers at the thought, "and there is no telling what it might do to me or I to you all if it overcame my defenses.
You might have to mage hand it to Longsaddle and hope some high level academic or magic researcher can help you out.
Clas rode Thunderhoof through the cold and wintery landscape, his breath forming small puffs of mist in the frigid air. Sharnshield Manor loomed in the distance, a welcoming sight after a long journey. He knew the importance of delivering this message promptly to Thia and her mistress, Martha.
As he approached the manor, he guided Thunderhoof toward the stables, dismounted, and patted the horse's flank. "Well done, my friend," he murmured to the loyal steed before handing the reins to a waiting stable hand.
With a confident stride, Clas made his way inside the manor, brushing snowflakes from his cloak. He sought out a servant and, with the air of someone accustomed to certain privileges, delivered his message. "I need to speak with Thia: and inform Mistress Martha that the adventuring company has found what she sent us to recover. We'll arrive no later than tomorrow."
He didn't wait for a response, assuming that his instructions would be carried out promptly. Instead, he continued, "Have Thunderhoof stabled and groomed. Draw a bath for me, make the bed, and see to it that a warm meal is prepared. It's been a long journey, and I intend to rest well tonight."
Clas's confidence and the way he carried himself made it clear that he expected these requests to be fulfilled smoothly.
Clas arrives at Sharnshield Mansion without incident or bad encounters. However, he does not need to send for Thia, the little half-elf girl with braids who is Martha Sharnshield's personal servant - she runs to meet him in the courtyard as soon as he dismounts from his horse.
"Clas!" she smiles, remembering without hesitation the name of the exuberant adventurer - in an instant she is in front of him, looking at him with eyes wide with expectation "You're back! So you've done it! You've found what my lady needed, right? What is it? Where is it? Let me see!"
Then, a little worried at realizing that it's only him: "And where are the others? Aren't they...?" and she swallows, avoiding completing the sentence with the word she didn't dare say: 'dead'.
Zentromya confesses to Nim: "I have good powers when it comes to healing or defense, Nimblestep, but I am unable to identify objects. But the prisoner down there said it was his... so it must be a weapon that it comes from some completely evil dimension. I think it would be better to destroy it... I don't think it will do anyone any good, either if it is kept or if it is sold".
...Absolutely nothing happens. After all, what could have happened? You have explored practically every corner of the dungeon, eradicating every threat...
If no one feels like standing guard after Tarysaa, Zentromya takes charge, keeping an eye on you with a grateful and loving gaze as you rest. Could also be this the reason no one comes to disturb you? Anyway, morning comes...
(OOC: But if anyone wants to do something during the night - even just conversation - go ahead, post. If not, we role-play waking up in the morning)
If its only sunset when we settle in that gives us more like 10-12 hrs before sunup, depending on time of year.
Ardana will take a 2 hr shift on watch, and will engage Zentromya in a discussion about the spark of good in everyone, and what that means in a violent world.
(OOC: I don't see a need to role-play that conversation but can if you want)
Zentromya fully agrees with Ardana's idea that there is a spark of good in everyone and after talking about it for a long time, she thinks again of the wizard who had evoked and imprisoned her: "Think for example about Kylth Harpell... Do you believe he was a monster? A demon? A devil? I don't think so... He too must have been born from the love of his parents... He too must have had friends... He too must have loved women... he must have thought, even just for a moment, to form a family himself... He was just deceived".
"Evil is the greatest deception of all" the celestial turns philosophical. "It takes you away from the treasures you already have, promising you futile and ephemeral things in exchange, things which might blind you - but are in fact worth much less of what you have. And often, evil ends up not even giving them to you. Truth is, evil despises you - and despises you so deeply, that it does not consider you worthy even of the worthless rubbish it promises you! Has Kylth perhaps got the power he so desired? No, he simply saw all that he had built suddenly collapse - and he had built it by sacrificing everything else, everything that would have been truly important in his life. He could have redeemed himself, perhaps, changed his path... Every single moment is the right one, to redeem yourself".
"But evil is subtle" warns the winged miniature she-elephant. "In addition to deceiving you, it isolates you. Kylth, secluded here, was a prisoner of his ambition no less than we were prisoners of his wards. Here, he could not meet anyone to show him a new way. I tried, but he didn't listen to me. And it ended as it ended".
"This is why it is so precious,"Zentromya gets excited "the spark of good, in a violent world; because it is a light, a signal, a flag. It indicates a different way. It gives an example. It gives hope".
"For Kylth, it is too late to redeem him, he is where justice and the fates have brought him. But the temptation this prison would provide, with the captive devils. Is it better to bury it now, using the tools we have at our disposal, or to tell Kylth's kin about this place, and risk another Klyth using the tools here for evil?"
"If the sun still shines I think we can make the journey now. Ilwythe do you want some healing first, you look worst off?"
Zentromya begins to fly around each one and examine bruises, burns, abrasions and wounds.
"Yes, poor thing..." she says telepathically, addressing Ilwythe, but including everyone in the communication "you are the one who has suffered the most, it seems! Here, let the restorative peace of Elysium descend upon you..." and she gently lowers her trunk in a gesture that touches the barbarian, leaving a faint colored trail similar to a rainbow, while a sweet breeze seems to blow for a moment from I don't know where, carrying a fragrance of rose and rosemary...
The next moment, Ilwythe feels as good as new: there is not the slightest trace of all the ordeals he has faced up to that moment, he seems as healthy and strong as the first time you saw him - perhaps even more so.
"You too must have suffered a lot..." the little celestial creature turns to Tarysaa (always including everyone), approaching her and examining her burns "Fire always causes such a suffering..."
Once again the trunk rises and, as if in a blessing gesture, she descends slowly, leaving a faint trail of light behind her, like the tail of a comet.
Even the bite marks from the flames that remained on the elf wizard's body suddenly disappear, as if they had never existed.
"For today I can only heal one more of you..." Zentromya confesses and after some evaluations she approaches Daisy "You seem to be the one who needs my help the most!"
Even in the case of the druid it happens as for Tarysaa: a blessing of the sacred trunk is sufficient to recall the invigorating vitality of another dimension, a dimension in which pain and sorrow are banished. A feeling of peace invades the dwarf and every wound disappears without leaving a trace.
"If you are afraid that the darkness will surprise us," the miniature winged elephant finally adds, "in addition to those beautiful flags you have, which I have seen shed light when you hold them, I too can lighten the darkness a little..." and immediately the throne begins to emanate a lively yellow light "I do as you wish! I don't know much about this place, except that it is the dimension of mortals, the one from which many of the blessed souls I spoke to in Elysium come from! All I know, I know from hearsay... I had never been here, until that ambition-driven wizard, Kylth Harpell, summoned and captured me to perform experiments on me - as on everyone else, anyway. Yes, in short, what I want to tell you is that you know more about this dimension than I do! So I'll leave it up to you to decide what is best to do".
Tarysaa sighs as all her aches and pains seem to fly away on the gentle breeeze. She makes a formal bow to the fluttering elephant mite, "Lady Zentromya, many thanks to you for the healing. Azuth's and Mystra's Blessings be upon you."
Turning to her companions, "What say you all? If we peek out the front entrance, we might get a good idea as to what time we have before full darkness falls. A brisk 2 hour trek and we can be back in Longsaddle. HOWEVER, it will be coming on dusk if not full dark before we hit the town. There might be those goblin hunting parties about or other denizens of these woods that only come out at night."
"Again, I ask, what think you all?"
(OOC: Assuming that someone peeks out the front entrance: it is the beginning of sunset - the sky is largely obscured by clouds, but on the horizon you can see the sun which is now kissing the ground and turning to a strong orange colour)
"Well, that went a lot better than I figured!" Daisy says half out of breath by the time the group gets back to the throne room. "And y'all just had to set off one more alarm before we got out of here, huh?" she adds smiling, but only half kidding.
"Thanks! I'm glad you're one of your word," the dwarf says to the strange creature. She rolls her neck as the aches melt away.
"The hard part's over, right? Why don't we head out fresh in the morning. Seems like we have quite the walk through the woods just to get back to the road. And while I'm sure nothing can compare to what we handled down there," she jerks a thumb toward the secret passage, "there's no point in inviting getting attacked by something."
"So, 'Mya... Do you know why you got locked up down there?"
"You mean what was the purpose of the horrible experiments Kylth Harpell was doing on me and the others down there after he summoned and imprisoned us?" the telepathic voice seems to shudder at the memories "I'm not entirely sure... He said things that didn't make too much sense to me... He wanted to 'absorb us'... No, wait... 'absorb our soul'... Or 'our mind'... Or... yes, in short, he wanted to absorb something from us. And he was convinced that once he succeeded he would become a more powerful wizard".
"Poor man..." Zentromya sighs telepathically "Like all evil people, he was the first victim... This obsession with power didn't make him listen to anyone else. Do you know how many times I tried to explain to him the evil he was doing , the errors of his ways? But he didn't listen to anything or anyone... only to that stupid ambition of his... Which is what in the end became his downfall, when he imprisoned something too powerful for his wards".
"So, a long rest and journey back to Longsaddle 'with the dawn'. Alright.
We can use some daggers or wedges of wood from broken furniture to keep the throne room main doors secured. I can do the first 4 hours, but someone will have to take the third and fourth watches of 2 hours each. " Tarysaa turns and looks around the room; tapping her lip with a finger. "Think we need to wedge the hidden door too?"
[[ PHB -> A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps or performs light activity: reading, talking, eating, or standing watch for no more than 2 hours. ]]
Tarysaa will go out and collect bits of broken furniture for potential wedges (the room with the old beds we fought in before) as well as some for a potential small fire if anyone wishes to cook their food or boil water. She can Prestidigitation a small campfire easily enough in a corner that will not catch anything on fire nor make enough smoke to be a problem.
"Anyone need a ration before settling down? Perhaps our new furry friend?"
Once the doors are secured, she will pick a spot that allows her to watch both the main doors and the hidden door. Perhaps she can telepathically talk to Lady Zentromya (without Zentromya transmitting to everyone... so they can sleep!)
"Thank you, Tarysaa!" Zentromya is delighted "You're really kind" and begins to nibble on some food. "You are really different from Kylth Harpell! You seem to see your study of magic more as a path of personal growth than a frantic race towards power... and you have enough wisdom to commit yourself to conventional ways, to long hours of study, rather rather than looking for dangerous and inconvenient shortcuts".
The little creature willingly keeps watch together with the elf wizard - she even offers to take a guard shift herself, if necessary. While with Tarysaa, she willingly agrees to chat telepathically with only her.
When the party settles to rest, Nim pops the glaive held by his mage hand down in the corner of the room and looks over it carefully. He decides that the feeling it gives him from just looking at it is enough to take away his desire to touch it.
”Would anybody know anything about ancient weaponry? Or perhaps magic and curses?”
Clas rode Thunderhoof through the cold and wintery landscape, his breath forming small puffs of mist in the frigid air. Sharnshield Manor loomed in the distance, a welcoming sight after a long journey. He knew the importance of delivering this message promptly to Thia and her mistress, Martha.
As he approached the manor, he guided Thunderhoof toward the stables, dismounted, and patted the horse's flank. "Well done, my friend," he murmured to the loyal steed before handing the reins to a waiting stable hand.
With a confident stride, Clas made his way inside the manor, brushing snowflakes from his cloak. He sought out a servant and, with the air of someone accustomed to certain privileges, delivered his message. "I need to speak with Thia: and inform Mistress Martha that the adventuring company has found what she sent us to recover. We'll arrive no later than tomorrow."
He didn't wait for a response, assuming that his instructions would be carried out promptly. Instead, he continued, "Have Thunderhoof stabled and groomed. Draw a bath for me, make the bed, and see to it that a warm meal is prepared. It's been a long journey, and I intend to rest well tonight."
Clas's confidence and the way he carried himself made it clear that he expected these requests to be fulfilled smoothly.
Never underestimate the power of a finely crafted barrel, my friend! It is both a vessel of strength and a symbol of resilience.
Tarysaa turns to Nimblestep, "If it was an item or weapon of power, I might have seen or heard about it, however, I doubt that is the case here. Sadly, if I were to try to use an Identify ritual on it, I would have to touch it, " she visibly shivers at the thought, "and there is no telling what it might do to me or I to you all if it overcame my defenses.
You might have to mage hand it to Longsaddle and hope some high level academic or magic researcher can help you out.
Nim, do you think Clas will be back tonight?"
(( Once Tarysaa's watch shift is done, she will spend the other 4 hours in a meditative trance to rejuvinate her body, mind, (( and spell slots)). ))
Let's see if Clas' journey goes as expected...
18 6
At the Sharnshield Mansion
Clas arrives at Sharnshield Mansion without incident or bad encounters. However, he does not need to send for Thia, the little half-elf girl with braids who is Martha Sharnshield's personal servant - she runs to meet him in the courtyard as soon as he dismounts from his horse.
"Clas!" she smiles, remembering without hesitation the name of the exuberant adventurer - in an instant she is in front of him, looking at him with eyes wide with expectation "You're back! So you've done it! You've found what my lady needed, right? What is it? Where is it? Let me see!"
Then, a little worried at realizing that it's only him: "And where are the others? Aren't they...?" and she swallows, avoiding completing the sentence with the word she didn't dare say: 'dead'.
In the dungeon
Zentromya confesses to Nim: "I have good powers when it comes to healing or defense, Nimblestep, but I am unable to identify objects. But the prisoner down there said it was his... so it must be a weapon that it comes from some completely evil dimension. I think it would be better to destroy it... I don't think it will do anyone any good, either if it is kept or if it is sold".
And during the night...
11 9 1 19
15 10 20 11
In the dungeon
...Absolutely nothing happens. After all, what could have happened? You have explored practically every corner of the dungeon, eradicating every threat...
If no one feels like standing guard after Tarysaa, Zentromya takes charge, keeping an eye on you with a grateful and loving gaze as you rest. Could also be this the reason no one comes to disturb you? Anyway, morning comes...
(OOC: But if anyone wants to do something during the night - even just conversation - go ahead, post. If not, we role-play waking up in the morning)
If its only sunset when we settle in that gives us more like 10-12 hrs before sunup, depending on time of year.
Ardana will take a 2 hr shift on watch, and will engage Zentromya in a discussion about the spark of good in everyone, and what that means in a violent world.
(OOC: I don't see a need to role-play that conversation but can if you want)
In the dungeon
Zentromya fully agrees with Ardana's idea that there is a spark of good in everyone and after talking about it for a long time, she thinks again of the wizard who had evoked and imprisoned her: "Think for example about Kylth Harpell... Do you believe he was a monster? A demon? A devil? I don't think so... He too must have been born from the love of his parents... He too must have had friends... He too must have loved women... he must have thought, even just for a moment, to form a family himself... He was just deceived".
"Evil is the greatest deception of all" the celestial turns philosophical. "It takes you away from the treasures you already have, promising you futile and ephemeral things in exchange, things which might blind you - but are in fact worth much less of what you have. And often, evil ends up not even giving them to you. Truth is, evil despises you - and despises you so deeply, that it does not consider you worthy even of the worthless rubbish it promises you! Has Kylth perhaps got the power he so desired? No, he simply saw all that he had built suddenly collapse - and he had built it by sacrificing everything else, everything that would have been truly important in his life. He could have redeemed himself, perhaps, changed his path... Every single moment is the right one, to redeem yourself".
"But evil is subtle" warns the winged miniature she-elephant. "In addition to deceiving you, it isolates you. Kylth, secluded here, was a prisoner of his ambition no less than we were prisoners of his wards. Here, he could not meet anyone to show him a new way. I tried, but he didn't listen to me. And it ended as it ended".
"This is why it is so precious," Zentromya gets excited "the spark of good, in a violent world; because it is a light, a signal, a flag. It indicates a different way. It gives an example. It gives hope".
"For Kylth, it is too late to redeem him, he is where justice and the fates have brought him. But the temptation this prison would provide, with the captive devils. Is it better to bury it now, using the tools we have at our disposal, or to tell Kylth's kin about this place, and risk another Klyth using the tools here for evil?"