Just before they enter the fissure, once the dam is in place, Normont will dip a stick or a rock into the dark liquid and move it away from the pool. Using his clockwork fire starter he will see what happens to the liquid when it is exposed to flame.
Once his simple experiment is complete, unless there are some unusual results like it explodes, he will follow Lokilia. As they move he will help her to focus.
(OOC: Guidance for you perception if you want Lokilia)
“Ummm,” says Dev, while Normont tries to stop the flow, “I really don’t think this is a good idea. If the pool overflows, it might not just follow the stream. It could overflow anywhere. Then like, what if it gets on our feet? I don’t want to find out what that does. And what if it blocks the way to that fissure while someone is inside it?”
Normont is fairly sure he could build a dam from loose shale fairly quickly but at the rate the liquid is trickling from the fissure it would be half an hour or so before it crested over and Devs warning about it blocking off access to the fissure seems like it would happen fairly shortly after that....
When exposed to flame the liquid lets off a pungent vapour that quickly fills the overhang with choking fumes, luckily the brisk mountain air clears it out very quickly but in an enclosed space it seems it could become dangerous quite quickly.
( It seems best for the moment not to dam it but that is up to you.)
After organising themselves normont, Amber and Lokilia manage to work their way to the back of the overhang without making contact with the liquid and wedge themselves into the fissure, climbing slightly up, suspended over the trickle below. The fissure soon widens and they are able to step down onto dry ground on either side of the rivulet, it is dark here but with all of you having darkvision it is little impediment- the cave appears to be mostly flowstone and stalactites/mites but you can make out a rear wall some 30' back.
Looking to the rear the rivulet is coming through a wide crack, as you regard it you note a number of small things squirming about on the ground of the cave, it takes Lokilia a moment to realise that they are.....were....bats, but are now little more than semi-translucent bundles of filaments, eyes and strange tissues.
Looking up towards the crack you can make out a carved motif on one of the stalacmites, as if it were a carved pillar that has slowly been covered in calcite....
Lokilia cautiously moves forward towards the stalacmite with the carved motif. "What do you make of this?" she asks as she makes sure to avoid the things that were previously bats. She tries to study the patterns, seeing if it might recognize what it is. (Arcana: 5)
With blocking the trickle of liquid and setting fire to it not an option, Normont turns his attention to the fissure and follows Lokilia. As they make their way to the back of the cave, he uses his magical tinkering to make one of his tools glow brightly for five feet, and then dimly for another five.
Once he can see more clearly, he inspects the carved stalagmite closely.
When he hears Dev call Marco, and Lokilia reply, he absently calls out, "Ok so far, Dev".
Magnus will lean against he wall near the crevice waiting for the others to report back. Keeping en eye out for any of the chamois that might move in to defend the black liquid.
With blocking the trickle of liquid and setting fire to it not an option, Normont turns his attention to the fissure and follows Lokilia. As they make their way to the back of the cave, he uses his magical tinkering to make one of his tools glow brightly for five feet, and then dimly for another five.
Once he can see more clearly, he inspects the carved stalagmite closely.
When he hears Dev call Marco, and Lokilia reply, he absently calls out, "Ok so far, Dev".
Normont examines the pillar searching his memory until he recognises one of the almost covered glyphs.....it seems to denote that somewhere nearby is a nexus, portal or magical cyst aligned with The Far Realm....
"Nuts and bolts, that's not good. Not good at all", Normont exclaims as he finds and examines a glyph on the column. "You see here? This indicates some sort of portal to The Far Realm. I expect that is the source of the dark liquid".
He looks at the crack that the liquid is coming through, wondering if there was a way to track the liquid further back towards the source.
(OOC: Would Detect Magic be able to detect a portal?)
Lokilia shakes her head, "The Far Realm? That can't be good. We've got to find the portal then. Surely, this..." She waves her hand at the dark liquid. "It must come from the portal. But I'm not sure we can squeeze any further through." She then again looks at the pillar. "Normont, do you think if we chipped away the stone that we might get more clues from whatever is underneath? If it has something indicating the portal, then maybe it somehow controls it?"
”I’ll be right back,” he whispers to Quinn and Magnus, then pulls himself through the fissure to join Normont and Lokilia. He asks what they are doing, and relays their answer back to the others by scooting back through the fissure once more.
Presuming he makes it, question: would Quinn and Magnus be able to fit through?
( Detect Magic should be able to find the portal....if it is a portal...though Normont suspects there is too much stone in the way currently.)
Normont chips away more of the calcite covering the pillar and notes it seems to be a warning or marker of some kind, perhaps warning of the dangerous energies nearby. Turning their attention above the two note that the stone above is friable and they could likely widen the gap enough to climb up.....though it might risk dripping the liquid onto themselves if it is pooled above.
"If we can widen the gap, we could follow the liquid further back to the source. Probably best for someone a bit stronger to give it a try. I will go and see if Quinn will help", Normont says and scampers back down the tunnel.
Before he reaches the tunnel exit, he spots Dev, calling out to him. "Dev, do you think Quinn can come through? His strength would be useful widening the crack in the rock in the tunnel roof. Carefully of course, in case the liquid has pooled up there".
“Ummm,” says Dev, while Normont tries to stop the flow, “I really don’t think this is a good idea. If the pool overflows, it might not just follow the stream. It could overflow anywhere. Then like, what if it gets on our feet? I don’t want to find out what that does. And what if it blocks the way to that fissure while someone is inside it?”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Normont is fairly sure he could build a dam from loose shale fairly quickly but at the rate the liquid is trickling from the fissure it would be half an hour or so before it crested over and Devs warning about it blocking off access to the fissure seems like it would happen fairly shortly after that....
When exposed to flame the liquid lets off a pungent vapour that quickly fills the overhang with choking fumes, luckily the brisk mountain air clears it out very quickly but in an enclosed space it seems it could become dangerous quite quickly.
( It seems best for the moment not to dam it but that is up to you.)
After organising themselves normont, Amber and Lokilia manage to work their way to the back of the overhang without making contact with the liquid and wedge themselves into the fissure, climbing slightly up, suspended over the trickle below. The fissure soon widens and they are able to step down onto dry ground on either side of the rivulet, it is dark here but with all of you having darkvision it is little impediment- the cave appears to be mostly flowstone and stalactites/mites but you can make out a rear wall some 30' back.
Looking to the rear the rivulet is coming through a wide crack, as you regard it you note a number of small things squirming about on the ground of the cave, it takes Lokilia a moment to realise that they are.....were....bats, but are now little more than semi-translucent bundles of filaments, eyes and strange tissues.
Looking up towards the crack you can make out a carved motif on one of the stalacmites, as if it were a carved pillar that has slowly been covered in calcite....
Lokilia cautiously moves forward towards the stalacmite with the carved motif. "What do you make of this?" she asks as she makes sure to avoid the things that were previously bats. She tries to study the patterns, seeing if it might recognize what it is. (Arcana: 5)
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
(OOC: Is there a place not too far into the fissure where Dev can be within earshot of both Lokilia & Normont, and Quinn & Magnus?)
"Marco!," Dev calls into the fissure, just loudly enough to reach Lokilia & Normont.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
( Yes. You can easily see Quinn and Magnus and currently hear Lokilia and Normont moving around inside.)
Lokilia rather absently replies to Dev's call, not wanting him to be worried. "Marco."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
With blocking the trickle of liquid and setting fire to it not an option, Normont turns his attention to the fissure and follows Lokilia. As they make their way to the back of the cave, he uses his magical tinkering to make one of his tools glow brightly for five feet, and then dimly for another five.
Once he can see more clearly, he inspects the carved stalagmite closely.
When he hears Dev call Marco, and Lokilia reply, he absently calls out, "Ok so far, Dev".
Arcana (with guidance): 16+5+4=25
Magnus will lean against he wall near the crevice waiting for the others to report back. Keeping en eye out for any of the chamois that might move in to defend the black liquid.
Dev turns to Magnus and Quinn, his horns scraping against the sides of the fissure as he does so, which gives him the beginnings of a headache.
"They're ok so far!," he calls softly, before turning back to perk his ears toward Normont and Lokilia once again.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Quinn is worried for his new friends but there is nothing he can do.
Normont examines the pillar searching his memory until he recognises one of the almost covered glyphs.....it seems to denote that somewhere nearby is a nexus, portal or magical cyst aligned with The Far Realm....
"Nuts and bolts, that's not good. Not good at all", Normont exclaims as he finds and examines a glyph on the column. "You see here? This indicates some sort of portal to The Far Realm. I expect that is the source of the dark liquid".
He looks at the crack that the liquid is coming through, wondering if there was a way to track the liquid further back towards the source.
(OOC: Would Detect Magic be able to detect a portal?)
Lokilia shakes her head, "The Far Realm? That can't be good. We've got to find the portal then. Surely, this..." She waves her hand at the dark liquid. "It must come from the portal. But I'm not sure we can squeeze any further through." She then again looks at the pillar. "Normont, do you think if we chipped away the stone that we might get more clues from whatever is underneath? If it has something indicating the portal, then maybe it somehow controls it?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
“It’s worth a try”, Normont says pulling out some tinkering tools. They aren’t ideal but he tries to chip away as Lokilia suggested.
Curiosity gets the better of Dev.
”I’ll be right back,” he whispers to Quinn and Magnus, then pulls himself through the fissure to join Normont and Lokilia. He asks what they are doing, and relays their answer back to the others by scooting back through the fissure once more.
Presuming he makes it, question: would Quinn and Magnus be able to fit through?
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
( Yes)
( Detect Magic should be able to find the portal....if it is a portal...though Normont suspects there is too much stone in the way currently.)
Normont chips away more of the calcite covering the pillar and notes it seems to be a warning or marker of some kind, perhaps warning of the dangerous energies nearby. Turning their attention above the two note that the stone above is friable and they could likely widen the gap enough to climb up.....though it might risk dripping the liquid onto themselves if it is pooled above.
"If we can widen the gap, we could follow the liquid further back to the source. Probably best for someone a bit stronger to give it a try. I will go and see if Quinn will help", Normont says and scampers back down the tunnel.
Before he reaches the tunnel exit, he spots Dev, calling out to him. "Dev, do you think Quinn can come through? His strength would be useful widening the crack in the rock in the tunnel roof. Carefully of course, in case the liquid has pooled up there".
Magnus looks at Quinn, "Looks like we are going in, after you."
"Do you really think I can fit?" He says to Magnus as he scratches his head looking uncomfortable.