Veldruk reflected upon Eveleny’s suggestion. Going by everything they found and fought to that point he had the inkling that moving into the marked area and confronting Auntie were all but inevitable. If the words of their dead prisoner held any truth, a demon prince intended to devour everything very soon. A battle that would arrive for everyone.
“We found two particularly strong enemies, the ogre and the crowned gnoll, and both of them were sure Auntie is the most dangerous thing on these parts.” He said with the right hand on his chin. “It would be better to gather allies, go there ready for a hard battle. And we should look on your condition.” His eyes moved from the wizard to the bard, then turned to Ruthmum. “You know this area better than any of us. Any unmapped towns around here where we could gather support?”
Rethmar or Channathgate are the closest cities, but the efforts to revitalize the south gave birth many other communities, still to be marked in any chart. If not coin they should at least have resources to make more incendiary bombs and arms to throw them. Anything to trim the enemy horde made for a welcoming addition. The warlock thought about the gnolls and remembered the altar – things to focus on.
"I agree with visiting somewhere that we can stock up. With luck they may have an alchemist with something flammable or corrosive we can use. Perhaps something to induce sleep or unconsciousness; anything to thin the herd so to speak."
Ruthmum strokes his scruffy, greying chin. "Sure, there're towns about, but I en't been t' any of 'em. Stayed 'round me own town 'til the dogs ran through. I'd reckon tha' a map like that might be markin' one of 'em, or otherwise it's a real poor treasure map. It was found with the scraps o' all the people the gnoll had et, so mighta belonged to one o' them. The dogs dinnae strike me as the mapmakin' types."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
“Provided no one opposes it, please guide us to the closest one.” Veldruk spoke with his usual politeness, not a trace of the cold and sadistic persona he showed before the crowned gnoll. He give a moment to the any dissenting voice speak, then turned to Threl. “We’ll need to stay hooded as we approach. Wait for the others to vouch for us before openly showing our heritage.” A fact he suspected the bard knew well enough, but after the interrogation the warlock was overly conscious of the fact that there were significant differences on their common sense. Last thing their fight against Yeenoghu needed was unnecessary enmity. “Evelyn, if it’s alright with you I would like your help to investigate the altar these creatures made. We may find more evidence there. Some clue about their magic.”
In fact she would be the one doing the investigating. His knowledge, in general, was almost entirely practical. That was specially true when dealing with the arcane. At best he could help examining the physical structure of the altar. Of course, to say as much would be dangerously close to giving an order. Worse yet, one far from pleasurable. The kind of thing he needed to avoid, all the more after his performance. He needed distance himself from the behavior expected from his kind.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Evelyn nods at Veldruk. "Let me take a closer look," she says. Then she approaches the strange altar built by the gnolls. It's unlike anything she's seen before, but perhaps it reminds her of something she's seen in her studies.
Evelyn notices several things. For starters, a lot of blood. An inadvisable amount of blood, to be quite frank. Definitely more blood than can be contained within a single creature, or even several. It crusts the floor, peels off the edge of the altar, gathers in stinking, half-congealed puddles around the cave. Within that blood, however... something sparkles. Evelyn has to get unfortunately close to inspect it, forced to pinch her nose to keep the smell out, but after a few seconds of inspection she understands just what this is. She's seen this used as an example spell component dozens of times. It's powdered iron!
She does not understand all of the sigils around, seeing as some are far more fiendish than others, but she recognizes a few, notably some which are written in dwarven script. Permanence. Earth-signs. Transmutation sigils. She can estimate that whatever happened here, it was an attempt to make some sort of spell effect permanent.
Evelyn knows of the following spells which use iron filings or powder:
Evelyn grimaces at all of the blood. The smell is atrocious. She notices strange flecks in the blood, which upon closer inspection she realizes is powdered iron, a spell component used in several different spells. After inspecting the altar, she returns to the others and shares her suspicions.
"I think they were trying to make a spell effect permanent," she says. "I'm not sure which spell though. It could be any spell that uses powdered iron as a component." She lists the above spells as examples.
"My guess is they were trying to permanently enlarge that Crowned Gnoll, make it bigger and stronger. At least, that fits with these brutes ideology. As for finding help in the towns" He says, turning to his fellow dark elf "I think it would be wise to gather more strength, though based on our previous interactions with the dogs, I think we should warn people their is a good chance they won't survive. It's the right thing to do. As for hiding our heritage..." He trails off, his face a mask of roiling emotion. He seems to want to say more, but doesn't. He sighs, then walks off, investigating some other random thing in the cave.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hi, I'm Raccoon_Master, a young genderfluid actor, writer, explorer, and bass vocalist. Pronouns They/Them/Theirs
My Characters:Brorminthe Devout Crusher; Ellorathe Romantic Rookie
“Very well” Threlsays, resigned. He walks over to the chest, and half-heartedly starts helping Olan with the lock, handing him picks, holding it steady, and using a couple of Dancing Lights to help him see the lock better in the dim cave.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hi, I'm Raccoon_Master, a young genderfluid actor, writer, explorer, and bass vocalist. Pronouns They/Them/Theirs
My Characters:Brorminthe Devout Crusher; Ellorathe Romantic Rookie
“Either way,” he says after Threl, “it would be good to destroy the altar and the sigils. There’s always a chance our enemies come back here after we leave and we don’t want to make any of their work easier.”
The warlock could not help but write the reaction of the bard as pride. Their kind was taught from early age that they were superior and that hiding was for combat, after all. Another difference in our common senses, he said with the voice of his mind, nodding to Olan. As the rogue worked on the locked chest Veldruk start to reflect on their history, their warning.
“Maybe we should something from the gnolls – fangs or ears, an entire head.” His voice sounded weary and carried no pleasure. “Proof that we met them, that even if we are strangers to the townsfolk we are not lying.”
The drow then started looking for the sigils, in hope to scrap them with his magic blade. He was no strange to the smells of blood and death but even then he found the monument to demon prince nauseating. Worshipping the ***** is just as abhorrent, he admitted bitterly. The Way of Lolth hided behind masks of refinement and beauty, but was just a vile and the savagery of the hyenas.
Notes: Besides his suggestions Veldruk is just waiting to see what's on the box chest.
The lock on the chest pops open, and Olan sees the following within:
Another vial of bluish ink. Since the DM forgot that a wizard in the party, the DM also forgot to describe earlier that Evelyn can easily identify this and the other vial as magical ink, used for scribing scrolls and writing spells into spellbooks. Both of these are worth 100 GP, for a total of 200 GP, or four spell levels, in magical ink.
A small pouch of coins, containing 10 platinum coins and 45 gold coins.
A strange token of curled, twisted iron, similar to the stuff the necklace and crown are made of. At the right angle, the twisted metal almost looks like a screaming face.
Threl peers over Olan's shoulder into the chest, and takes notice of the iron token. Carefully using a conjured Mage Hand, he lifts the metal item out of the box and sets it on the ground. Calling Evelyn, the parties resident scholar over, he says "What could this be? Do we think it's magical?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hi, I'm Raccoon_Master, a young genderfluid actor, writer, explorer, and bass vocalist. Pronouns They/Them/Theirs
My Characters:Brorminthe Devout Crusher; Ellorathe Romantic Rookie
Olan passes the ink to Evelyn, along with the one found earlier. "These may be magical, in which case they'll be of more use to you than me."
Counting out the coins Olan grins; "Platinum! Now that's something to brighten the day! Let me see; 10 platinum is 100 gold, so that's 145 gold, between the 4 of us, so that's.....
equivalent of 36 gold each, with one to split. Who wants platinum, and who wants gold!"
((Sorry for disappearing guys, I was going through some stuff.))
Evelyn grimaces at the sight of the twisted metal object. It is certainly creepy enough. She takes a look at both the object to see if she can discern what it might be for, and examines the sigils as well to see if there is a safe way to deactivate them.
Evelyn traces along the symbols, and while she does not fully understand this dialect of the language of magic, she can identify enough cognates to separate it out into subject, conjunction, verbs of power and modifying adjectives, pronouns, et cetera, et cetera. She manages to trace much of the runework back to a single space, where the object of this vast sentence seems to be taken up by a phrase that she cannot translate, but recognizes quite well, as her spellbook is full of ones like it. A stipulative-objective proxy clause. An extensive phrase used in long-form spellwork, which essentially allows one to choose the target of a spell by specifically describing or naming them while casting. That description will then be transferred and redefined through the proxy clause in short form throughout the spell, dramatically cutting down the amount of ink used.
Having identified the proxy clause, Evelyn knows that any modification to these few runes will echo throughout the spell. Furthermore, since the proxy clause is itself already an act of translation, she can use her own Halruaan spell-dialect to modify it. With a single scratch of the knife, Evelyn transforms the phrase that might roughly translate to "anything and everything placed upon this altar" into "this altar," and stands back. She flicks a spark of magical energy into the runes, and watch as they light up. The amount she has put in, roughly equal to what is required to activate a cantrip, is not nearly enough to activate this spell effect, but that's not what she's aiming for. A partial activation of an enlargement spell is rarely a good idea, as a lack of proportionality in the transformation may lead to damage in the object. This is one of those rare moments.
Everyone watches as the altar bulges slightly, bubbling up like rising dough, cracking and crumbling as only a fraction of it enlarges itself, crushing the unenlarged bits to dust. In an instant, every rune is shattered, and the altar goes dormant.
(Having studied and identified the spell, Evelyn may also scribe the enlarge/reduce spell into her book when she has the time and material, as she is able to quickly note down the runes used.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Veldruk reflected upon Eveleny’s suggestion. Going by everything they found and fought to that point he had the inkling that moving into the marked area and confronting Auntie were all but inevitable. If the words of their dead prisoner held any truth, a demon prince intended to devour everything very soon. A battle that would arrive for everyone.
“We found two particularly strong enemies, the ogre and the crowned gnoll, and both of them were sure Auntie is the most dangerous thing on these parts.” He said with the right hand on his chin. “It would be better to gather allies, go there ready for a hard battle. And we should look on your condition.” His eyes moved from the wizard to the bard, then turned to Ruthmum. “You know this area better than any of us. Any unmapped towns around here where we could gather support?”
Rethmar or Channathgate are the closest cities, but the efforts to revitalize the south gave birth many other communities, still to be marked in any chart. If not coin they should at least have resources to make more incendiary bombs and arms to throw them. Anything to trim the enemy horde made for a welcoming addition. The warlock thought about the gnolls and remembered the altar – things to focus on.
"I agree with visiting somewhere that we can stock up. With luck they may have an alchemist with something flammable or corrosive we can use. Perhaps something to induce sleep or unconsciousness; anything to thin the herd so to speak."
Nyli Bemblade - Gnome Arcane Trickster
Portia Thornleaf - Halfling Rogue
Ruthmum strokes his scruffy, greying chin. "Sure, there're towns about, but I en't been t' any of 'em. Stayed 'round me own town 'til the dogs ran through. I'd reckon tha' a map like that might be markin' one of 'em, or otherwise it's a real poor treasure map. It was found with the scraps o' all the people the gnoll had et, so mighta belonged to one o' them. The dogs dinnae strike me as the mapmakin' types."
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
“Provided no one opposes it, please guide us to the closest one.” Veldruk spoke with his usual politeness, not a trace of the cold and sadistic persona he showed before the crowned gnoll. He give a moment to the any dissenting voice speak, then turned to Threl. “We’ll need to stay hooded as we approach. Wait for the others to vouch for us before openly showing our heritage.” A fact he suspected the bard knew well enough, but after the interrogation the warlock was overly conscious of the fact that there were significant differences on their common sense. Last thing their fight against Yeenoghu needed was unnecessary enmity. “Evelyn, if it’s alright with you I would like your help to investigate the altar these creatures made. We may find more evidence there. Some clue about their magic.”
In fact she would be the one doing the investigating. His knowledge, in general, was almost entirely practical. That was specially true when dealing with the arcane. At best he could help examining the physical structure of the altar. Of course, to say as much would be dangerously close to giving an order. Worse yet, one far from pleasurable. The kind of thing he needed to avoid, all the more after his performance. He needed distance himself from the behavior expected from his kind.
Evelyn nods at Veldruk. "Let me take a closer look," she says. Then she approaches the strange altar built by the gnolls. It's unlike anything she's seen before, but perhaps it reminds her of something she's seen in her studies.
Arcana - 10
Religion - 10
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
Evelyn notices several things. For starters, a lot of blood. An inadvisable amount of blood, to be quite frank. Definitely more blood than can be contained within a single creature, or even several. It crusts the floor, peels off the edge of the altar, gathers in stinking, half-congealed puddles around the cave. Within that blood, however... something sparkles. Evelyn has to get unfortunately close to inspect it, forced to pinch her nose to keep the smell out, but after a few seconds of inspection she understands just what this is. She's seen this used as an example spell component dozens of times. It's powdered iron!
She does not understand all of the sigils around, seeing as some are far more fiendish than others, but she recognizes a few, notably some which are written in dwarven script. Permanence. Earth-signs. Transmutation sigils. She can estimate that whatever happened here, it was an attempt to make some sort of spell effect permanent.
Evelyn knows of the following spells which use iron filings or powder:
Antimagic Field, Enlarge/Reduce, Flaming Sphere, and Reverse Gravity. She also knows that Dispel Evil and Good, Magic Circle, and Protection from Evil and Good require it, but they also make use of silver powder, which she sees none of. However, those spells often consume their ingredients.
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Evelyn grimaces at all of the blood. The smell is atrocious. She notices strange flecks in the blood, which upon closer inspection she realizes is powdered iron, a spell component used in several different spells. After inspecting the altar, she returns to the others and shares her suspicions.
"I think they were trying to make a spell effect permanent," she says. "I'm not sure which spell though. It could be any spell that uses powdered iron as a component." She lists the above spells as examples.
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
"My guess is they were trying to permanently enlarge that Crowned Gnoll, make it bigger and stronger. At least, that fits with these brutes ideology. As for finding help in the towns" He says, turning to his fellow dark elf "I think it would be wise to gather more strength, though based on our previous interactions with the dogs, I think we should warn people their is a good chance they won't survive. It's the right thing to do. As for hiding our heritage..." He trails off, his face a mask of roiling emotion. He seems to want to say more, but doesn't. He sighs, then walks off, investigating some other random thing in the cave.
Hi, I'm Raccoon_Master, a young genderfluid actor, writer, explorer, and bass vocalist. Pronouns They/Them/Theirs
My Characters: Brormin the Devout Crusher; Ellora the Romantic Rookie
Check out my EXTENDED SIGNATUR (hasn't been updated in forever, fyi) and don’t forget to join the Anything but the OGL 2.0 Thread!
"I don't make sense to you, and I don't make sense to myself. Maybe the only one I make sense to is God" ~ Me, trying to sound smart
(So, gang. What's the plan? Anything else you guys are taking from the place? Reminder that there's still a locked chest.)
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Olan returns to the cave and tries to pick the lock 16 (14+2)*
"We can try the towns, and at least warn them. Evelyn and I can go in first to gauge the mood of a place."
*Dex + proficiency. Also it looks like rolls aren't being saved in the game log.
Nyli Bemblade - Gnome Arcane Trickster
Portia Thornleaf - Halfling Rogue
“Very well” Threl says, resigned. He walks over to the chest, and half-heartedly starts helping Olan with the lock, handing him picks, holding it steady, and using a couple of Dancing Lights to help him see the lock better in the dim cave.
Hi, I'm Raccoon_Master, a young genderfluid actor, writer, explorer, and bass vocalist. Pronouns They/Them/Theirs
My Characters: Brormin the Devout Crusher; Ellora the Romantic Rookie
Check out my EXTENDED SIGNATUR (hasn't been updated in forever, fyi) and don’t forget to join the Anything but the OGL 2.0 Thread!
"I don't make sense to you, and I don't make sense to myself. Maybe the only one I make sense to is God" ~ Me, trying to sound smart
“Either way,” he says after Threl, “it would be good to destroy the altar and the sigils. There’s always a chance our enemies come back here after we leave and we don’t want to make any of their work easier.”
The warlock could not help but write the reaction of the bard as pride. Their kind was taught from early age that they were superior and that hiding was for combat, after all. Another difference in our common senses, he said with the voice of his mind, nodding to Olan. As the rogue worked on the locked chest Veldruk start to reflect on their history, their warning.
“Maybe we should something from the gnolls – fangs or ears, an entire head.” His voice sounded weary and carried no pleasure. “Proof that we met them, that even if we are strangers to the townsfolk we are not lying.”
The drow then started looking for the sigils, in hope to scrap them with his magic blade. He was no strange to the smells of blood and death but even then he found the monument to demon prince nauseating. Worshipping the ***** is just as abhorrent, he admitted bitterly. The Way of Lolth hided behind masks of refinement and beauty, but was just a vile and the savagery of the hyenas.
Notes: Besides his suggestions Veldruk is just waiting to see what's on the
boxchest.The lock on the chest pops open, and Olan sees the following within:
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Threl peers over Olan's shoulder into the chest, and takes notice of the iron token. Carefully using a conjured Mage Hand, he lifts the metal item out of the box and sets it on the ground. Calling Evelyn, the parties resident scholar over, he says "What could this be? Do we think it's magical?"
Hi, I'm Raccoon_Master, a young genderfluid actor, writer, explorer, and bass vocalist. Pronouns They/Them/Theirs
My Characters: Brormin the Devout Crusher; Ellora the Romantic Rookie
Check out my EXTENDED SIGNATUR (hasn't been updated in forever, fyi) and don’t forget to join the Anything but the OGL 2.0 Thread!
"I don't make sense to you, and I don't make sense to myself. Maybe the only one I make sense to is God" ~ Me, trying to sound smart
Olan passes the ink to Evelyn, along with the one found earlier. "These may be magical, in which case they'll be of more use to you than me."
Counting out the coins Olan grins; "Platinum! Now that's something to brighten the day! Let me see; 10 platinum is 100 gold, so that's 145 gold, between the 4 of us, so that's.....
equivalent of 36 gold each, with one to split. Who wants platinum, and who wants gold!"
Nyli Bemblade - Gnome Arcane Trickster
Portia Thornleaf - Halfling Rogue
"Evelyn, can you figure out how to disable or nullify these runes safely? If not I'll try the old fashioned way and see what happens."
Sleight of hand (if needed) 16
Nyli Bemblade - Gnome Arcane Trickster
Portia Thornleaf - Halfling Rogue
((Sorry for disappearing guys, I was going through some stuff.))
Evelyn grimaces at the sight of the twisted metal object. It is certainly creepy enough. She takes a look at both the object to see if she can discern what it might be for, and examines the sigils as well to see if there is a safe way to deactivate them.
Arcana - 16
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
Evelyn traces along the symbols, and while she does not fully understand this dialect of the language of magic, she can identify enough cognates to separate it out into subject, conjunction, verbs of power and modifying adjectives, pronouns, et cetera, et cetera. She manages to trace much of the runework back to a single space, where the object of this vast sentence seems to be taken up by a phrase that she cannot translate, but recognizes quite well, as her spellbook is full of ones like it. A stipulative-objective proxy clause. An extensive phrase used in long-form spellwork, which essentially allows one to choose the target of a spell by specifically describing or naming them while casting. That description will then be transferred and redefined through the proxy clause in short form throughout the spell, dramatically cutting down the amount of ink used.
Having identified the proxy clause, Evelyn knows that any modification to these few runes will echo throughout the spell. Furthermore, since the proxy clause is itself already an act of translation, she can use her own Halruaan spell-dialect to modify it. With a single scratch of the knife, Evelyn transforms the phrase that might roughly translate to "anything and everything placed upon this altar" into "this altar," and stands back. She flicks a spark of magical energy into the runes, and watch as they light up. The amount she has put in, roughly equal to what is required to activate a cantrip, is not nearly enough to activate this spell effect, but that's not what she's aiming for. A partial activation of an enlargement spell is rarely a good idea, as a lack of proportionality in the transformation may lead to damage in the object. This is one of those rare moments.
Everyone watches as the altar bulges slightly, bubbling up like rising dough, cracking and crumbling as only a fraction of it enlarges itself, crushing the unenlarged bits to dust. In an instant, every rune is shattered, and the altar goes dormant.
(Having studied and identified the spell, Evelyn may also scribe the enlarge/reduce spell into her book when she has the time and material, as she is able to quickly note down the runes used.)
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
"Well, not as entertaining as I was expecting, but good work m'lady"
Olan bows to Evelyn, whilst being slightly disappointed that it didn't explode or erupt into flames.
Nyli Bemblade - Gnome Arcane Trickster
Portia Thornleaf - Halfling Rogue
(Bump)
What's everyone doing next?
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."