Path Of The Mage

[So, Eggo Lass' workings were perfect up until working out the order of the family, since right to left in ascending age order from your perspective is the same as left to right in descending age order, so it would be mother first, then daughter, then baby, which means the baby's seat would be B3. However, since I never specified if it was from your perspective or the Tortle's, I'll let you avoid the mistake! Also only one of you needed to sit down (sorry if that wasn't clear!) but since C6 is the furthest down the row, it means that it would likely be sat in first, so I think that's fine as well!]

Salamander sits down in the furthest seat in the third row as the other two shuffle in to take their seats, but as he sits there's a great depression in the air, like the atmosphere has suddenly relaxed. The chills stabilise and the creaking stops, along with all the foul smells. The Tortle looks at you witheringly and says 'Well look at that. You were so late that sermon's already over, and just as you found your seat. See, the High Priestess has already gone and left!' Sure enough, the great door to the next room is now ajar, though none of you saw it open. He then sharply says 'Well, go on now! The Path is open and you can continue!'  

Path Of The Knight

Xarkris expertly makes their way across the log too, with a stunning performance that performs just as well as the other two competitors, somehow managing to manipulate their weight perfectly across the pool. As the final team member makes it across, this time, the Tortle applauds. In their nasally voice they say 'Wow! I have never seen such expert performances like that in a very, very long time! Much better than the last group that came through, the cat lady fell off almost immediately and got drenched, even after boasting how acrobatic she was...okay, you can pass now, good luck and farewell!' He then unlocks and opens the door through to the next room of the trial.

Bilyur pauses, "Cat lady? Bragging the entire time? Probably telling you she's better than you even as she climbs out of the water? I think I know her. What happened to her?"

Path Of The Knight 

The Tortle thinks for a second in response to Bilyur’s question and then days ‘Not much really. She fell in first, had a bit of a strop and then completed the course properly once she shut up and focussed. The halfling she was with completed it first time, and quite well at that, though I don’t imagine that’ll matter much as he looked so sickly that I can’t expect he’ll be living for much longer. I’ve got no clue what happened to them after they left.’ 

"Thanks. Do you pray? I would be happy to share a prayer with you, if that is acceptable."

((Whoa good job Vitus on solving the puzzle!!!! Salamander's age is 70 which apparently would be super old age/even dead for goblins since they become adults at 8 but because he was stuck in the fey realm he aged weirdly - is this headcanon okay DM? I just made this up on the fly - so yeah he would be the youngest! ))

((also yay to Xark's nat 20!))

Salamander is impressed by Eggo's deducing. "You'd made one great detective!" he exclaims, though grumbles at the age part. He was already the youngest of three and he didn't want to be the youngest of another three. "Okay," he says as he escorts his bear spirit along with him through the creaky room and smelly floor (not a good smelly smell too, by the way, like the swamp). He flops down flippantly onto his chair.

((Religion check: 14))

"High priestess?" Salamander nudges Sly to see if she has any knowledge of it. He also thinks to himself if he had some sort of connection to it. Mumbling "come on" to Fredrick, he sits up and slides through past the chairs towards the next room, lightly pushing the door to the side just to see if it's strange opening was just a trick of the eye. He shrugs.

Path Of The Mage

[Yeah, that head canon for Salamander's age is absolutely fine, in fact I really like it since I ran Wild Beyond The Witchlight a while back and I loved the whole time dilation thing in the Feywild, so even if Salamander might be 70 years old in Material Plane years, there's no reason why he could be below 25 in Goblin/Feywild Years, making him the youngest! (though there's no reason you had to be in age order, but it's a fun character development thing to dwell on!)]

Salamander takes a think on who this High Priestess might be as he makes his way up to the big set of doors, and has a ponder on their religious significance, but doesn't really draw any conclusions on who the enigmatic figure could be, though is pretty certain that they likely lead the temple. From what you've seen, they're not a visible person, and her exit seems to be tied with the supernatural events that occurred, so perhaps Eggo's ghost hypothesis might have been right? He then reaches forward to one of the doors and gives it a light push; it's definitely unlocked and open, and even with a small tap, one of the doors creaks all the way back until it's fully open, revealing a glimpse of the next room. From what Salamander can see, there seems to be some sort of great tapestry in the next room, though he can't spot anything else.

Path Of The Knight

The Tortle gives a hearty laugh and says 'Of course we pray! This is a temple after all! I would be thrilled to share a prayer with you, though I will say that within our faith, most of our prayers aren't for good fortune, grief, or divine answers, but simply for the return of our god to the Material Plane. You must be aware of the myths, but we few followers here truly believe that the Turtle Of Tyraa is not just a folk story, but is in fact a real, physical being, just as much as the New Gods are. And just like how the New Gods dwell in the lofty Upper Planes, we believe the Turtle dwells in the Sunken Planes, a hidden, dark, deep and eldritch realm that is similar to the primordial abyss that the Turtle once swam in before it created the Material Plane. Perhaps the Sunken Planes are actually a pocket of that very same sea of nothingness, preserved and hidden....' He trails off into philosophical ramblings on the origins of the world, but then quickly regains focus to engage in prayer. 

[Would Bilyur be aware of/have interacted with this religion before?]

Sly replies to Salamander: "I hazard a guess that it's the highest authority of these monks, presumably in a highly advanced stage of life."

As it seems like they had successfully navigated the puzzle, the wizard inclines her head towards Eggo as a sign of appreciation.

The tiefling then turns to the monk.
"If I may, sir, we have only recently arrived and are unaccustomed to the local goings on. Could you possibly be disposed to elucidate upon the nature of the sermon you just concluded? And perhaps you are also of a mind to communicate to use the correct way of addressing the high priestess?

She will then follow Salamander to the door.

<Can Sly ever speak like a normal person.>

Path Of The Mage

[I love Sly's way of speaking lol, cracks me up whenever I read a post where she's asking for the simplest thing and she somehow manages to make it sound like dictionary diarrhoea lmao]

The tortle pastor gives a sigh and says 'Every day, I give a sermon on the history, knowledge, and guidance of the Turtle Of Tyraa, even if no one is listening. By speaking the scriptures aloud it solidifies my beliefs and reaffirms my teachings. A pity you weren't able to hear it. Also, you will likely not need to worry about the High Priestess. She appears for sermon and then goes away, so how you address her shouldn't matter anymore.'

Path Of The Knight

[It's unlikely Bilyur's ever encountered this religion considering it's a long dead one and the only surviving remnants of it are in the folklore aspect, with the only actual practicing people being within this temple or potentially a very, very, VERY small minority in the outside world]

[If this were a movie, there would be Sly subtitles]

Sly gains some respect for this man, who, despite the decades of being cut off from the real world, still kept up the order of things.

She nods and says "Thank you."

Out of politeness and respect for their religion, Bilyur prays for the return of the Turtle of Tyraa from the land below. He then continues along the path.

Path Of The Knight

Bilyur enters into the next room and is surprised to find it entirely empty, the floors bare and the cobblestones appearing worn. Across the room in the corner however, is a female tortle, dressed in light furs and leather, who is sharpening a greataxe. She seems younger than the tortle you met previously, but as Bilyur enters, she quickly jumps to her feet, props the greataxe on the wall and yells 'ADVENTURERS! Now is the time for your second trial! You must engage in the ancient and noble art of wrestling! The first to pin their opponent is the victor, and I will be your adversary! If two of the three of you can win against me, you may pass, but if I best two or more of you in the sport, you must resign from the Path Of The Knight and continue forth on the Path Of The Mage!', pointing a finger to the western path that supposedly connects up. She gives a manic smile before beating her shell with a fist, proclaiming 'Who will be my first opponent?!' Techi grimaces and says 'I might have been able to fluke my way over that log, but I can't imagine I'll be too good at this...'

[To engage in the wrestling, both opponents make an Athletics check. The higher result is the winner, and you both reroll on a tie!]

*Xarkris definitely goes first. I'm gonna have to figure out a way to get past this one.*

[[ Sly-Speak is delightful. ]]

As tortle finishes up Eggo Lass will lead towards the exiting door. "Good day." she says as a farewell to the priest.

Xarkris happily accepts the Tortle’s challenge. He places his Axe and Shield on the floor and meets the Tortle in the middle of the room. They lock arms and begin to grapple…..

Xarkris rolls a 21 on ATHLETICS.

Path Of The Mage

Eggo Lass, with the other two assumedly following, heads through into the next room. It's a lofty chamber, the back wall covered with a stunning tapestry, unlike anything you've ever seen, attached to the top of the room by a pole and some rings, like a curtain. It depicts the Turtle Of Tyraa swimming through the cosmos in gorgeous detail, each stitch vibrant and full of colour, the relief of the land on the Turtle's back created flawlessly, showing great mountain ranges, high and jagged cliffs, vast swamps, ancient forests, harsh deserts, freezing tundra and everything in between. Standing in awe, observing the tapestry is a Tortle, wearing a long woven scarf around his shell, who slowly turns to you and says 'Ah...welcome. I am Peltanon, architect of this temple, weaver of this tapestry, and visionary of the Turtle of Tyraa's faith. To pass through and continue the path, you must find hidden details within my work, pick it apart with a keen eye and reveal knowledge that would not be uncovered by an untrained glance. By truly absorbing and appreciating the piece in it's entirety, you can find your way. Fail to find such details, and you will have to leave this Path and follow the other...'

Path Of The Knight

As Graelor approaches the girl for combat, she suddenly begins to change. Her stature grows taller and her fingers become more and more claw-like, and her scales slowly shift into locks of brown hair, her grin growing sharp teeth beneath a sprouting snout. By the time you've come face to face with her, their true nature as a werebear has been revealed. You then clash, a mighty trial of vigour and strength, a true test of bestial power. Xarkris holds out steady and gives it his true all, but the tortle/werebear manages to just outclass him, but with a lot of effort, grabbing his head with a sweeping palm as he tries to push her back and twisting his weight against him until he's been toppled over and pushed flat against the ground. She holds the pin for a few seconds before releasing, then says in a growling voice 'That was an excellent challenge, and a good time too. My last opponents were weak, so weak I could beat them without the aid of my accursed bear form, so a good, true challenge like that was ideal. Now, who is next?' [Werebear's Athletics: 18 + 4 = 22 (just beat out Xarkris ahh so sorry)]

Techi nervously says 'Oh no...now I have to succeed if we want to continue on this way...guess there isn't much point in waiting around then...' He steps forward into the ring, takes a deep breath and sprints forward, to which the bear girl just swipes out his feet, pushes down his head and stomps on his back without him even landing a hit. The girl snarls and says 'That was pathetic...one of the worst performances I have ever seen.' She then shrinks back down into her tortle form and wipes her nose on her arm, pointing to the western door. In her less gravelly, regular voice she says 'Sorry folks, but looks like you've failed this trial. Head through the west and continue forth on the Path Of The Mage, perhaps you might be more suited to that...', in reference to Techi. However she does seem disapointed to have to make you go. Techi is trembles and profusely apologises for his horrendous display, looking to you to lead the way, acting as if he'd like the world to swallow him up. [Techi's Athletics: Nat 1.... well, at least Xarkris will be decent at the current Path Of The Mage challenge since it's a Perception/Investigation based one...]

Bilyur decides he has one last shot to stay on this path, he doesn't think he'll be to good om the other one. "Umm, can I at least try something to stay on this path myself? How about, since I'm so much smaller than you, and it would be unrealistic for me to pin you, I can win if I just knock you down?"

Path Of The Knight

The tortle girl laughs and says 'You want to try and continue on the path alone, even though you're party has already lost the trial? Hmph, even if I did let you go against me,  there's no way I'd let you get off easier!' She thinks for a second, considering the challenge, and then smiles as she comes to an alternative. 'You seem like you know your way around martial arts, so how about this? We eliminate the sparring aspect of this exercise and bring in a real fight, and a real challenge. The first to knock the opponent unconscious wins, though I will only engage in this duel if you agree on your monastery's oath that you will use non-lethal force throughout, as will I. If you win, I'll let you go on alone, but if you fail, you have to continue onto the other Path, with no redemption whatsoever.' She lets you think on her proposal and says 'If we're agreed, then we can begin when you are ready...'

"I'll agree to that... but will you be taking your hybrid form? I'll still agree, but I want to know how hard this fight will be." I rolled a 6 for initiative, I used uncanny metabolism.

First turn:

Bonus action: Flurry of blows. 15 and 16 to hit, 3 and 3 bludgeoning damage. Addle: no reactions, and Topple: DC 14 dex save or be knocked prone. 

Action: Toll the dead. DC 14 WIS save or take 9 necrotic damage. 

Movement: 15 feet back if possible. 

Reaction: Deflect attack. Highest damage attack against him reduced by 9 damage.