Amdaeng narrowed her eyes at Nicodemus and placed a hand on Liras shoulder as she looked like she was about to leap on the old man and shake the secrets out of him.
" That is most interesting......perhaps we will fetch your medicine....and then learn more of these pillars?"
His voice is cautious, as if afraid someone will steal the words mid-sentence.
“A relic of warmth against endless winter…”
“It was taken long ago by the Cult of the Dragon King, a lesser cult… fools who hid it in sealed vaults beneath the city. It has been there for quite some time.”
”it is known as The flame pendant of the thawing heart.”
“It can’t be seen from here, but Stormy Peak lies deep within the Icefinger Mountains.”
“There, in an old watchtower, rests a broken stone bell—once loud enough to shake the peaks themselves and summon dragons. If you can ring it, the final artifact will reveal itself.”
His voice drops, reverent. Clearly his fever is returning
“A mirror… the Mirror of Thawing. A relic of great power, an ancient artifact.”
His hands tremble.
“Finally you must bind these items together, activating their full powers just prior to entering the snow witches lair. This is done with..”
Suddenly, Niccodemus grabs a spoon and starts shaking it. “Out….out with you.” He yells at Halbert. His other hand grasps his hat protectively. “ Dont take my hat It’s mine, mine.!”
“They’re in the rafters… I hear the wings… always the wings…”
The spoon quivers in his grip as he swats at empty air.
“Keep them away from the bell… don’t let them ring it first. don’t let them—”
"Well, good news is I'm pretty sure I already have the pendant." Vydar says after the older wizard cuts off his explanation and switches back to thinking everyone is a bird. "I agree though let's hurry up and get this guy a cure." Vydar crosses his arms and gives the older wizard a look before sighing and looking back to the group, "I don't like splitting up either, but we might want to leave one or two of us with him in case he decides to move again."
Lev tenses when Niccodemus reveals that Werik has whatever the second item is. "That bastard..." Lev averts his eyes, anger showing clearly on his stony face as he grips his glaive tightly. "I'll deal with Werik."
(DM, would Lev by chance have seen this item before?)
He gives a start when the wizard suddenly relapses, then looks to Vydar as the younger elf speaks, "That... probably would be a good idea." He says, eyeing Niccodemus. He isn't really all too keen on the idea of leaving anyone here, or staying himself for that matter. But it does make sense...
When Halbert agrees Zarbyn offers his hand for a brief shake and upon touching Halbert's hand will initiate his Gaze of Two Minds invocation (using his Bonus action to maintain it round after round for now) and then wishes whoever is going to get the medicine god's speed.
Zarbyn remains with Nicodemus and whoever else stays, just to make sure we know where he is and hopefully get him the cure or help him at lest ride out the remainder of the day.
"Now we know of three more powerful artifacts that play a part in the tragic story of Shareella. Hopefully when Nicodemus is feeling better he can finish what he was saying about how to combine them."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
A merchant caravan from the south, heavy wagons, too many guards for an honest trade route. That alone told the Crimson Gang the cargo was worth taking.
Werik Longfinger led the raid himself.
When the fighting was done, the men dragged a lacquered chest from the merchant’s wagon. It was iron-bound, locked tight, and heavy enough that two of the gang had to carry it. Werik opened it personally, kneeling in the mud as the others gathered close.
Inside were strange things—jewels that glowed faintly in the dark, coins stamped with unfamiliar crowns, and trinkets none of them could name. The kind of treasures that would fetch a fine price on the black market.
But one item stood out.
A long, white piece of ivory, smooth as polished bone. Not carved. Not worked. Just a single, perfect length of pale material, cold to the touch.
Lev had thought it a tusk. Or perhaps a dragon’s tooth.
Werik lifted it from the chest and turned it in the torchlight. For a moment, he said nothing. Just stared at it, eyes narrow, as if he could see something the others could not.
Then he slipped it into his own cloak.
“No market for this one,” he said. “I’ll see to it myself.” No one argued. No one ever argued with Werik.
Lev turns to Zarbyn, sighing as he resigns himself to stay while the rest of the group heads to find these medicines for the wizard. Better that two of them stay so that if the house does move again one person can stay with the wizard while the other looks for their companions. "Yes,"he says, mind clearly wandering. "And hopefully it won't take too long to find these items. At least one should be close by."
Dietrich considers Amdaengs request. “The medicine I gave the wizard should have lasted, unless something happened in the battle with the ghost Corsair at the docks.” He ponders a moment.
”Yes, I fear two things have occurred. First, Niccodemus has developed a resistance to my weaker medicine. Second, I suspect that he is now cursed.”
He frowns, “here is a potion of greater restoration. This will cure the avian flu illness, but.. if I’m correct and there is a curse, the wizard has greater problems now.”
Natalie Storms journal (our new players do not know of this, nor has it been mentioned to Niccodemus)
The Fifth Cache. At the top of the tallest summit of the Icefinger mountains, Stormy Peak is over 14,000 feet above the sea! One contact told me that there was an abandoned shrine once revered by giants. It is said you can see all of Allansia from this height, and that Dragons used to perch here. I’m certain a cache is hidden there. This will be quite a climb. I think the crampons, harnesses, and rope should help. Will need pitons and my hammer as well so we don’t fall to our death.
Zarbyn let's the others know anything of relevance about the meeting.
"And he believes if his potions aren't working as well as they should that Nicodemus might now be suffering from a curse."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
"If what Nicodemus said about the three artifacts is true and not just the ramblings of fever then we might want to try and obtain these artifacts."
Zarbyn meets Vydar's eyes as he continues.
"If you already have the amulet then we only need Icebane before we head back to Stormy Peak... Wait! Do you think the artifact we were seeking before our... detour could be the Mirror?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
— A basic prayer.
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Niccodemus turns suddenly, as though remembering where he is.
“Listen,” he says, voice urgent and cracked.
“There is a way.
A way to make her mortal again.”
His eyes are serious, but still illness haunts him
“You must gather the three relics… the three pillars of old magic…”
Amdaeng narrowed her eyes at Nicodemus and placed a hand on Liras shoulder as she looked like she was about to leap on the old man and shake the secrets out of him.
" That is most interesting......perhaps we will fetch your medicine....and then learn more of these pillars?"
Niccodemus pauses, as if lost in thought.
“The first is fire,” he says.
His voice is cautious, as if afraid someone will steal the words mid-sentence.
“A relic of warmth against endless winter…”
“It was taken long ago by the Cult of the Dragon King, a lesser cult… fools who hid it in sealed vaults beneath the city. It has been there for quite some time.”
”it is known as The flame pendant of the thawing heart.”
“That pendant must be found.”
“The second is light. Icebane,” Niccodemus says, and his voice goes rigid with disgust.
“A weapon… no… a thing… a fang ripped from a savage beast that once stalked giants in the old northern wastes.”
He pauses.
“A tooth meant to cut ancient frost…”
His eyes go distant, almost as if he is seeing the fang itself.
“But it is no relic in a locked away vault.”
He turns, shaking with a mixture of dread and frustration.
“It has been bound into a blade—twisted, sharpened… corrupted.”
His voice grows thin.
“It is now in the hands of a horrid man named Werik Longfinger of the Crimson Legion. Since he possessed it, he has risen quickly in rank.”
“A butcher with the tooth of a nightmare.”
Niccodemus does not smile.
Niccodemus swallows.
“He wears it like a crown and clutches it like a miser’s last coin.”
He looks to each of you in turn, eyes heavy as the seem to rest on Lev. Then move to the next.
“Men like Werik do not bargain away their power… and they do not surrender it.”
A long silence hangs in the air.
“If you want Icebane…”
his voice drops to a whisper,
“you will have to take it from his hand.”
“The last is sight.” he says, almost whispering.
He gestures north.
“It can’t be seen from here, but Stormy Peak lies deep within the Icefinger Mountains.”
“There, in an old watchtower, rests a broken stone bell—once loud enough to shake the peaks themselves and summon dragons. If you can ring it, the final artifact will reveal itself.”
His voice drops, reverent. Clearly his fever is returning
“A mirror… the Mirror of Thawing. A relic of great power, an ancient artifact.”
His hands tremble.
“Finally you must bind these items together, activating their full powers just prior to entering the snow witches lair. This is done with..”
Suddenly, Niccodemus grabs a spoon and starts shaking it. “Out….out with you.” He yells at Halbert. His other hand grasps his hat protectively. “ Dont take my hat It’s mine, mine.!”
“They’re in the rafters… I hear the wings… always the wings…”
The spoon quivers in his grip as he swats at empty air.
“Keep them away from the bell… don’t let them ring it first. don’t let them—”
His fever has returned.
Before NIcodemus strarts to list all the things, Herman gladly nods in agreement for Zarbyn to share his senses,
Then, after the lists of quests, almost overwhelmed, he briefly says:
Oh my, let's just start with the easiest one, shall we? let's fetch these medicines..
He scatches his head, wondering how deep love and lust can delve
"Well, good news is I'm pretty sure I already have the pendant." Vydar says after the older wizard cuts off his explanation and switches back to thinking everyone is a bird. "I agree though let's hurry up and get this guy a cure." Vydar crosses his arms and gives the older wizard a look before sighing and looking back to the group, "I don't like splitting up either, but we might want to leave one or two of us with him in case he decides to move again."
Lev tenses when Niccodemus reveals that Werik has whatever the second item is. "That bastard..." Lev averts his eyes, anger showing clearly on his stony face as he grips his glaive tightly. "I'll deal with Werik."
(DM, would Lev by chance have seen this item before?)
He gives a start when the wizard suddenly relapses, then looks to Vydar as the younger elf speaks, "That... probably would be a good idea." He says, eyeing Niccodemus. He isn't really all too keen on the idea of leaving anyone here, or staying himself for that matter. But it does make sense...
When Halbert agrees Zarbyn offers his hand for a brief shake and upon touching Halbert's hand will initiate his Gaze of Two Minds invocation (using his Bonus action to maintain it round after round for now) and then wishes whoever is going to get the medicine god's speed.
Zarbyn remains with Nicodemus and whoever else stays, just to make sure we know where he is and hopefully get him the cure or help him at lest ride out the remainder of the day.
"Now we know of three more powerful artifacts that play a part in the tragic story of Shareella. Hopefully when Nicodemus is feeling better he can finish what he was saying about how to combine them."
Amdaeng and Lira head to the alchemists.
A group composed of Halber, Jherak, Lira, and Amdaeng go visit, Dietrich Zuvembar, the alchemist that provided the perfume for the Serpent Queen.
”Ah, my friends, nice to see you again. How may I be of service?”
Lev
Lev remembers the job clearly.
A merchant caravan from the south, heavy wagons, too many guards for an honest trade route. That alone told the Crimson Gang the cargo was worth taking.
Werik Longfinger led the raid himself.
When the fighting was done, the men dragged a lacquered chest from the merchant’s wagon. It was iron-bound, locked tight, and heavy enough that two of the gang had to carry it. Werik opened it personally, kneeling in the mud as the others gathered close.
Inside were strange things—jewels that glowed faintly in the dark, coins stamped with unfamiliar crowns, and trinkets none of them could name. The kind of treasures that would fetch a fine price on the black market.
But one item stood out.
A long, white piece of ivory, smooth as polished bone. Not carved. Not worked. Just a single, perfect length of pale material, cold to the touch.
Lev had thought it a tusk. Or perhaps a dragon’s tooth.
Werik lifted it from the chest and turned it in the torchlight. For a moment, he said nothing. Just stared at it, eyes narrow, as if he could see something the others could not.
Then he slipped it into his own cloak.
“No market for this one,” he said. “I’ll see to it myself.” No one argued. No one ever argued with Werik.
Lev never saw the ivory again.
But now, years later, he’s sure he saw it.
Amdaeng waves, " Hello again! Um....we need some medicine for....uh....what's it called?"
She turns to the others, " Seagull Sickness? Albatross Angina? Tern Tuberculosis?"
Lev turns to Zarbyn, sighing as he resigns himself to stay while the rest of the group heads to find these medicines for the wizard. Better that two of them stay so that if the house does move again one person can stay with the wizard while the other looks for their companions. "Yes," he says, mind clearly wandering. "And hopefully it won't take too long to find these items. At least one should be close by."
Dietrich considers Amdaengs request. “The medicine I gave the wizard should have lasted, unless something happened in the battle with the ghost Corsair at the docks.” He ponders a moment.
”Yes, I fear two things have occurred. First, Niccodemus has developed a resistance to my weaker medicine. Second, I suspect that he is now cursed.”
He frowns, “here is a potion of greater restoration. This will cure the avian flu illness, but.. if I’m correct and there is a curse, the wizard has greater problems now.”
Natalie Storms journal (our new players do not know of this, nor has it been mentioned to Niccodemus)
The Fifth Cache. At the top of the tallest summit of the Icefinger mountains, Stormy Peak is over 14,000 feet above the sea! One contact told me that there was an abandoned shrine once revered by giants. It is said you can see all of Allansia from this height, and that Dragons used to perch here. I’m certain a cache is hidden there. This will be quite a climb. I think the crampons, harnesses, and rope should help. Will need pitons and my hammer as well so we don’t fall to our death.
"They have met with Dietrich."
Zarbyn let's the others know anything of relevance about the meeting.
"And he believes if his potions aren't working as well as they should that Nicodemus might now be suffering from a curse."
Niccodemus stirs. “Cursed, cursed to be attacked by sea gulls! Sea gulls and a ghost from the past.”
(Ooc friends I will be off grid hiking for the next 5 days. Feel free to post)
"If what Nicodemus said about the three artifacts is true and not just the ramblings of fever then we might want to try and obtain these artifacts."
Zarbyn meets Vydar's eyes as he continues.
"If you already have the amulet then we only need Icebane before we head back to Stormy Peak... Wait! Do you think the artifact we were seeking before our... detour could be the Mirror?"