Looking impressed, Elaric nods as he continues to stare about. "Indeed it is." Touching a thread gently, he adds, "I take it these act like shaped and targeted versions of an Alarm spell. Plane-shifted just slightly into the Ethereal so as to remain invisible to mundane sight, they alert you to a disturbance generally..." Turning back to Philip, Elaric concludes, "but perhaps not to the specific details of what caused the disturbance, given that you mistook us for the Slaad. And yet your words seem to imply that you know more about the sixth visitor than the mere fact of their presence..." The Elf trails off as he looks about again.
Looking impressed, Elaric nods as he continues to stare about. "Indeed it is." Touching a thread gently, he adds, "I take it these act like shaped and targeted versions of an Alarm spell. Plane-shifted just slightly into the Ethereal so as to remain invisible to mundane sight, they alert you to a disturbance generally..." Turning back to Philip, Elaric concludes, "but perhaps not to the specific details of what caused the disturbance, given that you mistook us for the Slaad. And yet your words seem to imply that you know more about the sixth visitor than the mere fact of their presence..." The Elf trails off as he looks about again.
Phillip chuckles, "Smart lad, and just so. I'd take full credit for it, but the basic design was the Lich's. While I know how it works, buggered if I can tell you how to do it again. Once Lichy kicked it, I co-opted the design and tied the spells to myself. The Slaad's inherent chaos confounded some of the threads, so I'll need to set to work repairing them pretty soon. As for the visitor, all I know is that they seem to have come from the same area you popped out of. I assume that means they're friends, or at least from some place or timeline that might find shiny gears and working plumbing to be distracting novelties."
With a slight bow of his head, Elaric addresses Phillip, "I think we would appreciate a look at those belongings of the lich with which you would be willing to part, but first," here, the Elf glances meaningfully at his companions, "shall we see who chose to join us?"
With a slight bow of his head, Elaric addresses Phillip, "I think we would appreciate a look at those belongings of the lich with which you would be willing to part, but first," here, the Elf glances meaningfully at his companions, "shall we see who chose to join us?"
Phillip and his assistant, who identifies himself as Pax, lead the party to another immovable book shelf, and down a long set of stairs on the other end into a large circular chamber.
Gold and platinum coins with foreign markings are stacked in neat rows on a table. In total, the party is looking at about 500 GP, 500 PP.
Two small glass bottles rest in an alcove, laid behind a thick network of runes and glyphs. The bottles themselves are wrapped with parchment seals, and their contents are so black that they seem to be a hole rather than matter.
In a jar nearby, 10 long, sharp talons gleam. Their opposite ends still show hunks of torn flesh.
The stomach of some large creature pickles in a vat, surrounded by alchemical equipment and a small magical circle.
A beautifully wrought spearhead lies enshrined in a box lined with blue velvet. The runes that trace and dance along its edge shift through every hue, and a faint hum can be heard.
Next to the spearhead, a pile of weapons that seem to have been collected from past adventurers has been uncaringly tossed into a jumbled mound.
"Take what you want, remember: three things. I count all the cash as one thing, and I count all those fingernails as one thing. I'm not going to be an *******. About this. Probably. If it's part of a set, it's one thing."
Gong looks over the contents of the room with stony stoicism before voicing his opinion. "The coin can be spent or given to aid the unfortunate. The weapons can be wielded to smite the servants of darkness." He glowers at the talons, stomach, and dark vials. "The bits of flesh and bottled blackness appear of vile intent. They are of no use to us."
Gong looks over the contents of the room with stony stoicism before voicing his opinion. "The coin can be spent or given to aid the unfortunate. The weapons can be wielded to smite the servants of darkness." He glowers at the talons, stomach, and dark vials. "The bits of flesh and bottled blackness appear of vile intent. They are of no use to us."
"That's your expert opinion, eh, halfbreed?" Phillip says dryly, "Fair enough. I've thought of some fun uses I could turn the bottled Allips to anyways. That said, stay away from the spearhead."
Eyes going wide and in a somewhat choked voice permeated with horror Elaric whispers, "Bottled Allips?!" Shuddering, the Elf takes a rather large step away from the parchment-wrapped bottles. After a brief pause and several sidelong glances at the bottles, he adds to Phillip, "What makes the spearhead an item of concern?"
Eyes going wide and in a somewhat choked voice permeated with horror Elaric whispers, "Bottled Allips?!" Shuddering, the Elf takes a rather large step away from the parchment-wrapped bottles. After a brief pause and several sidelong glances at the bottles, he adds to Phillip, "What makes the spearhead an item of concern?"
"Well, does it being an illusion, or it being an illusion on top of a glyph of warding bother you more? I ensourcelled the sonova***** to obliterate anyone who took a swing at me and thought they could get away with my stuff. Made it extra shiny so it'd be one of the first things someone went for."
Eyes going wide and in a somewhat choked voice permeated with horror Elaric whispers, "Bottled Allips?!" Shuddering, the Elf takes a rather large step away from the parchment-wrapped bottles. After a brief pause and several sidelong glances at the bottles, he adds to Phillip, "What makes the spearhead an item of concern?"
Balasar looks somewhat puzzled: What's so concerning about a couple of ghosts trapped in bottles?
Eyes going wide and in a somewhat choked voice permeated with horror Elaric whispers, "Bottled Allips?!" Shuddering, the Elf takes a rather large step away from the parchment-wrapped bottles. After a brief pause and several sidelong glances at the bottles, he adds to Phillip, "What makes the spearhead an item of concern?"
Balasar looks somewhat puzzled: What's so concerning about a couple of ghosts trapped in bottles?
Eyes going wide and in a somewhat choked voice permeated with horror Elaric whispers, "Bottled Allips?!" Shuddering, the Elf takes a rather large step away from the parchment-wrapped bottles. After a brief pause and several sidelong glances at the bottles, he adds to Phillip, "What makes the spearhead an item of concern?"
Balasar looks somewhat puzzled: What's so concerning about a couple of ghosts trapped in bottles?
Wendell shrugs, equally at a loss.
"Eh, some folks don't like the 'unliving spirits of madness' to be set free into the world," Phillip says offhandedly, "Ordinarily, I'd agree, but these ones are ensourcelled. They'll do four and a half things you say with perfect obedience before they turn on you."
Balasar cocks an eyebrow: And you trust the enchantment to work as advertised?
Phillip scoffs, "What's the worst they could do to me? Kill me? Ship's sailed there. Drive me crazy? You don't try to play Old Ones against each other if you're all there in the first place."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Seeming to recover from his moment of horror, Elaric gently clears his throat and informs the group, "The talons are those of a Succubus and the stomach is from a Banderhobb - a creature of shadow and flesh that many scholars believe to hail from the Shadowfell. Utilized properly, the talons could be used to make a potion to cloud the senses or something of a similar nature, like a staff of charming. The stomach could be used in the creation of bag of holding." Glancing at Gong, he adds, "While coming from - objectively speaking - evil creatures, the body parts are not, in and of themselves, evil nor must any items created from such parts necessarily carry a residual evil." Pausing, the Elf turns to examine the pile of weapons, looking for anything beyond the mundane.
Perception: 7
As he looks, and without shifting his gaze, he remarks to the party, "Personally, I think we should take the coin, the stomach, and the Allips, but I defer to the judgement of my friends. Has anyone an objection or alternate suggestions?"
"You don't need to sell me on coin, I still owe you a fair bit for the Tiny Hut. I'd leave the Allips though... Phillip, which half of the four and a half do they listen to?"
"Near as I can figure, which ever part makes you more dead, or would be funnier."
"That's going to be a definite 'no' for me on the Allips. I'm going to rummage through the weapon pile. The... the rest do not explode, correct?"
The skull sighs impatiently, "Probably? I dunno kid, you might have noticed it's been a while since I've been in a 'sword' kind of mood. Kind of lack the necessary equipment."
"Right..." Wendell begins a ritual of Detect Magic.
I agree with taking the coin and the stomach. I'm not quite certain I'd trust the Allips, though there could be some potential there, and I'll defer to those who know more about such things as to the risk that would be involved (including the potential risk of one of the bottles breaking at an inconvenient time).
Elaric nods. "Very well. Let us agree to the coins and, tentatively, the stomach - though that may change based on Wendell's findings. If not the Allips, has anyone a suggestion for our third item?"
For me, at least, it depends on whether Wendell comes across anything particularly alluring or magical.
After a moment, Wendell grabs an odd looking scabbard painted with scenes of roaring fires, feasts, and waterfalls all spilling from a cornucopia. Carefully, he removes from it a short sword, a knife, and a small eating pick. Then, going back to the pile after a bit more rummaging, he returns with an odd pair of saffron-colored sandals. Seemingly satisfied, he sets to work with pearl and tome, completing a quick ritual of Identification.
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Looking impressed, Elaric nods as he continues to stare about. "Indeed it is." Touching a thread gently, he adds, "I take it these act like shaped and targeted versions of an Alarm spell. Plane-shifted just slightly into the Ethereal so as to remain invisible to mundane sight, they alert you to a disturbance generally..." Turning back to Philip, Elaric concludes, "but perhaps not to the specific details of what caused the disturbance, given that you mistook us for the Slaad. And yet your words seem to imply that you know more about the sixth visitor than the mere fact of their presence..." The Elf trails off as he looks about again.
Phillip chuckles, "Smart lad, and just so. I'd take full credit for it, but the basic design was the Lich's. While I know how it works, buggered if I can tell you how to do it again. Once Lichy kicked it, I co-opted the design and tied the spells to myself. The Slaad's inherent chaos confounded some of the threads, so I'll need to set to work repairing them pretty soon. As for the visitor, all I know is that they seem to have come from the same area you popped out of. I assume that means they're friends, or at least from some place or timeline that might find shiny gears and working plumbing to be distracting novelties."
With a slight bow of his head, Elaric addresses Phillip, "I think we would appreciate a look at those belongings of the lich with which you would be willing to part, but first," here, the Elf glances meaningfully at his companions, "shall we see who chose to join us?"
Phillip and his assistant, who identifies himself as Pax, lead the party to another immovable book shelf, and down a long set of stairs on the other end into a large circular chamber.
Gold and platinum coins with foreign markings are stacked in neat rows on a table. In total, the party is looking at about 500 GP, 500 PP.
Two small glass bottles rest in an alcove, laid behind a thick network of runes and glyphs. The bottles themselves are wrapped with parchment seals, and their contents are so black that they seem to be a hole rather than matter.
In a jar nearby, 10 long, sharp talons gleam. Their opposite ends still show hunks of torn flesh.
The stomach of some large creature pickles in a vat, surrounded by alchemical equipment and a small magical circle.
A beautifully wrought spearhead lies enshrined in a box lined with blue velvet. The runes that trace and dance along its edge shift through every hue, and a faint hum can be heard.
Next to the spearhead, a pile of weapons that seem to have been collected from past adventurers has been uncaringly tossed into a jumbled mound.
"Take what you want, remember: three things. I count all the cash as one thing, and I count all those fingernails as one thing. I'm not going to be an *******. About this. Probably. If it's part of a set, it's one thing."
Balasar remains near the entrance to the room with one eye on the entrance, just in case the new visitor decides to drop in .
Gong looks over the contents of the room with stony stoicism before voicing his opinion. "The coin can be spent or given to aid the unfortunate. The weapons can be wielded to smite the servants of darkness." He glowers at the talons, stomach, and dark vials. "The bits of flesh and bottled blackness appear of vile intent. They are of no use to us."
"That's your expert opinion, eh, halfbreed?" Phillip says dryly, "Fair enough. I've thought of some fun uses I could turn the bottled Allips to anyways. That said, stay away from the spearhead."
Eyes going wide and in a somewhat choked voice permeated with horror Elaric whispers, "Bottled Allips?!" Shuddering, the Elf takes a rather large step away from the parchment-wrapped bottles. After a brief pause and several sidelong glances at the bottles, he adds to Phillip, "What makes the spearhead an item of concern?"
"Well, does it being an illusion, or it being an illusion on top of a glyph of warding bother you more? I ensourcelled the sonova***** to obliterate anyone who took a swing at me and thought they could get away with my stuff. Made it extra shiny so it'd be one of the first things someone went for."
Balasar looks somewhat puzzled: What's so concerning about a couple of ghosts trapped in bottles?
Wendell shrugs, equally at a loss.
"Eh, some folks don't like the 'unliving spirits of madness' to be set free into the world," Phillip says offhandedly, "Ordinarily, I'd agree, but these ones are ensourcelled. They'll do four and a half things you say with perfect obedience before they turn on you."
Balasar cocks an eyebrow: And you trust the enchantment to work as advertised?
Phillip scoffs, "What's the worst they could do to me? Kill me? Ship's sailed there. Drive me crazy? You don't try to play Old Ones against each other if you're all there in the first place."
Seeming to recover from his moment of horror, Elaric gently clears his throat and informs the group, "The talons are those of a Succubus and the stomach is from a Banderhobb - a creature of shadow and flesh that many scholars believe to hail from the Shadowfell. Utilized properly, the talons could be used to make a potion to cloud the senses or something of a similar nature, like a staff of charming. The stomach could be used in the creation of bag of holding." Glancing at Gong, he adds, "While coming from - objectively speaking - evil creatures, the body parts are not, in and of themselves, evil nor must any items created from such parts necessarily carry a residual evil." Pausing, the Elf turns to examine the pile of weapons, looking for anything beyond the mundane.
Perception: 7
As he looks, and without shifting his gaze, he remarks to the party, "Personally, I think we should take the coin, the stomach, and the Allips, but I defer to the judgement of my friends. Has anyone an objection or alternate suggestions?"
"You don't need to sell me on coin, I still owe you a fair bit for the Tiny Hut. I'd leave the Allips though... Phillip, which half of the four and a half do they listen to?"
"Near as I can figure, which ever part makes you more dead, or would be funnier."
"That's going to be a definite 'no' for me on the Allips. I'm going to rummage through the weapon pile. The... the rest do not explode, correct?"
The skull sighs impatiently, "Probably? I dunno kid, you might have noticed it's been a while since I've been in a 'sword' kind of mood. Kind of lack the necessary equipment."
"Right..." Wendell begins a ritual of Detect Magic.
I agree with taking the coin and the stomach. I'm not quite certain I'd trust the Allips, though there could be some potential there, and I'll defer to those who know more about such things as to the risk that would be involved (including the potential risk of one of the bottles breaking at an inconvenient time).
Elaric nods. "Very well. Let us agree to the coins and, tentatively, the stomach - though that may change based on Wendell's findings. If not the Allips, has anyone a suggestion for our third item?"
For me, at least, it depends on whether Wendell comes across anything particularly alluring or magical.
After a moment, Wendell grabs an odd looking scabbard painted with scenes of roaring fires, feasts, and waterfalls all spilling from a cornucopia. Carefully, he removes from it a short sword, a knife, and a small eating pick. Then, going back to the pile after a bit more rummaging, he returns with an odd pair of saffron-colored sandals. Seemingly satisfied, he sets to work with pearl and tome, completing a quick ritual of Identification.