The lock is enchanted with some kind of necromancy charm. The key seems to have a transmutation charm on it. The items inside the chest have no identifiable school of magic associated with them.
Keyrie takes the scroll from Gash and unrolls it on the desk over the map. It reads as follows:
Greetings Neventi, mother of Gentoa, and her protectors, Feytok, Doggear, Keyrie, Tock, Gash, and Lucien. My name is Merxina, the founder of the empty community you found yourself in. I apologize for the the way we met. I would apologize for many things, had I the time and space to do so. Please know that my intentions were pure even if my methods were unconventional. Prescience is a many-edged sword.
Neventi, you have a long, difficult road ahead and an even more difficult choice to make. I could not foresee how you will choose. Beyond my ultimate demise is a haze. Thank you, by the way, for making my end a swift one. Yes, I foresaw my ending at your hands, protectors.
Would that I could have accepted you into our home with open arms and sent you on your way under friendly circumstances. There was no way for this to be, I’m afraid. It was ultimately more important that you leave this haven than that we be friends. I and my closest followers sacrificed much to ensure that you clearly received this message. I know you have now, even if you do not fully understand why. The alternatives are disastrous and that is all I shall say on the matter.
We have provided you beds, water, and traveling supplies. The clothing is tailored to each of you, as best can be done through my visions. The key you have found is for you as well. Find inside the supplies we could muster to send you on your way. I would have liked to provide you more. Food, for example, was impossible to store over the span of 12 decades. Please take these gifts as a measure of apology, as thanks, and as help for the weeks to come.
I cannot stress too much the importance that you do not stay here for much longer. Use the beds we have provided but then leave them and this place forever. Do not make our sacrifice one made in vain.
Protectors, you will falter but hold fast. Continue to protect but I have foreseen many other roles. Rescuers, performers, scapegoats, and more lay ahead for you. Do not doubt your roles in this journey. They are yours for many reasons. Trust the fates to continue to guide you onward as they did to us here.
I know you may have many questions. Surprising though it may be, I do not have all the answers. My one driving purpose was to convince you to quit this place and continue on. Your next stop is the town of Karkarus at the temple of Tymora. Take care as you pass through Serpent Valley but know that, for the length of the valley, you are safe from searching eyes. The valley holds other dangers, however, so do not drop your guard.
I must go. It is my turn to go under the knife and spell. I look both forwards in anticipation and backwards in my memories of our meeting. My time has come. Gods forgive my choices.
And may the gods be with you if they will not be with me.
Dog nods at Gash. He steels himself and picks up the key in a rag so he's not touching it. "Merxina, I wish you hadn't tried to kill us, and that you didn't force us to kill you all, again. Trust is far too rare in this world." He puts it in the keyhole, closes his eyes, and turns it.
Before Dog can turn the key the lock and key flash slightly and the latch pops open. The lock and key lose their magic in the joining of them. Lifting the lid to the chest, Dog finds the following (magic items automatically identified during the next rest period):
4309 GP, mostly in silver and gold coins with some platinum and many copper coins as well.
"We're... we're rich?" Dog says, as he looks back at everyone. "It's a very good thing we have the bag of holding because it would make the journey much harder. Merxina, we are grateful. Befuddled, but grateful."
He posits partitioning 500 gold for each party member, including Genny, because she's been through a lot and will need all the help she can get. The remaining 309 gold and the gems can be a party fund. (He reminds those of the party who fought the bandits got a 29 gold share, and there's still 125 gold worth of chalices, and other gold items in a party fund that have yet to be sold, so the 309 and the gems would be added to that fund.)
After the shield is identified, he looks at the shield, looks at everyone else, then looks back at the shield. Then back at everyone again. Then back at the shield.
"I'm good with you having the pearl, I'm also ready to give money to anyone who might need extra for something." Those who know Keyrie pretty well, know she doesn't really care for material goods, and is always ready and willing to share whatever she has. "I also have no dibs on the shield, or the special gem. I would like to carry the map though, I have a good sense for those kinds of things. (Wanderer Background) .I will also grab one of those extra water skins and blankets, if no one minds. I think we should store the sealed jugs of water for an emergency." Keyrie will look for the clothes made to fit her and put them on. "Should we set up shifts while we sleep tonight to be on the safe side?"
"Who wants that gem? Anyone? Seems like it could be helpful for Tock, to always be able to see targets. Remember when that magician who worked on the circus for a few months created that globe of darkness and did the trick with the three mice, and no one could see anything, and the act kind of worked because it was mysterious, but it also didn't work because literally no one could see anything? Maybe there's a way for you to create that kind of darkness and still be able to see through it, and always be able to hit bad guys with crossbow bolts? Just a thought."
Dog asks if anyone else could find use for a shield. If not, he's happy to take it. He likes his prop shield from the circus but it's getting harder and harder to maintain it. He plays with the key and the chest a bit more, trying to see what the magic was, and if it'd be helpful to bring along. He tries on the clothes after looking at them. He thinks to himself, "now if only they'd made some tough armor in my size, then that would really be something."
"I'm fine sleeping here as long as we set a watch as Keyrie suggested. Get a good rest and then we can figure out where we want to go from here? We can only eat so much direwolf jerky, so we have to leave this place. Can't believe she's had visions of us for over a century. Lucien do you know what those runes are around the slabs in those other rooms? And do we think that dryad lady who pointed us to the monastery with the statues knew Merxina?"
He starts stowing the equipment and supplies no one wants to grab for themselves into the bag of holding. He tries to remember anything he knows about Karkarus, and whether it'd be a good place to sell off some of the things they don't want, and buy things they do. When it's his turn to take a watch shift, he'll read through the books on the gods and necromancy, and also beekeeping.
"Thank you Kyrie, this wizarding stuff is very expensive, sometimes. As of now I just need the pearl to identify items in the future for everyone. If anything else comes up, I will let you all know." Gash says shyly
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gash- Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
FYI - Karkarus is a big enough city that most of the group has heard of it. One or two may have actually passed through it, even (up to you!) It is large enough that vendors, temples, and inns are all available there. If the loot is all sorted out, everyone may take a long rest.
If everyone goes to sleep Keyrie volunteers for the first shift. She was in Wild Shape most of that battle, and barely has a scratch. During her watch she will get all the details from the map she can, and will look through the books about beekeeping, and any others having to do with survival or animals.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
For Neventi, at least, sleep comes in fits an spurts. She spends some time talking with Keyrie and later Dog and again with Gash each time she wakes. Her trust in this place has clearly been broken. She is ready to leave. But nothing threatens the group on this night and rising, a quick breakfast, and a cursory exploration for any left-behind things, the party continues south down the tunnel heading deep into the mountain.
At first, everyone is on alert for more trouble. After all, this is the passage from which Merxina and her followers came. But the long, damp, dark tunnel is almost relentless in its uniformity. It persists for less than a mile before giving way to more varied, natural caves and tunnels. The group happen upon a small lone bat at one point but otherwise find no signs of life. Some parts of the cave system are low, requiring Dog to squeeze through. Others open up into large caverns with small pools collecting drips of water seeping through the rock. They cross over a small rivulet and must climb down a large natural staircase, passing Gentoa from person to person until they reach the bottom.
Eventually, Neventi finds her voice, which does not need to be loud in the reverberating caves. "I never meant to fall in love with a god," she says. Gentoa has fallen asleep in her arms while they sit and take a midday meal. "Until the fiends arrived, it was unquestionably the best choice I had ever made." She says nothing else but the way she spoke leaves a silent "but..." hanging in the air. She strokes her daughter's hair and eats another bite of her rations.
Before dinner arrives the party feels a cool breeze on their skin. Half an hour later, they see the fading light of the early evening peeking through the exit to the long cave structure. They emerge into Serpent Valley, the sun dipping behind the peaks of the Karkar Mountains. A vast field of long, green grass and wildflowers with scattered trees rolls along hills before them. The mountains to the left and right are covered with evergreen trees almost to their peaks. The party finds a grove of willow trees and makes camp on the bed of dried flower petals underneath them for the night. The valley is quiet and still, save for crickets and frogs singing into the approaching night.
The next morning finds them in a lively valley. Goats bleat in the distance and birds chatter to each other in the autumn morning. The party sets forth, following the valley is it rises and falls with the hills and winds east and west with the mountains. This first full day of travel is easy going. Game is hunted with little effort and the terrain is not difficult to navigate. That night, the party camps under a rocky overhang that once served as a bear den many years before. It hasn't seen any use in recent times and serves the party well as shelter for the night.
The next morning the party is a little slower getting moving, finding Serpent Valley to be a pleasant change of pace from the previous locations they stayed. But Neventi finds herself staring at the mountain to their north, within which lies the remains of Merxina and her followers. Her mouth is set in grim determination. "Okay, let's go," she says. "The farther we get from that infernal mountain, the better."
In the early afternoon, the sun is pleasantly warm at their backs as they find themselves on an old footpath following a stream. The occasional odd piece of trash, like a broken wagon wheel and a rusted, holey bucket, suggest that people once occupied this part of the valley. They artifacts of their presence are very old, however. Eventually they happen upon an old foot bridge that has broken after decades of neglect. It connects to a path that terminates at an old cemetery on a hill across the stream. While the party discusses the find, a giant constrictor snake descends from the trees behind them and two more slither out of the water, hungry for an easy meal.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Tock looks around assesses the situation quickly. "Dog, can you keep the snake at the log busy so everyone can run past? Lucien, can you do your army and keep these two busy? Gash, can you help with that somehow?"
He moves past Neventi to the river bank (K10) just in case something else decides to slither out of there and holds his action to take a shot at S2 once Dog has engaged it in combat:
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Dog nods at Tock, and rushes forward to F10 drawing his sword and attacks S2. "Never fought snakes before. You're a big one. I'd rather eat you than vice versa."
The lock is enchanted with some kind of necromancy charm. The key seems to have a transmutation charm on it. The items inside the chest have no identifiable school of magic associated with them.
Keyrie takes the scroll from Gash and unrolls it on the desk over the map. It reads as follows:
(Map is forthcoming.)
Map:
“Dog, unlock the chest. I don’t know why. But I trust her.”
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
Dog nods at Gash. He steels himself and picks up the key in a rag so he's not touching it. "Merxina, I wish you hadn't tried to kill us, and that you didn't force us to kill you all, again. Trust is far too rare in this world." He puts it in the keyhole, closes his eyes, and turns it.
(Oh and one HD from the short rest 9)
Before Dog can turn the key the lock and key flash slightly and the latch pops open. The lock and key lose their magic in the joining of them. Lifting the lid to the chest, Dog finds the following (magic items automatically identified during the next rest period):
(Items can be identified during a short or long rest, unless they are extra special plot items.)
"We're... we're rich?" Dog says, as he looks back at everyone. "It's a very good thing we have the bag of holding because it would make the journey much harder. Merxina, we are grateful. Befuddled, but grateful."
He posits partitioning 500 gold for each party member, including Genny, because she's been through a lot and will need all the help she can get. The remaining 309 gold and the gems can be a party fund. (He reminds those of the party who fought the bandits got a 29 gold share, and there's still 125 gold worth of chalices, and other gold items in a party fund that have yet to be sold, so the 309 and the gems would be added to that fund.)
After the shield is identified, he looks at the shield, looks at everyone else, then looks back at the shield. Then back at everyone again. Then back at the shield.
Tock repays the 80gp dept he owed to .. (I forgot, I apologize, please remind me)
“Would anyone mind if I took that pearl for my component pouch?”
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
"I'm good with you having the pearl, I'm also ready to give money to anyone who might need extra for something." Those who know Keyrie pretty well, know she doesn't really care for material goods, and is always ready and willing to share whatever she has. "I also have no dibs on the shield, or the special gem. I would like to carry the map though, I have a good sense for those kinds of things. (Wanderer Background) .I will also grab one of those extra water skins and blankets, if no one minds. I think we should store the sealed jugs of water for an emergency." Keyrie will look for the clothes made to fit her and put them on. "Should we set up shifts while we sleep tonight to be on the safe side?"
(It was Feytok and thanks)
Feytok sees Dog dying the shield "Don't look at me, I want both hands on my weapon when possible. "
"Who wants that gem? Anyone? Seems like it could be helpful for Tock, to always be able to see targets. Remember when that magician who worked on the circus for a few months created that globe of darkness and did the trick with the three mice, and no one could see anything, and the act kind of worked because it was mysterious, but it also didn't work because literally no one could see anything? Maybe there's a way for you to create that kind of darkness and still be able to see through it, and always be able to hit bad guys with crossbow bolts? Just a thought."
Dog asks if anyone else could find use for a shield. If not, he's happy to take it. He likes his prop shield from the circus but it's getting harder and harder to maintain it. He plays with the key and the chest a bit more, trying to see what the magic was, and if it'd be helpful to bring along. He tries on the clothes after looking at them. He thinks to himself, "now if only they'd made some tough armor in my size, then that would really be something."
"I'm fine sleeping here as long as we set a watch as Keyrie suggested. Get a good rest and then we can figure out where we want to go from here? We can only eat so much direwolf jerky, so we have to leave this place. Can't believe she's had visions of us for over a century. Lucien do you know what those runes are around the slabs in those other rooms? And do we think that dryad lady who pointed us to the monastery with the statues knew Merxina?"
He starts stowing the equipment and supplies no one wants to grab for themselves into the bag of holding. He tries to remember anything he knows about Karkarus, and whether it'd be a good place to sell off some of the things they don't want, and buy things they do. When it's his turn to take a watch shift, he'll read through the books on the gods and necromancy, and also beekeeping.
"Thank you Kyrie, this wizarding stuff is very expensive, sometimes. As of now I just need the pearl to identify items in the future for everyone. If anything else comes up, I will let you all know." Gash says shyly
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
FYI - Karkarus is a big enough city that most of the group has heard of it. One or two may have actually passed through it, even (up to you!) It is large enough that vendors, temples, and inns are all available there. If the loot is all sorted out, everyone may take a long rest.
Gash lies down in one of the beds... "Okay everyone, I'm beat." And he just sleeps.
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
If everyone goes to sleep Keyrie volunteers for the first shift. She was in Wild Shape most of that battle, and barely has a scratch. During her watch she will get all the details from the map she can, and will look through the books about beekeeping, and any others having to do with survival or animals.
For Neventi, at least, sleep comes in fits an spurts. She spends some time talking with Keyrie and later Dog and again with Gash each time she wakes. Her trust in this place has clearly been broken. She is ready to leave. But nothing threatens the group on this night and rising, a quick breakfast, and a cursory exploration for any left-behind things, the party continues south down the tunnel heading deep into the mountain.
At first, everyone is on alert for more trouble. After all, this is the passage from which Merxina and her followers came. But the long, damp, dark tunnel is almost relentless in its uniformity. It persists for less than a mile before giving way to more varied, natural caves and tunnels. The group happen upon a small lone bat at one point but otherwise find no signs of life. Some parts of the cave system are low, requiring Dog to squeeze through. Others open up into large caverns with small pools collecting drips of water seeping through the rock. They cross over a small rivulet and must climb down a large natural staircase, passing Gentoa from person to person until they reach the bottom.
Eventually, Neventi finds her voice, which does not need to be loud in the reverberating caves. "I never meant to fall in love with a god," she says. Gentoa has fallen asleep in her arms while they sit and take a midday meal. "Until the fiends arrived, it was unquestionably the best choice I had ever made." She says nothing else but the way she spoke leaves a silent "but..." hanging in the air. She strokes her daughter's hair and eats another bite of her rations.
Before dinner arrives the party feels a cool breeze on their skin. Half an hour later, they see the fading light of the early evening peeking through the exit to the long cave structure. They emerge into Serpent Valley, the sun dipping behind the peaks of the Karkar Mountains. A vast field of long, green grass and wildflowers with scattered trees rolls along hills before them. The mountains to the left and right are covered with evergreen trees almost to their peaks. The party finds a grove of willow trees and makes camp on the bed of dried flower petals underneath them for the night. The valley is quiet and still, save for crickets and frogs singing into the approaching night.
The next morning finds them in a lively valley. Goats bleat in the distance and birds chatter to each other in the autumn morning. The party sets forth, following the valley is it rises and falls with the hills and winds east and west with the mountains. This first full day of travel is easy going. Game is hunted with little effort and the terrain is not difficult to navigate. That night, the party camps under a rocky overhang that once served as a bear den many years before. It hasn't seen any use in recent times and serves the party well as shelter for the night.
The next morning the party is a little slower getting moving, finding Serpent Valley to be a pleasant change of pace from the previous locations they stayed. But Neventi finds herself staring at the mountain to their north, within which lies the remains of Merxina and her followers. Her mouth is set in grim determination. "Okay, let's go," she says. "The farther we get from that infernal mountain, the better."
In the early afternoon, the sun is pleasantly warm at their backs as they find themselves on an old footpath following a stream. The occasional odd piece of trash, like a broken wagon wheel and a rusted, holey bucket, suggest that people once occupied this part of the valley. They artifacts of their presence are very old, however. Eventually they happen upon an old foot bridge that has broken after decades of neglect. It connects to a path that terminates at an old cemetery on a hill across the stream. While the party discusses the find, a giant constrictor snake descends from the trees behind them and two more slither out of the water, hungry for an easy meal.
Initiative:
Order:
Tock looks around assesses the situation quickly. "Dog, can you keep the snake at the log busy so everyone can run past? Lucien, can you do your army and keep these two busy? Gash, can you help with that somehow?"
He moves past Neventi to the river bank (K10) just in case something else decides to slither out of there and holds his action to take a shot at S2 once Dog has engaged it in combat:
Attack: 13 Damage: 20
Dog nods at Tock, and rushes forward to F10 drawing his sword and attacks S2. "Never fought snakes before. You're a big one. I'd rather eat you than vice versa."
Attack: 18 Damage: 9