"Well, shall we move along? Maybe we'll find the next clearing?" Soar says.

Bazavur, the magic things are magic. That's about all you can tell.

Tobin:

Getting up, Tobin says, “Yes, let’s go.  This is a Wand Of Fear—not really my thing, but someone is welcome to use it if desired.”

Soar looks to the newer duo to see if they want the wand. If no one else wants it, she'll take it, as fighting things that are afraid of her is easier than fighting things that are not afraid of her. But it may be better for Varan or Aiwin to take it.

"Yes, let's move along, does anyone want to take point? If not, I can," she says.

Please state clearly what you took, and add it to your equipment on your character sheet. If it's not on your character sheet, your character forgot to pick it up! :)

(Tobin is happy to put all unclaimed magic items in a convenient drawer in his Portable Hole Library for later identification.)

Sounds good. Where are you headed? Back the way you came, or forward?

Soar took one potion of healing, and it's on her sheet. She will take anything else no one wants, but she encourages everyone to take whatever they wish, and then she'll repeat herself, with feeling.

(I'll add anything that's not taken by people for themselves or by Tobin for storage.)

"I'd vote for continuing on to see what's next," Soar says. Does the floating gem that was above the pool still exist? Sorry if I missed that.

Tobin:

”This gem that was floating appears to have Magic associated with its creation or use as a warning device for the lobster creatures, but it does not seem to have its own innate magic.  Feel free to take it if you like,” offers Tobin.

”Let us move ahead,” he adds, closing up his portable hole once the appropriate items have been stowed (I will add remaining items to the storage once everyone has taken what they want).

Varan takes one of the healing potions and the wand of fear, "Fear can be a powerful tool in or out of combat." After putting the items away he will move and stand to the side of the path opposite they came in.

You move towards the exit, forward rather than back the way you came, and follow the path.

Once again between the high hedge walls, you walk along a gently curving path, losing sight of the pool behind you. Up ahead you see a clearing, and you enter it. It is again a large clearing with a sundial in the centre. The same as the last clearing, the sundial casts two shadows, neither in the direction suggested by the sun in the sky above. Instead the shadows point east and north, just as they did last time.

(I've re-oriented the map, as I think it was a little confusing last time as north was right, not up. Now north is up on the map. The two shadows point north and east. You've entered from the south. Last time you were in a similar clearing, you took the east path and found your way to the pool.)

"Same shadows, same clearing," Soar says, sighing. She looks toward the tower and the sun, to see if there is anything new or changed. She also examines the sundial itself to see if anything changed. Can she touch it? "We took the path that the new shadow pointed to last time and dealt with the lobster guys, and came back to the same place. Maybe there's some imaginary sun behind us," she says, looking to the southeast. "We could go toward where the light, or lights, appear to be coming from. Or go in the direction they are shining. Want to try that way?" and she points to the northeast.

Tobin:

”Alas, my hypothesis is proven inaccurate.  I have no other ideas, so I am happy to follow your lead, Soar,” says Tobin, disappointed.

Soar, give me a straight INT check please, as you look at the tower. You don't see anything different at all about the sundial. You can indeed touch it; it feels solid, and immovable.

Soar INT check: 5

You don't see any movement, or notice anything unusual. Generally, although there is a lot of magic obviously, this environment seems to Soar much like any of the strange places she has found herself in the past months.

Aiwin just shrugs "If east took us to the pool, maybe go north this time?"

Varan scratches his head, "I could have sworn that the last intersection we were at was east and south, and we took the south path which lead us to the pool." He leans against the sundial shaking his head, "Now my sense of direction is all messed up." 

Tobin:

Continuing his sketching of this third intersection, Tobin consults his notes.

”The first sundial had a northerly pointing shadow, and we entered the clearing from the south.  We followed the northern shadow and came upon a sundial with shadows pointing north and east.  Following the east shadow, we encountered the pool and then came to this, the third sundial.  Shadows now point both north and east again,” says Tobin.

”I had hoped there would be a new direction shadow to follow and thus validate my hypothesis, but it was not to be.  Perhaps the apparent position of the tower at each intersection is an additional variable,” he concludes.

Consulting his notes, he looks for a pattern there.

“What if we split the difference and go north east? You know, between the two shadows.” Bazavur asks, feeling like they’ve ended up somewhere they’ve already been.