Pizazz's Ravenloft and Beyond

((Magical Rapier Ketch found is the Luck Blade, I presume, since Ulthan had the other blade for a while now... Luck blade description says 1d4-1 for the Wish property so I would suppose whoever wields it would roll...  Unless DM prefers to do so himself?))

     Ketch turns the rapier over in his hands a few times, appreciating the beauty and magics of the weapon, but then looks up at the rest of the party.  "This is a fine blade and will benefit whoever wields it  ((and attunes to it)) but I already have my Battleaxe and this magical thighbone.  I'll happily wear this blade on my side for the benefits it would give, but if one of you would give it more use than that you are of course welcome to it..."

     "So what is our next destination?  Do we wish to search for the skull of Argynvost? Of leave the castle and seek out this Krezk land and see what is to be discovered there?" Ketch asks, curiously. "Or does someone have another idea...?"

Meepo grasps the hilt of the blade he just identified, saying... :"Meepo wish Meepo have curse lifted that no lets Meepo see friends as friends..." He grips the luck blade's hilt as he casts wish from the blade.

((Didn’t Ketch already Remove Curse you?  I thought everything else was from undeadness...))

(Meepo had 3 curses on him. DM had remove curse only remove one.)

((Ahhh, I missed that or Ketch woulda recast...  *shrug* Oh well, now we have this storyline!))

     Rapier snatched from his hands by Meepo, Ketch grunts in surprise. The sword is bigger than the Kobold so Ketch is curious how he'll wield it and it takes a moment before the Half Orc realizes what is truly happening...

     Upon catching on, Ketch stands back and makes no move to interfere.  I tried, Ketch thought.  I did what I could.  I did what Gruumsh granted me.  But why did he deny me?  What have I done to displease him...

     Ketch continued his introspection even while watching Meepo and wondering what would happen and wishing him luck.

(Technically, Meepo had the sword on his possession, as he was identifying it during the rest, and...subsequently attuning to it so that he could use the wish...which he does so prior to the rest of you learning what the blade is capable of.).

There's a swirling vortex of energy that suddenly descend upon Meepo.  You see the energy whip and swirl around him, a glowing energy that seems to seep into his dull scales. As you watch, the vortex seems to lift the small creature off the ground slightly, bright bronze color filling in his scales. The evil grin that seems to occupy his visage seems to vanish...as does the strange glint of suspicion in his face.  Then the vortex of energy fades and the small kobold drops back onto his feet, his scales glimmering bronze, his face looking its friendly, innocent self...his eyes looking upon the group with his special brand of kindness.  

(Meepo, all curses removed, you are no longer undead and the 'positive' abilities/attribute modifications you received from the condition have likewise been removed.) 

(Yeah! I had thought we'd have to do that behind Meepo's back. Although, did that mean that if we'd cast Remove Curse another two times it'd have worked?)

Mordekai sees Meepo's scales return to their glorious bronze colour, and can't help but let out a quiet dragon roar by the use of Minor Illusion. However, not Mordekai's usual offering. This time, uncharacteristically, Mordekai manages what Meepo has pointed out is the roar of a bronze dragon, not his usual gold dragon roar.

(Interestingly, I had considered one of Mordekai's motivational speeches to consist entirely of dragon roars for Meepo's benefit. That would have been the one to do it!)

(No, this was the only way I can imagine to achieve this outcome...)

Does the sword still have charges left, or is it finished now?

(👏 Perfect outcome! Welcome back, Meepo!)

Lionel, suddenly interrupted in his dreams of the battle with Strahd, looked with a growing concern at the whirl of another spell unleashed in these place. But Meepo - their very real old Meepo, returned to the group here of all places... He felt almost on the brink of tears. "Welcome back, friend!" The dwarf stood up and hugged the kobold. "Ketch, Ulthan, meet the real Meepo."

"Do not want to sound all providential but it I want to take it as a good omen - there is hope after all!"

((I don't know exactly what conditions and curses were affecting Meepo but I don't think Remove Curse could have changed the undead state... But Wish certainly does!  Nice.))

((And alrighty, Meepo had rapier the entire time... Ketch would still have doubts about his status with Gruumsh over his spell not fully working earlier...))

     Ketch grunts and let's out a "Welcome..." but doesn't really see much change in his companion just yet.  It was indeed a pretty light show but it *just* happened so Ketch hasn't quite noticed a change yet.

     "Omens can mean more than one thing," Ketch adds ominously while gathering up his things and preparing to move on.

(Bummer. Meepo tried to word the spell so that it would not remove the undead state, he did not see that as a bad thing, as he is a necromancer and he felt it just made him better... I tried to state to only remove the curse that was making him see the others as enemies... I'm ok with this outcome if this is how things work out, but just wanted to mention that Meepo would have wanted to stay undead if possible.)

((I get ya... but I imagine things are interconnected and undoing one can start the whole thing a tumbling apart?  You still have the smelliest though, yes? That is spell not being undead?))

((It was inevitable anyway - if not Meepo himself, others would "help" him to get rid of it :) ))

((Of course if there are more charges of Wish left you could always try again...))

Ulthan spends time making friends with the shortsword of perpetual light. "hrmpfh you right hrmpfh" he says to the short sword "hrmpfh you left hrmpfh" he says to the dagger over and over and over again.

Ulthan as always passes out berries out of a pouch but just shrugs if people don't want it. He eats one as normal, though he seems to eat them more like candy throughout the day especially after injuries. To the group while resting "hrmpfh we dumberer if no search all here ulthan say search all good things here maybe like chariot maybe not hrmpfh" As usual his monotone speech goes forth at a steady pace without pausing or inflections. He seems to be quite insistent if the group appears to not want to and if it looks like the group is set dead against it, he'll go on his own with the short sword out to the other crypts while people are resting/sleeping.

Meepo smiles, buffing his shiny scales a bit with a gleam of pleasure in his eyes. "Meepo wish Meepo still undead, but Meepo do like having nice shiny scales back..." He grins up at the group, showing his pointy teeth in the first real grin you have seen from him in a long time. "Meepo glad you friends again..." He says to the group, even including the giant-kin in it this time, though he still isn't keen on him as of yet. He stretches and shakes himself. "Sorry Meepo use wish, but Meepo needed..." He trails off and shrugs. "Was only one wish left though..." He says.

Lionel took the berry and ate it absentmindedly watching Ulthan moving around dangerously close to unexplored crypts. "Looks like our big friend went to search for more troubles." He patted the his chest checking the amulet (seriously, the beard had to go eventually) and went after the ranger. 

     "We are here," Ketch said with a shrug.  "Just so long as we are doing something instead of nothing..."  Ketch follows after, thighbone in hand and ready to smash.

Ulthan walks to the closest, unopened crypt. (crypt 16).  Outside, the name etched above the door is "Elsa Fallona von Twitterberg (Beloved Actor): She had many followers".  The door is pushed open. Inside a skeleton draped in rags lies atop a marble slab in the center of the crypt. Nine shallow alcoves are carved into the surrounding walls. The back wall of each alcove is painted with a full-body image of a handsome man. Some of the men wear fine clothes; others wear armor. At the feet of each painting rests a skull atop a pile of bones.  A bit of investigating turns up nothing of interest, so he moves on to the next.

Ulthan walks to the next (Crypt 15).  Above the door is "Khazan: His word was power."  Ulthan pushes the crypt door open.  A skeleton draped in rags lies atop a marble slab in the center of the crypt. The skull has black opals set in its eye sockets and shards of amber where its teeth should be.

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