Pizazz's Ravenloft and Beyond

(Oops, I had a post sitting half-written for hours and just posted without looking for updates..)

Laffa scratches his head, "Well now. That's....a good question. I mean, people chop bits of branches off to make their homes here...and...literally carved their way into the trunk to build that thing over there. I don't suppose you could light it all on fire...but...people around here probably have an aversion to a lot of fire given everything is wood."  He shrugs once again, "Gee..., never thought about it really." 

Lionel looked at his food with renewed interest. "How do they cook then here? Do they waste the World Tree on cooking?!'

Meepo digs in heartily to the food, happy to eat. He seems to forget most of the issues going on as he savors the food. Only once done does he seem to come back to his senses and pay more attention to those around him. "Meepo say find trader." He says with a nod. "Meepo think find place stay after."

Laffa shrugs, "Who knows, maybe they bring in coal from Carceri or the prime material? Or maybe they just burn the world tree. Or maybe they just use a bit of magic." 

The group pays up and Laffa leads them back out into Crux. The sky is starting to darken, though you can't see it through the endless leaves that stretch up above for as far as you can see. 

He leads you down the street, magical lamps starting to light up the streets as the illusion of flames flicker within the street posts.  He leads you up to one of the larger, fancier houses in town, one with a yard and a fence. He pushes open the gate and heads on up to the gate and knocks. You glance around at the garden setup on the ground. The dirt must have been brought in and covers up part of the ground, enough for flowers and plants to sprout. They seem to be quite healthy. 

The door opens and a servant stands there. Human male in his late mid-30's. "Good evening. How can I help you?" 

Laffa says, "We're lookin for Machil Rillyn, is he around?"  

A bit of a strange looks ripples across the man's face...a mixture of confusion, concern, and consternation.  He clears his throat, "And what business is this concerning? I'm afraid master Machil Rillyn passed away some time ago. The house is now run by his niece, Yvandre Rillyn."

"hrmpfh have his book have questions maybe evander know hrmpfh" says the giant man in furs and hide armor with partial plate with multiple large weapons on his back, bow on his side, 3 quivers, and a giant backpack in his quiet voice so he's not so loud as he can be for no reason. He pats his Utazo's head, scratching it absentmindedly his eyes wondering around seemingly not focusing on anyone in particular.

The servant looks past the group to the hulking warrior, then glances about the group.  "Right then. Please come in."  

As you shuffle into the meagre entrance hall the man waves vaguely at all of you, "If you could, please your weapons there, by the door."

He waits for people to put things down their arsenals, though doesn't search anyone, and doesn't seem to insist, just makes a half hearted attempt before leading you into a sitting room. "I'll let the miss know you're here."  

The room is somewhat well appointed, though much of the furniture and decor are old, a bit run down, and it seems as if the family has seen more prosperous days. 

Eventually a woman emerges. She is wearing leather armor and sweating....she drops a sword in a scabbard on the table and nods to the group, "So, what more unfinished business has my Uncle left me with."  She looks down at herself and motions to the sword, "Apologies, I was in training. Right, who are you and what can I possibly do for you?" 

Yvandre Rillyn is a 5' 8" woman with a muscled lithe frame and a non-nonsense look about her. She has dark skin, her black hair done up in a modern way. It's clear she knows her way around a blade. She strikes you as forthright and business like. 

Lionel pretended he did not hear the suggestion to leave the weapons in the hall. He politely raised up from his seat when the woman entered but did not waste her time for more courtesy. "Pardon our intrusion, we did not come to collect a debt or settle some scores. But rather to ask for your help." He paused only to introduce everyone and then continued. "Some time ago your uncle sold a cursed item - a book - to the wizard by the name Zikran. After the series of unfortunate accidents, the curse had affected our friend. To remove it we need to trace the origin of the book and hoped you could help us with it." "Well, we hoped to ask your uncle but learned that he passed away. Our condolences."

Ulthan leaves his greatsword, maul, longbow and 4 dagger there, and stows away his magical longbow and shortsword in his backpack.

“I see. That same curse nearly bankrupt our family. My uncle ended up using a goodly portion of the families assets to purchase a wish spell to free himself from that very same curse.”  She nearly growls, “Probably for the best he passed away less than a year later. He was never good at finances and nearly bankrupt this house with all his treasure hunting.  Im sorry your friend is afflicted. The writing on his body? Im afraid it’s fatal inside a few weeks. My uncle searched for solutions before purchasing a wish, but….im afraid I don’t know much. He kept all his foolish treasure hunting stuff in the library, but I’ve moved it into storage below the house. You’re welcome to climb down into the crawl space and dig through them if you’re so inclined. It’s dark, and you have to crouch, but like I said, up to you.”

"hrmpfh thank we crawl hrmpfh" Ulthan does a poor job of imitating a bow even though in his mind it's very good and exactly as he's seen it before. He then waits for directions and sees if he can fit, once down he'll ensure to have his sword handy just in case this is a tarp so he takes out of his backpack and moves the scabbard in the handiest position based on how much crawling there is to do.

"Meepo like look." Meepo says, stepping forward. "Meepo no crouch, and like dark spaces."

"What are we hunting for?" Ketch says, making himself more comfortable in the seat he's already in, more than happy to let others crouch and crawl and hunt. "A receipt from who the uncle bought it from?  Do we have any reason to think we can find the needle in the uncle's haystack that even he couldn't?  It's sounding to me a Wish is our best bet and we should find a genie in a book who can give us one..."

Remembering reading is not a skillset he turns towards lady "hrmpfh train practice duel wood sword hrmpfh". If she thinks real hard it could be a question. If not he shrugs and sits down against a wall near the crawl entrance, his cat nearby. If yes he'll spar with her. He will avoid to hurt her, but he doesn't go easy and he intends to win (not at all cost obviously). In both cases he'll offer food in form of berries which he'll eat one of (goodberry). Cat he sets off to the side whispering it's ok if training is happening.

Meepo frowns at Ketch. "Meepo loose all meepo magic if use wish." He reminds the man. "Meepo hear those who use wish no live long, and no have magic. Wish seem bad idea to Meepo. Curse no all gone with wish, just no more writing on Meepo."

"Not exactly," corrected Lionel, "our friend Laffa here lives and it seems the death of the esteemed uncle," Lionel slightly bowed to the woman, "was unrelated. However, he did learn that not curing the curse will surely kill the victim. No one wants for you to lose your magic, Meepo, but if the choice is between life and magic, we might still consider the wish option. Now, let's see what did the man learned about the cure itself, if ever. Some diary, perhaps? Or a collection of books on a particular subject related to the crowns and that Princess of the Shadow Glass?"

Lionel was not exactly a bookworm and doubtfully would fit well in crowded places, but did his best to search for something related to the curse.

Investigation: 3

The woman nods to the group in a purfunctory manner, "Very well. Taresson can show you to the crawl space. Feel free to take your time."  She glances to Ketch, "You may make yourself comfortable here while your friends search, but I have work to do." To the goliath she glances him up and down, her eyes narrowing, "Apologies, I was at the end of my training for the evening, I have other matters to attend to."  With that she nods and walks out.  

Taresson, the servant, does a little sniff, then nods to Ketch and Ulthan, "I shall return momentarily. Shall I bring tea or coffee? I'm afraid we're not well suited for guests at the moment and master Yvandre does not keep alcohol on the premises." 

He leads Lionel, Mordekai, and Meepo down a hallway. He opens up a walk in closet, and walks you to the back where a square board covers a hole in the wooden floor.  He grunts as he bends down and levers it out of it's spot, revealing a dark crawlspace that looks sealed in and dry, and aside from dusty looks quite free of pests. Stacks and stacks of wooden crates full of stuff fill the space below.  He backs away, leaning the cover to one side.  "Um, you must sort of hop down into the spot, then jump and climb back out. Um, please do not make too much of a mess, I'd ask you to ensure all things are put back into their same boxes together and in a respectful fashion. Thank you." 

He watches as the group jumps down into the hole, Meepo sort of grabbing an edge and dropping.  Then he heads back to bring Ketch and Ulthan some refreshments.

As you begin digging through boxes, the first thing you realize is that Machil Rillyn was a bit of a hoarder. Thankfully though, it seemed either him, or his niece were very organized and things are well organized, many with dates and details scribbled on the boxes. Even so, Ketch and Ulthan are in a sitting room with little to do for several hours and Taresson can only check on each party so many times before thoughts of "are we overstaying our welcome" start to creep in. Totally bored, Ketch and Ulthan sit around waiting, while beneath the house, Lionel and Mordekai sit on the hard wooden ground, butts covered in dust, as they slide this way and that and dig awkwardly into crates pulling stacks of papers, books, and all manner of strange artifacts, broken tools, and weapons, usually wrapped in some fabric.  Nothing is magical or seemingly of great value. If there were items like that, then Yvandre must have sold them all off before moving things to storage. Eventually though you find a crate that contains notebooks labeled "Scrivener's Tale" halfway into one box, and a number of other things of interest. They include: 

• A vellum map labeled “Delimbiyran and Environs” shows a few locations in the ruins of the city. A note written on the map in Elvish identifies one site as “Haven of the Red Quill.” The handwriting matches that seen in The Scrivener’s Tale.
• A folio torn from an unknown tome details the history of Delimbiyran and Phalorm. These realms apparently are on a prime material worlds called 'Tatmarask'. Also called the Realm of Three Crowns, Phalorm was one of the many kingdoms of old in the North in the region on Tatmarask. When the Realm of Three Crowns fell, the kingdom of Delimbiyran rose after it.
• A vellum page that describes the route to Tatmarask from Crux. It was written on during use, clearly Machil used this to reach and return from Tatmarask. It involves taking a portal on the world tree to the something called "the crystal tree". There, apparently a crystal tree is like a portal hub and it says how to identify the crystals that lead to Tatmarask. The exit portal from the crystal tree appears on the first vellum map of Delimbriyran and Environs.
• Tucked into a folio is a sheaf of notes written by Machil. The notes talk of some adventurer seeking “the shadow glass,” which he expected to be a great treasure.
• Within a stack of old bills marked “Past Due,” you find an unsigned and apparently unsent letter from Machil, which reads: “To my family. Forgive me the vanity that took me from you, and must soon claim my life or soul. You know how ambition corrupted my love for you. I pray that someone avenges the evils done by Nintra Siotta, Princess of the Shadow Glass, Lady of Dread Omens, Seeker of the Three Crowns. But spend not your own lives against it. The scrivener bound her in his haven, and only there can I be free of her. But it is too late for me.” The note is dated and appears to be roughly the oldest set of documents stored down here.
• A piece of parchment shot through with dry rot and threatens to crumble when handled. You treat it carefully. What remains of the parchment displays writing in Machil’s hand, which reads: “… stairs among the surface ruins of Delimbiyran and descended deep to the Haven of the Red Quill. The guardians almost finished us before the door was opened. Gods, how I wish …”

Meepo is actually enjoying digging through the boxes. Even after finding the one they sought, and delved through its things, he would have liked to continue digging and looking through more of the boxes. He thought this place absolutely perfect. All of the random things had a home, everything was nicely labeled, and there was nothing lost here. It was perfect as far as he was concerned.

Ulthan noticing he's somewhere where he's not useful let's the others know he'll be back at the inn at night time. So heads out with the cat and explores a bit, he can only take so much sitting and doing nothing. He'll just wander around looking at the tree wondering if there were smaller trees on the tree and laughing to himself.

     While waiting, likely after Ulthan left and took the cat, the only conversationalist, away, Ketch ritually casts Divination for the second time this long rest.  (25% chance of false response...)  The question Ketch is asking is if it is possible to cure Meepo without him losing his magic... Otherwise Ketch simply waits, perhaps pulls out The Fervent Mysteries of the Halflings for some light reading.

Ketch reaches out to Gruumsh, the question on his mind. "Shadow dispelled, glass cracked, curses are lifted and magic is left....intact. Beware the trouble that snaps at your heels." 

Ulthan wanders around the place. Aside from being nestled in a gigantic tree, the place seems pretty nice. It does indeed feel peaceful. Another of those weird squirrel things run by, catching his cats attention, but it passes without paying much attention to the town or the goin on's, or the cat...given it probably outweighs the cat by a factor of 5. 

People seem to go about the town with little concern, relatively happy and seemingly free from threat since it's getting to be quite late an nobody seems particularly cautious or prepared for attack and he sees no sign of any thieves lurking in the shadows.