Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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"Yes, Garet is right. If the library had such a fearsome guardian it must have protecting something."
Banzo ducks his head a little before continuing,
"I am not sure how you all feel about books but some contain lost knowledge and power. Even if we only find one secret lost to the ages it might prove to be Zagor's undoing."
The hooded figure chuckled deeply then was wreathed in shadow and vanished into the earth as a cold, sulphurous wind washed over everyone.
Tzedaka began searching through the volumes:-
Night Dragon
Spellbreaker
Legend of Zagor
Deathmoor
Forest of Doom
Magehunter
Revenge of the Vampire
Curse of the Mummy
The Port of Peril
The Gates of Death
Assassins of Allansia
Tzedaka grabs the legend of Zagor and starts looking through it for any inconsistencies or additional information.
Garet started on one of the books Tzedaka had highlighted to try and get any relevant information and cast his eyes around in case Tzedaka had missed any potentially useful titles.
Leigh was left dumbfounded as the riddles were effortlessly deciphered.
"Amazing" he exclaims under his breath as he too starts searching the book titles, looking for anything related to Firetop Mountain.
(Perception: 24)
Herman takes the book called spellbreaker to have a quick look
Enwynn quietly says "Thank you for your permission." in the direction of the inquisitor in a voice devoid of emotion, still watching the hooded figure despite the lure of books all around her, wary of anyone who makes Tzedaka react with such instinctive and rapid hostility.
She utters a sigh of relief and her curiosity at the inquisitor's parting gift (Once they do actually leave!) becomes a hasty study of the shelves for any signs of a systematic organization of their contents, and a look for any work to be found on them that might be useful to their task.
Enwynn murmurs warmly "Well done, Banzo. You are most worthy in knowing worth." to the Tortle in passing while looking over the shelves, and a short while later, addresses Garet quietly with "I know not how you unraveled the second question's answer, Garet, but I am glad you did regardless of my own ignorance."
The elf's gaze falls on Tzedaka's finds then lingers the book entitled The Forest Of Doom as she wonders what the connection might be between Firetop and Forest, then shudders at a memory as wreathed in sulfur as the library gatekeeper's departure.
Picking up the book, she asks Tzedaka softly "Are you alright?"
To Tzedaka:
Enwynn then adds in a whisper "Was that questioner some sort of demon?"
Tzedkak answers Enwynn while continuing to look for hidden and different information. At the same time, she looks over the bookshelf for any signs the bookcases could be moved. (secret doors or compartments, things out of place) (Perception: 9)
"He is "known" to me and our conversation confirmed dis. A story of long past, a great servant of Libra and justice, dee Inquisitor. He fell from grace and joined dee demons of de pit." She looks uneasy. "He could....see...me. His game vas one of life and death. If your answer was wrong, you vould die and become lost in de pits."
She thinks and shakes her head.
"No, I do not believe your soul could be...saved."
"His powers come from de demons."
She goes back to studying the book and bookcase for any clues.
While Herman is taking a quick look at the book titled Spellbreaker, Banzo will peruse the one titled Magehunter, checking the spine and bindings before looking at the pages near the beginning of the book and also at the end trying to find any clues that would suggest the topics contained within without having to read it from cover to cover.
Banzo's Investigation: 19
"Be careful of these books and any others on the shelf that you suspect might be a spellbook, some wizards put protections on their spellbooks. And even if none of these are spellbooks who knows what wicked traps Zagor may have hidden here."
Enwynn looks to Tzedaka and says thoughtfully "So they see beyond the physical form? That is useful to know. If even turning into a mouse to sneak past them would not work, then they are a foe that must be reckoned with, and can not be escaped."
She murmurs somberly "The gatekeeper's price was too high, even for access to all these books..." then grins as she adds "...Though perhaps they got the worst of the unfair bargain they made this time around? After all, if that was a battle of wits, then we apparently came here better armed than they did."
At Banzo's warning, the elf very carefully puts the book she is holding back down next to the others on the stack Tzedaka has already assembled, walks to where she can see as much of the library, including the stack of finds, and quietly asks Erillia for sharper eyes to look with for a little while.
OOC: Enwynn casts Find Traps
Tzedaka pores through the book and finds many things that she has heard before from the memories of the others that dwell within her and from what Enwynn and others have stated.....she finds both tales of his origin..as centuries old human spellcaster and as spawn of demons and man the two accounts clash and cannot both be true but she is unsure which is which.
( There is no further information than all the IC/OOC info you have seen on him so far.)
Garet picks up The Port of Peril, it appears to be the telling of a quest which travels all over Allansia including places such as Darkwood Forest and Port Blacksand – on a dangerous mission. But as he flicks through what starts as a treasure hunt soon takes a darker turn, as the evil sorcerer Zanbar Bone rises again from the dead.
Flicking quickly through he is unable to find anything in the books Tzedaka selected and heads to the shelves himself there is a space on the shelf where two books are missing and have been for some time judging by the dust but nearby he finds one called Caverns of the Snow Witch. Within he finds a description of a quest into the far north, a terrible curse, a Healer among the Moonstone Hills and the following passage:-
Firetop Mountain though long thought to be unclimbable, it can actually be done if the climber is daring - or deperate - enough. The mountain earns its name from a vast growth of red Sleeping Grass on its summit, which made some peoples at first believe that the mountain was a volcano.
The first page reads; Rassin Abbey had guarded its arcane treasures for centuries. But when the Black Grimoire was stolen, the land of Ruddlestone was plunged into a crisis of epic proportions. For the ancient book held the key to the legendary Casket of Shadows - and the Evil imprisoned within it. Should it be opened, the Infernal Beast would be unleashed to wreak its terrible carnage across the Old World.
Reading on the book seems to tell the tale of an adventurer who inadvertently helped a villain to steal the Black Grimoire and their quest to make it right once more.
Thinking he he knows Ruddlestone is a kingdom across the ocean on the continent known as The Old World but little more than that.
The bookcases are fixed in place and cannot be moved, there is a single wooden door onwards.
Banzo reads the first few pages, the book is somewhat confusingly written but seems to detail a "Magehunter," engaged in tracking down evil-doers and bringing them to justice armed with an item called a flintlock pistol and a broadsword.
The tale seems to indicate that the protagonist fell through a space between worlds in pursuit of a foe called Mencius and finally caught up with them in the southern city of Kallamehr on the shores of The Glimmering Sea in southern Allansia. There seems to be a degree of body swapping and transposition of souls that becomes most confusing to follow...
No traps are indicated by the spell, but as Ennwyn puts the book down, she has a sudden feeling of deja vu that momentarily disorientates her.
Having a keen interest in life and death, and...undead, Tzedaka will grab the vampire and mummy books next and begin looking for anything unusual.
(OOC Perhaps a ritual of resurrection, using parts of living creatures to regenerate, form a new body, etc.....like Valdemort)
"Has anyone ever heard of something called a flintlock pistol?"
Banzo ponders this information for a few minutes.
"It could be a weapon of some kind, maybe a tool?"
The first describes a scourge of The Old World, Count Heydrich an undead vampire of some power, raised from the dead by a fell coven and hunted by a slayer of such fiends....the protagonist suffers from bouts of sickness, insanity and come sclose to death on many occasions before winning out.
The second is a tale of an eccentric archaeologist unearthing an ancient tomb in the Desert of Skulls along with a hireling adventurer. But the tomb turns out to belong to Akharis, a legendary ruler from a previous age, and some of his cult of followers are trying to return the evil pharaoh to life. Flicking through, there are encounters with ghosts, Snake Demon Cults, Caarth and others.
There are some details on ancient rites of the lost civilisations of the Desert of Skulls and the grotesque lengths gone to to ensure eternal half-life......of the two becoming a vampire seems slightly less work and more desirable....
( OOC:- no one has heard of such a thing.)
Snapping the book in his hand shut, Leigh shakes his head to Banzo in response.
Waiting for the others to finish their investigation, Leigh idles near the door still pondering the riddles to work out the correct answer.
Banzo will next turn the same investigative methods toward the book titled 'Gates of Death.'
Banzo's Investigation: 17
Afterward he will spend some time exploring the library and searching the shelves in a logical search pattern (something akin to a dewey decimal system) to try and determine if there are any spellbooks or spell scrolls here.
Banzo will ritual cast Detect Magic
Banzo's Investigation for potentially finding spellbooks or spell scrolls with advantage?: 20
"I'll need a moment to conduct a search of these shelves."
Garet picks up one of the as yet unread books and begins to read, all time time keeping his senses attuned to what the library may offer.
Ooc Investigation 11
Perception 26
Ian picks up the last book and reads
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