This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Lamlis steps forward respectfully. "Unfortunately, I don't have any experience in curing madness. However, I have heard you are having an issue with a shapechanger of some sort. I would like to help any way I can, but need more information. What I've been able to gather is that the two kings are brothers. There was an issue with a shapechanger and several gnomes going missing.The brothers locked themselves away to prevent exposure to this shapechanger. Apparently, there was also a story about a rug originally being in the throne room, then not being there any more....... Perhaps if we captured this creature, it would help the king with his madness, as he wouldn't feel threatened?"
He looks back and forth to them both.
"I sincerely wish to help you, but need whatever extra information you could provide. If we help you with this problem, maybe you could then provide us with several contraptions to bring back to Phandalin? Your kingdom and Phandalin have been allied for a long time and we'd like to see the mutual respect and cooperation continue. This dragon poses a threat to us all."
"Apprehending the original cause of the madness to cure the king...it might just work," Dabbledob strokes her chin, then takes Lamlis's hand with a firm shake. "Yes, I'll tell you what I know. I believe the shapechanger is a creature called a Mimic. Nasty beasts that have the ability to transform into just about any object, from the size of a coin purse to a barrel. They eat their victims whole, completely dissolving them, which would explain the disappearance of two gnomes recently. All the signs are there...the problem is, I don't know how to find it," she sighs. "but it's very likely it remains in Gnomengarde."
"We greatly value our friendship with Phanadlin," Fibblestib interjects. "If you can help us cure King Korbez's madness, we'll equip each of you with a specially crafted contraption to help fight off the dragon."
"And I suppose you'll need this," Dabbledob pulls out a small rolled piece of parchment, handing it to Lamlis. "A map of Gnomengarde. Should help you find your way around."
Lamlis takes the map and nods. "Thank you kindly. Would you be able to show us on this map where we currently are?...... And also the last known appearances of the missing gnomes?"
He turns to his companions. "If anyone has any other questions, ask away. The more info we get, the better we'll be."
“Is there anything else you can tell us about mimics?” Alban asks. ”I’m not familiar with them. Also, what can you tell us about the gnomes who disappeared? Perhaps talking to the people who say them last could give us some clues.”
Lamlis: "We're here," Dabbledop draws a yellow star on the map. She then pulls out red ink, dips a quill in, and draws three red stars on the map. "Here is where we believe the mimic attacked based on reports of where the missing gnomes were heading before...well, before they were missing. I'll go ahead and label these rooms too..." she scrawls quickly in black ink, then nods.
Alban: "I wish I knew more about these creatures," Flibblestib sighs with an apologetic smile. "They're carnivorous shapeshifting beasts, rarely able to talk or reason. If you're looking for more information on the gnomes who disappeared, I'd suggest trying either the kitchen or the dormitory: we've been advising our people to stick together at all times, to avoid being singled out by the mimic."
Lamis turns to his companions. "Well, do we go interview some gnomes in the dormitory or kitchen? Or should we investigate where they believe the mimic attacks occurred?"
Lamlis laughs. "You know, we did travel a lot today. Some food does sound good. To the kitchens it is then!" Lamlis gives a thankful nod to both Dabbledop and Fibblestib. "Thank you so much for your time. Hopefully, we can quickly find this mimic and things can get back to normal for us all. If we end up staying multiple days, are you able to provide us lodging?"
(OOC: So, is this essentially a 2 party adventure now?)
"Of course," Fibblestib nods. "Don't you worry about food or a place to sleep...our beds may be not be designed for ones so tall as yourselves, but we'll figure something out."
The party towards the kitchen utilizing the map ((which I thought I'd attached to the last post, sorry about that)).
The kitchen is a large room, all cabinets and appliances close to the floor for easy reach. Five gnomes work diligently within, one stoking a fire in a large iron stove, another kneeding green bread dough out of similarly colored mushroom caps, while a third forms loaves of bread out of the dough. The remaining are using gnomish contraptions to squeeze juices out of mushrooms, one red and the other purple.
"Oh, visitors!" the gnome kneading the dough waves to the group with a bright smile. "Ello! How can we help?"
((OOC: seems to be that way...I know Spiderman9991 told me something had come up irl, he didn't know when he'd be back. If I need to pull another player in, we can do that. I'll leave the decision up to you folks.))
Lamlis smiles at the gnomes. "Hello there. Perhaps there's a couple things you could help us with. First, Fibblestib and Dabbledop directed us here since we are helping investigate the missing gnomes. We were told to come talk to some of you in the kitchens that may have known them.......what times they vanished....... or anything unusual or interesting you could share about their disappearance. Nothing is too trivial. The more information we have, the better chance we have of catching this mimic. Secondly....... that bread looks wonderful. My companions and I have travelled a long way today and are famished. Perhaps we could bother you for some food, then sit down and discuss this?"
(OOC: I'm game either way. I dont mind keeping going like this. Or, if you had a way to introduce a new person into the adventure that's fine too. Whatever you feel comfortable with.)
Alban nods. ”Food first would be wonderful. I don’t think I could concentrate with all these wonderful smells!”
((OOC: I’m going to be posting more slowly the next few days too. I’m taking some PTO so I can give my husband a break from working from home and taking care of the baby at the same time. I’ll probably be posting only in the evenings until Thursday.))
"Of course! There should be a fresh batch out of the oven," the gnome rushes to grab several green loaves, setting them on a table, and pulling several small chairs up. "Please, sit! Anything I can get you to drink? Mushroom wine?"
((OOC: Sounds good, we'll leave it how it is for now. Figured this can be a chill, slower campaign, especially as everyone has a lot going on irl rn. Hope everyone is staying safe.)).
((Sorry guys, life hasn't been normal this past week, wife was a on a no devices kick towards the end of my furlough. I should be more available to be able to check on this more now.))
Elias sits down and hungrily scarfs down the meal. Looking at the map and waiting until all the gnomes leave he suggests to his compatriots "I didn't want to say this in front of the tinkerers so as not to scare them more but, we should probably act like we are dealing with more than one. If we think it was spotted in the King's throneroom, and then the two disappearances are way on the other side of compound with nothing happening in between that seems like it could be at least 2 mimics? I hope it is only 1 but my gut says possibly more."
Alban: "The missing gnomes? Poor lads," the gnomish woman sighs. "Warryn was a tinkerer. Not a head tinkerer, but a good one in his own right. Orryn was a barrel crafter, which the kingdom used to store our mushroom wine. They were close friends...thick as thieves. Warryn was the gnome to invent the barrel crabs...contraptions that can pick up barrels too heavy for a gnome to handle. He was always working on them, in the room he called a "garage." He almost never left his garage, so I assume it was there he was...well, it's the last place we assume he was. Orryn kept him company in the garage some of the time, but he generally made his barrels in the wine storage. It's the last place any gnome saw him."
Lamlis looks to the gnomish woman. "I'm very sorry for the loss of your friends."
Once she leaves he talks to his three companions. "Well, I'm thinking we should investigate the garage and wine storage next. Maybe there's a clue somewhere the gnomes have missed." He turns to Elias. "That's an interesting thought and something we'll have to consider. If there's multiple creatures, we may have our hands full." He taps his fingers together and looks at the ceiling as if in thought.
"Once we investigate, I'm wondering what our best option may be to lure these creatures out. It could involve us using ourselves as bait in these quiet areas and trying to draw out an attack. I'm honestly at a bit of a loss here." He shrugs, then continues eating his bread while occasionally taking sips of his wine.
Elias nods "Yea, either way this isn't as simple of a mission as we thought. But the promise of each getting a specially crafted device is intriguing." Elias finishes his meal and drink and says "I am ready when you guys are."
Lamlis steps forward respectfully. "Unfortunately, I don't have any experience in curing madness. However, I have heard you are having an issue with a shapechanger of some sort. I would like to help any way I can, but need more information. What I've been able to gather is that the two kings are brothers. There was an issue with a shapechanger and several gnomes going missing.The brothers locked themselves away to prevent exposure to this shapechanger. Apparently, there was also a story about a rug originally being in the throne room, then not being there any more....... Perhaps if we captured this creature, it would help the king with his madness, as he wouldn't feel threatened?"
He looks back and forth to them both.
"I sincerely wish to help you, but need whatever extra information you could provide. If we help you with this problem, maybe you could then provide us with several contraptions to bring back to Phandalin? Your kingdom and Phandalin have been allied for a long time and we'd like to see the mutual respect and cooperation continue. This dragon poses a threat to us all."
Persuasion: 18
Lamlis holds his hand out in friendship to the 2 gnomes with a big smile.
Alban nods in agreement with Lamlis. "Any information you can give us about the shape changer or the missing gnomes would be helpful."
"Apprehending the original cause of the madness to cure the king...it might just work," Dabbledob strokes her chin, then takes Lamlis's hand with a firm shake. "Yes, I'll tell you what I know. I believe the shapechanger is a creature called a Mimic. Nasty beasts that have the ability to transform into just about any object, from the size of a coin purse to a barrel. They eat their victims whole, completely dissolving them, which would explain the disappearance of two gnomes recently. All the signs are there...the problem is, I don't know how to find it," she sighs. "but it's very likely it remains in Gnomengarde."
"We greatly value our friendship with Phanadlin," Fibblestib interjects. "If you can help us cure King Korbez's madness, we'll equip each of you with a specially crafted contraption to help fight off the dragon."
"And I suppose you'll need this," Dabbledob pulls out a small rolled piece of parchment, handing it to Lamlis. "A map of Gnomengarde. Should help you find your way around."
Lamlis takes the map and nods. "Thank you kindly. Would you be able to show us on this map where we currently are?...... And also the last known appearances of the missing gnomes?"
He turns to his companions. "If anyone has any other questions, ask away. The more info we get, the better we'll be."
“Is there anything else you can tell us about mimics?” Alban asks. ”I’m not familiar with them. Also, what can you tell us about the gnomes who disappeared? Perhaps talking to the people who say them last could give us some clues.”
Lamlis: "We're here," Dabbledop draws a yellow star on the map. She then pulls out red ink, dips a quill in, and draws three red stars on the map. "Here is where we believe the mimic attacked based on reports of where the missing gnomes were heading before...well, before they were missing. I'll go ahead and label these rooms too..." she scrawls quickly in black ink, then nods.
Alban: "I wish I knew more about these creatures," Flibblestib sighs with an apologetic smile. "They're carnivorous shapeshifting beasts, rarely able to talk or reason. If you're looking for more information on the gnomes who disappeared, I'd suggest trying either the kitchen or the dormitory: we've been advising our people to stick together at all times, to avoid being singled out by the mimic."
Lamis turns to his companions. "Well, do we go interview some gnomes in the dormitory or kitchen? Or should we investigate where they believe the mimic attacks occurred?"
”Let’s start with the kitchens,” Alban says. His stomach growls, and he grins sheepishly and shrugs.
Lamlis laughs. "You know, we did travel a lot today. Some food does sound good. To the kitchens it is then!" Lamlis gives a thankful nod to both Dabbledop and Fibblestib. "Thank you so much for your time. Hopefully, we can quickly find this mimic and things can get back to normal for us all. If we end up staying multiple days, are you able to provide us lodging?"
(OOC: So, is this essentially a 2 party adventure now?)
"Of course," Fibblestib nods. "Don't you worry about food or a place to sleep...our beds may be not be designed for ones so tall as yourselves, but we'll figure something out."
The party towards the kitchen utilizing the map ((which I thought I'd attached to the last post, sorry about that)).
The kitchen is a large room, all cabinets and appliances close to the floor for easy reach. Five gnomes work diligently within, one stoking a fire in a large iron stove, another kneeding green bread dough out of similarly colored mushroom caps, while a third forms loaves of bread out of the dough. The remaining are using gnomish contraptions to squeeze juices out of mushrooms, one red and the other purple.
"Oh, visitors!" the gnome kneading the dough waves to the group with a bright smile. "Ello! How can we help?"
((OOC: seems to be that way...I know Spiderman9991 told me something had come up irl, he didn't know when he'd be back. If I need to pull another player in, we can do that. I'll leave the decision up to you folks.))
Lamlis smiles at the gnomes. "Hello there. Perhaps there's a couple things you could help us with. First, Fibblestib and Dabbledop directed us here since we are helping investigate the missing gnomes. We were told to come talk to some of you in the kitchens that may have known them.......what times they vanished....... or anything unusual or interesting you could share about their disappearance. Nothing is too trivial. The more information we have, the better chance we have of catching this mimic. Secondly....... that bread looks wonderful. My companions and I have travelled a long way today and are famished. Perhaps we could bother you for some food, then sit down and discuss this?"
(OOC: I'm game either way. I dont mind keeping going like this. Or, if you had a way to introduce a new person into the adventure that's fine too. Whatever you feel comfortable with.)
Alban nods. ”Food first would be wonderful. I don’t think I could concentrate with all these wonderful smells!”
((OOC: I’m going to be posting more slowly the next few days too. I’m taking some PTO so I can give my husband a break from working from home and taking care of the baby at the same time. I’ll probably be posting only in the evenings until Thursday.))
"Of course! There should be a fresh batch out of the oven," the gnome rushes to grab several green loaves, setting them on a table, and pulling several small chairs up. "Please, sit! Anything I can get you to drink? Mushroom wine?"
((OOC: Sounds good, we'll leave it how it is for now. Figured this can be a chill, slower campaign, especially as everyone has a lot going on irl rn. Hope everyone is staying safe.)).
Lamlis sits in one of the chairs. "Thanks. Mushroom wine sounds great." He rips a hunk of bread off one of the loaves and begins to eat.
Between bites of bread and sips of wine, Alban asks, ”What can you tell us about the missing gnomes?”
((Sorry guys, life hasn't been normal this past week, wife was a on a no devices kick towards the end of my furlough. I should be more available to be able to check on this more now.))
Elias sits down and hungrily scarfs down the meal. Looking at the map and waiting until all the gnomes leave he suggests to his compatriots "I didn't want to say this in front of the tinkerers so as not to scare them more but, we should probably act like we are dealing with more than one. If we think it was spotted in the King's throneroom, and then the two disappearances are way on the other side of compound with nothing happening in between that seems like it could be at least 2 mimics? I hope it is only 1 but my gut says possibly more."
Alban: "The missing gnomes? Poor lads," the gnomish woman sighs. "Warryn was a tinkerer. Not a head tinkerer, but a good one in his own right. Orryn was a barrel crafter, which the kingdom used to store our mushroom wine. They were close friends...thick as thieves. Warryn was the gnome to invent the barrel crabs...contraptions that can pick up barrels too heavy for a gnome to handle. He was always working on them, in the room he called a "garage." He almost never left his garage, so I assume it was there he was...well, it's the last place we assume he was. Orryn kept him company in the garage some of the time, but he generally made his barrels in the wine storage. It's the last place any gnome saw him."
Lamlis looks to the gnomish woman. "I'm very sorry for the loss of your friends."
Once she leaves he talks to his three companions. "Well, I'm thinking we should investigate the garage and wine storage next. Maybe there's a clue somewhere the gnomes have missed." He turns to Elias. "That's an interesting thought and something we'll have to consider. If there's multiple creatures, we may have our hands full." He taps his fingers together and looks at the ceiling as if in thought.
"Once we investigate, I'm wondering what our best option may be to lure these creatures out. It could involve us using ourselves as bait in these quiet areas and trying to draw out an attack. I'm honestly at a bit of a loss here." He shrugs, then continues eating his bread while occasionally taking sips of his wine.
Elias nods "Yea, either way this isn't as simple of a mission as we thought. But the promise of each getting a specially crafted device is intriguing." Elias finishes his meal and drink and says "I am ready when you guys are."
Lamlis finishes eating then points to the map. "To the garage then. That seems to be the epicenter of activity, at least for the two missing gnomes."