(Guess Vigil’s the only one that can’t speak elf)

Vigil watched Zack and Kalgren speak what sounded like gibberish to him with the wisps. Thankfully, Zack’s translation allowed him to keep up. 

"An earthquake, eh? Probably what drained the lake and brought it down here."

Thinking for a moment, he looks at the spirits. "I know we’re on an important mission here, and feel free to tell me no, but I think we should help these folks move on if they’re stuck here."

Zack nods to Vigil, "I'm inclined to agree, my friend. Perhaps the two are linked in some way?"

"...Perhaps Mother Mouth's magic 'as shifted in time." Oriander muses, nodding.

Quote from SavageVince >>

(Guess Vigil’s the only one that can’t speak elf)

Vigil watched Zack and Kalgren speak what sounded like gibberish to him with the wisps. Thankfully, Zack’s translation allowed him to keep up. 

"An earthquake, eh? Probably what drained the lake and brought it down here."

Thinking for a moment, he looks at the spirits. "I know we’re on an important mission here, and feel free to tell me no, but I think we should help these folks move on if they’re stuck here."

'And how would you propose we do that?' Kalgren crossed his arms in front of his chest. 'Unless we're sure the two are connected, we should prioritise the living. If we don't resolve this before nightfall, more villagers will fall prey to those things.'

He turned his attention to the wisps. 'Do you know anything about snake like, clawed creatures living in these caverns?' He asked in Elvish.

He glanced at Vigil. 'Asking about the snake creatures.'

Quote from Furujiru >>

Quote from SavageVince >>

(Guess Vigil’s the only one that can’t speak elf)

Vigil watched Zack and Kalgren speak what sounded like gibberish to him with the wisps. Thankfully, Zack’s translation allowed him to keep up. 

"An earthquake, eh? Probably what drained the lake and brought it down here."

Thinking for a moment, he looks at the spirits. "I know we’re on an important mission here, and feel free to tell me no, but I think we should help these folks move on if they’re stuck here."

'And how would you propose we do that?' Kalgren crossed his arms in front of his chest. 'Unless we're sure the two are connected, we should prioritise the living. If we don't resolve this before nightfall, more villagers will fall prey to those things.'

He turned his attention to the wisps. 'Do you know anything about snake like, clawed creatures living in these caverns?' He asked in Elvish.

He glanced at Vigil. 'Asking about the snake creatures.'

 Scribble scribble scratch - "Invaders. Seeking magic. Seem to feed on it. Bring prey too. Change."

"Well then," Zack snaps his fingers and smiles to the others, "Looks like we might be able to kill two birds with that one stone after all." He turns to the spirits and asks in elvish, "Where do they come from? Where do they stay?"

The wisps look at each other before they shrug. Scribble scribble. "We see them. Not sure where from. Hard to leave towers."

Kalgren scratched his head.

'If they seek magic,' He asked the wisps in Elvish, 'do you mean there is a large reservoir of magical energy nearby? Some sort of nexus or the like?'

Zack strokes his chin in thought. "If they seek magic, then why feed on and kidnap the animals and townsfolk? I can't imagine that any of them would sate any magical hunger pains."

"While we debate, why don' we look at the gear Zach found? Take an hour, figure out what we got, and decide the next course?" Oriander suggests.

Zack nods, "Excellent idea. Perhaps something there might even aid us." He then sits down to look over each piece of equipment to try and work out what each is (general Arcana check: 18 - though let me know if you want something different or extra rolls).

Quote from SpieltJoos >>

Zack nods, "Excellent idea. Perhaps something there might even aid us." He then sits down to look over each piece of equipment to try and work out what each is (general Arcana check: 15 - though let me know if you want something different or extra rolls).

 (normal short rest identification. Thooough, since it would be a shame to waste that 15, I'll call it as "You work it out faster" and only take 30 minutes to identify everything. As you guys continue to debate, and you can let me know when you're all ready to move ahead with a plan, you figure out that things are: Driftglobe - Rod of the Pact Keeper +1 - Scimitar of Warning - Cloak of Protection - Mithral Breastplate, and during this time, if any item requires attunement, it is considered attuned.)

Zack points out the items to each of the others, "Do any of these interest you? I'm likely to find benefits from the cloak and maybe the driftglobe."

Kalgren's eyes drifted to the rod when Zack pointed it out. He already wielded the light of Amaunator and the orb seemed to be a pale imitation of actual sunlight so he dismissed it out of hand. He did so likewise with the scimitar and breastplate: useful items but warrior tools and unfit for someone like him. The cloak held some appeal, he could feel a protective charm coursing through the fibers just by touching it, but donning it would mean covering up his person and keep him from basking in the sun's warm embrace. Besides, Zack seemed to have an interest in it. 

But the rod had a certain heft to it when he picked it up. What metal was incorporated into it felt pleasantly warm to the touch and though simple in design, it had an intricacy he could not fully explain at the moment. Kalgren held the rod aloft and imagined reaching for the sun. The end of the rod began to softly glow. Parts wood and metal shifted and reshaped themselves and within moments, the rod was topped off with a miniature sun design flanked by two angelic wings.

'Well well,' Kalgren smiled. 'Isn't that something?' He was not as well versed in magical items as he wished he was but by simply holding the rod, he could feel that his magic would be more powerful when channeled through it. Or more focused, he could not really tell the difference. He slid the rod behind his belt like one would an axe. 

OOC: basing the design on this picture 

 

Quote from SpieltJoos >>

Zack strokes his chin in thought. "If they seek magic, then why feed on and kidnap the animals and townsfolk? I can't imagine that any of them would sate any magical hunger pains."

 "We know they kidnap people. We can’t say for sure that they eat them.", remarks Vigil. "I might just be spitballing here, but I think they sustain on magic, not flesh."

Quote from Furujiru >>

Kalgren scratched his head.

'If they seek magic,' He asked the wisps in Elvish, 'do you mean there is a large reservoir of magical energy nearby? Some sort of nexus or the like?'

 Vigil scoffs. "How much you wanna bet there’s something deeper in these caves?"

Quote from SpieltJoos >>

Zack points out the items to each of the others, "Do any of these interest you? I'm likely to find benefits from the cloak and maybe the driftglobe."

 Vigil begins eyeing the various items. "Mighty fine loot you found there. I would fancy myself that blade over there.", he says as he points at the scimitar.

His gaze then turns to their tall friend, Oriander. Though he seems to be able to defend himself, the lack of protection might make him vulnerable. "Hey Oriander. Think you can wear this?", as he points to the breastplate.

"Aye, I can wear it." Oriander nods as he takes the breastplate and dons it.

(Woo, everyone got the intended items! aha. I'll just go modify Oriander's statblock now to account for his AC...)

Zack nods as they each take their magical pieces. "This will just take a moment," he says as he attunes to the cloak to garner its full effect. "Well then," he says finally, "Shall we go looking for these creatures and whatever is holding these spirits here?"

Vigil takes a few swings at the air with his new blade. This would do nicely. At Zack’s comments, Vigil replies.

"Right. Let’s get a move on then."

Kalgren gave the others a nod. With the rod tucked away at his side, he surveilled the area, trying to spot an exit out of the cavern that they have not traversed yet.

There are two other exits, one going further down and one on the "right" that you can't quite tell which way it goes. The party is still near the edge of the cavern, with these exits about 500 feet away, directly and to the "right" respectively. 

Oriander furrows his brow a bit. "Magic ain' my thin'. Even if we find what is 'oldin' the spirits here... 'ow're we stopping it an' freein' them?" He asks, his face looking rather mystified. He is way out of his element in this regard, but at least he isn't afraid to admit it!