Lost Lab of Kwalish

Huarache clears his throat. "I'd rather you used a different idiom."

Leann has continued to walk.

"So, you lot come to my home, headed who knows where or to what purpose, unleash an ancient evil and leave me here to deal with the demon lord that sent it here. Is that it?" I'll give you one last chance to explain yourselves." The Eladrin demands.

With that she gestures to the treant who nods in reply.  Raising both arms skyward, a tree on either side of him begins to writhe and twist, a face emerging on the trunk of each as their branches unfurl and a pair of eyes open amid the bark surface of each trunk, thier gazes fixed on the small group of adventurers.

"Now. Let's try this again.  Good morrow, I'm Mary." She says with a facetious smile. Poi ting to the Barrier Peaks, she continues, "I need to find something in those mountains over there, and you're going to help me get it.  How that plays out is up to you." A hint of menace in het eye waxes across her face. "So, what is ot you came here to do?"

"So you are indeed an evil being, that just wants to pretend to be good-natured?" Leann asked as she stopps and slowly turns to face the elf. "As we stated previously, the golem was no business of ours, nor is whatever you wish to find in the mountains." She holds the elf's eyes. "I am a servant of Torm, the god of justice, and our actions were just and right." She nods to the golem. "We were tricked into that temple by a farie and only sought to retrieve what was ours." She draws her blade. "We were then attacked by a golem, and fought that golem, with you and your tree there doing as much damage as any of us." She straightens up as she faces the elf. "Now you will not let us leave, when we have done nothing here but defend ourselves, and have your word that some great demon care a whit about this temple in the middle of no where." She shrugs. "I am sorry, but I have no reason to believe you are anything more than a deluded elf who has only their own interests and cares in mind. we were hired for something, that is none of your business, and does not concern your little temple." She raises an eyebrow. "Now will you attack those who mean you and yours no harm, as an evil being would do, or will you allow us, who are innocent of any wrongdoing here, leave without any more of these threats?"

Dorian shakes his head. "Our contract forbids us to speak of the details to others. Would we be more trustworthy to you if we betrayed our bond and gave you that information? I think not. Leann is correct, we were not the only ones who fought the golem. But you were the only one who knew the consequences of its destruction. Had you but called out for us to subdue it rather than kill it, we might have been able to do so." He looks over the golem. "Can we mend it and return it to its suspended state, or is it too late?"

Mary replies to Leann, clearly offended, "I have not attacked you! At worst, these big guys would escort you away from our home.  Now, you would speak to me of evil, servant of Torm? You, who have never seen the depths of Darkness or felt the icy grip of the cold hand of eldritch things grasping at your throat.  Had you ever felt such power, you would not be so quick to judge we who do what we must to survive. You speak of justice, but where is the justice in that demon prince taking for his own that which is my birthright?  An artifact given to my grandmother, Drelzna by her mother, the item's original creator? If you do stand for justice, then it is your duty to help me find it before that power-hungry demon gets his hands on it."

Mary considers Dorian's words: "If what you say is true, if the Unsealy Court, or some unkown actor, sent an agent to disturb the sleeping giant, others may know that the artifact the golem sought is nearby.  I cannot allow anyone else to find it.  I've been making excursions into the mountains, looking for clues to its whereabouts.  I think I know where it is hidden, but much of the way remains a mystery to me.  I don't know if I can make the journey on my own.  After seeing what you are capable of, I believe together we can make the journey together.  You may not trust me, but trust this: if Graz'zt gets his hands on this prize, Toril will know suffering as never before.

Leann shakes her head. "You know nothing of me, and there is little chance you have gone through things worse than I grew up with." She sighs and does not speak further on that. "As for this demon, I am certain his getting his hands on anything would be bad, but there is no reason I am to believe you wouldn't just do as bad, or worse with it, whatever it is." She glances to the others. "The decision is not mine alone though, so what do the rest of you say."

Dorian pulls out the map of Chult. "Where is the area you believe this item to be? If it's on the way, maybe..."

Mary considers the question carefully and anwers with another, "Have you heard of an inventor named Kwalish?  Generations ago, he led an expedition to these mountains, and strange things have been appearing ever since.   He studied the works of the great mages, particularly Heward.  He was fascinated by extra dimensional spaces and planar transport.  That's what brought him here. Within these mountains there are endless portals to myriad planes.  What I seek is located not in the mountain, but through it, specifically through Kwalish's lab. And at last, I know where it is. Somewhere within the hidden temple know as rhe Monastery of the Distressed Body.  I have seen the temple with my own eyes, and I have it on good authority that Kwalish's lab is there."

Leann slips her blade away with a nod. "What is this item you seek then?" She asks as she takes up a less-confrontational stance.

"Hmm, yes, with portals near anything can be a path to near anywhere," Dorian murmurs. Insight check to see if she's being truthful, rather than trying to draw a location out of us: 14

She is telling the truth.

"The artifact is a codex: a set of instructions for the binding of demons.  It is the most comprehensive treatise on the Abyss and its inhabitants ever recorded.  It is known as the Demonomicon of Iggwilv.  There are seven volumes, but much of the information is redundant, deliberately transcribed into each of the books."

Ctenmiir interjects, "That's very kind of you to offer.  We've already got us a map though. Leads right to the crystal city of Daoine Gloine Kwalish was looking for.  Why should we head of to this monastery of yours?"

"Sounds like something that should be destroyed, not found." Leann says with a frown. "A way to bind demons, then what, have them serve you?"

 Has Dorian ever heard of any of these people or items? History: 27

OOC: How do you have a +10 to anything? My highest is a +8 with a luckstone.

Based on that result, Dorian would certainly know Iggwilv by the name Tasha.  Her hideous laughter spell is used in Waterdeep in conjunction with glyphs of warding and by various mages across Faerûn and Zakhara. Dorian would potentially even know that her original home was Oerth, and that she has some history with Graz'zt.  DORIAN probably would also know that Tasha's adoptive mother was Baba Yaga.  It is less likely he knows much about her daughter Drelzna.

Has he ever heard of the book, or based on what he knows of Tasha, what impression would he have of the book (evil, can be used for good, etc)?

With a snide look and a condescending tone, Mary responds to Leann's remark without directly addressing her: "As everyone knows, a demon destroyed anywhere outside the Abyss will merely respawn on its home plane.  Demons thus have little to fear in the way of destruction when they venture from their home plane, but binding is a fate far worse than death for a roving demon." Now looking directly at Leann,she continues, "So, if you have plans to travel to the Graz'zt's palace, kick in the door and slay him, then let's hear it. Otherwise, I'd like to get moving."

Ooc: This is a prompt. The Cartophile sent you to follow the map to the lost city, the Eladrin says what you want is in the temple.  I guess technically you could pick neither, but then you're not doing Lost Lab of Kwalish. So what will it be?

As a sage, Dorian has possibly heard of the book, but I doubt he knows much about it other than it's something to do with demons and probably has spells; that part's in the name.  He may have heard that evil spellcasters can cast evil spells at much higher levels than usual with the book, but that would be a rumor at best.

Do we also need to go through Kwalish's lab to get to our end goal? It sounds like doing both could be an option, but I'm unclear on where these locations are in relation to each other.