Usul pulls up a scarf to cover his mouth and summons his spectral hand to float forward 30 feet to poke at the hole where his bolt entered, saying, "Heading up to rest sounds like a good plan. This place is BIG! and we can't deal with it all tonight... Should we head back to the manor though? The beds are much softer there."
Silthras nods halfheartedly, "A bed. I don't really care where. I...just need to get rid of whatever that stink did." He nods over at the remains, then tries to offer Usul whatever assistance he can. He seems to struggle breathing at times, and is far more pale than usual.
There isn't much left to poke through as you check the dead creatures. Upon closer inspection, it seems the corpse-like creatures were not regular undead as you might have thought, instead the congealed-blood like substance that covered them(same thing that exploded when Silthras approached), seemed to be controlling them.
The statue was filled with blood which now leaks out from the split open head onto the tunnel floor.
You can say for certain there's nothing of value on these bodies. Just stone, rotted flesh, and blood.
Leaving the tunnels is straightforward from here, as luckily nothing blocks your path again. You retreat back the way you came, turning down the smaller tunnel when it comes into sight, and ascending the ladder back to the surface. As you exit the safehouse, the sky is lighter than it was before when you went in. The sun isn't rising quite yet, but you can tell it's about to start. Thankfully from this location you're very close to the Council Ward entrance that's right next to the Belerac Manor. It's a relatively quick trip, not even ten minutes.
The house servants have begun to arrive as you make your way through the gate, glancing at your dirty and somewhat exhausted state with concerned looks.
You make it to your rooms, falling into the comfort of warm beds and clean sheets to sleep away what is left of the morning.
Around midday is when you'll wake. What's next? :)
Since Velyra only needs 4 hours for a long rest, could she get up before the others and go check out a library to see if she can find information on those tablets?
You can say for certain there's nothing of value on these bodies. Just stone, rotted flesh, and blood.
Were the blades on their arms made of rock or flesh as well?
Has he seen or heard of anything like them? And...did they remind him of the stone creature in the ruins? Perhaps a corrupted version?
Silthras is relieved to see the sky and the stars once more, taking a deep breath as he walks out the door. As they walk he pauses and looks back, "We have to explore that place. And find a way to avoid those creatures...I'd hate to stand in front of one that was bleeding." The remembered stink makes him shudder and he falls silent for a time as they contine. "Something to discuss the morning. I'm too tired to think right now."
He lets his mind wander over the past few weeks as the walk, and back at the manor, as he falls asleep his patron is on his mind...and the other to whom is is connected. So many questions, so few answers! You want me to find the parts...where are they? Enigmatic dreams only go so far, you realize? His sardonic inner voice is tinged with regret that he has not been able to piece any of the puzzle together yet, let alone the blade. Perhaps tomorrow.
Images of Kaz, the golem, the dying watcher and the shattered blade all blur as sleep finally takes him.
Come morning he wakes with a start, but quickly remembers where he is. Food. Need food. He quickly dresses and hurries down to the kitchens in the hopes of finding something to satisfy his hunger and thirst, then seeks out the others, first trying Velyra's room and then the library...
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
They were rock.
Nope. Imagery of the stone creature is vaguely reminiscent of the creature you fought in Feycrest in that it is gangly with clawed hands, and is missing eye sockets. The stone creature in the ruins was more rotund, like a golem. And seemed to be powered via some arcane circuitry. This one was a weird blood magicky thing.
Velyra is up hours before the hours, around the time most of the rest of the city is coming to. With a goal in mind, she quickly readies herself and heads out into the streets. From conversations with Usul she's vaguely aware of a multitude of book collections in the Spire - but recalls they would mostly be arcana focused. Within the inner walls of the Council Ward however, next to the Hall of Governance, there is indeed a library with more general knowledge.
As with the rest of the structures around it, there is a certain amount of grandeur to it. Decorated stone columns and the like. Within, you are briefly checked in by a not quite awake clerk, who also explains that without certain associations(such as with the Spire), there are some areas you are denied access to.
Still, the information you're after isn't particularly secretive, and the clerk is able to point you in somewhat the right direction. In your first hour of searching, it doesn't take you long to find what you're looking for. Several decades ago a site had been discovered in the far east by an expedition into the Blighted Lands(east coast of the continent, called as such due to lack of vegetation and generally inhospitable environment). You find a book detailing the expedition, and the subsequent excavation of the archaeological site and the team's findings. They describe a brief culture of humans that arose from the chaos roughly 600 years ago, enigmatic in that they worshiped no gods, only dragons. The tablets you found were from the site, and detail some of their mythos and brief history. They disappeared as quickly as they appeared however, and those tablets are among the few things they left behind.
To someone like you, it is an incredibly fascinating find...But as far as a link to the Watchers, the Unmade, and everything else you're dealing with...? Seems unlikely.
You're able to check the book out if you really want to take it with you to glance over some more, though it will need to be returned within five days time.
With your search done, you return to the Belerac manor with about two hours to spare, doing as you please until you hear a knock on your door.
As the morning comes Kal takes a moment to stretch the soreness from his limbs. The late night adventures in cramped spaces had taken its toll on him, regardless of how comfy the bed was. After getting ready he leaves the room, just in time to see Silthras outside of Velyra's. "Have any flashes of inspiration in your sleep by any chance?"
Velyra would definitely take the book from the library for the time being, if only for her own enjoyment. She'd spend some more time at the Belerac mansion glancing through it. Not for any particular information, merely just to refresh herself on the archaeological site.
She gets up after hearing a knock on her door, opening it to see both Silthras and Kal in the hall. "Thought you were all going to sleep forever." She says with a smile, briefly turning back into the room to grab her things before joining them in the hall. She slips the book into her pack, just in case they stop somewhere for a while today. "Went to a library this morning. Nice place. Very big. Those tablets jolted a memory in me, so I went to go find some information. They're pretty much useless to use though, the remnants of some dragon cult that had a brief stint several hundred years ago."
"I was thinking we would check on that priest, Clayus. I presume Kaz will reach out to us at some point today."
Waking up with a yawn and a stretch Usul finds some food and spends the first bit of his waking time playing with poor Muad, who had been left the day before. He then dumps out the bag that he 'acquired' the day before just to be sure there is nothing unexpected in it before stuffing all the remaining pottery shards back in to have the group look over later. After that he'd prepare to head down for a late brunch and see what everyone else is thinking.
Dumping out the rest of the bag, Usul finds it wasn't really that full. It only had the things from that one specific crate. Which were indeed these tablets with draconic scrawled on them. But...Now he has his own Bag of Holding.
Sylnora herself practically rolls out of her bed, sleepily getting ready for the day. When she's half certain she hasn't forgotten anything, she opens the door to the hallway and walks out, eyes still glazed over with a jumbled mess of hair. A yawn escapes as she spots the others, dragging her feet over. "I don't want to stay up that late again. What are we doing?"
"That could be a refreshing change of pace."He says in response to Velyra's suggestion. "I am still curious about his reaction to the Unmade. It makes me uneasy that someone else is sitting on this information while we don't know their allegiances."Kal turns as Syl comes out of her room, raising an eyebrow at her state. "Don't take late nights very well?"
"So! We gonna go explore again?" Usul says as the others begin to gather. Then patting his new bag says, "Think they need the shards in here for something? Ah... also... why was that house empty last night? Where were the owners? Why were those crates just sitting there? Should we go back and check out the scene one more time maybe?"
"I don't think they really need what's in that bag. It could be their master has a certain artifact in mind, but they've only told the thieves to grab everything so they don't actually know what's valuable and what isn't." Velyra says, then quickly relaying what she learned at the library this morning to the rest of the group. "I want to pick that priest's brain one more time...Then perhaps we meet with Kaz and head back into the tunnels."
"I'm not sure if there's anything of value left in the house, but we can check it out again too."
Sylnora rubs one of her eyes with a palm, "I do not."She mumbles in reply. Stifling another yawn , she tries briefly to focus on what her companions are saying to come voice her own opinion. "That priest gave me the creeps. But if we're all going it should be fine. Not like they can strike us down in the middle of a temple."
Silthras listens to Velyra's analysis, a little disappointed that they did not gain something of value to the enemy, but hope that they also failed to find anything. The question of the tunnels still intrigues him, and he nods to Usul.
"Aye, searching the house again. Definitely. Since you disturbed them, we might find something that they missed. So...doing that as soon as possible would be wise."
He then ponders a little longer, "After that...I think you are all right. We don't want to leave Clayus too long. If he does not turn out to be yet another enemy...then either Kaz, or the tunnels beckon. My preference is for Kaz, given what Kal said, though that choice is out of our hands. Has anybody got any ideas how best to explore the tunnels?"
"Given what we already know about its shape, I'm inclined to think the outer tunnel is a loop that goes around the entire city. I think trying to complete a full circuit, marking down any other passageways we find would be a good first step." Velyra says. As she thinks on how they could get a real lead, the beginnings of an idea form in her mind. "I need to make a quick stop a shop somewhere, then we should head to the temple. I may be able to get some answers there while you all investigate Clayus."
when we leave the manor, Velyra would like to approximately 1 metric ****ton of incense.
Usul pulls up a scarf to cover his mouth and summons his spectral hand to float forward 30 feet to poke at the hole where his bolt entered, saying, "Heading up to rest sounds like a good plan. This place is BIG! and we can't deal with it all tonight... Should we head back to the manor though? The beds are much softer there."
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
Silthras nods halfheartedly, "A bed. I don't really care where. I...just need to get rid of whatever that stink did." He nods over at the remains, then tries to offer Usul whatever assistance he can. He seems to struggle breathing at times, and is far more pale than usual.
Usul Investigation(Silthras Help): 27
There isn't much left to poke through as you check the dead creatures. Upon closer inspection, it seems the corpse-like creatures were not regular undead as you might have thought, instead the congealed-blood like substance that covered them(same thing that exploded when Silthras approached), seemed to be controlling them.
The statue was filled with blood which now leaks out from the split open head onto the tunnel floor.
You can say for certain there's nothing of value on these bodies. Just stone, rotted flesh, and blood.
Leaving the tunnels is straightforward from here, as luckily nothing blocks your path again. You retreat back the way you came, turning down the smaller tunnel when it comes into sight, and ascending the ladder back to the surface. As you exit the safehouse, the sky is lighter than it was before when you went in. The sun isn't rising quite yet, but you can tell it's about to start. Thankfully from this location you're very close to the Council Ward entrance that's right next to the Belerac Manor. It's a relatively quick trip, not even ten minutes.
The house servants have begun to arrive as you make your way through the gate, glancing at your dirty and somewhat exhausted state with concerned looks.
You make it to your rooms, falling into the comfort of warm beds and clean sheets to sleep away what is left of the morning.
Around midday is when you'll wake. What's next? :)
Since Velyra only needs 4 hours for a long rest, could she get up before the others and go check out a library to see if she can find information on those tablets?
Were the blades on their arms made of rock or flesh as well?
Has he seen or heard of anything like them? And...did they remind him of the stone creature in the ruins? Perhaps a corrupted version?
Silthras is relieved to see the sky and the stars once more, taking a deep breath as he walks out the door. As they walk he pauses and looks back, "We have to explore that place. And find a way to avoid those creatures...I'd hate to stand in front of one that was bleeding." The remembered stink makes him shudder and he falls silent for a time as they contine. "Something to discuss the morning. I'm too tired to think right now."
He lets his mind wander over the past few weeks as the walk, and back at the manor, as he falls asleep his patron is on his mind...and the other to whom is is connected. So many questions, so few answers! You want me to find the parts...where are they? Enigmatic dreams only go so far, you realize? His sardonic inner voice is tinged with regret that he has not been able to piece any of the puzzle together yet, let alone the blade. Perhaps tomorrow.
Images of Kaz, the golem, the dying watcher and the shattered blade all blur as sleep finally takes him.
Come morning he wakes with a start, but quickly remembers where he is. Food. Need food. He quickly dresses and hurries down to the kitchens in the hopes of finding something to satisfy his hunger and thirst, then seeks out the others, first trying Velyra's room and then the library...
They were rock.
Nope. Imagery of the stone creature is vaguely reminiscent of the creature you fought in Feycrest in that it is gangly with clawed hands, and is missing eye sockets. The stone creature in the ruins was more rotund, like a golem. And seemed to be powered via some arcane circuitry. This one was a weird blood magicky thing.
Velyra History 1: 18
Velyra History 2: 18
Velyra is up hours before the hours, around the time most of the rest of the city is coming to. With a goal in mind, she quickly readies herself and heads out into the streets. From conversations with Usul she's vaguely aware of a multitude of book collections in the Spire - but recalls they would mostly be arcana focused. Within the inner walls of the Council Ward however, next to the Hall of Governance, there is indeed a library with more general knowledge.
As with the rest of the structures around it, there is a certain amount of grandeur to it. Decorated stone columns and the like. Within, you are briefly checked in by a not quite awake clerk, who also explains that without certain associations(such as with the Spire), there are some areas you are denied access to.
Still, the information you're after isn't particularly secretive, and the clerk is able to point you in somewhat the right direction. In your first hour of searching, it doesn't take you long to find what you're looking for. Several decades ago a site had been discovered in the far east by an expedition into the Blighted Lands(east coast of the continent, called as such due to lack of vegetation and generally inhospitable environment). You find a book detailing the expedition, and the subsequent excavation of the archaeological site and the team's findings. They describe a brief culture of humans that arose from the chaos roughly 600 years ago, enigmatic in that they worshiped no gods, only dragons. The tablets you found were from the site, and detail some of their mythos and brief history. They disappeared as quickly as they appeared however, and those tablets are among the few things they left behind.
To someone like you, it is an incredibly fascinating find...But as far as a link to the Watchers, the Unmade, and everything else you're dealing with...? Seems unlikely.
You're able to check the book out if you really want to take it with you to glance over some more, though it will need to be returned within five days time.
With your search done, you return to the Belerac manor with about two hours to spare, doing as you please until you hear a knock on your door.
As the morning comes Kal takes a moment to stretch the soreness from his limbs. The late night adventures in cramped spaces had taken its toll on him, regardless of how comfy the bed was. After getting ready he leaves the room, just in time to see Silthras outside of Velyra's. "Have any flashes of inspiration in your sleep by any chance?"
Velyra would definitely take the book from the library for the time being, if only for her own enjoyment. She'd spend some more time at the Belerac mansion glancing through it. Not for any particular information, merely just to refresh herself on the archaeological site.
She gets up after hearing a knock on her door, opening it to see both Silthras and Kal in the hall. "Thought you were all going to sleep forever." She says with a smile, briefly turning back into the room to grab her things before joining them in the hall. She slips the book into her pack, just in case they stop somewhere for a while today. "Went to a library this morning. Nice place. Very big. Those tablets jolted a memory in me, so I went to go find some information. They're pretty much useless to use though, the remnants of some dragon cult that had a brief stint several hundred years ago."
"I was thinking we would check on that priest, Clayus. I presume Kaz will reach out to us at some point today."
Waking up with a yawn and a stretch Usul finds some food and spends the first bit of his waking time playing with poor Muad, who had been left the day before. He then dumps out the bag that he 'acquired' the day before just to be sure there is nothing unexpected in it before stuffing all the remaining pottery shards back in to have the group look over later. After that he'd prepare to head down for a late brunch and see what everyone else is thinking.
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
Dumping out the rest of the bag, Usul finds it wasn't really that full. It only had the things from that one specific crate. Which were indeed these tablets with draconic scrawled on them. But...Now he has his own Bag of Holding.
Sylnora herself practically rolls out of her bed, sleepily getting ready for the day. When she's half certain she hasn't forgotten anything, she opens the door to the hallway and walks out, eyes still glazed over with a jumbled mess of hair. A yawn escapes as she spots the others, dragging her feet over. "I don't want to stay up that late again. What are we doing?"
"That could be a refreshing change of pace." He says in response to Velyra's suggestion. "I am still curious about his reaction to the Unmade. It makes me uneasy that someone else is sitting on this information while we don't know their allegiances." Kal turns as Syl comes out of her room, raising an eyebrow at her state. "Don't take late nights very well?"
"So! We gonna go explore again?" Usul says as the others begin to gather. Then patting his new bag says, "Think they need the shards in here for something? Ah... also... why was that house empty last night? Where were the owners? Why were those crates just sitting there? Should we go back and check out the scene one more time maybe?"
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
"I don't think they really need what's in that bag. It could be their master has a certain artifact in mind, but they've only told the thieves to grab everything so they don't actually know what's valuable and what isn't." Velyra says, then quickly relaying what she learned at the library this morning to the rest of the group. "I want to pick that priest's brain one more time...Then perhaps we meet with Kaz and head back into the tunnels."
"I'm not sure if there's anything of value left in the house, but we can check it out again too."
Sylnora rubs one of her eyes with a palm, "I do not." She mumbles in reply. Stifling another yawn , she tries briefly to focus on what her companions are saying to come voice her own opinion. "That priest gave me the creeps. But if we're all going it should be fine. Not like they can strike us down in the middle of a temple."
Silthras listens to Velyra's analysis, a little disappointed that they did not gain something of value to the enemy, but hope that they also failed to find anything. The question of the tunnels still intrigues him, and he nods to Usul.
"Aye, searching the house again. Definitely. Since you disturbed them, we might find something that they missed. So...doing that as soon as possible would be wise."
He then ponders a little longer, "After that...I think you are all right. We don't want to leave Clayus too long. If he does not turn out to be yet another enemy...then either Kaz, or the tunnels beckon. My preference is for Kaz, given what Kal said, though that choice is out of our hands. Has anybody got any ideas how best to explore the tunnels?"
"Given what we already know about its shape, I'm inclined to think the outer tunnel is a loop that goes around the entire city. I think trying to complete a full circuit, marking down any other passageways we find would be a good first step." Velyra says. As she thinks on how they could get a real lead, the beginnings of an idea form in her mind. "I need to make a quick stop a shop somewhere, then we should head to the temple. I may be able to get some answers there while you all investigate Clayus."
when we leave the manor, Velyra would like to approximately 1 metric ****ton of incense.
Silthras turns to Usul, "Do you think you could investigate the house on the way. Sooner is better..."