Completed Play-by-Post: In Search of the Sorcerer

[Helly]

"I...I'm sorry, I panicked. I hope that stone didn't get any of you... I'll check the beasts, I want to make sure whether they're magical or real things."

OOC

Are giant ticks a common occurrence in these lands btw?

 

[nikolokolus]

"I...I'm sorry, I panicked. I hope that stone didn't get any of you... I'll check the beasts, I want to make sure whether they're magical or real things."

OOC

Are giant ticks a common occurrence in these lands btw?

A giant tick is definitely not natural and is almost unheard of in civilized areas. You know this because although young Ker is just an initiate, you know a little bit about the wider world (mainly through your circle) that for many years now a darkness has been infesting the Coedwig Mawr (The Great Wood) that bounds Kaer Eanyn to the North and West. Tales are told to frighten children and warn them from wandering off too far from the safety of the fortified village about giant spiders, great dire wolves and other creatures that have been twisted and corrupted by a mysterious force that people sometimes call "The Weird."

Then again who knows what somebody might find in a sorcerer's tower?

 

[Grimgravy]

"Wouldn't surprise me. Perhaps Cormac can share his story while we finish checking this floor. There might be something of use in these crates or the other alcove."

Rhenmyr inspects the the door to the other alcove.

OOC

How much light does the ichor give? Could we soak some of our beggar rags in it for flameless torches?

edit

"No worries Ker. We didn't end up like the guard from the fountain!"

 

[nikolokolus]

Rhenmyr moves to the back of the room where another door stands shut. The door is apparently locked and made of the same embossed bronze as the door to the room where you found Cormac.

The dog sniffs at the corpses of the horrid insects and recoils and blows his nose in disgust.

ANSWER

The ichor glows faintly. For game purposes we'll say that a cup of the stuff (or a rag full doused and held aloft) would cast enough light to see reasonably well out to ten feet.

 

[Helly]

"No worries Ker. We didn't end up like the guard from the fountain!"

"Yes, that poor man... Well, Cormac, now that we have some calm, care to explain what happened to you these last weeks?"

 

[Llywelyn ap Gruffydd]

"Well, I came here to this tower to investigate some missing dead from cemetaries and crypts. I traveled here with a priest and a few acolytes. Oh, where did they go? Did you see them on the way up here?"

 

[Siveon]

"See for yourself." Marcán leads Cormac to the entrance chamber.

 

[Grimgravy]

"Borric, could you and Sokrates make some 'torches' from the bugs and our rags. You could break up a crate or two in necessary. We don't know how long we'll have to deal with the dark and our supplies are limited."

Rhenmyr searches the room and crates keeping an eye out for the door's key.

To Cormac, "We were told the tower burned six months ago. No one could say why exactly, but apparently a lot of people were burned. People here presume Koren Ghul was among them. But my mentor sent me to find him AFTER the fire, so I have my doubts. Plus, you survived, so the wizard may have as well."

 

[nikolokolus]

Borric and Sokrates set out looking for scraps of cloth and bits of splintered planks to use as makeshift torches with the dead insects glowing ichor; this proves to be a fairly simple matter and takes no more than a minute or two. In the meantime Rhenmyr begins looking through some of the packing crates for something useful.

For Rhenmyr

roll a 1d100 twice

 

[nikolokolus]

For Cormac:

You are walked over to the entrance way where Marcán holds a light aloft, on the floor you see the badly charred remains of two people face down on the flagstones.

 

[Grimgravy]

Search: [1d100] = 21, [1d100] = 47

 

[Llywelyn ap Gruffydd]

Cormac checks the bodies on the floor to see if there is anthing to identify if they were the people he was with.

 

[nikolokolus]

Rhenmyr's Search:
Most of the crates seem to hold provender - hard tack, dried meats, flour, lentils, millet - however a couple of things catch your eye. The first is an ornate hand mirror, its surface perfectly polished and the engraved frame free of tarnish. In fact looking into it you notice that the surface is almost completely free of defect or warp. The second item you uncover in your rummaging is a small polished steel box about the size of a child's fist. You undo the well made latch and inside you find it divided into 4 quarters, lined with green felt. Inside three of the small compartments is a glass vial filled with a murky purple fluid.

Cormac's Search:
Stooping over the corpses and examining them reveals two very badly burned bodies - charred actually. All their clothing has been burned away leaving few clues, but when you look more closely at one of the poor bastards you notice a small brass ring partially buried in soot and ash wrapped around the corpse's left index finger. This looks very similar to the ring worn by one of your fellow acolytes; a short, fat man called Fearghas.

 

[Grimgravy]

"The good news is that we won't starve! Plenty of dried foodstuffs. The bad news is no key to open the second alcove as of yet. I found a very good mirror and a box with three doses of....purple stuff. I wonder what that does."

Rhenmyr offers a piece of dried meat to the dog. On a hunch, he tries looking at the the dog, alcove door, and purple stuff in the mirror's reflection.

 

[Llywelyn ap Gruffydd]

Cormac takes the ring. "It looks like two of my group didn't make it."

 

[nikolokolus]

"The good news is that we won't starve! Plenty of dried foodstuffs. The bad news is no key to open the second alcove as of yet. I found a very good mirror and a box with three doses of....purple stuff. I wonder what that does."

Rhenmyr offers a piece of dried meat to the dog. On a hunch, he tries looking at the the dog, alcove door, and purple stuff in the mirror's reflection.

Didn't see that coming

So you look at the door's and the dog's reflection? (I'll be damned).

When Rhenmyr holds the mirror up and looks a the dog he is indeed a dog, but you can't shake the sensation that he's somehow not quite what he seems. His mouth takes on a strange expression almost like a human smile and there's something different about his eyes . . . they almost seem to glow golden in the mirror. When you put the mirror aside and look at the cur head on the effect vanishes.

You then take the mirror and hold it up with the door to your back and look at its reflection. The door's reflection appears guazy and insubstantial. You drop the mirror to your side and cast a look over your shoulder and the bronze door looks as stout and imposing as ever.

You inspect the vials in the small steel box and they look as same in the mirror's reflection as they do otherwise.

 

[Grimgravy]

OOC

Haha! Glad I could surprise you and glad it's not just a high quality mirror. Good stuff.

"So, doggy, you're likely more than you appear. And perhaps this door is less."

Rhenmyr touches the alcove door and tries to push through it.

 

[Helly]

"Two of your group Cornac? How many were you in total? And what do you mean Rhenmyr? There is something special about this dog?"
Ker gets near the dog with some meat and examine it while feeding it, trying to see if there is anything out of place like a tatoo or its odour.

 

[nikolokolus]

The dog looks up at Rhenmyr and wags its tail vigorously.

Spoiler

In what manner are you interacting with the door (specifics matter here)?

 

[Helly]

While the dog is busy with the meat, Ker examines all of its body (back, ears, belly, legs, paws if possible...) looking for something out of place on a canine like a piercing, tatoo or anything. But first he smells it to check its canine nature, especially to see whether something magical/alchemical is in the air (like sulphur for instance).
Finally, if all fails, he will say this directly to the dog: "Dog, if you hear me and understand what I'm saying, bark twice" and wait for its answer.

 

[nikolokolus]

The dog cocks its head to the side and begins panting when Ker begins his thorough investigation. For all intents and purposes the dog appears completely normal, if a little emaciated. He smells like a mix of garbage, urine and feces - a very dirty dog who has probably been out on the streets for some time, but you can detect nothing that seems unnatural or alchemical.

The dog barks twice.

 

[Helly]

"Nothing strange about this mutt, except that he absolutely understands us! Then, please answer with a bark for no and two for yes. Well, were you a human? Transformed by Master Ghul? Or could you be Master Ghul himself?"

 

[Grimgravy]

The dog looks up at Rhenmyr and wags its tail vigorously.

Spoiler

In what manner are you interacting with the door (specifics matter here)?

"Just that its eyes glow and its smile is not that of a dog. At least when looked at through this mirror. Take a look at this door in it before I try something potentially stupid, Ker. Doggy seems to think it's a good idea."

First Rhenmyr touches the door (the handle will do if there is one) while looking at it reflected in the mirror. If it feels solid, he'll try to open it again despite appearing locked. If it isn't solid, he'll walk through it.

 

[Helly]

"Wait Rhenmyr, don't touch anyth-... Crap!"

 

[nikolokolus]

Ker's interaction with the dog:
The dog pauses for several moments after the rapid succession of questions, whines a little and then barks once.

Rhenmyr and the door:
Before Ker can interject, Rhenmyr steps up to the door and looking at it only as a reflection cast by the hand-mirror he reaches his hand forward and it passes through as if it were nothing more than a trick of light. Startled you look up from the mirror and find that door solidifies around your hand trapping it. Returning your gaze to the mirror frees your hand. A second later you take a step and pass beyond the hazy portal and immediately find yourself on the edge of a precipice - a tiny ledge about 2 feet wide that juts out from behind the door into an open, smooth-walled shaft. Looking up and down it appears to be an indeterminate height and depth, or at the very least your torch doesn't reveal its full extent.