"Interesting note. Ebony Jaguar? Let me think ..."
Knowledge - arcana, history, and religion (1d20+9=17, 1d20+8=12, 1d20+11=25)
"Interesting note. Ebony Jaguar? Let me think ..."
Knowledge - arcana, history, and religion (1d20+9=17, 1d20+8=12, 1d20+11=25)
"Interesting note. Ebony Jaguar? Let me think ..."
Knowledge - arcana, history, and religion (1d20+9=17, 1d20+8=12, 1d20+11=25)
** spoiler omitted **
"Ebony Jaguar was a high priest of ol' Xipe at Chichen Ipec. He fell during the Night of Bloody Bones, but supposedly came back as undead. He was rumored to be haunting the Jungle of Skulls to this day, and looks like we just got some confirmation of that fact. Looks to me like we need to get to the Frozen Flame before Xipe's brood does, or things could get bad for Opal, and the whole region."
Knowledge (Local) Check. (1d20+6=9)
"Never heard of him, sorry San."
Joleesa goes out to "Wheezy" and begins to take out her flint and steel, looking around the place for something that could be used to get a fire going and keep the wet away while she sleeps. She spreads her cloak out on the floor, cursing herself for neglecting a bedroll and blanket before they left town. She removes "Wheezy's saddle and then he curls up next to her. She is asleep in moments after her ordeal, with "Wheezy" soon after and Lumien perched on the nearby saddle keeping a watch on the party as they decide what to do next.
San has no interest in these gold pieces, assuming they also carry the visage of Xipe Totec, nor does he want any of the other magic items (feeling as though he got more than his share with all of the arcane scrolls he kept to add to his spellbook). He offers to take a first watch, as he will need a full 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep to prepare spells.
San has no interest in these gold pieces, assuming they also carry the visage of Xipe Totec, nor does he want any of the other magic items (feeling as though he got more than his share with all of the arcane scrolls he kept to add to his spellbook). He offers to take a first watch, as he will need a full 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep to prepare spells.
San has no interest in these gold pieces, assuming they also carry the visage of Xipe Totec, nor does he want any of the other magic items (feeling as though he got more than his share with all of the arcane scrolls he kept to add to his spellbook). He offers to take a first watch, as he will need a full 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep to prepare spells.
Suddenly remembering the locked drawers in the desk, completely on his own with no nudging from a disembodied voice, San motions to Vilya. "You wanna take a crack at these, too, or should I just use the new lockpick I got?" he says, cradling the new greatsword.
"Hmmm... Step aside, I'll handle this."
Vilya closes her eyes in concentration, then kneels down in front of the desk drawer, her head level with the lock. Placing her fingers around the edges of the lock, she spreads her hands and opens her mouth. Eight inches of black tongue disappear into the depths of the lock as her fingers extend into needle-like points, digging into the mechanism. After a few seconds, a clicking noise is heard, and Vilya withdraws her appendages.
"Now. Try that with your puny little lockpicks."
Vilya's unorthodox methods do the trick, opening up the lock on the main drawer. Inside is a small cloth bag and some unwritten parchment. Inside the bag is a large lusterous pearl and a wand. A note is scribbled in the bag:
Must identify, magic but what?
There is a ring of small desk keys inside the main drawer that open the other drawers. They seem to hold writing supplies and a few alchemical items. A large blue gem is tucked away in one corner .
Jolessa:
She stares in terror as the waist tentacles extend and begin to wrap themselves lazily up her legs, squirming further up her body. Their touch is like slimy stones on her fevered skin. She can feel the suckers on the black tentacles pulsing against her thighs.
Joleesa falls asleep, but imediately begins to writhe and moan in the grip of some night terror
Joleesa's fevered convulsions wake "Wheezy" and he looks down at her quizzicaly. He nuzzles first her cheek, then her shoulder, and finally his tongue curls out to lick her cheek.
Getting no response other than a whimper escaping her lips, he turns his head to the others and gives a short bark to attract their attention.
Egan makes his way back to the surface, and spends an hour or so "communicating" with his hawk friend. He feeds him some scraps of meat, and tries to strengthen their bond. After some time in the open air he sighs at the necessity to sleep indoors tonight, then heads back down. Just before descending however he tries on the new armor, and takes a couple of shots with the new bow.
If he sees any game near the site he will attempt to shoot it and bring fresh meat to the party. He also uses this an an opportunity to start teaching his yet un-named companion how to hunt...
Perception towards animals (1d20+19=22)
And if he finds anything to hunt:
Longbow vs. animals (1d20+11=26, 1d20+11=12, 1d20+11=15)
Damage vs. animals (1d8+7=9, 1d8+7=11, 1d8+7=11)
Egan makes his way back to the surface, and spends an hour or so "communicating" with his hawk friend. He feeds him some scraps of meat, and tries to strengthen their bond. After some time in the open air he sighs at the necessity to sleep indoors tonight, then heads back down. Just before descending however he tries on the new armor, and takes a couple of shots with the new bow.
If he sees any game near the site he will attempt to shoot it and bring fresh meat to the party. He also uses this an an opportunity to start teaching his yet un-named companion how to hunt...
Egan gets to know his new companion better. The hawk seems to be very calm on Egan's arm, something he knows is quite difficult to accomplish. The new armor slides on like a dream, the links fitting smoothly. He takes the new bow out a bit onto the marshy island and finds several Archaeopteryx nests in the gnarled willows and banyan trees growing on the rubbled top of the pyramid. The turkey-sized flying dinosaurs fall from the sky easily from Egan's shots. Egan's new hawk companion practices dropping on some smaller ones scared up by the shooting. Soon a brace of the half-lizards half-birds lie at Egan's feet. He knows from past experience the meat off these creatures is quite delicious when cooked properly
Jolessa is awakened by the concerned Iz. She gasps and sits up. Iz had noted the idol had flared magic while she slept, but was now quiescent. It sits untouched in a corner, its horrid shape flickering in the dim torchlight. Eventually, everyone settles back down, Wheezy crouched protectively over Jo's form.
Egan brings in the bird-lizards that he and his new companion hunted. There is a small cooking area in the small room, basically a hearth with a small chimney, Egan expertly guts and skewers the creatures on sticks. Before everyone settles down they have some grilled Archaeopteryx.
After posting watches, the group settles down. They don't have a great sleep, the temple is oppressive, and the charnel smell of the main room seeps in and colors their half-remembered dreams blood red. They awake stiff and sore, but somewhat refreshed, ready to start another day. The air has grown even more humid, and there is a sound like a chorus of Hell outside as thousands of huge flies battle for egg laying rights on the remains.
In the morning, San wakes up, gets a good stretch, and settles down to the task of preparing his spells and identifying the magic items. When everyone’s packing up their gear, he says, “Well, the way I look at it, we’ve got two options here. OK, three, I suppose. One, we continue back on our way to the Temple of the Frozen Flame. Looks like we aren’t the only ones looking for it, and it’s not just some lost ruin on a map. Two, we wait here for the servant of Ebony Jaguar, who’s supposed to be here in a month. Long wait, but maybe if the rot-bag attacks against Tanglewood stop, someone will come investigate sooner. Or three, we say screw it, and head back to Opal.
“My vote is for number one. Seems to me the most important thing right now is to find the frozen flame and figure it out before Ebony Jaguar does. For some reason, if EJ gets there first, I think that would be really bad for Opal. Number three isn’t really an option for myself (or Iz, I suspect), but the rest of you are under no obligations.”
Joleesa wakes the next morning feeling a little refeshed. The others do notice however that dark circles ring the normally pale skin under her eyes and her hair has lost a little of it's lustrous red shine. It could just be the oppressive air down here though.
She takes some of the leftovers from last night and gulps it down hungrilly. She gives a little to Lumien and takes some food from her saddlebags to feed "Wheezy" with. "When we get back outside boy I'll walk for a while and you can go hunt yourself some real breakfast,"[b] she says as she pats him and gives him a scratch under his chin.
[b]"Did anyone else have a bad sleep or was it just me?" she calls to the others, who seem to be preoccupied with something.
She walks over to them and catches the last part of San's speech. "Well I'm all for heading out to find the Frozen Flame. Think of the treasures buried along with it. A find like that could set me up for a year or more back in Opal. What do you say Ten, Tobias?"
Ten sleeps like a baby in his alcohol induced coma, but wakes groggy and thirsty, he takes a hair of the dog as his says his morning vigilance to two rabbits.
"Blimey Jo, you look like something that Wheezy might leave behind him." he offers her a stiff drink as he stands behind her and straightens her hair.
"I'll go where you ladies and gentlemen lead," he comments, "The more adventure the better" he adds in a mumble afterwards, "as long as there are less spiders."
Iz will consult with the others while Joleesa sleeps.
** spoiler omitted **
"OK, here's what I determined: the idol was acting as the receptacle for a magic jar-like effect. Whether it was exactly that or not, I don't know. However, the traditional spell, if it succeeds, forces the host's soul into the receptacle while the new soul takes over the body. If it fails, the original soul remains in the receptacle. Destroying the receptacle ends the spell, and would therefore restore everyone's soul to their proper bodies. HOWEVER, and this is a big however, that's assuming this effect is a true magic jar. A couple of things lead me to believe it might be different: one, Jo still seems to be in her body, yet was obviously affected in some way. Two, the spell itself only has a duration of several hours. So unless our octo-lizard friend had another friend who cast it right before we got in the area (couldn't have been the lizard himself, or he wouldn't have been fighting us), then it's probably been functioning longer.
"So. We either take the idol with us, or destroy it. I don't think leaving it is an option, and I'm not sure which I prefer. Thoughts?"
She walks over to them and catches the last part of San's speech. "Well I'm all for heading out to find the Frozen Flame. Think of the treasures buried along with it. A find like that could set me up for a year or more back in Opal. What do you say Ten, Tobias?"
"Jo, you had me at 'treasures'. I'd head there even if some crazed cultists weren't looking for it too."
"So. We either take the idol with us, or destroy it. I don't think leaving it is an option, and I'm not sure which I prefer. Thoughts?"
"I say we take it with us. At least that way we might have a chance of finding out what it's supposed to do."
Egan's head lifts up at the mention of returning to the Jungle he loves so well.
"I too agree with option number one". "We might accidentally fall into Option 2 at the same time, but that is a good goal".
He then hurries to the surface to wait for the others, and call "whisperwing" to see if he wants breakfast.