Dskani keeps an eye out for birds on his way to the cottage.
Dskani and Isidora tear into the grass in the direction of the cottage. Kildel stays behind to buy them some time.
The terrifying bird pops its razor sharp beak from out of the soft ground. Then it rears its head and tries to land another devastating peck on the barbarian in front of him.
as Dskani and Ilyana run through the grass, the remaining birds give chase. You can see grass rustle to the sides of you and hear taloned footfalls behind you.
Then Dskani bursts out of the grassy field into the front yard of the simple cabin. Ilyana busts out moments later. No birds follow.
the simple cabin lies before you. nothing terribly special about it by looking. its got a few windows, a simple porch, a front door and back door.
Exits are Field, Front Door, Back door, and Window
Isidora runs to the front door and tries to open it, hoping it isn't locked.
If she does find the door locked, she calls out for Dskani to cover her and whips out a lockpick.
It opens.
Isidora glances back over her shoulder, nervously checking for any pursuing birds.
"Quickly, get inside!"
Dskani enters the cottage, looking around.
Inside you see a simple bed, desk and chair. Sitting on the bed but leaning against a wall is a human skeleton. Sitting on the desk is a couple old books, a letter and a faintly glowing blue key.
the letter reads: If you've found me, I am probably dead. I am too weak to make it back to Castle. Take the blue key and open the way to the Eye. I will likely be inside.
Following Dskani inside, Isidora shuts the door behind her, hoping the next creature to pass through would be their friend Kidel and not an angry bird.
Picking up the note and looking it over Isidora feels a pang of sorrow for the poor soul who wrote it.
"An unfortunate end for another brave explorer. Obviously on a quest for the Eye of Amrion as well, I wonder where he found this blue key? Perhaps it works in conjunction with our yellow one."
Mwk Cold Iron Greatsword Power Atk.: 1d20 + 8 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 8 + 1 - 1 = 25
Damage: 2d6 + 5 + 3 ⇒ (6, 6) + 5 + 3 = 20
Dskani skims the books, looking for any information that might help them. "What's the letter say?"
Isidora looks over the note again, puzzling over the last line.
"The skeleton belongs to someone else who passed this way looking for the Eye, but they were lost or wounded and didn't have the strength to make it back to the castle from here. They claim the blue key will unlock the way to the eye. I'm not quite sure what they mean here at the end though..."
"I will likely be inside."
The final Axe Beak in the clearing with Kildel experiences an unfortunate parting of ways between its head and body.
Kildel is left alone in the tall grass, but he knows which way Isidora and Dskani ran off.
Kildel Exits are Grass, Grass, Grass, and Grass.
D/Isi: Exits are Door.
There are still Axe Beaks elsewhere in the grass.
Kildel: make either a stealth check to sneak past them, a Reflex save to dodge their attacks, or an initiative check to just rush out of the grassy are and into the clearing.
one is fast enough to clip your leg on the way out of the brush. They actually take a out a sizeable chunk of your leg.
But you explode out of the brush and into the front yard of the cabin. behind you you hear the footsteps of the axe beaks on the edge of the grass, yet none follow you. as if they are afraid to leave the shelter of their grassy domain.
Isidora breaths a sigh of relief to see Kildel emerge from the tall grass.
Rushing outside to meet him she fills the barbarian in on what was inside the cabin.
"We found a blue key, it apparently unlocks the path to the Eye of Amrion. We just have to find our way back to the castle first. The key's last owner was unsuccessful in that endeavour."
"Now that we are out of danger, at least for the moment, I can channel some energy to heal us. I can do so twice more today."
"Thank you Dskani, your healing powers would be greatly appreciated." Isidora looks down at her bloodsoaked clothing.
I'll heal us, but then it does seem like a good idea to rest."
.
Judging by the sun it is late afternoon. It looked like morning when you arrived in this strange place. Time seems to have flown by.
"Thank you for the healing Dskani, that feels a little better. Judging by the sun, perhaps now would be a good time to rest. Time seems to be passing unusually quickly here and night could be upon us before we know. I for one don't want to be outside when it arrives."
You guys rest the night in the lonely cabin. the moonlight seems extra bright in this strange place. the soft blue light of the strange key coupled with the sound of the wind through grass makes the night a peaceful one, notwithstanding the occasional distant squawk.
The morning comes quickly. almost too quickly. yet you each feel well rested as if you received 8 hours of sleep. The night of rest has invigorated you and you feel a newfound strength in you.
The sunlight streams in though the cabin windows and the warm breeze races through the expanse of grass that surrounds you. The clear blue day invites you to adventure.
Exits are Grass in all directions. You can see a small mound of shrubbery in the distance below the bluff you are on.
After the night's rest, Isidora wakes feeling energized and ready for the journey back to the castle. She has a nagging sense of curiosity though and can't help wondering where they are exactly.
She tries to piece together the clues she has gathered since they arrived. The length of the day, the taste of the air, the flora and fauna. Maybe something would jog her memory.
Stepping outside the cottage, Isidora climes up onto the roof to gain a better view of the landscape. As she surveys the wide expanse of tall grass and the mound of shrub she tries to gather any clues as to the direction of Amrion's Castle.
Planes 11: Demiplanes have their own rules for time.
Geography 28: The horizon is too curved. You may not be on earth anymore. You seem to have left the castle at some point and popped out of that large shrub in the middle of the grassy expanse.
Isidora climbs back down off of the roof and communicates her findings to the others.
"We definitely left the material plane when we stepped through that doorway. The curvature of the horizon and the changes in the flow of time suggest we're on a small demiplane somewhere. I think our best chance of returning home lies back at those shrubs where we first emerged, we can only hope the portal works both ways."
"I must admit, I don't like our odds of finding whatever patch of shrubbery leads back to the castle amid the long grass and birds. But, I don't see any other choices."
|
Demiplanes? Magical Shrubbery? This was getting insane, even for the standards of insane wizards. "Why can't they just get a dog like a normal person?" Kildel muttered to himself as he finished packing up his gear and stowing it for the day's travels. Now that he had a chance to really waken and look about the building they were in, he decided to do so. The others were better suited to handle this, after all.
The path that you made through the grass yesterday is clearly visible from this vantage point.
Perception 14: As you spend some time searching the house you find assorted junk, some of it magical some of it not. A few items of are of interest to you...
While searching the outside of the house, you also find a locked cellar door with a sign on it which reads WARNING: SIDE QUEST!
Approaching the cellar door, Isidora kneels down and pulls out her lock picking gear.
"I could probably try and pick this lock if you two would like? It would be a shame to leave this demiplane without exploring all it has to offer."
Perception 32: You notice incredibly small runes carved into the Padlock to the cellar door. The padlock contains a Magical Trap! its is a Hold Monster Trap, anyone who touches the padlock carelessly will be affected by Hold Monster.
"Whoever locked this door definitely didn't want anyone else getting through. There are runes carved into the padlock. We'll have to be careful here."
Isidora nods to Kidel and starts to work away at the lock, carefully working to disarm the magical trap.
The lock clicks open and falls into your hand. The magical Hold Person trap will not reset until the lock is locked again
The wooden door creaks open and a dark staircase leads downwards.
You are currently standing outside the cabin.
Exits are stairs, grass, and cabin.
Dskani locates a wand of cure light wounds, two bottles of lightning, a tangleburn bag, and a flask of alchemist's fire. Catching up to the others, he sees the stairway leading down into the dark. "I think we've found everything there is to find in the cabin." As he begins to make his way down the stairs, he draws his shield and urumi as his holy symbol begins to glow (casting light on it).
Isidora slips the padlock into her bag, careful not to let it lock again. Then she pulls on her pack and follows Dskani down the stairs, holding her pistol at the ready.
You descend down the narrow creaking staircase. Eventually your torchlight reveals a basement room. a variety of bugs and insects scurry away from you as you disturb what was likely their very peaceful home up till now.
There is a dusty bookshelf along the wall and a long table with various potions and vials. Small harmless insects skitter to and fro along the dirt floor.
On the bookshelf are different several books most of which are about farming. Some are journals or informational texts. Strangely many of the books on this shelf have the same binding.
The lengthy table against the opposite wall looks like it could have once been an alchemists lab. aside from the usual alchemist trappings, there are 4 clay planters with long dead plants poking out of them, one of which looks much longer than the others. That particular one stretches over the table and almost onto the floor, and shows signs of bugs chewing away at it.
Dskani skims the books, searching for any information about the Eye, or at least any previous adventurers.
With Dskani already skimming over the books, Isidora satisfies her curiosity by approaching the clay planters, attempting to identify the shrivelled remains of what once grew here.