Granta's Long Campaign (Core) (Inactive)

Game Master Granta

I was figuring that any bribes could be split out of the money we get from the chronicle. Zyrethian has less money left than Pavo used for the bribe so far

When is that annoying human going to leave?

Zyrethian ignores the priest as he touches his rapier and casts a spell.
Once the spell is cast he begins scanning the room looking for magical auras, consciously ignoring the priest.

Kirrote leans over the sarcophagus and looks for a hand hold with which to move the lid. He gets his fingers around the edge and pushes the lid to the side.

Kirrote brushes aside the sarcophagus' lid with one hand, revealing a bare skeleton with an ancient looking coin in its mouth. Zyrethian senses an aura around the coin, but can't determine its specifics.

"Well," the cleric says, "You've finished sowing, now harvest and get gone."

Zyrethian begins reaching into the sarcophagus, stops and pulls his dagger and a cloth. After retrieving the tools he reaches back into the sarcophagus and carefully, taking as much time as he needs, uses the dagger to remove the coin from the mouth of the corpse and place it in the cloth being careful to never touch the coin to his bare skin. Then he removes his "tools" and the coin from the sarcophagus, continuing to take care to not touch the coin as he places it in a belt pouch.

Anastasia stares at the coin angrily.

"What this? Where now?" she grumbles.

She looks at Zyrethian, and mimics him, casting magic detection. "Let me try", she asks him, trying to make out the coin's purpose.

"Maybe it serves some purpose in the tomb of the failed aspirants," Pavo suggests, "Good--if expensive--idea coming here first."

"I have some gold on me if you need more money for bribes. Not that I am fond of giving money to Asmodeans, especially not ones like that last one."

Zyrethian returns to examining the coin's magic, which causes him to walk slower as he focuses his concentration on on the coin.

@Zyrethian: Taking 20 assumes that you fail before succeeding, and wouldn't be helpful in this situation. Also, you have to wait 24 hours before attempting to identify an item a second time.

The cleric escorts you back to the front gate, and closes it behind you. "The church thanks you for your seeds, flowers. Now go back to your own garden."

Once out of the Asmodean's view, Anastasia studies the coin too, but is also unable to understand its magic.

This would be a good time to reread the handouts and list what you know and what you still want to find out.

Zyrethian turns to the others and suggests, "Let's head back to the Wisp and go over what we know so far."
After a moment of hesitation, his shoulders slump and he adds, "Maybe one of the people there can tell what this coin is."

Anastasia bangs her head with her hand.

"Should know, should know", she mutters angrily.

Finally, she sighs, and looks at Zyrethian. "Yes, we go, we learn. Next time, better. To Wisp."

Your walk back to the Wounded Wisp is as wet and boring as the first journey, and you can instantly tell that the weather has kept most of the patrons inside.

All of the people that you met earlier are still there--albeit drunker, except for Aram bin Kaleel.

Janira, the half-orcs, or Yargos?

As the group enters the Wisp, Zyrethian again uses his arcane powers to dry everyone off.

As he is doing so he speaks up, "Anastasia, would you go see if Janira would come speak with us? The rest of us should find a table somewhere out of the way where we can discuss things without everyone listening to us."

Zyrethian tries to find such a table, and assuming he finds one and the group follows his lead, he heads to it.

Once at the table, "Janira is a pathfinder. She seemed nice enough to me to maybe help us out with no agenda of her own. At least that was my read of her."

Once done with his explanation, Zyrethian pulls out a sheet of paper, as well as pen and ink, [b]"So, what do we know so far?"[b]

Kane shakes loose the cobwebs of a fog he's been in since the graveyard. The insults of the Asmodean cleric, played on his insecurities and he found himself reflecting on his life. Even finding the coin, didn't lift his melancholy. But now back at the Wisp, he regains his enthusiasm.

So the coin is magical and Foster said Arkath would take his secrets to the grave, so this must be his secret, yes?

Kane studies the coin himself, before also suggesting Yargos over there knows a lot about history, made he would recognize it. I could show him if you want.

Pavo sits down with Zyrethian to review what they know. "Adolphus' research led him to three names on the Wall of Names: Doulgonir Caskmail, Hollis Thorne, and Karina Clamp. Given that the epitaphs for each of these false names on the Wall of Names are part of the eulogy for heroes who attempted and failed the Starstone test, I think the treasure and chronicles we're looking for must be hidden there somewhere.

"Fimbrik's note had Caskmail's name on it, so looking near the memorial for the hero who sought the idol of ten thousand faces--I do not recall his name at the moment--seems reasonable. The coin and the password may be used once we're there to gain entrance or disable a ward."

Kirrote sits down with Pavo and Zyrethian and listens to them recap the situation. "Where does that mean we need to go?" he says with a puzzled look. "Didn't we already go to each of the places we wanted to?"

"No, we haven't yet gone to the Memorial of the Failed Aspirants," Pavo answers Kirrote.

"Although," he confesses, "Our need to go there depends on the correctness of my deduction."

"There is a memorial for people who fail?" Kirrote shakes his head. "I would be interested in seeing that."

Anastasia nods at Zyrethian and heads to meet Janira.

"Janira, help? We found coin, magic, but not what it for. Join us? Together everything easier. Or tell who knows? Please, come" she asks the halfling lady, pointing at the table with the rest of the group.

"How interesting!" Janira says as she handles the coin. "I've never seen anything like this, but I have something that might help."

The halfling hands Anastasia a scroll of identify to use, but offers to activate it herself after finding out that neither Anastasia nor Zyrethian can take advantage of its powers until tomorrow.

After a few seconds, Janira claps her hands and pulls out a wayfinder. "This is a Pathfinder's coin! If you place it above a wayfinder, it will speak a secret message--but only once, so have your inkpen and parchment ready.

"Here, you can use some of my things!"

The boisterous halfling hands the coin and wayfinder to Anastasia, then places writing materials in the center of the table for whoever wants them.

Pavo picks up the quill and dips it in the ink. "Ready when you all are."

Zyrethian sets aside the top sheet of paper he was taking notes on, makes sure his ink pen is clean and ready to write, and without looking up from the paper says, "It can't hurt to have multiple people taking notes, I too am ready whenever you are Anastasia."

I've seen a lot of coins in my day, this will be the first to contain a secret message! At least I think.

Kane ponders all of the unusual coins he has seen over the years wondering how many actually had hidden messages, as he retrieves pen and quill.

I'm ready as well.

Anastasia picks up a paper and a pen from the table, and gives another ones to her toad.

"Always ready. But you right, my notes sometimes difficult for others", she answers to Zarythian.

Anastasia scribbles some words on the paper, then looks momentarily up. "Go", she says and resumes writing, switching her gaze between the coin and the paper.

The toad tries to pick up the pen with its front legs, but it falls from its clumsy clasp. It then tries another tactic, picking the pen with its mouth, succeeding somewhat better.

"Wibbit", it adds to Anastasia's request, the pen still in mouth.

When Anastasia places the coin above Janira's wayfinder it floats several inches in the air, and wobbles a little as it spins. An ethereal voice appears and disappears suddenly, ”The path and chamber are complete, hidden behind the nameplate of the requested aspirant and guarded by the word you requested. Fimbrik will add more.”

Pavo swiftly takes dictation. "Ah! So now we know where to use the password."

"Yeah. But where do we find the nameplate? Was that at the wall?" Kirrote scratches his chin in thought.

"No. The memorials to the Starstone aspirants will have nameplate we're looking for," Pavo says, helpfully, "We need to find the one referencing the search for the Idol of Ten-Thousand Faces."

Anastasia writes the hint on the paper, with several comments added around it. She places the paper on the table, adds all the notes they still have with them, and finally takes the toad's paper, full with illegible markings, and adds it as the last piece. She fiddles with her hair and pen while staring at the papers, accidentally leaving an ink mark on her cheek. She seems concentrated, but doesn't say a thing until Pavo mentions the memorial.

"Memorial? Never heard. I think, it at wall, we just miss something. We can go and look memorial, try word. Maybe there, maybe wall, maybe other place. On me nothing better," she says, resigned at the task.

Janira hops up off her chair, then hugs Anastasia and Kirrote. "How exciting! You should hurry, but I'll wait here until you come back. I want to hear all about what you find!"

The rain has finally stopped falling, though the roads are still puddle filled. You find the Shrine of the Failed completely and utterly empty, but after a moment of reflection realize that everyone must be across the way watching Sir Reinhart of Kenabres attempt the Test of the Starstone. Three monumental chamber stretches eighty feet from end to end, with a ceiling suspended thirty feet from the floor by great pillars. Seven arched passages lead to humble rooms, each of which contains a polished stone altar dedicated to one of the failed aspirants who attempted the Test of the Starstone.

You find the Shrine of the Failed completely and utterly empty, but after a moment of reflection you realize that everyone must be across the way watching Sir Reinhart of Kenabres attempt the Test of the Starstone. Thee monumental chamber stretches eighty feet from end to end, with a ceiling suspended thirty feet from the floor by great pillars. Seven arched passages lead to humble rooms, each of which contains a polished stone altar dedicated to one of the failed aspirants who attempted the Test of the Starstone.

Map updated.

Kirrote stiffens uncomfortably when Janira jumps up to embrace him. With great self control he avoids physically pushing her off of him. Fortunately the hug is brief and the group heads out to the shrine.

Once they are standing in front of the gigantic building Kirrote looks at it quizzically. "They build all of this for people who failed? I still don't understand honoring failure like this. But I guess we need to find that one failed aspirant. What was his name?"

Zyrethian turns to Kirrote, "To fail means they tried, and most people can not claim to have truly tried in life, much less to have tried at such a task as this. They may have failed, but at least they aspired to greatness. Most of these had large followings, they managed to inspire many people... Anyway we should spread out and look for the shrine of the aspirant somehow related to sacrifice, that was the word underlined on Doulgonlir's memorial." Zyren turns and heads towards one of the shrines.

Kane joins Zyrethian searching the alcoves.

So are we looking for one that says Doulgonlir Caskmail? or maybe we need to be saying 'Wiffle'?

As he searches he looks for name plates and says 'wiffle' in each alcove. Recalling the secret word from the gnome's home.

"No, I'm certain Doulgonir Caskmail is a made-up-name," Pavo informs Kane. "The reference to the jade idol of ten thousand faces rings a bell, though. I'm sure that I heard a story about an aspirant who made sacrifices to retrieve it, only to perish in the end. So look for something referencing that story."

Okay sounds good, wiffle Kane continues to look.

It takes a little time, but Pavo eventually finds the room that he's looking for. The shrine is rather simple, just a nameplate above a stone altar.

Pavo passes his hand through a portion of the wall.

"If you don't hear from me again, tell the young women of Egorian that I am sorry," he says before testing the floor with his foot and trying to step carefully through the wall.

Kirrote watches Kane walk around the room saying 'wiffle' every few feet. "That's looks dumb." he says to no one in particular. He folds his arms and leans against a pillar. "I'm going to wait here until you guys find something."

Kirrote closes his eyes and starts to daydream about his family. His boys. They must be growing like weeds and probably driving their mom crazy. Kirrote swallowed a lump in his throat. Starkrost. What she must think of him. Leaving her with no explanation. In the middle of the night. Half-orc tempers run long so there was little hope that she'd cooled yet. But someday. Someday he would return, when it was safe.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

So close

Kane joins Pavo Have you found something? He looks in the shrine and while he's sure Pavo is on the right track, he doesn't see anything.

Wiffle!

Seeing multiple people gathered at one shrine, Zyrethian walks over, "We got a likely subject here?"

Pavo follows up his strange quip by walking right into the stone wall, and then falling to the ground with a bloody nose.

The door is still closed, and has no handle, knob, keyhole, etc. The illusion is to make it look like a wall instead.

"Ow," Pavo says as he rubs his nose, hand coming away bloody.

He pinches his nose and fishes for a rag to dab away the blood. "Ah ih-loo-shun ob ah waw."

Anastasia walks over to Pavo.

"Strange way. It open like that? How you know? Never heard such", she says, no hint of insincerity in her voice.

She touches the wall, trying to get a hint what Pavo was trying to do.

"I not see nothing. Magic? Try", she continues, and casts once more the spell to detect magic.

After everyone begins assembling in the supposed correct alcove, Kane reads the name plate to see what it actually says?

Pavo stands and dusts the seat of his pants with his hands.

"Right, so," he begins, "An illusion hides a door, but I'm not sure where the catch is for it. If you all would please help me search?"

Dried blood mostly wiped from his face, the rogue goes about searching every inch of the alcove.

After watching Pavo walk face first into the wall, Zyrethian pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment as if suppressing a headache.

"Have we tried the password?

When we finally find where this password is used it will be so anti-climactic.

Zyrethian begins looking with everyone else to try and find how the supposed hidden door works.

Eventually, everyone is able to pierce the illusion, confirming Pavo's perception. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a switch, catch or latch anywhere. And speaking the word "wiffle" doesn't do anything either, no matter which languages you try.

The nameplate confirms that this is Doulgonlir Caskmail's shrine though, so you must be missing something.

Time to reread the handouts and double check what you know.

Sorry, Zyre. This is dragging on a bit. I also find it frustrating that no magnitude of a Perception check will reveal this.

Pavo pushes at the nameplate, trying to dislodge it.

@Pavo: Agreed. I hate it when they don't give DCs for things and just assume players will figure it out. Not everyone is puzzle oriented or can recall info from earlier in a scenario.

Pavo quickly recovers from his earlier gaff, by discovering that the nameplate is movable. It easily slides sideways under his touch, revealing a small blackboard and some chalk.