Well, this thing looked deadlier than it actually was. Nice team work again!
We are fortunate that we fought this creature in its undead state. I do not know if we could have overcome a living Neh-Thalggu. Kyras says with a shudder.
As Hoga's wounds are being attended to Kryas goes to look over the chests. with plenty of time he chooses to take 20 on searching them for traps obtaining a 34 on each. After searching all 4 he pulls out all of the keys belonging to the wizard that the group has collected and tries them in order of mostly likely to fit based on observation. As he works he notes.
You all know by now that I am as good as my word and will abide by any agreement that I make. I state this because it occurs to me that what we find is this cave does not fall under the agreement we made with the Baroness. I do not think we have any obligation to report or turn in anything we find here, though the spirit of the agreement might suggest otherwise.
I totally agree, the cave doesn't count as part of our agreement.
"True. The agreement only extend to the mansion. Not the limits beyond it."
Tamora plays with a strand of her hair.
"Kyras, are you not attempting to identify what magic these chests were imbued with before we open them?"
Alas, I can cast no spells, including Detect Magic.
"It's taken care of."
Tamora's eyes glow as she uses detect magic and tries to identify the auras.
"I will need your knowledge on this matter lest I cannot identify the chests."
Kyzen starting to get worried for Maffei, still prisoner... "Is there any magic dust in there?"
Gods, I hope so!
Kakrish winks at Kyzen, "Yeah, I know why you want to find that magic dust. Wanna free your new girlfriend, huh?" Kakrish smirks and winks again at the hobgoblin.
"Don't worry, I'm sure there will be something we can use here."
Likely just wizard locked. the investigator notes.
"Have faith, Kyzen."
Tamora squeezes the hobgoblin's hand in assurance.
After a lengthy inspection, Kyras finds no traps on the chests. Digging in his bag, he takes out the keys he found so far and try them in the locks. He finds a match and is able to open the chests. The magical aura on them disappears as he unlocks them, confirming his suspicion that they were more than likely protected by an arcane lock spell. In the first three, he finds coins... lots of them. It would take hours to count them all, but he notices that they are mostly coppers and silver.
In the last chest, he finds four packets of what look like the bags of dust that Maffei mentioned. They are sitting atop an exquisite darkwood case. The case contains five books. Four of these are rare antique tomes on astronomy written in Ancient Osiriani. The fifth tome is a tattered volume called Secrets of the Dreaming Dark .
Hoga takes a wine bottle out of his pack, scoops up the coins, and loads it up. We'll divvy it up when we get back.
He grabs the bottle. It looks really old. There is still red wax at the cap, poured over the cork long ago, and clean wine inside. That was great, guys! We really worked as a team. You guys are all right!
Hoga carefully repacks the bottle, then gets ready to move. We gotta try this stuff. It's a red. Looks tasty. First bottle's on me!
These old books may very well be worth more than all the coins. Kyras comments absently. We will have to find the right buyer for each. Hoga, before we celebrate I ask that we go and free that poor soul trapped in the room behind the light wall. He waits, hoping for our return.
Absolutely! We'll drink when we're done.
Hoga pats Kyras on the shoulder. You did great, he says, beaming.
Tamora smiles at the group's success before turning her attention to the books and scanning it with magic (detect alignments and magic).
"Finding anything magical there?" Kakrish comes up right behind Tamora and tries to look over her shoulder. Unfortunately he is not quite tall enough to see that way so he moves to her side. "If it's too hard for you to figure out I can give it a try."
Gathering everything, the group return to the manor. Now that all the traps and other obstacles have been cleared, it is easy to return to the wall of light blocking the way out of the cell. "Is that you? Are you back? Did you find the cave?" The familiar voice calls from beyond the light.
Yes, it is us. And indeed we did find the cave and what we spoke of was inside it. We have come to free you. Are you ready?
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Kyzen looks into the tunnel with searching eyes, trying to get a glimpse of what his new girlfriend looks like... LOL
"Huh? They are non-magical. How queer."
Tamora hoist the bag that contains the dusts they procured.
"So does anyone has the knowledge to use these dust to nullify the light?"
"Not me... It's dust, can we just throw it in? Do we need to say any words while doing so?"
Hahaha unbelivable, rolling a 20 on a joke...
Let's ask Maffei. Maybe she knows what to do.
Tamora tries to recall who Maffei is and whether she can be trusted.
Kakrish raises a finger to his forehead. "Ok. Wait. I think I know about this. Uhm." He stands on one foot and shakes the other leg a little bit. "Ok. It's coming to me." He then licks his finger and holds it up to the air to feel the wind. "Ok. I guess I don't have anything. Sorry T-man, or I mean T-woman, you're on your own."
Sorry I didn't get the part of being able to aid when untrained...
Kyras taps an assist.
Using the dust is as simple as tossing it in the corridor. Two bags are needed to temporarily remove the effect of the wall of light. Once it is done, it takes Kyras a few seconds to reach the lock gate of the cell. The lock is a puzzling one, but not beyond the skill of the investigator. Pushing a few pins and moving the tumbler, Kyras hears the satisfying click of the lock giving way.
Now free, Maffei is still weakened by her imprisonment. Helping her out of the cell and the corridor, the group now gets a good look at the outsider. Her shape is hard to focus on, as her body seems to be made of shadowy fog. "Thank you for freeing me. I am in your debt. If there is anything I can do for you, you just have to ask." She slowly walks toward the table on the other side of the room. Once there, she starts picking up the armor that is lying on the table. "I know people on this plane are more used to solid shape. Allow me to put on my armor, it will prevent you from being distracted while we talk."
Okay.
Hoga is wary, but she has a point.
Once the prisoner they rescued is fully clothed and corporeal, Tamora smiles at her.
"So Maffei, what brings a denizen of the shadow plane to the material plane? Surely the one who summoned and imprisoned have done so to satisfy his own whims, yes? Or perhaps there is another reason?"
When Kyzen sees Maffei getting out of her cell, his eyes a wide open... As she his getting closer, his eyes closes slowly as he tries to see her form and what she may look like, but can't and looks a bit confused...
If you tell us this gear is yours then we believe you. It fits you well enough. It is yours to take. Kyras takes a moment to mark the items off his inventory. As for debt, well if you are good with that sword and not planning to try to go home right away, why not join us? If you need help getting home perhaps we can work on that together. Some day I would love to see your home myself.
"The main reason he summoned me to this plane was in hope of learning about the Dark Tapestry. He thought that there was a link between it and the plane of shadow. When I burst that bubble, he got upset and trapped me here." Looking back at the corridor where the wall of light was, she shudders. "No so long ago, he tried to coerce me to act as his bodyguard. He was promising to send me back home in exchange of escorting him to some sort of meeting. For the first time, I felt that he was nervous about something. Seeing as he never came back from that meeting, I think I made the right call."
Turning to Kyras. "Yes, it is my gear. So are the blades, but I didn't want you to have to wrong impression if I grabbed them. As for joining you, I might need at least a day of rest before doing that." The mention of home makes her sigh. "It is a wonderful place. A lot less bright than this plane. I don't have the ability to travel between planes, but if ever I find a way, you are all welcome to join me."
"Hmm. You want to join with us?" Kakrish gives Maffei a critical look. "Are you worthy?" Kakrish walks in a circle around her, looking her up and down.
Kyzen pushes aside Kakrish in a funny way... (in a defensive/joking manner...)
"She will look more worthy then you when she will recover!" Kyzen reach in his backpack a couple of potions of CLW and hand them to her with a smile... "Here... Take as much as you need to fully recover."
I don't see why you can't join us, if you want to, at least until you find a way home.
Speaking quietly to the raven on his shoulder Kyras explains She is alone and far from home. She could use friends for a while. But do not worry my little companion, I'll not let her ride on my shoulder.
"Kakrish, please."
Tamora turns to Maffei, smiling.
"Ignore that lug's assessment. You are more than welcome to travel with us until we find you a way home. Where are our manners? We have not introduce ourselves properly while you had. I am Tamora and my companions are Kyras, Hoga, Kakrish and Kyzen. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"It is settled then." She gathers the swords on the tables and nods. You exit the manor and after a long day of work, you head back to the inn to turn in for the night. After a good meal, maybe a bath for some of you, and restful night, you get up and are ready to start a new day. The first thing on the agenda might be to mentioned the all clear to the Baronness so that she can proceed with the liquidation of the old mage's possession.