Callix follows closely, keeping a hand on the bard's shoulder to ensure she doesn't miss her footing.
When he was walking, Llewellyn was sure not to make sudden moves for the risk of Callix loosing her way. Softly he murmured, "We're going to need to get your sight fixed, and I suppose her hearing too..."
"Seems the lovers feud is solved " Samuel looks around trying to help finding any treasure the nymph or the giants might have had.
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While studying the magical auras of the room, Letitia also notes the dead frost giants. She'd noticed them before, obviously, but the nymph was certainly a more pressing concern.
"Two dead giants. Fexkrus, the giant we met in the halls, said the invading force was roughly a dozen. That brings the total down to around nine, plus their demon and centaur allies. Perhaps more of Artrosia's denizens will have dealt with the invaders."
She thinks for a moment and calls out to Callix. "Would your god grant you the spell to speak with the dead? There are questions I would ask of these giants."
Letitia and Llewellyn get to investigating the magic in the room while Samuel checks for anything else of interest
Samuel's search comes up empty, he does not find any more items, creatures or secret doors.
the other two are able to work out the magic. The skull is a grim lantern.
The menhirs are a bit more complicated, but they seem tied in to the statue itself. you think that it is a form of 'Enter Image' that would allow a user to see out of the statues, likely from their eyes.
"Well, that thing is definitely grim" Samuel steps back disgusted as the skull is explained "I almost prefer blindness to that"
"Speaking of which. This seems a good moment to settle and pray for some help with our afflictions" the Taldan looks at the menhirs still disgusted "Though not the nicest beds, the room seems easy to defend at the very least"
Letitia doesn't hear Samuel's objection to the skull, as she is reaching up to procure it. Lazlo flies up to grip it in his talons as she works it loose from its mooring.
"This is a lovely little trinket. Winter witches cannot generate fire with their magics, so any object that does it for us is treasured," she announces. She holds the skull up, the heatless flame inside casting an eerie light through its eye sockets. Her smile dies when she realizes not everyone would find it appealing. "Or is this too gruesome of a trophy?"
Samuel looks indeed unnerved by the skull, but after some short thought, he nods to Letitia "You are the expert here. If you think the fire might come useful, let's keep it. Better in our hands than in the defiled feys ones..."
He sits to take a rest while Callix prays to her god and tries to heal the ongoing blindness and deafness on the group.
While the group rests, Samuel takes time to check his musket and prepare a bit more powder bullets for the coming fights "Do you think we should bring the nymph's body to Maris? Or we better continue exploring?"
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"Well it is rather macabre..." Llewellyn replied to the granddaughter, but then he remembered she couldn't hear him and he shrugged before sighing deeply.
To Mr Samuel he replied, "We should certainly report to her at some point still I think perhaps we should giant hunting. That girl we assume is the warden told us 'Should you cut down the heretical leader of these giants it would certainly go a long way to earning favor.'"
"Aye! Then we should keep exploring and hunting those giants until we find their leader" Samuel nods clearly happy with the prospects of going giant hunting "Once we have rested and the drunken god done his miracles, I propose we continue exploring to the north of the lights cave"
Letitia's eyes narrow as she tries to ascertain the group's reaction to the grim lantern. Getting no clear response, she shrugs and ties the skull to her belt to provide light if necessary and a blast of fire when the occasion calls for it.
She sees Samuel appear to gesture towards the north of the chamber. "Are you suggesting that we continue exploring? I believe we would be better served waiting for Callix to entreat upon her god for cures for our afflictions."
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Llewellyn started to reply, sighed and took out his notepad and wrote his reply for the Jadwig's benefit, "We need to rest to give Callix time to petition her god. I see no urgency in returning to Maris. The question of course is where to rest, I'd prefer somewhere out of the way - preferably with a lockable door. I expect Mr Samuel would propose we stay with Anna who may or may not be a changeling..."
Letitia reads over Llewellyn's note, relieved that someone finally has the wherewithal to use something simple as a note to help her understand. She nods in agreement with the note's message. "I agree. I suggest we stay here in the nymph's lair. Given her inhospitality, she probably receives few visitors. There appears to be only one way into this chamber, so it is defensible should I prove incorrect. Yes, the decor is gruesome, but I see no reason to let such aesthetics dissuade us from using it to our benefit."
She thinks for a moment and calls out to Callix. "Would your god grant you the spell to speak with the dead? There are questions I would ask of these giants."
Callix pauses, then nods, "Probably. But, that's one less blindness or deafness I can cure... Unless you're thinking we can hole up for more than one day."
Studying Callix's lips closely, Letitia surmises the basics of what she was trying to get across. "I think I understand. Speaking with the dead would be of little use if I cannot hear them. We can always come back later if need be."
She frowns as she considers the length of time it has taken them to explore so far. "Perhaps at some point we should return to the Hut to check on Ariadna if this takes many more days."
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After some discussion it is decided that as nasty as this room is with the blood and dead giants and all, it is probably more safe than anywhere else they have seen so far and easily defended.
The group settles in for the night, and sure enough nothing comes this far in to bother you. in the morning Callix is able to easily take care of her own blindness along with Ashling's and then Letitia's hearing.
it cost several important blessings from her god, but it makes everyone able to function at full capacity again.
What do you do next?
Global Condition: |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 58/58 - AC: 20/14/16 Status: 1 CHA damage
Letitia: HP: 48/48 - AC: 18/12/15 Status:
Llewellyn HP: 59/59 - AC: 23/21/13 Status:
Samuel HP: 67/67 - AC: 23/18/16 Status:
Ashling HP: 44/44 - AC: 19/15/15 Status:NPCs:
Llewellyn took back his notepad and added a note, "Don't forget the guardian told us he would't just let us back in..."
Thank you, I will... Try to learn those spells for future precautions
"I haven't forgotten," Letitia confirms to Llewellyn.
She sits in the silence her affliction has given her, resting after she experiments briefly with the "enter image" feature of the menhirs.
Unless there are instructions somewhere, she likely doesn't get them to work.
After Callix restores her hearing, the sounds come rushing back. "Ah! Loud!" she says before quickly adjusting to the noise. She nods her head in thanks to the warpriest.
She takes the opportunity to rest to restore her own spells and switch their allotment for a revised repertoire. She again casts mage armor before they set out.
"We've fought and triumphed over fearsome foes. I don't expect them to be much easier, but hopefully they will not be more difficult than this corrupted nymph. Shall we continue? We still should seek to eliminate the frost giant invaders."
Llewellyn nodded, "Indeed I think we should continue, there's more of this complex to see, and no doubt more giants to slay."
"Ha! You sure have been missing our lovely chatter and singing eh?" Samuel taunts a bit the witch, though he is visibly relieved the group has recovered all their senses.
"To the north then!" fully rested and fed by a dry but fulfilling meal, the Taldan opens the way past the light creatures room.
Llewellyn cautiously follows Mr Samuel as he scouts ahead.
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Fully recovered, the group moves back through the room that once housed the gem of light, and is now a very plain small chamber.
Llewellyn takes point this time, moving to the north. he does not travel down the passage at all before he sees tiny pieces of quartz forming an inlay of a crescent moon in the floor of the passage, surrounded by a ring of runes. A few yards beyond the inlaid symbol, a small round table stands in the middle of the tunnel. A wooden bowl filled with fresh wildflowers sits in the center of the table.
the runes translate to: “From one stage unto the next, let my light always guide your path.”
there are 4 wooden carved figures inside the bowl along with the flowers.
Each figurine depicts a nude maiden performing a different task. One is standing, holding a bouquet of wildflowers. Another is kneeling, and seems to be washing her hair. The third one holds a triangular knot in her hands, and the last figurine is sitting with her head gazing upward.
Uncertain of what he was seeing, Llewellyn was careful not to touch anything. "A bunch of figurines of naked ladies, or perhaps maidens..." he muttered before checking for the presence of magic.
Letitia's furious study of Iobarian since arriving in this land pays off, as she translates the runes. "'From one stage unto the next, let my light always guide your path.'" She frowns as she looks at the figurines.
"Artrosia has thus far shown great symbolism on the different stages of womanhood. Maiden, mother, and crone, certainly. But there have been others, like the fertility ritual before our entry to the Mother. This, could be one of those. But the statuettes are obtuse."
She regards each one. "This one holds a bouquet. Symbolizing marriage, perhaps? This one kneels and washes her hair. This other one with a knot. And one sits gazing upward?" She shakes her head. "Other patterns we may find are the standing, kneeling, sitting, but what is the one with the knot doing? Or, one gathers flowers to tie into a knot of garlands for her hair. Then why sit and stare upward?
"I wonder if there is a clue somewhere we are missing."
"Knots are often associated with weddings..." noted Llewellyn thinking of the phrase, tying the knot.
"But yes we're probably missing something here." he added with a sigh.
"Ah, always having our cunning being tested. What humor these witches!" Samuel can no other but laugh upon the new obstacle found on the form of another riddle.
"This time it seems clear the gem of light we found in this room is a relevant piece of the puzzle" the Taldan makes a sign towards the bowl while still holding strong to his musket "Maybe just put it there and try to open the way north"
Letitia shakes her head in frustration. "I do not believe so, Samuel. The riddle speaks of stages lighting one's path. That is clearly a call to the moon, not the sun. The brightness of the gem evokes daylight, not the light of my patron."
She wracks her brain and looks to Lazlo, her nocturnal familiar, for insights into this puzzle.
Ashling is silent, thinking... Wondering and listening to Everyone speculating Maybe they are the same person? At different stages of life?... I remember some of my teachings from my own faith... The phases of the moon often go hand in hand with the life cycle. Maybe if we move the gem right something changes or we arrange the women in a certain order on the table or something?
Her sight restored, Callix finally lets go of the tension she's been holding. "If we ever have a minute, Letitia, I think we might need to work together on some potions," she suggests.
Callix offers, "Might be a cleansing ritual of some sort. I know that some of the more ... stodgy... faiths have ceremonies where the participants need to go through specific steps before they can be performed - gathering ingredients, mixing them, cleansing with special oils, all that."
Letitia considers Callix's suggestion, now that she can hear it. She nods. "Agreed. As our journey continues to become more dangerous, being prepared with various remedies at hand will be wise. I've a potion of delay poison yet, but my stock is otherwise depleted."
"Unless we are certain of the order to place these statues, I suggest we go to the Mother through the route we've already mastered. It makes little sense to spring a trap blindly instead of further exploring other paths."
Callix chuckles, "You're probably right, though I do worship a god who became divine by blindly and drunkenly wandering into a deadly test."
Letitia stares at Callix. She had never studied the gods in great detail and if pressed she could only offer the most rudimentary facts of the most commonly worshipped or feared deities. This fact about Cayden Cailean was not one she'd heard before.
Confusion shows on her face. "Wh-- Are you suggesting that is our solution? Because I feel that your god would rapidly run out of followers if they follow his example."
Callix laughs, "I'm just saying that it can't be fully discounted as a possibility... not that it is, or should be, a starting point."
Is it not also a possibility that not solving this puzzle and attempting to move on is also a trap? Of somekind... Is there any point we've seen four maidens before?... Wait... This one gazing upward... What if the the gemstone is like a surrogate symbol for the moon and this figure is supposed to be looking up at the moon
"Your patron?" Samuel echoes Letitia's words clueless "You mean you are not a free lancer one on this adventure?"
"Well, we have certainly entered one of the three large maiden statues" he answers to Ashling inquiry "I do not remember any maiden with a knot but we saw some carvings with wildflowers in the entrance room, you know, the ones I thought you were paying attention, but you had heard our enemies. About moons, we have seen just too many of those"
A vein throbs in Letitia's forehead. "Yes, my patron is the moon. I've spoken of this before. It's the source of my powers as a witch."
She doesn't chide Samuel any further, because he might be on to something. "Your memory is keen, sometimes, gunman. Maybe there is a clue amongst the carvings in the entrance. Better we go and investigate rather than guess blindly with shadow puppets or juggling."
The group examines the figurines for some time, trying to come up with any likely way to arrange them. It seems like this is likely a ritual to be completed like the one they performed earlier.
The figurines are not magical, but there is an aura of magic coming from the walls of this passageway, strong transmutation magic gives a hint at what the trap might do...
After some time, Samuel realizes where they saw some similar images, back at the entrance!
The group backtracks quickly, to look once more at the entrance
Hewn from the surrounding basalt, the walls of this large chamber have been chiseled into an incredibly intricate display of thousands of wildflowers. In the middle of each of the carvings, a wreath of pinecones encircles a life-sized carving of a young nude woman. On the north wall, the figure washes her hair. On the east wall, the figure sits staring upward at a crescent moon. On the south wall, the figure picks a bouquet of flowers, while to the west, the figure points to a triangular, knot-shaped symbol.
Samuel slightly nods after confirming his eye has not failed him "See, the wildflowers I told you. And I see there is the knot-shaped symbol and all the other figures as well. I wonder what do they mean though..."
The Taldan scratches his forefront wondering how to take profit of the carvings.
We place the figurines in the other room, in the corresponding spots to match these. That may turn off whatever magics there are
Llewellyn nods to Ashling, "Yeah that sounds plausible, lets give it a try." He then helps collect the items and place them into the spots that match the display at the entrance.
Letitia marvels at the artistry of the carvings, each one glorifying maidenhood. She chides herself briefly for not paying much attention to them earlier, but they had giants to deal with then.
Recognizing the sculptures as mirroring the small wooden figures, she takes note of their positions on the walls. "I think we should try Ashling's suggestion first. Note how they are prominently oriented at the cardinal directions. Setting the figures at the corresponding positions on the pedestal seems like the optimal solution to the riddle."
"Alright then. Let's try this" Samuel nods, trusting the smart ones to know what they are doing. He puts himself walking towards the room of the statuettes.
"So you say we put the statuettes looking in the direction of the walls?" once in front of the bowl, Samuel picks up the maidens and places the one washing her hair first one, looking to the north; then the one staring at the crescent moon, looking to the east, to the previous one; the one with the flowers bouquet staring south, towards the previous statue; and finally the one with the knot-shaped symbol, pointing west, in front of the bouquet statuette "Is this how it works? Shall we expect a sudden flash or something to tell us it worked?"
Callix says, "Sudden flashes and bursts of fire are what I'd usually associate with it not working."
After finding the carvings, the group returns and Samuel (with his tracker's sense of direction), places the figurines in the matching cardinal directions.
Once he has released the last one from his hand, a small sweet-smelling breeze picks up. the wildflowers int he bowl stir up in a tiny vortex and scatter between the figurines, matching the flower carvings in the first room.
Letitia lets out a breath she'd been holding. She savors the sweet-smelling breeze for a moment. "That seems a positive sign that we have correctly solved this puzzle," she states.
She looks down the corridor to see what may be next for them.
"Onward, then. We've already taken a longer time than I'd hoped we would. But we should not be reckless."
She casts a defensive spell before they move on.
Llewellyn nodded and as he explores deeper he speculated "There's going to be a third puzzle like this isn't there... Anyway lets see what there is in this new section."
Samuel smiles satisfied the trick worked "Onward then, but let me go first Letitia. I don't want to have to tell Ariadna her new Jadwiga teacher became scorched dust because I badly pieced where North is"
Setting himself on the first place, with certain safety distance, Samuel tries to brave the northern corridor.
Callix spins her axe in her hand, then nods at Samuel, "Lead on. We'll stay close behind. Well, relatively."