The party finds another door embedded in the wall of another impossible turn. A symbol carved upon the door to this chamber resembles a downward facing crescent resting on a horizontal line with arrows pointing outward. A vertical bisecting line with arrows pointing both directions runs from top to bottom.
Opening the door, the heroes find that wavering darkness devours everything that lies beyond the threshold. Thick stone columns and wooden beams, entangled with pale moonflower blossoms, support the room’s highvaulted ceiling. A faintly glowing blood-red orb dangles from a black iron chain in the center of the room. Upon it sits another raven.
"Greetings Mantle-Bearers; I am Rozum. You hare strong, I see - you bear the token of Moc's challenge. I am sure to you it was but a trifle - but now you face a test of wit."
The raven pauses to squawk in a rather self-important manner. It sucks in air before proceeding.
"To prove your cleverness, you must find the answer to my riddle.
I mark night’s coming,
I will mark your end.
I run not in fear,
I have not a friend.
“The answer to the riddle lies within the passage of night. To find the path to what you seek, drink from the silver chalice within the grotto. Go now and do not return to me unless you can prove your worth.”
Shanya rather pointedly avoids commenting on Greta's feeding habits. Seriously, I didn't want any of that anyway--Desna only knows if it's riddled with parasites or not.
By the time the party reaches the next raven, Rozum, she's starting to become irritated.
"As you wish, Rozum." She shrugs and stands next to Kalt. "Shall we?"
"Sunset marks night's coming, and could mark one's end. But it doesn't quite fit the rest," Avora muses aloud.
As the group enters the next room, they spy hundreds of tangled roots that dangle from the raw earthen ceiling of a rough-hewn, circular grotto, which is filled with dark, placid water. A narrow stone walkway leads to a circular platform in the center of the room upon which rests a stone table set with five silver chalices. About the perimeter of the grotto, a few feet above the waterline, five deep alcoves have been dug into the grotto walls. Though shadowed by darkness, a faint glitter sparkles from deep within each alcove.
Each chalice bears a rune and is half filled with dark red wine. When someone summons the courage to venture out to the stone in the middle and touch a chalice, the darkness is briefly lifted in the corresponding alcove (for that person). Inside each alcove, inside a locked cage, is an object. The runes are eventually deciphered to match the object of each cage.
- mirror
- apple
- an hourglass
- an athame
- key
Magical senses can detect auras of transmutation and evocation on the chalices, as well as divination and necromancy in the air over the water.
"Hmm..." Shanya walks out onto the platform and touches each chalice in turn.
"I mark night's coming..." She whispers to herself as she goes around. "I will mark your end..."
She pauses at the chalice linked to the hourglass. "I run not in fear, I have not a friend." She looks between the hourglass and the party. "I think the hourglass fits. If anyone has any objections, speak them now or forever hold your peace." She rests one hand on the chalice.
Kalt gives Shanya a quiet nod, thinking about the newest riddle. At Avora's suggestion, he replies, "I was thinking of sundown as well, Avora, but as you say, it doesn't quite fit. Kind of like my answer to the last one - though I think that boar's hide would have made a fine pair of boots."
Moving into the grotto, Kalt looks around and comments, "This place gets ever stranger, eh?" He moves out to the platform in the center, carefully touching one of the chalices and noting the light in the corresponding niche. After doing this for each of the chalices, he says confidently, "Well, the hourglass stands for time, which is akin to what Avora and I were thinking, and it seems to fit with the rest of the riddle."
He studies the rest of the objects, muttering to himself, "Do any of the others mark someone's end? I guess the knife could do that, the others not so much. The bit about having no friend doesn't make much sense...but still, I think it's the hourglass."
Glancing around at his friends, he says, "Other ideas? And who gets to drink from the chalice, once we decide which one it is?"
"Do any of the others mark someone's end?"
"Assuming a poisoned apple or a knife, yes. But neither of them 'run in fear'. In fact, without magical aid, they cannot run at all." Shanya keeps one hand on the chalice linked to the hourglass.
"Time is no one's friend," replies Lana quietly, pondering the items in the room. Approaching Shanya, Lana holds out one hand toward the chalice. "May I?" she asks. "Not drink it... but I may be able to assure that it contains no poison."
Shanya shrugs and makes room for Lana to step in. "By all means."
This is very different than anything I have experienced before. I do believe I am quite enjoying myself...
Ankih seems lost in thought as he follows the others into the alcoves.
" Time does fit the riddle, and the hourglass represents Time. Though I am loathe to drink from any of them..."
Shanya takes the chalice in her hand. "Well, here goes nothing..."
She brings the chalice to her lips and sips from it...
As Shanya sips from the chalice she feels no ill effects (other then very mild inebriation), but soon after a number of small stones break the water. The stones bridge the gap between the central stone platform from the dark recesses. It seems like it would be easy enough to bridge the gap, although the cages guarding the prize still are still quite locked.
However, as the group considers the stones, they waver and then suddenly vanish after twelve seconds - it is clear they would drop anyone standing upon them into the dark, evil looking water below.
Shanya realizes the cup instantly replenished itself with wine after she drank her draught.
Shanya blinks a couple of times. "Huh."
Acting on a whim, Lana picks up the chalice and drinks, then mentally counts off 12 seconds and takes another drink.
This time, the stones only dwell for about six seconds, and then disappears into the black waters again.
Lana frowns and tries the idea again, counting off six seconds before her second sip.
Kalt watches Lana silently taking sips and counting under her breath. He glances at Sven, shrugs and says, "Damned tricksy witches..."
Turning to Shanya, he says, "This is your kind of game, lass. Any ideas? Or should we wait while Lana drinks all the wine?"
The stones defy Lana, and this time they stay above the water for 12 seconds.
Each time Lana drinks from the cup, it instantly refills to the same level. It would seem that witches are great lovers of the grapes nectar.
Lana frowns and shakes her head, pausing a moment. Lifting the cup to her mouth once more, she counts off six seconds and takes another sip, then twelve and another.
"Well, the chalice keeps refilling. At this point I'm rather surprised she hasn't started wobbling by now." Shanya shrugs.
"It appears that the stones stay up for a varying period of time once you drink from the cup..."
As with the previous times, the rocks emerge from the water for a few precious seconds as Lana puts the cup to her mouth, only to submerge a few counts later after she finishes.
Shanya waits for Lana to start sipping from the wine again before heading across and trying to unlock the cage containing the hourglass.
come on come on come on open please please please don't drop me in the water
With deft fingers... and Lana's perseverance... the hourglass is free in no more then half a minute.
Lana does feel a pleasant mixture of warm glow and minor disorientation after such the considerable amount of alcohol - no doubt she would make the bacchae proud.
One the hourglass is delivered to the bird-oracle Rozum, he caws in approval.
"You have taken upon yourselves a great burden; for that which you desire, the changeling holds. Know this as well: you will find the Crone only when the moon wanes.”
The bird flies away after depositing an amulet at your feet, disappearing into the inky-black depths of the walls. This amulet he leaves bears another rune.
"This appears to be a device that will help one recover from lingering effects, such as poisons or disease," Avora states, examining the amulet.
Shanya holds the amulet in her hands. "Really? Interesting."
"This one means 'gold', for whatever that's worth. A gold dragon, perhaps?"
Completely at a loss concerning the stones, Ankih is impressed by Lana's ability to intake liquor.
" Feeling ok, Lana?"
He then pulls out a scroll and casts a spell on her.
Shrugging Ankih turns away from the amulet, having no ideas about it...
The group finds its way to the next impossible room. A symbol carved upon the door outside this chamber resembles an upward facing half-circle resting on a horizontal line. Several arrows point outward from the circle. At the center of the half-circle, a single extended arrow points upward.
This is the symbol for Dawn.
The third chamber proves much much more pleasant looking then previous two. Flowering vines drape the walls of this chamber. Winding, pebble-strewn pathways weave through a magnificent garden of honeysuckle and lilac. A pale, warm light fills the room, emanating from a stone-lined pool of water in the center. The purple and orange reflection of the early morning sky glitters upon the pool’s surface. A raven sits by the edge of the pool, dipping its beak in the water. It looks up as you enter.
"Ah, behold the strong and wise ones. Now they come for Tryva's counsel. Before I aid you, you must first convince me you have the
resolve to fulfill your desire. To prove your mental fortitude, you must face what I, the herald of the coming day, cannot.
Each night it visits—
Sometimes horror,
Sometimes wonder,
Sometimes prophet,
When dawn wakes, it flees.
“When you face this thing, you shall know its desire. In its desire, you shall find your own. Only by sharing this desire with me can I bind your fates. Once they are bound, I will be able to see your destiny.”
Shanya ponders the riddle for all of a few seconds before responding.
"Are you speaking of dreams, Tryva?"