Knowledge: Nature=23, to identify any creatures on the wall
Like any hardened campaign veteran, Tyndal knows a giant when he sees one. Hill, by the look of this one; as ugly as they are stupid.
Anders picks out the round floating creature as an Eye Tyrant. Beholders, most call them.
Terin identifies the wrong-handed tiger-man as a Rhakshasa; evil spirits who do much harm to the natural world.
I'm gonna examine that sheet of parchment for clues.
I'm gonna examine that sheet of parchment for clues.
The parchment is excellent quality paper, and is thicker than normal. It is likely some planning went into the paper to ensure it would absorb the paint and prevent streaking.
The paints must have also been expensive, for despite being old, the colors have barely faded.
There is no signature or other marks on the sheet save the painting of the multihued rainbow itself.
"Oh how beautiful! Mother used to tell me of this stunningly vibrant rainbow permanently arched over the falls of a tropical island they frequented."
“I simply loved to hear stories of the island. Sometimes they were so fanciful or terrifying I thought she must have made them up. I spent countless hours finger painting that rainbow on the walls of my bedroom before my brother and I were sent away. I never seemed to have suitable colors though; I was constantly on the lookout for additional pigments.”
“Still, I am unable to see how this helps us. If it was stuffed inside the ring though, it certainly makes sense that it should.”
"What the name of the island?"
Tyndal grumbles to himself. Killing things he's good at...puzzles just hurt his head.
"What the name of the island?"
"You know, I can not remember her ever naming it. The island only had a title, "The Isle of Dread."
"Silly childhood tales that both soothed me to sleep and kept me awake nights!"
"What the name of the island?""You know, I can not remember her ever naming it. The island only had a title, "The Isle of Dread."
"The Isle of Dread... The Olman tell tales of a cursed island far to the south, filled with the ruins of an ancient culture. In fact, those legends are the reason I ventured south from Amedio, and Geoff before that. Interesting..."
The monsters identified so far seem to start with the same corresponding letters as the colors on the rainbow. Beholder= blue, Giant= green, etc. Lets find the order of the colors, match the monsters to the corresponding color and see what happens. This is merely a combination-type lock, we just need to figure out the key and how to turn the combination. Perhaps the arrow on the ceiling and the eight points.
Otyugh= orange
Beholder= blue
???????= violet
Raskasa= red
Giant= green
Yuan-ti= yellow
That is counterclockwise from the door, the only one I don't have knowledge of is the winged-head thingy but it must begin with a "V" and corresponde to Violet.
What order are the colors on this rainbow?
The watercolor is done in the standard rainbow colors and order:
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet.
Lavinia claps excitedly.
“Of course, the rainbow! I knew father would not leave me without anything to go on.”
“But if the demon head is V, what does the blank wall have to do with anything?”
Knowledge (Dungeoneering) (1d20+3=23) Looks Harven can ID the final creature :)
It is a ......
** spoiler omitted **
While the rest of the group racks their brains in the hope of remembering the name of a particular evil outsider whose name begins with V, Seann analyzes the potion found by Lavinia.
Gently uncorking the small vial with his deciptively delicate fingers, he holds the vial up to his eye, then takes a quick whiff, sneezing mightily.
"I believe I know what the vial contains," he states, through watering eyes. "It's a potion of Cat's Grace, made with real cat hair. Nowadays, most people use distilled Essence of Cat, but there's always that one wierdo..."
Harven classifies the sixth representation as a Vargouille, horrific creatures which create more of themselves with a kiss.
Eldin’s knowledge checks:
With a loan groan, Eldin confides he believes the blank wall to embody an “Invisible Stalker,” relentless trackers summoned from the place of air.
“Oh, that is just terrible. If father still lived we would have a long talk about his sense of humor,” Lavinia declares.
She nudges the pendulum slightly with her hand, and it begins to sway gently. “I wonder,” she contemplates aloud, then pushes the star completely towards the Rakshasa.
Instantaneously, a soft red glow illuminates the fresco, and the eight-pointed star motif now displays two red arrows, the original pointing behind you, and the new arrow pointing to the Rakshasa.
“Let us hope this is the final riddle; I weary.”
“Yes, I believe you’re onto the pattern milady. Please, allow me from here…”
Eldin takes hold of the pendulum, turning it from the rakshasa to the otyugh. Waiting for the symbol to light up, he then switches it, in order, to the yuan-ti, giant, beholder, “invisible stalker”, and lastly the vargouille (sp?). “Horrid beasts from all I’ve heard,” he mutters.
“Eldin takes hold of the pendulum, turning it from the rakshasa to the otyugh. Waiting for the symbol to light up, he then switches it, in order, to the yuan-ti, giant, beholder, “invisible stalker”, and lastly the vargouille (sp?). “Horrid beasts from all I’ve heard,” he mutters.
As Eldin moves the pendulum to each façade in turn, they shine with the appropriate color, and an additional star point coverts to red.
When Eldin activates the final visage, the rainbow colored lights wink out simultaneously and there is a rumbling of stone. The ground beneath vibrates distressingly for a few moments, and a fine granite powder rains down from the ceiling briefly.
Portions of the exterior walls revolve, revealing the presence of five separate alcoves, each filled by chests and coffers embossed with the Vanderboren emblem.
“Thank the Gods,” Lavinia whispers. “Let no one say you have not earned your keep today.”
Lavinia moves towards the first alcove, but her posture stiffens almost at once and she gives a small cry of alarm.
Moving quickly to the next alcove, she bats aside the few silver coins remaining in the bottom of one of the coffers, “Empty? I do not understand.”
“Kord’s sweaty testicles!,” she exclaims loudly, as she moves to the third and fourth alcove, becoming increasingly frantic.
Slamming her fist into the lid one of the fifth alcove’s coffers, Lavinia sends a shower of gold coins flying. “Not all empty then,” she says as she breaths a sigh of relief. “Will it be enough though?”
Lavinia begins to sort through the remaining alcove.
Add 350 xp to your current totals:
CR1 excellent role-playing.
CR3 trap.
CR2 puzzle room (originally it was CR3 but I decided not to penalize anyone electrically for failure, muahahaha).
CR1 play contributions.
“Someone has been into this chamber before us? Well … I suppose the potion bottle should have told us that. Let’s see … it would presumably be someone with a ring matching your own Lady Vanderboren – to be able to get into the Castle and through the outer door … but someone who did not know what defences the vault might contain – I presume the potion of Cat’s Grace was taken to help avoid possible traps. In short, someone in a very similar situation to your own milady,” Eldin muses, hand absently rubbing his chin.
“Milady, are there any other relatives you know of who may feel they have a claim to your inheritance – and possess a ring? Relatives, siblings? I believe you mentioned a brother earlier … is he … he did not share your parent’s fate I presume?”
“Kord’s sweaty testicles!”
Anders, who has returned to his uncharacteristic silence, raises an eyebrow at Lavinia's colorful exclamation, but otherwise says nothing.
Anders, who has returned to his uncharacteristic silence, raises an eyebrow at Lavinia's colorful exclamation, but otherwise says nothing.
Anders, who has returned to his uncharacteristic silence, raises an eyebrow at Lavinia's colorful exclamation, but otherwise says nothing.
I believe you mentioned a brother earlier … is he … he did not share your parent’s fate I presume?”
Lavinia looks up from sorting, clearly distraught, "I do have a brother. He...has not been around lately. The only other ring belonged to my mother, and it was lost several months ago. Without the ring, I am unable to see how he could have accessed the vault. In fact, he would never have made it passed the clerk."
“I will require some help transporting what remains . I think it best not to leave anything of value here if this vault in no longer as secure as my parent’s imagined it to be. Before we get to that, let me settle my debt to you, including an advance for this month.”
“Thankfully, it appears whoever pilfered the vault was only interested in liquidity, and left these documents, which safeguard the majority of our family’s real assets. My parents performed a great many dangerous or surreptitious tasks for the other noble families of Sassarine during the course of their adventuring days, often without payment, with the stipulation that should we require aid, those families would then be indebted to the Vanderborens in turn.”
“These notes of indebtedness are easy enough to understand: tasks, suitable compensation and such, but this last ledger I cannot make heads or tails of. The letters are most certainly Elven, written in my mother’s script, but the words are just so much gibberish.”
“There are a great many strange creatures and maps included here; in fact I see the rainbow and waterfall of my childhood stories. I wonder if she compiled a book of myths like the ones Seann mentioned?”
“I have no concept of how to reset this vault, but it would seem to be a moot point now,” Lavinia states brusquely. “Let us be off, there is much to be done.”
While recording her leave taking in the clerk’s log, Lavinia looses a small gasp and looks up sharply at the attendant, turning the book around to face him.
“These signatures here, Vanthus Vanderboren. This man was here?”
Lavania can only gape in astonishment when the clerk affirms that not only has her brother visited the vault several times over the past month, but also he positively possesses a ring identical to Lavinia’s own.
“My brother has been missing for over a month, and he most certainly should not have been pillaging the family trust!”
The clerk’s skin assumes an ashen pallor; now it is his turn to be shocked. He apologizes obsequiously to Lavinia, and promises to report to her immediately if her brother should attempt to access the vault again.
Returning to the surface, the party catches the final ferry of the day and again travels through High Market (now somewhat subdued with the coming of evening). Flagging down a coachman, Lavinia turns to address the party. “I must attend to the business of the family estate for the next few days, and I have a great many nobles to call upon, though at least now I will not need to arrive hat in hand, as it were, thanks to you.”
“I will secure you a second coach, and will have Kora purchase for you an additional two days lodging at the inn where you stayed previously. Please, relax and enjoy the city, but do not tarry overlong, as there is a pressing matter weighing heavily upon me. Once you conclude your own personal matters (especially you Anders, do get some rest and herbal tea), please come to the manor and we shall discuss it at length.”
With that, Lavinia waves over a second coach, directing the driver to convey your party to Ancestor’s Rest, then boards her own carriage, returning with all haste to the Vanderboren Estate. As you part ways, she leans out and calls, “Do not forget to supply me with an appellation, for your group’s charter. Just let Kora know and I will see to it.”
That note seems to be written in some type of Elvish language, my guess is Sylvan by these markings, but I am unable to read it. Alas I never took to that particular language as my training was more of the natural order and not geared towards the art of languages.
I suspect that your brother, Vanthus?, somehow gained possession of your mother's house ring, whether he intended his crime at the time or not isn't clear but that is my thoughts on the matter.
"Sylvan? I shall have to see if any of the city sages can translate the manuscript for me."
On the subject of her brother, Lavinia remains peculiarly tight-lipped.
Tyndal hefts his pack, now brimming with coins.
"This adventuring gig ain't so bad...I just made more than I would have after years in the service." He smacks his lips. "Time to go waste it on women, wine, and dice!"
"If you want me to go in on the healing stick...better take the cash before I lose it."
"Quite the exhausting day. I shall probably be accompanying Mr. Maelglum to the local establishment to inebriate myself out of my mind. I believe that ale is a bit too light for a day like this. Green Fairy, perhaps?"
“I believe that the temple of Fharlanghn is hosting an interesting lecture on safety in travelling and hiking this eve if anyone … no? The inn? Ah …. Well, yes, I suppose a little celebration is in order after our victory last night. But before we sink too far into our cups, I believe we should take care of some business – if we are to supply the Lady with a charter for our new adventuring band, we need a name! I think one of you mentioned some suggestions last night? And also, there is some equipment we should probably purchase as a group if we are to work for Lavinia together for some time…”
The two days seem to pass all too quickly for the party:
Eldin visits his resident sanctuary, if there can be such a thing for the meandering clergy, where he uses the pooled funds of the party to obtain a Healing Wand from his brethren.
Harven whiles away the time eavesdropping intently on the conversations of folk within the inn, though hearing little of substance, and nothing at all regarding Lavinia’s wayward brother . His vigil is broken up once by the appearance of Kora, who stops by with a hardy chicken soup for Anders, and a goodly amount of sugared baked goods for Harven.
Tyndal and Seann join in several drinking contests at the “Ticklish Ogre” tavern in the Merchant District. They find themselves sharing a table with mottled company, and eventually break even on their drink tab thanks to a timely arm wrestling win by Seann. Following the win, one of the Scarlet Brotherhood notices Seann’s hair and eyes and compliments him on his fine Suloise stock. After listening to a drunkenly embellished tale of the shocker lizard, one of the tablemates informs Tyndal should he ever encounter such a beast again, to bring it, or the pelt, by the Zelkarune’s Horns guildhall, as they’d love to see it.
Terin strikes out with the magic shops in the Merchant and Champion’s Districts, though he does find a potion shop with some fair prices now that the travel season is beginning to wane .
Fortunately, Anders is able to contact a member of the Witchwardens in the Noble District for a meeting, and after a 100 gold piece donation to the guild, has the unknown ring identified.
“Ah yes, I haven’t seen one of these in quite some time, though they were very popular when the city was founded. Lots of unexplored territory back then, and quite a few rings never returned from their owner’s expeditions. This appears to be the lesser version of a Cartographer’s Band. Hard to get lost, wearing one of these!”
Kora arrives once more shortly after the dawn of the third day, to notify the party Lavinia’s business has concluded, and she will be ready to receive them as soon as they are organized.
Following the win, one of the Scarlet Brotherhood notices Seann’s hair and eyes and compliments him on his fine Suloise stock.
Harven whiles away the time eavesdropping intently on the conversations of folk within the inn, though hearing little of substance, and nothing at all regarding Lavinia’s wayward brother . His vigil is broken up once by the appearance of Kora, who stops by with a hardy chicken soup for Anders, and a goodly amount of sugared baked goods for Harven.
Again, Harven is not too sure what to make of this, although he readily accepts the sugared baked goods, and enjoys them greatly over the course of his wandering / eavesdropping. Seeing as this is the second time, he does make a mental note to pursue it further should it happen again.
Kora arrives once more shortly after the dawn of the third day, to notify the party Lavinia’s business has concluded, and she will be ready to receive them as soon as they are organized.
Harven is ready to go when the rest of you are.
Edit: Our illustrious's DM's full post for Anders.
Eldin visits his resident sanctuary, if there can be such a thing for the meandering clergy, where he uses the pooled funds of the party to obtain a Healing Wand (Wand of Cure Light Wounds, 50 charges, 750 Gold) from his brethren.
Harven whiles away the time eavesdropping intently on the conversations of folk within the inn, though hearing little of substance, and nothing at all regarding Lavinia’s wayward brother (Noble's District is a bust for Vanthus info). His vigil is broken up once by the appearance of Kora, who stops by with a hardy chicken soup for Anders, and a goodly amount of sugared baked goods for Harven.
Tyndal and Seann join in several drinking contests at the “Ticklish Ogre” tavern in the Merchant District. They find themselves sharing a table with mottled company, and eventually break even on their drink tab thanks to a timely arm wrestling win by Seann. Following the win, one of the Scarlet Brotherhood notices Seann’s hair and eyes and compliments him on his fine Suloise stock. After listening to a drunkenly embellished tale of the shocker lizard, one of the tablemates informs Tyndal should he ever encounter such a beast again, to bring it, or the pelt, by the Zelkarune’s Horns guildhall, as they’d love to see it.
Terin strikes out with the magic shops in the Merchant and Champion’s Districts, though he does find a potion shop with some fair prices now that the travel season is beginning to wane ("Bee in a Bottle," if anyone wants to burn a deeper hole in their pocket).
Fortunately, Anders is able to contact a member of the Witchwardens in the Noble District for a meeting, and after a 100 gold piece donation to the guild, has the unknown ring identified.
“Ah yes, I haven’t seen one of these in quite some time, though they were very popular when the city was founded. Lots of unexplored territory back then, and quite a few rings never returned from their owner’s expeditions. This appears to be the lesser version of a Cartographer’s Band. Hard to get lost, wearing one of these!” (Know Direction effect at all times while worn.)
Kora arrives once more shortly after the dawn of the third day, to notify the party Lavinia’s business has concluded, and she will be ready to receive them as soon as they are organized.
Hummm, a ring of Know Direction.......I'll see if any in the party would like to wear it, and if not I guess I can wear it...it'll save me some work if we head into uncharted regions of the surrounding jungles.
Hummm, a ring of Know Direction.......I'll see if any in the party would like to wear it, and if not I guess I can wear it...it'll save me some work if we head into uncharted regions of the surrounding jungles.
"I wouldn't mind wearing it. Although, much like you a guess Terin, I don't deperately "need" it, but it would make charting our course easier if we should have need to head into the wilds around here, ... or anywhere else.
Kora, obviously in better spirits, welcomes you back to the Vanderboren Estate with a pleasant smile and, in Harven’s case, a light crack on the rear end.
“No dawdling now, there’s work to be done!,” she calls out, shepherding the party up the stairway to Lavinia’s sitting room.
Lavinia also greets the party warmly, though her smile only serves to highlight her troubled eyes.
“First, the good news: With the assets we recovered from the vault, I was able to tend to the immediate financial needs of the estate, though there will be trying times ahead if the Ravens are unable to secure support from my extended relations. Still, they are very experienced, and I am feeling more optimistic now, thanks to your assistance.“
Lavinia’s lips draw together into a thin line.
“This,” Lavinia begins, waving her hand towards the portrait of a attractive man with a haunted expression behind her, “is my brother Vanthus.”
“We were very close, many years ago. My parent’s adventures often kept them away for extended periods, so Vanthus and I grew to rely on each other. Unfortunately, we got into trouble one too many times, and after one escapade with particularly far reaching consequences, our parents decided to separate us for a time.”
“My brother was sent to live and work on a plantation with a relative, while I attended Thanalar Academy for five years. When we returned a scant year ago, we were both very different people. I made several efforts to mend our relationship, but my brother was disinterested in anything to do with the family. He became nocturnal, staying out until all hours and associating with men and women of dubious nature.”
“Eventually, he obtained separate residence, somewhere in the Azure District I believe, possibly with an acquaintance.”
Lavinia is unable to speak for a moment, then steels her resolve and continues.
“After my mother and father perished, Vanthus returned to the estate briefly, though his countenance had become grimmer still. He was morose and irritable, and his sense of humor now bordered on the macabre. After a week of on again, off again arguments, he lost control and blackened my eye with his fist. I think even he was taken aback by his behavior, as he left the estate for a third time immediately following the incident, and has not returned.”
“I do not know his current whereabouts, but I desperately wish to speak with him. I must know how he obtained my mother’s ring, and what he may have done with our inheritance. Perhaps it is not yet too late to return him from the path into darkness he travels. To that end, I would like you to scour Sassarine for information that will lead to my brother. If possible, I wish for you to return him to the estate, under protest if it is unavoidable, so he and I may discuss his current lifestyle choices at length.”
Lavinia exhales forcibly, then resumes her previous grin.
“I know for certain you will locate Vanthus. I have great faith in you all.”
"Hmmmm...women of dubious nature. Don't worry gents...I'll check the brothels" Tyndal smirks.
Harven, this ring would be better used by you, take it. I am sure we shall all do our best to find your brother but if you have any further info that may be of assistance, however minute, please be sure to divulge it to us. Finding someone who doesn't want to be found in a city this large is quite an undertaking.
Perhaps we check out the district where he was known to have a residence first. If we find a trail, I can track him.
I assume you wish to have him intact?
I assume you wish to have him intact?
“Most assuredly.”
“Judging from his activities and associates, I doubt he is to be found within the Noble or Champion Districts, although perhaps somewhere there may have noticed him in passing.”