Sierpinski releases the button on the blade (or presses it again, if it's that kind of button) and then goes over to stand by the side of the mirror, where he can observe and potentially support Tobias but not be seen if the mirror is functioning as a window.

Brynn leafed through the book for a few moments. She knew enough of monsters to recognize some of the entries, but a great deal of it was beyond her. She buried her axe in beasts. She rarely stopped long to study them. With a frustrated a huff, she closed the book and, hearing Urine prattling on, walked up beside him. "Here", she said, shoving the book into his chest, "maybe it says something about your hero in here."



15:59, Today: Brynn Rhunsdottir rolled 6 using 2d6-1.  Spout lore about the creature in the caves
A failure, but one that's less dire, at least.

Sierpibski's blade retained its air-like qualities even after the button was released. The wizard was easily able to get into a favorable position outside of the mirror's direct line of sight.

As Brynn flipped through the book before handing it off to Uri, the only thing that really stuck out was that most dark-dwelling creatures seemed to have an aversion to bright lights. Which seemed like a no-brainer. Still, it was something. And the Bard, now paying attention to what Tobias was doing, had a front row seat as the paladin attempted to communicate with whatever was inside the mirror.

As Tobias spoke into the mirror, he could tell that the sobbing was most definitely coming from within. Its source still sounded quite distant though. As he peered into the mirror, his own reflection was mostly absent. Just a pale translucent shadow of what it should be. After he spoke, far back in the reflected room Tobias spotted a figure pop up behind a cluster of the statuary and the sobbing stopped. The figure was vaguely shaped like a little girl, but seemed a bit... off, somehow. In fact, the entire room seemed a bit off in a way Tobias couldn't quite put his finger on.

After a moment or two, the figure responded. Through sniffles, it said, "I really wish you wouldn't have killed her." She paused. Tobias's paladin senses let him know what she had said was true. "I'm not going to come out there, but I guess you can come in if you want. If you promise not to hurt me..."

What do you do?

---

Tobias
As far as you can tell, the figure in the mirror is telling the truth. Something does seem off though, but you can't quite put your finger on it.

Sierpinski
The blade retained its air-like qualities even when you released the button.

Brynn
The book of dark-dwelling creatures gives a +1 to Spout Lore when used to see what you know about such creatures (like a book from a Bag of Books), so you actually got a 7. You notice and recall that most dark-dwelling creatures are averse to bright lights.

Also, don't fall into the trap of thinking that a failed Spout Lore roll can't be just as deadly as a failed Hack and Slash roll. In my games, a 6- is a 6- no matter where it comes from.

Uri
Is it known if anyone has successfully used the Quill of All Words before?

Tobias looked around the reflected room, but other than seeing a mirrored version of the room he was already in he had no idea what else was off. Focusing on the little girl, Tobias felt some guilt rise up in his stomach. "I-I am truly sorry it had come to that..." Tobias apologized once again. He rubbed the back of his head, unable to really convey how he regretted leaving this girl alone. How was he suppose to know that Risp watched over a kid? Tobias himself had two younger brothers, one of who he lept into a magic tapestry just to find. He could not leave this girl alone, as strange as a being she is.

Tobias chewed his lip as he took in the girl's words. He couldn't step into the mirror, who knew what that would do him. No, he couldn't step into another dimension just soon after hopping into one prior. Unless everyone else followed after him, and Tobias highly doubted the other would. "I won't step inside your, uh, room, even if you permit. I don't understand the magic of this mirror and I don't want to risk any missteps just cause of my own ignorance." Tobias looked his fellow adventurers. Next best option is to ask the girl to come out instead. "However, I will promise you, I won't harm you so long as you promise not to harm us."

"As a paladin of Ajanna you can trust my word. No child would ever come to harm if we can prevent it. Please step out of the mirror so we may speak more easily." Tobias put on his best smile. One that he used on his own brothers to bring them comfort. Tobias prayed that he was making the right decision here, he didn't want any of the others getting hurt. But they needed information about where they were, and with the gorgon dead, the mirror girl was the next best option.

---

20:28, Today: Tobias Hiller rolled 8 using 2d6.  I am the law.
  I'm really glad I got a hit on this one, I will choose-
  - Do what you say
  I want the mirror girl to come outside into the 'real' world.

EDIT: I fixed some spelling errors
This message was last edited by the player at 04:40, Wed 30 Jan 2019.

In reply to Tobias Hiller (msg # 50):

Sierpinksi nods in approval at Hiller's caution. Then, holding the "airblade" in one hand, he takes his dagger in his other hand and tries a few things:

He tries touching the airblade to the floor (stone, presumably).
He tries touching the airblade to the floor and pressing the button.
He tries touching the airblade to his dagger.
He tries touching the airblade to his dagger and pressing the button.

If the blade changes significantly at any of those steps, he'll stop.

---

Alternatively, you could tell me how it works and I could have Sierpinski keep experimenting without the need for this kind of back and forth.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 05:17, Thu 31 Jan 2019.

Uri continues to watch the conversion between Tobias and the girl in the mirror, without saying anything himself.

There are a few tales of people seeking out the Quill, but no accounts of anyone actually using it.

"You'll have to... unlock, the mirror in order for me to leave," the voice said. Then, with hesitation thick in her voice, she added, "There is a dial on the back that you must turn. Do that, and I will come out to join you. Otherwise, I cannot. Risp has made this room my prison. You may call me Spire, if you wish."

Meanwhile, Sierpinski's experimentation proved fruitful. When he touched other objects with it, nothing happened. But when he touched objects with it and pushed the button, it seemed to take on aspects of the item touched. For instance, when he touched it to an area of uncarpeted floor, it took on the same color and texture as the blue marble resting there.

What do you do?

---

Tobias
The girl seems to want to do as you say, but can't until someone turns the dial on the back of the mirror to release her.

Sierpinski
It seems the machete's blade takes on aspects of whatever it is touching when the button is pressed. Its weight is currently back up to 2.

Sierpinski set the blade to "air" again, and deposited it in his pack. The button might get bumped, but he made sure the handle was surrounded by soft stuff. Sierpinski then bought his illuminated dagger out, and swept it around to take a look at the dial and what its settings were. It wouldn't do to sweep it past one that opened the mirror onto a sucking void or ocean of blood or something.

He also gestured Tobias over. The wizard had another spell could prove useful at the present stage.

The dial only appeared to have two settings. "Bound" and "unbound".

If that's literally what it says:

After his inspection, Sierpinski caught Hiller's eye and pulled a negative expression. He threw in some hand gestures indicating devil horns, fangs, and (to the extent he was able) likely eternal damnation.

Unhooking the Gorgon head from her belt, holding it up towards Sierpinski as she approached from the back of the mirror. Why not ask her? You can do that, right? Brynn's axe was slung in the loop at her back, and she seemed eager to have it back in hand.

In reply to Brynn Rhunsdottir (msg # 57):

"Indeed I can," he whispers, "though it takes some preparation. Tomorrow, at the earliest, I'm afraid."

"Thank you for trusting me Spire. I'll see-" Tobias wanted to say more to the girl, but his focus shifted to Sierpinski. The wizard's charades told him that he didn't trust the girl. Though Tobias felt no lie come from her. "-hold that thought little one."

Tobias moved around the mirror so he wasn't in Spire's line of sight anymore. He whispered back to the others. There wasn't any hint that she could listen, but better safe than sorry. "If we can't ask Mr. Risp, I think we should take a chance and trust the little one. I felt no lie come from her when she said she was held prisoner. I don't believe Mr. Risp to be the kind to hold hostages for the good of others, she seemed the sort to keep others only as prizes." Tobias gestured to the statues littering the room to punctuate his point. Tobias inclined his head to the dial at the back of the mirror. "I'm set on releasing her. But, I ain't the sole member of this group. Is there a way I can convince ya'll to trust my decision?"

Brynn tied the gorgon's head back to her belt before placing a have to her chin. They knew almost nothing about their circumstances, and not minutes after being thrown into this world on a fool's expedition, they'd already lost their benefactor. She winced visibly at the sting of her failure. Finally looking up, cold eyes taking the measure of Tobias's resolve, she said, "I'm in favor of taking the chance. We need information. I won't hesitate to put her down if she becomes a threat, but if she plays fair, so will I."

Sierpinski shrugged. "I don't think it's a good idea, but I'll back you up if you want to try it."

Go ahead, adds Uri.  I've seen you in action before; I trust your judgment.

Once Tobias had everyone's consent, glad everyone trusted him enough to make this decision. Even if a fight were to break out (Tobias didn't believe one would) they would be at least semi ready for it. Tobias moved back around to speak to Spire once again. He knelt and lightly tapped the mirror to get her attention. "Okay Spire. We're going to let you out now. Once you're out we'll talk some more, maybe you can tell us about this world we found ourselves in."

Tobias stood and went around to the back. He twisted the dial and waited for a response.

When it was confirmed that the group was going to release Spire from the mirror, the girl's figure at the back of the room dipped back down behind the statues and began to approach. Although the statues in the mirror obscured most of what could be seen of her, something seemed off about how she moved through the collection of stone figures.

But almost as fast as that realization was occurring, the view inside the mirror became obscured as the dial was turned. As the dial on the back was twisted, all of the jeweled flowers on its front turned as well. Beams of light crisscrossed the mirror's surface, connecting the flowers in a spiderweb-type pattern. As the light faded and the view inside the mirror came back into focus, a large flower bud at the top of the mirror bloomed, revealing a small claw resting among its petals.

Inside the mirror, Spire was not in view, but her voice still rang out. It was close. Just outside of view by the sounds of it. "Now remember, you promised you wouldn't hurt me..." From the edge of the mirror, a girlish figure peeked around the corner. But she looked more like a lifelike doll than a living person. Her long brown hair hung straight and limp, and expressionless green eyes stared out with their lids just wide enough to be unsettling. Her mouth opened and closed when she talked, but did not make the correct shapes for the words that were spoken, similar to a ventriloquist's dummy. "Here I come..." As unlifelike as she was, it was clear she was made of flesh and blood.

The girl stretched out of the mirror on a torso that was too long and flexible and reached up to the top of the mirror where the claw had been exposed. She grabbed it and proceeded forward. As disturbing as the girl was thus far, it was nothing compared to what the rest of her looked like.

The girl's long flexible torso was not attached to legs, but to a head. A large, serpentine head. And on this serpent head there were other humanoid "dolls" as well. One looked like an old elven man, one was a young dwarven maiden. There were seven in total, all as disturbing as the last as they each looked around the room independently. Underneath the serpentine head was a long and muscled snake-like body that slithered out from the mirror, easily thirty feet in length. It had two weak and clawed arms, and wore a set of tools in a sash over one shoulder.

The... creature, looked over at the gorgon's headless body with its snake eyes. It's snake features did not change, but all of its other faces frowned. "I guess my sister truly is dead then, huh?"

What do you do?

---

Everyone
It turned out that the "girl" from the mirror was actually a huge snake-like monstrosity. If the gorgon was a person with snake-like hair, then this creature is a huge snake with person-like hair.

Brynn's whole body shuddered as she watched the utterly inhuman hydra of doll-like bodies climb from the mirror. She'd seen many horrible things in her journey, but never anything so terrible as this. "W-what are you?" The words dribbled from her mouth as her knuckles turned white from clutching so tightly at her axe. Clenching her jaw, she steeled herself . . . but held her ground. If Tobias wanted to parley, now was the time . . . In the meantime, she looked the creature up and down, trying to better understand what it was she was seeing. Slowly, she paced around, doing her best to study every side of its utterly bizarre form.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:11, Mon 04 Feb 2019.

Tobias wasn't going to lie to himself, once Spire stepped out of the mirror he immediately gulped. A sense of terror washing over him as the hairs at the back of his neck stood on end. Her appearance was nothing like he expected, and it made his hand involuntarily  tightened into a fist. He took a breath and forced himself to calm. Shocked as he was, she was trusting him to keep his promise, and by Ajanna he was going to do just that. If he could, he would keep Spire from harm (Even if that meant from his fellow adventurers). Tobias stepped forward, a hand waving to Brynn to tell her to lower her weapon as she inspected Spire. It wouldn't do any good if she suspected they would break the promise as soon as they saw her.

"Uh-" Tobias cleared his throat, trying to process everything. His eyes trailed down to Risp's body. He stepped a little closer, in a gesture he hoped convey empathy. "Y-yes... regretfully."

"Spire, we came to this world through a magic tapestry. We are strangers to it. If you can, please tell us anything about where we found ourselves."

Uri was at least as anxious as any of the others.  He had to admit that, on the surface, Spire looked like someone who would be less receptive to peace, love, and understanding than the folks he was used to dealing with.  But he would still give it his best shot if it looked like Tobias needed backup.

Sierpinski seemed surprised, but not particularly nervous. They were at this creature's mercy and there probably wasn't much they could offer it to sway any decision it might make. He was content to watch and wait for now.

Spire seemed to stand on guard for a few moments until it became evident that the group was going to hold true to its word and not attack her. The monstrous creature then visibly relaxed and she began moving slowly among the statues. The little girl strand of her person-hair remained fixed on the group though. "I am a gorgon," Spire assured Brynn. "Although I admit individuals with my affliction, as rare as we may be, are more often referred to as nogrogs. It is a hateful term." Spire nudged Risp's headless body as she passed it. The little girl face looked like it was about to start crying again, but then Spire continued on. She followed along one of the drainage channels for the pool.

"I am not pleased that you have slain my sister, but she had sealed me away in that mirror for decades, out of shame and spite. You have freed me, so I will forgive you for your actions and will answer one of each of your questions. I have already answered yours," she said, pointing to Brynn. Then, pointing to Tobias, "And now I will answer yours."

"You are currently in the Marbled Palace. The blue wing, which is overseen by my sister. Was overseen by my sister. The palace has six wings in total, all connected at a central hub. And each wing houses a magnificent treasure. But... seeing as how I have been trapped in that mirror for so long, there is not much more that I can tell you about this palace's details beyond this room. Tread carefully if you decide to explore its wings though. There is danger around every corner."

Now at the edge of the room, Spire removed a tool from her sash and began using it to remove a large drain cover in the floor. Even as her serpent eyes focused on the task at hand, her girl-hair remained focused on the party. Looking from Sierpinski to Uri, she said, "Now, is there anything you two would like to ask me, or is that it?"

Sierpinski spoke up relatively quickly. "Very well. Magical power waxes and wanes, but there's reason to believe you would have heard of places of power accessible from here. How can I reach the nearest one?"

"Places of power?" Spire asked as she continued to work on loosening the drainage grate. It seemed she did not entirely understand what Sierpinski meant, but attempted to answer his question anyway. "Places of magical power? Above the normal? Hmm." Spire pondered for a few moments before continuing.

"In the blue wing of the Marbled Palace, I guess the water temple at the base of the Misty Falls would be a good bet. I hear it is a long way down though. So maybe the cell of the Hero Tolibrash would be closer. I hear they use the magic of the room to keep him there. Or maybe there is one where I am going, outside of the Marbled Palace altogether. I don't know for sure, since I have never been through this passageway myself." And with that, Spire lifted the drainage grate, revealing a ladder going down even as water poured lazily into the hole. "Looks like it will be a tight fit for me though."