Findelye, the half-elf girl, gestures to the other two who simply nod in response and move back. She takes few steps closer to Filimena, pushing her curly silver hair out of her eyes as she does. Her eyes narrow and starts making a few of the gestures. She looks at the clay tablets though it is obvious that she is very careful not to actually touch them. After studying them for a minute or so, she shakes her head.

Filimena's knowledge of magic (Arcana +3) allows her to recognize that the girl was casting a spell to determine if the tablets are magical (Detect Magic).

Filimena raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms. That spell has a vocal component, she thinks at the girl.

OOC: I rolled Arcana to see whether Filimena knows only sorcerers can cast with Subtle Spell, and rolled a 6, so… I guess Filimena doesn’t know. On the other hand, I assume if she recognised the Detect Magic spell, she also knows the spell has vocal and somatic components.

I’ve been having a crazy few days at work, unfortunately. Too tired to think. This is just a short one to move things along hopefully.

Findelye's eyes go wide for a moment before she smirks then gives a slight shrug.

Not receiving any responses from the spirits, Marik lowers his head. Either they didn't hear him or he wasn't convincing enough to warrant their attention.

As they wait for the storm to hit, he hears Filimena and the children talking together, not paying them much mind as Filimena seems to have things under control. Not much to do else than wait now. To occupy his thoughts, Marik gets Aiwenor Crist from his back and studies the large composite bow in his hands, peering over every detail of the wood. He can't explain why a thought passes through his mind.

"Sky Cleaver, huh....wonder they called you this" he thinks for himself

OOC: Just by curiosity, does Sky Cleaver react in any way to the approach of the storm?
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:24, Fri 30 July 2021.

OOC: Won't lie, I had to look thru the other threads to find out what Aiwenor Crist / Sky Cleaver was! :)

The bow Aiwenor Crist, for all of the remarkable time and effort put into it is still just wood, leather, and string.

Interesting, Filimena thinks, tucking the knowledge away from when it might come in handy.

"Right," she says, aloud this time, so she doesn't exclude the other two children. She assumes the girl reads lips too. "So it's not magical. But you haven't seen anything like this before? This writing. How about that?" She points towards the wall where the portal is, taking the chance that Marik is done with whatever he's doing.

Marik turns as Filimena is pointing in his direction and get up.

[Language unknown: "Me ti alwer u urebutear. Eenpa t arteenestave?"] he ask the halfling.




OCC: Awww, and me who thought I had finally pierced the secret of a galaxy-brain storyline! ;) (Not really, was mostly poking around but thought the coincidence was too good to pass up)
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:28, Mon 02 Aug 2021.

Findelye shake her head to Filimena's question about the runes, then she gestures to the others.

The half-orc boy speaks up, "She says they looks dwarvish and ..." Agot pauses a confused look on his face then gestures to Findelye who replies in kind to which he nods, "Conjuration. We've never seen 'em though."

Filimena nods at the children to acknowledge that she has hear what they said.

[Language unknown: "O eenic ulme'sasa of thu wasreaintent. Aletwh n meenmasi astatiset lo dimewh arden hasvirame rut ie... derfi oswele. Na ast atna rom maom hi ngtrut ckrimo fiit sti ch utti anion thohisday, ichterherome Ughingearwhe Vorthiine wacon hond ssliutss iv Earsanart Red. Of ceomri aiplne iveioname tha i ngaineul notnothou,"] she says to Marik, giving him a dark look. [Language unknown: "An land ionwhiwit deris ch ul p niar i stamenwer Inethiicawhi?"] she begins rummaging in her own backpack, forgetting whether she might have kept it herself.

OOC: I don't think we actually said what we did with the key. Is it safe to assume one of us had simply held on to it?
This message was last edited by the player at 22:45, Tue 03 Aug 2021.

I said here (link to a message in this game) that an

quote:

A envoy dwarves from Korum inquires as to what was found and begin preparing to mount an expedition to get return to their ancestral home.

They pay well for the information as well as the keys found during the exploration.

But I'm okay with y'all keeping a key.

16:02, Today: DM5 rolled 89 using 1d100 with rolls of 89.  who has key? 50+ Filimena.


Filimena rummages thru her pack and finds the key that Keygan Ghelve gave her what feels like a lifetime ago. The metal of the key is cool almost cold to the touch.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:30, Mon 09 Aug 2021.

Filimena frowns, looking down at the key in her hands. It seems unlikely, but perhaps still worth a try. "What about this?" She turns to the children to ask. "Seen one of these before?"

Each child takes to look at the key and one by one they shake their heads.

Agot pipes up, "Can't say I've ever seen one of those before." The half-orc glances back to the others, and they communicate in their sign-language. Is it is dwarf made? The carvings look like some we saw at the locksmith shop."

Filimena nods. "You're right. It's dwarven. This is a key. And that," she says, tapping the metal bar, then pointing back at the carvings on the wall. "Is a door, a portal. There is one at Ghelve's Locks as well. We used this key to enter the portal there. It took us to a place called Jzadirune. Does that mean anything to you?"

The children may or may not know anything. At this point, Filimena is merely fishing for information. She continues tapping the key, pondering. Surely this same key wouldn't work with the portal here in this basement, would it? There's no reason to assume it leads to the same place. Perhaps there is another key like this somewhere in this mansion. They hadn't really searched that hard. Was there even a need to try entering the portal? Not really. Nothing was leading them there. Only curiosity. Surely they should focusing on the Illithid in the sewers. That is a far more immediate danger. And yet... could there be a link?

The children once again look at each other and talk among themselves for a moment. There does seem to be some heated back and forth between the trio before Agot looks back to you. "We saw one a tenday or so back, was a fella who had one. He was near the church of St Gili, coulda been coming out but we didn't stick around to find out."

Filimena knows St Gili as a Saint of creation and invention.

Filimena looks over at Marik. She wants to ask him what he thinks, but isn't sure how much she should be saying in front of the children.

"What do you think? We might go back down into the sewers, but we don't have much of a lead in that direction. On the other hand, this thing is in our basement," she waves towards the portal. "Maybe we can ask Ironclad if he's seen a key himself, and pop by the Church of St Gili with him to ask, do a bit of poking around in the meantime."

Filimena glances upward, wondering what's happened with the storm. Heading towards the trap door and nudges it open ever so slightly, to see if she can hear anything.

OOC: Oops. If I'm honest, I'd forgotten Ironclad was with us. Got a bit caught up with the orphans.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:31, Mon 06 Sept 2021.

Filimena can hear the found of Ironclad thudding about the main level of the manor.

"Buckets are filling. Ironclad will dump water outside. Perhaps elvish apparition would assist by putting down another water retention vessel?"

Marik seems to snap back to reality as Filimena adress him.

[Language unknown: "Der. Kormanous. Lo ienehi nt t meouur m ulai hoekll? Nceiun tio ndst ti icanteave? Aclo anilat le utbut i atti e? M uredinall li bepeelng, urehouvir u, ioul Lesni fo tehietnd thwial ave un teic m olacut theoulsom ut calahiri sshoon ioher ck of atiio. Ainsi liulacssus, iv ons k tioaveshe ieck il m onsnteort leeau iler ect ek est. Out noprti korai pe urla anyncetha wa ee daysoming? Ers artwhinot n li at no ispaec ng el adich cesewa, oveillill anyinthathouthi a erro onetrabut'inedin"] says Marik with a grin, as if he wasn't still himself a young elf easily distracted by new interestings things each day.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:57, Tue 07 Sept 2021.

Filimena frowns. Marik is right. What is she doing? She seems to have lost her direction. Is she merely being curious, and distracted? Maybe. But that idea doesn’t sit right with her. She begins pacing, back and forth, agitated.

[Language unknown: “E un’a con ngrom ilour esbut ouetne-ceme ri wilundforwhi,”] she says, still pacing, staring at the ground. [Language unknown: “Alur thaoneerethence k stonst ofasme as me ureencthe teres po tra no deren thie fo undconiou waslo… at ioivdi ine ou ivel esdias. Ro linredect k ionwi i n traret ncnce nepato n ivulbe wa orethathi esat tioho lison e intthudinvirtin i Nomeca’o Escaen. Fo it ugh e ndfo neielo ome he hishatlar sa ourpl u alres averesncewer un seheit, eeekse m na man roevee yinntence ekishe wi sendul ast. Ulbe bleichvor pl“] and here she stops to gesture anxiously up at the ceiling [Language unknown: “i ivalek pe p ouleraere, ore A tachut’m n unacssic u os daythufor neac o a ilriilek ameallant wh ekie.”]

It’s almost as if everything that has happened so far has been the work of some Arranger, putting things together, laying down a path for them. Algabassadur? They have never done anything like this before, and no, they can’t be powerful enough to do this, or they wouldn’t need her. Her brother? No, she shakes her head. That’s just absurd. The thought occurs to her they never really pressed Floon and Ranaer on how they looked so similar. Was Ranaer adopted?

[Language unknown: “Ain a eiutmo. Ro wi werardain he ur n waec ast, itou ardhisman’e el tha witaca wastrabut. Ut o erethista day saio ichsetone ic ivtaos na m ie il. Santhawhihis loarnc’et noart ckulbe, nt’en ndth. Di ma an ast unming ers, allardtheavelesine ent Illwasavewer e outni iouhiscon, aveomeomewhihisoun whi verereore, wisibe saard ce andentsta, antewe urca hisithica ss ti ceil saicmi.”]

She turns and slumps against the wall, tired. She realises she’s been on edge since the last evening and isn’t thinking straight. She glances over towards Ironclad, and considers going over to help with some buckets herself.

OOC: Haha ok, the truth is I’ve accidentally fallen into the meta-gaming trap of thinking that because something has appeared in the narrative, it must somehow be a clue, or otherwise related, in the same story arc. But I do also think that this is something Filimena would consider in-character. She’s not in a decent frame of mind, and there do seem to be a few too many coincidences about.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:17, Thu 09 Sept 2021.

OOC: Ooops, time past fast. :/ I didn't thought the last post was last wee. Sorry, something came up that took all my attention. Apologies for the delay! I don't have a clear idea of what Marik would do except respond this for the moment, but i'll try to think up something tonight or tomorrow to progress!


[Language unknown: "Ma Romderine encill-resthu u er ll wilatiionratart miss, pe lo onsno linar Areuresom. Ort wasichset et na anpric pehaiv us li unsahe. Ic K thias ta. Tha mele e witounlare eauer anmeic o unfi." ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:56, Wed 15 Sept 2021.

Marik hears the thudding sounds coming from Ironclad up top. Thoughts are crashing in his head and he needs to collect his thoughts.

[Language unknown: "Heons k oerillect e rat astne se wi me alos ionsomome ha tissit."] and he steps up with Rani to do exactly that. What does the situation look like outside?
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:25, Mon 20 Sept 2021.

Filimena sighs deeply, looking over at the children to see what they are doing, the following slowly after Marik. She also wants to know what’s happening with the storm.

What should she do? How much had the goblin said she would charge to scry for her brother? 600 gold pieces? She shakes her head. That’s a lot of gold. They would have to sell the house. She has to admit she is feeling attached to the place now that they’ve put so much work into cleaning it up, and the neighbours have welcomed them so warmly. It’s true that up till now she has had very little use for a permanent place of residence, but she’s coming up to the age now where halflings typically settle down. She has no intention of settling down just yet, but having a place to come back to promises a nice feeling of stability. She shakes her head, annoyed at herself for having such thoughts. It doesn’t matter. The house isn’t only hers to sell. It belongs to Marik too.

But the what? Perhaps they could turn to treasure-hunting. Or perhaps she could take up story-telling in taverns, leveraging her unsought for celebrity status as one of the Finders of Jzadirune. She does have a certain knack for performance. She cringes. This thought doesn’t please her much either.

She frowns slight, recalling the book in her bag. Perhaps it’s worth a second look. She hadn’t found much the first time, but then she had been in shock. Now that she’s calmed down, maybe she’ll spot something she missed then. There had been something familiar about the book. And she had hardly investigated the note itself. She nods, coming to a decision. There’s really no harm giving the book a second chance. What’s the worst that can happen? It’s like she said to Marik, if her brother had wanted her to find him so easily, he could have showed up himself at the party. Instead, he sent her this book. Surely, then, the book must mean something. She’ll try again, and then, afterwards, she’ll search the city, and Marik and Ironclad can come along if they wish.

She looks up to see that she's still following behind Marik, and speeds up to catch up to him.

OOC: Ok, so Mr GM sir, not sure what your stand is on retrying a failed check. Regardless whether the book actually contains anything, and regardless what I as a player might think about the book, there are obvious in-character reasons why Filimena would want to try again. I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion to her that the book really contains nothing. And as she’s feeling desperate, I’m not sure it’s an option she would ignore.

Ironclad spins in place, bucket in hand, as Marik and Rani enter the main level.  Without looking they throw the contents of the bucket out the open sidedoor, "I'm Marik, greetings.  Ironclad recommends watching out for falling liquid as large felines often do not like becoming moist without their consent."

Marik believes that the storm is passing from the wind and angle of the rain hitting the windows.  The general direction means the storm is going farther inland likely along the river that feeds into the sea.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:55, Tue 21 Sept 2021.

As Filimena joins them, Marik and Rani will get up and peek through the window, see the storm's aftermath. How does the city look like?

Filimena shakes off her thoughts, feeling rather overwhelmed. She steps up to the window, peering outside with Marik, wondering what kind of damage the storm might have wrought.

moving to here : link to a message in this game