Gania

After walking into the room behind the door with the canine-headed person gutting an enemy, Gania's feet became immovably planted on the floor just like the others. In the treasure chamber, the window viewing the serpent glaive went black and opaque. Gania's door slowly began to close behind her, leaving her staring at the curtain in front of her.

After a minute or so, the door finished closing, and its seams fused with the wall, making it look as if there were never a door there to begin with. There was only one direction left to go. Through the curtain. And Gania found her feet no longer frozen in place, so she could actually do so. But as her hand touched the curtain, a voice rang out. This time in her native tongue.

"You are about to attempt the Rite of Might. Prove you are worthy of the treasure you seek, and claim it for yourself. Fail to succeed, pervert the challenge, or die, and you will be expunged from the treasure chamber empty handed. You have one hour to reach the exit using your might as your main resource. Begin." A small hourglass appeared in the air just above and in front of Gania's head. The sand grains were already falling.

When Gania pulled back her curtain, she found herself stepping out onto a small balcony inside a rectangular room. Upon the balcony was what Gania first thought was a metal stick inside a stone block, but eventually realized was a massive square hammer. Twice the size of an average sledgehammer, to be precise. Over the side of the balcony, the entire room was filled with a deep pool of water, save for the braziers burning in the corners and another balcony across the room, about twenty feet away. Upon the far balcony was a large nail wedged into the ground, about just the right size for the hammer on Gania's side. Swimming over to the other balcony would be easy enough on its own, but getting the hammer over there would be much more problematic.

What do you do?

---

Twessa

After a minute or so, Twessa's door finished closing, and its seams fused with the wall, making it look as if there were never a door there to begin with. There was only one direction left to go. Through the curtain. And Twessa found her feet no longer frozen in place, so she could actually do so. But as her hand touched the curtain, a voice rang out. This time in her native tongue.

"You are about to attempt the Rite of Vitality. Prove you are worthy of the treasure you seek, and claim it for yourself. Fail to succeed, pervert the challenge, or die, and you will be expunged from the treasure chamber empty handed. You have one hour to reach the exit using your vitality as your main resource. Begin." A small hourglass appeared in the air just above and in front of Twessa's head. The sand grains were already falling.

When Twessa pulled back her curtain, it revealed a small square room decorated in elegant fabrics and colorful paintings. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. On the far wall was a large vault door with a wheel that could be turned to open it. In the center of the room was a table just large enough for a single gnome-sized person to sit at.

Atop the table were four plates that each held ten bit-sized snacks. Three of the plates held snacks that looked absolutely delicious. The best Twessa had ever seen! The fourth plate was quite the opposite. It held fuzzy green crackers topped with something akin to curdled frog eggs and twitching cricket legs. It was absolutely revolting to look at and smelled atrocious.

What do you do?

---

Istvan

After a minute or so, the door finished closing, and its seams fused with the wall, making it look as if there were never a door there to begin with. There was only one direction left to go. Through the curtain. And Istvan found his feet no longer frozen in place, so he could actually do so. But as his hand touched the curtain, a voice rang out. This time in his native tongue.

"You are about to attempt the Rite of Thought. Prove you are worthy of the treasure you seek, and claim it for yourself. Fail to succeed, pervert the challenge, or die, and you will be expunged from the treasure chamber empty handed. You have one hour to reach the exit using your thoughts as your main resource. Begin." A small hourglass appeared in the air just above and in front of Istvan's head. The sand grains were already falling.

When Istvan pulled back the curtain, his eyes fell upon a large egg-shaped room. In its center was a work table with six books laying atop it and an assortment of supplies underneath. Along the left wall were small containers containing a number of snakes, bugs and other creepy-crawlies. Along the Right wall were shelves of bottles and boxes of assorted ingredients. At the far side of the room the entire area was an open area, raised up slightly higher than the rest of the room. And in the air above the empty area was a floating platform, a good twenty feet up. On the platform was a door identical to the one he had entered earlier, bearing the image of a person with a long-necked bird head measuring liquids over an open book.

What do you do?

---

Atalanta

After walking into the room behind the door with the ram-headed person meditating, Atalanta's feet became immovably planted on the floor just like the others. In the treasure chamber, the window viewing the scarab-mail went black and opaque. Atalanta's door slowly began to close behind her, leaving her staring at the curtain in front of her.

After a minute or so, the door finished closing, and its seams fused with the wall, making it look as if there were never a door there to begin with. There was only one direction left to go. Through the curtain. And Atalanta found her feet no longer frozen in place, so she could actually do so. But as her hand touched the curtain, a voice rang out. This time in her native tongue.

"You are about to attempt the Rite of Instinct. Prove you are worthy of the treasure you seek, and claim it for yourself. Fail to succeed, pervert the challenge, or die, and you will be expunged from the treasure chamber empty handed. You have one hour to reach the exit using your instincts as your main resource. Begin." A small hourglass appeared in the air just above and in front of Atalanta's head. The sand grains were already falling.

When Atalanta pulled back the curtain, she was met with an expansive and empty room. She was near the ceiling and the limestone wall dropped off sharply in front of her. Down below she could see that the floor was made of molten lava. Something felt off to her about the emptiness of the room, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Across the room, at least three hundred feet away, Atalanta could just make out a door identical to the one she had entered. It bore the image of a ram-headed person deep in meditation.

What do you do?

---

Harlin

After walking into the room behind the door with the cat-headed person performing, Harlin's feet became immovably planted on the floor just like the others. In the treasure chamber, the window viewing the headdress went black and opaque. Harlin's door slowly began to close behind him, leaving him staring at the curtain in front of him.

After a minute or so, the door finished closing, and its seams fused with the wall, making it look as if there were never a door there to begin with. There was only one direction left to go. Through the curtain. And Harlin found his feet no longer frozen in place, so he could actually do so. But as his hand touched the curtain, a voice rang out. This time in his native tongue.

"You are about to attempt the Rite of Personality. Prove you are worthy of the treasure you seek, and claim it for yourself. Fail to succeed, pervert the challenge, or die, and you will be expunged from the treasure chamber empty handed. You have one hour to reach the exit using your personality as your main resource. Begin." A small hourglass appeared in the air just above and in front of Harlin's head. The sand grains were already falling.

When Harlin pulled back the curtain, the smell of damp earth greeted his nose. In front of him was a square room containing a small stone bridge spanning a 30 foot chasm. It seemed to be of much sturdier construction than the bridges they had seen at the underground farm. There were torches aflame at each end of the bridge, a tall set of double doors at the other end, and at its center was a figure sitting in the path. A big fat troll.

The bridge was narrow enough that the troll took up its entire width. The burly brute seemed to be sobbing quietly to itself, but when it noticed Harlin it sniffed and wiped its nose on its sleeve. Even with a big string of snot hanging between its sleeve and nose, it said to Harlin in a thick accent, "Toll's a hunred coin. Ifya wanna pass." The troll's bottom lip quivered sadly as it held out a hand to accept Halin's non-existent money.

What do you do?

---

Gania
You have begun the Rite of Might. Let me know if you need any clarifications about what is going on.

Twessa
You have begun the Rite of Vitality. Let me know if you need any clarifications about what is going on.

Istvan
You have begun the Rite of Thought. Let me know if you need any clarifications about what is going on.

Atalanta
You have begun the Rite of Instinct. Let me know if you need any clarifications about what is going on.

Harlin
You have begun the Rite of Personality. Let me know if you need any clarifications about what is going on. I know you are AFK for a few days, but when you post let me know if you want Quickclaw with you, or if you want Quickclaw to have gone into door two. Your choice.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:38, Tue 26 Mar 2019.

Istvan figures he's supposed to use the ingredients-- and probably the bugs and other things might count as ingredients-- to make a potion or something. Istvan goes over and examines the books, to see if they might give instructions or directions to follow...

OOOOH! Tasty Crunch Fillets! Jellied Eels! And that gooey pink paste dotted with shreds of red kelp, spread between two strips of lumpy brown pastry...was that Fermented Squid Slice? A banquet of delicacies from the Dellinzer Crevasse, how wonderful! And how unlikely, given the surrounds. But the fourth plate...it looked almost all right to Twessa's gnomish eyes, but the smell was a long way from one she found palatable. Someone had used spices...maybe some sort of hot tasting spice that could hurt her untrained tongue. Ergh!

She glanced up with disinterest at the chandelier, and instead went to investigate the apparent exit from this small room, picking up and eating one of the squid slices. As she gnawed away at the thick, bland treat with satisfaction, Twessa prodded and poked the door, looking for any hint as to what might open it.

---

05:01, Today: Twessa Dumdellin rolled 5 using 2d6+2.  Discern Realities (how open the door).

Oh well. No shortcuts! Trial and error it is.

This message was last edited by the player at 18:06, Wed 27 Mar 2019.

Something was amiss, and Atalanta wasn't gonna charge into a potentially lethal place while her Druid Sense was still tingling, so she took a moment to inspect the room.

Today: Atalanta rolled 7 using 2d6+2 ((3,2)). Barely a success; my question is "What here is not what it appears to be?"

Gania smiled at the explanation of the trial. Might was something she could handle. Dying didn't sound good, but getting exiled instead of killed was a welcomed piece of information. She gave the oversized hammer an experimental pull, getting a feel for its weight. She looked over to the other balcony and considered lobbing it across. Then she looked at the pool below, frowning. If the hammer sunk it's likely she would fail the task.

20:33, Today: Gania Flamekeeper rolled 3 using 2d6+1.  Discern Realities.
Welp...
For reference: What should I be on the lookout for?
How heavy is the sledgehammer and how deep is the water (if it's observable from above)? How high above the water are the balconies?

Gania
When Gania looked into the water between the balconies, she was dismayed by what she saw. The water was only about three times as deep as she was tall, but the walls and floor within the pool had some sort of trap at regular intervals. Every few feet there was a tentacle protruding into the water, like an octopus grasping for anything within reach. The water near the surface seemed far enough out of reach of any of them, but if the hammer fell below... Well, it would certainly be difficult to bring it back up again.

What do you do?

---

Twessa

When Twessa investigated the door and its huge wheel-like handle, she quickly noticed that it was labeled "open" and "closed", with one of the hand grips pointing to a space in between. As she bit into her tasty treat, the wheel turned one notch closer to "closed." What was worse, when the gnome turned and looked back at the table of treats, there were now eleven items on the plate of the disgusting treats where there had only been ten before. It seemed the door was tied to which treats she ate.

What do you do?

---

Istvan

As Istvan approached the six books laying out on the work table, he could see they were bound to its surface by a chain attached to a ring through their spines. He could still read the books, but wouldn't be able to bring them with him when he left. The books all seemed to be alchemical in nature. They each contained a single recipe for a magical concoction. A cursory glance suggested he would only have time to make three or four of the six concoctions, if he hurried. The books were titled:

How to Enlarge Your Worm
Hardened Carapace: Armoring your Arthropods
The Alchemical Secret to Snake Charming
The Paused Polliwog: Freezing your Amphibians
A Ghost's Guide to Invisibility
Fusion Confusion: how to combine two animals without getting messy.

What do you do?

---

Atalanta

Atalanta was wise to be wary of the empty room. After a moment of reflection, she realized that she could not smell or feel the heat of the lava below. At least not very well. When she poked a toe out into the empty air, she felt a floor beneath her feet. The room was not empty. Its contents were merely invisible. The more she strained her senses, the more she could smell and hear that there were various rooms and passages before here. But they were not visible to her human senses.

What do you do?

---

Gania
What should I be on the lookout for?
There are tentacles protruding from the walls and floor of the pool. They are grasping for anything that goes more than a few feet below the water's surface. Add your +1XP if you haven't yet.

The sledgehammer is twice as heavy as a normal large sledge. Heavy, but not totally unmanageable.

Twessa
Looks like the door is tied to the treats you eat. The more of the tasty treats you eat, the further closed the door's wheel turns, and more disgusting treats appear for every tasty treat you eat. Add your +1XP if you haven't yet.

Istvan
The books each contain a different recipe, but you probably only have enough time to make three or four of them. If you want to get a better sense of what each recipe can do, Roll me a Discern Realities. However, you are free to try things based off of the titles alone.

Atalanta
What here is not what it appears to be?
The room is not empty. Not by a long shot. There are a lot of passages to navigate, but the walls and floors and potential dangers are all completely invisible to your human senses.

Take +1 Forward when acting on this answer.

It's not that Istvan was opposed to enlarging his worm, but he still didn't understand exactly what he was supposed to do to pass this trial and get out of here. He took a few moments to really try to study the situation...

(11:38, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 8 using 2d6+1 ((2,5)).

When you closely study a situation or person, roll+Wis.  ✴On a 7–9, ask 1.

Either way, take +1 forward when acting on the answers.

What should I be on the lookout for?)

Twessa hung her head in defeat, but rallied fairly quickly and sat down at the table. The lavish chandelier and artworks felt more taunting than they had before.

She tried to minimise how bad this food was going to taste writhing in her mouth, and feel as she digested it. The food might taste awful, and in a best case scenario she might wish for access to a privy. The worst case? People died from fuzzy, spoiled food.

With a cautious finger, Twessa prodded one of the insect leg toppings with a finger. It twitched again. Nope. Nope. She needed to try something. Eating something awful would be bad enough, but actually dying from eating bad food would be most ignoble. Sagrae wouldn't approve.

Twessa scooped up the pile of disgusting crackers in her hands, closed her eyes, and began silently praying to Sagrae, pleading for her help in surviving what she was about to eat. Such an exercise of power was but a trifling, and despite her earlier annoyance, Sagrae answered her cleric's prayer with a gift. A suffusion of blue and pink mist appeared and passed through the messily stacked crackers and soon dissipated.

Her eyes still closed, Twessa pushed her hands together to squish the crackers, frog gunk and twitching legs into a greater hole, opened her mouth and bite her first big mouthful.

---

04:19, Today: Twessa Dumdellin rolled 11 using 2d6+2.  Cast Spell (Sanctify yuk food).

Hooray, now the awful food is HOLY! And purified of mundane spoilage. Now its just magically disgusting.

04:36, Today: Twessa Dumdellin rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  Defy Danger (Con) - Eat Bad Food.

Oh well. Worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice, please.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:45, Fri 29 Mar 2019.

Gania frowned when she noticed the tentacles lying in wait "Dunedigger." she cursed whoever put this room together. But it wouldn't matter if she managed to follow through. Heavy yes, but the FLamekeeper was never one to back away from a challenge, least of all one that sought to change her fate. The barbarian gripped the sledgehammer and pulled while rotating, the momentum aiding her muscles as she forced them to their limit. She let the hammer fly towards the other side, her golden eyes showing hints of orange.

22:09, Today: Gania Flamekeeper rolled 2,8 using 1d6,1d8.  Conquer danger (Str) - throw hammer.
Total of 12 with Str bonus. I must be dreaming

After spending a few minutes sniffing on the floor, Atalanta determined that passages do exist, but they're beyond the sense of any human being, even her. Time to put that gift from Mother Nature to good use: as part of a race that had domesticated and lived with many animals over the ages, she was familiar with the essence of any domesticated animals, even if they don't originally come from the plains; in this case, she decided to turn into a ginger cat with lion ears and tail: a cat possesses smells and hearing on part with that of a dog, has superiors night vision and reflexes, and is so light and small that she wouldn't be at risk to traps that were designed for humanoids.

[OOC: Shapeshift: Atalanta rolled 12 using 2d6+3, so hold 3.]

Gania

Gania could feel a fiery heat building up in her core as her muscles strained with the hammer. With a mighty throw, the hammer sailed through the air and landed on the other balcony. In fact, it landed square on the large nail it was meant for, pushing it into the floor. As the nail was pushed into the floor of the opposite balcony, a large crack raced down its center and onto the wall below. The balcony split into two and the wall below collapsed as the water surged through the opening.

As all the water surged through the new breach in the far wall, all of the tentacle traps retracted, creating nice handholds Gania could use to climb down. Soon there was only a shallow pool remaining, and a large pile of rubble where a wall and balcony once stood.

In the newly exposed room, Gania could see all the water had drained through the grated floor. The room was long and empty save for the occasional brazier spruting flames into the air. At the far end of the room was a door like the one Gania had entered from, with a canine-headed person gutting an enemy. But between her and the door was a challenger.

The challenger was humanoid, and roughly equal in size to Gania. However, the person hovered just above the ground, had skin like sandpaper, and possessed four arms that each wielded a scimitar. They had flowing robes that billowed as they floated in the air. "You managed that first challenge quite easily," the person said in a slithery voice. "Don't expect me, Mozerat Salazzan, to fall as easily as that wall." Mozerat gave a sly smirk and pointed all four of his weapons toward Gania as he prepared for a skirmish.

What do you do?

---

Twessa

After Twessa cast her spell, her food shimmered with the holy aura of Sagrae. The food may have become holy, but unfortunately it did nothing for the taste. Or worse, the texture. Every bite of the food was a struggle against Twessa's gag reflex, and the gnome could almost swear she could still feel the cricket legs kicking when they reached her stomach.

But eventually the little cleric succeeded at eating every last bite and the vault door opened.

The next room branched into three paths that led to the opposite side of a huge spherical room. A wide ledge curved around the room to the right, and its walls were like cinders. Every so often a spurt of flame would burst out from the ashy wall.

To the left, a wide ledge curved around as well, but this one was frosty. Chilly vapor poured out from the icy wall and flowed over the lip of the ledge like a thin fog.

Straight ahead, a stairway led down into the bowl of the spherical room. In the bowl was a swirling mist of iridescent gas. It was unknown what effect the gas might have if inhaled, but it didn't look particularly healthy. At the far end of the bowl, Twessa could see that another stairway led back up to a platform at the far end of the room. The same place the ledges to either side led to. And on the platform was a door identical to the one she had entered earlier. It possessed a picture of a crocodile-headed person using a shield.

As Twessa looked out upon the spherical room, her stomach was still busy doing back flips. The food, holy as it might have been, still did not sit well with her. It was taking quite a bit of effort to keep down her food. Perhaps more effort than she had bargained for.

What do you do?

---

Istvan

Much to Istvan's dismay, further investigation revealed that How to Enlarge Your Worm referred to enlarging literal worms. Or creatures that were at least part worm. Likewise Hardened Carapace referred specifically to boosting the natural armor of animals with exoskeletons. The Alchemical Secret to Snake Charming provided a recipe for a concoction that could mesmerize creatures that were part snake. And The Paused Polliwog could temporarily immobilize any creature that was part amphibian. Fusion Confusion provided a way to combine any two non-sentient creatures into a single form. A Ghost's Guide to Invisibility seemed to be a recipe to turn any creature see-through, regardless of type.

After looking over at the wall of caged critters, it seemed apparent to Istvan that he should be on the lookout for a way to use these recipes on the creatures, in the correct order, in such a way as to help him reach the exit door that was twenty feet up above his head.

What do you do?

---

Atalanta

Atalanta soon found herself in the form of a small feline. Immediately she took note of the scent of wooden floors and stone walls. Her eyes could see more clearly in the dim light, but still could not make out any walls or floors. Her nose and her whiskers seemed to be superior at detecting the locations of those.

As the druid began to move forward, she soon felt a rough square beneath her padded feet. It slowly dawned on her that it was a pressure plate. If she were human, she surely would have triggered a trap of some kind. Apparently these invisible passages contained traps. Which would only add to the difficulty of reaching the other side safely.

What do you do?

---

Gania
Your hammer throw was so good that when it landed, it even struck the nail on the other balcony. Which caused the far wall to break apart and reveal another room. In that other room, a challenger stands between you and the exit. They have four arms, sandy skin, and are hovering.

Twessa
You can either keep the food down and gain the sickened debility (-1 to Con rolls), or you can barf up your food and fail the Rite of Vitality.

If you continue with the Rite of Vitality, you have three different paths you can choose to take. A hot path to the right, an icy path to the left, or a mystery-mist path straight ahead.

Istvan
What should I be on the lookout for?
You should be on the lookout for a way to correctly use the critters and recipes to reach the door up above.

Take +1 forward when acting on the answers.

Atalanta
Your cat moves are:
-Pounce
-Move silently
-Land on feet

You are safer as a cat than you probably were as a human, but there are still dangers ahead. Let me know how you intend to proceed. I will likely need a roll to discern/defy any dangers ahead.

Istvan looked over the creatures... And formed a plan.

STEP 1 Fusion Confusion to combine a worm and a snake.

STEP 2 The Alchemical Secret to Snake Charming to charm the wormsnake.

STEP 3 How to Enlarge Your Worm to make a giant wormsnake.

Thus, he would make a wormsnake, make the wormsnake obey him, then make it really big, so it could lift him up to the door.

(Question 1: I presume I only have to roll once to execute the plan? Because otherwise, I'm bound to fail on SOME step...

Question 2: ...The Charm won't wear off too soon, will it? I supposed I can just make potions 2 and 3, and then use 2 and then 3 right away...?)

Question 1: Give me one Defy Danger +Int roll to correctly mix all your recipies. The danger being an ineffective/defective product.

Question 2: It probably won't wear off too soon, but let's see what happens with your other roll before I tell you for sure what happens.

(20:42, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 6 using 2d6+3 ((2,1)).

That's Int bonus plus the +1 forward. Still fail.

Should I mark xp if I'm gonna die before I level up?)

Gania nodded and smiled, taking the creature's presence in stride "I hoped there would be more to the trial. Don't expect me, Gania Flamekeeper, to be held away from my goal by anyone." she drew her own sword, keeping her eyes on the four blades pointed in her direction. She knew he was fast and she shouldn't give him a chance to use his speed "And it has been a while since I faced a Dervish." she said and lunged forward, bringing her sword in an overhead slash, aiming to force him into a corner.

15:02, Today: Gania Flamekeeper rolled 5,8 using 1d6,1d8.  Conquest and slash.
Total of 13
16:02, Today: Gania Flamekeeper rolled 3 using 1d10+1.  Damage.
Still Foreceful and Messy

First, Quickclaw came with me.

Harlin considered the problem. He'd known the room would be a trap of some sort, but staying out while all his companions entered doors had seemed pointless. A 30-foot chasm. He might be able to dodge the troll and get across with some athletics and acrobatics, but it being named the "Rite of Personality" made that seem like a terrible idea. And the warning about perverting the challenge.

And he had three coins, not a hundred.

"I do want to pass. I do not have a hundred coins. Perhaps we can barter? May I perform a service? You seem to be in some need." He didn't want to say "distress." This was still a troll, no matter how sorrowful.

Parley fail. XP marked.

14:36, Today: Harlin Greenarrow rolled 5 using 2d6.  Parley.

Twessa straightened her back in hopes of it aiding her digestion, or more accurately to keep the disgusting food in her belly until the shield (maybe?) was in her hands. With deliberate steps she entered the next room.

The choice that now lay ahead of the sickly gnome wasn't even a choice. Fire? No thanks. Strange gas? Twessa wasn't even sure she felt good about stairs right now. But some of Twessa's first steps had been on snow and ice, and her first bruises had been too.

With the confidence of a Dellinzer native, Twessa veered left, ready to persevere through another wintery trek.

---

I'll take the -1 to Con thanks

02:30, Today: Twessa Dumdellin rolled 9 using 2d6.  Defy Danger (Con) - walk on ice regardless of chilly vapor.

I'm feeling confident....!

Gania

When Gania lunged forward and delivered her overhead slash to the dervish, Mozerat brought two of his scimitars up in an X formation to block the blade. He seemed intent on slashing at Gania with his other two, but the barbarian's strength proved to be more than he had bargained for. The dervish staggered back through the air.

There was a clatter sound and Mozerat looked at where one of his forearms was now laying on the floor, still holding a scimitar. The appendage melted into a pile of sand, leaving only a blade behind. The dervish looked to where his remaining stump was spurting thin streams of sand, then looked to Gania. "That's going to take a while to grow back," he said through gritted teeth. "Well played."

Then the dervish tilted his entire body in the air until its head was toward Gania. He then rotated like a wheel with his three remaining blades pointed toward Gania, like a big sandy blender approaching to pulpify its opponent.

What do you do?

---

Twessa

Twessa progressed along the icy path easily enough at first, but it was slower going than she had anticipated. The floor was smooth and uneven, making it difficult to keep her balance. And where it wasn't smooth, there were rocky obstacles hidden by the icy mist that she needed to climb over in order to advance further along the path. None of this would have been much of an inconvenience for the gnome, but the chilly mist was at a level of coldness that was pushing even her exceptional level of cold tolerance.

When she was halfway across, she knew she had a tough decision to make. Her teeth were chattering and her entire body was shaking. If she continued along her current course, the extreme cold would certainly cause harm to her body. Although her only other option would be to slide down the bowl-room's wall into the mysterious gas below. She would need to decide if she wanted to risk potential frostbite, or risk an unknown substance.

What do you do?

---

Istvan

Whether it was bad luck, his inexperience at alchemy, or inaccurate recipes, it was difficult to say. Regardless, the results of Istvan's attempt to solve his challenge were the same. A horrific, nightmarish, life-threatening disaster.

The trouble started right when he first attempted to use his newly crafted products. To fuse two creatures, he had to place them in a puddle of fusion potion. But when he placed the worm and snake into the puddle, the snake immediately lunged at the worm, biting it multiple times until it was in several wriggling pieces. Each piece of the worm fused to the snake's face, making it look like a horror straight from the nightmare plane.

But as far as Istvan could tell, he had still ended up with a creature that was part worm and part snake. So on to phase two.

The snake charming recipe had produced a pinch of a blue dust-like substance he was supposed to blow in the snake's face. With all the worm parts wriggling on the snake's face though, it was hard to know how effective it would be. But after he made his attempt, the snake's horror-face followed Istvan around like it was looking at a loved one. Presumably. It was difficult to tell.

And finally, the enlargement potion.

When Istvan poured the enlargement potion atop the snake-worm, it immediately began to grow. Especially the worm portions attached to the head. The worm portions grew long and thick, each becoming like the trunk of a 200 year old oak tree. They were all attached at a singular hub, where a serpentine tail stretched out behind them. There were nine worm heads in all, and they were each segmented and scaly, had two snake eyes, and their mouths were full of tiny snake-like teeth. It rose up its nine heads, each on a thirty foot neck, attached to a thirty foot tail.

And each head looked down at Istvan with that creepily loving look that his snake-charming dust had produced. One of the heads reached down before Istvan could properly react and scooped him up gently in its maw. It had lifted him ten feet off the ground when the worm-snake's entire body shivered.

And that is when Istvan realized the snake-trance had worn off.

And that is when Istvan also realized his current position was a perfect reenactment of the carving Atalanta had spotted at the treasure chamber entrance...

What do you do?

---

Harlin

"No have hunred coin?" The troll asked, confused. It seemed to take a while for it to understand that Harlin was offering to give him something instead of the coins. It stared blankly at him for a few moments and wiped more snot from its nose before realization seemed to finally kick in.

"Oh. You have way to make Stoog happy? I let you pass if you make Stoog happy." The troll's eyes fell on Quickclaw. "Oh! Cat make Stoog happy! You give cat!" Stoog stood up and headed straight for Quickclaw. His arms were outstretched and he licked his lips hungrily.

What do you do?

---

Gania
You lopped off one of the dervish's arms, but he seems more annoyed than seriously injured. He is approaching you like a bladed electric egg beater, floating through the air.

Twessa
Do you want to continue along the icy path and take damage, or risk traveling the rest of the way in the gasses below? Either way, give me another Defy Danger +Con. (Or if you come up with a third option, feel free to do that instead.)

Istvan
You are halfway in the mouth of a giant worm-snake-hydra thing, and its love-trance just wore off. You are ten feet off the ground and the exit is still at least another ten feet away. What do you do?

And yes, mark XP even if death seems imminent. ;-)

Harlin
Stoog the troll has decided he wants your cat as payment. He is heading toward Quickclaw with hunger in his eyes.

Before I answer... IF i could make this thing let me go... and if I could get back to the worktable... is there any of the snake-charming stuff left...?

"No!

"No, I cannot give you the cat. He is his own, he decides for himself. But if you are hungry, I have food. If you are sad, maybe I can help some other way."

Twessa grunted as she stumbled onto the ice, made breathless by the impact.

Its too cold! Too slippery! Too dangerous!

 Still queasy from the kicking food in her gut, still unsettled by Sagrae's reprimand, and missing the warmth of leather armor and the security of her fishing spear to test the ice ahead, Twessa was ready to give up.

It wasn't the first time she'd felt that way.

Much younger than the well-travelled cleric floundering on the ice today, litle Twessa (Twugsy to her family) had loved eating fish, and she loved the celebration that followed when the fishers came back from their holes with sacks of food for the clan. Fishers were important, and Grandfather was the most important of them, and that made little Twugsy proud...and ambitious.

It was cold outside the crevasse, but when Grandfather had finally given in to his little Twugsy and taken her out to catch fish, Twessa had had her first taste of what cold really was.

The mouth of the crevasse, it turned out, was sheltered from the most punishing of weather. The relentless chill winds that rushed across the surface of the frozen sea felt like they just might blow little Twugsy away into the heavens, until Grandfather had shown her how to walk right, and provided a windbreak for her to follow in. And when they'd reached the spot Grandfather liked, oh the waiting had been worse. Waiting for Grandfather to cut a hole, waiting for him to settle in and drop a line, and waiting for him to wait for something to bite, all while surrounded by swirling winds that rendered anything more than twenty foot away near invisible. But Twessa had learned what a gnome must do, and what a gnome must bear, and yes, she'd returned with a big fish to the acclaim of her parents and little brother. Despite all the discomfort and stress, it had been a great day.

It had been many years since that day. And a few years since Grandfather had died - not on the ice, but in a warm bed with a belly full of good food. He'd led a worthy life of service to his family, his clan, and to Sagrae, and yes, that had made Twessa proud...and ambitious. Ambitious enough to leave the crevasse, to cross the frozen sea, and see more of the world than her Grandfather had dreamed of.

In this abnormal room, seeking treasure rather than justice or anything worthy, Twessa knew she could die. She could surrender to the cold that tried to claim her and see her life end. Not to serve her family, nor her clan, and perhaps not even Sagrae. What did Sagrae need with a shield? To die here, in selfish pursuit of wealth, would be an insult to Sagrae, who'd fostered the fire that burned within all righteous gnomes. If Twessa held anything within her, even a spark, she had to carry on. That was doctrine. That was important.

But there was one thought beyond a fear of Sagrae's disdain that chilled Twessa more than any inclement mist.

What would Grandfather think if he could see his little Twugsy now?

Twessa stumbled on.

---

07:06, Today: Twessa Dumdellin rolled 6 using 2d6.  Defy Danger (Con) - keep on ice walkin.

Fail. XP marked. Do your worst!


This message was last edited by the player at 21:14, Fri 05 Apr 2019.

Istvan started to attack, then realized it could make things worse, then decided he'd already started his magical freezing attack, and it was too late now, so he decided to just commit to it. Maybe he could make the thing think he was too cold to eat... maybe he could even make its mouth feel numb and it'd be unable to keep him inside...

(15:34, Yesterday: Istvan Vanoson rolled 8 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 3,3.)

Gania smirked at her success and Mozerat's overconfidence, and it only grew at his reaction. As she readied for another strike, the dervish went on the offensive and she had to shift her stance in the last second. Instead of facing him head-on, she sidestepped slightly too late and swung her blade to angle him away from her.

16:55, Today: Gania Flamekeeper rolled 7 using 2d6+2.  Defy or Slash.
Not sure whether I can attack considering the danger or just defy it. Or defy and then attack with a separate roll?

Gania

Mozerat whirled past Gania as she deflected his blades. "Sidewind!" the dervish shouted as it was rerouted by Gania. The tips of the scimitar blades still raked across her skin, but it was difficult to tell how deeply they had cut. But one thing was clear. The barbarian could see an opening if she didn't mind suffering a few extra scratches...

What do you do?

---

Twessa

The cold only seemed to get worse as Twessa progressed. The cleric was certain that if it wasn't for her grandfather showing her how to move about in such extreme temperatures, she would have been frozen solid by the time she had made it all the way to the other side. However, even though she had managed to emerge from the cold with her life, she did not make it all in one piece.

The extreme cold had taken a toll on her tiny limbs. She could barely feel her hands and feet anymore, and some of her digits had even gained the blackened visage of frostbite and snapped off completely.

The exit door stood in front of her now, with no other obstacles barring her path. She had survived and completed the challenge, but at what cost?

What do you do?

---

Istvan

When Istvan struck the worm-head that had him it is mouth, the icy magic of his blade caused the entire thirty foot neck to spasm. Its tiny teeth contracted around Istvan's legs, piercing his skin in numerous places. Then, despite attacking it near the head end, the entire neck detached from the monster's body and fell to the floor.

And Istvan fell with it.

They hit the ground hard, but the wormflesh broke much of the fall and Istvan was knocked freww of the monster's maw. The detached neck that had fallen to the floor was still squirming as if alive, but was in pretty rough shape. Still, it halfheartedly twitched in Istvan's general direction, teeth gnashing.

The remaining eight heads were fully focused on Istvan now. Four reared up intimidatingly, two let out a terrible hissing moan, and two lunged directly at the arcane duelist.

What do you do?

---

Harlin

If Stoog heard Harlin's words, they had no effect on the troll. He scooped his arms forward to grab the cat, only to have the nimble Quickclaw jump out of the way. He grabbed again, just narrowly missing the cat the second time. "Come here kitty! Make Stoog happy. Be Stoog snack!"

Quickclaw was quick and nimble, but could only dodge the troll's grip for so long. The cat would be caught eventually if nothing was done. On the other hand, the troll was not currently blocking the path across the bridge...

What do you do?

---

Gania
I'll give you the choice. You can either avoid any serious damage but give up a chance to deal damage yourself, or you can take advantage of an opening and deal your damage while taking d10 damage yourself (Roll twice and take the higher number.) Armor counts.

Twessa
You made it, but not without contracting a touch of frostbite. Roll 1d20. That is how many fingers and toes you lose due to irreparable damage from the cold. You can choose which ones are affected.

Istvan
There was no damage roll included with your Arcane Bladework roll, so I took the liberty of rolling it for you. Both to save time, and to inform my own post.

12:55, Today: Dungeon Master, on behalf of Istvan Vanoson, rolled 5 using 1d8.  Damage from his arcane bladework.

You caused the head that was grasping you to detach from the rest of the body. Its skin tore and froze more easily than expected, almost like wet tissue paper. It is still wiggling, but is in pretty bad shape. The eight remaining heads of the "hydra" seem focused on you. You are currently on the floor next to the worktable, being attacked by two of the heads.

Also, take 1d6+1 damage from the head that you attacked.

Harlin
The troll will catch Quickclaw soon if nothing is done to stop it. Probably a Defy Danger of some sort. +Cha if you want to continue with your current method of persuasion. The troll has moved off of the bridge right now though in an effort to catch your cat.

Atalanta
Are you still with us? Is there anything I need to clarify for you?

Harlin calculated the distances between himself, the troll, and the bridge. Counting on having quicker reflexes than the troll, he dove to scoop up Quickclaw before dashing across the bridge, but . . .

Defy Danger - Dex to grab Quickclaw before the troll can. 7.

14:44, Today: Harlin Greenarrow rolled 7 using 2d6+2.  Defy Danger - Dex - grab Quickclaw.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:19, Thu 18 Apr 2019.