I think failing to deliver the cargo will, at best, delay the plot.  My thought was for us to use the arrival with the cargo (rendered at least temporarily useless) as an ingress to allow us to attack those attempting the resurrection.  Agree that our primary objective is to permanently stop the plot (which requires capturing the Overlord's soul and disposing of it).  Dealing with the Overlord's brother is just a step in the process.

Aye, I just consider it a mistake to bring the thing they want (and are apparently on a deadline to get) right to them. If it buys us a few weeks while they look for and transport new giants, that can only be good for us.

But of course: While there's still a chance to avoid breaking the contract, it would be best to make the delivery and then sabotage their efforts some other way upon arrival.

Totally fine with the plan of creating a fake map, Ilura just isn't a fan of someone reading her thoughts :>

I think there is some confusion over the whereabouts of the map. In message #41 of the active thread, Chance put it back into his pack. He is not opposed to having a copy of it made and would aid in doing so, but he'd go down that filthy grate with it before he'll stash it in a hole for a bunch of rats to make a nest out of it.

GM, should I edit the post where Chance put the map away for continuity's sake, or just not worry about it?

You can make an edit if you want to, but I wouldn't worry about it. Minor inconsistencies are bound to happen. So long we can still understand what is happening overall, I'm not going to worry too much.

I sort of figured that would be Chance's reaction.  Ilura will be frustrated, but as a player, I'm totally fine :)

Her gesture toward the map could easily have been pointing to your pack, so I think we're ok.  (Sorry for not double-checking the current location before my post.)

Very good. I'll post after dinner tonight.

This gnome - mister Wazowitz - obviously has some personal business with the overlord, as he called him a genius and all that when speaking with Chance & Aguri. The priestesses apparently know of the connection, as they implied they rented out the room for the dream ritual and sent us there because "the deal has gone sour" (referring to Chance holding Wazowitz at knife point).

So, they know of the map and were expecting to get it from Wazowitz, but I'm not sure what side they are on. They could be in league with Wazowitz, though the impression I got from the duality theme of their temple is that they would help anyone - good or bad - as long as they get something equal in return. (They mentioned the Vorlag too, and I'm not sure if they meant they helped us find it, or the villains. Possibly both. I forget if Lusiny helped guide us to the black beach.) Either way, without knowing for sure I think it's a good call to keep the map away from them.

Wazowitz himself is either still a follower of the overlord, or trying to trade his unique map for some other favor. We can't trust him.

What do you guys think?

I'm perfectly happy for the gnome to end up dead.  I think killing the priestesses is another matter.  I'm pretty sure Luciny wouldn't be thrilled.  At the same time, we need access to the temple to reach the chamber.  Perhaps we can offer that we caught a glimpse of it, but don't remember enough to re-draw it.  However, if we were to go dwelving, seeing the actual space might be enough to jog our memories to let us find it.

Nice roll on that sales pitch.  Let's see what happens...

I don't disagree with either of you. Chance will have to know a lot more about these Priestesses before he would trust them. They are sharing space with the gnome, after all, even if they are not affiliated with him.

Yeah, I get an uneasy feeling from the priestesses, but I won't be needlessly hostile towards them. I'll just keep them on a need-to-know basis regarding what I tell them from here on out.

Chance, remind me: are you related to the clergy of Corr in any sense of the word, or is it an entirely fabricated story your character uses as a cover? In either case you could probably use it as an excuse for snooping around in parts of the temple.

Affiliated with Corr, yes. Affiliated with any institution of worship, no.

If we intend to press Ilura's ruse, I'm inclined to let the frog go. If we think that a fight with this Demon-Angel thing and/or the priestesses is unavoidable then I will try to save him.

I feel like Chance has gotten plenty of mileage out of the frogs, particularly considering that the Dungeon Rations and Poison that he fed to them were only consumed in the gnome's mind (or wherever Chance and Aguri had been). Also, considering a fight will pit Ilura against another priestess of her faith (ostensibly) I am reluctant to start a fight and force that difficult (albeit perhaps unavoidable) choice on her.

I agree. I'll try to talk my way out of it.

If need be, one of us might be able to Aid you Chance, so if a roll is needed, give us a chance to do that.

Will do, thanks!

I will use the roll since he is so close behind the angel-demon, and Urella has supernaturally keen senses. So someone can feel free to make an Aid roll.

I'm uncertain about pushing my luck here, so would prefer if someone else tried, but I will if no-one else wants to.

I'm ok with a failure here. Don't feel like you need to expose yourselves to the consequences.

I’m leaning toward trying to resist whatever magic is being conjured and trying to finish the thing. Before I decide can you tell me what the defy danger stat would be, or do I need to commit to that action first?

You can use either Con or Wis to try and weather this particular magic.

I don't think we've dealt with Marcus disappearing yet IC.  We might be willing to go delving without our hirelings, but we certainly wouldn't leave without him.  And right now our party is probably personna-non-grata at the temple, so him hanging out here probably doesn't make much sense.  Perhaps he learned something from Aguri and he decided he was urgently needed elsewhere and he leaves a note promising to catch up with us "as soon as he can" or something like that?  If he happened to take the good captain's body with him, that might also be helpful :>

We can say Marcus was starting to lead Aguri outside as the commotion was beginning. Once they were out, Aguri mentioned the important thing and they left. Marcus let the hirelings know he wouldn't be back any time soon, but the hirelings haven't had a chance to relay the message yet. Maybe they were all sitting outside on a smoke break or something. :-P Feel free to fill in any details to make it more believable/real/fleshed out. And feel free to send a hirelings or two with Marcus if you so desire.

My leaning is that we're going to need all the cannon fodder help we can get.  I'm sure Westley would be thrilled to scout out a booby-trapped hallway or two...

Other opinions?

Looks like we've got a choice - get into the underground area and start looking for the secret room or head into town to deal with Eryn's magic weapons.  In theory, we could do both - look for an entrance and then see if we can figure out how to get from town to the entrance without crossing our not-so-friendly priestesses.

I'm not in favor of leaving the mace behind.  In the worst case, we should lug it to the safety of a concealed room for later retrieval.  Same goes for our gnome friend's body.  I want to make darn sure our friend can't be resurrected.  They might be able to call back his spirit, but I don't want him getting stuck back in his old body.  Besides, Eryn might need something to snack on ;)