Istvan is very interested in the shield with the broken chain, but he's not going to be hasty about it, either.

The polished recently bothers him... If this was something the vampires didn't like, like the blessed mace, then they wouldn't take care of it, would they (as indeed they didn't take special care of the blessed mace)?

On the other hand, if none of the servants have been down in this room, then why would the shield look polished? Maybe it always looks like that. Maybe it's got a Lookin' Great enchantment or something on it.

This bears closer inspection... but first Istvan will see what his colleagues do next. He sees his primary role as fast healing in case trap-de-setting goes wrong...

"Lucius, would you be so kind as to retrieve the treasures and bring them outside of this door. I will deal with the magical fire." The wizard rolled up his sleeves, revealing his unsettlingly augmented arms and prepared to cast some magic. It was a new spell he had only recently developed, and he was eager to test its effectiveness.

"Dorikar melrathozz blakendar-rethmiklon!" His arms flailed wildly as he cast his spell until it culminated in a burst of anti-magic directed at the fire trap on the floor. The air crackled with the smell of citrus and burnt hair as magical strands were ripped from their ethereal moorings.

He could tell that he still needed to work on some balancing issues within the spell though, because some of his own mystical threads felt a bit unraveled as well.

---

Casting Dispel Magic on the magical fire trap. "Choose a spell or magic effect in your presence (the fire trap): this spell rips it apart. Lesser spells are ended, powerful magic is just reduced or dampened so long as you are nearby."
14:16, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 8 using 2d6+3.  Cast Dispel Magic on fire trap.
I will choose: "The spell disturbs the fabric of reality as it is cast—take -1 ongoing to cast a spell until the next time you Prepare Spells." It seems like the proper choice for this exact moment.

"Very handy skill, Lazarus!" The paladin happily walks over the disabled trap (if it indeed seems to be disabled). He first admires the shield for a moment before taking it off the wall, then walks up to the treasure chests. Lucius tests the weight of the chest, already thinking of how to carry them out through the trapped corridoor. Afterwards, he carries them out of the room and into the safe part of the corridoor, to inspect them without any immediate threat.

Lazarus's spell does indeed disable the fire trap.  Nothing else impedes you from taking the treasures out into the hall except for their own weight, which is considerable.

The coffers open safely.  Inside they contain a considerable mix of gold and silver coins and various rough cut gemstones.  At a glance you estimate the total value here to be 1200 coin.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:34, Sun 11 Apr 2021.

Lucius stands with his gaping mouth over the pile of treasure they recovered. "I have not seen such wealth before!" However, he quickly turns his attention to the well polished shield, comparing it to his own.

I just read in the SRD that 100 coins is 1 load. We could take it in a couple trips, I think. Lucius has 5 spare load.

"Yeah, it sure is a welcome sight, isn't it?" the wizard agreed with Lucius. "Let's get it out into a safer area. Slowly. We can take it a bit at a time so that we don't fall down that pit..."

Lazarus emptied his supplies out in the room before the death-trap hall, then returned to help carry a few loads of treasure back with him. He could have conjured an unseen servant to assist, but he wasn't sure how well it would be able to cross the pit's gap. "How do you think we should split this?" he asked his fellow adventurers. "I'm thinking we grab as much as we can carry and leave the rest for the people staying here. The gems will probably give us more value per weight if they are as valuable as they look."

"I can hardly imagine what we would do with this amount of treasure, but it seems reasonable enough. We shall see what the current castle denizens think of our proposal." Lucius agrees with the wizard.

Working together, the three of you eventually manage to retrieve all of the loot and haul it up into the castle proper.  The remaining staff are surprised and thankful for your generosity, though you also get the sense that they don't really know what to do with all of this money.

------

Shield description a couple posts up has been edited.

"Well, you have a full castle to maintain now, should you stay. I'm no expert but I imagine this will cost a lot. Hm, you know what? I could send the word out to my Order. They might have use for a fortified outpost in these treacherous lands, and you would enjoy protection and more efficient organization. You'd have to give up some authority over this castle, though."

When others start deliberating, Lucius takes a moment to consider the emblem on the shield. He's fairly sure he recognizes it...

18:04, Today: Lucius rolled 7 using 2d6-1. Spout Lore on the newly acquired shield.

Let us make a proper tally of the loot.

Lucius has 6 spare load, meaning 600 gold coins. He can ditch rations as he's currently not subject to hunger for additional 200. Though he would not mind leaving some behind as the amount is overwhelming as is.

I'm going to swap my old shield for the new one, they probably take up the same load.

"That sounds like a good idea, Lucius, if your order is up for it. I imagine they will be interested once we inform them of what is going on nearby." He was referring to the destination their party was headed to, with the slaves they intended to free.

While the paladin studied his new shield, Lazarus conjured a helper to assist with carrying the treasures. Well, actually, it assisted with Lazarus's books and dagger while the wizard carried the valuables himself. He stuffed his pockets full of coins, and grabbed as many jewels as he could handle.

---

Casting Unseen Servant:
15:06, Today: Lazarus Steel rolled 10 using 2d6+2.  Cast Unseen Servant.

I will grab 300 coins for 3 weight, plus any 0 weight gems that might be there. Are there any 0 weight gems? If so, how much are they worth?

The staff are generally agreeable to Lucius' suggestion at first, until Mariana raises the important question of "What would it mean for us to relinquish control to your order?  After all the time we have already spent under someone else's control?"

Vittorio tries to be helpful here, but he doesn't actually know anything about the Order besides the one or two paragraphs worth of introduction that Lucius gave him a couple hours ago.

As far as the shield, Lucius recognizes the symbols as representing the Sun overcoming any barriers that try to block it.

Right, encumbrance details.  800 worth of actual coins (8 Load), and then 400 worth of gems (1 Load total, or negligible per person if you share).

"Ah, I understand. Worry not, you'll not be serving the Order, we have people for menial labor. Usually initiates..." Lucius snickers, clearly reminiscing. "The Order of the Sun, though composed mostly of wandering knight-errants like myself who seek out darkness to vanquish, is ran military-style. We have very few permanent outposts - most notably, the one in the Great Holy City of Haspia serves as our headquarters." He gave an honest answer. "I assure you we are only interested in serving the realm best we can, and bringing sunlight to the darkest corners. I only meant that we follow strict organization rules."

Lazarus excused himself as Lucius began explaining the details of his order's outpost policies. "While you guys figure out all of the nitty gritty details, I am going to go find a quiet spot to re-center my mind before we proceed. I will readjust which spells I have at the ready as well. Spells better suited for the journey ahead. I will come find you in about an hour or so, and hopefully we will be ready to leave then."

---

Lazarus is preparing spells again before we leave. Dispell probably won't be as useful on the road, and he wants to erase his negative modifier as well. He has prepared Light, Unseen Servant, Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Magic Missile, Cure Light Wounds, Charm Person.

Mariana responds "And as staff in the castle, would we be expected to follow these rules as well?  Or would we have some say in the matter?"

"But you're no mere staff, are you? You own this castle now! So of course, you will have a say in the matter, but my Order can refuse if your demands are unreasonable. We're not going to take over the castle if we can't reach an agreement. All I ask of you is to consider it, and discuss it with my Order's representative." Lucius clears his throat, adding awkwardly. "This might... take a while. I'm in the middle of a quest now. Oh, I suppose I could write a letter, but one of you would have to deliver it to Vorbrud and further, if you're interested in what I'm proposing?"

Lucius's words seem to reassure everyone well enough.  With a little more reassurance about how safe it is (or isn't) to travel, they begin planning amongst themselves for someone to head down to Vorbrud and hire a messenger.

Lucius asks for ink and parchment and composes a letter:

Brothers and Sisters!

May The Sun shine ever so Bright! I bring news of Victory over Foe Most Foul, whose Darkness has been Illuminated! A Vampyre Couple, Segliani their name, and their Demon Slave will Plague the land no more.

Thanks be to the Sun for Many Blessings of Valor bestowed upon me and my Companions, who by their Decisive Action proved themselves to be True Heroes. Let it be known that Istvan the Faithful of Noric was Steadfast in the face of Undead Menace and kept the Minions of the Vampyre Couple at bay. And let it be known that Lazarus the Mage has banished the Demon Slave from the Mortal Realm, releasing the Castle Servants from An Enthralling Spell.

The Castle stands full of Castle Servants whose Freedom has been restored. They are no Warriors, and Darkness threatens to creep into the Stone again! Many more threats Plague the land: Violent Goblins, Cursed Plants and Strange Cults. It is why I was Struck by Inspiration to write this Message. An Outpost of the Order could be established in the Castle! The Castle Servants are now Castle Owners, and they are Agreeable to this Idea. As they had no Freedom under the Demon Slave's Enthralling Spell, they value their Freedom very highly. An Agreement must be made for Mutual Coexistence in the Castle. I Believe a Satisfying Outcome can be reached. Go to Vorbrud and use the Provided Map to find the Castle.

I could not Deliver this Message, for My Holy Quest takes me to Dreorus, and I will Bring the Sun to its Darkest Corners.

May the Sun shine ever so Bright!

Brother Lucius.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 08:51, Mon 26 Apr 2021.

Lucius leaves his letter with one of the servants, and then the three of you (plus Vittorio) set out for Dreorus.  The slavers you captured before told you two days by wagon; wagons may not be known for their speed but they're still at least a little bit faster than walking.  Plus you're walking through this forest part of the way, rather than sticking to the roads, so that costs a little more time as well.  Long story short, the rest of the journey takes the better part of two days on top of the time it already took you to get from Vorbrud to the castle.  But at least nothing tries to kill you during that time, so that's nice.

On the second day of travel (or third day, depending on when you started counting), as the sun approaches the western horizon, you come to the edge of a wheat field.  At least, it looks like wheat, but taller than you've ever seen before, and with big enough heads that you could probably get a loaf of bread out of just three or four stalks.  As you take in the sights, you hear a voice shout "Hey, you ain't supposed to be there!  You raidin' my farm?!"  Looking to your right, you see that the speaker is a farmer, human, brandishing a rake.  He appears to be alone.

"Not raiding at all," says Istvan. "Just passing through, and admiring the size of your crop. Never seen wheat like this before."

(I had Istvan speak up because he's got a +1 to CHR rolls, if needed...)
This message was last edited by the player at 17:12, Sat 01 May 2021.

"Greetings! We mean no harm. What's your name, stranger? I'm Lucius." the paladin introduces himself politely.

"And I am Lazarus," the wizard added. "I had heard things were bigger near Dreorus, but I never dreamed it was to this extent!" He made a show of being amazed by the size of the wheat. "Marvelous. Just marvelous!" Perhaps his acting was a bit over the top, but there was still some truth behind it too. He really did find the gigantism to be quite interesting from a wizarding perspective.

The farmer is immediately mollified by your kind words.  He is still walking toward you, but not in the same tense way as a moment ago, and he is just carrying the rake now rather than brandishing it.  When he is close enough to respond without having to shout he says "Well, it's all thanks to some hard work and the blessings of Matyokol, may He guide us safely through the night.  So where are y'all passing through to?"

"Ah, you mention Matyokol? We've heard of this deity." Lucius reassures the farmer, though he grows tense. "May I ask, how do you receive such wondrous blessing?"

"Prayer and offerings.  By moonlight, of course."  His tone of voice as he answers you sounds like this should have been obvious, and the sidelong glance suggests that whatever trust you might have built up so far has just fallen a bit.

"Yes, of course." Lucius nods. He seems flustered, doubly so because of his sacred Vow of Truth. He chooses his next words carefully, or so he thinks. What comes out is rather blunt, though. "Could we observe these rituals of yours? We've heard a lot about them."