Bash pushes the 'door' open and it easily swings away from her. It's only about an inch off the ground so she has no problem stepping through the door onto the ground.

As she looks around, she can see that she's standing on a short section of dirt road that's maybe a hundred yards long, but it connects two other roads. The short road runs northwest-southeast, while the road to the northwest appears to run north and the southeast road runs east.

The short road that Bash is standing next to is fairly overgrown. It doesn't look like it gets used much, if at all.

There are no structures visible anywhere in the vicinity.

Vogh had gone through the door following Bash to the Old North road.  When she saw that they were indeed on a road Vogh gave a nice big smile.  "Well, seems to me that we found the road.  now it is just a matter of figuring out where we need to go from this point.  It doesn't look as though anyone has been this way for some time."    Vogh commented having noticed the ground they stood on now.

"I could be wrong but I think we should follow the road North?  What do you think?"

"Well, that's... what am I sayin'? I don't know what this is!" Bash said as she scanned the road in both directions, looked again, looked behind her and all around.

"Shouldn't there be something here?"

"I suppose..." she replied to Vogh. "Only... shouldn't there be a building or crypt or something? And why would we have to go somewhere else?"

"And why did it say 'Old North Road'? Why wouldn't it just have said 'North Road'?"

"This one looks old, though."

Vogh had no way of knowing where they needed to go.  It was just an open area which needed to be explored.  "Old North Road may be what the locals call this?  Honestly, I have no idea where we are exactly. "

Vogh looked around to see if there were any other landmarks, like a mountain range or something that would lead her to a conclusion.  "Since the 'portal' took us here it must be close though.  Let's have a better look."

With that Vogh activated her armor which enabled her to fly.  "I am going to take a look from about quickly."

08:30, Today: Vogh Kath rolled 31 using 1d20+13.  Perception check

This message was last edited by the player at 07:31, Thu 17 Dec 2020.

From an aerial viewpoint, the road system seems to make more sense to Vogh.

Centuries of travel over them have changed the wear pattern, but it looked as if there was a road that went from the southwest to the northeast that included this short section that is presumably the Old North Road. That was probably the North Road in its day. Then the North Road shifted to the west heading north to some unknown destination, while another road came from the southeast and headed northeast. That left the short section as a connecting road which apparently fell into disuse.

The reason for the direction of the roads is that they circumvented two prominent hills--one to the west, one to the east. The one to the west is fairly low but rocky, so it would have been much more work trying to put a road over or through it. The one to the east is higher and steeper, but doesn't appear rocky, so it would have also been more work.

There are no other structures visible in any direction, although Vogh thinks she can see the monastery maybe 70-80 miles to the northwest.

After only a few seconds Vogh made her way back down and relayed what she had seen to Bash, "I think I can see the monastery some 70 miles away or so to the northwest.  It seems the road was redirected due to an easier route that was found to circumvent some hills.  The road then joins up with another road and continues on to the north for some distance.  So, my guess is that we are looking for something in this short distance that was the north road.  There should be some hidden cache or underground cavern or something.  I guess we start looking more distinctly at the road on both sides until the spot where it joins back up with the other road.  Though my guess is that it should be right near where we came out based on the crypt one that the others found."

"That's interesting," Bash replies. "And, yeah, I was kind of thinking the same thing."

"There's also one of the Wonders to be found in the Field of Dreams. If that's not a euphemism for something, then it should be like this place."

"So, what kind of clever hiding place could Esmeralda have come up with? Strikes me as a bit like the conundrum of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin."

"We can look for some kind of marker stone along the edge or even in the middle of the road, though I'm not even sure what that would look like. I suppose it could be as simple as a stone with a green star on it. How would it have keep from being buried after all these years?"

"I guess there's no reason it couldn't just be buried in the road. It's not like anything's come through here to dig up the road for any reason."

"Oh! Wait! Do you think it might reveal itself to us just because we're the Cycle?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:18, Mon 21 Dec 2020.

"Interesting idea, it may reveal itself to us if we get close to it.  When I was above I also looked for some kind of sign of the star as well.  Cause it could have been in the middle perhaps?  Like maybe the roads all met at a certain intersection and the roads were the points on the star but I couldn't picture it from what I saw.  I also don't want to just imagine something that I want to see for it has been known that you may think you see it but you are far from the fact."  Vogh commented.

"As for just being in the ground somewhere here, that is probably more like it.  Perhaps at one point, there was a waypoint here and it had a cellar?  Let us separate and see what we can see."  Vogh suggested finally.

"Okay, I can do that," Bash agrees. "Ha-ha! It'd be just my luck to step on roof of the cellar and fall into it! Eventually it'd collapse anyway, and then maybe fill up with debris, but that doesn't seem likely."

"You have a point, though, about there being a green star somewhere. It could have been embedded in the road and then covered over, either intentionally or just over the centuries."

"We should start there. I've got a way with magic... and you're an Oracle! Maybe it'll talk to you!"

"You are quite right, time could have hidden it from us.  Let us keep a sharp eye out for any sign.  I will start on the other side and we can work in coordination with one another so that we don't miss anything."  Vogh said with a smile.  Bash seemed like a nice person and Vogh could see herself becoming friends if time allowed.

With that Vogh began her search for anything!

The two of you walk up and down both sides of the road just in case in case there's something that can only be seen from just the right angle or in just the right light. However, neither of you spot anything that looks significant.

On the other hand, without quite realizing it, you both have been 'acclimatizing' to the area... getting a sense of the area. Thus, it's the third time you pass the center of the road that you both get a feeling... it's your green star that seems to tingle as you pass the center. With a little effort, you can center in on where it's the strongest, which is right in the middle of the road.

On the third pass Vogh felt the feeling deep inside her and as she did she stopped and asked Bash, "Do you feel what I feel?  It has to be beneath the road."

"You felt it, too?" Bash replies to Vogh. "Yeah, I felt it! The old tingle-in-the-green-star trick!"

"It makes sense that it would be in he middle of the road. After all, that's where the tunnel took us."

"To start, I'd say let's try probing the ground with... um... your longsword? Or maybe an arrow? At least, I have a folding shovel. Too bad I don't know the spell Dig."

Vogh pulled out a normal arrow from her quiver and began to probe the ground in the area she felt the pull the most.  If the thing was deeper than an arrow she would pull her sword out next and use that to probe down.  "I don't have that spell either.  Certainly would come in handy, though your shovel will suffice."  Vogh said as she probed the ground.

"So, Bash, where do you come from if you don't mind me asking?"  Vogh thought to at least get to know this person if they were to not only find what they were looking for and work together in the overall plan.

"No, I don't mind you asking," answers Vogh, "I'm just not sure I'll have answers. I guess you could say I'm from Here, There, and just about Everywhere."

"I'm not even sure why I call myself Bash, as it's a short form of my family name. My parents were nomads, part of the Sorathia tribe of the Shaar."

"We moved around a lot, so home was wherever I was at the time."

As Vogh probed with her arrow she kept talking.  "Sorathia Tribe you say?  I have heard of them before.  I myself have only been to the Shaar area one time before.  My main stomping ground is the Sea of Fallen Stars.  For some time now I have been a pirate hunter.  It is quite a profitable venture as well."

Vogh's probe with an arrow doesn't find anything buried in the road, at least to the depth of the arrow, once she works around the stones buried in the dirt.

Her probe with the sword has no better luck.

After the sword finds nothing, it does occur to her that if something was buried in the road, it was likely to have been buried six feet deep or deeper. While it doesn't seem likely that the Wonder would have been buried with a dead body or would have anything that could generate an odor attractive to animals, burying it at least ten feet down would be much greater security. Additionally, the centuries of wind and rain and seasons could have laid down an extra 2-3 feet of ground.

"Looks like you need to put that shovel to use.  I think we will need to dig down at least my height if not a bit more."  Vogh said as she couldn't find what they were looking for with the probing.

Bash begins digging with her handy folding shovel. Since there's no rush (that she knows of), she can take her time--dig a little, rest, dig some more, rest. If Vogh offers to take a turn, she has no problem letting her, but she won't ask.

"I've heard of the Sea of Fallen Stars--who hasn't?" she talks while she digs. "I've always wondered why it's called that? There aren't actually stars in the Sea, are there?"

When Bash was digging and then took a break, Vogh picked up the shovel and started digging.  "It is said that the gods above sent a star crashing down to Abeir-Toril as a punishment for the arrogance of the titans. Entire continents were lost in the ensuing earthquakes, fires, and windstorms and the four centrally located seas of Faerûn merged together, forming the "Sea of Fallen Stars"

Allowing for the centuries of dirt and plants that could have covered the area, Vogh and Bash have to dig down nearly 10 feet before the shovel strikes something hard. A couple of small stones were encountered along the way, but nothing large, which both makes sense and seems odd that something wouldn't have been put there anyway.

If it hadn't been for the green star tingle, you probably would never have known this was the place. And who knows how long you would have dug without the tingle or even with the tingle.

The item struck clearly has a metallic sound to it, and it takes a bit more digging to fully uncover a green box, and some effort to haul the heavy (30 lbs.) box up out of the hole. The box is only about 2 feet by 1 foot by 1 foot in size. It's now discernible that the 'green' is the patina of tarnished copper. There's no obvious lid to the box, though.

After a bit of scraping and prodding, you realize that the box seems to have been wrapped in a sheet of copper that was folded and then hammered into place.

The labor of digging in the hot sun, Had Vogh sweating profusely.  When the shovel finally hit something other than ground or rock, but a metallic sound, Vogh looked up to Bash and said, "I think I found it, Finally!"  Together the two pulled the box up and out of the hole and after some inspection, Vogh realized that it was wrapped in copper.  With her blade, she pried out a corner and began to peel back the copper sheet to reveal what was underneath.

Peeling off the copper sheathing was a bit difficult at first because Vogh found that the folded corners had been soldered... apparently to keep any moisture or insects from getting into the inside. Once she broke the soldered seams, however, the remaining copper peeled back relatively easily.

The green patina was only on the outside of the copper--the inside was still bright and shiny and completely intact.

Underneath the copper was a lead box with an inset keyhole. It didn't look like the lock was all that sophisticated, but then what would be the point anyway--the lead could easily be broken through.

A dagger tip wasn't going to open the small lock, but any small piece of wire or similar item could do it. Bash's gun-cleaning kit had such an item, so it wasn't long before the top was unlocked and opened.

You had just enough time to realize that a large fold of cloth lay within the gold lined box before a puff of bluish-green smoke billowed out of the box... and lingered there as the upper torso of a creature became visible within the smoke. It is humanoid, the size of a small giant, with blue-green skin, and has no hair on its head or anywhere else that you can see. The upper torso seems to float there in the smoke, arms crossed on its chest and an angry scowl on its face.

"HOW DARE YOU DISTURB KAZMAKIAS'S SLUMBER!" it bellows out in a voice that's reminiscent of crashing waves.

Vogh had thought how easy it was to get the item, apparently, with the time and just how well it was buried that it didn't have to be protected too well.  That of course was short-lived as the blueish-green smoke began to come out and then a form began to take form.  It was like a genie from the bedtime stories of her youth.

As the form began to speak asking who disturbed its clumber, Vogh answered.  "Oh great Kazmakias, it is I, Vogh Kath.  I am sorry for disturbing your slumber.  There is a great need in the world and the Green Star has beckoned those who bare the mark to come and protect the world.  This is why your slumber has been disturbed.  Please forgive us if it is too early."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Bash laughs at the appearance of the genie.

"This is just the best adventure... EVER!"

She lets Vogh do the talking, trying to decide how you make friends with a genie!

"It's a water genie," she whispers to Vogh. "A marid." In case Vogh didn't already know that.

The marid, if that's what it is, seems momentarily take aback by Vogh's reply. In fact, his posture seemed defensive, as if he was expecting to be attacked.

He suddenly leans over and puts his face a few inches from Vogh's and seems to be staring right through her... or possibly into her soul.

"WELL! IF THAT DON'T BEAT ALL! NO LIES, NO DISEMBLING, NO VACILLATING, NO... WHATEVER. THE UNVARNISHED TRUTH! AND YOU REALLY ARE A GREEN STAR WHATCHAMACALLIT. WE ALL THOUGHT ESMERALDA WAS CRAZY AS A LOON. SO, THE TIME HAS COME... THE TIME SHE FORESAW."

"IN THAT CASE, I THANK YOU FOR SETTING ME FREE! AS PER THE AGREEMENT ESMERALDA AND I REACHED, I HEREBY GRANT EACH OF YOU ONE WISH!"

With that, he literally disappears in a puff of smoke!

"We're thinking about it!" Bash says to the genie. "Do we have to make it right now? Or can we wait until we think we need it?"

"We don't want money or gems or riches or magic, so that's kind of why we're thinking about it. I'm thinking we might need to use it if one of our companions gets killed on this... quest."

Like Vogh, she knew to phrase her words carefully lest the genie mistake them for an inadvertent wish.

Vogh was thinking along the same lines as Bash.  She had enough gold and magic to be content.  Adventure and living was her want.  Vogh would wait to see what the genie would say before saying anything.

"WISE INSTEAD OF GREEDY! THE WISHES ARE YOURS NOW. YOU CAN MAKE THEM ANY TIME YOU WANT IN ANY WAY YOU WANT! I NO LONGER HAVE A SAY IN THEM!"

With that, he fades away and the smoke soon follows.

"Ain't that the dangedest thing you ever saw!" Bash says, turning back to the box with the cloth.

"I'm no alchemist, but I know gold doesn't react with anything, so that's why the box was lined with gold... to protect the cloth so it wouldn't come in contact with the lead. And the lead was to prevent detection from magic. And then the copper was around the lead box to prevent the lead from deteriorating over the centuries, I guess, though I didn't realize copper worked that way. Only the exposed surface turned green."

"So, are you going to pull out the cloak... or do you want me to do it? In case there's another trap."

Having a wish for whenever she wanted was something special.  She would use it well indeed.  She was still thinking about things when Bash asked her if she would take the cloak.

It brought her out of her thoughts and of course, Vogh would get the cloak.  "Naturally!!" Vogh said as she pulled out the cloak to get a better look at it.  She cast detect magic so she could see what auras it had and the power of it.

Pulling out the cloak, Vogh realizes that it is very lightweight even though it feels somewhat thick. The cloak is blue, like the color of the sky, but the outside has a cloud pattern woven into it. The edge is trimmed with a silver-gray border.

Once Vogh casts Detect Magic on the cloak, it takes her a few minutes to work through the strangeness of the magic that's also been woven into the cloak. The obvious magic that she finds is that of the spell Dimension Door that the cloak's wearer can cast at will.

Additionally, the cloak has the strength of steel as far as what it takes to damage it. The wearer gains a +5 bonus to her AC and a DR of 10.

Vogh can sense the presence of other magicks within the cloak but can't quite see them... like looking into a pool of dark water and not being able to see things that are deeper in the water.

After casting her detect magic on the cloak which looked quite awesome, to say the least, Vogh smiled and told Bash its properties, but then also said, "For some reason, I can't get the rest of what it is capable of.  Can you?"

Bash takes the cloak and casts her own Detect Magic on it, and after a few minutes, replies to Vogh.

"I found the same things you did, and yet, there were flashes of other things. It was almost like it had to be used for awhile  before it... blossomed? Woke up? Maybe it grows with the wearer? The better you get, the better it gets?"

"I'm sure there's some upper limit. I mean, if one of us became a demi-god, it might not have equivalent power. I'm just guessing, of course. For all I know, it might!"

"As near as we've been able to tell, though, all the Wonders were made by mortals."

Vogh was nodding along with Bash's thoughts.  "That is what I was thinking as well.  I think I will put it on and see if I can discern anything else by wearing it."

Unless Bash disagrees, Vogh will put the cloak on.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:30, Thu 25 Mar 2021.

Putting the cloak on does not reveal any more secrets about it unless she casts Identify on it.

After more than a few moments, Vogh looked to Bash and said, "well I am not getting anything.  I am not able to identify its magical properties with a spell, can you?"

"Alas, no," Bash replies to Vogh.

"True, I'm a bard of sorts... my specialty is juggling, but I don't think the cloak has any legends about it. After it was made, it was hidden away from the world at large. So, it's not like it has a history that can be fathomed."

"I also don't cast spells, so Identify isn't in my repertoire of talents. None of my items let me do that either."

She holds up her guns for emphasis.

"I shoot things. But wouldn't that be great if I could shoot something with a spell that told me what it did! Ha-ha!"

Vogh tried to picture how that would look, shooting something to identify it.  She shook her head then and said, "It would be cool.  I have heard of people being able to heal someone by shooting an arrow at them.  Kind of funny though, if you ask me.  Though if someone were too far away to touch I could see the usefulness of it."

Vogh was done here, they got the cloak and had identified all that they could for now, "shall we head back, see if anyone else had found anything?"

"Yeah, let's head back. The portal is still open," Bash replies. "I suspect it'll only close once we step out of the other end again."

"Hmmm. Makes me wonder if it can be activated again if we already have the Wonder."

Vogh nodded and said, "Well let's go then."  Vogh moved towards the portal and would step through once Bash was ready.

You can both step into the portal/tunnel, walk its relatively short length and then exit the other end, back in the monastery.

Vogh steps into the portal and walks the short distance to find herself back in the monastery once more.  She still had on the cloak as she stepped into the main room once again.

Vogh looked around to see who was still there.

At the time that Vogh and Bash get back, the only one still there is Trickster, who is still studying the various pictures.

Tyrol joins you shortly, stepping out of the tunnel that led to the Armor.