Charlotte passes her instructions along, the various arms moving about the sphere turning swiftly to deviate the beams of lights. Gorrid has to pull her out of the way a few times, as the arms move dangerously close, but one after the others, the beam shine on specific points of the sphere, as the vibrations begins to die down.

As the last crystal comes into position, light shines out of the sphere, drawing a glowing map on the ceiling. Some parts are hard to make out, while others shine more brightly. And then... there are two points glowing more brightly than everything else.

Charlotte looks at them, tilting her head. "Is that the Labyrinthian?" She asks, pointing at one of the lights, near the eastern end of the Sunset Peaks.

Sir Gorrid looked up at the assistants.  "A word of advice...  Knowledge can be a dangerous thing.  If you want to go on yet another long dangerous journey and potentially end up like most of your companions, study the ceiling carefully.  If you want to go home, lie down, close your eyes, recover from the 'wounds' you've suffered, and forget everything you've seen."

Buck appears alongside the old knight and young girl, having somehow managed his way down from the control platform. He joins in staring at the map revealed in light, straining to recall if he's ever seen such an expansive map. "Spriggy, do you have what's necessary to copy such a thing down?" he asks without taking his eyes off the ceiling. "Likely such a reference might not exist anywhere else, impossible to tell how long it will last here." Buck remarks, mostly to himself, thinking more in terms of preserving information than any travel and adventure it could potentially lead to.

Spriggy stared up at the ceiling in awe, observing the map that had appeared. He was lost in thought until Buckthorn spoke his name. "What? Oh, yeah. I should have something that should work." He reached into his gear and pulled out some supplies that would let them copy the map they were seeing. As he began his transcription of the map, he realized what the second point of light was.

"If that is the Labyrinthian, then that means the other point of light is... the Magic Academy? Yeah, that is definitely where the Magic Academy is. Charlotte, what is this oculory's main purpose supposed to be?" He wanted a better idea of why they were seeing what they were seeing.

---

Using one use of my Adventuring Gear to make a copy of the map we see. Also, do we know what the Labyrinthian is, or should I Spout Lore?

Charlotte seems as fascinated as Spriggy, circling the sphere to get a better view of the image. "From what I read, it's a scrying device for magical auras." She says, pointing at some of the stronger glows. "Some of these areas are zones where magic is unusually strong... while that black spot, just east of the Onix Peaks? That's a well known dead-magic spot."

"Lord Tiariai was convinced this machine would lead him to some ancient artifacts..." One of the assistant says. "In fact, he was quite insistant that the machine had to be atuned to a certain thaumaturgic wave-length."

"If that's the case, then what he was looking for is either in the Academy, or lost in the Labyrinthian..."

"Well, perhaps we'll have a chat with him once he's woken up...  In the mean-time, perhaps it's best we exit the cavern?  We've caused quite a lot of ruckus, and it'd be best to not be here when the clean-up machines arrive..."

Speaking the words, the paladin took another look around the area to see if there was anything worth taking with them before they left.

quote:

15:09, Today: Sir Gorrid of Torr rolled 8 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 3,3.  Discern realities.

What here is useful or valuable to me?

With the direst of circumstances seemingly behind him, Buck's mind drifts to the return journey and for the first time since leaving the boat they arrived on, he really misses proper city food and longs to treat himself to a hot bath and over-stuffed bed.

He sums up his feelings with a much less revealing statement; "Sagely words, best we not linger here." in response to Gorrid's motion to leave this incredible place behind. He heads towards Tiariai to attend to the lord, knowing full well how beneficial a noble's grace can be and hoping to salvage something positive from what transpired.

Russel was already thinking about Sir Gorrid's comment, "anything worth taking with them before they left."

Once the dire emergency was over, he considered what he had seen while looking for steam controls. Valuable and portable, besides the just shown map, he considered what other dwarves items might have value.

Little was left behind, but Tiariai has a good looking dwarven-made broadsword that could be sold for 25c, as well as a pouch containing 100c, two vials Bloodweed, and his signet ring worth 75c.

With all of Russel's searching, he managed to spot an interesting looking bottle that slipped under the metal grating. The bottle itself is made of brass, covered in dark bumps. As you pick it up, you realize some of them are decorative beads, but the rest are drops of condensation. Despite how hot the place is, the bottle is unusually cool to the touch. It also has an impressive stopper made of Lapis Lazuli, worth at least 20c on it's own.

You string up the noble, and swiftly make you way back out the ancient ruins, and return to your boat. You drift your way back to Metrosan's Breach, deciding what you will do with your prisoner, and with the information you discovered.

Does he wake up at any point, or did I hit him too hard?  I can try some healing if necessary...

Spriggy made sure to jot down all of the points of interest on the map before they moved on, even going so far as to give a numerical value to the magic levels he was noting. The Labyrinthian and the Magic Academy were 10s, while the area near the Onix Peaks was a big fat zero. He marked other noteworthy 8s and 9s too, as well as 1s and 2s.

Once they were out on their boat, Spriggy filled in the others on what he knew of the Labyrinthian too, now that they weren't on such high guard. He told them how he heard it was "commissioned by the Calif Nuat, once he had secured his empire. It was built by Dwarves, and was meant as a test for high ranking wizards. The place was abandoned at some point during the Nuatian-Dwarven war, and to Spriggy's knowledge, no one has been able to fully explore it since." He thought maybe it would be worth checking out. Perhaps their guild would even be interested in paying them to do so.

"So maybe Tiariai wasn't so far off with his expectation that the oculory would lead to artifacts," concluded Spriggy. "It certainly wouldn't be out of the question. But right now I think it would be more helpful to figure out what to do with Tiariai himself. Any insights Charlotte? You know the most about his crimes, unfortunately. I still feel bad that we weren't able to reach you sooner." Charging a noble for crimes could always prove to be a bit trickier than it rightfully should. Once again, Sir Gorrid's mercy would cause them more complications than efficient ruthlessness would have. However, Spriggy considered their party lucky to have someone so willing to do the right thing even if it wasn't easy or convenient.

In the down time between recanting the intrepid journey into the dwarven complex and the discussions on what best to do with Lord Tiariai upon arrival, Buck visits with Spriggy when the bard isn't too invested in a book or instrument. At first Buck is awkward and short on words, but after borrowing a scroll and ink and fashioning one of his owl-bear feathers into a quill one night, he returns the next day with a beautifully sketched illustration of a Mire Centipede, the type briefly spotted in the dwarven tunnel.

After a great deal of goading and some drink a few evenings later, Buck coyly demonstrates the form for the elf.

Charlotte waves away Spriggy's concern. "Don't worry about it. Unpleasant as that was, it could have been worst. Still... kidnapping is often punishable by death, though nobles could get some alternative punishments. And whatever happens to him, he'll be blacklisted by every Guilds around."

OOC: Tiariai will wake up eventually, once you're done discussing what you want to do with him.

Russel consults with Spriggy on the potential value and use of the item he had found.
While tempted to open it to swap out the stopper for one of lesser value, he refrained.

The bottle being unusually cool to the touch made him suspect there was magic involved.

Not sure Sir Gorrid would want to make a final decision before hearing from the man himself - what was he looking for?  What was his motivation?  How much harm has he done beyond the kidnapping?  How much harm could have resulted from whatever he was pursuing?

Spriggy looked over the item that Russel had found and told him everything he knew about it. Which was hopefully enough for the man to make use of it without getting frostbite. Or at the very least, help him know how much to sell it for.

When Buckthorn showed Spriggy the centipede drawing and even demonstrated the form for him, the bard was elated. He eagerly showed the druid his own drawings of animals that he had been sketching in his songbook/spellbook. There was one for every animal he had convinced to share their soul with him for shapeshifting purposes. There was of course a picture of his pony Lydia, and his friend Kharla's riding horse. Then of course the man-sized rhino beetle he liked to bulk into, as well as the little chipmunk that had proved to be quite useful lately. There was also a sketch of a friendly little mutt of a dog he had come across, and a haughty mute swan, and a vulture, and a sawfish. Spriggy would happily add a sketch of a mire centipede to his collection too, if he could manage the shape himself. With Buckthorn's tutelage, it seemed likely.

And of course he would offer to try and tach Buckthorn one of his own shapes in return. Whichever one that spoke to him most. Or perhaps they could track down an altogether new form together.

But that would probably be best done after they had finished the task at hand. Which was, of course, deciding Lord Tiariai's fate. While the party waited for him to regain consciousness, Spriggy took some time to use his Penguin Token to summon the 80 lb penguin connected to it. He wanted to make good on his promise that he wouldn't only summon it in dire situations, and so he let the penguin relax or swim in the river, or do whatever else it pleased for its one minute of summoning.

---

I would like to use my Bardic Lore on Russel's item, since it seems magical. I will ask, "What are this item's intended uses?" If it doesn't fall under my Lore, let me know and I will roll Spout Lore with one of my books (for a +4 to Spout Lore).

The bottle seems to hold something extremely cold, something solidly contained by the metal bottle. You're not certain what is was made for originally, or even if it had a specific goal when it was made. What you do know, is that opening the bottle causes an impressive cloud of condensation, thick enough to stop you from seeing anything farther than your hand. Thankfully, it dissipates quickly when the bottle is blocked again.

After a while, the bound noble shakes and groans. "Where... where's the Oculory? WHERE ARE WE!?" He shouts angrily, struggling against the ropes.

Sir Gorrid glanced meaningfully at Spriggy, then sat down on a fallen tree squarely in the captive's line of sight and set to work polishing his sword.  While he'd probably take a turn at working to extract answers, he'd let someone with a more silvery tongue take the first stab.

Presume everyone's had opportunity to heal back to full and refresh spells?

Spriggy returned Gorrid's gaze and nodded slightly to show he understood. The bard cleared his throat as he decided what exactly to say to the noble. "Lord Tiariai, so nice of you to finally awaken from your little nap. I am afraid the Oculory is well behind us by now. But fear not. We managed to get it working properly not long after you started your snooze. We might even be inclined to share our findings with you if you cooperate until you receive your sentencing for your crimes." Spriggy was careful not to actually promise anything yet, but thought the possibility of answers might help keep Lord Tiariai from throwing an outright tantrum. He had heard of nobles doing such things on the rare occasions when they don't get their way.

"You... you did it?" He asks, almost getting up despite his bonds. "Did it show where the panacea is!?"

By the look the two assistants share, they seem surprised by Tiariai's outburst. Charlotte looks confused as well. "What? What panacea are you talking about?"

The noble glares at her. "The one the Oculory is supposed to lead to! Like the prophecy says!"

"We're fortunate that there is plenty of time to elaborate." Buck addresses the lord, trying to put a positive spin on it for him, hoping the man doesn't just unravel as he already seems somewhat unhinged.

He decides to conclude his interjection by taking a seat and preparing to actively listen.

"Don't you know of the Titans? The enslavement of the dwarves? The discoveries of Duf?"

Some of you recognize the name of Duf as one of the most revered ancestors of the dwarven pantheon, the patron of intelligence, medicine, and alchemy. But the blank stares you give Tiariai tells him you have no idea what the connection is to his actions.

He scowls before continuing. "In the ancient times, before the war of the dead, the dwarves were enslaved by the great Titans. For generation, they toiled under the boots of their immense masters, until Duf discovered a powerful poison.

Slowly, carefully, they poisoned the drinks and food of the Titans, slowly destroying their mind and bodies, weakening them until they degenerated into the giants we know today. The giants forgot about their slaves, abandoning their fortresses in the Wall to the dwarves, who still rule there today."

"And the panacea would be...?" Buck feels a bit foolish asking, and hopes his humble mire upbringings and lacking common history hasn't left him as the only one in the dark. His curiosity piqued, he suddenly feels uncomfortable with not knowing.

"Apologies for my dearth of knowledge on the subject." he quickly adds, no longer meeting the lord's eyes. He picks some small debris off of his cloak.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:53, Sun 09 Apr 2023.

"Yes, could we please hear what this panacea is supposed to be? Is it supposed to be the titain-poison you mentioned? Or an antidote for it? Or perhaps something else entirely?" The bard made sure not to claim they had found the location of this panacea, but also made sure not to claim they hadn't. Truthfully he wasn't sure either way, but the Lord didn't need to know that. At least not yet.

Sir Gorrid sat implacably, listening and sharpening his sword.