Temperance turned his head slightly to the side and turned back to the table of ice he had made. In moments it was liquid, then reshaped into a series of hollow tubes open on one long side each, and finally frozen again. "Val, if there isn't anything in the air to harm us, the rest of us can slide through... Assuming that's grease and not some kind of acidic tar."

OOC: The sleds may not make it free but perhaps can add some bonus for those condemned to the ground.

Clearly suspicious about the way this place works Valenestria sticks her arm past the threshold into the cylinder without committing herself to be over the spinning part.  Only after she is quite sure it is safe does she zip through to the other side, staying in the center as much as possible.
”I would not expect the grease, even if it is that, to stay harmless.”

Val is right. It isn't harmless. The hypnotic pattern spins and spins and spins and spins.

She couldn't help feel a bit dizzy after flying over to the other side.

Beyond that, it seemed harmless.

Maybe this is one of those traps meant to take players way too long to figure out when really there's not much to it but to do it.

Tempe demonstrates how to use one of the sleds by approaching from the wall sled in hand and with a small build up run launches forward into the somewhat hypnotic hallway hoping that he has timed it right and reduced enough friction to go through with no more than a messy tumble.

Temperance rolled 9 using 1d20+2.  Roll for tumble dry... Dex)acrobatics.

Temperance rolled 14 using 1d20+2.  In case sled grants advantage to the roll.

WAbam!

The sled and Tempe careen out of control and he ends up on his back. (1 bludgeoning dmg) then he begins slipping and sliding and spinning.

Eventually, after upmost embarrassment is achieved, the spinner shoots him out on the other side.

Taking the others as an example, Kalda follows suit. Her own balance not much more than the others.

19:45, Today: Kalda Silverhammer rolled 16 using 1d20+3.  Acrobatics.

I don't wanna wait forever, Kassan and Illiranth take 6 bludgeoning dmg and we all move on.

After passing the weird and almost pointless trap, you realize you're covered in grease. Magic grease. It is impossible to wash away or prestidigitate. Perhaps there was a point after all.

On your guard, you enter room 12.
A veteran soldier named Burket greets you, "Please, follow me, you may be tired and we have food, may I present to you the wizard Snarla." He is holding a flaming torch and is armed with a sheathed sword, but he seems friendly. The door to 13 is open.

Unlike the room you just left, this place is beautifully decorated. The floor is covered by fine rugs, the walls by erotic tapestries and shimmering curtains, the ceiling by an intricate mosaic depicting a summer sky dotted with fleecy clouds. In the northeast corner is a large and lavishly covered bed, strewn with cushions. Next to it on a low table is a buffet of sweetmeats, cakes, and other delicious-looking comestibles. In the northwest corner of the room is a brass-bound oak chest.

At the head of the table is Snarla, who also seems friendly, "Greetings! We have been tasked with feeding the creatures down here, though my memory lapses and I am not sure how I got here or how long. I see you took care of the crab, that is great. Only one more item to find and I believe we all can be free of this place."

Tempe considered setting himself alight, he and flames were on better terms than most. He convinced himself though that the grease might just wear off after a time... "Wizard Snarla, Thank you for so gracious a reception! what creatures remain to feed still? Would you be so kind as to dispell this greasiness that we have come upon?"

Never one for close physical proximity Valenestria maintains a little bit of extra distance between herself and the oddly sticky survivors of the previous room even before they are beckoned into the room full of flammable objects by the torch wielding crazy person. Once in the next room she doesn't seem to be much interested in the food, or creatures, but the tapestries and or walls seem to hold most of her focus even as she engages in the dialog with their new host.
”Lets not bombard our host with questions, I am sure there are a great many things a powerful wizard could tell us about their own home should they be inclined to but we don't want to seem needy or intrusive.”

Having just woken up from inside a chest and getting covered in grease, Illiranth was uncertain as to the welcome they received.

"Forgive me, I too seem to be suffering from memory lapses. What is this item that we can all be free? Why is it important?"

Tempe's face became an expression of shock and horror, "You... You think a true adventurer has it in them to NOT be intrusive? ...is the world of the fey really so different?" He wondered absently, returning expectant attention to their host.

Kassan shakes his head, he clearly was suffering from some sort of head trauma as the last hours were a blur.  Making his way over to the table of food items he goes to take a couple looking inquisitively at female wizard.

"May I"

Kalda looks suspiciously at the female Wizard. It was a story that they had recently heard and she didn't know if she should expect a different result or not.

Snarla begins casting prestidigitation spells over your clothes, the grease fades away. (Anyone with prestidigitation or minor illusion cantrip can make an arcana check)

Snarla gestured to the food. If you eat it you find it's flavor is extremely disappointing. Tough and not tasty, although the nutrients are there. (Perhaps our wizard knows why)  Gain +d6 hp if you eat

"I tried to fight Keraptis but in the end he offered us servitude or death. Now I start to question if we made the right choice. You have the Blackrazor and the Wave, the last remaining weapon is Whelm, a dwarven greathammer. Truly I believe they are just macguffins for you, none of you seem sturdy enough to use them properly. Why don't you give him the Blackrazor? At least he is strong enough. However none of you have the proficiency to use Wave. May I see it?"

She doesn't know your names, but suggesting Tempe gives Kassan the greatsword does make sense. However, letting her hold Wave doesn't make sense. Has she earned your trust?

Having long since given up active introductions in favor of just leaving her name on the back of her coat Valenestria simply reacts to the topic at hand, not worrying about the particulars of how it is being brought up.
”Directly useful or not each of these weapons is of significant value.  Can you tell us anything about Whelm or how to acquire it that will make us both believe you and inclined to trust you to inspect any of them?”

Tempe moved over to get some food too the proximity to Kassan made him re assess, "You could put the kinda crazy great sword to better use than me. I actually think I can make a weapon -that might not be AS available, but I could certainly use it better- with my magic now that I've hefted and missed so much with the thing. If you promise to kill things with it... It probably won't go to too much lengths to make problems for you. Much as I tried, I'm not good and also not a super fan of more voices in my head. My father's heritage left a council that tells me to do things from hiding people's socks to talking in theaters and eating babies. I have enough."

Tempe wasn't going to force the sword on Kassan but would give it up.

To the group at large he offered, "I'm not sure how devoted to Keraptis our host is, but I'm particularly warry of someone with magical power asking to hold an artifact of significant power when we still know little of what is going on here. We could use the bed in shifts after ensuring that there isn't harmful enchantment on these foodstuffs."

To that end he began inspecting the magical energy of the room.

Temperance rolled 18 using 1d20+5.  Arcana
This message was last edited by the player at 10:40, Tue 24 May 2022.

Kalda has an even expression on her face, "No offense, but I am not sure we can trust any of the denizens of this place. While they may be victims trapped against their will, they could as easily be allies wearing a clever guise. Advice offered may be genuine, but I do not recommend we trust a stranger with handling an essential key to this place."

Temperance surmises that everything is an illusion, or at least, everything is real, but is covered by an illusion to appear nice.

Burket laughs at Temperance's explanation, "Your heritage sounds both awful and hilarious. Yes, Blackrazor tends to drift toward nihilism, the destruction of everything. Great for slaying your enemies, not great for the person holding it."

Snarla tries her best to explain Whelm, "All of these legendary items are sentient and have certain attunement requirements: Whelm is a dwarven warhammer, I know it is further east of here, and here you are at a dead end. Return to the fork south of here and go east to find it."

Temperance shook his head slowly, "Evil is evil. Just because it isn't always murder or large scale chaos doesn't mean it shouldn't be opposed.

I say we rest and shifts, there is nothing that suggests that we're not at a dead end. we can take our host's advice with a grain of salt but it seems it really is the only way for us to go. I'll take first shift and Val takes last to get us all rested before we go. Any arguments?"

"Seems reasonable enough. A time to recover is needed for some"

You may all long rest, though you find the food and bed are mostly just illusions.. it is food, but not tasty. It is a bed, but not comfy.

After resting Tempe checks briefly on the rest of the team before heading the direction they were given for Whelm, trying to be cautious for traps along the way. It seems to be pretty common around here.

While not innately cautious Valenestria spends enough time looking at even the common surroundings that she only just keeps up with the pace Temperance sets, often drifting along sideways as she looks at what appear to be nothing more unusual than cracks in the wall.

Your long rest complete, Snarla and Burket did nothing suspicious.

What next?

Temperance sees that all is more or less prepared... He will head south looking for a way east, after a short, "Thanks," to their hosts for providing a relatively safe place to rest.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:51, Wed 03 Aug 2022.