Quest #21 "Island Hopping"

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche nods in agreement with Alordan and heaves a deep sigh, his shoulders moving in tandem which reveal a degree of frustration in his voice. "I agree, Mr. Alordan. Its purpose vexes me most about this strange place. They appear to be the same minotaur, so then is it a prisoner, or guard? It's rage certainly equals the the invectives written in blood. Rage built up over countless years of captivity where even death is no escape?"

Andron moves back towards the center of the room while staring up at the ceiling of the cave, checking for anything unusual. "That is precisely my concern, Mr. Maag. The evidence suggests however that two actors are involved ... one whose objective is to lure the prey into the web."

[OGRE MAGE]

Sorry wolfpack, been 2 days, gotta push the action here.

Back To Work
Freeday, 19th of Goodmonth
Early Morning, Partly Cloudy, Warm, Humid

Saracen stares into the dark tunnel, finding nothing illuminated by his magical sight. Andron observes the construction of the new tunnel, finding it natural and rough, unlike the smooth oval tunnels they have searched elsewhere throughout the complex. Though the priest has no formal training in doing such things, he spots a small alcove next to the inside of the tunnel. Inside this alcove is a strange looking small metal lever.

Maag shadow fights while Tlachtga casts a spell upon her pet dog CU, one she has cast many times before. After listening to the pair growl and bark at one another for a minute, the druid looks even more concerned.
For Tlachtga:

"I think there was some delicious jerky here once, but I have never smelled the source of this scent before in my life. Whatever it is, I think it peed over here. No idea what it could be, but it definitely went through that passage you just opened. Can you rub my belly again when we are done here?"

While the others continue to discuss their thoughts and prepare to enter the new passage, Andron moves back to the middle of the main room and stares at the ceiling. He doesn't find anything out of the ordinary.

Actions?

map:

0D5443E7-1061-4795-92EB-38133423512C.jpeg (95.43 KiB) Viewed 555 times

Sir Crestbrook 10/11 LoH
Gramble 16/16
Tlachtga 8/8 1/4 1st Torch:5.5 (40'r) SWA:1
Cu AC:3 13/13
Lerrick 11/11 3/4 1st
Saracen 33/33 3/5 1st 2/2 2nd DM:3
Alordan 16/18
Andronichishche 6/6 1/3 1st CL, DM, RM / 1/1 1st
Maag 12/12

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche finishes his examination of the ceiling and rests his hands on both hips with an inconclusive, "Hmph." He pivots to face the shadow fencing half-orc. "Mr. Maag, there is an alcove just inside the secret tunnel that contains an odd metal lever. I expect it opens the door from the other side, but I could use your professional opinion."

He tilts his head to address the group as a whole now. "The walls in there are rough and natural, nothing like the rounded and shaped tunnels we've explored before. It seems as if something is burrowing, digging new tunnels, but for what reason? I suspect whatever is responsible is likely also the cause for most, if not all, of the minotaur statues, and the few that are posed. A minotaur would be no match for something capable of petrification. If it was intended as a guard, the results are quite obvious."

[Jernau35]

Maag

Maag sheathes his sword and pushes his way through the crowd around the door. "Orright, make an 'ole, comin' through".

He stands on the threshold and inspects the lever for a lengthy moment. Eventually he steps back and says "I'd say dat is a yeah and a no. Yeah, it opens der door. An' no, der is not a trap on it."

[Rex]

Tlachtga

"No clue what messed with the rations or traveled through here but it marked the area with its pee and went down the passage we just opened."

As she waits for everyone else Tlachtga rubs Cu's belly. "Good boy."

[Storm11]

Saracen let’s the others enter the tunnel, listening intently to their findings.

Perhaps it might be wise to test that theory. Perhaps Gamble, Crestbrook and I should wait out here whilst you close the door and try and open it with the lever. If you haven’t managed to after five minutes we can always move the statue back and open it again from this side. Hmm?

[wolfpack]

Sounds like a plan to me.

[Jernau35]

Maag

Maag sniffs. Offended, his enunciation becomes oddly clearer. "It is almost as if you do not trust in my abilities".

" 'owever," he concedes, "dat does sound like a good idea". He steps aside so that he is not trapped on the "wrong" side of the door.

[Rex]

Tlachtga

"Keep in mind, you are splitting the party and whatever is wandering around here recently went down that passage."

[OGRE MAGE]

In the interest of time conservation here......

Half of the group enters the newly found tunnel while the others wait in the main room. There is a creepy feeling in the air once the lever is used to close the door again from the non hidden side. The air in the place suddenly feels eerily different somehow, almost as if the group behind the closed door was being watched. When they look around, all they see is bare stone, but the strange presence is unmistakable.

Once the obviously untrapped lever is slid back into its original position, the door opens again, just as easy as it slid closed earlier.

"Thank you, mommy!" Cu says to Tlachtga as she rubs him during the experiment.

[kruk]

Cresty

The paladin takes the position in the front again, ready to proceed forward.


Lerrick

Tlachtga

"Keep in mind, you are splitting the party and whatever is wandering around here recently went down that passage."

I agree. Keep the party together and move on.

[Jernau35]

Maag

When the lever turns out to do exactly what he said it would, Maag holds his hands out, palms up, and grins.

" 'ow could ever 'ave doubted me?"

He winks.

[wolfpack]

Alright, now that that's all over let's go kill something.

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche appeared quite concerned after Tlachtga relayed Cu's observations. After testing the secret door and experiencing the unusual sense of being watched, his countenance changed to one of severe consternation. He paces the room for several moments, periodically eyeing the secret tunnel while reviewing his map and notes. "Within these caves we've seen evidence of three distinct actors. Cora, possessed by the entity trapped in the amulet, suspected to be a medusa. The minotaur summoned by the dais, and the unseen creature of immense strength capable of rending nets and shaping bare rock. Perhaps also with the ability of turning flesh to stone. The latter I assume then must be the mysterious Brutus whom Cora said also lived here."

He points to the urine soaked thin paste that once was the dried nuts and fruit in iron rations, the beef jerky otherwise taken. "Cu has not smelled the creature responsible for this before, therefore it was likely not the minotaur, but Brutus. I think we can consider him to be hostile now, and if he was fond of Cora and knew the cause of her death, probably irrevocably so. The question that remains is why hasn't he attacked us? Consider that he has erased my message on the floor and likely the other charcoal markings Mr. Maag had made. Yet, the writings in blood are untouched, including the clue for finding this door. Also, the kobold statue turned about, possibly another clue he left for us. Aside from luring us in for dinner, there must be something he needs us to find."

Andron proceeds to lay his map of the complex on the floor so the group could see the areas to be referenced. "I have a working theory, but it's still based on conjecture. The human and human sized statues we found are much older than the minotaur. I propose that these were petrified by a medusa the wizard imprisoned here long ago and placed the minotaur as a guardian. We do know the amulet likely contained some part of this medusa's soul as it had the power to subvert the mind of the wearer. A former host of the amulet may be responsible for the writings in blood."

He points to the secret tunnel, then indicates several of the winding tunnels on the map. "The secret tunnel here is natural, rough. Most of the others we've explored have evidence of being at least shaped, if not created outright. Work I expect which was done by Brutus, who arrived here sometime much later than the wizard. Recall the bite on one of the minotaur statue's arms. Brutus then is a living creature, of immense strength, and at least partially humanoid in appearance. Many of the petrified minotaur showed no sign of knowing their impending doom. Therefore, if Brutus did petrify them this power is not based on meeting his gaze. I wouldn't be surprised if he also has the ability to obscure his presence near stone."

He now refers to different points on the map where they found minotaur statues in unusual poses. "Like these three statues here, there are others which I suspect Brutus shaped to form different poses. The group near the entry cave appearing to dance. Five which point to an unknown object in the distance, and perhaps most unusual, the two flanking the tunnel to Cora's chamber who were apparently quite happy to be petrified. My theory is Brutus made friendly contact with the medusa, the latter two statues later shaped as gifts. The minotaur guardian would be hopelessly outmatched, but seems to have eventually learned to avoid the tunnels."

He points into the dark recesses of the secret tunnel just discovered. "The strange vision experienced when the amulet was destroyed, combined with what was just experienced in the tunnel when the door closed, suggests that way lies the prison of the medusa. One which Brutus needs us to somehow open. Or, therein is something to be retrieved to effect the same elsewhere. He may have burrowed through the stone in search of this or some other item, perhaps possessed by the human who was reading from a book."

Andron folds up his map and returns it to one of his coat pockets. "That said, our way must be into that tunnel, but I urge you to avoid touching anything we may find until we learn more." He turns to Tlachtga, currently rubbing the massive dog's furry belly. "Miss Tlachtga, would you be able to ask Cu to inform us by some signal when he smells a particularly strong area of this creature's scent?"

[wolfpack]

Or it could be some creature who has nothing more than a animal intelligence who likes to eat jerky and piss on things..... not that there is anything wrong with that

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche tilts his head in thought, then gives a resigned shrug. "It's certainly as plausible as my theory. If it urinates, then it must also bleed, and if it bleeds, we can kill it ... if necessary, of course."

[ravenn4544]

Andronichishche appeared quite concerned after Tlachtga relayed Cu's observations. After testing the secret door and experiencing the unusual sense of being watched, his countenance changed to one of severe consternation. He paces the room for several moments, periodically eyeing the secret tunnel while reviewing his map and notes. "Within these caves we've seen evidence of three distinct actors. Cora, possessed by the entity trapped in the amulet, suspected to be a medusa. The minotaur summoned by the dais, and the unseen creature of immense strength capable of rending nets and shaping bare rock. Perhaps also with the ability of turning flesh to stone. The latter I assume then must be the mysterious Brutus whom Cora said also lived here."

Alordan utters “maybe it’s four? I’ve never felt that being watched feeling like that before. Maybe it’s whoever is controlling the dais watching us now?”

[Jernau35]

Or it could be some creature who has nothing more than a animal intelligence who likes to eat jerky and piss on things..... not that there is anything wrong with that

Maag

"Yeah...throw in a dozen pints of ale and an' a few strippers an' dat sounds like a few stag nights I've bin on".

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche

Alordan utters “maybe it’s four? I’ve never felt that being watched feeling like that before. Maybe it’s whoever is controlling the dais watching us now?

"An intriguing hypothesis. In truth, I did not consider the wizard as another actor. We know he never left, so it's a distinct possibility."

What's a stag night?

[kruk]

Andronichishche

What's a stag night?

a night out drinking a so called beer that tastes worse than the Treehouse grog