IC II

[rremedio]

Meagnor whispers to the others while he thinks about the riddle: "I was better smelling the burning rats...does anybody know the answer?"

nice surprise, TK!!
@frobozz: what is you guess? I have none yet.

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf shouts to the room "A mirror, you stupid whiney caster!"

[thirdkingdom]

The Voice

"That is correct. The answer, of course, is 'a mirror.' Well done. Since you have answered my question, I must answer yours. But choose your query wisely, for you have but one to ask, and I but one to answer."

To clarify, that is one question for the whole group, not one per PC.

[Makofan]

OOC: Good thing I didn't guess - I was thinking of a water wheel!

[Luis]

Couldn't post, had some business to attend to so this is going to be a longish post.

Lanny the elf

He removes the lantern from his back. "Yes, it was a nice bargain, all the light I could ask for. Sadly I forgot that it draws too much attention to me, just kept it in case the goggles start messing with my head. I was planning on allowing use of it if needed but with people injured we can use all the light we can without worrying about oil and wicks. You hang on to it until we get out of this hole."

While they are still in the Statue Room, Lanny accepts the lantern from Saul and takes a moment to admire its craftsmanship.

"Well designed indeed... Look at this, these hinged doors can be closed to reduce the light output to a mere sliver. That would not likely attract much attention to you, if any at all... But this lantern belongs in the hands of someone who has a free hand to spare. Unfortunately, I do not, and therefore I must return it to you. But perhaps Jake or Drudsa might be willing to carry it?"

Lanny needs both hands for his bow as well as for his sword/shield. Note that this is a Continual Light lantern that shines indefinitely, but it also has shutters on it that can reduce the light output to near zero when needed.

Saul looks flushed. He never remembered to partially close the doors. He tries to play it off cooly but he knows he's been caught.

He hands the lantern to Jake hoping he'll use it.

I figured it would have some sort of dimmer but my thinking was this: Saul came from a poor family, he is a thief not by kleptomania but necessity. He finally found himself some gold and bought a few items that he doesn't really know how to use, a clear case of too much money and not enough brains to use it. Just trying to play that 9 INT but still trying to make his WIS score work by letting his friends use his items and using said items to try to make the injured take less chances of being hit. It's not easy acting dumb, I'll tell you that much BTW, loved your description of the lantern, simple but effective, I have to work on my posts.

Saul knew enough to keep his mouth shut. He was afraid that if he consulted with his fellows the first thing that came out of his mouth would be seen as a reply and they'd all lose a year of their lives.

He signals Lanny and whispers in his ear: "What do we want to know we can't figure out on our own?"

[sulldawga]

Marodin the Cleric will step up and say, loudly and clearly, "What is the fastest and safest way to walk from Threshold to the fortress of Elwyn the apostate cleric"?

[thirdkingdom]

The Voice

The mouth responds immediately, without hesitation. "Travel to Penhaligon and seek the assistance of a mortal woman calling herself Selfa Erinsdotter. She will lead you to your destination. Beware of two things! Things are not what they seem in Penhaligon. Trust no one. Next, the Drowned Maiden has awaken after her centuries of sleep and stalks both banks of the river, clutching both man and beast in her icy embrace."

After speaking the mouth melts back into the wall and the eldritch barrier drops. The low hum of magic at work can no longer be felt.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"Oh, come on!" the young mage says as the mouth fades away "Is it that difficult to give a straight answer?"

He then smiles back at the others "So it seems Penhaligon is the right way after all. This does, however, sound like it will be a complicated quest. If we really want to go after this Elwyn guy we should try to finish assisting the elven village as soon as we can otherwise we might have trouble finding him before he performs whatever infamy Bargle asked him to do."

[Finglas]

That was way cool, TK! The riddle and response and all. Thanks!

Drudsa the dabbler

"Oh, come on!" the young mage says as the mouth fades away "Is it that difficult to give a straight answer?"

Hah!

[Luis]

Drudsa the dabbler

"Oh, come on!" the young mage says as the mouth fades away "Is it that difficult to give a straight answer?"

He then smiles back at the others "So it seems Penhaligon is the right way after all. This does, however, sound like it will be a complicated quest. If we really want to go after this Elwyn guy we should try to finish assisting the elven village as soon as we can otherwise we might have trouble finding him before he performs whatever infamy Bargle asked him to do."

Saul puts his hands up and says with concern:

"Whoa, whoa... I'm not so sure we should go based off the word of a floating orange mouth."

He steps towards where the mouth just disappeared, sniffs the air can he sense anything with his nose or other senses? and turns back to Drudsa.

"We could be going on a wild goose chase at best, into a trap at worst. We already have two people injured I say we don't need to push our chances.

I say we search this place, lay some traps for those lizard things and inform Father Varis and let him decide what to do. Maybe he knows something, maybe he can provide some help, maybe he'll just tell us to blow this place so no one can get in or out. Then we move on with our dear lives and go help the elves before it's too late... for them and for us!"

I have no problem with moving along with this storyline, just felt like Saul would feel this way. His opinion will change soon enough.

[Finglas]

Drudsa the dabbler

"Oh, come on!" the young mage says as the mouth fades away "Is it that difficult to give a straight answer?"

He then smiles back at the others "So it seems Penhaligon is the right way after all. This does, however, sound like it will be a complicated quest. If we really want to go after this Elwyn guy we should try to finish assisting the elven village as soon as we can otherwise we might have trouble finding him before he performs whatever infamy Bargle asked him to do."

Bregalad the elf

"Thank you, Drudsa and Saul. Helping Quinthos would lift the heaviness in my heart. We must be careful, too, if we set out to thwart Elwyn. Stopping evil that has not yet occurred is a tricky matter. Is it right to capture and possibly harm someone before they have committed a foul deed? We tread on slippery ground."

Like Luis, I do find the Elwyn storyline interesting. But Bregalad is conflicted about hunting down humans, even ones viewed as "evil" by their own kind.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny seems satisfied with the answer provided by the Magic Mouth.

"I knew there was more information to be found in these caves about Elwyn and Bargle... so I am glad that we returned here. Let us kill the troll and finish our business here in these caves, and then we must decide how to proceed. We have made a promise to Quinthos to help his village, which I believe we can still accomplish, since this new information will allow us to locate Elwyn's hideout in a timely manner. Don't forget that Midsummer's Eve is still almost two months away."

Lanny picks up his gear and is ready to leave the room and continue north once the party is ready.

Told ya it was Penhaligon. But seriously, I think the response contains some very valuable information (more than we would have received if we just inquired about distance). I was worried there for a moment that we would get an answer like: "Walk in an east-south-east direction from Threshold. The fastest way to walk is with no armor. The safest way to walk is with suit armor."

[Bouv]

Tratiln speaks up, I agree with Lanny, let us continue our search here for more information. After that, we can proceed to help Quinthos like promised and then inform Father Varius of our information and proceed as well. And let us not forget that the old gyspy woman spoke of a third power.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Saul puts his hands up and says with concern:

"Whoa, whoa... I'm not so sure we should go based off the word of a floating orange mouth."

"True, but this was too elaborate and cryptical to be just a random nonsense left here by a trickster magician." Drudsa remains silent for a few seconds "Or... wait, maybe... this is a bit confusing."

Lanny the elf

Lanny seems satisfied with the answer provided by the Magic Mouth.

"I knew there was more information to be found in these caves about Elwyn and Bargle... so I am glad that we returned here. Let us kill the troll and finish our business here in these caves, and then we must decide how to proceed. We have made a promise to Quinthos to help his village, which I believe we can still accomplish, since this new information will allow us to locate Elwyn's hideout in a timely manner. Don't forget that Midsummer's Eve is still almost two months away."

Lanny picks up his gear and is ready to leave the room and continue north once the party is ready.

Told ya it was Penhaligon. But seriously, I think the response contains some very valuable information (more than we would have received if we just inquired about distance). I was worried there for a moment that we would get an answer like: "Walk in an east-south-east direction from Threshold. The fastest way to walk is with no armor. The safest way to walk is with suit armor."

"Good point Lanny. We should be able to deal with the troll, resume our quest to assist the elves and then we can plan what we do next. We should make note of the information we just got. It might not be legitimate as Saul wisely pointed out, but then it also might be and we should prepare for both scenarios."

Yeah, that is quite a twist. It looks like we'll have a whole adventure just to find out where the guy is. Great stuff, but I wonder if we won't end up finding dozens of other hooks, twists and turns on our way to Quinthos village. Or even here in these caves!

[rremedio]

Meagnor the Elf stays quiet during all conversation, smiling with the voice's answer: "At least it did us no harm...yet. Let us keep this information and decide what do with it later. This Selfa may be a trap or may be really helpful, we don't know. I'm ready to go on and check the other rooms."

Great stuff, but I wonder if we won't end up finding dozens of other hooks, twists and turns on our way to Quinthos village. Or even here in these caves!

Hopefully we will!

[sulldawga]

Marodin the Cleric ponders the words of the magic mouth, and the responses of his companions.

"I don't know if we should trust this enchantment, especially since it resides in the lair of our enemies. I will pray on it and seek wisdom from the Immortals. In the meantime, let us deal with the threat at hand. The troll must be defeated."

[Bouv]

Tratiln agrees, "Yes, let us be off and engage that troll

[thirdkingdom]

The companions leave the room of the magic mouth and continue along the northern passage. It runs for 40' feet then turns west, running for sixty feet before entering a room recognizable as the one the goblins were first encountered in. It appears that now the giant lizards have taken over it as their lair, for the surviving three are curled in the center of the floor, licking their wounds. They appear unaware of the party's presence.

Rolled for surprise, 1 for the lizards, 3 for the party.

[Bouv]

Tratiln readies his sword and will attack if he can but won't break rank if he can't get by his allies.

[rremedio]

Meagnor the Elf is ready to shoot an arrow on the first lizard he's able to target. He will not brake rank either, but he is ready to provide cover for Saul, Jake and Drudsa if they want him to do so.