11. Beneath the Castle

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog watches as the others struggle with the scroll and continues to be the guard or look out.

[Stirling]

Scarlett

Scarlett smiles at the guys digging in to the treasure trove, it seems it was worth lugging the chest up the stairs, I did think it might just be full of castle junk or coins of lead. She is given the box by Castran but then it seems invisible hands took it back. Not to worry and knowing there are still undead about this place she will stand watching the stairs and group on guard,...still wet through and starting to catch cold. Seeing the floating deck she calls out,

"I wouldn't do that I'd I was you, this is not your gypsy lucky fortune playing cards," , too late it seems.

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 13, 1222
Time: 9:08 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Castle Ravenloft; Brazier Room
**************************************

Before anyone can stop him, Castran looks at the top two cards of the deck. The rest of you see it as cards floating up from the box, seemingly of their own volition.

The first card...

Star.png (123.02 KiB) Viewed 197 times

...has the image of a star. Castran gains strength and insight!

+1 to strength and +1 to intelligence. Roll for extraordinary strength!

He draws the second card:

Void.png (75 KiB) Viewed 294 times

Disaster! Castran's psyche is yanked from his body and imprisoned! He knows not where. It is black, and cold, and he is all alone, far, far away.

The cards vanish. The box and its cards hang in the air, motionless.

Anyone else want to draw?

Ouch! Sorry, Storm11, but that's a death-like event. Your character "lives" but you can't control him. His body is basically a simple robot now: his body functions and he can "speak like an automaton" (whatever that means).

If you want to roll up a new character, I should be able to work it in soon.

----
Status: Gragog (F6): 36/42; Lar (P4): 27/27; Bragar: 33/42 (C7); Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Scarlett (C7/T5): 34/34; Agax (MU7/C4): 29/45; Petyr (F3): 23/23; Bogdana (C3): 11/23; Shinyah (D7): 37/38, Honeynose: 24/24, Treescratcher: 29/29, Hihu: 4/4
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts; Invisibility (Castran); Phantom Armor (Bragar, from Castran): 5 pts
Light sources: Lantern (30', Lar): 6.7 turns; CL coin (60', held by Shinyah); CL gem (60' Agax's staff)

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog slaps a hand over his face "Well gambling there are winners and losers... and the saying goes win some lose some. Both appear to be true in our friends case. That void card can't have been a good sign. Though the star may have been. I wonder if you could destroy the cards would it reverse the effects of the cards?"

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

"Castran? Castran! I say, are you there?" the dreamer calls out when the cards return to the deck.

In time, he gently feels the area where the cards were last cut, where Castran last stood. If he finds the invisible zombie, he'll sadly inform the others. He'll try to make Castran comfortable; sit him down and try to assess his state of mind.

"Oh, my word."

[Stirling]

Scarlett

"oh dear too. That was harsh, still there might be a way to make him come back."

Reaching for his hands, Scarlett will Tue a string of ribbon around it and pass it to Agax."Perhaps you can string him along with us?"

[Dram]

Bragar- Walks over to Castran and gives him a good slap in the face. Snap yerself outta ov it. Ya darned Oaf! What ya go to da tat fer! He takes his rope from his pack and ties it around his waist. When were done killin this dam vamp. I shall be lookin fer a powerful mage to bring him back to reality.

[Cwreando]

This is going to get interesting I think. Painfully interesting possibly. )

Lar says, "Be careful my friends as magic can be both a boon and a bane."

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 13, 1222
Time: 9:10 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Castle Ravenloft; Brazier Room
**************************************

Agax sits Castran down. Scarlett suggests tying a ribbon around him. Bragar slaps him. The invisible gnome does not respond. He sits when guided into a sitting position, but he does not speak or react when hit.

----
Status: Gragog (F6): 36/42; Lar (P4): 27/27; Bragar: 33/42 (C7); Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Scarlett (C7/T5): 34/34; Agax (MU7/C4): 29/45; Petyr (F3): 23/23; Bogdana (C3): 11/23; Shinyah (D7): 37/38, Honeynose: 24/24, Treescratcher: 29/29, Hihu: 4/4
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts; Invisibility (Castran); Phantom Armor (Bragar, from Castran): 5 pts
Light sources: Lantern (30', Lar): 6.5 turns; CL coin (60', held by Shinyah); CL gem (60' Agax's staff)

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

The dreaming wizard watches sadly as Bragar ties rope around the invisible, mindless Castran, to keep a track of their dear friend.

After a moment of solemn grief, the gamesmith does what is always done in these situations, what must be done, to increase the survival rate of the rest of the party. He quietly feels for Castran's magic ring and potions.

He does this without pleasure.

[Scott308]

Shinyah, Druid

It is unfortunate what has happened to our friend. Perhaps if we are able to escape our current predicament, we may be able to figure out how we may restore Castran to his normal self. Having said that, this is an item of tremendous power, for both weal and woe. It may be able to provide us with the means to defeat Strahd, or escape from this place. To that end, I feel that it is worth the risk to myself.

Shinyah will draw three cards from the deck.

[1d22] = 2; [1d22] = 7; [1d22] = 9

[Zhym]

Let's take those one at a time.

Shinyah decides that his need is worth the risk of doom. He announces his intent to draw three cards.

The first:

Moon.png (123.96 KiB) Viewed 256 times

The moon! Shinyah is granted two wishes! He may use them now or wait until he has drawn the next two cards, but the wishes must be stated within two turns or they will be forfeit. See followup post.

To save time: "A wish will not bring [Castran] back, but the plane of entrapment might be revealed."

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog the half orc grunts and sighs "Uh! Gambling fools...will anyone learn?"

[Inferno]

"Wish Stradh restored to human life!" suggests the game mage.

[Zhym]

The instant Shinyah draws the first card, a plume of white smoke fills the hallway, leaving in its place a thin and strangely garbed man:

Gene.jpg (17 KiB) Viewed 244 times

He looks at you, in your armor and robes and other adventuring gear, and says, "Oh, dear. I'm set up for entirely the wrong milieu, aren't I?" Another plume of smoke seems to consume the man. In his place is a blue-skinned figure in the shape of a man from the torso up, but vanishing into smoke and mist below the waist. He fills the hallway before you, crouching to fit under the 10' high ceiling.

Djinn.jpg (75.61 KiB) Viewed 244 times

"Yes," he says, looking down at himself. "Much more appropriate."

He clears his throat, looks at Shinyah, and begins stiffly reciting as if from a script that he has repeated millions of times.

"GREETINGS, DRUID OF TOHARTA!" he booms in a voice that seems to shake the foundations of the castle. "MY NAME...well, my name is unimportant, but YOU MAY CALL ME GENE. I HAVE BEEN RETAINED BY THE POWERS BEHIND THAT DECK TO PERFORM CERTAIN SERVICES IN CONNECTION WITH THE CARD YOU HAVE DRAWN. I AM OBLIGED TO INFORM YOU THAT MY DUTY IS TO THESE POWERS, NOT TO YOU, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY TO FULFILL SAID SERVICES, WHICH I WILL SPECIFY MOMENTARILY."

"YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED"—the djinn looks at his hand, in which a note pad appears then disappears—"TWO WISHES. I WILL GRANT THESE WISHES IF THEY ARE WITHIN MY POWER TO GRANT. WISHES BEYOND MY POWER TO GRANT ARE FORFEIT. WISHES NOT MADE IN THE NEXT TWENTY MINUTES ARE FORFEIT. WISHES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE AND NON-TRANSFERABLE. THE POWERS AND THEIR AGENT—TO WIT, MYSELF, HEREINAFTER INCORPORATED AS PART OF THE POWERS—EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT WILL THE POWERS BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT OR INDIRECT LOSSES OR INJURY RESULTING FROM YOUR WISHES OR MY GRANTING OF THOSE WISHES, INCLUDING LOSSES RESULTING FROM NEGLIGENCE, GROSS NEGLIGENCE, OR INTENTIONAL ACTION. YOU AGREE TO HOLD HARMLESS AND INDEMNIFY THE POWERS FROM ANY LOSSES. YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT ALL DISPUTES INVOLVING THESE SERVICES WILL BE ADJUDICATED IN BINDING PRIVATE ARBITRATION AT THE CITY OF CLOUDS ON THE PLANE OF AIR."

"NO WISH MAY BE USED TO REQUEST ADDITIONAL WISHES. ANY ATTEMPT TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN THE FORFEITURE OF ALL WISHES COVERED UNDER THIS TRANSACTION. OTHER THAN THE THE GRANTING OF THE STATED NUMBER OF WISHES, THE AGENT'S POWERS AND SERVICES ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO YOU EXCEPT AS FULFILLMENT OF A WISH AT A RATE OF ONE SERVICE PER WISH. YOU MAY ASK ME WHETHER A POTENTIAL WISH IS WITHIN MY POWER TO GRANT; I WILL ANSWER YOUR QUERY TRUTHFULLY. WISHES WILL BE GRANTED AS STATED IF UNAMBIGUOUS. AMBIGUITIES IN A WISH MAY BE RESOLVED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE AGENT, WHO HAS SOLE DISCRETION IN DETERMINING WHEN AN AMBIGUITY EXISTS. THE USE OF CONJUNCTIONS OR MULTIPLE CLAUSES IN A WISH MAY, AT THE AGENT'S SOLE DISCRETION, BE TREATED AS SEPARATE WISHES. IF SEVERANCE OF CLAUSES INTO MULTIPLE WISHES RESULTS IN MORE WISHES THAN YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED, THE AGENT HAS SOLE DISCRETION IN WHICH WISHES TO GRANT."

"BY STATING A WISH, YOU INDICATE YOUR IRREVOCABLE AGREEMENT TO THESE TERMS."

The djinn visibly relaxes, bends down close to Shinyah, presses a button on a device strapped to his wrist, and asks, "So. What can I do you for?"

[Stirling]

Scarlett

Scarlett watches the shenanigans going on. She passes the ribbon tied Castran to Agax and watches him 'pat' him down, at least pat thin air.

"Rings on the other hand Agax," she coughs, "felt it when I tied his hands."

Scarlett sees the Djinni thing appear"Be careful what you wish for, we are in the Twilight Zone and every word must be carefully chosen, I wouldn't trust this summoned spirit to not twist your words.".

[Zhym]

The djinn gives Scarlett a quizzical look, then laughs. "Indeed. One must always be on the lookout for trickery, mustn't one?"

"I do not twist words," he says, turning back to Shinyah. "But wishes are powerful things. You mortals have the most vulgar and base desires, and when the satisfaction of those desires turns out to have consequences, we always get the blame. The terms and conditions I stated have proven necessary over millennia of experience."

"The clock is running. What do you wish?"

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog "Vulgar and Base desires nah. I just want our friend back to normal he appears quite zoned out despite being invisible. Is that so base or vulgar? Eh but their the druids wishes not my own. Don't dawdle Shinyah. Also I blame not the granter of the wishes I blame the one wishing if they don't carefully word and specify what they mean before wishing."

[Scott308]

Shinyah, Druid

OK, Gene, I have some questions. If I were to wish to know the location where our friend Castran's essence, his soul if you will, has been taken to, do you have the power to fulfill that wish? And if so, were I to then wish for you to transport us, by which I mean all of us present here, currently alive, including Castran, the owl and the two bears, to the location where Castran's essence has been imprisoned, is that within your power to fulfill?

[Zhym]

"It is within my power to tell you on which of the many planes your friend's consciousness is located," answers Gene the Djinn. "I cannot answer your second question without divulging information that would be the subject of your first wish. If your first wish is as you stated, I can answer your second question after you have made that wish."