Aegis' Dungeoncrawler In-Character

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid shivers for a second after consuming the fruit. "Well..." Orchid thinks for a moment.

"I'm not sure what came over me. Maybe I got hit a little too hard by that giant earlier. The fight going down to a few of us remaining I don't feel like has helped much. I don't feel much different after eating the fruit, but I can't recommend it on that alone."

[Dread_Head]

"Hmm that's an interesting collection of magic involved ... the link to the dungeon is obvious ... conjuration is possibly related to how it sprung into being ... that would leave transmutation as something that applies to the eater?" Thanquil starts thinking aloud after Orchid reveals the nature of the magics involved in the fruit, completely missing her plucking one to eat until Solstafir commented on it.

"Whoah, you just ate it?" Thanquil asks but his surprise quickly turns to interest and he peppers her with questions. "How did it taste? Did you feel anything when you first tasted it? What about when you finished? Wait, don't answer those, let me get something to make notes and I want you to describe exactly what you tasted and felt while it's still fresh in your mind. I need to know everything about this." He grabs ink and some parchment from his pack intending to chronicle everything Orchid is able to tell him about the fruit.

[TheFallenOne]

A heavy sigh escaped Solstafir's lips. This would probably take a while. "I'll leave you to it then. Come Levyk, lend me a hand with old twoheads over here. Once everyone's decided whether to take the fruit or not we should be ready to leave."

Spoiler

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I'll also try to cut off two of the bear's paws. Might get attacked by the tree but if the poison is mind-affecting I have nothing to worry about there at least.

[Aegis013]

Geraldo, having a very high intelligence, suggests using multiple harpoons with ropes tied to them to bring the bear corpse down from a distance. Given that there's no urgency in time, this allows you to get the bear corpse down without risk of involving yourself with the brambles.

The bear's paws, claws, and teeth are fine, but its torso and legs are quite a mess.

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid nods and takes out her own set of rope. "I've got a set of rope here."

[Dread_Head]

Thanquil finishes making his notes and then while the others are retrieving the bears corpse he moves to collect his dropped bow and collect the treasure from the chest to take back to Solum.

[Aegis013]

Finally free of danger and having collected all of the treasures you could find throughout your Delve, the party squeezes through the goblin tunnels to the portal. Through the misty swirling vortex, you can make out the stone pillars and the distant light of dusk from outside. Walking through, the mist eventually fades away and you step back out into the Yard. It's almost night now and for some of you, the first showing of the moon and stars never quite looked so beautiful.

Unlike your previous time in the Yard, the place is largely empty. You can see small weeds and patches of grass here and there, but for the most part the Yard is hard packed dirt from all the boots that have trudged through it into the dangerous depths of the Dungeon.

There are several bureaucrats set up at mobile tables, most looking quite bored, each of them has with them one of the enterprising merchants you saw previously set up outside the Yard. The head bureaucrat with her especially tall round hat is nowhere to be seen. A halfling usher who introduces himself as Tep guides you over to one of the bureaucrat tables where an elven woman in the round hat indicating her position and a gnome merchant are stationed. The halfling indicates to each of you where, specifically, to stand as you report. Then, if you allow him, the gnome merchant takes your bags to begin identifying any magical objects originating from the Dungeon on government coin.

The bureaucrat shifts her tall hat on her head, and taps on her ink vial, causing her plume quill to float and begin to scribe information without her direct attendance. She checks your papers and says: "Please report on the nature and composition on your Delve, every enemy you executed, allow Mr. Sindva to identify any items of magical nature collected to be recorded, as well as anything else you believe to be of note."

Spoiler: Kn: Local or History DC 15

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You know the halfling the placed you at specific locations because it's customary to report while standing in both a Magic Cricle of Protection Against Evil to thwart mental influence from the Dungeon, as well as a Zone of Truth, as there have been cases of groups going into the Dungeon together and turning on each other, with some Delvers murdering others and then blaming the Dungeon. Such cases are usually hard to prove, though.

The merchant handling the bags is also standard protocol, the merchants the bureaucrats select are either capable of warding off curses and handling any particularly malevolent magics from the Dungeon or provided a way to do so at government expense. The belief is that it is very important to prevent any dark influence of the Dungeon from reaching the people of Solum.

Feel free to just "report everything" or "report everything except". You can generalize your response if you like.

[TheFallenOne]

At the prompt to report on their Delve Solstafir shot the others a questioning look. With a shrug he decided to handle the 'every enemy you executed' part as he was best equipped for that line of questioning. Without a word he emptied his extradimensional storage, resulting in a big pile of corpses spilling out onto the ground. "Let's see, we got... Two of these fuzzy things over here. Don't think I need that one anymore, keep it if you want." He grabbed the corpse by the scruff and tossed it to the side, reaching for the next one. "About a dozen I think smaller versions of the same one. A pretty big spider. Flying skull with wings. Armored zombie that seemed intelligent. Three hobgoblins. Ten common goblins or thereabouts, one of them an alchemist. A twoheaded giant and its pet bear. That should be it I think, though my count of the small fry may be off by one or two. If you got a good enough look I'd rather put them back, don't want crows picking them apart before I have a chance to skin them."

Spoiler

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He'll let the others take it from there. Don't intend to keep mum about the tree but if no one fesses up he won't either.

[Dread_Head]

Thanquil fills in some of the gaps from Solstafir's tale, adding detail about the rooms they fought enemies in and handing over the magical treasure to be identified. He adds that the tree sprouted in the final chamber, summarising how it sprouted from the ground when they won the final combat but doesn't mention that Orchid ate the fruit, leaving that up to her to reveal or keep secret. He also avoids mentioning the infernal voice, thinking back to the warning he'd overheard not to discuss it. He wants to try and research what he can about it before mentioning anything.

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid remains silents during the other's explanation, waiting to see the reactions that occurs when the tree is mentioned.

[Aegis013]

The bureaucrat very clearly becomes especially interested at the mentions of the door with the hieroglyphs, and especially at mention of the tree. Her floating quill scratching away at the parchment on the table with extra fervor during this part of the report.

"Are there any other details to report regarding the events after passing through the door or related to the red tree?"

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid then steps in and explains fills in the how the tree had sprouted the fruit, the magic aura she observed on them, how she had eaten one of them, and the feelings she observed from doing so.

[Aegis013]

As the bureaucrat listens, her ears twitch, betraying her excitement. "I'll file the report. Thank you for being forthcoming and honest about your experiences in the Dungeon. Please be aware there is a possibility you may be contacted by letter carrying the royal seal in the future, if that should happen, please understand that the message is for your eyes only and not to be shared with anyone. You may leave until you're called upon to again serve as the noble defenders of Solum."

The halfling usher had left during your report and the merchant returns everything to you in your bags.

You're free to return home. You know that in a month's time (however for crafting you have unlimited time) you will be called upon again to enter the Dungeon.

Is there anything anybody wishes to do specifically during this time?

Spoiler: Magical Equipment you find for Sale during this stay in Solum

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These items may or may not be available next time you're in Solum, but this is what you're able to find on the market:

Spoiler: Trader Thrukilm

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A female gnome has hit it big and is looking to trade her wares. She is also a Delver so likely this is part of her haul.

Amulet of Natural Armor (+5) (50000 gp)

Arcane Scroll (Dispel Magic (375 gp)) (total 375 gp)

Bracelet of Friends (19000 gp)

Carpet of Flying (5 ft. by 10 ft.) (35000 gp)

Dwarven Waraxe (Medium) (+3 weapon, Disruption) (50330 gp)

Oil of Bless Weapon (100 gp)

Potion of Blur (300 gp)

Potion of Misdirection (300 gp)

Ring of Animal Friendship (10800 gp)

Ring of Mind Shielding (8000 gp)

Ring of Protection (+4) (32000 gp)

Wand of Magic Missile (7th) (7 of 50 charges) (735 gp)

Spoiler: Armorer Burgwe

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A dwarven armorer has several items forged using magical material harvested from the Dungeon for sale:

Chain Shirt (Medium) (+2 armor) (4250 gp)

Dragonhide Plate (3300 gp) (Medium)

Elven Chain (4150 gp) (Medium)

Heavy Steel Shield (Medium) (+1 shield) (1170 gp)

Heavy Steel Shield (Medium) (+1 shield) (1170 gp)

Heavy Steel Shield (Medium) (+1 shield) (1170 gp)

Heavy Steel Shield (Medium) (+3 shield) (9170 gp)

Heavy Steel Shield (Medium) (Mithral) (+4 shield, Light Fortification) (25170 gp)

Heavy Steel Shield (Small) (+1 shield) (1170 gp)

Heavy Steel Shield (Small) (+1 shield) (1170 gp)

Heavy Steel Shield (Small) (+2 shield, Ghost Touch) (25170 gp)

Heavy Steel Shield (Small) (+4 shield, Ghost Touch) (49170 gp)

Light Steel Shield (Medium) (+1 shield) (1159 gp)

Light Wooden Shield (Small) (+1 shield) (1153 gp)

Tower Shield (Small) (+1 shield) (1180 gp)

Spoiler: Weaponsmith Soners

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Human Weaponsmith has several items forged using magical material harvested from the Dungeon for sale:

Bastard Sword (Medium) (+1 weapon) (2335 gp)

Bastard Sword (Medium) (+5 weapon, Flaming Burst) (98335 gp)

Dwarven Waraxe (Small) (+2 weapon) (8330 gp)

Flame Tongue (20715 gp) (Medium)

Gauntlet (Medium) (+1 weapon) (2302 gp)

Greatclub (Medium) (Darkwood) (+3 weapon) (18305 gp)

Guisarme (Medium) (+1 weapon) (2309 gp)

Kukri (Medium) (+4 weapon) (32308 gp)

Kukri (Medium) (+4 weapon, Thundering) (50308 gp)

Light Flail (Small) (+4 weapon, Speed) (98308 gp)

Light Mace (Medium) (+3 weapon) (sheds light) (18305 gp)

Light Pick (Medium) (+1 weapon, Keen) (sheds light) (8304 gp)

Longsword (Medium) (+1 weapon) (2315 gp)

Longsword (Small) (+2 weapon) (8315 gp)

Ego Short Sword (Medium) (+4 weapon, Anarchic)

Spoiler: If purchased

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(Chaotic Neutral, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 10, Ego 10, Empathy, Vision (60 ft.) and hearing, Diplomacy 10 ranks, Sense Motive 10 ranks)

(84310 gp)

Spoiler: Alchemist Ehdron

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Ehdron is a heavy set, jovial male elf. He has several potions, elixirs and oils available for sale:

Elixir of Love (150 gp)

Oil of Flame Arrow (750 gp)

Oil of Magic Vestment (+2) (1200 gp)

Oil of Magic Weapon (50 gp)

Potion of Barkskin (+2) (300 gp)

Potion of Bear's Endurance (300 gp)

Potion of Cat's Grace (300 gp)

Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (300 gp)

Potion of Cure Serious Wounds (750 gp)

Potion of Good Hope (1050 gp)

Potion of Levitate (300 gp)

Potion of Neutralize Poison (750 gp)

Potion of Protection from Fire (750 gp)

Potion of Rage (750 gp)

Potion of Shield of Faith (+3) (300 gp)

Spoiler: Scribe Nimladre

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This Illumian woman has scribed or collected several texts and is looking to sell them:

Arcane Scroll (Break Enchantment (1125 gp), Mirage Arcana (1125 gp), Eyebite (1650 gp), Mind Blank (3000 gp), Energy Drain (3825 gp)) (total 10725 gp)

Arcane Scroll (Dispel Magic (375 gp), Magic Circle against Chaos/Evil/Good/Law (375 gp)) (total 750 gp)

Arcane Scroll (Hold Portal (25 gp), Delay Poison (200 gp)) (total 225 gp)

Arcane Scroll (Mage Armor (25 gp)) (total 25 gp)

Arcane Scroll (Magic Circle against Chaos/Evil/Good/Law (375 gp)) (total 375 gp)

Arcane Scroll (Ray of Exhaustion (375 gp), Cure Critical Wounds (1000 gp), Shadow Conjuration (700 gp)) (total 2075 gp)

Arcane Scroll (Silent Image (25 gp), Blur (150 gp)) (total 175 gp)

Arcane Scroll (Stinking Cloud (375 gp), Polymorph (700 gp), Stoneskin (950 gp)) (total 2025 gp)

Arcane Scroll (Ventriloquism (25 gp), Hypnotic Pattern (150 gp), Mirror Image (150 gp)) (total 325 gp)

Arcane Scroll (Wind Wall (375 gp)) (total 375 gp)

Divine Scroll (Blindness/Deafness (375 gp), Magic Circle against Chaos/Evil/Good/Law (375 gp)) (total 750 gp)

Divine Scroll (Cure Serious Wounds (375 gp)) (total 375 gp)

Divine Scroll (Flaming Sphere (150 gp), Make Whole (150 gp), Neutralize Poison (375 gp)) (total 675 gp)

Divine Scroll (Pass without Trace (25 gp), Bull's Strength (150 gp), Consecrate (200 gp)) (total 375 gp)

Divine Scroll (Remove Disease (375 gp), Restoration (800 gp)) (total 1175 gp)

Divine Scroll (Summon Nature's Ally V (1125 gp)) (total 1125 gp)

Golem Manual (stone) (22000 gp)

Manual of Gainful Exercise (+1) (27500 gp)

Spoiler: Wandwright Vetero

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A tall, lanky half-orc, Vetero is accompanied by two small dogs. He has several wands available for purchase:

Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds (50 of 50 charges) (4500 gp)

Wand of Darkness (4 of 50 charges) (360 gp)

Wand of Dispel Magic (25 of 50 charges) (5625 gp)

Wand of Enlarge Person (2 of 50 charges) (30 gp)
This finely crafted rowan wand can also transmute gold coins into potatoes.

Wand of Fear (41 of 50 charges) (17220 gp)

Wand of Fireball (5th) (21 of 50 charges) (4725 gp)

Wand of Inflict Critical Wounds (28 of 50 charges) (11760 gp)

Wand of Invisibility (17 of 50 charges) (1530 gp)

Wand of Invisibility (20 of 50 charges) (1800 gp)

Wand of Levitate (6 of 50 charges) (540 gp)

Wand of Web (27 of 50 charges) (2430 gp)

[TheFallenOne]

The Foundry

A few curious eyes watched as Solstafir cured the skin of the vargouille after removing its lower jaw, but he was too absorbed in his work to pay them any mind. Fashioning the upper part of the flying skull into a helmet was straightforward enough, the most difficult part would be fixing the wings in place. Taking a thin drill he carefully went through the inside of the skull into the delicate supporting bone after putting the wings in the desired position. A metal rod would hold them fast later on. Adamantine, he decided, sturdy and unbending despite the thinness of the supporting rod.

This kind of precision work was slow going and by the time he was finished no one was paying attention anymore. Wiping off his brow he gave the vargouille helmet a final examination and deemed it satisfactory. Now, for the next part...

---

A stream of fleeing craftsmen greeted Elaynee as she went to enter the apprentice section of Brightmane. At first she suspected fire or some kind of accident, but with puzzlement she noticed not everyone chose to retreat. With unsure steps she went over to Korgar and Briskir to ask what was going on. That's when the stench hit her.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"If by that you mean someone skinning a zombie then yeah, quite so."

Elaynee took some long moments to find the right words, but in the end all that came out was an exasperated "Why?"

"Well, about that... Briskir and I debated it, and after careful consideration we decided not to ask." Briskir nodded sagely. "It actually got a bit better with the tannin by now."

"Looks like he moved to taking out the organs now," Briskir said, his eyes transfixed. "Is that the liver? Hard to tell with the rot."

"Just look away buddy."

"Trust me I'm trying."

The young woman put a hand on her forehead, massaging the thin scarline there. She had been a Delver once and seen much worse. The same didn't go for most of the others here who went into crafting precisely to avoid having to brave the Dungeon. "Well, it's rather unexpected but I think I'll manage. Though some of the others are likely to complain."

Briskir snorted. "Good luck with that. The Masters are not gonna throw out a fireblood dwarf of all people just because the apprentice section got a little less comfortable. The other associations would snatch him up right away and we'd be their laughing stock for months."

"How did we manage to get a fireblood dwarf into our ranks anyway?" Korgar asked. "Don't get me wrong, I like it here, but Brightmane barely hits the middle of the pack when it comes to reputation. Most of the firebloods are snatched up by the most prestigious associations."

"Isn't your stepmother one of the Masters? Perhaps you heard something." Both men looked at her expectantly.

Elaynee hesitated for a moment. Truth to be told she thought her mother was pulling her leg when she told the story over dinner, but by now it had become more believable. "It seems his only condition for joining was to be allowed to craft whatever he wants long as it isn't outlawed by the King's edicts, which they readily agreed to. As for why Brightmane... apparently, he just liked the name."

Stunned silence reigned for some breathless seconds until Briskir burst out "SERIOUSLY?"

"Careful, he'll hear us." As one three heads turned to Solstafir, only to find him completely absorbed in his work. They might as well not have been there.

"You know, now I think about it, his orange hair does look a bit like a mane..." Korgar mused.

"Well, it's likely not my problem much longer," Briskir said. "Got no partnered Delvers left so my drafting immunity runs out in two weeks."

"Hey man, I know it's been three days, but some Delves do take long. Mara's group might still make it back."

"They did, last night. Only two made it out alive. Mara wasn't one of them." A sullen void filled the room until there was a sudden, meaty thud of flesh on stone.

"Is... is that an ETTIN?"

[Dread_Head]

After finishing with the bureaucrat Thanquil says his goodbye's to Orchid and Solstafir and hurried to his parents house. They were waiting nervously by the door and then he arrived safe and sound they were overjoyed not to have lost a second child to the Dungeon. "My son, I knew you could do it!" Exclaimed his father whilst his mother wrapped him up in a big hug.

They eagerly made him recount the stories of his adventure which he dutifully did. After listening to his stories, Thanquil's parents insisted they were going to throw a celebratory feast for their son. "Please, no. It doesn't feel right to celebrate while Davos is still missing" Thanquil responded. They tried arguing with him but he held firm and they eventually dropped it.

After that Thanquil bowed out of the conversation and headed straight to the library to study. That was where he spent most of the month, poring over his parents books on the Dungeon. He was focusing mainly on researching the strange events at the end of their Dungeon excursion but between that research he also took the time to brush up on his Draconic and Infernal. When he couldn't find information in his parents library he would travel to other libraries in the city, playing on his parents connections to gain access.

The only things that pulled Thanquil away from his books was a brief shopping trip to pick up supplies for the next Dungeon run. He also went to the Foundry to meet up with Solstafir and take his chance to autopsy the monsters the Dwarf had brought back, documenting his findings for further study. In return he helped Solstafir out with a few crafting projects. It was an area of Solum that Thanquil hadn't visited much before and he enjoyed his time working there, working with his hands.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Thanquil will take 20 on knowledge checks to research three things. The additional room marked by the death hieroglyphs at the end of the dungeon, the voice that spoke out to them in Infernal and the fruit that Orchid ate. Taking 20 he gets a 29 on arcana, dungeoneering, nature, local and religion and a 31 on planes, plus any circumstance bonuses for researching in libraries.

[Aegis013]

Thanquil's research is productive. You happen upon an ancient journal written by one of your ancestors that provides some striking revelations, cleverly hidden in a secret compartment within your family library. What other secrets could be hidden here?

Your ancestor writes about multiple experiences similar to your own, it appears they did a great deal of investigation about this.

Spoiler: The Door

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The door apparently can take many forms, but in all accounts is easily recognizable having some direct connection to the Delvers themselves. One depiction is a hallway with statues of the Delvers themselves frozen in fear. Another is a spiral staircase with specters of the Delvers attempting to beckon them down. Your ancestor personally describes an experience of a contraption, like a tank of water with a lever that appeared it would open the tank, in which they saw their self and their love interest dead and clutching daggers they had apparently plunged into each other's chests. In all cases, the passage, whatever form it takes, leads to a space in which the Delvers hear The Infernal Voice.

Spoiler: The Infernal Voice

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The Infernal Voice is something like a mysterious deity in the Dungeon. The Voice almost always sets out a near insurmountable task to complete riddled with enormous danger, and showers those who succeed with treasure and Dungeon Fruit. Some accounts say it can manipulate anything in the Dungeon from the space itself to the creatures within. It can even have some direct affect on Delvers.

Spoiler: The Fruit

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The Dungeon Fruit has the least information about it available. It seems most adventurers who recognized the fruit was pure Dungeon magic were cautious about eating it, but a few potential effects have been noted by those who ate it.

• One team reported a Delver who had eaten all of the fruit that appeared, and when the team exited the Dungeon, he wasn't there. The area was cleared of threats and each Delver had an Escape Stone. The team was very confused why their teammate hadn't made it back.
• One woman who ate several of the fruit became blind. However, she gained an acute hearing which she could use effectively in combat and was plagued by constant visions. In moments of danger in the Dungeon, some of these images were thought to be glimpses of the near future.
• Someone who ate a few had their skin become nigh impenetrable. A man could swing a sword against this Delver and the sword would break rather than cutting his flesh.
• Someone who ate just one reported a mildly upset stomach, and no other symptoms.

Your ancestor surmised the effects could vary greatly depending on the individual and the amount of Dungeon Fruit consumed. They also theorized about a possibility that consuming enough fruit might make it impossible to leave the dungeon, much like the fruit cannot be taken out of the Dungeon.

[Aegis013]

The time between Delves comes and goes seemingly in the blink of an eye. Each of you vigilantly remembering and preparing for the date of your next Delve. At last, it is time. You being the solemn march towards the Dungeon.

As you travel, you see other Delvers in the same rotation, though there are notably fewer of them than your first time.

You eventually pass beyond the edge of Solum proper and into the outskirt. You see standing on the path the momentous obelisk. Today there are low ranking bureaucrats, wearing very small round hats, working on engraving names of fallen Delvers. You even see one of bureaucrats hold up fist full of papers and recite an incantation, magically transcribing the fallen Delver's records onto the foreboding monument. Its shadow looms darkly over you as you pass by it, like an omen of what the future holds for Delvers.

You finally reach the Fortress. The enterprising merchants are there setting up shop just beyond the draw bridge hoping to be sponsored to identify items, a lucrative endeavor for them, and for some, the potential to get first shot at purchasing valuable Dungeon materials and magical goods. You pass through the towering Fortress walls and into the Yard.

You see several of the renowned Delvers you saw previously gathered with you: Mialee the Grand Elven Sorceress, Harran the Iron Dragon, Sword Saint Noctis, and the Ephemeral Valan.

Spoiler: OOC

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If you want to talk to them, feel free to put into a spoiler conversation as I'm just going to move us straight into the action.

After some time, the head bureaucrat, with her very tall round hat, takes the stage and calls attention. After several seconds of the dull roar of the Delvers gathered in the yard comes to a heavy silence.

"Due to the number of fallen Delvers, we're reorienting your teams to ensure each team has sufficient numbers."

She begins to call out various teams. After an anxious wait, you hear your team's announcement:
"Orchid the human!"
"Solstafir Bazaratek!"
"Thanquil Rokeby!"
(Edit:) "Liselle the Human!"

It seems your team has been split in half. The group marches together into the temple structure against the mountainside, ascending the white steps and passing by numerous support pillars, each rigged to be destroyed in an emergency. You pass further in the light begins to struggle more and more to reach you until a the sickening sensation of the shift. You stand in total and utter darkness.

Solstafir's dwarven senses reveal the space to be a round chamber, roughly 40ft in diameter. Passages stand to the left and right and the far wall seems to have been largely destroyed, leaving a mound of long settled dirt and debris stretching to the top of the room, roughly 15ft high.

[TheFallenOne]

"Splitting the team in half, huh? Don't think that will cut down the casualties. But we'll see how it goes, I'm ready." Solstafir hadn't been idle since their first Delve and his equipment had received considerable improvements. As promised, the vargouille had been turned into a gruesome helmet with the teeth of its upper jaw reaching the bridge of his nose and the wings flaring outward. The item was mostly decorative, much unlike the crown of blackest night ringing the skull, eating away the light to turn it into a black that was less colour than the utter absence of everything that is warm and bright. The dark powers of Necrocarnum made it almost painful to look at, as if the anguish of broken souls had been given form. A matching crown sat atop the head of what his new power had begotten: the monstrous spider from their first forray turned into a shambling zombie with black motes of light swimming under its rotting skin. Unlike a normal zombie, it seemed agile and even somewhat intelligent, its many-eyed head slowly whipping back and forth to scan its surroundings.

Solstafir's new armor meanwhile lacked such supernatural qualities, but nevertheless was menacing in its own right. Half exoskeleton, half armor, it consisted of parts of the ettin's skeleton, the spine, the rips and other bones, laid over where his own would be with the wide gaps filled by dark adamantine. His gauntleted hands had a bear's claw atop each of his knuckles and whereever leather straps were necessary the zombie knight's tough hide found its use. For the mad smith their bounty had been plentiful. "Once more then. Let's go. Seems the paths left and right are intact." He readied a harpoon, this one with the ettin's femur as shaft.

[QuadraticGish]

Since her return, had been mostly withdrawn. Only leaving to get necessities and paying for a reforge. Knowing that it would only be a month until she was sent on her next delves, she immediately set onto her work, crafting scrolls and potions in preparation for the next dive. The former maid threw herself into her work the month, in an effort to distract herself from her own thoughts. It mostly worked. Mostly. Usually it would start with her thinking back to those fruits and the dungeon magic that had radiated from them. The potential behind dungeon magic drove her imagination wild with possibility; such possibilities as maybe locating her parents. Her thoughts would usually take a grim turn, wondering and imagining what may have befallen them within the dungeon. While she would usually snap herself out of it, there were more than a few hours of crafting and sleep lost to it.

Orchid takes a breath, looking around the now familiar gate as she awaits her name to be called. She had at least managed to some sleep the night before and that at least gave her some solace as she patiently waited. She noted unfortunately her little group had shrunk causing her to frown a bit. The former maid looks glanced at the group of renown delvers with some curiosity, wondering how they achieved their titles before her eyes drawing onto Solstafir's new armor. She stares at it, admiring the handiwork and thinking about what it took to create it until she hears her own name being called out. Taking another breath, she grips her newly reforged scythe in one hand and her hearthfire lantern with a cube already inside in the other and marches inside with her allies. As she feels the tell tale sign of being shunted to a new place, Orchid fills the lantern with water, causing the gel to light aflame.

"At least some of us are together again. Hopefully the other half is together as well."

She then hangs the lantern off of her bag and grips her scythe with both hands, while glancing all around the room now that it is lit up.

[Aegis013]

Shadows race back into the corners of the space, fleeing from the lantern light. The four of you (now with Liselle retconned in) stand in the round entry chamber, the face of the pile of the debris, stone, and dirt pocked with pockets of shadow before you.

Two portals yawn to the left and right. What do you do? Which way do you go?

[Dread_Head]

"We'll just have to be as careful as we can. I hope the other guys are OK."

As Orchids lantern light washes over the room Thanquil looks around. He looks a little uncomfortable at the Zombie Spider Solstafir has brought along but doesn't say anything.

"Your new armour looks, uh, fearsome" Thanquil says to Solstafir. Then turning to their new addition "Greetings Liselle, I am Thanquil Rokeby, pleased to meet you." and puts his hand out to shake.

Looking between the two portals and seeing nothing to distinguish them, Thanquil suggests "Should we try the right passageway first again?" and moves towards the portal to the right.

[TheFallenOne]

"Worked well enough the first time. Let's go." Solstafir sent his undead minion to walk ten feet ahead of the group. Should any traps or other nasty surprises await them it was disposable.

"Your first time or done this before?" he asked without looking at Liselle, his eyes focused on the path ahead.

[Aegis013]

The passage proceeds a few feet before coming to a sturdy wooden door. The path extends to the left, to yet another sturdy wooden door.

Neither door has any markings, however, just left of the door on the left, you can see evidence of the damage of whatever destroyed that wall. There's no telling what the condition of the room behind that left door might be.

Do you proceed through the forward door?
Left door?
Go back?

[whoiam]

Liselle would take the offered handshake from Thranquil, "Shouldn't you know better than to shake hands with a thief?" she suggests, broadly grinning as she does so. "Well, lucky for all of us, I was a burglar, not a pickpocket. Seems they thought you might need someone who can pick locks. And, y'know, stab things. But yes, it's my first time in a dungeon. Exciting, huh?"

So, if we're doing right-hand navigation, we should be using this door, right?" She points at the door ahead of them as she finishes speaking.

Spoiler

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Once we've agreed on a door, "Search for Traps" - (1d20+9)[13] then attempt to open it if none are found.

[Aegis013]

Inspecting the door thoroughly, Liselle doesn't locate any traps.

Cautiously opening the forward door, light spills into the room revealing a chamber full of well kept armor and weapons, some kind of armory.

A rack holds 6 short spears, a morningstar, 2 short swords, a battle axe, a greatsword, and a great falchion (Sandstorm) - none crafted with the finesse a Delver might prefer, but all of them certainly usable.

Three armor racks stand in the room bearing gear as well: One stands with splint mail and a light wooden shield, another with chainmail and a heavy steel shield, and lastly with a set of half-plate and a tower shield.

Some armor racks stand bearing nothing, and the weapons on the weapon racks are punctuated by the notable absences of weapons in several of the slots.

There are no obvious exits from this room other than the way you came.

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid follows behind silently. Seeing the racks of goods, she goes through the usual motions of detect magic and checks for any auras.

Spoiler: OOC

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Standard: Detect Magic

[TheFallenOne]

Stashing his harpoon Solstafir picked up some of the arrayed weapons and inspected them with a crafter's well-schooled eye, giving some of them a test swing. "Unimpressive craftsmanship, but functional enough and well maintained. Someone's been taking care of these regularly." His pointer brushed over the side of the bladed weapons' edge, checking it for chips and rolls to betray the mark of battle. He exptected this gear to have seen some use in combat.

"Armory of that size we should probably expect at least a dozen humanoid combatants around. I don't really know where the stuff inside the Dungeon comes from, but unlike say that stone chest we saw before there's no cobwebs and the like to betray long disuse."

[Aegis013]

Orchid detects a single, Faint (detect magic) magical aura, emanating from the greatsword. With no obvious dangers, she focuses and attempts to identify any magical schools involved:

Orchid's spellcraft: (1d20+11)[17] - Taking 10 Orchid recognizes the school of conjuration.

Investigating the blade, you finding a faint inscription reading.

Orchid and Solstafir both recognize it as a forger's signature, it reads in Draconic: Xansia.

Thanquil's Bardic Knowledge check: (1d20+6)[7] - Thanquil recalls a reference to a story about a crafter named Xansia. Weapons made by Xansia are supposed to bear some kind of risk, but never having located a full text for the story of Xansia, the details are unknown.

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid stares long at the greatsword, analyzing its aura.

"The greatsword is magic and there's faint conjuration effect coming from it." Orchid states.

"Is Xansia a name anyone here recognizes? It seems unusual that a sword with this sort of craftsmanship is magical."

Spoiler: OOC

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My vote is to head back left through that other wooden door we passed by go get in here after we grab the loot.

[TheFallenOne]

The draconic signature clearly drew Solstafir's attention. His people were both renown craftsmen and of draconic blood, but the name Xansia meant nothing to him and didn't seem of dwarven origin. "It's the smith's mark, but not one I'm familiar with. Should look into that once we get back, for now let's just stash it and check the other door."