Aegis' Dungeoncrawler In-Character

[Yas392]

The warlock turns to the priestess and grafter.

"I guess I will join your tests."

He switches his gaze to the fruits.

"I am not going to touch another fruit. Let's go back to Solum. I think we lingered here long enough and I want to get to know you all better."

[Aegis013]

The group passes through the portal to Solum. The stomach turning feeling caused by the shift in reality passing through the portal now more familiar than it was originally.

Camilla collects your group for reports, and alerts you that Atticus has sufficient Elixir to offer you each one dose, though doesn't have any other major updates to provide you.

Spoiler: Trader

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Arcane Scroll (Detect Secret Doors (25 gp), Detect Thoughts (150 gp), Eagle's Splendor (150 gp)) (total 325 gp)
Divine Scroll (Remove Paralysis (150 gp)) (total 150 gp)
Divine Scroll (Summon Nature's Ally I (25 gp)) (total 25 gp)

Headband of Intellect (+6) (36000 gp)

Ioun Stone (iridescent spindle) (18000 gp)

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

Oil of Greater Magic Weapon (+1) (750 gp)

Portable Hole (20000 gp)

Potion of Rage (750 gp)

Ring of Spell Storing (50000 gp)

Rod of Metal and Mineral Detection (10500 gp)

Rod of Silent Metamagic (greater) (24500 gp)

Rod of Silent Metamagic (lesser) (3000 gp)

Rod of Withering (25000 gp)

Rod of the Viper (19000 gp)
This hazel rod also grants the magical ability to take the shape of a small snake for one hour per day.

Siangham (Medium) (+5 weapon) (sheds light) (50303 gp)
This masterwork weapon is said to be the key to open the Secret Vaults of the Wraith Tyrant.

Staff of Conjuration (41 of 50 charges) (53300 gp)

Staff of Healing (46 of 50 charges) (25530 gp)

Staff of Transmutation (1 of 50 charges) (1300 gp)

Staff of Transmutation (4 of 50 charges) (5200 gp)

Staff of the Woodlands (34 of 50 charges) (68850 gp)

Wand of Knock (26 of 50 charges)(2340 gp)

Spoiler: Armorer

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Breastplate (Medium) (+3 armor) (9350 gp)

Breastplate (Medium) (+4 armor, Sonic Resistance) (34350 gp)

Breastplate (Small) (+3 armor) (9350 gp)

Buckler (Medium) (+3 shield) (9165 gp)

Buckler (Small) (+1 shield) (1165 gp)

Darkwood Buckler (205 gp) (Medium)

Full Plate (Medium) (+3 armor) (10650 gp)

Full Plate (Medium) (+3 armor, Spell Resistance (17)) (50650 gp)

Full Plate (Small) (+4 armor, Invulnerability) (50650 gp)

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

Heavy Steel Shield (Medium) (+5 shield) (25170 gp)

Heavy Steel Shield (Medium) (+5 shield, Arrow Catching) (36170 gp)

Heavy Wooden Shield (Small) (+1 shield) (Neutral, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14, Ego 7, Speech (Common) and telepathy (wielder only), Vision (120 ft.) and hearing, Darkness 3/day, Search 10 ranks) (16657 gp)

Studded Leather (Medium) (+3 armor, Improved Shadow) (24175 gp)

Spoiler: Weaponsmith

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Assassin's Dagger (10302 gp) (Small)

Dagger (Medium) (+5 weapon) (50302 gp)

Dagger (Small) (+1 weapon) (sheds light) (2302 gp)

Dire Flail (Small) (+4 weapon / same) (64690 gp)

Dwarven Waraxe (Medium) (+1 weapon) (sheds light) (2330 gp)

Dwarven Waraxe (Medium) (Adamantine) (+4 weapon) (sheds light) (32330 gp)

Greataxe (Medium) (+1 weapon) (2320 gp)

Kama (Small) (+1 weapon, Flaming) (8302 gp)

Kama (Small) (+2 weapon, Shock) (sheds light) (18302 gp)

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

Longsword (Small) (+3 weapon) (18315 gp)

Rapier (Medium) (+2 weapon) (8320 gp)

Short Sword (Medium) (+2 weapon) (8310 gp)

Short Sword (Small) (+1 weapon) (2310 gp)

Shortspear (Medium) (+2 weapon) (sheds light) (8302 gp)

Siangham (Medium) (+2 weapon, Mighty Cleaving) (18303 gp)

Sling (Medium) (+1 weapon, Distance (+1 bonus))

Warhammer (Medium) (+3 weapon) (18312 gp)

Spoiler: Alchemist

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Elixir of Love (150 gp)

Oil of Daylight (750 gp)

Oil of Greater Magic Weapon (+1) (750 gp)

Oil of Keen Edge (750 gp)

Oil of Magic Weapon (50 gp)

Potion of Barkskin (+4) (900 gp)

Potion of Bull's Strength (300 gp)

Potion of Darkvision (300 gp)

Potion of Owl's Wisdom (300 gp)

Potion of Resist Cold (20) (700 gp)

Potion of Water Breathing (750 gp)

Restorative Ointment (4000 gp)

Spoiler: Scribe

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Arcane Scroll (Blink (375 gp), Flame Arrow (375 gp), Nondetection (425 gp), Contagion (700 gp)) (total 1875 gp)
Arcane Scroll (Crushing Despair (700 gp)) (total 700 gp)
Arcane Scroll (Cure Serious Wounds (525 gp), Black Tentacles (700 gp)) (total 1225 gp)
Arcane Scroll (Dispel Magic (375 gp), Flame Arrow (375 gp), Invisibility Sphere (375 gp), Phantom Steed (375 gp)) (total 1500 gp)
Arcane Scroll (Erase (25 gp), Summon Monster I (25 gp)) (total 50 gp)
Arcane Scroll (Fly (375 gp), Gaseous Form (375 gp), Suggestion (375 gp), Wind Wall (375 gp)) (total 1500 gp)
Arcane Scroll (Identify (125 gp)) (total 125 gp)
Arcane Scroll (Invisibility Sphere (375 gp), Magic Circle against Chaos/Evil/Good/Law (375 gp), Freedom of Movement (1000 gp)) (total 1750 gp)
Arcane Scroll (Mage Hand (12 gp 5 sp), Color Spray (25 gp)) (total 37 gp 5 sp)
Arcane Scroll (Prying Eyes (1125 gp), Seeming (1125 gp), Transmute Rock to Mud (1125 gp)) (total 3375 gp)
Arcane Scroll (Reduce Person (25 gp), Glitterdust (150 gp), Touch of Idiocy (150 gp)) (total 325 gp)
Arcane Scroll (Solid Fog (700 gp), Summon Monster IV (700 gp)) (total 1400 gp)
Divine Scroll (Baleful Polymorph (1125 gp), Fire Seeds (1650 gp), Reverse Gravity (3000 gp)) (total 5775 gp)
Divine Scroll (Detect Undead (25 gp), Cure Moderate Wounds (150 gp)) (total 175 gp)
Divine Scroll (Helping Hand (375 gp)) (total 375 gp)

Spoiler: Wandwright

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Wand of Burning Hands (23 of 50 charges) (345 gp)

Wand of Call Lightning (5th) (5 of 50 charges) (1125 gp)

Wand of Cat's Grace (3 of 50 charges) (270 gp)

Wand of Cure Serious Wounds (12 of 50 charges) (2700 gp)

Wand of Detect Magic (26 of 50 charges) (195 gp)

Wand of Eagle's Splendor (1 of 50 charges) (90 gp)
This battered wand also grants the magical ability to untie simple knots from up to ten feet away.

Wand of False Life (31 of 50 charges) (design provides clue to function) (2790 gp)
This heavy wand also shivers when vampires are near.

Wand of Fox's Cunning (37 of 50 charges) (inscription provides clue to function) (3330 gp)

Wand of Keen Edge (39 of 50 charges) (inscription provides clue to function) (8775 gp)

Wand of Lightning Bolt (10th) (5 of 50 charges) (inscription provides clue to function) (2250 gp)

Wand of Lightning Bolt (6th) (26 of 50 charges) (7020 gp)

Wand of Shatter (33 of 50 charges) (2970 gp)

Wand of Wall of Fire (32 of 50 charges) (13440 gp)
This finely crafted wand also shines like a candle upon command.

[whoiam]

Now that the party are back out of the dungeon, and Camilla has brought the subject up, Liselle ends up filling the new recruits in on the Elixir. "So, you know those worries about consuming Dungeon Fruit? Well, the various toffs in Solum, " Liselle herself wasn't exactly nobility, so she could probably be excused for being fairly vague about the city's rulers, "have been looking into them. What she calls 'Elixir' is the fruit of their research - an experimental potion that *should* protect you from the negative effects of eating Dungeon Fruit. And give you some extra power, much like the Dungeon Fruits do.

The only downsides? It's still experimental, so if it has long-term consequences, we don't know what they are yet. And *taking* the Elixir means agreeing to assist in their plan... to kill that 'voice' that seems to be controlling the dungeon. Orchid and I said no; Solstafir's had a dose. Again, guess it depends what you want from your lives, but me, I really don't want to keep delving until I kill that thing or die trying..."

[QuadraticGish]

Recalling the sister's plans, Orchid speaks up. "Considering our new success against that entity, why don't we celebrate at my home? My research partner shouldn't be in the lab today, so it will only be us." she asks the party.

The artificer then looks towards Abigail. "Sister, would you mind helping me prepare the food and drink necessary?"

[whoiam]

"Celebrate?" Liselle was ninety-percent sure that was a euphemism for the Sister's proposed experiment... But she couldn't help but remember how awkward she'd found the last party she was invited to.

Still, she had nothing planned for the next few days anyway.

"Well, since you're asking, I'll show." If it had just been the Sister, Liselle might have just 'forgotten' the request... but she'd been working with (and buying enchantments from) Orchid for much longer. And if Orchid managed to make her own version of the Elixir, she might be tempted to use that... She only turned down the existing one because the nobles wanted her to fight for them if she took it, after all. Orchid was unlikely to make such a demand of her.

...Though might charge her a fee for each dose...

[dantiesilva]

As Orchid and Levi both agree to help Abigale with her experiment she visibly gets excited, being able to work on a medical problem and look for a cure always excited her, and with the crown helping her with her own personal sickness so long as she took care of the group this kinda work made her life easy. As the longer she could keep them from being trapped in the dungeon the better her chances of finding a cure would be.

As the group makes their return to Solum the priestess notices how much easier it was to return then it was to leave, and thought back to her first delve, and the others she had been a part of. Wondering if it had always been like this or if it could be an effect of the fruit, everything seemed new to her, and to be tested. Once the reports were done, Abigale stops for a moment, waiting for the others to be a small distance away and asks "Was any progress made? I had two minor attacks during the delve, nothing threatening thankfully, nor during combat. But its only a matter of time." she also refuses the elixir as it would force her to kill which she has sworn not to do. "Killing something is against my ways so I will also be refusing the elixir. I understand the need for violence, and the reasoning behind wanting the voice stopped. However I could not do it without breaking my vow as a medical professional to never harm someone. Undead excluded of course." she adds with a slight chuckle.

"I would love to Orchid, I am a halfway decent cook if I don't say so myself. And well my sister and brother never complain. Its one of the many skills I bring with us on delves in fact, if we ever get stuck in an outdoor wilderness I can easily cook for us whatever we find or bring for food." she says eagerly willing to help and try to bond with the group. "Just could I go or have someone sent to get my sister? My brother no doubt has other things planned once I am home and able to take care of Sara." she states, after all this was someone elses home so she did not wish to intrude.

"Well what about the rest of you? Are you coming? If you name it I'll do my best to cook it!"

[Yas392]

"I will pass on the elixir. The brew is suspicious which is a dealbreaker. I won't sacrifice my freedom to be tethered to the whims of those posh faces. I rather have Orchid or Abigail vaccinate me than getting protection from the suppliers."

At Orchid's invitation to her house to celebrate with Abigail helping her, the halfling shrugs.

"Why not? I do not kid when I said I want to know you all better and we are doing the sampling and testing there anyways. Also, who am I to refuse free food?"

[QuadraticGish]

"Alistair, Solstafir, can I count on your two to come as well?" Orchid asks the two.

[Thundercracker]

"Alistair, Solstafir, can I count on your two to come as well?" Orchid asks the two.

“A party? I don’t see why not,” Alistair replied, “we should celebrate our success, long as we don’t go overboard.”

[TheFallenOne]

"Sure, sure," Solstafir mumbled, still grumpy from their last challenge lacking a corporeal body for his taxidermic perusal. He once more skipped on the prize of the Dungeon fruit; tempting as the power was, he'd rather trust the strength flowing from his own blood and sweat. A brief grin stole onto his face. Perhaps once they got to slaying the fiendish creature preparing these challenges for them he might eat its heart, see what that does.

[QuadraticGish]

Sometime, after the team's last dungeon delve...

Orchid slithers out from the door way to the kitchen onto the dark granite and mithral laced floors, without any of her usual equipment carrying the final platter of food in her hands and a bottle of wine carried by the end of her tail. She places the alcohol and food onto the darkwood long table, joining the over food made by her and Abigail and the other beverages from Orchid's family cellar. All illuminated by the light coming through the colored glass of the chandelier that contained continual flames. The artificer wiped off a bit of sweat from her forehead- halfway wishing to herself that she thought of this before the delve due to the cleaning required just to get the dining room spotless considering how previously unused it had been. Times like these almost made her thankful she was a maid for a few years. Moving to the end of the table she had to resist indulging herself on the food due to its attractive aroma and appearance.

She sits herself at the end of the table and faces her party and line up of food and drink- a lot of which was suggested by the party themselves.

"Alright, I think that's all of it." she comments, adjusting the black and gold outlined bang that covered one of her eyes.

"Now the real reason why I called this party aside from indulging ourselves is to talk about Atticus and the elixir." she comments, as she grabs a nearby dwarven ale to fill up her mug.

"From our conversation we had before returning, I can conclude that on a fundamental level that the dungeon fruit and elixir are basically the same things." she states as she fills her mug and sets back the ale bottle.

"I can confirm this as before our delve I had managed to replicate the elixir itself and they are both fundamentally made up of outsiders of some kind. Which means, even the elixir can produce the same negative effects of the dungeon fruit. What I don't know however, is if Atticus knows this, or if he cares. Or if anyone else knows. Plus, what we should do about this."

She then serves herself to some red dragon steak.

"Something about this is seriously not sitting right with me- much more than the unethical methods of getting outsider blood for their elixir."

[dantiesilva]

After the group split ways Abigale returned home with the blade for her brother, as his payment for keeping an eye on their sister. "So how long was I gone this time?" she asked Sara and Tarith, hoping it had not been so long given it felt like such a short time while within the dungeon. Sometimes it was hard to judge and she found it easier just to ask. And so this went on for about an hour before she changed topics. "I have meet some others, they are not like you and I Sara, but I believe they have what is best for Sol at heart. If you are both feeling up to it I would like you to come with me to a dinner they are hosting. You do not have to of course, but I think they may be able to help us, and we them if we all work together." she explains. "There is even one who works on grafting flesh. Perhaps she could do something for your eyes Sara?" Abigale stated, as she had many times and just as expected her sister once more shot down the idea of her sight being fixed, stating that she saw more as a blind woman then Tarith and her saw combined.

Spoiler: OOC

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Leaving it open to our DM if the two siblings choose to come as I don't know if Aegis wants me to RP them or take on doing so.

Once at Orchid's house Abigale immediately gets to work familiarizing herself with the kitchen layout and trading stories with her host about the different trips they had had to the dungeon. Explaining it was one of the main reasons she learned to cook, having spent a great deal of time in a particular dungeon had forced her to learn, and discover that she in fact had a nack for it. "In truth its all about the herbs and spices one uses, almost anything can taste good if you know how to prepare it I have learned. Including Ankheg, surprisingly not as bad as one would expect mind you." she adds with a bit of a smile as they continue their small talk.

"You were able to replicate the elixir, fascinating. You wouldn't happen to still have a sample of it would you to study and compare to our own blood would you? I'm interested to see if the dungeon fruit taints our blood to become more like an outsider if perhaps the elixir would have the opposite effect if they are fundamentally the same. I have not had much time yet to try and learn a bit more on this, though before we go on our next delve I plan to investigate discretely, mostly from my brother and what we can gather from our own samples I hope we can uncover the truth of this or at least find some leads that may help us. After all how would they be able to pull outsiders through the portal to get their blood? And if they are from the last spillover how many can honestly still be left alive?" she says suspecting that the supply of outsider blood to make the Elixir would run out far to soon with everyone willingly accepting it.

Spoiler: OOC

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Keeping new information until we go into the next delve as in theory this is still the same day so she wouldn't have this information until they go back into the dungeon, at which point she will tell everyone what she has learned with them.

[Thundercracker]

Alistair

“I’ll help in what way I can, so long as I don’t have to drink the stuff,” Alistair said, “I have a gut feeling that the elixir is binding in some way, and I don’t want to be bound.”

[QuadraticGish]

Orchids shakes her head. "I don't have any left and I've long since cleaned the equipment I used for it since it was done before our last delve. It's not cheap either, I'm guessing it's around 10,000 gold to get all that you need- provided that you're collecting the blood ethically from celestial outsiders of course. From the one chance we had to sneak into their lab, it looks like they were using calling spells to bring in the outsiders into a prepared magic circle and torturing the blood out of them. From what I hypothesize, using strong outsiders gets better results. So considering the strength surrounding royalty I would imagine they wouldn't use anything less than the Planar Binding spells to call them in plus it's far more discreet. I've done it myself for to try to replicate the elixir; there's actually nothing in here preventing the summoning of outsiders in Solum-"

Orchid taps a claw onto her scaled chin in thought for a moment.

"That's weird now that I think about it. I wonder if there's anything about some creatures making it back and just summoning more monsters?" she mentioned in thought. She then shifted her attention to Alistair.

"If the elixir is binding in some way on its own, it's beyond what my experiments ever produced. Otherwise, what we gained from the lab had no evidence of such a binding effect unless the crown is someway working with the entity that runs the dungeon."

[Yas392]

Levi's time is spent in the kitchen getting cooking tips from Orchid and Abigail and helping them prepare food. The advent of the discussing stirs his head to it.

"You echoed my exact thoughts and instincts, Alistar."

Levi nods.

"Which is why I am willing to be a test subject and allow the ladies to take blood samples from me in hopes of creating a cure to the negative effects to the Dungeon Fruits we consumed. I am a bit superstitious after listen to Liselle's perspective on Dungeon Fruits. If the Elixir and Fruits produce the same adverse effects, best find a way to get rid of them before we consume more Fruits."

[QuadraticGish]

"The only issue is that no one here has suffered any adverse effects from the fruit as of yet. To do it that way would pretty much require us to consume fruit until we do hit something that we could use as an effective comparison. After our next delve though, maybe I look into making some altered return stones that will let us directly pull one another out of the dungeon. That way, if someone suffers the most common side-effect of being unable to return to Solum then we will have a guaranteed way of returning them." Orchid then takes a moment to think while biting a chunk out of her dragon steak.

"That might be useful to have in general- that way someone can just bring in everyone's bodies in case only one of us makes it out- hopefully it would never need to be used for that but it's something to think about. Back on topic, we still don't know if its possible to cure it while keeping the benefits. Like with Xansia's crafting techniques always coming with some kind of drawback on the finished project with its new benefits."

[dantiesilva]

At Alistar's concern about drinking the prototype they planned to eventually make was brought up Abigale shock her head. "We would need a very controlled environment as well as someone who often eats the dungeon fruit without drinking the elixir. I can think of two ways to do this, the first being to simply pay someone to come with us, and they eat the dungeon fruit at each death door so we can try to see if its an amount of them you can eat, or something that simply slowly changes your body, thus some may be more resistant than others. Or it would have to be one of us. I think the first option would be best, as it gives us a perfect patient that would be free from any outside forces that we did not wish them to be involved in. Though we would have to do the most work for such a person, and a proper contract for them for Hazard pay and such would need to be written up." she goes on to say, making it clear she didn't thinking forcing someone would work well, and it would be hard to keep such a person silent.

At Orchid's revelation about being able to actually summon beings here from the dungeon Abigale was both shocked and curious, after all it did open up a lot of possibilities. However the wards being used to keep such a summon would have to be extremely powerful, and such magic would not be easy to hide from anyone looking for it. "Orchid if you could write down where this lab was and how to get there I think my brother could get someone to if not gather another sample of Elixir for study, at least be able to plant someone on the inside to keep us up to date. As 10,000 gold making only a single one seems rather expensive and I doubt even the crown has that kind of money to spend such an obscene amount on each person." she comments, after all that would have been over 50,000 gold just for their group alone.

"To our knowledge it didn't change us Orchid. We still haven't run any tests on anyone's blood yet and compared it to someone who has never eaten a fruit nor drank the elixir. Though the fact you were able to recreate the elixir without it being binding while both the one we were offered and the dungeon fruit are binding leads me to believe that either that voice is on Solum or those in power have found a way to replicate the binding powers of the dungeon fruit in a more focused direction." after all the dungeon fruit only bound you to the dungeon while the elixir made you serve the king, which didn't sound to bad, in destroying the voice of the dungeon.

As the group ate, and conversed Abigale only ate very little, enough to be polite, but not more than the others as she did not in truth require food any longer, however it was more for the bonding experience. After dinner she asked Orchid to show her to the vials, and held an empty one up to each of her allies for them to give a little bit of blood if they were willing, she herself had a hard time and had to ask one of the others to use their weapons to pierce her flesh after she accidently broke one of the knives she had found and properly cleaned to make sure nothing else but her blood would be in her vial.

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid shakes her head. "The problem is that the lab was in Castle Solum itself. We have no way of knowing if they suspect us, so I won't disparage where it is exactly. I think right now it would be too much of a risk to try sneaking back there. As for the other idea, I'm not sure how easy it would be to find someone like that. I imagine most delvers unlike us already try their best to put off the next run as much as possible. Not to mention the potential costs that would be demanded for such a job. As for where the crown gets the money, taxes I suppose? We do bring in significant amounts of wealth for the economy and trade essentially circles around the dungeon. Just by myself I already spent most of 40,000 gold. Anyway, I'm not entirely sold on the whole binding theory. I think the dungeon side-effects have something more to do with the ability to return to Solum maybe on Solum's end more than anything else. "

[whoiam]

"For the record, " Liselle, conspicuously quiet ever since she'd arrived, finally joins the conversation, "The danger I stated of taking the nobles' elixir wasn't magical binding of some kind; But rather, you have to agree to try and kill that dungeon voice to get it. As far as I know, that isn't a magic effect. Just a set of rich, powerful people, who let you in on their secret plan and won't be letting you back out again easily.

Kinda like the gang I used to fight for, really. They didn't stop trying to force me to take on more jobs until I learned that power that makes me double in size..." Apparently whatever Liselle had done to get her old 'friends' to leave her out of their business was a happy memory for her, since she couldn't mention it without hints of a smile appearing on her face. It was the first time the ex-burglar had looked comfortable all night.

Given her background, she probably couldn't help but feel like any time spent in a 'rich' home was some kind of work.

"Anyway, not sure I'd be down to test out an Elixir, even one of Orchid's. I just... don't feel I need the extra power, you know? Maybe eventually, the delves will get too hard for me - I know fighters are supposed to struggle when you get to the really hard dungeons - but for now, at least, it just doesn't seem worth the risk when we're already winning.

Though if you can prove one safe on someone else, I'm not that against taking it..."

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid turns to face Liselle curiously."I always do have my grants on offer for power- and tailored to appearance to the best of my ability! Anyway, I don't think you ever talked much about what you did before you came to join us Liselle. What kind of gang were you apart of? I wonder how it compares to the years I spent as a maid to dodge the dungeon."

[Yas392]

"Ousting the harmful elements from the body no matter how little is a precaution. Better safe that sorry. I guess a cure is not possible without the visible signs of the symptoms and further details. A cure before our next delve is wishful thinking."

Levi sits himself down, helping himself to the steak and wine that Orchid and Abigail cooked with his assistance. His eyes seem glue to the exchange between Orchid and Liselle about their life prior to being delvers.

[whoiam]

"...I am also not terribly interested in getting flesh grafts, " Liselle notes.

"Anyway, it was just a gang gang. You know, poor kids doing stupid stuff to win the favor of the bigger kids, and the few adults who figured we might be useful for something. Turns out one of those 'somethings' was robbing houses, which doesn't matter so much down in the slums, but gets you into a lot of trouble if you go after someone with actual money or connections. I got caught, I was sentenced to delve, I got shoved into the party with you, Solstafir, and Thanquil. Not the world's most interesting story."

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid shakes her head. "It doesn't sound too boring to me. I'd wager my own was a lot more boring considering I lived with my folks as an apprentice to my dad. After that, well, things went down hill fast a few days before I was going to enter the dungeon myself since I wanted to follow my mom's steps."

After that, Orchid sighs and slumps back into her chair.

"Her team... never came back. Dad wasn't the same after that and pretty much begged me to reconsider going. After I did, he somehow managed to pull strings with an adventurer that I guess must've been close to the crown or knew someone that was. I got a job working under him as a maid for about the next three years and it was like I didn't exist as far as being called to the dungeon was concerned. After those three years is when my dad snapped and went into the dungeon himself without telling me. I only found out after I noticed the house and shop here were locked up that he was missing- and to find out later his group didn't return either. So did the dumbest thing. I found some remaining grafts and tried to apply them to myself to try and get me an advantage before going to the dungeon. That didn't end well either, but at least someone who knew what they were doing was close enough that I didn't kill myself. So, I've been stuck trying to think of some way to track them through the dungeon and trying to get up to parity with my mom at least so I have a chance at dealing with whatever happened to her."

[dantiesilva]

"If the elixir is not binding, and the Dungeon Fruit is not either, and we have seen creatures from the dungeon cross over into our own world before, as well as be able to be summoned perhaps its the royals who stop people from coming back through the portal? Think of it like trying to walk through a wall with a spell, you can only do so for so long, and if your still stuck inside the wall when the spell expires..." Abigale says concerned at what that could mean, mind you it was only one of many theories at the moment. "Well blindly making guess's won't help us much. Until our next delve I will do some experiments on our blood to make sure it is the same as a normal persons, as well as label them for the amount of fruits we have eaten, so we can track any sorts of changes within our bodies. I'll also look into everything else I can and who was involved with Elixir, as quietly as possible."she promised.

When the topics at last changed to their life before the priestess listens to all who share before adding her own story. "I was also an orphan from the poor district, the church of Pelor seemed to be looking for new recruits for the dungeon however, and when someone in nice clothes offers you food, shelter, and a family you don't think much of it. That is where I meet my brother's and sisters. I am thankful for many of the lessons the church taught me when I was growing up, and in truth if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be able to heal the sick as well as I do. However I learned after almost all my siblings died in our first delve that everyone is hiding something and wants to use you. My sister ended up blind from the Nymph who we thought was our friend in the dungeon. And my brother has never been the same since just the three of us made it out of the dungeon. Myself, I caught some kind of curse or sickness while there and have been looking for a cure ever since. Magic so far has not been able to heal it however, it is the main reason I still go into the dungeon. To find a cure before my body freezes up on me fully. Thankfully it didn't effect our last delve but I can't promise it will always be that lucky." she explains wanting the others to understand that she could possibly simply stop moving in the dungeon.

[Aegis013]

The evening chatter is interrupted by a knock at the door. A suspicious figure in dark cloak passes Orchid a letter wordlessly. The enigmatic cloaked messenger evaporates into the shadows of the evening, leaving you with the letter. It bears the Thanquil's crest in wax.

"Orchid, Liselle, Solstafir,

My parents pulled strings to have me appointed into the Royal Guard. With newfound connections and records access I send you news of dire import to your mission from your sponsor. I've found you're just one team in a long line that your sponsor has recruited for this particular task. Other princes and princesses seem to have done the same. I can't provide explicit information, but I believe your sponsor is grooming you to serve as sacrifices based on the records of the previously sponsored Delvers. Whether to your target or for what purpose I haven't been able to determine. While the Elixir does provide great benefits based on the records, it is best not to trust the members of the court. I wish I could provide you more. Stay safe."

With suspicion of your sponsor seemingly justified, it's not long before you're once more called to the Dungeon to Delve.

Upon passing through the portal you find yourself standing in a room made of stonework. Cracks and holes allow a strange purple light through which falls upon your surroundings in layered beams. Above the circular chamber is a collection of beams radiating out from a central hub like a colossal wagon wheel which strange thorny vines hang from and grow across, creeping in through openings.

An arcade of narrow and empty arches, each no wider than a human's shoulders encircles you. It reminds Abigail of the bell towers commonly found atop temples and abbeys, though there are no bells.

Looking out through the cracks it appears you're in a tower sitting atop some kind of structure. Numerous strange celestial bodies illuminate the otherwise eerily empty sky, each no brighter than a full moon, except that they glow red, blue, and black. Their combined lights creating the strange purple light.

It seems there is a staircase down, but the only way to it is a rickety catwalk which doesn't quite reach all the way. It's unclear how far the drop would be.

[whoiam]

"...Anyone here got a means of flight on them? I know Levitate, which would be good for going straight down the shaft, but can't get me over to the stairs." And would make it very difficult for her to fight on the way down, which is why she's in no hurry to actually use it.

"Not sure I'd trust the stability of the catwalk enough to try jumping from it... but if we don't have a better way across the gap, I guess we might have to."

[Thundercracker]

"...Anyone here got a means of flight on them? I know Levitate, which would be good for going straight down the shaft, but can't get me over to the stairs." And would make it very difficult for her to fight on the way down, which is why she's in no hurry to actually use it.

"Not sure I'd trust the stability of the catwalk enough to try jumping from it... but if we don't have a better way across the gap, I guess we might have to."

"I have a fly spell, and a dimension door prepared," Alistair said. He put his new wand to use, once on each Kukri.

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid clears her voice, flaps her golden draconic wings and speaks up. "I can coil around someone's waist and fly them over myself. It would be slow because of the weight involved and I could only handle one person at a time, but it can be done safely."

Spoiler: OOC

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Orchid would have spent a 3rd level infusion on her Spare Hand prior to get it running. Also gonna try just stuffing useful info in OOC do I don't forget to track it- plus it might be helpful to actually have my stock in my face for a given situation.

HP: 85/85

Sorc spell slots
Cantrips: 6/6(Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Light, Read Magic)
1st: 6/6(Color Spray, Shield, Magic Missile)
2nd: 4/4(Wraithstrike)
3rd: 3/3(Dispel Magic, Haste)

Infusions(Can use any infusion at any time)
1st: 4/4
2nd: 4/4
3rd: 2/3

SLAs
Glitterdust(3/3)

Scrolls(unless noted, assume minimum caster level)
Lesser Vigor (6)
Power Word(Pain)(6)
Bonefiddle(1)
Resurgence(2)
Saltray(2)
Warning Shout(2)
Shield(2)
Fist of Stone(2)
Cloud of Bewilderment(2)
Color Spray(2)
Glitterdust(1)
Ray of Enfeeblement(2)
Web(2)
Grease(Arcane)(2)
Haste(2)
Resist Energy, Mass(2)
Slow(2)
Fireball(3)
Lesser Restoration(3)
Remove Disease(1)
Neutralize Poison(1)
Restoration(2)
Delay Death(3)
Shield Other(2)
Water Breathing(3)
Wall of Sand(2)
Wall of Water(2)
Heal(CL 7)(1)
Dispel Magic(5)



Potions(unless noted, assume minimum caster level)
Lesser Vigor(1)
CLW(2/2)

Other(unless noted, assume minimum caster level)
Oils of Magic Weapon(3)
Memento Magica(1st)(2)
Memento Magica, Xansia(1st)(1)

Extra effects
Spare Hand active(24h)

[Yas392]

Levi spent his time yesterday to reveal bits about himself in the party. When duty called, he bound Tenebrous, enhanced himself and made sure that the each member has their own life cushions (Healing Devotion) before the group delves into the Dungeon. The empty passageways and arches unnerves him but not for long. The warlock regains his bearings in a span of a minute. He walks forward and puts his hands on his hips, staring at the archways.

"Seems like home to you, eh, Abigail?"

He turns to Liselle.

"Sorry, can't help you there. If it helps, I will scout ahead. I am a little better at it now thanks to an ability I learned. Pile up your boons on me before I scout if you want. Otherwise, I am checking the room and going down."

The halfling waits for a while to see if anyone enhance him with spells or magic. Once the wait is over, he turns invisible and employs darkness to shroud himself (or not if 20% concealment from another source). He protects himself with divine energies. Levi uses his natural senses and swarm to detect anything noteworthy. He does it with meticulous movements.

Spoiler: OOC

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Binding check: (1d20+13)[27]

Spot: (1d20+2)[11]

Listen: (1d20+4)[5]

Hide: (1d20+29)[30]

Move Silently: (1d20+15)[18]

Buffs

Sacred Vitality (1 minute; immunity to ability damage, ability drain, and energy drain; renew every time when duration expires)

Walk Unseen (24 hours)

20% concealment from Deeper Darkness (50% from invisibility overwrite that unless revealed)

Checking the room and the area below with swarms.

Darkstalker (Anyone with blindsense, Blindsight, Tremorsense and Scent has to make spot/listen checks to detect him)

Blindsense 30 ft

Endure Elements (Constant; Indefinite)

Darkvision 60 ft and See Invisibility (24 hours)

Can See Through Magical & Non-magical darkness (Tenebrous; 24 hours)

Fell Flight (24 Hours)

DR/Cold Iron 2

Dark One's Own Luck (24 hours; +6 to Reflex Saves)

[dantiesilva]

After the dinner party Abigale spent some time between learning more about healing, and taking care of the sick researching more into the dungeon fruit and elixir itself, not much new was learned that the others had not in fact already told her, no surprise given how it was supposed to be a secret, but still the limited amount of information on something such as this with so many coming in and out of the dungeon was a bit staggering. What she did learn however was highly suspicious, after all things from the dungeon were not supposed to be able to make it back, the only way for people to return from a dungeon was after completing it or using the stones, so how did they get creatures that were alive back to Sol?

When the group arrives on the other side of the portal bringing them into the dungeon she is taken aback to her childhood at the architecture of the place, it did indeed remind her of the temple of pelor she was raised in what seems like eons ago now. So much in fact she has to pinch herself to make sure it wasn't some kind of illusion messing with her mind. "It reminds me of where I grew up, I agree Levi, but that place stopped becoming a home to me long ago. This still gives me chills though, seeing a structure so similar, its like I could walk down memory lane. For example here is where my sister Sara would have practiced most days, it was high enough away where whatever magic she was learning couldn't harm anyone, and her music wouldn't disturb anyone either." Abigale says to Levi, having a faint flashback of the events as a child, back when her sister could still see.

"Before anyone goes anywhere I wanted to let you all know what I learned while I was investigating about the Dungeon fruit and elixir itself." she says pausing to wait for everyones attention before explaining "While it seems some of the materials are being gathered the same way Solstafir brings stuff home, there are a few accounts of live outsiders being brought back from the dungeon. Which is well not supposed to happen. Very little clues were left behind to follow from this, but I did find three delvers that were tied to the royal family that were doing this, all other names seem to come up dead or missing. Which doesn't exactly inspire confidence if you ask me. Almost like a cover up. Whats odder still is of those three, found in public records two of them served Atticus which given how he is human like myself seems impossible. After all he would be older than I am if it were true and his age definitely doesn't show it." she points out waiting to hear what the others weigh in on what she has learned.

After the group is ready to dive into the dungeon fully she asks each to stop as she pulls out some holy water and does a small ritual on each of them. "This will make all healing spells heal you for just a tad more, and I learned a new way to get the most out of each of my spells so with luck we should be safer in the dungeon this time. As for flying, I have a spell that can make me fly, granting me the wings of a deva, but it has its drawbacks and I doubt I could carry more than the lightest of you all across." she states not wanting to use the spell if she did not have to.

Spoiler: Actions

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5mins per person to annoit them with holy water making all healing spells heal an extra 2hp of damage 24 hours
She will also cast Mass Conviction on the group for a +3 morale bonus to saves 70mins
Magic circle against evil +2 Def bonus to AC, +2 Resistance bonus to saves, 70 mins
Lumonious Armor -4 to attacks against her (1d2)[1] Str damage to her