Alkazaar’s Appendix [IC]

[Pyrophilios]

Standing atop a rocky crag overlooking the Sea of Swords, the massive citadel of Candlekeep has endured the elements for centuries and defied the degradations of time. Visible for miles around, Candlekeep has an eye-catching silhouette: a high wall interspersed with towers. This wall encloses a large space from which more towers rise. Those who behold the edifice say it looks like nothing so much as a cake decorated with an overabundance of candles.
The entrance to Candlekeep is a double gate that stands at the end of the Way of the Lion, the only road that provides access to and from the outside world. The route follows a lonely path across the peninsula where Candlekeep stands.
Those who gain entry discover a cloistered community of scholars milling around inside Candlekeep’s walls, a place of enlightened conversation and friendly debate. No better place in the Realms exists for those who have a love for or a need of knowledge and who want to pursue such interests alongside fellow seekers.
Candlekeep has the largest repository of written lore in Faerûn, including the collected prophecies of an ancient sage named Alaundo the Seer. Those compiled divinations make up a tiny fraction of the accumulated knowledge and secrets contained in the library’s vast collection.
Not all knowledge preserved in Candlekeep is of historical importance. The library holds thousands upon thousands of lost recipes, old songs, collections of folklore, and journals written by folks whose time has long since passed. The abundance of these ancillary works makes finding notable tomes an exercise in patience and perseverance. Fortunately, a legion of scholars and sages called the Avowed look after the library and remain vigilant in the care and cataloging of all the knowledge it holds.

Though there are also those who are tasked to find those lost tomes.

You are one of these groups called "Tome Raiders". Your last mission finished some weeks ago and although life at Candlekeep has its advantages, venturing out is all that it is about.

So you are quite glad to see Magister Marcelius entering your common room.

The wizened old man is a formidable magus in his own right and also one of the foremost experts on arcane scripts as well as one of your bosses. Though seeing him burst into your room with the energy of an overstimulated teenager indicates that something very exiting must have happened:

"UP, UP, UP, it's incredible, just incredible. A Netherese Scroll! Unimaginable - he never found it, only the key, and he never returned to fetch it!"

[J-H]

As Magister Marcelius bursts through the door, Theo, a halfling man with a mustache, briefly lays his hand on the hilt of his longsword before recognizing the excited scholar. He then puts a fist to his mouth to hide the grin that lays below his mustache for a moment.

"Ah, another quest. Jolly! I've learned a bit about the Netherese empire and their fall, although I'm afraid the magical theories of how they made everything fly went quite over my head. Is it safe to assume this is likely to be magical in nature, and not simply a scroll of poetry, lineages, or property deeds?"

[Pyrophilios]

Marcelius laughed out loud: "Oh yes, indeed! The secrets of the flying cities - just imagine what wonders might be found in such a scroll!"

He pulled a slim folio from inside his sleeve and with an audible thud slammed it down on the table:

"But read for yourself. Alkazaar has writen it all down black on white."

The book is bound in leather but seems to have less than 100 velum pages. The title is embossed with a brand and reads "Alkazzar's Appendix"

Spoiler: DC 15 History Check[/spoiler

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Alkazaar is a fairly well known explorer - mainly through the rather larger book "Alkazaar's Thrilling Tales" in which Alkazaar chronicled his numerous heroic exploits

Alkazaar’s Thrilling Tales is a weathered and cracked leather-bound tome eight inches by ten inches by two inches thick. Embossed gold letters proclaim the title on its lavishly decorated cover. Its beautifully rendered interior abounds with images of Alkazaar’s handsome, mustachioed face under his wide-brimmed hat. Alkazaar is often shown with the wind whipping at his flowing shirt but having no effect on his tight pantaloons and
shiny boots. He’s depicted looking marvelous in fantastical realms alongside his rugged and ready adventuring companions.

As you open the slim volume, a few grains of sand fall from between its crisp, dry pages. The title of the first story is called "The lost golem" with a detailed drawing of a stone golem with a brilliant blue sapphire for a
heart on the second page.

Spoiler: DC 10 Arcana Check

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The drawing is magic - or more precise the fine runes around the image

Spoiler: DC 15 Arcana Check

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The runes are part of a teleportation ritual - it can be activated by reading the activation phrase aloud

Spoiler: DC 20 Arcana Check

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The destination of the portal is somewhere in the Nethereese Desert

Spoiler: Content of the Golem Story

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Alkazaar was searching for a Nether Scroll . This was to be his last adventure before retiring.
In the Anauroch desert, he came across a wandering stone golem. Alkazaar believed this golem was the legendary Sapphire Sentinel, rumored to have been created by Netherese wizards to protect one of the fabled Nether Scrolls under the control of Prince Hamukai.
The golem recognized its master’s name, Hamukai, when Alkazaar mentioned it. From that point on the golem followed him, obeying his commands.
The golem communicated through sign language. It seemed lost and sad.
Alkazaar met Bedine nomads who said they knew of a place that held clues about the golem, but it was in purple worm territory. He followed the Bedine guides until a sandstorm obscured the route. The camels ran off, and, after losing his guides and his transportation, Alkazaar called an end to the expedition.
Before he left the desert, Alkazaar inscribed a magical tracer on the golem in the hope that he could find it again. He begs the reader to go to Anauroch and find the lost golem, which might lead to the discovery of a Nether Scroll

[Shaggy]

Daenala would be roused from her contemplation by the entry of the Magister. Not one to speak up first she let Theo speak first. It would only take a single question to get the ol magister going. And as surely as the clock would tick over the Magister launched into his explanation of the next mission.

She rose from her place of rest and heads across the room to stand by Theo, her hand likewise on the pommel of her ancestral moonblade. "Are you making any sense of this?" she inquired aloud finally speaking for the first time in what was possibly hours. From behind her swirled a mist and then a figures face appeared from it. Whispering into her ear trying to explain to her the arcane information (Whispers of the Dead; Proficiency Arcana)

Spoiler: Arcana Check Rolls

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(1d20+5)[22]

"Huh, well thats interesting." she mutters as the face in the mist vanishes.

[CardTrick]

Lekt actually comes into the common area a few moments after the magus, having briefly stepped out to follow his normal routine of throwing together a simple meal for the group around this time of day. Fortunately, the magus is boisterous enough in his excitement, that he doesn't really miss out on even the beginning of the conversation.

Seeing that Daenala and Theo are already perusing the tome the magus just handed over to them, Lekt sets the platter of food he'd carried into the chamber off to the side, and casually steps behind them, noticeably craning his head down at the illustrated book, mostly out of idle curiosity. The runes along the edge, catch his notice, of course, and he attempts to mull over their meaning.

Spoiler: Arcana Check

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Advantage on Intelligence (Arcana) checks because his sword is on his person.
(1d20+11)[30]
(1d20+11)[27]

Glancing back up towards the magus, Lekt raises an eyebrow, "So, it's a desert job, then?"

[J-H]

Spoiler: rolls

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Arcana (1d20)[8]
History (1d20+5)[6]

Theo reads the story, but the historical context is beyond the scope covered by his tutors, or the books he's perused in this massive library. Still, the geography is unmistakable.

"Indeed, it does look like a desert job. We'd best pack plenty of water, and it's usually better to travel at night under the light of the stars and moonlight - few clouds in a desert, after all. My helm, gaudy as it is, provides some protection from the heat, but I've yet to test it against sunburn.

How, though, does one locate a lost ancient golem in a trackless desert? Should we hire some native guides?"

[Postmodernist]

Dharrus scowls at all the commotion. "A'right, a'right. Ye dinnae even check any o' the dates or relevant histarical indicators o' the scroll b'fore ye jest start tearin' inta tha bloody thing," he grumbles in his characteristic brogue.

Spoiler: Rolls

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These likely won't go great but...
History - (1d20+0)[10]
Arcana - (1d20+0)[4]

The dwarf strokes his beard contemplatively, unfamiliar with the contents. "Obviously, we're gonn'avta catalogue the thing. Tough ta determine if goes in Netherese his'try, or perhaps travelogues, or... ye say it's aboot a golem, do ye? Well, tha's gon require an addendum in all likelihood. Wait, did ye say we're goin' to a bleedin' desert? Well, I s'pose anything's better'n that ocean voyage we took ta track down tha' Almanac o' Sea Creatures by that Jack Coosto feller. As fer trackin'em, cannae Theo here find it? Or Qaza or Alma use a spell? Surely it's no tha difficult."

[NiKkatsu]

Spoiler: rolls

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(1d20+10)[11]. -> arcana
(1d20+10)[23] -> history

Almadek stood back for a moment, allowing his companions to speak first. Although he tried to remain calm, his long, slender crystalline horns, which floated somewhat above his head, shimmered and hummed ever so slightly - a sure sign of excitement for gem dragons and their kin. Alkazaar's tales had been a subject of fascination for the dragonborn while he was still studying under master Oetychus, many years ago, and actually being offered the opportunity to complete one of Alkazaar's quests was simply delighful. He licked his lips and raised a scaled finger, replying to his dwarven friend first:
'I can 'port us to the desert easily enough - I think. But where to?'
He tugged his chin where a beard might have been had he not harbored such reptilian features.
'We'd need to ascertain the location of the so-called purple wurm territory to narrow our options. What lore does the Keep hold on the subject of Anauroch desert? Perhaps zoological treaties about the wurms of that region could be of use?'
He turns to Marcelius with this final question.
'I must admit it is a subject that eludes me - for now.'
He grabs some of the food Lekt had so generously brought.

[Pyrophilios]

Marcellius piped up: "I see you have this well in hand. I have informed the quartermaster to provide you with ample provisions for a dessert expedition. And don't be shy to pop in now and then to give me a status update - I'm eager to hear from you about this mission."

With that, the excited scholar left the group to their own devices.

[CardTrick]

Lekt is already hastily stuffing some bread and meat into his mouth, as he heads over to his bunk area and starts the tedious process of donning the various bits and pieces of his armor over his clothing, when he hears Almadek and Dharrus's exchange about the group's transportation, and with his usual disregard to basic manners, mumbles while also still gnashing on his food, "Oh.. uh... no one needs to teleport us there. The book... it has that covered. Guess that Alka-however guy... aggh... the guy that wrote it... he really wanted someone to follow up... mmm.. on the whole golem, scroll thing."

[NiKkatsu]

Almadek co-cks his head to the left - his usual sign of amused exasperation over Lekts... manners.
'Oh!' he says, sounding a bit disappointed, 'that was easy. And probably for the best. I was withholding this information, not wanting to alarm anyone, but my teleportation magic has around 40% chances of failure if my knowlwdge of the area to travel to comes simply from description.'
He smiles before adding:
'But, tell me, friend, how do you know this? About the book, I mean. Did Marcelius mention something that I failed to perceive? '

[CardTrick]

Lekt, practically hopping on one foot while trying to pull his right greave up into place, almost teeters over when he also tries to abruptly turnabout and answer Almadek directly, "Huh? Uh... nah... it's uh... right there in the book. The runes around the picture of that golem. They're magic. LIke... portal magic and what not."

[Shaggy]

Daenala nods "Its right there, the runes are an old script." as if she had any the mind on what exactly she was referencing. "But one of the spirits explained them to me easy enough." when the one who was not trained in magic can get a crash course, was it really so hard? "It will teleport us there, however, back is another matter." she looks to Almadek "So if you can only teleport us to where you know. Then teleporting us back to this chamber shouldn't be to hard right?" under her normal face covering she was smirking.

[NiKkatsu]

'Right,' Almadek simply says. 'When do we leave? I have accommodations covered. All you'll need are bedrolls or whatever you'd prefer to sleep in. We can scavenge in the desert for food - or plan ahead and bring some. Whichever.' he shrugs.

[Postmodernist]

"Ale. We need ta bring plenty o' ale. Las'time we did'n bring nearly enough." Dharrus grumbles. "An' somethin fer shade and ta keep sand outta me armor."

[J-H]

Theo Veldt
"I find myself wishing I had invested in one of those flying carpets from Calimshan. I don't care for their ties to the City of Brass, but the ability to fly above the sand - and out of reach of gigantic man-eating worms - would be useful." Theo looks at his boots and shifts their shape slightly to be sure they are sand-tight.

(Theo is wearing Boots of False Tracks, which by their nature possess a shape-shifting function)

[Pyrophilios]

It took Lekt almost an hour to decipher the code word correctly - though halfway through it became obviously that it was a transliteration of the full name of prince Hamukai.
As soon as it was spoken aloud, a shimmering archway appeared inside the room. Hot air blew through it and the smell of dry sands. Blurry, as if seen through a distorted lense, a cloudless, steel blue sky and an expanse of organe brown sands could be made out.
Experiment showed that the portal stayed stable for exactly one minute and then had be called again, with the book as it's anchor here. Over there it wasn't clear what exactly the anchor for the portal was, but the text hinted at the fact that it would always form within 50 ft of the lost golem.

[Shaggy]

Daenala remains patient as the others work to uncover how to open and the gateway portal and what the exact rules of it are. "My friends, we will have to make the trek through sooner or later." she would approach the location of the portal. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Shall we?" gesturing for them to open the portal so the group could make its way through.

[Postmodernist]

"Aye, ah'm ready when the rest of ye are."

[CardTrick]

Having the last hour figuring out the activation and how the specifically the portal worked, Lekt has no idea whether anyone had checked in with the quartermaster, but is fairly positive no one has stopped by the kitchen for him, "Sure, why not? Just give me one second. Oh, and someone should probably tell the magus how the portal works, just in case we don't come back within a few days or so."

Lekt then hustles to the kitchen to acquire a bladder of some manner of animal blood, as he wasn't about to get caught by the hunger in the middle of a damned desert with not but what was pumping through his companions' veins nearby. A few minutes later he returns, ready to head out with everyone else.

[Pyrophilios]

All preparations done - including to inform a trusted Avowed to periodically open the portal, the team assembled with their necessary gear.

Reading out the command word felt harsh and gritty - not exactly on the tongue but a bit like if someone used sandpaper to scrape over the backside of your eyeballs. Netherese magic at work.

The portal bloomed to five by 10 ft sized oval with fizzing blue lightning around the edges. Hot, dry air and a few specks of sand flew in and as the group stepped through they were immediately assaulted by the immense heat around them.

A muffled scream echoed from the left and the group realized that their arrival had had an audience. Two Bedine men - one old one young stood with a large, stinking camel about twenty feet away. They obviously had been in the process of examining the form of a large stone golem, sitting against a piece of masonry. The golem obviously was the one from the tale - the large saphire in his chest proved that much.

Spoiler

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"By the gods! Pesh, get behind me!" The older of the two Bedine called out while trying to shield the younger with his body.

[Bobthewizard]

Qaza

Qaza, like always, was late. She missed the entire presentation and discussion of the book. She had been engrossed in her spell book and came flying in as she usually does, four feet off the ground, with her red hair whipping behind her her small gnome frame. Flying like this on her broom, she had run into most of the rest of the team at one time or another, but this time everyone as already going into the portal when she arrived. She saw the last of them enter the portal and followed along.

“This looks like fun.”

Once through the portal, the heat hits her first. Then the realization that there were strangers there, along with a golem. She turns to her friends.

“Hi. Where is this? Who are they?”

[J-H]

Theo takes a step or two towards the Bedin men, sheathing his sword and putting a confident smile on his face.
"Hello there chaps. I beg your pardon if we surprised you! We're searching for something old that was lost, and happened upon a portal that took us, well, here.

You wouldn't happen to know exactly where "here" is, would you?"

[CardTrick]

Upon hearing Qaza enter the room behind the rest of the group, Lekt reflexively sidesteps just as he crosses over the portal's threshold, "Gond's brass balls!", having been slammed into one too many times in the past. Almost toppling over into the sand because of this, he's still regaining his footing when the gnome comes through.

Taking the opportunity presented by Theo approaching the locals, Lekt leans towards his airborne ally and answers her queries in a low hushed voice, "We're somewhere in the Anauroch desert, and the young one there is Pesh... apparently.", additionally offering up to the oft tardy gnome, "We're supposed to be looking for one of them fancy pants Nether scrolls... and we probably need that there golem."

[Pyrophilios]

The old man relaxed a bit at the words of Theo.

"You are in the desert, about 200 miles south of Haruun, which is where we are headed.
Say, you seem a bit desoriented? My name is Shamir and this is my grandson Pesh. May I presume that your strange magics have something to do with ths golem?"

[Bobthewizard]

Qaza

Qaza nods a smiles as she learns we have been transported all the way to the Anauroch desert. She is happy to be on this adventure, and fires off several questions to the group, Fortunately for her, she always flies around with her travel bag, just in case something like this comes up.

“What a fun portal. Can it take us to other places? The Anauroch desert you say? Did Magister Marcelius finally find something Netherese for us to investigate? Ooh, is this golem Netherese?”

She purposefully doesn't ask how we can get back to Candlekeep. She's much happier out here adventuring. While she waits for the others to catch up with all of her questions, she turns to the Bedine.

“Shamir, Pesh. I am Qaza. It is a pleasure to meet you both. We are here from Candelkeep and would appreciate your assistance navigating the desert. In exchange, if there is anything we can do to help you or your people, please let us know.”

[Pyrophilios]

The old Bedin raised his left eyebrow, clearly skeptical about this new information.
"That seems to me a one sided exchange. Magics seldomly bring anything good and lasting.

Though for a gold piece per week and person we certainly will take care of you.

But what about this golem? It seems to be intact, but it doesn't react to anything we say."

Spoiler: insight DC 15

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The old man appears to be honest but not a big fan of magic. The grandson though is absolutely fascinated by you and the golem

[Postmodernist]

"Och, where'r me manners? Ah'm Dharrus, an'itsa pleasure t'meet ye, Pesh and Shamir. I reckon tha'gold piece per person is a perfectly reasonable price fer yer assitance. We thank ye. As fer the golem, we've been tasked with findin' out how it works. Accordin' to the tales of Alkazaar, it's connected ta one o'them Netherese scrolls, as my colleagues we're saying. Any idea where we might find such a thing? Perhaps an ancient library, or a tomb, or a palace or some such?"

Spoiler: Roll

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Insight - (1d20+6)[19]

"Rest assured, we're here t'make certain that this potentially dangerous creature is properly taken care of. We don' wan' any magic fallin' inta the wrong hands. Tha's on me honor as a dwarf and an archivist." Dharrus makes a pious gesture, asserting his honesty.

Spoiler: OOC

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Let me know if a persuasion roll or similar is warranted here, though he is telling the truth.

[CardTrick]

Lekt is Immediately glad when the older Bedin asked for coin rather than aid, as memories of having had to hog-tie-but-not-harm a bulette for a wedding in Chult the last time Qaza volunteered the group's services in kind to some random local still haunted his soul. So much so, the normally greedy bastard is more than happy to pay up personally, pulling a pair of coins from his purse for the two would-be guides, "Alright, how about a plat each in advance, and if we get our business done sooner than rate, all the better... you can keep the difference."

Having had to spend a whole hour pouring over the page this golem's story was on trying to figuring out the magic phrase for the book's portal, Lekt then deftly takes a step towards the construct off Dharrus' comment about, "Actually, unless it got broke in the in-betwixt, good ole' Al told us how big'un works.", and waves a hand it's direction, "Hey, buddy uh... you umm... you still respond to Hamukai, right?"

[Pyrophilios]

"Six coins - one for each of you." The old man replied.

The mention of the name Hamukai had an immediate and visible effect: The golem's head turned and its eyes fixated on Lekt. With the sound of grinding sand it stood up to its full height of seven feet. His hands began to move in complicated looking gestures.

Spoiler: Intelligence Check DC 13

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The golem can't speak, but it seems to understand and tries to communicate through sign language

Wisdom (Insight) Check DC 20 to learn the language - or a comprehend language spell

The two bedines stepped back in shock with open mouths, making various signs of protection.