Adventure #4 - The Incorrigible Mr. Mittens

OOC: We took a book, but it is in Talmut's possession now, so I guess he and Mittens will study it while we are doing other stuff. Also, looting the ashes is a good idea.

"...before you show us this Iron Horse, though, let us see if there's anything left in these ashes here..." Elodie will dig through the piles of ashes, searching for any metal that might have melted during the blast but might still be of value.

After digging through the warm ashes, the party finds more lapis lazuli and more gold, but it's no longer jewelry. The stones are charred, but relatively intact, stuck to shapeless blobs of gold. It won't be worth as much, now that its melted, but it'll be worth something.

None of the sarcophagi contain additional mummies ... you seem to have destroyed them all.

Neither Gumphrey nor Jeremiah are able to find any sort of secret doors or compartments.

Finally, Mittens leads the heroes back to the "storage room." Like in the rest of this complex, it consists of plain tan stone blocks, with a thick layer of sand on the floor. Several large boxes clutter the floor, stuffed with moldy hay and mundane items (like boots and clothes, pots and pans, a hammer and a shovel, some pitons, a water clock, a spyglass, some block-and-tackle wheels, and the like).

Also in the room is a roughly hewn statue of a horse, larger than any real horse, and carved from the same tan stone as the walls and ceiling.

After they have pocketed the gold and gems, Elodie pulls out her wand and taps Jeremiah until he seems healthy again. "Better?"

Use Wand of Cure Serious Wounds on Jeremiah x3, cures 18 HP, 21 HP, 22 HP (61 HP total).

After following Mittens into the storage room, Elodie walks up to the stone horse. "Can you tell us anything about this horse, Mitt?"

"Very well."

Shortly thereafter: Jeremiah, Elodie, Gumphrey, Mittens, and Flint return to the surface, where they are re-united with Talmut, Glory, Halvar, Lindy, and the horses. After a short discussion, Talmut agrees to stay behind to help Mittens while studying the ruins. As Talmut's assistant, Flint stays behind, as well.

During this time, Gumphrey has decided that Glory should stay behind, as well. Although Umbrafall may need your help against the giants, he doesn't want to abandon this responsibility, either. "I would stay behind, myself, but I don't think there's any more locks or traps to be defeated here. Besides, I have this strange hankering to fight some giants."

After everyone packs up their gear and says their goodbyes, Mittens casts a short spell that creates a whirling vortex of energy. Inside the vortex, you can see the high-walls of Umbrafall. "Just ride on through; it will take you back to the city. Jeremiah, my friend, please tell my colleagues where I am. If they're not home, yet, just leave them a note. If you don't mind."

OOC: Is someone bringing the stone horse?

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OOC: Assuming the party rides through the vortex ...

Riding through the vortex is surprisingly easy; no sense of vertigo or disorientation and no loss of time. Just, one second you're in front of it, and the next you're outside the city walls, surrounded by tents or horses and voices of restless men.

Of course, it's not long before the heroes ride out from behind those first tents, and see the size of the assembled army. Thousands of men, from city militia and from the various houses which presumably owe fealty to the Vicereine.

Elodie spots a man sitting alone near one of the campfires, holding two pipes in one hand and drinking a stein of ale with the other. This man bears such a striking resemblance to Jeremiah, that, at first, she thought it was Jeremiah and wondered how he got so far ahead of the group.

Jeremiah, on the other hand, sees something else altogether: his brother.

Malazek wrote:Is someone bringing the stone horse?

Yes, I will tie the stone horse to my horse.

When Jeremiah spots his brother he will change his direction from the wizards home to his brothers campfire.

"Is that pipe packed for me?"

Elodie changes direction and follows Jeremiah, letting him walk ahead of her a few steps as he approaches the man who looks just like him.

Jeremiah wrote:"Is that pipe packed for me?"

Standing, the man turns toward Jeremiah and smiles. "Indeed it is, brother."

As he hands Jeremiah the pipe, Jeremiah recognizes it as his own pipe; the one he forgot to get back from his brother before they last parted ways.

"Father sent me. I told him that you must have found yourself a woman. But now that I'm here, I see the real reason you were delayed: giants! Really, you couldn't have hunted them a little closer to home? Ah, well, now that I'm here,  too, you think I should help?"

Then, he sees Elodie. "Oh, but what's this? A little lady, after all?"

"Jebediah, did father not receive the correspondence I sent? I had decided to leave the life of trapping for something a little more adventurous. As for the lady, her name is Elodie and she travels with me and a few others in search of fortune and glory."

Looking to Elodie...

"Elodie, this is my brother Jebediah."

When Jeremiah introduces her, Elodie will wave. "Pleasure to meet you, Jebediah."

"Well I guess in either case it's good to see you. Grab your stuff and come with me, I have a quick couple errands and then will go get some food and drink. The least I can do for now is show you a good time."

Jeremiah will first head to the wizards home to let them know where Mittens is at and how he is doing.

"Elodie, I'm going to run a couple errands with Jebediah. Meet up at the Jolly Toad later?"

Elodie waves. "Sounds good to me." She then sets off to check in with the Chancellor.

Jeremiah wrote:Jeremiah will first head to the wizards home to let them know where Mittens is at and how he is doing.

When he arrives, he finds the door unlocked. He can hear the voices of Malabus and Odion, bickering with one another, inside.

"No, no! Not that one."
"You said it was this one, before."
"No, I didn't. I said the other one."
"The other one, exactly. I had that one, so the other one would be this one."
"What? No. You had that one, when I said it."
"No, I had this one."
"Wait, you mean this one?"
"No, that one."

Elodie wrote:She then sets off to check in with the Chancellor.

When she arrives, she is led past the wide double-doors at the side of the main chamber, to a short hallway with white stone walls. There are four other doors in the short hall, but the double-doors at the far end lead to his office, which is guarded by a pair of knights.

Inside, she finds Colton Winter standing behind a large mahogany desk. There is a matching credenza behind him and an ornate circular rug beneath him. The chancellor waves you in.

The marble pedestal still stands on your right, topped by a large black orb. A chest and another door are also on your right; bookshelves stand on your left. The entire room seems to be lit by the dark orb.

"Elodie, what brings you by?"

"Good day gentleman, how does it go?"

Jeremiah will then let himself in and look for the wizards. Once he finds where they are located he will introduce his brother and update them to where Mittens is and how he is doing.

Elodie clears her throat and curtsies awkwardly. "Good evening, Sir Winter. I am here to update you on the exploration mission that my fellow adventurers and I were on. We further explored the ruins in the area we previously ventured to, and discovered an underground structure filled with vicious golems and skeletons. We also found evidence of strong magical objects, and Talmut has remained in the ruins with Glory and Flint. He also has the help of a wise old man, known to us as Mitt. Jeremiah, Gumphrey, and I have returned with the rest of the scribes to assist with the battle against the giants."