Soulbound 5e (IC)

[TriciaOso]

Bijou has the amateur physician's detachment from dead bodies; she helps Silvia manhandle the corpse into the room.

"All right... so it's got food..." she says doubtfully.

Spoiler

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Animal Handling Check: (1d20+3)[13]

[TriciaOso]

Spoiler

Show

Advantage! (1d20+3)[9]

[miinstrel]

The beast watches you place your body before it, looking between you both as though a great trick has been played upon it. It pads forward sniffing the corpse curiously before returning to its nest with a flooph of debris under its small small girth as it returns to its bone.

You are confident it will not starve given the amount of fresh and not-so-fresh meat nearby. Whether or not it understands its orphaned status is uncertain, but for now your nonaggression seems to be mirrored.

[Ramsus]

Silvia Rose Reborn Warlock AC: 15 HP: 27/27 PP: 13 PIv: 10 PIs: 11 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- Silvia wasn't sure what reaction she'd expected from the bear cub. She mentally shrugs and looks to Bijou, "Shall we go bring the others? I imagine the task will only become more unpleasant the longer we wait." To be honest she wasn't used to all this physical labor, but she'd rather be sore than have a moldering corpse fall apart in her hands later.

[TriciaOso]

Bijou says. "That's the fi--that's sensible," she says, and stretches.

It's icky and tedious, but the sooner done the better.

[bladescape]

Leviticus Knelvind, Human Inquisitive Rogue 3
AC: 15 HP: 21/21
PP: 20 PIv: 17 PIs: 17

"These rooms are kinda empty. Bij, there's some more clothing scraps in that one but none of them are good for keeping stuck together, kinda mess." Meandering down, Levi joins the other two in moving bodies, seeing a job that needed to be done and helping out.

Weirdly, he doesn't find it that weird to be dragging himself around. Feels more...

Normal now.

[miinstrel]

Working together you get all of your previous vessels moved into a grisly heap in the side room. The rest of the accommodations seem somewhat more welcoming without those reminders lying about. The cub checks on all the activity and, with some effort, pulls the final leg off the goat in the corner, taking it back to its den.

Valara and Folgarda get a fire going in the meantime and put some of the bear meat on a makeshift spit.

There are a few odds and ends to busy yourselves with in these caves, though you have a sinking feeling you'll be returning to them again. The light at the cave exit has lost the hues of dawn and now shines brightly down, it seems to be a clear day.

What will you do?

[TriciaOso]

"All right," Bijou says briskly, as they all sit around chewing the (bear) fat. "So what are we doing? We've got food; got water. Got armor. Learned a bit about what's happening to us and who it happened to before. Fed the bear cub, gods preserve us. But what are we doing?"

"When do we leave?"

[Ramsus]

Silvia Rose Reborn Warlock AC: 15 HP: 27/27 PP: 13 PIv: 10 PIs: 11 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- "Well, it's not a work of art, but I feel like I should probably finish my work on that boulder. Maybe if we're lucky we'll find some actual clothes on the other side." Silvia replies. If nobody objects to waiting longer, she heads off to continue blasting apart the boulder.

[miinstrel]

The large boulder is exactly as you left it, chipped stone and all. You stretch your fingers for the tedious task before you and set about carving away again, piece by piece.

After an eternity crammed into the span of an hour, the enormous axe is dislodged (and surprisingly unbent even beneath all that weight). It's blade almost seems to be made of sharpened stone. Two large teeth dangle from a small chain through a hole on one side.

But perhaps more curiously, there is now a path to the room on the other side. The chamber is roughly spherical with a statue staring back from the far side. The stony visage of Edra smiles knowingly at you, one arm across her chest and the other raised with two fingers and the thumb extended as though giving a blessing. Small metallic bowls, candelabras, and other worship accoutrement stand on the table before her above a small black rug, surprisingly well preserved given the condition of the other chambers.
On a shelf below the table you find four simple linen robes with rope belts, all in good condition.
A few gold coins rest in the bowls, though none bear any iconography you recognize.

Around the periphery of the room are four armor stands. One is empty, but the other three display exquisite robes. One is black with an intricate starscape swirling across its fabric and six red stars shining near the collar. Another is stitched with eyes across its entire surface. One winks at you... or is it a trick of the light? The final robe shimmers in a rainbow of hues.

[TriciaOso]

Bijou examines the shimmering colors of the last robe. It's definitely more in her style than the drab leather of the stripped-down armor. She glances at Silvia, who seems equally enamored of the starry robe, and with a shrug, begins to strip out of the leather tunic and wrap herself in the robe.

The loose cloth feels good on her upper body, but a tangle risk around her legs; she wraps the tails of the robe around her waist and knots it. She's beginning to learn to sense magic on these things--surviving for hundreds of years was a bit of a clue--and waits to see if there's anything special about this beyond reintroducing colors to her life.

In the mean time, she goes to investigate the altar and the rug before it.

Spoiler: OOC

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(1d20+2)[4]

[Ramsus]

Silvia Rose Reborn Warlock AC: 15 HP: 27/27 PP: 13 PIv: 10 PIs: 11 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- Silvia's reverie over finally having something decent to dress in is broken when Bijou just strides in and takes one of the robes. She sighs, having wanted to have this moment to herself, but she supposes that there was no hiding the noise of the boulder breaking. Noting the statue of Edra, she goes over and gives a quick prayer of thanks for this blessing. As she walks over thinking how it would be a shame to dirty such nice robes, without noticing she's done it, she magically cleans herself. Then she discards the rags she was wearing and dons the starry robes. She enjoys the feeling of them for a few moments. Then she takes the rags back to leave in the other room, feeling it disrespectful to just leave them in here.

[miinstrel]

You find nothing unusual about the statue. It is well carved, though not masterfully so. Nothing is hidden beneath the rug. It seems fairly ordinary, though the coins catch your eye. While they all seem to be made of gold, each one bears a different stamp. You see one from Kardoch (Silvia & Levi's home region). You see one emblazoned with a Falcon in flight, a symbol of Falcon's Rest - a metropolis far across the seas to the west. You see one with strange tribal symbols, one with concentric rings, one with an embossed skull that might be from an ancient evil empire that dominated eastern Xylia long ago. No two coins are the same and each seems to be from a different part of the world. One could spend a lifetime visiting these places on foot. Whoever put them here was well traveled, guided by Edra's knowing hand... or perhaps Aleister's wanderlust.

[bladescape]

Leviticus Knelvind, Human Inquisitive Rogue 3
AC: 15 HP: 21/21
PP: 20 PIv: 17 PIs: 17

Following in, Levi kneels after a moment in front of Edra's statue, briefly making his marker of worship. He'd long followed Edra as the guiding light to define his life, but it was by no means the same as this odd reverence he felt in that moment. It was as if the cool breeze in the cave, the slow dirt of the surroundings, the calm benevolence on her face...

It was home in a way he'd never quite felt before. Like something he'd longed for but hadn't seen in so long. There was an urge to reach out and touch the statue, but knowing it was disrespectful he kept his hands at his side.

Was this what the others had meant when they said they felt weirdness? Levi shook himself as he stood up again, then looked at the other two now clad.

"Suppose we head out now, what's our goal? We've been brought back in some crazy fashion. We have a home base, o' sorts, and a life that doesn't end. No matter where we find ourselves out there..." He gestures backwards, as if towards the snowy entrance several twists away. "What do we do?"

"For one, I'd like to stay together if possible. Returning here alone would be... troublesome. And if we're going to return here whenever we die I'd like to make it a touch more homely. And I'd also like to... find out what legends there are about this cave in the local area. This cave was important, I think, but memory might not have that answer."

[TriciaOso]

"I want my life back," Bijou says. She feels more herself than she has since she woke here, in these clothes, and yet her life on the road feels as far away as ever.

"It wasn't anything special, but it was mine."

"We don't even know where we are," she says bitterly. "But we're nailed here sure as sin. I, who never wanted be nailed anywhere."

[Ramsus]

Silvia Rose Reborn Warlock AC: 15 HP: 27/27 PP: 13 PIv: 10 PIs: 11 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- "Really? I don't mind getting nailed now and again?" Silvia retorts with a smirk. After a pause she suggests, "We should probably gather up supplies before we leave and... well is the cub going to be ok if we leave it here or are we going to need to figure out how to take it with us?"

[TriciaOso]

"No accounting for taste," Bijou sniffs at Silvia's joke; not disdainfully, but entering into the banter. "I'd rather be out tasting the world."

When the bear comes up again, she grits her teeth. "That's why--"

She takes a deep breath.

"It's got plenty to eat for a while," she says instead. "Or else we can train it to do tricks. Saw a bear act in Moravia once. Might draw a bigger crowd than tumbles and Where Have All The Flowers Gone, especially as I don't have any feckin' instruments left."

[bladescape]

Leviticus Knelvind, Human Inquisitive Rogue 3
AC: 15 HP: 21/21
PP: 20 PIv: 17 PIs: 17

"Normally I like thinking about what isn't nailed down." Levi joins in with a wink of his own, clearly jesting at the whole concept. As matters turn to the bear he frowns. "Figure we have a few powers and my little tricks with knives, we can make our own way. Could make it faster if we find somewhere that deals a hand of cards."

"I don't like the idea of the bear either way, in all honesty. You kept it away from the crops and made sure it didn't try anything back where I came from." He doesn't really care though, obvious from the shrug coming next. "I say if we take it with us we won't have to worry about it if'n we get killed. But how do we get it to stay with us?"

[Ramsus]

Silvia Rose Reborn Warlock AC: 15 HP: 27/27 PP: 13 PIv: 10 PIs: 11 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- Silvia gives Levi an amused smile and makes a hand gesture to indicate a thought something like "Glad someone has a sense of humor." "I...." Silvia starts, stops, then starts again, "I really have no idea. I guess we'll just have to try and hope for the best? I'm going to go do an inventory of what we have and what we can or maybe should take with us. Maybe by the time I'm finished one of us will have thought of something?" That having been said, she shrugs and heads off. Spoiler: Doing Inventory/Asking GM for reminders Show I'm just going north to south, west to east. Then I'll mention anything in the loot listing not currently on the map and not (to my knowledge) already in someone's inventory. Weren't we supposed to get our one kept items? Or have we not discovered them yet? (I also need my arcane focus.) Ring of the Ram: I feel like Bijou has a pretty solid claim on this. Goggles of Night: If nobody else feels they need them more than I do (Levi sure shouldn't if his cloak is what I think it is), I'd rather like them. Perhaps they could just happen to look like glasses depicted in Silvia's art? Floating Stone: Can I get a reminder on what this is? Blankets: We should maybe take three? One for Levi, Bijou, and the bear cub. Leave the rest here. Shovels: I've got move earth so up to others if they feel we need to take any. Ropes: Well we'll want some of this for sure? How much is there? Huge Stone Axe: I assume none of us can/want to use that. Unless it's magical and will resize.... and is a finesse item. Which seems fairly unlikely? Loose Tile: Did we already get at whatever is under there? Bags of Holding: Well we certainly want at least one. Do we want to take both or leave one behind for respawn situations? Coin: Well we probably need amounts at this point. We should probably take some, but not all. But what fraction sort of depends on how much there is and what we expect our expenses to be like. Silvia for example has at least a few hundred gp worth of things (largely tools) that she'd like to purchase. List of Places: Can I get a reminder about this? "Glowing green cup with item in it": Can I get a reminder about this? Book: Is this the one Levi had? Preserved Bear/Berries: We should probably take our perishable/semi-perishable food since I can't imagine it'd be any good by the time we return. How many pounds of meat is left? Firewood: Probably a good idea to take some of that. Water: Also a good thing to take. What kind of containers is that in and how much do we have available? Booze: ^ Poem: Do we have anything to write this down on/with? Wizard Rags: Can I get a reminder on this? I just completely don't remember it. Armor +1 (any light, any med, or chainmail): Who's taking this? Levi I would assume? Shield +1: Are any of us proficient with shields? Elemental Gems: Do we want to take all four? Or just two? Personally I vote for all four. They're a more effective tool for us the lower level we are. Crystal Ball, Cracked: We probably want to take this assuming any of us can use it. Do we know exactly what it does? Jillian's spellbook: Does this do anything aside "is a spellbook with spells in it"? If not, is one of us going to have a use for this in the future? If not, should we just take it to sell it off? Or does it have important information aside from spells in there? (Or anything else worth noting GM?) Bear Pelt: Probably a good thing to take for extra warmth. Bloated Notebook: Can I get a reminder on this?

[miinstrel]

Spoiler: Doing Inventory/Asking GM for reminders

Show

I'm just going north to south, west to east. Then I'll mention anything in the loot listing not currently on the map and not (to my knowledge) already in someone's inventory.

Weren't we supposed to get our one kept items? Or have we not discovered them yet?
(I also need my arcane focus.)
those wait just beyond the veil... you'll have to make do without them for a bit longer (though your wand can be used as an arcane focus for now too)

Ring of the Ram: I feel like Bijou has a pretty solid claim on this. agreed

Goggles of Night: If nobody else feels they need them more than I do (Levi sure shouldn't if his cloak is what I think it is), I'd rather like them. Perhaps they could just happen to look like glasses depicted in Silvia's art?
i'm fine with that fluff

Floating Stone: Can I get a reminder on what this is?
this is the giant sphere you 'spawned' from

Blankets: We should maybe take three? One for Levi, Bijou, and the bear cub. Leave the rest here.

Shovels: I've got move earth so up to others if they feel we need to take any.

Ropes: Well we'll want some of this for sure? How much is there?

Huge Stone Axe: I assume none of us can/want to use that. Unless it's magical and will resize.... and is a finesse item. Which seems fairly unlikely?

Loose Tile: Did we already get at whatever is under there? 3x 50' spools of hemp rope

Bags of Holding: Well we certainly want at least one. Do we want to take both or leave one behind for respawn situations?

Coin: Well we probably need amounts at this point. We should probably take some, but not all. But what fraction sort of depends on how much there is and what we expect our expenses to be like. Silvia for example has at least a few hundred gp worth of things (largely tools) that she'd like to purchase.
added amounts OOC

List of Places: Can I get a reminder about this?
Link to post

"Glowing green cup with item in it": Can I get a reminder about this?
Link to post - end of "Levi" section

Book: Is this the one Levi had?
this is the spellbook that Bijou collected and I think placed on the counter in the Entry Chamber

Preserved Bear/Berries: We should probably take our perishable/semi-perishable food since I can't imagine it'd be any good by the time we return. How many pounds of meat is left?
You have about 50 pounds of bear meat, so 50 days worth of bear rations

Firewood: Probably a good idea to take some of that.

Water: Also a good thing to take. What kind of containers is that in and how much do we have available?
there's a barrel full of clean water and 3 functional waterskins

Booze: ^
Bijou section

Poem: Do we have anything to write this down on/with?
on yes. with... see below.

Wizard Rags: Can I get a reminder on this? I just completely don't remember it.
just some plain wizard robes, nonmagical. they were in a drawer in Bedroom 2.

Armor +1 (any light, any med, or chainmail): Who's taking this? Levi I would assume?
I think Levi already donned some earlier. But essentially there are 6 Schrodingers +1 armors left to fit whatever style suits your needs when you take it.

Shield +1: Are any of us proficient with shields?
no.

Elemental Gems: Do we want to take all four? Or just two? Personally I vote for all four. They're a more effective tool for us the lower level we are.

Crystal Ball, Cracked: We probably want to take this assuming any of us can use it. Do we know exactly what it does?
casts Scrying, limited to 3 uses/day

Jillian's spellbook: Does this do anything aside "is a spellbook with spells in it"? If not, is one of us going to have a use for this in the future? If not, should we just take it to sell it off? Or does it have important information aside from spells in there? (Or anything else worth noting GM?)
unless someone plans to multiclass into a spellbook using caster, it's useless to you. you could use it as an RP study guide perhaps.
Taking some time to flip through it you don't find anything that seems terribly important/relevant at this time. My intention with this was to imply that your PCs/spirits are/were not the only incarnations of whatever is happening to you.

Bear Pelt: Probably a good thing to take for extra warmth.

Bloated Notebook: Can I get a reminder on this?
this was found with the Crystal Ball. many of the pages are stuck together.
Link to post

OTHER THINGS FOUND FROM ABOVE NARRATION
Nolzur's Marvelous Pigments (2,000 sqft of paint remaining)

Collecting yourselves, you make preparations to leave the cave but first take a final assessment of everything you've found. Some of you set to the task of counting the coins in the museum chamber chest and find that while the chest had a great deal of wealth in it already... the magical bags within held even more. It takes a couple hours with several of you counting to deduce there are:
28,567 copper
32,714 silver
15,128 gold
5,443 platinum
This is an absurd amount of wealth - enough to buy an estate fitting nobility and staff it for several years. Silvia, during the counting you drop a coin and it slips between two of your exposed ribs. It's not easily reachable by hand, and while it doesn't hurt you can feel it shifting inside when you move quickly.

With the bear out of the last bedroom you take a closer look inside the armoire at the far end and find more rotted clothing... but beneath them a small wooden box containing four clay pots - two of which are empty and two of which contain ink - and a paint brush carved with a leaf motif. The ink inside sparkles slightly and doesn't show any sign of settling as you would expect from having been untouched for so long.

There is still the question of the glowing gem in the vial of green liquid in the Glowing Room.
And a great deal of rubble to clear in the Museum Chamber that is likely to take several days of work.
But beyond that you seem to have uncovered the rest of these chambers' mysteries.

After taking inventory, it's late afternoon. You have maybe two hours before the sun will start casting long shadows upon you from behind the mountain peaks above the cave despite it likely still being several hours until true dusk.

[TriciaOso]

"That's more gold than I've ever seen in my life," Bijou says. "We hardly need to take any of that, just enough to get our lives going. A cart, some instruments..." She considers the money again. "Maybe a real vardo," she says eventually. "A flywalk, maybe...."

[bladescape]

Leviticus Knelvind, Human Inquisitive Rogue 3
AC: 15 HP: 21/21
PP: 20 PIv: 17 PIs: 17

"I think we best get the lay of the land before we take too much out." Levi gently reminds Bijou, remembering how he was when his father-in-law first showed him the money that could be garnered through smart trading. He still remembered the compulsive questions, the wanting to use it just because he could. It was intoxicating at first.

So instead he just shook his head, taking the last robe in the room and enjoying the eyes fluttering along it. "I suggest we take bare minimum at first. Find the closest town. Try and get some supplies. Try not to attract attention. Try to find out what the locals think of this place, right?"

[Ramsus]

Silvia Rose Reborn Warlock AC: 15 HP: 27/27 PP: 13 PIv: 10 PIs: 11 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- As they'd done inventory, Silvia organized items in their spaces. Most notably the coin counting resulted in a lot of piles of 10 coins so they were more easily counted. Silvia nodded in reply to Levi and said, "But we should still take at least a decent amount in case we do quickly encounter a town or merchant. I imagine we might want to buy some supplies to bring back to leave here as well. So if we take enough money to buy what we might need that saves us at least one extra trip back here." Having said that, Silvia proceeds to take 100 platinum, 2k gold, 5k silver, and 5k copper. A decent amount, but still leaving the bulk behind. Then she goes back to the northernmost room and examine the glowing cup. Something in the back of her mind tells her she can magically move water. So she waves her hand over the cup and few times, trying to make the liquid spit the item out. Spoiler Show Casting Shape Water

[miinstrel]

At first the water does nothing but continue to pulse slowly with light. After a few moments it begins to bubble and rise up out of the jar. You command the water to the side to spill out on the floor but it resists, instead coalescing as a sphere of opaque green liquid. It hangs in the air a moment before lashing out at you with a dripping tendril.

Spoiler: Combat!

Show

Surprise round attack: (1d20+7)[27]
Damage: (4d6+4)[20] acid

oh... snap. umm okay that's a total of 36 acid damage then.

We'll assume everyone is in the entry chamber and can get to the laboratory with a move action if desired.

The party is up!

You release a small shriek of alarm. The burning in and across your chest is extraordinary. You pass out from the pain.

[TriciaOso]

Bijou comes in at a run and stands over the fallen Silvia, launching directly into combat. She swings her staff like a club and smacks the knob of the bedpost into the ball of slime. She follows up with a series of ginger kicks, nervous to get the slime on her skin.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

(1d20+5)[23]
(1d8+3)[4]


Flurry of Blows:

(1d20+5)[24]
(1d4+3)[6]
(1d20+5)[8]
(1d4+3)[6]

[TriciaOso]

On the kick that lands, a little bit of the life energy she's felt roiling inside of her jolts out and into the slime.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

(1d4+3)[6] additional necrotic.

[bladescape]

Leviticus Knelvind, Human Inquisitive Rogue 3
AC: 15 HP: 21/21
PP: 20 PIv: 17 PIs: 17

"And I thought the bear was bad enough." Levi's quip falls flat as he rushes into the room behind Bijou, hands quickly unsheathing the two magical daggers he now has his hands on. First blade forwards and now second as he angles past Bijou to pin the ... whatever it was in.

"As a side note, I no longer like the former residents for what they left behind."

Spoiler: Rolls

Show

Dagger 1:
(1d20+6)[25] and damage (1d4+4)[7]

And Dagger 2 (Lifestealer):
(1d20+5)[21] and damage (1d4)[4]

[miinstrel]

Bijou bursts in and strikes the amorphous green ball twice, bits of its essence splintering off and vanishing into the ether in the process leaving it slightly smaller than before. Levi's stabs have a similar but more potent effect as the blade slices easily through its form.
Valara and Folgarda join in as well, and while the former brings her own strength down upon the thing, Folgarda drags Silvia to the corner of the lab and presses an urgent hand to her wounds, returning her to life with a gasp of breath. Her eyes open but briefly...

With the glowing prize still pulsing in the jar below it and under a sudden and violent assault, the glob of energy hanging in the air spins rapidly and explodes outward sending tiny acidic missiles rocketing out in every direction, singeing everything they touch and leaving a burning heat that eats away at its victim. As you recover from the blast it begins to regain its form, the droplets around the room drifting slowly back to form the whole of whatever power is holding it together.

Her eyes clenched tight, Folgarda tries to shield Silvia's body from the blast, but it's not enough and both of them slump to the floor in a sizzling heap.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Valara rages and deals 11 damage to it.
Folgarda uses Healing Word on Silvia... though any HP regained will be gone from this next bit.

Everyone: DC 15 Dex save
(10d4)[26] acid damage, half on success
fail = another (5d4)[14] at the end of your next turn/post

Folgarda save: (1d20+3)[11]
Valara save: (1d20+2)[6]

[TriciaOso]

AC: 16 HP: 16/24 KI: 1/4
PP: 13 PIv: 12 PIs: 15

Bijou hits the floor, just ducking under the worst of the spray of slime. What she does take still fries her skin and flesh, but she manages a couple more attacks before taking a moment to push some of the healing energy into herself.

Spoiler: ooc

Show

Bijou makes the save and takes 13 damage, then heals for 5. One attack at 10 (oof) and another at 21.

Assuming one success, 7 damage on the slime.

[bladescape]

Leviticus Knelvind, Human Inquisitive Rogue 3
AC: 15 HP: 8/21
PP: 20 PIv: 17 PIs: 17

"Edra's light!" The words hissed out between pressed teeth as Levi dodged around the sizzling drops, managing to avoid being sprayed too harshly. "Need to get this one out of the way so you can tend to them."

With a grim determination that somehow seemed to forget their lack of actual death, Levi swung once more to slice the ball to pieces.

Spoiler: Rolls

Show

Dagger 1:
(1d20+6)[20] and damage (1d4+4)[6]

And Dagger 2 (Lifestealer):
(1d20+5)[19] and damage (1d4+4)[5]

Sneak attack if either hit:
(2d6)[9]