[IC] Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia blushed a bit, remembering the last time she went running off on a random adventure during the last stop. She grinned sheepishly and answered, agreeing with Pylia, "Yeah...just running off isn't a great idea. I need to stop doing that," At the mention of the items, Sylvia's sheepish look disappeared, and she answered Pylia, "Actually, he did mention that the bandits had items we might be interested in when he gave me the gold that he and Shortfang found. Let's go talk to him and check out those items,"

[Lucius Cypher]

"An excellent idea. Lead the way." As you lead the way, soon you'll run into Ferric and Andras. They seemed to be discussing some sort of deal that they just finished. "Ah Sylvia, Pylia, and Shortfang. I hope you've rested up. I've just made a deal with sir Andras here to trade his wagon and some produce for our cart. With a wagon we ought to be able to carry more cargo, not to mention more passengers. Andras and his family will have to wait here of course until a caravan with extra horses come by, but with any luck that shouldn't take him too long. I'll also be busy fixing the wagon up to make it ready for travel." Pylia looked over to you and nodded. "How convenient Ferric, Sylvia and I actually wanted to tell you we might be a bit busy as well. We've... Stumbled upon something interesting and thought to investigate it. Shouldn't take us too long. But before we go, we'd like to see the inventory from those brigands." Ferric nods. "Of course. Naturally as the ones who slew them, feel free to take what you want. I'll be more than willing to pay for anything you don't need and I'll turn it into a tidy profit in the near future." The dwarven man goes back to his cart and hauls out the crate with the loot. "Take your pick!"

Loot

7 Scimitars
7 Sets of Leather Armor
7 Light Crossbows
8 Quivers of Crossbow Bolts (Roughly 140 bolts total)
1 Greatsword
1 Breastplate
1 Heavy Crossbow
2 Potions of Healing
4 Basic Poisons
2 Alchemist Fires
8 Iron Hammer Amulets
4 Light Shields
5 Silver Rings
2 Silver Chains
2 Sets of Bone Dice
3 Journals
5 Packs of Rations
10 Torches

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia nodded and she led the way to Ferric. She let Pylia inform Ferric as to what was happening. She was somewhat surprised that the family traded the wagon for the cart, but as Pylia said, it worked out for them considering their new mission from whatever caused the dreams.

She thanked Ferric when he told them to let them take their pick. She asked out of curiosity, "I'm guessing this might be a long shot, but I don't suppose Mica noticed if any of them were enchanted?"

If nothing was enchanted, then Sylvia would take her pick, as well as let Pylia and Shortfang have their picks.

Out of curiosity, she flipped through the journals pages to see if there was anything written within them.

Sylvia's choices thus far. More may be added...

2 Potions of Healing
2 Alchemist Fires
4 Basic Poisons
1 set of bone dice
5 packs of rations
2 torches (to replace her used torches)

[Lucius Cypher]

"Well he noticed a few potions and such, but aside from those none of the items are enchanted I'm afraid." Ferric shrugs. The potions seemed to be an odd murky green, but Pylia confirms that they should work as intended. Though don't be surprised if it tastes strange. As for the other two, Pylia picked up the breastplate. It was somewhat big on her though, but Ferric offered to resize it for a price. As Pylia didn't have much money on her, she traded in her light crossbow as compensation, more than enough for Ferric to fit the armor. Shortfang took one of the light shields; unlike the shield Pylia has, these small shields could be strapped to the arm. Though it still made then unwieldy for two-weapon fighting or using a weapon with both hands, they were perfect for archers like Shortfang. He also helped himself to some of the scimitars in case he needed a backup weapon. Finally he took a bunch of the crossbow bolts, practically stuffing three quivers onto his bandolier. With the addition of another sword and his small shield Shortfang looked almost over capacity, but he was handling it just fine.

As for the journals, one was completely empty though it looked like a few pages had been torn out. Another journal mostly had rather artful doodles of natural scenes or animals. Perhaps one of the brigands had an artful side to them. Or they robbed an artist in the past. Both were valid possibilities. The last journal had scribbles of notes, crude hand drawn maps, and a list of objectives, most which were filled out. It mentioned a quota of goods and weapons as well as a meeting with "Rakeface on the morrow", whatever that meant.

After the final loot was sorted Ferric took out an abacus and made his calculations. He turned to the trio and started counting out some coins. "Well looks like you have in total about three-hundred and fifty sovereigns worth of loot. Once I get back to Gransys I'll be able to clean them up some more and make them ready for the market and make my profit double-fold. Now then, is there anything else I can do for you?" Pylia took the coin and counted it out herself, and sure enough it added up to 350. She took 100, then gave Shortfang 100, and finally handed 150 back to you. "Since we have some time, I'm going to brew up a few more potions. It looks like we're good for healing potions right now, so I'll work on some antitoxins in case we run into any poisons in there." Shortfang waddled around, weighed down by his gear, but still seemed pretty mobile. "Shortfang take nap. Still hurt from fight. Heal up!" The kobold looked to you and at your wound. "Boss patch up?"

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia raised an eyebrow at the words read in the journal. Rakeface...sounds like a name similar to Scarface. She guessed it might be another bandit. Looks like the group will still have to be careful.

Sylvia accepted her share of the gold given, and she nodded to Pylia when she said that she'll make potions. When Shortfang asked, Sylvia smiled and answered both Pylia and Shortfang, "Yeah, I'll be patching myself up. And hopefully I can get some meditation in. Probably gonna need the ki back just in case,"

[Lucius Cypher]

The three adventurers broke off to do their thing. Pylia stayed by the campfire to brew a few more potions using what little materials she had left. Shortfang made himself comfortable with a makeshift hammock using a net he borrowed from Ferric's cart and a sturdy tree, napping not too far from the others. It would be a fairly peaceful rest. Ferric, Mica, Andras, as well as a few guards at the camp would go back to the wagon, getting the lost produce and hauling the damaged wagon back. Andras's wagon had some nice goods including apples, butter, and spices, which he gave to Ferric in exchange for their cart and coin. Andrews and Elena helped as much as they could, even set up a proper tent since they'll be staying here for the next long while.

An hour would pass before Pylia would go wake up Shortfang and find you. She had managed to make two antitoxins, one which she gave to Shortfang and one to you. "Make sure to drink it before we head in. This stuff is only good if you use it _before_ you get poisoned. And this should go without saying, but be ready for anything. Hopefully we won't run into anything too crazy in that waterfall cave, but one can never be too careful." Finally Pylia would take the lantern and fill it with oil. "I need my hands free for my shield and club, so I'll hold onto the lantern. If you have a hard time seeing something just stick with me. Also, I'm only good for one more major magic spell today. Let's make it count."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia took some time to patch up her own wound, and take a good thirty minutes to meditate and regain the ki she used on the larger bandit. Soon enough, the group reconvened, and she accepted the antitoxin with a thanks. She nodded at the warning to drink the antitoxin before going into the cave. The fact that Pylia only had enough energy for one major spell was a little concerning, but Sylvia just hoped that they won't find anything too dangerous. But still...was the figure in the room really a hero? Or is it a trick...? There was only one way to find out.

She answered Pylia, "Right. Let's get going then, and be ready for anything,"

She then looked to Shortfang and she encouraged, "OK, Shortfang. Lead the way,"

[Lucius Cypher]

Without further action the party would traverse over to the waterfall. The footing here was treacherous to say the least; for someone as small as Shortfang he could pass just fine, but for you and Pylia you’d need to stick close to the walls or risk falling into the ravine’s river below. As you got closer to the deafening waterfall Pylia turned the lantern on, and from its light you could see some sort of cave entrance with a strange stone door covered in moss. It was overgrown and thick, almost as if no one had been here for quite some time. Shortfang looked around for any way to open it. “Hue. Big, heavy, grassy!” He huffs as he takes out his scimitar to cut it down. Seemed like he was going to take a little while.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia followed Shortfang, and she kept herself to the wall as they continued. When they reached the door, Sylvia let Shortfang clear the stone door of the moss. She was pretty sure if she tried to move to help, she might accidentally send herself and her friend falling to the ravine below. As Shortfang is clearing the moss, Sylvia would look around to see if there were any clues on how to open the door, or if there was another way into the cave...

[Lucius Cypher]

It took a good few minutes but eventually Shortfang was able to hack through the vines and revealed the door. However there didn’t seem to be any door handles, but there was something inscribed on the door itself. It looked like some sort of plant or vine. Shortfang examines the door and looked back to you and Pylia. “Door moves... Somehow.” He pokes at one of the strange looking pods on the inscribed plant, which move to reveal another etching underneath that looked like a seed. “It’s a plant. Maybe related to this place?”

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia looked at the inscription from her position. She asked thoughtfully, "Maybe we need to have one of those plants grow in order to open the door? But I don't know what kind of plant that is..." She looked around to see if any of the actual plants are growing near the door, before looking to Pylia wondering if she knew anything about this particular plant considering she knew some druid stuff. She asked Pylia, "I don't suppose you've heard about any plants like that?"

[Lucius Cypher]

Raising the lantern to get a closer look Pylia tacked her mind. “Some sort of seed pod baring plant. Looks like... A sesame plant. Maybe we have to present sesame? But where would we find one of those here?” Pylia sighed. She figured this wouldn’t be simple. “Well, that’s assuming we need a plant. This looks like some sort of ancient magic door. If we solve the puzzle it’d open. But the only hint is a sesame plant so...”

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia wasn't sure. She was stumped. She asked in response to Pylia, spitballing an idea, "Maybe we can find those plants near the water?" She then looked at the ring on her hand, and she suggested, "I can try checking near the waterfall. The ring I have on might help, since it shields me from water,"

[Lucius Cypher]

Pylia shook her head. “Sesame doesn’t grow near water like this. They’re a field grain, so we’ll likely find them at a farm or something... Maybe Ferric got some sesame plants from Andras? Or more likely just the seeds. Hopefully that might be enough.” As they spoke Shortfang noticed something about the door. “Hey hey! Look!” He pointed upwards towards what looked like a very small opening. “Boost Shortfang! Shortfang sneak inside!”

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia looked towards the opening that Shortfang pointed out and she commented, "Good find, Shortfang!" ...But how was she going to boost him up?
Then she looked at her quarterstaff in hand, and towards Shortfang. He may just be light enough, and her height plus the length of the quarterstaff might work. She held one end of the quarterstaff and lowered the other end carefully towards Shortfang. She told him, "Climb on, Shortfang, and hang on. I'll use the staff to get you up there," After he climbs on, she'll lift the quarterstaff end to the opening Shortfang pointed out.

[Lucius Cypher]

Stripping off excess equipment until he only had his shortsword and armor, Shortfang got onto your staff. He was a bit heavy but you manage to get him to the opening where he crawled through. “Boss, you hear me? Shortfang on other side. See funny thing here... Says... ‘To unlock seed, say open me’.” Shortfang paused for a moment. Pylia tried to say “Open me” loudly, but nothing happened. “Well That didn’t work.”

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia called back after hearing Shortfang call, "Yeah! I can hear you!" She listened to what Shortfang had to say. After Pylia tried saying the literal phrase, Sylvia took a solid minute to think, staring at the inscription of the sesame seed with squinted eyes.

Then the realization came to her, like a bolt of lightning. Her eyes widened. And she couldn't help but laugh raucously!

"Oh my god! I get it! Whoever made this door is a fan of 'A Thousand and One Nights'!" After laughing a bit more, getting it out of her system, she cleared her throat, and called

"Open Sesame!"

[Lucius Cypher]

A loud bang could be heard, eliciting a shocked Yelp from Pylia and Shortfang as the heavy metal door seized up and drops into the ground. Shortfang had jumped back with his sword at the ready expecting a fight, but seeing that all is safe he just looked at you. “Wow! That worked?” Pylia checked the entrance itself, making sure it won’t come up and trap them inside. “Impressive. An obviously magic door, but with a mechanical design. You’ll have to tell me about this ‘Thousand Nights’ take when we’re done here. For now let’s move on.”

After Shortfang got his gear back on he took out the antitoxin and drank it. “Bleh! Bitter!” He coughed heavily before drinking some water from his canteen. “Ugh... Drink up boss. Might be poison bad guys here.” Pylia nods as she straps her shield on and takes out her club. Her breastplate, which she got from Ferric before they left, fitted her well enough though it was more literal than she’d like as it left some of her midriff exposed. An unfortunate side effect as the man’s armor was fitted for his body shape and not Pylia’s.

“Right then. Let’s establish a matching order.”

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia grinned, having a hard time containing her laughter, "It worked! It actually worked!" She followed Pylia in and after she mentioned telling her about the story, she nodded and answered "Will do," She followed her friends in, and when Shortfang suggested drinking the antitoxin, Sylvia nodded in agreement, and drank her antitoxin as well. She coughed from the bitterness, but she was able to swallow it. She had noticed Pylia's armor and simply thought that at least underwear armor isn't a thing, thank god.

At the mention of the marching order, Sylvia nodded and answered "Right," Considering her friends and their abilities, Sylvia suggested, "Shortfang, why don't you take the lead, since you can see in the dark? Then Pylia will be in between us, since she has the lantern, and I'll take the rear, just in case anything tries to sneak up on us,"

[Lucius Cypher]

Shortfang and Pylia silently agreed to the arrangement, and put themselves in position. With a loaded bow and his sword in hand Shortfang took the lead into the cave, carefully watching his step and peeking corners in case he spots anything. Pylia took up the center, making sure the lantern was secured and rechecking her inventory. Once settled the group moves forward.

The cave was small at first but widens up as they move through a winding tunnel. They arrive to a strange small hall. The ground and walls were lined with aged and cracked bricks, and the ceiling had stone stalactites hanging from them. Ahead was another door, this time it showed some sort of tree. At the end of each branch was a small ball-shaped dip, five in total. Shortfang and Pylia looked around the room cautiously. “Looks like another puzzle door.”