Lucius Cypher

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

Roll me a Perception or investigation in this room.

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

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.”

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

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.”

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

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.”

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

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!”

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

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...”

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

Cool. Also you may now roll me an investigation or nature check.

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

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?”

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

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.

Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

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."