Book 2: Chapter 2 - The Lady's Light

Eberron is a world of pulp noir where swashbuckling and intrigue run rampant. The Last War is over, the war to end all wars, but many say the fighting has simply shifted from the battlefield to the shadows.

In the wake of a long and terrible war, a world struggles to find its destiny. Will it descend once more into brutal conflict and end in spectacular annihilation, or will the world emerge at last into a new era of peace and prosperity? One group of heroes hopes to make Eberron a better place. The Grey Company, formed by a collection of heroes recruits new members to their growing ranks -- you among them.

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Sorshen's Bedchamber: Laid to Rest

Post by Vardaen » Fri Dec 13, 2019 7:23 pm

Je, shaking, takes the potion and drinks it down. It doesn't seem to help his mental state. He just looks at Taris with blank eyes, a fear lost behind them. He grabs Taris by the leg greve from his seated position, "The Shard, we are here for the Shard of Lust, but Greed, we lost Greed. Oloven had Greed. Where is Fletcher, where is Oloven, where are the others?"

Orianna sheaths her blade and moves to the woman tied to the post, she works to cut her down and lay her on the bed. Glanceing about at scattered piece of armor about the room he says, "This is Loria Peratti and this is her armor, as a Grey Maiden, she deserves her armor in her rest." Then she goes about collecting the pieces of the full plate armor and attaching them to the body of her and Taris' fallen sister.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Sorshen's Bedchamber: Laid to Rest

Post by RorytheRomulan » Fri Dec 13, 2019 8:47 pm

"Yes, w-we'll find them. The danger is passed. We'll find Oloven and Fletcher, and we'll find the Shard. Maybe if we search this room?"

Taris does her best to calm Je down, which isn't really her forte, and gives him a task to focus on, so that she can go to Orianna by the pillar to pay her respects. She takes him by the arms to coax him to stand up, but she's not indefinitely committed to this. She's got sisters to mourn, friends to find, and things to do right now.

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Sorshen's Bedchamber: Loot

Post by Vardaen » Mon Dec 16, 2019 7:44 pm

Je won't rise, he waves Taris off. "Let me be, let me be a while still." He draws within himself.

Taris lets him be and joins Orianna. The two Grey Maidens take down the body, lay it out and dress her in her plate armor. It takes a while, but its done and it feels right. Orianna speaks a few words over the corpse and turns away and looks about at the room. "It is over, the Grey Maidens are done, I have led them to destruction. I must return home and see if I can set things right, but for now I will help you finish what you started. Let's find this Shard of yours."

You set to searching the chamber. You start with the corpse of the demoness, who clearly was not Sorshen. She has a few items, not much that you are interested in. Gathering it you sort through it....
potion of cure serious wounds (4),
wand of dimension door (14 charges)
+1 keen guisarme
boots of haste
Then you see the two gem stones on the headboard of the bed. They are large, and perfectly shaped, its enough for you to suspect there is more to them than just wealth. You noticed that there are two more snake mosaics on the floor of the chamber, north and south, much like you've seen else where. They do radiate some magic, but you also can see their eye sockets are hollow, and perfectly shaped to hold those gems from the headboard. It doesn't take a master wizard to realize that putting the gems into the eyes turns the teleporters on.

The question is where do they lead, you doubt they lead to the same place. So you must decide, North or South, or some combination of such?
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Sorshen's Bedchamber: Loot

Post by ManWithDoor » Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:51 pm

Zeevan finishes her inspection of the room, and looting of the corpse, while the others attend to their duties to the dead. Even without intense arcane training, she can put two and two together that the gems would activate the portals. Either opening a wall or teleporting somewhere, that is unknown. "Well, Je is out of commission, so can't rely on that convenient telepathy to communicate if we get a bit separated. Looks like we'll just have to do this the hard way."

She looks back at forth between the north and south wall, deliberating. "Well, it'd be a pure guess from me, going north or south. Either of you know anything that might help. Otherwise ..." she picks a coin out of her pocket and flips it, " ... south it is. Unless you've got better intel."
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Sorshen's Bedchamber: Loot

Post by Vardaen » Tue Dec 17, 2019 8:12 pm

Orianna is slow to reply to Zeevan but when the coin lands south she stops her. "Hold on, I... I've been in this chamber before. I've taken the southern snake, it leads back the way we came, it would get out clear of these rooms. I've never been allowed to go north before, Sorshen... or whatever that was, never allowed it. I hope that helps."
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Sorshen's Bedchamber: Loot

Post by ManWithDoor » Wed Dec 18, 2019 1:32 am

The previously-a-man wearing the face of a dead Rune Lord smiles. "It does indeed! North it will be then. Time to see what secrets this false Sorshen was trying to hide." She carefully retrieves the northern gem and slots it into the northern snake mosaic. She then carefully steps back and observes for what happens next.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Sorshen's Bedchamber: Loot

Post by Vardaen » Wed Dec 18, 2019 3:08 pm

Putting a gem into the northern snake causes the mosaic to glow with a magical light much like others have.

Orianna points, "Just step on the snake to travel through."
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Sorshen's Bedchamber: Loot

Post by ManWithDoor » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:18 pm

"Snake travel. What will they think of next?" The ninja lets off a last quip before stepping on the snake to travel on through.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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The Arcane Oubliette

Post by Vardaen » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:55 pm

Zeevan steps and vanishes, so, one by one on you go...

The walls of this oddly shaped room appear strangely molded, their surfaces like sweaty pink clay infused with bits of glittering crystal. The floor looks like dray, cracked mud dark red in color, and the ceiling arches only eight feet overhead. A disturbing sound fills the space, resembling the endless exhalation of some bizarre, hulking beast. A mosaic of a coiled snake sits on the floor in a small alcove to the side, while along the walls of the strange room sit numerous interesting looking objects -- but none more intriguing than the triangular shard of red metal that sits alone on a shelf at eye level.

You arrive standing on the snake mosaic.
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The Lady's Light Upper Levels
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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The Arcane Oubliette

Post by RorytheRomulan » Thu Dec 19, 2019 11:37 pm

The finality with which Orianna declares the end of not just their squad, but of the Grey Maidens, feels definitive to Taris. Questions and musings on where to go from here fill her head as she follows the others, giving small nods while she has one foot in her own world and one foot in the real one.

After they teleport to the north, she grimaces at the sight of the new room and the sound of an endless breath, as though this temple perverted to lust were not yet finished with them. Thankfully, the glint of red metal on the wall catches her eye.

She lifts a finger and asks, "There - is that it?"

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