Heroica RPG - Quest 32: The Lost Children

[Rumble Strike]

The party backtrack until they find themselves overwhelmed by bright light once again, and appear back in the upper hallway.

Erik takes the key and uses it on the chest. It works!

Inside the chest is:

2 potions

Ice bomb

Shovel

Pickaxe

Party Leader, please distribute the loot.

I am not penalising you for doing a bit of roleplaying, Endgame, it's something I like to see. I would also have accepted other creative ideas, such as Nagure being more able to see in the dark, as he is a Yeti. Sometimes it can't just be about HP and stats. Myrddyn and yourself did well there.

[Endgame]

"That ice bomb MUST have some signifigance. the reason you lock something up is to hide, implying that our maginastra freidn may be a fire type and we just found one of his weaknesses."

...Fire type?

It's more effecient then saying "the Maginastra must be skilled at creating conduits of blazing infernos all over our puny faces".

I'll hold onto the ice bomb. Eric, Mizuki, take a potion. Flamerobe, i want you to take this shovel. perhaps we can dig a grave for our friend the maginastra when we're done with him. Finally, nagure, take the pickaxe.

I know, I was just joking around. I remember in the Cave Sounds quest where someone accidentally mined a wall and got clonked on the head with a big rock, subtracting 3 hp.

[Rumble Strike]

Party with loot updated (and Mizuki's poisoned blade from earlier):

Party

Erik Tyrvarr

, Level 5 Barbarian (Myrddyn)

18 years old male human

Power: 10

Health: 12/12

Gold: 107

Inventory: Spear (WP: 5), Axe (WP: 3), Potion x4, Mead, Remedy

Sorrow

, Level 5 Rogue (Endgame) **Party Leader**

Power: 10

Health: 11/11

Gold: 166

Inventory: Longsword (WP: 5), Scythe (WP: 3) Potion x2, Venom, Phoenix Essence, Ice Bomb, Parasol (Quest Item), Fallen Leaf (Quest Item), Toy Lamb (Quest Item), Sled (Quest Item)

Mizuki Kimura

, Level 5 Rogue (zakura)

21 years old Female Human

Power: 10

Health: 11/11

Gold: 125

Inventory: Dagger (WP: 5, envenomed), Black Katana(WP: 3), Potion x3, Bedroll, Smoke Bomb, Grand Potion

Nagure

, Level 5 Barbarian (Costy)

34 Year old male Yeti

Power: 10

Health: 12/12

Gold: 72

Inventory: Axe (WP: 5), Club (WP: 3), Potion, Bottle of Mead x2, Remedy, Phoenix Essence, Pickaxe

Drake Flamerobe

, Level 5 Knight (xxlrocka)

39 year old male human

Power: 10

Health: 8/14

Gold: 97

Inventory: Greatsword (WP: 5), Torch(WP: 3), Shield(SP: 2), Potion, Tonic, Phoenix Essence, Shovel

[Myrddyn]

"Hey Drake or Nagure, you guys don't seem to have many potions, so if one of you want, I would be willing to trade 2 potions for that shovel, Drake, or 2 potions and 10 gold for that pickaxe, Nagure?"

[Costy]

"Hey Drake or Nagure, you guys don't seem to have many potions, so if one of you want, I would be willing to trade 2 potions for that shovel, Drake, or 2 potions and 10 gold for that pickaxe, Nagure?"

No thank you, I would like to keep the pickaxe. It might come in handy one day.

[Endgame]

"When you two are done bartering, we should seek out Hlin and get his aid in taking down the Maginastra.

[Rumble Strike]

Hlin bustles up the stairs from the lower hallway and appears in the upper hallway.

"Have you heroes decided your next move?"

[Endgame]

Hlin bustles up the stairs from the lower hallway and appears in the upper hallway.

"Have you heroes decided your next move?"

"Yes. we'll sit down and chat with the maginastra over a cup of tea and let him choose how he wants to be executed. To the third floor, comrades!

...You coming, Hlin?

[Tachyon]

"Yes. we'll sit down and chat with the maginastra over a cup of tea and let him choose how he wants to be executed.

"I sure hope there's hot chocolate or cocoa."

[Myrddyn]

"Woah! Shouldn't we grab that torch and check the dark room with some light before we go upstairs? At the very least there will be nothing in there and we can go up to the first floor, but there might be something in there that will aid us in determining what to do with the maginastra, or help us execute him. Those guardians weren't easy, and it stands to reason that the maginastra will be even harder to fight!"

"If we are going to check that dark room, and no-one else wants to grab the torch, (Yeah I'm looking at you, Drake. Your shield is not affected by the strength of your weapon, whereas me and Nagure will do less damage if we go into a frenzy and are only carrying the torch, and our (Critical) hits are stronger than yours, while Syntax and Mizuki will not be able to mug their opponents as easily with a torch.) then I will hold onto it while we check the dark room.

EDIT: "Actually, so we don't spend ages arguing over who should hold the torch again, I will grab the torch, and go into the dark room. I hope you guys follow me."

Edited May 22, 2012 by Myrddyn

[Costy]

Yes we should go into the dark room again with the torch. Just keep that thing away from me. My fur is already singed enough from the battle with Snowy. Hopefully we can find something that will help us with defeating the Maginastra. Or more pretty pictures. After we check out that room we should go upstairs.

[Tachyon]

"When we go to the maginastra, why don't we negotiate with him before attacking ?

Isn't Drake learned in the skill of diplomacy ?"

[xxlrocka]

Yes we should go into the dark room again with the torch. Just keep that thing away from me. My fur is already singed enough from the battle with Snowy. Hopefully we can find something that will help us with defeating the Maginastra. Or more pretty pictures. After we check out that room we should go upstairs.

"Nice idea."

"Yeah."

"I don't trust Sorrow now that he's been taken over."

"Yeah....when we get back to the hall, electrocute him again. Knock some sense into him."

"Well....he's actually okay. Just that I don't want a changed Sorrow forever."

"Eh, actually, he'll probably go normal again at the end of the quest. Just imagine he hasn't changed for now."

"Okay."

Edited May 22, 2012 by xxlrocka

[Myrddyn]

"I don't suppose you want to carry the torch, Drake? If not, I will continue to hold it."

[Costy]

I still trust our party leader. Just make sure he is not alone with the loot. If you electrocute him again you will probably kill him,so don't do that. I don't think the Maginastra will listen to Drake and unfortunately we will have to kill him.

[xxlrocka]

I still trust our party leader. Just make sure he is not alone with the loot. If you electrocute him again you will probably kill him,so don't do that. I don't think the Maginastra will listen to Drake and unfortunately we will have to kill him.

"Well it's worth a try. I mean, that's what you think. Not what will actually happen."

[Myrddyn]

"Well, I guess that's a no, Drake. I will continue to hold the torch."

[Endgame]

"You're talking about me as if I've turned into a demon. I suppose an explanation is order...

Eric and Flamerobe, you probably remember the heart attack ordeal. When Sorrow got hit by lightning, his pysche suffered some serious damage: it quite literally split in two. Sorrow got all of his phobias, sarcastic quips, and underlying mental trauma shoved into me. So yes, I'm basically everything badabout Sorrow in personality form. The normal Sorrow, who is okay with me steering him around unless I start burning the mansion down, is squatting in the back of our head, sipping on a nice warm cup of mental cocoa as we speak.

Also, Eric, I do believe all possibility in that dark room has been exhausted. The armor alluded to there being only 4 realms, and with all the children saved and the key found it doesn't seem like there'll be much else. Also worth noting was the fact that the room wasn't dark per se - we were blinded while in it. Most of the relams the Maginastra conjures seem to be relatively small, and we groped aobut and made quite a lot of noise in there, so there was no beast.

Nevertheless, I suppose we should investigate. To the dark room! eric, you are holding the torch, correct?

...Also Drake, learn to whipser. Seriously. My hearing is more acute than one might think for an undead."

[Rumble Strike]

The party goes back to the "dark room" door they just came out of... only to find that it does not open again. In fact, if they'd try to go back into any of the rooms, they would discover that all the doors are locked up tighter than Atramor Gibbin's... purse of gold. Except the entrance door, obviously.

That being done, it is clear that the party intend to seek out this mysterious Maginastra, and so along with Hlin, they head up the second set of stairs:

They find themselves in a much smaller antechamber, a strange door in front of them, with a cauldron and a stone skull sat on a display case.

What would the party like to do? And what would Mizuki like to try and take first?

[Tachyon]

I'll check the stone skull and the cauldron if there is anything hidden inside or anything able to be taken.

[Rumble Strike]

Mizuki goes across to the stone skull:

This being the magical mansion of the Maginastra, you guessed it, it spoke aloud.

Who disrupts the slumber of the Maginastra? Speak now, or find yourselves lost.

[Endgame]

Mizuki goes across to the stone skull:

This being the magical mansion of the Maginastra, you guessed it, it spoke aloud.

Who disrupts the slumber of the Maginastra? Speak now, or find yourselves lost.

I've been betrayed and mistrusted. A damn lot. Syntax inherited this phobia tenfold, and when flamerobe said he didn't trust him, well, it sent him into a mental breakdown soon after his "origin" speech. I stood awkawardly as the party tried to open the doors, realzing nobody was controlling the body. I immediately took the helm while Syntax recooperated.

"We've been hired to find the children you stole. We killed all of the maginastra's creations and trumped all of his realms in this wretched manor. State his motives now or give us passage to talk to him or I may have to forcefully remove those gemstone eyes of yours.

[Rumble Strike]

One does not simply walk into the Maginastra's chamber.

If you have visited the four realms of sanctuary and defeated the Guardians tasked with keeping things safe, then you will have acquired certain items.

You must place these items into the cauldron IN THE CORRECT ORDER for the door to the Maginastra's chamber to open. Once an item is in the cauldron it cannot be taken back out, so choose the order carefully, or you will never get to see the Maginastra.

Finally, a puzzle! Please heed what the stone skull says and talk this over between yourselves before placing the items in. As Sorrow has them in his possession, he should be the one to actually do this. As always, when you wish to place the items in, please bold your action when you do it.

[Endgame]

"You are actually far more generous then the other talking objects in this house, friend."

I turn to the party.

"All or nothing here, guys. Got any suggestions? the only thing i can think of is placing them in the order we found them."

Editty editty editty edit:

"All these items are based on the seasons. The fallen leaf is autumn, the toy lamb represents the sheep that frolic in the spring(ugh) the parasol represents summer and the sled represents the oh so cold and fabulous winter.

Now, we must obviously place these items in order. now, here is the question: what season goes in first?" I beleive Autumn should. if we do that, the order would be Fallen leaf, Sled, lamb, and Parasol. Satisfactory?

Clever, clever. Of course, I concieved the idea before you. Said syntax, who was obviously recovering.

Assuming I have the logic down pat, mighty voice in the sky, does it matter which goes in first, as long as all the itmes are placed in the order the seasons occur after the first?

Edited May 22, 2012 by Endgame

[Myrddyn]

"Ah, I see what you mean Sorrow, but there must be a trick to it other than guessing which goes in first. If my memory is correct, we got the parasol from Peggy, then the fallen leaf from Sandy, the toy lamb from Buzzy, and the sled from Snowy. If the doors only let you into each realm once, then perhaps they make you go into each realm in order? That would imply that the order is: parasol, leaf, lamb, sled. And if that is correct, we don't need to worry about which one goes in first."

"Or, when the armour first spoke to us, it said 'leave now.' Maybe the leaf goes first? "

Erik turn to the skull and says: "I don't suppose you can give us any more hints?"

Edited May 22, 2012 by Myrddyn