---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 5:57:37 PM] Tak Ironflame
bluh
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[9/18/2026, 6:02:48 PM] Crion
greetungs
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[9/18/2026, 6:05:15 PM] CBN
whalefall. herorise. rentrise (when dwho decides we have too much liquid cash on hand)
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:16:06 PM] Dammitwho
wew
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[9/18/2026, 6:16:13 PM] Dammitwho
Looks like we have everyone but Banana still
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:17:10 PM] Party Loot
Remember also that you still have three crates of valuable goods from the Windfall (the fourth was the boots of bounding)
**Crate 1:** Qadiran saffron and Vudran peppercorn, lead-foil sealed: **120 gp**
**Crate 2:** refined alchemical reagents packed in sawdust: **90 gp**, or usable as 90 gp of crafting raw materials for an alchemist or inventor (Tak)
**Crate 3:** bolts of deep-dyed Chelish court silk: **100 gp**
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:17:46 PM] Crion
oooh
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[9/18/2026, 6:19:01 PM] Gul Banana
the turbanned guy's sword looks like a fish
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:19:57 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
What'll we need to do to sell that stuff? As nonexpert peppercorn merchants, there's some risk of a ripoff... unless Absalom has mastered Commodities.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:20:28 PM] CBN
we should KEEP the silks, for our base. classic decor upgrade materials
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[9/18/2026, 6:20:42 PM] CBN
(smash cut to dubnoom arrayed in the finest silks)
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[9/18/2026, 6:20:47 PM] Nicolae
also dwho the ** don't work to make text bold but you can do html tags like it's the 90s thuswise
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[9/18/2026, 6:21:48 PM] Dammitwho
Yeah I was just copy and pasting from the wddp thread, which was itself copied-and-pasted from a markdown file in Obsidian
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[9/18/2026, 6:21:53 PM] Gul Banana
html is still used in the late 20s, our current era
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[9/18/2026, 6:22:40 PM] Gul Banana
i am pro-silken drapings.
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[9/18/2026, 6:22:50 PM] Dammitwho
Regarding selling this stuff: the Coins District and the Grand Bazaar has plenty of places that will happily take them off your hands. If and how much you'll get ripped off... is down to your skill...
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:23:09 PM] Crion
hmm. what are the mercantile rolls
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[9/18/2026, 6:23:19 PM] Dammitwho
You could use the silk to make drapery for the Thirteenth Hour, or one really big turban for Dubnoom (like that guy)
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[9/18/2026, 6:23:43 PM] Nicolae
i'm assuming society and diplomancy are the main mercantile skills
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[9/18/2026, 6:24:00 PM] Crion
diplomancy should be a magic school
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[9/18/2026, 6:24:04 PM] Crion
i assume it is in some systems
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[9/18/2026, 6:24:56 PM] Nicolae
i was about to say it is, but i'm thinking of Dipsomancy, which is from unknown armies and is based on getting drunk
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[9/18/2026, 6:26:27 PM] Gul Banana
lindal (society 15, diplomacy 11) wouldn't want to regularly spend his time vanaraing a market stall... but as a novelty, he'd be happy to try one day of bantering and bartering
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[9/18/2026, 6:26:59 PM] Gul Banana
it can't be that different from negotiating with fences.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:27:23 PM] Nicolae
we should see if there are any fences near our hideout
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:29:15 PM] Gul Banana
we've got a lead on those actually!
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:29:27 PM] Dammitwho
One infamous variant of this idea is the "Jumplomancer", which impresses NPCs into fanatical loyalty with his ability to jump 94 feet in the air.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:29:31 PM] Gul Banana
let me just find the log...
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[9/18/2026, 6:30:55 PM] Gul Banana
leal khun gave us, with mild trepidation, some places and people of shady nature
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:32:09 PM] Gul Banana
possibly we should seek out Yggwil in the grand bazaar. except that we don't actually have any stolen goods to sell, so possibly not
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:32:46 PM] Crion
we can get good money legitimately for all these things, i think, and we don't have to worry about leveraging sale price because purchase price was Free
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:32:59 PM] Dammitwho
It's true that the valuable crates are legally yours, so you don't need to fence them
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:36:11 PM] Nicolae
yay for salvage laws!
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:37:34 PM] Gul Banana
regardless, i guess we shouldn't try to sell anything *while* seeking orb revelations
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:37:39 PM] Gul Banana
that would be confusing to the sages
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[9/18/2026, 6:37:41 PM] CBN
this also means that we could, in theory, set these spoils aside and chase down NEW spoils...then sell the lot later. package deal!
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:38:06 PM] CBN
the time-honored tradition of unloading some crap on some idiot because you have 1 thing he actually wants. now the power is in OUR hands. eventually
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:40:05 PM] Nicolae
iirc dwho said we had a lead but didn't want us to take it last week because they hadn't finished the dungeon yet
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:40:12 PM] Crion
oh right i suppose we are midscene technically
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:40:43 PM] Dammitwho
The life of an adventurer is well understood in Absalom, so it's likely the Esoteric Order people would understand needing to e.g. sell dungeon loot, visit dungeons to acquire more, etc
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:41:38 PM] Dammitwho
Yes, you were told about the Red Drake Warehouses [Bay 9C] two sessions ago: as of now, Tak and Dubnoom are in the Forae Logos while Lindal and Imran are in the Thirteenth Hour while three sages from the Esoteric Order examine the Triune Cipher.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:41:50 PM] Gul Banana
yes, just not while mid-conversation with them!
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:43:09 PM] CBN
And Dubnoom has a fuzzy (furry?) book, that he does not understand at all!
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:46:32 PM] Dammitwho
Tak has been deep in the stacks of the Forae Logos for more than four hours now, researching the Man In Black. It's warm down here - central air hasn't been invented yet - and Tak finds himself growing weary...
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:46:38 PM] Dammitwho
Tak! Make a Fortitude save!
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:46:48 PM] Nicolae
:O
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:46:55 PM] Tak Ironflame
32
1d20 + 13 = 19 + 13 = 32
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:49:55 PM] Tak Ironflame
It'll take more than a stuffy basement to tire out a man who used to work near magma flows back home.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:51:40 PM] Dammitwho
Tak's an experienced soul who's ranged the Mana Wastes, wandered northern Avistan, and works regularly with explosives. It takes more than an old library to make him fall asleep. His eyes droop, he slumps forward in his chair for a moment, then jolts awake. Phew! There's coffee imported from Katapesh for sale in the City at the Center of the World, maybe next time he should bring some!
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:52:47 PM] Dammitwho
And yet, just for a moment between dozing and waking, an image flashed behind Tak's eyelids. A raven's skeleton made of gleaming steel and crackling with electricity, wings spread wide and screeching at the heavens.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:56:28 PM] Gul Banana
i feel like it would be hard to sleep with an electric steel raven skeleton going on
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:56:46 PM] Dammitwho
Like many inventors, Tak always has a few ideas in the back of his mind to work on in idle hours. Now, one burns in his brain, the gaps in the formula resolved - it was all so obvious!
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:57:04 PM] Dammitwho
Tak now has the formula to craft @UUID[Compendium.pf2e.equipment-srd.Item.Wf94e8YNhZdIvWc9]{Ghost Charge (Moderate)}
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:57:21 PM] Nicolae
:O
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 6:59:21 PM] Tak Ironflame
He shakes his head, clearing his mind. Hunh... he hasn't thought about that formula in ages... It just needed time to percolate in the back of his mind, he supposes. Maybe something he read in one of these tomes sparked something in his subconscious. It's been a good day at the library.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:03:53 PM] Crion
phew ok sorry i think i've mostly discharged my duties for job
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:03:57 PM] Crion
have i missed any prompt
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:05:20 PM] Nicolae
C:\>
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:05:38 PM] Dammitwho
Meanwhile, in the Thirteenth Hour, Vesna Ardolescu, Kheperu Amantet, and Cassian Verrold from the Esoteric Order are examining the Triune Cipher. Runes of divinatory spellcasting fade from the air over the metal orb, and Cassian purses his lips. "I was right. Not a trace of divine magic on it. It may have been handed down from a god, but it wasn't created by one."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:09:28 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"That's actually good news! Considering the gods involved."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:10:24 PM] Imran Traveler
"It speaks to the weakness of Zon-Kuthon. Well, the alleged weakness."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:10:53 PM] Imran Traveler
"I suppose it's possible that it was created by something more powerful than a god, rather than less. I don't know what the theology is there."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:11:52 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Friend Tak! Alertness! We are in a place of knowledge." Dubnoom is hovering around. Hasn't found anything else as interesting as the one book, but he's trying.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:12:01 PM] Dammitwho
Vesna nods. "It certainly makes me feel a little safer about poking at it without having a spring-loaded knife pierce my hand. We'll start working on exactly how old it is--"
"INTERESTING QUESTION!" says Kheperu, too excitedly. "Sorry. 'Interesting question!'. There's a lot of arguments about that very issue."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:12:48 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Arguments made when the gods aren't listening?"
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:13:12 PM] Dammitwho
It's true, that's where Dubnoom and Tak are. What's their next move? More reading? Calling it a day and heading home?
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:13:54 PM] Dammitwho
"Oh no," replies Kheperu to Lindal. "If people got suspiciously struck by lightning whenever they advanced a certain theory, we'd know they were on to something!"
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:14:14 PM] Tak Ironflame
"Sometimes poring over all that knowledge can tucker a fellow out a little." Tak is satisfied with his current library experience, and he's ready to head back if Dubnoom is.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:15:18 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom would ALWAYS want to get more treasures. But well-rested is well-armed. "Yes. And there are beds for sleeping elsewhere. Chair-sleeping...that is for guards who will be fired or killed. Not for scholars and learn-ed folk. Or us."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:15:45 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"...does friend Tak know where the others went off to?"
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:17:15 PM] Tak Ironflame
"Very wise, Dubnoom."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:20:18 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak considers Dubnoom's question. "I recollect that they went to find some insights about our little trinket."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:20:48 PM] Dammitwho
Dubnoom is a goblin, and few goblins live long enough to learn the joys of an old man open mouthed nap in an easy chair. But perhaps, someday...?
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:21:13 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Perhaps....a dream of retirement, in our lifetime...
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:22:36 PM] Gul Banana
the idea of a goblin retiring... nothing even comes to mind
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:22:51 PM] Gul Banana
maybe something like a finnish cabin situation
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:23:18 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Their fascination with that orb will be our undoing. If not just theirs." He's rolling around the idea of abandoning them in his mind for a second. "We should go find them." Sure.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:23:21 PM] Nicolae
goblins have their own version of social security, which is where you make the young goblins bring you things and then you hit them with sticks and shoes until they let you have them
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:23:28 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran nods to Kheperu. "That makes sense."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:23:46 PM] CBN
goblin retirement lasts a year at most before you die so
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:26:56 PM] Dammitwho
Kheperu: "The 'overgod' thesis is largely discredited for lack of evidence, incidentally."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:28:18 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Even if there are no lightning bolts, we'd better set that aside as a tangent."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:31:15 PM] Dammitwho
"Oh, certainly. But, if you felt like discussing it at some point..." Lindal may note that he is the only person in the room within two decades of Kheperu's age, apart from Imran who has a sort of Resting Face that doesn't invite socializing.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:32:40 PM] Imran Traveler
"Oh, the Nidalese don't necessarily believe that whatever Zon-Kuthon found out there was some kind of better god."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:33:01 PM] Imran Traveler
"But then the theology isn't all that clear. Publicly, at least."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:35:33 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Lindal does like theology, in a sense; he enjoys the *stories* of gods, their pranks and grudges and adventures and revelries. He'll give Kheperu a grin of acknowledgment... it's just that this orb thing really might kind of matter, so,
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:35:35 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak and Dubnoom have no other pressing business, but since we don't know exactly where the others went, we could just head back to the Thirteenth Hour and wait for them, possibly while examining Dubnoom's new acquisition.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:40:03 PM] Dammitwho
You could always ask the velstracs to show you what Dou-Bral saw. Ha ha. Lol,
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:41:36 PM] Dammitwho
I'm assuming Tak/Dubs return to the 13H?
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:42:18 PM] CBN
yes!
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[9/18/2026, 7:42:58 PM] Nicolae
where we no doubt discover that the apparatus has been disabled so nobody fucks up and breaks containment while the wizards are poking at the hell orb
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:45:34 PM] Gul Banana
maybe there's a doorbell function
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:48:32 PM] Dammitwho
Sort of - prior to the iris opening, there's a series of loud whirs and groans as large clockwork mechanisms engage. Tak is upstairs manipulating the orrery to open the iris. In the Thirteenth Hour, Vesna quickly gets to her feet and snaps the lead-lined box holding the orb shut.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:49:00 PM] Dammitwho
Cassian strokes his chin. "We'll need some kind of containment protocol if we're to study this artifact long-term..."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:48:59 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran had already taken a step over.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:49:04 PM] Imran Traveler
"Indeed."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:49:27 PM] Imran Traveler
Calling up the stair: "Tak? Dubnoom?"
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:50:12 PM] Tak Ironflame
"Imran! You're here after all! How goes the quest to find some wizards?" Tak says as he comes down the stairs.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:50:51 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Greetings!"
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:51:21 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran relaxes and takes his hand off his sword. Oh, his hand was on his sword. Hm.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:51:51 PM] Imran Traveler
"Greetings and salutations!" To the experts: "These are my people. They are safe." To Tak: "Close it up."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:54:22 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak nods, and does the needful once Dubnoom has entered.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:56:25 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Lindal took quick steps back when the incredibly cool mechanism began to open, becoming less conspicuous by the walls and furnishing, ready to Observe before potentially Acting. Fortunately, neither is required and he trots out into the light again.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:56:40 PM] Imran Traveler
To answer Tak's question: "Well. We've found some sages. I don't know if they wish to be called wizards."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:57:36 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak turns to the people he doesn't recognize, who he assumes are the Sages in question. "Ah, my apologies," he says with a smile and a tip of his hat.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:58:55 PM] Dammitwho
Vesna nods politely to Tak. "I actually am a wizard, so no harm done."
"I'm actually a psychic..." Cassian adds mildly.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:59:19 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom steeples his fingers. "Sages....wisdom....yes."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 7:59:17 PM] Imran Traveler
"And, in honesty, they found us."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:00:13 PM] Tak Ironflame
"Oh? How did that fortuitous meeting come about?"
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:01:27 PM] Dammitwho
Vesna interjects. "Not technically! A mutual friend informed us of your urgent need and the uncertainly dire consequences of discovery. One might say we found one another."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:03:18 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak nods. He didn't mention his main concern, which is that these sages somehow divined our ominous cargo and introduced themselves to get closer to it, but that explanation has assuaged his worries for now.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:08:10 PM] Imran Traveler
To Tak: "I needed wise minds to examine an orb."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:09:31 PM] Dammitwho
Cassian Verrold: "But no wise minds being to hand, he got us! Ha!". Kheperu laughs, somewhat nerdily. Even Vesna chuckles a little.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:12:15 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
As long as it's just a joke! If there are wiser sages, we'd rather talk to 'em.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:12:51 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran smiles.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:15:10 PM] Dammitwho
Vesna: "It's really a remarkable find you've shown us. I don't suppose there's anything publically known in Nidal about it?" She looks at Imran hopefully.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:16:31 PM] Imran Traveler
"Not unless you want to die."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:18:52 PM] Imran Traveler
"The reason we're doing this down here and you're not allowed to take the orb home and look at it is because men from Nidal might show up and kill you."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:19:02 PM] Imran Traveler
"And the 'might' is entirely based on proximity."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:25:55 PM] Dammitwho
Vesna is briefly taken aback, but only briefly. "Ah. It's one of those, then. We'll have to produce a lock for this box, some kind of lock-out/tag-out procedure... it wouldn't be the first time. You can rely on us."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:27:00 PM] Dammitwho
"It's a shame - if there were historical data available we could start to work out when the Black Triune might have gotten it. As it is, we'll have to do direct magical investigation, look for similar artifacts in the literature... this'll take time."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:27:15 PM] Imran Traveler
"We have time. Some, at least."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:27:45 PM] Dammitwho
"Once we know how old it is, we can start to work out who might have made it, and thereby what it's for. It's a fiendishly complex device."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:27:45 PM] Imran Traveler
"Again, though, this is a danger. Collegial talk in your ateliers could lead to low men in your alleys."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:28:42 PM] Dammitwho
Vesna nods. "As I say, sir, it wouldn't be the first time. Remember that our Order was founded in Ustalav. The night has a thousand eyes."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:29:00 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"And the low men are the WORST, also."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:29:01 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Also, knowing nothing about the device is a danger of its own. So we think it's worth studying. Please ask us for help with incidents if any do occur!"
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:29:15 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran sighs. "In Nidal, the night has more than that."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:31:06 PM] Imran Traveler
Shall we bundle the sages out from here? Or do they have more to discover and reveal?
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:31:31 PM] Dammitwho
"No fear," adds Cassian. "I've no desire to have my skin peeled. We shall inform you if the thing so much as twitches. Is there anything in particular you need from us? I assume you'll need to confer amongst yourselves, prepare for adventure, that sort of thing?"
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:32:20 PM] Imran Traveler
"Indeed. Four days, and then we shall be prepared for anything."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:32:36 PM] Imran Traveler
There are things to follow up upon.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:37:58 PM] Dammitwho
"Very well." Vesna nods. "We shall withdraw, then. Nimrith can be relied upon to reach us until we can set up a permanent communication line."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:38:51 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran nods. "I will walk you to the door, but its best I don't follow you into public."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:40:12 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
There's some sort of alley door into the Owl's back room that doesn't go through its commons, right?
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:40:24 PM] Imran Traveler
Indeed.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:42:03 PM] Dammitwho
Yes there is!
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:43:29 PM] Dammitwho
The iris is opened, the three sages are lead out by Imran, who returns. The iris closes once more. The party is safe, at least from magical scrying (and a lot of other things that can be defeated by a few feet of solid rock).
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:43:57 PM] Tak Ironflame
After the sages have left, Tak suggests: "There is a way to disable entrance from outside," he says, gesturing to the particular apparatus that will do just that. "Maybe we should devise a simple system of signals so if any of us come back to find the entrance not working, we'll know why and whether to be alarmed. One sign for doing important things that we need contained, that sort of thing."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:45:05 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Young monks in the Niswan cloisters used to leave a sock on their doorknob for that."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:45:52 PM] Nicolae
not retyping all that but i meant "disable entrance from inside"
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:46:11 PM] Crion
ah, well then,
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:46:32 PM] Nicolae
i think in my head i was thinking "ah, well, someone would enter from outside, coming in" and it's late
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:46:34 PM] Imran Traveler
"Yes, that makes sense."
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:46:45 PM] Crion
i mean the opening mechanism is a complicated planetarium thing
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:47:00 PM] Crion
it is OBVIOUSLY possible to disable from the outside with a simple battleaxe
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:47:17 PM] Crion
so we should think about that too
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:48:10 PM] Gul Banana
tfw you are locked in but nobody can scry on you to find out that you need help
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:48:35 PM] Nicolae
well, if someone disables it with a battleaxe, does that mean it will open up for them, or that it just stays locked until they send in the artificers and locksmiths etc.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:49:06 PM] Crion
probably the latter! but that means the people inside are under siege conditions
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:49:20 PM] Crion
if you're just a shithead you wreck the mechanism and walk away
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:49:42 PM] Nicolae
well, presumably someone on the outside will notice at some point and they will call in their people
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:49:54 PM] Crion
librarians.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:50:15 PM] Crion
look, our play here is not getting discovered
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:52:33 PM] Nicolae
works for me
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:52:44 PM] Nicolae
anyway, there is one more pressing matter for the evening, i think
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:53:25 PM] Gul Banana
"why does this book have fur"?
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:54:01 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom, for his part, is looking at said book, again.
---------------------------
[9/18/2026, 8:57:32 PM] Dammitwho
That's a pretty good question. Dubnoom wasn't able to answer it the first time, but maybe, in more serene and comfortable surroundings, with friends?
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[9/18/2026, 8:57:40 PM] Tak Ironflame
What is the deal with that book...
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[9/18/2026, 8:57:40 PM] Dammitwho
Anyone with Nature can take a gander at the book
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[9/18/2026, 8:58:20 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
36
1d20 + 17 = 19 + 17 = 36
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[9/18/2026, 8:58:25 PM] CBN
comfort roll.
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[9/18/2026, 8:58:38 PM] Nicolae
i guess that book has been thoroughly gandered,
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[9/18/2026, 8:58:46 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
10
1d20 = 10 = 10
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[9/18/2026, 8:58:48 PM] Tak Ironflame
29
1d20 + 13 = 16 + 13 = 29
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[9/18/2026, 8:58:57 PM] Imran Traveler
21
1d20 + 9 = 12 + 9 = 21
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[9/18/2026, 8:59:21 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Lindal has a lot of *knowledge* received orally and via corporeal punishment. He doesn't know from books or, for that matter, from furs.
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[9/18/2026, 9:01:25 PM] Dammitwho
Tak has a keen eye and the ability to watch things patiently, waiting for the slightest move, a relic of his working as a sniper in the Mana Wastes. After watching the book for a time, he knows: it's breathing.
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[9/18/2026, 9:02:09 PM] Dammitwho
Dubnoom's wisdom, however, is unsurpassed. Once he gets a little bit Comfy, his brain works at lightning speed, and returns an answer.
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[9/18/2026, 9:02:13 PM] Dammitwho
This book... is a bear!
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[9/18/2026, 9:02:19 PM] Imran Traveler
Hm!
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[9/18/2026, 9:02:46 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom holds it at stubby little arms' length. But still holds it.
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[9/18/2026, 9:03:21 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak is about to point out the book's breathing... but then Dubnoom appears to have an even greater realization...
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[9/18/2026, 9:03:48 PM] Dammitwho
The question of how a bear became this fuzzy book is less clear. Magic, presumably. A curse? Could it be turned back into a bear? Could it be turned back into a bear after throwing it at great speed at foes?
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[9/18/2026, 9:04:32 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Bitey book..." The mind boggles.
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[9/18/2026, 9:04:48 PM] Crion
please tell us about the bear so we can resolve to adopt another baby
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[9/18/2026, 9:07:54 PM] Nicolae
dwho has not yet learned the lesson of "you can't introduce too many little guys to these PCs"
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[9/18/2026, 9:08:08 PM] Dammitwho
Well, at the moment, it doesn't appear to be doing much. Just sitting there, being fuzzy and breathing slightly. It doesn't seem to require food. To Dubnoom's mind, it's a bear in a, like, ontological sense. At the moment it's being held back from it's full bearitude.
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[9/18/2026, 9:08:47 PM] Dammitwho
haha yeah man *tosses another tribble at capt. kirk* what a fool i am *fills up the tribble bucket again*
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[9/18/2026, 9:09:39 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Friends. We have a book that is a bear. It does not bite. Yet." Dubnoom chooses not to put it down yet. But also not hold it in any way that could be considered provocation. Yet.
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[9/18/2026, 9:10:33 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran frowns. "Did the bear want to be a book?"
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[9/18/2026, 9:11:34 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Unclear." He pauses. "Did you?" He asks the book, at conversational volume.
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[9/18/2026, 9:12:07 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak leans over to look at the edges of the book's pages. Do the pages look... toothy?
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[9/18/2026, 9:13:03 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Why is everyone leaning over the claimed bear.
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[9/18/2026, 9:15:49 PM] Imran Traveler
"Well. We will not let the orbfella eat the bear, and we will investigate its situation."
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[9/18/2026, 9:16:37 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Yes. Or the other way around."
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[9/18/2026, 9:19:45 PM] Dammitwho
The edges of the book's pages are jagged. Not torn, but as if they were cut in place to resemble teeth, and Tak wouldn't want to get a paper cut from them!
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[9/18/2026, 9:20:07 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Is there writing in the 'book'? Does it say 'grr, honey'?"
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[9/18/2026, 9:20:07 PM] Dammitwho
Dubnoom does not get a response from the book. He could try opening it...?
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[9/18/2026, 9:20:38 PM] Imran Traveler
We have a number of ten foot, or local equivalent, poles.
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[9/18/2026, 9:20:50 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
He may attempt to open it...next time. ^___^
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[9/18/2026, 9:21:17 PM] Dammitwho
So be it! Instead, I will post the bearbook details in the thread, and see you all... NEXT WEEK
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[9/18/2026, 9:21:50 PM] Dammitwho
The bear burn book, which combines chapters of rude gossip about bears and fire-based anti-bear spells
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[9/18/2026, 9:22:06 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
!!!
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[9/18/2026, 9:22:11 PM] CBN
thank you for running! gg!
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[9/18/2026, 9:22:17 PM] Nicolae
gg!!!!
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[9/18/2026, 9:22:16 PM] Dammitwho
chears!
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[9/18/2026, 9:26:13 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
geeg
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[9/18/2026, 9:26:37 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
i can't believe someone turned a bear into a book that's MEAN to bears ;_;