Oh shit, that could have gone badly. Even if the statue is just a Petrified Succubus, we would be completely at its mercy. I doubt it's just a Petrified Succubus, though. They're not worth this kind of effort to imprison, not for the beings who are actually capable of that kind of magic.
If Slurk stomach acid is a viable method of destruction, then I'm pretty sure Alchemist's Acid is an even better alternative. The stuff does 1d6 damage on contact, so hopefully it will be able to complete dissolve the ring in short order.
[X] Get rid of the ring first somehow
-[X] Place the ring in one of our vials of Alchemist's Acid.
Oh, no, we are not losing a mount over this. And we are not fighting a possessed great slurk
I am going to be fair, this thing, either destroyed or not, will bring us trouble. But also we can make it so that it becomes less likely to harm us.
Our alternatives, and I think that this is the arc end DP is talking about, is all about deciding where to take this thing:
-A Temple of Desna on the surface. They must surely know how to get rid of this or who should we contact to do so.
-The authorities on Cheliax. What? Yes, of course the devil binders know what to do with a demon. It is going to get destroyed anyway this way, and they might even let us live there.
-That Ghoul metropolis down in Sekamina. We have right of passage, and this would actually net us a tooooon of money.
[X] Let him go, slowly, someone else will hang on to the ring
@DragonParadox , can we take extra measures to protect the ring? Like putting it inside a container with a fuckton of warty slime or something. The idea is that it becomes difficult to manipulate.
Also, @Goldfish , Kori has Protection from Evil, and that protects against mental effects. He should be our Frodo
@DragonParadox , can we take extra measures to protect the ring? Like putting it inside a container with a fuckton of warty slime or something. The idea is that it becomes difficult to manipulate.
Also, @Goldfish , Kori has Protection from Evil, and that protects against mental effects. He should be our Frodo
@DragonParadox , can we take extra measures to protect the ring? Like putting it inside a container with a fuckton of warty slime or something. The idea is that it becomes difficult to manipulate.
Also, @Goldfish , Kori has Protection from Evil, and that protects against mental effects. He should be our Frodo
I'm not opposed to telling someone about this place, assuming we can find a group that won't immediately try to weaponize the bound monster, but I'm not a fan of deliberately seeking out such a group.
I'm not opposed to telling someone about this place, assuming we can find a group that won't immediately try to weapons the bound monster, but I'm not a fan of deliberately seeking out such a group.
I say we find some good guys to take care of it on the surface, or at least someone down here that can break the thing and make sure it doesn't come back to haunt us
Hardness doesn't necessarily protect against long-term damaging exposure to high temperature or acid. A splash of acid on the ring, like the vial was smashed on it, might not do anything, but submerging it for a while is a whole other ballgame.
It's like how a blacksmith's forge can eventually heat a piece of metal until it's red or white hot then hammer it into another shape, despite not really being hot enough to outright damage a metal object on brief exposure.
"Gorok," you call, not taking your eyes off the goblin. "Get one of the acid vials. Let's see if this thing melts." Probably wiser than feeding it to Warty. If the beast gets sick offs it then Cob won't need strange strange curses whispering in his ear to attack me, you think. After a bit of a struggle with the clay throwing pot, it had been designed to be thrown and not dip rings in it, the warrior manages to open the vessel and you drop the ring in... to no discernible effect.
"Cob no... will not listen to stupid ring more," the goblin tries again, ears flat against his head.
"Stay a few paces away from it just in case," you warn getting off him. Hopefully Mina can read the look you throw her way and the motion of your head. If he makes trouble, put him to sleep.
At first the ring looks not only unharmed by its dip in acid, but entirely unharmed. As you spill it out onto the floor, douse it with water, and pick it back up however something glints. A thread of pure silver in the black steed that forms jagged geometric patterns which seem purposeful, but not as any writing you have seen.
Gorok meanwhile twists and turns around the statue as though it were some new beasts whose habits must be learned and perils catalogued. It seems he has found something.
"Too many ridges on the wings." As he meets various looks of confusion he explains. "Wings are hands, five fingers, five ridges. This has seven on one side, six on the other."
"Fiends aren't natural creatures, they're..." Mina starts, but the hunter is not done. He runs a claw along the place where the wing meets the back of the strange woman.
"See ripple here? It does not look like flesh, does not look like wear of water, stone meld. The wing is not real, not part of root rock."
"Why would anyone make a petrified person look like a fiend?" Mina asks, bewildered.
"To make it seem more fearsome?" you posit at the same time as Cob saying. "Maybe stone lady wanted wings? Could not get proper ones, got stone wings."
From there you pass ideas back an forth, about the temple and who could have built it, about what might have been in the alcoves beside the fish-tailed corpse. Mina tries to recall any hint from what she had learned in the temple, Gorok to track who had been here over the last dozen-sleeps, though not with much hope.
"Only one other place to look," Mina finally points towards the stairs by the north wall continuing upwards like a limestone tongue coiling into the heart of Nar Voth, or in the other direction towards the Burnlands.
What does Akorian think the party do?
[] [IDOL] Smash it, if you cannot get rid of the ring at the very least that you can destroy
[] [IDOL] Leave it be, you do not know what it is or how it might react to being broken
[] [IDOL] Take it with you, cursed or not it's still worth selling
[] [IDOL] Write in
[] [PATH] Up into the Burnlands, it is the only place whoever was in the temple before you could have taken
[] [PATH] Back to Cauldron, hopefully the matter of the troll and the poisoning has cleared up
[] [PATH] Write in
OOC: One way or another the next update is the start of the next arc, you guys have had your first adventure, gotten to know your companions and got involved with plenty of intrigue and investigations. For anyone wondering the reason the failed perception rolls were posted was because someone eventually succeeded. Without that or some more obvious sign that a failed roll happened (like say an ambush tripping failed rolls will not be shown).
[X] [IDOL] Leave it be, you do not know what it is or how it might react to being broken
[X] [PATH] Up into the Burnlands, it is the only place whoever was in the temple before you could have taken
