Troubled Past PBEM 81 - The Obelisk
Fabian Benavente
Time to bring forth your 'Blue's Clues' or your 'Scooby's Mystery Machine'; can you tell I
have small children in the house? :)
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
L8r,
Fabian
Troubled Past - An Eberron PBEM
http://www.geocities.com/cfbenave/Eberron/Eberron-Page2.htm
Angie Gignac
Tom Andry
[Leif / new]
“Ember,” Leif called out, “let’s get Daram off you. You don’t need to be encumbered right now.”
Daram’s voice cracked, “Down?! There with the snakes?”
“Well human, you couldn’t wait to get down a few minutes ago. I’m sure the last place you want to lose control of your body is surrounded by snakes.”
Daram gulped, torn between the wish to be free and the desire to be as far away from snakes as humanly possible. He hit the ground with a thud quickly scampering to his feet. His eyes darted around furiously looking for approaching snakes.
“You look nervous,” Leif laughed, “they’re just snakes.” Daram seemed to be getting more and more panicked by the second. Leif grabbed his arm, “Breathe human. Despite your best attempts, you’ll live through this. Here.” Leif pressed the Valenar dagger he carried at his waist in the oversized scabbard into Daram’s hand. “I’ve little use for such weapons. Stab at anything that moves.”
Daram looked incredulous. He just couldn’t believe the shifter would willingly arm him. He stared at the dagger as if he expected it to speak to him. “Why would you do this? Give me this? I could stab you and be away!”
Leif turned his back on the human, surveying the area, “You could but you won’t. You’re genuinely a good guy, human. You want to do the right thing. Stabbing me would be wrong and you know it. Plus,” Leif glanced over his shoulder smiling, “you’d better do better than just stab me.” Leif turned back to the obelisk, “You know anything about this? In your research maybe or overhearing someone else talk?” Daram was silent, brooding. “Listen, the faster we’re done here, the sooner we get back to your people. Helping us is the only way you can help them.”
[tag dm]
Tom Andry
Associate Editor
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Fabian Benavente
The words on the obelisk are written in goblinoid and Mel is translating. The scratch
marks are old.
Yes, the boots seem to have interfered with the snake eggs.
The snakes are small pythons (whatever color they are when small, I'll let you answer that
one Angie).
Fabian
Troubled Past - An Eberron PBEM
http://www.geocities.com/cfbenave/Eberron/Eberron-Page2.htm
Fabian
http://www.geocities.com/izrador99/
Hope for the Children - A Midnight PBEM
Fabian Benavente
looking for here. He just knows that the trip was arranged in a hurry and he was brought
along because he needed to get the 'course' and he's pretty good at survival (he's done it
so far).
L8r,
Fabian
Troubled Past - An Eberron PBEM
http://www.geocities.com/cfbenave/Eberron/Eberron-Page2.htm
Fabian
http://www.geocities.com/izrador99/
Hope for the Children - A Midnight PBEM
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Andry" <t...@audioholics.com>
To: <Troubl...@googlegroups.com>
[Leif / new]
[tag dm]
Tom Andry
Associate Editor
HYPERLINK "http://www.audioholics.com/"www.Audioholics.com
Angie Gignac
Then Daram became agitated as he pointed to the ground behind them. Ember quickly turned around and saw a couple of small snakes emerging from snake eggs near one of the red pillars. Taking a closer look, they saw discarded, opened and unopened, snake eggs throughout the clearing.
Angie Gignac
From Bori
"Deep within the Empire's verdant jungle
Rests a true Dhakaani hero in his tomb
At his side an ancient artifact of power
Needed to keep evil in its tainted womb"
From the shaved ferret
"As goblin mapmakers marked locations
But this origin is not the Emperor's throne
The way to reach this starting point
Is to walk twenty miles towards the sun"
From the obelisk
Hidden from ordinary ___
Is the ___ ___ ___ ___ tomb
___, you won't find it ___ ___ ___
The ___ ___ from a ____ python's womb.
kirs...@yahoo.com
prepared? Might repair the scarring (as it occurred later) and reveal
at least some of the runes. I usually carry that spell everywhere I go,
but with an Artificer in the group when I made Mel, I didn't bother
this time ;-(
REF: Bryn bit her lip, concentrating on remembering the strange words.
"Hidden from ordinary what? The other lines rhyme, maybe third line
makes rhyme with this line. Hidden from eyes, from sight? And what is
this word, "womb"? This word also in poem Johan read."
RPG: Mel called upon his innate gift with languages to help translate
the unfamiliar words to Bryn, shaking his head at every other word.
"Can't figure that one out, I'm afraid," the hobgoblin grunted.
The others could note that the rough voice was slowly settling into
what seemed to pass for a cultured accent for a goblinoid. "According
to the poems found by you on the Talenta Plains, it seems we should be
heading East into the jungle to find the actual tomb."
"I recall you saying the other... party that seemed interested in the
mystery didn't have access to that part of the puzzle, yes? In that
case, we should probably press on and be extremely wary of people
seeking to follow our trail," he went on, glancing at Bryn. "It
seems your blessing will come very handy indeed in ensuring we won't
blaze a trail to other contestants."
Taking care to avoid stepping on the snakes as Bryn worked to ensure
their safety, Mel approached the obelisk again, this time brandishing
the rune wand. "Well, your Kuhorto is at the Obelisk now," he
muttered in Goblin. "Any further advice?"
TAG: Everyone interested...
NRPG: So, the booted footprints led to the obelisk? Where they went
from here? Anyway, Mel will play with the wand a bit, tapping the
Obelisk and the columns, touches the Goblin runes with the skull, asks
and curses it to speak to him some more ;^) And Mel would be interested
to place an intact python egg on the oval depression on it if nothing
else interesting happens.
-Jussi / Mel
Fabian Benavente
> against the warmth of her hand. [Note to Fabian...can I keep him?
> Pleeeease????]
I suppose it could 'tag along' while we're in the jungle but you're taking it back to the
Estate, right?
Fabian Benavente
> from here? Anyway, Mel will play with the wand a bit, tapping the
> Obelisk and the columns, touches the Goblin runes with the skull, asks
> and curses it to speak to him some more ;^) And Mel would be interested
> to place an intact python egg on the oval depression on it if nothing
> else interesting happens.
Just a note of where you are; you are actually in the 'modified' location (i.e., there is
no need to move 20 miles further). However, if we stick to the idea that the Morgrave
party was given the directions by whoever assassinated Bori, then they never made it to
the real tomb (to the location where you guys are right now).
One thing leads to another and then you figure out that the booted feet are not from ther
Morgrave Party.
I have some more info coming which I will provide in the recap, probably tomorrow night
but I'll start writing tonight.
Angie Gignac
Angie Gignac
NRPG: Would either of our resident Divine casters have a Mending
prepared?
kirs...@yahoo.com
REF: Bryn bit her lip, concentrating on remembering the strange words.
"Hidden from ordinary what? The other lines rhyme, maybe third line
makes rhyme with this line. Hidden from eyes, from sight? And what is
this word, "womb"? This word also in poem Johan read."
RPG: Mel called upon his innate gift with languages to help translate
the unfamiliar words to Bryn, shaking his head at every other word.
"Can't figure that one out, I'm afraid," the hobgoblin grunted. The
others could note that the rough voice was slowly settling into what
seemed to pass for a cultured accent for a goblinoid. "According
to the poems found by you on the Talenta Plains, this should be the
correct location to look for the tomb."
"I recall you saying the other... party - the Morgrave expedition,
perhaps? - that seemed interested in the mystery didn't have access to
the second part of the puzzle, yes? In that case it seems your blessing
has come very handy indeed in ensuring we won't blaze a trail to other
contestants."
Taking care to avoid stepping on the snakes as Bryn worked to ensure
their safety, Mel approached the obelisk again, this time brandishing
the rune wand. "Well, your Kuhorto is at the Obelisk now," he muttered
in Goblin. "Any further advice?"
TAG: Everyone interested...
NRPG: Oh, right. Might not be able to read/write emails until late
Saturday (my time). Tomorrow I'm off for a 24h rpg session with a
visiting GM and a couple of my friends and then Saturday morning (Sleep
is for the weak) I'll jump to a train to see my parents. So the next
time I have guaranteed time to check my emails is after I get to our
family farm. Take a good care of my changeling until then, eh? ;^)
-Jussi / Mel
Fabian Benavente
Limited success; the inscription now reads:
Hidden from ordinary view
Is the entrance to BLANK eternal tomb
Beware, you won't find it unless you BLANK
The BLANK egg from a giant python's womb
I'm having fun. :)
Angie Gignac
Gary Burns
I can't help but snicker every time I read BLANK. Now its even worse. :(
King, John
________________________________
From: Troubl...@googlegroups.com on behalf of Fabian Benavente
Sent: Thu 7/20/2006 10:20 PM
To: Troubl...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Troubled Past PBEM 81 - The Obelisk
Gary Burns
Belkar leaned backwards, trying to figure out the puzzle. Finally, he signed in exasperation. “To Khyber!” Belkar swore. “We are so close, I can feel it. All to be stopped in our tracks by a stupid rhyme.”
Thinking of the day, Belkar realized that he was still slightly hungry. That could wait, though, first they needed to solve the puzzle before them. Stepping forward, Belkar headed towards Mel and the obelisk. As he did so he heard the slight sound of cracking underfoot as he crushed one of the eggs scattered about on the ground.
Suddenly Belkar’s face paled as he looked down at the ground, at the eggs that had been scattered. Gulping, he turned to the others.
“You don’t suppose,” Belkar said, “that it could be:
‘Beware, you won’t find it unless you chew
The raw egg from a giant python’s womb.’”
[Tag]
From: Troubl...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Troubl...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Angie Gignac
Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 10:51 AM
Fabian Benavente
Gary Burns
King, John
Mel cursed because it wasn't that he couldn't understand the runes, it was that someone had deliberately scratched them out of the rock for some purpose.
[Ember-new]
"Hrrrmm, very blank tomb hidden from regular blankness." Straining to figure out what Mel's translation might mean, Ember turned to Leif. "What is a blank python?"
Shaking his head, Leif opened his mouth to answer but decided it might just be best to let the warforged figure this out for itself.
Ember's answer came from behind. "No, lad," the hobgoblin spoke from the obelisk. "the runes, all marked out. Nay a chance t' read 'em."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Belkar]
Suddenly Belkar's face paled as he looked down at the ground, at the eggs that had been scattered. Gulping, he turned to the others.
"You don't suppose," Belkar said, "that it could be:
'Beware, you won't find it unless you chew
The raw egg from a giant python's womb.'"
[Ember-new]
Taking care not to place its massive feet down on either snakes or eggs, the warforged shifted uncomfortably and then stepped up to the obelisk. Glancing down at the runes and the ovoid depression, Ember began to develop a multitude of scenarios that involved the rhyme.
"'Beware, you won't find it unless you brew the unfertilized egg from a giant python's womb' Mayhaps drink, but how to know if unfertilized?" Ember stood deathly still for a moment and then became animated again, postulating another possibility. "'Beware, you won't find it unless you stew the broken egg from a giant python's womb?' Break egg and cook it in depression. Make stew like humans do at barracks."
Threw, flew, drew, eschew, continue, skew, blew... None of those seemed to work, but even the two that Ember had hypothesized seemed to lack a significant cohesion of ideas. How would eating, drinking or cooking a python egg have any relevance to finding a tomb? Perhaps the python's eggs were somehow magic, containing some sort of enchanted nutrient that, through some freak natural phenomenon, allowed its devourer to see through some sort of illusion. But if that did not work, then what? It's not as though a tomb entrance would know that a person had done those things. That would require some form of detection, a trip wire or pressure plate, or something enchanted that would trigger when you put something into something else. Like the depression in the obelisk, for example. It was oval not the most conventional shape for a bowl of soup or stew, but it still held to the living construct's previous theory.
Seeking to defend its theory, the warforged continued. "Perhaps, since bowl is egg-shaped, put egg in, then break, then chewbrewstew?"
[tag]
Gary Burns
Seeking to defend its theory, the warforged continued. "Perhaps, since bowl is egg-shaped, put egg in, then break, then chewbrewstew?"