THE HEROES OF DYVERS CHAPTER 7: CLARE'S ERRAND

[Sylvar B.]

Sylvar has been quiet through most of the exchange, bow cradled in the crook of his arm, eyes moving between the towering elf and the noisy axe on Vale’s belt. At Val’s last jab he exhales through his nose, more amused than annoyed.

“Careful, Val,” he says jokingly. “Keep calling every elf ‘shrimpboy’ and I’m going to start taking it personally.”

He steps forward a few paces so Djyn can clearly see him, hands well away from his weapons. When he speaks again, it’s in smooth, unhurried Elven.

“Ignore the axe, cousin. It was forged without a sense of tact.

I am Sylvar Belanor. My friends and I are here on an errand, which doesn't include you or your soul.”

“Near as we can tell, a someone tried to turn you into their personal watch dog and parked you in that bubble until they needed you. Something went wrong and instead of a zombie with swords, You’re awake, you’re thinking, and you’re not under their thumb. That’s the good news. The bad news is you're stuck in here with us.”

Sylvar studies Djyn’s face for a moment, then gives a short, respectful bow from the waist, then straightens.

“If you decide you want a fight, we’ll give you one. But I'd rather you walk with us for a while. We’ll tell you what we know once we’re out of here you can decide where you’re going next.”

Switching to Common.

“You have my word, warrior: until you give us a reason otherwise, we’ll treat you as guest and friend, not as cargo. Is that good enough for now?”

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

OOC: DM NOTE: Judging by the expression on Djyn's face, when you switched to Common, you completely lost him.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Val pipes up again in response to Sylvar's comment, as only he can: "Pay attention, slacker! I called the halfling 'shrimpboy.' I call you and your ilk 'flower eaters' and 'tree huggers.' And I was not forged; the axe was forged, and I was wished into it, so that my soul and knowledge would not be lost to a diabolical spell cast by Grazz't in an attempt to drain my soul."

 

[Sylvar B.]

Seeing the confusion on the big elf's face Sylvar apologizes and repeats himself in elvish, but not before responding to Val
" True enough you old battle-axe, you have me there."

 

[Waynan]

Though Tam speaks and understands Elven, he keeps silent for the moment.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

OOC: It is at this point that all of the players should realize that the swordsman they just rescued and adopted into the party is a new PC, played by Harps. Djyn is a Kensei, a master of the sword, a warrior with a spiritual link to his weapons. He's a good guy (LN)

OOC: Reminder from the Discord channel: LD = Left Door FL = Forward Left Door FR = Forward Right Door

Tam decides that a clockwise rotation is best; He checks the doors in order, i.e., LD, FL, and FR. The entire process takes about 1.5 minutes. Tam is quiet, quick, and efficient.

OOC: Results of DM die rolls: LD = No Detectable Traps FL = No Detectable Traps FR = No Detectable Traps

Tam says, "Well, the doors themselves pose no threat. And none of them are locked. Which one you guys wanna open first?"

 

[Waynan]

OOC: Door #1(LD), Door #2(FL), or Door #3(FR).

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

OOC: Given the slow nature of Play-By-Post games, I am instituting a new rule: After a post is made, by the GM or a given player, and a reply from one or more party members is expected, a timer will start. Every day without a response will be counted as 1 round (6 seconds); after 3 rounds (3 real-time days, 18 seconds in-game time) of no response, the GM will post, forcing the game to progress forward, using either NPC actions, or by using player characters as NPCs, or by simply using narrative summation. The GM will never force a character to do something that will purposefully result in harming the PC, although he might occasionally force the PC in question to take a calculated risk---all for the sake of the story arc, and campaign continuity. The way to avoid the GM "taking the reigns" of your character is to respond often to the campaign thread. When deciding which PC to use, I will generally pick a character who hasn't been responding consistently, unless a specific character is needed because of his skillset. All of this is NOT meant to scold players or to punish them; it's simply a way to keep the game from stalling.

GM: Last GM post: Tuesday, Dec 09, 2025 @ 12:29 PM.

Hearing no input from the party, Tam continues his methodology of operating in a clockwise fashion. He opens door #1, the Left Door, and looks down the corridor which the door reveals.

The corridor is 10 ft. wide, as opposed to the corridor the party is presently in, which is twice (20 ft.) as wide; the height of the corridor is likewise half as high (20 ft.); when Tam actually touches the door, it glows a dim blue for just a moment, as a magic mouth activates: [All party members can understand the magical speech.]

GM: "Beyond lies the Labyrinth of Isolation. Aloft at its center rests Iti-Anun. Eleven deadly foes guard this staff; heed their bites, but avoid their laugh. Here, flame can be your friend, but beware the twelfth guardian."

Looking down the dark corridor, Tam can see, about 40 feet distant, a billowing, green cloud that obscures all vision, preventing the rest of the hallway from being seen. The fog has a harsh, citrus smell, and Tam does not relish the thought of getting any closer to it.

EVERYONE: What do you do?

 

[Waynan]

Tam pipes in: "I don't think we want to go this way. I fear that gas wafting around down this hall is not something we want to mess with." After saying this, he starts to move to the next door (Door #2).

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Spoiler: What Respen notices...

When Tam touched that first door, and activated the Magic Mouth spell, all three of the doors lost their faintly glowing magical aura.