Helix: Tower of Mazzah

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven eventually returns to his starter lab in the home of Mazzah, looking to have a word or two with his mentor before getting to work on studying some new spells.

He hands the large Nergal tome over to the wizened mage. "Have you ever seen anything like this before? It detected as magical, and the pages appear almost like brand new, so there has to be something special about it, no?"

[Spearmint]

The Tower of Mazzah

May 12th 1066

Sven arrives with Orgoth or least their paths crossing in the revolving door of the mages ricketty abode.

Giving the mage the leather bound work found in the satchel of the deceased mage in the mausoleum (74-B). It is a work of 'works'. Nergal thralls doing their thing, against a backdrop of heroic items set against them.

Mazzah gives it an intense study, leaving you an hour to familiarise yourself again with tower and odd menagerie of creatures that are scuttling, squawking or sleeping about. Eventually the mage rises from his stupor, almost falling asleep from the effort to read so many pages.

"It is a story book. Not quite full of faerie stories, more a testimony and rallying call. As even with the gods, power waxes and wanes. So the story shows Nergal entering his stasis, a hibernation if you like. While he rests in some hellish cryogenic sleep ... can that be such a thing, hell freezing over? I mulled in it a long while.
Anyway I digress, his minions prance around, sacrifice, make offerings. Offerings, yes, good, remember to tithe, always good to keep God on your side. Burnt offerings, ah, just a moment."

He rushes to the kitchen to pull several over brown cookies from the oven. They are too hard to bite, he wraps them in a napkin, "For the wolf thingy.

Now where was I?

Oh yes, Nergal, fearing being usurped by his progeny, puts some of his essence into the tablet. Commands and unholy statutes. Forces of good arise and seek to avail themselves of the same opportunity, pitting blessed sacraments and relics against the unholy glyphs.

Doesn't say if they are ever successful. Maybe that story is yet to be concluded.

Then you have much scholarly prose to put to heart. There is some benefit to understanding those specialisms in lore, though you won't know what until you put the time in."

He whistles and his owl flies in to perch upon an arm of the suit of armour. He steps across and plucks a number of feathers, giving them to you with a large glass tank containing an undersea diorama and several koi carp goldfish.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven takes the free components and nods his head. “I’ll find some wine then, shall I?”

[Spearmint]

Mazzah

"The book obviously needs time set aside to study to gain the benefits contained within.

A suggestion could be to equip that knowledge to someone else. Your aides, your retainers rather than you committing the time, impetuous as you are and keen to keep delving where angels fear to tread.

I, unfortunately with other responsibilities could not dedicate the time until the winter season. The Barrows are not going anywhere soon, lying restless but distant for centuries. Time is your ally at the moment not your enemy, you have no pressing deadlines to achieve."

[OGRE MAGE]

I forgot to have him cringe IC at the wolf thingy reference.

“Do you know of anyone trustworthy who might be willing to do the work for a fee?”

[Spearmint]

Mazzah

"Do you trust those you hired? Or a squire?"

[OGRE MAGE]

“I trust Amos, but I need his skills with us down in the maze. I suppose I could ask Truro if he wanted to do it, but the guy is such a zealot, I’m not sure he would be the right person for the task.”

[Spearmint]

Mazzah

"In truth, there is not 'a perfect person'. If you don't want to put the time in then you'll have to pay for someone else to do it. How much is the unknown knowledge worth to you?

You could give the volume to the Collegiate, perhaps as a tribute or gift, no doubt they will allocate a scholar to study it. Some wannabe sage. Then hope they share the knowledge with you some time later."

[OGRE MAGE]

“No, I think I better be the one who studies the book. I just don’t like the idea of being away from the excitement of adventuring for so long. Perhaps the task will have to wait a bit.”

Sven shows the mage the strange magic key they found along with the empty stained glass ink pots. “What do you make of these items, master Mazzah?”

[Spearmint]

Mazzah

"Nice. A key and some vials.

This was a description of the key from before.

The two silver coffers in their laps are lined with a rich velvet cloth. In one is a small intricate metal key but has a design of many strange teeth that would turn an unusual lock. It 'pings' on DM, and is inscribed with unusual etchings.

Spells are cast. The comprehend languages details an 'abyssal' script that says something simple about 'the key to the lockbox'.

The glass vials are fancy ink pots that decorate an upmarket desk.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven smiles at the unusually short response from the normally long winded senior mage.

“We didn’t see another ghoul out there this time, of course, so we didn’t get much accomplished from the list of items you requested. But I will continue trying my best once we return.”

If there is nothing else to discuss, he mentions that there might be some spells that the mage can eventually access from a book we found before retiring to his lab to get to work on his own spell book.

[OGRE MAGE]

During afternoon tea one day, Sven pulls out the diamond he is having trouble selling.

“Are you the type of person who can afford to consolidate his coin into smaller, prettier things Master Mazzah? Any interest in this baby?”

[Spearmint]

The Tower of Mazzah

Alas, Mazzah is spending most of his finances in rebuilding his tower and observatory and is unable to purchase such a fine diamond.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven nods in understanding, knowing himself just how fast gold seems to evaporate in town.

“Do you have any books about specific solar or lunar events and their special dates? We found something in the maze that we couldn’t figure out.”

The mage details the sunstone situation and the upper stone as well, relaying his idea to cast light upon it, asking Mazzah for his opinions on the subject.

[Spearmint]

The Tower of Mazzah

The mage thinks for a minute then wanders up the creaking stairs, reminding himself to employ Orgoth at some stage to fix the repairs. He returns with a thin book, which lists various astrologic cycles during the yearly seasons, phases of the solar bodies and astronomical events like comets and meteor showers.

https://cafeastrology.com/2021-astrological-events.html

"Could be the Sunstone is related to Pelor or Ygg or one such whose domain is of the light. Casting a Light spell might be an initial ritual to open further progressions or just give you more clarity to see. If you look at solar and lunar charts they are ringed by seasons with inner diagrams and tracks that pinpoint specific activity.

This book may help with any research or at least give you more thought on the subject."

studying the book will give a bonus to rolls used while manipulating the Sunstone.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven is thrilled at the senior mages aid, paging through the book with fervor.

“Thank you! Your help, as always, is greatly appreciated, master Mazzah! I will protect your property with my life, sir. And keep in mind that we have a few spells in the books we found that might interest you, if you can ever make the time to study them.”

The apprentice presses his luck. “As you know, master, the maze is filled with all manner of tricks and traps, many of them tainted with deadly poisons or poisonous creatures. We could really use some sort of protection or means to treat poisonings on site, if you know of any. I don’t think Gerdal or the clerics possess that much power yet, you see, and I would hate to lose anyone due to lack of preparedness.”

[Spearmint]

Mazzah

"I have engaged a local ranger, a brogue kilted fellow who wanders with an elderly scholar to locate me several fungal spores and toadstool brackets. Certainly those contain properties to leech venoms or counter intravenous afflictions. Though these are seasonal growths and takes a knowledgeable eye to find let alone compound.

Perhaps while you venture I can turn my hand to some experimental compoundery. You missed out bringing back the necessary materials for some ghoulsbane. But I can dissect other remains for forensic analysis."

He has no further vials of anti-venoms but could commit a few days study if the right materials (vargouille head, gelatine ooze, shadow dust?) were offered.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven pulls out all the oddities they found on their last trip.

“Well since we have our lab here now too, I guess I feel like you are welcome to any of the components we bring back. Especially since you would know far more than I about how to process them.”

He shows off the dead heads, soot, and everything else they brought back hoping to convert into spell or potion components.

“Can anything be made from this stuff?”

[Spearmint]

The Tower of Mazzah

The now bloated and stinking decapitated head, still trailing spinal cord and a rasping tongue is quite a sight.

"My, I have only heard if these. Never met one in person. Is it a person. Probably was once, some unfortunate. Vampiric fangs, bat winged. A diabolical aberration."

He pokes it with his staff just to make sure. The vargouilles head just lolls about. The sooty shadow essence taken from the remnants of the dissipating undead could be amalgamated into spell-craft or a new potion type.

Mazzah collects the bits and pieces. He will have to analyse stuff and in methods laid out (DMG or Of Magic thread) see what experiments he (or his apprentices) could achieve.

I will do some dice rolling and test methods and see what is feasible with Mazzah. So creating a new potion brand or imbibing a weapon, like the sling-stone with an ability, such as creating a Darkness effect upon impact.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven is glad for any help the older mage can offer.

He brings out the recent portrait he had painted of himself at his studies, showing it to Mazzah and the others present.

"I think I will hang this up in our lab so Gerdal has something to talk to when I'm not there." He jokes.

"Unless you can think of a more prominent place it should be displayed?"