Helix: Tower of Mazzah

[Spearmint]

Sven

"Magnificent" says Mazzah to the production of the inclusive amber sap.

The 200gp value covers the component cost for a 2nd level spell. You just need to dedicate the necessary time with Mazzah, pre or post Ironguard, to script the spell into your spellbook.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven gets excited to add another far more intricate magical incantation into his book.

“I think we should have the four days we need to get this done before we leave. I will see to getting everything ready so you shouldn’t need to do much more than coach. This is gonna be awesome!”

He will try to squeeze this in if possible, stalling the coach if he needs to.

[Spearmint]

Sure. I plan the coach to Ironguard to leave May 28th+ though if you want to take the tapestry, that will delay it longer.

[OGRE MAGE]

Since our entire idea behind going to IM in the first place was to sell the tapestry, which we have already mentioned several times, Orgoth and Sven are obviously not leaving without it. (unless you got plans for Ollis to come along and snatch it out from under us)

I thought you said 4 days were knocked off the overall time it will take for completion due to the Mending spells? Could that speed up the process any?

[Rex]

It seems silly for us to go without the tapestry.

[Spearmint]

I was working on the dates the weavers started which was May 7th, so 28 days -4. Let me work in a bit of overtime and perhaps Truro using the Sewing Mending kit (in exchange for 100gp from the sale) and you can take it on the 28th.

[OGRE MAGE]

I liked what you wrote up for Truros garb improvements, so Sven is happy to pay for a little OT instead.

Sven

“Mazzah! What did you think of the tapestry? I have been thinking about something strange that occurred to me and I wanted to ask you if such a thing was possible.”

[Spearmint]

Mazzah

+50xp to the DM if I guess right.

"Don't tell me, you want to turn it into a flying carpet?"

[OGRE MAGE]

YES! That!

"Well, that would be GREAT!!!"

"But actually, I was trying to figure out why we felt that weird pressure drop when I said the dragons name aloud initially. I thought it was really odd at the time, but nothing like that has happened with the textile since, so it got me thinking."

"You know how some things are infused with magical intonations, especially things that are put to rest, so to speak. What if some part of Ossithrax the black dragon was somehow imbued into that tapestry, and reciting his name released that portion of its soul or whatever into the dungeon? Is something like that even possible?"

[Spearmint]

The Tower of Mazzah

Mazzah and Sven trade more ideas as they experiment over s couple of days whilst acquiring new incantations. The apprentice brings up an idea and the senior mage looks in deep thought.

previous conversations.

"Jerome, the name may need some research. Collegiate Bibliotheca might have more references. Perhaps I will write a letter and send it raven-post.

Ossithrax. Well that is a name not spoken often. There are some 'names-that-must-not-be-named' but I can't remember who they are ..." he slurps some tea while reminiscing. There is a long pause, has he fallen asleep, maybe he wanders somewhere.

Ossithrax, yes, the obsidian wyrm. Must be almost a millennium past. Great scaly beast who terrorised all and sundry from Peak to valley trough. They say the forest blackened in his memory when his corpse was interred. Nonsense of course. Wood rot and funghi and silt seepage from the Moor taints the roots. Now where they laid his body was a mystery. Deep underground, never to see the light of life again.

Tapestry. Weavers could fix it, that irascible elf Valeron has a delicate hand. A cruel one two if you want to shaft an apple from someone's head at 100 yards. He goes ranging the Moor, sneaking about with his mistress. He found her out there. My birdies used to tell me, though last ones got shafted. Plucked into pigeon pie. Terribly ironic, Percy used to love a bit of pastry too.

You make pies young lady? Any more 'spicy' ones to rejuvenate an old mans dysfunction.

Look at my tower. All wonky, erection troubles everywhere."

He doesn't have specific information on the life and death of Ossithrax, the obsidian wyrm. Though suspects a volume on the dragon's history might have been scripted in the ledgers or archives of the Collegiate library.

As to the Barrowmaze and weird manifestations. Anything could be possible. If the labyrinths were created as the resting place of evil relics, demonic principalities and powers, necromancers and priests of death cults then perhaps some evil 'mana' seeps from those places to corrupt the atmosphere of the tombs. Hence the dead walk, the area becoming a magnet for cultists not just for gold-fevered tomb raiders.

No one knows where the dragon was buried. If it was in the Barrowmaze or a neighbouring Barrow Mound upon the moor, the location has not been excavated. But certainly articles that had a relationship to the beast might hold a residue influence upon the dragon's bones or soul, especially if it ruled over the area because it was aligned to some evil power.

So speaking his Name might invoke some power or authority or awaken his own rest. An undead dragon, is such a thing possible?

As to flying carpets, you are going to need lots of time and money, spider silk and Mending spells and perhaps learn Fly.

[Spearmint]

The Tower of Mazzah

Cadeweed talks works of literature.

The halfling stands as tall as he can and says "I will do that, perhaps sir, you would be interested in co-authoring a book on the subject. I have seen several traps already in the tombs and with you and your scribes artistic skills we could begin the definitive work on the subject."

Mazzah smiles, "Well I could add a foreword and take a cut if royalties but I must say my own expertise in that area is very limited."

He sensed that Cadeweed is keen to learn and suggests he invests time in creating his own traps. How would he set up a spring loaded crossbow, a poison dart, a tangling snare?

"Finding traps is easy, you just walk right in to them, but a lot are not effective thankfully. The artful hunter knows where and when the bear travels and you must do likewise. Being able to predict movements means you can set traps for greater effect than just randomly."

He suggests ways to improve the F&RT skills.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven

"Then I will search for such a tome once we visit the Collegiate library. Thank you for your knowledge."

[OGRE MAGE]

“One more thing Mazzah, if I may. When we return to the maze, it would be nice to have a means to combat the effects of poison. There are too many risks down there to not have some kind of defense against it. If you can think of any way we could halt or slow the effect with natural herbs or moor medicine, that would come in extremely handy.”

[Spearmint]

The Tower of Mazzah

The mage is working on more anti-venoms and anti-toxins using the fungi specimens brought in by ranger Dougal.

He is using his two day mentoring with Gerdal to help her experiments with specific animal venoms.

As you go to Ironguard, he takes receipt of the Boar's Head 'piggy bank' to study its transmutating properties, turning coppers into silvers, silvers in gold and gold apparently into chocolate.

[OGRE MAGE]

Glad to be back amongst the strange animals and even stranger familiars that inhabit the place, Sven returns to Mazzah with the list of items he has procured for the senior mage in Ironguard.

"I think got everything you asked for, sir. I trust there were no problems around here in our absence, Master M?"

He inquires about the condition of the rust monster egg and if the man had any luck turning his copper to gold while we were away. (skull bank)

[Spearmint]

The Tower of Mazzah

Mazzah looks less than Magnificent, chocolate streaks around his cheeks and a large number of gold wrappers cast underneath the kitchen table.

"It seems I have overindulged." he says burping. "Mind you I have balanced the books or belly of the pig as it were. Coppers morph into silver and silver into gold but only once and up to a limited cache. Too much gold and well, you can eat the fruits of your labour but not get rich on it."

The Boar's Head piggy bank has some magic to change coinage from one type to another but can't be over indulged and has the potential to 'go bust', bankrupting you out by swallowing the whole amount invested in it.

As to the rust monster egg, Mazzah has kept it under wraps or rather, under feathers. Two geese rotate incubation duties by sitting against it. "I rotate it around the ends, mimicking what the mother might do in the nest. I have heard no interior scratching but am confident that if the embryo survived, it may hatch within the month."

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven just shakes his head at the man he has been desperately trying to look up to.

“Yep, I did the same thing. I thought I told you that.”

“So, you’ve learned pretty much everything we already knew about the bank, and gained 5 pounds. That’s ah…..ya. Good stuff.”

“I am pleased to hear the egg is doing well, though. Once I’d met all your animal friends outside, I knew you would be the one to think of the perfect method of incubation.”

“Within the month you say? Man, the last thing I did that took a month seemed more like it took a whole year! Oh ya! Guess who bought the tapestry. You won’t believe it!”

[Spearmint]

Mazzah

"A few pounds yes, around the girth. Longevity potions I had. Enlarge spells in my repertoire. Slimming Pills. Now that would make more than a few chocolate coins."

It strikes him as an idea and he begins to scribble down a few notes on fat burning proteins and amino acids.

"Ah! The geese yes, well, Helga and Holga are doing a fine job. Must remember when I turn them back to get the polymorph right otherwise they might keep their webbed feet and end up waddling like Valeron's floosie."

He asks about your trip to Ironguard and the time at the Collegiate. He wonders if you needed to slip away unnoticed at any time, Aldermen's wives and all that.

Regarding future needs, he is purchasing more observatory equipment to help enable his study of the past. Which you connect to his previous conversation regarding a telescope that pointed at the Barrow might observe its past events.

You still have the astrological volume that helped manipulate the Sunstone. He suggests other manipulations may trigger other effects but advises that as light and darkness do not mix then certain dial positions (lunar eclipse?) might be maleficent rather than beneficial.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven shrugs.

“It was Lord Kell himself! Do you believe that? We got to go and visit with him when they hung it up at the castle. It was pretty cool, actually.”

“Say Mazzah, I noticed you seem to have a bit of an issue with the wife of Valeron. You’ve mentioned here a few times now. Anything you wanna talk about?”

[Spearmint]

The Tower of Mazzah

“Say Mazzah, I noticed you seem to have a bit of an issue with the wife of Valeron. You’ve mentioned here a few times now. Anything you wanna talk about?”

Sven inquires regarding Valeron.

"No the elf ranger is not married. At least not that I know of. The woman is his housekeeper and accompanies him on the Moor. I don't know what brought them together; love, loyalty, common vision.

She has never caused trouble, keeps herself to herself. Something about her though." Then you hear a howl from the wolf and the owl screeches. A large toad ribbets in the garden. All as if provoked by Mazzah to call.

He goes back to his studies leaving you to piece more enigma's together.