The day of travel was largely uneventful. SMASH did some fishing to supplement their food supplies at lunchtime. A pair of goat-men were seen across the river. A single spell and a flask of oil were thrown at them. They responded with a spear. No serious damage was done by either party. Jeff took this opportunity to run ahead of the party. When actual words were used between the groups, the goat-men simply asked if the party were in cahoots with the bug-men, and apparently were satisfied with the noncommittal answer Red Spy gave, because they then disappeared back into the woods from whence they came. Jeff had only made it a couple hundred yards up the river, so the party was once more united.
As nightfall approached, they made it to the tower. It had no door. After much searching, they discovered the door in the woods nearby. It was painted green with a dragon-head door knocker. The welcome mat read "Please Go Away." After knocking and calling out, they checked the door. It was locked, but the wily rogue Bilbo thought to look under the mat for a key (he totally wasn't prodded by the DM). It was there! They entered the tower.
A long passage stretched before them. There was a door on the left. They cautiously opened it to find a cloak room, full of cloaks. And boots. And a walking staff. Smash picked up the staff, and then put it back. They left the cloaks and galoshes undisturbed and continued on.
The next door was on the right. It was a work room. Containing a work table and a bunch of tables. Boring! They continued on.
Next they came to a long staircase down. They went down the stairs to find themselves in a sitting room with a fireplace. There were two other doors leaving the room as well as two tapestries hanging on the walls. One tapestry showed a unicorn feast, the other a wizard (named Franklin) standing proudly on a hill. Investigating the room, they were attacked by hungry stirges living in the chimney. Orsek had some blood drawn, but the the little blood-suckers were handily defeated.
One of the doors led to a study. Orsek and SMASH found some interesting books, while Red Spy and Bilbo investigated the desk. Jeff took this opportunity to head upstairs to see what else could be found. In the locked desk (the key was under the carpet), they found a diary which told of a thing in a pool that always tells the truth, and that the goat-men were becoming increasingly unfriendly. The other door led to a store room full of pickles.
Jeff found a kitchen upstairs, but did not enter. He then found the main parlor with more stairs headed down, a ladder heading up, some couches and a large painting of a wizard stating proudly on a hill. He climbed the ladder and enjoyed the view from the roof. Had the DM been a little more on top of it, a beautiful sunset would have been described.
While Jeff enjoyed the view, the rest of the party looked behind the tapestries in the fireplace room. A secret door was found! It lead to a room with a bubbling pool. Only the pool had mouths, and the bubbles were eyes. Yikes! The party realized that by giving the thing pickles, it would answer their questions. Kind of - the answers are hard to make out because all the mouths talk at once, and some seem to be saying gibberish. The adventurers asked it some questions about the rumors of Quasqueton and also some other questions:
- Is Nuno Rockhead in Quasqueton? certainly, goat, golden
- Will you attack us? muskrat, not
- Who are the goat men? husbands, crimson, face
- Who is Franklin? wizard, frying pan
- Where is Franklin? river, bludgeon
- Did someone named Bilbo just get attacked by rats?* yes, pickle
- Who are you? ichor, thing, speaks
- Do you know anything about Quasqueton? I, know, toenail
- Did Red Spy just get attacked by goat men?* negative, pickle
- Did Franklin make Quasqueton? [buzzing sound], squid
- What is your name? the, speaks, that, housekeeping
- Does a magical rock within Quasqueton grant a wish to anyone who chips off a piece and puts it in their mouth? are, ink, no!, you
- Is Quasqueton's trophy room filled with battle relics and slain monsters? affirmative, pickle
- Are there are untold treasures hidden in a pool of water in Quasqueton? nope, pools, pretzel, valuable
- Is there a gem as big as a giant's fist in Quasqueton? most, not, vermillion
- Is there a room on the first level of Quasqueton that has many pools of water? certainly, pickle
*At some point during the questioning, Bilbo went up to the kitchen to get a frying pan and was attacked by rats. At no point during the questioning was Red Spy attacked by goat men.
Jeff went for a late night run, realized he couldn't make it the two day journey to Quasqueton that night, so returned. Everyone then went to sleep in the parlor (the couches are quite comfortable), leaving the elves to keep watch on the un-explored staircase and the remaining rats in the kitchen.
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