Dicing with Death: Episode 192

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==Synopsis==
In Seltzers Grotto, Divan finds an unfinished smutty book, a magical scroll of spells, and a few potions. He returns to his village, where nobody believes his stories. After some rest, Divan heads back to the grotto and loots it. On the way to Nekkraut, he visits Atropos cave and gets items identified. He dreams of his little village as a big town. A traveler visits Nekkraut, looking for a solution to the problem they have - the river flowing red with blood and the well being blood as well. Divan volunteers to help, on the way to the village he hears about a spirit named Platos. Divan visits Platos shrine and gets bitten by something. In a panic, Divan lifts the lid off of the shrine and meets the little god himself.
==Recap==
===7th June===
It is dawn, 2 days after the full moon. Divan is on the beach outside the Grotto he found while searching for Seltzer's burial place, at Atropos' suggestion. This grotto was in a dream that Divan had six nights ago, but he had never seen it before now.
Divan climbs into the grotto. The entrance is 15 feet wide and 10 feet high. Inside is a short shallow cave, only 20 feet deep. In the very middle is a cairn that would have covered a body, had it not been empty. Around it are small-medium jars and bags. At the very back of the cave is a large wooden box. Divan identifies the jars being filled with spell components. Divan also finds a leather book and crystal ball.
Divan casts detect magic and sees there is a magical object in the wooden box and 5 smaller jars. The entrance to the Grotto itself is also magical. Divan opens the container to pull out a magical scroll of spells. After, he inspects the book and finds it is, to his disappointment, an unfinished smutty book written by Seltzer that ends partway through part 35.
Divan decides to leave the cairn and leaves the grotto without taking anything. He heads north along the coast, looking for his lost belongings. By the end of the day he comes back to the spot he left his things then makes camp. Without food, he goes to bed hungry.
===8th June===
Divan travels back to where Seltzer's Grotto is, only to find a rock wall where the Grotto was yesterday. Divan sleeps overnight, again hungry.
===9th June===
At dawn when the sun's rays hit the rock wall, the Grotto is revealed. With no food left Divan changes plans and heads home westward. 
===10th June===
Divan arrives back home in his village of Nekkraut in the late morning. He is welcomed back warmly by the villagers. Divan's mother was worried that he was dead after being gone for so long. Divan explains his strange pilgrimage, without revealing the exact location of Seltzer's Tomb. Divan's stories of 2 headed lions and the meeting with the sirens are met with skepticism by the locals. Divan rests for the next 3 days at his parents' farm.
===11th June===
Having recovered, Divan sets out again, with 2 goats this time, and heads back east back to the grotto. 
===12th June===
Divan gets back to the coast by the end of the day by force marching the whole way.
===13th June===
Divan returns to the grotto and takes the magical scroll. Divan also takes a bag of 30 silver coins, a drafting compass, 30 small gemstones, the 5 magic potions, the book of smut, and some magical components.
Afterwards, Divan sets back westward, back towards Nekkrat. With his heavy loot, Divan's travel speed is reduced, so he force marches during the day to keep to his normal speed.
===14th June===
Divan is tired from the previous days of force marching moves at a slower pace today.
That night at camp 3 wolves attack Divan's camp. Divan is tried, still, but goes to defend his 2 goats from the wolves. Divan beats off the wolves, forcing them to retreat. 
===15th June===
Divan arrives at Atropos's cave outside of Nekkraut and greets Atropos and reveals his discoveries to her. He figures out the magic scroll has about 100 yards of parchment that only looks like 3 yards, it is Seltzer's Spellbook. After an uncomfortable component gathering, Atropos identifies the 5 potions: 2 water breathing, 2 gaseous form, and 1 sweet water. Divan sees that Atropos has 3 magical items of her own, a magical necklace, magical bracers, and a magical ring. Atropos has the feeling or premonition that the sweet water potion, which purifies water, will be useful soon. Divan leaves the book of smut with Atropos after the elderly witch falls asleep.
Divan rests for the night at the cave to recover from his day's travels.
===16th June===
Divan arrives back home in Nekkraut. That night Divan has a dream.
:"This one is of your hometown. Nekkraut, as it stands typically, a small poor village of mud-brick buildings with a couple of actual branches here and there, a little bit of thatch, but not that much since it has to be hauled in from the grasslands that are far away. It is a poor little village. But in your dream, you walk through the town in its position between 2 hills, and the buildings are now made of stone that extend for multiple stories up. The street here is now paved with cobblestones. The creek that runs through the town has been put into a channel of stone. You can see towards the back end is a grotto similar to the one you saw in Seltzer's lair. It is up the town you walk, empty and devoid of people, but looking lively, looking strong. Doors are hanging properly, there are little bits of glass in windows in various places. You can see a large door that leaves into a large tavern room, a more resplendent place than the current gathering place. In your dream your town is large and wealthy and still in the same home town, just improved. The town's creek comes from the grotto. You'll reach the back grotto in the dream and that's where it will end, bringing you sharply back to reality with the baying of goats in the morning."
===17th June===
Divan goes into town and shares his vision with others in town at the gathering place, but only town drunks are there this time of day. Divan then goes to the place where he saw the grotto and there is nothing there except sloped earth. At the moment the creek begins by leaking out of the earth and not from a cave, likely from an underwater spring. Divan spends the rest of the day at that spot on the hill reading from Seltzer's scroll. He decides to try to learn Identify Potions, but fails it the next day.
===19th June===
Divan learns Extinguish. 
==Experience==
6335 total (3167 to each class)
* extra 150 exp to fighter
* extra 450 exp for wizard
Fighter & Wizard both level up to level 2
* Max HP from 7 to 12 (+5)
* Max MP from 13 to 18 (+5)
==Recap==
===21st June===
Divan fails to learn Comprehend Languages.
===23rd June===
Nekkraut is approached by a weary traveler from the west. The traveler, Olinth, is disheveled and clothes have turned to rags. This man is from a village called Grekos to the west. Olinth comes with a story that some dark magic has come to his town and turned the water in the town's well into blood, the water has turned red and tastes of iron. Olinth has come to Nekkraut to seek advice from Atropos, the witch.
Divan goes to meet with Olinth to hear the tale himself. Grekos is a day away North-by-Northwest. Divan volunteers to go cleanse the well himself.
Divan then visits with Atropos and reports the news. Atropos warns Divan to make sure to take out the cause of the contamination before using the Sweetwater Potion to cleanse the water supply. Lore would suggest a small demon or fey creature to be the cause.
===24th June===
Divan leaves Nekkraut with Olinth, to head for Grekos. On their trip, Divan asks about the local spirits and is told of Platos, the spirit of water and life, that the people of Grekos consider a local god created by the true Pantheon. The town's creek has tried up and the well was the only source of water left.
They arrive at Grekos by the end of the day. Divan is led to the middle of town, where the well is. Divan draws from the well and it is indeed blood in it, not merely contaminated water.
Divan then visits the nearby shrine to Platos and finds it is a shine in front of a 1-foot wide tiny house built for the small god a few decades ago. Divan finds a secret side door to get inside the house. He opens the door to the shrine, cold air flows out and he gets bitten by something, poisoning him. Divan recoils in pain, then just lifts the roof off the shrine and sees the small god inside.
Category:Divan Episodes
Category:Dicing with Death Episodes