Dicing with Death: Episode 211

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==Recap==
===Spell Research===
Divan learns after 10 weeks of research.
Divan creates the spell after 9 weeks of research.
Casting time of changed from 15 min to 10 min.
Divan brainstorms idea for spells to help navigate in other Planes and prevent becoming lost.
===Murdered Lumberjacks===
Autumn. One of the wood cutter parties collecting lumber for the construction of Shelter Bay have gone missing. A search party discovered their remains in a ritualistic circle. All lumber gathering has been ceased and a messenger went to inform Divan about the situation.
Divan, with is apprentice , set off to Shelter Bay from Nekkraut. Divan had last been in Shelter Bay at the start of construction where he helped carve out the first chambers with and .
After 3 days Divan, Cassandra, and the messenger, arrive at Shelter Bay. The people at Shelter Bay live in 2 separate camps. One camp on the shore outside the woods, and a group living on ships working on the piers.
After meeting with the workers, Divan and Cassandra are led to the corpse circle 2 miles into the woods by the messenger. However the circle of corpses are missing when the party arrive. All that is left is a small pond in the middle of a depression. The bodies had been around the small pond. Divan looks around the site and seems no blood or other evidence the bodies had been here.
Cassandra casts and detects the pond itself is moderately magical. The pond is murky and hard to see into. Divan casts to look into the water. Divan finds the pond is 8 inches deep with a layer of algae on the bottom. Divan moves his point of view 120 feet above the pond, and spots smoke from a controlled fire not too far away. Divan moves his viewpoint to see the origin of the smoke and finds a collection of rudimentary huts with a campfire in the middle with 3 people sitting around it. One of the people at the campfire spot the eye in the sky and point it out. Divan brings the eye back to himself. 
===Meeting the Locals===
Divan asks the messenger about the camp, and he and wasn't aware of any camp or locals here. The party set off to the camp, but meeting the 3 people before the reach the camp. The trio wear furs, led by a middle aged woman, with a young woman and old man with her. The middle aged woman welds a cudgel. The woman introduces herself as Priva, and demands why Divan is there, saying these woods are hers. Divan explains who he is, and that he is responsible for the whole peninsula, and asks directly about the small pond. Priva is reluctant to explain about the pond, so Divan reads her mind using his Sorona Crown's . Divan doesn't find out anything useful, but Priva draws her cudgel out for having her mind read and kept her distance. Divan asks her what happened to the workers and sees in her mind that she killed them with her cudgel. 
Priva calls the workers trespassers who cut down her people's trees and raided food from her village, and she dealt with them as she had to. Divan demands a reason to give them mercy, Priva says that Orphia watches over and protects her and her people. Divan uses his Sorona to about Orphia, but Priva attacks seeing Divan casting the spell.
:Legend Lore: is the elder sister of Slaopt.
Divan realise Slaopt is an anagram of .
Combat: Priva vs Divan
Priva keeps swinging her cudgel. Divan trips Priva to the ground and disarms her in one move.
End of Combat
Divan demands "Take me to your serpent". Priva stands up and gives Divan a respectful bow, acknowledging his victory. Divan returns the cudgel to Priva. Divan apologises for his people's trespassing, but says that the debt as been paid.
Priva takes Divan and the party back to the pond. Priva says that Orphia is deep within the pond. Priva says that Orphia rarely comes out of the pond, but her people still make sacrifices to her. Divan casts to make a staircase down the steep embankment around the edge of the depression around the pond. Divan then goes down the stairs to the pond and call out to Orphia. Divan swirls the surface of the pond with a staff as he moves his into the pool. As Divan moves his staff, he finds the bottom of the pond is deeper than what his had shown. The reveals a lurking presence but no surface thoughts.
Divan decides to leave to find a sacrifice for Orphia. The messenger and Cassandra follow Divan back to Shelter Bay. Priva and her people stay behind in their woods.
The messenger asks Divan why he showed Priva mercy. Divan says her village was raided and she acted in defence, even if Divan doesn't agree in the extreme measures Priva took. The messenger insists that the killings Priva did were excessive for the crime the lumbering group had done. Divan says he will think more on this matter.
===Sacrifice for Orphia===
In the night time Divan & Cassandra brings 2 goats to Orphia's Pond. There is no sign of Priva or her people nearby. Cassandra says at the top of the stairs while Divan takes the goats down to the pond.
At the pond edge, Divan lights some frankincense, leave some copper coins. Divan kills one goat and kicks the remains into the pool, leaving the other goat alive.
The pool bubbles for some time. Then a snake larger than Platos emerges, appearing much like a cobra. Orphia speaks, revealing she knows of Divan and her young brother. Orphia explains the pool is her "front door" and not the entirety of her domain. Orphia wonders why Divan humours her young brother, giving Platos tribute and praise. Divan says that Platos has brought prosperity to Nekkraut. Divan offers to give the people of Shelter Bay to Orphia as worshipers. Orphia rejects this, as this would have her subvertant to Platos, instead Orphia wishes to go to Nekkraut and usurp Platos instead. Divan claims to go along with her deal.
Divan asks if Orphia wants any changes made to her pond. Orphia says it is all by her design, and turns the water of the pond clear. The clear water reveals Orphia's snake body goes down a deep underwater shaft. Orphia turns the water murky again, and submerges back into the water, bringing her offering into the pond with her tail.
Divan and Cassandra return to Shelter Bay. Divan tells the workers of Orphia, and that she is to be brought offerings to keep her pleased and to ensure prosperity for the new town. Divan sees this as a test for Orphia to see if she can do as she claims, to bring better prosperity and wealth than Platos could. 
A few days later Divan and Cassandra start heading back to Nekkraut. 2 days into their journey is a large earthquake. The earthquake only lasts a few minutes, but many trees are toppled over.
News later comes to Divan that the earthquake made a crack along the side of a cliff at Shelter Bay, allowing for work & construction to be significantly easier. Divan concludes the earthquake was Orphia's doing after receiving offerings.
Divan goes visit with Platos with an offering and tells that he met Platos's sister. Platos explains he has many siblings. Divan explains he met with Orphia and the people of Shelter Bay now worship her, to Platos's displeasure. Platos calls Orphia a monster who craves power by any means, with no code of ethics. Platos claims himself to be different, being altruistic and improving the lives of those who worship him. Divan says he saw the future prosperity of Nekkraut with the aid of Platos. Platos warns that Orphia will to tempt & charm Divan.
==Level-Up==
No level-up this episode.
Category:Dicing with Death Episodes
Category:Divan Episodes