Dicing with Death: Episode 198

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==Synopsis==
Divan makes a blood fountain of the troll's heart, behind Plato's shrine, and casts a protection spell on it. In the process, he collects troll blood and brings it to Atropos, and she turns it into a potion. He notices there are monsters in the creaks but cannot make anything of it, Atropos doesn't give any clear answers. Divan travels to Psynes in search of a cleric and stops by Romulus on the way there. One of the villagers informs him Remus is fighting the creator of the cockatrices that are attacking the village. He proceeds to Psynes, only to find the many villagers turned to stone. He is informed the cleric, Saris, is turned into stone in her cave. When he visits the cave, he is greeted by a cockatrice, which he beats in combat and ties up. In the cave, Saris is indeed turned to stone, and Divan finds a snakeskin and a few magical items which he keeps. He investigates the water in the cave and finds Saris's real bedroom and a couple of potions. After cleaning up the main area, he notices some of her potions are missing. Tomorrow, Divan heads west, dragging the cockatrice. On the way, he thinks that the creator of the cockatrices is a medusa. After arriving at Nekkraut, he is greeted by a Romulan soldier there, who informs Divan of what happened to Remus, and asks for his help in defeating the creator beast. Without needing any persuasion, Divan accepts.
==Recap==
===4th September===
Divan arrives home from his trip from his visit from the Giants. When he gets to his hut in Nekkraut, he finds a basket of bread on his table. Divan goes to rest overnight while eating the bread.
===5th September===
Divan wakes and inspects the Troll Heart. It hasn't regenerated yet. Divan believes it will take a week for the heart to start regenerating.
Divan takes a brass shield he took from Romulus. Divan considers making a fountain of blood, with the troll heart as the source of blood with the shield as a basin. Divan builds the blood spring behind Platos's Shrine. Divan decides to have the blood flow out of a carved tree. Divan finds a cypress tree, digs it out, and takes it over to his makeshift blood fountain. Divan starts to carve a face into the side of the tree, but it doesn't turn out well, Divan carves out too much of the tree. Divan decides to use the Romulan Helmet he took and use that with the over-carved tree for the fountain.
Divan's construction efforts take 11 days to complete. During this time Divan learns the spell. 
===9th September===
The troll heart regrows dramatically and the whole chest of the troll has regrown. About 25% of the trolls biomass has regrown in total. Divan, pretending he only dealing with a dead creature, takes the troll parts behind his hut and starts to butcher it, burning the parts that aren't the heart. Platos the Small God/Water Serpent comes out to investigate the smell of cooking flesh. Divan gives Platos some of the troll meat to eat. During the process Divan collects troll blood in the bronze shield.
Divan decides to redesign the Cyprus tree to hold the heart to now have more spikes. keeping the troll heart infinitely growing and dying and regrowing again. Some of the Nekkraut villagers notice the troll heart and children ask about it. Divan explains it is a memorial to the hubris of the Romulans, and tells the story of the village of Romulus and who they dared to think they were the chosen of the gods. Children listen, showing both fear and interest.
===16th September===
The blood fountain is finished. Divan seals the troll heart inside with a Sealing Ward that should destroy the heart if someone accidentally or intentionally removes the helmet covering it. It is a safety measure to prevent the two-headed troll from regenerating by mistake in the middle of the village, but it is at great risk since it will destroy the troll heart too.
Divan then goes to visit with Atropos in her cave. She was expecting him. Atropos takes the troll blood from Atropos. Atropos places the troll blood near the crack in the ground and wafts the gas over the blood. This is the first step for Atropos in making the magic potions.
Divan stares into the abyss and sees nothing. Divan casts the spell and sends the magical fireflies to illuminate the abyss and sees hundreds of eyes looking up at him. As the fireflies fly towards the eyes, mouths appear and leap out and devour the fireflies, which should be impossible (the fireflies are insubstantial in nature). Divan is unable to make out the shape of the bodies. Maybe the mouths protrude from the eyes since the eyes weren't moving but the mouths were leaping.
Divan tries to use the Legend Lore ability of his magical crown, Sorona, and only gets confusion as an answer. Atropos knows what Divan has done and is looking directly at him. Divan asks what is down the crevasse.
:Atropos: The dawn of fate. The rifts to the divine. There is no other place like this.
Atropos also suggests that Divan has seen a possible future. Divan feels he has no new information, just a lot of new questions. 
Atropos offers to show Divan how to make potions from the Troll Blood. Atropos drips some of her own blood into a cup. Divan then drains some of his own blood into a different cup. Atropos mixes some ash with water, mixes in the blood while going into a trance while inhaling from the crevasse. 
After two hours 2 teacups of magic healing potions are made. Divan seals the teacups up with wax.
Divan returns to Nekkraut and checks on Akitos's progress on the qanat. 10 feet of the tunnel (5'10 tall) has been made. 
===17th September===
Divan tries to learn but fails after 4 days of study.
===Tuesday, 22nd September===
Divan, fully recovered from his fight with the troll last episode, heads off to Psynes to seek out a Cleric. 
===23rd September===
Divan, during his travel to Psynes, arrives at Romulus in the evening. At the entrance is a life-sized statue of a Romulan warrior stabbing forward, like it is stabbing an intruder with a spear. Inside the village is still the throne in the village square. The villagers recognize Divan and he notices they fear him.
One unafraid villager approaches Divan to speak with him. Divan explains to the villager that he is just on his way to Psynes and has no task to do in Romulus. The villager explains the cleric in Psynes is a Cleric of the Sea or a Witch of the Waves. Remus is out of town with the village warriors to fight the creator of the cockatrices to the south. One of the cockatrices came to Romulus and turned a person to stone with a single peck. The statue at the entrance of town used to be a person but the cockatrice's spawn got them.
Divan keeps traveling into the night the 10 more miles to get to Psynes and arrives late into the night. As Divan enters the town he sees more statues, 15 petrified people. Almost no one is awake when Divan arrives. Divan goes to sleep on the beach. 
===24th September===
Divan is awoken by a fisherman. The fisherman gives Divan directions to the Sea Witch, Saris's home, a cave west out of town along the coast, however she has also been turned to stone. She was the first one to be turned to stone.
Some days ago a stranger in a dark cloak came to town and visited Psynes. The stranger, a woman, visited Saris. There was a clap of thunder and a piercing shriek. Then from the cave came a swarm of small cockatrices. All that stood in the cockatrices' path were turned to stone. There were maybe 100 or 150 of the small cockatrices. The cockatrices then ran off into the plains in different directions. The stranger the left town, heading west. People ran to Saris's cave and found she had been turned to stone.
Divan visits Saris's cave. Outside the cave in the sand are the cockatrice tracks and sets of barefoot human footprints heading to the west. Inside Divan sees the petrified Saris. However, one of the small cockatrices is still in the cave and attacks Divan. Divan casts on the cockatrice to hold it in place. Divan then s the cockatrice. He then bludgeons the cockatrice unconscious. Divan ties up the unconscious cockatrice.
Divan looks at the creature and knows no lore on the cockatrice. It appears to be a brand new creature.
Divan then approaches Saris and tries the ESP ability of his magical crown, Sorona, but finds the Saris statue has no thoughts. Divan searches the cave and finds evidence of a struggle. There are trappings of the goddess Nadinis. In the offering tray is some snakeskin and some coins. Divan puts some of his own coins in the offering tray. There is also a deep pool inside the cave.
Divan casts and finds magical jewellery made of driftwood & sea-glass on a string and a Scarab Broach. The spell also picks up the residue of a spell cast in the room, linked with the snakeskin and around Saris. When Divan picks up the scarab some marking appear across it. With Archaeology, Divan realises it is a Scarab of Protection, gifted by the gods to their most faithful servants, +1 to all saving throws vs spells and allowing saving throw against spell on spells that usually don't get a save, and absorb level-drain & death touches to a total of 12 times.
Divan casts to summon some deep-sea bioluminescent cephalopods, then casts to make an underwater version of his light spell with it. He sends the light down the deep water in the cave and finds it flows out to sea and in-land. Divan swims down after the light. He finds the path in-land only goes a further 30 feet while the other path goes out to sea. Divan follows the inland path and arrives in another air cave. In the middle of the cave is an open giant clam creature with blankets on it. There is also a carved table. This is Saris's real bedroom. Divan also finds 6 magic potions.
Divan returns to the main chamber and starts to clean up the room. He finds that some potions have been taken off a shelf. After some time a villager from Psynes comes over. Divan explains he is paying respects as the tied up cockatrice makes noises.
Divan rests in the cave overnight.
===25th September===
Divan leaves the cave and heads west, carrying an unconscious the cockatrice over his shoulder. He walks along the edge of the forest to move faster than moving in the forest. During the day Divan sees a deer that has been turned to stone. Divan inspects the Deer and sees a peck mark near its ankle. Saris had no such marking on her. Divan considers the hooded stranger was a medusa. He keeps traveling and finds over a dozen animals that have been turned to stone.
That night Divan tries to speed the cockatrice some bugs, but the cockatrice simply turns all the creatures to stone instead, it also doesn't drink. 
===26th September===
Divan heads west until he reaches the sea, then heads north along the seashore for the rest of the day. Divan didn't see any more petrified creatures.
At sunset when Divan makes camp, he sees a pair of giants off in the hills. 
===27th September===
Divan heads north into the hills towards Nekkraut. He force marches and arrives at Nekkraut at the end of the day.
Divan gets to his hut and finds a fighter from Romulus is waiting outside the hut. The Romulan Fighter asks Divan for help. The fighter explains he went with Remus to investigate the source of the cockatrice, and he was the only survivor, everyone else was turned to stone. The fighter asks Divan to take out the source of the cockatrices and, if possible, to save Remus. Divan is sympathetic and invites the fighter inside the hut for a meal.
The Romulan Fighter explains he, along with Remus and the others, went to Psynes and followed the tracks west into the woods. They found a cave in the inland side of the bluffs. Inside the cave were a menagerie of stoned beasts. The Romulan Fighter was the rearguard as the others went inside. He heard cries and they were turned to stone. The Romulan Fighter fled and came to Nekkraut to get Divan's help.
Divan tells the Romulan Fighter that after he settles some affairs in town he'll travel with him to the lair.
==Experience==
3500 Quest & Combat Exp (1,750 exp to each class)
*200 exp for fighter (40 exp per hit die defeated)
** Fighter total now 15816 exp
* 28 MP = 280 exp to Wizard (10 exp per mana spent)
* 1 level 2 spells learned = 200 exp (100 exp per spell level learned)
** Wizard total now 18861 exp
Category:Divan Episodes
Category:Dicing with Death Episodes