Decaying Inn

*"Each tool represents part of the power that I once held."*

This is the second Encounter in The Star Challenge, encountered immediately after leaving The Gathering.

## Event

*On a lonely imperial road there lies a dilapidated tavern known as the Black Cauldron.*

*Inside, you spy a group of mages huddling together in a dark corner of the tavern.*

*They are gazing, enraptured, at a dull copper goblet in the centre of the table.*

1) Take the goblet away.

*The goblet is surprisingly heavy and takes some effort to lift off the table. Merely holding it sends a strange chill up your spine. You try to drop the artefact, but something compels you to keep it.*
**The player acquires The Goblet.**
**The player acquires the Goblet's Curse.**
If The Dealer is the current Companion:
*Your companion's eyes glow as you grasp the goblet. "The cup, the first of my symbols."*
*As you pocket the goblet, the mages suddenly stand and turn toward you. As one, they open their mouths to scream - an unholy sound that rattles the mouldy rafters.*
*The pitch increases unrelentingly and you cover your ears in desperation. The sound rings on in your skull, in your chest. Your knees buckle and you collapse blindly to the ground.*
*You wish desperately for the screaming to stop.*
**The player loses 5 Max Life.**
**Dice Gambit** (Target: 18, decreases by 2 each attempt)
Success
*As quickly as it began, the screaming stops. When your eyes readjust to the gloom of the tavern you find only pile of ash where the mages had been.*
**The player gains 2 Fame.**
*You look around but the building is abandoned - was it always empty?*
**Encounter ends.**
Failure
*You wish desperately for the screaming to stop.*
**The player loses 5 Max Life.**
**Repeat Dice Gambit with Target lowered by 2.**
2) Shake one of them.

*You grab the closest one and give him a vigorous shake.*
*Fighting some unseen resistance, he turns to look at you with red-rimmed eyes. The mage is weeping. "Help me. It's killing me..."*
A) Take his place.
*You gently lift the gibbering mage out of his seat and take his place.*
*The goblet has ensnared you. All you can do is sit and stare. You feel a great hunger in the pit of your stomach and wonder how much time has passed.*
If The Dealer is the current Companion:
*You want to scream, but no sound comes out.*
*To your horror, Valenos stands at the edge of your vision, watching but making no move to help.*
Otherwise:
*You see [your Companion] waiting patiently in your peripheral vision. You want to scream but no sound comes out.*
**The player loses 10 Life.**
*The mage that you rescued is nowhere in sight.*
**Dice Gambit** (Target: 18, decreases by 2 each attempt)
Success
If The Dealer is the current Companion:
*With one final wrenching effort, you fling yourself from the table, and away from the goblet's paralysing grip.*
*"Ah, so you have strength enough," Valenos notes as you lie gasping on the dusty floor."*
*You know your strange companion will make no apologies for his lack of assistance.*
Otherwise:
* *Hubie, who had been wandering around the tavern bored, returns with a leaf that he had found. He shakes your arm, upset by your lack of attention.*
* *Ariadne sighs with boredom and taps you on the shoulder. The goblet releases you.*
* *Estrella, who had been surveying the tavern with distaste, suddenly recognizes that something is very wrong. She gives you a firm shake. The goblet releases you.*
* *Malaclypse, who had been scrounging the tavern for ale, returns with two dusty mugs. He nudges you with his elbow. "Care for a tipple, coin-slave?" The goblet releases you.*
* *Your fear that Colbjorn would stand like a mournful statue until you died is abated when you feel his large hand fall on your shoulder.*
* [Keturah or Veles: No text appears and "*The goblet releases you."* is omitted.]

*The goblet releases you.*
*Weeping with gratitude, you gasp and push weakly away from the table.*
**The player gains 2 Fame.**
*After recovering with some water and bread, you proceed to gently free the other mages from the goblet's horrible prison.*
*In thanks, they cast a ward on you, protecting against the goblet's power. Given their diminished state, you doubt the strength of enchantment.*
*"...cast it into a portal and rid the world of its evil..."*
**The player acquires The Goblet.**
**The player acquires the Goblet's Curse.**
If The Dealer is the current Companion:
*Your companion's eyes glow as you grasp the goblet. "The cup, the first of my symbols."*
**Encounter ends.**
Failure
If The Dealer is the current Companion:
*Your companion watches you intently as you struggle to move or scream.*
Otherwise:
*[Your Companion] still hasn't recognised your predicament.*
**The player loses 10 Life.**
**Repeat Dice Gambit with Target lowered by 2.**
B) Take the goblet away.
**See "Take the goblet away." above.**