Mattiverse Next - Session 26

Hope You Studied for the Quiz

• Bobwhite picks up the book. It's all empty pages. He gives a "what the fuck is this" glare.
• "Oh, silly me, I seem to have brought the decoy. I left the real copy on my nightstand. Maybe you boys could pick it up?"
• Bobwhite gets what he means first, and sighs dramatically. The other boys wisen in turn.
• They agree, without any further questions, which the Goose seems to get a kick out of. Four barrels are brought in.
  • Bobwhite suppresses a minor panic attack, Beldon says, "Boy was orphaned in a barrel you gotta understand."
  • They're closed into a barrel each, loaded into a wagon, and carted off.
  • At some point, they go through a gate.
  • Time passes, and eventually they hear and feel the telltale signs of being picked up off the cart and dropped.
  • Bobwhite summons 'Possum. It's too dark to make much out, but he's able to scout a bit.
  • Four cuts down to business and busts the barrel with brute strength.
  • The lids of the others are easy to remove, once they see the trick.

• They are in a room. The tracks coming in are from the wall, which is dirt, not stone.
  • Probably mold earth.
• In another wall are two doors, brass-bound, incredibly thick and with locks of exquisite craftsgnomeship.
  • Bobwhite is pretty impressed as he picks one. It takes a bit to get the hang of, but eventually clicks open.
• The Boys start the routine. Pass without trace goes up and they peek hallway to hallway. Banner's darkvision gets a-probin'.
  • One jolts Bobwhite with an electricity trap. They leave it to check other directions.
  • Four steps into a room. C L I C K
  • Gas pours out. He runs, the gas chases. Magic gas.
• They get pinned up against the lightning trap. Four wrenches it out like a hoss. They rush the hallway and are immediately stopped by a wall of force.
  • Turns out there are a bunch, every ten feet, and they alternate positions every round. Thankfully, they also stop the cloud.

• They keep passing weirdly placed, exactly identical statues. They give them a wide berth.
• The boys come up to a hallway with a guard. Reasoning kicks in:
  • This is a test, not a request to rob some random place.
  • The guard is a Goose, so don't kill him. Also for other reasons, just specifically this is an important one.
  • The rubric of judgment is probably based on non-detection, so also don't rough him up or otherwise leave traces.
    • Addendum to the above, they need to fix the lightning trap.
• They decide to check other hallways. Beldon dispels the gas.
  • Thankfully, it was a stinking cloud and didn't require a roll.
    • META: It could have been much worse.
• They find a room with voices in it. It's small enough that they don't bother risking.
• Past the gas room (the trigger is a set of easily avoided panels in the middle), are more statues and a couple of hallways. They take the right.
• Halfway down, a room with a couple of voices in it. At the end, a room with obvious sounds of industry.
  • They try the one at the end first.
  • There's nothing in it. All the sounds come from an area in the middle.
  • More reasoning:
    • The effect requires major image, a third-level spell.
    • Even though the sound requires major image, they also didn't include visual elements. The intent seems clear: this is a simulation.
• They're about to check another hallway and skip the other door when they notice a sign that says PRIVATE on it.
  • A stealthy peek inside, and it's two people having dinner. Actual people, actual dinner, and actual furniture including, notably, a massive display of ornate and expensive flatware.
  • Bobwhite summons 'Possum to check the room past, which appears to be a sitting room. On the other side of that is a bedroom that is too dark to explore with the hawk.
    • They need a plan to get past the pair, and that is where the session ends.