Warriors of the Empire of the Sun: Session V

We are without the player for Tow this session because he is attending his high school reunion. Silly people and their 'social obligations'. While he's gone, X37 serves as trapfinder by carrying a light load's worth of large tree branches to rub against the walls ahead (*thunk* don't step there). 

Upon the walls of the intersection from earlier, written in Giantish, are minor prayers of protection to the various Small Gods as well as a mention of the 'true path' to Riddle Manor: follow that which runs up and down the stairs, yet never moves. 

The party delves deeper into the labyrinth, eventually spotting a kobold that scampers out of sight, and they hear a deep grinding of stone ahead. At a turn, they get suspicious and search the corners and notice stone dust on the wall opposite the hallway. X37 puts down the sticks and whips out a 30 Strength check on the wall, busting down the semi-false wall Koolaid style, revealing a creature with a surprised bovine face down the hall. 

X37 states something, but the minotaur goes into a defensive stance and seems to not understand. Surprisingly, a kobold climbs up from behind the minotaur and yelps out a reply. In exchange for not attacking, they'll show the hallway that leads to Riddle Manor, though neither of the two know which set of stairs is the right one. Accepting, they go, and choose the stairs that has a carpet on it (there were other features for the four others, but no other had railings or carpeting). 

They then see Riddle Manor in all its idyllic glory, as well as sphinxes flying about. As they walk the cobblestone path (each stone carved with a different shape or even a face), they're interrupted by Turan practically leaping from behind the manor and in front of the door. Cautious and worried, the party introduces themselves, and are surprised by her courtesy & fairness as she lays down the ground rules. 

Once inside, they're shown to their rooms by barely tiny-sized gargoyles moving about with groundskeeper tools. The shortest one is squat and smokes a cigar, speaking gruffly and seeming to be the most 'intelligent' of the crew. It's later revealed that they are constructs left behind by the prior owner to serve as cleaners and maintenance staff, originally charged by and tied to the estate. While I originally wrote down just animated objects, I had an inspiration & though it cooler if I gave personalities. For the hell of it, I placed several of the tiny gargoyles dressed as Tibetan monks taking shifts moving the gold discs of a 64-piece Tower of Hanoi (not a large one, poker chip thickness). 

Once in their room, they begin to search for anything that looks like a red field or white picket fence, eventually thinking of going non-literal and declaring the painting with the open mouth with a tongue sticking out as the answer; receiving the code book to translate the tablet. 

They thank Turan for her hospitality, and decide to use their three questions. There is nothing concerning the origins of the Hungering Maw, nor the control of the Hungering Maw, and there is knowledge stored in the Manor that can fuel a kingdom. I planned for this potential, and gave them the rules for how they may become the owner of Riddle Manor. Out-of-game, this must be a riddle solved by the player himself, and he cannot receive any help from the others without them being close enough to be in the blast radius of all those symbols. They have 3 real-time minutes to solve the riddle, or I assume a wrong answer is given by the character. 

The three players accepted the challenge & risk together. 

X37 was the character they decided would receive 'ownership', and the riddle was...out of the five icons provided, which is the most unique?

They guessed correctly after two minutes. Turan bestowed ownership, and revealed that almost all of the rules were just tradition she followed for three hundred years, and is essentially not required to tell anyone anything about the inventory list. Now, part of the reason she had the rule against 'general search' questions for confirmation is that the owner cannot actually do such himself and has to ask himself specific questions to confirm or deny. In Turan's case, she was present for a large number of the secrets stored (obviously not all, as her presence isn't required for storage) and has a good memory; which was not transferred with ownership. She knew that it was potentially dangerous to empty out the estate of its secrets, warning of 'a place of power without a purpose'. 

However, there are several duties with being the owner of Riddle Manor that Turan informed X37 of. While he is free to leave the estate, this will create a formless icon in his stead. If anyone stands before this icon and requests to become attuned, the icon will state the riddle, waiting for a short period of time before resetting and requiring a year and a day before the requester can ask again (if he takes too long or answers wrong). Also, there is a request for a riddle that the owner is compelled to provide if asked and is unable to attack the requester until they respond. Turan does not know what the riddle is nor what happens if answered, but all Riddle Manor owners intuitively understand this duty; and in her experience, it is best to not delve into the nature/origin of this responsibility. Turan does reveal that she is aware that there is a True Owner of Riddle Manor, and she saw faintly but once in the shadows of the estate, killing a portly man. She never found a trace of either, and got a blank response when she queried her 'inventory' concerning it (neither confirmation nor denial, but simply...nothing). 

X37 indicated that he was fine with letting Riddle Manor continue normally, and was delighted to find out that Turan and her mate would prefer to remain in what has been their home for centuries, and thus serve as guardians and slayers of those who answer the formless icon incorrectly (more stable than just letting it sit open). 

And so, the party heads back to the capital. Once there, they begin their planning for travelling to Cast's homeland to retake the kingdom, which will aid the Empire by returning the flow of conscripts and tax money. 

Everyone levelled, and we went through the introductions of Marshal's and X37's cohorts. Cast will get his cohort and more followers with the acquisition of his homeland, as he's likely to become king; while Marshal's followers won't be revealed until later.