Giant Finger Research Report
In attendance: Orion Malanis, Aima, Lyx, Scum, Willow.
Summary
Scout patrols on the surface recovered the frayed finger of an undead giant. The finger itself seems to have severed just below the knuckle and is remarkably well preserved, with the bone being exposed. A closer inspection revealed several ancient Sylvan inscriptions carved into the bone and fingernail.
Investigation
Maeve was able to decipher the ancient sylvan inscriptions as follows. We assumed that these inscriptions were riddles of some kind and began to search for answers to them.
Inscription 1:
"Not every door is made of stone. Not every wall wishes to be seen. Offer the world an eye not born of flesh, And hidden paths shall welcome thee."
After much discussion and several different attempts Willow observed the carving through the neck of a bottle, which revealed the hidden text AZSRVS. When the text was revealed another riddle was presented to us, spoken into our minds by a female voice.
"Not dead, not living, not absent, only abandoned, speak of me and I begin to return."
We came to the conclusion that the text AZSRVS was encoded in some form and that the second riddle would provide us with the key to decipher it. While there was a great amount of guessing involved, we eventually figured out the answer to the riddle was YOE.
By using AZSRVS and YOE together we decoded the name CLOTHO, marking the end of the first riddle.
Inscription 2:
"I wear no cloak, yet none can see me. I cast no shadow, yet I stand before thee. Dust, rain, or smoke become my name. Reveal my shape without a flame."
Compared to the previous riddle this one was solved much quicker. By blowing dust and sand across the inscription we revealed several markings. These markings were translated to reveal the name LACHESIS, marking the end of the second riddle
Inscription 3:
"The blind may find me. The seeing pass me by. Close the one thing you trust most, And open what cannot lie."
This riddle was the beginning of many. When we closed our eyes a voice filled our minds, a female voice that asked if we would like to begin something known as “The Gauntlet”, where we would only get 2 incorrect answers before being punished. We came together as a group and agreed to participate in order to find more information.
The Gauntlet
When we agreed to participate we were brought into the gauntlet. While we remained physically in Underhaven, next to the finger, we did notice that time began to flow differently. The world moved much faster around us, with Maeve and the others observing us to move very slowly. There was definitely fey magic in play.
Trial 1:
"Four carried her, one remains. Choose not the greatest gift but the one that survives oblivion."
This riddle was accompanied by the appearance of four stone pillars labelled Strength, Wisdom, Faith, and Memory.
Three of our research group stood by the pillar of memory, believing it to be the right answer, and were then given the next trial. Those that stood by other pillars were marked with one failure but still allowed to proceed.
Trial 2:
"The one most lost does not show her face."
After being given the riddle we saw six slots appear across the back of the giant's finger, each containing different symbols: Feather, Sun, Moon, Mushroom, a blank slot, and Star.
Each of these symbols could be linked in some way to the True Gods, two sisters of the living trinity, the goddesses of day and night, and lux mara. The only missing representation was of the lost goddess Yoenna.
Therefore we were able to solve this riddle by putting a branch into the blank slot.
Trial 3:
The third trial came with no riddle, but instead a scale appeared before us. One side of the scale was labelled “Power” and the other side was labelled “Remembrance”. At the beginning of this trial the Power side of the scale was heavier and weighed down.
Around the scale sat four crystals; Glory, Gold, Blood and Family.
We placed the family crystal onto the Remembrance side of the scale, which tipped the scale out of balance. This caused us to fail this trial and counted as one failure before we began the next. Those of us who had already failed the earlier trial were ejected from the gauntlet and time began to affect them normally again.
Trial 4:
“The dead may keep me, the living may lose me, books may hold me, time may steal me”
Unlike the previous trials there was no physical component of this trial. We answered simply by speaking the answer aloud, which in this case was “Names”. However there was a wrong answer from one of the three remaining researches, bringing the group in the gauntlet down to two.
The female voice answered that this was not the answer the expected or wanted, but it was still acceptable and gave us the letters A,T, R,O
Trial 5:
"The fair folk covet me, hags twist me, mortals squander me."
This riddle was presented in the same way as the previous one, with the answer being spoken aloud. The correct answer was “Words”. We were only able to succeed here thanks to the aid of Willow, as I gave an incorrect answer and was ejected from the gauntlet myself.
The last letters we were given were P,O,S, which when combined with the previous trial gave us the final name ATROPOS
Conclusion
Once we identified the three names; CLOTHO, LACHESIS and ATROPOS, the magic that was preserving the giant's finger seemed to end. The finger completely disintegrated, leaving nothing behind.
