Threshold: Episode 2 Aftermath and Questions (Patreon)

Spoilers ahead for Threshold Episode 2! If you haven't watched the episode yet, you can find links to the audio and video at the campaign site, along with a complete overview of the episode and the aftermath: https://kanka.io/en-US/invitation/join/40a8454839f4abf00e1cde65c2b17e4435cece3d1611286629600a486539a09

However, there's a specific aspect of the aftermath that we need to address, because it will determine the plot of the next session. 

Briar had copied the inscription on the quickstone altar. Ink recognized the language; he’d seen it in Sol Udar, scratched into stone by dolgaunt claws. There are a few distinct differences—perhaps it’s a different dialect?—but he’s reasonably confident in his translation: The Still Lord’s path is revealed by blood. On hearing their descriptions of the Chamber, Ink asked Briar and Vael to tell him more about the many skulls in the chamber: What species were they? Were they all about the same age? Unfortunately no one studied the skulls closely, and the adventurers had no answers for the Scholar. Vael showed Ink the stone, which turned out to be quite interesting. Ink can’t identify the stone it’s made of. It’s incredibly hard; Ink couldn’t chip it. It is a powerful source of magical energy, and Ink believes he could use it to empower a magic item (much as it was used in the quickstone knife).... or he also believes it could be turned into a sort of ioun stone, granting knowledge to the person who attunes to it. Beyond this, hearing about a magically sealed door, he’s reasonably certain he could devise something that could suppress that enchantment and open the door.

So the question is: Will people open the door in the chamber of skulls and see what lies beyond it? Or will they try to bury the chamber and forget about it? And what should Ink do with the strange piece of stone?

While I'm doing a poll, I want to add another question—what sort of contests would you like to see for choosing future players? For those new to Threshold, each session I pick players from among patrons. Patreon has strict rules that mean that I can't just choose players at random... But I can hold a "creative contest" and give seats to the winners. So far I've had people write small stories about the characters, but not everyone's a writer; I want to change the contests so that everyone feels they have a chance. So I'm proposing a few types of contests, and I'm curious which you like—or if you have other suggestions! This poll will NOT set the contest for the next session—I'm curious to find out how many people would participate in each type of challenge.

Thanks for being part of the story!