"You all be careful," Rikar says to Kreig and Misha, "too many damn surprises in this corner of the mountain for my tastes." He joins Telman by the door, standing in the hallway and watching the stairs to the south.
With Misha aid, Kreig finds a trap on all three chests, but declares the floor and doors free of surprises. Telman and Rikar keep a close eye on the corridor to the south, especially the stairs.
Misha continues to assist Krieg as he works with the trapped chests.
.
.
.
Kreig studies the chests as he withdraws his tools from his shoulder satchel. "Lookee here, Legs. Looks like we gotta bit o' work, eh?" He nods to everyone to take a few steps back. "Best y'all keep yer distance. Somethin' goes off, it'll gimme room ta jump outta the way."
(chest 1)
(chest 2)
(chest 3)
"I keep wondering who they might be trapping these from... This is deep enough to be considered an inner sanctum. So was it their own people, or folks like us?"
"Or other denizens of the mountain?"
|
"I'm beginning to think this may be an elaborate test. A maze designed to weed out the weak, foolish, and gullible. The strong and cunning pass these Athan tests and keep proceeding. But what waits the 'victor' at the final test? Domination by some dragon god? Boundless treasures and magic? Something in between? Perhaps I am just growing cynical down in these mountains."
Josef continues to light the rooms with dancing lights, casting detect magic and examining the chests when Krieg and Misha mention traps.
With Misha aid, Kreig manages to disable the traps on all three chests. Starting with the southern chest, they find that none of them are locked. Opening the southern chest you find five scrolls. Opening the center chest you find five rings. Opening the northern chest you find five large pouches, each one appears to contain an item.
Everything detects as magical.
|
|
Josef spends the time to begin identifying the items, assuming they themselves are not trapped.
spellcraft Ring 1
spellcraft Ring 2
spellcraft Ring 3
spellcraft Ring 4
spellcraft Ring 5
spellcraft Item 1
spellcraft Item 2
spellcraft Item 3
spellcraft Item 4
spellcraft Item 5
spellcraft Scroll 1
spellcraft Scroll 2
spellcraft Scroll 3
spellcraft Scroll 4
spellcraft Scroll 5
"Most curious. Perhaps a repository from the Athan times? A hidden store room of magical treasures? Let us take some time to ensure these are not trapped, cursed, poisoned, or otherwise negative in their nature."
"I keep wondering who they might be trapping these from... This is deep enough to be considered an inner sanctum. So was it their own people, or folks like us?"
"Even in the most noble armies, the quartermaster still keeps the payroll chest locked."
Telman glances over out of curiosity to see the spoils they have uncovered, but tries to stay focused on guarding the group as they continue exploring.
As curious as Telman about what they've found, Rikar also makes an effort to stay focused on the hallway. Latys doesn't seem to care at all about the treasures found, and keeps an alert watch on the hall and stairs.
"You might be on to something," Misha says to Josef, and then to Telman, "Maybe--but while you might lock the supply closet, you won't set it up so your soldier blows his head off if he tries to break in. These aren't just little booby traps we were deactivating here."
Rings - Force Shield, Evasion, Wizardry (III), Protection +4, Spell Storing (death ward, protection from evil)
Scrolls - Resurrection, Enervation, Adjustable Polymorph, Greater Restoration, Hungry Pit
Items - Ioun Stones - Pale lavender, Orange; Bracers of Armor +4, Tan Bag of Tricks, Boots of Speed
|
|
"Uh...guys...this is the mother lode of magic items here. It's so nice I am very nervous about them. You know how the old saying goes: 'If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't.' Well, this haul seems too good to be true."
See above spoiler for identified items. No telling if I'm right about them or if they're all cursed with deadly intent.
"I would note these were stored within chests that were very strongly trapped--there's one if I didn't point out a hair's breadth wide rune that Kreig might have singed his beard a bit. Also, not only were they stored within very trapped chests, but also behind several doors, one of which had a trick opening which took burning Telman's face off to get to. They weren't exactly lying out in plain sight with a sign that says 'take me.'"
"I can give a second look at the items but you're a talented wizard, Josef. If you didn't notice anything wrong they're probably fine. We can at least also check the scrolls to be sure they are not warded to blow up when read." She sighs. "You're not wrong to be cautious, Josef, but we'd also be damned fools not to use these if they are what you think they are--some of this stuff here could be the difference between life and death."
Misha carefully looks through the pile of items.
Telman focuses his attention on the room for the moment, ready to react if the items do carry any foul magics...
Josef puts on the ring he has identified as a wizards ring, and as it settles nicely on his finger, he feels that he could memorize twice as many of his third level spells after a good nights rest.
.
.
.
Resurrection
Enervation
Greater Restoration
Hungry Pit
Kreig starts reviewing the items as Josef lists them off. He spends more time in the scrolls per Misha's warning, looking back to her as she aids him and shrugs, not sure as to their safety.
"Them there stones might kick up yer spark, Therena." Then he looks at the ring of protection and the boots. "Whaddya think, Arrows? With these here fancy kicks you'll be slinging a dozen shots a tick, yeah? Plus these here ring will keep yer hoop outta the fire when the Effin-reeti get pissed at ya."
Kreig loos at the ring of evasion and nods to Rikar. "What about this ring fer you, Longshanks. It ain't the promise ring I wanted ta give ya, but it'll put a goose in yer step. Mebbe help ya dodge the big nasty ifn she rains the fire. Course there's the critter bag too. What in tarnation is a...what'd Josef call it...a rhino?"
"Can you take the ring off without a problem? Not indicative of a curse, but easy to check," Misha suggests to Josef.
She nods as Krieg makes suggestions. "I'd feel good about Therena having the orange ioun stone as well as perhaps the ring with the death ward spell stored in it... even if it's for only one use, she's most effective against undead so she should be most immune to what they might do. She looks at the theurge. "What do you think, Therena?"
"The other ioun stone is a powerful protection. Could be valuable for all of us."
As Krieg asks about the bag and a rhino, she replies, "Big horned things, Garundian if I recall correctly." She picks up the bag with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Could do some fun things with this..."
"Rhino? Beast like that can change the course of a battle quick, I can tell you that. Spent time in a company called the Fighting Owlbears. Actually had an owlbear theyd unleash on the enemy's flank right as combat started, used to cause complete chaos."
"Or fun, depending on what side of the battle you were on."
He looks at the ring. "Does it have to have those spells in it? Or can we decide on something else and fill it to our needs? Undead protection is well and good, but maybe a spell to help when we fight our fiery friend again?"
Seeing that the Orange stone increases both of her magical sources, she sets it to spinning. She becomes almost hypnotized by watching it move around and around, back and forth, back and forth, back an...she totally zones out of any other loot distribution until Misha pushes the resurrection and restoration scrolls into her hands.
"Given all the mummies we've encountered and the like, I think we should keep what's in there, but once used we can put whatever we like. Also, the protection from evil spell helps especially against dark creatures from other planes of existence. Saitara likely counts as that."
She nods at Telman. "Sounds like you've had some interesting travels, to say the least."
She chuckles at Therena. "You gonna be able to make use of that and see the ground in front of you?" she gently teases.
"No fire, Josef." Kreig pats his satchel where he keeps his bomb jars. "Cold's the ticket. That's why I gots these lil babies for our effin-reeti. Give 'er gob a face full o' snow, that'll putn'er down faster. Can ya cram a ice storm in that there doohickey?" He gestures at the ring of spell storage.
"Ifn ya wanna part with them fancy bird bracers there, Arrows..." Kreig waves at the Falcon Bracers as Telman checks out the bracers of armor. "...I'll take 'em offa yer hands. No such thing as too much help when it comes ta this old dwarf's shootin'. Like as not I'd put a sticker in Rikar's tail as I would in the effin-fritter."
Spying the pale lavender ioun stone. "Ya sayin' that there stone will keep my biscuits from gettin' burned off? I could get ta likin' that seein' as the next time we jump on Saitara I plan on puttin' Fiendfinder here right up 'er keester."
----- ------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------ ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
|
|
"You're right, of course, Krieg. I was mis-remembering that ring. It allows for the wearer to cast spells as if they were their own, while I was thinking of another ring which would protect from spells being thrown your way. Now that I think about it, having amother haste spell, or some more resistance available is hardly a bad thing. But Misha's right. Let's keep it as is for now, and worry about what to fill it with when and if we use it."
Josef plays with his own new jewelry, quite pleased to be wearing such a potent item and thinking about the new spells he can prepare.
He tucks the arcane scrolls into his backpack for the moment, scribing will have to wait for some down time.
"Yeah, I think you may as well hold onto it." Misha picks up the bag of tricks. "You all mind if I hold onto this?"
She nods at Telman. "Sounds like you've had some interesting travels, to say the least."
The archer gives a non-committal shrug as he begins unlacing his bracers. "Sounds more interesting than it was, really. You get hired, you stand with the other bowmen, you shoot in the direction they tell you to shoot. Doesn't much matter what the company calls itself or what colors they make you wear."
He hands the one bracer to Kreig and starts working on the other one. "Lots of traveling in that life, sure, but some days you had to check the company flag to remember who you were working for. After a while...man needs to set his own path, aim his bow himself." Handing over the second bracer he grabs the newly found ones.
"And try not to get yourself killed in the process."
.
.
.
Kreig grins Misha's way. "Don't go tryin' ta point a rhinoceros at me, Legs. I got enough troubles gettin' outta the way o' Longshanks here." He gives Rikar a waggle of his eyebrows.
"Thanks fer these, Arrows." Kreig surveys the bracers and whistles as he straps them onto his forearms. "These lil beauties gots all sorts o' fer-special in 'em. Quite nice."
After a moment, Kreig finds a clear space on the stone floor and rests his pack. Then he slides his new satchel off his shoulders and opens the flap. "Lookee here. I was wonderin' if we could catch a breather, eh? Reason is, I'd like ta brew up a bit o' juice fer. Somethin' ta put some pep in my step when we face off wid Saitara." He looks to the others. "Just needs and hour or so. I got be formula down so it don't take much..."
Rikar dons his new ring and chuckles at Kreig's comment. "Well, this thing will sure help me get out of the way of those bombs you rig up, should it come to that. Might help dodging a rhino too, if I get sideways with Mishinika."
Turning to Telman, he says, "I'm glad to hear you say that, about the mercenary life. Not glad for you, but glad I never took it up during my wanderings. I worked for enough folks as a hunting guide, them telling me what to do, even when it was the wrong thing to do if they wanted to actually hunt something. I'd hate to have someone telling me who to kill, with me not having a say one way or the other. Glad you're out of it, I am."
.
.
.
Kreig chuckles at Rikar's jest and begins pulling some of his concoctions from his satchel and then the mixing flasks so he can reformulate and create a mutagen.
"What have I ever done to either of you that makes you think I'd send a rhinoceros at either of you? You both do well enough throwing yourselves at the nearest dangerous thing that would be a waste of an expenditure of this bag's magic." Misha grins.
She nods at Krieg. "Why don't we take a break--we've spent most of the day just figuring out these damn doors and fought a bit as well. We may as well rest and then finish this place up. Telman can tell us more stories about how boring adventuring with people who use owlbears as weapons must be." She winks at the archer.
She spins the ring of force shield toward Therena. "I rescind my earlier suggestion. You've already got one sparkly ring, and you might more need this, in case the enemy gets through to your line. You don't seem to have much in the way of defensive gear, as we need to keep you alive--beyond preserving your pretty face, you keep the rest of us alive!"
She then picks up the ring of spell storing. "I'll hold onto this for now and can pass it off to whomever needs it. I don't have any magic rings, and if I understand how these things work correctly, anyone can cast the spells that exist in them, so I can put the death ward and protection spell from anyone who needs it."
She looks around. "Everyone happy with how this has been divvied out?"
"Oh, Ive got stories." Telman returns the smile. "Most of them involve standing in a line and firing into the air, but I can tell them for hours."
He glances around the room. "Shouldnt be too hard to secure this room for some rest. Although after a few stories most of you will be clamoring to get out......"
”Mighty wise of you, Mishinika,” Rikar replies, grinning, ”minding our resources, knowing that Kreig and I can manage to get ourselves hurt just fine without a rhinoceros to help out.”
As he picks up the second ring, he adds, ”I’m quite happy with how we’ve divvied up this find, I feel a good deal less likely to die today – especially if we spend the rest of the day sleeping in this room with the doors secureded and Telman telling tales.” Swapping the rings on his right hand, he holds one up and says, ”So I’ve got a spare protection ring, anyone interested? It’s gotten me this far in one piece.”
.
.
.
"Aww, c'mon, Arrows." Kreig says as he eyeballs a measure of bluish liquid. "I'm sure ya'll r' sick o' me carryin' on 'bout mah glory days. Whaddya got fer tall tales, eh? Gotta beastie r a horse-humpin' orc chief out there with one o' yer arrows stickin' outta its neck?" A quick sniff at the current concoction and he nods with satisfaction and slips it into a leather loop in his satchel.
"How's 'bout more o' where yer from?" Kreig pulls over his main pack and fishes out his remaining wolf trap. "Why dontcha get ta cogitatin' on a real humdinger of a tale while I go set this here Bouncin' Bessie up near the front doors?" He glances at the others to make sure it's a good idea.
Looking at the party pressing Telman for stories--and recognizing she started it--she muses that no one in all this time has ever asked her where she comes from. There was some talk of it long ago on the raft ride here, but half the folk who heard that tale had departed. I'm not sure whether to be hurt or relieved. Outwardly, she simply chuckles at the party's banter, while looping the bag of tricks' strings through her belt. "Come now, Telman, I'm sure there's a would-be famous adventurer gimped by one of your arrows, who's now been demoted to guard duty in a sleepy farming village."
To Krieg's more practical question, she replies, "As long as you can deactivate it quickly in an emergency, Krieg, I think that's a good idea."
Telman is pensive as they prep the room for a secure rest. Once everything is ready and the group hunkers down the archer is smiling.
"Not exactly 'high adventure' but I think Ive got one ....."
"Anyway, a minor noble had hired us to clear out these hills north of his manor. Seemed he was having a goblin problem. Bunch of minor skirmishes with the things before we finally found their caves in a winding valley. Our recon said it was a small nest, maybe 40 or so left, so the captain made camp and sent a small force to finish the job. 20 soldiers to roust the gobs out of the caves, 20 archers to get 'em when they scattered."
"Well," Telman pauses to take a drink. "Recon must have had their heads in their arses because we start trying to smoke the caves and least a hundred of the little blighters come pouring out. Thank gods they were only goblins, but you put anythings back against the wall and it'll fight, right? They're screaming and shrieking, and this one shaman must of cast a spell to make himself louder, cuz he's shouting 'yakka Bizni tek qo'y,', and 'bu bizning g'orlar', his voice echoing through the valley. Its riling the gob's up so they're all making a helluva racket."
"Yeah, whole thing's starting to freak out some of the greener soldiers. We're not losing, the gobs are taking heavy casualties, but its obvious that the little bastards are holding their ground. Then there's this roar. The kind of roar you feel in your gut, even drowns out the shaman's yelling."
Telman lowers his voice to a more serious tone. "A pair of ogres come around a bend in the valley. Seems all the gods-damned yelling had drawn their attention. So there we are. 40 trained soldiers at one end of a valley, 2 ogres at the other end, and a mass of goblins in the middle. Suddenly everything is quiet. That eerie, creepy kind of quiet that settles on a battlefield where everyone stops to see what happens next."
He pauses for a moment before breaking into a smile. "And what happens? That shamen starts screaming 'Agar bizga yordam' and 'Agar g'ormi bor' and the goblins charge at us. Charge PAST us, fast as they can, and suddenly we're facing the ogres while the gobs hide BEHIND us!" He shakes his head with a chuckle.
"In all the chaos we manage to make pretty quick work of the ogres believe it or not but then we're all standing there: a bunch of soldiers and a tribe of goblins just looking at each other, none of us knew what to do next. Guy next to me asks 'should we start firing again?' and I had no bloody idea!" He shakes his head.
"There was a bunch of surrendering and some parlay, I think, but I'll never forget that moment of hesitation as we all thought to ourselves.......'now what do we do?'"
Therena claps her hands in delight at Telman's tale.
"Unfortunately, I learned that there's nothing that gives goblins more joy than setting things, and people, on fire, and the goblins logically concluded that if fire brings joy, and I was a great priest of the joy god, then burning me at the stake should make everybody happy! My friends arrived back, just in time to rescue me, and the next day, the dragon returned. We managed to defeat him, barely, without the goblins' help, since their new-found devotion to Sinishakti suggested to them that the best way they could help would be to set the red dragon on fire...which is not the most effective approach, as you can imagine. One of my friends convinced them, in the middle of battle no less, that Sinishakti also really liked water, so while we fight the dragon, 200 goblins start hauling buckets of water from the lake and start drenching everybody, including the dragon. It's really hard to fight a dragon with goblins throwing buckets of water on you, but in the end, we were victorious. Then, half the goblins decided to worship the water-joy Sinishakti but drowning themselves, so we got out of there before we ended up destroying the entire mini-civilization. As far as I know, there's still a tribe of goblins out there, alternatively drowning and immolating themselves in worship to the Empyreal Lord!"
.
.
Kreig heads into the corridor and pasthe the doorways leading to the main chamber. Just inside the frame of the last door he sets up his wolf trap, pulling the trip wirends across the threshold and then giving it a gentle dusting of the grime on the floor to camouflage it.
(hide tripwire)
Then he retreats down the corridor, pulling caltrops as he goes and placing them in a pattern he knows all too well. It might be random to someone else, but the dwarfish name of his father can be seen of you look just right.
(hide caltrops)
As he works, Telman's then Therena's voices carry softly down the corridor. Kreig smiles and comes around to the plain fact that he likes this company of companions. A hard conclusion when he considers what happened to the last group of which he'd been a part. But it's undeniable.
Kreig finishes with his work, taking one last look and listen before returning to the group.
(down the corridor)
"Ya'll talk about them dog-humpin' gobbers like they was okie-dokie." Kreig takes a seat on the stone floor and pulls his pack over. "But I reckon ifn ya got a pair o' hairy ogres n' dragons ta settle up with, lil green bastards are the least o' yer worries." He retrieves what appears to be a small journal from his pack. He gives it a once over and flips the pages until he arrives at the back. Any watching the process can see among the marked pages are random dwarvish notations along with myriads of drawings and structural plans. Kreig finds a set of pages wherein separate pages are pressed. They vary in shadea of brown, of which he selects the darkest. "That flippin' dragon over yonder busted my pipe. Gotta backup plan, though. One thing ol' Kreig learned was ta have a backup plan."
Over the next few moments he proceeds to withdraw some of his tobacco from his hip pouch and wraps it carefully. "Yesirree bub, a good cherroot goes a long ta keepin' this here dwarf from knockin' a few heads tagether...or from hittin' the sauce."
"Looks like we gots a spell ta hear some more, Legs." Kreig says as he works. "Whaddya say ta one more tale?"
"Hm?" Misha looks up at Krieg. As folks settled down to rest, she had pulled out her journal to catch up on both her notes for the day and was, perhaps, also taking notes on Telman's and Therena's stories. Certainly she had nodded along appreciatively with both, though looked in alarm at the idea of goblins immolating people in the name of an Empyreal lord. At least the story had, of sorts, a happy ending.
"Oh, well, if you insist." She doffs her hat and grins, putting her pen in her inkwell. "While we're on the subject...
"When I was, oh, 17 or so, I took my little sister Marga out to camp in the woods, to teach her the things father had taught me about getting by in the wilderness. I deemed myself the supreme expert on everything, as a 17 year old would, even of course I was not. Now I am, obviously, but then... well, we were fishing in the creek for a good long while, and when suddenly, or so it seemed, it got dark quite fast. We had both lost track of time, playing in the water and scaring the fish away as much as catching any. We rushed to get back to the campsite we'd set up as it grew dark, and saw ahead that a fire was already burning. In fact, burning a bit too large.
"Four goblins sat by the fire, having thoroughly ransacked our supplies, eating our food stores and burning anything they considered value-less, like our clothes and our soap and the like.
[b]"Marga and I were both terrified. Gobbers may seem not much of a nuisance to us now, but we were young, and knew how dangerous they could be and that they would have no mercy on us for our youth. But we saw them ready to put Marga's kapenia on the fire---a record of our family tree we carry with us," Misha pauses to point at an embroidered turquoise cloth sewn into the lining of her coat, "It was our grandmother's before hers, and something set into my heart that we could not lose it, could not do that to my sister, and I refused to run even when Marga herself tried to pull me away. I'd heard that while vicious, goblins were stupid too, and an idea came into my head.
"I told Marga to climb onto my shoulders and we wrapped our coat over her shoulders. On top of HER head, she carried Vixus, a fox that she nursed when ill and would never leave her side. So we marched toward them, coming in so that the ridiculous bonfire's light caught us and made us cast a shadow twice as large as we were----a great giant with a beast's head." She casts prestidigitation to create a fleeting, smoky image of just such a creature.
"They ran screaming. We threw fish at them for good measure. We were lucky, I reckon, but hope had it not worked we would have had the sense to run. Marga would have, anyway.
"A few days later, we heard some goblins had been rounded up after raiding a sheep farm nearby. One pled innocence, claiming being forced into his criminal act by a Demon who Rained Fish. It did not buy him mercy, sadly."
|
|
Josef snorts in laughter at the thought of goblins running from a sheet ghost with a fox's head.
"Man, I wish I had better stories to tell. Back home in Stonebridge, the most exciting thing was the occasional barfight. It was funny when crank old Cutter Samson, the farmhand on Jack Betten's place took a swing at Sarah the barmaid. He was drunk, obviously, and got pissed she wouldn't serve him anymore. I don't think he even realized Michael, Steve, Phil and I were all there, fresh off our evening patrol. Still in uniform, even."
He chuckles some more at the memory.
"Not only did he try to hit a young woman, he missed, and did it in front of 4 guardsmen. He practically bounced off the street when we tossed him. I don't think he'll ever forget being dunked head first in the rain barrel out back, either. It took all four of us to haul him up and drop him in, but it sure was worth it. Sarah and Farmer Betten appreciated us not locking the fool up, too. Sober, he was strong as an ox and worked just as hard. Might be why he drank so damn much come nightime, anyways."
Rikar chuckles along with the others, enjoying the tales and relishing some time spent not exploring the caverns and fighting the myriad of evils they seemed to produce without end. "And yet you travel without fish, Mishinika, to aid us in our quest?" he asks, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
He's told the most important parts of his story already, and has no wish to sadden his friends by repeating the tale.
Telman leans back on his pack, content to listen and surprisingly comfortable and relaxed in such a deadly place.
Setting up camp, Kreig puts up a trip wire, and scatters caltrops in a pattern that for right now only he knows what it means.
You then hunker down for the night to get some much needed rest and relaxation. The evening is spent swapping stories of your lives before coming to this mountain, getting to know one another a little better and thinking of comrades past and what is to come.
After a safe night, Kreig replenishes his alchemical extracts and bombs. Misha and Therena feel there arcane powers refreshed, while Therena and Josef also pray and study to replace the memorized spells they cast the day before, with Josef being able to memorize significantly more than he could yesterday.
As Kreig recovers the caltrops and trip wire, Rikar and Telman stand guard, looking intently down the hall for anything that might have changed during the night, and listen closely for sounds of activity other than their own. Seeing no difference, and hearing nothing but the stillness of the tombs, you have to decided on your next course of action.
Misha chuckles at Rikar. "Who needs fish? I have a rhinoceros now."
She shakes her head at Josef. "Another person's stories are always interesting to someone who hasn't lived them... the trick is in the telling. Something others at the Academy did better than I do, for sure... but anyway... never assume your subject matter's uninteresting. The rain barrel method of curing drunk and disorderly conduct could be elaborated upon most humorously." She grins.
Misha suggests they finish what they started with the statues before continuing further south.