DM Zyren's Heart of Darkness
Game Master Zyrenity

"Did you find a trap, Berry my dear? Did you disable it for us? Kazam! That's what I like to hear. Now you must admit, this type of work sure beats waiting tables at the revive. Don't yeh think? Well let's proceed through the door, my friends. Alchy, let's keep hunting for rats! Onward!"

Clearing the door she opens it.

The grinding sound of stone on stone fills the air as the ancient portal swings open...behind is a small L-shaped room

Tomb

vases and urns are stored here and ancient looking bandages. All arranged around a large stone table in the middle. This must have been some kind of enbalming room.

Trusting that Berry has disabled the traps, it is with a joyous skip that Jinx wanders into the room ahead of the others and starts peering into vases and urns in search of treats and gruesome discoveries.

Floyd had advised against such an action, but what did he know.

"An embalming room! This might be of some interest to our Pharasma priest." Kyren looks around the room still looking for signs of corpses or anything else of interest.

Perception 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

The vases contain the dried remains of what must have once been some kind of green emblaming fluid. The urns contained exotic spices and they still smell pleasantly sweet.

After a bit of searching you also find some tools usually used to open a body and for taking out the inner ograns.

"Hmm? These spices smell rather nice! I wonder if we could use some around Jinx and help freshen the air a little?"

Looking over the tools disdainfully, Kyren remarks, "Crazzleboks! Please remind me never to die down here. I wouldn't want any of these tools ever poking around in my innards."

Kyren waves his hands in somatic gestures and casts Detect Magic. "Abraca zip zop let's find the magic from the tip top!" He scans the entire room, but he especially focusses around the fluids.

Balled fists find a perch on the young goblin's hips as he surveys the necromancerless room.

"Other doors." Petting the air with Floyd beckons the others to follow him towards the doors easy of the room that birdbrain died in.

Jinx considers the jar of embalming fluid for a moment before pocketing it.

I sniff experimentally at a jar of spices.

Hm, spices can be darned valuable . . .any of these worth anything? n

Al and Blaze move in, sniffing about.

Al appears a bit pensive, as though he's still expecting trouble.

@ Jinx: Guess you meant east not easy?

@ Vaughn: Indeed, these spices could be worth alot...or nothing...they would all fit into one urn when pressed a bit.

@ Jinx: Guess you meant east not easy?

Stupid fingers...yes, east, not easy, lol :)

"Huh, why trap the inside of an embalmers workroom?" Then her eyes gleam with excitement as she reviews the words. "There must be some interesting compounds in here!>"

With the Berry searches the room for rare, valuable, or even just useful chemicals.

1d20 + 17 ⇒ (4) + 17 = 21 Craft Alchemy

The fluids were certainly rare when they were still fluid, now they are ruined. But still, the importance of the room as the place where the body was prepared for the last rest and the journey to the gods, was most probably enough to seal it with this dangerous trap. Especially if the grave goods were also kept here.

Gliding east from the room that birdbrain died in (#13 on the map), the gunslinger gazes northward, then southward for a moment, trying to make up his mind on which direction would be best.

Drawing out a coin he decides to let it make up his mind for him.

Coin Flip: 1d2 ⇒ 2 1 - North, 2 - South

The decision was made!

Jinx moves and tries the north door. He didn't trust coins.

"Easy does it there, Jinx. We try not to use random events such as a coin toss to determine where we go next. Let's stick together and protect each other from harm. Together we are much stronger than we are alone. Now what did your coin say?"

Alchy continues to follow Jinx, tail swishing as he goes.

Having wandered far from the group before he had drawn out his coin, Jinx is far from Kyren's constant stream of helpful micromanagement, which is starting to feel like the relationship experienced by old married husbands when their wives get going, he will just nod and agree from now on (even if his full attention is on a gladiator game, eyes glued to the action while his head bobs in time with his compliance). Perhaps he needs to add in the occasional, "Yes dear." Yes, he should definitely employ that clever ruse.

Jinx is of a chaotic disposition, and while he has a great deal of martial skill, his social awkwardness makes it difficult for him to have the tact to play nice with others that speak down to him, even when they are speaking from a position of only a few inches taller than him.

Wandering off on one's own is not brilliant, but there are proverbial ants in his proverbial pants, and standing around staring at jars ad nauseum was causing an invasion of yawns to take purchase in his throat.

Glancing back he is surprised to find Alcheringa having his back. Pointing to himself he pantomimes opening the door and stepping back to provide short ranged support with Floyd, in case something nefarious spills out, and though unsure if the druid has a clue of what he was gesturing he proceeds anyway.

The door is attempted and he steps back bringing Floyd up ready to blow holes in anything that so much as looks at him funny.

It is nothing but smiles that find their way to his expansive jaw with the sultry offer of combat and excitement. His breath comes quickly as it races to keep up with the swift beat of his tiny heart.

Tomb

Jinx is a bit disappointed to find the room empty. The smoot floor and ceiling of this circular room have been polished to a glossy shine, and the curving walls appear to be made of a faintly silver reflective material as smooth and flawless as glass.

Chewing on his lip for a second the goblin closes the door, does an about face, makes sure that the druid is ready and repeats the action with the door across the hallway.

The coin wanted him to go this way, so he knew his blood would flow, but Jinx was bound and determined to have some excitement this day.

Al growls his readiness and preparation...

Kyren does not like the idea of the group getting separated in this dungeon and remarks to the others. "Let's not get lost down here, my friends. Come and let's follow the cats and see if they are detecting anything with their whiskers. I hate the thought that the goblin is actually leading us. Berry, Vaughn, let's catch up to the others and stick together."

Kyren moves south the follow the others.

Jinx is more than surprised to find the other room an exact copy of the first room!

"Jinx, slow down! You are getting us all spread out! Before you open a door you must check for traps. That's Berry Peelybottom's job. If there is something to stab inside that is Daggers, Blaze and Alchy's job to strike them down. If there is magic inside, then it is my job to determine what it is. We have a system here and you are not following it! What skills do you possess other than getting into trouble?"

Mesmerized by the rush of words flowing forth from talktalk's mouth, he stares at those lips dancing on a floor of teeth and tongue with wonderment. When the grammatical avalanche rests at the bottom of his last sentence the goblin shakes his head a few times, hoping that all the words find a comfortable home in his pickled mind, and smiles.

"Yes dear."

Jinx gently grabs Berry's hand and works to lead her along with him to assuage Kyren's request.

It is a short walk into the room that birdbrain died, and the gunslinger points at the corpse, not that one could miss a flash fried hunk of tengu, and whispers, "Bad bad."

*shakes head* what the hell??

I look at Jinx with a glare. DON'T GET US EATEN. 'K??

Jinx glances over his shoulder and fixes Vaughn with a comforting smile. Unsure if that provides sufficient calm he also gives a thumbs up.

Speaking to Floyd he whispers, "Worry much. Slow walk like old do humpies."

He beckons for the group not to be split up not by him standing around, but by them to get the lead out and keep up.

The trap room had stolen his meal, and he meant to punish it for it. Then again the trap room might have cooked his meal, and he meant to thank it for it.

Turning to Daggers, the halfling says, "'Yes Dear', and 'Bad Bad' do not seem to be helpful methods of communication. I wonder if we find a way to put Jinx on a rope tether so that he at least won't run away. You know something like what we put on little children when we are walking into a crowd of people."

"That's fine." Says Berry coming alognside Kyren."He can trigger all the traps in front of us."

Double doors open onto a long oval-shaped room. Floating balls of fire illuminate walls covered with a bewildering array of runes sigils, and glyphs. Beneath these carvings, stacks of engraved stone tablets rest in recessed niches in the walls.

A pile of charred bones, the remains of some kind of cloak, burned feathers and ash rests underneath a brightly glowing glyph in the western wall.

Repetition of the description given to Jinx earlier

Alcheringa stops and sits down, emitting a low rumbling of warning as he tries to work out where and what the traps are...

Detect Magic
Perception 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27
Spellcraft 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

As Berry ignores his attempt to follow Kyren's suggestion, that she look for traps, Jinx wanders up to the next room with Alcheringa and flops down next to the druid and stifles a yawn.

"All want do stand 'round."

He looks over at the big cat and wonders if it has a way to hurry up the others.

Kyren walks up and joins Alcheringa land peers into the room from outside.

"Crazzleboks! This place looks a little dangerous! I think it is the charred bones, feathers, and glyphs that give it away. Dare we enter ourselves? I like your idea."

Kyren joins the druid in casting detect magic and scanning the room for any auras. "Presta Zalakablown, let the magic be known!"

"All want do stand 'round."

"No we don't all want to stand around! However, when our lives hand in the balance due to deadly traps and great evil fiends hiding in shadows, you make sure you trust to those who have a job to do. Not everything is rush, rush, rush around here! After all, we do want to escape alive!"

Rapidly clapping his hands the goblin utilized the power within his muscular buttocks to spring the short distance to his feet when he sees Kyren show up.

"Magic find."

Jinx points into the room In case the obvious is not.

The psychotropic toad is removed and feverishly licked. Pupils constrict and a big smile finds it way to his face again.

"Magic find."

"Yes, yes! That's what I'm doing. Give me a minute and I'll tell you what I find, but just stay clear of the room until we clear it of traps and other nasty things that will do far worse than burn your fingertips!"

The whole room is glowing with powerful magic that focuses in the warding glyphs on its walls.

Actually, the room is so chraged up with magical energy that you can hardly determine which aura is emanated by what.

"I don't know whether to say Kazam or Krazzleboks, but either way, we have some powerful magic here to deal with. If it is something we can use, we will be in very good shape, but if it is something that we need to overcome, then we will be in serious trouble. There is so much magic in this room that I cannot discern particular auras because the entire spectrum is flooded with magical auras! Do we have any volunteers named Jinx to walk in and see if that glyph is still working? How about you, my little goblin friend, what was your name again?" Kyren says with a sly grin.

Drawing back his threadbare eyepatch, he fixes two beady crimson sacks of vitreous body on the charred remains of Silklur, before following the halfling's request back to its source.

If a snort of derision impregnated the words, "I'll get right on that spanky", their love child would be hard pressed to fully express how unlikely, understatement of the millenium really...any that tried to force him in would be shot so full of holes their frame would consist of more lead than carbon, it was that Jinx even considers the request for him to continue in his role as a finder of bombs.

Digging into his pack, searching for treats, he tosses his finger at the bipedal collection of estrogen and apes Kyren's earlier words, "Dat barry pee bottom job."

A stiff and rotten rat's tail trails out of his mouth as he glances up at the sorcerer. Marching over he speaks slowly so even those with bad brains can comprehend his words, "Me Jinx!"

Jinx lays a comforting hand on Kyren's arm and fixes him with a stare usually reserved for slow children, "Need lie down?"

<lures Theras for a cameo to wander this way by accident, and then whistles innocently like the idea came from someone else>

Alcheringa just watches the interplay, hard to tell what he thinks...its hard for cats to show a wide range of emotion.

Digging into his pack, searching for treats, he tosses his finger at the bipedal collection of estrogen and apes Kyren's earlier words, "Dat barry pee bottom job."

"That's right. Berry has very acute senses and can detect traps with uncanny instinct. You will do well to let her work at that without interruption!"

A stiff and rotten rat's tail trails out of his mouth as he glances up at the sorcerer.

Oh dear Gods no! That rat tail is disgusting. I cannot imagine bringing this green beast into the Gryphon Plume for dinner! I think the entire restaurant would all start to upchuck!"

Marching over he speaks slowly so even those with bad brains can comprehend his words, "Me Jinx!"

"How did you know?" Kyren replies sarcastically, clearly losing patience with the goblin imp. "My, you are a clever one. I guess we can't fool you. Now who is this person?" Kyren adds by pointing to Jinx and asking the question to confuse the goblin as if he wasn't confusing already.

Jinx lays a comforting hand on Kyren's arm and fixes him with a stare usually reserved for slow children, "Need lie down?"

"No I do not need to lie down. Well, obviously I will tonight when I go to sleep and try to put this entire nightmare behind me. However at this time, I am wide awake and standing up trying to figure out how to deal with the excessive amount of magic in this room that is preventing me from solving this deep mystery that will eventually lead us to the acquisition of the Andoran Bill of Freedom! May I humbly suggest that you take a lie down. Let's pretend this floor is a comfy little mattress and you are enjoying its company by remaining absolutely still on it. Who knows, maybe you may discover Desna by quieting your mind and feeling her lucky presence work within you. Do you think I could be so lucky?"

As before Jinx wanders off long before talktalk gets much in the way of verbal momentum.

Marching down the hallway he cocks his head to the side and beckons for Vaughn and Berry to join the others so they can proceed.

"Probably just a good idea to leave that door alone anyway." Berry says shrugging.

lol...ok, I assume we leave this room behind?

As you return to the main corridor, you hear a strange humming sound coming from the mirror rooms.

It even feels as if the ground also vibrates in the same rythm.

Without dispel magic or something more powerful, I am not sure how to deal with that room.

As before Jinx wanders off long before talktalk gets much in the way of verbal momentum.

Calling over to the goblin, Kyren remarks, "Do you even know what I am saying or simply know how to have a conversation? Here, let me try it with fewer words so you can try to understand us."

Kyren clears his throat and tries to address Jinx in the goblin's own simplistic way.

"Room bad! Zappy Zappy! Fry Egg!"

As the party returns to the main corridor, Kyren looks around, listens and tries to figure out what is causing this vibration.

Perception 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

"Do any of you know what is causing this vibration? It seems too rhythmic to be an earthquake."

With the crazy stuff in this weird tomb, NOTHING would surprise me. A nest of mutant hornets? A really big sleeping baby? A giant hamster running in a wheel? Any other guesses??

Between the stream of seemingly meaningless verbage that flowed forth from his gaping maw, and how much trouble he had with the gunslinger's name, it was obvious that his brain was bad. You had to give it to the little halfling for trying as hard as he did.

Jinx looks at the "addled" halfling with something approximating sadness, or as close as a goblin could get to that emotion, since he was the one that had relayed to the party that the room was trapped in the first place.

Before he can get a chance to encourage Kyren to continue to think better he becomes aware of the vibrations.

Working his way towards the rooms, he sets up across from the open north door, his trained eyes playing across the glossy shine of the smooth floor and ceiling of the circular room.

Floyd rises up intent to shatter the glass, if it is glass, at the first sign that something is coming through to eat off their faces.

Large donkey ears twitch and flick in an attempt to glean the truth of the vibration before something horrific happens.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24

Not liking the possible ramifications he steps forward and closes the door most of the way, puts Floyd in the crack and yanks back on the trigger.

Shot 1 (Ranged Touch Attack): 1d10 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19
Damage: 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

It was a blind shot, but he was confident that the only way to miss a point blank shot at a room was....well he couldn't even think of a way to miss.

Reloading becomes the order of the day, as does opening the door and stepping back to see what transpired, hoping that if the glass exploded everyone would be shielded by the almost completely shut door.

The shot echoes only shortly inside the room of polished glass, then suddenly the bullet appears inside the room on the other side of the corridor, like a bouncing ball it flies from wall to wall without causing any significant damage to the surface - Jinx is lucky that the bullet

5% chance to be hit by crazy bullet1d100 ⇒ 65

misses him as it flies out of the room and disappears in the depths corridor.

Clapping his hands in excitement, seemingly completely oblivious to almost taking his own head off, the goblin runs into the mirror in the north room.

It was nice to solve riddles using gunfire.

At the last millisecond before reaching the mirror he ponders if he is about to knock himself senseless running into a wall.

A scampish little giggle echoes out from the north room.

Here we go again!! Another random shot into a danger filled chamber to randomly see what happens! Let's hope this little imp doesn't get us killed!

"Watch where you aim that weapon, Jinx! You could get one of us killed with that thing!"

Suddenly, Kyren realizes that his words have no meaning to the goblin and rephrases the statement. "Bullet Bad!"