After Alys takes her shots, Sam ducks in front of her and hurls a ugly orb of fire down the hall.
Alys steps up first and fires, catching the elemental by surprise. The blast blows a large chunk of the elemental out and alerts him to people being down the corridor.
Reaghar then steps over and fires, but his attack goes very wide, burning the wall.
Sammark then steps up and releases his energy and slams another blast into the elemental.
Reaghar takes a shot at the nearest construct
For unknown reasons, Reaghar blows a hole in Connor's flying construct.
It would be really unwise for selvan to start shooting through all the soft cover. So he'll move over a bit and ready an action to fire once everyone is out of the way.
::Reaghar, wai-:: Connor sent telepathically, only to see the Humavian, as well as everyone else, decide to be the one to draw the last ball of light's attention. With his fellow adventurers lining up to the door, Connor concentrated on listening to Hero's reports about the glow-lit room, and having the astral constructs respond in time.
The two flying constructs, one narrowly missed by a ray from Reaghar, swung at the flying globe of light.
Even as the constructs swung, they started to both disappear.
Hero, tell me what the wall circle of light is doing. Can you see into it? Are there more balls of light on the other side, or is it just a long tunnel? Connor asked his psicrystal.
Alys continues her hail of mind bullets
Alys's bolt rips through the elemental, causing it to explode.
Those lined up in the room can see the portal. Beyond it, a dark landscape is lit by bright purple lightning. Orbs of energy float in that landscape. In the distance, the group sees dozens of orbs moving toward the gateway. Some look tiny, others look massive.
Still holding the torch, Connor mentally "listened" to what Hero was telling him about the last floating sphere in the room, then "spoke" to the others over Selvan's Net. ::Okay, that takes care of the balls of light! Now for...wait. Uh-oh. Uh, guys? That shimmering on the wall looks more and more like a portal to Hero, and he is saying not only is it open, but there's more balls of light on the other side. Coming this way!::
::Well, close it!::
::Figure something out, I guess I'll try shooting it in the meantime::
Alys steps past Sam into the room and levels her soulbolt at the gate.
Alys moves into the room, see's some runes carved into the stone wall around the portal, and fires at them.
The stone cracks, and the rune flashes. Then the portal detonates, sending a wave of negative energy out slamming Alys back against the far wall. The remainder washes out into the hallway and slams into Sammark.
It completely fades away just before Reaghar can take a face full of it.
Alys slumps to the floor, blood trickling from her mouth.
The portal is gone.
"Dang, good work... hello? She's jacked up."
"And you're surprised? Alys's first reaction to everything is to run at it and shoot. Building full of gun toting smugglers? Run, shoot, fall down. Well armed archery hyenas? Run, shoot, fall down. Swirling mystic portal of a design and nature she could not comprehend? Run, shoot, fall down. Sooner or later nature will simply take its course."
With a sigh of resignation SElvan gets to work.
Amount healed to Alys and damaged in nonlethal to selvan.
Amoutn healed again to alys and nonlethaled to selvan.
Selvan will spend 6 pp to heal to full with natural healing.
"Come now, me buggy-boy, you should be happy she puts so much faith in you," Sam says cheerfully as he picked at a patch of necrotic flesh on the back of his hand.
"Well, she got the job done" Reaghar says, extending a hand to help Alys up.
Groaning, Alys grabs Reaghar's hand: "I did?", she looks at the wall where the portal used to be. "Good..." she coughs, "I was beginning to think I made a mistake when that shockwave was coming toward me."
Connor was still weighing their options when Alys ran into the room. The detonation of light happened before he could even object, and things got chaotic after that. By the time Connor could get to the room, Selvan had already healed the elfavian woman, and Reaghar was helping her up from the stone floor.
"That was...foolhardy!" Connor sputtered at Alys, last to arrive in the stone room. "We can't afford to lose anybody in this mission! Blowing up the building last time was all right, because at least we could fly! But here on the Surface, under the Surface, in tunnels full of magic, arrghh!" But it was readily apparent Connor was angrier at himself than anyone else.
Connor turned to the other elfavian. "Selvan," he said, "you truly are a lifesaver. I would have tapped one of her tattoos. Hero" Connor jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the psicrystal moving slowly off of the wall and back to his master, "was too dazzled to help. When we get back to the ship I'm recommending an award from Captain Reville. But it's a proven fact now we all need longer-ranged attacks."
Connor turned back to Alys. "Can't you make your ghost-gun something with a longer range?" he implored his teammate. "I think the loss of firepower might be acceptable to having to stand right in front of your target. That portal went up like the Edge's gunpowder stores! You don't have to fire a blunderbuss when a rifle would do. And learn to use some cover! Or else Reaghar and I need to make a dozen Tattoos of Inertial Armors and Force Screens for you, starting tonight."
Sighing, Connor calmed down from his tirade. As Hero crawled up Connor's leg to his shoulder, Connor began looking around. He remembered to use Selvan's Net, in case the halfling godling was listening in. ::All right, the portal to another realm has been destroyed so no more life-destroying balls of light. I remember Tenfa said this place was a storage room, but that it had vaults to the north.:: Connor walked around the others, and waved the lit torch's flame in the northerly direction. ::So I think I'll start there.::
"Oh, I wouldn't expect it to be completely empty of them, deary. Remember, it's been open for several hundred years. I'm afraid I can't tell for sure, it'll be a hundred years or so before the disruption it caused clears up enough for me to see clearly again."
Alys reforms her mindbolt in her hand, then starts petting the barrel and whispering to it, but deliberately in a way that everyone else can hear: "Shhh, it's okay, he doesn't mean it. He's just grumpy because we saved the day, and he couldn't."
"Well, let's have a look then. If I were looting the place, and I'm not saying I'm not, it would seem like the reasonable place to start."
::Working on it. And we're not looters - we're just making sure there's nothing dangerous left behind.:: Connor replied through the net. He set the torch down again near the leftmost vault door and began inspecting the area.
::Yeeahhhhh.:: Connor drawled mentally through the net. ::I'm not liking this. If there were traps to be placed anywhere, I'd put them on stuff holding weapons or money. Hero, it's time for that "you do the work" stuff we talked about earlier.::
Connor laid out the thieves' tools on the floor, backing himself and the torch away from the vault door. ::All right, Hero, time to earn your keep.:: he said, echoing the thoughts through Selvan's Net. ::Don't you raise that limb at me. You're a hero. Get in there and show your stuff. Just be ready to jump aside if anything happens.::
Psicrystal Perception (taking 20) = 26
As the tiny psicrystal walked, spider-like, over to the vault door, Connor manifested Far Hand, expending his psionic focus, regaining it as necessary. The thieves' tools levitated from the floor to the psicrystal's waiting ectoplasmic limbs, but Connor also kept the mindpower ready to toss the psicrystal aside if a trap sprung on them.
"Don't be silly Connor, of course you're looters. Nothing wrong with looters, some of my favorite priests and priestesses are looters."
The door is indeed trapped. In fact, Hero realizes if Connor had used magic instead of Psionics, the trap would have gone off, and they'd have been ground zero for fireballs.
::Everybody back up!:: Connor commanded through the telepathic net. ::Maybe it's a good thing I didn't use detect psionics to detect magic this time! We've got a magical fireball trap. Probably destroys everything inside as well as outside the door if it goes off. So I'm going to be slow and careful on this one.::
"Alright, I guess I'll watch this explosion from a distance", Alys comments as she walks to the south end of the room and behind a corner.
::I'm touched by your confidence in my skills.:: Connor monotoned as his adventuring partners either left the room entirely or hid themselves in stone alcoves in the storage chamber. Connor wondered how bad a magical fireball would be in this enclosed space.
Pretty bad. Connor also judged just how badly he was still hurt from the ball of light attack in the theatre room.
And realized, no matter what psychokinetic force screen he put up, even using the Power Stone of Vigor in the crystal at his neck, he was likely to die from any fireball explosion. Sighing, he sent out, ::Hero buddy, I'm going to the far end of the room as well. Discretion wins over valor. So you'll have to do the lock on your own. I'll lead you through it.::
Connor backed up until he was in an alcove at the southern end of the room, across from Alys, taking the torch with him. No use in setting off any mundane traps, either. ::Ok, Hero, let's do this.:: he told the psicrystal, echoing the words through Selvan's Net. The little creature, hanging on the side of the vault door, raised the lockpicks in response.
::I'm touched by your confidence in my skills.:: Connor monotoned as his adventuring partners either left the room entirely or hid themselves in stone alcoves in the storage chamber.
::Ah come on, I know you can do it!:: Alys cheers back.
The door's lock eventually yields to Connor's lockpicking.
You've been using them long enough now to realize that the lockpicks are giving a bonus. The lockpicks are MW, obviously. But they are also enchanted, and grant an additional +3 Sacred bonus, for a total bonus of +5 on checks.
Once the door is open, the party checks the room. It looks like a typical treasure vault, in that it has shelves for putting loot on, although it appears that it's been long since cleaned out. However, whoever did it was obviously in a hurry, as there are things left behind.
Alys notes a shelf full of copper ingots (200 ingots, each about 1/2 pound, each worth about 1 silver as trade goods).
Connor also finds another 200 ingot stash.
Rheagar finds a blood ruby about the size of his fist behind a fallen piece of tile that broke off the wall. (Worth about a 1000 gp)
Sammark finds a small leather sack stuffed into a hidden panel in the back. It's full of platinum coins. (250 platinum coins)
Selvan finds a couple of small diamonds in the dust piled up in the corner of the room. (Two small diamonds, each worth about 125 gp).
Connor breathed a sigh of relief as the door opened without an explosion. ::Okay, it's open now - let's take a look inside.:: he sent to the others.
Connor collected the pieces of the lockpicks from Hero and the floor while the others came up from behind him. These halfling lockpicks must be better than I thought. he mused to himself. Maybe they were worth keeping, then. Hero climbed back onto his shoulder.
Once inside, Connor looked around with the lit torch. ::Seems more like a treasure vault than an armory.:: he commented to the others. One shelf in particular got his attention.
::It's copper.:: Connor mused at the half-pound ingots. ::And of excellent forging, not to have rusted away to nothingness after a thousand years. I've got about 200 silver pieces, or 20 gold pieces' worth, here.:: Connor waited as the others were searching the corners as well. ::As far as defensible goes, if someone had a monster chasing them and could make it to this vault, they might kill the monster with the fireball.:: he finished.
"found a good sized ruby here."
"Heh, I think I win," Sam says, jingling the the purse of platinum pieces. "We can outfit ourselves in style after this."
While the others searched, Connor told his psicrystal I'm sending you ahead again, Hero. If this was the treasury, that must be the armory. Check out the door. We should be protected in here while you do.
--------------------------------
::If this was the treasury, that must be the armory.:: Connor told the others. ::I'll send Hero to open one while we're here in...the...other...:: the Humanvain broke off, deep in thought. After a few seconds, he snapped, ::Everybody out. I can see an "either-or" trap on these two vaults being just as simple as other kinds of traps.::
--------------------------------
After everyone was back outside in the larger room, or even in the corridor, Connor closed the vault door. When he was back at the southern end of the room, he asked Hero how the inspection of the second vault door was doing.
Psicrystal Perception (taking 20) = 26
As before, Connor used range and cover while Hero used the lockpicks at the second vault.
::I also found a stash of copper here.::
The door creaks open slowly, once it's opened. There is much noise, as last time, as the bars in the door disengage.
As the group enters, they find a prototypical armory, although perhaps with less head room than they are used to.
Racks on the wall are old, with dust, and rusty weapons adorn the hooks, where they haven't fallen to the floor. It appears someone has gone through here at some point, as there is little of real value, just old rusted small weapons.
Alys finds a medium sized MW dwarven waraxe that was wrapped in oilcloth that has managed to survive the ravages of time.
Connor finds nothing but broken and rusted weapons.
Rheagar finds an old small greataxe that seems to have survived with minimum rust, but it needs to be resharpened.
Sammark finds an old small light crossbow that's in perfect condition. If looked at with a detect psionics, a headache ensues.
Selvan finds nothing but rusty and broken weapons.
"This axe looks pretty good. Not really anything I can make use of."
Connor breathed another sigh of relief and got up from his kneeling position to go to the right-handed vault. Or, at least he tried to. The copper ingots in his backpack clinked loudly as Connor staggered up to a standing but hunched-over poise.
::I can't take no more, Uncle. I don't wanna!:: Connor repeated from his McIntyre days of childhood weight training. ::I'm a-gettin' rid of these copper bars. I can't walk, let alone fly with them.:: he declared. Connor slowly walked over to the corridor leading to the center room and moved the copper ingots from his backpack to the floor. ::Whew. That was heavy. I'll have to come back for these. You might want to stack your copper here too, Alys. Yours can't be any lighter.:: Connor suggested.
----------------------
Connor collected the lockpicks from Hero and took just a look inside. ::Some armorer skimped on the oil.:: he declared, finding only the rusted remains.
----------------------
While the others looked around the armory vault Connor got out his map maker's kit and stared walking to the south door, the last one not opened in this room. ::If this leads to living quarters, I hope they're not occupied by more balls of light.:: he said, drawing in the latest chambers and vaults.
::Hero,:: Connor said, echoing the thought through Selvan's Net, ::see if you can squeeze under the door again.::
Psicrystal Perception (taking 20) = 26
"Anyone planning on having any kids they're gonna claim? Child's greataxe here, not too sharp so the little tyke wont get too hurt."
"The wife isn't in a good situation for kids," Sam said, checking the draw on the crossbow he found and packing it away for now.
The door to the south is not locked, and it's easy for Connor to open it a crack for Hero to go through. The room is empty, save for some statues and a dias with a monument on it. The walls are carved with reliefs. It looks like a shrine to a different halfling god, this one a male with a lute.
Connor collected his lockpicking tools and rested on his haunches. ::We've got another shrine room.:: he announced to the others. ::This one is Verin the Talespinner, looks like. Hero says it's clear.::
::Everyone ready to go in?:: Connor asked, holding the still-burning torch.
"Ready when you are," Sam says, readying himself to smack anything unpleasant with psionic might.
"Ready"
Alys's soulbolt reassembles. "Pretty much, yeah."
With Hero still crawling around the room, Connor opened the door and stepped inside, moving to the west . Everyone came in behind him .
Connor spoke to the statue, his torch-light flickering around the room. "Väl mött, Verin berättelsen-spinner." the young man said in Halfling, "Vi är äventyrare från länderna på himlen. Tenfa redan promenader med oss genom sin stad. Vi söker efter en man-katt som kan vara här. Trots att vi är bättre på att hitta bollar av ljus som angriper oss."
Connor echoed the words through Selvan's Net in his head, so the others could understand. ::Well met, Verin the Tale-spinner. We are adventurers from the lands in the sky. Tenfa already walks with us through her city. We search for a man-cat who may be here. Although we are better at finding balls of light that attack us.::
Selvan follows behind quietly.
"Deary, why are you talking to a statue?" The voice sounds very amused.
The statue is in good shape, but not as good as the previous statue. The walls are reliefs, carved in great detail. All offer glimpses of a halfling bard in various situations, playing for people who are dancing in a town square, performing a wedding, sitting under a tree at night and looking contemplative.
Unlike the previous chamber, there are no items to pick up.
There's a sudden murmur over the link, as if someone were talking but not loud enough to be heard.
"Oh, Verin says he thanks you for the kind words, but he hasn't been in that shrine for as long as a noble elf lives. He says he'd offer you anything in it, if anything had been left. He's sorry there's nothing for you to loot."