I give a bit of a start that the creature speaks common. When I see his demeanor shift to less menacing, I also relax a bit. After a moment's thought . . .
OOoohhh, I think I get it! Tell me if I get htis right: your master had some kind of fight with Vultaran; V somehow got your master's treasure here, and before he was captured, your master's last order to you was to guard his treasure with deadly force.
.
We're here to put the hurt on Vultaran, so I would see freeing any enemies of his as a bonus. If you give us some description of your master, maybe we can free him if we find him? I glance at my companions, silently asking Sounds reasonable, eh?
"We're here to put the hurt on Vultaran, so I would see freeing any enemies of his as a bonus. If you give us some description of your master, maybe we can free him if we find him?"[b] I glance at my companions, silently asking [i]"Sounds reasonable, eh?"
Kyren nods his head to Vaughn in agreement and then adds the following question to brass guardian.
"Tell me, loyal servant of Arka'sha Zar'an. Where do you and your master come from? What takes you so far from your home?"
Ronya also relaxes and lays her right hand on Vaughn's shoulder
Didn't know you can be clever at times, heh.
The massive construct meanwhile replies
My master and I used to live in Glorious Golden Katheer. He served as an advisor at the court of Xerbystes II. But personal problems forced my master to strike a deal with the thief lord you mentioned. I don't know what happened afterwards, but my master became his prisoner and so we came to this palace.
The golem then crosses its front paws and seems to think for a moment
If I support you, my master will be punished should you fail in the end. If I kill you my master's captor might be satisfied and let us free...maybe...but the vengeance burns like fire in my heart...I want the thief dead.
The golem still seems undecided.
"Well the way I see it is this. You are stuck down here, for a long time. Whilst time might not matter much to you, as I understand the ageless grandeur of the City of Brass, but not so for your master. The longer he is held here, the closer he comes to his eventual death by old age... so by doing nothing you are contributing to his death, but no matter. We are the strongest group of adversaries you are likely to have coming this way to face off against this horroble Lord here, and should you prevent our passage then you have little chance of ever seeing another group who may aid you. All you need to do is hop back on your perch and we can get on our way, the treasure you guard is safe and sound. Or go ahead and kill your master by attacking the only people with an interest in helping him. Up to you, but just let me know so I can finish off my picnic"
Alcheringa goes back to simply doing his thing, gnawing on his dried plant matter, occasionally tossing some to Blaze.
"If I support you, my master will be punished should you fail in the end. If I kill you my master's captor might be satisfied and let us free...maybe...but the vengeance burns like fire in my heart...I want the thief dead."
"I assure you, loyal servant, our failure will have no bearing upon your master. Vulturan will certainly not punish him for our actions, nor will he grant him liberty for our capture. However, Alcheringa is right. We can offer you a great opportunity to save your master. Oh Great and Faithful Servant of Arka'sha Zar'an, permit us to continue our adventure, and I promise you a glorious end when we destroy that villainous, slaving, thief lord, Vulturan, and free your master! Never again will the bastard thief lord bring pain or enslavement to another being ever again! Just give us the chance! Trust me, we are Wee Bluets!"
Diplomacy
Jazz maintains his silence, nervously awaiting the golem's response.
And berry is still not in the room still very much not in the room.
You seem to be mortals of sound mind - I like your reasoning and so I will let you pass. Go freely and I pray to the eternal lords of flame that you will succeed in killing this treacherous scum. Should you be able to free my master, have no doubts that he will reward you with great treasures, gold, magic, and whatever you desire.
The golem rises again and moves back to sit on its podium. There it lies down and appears statue-like once again.
"Thank you, of loyal and mighty pup! We will not let you down!"
Once the golem is back as a stutue, Kyren comments. "Hehe. Gold and Magic! Kazam! I like the sound of that! Lead us onward, my friends!"
Sounds good to me too. Let's find the way to Everyone's Least Favorite Thief Lord and stick some holes in him.
Leaving the golem behind, you turn to the south again, but you already smell the stench of sewers wafting to you from ahead. The corridor leads into a medium-sized room whose floor is filled with stinky, brown brackwater. The basin is fuelled by three pipes and you can hardly guess how the deep it is.
"Crazzleboks! What kind of mad man would let this . . . uh . . . fecal matter into his house?! We may have been able to get past a deadly spear trap and an iron golem wolf guardian, but this is an entirely different matter!"
"You don't think somethign lives in it don't you?"
"I dread to think what vile creature would choose to live in such muck! Let's just find a way past it, that does not include going through it!"
Do there appear to be any ledges, or protrutions from the ceiling from which ropes could be tied or something??
No, but you notice that the walls are not very smooth. Bricks jut out of them here and there. A skilled climber could maybe cross the distance without getting his feet stinky.
"What are you looking at Daggers? I've seen that look before. Do you have a plan on how to get across safely that doesn't involve swimming?"
*shrug* Meh, I wouldn't say a plan--I'm just looking for options. I'm no climber, but someone who was could probably scale across the wall to the other side. I don't know how those of us who couldn't climb would make it, though.
"Well, I am a halfling. I suppose I should be good at climbing. Someday I hope to learn how to levitate, but until that day, I guess I am just going to have to pretend I am a little mountaineer. Alright, let's see how this goes. If you want me to carry the end of a rope across, I am willing to try."
Kyren walks up to the edge and then reaches up for one and the bricks sticking out and then attempts to climb along the rough wall carefully.
"Easy does it, Kyren. One . . . step . . . at . . a . . . time!"
Climb
Alcheringa turns once agaim to his large catlike form...
They seem to stare at the gap before rapidly breaking into a sprint and jumping across the gap, easily clearing that distance
Alch
Acrobatics v DC20
Blaze
Acrobatics v DC20
"Hey Alcheringa or Blaze, why don'tcha come back here and give me a lift, eh!?" Jazz jokes, then sets out after Kyren along the wall.
Climb
"Maybe we can anchor a rope down here and make the trip across the wall a bit easier?" Jazz offers, as he looks around for somewhere to anchor a rope or other handy tool that would give an advantage.
Perception
The cats have no problem crossing the distance and Kyren is as skilled as a spider. Soon the three are on the other side - but what about the rest?
Yeah--I'd think two ropes woudl be safest for those of us who can't climb like monkeys! One to stand on and one to hold, ya know?
If we find suitable anchor spots on our side, I'll lend my strength to cranking down on ropes to tighten them up as much as I can.
Alcheringa looks at Vaughn, the almost six thousand pound cat seems like as good an anchor as any for one side...
"You sound nervous that you are going to fall into the pool of pestilence, Daggers! Here toss me a rope and I will tie it around Alchy. He is as good as any anchor!"
I shrug and oblige. Anything to secure it to on this side? And how about a second, higher rope?
Berry watches and waits really unsure what to do in this particular situation. To pass the time she tries to identify all the floating bits and potential diseases in the muck.
Vaughn finds a good anchor point at an old statue and throws the two ropes over to the massive cat. Now that the ropebridge is established, getting across the pool of pestilence should be a piece of cake.
Ronya volunteers to go first, but then she asks
Hey, but how do we loose the rope on the side with the statue once we are all across?
Alcheringa shrugs like he could care less about losing one rope...
"This is a good point, Vaughn. If it was the last rope, we would want to retrieve it. Too bad it wasn't magical and could untie itself when needed. Hmm? I will have to think about acquiring one of those. Well, Alchy thinks we should leave it. Who knows, maybe we will need it for the return trip. Besides, I have some extra rope with me if we need it. I say, let's just keep going. Now let's see this great attempt to cross the pit of pestilence! I will cheer you on as you go!"
"Woohoo! Go Daggers! Watch your step!"
Well, it's more important to get where we need to go than to save a rope. If we end up needing another rope, we can come back and figure it out--but for now, let's just use it.
Climb:
Ronya nods
Guess you're right, just wanted to mention it - hey and watch your step!
Whew, that would have stunk. HAW HAW HAW HAW!! OK you three--who's up next? I'll help Al hold the lines if necessary.
*thinking* You know, we might need a way to get out of here quickly on the way out, in case things go bad. Al can jump, and maybe he could carry one of the little people on his back. For the rest of us . . . we might want to be mentally prepared to suck it up and wade through this muck if worse comes to worst. I'm just sayin'.
With that unpleasant thought in mind, I'm keeping my eye out for some boards or other long, rigid material that could serve as a bridge across the River Stinx here in a pinch.
We should have just thrown ratman after ratman in it, until it was full...
Ronya remarks...and you guess she meant what she said.
Carefully Berry makes her way across the rope.
Climb
"we might want to be mentally prepared to suck it up and wade through this muck if worse comes to worst. I'm just sayin'."
"Daggers, my word! I cannot believe you even mentioned such a thing! I am a Tosscobble, an esteemed musician, great food connoisseur and recently a champion Tzarek player. You know how I feel about such ideas. I would rather jump off of a cliff with a pink kite strapped to me than enter such foul waste. Let's really avoid that option at all costs and perhaps keep an eye out for boards and planks!"
"Hehe. Well, let's hope we can cross that bridge when we get to it! Nice job, Berry. You had me worried there for a minute! Nice save! Now that we are all safely across, let's proceed."
Don't worry, my dear Toscobble Tzarek-master Harpwizard Food . . .Eater. I can always just THROW you across. You're a little big to make like a shot-put, but I'll bet if I grabbed an arm and a leg, and took a couple spins, I could make like a hammer-throw.
"Don't worry, my dear Toscobble Tzarek-master Harpwizard Food . . .Eater. I can always just THROW you across. You're a little big to make like a shot-put, but I'll bet if I grabbed an arm and a leg, and took a couple spins, I could make like a hammer-throw."
"Hehe. I have doubt that you could, Daggers. I certainly like the flying aspect of things. However, it's the landing that gets you every time!"
Salfon Climb Check
"Oh Shit!" Kyren exclaims! "Quick! Somebody do something!"
I'll grab one of the ropes adn tie oen of my hammers to the end for weight. I'll then toss it in Salfon's direction to haul him in--and I imagine Al will help with the pulling (or I'll help him; I don't know who is the stronger)
Attack:
Strength:
Trying again, he's heavy ..
Strength:
once more, with feeling!!
Strength:
grrrr
Strength:
Kyren will assist Vaughn with pulling in the cleric. "Make room for me and I'll pull as well!"
Strength Check
"This seems just like fishing!"
Salfon splashes into the muck, and suddenly there is quite a current building up around him placing him in the middle of a stinking whirpool.
Ha! The cyclone of shit!
Mutters Ronya and helps pulling. Before the cleric vanishes completely in the brown brackwater, you are able to pull him out of it...
Ronya frowns and looks at the mess
Well...I doubt he will ever be able to get close enough to someone to heal him.
"What do you mean, Ronya?! Can't Salfy simply heal himself?"
"Oh Crazzleboks, can you smell that?! I see what you mean, Ronya. Nobody would want to get close enough! Well, Salfy, we need need you to hang back as we proceed and keep an eye out for anything coming up from behind. In the meantime, we will look for boards, planks, soap, a wash basin, and a bathtub!"
"I could probably come up wiht a compound that will remove the organic material from him...is skin organic material? I forget sometimes."
You think you can come up with somethign that only removes *recycled* organic material?? PHWEW, that's . . . muscular. Anything anyone can do?
So, is there still a pool of sh1te, or had Salfon unplugged the drain and it's now draining/empty? Where'd that current come from???
"Berry, my dear, do you have any perfume or man musk in that case of elixirs you carry with you? You know, something with a little sweet peach fragrance or something. We really like Salfy and would prefer not to have him jump out of his skin!"
"And yet it's not an uncommon smell in certain parts of this city anymore..." Jazz muses, as if recalling familiar sights and sounds of his beloved Kaer Maga, both pleasant and raunchy.
Alcheringa moves closer and with a low rumbling hum seems to be casting a spell...
Kyren observes Alcheringa casting his spell.
Spellcraft
Realizing what the spell is, he whispers to Vaughn and Jazz discretely.
"Hmm, Alchy is casting purify food and drink upon Salfon. I know cats can be rather hungry at times, but I hope he does realize that Salfy is a friend and not a dinner. I was sure that the cats had much better taste in sauces! Well, let's hope the armor will be a deterrent!"