Let the adventure begin!
She landed on her feet, a teleport trap, that she knew. But to where, all around, darkness, and sounds, damp floor. An image came of her bed chambers, where a moment ago she had had been with a new lover, the one who had been made into a trap, a trap she had no doubt set by one or more of her sisters. All this flashed in to her mind along with Anger, range, but she held it in check, Now all she needed to do was survive the trap. She was not dead, that was good news, but where was she. Sounds, sounds of others, she felt the cold hard floor under her feet. She crouched down low, making herself a smaller target, and taking her time looked around to see what hell she had been thrown into.
Sticky was STARVING. He hadn't had anything to eat for HOURS. Surely this hell hole had something somewhere. So he kept wandering.
He was in a nice place. He had discovered a loose grate leading below the vats at a local dairy farm where the rats were fat and the cats were fatter. Plus he has entire vats of milk to himself!
Then the torches and pitchforks came. That wasn't really a problem. He just bounced away. The problem was the well. I mean, who leaves a well open and uncovered like that without any kind of protective wall or ANYTHING! SERIOUSLY?!
Sticky fell into hole in the ground. Expected wetness. Got dryness and wind knocked out of lungs. Also, all MY SHINES ARE GONE. POOF. GONE. Even my spiky spikes. Sticky is not happy. He is hungry. He is angry. He his HANGRY!
Ashok stood and shook his head to try and clear the cobwebs. He had been translating a Draconic tome on moneychanging and had gotten into an argument with himself over conjugation and the next thing he knew he was....Where am I? he thought to himself.
"Hello?" he said in common, trying to see if anyone else was here.
Some one spoke, it was the surface slavers language. She had lurned it long ago when trading on behest of her mother. Could it be they had sent her to a humonky slavers somewhere in the forever cold. She kept still waiting to see if the words where ment for her.
Sticky freezes when someone speaks. There were others here? Hmm. The voice didn't sound gobliny, and it was using the longshanks talk.
Sticky works his way toward the voice to see who it is before answering.
Something was moving, she looked into the darkness taking her time to use her dark sight.
She did not know what, and she had lost it again, what ever it was it could move better than most things in this darkness. Her short moment seeing movement had been up ahead. Heading to the voice, the voice was talking to it maybe. She made her mind up to move that way. Her natural magics where still in place, so more good news. Her bear feet walked on the cold stone, she coursed the fact all she had on her was her bed clothing.
Sticky stops. Something was crunchy crunching footsteps. He spins around and spots it!
Hey you pointy ear Elf! Why you covered in ashes? You try to creepy sneak like a gobbo! Hahahaha!
In a split second he goes from laughing to a crouched attack position. His numerous sharp teeth bared and little clawed hands flexing, he bounces from one foot to the other. You wanna fight? Eh?
She looks at the small green thing a moment, it had spotted her and she it.
In that moment it talked and made its challenge. Her eyes fixed on it, it was threatening but not attacking. That was good, it have her a window of opportunity. One does not get to be a noble and stay one in the great dark with out learning some skills.
"No, don't harm me great one, I am a lost slave, sent here for nothing by a cruel master. Lost I was looking for a brave and clever hero of old, who could recuse poor little me form this dark and fearful place. Are you one such hero brave goblin, do all tremble before your might?"
Her voice was soft, pleading with a hint of fear.
Sticky is a little confused by the big words and instantly suspicious, but she seemed like she was scared so...
I be Stickymitts! I be master of me, but if you want master I can be yours too! Maybe we get out of this bad-aweful-icky place together!
Or you bes my snack, one of the two.
She comes over and bends down looking at him.
"You are most kind master, I am good a cleaning and washing, I can cook and mend clothing too."
At some sound, she looks around into the darkness scared.
"I will stay with you my new master, you are so kind and brave"
She looks back at him a hopeful smile on her face.
Sticky strikes a heroic pose and says, I is good master! Here! I just holed these when I feel through the ground. He strips off his pants which are so incredibly filthy they half stand on their own in spite of several holes and tosses them at her. C'mon Ashy Elf! Sticky Hero hears somethings this way. Fix while you walk!
Hearing a discussion, Ashok will make his way towards the voices to find a drow and a goblin. He wasn't sure what they were saying, but they weren't trying to kill each other, so that was a good start.
"Do either of you speak common?"
Sticky spins toward the newcomer. He is wearing a kind of underwear so him being without his pants isn't too mentally damaging. This one was much bigger than he up-ways and across-ways. He puffs up his chest and proclaims, I does! I am Stickymitts! Goblin Hero! And this is my slave Ashy Elf. Do you want me to be your master too? Is so much fun!
The Lashunta was confused when he opened his eyes. He scratched his head and looked around, seeing the strange figures nearby.
What...? - he said, turning to them - Who are you?
He muttered the last words as people were already introducing themselves. Were they also runaways, like him? He was on the maze for so long, yet had never really been free, on his own - so he was as clueless as a fresh arriver.
I... I am Goggh of Castrovel, and I am my own master! - he replied angrily, remembering the years stuck in a cage - State your business here.
He assumed a defensive position, yet not threatening. He cautiously refrained from metaforging just yet.
Sven opened his eyes. Groggily, he looked around. "Well **** me beard! So this is hell, is it?" All he could see what a goblin, a drow, a half-orc, and some kind of humanoid creature which he didn't recognize. His equipment was all gone, and it felt like he had just downed an entire barrel of ale. "Well, fair 'nuff. Can't say I can complain, this isn't as bad as I thought it'd be."
The small ratfolk opened his eyes. Something was wrong, the smell was off. His eyes adjusted to the darkness. This was not his cot in the sewer of Absalom that he was used to sleeping on when he rested. This was the cold hard stone floor. He sprang up and found himself attired only in a loin cloth, all his possessions gone. He heard shouts and conversations. ”Where the hell am I? Who the hell are all of you?” The ratfolk bared his teeth at the strangers, almost in a feral way. His breathing accelerated and his eyes narrowed, as he prepared for combat. If these strangers meant him harm, he would show it to them!
Sticky maintains his pose as the others awake and join them. I be Stickymitts, Goblin Hero! You can all have fun like Ashy Elf here if you want! Or not. He glances at the human with the sticks sticking out of his head. Your call... he seems to not notice the rat's threatening posture. He is in full braggart mode. Nothing can stop me! I should be a hero!
"Oh, you're a hero are ye? Tell us, oh great and mighty one, what exactly have ye done to earn such a title?"
I be best sneaktheif in Absolom! I steal masks from Orc lady and tasty smelly perfoom from other orc lady! Nobody steals from them before! I also be Coney Island Dog Eating Contest winner! he proclaims.
"Dog eating contest winner? Wow! Everyone, be on your guard. We have a true LEGEND among us!" The dwarf slapped himself on the forehead as he said this and threw his arms out wide for dramatic effect. "I'm starting to think that mayhaps I am nay dead. Instead, I must have just gone insane."
Sticky takes him at his word. Whether he's choosing to ignore the sarcasm or it's going over his head the result is the same, You can be second slave then! Ashy Elf! I found you a buddy! This is going great!
She took the pants and held them a moment disgusted. As the other came she worked, she shuck Stickymitts filthy pants once. Magic rippled over them and then became clean, then she passed her hand over the broken seams and tears, the garment self mended . Once done she tapped Sticky and handed him back his pants. They looked almost new.
"ere you ar Master Stickymitts, as good as new"
She then looked at the others, taking in there race, and manner.
She did not look threatening in anyway, but did look worried by the
ratfolk's posture and moved to place Stickymitts between herself and it.
When she used magic, she used
and
At talk of a buddy she says.
"Thank you Master Stickymitts, maybe they know where we are and why we are here?"
She adds in a respectful voice, she sounds like she is worried.
Sticky puts back on his pants and can't help rubbing them over a few times. They felt Fantastic! He strips off his shirt as she is speaking and tosses it to her. It smells of sour milk and cow dung. His body sports several healing bruises but few scars for a goblin.
Yes! You Longshsnks, and you too Rattyman, did any of you know where we are? I haven't the faintest.
She set to fixing stickies disgusting shirt. Reflecting that this rouse-de-gar was need. But she filed away all the depredations, punishments to be metered out to her sisters once she got home.
Once clean and mended she has it back.
Kiro looks bothered by the goblin. "Not Rattyman, goblin boy. Name's Kiro and if you'd been paying attention, I asked where the hell are we?" The ratfolk is still in a defensive position, but his white fur and blue eyes definitely make him stick out as compared to other ratfolk you may have seen in your life. If so, Kiro starts looking for a secret passage and a way out.
"Now, now. We should try to work together. Unless I miss my mark, none of us know each other before awakening here? I am going to guess that some outside agency brought us all together, and now we should probably figure out where we are going from here. Perhaps we should start with introductions, including what useful skills you might bring to an adventuring party? I would be more than happy to go first. My name is Ashok, and I am a scholar adventurer by trade. I can't really cast any magic, but I know a great deal about, well, a great deal, and I can hold my own in a fight. I've had some training in unarmed combat, and I am fluent in a few different languages."
I am Stickymitts! The best sneakthief you will ever meet and the Bounciest Gobbo in the world! If you don't believe me, just hit me and I'll show you! He grins.
Now, what's "werking together". Is that how Orkie babies are made?
You are in a long, perhaps infinitely long, roofless space between two walls of fitted stone, 15 feet apart, something like granite, that reaches 50 feet above you. Applying a compass randomly, the path runs North/South. 100 feet to the north the floor ends and the walls continue down into darkness. Forty feet further on, the floor resumes, so essentially it is a pit 40 feet long. To the south, the path stretches on. In the Western wall there is a metal panel, possibly a door? It is 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It seems to be fitted into the stone with no visible hinges or means of operation.
Above you is a low ceiling of red and grey, like a sky of ash in a volcanic eruption.
As light enters the space, she can see more, from the walls to the sky. She takes her time to looks around. A plane of some kind, the sky gave that away. But where she had no idea, it also meant she had not just ported but also plane shifted. That she tucked away. Then she then looked back at the others. She waited to see who would talk next.
Ashok moved to the walls and tested them to see if they could be climbed
"can anyone here fly?"
Sticky makes a face at the ork for ignoring him, but his mind quickly moves to the task at hand, putting on his shirt. That done, he spends a moment relishing rye new material then moves on to analyzing his surroundings. He is apparently smarter than your average gobbo. I cants get dat high, but I could jump across that, probably. he says pointing to the gap in the floor.
And just to prove it
He gets a running start, jumps early, bounces, and soars across the chasm.
He labs safely, peeks around the corner at the far side, then comes bouncing back.
For moments, Goggh wondered about the possibility of offering some help, but seeing the goblin offering to jump - he just refrained and kept his silence, keeping his arms crossed on the back. He still didn't quite trust any of these people (as much as the half-orc, dwarf and ratling were growing on him) so the lashunta preferred to observe and learn more.
He didn't want to admit it, but the goblin looked like it had some uses. It was remarkably...bouncy. Piercing weapons, he thought to himself. That's a creature you want to put an arrow through, not a hammer into.
"Good job, wee one. What'dya see?"
Follows Stickymitts to the gap and waits as he jumps.
She says with a little clap
"Well done master Stickymitts, that was amazing"
as he jumps over in a single bound and then comes back.
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The ratfolk smiled as the goblin bounced around. Hope there's not an invisible wall of force in the middle of the pit...hehe.
He gets a running start, jumps early, bounces, and soars across the chasm.
[Dice= is anything down there?]1d20+13
Far below, about 200 feet down, halfway across (so 20 feet) there is a tiny ledge (maybe 3 inches thick) above which there is a wooden plank door.
This isn't quite what it looks like but it evokes the mood and is close enough
Ashok watches Stickymitts' jump with a smile on his face and says "I can now believe that you are indeed the bounciest gobbo in the world, Stickymitts. I am not interested in being your slave, however kind the offer might be. I would like to be your friend though."
Ashok then reaches for something out of habit, and his smile fades as he realizes that whatever he was looking for is missing.
There be a door in the wall down there! Maybe 200 feet down with a tiny ledge to stand on. I would offer to go open it, but I don't think even I could stick that landing!
The strange Drow, with very reviling clothing, walks over to the drop and looks down into the darkness below. She takes a moment to locate things. Then with out a word she just steps out I to the void and drops.
As she falls she puts her arms out to keep herself falling the right way up. Then getting close to the door, uses her inherent magic she comes to a slow descent and then stops in mid air opposite the door.
She looks at it a moment and still calling calls up.
"Stickymits jump down here, I will slow your fall so you can land on this small league."
She waits to see if he jumps.
a few seconds after her voice comes up from the pit.
"Stickymits jump down here, I will slow your fall so you can land on this small league."
Sticky claps his hands in excitement and leaps. Alyln's magic slows his fall and he lights on the miniscule edge with ease.
He then opens the door carefully.
"Well, it's good that the two of you are down there I suppose. Good luck!"
She calls up.
"Wait there, once we get this door is open, I will get you all down here and throw it."
Ok, I had enough of this nonsense. - said Goggh, looking at the drow and the goblin downstairs - Don't you find particularly strange that exactly the drow and its pet goblin mysteriously can be there and asked us to... "stay behind"?
If he was hard for him to trust Alyln and Sticky before, now it became really tough. The Lashunta concentrates and the metaforging happens. Armor and weapon are conjured around him, by his sheer mind power. And the armor can clearly fly.
I will carry each one of us there if needed. Then we can depart a separate way from those two... Or stay close if you want to keep an eye at them.
"Ye've got some sense in that head o' yers. Well, as I see it, we're without anythin' but the clothes on our backs, so wanderin' off in a small group will likely get us eaten by some beastie. The gobbo doesn't seem smart enough to betray us, an' drow be cowardly enough not to do so unless they have no risk to themselves. Let's follow behind them an' see where we end up. With any luck the gobbo will trip a trap for us, or get eaten' by a beastie before we wander into it."
She could hear the males talking up top.
Arr the male power play
She thought to herself, it had taken them long enough. Silly males, now not only fighting there surrounding but also each other, vying to see who would be the dominant male, A masculine game driven by ego cheating beating and fear.
She smiled to herself,
This was why Drow society was worked better, the strong did not lead, the smart did, and females where always smarter. You had to think your way past a problem, not just beat it with a fist club you find.
She looked on as Stickymits worked on the door.
One was telling the others to split the group, stupid, arrr another has spotted the mistake in that. Interesting... but then dismissed Stickymitts as of no use. Foolish, they have not worked out yet, just how useful Stickymitts could be to them.
Then smiling to herself, then asks the Goblin.
"Master Stickymitts, how is the door coming?"
"I was merely pointing out that jumping down there without any sort of plan is a pretty silly idea. I can neither featherfall nor fly, and I'm not that great a climber. If we're going to stick together, we should come up with a plan and discuss things before we going running off. It's pretty clear that someone put us here for a specific reason (otherwise, why keep us alive)? I would recommend that we stick together and discuss things before we go doing things half cocked. That way, we can all get out of here safely."
Ashok pulled off and cleaned his glasses on the hem of his shirt.
"Y'know, ye speak sense. Mayhaps that's why ye were left 'ere. Or we all made the same enemy an' we're all here to be eaten alive. One o' the two. Anyhoo, let's stick together. Dyin' alone is too depressing."