"...while stopping them from escaping..."
<Stig squints his eyes, tilts his head back nodding, and twirls his beard emphatically.>
"Main Ah suggest 'at ye allaw me tae shatter their ankles an' knees? We used tae dae sum hobblin' on gobbos back when Ah was a wee laddie. Warks stoatin' fine."
“Those other drow might not like it much if we did that to their weavers,” muses Beldan, then shrugs. “But then they are drow. Maiming each other is probably like foreplay for them. Still, we can't stoop to their level. I'm sure shackles will do as well, or just a closed door, that lot don't look like they could plan their way out of a paper bag.”
"Yeah, it's the cleaning lady that's the brains of that outfit. I don't trust her at all. We'll need to lock them all up securely while I contact the Tormtor envoy; I'm sure they'll reward us handsomely for returning their... um, whatever you want to call them. 'Dedicated craftsmen', maybe?"
"Whutevah yeh want's tah call'em, Dey kin have 'em back! Jes' as long as AI don' haveta travel down dere enny more'en we hasta. Them deep caverns,... dey may be nat'ral, but dey jes' ain't right! No offens' dere Mistah' Stig, Ah wuz ment tah be in deh trees an' deh sun!" Elgan declares pointedly.
The weavers can't do much for themselves, other than weave exquisite works of silk with their psionic spiderpuppets.
It's not too hard to find your way out, once you find the teleport room; it leads upstairs in the vast mansion, to the grand entrance hall.
The place is exquisitely decorated, and at the same time, a gory charnel house.....they apparently didn't want to pay any of the help their last paychecks.
Not quite sure offhand....seems other than the "shapeshift" ability there usually isn't a whole smorgasbord for the druid class.
I'm trying to eventually actually read (most) of the APG.
Not quite sure offhand....seems other than the "shapeshift" ability there usually isn't a whole smorgasbord for the druid class.
[ooc]No worries, I guess I've got the 'shapeshift' thing covered! (which IS why I picked this character to begin with!) :P thx anyway.
The weavers can't do much for themselves, other than weave exquisite works of silk with their psionic spiderpuppets.
When you talk to the weavers, they ask for paper.
They spring into action. Suddenly, they're in the real world, inasmuch as clothing design is concerned.
10 minutes they've got your measurements and the first three items of a gentlewizard's wardrobe sketched out and spinning on the spidery loom.
At some point, Altai sits down with the drow 'servant girl' and explains that her cover story is not entirely believable. "Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself and life and politics in Erelhei-Cinlu? Otherwise I'll have to drag it out of you; I'm not particularly good with mind magic, so I compensate with raw volume, which can leave the subjects a bit... addled. So just save both us and yourself a lot of unpleasantness, would you?"
She's a midlevel soldier in her Royal House. She was sent here with a 4 woman team to infiltrate Sasserine, find and recover the Weavers.
The other three ended up on the menu in the rakshasa's mansion above.
The druid, however, was always a little odd for a rakshasa; he didn't apparently share their overwhelming enjoyment of elven flesh.
Well, not as a gourmand anyway.
Another house (the guys in the old Lotus Dragon digs) had (big surprise) backstabbed her house, and had been selling their people to the rakshasas. The Weavers also ended up in the trade.
"Honest to Lolth, and I know what I am and that you're no fools or culling lambs, but I'll be glad to be quit of this hot...." she searches for the word, "eternally bright" she spits the word out like a bug "utterly disgusting place...this...Sasserine. I'll be glad to die or be turned into a drider rather than see this obscenity ever again. I can't begin to describe to you how disgusting it is to smell so many filthy sweating humans so close together. I can't do it justice."
“Yeah, be straight with us honey, or we’ll lock you in a room with Stiggy and a barrel of rum and make you listen to Mammy Machhammer stories.”
"No offence, oh what the Demonweb....you're going to kill me anyhow.....he's the most interesting one of you all. His...dog....it's....so horrrrid...."
Looks at tenser munching away...
"No offence, oh what the Demonweb....you're going to kill me anyhow.....he's the most interesting one of you all. His...dog....it's....so horrrrid...."
Looks at Tenser munching away...
"Nah, you're just projecting again, going with what you know. Nobody's getting killed, at least not now. Apparently Szarrah thinks you lot is rather valuable, so that's what we're going for."
One commited suicide; two others were killed in drow vs. drow prison skulduggery.
"Nah, you're just projecting again, going with what you know. Nobody's getting killed, at least not now. Apparently Szarrah thinks you lot is rather valuable, so that's what we're going for.""No offence, oh what the Demonweb....you're going to kill me anyhow.....he's the most interesting one of you all. His...dog....it's....so horrrrid...."
Looks at Tenser munching away...
She squints her eyes....
then laughs."You're either f&*&ing with me,...."
then considers some more,...
"or...you're all....utterly insane..."
"Nah, you're just projecting again, going with what you know. Nobody's getting killed, at least not now. Apparently Szarrah thinks you lot is rather valuable, so that's what we're going for.""No offence, oh what the Demonweb....you're going to kill me anyhow.....he's the most interesting one of you all. His...dog....it's....so horrrrid...."
Looks at Tenser munching away...She squints her eyes....
then laughs.
"You're either f#~!ing with me,...."
then considers some more,...
"or...you're all....utterly insane..."
"A bit from column A ... a bit from column B. But in this case he's serious - unless you give us a good reason why he shouldn't be?"
"Yeah, okay. I'll go back to Erelhei Cinlu. Beats getting executed. For now anyway."
"We are probably somewhat insane. But sure, have it your way." Altai locks her up and wanders off to contact Szarrah with the linking device she gave him earlier.
About 5 days and 1,000 gold pieces for a work crew to make it habitable again. Half that with arcane help.
"No offence, oh what the Demonweb....you're going to kill me anyhow.....he's the most interesting one of you all. His...dog....it's....so horrrrid...."
Looks at tenser munching away...
<Conversation having tired him when torture and hobbling were dropped, Stig's turned away. He's perfecting the art of simultaneously shotgunning rum and scraping what looks like smegma from under his dwarf moobs.>
"or...you're all....utterly insane..."
Pip grins and picks out a tune on his battered guitar
"Friday night I killed your party
Saturday I said I'm sorry
Sunday came and killed them all again
I was only having fun
While I'm hurting everyone
And we all enjoyed the weekend for a change
I've been stranded in the combat zone
I walked through Erelhei Cinlu alone
Even fought a drider wizard in the rain
And you told me not to try
But I made it home alive
So you said that only proves that I'm insane
You may be right
I may be crazy
But it just might be a lunatic you're looking for
Turn out the light
Don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right"
;P
“...the lunatic I’m looking for...” sings Beldan, off key. Pip’s tune is catchy.
"or...you're all....utterly insane..."Pip grins and picks out a tune on his battered guitar
"Friday night I killed your party
Saturday I said I'm sorry
Sunday came and killed them all again
I was only having fun
While I'm hurting everyone
And we all enjoyed the weekend for a changeI've been stranded in the combat zone
I walked through Erelhei Cinlu alone
Even fought a drider wizard in the rain
And you told me not to try
But I made it home alive
So you said that only proves that I'm insaneYou may be right
I may be crazy
But it just might be a lunatic you're looking for
Turn out the light
Don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right"
Remember how we found Stig there,
Alone in his lotus chair....Yeah; wtf....them We Jasites are happy to get those hearts back; they'll hook it up. Not for free or nothing, but yeah.
The work crews get to work cleaning up the exquisite hellhole, one part Taj Mahal, one part Texas Chainsaw farmhouse; the clergy try to sift through the remains, to identify who they can, to bury in sanctified ground who they can't.
First day on the work crew, the foreman comes up to the group.
"Uh, begging your pardon sirs,....I thought I'd tell you. Half the crew just up and left an hour ago. In a real hurry.
One guy said he saw something. Wouldn't say what, but he was wildeyed and pale as the stirgeworried."
The drow says Pip could make some good cash in Erelhei Cinlu. "You'd have to...dress the act up a bit though...."
The work crews get to work cleaning up the exquisite hellhole, one part Taj Mahal, one part Texas Chainsaw farmhouse; the clergy try to sift through the remains, to identify who they can, to bury in sanctified ground who they can't.
First day on the work crew, the foreman comes up to the group.
"Uh, begging your pardon sirs,....I thought I'd tell you. Half the crew just up and left an hour ago. In a real hurry.
One guy said he saw something. Wouldn't say what, but he was wildeyed and pale as the stirgeworried."
"Ah, for Boccob's sake... Did he say what it was he saw? Or where? Where is he?"
"He wouldn't say. Just,....gave the money back and left...." he holds up the man's day of wages.
"I could...go hire some more on with it."
"No, we'll need to look into this. Now, where were the guys who left supposed to work today?" Altai is clearly annoyed; Claw, as if sensing his master's rotten mood, paces around flexing his hand-blades.
He shows you;
"they were cleaning up the....uh....kitchen...."
he shows you in there. It's still pretty nasty.
"They just, were at it, and then up and said 'see ya!'"
"Bizarre. Did they find the remnants of a loved one?" Altai walks in and looks around. "It is indescribably foul, but that's why we pay you so well..."
"I don't know.
I know one of the guys pretty good. Why I hired him. He's always been pretty standup. Always.
Just up and left.
He seemed shook up too. I'll maybe try to talk to him tonight.
Uh, Sir Altai,...." he seems kinda nervous like he just faux pas'd by titling you, "you've been....doing all sorta wild things. Think something might be up here? It was a pretty gory unholy mess here."
(nitey nite)
Beldan looks over the kitchen with a practised eye, and one by now somewhat used to gore and depravity. “Those Rakshasas sure are sick bastards,” he says conversationally, shifting aside some viscera hanging from the pot rack.
... “Those Rakshasas sure are sick bastards,” he says conversationally, shifting aside some viscera hanging from the pot rack.
"Dae ye hink they waur makin' links?"
<Stig starts rooting around looking for sausages and perchance some liquor.>
"Aam feelin' a wee bit famished."
“There’s a bunch of jellied eyeballs in that cauldron over there.”
"En? TENSER! Peepers!"
<Stig points.>
<Tenser charges the cauldron and starts wolfing down eyeballs.>
"Jist nae reit lettin' it gang tae waste."
"Don' woory nun dere' Chere'. If'n dem nasty 'Raks' lef' anyt'ing behin', We'll take care o' it. Jes' have deh workers avoid dis area fer today. An' ask yer frien' ex actly whut it was he saw? Al'ight?"
"Whut 'er we lookin' fer here Altee?" Elgan asks the mage, cautiously investigating the cabinets himself,...
"I'll see him up at the bar tonight maybe....ask him then."
Tenser pukes the eyeballs up.
And then starts re-eating them.