Mangroves of the Desert (Inactive)

Game Master Herkymr the Silly

Shadara turns to Grag. You know we could just tie a rope around you and lower you down into the pit. I promise we will pull you up quick.

She then turns to Ugmug. Hey Great Wizard, bet you can't get the key out of the hole. She says this as she moves away from the Orc putting distance between her and it.

I better keep watch in case something happens on this side of this pool when we go for that key.
And he climbs back up the rope so he will be less likely to be noticed should anything come out of any of the doors.
There are three more doors in there. I think it's better to watch out, that we all not be focused on one thing. Especially since we know that there are booby-traps, we should be extra careful.

Quinten shakes his head as Graghhh climbs above the door. The more I watch you work, sir, the less I believe you're a miner. I doubt most miners need to be so cautious, and few can pick locks.

The teacher suppresses a smile as Shadara attempts to trick the "great wizard" into helping. A good idea, but remember that the orc has to come out of the maze with us. We don't want to put him in too much danger.

As he speaks, the teacher signs in Shadara's direction.

Of course, this is one of the easier puzzles. Hopefully, he'll be safe if he decides to help.

Ugmug, distracted by the pretty paintings on the wall almost doesn't notice Shadara speaking to him. He turns to look at her, though casual observation shows he doesn't seem to comprehend what she is asking. For a moment though he seems to concentrate intently and moves his mouth to form words, but the task proves to great and the only sound that comes out of his mouth is a grunt. He does however see Shadara pointing into the pool toward something at the bottom, which is simple enough for him to comprehend so he looks in the direction she points toward the bottom of the pool. He looks down in at the bottom and something catches his eye! Excitedly, he jumps down into the basin of the pool and hurries to the bottom. Stooping down he goes to pick up the object that caught his attention. Before he can pick up what he is reaching for, you all hear a mechanical click and a small door open above the pool. From the small door falls a large snake, which immediately starts searching around in anger as it hits the ground. The snake focuses its attention on Ugmug and hisses loudly toward the Orc. Ugmug, either unafraid, or unaware of the danger before him looks at the snake without any visible concern. "Phfehbhhmmm" is all he gives in acknowledgement to the threat. Without so much as a second thought he walks toward the snake, poking the haft of his large hammer towards its head. The snake, distracted by the haft, strikes at it thinking it is a threat. This gives Ugmug just enough time to grab its tail and pick the snake up into the air and whip it like a towel, breaking the snakes neck. He holds it up high and looks at the motionless creature, and seeing blood streaming out of its mouth he drops it to the ground. Now without the snake to distract him, he returns to the bottom of the pool and grabs the object that caught his attention. He jumps out of the pool and walks up to Shadara with his hand extended like a child showing its mother a fascinating discovery. In his hand, you see a marble.

Shadara winks in response to Quinten's signed admonition. As the events with Ugmug unfold, she has no need to fain her shock. As he brings her the marble, she deliberately gives Ugmug a large smile.
She carefully and gently presses on his fingers so they curl around the marble. She nods and gently presses his cupped hand back toward him.

Good Job, you Keep your treasure!

She then turns and moves away from Ugmug as he focuses back on the marble. Well there you go, I guess we know what the trap for this well was? So who do we throw in?

Does anyone have some kind of a torch, or who is Jerram and where is that sword Quinten, is that right, Quinten - suggested? Is it sharp enough to cut through the chain? Those are probably our best bets to get that key.
Then Graghhh turns his attention to Quinten for a moment. I sometimes forget how different it is mining in the Material Plane compared to the Plane of Shadow. Have you ever worked for a dragon?

Quinten suppresses a smile as Ugmug hands Shadara the marble. I shouldn't be amused by a man who can kill so thoughtlessly, but that was funny. Perhaps Ritos keeps the volatile "wizard" around partly for laughs.

Shadara, Jerram is the most logical choice to go into the pit, but he seems to be lost in thought. Can you get the key? I'd say "a leader shouldn't ask someone to do something she won't do herself," but that's nonsense. A good leader should recognize her limitations and focus on getting the job done, not showing off.

Quinten hesitates as he answers Graghhh. As a teacher, I've worked for many four, five and six-year-old dragons. Alas, that has usually involved pretending I'm on fire or letting myself be clawed to shreds. Why do you ask?

As he waits for a reply, Quinten tries to recall what he knows about the plane of shadow.

Knowledge (planes): 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (3) + 17 = 20

Quinten is looking for general background information that can give him context for interpreting Graghhh's question and the information he's revealed about himself. Graghhh, since the Plane of Shadow is part of your backstory, feel free to say what Quinten gets from the roll, if anything.

So dragons on the Shadow Plane are more despicable than on the Material Plane. I would rather work for one here any day than on the Shadow Plane. Things are not always what you might have heard they are. I don't expect you to believe all of what I say, I know the prejudices that proceed me and all...ShadesShades is a slur against those from the Shadow Plane. Everyone knows the term. In time, perhaps I can show you that not all are as Tengchahaak.

My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark

My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark

awesome and funny connection so proper. Get a +2 on the next action youtake as a confidence booster from talking about home.

Quinten frowns. I think you'll find a few people on the Material Plan as cruel as the Shadow Dragons. Most hold too little power to be more than bullies, but there are exceptions.

Our host may be one of them. We should get moving before he grows impatient.

The teacher looks at the chain. If need be, I can heat the chain so it is easier to break. Do any of you have hammers or other smithing tools?

Jerram hops in and attempts to grab the key using his weapon to cut the chain. the key comes loose, immediately the doors of the room close and the viscous liquid from the pool begins to seep in from the ceiling. It only takes a few moments til you are all covered in the gooey stuff. The floor is getting deeper and deeper in the substance.

I asked because I worked for dragons on the Shadow Plane. As a worker there, if you didn't know ways to avoid their fury, you didn't last long. Everyone had a way to deal with them. Some could withstand the fire, claws or even electricity - when other creatures became involved. So I picked up a few things that have served me well in the Material Plane. Thus, I don't appear to be a miner by the standards you're used to. By Shadow Plane standards, my skills are about as common as a wart on a snarfboggle's neck this is a small rodent-like animal similar to a wild boar, but less hostile, smaller and usually tastier and always with warts on its neck. It is common enough most anyone should be familiar with what it ismost in that plane are blase toward what I can do. Like I said, I am a miner, but I don't expect you to believe me about everything I say.

I see. I'd hate to live in a place where powerful creatures treat their servants like toys. And I plan to make one of them pay for what he's done.

Quinten scowls as viscous droplets fall on his hair and jacket. Can you pick the lock so we can get out of here? I'll look for other keys.

Ritos said this labyrinth is a test for thieves as well as a gauntlet for enemies. He's too pragmatic to throw away thieves' lives for nothing, so there should be a way out of this that's fair.

The liquid will eventually cover the floor, so the key wouldn't be there. I should look up.

Using his right arm to shield his eyes from the viscous rain, Quinten scans the walls for murals someone might be able to climb. If he finds any paths, he'll follow them, looking for keys.

Perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (5) + 14 = 19

Quinten scowls as a drop lands on his glasses. I'm not seeing much, and if I keep this up, I'll be blind. He walks toward the door, hoping Graghhh can open it quickly.

Wait, which door? The one ahead of us has at least three more doors that I could see before it closed, there might be more. I see farther than most humans, but I could only see so far and then it was too dark even for me. Plus, I can't tell what else might be in there.
The other way has that magical darkness and we don't know if we can get back out, but it might lead us somewhere else without our even knowing where we have gone. Whatever we do, we better hurry, because we don't know what this stuff is falling on us and it can't be good.

The door ahead of us. That's the most likely way forward.

Shadara moves to the closest wall and avoid as much of the gooey stuff as possible and starts watching Ugmug to see how he reacts to this. As she watches Ugmug she signs to Jerram.

Graghhh sees that somehow, while everyone's attention was elsewhere, a stone slab has silently moved across the hallway behind them, blocking the way they came from.
Guess forward's the most likely way, isn't it? as he nods toward the stone slab.
Although, sometimes dragons, especially the ones that like to play tricks, will set up some kind of maze or other trap with choices. The easiest choices might not be the best ones. They could end up sending someone exactly where the dragon wants them to go. Often it's a dead end with a fatal trap or meeting the dragon. I can try picking the lock again, but maybe we better try that key first.[/b]
He makes a motion and the rope releases from where it was secured to the wall. He moves over to the door and waits.
He has another thought that could help them out a lot.
Does anyone speak Draconic? I never learned it. Or maybe Druidic, Giant, Aquan, or maybe Tengu? These symbols on the walls might have something to do with figuring out how to go sideways or up or down.

As Quinten moves toward Graghhh, he remembers the viscous liquid igniting when it came into contact with the wooden marble and moves his jacket to cover his pointer. He scowls as he sees Graghhh standing next to the door, doing nothing. Why are you standing there?

I can speak Aquan, but I didn't see any of its glyphs when I looked earlier. Let me check for other languages.

The teacher focuses on his glasses. Ghostly letters swirl around his head, then descend on his glasses and sink into the left lens.

Quinten scans the room, looking for symbols. At first, he thinks he'll find nothing. But as he turns back to Graghhh, he spots crude letters etched at waist height next to the door. My magic doesn't let me identify the language, but there's a note by the door. It translates to, "No. Down -L." I think the last letter is a signature.

Graghhh becomes a little impatient as he waits for the key. The vanaran has snatched it out of the pool, but has as yet, done nothing with it.
Come on, what are you waiting for? he says as he catches a glare from the man who has come up next to him.
Get that key over here so we can try it out on this door his irritation apparent before we drown in this goo, or worse.
He listens as the man states what he has read.
Do you think that means we can't go down, or we should go down? I think we better try that key on this door. I'm guessing there might be a new trap set after we grabbed the key. Then, if I have to, I'll pick the lock again. Now, can you get that Vanaran over here? I don't know if he'll listen to me.

With the actions of the group setting off yet another trap, Ugmug is distracted from his trinket by drops of goo spattering on his face. He waves his hands around trying to stop the downpour but it does not avail. Ugggghhhh... ucky yuck you hear him say. In his flailing he forgets about the marble and soon loses it from his grasp and sends it flying back toward the pool. It arcs into the bowl and with a tap, tap, tap, it bounces its way around. With another tap, it goes nearly straight up into the air, and down into the center of the bowl. It lands this time not with another tap, but with a sharp ting! ringing clearly through the small room. You look for the source of the sound, perhaps expecting to see it had hit the chain, but from where you see the marble's likely impact point it most certainly could not have been the chain. With your eye now drawn to that area, you are now able to see a small spot that looks just ever so slightly different in appearance than the rest of the pool.

Feeling a sudden doom creeping in, Jerram flings the key to the fetchling and backs away from the door. The key fits the door but instead of opening it it moves the center of the pool where the marble disappeared. A forbiddingly black opening appears unde the illusion leading down like the drain pipes of the sewer systems. I stench comes from within so strong that you are initially nauseated from it but after about a minute it fades. The different faces begin to glow with a red light and the room is beginning to get uncomfortably warm especially with the liquid now thoroughly coating each of you.

As the room begins to heat up, Quinten looks at the door behind him. I don't think the door will open again, and I have no desire to cook. Let's descend into the darkness. Graghhh, can you throw your rope down? One of us will have to hold it while the rest descend, then jump down.

The teacher looks at Shadara and Jerram as he says "jump down."

Sure.
Graghhh quickly secures the rope to the door and tosses the other end down into the hole.
I can undo this when we reach the other end of that opening.

Agreed, is all shadara says and then jumps into the hole just after thr rope is thrown. She grabs the rope and begins to spin and twist the rope around her like a rope dancer forgetting the slime that is almost completely covering her. At the point where she expects the rope to tighen it does not and she keeps sliding down rather quickly. She tries twice to get a grip on the rope and then abandons the rope all together and orients herself cat style to land on her hands, toes, and knees to absorb the impact. As she stands up dusting herself off she is thankful that the distance travelled was about 12 or 15 feet. She tries to look around and get a bearing of where she is but her eyes are a little blurry from the goo. After side stepping carefully to not be standing directly under the hole she begins to rub her hands on the earthen floor using the layer of dirt to soak up the goo. Once her hands are clean enough, she uses more dirt to wipe the goo off her face and hair and look around. She inspects the area with all her senses to see if she can determine any danger and her surroundings.

The tunnel is to dark to see much beyond 20 ft and is obviously kept that way through magic. THe odd scent is stronger here but still the area from which it comes is indeterminate. Nothing seems out of place except the darkness. The earthen floors fade into earthen walls but the roof is made of stone like that above.

As the elf disappears into the hole, Graghhh wonders what they will find below.
What's down there? Can you see anything useful?
As he waits for a reply, he listens to hear anything that might give any indication of what is ahead for the group. As he strains to hear, there is the faint sound of metal on metal clicking, chimes, maybe even a bell. It might be some kind of mechanical gizmo like a giant, hidden clockwork. He can't be sure.
We'd better hurry. I wish I knew more about these guys and why we're here. I guess I'll have to wait for the answers to that until we are in a safer spot, though.
hells bells
and
parody (because he is uncertain of what they will find and he can't hear any noise coming from the hole)

Quinten looks at the rope, noting the liquid that covers it. I'd love to wait for Shadara's answer, but I don't have the agility to climb down quickly. I need to get it done so the others can follow before this place becomes an inferno.

The teacher turns to Graghhh and speaks softly. Make sure the orc "wizard" knows we're moving play time down there. Speak loudly when you tell him; I want to be far away from the opening in case he jumps.

Climb check: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (12) + 0 = 12

After a few seconds of hesitation, Quinten grabs the rope, steps over the ledge and slides down, using his legs to slow his descent. Despite his efforts, he falls too quickly and lands with an uncomfortable jolt.

As he moves toward Shadara, Quinten grabs the wooden dog that hangs around his neck and remembers watching rain fall with his parents. Water appears above his glasses, washing some of the viscous liquid away. The streaks aren't much better, but they'll fade once the spell ends.

The teacher stays silent, trusting that Shadara heard Graghhh's question.

Ugmug, too busy trying to stop the torrent of goo fails to see the newly opened hole in the floor, though he takes immediate notice of the smell. What a smelly smell it was, full of interesting aromas. He forgets about the torrent of goo, and doesn't seem to mind the progressing warmth, he's too focused on finding the source of the smell. He moves toward the bowl of the emptied pool, having determined the smell is coming from that direction and jumps a little bit in surprise to see Quienten disappear down into the black. He rushes over to the hole, and realizing that it is the source, he jumps in almost immediately after the teacher... Though dumb as a sack of hammers, Ugmug was also once a child like so many other people, and like many children spent many days climbing on anything and everything he could reach. He grabs the rope on his way down, and uses his other arm as well as his legs to slow his descent down fortunately at a rate slower than the teacher ahead of him. He does, however, land very soon after Quinten and gives him another jolt as Ugmug bumps into him on landing. Once on the ground, Ugmug wanders around with a snuff, snuff, snuffling as he slowly works his way down the hallway to get closer to the source of the smell.

Well there is just the same darkness down here. It stinks though.
I'm not dead so bring the rest down. Oh and we will need that rope still. I would hate to get anyone lost in the darkness. Hurry up since our minder seems really interested in stench of this place. Maybe he is hungry and smells a meal.

After jumping when Ugmug bumps into him, Quinten takes a few moments to regain his composure. As the orc starts on his quest, Quinten speaks softly to Shadara. I think we're as much his minder as he is ours. I'm not sure he's smart enough to make it through the labyrinth on his own, and I'm told surviving it is a requirement for guild members beyond a certain rank. It's possible Ritos is using us to graduate him so the other members grumble less. Because grumbling might get them killed.

I agree but it is not my concern. Shadara whispers back. I will say that we can use him as a barometer for danger. If he gets worried then we are really in trouble, sound good?

Quinten nods. I can't say I trust his judgment, but I'd rather have him trigger a trap than trigger it myself. Let's just hope he survives it so we're still meeting our end of our deal with Ritos.

We should follow before he gets out of sight. The others will have to catch up.

The teacher starts after Ugmug.

magical darkness
You hear the bubbling fellow ahead of you and your nose tells you he is headed towards whatever stinks. You hurry after him with his noises being loud enough to easily follow.

You enter a room that appears to be little more than a midden heap. SLuggish, brackish, still water lies at the center. The water appears to be no deeper than 3ft and most of the bottom can be seen without entering it. There is humanoid offal,trash, carrion, and all other undesirable trash heaped in mounds throughout the room. The stench was definitely coming from this room. There are 2 exits to the room both veering of in opposite 30% angles on the right side of the room. This would be an excellent place to have a food fight if food were trash.

Quinten wrinkles his nose and scowls at the pool. I thought the purpose of a sewer was to move waste away, not collect it in one place. I'll have to pay Marry extra for laundry tonight.

The teacher scans the room, hoping to find a message from the mysterious L. Noticing refuse covering a spot next to one of the doors, he summons water to wash it away. When he finds that it hid nothing, he sighs.

Shadara, I'm going to listen for the others and speak to make sure they get here through the darkness. Can you find a reason to choose one door over the other, or better yet, a less obvious path out of here?

Shadara follows right behind Quinten and wrinkles her nose as well when she enters the room. That sounds like a good idea. I would suggest that you stand off to the side of the opening though.

As quinten moves to the side of the opening and starts calling for the rest of the group Shadara hurries over toward the exits then comes around to stand in front of Ugmug. She waves her arms right in front of him to get his attention. Once he looks up at her she smiles, keeps waving as she moves around him until he is facing the entry we just came through, mimes a motion, points, silently mimicks a laugh and repeats it again. As Ugmug starts a slow spreading smile and says Gaaammmmmeeeee, she mimes the motions one more time and vanishes just as the others come into view.

Key point to invisibility

acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 10 + 2 = 19
Tired of waiting for the monkey and the man he sees they are near the opening and moves quickly toward them, angry they are so hesitant to descend.
Go! Grab hold of the rope! He yells as he shoves them out of the room and into the unknown. He grabs onto the rope, now slimy and wet. The other two, stumbling forward into the dark manage to make it into the pit and half fall, half grab the rope. Graghhh nimbly bounces over them, sliding on the rope, deftly leaping about and somersaulting into the room below. Turning back to the rope, he gives a tug on it and a special maneuver to release it from its anchor point at the door in the room which is now above them. A little perturbed by the excessive time it took them to move, he hurries to wipe away what he can of the liquid from his rope and heads in the direction of the yells of the other man, not giving another glance at the two near him.
Going to ruin what gear I have if you don't make decisions a little quicker than that.
We're here! I'm coming! He calls out to the man he now knows as Quinten.
A rancid stench quickly fills his nose and he slows a little as he approaches the room where the others have arrived ahead of them.

Suddenly two piles erupt into action. Ugmug finds himself grabbed by tentacles.(ooc)-4 hp[/ooc] Quentin, a bit more prepared, sidesteps as the other creature launches its tentacles at him.

When Graghhh and the others are in sight, Quinten turns back to the room and looks for the now-invisible Shadara. Instead, he sees one of the midden heaps burst. The teacher barely manages to duck behind the wall as a tentacle lunges at him.

Adrenaline pouring through him, Quinten steps back into the opening, the dog around his neck in hand. He scowls at the creature that attacked him. Brown Dog, strike!

A dog made of earth appears in the doorway, where the others can see, and charges the tentacled beast, rearing and slamming its front paws into the creature's side.

The earth dog's attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26
The earth dog's damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

The teacher follows the dog into the room. Although he stays close to the doorway, he draws his pointer. I have no desire to be in battle, but I need to watch so I can disrupt these beasts' minds if they get the upper hand.

Entering the new room, Ugmug consumes himself with sampling the surroundings of its "delicate" aromas. He continues this until Shadara gets his attention standing in front of him waving her arms. Ugmug looks at Shadara with an innocent curiosity on his face as she walks his focus back toward the entrance. He slowly breaks into a grin as she mimes toward him, quietly and almost questioningly utters Gaaammmmmeeeee... When he sees her vanish a look of child like shock runs across his face, quickly replaced by excitement at Shadara's game of hide and seek. OOH, OOH, GAME, AAHYAY he squeals in delight. Though unable to see her, Ugmug with his powerful sense of smell starts to ferret out her whereabouts. He hunts around a bit sniffing and snorting, he follows her trail until he is right in front of her and just as he is about to reach out and tag her the pool of filth in the center of the room explodes into two balls of angry tentacles. One of the two hideous creatures reaches out to grab him with its tentacles. It is only able to momentarily grab hold with its spined appendage before it receives a jolt from Ugmug's hammer as he accidentally brings it in contact as he twists to get away from the horrid creature. A loud *POP* echoes in the room with a bright flash from the arcing electricity, causing the Otyugh to let go. Now free to move about Ugmug backs away a bit not quite sure yet of what to make of the situation, he sets those concerns aside in his head after only a moment as irritation over his interrupted playtime now dominates his feelings. RAAAAAGGHHHH Ugmug yells out in anger at the two creatures. He takes a few steps back to get out of reach of the monsters in front of him and with a big windup over his head he points the hammer at one of the creatures and shouts POW! Nothing happens...

Shadara watches in amazement as Ugmug starts sniffing the air and comging towards her.

Wow, that is a highly tuned nose to pick my scent out of all this stench, we might need that later.

She decides to see how close he can come to finding her. As he reaches out and the piles of refuse explode there is nothing she can do but stand in shock at what she is seeing. She finally gets her mind to start moving as another creature rises from the ground and attacks the other two. She instinctively reaches for her bow, then her nunchaku, then her knives, and finally her pouch, all of which are not on her. It would have look extremely funny to the casual bystander had she not been invisible.

I am such a nuuta jukketing botuu! I will never let my pack leave my possession again. They will have to kill me first.

Her mind races as she tries to put Ugmug between her and the creatures while scanning the floor for something, anything she can use as a weapon. She crouches some to try to stay below his elbow level as she looks.

Surprise round summary
The midden heaps burst and two creatures emerge. One attempts to grapple Ugmug but he smacks it enough to dissuade it from doing so. Queintin summons an earth dog and it attacks as he steps in the room.

INITIATIVE ORDER ROUND 1
creatures
quentin
gragh
ugmug
jerram
richard
shadara

Round 1
Again one of the creature attempts to grapple ugmug with its tentacles this time succeeding in attaching. damage 7 grappled condition
The second slaps at the dog attempting to stop the annoyance but misses but fractions of an inch.

The dog snaps at the tentacle that came so close to hitting him, hoping to tear it off.

The earth dog's attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
The earth dog's damage: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Quinten frowns as the other creature grabs Ugmug. I doubt the orc will have any trouble breaking free, especially with his enchanted weapon. But unless he can do damage in the process, the beast will only grab him again. I need to give Ugmug time to smash it.

For a moment, Quinten is back in his home, looking at Sally and trying to ignore the tears in his eyes as she apologizes for the third time. A brief memory, but it will have to do. Let's see if this creature becomes as listless as I did.

Quinten's circlet and face darken as he points at the creature grabbing Ugmug.