If he hears nothing inside, he opens the door and steps into the tunnel.
Further, if nothing of interest is in the entrance, Andaris leads the way deeper into the tunnels.
Iluna gratefully accepts the prize for the story-telling competition. After she and Gonan win free of the crowds she says "It grows late, and yet I have not seen any sign of Mihail, Kai'dan or Andaris. Do you suppose they may have ridden afield?"
As you rest and loot the bodies, the sun continues to set. Shadows now stretch across the entire canal.
Andaris hears nothing inside the door. A cursory glance inside indicates the front room is empty. A door to the rear seems to lead onward. The room is pitch black, and you will need to bring your own illumination.
"I think so... We would have seen them eating in the tent at some point. Maybe we'll meet some more interesting people yet today."
"Lead on, noble Andaris. We must ascertain the true strength of this Hobgoblin threat." Mihail hefts his shield and flail, makig sure he is limber enough to use them effectively.
The three of you advance through the hobgoblin lair, path lit by Bagheera’s head. You pass through half a dozen rooms, all chained one after the other. You notice that no room is more than 15 feet wide or high, and that you seem to be heading in roughly a straight line, deeper into the side of the canal bank.
You encounter resistance a couple times, but are able to eliminate the hobgoblins without significant trouble. You pass through a pair of barracks, an armoury, and what seems to be a mess hall. The bunks in the barracks have space for 20 hobgoblins. The armoury is stocked with both studded leather and scale armour, longswords, kukris, longspears, heavy steel shields, longbows, and arrows. Propped up against the wall are a pair of finely crafted composite longbows. Beside a workbench, you discover unfitted horseshoes as well as bridles and bits. Mihail easily identifies the style as one used with warhorses. They seem to be of hobgoblin make, but you have seen no sign of horses other than your own since you entered the canal.
You reach the door at the end of the mess hall when Bagheera sniffs at the air. He recoils slightly, as though he smelled something foul.
You catch a faint whiff of an acrid stench - like burning oil, mixed with sulphur and ammonia. It seems strongest by the door, and is likely coming from the other side.
"Hmmm. I could use a better longbow." Mihail mutters, as he tests the sharpness of a Kukri on a scrap of leather.
"What's that smell?" Mihail asks, pointing the handle of his flail in the general direction of the door.
"What's that Mihail? I hadn't noticed anything - I guess the smell from those alchemicals earlier is still in my nose. I'll investigate, stay a bit back in case they have something rigged up."
Andaris moves up the hallway until he is able to press his ear against the door. He is listening for activity on the other side, and for traps in the doorway.
Andaris sees Bagheera stop and Mihail point to the door. Still deafened, he nods at what he believes is a request to open the door. Not noticing the smell, he pushes the door open.
With a crash, a pair of large pots break open in the open doorway. You can see they were standing on a table to the left of the door, with string attached from their tops to the door. As the liquids held inside combine, a billowing cloud of smoke fills the doorway. Andaris manages to get a quick glimpse of the room before the smoke blocks his vision - it seems to be a 40-foot long room, 15 feet wide like most of the others. Workbenches cluttered with glassware and piles of alchemical supplies fill most of the room.
The smoke is black and oily, leaving an unpleasant coating on the mouth when inhaled. It spreads out of the room, enveloping the party.
A hobgoblin shouts from farther inside the room, and a pair of arrows whistle through the fog. It is lucky Andaris took a step back when the smoke hit - only pure chance prevented him from being impaled by one. The second arrow whistles harmlessly through the fog.
.
Feeling faint, Andaris channels positive energy to restore himself.
Andaris hacks and coughs as the noxious fumes coat his esophagus with an oily substance.
Another pair of arrows fly out of the smoke, but they whistle over Bagheera's head.
"Blegh," Mihail gags. "That's disgusting."
Andaris casts Magic weapon (+1) on the weapon which Mihail chooses to let him touch.
Gonan looks for the others, but gives up after a short time. "Since there's not much else going on right now, I'm going to try to find some other wizards. See if we can trade some spells or something. Since there's a wizarding contest tomorrow, they've got to be around here somewhere. Would you join me?" Gonan asks Iluna expectantly.
You take cover to the sides of the cave while arrows continue to whistle through the smoke. The cloud seems to show no signs of dissipating soon.
The two of you head out into the warm evening. Dusk has begun to envelop the camp as you search through the tents for folks of the wizardly persuasion.
After some wandering, you come across a mage sitting by her tent. She is poring over a spellbook, illuminated by a glowing ball of light at her shoulder. She seems friendly enough, and introduces herself as Anna.
Gonan is surprised when Iluna slips her hand into his, and he is glad that the setting sun gives everything a warm hue. He sneaks a glance at Iluna as they walk out of the tent and into the evening.
She's holding my hand!.. What do I ... Wow, she's glowing tonight...... Right! Looking for wizards.
As they walk together between the tents, Gonan appears to be lost in thought. As they approach the woman reading a spell book Gonan quickly pulls his hand away from Iluna and takes off his gloves, putting them in his pack while he pulls out his spellbook. After hearing her introduction Gonan introduces himself.
My name is Gonan. You appear to have a spellbook. What kind of spells do you like?
Come on Gonan, you can do this. Just talk with her. Just like the rest of today. Don't mess this one up.
Anna raises an eyebrow at Gonan's blunt manner, but responds with a smile. "I'm an abjuror by trade. How about yourself?"
As she responds, a squirrel hops up on her shoulder - evidently her familiar.
Gonan fidgets as he begins recognizing that he made a mistake somehow. He continues shyly.
"I prefer fire magic, but I also have a few illusion spells. Do you need the shield spell?"
She's an abjuror, of course she has the shield spell! Come on Gonan!
"Do I need the shield spell?" Anna repeats with a puzzled frown.
She then notices the spellbook in your hands and your body language, and comprehension washes over her face.
"Ohhh, you want to trade spells! Well, I've got a couple hours to spare, and I'm sure I still have some arcane ink somewhere..." She slips a hand into a pack at her side and immediately pulls it out, clutching a glass vial. Grunting with satisfaction, she replaces it in her pack. "Yep, got plenty here, so long as it's a spell of the first or second order. Trade you one for one?"
"My thanks, Andaris," Mihail nods, feeling queasy. "Might as well make the best of a bad situation."
Mihail forges a path into the noxious smoke.
"We have no choice but to proceed," says Andaris, following behind Mihail defensively.
You wait for another pair of arrows to pass before dashing into the room. As you run through the smoke you are able to see the hobgoblins more clearly. The two archers are reaching for more arrows after their last shots. The remaining hobgoblin looks a little strange - his proportions seem a little off and his skin appears thick and tough. With a quick, precise movement, he pulls a glass vial from his belt with and drinks it.
"Sure, I'll take that trade. Take a look, and copy one of mine that you like."
Gonan shifts side to side, happy that he had finally got his point across.
"Here, have a seat. Your friend, too." Anna reaches into her pack and improbably pulls out a pair of small stools without even looking.
She pulls a small, clear crystal from the pouch at her waist, then returns it after muttering a brief incantation. "Okay, let's take a peek at what you have."
She takes your spell book, and passes you her own.
Andaris holds his breath as he passes through the noxious fumes, attempting not to ingest more of the sickening gas than he already had.
Leaping up onto the table , Andaris assumes a totally defensive posture.
Andaris leaps down toward the bow wielding hobgoblin at D10 , and swings with his cestus.
"Oh, that's a spell. That would be very useful" she says as Gonan looks over the open page. "I always thought arcane writing looked quite intricate - almost delicate. But my favorite spells books were the ones with pictures that described the spell's effects. Don't you think that would be neat, if you could draw a picture of a spell and use that as a casting focus instead of writing?"
As Anna mentions 'your friend', Gonan realizes that Iluna is still there with them. "Right! Anna, this is Iluna."
"Well, having pictures would make it easier to quickly know which spell is on which page." Gonan says in acknowledgement.
With his skill in spellcraft, Gonan is able to identify that the first page indeed contains a spell of Protection From Evil. Flipping through the rest of the book, he notes the following spells:
1st level:
Endure Elements
Protection From Evil
Shield
Obscuring Mist
Feather Fall
Mage Armour
Shocking Grasp
2nd Level:
Resist Energy
Protection From Arrows
Scorching Ray
Glitterdust
"Pleased to meet you, Iluna," Anna murmurs as she leafs through Gonan's spellbook. "I think I'd like this fireworks spell - seems fun, doesn't it?"
She looks slyly at Iluna. "Perhaps I'll scribe it as a great swirl, with multicoloured ink," she says with a wink.
"Is there a spell of the first order there that interests you? I find the spell of weather resistance to be quite handy while travelling."
Bagheera rushes in ignoring the smoke. She step in front of Mihail, lowers her body and readies herself to fend off attackers.
Gonan leans in towards Iluna while reading the spellbook "Should I get Mage Armour, or Obscuring mist?"
He looks up to watch her reaction to the options he had proposed.
Iluna gives the question a moment of thought. She recognizes Mage Armor right away, though she has to meditate to recall the particulars about Obscuring Mist. The protective forces of Mage Armor are invaluable for bolstering a caster's defenses, though it can only affect one person at a time. Obscuring Mist can provide concealment for a group, though it hinders as much as it helps, obscuring vision for those within its area of effect. Both are quite useful, though I believe Mage Armor requires less strategy to use effectively, as it is much easier to sustain, and has few ill side effects...
"I think both would be quite useful," she says in an equally hushed voice, "though if you plan to only choose one, I would recommend Mage Armor. The benefits of being able to ward off attacks make it a very pragmatic choice."
The hobgoblins loose arrows at the Aasimar who just jumped up on the table. Andaris sees them aim their bows and shifts, throwing off the aim of the first hobgoblin. However, the second arrow is well-aimed. Andaris sees a blur of motion and slides back reflexively. Glass shatters as he knocks alchemical tools to the ground, but he manages to avoid the arrow.
The hobgoblin in the middle grabs a pair of vials from his belt. He pours one into the other and tosses it in one fluid motion. The vial smashes open against Mihail's chestplate, detonating with a chilling blast that envelops him. The blast wave expands to include Andaris and Bagheera as well.
Gonan nods his head in agreement.
"I shall dub it... Fire flanks! Wait... no... ahh, I'll think of something better later to call it."
Once they've traded back the spellbooks, he gets down to the task of copying it down. His penmanship is exquisite for a man of his age, as he adds flourishes to the magical writings.
"I shall dub it... Fire flanks! Wait... no... ahh, I'll think of something better later to call it."
"Which one?" Anna inquires, leaning over to see the page. "Ah, Summoned Force Armour. A splendid selection. A bit of a strange one, when considered philosophically. as it is actually a conjuration effect. Despite being similar to the Spell of Shielding , it is created with a completely different school of magic."
Anna returns to studying your Snapdragon Fireworks spell. "Some abjurors get uptight about that, thinking conjurors are stepping on our toes. I think it points out the difference between the schools - conjuration can make the armour, yes, but you still need to wear it. Guards Against Evil and the Spell of Shielding are more active - in fact, the Spell of Shielding will flit about and block for you... but of course you knew that. You have the spell recorded in here." Anna stops rambling, face slightly reddening. "Apologies, I tend to let the mouth run while the mind is occupied. Used to drive my father crazy."
"We're going to be sitting here for a while. Why don't you tell me about yourselves? Helps the time pass, especially for your friend here. Watching a couple people scratch at magic books for a pair of hours is hardly anyone's idea of a good time."
You notice that the spell names Anna mentions are different from what you learned at the academy - she likely never studied at a formal institution. The naming conventions seem similar to that of either hedge wizards or strong traditionalists.
Coughing and spluttering, Mihail curses. "Hellfire and damnation! The cursed Hob is an alchemist!"
He advances, menacing one of the Hobs with his flail.
Andaris falls unconscious... again. Sigh.
Kaid'an rushes though the smoke and see the enemy behind all there fancy cover. The one fighting Mihail looks like a good target.
"My story isn't all that much. I was a scribe in a school tower for a few years, but as I did writings for old men who couldn't hold pens, I learned as much as I could. I figured magic would be the hardest thing I could find to put my mind to." glancing over to Iluna, he says "Now, you've got a more interesting story, as much as I've heard so far."
Andaris channels his holy energy into a palpable aura around him, seeking healing from his apathetic deity.
Moving to cut off manoeuvring room for the archers and alchemist, Andaris then moves to D11, jumping over the table in the process.
Iluna assists Gonan with the mystical interpolations of the thingamy-dodads with the kaliedo-whatsit, and magic happens!