Regin concedes to the dwarf with webbed hands (something it never occurred to him to imagine much less expect). I'll play Fisher then.
'Crap what has he done?' Trib, very worried about his new friend, runs forward pulling his silk rope out of his pack, "I have a rope, So who's going after him."
Regin points to the swiss army dwarf and helps anchor the rope just in case something started pulling back.
Sensing his eminent demise, Namtar turns to swim towards the surface
A plan hatches swiftly. Dommer strips off his armor while Regin ties a rope about his waist, then the dwarf plunges into the cold oblivion of the pool. All light vanishes as he drags himself into the deep.
Namtar desperately swims upward, his limbs almost frozen stiff. Unseeing, the two men collide with one another. Dommer grabbed tight to Namtar and gave the rope a sharp tug. Up above, Regin hauled on it and both men came out of the pool in a rush, white with cold and shivering. Namtar could barely move at all.
Ok then, lots of things moving at once. Let's say it takes a round for the rope to get sorted. For that time, Namtar is on his own.
Namtar ascends to 15 feet below the surface. This is his fifth round of breath. Future rolls at -5 instead of -10.
yow, Namtar is now at 2 Dex.
Round 2:
Namtar ascends to 10 feet below. No penalty on future checks to ascend. Sixth round of air.
saved!
Dommer hops in, roped up, and swims.
he's down 5 and adjacent to Namtar
he's also fine.
Judgment call. It's pitch black here and they're not actually on top of each other. Do they happen to make contact? Two is yes.
They do! The reeling in can happen next round. So they both need one more fort save.
Both take 1 Dex damage, which puts Namtar at 1 and Dommer at 13.
Thank you, Masters. For saving me. I have shamed you, though> i did not find a key.
Dommer falls sideways. Slowly his frog-like features are replaced back with his usual bear ones.
Are you okay, kid? - he asked Namtar. The dwarf was visibly worried, but still recovering himself as well - Don't you know you never go in the well?
Dommer coughs while laughing now, and stands up.
Thanks for trying something different, though. Hopefully it inspires us. You wouldn't happen to have found or seen anything down there, did 'ya?
As the two come back to the surface, Arundel drapes his retrieved blanket around Namtar, allowing him to use it to dry off and warm up. "It was a good attempt, though we should try to plan such things in the future." Looking at Dommer, he says "Thank you for going in after him. I'm sorry, I have only the one blanket, and he looked like he needed it a bit more."
You have not shamed us, Namtar. At least you thought outside the box. What did you discover?
'Jumped in an evil pond, and is apologizing for not finding anything, gotta like his bravery' Trib pulls out his blanket and tries to use it to dry off and warm up Namtar, speaking to him firmly. "You didn't shame no one and I keep tellin' ya, we ain't yer master."
It was cold, Master. Cold, and dark. It sapped my strength... I cannot move. I am useless to you, Masters.
Regin snickers. Hardly. Having someone like you around is exactly what we need in here. You warm up. You've earned it.
Namtar nods and curls into the blankets as much as his weakened body would let him move. Thank you, Masters. He's voice is thick with confusion. It's clear he's unaccustomed to such kindnesses.
Namtar nods and curls into the blankets as much as his weakened body would let him move. Thank you, Masters. He's voice is thick with confusion. It's clear he's unaccustomed to such kindnesses.
A vigorous rubbing restored some of Namtar's strength.
A vigorous rubbing restored some of Namtar's strength.
"It is good you are safe," Amarekashu said with a small smile. "Your talents do no one any good if you pass to the next realm. A life should be spent on more than plundering a well. But this does leave us with a question...what to do now?"
Amarekashu moved towards one of the arches, and stepped to touch the wall behind, bracing himself for any electrical shock that overwhelmed his ability to resist.
Masters.. are.. are we in the wrong place? I don't mean to second guess you, but.. perhaps we'll find more information about this place, elsewhere?
'Namtar may be right, but if someone put traps here, we must be doing something right.' Tribim pats Namtar on the head, watching what happens to Amarekashu and what he learns. "SShhh, rest, lets wait and see what Amarekashu figures out. And tha names Trib ta my friends."
I'm beginning to think that he's right. There has to be more than just this room. Why go through all the trouble to hide it?
Namtar instinctively jerks back with a glare at Tribim. Reflexes honed from years in the fighting pits will not allow him to suffer the touch of another. Although, in his weakened condition, he cannot move far, and Trib's hand falls easily on the warrior's head. The slave's glare turns to a look of puzzlement at the apparently gentle gesture, once again speaking volumes of his history.
Master Regin is probably correct. I am a simple gladiator. I should not think to direct freemen.
Dommer nothing says. Instead, the Dwarf shakes, on his own corner, trying to take care of himself at least on a basic way - as much as he feels he'll be in need of some sleep soon, now is probably not the time to stop.
"It is good you are safe," Amarekashu said with a small smile. "Your talents do no one any good if you pass to the next realm. A life should be spent on more than plundering a well. But this does leave us with a question...what to do now?"
Amarekashu moved towards one of the arches, and stepped to touch the wall behind, bracing himself for any electrical shock that overwhelmed his ability to resist.
Dommer nothing says. Instead, the Dwarf shakes, on his own corner, trying to take care of himself at least on a basic way - as much as he feels he'll be in need of some sleep soon, now is probably not the time to stop.
[dice=Heal]1d20+3
Amarekashu stepped forward and the trap came to life, lightning roused to strike him and left the dragon-turned-man burned. Pressing on, he found a solid wall beyond the glowing arch. When he placed his hand through, the whole arch briefly filled with light. It swirled in a violet chaos that filled his arm with pins and needles for an instant before subsiding.
Amarekashi grunted as the energy surged through him. It hurt. Tilting his neck for a moment, he murmured a word in draconic, and healed most of the damage.
Once he felt better, he laid his hand on the wall, waiting to see what happened.
Dommer walked towards Amarekashu and stopped right behind the monk, ready to help him in case he needed anything.
'Well that is one way to deal with a magic trap.' Tribim stops patting Namtar and Follows Dommer over to where Amarekashu has sprung the trap and is not testing the glowing arch, 'Did he just push his hand through the wall?' Getting closer, "Well look at that. Amerekashu, are you ok, do you think we can go through?"
Amarekashi grunted as the energy surged through him. It hurt. Tilting his neck for a moment, he murmured a word in draconic, and healed most of the damage.
[dice=Cure Light Wounds]1d8+1
Once he felt better, he laid his hand on the wall, waiting to see what happened.
The light came and went again as soon as Amarekashu stuck his hand into the arch. The wall behind remained solid.
"Nothing," the heavily built 'human' replied as he withdrew his hand. It sparked as he stretched an shook it, but that was actually normal for him. "Whatever magic seals them requires something more. I suggest we start looking for answers elsewhere."
Agreed. - finally said a frustrated Dommer - It intrigues me this place is all rigged in traps but takes nowhere, but maybe we're missing something to be able to go ahead.
The Dwarf thinks for a moment.
Well, maybe we should study the map again? For other marks, I mean?
Namatar struggled to ket up from the floor. Masters.. I can.. I will.. He sighed back down, defeated.
Namatar struggled to ket up from the floor. Masters.. I can.. I will.. He sighed back down, defeated.
Seeing the light come and go but the wall remain, Trib scratches his head and calls up to Arundel:
Not waiting for an answer, Trib goes to Dommer "Studying tha map ain't a bad idea, should we check out tha well and see if'n 'air is anything else attached ta it before we head back up?"
"I wonder if there is anything I missed on the arches.' After Amarekashu springs the trap on the second arch Trib carefully looks at the arch to see if he can tell any difference between it and the arch that has no glow.
Still standing around with the group, but apparently out of Trib's line of sight, the elf speaks up softly "I'm over here, Trib, so I couldn't say if it changed. Given the way things have been going, I'm guessing not."
He goes up to the now-untrapped arch that Amarekashu is examining, and looks at it himself. He walks up to the arch, and touches the wall behind it.
Tribim marked for himself the tracks that Dommer found beginning and ending at each of the active archways, but save for the glow they appeared identical to him even on the closest examination.
Dommer did find tracks that led out to it and the group is fairly sure they're the first through from the top in some time.
or not. :(
On consideration, Arundel recognizes each of these archways to be the markers for magical gates. In ancient times, the elves built many of them to connect distant cities and realms as closely as two buildings that shared a common wall. A few human civilizations copied or stole that Art, but Arundel hasn't heard of gates created in the past millennium. Gatecraft is widely believed to be a lost art, perhaps no longer even possible as a result of the harm that human workers have done to the Weave. But lost Art has a power all its own. If anyone does know the secrets, they might best keep silent to preserve the advantage or their lives from grasping rivals. Rumors forever abound that someone (ancient elves, liches, the high priests of deities associated with magic...) knows something.
At their most basic, gates simply took anybody who crossed their plane instantly from one place to the next through a standing manipulation of the Weave. But they almost always came locked behind warding magic which restricted their use to those who knew a password or phrase, carried the right tokens, or even possessed the right bloodlines (only elves, only scions of this house...). Sometimes a gate might take all three.
Most gates were invisible even when in use. Custom dictated that one erect some kind of enclosure to mark them, like the archways, but the working did not necessarily depend on one and might be untroubled by its loss. Arundel has heard of gates which remain high in the air, atop mountaintops or in flying castles long gone. But no working of Art stands untouched with the grinding many centuries. Gates might slowly lose their power, fading to nothing or slumbering until fed by some source of Art. They might also decay or twist, making passage dangerous.
A proper elfgate, made by masters of the craft, would go gently but copies or inferior works could drink spells, things that hold their own Art, memories, even lives to fuel themselves. Age might also cause a gate to leak, either from one side to the other or through the planar interstices. Such seepage might come with perils of its own. They may even twist the flesh and minds of those who pass through them. Some gates might do as much by design, trapped by their makers to whisk naked people to one monster-infested place while depositing their belongings elsewhere. Decayed gates would often show a violet radiance, as the ones before them do, but its presence doesn't prove a gate unsafe in itself.
The presence of many gates in close proximity, or gates within or near another powerful spell field increase the risks of instability. Arundel recalls being taught that when elves created many gates, particularly in conjunction with the vast wardings of mythalcraft (another lost art) that once safeguarded their realms, they took special precautions against the thinning of space that such things occasioned lest things from without shoulder their way through. He also believes that using any translocation magic within or in close proximity to a gate is likely to fail, perhaps with deadly consequences, for the interference. If such a spell worked, it might instead do some harm to the gate.
Arundel believes that the three gates lead, or led, to separate places. With significant work (weeks or months) he might be able to puzzle out what keys or words one would need to pass them but that would need experimentation and may not prove especially safe for him. If he had access to a grand library (larger than Zummabu's) he might do better, but none of the sages he knows of in Unther is the sort to just throw open their scrolls to an outsider. He would probably do better to ask in Chessenta, likely in Cimbar or Soorenar, but that's farther still.
Dommer did find tracks that led out to it and the group is fairly sure they're the first through from the top in some time.
Dommer did find tracks that led out to it and the group is fairly sure they're the first through from the top in some time.
:)
Not waiting for an answer, Trib goes to Dommer "Studying tha map ain't a bad idea, should we check out tha well and see if'n 'air is anything else attached ta it before we head back up?"
'The tracks come from the gates, crap, the tracks come from the gates, Ok, the tracks come from the gates and we didn't see any sign up top, so where did they go? Dommer is our underground expert, good thing he came with us.' Walking closer to Dommer, Trib unintentionally whispers: "They came from tha gates and didn't exit out up top through tha well. We need ta see where tha well leads ta. Your tha underground expert would ya lead us?"
"The magic of these arches is well beyond me, but my understanding of them is that if you know the proper command words or methods of activation, their use is relatively straightforward." Arundel will give a minor briefing of how the gates work to his companions, perhaps being just a touch more background than they would care to know, but it is obvious he is fascinated by them.
At Trib's question, Arundel nods. "It would be to our benefit to explore further down, I would think. I don't like the idea of returning to the surface when there is obviously activity down here."
If we entered through a secret passage then this being one part of a larger complex would make sense. And moving through this place "backwards" may allow us the element of surprise should we encounter anything hostile down here.
"I guess this is the magical version of a crossroads, if they entered one arch and exited another." Amarekashu waited for the others to deice where they wanted to head next.
Furtha' down explore the well we go. I'm sure we will understand these mysteries at the right time. - said the Dwarf, already taking the road. He would give passage for Tribim and Namtar, if they wanted to take point again, otherwise would simply continue moving, determined.