The Forgotten Forge - Eberron (Inactive)

Game Master Dennis Harry

Shekan points out a narrow passage that descends deeper into the tower. With each step down, the odor of mold and sewage becomes stringer, and you can hear liquid sounds increasing in volume as you descend.

Shekan calls out as he begins to walk away, "You come to market with rest of payment when you done down here bandage man".

Taryn's face twists into a disgusted scowl as the stink grows stronger. "That was excellent work recruiting that guide, Carduus," he offers without any hint of sarcasm, "though I do wish we'd been able to find a less pungent route..."

Pink Eye looks around in the dark his eyes adjusting and he smiles thinking this reminds him of home drawing out the large great axe and keeping it at the ready now

Carduus drops the goblin's payment into it's hand. "I'll come to see you and give you what you're due." His voice lowers into an unhealthy and ominous tone, like dog growling through gravel and phlegm. "Though if it's a trap you've led us into, best come clean now, else I'll pour my rot into your skull when next I see you."

Intimidate: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Carduus shrugs at Taryn after Shekan has left. "Filth flows downhill."

"You heard the man," Dharak announced with a wink as he followed the goblin guide. Watching the Minotaur otu of the corner of his eye he mimics the creature and draws his great axe. "Good idea," he reluctantly concedes.

Shekan looks shocked at Carduus' sharp tone, "No trap. This the way you asked for, how I get my money if this trap? Still danger here, no one comes to these places be careful..." His voice echoes as he trails away down the tunnel back the way in which the group came from.

More to come later. Feel free to interact between the groups for now.

Seeing weapons being drawn, Viorr nods approvingly, slipping the long double-bladed sword - straighter than common for the Valenar - from the leather case on his back.

"Lead on, tiny guide!"

Gauntlet, hesitant to show his abilities to these newcomers, decides openness is the best policy in the end.

Holding forth his hands, shadows and...other things, coalesces into a Two-Handed blade made of matte-black dark metal.
Its odd design is unique to Gauntlet's mind and needs of course. He then nods at the others.

Spending 3 points to create at +1 Two-Handed Sword

"Best to be ready if an attack comes."

Sharn - City of Towers - 998 YK - the Eighth Day of Dravago - The Two Year Anniversary of the Treaty of Thronehold - Dorasharn Tower - E-213 Valve Cluster

Haqueton once again steps near to Gauntlet and asks with great conviction, "An impressive ability cousin but I must ask you once again, have you had any encounters with the Lord of Blades or his henchmen?"

Caelan keeps one hand on his belt near his sword and the other ready to pull his shield out, but remains uncharacteristically stoic.

Haqueton once again steps near to Gauntlet and asks with great conviction, "An impressive ability

cousin but I must ask you once again, have you had any encounters with the Lord of Blades or his henchmen?"

Cocking his head to the side, Gauntlet looks as confused and worried as he possibly can.

"Who? The Lord of Blades? Is he a Brelish Lord? Does he work with Cannith? Is his name Savilar?"

@GM: Sorry...I missed the earlier question during the posting confusion/changes. Gauntlet does not interact with a
lot of other warforged. They notice his oddities even more so than others.

Surrounded by so many armed people, Ama simply settled the pack on her back more securely, and watched everything with a scholar's eye. She still regretted not reading too much about what this area was, and was going to be making mental notes where she could. The weapons that the others readied were interesting, especially that of one of the Warforged. If she was interpreting it correctly, that was a physically manifested mental construct created by a construct, and the significance of that alone was astonishing. Why, if she was inclined toward that area of study, it was likely that the appearance of the weapon and any elaboration beyond the practicality of the form would grant some insights into the mind that created it...

All those thoughts were voiced by an intrigued sound as she saw it occur, and she resolved to attempt to talk to the other Warforged about it. It was certainly an interesting group of individuals that she had fallen in with
_______________________
K.Arcana: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

[dice=K.Arcana]1d20+7=13

You identify Gauntlet as a Magus Mindblade based on his use of his power.

Sharn - City of Towers - 998 YK - the Eighth Day of Dravago - The Two Year Anniversary of the Treaty of Thronehold - Dorasharn Tower - E-213 Valve Cluster

Haqueton responds, "Curious. One of the Lords agents approached me a few evenings ago. I declined their offer of slavery, I am surprised you did not hear from them, perhaps they simply did not have time to reach out to you..."

Rission blinks and turns to the two Warforged and their discussion, "You did not think to mention this to us earlier?"

Haqueton turns and responds his body language of course unreadable, "Seeing one of my brethren is what made me remember the encounter. As the Sergeant noted, this same Lord of Blades was mentioned as interested in the Professor's Journal. Query, do we know that we were not followed ?"

No worries Gauntlet, the jumps were not made so clear by me. Thanks to Carduus for noting the LINK. I know now to do that the next time I try this trick!

Ama Freewater wrote:

[dice=K.Arcana]1d20+7=13

You identify Gauntlet as a Magus Mindblade based on his use of his power.

Don't forget 'Unique.' He may be warforged, but he is not a standard version by any means! =)

"Curious. One of the Lords agents approached me a few evenings ago. I declined their offer of slavery, I am surprised you did not hear from them, perhaps they simply did not have time to reach out to you..."

"No. No offer. I would have noted that...cousin."

Gauntlet definitely seems hesitant at that last word. It implies and leaves much to interpretation.

Sharn - City of Towers - 998 YK - the Eighth Day of Dravago - The Two Year Anniversary of the Treaty of Thronehold - Dorasharn Tower - E-213 Valve Cluster

Haqueton either does not notice or chooses not to respond to Gauntlet's hesitancy.

"Let us go. The living will need food, rest, and relief soon enough and the trip to this place from above was already a long one".

Nodding at Hauqton, Gauntlet focuses on the path ahead. Trying to get the niggling part of his psyche to shut down, as his paranoia on all things Cannith had been agitated.

Caelan shifts the straps of his backpack slightly, more for emphasis than for any real advantage, and says, "I'm all set. Let's see what we can discover. Gauntlet, you seem a little reluctant. I suppose it's better to know than to not know, eh?"

Sharn - City of Towers - 998 YK - the Eighth Day of Dravago - The Two Year Anniversary of the Treaty of Thronehold - Dorasharn Tower - E-213 Valve Cluster

The stairway is narrowing down forcing your two groups into single file to continue.

Proposed Marching order: 1. Dharakk, 2. Pink Eye, 3. Viorr, 4. Taryn, 5. Erix, 6. Ama, 7. Beylinda, 8. Carduus, 9. Caelan, 10. Gauntlet, 11. Haqueton, and 12. Rission.

That proposed marching order OK folks?

I'm OK with it. Willing to move as needed to provide defense.

Pink eye slides into the second spot his keen eyes scanning the darkness as he moves hands on the axe at the ready now as the party descends.

I'll go wherever but my own usefulness is limited if I'm out of melee range. Also, do we have any way to shrink Pink-Eye or are we all moving at his squeezing speed?

Taryn falls into the narrowing line. He scowls just a little as he gets cut off from his companions.

I suppose it shouldn't make much difference, I've only known these others for a couple days... if circumstances had been only tiny bit difference I could have been with this company instead... I do wish I were closer to Rission though...

As they approach the narrow stairway Dharrak hesitates a second and weighs his options. After a few seconds he announced, "I'll go first."

Looks good to me.

Works for me/

Looks fine to me! =)

"...Gauntlet, you seem a little reluctant. I suppose it's better to know than to not know, eh?"

Nodding at his companion, he replies without looking at him so that he keeps his eyes on the path ahead. If he were to stumble on the stairs, his immense wieght could easily hurt or even maim one of the others ahead of him.

"Always friend Caelan. I was not gifted with any pre-knowledge like most other warforged. I had to learn my abilities through training, as well as trial and error. So unlike my other cousins, my whole life so far has been a trial. Daily, I am learning exactly how much I really don't know about myself or the world around me. It is quite disconcerting."

"We humans don't generally come loaded with any pre-knowledge either, but at least most of us have the advantage of dutiful parents to help us in our formative years. Not sure whether it's a boon or not to be fully aware and have all your cognitive faculties immediately. I guess in the end you do like the rest of us - make the best out of what you've got, and take the punches as they come," say Caelan.

Passing by his cousin and the Warforged, Erix grins at the living construct "While you may not know much about yourself, or the world around you, know you can count myself, and likely my cousin here, as your friend."

Sharn - City of Towers - 998 YK - the Eighth Day of Dravago - The Two Year Anniversary of the Treaty of Thronehold - Dorasharn Tower - E-213 Valve Cluster

Feeling strange at hearing the two Orien House members seemingly honest kindness to his 'estrangement,' he tries his best to convey his gratitude in exchange.

"I am...overwhelmed. Thank you. I believe it is a rare thing for a member of a House to express friendship with those unaffiliated with a House at all. Strange, I'm not even a general customer of Orien. I prefer to walk where I go, or use my own meager abilities to travel. You will not take offense at that do you? The last thing I wish is to offend."

Dharakk slowly descended the stairs the sound of rushing water below fills his ears. He tried to keep one eye on the path ahead and one eye on the large Minotaur directly behind him, Why did I go first, I don't fully trust this lot. With an annoyed grunt he continued down the stairs.

Ama felt relatively safe, in the middle of the group, so she was examining things as they passed them, looking at their surroundings with some curiosity. The history of this place was not something that she knew as easily as she knew the temperaments of the elemental planes (in theory, at least). She did know the basics, but many of the historical details were something that she glossed over in her studies, as they were not that important. Not for the last time did she wish that she had gotten even a day's worth of research in, but things were moving too fast for her to manage to get any time to sort her thoughts out.

"Don't worry over it," says Caelan to Gauntlet. "The trickiest part of interacting with people is that everyone's different. Some people will treat you all right from the start, others are always looking for an angle to exploit. Just because I'm a scion of a Marked House doesn't mean that I'm out to control and manipulate everyone. Heck, I spent enough years in the war at the behest of the House. I'm not a big fan of people enriching themselves at the risk and expense of others."

Caelan gestures down as he walks and says, "As you can see, I'm using my own two feet to get where we're going as well." He grins at the warforged and adds, "Anyway, we may wind up in a scrap down below. Why alienate the companions who may be the ones saving my neck?"

Gauntlet would smile if he could, but he settles for an amused and light-hearted tone to his otherwise monotone voice.

"A practical view. Then I can only appreciate your offer of friendship even more, despite my lack of...anything resembling anything else. I can only endevour to live up to your offer of mutual protection and friendship in equal measure."

Poke.

As the large group moves forward Taryn raises a hand to quiet them. In a hushed voice he observes, "I hear something moving but between the sound of the water and our own noise I can't pinpoint where it is..."

At Taryn's warning Dharakk stopped waiting to see if any danger presented itself. After a moment he whispered, "What sort of noise?"

Hearing the warning from Taryn, Gauntlet will manifest his Dancing Lights ability, creating glowing will-o-wisps spinging ahead of the
group's decent. Hopefully, this will illuminate any enemy or other possible danger as well.

Caelan takes the warning to heart and unsheathes his sword.

Uncoiling his whip, Erix concentrates, trying to pinpoint the sound Am I allowed to take 20 hear? Probably not, but thought I would ask

"Sounds of movement, close, but the background noises makes it hard to determine where. Not on top of us, yet"

As most others draw weapons, Carduus takes a sunrod from his knapsack and strikes it aglow, holding it above his head as the group begins to move down the steps. Don't want to get caught blind down here, that's for sure. Not sure what the lighting situation is down here, nor who might have active light effects, but Carduus would like to have a light out rather than be fumbling for one later.

"I hear it too," he notes in a hoarse whisper. He cocks his head, trying to pinpoint the diluted echoes. "Might just be we've scared up a pack of rats, might be something more. Best be on the ready, you in front and back, but I say we keep going - if enemies are moving around us, I'd rather not stop and give 'em time to arrange a better ambush."

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Light sources explode out of the darkness but Pink Eye keeps eyeing the area in front of them continuing to move forward looking for a place the group could spread out into.

perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Am I allowed to take 20 hear? Probably not, but thought I would ask

Negative, the fact that someone heard something though is sufficient for you to be aware.

Sharn - City of Towers - 998 YK - Ninth Day of Dravago - - Dorasharn Tower - E-213 Valve Cluster

Dharakk reaches the bottom of the stairs and realizes that the stairs lead to a wider tunnel.

A shallow trench, of un-determined depth, runs down the center of the tunnel, carrying sewer water from east to west. A thick grate allows water to flow from the east, but is otherwise impassable.

Metal iris valves, evenly spaced along the tunnel walls, open at regular intervals to dump more water into the tunnel. Dharakk can see all of the northern valves pretty clearly from his vantage point. These sounds are making it difficult to hear. It is also not fun to breathe as the smell is atrocious, especially to Pink Eye's sensitive nose.

The sewer valves give off a significant amount of light as at each interval between are lanterns likely so that maintenance workers will not be caught in the dark if they need to come to these depth to make repairs. These stairs leading down though are quite dark which is part of the reason that those with Darkvision elected to go first!

Carduus' sunrod gives off enough light for those in the back to see better. Rission whirls around and attempts to point his weapon up the stairs into the darkness.

From somewhere above on the stairs a voice speaks loudly and clearly with a monotone voice, half of you recognize the voice of the Professor's murderer!

"You have the provost's journal. Give the book to me, and you can live to see another day Breathers. Refuse and we will make your deaths slow and painful. My Brothers, I encourage you both to join us, the Lord of Blades has a place for you. These Breathers care nothing for you nor will they ever".

None of you can see him but as this is a 5' wide stairway he has to be somewhere on it. That was a LONG way down! See the shiny new map above...

"Not bad," Viorr muses quietly. "Among some of the Valaes Tairn, the insult has been raised to an art form. Never had the knack, myself, but..."Breathers. Not bad.".

It is spoken more to himself or his companions, rather than a reply to the speaker, but it is said as he is unlimbering his double-blade and bringing it to guard.

Well how about you try and pry it from my hands. I have the book so come and get it she says relaxing her shoulders and putting her hands on her weapon

Dharakk ignores the the voice from above and focuses on threats from the area in front of him, What was making that noise?

Gauntlet will glance over his shoulder.

"You still function? How odd. We will have to be sure you are well dismembered this time...cousin. You and the
Lord of Blades can take your offer and jump in the nearest hole to Khyber as far as I'm concerned. YOU are a murderer
and nothing more. If Sharn's watch can't make sure you pay for this, then WE will, I assure you."

Looking ahead again he gestures and whispers.

"We need to move out of these stairs quickly. If he truly is behind us, then it would take little effort for him to hurt us all!"

Yes lets hurry so that we can get to a better place to get this over with she replied

Sharn - City of Towers - 998 YK - Ninth Day of Dravago - Dorasharn Tower - E-213 Valve Cluster

Dharakk feels pressure both physically and verbally from behind as the group wants out of these close confines.

Haqueton also responds, "This time you'll not get away!"

The only response to Gauntlet and Haqueton's retorts are the sounds of two crossbows firing!

Two shots form the darkness plunge into the body of Rission, he drops his weapon and falls to the stairs right next onto Haqueton!

Initiative Order - Round 1
1st - Viorr & Beylinda
2nd - Foe 3
3rd - Caelan, Dharakk, Taryn, Carduus, Pink-Eye
4th - Foe 2
5th - Erix, Gauntlet, Ama
6th - Foe 1 & Haqueton (DMPC)