The conveyor is working intermittently...moving at a speed of about 50 feet per minute...
The conveyor is moving, with it's belt at waist height, from South East to North West...
Figwidget extends his hand to Frederick Fickleberry. "Hello! I assure you, in all ways that really count, I really am Figwidget, but I do various alchemical experiments that raise certain interesting philosophical questions about the nature of identity, and, well, it's not really important right now. I must say, your son's enthusiasm about the stars is quite inspiring, and I do myself love to watch the motions of the planets across the fixed stars over the course of the months and years, but I was afraid that all of you were going to be disappointed when we didn't have a spaceship or some other means of interplanetary transport available for you. But, no worries! How many more of your brethren are trapped down here? Oh, and what can you tell us about Two Heads? What is he? Where can we find him? Do you happen to have any maps of these mines?"
When he sees that Tychi has succumbed to a disease, and that diagnosis is confirmed by the freed halfling slaves, Figwidget says, "Oh! Give me a couple of minutes; if I spend some quality time with my alchemical equipment, I can brew you up an infusion that might help you get rid of that disease. I can also brew up another one that would help you recover some of the damage that the disease has already done to you, but to make that one I would need to get my hands on a hundred gold's worth of diamond dust...."
Turning to Frederick, Luke says "Can you show us where the ogres are?"
Carran just stands there, arms crossed as Frederick introduces himself and talks some more about him and the others possibly being from the stars.
"Well that disease looks nasty indeed." He finally speaks as Tychi doubled over and retches on the floor.
"What Figwidget asks rings true, anything we need to know to free the other slaves and deal with that ogre himself would be very good for us. If these were just his henchmen we might need to do good to prepare ourselves for him. Does he have any weaknesses you know of?" The black catfolk asks the group of gathered halflings.
"Oh, Two Heads isn't an ogre...he's much worse than that...he's pure blood Ettin...a two headed giant...and he's brutal, comes and picks one of our brothers for target practice every week or so...either that or he puts them in the punishment chambers for sport", the look on Frederick's face belies just how scared of 'Two Heads' he is.
"Tell you what, I'll take you back to our quarters...you can ask Shyar...he's been up beyond the crusher...maybe he can tell you more"
Beckoning you to follow, "Its just this way...but the Ogres at the Excavator? Should we sneak past? Or...", nodding at Tychi and Nike, "are you really going to kill them as well?"
Tychi looks at Nike, and the two nod. "They are slavers, if they surrender we will not kill them. And we are outnumbered, so we do not need to give them the option before joining battle." Tychi says, and Nike nods. Of course, for her, she can tell evil on sight, and is not as worried about it. "Besides, we are not very stealthy, even with all the noise. It is perhaps better to attack and deal with them rather than attempt to sneak around."
Figwidget ambles up to Major Luke Rand.
"Stand still," he says, before using the Wand of Cure Serious Wounds on him.
"There, that looks a little better," he says. He then moves over to Thychi. "Now you."
Indicating to the nine or so released slaves to stay where they are, "Yes, you too Edwid...", Frederick leads you into the main cave where the conveyor meets the mine cart tracks. To the north, you can see that the tracks lead to the heavy equipment where several ogres are toiling (apparently completely unaware of events at the southern end of the mine) and, close to your position, there are three further side tunnels:
- immediately to the north, a set of steps cut into the rock lead downwards. Frederick points, "Our 'quarters' are down there..."
- immediately to the south there is a terrible crashing of metal as an ogre, encouraged by another, hits a metallic construct repeatedly with it's club
- south east of your position, a ramshackle wooden door obscures your view into the chamber beyond...there is a red glow emanating through cracks and holes within the door.
"Hmm... Scouting out our immediate enemies might be a good course to follow." Carran listens to the crashing of metal as the ogre hits a construct repeatedly.
He then looks around as much as he can and nods"to himself.
"I'd like to know what that red glow is all about, but I presume it's safer to first take out some of those ogres, lest they come to the aid of whatever is behind that door. Any ideas?"
Tychi and Nike look at Carran, and nod. "Yes, kill them while they are distracted." Nike snorts in agreement, and the two charge the distracted Ogres.
Nike's bulk speeds up, her mane flying as sparks scatter from her hooves. Her speed increases and she lowers her horn as she slams into the ogre's side, sending much of his insides into a sheeting cascade over his companion who's beating the construct.
Tychi brings his whip-sword around and slices into the gravely wounded Ogre.
The ogres, engrossed in their 'repair work' are completely oblivious to your approach...
Nike slams into the unaware ogre...it rocks backwards under the force of the blow as Tychi brings his blade down upon it...killing it outright. A small cloud of acid forms as acid pustules on the ogres flesh burst...
Carran shakes his head as Nike and Tychi seem almost too impatient to use Stealth to approach.
One might think three things about those two. They are either foolish, they are either that good or they are both.
Carran aims his bow and fires a single shot at the remaining ogre.
In the surprise round, Figwidget runs forward so that he can get to the action.
Nike rears up, driving her hooves into the remaining Ogre, while Tychi whips his whip sword around, slicing into the unfortunate ogre.
Acid splatters Tychi's Amulet, eating into it's etched surface, but while slightly damaged, it continues to function normally.
Tychi and Nike, barely pausing to draw breath, move forwards and slay the second ogre...who was barely aware of what was happening before it died.
Everything remains quiet for a few seconds before there is a cracking sound in the wall facing the ogre's equipment and, with a sudden burst of heat, molten rock starts to seep through several fissures. The heat, whilst intense, is not enough to cause you any pain / damage.
With the magma spreading around it, the clockwork excavator starts to fizz and sputter...
With a start, Figwidget looks at what's happening....
"The magma!" he exclaims. "It's alive! It's not flowing the way it should, but up! And there are bits of green crystals in it! I bet it's going to animate that excavator and have it go nuts the way that the clockwork in town went nuts!"
Nike snorts, steps to the shorting excavator, and mule kicks it into the air, whirling to slam her horn into it before it can fall to the ground.
As it rises into the air, Tychi unleashes his sword on the excavator, trying to turn it into as many pieces as possible before the lava can reach it.
As the excavator starts to rear up into it's legs, Tychi and the unicorn slam into it...the ground beneath them is slick with the glowing magma although there is little risk of slipping...
With a combination of blade, hoof and horn, the excavator is quickly rendered to junk...with a dreadful sound of decelerating metal it explodes in a shower of clockwork debris...
The major takes a different tact, based on the shouted information of his colleagues: He charges and attacks the lava directly.
Smashing into a particularly globulous section of ooze, Major Luke Rand manages to scoop some into his shield...
Carran looks worried as he's not sure arrows would even damage that ooze.
He takes a 5-foot step back and looses a few arrows on it and see what happens.
Carran's arrows pierce the crust of the ooze again and again...the magma visibly darkening and slowing where the arrows hit...
...very little of the original Magma flood is active when tendrils of molten rock rise up and slam against Tychi, Nike and Major Luke Rand...
The tendrils are powerful, slamming against Tychi and Nike....burning and trying to curl around...
The flow of Magma continues through the cracks in the wall...
Nike rears up, as Tychi flicks his heal against her, and the tendril misses her. In anger she drives both her hooves back down into the ooze before slamming her horn tip into the ooze as well.
Tychi cries out in pain as the creature burns him, but manages to slither out of it's grasp. He spends a ki for an extra attack, needing to put this thing down and now.
The Major will shout out "FOR ALKENSTAR!" and then begin assaulting the ooze in typical fashion
Figwidget thinks what he knows about this Ooze, and what sort of attacks are most likely to damage it:
In particular, is it susceptible to fire attacks? Figwidget suspects not.... What he does will depend on what is most likely to be able to damage the ooze.
The ooze that you have just encountered is different to other oozes...Not all oozes look like puddles of liquid at rest. One of the most bizarre creatures known is the slithering ooze, which often looks more like a coating of slime than a true creature. Less than 2 inches thick at most times, a slithering ooze moves like water over surfaces and climbs them as quickly as a wave splashing up the side of a ship.
Some oozes split into separate entities when damaged...it seems likely, from what you have seen, that this Magma Ooze is capable of doing so...
Carran looses another volley at the ooze, seeing as his arrows had some impact on it.
"It's a magma ooze," Figwidget warns the others. "If we can get enough water around it, we might be able to immobilize it, but that won't kill it. If we damage it enough, it could split into multiple oozes!"
Figwidget moves forward (first move action, updated on the map) and gets his Decanter of Endless Water out of his handy haversack (second move action).
Figwidget reaches into the recesses of his Simulacrum memory and brings out several salient facts about Magma Oozes...correctly postulating that such creatures are indeed immune to fire...and very vulnerable to water...
The onslaught from Tychi, Nike, Carran and Major Luke Rand are enough to slow, and then destroy, the first slick of Ooze to have slid from the cracks created by the now ruined excavator.
The flow of Magma hasn't stopped though, the globular Lava bubbling through the cracks, perversely reaching out and smashing against Tychi...
Tychi cries out in pain again, slumping in the saddle even as he avoids being grabbed.
Nike performs a withdraw action with the heavily wounded Tychi swaying in the saddle.