Beren grunts as the blow from the other elemental catches him from behind. I knew this was going to hurt. He brings a baackswing down on the elemental he had attacked first, hoping to finish it so he can concentrate on a new foe.
Variel fires off an acid splash from his relatively safe position helping out Rikaku.
Jazz tries to finish off the elemental in front of him with one fell swing. The elven curve blade strikes with pin point accuracy destroying what is left of the elemental.
Beren and Rikaku proceed to finish off the elementals that they've targeted. The creatures return to the earth once more. Looking around the battlefield the group can see large amounts of barrels and equipment once used as supply containers. The southwest room seems to have been used to house someone once upon a time.
[spoiler=Perception DC 15] You get the above and you know that the place was visited quite recently by a larger gathering of creatures, boxes and barrels had been recently moved.
With the elementals cleared out, Rikaku straightens himself out and takes a good look around the room. He cocks his head, curiously listening, and waves the rest of the group to silence. "Many somethings upstairs. All came through here just now," the kobold says quietly, jumping down from his vantage point on top of the barrels.
Perception
Jazz hears and notices nothing, but trusts the little Kobold's warning and is silent. "Let's see what's up there, shall we?" Unless someone else expresses a better idea, Jazz will start going upstairs.
Yeah, somebody is coming. Several of them.
Sventon sheaths his sword and prepares two daggers.
Rikaku nods grimly to Jazz, sneaking with the elf upstairs. A ray of frost spell swirls about his mouth, the cold energy spilling out between his fangs and chilling the air around the kobold; the arcane light the spell generates does a good job of ruining his attempts to be stealthy, however...
Beren looks about the first floor, noting that many boxes have been recently moved, and then he hears the rythmic footfalls from the floor above.
He readies his axe and starts to head up the stairs behind Jazz.
Slowly climbing the stair case you reach the next floor. You can see a lot of chests stacked up quite neatly in the side of the room. Goblins are walking back and forth between the boxes and the centre of the room. Each time a set of 4 of them pick up a box then move it into the centre placing it on a rune. The goblins are very oddly moving in formation and in rhythm with each other.
There are about 12 goblins moving back and forth. There is a half elf overseeing the procession of goblins. He seems to be continually pointing at one or other of the three groups of 4 goblins.
Knowledge (arcana)
"How strange... Variel, is that Varis the missing Half-Elf directing those goblins?" he whispers softly to his friends.
Trogg waits until after Variel answers, then creeps back down the stairs a ways, casts Detect Magic, then moves slowly back into the room while maintaining the spell.
Rikaku remains silent and still, although he swallows the cold spell back into his gullet. He takes a quick scope of the room, looking for anything that could potentially make noise when broken or knocked over--a glass window, a tall stack of boxes or chests, etc.
Seeing the goblins, Berens first impulse is to storm the room. The odd rythmmic movements of the goblins stops him short however. He waits, axe at the ready, his muscles tensed and ready to spring at the first sign of them being detected.
Trogg detects there is indeed magic coming from both the rune on the floor and from each of the goblins. Though the aura's coming off from the goblin's is very very faint, like an echo of magic.
Jazz surmises that some form of compulsion is taking place, taking a closer look at the goblins they have the symptoms of something like a command spell. Glazed over looks, rudimentary tasks, almost golem-like in their purpose.
Variel nods at Jazz saying "Yes that is Varis."
Rikaku and Beren are waiting with baited breath for their chance to spring on the group.
Rikaku sees there is some stones from the crumbling walls that likely can make a sound if toppled.
Curious - I'd have picked him to engage with Goblins... I wonder if there is a possibility of possession or magical compulsion, given his journal doesn't hint of any activity such as aiding Goblins and his uncharacteristic leaving of home at night, journal entry uncompleted
"The goblins are enchanted, I can't tell about Varis himself. I think we should confront him and see what's going on here -- it's just a handful of goblins, after all, if things get violent."
That was all Beren needed to hear, he steps into the room and barks, Varis! What are you doing here? Stop this and talk to us or suffer our wrath. He moves to the left of the door, keeping the wall to his back and all the goblins where he can see them.
Variel does suspect that this might be a compulsion, or at least some effect caused outside of Varis's control.
Beren walks up shouting at Varis. Varis looks at the group and lowers his hand, all the goblins stop moving dead still in what they are doing. Varis's eyes narrow at Beren and asks in a monotone voice.
"I am talking, do I now not suffer your wrath? Who are you, what is it that you want? Why do you disturb our humble work?"
Hearing his 'voice', Sventon frowns noticeably. Who are you? What are you doing here?
Rikaku follows behind Sventon and Beren, eyes narrowed at Varis. He didn't know the big-folk, but there was something funny about the way he spoke and the way he was acting that left the kobold feeling incredibly uncomfortable.
"Your work not humble... work suspicious! Why mind-slave others to work?!"
Trogg says nothing to Varis. "Clarence, Guard."
"And what's in those boxes?"
Perception
perception
Noting the strange, almost duplicated tones in his voice, and noting the marionette like actions of the goblins, Beren replies,"There is nothing humble about enslaving the minds of others. Set these people free."
As he speaks, Beren shifts the greataxe in his hands, ready to use the flat of the blade to subdue Varis and hopefully break the hold on his mind of whoever is controlling him.
Varis tries to reply to the questions in turn.
"I am .. He pauses trying to think "Varis.. our work here is humble we are only transporting goods for our friend. These minor quibbles of creatures don't deserve much of a will, would you let them roam free? They are better used for menial labour like this."
Varis's voice is still as monotone as ever and has the strange twinge.
You do not seem to be yourself
"Which 'friend' are you doing this for? What is their name?"
Speaking to Varis, "While I would not want to see these goblins roaming free, I would rather put them to my axe then see them enslaved. And what you call menial labor, better men call honest work." He moves to within 5 ft of Varis. "I too am curious about who this friend of yours is, and what goods are these you are transporting?"
"My friend is a .. good man, Moswen. And I am myself, I have never felt better." Varis doesn't flinch when Beren approaches him. "These goods are for my friend's eyes only, you aren't his friends so you aren't mine. They are for his home."
Thinking he has heard quite enough, Beren decides to try to knockout Varis in the hope that it will break the enchantment.
attack with flat of greataxe at -4 for non-lethal attack
Non lethal damage
"This so odd..." the kobold mutters to himself, sidestepping around Beren. He's more interested (or, rather, worried) by the goblins, feeling that the swarm of them might be problematic should the person ensorcelling them decide to take action.
Rikaku groans when Beren attempts an attack with the flat of his axe, even more worried now that things might begin to now happen...
Varis keels over in a single hit falling onto the ground with a thud. A whisper fills the air as you see mists seep out of his mouth.
"Why...must...?"
The goblins are all standing stock still, as if waiting for a command like an automaton.
"We should tie them up, then examine the crates before we move on."
Rikaku scampers up to the nearest goblin and waves his clawed hand in front of its face a few times. "Helloooo...?"
He then shrugs, heading over to the nearest box and seeing if he can open it up and look inside.
Pulling out rope from his backpack, Sventon approaches the goblins carefully and starts tying one up. He will try to tie as many as he can with this roll of fifty feet, without cutting the rope. He is however ready for anything
Beren, standing over the limp form of Varis, says aloud, "I can't believe that worked." He removes the rope from his pack and Ties up Varis, leaving him propped up against the wall in as comfortable a position as possible.
As he is moving to see what is in the crates he asks the rest of the group, Did anyone else see the mists come out of his mouth as he went down? Is that the effect of any spell that you know of?
Not sure but it cannot be a good thing - I think it is more supernatural effect than any spell I know of.
The group ties up the goblins easily, none of them show any signs of resistance. Varis is also tied up with no problems.
Varis himself isn't emanating much magic, the goblins still have faint auras being released from them.
In the first chest Rikaku finds a bunch of clothing, with a couple personal effects. While searching the first box the kobold manages to find a wand of some kind in it.
Rikaku examines the wand with detect magic, red eyes glowing icy white as they shift into viewing the auras on the magical plane. If it registers as magical, he'll pass it on to Variel or Trogg to deal with. "Found magic wand! Don't know what does though. You take." He'll then busy himself opening more nearby chests, often trying on the big-folk clothing found inside with a cheeky cackle.
If a couple of boxes in a row have nothing interesting in them, Rikaku will give up the activity and turn his attention to the magical circle in the centre that was previously teleporting the chests away. He will take a random object from one of the boxes and place it in the middle.
Trogg will take the wand from Rikaku and examine it both visually and with magic.
"I don't know what to make of the spell on them, and this wand's got me stumped as well. Variel, what's your opinion on both?"
Spellcraft
"The mists weren't any magical spell I know of, but I believe it was caused by something called a mistfiend." Jazz crouches and inspects Varis to see if there's anything unusual about the Half-Elf now that he isn't possessed.
Heal
Then he takes a look at the wand with Trogg, straining to remember what things he's read about the still unfamiliar arcane world.
Spellcraft
Beren joins Rikaku in searching the boxes. Once he finished with that he moves to the staircase leading up to the next level and splits his attention between keeping an eye on the stairs for trouble from above and staying engaged in the others investigation of the transportation rune and the rest of the room.
Rikaku and Beren go through the boxes and don't find much else of interest. They are all like the first, clothing and personal items. Variel recognises that it is clothing similar to what most of the townsfolk would use.
Rikaku places on object probably a shoe on the rune. Nothing happens at first but as he steps off the rune leaving the object unattended, it disappears.
Jazz manages to figure out that the wand is a wand of cure light wounds though it is only partial charged.
As Beren stands at the staircase he hears the occasional dragging of something upstairs. It is only ever fleeting, maybe a brief pivot of an object or the sound of someone turning on the spot.
"It's some sort of..." Jazz turns the wand carefully, inspecting it and tapping it on his palm as he concentrates. "A healing charm, minor, half-charged," he says, excitedly realizing what it is. "Would somebody else like to take it? It's only a mere piece of wood in my hands."
"I already have one. Someone else who can use it should take it, just in case I'm not around, like last night."
It sounds like there is still someone about, up on the next level. They are not making much noise, so I would wager they are aware we are down here. Beren says, motioning towards the stairs leading up. If someone would like to try that new wand out, I took a bit of a pummeling from those elementals downstairs.
The little kobold is impressed by the obviously powerful teleportation spell-rune, and though he itches to place more random objects on the rune, he turns back to Beren and the rest with a slight sigh. "Rikaku want to investigate teleport-rune more. But take care of upstairs first for safest, yes?"
Once Beren is convinced they have thoroughly searched this floor, Beren stealthily begins to accend the stairs to the next level, readying his axe for whatever awaits.
Beren creeps up the staircase with his axe at the ready while the rest of the party is currently below Beren on the previous floor.
As Beren reaches the top of the stairwell there is a singular door. He can see mists pouring out from under the door. They have a slight brown tinge to the white wisps of smoke that continually seep out from break between the door and the floor
Closer to the door now Beren can hear what sounds like heaving panting through a set of teeth coming from beyond the door. It sounds similar to a dog or wolf.