World's Most Interesting Night March of Kalkamedes (Inactive)

Game Master Great Green God

"Now hopefully there's another lever at the bottom so we don't have to leave someone up top. The first group should look for one and send the car back themselves if they find one."

"Now hopefully there's another lever at the bottom so we don't have to leave someone up top. The first group should look for one and send the car back themselves if they find one."

"That sounds like a good plan. But if we do have to leave someone up here, might it notbe a bad idea to leave the person least capable at fighting here?" She slowly getsures at herself to emphasis the point, "If we close those doors not much can attack us here."

"Also, I am not going to ride this thing without restraining Kalkmedes somehow. It makes no sense to share a space with him if he's just going to punch at us!"

First group? Straining Kalkamedes?

"Right. Let's hog tie Kalkamedes. Then he, Sleeping Sword, and I suggest Rhinshin and Almaas take the first ride. The rest of us can follow after."

Kala leaves the control panel, pulling out her rope. Setting it down beside the straining sleep walker, she takes a deep breath and mutters: "Here goes nothing."

CMB (grapple): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

But Kalkamedes swings wildly at just the right wrong time, whacking her in the face and evading her grasp. "Ow." With a resigned glare, Kala tries again.

CMB (grapple): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

"Okay! Now someone tie him up! Quickly, before this greased weasel breaks free!"

As the team (or just Kala) moves in to restrain him from his goal...
improved unarmed strike v Kala: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 damage: 1d3 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 miss!

Almaas shakes his head.

"We should have just tied him up and left him outside. He is just bothering us in here! I would have been able to hide him well."

He helps to grapple.

CMB aid: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Pinned and trussed Kalkamedes lays upon the floor helpless, but still struggles on.

Kala helps drag Kalkamedes onto the conveyance. Take 10 if necessary. Rolling for CMB seems superfluous, considering the situation.

"If you think it's best to send both of our lookouts forward then fine by me." Lynn's eyes glow a ghostly blue for a moment as she summons four orbs of ghostly light and with a wave of her hand spreads them across the chamber, "We'll be down shortly after you."

1 use of my racial dancing lights

Kala helps drag Kalkamedes onto the conveyance. Take 10 if necessary. Rolling for CMB seems superfluous, considering the situation.

It is. The earlier discussion was to immobilize Kalkamedes with rope. Assuming a critical mass of the party manhandles the man this can be accomplished without a lot of dice rolls and basically turns the him into a 170 lbs of feebly thrashing luggage.

Almaas, Rhinshin, and Sleeping Sword descend in the ghastly lift with their struggling package and a lot of metal fatigue noises. Near the end of the trip the square shaped vertical tunnel narrows to a space just wide enough to fit the lift through and then down through the ceiling and into a natural cavern that radiates a faint greenish light.

When they reach the bottom the jaws snap open as suddenly as they had closed above.

Palm-sized shards of magically(?) illuminated jagged steel jut from halfway up the walls of this large cavern, bathing the cave with a dim, dark green light. A set of natural rock columns support the chamber’s ceiling, which rises to a height of twenty feet. A small tunnel leads to the south.

A duplicate of the lever mechanism sits to one side of the demonic lift's base.

The cavern is 200 feet down, the dotted white line and irregular-shaped outline show the dimensions of the cavern.

Map (slide 10) updated.

Almaas is truly intrigued.

"This design and craftsmanship is truly outstanding. But clearly it looks like it evil creators are behind this ... look at these figures. Let me scout ahead again. Sleeping Sword - you better stay in the back with K." Almaas says and starts to search the room and then walk forward.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Although a casual glance suggests the cavern formed naturally, Almaas's eyes note that nearly every surface--walls floor and ceiling are scarred by claw marks of various shapes and sizes.

”Be careful everybody! I can see claw marks!“

Almaas continues forward.

Perception : 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Almaas not waiting on the elevator presses on. Taking the narrow southern tunnel he comes out in a vast cave with an irregular ceiling averaging 20-feet high. Again, every inch of it is scored by a myriad of bestial claws and an eerie green light permeates the space.

"YOU CAME!" shouts a small pinched voice to the south. "HERE! I'M OVER HERE!"

A circular alcove buds off from the larger cavern to the north. An elaborate set of concentric circles inscribed in dull metal of different colors occupies much of the space within the room. In the center of the circle is a miserable-looking gnome dressed in threadbare clothes.

"Almaas! Uh, what community consists of a single dwarf? Wait for the others! It was a long ride down. Whomever that voice belongs to will wait."

Sleeping Sword manoeuvres the bundle that is Kalkamedes out of the lift and ushers Rhinshin out before sending the lift car back up using the duplicate lever mechanism.

Almaas stops and looks back.

”Hmmm ... seems like intelligence is not my most prominent trait!“

He starts retreating back to the elevator.

"Uh, we are all but students under the Eye of Heaven."

"NO! WAIT COME BACK! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!!" {slump}

Angela goes to the edge of the drop and braces her self before calling down. "Oi! If you are still alive, can hear me, are not engaged in anything else, and have access to a control panel down there do not forget to send the carriage back!"

Unless someone objects, the demonic elevator returns to the top to collect the rest of the party.

No objection here. Once all of us are in, Kala will shout down with all her might that they're ready for the guys to pull the lever.

No complaint here but uh.. how will he know when it reaches the top and we're all in... Despite her appearance lynn's gotta squeeze in a little extra(lots o' tail)

When the demonic cart gets to the top of the shaft Lynn piles in and pulls the four ghostly blue orbs to herself, they float in a arch just behind her shoulders slowly flickering back and forth. She specifically pushes herself to the side opposite the terrible metal fanged door.

"Right, pile in i'll send my orbs down as a signal, though i think they might not reach still. 30 Absalom's down is quite the distance. And we'll be left without a light for the time."

No complaint here but uh.. how will he know when it reaches the top and we're all in... Despite her appearance lynn's gotta squeeze in a little extra(lots o' tail)

Good question. Shakes fist at sky and cries in Captain Kirk-like rage: "KORTES!"

When the demonic cart gets to the top of the shaft Lynn piles in and pulls the four ghostly blue orbs to herself, they float in a arch just behind her shoulders slowly flickering back and forth. She specifically pushes herself to the side opposite the terrible metal fanged door.

"Right, pile in i'll send my orbs down as a signal, though i think they might not reach still. 30 Absalom's down is quite the distance. And we'll be left without a light for the time."

They won't 'reach' the bottom from your current location. However they can be seen by anyone standing at the bottom of the shaft. You could wink them on and off in a complicated preformulated code informing the men at the bottom... had you all preformulated one. Alternatively Angela could just yell again.

I just realized that we sent all the boys down in the first carriage! ... well except for Stinky, but he's like a little brother: doesn't count!
As the cage comes back up, Angela gives the other two up top with her a sad look. "Alright seems like girl's time is over. Though, Lynn, I do want that body scrub recipe! And thank you for letting me practice braids on Stinky, Kala. It was most informative."

It's only canon if you want it to be!

In the cage with her fingers well away from the door, Angela gestures to everyone to cover their ears and tries to cover Stinky's before taking a deep breath. "ALRIGHT, WE ARE READY! BRING US DOWN BOYS!"

Upon hearing Angela's dulcet tones, Sleeping Sword activates the levers on the lower level to bring the lift car down.

"Uh, how does such a small person make so much noise?" the old monk asks of nobody in particular.

Almaas waits until the others have arrived.

”Somebody is crying out for help but there are claw marks on all the walls! Be careful!!“

I should point out that there is not a single square inch of surface anywhere in the caves (walls, floor ceiling) that does not have claw marks all over it. It as is if the place was hewn from the stone by thousands of different clawed animals (or monsters). The claw marks on the floor are the most worn down looking due no doubt to the passing of ancient feet over a long span of years.

Earlier...

And thank you for letting me practice braids on Stinky, Kala.

With a mirthful smirk and a chuckle, Kala replies: "Oh, yes, it certainly was! Haha! There's a merry twinkle in her eye as she glances down at Stinky, who sports a smattering of short, stubby braids in the fur along his back and sides.

Still Earlier...

Stinky glares indignantly up at Kala, then shakes his body like a wet dog, trying to loosen the tightened tufts of fur. Unfortunately for him, they're tied with little pieces of string from Kala's and Angela's pockets and packs, so they stick tight. Grousing in classic wolverine fashion, he follows Kala onto the elevator and squeezes next to Lynn to show the others his displeasure.

And back to now

"Right. Keep your eyes peeled, folks. Let's head out. Stinky, heel."

"Uh, well now, I think we had better release our friend again. We should get to see what has called him here in the dead of night. Perhaps it is whoever is calling for help."

If there are no objections, and once all the pathfinders are present, Sleeping Sword ties Kalkamedes' rope around his waist and releases the sleep-walker from the hogtie, so as to have K on the 'leash' once more.

Just before Kalkamedes is released, Sleeping Sword casts Deathwatch and activates his Wand of Shield of Faith.

earlier
Lynn nodded, "Oh it's real easy, also i discovered a way to scent soaps without the hassle of distilling flowers or anything alongside it. You simply use the prestidigitation spell on a blank bar and then use it quickly before the magic has time to disperse, the scent remains just like you were using regular scented soaps."

nowish

She sent her orbs to hang on the internals if the cage until they reached the bottom. Scrunching down to give Stinky a few friendly pats on the head.

slightly later

Lynn would wait for the others to disembark before joining them, "Anything interesting?"

Kala gives a nod of thanks to Sleeping Sword as he returns her rope, which she stows on her pack again.

Almaas now leads again.

”Stay behind me and my bow!“

Perception : 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

After having finally defeated the diabolic elevator despite the warnings of the Elevator Operators' Union who said they would never figure it out, the party presses on and rediscovers the gnome (map link) that Almaas had previously discovered moments before.

"YOU CAME BACK!" shouts the gnome scrambling up from his fetal position on the ground. "For a moment there, I thought you were going to leave me."

Unlike the rest of the cave the ground beneath his is made of a number of concentric circles made of different colored (or 'coloured' if you happen to ride 'lifts') metals.

”Dear friend, tell us about your misery. We saw that wild animals are running free in this cavern so how come that you are here and cannot leave the circle? Can we support you in any way?“

Diplomacy : 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

"You can get me out of here! My name is Koth’Vaul I'm a gnome from the First World. I have been trapped in here for ages by those treacherous Thrallkeepers. I supose you dealt with them on your way in. And good riddance to them all. They haven't been to see me in what feels like forever. But of course they don't have to because this damnable circle keeps me alive no matter what it seems. If you could please. Perhaps you know a spell that could extricate me or maybe just break the circles somehow with your--bow!? What's a dwarf doing with a bow, and no axe? Has world above changed so much? Do elves live in mines now? You are a dwarf correct, and not just a figment of my imaginings? Say something dwarfy to prove I am not mad again."

"uh, he is quite an odd dwarf, to be certain. Let's have a look at that circle shall we?"

Sleeping Sword moves within 30 feet of Koth'Vaul bringing him within Deathwatch range and casts Detect Magic, looking at the circle and the gnome.

spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

does Kalkamedes react to the gnome?

"Why did the Thrallkeepers imprison you Koth'Vaul? Tell us about them."

Almaas is a little insecure.

”I ... I surely am not an odd dwarf! I am what I am and hope that my community and my friends accept me as I am so that we can all shape this world based on our true inner nature! So I also hope that you in the future will except those that are different but nonetheless integral parts of the society that we are in!“

Kala uneasily mutters to whoever's next to her: "Thrallkeepers? I don't think he's talking about those big skunks. We should watch our backs. Stinky, heel." She switches the light spell to the rock column in the center and swiftly strides to a spot where she can see more of the cavern and peers intently into the darkness while the other party members deal with that magic stuff in the corner.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

@TWMIGM: If the rock column is too big for this spell, she'll apply it to her warhammer and hold it up like a torch.

Sensing Kala's unease, Stinky searches the darkness for any sign of a threat.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

But a centipede crawls over his paw, distracting him as he shakes it off and tries to decide whether or not he's hungry enough to bother to try to eat that leggy monstrosity.

Angela comes into the room with the gnome and immediately focuses on the circles on the ground, listening to the gnome chatter and analyzing.

Spellcraft aid *Please tell me I don't need detect magic*: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (10) + 7 + (6) = 23

She notices that Sleeping is also puzzling on the same problem and nudges his knee a little. "Those circles over there might be important to this." She instead turns to focus on the gnome himself.

Perception, vs. Koth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

”I ... I surely am not an odd dwarf! I am what I am and hope that my community and my friends accept me as I am so that we can all shape this world based on our true inner nature! So I also hope that you in the future will except those that are different but nonetheless integral parts of the society that we are in!“

After Almaas gives his little speech, Angela steps forward and breaks her silence. "He's an odd dwarf, but there's nothing wrong with that. What I am more curious is about you. Your an odd gnome to say the least, though not by choice like our bearded friend. You act like you've been down here for a very long time. You wouldn't know how long would you? If you don't know that is okay. There is no sun, probably no need for food or any way to keep track outside of counting seconds and few people care for that. But does the circle prevent bleaching or insanity? Because if it doesn't we can probably severely cut down our estimates."

She gives him a second to respond, but soon presses on. "Okay next question. Who are these Thrallkeepers? What do they look like? Because unless they look exactly like giant skunks we have not dealt with them. And we probably do not want to meet with them if we can. However, we can't just cut circles willy-nilly, who knows what kind of backlash would happen. We could get trapped too, a demon could be summoned, it could blow up and collapse the entire place. And we also need to make sure that what ever has been done to keep you alive doesn't come crashing in all at once."

"You know what, while we work on getting you out of there safely why don't you tell us a story? Tell us about something from your childhood, or even better how you get trapped in here in the first place."

Sleeping Sword moves within 30 feet of Koth'Vaul bringing him within Deathwatch range and casts Detect Magic, looking at the circle and the gnome.

Sleeping can sense the gnome's life force across the circle. Then when he turns his magic seeing eyes upon the circle his eyes begin to water at the strong magical aura.

does Kalkamedes react to the gnome?

He walks by him (or tries to) to the west.

"Why did the Thrallkeepers imprison you Koth'Vaul? Tell us about them."

"They brought me here to drain me of my First World energies. After a while we sort of fell out. They just left me down here. I haven't seen them in well--I don't know how long--there was this really bad earthquake, and the lights dimmed, and they never came back."

Kala uneasily mutters to whoever's next to her: "Thrallkeepers? I don't think he's talking about those big skunks. We should watch our backs. Stinky, heel." She switches the light spell to the rock column in the center and swiftly strides to a spot where she can see more of the cavern and peers intently into the darkness while the other party members deal with that magic stuff in the corner.

@TWMIGM: If the rock column is too big for this spell, she'll apply it to her warhammer and hold it up like a torch.

There's a just-this-side-of-dim green light in the cave thanks to the glowing metal flanges stuck in the walls. It is more that there are line of sight issues hampering the party's view of the deeper cave.

Map (slide 11) updated

Angela comes into the room with the gnome and immediately focuses on the circles on the ground, listening to the gnome chatter and analyzing.

*Please tell me I don't need detect magic*

This is going to be one of those if I can't say anything nice I shouldn't say anything at all, so...... You do need to be able to see the auras to understand the magic involved. Don't forget our little talk about black lights in the discussion thread.

Was NAgela looking at or for something in a particular? If she is just looking at the Koth and the circle neither looks any different from the descriptions given above.

After Almaas gives his little speech, Angela steps forward and breaks her silence. "He's an odd dwarf, but there's nothing wrong with that. What I am more curious is about you. Your an odd gnome to say the least, though not by choice like our bearded friend. You act like you've been down here for a very long time. You wouldn't know how long would you? If you don't know that is okay. There is no sun, probably no need for food or any way to keep track outside of counting seconds and few people care for that. But does the circle prevent bleaching or insanity? Because if it doesn't we can probably severely cut down our estimates."

See above. "I haven't had any food or water in years either. Is that bad you think? I don't feel hungry. It's been so long--I don't even remember the taste of strawberry jam."

She gives him a second to respond, but soon presses on. "Okay next question. Who are these Thrallkeepers? What do they look like? Because unless they look exactly like giant skunks we have not dealt with them. And we probably do not want to meet with them if we can. However, we can't just cut circles willy-nilly, who knows what kind of backlash would happen. We could get trapped too, a demon could be summoned, it could blow up and collapse the entire place. And we also need to make sure that what ever has been done to keep you alive doesn't come crashing in all at once."

The gnome looks down at his feet sadly. "I think I've 'lived' enough for one lifetime. Please, I just want to see the sky again. You're the first people to come down here in forever. This might be the only way for me to get home--one way or another."

"Uh, OK. We have a few issues here my friends. Firstly, that is a Very Powerful Magic Circle on the floor there." Sleeping Sword nods towards the circle enclosing the gnome. "Very Powerful Indeed. It's almost too much. We absolutely should not touch it at this point, but I think I shall try to keep looking though, and determine what auras it has. Perhaps I can determine why it has a gnome inside it. A regular slaveholder would put a gnome in a regular cage, not a Very Powerful Magic Circle." Spend 3 rounds studying the magical emanations to determine School(s).

"Secondly, this is not what has drawn our friend here. He wants to go that-a-way. We need to know what's driving him, which I think makes Koth'Vaul here a secondary concern. What kind of name is that anyway?"

"Thirdly, Angela makes a good point about insanity. Being trapped in that circle for anything more than a few months would send anybody mad. And aren't gnomes especially susceptible to boredom? What are the symptoms of the Bleaching, Angela?"

"As for draining energy..." the old monk trails off.

Feel the Hunger. Know it. Accept it. It connects you to all living things.

Lynn looks around the halls and wanders off slightly as the others converse with the gnome. Before she gets too far though she half-answers Sleeping sword"I wager that the slavers in question were not normal in fact I believe this has something to do with the Runelords. If that is the case then I think it probably best to find a way to safely dispel the magic circle. Kala, Almaas would you care to accompany me as I venture around this cave a bit more?"

She would wait for a response and then move ahead deeper into the cave on the lookout for more clues, her wisp-like orbs of fox-fire trailing with her in a loose orbit. While she did so she tried to recall anything she'd ever heard about this 'first world' but nothing came to mind really.

know:Planes: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
perception(Looking for clues): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

"Uh, OK. We have a few issues here my friends. Firstly, that is a Very Powerful Magic Circle on the floor there." Sleeping Sword nods towards the circle enclosing the gnome. "Very Powerful Indeed. It's almost too much. We absolutely should not touch it at this point, but I think I shall try to keep looking though, and determine what auras it has. Perhaps I can determine why it has a gnome inside it. A regular slaveholder would put a gnome in a regular cage, not a Very Powerful Magic Circle." Spend 3 rounds studying the magical emanations to determine School(s).

Two things. One, Kalkamedes is trying to tug Sleeping deeper into the cavern, so concentration checks to maintain the effect (or sacking Kalkamedes at the 15-yard line) would come into play. Second, what Sleeping is trying requires advanced knowledge of magical theory (aka knowledge (arcana)) which he does not have. Sleeping can however try to identify the function of the circle as if it was an item with spellcraft. Based upon what you know so far this might be difficult given the apparent level of magical technology.

~Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.

"Secondly, this is not what has drawn our friend here. He wants to go that-a-way. We need to know what's driving him, which I think makes Koth'Vaul here a secondary concern."

Your friend is the very likeness of Johanis, a dear friend of mine from long ago. Could it be...?"

"What kind of name is that anyway?"

"Why? What's your name?"

Lynn looks around the halls and wanders off slightly as the others converse with the gnome. Before she gets too far though she half-answers Sleeping sword"I wager that the slavers in question were not normal in fact I believe this has something to do with the Runelords."

"Yes! This place was once the abode of servants to the Thassilonian Runelord of Sloth and infused with his minions' foul conjuring magic. Be careful! I know not what magical traps or horrors lurk farther in the deep recesses of this pit. Please don't go! I know it is selfish of me, but whatever you do don't get yourselves killed before releasing me! Please!"