Seeing the double doors to the north, Gnasher heads that way, pointing to the writing on the wall. "Strange writing, can anyone read?"
As the conversation continues, he carefully checking the doors for any traps, eventually opening them. Realizing this was a room they explored the day before, he again recognized where they were at.
Pointing to the east, "Carrion crown throne room that way, tribe been there." Turning and pointing west, "Tribe go that way." Proceeding towards the west and the end of the room he turned, finding a door on the western wall. Moving towards the door he carefully checks the door for any traps, intent on opening it if it is safe to do so.
I11 and I12 look like more abandoned barracks, complete with nasty beds and foul odors. Gnasher is able to smell it long before he opens the door.
I13 is reputed to be the slave pens (one of the rooms the escapees described to you), but you have not entered it yet.
Remembering the escaped slaves had said something about slave pens down here, Gnasher proceeds to the door at the end of the hall. Inspecting the door for traps, he soon tries to open it.
Malgrim continues along and searches as well in case something trapped the slave room door to prevent escapes.
Gnasher hears some muttering coming from the other side of the door, which is confirmed by Malgrim when he gives the door a VERY thorough inspection.
He does find a trap! Kind of. A spider web that has already claimed the lives of a pair of unfortunate flies. It looks pretty new, but he can tell the door hasn't been opened for a few hours at least.
Nodding at Malgrim, Gnasher assumes the voices they hear are slaves, and opens the door.
And, it turns out that except for the plurality, Gnasher's guess is proven right. There is one lonely, emaciated, gap toothed, muttering old fellow that should have been sent to the kitchen a long time ago. Seeing Gnasher, he curses, but then seeing the others, he smiles a big, broad (and rather ugly) smile.
"Rescuers! You must be the ones I heard rumors about."
"We have been freeing the slaves. Do you know if there are any others around?" Malgrim asks as he enters the room and looks around.
The man scratches his head, looks at his fingers, and nibbbles something from the tip of the index finger.
Slowly he looks up, obviously in some sort of hunger induced brain fog.
"Weeeellll. Haven't seen anyone come in or out of here for the last day or so. Usually the other slaves ar3e returned here after a day's labor, but not yesterday. Or was it yesterday? It's not like I can see the sun down here and time passes somewhat oddly when..."
The man loses his train of thought.
"Say! You going to rescue me? Maybe take me back to katapesh? I can make it worth your while."
In a very human like fashion, Gnasher raises an eyebrow looking from the peculiar man to his fellow tribesmen. "Gnasher prefer term 'free' you. If tribe tell you where other humans are, can you make it there?"
"Do they have food? Do you have food? What I wouldn't give for some fish curry right now."
Urah doesn't bother after not getting past the first sentence of the unknown words.
Find another forgotten slave however triggers something inside of him.
"It's just you? Where are the others with you and how long have you being here?"
"Just me. Been here a couple of months, though if you come when the slaves are resting you can find more of us, though not now."
"They have some smoked snake still. Lets get you to the stairs up and then you can go and meet them. You mentioned a reward, were you part of a caravan before you ended up here?" Malgrim asked the strange man.
As Malgrim talked with the human, Gnasher pointed the way they came and began walking toward the circular steps . Leading the talkative slave all the way back to the tunnel Tarak dug. Pointing up the tunnel Gnasher added. "Slaves and snake steak that way."
After they watch the human leave, Gnasher nods back the way they came. Retracing his footsteps to where they had found the old man he points to he east, "Tribe go that way?" Not really waiting for an answer he heads through the winding corridors until he sees the double doors to the south. Moving closer to the double doors, he inspects them carefully, looking at the others. "What tribe think?"
@Malgrim
"I was. I thought I could make money dealing with the new king, but he had no need of my goods, or, at least, not the uses I was anticipating. The bastards ate all my slaves and threw me in here to starve. How unfair! But now that you are here, I can finally resume business. Drop me off in Katapesh and I guarantee a very nice reward."
Like for many in this country, slavery is just a part of life. You botch up in life (or get handed a botched up life) and you become someone's slave. Very few think twice about it. The man you face certainly has no twinges of conscious.
@Gnasher
when pointed the way towards food, he greedily accepts and start heading up the cleared passageway.
"Keep in mind my offer."
Largely ignoring the man and the conversation, Tarak stands quiet and lets his mind wander to the world of storms and flying through the air.
Eventually he comes back to reality and responds to Gnasher, "Aye, lets go that way."
Smiling a toothy smile at Tarak, Gnasher shifts his bardiche to his right hand and attempts to open the doors with his left.
I9: The doors are not locked and Gnasher easily opens them. The walls of this long vault are lined with wide alcoves. In several are stored numerous crates, barrels, and containers. At the western end, three alcoves contain workbenches and tables strewn with complex alchemical equipment, while a fourth at this end contains a crude cot, several ratty blankets, and a chest. At the far west end of the room is an immense mound of bones and empty carapaces from enormous insects and spiders.
Urah gives the old man a once over and turns away as the rest directs him to rejoin the other slaves.
He might be a merchant. A very good one but something about him gave Urah a tingle.
"What's your name?" he asks one final question.
------------------------------------------
Back with the rest, once more Urah opts for a safe position away from anything that might come rushing out of those doors.
"Amwnyr," he calls over his shoulder as he hurries towards food.
Stepping into the room, Gnasher furrows his brow as he doesn't see anything that needs immediate killing. Keeping his bardiche at the ready he begins heading towards the Chest, asking, "Tribe see anything of value?" Once he gets close enough to the chest, he inspects it looking for traps.
"We can get you back to Katapesh once we finish here. Why did the king not make you go slave away with the others? Did you see any of the King's allies that stood out to you?"
Malgrim follows Gnasher into the room and slowly walks along the tables looking for items of value before turning to the chest. As he walks he glances back at Tarrak and URah and asks, "Do either of you see any magical auras here?"
Urah makes note of the name. Once back in katapesh, he'll have to remember to start asking around.
A bit busy tonight. I'll catch up tomorrow..
The alcoves are filled with alchemical equipment. Most are nothing special, but one of them contains a fully functional alchemist's lab. Under a table lies six injection spears (a spear-like device that can be doses with poison and used to inject an unwilling subject) and a satchel with 9 potions of calm emotions. By the alcove set up as a sleeping area, there is a chest with a collection of scrolls containing detailed diagrams of a brain pictured in quarters, the inside of an eye, a bisected heart, kidney, etc. You get the idea and have probably already figured out exactly how the models for these pictures were obtained. All the diagrams are labelled in Qadiran. Under these papers there is a score of crystal vials containing various astringents and antiseptics. Each one can be used to aid Heal checks and will provide a +2 circumstance bonus to a treatment. The chest also contains three more potions of unknown types.
So, finally, NOT a boring storage area.
As Gnasher looked around, he scratched his head. Turning to the others he asks, "Did Amwnyr trick tribe, is this Amwnyr's lab?"
"That one looks like it will stop poisons and this helps you speak to others. No idea about that other one though. Malgrim says.
Urah examines the potion as well with an application of Detect Magic to aid him, Unfortunately he could only identify one.
Tarak joins the group in looking over the potions, slightly excited with a small amount of new loot.
Remember to claim the items and add them to your inventory, and also remember that they are half price on level up.
As the other's describe what the potions are used for, Gnasher frowns, in a very human like fashion. "Potions to stop poison. Tribe should be careful." Gathering the other two potions and placing them in his pack, he continues. "Gnasher hold for whoever needs."
Gesturing towards the eastern doors, he begins to move that way. Pausing, he inspects the double doors, and if he believes they are clear he opens them.
Six granite columns, badly chipped and damaged, encircle a large room swept clean of debris and dust. Metal rungs riveted into the columns suspend a humanoid-shaped, cage-like structure from fitted iron chains with a gnoll in it. Before the cage, a complex device set in a weighted metal base extends a swiveling, jointed appendage of unfinished iron inscribed with jagged runes. Mounted to the end of the appendage is a burnished steel facemask with clamps and bands strapped over the gnoll's head. Centered in the forehead of the mask, a half-inch-wide drill bit faces inward toward the wearer’s face. The bladed bit connects to gears and spindles that lead to a crank halfway down the metal arm. To the east, a large stone door sealed with chains and iron bars stands in the wall. A smaller door with no obvious lock stands to the southwest.
A human, who is cackling madly, operates the machinery to drill a whole into the highly sedated gnoll's skull. Grotesque beyond reproach, the man is wiry with a slight stoop and a bald pate. He dresses in a thick, leather-worked smock, heavy gloves, and covers the lower half of his face with a leather doctor's mask. He also carries a tool belt filled with chisels, scalpels, and other sharp quasi-surgical implements, which he wears draped over his shoulder like a bandoleer.
Standing in the doorway, Gnasher looks at all the odd gear, and the human obviously torturing a gnoll. Nonchalantly, turning back to the others he asks, "Tribe see human? Think him one who makes poison?"
"I think he looks crazed and not friendly." Malgrim says with a grimace at the horrid sight.
Looking from Malgrim towards the 'Doctor' Gnasher, more curious than not, cries out, "Hey why Carrion king let you do that to his gnolls."
Tarak frowns at the man and his torture (experiments?) and growls a bit, "Anyone who does that to other beings isn't to be trusted. Crazed at best, but trusted, never."
Since you are not rushing in to kill him, and it seems he has an audience, the crazed alchemist turns to you all and cries out, "Trusted? Trusted!? Maybe not trusted, but definitely admired. What I have done here is nothing short of miraculous! Don't worry if he dies, there are plenty of others. Say, would you like to volunteer?" he asks, pointing at Gnasher. "I can remake you into something unholy in the sight of Lamashtu. It will be glorious. Or fatal. But that is the risk you take if you wish to become one of the unchosen."
"Off his rocker? Lost his marbles? Plain Nuts? Likely all of it." Urah mentions as he listens to the man.
"Those berserker gnolls we encountered? Likely his work."
Turning to the man., Urah attempts to lay on some charm.
"You sound like a genius? May we have your name and what works do you here that gains you such admiration? I doubt someone like yourself would not be known far and wide with your astounding works."
"Madfang is my name in gnoll, and since I am after all half gnoll, the name suits me just fine."
"A man of discernment. Indeed, I have grown famous for my work here. Soon, all shall know my name as the army grows and becomes unbeatable and the Carrion King conquers the world."
His voice rises in pitch and volume as the tirade goes on. He pauses then to posture and take in your amazed looks. You might be thinking right now that his skills in sense motive are pissed poor and you would not be wrong.
'remake you into something unholy in the sight of Lamashtu?' hearing the madman's offer Gnasher shakes his head, "Gnasher serve Lamashtu no longer, Gnasher serve Abadar. But Gnasher have way to be bigger and stronger than unchosen." Gnasher smiles, but sadly it looks more growl than grin. "Would you like to see? Come near, let Gnasher show you."
[b]"I'm not interested in your magics. My science is certainly superior to simple magics. I'll bet your spells are not even permanent. Typically such temporal effects. Now stop distracting me and observe respectfully."[b]
With that he turns away and resumes the slow grinding against the poor gnoll's forehead.
Scratching his head, Gnasher looks at the others, considering moving closer. Wondering about something the man said. "You said 'sight of Lamashtu.' Carrion King serve Rovagug why would servant of Lamashtu help servant of Rovagug a betrayer to his own mother?"
"He does not care whether I serve the Demon Queen as long as I create the unchosen and I do not care if he serves a sleeping and useless god as long as he provides me with what I need."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"This man is crazed and a danger to everyone around him. We need to deal with him." Malgrim says to the others.