Step 1: Lift up throne
step 2: Smash throne into dais
Repeat until something smashes.
Step 1: Lift up throne
step 2: Smash throne into dais
Repeat until something smashes.
Step 3; Laugh yourself silly reading this, (knowing it will be done exactly as stated!) ;P
Giant Karrin picks the throne up and smashes it to flinders. The wooden pieces fly all about, as well as the cabochon gemstones within its frame. Quickly, there is no throne left.
Justin sighs.
"And I used to wonder WHY we had such a reputation for collateral damage."
The mage clucks in mock-disapproval,... as he picks up various cabochon gemstones from the now-shattered throne.
"Karrin, just a thought, maybe try lifting the lid?"
"And what, pray tell, would be the fun in that?"
Justin pinches the bridge of his nose, squinting his eyes shut, and can be heard muttering something in another language.
Lifting his head he looks UP at Karrin.
"None, I suppose. Or at least not as much fun as you get this way." The mage admits with a tight-lipped smile.
"But, since we're on a bit of a time-table, and I've destroyed my quota of burial tombs for the week."
Justin reaches down to grab the handle. He pauses, bent over, and looks up at the rest of the group.
"Um,... little help here?"
Alessia looks from Justin to Karrin, then back to Justin, letting out a small [disgusted noise] before attempting to pry up the manhole cover.
"Hey if they wanted nice things they shouldn't have tried to kill us, now when he tries to murder the next group of adventures he'll be sitting on the floor like a chump."
Alessia grasps the handle and pulls. A large section of the dias roughly five feet on a side lifts up. She tosses the cover aside. A blast of chill air hits them. There is a narrow shaft that leads down into the dark. Observing from the top shows that a few meters down the rock is replaced by the blue ice of the plane. The shaft is smooth, without handholds
"Hey if they wanted nice things they shouldn't have tried to kill us, now when he tries to murder the next group of adventures he'll be sitting on the floor like a chump."
Justin raises an eyebrow. "Hard to argue with that logic. Not impossible, just hard."
Alessia grasps the handle and pulls. A large section of the dias roughly five feet on a side lifts up. She tosses the cover aside. A blast of chill air hits them. There is a narrow shaft that leads down into the dark. Observing from the top shows that a few meters down the rock is replaced by the blue ice of the plane. The shaft is smooth, without handholds.
Standing back up from ducking the tossed cover, Justin peers down the shaft. He holds out a hand and conjures a few colored balls of light, which he sends down the shaft to get a better look.
"Memnon and I can fly down, is there anything that's not a smashed throne that we can tie a rope to? Or maybe tie it to a pole across the entrance?" Justin asks aloud as he looks at the 'stuff' and corpses scattered around the dias.
"I mean, it COULD just be a fun ice slide. At least it's probably fun until you get to the end and get impaled by ice-spikes. Just saying." Justin smirks.
oud as he looks at the 'stuff' and corpses scattered around the dias.
"I mean, it COULD just be a fun ice slide. At least it's probably fun until you get to the end and get impaled by ice-spikes. Just saying." Justin smirks.
"Well considering your luck on this trip so far.........After you"
Justin looks at Merle.
The wizard clutches his heart in mock pain, takes a step over the hole,... and begins to float slowly down under the effect of his long-duration flight spell. As his head is about to sink below the edge, he waggles his fingers at Merle in farewell. Smirking JUST a little bit.
"Well Memnon, mind taking a quick peek ahead? Not too far for now." Justin gestures, sending his floating, conjured candlelights down the shaft ahead of them.
“Awww do I GOTTA?”
The colored lights go down to their limit illustrating the deep blue glacial ice of the shaft. Justin floats down, the cold tightening up as he descends. He notes that the ice is relatively clear, but fades to translucency as one stares into it. There are …. Things … embedded in the ice. Dark forms that are hard to make out. Then Justin spots one form moving. It doesn’t tunnel, or disturb the ice, but rather moves like a cruising shark would in an ocean, passing through the ice effortlessly. Fortunately, it seems to be far away from the shaft.
Justin descends a good 80 meters, and comes to the bottom. The bottom area is granite again, slabs of grey rock covered in frost. It’s a 20x30 room, with a large iron door on the eastern wall.
Justin shrugs as he floats down, keeping a wary eye on shadows moving in the ice.
"I guess you don't 'gotta'. But if we're both swallowed by another ice-dragon-turtle-thing, My money is on YOU to win 'Most-Likely-To-Survive-Coming-Out-The-Other-End'. That's all." Justin nods to Memnon.
As they reach the bottom, Memnon bravely hovering an entire five feet from the lanky wizard, Justin gingerly touches the floor with a prodding toe before settling onto it with his full weight.
"Can you hear me? Bottom is about 80 meters down, stone room. No ice-spikes. Sorry!" the mage shouts up the shaft.
Memnon flits about nervously
“Boss, I haven’t heard anything. What should we do?”
Karrin reluctantly deactivates her giant growth so she can fit down the shaft. Using her quicken flight she flies down allowing the feather fall portion of the spell to float harmlessly to the ground.
"Yo, Justin," Karrin says as she floats down, "What'd ya find?"
Justin manages not to look TOO relieved at seeing Karrin appear from the shaft.
In answer to Karrin's question the wizard gestures around the chamber.
"Ice. Cold. MORE cold. Stone. And a big-arse iron door. I'd flip a coin but,..." Justin makes a larger, more dramatic gesture to the iron doorway.
",... Personally, I think THIS door is just begging to be opened." He smirks.
“Yeah it’s the door or climb back out”
Sarastra floats down the shaft, her robes swirling as she floats in
“Shall we proceed?”
Mel shouts from the top
“You fly folks want to help us down? Or should we start a card game?”
Justin chuckles in relief.
"I thought you veterans of demonic wars and other assorted evil conflicts could ride the winds or somesuch! I'm just gonna have to get me a new Paladin and Cleric!" Justin calls back up, almost laughing all the while.
"HAng on! Your rides a'coming!"
The wizard exerts his Will, concentrating on his flight enchantment, and swiftly rises back up the shaft to the rest of the party.
"Although if you DO start a card game, deal me in!" Justin says with a smirk as his head pops up over the edge of the floor. His eyes dance with merriment as he grins at Mel and Martin.
Justin, help the rest down the shaft to the chamber below,...
The group sits in front of the door. Mel looks at the frosted iron. He brushes some of the hoarfrost off the door with a gauntleted hand
“There’s some Draconic runes here. I recognize them, but my Draconic is pretty bad. Anyone know it?”
Sarastra looks at them
“Speak my name and enter”
Justin nods in agreement.
"That's what I read. Not that it helps us a lot. WHOSE name? Do we even know whose tomb this is?"
The wizard rubs his eyes.
"Rassin-Frassin kobold. Laughin' his scaly tail off at me right now I just KNOW it."
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Justin chuckles in relief.
"I thought you veterans of demonic wars and other assorted evil conflicts could ride the winds or somesuch! I'm just gonna have to get me a new Paladin and Cleric!" Justin calls back up, almost laughing all the while.
"HAng on! Your rides a'coming!"
Alessia looks blankly at Mel, letting out a dusty sigh.
"And I was looking forward to our card game."
Justin pulls out the by-now-familiar note. He looks at it.
"No NAME here. But it DOES say 'Ice King'".
Justin raises and eyebrow and looks around after saying the title aloud.
If nothing happens, he repeats it out loud once more, but in Draconic.
Justin’s speaking doesnt work. Avrahim barks out a quick laugh and chants a word in Draconic. The word for ‘door’. The door groans and clanks as several interior bolts release
Justin LOOKS at Avrahim wide-eyed. He clearly is restraining himself from facepalming while the floating Memnon chortles gleefully behind him.
"Are you friggin' kidding me?!?"
"Ah,... That was,... <small sigh>. Thank you. Clearly I need to practice my 'outside-the-box' approach to problem solving. Rassin-frassin tombs and their puzzles." Justin bows his head respectfully to the Inquisitor.
Justin turns and points a finger at Martin, who is trying valiantly (and failing) to contain his own mirth.
"NO comments from the peanut gallery."
"I didn't say a word." Martin replies truthfully, regaining (most of) his composure.
Justin gestures grandly towards the iron door.
"Heavily armed and armored first!"
Martin barks a laugh and claps Justin on the shoulder.
The wizard winces only slightly from the gauntleted blow that would fell mere mortals.
"We got a way to keep this door wedged open?"
"I'm sure I've got something useful in here. Somewhere."[/b] Justin mutters digging through his magical haversack.
A slightly rusted iron spike is rummaged from Justin’s pack. A small hammer follows. The spike gets pounded into the granite floor, holding the door open. The clangs of this echo loudly in the enclosed space.
Beyond the door is a narrow tunnel. Five feet wide, ten foot ceilings. The walls are covered in frescos of goblins fighting. A heroic goblin with an ornate crown features in many painted scenes.
Justin shakes his head ot get rid of the ringing in his ears.
The mage inspects the frescoes with unfeigned interest.
"Huh. DOn't see a lot of goblins wearing crowns THAT nice. On any Prime."
There is not much that Justin has studied about goblinoid empires. He does know that there have been several very successful ones in history, but without context it is hard to tell anything specific. Normally, the goblinoids would be banded together by a strong leader. Through force of arms they would carve an empire out. Depending on the worth of the leader’s successors it would remain for up to a century or two before collapsing into factional squabbling. Many goblinoid societies as a rule were chaotic. Without a strong rule of law, their societies tended to splinter into smaller units without some strong leadership
The frescos have goblin writing on them in places
Justin points to the Goblin scribbling on the frescoes.
"I don't suppose one of YOU guys can read that? I speak almost a dozen languages, but that scribbling isn't one of them. I think I have a comprehend languages scroll here somewhere,..."
Martin looks the writing over
“It’s archaic, but it is basically extolling Klathtu, Ice King of Yevgorod. At least I think that’s what it says. It might be Blathtu, the Kla rune snd the Bla rune are quite similar “
"Facinating. Truly riveting." Justin replies to his old friend, stifling a yawn.
"I confess I was hoping for something a little more practical, like, 'Watch out for the pit trap around the next corner'. But at least we know the name of whose tomb it is!"
The wizard peers suspiciously at the frescoes.
"I wonder,... You don't suppose that the lil' 'ratcatcher king' here IS 'Klathu, Ice King of Yevgorod', do you? THAT would make him a VERY unusual goblin to say the least."
Justin shrugs, and sends his little colored lights floating down the corridor.
"It actually IS interesting, historically speaking. But that's not why we're here. Maybe next time. Let's get out of here."
Justin follows his big, burly and well-armored Paladin friend down the hallway,... And not at ALL hiding behind him,... ;)
Martin starts down the cramped hallway, the magical lights Justin summoned casting harsh shadows, making the frescos seem to move. He edges forward gingerly
He halts suddenly and motions the others back. He takes his telescoping metal rod out and taps at a tile ahead. It suddenly drops away exposing a yawning pit. Martin ties a rope to his torso and hands it back to the group. He low crawls forward on his belly and looks down the hole
“Deep pit. I’ll pin it in place”
The cover swings gently up, and Martin uses a spike to keep it from activating again. The party slowly moves over it, trying not to put any excess weight upon it
After about 500 feet, the narrow tunnel opens into a chamber. This chamber seems to be made of some sort of transparent material. It feels like cold stone, but is as clear as the finest crystal. Beyond lies the vast blue expanse of the glacial mountain they have traversed. Again they can see … things moving in the distance. Vast brings of ice slowly moving like sharks through water.
The transparent chamber is stocked with items. Chests of gold, bowls of jewels, racks of shining weapons. A huge sarcophagus is placed in the center of the room. At the far wall is what looks to be a statue of wrought iron, streaked with rust. A large cube sits at the apex of the two-meter statue. .
"Huh. What do you know. There WAS a pit trap around the corner."
Justin keeps a tight hand on the rope that Martin now wears, in case of another pit, as they proceed forward. Fortunately the rest of the passage seems to be pit-free.
The wizards' eyes light up at the sight of the chamber. He stares at the walls, and the,... things, that appear to be moving through it as they watch.
"Incredible. Simply. Amazing." The mage whispers as he looks around at the walls.
Justin's eyes gleam with avarice, the same as any OTHER adventurers' eyes would, upon seeing the pile of Treasure. With a capital 'T'. But the wizard's eyes are drawn like a magnet to the cube on top of the rusty statue.
"Ah. Ah -HAH! Found you, you little devil!" Justin grins in childish glee.
Justin starts forward, then freezes in place. He looks around again. Slower, taking in the chamber as a whole. He sighs as he examines all of the wealth and items in the room.
"I'm all for a rousing bout of tomb-looting as the next adventuring wizard. BUT we already had a 'fun party' just getting in the front door. And we're on kind of time-crunch. I'd hate to waste any more spells or resources on a battle that could be avoided. Since we can practically guarantee that we'll be fighting trying to get Murphy out."
Justin closes his eyes. He clearly can't believe he's saying this either.
"I highly recommend that we don't take anything. We should only touch the Iron Cube. That's all we need to do. AND if we can form a Humanoid chain, and only one of us touches the cube to activate the portal, that would probably be best too."
Justin looks at Martin, Avarahaim, Sarastra and the Rose party and raises an eyebrow, inviting their opinions.
Martin nods
“I am uncomfortable grave robbing in any case. Let us go on”
The party daisy chains and touches the cube. Justin reaches out to touch the rusted surface….
Suddenly the group is pulled away in that odd stomach-wrenching manner of portal travel. They appear in a dark space. Those with darkvision can see that they are in a massive cavern. The walls are reddish brown. Puddles of fetid water lie at their feet. They are behind a large pile of junk: rusted weapons, broken armor, things of uncertain provenance. It towers 10 meters above them, but there is much more to the cavern. The ceiling looks to be far above them. Dim clangs and splashes echo about.
The temperature is now hot again, a humid soggy heat, with air that smells of iron snd old blood
Justin conjures his small colored mage-lights. He looks around at their immediate surroundings. He sniffs the air, grimacing at it's taste and odor. He slowly, deliberately, pulls out his slender staff from the magical quiver at his side.
"We made it. We're here. NOW it's just a short jog through rusted and potentially undying warrior- infested tunnels to the formerly secret hideout. Eazy-Peazy."
The wizard's delivery is his typical deadpan. But the glint in his eyes is deadly serious.
Justin consults the note and directions. Turns around a few times to get his bearings, and points.
"That way. I think. Yeah. That way. Everyone ready?"
Avrahim speaks up
“Stay here. I will go around this junk pile and see what lies beyond “
He fishes a pair of goggles from his sack snd puts them on. He heads out around the rusty pile
After about ten minutes he returns
“This is a large cavern. It looks to be constructed of rusty iron. The floor of the cave is littered with piles like these. At the far end is an iron fortress. It’s about four kilometers away”.
Justin nods to Avrahim, his mouth curling up in a slight smirk.
"Whattya know, the little lizard IS good for his word after all."
"Thank you for the scouting. We're even closer than I thought we would be."
Justin refers to the notes provided with the directions.
"If they haven't changed their security recently, we SHOULD be able to slip through if we're quick and quiet. Avrahim, can you lead the way? Try to keep us out of sight of the fortress if you can." Justin adds with a grin.