GM Doug H |
Okay, boss! So long as everyone plays along they will leave the barn and follow Akoril. Let me know where you want to take them to.. Theres forest just outside town.
They will chat happily with Akoril along the way. Assuming Akoril will translate as you go along, so feel free to ask the pugwumpi any questions as you go.
Chimwemwe |
Chimwemwe slips inside the storage room after the gremlins have followed Akoril out in order to hang a warding strand of bells. "We should come back to clean this mess once the pugwampis are sorted."
Alrinkiri |
Alrinkiri stalks silently along out of sight a little ways behind Akoril and the gremlins, just in case they get any funny ideas.
Chimwemwe |
"See if you can find out why they where in the Magaambya," Chimwemwe suggests to Akoril, "while you convince them to relocate to the jungle outside of the city. They will be less likely to hurt anyone."
GM Doug H |
Akoril draws the Pugwumpi into conversation as you walk. Boss, you should meet the big boss, Kurshkin! She's tough and she works for a scary ghost. That means we work for a scary ghost, too.
As you move through campus, Teacher Ot walks by and waves at you. Somehow he doesn’t seem surprised to see you leading a line of fey off the grounds. One of the Pugwumpi throw a rock at his head when his back is turned, but it’s intercepted by Alrinkiri‘s graceful leap and catch. Soomdevi jingles his bell and they fall back into line (albeit with more snarls and rude gestures).
We found a secret trap door to the barn! Wizards don’t even look under their own feet. Too busy pretending they’re important, looking at the sun with their big dumb wizard faces, in their big dumb wizard hats.
GM Doug H |
Lots of things, boss! And it goes lots pf places, it's big and easy to get lost. Juicy cockroaches to chase, ants to stomp on, spider webs full of squirming mice, and puddles of glowing water that taste funny and make you see things. All kinds of interesting things to do down there. You should come with. As they ramble on about their revolting exploits, it becomes clear that they will not be a reliable source of information about the tunnels.
GM Doug H |
You take the gremlins to the forest edge and they scamper away, but only after begging Akoril to hang out with them in the tunnels to torment bugs and drink runoff from the school's alchemy labs. They're unable to give you any valuable intelligence on their other bosses or logistics; you realize they really don't know all that much.
For now, can only hope it's at least a little while before they get into more trouble…
You have finished your mission early. Do you want to return to Esi, or do something else?
Chimwemwe |
”We should inform Teacher Ot of the tunnel in the storage room so they can secure them, clean up the mess, and then report to Esi,” Chinwemwe suggests to the others.
Or he’ll spend his free time doing that today if he’s not persuasive.
Soomdevi |
Soomdevi nods as though he agrees, but says, "Yeah, let's do both of those. But after we've checked out that tunnel for ourselves. I mean, it might not even be anything worth mentioning."
Chimwemwe |
I'm going to maybe meta a little here since GM Doug said we finished the assignment.
"Hopefully, your admirers would have told you if there were more under the storage room," Chimwemwe says with a small chuckle.
He thinks for a moment more, quietly, his puzzle box finding its way into his hand. "We're barely initiates. I think exploring tunnels beneath the school in search of a threat might, hmm, might be something attendants or conversants should handle. If we, hmm, go- go exploring them ourselves and there is something more than we can handle, we might not, hmm, not make it back to warn anyone. Hmm. We should tell Teacher Ot first."
Soomdevi |
Soomdevi hold up his beads.
"I don't know about you, but I am an initiate. Come on, what're you afraid of? There's not going to be anything dangerous down there. We're inside the school! Let's go take a peek. If we find something worthwhile, we'll tell Ot."
GM Doug H |
Against Chimwemwe's better judgement you return to the hatch. Its hinges groan as you open it. A rickety old latter leads down into the pitch black. It looks like an old cellar down here. Cobwebs hang over what must have been an old doorway, a maw leading further into the darkness. It's silent down here, but for the occasinal drip and from time to you think you can almost hear voices. Beyond general spookiness is no danger immediately apparent.
Do you continue?
Chimwemwe |
"Losing any of you," Chimwemwe murmurs, fiddling with his puzzle box. Conflicted between protecting his cohort by going with them or protecting his cohort by seeking more advanced help. In the end, he is dragged along against his better judgement.
"Can anyone see in the dark?"
Alrinkiri |
"No" Alrinkiri says, padding quietly down the ladder a few steps and peering to the edge of the area illuminated by the light from above. Moving down far enough to see to the edge of where low-light vision will take me (all the way to the bottom of the ladder if need be).
Chimwemwe |
”Ye—,” he starts to answer Akoril when Alrinkiri boldly slinks into the shaft. Chimwemwe hastily stows his puzzle box and fumbles for his strand of bells.
GM Doug H |
Alrinkiri moves down the ladder. They can see a rubble-strewn hallway beyond the doorway, with several old doors lining it. The far end of the hallway is shrouded in darkness.
GM Doug H |
Soomdevi sees the tunnel in black and white; it branches off at the end in a T-intersection. The doorways lining the hall look like storage rooms.
Chimwemwe |
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"Don't go too far," Chimwemwe feebly cautions the son of a shipwormer.
Soomdevi |
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Soomdevi steps out of the illuminated area and then calls out:
”Ack! They got me! Help Chimwemwe! Help!”
Chuckling, he steps to the bottom of the ladder and looks up at his friends with a toothy smile.
”It’s totally boring down here. But it might make a great clubhouse.”
Alrinkiri |
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Alrinkiri mutters something in an unfamiliar tongue and closes their eyes. When their eyes open again, they glow brightly, illuminating the hallway. "Come," they say, looking up the ladder. "It seems safe." Casting light as an innate primal spell, which I picture for Alrinkiri as a built-in facility of their magically-crafted body. In my mind, they suddenly look a little more like my avatar here.
GM Doug H |
If you are down here you can make a survival check on the spoiler above.
Chimwemwe |
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At Soomdevi's call for help, Chimwemwe grabs the knife at his belt and lurches toward the cellar shaft. His worried eyes find the kayal's fanged grin reflecting back at him. "Ah ha ha," he chuckles to release the nervous energy. "I'm sure there's a fable abou--"
He steps aside as Akoril approaches and then casts a helpless look back at Curling-Wisps-of-Smoke. The peer pressure overcomes him, and he climbs down into the cellar after the gnoll.
"At least it's part of the school proper." He pulls a compass out of a pouch at his belt. "If that way is north, hmm."
Survival (U): 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (11) + 0 = 11
"Hmm. That way should be the Powderpile, and, hmm, that way should be the dining hall." He points in each respective direction.
GM Doug H |
Wisps puts her head down and can confirm Chimwemwe's theory that these tunnels might indeed connect to other buildings. Exploring just a little further, you will find that it's easy to get lost. The tunnels probably form a bewildering labyrinth full of twists and turns, dead-ends, and circular paths. It might take weeks or even years to fully explore.
Akoril and Wisps know the Magaambya was founded almost 8,000 years ago, so it's no surprise to find this network of old tunnels and storage rooms; perhaps there are even natural caverns and ancient ruins deeper down.
You can spend some time attempting to navigate the tunnels with a difficult survival check, compass, and chalk to mark your ways. However, you could also simply search for new tunnel entrances in other buildings you have full access to, such as Spire Dorm.
Alrinkiri |
Survival to read spoiler: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18
"I suspect these go a lot of places. Anyone want to go exploring?"
Chimwemwe |
"I don't think we should right now," Chimwemwe says, looking around the dusty tunnel. "We should go tell Teacher Ot about the, hmm, Kurshkin and the, hmm, scary ghost. Or I will, if you all are going to explore. Seems more likely to get lost than stumble upon anything dangerous. I'll let Esi know we're done, too."
Soomdevi |
Soomdevi will at least go to the T section and look to the left and right, but aside from using occasionally using his ghost sound spell to tease Chimwemwe with spooky noises, he’s beginning to lose interest.
”I think we should tell the others. Seems like a good place for a private party.”
Chimwemwe |
Chimwemwe grows very quiet and keeps watching the shadows as a result of Soomdevi's teasing. While he is eager to leave the tunnels, he forces himself to stay until the others have climbed out despite his nervousness.
GM Doug H |
It seems like the party isn't comfortable exploring, so after a little dungeon-delving (in which you notice nothing out of the ordinary, except for lots of bugs — perhaps it isn't just Spire Dorm that's infested), you return to the surface and head to Teacher Ot's office. Not sure where to look, you eventually find him roaming about on campus. He holds a spyglass in one hand and whispers: Hello again! Shhh, see that red-headed malimbe? he points into a tree, after a few moments you see a small black bird with red plumage on its head that looks like a flaming mohawk. When it flies off, Teacher Ot finally gives you his full attention. It's a steady drizzle outside, but once again the teacher is dry.
Good work. I will look into this "scary ghost" and Kurshkin. Please, tell Esi too. This is good information to have. Many students enjoy exploring the warrens below, but it is not a school-sanctioned activity. I cannot and will not stop you; be careful if you go… and clean up if you throw any underground parties, please.
☀☀☀
Esi is intrigued by your report — and impressed. Yes, bells, o! Excellent work. Do you think we should hang some here in Spire Dorm? Do you think there's a secret entrance to the tunnels hidden away somewhere here? She seems worried; a pugwumpi invasion would be disastrous for her studies.
Curling-Wisps-of-Smoke Reliava |
"There certainly might be! We should check for trap doors. If you want to make sure that pugwampis can't get in, you could always hang some bells!"
Chimwemwe |
Chimwemwe nods and says, "I bought some bells to hang in my room." He holds up his string of bells. "My research could be dangerous if misfortune spirits were around."
He heads to his room to, first, remove his armor, and also to hang the bells in his room. He hammers two nails into the wall and affixes the string at both ends. Afterwards, he returns to the common area, whittling a tiny plank of wood.
GM Doug H |
Alrinkiri's Perception (E): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Chimwemwe's Perception (T): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Curling Wisps of Smoke Reliava's Perception (E): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Soomdevi's Perception (T): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Esi nods. I know of no secret entrances, I am too busy studying and working. I wouldn't be surprised if some other students here do, o. Take a look around!
You search the common areas; Chimwemwe and Wisps find an old maintenance hatch behind a secret door on the East end of the dorm. See slide 1 on handhouts, marked with an "S"; the hatch is at the end of that long hallway which perhaps you noticed earlier and wondered where it went.
GM Doug H |
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You open the hatch. Downstairs is another storage room much like the one you found in the barn, only this time there are bottles, butts of rolled tobacco that smell like cloves, an old bent playing card on the ground, some dusty cushions, and other evidence that students HAVE been down here.
Quiet sniffling comes from what might be an old broom closet.
Chimwemwe |
Chimwemwe draws invisible diagrams in the air with his finger. "It could take weeks to months to map out those tunnels. Better to make maps than use chalk marks. We should, hmm, probably make sure there are no gremlins below us."
Following the others into the tunnel, he seems immediately satisfied that there is no imminent threat. "Is that someone crying?" Chimwemwe asks. He walks over to the closet door and slowly cracks it to peek inside.
GM Doug H |
"Hello? We're just looking at the tunnels. Are you one of the Spire residents?"
sniffle… sniffle…
Maybe…
--
Chimwemwe cracks open the closet and finds exactly who you suspect is is. Anchor Root. She's sitting on the floor, clutching a soggy chicken feather and crying.
She looks up and wipes her nose. Sorry… Ummm… I was looking for my chicken down here. I… umm… lost her. And she's not down here in the tunnels… I thought she would be… but sh-sh-she's not… She wipes her nose.
sniffle… sniffle…
I don't… umm… know where… she… i-i-i-i-is!
She stands up. Ummm… I'm so embarrassed you saw me like this! She leaps up and runs off, deeper into the tunnels!
WAAAAHHHH!!!!!!
Chimwemwe |
"Wait! Anchor Root! We could hel--!" Chimwemwe calls after the fleeing ant gnoll. "Oh dear. Can anyone track her on these floors? I'm going to have to go get my gear."
Chimwemwe |
Chimwemwe looks back at the trap door and further considers. "Anyone who can't find Anchor Root could look for her chicken? I could start with Haibram. Make sure he didn't play a joke on her."
GM Doug H |
Alrinkiri's Perception (E): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Chimwemwe's Perception (T): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
Curling Wisps of Smoke Reliava's Perception (E): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Soomdevi's Perception (T): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Dice works out
Chimwemwe is rather caught up in the moment, but it seems to the rest of you that Root doesn’t want to be found. Not until her chicken is, at least!
You can search the dorms with a survival or perception check; you are also welcome to split the party and try to find Root anyway.
Chimwemwe |
Perception (T): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Chimwemwe climbs back to the dorm and makes a systematic sweep through the common areas, taking a moment to greet the spellskeins, in search of the chicken before heading toward Haimbram's room if unsuccessful looking in the obvious places.
Alrinkiri |
Alrinkiri prowls through the dorm, moving as silently as possible so as not to scare off the chicken should they encounter it.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19