Pan Pan moves the corridor. It extends only a short way from the room before ending in the rubble of a collapsed wall and ceiling. The door to the north is slightly ajar, and within you find a circular room. At the center is a five-foot-diameter space, ringed by arcane runes.
Higgins has been so wrapped up in herself that she doesn't realize the bad shape Nempura is in. "Here, I gotcha," he says, speaking a quick Indian prayer and delivering a revitalizing touch. He does the same for Pan Pan and Isabella.
Myrandya drinks one of her extracts and follows Pan Pan hesitantly, bending to examine the runes with a wary eye.
Taking a torch, Pan Pan nods to Roja and quietly ventures inside. The circular pit is intriguing, and she can only guess at its function.
"Could this be a well?" she asks to anyone nearby. She looks around for a bucket and rope to dip into the inky dark.
Nempura watches as her burns seem to fade and her skin replenishes. Most importantly, she feels better. There is a sigh of relief at the touch of Wes, but also comfort knowing he's got her back.
"Thanks."
There was little to do about the ends of her hair. They'd need to be trimmed, and clothes would need mended, but at least the damage to them wasn't as great to her own self.
Nempura will spin her new pistol in hand and will get used to the feel of it before pressing on with the others.
Peering into the room, Nempura shakes her head, "Careful, looks like arcane runes. There is something serious going on here. More serious than just kidnapping goblins, I'd wager."
She will cast a detect magic spell and look at the pile of rubble first, will focus on it, then if there is nothing in her sight that is magical, she will move her zone into the room and focus on that. She will also move her dancing lights spell into the hallway between the arcane runes and the corridor.
The runes definitely channel and shape magical energy, and they have some thing to do with conjuration magic (not necessarily summoning or a summoning circle).
There is nothing else in the room, through there is evidence of goblins moving around. Streaks in dust, dirty footprints, and the like.
Myrandya considers. "It could be shome kind off teleportink shirkle, perhapsh? I vould suggesht ve finish explorink zhe resht off zhe complex before ve step into it."
"I vould check zhe doors first," Myrandya deadpans. "Vhat you deskribe shounds like Transmutasson magic to me, vhile zhis shirkle is associated viss Conjurasson. Conjurasson is summonink unt teleportasson, moshtly. Unt shome creasson."
Nempura will take some time to figure out exactly what these runes will do if one were to step into them, for the sake of the party.
"You can check them out," she refers to the doors. "Just be careful. If I hear you are in action, I'll come running. As for now, let me see what I see here."
Pan Pan has plenty of patience and is willing to wait quietly while Nempura examines the runes. On the other hand, there are doors that need to be checked and that is within her skillset. She proceeds to the room in the southwest.
"I will check the next room," she says matter-of-fact.
Myrandya sees that Nempura has the task in hand, and shrugs. She accompanies Pan Pan as she goes to investigate the remaining rooms.
The door opens with difficulty. The smell that pours from it is even worse than the smell of the rest of the cave.
In the glow of her torch, Pan Pan sees the glint of metal and glass. Then a voice, deep and rough. "Please, can you help me? I don't know when those other folks will be back. Help me out of these shackles."
The room is filled with rough hewn tables cover in fine metal vessels, tubing, flasks, glassware. There is a humanoid figure, stocky and short, probably a dwarf, feet shackled and chained. The chain runs through a steel ring on the floor. The dwarf has only a patchy short bit of beard and hair, most of his head is badly burned.
Myrandya rushes to the dwarf's side and looks him over for injuries. "Deshkribe sseshe 'ozhers'," she says. "Goblins? Ve found shigns of a vagon haffink been kaptured and followed zhem here. Vas zhat your vagon?"
The dwarf stiffens with pride. "Yes, my wagon..my livelihood. Do you know where it is?"
Myrandya shakes her head. "Ve haff not yet found it, but chin oop, at least you are aliffe and vell, relatiffely shpeakink. Let's shee aboot gettink you out off tsese chains?"
She gives the lock a cursory look and frowns. "Hmm. Ve may haff to shoot it open. Unless..." She looks hopefully to Pan Pan. "Do you tsink you can break zhem open?"
Higgins gives the dwarf some of the bad news. "Truth is, partner, we found a bunch o' wagon parts a while back. Didn't look like a wagon no more. But yer lucky ta be alive, with them goblins burnin' ya fer fun and all."
Higgins speaks another word of invigoration and touches the dwarf's burned head, hoping to heal the scalp at least.
He then pulls out a waterskin and readies to feed it to the dwarf if he wants. "A drink while we try ta get ya out."
Standing in the doorway, Isabella hears the sound of an unfamiliar voice, leaning out a little she tries to listen to what's going on without letting Nempura out of her sight.
[dice=perception]1d20+8
The dwarf's face sags when he hears the wagon is gone. "Well, at least most of my things are intact here. Look, obviously I don't have any money here. They took it all, but I have some in a bank back East. I can pay you. Help me out of here. More if you help me take my gear."
"Oh, ja, do not vorry, ve vill help you out off here. Ve vork for zhe sheriff of Rosler's Coffer, viss zhe informal title off 'Rosler's Rangers'." She laughs uncomfortably, and calls back to Isabella. "Roja, perhaps you vould know shometsink about openink zhe lock on zhese chainsh?" She cocks her head to one side. "Do you know anytsink about a shirkle of runes, posshibly for teleportink? One of our number is inveshtigatink it as ve shpeak, sho anytsink you may haff heard might be ffery usheful to her."
"That small room with the circle? One of them disappeared in there and they haven't gone in there since. That was only a few days ago."
Nempura focuses on what she's doing, etching out each of the runes in her mind, constructing each pathway to know for certain what it will do if any possible thing touches it, comes through it, or interacts with it. She works to breakdown how it was written, whether it was proficiently done, if the person was school-trained, and many more tidbits of information. Roja watching her work might not be that interesting, particularly given the drama in the next rooms over, but despite being beautiful, she is clearly intelligent and by how she seems to be calculating, she is not stupid and actually is trained in this.
Pan Pan is having a tough time putting this together. Luckily for her, her new companions seem to have it figured out. She has no idea what to say in the conversation with the dwarf, except to add, "You're not dead, that's the important thing." It's the sort of simple advice her old Master Ip-Xi would have given her after a fall off a rooftop.
Then she thinks to ask, "What is your name, and do you have an idea why the goblins imprisoned you instead of just killing you? Did any of them try to talk to you?"
As ever, she's careful who she reveals her identity to, especially when they claim to come from "back east."
He smiles widely, and you see that one of his front teeth has been broken. "Indeed, good lady. Not dead, and now in the merciful hands of my rescuers. Had I my hat, I would tip it. The name is Aloysos Solomane, purveyor of beneficent elixirs and other Wonders of the Modern World. The goblins were able to deduce that I could make alchemist's fire for them, and so they set me up here to manufacture such items as would allow them to wreak more havoc on their neighbors."
He certainly seems like a showman, and the sort who might blur the edges to sell his wares, but nothing makes you think he is prevaricating at present.
Higgins starts examining the lock mechanism, wanting to open it up but having no expertise.
"Well, Aloysos, I thought we took care o' them all, but haven't seen a key yet--which one o' them locked you up?"
"It was the ugliest one, the one with the extra fangs jutting out of its lower jaw. Tell the truth, I'm not sure they even had a key. I never saw one."
Witnessing Wes' kindness with the waterskin, Pan Pan sifts through her pack for a bit of bread and jerky and hands it to the dwarf.
Then she steps outside the cell and peeks around the corner into the last unexplored space in the area.
"Bah, maybe we can shoot the damned lock," offers Higgins.
First, he tries yanking the chain.
Though his heart wasn't in it.
"Yeah, who'm I kiddin'? Let's see what Bertha can do, eh?" He draws his shiny new rifle and gives the lock a blast.
;
If it looks like there's hope to his strategy, he'll keep firing to get the dwarf free.
Higgins' shot takes a chunk out of the manacle.
Pan Pan moves into the open space. It is filled with blankets, leaves, dirty furs, branches. Looks like this was probably where most of the goblins were sleeping.
Wincing at the smell, Pan Pan retreats from the sleeping area.
"The goblins slept in there, nothing more worth investigating."
She returns to the Well room and Myrandya. "Do you know what this does or where it goes?"
Nempura believes that the circle is a teleportation effect of some kind. Such magics are ancient, dating to long before the present great civilizations of the world. There is no activation for the circle other than stepping into it, and no telling where it leads...
"That did some damage," notes Wes, as he reloads and fires.
; .
And again.
; .
But this time, the cartridge misfires, exploding in the rifle chamber. "Aw crud!" He stops shooting to spend some time working on repairing it.
"That did some damage," notes Wes, as he reloads and fires.
[dice=Rifle]1d20+6; [dice=Damage]2d8+2.And again.
[dice=Rifle]1d20+6; [dice=Damage]2d8+2.But this time, the cartridge misfires, exploding in the rifle chamber. "Aw crud!" He stops shooting to spend some time working on repairing it.
While Wes is working on mending his weapon, Myrandya takes the opportunity to look at the chains. "Unffortunately, I do not tsink my rifle can do enough damage to affect zhem. I am not the mosht, er, nimble off our company, vhich is vhy I vas callink for Roja. But I do not know if she vill be any better zhan me at pullink you out off zhese chains, good dvarf."
Eventually, when the rifle is all ready again, he takes aim again. "Alright, don't move."
And he fires it again until the job is done.
;
;
"Finally, there ya go," he says. "That was more of a fuss than I'd expected."
"What is all of that firing?" she thinks to herself as considering what the Arcane symbols are. However, Roja doesn't seem to warn her, and giving that she is listening for what is going on, Nempura doesn't concern herself with it.
When she is finally 100% sure, she is certain that it was not written poorly and will teleport someone incorrectly (outside of normal teleportation hazards), but will indeed transfer someone to another location.
"Okay," she nods to Roja as she stands. "Let's rejoin the others."
When with the others, she can see the scene ahead of her and the revelation of the merchant.
"Greetings, we haven't met. I'm Deputy Nempura of Rodrick's Cove. We came upon your cart's demise on the road and fresh sign of goblins. We had hoped to find you still alive. I am thankful that you are." She sighs in relief.
"As for the circle, that was used to most certainly teleport someone, and was not faulty. If I were to step on it here and now, it would indeed take me somewhere. However, that is not our concern. We are going to take the goblin we have in our custody in so that his tale can be told, and you can testify against his tribe's actions. But as for right now, we are going to get you safely to town and escort you through the forest. There are still some goblins about. Does that sound okay to you?" She asks the merchant.
Nempura looks over his goods and considers whether they are going to be able to pack some of this up in their horse's saddlebags so the poor man doesn't have to start over in his business.
"...and...can you make dynamite? It might be good to seal up that teleportation room for now."
"You want to cause a cave in? I can do that, absolute. Wait, what about pepper? I don't guess those villains kept my mule?"
He pulls at what is left of his beard, thinking or fretting, "Before we go exploding anything, we should at least carry all of this gear to the front of the cave. I'd hate to bring the roof down on it."
Myrandya blinks in surprise. "Are you sure you don't vant to shee vhere zhe shirkle goesh before ve sheal it avay? Maybe it teleports to right outshide of our town, or to shome sort of treasure fault?" She sounds particularly curious.
"Yes, a minor one. If possible, just the room of doorway itself. The hallway here is already caved in a bit. We can cause it to do so a little more. I would prefer the cave itself to not be destroyed. Many animals use it for a myriad of benefits when not overrun with goblinoids."
To Myrandya, she chuckles:
"Well of course I do! I'm very curious. However, right now, this one is our priority. And beyond that, finding the gloves. Once we have those, we can come back and clear some of this out and give it a try. Assuming nothing else is more pressing..."
She looks to the things they have to take.
"...and giving that we are sealing the doorway, if there is indeed treasure through the portal, it's not going to get out of that room easily. It would take forever for one Goblin to clear all the rock that will be in front of it, if he can even get the door open..." she snickers.
"Anyway, let us aid in bringing these to the front of the cave. We can bring the gear to our horses."
She will help by gathering some of it herself. It is clear she has packed up an alchemy lab before by how she knows what to discard and what not to; how to safely stow jars and alembics, tools and sources of heat. She is quite experienced and could make the explosive herself it seems by what she is and isn't taking. No doubt Myrandya is the same.
"I bet Maverick would've jumped through that portal--guess it's just as well that gambler stayed behind?" Higgins, on the other hand, accepted Nempura's reasoning. He starts lugging any valuables out of the cave as there's talk of sealing the place shut.
"A pleasure, Senorita Roja. Or do I presume? I don't see a ring. But perhaps such a one as you wouldn't wear a ring. My goodness, aren't you a beaut. Your skin seems like you haven't done a day of work in your life, but your stance and the position of your hands says otherwise. Most interesting..."
"You might be right," she replies to Higgins.
As the merchant sets his eyes on Roja, she grins but continues to focus on what she's doing. "Hmm, astute little bugger ain't he. He's not wrong. Isabella is a cutey and carries crates like a cow wrangler."
She finishes the dynamite in due time as the others get the gear finalized and out of the back of the cave. Nempura evaluates the range of the blast, the strength of it, and the weakness of the walls and roof to make a precision blast. She doesn't want the whole of the cave to crumble, just a little in front of the doorway; enough to block it in from their side well enough.
Once ready, she'll ensure all are safely away and will light the fuse, then run out of the cave after them. Hopefully, with as many twists and turns in the cave system, it can only barely be heard. No sense in letting every goblin or creature in the area know they are there. Not when escorting a rescue.