Drawing one hand back I summon my trusty firebolt again as the warriors strive to engage.
"Hey whats going on down there"
Gashelle draws her longsword as she breaks the water's surface, casts Blade of Blood again (taking another 5 hit points' damage), and attacks.
She hits AC 24. She does 6 points of blade damage (If the thing is subject to criticals she would critical against AC 22!, for double damage.) and the spell does another 7 hp damage.
Gashelle looks as if she startled herself. Damshah indeed!
"Is everyone alright?" Tristan asks in dim light of the flooded passageway.
He will resume his search for the cause of the glinting light.
"Sasha, if you have any healing magic we could really, really use some up here right now!"
I go to bind up Tristan's obvious wound, while Gashelle looks drained and ill.
"Okay. Does anybody have any i- idea what those were?"
Seeing Tristan searching the long branch, she adds, "Tristan, th- there was magic under the surface th- that way." She was going to urge caution, but she won't repeat that mistake.
As soon as we're done here, Gashelle is really going to want to head back somewhere and clean off.
"Gashelle that was amazing, I was right there, your blade came within inches of me and the killing stroke was just poetry, Tristan, make sure you add that in your tales! Avinar beams with pride at his dueling partner, Moving towards Eltariel, he brushes his hand against her back as he passes by, "Sasha, are you coming? We can use your expertise here" Avinar feels a sense of belonging here deep within the dungeon, like its where he belongs, admist adventure and with companions.
Sasha climbs into the tunnel and slips and slides his way down the stairway holding the rope.
"Here let me see if I can help"
The young sorcerer pauses for a second then sends bolts of green fire flying from his hands enveloping both Tristan and Gashelle.
"Oh so thats how it works"
"Thanks Sasha, glad you caught up to us" Avinar winks to the sorcerer. "Well ladies, what now?" Avinar starts to look aroud the area and help with any searching.
"Okay. Does anybody have any i- idea what those were?"
Seeing Tristan searching the long branch, she adds, "Tristan, th- there was magic under the surface th- that way."
"The creatures seemed to acutally be made out of the water!" Tristan says, "If I were to guess, I would say some type of minor being from the elemental plane of water, perhaps?"
Tristan completes his search and finds the golden scarab. He casts detect magic to confirm that it is the source of magic that Gashelle noticed. "I found something, but examining it can wait until we get out of this hole." he says.
After being healed by Sasha, Tristan trudges back to the others. "My thanks, Sasha!" he says "Whatever those things were, they pack quite a wallop!"
"I suggest we go back to the level above us, clean ourselves up and rest," I suggest; I'm not afraid of dirt, but slime ... ew! "Once I've rested I can heal anyone that needs it, and then we can press on again." I think a moment.
"We're lucky those were only minor elementals, really. But it begs the question of how, and why, were they here?"
"Well maybe we should search the crayfish cistern as well since we are already wet."
"Also do you think you could manage to catch some of the little buggers for dinner?" he asks Eltariel.
Avinar will help Tristan search, when they are a bit away from the girls he asks Tristan, "I think I am starting to really like Eltariel, I notice your confidence around women, do you think you can help me win her favor? Avinar blushes as he asks this of the human
Tristan looks back to where the others are waiting at the bottom of the shaft. The elf maiden seemed to to keep looking their way. "I don't know, you seem to be doing pretty well on your own."
"Although, I will say that you have to do something sincere to show her how you feel and not be afraid to look like a fool in the process. Sometimes fear of rejection is worse than the actual rejection. Mind you, this advice comes from a man who has been run out of town by 12 year-olds throwing rotten turnips when I was experimenting with my 'puppet-show phase'."
Gashelle, on the other hand, is only too happy to pull herself out of the brack. "I suppose if I w- were a w- water spirit, and forced to dwell in s- something like this, I'd go a l- little mad, too."
Rising out of the pool, she carefully inspects herself: any parasites, goo, or other hitch-hikers?
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Further searching reveals nothing more. Gashelle wipes the worst of the, apparently harmless, slime from her armour and hasn't picked up any leeches or similar hitch-hikers.You could catch as many crayfish as you desire
You make your way back to the lift platform to find it won't move again.Investigation reveals the statues bowl has drained dry. What do you choose to refill it with?
Gashelle looks up. Is the way to the upper room climbable?
Shifting my sack of fresh-caught crayfish on my shoulder, I un-stop my water-skin and fill the statue's mouth from it.
"It still leaves us with many unanswered questions," I remark as I try the lever again. "Tomorrow, we must investigate deeper. Although ... I do foresee some issues with the Dwarves if this mine proves viable. They might well argue it is upon their land ,or the gnomes may reclaim it, but that is Lord Rygard's decision."
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Pushing the lever over you return the platform to its original position. The outside world is pitch black with not even a moon to light the way. Fortunately you have all the light you want from the living area and a plentiful supply of fire wood from the old bunks and lockers.
You settle down for the night
I set up my cooking pot and start stewing the crayfish with a few vegetables and herbs from my rations.
"There are five of us, so I suggest we take a two-hour watch each," I suggest. "Avinar, as you don't use magic, do you mind taking the middle watch? That gives the rest of us the maximum undisturbed sleep. Other than that ... Gishelle, Tristan, Avinar, Sasha and myself in order?"
I look around the group to see if anyone objects.
Middle shift will be fine
Gashelle nods in acceptance.
After dinner, she says, "W- we've seen a lot today, and I'm h- having difficulty making sense of it all. I propose that we each ask o- one question about these areas, and then each in turn suggest a p- possible answer.
Tristan, if you're a- amenable, why don't you ask the first question."
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{ooc]As Rusty hasnt posted since Friday I can only assume he's unable to post just now so 'll exercise GM fiat for him[/ooc]
Tristan raises his head from the ledger he has been studying.
"The first question that comes to mind is...what was it destroyed those gnomes so quickly...it must have been sudden..there's no indication in this ledger off any trouble brewing. It seems they had just found a new vein of topaz and were following it to what they thought might be the mother lode and then..nothing."
"Yes adds Sasha "And then there's that sudden change from mine tunnels to dressed walls...what's the reason for that?"
"I can think of two possibilities," I reply. "One is that we have not found anything o great importance ... the dressed stone is of gnomish construction and it's just a pleasanter section to live in - after all we can guess gnomes were not the only occupants here. The guardian with this wand would have been formidable, and the pit ... well it strikes me that it would be a fairly difficult barrier for gnomes to overcome.
"The other possibility is that the gnomes found the dressed stone at the end of their load ... but I suspect that this would be in the lowest level. We simply do not know enough, yet, save this: Whatever killed the gnomes set those traps and alarms, and that is formidable magic."
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Tristan looks troubled
"There are many stories of what dwells beneath the earth...fell races worshipping foul gods and even demons. Maybe our gnomes stumbled into a lair of such a race."
He pulls out the scarab
"This is a strange piece, other than it being enchanted with a moderate divination I can't make out what it's supposed to do. Perhaps one of you can tell what it is?"
He passes the piece to Gashelle.
"Whatever set all of those t- traps had magic (the fire traps), was dedicated (the sheer number of traps), and wasn't interested in the magic or valuable items we've found. They could work stone well (the pit trap).
"My guess would be dwarves." She turns to Tristan and shrugs, "Demon-worshipping dwarves, mayhap."
Gashelle has been so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed that her stutter all but disappeared.
She starts to speak again, stops and corrects herself before beginning. "Etariel, wh- what questions are bothering y- you?"
Tristan pulls out the scarab."This is a strange piece, other than it being enchanted with a moderate divination I can't make out what it's supposed to do. Perhaps one of you can tell what it is?"
He passes the piece to Gashelle.
"Etariel, S- Sasha, shall we gather 'round and s- see what we can tell about th- this?"
"I'm wondering if whoever our spellcaster is, are they still alive down here? Because we have triggered their alarms, and made our presence plain, but they have yet to show themselves. Either they are preparing a reception deeper in, or else they are no longer down here - but then it has been a long time."
I give it a moment of thought.
"I do not think that dwarves would be the culprits ... the dressed stone passageway is very tall."
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Between the three of you you finally work out what the sacarab is...it's a lesser scarab of Golembane...designed to affect only Flesh Golems.
"Another Mystery " Says Avinar..."why on earth would someone have hidden that sort of item where we found it..there were no bones and I doubt it was lost..and were those elementals bound guards...or just happenstance"
"If it wasn't hidden, but lost, then it makes sense," I point out. "A spellcaster could make a Golem ... if they were facing a Golem ..."
I pull my thoughts together.
"If there's a Golem down there, then one of you warriors need to take this in order to fight it effectively." I look at Gashelle and Avinar.
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Avinar smiles softly..."Maybe at some other time it would be more fitting for me to use it but not now I think even if I could affect such a creature it would take longer for me to destroy it than Gashelle would..she has shown herself to be a fighter of consummate skill so far..let her wear the scarab for now."
Gashelle pins the Scarab on her left shoulder. "I consider m- myself to be the s- steward of this item, not it's owner. Let m- me know if anyone else n- needs it."
Gashelle turns towards Etariel. "Dead, I think. I suspect we're encountering the traps laid decades ago. Although I am still very curious about the word we heard shouted three times."
"I have a f- few questions, myself. First, what c- caused the explosion out the side of the mountain? Was it something that was always on this level, or something that r- rode the elevator up? How long has it been here? Is it something we n- need to track down?
"Next, w- who caused the explosion in the workroom down there? How is that related to the attacking c- cart, or the statues? If the explosion was caused b- by a dwarf, was it someone who came from the more polished halls ahead of us?
"And, what's the p- pit in the hallway supposed to do?"
"We don't know enough to answer the first question, and any answers will lie further in I think," I sigh, "but I have a ... story, perhaps, that may explain the other details." I smile slightly, my tendency to come up with stories rather than explanations sometimes drove both of my parents to distraction as they sought to teach me wizardry.
"Imagine a wizard down here with the gnomes, working on alchemy, devices ... and golems. He makes many to help the gnomes, but Flesh Golems are unreliable - they can go erratic at times, I've heard. So he makes the scarab, just in case.
"Then he has an accident, an explosion in his lab, and he's badly hurt. Perhaps he's driven mad by it, perhaps the golem is, but the Golem rampages, driving out the gnomes. It carries him to the safest part of the complex - perhaps it builds the stone passage we saw - and it, or they, set the traps to protect them from the gnomes returning, and throw the scarab into the water to lose it forever. And here they stay, until the wizard passes away or leaves, leaving just the golem, alone, and the traps ..."
I trail off, lost in thought as I gaze into the cooking fire.
As the group sets about preparing dinner, Tristan pulls a gallon sized keg out of his pack. "I have had about enough of hauling this around!" He declares. "Who wants ale with dinner?"
After examining the scarab with the others, Tristan asks "So what does a scarab of golembane do, exactly?"
"Golems are very difficult to injure," I explain, "one reason they are favoured as guardians. The wearer of one of these talismans can injure them as if they were normal creatures, however."
Gashelle, who was trying to dredge her long-rusty, student's notes on golems, and recall the details of the theory of conjuring earth elementals and binding them into inhabitable flesh, smiles at Etariel's simply summary, and nods.
Gashelle looks down the hallway to the tunnel entrance, and the darkening sky. "Etariel, c- can you heal us any f- further before retiring?"
"I'm afraid I prepared my magics for the possibility of an encounter in the wild. I'll be able to prepare more at dawn, though, and I have no doubts Tristan and Sasha will be able to assist you then as well."
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Avinar picks up his heavy winter blanket and moves to the tunnel mouth securing it to block any light from spilling out.
"Best not attract any more attention than we need to" he says as he returns to the fire
You enjoy a relatively quiet night the only disturbance being the hunting cry of a Hippogriff shortly before last watch but it seems to be after prey on the lands below, possibly that herd of wild horses you saw yesterday
After a hurried breakfast Sasha offers to use his heavenly fire to heal both Tristan and Gashelle back to full strength
After a hurried breakfast Sasha uses his heavenly fire to heal both Tristan and Gashelle back to full strength
Eltariel spends her watch studying her spells book, preparing some arcane magic, then meditating on the natural world for her druidic spells. Then she prepares breakfast for everyone ...
Gashelle looks down the hallway to the tunnel entrance, and the darkening sky. "Etariel, c- can you heal us any f- further before retiring?"
"I'm afraid I prepared my magics for the possibility of an encounter in the wild. I'll be able to prepare more at dawn, though, and I have no doubts Tristan and Sasha will be able to assist you then as well."
Tristan over at Gashelle somewhat embarassed. "I'm sorry Gashelle, I didnt realize that you were still hurt. I can manage another spell tonight." Tristan casts cure light wounds on the half-elf warrior.
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This area of the cavern complex was designed for larger creatures. The floor is still treacherous, though for a different reason. The floor, walls and ceilings are covered with slimy mosses and molds a full inch in depth.This is interspersed with patches of all varieties of mushrooms. Running or charging attempts require a DC 15 Balance check or the charger falls prone.
You move down the passageway Tristan scanning for traps as he leads the way to the corner but the way is clear of hazards apart from the slime. Looking down the passageway from the corner he sees it open out into a chamber ahead.
Moving along the passage to the rooms entrance you peer in
This room might have once been a barracks, as there are many bunk beds and what seems tobe a couch in one corner. The details are hard to make out because a carpet of slimy fungus covers everything, extending into the two hallways to the left and right of the room.
In addition you can hear a low rumbling sound in the distance..you cant be sure what's making that but it does not seem to be getting any closer.
I examine the size of the bunks in the 'barracks' - how large are they?