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With two more swift kicks, Remy takes out the final combusted and also the ball of flame hanging in the air.
The last wisp of flames quickly flies into one of the furnaces and merges with the flames.
The furnaces remain simmering for a few more minutes, and you feel the flames watching you. An old, almost eldrich energy, the presence hangs in the air.
The burnt body near the gate is almost unrecognizable, the burns putting themselves to good work. The body still bears some +1 hide armor and is clutches his masterwork longsword.
The gate itself, is well constructed, but the gate seems to have been soldered together by something extremely hot. Through the gate, you can see an alcove with a statue through the space before you, and two corridors stretching either direction.
While she is still enlarged, Remy makes her way to the gate and hauls it open, holding it up so the rest of the party can pass through. She peers at the statue, and then at the narrow corridors leading away. "I don't think I'll be able to fit through at this size. Maddie, can you return me to normal?"
Flik looks at the stautue to see if he can puzzle out anything about it.
Maddie's voice responds from right behind Remy, "Oh! Right. Ummmmm...."
Maddie joins Flik in looking at the statue, "Whaddya think? Looks cool, huh?"
Borgol looks around at the damage and then chuckles, "That went considerably better than the last few encounters."
He then steps forward and says, "Let's see if the gate, or statue, are trapped." He quickly casts detect magic, then begins to examine them.
Remy puts out a hand to hold Maddie back until Borgol finishes his inspection.
Fergus' face glows in the fiery cast of the furnace. He is a youth again swinging his hammer at the piece of metal he just pulled from the forge. His uncle nods approvingly as each hammer strike forms the piece of metal into a future sword.
He is that youth again! His uncle has been replaced with Torag who is joined by Angraad. They both continue to nod silent approval.
Fergus grips his Axe tightly, the blood rushing through his veins as if heated by the forge itself!
He looks for his enemies only to find they have already fallen.
He is almost disappointed as the strength and vitality of his youth leave him and the images of Torag and Angraad disappear.
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Through the soldered up gate, you can see the alcove. An immense and angry countenance glares out of this alcove: a large sculpture of a woman’s head protruding from the stone of the wall. Her face is severe, her nostrils flared, her jaw clenched, her eyes angry and penetrating. A hallway leads north from the alcove, while to the south an iron door blocks passage.
Maddie can tell that this sculpture is a duplicate in miniature of the colossal visage that stares down from the summit of Hollow Mountain: a portrayal of Runelord Alaznist. Examining it at a distance, you notice that the jaw is hinged slightly.
Borgol and Fergus can tell that the soldering work is sloppy, and who ever done it didn't spend long enough time to make a strong enough bond.
Before Maddie dismisses her enlarge spell, Remy will grip the bars of the gate and pry them apart with all her might.
Borgol says, "The soldering holding things together is sloppy. Would probably be easy enough to break -- especially if we applied heat to the bonds."
Remy grunts softly with the exertion, but she is pleased when the gate opens. She shakes her arms to relieve some of the stress and then moves to the hinged mouth of the statue to try to find a way to open it.
If there doesn't seem to be an easy way to do so, she'll point to the north hallway. "Let's check down there first before we go through the other door."
Borgol nods, "Seems as good a place as any. I didn't sense anything strange with my detect magic."
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Having said that, Remy decides to take point on heading down the corridor, which she sees make a sharp right turn. Borgol stays at the back of the group, keeping his weapons out and watching the Runelords stone vissage from a distance. As the group makes its way further down the corridor, and Borgol is the last person in the final room, he blinks and decides to follow. "What a creepy statue. It's like it was actually observing us..."
The stonework along the corridor is unremarkable to the rest of you, however, Fergus recognizes the dwarven handywork that went into constructing such a pathway.
The corridor eventually opens up in to a large chamber. A pile of ore and a large wheel of blackened iron are all that occupy this space. A shaft in the floor at the east end of the room is also visible, with ancient tangles of chains hanging down into it from a complex mechanism in the ceiling above.
The pit descends into darkness, but of the end of your vision, you can see some old mechanisms stuck underneath some fallen rubble, hanging in the air.
Remy cautiously approaches the edge of the pit and peers down into the gloom. ”There’s something stuck down there! Fergus, can you make out any more details?”
The monk eyes the wheel dubiously. ”Anybody know how to work this thing?”
Fergus' eyes will follow where Remy points.
Thanks Remy, I see it now. Let me see if I can make out what it is.
"It is an elevator, but be careful! The whole thing will collapse if we tinker with it."
Remy frowns at Flik’s assessment. ”Could we fix it? Or maybe there is another way to get it up here?”
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Looking down in the hole.
Remy looks around for another option and observe the large wheel standing on the side of the room, chains connected to the ceiling holding up the mechanism. It looks old and rusty, and you notice that parts of it have been soldered together, as if by an immense heat. You could potentially use the mechanism with this, but you would need to unjam it first.
"If someone where to carefully lift the load off of the elevator, we might be able to repair it. They would need to climb down, lift the load, carefully balance it, and climb back up."
Flik rubs his nose. "If we can manage that, I think we could unstick this wheel mechanism."
Maddie's eyes dance over the mechanism, and she sends her lights down to point out the places she's talking about, "See? Right here, here, and here. I can also make you fly if you need... hmmm. Actually, it seems light enough I might be able to get it if I was down there."
There's a moment's pause, then Maddie, unless stopped, casts a spell on herself and lifts into the air, flying down and clears off the platform.
Uncertain if her skills are up to this task, Remy watches nervously as Maddie flits around. "Please be careful!" she calls down.
Borgol says, "I think it's better to save that magic for when we need it, Maddie. Here, we could just lower someone down on a rope... Ropes are slower, but right now we have time - later, we might not. "
Remy puts a hand on Borgol’s arm. ”It’s okay, let her try first.”
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The little Maddie descends into the dark well, and slowly reaches the point where the chain is anchored to the side of the well by debris and rubble. She is safely able to dislodge the heavy pieces of fallen timber and rock, enough to get a good grip on the chain. Rusted from long unuse, the chains are cold and stiff making it hard for the small girl to pull them apart.
It takes her a few tries, using what little upper body strength and finesse she has to tug away at the chains. The onlookers from above are worried for a movement, as her unsuccessful attempts cause the whole system to shake.
But not giving up in her efforts, with the final pull, the chains are loose from the stone. They fall into their natural positions, the hard sound of metal on rock cascading down into the lower floors of the Hollow Mountain.
With the whole system working again, you can wrench up the wheel to raise whatever platform is inside the well.
Raising the platform, you find a container filled with a collection of unrefined mithral ore. 9,000 gp worth of mithral ore, weighing a total of 18lbs.
"Woohoo! I did it! Go me!" Maddie gives a bit of a dance as she finally manages to work it free, which looks odd given the fact she's floating in midair, pausing only momentarily wince at the clanging from below before resuming, "And you thought I couldn't do it!" she calls back to Borgol, sticking her tongue out at him. She stays down in the hole just long enough for either the adults to get uncomfortable or the lift to be pulled up (whichever comes first) before she darts back up from the hole to her comfortable position atop Remy's shoulders.
"It's so shiny! Oh, mithril! I can make so much stuff with this! Can we keep it? Can we keep it, pleeeaaaseeee?" she asks, floating upside down and looking with pleading eyes directly in front of Remy's face.
"Oh my, yes! This is quite valuable." Flik peers over into the hole.
"Looks like we've also uncovered a way deeper into the compound."
Remy’s biceps bulge as she struggles with the wheel, but after a few tries, she manages to haul the lift up. And she is not disappointed by what she sees, her amber eyes sparkling with wonder—and a bit of draconic avarice—as she takes in the mithral ore.
The monk grins at Maddie. ”Of course, we are going to keep it! Let’s leave it here for now. We can come back for it on the way out—and figure out just how to carry it all!”
She peers down the hole at Flik’s statement. ”That’s a long way down. If we need to explore down there later, we can. Right now, let’s finish this level.”
Remy leads the way back to the door south of the statue and opens it.
Borgol shakes his head, "I didn't say you couldn't - all I said maybe you'd want your fly spell for something important later.... because it'd be a real shame if we need it and it was gone because it was used to do something we could have done with a rope."
He pauses, trying to think of a way to put it, then says, "Spells are like cupcakes. Sure, they're delicious and fun to eat, but if you eat 'em all now - when there's other things available -- you won't have them to eat later when you're actually hungry."
He sighs, then says, "As for your wonderful find, well, I could probably fit it into my pack, if we want. Or at least split it with Fergus. Of course, as nifty as mithril is, I think we'll end up needing to trade it - unless one of you is secretly carrying a smelter in their pocket...and knows how to refine ore?"
"But cupcakes are so goooood! Especially fresh. Why would you ever wait to eat one? But I have lots of spells! I rarely use them for anything useful, and this was really fun!" Maddie seems to be completely missing the point of the comparison, "And I can do stuff with Mithril! Lots of stuff! It's really good at holding magic,and I can get it out!"
Borgol's and Maddie's words make Remy's stomach rumble. "Great, you had to talk about cupcakes! Now I'm hungry!" she pouts.
"Go ahead and split the ore in your packs, then, if you don't mind the extra weight. I'm sure we can find somebody in Magnimar to melt it down so we can make things from it."
Borgol sighs, "You can tell that certain little girls never had to worry about going hungry. Must be nice."
He shrugs, "Anyhow, if you're convinced you have magic to spare, then by all means use it. All I'll say is that I hope that you never have to learn the lessons I had beaten into me - literally at times - the hard way."
He waits a moment, hoping the weight of what he said lands, even a little, before adding, "And that I've also just learned to never leave Maddie and Remy alone with our baked goods."
He stretches and says, "I'm sure we can probably find someone to trade the ore for refined, or pay a small fee for someone to do it... Either way, I think it'd make a fine breastplate for everyone's favourite battle cleric."
Remy sighs. "For all my training and discipline, sweets remain my weakness. And in this body, all that sugar would go straight to my thighs."
She smiles at Borgol. "Yes, I think you'd look quite dashing in a gleaming mithral breastplate!" A slight blush colors her cheeks.
Borgol laughs at Remy's statement, even as he fails to prevent himself from looking - no, admiring, let's be honest - Remy's shapely form. He shakes himself and chuckles, almost naturally, "From pit fighter to shining holy knight. Who'd have thought?", very pleased to concentrate on the conversation and not the flood of thoughts and jumbled feelings her casual comment released.
By the Stag, why can't I keep my thoughts clear? Maybe there's some residual magic in that body from the Runelord of Lust? But even that wouldn't explain this tangled knot of things that I shouldn't be dropping on a trusted friend and companion.... though, at this point, being dipped in cold water to cool my blood might at least help keep me rational.
"I doubt either one of us expected to be where we are today," Remy says. "But that's not necessarily a bad thing, is it?" Her blush deepens when she notices Borgol staring at her, but her smile doesn't fade.
Borgol shakes his head, "No, to be honest, I rather figured I'd die in one of those pits... and, really, I almost did if not for some intervention."
He looks around, "Though when I look around, I'm not sure I'm as fond of this place as you seem to be -- though I certainly am pleased with the company." He smiles, then realizes what he's said and quickly adds, "Never thought I'd find such a fine group of friends and comrades."
"Fine friends, indeed," Remy replies. "Though I'll be happy to get back to the city once we've finished our task here in this gloomy dungeon."
Maddie somehow notices Remy's blushing, "Oh, Remy! Are you too hot? Did I mess up how hot is comfortable for you? And I'm glad I met all of you, too! Grownups are never my height!"
"What?" Remy asks, blinking at Maddie. Realizing belatedly that the others can see how much she is enjoying Borgol's attention only makes her blush even harder. "N-no! I'm fine, really! Just, uh... We should keep moving, right?"
The monk quickly walks away from the precocious wizard.
Maddie shrugs and floats back to her favorite perch as they venture forward.
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Fergus' eyes open wide at the site of the Mithral and he lets out a low whistle. By Torag's Forge! It has been a while since I have seen anything so beautiful!
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The conversation makes for a good distraction from the mission, not knowing what is around the corner of this ancient fortress.
As you return to the chamber with the angry visage, you observe its unchanged features, but somehow feel more uneasy than as when you left.
As Remy goes to open the door, Flik suddenly grabs her by the hand and cautions her against doing so.
Flick will give himself a pep-talk and attempt to disable the trap.
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Flik takes out his tools, and with much finesse disassembles the trap, raising the needle on the other side of the door frame to cut the rope connecting to the axel of the door. You hear some rattling of alchemical bottle on the other side as you swing open the door, but they do not fall.
You find 4x artokus's fire.
It is as if, someone is placing smaller traps behind them. Do they know you are coming?
In the next room, three large wheeled pushcarts lie in disrepair here, their contents in little better shape.
Hallways extend either side of the room.
Remy pulls up short at Flik’s warning. ”Nice job,” she says as he disables the trap.
”Somebody’s looked through these weapons recently. Likely the same one who set that trap. Keep your eyes peeled.”
The monk leads the group down the east hallway.
"Oh! That's cool!" Maddie telekinetically grabs a bottle of the artokus's fire and looks over the alchemical weapons, "Wow! That's interesting. It can use transcendent mana to further power itself. Hmmmm...." it's clear her mind is not in the same room as the others as she studies the fire, brow furrowed as she examines the incendiary device right above Remy's head.
Remy gives Maddie a worried look. ”Careful up there! I just finished growing my hair back after that goblin burned it off!”