(Adventure) Pest removal at unusual height and depth

Other Guy · Jun 6, 2004

Loskrad laughs with the youths, relieved to see people joking here. “Ah, free food!” he exclaims, hurrying over to the table of fruit juices, cheese, and bread. “Thanks.”

Fangor the Fierce · Jun 6, 2004

Shadowlyn lets the others talk for the time being, scanning the area for anything noticeable. She gets a piece of bread and breaks off a piece to feed to Shilo.

Pbartender · Jun 7, 2004

Yawning, Jack lays back and streches out on the warm stone, half dozing in the morning sunshine. He idly considers his new companions.

~There's that great hulkin' fellow with the two-stride-long butcher knife. He certainly looks like he can be takin' care of himself,~ he thinks to himself. ~And that scrawny wizard with the elfish hair should be alright, so long as he's stayin' behind that cove with the pig-sticker.~

~Dunno what to make of that sun-priest. Sent by Mister Leo, I'd wager, and certain to be keepin' an eye on the rest of us, says I.~

~I wonder if that halfling bugger's a relation? He's a sneak-theif, by gum, and that's for sure. 'Shadowlyn Darkfoot'... Sounds like somethin' out of the fairy stories old Gammer used tell. Hrm... Maybe from of dear old Mum's side of the family, rest her soul. They always did have a hankerin' for fanciful monikers. Not a right proper halfling name amongst the lot of them.~

~A mighty handsome puppy dog, that is.~ Jack opens one eye, and looks toward the dog, until Shilo has his undivided attention. He surrepticiously slips a bit of buccaned meat out of his pocket, and drops it to the ground nearby. Giving the dog a sly wink, he recommences dozing.

Pbartender · Jun 8, 2004

Jack, bored with sitting around watching a bunch of priests watch an empty hole in the ground, wonders just how long a city council meeting can take and where that girl with the wine ran off to.

He considers heading back to the Red Dragon... maybe one of those other job offers is still hanging around. If nothing else, he can always get a drink there while he's waiting.

He sits up, and hops off his stone. "Be right back, mates," he tells the others. He gives Shilo a quick scratch behind the ears and trots off back toward the Inn.

Kahuna Burger · Jun 8, 2004

Pbartender said:
He sits up, and hops off his stone. "Be right back, mates," he tells the others. He gives Shilo a quick scratch behind the ears and trots off back toward the Inn.

ooc: ah, cut me some slack shorty, life has a way of happening.

The bald girl comes back with not only a decanter of wine, but some hot meat rolls, and looks about the group in mild confusion. "Sorry, I had to dodge Mr. Uptight. Leo's still not around, he's probably getting sidetracked on that old zoning issue before the council will help him with this mess-"

"Yes, dear, thats fairly accurate." says a familiar man stepping under the pavillion. He looks less pompous than this morning, as if his burdens have taken him past self righteous, all the way out the other side to contemplative. "And it should be noted that some temple dedicates actuall refer to me as His Grace Leonard." The girl jumps a little but recovers quickly and gives him a flourishing and sarcastic obsequience before scurrying off.

Sighing, his grace sits at the table and pours a small glass of the newfound wine before cutting it with fruit juice. "I will explain the situation as clearly and briefly as possible. Many of you are new or transient to our fine city, so there is some history you will be unaware of. In past generations, certain engineering minded folks in power decided that Orurrus needed a disposal system for waste and water, and the draining of the streets after the rain - a set of sewers, in other words. After a convinient city wide disaster made a great deal of rebuilding neccassary anyway, such a system was built, with access tunnels, canals to carry water, all the wonderful things the engineers could envision. Sadly, they did not envision the non sanitation related consequences of running miles of large walkways connecting every part of our sity under the cover of earth and darkness, and it took less than a generation for the sewers to become the home of criminal activities, vermin both large and small and some less pleasant squatters. After the incident with the ocre jelly and the new toilet system at the city council building, the system was sealed off completely from both the surface and its drains to the harbor, and has caused only a few problems since when foolish builders don't properly consider its integrety in their building plans. Or when new high priests from out of town don't listen to the local concerns when building a fantastic new temple."

He sighs and takes another drink. Gesturing around at the bored workers he goes on. "This morning was meant to be the consecration of the site and laying of the cornerstones, followed by a tasteful celebration and a lot of backbreaking work. Unfortunately, a consecration of this significance can take place only on a site which is already devoid of evil. The workers and architects have been subjected to approval by the paladins every day, the preists have been working near constant minor consecrations, in any other area, it would be ready. But the priests involved have been from out of town, and the architects worry only for the structural integrety of the sewer system, not its moral impact. A few dozen feet or less below the area His Grace Randolf tried to consecrate this morning is a nest of minor undead, oozing abominations and who knows what else that has adapted itself to a mostly closed environment of darkness and damp for several decades!" He refills his glass only from the wine this time and takes a long drink. After regaining his composure, he places a bag on the table and removes several items - three magical wands, and a small round stone with a glowing mark on one edge, plus four torches which apear to already be on fire. "After some argument with the council, I have been allowed to open one of the locks to the system at the old docks. It was installed as a lock rather than a seal in case of emergency or if severe flooding swelled the system dangerously. I could not convince them to let you enter the system here, more's the pity. You will have to enter there and find your way underground to the area under this temple. The light on this stone always points to the hub of the world and should aid you. The sewers are entirely stonework, luckily, so any with the use of arcane magic amoung you will be able to use this," he pushes forward one of the wands, which has a pattern of stone shaped into it, "to seal off the system entirely around the consecrated area. You must then destroy every bit of natural or supernatural vermin which infests that specific area. You, young cleric, will likely have need of this," He hands another of the wands, apparently of curing, to Reilin, "To aid your companions and do some additional damage to any undead you encounter. I've also gathered a few torches that won't go out in the damp, and this final wand will, well, help you all fit." He grins a little. "The system was orriginally built and maintained by the gnomes who largely dominated the engineering guilds of the city at that time, and while some areas are up to six or seven feet high, most of the access trunnels are planned for those of a smaller stature."

Getting up and stretching, he looks out from under the pavillion and smiles. "And it looks like the final bit of preparation is finally done." Following his gaze, you see that all around the construction site, where the preists had been kneeling and praying, a wall of light has sprung up, red in color. "The red means it encompases an unclean area. Seal the tunnels just over this curtain or outside of it. When the area is fully sealed and devoid of evil, the curtain will turn gold and it will be our signal and yours that your work is done. At that point we will be able to breach the sewers safely from here and you can exit from inside the purged area rather than treeking out again."

"So, do you have any questions?"

Torlax · Jun 8, 2004

Reilin nods graciously as he takes the wand, trying to determine its specific power from what he knows of magic and magical instruments. His new toy makes his eyes light up a little. "One of our companions has departed momentarily... I think he'll be back soon. I am curious about this stone... is it to guide our path directly, or merely to serve as a point of reference? In either case, I am ready to serve."

(OOC: Basically, I want to know if the stone points north, or points to the place we're headed, or neither... that hub of the world comment confused me.)

Kahuna Burger · Jun 8, 2004

Torlax said:
(OOC: Basically, I want to know if the stone points north, or points to the place we're headed, or neither... that hub of the world comment confused me.)

ooc: officially Enworld is a disk on the back of an elephant/turtle, etc. while we've all been using the usual direction, I was inspired to a bit of disk flavor and the pratchet novel's directional terms (hubward, rimward, turnwise and windershins). consider it a compass that points north.

Fangor the Fierce · Jun 8, 2004

Shadowlyn listens to the man's story, looking over at the wands and the blue stone. "Well, Undead are a nasty bunch to deal with. But if we must, then so be it. How far is this entrance from this location? I would like to know about the canals and sewers a but more. Were there any 'safety' devices put in place, from its designers?" Shadowlyn is hinting at any traps that they should be on the look out for.

Pbartender · Jun 8, 2004

Kahuna Burger said:
ooc: ah, cut me some slack shorty, life has a way of happening.

The bald girl comes back with not only a decanter of wine, but some hot meat rolls, and looks about the group in mild confusion. "Sorry, I had to dodge Mr. Uptight. Leo's still not around, he's probably getting sidetracked on that old zoning issue before the council will help him with this mess-"

OOC: No problem... I was working the night shift this week, and got a little bored.

A hand gently accepts the decanter and the tray of meat rolls from the girl's hands. "Thank you kindly, miss. These'll do nicely, if of you please." Refreshments in hand, Jack resumes his position upon the masonry block, and settles in to listen to Leopold's story.

Torlax said:
"One of our companions has departed momentarily... I think he'll be back soon."

He hadn't noticed until he spoke up, but Reilin suddenly realizes that his momentarily departed companion has already returned. Had the halfling really been there all the time? Had he ever actually left to begin with? For the life of him, Reilin can't seem to remember.

OCC: If I'm going to be a little sneak, I might as well do it with style, eh?

silentspace · Jun 9, 2004

Mintrik, guessing that he's the only arcanist present, takes the two arcane wands, the one with the pattern of stone on it, and the one to make us 'fit'.

"I can guess what the wand that makes us fit do, but what does the first wand, the one that 'seals off the system', do?"