Broccli_Head
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Hooray! An update!
Love the Beast of Saerloon and his jaw-tearing punches!
Love the Beast of Saerloon and his jaw-tearing punches!
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The Selgaunt Campaign: Harpers Undercover in Sembia [no more updates]
- Thread starter haiiro
- Start date
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thedangerranger
Registered User
It didn't really get a lot of screentime in any of the writeups, but it is amazing how paranoid we all were around Mephiskaran and his little homonculi. There was this great big table filled with food he kept urging us to eat. No one except Viktor and Thissiken ate. Hmmm... The two most comfortable with sharing info...
Cause or effect?
-tdr-
Cause or effect?
-tdr-
haiiro
First Post
Through the Painting
[size=+1]Through the Painting[/size]
(In the Realms: 7th & 8th of Kythorn (June), 1372 DR, The Year of the Rested Serpent)
Sitting around a table in one of Pub's common rooms, the Follies start their day by discussing some of the particulars of their coming journey. They are still divided over whether or not to trust Thissiken completely, though all of them are excited about the prospect of finally seeing some of his dracotechnics. There's also a lot of back-and-forth about how concerned they should be over what happens to the painting while they're gone. While shoveling down their tasty grub, they consider a few different scenarios -- the painting leads to a cave that no one would ever want to visit again, Mephiskaran keeps it and sends someone through it after them -- and wonder how concerned they should be about getting it back.
When Thissiken comes down to join them, he seems alert and excited. His only contribution to the conversation is that Algaer cares greatly for his paintings, and would almost certainly want the Promise back. He then ushers the Follies upstairs, telling them that he has some presents to show them.
Noting that Thissiken seems to be feeling better, Cupric suggests that Tal bring him some breakfast. Thissiken grins and asks Tal to surprise him, and Tal takes off for the kitchen with a smirk on his face and a spring in his step. Thissiken beckons the Follies to gather around his bed, where a heavy blanket covers several lumps of different sizes. When Tal returns with a covered plate, Thissiken ignores it in favor of what's on the bed.
With a somewhat clumsy flourish, he draws back the blanket and reveals several peculiar objects. There are nine altogether: three small metal spheres, each with a coil of cord protruding from them; two rectangular blocks of what appears to be stone, each with a "T" stamped on their top face; a single small barrel made of dark wood banded with brass; a large stone cube with an ornate "T" on one side; and two short arrows with heavy metal heads, each of which has a tindertwig tied to the shaft.
Beaming, Thissiken begins to describe the objects. Pointing to the large cube, he tells them it's called a walljammer, "The pinnacle of our art -- it will blow a giant hole through just about anything." The two rectangular blocks he refers to as lockbusters, telling the Follies that the side with the "T" will stick to nearly any surface. With great care, he brushes away some of the pebbling on what they thought was its stone surface, revealing a slightly tacky gray substance with a long channel in it. In the channel is a fuse, with regular stripes along its length.
Thissiken explains that -- like nearly all dracotechnics -- these will explode when the fuse reaches its end. How long that takes can be determined to within a few breaths by cutting the fuse to the desired length. Once he's sure that the Follies understand the basics of using these powerful explosives -- a new term for most of them -- he lets them take what they like from his stock. He seems a bit worried that they will take everything, and once or twice he casually mentions that this is everything he's got on hand.
As the Follies gingerly heft and prod the various items, the gnome says, "All dracotechnics are designed to destroy fortifications...and sometimes people. That's why they're not allowed in the High City." He starts on his breakfast as he talks, and after the first bite he looks up at Tal and asks, "How did you know I liked pigeon necks so much?"
Before choosing their gifts from Thissiken, the Follies agree that they should decide what's going to happen to the painting while they're gone. Thissiken tells them that Pub has vaults that can be rented out, which helps them narrow it down to two choices: Mephiskaran keeps the painting at the temple of Azuth, or Thissiken takes it back to Pub and puts it in a vault. They decide to put it to a vote, and Thissiken pipes up, "I should get two votes, because I'm important."
After going around the room, the vote stands at four to three in favor of Thissiken taking the painting after they've gone through it, with Tal, Jaehn and Vicktor in the minority. Since the subject of Thissiken's and Vicktor's friendliness towards Mephiskaran came up before the vote, Thissiken's vote against the corpulent wizard helps to allay some of the Follies' suspicions about his possible ensorcellment.
With that decided, the Follies pack up their chosen dracotechnics -- the two arrows for Cupric, the knockerbomb barrel for Tal, and the three small gremlyn grenades for Artemis. They opted against the lockbusters after Thissiken warned them not to cut into them, or jostle them unnecessarily, and the walljammer was ruled to be too unwieldy to transport. Thissiken also tells the party that he doesn't think he can go back to his shop again -- for fear someone will try to kill him -- and that this whole affair is going to change his life dramatically. He hints that he will probably try to set up shop in Pub, but seems uncertain what his future holds.
Before they leave Pub, the Follies have a note delivered to Farry's Port canceling their performances for the foreseeable future -- and they receive several deliveries as well. Pub's messenger service brings them Cupric's lute parts from the Strings, and a return message from the Grand Sword of the temple of Torm in the High City for Tal, while a runner from the temple of Azuth brings Jaehn a small box.
When opened, the box turns out to contain several homun who excitedly present Jaehn with the spells that he requested, as well as their notes about Shaundakul. The notes are on two thick sheets of vellum and penned in dozens of different styles -- all written so small as to require a magnifying glass to read comfortably. Before closing the lid of their box, the homun slyly mention to Jaehn that they decided not to charge him the balance on his spells because they like the Follies, but they refuse to elaborate.
Talishmere also get a feather token from Tarayn of Dracon Row, which he reads aloud to the other Follies:
To Tuggle’s Follies,
Protectors of Dracon Row
From the Drakesmiths of Dracon Row,
Selgaunt’s Finest Purveyors of Dracotechnic Arts,
Simple words cannot be enough thanks, but for now they’ll have to do.
We are grateful, and intend to show our gratitude.
At present, we are very busy working on a surprise for certain unsavory parties.
We will be seeing you soon.
Penned by Tarayn of Dracon Row,
On Behalf of the Undersigned,
(Signed by a dozen drakesmiths)
PS, Stay off my roof.
The Follies all grin at the idea of a group of drakesmiths preparing a "surprise" for someone, and amidst speculation about who the lucky parties in question might be, they head out for the temple of Azuth.
As before, Thissiken's knowledge of back streets makes for an uneventful journey to through the city. En route, however, the Follies catch sight of several squads of Silver Ravens -- a sight they have not seen before. Heavily armed and armored, the Ravens seem to be patrolling the city in much the same manner as the various guard factions.
Arriving at the temple, the Follies are greeted with another unexpected sight: the entryway is almost entirely devoid of homun. A few paces back from the door, four homun are supporting a tiny sedan chair -- and seated in the chair, his tiny bow cradled in one arm, is Falmin. While only a handful of homun are visible at ground level, the walkways, bridges and tubes that criss-cross the hall at ceiling level are swarming with them.
"I was expecting you," says Falmin. He then glares at one of the sedan-bearing homun, causing all four of them to spin the throne around and scamper off down the passageway. The Follies follow Falmin back through the winding corridors to Mephiskaran's chamber. When they reach the smoky doorway, Falmin steps down from his chair and sends the other four homun skittering away with a glance. Without a word, he passes through the falling smoke.
Stepping through after him, the Follies find themselves once again in Mephiskaran's presence. He is seated in his customary sofa at the far end of the long table, and the room is just as cold and bare is it was the last time they were there. The table, however, is different: instead of food, the near half holds three lidded baskets with straps attached to them, designed to be worn as backpacks, as well as a small ivory box. The far half, closer to Mephiskaran, is completely covered with a thick white pelt, furry side up. Directly in front of him is a square of black silk, on which are arrayed numerous peculiar tools.
Smiling broadly, Mephiskaran welcomes them inside. Although Falmin's demeanor is unchanged, Mephiskaran himself seems almost chummy. Once all of the Follies are in the room, he asks them if they have decided who will be holding onto the painting in their absence. When they indicate that they will be leaving it in Thissiken's care, he replies, "But it will be so much safer with me. Gnomes are so fragile."
Seeing that their minds are made up, he drops the issue and moves on to explaining what's on the table. He tells them that the three packs contain enough food for six people for two tendays, along with a good amount of water, torches, rope and other essentials. As he talks, several of the Follies notice that he is wearing a slim golden headband in addition to his usual robes.
As Tal empties and sorts the packs, making sure that they don't contain any unpleasant surprises, Mephiskaran continues, telling them that the box holds two more image crystals. While the other Follies discuss how much they want to carry with them, Jaehn procures an extension for his side of the bargain with Mephiskaran: one month from the date of the Follies' return from their journey. He shakes with Falmin to seal these terms.
As some of the Follies have concerns about how much they can trust Mephiskaran's rations, they ask him if he cares whether they take the packs with them or not. He replies, "I don't care what you do with them, just don't starve to death before you bring something back."
Once the Follies are geared up and ready to go, Mephiskaran asks them for the painting. Accepting it from Jaehn, he places it carefully on the pelt. Selecting a few tools, he begins probing and prodding the edges of the canvas. After a few moments he looks up at the Follies, says "Don't worry," and then jabs one of the tools into the center of the Promise.
He then inserts a second tool into the hole and draws the pair apart. Instead of tearing the canvas, his tools pull the image itself aside, revealing a faintly shimmering gray surface. Keeping the tools where they are, Mephiskaran deftly maneuvers the painting to the edge of the table. Holding it steady and gripping the edges of the crystalline frame firmly, he says, "Get closer, and get ready to touch it in unison. It won't stay open for long, so be quick!"
After a moment of shuffling for position, all six of the Follies touch the Promise simultaneously.
With no sense of movement, they suddenly find themselves crowded into one end of a passageway in near-total darkness. Looking up at the same spot Algaer was gazing at in the painting, they see nothing marking the portal through which they came.
[size=+1]Through the Painting[/size]
(In the Realms: 7th & 8th of Kythorn (June), 1372 DR, The Year of the Rested Serpent)
Breakfast, Deliveries, and Dracotechnics
Sitting around a table in one of Pub's common rooms, the Follies start their day by discussing some of the particulars of their coming journey. They are still divided over whether or not to trust Thissiken completely, though all of them are excited about the prospect of finally seeing some of his dracotechnics. There's also a lot of back-and-forth about how concerned they should be over what happens to the painting while they're gone. While shoveling down their tasty grub, they consider a few different scenarios -- the painting leads to a cave that no one would ever want to visit again, Mephiskaran keeps it and sends someone through it after them -- and wonder how concerned they should be about getting it back.
When Thissiken comes down to join them, he seems alert and excited. His only contribution to the conversation is that Algaer cares greatly for his paintings, and would almost certainly want the Promise back. He then ushers the Follies upstairs, telling them that he has some presents to show them.
Noting that Thissiken seems to be feeling better, Cupric suggests that Tal bring him some breakfast. Thissiken grins and asks Tal to surprise him, and Tal takes off for the kitchen with a smirk on his face and a spring in his step. Thissiken beckons the Follies to gather around his bed, where a heavy blanket covers several lumps of different sizes. When Tal returns with a covered plate, Thissiken ignores it in favor of what's on the bed.
With a somewhat clumsy flourish, he draws back the blanket and reveals several peculiar objects. There are nine altogether: three small metal spheres, each with a coil of cord protruding from them; two rectangular blocks of what appears to be stone, each with a "T" stamped on their top face; a single small barrel made of dark wood banded with brass; a large stone cube with an ornate "T" on one side; and two short arrows with heavy metal heads, each of which has a tindertwig tied to the shaft.
Beaming, Thissiken begins to describe the objects. Pointing to the large cube, he tells them it's called a walljammer, "The pinnacle of our art -- it will blow a giant hole through just about anything." The two rectangular blocks he refers to as lockbusters, telling the Follies that the side with the "T" will stick to nearly any surface. With great care, he brushes away some of the pebbling on what they thought was its stone surface, revealing a slightly tacky gray substance with a long channel in it. In the channel is a fuse, with regular stripes along its length.
Thissiken explains that -- like nearly all dracotechnics -- these will explode when the fuse reaches its end. How long that takes can be determined to within a few breaths by cutting the fuse to the desired length. Once he's sure that the Follies understand the basics of using these powerful explosives -- a new term for most of them -- he lets them take what they like from his stock. He seems a bit worried that they will take everything, and once or twice he casually mentions that this is everything he's got on hand.
As the Follies gingerly heft and prod the various items, the gnome says, "All dracotechnics are designed to destroy fortifications...and sometimes people. That's why they're not allowed in the High City." He starts on his breakfast as he talks, and after the first bite he looks up at Tal and asks, "How did you know I liked pigeon necks so much?"
Before choosing their gifts from Thissiken, the Follies agree that they should decide what's going to happen to the painting while they're gone. Thissiken tells them that Pub has vaults that can be rented out, which helps them narrow it down to two choices: Mephiskaran keeps the painting at the temple of Azuth, or Thissiken takes it back to Pub and puts it in a vault. They decide to put it to a vote, and Thissiken pipes up, "I should get two votes, because I'm important."
After going around the room, the vote stands at four to three in favor of Thissiken taking the painting after they've gone through it, with Tal, Jaehn and Vicktor in the minority. Since the subject of Thissiken's and Vicktor's friendliness towards Mephiskaran came up before the vote, Thissiken's vote against the corpulent wizard helps to allay some of the Follies' suspicions about his possible ensorcellment.
With that decided, the Follies pack up their chosen dracotechnics -- the two arrows for Cupric, the knockerbomb barrel for Tal, and the three small gremlyn grenades for Artemis. They opted against the lockbusters after Thissiken warned them not to cut into them, or jostle them unnecessarily, and the walljammer was ruled to be too unwieldy to transport. Thissiken also tells the party that he doesn't think he can go back to his shop again -- for fear someone will try to kill him -- and that this whole affair is going to change his life dramatically. He hints that he will probably try to set up shop in Pub, but seems uncertain what his future holds.
Before they leave Pub, the Follies have a note delivered to Farry's Port canceling their performances for the foreseeable future -- and they receive several deliveries as well. Pub's messenger service brings them Cupric's lute parts from the Strings, and a return message from the Grand Sword of the temple of Torm in the High City for Tal, while a runner from the temple of Azuth brings Jaehn a small box.
When opened, the box turns out to contain several homun who excitedly present Jaehn with the spells that he requested, as well as their notes about Shaundakul. The notes are on two thick sheets of vellum and penned in dozens of different styles -- all written so small as to require a magnifying glass to read comfortably. Before closing the lid of their box, the homun slyly mention to Jaehn that they decided not to charge him the balance on his spells because they like the Follies, but they refuse to elaborate.
Talishmere also get a feather token from Tarayn of Dracon Row, which he reads aloud to the other Follies:
To Tuggle’s Follies,
Protectors of Dracon Row
From the Drakesmiths of Dracon Row,
Selgaunt’s Finest Purveyors of Dracotechnic Arts,
Simple words cannot be enough thanks, but for now they’ll have to do.
We are grateful, and intend to show our gratitude.
At present, we are very busy working on a surprise for certain unsavory parties.
We will be seeing you soon.
Penned by Tarayn of Dracon Row,
On Behalf of the Undersigned,
(Signed by a dozen drakesmiths)
PS, Stay off my roof.
The Follies all grin at the idea of a group of drakesmiths preparing a "surprise" for someone, and amidst speculation about who the lucky parties in question might be, they head out for the temple of Azuth.
Departure
As before, Thissiken's knowledge of back streets makes for an uneventful journey to through the city. En route, however, the Follies catch sight of several squads of Silver Ravens -- a sight they have not seen before. Heavily armed and armored, the Ravens seem to be patrolling the city in much the same manner as the various guard factions.
Arriving at the temple, the Follies are greeted with another unexpected sight: the entryway is almost entirely devoid of homun. A few paces back from the door, four homun are supporting a tiny sedan chair -- and seated in the chair, his tiny bow cradled in one arm, is Falmin. While only a handful of homun are visible at ground level, the walkways, bridges and tubes that criss-cross the hall at ceiling level are swarming with them.
"I was expecting you," says Falmin. He then glares at one of the sedan-bearing homun, causing all four of them to spin the throne around and scamper off down the passageway. The Follies follow Falmin back through the winding corridors to Mephiskaran's chamber. When they reach the smoky doorway, Falmin steps down from his chair and sends the other four homun skittering away with a glance. Without a word, he passes through the falling smoke.
Stepping through after him, the Follies find themselves once again in Mephiskaran's presence. He is seated in his customary sofa at the far end of the long table, and the room is just as cold and bare is it was the last time they were there. The table, however, is different: instead of food, the near half holds three lidded baskets with straps attached to them, designed to be worn as backpacks, as well as a small ivory box. The far half, closer to Mephiskaran, is completely covered with a thick white pelt, furry side up. Directly in front of him is a square of black silk, on which are arrayed numerous peculiar tools.
Smiling broadly, Mephiskaran welcomes them inside. Although Falmin's demeanor is unchanged, Mephiskaran himself seems almost chummy. Once all of the Follies are in the room, he asks them if they have decided who will be holding onto the painting in their absence. When they indicate that they will be leaving it in Thissiken's care, he replies, "But it will be so much safer with me. Gnomes are so fragile."
Seeing that their minds are made up, he drops the issue and moves on to explaining what's on the table. He tells them that the three packs contain enough food for six people for two tendays, along with a good amount of water, torches, rope and other essentials. As he talks, several of the Follies notice that he is wearing a slim golden headband in addition to his usual robes.
As Tal empties and sorts the packs, making sure that they don't contain any unpleasant surprises, Mephiskaran continues, telling them that the box holds two more image crystals. While the other Follies discuss how much they want to carry with them, Jaehn procures an extension for his side of the bargain with Mephiskaran: one month from the date of the Follies' return from their journey. He shakes with Falmin to seal these terms.
As some of the Follies have concerns about how much they can trust Mephiskaran's rations, they ask him if he cares whether they take the packs with them or not. He replies, "I don't care what you do with them, just don't starve to death before you bring something back."
Once the Follies are geared up and ready to go, Mephiskaran asks them for the painting. Accepting it from Jaehn, he places it carefully on the pelt. Selecting a few tools, he begins probing and prodding the edges of the canvas. After a few moments he looks up at the Follies, says "Don't worry," and then jabs one of the tools into the center of the Promise.
He then inserts a second tool into the hole and draws the pair apart. Instead of tearing the canvas, his tools pull the image itself aside, revealing a faintly shimmering gray surface. Keeping the tools where they are, Mephiskaran deftly maneuvers the painting to the edge of the table. Holding it steady and gripping the edges of the crystalline frame firmly, he says, "Get closer, and get ready to touch it in unison. It won't stay open for long, so be quick!"
After a moment of shuffling for position, all six of the Follies touch the Promise simultaneously.
With no sense of movement, they suddenly find themselves crowded into one end of a passageway in near-total darkness. Looking up at the same spot Algaer was gazing at in the painting, they see nothing marking the portal through which they came.
haiiro
First Post
Part 2
The first thing the Follies notice is the temperature -- cool, but a far cry from the arctic chill of Mephiskaran's chamber -- followed by the water on the floor, and then the silence. They are indeed in one end of a passageway, with nothing but a bare wall behind them. Ahead of them the far end of the tunnel is framed in a soft glow, and this is the only light available. The walls of the passage itself are smooth and oddly curved -- more like a burrow or other natural creation than a constructed passage.
Forming up into a rough column, with each Folly having a hand on another's shoulder, the party heads towards the light. Jaehn casts glittering robe on himself, providing his spare frame with some meager protection against dangers unknown. Sloshing quietly through the water, they arrive at the end of the tunnel -- and what they see at first defies description.
The tunnel opens out into a very large chamber at an odd angle. The room is rectangular and over one hundred feet in length, with a high vaulted ceiling. The smooth arc of the vault makes the whole room look like an extended arched doorway, and at its highest point the ceiling is at least sixty feet off the ground. The floor of the room is covered by water, as in the passageway, and the walls are tiled with massive plates of purplish stone. Scattered about the room at floor level are several plates that stick out from the walls. What draws the eye, however, is the room's central feature.
Floating in midair under the arch of the ceiling is an enormous cylinder, nearly as long and as wide as the room itself. It spins slowly counter-clockwise, and its entire surface is covered in deeply-graven runes. The far end looks to be lower than the near end by several feet, and this list gives the massive cylinder's spin an irregular lilting rhythm. The cylinder glows brightly enough to softly illuminate the whole chamber.
Peering around the shoulders of the other Follies, Jaehn and Cupric combine their knowledge of architecture and history to determine that the room is built in style associated with ancient Netheril. Seeing that the others don't know the significance of this discovery, Jaehn explains what he knows of Netherese history -- their wildly powerful magic, towering egotism, and ultimate downfall resulting in the creation the vast desert realm of Anauroch.
There is a pause, during which only the faint lapping of water at the Follies' ankles can be heard.
Then Vicktor pipes up, "Sounds like hokey voodoo to me."
Cupric responds, "Oh, another thing about Netheril: it was torn apart by evil creatures."
Somewhat sheepishly, Jaehn adds, "I hate to tell you at this point, but I'm being pursued by mages. Shades."
When this doesn't have the desired impact on some of the Follies, the wizard describes the return of the floating city of Shade, and its power-hungry inhabitants. He also mentions that he's fairly certain that if the area the Follies are in happens to be under Anauroch, it's also awfully close to Shade -- and that his contact with the shades means that they might be able to tell when he casts a spell. A spell, for example, like the glittering robe that he cast a few moments ago.
There is another pause, this one somewhat more ominous than the first.
After a few moments of silence, the Follies agree that what's done is done and begin cautiously exploring the cylinder room. Over the course of the next fifteen minutes or so, they make several interesting discoveries.
Scattered in no apparent pattern among the carved runes on the cylinder's surface are symbols of a different sort. Though similar in shape, these are made of bright green metal set flush with the surface of the cylinder. There is also a hemispherical socket or depression of some sort in each of the cylinder's ends. These are surrounded by corroded metal fittings, by which it looks like something was once attached to each end of the cylinder.
The murky water covering the floor is several inches deep, and walking around in it the Follies occasionally encounter small protrusions. Jaehn uses prestidigitation to part a small patch of water in front of him as he moves about, and in this manner is able to determine that these protrusions appear to be bones -- which wouldn't be that odd, except that they seem to be embedded in the floor.
At the cylinder's midpoint on one side of the room are the remains of what looks to have been a marble pedestal of some sort. It would have commanded a good view of the cylinder, but it is impossible to tell much else about it in its current state.
Tuggle's detect magic reveals several auras: the cylinder radiates enormously powerful transmutation magic, easily the strongest the gnome has ever encountered, and this aura is slightly weaker at the listing end of the cylinder; the scattered metal runes on the cylinder have their own auras of moderate transmutation magic; and the shattered pedestal and raised wall plates all radiate faint transmutation magic.
A casting of recent occupant before anyone has crossed the room's midpoint identifies Algaer Harblock, male gnome, as the last intelligent creature to occupy one part of the room -- three days ago. The area he was in is directly in front of one of the raised wall plates, and unlike the others this one is missing a piece from one of its bottom corners.
Crouching down to examine the size of the gap -- and what's beyond it, which appears to be a small round room -- Vicktor remarks, "Oh, yeah, I could force a gnome through that."
Although interested in further exploring the cylinder room, the Follies agree that their course is clear: they need to find a way through the panel that Algaer was near.
At this moment, they hear a voice from behind them: "Hey! Is someone out there?"
Turning around, the Follies don't see anyone else in the room. When the cry rings out again, however, they are able to pinpoint its origin: it sounds like it's coming from behind a wall on one of the long sides of the room.
Hurrying over, they shout back that yes, someone is out there. The voice responds, "Oh! I'm so glad...it's been so long. Please help me!" There is a hint of arrogance in the tone, but also obvious relief.
Skeptical, the Follies press the speaker for details. In between repeatedly asking them to get him out, he seems happy to oblige. He says that his name is Malkas Lockmyre, and that he has been trapped there for five years. He tells the Follies that they are hungry and weak -- and they pounce on his use of "they," asking who else is in there with him. After a pause, he says that his companions are trapped as well, and when asked for their names two other voices pipe up. They claim to be Franzas and Joden, and they also plead to be let out.
While they are conversing with Malkas, the Follies are also trying to oblige him: they are examining the wall panel closely, looking for a way to open it. Like the others that are dispersed throughout the room, it sticks out several inches from the surrounding wall. Instead of being featureless, like the non-protruding plates, it bears three runes -- similar in shape and size to those on the cylinder, but also just as undecipherable. There are grooves in the wall above the panel, indicating that perhaps it is designed to slide upwards when it opens.
The Follies also don't miss the speaker's surname, Lockmyre, and they ask if he knows a Lockmyre in Selgaunt. He says that he does -- Immir Lockmyre, his brother. He tells them that Immir is an art collector in the High City. Malkas explains that he found a painting -- "Yes, yes, the dark one" -- and traveled through it with his guards. When asked, he says that a gnome came through the area several days ago, but that they don't know where he went. He claims to have a special means of surviving for this length of time, but won't elaborate on it.
At this point, several minutes have passed and the Follies are no closer to opening the door-panel. Vicktor has tried lifting it alone (it didn't budge), and then again with help from Artemis and Tal. When this has no effect, the Follies decide to all try at once, with Vicktor doing the bulk of the lifting. While they get settled, the voice from behind the door badgers them with questions -- "Are you lifting the door? Get us out, please!" and so forth.
When all six Follies are lined up along the door, hands underwater, and grunting mightily as they try to lift the door in unison, the voice calls out, "I hear grunting. Are you all pushing on the door?" Frustrated, they shout back that yes, they are all pushing on the door -- at which point they hear a loud buzzing sound from behind them.
Arrival
The first thing the Follies notice is the temperature -- cool, but a far cry from the arctic chill of Mephiskaran's chamber -- followed by the water on the floor, and then the silence. They are indeed in one end of a passageway, with nothing but a bare wall behind them. Ahead of them the far end of the tunnel is framed in a soft glow, and this is the only light available. The walls of the passage itself are smooth and oddly curved -- more like a burrow or other natural creation than a constructed passage.
Forming up into a rough column, with each Folly having a hand on another's shoulder, the party heads towards the light. Jaehn casts glittering robe on himself, providing his spare frame with some meager protection against dangers unknown. Sloshing quietly through the water, they arrive at the end of the tunnel -- and what they see at first defies description.
The tunnel opens out into a very large chamber at an odd angle. The room is rectangular and over one hundred feet in length, with a high vaulted ceiling. The smooth arc of the vault makes the whole room look like an extended arched doorway, and at its highest point the ceiling is at least sixty feet off the ground. The floor of the room is covered by water, as in the passageway, and the walls are tiled with massive plates of purplish stone. Scattered about the room at floor level are several plates that stick out from the walls. What draws the eye, however, is the room's central feature.
Floating in midair under the arch of the ceiling is an enormous cylinder, nearly as long and as wide as the room itself. It spins slowly counter-clockwise, and its entire surface is covered in deeply-graven runes. The far end looks to be lower than the near end by several feet, and this list gives the massive cylinder's spin an irregular lilting rhythm. The cylinder glows brightly enough to softly illuminate the whole chamber.
Peering around the shoulders of the other Follies, Jaehn and Cupric combine their knowledge of architecture and history to determine that the room is built in style associated with ancient Netheril. Seeing that the others don't know the significance of this discovery, Jaehn explains what he knows of Netherese history -- their wildly powerful magic, towering egotism, and ultimate downfall resulting in the creation the vast desert realm of Anauroch.
There is a pause, during which only the faint lapping of water at the Follies' ankles can be heard.
Then Vicktor pipes up, "Sounds like hokey voodoo to me."
Cupric responds, "Oh, another thing about Netheril: it was torn apart by evil creatures."
Somewhat sheepishly, Jaehn adds, "I hate to tell you at this point, but I'm being pursued by mages. Shades."
When this doesn't have the desired impact on some of the Follies, the wizard describes the return of the floating city of Shade, and its power-hungry inhabitants. He also mentions that he's fairly certain that if the area the Follies are in happens to be under Anauroch, it's also awfully close to Shade -- and that his contact with the shades means that they might be able to tell when he casts a spell. A spell, for example, like the glittering robe that he cast a few moments ago.
There is another pause, this one somewhat more ominous than the first.
The Cylinder Room
After a few moments of silence, the Follies agree that what's done is done and begin cautiously exploring the cylinder room. Over the course of the next fifteen minutes or so, they make several interesting discoveries.
Scattered in no apparent pattern among the carved runes on the cylinder's surface are symbols of a different sort. Though similar in shape, these are made of bright green metal set flush with the surface of the cylinder. There is also a hemispherical socket or depression of some sort in each of the cylinder's ends. These are surrounded by corroded metal fittings, by which it looks like something was once attached to each end of the cylinder.
The murky water covering the floor is several inches deep, and walking around in it the Follies occasionally encounter small protrusions. Jaehn uses prestidigitation to part a small patch of water in front of him as he moves about, and in this manner is able to determine that these protrusions appear to be bones -- which wouldn't be that odd, except that they seem to be embedded in the floor.
At the cylinder's midpoint on one side of the room are the remains of what looks to have been a marble pedestal of some sort. It would have commanded a good view of the cylinder, but it is impossible to tell much else about it in its current state.
Tuggle's detect magic reveals several auras: the cylinder radiates enormously powerful transmutation magic, easily the strongest the gnome has ever encountered, and this aura is slightly weaker at the listing end of the cylinder; the scattered metal runes on the cylinder have their own auras of moderate transmutation magic; and the shattered pedestal and raised wall plates all radiate faint transmutation magic.
A casting of recent occupant before anyone has crossed the room's midpoint identifies Algaer Harblock, male gnome, as the last intelligent creature to occupy one part of the room -- three days ago. The area he was in is directly in front of one of the raised wall plates, and unlike the others this one is missing a piece from one of its bottom corners.
Crouching down to examine the size of the gap -- and what's beyond it, which appears to be a small round room -- Vicktor remarks, "Oh, yeah, I could force a gnome through that."
Although interested in further exploring the cylinder room, the Follies agree that their course is clear: they need to find a way through the panel that Algaer was near.
At this moment, they hear a voice from behind them: "Hey! Is someone out there?"
Malkas Lockmyre
Turning around, the Follies don't see anyone else in the room. When the cry rings out again, however, they are able to pinpoint its origin: it sounds like it's coming from behind a wall on one of the long sides of the room.
Hurrying over, they shout back that yes, someone is out there. The voice responds, "Oh! I'm so glad...it's been so long. Please help me!" There is a hint of arrogance in the tone, but also obvious relief.
Skeptical, the Follies press the speaker for details. In between repeatedly asking them to get him out, he seems happy to oblige. He says that his name is Malkas Lockmyre, and that he has been trapped there for five years. He tells the Follies that they are hungry and weak -- and they pounce on his use of "they," asking who else is in there with him. After a pause, he says that his companions are trapped as well, and when asked for their names two other voices pipe up. They claim to be Franzas and Joden, and they also plead to be let out.
While they are conversing with Malkas, the Follies are also trying to oblige him: they are examining the wall panel closely, looking for a way to open it. Like the others that are dispersed throughout the room, it sticks out several inches from the surrounding wall. Instead of being featureless, like the non-protruding plates, it bears three runes -- similar in shape and size to those on the cylinder, but also just as undecipherable. There are grooves in the wall above the panel, indicating that perhaps it is designed to slide upwards when it opens.
The Follies also don't miss the speaker's surname, Lockmyre, and they ask if he knows a Lockmyre in Selgaunt. He says that he does -- Immir Lockmyre, his brother. He tells them that Immir is an art collector in the High City. Malkas explains that he found a painting -- "Yes, yes, the dark one" -- and traveled through it with his guards. When asked, he says that a gnome came through the area several days ago, but that they don't know where he went. He claims to have a special means of surviving for this length of time, but won't elaborate on it.
At this point, several minutes have passed and the Follies are no closer to opening the door-panel. Vicktor has tried lifting it alone (it didn't budge), and then again with help from Artemis and Tal. When this has no effect, the Follies decide to all try at once, with Vicktor doing the bulk of the lifting. While they get settled, the voice from behind the door badgers them with questions -- "Are you lifting the door? Get us out, please!" and so forth.
When all six Follies are lined up along the door, hands underwater, and grunting mightily as they try to lift the door in unison, the voice calls out, "I hear grunting. Are you all pushing on the door?" Frustrated, they shout back that yes, they are all pushing on the door -- at which point they hear a loud buzzing sound from behind them.
haiiro
First Post
Part 3
Before the Follies have had a chance to react, Jaehn, Cupric, Vicktor and Tal are all stabbed from behind, bringing Jaehn near death and seriously wounding the others.
Without bothering to see what's attacking them, Artemis drops into a roll and tumbles out of the melee. Hampered by the water and catching bits of his armor on the bones that protrude from the floor, the barbarian just barely gets away cleanly -- and he hears a sword blade zing off the floor behind him as he rolls by one of their attackers.
Cupric is the first to turn around, and he's not expecting what he sees: four dwarves with tangled beards and matted hair, all wearing chainmail and wielding shortswords -- and fading and flickering in and out of existence.
Vicktor lunges for one of the dwarf-creatures, catching a whiff of pungent body odor as he goes for the grapple. As his arms close around his foe, he finds that the dwarf isn't where he was a moment ago -- instead, he's a few inches to the right, and just far enough away to have avoided Vicktor's grasp.
Jaehn leads off with shadow self, and two copies of the wizard shimmer into place beside him. At the same time, Tuggle sends two magic missiles at one of the dwarves, hoping that his flickering effect won't keep them from striking home -- and he proves correct.
Finding himself boxed in and gravely wounded, Talishmere fishes out his wand of cure light wounds and sends a charge of stored faith into his body.
As the Follies try to get their bearings, the blink-dwarves hold their ground, stabbing and slashing at the party. Although they are nearly always blinked-out when the Follies try to strike them, they seem to be able to keep from fading away when they're on the offensive.
Realizing that he has little chance of striking them, Cupric falls back on Tasha's hideous laughter. The spell's energy writhes around one of the dwarves, and he tumbles to the ground while forcing out disquieting throaty chuckles.
Nearby, Vicktor hauls off and punches one of the dwarves, landing a powerful blow in the center of his chest. The dwarf responds by deftly sticking his sword in the pugilist's gut -- causing Vicktor to curl up and collapse into the filthy water, unconscious.
Surrounded by bedlam, Tuggle tries to get off another magic missile, but puts too much of his focus into avoiding the swords of the dwarves -- the spell twists itself into nothingness, stinging the gnome's fingers.
Across the room, Artemis comes out of his roll and finds himself face to face with a ragged human. Artemis has time to take note of the man's well-maintained studded leather armor -- and the wide-eyed insanity of his expression -- before a well-aimed sword blow carves a path down his arm. In one of those odd moments that occur sometimes during combat, several of the other Follies catch enough of a glimpse of the sword to determine that the blade appears to be made of stone.
As the battle rages on, the Follies find that their opponents can not only fade in and out of reality at will -- they can also disappear entirely, then reappear somewhere else. The three remaining dwarves and the human all use this tactic to devastating effect, winking out before the Follies can attack them, then blinking back in to strike from a new direction.
Within a few heartbeats, the Follies have taken blow after blow from their elusive enemies. Vicktor is bleeding out into the water, Jaehn is still reeling from the initial ambush, and Tal -- despite his curative efforts -- is pinned down and in bad shape. Tuggle, Artemis and Cupric are faring slightly better, but they can't get into a position where they can back up the other Follies.
In the space of a moment, though, the tide has turned in their favor. Jaehn manages to stun two of the dwarves with a perfectly-aimed color spray, dazzling the human at the same time. Tal is then able to reach Vicktor, who is in no condition to refuse Torm's grace -- and Cupric lays low the last dwarf with another Tasha's.
As the lanky human comes out of his dazzlement, he realizes that he has dropped his sword. He bends to pick it up as Tal skates the tip of his greatsword across the floor and up into the man's belly. Grunting in pain and surprise, he scrabbles around in the bloody water, fails to retrieve his blade, and disappears.
Firing himself up into a rage, Artemis jabs at his closest foe, causing blood to well up from several small wounds. In the thick of things, Cupric draws his dagger, lets out a savage scream, and lops a dwarf's head clean off with a single blow. As arterial blood spurts out over the melee, the dwarfs head continues laughing for a moment, then splashes into the water.
A flurry of magic missiles from Tuggle and Jaehn fell another dwarf, while Tal cleaves another nearly in twain with his massive sword. As Drake flits about, pecking at their final opponent, Cupric sends a shrieking silent sound in his direction -- and misses.
Before the dwarf has a chance to blink out, Jaehn splashes over and brings his staff down on his head with a sharp crack. With blood running out of his nose and eyes, the dwarf collapses into the water.
After a moment, the echoes of battle have died out, and the only sound the Follies can hear is their own ragged breathing.
Knowing that their escaped foe -- although apparently injured and weaponless -- could return at any time, the Follies remain alert. Tal expends twenty charges from his wand in healing them -- preferring to reserve his remaining spells for the day ahead -- and brings everyone pretty much up to snuff. Meanwhile, Tuggle recovers the human's peculiar sword, and feels a sharp pain in his palm as he picks it up. Pulling his hand away from the hilt, he spots a tiny thorn-like sliver of metal that protrudes from the grip.
Taking a close look at the sword, Cupric tells the others that there is a tribe of Bedine in Anauroch who use stone blades similar to this one. The swords are called thorngrips, and their magic is dependent on the thorn damaging the wielder -- removing or covering it renders them temporarily non-magical.
Now fully recovered from their battle with the blink-dwarves, the Follies spend the next better part of three hours exploring the cylinder room. For much of this time, they are completely stymied by the operation of the door-panels. Lengthy and careful searching uncover the fact that there is a simple magical means to open them -- but not what that might be -- and that there should also be a mundane means of gaining access, in the form of a small catch at the top of each panel.
In the end, they are able to coax only three of the doors to open.
One leads to the chamber in which Malkas and his guards were supposedly trapped. That room is bare and devoid of personal effects save one: a magical spoon that appears to be carved from a human leg bone, and a matching bone bowl. This proves to be a Murlynd's spoon, or something very similar, and provides an answer as to how Malkas could have survived for five years with no supplies.
The second room is even less appealing: nearly the size of the cylinder room itself, it contains dozens of gigantic piles of feces. When the Follies get this door open -- using same trick they found to operate the first door: passing a mage hand through the center of the panel -- the stench from within nearly makes them all throw up. That door is hastily closed, but after some debate they reopen just long enough for Tuggle to cast detect magic into the chamber. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be), this turns up no magical auras whatsoever.
The third door that they tackle is the one with the chipped corner. After they have placed rubble under it in such a way that it keeps the door from closing, but can be removed easily if need be, the Follies peer into the chamber beyond the panel.
They see a cylindrical room about seven or eight paces across, with a small stairway leading down into the center. The middle of the room is filled with rubble and debris, and the floor is concealed by water. From this central area, three other stairways ascend to three small doorways -- one opposite the entrance, the other two centered on the walls to either side. All three appear to open into narrow vertical shafts of some sort.
Seeing no obvious threats, Artemis walks into the room -- where he receives a very nasty surprise.
Blink-Dwarves?
Before the Follies have had a chance to react, Jaehn, Cupric, Vicktor and Tal are all stabbed from behind, bringing Jaehn near death and seriously wounding the others.
Without bothering to see what's attacking them, Artemis drops into a roll and tumbles out of the melee. Hampered by the water and catching bits of his armor on the bones that protrude from the floor, the barbarian just barely gets away cleanly -- and he hears a sword blade zing off the floor behind him as he rolls by one of their attackers.
Cupric is the first to turn around, and he's not expecting what he sees: four dwarves with tangled beards and matted hair, all wearing chainmail and wielding shortswords -- and fading and flickering in and out of existence.
Vicktor lunges for one of the dwarf-creatures, catching a whiff of pungent body odor as he goes for the grapple. As his arms close around his foe, he finds that the dwarf isn't where he was a moment ago -- instead, he's a few inches to the right, and just far enough away to have avoided Vicktor's grasp.
Jaehn leads off with shadow self, and two copies of the wizard shimmer into place beside him. At the same time, Tuggle sends two magic missiles at one of the dwarves, hoping that his flickering effect won't keep them from striking home -- and he proves correct.
Finding himself boxed in and gravely wounded, Talishmere fishes out his wand of cure light wounds and sends a charge of stored faith into his body.
As the Follies try to get their bearings, the blink-dwarves hold their ground, stabbing and slashing at the party. Although they are nearly always blinked-out when the Follies try to strike them, they seem to be able to keep from fading away when they're on the offensive.
Realizing that he has little chance of striking them, Cupric falls back on Tasha's hideous laughter. The spell's energy writhes around one of the dwarves, and he tumbles to the ground while forcing out disquieting throaty chuckles.
Nearby, Vicktor hauls off and punches one of the dwarves, landing a powerful blow in the center of his chest. The dwarf responds by deftly sticking his sword in the pugilist's gut -- causing Vicktor to curl up and collapse into the filthy water, unconscious.
Surrounded by bedlam, Tuggle tries to get off another magic missile, but puts too much of his focus into avoiding the swords of the dwarves -- the spell twists itself into nothingness, stinging the gnome's fingers.
Across the room, Artemis comes out of his roll and finds himself face to face with a ragged human. Artemis has time to take note of the man's well-maintained studded leather armor -- and the wide-eyed insanity of his expression -- before a well-aimed sword blow carves a path down his arm. In one of those odd moments that occur sometimes during combat, several of the other Follies catch enough of a glimpse of the sword to determine that the blade appears to be made of stone.
As the battle rages on, the Follies find that their opponents can not only fade in and out of reality at will -- they can also disappear entirely, then reappear somewhere else. The three remaining dwarves and the human all use this tactic to devastating effect, winking out before the Follies can attack them, then blinking back in to strike from a new direction.
Within a few heartbeats, the Follies have taken blow after blow from their elusive enemies. Vicktor is bleeding out into the water, Jaehn is still reeling from the initial ambush, and Tal -- despite his curative efforts -- is pinned down and in bad shape. Tuggle, Artemis and Cupric are faring slightly better, but they can't get into a position where they can back up the other Follies.
In the space of a moment, though, the tide has turned in their favor. Jaehn manages to stun two of the dwarves with a perfectly-aimed color spray, dazzling the human at the same time. Tal is then able to reach Vicktor, who is in no condition to refuse Torm's grace -- and Cupric lays low the last dwarf with another Tasha's.
As the lanky human comes out of his dazzlement, he realizes that he has dropped his sword. He bends to pick it up as Tal skates the tip of his greatsword across the floor and up into the man's belly. Grunting in pain and surprise, he scrabbles around in the bloody water, fails to retrieve his blade, and disappears.
Firing himself up into a rage, Artemis jabs at his closest foe, causing blood to well up from several small wounds. In the thick of things, Cupric draws his dagger, lets out a savage scream, and lops a dwarf's head clean off with a single blow. As arterial blood spurts out over the melee, the dwarfs head continues laughing for a moment, then splashes into the water.
A flurry of magic missiles from Tuggle and Jaehn fell another dwarf, while Tal cleaves another nearly in twain with his massive sword. As Drake flits about, pecking at their final opponent, Cupric sends a shrieking silent sound in his direction -- and misses.
Before the dwarf has a chance to blink out, Jaehn splashes over and brings his staff down on his head with a sharp crack. With blood running out of his nose and eyes, the dwarf collapses into the water.
After a moment, the echoes of battle have died out, and the only sound the Follies can hear is their own ragged breathing.
Following Algaer's Path
Knowing that their escaped foe -- although apparently injured and weaponless -- could return at any time, the Follies remain alert. Tal expends twenty charges from his wand in healing them -- preferring to reserve his remaining spells for the day ahead -- and brings everyone pretty much up to snuff. Meanwhile, Tuggle recovers the human's peculiar sword, and feels a sharp pain in his palm as he picks it up. Pulling his hand away from the hilt, he spots a tiny thorn-like sliver of metal that protrudes from the grip.
Taking a close look at the sword, Cupric tells the others that there is a tribe of Bedine in Anauroch who use stone blades similar to this one. The swords are called thorngrips, and their magic is dependent on the thorn damaging the wielder -- removing or covering it renders them temporarily non-magical.
Now fully recovered from their battle with the blink-dwarves, the Follies spend the next better part of three hours exploring the cylinder room. For much of this time, they are completely stymied by the operation of the door-panels. Lengthy and careful searching uncover the fact that there is a simple magical means to open them -- but not what that might be -- and that there should also be a mundane means of gaining access, in the form of a small catch at the top of each panel.
In the end, they are able to coax only three of the doors to open.
One leads to the chamber in which Malkas and his guards were supposedly trapped. That room is bare and devoid of personal effects save one: a magical spoon that appears to be carved from a human leg bone, and a matching bone bowl. This proves to be a Murlynd's spoon, or something very similar, and provides an answer as to how Malkas could have survived for five years with no supplies.
The second room is even less appealing: nearly the size of the cylinder room itself, it contains dozens of gigantic piles of feces. When the Follies get this door open -- using same trick they found to operate the first door: passing a mage hand through the center of the panel -- the stench from within nearly makes them all throw up. That door is hastily closed, but after some debate they reopen just long enough for Tuggle to cast detect magic into the chamber. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be), this turns up no magical auras whatsoever.
The third door that they tackle is the one with the chipped corner. After they have placed rubble under it in such a way that it keeps the door from closing, but can be removed easily if need be, the Follies peer into the chamber beyond the panel.
They see a cylindrical room about seven or eight paces across, with a small stairway leading down into the center. The middle of the room is filled with rubble and debris, and the floor is concealed by water. From this central area, three other stairways ascend to three small doorways -- one opposite the entrance, the other two centered on the walls to either side. All three appear to open into narrow vertical shafts of some sort.
Seeing no obvious threats, Artemis walks into the room -- where he receives a very nasty surprise.
haiiro
First Post
Part 4
Sloshing through calf-deep water and pushing aside floating debris, Artemis is caught completely off guard when the water surges up and crashes into him like an avalanche. He hears the creak of bones flexing and -- much worse -- snapping sounds as several of them break, and then he finds himself stuck to the surged-up creature and held immobile.
Cupric is the first to react, sending a silent sound into what looks like some sort of gelatinous mass festooned with debris. When the sonic attack strikes the surface of the mass, a high-pitched shriek of pain reverberates around the small room.
Tal brushes past Cupric and charges into the room, still not completely certain what's going on. Finding himself thigh-deep in some sort of standing wave, he draws his dagger and stabs down at it -- with no visible effect. The ooze responds by surging up into Tal, cracking ribs and sending sparks of pain through his entire body. Even as this happens, both Follies realize that their weapons are stuck firmly in the creature's body.
Not sure how much of the "water" in the room is actually water, Jaehn makes a gamble: he tries to summon a fiendish shark into the center of the chamber. The ghostly image of a thorny-hided shark appears, then fades out in a puff of shadow -- there wasn't enough water present for it to manifest.
Taking careful aim, Tuggle tosses a flask of alchemist's fire into the room. It flies true, arcing over the standing wave and out of sight, but it's impossible to tell if it has any effect on the creature.
A ripple passes through the creature, and it flexes and continues to crush Tal and Artemis. Succumbing to the pressure, Tal falls unconscious -- and Artemis narrowly avoids meeting the same fate.
Thinking that perhaps he can wriggle free of its oozy grasp, the barbarian makes a desperate effort to do so. While it doesn't make things any worse, the thing's sticky hold on him is so strong that he doesn't budge at all.
Rushing forwards, Cupric forces a healing potion down Tal's throat, bringing him back to consciousness. Shoulder to shoulder with the dreamborne, Vicktor grapples Tal and tries to pull him free. This causes Tal intense pain, but has no other effect.
As Jaehn and Tuggle fire magic missiles into the mass -- still frustratingly unable to see what effect they have, if any -- the creature once again intensifies its grip on Artemis and Tal. Even as Tal is trying to time his next effort to break free with Vicktor's next attempt to pull him out, he lapses back into blackness. Although Artemis is largely hidden from their view, the other Follies are treated to the horrible sight of Tal's face turning purple as blood begins to seep out of his eyes and mouth -- and worse still, wells up around the seams in his armor.
The next few moments pass in a blur. Changing tactics, Jaehn focuses his will and grants Cupric a mark of fire to use when the opportunity presents itself. Cupric, meanwhile, yanks Tal's wand of cure light wounds out of the cleric's belt and presses it to his chest. Tal doesn't wake, but looks like he's no longer at the brink of death. Behind them, Tuggle lobs a flask of acid over the melee and into the chamber -- with dramatic results.
The creature emits another piercing shriek, ripples away from Tal and Artemis -- dropping Tal into the water and leaving Artemis bloodied but standing -- and surges towards the rear of the room. Leaving his rapier stuck in the creature, Artemis dives for the door -- and at the same time, Cupric heaves mightily and drags Tal out of the water.
Now all safely outside the ooze's chamber, the Follies take a few moments to heal, regroup, and try to determine how to proceed. While Cupric is sifting through his knowledge of peculiar creatures, Artemis takes a more direct approach: he trims the fuse on one of his gremlyn grenades down to a nub, flicks the attached tindertwig alight, and tosses the sphere into the next room.
The Follies are still scrambling to get away from the doorway when the grenade goes off like a peal of thunder. Thick smoke billows out of the room, and after their hearing returns and the smoke clears, the Follies see a very welcome sight: there is a steaming crater in the middle of the chamber, and the scorched walls are coated in dripping slime, water and debris. Artemis's rapier is also embedded deeply in one wall, its hilt bobbing slowly up and down. Apart from the sulfurous smell of the blast itself, there is a strong urine-like odor wafting out of the chamber.
Confident that the ooze is well and truly dead, the Follies move in and begin exploring the round room.
In several minutes of efficient searching, the Follies find out a number of things.
A ring is recovered from a blob of oozy stuff on one wall, and it bears a mark that Cupric recognizes: that of the Finders, and adventuring company known for their love of food. Items they crafted were most often protective in nature (though sometimes associated with fire, as well), making this one well worth holding onto.
One of the three archways opens into a blocked shaft: several feet above the arch, it is completely clogged with rubble. Below the level of the doorway, there is a short drop that terminates in an upraised forest of wickedly sharp spikes. Curiously, these spines gleam like new-forged metal, showing no signs of their age.
Figuring that Algaer couldn't possibly have gone that way (assuming he didn't just get eaten by the ooze, of course) the Follies focus their attention on the other two arches. A recent occupant cast on the area on front each opening reveals that one was last visited by Ellestar Nalfeloc, a male human, 1,586 years ago -- and the other by Algaer Harblock, much more recently.
Shaking his head as he wonders aloud how Algaer was able to bypass the ooze, Artemis takes a close look at the second shaft. It features the same spiked bottom as the first (and the third, which was also examined), but the upper portion is clear to beyond the limits of his sight. The edges of the archway appear scorched, but not by the recent blast. The marks are old and worn into the stone itself, although there is no obvious source. To the right of the arch is a small keyhole, and a glance to either side confirms that the other two shafts have this feature as well.
Selecting a few choice picks, Artemis has worked the mechanism in no time. After a momentthe prevailing silence is broken by a faint humming sound, growing louder. The party is in the process of backing away when a reddish marble disc floats into view from the top of the shaft, passing the opening and stopping level with the bottom of the archway.
Although presently unhurt, the Follies are dangerously low on resources. All of the spellcasters have used up most of their magical energy for the day, and there are precious few healing potions to go around. A short discussion takes place on whether or not they should press on, ending when it's agreed upon that they'd like to find a safer place to make camp.
This settled, Vicktor steps onto the disc. While everyone is deciding who else should join him, Jaehn is pushed into the cramped shaft as well. After a short pause, the disc rises rapidly and whisks the two Follies out of view.
Moments later, the disc bearing Jaehn and Vicktor comes to a smooth stop. After a glance into the chamber beyond, neither of the Follies opt to leave the shaft.
What they see is a circular ring-wall of the same purplish stone as the cylinder room below -- but supported by and supporting nothing. Where the bottom of the wall ends they see only ground and foliage, several hundred feet down. Above the top of the wall is only sky. Even more baffling, there is a circular bench surrounding some sort of shattered pedestal "sitting" in the center of the room, and it's hovering in place with nothing to hold it up.
Since this sight defies all reason, even in a world steeped in magic, both Follies make a conscious effort to disbelieve their eyes. It fails, and the room remains exactly as it was. Seeing that Drake has accompanied them, Jaehn coaxes him off his shoulder and tries to get him to walk out onto the nonexistent floor.
Drake bristles and refuses, fluffing up his wing feathers in indignation. After huffing for a bit, he eventually consents when Jaehn reminds him that he can fly and promises him some really excellent bird feed later on.
The raven settles onto the surface of the disc, then takes a few hesitant steps out over the yawning drop. Several feet out from the shaft, and still not visibly held up by anything, he turns around and glares at Jaehn, then flies back to his shoulder.
At that point, Artemis trips the shaft mechanism and sends the still-occupied disc floating back down to the ooze's chamber.
A brief explanation and a few minutes of shuttling back and forth later, all of the Follies are gathered around the top of the shaft, looking down through the floor that they can feel but not see. The observation is made that the position of the sun is about the same as it was when the Follies left Selgaunt -- which should mean that they're in roughly the same part of Faerûn.
They also take a more detailed look at what else is in the room, which proves to be interesting indeed.
Every few feet, large freestanding arches are spaced around the walls of the room. Each sits (on nothing) about a foot from the wall, and is open on both sides. All of them are different shapes -- ranging from tall ovals to short hexagons -- and nearly all of them are unremarkable in appearance. In the far half of the room, however, are two archways that are quite different from the rest.
One opens out onto a stony beach, waves lapping at the shore and sparkling in the noonday sun. From their vantage point, the Follies can see nothing but sky, beach and ocean -- although they can make out the fact that the gap between the arch and the wall is just as empty here as elsewhere in the room. In front of this archway is the dusty skeleton of something very large, which looks like a cross between a lizard and some sort of shark or other aquatic predator.
The other arch of interest looks out onto a mountainous area speckled with snow, with steep crags surrounding a valley of unknown depth. Gusts of wind carry snow across their field of view like smoke, and the whole atmosphere is one of bitter cold -- in stark contrast to the apparent warmth of the other vista.
Knowing that he cannot cast any more cantrips today, Tuggle calls out to the other Follies -- who have now begun gingerly venturing into the room -- not to go near any of the arches. He tells them that he wants to use recent occupant to figure out where Algaer might have gone, but that they'll need to rest before he can do that.
The Follies agree that resting up sounds like an excellent idea, and opt to sit on the ring-shaped stone bench in the center of the room. Making sure nothing of theirs is touching the invisible floor, the Follies each make their own efforts to go to sleep -- or at least relax -- in this strange place. Since it's still before noon as far as their bodies are concerned, this doesn't prove easy.
To pass the time, Cupric tells stories, Tal talks to Vicktor about Torm, and everyone shares rations -- which turn out to be fairly tasty, as these things go. Amid the pleasant warmth of camaraderie, the Follies eventually manage to catch some rest.
Ye Liveliest Awfulness
Sloshing through calf-deep water and pushing aside floating debris, Artemis is caught completely off guard when the water surges up and crashes into him like an avalanche. He hears the creak of bones flexing and -- much worse -- snapping sounds as several of them break, and then he finds himself stuck to the surged-up creature and held immobile.
Cupric is the first to react, sending a silent sound into what looks like some sort of gelatinous mass festooned with debris. When the sonic attack strikes the surface of the mass, a high-pitched shriek of pain reverberates around the small room.
Tal brushes past Cupric and charges into the room, still not completely certain what's going on. Finding himself thigh-deep in some sort of standing wave, he draws his dagger and stabs down at it -- with no visible effect. The ooze responds by surging up into Tal, cracking ribs and sending sparks of pain through his entire body. Even as this happens, both Follies realize that their weapons are stuck firmly in the creature's body.
Not sure how much of the "water" in the room is actually water, Jaehn makes a gamble: he tries to summon a fiendish shark into the center of the chamber. The ghostly image of a thorny-hided shark appears, then fades out in a puff of shadow -- there wasn't enough water present for it to manifest.
Taking careful aim, Tuggle tosses a flask of alchemist's fire into the room. It flies true, arcing over the standing wave and out of sight, but it's impossible to tell if it has any effect on the creature.
A ripple passes through the creature, and it flexes and continues to crush Tal and Artemis. Succumbing to the pressure, Tal falls unconscious -- and Artemis narrowly avoids meeting the same fate.
Thinking that perhaps he can wriggle free of its oozy grasp, the barbarian makes a desperate effort to do so. While it doesn't make things any worse, the thing's sticky hold on him is so strong that he doesn't budge at all.
Rushing forwards, Cupric forces a healing potion down Tal's throat, bringing him back to consciousness. Shoulder to shoulder with the dreamborne, Vicktor grapples Tal and tries to pull him free. This causes Tal intense pain, but has no other effect.
As Jaehn and Tuggle fire magic missiles into the mass -- still frustratingly unable to see what effect they have, if any -- the creature once again intensifies its grip on Artemis and Tal. Even as Tal is trying to time his next effort to break free with Vicktor's next attempt to pull him out, he lapses back into blackness. Although Artemis is largely hidden from their view, the other Follies are treated to the horrible sight of Tal's face turning purple as blood begins to seep out of his eyes and mouth -- and worse still, wells up around the seams in his armor.
The next few moments pass in a blur. Changing tactics, Jaehn focuses his will and grants Cupric a mark of fire to use when the opportunity presents itself. Cupric, meanwhile, yanks Tal's wand of cure light wounds out of the cleric's belt and presses it to his chest. Tal doesn't wake, but looks like he's no longer at the brink of death. Behind them, Tuggle lobs a flask of acid over the melee and into the chamber -- with dramatic results.
The creature emits another piercing shriek, ripples away from Tal and Artemis -- dropping Tal into the water and leaving Artemis bloodied but standing -- and surges towards the rear of the room. Leaving his rapier stuck in the creature, Artemis dives for the door -- and at the same time, Cupric heaves mightily and drags Tal out of the water.
Now all safely outside the ooze's chamber, the Follies take a few moments to heal, regroup, and try to determine how to proceed. While Cupric is sifting through his knowledge of peculiar creatures, Artemis takes a more direct approach: he trims the fuse on one of his gremlyn grenades down to a nub, flicks the attached tindertwig alight, and tosses the sphere into the next room.
The Follies are still scrambling to get away from the doorway when the grenade goes off like a peal of thunder. Thick smoke billows out of the room, and after their hearing returns and the smoke clears, the Follies see a very welcome sight: there is a steaming crater in the middle of the chamber, and the scorched walls are coated in dripping slime, water and debris. Artemis's rapier is also embedded deeply in one wall, its hilt bobbing slowly up and down. Apart from the sulfurous smell of the blast itself, there is a strong urine-like odor wafting out of the chamber.
Confident that the ooze is well and truly dead, the Follies move in and begin exploring the round room.
Which Way Did He Go?
In several minutes of efficient searching, the Follies find out a number of things.
A ring is recovered from a blob of oozy stuff on one wall, and it bears a mark that Cupric recognizes: that of the Finders, and adventuring company known for their love of food. Items they crafted were most often protective in nature (though sometimes associated with fire, as well), making this one well worth holding onto.
One of the three archways opens into a blocked shaft: several feet above the arch, it is completely clogged with rubble. Below the level of the doorway, there is a short drop that terminates in an upraised forest of wickedly sharp spikes. Curiously, these spines gleam like new-forged metal, showing no signs of their age.
Figuring that Algaer couldn't possibly have gone that way (assuming he didn't just get eaten by the ooze, of course) the Follies focus their attention on the other two arches. A recent occupant cast on the area on front each opening reveals that one was last visited by Ellestar Nalfeloc, a male human, 1,586 years ago -- and the other by Algaer Harblock, much more recently.
Shaking his head as he wonders aloud how Algaer was able to bypass the ooze, Artemis takes a close look at the second shaft. It features the same spiked bottom as the first (and the third, which was also examined), but the upper portion is clear to beyond the limits of his sight. The edges of the archway appear scorched, but not by the recent blast. The marks are old and worn into the stone itself, although there is no obvious source. To the right of the arch is a small keyhole, and a glance to either side confirms that the other two shafts have this feature as well.
Selecting a few choice picks, Artemis has worked the mechanism in no time. After a momentthe prevailing silence is broken by a faint humming sound, growing louder. The party is in the process of backing away when a reddish marble disc floats into view from the top of the shaft, passing the opening and stopping level with the bottom of the archway.
Although presently unhurt, the Follies are dangerously low on resources. All of the spellcasters have used up most of their magical energy for the day, and there are precious few healing potions to go around. A short discussion takes place on whether or not they should press on, ending when it's agreed upon that they'd like to find a safer place to make camp.
This settled, Vicktor steps onto the disc. While everyone is deciding who else should join him, Jaehn is pushed into the cramped shaft as well. After a short pause, the disc rises rapidly and whisks the two Follies out of view.
The Room With No Floor or Ceiling
Moments later, the disc bearing Jaehn and Vicktor comes to a smooth stop. After a glance into the chamber beyond, neither of the Follies opt to leave the shaft.
What they see is a circular ring-wall of the same purplish stone as the cylinder room below -- but supported by and supporting nothing. Where the bottom of the wall ends they see only ground and foliage, several hundred feet down. Above the top of the wall is only sky. Even more baffling, there is a circular bench surrounding some sort of shattered pedestal "sitting" in the center of the room, and it's hovering in place with nothing to hold it up.
Since this sight defies all reason, even in a world steeped in magic, both Follies make a conscious effort to disbelieve their eyes. It fails, and the room remains exactly as it was. Seeing that Drake has accompanied them, Jaehn coaxes him off his shoulder and tries to get him to walk out onto the nonexistent floor.
Drake bristles and refuses, fluffing up his wing feathers in indignation. After huffing for a bit, he eventually consents when Jaehn reminds him that he can fly and promises him some really excellent bird feed later on.
The raven settles onto the surface of the disc, then takes a few hesitant steps out over the yawning drop. Several feet out from the shaft, and still not visibly held up by anything, he turns around and glares at Jaehn, then flies back to his shoulder.
At that point, Artemis trips the shaft mechanism and sends the still-occupied disc floating back down to the ooze's chamber.
A brief explanation and a few minutes of shuttling back and forth later, all of the Follies are gathered around the top of the shaft, looking down through the floor that they can feel but not see. The observation is made that the position of the sun is about the same as it was when the Follies left Selgaunt -- which should mean that they're in roughly the same part of Faerûn.
They also take a more detailed look at what else is in the room, which proves to be interesting indeed.
Every few feet, large freestanding arches are spaced around the walls of the room. Each sits (on nothing) about a foot from the wall, and is open on both sides. All of them are different shapes -- ranging from tall ovals to short hexagons -- and nearly all of them are unremarkable in appearance. In the far half of the room, however, are two archways that are quite different from the rest.
One opens out onto a stony beach, waves lapping at the shore and sparkling in the noonday sun. From their vantage point, the Follies can see nothing but sky, beach and ocean -- although they can make out the fact that the gap between the arch and the wall is just as empty here as elsewhere in the room. In front of this archway is the dusty skeleton of something very large, which looks like a cross between a lizard and some sort of shark or other aquatic predator.
The other arch of interest looks out onto a mountainous area speckled with snow, with steep crags surrounding a valley of unknown depth. Gusts of wind carry snow across their field of view like smoke, and the whole atmosphere is one of bitter cold -- in stark contrast to the apparent warmth of the other vista.
Knowing that he cannot cast any more cantrips today, Tuggle calls out to the other Follies -- who have now begun gingerly venturing into the room -- not to go near any of the arches. He tells them that he wants to use recent occupant to figure out where Algaer might have gone, but that they'll need to rest before he can do that.
The Follies agree that resting up sounds like an excellent idea, and opt to sit on the ring-shaped stone bench in the center of the room. Making sure nothing of theirs is touching the invisible floor, the Follies each make their own efforts to go to sleep -- or at least relax -- in this strange place. Since it's still before noon as far as their bodies are concerned, this doesn't prove easy.
To pass the time, Cupric tells stories, Tal talks to Vicktor about Torm, and everyone shares rations -- which turn out to be fairly tasty, as these things go. Amid the pleasant warmth of camaraderie, the Follies eventually manage to catch some rest.
haiiro
First Post
Part 5 (Final)
Though it does the trick, the Follies' sleep is anything but comfortable. Waking up the next day -- morning, at least by the sun -- they are still aching and sore from the events of the previous day. On the upside, no one on watch overnight heard anything out of the ordinary, or saw any sign that the teleporting human from the cylinder room was still prowling about.
As their first priority is still Algaer, the Follies get right down to business. Tuggle makes his way over to the beach archway and casts recent occupant. Surprisingly, what it picks up is the skeleton on the floor in front of the archway: Reloorb, a male var-shark, last present (and alive) 241 years ago.
Incredulous, Jaehn says, "They have names?"
Heading over to the mountain view, Tuggle prepares to do the same thing -- and stops short when he sees Algaer.
The arch looks out onto a U-shaped valley between craggy mountain peaks. Slumped facedown behind a projecting rock perhaps two hundred feet away is Algaer, on the opposite side of the chasm. On the same rock face, but about fifty feet to Algaer's left and a hundred feet further down are three massive minotaur-like beasts. These appear to be at least part mountain goat or ram, as they have shaggy white fur and long recurved horns. Each wears a coil of rope over its shoulder, to which is attached a pouch of some sort, and all three carry bundles of javelins. They are clearly climbing towards Algaer, and as the Follies take things in they see that a javelin protrudes from the gnome's back.
Artemis and Cupric both recognize the peaks visible in the distance as part of the Storm Horns mountain range, and Cupric also notices faint puffs of breath coming out of Algaer's mouth -- indicating that he's still alive.
With no time to spare, Tal ties off one end of a rope to the central bench-pedestal. Artemis grabs hold of the other end, takes a deep breath, and steps through the portal. He immediately loses his footing for a moment, slipping around in the area just beyond the archway. As Artemis regains his balance, Tal follows him through the portal -- and he too has trouble staying upright.
Once Tal and Artemis have found their footing and moved aside, Tuggle heads through as well. Once through the arch, the sorcerer turns back -- and sees only the neatly "severed" end of the rope emerging from thin air. Reaching into the area where the portal should be has no effect. Able to see Tuggle through the portal, the other Follies now know that this is a one-way trip.
Shortly thereafter, all of the Follies are on the rock face. Cupric and Tuggle quickly don their cold weather gear, while Tal shouts back to the others about tying off on the rope that he and Vicktor are attached to -- at which point the minotaur-beasts notice them.
There follows a moment wherein the six Follies look at the three minotaurs across the chasm. The moment is broken when Artemis waves at them.
Now seeing them head-on, Cupric is able to recognize them as Skyclimber minotaurs -- a brutal and clever tribe that inhabits the Storm Horns, known for their precision with javelins. From his time spent near this region, Jaehn knows that they are voracious predators. Oddly, despite his travels through this very mountain range, Artemis has never heard of the Skyclimbers. Regardless, the Skyclimbers have now heard of them.
One of the minotaurs pulls a gourd from his pouch, downs its contents, and then shouts across the divide to the Follies: "What tribe do you hail from?"
Seeing that the minotaur is looking at Cupric, Vicktor says to the bard, "Harpers! Tell him we're Harpers!" The other Follies glare pointedly at him.
Cupric shouts back, "We're lost lowlanders, from Sembia."
The shaggy minotaur replies, "You're a long way from home."
"Foul magic brought us here," responds Cupric, hoping that the Skyclimbers are as suspicious of magic as most humanoids.
"You're not trying to steal our kill, are you?"
Pointing at Algaer's body and projecting disgust and confusion, Cupric shouts back, "What is that thing?"
Cupric and the minotaur go back and forth in this manner, eventually establishing that the Follies do indeed want Algaer's body. Cupric offers payment, and the minotaur leader seems interested -- but during this time, Tal and Vicktor have not stopped heading towards the gnome's body.
The minotaur bellows at them, telling them to stop moving. At the same time, Tal slips, and his weight begins to drag Vicktor down the mountainside with him.
The leader shouts at them again: "Stop moving or we'll kill your friends!"
Still trying desperately to arrest their slide, Vicktor and Tal don't have any choice but to keep moving. Seeing this, the minotaur downs another gourd-flask and levels a javelin in their direction. Taking careful aim, he winds up and sends it flying straight towards the pair -- until it bites deep into the rock face just under the center of the rope that connects Vicktor to Tal. This pivot point stops Tal's fall abruptly, and gives Vicktor time to find purchase and brace himself against the mountain.
Turning back to the other Follies, the minotaur shouts, "We've paid for the kill. Go about your business.".
Vicktor calls back, "How about the other gnome? He's living and tasty!" Luckily, Tuggle is too far away to hear this remark.
Still trying to negotiate, Cupric talks up the properties of one of his two explosive arrows, telling the minotaur that it strikes with the fury of a wizard's fire. After a moment's thought, the minotaur tells him to shoot one of them up into the air so that he can see what it does. Cupric replies that this would create a noise loud enough to cause an avalanche -- so the minotaur tells him to leave it on a flat rock and move away from it.
The Follies insist that they be allowed to examine Algaer's body, and the minotaur consents. "Gnome-vermin can look at other gnome-vermin when we've seen your arrow."
At this point, the Follies are spread out over quite a wide area. Cupric, the one closest to the portal is about two hundred feet away from Tuggle, the Folly closest to Algaer's body. Coupled with the high winds, this makes it difficult to coordinate their efforts.
Seeing that the other two minotaurs are still heading towards Algaer's ledge, Tuggle, Vicktor, Tal and Artemis keep moving towards that same point. Treacherous footing keeps them from making very good progress, but Tuggle's size and weight seem to give him a bit of an advantage. He has nearly reached Algaer when the lead minotaur spots him.
Lips drawing back into a grin, he lets fly a javelin -- which finds its mark, drilling straight through Tuggle. The javelin's point emerges from the gnome's back, narrowly missing his heart and nearly knocking him off the mountain with the force of its impact.
With the first blow struck, all Hell breaks loose.
One of the other minotaurs begins blowing a large horn, and takes cover behind a rock spur. The other downs a gourd and disappears entirely, apparently invisible.
Making haste, Artemis slips once again -- and this time, he begins sliding rapidly down the mountain. Naturally nimble, he is able to arrest his fall after twenty feet or so, bruised but otherwise unhurt. Resolute, he begins climbing back up and heading for Algaer's ledge.
Opting for speed over safety, Vicktor breaks into a trot, scampering over the scree and loose rocks. Moments later, he falls and begins his second slide down the rock face.
Still in shock, Tuggle downs a cure moderate wounds potion, then casts glamour on himself.
Catching Jaehn's eye, Cupric tries another gambit. Using ghost sound, he begins an act involving himself, his unseen demonic master, and a host of screaming accompanied by the cries of tortured souls. "Master, not now!" he shouts, patting himself as if on fire.
His ghost sound responds in booming tones, "You have failed me."
Cupric takes this chance to begin crawling towards the explosive arrow, pretending to be lurching and shambling in pain.
The minotaur leader takes aim again and flings a javelin at Cupric. This time, however, the sheer distance gets the better of him, and his shot goes completely wide. The javelin strikes the rock some distance from any of the Follies, then bounces off into the abyss.
Vicktor, Tal and Artemis are still involved in their efforts to keep from falling into the chasm. Artemis is having a tough time scrambling back to his previous position, and Tal is trying to cast bull's strength on himself while Vicktor drags him down the mountainside. Vicktor, needless to say, has his own troubles -- nothing he does seems able to arrest his fall this time.
Jaehn, meanwhile, catches on to what Cupric is trying to do and plays along. He uses minor image to cause an inky circle to form above Cupric. An enormous demonic arm, wreathed in flames and covered in bloody spikes, emerges from the circle and begins mangling Cupric horribly.
Trying to time things with what's going on around him, Cupric has his master bellow, "I will destroy your soul for your impudence. This pain is only the beginning, flesh-maggot." Really getting into things, Jaehn chooses this moment to have the hand tear Cupric's maimed body in half.
Across the chasm, Tuggle is still preparing to make a break for Algaer. He drinks a potion of mage armor, then catches sight of the demonic pantomime and decides to play into it as well. Emerging from behind cover, he starts wailing and shrieking in fear, in plain view of the minotaur leader.
With the help of Tal's enhanced strength, he and Vicktor have now regained their footing and begun moving towards Algaer again. Artemis, on the other hand, has slipped further down the cliff face and -- though he caught himself before falling to his death -- wound up making very little progress.
"What have you done to my emissary?" booms the great voice, and Jaehn turns the hand to point at Algaer's crumpled form.
As the minotaur leader emerges from cover and prepares to throw another javelin, Tuggle tries to use learn heritage on him to find more fuel for the illusory bluff-in-progress. As the minotaur throws and misses, Tuggle's spell fizzles out with no effect.
The phantom voice calls out again: "Small calves, you will pay for this!"
Fortunately, this does the trick. The minotaur leader's resolve finally breaks, and he doesn't even pause to cower in fear -- instead, he begins half-climbing, half-running up the mountain face away from the Follies. Seeing this, the other visible minotaur takes off in the opposite direction, heading down the cliff as fast as possible. The invisible minotaur's frightened horn blasts can be heard receding into the mountains.
Even with no obvious threats at hand, the Follies know that this may summon more trouble. Bearing this in mind, they make their way to Algaer's body with just the right balance of caution and haste -- and for a change, no one slides down the mountain in the process.
In moments they have established that Algaer is unconscious but still barely alive, and wasted no time in administering one of their remaining curative potions -- after, of course, pulling out the javelin.
Seeing that Algaer is back in the land of the living, Cupric delivers one final missive with his ghost sound: "For this day, the calves may live. Touch not my envoy again."
Algaer seems quite confused at first, but readily accepts that the Follies are friends of Thissiken's, and that they've come to rescue him. He is weak, cold and hungry, and seems not to understand quite where he is -- but luckily for them, he remembers very clearly how he got there.
In between thanking the Follies profusely for their efforts, he tells them that he found a slender bone object near the portal -- and that when he passed it through the archway it opened a door to the mountains.
Relieved that they won't have to trek all the way back to Selgaunt from the far side of Cormyr, the Follies keep a close eye on Algaer (lest he fall off the mountain in his weakened state) as they make their way back to the portal. Still marked by the rope sticking out of it, the spot is easy to locate -- and Algaer's peculiar bone key does indeed open it from their side.
Although it seemed like hours, they spent less than a quarter-candlemark (fifteen minutes, to a Gondsman) in the Storm Horns. Retreating to the relative safety of the circular bench, the Follies sit down for a moment's respite. As Algaer wolfs down some rations, they realize that the day has barely begun -- and they are still deep within the Netherese complex.
The Skyclimbers
Though it does the trick, the Follies' sleep is anything but comfortable. Waking up the next day -- morning, at least by the sun -- they are still aching and sore from the events of the previous day. On the upside, no one on watch overnight heard anything out of the ordinary, or saw any sign that the teleporting human from the cylinder room was still prowling about.
As their first priority is still Algaer, the Follies get right down to business. Tuggle makes his way over to the beach archway and casts recent occupant. Surprisingly, what it picks up is the skeleton on the floor in front of the archway: Reloorb, a male var-shark, last present (and alive) 241 years ago.
Incredulous, Jaehn says, "They have names?"
Heading over to the mountain view, Tuggle prepares to do the same thing -- and stops short when he sees Algaer.
The arch looks out onto a U-shaped valley between craggy mountain peaks. Slumped facedown behind a projecting rock perhaps two hundred feet away is Algaer, on the opposite side of the chasm. On the same rock face, but about fifty feet to Algaer's left and a hundred feet further down are three massive minotaur-like beasts. These appear to be at least part mountain goat or ram, as they have shaggy white fur and long recurved horns. Each wears a coil of rope over its shoulder, to which is attached a pouch of some sort, and all three carry bundles of javelins. They are clearly climbing towards Algaer, and as the Follies take things in they see that a javelin protrudes from the gnome's back.
Artemis and Cupric both recognize the peaks visible in the distance as part of the Storm Horns mountain range, and Cupric also notices faint puffs of breath coming out of Algaer's mouth -- indicating that he's still alive.
With no time to spare, Tal ties off one end of a rope to the central bench-pedestal. Artemis grabs hold of the other end, takes a deep breath, and steps through the portal. He immediately loses his footing for a moment, slipping around in the area just beyond the archway. As Artemis regains his balance, Tal follows him through the portal -- and he too has trouble staying upright.
Once Tal and Artemis have found their footing and moved aside, Tuggle heads through as well. Once through the arch, the sorcerer turns back -- and sees only the neatly "severed" end of the rope emerging from thin air. Reaching into the area where the portal should be has no effect. Able to see Tuggle through the portal, the other Follies now know that this is a one-way trip.
Shortly thereafter, all of the Follies are on the rock face. Cupric and Tuggle quickly don their cold weather gear, while Tal shouts back to the others about tying off on the rope that he and Vicktor are attached to -- at which point the minotaur-beasts notice them.
There follows a moment wherein the six Follies look at the three minotaurs across the chasm. The moment is broken when Artemis waves at them.
Now seeing them head-on, Cupric is able to recognize them as Skyclimber minotaurs -- a brutal and clever tribe that inhabits the Storm Horns, known for their precision with javelins. From his time spent near this region, Jaehn knows that they are voracious predators. Oddly, despite his travels through this very mountain range, Artemis has never heard of the Skyclimbers. Regardless, the Skyclimbers have now heard of them.
One of the minotaurs pulls a gourd from his pouch, downs its contents, and then shouts across the divide to the Follies: "What tribe do you hail from?"
Seeing that the minotaur is looking at Cupric, Vicktor says to the bard, "Harpers! Tell him we're Harpers!" The other Follies glare pointedly at him.
Cupric shouts back, "We're lost lowlanders, from Sembia."
The shaggy minotaur replies, "You're a long way from home."
"Foul magic brought us here," responds Cupric, hoping that the Skyclimbers are as suspicious of magic as most humanoids.
"You're not trying to steal our kill, are you?"
Pointing at Algaer's body and projecting disgust and confusion, Cupric shouts back, "What is that thing?"
Cupric and the minotaur go back and forth in this manner, eventually establishing that the Follies do indeed want Algaer's body. Cupric offers payment, and the minotaur leader seems interested -- but during this time, Tal and Vicktor have not stopped heading towards the gnome's body.
The minotaur bellows at them, telling them to stop moving. At the same time, Tal slips, and his weight begins to drag Vicktor down the mountainside with him.
The leader shouts at them again: "Stop moving or we'll kill your friends!"
Still trying desperately to arrest their slide, Vicktor and Tal don't have any choice but to keep moving. Seeing this, the minotaur downs another gourd-flask and levels a javelin in their direction. Taking careful aim, he winds up and sends it flying straight towards the pair -- until it bites deep into the rock face just under the center of the rope that connects Vicktor to Tal. This pivot point stops Tal's fall abruptly, and gives Vicktor time to find purchase and brace himself against the mountain.
Turning back to the other Follies, the minotaur shouts, "We've paid for the kill. Go about your business.".
Vicktor calls back, "How about the other gnome? He's living and tasty!" Luckily, Tuggle is too far away to hear this remark.
Still trying to negotiate, Cupric talks up the properties of one of his two explosive arrows, telling the minotaur that it strikes with the fury of a wizard's fire. After a moment's thought, the minotaur tells him to shoot one of them up into the air so that he can see what it does. Cupric replies that this would create a noise loud enough to cause an avalanche -- so the minotaur tells him to leave it on a flat rock and move away from it.
The Follies insist that they be allowed to examine Algaer's body, and the minotaur consents. "Gnome-vermin can look at other gnome-vermin when we've seen your arrow."
At this point, the Follies are spread out over quite a wide area. Cupric, the one closest to the portal is about two hundred feet away from Tuggle, the Folly closest to Algaer's body. Coupled with the high winds, this makes it difficult to coordinate their efforts.
Seeing that the other two minotaurs are still heading towards Algaer's ledge, Tuggle, Vicktor, Tal and Artemis keep moving towards that same point. Treacherous footing keeps them from making very good progress, but Tuggle's size and weight seem to give him a bit of an advantage. He has nearly reached Algaer when the lead minotaur spots him.
Lips drawing back into a grin, he lets fly a javelin -- which finds its mark, drilling straight through Tuggle. The javelin's point emerges from the gnome's back, narrowly missing his heart and nearly knocking him off the mountain with the force of its impact.
With the first blow struck, all Hell breaks loose.
One of the other minotaurs begins blowing a large horn, and takes cover behind a rock spur. The other downs a gourd and disappears entirely, apparently invisible.
Making haste, Artemis slips once again -- and this time, he begins sliding rapidly down the mountain. Naturally nimble, he is able to arrest his fall after twenty feet or so, bruised but otherwise unhurt. Resolute, he begins climbing back up and heading for Algaer's ledge.
Opting for speed over safety, Vicktor breaks into a trot, scampering over the scree and loose rocks. Moments later, he falls and begins his second slide down the rock face.
Still in shock, Tuggle downs a cure moderate wounds potion, then casts glamour on himself.
Catching Jaehn's eye, Cupric tries another gambit. Using ghost sound, he begins an act involving himself, his unseen demonic master, and a host of screaming accompanied by the cries of tortured souls. "Master, not now!" he shouts, patting himself as if on fire.
His ghost sound responds in booming tones, "You have failed me."
Cupric takes this chance to begin crawling towards the explosive arrow, pretending to be lurching and shambling in pain.
The minotaur leader takes aim again and flings a javelin at Cupric. This time, however, the sheer distance gets the better of him, and his shot goes completely wide. The javelin strikes the rock some distance from any of the Follies, then bounces off into the abyss.
Vicktor, Tal and Artemis are still involved in their efforts to keep from falling into the chasm. Artemis is having a tough time scrambling back to his previous position, and Tal is trying to cast bull's strength on himself while Vicktor drags him down the mountainside. Vicktor, needless to say, has his own troubles -- nothing he does seems able to arrest his fall this time.
Jaehn, meanwhile, catches on to what Cupric is trying to do and plays along. He uses minor image to cause an inky circle to form above Cupric. An enormous demonic arm, wreathed in flames and covered in bloody spikes, emerges from the circle and begins mangling Cupric horribly.
Trying to time things with what's going on around him, Cupric has his master bellow, "I will destroy your soul for your impudence. This pain is only the beginning, flesh-maggot." Really getting into things, Jaehn chooses this moment to have the hand tear Cupric's maimed body in half.
Across the chasm, Tuggle is still preparing to make a break for Algaer. He drinks a potion of mage armor, then catches sight of the demonic pantomime and decides to play into it as well. Emerging from behind cover, he starts wailing and shrieking in fear, in plain view of the minotaur leader.
With the help of Tal's enhanced strength, he and Vicktor have now regained their footing and begun moving towards Algaer again. Artemis, on the other hand, has slipped further down the cliff face and -- though he caught himself before falling to his death -- wound up making very little progress.
"What have you done to my emissary?" booms the great voice, and Jaehn turns the hand to point at Algaer's crumpled form.
As the minotaur leader emerges from cover and prepares to throw another javelin, Tuggle tries to use learn heritage on him to find more fuel for the illusory bluff-in-progress. As the minotaur throws and misses, Tuggle's spell fizzles out with no effect.
The phantom voice calls out again: "Small calves, you will pay for this!"
Fortunately, this does the trick. The minotaur leader's resolve finally breaks, and he doesn't even pause to cower in fear -- instead, he begins half-climbing, half-running up the mountain face away from the Follies. Seeing this, the other visible minotaur takes off in the opposite direction, heading down the cliff as fast as possible. The invisible minotaur's frightened horn blasts can be heard receding into the mountains.
Even with no obvious threats at hand, the Follies know that this may summon more trouble. Bearing this in mind, they make their way to Algaer's body with just the right balance of caution and haste -- and for a change, no one slides down the mountain in the process.
In moments they have established that Algaer is unconscious but still barely alive, and wasted no time in administering one of their remaining curative potions -- after, of course, pulling out the javelin.
Seeing that Algaer is back in the land of the living, Cupric delivers one final missive with his ghost sound: "For this day, the calves may live. Touch not my envoy again."
Back Into the Ruins
Algaer seems quite confused at first, but readily accepts that the Follies are friends of Thissiken's, and that they've come to rescue him. He is weak, cold and hungry, and seems not to understand quite where he is -- but luckily for them, he remembers very clearly how he got there.
In between thanking the Follies profusely for their efforts, he tells them that he found a slender bone object near the portal -- and that when he passed it through the archway it opened a door to the mountains.
Relieved that they won't have to trek all the way back to Selgaunt from the far side of Cormyr, the Follies keep a close eye on Algaer (lest he fall off the mountain in his weakened state) as they make their way back to the portal. Still marked by the rope sticking out of it, the spot is easy to locate -- and Algaer's peculiar bone key does indeed open it from their side.
Although it seemed like hours, they spent less than a quarter-candlemark (fifteen minutes, to a Gondsman) in the Storm Horns. Retreating to the relative safety of the circular bench, the Follies sit down for a moment's respite. As Algaer wolfs down some rations, they realize that the day has barely begun -- and they are still deep within the Netherese complex.
Broccli_Head
Explorer
Too bad you don't post/play more. I really enjoy this SH and am getting a hang of keeping all the characters straight 
Loved the "fifteen minutes to a Gondsman" crack!
sigh... now I guess I have to wait another month
Loved the "fifteen minutes to a Gondsman" crack!
sigh... now I guess I have to wait another month
haiiro
First Post
Broccli_Head said:Too bad you don't post/play more. I really enjoy this SH and am getting a hang of keeping all the characters straight
I'm glad you like it. Apart from GrassyKnoll and thedangerranger (who plays in the campaign as Cupric), you're the only reader who's spoken up -- thanks!
Have you already looked at the background material on 3d6.org? The Characters section includes sheets & backstories for the PCs, and short descriptions of all of the NPCs.
sigh... now I guess I have to wait another month
...on the other hand, the monthly update is always substantial.
I'd spread things out a bit more -- like an update a week -- but I figure since the whole shebang will be posted at once on the campaign site, it wouldn't make sense to break it up for this thread. Doing it this way certainly doesn't help bring in new readers, though.
(Edit: forgot that GrassyKnoll had responded much earlier on!)
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