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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CPaladin" data-source="post: 8893598" data-attributes="member: 7030144">Session 54 (November 6, 2022)21 ChundRunor casts Divination, and asks: "What is the best way to get to stairs down to the matrix room?"The response is, "Where the sun rises lies the stairs of your desire."Runor says, "So... that's the west, right?"The priest of the sun god who thinks the sun rises in the west is roundly mocked by his friends, who conclude that they should follow the east doorway out of this room and proceed eastwards.They follow a passage that winds east and north quite a distance, passing a door to the north, and then approaching a sliding door made of bone, with a demonic face carved in the door.As they approach, the demonic face opens its eyes, and Runor immediately smashes it with his hammer."Ow! Why do people always do that when I open my eyes? It's like they don't expect me to be sentient.""Most doors aren't sentient.""Well, I am. I am a new door." It keeps a close eye on the hammer. "Are you going to hit me again?""Not unless you turn out to be evil. We're just trying to go through.""Hmm. I would have thought it would be safe to open for you, except I see a follower of Banahog.""Aleep is not a follower of Banahog!""But how am I supposed to know that I can trust you? They told me I must not open for followers of Banahog."Merreep says, "Runor is a priest of Glordiadel. Do you think a priest of Glordiadel would work with a follower of Banahog?""Hmm. That doesn't sound very likely, what with Glordiadel being a god of Light and all. And they never told me to not let through priests of Glordiadel. Hmm. I guess you can go through." The door slides itself into a pocket in the wall.After being asked, the door tells them that to get to the stairs down, "go east as far as you can, then south, then enter the big chamber with the stairs down and talk to the half-dragon that guards it."They pass through and keep going east, into a 10 by 10 room with a door heading to the east. They pass through that door as well, and then they can go no further east, so they turn south, and open another door.Merreep walks in. A large man with red, scaly skin says, "Ah, my dinner guests." He puts down a book he has been reading on a large stack of books. "How interesting. Not yuan-ti. The door must have let you through, so you can't be followers of Banahog... So you must be intruders.""We're not intruders," says Merreep. "We were sent by people like the people who built this tower.""Be that as it may, why should I not eat you? What's in it for me?""Living," says Runor."I have less fear of death than I did when I was younger.""How old are you?""Some hundreds of years.""I have known several beings who were hundreds of years old who died.""Oh, yes, it is within the relative realm of possibility, young priest, but it is unlikely against this group."Aleep tries a different tack. "Aleep notices you have many books. Are you interested in such things?""Yes, yes. Particularly magic and summoning.""Aleep is wizard.""Yes, I see that. Have you read the Summoning of the Nineteen Demons?""Aleep has not read that. He is mostly a transmuter.""Yes, transmutation is an interesting field, though not one I have been permitted to pursue. I have no particular loyalty to those who presently own this facility, and yet I have no particularly loyalty to you; but I have no particular animus towards you either, unless you cause it. It is no skin off my snout to let you through unless you irritate me."But there is one small problem. If you go downstairs and fail--which is likely-- I'm going to have to eat several of the people they send to punish me, and when I attain my other form this becomes uncomfortably cramped in here. So, as you can probably guess, I would prefer not to eat several people sent to punish me. I would prefer not to eat you actually--I'd much prefer a good cow. They're very difficult to get down here, you know.""Yes, I think they generally sacrifice those," says Merreep."Why they do that, I don't know. It's so tedious. And Banahog constantly trying to storm the place, while whatever demon lord has its followers in here tries to seize the matrix...""Such a boring existence. Once we have taken the Matrix, maybe things will change and become more interesting.""But what guarantee do I have that you will succeed, where all the others have failed?"Runor says, "We're a group of reasonably strong adventurers.""Obviously. But you also have some magical prowess and some information from those who owned this land in the before times. No, I must tell you, it would not disturb me if the Matrix were removed. Eventually they're going to find a way to break it, and I have no particular desire to become a part of Gnnnst's armies, even if I come of his stock. What do you think, mage? Aleep you said your name was?""Yes, Aleep is Aleep's name. Aleep thinks Aleep's friends are more capable and more savvy than others because Aleep's friends have made it this far.""There is that. I have only seen one group of adventurers get this far before, and that was years ago. They unfortunately felt that they had to attack me. I'm inclined to let you pass based on your credentials, your courtesy, and the lame attempted to joke."Aleep demonstrates some transmutations to the half-dragon, explaining some of the fine points while the half-dragon makes up a pot of tea."Oh, a fascinating power, youthful mage, probably more useful than summoning demons, because then you have to beat them into submission."Merreep says, "That sounds annoying.""It's very annoying. They don't like to follow orders. They constantly attempt to mess up what you tell them to do. You tell them to get a cow, you could end up with anything you imagine."Aleep and the half-dragon copy some spells from each other's spell-books. The half-dragon has every summoning spell imaginable, though it looks like the eighth and ninth level spells are ones that he is still working on learning. Aleep doesn't copy demon summoning spells, but does copy spells for summoning regular monsters and spells for binding demons, because those can be useful for dealing with enemy demons."Interesting, interesting," says the half-dragon as it copies out various transmutations carefully. "I once considered attempting to bind an angel, but they're even more reticent than demons.""Aleep's understanding is that angels need to be persuaded to help, not compelled.""Oh, that might have been my problem! I'll remember that. Persuaded... maybe a nice cup of tea and coffee cake, when I can actually compel something to bring me one... You know, if you leave with that Matrix, I'm going to leave right after you.""It seems like many people will be leaving quickly.""Oh, I think so. I'd like to find a nice fiery lava-filled mountain to hoard some treasure instead of this, but I cannot leave as long as the Matrix is here."After exchanging some spells, they head west through a door to the stairs. Another door leads out further west, while the stairs descend to the north. As they go down the stairs, the half-dragon bellows after them, "Keep going north! Otherwise you'll be lost in there forever."[cont'd]</blockquote>

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