Tales From Algernon's Amazing Archmagical Academy!

[Lazlow]

Following Clipper, you all traverse a labyrinthine series of passageways, stairways, and catwalks, leading deeper and deeper into the bowels of the tower. (You all wonder how Clipper knows the way so well, seeing as how none of you have seen half of these corridors before.) Soon you come to a dark, dank level far below the classroom in which you first met with Master Algernon. Sconces and torches provided the only light down here, and the air is heavy and thick with the smell of the sea. Cobwebs hang high in the corners of the stone hallway, at the end of which is an archway.

You pass through the archway into a cavernous room, the ceiling only about 15 feet high but wider and longer than you can see in the dim firelight. The room echoes nearly every little sound made, and you can hear the soft sound of water lapping against stone. Close in, along either side of the room are what appear to be stalls, similar to what might house horses in a stable but wider and taller. Above these stalls are placards with numbers on them. The one immediately inside the door on your right has the number one, and the one on the left has the number two. Through and beyond the stalls you can just make out the reflection of some of the torchlight glittering on water. Inside the stalls are crabs.

But... Not crabs. No, aside from being a deep emerald green, they sport ten legs, with the front two having pincers but the back four ending in flat, paddle-like shapes. And, of course, they're about eight feet wide, half again as long, and at least five feet tall. They sit inert on the shore, faint glimmers of torchlight dancing on the hard, shiny shells.

 

[Gray Shade]

On the way down the stairs, Clipper says, "Well, don't expect me to be the leader. I just want to be the get-away driver. Someone else is going to have to decide where we're going."

When he sees the crabs, he exclaims, "Excellent! This must be it! C'mon!" He then runs down to the #23 stall and looks inside.

 

[Lazlow]

Sure enough, a dozen stalls down on the right is #23, with a nice, big, green crab sitting in it.

 

[Fenris]

"Mmmmmm, mmmm. A big enough fire and we could eat like kings for a month down here!" jokes Aeryl

 

[Gray Shade]

"This will be the first time that I'm stuffing myself into my dinner, though!" Clipper says, continuing with the jest. He then looks for a door to the mechanical beast. Assuming he finds it, he opens it (and/or the stall door) with the key that Fairbairn provided.

 

[DEFCON 1]

"Well, don't expect me to be the leader. I just want to be the get-away driver. Someone else is going to have to decide where we're going."

'We talking about group leadership? All right. I'm leader. You need someone like me to keep things moving! Plus, you're all gonna do what I say anyways, so I might as well be in charge officially! Good!'

Kieran strides forward and moves quickly past Clipper to "take charge" of this party moving through the school. However, once the corridor ends in a 'T' and he doesn't realize it... and he walks headlong straight ahead into the stone wall, smashing his skull into the rock... that his days... er, seconds... of being leader are quickly swept away. Mainly because the whallop to his noggin is enough to make him forget that he was leader, and after that he follows Clipper quietly down to the basement.

He walks with everyone to stall #23 and sees the giant crab and squeals. 'OOOOOHHHHH!!!!! Shiny!' And once Clipper opens it, he climbs in and grabs whatever seat he can... his quarterstaff placed gently across his legs.

 

[Lazlow]

At first, there doesn't seem to be any way into the oversized crustacean, as there are no visible outlines of doors or windows on the top of the creature. However, upon close inspection you notice what appears to be the outline of a hatch of some sort on the underside. The problem is, you can't get under there at present, as the crab is laying on its belly, so to speak. You figure the legs need to be extended in order for it to stand up.

 

[Eluvan]

Completely ignoring the leadership wrangles, Jem goes running for the crab as soon as he make sout which stall it is. He rushes round the thing excitedly looking for an entrance and then, realising that there's no way in except to get underneath, he starts looking for buttons or controls that might raise the thing. "You're not hogging the driving, ok?" he calls back to Clipper excitedly even as he puzzles over how to get in the thing. "If you're not gonna lemme pilot the whole way, we're takin' turns! I'm sure not gonna miss the chance to pilot this thing." He carries on nosing around the construct, his excited curiosity somewhat reminiscent of some foraging critter trying to overturn a container in which it smells something tasty. "Uhhh... extend!" he tries, slightly lamely. "Openup. Extendo. Elevatoriosis. Go. Lemmein..." he keeps up a constant stream of improvised command words as he searches for a way in.

OOC:
Search 1d20 [19]+5 = 24

.... I bet there's nothing to find.

 

[Fenris]

"Easy there Merlin, why don't we try the key?"

 

[Eluvan]

Jem stops short, not in the least put out but realising the fruitlessness of his endeavours. "You got a key to raise this thing up? Then use it, wise-ass," he grins.