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Message: <blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 3390026" data-attributes="member: 30035">The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith, excerpt 18At last, an update!   <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />   sniffles"My arm was achingly tired by the time I finished the last rune. It hung in the air with it's companions; the complete spell copied over and over again like sentences on a chalkboard. The blue glow from the runes drained all color from the room. With a sigh, I picked up the uncharged wand I had constructed earlier this morning and walked around to the other side of the writing. I had just finished retracing the first line backwards, erasing the runes by absorbing them into the wand, when Hutch, bored, started juggling. His antics were distracting me at a very critical time. I gave him two of the hard-boiled eggs I hadn't eaten with my lunch and took away his alchemist fire. I hate it when he juggles those. They are very expensive to make." .                    An Excerpt from the Craft Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7   "It was DA who had first heard that the Five Nations express wouldn't be leaving as scheduled tomorrow. Something about needing to load a very special freight aboard it's cargo cars, delaying the lightning rail excursion by one day. I sent letters to those of the DC who do not live in this tower. CA and XL must have been looking for something to do when the letters found them, because they came to the tower for an early dinner before we all headed out to track down VE. Perhaps an explanation is in order. Our investigations a few days ago led us to the name "Veltargo" (VE). He was dressed as a priest of the Silver Flame, and is the man who ultimately ended up with the magic key. Unfortunately, all we had was a name -- nothing else to go by and no way to find him. It was a simple matter to learn that none of the known Silver Flame temples in Sharn had a priest by that name. What was harder to come up with is that a young priest had been robbed a few days ago, and his outfit stolen. DA went to talk to the priest and came back with a small rounded stone, with a goblinoid rune on one side. She said "Veltargo" had dropped it when he mugged the priest. I recognized the rune for "Strength", but knew nothing else about the stone. ST, on the other hand, had seen it's like before; on the wall of an ancient crypt, buried in beneath the Cogs below Sharn. Once the DC had gathered once again, we were under way. I am no stranger to the depths below Sharn; my family has had foundries there for the last four generations. It took us very little time to find our to the area ST thought contained the crypt. After a bit of searching, a bit of backtracking, and a few questions directed towards ST to gauge whether or not we were in the right area, we finally reached our destination. We stood before a narrow stairway that led downwards. Hot, sulfurous air rose up towards us, and the tell-tale red glow of a lava pit spoke of the dangers we would face. While DA scouted forward, I used a pair of infusions [ref: CJ-V5-7] to protect HU and ST from fire. I checked the wand that would provide the same protection to the rest of us [ref: CJ-V6-23], and put it someplace handy. Ready, we moved downwards. The hall was narrow, dark, and extremely dirty. I warned HU against touching anything he didn't absolutely have to. A short cross-corridor attracted my attention, as it contained a thin rivulet of molten lava that crossed our paths. I turned down the corridor to find a tight, round room that held a waist-high basin of lava, which acted as the source of the flow. I studied it to see if it had any magical properties, but it did not. I lost interest at that point. VA had followed me into the room, interested in the goblinoid carvings that filled the walls. They seemed to be some sort of funerary exhortation. Quite dull, really. We caught up with the rest of the DC and found ourselves in a rectangular room with an alter of sorts opposite the entrance, and niches in the wall, each holding a cracked and broken-into sarcophagus. There were remains of ancient goblin heroes scattered around, but nothing more of interest. The wall held a large number of the lapidary runes -- ones very similar to what the false priest had dropped. Many spots that once held stones were empty, as if this place had been plundered for years and years.  In the center of the room, bordering the religious carvings along the back wall, was a rectangular pool of lava, this one large enough to be considered a comfortable bath. DA, who had been here long enough to conduct her own investigations, was crawling along the relief, looking for a button or other opening mechanism. She found it, evidently, as, with a grind of stone moving, the lava pool started draining away. A short flight of stairs was revealed below line of the lava, leading to a short corridor that continued onward. After waiting for the stairs to cool, we moved forward. We were hurried along a bit when a doorway started closing and lava started filling in the pool once again.  Coming out in a rush, we were a bit surprised to find ourselves on a wide ledge overlooking a pit that descended at least one hundred feet. The red glow coming from below, plus the oppressive heat, told me that the pit was filled with lava. DA mentioned stairs leading down on one side, but I didn't get a chance to look around much before trouble found us.  Half a dozen hobgoblin warriors, long dead and yet animate enough to defend their ancient grounds, attacked us from two sides. Three of the creatures had climbed up the cliff to attack VA and IR. Two more raced up the stairs to attack XL and ST. IR used her divine power to drive the creatures back, and the bright light scintillating off her holy symbol caused the creatures to burn and melt. Still, they came. Wherever they stood, they tried to claw at the DC, but we stood firm. I used one of my favorite wands [ref: CJ-V6-19] to disable one of the creatures. CA went for a good old-fashioned body-block, knocking the creature off of the ledge to go sailing down into the lake of lava so far below. ST used a blade formed of his own energy, methodically chopping and hacking at the creatures. Even XL jumped in to bash and stab with his spear. DA was no where to be seen. The safety of my companions is my paramount concern, so I called out for her. From somewhere nearby she whispered that she was okay. I still could not see her, but once I knew she was safe I returned to the fight. In very little time, we had the creatures bested.  The place smelled even worse now, if you can imagine such a thing. With our enemies gone, I took a moment to survey our surroundings. We stood at the edge of a large cylinder of space, surrounded on all sides by rough, natural stone. One hundred feet below was a pool of bubbling, churning lava. The far side of the chamber was difficult to see with the smoke and heat shimmers coming up from below, but it almost looked like there were other chambers looking out over the pool. I didn't bother mentioning this to my companions, having assumed they saw the same thing. That was probably a mistake, as they have not all shown their senses to be as well developed as my own.  DA was leading the way again, going down the rough stairs on our left. CA was close behind her, hoping to find another fight, not doubt. With a curt reprimand to HU against throwing stones down into the lava pit, I made my way down the stairs. ST, ever vigilant, was a pace behind me. HU tok'd his displeasure at being crowded, but ST didn't seem to listen. I'll let them sort it out. The stairs wound downwards through a darkened tunnel. I could tell from the ambient light that the landing below opened up onto the lava pit. The striations on the walls, the movement of thick, sulfurous air, the shape and placement of ash deposits, marks indicating prior lava flows -- all these were the subtle clues that my trained senses picked up. Plus, DA told us as much when she got down there. The landing was much broader than the one we had just had a fight on. It was naturally occurring, as was everything but the steps so far, and nearly circular in dimension. The far side of the circle opened up onto the pit, and a nearby passage held more stairs leading downward. What immediately caught my attention was a large, clawed hand painted on one wall in bright green. I knew immediately that it was magical, so HU and I went to investigate. ST stood in the center of the room, ready to defend my person from any assault. The rest of the DC were carefully making their way along, either coming down the stairs to join me, or continuing downward into the next passage. A quick curse from DA, heading onward, was the only warning I got. The green hand pulsed, a resonate chiming that shook my body and rattled HU, sending me reeling. CA had been hit by the blast, as had CA. The rest hadn't quite gotten into the room, yet. I shouted for everyone to stop where they were, until we could find the triggering mechanism, but DA volunteered it's location. She had stepped on it. And without even looking! One would think she would be smarter than that. I moved cautiously over to her and we examined the mechanism. Crude was the best word I could use to describe it. DA, ashamed that she had stumbled over such an obvious trap, gave me the honors of disarming it. She even produced the Design Slate [ref: CJ-V7-30] that I had made for her. I offered to let her disable the mechanism, but she deferred, admitting that I was better suited to the task. She was, naturally, correct in that assessment. After making sure the room behind me was clear, I jammed the trigger then disabled the device. It took about four seconds. I went back to look at the hand print to see what else could be learned from it. DA took up the lead again, and shouted up that there was a fair amount of House Cannith property where she was. I went to her immediately. The stairs leading downward were through another rough passage, this time opening into an oblong cavern with two other openings. The heat was far less oppressive here, but a tell-tale red glow indicated that at least one of the two exits on the far side of the room led to another chamber overlooking the lava pit. The room was packed with boxes, crates, and other storage containers. There were property marks not only for House Cannith, but other forges, foundries, and industries from the nearby Cogs. I started rummaging through their contents, but they seemed mundane. Some were little more than iron shavings. A cry from the far side of the room indicated trouble. Before the echo of said cry died, a nauseating stench filled the room. More undead. DA and CA were fully engaged by the time I had a weapon ready. XL was charging forward and ST was letting loose with his energy bolts. I just had time to scorch one of the hobgoblin dead when IR lifted her holy symbol on high and caused half of the creatures to flee in terror. The rest of us pressed the attack, driving the undead back into the tunnel they hailed from.  Our combat must have roused some other nearby ghasts. From the other tunnel came three more of the undead, charging into the room before we could react. They scratched and clawed at my face, their teeth snapping and breath foul. I beat them back with my coatl cane, noticing as I did that it was starting to look somewhat battered. A shame, really. It has been a fabulous accessory. My natural fortitude was more than enough to keep their stench from overpowering me, though XL appeared sicker than I had ever seen him. XL, ST, HU, and I fought back against our adversaries, using staff, wand, and energy to efficacious effect. IR, VA, CA, and DA fought off our original attackers. After a brief but violent struggle, we stood unopposed. I quickly checked my nearby companions, then rushed to the next room to see what had befallen the other half of the DC. They were all of them battered, but okay. We performed some quick healing before moving on. The platform we passed looked out over the lava pit, as predicted, but we chose not to tarry. Rather, we moved forward, looking for those ghouls that had fled from IR. They were a ways away, having run down another passage to yet another pit-side ledge, lower still, where they crouched in a cowardly clutch. Rather than fight them ourselves, IR summoned up a great ogre zombie to dispatch them. I thought that a sub-optimal summoning, but IR did not ask my opinion, so I did not offer it. Though cornered, the ghasts fought back with startling ferocity, and the ogre was quickly ripped into small, bloodless chunks. CA, IR, and a few of the other DC jumped into the fray. ST and I offered ranged support. Our exertions were soon rewarded with a decided lack of enemies. Once again, no one was seriously hurt. I was tending those wounds we did have when DA called out again for my assistance. She had discovered what looked like large vents from of a poison gas trap. Excited at the prospect, HU and I rushed over. We needn't have been so excited. As I approached, hordes of undead beetles poured from the "vents" and swarmed all over us. They were everywhere! DA (or perhaps XL) screamed and ran away. ST started slashing across the swarm with his blade. I opened my mouth to tell him that his actions were the acme of foolishness, when a deceased vermin crawled into my mouth. I spit it out and clamped my mouth shut, and got about the business of destroying the creatures.  With perfectly choreographed timing, I brought up a wand [ref: CJ-V7-30] and set all of the nearby DC resistant to fire. HU simultaneously drew out a vial of alchemist fire and dashed it onto the ground in the center of the swarm. The sound of shattering crystal punctuated the wands command word like the cymbals of the Wroat Guild house Symphony. A bright explosion of fire filled the chamber and dead bugs fell dead. There were more vermin than one vial could take care of, though, and while HU utilized another vial, I brought out a wand [ref: CJ-V5-33] to scorch what remained. Remnants of alchemist fire sloughed off HU, my jacket, ST, and IR burning in the hot air but leaving the lot of us unharmed. One last flesh-eating beetle scuttled across the floor, but XL stomped on it. Good for him, it probably made him feel useful. That excitement behind us, we moved cautiously forward. The ledge behind us was close enough to the lava that we knew the glowing red chamber ahead of us could very well be completely flooded in boiling hot magma.  Our luck held true, and the chamber we entered into was completely flooded. It was a large pool, fifty or sixty feet across. It was separated from the pool of lava we'd been traversing by a thick natural rock wall, but it was level with that pool. The ledge we stood on was maybe ten feet deep and twenty wide. Across the room, just visible through the heat shimmer, was the remnants of a temple entrance. Two rows of weathered and worn columns lead away from the pool, out of sight. A rivulet of lava fed the main chamber, traveling in a channel from deep within the temple. The architecture -- and I know my architecture -- was old. On the wall to the left of the ledge, looking out over the pool and towards the temple, was a crudely carved lion's head. It stood about three feet above the lava. I was crouched down near the floor, getting a level view of the lava pool, when CA mentioned the carving we had seen in the ziggurat some months back [ref: PJ-v6-83]. That particular piece of art had depicted a hobgoblin warrior walking above flames from a lion's head towards a large, stone marker. IR pulled out a crude wand and pointed it at the pool: there was magic there. An invisible bridge of force that led from the carving on this side to the temple entrance on the other. We had our way across! CA insisted on going first, clambering up onto the lion's head and hopping down -- with great faith and a fair amount of bravado -- onto the invisible bridge. He rushed across, seeming oblivious to the fact that a mis-step would send him to fiery and final oblivion. VA moved into position to go next. That's when trouble arrived. Two creatures rose from the lava, bright rivulets of fire and magma draining off of their burning forms. They had massive shoulders, monstrous heads, and arms shaped like elongated scoops. In near unison, they vomited lava into their hands and flung their waste at CA, who was still making his way across the bridge. CA managed to duck one of the attacks, but was struck solid by the other. I heard the impact from where I stood almost fifty feet away. Somehow, CA managed to keep his feet on the narrow, invisible bridge, using his new-found momentum to lurch forward and onto paving stones that supported the columns. He was across! VA had started across, too, and was most certainly in trouble. I pulled my most potent wand [ref: CJ-V5-30] and infused it to produce cold instead of fire. I was hoping these creatures were vulnerable to their opposing element. HU moved in front of me, throwing a smokestick out into the pit to block the line of sight between myself and the nearest of the creatures. ST was throwing energy out towards the farthest creature, trying to gain it's attention. It worked. The creatures were not great shots -- lava not being the most aerodynamic of projectiles, but I heard a grunt as another of the DC was struck. Focused on my task, I shouted out the command word and two blue beams of energy arced across the lava, both beams striking true. The creature solidified and shattered; broken chunks exploded outward and rained down across the chamber. It companion, showing more intelligence than I thought the creatures had, disappeared below the lava.  VA made it across and pulled out his bow, covering the pool in case the creature returned. ST covered the pool as well, as I took a moment to infuse his armored plates, granting him a better sense of balance [ref: CJ-V1-7]. I knew he would need it to cross the beam. As XL made his way across, the rest of us stood ready. Sure enough, the creature rose up again, but this time we were prepared for it! VA and ST fired at the creature as best they could, but then I hit it with beams of cold. It got one attack off, but it, too, died an explosively frigid death. One more kill for the Artificer. Blowing the frost off of the tip of my wand (so it would not stick in it's sheath), I put the weapon away. With those obstacles gone, it was child's play getting across the lake of lava. I arrived on the broad, pillared avenue leading up to the temple doors to find a fight underway. Sixty or so feet away, in the shadowy entrance to the temple, an armored defender stood, fighting CA and IR. DA, once again, was no where to be seen. XL tossed aside a potion bottle that he had just emptied. I thought to reprimand him -- as I know from experience that those bottles are expensive -- but thought better of it. He would need his fighting spirit if the temple was still occupied.  ST, XL, HU and I joined in the fight at the same time something else did. From inside the temple came a horrific sight; an undead creature in the shape of a man, but easily ten feet tall. It had enormous clawed hands, and thin bony arms that were so long it had to tuck it's elbows in to pass through the broad double doors. HU threw a vile of home made alchemist fire at it. The creature was not amused. In front of the creature, battling CA, was a human warrior in a shining breastplate, wielding a wicked looking mace. Every time the man struck out at CA, vicious energy exploded out from the weapon, hitting man and elf both. The warrior, who looked rather confident at the start of the fight, was starting to look a bit worried. He slid over into a corner, to better defend himself. IR was in the front line of the fight. She summoned up a ghost of some sort, a creature of shadow, and sent it against the warrior. She used some of her magics to heal CA, who stood fighting man and monster both. VA stood in the back ranks, using his long spear to good measure, while XL danced back and forth, getting in an attack where he could. ST started with ranged attacks, but eventually went in to do melee. I used various wands, slinging fire and electricity both, while HU merrily slung alchemist fire at our two opponents. A great deal of shouting and running around could be heard from within the temple. My guess is that DA had made it in there, and was disrupting whatever opponents were still awaiting us.  Outside, our warrior friend was starting to panic. He was finally catching on to what we had already figured out -- he was losing. Attacking the shade in desperation, he left himself open to VA and XL's blades, and finally fell. With his death, CA was finally able to turn his full attention on the bone creature. He and IR were doing what they could against it, but the thing was immensely powerful. Fortunately for both CA and IR, they had an artificer along with them. Scorching rays made quick work of a dangerous foe.  With the creature down, we rushed into the temple. The shade made it in first, and dropped an Emerald Claw soldier in one hit. The man must have been something of a push-over at villain finishing school. DA stood in a mocking pose next to a man in priestly raiment, but as I watched, she was slowly faded from sight. A thousand tell-tale signs told me that she had conjured an illusion of herself in her efforts to keep the guards distracted. That means she was probably invisible, and from the layout of the room I gauged the best place for her to be was.... She materialized at the point I was watching. I gave her a quick thumbs-up to let her know she had been doing well, then turned my wands on the priest. He fell with a short, angry scream. CA was there, his blade still in the man, as was XL. ST stood nearby, after having just fired one of his energy bolts at the remaining Emerald Claw soldiers. DA winked at me (she does so love to flirt with me) and solidified the shadows near the last two soldiers, trapping them. Our enemies were defeated. Deadly combat is always so abrupt. It starts in a flare of adrenalin and excitement, then is over before you know it. Sometimes you come out unscathed, some times you wake up after the fact, your friends standing over you. And some times, you finish a fight, recover your breath and quell your beating heart, and an old enemy walks into the room. This was one of those times. Garrow (GA), who we had first met in the Mournlands, walked in through a side door. The air that followed him into the room I would normally describe as hot and muggy. Seeing how we were just one room away from an expansive pool of lava, however, I would instead classify the air as cool and damp. GA was wearing the clothing of a House Lyrandar sky captain, and he was conversing rather casually with a trio of Emerald Claw soldiers who were coming up behind him. He turned and saw us. We turned and saw him. A beetle the size of my thumb lazily flew from one side to another between us. Then we all jumped into action. GA had a familiar looking golden key in one hand. I was the first to react (naturally), but CA reached GA first for the simple reason that he was closer to the man than I was. In a blur, CA's sword came out and he struck GA in the arm with the flat of his blade. The key flew upwards in a slow, lazy arc.  I had seen the chamber that GA was stepping out of, with it's light gray stone and natural lighting. We had been told that the key opened any door to "another place" -- the Lost Room, and that from there the key would take you to any other door you could describe. My quick-thinking mind had ascertained that GA had just come from this Lost Room, and that when that door closed, so, too, would his escape route. I slammed into the door, driving it closed. One of the soldiers on the far side automatically put his arm out to hold the door, but he was still too surprised to put any effort into it. The door clicked shut.  As if by magic, DA appeared on the other side of GA, her hand outstretched to catch the key. It bounced once in her palm, then disappeared from sight, hidden away in a heartbeat.  GA stood in shocked amazement at our quick reaction, then cast a spell. I recognized it instantly, and cursed. With a pop, he disappeared. I shouted out that it was only a short range teleport, and we all rushed out of the temple and to the pillared causeway. ST and XL were closest, and they reported seeing GA appear briefly before casting the same spell and disappearing again. There was no way we could catch him. He had escaped. Again." .                    An Excerpt from the Personal Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7.   "Identification and circumvention of enemy magics.""Acting rationally and without prejudice.""All artificers are intelligent and charismatic.""Traps that blind, burn, or explode need detection and disablement.""The ability to handle any situation at any given moment.""Training." .                    An Excerpt from the "List of Reasons Why An Artificer Should Always be in Charge," by Artemis Heuw Cannith</blockquote>

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