Hightail It
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-<* Whirlpool's Room of Doom *>-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
This great meadow rests between two forests. The heady oaks on either side occasionally rustle their branches, as kindly grandfathers looking down upon their grandchildren. Amid the meadow, faerie-elves dance, their giant hips swaying with the breezes and causing miniature earthquakes as they giggle and prance about the place.
"I do so love to hug everyone!" one enthuses. And before too long? They've broken into song, a perfect rainbow arcing out of nowhere and suddenly above them!
"I love you, you love me, we're a..."
And on and on it goes, the precious song of laughter and light spiraling upwards towards a perfect blue sky.
And then, a bluebird flies by.
And poops on you.
Channel: WhirlChan
Add: addcom wc=WhirlChan
Cheat Sheet: http://bit.ly/pnmTow
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Kerbasy A young priest, cheerful despite his somber garb. 33s 6d
Whirlpool I am stinky! 0s 1d
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Whirlpool's Generator(#2466I)
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Out <O>
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Jareth has arrived.
Oates has arrived.
Elessa has arrived.
Tatyannah has arrived.
Aurala has arrived.
Jibbom has connected.
ALl of you have been gathered quickly into a building in Rune, apparently there being business you need to attend to. Two older men, both magisters and members of Parliament who sit on the 'sub-comitty for the execution of the war against Dran' are here as well.
"Glad you're all here," begins one, rubbing his red and grey beard.
"We're going to need you to all be on your game today. We've got a mission that'll let you strike Arendt and his forces right where it'll hurt."
Oates stretches out his arms a bit. "Sounds lively," he notes, the hint of a grin on his face. "What's the plan?"
"Never fear, good sir!" Jibbom shouts, spreading his wings and arms wide as he bellows. "Steel Von Ironblood, Bane of the Night, is always on his game! And his game... is heroism!"
Aurala cocks her head to the side as she listens and raises a brow at the mention of Arendt. She appears interested.
Tatyannah facepalsms when Jibbom shouts, but doesn't say anything. She does mumble something about pay. It's always about pay with her.
Elessa listens that they get to hit Ardent hard and looks to Tatyannah. "Hopefully we'll get a chance against Masterly," she smirks at the other woman. "Oh leave off Jibbom," she sighs at the halfling.
Wincing ever so slightly at Jibbom's declaration, Jareth surreptitiously interposes himself between the two magisters and the halfling, "How exactly are we supposed to go in? I highly doubt we'll be able to walk in there."
"No. You won't. We're going to teleport you behind his lines. We've identified one of his foundries and mines. Your mission is going to be to lead the strike on it and deal with it. It's responsible for high quality weapons that are flooding the front lines. The only thing worse than a Dran warrior isa Dran warrior with the highest quality sword and axes. It'll also remind him what we're capable of and force him to spend additional time guarding resources behind his lines and disrupt his supply lines. HOwever, we suspect he may well be ready for something like this. Our plan is simple: hit the mine, hit the foundry, and destroy both." A nod towards Jibbom is given as he pauses. "Is... is he the only..... person capable of summoning the arcane forces with you?"
There is some resignation in his tone.
"I have amazing magical powers!" Jibbom shouts, not sounding at all concerned by the prospect of being the only mage in the group. He grins widely.
Both of the wizards lean forward. One is rubbing the bridge of his nose. They look like they have headaches.
Elessa listens to their mission and smirks. "Well, no potential for Masterly, but at least we get to blow shit up." She sighs as she looks to Jibbom. Oh gods help them all.
Aurala cocks her head to the side and then shakes it, "I do not know if any of the others, I do not myself." she says and shakes her head.
Oates shrugs. "I'm good with various devices, and I can usually wing it when it comes to wands and such," the farmboy remarks. "Oh, and I can channel elemental earth into weapons and armor, but that's not exactly useful here."
Jareth holds his hands out in an apologetic manner as an answer to the Magister's question regarding Jibbom, "I thought Thyrson and Cesran would be with us...sorry."
Tatyannah notes stoutly, "Jibbom is very powerful in battle." Nevermind her issues with him, she feels the need to defend him against those in charge. Fight the power! United in Tarien! Something!
"It's all right. They may merely be late. You'll have some time to prepare before we send you to Dran."
"The reason we asked about arcane powers is simple, though," begins he other, "you could collapse the mine, but that'd simply result in the Dran digging it out again and starting over. A delay, but the foundry would soon be operational again. Detroying the foundry helps, but putting an end to the stop of iron and steel can't hurt either. So we're going to give you an item. Within it is bound a powerful earth elemental. Shatter it within the mine's deppest point and let it run wild before you make your escape. They'll have to spend no end of resources sending warriors to the mine to stop it and its minions from the elemental plane of earth to cleanse it before they can make it operational again. The foundry will be a tough nut to crack. We expect elite forces to be there, in addition to one of his finest smiths. If you can capture him, perhaps we can uncover the riddle of his steel."
"Riddle of his steel?" asks the other magister, "did you REALLY just say that?" He is pinching the bridge of his nose now as well.
"Anyways," continues the former, "Are there any questions?"
"What if the smith doesn't want to come in alive?" Tatyannah points out. "He might be loyal."
"Then we explode all of it!" Jibbom suggests enthusiastically. "With powers!"
"That's what these are for," comments Oates, idly tossing his blackjack in the air. "Get him properly cudgled, and he should be fine enough when we deliver him."
Jareth rubs at his stubbled chin, "The foundry. Do you have an item with a bound elemental from the plane of fire we could unleash there?"
Aurala just listens, she doesn't have any questions.
A nod towards Jareth. "We do. It was something we thought about as well. A fire elemental could make the steel and iron brittle if heated again ambiently. And, well.. it'sa foundry. Explosive potential, yes?" HE's grinning at the warrior. "I like how you think. The elements are our allies, even if Dran likes to talk a good gam eabout thme."
Tatyannah mmmms and falls quiet, just listening.
"Huzzah! More fiery minions for the army of Steel Von Ironblood, Bane of the Night!" No points for guessing who shouts that.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-<* Whirlpool's Room of Doom *>-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
This great meadow rests between two forests. The heady oaks on either side occasionally rustle their branches, as kindly grandfathers looking down upon their grandchildren. Amid the meadow, faerie-elves dance, their giant hips swaying with the breezes and causing miniature earthquakes as they giggle and prance about the place.
"I do so love to hug everyone!" one enthuses. And before too long? They've broken into song, a perfect rainbow arcing out of nowhere and suddenly above them!
"I love you, you love me, we're a..."
And on and on it goes, the precious song of laughter and light spiraling upwards towards a perfect blue sky.
And then, a bluebird flies by.
And poops on you.
Channel: WhirlChan
Add: addcom wc=WhirlChan
Cheat Sheet: http://bit.ly/pnmTow
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Jibbom Steel Von Ironblood, Bane of the Night. 1m 1h
Oates Stout human farmboy with genial grin & witty eyes 11m 2h
Elessa Short olive-skinned human with black hair and brown e 2m 1h
Tatyannah Short Giantborn woman, dark hair, bronze skin. 2m 3h
Kerbasy A young priest, cheerful despite his somber garb. 0s 6d
Whirlpool I am stinky! 7s 1d
Aurala Giantborn lass, Shiny Breastplate, and a Greatsword 1m 1h
Jareth Tall young man with a strong build, wearing full plat 1m 2h
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Whirlpool's Generator(#2466I)
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Out <O>
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==========> Spells Awaiting Preparation for Kerbasy <===========
And so you are delivered to a room in the primary tower of Rune, where a wizard appears to be hard at work doing... /something/. Preparing your teleportation to Dran, no doubt.
"The mine and the foundry are not too far apart. The foundry was built for it's proximity to the mine and to a supplt of fresh running water from Titan's Step, one of the rivers in the area. The foundry sits on the edge of it, and mines are about four hours away. We'll be droppoing you between the two so you can get the lay of the land. Our scrying only tells us that the foundry is guarded. I'll be honest: we tried to get a look inside the mines, but we couldn't. There's too much metal and interference for us to see, but we suspect there may be slaves operating inside. If you can free them, do so. We're not one hundred percent on this."
"Yay," Tatyannah replies, even as she checks her bag for all her stuff and weapons.
Kerbasy looks up occasionally as the wizard speaks. He's taking notes. "Slaves, traps, an' floods. Alright," he says. He straightenes, pushing his lenses back as he does so. "I'll ask th' lady for aid once we get to the mines. A little somethin' against a cave-in or a flood. Praise th' Gray," he adds after that, and goes back to taking notes.
Aurala nods and is checking her gear over but for the most part she is already ready.
Jareth has disconnected.
Thyrson has arrived.
And with that decided, and your last minute purchases made, the twin powers of destruction of earth and fire are passed to Jibbom. Both are small vials that are to be shattered and certain command words uttered that will give you command of the elementals within.
There isa pause as he looks at the others upon doing that, as if to say 'If anything goes wrong, it's your fault for letting Jibbom have these'.
You are then teleported into the Dran tablelands.
Teleport is never fun. It's twisty and nauseating, and soon you find yourself in a forested area. Rather more forested than you might've expected for the largely flat Dran lands, but then, the roaring of the nearby river probably has somthing to do with the brush, trees, and wildlife you've landed amongst.
According to the wizards, you're sup;posed to be somewhere between the mine and the foundry. The foundry lays along this river, to your west, or at least it should be if you landed on target, and the mine is a ways up river. They use the river to flat ore cargo down to the foundry., having apparently said to've diverted a portion of the river to the mine. It's a sensible thing to do.
Kerbasy looks up as the vials are passed to Jibbom, then leans over. He whispers something to another man in robes, a geeky looking, pencil-thin arvek. Something about remembering to recheck the measurements on the coffins. Then he plasters on his smile and steps into the--
--and then they're in Dran, and he's tucking away his notes as fast as he can.
Thyrson goes to one knee, catches himself, then looks around. He leans on his staff, and starts getting back to his feet. Oh, teleport.
Tatyannah takes a few moments to throw up and be motion sick after the fact. Once she's heaved out her guts, wiped her mouth and sipped some water, she tries to figure out where they are. "So, me and Elessa should go to a bit of scouting."
Oates takes a bracing stance, as if expecting combat to come from any direction. It also has the side effect of helping him to keep his balance after the teleport, too.
Aurala looks around a bit and shakes her head. She is worn out a bit. She hates being teleported.
Jibbom falls flat on his face after the teleport. At least he recovers remarkably quickly, springing to his feet. "Heroism!"
Kerbasy looks up, and nods. "Be careful," he says. He has to adjust his lenses somewhat, with the shift in horizon. "I'll review our notes in th' meantime. Make sure we're not overlookin' somethin'."
"I'll review my notes, too!" Jibbom pulls a piece of paper out of his robe. It has 'BE AWESOME' written on it in huge letters. He scrutinizes it carefully.
Kerbasy has rolls and muffins in his pockets. He always does. He shoves one or two in his mouth as the scouting continues. From somewhere, he produces butter. Apply liberally.
Thyrson waits, leaning on his staff, looking as patient as can be. Honest.
Tatyannah watches the barge and the operations, head tilted. She glances to Elessa to make sure the other rogue sees what she sees. After studying the situation, she makes motions to Elessa, that the need to be heading back. And so Tatyannah takes off at a flat out run through the brush, towards the rest of their company of fellows. Man, now would be nice to have one of those animal companion sorts.
The rest of you are waiting, of course, for the results of the scouting. Everything seems nice and quiet. The river is pleasent to listen to, at least, and Dran has a certin beauty to it.
That said, ater a few hours, Tatyannah and Elessa make their way back.
On your end, all has been quiet and you've hd time to make any additional lasting preperatory moves you've wanted to.
Tatyannah bursts through to the little clearing, "Get back," she says, panting as she crouches, hands on her knees. "Jibbom, I need you to be quiet. So very quiet, until the boat passes on the river. There's a lucht on a boat coming this way, and there's something about him. He radiates power, so you magic users need to study him if you can. Promise me, Jibbom, that you'll be quiet."
Jibbom has spent much of the previous hours telling tales of his incredible heroism. "... And that's how I saved Alexandria fro the sixteenth time. Now the seventeenth time, that was a doozy. It all started when this gorgeous maiden..." He trails off when Tatyannah returns. He shuffles back. "Steel Von Ironblood is always a paragon of stealth." Oh no.
Oates winces and draws his shortbow. He's not planning on using it immediately, but he has a nagging suspicion that it will unfortunately be useful in the near future.
Elessa frowns at Jibbom. "She means it Jibbom. Not a word to be spoken until we deem it safe."
"Jibbom. I'm /serious/. This is a gutting offense. And tell me what's wrong with the Lucht, if you can see him, but not until /after/ he passes," Tatyannah stares at the winged Tarienite. There's something wrong with him and we need to find out what it is. But I have a bad feeling, like he could see me, even though we were hidden well."
Kerbasy is rifling through a sheaf of papers. He looks up when Elessa and Tatyanna come back. Then, gets up and hands the papers to Jibbom. "Jibbom, could you review these coffin designs for me? Please b'thorough. I'd wanted t'speak with you about this beforehand, but there never was a good time. Heh. Could you examine them -thoroughly, and for several hours- an' select one you think reflects your stately visage? The ones towards the back are gilded." He reaches for another of the muffins, and looks about for a place to hide. He does his best.
Thyrson casts a minor preparatory enchantment, thrn adds another as Tatyanna comes back. "Also, I can render us all invisible."
Elessa frowns at Tatyannah for a moment and blinks. "Tatyannah, I didn't see a lucht..."
Tatyannah shrugs helplessly at Elessa, "I saw him. He was - felt sharp. Like maybe something was possessing him and I could /swear/ he could see us."
Jibbom furrows his brow as he looks through the catalog, examining it intently. "... I believe I understand." He intones. "But I think these designs could be improved. If you switched from iron accents to bronze, you would improve the structural integrity and aesthetic sensibility while saving on cost of materials." He nods sagely to Kerbasy as he hands back the catalog.
Kerbasy reaches over and turns towards the middle-back of the catalog. He nods silently before making a solemn writing motion, suggesting Jibbom write down his suggestions. At length, of course. ...of course he's going to have to read all of this later. ...which probably counts for the twitching motion as he turns back to study the oncoming raft.
Elessa frowns as she looks at the barge and shakes her head and looks to Tatyannah. "Where is this Lucht? I don't see him."
Kerbasy squints, and points towards a certain point of the raft. He signs: <Dead Spot> with his hands. Occasionally he glances over towards their own lucht, as though troubled.
Aurala is just trying to keep on her toes.
The barge passes by. IT's loaded heavily, sitting low in the water, and a large number of soldiers are on it. Guarding iron ore and the foundry seems like something the Dran put a priority on for obvious reasons.
It sails down river, slowly, for what seems like an eternity, and then is out of your sight.
Tatyannah finds a place to hide, then points, when Elessa asks. It's as clear as day to her. The Lucht is /right/ there. "Didn't you see him?"
Tatyannah says that /after/ the barge passes by.
Oates looks at the lucht on the raft with a somewhat bewildered expression. He signs: <Very Creepy> with his hands. "Saw him; not sure I wanted to, though," he whispers back to Tatyannah.
Elessa shakes her head and looks at Oates and Tatyannah, shaking her head. "I didn't..."
Kerbasy produces another muffin. He takes a bite out of it.
Kerbasy eats more muffins!
Aurala shakes her head, "Didn't see anything." she murmers as the barge goes by.
Tatyannah nods at Oates, "Yes, he saw us, don't you feel like that?"
Thyrson rumbles, "I didn't see him at all."
Tatyannah shrugs helplessly, "All I can tell you is what I saw. Though, since he's passed, we should go to the mine. And hope he's the only one. If he's not, we're screwed."
"I saw a dead spot, about where he must have been." Kerbasy tucks the recent half-eaten muffin back in his pockets. "He has some magic, that's f'sure."
It takes a couple hours to make your way along the river towards the mine.
r Ah, there it is. The river here has been diverted, a tributary set up here by construction to allow for barges to be floated up and down to the mine and to the foundry. It makes sense. It's a convenient way to deliver a day's worth of ore to the place. It's also clear this mine has been running for a long time, many years. It's a great, circular put dug into the ground, lined with wood and a large wood and stone 'roof'. Tracks have been set up for mine cards. There are a lot of guards here, along with people in manacles working in and out of the place on various tasks and business. It's crowded, and there's numerous buildings set around the mine that make up it's barracks for the guards, management officers, and more. The Dran can definitely run a mine efficeintly. It may not be pretty like a Khazad's efforts, but it works.
As they near, Kerbasy reaches out and grasps at the air, as though grabbing some invisible substance. He holds it there for a moment before releasing it with a prayer, and a protective shell settles around everyone present. "That should last about three hours an' protect us from gasses, water, drops in temperature an' the like."
"Well, that'll be something. Thank you," Tatyannah murmurs as she watches the people coming and going and then glances to her group, then back to the mine. "I think we're going to have to go in disguise. To get in. I'm not sure, if we're going to be able to free everyone. "
Thyrson nods. "There are too many to teleport out, sadly." He exhales. "Well. Explode the barracks, for one. We should be able to render this place somewhat unusable, even if new slaves were acquired."
"I suspect we'd want whatever's in th' management office." Kerbasy grins briefly at the jotun before looking back out at the mines. He frowns. "They're probably not as meticulous as th' khazad. Doubt it's as well-built. A few key explosions could cause th' whole thing to come to a halt." He presses his thin hands together. "I can raise th' water in sections, too."
Aurala looks around at the others or a moment, she isn't sure what to talk. She looks at the others, "Point me in the direction you want me to kill," she says but she is thinking a little.
"Soon the heroics will begin!" Jibbom shouts quietly, out of consideration for the instructions given by Tatyannah earlier.
Thyrson nods once, curtly. "Some of us can do explosions. And we hit the management office." He peers out. "If things get hairy, we can change out tactical position, too."
Tatyannah notes, "We're going to get to the deepest part of the mine, right. Right now, we should be concentrating on getting in and getting out. We can't destroy it all, nor can we save them all."
"There may be a map to th' mine inside the office," Kerbasy speaks up.
"Yes! To the office! Heroically!" Jibbom agrees, pointing towards the sky.
Aurala looks over at Jibbom, "Do we really need him, or can anyone trigger the elementals?" she asks as she looks over to Jibbom for a moment. She shakes her head and then looks back to the others, "A map would let us get out quickly once we are in."
"Our scouts may be th' best to handle...ah. Jibbom, did you ever look over those designs?" Kerbasy asks, seeking to distract the lucht. He pulls out the catalogue. "We should talk about them...what did you think of th' one with the crown inset and wolf-cape?"
"I can summon elementals with my amazing heroic powers!" Jibbom assures, before being distracted by his other passion: funerary designs.
Thyrson leans on his staff. "Well. Up to everyone." He steps back.
Tatyannah uhs, "Why don't /you/ guys stay here and let me and Elessa go check for maps, mmm? "
"This one uses horns from a certain breed of bull...see how th' reach ten feet to either side?" Kerbasy is pointing to one of the illustrations before looking back. He adjusts his lenses. "Come on, Aurala, we need your warrior's sense of style. We need somethin' majestic for Ironblood, here."
Aurala cocks her head to the side for a moment and then nods her head. "I am for that, I am not very....sneaky." maybe if she volunteers to stay...oh look coffins... She looks over at the two and then steps over, "Need something bigger, these don't look big enough for one of my kind."
"Really? How much bigger do you think?" Kerbasy flips to another page, then holds it up to Aurala. "Here's one with wolf fur linin' the inside. Too much, or too little? Jibbom?"
"I'd say the issue isn't the amount of fur so much as the type." Perhaps living with Gurr has given Jibbom a little bit of an empathy for wolves? "No, you need something more exotic for true decadence. What about owlbear down?"
Aurala cocks her head to the side and shakes it a bit, "Cave bear." she says and shakes her head, "But yeah, you would have to chop my arms and legs off to get me to fit in one of those." she comments as she helps to keep a certain someone distracted.
Thyrson waits, shaking his head. He keeps an eye out.
"I think w' could manage owlbear. ...you know, it's sometimes customary to add on to your coffin as you travel. Keep it updated with your recent tales, add additional carvings an' banners. ...hrm," Kerbasy adjusts his lenses as he looks towards Aurala. "I think you're right. If you'll come by, we'll have Acleese redo the shoulder measurements."
Tatyannah goes off with Elessa to steal a map and other things. Once she's there, she tries to study a huge map on the wall, even as she swipes one of the smaller copies of it. If nothing else, hopefully, years of thievery and studying those kinds of maps will help her when she gets back to where they are hiding out. Once she's back, she pulls out her map, and says, "Pen." Waiting for it and possibly snapping her fingers.
Elessa slips off into the dark with Tatyannah, like any good rogue should do. They are gone for a good bit before finally returning. "We got something, not accurate, but something," she says as she tries to help with corrections on Tatyannah's version of the map.
(New BB message (3/124) posted to 'Plot Announcements' by Whirlpool: Myrana is kidnapped (CLOSED))
Kerbasy hands the catalog to Jibbom, and then begins patting down his robes. It takes a moment. "What did you find?"
Aurala looks up as the pair comes back.
"A map. Shut up for a minute," as Tatyannah starts consulting with Elessa for a few, pointing out the changes that she knows about. When she gets a writing implement, she makes notes on the copy of the map she has, compares it to the one Elessa has.
For those observing, it becomes evident that the maps are not identical. It's probably annoying.
Meanwhile, from your positions, you can see people continuing back and forth.
Looks like another barge, not the same one, has arrived.
Kerbasy drops down again, watching the barge. By now he's a little twitchy.
Tatyannah gets distracted and starts when she catches sight of the barge. She just stares at it, as it goes by.
Oates's jaw drops. "What is with that thrice-blighted halfling?" he quietly hisses to the others.
Thyrson shakes his head, squinting. "Nothing."
Aurala cocks her head to the side, "Is that the one from earlier?" she asks. She didn't see the other after all.
"Nethercite, an antimagic shell..." Kerbasy mutters as he hunkers back down in the grass. "Same dead zone as before. ...heh. If we see him alone on th' river again...we should take th' opportunity." He pauses. But then doesn't add anything else.
The barge stops by the mine, and again, people come out. This time, they're taking supplies /off/ the barge. Seems like this is a grain and food delivery for the slaves. So at least they're being fed, even if the rations are probably meager in a time of war.
A bell rings as the sky begins to darken.
The cleric adds, "If Tatyannah thinks he could see us with Thyrson's spell on us, we can try hitchin' a ride under a barge to get into th' mine. We'll be able to breathe...unless y'think that wouldn't work either?" he looks to the jotun.
"Yes! An undersea adventure!" Jibbom's enthusiasm far outstrips his understanding of the situation.
"I don't know. There's just something very not right about him," Tatyannah offers. She turns to the others, "Did it seem like to anyone else like even the crew didn't see him or was it just me?"
Oates nods. "It's almost as if he didn't exist," he agrees.
Aurala cocks her head to the side, "Is he even on the barge? I don't think they know he is there? Is it a projection, image or something?" she looks at the others.
Kerbasy squints up at the sky. "We have three hours. Less what took t'get the map," he says, then looks over. "From what you felt, it seemed like he saw us. I don't like th' implications of that."
Thyrson nods. "We should try. And yes, it's possible that it's a projection, but it still makes him dangerous."
"I don't know," Tatyannah shrugs helplessly, "I don't know. This is your area," he says to the magic users. "I can just see him, but it sounds like how to deal with him is your area."
"I will deal with him! With my amazing magical powers!" Jibbom takes a look around, then scratches his chin. "... Which one am I dealing with, again?"
The barge conducts it's business.
Unloaded, it moves into the dock on the side of the river and waits there as people from it disembark.
A few remain board, but for the most part, the sailors are heading to one of the buildings. It must be some kind of mess hall or something.
"He has access t'some higher castings or prayers." Kerbasy adjusts his lenses again, then smiles. It's fleeting before he rivets it back into place. Blessed are the kittens. "If I had to guess, I'd think he was an operative for th' Dranei. If we get th' chance to get his uh, likeness an pass it back home, it would be a boon there. I suspect, given how potent that dead spot was, most of his tools, both to detct an' to move unseen, are magical."
Aurala cocks her head to the side and nods, "Yes we can do that I think." as she tries to remember as much as possible about the halfling.
Oates blinks. "Uh, anyone see where the creepy halfling went...?"
Aurala shakes her head, "No...just not there anymore... Not good."
Kerbasy looks up, "Dead spot's gone. ..." He falls quiet, and..."If he teleported, he'd have to get rid of it." His hands start busily searching his pockets and fumbling.
Tatyannah shakes her head briefly as she goes quiet again. She begins to move off to get closer to see if she can figure out where he is.
"Look, aren't we losing track of what's most important here?" Jibbom asks. "We need to have an amazing undersea adventure where I sadly explain to several beautiful mermaids and river nymphs that I am now a married man, then we go explode a mine. Right?"
Kerbasy writes a few things down, then passes them on to Elessa. "Here's a few things I know of as will block magical scryin," he says. "May be helpful to you an' Tatyannah, an' if we can keep it in mind as w'navigate." He looks over his shoulder, twitchy. Then looks at Jibbom. Twitches again.
Aurala looks at Jibbom and raises a brow, "Well if he is gone, it might be now is the best time to take out the mine? If thay guy is someone some kind of foreman or overseer?"
With the assistance of life bubble and the presence of the barge, it's easy enough to slip into the water a bit further up stream. This is an exciting underea adveture into... one of the most polluted waters in Dran, actually. There's not a lot of fish, the water tastes bad. Like chenmical run off from the mine, honestly. Yuck.
It burns the eyes a bit, and is generally unpleasent.
You make your way towards the entrance to the mine, and the real problem here is that there's a complicated array of waterworks and gears to slip through. It's going to take some examining, squeezing, and timing. OAates' abilities are helpful here, as ak nowledgeable engineer, and he helps you slip through the gears and into the tunnels the water is chanelled through. soon, you're sliding down a ramp and falling throug several levels of mine past gears and buckets and diversions for powered drills and so much more.
Kerbasy thumps to a landing on his butt. His clothes are soaked through. "You know," he spits out some of the water. "I've been thinkin'. Why would y'need to maintain an antimagic field when you're surrounded by th' living?" he asks. He wrings out one of the sleeves. "Maybe he's not a Dranei operative, after all."
Tatyannah tries to aim herself not to hit any sharp, pointy bits, but she can't help a certain amount of exhiliration as she slides down the ramp. And hopefully away from the frightening Chuckie doll that is the lucht.
Elessa frowns a bit, "Someone's going to have to pay for a new headscarf after all of this..." She frowns a bit as she looks at the grime of the mine.
Aurala cocks he rhead to the side as they bump and land. She shakes her head a bit, "We are still on that little guy?" she murmers and then looks around, after all they are inside the mine now, not out there.
"If it's too damaged, I'll hold a funeral for it," to Elessa. Kerbasy attempts humor. Then, he realizes his quill set is probably drenched. He freezes, and blinks a few times rapidly as he rubs at an eye. Those aren't tears. Oh no.
"I can pick a stylish coffin for the funeral!" Jibbom enthuses, clearly excited about his new hobby.
Your trip through the waterworks ends with you spilling out onto a makeshift pool on one of the mines lower levels. This is helpful. There are people, slaves, bent over it, collecting buckets of water from it, and they stare at you. All of you.
"Where the hell?" says one.
"How are you even ALIVE?" asks another.
"Should we get the guards?" 5r
"No, you idiot. Don't say anything."
Thyrson has disconnected.
"Yes, please don't," Tatyannah informs them, "Particularly since I was going to set you free. And you tell us which way it is to the deepest part of the mine."
"Yes! Steel Von Ironblood and associates have come to free you all!" Jibbom declares with a beaming smile.
Aurala cocks her head to the side as she stands up, and wrings out what she can, "Your assistance would be appreciated."
"Oh no," says a slave as soon as Jibbom introducces himself.
"Alexandrians," agrees another, glumly.
"Shit. There goes the neighborhood."
Thyrson has connected.
"Everyone's a critic," mutters Oates.
"It uh..." Kerbasy rubs at the other eye. He'd been so focused on the operative as they'd walked he'd forgotten about his--"Oh, heh." he starts feeling around in his pockets. If he can, he'll pass out some of the coffin-shaped cookies. And rolls. Muffins. You can tuck a lot away in robes. A lot. He noticibly sheds a few pounds.
(New BB message (3/125) posted to 'Plot Announcements' by Pyroclasm: Cold Road - Bridge Over the Dragon)
Well, you know. If you're a slave on meager rations, you probably won't have a problem taking cookies from strangers. They all do.
"That's a pretty good plan. Shame we couldn't get out that way with these chains, eh?" He looks down his shackled legs., pickaxe lazily over his shoulder.
"There's well over a hundred souls working the mine, and then about twenty five or so guards, nevermind the barges and their members, and the management upstairs, or that cleric."
"HEY!" Tatyannah is offended, "FINE. Then I will gut you like the fucking prancy fish you are."
"Well, not /you/," adds one hasily to Tatyannah. Just in case it mollifies her somewhat.
Aurala cocks her head to the side and persks up, "Cleric?" maybe its that little guy.
The thin priest looks mournful as he sheds more of the baked goods.
Tatyannah huffs, "Un-grate-ful," even as she makes her way over to deal with the locks. She mutters to herself in Jotun. "So rude."
Oates looks over the manacles, then pulls out his tools and starts unlocking them.
Jibbom has disconnected.
Elessa frowns at this and she goes over with her tools to start unlcoking people. "We'll take care of the chains," she smiles and just works quietly.
Thyrson asks as quietly as a damp giantborn can: "Who's management exactly?"
Kerbasy pulls out a roll cake from his pockets. He really has a problem. This one's chocolate rolled with cream. "Th' cleric?" he asks. He looks at the roll cake, then back again. One one adventure, he'd received a bag of holding. Later, Acleese sewed it into his pockets. There is no better use for such an expensive, outrageously useful item than an endless supply of Althean baked goods.
"Yeah. Fixes us up when we get busted up. He works out of one of the buildings up top. Some kind of Reosian who says that we're being reforged in the crucible of torment.He's a biggun, too, so be careful." Definitely doesn't sound like the halling. ANother nods to Thyrson, "Bunch of Arendt's monkeys. He seized the foundry and deposed the holder of it about six months ago. Started pumping out weapons and expanding it. I was one of the first here on the prison barge, actually. "
Tatyannah grunts, "You ever seen a real creepy Lucht around here?" She eyes the talkative one while she hefts her spear.
Aurala hmms and just listens, cleric doesn't sound like the one they are curious on. She will help out where she can.
Silence immediately falls. They all look at each other.
"What'd you say?" asks one, weakly.
Tatyannah readies her spear to stab one of them, "Are you /really/ going to make me ask again?"
Aurala blinks at Tat, "Calm down, no need that for that, they might not know after all, not all of us could see him." she says and then looks back, "Do you know anything?"
"No, no, no, no," says one of them, and immedately backs into one of the walls.
The others look /terrified/ suddenly. And not of Tatyannah. They're backing up from you.
"You saw him."
"...therte's a story on the barges that brought us up and down here. About one of the travelling folk. They say he used to captain a trading vessel on these waters, up and down the river with his family," he say waeakly, terrified.
"But one night, he and his crew set off when the waters were high, and the barge capsized. They all drowned. ALl of them. They say that hisu soul wanders the waters, marking those that see him and then he comes to take their souls in the night. I never believed it."
"I did," says another, "I never saw him, but one of the guards on my ship did. He wdidn't ake up the next day. When they shook him, they found he'd drowned in his hammock. Lungs full of water and his mouth stuffed full of white stones."
Aurala mutters, "Great stories of all this. Something new to fight." she turns and looks to the others.
Tatyannah asides to Aurala, "I know people, please give me credit for that, even if seems like I don't interact with them very well, I know fear when I see it and when to use it. Also, when have you known me to /actually/ stab someone who didn't deserve it?" Then she frowns at the elves a little. "So he's a barge captain? On the river? Have you ever known him to hurt a slave or just crew?"
Elessa has disconnected.
"They're stories, you know? Sailors and slave scuttlebutt. I never paid it any heed," says one of the slaves.
"I didn't, not until that."
"I hear a barge floated into part with /everyone/ dead on it once, with stones in their mouths..."
Clearly, they're not going to be the best or most reliable of answers. "Anyone who saw him," says the one, "anyone. That's what the stories say. Slave, guard, crew. These are his waters."
Tatyannah nods, "Thank you." She makes sure everyone is unlocked. "Go, be free, help your friends, try not to get caught or at least don't rat on us if you do."
(New BB message (3/126) posted to 'Plot Announcements' by Whirlpool: Hightail It (CLOSED))
Whirlpool says, "There we go :)"
JUDGE: Whirlpool sends Thyrson back to his former location.
Thyrson has left.
JUDGE: Whirlpool sends Oates back to his former location.
Oates has left.
JUDGE: Whirlpool sends Tatyannah back to her former location.
Tatyannah has left.
JUDGE: Whirlpool sends you back to your former location.