(I/C)
Brendon gave the room a slow pan, taking in the skeletal remains, the glowing walls, the cave, the bubbling grey pool, and the foul smell. He then turned to the rest of the group, “I think we need to find a way up. I’m sure the crown is somewhere but not in this room.”
“Now hold on a second, wait a minute Mister Thief, that pool looks interesting.”
“Korvid, can you do me a favor,” Brendon asked, “call me Brendon and not thief anymore. It’s insulting.”
The dwarf gave him a slow gaze, beard bristling under his lip. “Kovid.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s Kovid. You keep putting an R in it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He spun his hammer. “Tell you what, you drop the R and I’ll stop saying Thief, deal?”
“Uh yeah, sure.” He got to the stairs and turned back around. “So, we going?”
Lannis shook his head. "We should make our way back up, but while we're here we should look around the corner and see what there is to see before we do. I'd also like to get a closer look at this pool."
"We shood get idea how big dis room is,” Wyn agreed, “and en get eye down dat corner dere. Den we continue upstairs. If dee dwarf en silver tongue over dere wish to mess with dee pool, I can throw a tomato in. Dee rocks obviously not affected by whatever is in dere. Neider ees medal. Need sometin wit skin to test it. Tomato work. Den we continue nord on dee first floor, oui?"
“I’d like to throw a tomato in,” Abraxas offered hand out. “You’ve got a box of them, Senor Wendy. May I?”
As Wyn was taking the box out Lannis gave him a hard glance. “Um…no.”
“Why?”
“Seriously? Throw a tomato in? Why don’t you just set the room on fire?”
“Is that an option?” Abraxas asked. “I would like to throw fire into the pool then, if that option is on la tabla.”
“No,” Lannis growled, teeth grit. “No tomatoes, no fire, no nothing, ok? Master muttonchops and I will go and check it out…”
“Wrap something around your face,” Brendon interrupted from the base of the stairs. “Safety first.”
“Sure, Pirate Roberts, while mucking around the fallen elven castle overrun by greenskins and anklebiters with wandering medusas tripping down crazy long flights of stairs I should worry about safety. What an idiot.” He paused, gathering his thoughts, and then turned to Kovid. “Make sure you wrap something around your face when we’re checking out the pool, ok?”
“Was already going to, Lannis.”
“Zo,” Wyn shook his head and held up a hand. “Kovid and Lannis are going to check out the pool, I will go an’ check ‘round ze corner and see where the cave goes, Brendon you will stay on ze stairs, no?”
“Absolutely!” the scout agreed.
“Ok, zen Abraxas you will stay near him an…Lyra?” He turned to the Cleric who was also at the steps. “What about you?”
Lyra frowned. “If you morons want to throw anything into the puddle that is the sign for me to get out of here. If that…puddle grows eyes and hands and turns into some giant mercury ooze I will feel really bad that you all were left behind to die for messing with something obviously stupid.” She stomped her foot on the steps. “I’ll be here. In fact,” she pushed Brendon aside and climbed half way up the steps just at the limit of the light range, “I’ll be HERE instead.”
The elf looked at Abraxas. “Watch over the Monseuir and the Mademoiselle sil vous plait.”
"Señor Dundee,” Abraxas replied, hand over his heart, “Will do. Hand me the tomato, por favor. I will stay here and throw tomato. I will watch the pool and our amigos as well.”
“Holy shit,” Lannis shook his head. “No fucking tomatoes.”
“Senor Shotput, you are a nasty man with your cursing.”
Lannis and Kovid looked over the pool carefully, the dwarf leaving the lantern a few feet behind him on the floor to afford light to the entire chamber. Meanwhile Wyn stepped closed to the pool along the north side, giving the skeletal remains a wide berth. The armor was rusty and pitted, elven in make, and was most likely here for the 3 decades easily. Why a lone figure was coming this way led the elf to think there might be a way out past here. As he crept along the passage turned to the north and the walls remained crude and cavern like. But as he walked along the passage narrowed more and more until it just ended at a blank wall. Not sure if this was the case, using the dim phosphorous light and his infravision, Wyn searched the walls for secret doors or passages that might lead out of here. (No roll needed).
What he did find (Wis > 9) was the remains of a flat wooden chest under a pile flat stones. The chest was open, the stones disturbed, and from the look of things, was opened and the contents taken 30 years ago. Rubbing his chin, he turned back to the figure hunched over near the pool lying on its face, arms wrapped around something under its body.
Meanwhile Kovid (<Stonework, Yellow 3) crept up to the pool and sand with Lannis, giving it a serious look over. “Ok, let’s start with the obvious. It’s a natural pool of water. And given the high water table in the area, the many natural caverns and steps down we’ve seen in the area, and the fact that the Ispan built his castle here, there are a number of natural occurring geological aspects that would account for it.”
Kovid (<Int check +2 stone bonus, Yellow 8) and Lannis (<Int check -2 penalty, Pink 15) gave the pool some simple tests. The sand was coarse and the color red was from staining from splashing from the pool. The water was not drinkable, but it seemed to be fed from a natural occurring sulfur vein far below. Over the years it had built up to the level it has now, hence the foul smell.
“So the Ispan had his own sulfur source here under the castle?”
“It would seem,” Kovid answered.
“As a magister, let me tell you, sulfur is deucedly expensive and to have a source, naturally occurring where you live had to be a big help.”
The dwarf nodded. “It’s fairly tapped out I would imagine, but we shouldn’t tarry too long in this chamber.” He rubbed his eyes. “Being here as long as we have been, I can already feel ourselves getting a bit dizzy from the effects.”
Lannis nodded. “I agree. I’ve had enough time working with in to know you can stay for a bit and then need to go.” The two of them stood up and wiped their hands and knees clean as Wyn came back around the corner towards them, looking at the fallen body.
(WMC, Red/Black 1 – Thanks Kelly!!) Meanwhile, Lyra in the gloom near the top of the steps cocked her head as she heard (<Hear Noise +2 bonus, White 3) someone coming closer. Lots of someones, walking along and coming closer. And they were chattering and chanting. She hissed at Brendon who was a few steps lower, the scout (<Hear Noise +10%, Red 13) already hearing the same things and grabbing the cleric’s hand pulling her lower.
The telltale smell of cinnamon was filling the air, along with their strange yipping barks and chittering language. “Kobolds,” he whispered.
“Fuck, fuck,” She muttered lowly. “Here I was wondering where the hell they were, and by Aine, they’re HERE.” She tilted her head. “How many?”
Brendon shook his head. “Not a clue. At least a half dozen, I would guess more.” The chanting was louder and through it all they could hear a name repeated, “Grilljax”. The two of them slunk down the steps to Abraxas to let the Fighter know what they heard and he too at the base of the steps could make out the chanting and walking of the kobolds as they walked the halls above, going SOMEWHERE nearby, but not coming to the steps here. “Sounds like they are going somewhere just above us.”
“The room with the stone barrel?”
“That would be my guess,” Brendon said. He turned to see the dwarf and Magic User cleaning themselves off and the Elf coming around the back corner of the cave. “Kobolds, lots of them, just over head. Let’s let everyone know now what’s what.” The thief rubbed his eyes, feeling a bit dizzy as the three of them let the other three know what they had learned just over their heads.
Time now is 3:32
(OOC)
In the room, sulfur pool, mild, but prolonged time down here could start being debilitating. Chest in the far corner had been opened and stuff missing, dead elven guy near pool on front arms hiding something. Some number of kobolds above going somewhere, maybe to the stone barrel room to get something, and they are chanting Grilljax.
What’s the plan?
No comments:
Post a Comment