Underdark [3.5] IC

[Tyrael]

Melgora shrugs to herself, her ample chest moving interestingly within her tight leather.

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Listen - (1d20)[3]

[Samm]

Darren

Darren listens,, he also takes a look around. "I'm better at seeing things, than hearing them... Too much noise in the workshop..."

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Spot: (1d20+5)[24]
Listen: (1d20+4)[18]

[Cadian 9th]

Liselle

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You hear a slight clicking, like segmented armour. You also hear the small crunch as something hard bores into rock. Above!

Darren

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You hear a series of clicks as if from segmented armour. Above!

Melgora

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You hear the silence of the abyss

Reve

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You hear the silence of the abyss

[whoiam]

Liselle

...That's not a good sign...

Liselle pipes up... quietly. "I think we should probably get our backs to one of the walls..." She points to the far side of the cave from the open cliff face, "ideally that one. Something is digging down towards this spot...I don't think we want to be directly underneath it when it breaks through..."

[Archdeacon GX]

Reve looks to her from the depths of the pit, a little skeptical. "Are you certain?" he asks, looking upward curiously.

[Tyrael]

Melgora shakes her head. "Paranoid," she rasps painfully and sucks in another hissing breath through her mask. "Jumping at shadows. Afraid of the dark?" A series of hideous, gargling chokes rattle out of her mask, a sound that's probably intended to be laughter but sounds more like a fat man strangling on a piece of fish.

[whoiam]

Liselle

"Para... Friend, do you see these ears?" Shifting a little hair out of the way so they'd be harder to miss. "They're not for show. Something is coming down at us." Quietly, Liselle pulls out her Rapier, and retreats to a safer wall.

...I really hope someone is coming down at us now. Being terribly terribly wrong is a really bad introduction...

[Samm]

Darren

Darren is slightly perplexed, "It's almost as if something was walking above us, wearing a tonne of armour..."

"Look guys, I heard clinks from above, as if someone was waltzing around in armour. I'm gonna trust Liselle. There's something out there."

Darren moves over about a metre away from the wall, fists held about chest height, as if ready to start a brawl.

[Archdeacon GX]

Reve

Reve looks up once more, becoming convinced as Darren agrees with Liselle. "Well, if the both of you hear it..." he muses, moving over towards the cavern wall with the both of them.

[Cadian 9th]

DM

As you move, a dull thump is heard behind you all. A skittering sound and a slight insect roar sounds as you whirl round to see a gigantic scorpion with plated armour in addition to its already thick plating, its deadly stinger ready to sting. On the front of its carapace sits a regal looking figure in plated armour with a long thin lance with a small but long blade, a runed shield and a red cape. The figure raises a mailed gauntlet and raises his visor, revealing a chillingly handsome albino dark elf with milky red eyes.

Another few dull thumps echo as two other scorpions show up, and then another skitters up the chasm. They all have riders.

" So you got here fine then. " Says the red caped rider. " I am Darius. I was told to meet you here to allow you to observe the battles and defences, so as to better counter our opponents and strengthen our defences. "

" Artemis, situation report? " Darius says.

" Kobolds tunnel fighters down below. They're using some magic to burrow underneath. The legionaires are holed up round the bend and are waiting for the cavalry. A unit of Halfling stalkers has been sent, I am assured from up top: Raydon. " Artemis says.

" Good. Well? " Darius says to you.

[Tyrael]

Melgora tilts her head questioningly and remains silent, waiting to hear more from either the man or her companions before expressing herself one way or the other.

[Samm]

Darren

Slightly unsure of what's going on Darren awkwardly replies, "Yeah... I'm fine..."

[Archdeacon GX]

Reve

The apothecary gawks at the scorpion-riding Dark Elf, obviously quite unsettled by the huge arachnid. He holds his tongue.

[whoiam]

Liselle

...they really should have given us a better briefing...

"Well... if we're just here to observe... perhaps you should just continue as normal? No point in our changing things before we know what to change..."

[Cadian 9th]

Darius

" Very Good. If you wouldn't mind. " he says, as his monstrous steed shifts so someone can mount it with Darius. The other riders do the same.

" With any luck the defenders are humans. I'm sick of Ragnar and his insults. "

" Dwarven Scum, He's lucky I don't stick a knife in his back when he sleeps after falling drunk. " Artemis says. The others, except Darius, laugh before being silenced with a cutting look from Darius. " Have you no honour, Artemis? No, the kill would be in a duel, where you can savour the victory. Where you can see the foe submit in his final moments. "

" Yessir. Better to see him die knowing it. "

[Samm]

Darren

Darren, a little unsure of what to do just stands and nods. "We're investigating this guy, what do they mean by that?"

[Cadian 9th]

Darius

" Don't be afraid. Razor will not hurt you. " Darius says, impatient but respectful.

[Archdeacon GX]

Reve

Reve looks about at the others and slowly steps forward, cautious. "Alright then...Razor, was it? Good scorpion..." he mutters as he moves over and nervously clambers up onto the creature behind Darius. I can't believe I'm doing this. I can believe even less that I'm the first among us doing it.

[Cadian 9th]

DM

Reve sits on the scorpion rather comfortably. Hefting his lance, Darius urges the Scorpion foward, rushing over the edge... A scream is heard.

Reve Only

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You are taken down for about 40ft, then the scorpion lands in a lower tunnel. You can hear battle from that tunnel, but its a good 80ft away from what you can hear.

[Samm]

Darren

Darren is uneasy about going off the edge. "He just rushed off the edge... We're meant to follow him?"

Darren tries to sum up the courage to follow Reve down. "Man-up Darren, we're following him. It doesn't matter whether you're nervous or not."

Darren climbs onto a scorpion. He tries not to scream.

[Tyrael]

Melgora quite calmly steps off the cliff into thin air! However, instead of plummeting to a sticky end, she simply floats downward at the same leisurely pace she walked off the cliff with.

After reaching the bottom, she steps forward and joins Reve and the scorpion.

[whoiam]

Liselle

The elf takes one look at Iskellia stepping out over the edge, and quickly turns away. She cannot bear to look...

...which is a shame really, as she misses her colleague (presumeably) feather-falling safely to the bottom.

"That actually makes the scorpions look safe," she mutters, as she mounts behind one of the Captain's squad.

[Cadian 9th]

Iskellia Only:

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It's pitch black, though you can hear the slight sounds of battle about 40ft off the edge, directly down.

Darren Only:

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The Rider grins and rushes off the edge. Contrary to your belief, the scorpion simply climbs on the wall, scuttling down as the Drow hefts his lance. You emerge about 40ft down to hear the sound of battle. Spotting Darius, the captain nods and says " Welcome, that wasn't so bad, was it? "

Lisselle Only:

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The rider grins at you from under her helm. She goads the scorpion over the edge, seemingly plunging into the abyss, till you realize that the scorpion is scuttling straight down, and after a short distance it lands with a crunch in a lower level tunnel. The rider hefts his lance as you see Darius speaking to Darren, " Welcome, that wasn't so bad, was it? "

But he hasn't acknowledged you yet.

Reve Only

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Darius says to Darren: " Welcome, that wasn't so bad, was it? ", as he readies his shield and whispers to you. " Watch out for the female, where your elven female friend is. "

[Tyrael]

((My bad, I got Melgora's name mixed up with another character of mine.))

Melgora reaches up and touches her mask. Suddenly, her eyes seem to glow eerily with an otherworldly orange light that illuminates the area in front of her (15ft cone).

Glancing around the area, she continues to levitate herself down into the abyss towards the sounds of battle and the rest of the party.

[Samm]

Darren

Darren breathes a sigh of relief, after hearing that scream, he expected the scorpions to fall down and land hard on the ground below. "Yeah, at least we climbed instead of fell..."

Darren looks around for his comrades.

[Archdeacon GX]

Reve

Reve appears to be either approaching or just recovering from a bout of hyperventilation. Looking around, he realizes that it is nearly pitch black. With that in mind, he makes a few quick gestures and mutters to himself. His finger glows for a moment and he taps himself on the side of the head. Suddenly, the area around him brightens, and he jerks slightly as he finds Darius looking straight at him after his whispered message.

Spell:

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Light. Bright light 20ft. radius, dim light 20ft. past that. It will last one hour, or until Reve cancels it.

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Reve whispers back to Darius uncertainly, "E-erm, w-what do you mean?"

[Cadian 9th]

DM

You all see Melgora float into the area. The Scorpion Knight tasked with bringing her arrives with a scuttle a few seconds later, lance ready.

Reve casts a spell of light, helping you see better. Darius looks a bit miffed, but nods. " Make sure to cover it when we approach the battle, please. "

Reve Only:

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Darius gives the ever so slight shake of his head.
" There's nothing I can say without causing a feud between the factions of the military. She might take your friend, watch your back. I'll do my best. "

[Archdeacon GX]

Reve

Reve nods uncertainly, looking to Melgora as she arrives. She can fly? he wonders to himself.

DM:

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Reve isn't sure which female Darius was speaking of. So he asks: "Well...which one did you mean?"

[Samm]

Darren

Darren looks towards Reve the source of the light. "Huh, neat trick that."

He then looks to Darius, "Uh, who are we fighting? Is it goblins, kobolds, creatures of the dark or something else?"

[Cadian 9th]

DM

The White Scorpion Knights advance, getting closer to the battle. Darius says something to Darren, but the rest of you don't hear as the wind and battle sounds cut it out. Melgora's guard simply waves a hand at her and slows, waiting to see if the woman will mount the Scorpion.

Liselle's Scorpion Knight lags behind a bit.

Reve Only

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" The Anxious Elf, the one afraid of being left alone. Please, cover the light, would you? "

He shouts to Darren " Kobolds, mostly. I supect a fair number of Earth Sorcerers, so look out. "

Darren Only

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You see Darius whispering to Reve, though he shouts to you " Kobolds, mostly. I supect a fair number of Earth Sorcerers, so look out. "

Lisselle Only

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" Afraid of the dark, Elf? " says the rider, a female.