City of Brass: IC

[Kobold-Bard]

The zoo is massive, the lower level is lined with barred cages for creatures that either aren't a threat or are fine to be left alone. The rest of the huge area is taken up by magical cages that hang from a molten metal "tree" that grows out through the floor.

The cages are a simple metal circle (annoyingly hot given your environment) and a two foot length of chain that connects to the air above your head. Surrounding you is an invisible force field that nothing you have tried can penetrate or escape through, though they technically don't prevent your abilities.

You are all on the middle tier, about 30ft up. The Efreet can fly so it's a long way down if your cage chain suddenly melts due to the intolerable heat (something that happens far too often).

To your right there is a Roving Mauler repeatedly slamming into it's invisible wall to try and free itself, and all around there are dozens of other "monsters".

--------------------------
Brief intro describing yourself and your current mental state. Fire and Ice are within sight distance of one another but more than 40ft away. Any abilities you have are stuck within your personal cage, you can't teleport out etc.

Because of the constant contact with heated metal you all have 1/2 your HP gone in non-lethal damage.

[Volthawk]

Fire isn't looking around at the others. His eyes are closed. He is thinking. Planning. There will be an opportunity. There always is. He opens his eyes, and starts to survey the area. I am Fire. I cannot be contained.

[FirebirdFlying]

Yun's humming, and sulking as only a floating ball of light can. Moreso than the physical confinement, she hates the silence. Not that it's actually silent - that bizarre lion-thing is only the loudest of the people around - but she can't hear any deeper noise except herself.

So she condenses and condensates, steam hissing off her from the intense heat, and focuses on her own inane little ditties.

When I went down to Terenshire I spied a pretty lass,
With ember-eyes and jeweled throat and scales of smooth grey ash…

[The Antigamer]

CLANG!
CLANG!
The sword, wielded by no one, strikes the force field again and again in the cage of the small humanoid in the black and white checkered suit. He takes no notice of it, staring at the opposite side of the cage with his eyes open hugely, never seeming to blink. He hardly seems to realize he's speaking, as words continually pour out of him.
"They tell me to rest,
But surely they jest,
I'm locked in a cage of cold iron.
This house arrest,
Is really not best,
I highly resent my environs.
But have I impressed,
With my feelings expressed,
The host of my misfortune?
At his behest,
I'm still his guest,
No matter how I importune.
And they came to divest,
Despite my protest,
All of my articles of note.
Yes, I've been dispossessed,
And now I'm depressed,
I'm starting to get a sore throat."

In time with his rhymes, the circular metal floor of the cage give peals of anger, as if some invisible force were trying to destroy them, and failing.

OOC

Spoiler

Show

Using baleful utterance on every bolded word. Yes, he is trying to destroy the ground he's on. He's not the most stable even at the best of times, and this confinement has worsened that state.

Stats

Spoiler

Show

Hyphonyse
Speed: 50'
Initiative: +3
AC: 20, Touch: 20, FF: 17
HP: 51/103, 52 non-lethal damage
SR: 22, DR: 5/Cold Iron
Fort: +9, Ref: +13, Will: +7
BAB: +9/+4
Attack: +2 psychokinetic burst wand-chambered Naginata, +15/+10, 19-20/x2, d6 + 8, P/S
Hideous laughter: 18/18 uses, will save 22, 28 if feinted.
Devour Joy: 90' radius, up to 5 creatures, will save 22
24-hour invocations: Beguiling Influence, Entropic Warding, See the Unseen, Mind Augmentation(Cha)
Maneuvers readied:
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 24 (20)
Condition: None
Listen, Spot: +7
Search +9
Knowledge (Arcana),Knowledge (History): +9

[Kobold-Bard]

((There are no bars, just floor circle & holding chain)).

[The Antigamer]

Spoiler

Show

My bad, I got a different picture in my mind when I was writing the poem
I'll edit it.

[Ladorak]

Ice is bored out his mind. For longer then even he can remember he has prowled. Since before the written word of a thousand peoples. Now, for the first time, he is caged. He stares at his brother, but his mind wanders on times long ago.
It was strange. Actually spending time with his sworn brother. Since they took the oath long long ago until now they were rarely together. Only then when plotting the destruction of empires. They always worked together but they also worked alone. Fire and Ice in harmony.
His mind drifted further back, back to when they took the oath. In a great vaulted hall deep below even the underdark they stood before the Great Shasas. There were gems everywhere, covering every inch of the high walls and arched ceiling. They were sapphires or rubies, it annoyed him that he couldn't remember which one it was.
They renounced their old names and sworn their brotherhood. The only creature in the multiverse one would never kill. Witnessed by Great Shasas killed long ago. The Great Shasas are ever greedy. A Rakshasa on the move is safer. Our kind are so hard to end. Preparation is required. But I'm never in the same place and you'll never see me coming. The Great Shasas and their giant gem encrusted kill me signs. At least they've stopped doing that now...
Once again he idly considers destroying the cage beneath his feet. One strike is all it would take. He had always enjoyed Stone Dragon experts, such wonderful straight forward people, easy to predict. But what would be the point? A force field is a force field.
Ice had always considered force fields to be cheating. It wasn't fair to wall him off, he was Naztharune Rakshasa, all land was his to walk. He had always made it a point to seek out and destroy any mage foolish enough to try such a stunt on him. Some chases took minutes, some took decades, the result was always the same in the end. Walls only ever delayed the inevitable, until now...

[Kobold-Bard]

A cloud of molten smoke billows up and ignites, revealing a huge Efreeti, complete with a sword about the size of your average Orc.

"Rathshtecka, koooruktana! it bellows before beginning it's rounds, slowly floating upwards around the tree, casually eyeballing each cage's support to check it was still in place.

Once he reaches the top he once again vanishes into volcanic clouds, which dissipate once he is gone. The silence invoked by his appearance is slowly replaced by the general buzz of captured creatures again.

----------------
OOC:
Infernal speakers:

Spoiler

Show

Silence, pitiful imp!

Hyphonyse & Ice ONLY:

Spoiler

Show

About 15ft below you you see what looks like an oversized cockroach peeking out from behind the "trunk" of the tree that holds you up. It is obviously scarred, but seems to be using it's feelers to disintegrate large portions of it. You also notice it is getting very close to a panel of levers that you know from past experience hold up most of the cages on your level.

I rolled for you to save time: Ice passes his Ref Save and may grab the chain to stop falling if he likes. Hyphonyse however rolled a 1 and so does not have that luxury because he was too busy trying to break his cage. You fall 30ft unless you can stop yourself by grabbing a walkway with a DC25 Reflex Save.

---------------------

2 minutes pass, then out of nowhere you feel the invisible magic around you vanish. The floor seems to hold (almost comically) for a second while your mind adjusts, then falls. Of the thirty cages around you 28 "unlock" in this fashion, most of their inhabitants falling with a scream, though a couple manage to grab their chain in time and one fortunately has wings. The Roving Mauler had somehow timed it's next assault perfectly and when it's forcefield had vanished it had lunged over to the metal walkway 5ft below its cage, dazed, but uninjured.

-----------------------
OOC:
I rolled to save time: Fire made his Ref Save and may grab the chain if he wishes. Yun can fly so it's irrelevant. There are walkways within 10ft of everyone, there are approximately 4 other monsters that haven't fallen the full 30ft to the cages lining the floor (bad times for those that did, that was where they kept the minotaurs).

The RM isn't important, I just love it

[The Antigamer]

((Rolling reflex, editing in actions based on whether I pass the check or not.))

Spoiler

Show

(d20+13)[19]

Hyphonyse feels something burst, and a smile of joy appears on his face, before he realizes he's plummeting to the earth. He ducks down, and rolls a somersault off the end of his falling platform, hoping to minimize the force with which he hits the ground.
He still hits the ground rather hard, and groans as he stands up, cracking his back as he looks around. He whispers to himself,
"One quick flex, now to find my effects"

Statblock

Spoiler

Show

Hyphonyse
Speed: 50'
Initiative: +3
AC: 20, Touch: 20, FF: 17
HP: 43/103, 55 non-lethal damage
SR: 22, DR: 5/Cold Iron
Fort: +9, Ref: +13, Will: +7
BAB: +9/+4
Attack: +2 psychokinetic burst wand-chambered Naginata, +15/+10, 19-20/x2, d6 + 8, P/S
Hideous laughter: 18/18 uses, will save 22, 28 if feinted.
Devour Joy: 90' radius, up to 5 creatures, will save 22
24-hour invocations: Beguiling Influence, Entropic Warding, See the Unseen, Mind Augmentation(Cha)
Maneuvers readied: Iron heart surge, Mithral tornado, give bomb, piano drop
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 24 (20)
Condition: None
Listen, Spot: +7
Search +9
Knowledge (Arcana),Knowledge (History): +9

[Volthawk]

Fire holds onto the chain, and looks around. He then slides down the chain and swings over to a walkway.

Spoiler

Show

Spot: (1d20+15)[28]

I have +15 Tumble, so I pass the DC.

[Ladorak]

Like his brother Ice effortlessly grabs the chain as the floor falls away, smiling smugly to himself as the other prisoners go tumbling down.
In a few seconds he has the chain swinging and in a few more he's built up enough speed to drop artfully onto the nearest wallway. He lands posed, ready. 'Brother, when I tell you of our rescuer I fear you will be embarrassed.' His keen ears easily pick out Hyphonyse's words, he knows his brother is no less vigilant 'The clown is right, we need are gear.'
He scans the room as he speaks. He knows every inch of it already, or at least every inch visible from his cell. Things can always change, always make sure everything is as you remember it when you enter a room.

Spoiler

Show

Enter Flame's Blessing stance.

[Kobold-Bard]

Fire:

Spoiler

Show

You see what looks like an overgrown cockroach on your level, shocked by what happened as it finishes disintegrating the series of levers that held your cages up. There are huge holes in the metal tree behind it and it looks very pleased as the metal dust coats it's body.

[Volthawk]

"Huh? Ice? You're here too? Huh, and I thought you were working for the Sultan, not his prisoner! You see that weird thing over there?"

Fire points at the creature he sees.

"But yeah, plain claws won't do the trick."

[FirebirdFlying]

Yun ignores the efreet with barely a glance in its direction. Her humming abruptly stops, however, when sound comes rushing back, and she sits there dumbly for several seconds. Hey…

It could be a trick.

Why would it be? Let's just go.

She floats down to the ground, the majority of souls within her feeling rather uncomfortable thirty feet above it, and gravitates towards one of the more intelligent creatures around. It's a bit - strange, looking honestly more human than anything, except in the odd costume of a court jester.

<Hist,> she says to it, mind to mind, <do you know a way out of here?>

[The Antigamer]

Hyphonyse looks up at the floating ball of light, then resumes examining his surroundings as he speaks.
"Though escape is my aim,
You've guessed correctly there,
To my shame,
I'm not sure of the how, or the where."

[Kobold-Bard]

The noise is growing to deafening proportions as all the other exhibitions demand you free them too. Around Hyphonyse & Yun some of the more resilient monsters get up from their fall; Owlbear, Minotaur, Ogre. Others are not so fortunate; a Satyr and some sort of glass construct.

Around you there are three ways out that you see: a large door at the ground level, a few smaller doors at the end of walkways every 30ft or so and a gap at the very top, almost 150ft up the red hot tree where the cages are dropped in from.

The noise will be noticed eventually; whether sooner or later is unknown.

[Volthawk]

Fire walks over to one of the smaller doors, and sticks his ear to it, listening for anything on the other side.

Spoiler

Show

Listen: (1d20+15)[34]

[Kobold-Bard]

Besides a singed ear you hear nothing.

[Ladorak]

Ice stares up at the opening far above them. An odd quiet fury glints in his eye. He speaks softly, although it is hardly needed over the dim. If they drop us down we're either deep in their dungeons... Or that's the way out.' He grinds his sharp teeth and eventually spits out the words 'We need the Wisp's help. Once we know where we are we'll know what to do.' He stares at his brother for several seconds 'We'll both agree to never mention this again? Good.'

He looks down and speaks to the Wisp telepathically

Spoiler

Show

Hello down there. We need to find out where we are. Go up and have a look.

[The Antigamer]

Hyphonyse, upon seeing the door on the main level, stares at it with a wide-eyed expression for several moments before walking towards it and attempting to open it.

[FirebirdFlying]

<…Excuse me?> Yun's attention shifts from the jester upwards. <Did you say something?> The rakshasa's abrupt manner was - annoying, to say the least. But he had a point, if she understood him correctly, and she spoke to the gray fellow again. <Excuse me - what's your name? - d'you think we can try upwards?>

[The Antigamer]

Hyphonyse looks up from his attempt to open the door.
"By what means do you mean,
For me to reach a height so obscene?
From all I can gather,
I think I'd rather,
Use this door to flee from the scene."
He nods his head at the indicated door.
"Unless of course,
There's a better path to endorse,
To guarantee release.
And you may call me, Hyphonyse."

[FirebirdFlying]

<Well, I could probably get you up there. If you'd be willing to suspend disbelief for a little while.>

[The Antigamer]

The man in the checkered suit smiles.
"My dear little wisp,
How could I resist?
In point of fact,
How could I not act,
Upon a stratagem,
That has for a stem,
The suspension of something, I must confess,
I don't think I even possess."

He holds a hand up to the ball of light.

"Take me hither,
Yes, take me yon,
I just hope it doesn't lead to our,
Denouement."

[FirebirdFlying]

<Alright. Let me go up and make sure - we'll only have about a minute to get you up there and out. And I shouldn't like to see you fall. If you can get up to one of the walkways in the meanwhile, it might make things easier.> With that, Yun shoots upwards towards the opening in the ceiling.

[Volthawk]

Fire opens the door, changing his form into a human one beforehand.

[Kobold-Bard]

Fire sees a long corridor made of glass. There are orange clouds all around it and there is a t-junction at the other end.

Yun gets to the top and the hole leads into similar clouds. You can't see upwards but looking down and across you can make out the shaded outlines of grand buildings; the Sultan's palace.

[Volthawk]

Fire looks back at Ice, and says "Well, there's hallway here. Perhaps this would be better than the rooftops."

[Ladorak]

Ice stalks to the door, his claws racking into the wall as he lays hand to doorframe and leans out into the corridor. He snares, clearly annoyed 'We're not down, we're up.' He turns away 'I'd avoid going down that road if we can. Glass corridors and flying foes are to be avoided.
I'd say the clown has the right of it.
He steps into his brother's shadow and emerges, silent, behind Hyphonyse

Spoiler

Show

Shadow jump down.

[The Antigamer]

Hyphonyse raises an eyebrow at the creature who appears behind him, tilting his head near to horizontal as he stares at him wide-eyed.

"And who might you be,
my fellow escapee?"