[Nexus] Random Places and Plots 5

[Rebonack]

[Prison]

...

Uuhh...

The brownie just gave away the information for free.

But apparently not!

Freddie totally paid for this information. With. Umm... things. Maybe some coin from the orcs? Yeah! That sounds like a good explanation!

The Huldra nods to Cat!

"Alright, let's go."

And he's off!

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- to The Graveyard

The crack in the wall leads to a long, narrow, winding passage that is far taller than it is wide. At some points, the duo may need to squeeze through sideways, although the walls have been polished smooth by many people attempting to find passage. There's several much smaller cracks and hollows leading away; one, or possibly more than one, is undoubtedly the brownie's hidey-hole to avoid undead raiders.

Eventually, the tunnel widens up, as the ceiling correspondingly gets lower. After a short period of time, it opens up into a rather large chamber decorated with stalagmites and stalactites; gleaming in one of the walls is a vein of untapped gold ore. A brown shirt is wrapped around one of the stalagmites, its sleeves tied into a knot securing it in place. The walls of this chamber are rough, although inspection of the left most wall reveals that somebody has hammered small nails and iron spikes into it, making climbing up it much easier. They start just above head-height; there's some lower down, but mostly just holes where somebody's prised them out and stolen them. In addition, there's a rough natural stone archway leading into another passage. Presumably that one leads to the pool and the undead.

Oh, and this has reminded me- you can mine alloys. Haematite, malachite, bauxite and others are mined, and all of them are compounds (of iron, copper and aluminium, respectively). Gold is one of the few metals mined in a pure state; the others have already bonded with another element.

[Zefir]

Necanth Prison- Cavern

"Beat who? Elf was lost child, dwarf drunk, halfling asleep. When guards killed, ran and hid here. Safe here. Till you came. Leave me alone!" The thri-kreen's hiding too; he really does just want to be left alone. He's terrified of Zefir- thinks that the guy might be some hardened criminal with a kill count of over a hundred, whereas he's a coward who murdered and ate people that had no chance of resisting.

((Strange I thought I answered that two days ago))
Necanth Prison- Cavern

Well a kill counter? No Zefir don has them, unless you mean a Bingo book of mages.
After all Zefir will look around for some of the light source, whatever happen he will need a light source either way. While looking he tries to keep this guy talking.

"If you tell me all about the area around here, then i leave without causing harm."

[Dark Elf Bard]

[Underdark]

Wouldn't that be nice? Unfortunately, she's very careful about that, and without a way to tell if they are poisonous or not, it isn't something she can do. Besides, the wolf-mind seems insistant that if she'd just let him stop and feed on a drow somewhere...

"Ruff!" She says happily when Elkandar speaks, and by now the translations in her own mind are vanishing. It's just a joyful bark.

Aaaand then she whacks a hind paw on a fallen creature, barely manages to keep from tripping, and whips around to snarl at it angrily.

It seems to be...

Elkandar's sister.

Dead. DUNH DUNH DUNH....

Elkandar tries to crawl towards it.

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

Tyalla still doesn't register this drow as Elkandar's sister. In fact,all she knows is that she didn't like her, and now she was dead.

Kinda satisfying.

No... tragic. No matter who she was, that was tragic.

No... I believe 'satisfying' was correct.

"Ruff." Tyalla and the wolf both knew they couldn't stay there. And when they agree on something, it's rare enough to make them nervous. She tries to drag Elkandar away from there.

[Eadin]

Necanth Prison- to The Graveyard

The crack in the wall leads to a long, narrow, winding passage that is far taller than it is wide. At some points, the duo may need to squeeze through sideways, although the walls have been polished smooth by many people attempting to find passage. There's several much smaller cracks and hollows leading away; one, or possibly more than one, is undoubtedly the brownie's hidey-hole to avoid undead raiders.

Eventually, the tunnel widens up, as the ceiling correspondingly gets lower. After a short period of time, it opens up into a rather large chamber decorated with stalagmites and stalactites; gleaming in one of the walls is a vein of untapped gold ore. A brown shirt is wrapped around one of the stalagmites, its sleeves tied into a knot securing it in place. The walls of this chamber are rough, although inspection of the left most wall reveals that somebody has hammered small nails and iron spikes into it, making climbing up it much easier. They start just above head-height; there's some lower down, but mostly just holes where somebody's prised them out and stolen them. In addition, there's a rough natural stone archway leading into another passage. Presumably that one leads to the pool and the undead.

Oh, and this has reminded me- you can mine alloys. Haematite, malachite, bauxite and others are mined, and all of them are compounds (of iron, copper and aluminium, respectively). Gold is one of the few metals mined in a pure state; the others have already bonded with another element.

Well. Cat is not going to that pool.
Cats and water are not BFF's.
Also undead.

"Right, I assume we're not visiting the skeletons?"

[Rebonack]

[Prison]

Not just Cats and water.

Lightning Cats and water.

These are all things that mix very poorly. Like trying to combine... well... honestly cats, water, and lightning are one of the worst combinations imaginable.

Freddie creeps along the narrow ledge, careful not to knock any stones over the edge and alert the undead to their presence.

He also doesn't bother mining the gold.

Why?

Well...

It just seems to him that carving a bunch of precious metals out of the wall whilst a bunch of undead are lurking nearby to murder anyone who happens past is a pretty terrible idea. As such the gold will be left alone.

He nods to Cat's question. "If we can. We're here to find out about this Warden fellow. And see if he can't send us home."

Hopefully that will be the case!

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- To the Graveyard/Warden

Are Cat and Freddy going to clamber up the wall? I thought they were headed to the Graveyard to feed Freddy, but I included a way out because I wanted a valid reason to put a merchant outside the cavern entrance. (Nobody likes the undead, and few people deliberately visit them.)

Necanth Prison- Cavern

I meant an amount of corpses left behind him in the hundreds, rather than a physical counter.

"Go back way you came, take one trail- that leads to water. Around water grow edible mushrooms. Follow water upstream and go to door. Beyond door lots of pipes, most with water in. Some hot water, some cold water, some neither water. Also pipes with tasty goo in. No way out there. Follow water downstream and get grate in floor. Through grate is rope ladder leading down to shelf in side of tunnel. On shelf is fellow refugee from mad crazy people, a grimlock. They human-type with no eyes. I know not what beyond there; I no speak grimlock. Or go back way came, take other trail, that leads to bust-up guard train. I know not what on train, but there grate in wall. Beyond grate is air vent. Follow air vent exactly, old cell block. I held there. Or lift shaft there too, that go up or down. Down is dead lift. Up is maintenance room. I know not what beyond maintenance room. Or go along train-tunnel; that lead know not where." A light-crystal geode can be found quite easily.

If you need that clarified, PM me and I'll do my best. The thri-kreen doesn't know where Zefir came from, so he's giving information in every direction he can think of.

[Dark Elf Bard]

[Underdark]

Tyalla still doesn't register this drow as Elkandar's sister. In fact,all she knows is that she didn't like her, and now she was dead.

Kinda satisfying.

No... tragic. No matter who she was, that was tragic.

No... I believe 'satisfying' was correct.

"Ruff." Tyalla and the wolf both knew they couldn't stay there. And when they agree on something, it's rare enough to make them nervous. She tries to drag Elkandar away from there.

Elkandar's ragged pants are torn slightly. He turns his head toward her.

Tyalla... I need to get... my s-sister...

He makes it off his hands and knees and goes to examine the corpse.

T'rissylene has a grotesque scar across her face. She's dressed in simple black robes. He body is laid across the tunnel.

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

Tyalla growls at Elkandar angrily for a moment.

But that emotion is quick to change. I can't hurt Elkie, and I won't let any wolf do so either!

Slowly, the morph vanishes, and the elf re-emerges, slightly paler than before. She looks unhappily between the two drows, then turns her head away and lets Elkandar mourn who she believes to be a girlfriend of his.

Wonder when the guards will catch up to us...

[Zefir]

Necanth Prison- Cavern

I think I get enougth to understand things. So Zefir hides the geode first. Won't be good to become a shiny target. He heads out without saying anything. He thinks it's best to keep this guy for a few moments in fear here than have him follow Zefir. Then he heads for the told way going the way he didn't went before.

[Dark Elf Bard]

[Underdark]

Tyalla growls at Elkandar angrily for a moment.

But that emotion is quick to change. I can't hurt Elkie, and I won't let any wolf do so either!

Slowly, the morph vanishes, and the elf re-emerges, slightly paler than before. She looks unhappily between the two drows, then turns her head away and lets Elkandar mourn who she believes to be a girlfriend of his.

Wonder when the guards will catch up to us...

Elkandar tries to pick his sister up a few times and eventually manages it.

Tyalla... why are... should we go?

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

Goodness, I know they're siblings, but nobody has thought to inform Tyalla of that!

"Yes... yes, we should." Not looking at him, she gets up and begins to walk away. If he can carry his sister, he must not be as bad off as he looked.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Elkandar gets up after a few tries and manages to follow Tylla.

Are.... You all right? You sound angry.

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

Angry? Not really, mostly upset.

"Elkie... Elkandar... I- am sorry for your loss. Who was she?"

She speeds up slightly and still won't look his way.

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- Cavern

The thri-kreen won't move from its hiding place amongst the clustered stalagmites until he's sure that Zefir's moved on.

Zefir will find no conflict along the route back to the mine, nor will he as he heads towards the underground stream. As promised, there's several mushrooms growing along its shores, and it's eroded a slight gully as it meanders amongst the stalagmites. It isn't very deep, and Zefir could go up or down stream equally easily by walking in the water, though there's a narrow ledge if he doesn't fancy getting his feet wet. Which direction does he head?

[Dark Elf Bard]

[Underdark]

Angry? Not really, mostly upset.

"Elkie... Elkandar... I- am sorry for your loss. Who was she?"

She speeds up slightly and still won't look his way.

Elkandar trails a few feet behind her, looking sadly at T'rissylene's body.

T'rissylene was my sister.... I- I don't know why this happened...

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

"Sister? Oh!" Startled, she glances over. " I thought- nevermind. I'm, uh, terribly sorry? We could always get her raised, I suppose."

[Zefir]

Necanth Prison- Cavern

Zefir will head to follow the river where he goes to. He will try to keep dry as far as possible.
On his way he tests if the water can be drunken. if so he will take a sip unless it is obviously not drinkable.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Elkandar nods. That's what I was hoping for.

Waitaminute...

What? You thought- huh? I don't understand.

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

"It- uh, it doesn't matter, Elkie."

She feels almost guilty that she's more relieved than anything else, and he just found his sister dead.

Still, that's what clerics are for!

"We'll find someone to raise her, don't worry."

[Dark Elf Bard]

[The Underdark]

Elkandar sniffles. Yes. We- we will.

As he stumbles along, he starts to focus more on Tyalla.

Tyalla.. how did you know I was down here?

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

Tyalla smiles slightly. "I went looking for you. I- I thought you'd left Elkie. But then I found the trail, found the hole leading here, and found... this."

She pulls the rose from her bag of holding and presents it to him.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Elkandar bites his thumbnail.

Hmm, what to do? He couldn't tell her it was originally for her...

Aha! Lie thought of!

Um.. It was for... my garden. He nods. Yes, for my garden.

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

Tyalla frowns. "Why is it glowing, then?"

Wait a second... does Elkandar even have a house? Doesn't he stay at the inn?

...huh?

[Dark Elf Bard]

Underdark

It's.. um... a special kind of rose? For my garden?

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

"But... you don't even have a garden! You live at the inn, don't you?"

...No, she's not putting it together. She's rather confused. Maybe if she was above ground she'd suspect he wasn't telling the truth, but down there, her minds muddled.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Um... It's in... Outside? And... I... go there... every few days? Elkandar fidgets and is clearly not telling the truth.

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

"Are- you lieing to me, Elkie? I don't understand!"

Still not angry, but rather hurt. She risked her life to get down there for him, and he responds by lieing to her over something small.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Elkandar takes in a breath sharply and pretends to laugh. Okay, you got me. It's for... someone... that I... know?