Under the School IC

[Sampi]

This morning, you all got a brief written note:

Please report to briefing room 2, on the fourth floor at noon today.
You have been selected as part of the underground expedition.
Pack the personal items you wish to take along and get additional supplies from the commissary.

Laksara

You have gathered in the briefing room after getting your things together. The room is square, with a desk in the front, and windows overlooking the courtyard behind the desk. Some wooden chairs are by the walls, and a hat rack stands by the door. On the table there are two containers, a large unfinished wood box with no lid and a small lacquered chest. Some of you have arrived early, some punctually, and the rest are only minutes late. Laksara, the exploration officer in charge of local exploration has refused any requests to discuss the mission before everyone is here. She waits patiently behind the desk, her focus on some papers. When the last of you comes in, she asks them to close the door and everyone to have a seat.

Laksara is known to you all, as she has been your instructor in some of your Exploration courses. She dresses in brown clothes that are made to get dirty in her job, but somehow always stay clean. Her platinum-blonde hair is cropped close on her temples, with a short mohawk on top, hanging to the left. When talking, she gestures a lot with her hands, which brings out the fact that they are covered in a green, reflective chitinous layer; a mark of her lower planar heritage. She stands up and begins:

“Nine days ago, the team expanding our basement levels excavated their way into natural caverns. There was some debate whether to close up the hole to block access or to explore, but in the end the Conclave of wizards decided to fortify the hole and send out an exploration team. I was given the task of selecting the team, and you are it. I believe your individual skills, perspectives and knowledge is a good combination to send out here.

Your mission is to explore these newfound caverns, map them as far as you can and make sure there are no immediate threats to the school within them. How you do it and how long you take with it is up to you, but I know at least one Conclave member is very keen on seeing results. As you are all going out to the field for the first time, let me remind you of the Code.”

This has been drilled to you several times, so as she goes over each point, you nearly mouth it off silently with her.

“One: Friends are better than enemies. I will make the former, and destroy the latter.
Two: My companions are my life. I will do everything in my power to bring all of us back, no matter the condition.
Three: My loyalty is to the Explorers, and I know the Explorers will support me in return.
Four: Knowledge is the most powerful thing in the world. If I find any, I will bring it back.
Five: Finding things is rewarded by finding things. I will let things Í find be inspected. In return, I will know what it is and it or another item of the same kind will be given to me.

I trust you will remember these.”

She then takes several engraved metal rods out of the large box.

“In addition to basic mapping and evaluation, you have two additional tasks. The first is to place these rods in hidden locations as you move out. They will create a magical alarm system designed to warn of approaching threats to the school. The farther out you get them, the better. Optimally, place two of them on either side of a corridor or cavern, so that anyone going through will pass between them. There are sixteen rods, so you should have enough. Try to make sure you cover all entrances towards the school.”

Then she opens the lacquered chest with a tiny key and takes out two monocles, framed in gold with a long silver handle.

“The second bit was a surprise. Today, professor Callan came to see me and gave me these, with instructions to give them to you. He described them as high-energy detection lenses, and said that they’ll detect magic and like phenomena, whatever that means. In any case, he wants you to keep an eye out for the extraordinary. If you find something you really can’t account for or something truly strange and out of place, he asked you to leave it alone and report back. In addition, if the lenses detect very powerful magic, the same applies. Leave it alone, report back. He didn’t really explain himself, but I would heed his request if I were you.”

She puts the lenses back in their chest, and sits down.

“Now I think this mission is rather important. It’s not often we have virgin grounds in our basement. Personally, I’d have sent more than one team out, but right now we don’t have the manpower to do that. Instead, I convinced the steward that you need better equipment. That means I got access to some advanced stuff for you. Here’s the breakdown: every one of you gets to choose a better weapon, armor or a magic thing. You go see Ako Korfaras in the main tower and tell him which of these you want and he’ll find something in storage. Personally, I think gold to get you what you want would have been a better option, but he insisted that stored items are better used. Anyway, it’s better than nothing.”

She folds her hands behind her head and leans back in her chair.

“Now you need to do two things before seeing Ako. Decide on a leader, and decide who uses the lenses. I’m not going to make those decisions for you. Any questions?”

With that, the room is silent, and sounds of the younger students’ games lesson echo in from the courtyard.

On the Conclave:

Spoiler

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The Conclave is a group of professor Callan’s apprentices who have been tasked with the daily governance of the valley and school. They decide on important matters by voting, with senior members having more votes than the junior ones. They all have something visibly strange about them, something that’s not right. There are a lot of other authorities in the school and in the valley, but the conclave is the professor’s voice when he’s not around. And he does keep to himself a lot.

[freebiewitz]

Raising his hand Chappe takes a step forwards.
"Ahh yes I have one question, these 'UPGRADES' you mentioned from the steward." Motioning at his own sword for emphasis he continued.
"I assume they're on loan and are expected to be returned and if not they would be part of our payments?"

Chappe was hoping for a decanter of endless water honestly.
Weaponry and armour while nice wasn't his main focus. An endless supply of clean drinking water that could be used for soup would have amazing potential uses. He could wash his hands in running water in the desert for goodness sake where normally he'd have to go without!

The luxury of having such a thing would increase the quality of food on the road tremendously.

"Oh and of course I would volunteer myself for the responsibilities of leader if there is no objection." Bowing his head slightly he smiled.
"I believe myself to be suited to such a task even if it is for a short time."
This was the opportunity he was looking for! To prove himself in not just battle but in a leadership position! It would make his parents proud.

[shugyosha]

Ceraphina

Chappe's question did raise a good question, what equipment might she really need. She had never gone on an adventure like this. She hoped they would get into any fights but the thought of danger did excite her.

She had no problem with someone else being leader. It wasn't a responsibility she wanted. The pretty girl raised her hand, "I'll take one of the monocles."

[Prince Zahn]

Gurlin lays both hands on the table and rises from his seat in a way that would seem violent, but most can tell it is merely the menial groundskeeper's "ungentle" qualities; he clears his throat and ask:
"So, ebout these rods, epproximetly how fore 'er these supposed te be plented from eachoth'r? end frum the entrince?"
as he speaks, he points to one of the rods, but is unsure if he wants to take one to help his question or not.
he then stares at the chest, moves it with his hand to center table and remarks:
"elso, thit thing wouldn't fit un me if ye broke into size, So i'll pes on thit..."

[Marker Mage]

Niko stopped taking notes in his spellbook once question time began, closing it up with left index finger used as a temporary bookmark, holding the closed book and a vial of ink in the same left hand in a position that some might find uncomfortable. He pointed his pen towards Chappe. "I don't mind if the goody two shoes over there gets the leadership position."

Niko's pen turned from Chappe to Gurlin. "And I must say that I share the..." Niko paused for a moment, realizing that despite all the studying he's done, he could not identify this one species. "...whatever it is' interest in how these rods work. If we have the path fork into two, will we be able to get away with leaving only three, with the center one covering the job of two rods? If we find an unusually wide corridor, would we have to use three or more to cover it? Will water, walls, being buried, or anything short of an antimagic field limit their function? We are talking about the safety of the school, and more importantly the knowledge kept within it. Also, you seem to have left out instructions on how to activate or deactivate them. I am also curious about how we should go about preventing these rods from sending a false alarm, should we backtrack through areas that had them installed."

Niko's pen turned again towards Ceraphina. "As for the monocles, I think that the decision of who holds on to each of them should be left to our group leader rather than whoever calls dibs on them. I have my own advice to give about that decision, but perhaps that should wait until we are done with our questions and have all come to an agreement on who the group leader should be." Niko was sure that he would be using those magic-detecting monocles often, but it would probably be to examine things that others had noticed with them.

Niko opened the spellbook back open, ready to start taking notes again once the questions started being answered. It wasn't so much that he expected to have to read it again at a later time, but that writing such things down helped him remember them. Niko's thoughts were slightly distracted by thoughts of what kind of magic item he would want to bring with him. Once he considered how long it usually took him to get a wand to work, he could only think of a handy haversack. He already felt that the stuff that he would be taking with him was a bit heavier than he'd like, and it was just going to get heavier once he picked up some souvenirs to bring back.

[AugustusGloop]

IJudit

The boy sat alone in the classroom, even surrounded by his classmates. Former classmates, he reminded himself, still feeling the sting of shame and disappointment at his failure. He clutched his backpack in his lap for social armor, and sat on his spell book for a little extra height. He watched the interplay of emotion and ego around him, and longed to take part, but as usual he was silent and still. His hand toyed with a simple locket around his neck, or fidgeted with his long hair as he listened to the babble of excited conversation that rose around him.

Respectfully, he sat up straight when their instructor entered, and listened carefully to Laksara's speech, with special attention and interest for the magic items demonstrated to them. As she spoke he could feel the excitement rear again, and his lips threatened to break into a smile, but he forced it down despite the tiny glow of pride that had been kindled at receiving her note inviting, well, instructing him to take part in the most exciting event since he'd begun attending the school.

When she finished her lecture, his mind filled with questions immediately, but they all fell quiet before reaching his lips as the others spoke up more quickly, and louder, than he would have been capable. He cringed away from the social positioning and negotiation that had begun already, remembering a time when he hadn't been so reticent, and quickly brushed the thoughts away.

Eventually, he was forced to ask the one he felt was most important, since no one else had. "Will we be given anything to communicate with the school in the event of an emergency?"

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I turned Judit's portrait into a link to his character sheet, hope that helps.

[shugyosha]

Niko's pen turned again towards Ceraphina. "As for the monocles, I think that the decision of who holds on to each of them should be left to our group leader rather than whoever calls dibs on them. I have my own advice to give about that decision, but perhaps that should wait until we are done with our questions and have all come to an agreement on who the group leader should be." Niko was sure that he would be using those magic-detecting monocles often, but it would probably be to examine things that others had noticed with them.

Being rebuffed by Niko, Ceraphine with draws herself. She wasn't used being bullied like that. If she was more forceful maybe she would have stood her position. Instead she quietly listens to everyone else.

[Man on Fire]

"Ow...my poor, poor head." Can be heard from the floor level. Once somebody looks there, they can see Stinky, sitting on the floor and holding his head in his hands. "What did I drank yesterday..." He mutters to himself, very quietly, suffering from terrible sickness known as hangover. Despite how it may looks like, he listens to Laksara very carefully, even as he whispers annoyed "I know." after every point of Code.

"More job for poor Stinky. And not a nice one. Where are those barbarian princesses to seduce you guys promised me?" He whines to himself. "Oh poor me, no respect, no gratitude for all the things I've done."

"I can send someone else in your place." Laksara says, visibly annoyed by his behavior.

"Yeah, so you can say it's my falut when they'll all die? No way." Despite all his complains kobold is clearly offended by the mere suggestion that somebody could replace him. "They need good old Stinky and his great magic...sometimes I don't know what would you people do without me." Stinky continues in that vein for a good moment, clearly talking to himself, before he stands up and, while others discuss, takes one of the monocles. "Calling dibs on this one." He says, then looks at Laksara again. "We'll need some rations. And water. And equipment would be good too. You know, we probably have some spare bedrolls, tools, tent or things like that? I can share my bedroll with one of the girls if we're short in that department. Rope would be nice too. And lamps, some oil, backpacks, climbing hooks, you know, all that stuff." He then turns to the others and gives them a look.
"One girl looks scary, another looks scared." He says, looking at Ceraphina and Lyta. "Two boys are looking weaker than myself, and that's saying something." Now he looks at Judit and Niko. "A Paladin." He says, like it shouled explain everything, looking at Chappe. Goblin will probably rob us and stab me in the d*** at first night. He looks at Chaff. "And I don't even want to know what's your problem." He says, looking at Gurlin. "I'm so gonna to die. Poor Stinky, no respect for me, not at all." He starts muttering to himself, having go full circle as he sits back on his place.

[Marker Mage]

Niko just stares at the kobold, closes his book again, keeping a finger between the pages as a bookmark, and slams his head into it in the hope that somehow the physical pain will overpower the feelings of shame to even be in the same room as this thing, much less to know that it somehow learned how to do what he himself could not. All worries about getting stuck on the wrong side of a cavein or discovering a dragon are replaced by worries of Stinky doing something stupid.

[Prince Zahn]

"Quit yer pest'ring, ye little wine-spitt'r" Gurlin growled at the groggy kobold who was puzzled at the big wierd thing that interrupted him, who then took Stinky's hand holding the monocle and whispered to him indescreetly "ind if ye'd hevve noticed, we just igreed no cehling the lensis, so pey ittensh'n."
He then mumbled something in a language strange to the others present,

OOC:

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should anyone here have any understanding of halfling tongue, Gurlin is mumbling something that sounds vulgar, but first translates tend to point towards ramblings about a shaved turtle and hippogriff shoes.

[Man on Fire]

"Don't be angry at me, it's not my fault you're so ugly." Says Stinky, but he keeps his mouth shut for the rest of conversation and pays attention, just like he was ordered to.

[Needle]

Lyta spent the first moments thinking about which kind of items would be good to ask for, trying to listen what everyone is taking so far, but after hearing for some time her new-old companions, she decided to speak.

Did you just got out of school? Or are we at kindergarten again? - I said, as if trying to break the ice. I'm fine at not being leader, but as my colleague says here, we should choose who would take the monothings. If you want me to speak, Wizzies don't need it and frontmans have better things to do, ne?

She's very interested in everyone, as except for Niko she barely knows them. Maybe her tough time learning didn't help, but her looks didn't help at all. At least she is glad that someone is nicknamed Stinky.

[freebiewitz]

"Now now, we should not fight each other before we have even set off for adventure, that would set bad precedent." It was a good sign however that most people agreed that he himself should be in charge even if it was because no one else wanted the position. With time that reason would hopefully turn to respect.

"As for who should take what equipment I am more then willing to hear my fellow adventurers advice, most of you would know your own skill sets better then I and I trust you all." Trust, faith, it was something he was familiar with and something that came easy to him.

"Now uh..." Thinking for a moment he tried to recall the name of one of his peers. "Niko was it? You seem rather knowledgeable about these rods, I'd rest easy if you were the ones to wield them unless you had a better suggestion of course." Chappe didn't seem bothered by the 'goody two shoes' description of himself, if anything he had taken it as a compliment.

Turning to the goblin his name was easy to recall as the humanoid had said it earlier himself. "Do not worry fellow adventurer, I doubt you will die, the well being of my peers is of utmost importance!" He meant it as well, you couldn't be a good cook without wanting to look after people as his mother once said.

"As for the monocles it seems that several people would want them, obviously the one that can make the most use of them should possess the lenses." Personally Chappe was thinking that either the kobold (Despite his aggressiveness) or the young cleric should use them, the goblin seemed more concerned with his personal well being then anyone else, something that didn't sit will with Chappe at all. "However once again you know your own skills better then I and if you could inform me why you should use them I'd be delighted to hear."

[Marker Mage]

Niko raises his head from his book and looks towards Chappe. At least this guy recognizes the knowledge behind those questions. After all, knowledge of what to ask about a subject comes from knowledge of that subject. "The last time I tried to hide something that shape didn't go too well. I wouldn't say that one of us in particular needs to be assigned the task of using them, but someone is going to need to carry them. If one of us keeps finding the best places to put them, then we can let that person carry them."

Niko turned his gaze towards the monocles. "As for the monocles that everyone seems to want, I would like to stress the usefulness of them in identifying potential threats. As such, I would recommend that they are used by anyone scouting ahead or anyone that has good eyesight. We'll likely encounter opportunities where it would be beneficial to have others use them temporarily, but threat detection should probably be our first priority in new territory, and those situations will probably turn up when we have enough time to argue."

[Man on Fire]

"I don't like to brag." Stinky says, looking at his feet. "Buuuut...." He lift his head up, smiling widely. "If you insinst, then very well, I may tell you few words about my many skills." He stands on his chair, posing proudly. "I'm Stinky the vandal, Stinky the destroyer of the Garden, Stinky Annoying." He says, like any of those names were something to be proud of. "I'm the one who defeated evil lord of darkness, known only as the Beard, whose name had send the most powerful wizards flee in terror." Everybody remembers that Beard was some small-time dwarven bully who really was more of an annoyance than actual threat. He wasn't remarkable for his magic skills or even cruelty, but for his huge facial hair. "I saved future mistress of all magic, great Janisa, from his disgusting hands, by challenging him on a duel of power and wits. He tried all he had, unleashing the most destructive magic known to man, but I had not yeld." Janisa was one of the best students at school and Stinky did saved her from Beard...by jumping at his head and clinging to abovementioned facial hair, making dwarf panic and start throwing spells right and left, causing a lot of destruction. "Even when he had took the form of terrifing fire demon, I didn't even flinched at his burning breath." Finale of the fight took place when Beard accidentially set both of them on fire. The fight ended to be replaced by running away in pain, which, through unknown circumstances, escalated into great fire that burned large part of school's wing and garden. "As you can see, there is none more brave than me." It was a well known fact that Stinky didn't let Beard go even after both of them were saved. It was also known fact that through the whole ecounter Stinky was very, very, very drunk. "I'm also master of magic, musician, trapmaker, miner, spy and man of great knowledge and taste" Those parts hold some truth to them, he was skilled in a lot of things, but he was nowhere as good as he claimed. Appertnice, maybe. Master? No way in hell.

[Grytorm]

Chaff looks at the Kobold and says, "What is he talking about? Did he shave himself or something?" then he looks at the monocles, "Why even decide now, can't we pass them around as needed?

[AugustusGloop]

IJudit

"Dav Opre!"

Delighted with the little Kobold's boastful story, Judit cried out in traditional praise and burst into applause, which petered out quickly when he realized everyone was looking at him, and not joining in. His pale skin provided a nice contrast to the flush that lit his cheeks, but he was so pleased with Stinky that he didn't hide his face at the scrutiny of his fellows. The tale, and the way it was told, reminded him so much of the stories that the Familia told, when they all gathered for the lil natsia, the telling of tales around the communal cook-fires. It was such a sweet memory, and so sharp, that for a while he forgot to be sad that it was gone. He wanted to throw a copper, the traditional reward to the tale-teller that carried the night, but he wasn't sure how the surly Kobold would react, and anyway, all of that was gone. He wasn't with his familia, and wasn't Romaji any more. They had moved on.

He gathered his courage, and looked around at the faces of the others, still quiet as they studied him and thought their thoughts. A little of the old magic was on him, and he felt almost free, like when the tale had passed to him, and he had held them spellbound with his words, and the coppers had covered his shoes. "Niko knows." He looked at Chappe, seeing the man's hard, unsmiling face; meeting his eyes. "Niko knows what he's talking about. I have made a study of the Arcane theorems, the formulae, the words of the masters, and I thought I was the expert among you." He looked apologetically at Ceraphina, at her drab clothes and downcast eyes, empathizing with her in a sudden rush of remembered pain and loneliness. "Niko taught me how much I didn't know. There are tests I passed only because of his help. He shares it with me, the knowledge, but his mind grabs the sigils like lightning, and holds them like steel. I can follow along, most times. But I follow, I do not lead." He pointed at the strange, joined double monocles, aware of the inadequacy of the term. "Niko will use these best."

Then he gripped the edges of his spellbook where they stuck out from under him so that he could not get up and run out of the room to hide.

[Prince Zahn]

Knowing the details why he cleaned up after the kobold's brawl that day, Gurlin ignores Stinky's fabrication and turns to Chappe:
"Es a Grehndskeep'r I issure ye, Mr. Klirigo, I em more thin cepible of luggin' whetever's needed, if emong uther tesks."
Having already displayed hints of authority and his first name being hard to pronounce given the big guy's speech-impediments, Gurlin adressed Chappe formally. Then turned to Stinky and rasped:
"I issume most of ye to know bett'r then Pleying the reb'l..."He glared briefly at the little callous Stinky, grinned in a creepy fashion, (perhaps liking what he sees?) then gave the same leer to everyone else, he quickly stopped rasping, withdrew his expression and returned to his regular, odd and stern deep voice:"*Ehim* - But we hevve e job to do, So I'll expect you oll to do theh right ind ecceptib'l."

Gurlin had a passing thought while talking about what he would want when he'll request of korfaras from the storage, and at first imagined uses for a living rope, then thought perhaps a practically warded armor would help him in danger - if They can fit one on him.

[Sampi]

Laksara takes one of the rods in hand and tosses it to Niko.

"I'm told these create a field between them that will sound an alarm when passed through. Rocks, water and vegetation don't hinder it much, so a rod can even be buried. I wouldn't go overboard with the depth, though. The field lets animals and School personnel through without alarm. The range is theoretically very long, but no one's tested these thoroughly. As I said, one at either side of a cavern or corridor would be fine. Also, all the rods connect with each other, so the three rod arrangement you described would be fine, Niko."

"I suggest you let someone strong carry these, maybe even divide them between all of you. Then take them out when you need to place some."

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The rods weigh 1 pound each, there are sixteen of them.

Opening the chest, she takes a monocle by the handle, leaving the other one in the chest.

"I did some testing on the monocles myself, and it appears that they're permanent magic detection devices. At least I did not manage to see any difference between using them and using a Detect spell myself. They also seem to have the same limitations in range. Though there are some discrepancies in the devices' magic auras..."

She gestures towards Chappe with a glittering hand.

"The equipment upgrades I told you about fall into the category of "permanently assigned". That means you will not be asked to return them, except maybe if you leave Exploration. Even then, most of the people I've known to leave have gotten their permanents as a parting gift. Treat them as your own, though I would not go and sell them if I were you."

A dirty look at Stinky:

"Did you not get my note? Get your basic gear and supplies from the commissary if you did not already."

With a sigh at the kobold's inattentiveness Laksara turns to Judit:

"Yes, your question about emergency communication is a good one. Usually, explorers are sent out on their own, and don't get any sort of communication device. That's the standard way of doing things, and the others seemed to think that was okay for this mission too at the planning session. I tried to make them see that the threat to the school is much greater so near, but in the end they decided to stick to SOP. Idiots. This time, I had to go to my own resources."

She produces a scroll from the desk, and hands it to Judit

"This is mine, but I think you will need it more. Use it only in case of dire emergency. It has Sending on it: target me if the need arises. Nobody else is expecting you to use such a resource."

She then turns to face all of you.

"It appears Chappe will lead. That's fine by me. Are there any other questions I could answer? If not, then go to Ako for your upgrades."

[freebiewitz]

Turning to the shorter mage Chappe stared at him. He didn't approve of Stinky much and he himself had heard rumours of his ill exploits already. When the wizard had burst out into applause it confused the paladin.

The Kobold had a strange way of speaking that took a second to process but despite this he seemed professional if somewhat hostile about it. A trust worthy individual if Chappe was any judge. Agreeing with the draconian humanoid he decided that he'd be one of the more qualified rod holders.

Staring back at the boy wizard he wasn't sure what to make of him but the fact that he trusted the goblin enough to believe his exaggerated stories left a small impact on Chappe.

In that case it was positive.

A man who trusted another at his word, Pelor taught his followers that trust was most important thing to have in a family or any relationship. The fact that Chappe himself didn't trust stinky while this mage did made him feel shame. He'd have to follow his example if he himself were to grow as a man! Smiling he patted the boy- no man on the back.

"I do not know your name but I like you!" Grinning he laughed.

As Laksara explained things in more detail Chappe simply nodded in understanding. With the amount of rods she had supplied them he figured he could trust stinky with a few for testing purposes if nothing else. Hopefully the added responsibility would mould the goblin into a model citizen. He didn't expect any miracles but a little faith could do much.

"I have no questions myself, if no one else has any we'll head for the steward."

[Marker Mage]

Niko opened his old spellbook back up to write down some notes of this new information. His notes were rather simple: "fld Btwn; alrm ps thrw anml/schl; obst=mnr; lng rng?=test; NtRcnct. moncl=difDtct". He closed up the book and put away the ink and pen.

"I think that's all I'll need to know. I'll do my best to provide the school with new knowledge." He gets up grabs one of the monocles and 2 of the rods and walks towards the door, only stopping next to Chappe. I would like you to also remember that as the leader of our group, your decisions will be a big part of whether we succeed or fail. You will need to take all available information into consideration with those decisions. If you're ever unsure and have time, please consult the rest of us. If you're unsure and don't have time, then perhaps quicker access to this may help." Niko places the monocle in Chappe's hand and proceeds to exit the room to head towards the main tower.

Niko stuffs the rods into his backpack as he walks and pulls out a book, "Johnson's Guide to Caves". Considering the author's later loss of sanity, it might not be all that reliable a guide, but it did describe all manner of animal, vegetable, and mineral that he might encounter in this expedition and the arcane uses of each. So Niko casually skimmed it during his walk, all the while keeping his spellbook under his left arm. Once he reached Ako, he was going to ask for the magic thing. Maybe he would take a detour past the Alchemy classes and see if he can pick up anything good. Most of what the students make in those classes for practice gets sold anyway. Selling the stuff to someone just outside the door when the class ends just means less hassle.

[Prince Zahn]

"Liksereh, just one mur frum me: how efficientlee ehre the undergrund aryehs s'posedlee ventiletted? Exploresh'n hesn't ilwes eximend gen'ril aryeh prup'rtees befur sendin' peep'l down tu explor, Er so I've been tuld..." Gurlin suddenly thought to ask Laksara, remembering some small details from the course of his training, particularly those on the tools used against gas-poisoned areas.

OOC(and quick translation)

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"Laksara, just one more from me: how efficiently are the underground areas supposedly ventilated? Exploration hasn't always examined general area properties before sending people down to explore, or so I've been told..."

Anyhow, Gurlin asks this blatantly rude, as well as likely outdated-to-redundancy question on the project because he's heard on an occasion or two of early expeditions sent to unexplored bogs and mountains where the explorers' suffocated corpses were found.

[Sampi]

"Gurlin, basic divinations have been made and the immediate area deemed safe to explore. Of course, that's not foolproof. I guess that's always the nature of exploring virgin grounds; there may be unknown dangers. But the diviners were very sure there's no danger of poisonous gases or major rockfall nearby."

[Prince Zahn]

Gurlin releases a nod and sound of confirmation from his throat, he then took four rods into his big pack, poked Stinky's shoulder and said " Come, ye igwuneh, I'm tekkin' ye to the commiss'ry, yer too Ill-preperred if thet's ull her tekkin'!"

OOC:

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Man Of Fire: I'm assuming from the last few posts your character has not geared up fully at this point, so a chance is there to do so IC if he wants to stock up or get more food.

[Man on Fire]

Stinky pulls out the note and reads it again. And then he says the smarter thing he had said this day.
"Oh.".

Once group goes to the Ako, he goes to the comissary and quickly gets all he needs - 10 meters of rope, climbing spiders, backpack, bedroll, winter blanket, everburning torch, hammer, flint and steel, tent.

"I would take that ten foot pole too, but I won't be able to carry it along. What a shame."

Once geared up he joins the rest.

"Missed me?"

[Marker Mage]

Niko's arrival at the alchemy labs was well timed. He managed to catch a rather upset-looking professor bringing out a cart of his student's work to be delivered to the storage area in the main tower. The professor was named Mark Curie, and was upset about yet another case of a student ignoring a safety rule. This time it was food in the lab. It didn't take much for Niko to get on his good side. Just help the guy push the cart and provide him with someone to rant to.

Eventually, the two reached the storage, and Niko was able get a hold of a flask of acid and a thunderstone in exchange for the friendly ear, the extra hands pushing the cart, and 40 gold pieces.

[freebiewitz]

Nodding Chappe heeded Niko's advice. The man spoke sense and had a good head on his shoulders. Mentally he decided to place him as a second in command so that if he himself was incapacitated the group would still have direction.

The most important thing about being a leader in Chappe's mind is the safety of everyone who followed him and to do that listening would help.
Nodding to Laksara he politely bid her farewell before leaving the room.

Waiting for a few other people to join him after their questions he soon set off.

Smiling he waved his hand in greetings before asking for a list of supplies, things he imagined he would need for the trip underground. The kobold, Girlin? Garland? Gurlin that was his name! He mentioned that the group could suffocate due to poison air. Chappe couldn't think of any way to purify the air without the use of a more powerful mage but he could do something for the people that breathed it in.

However he soon found that they did not have such expensive items though he was pointed towards the alchemy portion of the school in case he wanted to buy them any ways. Eventually he found himself in front of the steward.

"Hello Ako, you seem well I hope you're not too busy." Though he didn't know Ako personally he still saw the man occasionally due to his position as steward.
"I came here from Laksara to get an upgrade for my weapon, some sort of long sword that can emit light if possible, an ever burning torch is all well and good but I think that it is better to be always armed."

[Sampi]

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The trip to the commissary is uneventful, but they do not have any antitoxin to give you. Maybe someone over in Alchemy could sell you the stuff? (OOC: You want it, you need to pay for it.)

The school’s main stores are in the central tower’s basement level, a couple of levels above the newest excavations and your assigned exploration grounds.

As you exit the north tower and Exploration’s domain, you see many familiar faces around. Most of the people around offer a passing glance and a nod, but some come to you to wish luck and success for your first field assignment.

The courtyard is enclosed by the outer walls and the three outer towers. Various buildings, ranging from faculty quarters to student laboratory complexes are arranged in an organized chaos with paths, gardens and open spaces between them. The huge and imposing central tower rises from the middle and dwarfs all the other buildings.

You make your way through the courtyard, now bustling with students and faculty. The very young students are organized by class, following their teachers from one school building to the next. Those old enough to be trusted run and chase each other through the paths, avoiding you (or at least Gurlin). The older students all lounge about, some of them casting envious looks your way. Nobody pays too much attention to you though, as you aren’t the strangest thing they’ve seen today.

You enter the central tower through the main doors, a pair of double doors tall enough to admit a stone giant. The doors are almost always open, and a squad of Guards stands just inside. They wave you in and the squad leader jerks his thumb towards the wide stairs on the left, leading down. A full circle around the main tower perimeter and three basement levels later, you find the entrance to the Steward’s storage rooms.

The storage takes up an entire level, with annexes dug into the surrounding rock. The sheer quantity of things overwhelms the senses, and you focus on the man sitting on a stone bench next to the entrance, nursing a lit long-stemmed pipe in his right hand. He gets up as he sees you enter, and raises his left hand in salute.

”Hello, you must be the explorer team to be sent down. I’m Ako, pleased to meet you. Laksara was very adamant in equipping you with some better equipment, so I’ll get you some. I’m sure she told you what the choices are. What’ll it be?

[Marker Mage]

Eventually, Niko reaches Ako. In response to Ako's question, Niko has only one answer. "I'll take the magic thing of course. Even if it's just a wand of Prestidigitation, I'm sure that I'll find it a more useful improvement to my arsenal than a nonmagical upgrade to my weapon or armor."

Niko then proceeds to take his spellbook out from under his arm and open it. He began to rest the copy of "Johnson's Guide to Caves" on the opened spellbook while he goes back to reading.

[Prince Zahn]

(Before meeting up with Ako:)
Gurlin, who went with Stinky to the Commissary requested antitoxin as well as some supplies for the Kobold, was directed to the alchemy lab, so he directed Stinky to go straight to Ako as he'll catch up. While on his way a bunch of children were chasing eachother back and forth across the large hall and almost colliding with Gurlin a couple of times, he noticed the elementary alchemy instructor, Darloc farlie, who just dismissed his students from the morning session to let a custodian clean up, Gurlin told him he requires antitoxin for the journey in case of -well, in case of any emergency Antitoxin would help. The two discussed, While not having good relations with Gurlin, he tried to keep his temper professional. And offered him Antitoxin for fifty gold per vial. Gurlin, only capable of affording one, purchased it, knowing that would only help one of his group should a relevant and unfortunate opportunity arise. On his way to the storage he noticed Niko running to the alchemy labs, fortunately evading everyone despite rushing fast.

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I inserted this here because I could not react when I had the chance to get the antitoxin, IRL issues...hopefully I wouldn't do this again, in the meantime, I am adding 4 of the alarm rods and the antitoxin to my character sheet, followed by subtracting 50 GP.

Upon his arrival to Ako He heard Chappe and Stinky Conversing with the steward, Ako and Gurlin knew of eachother, but never spoke to one another - they were two with different jobs and ranking, when which point when he finished speaking Gurlin pointed out he was sent as well, he went straight to the point and drew his rope and held it as he spoke:
Yes, es fur me upgred, I thot e kind've megic'l rope would help, perreps one thit surrunds itself 'rund neirby objects if ye gut one. If nut I could werk with e more furtifeid irmor..."

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Having never spoke to Gurlin before nor neccesarily familiarizing with the accent, someone might need to translate for Gurlin to get his point across, if so you wish.