The Complex of Doom (IC) Thread 2

[J-H]

Klurth shrugs. “Not all of us walk around every day with the optimal spell choice for battle prepared.”

They stop you when you start to move the shelf full of books and scrolls. “Stop! You’ll tip over the shelves and spill them! Wait here.” Grorok leaves, and returns a few minutes later with a pair of large cotton sheets fixed to boards, a hammer, and some nails. The two ogres pull the sheet tight against the shelf on one side, then nail the boards in to hold it tight, preventing anything from sliding out, and then repeat the task on the other side. Effortlessly, the two ogres then lift it slightly and slide it out.

They squint down at the revealed hole. “Well, how’d that get there?”

[Cavir]

Klurth shrugs. “Not all of us walk around every day with the optimal spell choice for battle prepared.”

"Of course. Hopefully that isn't an issue now."

They stop you when you start to move the shelf full of books and scrolls. “Stop! You’ll tip over the shelves and spill them! Wait here.” Grorok leaves, and returns a few minutes later with a pair of large cotton sheets fixed to boards, a hammer, and some nails. The two ogres pull the sheet tight against the shelf on one side, then nail the boards in to hold it tight, preventing anything from sliding out, and then repeat the task on the other side. Effortlessly, the two ogres then lift it slightly and slide it out.

They squint down at the revealed hole. “Well, how’d that get there?”

Kricen was impressed. Even their martial specialists had brains. "The hole goes down at least sixty feet. Do you know or have maps of passages down below?"

[RolandDeschain]

Kyron

Kyron stands aside while the ogres fetch materials, then sits and whistles a tune softly while idly examining his weapon's edge and polishing his shield. After the ogres have constructed their elaborate 'book catcher' and moved the shelves he says, "Your dedication to this horde of knowledge is impressive. I'm relieved that the books were not scuffed or jostled." He issues a broad, not-at-all arrogant nor insincere toothy grin.

Without rising he lifts his arm with an open palm directed toward the hole in the floor and mutters softly. A pool of crystalline water materializes on the floor, quickly draining into the recently discovered hole.....

"I hope there aren't anymore rooms like this below....some of the books might get wet."

Spoiler: OC

Show

Cast Create Water caster level 6

[J-H]

Grorok shrugs. "Three dimensional cartography is for illusionists - but if there were tunnels nearby, they should have been mapped. If you want to wait, I'm sure we could get an Arcane Eye or some other sensor to send down it."

The water drips down the hole. You don't perceive any reaction or effects from it.

[Cavir]

Kricen shakes his head in disbelief as the water drained down the hole. "You just announced to whoever is down there that we are on to their trick. We had the upper hand." He turns to the ogres. "While the maps are fetched I suggest you alert the other librarians. Any room that was infected should have furniture removed to find and plug the hole. We'll need the tunneling scroll that was offered."

While an ogre heads off Kricen has Gandalf explore the hole with instructions to explore to the bottom of the hole, see what is down and return without being discovered.

[RolandDeschain]

Kyron

Without standing the cleric flutters both of his hands before his mouth and gasps, "Oh no! We can't skulk around in the darkness waiting for something to happen! Whatever shall we do?"

Barking a laugh he stands and claps the necromancer on the back a bit too hard, grinning broadly, "Action. Force your enemy to take action. Force them to move before they're ready or prepared."

To the ogres, "By all means....you heard him, alert the librarians. Now that you know what you're looking for, they shouldn't be hard to find."

[razorback]

Shim, ever the diplomat, begins to open his mouth to help smooth over the disagreement with his friends but that is as far as he gets as Kyron works to smooth things over. Mouth hanging for a moment, he looks at Matai and gives a shrug of his shoulders.

[Kish]

As the others talk to the surprisingly erudite ogres, Matai stays with them but silently waits and watches, uninclined to weigh in on either diplomacy or discussions of the fine details arcane magic. He chuckles slightly when Shim, apparently as out of his depth here, gives him a shrug.

[Cavir]

"Right, make them hurry their attacks and fill this place with swarms or if they are smart they'll go into hiding for a month then come back. I'll remember to sound the horn next time we are near the tyrannosaurus nest."

Kricen puts the squabble behind him. His focus goes to the shelves of books all around them. "Any of them in here related to the Complex?"

Gandalf continues its scouting mission, unknown to the others.

[RolandDeschain]

Kyron

The cleric draws his sword and whirls around scanning the room, "Gads! Swarms! Swarms! Everywhere!"

Steadily slowing, he stops, straightens and sheaths his sword, staring at the necromancer, "Huh...go figure, thought we would've been overrun by bugs by now. I guess I can understand your trepidation though, no one would ever expect to come across water in a subterranean setting. Bwhahahaha!"

[J-H]

Kricen glances at the books and scrolls, but most of them appear to be written in Giant runes.

Gandalf returns, reporting that he went down about 100' and found a small tunnel about four feet in diameter that appeared natural in origin.

[Cavir]

Kricen scans the shelves uselessly. He ponders to himself. When I control this place I'll learn the language or get some magic to help. The ogres are useful with all this knowledge. Will have to keep them around.

He wanders back to the hole. A little smoke appears at Kricen's foot for a moment. He pauses in thought. "The hole is quite deep and unusually straight. It ends in a natural passage but only four feet round." He turns to the ogre. "Tunneling down here would not be very useful. We can plug this one for now. Take us to another room that was infected so I can check that hole?"

[razorback]

Shim turns to Grorok and Klurth and asks "Did your people build this facility or take it over? I wonder because if you didn't I wonder if this was always here or if something created the tunnel."

[J-H]

"If anything like this was here, it would have been documented before someone put a shelf over it. It must have been cut later. Did you say the edges were smooth, like it was done with a tool or with magic?"

[Cavir]

Kricen pauses, confirming with Gandalf, then continues the discussion with the living. "Smooth, so I agree on the magical source. Curious how someone that deep could perfectly place the hole under the shelf, and do the same to other rooms too." He looks to the others for ideas.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Assuming it was straight and smooth since the passage below that was noted as natural. If I'm wrong I'll redo the above.

[razorback]

Shim ponders for a few moments before responding. "Some magician, using a magical sensor and the correct spell might have done this. I can change my form, taking size and appearance of a gnome or halfing to travel down the tunnel but I can only do this to myself. I can scout it out with Gandalf's help, unless anyone has any other ideas."

[Cavir]

"Let's check some other holes while we await maps. We might find a better location. Maybe even catch a glimpse of our target." Kricen looks to the ogre about moving on to another room where he'll have Gandalf search again.

[razorback]

Shim nods in agreement. "Smart. Ok." h says as he turns back behemoths in the room. "Grorok... Klurth, what are the other locations where you've had infestations?"

[RolandDeschain]

Kyron

"Sure. Let's go peek down some more holes in the ground."

[J-H]

The ogres lead you through another long hallway, a kitchen, what appears to be a relaxation area, and then another hall to another area full of books. Repeating the same tactic, you find a hole in the wall behind a bookshelf, leading down to a similar tunnel.

Klurth is working on getting someone to cast Arcane Eye, but it will take a little while for the caster to arrive.

[RolandDeschain]

Kyron

The cleric sticks his finger in the hole, "Hmmmm......what magics are these I wonder?"

Spoiler: Spellcraft

Show

Take 10 = 19

[J-H]

The only magic you can think of that would do this is Stone Shape.

[RolandDeschain]

Kyron

Turning to Shim, "You know of any small creatures that can magically shape stone? Or do you think it's an evil, bug-invested gnome?" The cleric offers a lopsided grin, making it virtually impossible to tell if he's being serious.

[razorback]

Shim ponders for a few moments as he tries to recall. "Elementals of the earth domain would be a guess..."

Spoiler

Show

K'nowledge the ? He has a +3 to all
(1d20+3)[6]

[Cavir]

"We know the swarms are magically summoned. I doubt an earth elemental would care about fine details of a hole. Probably Stone Shape. So we're facing a caster." Kricen turns to their ogre escort. "Shortly before the attacks began, was there any trouble that made an enemy for your clan? An outsider turned away as you tried turning us away? Or an inside job? An unhappy or jealous ogre? Maybe I'm right and Whitemarsh is behind this, exacting revenge for the goblins. He'd fit in those tunnels."

[J-H]

They can’t think of anyone specific.

Another ogre arrives, this one wearing a robe covered in pockets, and a teal-colored leather headband. His skin is greyer. “A magically shaped miniature hole? How odd. I wonder how the swarm of mindless insects was controlled? It would seem to go against their instincts. I shall observe.”

He then casts a spell, closing both eyes. His hands twitch and move slightly as he guides something down the hole.

After a few minutes, his brow furrows. Eyes still shut, he speaks. “There’s a network of these little tunnels down there, but no light and no exits or anything else that I can find. I shall continue to look.”

[razorback]

"Right... the size of the holes and I'm asssuming his abilities would allow him to burrow through stone and control these vermin. I doubt he'll show his face here but is probably navigating in the background. Do we hunt him down from here or try to flush him out?"

[RolandDeschain]

Kyron

"Hmmmmm.....we need to burrow down there, and be magically reduced."

Chuckling to himself at the thought of a miniaturized dungeon crawl, "No exits hey? Still think we could flood the tunnels."

[J-H]

The first sensor expires, and the wizard creates another. Three minutes later, he blanches visibly. “I found another exit, another pin-hole tunnel like this. It goes into a room with goldish-silver alloy walls. We won’t be chasing him.”

Klurth nods in agreement. “Best to leave the maintainers alone.”

[RolandDeschain]

Kyron

"Wait. 'Maintainers'? What are you talking about?"