Adventurers' Guild 2: Cap'n Marko and the crew of the Sampo

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko nodded as Dravick spoke, then replied, "Indeed! I could use a lighter crossbow myself. This one isn't so bad aboard ship, but carting it around the countryside is beginning to wear."

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DB, when you get back, what do you think of the idea of a light crossbow with a "pilot light"? Essentially, a small permanent flame positioned to ignite bolts prepared with oily rags vice an actual "flaming" weapon? I was thinking it could be covered with a mechanism linked to the trigger to avoid premature ignition. Plus, it would be a really cool way to light a cigar...

[MK Kilmarnock]

"Sir Avahn.... I will s-seek him and... and ask, t-thank you...." Zan said, ready to take back his scythe whenever it was given to him. The very first thing he would do with it would be to wrap it up and make sure it was in the furthest position from hurting somebody.

For whatever reason, despite the fact that he had to be on his toes and careful not to offend the lady, Zan was regretful that their time with Lady Irmak was coming to a close.

[Akyana]

Sandra moved towards the group after the lady finished I do not like how she assumes control over us. While I do not wish to test it, it makes me uneasy speaking so only the group could hear her

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Indeed Daryk no one likes premature ignition

[Daryk]

Marko

Continuing the conversation in low tones, Marko replied, "I don't think of it as control. She's our host, and is more bound to this place than we are. As long as we can proceed on our quest, I see no reason not to help her out. And she didn't order us to do anything, really."

[DavidByron]

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Not quite ready to continue sorry , but Thymin asked about contacting Matthew via the magical hand mirror, so that is something to do first.

As a reminder (at least this is what I recall):

Dravick has a magical hand mirror (like something a fine lady might use) and Matthew has its twin back at Bridgeport / the Guild HQ. These items were found in the big trunk that Jerris directed the adventurers to dig up from a false grave in a graveyard on the outskirts of Bridgeport where it had been buried. This was one of the first things he ordered after becoming guild master and the trunk's contents, which appear to be his sort of spare / hand-me-down magic stuff, was donated to the guild. I am not sure but I think some of you got some other items from the trunk if you had wanted stuff as part of making the characters level 3. But the mirrors were not given to anyone specifically and were more a "keep in touch" device. The basic idea of them was that they could be used to communicate, similar to the amulets taken from the druid but with a far greater range. In addition about once a week it was said (by Matthew who got it from Jerris) it could open a portal and small objects could be passed back and forth through the mirrors (which are about the size of a hand palm)

After responding to any questions from the Adventurers the Lady tells the aquan guard to escort the party to their new quarters. You leave via the corridor behind and to the left of the throne. The quarters prove to be two joining rooms which together have a single door entrance / exit, outside of which the aquan guard takes his stand. The contents are richly decorated, although this is another illusion covering a bare set of caves. This knowledge does nothing to make the beds feel less comfy or the rug less soft (there's not enough beds for everyone so some of you would have to take the couch or sleep on the rug -- or "rug") The liquid in the drinks cabinet seems real though, and later a giant beaver you don't recognise drops off some real food via the guard.

It's not really clear if you are under arrest or what. The small guard is unlikely to be able to stop you in a fight. Possibly it is some sort of honor guard? A mark of respect? Or perhaps both. At any rate for the time being this is where the Lady has placed you.

There is some discussion (as above -- in the interior room, out of earshot of the guard, though he appears to understand no common) about what to do next.

Dravick recalls that he has the mirror and tries to use it to contact Matthew. There is an immediate "pick up" from the other side. Through the mirror you can see both Matthew and Ana. It's not too well lit where they are but it looks like they are in Lankin's old office, in the HQ basement.

Matthew:
Finally! You did it Ana! You managed to push through.
Then to Dravick:
Where on earth are you?

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I actually can't recall the last time Matthew was in contact. I think it was the day before you set off from Mr Mason's house as he had warned those who arrived at Khorinis by river to expect reinforcements. So it's been not too long depending on how long you've been underground since the battle with the goblins. I think you've only slept once since then but I think it might have been the day before yesterday? The goblin fight was already late at night and you pretty much adventured through the small hours into the morning but its hard to judge the exact time.

Oh yeah some of you are probably pretty tired now you think about it.

At any rate as usual you don't need to repeat everything you've done when you can say eg. "We fill Matthew in on all the events since we last talked except we don't mention XYZ, or the suspicion that PQR."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Within one or two minutes of being placed in the room, Zan had found the drinks and poured one of the bottles into his flask until it was full, then swigged about half of it. "Really.. n-needed that..." Zan gasped, dabbing at his chin with the end of his sleeve. He was about halfway to a bed (or what he pretty much perceived as one)when he realized that there wasn't going to be enough for everybody.

Grumbling just a bit, Zan instead leaned against the wall, removing his scythe and other extra bits of equipment, save for the holy symbol, unholy symbol, and flask.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Dravick, you're a genius! I had completely forgotten about the mirror in all the excitement," Marko exclaimed when the bard presented the mirror. When Matthew and Ana answered, he launched into an exhaustive report, summing up with, "...and now we're guests of the Lady. She's been very polite, and asked us to do some investigations further along the way toward the hair. She doesn't believe we'll succeed, or she wouldn't allow us past, but it looks like a stroke of luck to me. Essentially, we have a secure base of operations here, and permission to continue our quest. The Azer may see it differently, but we have at least two other paths to follow if that doesn't pan out. With any luck, we'll be able to collect Durx on our way out with the hair. I'm quite curious to meet this Sir Avahn. He sounds like an interesting character. What news from your side? Have the goblins moved any further south?"

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Listening as Marko fills Matthew in, Dravick restrains himself from adding his own flair and embellishments to the story from the background. Before the conversation ends he adds a few queries of his own for Matthew. "Are there any references to the Lute of Creation, or of Hesperida's Hair specifically in the guild library? If not, could you check the Bridgeport library for information? I'm quite interested in this for personal reasons."

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Alright I'll look up that story. They are still transferring books from the old library site after Bruce - ah, I mean the Doge - decided to make the city library the new Doge's palace(*). So it's all a bit of a mess but I'll do my best.

And I'm afraid the freshest news I have from Khorinis is what you just told me but I have no information that the main army has moved. As far as I know they are digging in at Midford. No change there from 3 days ago.

As Matthew is speaking Ana touches the surface of the mirror (from her side) and it bulges towards Dravick like a soap bubble with little trails of light behind where she traces her fingers.

Ana, to Matthew:
The meniscus is fragile but stable.... I don't think we can pass anything physical through the portal yet but I can keep pushing..?

Matthew:
Look, hang on Ana.... we only get to open the full portal once a week.

Dravick, Marko -- we've been trying to open from our end for a while and I asked Jerris and he suggested Ana could help because her training has something to do with portals too and that's how this mirror thing works. Ana's been pushing but we only connected when you opened your end at the same time we were trying. You must have something blocking you there. It might be best if we co-ordinate a time for you to try and make your next call.

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I would rule that if one of you is praying for your clerical spells by the high tide then you'd have a rough idea when high tide is each day. Or perhaps there are other ways you might be able to gauge the time while underground that I haven't thought of. At any rate you needn't commit to a time right now we can just refit it to say that whatever time of day you call that will be what time you agreed upon.

(*) The previous Doge's palace got almost completely rubbled by Zan of course. Since the palace from before that one was still around and had been used as a city library for many years it was the logical choice for Bruce Wrightson on being elected Doge.

I only mention this to point out that as usual it's all Zan's fault if Matthew can't find the right books

[MK Kilmarnock]

Now fairly well undressed as far as equipment went, and basically wearing just the comfortable underclothes underneath his robe, Zan paced for a bit to help him relax (and give him an excuse to drink just a bit more) before he could head off to bed. In his pacing, he heard Matthew...

"W-Wait, Ana? You're talking to Ana!?" His face brightened a little as he FINALLY caught on... apparently, he wasn't paying attention earlier. "U-Um, M... Matthew, you don't suppose I could have a turn w-with that mirror when you're done?"

[Daryk]

Marko

"A capital idea, Matthew. I believe an hour after dawn every day would be a good choice, if we could see the sun. If only I had a timepiece! My uncle makes the most exquisite chronometers I know, but he's far from Bridgeport. Unfortunately, I never got around to shopping in the wealthier parts of town while I was there. Is there a gnomish jeweler in the city, by chance? They might be able to assemble one for us, and you could pass it through the portal," Marko said, hopefully.

Turning to Zan, the gnome replied, "I don't see why not. We'll need to keep the connection alive until we find a way to synchronize our attempts to contact one another."

[Akyana]

Sandra stands there and listens to the conversation. She also sees Zan's reaction to the conversation through the mirror and doesn't say anything. She walks over to the way they came and just looked to see if anything was coming closer to them

[DavidByron]

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Here's where Kate gave the original specification for how the mirror works:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=79

So basically you need to be able to cast a Message spell to use it and let's say that is what Dravick did. It appears to have a visual effect in addition to the auditory effects of Message cast normally -- or possibly that is because of something Ana is doing to mess with it.

At any rate Dravick would have to specify who else beyond himself and the mirror he targets (presumably Marko, Zan, Sandra?) The spell lasts for 40 minutes normally. It's possible that Matthew was trying to cast Message at his end too of course.

The mirror is acting up a little for some reason.

But the upshot is that you have 40 minutes (the duration of a Message spell cast by Dravick) and that to kick it off you need a Message cantrip at at least one end or the other. If Matthew made contact first you'd expect only the people touching the mirror to be able to hear his words. At least that's how it is supposed to work.

Kyte and Dragutin can see the images on the mirror but cannot hear what Matthew and Ana are saying.

Matthew acknowledges Marko's suggestion and passes the mirror to Ana.

Matthew:
Zan wants a word with you.

Ana:
Oh!

She grins and puts a hand over her mouth for a second. This is a little unusual for Ana. Hand removed.

Matthew:
Concentrate! Don't lose the connection!

The surface of the mirror goes blanks and silvery.

Zan gets hold of the mirror. It is a decorated silver plated ladies hand mirror, looking perfectly ordinary. To everyone else it looks like the mirror has gone dead, but Zan alone can hear a whispering voice. It is Ana asking "Is anyone there?"

[MK Kilmarnock]

"H-Hello!" Zan whispered back, hoping that was how the mirror worked. "Thought you m-might've been... um... disconnected or s-something, because the mirror isn't working anymore. How are... how are you doing, Ana?" For the first time in a while, Zan could finally relax without the aid of a drink.

[DavidByron]

Zan hears Ana's whisper as if from far away (which of course it is), "I can hear you. Guildmaster Jerris has been teaching me about how to use my power without anyone getting hurt. I'm learning a lot but it's tiring. Not body tiring but heart tiring. Like caring for someone who is very sick and might die. He says I have to talk more, and he's teaching me new words. He told me to help Matthew with the mirror and it was easy! But then I must have done something wrong."

Whether it is some aspect of her recent apprenticeship with the archmage, or the fact that she cannot see who she is talking to, Ana is talking a lot more than she used to even just a couple of weeks ago.

Ana:
Oh Zan? That thing I asked you to do? Don't worry about it. Everything is fine here and I don't know why I was so foolish. Just keep yourself and the others safe, OK?

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Although Ana doesn't seem to want to get explicit, possibly because (presumably) Matthew is standing next to her, she is referring to something she asked Zan to look in to before he left Bridgeport, a sort of odd thing she was a bit worried about. Maybe worry is too strong a word even. It involved Zan going to Zards (the city within a city that is the Arcane quarter of Lauden). I don't think Zan ever mentioned it to anyone, nor Ana to anyone except for Zaara who had sort of put her up to it.

(Zaara is/was the older female gnomish former librarian who wanted to train as a wizard under Matthew, and originally wanted to learn draconic as a first step, but got amazingly lucky and ended up being taught some stuff by the archmage Jerris himself --- as he felt it would be better for Ana to have a fellow student, preferably female, and Zaara was in the right place at just the right time. Generally arch mages don't take on students unless there's exceptional cause.)

At any rate we'll be moving on to the Fire Dwarves (Azer) when I update on Sunday if anyone has any last bits to say to Ana / Matthew.

[MK Kilmarnock]

"W-Wait..." Zan looked off to the side, confused, but not that it mattered any, Ana still couldn't see him. "Y-you're sure you don't w... want me to? It wouldn't b-be so difficult but if you're sure... th-then I'll continue to ensure everybody's s-safe. And don't worry about... about the mirror, I'll see y-you soon enough!" He chuckled at this, hoping that it really was sooner than later that he got to see everybody, but Ana in particular.

Then, for whatever reason, Sandra flashed into his mind, and back out again. He shrugged it off, steadying the mirror and looking into it even if he couldn't exactly see her. "Unt... t-til we meet again, Ana!" Zan said, hating goodbyes.

[DavidByron]

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Last chance for any other IC business before we get off?

Ana:
I'm sure. Half my life spent in silence and hiding ... and I don't even know what from. Half my life spent knowing something inside me could kill the people around me. Well I am NOT hiding any more! I'm an adventurer too now. I'm going to control my powers and I'm going to fight!

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Ana is referring to when she was very young and her powers appeared to cause some sort incident whereby some sort of creatures or demons or something were summoned or appeared and killed a bunch of people. Actually I can't recall but her parents might have been among those people. (wiki is down!) At any rate subsequently she was put into hiding and had a spell cast upon her by a very powerful wizard (called Jerris) so she couldn't speak and thus couldn't use her powers accidentally or give herself away. Very few people knew about this and it's not clear how much Ana knew or was later told, if anything about what was going on.

Nevertheless she grew up to have a powerful personality as a young woman who had a job with the guild cooking and so on, and taking no **** from people. This job was basically so that Bruce Wrightson the then guildmaster (and current Doge) could keep an eye on her without drawing attention. Nevertheless Matthew, one of the arcane adventurers found out some of this secret after he discovered Ana radiated magic (from Jerris' spell). Later on the the adventurers freed a man from an anti-magic infused jail cell under the Doge's palace who said he was the archmage Jerris and had been locked down their for many years. He undid the spell on Ana allowing her to speak, and later became the new guildmaster of the adventurers guild, when Bruce was elected to Doge as a result of the war and the last Doge's betrayal of the city of Bridgeport.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan paused for a moment, shocked by Ana's sudden resolve, but then smiled warmly. Very well... y-you hold up over there, and I'll do my best over here. S... See you s-soon!" With that, he gave the mirror back to Marko and walked back to this things, sighing. Yep, just like he remembered... goodbyes suck.

[Daryk]

Marko

Seeing Zan had finished, Marko received the offered mirror from him. "Oh, hello Ana. Is Matthew still there, or did he head off to arrange for that timepiece? We really must figure out a way to synchronize our efforts. If we're to be adventuring, an hourglass will simply not do. I'm sure our hosts could tell us the time, if we asked, but I think that would raise suspicions and possibly violate the terms of our... arrangement."

[DavidByron]

Matthew says he'll give it a try (to find a mechanical clock device) although it sounds expensive. At any rate he won't be able to find such a thing in the few minutes remaining with the spell.

At length the message spell ends.

[DavidByron]

Time passes. Having been told by Matthew that it is some time in the early morning by now you figure you have skipped a night's sleep. There is a question about whether watches should be set but in the end it seems as if the water people would probably have attacked you more easily earlier that day during the "trial". And it seems like nobody else is a threat....

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Drelbs aside.

Next morning -- or afternoon or whatever it is -- Sandra gets some materials for making her darts. More food from the beavers. It could do with some cantrip-created seasoning. It's also all vegetarian. You decide to move on early to see about the Azer and Speaker is summoned to alias with the Aquans. Marko begins to pick up on some of the Aquan lingo enough to understand the little guys himself. A bunch of them are instructed to accompany you to the edge of Azer territory, but no further. They are then to await your return. You are told the leader of the fire dwarves is called Dermir. No second name which is a little odd for a dwarf leader.

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Zan and the bards would know this as would Durx were he here.

You are escorted via the throne room again but the Lady is not present (or at least you do not see her). This time you exit through the passageway to the left and behind the throne. Six of you, Speaker and six small Aquans. You soon leave behind the part of the caverns which have the highly decorative illusion covering them and the way ahead is an underground river. According to what you recall of the map, this waterway circles and encloses the inner core of the 3rd guardians' territory, and is the way you'd head no matter which of the three possible routes to the core you took.

Speaker says the Aquans are willing to carry you, so you won't get as wet as when you arrived. They enter the water and take on the look of horses. Or at least the part of a horse/pony that you could imagine keeping above water as it swims along. IE mostly a head/neck and maybe a little upper body showing. The little guys seem to be stronger than they look, but your feet are going to get wet anyway. Speaker explains to anyone reluctant to take a ride, that not only are the Aquans far far faster than even the beavers at swimming but they will also make sure no eels get you. Yeah, apparently the eels can swarm down here and they can be quite dangerous to a lone traveler, "Although not to you, I am sure."

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Your clothes were prestidigitated dry I think, last night, so you shouldn't catch your death of cold

You set off down the underground riverway. The route is not particularly complicated and you feel you'd be able to get back that way by yourselves if necessary. You do pass a swarm of eels on the way. It's a quick trip. Just a few minutes, though it might take an hour or so swimming.

Your escorts/mounts pull up alongside a bank. It's a strip of dry land 60' by about 5-10'. It doesn't look like "high tide" covers this strip of land either. No wet looking rock or moss etc. There's a tunnel leading into the rockface off the middle of the strip. It is flanked by two statues of big dwarves in kilts. Or big statues of normal sized dwarves in kilts (20' tall filling floor to ceiling). The hair of the statues is flecked with some sort of metallic stuff and reflects light from the firey staff held by each dwarf. Kind of looks alive (the hair) as the light moves.

Looks like you found the place alright. Thankfully as with normal dwarves the Azer appear to have decided to make their tunnel of a size far bigger than necessary or militarily advisable (ten feet wide and fifteen tall). You can see that the tunnel slopes up at a good angle. You can also see that its walls are highly decorated with a sort of three dimensional bits sticking out design. So if there is a picture of a dwarf for example it might have a hand holding a weapon actually coming out of the wall at you -- to scale -- so a figure about five inches tall (the biggest) might stick out a few inches. This is the same sort of look as the decorated corridor as you first entered the crypt area down through the well that the goblins had dug. Good for climbing on, now as then.

In addition I should add that its good work. The big statues especially. Presumably the firey staffs held by them are magical? You can see the tunnel / corridor heads up for at least 60'. There's no indication of a guard or military stuff or a gate blocking the entrance. Kyte can see no sign of the needle shooting traps that lined the other decorative corridor (there were so many they were not hard to spot).

[Daryk]

Marko

"Hmmm... if relations were as tense as the Lady indicated, I would have expected a guard. Perhaps there's a magical trap of some kind? Zan, can you tell?" Marko asked.

[MK Kilmarnock]

"Eh?"

A bit bewildered at having his name mentioned while Zan was busy gazing at the view around them. He turned to Marko, looking on in a bit of confusion as if to say 'what do you want me to do?' before snapping out of it.

"Oh, r-right! Heh... of... of course." He closed his eyes a moment, then opened them, casting detect magic to see what he could perceive.

[DavidByron]

Zan senses nothing magical down the corridor and only the firey staffs held by the statues are magical, not the statues themselves. (He can also see what magic the party carries if he wants to be nosey, but it's clear that the most magical thing around is the sword, also Zan notices that his scythe doesn't radiate magic, neither the blade nor the handle).

Kyte is unable to detect any traps immediately ahead up the corridor.

Dravick thinks he can hear something up the corridor. Like an angry shout.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Perhaps we should announce ourselves. Dravick, have you heard something?" Marko asked, seeing the look on the bard's face.

[DavidByron]

Well you all stand there listening to see if the noise repeats, and sure enough, a moment later there it is again. Those of you who know some Dwarvish swear words -- and anyone who's lived in a big city might -- recognise the intent of these words. Someone is venting their frustration. Just the one voice, perhaps 80-100 feet ahead of you, along the decorated tunnel.

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SRD says Azer don't speak Dwarf. Well they do now.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan was extremely offset by the fact that his scythe wasn't radiating magical energy as he tried to detect it. ... Why wasn't it? It obviously was magical in some sense or another, as Lady Irmak had indicated, and could even impose its will into his own (at least it couldn't control him or overpower him... yet). Trying to focus on the task at hand, he quietly informed the party, primarily Marko, that nothing was jumping out as magical just yet.

He was just about to anxiously ask Sandra to take point when he heard some dwarven words... ones that Thaghor often said when he was angry or frustrated with something, but told Zan not to repeat. They held little meaning to him. Looking around questioningly, he held his tongue for fear of revealing the party.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Well, whoever they are, they don't seem happy. I can't imagine us sneaking up on him will make him any happier, though. Unless there are any objections, I'll announce us," Marko said, casting a look around the group.

If there were no objections, he called up the tunnel, "Ahoy within! Captain Marko Ratkotruljevic and company to see the masters of fire and stone!"

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Kyte

Kyte rolls his eyes at the "Ahoy!" then wanders over next to Zan. One would think that rogues have a lot in common with bards, but something about Marko's loquacity offends Kyte's desire for stealth.

"Psst, Zan... are these Azer magical creatures? What about those 'otyugh' in the other passage? I'm really wishing I had some scrolls or something magical to defend myself with."

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Reporting the shouts he had heard, Dravick turned his attention to the statues and the entrance. Their sheer size and the level of detail was something not often seen, especially created by humans. He had sunk into deep thought about the implications of such a grandiose entryway, when he heard Marko make the announcement of their presence. Dravick was not against the course of action, and moved closer to Marko ready to help with the introductions.

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BardicKnowledge - (1d20+8)[21] About the statues at the entryway.