Cain picks up his bow from where he dropped it. "Another weird room, another weirder creature trying to kill us, another awful pun, and still no sign of Khonir. Bah. Someone should take this cloak at least. Any idea what those buttons do?"

Still some xp away from level 3 and Cain becoming less useless.

Zorden wandered over to the buttons Cain had mentioned and took a look at them.

"Something to do with the window maybe?"  He ventured, though he really wasn't at all sure.



Zorden rolled 12.  Know: Engineering

Seeing that nobody else had called dibs on the bright red cloak of resistance, Morin pulled it off the bisected monster and threw it around his own shoulders.  "Not bad, not bad."  He muttered, examining his reflection in one of the shinier pieces of alien furniture. "I mean, it's a little big for me, and somebody wiped zombie guts all over it, but there's something inherently stylish about a magical cloak.  Don't you think?"

Realizing the strange tech on the wall was more interesting than his fashion sense, Morin dropped the subject and moved to inspect the buttons with the others.  "Well, at least three buttons makes for a nice, simple set of controls.  Meaning there's probably not much harm in just..." He raised a hand, hovering his finger over the control panel for a moment before bringing it down on the topmost button of the bunch.

[Private to Zorden: Your knowledge of engineering suggests that the panel does likely have something to do with the window.] As Morin clasps the cloak over his shoulders he finds it to be a perfect fit despite being much to large for him only a moment ago.

When the gnome dares to press the topmost button, the landscape visage through the window immediate fades away leaving nothing but a black, slightly glossy wall. A second press brings the image of the desert back while pressing either of the other two buttons causes the wall to flicker before showing glaring, shifting, black and white static similar to the strange windows in the last room. It takes several successive presses of either of these other buttons to bring the image of the bright red desert back.

Cain is indifferent at the wonders of a magical window. They may have not learned anything useful from it, but at least it did not appear to be immediately dangerous. "Well, shall we find out what is going to try to kill us in the next room?"

Next is the corridor to the east, I guess?

Nodding, Morin joined Cain in checking out the door to the east.  "My money's on another robot.  Or the necromancer responsible for our friend over here.  Or, and I'm just spitballing here, maybe some kind of necromancy robot?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:33, Wed 29 June 2022.

"I wonder if this is some sort of magic, and we're seeing another place, or if it's just a fancy sort of painting."  Zorden mused mostly to himself.

Turning towards the door he kept his weapon in hand and at the ready as he waited for Kalasha and Morin's floating torch to once more lead the way.

Cain, Morin, Zorden
After returning to the hallway behind them and passing through the open doorway on its east wall into what seems to be another hallway running parallel to the first, a quick scout to the south finds the hallway continues on for some distance, curving gradually to the west as it runs, before ending in a pile of metal and rock where the ceiling seems to have collapsed. The hallways as it runs north also ends in a pile of collapsed rubble but before it does has another large door on the east wall--this one closed and with a nearby panel strangely glowing black. As the party considered this closed door, the sound of footsteps arises from behind them as two more adventurers approach...

---

Cael, Synn
After arriving in the slowly dying town of Torch and hearing rumors of an expedition into strange ruins beneath the Black Hill to find the town's missing councilor and reignite the torch that is both the town's namesake and center of industry, Cael and Synn have taken it upon themselves to join in the effort. After asking around the two have been directed to Councilor Baine's establishment The Foundry Tavern, but upon arriving they are told that they have just missed the expedition.

After proceeding to the Weeping Pond which is said to be the entrance to the caves, the pair find a tall, well-dressed man contemplating whether he will go in as well. The man introduces himself as Sanvil Trett and explains that he has an urgent message for one of the expedition, 'Miss Roadsworn,' but isn't sure he can stomach a dip in the rank water or overcome the dangers below. He asks that, since the pair is already intent to go in, that they tell Roadsworn that he needs to see her immediately and then stands back to watch curiously as the pair venture in.

Fortunately the expedition has thought to string a rope through the underwater tunnel into the caves and despite the foul stench and burning sensations the passage is fairly easy to navigate. The underwater passage leads to a cavern faintly lit by the still-glowing innards of a few fire beetles. Using light provided by a spell from Synn and following the water they find a small shore with three halfling corpses overgrown with moss and with half-digested chest cavities and walls and rocks splashed with some kind of slime. Continuing on they find some branching tunnels, one of which ends in a small cliff overlooking a very cold room with an abandoned body below, one piled with scrap metal and empty crates of some strange material, and one leading to what seems to be a small shanty-town occupied by thin, gray-skin skulks. The skulks are wary of the new visitors, but their leader, Sef, points them towards a raised entrance into a sheer, metal wall to follow after the expedition.

The raised entrance leads into strange rooms made completely of metal and lit brightly from above by soft, sterile white light emanating from flat panels. The rooms proceed eastward, some with doorways or hallways which would have led north or South if they weren't collapsed or crushed, with the final room leading to a strange, rock tunnel of a different color than the stone caves to the west. The last metal room contains strange contraptions to the north and south with metal tubes and nozzles which seem to hum with life and nearby panels which glow softly.

Proceeding on and through the rock tunnel to the east, the pair finds themselves in an impossible place--a vast, hot desert with a steady, shifting breeze, open skies above them, and a red sun beating down on them. Piles of bones litter the area around cave mouth and nearby, within what seems to be some kind of round, coral shell, a mass of tentacles slowly rots under the blistering sun--exuding a foul stench. The immediate pocket of desert seems to be about 400 feet wide and surrounded natural rock walls about 50 feet in height and scattered throughout are the remains and splinters of more coral-like shells.

The winds slowly shift the sands, but Cael can make out many sets of trails carved through the sand very recently towards the east. Following these trails leads to another cave in the rock wall which the footsteps lead into but do not return from. Careful inspection finds that the dead-end of the cave is illusory and the pair walk through to find more metals rooms lit by sterile light from above and a group of adventurers ahead of them...
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:26, Thu 30 June 2022.

With the paths to the north and south blocked off by rubble, it looked like the only way forwards was through the closed door.  Fortunately, they had just found a black keycard to match the neon-black(?) panel, so the way was clear.

His musings were interrupted by the appearance of two strangers in the corridor behind them.  The diminuitive gnome turned to face them, with a cheerful grin on his face.  Despite his easy demeanor, the newcomers might have been able to sense a slight tension in the way he held his lasso, and how he casually moved the darkwood buckler on his arm forwards to protect his body.  This group was clearly from the surface, judging from the fresh sludge covering everyone who had swam through the tainted waters from Torch.  But that didn't necessarily mean they were friendly.  The purple haired woman who was responsible for the town's troubles had swum through the same passage, after all.

"Well, fancy that, new faces!" the bard called out cheerfully.  "Did Father Kyte and the others get tired of waiting us to die, and decide to send in our replacements early?  Or, uh...are you associates of our purple-haired friend?"

Vin, the gray-skinned Duergar armored in heavy stone lamellar and wielding a heavy shield and battleaxe who brings up the rear of the party is a little less polite than the gnome and calls out in demand, "Halt! Declare yerselves!"

Zorden stayed silent as the newcomers approached.

Between Morin and Vin the request for information regarding their intentions seemed clear enough.  While he still held his weapon out and ready he made no move to brandish it in their direction.

Rather he seemed content to wait for their response.

Cain likewise lets Morin and the others do the talking to the strangers. But with how their recent encounters in these caves went, he keeps his bow at hand.

"Hello intrepid adventurers," Synn approached carefully, noticing some in the group were more than wary. The woman had eyes of blue with silky black hair framing the fine features of her face. She was clad in a black leather and lace corset with two crossed black belts around her hips. Her black leather skirt hugged her hips but otherwise draped fluidly down to her boots. Hanging from her belt was a buckler, a pistol, a dagger and a large pouch. Despite her extraordinary beauty, the aura of something dark hung in the air around her. "I am Synn Mescara, and this is Cael. That is all I can tell you of him as we have just met ourselves. What I can say is that we ave come to aid your cause. Speaking for myself, I hope that my skill can be of some use."

"Cael..."

 The big man simply lifted his hand in greeting, but didn't say much. Cael was covered in furs and tattoos, clearly not from around here. A large sword is strapped along his back as he stands there stoically. He isn't sure what exactly he was here to do, but the mountain does not question the motives of the wind.

Stepping forwards, Morin looked over the new arrivals appraisingly.  Between the lace and the floor-length skirt, Synn seemed to have chosen her gear based on fashion purposes, as opposed to any of the practical considerations associated with crawling through ancient, hostile ruins.  Which, as far as Morin was concerned, would make a nice change from the dour practicality of his current companions.

Cael's appearance, on the other hand, practically screamed "dour practicality."  His kind of burly, taciturn warrior was a dime a dozen in Numeria.  Still, it was always nice to have another biggun to hide behind, in case something happened to their current meatshield.

Nodding appreciatively at the two of them, Morin smiled wide.  "Okay, you'll do.  Welcome to the Canaries!  If the council didn't fill you in when they hired you, I'm Morin, and these are my associates Cain, Kalasha, Zorden and Vin.  So far, we've been finding bits and pieces of the other expeditions the council sent down here, but no sign of Khonnir Baine, which is the only body the town's willing to actually pay us for.  We get a bonus if he's still breathing when we haul him out, so we might as well get a move on."

Morin gestured to the closed door, which he was just about to try the new keycard on.  "Anything you guys wanna do before we crack this door?"

The Half-Orc paladin decked in banded mail armor and lugging around both a greatsword and a lucerne hammer salutes the new arrivals in greeting and introduces herself, "Kalasha Roadsworn, enforcer of Abadar. I hope the skulks didn't give you any trouble?"

[Private to Cael, The Whirlwind; Synn Mescara: Just to remind you of the hook to get rid of the NPCs XD.

Dungeon Master:

After proceeding to the Weeping Pond which is said to be the entrance to the caves, the pair find a tall, well-dressed man contemplating whether he will go in as well. The man introduces himself as Sanvil Trett and explains that he has an urgent message for one of the expedition, 'Miss Roadsworn,' but isn't sure he can stomach a dip in the rank water or overcome the dangers below. He asks that, since the pair is already intent to go in, that they tell Roadsworn that he needs to see her immediately and then stands back to watch curiously as the pair venture in.

]
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:18, Tue 05 July 2022.

"Welcome indeed." Cain is very much in favor of reinforcements. Now that it looks like the newcomers are friendly, he turns his attention to the panel by the door, trying to figure out if (and how) it controlled the doors.

He still kept one eye on the new arrivals though, just in case.

I take it we could use that card with a black strip we just picked up?

The Gnome spoke for the group it seemed. He was certainly the most outspoken, but he did get on to business before a proper round of introductions on his side. Yes, he gave names, but as he pointed out that the previous expeditioners were still there in the form of remains, she thought perhaps a better plan than simply going forward was in order. She was about to speak up when the Half-orc jumped in an introduced herself. Synn recognized her name. "Ah, Miss Roadsworn. I have an urgent message for you. Sanvil Trett has requested to see you immediately. He didn't give any explanation beyond that. I assume that means something to you."

Zorden looked towards the paladin, his twitching tail giving away his curiosity at what business the merchant might have, and whether such a summons would mean an immediate departure or simply the need to call upon the man once they retreated from the caves.

Kalasha's brow furrows as she considers the message and reasons, "If it were something about the ruins he would have just sent a warning or asked for everyone." She looks to the others, unsure of what Sanvil might wants her for, before shrugging and concluding, "But I trust him if he says it's urgent. I'll head back to see what this is all about."

Morin shared a glance with the rest of the party when Synn passed on her message for Kalasha.  "Like, immediately immediately?  Yeah, that's worrying."

Turning to the newcomers, Morin explained.  "San's the resident tech expert, and he just took one of the damaged robots down here off of our hands.  If he says it's urgent, he probably means it.  I dunno why he want's to talk to Kalasha in particular, though.  Maybe it's something he'd only trust a paladin with?"

He shot a nod to Cael.  "Hey Muscles, you up for taking over as the party's tough guy for a bit?  I hate to admit it, but we're a little short on melee fighters.  Cain and I have our share of magical tricks, and Zed's strictly ranged, but we'll do our best to back you up."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Thu 07 July 2022.

The Duergar scowls at the ill timing of this Sanvil splitting the party up--how would the party fair without against another juju zombie and how would she fair without any support should something come up? Before long he insists, "I'll go wit' ye. I don' trust those skulks not to pounce on ye alone, an' a've not met this Mister Trett."

"What needs killed?"

 Cael seems to have no problem with the proposition of going to the front. He was considered small and weak before leaving his old home. What a chance to prove he has shaken that reputation forever and prove his "perfection".

"In this place? Who knows. There's just no telling what thing will try to kill us next." Cain answers Cael, who looks like a good replacement for their departing paladin.

"Sorry to see you go, Kalasha, and you too, Vin. When you see our wise leaders, tell them we are still working on finding Khonnir. Oh, and that they are not paying us nearly enough for this."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:19, Thu 07 July 2022.

Without any objections, Kalasha and Vin assure the party they will return as soon as possible and depart back the way everyone had come, leaving the new group standing before the closed door and its nearby panel which seems to glow black and await the touch of a card.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:46, Fri 08 July 2022.