You can plan for everything BUT adventurers!

[Dracos]

Jan 26 19:43:18 <Kowork>   Going out of Hardsoil, the party starts to dig! Dig and dig and dig and dig and dig and dig and dig and so on! The first hour of digging is unremarkable, solid but not unmanageable stone as everyone works out a routine. Another half hour passes before you come on a thick layer of hard, almost iron-like stone. Kamvakua can dig through it but help is appreciated. An elemental of Earth speeds this along! The next five hours are like this, two mor
Jan 26 19:43:22 <Kowork>   Earth speeds this along! The next five hours are like this, two more elementals summoned to help past the hard parts. (More; you've used 3 3rd level charges Nikkolai.)
Jan 26 19:43:24 <Kowork>   roll 1d100
Jan 26 19:43:25 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kowork rolls 1d100 and gets 28." [1d100=28]
Jan 26 19:45:30 <Kowork>   Four more hours of this pass, with all sorts of dirt and stone, but not any overwhelmingly hard parts. You haven't reached an end yet, but it's been about ten hours of constant digging, dirt and stone broken as you press farther and farther down.
Jan 26 19:46:24 *   Knight tries to identify whether or not a shift in direction is going to be required, holding a hand to her head and focusing on that tugging feeling.
Jan 26 19:48:04 <Knight>   "We should slope the path this way a bit," indicates Knight, waving a hand to her left. "But it seems that we should take a break first. Is this area, ah, stable?"
Jan 26 19:48:48 *   Kamvakua claws through the earth with a natural ease.  "I do not know," his gravelly voice echoed along the tight tunnel in response.
Jan 26 19:49:00 *   Mari can't help much beyond occasionally clearing away some of the debris swept back by Kam. She instead contributes by practicing her drow impressions! "Put your back into it, lowly male! Work harder, I'm not paying you to think! Wait, I'm not paying you at all! Hurry up or I'll feed you to the spiders! And other stuff like that!"
Jan 26 19:49:30 <Adail>   "Hmm." The musteval picks some dirt out from his claws as he observes thier work so far, "it should be, I think. Shall I pry deeper in a bit to make sure? Whatever holes I make won't do much to comprimise what stability there is."
Jan 26 19:49:59 <Kamvakua>   "Mari may be having too much fun."  He eyed back behind him, his features almost hidden behind his new rocky outcropping.
Jan 26 19:50:13 *   Nikkolai snorts at Mari. "My, maybe Granny Tam knew what she was doing after all. You're certainly taking to your new role like a duck to water."
Jan 26 19:50:24 *   Nikkolai brushes a bit of loose dirt off of his shoulder.
Jan 26 19:51:48 <Mari>   "Well, I need to be convincing in case we run into any more snooty dragons. There could be trouble next time if I'm not obviously meeting my nastiness quota."
Jan 26 19:52:17 <Knight>   "Yes, there might be a natural seam around here," replies Knight, nodding at Adail. "Ah, so, being nasty to people will keep you out of trouble in the future?"
Jan 26 19:52:39 *   Nikkolai responds in a dry tone, "I think she already has the nasty part down pat."
Jan 26 19:52:42 <Adail>   "I still think you'd have better luck pretending to be a reformed drow. Frankly, no dragon who's studdied the planes at all would believe you to be an evil one while you're in my company."
Jan 26 19:54:07 <Mari>   "Uh, it really depends on the company, Knight. And I can do that too, can't I, Adail? I mean, it depends on who we're talking to."
Jan 26 19:54:16 *   Adail then nods to Knight, "Very well, I'll dig down a bit more to take a look." Putting action to words, the tiny celestial burrows deeper in and pokes around to make sure it's stable.
Jan 26 19:54:39 *   Kowork is now known as Kotono
Jan 26 19:54:45 <Kamvakua>   "And besides, if you succeeded, you would likely be unpleasant to travel with," Kam sat down at the side of the tunnel, the outcropping having little in the way of extra room, at least by his feel of it.  It was probably plenty roomy for everyone behind him.
Jan 26 19:57:05 *   Adail pops his head back up out of the ground after a minute, shakes the dirt off his ears and pulls himself all the way up, "Seems stable enough to me. This would be as good a place as any to rest."
Jan 26 19:57:44 <Mari>   "But you guys would know I wouldn't mean any of it, Kam. I mean, hey, I already say terrible things to Nik all the time, and it's not like that's serious at all. Not most of it, at least."
Jan 26 19:59:08 <Nikkolai>   "If she hurt my feelings, I assure you, I'd let her know." Nik smirks. "Probably by setting her on fire."
Jan 26 19:59:25 <Knight>   "Mari is Mari," affirms Knight. "Even if she acts as a horrible person whom all would despise."
Jan 26 19:59:39 <Kamvakua>   "A playful smirk suits your face better than a sneer," He said matter of factly.
Jan 26 19:59:54 <Mari>   "But Nikkolai, how could you cast spells without a tongue?" Mari says sweetly.
Jan 26 20:00:39 <Nikkolai>   "The same way you'd be able see without your eyes, I suppose."
Jan 26 20:01:02 *   Nikkolai replies in a tone just as sweet.
Jan 26 20:01:08 *   Adail chuckles, "Ah, I see you two are still in the trading threats stage of the classic disfunctional romance."
Jan 26 20:01:46 *   Nikkolai replies in a bland tone, "I'd rather take a lich as my lover than a viper like her. She's more apt to bite than the lich is."
Jan 26 20:02:00 <Mari>   "You're about two-thirds of the way towards getting the right idea, rodent," Mari says with a roll of her eyes.
Jan 26 20:02:17 <Mari>   "And that can be arranged, Nikkolai!"
Jan 26 20:02:22 *   Adail chuckles again, having expected pretty much that exact reaction.
Jan 26 20:03:40 <Kotono>   Thus the party beds down! Sleeping within Earth is akin to sleeping in your grave-coffin, the walls seeming to lap forward when you peer too long at them. The cold stone shields you from all else as you sleep away, the 'morning' coming as you arise, rested and ready to continue on. (More)
Jan 26 20:04:28 <Kotono>   Two hours pass as a long, hard stone seam requires a lot of work to get through. Nikkolai contributes two spells to get through the worst parts as you at last pass it. Another pair of hours pass as...
Jan 26 20:04:30 <Kotono>   roll 1d100
Jan 26 20:04:31 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kotono rolls 1d100 and gets 25." [1d100=25]
Jan 26 20:04:35 <Kotono>   roll 1d10
Jan 26 20:04:36 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kotono rolls 1d10 and gets 9." [1d10=9]
Jan 26 20:05:34 <Kotono>   As Kamvakua digs and digs and digs, you come to something. The hard stone here is different. It has an orange-red quartz or crystal in it, a color that gleams to your light sources as you reach it. It's a narrow and small band of it, like a deposit.
Jan 26 20:06:21 *   Kamvakua slows to a stop right before it so he doesn't tear it to pieces.  "Nikkolai,"  He waved forward.
Jan 26 20:06:41 <Knight>   "Is that some kind of precious stone?" asks Knight, focusing the light from her magical sword over the material.
Jan 26 20:06:58 <Nikkolai>   "Mmm? Found something, have we?" Nikkolai creeps forwars as much as the tight space will allow.
Jan 26 20:07:23 <Kamvakua>   "Hard to say," Kamvakua shifted to his side, allowing Nikkolai to pass to the front and giving the crew a good view of the gem.
Jan 26 20:07:28 *   Adail skitters over to it and takes a look, giving it the once over with Detect Magic and Evil(just in case).
Jan 26 20:08:02 <Adail>   "Well, it's not magical. Probably just a small gem deposit."
Jan 26 20:08:11 <Knight>   roll 1d20 ho ho ho
Jan 26 20:08:11 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Knight rolls 1d20 ho ho ho and gets 14." [1d20=14]
Jan 26 20:08:20 <Nikkolai>   roll 1d20 Hmm.
Jan 26 20:08:21 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Nikkolai rolls 1d20 Hmm. and gets 11." [1d20=11]
Jan 26 20:08:24 <Kamvakua>   roll 1d20+1 untrained
Jan 26 20:08:26 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kamvakua rolls 1d20+1 untrained and gets 20." [1d20=19]
Jan 26 20:08:29 *   Mari sidles up and takes a look at the rock!
Jan 26 20:08:39 <Mari>   roll 1d20+4 being hotter also makes me smarter?
Jan 26 20:08:40 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Mari rolls 1d20+4 being hotter also makes me smarter? and gets 19." [1d20=15]
Jan 26 20:08:46 <Adail>   1d20+2 untrained appraise
Jan 26 20:08:46 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+2 untrained appraise and gets 14." [1d20=12]
Jan 26 20:09:41 <Nikkolai>   "Hmm. It could possibly be a gem deposit but I'm not sure what..." Nikkolai trails off.
Jan 26 20:10:13 <Mari>   "I'm betting on them being the sellable kind. Though I don't think any of us are really miners."
Jan 26 20:10:21 <Knight>   "Well, could we dig it out? If it's not too much trouble, we could take it with us and see if it is of value elsewhere."
Jan 26 20:10:24 *   Adail shrugs, "Well, if we have to dig through it, I could certainly scoop the shards into my haversack."
Jan 26 20:10:52 <Nikkolai>   "It could be worth something, yes. Things that are shiny usually are."
Jan 26 20:11:02 <Mari>   "Hey, go ahead. It'd be nice to get something from this dig other than being stuck in a tight space with Nik and his body odor."
Jan 26 20:11:07 <Kamvakua>   "They're valuable.  That I am certain.  Please take them with care, Adail," Kamvakua rumbled, getting a better look.
Jan 26 20:11:55 *   Adail attempts to carefully dig the gems out without damaging them too much.
Jan 26 20:12:04 <Nikkolai>   "You're not exactly a bed of roses yourself, girl." Nikkolai retorts.
Jan 26 20:12:13 <Kotono>   OOC: Make a dex check with your size modifier as a bonus, Adail?
Jan 26 20:12:57 <Adail>   roll 1d20+10 tiny and uberdex is go
Jan 26 20:12:58 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+10 tiny and uberdex is go and gets 21." [1d20=11]
Jan 26 20:13:26 <Kotono>   Adail works hard, digging around the seam and freeing the orange-red gemstone deposits. They are scooped up, not looking particularly damaged and well intact.
Jan 26 20:13:29 *   Knight absently pats her miniaturized pegasus on the mane. "It is a miserable time for us all," she mutters, shifting her weight. "The shaft must be dug quite wide for us to make any progress..."
Jan 26 20:14:33 *   Adail wipes them clean with his paws and shuffles them into his haversack, "There we are. Someone remind me to get these appraised when we're next in town, I'm likely to forget I have them."
Jan 26 20:14:48 *   Mari tsks. "Pick you examples better, Nik. You could've made a biting remark about thorns there, but nooo."
Jan 26 20:15:04 <Mari>   *your
Jan 26 20:15:27 <Kamvakua>   "Good work, Adail.  I will remember.  Please stand back," He lifted his arms."
Jan 26 20:15:30 *   Nikkolai shrugs. "Unlike some, not all of my mental capacity goes towards making witty remarks. I have more important things to worry about."
Jan 26 20:15:49 *   Adail gets back out of the way!
Jan 26 20:16:20 <Kotono>   Deeper and deeper! Another five hours pass and two more summons. But at this point you at last come out! You come to a hollow! You're in the ceiling of it, able to peer down through a hole you've made. The floor is perhaps ninety feet down or so, a large hollow in Earth. IT's very cavelike on a glance as Earth hollows tend to be.
Jan 26 20:16:31 <Kamvakua>   "Like getting out of the way," Kamvakua deadpanned, sending dirt rapidly to the side.
Jan 26 20:16:34 <Kamvakua>   OOC: Flip lines.
Jan 26 20:17:58 *   Adail moves to climb down and take a look, "I'll go make sure it's safe down there."
Jan 26 20:18:02 <Kamvakua>   "We should work around.  Falling here would be painful,"  Kamvakua looked about, trying to figure the right angle to work around it.
Jan 26 20:18:12 *   Mari peers down into the cavern below. "Oh hey. This looks like a job for ROPE. Unless one of you can actually fly and you've been holding out on us." she glances around. "Anyone?"
Jan 26 20:19:02 <Knight>   "Or... Bell and I could scout out the cavern, and make sure it's safe to proceed down," offers Knight, directing her pegasus to head through the gap in any case.
Jan 26 20:19:55 *   Mari clears out of the way. "I will gracefully step aside and allow you face danger all by yourself if that's what you want, Knight."
Jan 26 20:20:32 *   Kamvakua works the hard way, digging aside so that there's actually room for knight to pass.
Jan 26 20:20:35 <Knight>   "It.. it doesn't sound like you mean that, Mari," replies Knight, uncertainly. "Do you want to face the danger?"
Jan 26 20:20:56 <Nikkolai>   "She's just trying to show her appreciation of your skills."
Jan 26 20:21:01 <Adail>   "No need to go alone, I'll come as well. It's not like my weight means anything to Bell here, even on this plane."
Jan 26 20:21:24 *   Nikkolai peers over the side as he says this, trying to see something, though knowing it's futile.
Jan 26 20:21:55 <Kotono>   You can see that it's rather dark down there. Without something to shed light into a dark Earth cavern, sight is impossible without darkvision or magic.
Jan 26 20:22:04 <Mari>   "No, I'm totally alright with other people taking risks for me," Mari insists.
Jan 26 20:22:11 <Mari>   OOC: Mari has darkvision now!
Jan 26 20:22:24 <Knight>   OOC: Magic sword that emits light
Jan 26 20:22:34 <Adail>   OOC: so do I, though I think Mari's is better.
Jan 26 20:23:00 <Mari>   OOC: 120 ft.
Jan 26 20:23:29 <Nikkolai>   OOC: GLobes of light...but kinda useless.
Jan 26 20:23:37 <Nikkolai>   OOC: I can only send them out so far.
Jan 26 20:24:09 *   Knight struggles to remove Bellerephon's rope barding in the cramped tunnels, but the stuff is loose anyway and doesn't present too much of a challenge. Once he's proper-sized again, she manages to get in the saddle and swoop down, amongst some complaining.
Jan 26 20:24:29 <Mari>   "Although I might suggest that someone who can see where they're going could be a good bet here." Mari takes a good long look down into the cavern. "Two main tunnels, it looks like, and then a few branching paths..."
Jan 26 20:25:05 *   Adail hops on Bell as well, unless Knight stops him. No sense sending the two of them alone on a scouting mission when Adail can go too with no extra effort.
Jan 26 20:25:50 *   Kamvakua waited for Knight to return, his questions lost in his mind.
Jan 26 20:26:39 <Kotono>   The two swoop down on Bell! It's a large cavern, the floor about ninety feet down. It goes a ways in either direction as well as having little branch-off paths. Peering about, one can find a big, flat stone on the floor, carved into. One could read the carvings if they cared to get closer.
Jan 26 20:27:17 *   Knight doesn't mind getting a little closer in order to take a look.
Jan 26 20:28:05 <Kotono>   OOC: Do either of you read Terran?
Jan 26 20:28:10 <Knight>   OOC: No
Jan 26 20:28:16 <Knight>   OOC: Well, I don't.
Jan 26 20:28:18 <Adail>   OOC: Nope.
Jan 26 20:28:32 <Nikkolai>   OOC: Come get me! =p
Jan 26 20:28:33 <Kamvakua>   OOC: I do
Jan 26 20:28:48 <Nikkolai>   OOC: Oh, wait. I don't know Terran. >_>
Jan 26 20:29:56 <Kotono>   But neither of the two can read it. It looks lik eTerran, the two knowing that much by now.
Jan 26 20:30:02 <Adail>   "Hmm," Adail muses a bit as he look at the script, "Terran I think. Which I should have expected. I know Kam reads this, shall we see about getting him down here some how?"
Jan 26 20:30:09 *   Knight has Bell take her back up to the top in wide, curving arcs. "It looks safe down there," she confirms. "There's some writing in Terran on some kind of slab, like a sign. The whole place is like a honeycomb of paths."
Jan 26 20:31:21 <Kamvakua>   "Which way are you feeling the direction now?"
Jan 26 20:31:48 <Kamvakua>   He wondered simply, waiting a second before starting to dig them a new tunnel down around to a lower entry point in the cavern.
Jan 26 20:32:02 <Knight>   "Still further down," replies Knight. "Some of the paths may slope downwards, if we are tired of digging. But none would take us directly to Gem."
Jan 26 20:32:42 <Nikkolai>   "Perhaps we could walk a while, then dig some more?"
Jan 26 20:32:58 <Nikkolai>   "I think that all of this digging is a bit tiresome for those of us stuck with the task."
Jan 26 20:33:01 <Kotono>   Digging around to a lower point of entry goes without incident. The party is now on the ground level, able to go out and look about if they care to.
Jan 26 20:34:40 <Kamvakua>   "It makes no difference to me.  But let us see where we are.  It may be a wise place to take a rest before going further," Kamvakua returned as he headed out, looking over the area and then heading toward the writing.
Jan 26 20:35:14 *   Mari follows along after Kam until they reach ground level. She wanders around the cavern a bit, stops and takes a look at the slab on the floor.
Jan 26 20:35:15 *   Nikkolai strides behind him, always interested in an opportunity to study a strange language.
Jan 26 20:37:13 <Kotono>   Kamvakua reads the following! "Here lies Riya, Saint-Paladin of The Red Knight. Thrice did she give her lifeblood to defend us, thrice will she be remembered. In thrice is her secret, remembered."
Jan 26 20:37:15 *   Knight gives Bell a chance to stretch his wings a bit, and takes long laps up and down the length of the corridor. Her sword trails a sparkling light in her wake, sending strobes of illumination up and down the passage.
Jan 26 20:37:53 <Kotono>   Light spills about. The cavern is made of what looks to be thick, plain stone. No signs of quartz or metal here, just stone and earth. No stalagmites or anything like that, either, just a big hollow like an air bubble in water.
Jan 26 20:38:46 <Kamvakua>   "...Interesting," He rumbled.  "I would have us examine this cavern more."  He sounded intrigued as he stood from the writings.
Jan 26 20:38:53 <Adail>   OOC: Any chance K:R will tell me anything about that name?
Jan 26 20:39:47 <Kotono>   OOC: You can make a check if you like Adail.
Jan 26 20:39:57 <Adail>   roll 1d20+11 K:R
Jan 26 20:39:58 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Adail rolls 1d20+11 K:R and gets 23." [1d20=12]
Jan 26 20:40:44 <Nikkolai>   "My, my. A saint interred in this lonely cavern?" Nikkolai peers at the writing, as if to wring some further meaning from it.
Jan 26 20:42:25 <Mari>   "We're in a tomb?" Mari says, stepping away from the slab quickly. It doesn't do to go around stepping on other people's graves. They might take offense and inconveniently undead in your face. You never know with old tombs.
Jan 26 20:42:33 *   Adail twitches his whiskers, "Hmm. The Red Knight...a minor god from the...Faerunian Pantheon, if I'm not mistaken. Goddess of strategy and tactical warfare, I believe."
Jan 26 20:43:45 <Kamvakua>   "Possibly.  But possibly also a battlefield.  It is a strange tombstone," He looked over the branching paths, moving closer to them, wondering how many there seemed.
Jan 26 20:43:50 <Adail>   "The name of the saintess in question is not familiar to me, but that's not a surprise. Even on the Prime, the Red Knight is fairly obscure."
Jan 26 20:43:56 <Nikkolai>   "Interesting. I wonder what killed her? Or who, even." Nikkolai pondered, lazily summoning a single glob of light as he wandered around the cavern.
Jan 26 20:44:43 <Nikkolai>   *glob
Jan 26 20:44:50 <Nikkolai>   **Globe, dammit
Jan 26 20:45:25 *   Knight touches down near the stone, and jumps off Bell in a single movement. "I could not see anything out of the ordinary, although it was hardly a close inspection," she relates, walking closer to the group.
Jan 26 20:45:30 <Adail>   "Regardless, to be Sainted, she must have truely earned this rest, so may she enjoy it in peace after what was doubtlessly a lifetime of war."
Jan 26 20:45:46 <Mari>   "Goddess of strategy and tactical warfare, huh? Hey Knight, maybe we found a patron deity for you?" So saying, Mari starts to wander towards one of the tunnels (...left, sure!) to get an idea of where it goes. Not *too* far away from the group, but hey, she can see farther than most in the dark now.
Jan 26 20:46:31 <Kotono>   Kamvakua sees that most of the tunnels are very twisty and turny. You'd have to follow them to learn more. Mari also finds this out.
Jan 26 20:46:55 <Kotono>   Nikkolai finds the same thing in the other direciton.
Jan 26 20:48:12 <Kamvakua>   "Hmm, does the riddle bring anything to your mind?"
Jan 26 20:48:27 <Knight>   "Our interests are certainly related. Actually, it would be worth seeing others who share my way of looking at things," remarks Knight. "This place is too mazelike to select any one path. Even if one dips down, there's no telling if it would stay that way."
Jan 26 20:49:13 *   Adail turns on his Magic'O'Vision(and Evil and Invis just because) and scans about.
Jan 26 20:49:30 <Nikkolai>   "I suppose we'd be forced to dig straight down yet again?" Nikkolai mutters. He's not particularly happy about that prospect.
Jan 26 20:49:46 <Nikkolai>   "Let's at least look around a bit. My curiosity is piqued. Isn't yours?"
Jan 26 20:50:20 *   Adail looks directly behind the slab, staring at something there, "Greetings."
Jan 26 20:50:25 <Mari>   "It couldn't hurt to ake a little detour," Mari agrees.
Jan 26 20:50:28 <Mari>   *take
Jan 26 20:50:50 <Knight>   "Certainly it is, but it seems that Adail is seeing something that I could never hope to find."
Jan 26 20:50:55 *   Nikkolai raises an eyebrow at Adail. "Has he finally gone 'round the bend?"
Jan 26 20:51:07 <Nikkolai>   "Or is he speaking to a shade, as I suspect?"
Jan 26 20:51:35 <Kamvakua>   "Do you see something there, Adail?"
Jan 26 20:51:43 <Adail>   "No, I can see the invisible, as can any musteval. ANd there is someone standing behind the slab, and old human man."
Jan 26 20:51:51 *   Kamvakua scans over the area with detect evil.
Jan 26 20:53:02 <Mari>   "A man, huh? This can't be your grave then! Go squat somewhere else!" Mari admonishes the empty space over the slab.
Jan 26 20:53:08 <Kotono>   The voice is like the sigh of a warrior drawing his last breath, only  heard at the very edges of your capacity to hear. "Here did Saint Riya's journey end. Her end game was robbed from her, the final Queen's move cut cruelly short."
Jan 26 20:54:11 *   Nikkolai smiles brightly. "Oh, a chess pun! You don't hear those all too often. So, old man, in what way was the Queen robbed of her endgame?"
Jan 26 20:54:18 <Knight>   "Battles often end suddenly and unexpectedly," murmurs Knight. "No matter how flawless your strategy, there are always mistakes or surprises..."
Jan 26 20:54:33 <Adail>   "And the first casualty in any battle is always the plan."
Jan 26 20:55:40 *   Kamvakua stands near, listening rather quietly.
Jan 26 20:55:48 <Nikkolai>   "A good tactician can adapt. Perhaps the Queen was too inflexible?"
Jan 26 20:55:58 <Kotono>   "The Knight of the Dao skipped over our defenses, facing the Queen unprepared. In a single sword stroke calamity struck." The whisper is full of sorrow, "So it always will be."
Jan 26 20:56:35 <Kamvakua>   "Who is the Knight of the Dao?"
Jan 26 20:58:02 *   Nikkolai frowns at the mention of the Dao. "And what was the Queen doing fighting the Dao?"
Jan 26 20:58:09 <Mari>   "Dao, huh?" Mari says sourly. "Wonder if the voice here is looking for someone to finish what she started."
Jan 26 20:58:16 <Knight>   "Was it a noble sacrifice? Or was it a mistake that ended the battle?"
Jan 26 21:03:10 <Kotono>   "Thus did the King and Queen fight for the Crown." The whisper grows sadder, "A mistake...a superior strategem, it matters little now. The Knight rode into triumph. My story is spoken, I will sleep until thrice is realized."
Jan 26 21:04:59 <Kamvakua>   "What is thrice?"  Kamvakua asked, hardly expecting an answer.  It was a strange being true.
Jan 26 21:05:29 <Nikkolai>   "Perhaps he's referring to the riddle you spoke of?" Nikk suggests.
Jan 26 21:06:07 <Nikkolai>   "It seems to me that the riddle is inferring that three drops of blood is needed in order to learn of her secret...whatever it is."
Jan 26 21:06:37 *   Mari just sighs. "Riddles. Just tell us what you want, you...old-sounding disembodied voice!"
Jan 26 21:07:13 <Knight>   "Well, blood is something we can easily provide," remarks Knight, withdrawing one of her gauntlets, revealing a calloused hand beneath. She draws a dagger with her other hand, and pricks her palm just enough to let a little blood flow onto the tombstone.
Jan 26 21:07:29 <Kotono>   There is no answer to the questions posed to the voice.
Jan 26 21:07:58 <Kotono>   Blood splashes down onto the tombstone, Knight offering up her life force! The tomb begins to hum, a thunderous clash of swords echoing about the cavern!
Jan 26 21:08:06 <Kamvakua>   "Invisible, not disembodied," Kamvakua pondered slowly.  "But...what could they be defending, in any case?  There is no town here, no city, no ruin, nor temple.  Perhaps instead she was lured out?"
Jan 26 21:08:36 *   Nikkolai glances about, slightly spooked by the sounds.
Jan 26 21:08:56 *   Adail looks around for anything else invisible that may be behind those sounds.
Jan 26 21:09:09 <Knight>   "This place is a nexus between many passages! It makes a good battlefield, and an obvious chokepoint! There would be many reasons to try and claim it..."
Jan 26 21:09:16 <Kotono>   From above a beam of light envelopes Knight! A great white orb of energy is in it, falling down into Knight and passing into her body! OOC: Make a will save.
Jan 26 21:09:29 <Knight>   roll 1d20+10 oh god why do I always let this happen
Jan 26 21:09:29 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Knight rolls 1d20+10 oh god why do I always let this happen and gets 30." [1d20=20]
Jan 26 21:10:00 <Kotono>   The light winks away as fast as it comes!  Knight feels dazed, confused, dizzy!
Jan 26 21:10:45 *   Knight stumbles back, finding herself with a pounding headache! "Something, that was.. a powerful force on my mind, I'm not letting that happen again!" she insists, backing away from the stone.
Jan 26 21:11:08 <Knight>   "She's inside my head!"
Jan 26 21:11:08 <Adail>   "Well, that certainly seemed to have some effect." Looking at the tomb, he considers, "Thrice, hmm? Shall I make an attempt, then? I'm quite confident in my own will."
Jan 26 21:11:22 <Nikkolai>   "Hmm. That was...rather anti-climactic." Nikkolai glances at Knight. "Oh, come now. It can't be *that* bad."
Jan 26 21:11:42 *   Nikkolai draws his dagger and pricks his finger, spilling some blood upon the tomb as well!
Jan 26 21:12:06 <Knight>   "Come out and face me in the way of knights, you traitor to your name!" rants Knight, tugging her gauntlet back on.
Jan 26 21:12:35 <Kotono>   The sound of shield and shield meeting echos about! A split second later, the orb of light erupts out from Knight, , flying at Nikkolai! OOC: Will save.
Jan 26 21:12:44 <Kamvakua>   "wait, what are you doing?"  He eyed the others, a bit in surprise at their haste.  "Do you need help Knight?" He stepped forward toward her.
Jan 26 21:13:02 <Nikkolai>   roll 1d20+11 It would be interesting to be possessed!
Jan 26 21:13:02 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Nikkolai rolls 1d20+11 It would be interesting to be possessed! and gets 13." [1d20=2]
Jan 26 21:13:26 <Knight>   "Oh, she's gone now," mutters Knight, visibly relaxing.
Jan 26 21:14:11 <Kamvakua>   "Nikkolai, are you alright?" He turned on a heel, towering over the mageling.
Jan 26 21:14:36 *   Adail does nothing yet, waiting to see if Nik's alright.
Jan 26 21:14:38 *   Nikkolai shrugs. "Well, I don't feel any different."
Jan 26 21:14:58 <Knight>   "You must be lying!" retorts Knight, walking up to Nikkolai and shaking him on the shoulder.
Jan 26 21:15:05 <Kotono>   Nikkolai falls to his knees! He's up again in a flash, peering around. "This one is pliable." He looks to Knight, "Far more than you. So you are the ones that The Lord of Strategists sent...? But where is her sigil? The Sword and Armor of the Falcon are not here, either! I did not get all of what I needed from the first!"
Jan 26 21:16:21 <Kamvakua>   "Who are you Spirit?  Are you...  Riya?"
Jan 26 21:16:50 *   Mari eyes Nikkolai from a safe distance. "Oh hey, are we talking to...Saint Riya? You know you're in a man's body now, right? Doesn't that feel a little weird?"
Jan 26 21:17:02 *   Kamvakua gestured the others to stand ready, turning his ever present walking stick to the blunt side in case it needed a knock out.
Jan 26 21:17:22 <Kotono>   "Of course I am!" Turning to the goliath, "You know not for certain?" Nikkolai's eyes bulge out, "You began the resurrection ritual before the planned time?"
Jan 26 21:18:20 <Kamvakua>   "Actually, you could say you simply were crossed by travelers, curious as to the story of your tomb."
Jan 26 21:18:24 <Knight>   "What are you talking about? We simply tried to solve the riddle on the tombstone," replies Knight, crossing her arms. "If it's inconvenient, you can go back to sleep or whatever."
Jan 26 21:18:54 <Kamvakua>   "And...a bit more impetuous than might be wise," He said with a smile, finding it more amusing, no real trace of recrimination in his voice.
Jan 26 21:18:57 <Kotono>   "You Tempus cursed FOOLS!" Nikkolai throws his hands into the air, "Why would you do this?! WHY!?"
Jan 26 21:19:08 <Mari>   "Whoa, slow down, missy. Nobody told us the rules. An old voice babbled some poetry and then *poof*, Nikkolai's suddenly like five times more masculine and demanding than usual. If you want something, you need to explain yourself--uh oh..."
Jan 26 21:20:23 <Kamvakua>   "Because it was there," The goliath spake a simple truth of Adventuring.
Jan 26 21:20:56 *   Adail chukcles, "My large freind speaks truth. We are adventurers of a sort, random meddling in anything of intrest we stumble across is basically our job description."
Jan 26 21:20:58 <Knight>   "It was clearly an invitation to any who would try!" insists Knight. "What did you expect? You put strange clues and mystical signs and simply hope nobody will take an interest? What God of Strategy planned this..."
Jan 26 21:22:22 <Kotono>   With a groan that echos about, "Because it was there! BRILLIANT!" Throwing her hands up, "It's part of a plan bigger than you can imagine...oh, to Hells with it! You can plan for everything BUT adventurers! And this body is unsuitable entirely! I feel like I can barely lift a shield, let alone a heavy sword! Does this man wear perfume and silks too?" With a deepening scowl, "Alright. This can still be mended."
Jan 26 21:22:27 <Kotono>   With a deepening scowl, "Alright. This can still be mended."
Jan 26 21:23:03 <Mari>   "Only on Friday nights," Mari says, though it's not so much fun when the real Nikkolai can't hear it.
Jan 26 21:23:36 <Knight>   "Mended, you say. Very well. What must be done to mend this? We cannot have Nikkolai dispossessed forever."
Jan 26 21:24:38 *   Kamvakua laughs.  "Perhaps you could let your frustration go, and tell us your troubles, Riya of the Red Knight."
Jan 26 21:25:13 <Kotono>   With a final groan, "One of you  needs to spill a little more blood. I'll go to the thirdo ne, the ritual will fail and I'll leave. Preferably one of you as far removed from being a competent warrior as possible."
Jan 26 21:26:30 <Mari>   "Well, damn, you already got Nik. I, uh...is it my turn?" Mari looks around. "I guess it is."
Jan 26 21:26:32 <Adail>   "While I'm rather skilled in unarmed combat, I would suppose that my stature would render me the best one left for that role?" He asks, before volunteering.
Jan 26 21:27:29 <Kotono>   "Whichever of you it is to be, do it!" Nikkolai says, "I desire to return to my rest until the time."
Jan 26 21:28:25 <Kamvakua>   "But first, why are you waiting upon such a ritual?"
Jan 26 21:28:39 <Mari>   "Look, uh, I think I should do it, just to pay him back for things back in Magma. Alright, Adail?" Mari says, walking over to the slab.
Jan 26 21:28:47 <Kotono>   "It's part of the plan. If you're not part of it, worry not. It doesn't concern you and I know not if you can be trusted."
Jan 26 21:28:53 *   Adail nods, "As you wish."
Jan 26 21:30:06 *   Kamvakua shrugs. "Forgotten for a task past time, it seems a strange law."
Jan 26 21:30:54 *   Mari draws one of her swords and holds a hand out over the slab, glancing around to see if everyone's done questioning the spirit possessing Nikkolai before going through with things,.
Jan 26 21:31:25 <Knight>   "If it's a plan against the Dao, then it will at least put a stop to their ridiculous tolls," mutters Knight.
Jan 26 21:31:50 <Kotono>   Mari's blood falls onto the slab! The light surges out of Nikkolai, flying to Mari! OOC: Will save.
Jan 26 21:32:28 <Mari>   roll 1d20+6 (base; drwo stuff gives me +2 against enchantment and +2 against spells/spell-likes)
Jan 26 21:32:29 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Mari rolls 1d20+6 (base; drwo stuff gives me +2 against enchantment and +2 against spells/spell-likes) and gets 8." [1d20=2]
Jan 26 21:33:01 *   Nikkolai breathes deeply and blinks rapidly several times.
Jan 26 21:33:22 <Kotono>   Mari's eyes glaze over! HEr voice says, "A drow? Hmph, no matter..." And Mari flops over! The orb of light flies out of Mari and to the tomb! For several moments it pulses...and nothing happens, as light cascades down! The orb flies into it and away, the light and orb then gone.
Jan 26 21:33:45 <Nikkolai>   "Why do I suddenly have the strange urge to behead someone with a battleaxe while trilling a war cry?"
Jan 26 21:34:18 <Knight>   "I couldn't say," replies Knight, giving the tomb a wary eye. "I don't understand or trust this magic at all."
Jan 26 21:34:44 <Kamvakua>   "Probably because you're growing up," Kamvakua teased the poor man.  "We did the ritual thrice, but what of the old man?"
Jan 26 21:35:16 *   Adail looks behind the tomb, expecting the old man to still be there.
Jan 26 21:35:23 *   Mari climbs back to her feet, a sour expression on her face. "That's it? You're bloody welcome, ghost bitch!"
Jan 26 21:35:46 <Kamvakua>   "You three seem to have made it okay, from your journey to the ghostly side."
Jan 26 21:36:22 <Nikkolai>   "It was...interesting being possessed. I even feel like I know *how* to use an axe...even if I can't even pick one up.
Jan 26 21:36:23 <Nikkolai>   "
Jan 26 21:36:27 <Adail>   "He's still there, looks entirely unphased by all of this." Twitching his whiskers, he looks back to the party, "Shall we see about moving on, then?"
Jan 26 21:36:43 <Knight>   "It is no laughing matter! The whole thing was... ugh," mutters Knight. "Yes, please."
Jan 26 21:37:33 <Kamvakua>   "You can't, Nikkolai?  They aren't heavy."  He nodded to the question of moving on.  "But what way?"
Jan 26 21:37:39 <Mari>   "You guys want to take a look around these tunnels? There's gotta be something good around here if a saint died looking for it."
Jan 26 21:38:40 <Knight>   "We could take some time to inspect the area," admits Knight. "What you say makes sense. But we may come across a dao enclave or the like.. well, lead the way."
Jan 26 21:38:41 <Nikkolai>   "I'm up for it." Nikkolai glances at the goliath. "Perhaps not heavy for you, but I'm not used to wielding such weapons."
Jan 26 21:39:41 <Mari>   "Wait, what makes you think that, Knight?" Mari asks as she picks the rightmost tunnel at random and starts walking down it. she doesn't sound too eager to meet more of "her" kind.
Jan 26 21:39:54 *   Kamvakua nods.  "You should try it sometime.  A little muscle would do you good.  In my homeland, even a child has arms as big as yours," He walked on with the others, heading for the passages to the right as well.  Either side was as good as the other.
Jan 26 21:40:48 *   Nikkolai twitches. "In your homeland, a child could probably lift an entire ox over their head with relative ease."
Jan 26 21:41:07 *   Nikkolai follows behind, muttering and surreptiously feeling his arm muscles.
Jan 26 21:41:14 <Kotono>   The first tunnel takes a half hour to go to and back, nothing but a closed in dead end, Earth having reclaimed it. The next winding passage goes mostly down like a whirling, swirling drain. After about an hour of walking, the walls start to be studded with knots of dark gray/black metal. They absorb the light of your weapons and torches, seeming to make everything dimmer. The passage looks worked, the path starting to turn to stairs.
Jan 26 21:41:15 <Knight>   "Better to focus on your talents, I would say," remarks Knight.
Jan 26 21:41:19 <Adail>   "Now that's exaggerating. It would surely take at least two goliath children."
Jan 26 21:41:29 <Kotono>   The passage looks worked, the path starting to turn to stairs.
Jan 26 21:41:34 <Knight>   "
Jan 26 21:41:47 <Kamvakua>   "They'd probably make a sport of it, if there were any ox there.  They aren't often for the mountains."
Jan 26 21:41:58 <Knight>   "This place seems like it may be inhabited," offers Knight, squinting. "It is.. hard to see."
Jan 26 21:42:47 *   Mari starts down the stairs, eyeing those strange stones in the walls. "Any guesses who made this?" she wonders. "Anyone jamming rocks in the walls that make the place *darker* might not be someone we want to hang out with."
Jan 26 21:42:50 *   Nikkolai wordlessly summons a globe of light, illuminating the party's steps!
Jan 26 21:44:00 *   Adail patters a bit ahead of the others to more easily see with his darkvision
Jan 26 21:45:28 <Kotono>   The magical light helps illuminate the path ahead. It does indeed turn to stairs, walking deeper into Earth! After ten minutes of this, you reach the bottom! You stand in a small, ten foot wide cave. The far wall is gone, revealing a vast open-ness. Ahead of you lies open space, stone platforms floating in the air! They are connected with long pillars of stone, grooves and footholds embedded into them. They stretch higher and lower than you ca
Jan 26 21:45:33 <Kotono>   They stretch higher and lower than you can see. On the bottom of each platform, a layer of the same metal as in the walls can be glimpsed, occasionally decorated with nests of light blue and silver crystals, giving off enough light to see by.
Jan 26 21:45:55 *   Kamvakua walks behind, following the patter of footsteps more by sound than anything.
Jan 26 21:47:02 *   Knight quickly mounts Bellerophon, and takes off into the open area; she circles around the floating platforms, checking to see if there's anything on them of interest.
Jan 26 21:48:11 *   Mari approaches the nearest platform and stamps on it experimentally with one foot. If it seems stable, she might consider climbing them up or down.
Jan 26 21:48:25 <Kamvakua>   "See if anything is up there, Knight?" He stretched out a bit, enjoying the more open areas to the closed tunnels he had been burrowing.  While easy...and strangely familiar, it was also enclosing.
Jan 26 21:50:13 <Kotono>   The topside of each platform is covered with concentric rings, painted earthen brown. The platforms seem stable enough to Mari, at least on a glance. Each one is about ten feet wide or so, connecting to pillars to go up and down. As Knight flies about and the others look about, it rises from the nearest platform, blocking the way! It is Earth, an elemental of it about the size of a man. It's body is studded with the same metal and crystals as
Jan 26 21:50:20 <Kotono>   It's body is studded with the same metal and crystals as the platforms.
Jan 26 21:51:59 *   Nikkolai steps foward. "Greetings, denizen of Earth. Your pardon if we've disturbed you."
Jan 26 21:52:02 *   Mari is just stepping onto the nearest of the platforms when the elemental rises out of nowhere. "...Hi?" she says.
Jan 26 21:52:28 <Kotono>   "What do you seek?" It asks, it's voice like a thundering rock slide.
Jan 26 21:52:44 <Kamvakua>   "...The crown?"  Kamvakua tried from the story.
Jan 26 21:53:29 <Kotono>   "I do not understand," It answers.
Jan 26 21:53:48 *   Nikkolai hastily tries to cover up Kam's possible deadly mistake. "What he means is, we're simply looking around. Taking in the sights, as it were. Where do these platforms lead?"
Jan 26 21:53:56 <Kamvakua>   "What are you here to do?" He asked, his voice as gravely as the elementals.
Jan 26 21:55:09 *   Adail keeps silent for the time being, having the patience to talk to animals but not always elementals.
Jan 26 21:55:33 <Kotono>   "The Rise of Stone. Above leads to Biul. Below leads to Nixale." It answers.
Jan 26 21:56:31 <Kamvakua>   "We wish to go to Nixale."
Jan 26 21:56:33 <Nikkolai>   "We're simply passing through to Nixale." Nikkolai responds politely.
Jan 26 21:56:50 <Kotono>   The elemental melts back into the ground, gone just like that.
Jan 26 21:58:20 <Mari>   "I guess we're heading down?" Mari says, stepping to the edge of her platform and looking for the next descending one. "Unless anyone's got business in Biul that they didn't tell us about? whatever Biul is."
Jan 26 21:58:34 *   Nikkolai blinks. "Well, that was odd. I hope he isn't reporting our destination to anyone we don't want knowing..."
Jan 26 21:58:46 <Knight>   "This makes things rather convenient," notes Knight. "The name has no meaning for me. I suppose they are... tracking people going back and forth?"
Jan 26 21:59:11 <Kamvakua>   "I do not remember Biul, but we're in a very far part of the plane from where I stayed last."
Jan 26 21:59:24 <Kamvakua>   "So down to Nixale it is."
Jan 26 21:59:26 <Mari>   "Maybe he's just a helpful guide someone positioned here from the goodness of their heart," Mari says. She doesn't sound convinced herself.
Jan 26 21:59:35 *   Nikkolai shrugs, follwing Mari.
Jan 26 22:00:16 <Nikkolai>   "Never look a gift horse in the mouth. Unless it intends to eat you."
Jan 26 22:00:54 <Mari>   "It would have to be a big horse. ...Hey, that reminds me. Whatever happened to Knight's horse?"
Jan 26 22:01:45 <Nikkolai>   "Didn't we eat it?" Nikkolai answers vaguely, concentrating on keeping on the platforms as they travel downwards.
Jan 26 22:01:50 <Knight>   "We couldn't take it here with us, so I gave it away in Stratusburg," replies Knight.
Jan 26 22:02:26 <Kamvakua>   "Nikkolai, do you have a problem with horses eating you?"
Jan 26 22:03:08 <Mari>   "You just gave it away? A trained warhorse? Didn't sell it or anything?" Mari keeps her eyes fixed downwards as they descend, watching for any sign of there actually being a bottom to this huge cavern.
Jan 26 22:03:33 <Nikkolai>   "I generally have a problem with anything that tries to eat me, Kamvakua. Wouldn't you?"
Jan 26 22:03:34 <Adail>   "I thought it was part of the deal to get Bellaphron?"
Jan 26 22:03:35 <Knight>   "To who? Nobody was looking to buy a warhorse there," replies Knight.
Jan 26 22:04:25 <Knight>   "I just wanted to make sure it was looked after."
Jan 26 22:04:28 <Kamvakua>   "Not usually.  Most things don't try to eat me."
Jan 26 22:04:32 *   Adail shrugs and hops up on Kam's shoulder once more, willing to ride along for this part of the journey.
Jan 26 22:04:38 <Kamvakua>   "It tends to be bad for their stomach."
Jan 26 22:05:17 *   Nikkolai responds in the dry tone he's so fond of using, "I would imagine so. You'd give them indigestion, no doubt."
Jan 26 22:05:32 <Kotono>   OOC: Do any of you have ranks in climb or anything like that?
Jan 26 22:05:39 <Kamvakua>   "Generally a ruptured stomach really," His gravely tone was the same.
Jan 26 22:05:42 <Mari>   "If nobody *needed* a horse there, then he's probably the afternoon sandwich special at that Stratusberg inn by now. Poor Horse. He served so well and look at his reward."
Jan 26 22:05:45 <Kamvakua>   OOC: I climb like easy.
Jan 26 22:05:50 <Kamvakua>   OOC: and so does adail.
Jan 26 22:06:13 <Nikkolai>   OOC: Escape Artist should totally mean that I'm nimble as a mountain goat. =p
Jan 26 22:06:21 <Nikkolai>   OOC: If not, then no.
Jan 26 22:06:25 <Mari>   OOC: I have 10 ranks in climb, with mods and shit factored in the mod's pretty high.
Jan 26 22:06:38 <Adail>   OOC: Nik you have the spider climb spell, if it comes to that.
Jan 26 22:06:50 <Knight>   "He wouldn't! He was a nice man," insists Knight. "Besides, horse doesn't taste very good. It would never sell."
Jan 26 22:07:03 <Knight>   OOC: I have a flying horse, but I do also have ranks in climb
Jan 26 22:07:16 <Mari>   "I don't know about that, Knight. In my experience, someone, somewhere, will eat *anything*."
Jan 26 22:08:22 <Kotono>   The way down looks fairly doable but not easy. Everyone but Nikkolai thinks they can manage it as is.
Jan 26 22:08:28 <Kamvakua>   "You're still here, so you haven't met someone who eats anything," Kamvakua disagreed with a chime sound.
Jan 26 22:08:55 <Mari>   "And it's my mission in life to make sure I never meet that person."
Jan 26 22:08:56 <Knight>   "Well, we did make sure to avoid that purple wurm."
Jan 26 22:09:41 *   Kamvakua starts climbing down with little worry about it.  "Good choice," He smiled, comfortably finding spots in the wall as he made his way down ahead.
Jan 26 22:10:00 *   Nikkolai eyes the chasm, feeling not quite so sure of foot as the others. He waves his and casts Spider Climb on his person!
Jan 26 22:10:17 <Kamvakua>   roll 1d20+11 for half speed climbing
Jan 26 22:10:17 <Hatbot>   
ACTION --> "Kamvakua rolls 1d20+11 for half speed climbing and gets 21." [1d20=10]
Jan 26 22:10:32 <Kotono>   OOC: No need for checks, it's not hard with your guys ranks and Nikkolai's magic on himself.
Jan 26 22:11:22 <Kotono>   With this everyone is able to climb down with ease. It's climbing down and down, down pillars and between platforms, working your wayd ownwards. After about a half hour of this you seem no closer to a bottom. However, three more platforms down is a much bigger platofmr. Several pillars above and below connect to it. It's circles are bigger to suit it's size as well.
Jan 26 22:12:13 *   Knight swoops down to land on the platform and check it out!
Jan 26 22:13:03 <Mari>   "I guess this something like a crossroads here," Mari says as she climbs down to the larger platform. "Down more's the way to go, I take it."
Jan 26 22:13:55 *   Nikkolai shrugs and climbs down the pillar headfirst on all fours, landing nimbly beside Mari.
Jan 26 22:14:46 <Mari>   "Have I mentioned that it looks really creepy when you do that?" Mari says to Nikkolai. "I feel like any second now you're head's going to start spinning around."
Jan 26 22:14:52 <Mari>   *your
Jan 26 22:15:47 *   Nikkolai grins. "I could probably manage that."
Jan 26 22:16:08 <Mari>   "Please don't."
Jan 26 22:19:29 <Kotono>   The party flies and climbs down! As they do, a heavy stone rock rises from the center of the platform. It's polished smooth and made of bands of stone and heavy metal.
Jan 26 22:20:41 *   Knight keeps her distance from the floating rock, lest it suddenly propel itself towards her or commit some other strange action.
Jan 26 22:20:47 *   Nikkolai raises an eyebrow. He walks cautiously forward, inspecting the stone closely.
Jan 26 22:21:06 *   Merc is now known as Merc-zzz
Jan 26 22:21:19 *   Mari stops some ways away from the rock, just in case it decides to do something inconveniently violent. You can never tell with rocks round these parts. "Uh...hi?" she tries again.
Jan 26 22:22:04 *   Kamvakua continues climbing down toward the platform, not worried too much at this point about traps.
Jan 26 22:22:17 <Kotono>   The stone doesn't answer. It spins as Nikkolai gets closer, whirling about.
Jan 26 22:23:28 *   Nikkolai is curious, and takes one step closer, eying the stone for any aggressive movements.
Jan 26 22:23:45 *   Adail watches the rock with mild interest from his perch on Kam's shoulder
Jan 26 22:24:21 <Kotono>   The stone continues to spin and spin, spinning faster as Nikkolai gets closer.
Jan 26 22:24:31 <Nikkolai>   OOC: How close am I, do you think?
Jan 26 22:24:55 <Mari>   "I think it likes you, Nik. Go shake hands?"
Jan 26 22:25:45 *   Nikkolai throws the drow a look over his shoulder. "I can make friend with anyone, even a rock."
Jan 26 22:25:59 *   Nikkolai thinks for a moment, then winces. "That's not what I meant to say..."
Jan 26 22:26:31 <Kotono>   OOC: Say 5 feet away.
Jan 26 22:26:43 *   Nikkolai takes two more steps forward.
Jan 26 22:27:06 <Kotono>   The rock spins even faster as Nikkolai draws yet closer, whirling like a spherical tornado.
Jan 26 22:27:23 <Nikkolai>   OOC: I'm probably within...two feet now?
Jan 26 22:28:25 <Adail>   "Moving that fast, I would really advise against trying to touch it."
Jan 26 22:29:13 *   Nikkolai squints at the rock, wondering what propels it. He takes one final step forward, staying one foot away from the rock.
Jan 26 22:29:30 *   Nikkolai decides to cast Detect Magic
Jan 26 22:31:02 *   Mari starts circling around the object at what seems like a safe distance. Ten feet or so? As much as she can get while staying at the edge of the platform. Moving verrry slowly, nothing suddeny, keeping a close eye on the object. Nothing to be concerned about here, Mr. Friendly Rock, no sir.
Jan 26 22:32:54 <Kotono>   Mari does just that, the rock continuing to spin as she circles about slowly!
Jan 26 22:33:05 <Kamvakua>   "Do you see anything strange with it, Adail?" He stood along the platform, watching behind Nikkolai's antics.
Jan 26 22:33:35 *   Adail turns on his various detection powers and looks at the rock.
Jan 26 22:34:50 *   Mari circumnavigates the rock, meaning to stop on the other side. It doesn't seem like it'll do anything if they just keep their distance. If so, great.
Jan 26 22:35:00 *   Nikkolai shrugs. "OK, so it's a magic rock. It doesn't seem to do anything but spin."
Jan 26 22:35:15 <Nikkolai>   "I'm not sure if it warrants further study."
Jan 26 22:36:46 <Kamvakua>   "Alright, then let's go that way," Kamvakua followed Mari's route.
Jan 26 22:37:24 *   Nikkolai glances at the rock, then walks away to follow Mari and Kam.
Jan 26 22:37:31 <Mari>   "You know, I bet some wizard put this thing centuries ago as a gag and he's looking on from whatever afterlife he went to and laughing at anyone who passes by. 'Oh no, the rock's going to get us, we'd better be careful!' Let's move on downwards?"
Jan 26 22:38:03 <Knight>   "He must have had an exceptional amount of time on his hands," remarks Knight, before taking off again.
Jan 26 22:38:30 <Mari>   "I think you have to to learn magic in the first place."
Jan 26 22:41:03 <Kamvakua>   "Sometimes it just comes to you," He started climbing down as well.
Jan 26 22:47:15 <Adail>   "Judging from the strength of the magic, I'm sure it does something." Adail shrugs, "But likely nothing relevent to us."
Jan 26 22:48:07 <Kamvakua>   "It mauls curious adventurers."
Jan 26 22:48:32 <Nikkolai>   "It could be a sort of alarm system." Nikkolai comments thoughtfully as he climbs down. "It alerts...someone to the prescence of travelers?"