003: Getting things rolling before we get the cold shoulder

[Merc]

[20:06] <Anders> [20:17] <~Kotono> OOC: No, this happens before it.
[20:06] <Anders> [20:17] <~Kotono> Suddely, there is a soft shaking. The sand begins to vibrate, the entire thing rocking back and forth. OOC: Act Kev.
[20:06] <Anders> [20:17] <Kevamros> "EVERYONE UP, SOMETHING IS COMING!"
[20:06] <Anders> [20:18] * Kevamros readies his bow!
[20:06] <Anders> [20:18] * Anders lunges up and proceeds to tangle himself in the tent!
[20:06] <Anders> [20:18] * @Luther does the same, though with grumbling!



[20:08] <Kotono> The party rises. At the same time, the sands below shudder and shake. Something's coming - something biiiiig from the way things are shaking! OOC: Act, y'all.
[20:09] * Anders disentangles himself from the tent, hastily casting an Extended Mage Armor on himself.
[20:09] <Kevamros> OOC: Are my spells refreshed yet?
[20:10] <Kotono> OOC: No.
[20:10] <Luther> ooc: Are anybody's?
[20:11] <Kotono> OOC: Nope.
[20:11] <Anders> OOC: Nope
[20:12] * Luther casts False Life as he gets out of his own tent, wondering what all the hubbub is about! "What's coming, exactly, Kevamros?"
[20:12] <Luther> roll d10+7 False Life
[20:12] <Serith> Luther roll for Serith < 11 > [d10=4]
[20:12] <Kotono> OOC: Okay, those two have acted. What are you doing, Kev?
[20:12] <Kevamros> "No idea. Something big. Bigger than we want to deal with, I think. Back into the hallway? If it's as big as it feels, it won't be able to follow us, I think."
[20:13] * Luther nods in agreement, though he looks at his tent mournfully. "Well, hopefully we can kill it from there."
[20:13] * Luther begins to move towards the hallway regardless though!
[20:13] <Kevamros> "Grab it and let's go. You can worry about packing it later."
[20:14] <Anders> "Great idea!" Anders heads for the door.
[20:14] * Kevamros moves to cover the others with healing ready!
[20:14] <Kotono> OOC: LEfts ide door or right side door?
[20:16] <Anders> OOC: Which one did we come from?
[20:16] <Kotono> OOC: LEft.
[20:16] <Anders> OOC: Let's go that way



[20:18] <Kotono> The party hurries to the left side hallway. Just in time - for as they get to it, the sandy arena collapses. The sand is gone there - and in its place is a chasm that extends down 80ft. At the bottom is no ground, but instead a boiling pool of thick, golden liquid.
[20:18] <Anders> "That's not what I was expecting."
[20:19] <Kevamros> "That looks to be unpleasant."
[20:22] <Kotono> OOC: What are you all doing now?
[20:23] <Luther> ooc: Can we see any creatures?
[20:23] <Kotono> OOC: No.
[20:23] <Anders> OOC: Probably regretting my choice to head back the way we came.
[20:23] <Luther> ooc: Also, I assume that our tents are lost causes?
[20:24] <Kotono> OOC: Yep.
[20:25] <Anders> OOC: Is there a way around to the other door?
[20:25] <Kotono> OOC: Not unless you can fly.
[20:25] <Anders> OOC: Well shit. I dunno what to do. Except go back to sleep.
[20:25] * Anders lies down on the floor.
[20:25] <Kevamros> OOC: I still need to rest so I can restore Anders.
[20:26] <Luther> ooc: I'm with them. HOpefully the liquid isn't boiling when we wake up.
[20:26] <Kotono> OOC: Okay. REsting in the hallway. More coming.
[20:26] <Kotono> roll 1d100
[20:26] <Luther> ooc: Or it's molten gold and we can collect it after it's a solid giant bar.
[20:26] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 95 > [d100=95]
[20:27] <Kotono> roll 1d100 subtables
[20:27] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 36 > [d100=36]
[20:29] <Kotono> Sleep comes and the party rests. It's ill lodgings, but it's enough to recover. Nothing obvious happens overnight. OOC: Go ahead and restore HP/adjust spells/heal up.



[20:29] <Kevamros> OOC: Anders can assume 2x Restoration.
[20:32] <Kotono> OOC: Okay. Do you have the components for it?
[20:33] <Kevamros> OOC: Ah shit, I meant to buy that components bag and totally forgot to.
[20:33] <Kotono> OOC: It's an expensive one anyway. You may want to go for the lessers instead.
[20:34] <Kevamros> OOC: They both need it, though. I've got 400 gp so I can cover it, I suppose.
[20:35] <Kotono> OOC: It's a matter of having the componentson hand.
[20:36] <Kevamros> OOC: Yeah. Will you let me re-do my spells for it?
[20:37] <Kotono> OOC: Sure.
[20:38] <Kevamros> OOC: Okay, Lesser Restoration it is! Rolling for anders first.
[20:39] <Kevamros> roll 1d4 Lesser Restoration: Anders
[20:39] <Serith> Kevamros roll for Serith < 4 > [d4=4]
[20:39] <Kotono> OOC: Fantastic
[20:39] <Kotono> .
[20:39] <Anders> OOC: Hurray!
[20:39] <Kevamros> OOC: Need more?
[20:39] <Anders> OOC: Nope!
[20:40] <Kevamros> OOC: Luther?
[20:40] <Luther> ooc: I'd like one, please!
[20:40] <Kevamros> roll 1d4 Lesser Restoration: Luther
[20:40] <Serith> Kevamros roll for Serith < 2 > [d4=2]
[20:40] <Luther> ooc: Also, are you seriously okay still having -6 CON, Anders? o_O
[20:40] <Luther> ooc: oh no wait, we slept. How much does that restore again?
[20:41] <Anders> OOC: I READ IT WRONG
[20:41] <Luther> ooc: SRD says 1 per day, so you're still at -5 and I'm at -2 now.
[20:42] <Kevamros> roll 1d4 Lesser Restoration: Anders 2
[20:42] <Serith> Kevamros roll for Serith < 3 > [d4=3]
[20:42] <Kevamros> OOC: That's all of them. I prepped 3.
[20:42] <Kotono> OOC: Okay. Let me know when stats and spells are back in order.
[20:42] <Luther> ooc: I changed my spells since I figured that. I'll use one of mine. And save the other two for emergencies. He'll live with -2 >_>
[20:42] <Luther> roll d4 LR Luther
[20:43] <Serith> Luther roll for Serith < 4 > [d4=4]
[20:44] <Anders> OOC: I'm done
[20:45] <Kotono> OOC: Okay.
[20:45] <Luther> ooc: I'm done



[20:45] <Kotono> Morning has come. The way ahead is still emptiness and a golden lake below. The door you came from is behind the party as well.
[20:46] * Kevamros stretches and cracks his back.
[20:46] <Kevamros> "Well... I have rope. If we have a way to get it tied on the other side."
[20:46] * Anders staggers to his feet. "Nothing quite like the hard stone for a good night's sleep. Really straightens out your back."
[20:47] <Luther> "Could be worse. You could be dead."
[20:47] * Luther eyes the lake of gold and tries to identify what the liquid is.
[20:48] <Kotono> OOC: What knowledges do you have?
[20:48] * Kevamros studies the liquid as well.
[20:48] <Kevamros> OOC: I have all of them.
[20:49] <Kotono> OOC: K:D.
[20:49] <Kevamros> roll 1d20+11 K:D
[20:49] <Serith> Kevamros roll for Serith < 25 > [d20=14]
[20:50] <Kotono> It appears to be liquid gold.
[20:51] <Kevamros> "Liquid gold, I think."
[20:51] * Luther perks up. "Oh? Think we could collect any of it?"
[20:51] * Kevamros shrugs.
[20:51] <Kevamros> "I have rope. Buckets?"
[20:52] * Anders shakes his head.
[20:52] <Luther> "Better than my idea. I figured on summoning a swarm, coating them in gold, and when they vanish having little bat-shaped gold."
[20:54] <Kevamros> "Can you summon something that can carry the rope to the other hallway and tie it off?"
[20:55] <Luther> "A swarm of bats, pretty much."
[20:55] <Kevamros> "That won't tie the rope..."
[20:56] <Luther> ooc: how big is the gap?
[20:56] <Kotono> OOC: Fairly wide in diameter, matching the earlier arena you fought in.
[20:57] <Luther> "Well, if you think you can toss it far enough, I could instead summon a skeleton to tie it off. I'd hate to use up two spells just to cross this chasm though," he states with some distaste.
[20:58] <Kevamros> "Hmm.. I'm not sure I can make that toss... I'm more of an arrow guy."
[20:58] <Luther> "We could always go the other way and explore the other path, seems less likely for us to fall into a chasm of liquid gold and becoming statues. Our host would almost surely not appreciate the artistic wonder that would result."
[20:59] <Kevamros> "That's probably the easiest route."
[20:59] <Anders> "Let's do that then."
[20:59] <Luther> "Worst case, you can tie the rope to an arrow, fire the arrow at the other side, and I can summon a single skeleton to tie it off. But lets explore the other path first, I think, before we do any crossing over."
[20:59] <Kotono> OOC: Ball's in your court here, waiting for a plan of action.
[20:59] <Kevamros> "Let's go, then."
[21:00] * Luther heads back towards the first trap they encountered, passing on to the other path.
[21:00] <Kotono> OOC: So going back th eway you came
[21:00] <Kotono> ?
[21:00] <Kevamros> OOC: Guess so.
[21:01] <Luther> ooc: not much choice, so yes.
[21:02] <Anders> OOC: Indeed. Otherwise the gold will turn into a dragon that breathes shredded cheddar cheese instad of fire



[21:02] <Kotono> The party opens the door that should lead back to the cubby by the spiked wall. Instead, there is a simple, short hall leading to a stairway going up.
[21:03] * Luther blinks. "Changing dungeon grounds? Oh bother all..."
[21:04] <Kevamros> "Well, what a fun bag of tricks that is..."
[21:04] * Kevamros inspects the area. OOC: Can I roll a knowledge to try and figure out how it changes and hopefully navigate it?
[21:05] <Kotono> OOC: Sure. K:P.
[21:05] <Kevamros> roll 1d20+7 K:P
[21:05] <Serith> Kevamros roll for Serith < 27 > [d20=20]
[21:06] <Luther> roll d20+2 K:P as well, even though I can't beat that
[21:06] <Serith> Luther roll for Serith < 9 > [d20=7]
[21:07] <Kotono> It's likely some form of Limbo, a morphic outer plane. It naturally changes and especially when controlled by a powerful entity.
[21:08] * Kevamros informs the others of this.
[21:09] <Anders> "Oh. Well. That's rather the opposite of good. Bad, really. Probably."
[21:10] <Kotono> As the party chats, the stairway awaits...? Eh? OOC: Listen checks, all.
[21:10] <Kevamros> roll 1d20+14 Listen
[21:10] <Luther> "Any way to wrest control and create a way out?" Luther asks.
[21:10] <Serith> Kevamros roll for Serith < 27 > [d20=13]
[21:10] <Kevamros> "Hmm..."
[21:10] <Luther> roll d20+0 I'm an evil noble. I do terrible at the whole listening thing.
[21:10] <Serith> Luther roll for Serith < 13 > [d20=13]
[21:10] <Kevamros> OOC: Any knowledges on Luther's thing?
[21:12] <Kotono> OOC: Kev can tell that unless you're a natural anarch, it isn't happening. Odds are none of you are.
[21:12] <Kotono> OOC: Anders, listen?
[21:12] * Kevamros relates this!
[21:12] <Anders> roll 1d20+12
[21:12] <Serith> Anders roll for Serith < 13 > [d20=1]
[21:13] <Anders> OOC: Awesome
[21:13] <Kotono> As the party stands there, Kev can hear a thumping coming from above, like something's falling down the stairs.
[21:14] * Kevamros cocks his head.
[21:14] <Kevamros> "I think something is coming down the stairs..."
[21:14] * Kevamros readies his bow.
[21:15] * Anders readies his wand of magic missile!
[21:16] <Luther> "Let's move out of the way of the stairs so if it's something fast it doesn't bowl us over, alright?" Luther suggests as he makes sure anything coming out can't do just that, but still close enough that he should be able to see whatever is coming come.
[21:16] * Anders scoots to the side!
[21:17] * Kevamros does so as well.
[21:19] <Kotono> The party scoots to the side. Coming down the stairway is a rolling boulder, racing down and past the party - and then down into the pool of gold below, into which it swiftly melts down.
[21:20] <Kevamros> "Well, let's keep on our toes, shall we?"
[21:20] * Kevamros heads up the stairs with his bow ready.
[21:21] <Anders> "Indeed." Anders says, following after.
[21:21] <Luther> "We should probably make sure we have some ways to escape in case there's more of those," Luther cautions the others.
[21:23] <Kotono> At last the dreaded stairs are climbed up. They go up and up and up, eventually coming up to...light? Brr! It's cold. The party reaches the top of the stairs and stands in a cavern of ice. The walls are ice and stone and everything has a thick layer of slippery ice over it. The air is thin and hard to breathe. Ahead, dominating the way, is a massive skeleton of a dragon. It is perhaps the size
[21:23] <Kotono> of a small village, looming over everything and coated in thick frost.
[21:23] <Kevamros> "Hmm... Bets on that coming back to life?"
[21:24] * Anders glances at Luther.
[21:25] * Luther whimpers in a disappointed way then sighs. "Unfortunately, I can only summon undead at this time. I don't have near the mastery to actually animate the dead. Yet. Damnations upon our host for having a morphic dungeon. I will likely never see this again."
[21:26] * Anders nods solemnly. "It's a real shame. Would make a hell of a conversation piece."
[21:28] <Kevamros> OOC: Any knowledges to find something useful in or from the skeleton?
[21:29] <Kotono> OOC: K:A.
[21:30] <Kevamros> OOC: K:A? Arcane? Don't have that one =/
[21:30] <Luther> roll d20+11 K:A
[21:30] <Serith> Luther roll for Serith < 17 > [d20=6]
[21:30] <Luther> ooc: I do~
[21:31] <Anders> roll 1d20+10
[21:31] <Serith> Anders roll for Serith < 15 > [d20=5]
[21:33] <Kotono> There's parts that are useful - but danged if any of them can think of them. As they look about...OOC: Spot, all.
[21:33] <Kevamros> roll 1d20+14 Spot
[21:33] <Serith> Kevamros roll for Serith < 16 > [d20=2]
[21:33] <Luther> ooc: +5 to my K:A roll if collector of stories applies btw
[21:33] <Luther> roll d20+0 spot haha
[21:33] <Serith> Luther roll for Serith < 3 > [d20=3]
[21:35] <Kotono> OOC: Anders, comeover here and roll your natural one already.
[21:35] <Anders> roll 1d20+8
[21:35] <Serith> Anders roll for Serith < 22 > [d20=14]
[21:37] <Kotono> roll 1d20+11 touch AC, Luther?
[21:37] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 25 > [d20=14]
[21:38] <Luther> ooc: not that
[21:38] <Kotono> roll 6d6 cold damage and more coming
[21:38] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 17 > [d6=3,3,1,2,2,6]
[21:39] <Kotono> Gah! Suddenly Luther's back is numb as a sheet of ice spreads over it. Behind him is an icy-blue creature, one that blends into everything here like a chameleon. It is humnoid and hairy, with a hand on Luther's back. It's already going back for another go around! OOC: Welcome to ambush town! Init.
[21:39] <Kotono> roll 1d20+6 hairy thing
[21:39] <Serith> Kotono roll for Serith < 10 > [d20=4]
[21:39] * Kotono changes topic to 'Hairy Ice Guy(10)'
[21:39] <Anders> roll 1d20+3
[21:39] <Serith> Anders roll for Serith < 19 > [d20=16]
[21:39] <Kevamros> roll 1d20+1 Init
[21:39] <Serith> Kevamros roll for Serith < 12 > [d20=11]
[21:40] <Luther> roll d20+3 init
[21:40] <Serith> Luther roll for Serith < 12 > [d20=9]
[21:42] * Kotono changes topic to 'Anders(19)>Kevamros=Luther(12)>Hairy Ice Guy(10)'
[21:42] <Kotono> OOC: Go Anders.
[21:42] <Anders> "Taste flame!" Anders cries, firing off a series of fiery lances at the man! OOC: Scorching Ray
[21:42] <Anders> roll 1d20+9 ranged touch
[21:42] <Anders> roll 1d20+9 ranged touch
[21:42] <Serith> Anders roll for Serith < 22 > [d20=13]
[21:42] <Serith> Anders roll for Serith < 21 > [d20=12]
[21:42] <Kotono> OOC: Two hits.
[21:42] <Anders> roll 2#4d6 FIRE
[21:42] <Serith> Anders roll for Serith < 11, 16 >
[21:46] <Kotono> Whoosh! The beams hit the creature dead on, causing it to burst into flame. It flails about and falls, quickly turning into a hunk of scorched meat. OOC: FRee act. Ow.
[21:47] <Luther> "Well...that was odd," Luther notes with a raised eyebrow, feeling an odd mixture of satisfaction, disappointment, and frustration. He examines the burning corpse trying to identify the creature.
[21:48] <Kevamros> "Careful, more may be around."
[21:48] * Kevamros looks over the area, trying to identify the thing from memory.
[21:50] <Kotono> OOC: K:A, ?Luther.
[21:51] <Luther> roll d20+11
[21:51] <Serith> Luther roll for Serith < 24 > [d20=13]
[21:51] <Luther> ooc: add +5 for collector
[21:52] <Kotono> The creature is some sort of yeti. An odd one, likely a mutation caused by magic. How curious.
[21:53] <Luther> "Some sort of yeti. Probably mutated by the morphic nature of this place? I don't know really, but it wasn't a normal yeti," he observes. He eyes the dragon corpse and ponders something before turning to the others. "You think the dragon might have any useful information for us? I can use Speak with Dead to ask it three questions. I doubt we'll get an answer on how to get out of here, but maybe
[21:53] <Luther> answers on who or what our host is, maybe?"
[21:54] <Kevamros> "Worth a shot, I suppose."
[21:55] <Luther> "Any suggestion on the questions to ask?"
[21:55] <Kevamros> "How do we get out of this dungeon?"
[21:56] <Anders> "It might be crazy, just so you know. Because Limbo."
[21:57] <Kevamros> "Still need a place to start."
[21:57] <Luther> "I strongly doubt that it would answer that, considering it died here, Kevamros," Luther says with a snort, before nodding to Anders. "True, but I still think it's worth asking. Even if it's crazy, it must still answer truthfully, even if its answer may have lies of omission."
[21:58] <Kevamros> "Alright.. How about, 'How do we kill the host?' or what it's weakness is?"
[21:59] <Luther> "Possible, but again assumes the dragon would know the answer. I'd like to ask something we can guarantee an answer to if possible."
[22:01] <Luther> "At least one question I'd like to ask is if there's any way to identify guaranteed safe spots or something of that nature. Perhaps places where we can gain treasure or strength. Anything that might aid us in our survival. I am stumped on how to word the questions for maximum effectiveness though," Luther admits.