Dragon quickstep

[Corwin]

Did Imix build his place over an old dragon hatchery? Seira muses to her friends, trying to estimate the age of the runes.

[Anastasia]

Doesn't make sense. Unless it's his own and a forgotten project.

You can lose track of projects over the eons, and sometimes it's more practical to reuse than build anew.

Now you sound like a grandmother.

Meanwhile, you're fairly sure the runes are deeply ancient. Likely only preserved by their magic and being covered by coins.

[Corwin]

So he walled off sections of them afterwards, filled them with cheap coins, and forgot about them? I suppose incompetence is always possible. In any case, they'll be going out shortly, given we've taken the coins that were sustaining them. Let's keep going and see if there's similar trap doors beneath the rooms with the silver, gold and platinum coins!

[Anastasia]

Going back up then?

[Corwin]

Yes, we'll keep going for now. If we find more information in following room, I'll reconsider!

[Anastasia]

You return. The path that used to be through the heaps of coins now leads to a single door. Checking it, you find it's not trapped. Opening wide, you find another vast chamber. In this are massive heaps of bars of copper, brass and similar metals. Thousands and thousands of ingots, heaping towers and trembling spires of them rise up.

Deeper within this chamber you hear the sound of metal on metal - of ingots being moved perhaps, of hitting against one another. Of soft grunts and curses before a voice in Ignan declares, "We need at least 500 more brass, unscorched." A man's voice, uncaring. "Scorch one and explain to Urzass why it's ruined yourself."

[Corwin]

Sounds like two people, here to collect materials, Seira relays to the others, listening in closely to make certain there's no one else she can hear. I think we should take them by surprise and knock them out. Even if they're combatants, any deaths here would alert Imix earlier than we wish. Any objections?

Perception 10 for 120 to confirm my belief that it's two people and to try and estimate where exactly they are.

[Anastasia]

None. That's your field, Seira. Shouldn't be a trifle.

Do it.

It sounds like two of them, yes.

[Corwin]

Stealth augmented by invisibility and via flying to minimize noise, Seira navigates on a course designed to take her around the piles and to catch the pair from behind!

Stealth 10 for 96

[Anastasia]

Not a sound as you fly above. You come on them - two azer. One looms over the other as that one stacks brass bars into a large, rough sack. The loomer looks bored and...actually, so does the one working, too.

[Corwin]

Maneuvering into position, Seira smacks both of them over and over! Her magic is ready to catch them as they fall, at that, to prevent undesired injuries or alerting anyone outside the door if the falling bodies trigger a cascade of coins and metal.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Full attack, one strike on guy #1, second on guy #2 and so on.

19:16 <Corwin> roll 4#1d20+72-4 nonlethal
19:16 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 4#1d20+72-4 nonlethal --> [ 1d20=20 ]{88}, [ 1d20=8 ]{76}, [ 1d20=5 ]{73}, [ 1d20=12 ]{80}
19:16 <Corwin> roll 6#1d20+67-4 nonlethal
19:16 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 6#1d20+67-4 nonlethal --> [ 1d20=4 ]{67}, [ 1d20=8 ]{71}, [ 1d20=16 ]{79}, [ 1d20=7 ]{70}, [ 1d20=7 ]{70}, [ 1d20=19 ]{82}
19:17 <Corwin> roll 1d20+72-4 crit?
19:17 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 1d20+72-4 crit? --> [ 1d20=13 ]{81}
19:17 <Corwin> roll 1d20+67-4 crit?
19:17 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 1d20+67-4 crit? --> [ 1d20=8 ]{71}
19:17 <Corwin> roll 1d20+62-4 nonlethal
19:17 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 1d20+62-4 nonlethal --> [ 1d20=8 ]{66}
19:17 <Corwin> roll 1d20+57-4 nonlethal
19:17 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 1d20+57-4 nonlethal --> [ 1d20=16 ]{69}
19:18 <Corwin> roll 6#2d8+94+23d6 and 2str damage
19:18 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 6#2d8+94+23d6 and 2str damage --> [ 2d8=7 23d6=86 ]{187}, [ 2d8=13 23d6=91 ]{198}, [ 2d8=11 23d6=80 ]{185}, [ 2d8=8 23d6=85 ]{187}, [ 2d8=12 23d6=82 ]{188}, [ 2d8=14 23d6=81 ]{189}
19:18 <Corwin> roll 4d8+188+23d6 and 2str damage crit
19:18 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 4d8+188+23d6 and 2str damage crit --> [ 4d8=8 23d6=83 ]{279}
19:19 <Corwin> roll 1d8+87+23d6 and 2str damage
19:19 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 1d8+87+23d6 and 2str damage --> [ 1d8=2 23d6=96 ]{185}
19:19 <Corwin> roll 2#1d6+87+23d6 and 2str damage
19:19 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 2#1d6+87+23d6 and 2str damage --> [ 1d6=6 23d6=80 ]{173}, [ 1d6=5 23d6=82 ]{174}
19:19 <Corwin> roll 1d4+87+23d6 and 2str damage
19:19 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 1d4+87+23d6 and 2str damage --> [ 1d4=4 23d6=81 ]{172}
19:19 <Corwin> roll 2d4+174+23d6 and 2str damage crit
19:19 <Rei-chan> Corwin rolled : 2d4+174+23d6 and 2str damage crit --> [ 2d4=4 23d6=78 ]{256}

[Anastasia]

It's barely an effort. Two blows and two are down, out cold and utterly subdued by perfect strikes.

[Corwin]

Seira checks to see whether the door they came through is closed, and if it is, draws the room's contents into the portable hole once again!

[Anastasia]

It is indeed currently closed. As you begin to stuff your hole once more, you...

Perception.

[Corwin]

10 for 120.