In the Tunnels

[Grimtina]

Sometimes, life takes weird turns, and you wonder how the heck you even got to where you are. But this is not only the case for life decisions adding up, taking you down a totally different path than you had envisioned. Sometimes, you literally take a turn on a road, a path in the forest, or even jsut go through a door and then... there you are. You will have no idea where there - or rather the new here - is, or what has happened for you to end up there. Maybe you were expecting to die instead of ending up somewhere else, maybe you just went to bed one evening and woke up in a forest the other day. Or you feel asleep at a tavern table drunk, lamenting the lack of excitement in your life, and there - here - you are.

And sometimes it so happens that you are not the only clueless new arrival.

The light is dim, and it is rather hot and damp. Looking around, the ligt seems to come from something around a corner of the... tunnel? And you are not alone, somone else is breathing down here.

[Redi]

Trilae, who was just a few seconds ago walking in the forest of Elistur along with a few members of the court, is now ... somewhere else ?

A bit confused, all his senses alerted, he draws his weapon, and start going to the light.

[roll0]

[Grimtina]

The light and the heat seem to come from the same source, and the light has a reddish color as he gets closer.

[Redi]

Trilae hears a rale behind him. He sees Kyras, an half-elf, bastard in Elistur's court.
"Prince Trilae is that you ?"
"Yes, do you know where we are ?"
"We were in Elistur, but i don't have a clue sir, we should move. who knows what lurks around here."

Kyras shape his armor, making him a mighty creature, and the both of them move towards the source of light.

Is is a unharmful kind of heat, or a "gosh i'm burning" kind of heat ?

[Grimtina]

It begins to be really hot, especially in armor. Rounding the bed in the tunnels, a red flow is a few feet up ahead - an open lava flow.

[Redi]

Kyras starts to fly, hovering above the lava. He scouts ahead, then returns to Trilae.

[Grimtina]

The tunnel seems to go quite a distance. There is something weird about the spell, too - it's difficult to control movement, it is as if the magic always wants to turn him upside down.

[Redi]

Is there an other way, or the tunnel only path is to go through the lava ?

[Grimtina]

perception check :-)

[Redi]

Trilae : [roll0]
Kyras : [roll1]

[Grimtina]

There seems to be something invisible going over the lava - almost invisible, that is, as the heat doesn't quite move the air as it does elsewhere.

[Redi]

Kyras moves towards the invisible thing, ready to strike (he stay at 5feet of it)

[Grimtina]

Nothing is moving, save the heatwaves.

[Redi]

Kyras surronds himelf with cold energy while staying close to the heat waves

Manifesting Energy burst, 5PP

[Grimtina]

It's suddenly comfortably cool, but the resulting explosion damages everything and everyone around you. Over the lava, the invisibility fails, and you see pieces of wood and rope break apart and fall into the lava.

[Redi]

Kyras carry on exploring the tunnel, now that the invisibility failed

Perception check : [roll0]

[Grimtina]

On this side of the lava stream, everything seems to be rather boringly normal, but on the other side there is some faint light ahead, although it does not appear to come from fire, lava or magical sources.

[Redi]

Kyras go to the light

[Grimtina]

The source of the light is a strange sort of lichen, emitting a slightly greenish, but almost white light. What makes it so strange is the fact that it occupies a long stripe at the same hight, about 4 feet, running down the tunnel.

[Redi]

Kyras takes a bit of the lichen, then carry on exploring the tunnels.

[Grimtina]

Soon after there, the tunnel splits in two. a strange purple light comes from the left, and faint sounds like a hammer on an amboss can be heard from the right.

[Redi]

Kyras return to Trialae

"Follow me, my prince, There's something up ahead."

Trilae utters an incantation and starts hovering about the ground, then the two of them start heading towards the purple light.

Trilae cast fly

[Grimtina]

The purple light comes from a strange chage in the tunnels. Instead going through solid rock, the tunnel suddenly seems to be made all of a solid light, half transparent to allow a view on what lies beyond. At first, the impression is of a vast darkness, but then, you begin to see globes and points of light, without being able to judge their distance. Touching the tunnel walls with anything, it does look solid.

[Redi]

The both of the them go through the light

[Grimtina]

The ground feels soft, a bit like a carpet, with a feeling of sinking into the tunnel a bit, but looking at your feet, you don#t really sink in. The purple light surrounds you, and it seems to try and connect with you.

[Redi]

They keep going on, try to resist to the light.
However, they are cautious of their surrounding and draw their weapons.

[Grimtina]

Every now and then there is a crackling sound which seems to come from the walls, much like a log bursting in a fire. Eventually, after which seems like hours of walk, but it may as well have only been minutes, the tunnel opens up to an intersection with seven similar tunnels (making it eight all in all) opening up to different directions.

[Redi]

They go through the middle one

[Grimtina]

The tunnel is much the same, except that it does not go straight, it rather twists and bends, and sometimes goes slightly down. It eventually turns into a normal tunnel again, which gives both of you a strange feeling of loss and disquiet.

[Redi]

The both of them step back and go to the hammering sound

[Grimtina]

After a long trek back, you exit the purple tunnels again where you entered them the first place. The feeling of loss and disquiet returns, but you move on towards where the hammering came from. By now, it has been replaced by what sounds to be a lot of voices. The tunnel leads you on top of a natural balcony, with mostly fused stalagmites forming the railing. It comes up to waist height in most places. Looking over it, you can see an immense cavern, in which a sprawling city extends to all directions. The voices come from what seems to be an auction of sorts. On a central platform surrounded by many people, an auctioneer stands in front of what looks like a row of mostly black and grey skinned slaves, the larger black skinned ones have an elven build. All have shaven heads and are naked.

You appear to be maybe 150 feet above ground level, based on your past experiences with looking at people from a higher point.

[Redi]

They try to listen to what the people are saying.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Grimtina]

The voices are too muffled to make out, but it is neither common nor elven language

[Redi]

Kyras takes Trilae in his arms, then fly downward to get a better observation point.

[Grimtina]

There are several higher buildings, which apear to be hews or shaped right out of stone, surrounding the plaza. Best to hide behind are what looks like a large cathedral, with dwarf-high decorations around a flat top, and what might be a court building of sorts, sporting a flat top with a flap pole and several banners to hide behind.

[Redi]

Kyras return to the higher observation point, dropping Trilae nearby the cathedral.

Kyras watches over Trilae while he explore the roof and try to get a better understanding of what's going on down there.


Stealth : [roll0]
Perception : [roll1]

Wow, theses rolls.

[Grimtina]

Unfortunately, there are some loose decorations on the cathedral roof - a small marble-like appendix to what ight be a serpent of sorts breaks off and falls to the ground with considerable noise. A few people look up, and some point, but the majority of the people is too busy arguing over the supposed slaves. From this close, though, it appears more like some sort of punishment about to be executed, despite people actively seeming to bid on the captives.

[Redi]

Trilae tries to find a good post to observe, then hide in it and wait.

Taking ten on stealth, so 17

[Grimtina]

One of the figures on the roof is hollowed out - it looks like someone is hiding here on a regular schedule, too, looking from the lack of dust and dirt in there.

Soon no one looks at the roof anymore.

Of all the voices down there, one stands out to him - an elvish female voice saying "I don't know about this, we have looked for a way out for days, and we might just end up like those people to be sold."

[Redi]

Trilae heads forward to see the source of the voice

[Grimtina]

He can see a small group of elves, with very worn traveling gear indicating a fashion style he doesn't know, crouching behind what looks to be wine barrels next to the cathedral. The only woman in the group, a younger girl probably not of age yet, is holding a larger dark haired elf by the robes, preventing him from getting up.

[Redi]

Trilae approaches them from upstair, and he tries to attire their attention discretely.

Is there a way to go join them, you know, without falling ?

[Grimtina]

You could probably climb down with all the decorations on the cathedral. DC 14

[Redi]

Trilae rest for a few hours, then use his magic to safely glide down to the figures.

Rest 8 hours, then cast fly.

[Grimtina]

As he wakes up and checks, the elves are gone though, and someone has taken away the barrels. The auction or whatever it was has ended as well, and the lights are mostly out in the area. It seems to be the equivalent of night here now.

[Redi]

Trilae flies to the ground, and tries to find footprints on the ground.

taking ten on survival and stealth

[Grimtina]

The only thing you can find is tracks where lots of people have rolled the barrels away.

[Redi]

Trilae follow the tracks, trying to hide in the shadows

Still taking 10 on hide.

[Grimtina]

Someone has rolled everything across the plaza, then down a small alley to the right until they reached the backdoor of a large inn, which name is in an unknown language. There is still light inside, and you can hear a few people talk and laugh.

What's Kyras doing?

[Redi]

Kyras try to watch over Trilae, taking swift recon flight if needed.
Trilae fly to his hiding spot, wait and spend the day try to hear elven again.

[Grimtina]

The darkness gives slow way to artificial light, coming from likely magic sources high up in the cavern. And all of a sudden there is a bustling of people, silently but seemigly efficient. Naked people, except for boots, of the same races that's been on the supposed auction block before. Soem carry things, or pull carts, a few have tools, and they all try to be as silent as possible. They even communicate with gestures, not words.

[Redi]

Trilae try to understand the meaning of the signs, and keep on observing them.

[Grimtina]

It seems to be simple greetings, and in a few cases instruction for workers. A few of them begin to set up a marketplace, which creates a bit of noise but they work slow enough avoiding to disturb anyone. The rest disappear out of sight, going about teir own business. The light intensifies, mimicking a sunrise, and in a few of the houses, windows open and and the city begins to awake.

Kyras' viewpoint has been undisturbed until now, but this morning, he hears footsteps and talks in the tunnel from which you came.

[Redi]

Kyras flyes to the cathedral and start to draw trilae's attention.

[Grimtina]

He gets the atention, but also from several people working on setting up the market. They look up and point, and seem to ponder whether to call an alarm or not, still holding their silence.

[Redi]

Kyras raise in hands in sign of peace, land in the market, and dissipate his armor.

"I come in peace" he says in elven.

Is trilae is aware of this ?

[Grimtina]

The workers drop everything they are doing and stare, some look at each other. Then a window in the top floor of what is probably the council buiulding opens, and a very olf dwarf with a beard longer than his body wrapped around his head, still in his nightgown, looks out. He starts speaking but Kyras can't understand a word.

Yes he can see it.

If Kyras knows dwarven or drow, he can discern that this language is a mix of several others, dwarven included

[Redi]

Kyras stand still
"Does anyboy hear speaks elven ?"

[Grimtina]

Irritated looks is all he gets. The dwarf shouts something at the workers, and one of the naked guys hurries off and soon comes back with a sleepy looking older dwarf, who hasn't even finished putting on his robes and looks very angry at this. He barks a question, and the dwarf still in the window points to Kyras.

By now, more windows have opened and more people assemble in the streets.

The old dwarf coughs and says something in another crude language. The air seems to shimmer for a moment. "There," he growls, "Can you understand us now?"

[Redi]

"Yes i do, can you explain me where i am ?"

[Grimtina]

"This is the Great City of Tolamin. It's the only city in the tunnels for a few specks, actually. And we don't get visitors too often. Especially not elves. Are you one of the lost, or did you plan to come here?"

[Redi]

I am, well, we are lost, we were in the forest of elistur a few hours ago, and now we're ... here ?

Trilae flies down from the cathedral an join Kyras.

[Grimtina]

"I see," the wizard nods. "Our whole city was displaced one day, from under our nice mountains into these strange tunnels we have now come to call home. We are here for more than 80 years now, and even if some of us might have found ways back, most of us didn't bother."

He turnds to the slaves and waves. "Go on work, do you darn jobs."

Then he smiles back at you. "What say we find a room big enough to accomodate you and have a chat over some food and ale?"

[Redi]

"Sure thing, let's do this"

[Grimtina]

The hall you are led in is high enough for a giant, with wide tables and benches which are now slowly getting breakfast served. A great many people, mostly dwarves and gnomes, are present, but you can also see a few halflings. "This is the common hall usually only for celebrations, but news of you have spread quickly so naturally the mayor made a big event out of it. Been a while since we had visitors, and a sides from cave spiders and creepers, there isn't that much excitement lately." He motions for you to sit down at a central table.

"So, tell me what world this forest of Elistur is on. We are from a world called Oerth ourselves, and we still don't know for sure how we all ended up in here."

[Redi]

Kyras and Trilae sits at the table, and kyras start speaking.
"Well we come from a big world called Midka. There is a lot a forest up there, but also mountains and seas. The world is mostly land, and covered in forest, so trade is mostly done by land. There is numerous kingdoms, and one of them is Elistur. We don't have that many contact with other kingdoms, and we are at peace with all of them. We are pretty self sufficient, so we don't need to trade.
And you, is there any threat around there ?"

[Grimtina]

"Oh, there are many threats, indeed. For one, there is the drow and the duergar. As you have probably seen, we have a lot of naked prisoners - well, you might call them slaves but they aren't really. Those are enemies captured during raids and attacks, and then they are put under an enchantment which slowly manages to push the evil out of their minds. Unfortunately, this ritual only works if their bodies are kept pure - naked - for most of the process. They don't get cold or anything, ther's a protection spell on them, but it is still weird. It normally takes about 2 years to complete. The drow are native to those tunnels, the duergar usually get stuck much like we did and then et adopted by the drow to do their dirty work, it is why you see more captured duergar.

Asides from them, there is the little matter with the changing reality here. We haven't figured it all out yet, but our higher level mages have theories that go over my head yet - I'm just a tier 4 wizard, in employ of the city. Maybe one day I'll understand it though." He scratches his beard. "It's like this, the tunnels shift at times, and you don't end up where you think you will. You will know those tunnels because they have a purple glow to them. Also, there are openings into other worlds, which is likely how you got here. Most are one way, and those you can't see and they seem to disappear quickly again. Others are permanent, just not always in the same location. You can see through them and will know what's behind, usually another world. And there are so many worlds it is nigh impossible to find your own, I'm afraid."

[Redi]

"Well, now that we're here, is there any matter where we can be of any assistance ?"

[Grimtina]

"We can always need assistance," the wizard laughs. "But that depends, of course, on what you are good at."

[Redi]

"mostly fighting, i'm afraid this is the one thing we're good at"

[Grimtina]

Might be a good idea to ask you for help with the stoneworms, then. Dumb things, really, but they are pollluting the tunnels eastward from here - well, what we have designated to be east anyway," he chuckles. "We've ignored them for the most part and just blocked the section off, but it would be good to have trade to those parts reopened again."

[Redi]

"We're in, it will be nice to help people out. But an honest work might need salary, do you have anything to offer ?" Says kyras with a big grin

[Grimtina]

"Of course. Depends on what you need, we have a large variety of things to offer, considering we end up with the gear of our temporary slaves and all the things of those lost who don't make it past the first few dangers. Generally, items are worth more around here, because anytime you happen to stumble into another world - and it will happen - the currency you earn in other places may not be worth much anymore."