Searching for dragons. Part I.

[Kredine]

The gentlemen looks around, eyeing up the surroundings before speaking as though asking a question.

"Oh the forests of Osmath sure have changed"

[Orran]

but the owls are still around Strixi projects back at the man while remaining hidden.

Now before I agree to go with you, I'm going to need you to tell me exactly what this job involves. I will need to know how best to prepare myself.

[Kredine]

"Its simple. Open this door."

He motions to the door.

"Oh there is one thing. The door is barred from the other side. And we can't leave any evidence the door was tampered with. I'll be here. You open that door, you get your cut."

[Orran]

Very Well. Leave the alley, return in 10 minutes. Don't stray too far.

Once the man has left, Strixi gets to work. He dismisses his pseudodragon form and drops down from his hiding spot. Deciding to minimise risk, he casts invisibility which should keep him hidden even if a passer by wanders in to the wrong alley. He isn't worried about opening the door itself as he carries a scroll of knock but is sure there must be more to the request.

Strixi casts detect magic and focuses on the door to identify any magical auras.

Kane flies to the opposite end of the alley to keep watch and warn Strixi of anyone approaching.

Spell Count
4th Level 1/4
3rd Level 6/6
2nd Level 5/7
1st Level 5/7
Cantrips 5/6

[Kredine]

You detect three abjuration auras on the door, revealed to be the spells Hold Portal, Alarm, and Arcane lock [Spell Craft 27, 20 and 24 vs DC 16, 16 and 17].

Taking a look at the door you easily notice the door has three locks.

[Orran]

Strixi smiles, whoever owns this building had made a significant investment in protecting what's on the other side, what a coincidence they had come up against the perfect person to counter their protections.

Dara got real lucky hiring him for this job.
Unless Dara knew.
That couldn't be possible though.
Could it?

Strixi starts by attempting to dispel the protections, it would be interesting to see how strong the wizard that cast these was.

"Arcane Lock" - (1d20+8)[12]
"Hold Portal" - (1d20+8)[15]
"Alarm" - (1d20+8)[13]

[Orran]

Strixi instantly knows that he hasn't managed to put his full magical power in to the spell and is reminded of his poor performance at the Gnome's house. A feeling of shame washes over him but he brushes it aside and casts the spell again.

"Arcane lock" - (1d20+8)[22]
"Hold Portal" - (1d20+8)[25]
"Alarm" - (1d20+8)[18]

[Kredine]

You feel each of the spells dispel.
The air is still.

Nothing else happens.

[Orran]

Strixi is elated at his success and relishes the chance to show his progress to the gnome once the next batch of crystals are ready.

Refocusing his attention on the task at hand he draws the two scrolls of knock from his haversack, he pauses for a moment while looking at the empty space in front of him before realising that the scrolls are also invisible. Muttering a curse to himself he dismisses his invisibility and uses the scrolls to unlock and unbar the door.

[Kredine]

You cast the first knock spell, you hear a lock click, and a bar slide.
You cast the second knock spell, you hear a lock click and a bar slide.

[Orran]

Strixi stares at the door in disbelief, the man had said that the door was barred from the other side, not that it was triple barred. He makes another mental note never to work with Dara again, the man had made a habit of giving him far less than the required information to do his job properly.

Frustrated, he takes a moment to consider what options would even be possible, a spell that reshapes materials would work but would not meet the leave no trace requirement. What he really needed would be a way to teleport short distances through objects but most low level teleportation effects require a clear line of sight.

With his current repertoire he is left with only one option, he transforms into a wyrmling Styx Dragon and attempts to burrow under the building to find a way in.

[Kredine]

It does not take you long to find somewhere to borrow through. Within a few moments of borrowing towards the building you find a rusted pipe which has corroded out a hole.

[Orran]

Strixi squeezes in to the pipe and starts crawling through, desperately hoping the other end does come out a toilet.

[Kredine]

You make your way through the pipe, coming up through a sink.
You are in a small room with a door wide open. Through the door you can see another room.

The larger room appears to connect to the back door, as you can see a door with three locks and three bars, although it is obscured by a crude portcullis. Next to the door there are three keys.

On the other side of the room are two levers. Both have instructional posters.
One poster indicates that the adjacent lever raises and lowers the portcullis.
The other poster indicates that the adjacent lever casts and dismisses the defensive spells on the door.

[Orran]

Strixi curses to himself again, he had wasted those scrolls for nothing. This all seems fairly straightforward, if anything too simple.

He casts detect magic again and tries to detect any other traps or spells that might protect the door from this side. If nothing further then he pulls the lever for the portcullis and then tries to figure out how to remove the final bar.

[Kredine]

Upon inspection you see the bars are simple sliding locks that just need moving.

[Orran]

Assuming that there are no other magical auras indicating any traps, Strixi attempts to open the door by raising the portcullis and sliding the bars out of place, if nothing goes amiss he pushes the door open.

[Kredine]

As the door opens you hear clapping from outside.

"Congratulations. You've passed the test."

He starts to rummage around in his pocket.

"Obviously we wouldn't actually send someone we've never worked with in to do something so important."

He throws you a heavy pouch.

"This is for you efforts. Call it an advance on future work."

He then wanders off, seemingly vanishing into the shadows.

Inside the pouch is 150 PP.

[Orran]

"Well that did seem odd, I'm glad to hear you have some sense." Strixi says as he catches the bag. "Tell the boss I look forward to hearing about his progress on our agreement."

Once the man is gone Strixi quickly counts the coins and is quietly pleased, he could use this to replace his complement of scrolls. He then turns to the more pressing problem of getting back to the rest. If it's possible to get back before curfew he rushes back, otherwise he returns to the bar he was at earlier and pays for a room for the night.

[Kredine]

It is around 8:15. With haste you could make it back to the pits in time, but any distractions or searches would likely cause you to be late. Clouds begin to form in the night sky.

[Orran]

Strixi weighs up his options, trying to find his way back to the rest in time would be a gamble and when it comes to a gamble the last people he could trust to roll the dice would be humans.

He heads back to the Inn he was at earlier in order to try and secure a room for the night.

[Kredine]

You have no more trouble then usual getting service from the barkeep, though you have an inclination the 1GP per night cost is not the usual rate.
You are given the key to a small room on the first floor. A rain begins to fall on Osmath.

[Orran]

Strixi hands over the 1gp, fighting the urge to complain. Even if it's unfair he has little choice at this time of night.

Strixi heads up to the room and makes himself comfortable for the night, opening up the window for Kane to go hunting. Kane noses around the window for a bit before seeming to decide the rain doesn't make for ideal hunting conditions. Instead the pair climb in to bed after a long day.

[Kredine]

As you begin to succumb to slumber you hear thunder breaks in the darkening sky. Flashes of thunder light the room before long.

A pervasive darkness invades your dreams. A girl on an altar. An insane laugh from red eyes. A rising mist.

The morning bells bring a welcome relief.

[Dawn of the 8th of June 4335]
[Ronderin expects to see you today]

[Orran]

Strixi wakes up frustrated, that was the second time in a week he had been plagued by these odd, dark dreams. He doesn't consider himself superstitious but he has heard of dark creatures that harass through dreams, perhaps he has become the victim of one. Or perhaps the Lady Tiamat heard one of his panic prayers and is trying to make an honest kobold of him, only time will tell.

Strixi looks forward to the opportunity to redeem himself after his previous failures, there are not many opportunities in life where you are so lucky. Before they can go to meet the gnome they head back to the rest to check in with Ash, the place could have burnt down without him around for all he knew and he has too many books there to let that happen. The chance for a free breakfast and idle gossip is barely a secondary thought.

[Kredine]

You wake and make your way away from the home from home you made at this place, you leave with great pace.

The arduous journey through Osmath has become second nature to you at this point. As you approach the last checkpoint before reaching The Rest something breaks the routines. It is quiet at first. A roar in the distance. Easily mistaken for the hustle and bustle or the Osmath streets. But then it grows louder, it layers on top of itself with each fresh wave of sound as the roars and moans and groans become and deafening cacophony that threatens to your ear drums asunder.

The sound settles, and the panic spreads.

You make haste back to the Rest where you see even Ash looks unsettled.

[Orran]

Strixi hurries back into the rest, the only place he's felt somewhat at home in this city. His mind races over what he knows of undead, if that is indeed what he heard, he recalls more rumour and half truth than anything he is confident of as fact and wonders why now of all times they have chosen to attack.

His thoughts are pushed aside when he sees Ash, it's surprising to see the normally stoic gnome affected by these events. Strange times indeed.

"So in this situation do we heroically put aside our differences with the humans and defend the city or do we take advantage of the distractions to further our own agenda?" he seems to be considering both options, although he is ill equipped to fight off most undead.

Active Spells: Mage Armour, Extended Heart of Water, Heart of Stone
HP 46
AC 17

Spell Count
4th Level 2/4
3rd Level 6/6
2nd Level 7/7
1st Level 6/7
Cantrips 5/6

[Kredine]

"We need to know what is going on before we can make any decisions. But if it comes down to it, I'll be here, defending the pits."

Ash pours you a drink and plates you some food, as though looking for something to do.

"I have my feelers out but right now no one really knows what going on."

After about ten minutes, some goblins and orcs come into the bar.

"What are you doing back this early?"

"They sent us home. Apparently something happened this morning. Something other then all the wailing. They said they can break the Sharlang now. And they've given us an offer. Stand with the military and defend Osmath. Anyone who does will be released of the Sharlang. "

[Orran]

Strixi sees how concerned Ash is and becomes a bit more concerned himself, if she thinks the pits may need defending then whatever is causing this is more serious than he thought.

When the goblins and orcs return he listens intently "convenient that they have found a way to break the sharlang now they need your help" he says in passing, "tell me, if you choose to take up their offer, who are you to report to?"he looks at Ash, "perhaps I should speak to this person and see what more information we can gather."

[Kredine]

"We usually deal with Odrik, who oversees agriculture for Osmath, but today we talked to a Captain Edinerk. Seemed a decent enough guy. I've heard good things about him before. He came to us and said that these hot shot adventurers did something and magicks they haven't been able to use for a long time have returned, which means they can break Sharlang. He seems to believe what he was saying."

The Hobgoblin doing the talking gets a drink from Ash.

"He kept it brief but some apparently something went down in the south of the isles this morning, and all kinds of **** is going down. They're preparing for a siege on Osmath. Most of us aren't sure what to do. Things seem bad. We might be dead in a couple days anyway. But what has this city ever done for us?"

Ash pipes up.

"Whatever you chose, I'll be besides the residents of the pits."

She then turns to strixi.

"Any information you can get us the better."