The Complex of Doom (IC) Thread 2

[Cavir]

Caidacyn's shattering of the crystals was a small win for those living above the Complex supposedly but Kricen leaned nothing from it so he was slightly frustrated even if they were the expected results.

"The goblinoid encampment is that way? I'll stay in the back with my pets so the goblins don't just start shooting first."

Spoiler: OOC

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Kricen hasn't been here nor at the goblinoid encampment. The rest of the group was assumed to be part of the group when the group did go through here, so Kricen will follow the group. Enough groups? :)

[razorback]

Shim nods in agreement as he looks at Caidacyn. "You want sneak and I sweet talk them or do you want to do the talking?" he asks as he plucks as his bowstring nonchalantly, as if tuning a lyre.

[J-H]

The group heads north, and, thankful for the lack of humidity, enjoys a peaceful walk before arriving at the double doors of the goblin outpost. Opening them triggers an audible chiming noise similar to the Alarm spell.

The room is large, with a deactivated set of portal runes on the ground about 40’ from the doors. A wall slightly higher than a human head, made of seamless (possibly magically conjured) stone and metal on the other side of the portal cuts the room in half, with a built-up gate area that’s currently closed. The gate is flanked by a pair of burning torches. The flames crackle and move, but do not smoke - characteristic of Everburning Torches. The room has a slight organic, lived-in scent to it.

A dozen assorted goblinoids are atop the steps behind the wall, looking at you. They’re all armored uniformly with a mix of breastplates, leather, and (in three cases) full plate armor; one vanishes from sight just as you look, fading into invisibility. Most hold bows, although you can see polearms ready to grab. A tall hobgoblin wearing plate armor stands beside the gate fortification. Behind them is a wall-mounted banner featuring a vertical sword, spear, and arrow above four stylized handprints representing the four subspecies of goblins.

They recognize you, and although they look askance at the skeletal creations, they also recognize that the glowing stone Babs is carrying is something of significance. The commander you spoke to before asks. “You return, with something large. This does not appear as simple weapon or item created or found. What is it?”

[Dexam]

Caidacyn scouts ahead of the group, invisibly, until they reach the doors to the goblin settlement. There she cancels the invisibility, both out of courtesy and so the goblins don't think her to be some kind of threat.

"I'm happy to speak to them," she says to Shim.

She approaches the hobgoblin commander, but not too closely. "The object we have found is a part of The Complex, and we believe that it can be used to protect against the powers of Whitemarsh." Caidacyn presents the journal found by the party. "Here, read this - it should answer many of your questions. We hope that some of your people may be skilled enough to study the object and learn how to reproduce it's powers; failing that, we can use it against Whitemarsh as we hunt him down... is there any news about his whereabouts?"

[J-H]

The commander, Jirezgd, takes the journal, then steps back and has the short blue goblin next to him, Azul, look through it. “Interesting – this is certainly more than I knew. May we send this back to our city with a runner? If it bears out, I’m sure you will be rewarded. Can you have your undead saurians and demon step back so I can look at it? And no, we don't know where Whitemarsh is. He stays mobile, always several steps ahead of us.”

Azul approaches, wincing slightly at the mental static as he steps into the area of effect. He waves a hand near the stone, then looks back at Jirezgd, who does not react. “It makes it almost impossible to communicate telepathically, and I think it would make it much harder for anyone to be affected by mental powers while in range of this. Perhaps we should send this to the High Council to guard themselves with for a time. Or we could build a strike force around this. I definitely want the sages to look at this.

Is it safe to touch?”

[razorback]

Shim watches as Caidacyn takes the lead, nodding his approval unconsciously. When Azul asks his question, he blurts out "Well, I'm not telepathetic but it didn't hurt me." not realizing that he might be both stepping on Caidacyn's toes and using a made up word.

[Cavir]

As the group enters, Kricen has his undead move just inside and off to the right. He's not looking to instigate a fight here. As Azul approaches, Kricen has the undead face towards the wall, allowing Azul to get up close to the large and heavy stone securely strapped to Max's back. "The journal is what led us to this item. According to the journal there are more down there if you want to take on that risk. We need this one to deal with your enemy. We don't know if this one can be broken up to multiple pieces and keep the same effectiveness. Perhaps we break off a small piece here in safety to test with. You can touch the stone if you want, I have not."

"We killed the raptors spoken of in the journal. That's where I got these two. Guess we also took revenge for this... Coll Vinsen for you." Kricen takes a relaxed seat on the ground and eats some food from his backpack.

[Dexam]

Caidacyn gives an uncertain shrug. "To be honest, I have no idea if it's safe to touch, because apart from the undead... things that carried it, none of us have touched it. It seems likely that it might be unwise for living creatures to touch it, though. We found it in a stream and it corrupted the waters, turning them a glowing green and causing those that regularly drank or lived in the tainted waters to become warped in unnatural ways." She gestures at the journal. "The goblin who wrote that seemed to say that once heavily tainted by the waters, the creatures could not pass from the area - at least not through the known exits. We didn't witness it for ourselves, but it seems unlikely that he would lie, and we found no evidence of creatures from there in the area surrounding the door we entered."

"As for sending this to your city with a runner... they would need to be a strong runner; the stone is heavy."

[J-H]

"Hmm..." The hobgoblin rubs his chin. "You are correct. Perhaps place it over in the corner there, and I will send a message back to the city. The sages may simply send someone to inspect it, or a sled to drag it on. With the way they are... it may take days to decide. Are you in need of anything in particular? What will you do next?

I have not heard of this Coll Vinsen, but we'll have them look at that as well."

[Cavir]

"Are you in need of anything in particular? What will you do next?"

"I would find it hard to believe if your people didn't know anything of the paths out that door we just came in. We need maps, even if they aren't complete. Are there areas your people tend to disappear? Could be Whitemarsh's doing. We need anything you have to help find your enemy. We've already proven ourselves with the raptors and getting the stone."

After Azul responds Kricen continues. "Could you excuse us for a minute? We need to discuss our options among ourselves."

After Azul steps away and with the group within the effect of the stone the necromancer quietly addresses the living members of the group. "I don't see a need to sit here for days for their bumbling nor them insisting on taking the stone from us. I say we get what we can out of them, maybe camp here for a night, then continue on."

[Dexam]

Caidacyn gives a nonchalant half-shrug. "It's a shame that they can't tell us more, but it is what it is. The problem with just taking the stone with us is how heavy it is. If that walking mockery of the natural order of things you're using as our beast of burden is destroyed (and may that day come sooner rather than later), we have no practical way of moving the stone. However, if the goblin sages can figure out a way to carve it up without reducing its effectiveness too much, we could all take a piece each with us to protect us from the mind powers of Whitemarsh, and the goblins can have the rest - everyone gets something useful."

She glances at the stone, then at Azul. "Maybe if they have some stoneworkers with tools here, we could get them to cut a piece off now?"

[Cavir]

"The stoneworker idea is good. Especially since we have someone to test it out with. If they take the stone it may takes days to get it back at best or their High Council may decide to keep it. Even if the stonechips idea works each of those pieces should be worth quite a lot for what it can do. It'd be like carrying around a permanent and mobile Anti-Magic Shell item, for psionics."

[J-H]

“A map…certainly, we should have some around here. If not, I can draw a copy for you,” offers Jirezgd.

Azul walks back towards the fortification. “People have disappeared from all over. Whitemarsh’s influence knows no bounds it seems.” Then, in Goblin, “Hey Khat, didn’t you say your father was a sculptor? Think you can chip a bit off of that big glowing stone?”

Khat calls back “Yah, but no tools here. They got something sharp and hard to cut with? My da always swore by his adamantine-tipped chisel.”

[J-H]

Spoiler: map

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Blind eye = grimlock territory
Spider = Spiders
Winged lion = Sphinxes
Bug head = umber hulks

[razorback]

Spoiler

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Sorry, works been a bear lately and I spent time with the family all weekend.

Shim just nods and considers as the others discuss what to do with the stone. These power were something knew to him and he was still trying to sort it all out compared to magic, which he had some small skill in. Before their hosts come back he says "Well, it would be a boon to have such a device. Those dinosaurs are nasty and I can't imagine Whitemarsh would be any better.
Perhaps we can offer something for some smaller stones, if they prove effective, and we can circle back around in a few days?"
As Jirezgd brings forth the map, his face pinches up as he looks at the options. "Well, at least we can pick our poison, eh. What that?" he asks Jirezgd as he points to the omega sign on the map.

[Cavir]

"Caidacyn, can you shatter just the end of the stone?"

[Dexam]

Caidacyn spreads her hands helplessly. "I'm afraid that the magic doesn't work that way; I can only affect a whole object, not just a part of it. And that stone is far too large and heavy to shatter with my magic. Sorry."

The fey lass glances over the map. "Librarian ogres? Really?"

[J-H]

(The omega sign indicates the archway you descended from to the mutant dinosaur chaos area)

[Cavir]

Perhaps we can offer something for some smaller stones, if they prove effective, and we can circle back around in a few days?

Kricen looked at Shim puzzled. "We pay them? This is ours. We trekked long and hard for it, Remember the things that wanted to eat us along the way? The goblins should be paying us handsomely for it while we still get to keep part of it. They know how valuable this is, being able to protect their leaders from Whitemarsh. Being able to block psionics should be priceless, more so when their greatest enemy depends on it. What do you think? 10,000? 20,000? Maybe the ogres will offer more?"

[razorback]

"True, true, but something for their time to work them into something more portal is what I was thinking. Plus, it might put them more in our favor, which might be worth the cost alone."

[Cavir]

"Fine. Thought you meant giving it away and leaving us nothing for it. Make what deals you can. See if they can introduce us to the ogres. I'm quite interested to see what they know. The goblins will need Max to carry the stone, and me to direct Max."

[Dexam]

"I agree that a more portable form of the stone is rather necessary," Caidacyn says. "And assuming that it still works when broken up, we will be able to distribute its protective properties over more people and a wider area, rather than it being focused solely on the one thing. Does anyone posses any kind of adamantine or similarly strong weapon or tool, which we could use to chip off pieces of the stone? If not, we'll have to wait for the goblins to send for someone who owns such tools. In the meantime, perhaps it would be worthwhile to go visit this ogre clan - they might have some tools that they are willing to trade for, or information about the whereabouts of Whitemarsh... what does everyone else think?"

[Kish]

"I can break it easily enough with a normal weapon," Matai says.

Spoiler

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Every few rounds he can use Mountain Hammer.

I somehow stopped getting notifications for this; sorry! Thanks for PMing me, Cavir.

[Cavir]

"Alright, let's try it then." Kricen has Max position itself so the ropes can be untied and the large stone laid on the ground. Once the stone is on the ground he has Max stand guard at the entrance and the other two undead go to the other side of the entrance, out of the way. The necromancer steps back too.

[Kish]

Matai swings his axe, trying to break off a small piece of the stone from the nearest side first.

Spoiler

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Mountain Hammer damage: (1d10+2)[8] + (2d6)[5], ignoring all DR and hardness. If the stone cracks but doesn't break or show any reaction that suggests this is a bad idea, he'll keep swinging as often as Mountain Hammer is granted.

[J-H]

A small chunk cracks free, popping off and flying a short distance before hitting the ground and then bouncing to a stop. The chunk seems to have cracked on impact, such that it would be easy to break it into one piece the size of a fist and another about half that size but flatter.

[razorback]

Shim walks over and grabs the chunk gingerly with a piece of rag he has. "Hope this is safe, at least. Can't be too careful, right?" Turning it over in the rag a few times, he looks at the others. "Question is, do this be enough to be effective and how far out? Guess we can't know until we try it, eh?"

[Cavir]

Kricen looks to the blue goblin to test out the smaller stone. They'd have to be away from the original larger stone of course.

[J-H]

The groups with the Blue goblin to test the effectiveness of the small stone. The effect is very weak, and he ends up having to hold the larger chunk next to his head to notice it.

“I suppose it would do for making some headbands, but apparently breaking this into numerous small chunks will leave us without any large area-covering solutions.”

[Cavir]

"So will having a chunk on your head or around your neck will protect you from powers (all powers?) being used on you? Or does it merely prevent one from using powers, meaning we would have to get a piece around Whitemarsh's neck or the big stone near him?"

"That's a large heavy stone. Breaking off some chunks will still leave an area affect on the main piece. Max here is the only one who can carry the main piece. You want Whitemarsh dead right? You mentioned a strike force. Would seem best for us to hang on to it. Send out your scouts to find him. If scouts don't return from an area that's a clue."

Kricen thinks a bit more. "You said Whitemarsh is always ahead of you? Maybe you have a traitor? Would marching everyone past the stone be of help?"