Heir to the Throne IC2

[Vegan Squirrel]

Heir to the Throne

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Previously...

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The story continues...

The six of you—Princess Aurora (pseudonym Dame Celeste), Percival Durane (pseudonym Donovan), Vettis Veers, Foolish Farley Wun, Doc MacArdle, and Officer Delta—find yourselves in the bottom level of the ruined gnome city of Sarsis. The ground is quite dusty, with tumbleweed-sized dust bunnies piled against the bases of the buildings. The walls rise up to an imperfectly joined roof—the highway level where you first entered this enormous cavern. Guided by Officer Delta, his mechanical gears constantly ticking, you make your way towards a narrow tunnel on the southern edge of the cavern.

This tunnel was definitely not carved with tall humanoids in mind, as it is only 7 feet high, though it is about 30 feet across. The dim city lights continue down the tunnel, which extends forward for about a mile. Finally, it opens into a larger cavern.

"This is the entrance to the sub-levels of Sarsis," Officer Delta explains in his tinny voice. "That staircase leads to sub-level one," he continues, gesturing toward a descending spiral staircase carved into the rock to your left. "Ahead are the entrances to the mines. My calculations indicate there is a 91% chance that the group of gnomes with the Caretaker used these elevators to reach the deepest levels of the mines."

Before you, what was once the wall of this chamber is pockmarked by a number of mining tunnels. In the center, there is another mandala on the wall, much smaller and less intricate than the one you met at the entrance of the city. Beside it are two large, open cages of metal, 10 foot cubes hanging by rusty chains from small openings in the ceiling. The chains slide through a zipper-like series of gears built into either end of each cart. It is not immediately clear whether the elevators are still safe after more than a century of disuse.

[Luccan]

All things considered, we should take precautions. Whether or not these elevators are usable, the mines themselves will likely be in disrepair as well, at least in the upper levels. Cave-ins could be a real danger.

Percival steps cautiously towards the elevators. Though the mechanical bent of his mind is geared more towards traps and locks, he takes a moment to examine the cages and see if he can determine if they might still be safe for use.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm gonna roll a basic Knowledge (Engineering) check. I don't have any ranks. If you think a different skill is better suited, let me know.

(1d20+4)[11]

[Doomboy911]

Scratching his chin confused"Hmm, this is confusing. I can see a lot of roads to walk along but my feet don't seem to know how." Walking over to the mandala he bows "Greetings, I am Farley Modell Wun. It is nice to be meeting you new mandala I have been asked to explore this area and find a caretaker do you know where they might be?"

[Vegan Squirrel]

Percival examines the mechanism of the cages, but he lacks sufficient knowledge to be certain how safe they are. Nothing seems to be broken. The chains do look rusty, however, and as they enter a gap in the ceiling, he cannot see how well they are anchored.

When Farley addresses the mandala, it slowly starts to shimmer and glow with a dim arcane energy. After a long pause, it begins to speak. "Calibrating... The Caretaker's current location is unknown. Two lifts are currently available at your level. Please select a destination."

[J-H]

Vettis

"These 'lifts' take us places? Are they safe?

What destinations are you offering us?"

[Vegan Squirrel]

The mandala whirs a little and responds to Vettis's query. "The safety of the lifts is guaranteed by our engineers' inspections. However, it has been many years since the last inspection. Proceed with caution. There are seven levels in these mines available as destinations for the lifts. This is the first level."

[J-H]

Vettis

"This place is pretty big. What are the different levels like?"

[Vegan Squirrel]

The mandala replies, "Levels one through three contain gold and copper mines; levels four and five include a large vein of silver; and the lowest levels are gemstone mines. Each level consists of excavated tunnels and exposed natural caverns; some of these caverns serve as connection points between the levels. There is also an access tunnel for arcane maintenance on level two, and a gateway to the deeper cave systems on level seven."

[Luccan]

We might secure a rope around someone, then go down the lifts one a time. If Officer Delta is correct, they might have taken the refuge beneath the mines. Percival produces a rope from his pack The creature I summoned earlier has many uses, one of which is flight. It should be able to catch anyone, should I go down first and wait for you.

[Metahuman1]

Aurora nods her approval at the plan. "Agreed. All of us taking the rope should not be hard to keep a line on you in case something happens. Let's get too it."

[Doomboy911]

"Hmm, should we tie it onto something? We need something heavy and dense" Farley begins wandering about looking for something notably heavy enough to support any of their weight.

Spoiler: Perception

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(1d20+3)[10]

That'a boy keep that screw up truck a rolling.

[Vegan Squirrel]

Farley looks around, finding a number of loose boulders near the entrances of several tunnels, rocks which were at one point part of the mine walls. They seem sufficient to support a person's weight.

Spoiler: OOC

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If you'd like to go ahead with your plan, someone will need to step into one of the cages and tell the mandala which level to take you to. I think Percival wants to go to the lowest level, but I'm not sure if you plan to go all the way down right away. I'd also like a better description of your precautions before moving forward, just to make sure I understand what you're doing. Also, happy holidays! +5 XP to all!

[Luccan]

Percival begins securing the rope around himself, offering the other end to the others.

I suppose I'll take this down at least as far as the rope will let me go. We can see where we are from there.

He pauses for a moment, then turns to the mandala

How many feet down does the lift go?

Spoiler: OOC

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Use Rope to secure it around myself: (1d20+2)[7]

I figure we're just trying to get to the bottom, so if he can get there with the length of the rope, that's where he'll go. If not, he'll go to the lowest floor he can and wait for the others to come down.

[Vegan Squirrel]

The mandala answers Percival's query, "The seventh level of the mines is 296 feet below this level."

After a short series of questions, Percival determines that with 50 feet of rope, he can only descend to the second level. He enters the cage on the left, communicating his intentions to the mandala, and with a clunk and some crackling of rust, the chains slide through the gears and lower the cage.

It is a bumpy ride at first, as bits of rust seem to momentarily stick in the gears, and you can hear the echoes of the rusty chains loudly reverberating through the descending shaft. But the machinery powers through and you reach the second level. Unlike the tunnel above, this level is not lit by the city's power supply. You see a faintly glowing mandala on one wall, and can barely make out the shape of sconces on the walls in the entrances to the dark, quiet tunnels on either side of your cage—tunnels which are barely 6 feet in height and width.

[J-H]

Vettis

Vettis sticks his head into the shaft and looks down. "How does it look?" he calls down.

[Luccan]

Percival crouches uncomfortably, wondering if it would have killed the gnomish miners to make the tunnel half a foot higher. He takes a moment to light his lantern before calling up to Vettis.

Uncomfortably small. I don't think they intended people our size to be down here, we'll barely have enough room to squeeze past each other. There's another mandala, but the city's power isn't lighting the level; I'm not sure it's functional.

He turns to the mandala and speaks again Are you functioning? If so, can you tell me whether any gnomes passed this way and where they were headed?

[Vegan Squirrel]

The mandala whirs with energy for a moment. "Many gnomes have passed by here in the past, but not for many years. They were either headed into the mining tunnels or back to the top of the lift."

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm just going to re-iterate that Officer Delta indicated it is highly likely the gnomes who evacuated went all the way to the deepest levels of the mine (so, all the way down). That's only a high likelihood, but I don't want you to lose track of him having said it. Also, to be clear, the mandala seems to be talking about everyday miners, not a large group of evacuating gnomes.

You can do whatever you want, and explore in any manner you choose. I'm just trying to avoid any miscommunication. So far, the lift seems to be functioning, at least with a load of one person's weight. You can send it back up with the rope, or have the rope's end dropped down and try to secure it again to continue down another level, or try something else.

[Luccan]

Percival calls back up, relaying the information and his interpretation of the mandala's meaning I recommend we keep heading down, a floor at a time. I'll send the rope up and we can take the lift one by one. Unless you want to chance multiple people on the lift

[J-H]

Vettis

"Better safe than sorry. For that matter, who's the heaviest? We should test it with the heaviest person first, and that way we'll know it's safe for everyone else."

[Doomboy911]

"Hmm I do not know who the heaviest is, I never weighed myself but I suppose I weigh as much as one Farley. If we're all going to go down I suggest we go down in groups of 2. I can go with dame celeste, another can go with Doc and another with Officer Delta."

[Metahuman1]

"Accounting for armor Vettis, I, suspect, I'm actually heaviest." Aurora added after taking a second to contemplate it.

"Someone put a good couple of knots in the rope and if both of you and officer delta hold on, It should be a safe enough trip down. Will work it in that pattern. Percival, then me, then everyone else. That way we know if it's going to give, it's going to do so with as many fail safes as we can manage in place."

[Doomboy911]

"Accounting for armor Vettis, I, suspect, I'm actually heaviest." Aurora added after taking a second to contemplate it.

"Someone put a good couple of knots in the rope and if both of you and officer delta hold on, It should be a safe enough trip down. Will work it in that pattern. Percival, then me, then everyone else. That way we know if it's going to give, it's going to do so with as many fail safes as we can manage in place."

"Well I'm not wearing any armor and we shouldn't head down alone. I can come with you Ms Celeste." Farley tries to loop the rope around something before tying it onto himself. "Here you hold one end and I'll hold the other." wrapping the one end of the rope around his arm tightening it to secure himself.

Spoiler: Should probably roll use rope.

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Use rope (1d20+3)[15]

Farley apparently skilled with ropes.

[Metahuman1]

"Um, Farely, I, am reasonably certain that is not how it works. Let me go down first, with the rope securing me, and everyone else holding on in case. If nothing bad happens, the rest of you shouldn't have an issue coming down." She was, gentle, with her statement, but firm.

[Doomboy911]

"Um, Farely, I, am reasonably certain that is not how it works. Let me go down first, with the rope securing me, and everyone else holding on in case. If nothing bad happens, the rest of you shouldn't have an issue coming down." She was, gentle, with her statement, but firm.

"But what if something happens to you and you can tell us something went wrong and then we go down and something goes wrong and then we don't tell the next folks something went wrong and then something goes wrong with them and then no one leaves a note saying the elevator isn't safe. Mr. Donovan is really smart and can be kind of tough looking so maybe whatever's down there was smart enough to avoid him."

[J-H]

Vettis

"How about I go down while holding your pack for you - that way you are not putting yourself at risk by being the heaviest one going down?"

[J-H]

Vettis
Carrying Princess Aurora's pack and one from someone else, Vettis hops on the elevator and takes it down to the bottom level. "If you don't hear a snap, a scream, or a heavy thud, then it's safe."

[Metahuman1]

"Farley, no, no, that's, not, no. Just, trust me, no." Her head was almost spinning trying to make sense of that.


Which, might well have been why she agreed to hand Vettis her pack.

"Make sure we have a rope on him. If he's screaming I want it to be out of unpleasant surprise he'll tell fun campfire story's about in his old age, not because it's the last sound he's going to make in life."

She directs, well, everyone present, and firmly. She was letting him go down as the heaviest possible weight they'd need to transport. She was NOT letting him do so with out at least an attempt at a fail safe.

[Doomboy911]

Nodding Farley steps off the elevator, giving Vettis a big hug Farley secures the rope around his waist before securing the other end to himself. "This way if something bad happens I'll be the first one there to help." Smiling he raises his one leg high into the air before slamming it hard into the stone then doing the same with the other.

Spoiler: Info

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Activating his bastion stance and also tying rope around Vettis so potential use rope check
(1d20+3)[14]
I figured the other end is still secured well around Farley.

[Metahuman1]

Aurora grabs Farley's end of the rope as well doing a couple of quick loops of rope around the bracers on her forearms. The rope wasn't going to hurt them, but it spread the force out enough that it was unlikely to snap from that. And she'd not be loosing her grip. She figured that way she could not only use muscles, but full body and armor weight, if it came to it.

"Just, remember that if it comes to that, plan A is for him to come to us. Not for us to go to him."

[J-H]

Vettis

The platform doesn't move. Vettis turns and addresses the mandala. "Please send the platform down."