Pathfinder 2e: Legacy of Nex (IC)

[Inspector Valin]

Sachni, Belginabo, Raka
Sachni springs out from her hiding spot behind the cart like a tigress, lunging at Cadenza as the little doll draws closer. Her first strike alone is powerful - a classic strong blow ripping with ki that knocks the little doll almost to the ground in a shower of porcelain shards. A portion of her cloak has been torn off, having wrapped itself around Sachni's hand. The little Knight of Geb looks far less impressive on the floor, leaning on her scythe for support. Sachni is about to pursue her advantage when she hears a voice from behind her.

"Here now, love! Can't have you wrecking the pretty doll, can we?"

Maha Zane steps forward, the victim in the minecart briefly forgotten by the prospect of combat and the need to defend his ally. His gaze takes just a second to evaluate the monk, and a smirk crosses his mouth, prior to a quick savage lunge forward. Like Sachni, he sees no need to draw a weapon, launching into a series of quick jabs. Yet while the monk has training and style on her side, Zane is moving faster than most mortals could hope to. And his punches come with a force to match

Spoiler

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This is gonna be a weird one - Maha's actions are interdependent - landing this first attack will change the rest of his turn, so I'm rolling it first. Fluffed as a flurry but really it's just one attack for now.

(d20+14)[26] - Damage (1d8+6)[10] bludgeoning, plus Grab

[Inspector Valin]

Sachni, Belginabo, Raka
Zane strikes as fast as he ever managed in the ring, a swift one two that slips past Sachni's guard. With a vicious grin, the former boxer steps forward and around, locking his arm around Sachni's neck, placing his elbow just below her chin. He knows how to fight. Grinning back at Belginabo, Maha offers Sachni a little commentary.

"Always wanted to go up against one of you 'Perfects'. See what all your fancy skills can really do against a good ol' street fighter. So far?"

He loosens his grip for just a second, enough to leave Sachni's neck exposed. Before she can take advantage of that though Zane bites down, spear-tip like fangs lunging towards her neck. What street fighter is above playing dirty like that. When he rises from his meel, his mouth is stained red - as is the collar of Sachni's robe.

"Not impressed."

Spoiler: OOC

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Grab - automatic since he hit with his last action? Sachni is immobilized and flat footed.
Drain Blood. (d20+11)[23] If he hits 17, gains 5 temp HP and Sachni is Drained 1

[Estralita]

Not good. Not good. Not good.

She knew they were coming, and they still managed to take her by surprise. Raka only had time to rush in and get one hit in on the big guy.

Spoiler: Move, Move, Strike!

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What the title says. Raka moves to flank with Bel, and attacks. Unfortunately, not rage.

(d20+9)[23] Damage(d12+4)[16]

[Gwynfrid]

Belginabo stands in his immobilized cart, only to see Sachni get mangled, captured and bitten. He gulps, hesitates for a second. There's no doubt in his mind that now would be a great time to run! Unfortunately, he can't forget that his two companions saved his life just a couple of hours ago. There's his promise to Lady Adria, too.

"Lady Sarenrae I had no time to ask Lady Adria for the nitty gritty details but I understand you're big about fire so if you can help with that would be much much appreciated right now."

He extends his hand as far as he can towards the bloodthirsty brute, and as he recites a string of strange words, his fingers change into as many tongues of fire to strike his enemy!

"J'ai pour allié la flamme!
Au coeur de la bataille
Contre ce type infâme
Qu'il brûle comme paille!"

In a swift movement, the rapier follows right behind the flame.

Spoiler

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Actions 1 and 2: Produce Flame as a melee attack. Spell attack (1d20+7)[22], fire damage (1d4+3)[7] (plus if flanking, precision (1d6)[1]) - if critical: double all damage, and 1d4 persistent fire damage.
Action 3: Attack with rapier (1d20+3)[8] piercing damage (1d6+1)[6] (plus if flanking, precision (1d6)[6]) - if critical: double all damage, plus deadly (1d8)[1]

[Inspector Valin]

Adria, Zarrachia, Ellie
Adria's invocation of Sarenrae is as swift and powerful as ever. The flames of the morning sun blanket the battlefield, washing over the enemies even as Adria darts away to join her friends. Yara and Peridora go with her, darting just a few steps ahead into the sanctuary of the barracks. Yet once Adria reaches the doorway, turning around to behold her handiwork...

Only one of the automata has been so much as singed. The green veined one burns, a faint smoke arising from it. The others seem completely unscated, already beginning to turn around. For all the damage and degradation these machines have received, they are worryingly sturdy.

The rust covered sentinel advances towards the barracks doorway, not even so much as deterred by Adria's magic. Peridora has to take a deep breath, while Yara is fiddling with a vial and his crossbow, muttering to himself. The amber coated autometa's spear is raised, and it starts to jab at Adria upon drawing closer, its pursuit of death implacable.

Spoiler: OOC

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Both Yara and Peridora use their actions to retreat into the room - Peridora can't add anything more, but Yara loads up a vial of bottled lightning into his Alchemical Crossbow.

Rusty moves 20ft to just in front of the doorway, 10 feet from Adria's position in the mouth of the door, and makes 2 reach attacks on Adria
(d20+11)[25] - Damage (1d8+4)[5]
(d20+6)[24] - Damage (1d8+4)[9]

Raka, Belginabo, Sachni
The vampire groans at the hefty swing of Raka's axe biting into his side. He can handle that pain. The flames that erupt from Belginabo's spell however are another matter - Maha Zane screeches in agony as the fire roars over him, burning his jacket and cap black. The pale skinned man glowers at his adversaries, even as the zombies behind him continue their laborious work, uncaring of their masters' plight. The ground shifts slightly beneath the group's feet as the great wheel slowly turns towards the tunnel out.

Between that, and Zane, Belginabo likely missed a faint voice, coming from somewhere beneath the minecart.

"Hey gnome. You didn't... forget me, did you?"

There's a faint buzzing, before a pink haired face slowly rises. The barrels might've made it harder for Maha Zane to strike Belginabo, but Cadenza is faster - she zips forward and lays a hand glowing malefic red on Belginabo's side. And with her touch alone, the little gnome feels chill, death and pain - the deeper than frost cold that runs through the very souls of the undead. Cadenza laughs, the unquenchable guffaw echoing across the field, even as the turntable continues to rotate.

Spoiler: OOC

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Vampiric Touch. Belginabo has to make a DC 18 Fortitude save to negate (6d6)[20] Negative Damage. Cadenza heals half of whatever she deals. Final action will be based on how much that is.

Turn over! We're back to Sachni. Immobilized, flat footed, drained 1 - but still not out of this fight, right?

[DigoDragon]

Ellie Sprocket

"Is there a way we could trip them up? Forcing them prone would make them easier to strike!"

Ellie moves over to Adria, pulls out a healing elixir, and helps get Adria to drink it and regain (1d6)[5] hit points.

Spoiler: Elixir notes

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•Elixir of life (minor): Restore 1d6 hit points. Drinker also gains a +1 item bonus (Fortitude) vs. poisons & diseases for 10 minutes.

Move, get elixir, feed elixir to Adria. That should be Ellie's full turn.

[Xacha]

Zarrachia

Zarra pulls a torch from her adventurers' pack, lights it with her lantern and tosses it over the heads - and missing head - of the armors. "Come on, you animated rust piles, something bright and hot is behind you now."

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Create Diversion: (1d20+10)[28]
Hopefully distracting Rusty from attacking Adria.

"Is there a way we can shut that door on them? We need time to plan," Zarra turns her lantern on the barracks, looking for anything of use. Beds to barricade the door? Chests that might hold weapons? A friendly rust monster?

Spoiler

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Let's go with Stride to move about the room, and Seek to find anything useful.
Perception check: (1d20+8)[25]

[Anyr]

Zane was a worthy opponent. Sachni could acknowledge that, as he gouged her flesh. But his arrogant taunts dispelled all respect. This man lacked a warrior's soul. He failed to acknowledge the new source of his strength.

"I'd have liked to fight that (*ugh*) simple street fighter: Instead of this undead brute. When did you become too weak to live as a human?"

Sachni's fists glowed with sacred flame. Her fists struck out at her opponent. Blow after blow after blow rained upon him.

Spoiler: OOC

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Action 1: Cast Ki Strike; Flurry Zane.
Action 2: Strike
Action 3: Strike

Flurry 1: (1d20+9)[28]; Damage: (1d8+3)[9]; Positive energy damage: (1d6)[4]
Flurry 2: (1d20+5)[18]; Damage: (1d8+3)[10]; Positive energy damage: (1d6)[6]

Strike 1: (1d20)[2]; Damage: (1d8+3)[6]
Strike 2: (1d20)[3]; Damage: (1d8+3)[11]

[Inspector Valin]

Sachni, Belginabo, Raka
Maha grits his teeth at Sachni's ki-powered blow, reeling back and relinquising his grip. His flesh is smoking, his breath heavy - it's evident he's on the ropes. Still, he manages a smug grin for the sake of his opponent. "Wasn't my choice. But hey, play the cards you're dealt, right?"

He glances around. Their options are running low. But a smile comes to the vampire's face as he glances at the zombies in the corner. He cries "Cadenza! With me!" before jumping upwards, landing like a cat atop one of the barrels in the minecart. He glances down at Belginabo with a charred grin, kicking down at the gnome with an old leather boot.

Spoiler

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1a: Leap atop the barrels on the minecart. He's still in melee reach for the party, but no odds of flanking him with the high ground unless one of you can fly.
1a: Strike Belginabo (d20+14)[16] - Damage (1d8+6)[8]
1a: Either Grab or a second strike - will roll in OOC if the latter

Bel and Raka are up!

Adria, Zarrachia, Ellie
Zarrachia's diversion seems to have bought the group some time, the armoured suits turn around, trying to evaluate the lantern and what it might mean. Peridora joins her in searching what appears to be an already somewhat trashed set of adorably undersized bunks and chests - there's nothing evidently useful to find, but soon enough Zarra's located what looks like a lever to pull the door back into place. Peridora glances to the halfling - awaiting confirmation as to if they're going to try and seal the room

Yara meanwhile has taken the practical approach. The homunculus levels his bow at the rusted sentinel before them and fires once. The crossbow glows as the bolt zips through the air, impacting against the armor with a satisfying crackle-laden thud.

Spoiler

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I am not sure that Create a Diversion is that good. It hides you - hiding the whole party effectively off of one skill check is strong. I'll let it slide this time but we need to talk about this. Peridora's helping Zarra search, and closing the door if she wants that. Yara's attacking Rusty

(d20+10)[29] - Damage (2d8)[9] Piercing + (1d6)[6] Electrical
Reload
(d20+5)[16] - Damage (2d8)[11] Piercing + (1d6)[2] Electrical

Everyone take a turn. Then the diversion wears off.

[Estralita]

"Well, die again!" Raka snarled, raising her axe to tear that thing to shreds, that dared hurt her companions. She'd destroy him, then the doll, then tear each zombie piece by piece by-

Wait. No. Don't just charge in.
Focus. Focus on what's important. Focus on what will matter most. Then destroy it.

Raka took a second to center herself, then with a new fire in her eyes, she ran to smash the doll that seemed to be the leader. Who knew what would happen with her gone.

Spoiler: Turn.

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As I said, Rage, Stride to flank Cadenza with Bel, then strike!

(d20+9)[22] Damage (d12+10)[13]

[Gwynfrid]

"Whoops! Missed!" Belginabo ducks between two barrels to avoid the vampire's blow, and the heavy boot is just a split second too slow to catch him.

He turns his eyes towards the pink-haired doll. "I didn't forget you you're the little toy that calls itself a knight but is nothing more than a nasty bully you also have disgusting friends and by the way your taste in colors is awful take that!" Belginabo makes a flourish of his rapier, just enough to distract Cadenza as he sees Raka rushing at his hateful enemy, axe in hand. But he also notices how the cart is being directed to an open track going down. Time to jump right out... But then, Raka's blow turns the doll into a shower of earthenware shards!

"Thanks! So... It's your turn, now", he adds in a defiant tone at the flailing vampire.

"Encore une fois, le feu
Arme mon bras vengeur!
Et toi, ruffian hideux
Tu en sens la fureur!"

His pointed index extends, in a fiery point to strike the threatening monster right between his bloodied lips.

Spoiler

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Reaction: Nimble Dodge! This raises his AC to... 21

Actions depend on the outcome of Raka's attack.

- If Raka killed Cadenza:
Actions #1,2 Produce Flame at Maha, as a melee attack. Spell attack (1d20+7)[27], fire damage (1d4+3)[7] (if critical: double all damage, and 1d4 persistent fire damage). EDIT: Yessss! I edited the description above accordingly.

- If Cadenza still stands:
Action #1: Attack her with rapier (I understand she's flanked) (1d20+8)[15] piercing damage (1d6+1)[4] (plus sneak attack, precision (1d6)[5]) - if critical: double all damage, plus deadly (1d6)[2]
Action #2: Attack her with rapier (or, if the first attack killed her, attack Maha instead) (1d20+3)[12] piercing damage (1d6+1)[7] (plus sneak attack, precision (1d6)[5]) - if critical: double all damage, plus deadly (1d6)[4]

Then, action #3: leap out of the cart.

[Inspector Valin]

Belginabo, Sachni, Raka
Cadenza tries to bring up her scythe to defend herself. It's not even close to fast enough or strong enough to measure up to Raka's axe swing - the little doll explodes into a shower of fragments, her soul gem briefly flashing one final time before shattering in turn. Maha Zane grits his teeth, but before he can do anything more, Belginabo's spell catches up with him. The vampire falls down into the midst of the cart, his corpse smouldering, as his cap drifts through the air before landing at Sachni's feet.

click

The turntable connects. The minecart baring Zane's corpse jets downward, into the deep recesses of the mine. The zombies return to work on the turntable, as if nothing had occurred at all. From somewhere in his pack, Belginabo can make out a faint musical chime. After a few seconds of searching, he produces the cuplrit - the music box. The device now bares a rune glowing a faint pink, and the lock upon the lid has been unsealed.

Spoiler

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Encounter over! Congrats guys! Now what?

[DigoDragon]

Ellie Sprocket

"Do we have a plan? Maybe twelve percent of a plan?" Ellie asks.

She pulls out another elixir of life and this time administers it to Zarra. Then fires her crossbow into the armored thing in the doorway.

Spoiler: Actions

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1a: retrieve elixir of life.

1a: administer to Zarra. She regains (1d6)[3] hit points.

1a: take a shot I guess? Attack: (1d20+7)[25]; damage: [roll]1d8or something

[Anyr]

The glow faded from Sachni's hands. Her ki was spent. Now free of the grapple, she breathed deeply. Her eyes strayed to the remnants of Cadenza. She smiled in satisfaction.

"Good riddance. And good work, you two. Please allow me a few minutes of rest."

She extracted the medical kit from her pack. This day had taken quite a toll on her. And it wasn't over yet. How many more minions did the mastermind possess?

Spoiler: OOC

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Treat wounds: (1d20+4)[24]

[Gwynfrid]

Belginabo takes the musical contraption out of his bag, mostly out of surprise at the sudden noise. "Ohhh... This must have been linked to Cadenza somehow... It came alive when she died!" In spite of this astounding discovery, the gnome appears a little somber, maybe winded by the tense battle.

"Thank you both", he says simply. "When I saw him bite you, Lady Sachni, I thought this was going to be the end of us. Then Cadenza's magic, I don't know how I withstood that... She was so much more powerful than me." He turns to Raka. "But you did away with her in two blows! Incredible! And then, you were right too! So many thanks for the advice, the magic worked as a weapon! He didn't like the fire did he? Oh, we have to find Lady Adria! She gave me the blessings of Sarenrae, I just have to tell her how great her help was!"

He looks at the box again, a wishful look on his face. "Fascinating, is it? But I worry it may be as intended for evil as its owner was! I really really want to tinker with it, but no, this isn't the right time." He sits down, the drain from the necromantic siphon heavy on him. "Also we should do something to stop these barrels going down. They seemed to be plotting nasty things with them!"

[Xacha]

Zarrachia

Zarra starts reaching for her bow while shouting, "Peridora ... hold on ... when one of us asks, close the door. Depending on how this goes we may want to let one in. Right ... everyone aim at the rusty one in front!"

"Blaaaap!"

"... Goopy, we're going to have to talk about your diet when we get back."

Spoiler

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1. Sheath sword, prep bow
2 & 3: Acid splash cantrip: (1d20+8)[27]
Possible damage: (1d6+1)[7]
Persistant damage only on crit

[Inspector Valin]

Zarrachia, Ellie, Adria

Spoiler

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Hate to waste a crit, especially after the delay, buut...

Opening the door, Zarrachia... is surprised to find the armour suits gone. She glances around - the entire area around the three doors deeper into the complex is now unoccupied. The same blue ward still flickers over the front entrance, and the various machinery that fills the chamber has begun to clack and hiss, but there's no sign of anything evidently about to kill them right now. It feels like they have the run of the place again. Leaving excluded, unfortunately.

Belginabo, Sachni, Raka

Spoiler

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I believe I'm still waiting on you guys? Sachni succeeded on her roll, but beyond that you weren't taking any course of action yet, though Bel had thrown out a few, right? Or did I miss something?

[DigoDragon]

Ellie Sprocket, confused alchemist

"Uh... they bugger off someplace?" Ellie asks. She looks around the other room from the doorway. "Hmm, I wander if these suts are intelligent. Or perhaps driven by an intelligence elsewhere in the complex? Sir Yara, do those animated suits of armor normally react this way to intruders?"

[Xacha]

Zarrachia

"It's hard to imagine the one with no head being intelligent, murmurs Zarrachia. "And did you hear that laugh? I don't think any of them could make a sound like that."

She re-shoulders her bow and retrieves her rapier.

[Gwynfrid]

Putting the closed box back in his backpack for study at a later time, Belginabo goes to inspect the turntable and the zombies. He moves carefully, mindful of the risk that the zombies might attack if thwarted in a direct manner. He looks for ways to jam the turntable, of possibly, to block the arrival of new carts.

Spoiler

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Stealth (1d20+7)[8]

Then, he tries to pry one of the barrels open, curious as to what they might contain.

Spoiler

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Thievery (1d20+7)[12]

[Syless]

Adria keeps her scimitar and holy symbol ready. "This is wrong... they retreated too quickly. We need to move carefully, and be ready to fire at a moment's notice. But while we have a moment..." She murmurs a prayer to Sarenrae, releasing a wave of healing energy to patch the wounds of her allies.

Spoiler: OOC

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Casting Cure Wounds as a three-action spell, healing everyone for (1d8)[6] damage.

[Inspector Valin]

Zarrachia, Adria & Ellie
Yara grimaces at Ellie's reminder of the laugh. He nods at her question. "If you've got the right key rune, you're supposed to be able to give them orders. They're smarter than they look - ruddy things can adapt to situations pretty well, they're intended to fight without further direction. But we didn't see or hear anyone give them new instructions, right?" He's not sure what could've given them orders, but they'd tried to kill the group - he's not writing the idea off.

"Maybe they were told to stop us getting out?" Peridora offers, gesturing to the door with the blue runes slowly rotating atop it. "We were kinda between them and the exit. And something locked it."

Now that things are calm, it's a bit easier to take a look around the barracks. It's... not in that great a shape, and that's not the party's fault. Zarra and Peridora tore it up a bit searching, but most of the undersized bunk beds have already been overturned, footlockers thrown across the room. They're almost obscured by the chaos of the area, but shifting the blankets and moving the footlockers uncovered a garishly pink liquid that's been spread around the room. There's stains on matresses, on the floor, a few even on the walls and ceiling.

Yara grimaces as soon as it's pointed out to him. "Blood. It's the blood of homunculi. Spread around like this, makes it look like a lot of folk died in this room. Maybe most of the workers here."

You have the passage out to the main room still before you. That leads both to the remaining central chamber, and the storage hall across the way. Alternatively, the barracks opens up onto a glaringly white brick corridor, leading into further subrooms and hallways of Node Sigma. You might be a bit less obvious going that way than proceeding right through the heart of the facility.

Belginabo, Sachni & Raka
The zombies ignore Belginabo as he looks them over, the mindless husks only focused on their job. A well placed rock in the gears beneath the upside is enough to jam the turntable, though the zombies don't stop pushing against it. Warily, Bel adds a few more rocks to the mechanism, wedging them in as tightly as he can. It'll hopefully hold for long enough that the wheel the zombies are turning or the gears below will break more quickly than the rocks.

Soon enough, the little gnome is back up top, moving over to one of the now stuck carts and prying a barrel open. There's a bitter, sulfuric smell as he looks down to see what he might have expected. Black powder. A lot of black powder.

[Gwynfrid]

Belginabo's discovery has him speechless, but that doesn't last. He runs back to his companions, to tell the news in a single, rushed sentence.

"Black powder it's black powder loads and loads of it this is a plot to do something really really bad I wonder how many carts full of it they have sent down already the vampire was talking about a breach point when we came in oh this is awful!"

[DigoDragon]

Yara grimaces as soon as it's pointed out to him. "Blood. It's the blood of homunculi. Spread around like this, makes it look like a lot of folk died in this room. Maybe most of the workers here."

"Blood... yet, where are the bodies? And for what purpose were they collected?" Ellie questions.

She peers down the white brick corridor. "Perhaps taking a side route will be better for us. Might take a little bit longer going roundabout, but we could trigger fewer traps that way."

[Anyr]

"What?!"

Sachni leapt to her feet. She struggled to process this new development. The situation just kept getting worse. She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. Then she started grabbing supplies.

"We have to stop this. Sad to say, the survivors are no longer our first priority. If this scheme is allowed to succeed, it will steal many more lives. Let's get moving!"

The monk would set off along the cart track. She still tried to stay stealthy. But speed had become more important. How many barrels had already reached the 'breach'? Sachni prayed that she'd arrive in time. All those people, up above, were counting on her.

[Xacha]

"[COLOR="#008000"][Ellie] peers down the white brick corridor. "Perhaps taking a side route will be better for us. Might take a little bit longer going roundabout, but we could trigger fewer traps that way."

Zarrachia

"That's exactly what I'm thinking. Someone is pulling the strings in here, and I'd rather not attract their attention more than we have to."

She opens her backpack and shoos Goopy into its confines. "Sorry, sweetheart, but mama's going to have to be sneaky-sneaky again. Bright green slimes tend to attract attention."

"Alright, any votes on which door to go through?"

[DigoDragon]

"Alright, any votes on which door to go through?"

"This hallway here in the barracks seems intriguing," Ellie votes.

[Gwynfrid]

"You're right Lady Sachni we must hurry those carts are going downhill aren't they so I've got an idea!"

The gnome pauses for dramatic effect. "Let's remove the barrels from a cart and we can all sit in it I'm sure it will be much faster than walking!"

[Anyr]

Sachni gave this idea a whole second of consideration.

"That seems...tactically unsound. For now, let's just walk."

[Gwynfrid]

Belginabo's face deflates, his enthusiasm punctured as if by a sharp object. He doesn't reply other than with a sad sigh, and starts to walk down the tracks.

At some point on the way, an animal suddenly comes into view, coming from nowhere, or maybe from some hidden corner in one of the darker tunnels. It's a small ferret, with a golden-hued fur, making a beeline right at the gnome. "Oh, here you are, little scoundrel! Where have you been? I was wondering when I'd see you again!" He scoops the creature in his hands and pets him affectionately as he continues walking.