Pathfinder 2e: Legacy of Nex (IC)

[Gwynfrid]

Belginabo finds himself fighting back tears too, but he can't tell whether it's from hearing the heart-wrenching conversation between the goblin, the girl and the half-elf, or from his own, increasingly desperate - and failing - exertion. Must be the exertion.

A call for Okoro to rush in to help is burning on his lips, but he realizes he has no right to risk this extraordinary being's safety in such a way. What a loss it would be for magic and lore! Besides, a doll of that size, made of porcelain, has to be heavy, the platform looks ready to collapse as it is, the extra weight could finish it. So that's out... What else? I got no magic for this. Strength... forget it. He listens to the Sarenrite's plea. Prayer... Never been my thing. Guess if there's a time to start, would be now. Gnawing at the back of his mind is the ugly imp of doubt: If he hadn't taken such a risk, if he had stayed at the edge of the pit, maybe nobody would have died?

"Lady of the Everlight! Truth is, I don't know much of your faith. Never cared much, if I'm honest. But I swear, I swear to all the gods! If the three of you live to see morning, I'll learn all of your church's teachings, and I'll pray, and seek forgiveness as much as it takes - I hear Sarenrae is big on that, right? You have the word of Belginabo, honest wizard... apprentice." The last word, coming with the last of his breath, is barely audible.

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I'm not sure if that encouragement is Religion or Diplomacy or something else (it's not Deception, that's for sure). Anyway, here's a roll to Aid, I'll let you judge what skill makes sense. (1d20)[16]

EDIT below, to reconcile the order of the narrative after I got ninja'd by the GM

... And then... The little gnome sees the blue light, hears the eerie chants from below that he had failed to notice, enthralled as he was in the fervor in his own speech. His eyes go as wide as saucers when he peeks down the pit. The girl, the goblins, all going down light as so many feathers! "WOW. I mean... Wow." He turns to face the half-elf woman who just called forth this unbelievable miracle.

"You are... She is for real." His face is pale with shock, but his eyes are sparkling as if they had their own light in them. "Sarenrae, I mean," he clarifies, in case that was needed. His whole body shaking, he falls to his knees. "I was serious, my lady, I promise you I was. I'm even more so, now. I hope you will guide me."

[DigoDragon]

Ellie comes to in a dimly lit room, lying on a hard cold surface. She glances around her. The rocky walls seem hewn, not crafted, a rough stone face hastily made from rock. Affixed at regular intervals around the room, with two beside the cast iron door, are blue glowing orbs that cast the only faint light here. The one remaining feature appears to be the area she's lying in - a circular platform has been errected upon the chamber floor, with three wire mesh pylons around it and a series of arcane looking runes at its base.

"Bomber girl?" Koma rises slowly to his feet beside Ellie, dusting off his coat before joining Ellie in looking across the room. He seems just as confused as her, staring up at the faint blue orbs. "What happened?"

"Uhhh..." Ellie gets up, slowly, and checks that she didn't hurt herself. She see the goblin and narrows her eyes. "What happened? What happened was that we were falling and fighting over the wand when you...! Um..."

She looks around again. This is not anyplace she had been to before.

"Huh. Alright, Gobo, let's call a momentary truce until we figure out where we are." The itch of curiosity is the only thing keeping her calm right now. "We got knocked off the gorilla by one of your crazy assoicates, fell through the air trying to grab onto the wand... did we activate the wand?"

Ellie paces around the room. She first notes the platform she awoke on. Could this be a summoning point for a teleport spell? Did they teleport somewhere? She then studies the trio of wire mesh pylons, and the arcane runes at the base. She attempts to decipher if these runes might reveal something to this platform's function (Arcana check (1d20+7)[11]).

"Where's the wand, did it land with us down here?"

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Now, a choice to those of you in the Ooze Pit. I'll allow one dialogue post per player while the Echo Event is going on. After that, you have to choose. Join Nihnin and Peridora in the Pit, and try to get them out safely? Or rendezvous with the Oenopion authorities, and see if you can get some rest/assistance before going down there? Sachni being up above and Ellie... elsewhere ensures that I'm dealing with a split party no matter what, so vote purely on what your character would want to do.

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I vote explore this strange room that in no way will harm my character through her curiosity.

[Xacha]

"Alright, goblin, you've got two options. Grab the rope and come quietly, or become an ooze snack ..."

It turns out that there was a hidden third option. It involved chanting slimes.

She stared at Goopy. He's never talked before. She was pretty sure that if he'd ever talked before, she would have had to pay a LOT more money for him.

As the miracle faded, Zarra was left with a limp rope and a lot of questions. She idly stroked her ooze and considered her options. Bureaucratic instinct told her to report what she'd just seen to the higher-ups. Let them deal with it. But, honestly, she just didn't know enough to write that report. What she had just seen made no sense. She needed to know more.

"Alright, Goopy, let's go visit your family."

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Curiosity conquers caution, at least this once. Zarra wants to help the folks trapped in the pit, maybe poke the oozes a bit and do some general snooping before she reports back.
She's got the usual 50' of rope already tied to a rock. What can she reach?

[Anyr]

The knight's story struck a chord. Sachni wanted to reject its crusading fervour. The Sachni of today wasn't a crusader. She didn't 'chafe against the bindings of peace'. She was content to await the appointed day of battle (should one ever come at all). But she also had a wonderful home and family. What if the Whispering Tyrant had destroyed Jalmeray, instead of Lastwall? What if everything Sachni loved had been lost? She might well have ended up like Landry.

As she set down another piece of debris, the monk sighed.

"I have no right to criticise your vengeance. I've never experienced a loss like yours. Lands have fallen. Armies march. And here we stand, far from both. In the end, I just want this island of peace..."

She gestured to the decorations, stalls, and smiling people.

"...to continue. Let's at least try to make this festival a success. If trouble really is on the horizon, people will need some happy memories to get them through it."

[Inspector Valin]

"True enough. True enough."

Landry sighs, that's an argument he can appreciate. It's his job to rally people to Lastwall's banner, but that doesn't mean he should deny them happy memories in the process. Let them join from valor and bravery, not out of hatred or fear. He nods to Sachni, smiling at the monk before returning to his share of the work in contented silence.

It's not long however until they are interrupted. A quiet voice coughs from somewhere behind them. "Lady Sachni? Sir Landry?" Turning, Sachni sees a strangely pale skinned gnome, with white hair and a pair of horn rimmed classes. The stranger bows. "The Grand Alchemist wants to see you both. Come with me, please."

---

Koma looks annoyed at Ellie's suggestion, crossing his hands as he shakes his head in denial. "Patchy not my friend! She throw me off too! She want kill us both, you not hear her yell 'DIIIIE' all scary like?"

The goblin peers around the cave. His eyes are a little better adapted to the dark than Ellie's, but there isn't much to see in the shadows of this room. It seems bare. Utilitarian. He glances up. then points towards the ceiling. "We no fall here. No hole."

He's right. There's solid rock above you. As to the circle and pylons, Ellie has seen something a little similar before. The Guildhall has its own teleportation circle, connecting it to the Bandeshar, Nex's capitol building in Quantium. Only senior alchemists and registered local wizards are allowed to use it, but she can recognize some of the runes from it here. It looks like it could be the same thing. But teleportation circles like that are supposed to be linked: you step through one to arrive at the other, and the two of them weren't standing on a circle. Could that be what the pylons are for? But if so, what do they do?

Koma looks at her, wide eyed. "Wand do this?!" The Cindersnout whistles at the thought of the item having that much power. The goblin checks his pack, then his pockets, before turning back to Ellie. "I not have it. You not have pack, so you not have it. Where it gone?"

He starts checking the pylons, turning his head about to see if it'd fallen through the wire mesh. Koma's assumptions aside, Ellie's pretty sure she didn't use the wand. She's tried using wands before. It didn't go well, and there's more to it than just how you hold it. That said, she's not seeing the wand anywhere in this room. Something must have happened to it.

[DigoDragon]

"No, we didn't fall," Ellie agreed after she glanced up. "It has to be magic; this platform is similar to one I've seen that can teleport you from one place to another... but you have to stand on one to make it work and we weren't on a platform to begin with... hmm, the wand probably didn't do this. Might be why it didn't come with us. The question then, is what DID bring us here?"

Ellie walks over to the big door and inspects it. "Well we can debate how we got here, or... we could see if someone is around to answer our questions for us."

She checks to see if the door can be opened?

[Inspector Valin]

The door creaks ajar. Ellie sees another blue orb on the other side flicker into life. There's no sound coming from outside though.

The goblin nods to her, "I go first. I got sword. You stay behind Koma." Unless Ellie has some objection, Koma hefts the door back, and takes the first step outside

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C'mon. Like I'd trap the first door

As they walk on, more of the magical lamps flicker into life, and Ellie can see a fair bit further now. She's in a hallway, at the far end of it in fact. Across from her, she sees two open doors, one leading into a large but mostly open room, something akin to an indoor courtyard, and the other opening into rows of dusty bunkbeds - perhaps a barracks of some kind? Looking around, there's a selection of closed doors here too; one on the other side of the hall, just past the bunkhouse, one level with them on the side they just came in from, and one right at the opposite end of the hallway.

The last door is different. It looks big, towering over Ellie and Koma, wrought from strange black metal. Even from a distance and with the faint blue light, Ellie can make out a lot of fine detailing on it, with angels and dragons worked into the design. And -

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Rohlin (1d20+7)[25]

What seems at first to be the Crest of Nex? Ellie's familiar enough with that symbol: it's the three circles the country displays on its flag, two red to either side of a central white. It's the mark associated with the archmage, and his views on magic. But something's odd about it. The central circle is raised above the other two, tongues of fire rise up from the set, and between each pair of circles there's a rune. And the whole sigil isn't carved into the metal exactly, there's no dent or furrow, it's just... there.

It takes Ellie a few seconds to work out what about the mark was bugging her. She's seen it drawn that way before, somewhere. And then finally she has it. It's not the symbol on the flag, it's the sigil that flag is a simplified version of. It's the arcane mark of Nex himself, the founder of the nation and one of the most legendarily powerful mages in the history of Golarion!

He was here. Personally. The mark is a simple spell, cast by him, that's endured down the millenia since he vanished.

[DigoDragon]

Perhaps Ellie was just a wee bit paranoid about that first door. After all, her luck was on full display now, wasn't it? All the bad in full view, and oh look at that! Gobo has a sword.

Ugh, Ellie hoped her situation improved soon.


When the pair reach the hallways end, Ellie tapped her chin. "This must be some kind of bunker. But... What ever for?" It was when she turned and saw the ornate door that Ellie forgot about everything else.

"Gobo, do you know what this is?! T-This is the mark of Nex! *HE* was actually here! And we're here. We... are here..."

Ellie continues to study the door, glancing around the rooms. "But how did we get here? It couldn't be by chance; surely someone else would have stumbled into this place well before we did. What key did we have that opened this place...?"

Her eyebrows raised up on her face. "Gobo, do you still have the other three treasures? Maybe one of those is the key that brought us here!"

[Inspector Valin]

'Gobbo' looks irritable. And does not seem to care about Ellie's revelation. "Name Koma, bomber-lady. If this truce, we need to use names, right?"

The request for the remaining treasures makes the Cindersnout leader raise an eyebrow, expecting some trick. But he nods, "Koma still got other things, yes. They supposed to be magic?" He holds up each in sequence in front of the door. "Cards? Book? Gold triangle thing?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Just to make it clear, you haven't tried any of the three doors yet, and there's more to the two open rooms. Feel free to examine stuff, make rolls, and go wherever.

Also (d20+5)[9]

[Syless]

Adria doesn't hesitate at the miracle. Sarenrae has touched this pit, and there's a chance for her to save her- Peridora and others. Before jumping, she turns to the gnome, the sudden convert- "If you truly mean what you've said... I won't ask you to join me below. But do everything you can to arrange for a rescue. Work with the city, look for mages who might be able to cast spells to get us out. And... the girl's name is Peridora. Find her parents. Tell them she's in safe hands." With that, she leaps from the ledge she's on, and the glow of the oozes' miracle leads her to drift down into the dark.

[DigoDragon]

'Gobbo' looks irritable. And does not seem to care about Ellie's revelation. "Name Koma, bomber-lady. If this truce, we need to use names, right?"

Ellie is slightly annoyed, by this, but she just folds her arms together and gives a matter of fact expression. "Very well. I'll call you Koma, you call me Ellie."

Not that Bomber Lady was really a bad description of her. She... had a few incidents with explosives so it kinda fit. Ehh, don't tell the Grand Master about this nickname.

The request for the remaining treasures makes the Cindersnout leader raise an eyebrow, expecting some trick. But he nods, "Koma still got other things, yes. They supposed to be magic?" He holds up each in sequence in front of the door. "Cards? Book? Gold triangle thing?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Just to make it clear, you haven't tried any of the three doors yet, and there's more to the two open rooms. Feel free to examine stuff, make rolls, and go wherever.

Also [roll0]

Ellie watched each item, then pondered the lack of any reaction by the door. "Hmm, maybe the item is only meant to bring us here to this place? Hold on to them for now. We should look around and make sure no one has been here recently, or still is. We might find clues on what this place was used for while we're at it."

She looks at the area around and walks towards the barracks looking room. She will poke around beds and such to see if it has signs of recent habitation.

"So, Koma, why are you trying to steal these items? You seemed to have grandiose plans for them earlier."

[Gwynfrid]

Belginabo feels his chest swelling with pride. She trusts me! That's got to be a great start with Sarenrae!

"At your service, my lady! I'll get to it immediately!" He feels a pang of regret that there's a whole new world of mysteries to explore below. But he's been given another task. Besides... It means he'll be able to have more conversations with Okoro, so it's not like he's going to run short of exciting things to discover!

Before he hops off the platform to get back to more stable grounds, he watches the half-elf priest go down in a fascinating, slow fall. Magic! Sooo impressive, and it came from the girl, but then it was the oozes chanting... Amazing... The calls from the guards trying to restore some semblance of order shake him off his reverie. But... Oh.

"Er... My lady... Mind telling me your name?"

[Xacha]

Zarrachia checked to make sure the rope was secure around a stone, then tossed the free end into the Pit.

"As mama used to say, if you're gonna get in trouble, go in feet first. Let's go, Goopy!"

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Zarra rappels down to a large-ish incubation chamber to check on a slime.
Acrobatics, just in case: (1d20+4)[24]

She'll generally poke around to see if any of the ooze is still feeling talkative.

[Anyr]

Sachni was content in her work. Of course, she hadn't originally been brought here to fix stalls. The universe soon reminded her of this fact. Sachni returned the gnome's bow, with a precision born of practice. This kind of thing got its own class in school.

"Of course. Please lead the way."

Time to be a diplomat again. Sachni grew a bit nervous. This festival hadn't exactly gone to plan. The protocols she'd been taught might not be enough any more.

[Syless]

As she slowly descends into the murky pit, Adria shouts back up at the gnome. "Adria Mullheim! I'll be back!"

[Inspector Valin]

The barracks is... strangely untouched. Not only does it not show signs of recent habitation, Ellie is willing to wager the place has never been fully inhabited. Most of the beds still lie undisturbed, the lockboxes rest open and empty. Only a few of the sheets being crumpled show that this room has ever been in use. At the back of the hall lies a reasonably comprehensive armory, with various outfits and weapons that all appear to be in good condition. There are even some hefty looking crossbows that seem remarkably well preserved, resting beneath a large Nexan flag still hung proudly upon the wall

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I'm fine with you picking up any mundane armor or weapon you want. Consider this an apology for your gear being taken (don't worry, you'll get it back. )

Ellie does make out something strange about one of the disturbed bedsheets. She can't quite put her finger on what at first, until she goes over to examine it more closely. Pulling the sheet back, she finds one of the wall mounted orb-lamps, but with a handle to make it carryable. Beside it rests an amulet, wrought of silver of some kind, and a scrap of paper with a brief note written upon it.

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Add 'Everburning Torch', and 'Old Nex Amulet (20gp)' to your inventory. Languages wise, I... don't think I ever went over the regular Golarion languages with you Digo. Ellie's assortment are okay, there's nothing on there she shouldn't have but there's other options I should've drawn to your attention. She's nowhere near elven heartlands for example, but Necril is a common tongue in Geb, Osiriani and Kelesh are more widely spoken than Common in Nex, and Osiriani has an Ancient variant. Hell, amongst Nexite mages the planar tongues are more widely spoken than Elven or Draconic, so I'd accept those if you wanted one.Would you like to swap out Ellie's language choices?

And no, I'm not telling you what language the note is in until you make up your mind on that.

Koma follows Ellie. He tenses a little at her question, still suspicious, but the tone is enough to ease the Cindersnout's fears for now. "Not need all the thingies. Took others just because... they there, we taking stuff anyway, trophies fun..."

He doesn't sound so enthusiastic about it now that he has to describe his logic to Ellie. He starts joining in the investigation, looking under the bunks, as he continues explaining. "Goblins starving right now. Not just my tribe, Cindersnouts, all tribes. No food in Wastes anywhere. Two Longshanks with bright hair come and offer us enough food to last all year if we get black wand from vaults in Oenopion."

Koma takes a break at that. It's starting to dawn on him that he doesn't have the wand anymore, and that all of this might have been for nothing. And that he's talking to a person he tried to steal from, and then shove off of a giant monkey. The little rogue hangs his head dejectedly as he comes towards the second part of the story. "Chiefs say no. Not trust Longshanks. But they not got better plan for food. Don't want goblins to starve. So Koma got friends together, and came here. Thought... would try make deal for chiefs. Was going to be sneaky, but found out Bore-rummy person gonna give wand away. So had to make quick plan, grab and get out of city fast."

[DigoDragon]

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I'm fine with you picking up any mundane armor or weapon you want. Consider this an apology for your gear being taken (don't worry, you'll get it back. )

Ellie picks up a light crossbow and checks it over. She will then load a bolt into it and ensure it'll hold together.

She will also not point it at Koma's direction. Don't need to start a fight yet. Maybe not at all, but Ellie could not predict what else might be down here. She'll grab a half dozen bolts if available, tucking them in the waist belt of her dress.

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Add 'Everburning Torch', and 'Old Nex Amulet (20gp)' to your inventory. Languages wise, I... don't think I ever went over the regular Golarion languages with you Digo. Ellie's assortment are okay, there's nothing on there she shouldn't have but there's other options I should've drawn to your attention. She's nowhere near elven heartlands for example, but Necril is a common tongue in Geb, Osiriani and Kelesh are more widely spoken than Common in Nex, and Osiriani has an Ancient variant. Hell, amongst Nexite mages the planar tongues are more widely spoken than Elven or Draconic, so I'd accept those if you wanted one.Would you like to swap out Ellie's language choices?

And no, I'm not telling you what language the note is in until you make up your mind on that.

Uh... Since I don't know anything about the setting other than the context you have given, the language choices don't feel any different in my mind. In the interest of not bogging down the thread, go ahead and randomly pick 1-2 that Ellie would conceivably know to replace Elven and Draconic?

"Goblins starving right now. Not just my tribe, Cindersnouts, all tribes. No food in Wastes anywhere. Two Longshanks with bright hair come and offer us enough food to last all year if we get black wand from vaults in Oenopion."

Koma takes a break at that. It's starting to dawn on him that he doesn't have the wand anymore, and that all of this might have been for nothing. And that he's talking to a person he tried to steal from, and then shove off of a giant monkey. The little rogue hangs his head dejectedly as he comes towards the second part of the story. "Chiefs say no. Not trust Longshanks. But they not got better plan for food. Don't want goblins to starve. So Koma got friends together, and came here. Thought... would try make deal for chiefs. Was going to be sneaky, but found out Bore-rummy person gonna give wand away. So had to make quick plan, grab and get out of city fast."

Ellie considers his answer and shows some pity. "I see, so this plan of yours is to feed your family. Well... I suppose I can understand the desperation, though the methods are rather... chaotic."

She picks up the amulet and looks it over. She absentmindedly pockets it and looks over the orb. "Well, there are still other places to search through. Maybe the wand, despite the odds, is down here somewhere. Let's go look."

Ellie will lead the way to the other open area.

[Estralita]

Raka's confusion abounds as she sees the events play out in front of her. Then before she had a chance to offer help, they were all gone. Jumped down the hole.

"Now what?"

The theft appears to have been stopped. That goblin is gone to parts unknown. She has no real incentive to follow the others beyond her general desire to protect those around her. And was it really her job to protect them from their own actions? She had left her goods completely unguarded. She should probably get back there before her entire stock is stolen.

But she doesn't move.

Raka sighs. "How about you? Are you okay?" She says to the monkey, checking to see how he is after that mess, and trying to offer comfort.

Spoiler: OOC

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Just like Raka says, going for a Nature check. Sorry if I'm being presumptuous here.

(d20+4)[14]

[Inspector Valin]

The next chamber is a seemingly empty courtyard. It's nothing too spectacular or magical looking, really: a set of smooth grey stone slabs, giving some space to move, and brick walls with four pillars reaching up to yet another rough hewn ceiling. Only two features set it apart from anything else - a black stone pulpit set above the entrance, and a suit of hefty looking plate armor, still standing in the far right corner from their position. It's posed with an old Osirian khopesh, and seems to be facing the doorway the explorers just stepped through.

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(1d20+5)[10]

Koma follows Ellie in, silent for now, apparently thinking about something. After a few seconds, he speaks up. "Bomb... Ellie. You work for Bore-rummy, right? You... want things back. "

It's not a question - Koda's pretty sure about that. Hesitantly, he takes off his pack and offers it to Ellie. "You make trade? Koma give you all three things. Cards, book, shiny thing. You get them back, save them for city, win! But... let Koma keep wand, if we find it. To save tribes. So we both heroes."

---

The ooze is burbling happily in its pit, in a healthy seeming manner. It's still faintly echoing the spell, but Zarra doesn't see anything to suggest this event was staged or compelled upon the creatures. However, it looks like an alchemist was working directly in this cave before going on break - Zarra can see a set of three vials afixed with stoppers, in an open box ready to be brought back upstairs. And... well, she's an official of the city, off to investigate and save people, right? Surely that justifies a brief 'requisition'.

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Wanna give in to those ol' 'halfling' instincts?

---

It doesn't take long after the echo fades for the area around the pit to be swamped by onlookers. The Oenopion Guard do their best to keep some order, but with the gate destroyed, it's hard to stop people wanting to come and see the terminus of today's events. It feels like half the city has come out to spectate the aftermath of a show.

The gorilla is fine, as far as Raka can tell, its fur having prevented much damage from splintering boards. It seems to be looking at someone behind her though. Turning, Raka can make out a man in a green tunic approaching her, his eyes fixed on the monkey. After a few seconds however, he does indeed notice Raka."Thank you, good lady. You are clearly more competent than Marns at recovering our items." He bows. "I am Kato of Kibwe. That is my gorilla. Those... thieves stole him and his brothers from me. Kindly step away so I may retrieve him"

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No clear reaction from the gorilla either way. It seems to recognize him, and isn't visibly angered, but isn't chomping at the bit to return to its master.

Meanwhile, Grand Alchemist Borume is gazing down upon the wreckage that had once been the scaffolding network spanning the Ooze Pits, now torn asunder by stampeding apes and the apparent earthquake. The old man's gaze is thorough, you can't help shake the feeling he observes each and every part of the pit, before turning his attention to the figures standing before him. Sachni and Belginabo.

"What happened?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Update on the bottom of the pit ASAP!

[Anyr]

Sachni presented herself to the Grand Alchemist. She wasn't the only one who'd been summoned. Beside her stood an elegantly dressed gnome. Another diplomat, perhaps? Erring on the side of caution, Sachni gave him a respectful bow. Then Borume turned around, and captured her full attention. His question was answered with an exceedingly formal report.

"An explosion occurred in the Guildhall. It produced multicoloured flames, smoke, and echoing laughter. I believe it to be a theatrical effect of some sort. From the smoke, six goblins emerged. They rode on the backs of giant apes. These culprits proceeded to flee through the city. I gave chase. Due to their speed, I was only able to capture one goblin. After turning him over to the authorities, I helped to repair the damage he and his allies had done. That's as much as I know of the incident, sir."

[Gwynfrid]

Belginabo notes the impressive build and pleasantly colorful garb of the dark-skinned, dark-haired woman. Trying to show an equally good education, he returns her polite bow with one that's just a tad lower.

He listens to her matter-of-fact report to the old man - evidently an important person in the city, to judge by the Oenopion Guards' deference - and waits until she's done before he pitches in, in an excited voice, straining a little to keep his pace of speech under control: "Yes Sir, that's exactly right! A huge explosion! Huge monkeys! Goblins stealing, er, I don't know exactly what they wanted to steal. I recovered this..." He shows the bag he picked up from the surrendering goblin. "...But I didn't have time to look inside. They attacked the market! I was able to put one of them under arrest his name is Skemus I don't think he went very far. Then I ran after them until this place, I saw the goblin leader fighting with a woman in a blue dress over a wand they had stolen, must be a great big powerful magical artifact! There was this big blue light all over them and then, poof both of them were gone! Then I tried to save this little girl the goblins had taken her name is Peridora, I think she's a wizard! She fell off the ape but there was a great lady, a follower of Sarenrae, she grabbed her hand but couldn't lift her, even with my help but I'm not very strong you see. So the lady her name is Adria Mulheim she made this great prayer to Sarenrae! Then Peridora cast a spell and the oozes cast it for her, well honestly I'm not sure it happened in that order. Anyway I know this was a powerful spell because everyone fell down to the bottom of the pit but very slowly so they must all have survived, but I don't think they can climb back up to here so we need to organize a search party! I volunteer, Sir! Well, I need to speak to Peridora's parents first, that's what Lady Adria requested. But after that I would very much like to explore the city underground and rescue the people who went down there, Sir!"

It occurs to him that he hasn't mentioned Okoro's role in the scuffle, but he decides that is for the best. It's quite possible a being from Really Ancient Times would prefer to avoid complicated interrogation by the authorities, after all.

[Inspector Valin]

Adria & Zarrachia
The journey down into the blackness of the Pit is long. The magic is enough to slow descent, but that leaves you with more time to contemplate the darkness, as the glowing light of the oozes slowly fades away. When your feet finally touch the ground, they reveal an unfortunate truth. The base of the pit, rather than a flat surface is actually sloped, and slick with the trail of oozes that have gone before. It's a struggle to maintain your balance as the tilt carries you yet further down into the bleak abyss beneath Nex's industrial heart.

Adria lands close by two faintly visible figures. The light is worse than oft it was back in Geb, yet she's just got enough to make out two familiar looking figures in front of her, both short, huddled together. A brief prayer to Sarenrae brings her light into the shadows, revealing Peridora and Nihnin both standing before her, looking relieved. There's another round of sliding rock, and a small figure in the uniform of Oenopion's city officials emerges out of the blackness to join the assembled gang.

Spoiler: OOC

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Okay! Sorry for the assumption Adri cast light, just wanted to speed things along a little. You're all really far beneath the ground! No sign of life! Probably creepy giant ooze monsters about! Whadaya do?

And while you're doing whatever that is, both of you please give me a Perception check.

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Sachni & Belginabo
Borume nods at first, following Sachni's simple recounting of events easily enough. When Belginabo turns to his explanation, the Grand Alchemist... looks like he's fast developing a headache. The old man is silent, holding a hand to his temple as he goes over the gnome's account a second time. "Blue dress... Ms. Sprocket?"

Whatever that name means, it seems to be enough to satisfy the master of Oenopion. He glances upward, to where a group of haemonculi are starting to fly above the pit, before returning his attention to the emissary and eyewitness. "And the wand..." He pauses, studying Belginabo closely, "You're saying she used the wand to teleport away?"

Spoiler

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(d20+5)[15] DC... I'll say 18

[Xacha]

Zarrachia drew the flap of her pack down over the vials as she approached the group. "Evidence," she murmured to Goopy. Never know what might be important to solving this mystery.

"Glad to see you folks are okay. Zarrachia Marns, customs officer first class. Oh, and this is Goopy."

"Bloop!"

I'm ... um, investigating the criminals who stole a group of trained apes. I tailed them - wait, apes don't have tails - I followed them to this pit when things got ... weird. Anybody know what happened back there?

Spoiler: Perception

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(1d20+6)[20]

[Syless]

Adria's holy symbol is glowing when the light catches Peridora- at which point she runs forward to give the girl a protective hug. "You're safe... I'm so glad, I didn't know what to think when you started to drop... I'm not sure what magic you spun, or what Sarenrae dead, but whatever happened up there was amazing. Stay close to me, okay?" She looks to the goblin next. "I'm not sure what you were hoping to happen... but I'm willing to forgive you, as long as we work together to make our way out of here alive. Alright? I won't go out of my way to turn you over to authorities if you work with us, but..." She looks at the fourth person here. "It looks like that may be out of my hands? My name is Adria Mullehim, I was trying to save Peridora here from... someone, when the mystery with the oozes happened. I came down to make sure that she's safe. And... you said customs officer? I'd hope guard, but... the more the merrier. We need to find a way out of here. I've got some food, but I'm not sure if waiting is our best option..."

[DigoDragon]

Hesitantly, he takes off his pack and offers it to Ellie. "You make trade? Koma give you all three things. Cards, book, shiny thing. You get them back, save them for city, win! But... let Koma keep wand, if we find it. To save tribes. So we both heroes."

Ellie is taken by surprise by this offer to negotiate. She considers the trade--One item for three--and logically it would make sense. On the other hand, who were the two people that wanted the wand? What is their intention with the object? Perhaps she could tell Grand Alchemist Borume and he could send a group to find out? protect Koma almost... haha, no that would be silly.

...but, Koma did have good intentions to help his people, even if they paved the way to the Abyss.

She knees down to get eye-level with Koma and holds out her hand. "Alright, the three treasures in your bag for the wand. We both can be the hero." She hesitates, then adds, "I don't have any power to stop the city constables from arresting you, just so you know, but I will not turn you in and will do what I can to help you get outside here and the city if I can."

[Inspector Valin]

Ellie
It takes Koma a second. Ellie can tell he's uncertain about this whole affair, still unused to trusting those outside his tribe. But if his choice is between someone who understood his worries, and someone who was praying off of them, he knows which makes more sense. After a pause, finally the little goblin nods. "That fine. Deal." He takes Ellie's hand, giving it a firm shake, before passing her his pack outright. The only things in there are indeed the three treasures she'd seen earlier.

Spoiler

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Add all three items to your inventory, Digo. Good job! And now Ellie has a pack to store loot in! Just needs a way out of here

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Adria & Zarrachia
Peridora returns the hug, squeezing Adria tight and sniffling. She tries to explain, but she's still a little breathless "It was... my spell. But I never cast it before. I'm still learning magic. That was the first time I've ever managed to get it right. The Oozes just copied me, reinforcing it... don't know why."

Meanwhile, Nihnin huffs at the customs' officer's inquisition, puffing herself up to meet the halfling eye to eye. "We not steal apes! We borrow apes. We always gonna let them loose once outta city. Just needed quick getaway."

Seeming to feel this explanation enough, Nihnin turns to Peridora. "You safe now. People here protect you. Nihnin gotta find Koma, go tell..." The Cindersnout pauses mid sentence, holding up a hand. "You hear that?"

You do. They're a little distant, but somehow, deep beneath the earth of Oenopion, in this abandoned cavern full of darkness, ooze, fungus and decay...

There are footsteps. Crisp and clear, leather hitting the rock repeatedly. Zarrachia can even tell the type of shoe - hard, well made, but smaller and lighter than some hefty soldier's boot. That's a nobleman's walk. The sound continues for a few seconds after Nihnin hushes the group, drawing slowly further away before simply stopping. As if whoever it was has simply come to a halt. A faint breeze blows through the cavern at that moment, rustling fungi and shrubbery that likely mark the edge of this chamber's wall.

[Xacha]

Zarra makes a "hush" gesture towards the group and tries to move silently towards the last location of the footsteps.

Spoiler: Roll

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Stealth: (1d20+4)[15]

[Inspector Valin]

Zarrachia
Her pursuit is slow and careful, by necessity since it's carried her beyond the reach of Adria's light. But soon enough, Zarrachia is in the spot where the footsteps had ended. It's carried her just beyond the cavern the group occupies, into a side tunnel.

And... there is nothing. Not even no person: no print on the floor, no dropped item or smell. All that remains is a faint chill in the air. Goopy is shuddering slightly. Zarra can't help but feel colder than she did a few seconds ago.

[Syless]

Adria heard the footsteps, and let the official approach it, holding Peridora's hand to ensure she stayed safe. Who else is down here...?

[Xacha]

Zarra comes back to the group looking concerned.

"Nothing. No one. This has gone up the scale from "weird" to "downright creepy". I say we need to get out of here as quickly as possible. Right now the oozes still seem dormant, so there's no point in waiting. Everyone okay with sticking together until we're on the surface again?"