[PF1e Megadungeon] An Otherworldly Mountain (IC)

[Dimers]

Sivi gratefully accepts the help getting herself and her favorite weapon free, breathing hard and gulping with pain and adrenaline. "Wow, this was nothing like the times when I was a kid and I used to hide in chests. I pretended to be a mimic one time, just dumb fun. Actually encountering one is scary as the hells. Don't want to be inside chests any more."

"Before we check the last chest and go back, I have a question for all of you. What boons do you like the most? The ability to attract an enemy's attention to you or step out of an enemy's reach."

"Of the two, definitely backing out of reach. I get enough attention as soon as I get a good slash in, as we've just seen. Thanks so much for the healing, Inga. I thought I might be a goner."

[u-b]

Gashur picks his picks and proceeds to open the real chests. He thinks about Elayne's question. "I'll probably attract enough attention just by hitting them hard. I also have some ability to safely move around... I think a good boost to it might make it reliable enough to be more practical."

Spoiler

Show

Doing the real chests:
Perception take 20 => 28 (both on the chests and the stuff around them)
Disable device take 10 => 20 (failing that, take 20 => 30)

[purepolarpanzer]

The Prison- Basement 1

Gashur spends the next few minutes looking at the remaining two chests, searching for traps. Finding none, he uses his lock picks to open the rusty locks, which takes much less time. While he is working, Sivi notices the glint to treasure in the mimic's maw as it continues to slowly melt into goo.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Treasure time!

Mimic 1

Coins
0 pp, 140 gp, 130 sp, 0 cp
Armor
[300 gp] masterwork chainmail
Gems
[55 gp] zircon
[50 gp] green spinel
[90 gp] jade
[600 gp] unworked black pearl (worth 300 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 20 to repair)

Mimic 2

Coins
3 pp, 205 gp, 947 sp, 961 cp
Gems
[8 gp] shell
[11 gp] malachite
[10 gp] unworked irregular freshwater pearl (worth 5 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 10 to repair)
[7 gp] rhodochrosite
[8 gp] unworked malachite (worth 4 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 10 to repair)
[8 gp] hematite
[8 gp] unworked shell (worth 4 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 10 to repair)
[8 gp] unworked irregular freshwater pearl (worth 4 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 10 to repair)
[10 gp] unworked rhodochrosite (worth 5 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 10 to repair)
[13 gp] agate
[40 gp] sardonyx
[80 gp] unworked garnet (worth 40 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 15 to repair)
[12 gp] malachite
Potions
[50 gp] potion/oil of shield of faith (CL 1)
[300 gp] potion/oil of acute senses (CL 3)
[50 gp] potion/oil of mage armor (CL 1)
[50 gp] potion/oil of magic weapon (CL 1)
Scrolls
[25 gp] arcane scroll of sleep (CL 1)
[25 gp] divine scroll of sanctuary (CL 1)
[25 gp] arcane scroll of true strike (CL 1)


Chest 1

Coins
5 pp, 136 gp, 564 sp, 220 cp
Gems
[8 gp] unworked rock crystal quartz (worth 4 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 10 to repair)
Potions
[25 gp] potion/oil of arcane mark (CL 1)
[50 gp] potion/oil of mage armor (CL 1)
[25 gp] potion/oil of stabilize (CL 1)
[50 gp] potion/oil of mage armor (CL 1)
Weapons
[305 gp] masterwork cestus

Chest 2

Coins
0 pp, 80 gp, 522 sp, 1,140 cp
Gems
[50 gp] rose quartz
[80 gp] unworked chrysoberyl (worth 40 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 15 to repair)
[55 gp] onyx
[13 gp] agate
[8 gp] azurite
[40 gp] chrysoprase
[12 gp] unworked azurite (worth 6 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 10 to repair)
[10 gp] unworked rhodochrosite (worth 5 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 10 to repair)
[9 gp] unworked hematite (worth 4 gp; Craft (jewelry) DC 10 to repair)
Potions
[50 gp] potion/oil of magic weapon (CL 1)
[50 gp] potion/oil of remove fear (CL 1)
[50 gp] potion/oil of reduce person (CL 1)
[25 gp] potion/oil of guidance (CL 1)
Scrolls
[25 gp] divine scroll of endure elements (CL 1)
[150 gp] divine scroll of flaming sphere (CL 3)
[375 gp] divine scroll of magic fang, greater (CL 5)
[25 gp] divine scroll of sun metal (CL 1)
[25 gp] divine scroll of protection from good (CL 1)

And 29 GP of random junk the archaeologists might like.

[u-b]

Gashur takes care to load most of the things into one chest. He places the gems, scrolls and potions safely on top of everything else. He then pushes the chest along the floor towards the exit of the dungeon, making some noise appropriate for the feat. Some oversized items, mainly long weapons, including Gashur's own hammer, have to be carried by somebody else, but these are not too heavy, so should not be problematic.

[Yas392]

Elayne nods at Gashur and Sivi's feedback. She then looks at the abundant loot the party gathered.

"We are going up. Let us get rid of the loot that we do not want before we continue. They will give us difficulties if we dwell deeper into the prison with our current load."

The robed samsaran picks up what she can carry to share the load with her members.

[purepolarpanzer]

The Prison- Basement 1

With the party hauling their loot, you assemble in the entrance chamber and take the lift up to the surface, far wealthier than you first arrived.

The Prison- Entrance Chamber

The archaeologists look on in surprise as your group manifests on the teleporter pad, amazed at the haul you've managed to bring up. Bartimeus is the first to approach, noticing the trove of interesting artifacts you've found. "Anything of interest to our expedition in this haul, or is all this filthy lucre for the gnome?"

[u-b]

"Have some random jun... hm, ancient artifacts, shall we say, take a look and dig them if they are fitting." Says Gashr pointing the exact corner of the chest where said artifacts are located. He does not bother to retrieve them himself. "Also, the west side of the map, including the home of a really mean monster ooze."

[Phantom Genius]

Inga closely watches Bart's reaction. This whole expedition seems odd to her.

Spoiler: Sense Motive

Show

(1d20+4)[11]

[Yas392]

Elayne raises her hand.

"I may not have nothing to add on what my companion mentioned. I do have a question which once answered may make me add something. Do monsters we killed in the prison regenerate if we return underground again?"

[Dimers]

Bartimeus is the first to approach, noticing the trove of interesting artifacts you've found. "Anything of interest to our expedition in this haul, or is all this filthy lucre for the gnome?"

"Plenty of little hints about the lives of those who used to be below, and not just the artifacts Gashur mentioned," Sivi says with some excitement in her voice. "I'd be happy to spend some time discussing how the pieces were laid out as well as the bones we discovered, the sliding doors, the room layout and anything else of archaeological significance." The young undine seems more in her element here than she did creeping through the wealth-laden rooms themselves.

Elayne raises her hand.

"I may not have nothing to add on what my companion mentioned. I do have a question which once answered may make me add something. Do monsters we killed in the prison regenerate if we return underground again?"

Sivi slowly shakes her head at the suggestion. "I certainly hope not. Warriors might relish the experience of beating on an endless stream of monsters, but I'm loath to meet those things again. I didn't even want to meet them the first time!"

Spoiler: I know, Don't split the party, but ...

Show

Sivi wants to stay and talk shop with the archaeologists for a while.

[purepolarpanzer]

The Prison- Entrance Chamber

Bartimeus' eyes go wide with excitement and anticipation at Gashur and Sivi's mention of artifacts, and the archaeologist's eyes turn to the large chest with shades of greed. At Elayne's question, however, he adjusts his spectacles and drags his attention away from his prizes. "No no no. None of the other teams of adventurers who made multiple trips spoke of monsters returning. More coming up from down below yes, but no spawning mechanisms to speak of. I wouldn't expect the same resistance twice." Bartimeus eagerly waves the party over to his makeshift desk to copy their maps into his own records. To Sivi, he says "I'd be eager for any conversations you would be willing to have with me about your findings, miss. As one cursed to stay out of the complex itself, I'm famished for first hand accounts of the lower levels, especially after this first team of archaeologists disappeared down there. If you have an eye for anthropological and architectural significants, more the better. I promise to hold you back no longer than you are willing, but I make no promises as to how long that will be. I make a mean cup of tea, and I've got the only almond cookies that this entire plane holds." He smiles warmly to the undine and gestures towards the folding chair opposite of him. "All of you are invited, but I daresay I think most of you will be more interested in offloading your haul at Querk's place of business and reveling in your spoils."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Inga detects no signs of deception or ulterior motive with Bartimeus. He seems genuinely eager to pay you for your junk relics and engage academically with Sivi, and you sense nothing amiss about the archaeological team as a whole. Is there a specific suspicion that you have questions about?

[Yas392]

Elayne's shoulder relaxes.

"That is a relief. I have good news. You should inform present and future expedition teams of this. We cleared out the first two rooms beyond the western entrance. If they are going for another run in the prison, they can use them as resting areas as long as no new creatures repopulate the rooms by then. I advise short rests. To paraphrase my orcish friend, there is a dangerous ooze lurking near the area. Although we drove it off, tell them to keep an eye out for it. It may reappear from a hole of a magical garbage chute in the area further down the corridor beyond the two rooms. Right here."

Her index finger hovers to the room with the hole on the map of her journal she opened for the tiefling to copy.

"As for tea, I will pass. If you have booze, that is a different story. "

The samsaran plants her toes on the ground and pushes her feet upwards to raise herself to a new temporary height to look past Bartimeus.

"I saw your eyes hovering over our finds. Are you interested in buying them? We know we can sell them to Querk or that dwarf who spoke to Gashur before our first run. Speaking of the dwarf, is he one of your people or is he independent?"

[u-b]

Gashur lets Bartimeus and Fworin take their picks from the chest and put the appropriate amount of coins back in. He does not bother counting. He then drags the chest towards the steps. Navigating the steps without taking too much time or being too rough to the chest's contents requires some magical help, but fortunately Alexos has it available. Gashur then drags the chest to The Hard Place. "Quick enough, aren't we? And with a chest full of loot." Gashur drags the chest aside where it would not interfere with anyone's activities, then walks to the bar. "I need alcohol. Old dwarven whisky will do. Saved my life down there, no less, so thought I'd give it a more traditional use. Also a use of washing my mouth. You know, make it double." Gashur then rinses his mouth in the alcohol provided, drinks all of it, and orders some more. Single, with ice.

Spoiler

Show

We have one lot of "dwarven trinkets" and one lot of "random junk the archaeologists might like", so both should be to some extent satisfied. By the way, do they buy this stuff at half price or at full price? Also Fworin might buy other stuff, if he's so inclined (mwk battleaxe and such).

Still waiting on Sivi's IC suggestion about gemcutting.

[purepolarpanzer]

The Prison- Entrance Chamber

Bartimeus is extremely interested in Elayne's descriptions of the cleared rooms, noting everything down in his notes and copying the party's maps feverishly. When Elayne mentions Fworin, his mood sours slightly. "Fworin is here representing the authority and interests of the Twelve Peaks- the twelve dwarvish kings back from our home plane. Our archaeological coalition is more diverse, representing the interests of a number of universities. We share interest in the same relics, and both of us have the coin to woo them from you. I will leave it up to your conscience whether you wish the knowledge of this place to be monopolized by a single species or freely distributed to any who would wish to learn." By the lilt of his voice, it is very clear which of those options he would prefer you choose.

The Hard Place

Gashur enters the one bar on Vouno to find it mostly empty. The card players from earlier seem to have all gone to their "rooms" (sectioned off area of the tent would be more appropriate), leaving a scattering of cups, cards, and appetizers behind that Querk has not got around to cleaning up yet. The half-transmogrified gnome is sitting behind the bar, and he smiles with his sharp teeth and wide eyes when Gashur hauls the chest into the tent. Across from him sits the beautiful woman in red, though her features have shifted somewhat. Where before she was somewhere between human and elven, now she is apparently a dwarf, though her beauty, short hair, and large bust remain the same. She is seated next to Fworin, and the two of them halt their conversation to look upon the party's haul. Both Fworin Adamantbeard and Querk have looks of greed upon their face, while the woman in red silk has a coy smile. Querk greets Gashur with "Glad you came out alive, and even gladder that you're thirsty! Dwarvish whiskey coming right up!" He snags a bottle off the top shelf behind the bar, a crystal affair with a stone stopper, and pours Gashur his double. Meanwhile, Fworin gets off his stool and approaches the chest. "May I?" He asks. "Maybe after me!" Snaps Querk, and the two exchange heated glances. It seems the parties interested in your loot may not be willing to split things up evenly. Meanwhile, the she-dwarf in red rolls her eyes, tips back her small martini glass, and then climbs down off her stool. She shoots Gashur a lengthy glance, seems to size him up and down, and her smile grows before she turns and heads into the back where the rooms are located.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Here's how the selling of loot will go- any "junk" the archaeologists will pay full price for. Anything else will be bid on by Fworin, Querk, or Bartimeus. I had originally thought I was going to do a complicated system of bidding, but I'm going to streamline it somewhat. Fworin buys relics, arms, and armor at base 50%, which you can raise or lower with a diplomacy check. Querk buys adventuring gear and gems at base 50%, also modifiable with a diplomacy check. If there are unworked gems he will always pay the lower value. Bartimeus will buy art, relics, and oddities at base 50% (diplomacy roll modifies it again). So if someone wants to roll a diplomacy to deal with each party, you may get better (or worse) rates. A 15 raises the buying value by 5%, and each integer of 5 (20, 25) raises by another 5%. If anyone has any questions you can ask them in the Discord.

[Yas392]

"The decision is up to the group. Not me. Once we decided, we may come to you for business if we are interested in selling those wares to you."

Elayne turns to Sivi.

"I will leave you two to your awaited discussion. I am heading back for a drink. Me being here will delay your talk with Bartimeus. See you later."

She turns to the tiefling.

"You as well."

The samsaran returns to Querk's bar, fitted with a coin between two fingers on her right hand, to see the dwarf and gnome owner indulging themselves in a staring standoff.

"Am I...interrupting something?"

[u-b]

"We need someone with soft skills to arrange the sales. They are sort of contested. Not my cup of tea..." says Gashur still holding a glass of whisky "...so maybe you will step in?"

[Eonn]

"I'm sorry to say I'm not the best negotiator either." Alexos adds in, having followed Gashur into The Hard Place. He turns to greet Elayne as she enters. "Ah, hello. We were just seeing about getting out haul sold off. How are you with striking up a deal?"

As he speaks, he eyes Gashur's glass. He could really use something to drink himself after the delve. Such an expedition was much more difficult in person than he had thought from reading about other historical digs. Unfortunately, Querk seemed preoccupied at the moment. It might be better to ask once they had gold in hand regardless.

[Yas392]

Elayne smiles and waves at the two. She walks towards the staring contest between the two, heels clacking against the wooden floor and keeps a respectable distance.

"Our dear buyers. Why not settle the issue with a drinking contest to see who can drink the most mugs? Winner gets to conduct business with us first. If the drinking challenge seems unfair to one of you, each of you can state your reasons that we don't already know to convince us the benefits of selling our loot to you. Winner gets the same privilege as what I proposed for the drinking contest except we choose the winner rather than leaving it to the outcome itself."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Diplomacy: (1d20+10)[28]

[purepolarpanzer]

The Hard Place

Querk and Fworin's eyes go to Elayne through the entirety of her speech. Then, a bit stunned and surprised, they look at each other. Fworin grins and immediately says "Aye. That'll do. I'll drink." Querk looks baffled for half a second before nodding slowly. "If the customer insists, I'll drink too. Loser picks up the tab, of course. Last man standing, I assume?" He unclips two small mugs from seemingly thin air and spins them by their handles. "My bar, my beer, my choice what we both drink. Unless our dwarvish friend objects to my taste?" Fworin empties the drink he had waiting on the bar and grins. "I'll drink twice as much of anything that you choose, bar hand."

Querk smiles politely and picks up the mugs, replacing them into empty space above the bar. Instead, he manifests two shot glasses, setting them down with flourish. Reaching underneath the bar, he extracts a crystal bottle of brown liquor. "Whiskey it is then." And pours two shots. Very carefully. "Does anyone else want a sample? Fworin will be paying for it anyway. I'm afraid it's only one drink each, though. We'll need plenty of Old Brown for myself and our cultural friend."

At the Archaeologist's Camp

Bartimeus takes keen interest in any observations Sivi has made down below, offering her tea from a small pot he has rigged up over a brazier and producing four of his precious almond cookies for the two of them to share.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Check in post. Everyone either accept or deny their drink, please.

[Yas392]

Elayne's smile widens at the offer of free alcohol.

"You know me well. I am always down for a shot."

She winks at Querk before turning to the Alexos and Gashur.

"Well, I got us a free drink. That is a plus in my books."

The samsaran eyes Gashur's glass which is still filled with whisky.

"You get yours after you finish that. So..."

Elayne makes a thumbs up not directed to the half-orc. She lifts her the hand with the thumbs up to just before her mouth and down in repetition as if telling him to hurry up with his whisky.

[u-b]

Gashur finishes his glass and gets one of Old Brown. He does not proceed to drink it right away, instead taking a seat at the end of the bar and preparing to watch. "I'm sure this will be very... entertaining. And maybe educative to boot."

[Yas392]

Elayne joins Gashur, seated beside him with a glass of Old Brown of her own.

"Truly."

[Phantom Genius]

Inga accepts tea and crumpets cookies with Bartimeus. She still thinks this place has something odd and insidious about it, but isn't getting a read from him. Maybe he will open up a little bit to a priestess.

[Dimers]

Sivi enjoys the hot tea and cookies greatly, but quickly, in between bites of discussion. She describes every relevant detail of the various objects set aside for the archaeologist team. Some snippets of her side of the conversation:

"These were on the second altar. Now, whether to consider them decorations or sacrifices can be ..."
"No, in the chests -- they looked carefully placed, unlike ..."
"I understand, I really do. The constant struggle between preservation and access ..."
"When taken as a whole, the arrangement implies ..."

The undine certainly seems to be in her element here, as much as if she were soaking in a stream.

[Eonn]

Alexos sits back, watching the buyers drink. He idly wonders how Elayne was able to bait them into such a contest, as he figured that when doing business such as this one would want to be as sober as possible. Perhaps they all just trusted their constitutions to such a degree that the alcohol didn't matter, or maybe they just didn't care about getting taking advantage of while inebriated. Of course, they could just be fool with more coin than sense. Regardless, Alexos stayed quiet and let the scene play out before him.

[Phantom Genius]

Sivi enjoys the hot tea and cookies greatly, but quickly, in between bites of discussion. She describes every relevant detail of the various objects set aside for the archaeologist team.

Inga nods along, supporting everything Sivi says.

[purepolarpanzer]

The Hard Place

As Gashur and Elayne step to the side, Querk and Fworin narrow their eyes at each other, lift their drinks to their mouths, give each other one last glare, and then tip back their drinks. Querk reacts the fastest, letting out a gasp and quickly pouring himself a glass of water to chase the liquor. Fworin, at first, seems to be nonplussed by the brown liquor. He remains sitting, eyes rolling slowly to look at his empty glass. Then the glass rolls loose of his hand and shatters on the floor. The well dressed dwarf blinks once. Twice. And then slowly turns back to Querk and utters "Another." Querk looks stunned, but quickly recovers and pours each of them another drink in a fresh glass. They both tip back, but before Fworin finishes his arm goes limp, spilling the last third across his shirt. Querk chases quickly with water again, and by the time his water is poured Fworin has leaned to one side in the barstool, reaching out for support. When he finds none, he keeps on leaning and falls out of his chair, crashing to the floor below. Querk, without missing a beat, removes a funnel from under the bar and inserts it into the remaining bottle of Old Brown. He seems completely sober. "Anyone want to chicken out they can pour the drink right back in. This stuff isn't cheap, and I don't want anyone throwing it back up." Fworin groans, rolls onto his back, and stares unblinking up at the top of the tent.

At the Archaeologist's Camp

Bartimeus is constantly asking questions. It seems this is the first time he has dealt with an adventurer with a mind for archaeology. His questions are on point and deeply inquisitive, forcing Sivi to stop and think a few times throughout the conversation. Bartimeus, however, needs no time to collect his thoughts. It almost appears that he is thinking of new questions even as he's asking them. If Sivi allows, the conversation goes on for well over an hour, meandering from architecture to art to cultural practices of ancient dwarves back on Mund. The tea pot is always kept hot, the cookies come in a slow but steady flow, and in the end Sivi is left with several requests for etchings or drawings, a handful of probable theories she hadn't thought of, and full attention of the tiefling for the entire duration. When Bartimeus is finally satisfied, he releases a pleased sigh, such as one might breathe after a large, luxurious meal. "Sivi, Inga, you cannot fully realize the benefit you've given me, our expedition, and the very foundation of knowledge back home." Though he thanks both of them, his eyes keep drifting back to Sivi. "Once things are safe enough for us to move down to the first basement level, I cannot WAIT to see it all first hand. And I trust you'll both share future insights about anything you may find on a deeper level?"

[u-b]

Gashur places his glass on the bar, carefully. "I'll drink this when we're done with the busyness. And no, I'm not asking how you manage that." Gashur seems to be very impressed. "Go ahead and choose what you will be taking."

[Yas392]

Elayne's glass is half-filled, a fact that she drank half of the Old Brown when she watched the one-sided spectacle. Querk's no-nonsense statement and Gashur's response to the gnome's "fortitude" at holding his liquor causes her to give Querk a thumbs up and wags a finger at Gashur.

"Experience, darling."

Elayne takes her half-filled glass in one hand, walks to the downed dwarf and bends down to inspect his state.

"Huh? He seems dazed for now. You won, Querk. Looks like you get the first look at our wares. Alexos, Gashur, back me on my negotiation if it comes off weak."

Making eye contact with the gnome entrepreneur, the samsaran backs away to the nearest table and seats down, putting down her glass.

"Now then, let us do business."

She gestures at the chest.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Elayne is asking for aid another checks from Gashur and Alexos to increase her check if it is pitiful.

Diplomacy to haggle vs Querk: (1d20+10)[22]

[Eonn]

Alexos tries to help, but he ends up loosing his train of thought while talking. After that blunder, he lets Elayne do the rest of the talking.