[ We find Our Heroes going through the underground fortified maze at the heart of the dwarven city of Dumathoin's Deep. They're still quite lost, and not even sure if they're taking the same way back as they came. But they have the head of the pick with them, and now they need to decide what to do with it. ] [ Session Start! ] * Max is already looking at it, and muttering to himself about damping lenses to differentiate the energy patterns from background noise. He seems quite enraptured as his Book floats along almost on auto-pilot, following the party. * Alcinoe is walking along, quietly. Well, quietish. For her. Right. Max, do we need to bring the onyx outside the city for this tracking thing you want to do to work? 'cause I'd really rather not hafta. Hm? Well, I can probably scry it out from inside the city, providing there's no barriers in the city itself. But the Pick is liable to move, so the tracking will be best done regularly. If we have time for me to perfect my modeling apparatus, then we needn't take the onyx with us. But I cannot promise a specific timeframe on that. I plan to work on it en route, though; using it as a decoy would be good, too. * Istvan frowns. "Can you hide the real onyx in some sorta ultra-secure transdimensional whodamawhatsit while we're outside the city?" * WillS follows closely behind Alci, for he is completely lost. I think we're going to have to take it with us for now. Of course we are. I doubted Kenji was going to let us remain here while I did research. * HKenji follows along at the rear of the group, taking in the sights of the maze as he goes. And...if I could make my Mansion spell...yes...just a small modification to that... Maybe I can, Istvan. Maybe I can. Not immediately, no, but... [ The dwarf captain eyes Seylin. "An' why's that, lass?" ] Oh! That is a point. Can I speak with the wizards in charge of protecting the vault? I need to see if they can provide me with a spell I've read about, but never researched myself: Screen. Well, in order for Max to develop his modeling apparatus, it would take an amount of time that we just can't afford. Because, given that we're dealing with drow, I'd rather not just keep it in my back pocket. *pauses; eyes rather pocketlass armor* If I had pockets. The longer we wait, the longer the drow have to figure out how to make the pick work with their own powers. Why don't you have pockets? 'S hard ta put inta plate. And if we can't precisely track the pick, then the drow could move it all over creation. If we're really lucky, they'll bring it to us as THEY scry for the last piece. ...I'm not sure if that's good or bad luck. [ "Bad luck, f'sure," says the dwarf. He's silent for a moment as he thinks over the proposition. ] Well, first let's see if we can figure out roughly where they are. If they're close, we don't need to bring the onyx, because we'll be able to find 'em before they move far... * Patrick whistles as he looks around. [ The dwarf eyes Patrick. ] What? And if they're far away... we'll deal with that. * Max adjusts his glasses on his nose. "That's the downside of this adventuring business: never enough time to properly research things. And yet you get so much more from the things you see and experiance. It's still more efficient in giving new ideas. Just need more time, more time!" He scribbles something in his Book, and lets his eyes glow blue for just a moment as he glances at the Onyx. They water anyway. When you find a way to make time, let me know. * Max looks up and grins. "Will do! I will even spare you the 'how'." * Istvan looks to the dwarven captain. "Any word on how big this drow force is?" [ The dwarf shakes his head. "No. And to let you have the onyx, I have tae speak t'my superior." ] [ Soon, you reach the stairs leading up again. ] * Max addresses the dwarf. "Excuse me, but are we out of the protection region yet? I would like to try scrying as soon as possible." [ "One moment," says the dwarf as he begins climbing the stairs. "The protections end at the top o' the stairs." ] * Istvan nods. "No problem, sir. Lead the way." Ah, okay. Thanks. ^_^ *follows* [ The dwarf leads to the top of the stairs and stops. "Here should be fine." ] * Seylin nods. "Thank you." [ "You wait here while I go check on weather ye can take the heart with ye," he says, before turning and walking off. ] * Max nods, and pulls out his crystal ball. Holding that in one hand, and the Onyx in the other, he stares at the ball through his glasses (which have slipped down to the end of his nose). "Alright. Show me the Pick. Show me the piece that goes with the rest of this onyx." He mutters some other things that sound suspeciously like equations and Names of angels and demons, but he's probably just muttering, as he concentrates. * Istvan looks around, somewhat anxiously. * WillS watches curiously as Max scrys. * Istvan reaches back over his shoulder and rubs at the haft of his war pick. Mm... yes... that's right... come on... I think I got it! *widens his eyes, trying to clarify the vision* Oh, oh dear. This is going to be trouble. Trouble? * Alcinoe tilts her head. * Istvan rubs his head. "Figures." That is, if I'm not mistaken (and I am not), a temple of Llolth. Right smack dab in the middle of a major city filled with our dark- skinned elvish friends. In fact... let me widen this view a bit... Yep, that's right near a cavern we passed through heading for Sunhome! * Max blinks, and glances at Kenji. Then he looks back at his little crystal ball. "Yep, definitely going to be a trick to get in there. Although... they don't have scrying protections up. That can't be right... it really can't be this easy. Really." All together now... It's... * Istvan deadpans. "Trap. Yay." Yep. Duh. [ The dwarf comes walking down the hall. "Aye, ye ken take it with ye, since ye need tae." ] They've got to have a false vision or screen set up; they CAN'T be letting anyone scry with a simple crystal ball. but...the True Seeing function... Let me make sure it's on. If it's a trap, it'd better spring FAST. If things are how they look here, I could pop in and out in less than half minute. Ya ain't goin' there alone, Max. Half a minute's long enough ta kill ya. Several times. * WillS nods. I said "less than", and yes, I know. * Istvan nods at the dwarf. "Thank you. Hopefully, we won't need it for long." I figure about ten seconds of surprise, and then I'd better be casting my way out. I'm not about to try it alone. As soon as you appeared, the entire room would be locked down. Getting in, as with all traps, will be trivial. In fact... Is there someplace we can plan in private? [ "Aye, there is. We ken spare a room for ye. This way," he says, walking up the hall. ] * Istvan follows! * Alcinoe clanks after him. Thank you very much. * Seylin follows as well. * Max joins in and follows! * Patrick follows! * WillS follows too! [ The dwarf leads to a room full of maps of the local Underworld. "The guard outside th' room will knoo how tae contact me once yer done. He can also send for food and drink, if ye be needin' it." ] Many thanks, sir. This will be ideal for our planning. Thank you very, very much. * Seylin bows politely to him. * Max floats in, and drifts around, looking at the maps while he waits for everyone to get settled. * Robin is now known as RobinGone * Istvan settles in after thanking the captain in dwarven. Alright. Assuming it's a trap and they want us to get there, I can get us in right on top of the Pick with no difficulty whatsoever. * Alcinoe walks in. She looks around, then decides not to sit. No. That's the last thing we want to do. * Seylin looks at the chairs, sees that they're rather designed for dwarves, and decides that maybe it would be better to stand. * Seylin shakes her head. "Absolutely not." * Max smiles. "Of course, their traps would probably divert the teleportation." If we go in, we are not teleporting. One dimensional lock and we're trapped, fighting our way out. We'll be fighting our way out, regardless. * Patrick shakes his head. It's whether we fight our way in, and how, that's important. Not if you go about it properly. I wouldn't think genocide was your idea of a good tactic, Patrick. And I'm sure Kenji and Alcinoe wouldn't approve. I know I don't. Though if you've a suggestion that disables the entire fighting apparatus without slaying them all, please share. ^_^ I've been looking over the plans. I believe any overt magic spells will get detected, so we'd need to rely on stealth. * HKenji scowls. You're correct. I had not considered stealth. ...Honestly, I don't know that we can manage it. I, at least, am not stealthy. Though I could try augmenting my deficeincies with magic. Sorry, I'm rambling. Do you have a plan? Sneak through a drow city? Ballsy. Or, hmmm... When we get closer, if we can, diversionary attacks could be used to stall their forces while someone goes in and takes the pick. Hmm? A diversion implies splitting our forces. ...if we dare wait eight days, I can make a semi-illusory duplication--no, no I can't. I don't have enough energy left after my last bout of crafting. Damn. * Patrick nods. "And everyone knows you shouldn't split up, I know. I'm trying to think of a plan..." And I really don't think we have eight days. No, we don't. No, I think a diversion is an excellent idea. * Alcinoe nods. We -are- a large group. Smaller detachments might move more stealthilly initially. One or two blowing cover quite spectacularly would be adequate distraction for main forces. But we'd still need enough left to overpower the trap itself, once sprung. ...Will? Can you make an earthquake? * HKenji pales. NO. Have you gone absolutely insane? No, no. Not to level the city. Just to seal one chamber. I should have asked if he can make a -small- one. Collapse a few chambers. Too large a risk. You would risk collapsing the entire cavern through sheer accident. If we can seal the room I saw the Pick in, once we're in there, I -can- dig our own passage far enough that we won't be stuck under a Dimensional Lock. Not if calculated correctly. Sadly...I'd need time, again. Dammit, it always comes back to TIME! * WillS shakes his head. "I can't control Earthquake that well." Ah don't think that's such a good idea. You're right, you're right. Just brainstorming. * Max paces. If floating around the room in circles is pacing. You need to be able to strike, get away, and vanish. Exactly. * Istvan mutters. "Should just drop the whole damn cavern on their heads..." Leave their forces bewildered and confused. ...better if... if we don't even strike until we've vanished, so to speak. I wonder... I have a spell. It ... Well. What are the odds that their trap is set to spring the moment someone enters the chamber? Approximately one hundred percent. What if that's not fast enough? * Max is getting excited. Everyone can recognize it by now, as he's almost vibrating as he gets more and mora animated in his speech. What if I'm in, take it, and out, all in less than a moment's time? The trap springs...after I'm gone. You cannot move faster than magic. Unless you have some secret technique you've been hiding from me. For very brief, unpredictable spurts... *casts a spell, and is suddenly holding the objects that were scattered on the table. He's also in the midst of picking up the last one* ...drat. That ended too fast. * Max floats back to his original position. "But, if there were a way to make it last its maximum tested length, I could be in, get it, and back, and no one would even realize it'd happened yet." * Istvan blinks. "Assuming they don't got some sorta magical protection against that." * Max then looks at the stuff he's holding. And puts it back. According to all my research, there has never been a successful counter to that spell. Other than it's own inherent drawback: it is unpredicable and short-term. Don't forget a counterspell. That only works if they're where I am when I cast it. Unpredictable is bad. And it doesn't solve that teleport block problem Patrick mentioned. I'm pretty good at counterspelling, but if someone casts a spell many caverns away from me, and I am not actively scrying them, I cannot counterspell it. If they are blocking teleportation, they have to block it both ways. Which means I just couldn't teleport in. And then the whole plan fizzles. Which is a possibility. The risk is solely to me, but I would not leave this group without my skills, if you'll forgive my lack of humility in saying so. They'll block teleportation, I bet. If I was housing a superpowerful artifact, I'd block teleportation. So would I. But, I'd also block scrying. You're not trying to lure someone in. Unless I was laying a trap. Admittedly, they could want their targets to -walk- in, rather than teleporting. And I -can- cast a surprising number of spells at once. But... this still is too risky. Max, we'll need you to go with the main group to deal with magical impediments. Walls of force, explosive runes, that kind of stuff. I'm pretty sure they'll have *something*. Maybe a contingent monster calling or gate spell, even. Or just a whole crapload of angry drow with pointy pieces of metal. I really don't like going through their main lines of defense. Not with the trap waiting at the end. If we're going to have to hit the trap, I'd rather do it first, then hit their defenses from behind. On the plus side, it doesn't look like they'll move that pick. So, while I'd love to have chance to study the onyx more, we can probably leave it here. ...I wonder... Hey genius. Ever wonder if they're waiting for us to get in and then going to lock down their defenses? That is a distinct possibility. I'm trying to think...if they don't have it dimensionally locked... rather than teleport myself in... I need to do some research, badly. There is no time for research. Now is the time for action. I think I remember a spell for teleporting objects. If I can target it through the scry... no, no, they'd be expecting that. Dammit, I'm not ready for this. Just a few more weeks, that's all it'd have taken. But I can't be in more than one place at a time! None of us can. >_< Sneaking in's probably our best bet... but it's so weighed against us, it's not even funny. The temple is teleport blocked. Can we teleport in'n out *near* the temple, so at least we don't hafta fight through the front gates of the city? You know for a fact it already is blocked? * Max pauses, thinking. "...no...too ruthless. Too many innocents would die." What is it? Three spells: Meld with Stone, multiple uses of Earthquake, and many, many uses of Phase Door. But it'd slay half the city; it's not worth it. Not yet. * Seylin is now known as CiaraSleeping * Patrick shakes his head. "Too big." Not yet? Exactly. It's not stealth. It's brute force. Exactly, Alcinoe. * Alcinoe frowns. "Why would ya?" Can we not have this conversation now? Only in the most dire of circumstances. It's not worth it; that's why I said it's not useable. I'm just trying to think. There's got to be a way to make them suffer the only casualties. Minimize risk to ourselves, and still win. We can debate whether there's such a thing as an innocent drow another time; right now, let's figure out how we're getting into this place. Can we teleport into the city, but outside the temple? * Max looks miserable. "I...I don't think I could live with myself if I ever had to do such a thing. But...I don't lying-gods-damned HAVE to this time. So I won't." Istvan, teleporting into the city at all presents the same problems teleporting into the chamber does, and teleporting anywhere but the chamber presents the problems of sneaking or barging into the city. However... a less defended portion of it, where we could stealth from... yes... Anyone here know drow cities well enough to point out a good place where few drow ever are? What if we use the ethereal plane? I'm sure they have defenses there, too, but it's one more thing that limits our interaction with 'drow with pointy sticks'. Thoughts? Force effects extend to ethereal. They'd be stupid to not have walls of force. Of course. But which would you rather face, a wall of force, or a wall of force and a bunch of armed guards? I can try to dispell walls of force, too. If we can do this without ever facing a guard, we might even be able to spare more of their lives. Is there any other defenses they might have on the ethereal plane we need consider, that might make travel in the Prime wiser? I'm not a tactician. We might even have the distraction teams non-ethereal, and use the ethereal to sneak into the chamber. That leaves the problem of meeting back up, though. No, it does not. It doesn't? That's even better. * HKenji gives Alcinoe a look so utterly calm that it HAS to be a mask, and says gravely, "The distraction team, consisting of myself and Alcinoe, is expendable. In the event that we cannot make it out of the city on our own, you are not to attempt rescue, especially if that would give the drow a second chance to take the full pick." ... * Alcinoe takes the look and thinks about that. She nods; there doesn't seem to be any mask there. She just doesn't seem to mind. * Patrick nods. * Max looks at Kenji, then Alcinoe, respectfully. "You are right. Once it's safe, though... I would like to take a precaution. If we can't save your lives, I would like to have a means of bringing you back." He looks to the others. "I don't think any of us will let you die, if we can help it. Once the Pick is safe again." Alcinoe's choice is up to her. For my part, I refuse. Returning from the dead is an abomination I will not participate in. * WillS frowns but doesn't say anything. ... A-- As you wish, Kenji. *blinks, and pushes his glasses up his nose* Then don't die. *forces a smile* * Istvan hrms. "That leaves Tia and I as the muscle for the group raiding the temple... not exactly the stealthiest pair, but it'll hafta do." You'll be ethereal, I hope. Will, you can do that, right? I don't have the spell in my spellbook, myself. ...anyway. We still need to establish how we're getting there. If we -can- teleport to a little-used part of the city, wonderful. But that might set off too many alarms. * WillS hrmms. "I think so. But I'm not sure how many I can bring besides myself." We'll have to experiment with that, then. We shoult take at least one day to prepare, once plans are finalized. * WillS nods. [Suspend Animation!]