Horrors of the Deep (PT)

An Imperial Advertisement

The Imperial Confederation of Konosis is seeking a small group of experienced adventurers for an unusual reconnaissance mission. Some equipment will be provided, but it is strongly recommended to bring your own. Those who are interested should send a letter outlining skills and experience to the Public Office of the Konarian Ministry of War in Stormfall Citadel. A generous reward will be provided upon success.

The Surface Explorers take up the Konarian advertisement. Two Slithzerikai, two Humans, and two Nephilim.

(OOC: Huh. I guess I never named them.)

(OOC: Selathorn, who were my two characters from the dragon RP? And are they both still alive? I needz to know before I respondz to this )

(OOC: It was Thom and Jerry Brian. Thom was the old guy and he lived. Brian was the young muscular one and he also lived.)

A large and muscular man with ... various useful skills ... shows up at the Citadel. No message; he just shows up. Claims some Konorians he previously met would probably vouch for his usefulness.

In case anyone was wondering, Thom is busy supplying Blolrus with anti-magic shells. Brian does carry his own, however, so magic won't work on him.

(OOC: Unless previously discussed with me of course.)

Well, Brian was supposed to send a LETTER to the Ministry of War, but luckily for him he discovers that Daedas and Dalor are among the four in the Konarian party. The organizers seem ready to kick him out at first but he is recommended quickly and is allowed to stay, rather grudgingly. If you're wondering who the other two are, one is a mage who seems to constantly carry a set of books, and a dwarf who seems to be a berserker of some kind. Eventually after a bit of bureaucratic bickering on who should be in the party, the Ministry sends the location of the dungeon being scouted to the Ermarians while the Konarians and Brian set out.

***

A few days later

The Konarians/Brian finally reach the dungeon, in the Northern Lands near the Ermarian border. The entrance seems to be old and man-made, and the first party sets camp, awaiting the Ermarians.

The thing about letters though is that literacy is sort of a prerequisite. Brian, as one might imagine, never bothered to learn how to write. Brian seems most interested in the Dwarf.

OK, then how in the world did he read the advertisement?

In any case, the dwarf berserker notices Brian, and says, "So, you're Brian? I've heard you've taken down a dragon, eh? That's impressive. Very impressive. I've had a run-in with a cave dragon before, and needless to say, it wasn't good."

Dalor interrupts, and says with with a tinge of annoyance, "He wasn't the only one there though, Aurus. Daedas and I as well as an old man named Thom."

Aurus replies, "That doesn't make it any less impressive."

Dalor shrugs, and then says, "True, true. I have to admit, he did most of the combat."

Daedas nods in agreement, although she mumbles a bit under her breath about how the whole thing would probably have been a lot worse without her.

Finally, the mage speaks up. "Do any of you have a clue on how long it takes for the Ermarians to get to here? Considering it's right next to the border, it shouldn't be too long."

Dalor replies, "Credic, I think the estimate was two days or so by boat and then one more day by ship. Though, with the magic they have, it may be faster."

Credic nods. "Well, it's been two days so far, might as well prepare and change into armor."

The other Konarians nod and don't really bother with replying. Dalor now has a new set of plate armor, and Daedas seems to also have new armor, a shiny silver matching Dalor's. Credic wears a simple set of studded leather armor, apparently not a conformist to the "squishy mage in robes and pointy hat" sterotype. Finally, Aurus wears what looks to be the pelt of an animal and has a massive (for his size anyways) and unpleasant looking hammer.

Looks like it'll be fun, eh?

Who said he read the advertisement himself? Thom probably read it to him.

"Usually, I like to fight more smaller things instead of less big things. I need less help that way. I hope this involves more smaller things."

Dalor nods. "I think so. Intelligence says so, but there probably are some larger things down there."

The Ermarian party shows up about an hour later, all carrying lots of mana potions. Yeah, they're all warrior-mages to some degree. Drinking a lot of Knowledge Brew will do that.

Garthass is the most heavy in mage specialty, while Hossni, armed with the legendary Black Halberd, is as close to a pure melee fighter as the party goes. Crispus is the most priest heavy specialist while Marcus is yet another near pure melee fighter. Mawrrr and Vlosto are both archery experts and have the best vision, especially in the dark.

(OOC: They all have a bunch of unique items. Naming the unique items later. Knowledge Brew, in game, gives you points to spend on skills. It's expensive to buy and requires a lot of gold farming to do so. Brewing it yourself it major pain in the ass. I used it to max them out on almost everything useful for them.)

Dalor waves to them.

"Welcome, welcome," he says. "Please, join us for a quick meal before we go down. We've been cooking this stew here for a few hours and it should be ready by now."

He then opens a pot (away from his face obviously) and releases the steam. Then, he takes out what look to be a set of stackable bowls, and passes one to each person. Unfortunately for him, there's only ten and there's eleven people, so he decides not to take any for himself at the moment. He then ladles out stew to everyone, and says, "I hope the journey here wasn't too rough?"

Brian looks at the new group dismissively. They don't look buff enough to be dangerous.

Hossni, a very big Slithzerikai, says to Dalor, "Thhhhank you. Compared to fighting our way through hoardssss of Alien Beastssss back in Footracer Provinccce, a ride to thissss camp wasss nothing."

(OOC: Mind you, Alien Beasts were pretty much the Deathclaws of Avernum 3.)

(OOC: A brief description of their equipment list. They have more stuff for helms, gloves, and boots, but I don't feel like describing all of them.

Hossni: Blessed plate mail, and the Black Halberd, most powerful polearm in the game, with the Obsidian Spear as backup

Garthass: Mithril chainmail, the Jade Halberd, Adamantine Axe, and the Lance of Justice (+damage to undead) as backup

Marcus: The Flaming Sword and the Plate Mail of Pachtar, ridiculously enchanted suit of plate mail

Crispus: Mithril chainmail and Beastslayer, a weapon that does extra damage to Alien Beasts

Mawrr: Mithril chainmail, Assassin's Dagger, and the Fury Crossbow

Vlosto: Mithril chainmail, a blessed bow, and the Alien Blade as sidearm, a ridiculously poisonous sword

Basically, if it's under rare items here, they'll likely have it.)

Daedas says, "Are we ready yet? If you guys aren't finish with the stew, better hurry up."

Credic shakes his head lightly. "Better not hurry too much, we need to be properly prepared."

Daedas glares slightly but doesn't say much more. Better not make a big argument before anything even starts.

"Preparation is for squares," Brian says. "I prefer battle axes."

All except Crispus, who insists on letting Dalor have it, chug down the soup and make one final inspection of their equipment. "We're ready."

Dalor rejects it. He says, "After the civil war and serving in the Empress's personal vanguard, I've been pretty used to sacrificing my food for others. Daedas can probably vouch for me here, she was part of the vanguard as well. Credic was on support. That's why they picked us." He shrugged. "Aurus was hired as a guide. He hasn't actually been here before, but dwarves are naturally good with dungeons."

He then quickly cleans the cups, and then the party steps into the dungeon...

***

Entrance Chamber

The party finds itself in what looks to be an entrance chamber, with what looks to be an ancient arrangement of statues and (broken fountains). It has two hallways leading out, one at the north, one at the south.

A strange noise comes from the corner, and the pitter-patter of steps comes towards them...

And out from the shadows comes a small rat. It bites Daedas on her shin, and she winces slightly. Aurus smashes it with one blow.

"Well," he says, "that was a bit anticlimactic. Anyways, which door are we heading to now?"

"You must be careful," Brian says. Then, in a stunningly good impression of Thom, he says, "Rodents have been known to carry various infectious diseases, which can be transferred by contact, transfer of insects, or being bitten."

Upon entering, Garthass pulls out a sapphire and casts one of the most useful spells in his arsenal: magic map. He pulls out a big piece of parchment and hands it to Dalor, routes of the dungeon, at least for that floor, fully marked.

"I have only three more ssssaphiresss."

Daedas scowls at Brian. "Didn't even penetrate my chaps."

Dalor then looks at the map. "I have to admit, this is impressive. There's not much on this floor, though. The stairs down are," he says, pointing to the north door, "that way. The other side is a dead end. I would save those sapphires if I were you, though."

Credic looks at the others. "Are you guys ready go?"

Without waiting for everyone to respond, Brian says, "I'll take point," and begins moving in the direction of the stairs.

He nods, clearly annoyed at having wasted a perfectly good sapphire. They move on. As they go on, they tell the rest of their standard fighting formation and tactics in narrow hallways against melee opponents. The melee fighters in front, archers in middle, and spellcasters in the rear. They line up overlapping layers of Wall of Blades, Wall of Ice, and Wall of Force. As the melee fighters wait for the enemy to charge into them, the archers pick away at them until they reach the melee line. Of course, it depends on the fighting force they're up against and they change it up accordingly.

(OOC: They're also packing a Soul Crystal, which has four slots for different creatures that they've captured and can summon. Alien Beast, Drake, Ursag (giant bear), and Aranea (giant spell-casting spider).)

Although the floor seems to be rather large and intricate, they find their way easily through the corridors, and besides a few dart traps (which barely hurt, and no, are not poisoned), rats (of the normal and giant variety), and an annoying little kobold throwing exploding darts (which Brian plows through in one hit), they encounter little resistance. Eventually, they reach the stair room (marked on the map), and Dalor motions foe everyone to be silent while Daedas peeks through a tiny keyhole. Silently. In the room lies an ogre. Not exactly the world's biggest threat, although it's carrying a nasty looking club that could probably smash someone's head in with one blow.

She then whispers to the party, "There's an ogre in there. I don't think we need too much preparation, but I think you guys should have a warning."

(OOC: Well, this is the first floor for the RNG's sake. What were they expecting, ancient horrors of unspeakable evil? Cue Panzer answering "Yes." )

(OOC: Yes, that really is what they expect from their dungeon experience.)

They just nod in acknowledgment. Vlosto walks up first to pick the lock. When it opens, he steps aside for Mawrr to take the shot with the Fury Crossbow, nailing the ogre in the chest.

(OOC: How tough are ogres in this universe? In Exile/Avernum universe, they're maybe medium level enemies.)