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After seeing the kid Michael thought to himself "That's strange, what is a kid doing here, I casted a Disguise spell on Prosper so it can't be him, I'd might as well investigate in this form as he may bring some useful information, plus Maxwell Farn is in that room." and so he followed the kid in his astral form, seeing what the child was up to.

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The Gnomish boy crept up to the door, behind which was Taryn. He then put his ear to the door. He looked around, quickly, and then he opened the door.

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Taryn moved when the door did. "Seems we have yet another visitor," she remarked. "And he's a gnome, if I'm not mistaken," she added, looking to the messenger boy for confirmation.

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Somewhat taken aback at Taryn's rather odd physical appearance, the gnomish boy blurted out "Aeiei! A specter" and then immediately regretted what he had said.

His face turned cherry-red with embarasment and he looked like he wanted to run away, but instead he just stood there and said: "Er.. I mean... heh... sorry. Let me start over. Hi, I'm a messenger for the resistance, and you must be Taryn. I've got a message for a Mister Maxwell from Prosper, Tem and Acedia."

<GM's Note: I'm gonna insert a Retcon here and say that Tem had explained to the boy about what Taryn looked like, but the boy still hadn't been really prepared to meet a real, live (undead?) spectre up close. (He wasn't a brave as he'd like to be, which was why he was just a massager and not a full-fledged secret agent.)>

(Over to you Taryn. :_)

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Taryn, being rather used to that reaction, could only raise a brow and chuckle softly in amusement. "Yes, I am. Well done." The fact that she was not in the process of terrorizing the gnomish boy when he had correctly identified her as a specter meant that she was not obliged to prophesy for him; never one to disregard a loophole, Taryn declined to mention this little technicality and nodded in acceptance of the boy's apology. "Ah, good. I was beginning to worry about those three. Maxwell is over there," Taryn replied, gesturing toward the aforementioned gemsmith and moving out of the gnome's way. Touching the paper was likely to ignite it, or else she would've taken the paper and given it to Maxwell, just to be helpful.

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The Gnomish boy's face brightened a bit and he said: "Oh, I see: You're a Friendly specter. Awesome!" Then he happily bounded down the stairs to find Maxwell
Everyone gathered around, to see what all the commotion was.

Maxwell said: "Hail, and well met. I am Maxwell Burk, of Glenarbour. Whom do I have the pleasure of adressing."

The boy bowed and said: "I am Gurkum Longec of Durlor, M'lord, presently a runner in the service of the Airship Phoenix. She's a Gnomish Air-Navy Quinquereme* converted to appear to be like a large Holk.* In reality, she's heavily armed, but the weapons are hidden. My Captain is also head of the resistance in the city above, and he assigned as a guide to your friends. They've decided to try and sabatoge the Illithid's main food store with a supply of posin my Captain has supplied them with. They're presently with a High-Flayer resistence cell deep in the city sewers. They send me here with a message for you." The boy Gurkum handed Maxwell the note Acedia had earlier scrawled on a piece of paper.

It read:
<Acedia's player can fill in what Acedia wrote here, please.>

<GM's Note *Quinquereme is an ancient naval term that originally referred to a warship propelled by oars and sail, developed from the earlier Trireme. It was used by the Greeks of the Hellenistic period, and later by the Carthaginians and Romans from the 4th century BC to the 1st century. In the world of Skarae Braea, the Gnomes adapted the word to refer to their military airships that are faster than Cogs but heavier than Holks. A Holk, on the other hand, is a basic merchant ship. For ships of the sea, the term "Holk" refers to a two-masted sailing ship that is wide amidships and with a large hold, but with a low forecastle and no aft bridge or stern castle. For an airship, the design is similar, but adapted to the needs inherent in sailing the skies. Holks are larger and better-made than the ships refered to as "Trading Cogs" (or just "Cogs"), but they're also more expensive to make, operate, and maintain. The preferred sailing ship of this era is still the Cog, though: That's becasue only the Gnomes and the Elves have access to the advanced technology required to build Holks, Quinqueremes, and the like. Since Suldeneselar is currently a landlocked country, it doesn't have anywhere to build ships. That leaves the Gnomes with a monopoly on advanced shipbuilding as well as airship construction (something the Elves of Suldeneselar never had, even during their Golden Age.) End Note.>

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Taryn chortled softly again at being called a "friendly" anything, but shrugged and followed the Gnomish boy back over to the party. Now was as good a time as ever to get off those stairs, she figured.

The note was written in a rather crude hand, with a bit of odd spacing and capitalization, not to mention 'creative' spelling. Acedia never claimed to be very educated. It read:

" We a RE in thE sEw wEr. Go iNG to poyzen teh fo ods supply. Dis sTRacKsh Un miTe be heLp fulL. "

Turns out Acedia had had the same thought as Prosper. Hmm. The words were slightly smudged but still legible.

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Maxwell read the note, and then said: "Says here that Acedia and her group are in the sewers, and they're going to go posin the food supply... I assume that means the food supply of the Dark Flayers. Further, she is requesting a distraction of some sort."

Captain Sealem said: "A bold plan, and it just might work. Very well, then. We will support this operation." the Captain pulled out his notebook and his quill pen, and then he pules a viual of ink from his backpack. He sat down on the floor and began writing. When he was finished, he rolled up two pieces of paper into scrolls and bound each with a short lenghth of sting. He said to the Gnomish boy: "Boy, take this scroll to the master of the Airship. Then, take this other scroll back to Acedia."

The boy replied: "Aye, Sir!" Then he took the scrolls, tucked them into his clothes, and rann off up the stairs.

The Captain gathered up his writing materials, stood up, and said: "I've asked the Airship Captain to prepare to launch an attack, and then get his airship airborne. I've also send word to Acedia to proceed with her sabatoge mission. Mister Shaman, can you tell to your War Chief to move his forces against the city now?"

The Shaman said: "Yes, but I will need to be under an open sky if I am to do as you ask."

The Captain replied: "Then I guess we'll just have to go topside, aye? Alright, everyone, listen up! We're going up into the city. We'll give the messenger boy a few minutes to get his messages through, and then we're moving out. So, sharpen your weapons, ready your gear, and say your prayers. This is going to be fun."

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"Alright, I agree, unless you have a different idea." Replied Prosper, looking at Acedia.

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(THE ABOVE USER HAS BEEN BANNED)

"I've personally long been a fan of the philosophy that it's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission, but in this case it may be best to wait and see what the rest of the party has to say once that gnomish lad gets back here before proceeding. Even though I'd really like to be out of this sewer as quickly as possible." Acedia shrugged and nonchalantly brushed off a smudge of charcoal from the tip of her finger, creating a larger smudge on her skirt. Ah, well. It'll all be washed sooner or later.

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Andrew thought to himself about the high amount of chi he sensed earlier, "That was not just a coincidence, something that strong cannot be, the only thing to possibly have that strong of a Chi would be a Monk, a very strong Monk to boot. I better keep my eye out for whoever that may be.", After the thoughts he tried to keep his mind focused to detect on coming danger.

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Soon, the gnomish messenger boy made his way back to Acedia, Prosper and Tem. He ran up to them and delivered Captain Sealem's note.

It read: "Greetings from the pen of Sealem. Your note has been received, and your plan of sabatoge is approved and will be duly supported. Expect a large distraction topside, posthaste. I have informed the Airship Captain, by this same messenger, that my group intends to raid the surface as a cover for your mission. I have asked his to raise sail and break out his arms, so as to provide assistance to our impending raid. Be aware that we have encountered and allied with some barbarian High-Flayer scouts, and that they are amicable to our cause. Wait for our distraction to pull enemy forces away from the vicinity of your objective before proceeding with the final stage of your mission. Good luck, may the Oakfather light your way.

Signed: Captain Sealem of His Suldeneselarian Majesty's Imperial Guard; OSE."

<GM's Note: "OSE" is a special post-nominal that Captain Sealem is authorized to add to the end of his signature by virtue of his having won the the award of "Officer of the Suldeneselarian Empire", which is one of the classes of awards in The Most Excellent Order of the Suldeneselarian Empire. This is not a military decoration, but rather a personal award of national standing, given directly by The Emperor. Any citizen of The Empire is eligible to be gain admittance to The Most Excellent Order of the Suldeneselarian Empire (or just "Order of the Suldeneselarian Empire" for short), not just the nobility or members of the military. The criteria for reciving this award are: Outstanding personal service to the Emperor, or to the Empire as a whole.>

EDIT: <And.. we're waiting for Prosper, Tem and Acedia to react to the note.>

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As Eruantian was trying disparately to find some way to hold all his belongings while in combat, though he inevitably came the the conclusion that there was no way. He would either have to abandon his invaluable resources or make a hidden cache. The first option was rather unfavorable and the second seemed rather difficult.

How could he possibly make a stash that he could find which others could not? If only he had a safe house. "Why not use someone else's house?" he thought to himself. It was so crazy it just might work.

He went around gathering the various items the other members of the party had been holding on to for him (papers, magic jar, everlasting sandwich, ect) and brought something to the attention of Maxwell, Farnham, and Captain Sealem.

"One of my rings teleported me to a talismonger in Lantan" he proudly informed "If I return to him, I might be able to negotiate a deposit for any equipment we would rather not be lugging around in enemy territory."

{ I started typing something, got distracted, lost my inspiration and never finished it D: }

Acedia read the note aloud, faltering a few times. "Well, that settles that, I guess. Let's go find that stash of brains and get this over with...although Sealem did say to wait..."

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Captain Sealem said: "Excellent, Mister Eruantian. Take Horin and his waggon there, and see if you can arrange for storage for it as well. We won't be able to take it up these stairs, and I'd rather not have it left outside were anyone could make off with it."

Suddenly, Eruantian's intelligent Magic Ring said: "Warning: Incoming hostile astrally-projecting Evil-aligned Mage detected. Take Cover!"

Micheal could see the evil Mage: She was a Drowish woman, and she hadn't spotted him yet. She had come in through the route to the surface, and was accompanied but some sort of astral spirit-creature.... perhaps an ally-spirit or a summoned creature of some kind. Micheal knew he'd have to move fast or she'd be able to warn the garrison that interlopers were in the lower levels, and then the element of surprise Captain Sealem was counting on would be lost. He hoped his spellcasting would be effective on the astral plane....

Quinn, had feel something strange in the air, but until Eruantian's Ring had issued it's warning, he hadn't been quite sure what it was.

Maria grabbed her Holy Symbol and instantly cast "Protection From Evil" on herself. (Unfortunately, she does not have a mass-effect version of that spell) She knew that trying to hide from an astral being was futile, so she was hoping that the spell might at least be of some use if the Mage decided to attack.

Not knowing what else to do, Maxwell flattened himself against one wall, and Farnham did the same. The barbarian Shaman started singing some odd tune that none of the party members unrecognized, but it was obviously of some spiritual/religious meaning to him. His eyes took on a sort of glazed-over look, and his feet seemed to no long be in contact with the floor (!!)

The rest of the Barbarian warriors just stood there, weapons drawn and shields up. Their heads all went up, as if they were looking for an invisible attacker. Apparently, they had all decided to defend their Shaman.

<The Drowess is in the room above the group, and Micheal is up there too, keeping lookout. Now begins Combat on the Astral Plane (Astral Combat) between Micheal and the Drowess Mage. Micheal has moved behind her undetected, and he has caught her off-guard. Therefore, it's his move now. He can choose to cast a spell or to try an unarmed attack with his astral body, or he can wimp out and go back to his body. In Astral Combat, spell effects are slightly different than in Prime-Material-Plane combat, but they're essential the same. Since Micheal has never actually been in Astral Combat before, he doesn't really know what to expect; He's studied such things back at the academy, however, and he knows about how it's supposed to be done.>

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Michael was trying to think how to deal with the Mage, "Okay got to think of how to combat her, fighting her head on would be a horrible idea as I'm not that much of a fighter in the Material Plane so I probably wouldn't be much of a fighter here, and she may actually good at combat. I guess it boils down to magic...and I'm close enough so I can cast Flaming Finger"

Michael's left hand's index finger set aflame and shot the fire at the female mage.

Meanwhile, Andrew was trying to sense the enemy's Chi, but it was to no avail, her astral form made it impossible for the monk to detect.

<OOC: I'm going to leave the result up to Sarge as I'm not sure how much of a power boost the spell gets, I'm also going for a two week holiday (or vacation for you Americans out there), so I may have trouble connecting but I probably will have access to the internet.>

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Eruantian was about to say that he doubted the ring would take other people, due to the problems he had before retuning it. Instead, he hit the dirt as soon as he heard the word "Incoming".

Micheal's Flaming Finger spell reached out and lit the enemy Mage's cloak on fire. She cast off her cloak in response, and while she was doing so she commanded her spirit companion to attack. It dutifully charged forward. By the time Micheal was ready to cast another spell, though, the thing was hardly a foot or two from it's mistress. (Spells can be cast really fast on the Astral Plane, and Micheal was and is skilled enough to take advantage of this fact).

<GM's Note: The Drowess is talking in the Drowish tounge and, although Micheal doesn't understand that language, he can understand the basic meaning of her words due to the nature of Astral Space. He's not sure what her companion is, only that it's not friendly and means him harm. Because the Drowess chose to discard her flaming cloak rather than fire off a counterspell, she once again is vulnerable if Micheal chooses to attack again.>

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To stop the mage's companion from attacking Michael, he immediantly casted "Modenkian's Flashing Sabre", the Silver Blade appeared ready to defend Michael.

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The invisible swordsman holding the Sliver Blade charged forward to engage the Drowess' companion. To Micheal's amazement, he could actually see the astral aura of the invisible swordsman: It was like a faint shimmering silver-edged outline of a man, and the further away from him it got the harder it was to make out. The invisible swordsman moved his Silver Blade with lightning speed, whirling it about his body in an impressive display of skill; Unmatched precision and control were evident it his movements. The Drowess's companion moved to intercept the Silver Blade.

Micheal wasn't sure, but he thought perhaps that if he could see the invisible swordsman's outline perhaps the others could as well. However, it was also possible the only he could see the swordsman, perhaps because he was the one that had summoned it. Nothing he had encountered before cold inform his opinion on this matter one way or the other.

<GM's Note: The invisible swordsman is playing mind games with his foes by putting on a display designed to intimidate and distract. His real aim is to get the Drowess' and her companion off-guard as much as possible so that his Silver Blade can have a better chance of striking first.>

As Micheal cast his spell, the Drowess pulled a wand from her belt and brandished it dramatically. With a ::POOF:: a cloud of smoke appeared around her, obscuring her from view. Micheal could no longer see his primary objective.

<Micheal can once again cast a spell.>

Meanwhile, back in the caves, The Barbarian Shaman stopped chanting, opened his eyes as if he was about to say something..... and in the blink of an eye he utterly vanished.

Just as this happened, Acedia heard a lot of screaming going on. There was a multitude of voices screaming, and it seemed to be coming from deep below, deep in the mines. The voices didn't sound very human at all. Prosper heard this too, as did Tem and the High-Flayer rebels. One of the rebels said: "Great maker... it can't be.... not yet."

Tem said: "What can't be? What's going on?"

The other High-Flayer said: "They're trying to summon their evil god... but... that can't be possible. They shouldn't have enough of heir special metal to try that yet."

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Eruantian, face down on the ground, found himself in some sort of stone structure. He stood up to get a better look around and noticed that he was in the center aisle of some sort of temple. The structure was held up by arcs and pillars of enormous size. On one end of the aisle was a large wooden door and on the other end was an alter. Stained glass windows on both sides of the aisle displayed scenes of great heroes fighting powerful dark beings. One window showcased a man thrusting a javelin into the heart of a green dragon, another an axeman beheading a minotaur. As Eruantian approached the alter, he saw one stained glass window showing a blue figure standing before a hideous giant spider with a woman's head.

Eruantian walked over to that window and said "It can't be... Could it?" He touched the blue figure on the glass and it began to shine. The light dazed Eruantian, so he stepped away from the window. When he was in the center of the aisle again, the light faded and a large blue flame ignited on the alter. A voice from the flame deeply whispered "The hour grows late and the heavens are in turmoil. The minions of the spider queen have acted more hastily than the gods could foresee, fore as I speak they attempt to revive her."

Eruantian was unsure of what to make of this. A talking flame? Was he having another vision? He inquired "Who are you?"

The flame continued "I am that which you carry with you: your tool, your weapon, your guide.
I must confess that I have failed one of these roles. It was my intention to fashion you into a great leader and warrior like your ancestors were an eon before your time. I realize now that I was wrong in doing so. Yours is not the destiny of a leader, but of a subordinate."

Eruantian's heart sunk. "So that's why you gave me visions and tests? That's why I failed your tests?"

"Yes" the flame admitted "But do not be discouraged. You may not be a man of great valor, but you are a man of good conscience. That will have to do. The time of our task may be nigh and the enemy forces my hand."

The flame leaped from its alter and engulfed Eruantian, but it did not consume him. It swirled around in all directions and began to compress itself into Eruantian's body. "Time is short and the tests have ended. I give to you my full power and the responsibility that comes with it."

The temple roof was violently ripped away by an unknown force revealing a dark void above. A spider of colossal size came down from the void on a single cord of web. It dropped from it's web and lifted the temple with its forelegs to the face of its humanoid head. It opened its mouth and out came a thousand terrible screams.

Eruantian found himself back with the party, face still on the ground. The vision had ended, yet he could still hear screaming.

Horin said: "Something is very wrong here. I can feel it. We must away!" He stood up and rushed through the door at the top of the stairs, but as he did so, the very earth underneath his feet began to shake. Terrified, the High Flayer barbarians rushed for the door to the room upstairs, but the room was moving about violently and only one barbarian managed to make it to the door without falling down.

Captain Sealm cried out: "Earthquake!" Just as he finished saying this, cracks stared to form in the ceiling and small rocks stared to rain down on everyone in the room. And then bigger rocks. The Captain's voice took on an air of urgency, and he said: "Everybody, we have to run for it! Marcus, get Micheal's body! Go, go go!"

Farnham just said: "Crap!" as a slab of granite detached itself from the roof and nearly landed on Farnham's head. He barely managed to get out of the way in time... just barely.

Maxwell was terrified... he stared babbling: "No time... this whole place is coming apart! We'll never make it! We're doomed!"

<Gm's Note: Horin and one barbarian warrior made it into the basement of the hotel above, but that room isn't faring any better than the room below it. The Earthquake is artificial and very localized: Tem, Prosper and Acedia can't feel the earthquake, and neither can the hotel patrons or anyone else in the city. The Earthquake is the product of a Elemental Manipulation spell that a Drow Sorceress (Not the one that Micheal is fighting, a different one) has cast. But you don't know that, so play like you think the earthquake is either natural or the doing of one of the gods.... ">

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A large pile of rocks landed where Eruantian was lying. Fortunately, he had put on his ring of teleportation before his vision. This allowed him to escape the earthquake unscathed with all his equipment. Though safe and sound at the Talismonger's gates in Lantan, it may very well have seemed to some as though the earthquake had taken Eruantian's life.

As he let out a sigh of relief, one of the guards stood over him with a concerned look on his face. Eruantian had intended to teleport into the talismonger's workspace, though it didn't take Eruantian long to figure out why he was redirected. "Don't tell me" Eruantian said "The tower won't let anyone teleport inside with weapons or contraband?"

The guard said: "Yeh...standard anti-theft provision. Hey pal, you don't look so good. You alright?"

Meanwhile, the whole cavern collapsed, presumably burying the whole party of adventurers inside.*

Horin though he heard a strange noise just before the cavern collapsed, but he was too busy running for his life to think too much about it. When he reached the top of the cavern, he was immediately surrounded by a group of female Drowish swordsmen. There were about 300 well-armoured and well-armed Drowish females there, all riding dark fire-breathing horses, but the Barbarian High-Flayer Warrior charged them anyways... and was immediately run through with a lance. Horin, knowing the difference between bravery and foolhardiness, threw down his weapons and put up his hands. They ran him through just the same. Horin, however, did not die. He just stood there, not dead, not dying, not bleeding... just with a rather strange sensation in his chest where the lance passed through his body. His eyes seemed to be glowing, and when he spoke, his voice boomed with a deafening noise. The voice said: "You will not harm this one. This Barakor is under the personal protection of Gorm Gulthyn, and neither you nor your Spider Queen shall stand against him. Step aside, mortals, or face my wrath."

Meanwhile..., back in the sewers:
Tem said: "Ah, well. It was a good plan while it lasted. If you'll excuse us, we've got some cow brains to wreck. I'm certainly not waiting around for some overgrown spider to come and eat us, that's for sure. Coming?"

Somewhere... else.... A certain Drowish Sorceress, Captain Sealem, Micheal (and his invisible Swordsman), Maxwell, Farnham, Taryn, Maria, Marcus, Drek, Quinn, Andrew, (and everyone else supposedly crushed when the room collapsed... except Eruantian) found themselves in a very odd room... with no idea whatsoever about how they had gotten there. The room had doors and windows on every surface... all four walls, the ceiling, the floor... the interior walls. And each door and every window looked out on radically different sights. One window beheld a seemingly endless plane of fire. Another looked out on a frozen arctic landscape. Another was... totaly strange... a place where things fell up, where water rolled itself into balls of sponge-like material, and where bizzarely-shapen worm-like things battled each other by playing inscrutibly complex games. Every window and door beheld some realm where things were not like they were on Skarae Brae. Nobody else was in this odd little room, and except for the weird doors and windows, there didn't seem to be any way in or out except a spiral staircase in the middle of the room that led both up and down.

The Drowess was clearly flabbergasted. She looked around, suspiciously, and said to Maxwell: (in heavily accented Common) "What is this, hu-man? Is this your doing?"
Maxwell shook his head and said: "Yes. I am the great and powerful Oz. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

The Drowess wasn't buying it.. but (foolishly) she did turn her head to look for a man in a curtain, at which point Farnham neatly knocked her silly with a powerfull right hook straight to the temple of her forehead. The Drowess fell to the floor, stunned and dizzy. Farnham said: "Works every time." Maxwell shook his hand and said: "Yep. The old man-behind-the-curtain trick." Farnham scratched his head with his other hand and said: "Sure, 'cept we didn't actually have a curtain this time. Wasn't that kind of risky?" Maxwell shrugged and said: "It worked, didn't it?"

Marcus was on her in a flash, all claws and teeth and sharp pointy things. Captain Sealm shouted : "No! Don't kill her, we may need her alive. Tie her hands behind her back and blindfold her. Mages can't cast spells if they can't see what they're casting at, right Micheal?"


<*They're not dead... yet. They're just... somewhere else.>

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"Yes and no" Eruantian said, lifting himself to his feet. "It's probably just as well that I ran into you guys first anyway. Do you mind if I check my equipment in with you guys? You know, like you did with my sword last time only this time I'm not going in. I wouldn't ask this if it wasn't REALLY important. I've got a mission to get back to and I can't carry this stuff around if I plan on being of any use to my party." It had just occurred to Eruantian that 'party' was a rather generic name for their group. He made a note to ask Maxwell about coming up with a name, if he was still alive... Still alive? "HOLY CRAP! THE CAVE IN!" he thought to himself in horrible realization.

Acedia winced and covered her ears when the screaming started, and then nodded when Tem proposed just going ahead with the plan, following him once he started moving.

Meanwhile, in this strange state of not-death, Taryn seemed rather calm. "You're not likely to get anything useful out of her," she remarked following the subduing of the Drow sorceress.

{ Severe allergies kill creativity with startling efficiency }

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get LOST

The guard said: "We charge 20 silver a day per item stored, with a minimum charge of one gold coin. We'll bill you later. Just leave it to us, we'll take care of it for you."
The other guard said: "Oh, and the boss said to show you this if you came back. Said you might be interested in buying it." He handed Eruantian an elaborately golden gilded and gem-encrusted helmet. The guard continued: "He said it was a "Helm Of The Planes.".. whatever that means. He was acting very odd... not his normal self at all."


Tem and Prosper led the way forward, following the map and getting lost only once.

Meanwhile, in the room with all the doors and windows, Marcus took off his belt and tied up the Drowess with it while Andrew kept her arms still. Quinn replied to Taryn: "I could try reading her mind... It's worth a try, anyways."

Maxwell said: "Do what you can, Quinn." He turned to Micheal and Taryn. "Right now I've got a lot of questions and very few answers. Let's start with this room. Where are we? How did we get here? And... more importantly... how do we get back to Squiddy Man Mountain? I'm gonna check out this staircase. You guys see if you can figure out what's up with these doors."

Farnham said: "I'm coming with you, brother. Someone's got to keep you out of trouble." Maxwell just grinned and nodded. He looked like he was going to come back with some snappy patter, but his face betrayed him: Recent events had disturbed him greatly, and he felt little of his former self-confidence in him. He didn't dare say anything to anyone about this, though, because he felt that being group leader meant that you must never say anything that might dishearten your followers. His panicked outburst in the cavern when he thought they were all going to die had pierced this facade, and he needed some time to get himself together again.

Micheal though he might have an answer to where they were. This place looked a lot like what he'd read of The City Of Doors... but he wasn't sure. Then again, if this really was The City Of Doors.... perhaps he'd better say something about that.

<Note TO Micheal's Player: If you don't remember The City Of Doors, see here for a description: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=11216&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=3810 >

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<OOC> Current Inventory:
Inventory

Ring of Narluin
Gold Necklace
Gold Ring of Klebia: Teleportation
Gold Signet Ring of Klebia: Strength and Armor Enhancement
Silver Ring of Klebia: Fire Balls and Demon Summoning
Parchment from Deputy Commissioner for Lost Artifacts
2 Gold Coins
17 Silver Coins
Horin's Pain-Killing Gummy Herb
Spatha Sword

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Aclabar's Stuff

key
small silver case
small gemstone (a round-cut Ruby, ½ Caret).
Never-ending ham & cheese sandwich
a potion of Cure Disease (clearly labeled) in a waxed wooden jar
two spools of gold thread
an unidentified wand of some sort
map
blank scroll
quill pen
vial of ink (with a cork stopper)
another key
set of toothpicks in a small ivory container
47 gold pieces
16 silver pieces
one 10-ounce bar of platinum
set of scissors (made of iron)
collapsible gnomish spyglass
steel dagger (hidden in his left boot)
set of letters bound up with red ribbons

Distributed Loot
Aclabar's Spell Book| Micheal
Glowing Jar | Taryn
Set of lockpicks & thieves tools |Prosper


That's going to cost me 3 gold a day, assuming I hand over all of the items in the Aclabar's Stuff category except for the coins, the distributed loot, the sandwich, the platinum, and the steel dagger. This means that I can't store this stuff for any longer than 16 days, assuming I don't buy the Helm of Planes.</OOC>

Eruantian tried to figure out the math in his head as best as he could. He could not determine an exact number, but he narrowed it down to not being able to afford very many days of storage (especially if he bought the helmet, which must have been expensive).

"How much does it cost?" Eruantian inquired "Better yet, what does it do?"

The guard said: "Well, that's the strange thing. The boss said you were allowed to take it on a "Indefinitely Long Test Drive" so long as you promise to bring it back. He said it's a complete planar travel & protection device. It allows you to freely travel the various planes of existence and be protected from the usually dangerous intra-planar effects. He said to think of it a carriage that can move you between the various planes. Except you wear the carriage on your head, not the other way around."

The other guard stated to tally up Eruantian various items on a pad of paper. He said: "Which is very odd, coming from the master. He don't usually lend nothing to nobody.. expecily expensive stuff like what that helm is. Aw well.... it's his shop. Anyways, this is a right nice collection of items you have here, sir. You know, the master might take some of this in trade. I can ask him about it if you'd like to part with some of this."

_________________

"Well..." Eruantian thought aloud "On second thought, how much would it cost if I traded in some of my items for a bag of holding instead?"

<OOC> I'm willing to part with:
Coins
small silver case
small gemstone (a round-cut Ruby, ½ Caret).
a potion of Cure Disease (clearly labeled) in a waxed wooden jar
two spools of gold thread
an unidentified wand of some sort
blank scroll
quill pen
vial of ink (with a cork stopper)
set of toothpicks in a small ivory container
one 10-ounce bar of platinum
collapsible gnomish spyglass </OOC>