Mountain Mayhem 1

The Mines outside of Alexandria are home to many people, and have been turning a profit for years. Tight knit, but welcoming, many khazad and other races call this place theirs, and they tend to resolve their own problems internally, whenever possible. So it's always something of a surprise when they call upon the Adventurer's Guild and report something goes amiss.

The point of contact is an older Khazad in the Deluge Mines, waiting patiently for the group of adventurers outside of the small shack that serves as an office, of sorts. "The damndest thing," he tells the group. "I know some of these men. They have families. Young ones, they run off all the time. Afraid of hard work. But some of these have been working this mine for ten years, now. Just strange." He sighs, seating his tired self at a desk. "But the tunnels are clear. No cave-ins, no accidents that we can see. And none of them are dumb enough to go into the unstable tunnels."

Olek is here to help out in the mines, feeling quite dwarfish in doing so. "So," he says, "You want us to track down your missing miners? Where were they last seen?" he wonders. "And who were they last seen by?"

Seldan, dressed in attire that befits a user of magic, but with a sword on his hip, nods seriously, frowning as he listens. "Have they said aught to you at all of what it is that makes them flee?" Myrrish, from the accent. "Have theyshown you where it might have been?"

Halani has arrived.

Merek makes a way to the mines of the mounts to meet up about the work while he shifts his dark attire about him a bit also.

"Wait!" The cry comes from a bit of a distance away, around a bend. No visible source to it yet. Then it sounds again, closer. Closer. Then Halani comes tearing around a corner and then finally into sight from the office shack, a rising cloud of dust beginning at her feet and spreading into the air behind her. She nearly flies up the stairs that quite literally skids to a halt, sliding past everyone initially before scrambling back to join the group. "Hah! Hah!" Yep, she's out of breath. Doubling over, one hand grasping her stomach as the other one holds a finger up. "Hoo... hooo... hooooooooo...." And so on and so forth. Then, at last, she straightens. "Okay! This one is here. Ready to go."

The khazad grunts. "Most of the missing ones were on the survey teams," he tells the group. "Not dangerous work, really. Mostly just walking around, taking little pieces of stone so that we can figure out if the rock is right, and the walls stable enough for new shafts." He opens a drawer, taking out a small pouch and what has to be the world's smallest, most adorable hammer, almost looking like a child's toy. "They take a rock. They mark it. They drop it in here. They come back. Except only three of them came back, two of them running right past me, and the other babbling something about 'evil spirits'. One of those plainsfolks. Not used to the underground. Don't even know what the boy was doing here." He's clearly not convinced by this story. Halani's sudden appearance makes him sit up a bit straighter, though he just follows it with a sigh. "Some days, I wonder why I ever quit drinking."

Olek tells the dwarf, "Quitters never win. Don't give up!" He nods, then asks, "So what is it that the surveyors were surveying before they ran back here? If we go to check that out, we may find something out. And your missing surveyor, of course."

Merek nods a bit, "We'll look into it probably," he says.

Seldan looks back behind him as Halani comes careening in, and fixes her with a long, level look, his entire bearing becoming an impassive mask. "It is not for nothing that those who work for the Guild are termed irregulars," he says mildly. "I have met far worse. A star shines upon your arrival, my lady." With that, he turns back to the khazad. "Yes, does your map show where they were when they turned and fled?" The word _probably_ gets Merek a sharp look.

Merek looks over to Seldan, "I will, I can't speak for everyone."

Halani does her best to look impressive, especially once Seldan greets her so... enthusiastically. The effect is somewhat spoiled by her sagging against the door frame. Still, she manages a toothy grin. "Well, little man," she tells the dwarven contact, "I know why you quit drinking! Because you want to be live long enough to see your great great great grandkids, yeah?" She pushes away from the door, mostly steady now. "So. Find the missing. Punch the spirits. Save the day."

"Only reason ta quit drinkin is quittin breathin," Ilmig voices with a beard-waggling chuckle as he walks up. "Khazad ain' ones ta do either of those. Now, finding and punching, that's more agreeable."

The khazad blinks at Halani's statement, then gives a good laugh. "Ha. Never even had regular kids. Too damn mean for a wife, and too damn busy to deal with brats." He slides out of his chair, moving to the map of the mine on the wall. It's clear that there are extensive tunnels throughout the mountain, each of them marked by elevation. "That's the damndest part," he says. "They aren't even in dangerous areas! Plenty of men there even!" He points to one area that looks like an intersection for several shafts. "Most experienced guy went straight down the middle on this one, seeing if we can snake another shaft here, at this bend." His finger moves to that spot. "The others, well -- various places, really." He points at a few more tunnels, all of them in spots that look like another fork could split off. "I can't make heads or tails of it. If it was some kind of monster, it'd have to come through the tunnels, but nobody saw a damn thing. Unless it's invisible, but you'd think it'd cause a lot more mayhem." He shakes his head. "I'm completely stumped, and none of my guys have found hide or hair."

Olek looks carefully at the map to get the location, and notes as much as he can about the geography, such as it is. The geology, anyhow. He nods about not having time for kids. They're over-rated in his book anyhow. "We'll go there and check it out in any event," he says. "Tracking on stone is tough, but I'll see what can be done."

"If they do not wish to pursue it, then why are they here?" Seldan asks of Merek, then turns back to the khazad. "Invisible is not impossible," he agrees, peering at the map as well. "Yes, I will aid you in pursuing this." He says nothing about the drinking or the kids, only looks down. He wouldn't know.

Merek nods a bit, while he looks to the Khazad, listening to the conversation. He seems to think about it a moment, "Interesting, will likely need to scout it," he says.

The tunnels are crowded places. Not just in the sense that the further down you go, the more confined they become. But also in the sense that there is a fully functional town in this mine. Stores, homes. The ceiling is high enough to allow expansive buildings near the entrance, probably what started as a natural cave system. But past that, the aisles get narrower, making movement difficult at times -- normally because there are a fleet of people coming and going in both directions, pressed shoulder to shoulder in some areas, the miners a mix of khazad, egalrin, and human, with a small amount of others, all seeming jovial and laughing.

But the further down in the mine one goes, the more things change. The tunnels are darker, and the air is hotter and more damp, almost uncomfortable. And the faces of the men look more and more tired, with more and more anxiety in the younger men as the weight of the mountain above causes groans and other strange sounds.

<OOC> Olek says, "When we get to the area, I'd like to see if I can find tracks of anything other than miners."
<OOC> Malik says, "Alright! Anyone who wants to track can. Roll your survival, though the DC is 26. You're looking at working on stone in poor visibility (torches and lamps)."

GAME: Olek rolls survival: (6)+15: 21

GAME: Halani rolls survival: (16)+16: 32

Being underground is not a thing that Seldan has a great deal of experience with, but the faces on the miners are telling. The discomfort and dampness in the mine is easy enough to solve - as they walk, he picks up the crescent and sphere on a chain around his neck, touches it to his lips, and murmurs a prayer. It is not long, and when he does, a brief moon-silver sheen covers his skin, and vanishes. When that is done, he turns his attention to the surrounding area, looking for tracks.

GAME: Seldan rolls survival: (3)+14: 17

GAME: Merek rolls survival: (2)+3: 5

"Well," Halani comments, maybe more so she can hear someone speaking than for any real conversation, down here deeper in the mines. "At least tunnels don't crash, yeah? No crash landings today?"

GAME: Seldan casts Endure Elements. Caster Level: 5 DC: 16

You paged (Olek, Halani) with 'That's enough for Olek with Darkvision, since he won't take the light penalty -- it's hard to make out, given how much traffic there is in this area. The footprints are a few days old, and they've largely been scattered. Following them is kind of a chore. But you do notice one or two moving much slower, stopping at even intervals, which matches what the khazad said they were doing.'

Olek peers at the tracks, looks around the area, and hrms thoughtfully. "It's hard to track across stone," he explains. "And with the cross-traffic and all." He points out some of the tracks he's found, and says, "They're kind of faint, between old and trodden on, but I think I can follow them. This way."

Halani squints as she does her best to look for signs of passage. And separate the ones they want to find from the ones that are in the way. When Olek points out the ones he's settled on, she frowns a bit and squints harder.. then nods her agreement.

Merek moves to follow with the others, not doing too great at this survivalist thing while he nods to them all, "I uh. Ya."

"Let us hope that they do not crash at all," Seldan answers Halani, peering at the ground himself and looking rather mystified. Even with magical assistance on the matter, there's nothing there to track, so he shrugs finally and follows the others, peering into the darkness.

The tracks lead deeper into the mines, the creature that made them about human size and seeming to be in no particular rush, for those that can follow them easily enough. A ways down the tunnel, they come to the indicated chamber -- a large crossroads with at least five tunnels branching off from it. Here, things get a bit stranger. The tracks are there one moment, and at the end, there's a mark that looks like someone turning on their heel, and then a fast step before they vanish completely.

There's a young man sitting near the entrance to one of the tunnels, looking like he's resting -- though he keeps staring at that spot where the tracks end, eyes a thousand leagues away.

Olek has followed the tracks, with Halani's help in a few places, and he's watching the area warily, ready for something to jump out at us. But all he finds is ... no, he'll check again ... no. He sighs a bit, and admits, "I've lost it. It turns here, almost pivots, and then nothing. Like it vanished or something. You magical types might have to check it from here..."

"Or maybe that one can tell us, hey?" Halani says, pointing at the young man. She narrows her eyes and approaches them, holding up a hand to wave it in front of him.

Merek nods a bit between them all, looking to consider while he looks to the place, following.

Seldan pages: Detect Evil.
Seldan pages: A paladin can do this at will.
You paged Seldan with 'Nothing evil here that you can detect.'

Ilmig has disconnected.

From afar, Seldan nods. All right, will cast Detect Magic when pose comes up.
You paged Seldan with 'Faint traces of divination, abjuration. Some very light conjuration and remnants of transmutation, but probably nothing powerful enough to explain a disappearance. Nothing that you wouldn't expect in a mine, really.'

Not seeing tracks, Seldan spots the man almost at once, but Halani goes over before he can move, and the mention of magic stirs a different chord. The pale blue eyes unfocus for the space of several breaths as he surveys the chamber, but then refocus, and he shakes his head, then raises a hand and draws a simple arcane sigil, then speaks a word to it. The sigil lights up, then fades into nothingness, and he peers around much as Malik is doing, but with arcane-fueled eyes.

GAME: Seldan attempts to cast Detect Magic but fails due to ASF.

GAME: Seldan casts Detect Magic. Caster Level: 10 DC: 15

Olek gahs, feeling like a damned fool for paying so much attention to the tracks that he misses the person that, it seems pretty clear, is associated with them. "Good afternoon," he says to the fellow, a bit belatedly. He eyes the fellow up and down. Loitering in this exact place, staring where the tracks end, that's way too coincidental.

The young man looks up as the adventurers approach, his eyes widening as he gets snapped out of his reverie. There's a brief moment of calculation on his face, the fight-or-flight instinct kicking in as strangers come and look like they've got some questions -- and flight wins out. He turns, running down the tunnel as fast as his legs will carry him.

GAME: Malik rolls 1d5: (2): 2

Olek acks as the fellow sprints off, and he will give chase, as fast as his stubby legs will carry him. Oddly, or perhaps not, it's as fast as a human can run, his stature not slowing him at all, or so iy would seem. His boots thump stone, his armor clanking with each step as he dashes after the fellow.

Merek is following along while he looks to the others, listening also, and blinks when the man runs away from them.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ATTENTION -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Malik has dropped a TIMESTOP!

Please +init, then cease all roleplay and actions immediately and wait for Malik to instruct you further. You may earn RPP by logging a scene for a GM.

For in-combat commands, type: +thelp.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

GAME: Malik advances the initiative order.

Round One - Init 21.

It is now Halani's turn! Seldan is next!

<OOC> Halani says, "I'll hold."

GAME: Malik advances the initiative order.

Round One - Init 18.

It is now Seldan's turn! Merek is next!

GAME: Seldan casts Grease. Caster Level: 10 DC: 16

GAME: Malik rolls 1d20 + 2: (17)+2: 19

Seldan is just finishing with whatever it is he is looking at, and dismisses the spell with an arcane gesture, just in time to see the young man dash off. He raises a hand and draws a pair of sigils, one atop another, then shouts another arcane phrase, grabs the glowing sigils out of the air, and casts them at the feet of the fleeing young man. A layer of slippery grease materializes at the young man's feet, within his path, making the floor slick.

GAME: Malik advances the initiative order.

Round One - Init 18.

It is now Merek's turn! Olek is next!

GAME: Merek casts Create Water. Caster Level: 6 DC: 13

GAME: Malik advances the initiative order.

Round One - Init 5.

It is now Olek's turn! Halani is next!

Merek begins lifting up hands to chant while he uses his Theurge powers to create water which is waving along and, also putting the torches to the water also.

GAME: Olek rolls reflex: (18)+6: 24

GAME: Olek rolls 1d20+14: (6)+14: 20

GAME: Olek rolls cmb: (12)+14: 26

GAME: Malik rolls 1d20 + 4: (14)+4: 18

Halani is still back where they met the young man... a step towards his flight having given away an initial urge to give chase. But when the others proved to be quicker off the start than she, she decided to turn back and look down one of the other tunnels. Squinting, because everyone knows you can see better in the darkness when you squint.

Olek runs after the fellow. He has a slow start at first, but for some reason he passes the others. He realizes why when his boot first hits the magicak grease, but he's got so much momentum he just plants his feet and keeps going without a change in direction. After clearing the grease, he'll reach out to grab the fellow, and he dosges a flung tool, getting a handful of sleeve and wrapping the guy up, reeling him in and going down on top of him in a tangle of arms and legs and beard.

Olek runs after the fellow. He has a slow start at first, but for some reason he passes the others. He realizes why when his boot first hits the magical grease, but he's got so much momentum he just plants his feet and keeps going without a change in direction. After clearing the grease, he'll reach out to grab the fellow, and he dodges a flung tool, getting a handful of sleeve and wrapping the guy up, reeling him in and going down on top of him in a tangle of arms and legs and beard. (fixed spelling)

GAME: Malik removes the timestop.

Timestop by Malik has left.

The young man goes down hard under the weight of the dwarf, shouting "Let me go!" He squirms like his life depends on it, but it's clear that he's not a trained combatant. Given his build, he's probably barely a trained miner, built for speed and agility rather than power, and lacking much enough of that to even free himself from the dwarf before he finally turns his head away, seeming to accept his fate as if waiting for a hammer to the skull.

Olek will try to roll the fellow over onto his belly and twist his arms behind his back. That ought to make it easier to tie him up, and in any event, that's how you question people, right? "What's your name?" he demands first. "What were you doing loitering around there? What were you staring at?"

Hearing, and then seeing, the young man go down, Seldan dismisses the grease patch with a quick gesture, then strides over to where Olek has him pinned. "Calm yourself, my friend," he tells the khazad, then drops to one knee next to the both of them. "We are not here to harm him. We are here to help, and a man threatened and terrorized will be of little help." He keeps his tone even and calm. "If I ask him to unhand you, will you stay and answer our questions? We are not here to harm you, but we need your help."

GAME: Seldan rolls diplomacy+3: (9)+14+3: 26

Merek is content to listen while he looks between the folk, nodding a bit also, while he leans upon the wall of the mines.

The young man calms down as Seldan comes into view, though he's clearly in a bit of pain from those bindings. There are tears streaming down his face, and he's obviously terrified. But the paladin's words seem soothing, and he relaxes a bit, nodding his assent. "Jakob," he tells them. "My name is Jakob. I was Olsted's apprentice." The missing surveyor the khazad was talking about , presumably.

Olek will get up off the fellow when he starts talking and seems not to be an evil mine spirit. He'll forgo binding his arms behind his back, and he'll even help the fellow to his feet, though he keeps a grip on the fellow's arm. Just in case he starts to feel skittish again. As far as the quetioning goes, he assures Jakob, "We're not here to hurt you. But we -were- wondering what it was that caused all the commotion with the miners. What were you staring at in the room where we found you?"

Seldan nods his agreement, listening carefully with only occasional glances at any others who come up to help. "Can you tell us what happened?" is all he adds to Olek's query.

Merek nods a bit while he listens to folk talk about the situation, looking then to the human, and back to the team.

Halani still stands apart from the rest. Perhaps she feels that too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the food. Or maybe she's fascinated with the darkness.... hefting a small stone, she tosses it down the passageway.

The young man looks up to Seldan, noticing the holy symbol there, turning his face to the dirt. "If I tell you, you'll just think I'm crazy," he says, breathing coming faster now. "Or lying. They didn't believe any of the others, either." He sits up, scooting his back against a wooden crate as he looks around the tunnel, and then back at the group. "The spirits," he whispers. "It was the spirits!"

Olek looks to the kid, looks to his allies, shrugs. Spirits? That's way beyond his level of expertise. "Keep talking," he tells the kid gruffly. He's got no idea how possible it is, or whether it's a thing or not, he'll let the others decide on that. He's watching them as much as the kid.

"I do not believe you crazy, nor do I think you are lying," Seldan tells the kid, as gently as he can. "I believe that you and your companions saw something, that we now work to understand. Tell me what happened, and what you saw. I sensed no evil in this place."

"Spirits are real!" Halani calls down, proving she was, at least, listening.

"We made the mountain mad," he whispers. "We didn't see it in the rock until the pick hit it. That idol. Old stone. My father's father used to tell us stories. The old stories, the ones they don't teach at the temple." He shudders again. "Most of us know the stories. Of the spirits. And the people who worshipped them. And the consequences for angering them." He looks around to the others, eyes widening. "They -ate- him. They ate all of them!"

GAME: Seldan rolls knowledge/religion: (12)+11: 23

GAME: Olek rolls intelligence: (10)+0: 10

GAME: Merek rolls knowledge/religion+3: (18)+7+3: 28

Olek looks to the others, but he can only shrug. Dwarfish mine stories? Well, he's a Stonesmasher, his family was more about the fighting than about the stone lore. They would have been quite pleased if he had learned it, but that's just one of a lpong list of things that would have pleased him that he didn't do. Most of it out of spite. So he'll listen with a blank, puzzled expression as the man goes on about spirits. He has no idea.

You paged Seldan with 'Merek would know that before the Holy Order, this area was largely animistic, believing that spirits inhabited all things, and the religion was incredibly complex and complicated. This particular mountain was the site of a great number of rituals, as both mountaintops and caves were seen as places sacred to the spirits, so it's no surprise that there might be some kind of idol here. It hasn't been practiced in thousands of years, and is largely viewed as heresy now by the most devout, or dismissed as fairy tales. But the wrath of the spirits was widely feared in ALexandrian pre-history, and some small villages have rolled it into their current festivals (think how voudoun rolled in Catholicism and animism).'

You paged Merek with 'Merek would know that before the Holy Order, this area was largely animistic, believing that spirits inhabited all things, and the religion was incredibly complex and complicated. This particular mountain was the site of a great number of rituals, as both mountaintops and caves were seen as places sacred to the spirits, so it's no surprise that there might be some kind of idol here. It hasn't been practiced in thousands of years, and is largely viewed as heresy now by the most devout, or dismissed as fairy tales. But the wrath of the spirits was widely feared in ALexandrian pre-history, and some small villages have rolled it into their current festivals (think how voudoun rolled in Catholicism and animism).'

"This place was a site of what was an animistic religion, with many rituals. The place is seen as sacred to spirits, so his all makes sense, though current faiths probably aren't too accepting from what they used to be," Merek mentions, while he nods a bit to the others. The Theurge looks about in thought a bit.

Seldan listens in silence to the young man's ravings, and all at once, starts, frowning. He looks just a touch confused, but seems to largely dismiss it. "An ancient faith, and one that does not acknowledge the Holy Order," he nods agreement with Merek. "There was no magic out of the ordinary, nor was there evil. Nothing of a strength to match what he describes. "We should proceed with caution."