Fire and Brimstone (Part 4)

You stand in the room as the glass shards of the mirror above you begin to repair, returning the mirror to its natural shape and form. Before you stand three doors you have not explored, all of them interspaced at odd intervals around the tower. One that you suspect leads upwards, and two others.

Durrankar watches as the mirror reforms itself. "That's not ominous. Not at all."

Ga'Elian, careful to avoid looking directly upward, walks to the nearest door and tries the handle.

"...stupid demons..."

Sandy mutters under her breath, having a look at the doors now.

GAME: Ga'Elian rolls 1d100: (12): 12

The door that Ga'Elian tries to open does so with ease and a burst of hot air. It's warm in there for certain. As you open the door you catch sight of an opulent room done up in shades of red. Standing in the corner wearing a robe is a red-skinned, handsome man who seems to be trying on a new hat as he poses for the mirror. He startles at the sound of his door opening and lets out a little surprised noise. His red eyes widen and he stares at you as though you're possibly robbers of some kind before with a little poof of smoke he is suddenly wearing an entirely different outfit.

"You can not possibly have a reservation; back downstairs with you. Shoo." He makes a shooing motion.

Astaren holds a hand to his head, "We are a walk in, that is not about to walk out with all the trouble we have had getting where. We would like an appointment with the master of the tower."

Durrankar peeks around the doorframe with a look on his face that says 'The hell did I just walk into?'

Sandy just sort of stares. "Oh good," she mutters.

'More demons." She assumes, anyway, eyeing the man in red before pinching the bridge of her nose.

GAME: Astaren rolls knowledge/the planes+4: (20)+25+4: 49
GAME: Ga'Elian rolls Knowledge/the Planes+Fiend: aliased to Knowledge/the Planes+10: (4)+7+10: 21
GAME: Durrankar rolls knowledge/the planes: (16)+5: 21

"Oh!" Exclaims the man... or whatever he is as most men don't have bright red skin. "You want to /make/ an appointment. Of course." He glances around. "If you don't mind though I'd rather not do this in my room. I can meet you downstairs?"

Astaren glances to Sandy, "Nope, not a demon, or a devil, or well anything typically associated with evil. This is a half-fire elemental Ettin." Glancing to the Ettin, 'We could, but we are needing to meet with him on a emergency basis. You see, the backside of the tower is oozing black stuff, nasty magical black stuff. The master of the tower could very well be in big trouble."

Astaren tilts his head, "Or was it half-giant, you are after all missing a head to be an ettin after all."

The man looks a bit uncomfortable. "Actually this is just a facade. One only has to have one hat if one only has one head after all." He makes another motion with his hand and grows a second head and a more gender neutral appearance. "Ignition, Inferno." The heads say nearly at the same time, one in a male tone and the other in a female.

The ettin is about to say more, but Ga'Elian interrupts and the dual-headed creature responds with shock on both its faces. "You /killed/ Eclavdran? Whyever would you kill a bound demon?!?"

Durrankar says, "it attacked us?"

Astaren ahhs as he watches the head appear, "That makes sense then, your features were all wrong to fit Titan or giant, all wrong.' then tilts his head as he glances to Ga'Elian then back to the Ettin, "Well you see, we opened this door, he grinned at us, and decided to be all kill happy and such. I think a few dozen slayer arrows later, he got poofed back to his realm. We did try knocking first, nobody answered. Now, about that appointment, mind expediting us to the master of the tower?"

"Did he attack you, or did he drop a globe of darkness and leer at you while talking about killing you?" The ettin looks mildly annoyed now, and Astaren's words seem to confirm his dislike of you. Still he responds if a little haughtily. "I can /not/ expedite you to the master of this tower because he is /gone/. You will have to wait for him downstairs or not see him at all."

"...oh, don't worry. He'll probably be back. What could keep him away from a lovely place like this?" Sandy's probably being sarcastic and not helping at all.

"Do you even know the tower is being dissolved from the outside?" Durrankar's blunt with this question.

Ga'Elian lets the others' answers suffice. Anyway, his efforts at civility are a little forced. He says, "Besides, to bind such a creature as that requires a dire cost. Infernal dukes won't kowtow for any insignificant commitment. I frankly see nothing wrong with despatching an evil servant of such an evil or deranged summoner." He goes seamlessly into an incantation.

GAME: Ga'Elian casts Resist Energy. Caster Level: 20 DC: 14

Astaren taps his chin, "I don't think we ever got to the globe of darkness part, by the time I was reacting I he had grabbed me and was racking me with his claws." pointing to some of his torn clothing, "have not gotten around to fixing that yet." then motions over to Durrankar, "As I mentioned earlier, the tower on the outside is dissolving. You said the master is gone... how long has he been gone?" tilting his head, trying to keep things friendly.

Ignition and Inferno move in concert, drawing two scimitars and seamlessly moving into Ga'Elian's space. "That's enough out of you I think." Is Ignition's opinion, but Inferno glances toward Durrankar and Astaren. "We would rather not kill you; you are our guests, but we will fight if necessary."

Durrankar looks to Ignition..... "And we would rather not kill you." He's rather direct about that. "Our elven friend here does not have a knack for diplomacy, but does try to protect himself. That spell he used was against fire, which makes sense....considering the tower's surroundings, right?"

GAME: Durrankar rolls diplomacy: (19)+23: 42
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+29: (17)+29: 46

Ga'Elian watches those scimitars coming closer and retreats a few paces himself, saying, "Quite so. And on the subject of protection, I'd like to protect my personal space, too, if I may."

"Let's not make any sudden moves. If you believe we did what we said, any conflict between us is likely to be no fun. So let's not do it, eh? Anybody." She glances back towards the others and then to the scimitars. "No need to things off on the wrong foot even more. We just want to pass through. We believe something may have happened to the owner of the tower and what not."

The ettin nods and sheathes its weapons. "No more spells, and there will be no more misunderstandings between us. As for my master; he is gone. I know this for certain. As for the tower, it will repair itself given time. There is no need to worry."

Durrankar says, "Are you able to leave the tower?"

Astaren considers the Etten thoughtfully, "I know magic Ignition, and I know this tower will not fix itself from what is eating it. We can leave, but if we do everything here will not survive. If that is your wish, I will at least abide by it. YOu know the master is gone, but do you know why or how?" closing his eyes as he leaves, "I think we have enough here to report back to Alexandria. With all the magic that is wrapped up here we will need to ensure proper protections are in place for any planer breachers that happen when everything eventually goes boom."

Ga'Elian relaxes his stance... slightly... but doesn't return closer to the fire-ettin. He says, "The Tower seems to be dissolving under the corrosion of an enormous black sparkly slime. And we have been hired to explore the tower and report back to our clients. Oh, and, we told some guardian foo outside that we weren't going to remove anything from the tower."

"That's accurate," says Sandy, firmly, backing up their accounts. "We're here to see if we can't put a stop to it. So why don't we help each other instead of squabble further, eh?" She folds her arms across her chest.

Durrankar says, "The guardian lava dragon."

Ignition and Inferno seem to consider this, looking back and forth between themselves. "Yes I can leave. In fact I will return in a moment." Ignition makes a few hand motions while speaking in unison. The ettin disappears and is gone for only a few seconds to return looking somewhat concerned. "It seems to be eating the tower slightly faster than it can regenerate. I'm not allowed to go upstairs though. My contract forbids it. Nor can I allow anyone else to go up there without an appointment." He spreads his hands in apology.

Astaren smirks, "Then get us an appointment, as fast as you can. shall we meet you downstairs?"

Durrankar says, "Well......give us an appointment to go upstairs and smash this ooze.""

Ignition nods. "I will put you first in line." He motions toward the stairs and heads back to his room. Likely for his appointment book.

Ga'Elian snickers, "They must be a Serrielite. Appointments!" He shakes his head.

Astaren shakes his head slowly and nods, "Yes first in line please, and then point us in the direction we need to go."

It doesn't take long for you to get tired of waiting downstairs and head back up to Ignitions room. He answers the door with a curious expression. "Hello?"

Ga'Elian wends his way one of the other doors and tries the handle.

Durrankar waves to Ignition. "Hi. We have an appointment."

"...yes, indeed," agrees Sandy, "It's very urgent."

She nods solemnly. Hey, it's worth a try.

"Yes I know, and as soon as my master returns he will see you. I'm certain it can't be long now. He's been gone nearly a thousand years." He waves to you and closes the door. Meanwhile Ga'Elain has found the meat larder it seems. There are several animals hung up for food in a slightly chilled room.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sandy says, "/A thousand years/?" incredulously.

Because it beared repeating. She is getting the headache. You know the one. Astaren is starting to look grumpy, and a bit annoyed at the whole thing, "Swear... this guy has to be from Rune. Strict rules, unbreakable regulations, everything is down right meant to be..." pausing as he hears the thousand years. he glances to the others, "Ok we find our own way up, that Ettin is not keying in on things, neither was the Fo outside." glancing to the last door as he considers.

Durrankar says, "Okay...seriously? A thousand years? And you don't find it /ODD/?""

Ga'Elian moves along to Door #3, because he /is/ the next contestant on the Price is Right!

The last door leads to a staircase leading upwards.

Durrankar tromptromptromps…

Astaren follows after Duarrankar, by a safe distance. "I swear if we find the Deck of Many things, I want to gable it with a god of order and law."

Ga'Elian says, "We'll probably find a black slime and a hole in the roof." Practical, no?

The stairs lead up to a big room at the top. It's a single room with a desk on one side and the ooze on the other. The ooze is leaking slowly out the side of the building and eating through the floor just as slowly. Behind the desk quite calmly there is a man, youngish in appearance with dark hair working on something in a book.

Durrankar blinks. "And they said no one else is here." he then clears his throat. "Hello?"

Ga'Elian walks up to the man and looks at his book.

GAME: Ga'Elian rolls Knowledge/Arcana: (4)+2: 6

Durrankar stares at Astaren......as if he were mad. Durrankar does not deceive. that is a form of lie....

The book is written so complexly that Ga'Elian can not tell what is in it at all. In any case the man notices right away and closes it before Ga'Elian can get more than a peek. "Hello." His answer is gruff, and as he stands up his image shimmers like that of a mirage. He tucks the book away into his robe and looks at you all. "Who are you?"

Durrankar says, "We are from Better homes and dungeons.....and....honestly...your home is a wreck."

Ga'Elian smiles blankly and says nothing.

Astaren raises his eyebrows to Duarrankar, "i thought... " then dropping it, not wanting to argue. He walks over to the man and glances at the book and then the man, "We have an appointment. We are from The Alexandrian investigation commision for anomalies and unknown structures. This tower is unreported and is violating a half a dozen zoning codes. As well as missing a lava structure permit. We have also noticed the ooze, that is a clear violation of health and safety standards as reporting by the Better Homes and Dungeons source materials. We need to do a full inspection of the premises to finalize our assessment."

Durrankar says, "I reiterate. Your home is a wreck."

GAME: Astaren rolls knowledge/arcana: (16)+25: 41

The man looks around at all of you. "It is?" He looks around the room more carefully and then back at you. "This is just a... a message." He motions to himself. "For those like yourselves that come to seek me while I am away. I can not see the tower as it is now. Repairs will have to wait until I can return."

Ga'Elian asks, "In a thousand years?"

Durrankar says, "BY ALL THAT IS NATURAL! BLAST THE DAMNED OOZE!"

Astaren shakes his head, "I would not recommend that, we don't' know the full nature of the ooze and anything we throw out it in haste could have dire consequences." glancing to the ooze, "We need to follow it to its source." glancing back to the image, "Please define what security measures are in place on this floor should we proceed to a restricted zone?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment, Sandy says, "I HATE THIS WIZARD." She flails her arms in a Kisa like fashion.

The wizard in question smiles patiently. "I do not know what I've done to make you hate me, but perhaps I can assist you somehow. If you need to get past anything here, simply say my name and they will let you pass. As for the ooze... would you say that it is black and sparkling?"

Ga'Elian asks the obvious, "Thank you, and what is your name?"

Astaren motions to the book, "Sandy, time magic, very advanced time magic. he has displaced himself in time, and yes the ooze is black and sparkly, and eating your tower slowly. Eventually it will break some of the enchantments and eveyrhing will go boom. Your magic is about a 1000 years behind, but we might be able to pull you out of the displacment and fix it. Your tower has recently returned along with all the creatures around it seems."

"Makes sense," says Sandy to Astaren with a groan. Wizards. Always making things complicated! She pinches the bridge of her nose, nodding in agreement with AStaren's words.

"Zeheir of course. Why would you be here if you don't know my name? How did you get in without - wait." He looks toward Astaren. "The ooze is a magic source. Do /not/ cast spells around it. In this form the best thing to do is use mundane force to return it to its natural state which is relatively harmless. It should simply reintegrate with the tower."

Astaren holds a hand to his head, 'And the mundane means is? A good portion of your outside is ooze now you know, and it is oozing faster then the tower can repair itself, as per Ignition. So wait, we simply need to beat it down?" glancing to Duarrankar, "Got a mallet or mace I can borrow?" then glances back to the wizard, "Never heard of you, 1000 years you know, you have been gone."

"Oh for..."

Sandy looks like she wants to bang head into something.

Ga'Elian reaches into his quiver and pulls out a plain wooden quarterstaff. He hold it out toward Astaren and asks, "Feel like giving the slime a good whack?"

Astaren motions over to Sandy, "Give it to her, before she cracks her skull on a wall."

Ga'Elian does.

"Do be careful of my alchemical ingredients. Causing an explosion would be unwise." Zeheir's helpful advice comes forth smoothly and with a slightly wry expression.

Durrankar tosses Astaren the Flail.

Astaren shakes his head to Durrankar, "Blow off some steam. I am going to study this time magic he has and see how we can fix this."

Ga'Elian says, "By the way. Zeheir, what in the Iron Hells were you thinking summoning an Infernal Duke, and what, pray tell, did it cost you?"

Ga'Elian adds, "I doubt even Asumit has done that!"

Durrankar grabs onto Astaren. "Astaren...we need your help. Do -NOT- Abandon us to study something!"

"Eclavdran? I did not /summon/ him. I /captured/ him and bound him to the room downstairs where he serves as my guard under strict bondage." Zeheir seems mildly insulted.

Astaren blinks a moment at Duarranka, "I am terrible with weapons, I would swing that mace and hit the floor and walls more then the ooze, this study I can do far better.." Looking mildly disheartened.

Ga'Elian whistles. He says, "I can't imagine what revenge he'll have been plotting against you then. I'm sorry to tell you he's released via getting killed.

"Idiot adventures." Zeheir seems to consider something for a second and then suddenly vanishes without a trace.

Durrankar says, "Then at least stand with us and heal us, or be ready to pull us out of the ooze, but DO NOT run off to study. Or it will be the LAST time you are allowed into Mictlan....."

Ga'Elian smirks, then takes a dagger out of his haversack. He walks over to the slime and does his best impersonation of a Benihana chef. Choppity chop chop.

"Make your choice, Astaren. I know what mine is." Durrankar growls at Astaren before sets a Morningstar on the table, then turns and changes into something more suitable to splat an ooze.

"I could always turn you into a giant," remarks Sandy to AStaren. "Let you kick around, you know." She waves her hand, eyes the flail, and then simply sets to work thereafter. She's grumpy. GROUCHY.

Ga'Elian actually, steps back a moment and grabs all his outward magical items and removes them, putting everything into his haversack, except his quiver, because we don't put items with extra-dimensional space inside others. Once this is done, he returns to his chopping at the slime.

Astaren glares at Durrankar, and with out a word turns and heads for the door, only to close it. "The wizard left, upset we took out his demon guardian. calling us stupid adventurers. He is not so locked in as he seems, be ready."

The ooze jiggles, starts to rise up, it reaches for those magical items and then finally collapses on the ground into a stream of water that immediately is soaked up by the tower itself which puts on a sudden spurt of repairing itself. In a matter of a few minutes it is well on it's way and you can tell that it will be fully repaired in a matter of days if not sooner.

Durrankar turns back into his normal self.......grabs the Morningstar and tosses it to Astaren. "I didn't think you'd abandon us....Shaman." That last word....is given with a bit of a rumble.....as if with respect.

Ga'Elian looks satisfied and puts his dagger in the haversack, too.

"It... can't have been that easy, right?" says Sandy, doubting this. She's on her guard, though.

Durrankar says, "no. It's never that easy."

Astaren shakes his head, 'no, we upset the master of the tower, I suspect he may not let us leave so easily. If he does, I would gladly work to try to help him get restored to normal time. We shall see." Glancing around considering.

Ga'Elian nods. "Restoring him to normal time seems worth trying, but he gave us the key. All we have to do is say his name, and everything here will obey us."

GAME: Ga'Elian rolls Wisdom: (15)+3: 18
GAME: Durrankar rolls wisdom: (3)+7: 10
GAME: Astaren rolls wisdom: (12)+5: 17
GAME: Sandy rolls Wisdom: (4)+3: 7

-TBC-