Underworld dreams, beneath South Ledopolus

[DM Bob]

[Full theater of the mind, the map scale is a bit crazy at this point. There are not many, if any, deviant paths.]

Your small group walks down the dark, grandiose stone tunnel. Every once in a while, dwarven, not-psurlon bodies are found. From earlier deductions, the corridor seems to run in the direction of the estuary. You go far enough that you are certain you are under the silt bay itself. Every so often, it looks like there were small rooms that were never completed, perhaps some intended storerooms?

There are scattered tools, nothing metal, and jugs that contain fresh, potable water. These are generally close to the dwarven corpses. Little is on them for the most part, some have chitin armor and bone javelins or spears, the occasional obsidian short blade. They are all dead, gruesomely. Either decapitated or disemboweled, still bleeding and warm.

Eventually, after about a mile of walking, you happen upon a rough, less worked section ahead of you.

Here there are three - only three, hacked psurlon bodies surrounded by more heavily armed dwarven corpses. The dwarven bodies have looks of horror on their faces. The worm beings are cut into pieces by what looks like some axe-like blade. Perhaps a ranseur? Spear wounds are seen as well.

Peeking past the carnage, the corridor looks like it ends, except for a jagged gouge in the shale. It drops off here, into a large cavern. Water. You see water as far as you eyes can see.

Perhaps this is why the dwarves now build bridges above. Is the this the remains of a failed attempt at burrowing beneath the silt?

Anyways, there are less bodies than you expected. There is no large psurlon master corpse. There is at least a few of the smaller ones missing. In total, there are at least thirty dead dwarves throughout the corridor, as well as the ones that were found in the manor proper.

[Attilius]

0) outside of coin/valuables, Hurk will grab any of the dead dwarves sheathed short swords and daggers and put them in his pack.

1) Upon seeing the worm men "damn, only three, this may or may not be a problem..." HurK says as he thourghly searches the bodies

"Mak, have you the magiks to speak to the dead? If not maybe someone at the Cerebrum
can?"

Once picked over clean, HurK wraps the three bodies up in as much fabric as he can find around the area and dead bodies and puts them in his pack.

"Laahk, can you teleport us to the Cerebrum once we're done spelunking here?"


2) He'll go over to the barrel, smell the water, then dip his finger to taste it. If it's not rancid he'll take a sip. If clean tasting he'll pick it up and gulp several large mouthfuls then offer it to the others.

3) Upon seeing the vast lake "truly amazing..." he whispers in awe. "I wonder if that's what the elemental plane of water looks like?"

The 14' B'rohg first visually scans the area (looking for maps, blueprints
and/or construction equipment)
then morphs into a massive bat and begins chirping loudly to paint a 3D picture in his minds eye and see exactly what they were trying to accomplish here: excavation, mining of ore, making a boat ramp into the water? Etc.

[Deleted]

Mak nods, "I can speak with the recently departed. I have enough focus to attempt it only once today, though it will take me about 10 minutes to encant. I could ask it 2 questions. Would you like me to try it on one of these Psurlons now?"

Mak will peer into the crevasse and down into the lake. He'll focus his detect evil spell into it's depths.

(OoC: How far down is it to the lake?)

Mak will look around the immediate area. "Narakasura? Surpanakha? Are you nearby?"

[Attilius]

Hurk leans down and whispers while cupping his hands to cover his mouth "No, let's wait until we're in safer surroundings. This could be yet another incatrite plan or trap of theirs to test our retaliatory capabilities."

[DM Bob]

The psurlons do have some odds and ends about their carcasses. One wears a short black robe over it's form instead of the standard purple that you've seen before (and on the other two present corpses). It has numerous slashes in it, but might still be serviceable. One of the purple robed ones has a skull, perhaps that of a jozhal, that has no lower jaw. While it's hanging at his belt, you figure a small creature could wear it as a hat or helm. Another has a slew of trinkets and amulets on leather throngs around one of it's wormy arms, hanging like a bracelet or in the real world, rosary.

The dwarves strangely are not carrying coin.

In total, there are 25 suits of dwarf sized chitin armor, double that in javelins and a dozen obsidian short blades/long daggers can be found.

The small water pots are fresh and potable. Perhaps enough for a week for all the dwarves when they lived.

Upon closer inspection, it looks like there was effort to carve a path down to the water's edge, some 30-36' from the hole in the wall. The ceiling above is not too far above where the passage breaks through, perhaps only 3 feet higher than the broken entrance hole. Your echolocation only ascertains that this is a very large, shallow area.

The smell is interesting as well. Damp, mineral clay... much like after a fresh rain on packed dirt. There is slight movement and wave action as well, but nothing signifying a larger threat. More like a natural rhythm.

The obsidian spirits do not answer Mak. There is a good chance they did what was asked and left.

[Deleted]

"I think I'll go for a swim..."

[Attilius]

0) Hurk only takes the dwarves sheathed swords/daggers

1) He then quickly but carefully unwraps the phase spider silk tablets, places the Psurlons items on the tablets, then rewraps the bundle back in the webbing before putting them in his pack. "Not going to fall for that shit again..." he mutters

2) "BE CAREFUL! Wait, you know how to swim?!" He exclaims incredulously
"I'm going to check out the cavern. No more than 10 minutes tops..."
Hurk transforms into a smaller 12' bat (as opposed to his usual 36' massive forms) then flies off into the water cavern. He will fly closer to the ceiling than the water while loudly chirping to scan the area while keeping the left wall always within echolocation range. After 3 minutes he will turn 90° right, fly for 3 minutes, then after another 3 minutes turn right 60° and fly back. [Some bats can fly 100 mph horizontally so not sure how much area I can cover in that time]

[Readied action: if something tries to attack HurK from any direction he will immediately initiate Ectoplasmic form]

If he encounters any small (halfling and smaller) sized fish at the surface while flying, he will attempt to swoop down and grab one with his feet claws while on his scouting journey

[Niachi]

Laakh nods,
"Yah, Teleport will be better with you in halfling size, so save some gas for 1 round of another Metamorph.

He will maintain his boosted powers 1 more round as he approaches the cavern entrance, dumbfounded by the amount of water, Keeping Danger Sense in his mind. He will open his light orb to max illumination and get a full visual of their surroundings, especially the farthest corners and ceiling. If nothing happens to HurK during his batsearch, he will shut off all powers and eat his cheese wheel dinner with Mak nearby.

2 rounds of AllRound InfraVision and Safe Path: -18 pts, current 69 PSPs. After dinner: 79.

[DM Bob]

The area is a large underground cavern. The ceiling dips at points and is hardly level. Hurk detects small white spiders and beetles living in what was once a sealed environ on the ceiling and sides of the cavern proper. Other small creepy crawlies, unlike those above ground make their home here as well. The walls eventually get shallower and touch the water at points. All in? It's hard to say if this quarter of a mile sized pocket is all there is. Perhaps other pockets of air exist as well or other parts to the water table open up elsewhere. Under the water though? Who knows if anything lives there or how deep it goes.

This does seem to explain the issues the Ledopolans have with their bridge and why it has to angle towards Ledo Isle.

If speak with dead is attempted, please give me a solid pair of questions to posit.

[Attilius]

Dec 12, 2020 22:42:23 GMT Niachi said:

Laakh nods,
"Yah, Teleport will be better with you in halfling size, so save some gas for 1 round of another Metamorph."

HurK returns, changes back into his 14' B'rohg form, grabs his pack and explains everything he scanned.

"I have not unlocked that ability within my mind yet, my friend. As of now, I can only get... bigger. As to teleporting, we should go home first so we can include the others, THEN to the school via wormhole. The speaker needs to hear of this. Come! We need to explore the OTHER passage at the center of the cistern."

[DM Bob]

As you wait for Mak to speak with the dead spirits before they completely get amassed into the Grey, Hurk and Laahk check the other corridor end.

It is empty and quiet, the same dimensions as the other tunnel.

There is one main difference. It angles at a hard 45* angle to the right. After a few hundred yards though it peters out to a rough dead end. There are markings in dwarvish chiseled into the slate wall among the piles of scree.

Laahk can make them out.

It simply reads, "Project abandoned. No access under the silt; let our ancestors know our focus has changed to crossing above."

Assuming there are questions to ask the deceased, you can do so now.

[Attilius]

The team heads back and regroups with one another.
"The dead can wait to be questioned. Let's head back upstairs and check the main house for any documentation or other clues to what they were up to."
Hurk pops in 2 full cheese wheels

[Niachi]

Laakh will shut off his current powers after his cheese. On his way up to the main house, he will try Power Manipulation on Danger Sense and Sensitivity to Observation in case they trigger, need 14:

Danger Sense: 13
SenseObs: 2

(Power Score result on both)

[Deleted]

Since Hurk checked out the hidden lake, Mak doesn't have as strong of an inclination to do so.

He'll wait to speak to the dead until later as Hurk suggests. He'll do his part by gathering up the javelins as they make their way out of the tunnels.

"Something should be done about these bodies, they shouldn't just be left here like this."

[Niachi]

"Well we either continue the Tsxlaxa ruse or not. Deception has its uses. How would the Draaj leave them?"