Sug pauses at the tunnel heading East for a moment, then follows Ryder west. If the 3rd went that way, better to find them and pull them out than to wander the opposite direction.
Gotta be at least a Major Image. That has a duration of 10 minutes if the caster is really concentrating, but this could be a permanent fixture. If so, that’d need ritual magic, and rituals tend to need numbers to work. So you’re looking at two illusionists minimum for that kinda mojo.
They’d have to be specialists in the school too, because if you want to block off a tunnel with magic and you could move earth, you would. So they’re not heavy hitters.
Lyn seemed slightly annoyed by Ryder's comments about the Light. She wasn't exactly sure why she could do this in the first place, but elves were supposed to be good at magic. And he could already see in the dark. Shaking her head, she followed the others west. Her and the turtle actually needed the Light, at least.
"Illusory wall, looks like. Someone trying to hide something, or someone?" Ryder peeks his head through the wall to see if the footprints keep going passed the wall.
“…this is way too far. Making monsters is one thing, but that thing?”
“Don’t go soft on me man. It’s too late. Way too late. This matters, this is for our people.”
“Can we just talk about this? The implications are—”
“Wait. You hear that? Someone’s coming!”
—
Sug
This is where the subway’s construction really ended.
A dozen yards away carved stone meets jagged, damp rock. There’s a turn to your right that heads up a staircase. A couple of tools are still laid out on the steps. To you left, you see a round hole just about big enough for you to fit down, with plenty of effort.
Ryder hears the voices coming from deeper into the tunnel. He whispers as quietly as he can to the rest of the team, "Got two unknowns down the tunnel. They know we're here, should we rush them?"
Sug only nods at Ryder, moving over to the staircase to try and put a wall between the majority of himself and the sounds. He pulls his scimitar out, holding it down to his side, ready to engage whoever comes down from that hallway.
"Strange..." Sug says lightly. Looking around, there are stairs and a hole. He walks over towards the hole and peers down it, trying to figure out if sound might be coming from down there.
"I'll bet this is either where a beast was, or where one is coming from right now." Sug says pointing to the hole. Moving back away from it, he points up to the stairs. "Maybe up?"
"Sug, buddy, you okay?" Ryder turns and sees that Sug is now gone.
"There are tracks into this second wall. Gonna check it out." arrow notched, Ryder passes through the the second illusory wall, ready for whatever comes his way. "This is Strike Team Claymore, whoever is here lay down your weapons and surrender."
Lyn gets a good view of these movements while trailing behind the others, eyes widening. "Don't think we're alone in here." Moving swiftly towards the steps, she stabbed her spear upwards in that general direction, moving it from side to side to try to check that fairly narrow space as best she could, aiming to bounce her weapon off each side of the stairway.
Like a paint brush being run over them, a young man is brought into visibility. Your spear is stuck through their custom made fake spider-leather hunting garb. Your move Lyn. Question time?
"How many more of you are down here? You might wanna tell your friends to show themselves." Lyn adjusted her grip to tilt the glowing spear point closer to the elf's body.
"Oh come on! You could've just surrendered!" Ryder chases the sound of the steps into the dungeon. Though he tries to keep an eye out for any old traps or pitfalls, he's moving fast and doesn't have a lot of time to make out details.
Geth roll 2d20l1+4 for Perception
It feels right to give myself disadvantage if I'm booking it.
“Hey man!”, they stammer, “We’ve just been hired for a job! I didn’t even wanna take it! It’s just us two… err… Jakol?”
Looking around for their pal, they continue, “We just got them a diamond.”
After some poking you learn:
- This person is Pheox. Their partner is Jakol. They’re thieves.
- They have the diamond on them.
- The diamond is for magic. Transmutation magic. That’s all they know, or at least, they’re intimidated enough by their employers to say no more…
- There are four creepy dudes and an even creepier lady somewhere around here…
—
Sug
Way up ahead is a hewn door set into the rock. Everywhere is precarious around here. Lots of drops and pools of still water lit from within by tiny bioluminescent critters.
Sug advances ahead slowly. He isn't really sure if he even wants to open a door that is set into rock, but he also knows that standing in the middle of the cavern underneath a hole doesn't make much sense either. They haven't tried to lower a rope or tell him via earpiece to wait around, so the rest of his group must be in the middle of something. He might as well do something also.
I guess just using my turn to move ahead cautiously, looking out for things that would make me fall/trip. Want a roll for that?
As you traverse the cave, you see signs of life. Claw marks on stone, dung, shed skin. Skin like the critters you fought in the street. You manage to avoid a few pitfalls and soon enough you’re in front of the door. Looks like good, old fashioned dwarf work. It’s all the runes, you can tell because there’s just so many runes. No lock. Just looks heavy.
What do you do?
—
Ryder
A rock falls on your head! Had you time or inclination to look you would see it is engraved with pictures of dwarves building this very rock trap. You suffer 10 damage.
You black out momentarily, but come to your senses quickly. You reach for your bow… and you don’t have it.
Lyn extends one hand in the universal gesture for 'gimme that' in hopes the diamond will be passed to her. "How much longer on backup?" She glances at Cyr for a moment, hoping he overheard all of that information so she doesn't have to repeat it.
Someone young sounding crackles in your ear, “Five minutes. Tops! You guys need to regroup! You can’t handle this!”
You take the diamond.
—
Sug
This door predates the city. Not that surprising, but pretty cool. Back in the day little gangs of prospector dwarves would ride out to Gods knows where and dig around, maybe spend a few seasons making a two-bit fort before getting eaten by wildlife or heading home. It was a whole period of their history.
You’re sure it’s not a trap. It’s a push door. It probably is intended to be magically, but it might have faded away by now.
You manage it in the end. With a deep breath, you mop your brow and step in.
Beyond the door is a chamber of finely crafted stone furnishings that are now covered in books, piles of papers, vials and various gizmos. There’s droplets of slime on the floor. A spilt barrel of acid eats away at a corner of chamber. There is… a golem… or something… held aloft at the far end of the room.
There’s a closed door on your right, pretty much the same design as the one you’ve just opened.
Directly to your left is a dark elven man with a crossbow pointed at your head.
Posts
Your sword disappears through the wall without resistance.
Make an Arcana check.
Gotta be at least a Major Image. That has a duration of 10 minutes if the caster is really concentrating, but this could be a permanent fixture. If so, that’d need ritual magic, and rituals tend to need numbers to work. So you’re looking at two illusionists minimum for that kinda mojo.
They’d have to be specialists in the school too, because if you want to block off a tunnel with magic and you could move earth, you would. So they’re not heavy hitters.
"So, why are we all staring at a wall?"
"Illusory wall, looks like. Someone trying to hide something, or someone?" Ryder peeks his head through the wall to see if the footprints keep going passed the wall.
He walks up and steps through it. "Fake walls can't stop me."
You hear the distant chatter of two voices.
“…this is way too far. Making monsters is one thing, but that thing?”
“Don’t go soft on me man. It’s too late. Way too late. This matters, this is for our people.”
“Can we just talk about this? The implications are—”
“Wait. You hear that? Someone’s coming!”
—
Sug
This is where the subway’s construction really ended.
A dozen yards away carved stone meets jagged, damp rock. There’s a turn to your right that heads up a staircase. A couple of tools are still laid out on the steps. To you left, you see a round hole just about big enough for you to fit down, with plenty of effort.
As you rush towards the voices, you find no one. Just the rugged earth where construction on the subway was halted.
Edit: Yep! It's a hole!
Geth, roll 1d20+5 for Perception
You’re pretty sure it’s not coming from down there. You note this hole looks dug by claws, not magic or machinery.
Geth roll 1d20+4 for Perception
Time stands still.
Ryder! You see a slight shift in the dust on the ground before the rugged rock.
Cyr! As you poke the end of the tunnel, you realise there is a second illusionary wall.
Sug! You are barged by an unseen force! Make an Acrobatics check to stay balanced in front of the hole! 10 DC.
Lyn! You hear a light and quick tapping noise hit the steps!
You careen down the hole!
You suffer 5 damage
Hard rock. Little light. Just enough to see in front of you. An underground cave.
Geth roll 3d6 for Fall Damage
"There are tracks into this second wall. Gonna check it out." arrow notched, Ryder passes through the the second illusory wall, ready for whatever comes his way. "This is Strike Team Claymore, whoever is here lay down your weapons and surrender."
You strike a cool battle pose, but see no one.
—
Ryder
You run through the wall to find yourself in what must be a tomb. Or you know, some kind of dungeon. Definitely got zombie and giant spider vibes.
It is well lit by tiny floating orbs that fade off at the top like smoke. That’s dark elf ambience for you.
Running footsteps peel off around a corner. Will you pursue?
—
Lyn
You catch something! You hear the telltale crack of a forehead on stairs.
“Shit!”
Just Lyn! Roll initiative!
Geth roll 1d20 for Nobody
Geth, roll 1d20+3 for Initiative
You hear some dark elf expletive.
Like a paint brush being run over them, a young man is brought into visibility. Your spear is stuck through their custom made fake spider-leather hunting garb. Your move Lyn. Question time?
He looks around, noting the darkness and the rock. Raising his hand, he conjure some flame to give him a better view.
Geth roll 2d20l1+4 for Perception
It feels right to give myself disadvantage if I'm booking it.
“Hey man!”, they stammer, “We’ve just been hired for a job! I didn’t even wanna take it! It’s just us two… err… Jakol?”
Looking around for their pal, they continue, “We just got them a diamond.”
After some poking you learn:
- This person is Pheox. Their partner is Jakol. They’re thieves.
- They have the diamond on them.
- The diamond is for magic. Transmutation magic. That’s all they know, or at least, they’re intimidated enough by their employers to say no more…
- There are four creepy dudes and an even creepier lady somewhere around here…
—
Sug
Way up ahead is a hewn door set into the rock. Everywhere is precarious around here. Lots of drops and pools of still water lit from within by tiny bioluminescent critters.
—
Ryder
You’ve lost them. You hear a click…
Make a Dexterity saving throw!
I guess just using my turn to move ahead cautiously, looking out for things that would make me fall/trip. Want a roll for that?
Geth, you're killing me.
As you traverse the cave, you see signs of life. Claw marks on stone, dung, shed skin. Skin like the critters you fought in the street. You manage to avoid a few pitfalls and soon enough you’re in front of the door. Looks like good, old fashioned dwarf work. It’s all the runes, you can tell because there’s just so many runes. No lock. Just looks heavy.
What do you do?
—
Ryder
A rock falls on your head! Had you time or inclination to look you would see it is engraved with pictures of dwarves building this very rock trap. You suffer 10 damage.
You black out momentarily, but come to your senses quickly. You reach for your bow… and you don’t have it.
Geth roll 2d12 for Rock Trap
Still, the door looks heavy and he isn't a fan of all the rune markings so he inspects it first.
Checking out them runes.
Geth, roll 1d20+3 for Arcana
Someone young sounding crackles in your ear, “Five minutes. Tops! You guys need to regroup! You can’t handle this!”
You take the diamond.
—
Sug
This door predates the city. Not that surprising, but pretty cool. Back in the day little gangs of prospector dwarves would ride out to Gods knows where and dig around, maybe spend a few seasons making a two-bit fort before getting eaten by wildlife or heading home. It was a whole period of their history.
You’re sure it’s not a trap. It’s a push door. It probably is intended to be magically, but it might have faded away by now.
"Ryder, where'd you get off to?" He says into his earpiece. "We need to regroup!"
Pushing at the door, he tries to open it.
You manage it in the end. With a deep breath, you mop your brow and step in.
Beyond the door is a chamber of finely crafted stone furnishings that are now covered in books, piles of papers, vials and various gizmos. There’s droplets of slime on the floor. A spilt barrel of acid eats away at a corner of chamber. There is… a golem… or something… held aloft at the far end of the room.
There’s a closed door on your right, pretty much the same design as the one you’ve just opened.
Directly to your left is a dark elven man with a crossbow pointed at your head.
Roll for Initiative!
Geth roll 1d20+2 for Early Final Battle