Helswane Dungeon

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At the offer of the mace, Jace smiles but extends a hand upright with the palm facing Darius. "Thank you for the offer, but my weapon is a prideful symbol of Heironeous, perhaps in the next engagement I will draw it." Casting an eye at the dire flail for a second, he makes an addendum to his statement. "If someone were to hold onto it, should definitely be worth something I'd wager, with craftsmanship like that. If no one desires, I'll hold onto it." He agreed with the previous assessment of its worth, taking it from Darius until someone else stepped forward to claim it.

Then he turned his attention to the carving of the canine. With a push on his knees, Jace moved to his feet and positioned himself a few steps behind Lindons left shoulder, watching him work with equal parts disgust and genuine interest. "Falazure, the dragon terror of the dark. An unpersuaded evil that is one of the embodiments of necromancy and revels in draining life from the living." Lowering his raised brow, Jace made no distinction of his opinion on the matter though his fist rest on the hilt of his sword. "As long as these dark dealings are not in league with the foul creatures of this island, I think there shall be enough glory for all." With a small smirk Jace retreated back several steps to the rest of the party, bending slightly to claim one such pouch of gold off the nearest shelf. "This might buy enough drinks and penance to forget this ordeal, if we survive long enough to spend it."

With a sigh he took a stretch. "Definitely the most abrupt awakening I've ever had, though monstrously better than the sleep." He eyed the door behind them and the room they stayed in, unsure if to stay and rest or continue onward. He waited for the rest of the party.
 
With a final sticky piece of bone placed into the bag, Lindon tilts his head, looking through the eyes of the helmet at Jace. He turned back around, tying the bag and tying it gently to his packback. "If it's of any comfort to you..." He raises himself to his feet, "My sect was more interested in what the Night Dragon represented as a force of magic. Though I'll admit my possible immortality is an appealing notion." He gestures behind him, into the shadows of the room. "Magic is a powerful thing - something Falazure has seen fit to grant me, despite my sect's deviation from his usual dogma."

Peeling the bloody gloves from his hands, he drops them on the floor - no longer needing them. "I consider Garrick a friend of mine for assisting me when I needed help upon arrival to the island - as I have come to consider the rest of you as friends." He smiles honestly, nodding at each of them. "I ask that you look beyond the cast that soceity has placed upon my religion to know me as a person - perhaps even an ally or friend. I lend you my powers for as long as you desire to have me among you."

"In any case..." He gestures towards the small gold pouches, then the beautiful mace. "You're far too right that this is suspicious - far too organized. I don't know much about orcs or goblins, but I do know about kobolds." He reaches up, tapping his dragon-skull helmet. "Alongside their collective dragon fetish, they're crippingly xenophobic - it's for that reason that they're so interested in traps. Seeing them work together with the other races here... well, that makes me nervous."

He steps forward, picking up one of the pouches he was pointing at earlier. He tosses it from hand to hand for a moment, smiling softly before tossing it in his backpack. "I intend to use my part of the riches found here in the creation of magical artifacts. At least, that's what I was planning on doing... now, I think I'd settle with continued existence." He smirks to himself, shaking his head.
 
So Lindon's colours were shown. He was a man of the savage cults beyond the cities, akin to barbarians and pagans. Darius bristled slightly. He had been raised in the self-proclaimed paragon of civilization, a paladin of the bright churches and pristine courts. Why any man should live beyond the walls and the merchant's bounty was a mystery to him. And yet this cultist spoke with reason and clarity. It was one of many proofs, since entering this dungeon, that Darius would learn a great many things on this adventure.

Not least, what force could motivate goblinoids of all kinds to work as one and accept such lavish gifts. To solve this mystery would be to know why the expedition had failed so disastrously, why his captain and his comrades died and why the royal frigate and all hands had been dragged beneath the storm and serpent sea.

If Darius could do one thing with his life in this dungeon, it would be to answer that riddle. Perhaps then those families back home would have closure.

Family... His wife would be putting the children to sleep now, whispering the Prayer of Syreth as she kissed their brows...

Darius shook the thoughts from his mind as Jace took the flail from him. Focussing, he moved over to Garrick and looked up at the trapdoor. The latch was at orc-height, easily reachable, and the ladder would get them into whatever shaft lay above. He checked the straps of his backpack and slung his warhammer and shield behind his shoulders. "Let's see what trap you trigger this time," he remarked to the Halfling with a smile.


* * * *​


The climb was steady. The orcs had driven rungs into the wall, and with the narrowness of the shaft the adventurers could brace themselves to rest now and then. Despite Darius's joke there were no more traps, and Mallow informed them, with Dwarven accuracy, that they had scaled at least a hundred feet by the time they found another hatch at the top. There were scrapes around the opening, as is metal objects had been carried up here, and the shaft smelt vaguely of fish and seaweed. One side of the shaft was damp, suggesting they had come closer to the gradient of the cliffs. But whether they were above or below sea level remained unclear.

The second hatch was perpendicular, rather than above. Like a dumbwaiter, Garrick had remarked. Sliding it open carefully, he crawled out into a cramped alcove and immediately signalled for silence. Stilling their tongues and their breaths, the rest of the party hauled themselves up onto the tiny ledge.

They realised, as they focussed, that the alcove looked out across a larger chamber of hewn stone. The floor was forty feet below, but its entire space was filled with the most bizarre of furnishings...

Water tanks. Seven of them, arranged to fit into the chamber, with iron sides that rose up ten foot and were lined with rigging. The alcove they were in ended at a rope-bridge of wooden planks that spanned over these tanks. Each plank had smears of fishguts, bone fragments and slime at the edges, the occasional scrap of skin dangling towards the tanks below. And on the far planks, near the door on the opposite wall, they saw the source of the sound that had alerted Garrick.

There were goblins on the planks.

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The main group had their backs to the party. They had hauled something out of the far tank, largest of them all. It was a pale, deformed thing, about the size of a dolphin, and it was quite dead. The adventurers recognised it as something similar to the sea serpent that had sunk the frigate - an infant version of it perhaps. The three goblins were prodding it with their weapons, snickering and talking. The dead creature was a morbid fascination to them.

A fourth goblin was on the opposite side of the room from his fellows. He was leaning on the rope railing and peering into a smaller side tank. He had a fishing rod, no doubt taken from some unfortunate sailor, and he was casting the line into the tank. It was easy to see his target. A suit of half-plate armour floated in the water. Whoever last owned it had been devoured by whatever was in the tank, or else rotted away over time. Behind the goblin was a mess of bones and slime and entrails that he had fished out already. It would make that particular plank very slippery.

In the first tank, to the left of where the adventurers perched, a shark's fin rose briefly above the dark water. They could not see what was in the other tanks, but there were grates on the cavern walls that would take their occupants out to sea. Darius wondered if the serpent that had devoured the expedition had been released from a tank like this.

Each plank had ropes going off at right angles and into holes in the wall. There were levers, behind both groups of goblins, which likewise attached to ropes. No doubt the levers controlled the tipping of these planks, so that large payloads of food could be dropped into the pools. As for which lever contolled which plank... that was the devil's detail.

The goblins were occupied - the group with poking the dead serpent and the loner with fishing for his prize. That was the one and perhaps the only stroke of luck to this deathtrap.
 
Peering quietly from the alcove, Jace was starting to piece together the precarious situation with a sense of dread. Keeping his voice low he talked to the rest of the party while edging around the corner to get a look at the far end near the fifth tank. "None are looking at us right now, but if we charge at them I think it's fair game to same we are going for a swim." Pointing at the position of the levers and the ropes connected to the panels over the tanks. "At least each had minor footholds to get out, if we do take a plunge, but lets try to avoid that."

"We all either need to make it over unseen, or get control of the levers. I think our limber friend here might be able to get to one side fairly easily, as long as he holds his footing. How to manage the other side I am unsure. I don't think we can count on some well placed bolts or arrows without complicating the situation." Biting his nail for a moment, Jace looked between the four levers and the four section of planks that did not have a lever on it. With a grin his eyes lit up a bit. "Get one person to each set of levers and flip them as quickly as possible. The rest need to either remain in the alcove or get to those middle sections with the levers. If this is what I think, we can dunk all four of them without drawing combat. I can give some [Guidance] to those attempting to sneak over."
 
Darius glanced to the others before looking back at Jace. "Who else did you have in mind? Garrick could make it perhaps. But the rest of us. Too much armour - too much weight. They'll hear us before we make the first plank. If they get to those levers before Garrick, then our bridge is gone."

He stared across the room, conscious of the time ticking away. Garrick could make it to one set of levers and, gods willing, tip the other goblins into the water. But what if he failed? Darius had considered the acid flask wrapped in his backpack. A well placed hit could neutralize the goblin group. But there was no telling how strong the acid was. Would it eat through the plank itself? Or the rope that kept it from tilting? Playing with corrosives could get them all killed in a room like this.

No easy answer to the questions of this dungeon.

He turned back to the others. "What magics can you lend us, Jace? Lindon?"
 
Looking between Darius, Garrick, and the rest of the party he thought through his training and how to best help them through any of the next potential outcomes. "I can offer [Guidance] to anyone attempting to cross over, to help them maintain their concentration. I could create a fog around myself, which would go just far enough to cloud one plank at a time in either direction. They might not be able to see me until I was already at the platform with the controls, though they might flip the levers at the sudden appearance of fog.."

He stopped for a moment to consider his words, as though he was reluctant. Jace stretched briefly, meeting Darius' eyes with a cold reserve. "Anything else will be at the raise of a sword, not important to raise the detail. I should also mention, if I were to entrance or silence for this maneuver I would lose my trump card until my next meditation."
 
I had never been put in a situation like this before. Indeed it seemed that the levers near the goblins could cause out footing to slip from under us. There was no telling what could happen, or which lever operated which plank. The situation was very scary, and nerve wracking. I tried to piece a plan together in my head, listening to the others whisperings. It would be dangerous to send Garrick alone, what if they noticed him? It would be terrible.

"Maybe...we could sever the ropes attached to the planks holding the goblin's up? Garrick could cut'em, or shoot'em with his crossbow." It was not much, but it was all I could think of at the moment.
 
Lindon closes his eyes, honestly thinking about it for a moment. He glances over at the levers, nodding to himself. He looks to his companions, "I'm not sure how much use it could be, but I could summon one of the ravens of the Nine Hells. They're a little stronger and smarter than a normal raven, and could possibly manipulate a lever." He gestures to an area about twenty-five feet away. "I can have it manifest over there. It won't take it long to swoop down and pull or push one of them."

He turns, pointing towards the water, "Otherwise, I might be able to call an octopus out of the Abyss. They're of a decent enough size to reach up and try to pull a goblin into the water. It might distract the others long enough for us to get the jump on the lot of them... though when it coems to distractions, I could always bring up another rat, or the most powerful creature I can summon - a man-sized centipede. Though even that is rather fragile... My powers can only hold a creature in this realm for so long with any safety, and I don't want to test my luck bringing up anything bigger." He taps his helmet in thought. "The only other spell I have right now is defensive in nature, though would be completely ignored by those goblins."

Taking a look around the room, he tilts his head up. He frowns. "I know of fellows in my sect who could manipulate objects from a distance. Wish I had the strength to do that now - would be excellent in a room like this." Shaking his head, "We'll have to make due with what we have." Gesturing forward, he states, "We might not be able to do this in a stealthy manner. If things go bad, we might all be lost... What I would suggest is that we go up as a team - charge them, make it so they have no choice but to fight us. Let them have no escape, no solace in their trap. If we do it right, we might even be able to slaughter them from behind as they panic and go for the levers. A concentrated charge could save us in this situation."
 
Frowning at the choice they had to make, Jace crouched with his bent knees, picking up a little mound of dirt and dust that settled at their feet. With a sigh he straightened himself back and took another glance at area between them and the levers. "Changing his focus to Lindon, he questioned. "I don't trust the sound of a raven operating a lever, from hell or not, but the octopus interests me. Think you could get it ready in case we charge? More distractions are always welcome."
 
Lindon nods, "Yeah... it would take a while to cast, and I honestly think we'd be better off by taking the offensive. Since we do have the advantage of numbers, if not tactics. We could probably overwhelm them entirely with a little faith and a lot of luck." He smiles, "I'll keep the spell in mind, however it's my opinion that taking out the three over there..." He points at one group, "While those of us with range shoot at that one..." He points at the loner with the fishing pole, "Would sweep this room right up. Better than commiting to a tactic, having it fail, and end up having to do it this way anyway. My apologies for the fatalistic attitude in that regard."

He shrugs, placing a bolt in his crossbow. "Not much else to do but hope for the best, and go for it. I'll wait until you're all further away before taking a shot." He pats his helment, "I'm counting on you."
 
Lindon's words brought a consensual silence. It seemed the plan was agreed and Garrick and Lindon were readying their crossbows. Nodding, Darius glanced to Mallow and Jace and confirmed what he thought - that of the three he would be the swiftest and most nimble. And even if he wasn't, Darius would have volunteered to go first anyway. He was the leader after all... wasn't he? Wasn't he still the corporal of this expedition?

Shrugging off his backpack quietly and placing it with Lindon, the paladin was left with only his hammer and shield. There was a moment of consideration before Darius put the shield to one side too. It would only make him clumsier, and he would need a hand free to grip the rope-rail if needed. With just his weapon he rose slowly to his feet and stepped out into the chamber, his foot coming down onto the first plank. It rocked slightly with his weight, but the horizontal ropes leading off from it on each side kept it steady. With the cackles of the goblins filling the chamber, he began his advance.

He crossed the first plank then stepped over to the second. He had made it only one foot when the rope bridge creaked.

And as one, the four goblins spun. The lone creature dropped his fishing rod and let the full plate armour splash back into the water. Their eyes flicked to their javelins and to the levers that glistened before them.

So much for the ingenious plan.
 
Jace barely takes more than a step before the Goblins are alerted to the party's presence, his own footsteps having the same subtlety as the storm around the island. At the first twitch of movement from the Goblins, Jace begins to reach out with the edge of his mind to the lone Goblin, probing its alien consciousness with his while he chanted : "Foul creature that lurks in the dark, I bend your will to the glory of Heironeous and command you to flee before his disciple." [Command: Flee]

As he works, Jace does his best to move up the bridge toward the other side, raising shield and sword.
 
Darius's heart leapt as the goblins turned, and his anger flared as they looked to the levers. He had to stop them. Hearing Jace cast his spell upon the lone Goblin, Darius lunged along the planks and towards the group, praying that Mallow would be behind him. Without his shield he felt vulnerable, but adrenaline fuelled him. Getting between the goblins and the levers, he swung his warhammer at the rearmost goblin, who was still fumbling to pick up his weapons. The hammer-head smashed through the creature's skull, spraying blood and bone fragments.

The Goblin topped over the rope-rail and into the main tank, and as it splashed Darius yelled over his shoulder. "LINDON! SHOOOOT!!"

Behind him, Lindon saw the lone Goblin taken by Jace's spell. He switched fire, taking aim at the right hand goblin in the group. But the shot flew straight between the two fiends and thudded into the rear wall.
 
The lone goblin on the right of the chamber howled in terror, his eyes glazed with magic, and promptly turned from Jace. He ran straight towards the wall where the plank ended and cowered against it.

But the other two were not so easily swayed. With its shield ready, the first one lunged at Darius with all its weight, trying to bash him over the rope-rail. Darius caught him with the backswing, smashing both his outstretched arms and catching his chest. The cavity collapsed and the greenskin was flung aside in a bloody heap. But this victory gave the last one an opening. It charged into him, the shield striking his solarplexus. Darius buckled and lost his footing. The Goblin drove him back until he hit the rope-rail, and then, with a cry, the paladin went toppling over.

He plummetted thirty feet, but if felt like a mile, and the water hit him with a viscious slap. He plunged into ice and darkness, his warhammer lost, his senses shocked. He flailed his limbs, trying to distinguish between up and down.

And then something came for him.

The shark's teeth tore into his leg and ripped out a chunk of flesh. Darius felt his face break the surface of the water just as the agony swallowed him. He screamed as the waters turned black and crimson.

And above him the victorious goblin cackled and pulled the nearest lever. The plank beneath Jace tipped suddenly. He made a grab for the rope-rail, but it was in vain. Just as Darius had, Jace went plumetting into the left-hand tank below, the water swallowing him up [3 points non-lethal damage].


 
[size=+1]As my fellow dungeoneers discuss how best to approach the situation we find ourselves in I carefully remove my backpack and place it down as quietly as I can, arming my crossbow and making ready to inflict ranged violence upon the goblins before us.

Shortly after, things take a turn for the worse.

We've felled several goblins and another is cowering over in the corner, but the two soldiers have been knocked down into the water tanks below thanks to one of the goblins at the controls. No time for subtlety now; I snap my weapon up and fire upon the goblin who's just sent Jace down into the water before he can do the same to the rest of us.

My aim is just off; the bolt sails past the goblin's head and slams into the wall, leaving me cursing. Instinctively I grab ahold of the rope that lines the platforms we stand upon, on the off-chance the next tug of the controls sends us all plunging down into the water below.
"We're in the shit here, friends!" I shout, "The fuck are we gonna do?!"[/size]
 
I watched as Darius bravely took the lead. Moving as quietly as possible, Darius crept along the planks inching towards the pack of three goblins, hoping to gain the upper hand, but alas, he was just not stealthy enough. The goblins turned on him and began their attack.

Things looked bright at the start. Darius had gotten a good hit in and One goblin seemed to be cowering in fear, the one that sat alone. Fighting for his life, Darius demolished yet another foe, but the final goblin caught him off guard, sending him into the tank below.

"Noooo!" I yelled as the Darius plummeted. I reached back and dropped my pack as the goblin pulled a lever, causing Jace to fall into the water as well. "Hang in there ye two!"


I ran over to the ledge, as close as I could get to the goblin, and hurled my axe at him. I had never thrown my axe before, but now seemed like a good time to try before he pulled any more of those levers. With a whirling sound, my axe cut it's way through the tense air and landed square in the goblin's chest, sticking in him and causing him to fall onto his back.

The goblin didn't seem to be moving at all, so I could only assume that I killed him. Now came the rescuing. I ran back, grabbed my rope and tide five adequate knots at relatively even lengths before tossing it down into the bloody pool.

"Grab the rope!"​
 
Tumbling into the water, Jace is unable to focus after casting his spell. The water crashes over his head as he manages to take a breath before going under, unable to grab hold of the rope rigging at the side of the tank. [Can hold breath for 3 more turns after this one]
 
Darius's heart was racing. He thrashed as the shark circled him, the water turning bloodier by the minute. He could not reach the rigging barrier or the rope that Mallow had thrown. His armour was too heavy. All he could was keep his head above water and keep breathing, each intake of air paid for with curses and screams.
 
"Hold it together. It's not over yet." Lindon spoke this with far more confidence than he felt, turning to look over the situtation at hand. Their two bright stars of virtue, fallen into the shark tanks. Had he been a darker man, he'd have considered letting them drown or be eaten... thankfully, Lindon was a great deal more generous than his patron was.

The shark was a major issue. He felt far more fear being torn apart by some ancient species of aquatic carnivore than he was being poked at by some green snotling with size issues. With that, his eyes sparked to life. "Fear!" Sweeping his robes aside, he brought the spell to the front of his mind, directing his eyes at the shark. "Beasts older than time, eternal nightmares shrouded in shadow, lend me your voice: let my enemies flee before our combined might!"

He considered that problem solved, even if the spell didn't work entirely. Turning to look upon Jace, the cultist wondered what the cleric was capable of doing. He hoped that Mallow might be able to lend the cleric a hand as his own mind cooled down from the spell he just cast. Gathering his courage, the cultist moved forward, positioning himself between the scared goblin and Mallow. His hand gripped his morningstar, keeping an eye on the last remaining goblin.
 
The shark came in for another bite, but seemed laconic... confused. It could not get its jaw around any of Darius's limbs, so intead butted its nose on the backplate of his armour, before circling out again.

Meanwhile, the remaining Goblin shook off Jace's enchantments and dashed back towards the levers on his side. He threw one of them, and the next plank along, between tanks 3 and 4, tipped vertical. The way across the room was now cut off. He squawked with delight.
 
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