Fantasy Arian Silver Mines || Hunters Inn

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Gwenymoo
"Ki is the channeled form of life force." Explained Siwai. "It's the pure energy put off by all living things." He grinned and made air quotes "the 'key' to life I guess."

 

[Gwenymoo]

Tobias listened curiously "ooooo so like uhh a sort of magic 'den?" he pondered how the life force thing could even work... "so you channel dis key stuff to uh?"
nathanKmcwilliams

 

[Lost Echo]

Five hours wasn't bad at all. Certainly, it should give them enough time to investigate before nightfall. Urzoth nodded. They were used to her bonded to dismiss themselves and thus return to her to be resummoned. It made scouting much easier. Still, Urzoth agreed with keeping their resources together, and decided to think of the armor has personal, even if their spirits were controlled by Connor.

Urzoth watched the others getting beverages and considered asking for some themselves. They dismissed the notion, knowing they needed to keep their hands free to hold onto the chain. Besides, they did not need Dragon's Fire to prepare for this quest. Liquid courage indeed. At Callan's question, she started with the basics, "They're related to dragons, but are legless, wingless like huge snakes. They can grow to fill a tunnel completely, blocking our way, but also keeping it from retreating."

 

[Genii]

“Hm… and going by the size o’ them tunnels yesterday, we already know it ain’t gonna be f*ckin’ fun-sized.” Callan muttered, remembering all the holes they’d seen in the road yesterday.

“Any abilities? It won’t turn us t’stone, or shoot fire out of its a**?” Ah, such fond quest memories. “Weaknesses?”

 

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Tobias listened curiously "ooooo so like uhh a sort of magic 'den?" he pondered how the life force thing could even work... "so you channel dis key stuff to uh?"
nathanKmcwilliams

"It's different than magic in a way...magic is more like will power put into form with other stuff put into it. Ki is raw energy with only one source."
Siwai tried to explain, he wasn't exactly a scholar on the subject. "I channel it to make attacks or protect myself. My masters could use it to do a lot more...but they had a whole lifetime of practice behind em."

 

[Gwenymoo]

"Welll uhhh you know more dan me." Tobias nudged "and uh im sure ders things even ya Masters don't know."
nathanKmcwilliams

 

[Oli Beju]

RIka sat and listened as the groups pontifications continued, glancing at the group from time to time, withholding her own input until a consensus was reached, though, in earnest it, all sounded superlative, apropos the concerns of the wyrm’s size. But one fact stood out to her above all of the rest; one that had of yet gone unmentioned: “I agree with Callan’s earlier statement,” she began, “Coaxing it out into the open affords us the advantage of movement. But something still bothers me… To my people, snakes, wyrms and basilisks are called the “cleverer siblings” of the salamanders, the wyverns, and the dragons. What the former lacks in appendage, they accommodate with cunning. Once it’s out of the tunnels, there’s nothing stopping it from retreating back in, and possibly out of our grip for good once it catches on that it’s become the hunted and not the other way around… assuming there’s only one and not several, how do we ensure that we get it out of the tunnels and kill it before it can retreat?” Rika stopped, reluctant to come across as bloviating on the grounds of dead mythologies, much less dropping a shroud on the group’s ostensibly well-laid plans.

—
Genii , Lost Echo , II-CinderRadcliff-II

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

Connor Brazzinford - 'The Phantom Armory'

Connor paused in thought at the question Rika posed, taking sips from her cup of coffee. While the Dragon's Fire in the beverage would certainly have effects, it wasn't enough for even the lightest weight drinkers to get a strong buzz off of it - though it was enough to keep any drunkards in the group functioning long enough. Her thoughts briefly brought her attention to her armor, smithed in the heart of the ruins far to the southwest in the Forge of Forgotten Memories. The trek through the hallways into the heart of the volcano was rough, as volcanic gases and smoke from the burning wooden support beams quickly poisoned most of the breathable air. It probably would have asphyxiated her if she hadn't brought some of her specialized armor to filter the air and protect her from lava splattered around the open cavern where the forge was. Something in her mind clicked as she imagined herself not bringing that armor with her, a cheeky smile forming on her face as she set down her cup.
"We don't need to lure them out of the mines, we need to make the mines too dangerous for them to reside in." Connor piped up as a plan started to form in her head, though first she needed to bring everyone up to speed with her idea. "Assuming the mines aren't connected to any of the holes around the area, that leaves a vital flaw with making home in the mines; cave-ins and coal fires. While a cave-in would work if the mine is small, setting fire to any and all coal inside of the mines would force them to come out. Regardless of how tough they may be, I doubt they'd be too keen to suffocate on the smoke produced." Connor paused to give everyone time to think, before actually delving into the plan. "First and foremost, we'll need someone inside of the mines to start setting fire to any coal inside. While normally that would put us in harms way as well, I have some specialized armor imbued with magic that filters the air the wearer breathes and has a strong resistance to fire and lava alike. Since I only have one set of armor with those traits however, I'll be sending some of my strongest sets of armor down with them to help clear out any wyrms that get in the way. That will leave the rest of us to seal off as many entrances into the mines as possible, as the less tunnels into the mines there are the faster the air inside will be depleted by the fires - and it will help funnel them into a single area where we can kill them as they come out. The fires should be set at the lowest levels of the mines to flush all of them out, but the more coal we set ablaze the less likely they'll be able to extinguish all of them." Connor went silent as she finished explaining her plan to the group inside of the wagon, looking to everyone and waiting for questions they may have. It was riskier than just killing them in the mines or luring them out, but it ensured that they couldn't rely on the mines for shelter. It also meant any other monsters in the mines would be killed as well, with the few major downsides to the plan being the waste of raw resources and making the mines unsafe to work in until the fires went out and the air had enough time to be safe to breathe again. Hopefully the person that had hired the guild for the quest wouldn't be too angry if they found out about the plan. "Any other ideas, or objections you may want to voice?"​

 

[Genii]

“Smoke it out....” Callan nodded as he listened to Connor, although he didn’t look too happy. They’d most likely unearth some other monstrosities in the process, which could be a problem if they made it to the surface. “… alright.”

As Deus sped towards Arian, they would pass the occasional pit or raised mount of earth on the road. Any passing pedestrians quickly moved aside as the large carriage stormed through, and any lurking bandits or highwaymen took a rain check.

It would be afternoon by the time they reached their destination - Arian. A small dwarven mining town, enveloped by a great stone wall. Not as impressive as Colby’s, but it looked pretty impenetrable.

It had begun to rain and the road was now a muddy brown line that led all the way to the town’s sharpened log gates. Gates that appeared to be closed and unmanned.

 

[Oli Beju]

As the preeminent (and literal) wheels continued to make their rounds, Rika took to cause and consideration of every possibly aberration to then plan that could come along, and though she could manifest a few, none of them seemed prevalent enough to warrant withholding her accedence. “I doubt that the miners that once worked there, were able to maneuver the place through muscle memory alone, as the mines themselves are supposed to be practically labyrinthine… but any engineers responsible for overseeing the construction of the mines would be long dead by now. A map would provide succor in this regard, one that points out which coal deposits we could set up explosives near… and which are the best routes to exit before we either burn or…” Suddenly the myriad scenarios in which the plan could go wrong began to manifest… “… suffocate… or are crushed by falling debris.” Her eyes widened briefly at the thought as she tersely shook the thoughts back into the depths. “I’d bet a purse of gold we’ll find a map in Arian, especially seeing as it was constructed with the purpose of the tunnels in mind in the first place!”

Finally, the carriage arrived at its destination. Rika looked outside at the surrounding town, and then back at the group, anxious to see who’d accompany her to locate a map of their aforementioned destination.

—
II-CinderRadcliff-II , Genii , Lost Echo

 

[Gwenymoo]

Tobias was using his wings as an umbrella, climbing down the outside of the carriage. Finally solid ground that wasnt dancing.

 

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Siwai remained seated on the railing. He took in several deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth.
"C'mon Siwai..." He said to himself, "Don't mess this up."

Beneath the carriage, Pestle flopped down onto the ground, a limp lump of coils. The zombie snake hadn't ever felt jostled quite like that before.

 

[Genii]

“Map’s a good idea. It’d be a pain in the ar*e if we get lost down there.” Not to mention deadly. “We can ask around town.” Callan said to Rika.

He made to leave the carriage, but turned back to Urzoth. “Need a lift?”

Outside the sky was grey, the same colour as the town’s stone wall. The rain picked up and became a downpour that plummeted against the muddy road.

If the group approached the gates, they wouldn’t be welcomed by anyone, and all seemed eerily quiet.

There were holes in the ground, similar to the ones back in Colby, as well as arrows stuck in the mud, abandoned weapons, and pieces of armour.

 

[Oli Beju]

“I’m willing to assume that it’d be at a local ward’s office.” RIka explained, descending the stairs and off of the carriage. Turning back to look upon the behemoth of a carrier one more time, she took to notice both Siwai and Tobias perched atop the carriage’s rooftop, Tobias with his wings curled round him. At first, she considered bringing Siwai along to acquire the map, however, taking another glance at Callan, she reconsidered. The wyrms needed to be dealt with posthaste, which wouldn’t happen if the blithe young monk and the captious siren were at each other’s necks. Whilst Callan stopped in case Urzoth’s descent needed some help. Rika stopped as well, but then, the view of the large holes colored her peripherals, and her attention tunneled to the tunnels, examining the abandoned weapons and armor. “Someone’s already been trying to combat them, it seems.”

 

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Siwai leaped down from the top of the carriage and landed silently. His footfalls as he charged forward seemed to ignore how wet and muddy the earth was. He looked over the edge of one of the holes and hopped into it without a word.

 

[Lost Echo]

"Yes." Urzoth accepted Callan's offer stoically, not even their voice indicating their discomfort nor their gratitude. Both of which were waging war to be released. They rolled closer to the siren, shifting to allow him to pick her up. Akela stood beside the chair, prepared to collapse it and then drag it outside, following the pair.

 

[Oli Beju]

RIka awed herself with the restraint that she displayed in treading any closer to the trench in the ground, despite the myriad tempestuous feelings evoked from the abandoned weapons that seemed to surround it. Turning to look back to see if Callan and Urzoth were yet ready, she smiled a bit to notice that Urzoth had accepted Callan’s offer of assistance, if not reluctantly. Despite their low tolerance for nonsense, the two actually seemed affable, even if to each other. She began wondering just how long they’d been friends, if only allies. “I wonder.” She consequentially spoke aloud, with a slight smile. Then, suddenly, as she turned away from the carriage, a wisp of air whipped up a few strands of her ponytail, and, thinking that a beast had gotten the jump on her from just out of her line of sight, she reached for her dagger. In fact, it’d been Siwai, who’d leapt expeditiously into the gaping pothole. As if she’d already run out of time to react, Rika sprinted toward the hole and then stopped on its edge. “Siwai!” She called out to him, less in panic and more just to make sure that there was still a response.

—
nathanKmcwilliams

 

[Genii]

Callan lifted the half-orc with a muted grunt and carried them out of the carriage. Like Tobias, he lifted a wing up to shelter himself and Urzoth from the rain.

The siren exited just in time to see Siwai drop into a hole.

_____

Siwai’s feet would land on the floor with a clatter. The bottom of the pit (or tunnel) was littered with more pieces of armour and discarded weapons.

There were bones and half eaten carcasses down there too - horses mostly, although there was a lone severed arm on the ground, still clutching onto an axe.

A pained groan and a weak, “… hello?” Broke the silence. It came from a little further in, where a small helmed head peeped over the remains of a small carriage.

 

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Oli Beju
Tunnel
Siwai shivered, one hand covering his nose as he took in the sight before him. His eyes snapped to the location of the cry for help, and then up to where Rika called out.
Siwai waved up at her, "I'm fine. Looks bad down here!" He shouted before taking off to check on the helmed person behind the carriage.

But, while he approached, Siwai readied his ki internally, preparing a burst that would pulse out of him if he was attacked.
Hopping up on the carriage, Siwai crouched and peered down on the form in the wreckage. "Hey...help's here. Are you on the verge of death?' he asked calmly.

 

[Gwenymoo]

Tobiaa jogged to the hole Siwai dived into. "Ya still alive dun there?" He shoutwd down, mindful of the wet rim.

 

[Lost Echo]

Tense in his arms, Urzoth unwound enough to murmur, "Thanks." As they were placed once more in their chair. It was a relief to be able to move on their own again. They moved a little back and forth, grateful, and then looked at Callan nodding again in thanks. Then they turned their attention back to Siwai. Who had better keep his head on. No one needed a hero to rush ahead and get killed.

Akela left Urzoth's side, coming up next to Rika and Tobias. She too peered down into the darkness, seeing if the depth was safe enough for her to jump or if Marahute would have to brave the mines. Just because she could recuperate, didn't mean she wanted to experience breaking her legs.

 

[Oli Beju]

RIka sighed, particularly afforded succor by the sound of Siwai’s still alive voice, even if it wasn’t characteristically jovial. She looked over to the ethereal canine nearby, then over to Tobias and then back to Siwai, or rather, where he'd just leapt, the dim light of the pit enshrouding much of where should have been the boy’s visage. “I don’t think there’ll be much light down there, Siwai! Be careful and don’t— well… Just stay vigilant!” She stopped. Prior history somewhat dictated that the unmollifiable kobold had a bigger heart than ears, and would listen to the former much sooner. “What do you see?”

—

Lost Echo , Gwenymoo ; nathanKmcwilliams

 

[II-CinderRadcliff-II]

Connor Brazzinford - 'The Phantom Armory'

Connor felt as Deus slowed to a stop just outside of a massive wooden-spiked gate, walking over to her set of armor as it flew off of its stand and put itself onto her person. While the others quickly disembarked from the wagon it took her a little longer to ready herself, casually walking out of the door leading to the balcony and surveying the remnant signs of a battle around them. Though the arrows and fallen weapons were plentiful and obvious, her attention was primarily focused on the armor around them. Just from sight alone she could tell that none of them were forged by her, now descending the stairs and through the storage room before disembarking the wagon. For now they didn't really need her armor at the ready, but six sets followed her out from the wagon as a precaution. While the rain split into smaller droplets as it splattered repeatedly against her armor, she momentarily saw Siwai hop into one of the holes around them - walking up near the edge to find that it seemed to go deep into the earth. Fortunately for them the member that jumped in had wings to fly back out, though unfortunately they had no clue whether or not there were any wyrms lurking down below. With a sigh Connor swiftly moved her attention to the gates, walking over to Deus and unshackling it from the wagon.
"Deus, give our guests a knock on the door will you?" Connor politely asked with a smirk hidden behind her armors visor, as Deus casually approached the gate with a slow pace. While it initially seemed as if their companion would simply knock on the gate like a person would, the loud thud of Deus's rear hooves slamming into the gates followed by the crash made from them violently swinging open was almost as sudden as thunder rumbling in the wind. It was strong enough the pull the entire wagon alone at great speeds, so it wasn't too hard to speculate that it was more than strong enough to kick the gates open. Connor turned her attention to Rika, guessing that at least some of the others would keep the kobold company. "Now then, shall we go look for that map?"​

 

[Oli Beju]

The reverberation of what had to have been an explosive briefly jerked RIka’s attention from Siwai’s potential response to her concerns. Looking back, she saw that the magical horse armor had taken to the gates of the city in red wrath, kicking the gate open with a singularly ferocious hind strike.


… So much for making a good first impression with the locals.


Upon Connor’s approach, her worries cooled a bit. The woman before her was fully decked out in her armor once more, and was ready to continue onward, an agreeable sentiment. “Right.” She nodded and stood. “The ward’s office. Or any place that might have a library.” She paused, looking at the damaged, but open, gate. “Hopefully they’ve either of those things, here.” She looked back to the group one last time. “For our plan to work, we’ll need explosives and some type of highly flammable irritant! If you guys can find anything, grab it and we’ll meet at the mine’s entrance!” She proceeded, turning to the gates and walking toward the town.†

Spoiler: †

I feel like I’m getting a little ahead of myself. If we’re still waiting for something to happen, lemme know!

—
II-CinderRadcliff-II

 

[Genii]

The helmed individual almost jumped out of their armour as Siwai hopped onto the broken carriage.

“Shhh.” The man gestured for the kobold (and his companions above) to lower their voices. He was very short, freckle-faced, with a very impressive bushy brown beard - a dwarf presumably.

“Not so loud. You’ll lead it right to us.” He nervously whispered. “Did the King send you?”

_______

“No problem.” Callan returned Urzoth’s nod. Then turned to the loud thud sound as Deus kicked open the wooden gates.

Behind the gates the town was in a sorry state - gaping holes everywhere, abandoned belongings, and damaged buildings.

There were spiked defences blocking the main street and most of the buildings that were still standing had bordered up windows.