GC Dungeons and Dragons: Pangea Part 28: Catching Up Part 3

This is a weekly group, and I am several months behind. I'll catch up eventually... if I can get up the motivation to write more than once in a blue moon!
"Well that was a fight that happened," Arnick said, looking at the splintered remains of the mimic, and the black soot drifting around the cavern from the multiple explosions. "Shall we get back to exploring this tunnel then?"

"I think that's a good idea," Sadun said, walking back to Arnick and picking up the rope again.

"You really drew that out, didn't you," Trick chastised Wretch. "Why didn't you just finish the thing quickly?"

Wretch mumbled something unintelligible.

"Well, I want to see what's down that pit," Cassian said, walking towards the alcove. 

Arnick ignored them and knelt down to crawl through the tunnel. "It's a very low tunnel," he said, half to himself. 

"Oh, we can use this spell to communicate telepathically," Whistle said, and quickly incanted the words of the spell. And now we can all hear each other even if we can't see each other, or if we need to sneak around.

Ok, Arnick thought. I'm going in. 

The tunnel was low and narrow, but Arnick was able move relatively easily on his hands and knees. As Vivi had noticed, the tunnel turned about twenty feet in at nearly a ninety degree angle, but after another 30 feet or so, Arnick emerged into another cavern. The tunnel leading out was blocked by a cave in. The cavern looked familiar to Arnick's dark vision, and he spotted the slowly decomposing remains of bugbears and trolls the party had killed the last time they had been through. There was one major difference from six months previously however; a small shrine had been erected in the center of the room. 

The tunnel does lead to where we were before, Arnick thought back to the group, on the other side of the cave in. It's safe to come through. 

Don't go any further, Whistle thought back. I think you're at the edge of the spell's range. Let me come through to and I can relay your report to the others as you go.

Arnick waited, looking around the cavern, but no further secrets leapt out to his eyes. 

I'm pretty sure Whistle is a doppelgänger, Cassian's thought intruded, followed by a mental groan of exasperation from Whistle. A moment later the bard came through the tunnel, standing only as tall as Arnick's chest. She quickly returned to her normal size. 

Alright, if we're done poking fun at me, Whistle thought into the group's magical hive mind, I'll stay here and act as a relay as Arnick explores further into the cave. There isn't much here, so feel free to come through that tunnel when you're ready.

I'm not crawling on the ground! Vivi thought with some vexation. How far have you gone?

About 36 feet diagonally from where you are, roughly southwest, Whistle replied. 

Great. Sadun you're coming with me.

What? Sadun's startled thought came just as Vivi appeared in the cavern next to Arnick and Whistle, holding Sadun by the shoulder.

You're just going to teleport and leave me to crawl on my belly through that tunnel, like some kind of snake? Trick complained.

I don't know you yet, Vivi thought with a mental shrug. You're not my problem.

Arnick pointed to the shrine and approached it cautiously. To his surprise, the writing on the shrine was familiar. "Like from Poppy's letters," he whispered to himself. He gestured for Whistle to approach as well, and the two began examining the shrine in detail while Sadun got her bearings behind them.

-----------------------

Note: Here I broke for the day, and then that day turned into... 3 months. 
I'm happy to be getting around to finishing this post finally.

-----------------------

"That mimic was getting stuff from somewhere," Wretch was saying as Trick walked up to him. "Do you see anything?"

"Not yet, but I'm only halfway down. There may be something still out of sight," Cassian's voice called up from the chasm Wretch stood in front of. "There aren't a lot of handholds, this is taking longer than I thought."

"Wot're you doing?" Trick asked.

"I'm pretty sure the mimic had treasure hidden around here. It crawled through this chasm to get to us so Cass is going to explore." Wretch's voice was gruff as always, but had a hint of anticipation in it.

"Here! I found something!" Cassian called up. "Looks like three... no four bags! Hidden among the stalagmites."

A few moments of scrambling later, Cassian stood next to Trick and Wretch. "Whew," the half-orc said. "I don't think that climb should have been so hard on me. Four bags, here you go."

Wretch began opening the bags. "There are some silver coins and a bunch of rocks in this one," he said, sounding disappointed. "And these two are full of dried beans. Strange."

"I found these daggers too," Cassian said, handing them to Trick. "They're pretty dusty though, I'm not sure if they're worth anything."

"A blade's a blade," Trick said, rubbing one of them on his sleeve. "Wait, look here. This one's edged in silver! That's a good find! And somethin's etched on the pommel... 'To Yours Truly'. Well, seems they're meant for me then."

"So where are the others?" Cassian asked, looking around.

"They went to the other side o' that tunnel," Trick grumbled. "The little gnome crawled through, and then the wizards started teleporting. They took the dragonkin but left me behind. And here I am carrying all these fragile glass vials."

"So it's safe to go through?" Cassian asked, ignoring the sardonic note in Trick's voice. "It is a small tunnel, but I think I can make it through on my belly. No worse than some of the holes I had to crawl through back on my ship when we were looting some other poor bastards." So saying, he slid onto his belly and began to worm his way through the tunnel.

"You're goin' to try that too?" Trick asked, looking up at the hulking form of the goliath next to him. Wretch merely shrugged, and began to imitate Cassian.

With a great sigh of exasperation, Trick knelt down. "Fine, but I ain't goin' face down like that. Maybe if I grab the top o' the tunnel with my hands I can slide through on my back and prevent my poor potions from spilling all over me or blowing us all to pieces..." he mumbled.

-------------------------

Looks like there are some slowly decomposing bodies down this way, Vivi called in their head, standing in the only opening leading away from the shrine chamber. 

Sadun walked over and looked around. Oh, yeah. Those are the bugbears and trolls we killed when we were here last. Before the whole... time and space portal thing. That part is a bit confusing still.

Well, you have been gone for six months, I can vouch for that. Vivi said. Behind them came the sound of scraping and grumbling as Cassian, Wretch and Trick emerged from the tunnel.

You know you can just talk in your heads? Whistle thought. We can all hear each other that way? You don't need to make so much noise?

"Oh no, they're ghosts!" Cassian shouted. "I thought this was safe!" He stood up and looked around, spotting Whistle fuming in his direction.

If we're done with that, I know the way to the portal from here, Whistle said, frustration bleeding through her mental words. Vivi and Sadun found the bodies from the last time we were in here, and I followed the kobolds all the way to the portal at that time.

Yes, yes, of course, Cassian thought back. Lead the way. Oh, and Arnick, here is a dusty quarterstaff I found. You can have it if you want. The half-orc tossed a wooden staff to the gnome, and the group set off down the tunnel behind Whistle.

-------------------

After a few minutes walking, the group emerged into a large oblong cavern. Chairs lay strewn about the floor, and there was no sign of any other living beings. Near one end of the cavern, a massive stone circle rose from floor to ceiling. Runes and magical symbols adorned its surface, but there was no indication of any activity from it. Vivi and Whistle immediately began inspecting the portal, as the others looked around the room. 

Looks like it was turned off from the other side, Vivi declared. I'm pretty sure we can turn it on from here, but if we do it wrong it may not take us where we want to go.

"These runes are crudely made, but I can make them out," Wretch muttered. He traced the ones at the base of the portal. "Here to go to master. Not the most literate of folk coming through here I suppose."

A rock smacked into the stone of the gate from behind Vivi. They turned around to see Arnick throw another rock that successfully passed through the gate this time. It clattered to the floor on the other side. I'm pretty sure throwing rocks through it is not going to activate it Arnick. I think this is going to take some effort. And probably a few hours of study at least.

Trick joined Vivi and Whistle in studying the gate while the others set up camp. When Whistle took a brief break to create a dome of protection, Cassian swapped places and looked the gate over with his magic detecting glasses. As Whistle completed her spell, he noted the gate vibrate momentarily before stabilizing again. 

"Hey, I think casting spells might help," Cassian said aloud. 

Vivi looked up. "That's possible. Whistle could you cast something small, and importantly, harmless on the gate so we can watch for a reaction? I can cast small, but my harmless spells tend to be simply teleportation."

"Sure," Whistle walked up and waved her hands in a complex gesture. A fresh smell of seawater began to waft from the gate. 

"Yeah, that did something," Cassian confirms. "I saw the energy of your spell get drawn into the gate itself."

"Maybe we simply need to recharge the gate," Vivi pondered. "And using magic in its vicinity works to do so."

"Here, I can do some blood magic," Wretch's gruff voice spoke up from near the dome. "Let's see if that helps." He drew a blade across one palm, and smeared the blood over one of the runes tattooed on his skin, then pulled back and hurled a small sphere of flames at the left side of the gate. The flames winked out as soon as they hit the gate, but a small section of the gate where the flames hit now glowed red.

On the right side of the gate, Vivi decided to try their own magic, summoning electricity into her hand and gripping the stone firmly. The feeling of charged magic immediately dissipated from their hand. A small portion of the gate near them began to glow lavender.

"Are we using magic?!" Arnick's voice sounded from nearby. "I can do a illusion... thing! Like this!"

The group looked over to see Arnick several feet away, lying with his face pressed into the ground. "Um, thanks Arnick" Vivi said. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Never better!" Arnick said happily, rolling over and staring dreamily at the ceiling, a potion bottle clasped in one hand.

"Well, with that assistance, it seems that the gate will require us to pour magic into it until it reaches a certain threshold, at which point it should open. Again, I'm not sure if this will get us where we're going, these portals can be complicated in my experience. It could depend on whether this portal is tied to a set gate on the other side, or if it is part of a larger network." Vivi sighed and sat down again. "Maybe it will be more responsive to one sort of magic than another. We may want to experiment some more."

"Well, I think that's all the help I can give you then," Cassian said. He handed his glasses to Vivi. "Here, this may help. They let you see magic stuff. I'm not as well versed in this as you, so I think I'll join Sadun in some weapons practice." He headed to the opposite end of the cavern where Sadun had set up a lantern and was running through a practice routine with her longsword and shield.

"And I think I'll let you who are better versed in magic than I handle this as well. I found this bag which seems to be holding more than it should, in the mimic's remains. I'd like to see if I can figure out everything that's inside." So saying, Wretch walked over and sat on a rock near the bubble Whistle had summoned. He opened a cloth bag and began to withdraw a large number of potions, sorting them by color.

"Well, back to the more magically inclined I suppose," Whistle said. "I saw inside the mind of one of the beholder's cultists once, and I just remembered something about a key item to operate these gates. But I can't remember any details."

"Well, let's try to at least open the gate," Trick said. "And maybe we can try aiming it when we're done with that.." pulling a potion from his pouch, Trick hurled it at the gate. The vial broke at the top of the circle, and the gate was briefly limned by glowing green fire. As the flames winked out the top of the circle began to glow green. 

"That faerie fire seemed to light more of the portal than the other spells we've tried," Vivi noted. "Shall we continue along that path?"

"I've got plenty of potions," Trick said smugly.

"Oh! The coins!" Whistle exclaimed. "I just remembered, it's those coins the beholders leave when they die. They're the key to opening the gate! I think Arnick is holding a few of them."

"Right. I'll go talk to 'im." Trick walked over to where Arnick was doodling in his notebook. "Do you have any of them beholder coins?" He asked as he approached. "Your friend seems to think it will be the key to opening this portal once it's charged up."

"A coin?" Arnick dropped his book and reached into his pouch, pulling out a silver coin. "Here's a coin!" With a giggle the gnome dropped it and began spinning in place.

"I see. You've been drinking that potion I made for you again. I suppose I'll need to make you some more?"

"Yes, it's so relaxing and the shapes in the air are so pretty," Arnick said, slowly sagging to the ground.

Trick shrugged and walked back to the gate. "Arnick's a little tuckered from the day, let's finish charging the gate and we'll look for those coins later."

"Trick, I've got a question," Wretch called from where he sat. 

"Oh? Wot've you got?" Trick wandered over to where Wretch was sitting. 

The goliath held up two vials. "I've been able to figure out what all the other potions the mimic had are except these two, any ideas?"

"That in your left hand looks like a poison of some kind," Trick said. "The other..." he took the preferred jar. "A copper jar? Sounds like somethin's inside of it. Go ahead and open it Wretch." He handed the jar back and stepped away, waiting. Behind him Vivi and Whistle exchanged a glance and retreated into the magical dome. 

With a shrug, Wretch took the jar and pulled the lid off. Immediately what looked to be a small pebble shot out, ricocheted off the ceiling and exploded. The dome disappeared. 

"Why can't I see anything?" Whistle asked. "I cast dark vision." 

"I had as well," Vivi remarked. "The only light I see is the lantern over by Sadun."

"Huh," Trick said. "I wasn't expecting that." 

"What just happened?" Wretch asked, confused.

"I think that whatever was in there just dispelled all the magic in the room. It should come back in a little bit," Trick explained.

"Well, I still can't see," Whistle complained, "and I just cast Darkvision again."

"My spells aren't working either," Vivi said.

"What just happened?" Cassian asked, walking over. Sadun followed behind him with her lantern. "Why is the gate not glowing anymore?"

"Oh no," Vivi muttered, turning to look. The gate which had been storing magical energy was blank again. "It didn't just dispel spell effects, it drained all the magic in the area."

"I did notice my weapons stopped humming with lightning," Sadun said. 

"Wait, does that mean..." Cassian pulled out the golden axe with Sy's soul in it. He held it close and whispered to it. "No response. Oh no oh no, where's Mischief?" The group looked around, but the cat familiar that had been following the group was nowhere to be seen. "I think... I think Sy's soul is gone. Sy's actually dead this time," Cassian said, a tear rolling down his cheeks. "Damn it."

There was a moment of silence.

"Well," Trick said, "let's move on shall we? I imagine my potions will still work, so I'll start powering up the gate again with my faerie fire."

"Ugh," Whistle muttered. "I'm going to go see if I can get out of this magical dead zone and get my dark vision back."

As Whistle wandered off, Trick began smashing potions against the gate. It slowly began to light up with green energy again. 

"Are you ok Cass?" Sadun asked.

"I'll be fine, it's just hard losing another comrade like that. To something like this," Cassian replied. "Especially after she died once already."

Whistle stomped back into the cave a moment later. "I only got the barest flicker of magic as far back as that tiny tunnel," she said. "And I hit my head on something. Today is not a good day."

"I don't think we're moving fast enough Trick, let me help," Wretch said, and hurled a potion. At the same moment Trick broke a potion that completed the ring of energy on the portal. The potion Wretch threw soared through and disappeared.  "That was a potion of fireball," Wretch said. "At least we know the portal works? Anyway, I'm going to see where this goes."

"Wait Wretch!" Trick said, but he was too late, the goliath was already gone. He shrugged as Cassian ran after the goliath, and then followed suit, pursued by the rest of the party.

---------------------

Cassian stepped out of the dark tunnel the portal had been into bright sunlight and the sound of birds singing nearby. Wretch was in front of him, kicking ash around in the large crater marring the green landscape he stood in. The portal behind him stood encircled by another massive stone gate entwined with vines.

"What happened?" Cassian asked.

"Oh nothing, there definitely wasn't anybody here when the fireball potion landed and exploded," Wretch said jovially. 

"So that satyr with the horrified expression over there?" Cassian inquired, pointing across the crater.

"Ah shit, I didn't see him there," Wretch said. "We should tell him this was an accident, I didn't mean to kill his friend."

"Well he's running away now," Cassian said, as the rest of the group emerged behind them. Arnick continued to run straight to the treeline, and then directly up the nearest tree and back down again.

"What happened?" Trick asked, studiously ignoring Arnick.

"Seems your friend's careless throw killed someone," Cassian said. "A satyr? Like the one that ran away?" Wretch nodded. "And you were kicking ash over..."

"Just trying to hide the remains," Wretch said. "Figured if nobody ever knew it would be for the best."

"Noice," Trick replied, grinning.

"Arnick!" Whistle shouted after the running gnome. In the distance the group could see Arnick pause, then turn and start running back to them.

"Well, let's get after that witness," Wretch said.

"Why?" Sadun wondered.

"I just have to explain to him it was an accident. Smooth things over."

"Ah, that may help then," Sadun acknowledged.

The group set out at a brisk pace, Sadun carrying the Vivi while Whistle held Arnick's hand to keep the gnome from wandering off. After a few minutes travel they crested a hill and paused. Before them lay a vibrantly colored city. Smoke rose from chimneys throughout, and the walkways were lined by flowering trees and shrubs. A tall wall encircled the entire city. 

"I wasn't expecting that," Wretch remarked.

TO BE CONTINUED