Session 26, Sept. 29, 2007

Braids: Begins a detailed search of the tunnel.

Chuckie D: helping her search

DM: okay... then here's what we've got... the hallway appears to run the width of the tower, same as the ones downstairs... there are several doors leading off the hallway, 6 on the "right" side, and 5 on the "left," orientation facing into the wind (from the original stair landing)...
DM: oh, and all of the hallway doors are iron-bound wood, same as the downstairs doors were... and show no real signs of aging

Jefferson Harco: ok well i try to open the first door on the left

Braids: Braids watches Jeff, and grins slightly, "Like to rush into things do you?"

Jefferson Harco: "I just want to get going and get out of this tower:

DM: it opens smoothly into the room... although with a little bit of resistance because of the wind rushing by outside (pressure differential)... and you're facing what appears to be a variation of the rooms downstairs, a little more ornately made up, with an actual bed instead of just a cot, and a desk instead of a table

Braids: "Well..." Braids starts to say, then enters the room, having notice no trap firing in Jeff's face, but she is cautiously walking into the room, towards the desk.

Jefferson Harco: "Ok we'll lets move on to the next rooms.

DM: it's a very simple, albeit nice, desk... well lacquered white oak

Torie: Torie just watches both with a bit of amusement, wondering when this group will off itself with over eagerness.

Braids: (What is on/in the desk?)

DM: ah... it's obviously been meticulously cleaned out, as there is absolutely NOTHING left in the way of papers/etc... there is an ink pot with a metal quill on top... and the two drawers are completely empty

Braids: Leaves the room and gestures to Jeff, "Go ahead speedy." Then she pauses, before flashing him a smile.

Jefferson Harco: "Let's Go." while moving on to the next room on the left, ignoring the comment...

DM: door opens just as easily, and it's a nearly identical room to the previous one

Braids: Enters the room, once again checking the desk.

Jefferson Harco: then upon inspection, i continue on to the next door on the left

DM: torie's not paying enough attention to notice, but the other two... you realize that these rooms have been squared off, which means that there's as-yet-unaccounted for space BEHIND the rooms (circular tower, square rooms = wasted space)
DM: and this desk has been just as meticulously cleared

Braids: Braids takes out a bullet and puts it in her sling, and uses its as an impromptu hammer, walking over to the far wall and slams on it as hard as she can, and listens.

DM: as far as you can detect, it's a normal stone wall... and you can't get quite a good enough sounding one way or the other to tell if there would or would not be empty space behind it

Jefferson Harco: well I move on to the next door on the left

Torie: Torie is watching from the door.

(269) Braids: Returns to the first room and conducts the same search.

Torie: Sheathes her rapier, and leans against the wall, her gown like drapes of cloth almost instantly concealing her sword.

Braids: Returns to the common area, and looks up at the hatch above. "I need a boost."
Braids: "No one wants to help?"

Torie: "I will," Torie says under her breath as she stands up fully, and walks over to Braids. "What do you need?"

Jefferson Harco: what do you need help with??

Braids: Braids points up, to the ceiling and says, "Boost, see hatch?"

DM: with it pointed out, it becomes obvious... there's a semi-concealed hatch in the ceiling at the center of the hallway
DM: there's no obvious opening mechanism, and it was designed to blend, although it's not "hidden" per se

Jefferson Harco walks underneath to give a boost

Braids: "There is a hollow behind these walls, or at least one of them, and from my days of creeping around houses, best way into spaces between walls is through attics."
Braids: Braids walks over to Jeff, and says, "Alright, let me get up onto your shoulders, I may need to spend time up there, and that would be more stable," she says with a smile.

DM: the hallway is only about 8 feet tall, so sitting on his shoulders would probably be enough height to get you up there

Jefferson Harco: ok well squats to get braids on his shoulders.

Braids: Braids climbs up, and pats him on the head to tell him that she is ready.

Jefferson Harco stands up

Torie: Snickers slightly at the display, and watches with keen interest.

Braids: (Search the hatch for lock, trap, anything...)

DM: the hatch only appears to be made of the surrounding stone, on closer inspection, it's obviously made of some sort of metal (knowledge arch/engineer to figure out exact type, it's not common)... and it doesn't appear to have any hidden aspects... as far as you can tell, it's just a hatch set in the stone ceiling... although from your inspection, you can see that it'll open "upwards" if/when you can figure out how to open it

Braids: Push on the hatch, pushing upwards.

DM: it doesn't give at all

Braids: Knock on it.

DM: it rings slightly, but not with a "hollow" sound

Braids: "Think something is on top of the hatch," she says, crawling down from Jeff's shoulders, then heads over to the last room Jeff opened, and looks through it, then checks the wall.

DM: don't find anything out of place... I'll save time on room descriptions, all 5 of the "left" doors lead to nearly identical bedrooms...
DM: and on this one, again the desk has been cleaned out thoroughly

Jefferson Harco: goes back to search the first door on the right

DM: Jeff - you open the door to find yourself in a small closet, the right-hand wall curving gently, obviously following the line that the stairs took... there are rows and rows of shelves lining the walls, with cloth coverings on the shelves, obviously SOMETHING under the cloth, although they're small somethings

Torie: Torie, getting a little bored and walks under the hatch, draws her rapier, and casts knock, using the hilt of the sword to knock on the hatch.

DM: okay... so there's a booming sound as the spell goes off... and watching carefully, torie you can see a small section of the hatch rotate (there WAS an opening device Nate, just a search DC 25)... and then the hatch starts to swing up... and a LOT of water starts pouring through... lots, and LOTS of water... the spell opens the door, allowing for roughly 10 seconds of water to pour through, before the normal pressures take over, slamming the hatch shut again... which means that so much water, on a stone floor, with 50-60 mph winds... the floors have just become slick as ice.
DM: both Braids and Torie are unable to keep their balance in the initial rush of water, and are swept off their feet

Braids: "See, told you there was something on top."

Torie: Rolls her eyes at Braids and stands back up slowly.

Braids: Gets up, and moves to the room Jeff opened, and begins to search it now, a little wetter then she was a few moments ago.

DM: okay... you find the same cloth-covered shelves...
DM: each sheet of cloth covers a roughly 10-ft. length of shelving
DM: each shelf has its own cloth
DM: the room goes back maybe 20 feet, with about 15 shelves on each wall... so there's a LOT of shelves

Jefferson Harco: Pulls a cloth up to look underneath, and pulls each cloth up carefully
Jefferson Harco: hmm...

DM: under the cloth, you find odd bits of seemly strange detrius... bits of amber, dead fire ants, copper wires, etc.

Jefferson Harco: i want to look for something that may stand out from under the cloths....i.e. a vase of sort
Jefferson Harco: I mean anything that looks like it might have importance from under the cloths

Braids: Opens her bag and starts collecting the seeming detritus and stuffing it into a pocket on the inside of her pack.

Torie: "Aspiring wizard are we? Torie asks, as she walks into the room.

DM: you don't find anything that really stands out, Jeff

Jefferson Harco: then i keep searching and lifting up cloths

Braids: "Nope, wizards annoy me, to structured," Braids says, satisfied that t he pocket in her pack won't hold more, then she starts filling belt pouches, and the other pouch on her belt.

DM: it's all pretty much the same stuff... some vinegar in jars, some dung from some animal or another, piles of dirt... etc.

Braids: (follows behind him going through the stuff)

DM: pretty much the same stuff as before, braids... nothing new revealed of special interest

Jefferson Harco: "maybe there will be more in the other rooms..." as he moves onto the next room

Braids: Braids walks out, "I want to get behind those walls now, this is some kind of mage tower or academy."

Torie: "It would seem it is a magical haven of some form," Torie replies. "Rooms of two elements, water and air, sure we can find a room of fire and earth to."

DM: okay, Jeff opens the next door... and it leads into a fairly large, albeit semi-narrow room... with leather couches several places along the walls, low tables, and rugs on the floor... at the far end is a fireplace, and looking in, you can see that the next door along the hallway also leads to this room

Braids: Like before, Braids follows him in and begins a detailed search.

Jefferson Harco: ah ok good, ok well then skip on to the forth door

DM: Jeff, on opening the next door, you're faced with another long, semi-narrow room, this one filled with trestle tables, also 2 doors leading in from the hallway... and rest of the description when you get back
DM: in addition to the tables, the "left" wall (when you're looking in through the door) has a long window into the next room, which you can see is some sort of kitchen... a doorway leads between the two rooms...

Torie: Torie moves to the center of the hallway, and says in a load commanding voice, "Reveal!"

DM: 3rd door on left, you find a presence

Torie: "Hey Braids, found what you were looking for I think," then resumes concentrating to find the way to open it.

Braids: "Really," Braids says, moving over to see Torie under the bed.

Torie: "Yep," she says, then she opens the door.

DM: the door swings inwards into darkness... unlike the rest of the tower, this room does not appear to have any of the strange glowstones to provide light
DM: and since the entrance is under the bed, there's no light to filter in past you

Torie: "Got a light?"

Braids: "Yep," Braids says, pulling a random bead in her hand, from a pocket, and then closes her hand around it, and when it opens up, the bead is glowing.

Torie: "Toss it down here," she says in reply.

Braids: Braids crawls next to Torie, who is suspending herself over the door, and drops the bead down into the door way

DM: with the bead, you can see into the room quite easily, it's obviously taking up the remainder of the tower's interior space, as the far wall is a curve with the wall. The room has been equipped as something between a wizard's workshop and an alchemist's lab, with bits of arcane equipment scattered on various tables, a desk piled high with papers, and various liquids bubbling in glass tubes... including one that is slowly dripping onto the floor (about 1 drip every 30 seconds), releasing a puff of smoke every time it lands

Braids: Braids scrambles to get down there, even trying to push Torie out of the way (If she lets me).

Torie: She can go

Braids: Braids drops down to the room, and begins a detailed search of the room, then searches the tools and processes going on.

Jefferson Harco: well i go back into the hall
Jefferson Harco: you said there were stairs up and stairs down, back to where we came from right?

DM: the "downwind" door has the stairs that you've been both up & down... and the "upwind" end of the hallway has a landing with stairs leading up and down as well

Jefferson Harco: I head into the wind
Jefferson Harco: hmm...i head upwards

DM: okay... you start upwards... and after a while climbing (guess roughly full circle), you find yourself on another landing, the stairs continue upwards, or there's a plain wooden door leading towards the 'interior' of the tower

Jefferson Harco: i open it

DM: okay... you find yourself faced with some sort of metal catwalk, leading out into open air... the room is very dimly lit, but it appears to be a vast shaft, the full interior diameter of the tower, with the catwalk stretching the length and not really appearing to go anywhere... it's very dimly lit though, as the only light source comes from occasional glowstones on the walls, so it would be easy to miss something if you didn't look closely

Jefferson Harco: well i walk to catwalk but very carefully searching as i go.... every section

DM: it's a fairly standard metal catwalk... nice ringing sound as you walk out on it... when you get to roughly the center, you find there's a gap in the railing on one side, and a ladder leading down... and looking down, you notice a reflection from below, and realize that you're over a pool of water... the ladder does not go all the way to the water level, though...

Jefferson Harco: is it really water

DM: you'd have to actually INSPECT it to be sure
DM: not just look at it

Jefferson Harco: hmm....ok
Jefferson Harco: well continue carefuly down the catwalk
Jefferson Harco: searching again as i go

DM: you find nothing else of interest along the length, and at the far end you just find a stone wall, with the catwalk bolted to the far end

Jefferson Harco: any loose stones, or any way of breaking a bit of the wall, maybe to toss into the water

DM: none

Jefferson Harco: ok, well does it look like the water level was higher?

DM: it's too dim to tell for sure

Jefferson Harco: climb down the ladder
Jefferson Harco: so that i can reach the bottom rung, and see if its wet

DM: the bottom rung is not wet, no

Torie: Seeing that Braids had been down there a while, Torie drops down and looks around.

DM: you see braids sitting at a desk piled high with papers, the room cluttered with various magical/alchemical bits of equipment...

Torie: "Braids... having fun?" Torie asks.

Jefferson Harco: ill dangle down... and attempt to see if its water on my slippered feet

Braids: "Not really, I normally was chasing rats when Terry did this stuff, its weird doing it on my own... of course I was taught how... but this code is weird."

DM: okay... you dangle down, and as far as you can tell with your feet... it's just water... quite chilly, even...

Jefferson Harco: can i see into the water? like anything in it?

Torie: "What code?" Torie says, walking over to the desk.

Braids: "Can you take that flask out from under the drip and put a new one underneath," Braids says, not even looking up at Torie.

DM: it's quite dim, but no, you can't see anything in the water

Torie: "Ok..." Torie says, then changes the flasks out.

DM: Torie, upon examining, you can see a flask roughly half full under some sort of drip

Torie: "It is only half full..."

Jefferson Harco: ok well can i notice if there is a water level decrease along the walls?

DM: not that you can tell, but it's a dim room, with black stone walls

Braids: "Thats ok, will slosh more but less likely to eat the cork," Braids says, then focuses on the page in front of her again.

Torie: Trades out the flasks, and sets the half full one next to the drip.

Jefferson Harco: ill try and climb back up.

DM: no dice... you're still hanging... lol

Jefferson Harco: "HELP!!"
Jefferson Harco: try again.

DM: nope, not making it

Jefferson Harco: "HELP!!"
Jefferson Harco: try again.
Jefferson Harco just can't hold on any longer... and loses his grip!

DM: and yeah, neither of you hears Jeff hollering for help

Torie: "Maybe I can help with the code?" Torie says.

Jefferson Harco is now in the water, looking for anything under the water

DM: okay... there are glowstones under the level of the water, oddly enough...

Jefferson Harco: can i grab them
Jefferson Harco: (( and how deep is the water. ))

Torie: Waves her hand over her eyes, and picks up one of the documents and starts to scan over it.

DM: the glowstones are set in the wall, same as the rest...
DM: and yeah... you flounder around, ineffectively... you can't swim well enough to hit the bottom

Torie: "Or not," she says putting the document back down.

Jefferson Harco: hm, attepmt to find it again

DM: yeah... you're starting to sink...

Jefferson Harco: Swim Check

DM: oh look... you've managed to hit the surface again, but you're not making any progress

Jefferson Harco: take a deep breath, and swim again

DM: ah, THIS time you've made progress... you manage to head down, 20 feet, and encounter a sloping side... looks like the bottom is down just a little further... you have 11 more rounds of holding your breath before you have to make checks again...

Jefferson Harco: keep going

DM: nice... you reach the bottom, where you find yourself faced with a hatch, of some sort... there's some sort of strange bar mechanism on top, that with examination, you can see is a sort of "lock" for the hatch... right now, the only thing holding it closed is the water pressure, as it would swing upwards

Jefferson Harco: ok try and open it
Jefferson Harco: use the sides of the hatch to attempt to prop myself and give leverage

DM: you get it to move a little bit, but not enough to actually open it... a small air bubble escapes upwards before the pressure pulls the hatch back down

Jefferson Harco: ok up for air
Jefferson Harco: 5 rounds of air

DM: and 5 feet from the surface

Jefferson Harco: keep swiming to the surface

DM: yeah, you don't manage to move up, 4 rounds left

Jefferson Harco: Swim Check

DM: that got you to the surface

Jefferson Harco: ok well take a second
Jefferson Harco: to catch my breath
Jefferson Harco: and then back down

DM: so you've spent a minute on the surface... heading back down?

Jefferson Harco: yeah
Jefferson Harco: back down

DM: there's one, takes 2 to make it all the way from surface to hatch or vise-versa

Jefferson Harco: Swim Check

DM: no progress, no failure either

Jefferson Harco: Swim Check

DM: there ya go, back at the hatch with 9 rounds of air left

Jefferson Harco: ok try again on the hatch

DM: still doesn't budge

Jefferson Harco: ok, well one more try.

DM: it's still not moving

Jefferson Harco: back up

DM: there ya go, back at the surface

Jefferson Harco: can i reach the ladder?

DM: no... it's a little over 5 feet above you

Jefferson Harco: hm... can i scale walls...

DM: you've not really inspected 'em to find out

Jefferson Harco: hm, swim

DM: right... so managing to splash around, you make it to the walls, and start examining... they're smooth stone, no real purchase for hands... but as you're swimming along the edge examining, you come across a couple iron rungs bolted to the wall... they only go up a few feet above the water's edge, and they're in line with the doorway above... but at least it's something to hold on to when you start to get tired, so that you're not likely to drown
DM: they also continue down below the water level

Jefferson Harco: hm... how high would they go

DM: maybe 3-4 feet above the water level?
DM: and a good 30 feet from there to the level of the catwalk, btw

Jefferson Harco: and from the ladder

DM: ladder is in center of the room, you're at wall... say 50 feet lateral

Jefferson Harco: ok, well i follow the rungs down the wall and under the water

DM: okay, with them to hold on to, guiding yourself is quite simple... they lead down the vertical part of the wall, and the last one is bolted to the wall just above where the floor starts to slope down towards the hatch
DM: (roughly 15 feet down from the surface)

Jefferson Harco: then back up to the surface

DM: right, done

Jefferson Harco: and yelling up to the catwalk.

Session 25, Sept. 22, 2007

Braids: "Well," Braids turns to the blonde woman, and the man, "Anyone feel like taking a moment and introducing themselves... you know, telling me where I am and all the fun stuff?" She pauses for a moment, then adds a quick smile.

Jefferson Harco: "Where you are? Well your with myself, and Torie.... The fun stuff, well for me that's trying to find my way home...."
Jefferson Harco: But first I think we're to return this Gabi back for she has killed someone.

Torie: Looks over at the young girl, then back over to Jeff, "It would help if you were as fast to give your name as my own," she says, then looks over at Gabi, giving her a kick real quick. "Who are you little girl?" she says looking back up at Braids.

Jefferson Harco: "So we could go up more and more, or we could go back and rid us of this spell

Braids: Braids looks over at Torie, "I am Ameae Shaowin the Second, although most people just call me Braids," she says smiling, "You over dress by the way. And where are we anyways? I know, we are hear with you, but lets give a real answer, I know it is there..."

Jefferson Harco: "I wish i could explain more....but all i know is we're in a tower...

Torie: Torie looks over at Jeff, "You need to open your eyes," then turning to Braids, "We are not on Bit if that is what you are asking. Consider us on another world completely unlike home... but the same."

Braids: Nods, smiling still, although the smile is slightly different, then looks over at the man, "So... do I get your name, or are you just going to be Hey You... or whatever nickname gives me a tickle?"

Jefferson Harco: Jeff
Jefferson Harco: well all that i know is that we're not where we were when we started looking for an artifact...

Torie: "Jeff, must you tell everything? Be an open book, but remember to edit yourself well," Torie says, then looks over at Braids.

Braids: "Artifact? A mission after my own heart it seems..."
Braids: Looking over at Torie, "You remind me of Kenti, always saying don't say everything..."

Torie: "Sounds like a wise man."
Torie: "Lets check out these rooms and set up a camp for the night... any objections or giving out of secrets?"

Jefferson Harco: I don't think i belong in this conversation...as I am lost in everyones words.

Braids: "Nah, I'd like to peak around anyways... Church likes to hide things, or at least that is what I was lead to believe, and that belief did drop me off here, so it is likely it is true... and they were fighting for something."

Torie: "Look around, I will be here," she says, the kicks Gabi again, and leans against the wall next to her.

Braids: Braids nods, and starts to explore the area.

Jefferson Harco: is it really nessisary to keep kickin her?
Jefferson Harco moves over to pick up Gabi
Jefferson Harco: I'm gonna stay here and watch over Gabi, and get some rest, you two can go search and destroy....

Torie: "Probably not, but then, she was annoying... so it makes me feel a little better about be put massively out of my way and traipsing around not just one world, but several." As if to make a point, she kicks Gabi one more time, and then lets Jeff do what he will with her.

DM: all 26 of the rooms are pretty similar, the only differences are the shapes of the rooms, in order to fit 26 rooms with near identical floor space into a circular tower off of a straight hallway running down the center
DM: each has a small cot, a small table, and a chair... only 2 of them had other things in there... the two that were apparently occupied had some personal effects from the two Church ladies...

Jefferson Harco chooses a room and brings Gabi with him

Braids: Goes through the personal affects

Torie: Pulls a cot to outside of the room with Gabi and Jeff in it, blocking the door with her cot, and sits down on it, watching Braids move from room to room.

Braids: After giving up her search, she pulls a cot up next to Tories, and starts to prepare to goto sleep.

Torie: "What are you doing girl?" Torie asks Braids.

Braids: "I don't like sleeping in a room alone, and Jeff is... well a guy... so I am going to sleep out here with you!" she says with an excited little smile.

Torie: Rolls her eyes, then says, "Annoy me and you will be sleeping in the stables, understood?"

Braids: Shrugs, and crawls into her bedroll, obviously a little sad as she does so.

DM: right then... as the time goes by, each of you notices that the lights in the walls are getting dimmer...
DM: and Jeff, Gabi wakes up after about an hour and a half
DM: but says nothing, takes one look around, and closes her eyes to lie back again

Jefferson Harco: "you have two choices lady, you can behave and I will be taking you back, or I will return you to your state of unconsciousness
Jefferson Harco: I try to sense if she actually sleeping

DM: yeah, she's not (yet)... but she's also not responding at all

Torie: Gets out the bed, and walks over to Gabi, and draws her rapier, and moves to smack Gabi in the head a couple of times with the hilt of the weapon.

Jefferson Harco: Stay Back, I can handle this.
Jefferson Harco: *turning back to Gabi, grabbing her shoulders, and forcing her to sit up* "Listen to me, If you do not cooperate, I will have to put you back asleep, and I wont be pretty."

Torie: Torie disregards the order to stay back, and walks into the room, drawing her blade, and leveling the point in the direction of Gabi. "Handle it, but you wont be doing it alone."

Jefferson Harco: "There's no need for a drawn sword. Put that away now."
Jefferson Harco: "You can stand beside me, like me, without a weapon

DM: Gabi opens her eyes, leaving them only partially open, to look between Jeff and Torie, then speaks in Elven. "I'm obviously a prisoner, I'd be stupid to try something while you're standing over me, wouldn't I?"

Torie: "Sorry buddy, I have escorted prisoners before, rule one is once they fake sleeping, a blade is ready at all times."
Torie: "What did she say?"

Jefferson Harco: Back in Elven "Yes It would be silly, but as you can see my friend here does not like the thought of you being awake."

Torie: "Translations if you please Jeff."

DM: "Fine, then let me go back to sleep." (she only knows Elven or a dialect of common that none of you know, so assume any conversation from Gabi is in Elven)

Jefferson Harco: *Back to Torie* "Lower your sword, I do not translate to the hostile..."

Torie: Shrug, "Guess I will have to go without the information then," and takes up a sentry by the door, sword drawn and held ready.

Jefferson Harco: In Elven "Ok well I am going to tie your hands up, so sit still."

DM: Gabi: "And how am I supposed to sleep like that?"

Jefferson Harco: E- "hold your hands out, From here on out, you are my prisoner, listen to me, and I will keep these ladies off of you."
Jefferson Harco: E- "You will sleep uncomfortably, but you will sleep."

Torie: As Jeff moves to tie Gabi up, she moves a little closer, keeping her weapon a little more ready.

Jefferson Harco: E- "The only other option is that you sleep for an indefinate amount of time..."

DM: Gabi shrugs. "If you say so."
DM: yeah, BOTH of you can tell she's about to try something as she brings her hands forward... she's got this odd little smile on her face... hell, even BRAIDS can tell, and she's ASLEEP

Jefferson Harco: E- STOP!
Jefferson Harco: E- "Whatever your thinking you better stop it now."
Jefferson Harco: E- "I'm putting my life on the line to ensure your safety, if you don't want that, then just tell me now."

Torie: Quickly moves towards Gabi, and thrusts her blade close Gabi's throat.

DM: "Okay, fine. Yeesh." Gabi offers her wrists docilely, sighing slightly.

Jefferson Harco: E- "No more nonsense, I mean it." * takes the time to tie Gabis wrists nice and tight

DM: "Can't blame a girl for trying."

Torie: "Get her legs too."

Jefferson Harco: "Your right you can't blame her, but you can be happy she choose the right option when she found out she can't
Jefferson Harco ties up Gabi
Jefferson Harco: "If I tie her legs she cannot walk, making our job a lot harder...do you two have any extra rope.

Torie: "I do, and she isn't walking until morning," Torie says, "Its in my pack, go get it," she adds, keeping her weapon on Gabi.

DM: Gabi mutters something in a language nobody here understands... sounds vaguely like "Which"

Jefferson Harco: "No if you want her legs tied up, you go get it, otherwise she can dance the night away."

Torie: Rolls her eyes, the waves her hand towards Gabi, muttered 'Noctuanus' under her breath.

Jefferson Harco: umm...i know that this could be bad....

DM: Gabi just glares at Torie. "Not gonna work, woman." (still in Elven)

Jefferson Harco: "ok well we all need sleep."

Torie: "Jeff, tie up her legs. If she has use of them, she is still dangerous. I find your seeing the best in her cute, but lets play it safe, if you really don't want to do it, wake the girl up and make her do it."

Jefferson Harco: "First off, Listen up, you two must agree not to hurt Gabi for no reason, if she deserves it, i.e. attempting to run then yes, take her down, WITHOUT killing her. I need you two to agree to this. She is my prisoner now, I am taking full responsibility to getting her back to town. She is essentially a part of me.
Jefferson Harco: If shes out of line I will deal with her, if she escapes, it is my fault.
Jefferson Harco: If you hurt her, you hurt me

Torie: "Look sweetie, just handing her over to you means nothing for me, because I have the same geas as you," Torie says, "Like it or not, I am here with you, and I am not going to promise not to hurt her, or kill her, in fact I want to kill her, and am only not because we are supposed to be delivering her alive. So tie up her damn legs."

Jefferson Harco: If thats how you feel then you may tie her legs up, but let this be known, should you harm her without reason or just cause, I will make sure you pay for what you do.
Jefferson Harco: No one, I MEAN NO ONE, needs to be brutalized because of what they have done, or what they believe in. She deserves her chance to make amends, and that's what I want to give her.
Jefferson Harco: You hear that Gabi. I want to give you a second chance.

Torie: "Its your type that causes half of these issues you know," Torie says, then a little louder, "Ameae, wake up!"

Jefferson Harco: Make up for the bad things you've done. Even cooperating by coming with us willingly, will be the first big step.

DM: Gabi sighs quite loudly and dramatically. "Would you two quit babbling in whatever insane tongue, and get that sword away from me so I can sleep?"

Jefferson Harco repeats the last two spoken lines in elven

DM: "Great, so I can cooperate to get interrogated and executed by the geezer? No thanks. You ain't getting my parole that easily. I'll be a good little girl while you're watching, but the minute you turn your back, it's a blade between your shoulders."

Braids: Braids wakes up, and groggily looks over to where her name came from, "What... oh shes awake.."

Braids: Braids crawls out of the cot, still groggy, grabing the rope from the pack, and walks towards Gabi, "He's just saying he wont kill her, or let her be killed."

Torie: Torie looks over at Jeff, and just shakes her head, "You need to keep power with your prisoner, let her think we will kill her."

Jefferson Harco: I don't want to kill her, I don't want her to be a prisoner

Jefferson Harco: She is a being, and even if we do wrong things we still deserve a second chance.

Braids: Braids ties up the feet of Gabi, then looks up at Jeff a little surprised, then shrugs, "Told you guys keeping her alive would be to much effort," then heads off back towards the bed.

Torie: "Nah, in her line of work, her second chance is if she escapes, and quite frankly, I'd prefer she didn't because she wont give us your view of mercy."

Jefferson Harco: E- Its obvious that they wont back down, but i call to you to give up, If you can resist the urge of evil then I will speak on your behalf.

Jefferson Harco: E- You have to prove to me first though, come with me back to town, promise me right here, right now that you will come back and follow that promise, and I will do everything in my hands to keep you from going six feet under.

Braids: "More jibber jabber about not killing her..." Braids says before crawling under the blanket.

Torie: "Jeff, far far to trusting"

Jefferson Harco: Trust is something you build up, and obviously your wall of trust couldn't stop a sneeze.

Torie: Rolls her eyes again, "I guess blind followership requires the naivety to think trust is an actual defense."

DM: Gabi: "Unless you got somethin on the old elf to keep him under your power, you can't do anything. I'd rather take my chances on my own, thank you. And since you're so determined to be so bloody honorable, I'll be honest with you. Give me an inch, and I'll slit your throat. It's my job, and I'm good at it... and it's all about protecting all creation. So don't bother asking for surrender, nothing you can offer me is more important than completing my mission."
DM: with that, Gabi closes her eyes and leans back, obviously done talking.

Jefferson Harco: E- May you then sleep for eternity, so that your mission is never completed...
Jefferson Harco: *turning to the ladies* She's just as stubborn as you Torie, I can't sleep in this room, she's all yours....
Jefferson Harco leaves the room, obviously distraught, and finds a bed elsewhere

Torie: "Stubborn has nothing to do with it." Torie says after him, then turns to Gabi and smacks her hard with the hilt of her sword a couple of times.

DM: yup, she's out cold again

Torie: Sits down on the bed, and watches her.

Jefferson Harco is sleeping, tossing and turning

Torie: Torie looks at the Gabi, nice try, then smacks her a few more times with the weapons hilt.

DM: lol, she's back out
DM: okay... this process repeats itself several times during the night...
DM: and... you realize around 2 that you're starting to lose focus
DM: mind wandering, that sort of thing

Torie: "Well its sleep time for me," Torie says, smack the woman one more time, then moving to wake up Braids.

Braids: Once again, Braids rolls over, and looks towards Torie, "What now?"

Torie: "Watch her, I need sleep," Torie says, lying down in the bed, her sword still in her hand.

Braids: "Fine, I guess, I've rested more then enough anyways," she says with a strong hint of sarcasm, "I will watch the annoying one..." as she crawls roughly over Torie to get into the room, and sit near Gabi, putting a rock in her sling to use as an improvised blackjack should the need arise.

DM: right then... round about 6am, Braids (as the only one currently awake), you notice the lights on the walls are starting to brighten somewhat... all night, they'd been about the level of a common lamp...

Braids: "Oh good, morning," Braids says, then yells, "Hey Torie! Wake up!"

Torie: Torie bolts up from sleep and jumps to her feet, and looks at Gabi on the ground, then Braids, "What the hell?"

Braids: "Just morning..."
Braids: "Where is that Jeff guy?" she asks with a new smile.

Torie: "He stalked off last night, go get him while I get her ready to move," Torie says, walking over to Gabi, and kicking her in the stomach, "Hey get up."

Braids: Braids shrugs, and heads off down the hallways opening each door, and looking for Jeff.

Jefferson Harco is Waking up

DM: Gabi opens her eyes to glare at Torie, responding in Elven. "If you're going to say something, at least do so in an intelligible tongue. Don't speak your language, remember? How do you like it when people say things YOU don't understand?"

Torie: Kicks her in the stomach again, "Quiet."

Jefferson Harco: Hey Braids, how's Gabi, or should i even ask?

DM: Gabi just glares up at you steadily

Braids: "Bloody face, bloody nose, all in all, probably the worse the wear, why?"

Torie: "Stare all you want darling," Torie says, stepping back and holding her sword ready again.

DM: Gabi just closes her eyes and leans back again, not saying another word.

Jefferson Harco: "I shouldn't have asked...

Braids: "Can I say something, somewhat mean?"

Jefferson Harco: "Sure, talk and walk, Let's go back and make sure she's not dead..."

Braids: "Note, I am going to say it anyways, just Terry told me I should at least try and be polite... ahh good."

Braids: "Pick your allies, you were being a lot nicer to the prisoner then you were to your ally. Torie is, icky, but she is on your side, Gabi isn't," with that Braids just heads off towards the prisoner room.

Jefferson Harco: "why cannot everyone be allies?"

Braids: "Because then you wouldn't need them."

Dianysia: "Everyone can be allies... Gabi is just an ally we're turning over under duress."

Jefferson Harco: "But when we are free, can we not all be friends?"

Braids: "Heh, I don't like everyone being friends, little not friends here and there is always fun."

Dianysia: "I don't know that Gabi will be free. She's an assassin."
Dianysia: "No, little not friends here and there equals kindapped, accused, proving self and eviction."

Torie: "I'd hope she wont be free," Torie said as the group came close, "Ahh Dianysia, good to see you again," while she still held the sword to Gabi's throat.

Jefferson Harco does not enters the room but walks past and leans upon the door frame.

Braids: Turning to Dianysia, "Aha, now I know your name."

Dianysia: "Yeah, though most just call me Dia, or princess, or sweetie, though the latter causes fighting."

Jefferson Harco snickers after hearing the last two....

Braids: "Okay sweetie," Braids says with a grin.

Dianysia wonders how Braids would look cooked medium well.
Dianysia: "Yeah, with the sweetie... not a good idea... You may not understand, but don't call me that."

Torie: "Would someone untie her feet?" Torie says, "I'd like to get rid of her soon."

Dianysia: "Yeah, uh, no. Let's NOT get rid of her, eh?"

Jefferson Harco is yelling into the room over his shoulder...
Jefferson Harco: Are we gonna take her back now?

Braids: Braids just shrugs, "Picky picky aren't we Princess, well I guess I should wait at least a week before I annoy you, but I think you will be like Rudy, or Randy, he hated both of those."

Dianysia: Hated both of what?

Braids: "Rudy or Randy, he hated his nicknames..."

Dianysia: "No, you see... not having to do with hating nicknames, just assorted associations with said nicknames."

Jefferson Harco: E- "Its time we get going..."

Dianysia: "Why?"

Jefferson Harco: E- "the faster we return Gabi, then the faster this spell is killed.

Braids: "Ahh, well thats ok deary, I am Ameae Shaowin the Second, or Braids as most people know me," Braids says with a smile

Torie: "Can we remember to speak common please?" Torie says, still watching over Gabi.

Dianysia: "Ah, I've heard that name before..."

Braids: "Really?"

Dianysia: "Yeah... rumors, nothing else..."

Jefferson Harco is attempting to assert his masculinity by pulling Gabi towards the exit of the room...
Jefferson Harco: "We take her back, and go from there..."

Braids: "Didn't know I was that popular..."

DM: yeah, Gabi is doing NOTHING to help you, Jeff... she is obviously awake, and is intentionally keeping herself limp, complete dead weight

Dianysia: "Uh, yeah... let's not go pulling people around like that... besides, there's something upstairs."

Torie: "Whats up stairs?"

Jefferson Harco: "Something? like what?"

Dianysia: "Your IQ's maybe," Dia says irritably.

Jefferson Harco: "OK then we go upstairs. Let's just get moving."

Torie: "Jeff, stay with your charge, I will help you, I don't think we all need to go, Dia, Braids, you'll be fine on your own?"

Jefferson Harco: "First things first...no spliting up...
Jefferson Harco: "We all go up or we all go down..."

Braids: "Well, I think it makes sense... if we all go up we have to bring the Gabsters with us..."

Dianysia ignores, and heads upstairs, not caring what anyone else is doing by this point.

Braids: Turns to follow Dianysia, and comes up beside her, "So what have you heard about me?"

Jefferson Harco: "Grab Gabi, lets go.

DM: right, so... this time, the stairs don't stop at a quarter turn, as they did previously... but continue up for quite a while... the ceiling remains a constant 8 ft. above the staircase, a constant 5-ft. wide... and there's lots of the nifty little lights on the way up...
DM: and after climbing for a bit, you finally come to a landing, fronted by a solid metal door, looks a lot like iron, leading towards the center of the tower, more stairs heading up... the door has a pentagon inscribed on it, with some strange rune in the center of the pentagon

Torie: "Well Gabi just me and you," Torie says, moving to the cot, and sitting down and watching over the woman again.

Braids: Braids walks up to the Pentagon and begins to examine it, looking over it for anything special.

Jefferson Harco: hmm...that set of stairs was about 1.5 turns...

Dianysia: "Is that odd?"

Jefferson Harco: not really just long

Dianysia: "Maybe we missed an entrance somewhere.... we can check on the way back."
Dianysia: ((Does the door have a handle or anything?))

DM: yes, has a handle, and a lock
DM: or rather, a keyhole

Dianysia checks if it is locked.

DM: yes, it's locked

Jefferson Harco: yeah that's what im thinking, one level was just 1/4 turn, and we went 1.5, that means we could have skipped over 6 possible other levels...

Braids: Braids, seeing the interest in opening the door, brings her focus to the lock, pulling a couple of wire like things that had been hidden in braids in her hair, until it becomes obvious that she is pulling out a set of lock picking tools, and starts to work on the lock.

DM: you fail to make any headway with the lock (and can tell that you're not making any progress), but it DOES produce a reaction...
DM: A disembodied voice, male, speaks from nowhere as you start messing with the lock. "This door has been sealed by order of the Patriarch, for the good of all creation. Leave now, or become eternal enemy to the Church."

Braids: "No thanks," Braids says, as she continues to fumble with the lock.

Dianysia: "Great... Don't have enough enemies here... Now we have to piss off the one constant..."

Braids: "If I listened to every disembodied voice... I probably wouldn't... you know I wouldn't be here, maybe listening to them has some benefit, I'd be in that little town still..."
Braids: (still working on the lock)

Dianysia doesn't respond.

Braids: "Ok, thats not working, lets try option number two," Braids says, "Give me a minute, I think I can get this door open," and she focuses her attention on the door around the lock, and says, "Arca desion seithal."

Dianysia: "Does this also include fire?"

Braids: Shakes her head, but then nods her head, still focusing on the door.

Dianysia continues to the next floor, not looking forward to being blown up by an indecisive variant rogue.

Braids: Breaks her concentration after 18 or so seconds, and then focusing on the exact same place, and says "Arca desion reithal."
Braids: Again, she waits 18 seconds or so, and then sets down her pack, pulling out a hammer, and starts to bang away on the lock portion of the door.

DM: the hammer bounces off with a nice ringing blow... but appears to have absolutely no other effect

Braids: "Hmm, that normally works... any other ideas?"

Jefferson Harco: not sure.....
Jefferson Harco: I'm gonna check the stairwell maybe find a door because that was a long walk...

DM: ahh, the inside wall on the stairs... yeah, find nothing in your search
DM: nothing except nice well-fitted stone & mortar, that is

Braids: "I guess I can get a knock spell ready..."
Braids: "It would take all day though..."

Jefferson Harco: ok i keep searching all the way down the stairs.

Braids: "Well I guess I could just try and heat it up until it softens," she says, then turns back towards the lock and says "Arca desion reithal"

DM: searching down to the rooms below doesn't reveal anything

Jefferson Harco: back up the stairs....
Jefferson Harco: "I got nothing from the stairs. Did you search the door got and hard?

Braids: Waves her hand at Jeff, as she focuses on the door, which is obviously getting very very hot.
Braids: Especially around the lock

Jefferson Harco: "What is it?"

DM: in a little more than a quarter minute, the metal has gotten cherry red

Braids: "Thats about as hot as I can get it, lets see what kind of damage I can do now," she says, taking her hammer again, and tightening her leather gloves, before slamming the hammer as hard as she can against the hot metal, as often as she can.

DM: you manage to put a decent little dent into the metal, but not much more

Braids: "Making progess," Braids says.
Braids: "Hopefully one more time," she says before focusing on the door, and saying "Arca desion reithal"

Jefferson Harco is searching around the landing for the entire time she is playing a very creative nicky nine doors...

DM: another bit of denting... can't tell how much (or how little) internal damage there may or may not be...

Braids: Braids pushes on the door, seeing if she has made any progress

DM: searching the landing finds nothing
DM: other than the door

Jefferson Harco: hmm...search the door.

DM: you find... a door... with a somewhat dented & battered lock... and probably slightly annoy the young lady working on bashing in the door while you're searching it

Jefferson Harco: oh hey a lady, i attempt to bash in the part that is already been worked.
Jefferson Harco: "Should I just keep bashing it while you keep doing whatever your doing?"

Braids: "Not unless you like being burned, but at this point, I can't heat it up any more," and with that said, she starts just wailing on the lock with the hammer in hopes that the heating has weakened the metal just enough to crack it.

DM: all hits bounce off to no apparent effect
DM: it doesn't even seem to budge

Jefferson Harco: i run up the stairs that continue up

Jefferson Harco: Hey what you doing dangling in the roof Dia

Dianysia: "What? Oh, come on up."

Jefferson Harco: ok i climb up.

Dianysia: "This is what I'm doing up here," Dia replies, signalling the view about her as she takes a moment to look up from her spell book.

Jefferson Harco sits beside her, staring blankly into the view, trying to figure out why hot dogs come in packs of 12 but buns come in packs of ten...
Jefferson Harco: "oh....I see...." *quite obvious he doesn't know what you're doing up here...*

Dianysia: "I saw the way you treated Gabi aback there. You seem to be the only other one who really wants her to make good on a second chance... may I ask why?"

Jefferson Harco: Second Chances come so rarely, I figure if I start giving people a second chance, maybe they won't all have the same fate my family did.

Braids: Braids takes a small bead from a pouch, which matches some of her other hair ornaments, and says, "Incultis" and then begins to focus on it for about a minute, then begins to chant 'Intulisus gortulis' over and over softly for about thirty minutes.

Dianysia: "What do you mean by that? About your family, I mean."

Jefferson Harco: "Well, my family was killed, because they were rich. And I was spared, because I hid.... I lost everything, I went from being the heir of a fortune to nothing, i thought life was over, but then i was given a second chance, and I made this vow.

Dianysia: "Killed because they were rich?"

Jefferson Harco: I vowed to only keep the memories of my friends and family, while giving up every other material goods. I did not want my second chance to be wasted, so now i use it to help others.
Jefferson Harco: they were rich and powerful, they took everything that ever ment anything to me, my family, my money, and my possessions...
Jefferson Harco: *parents were rich and powerful, killed by bandits who took eveyrthing.
Jefferson Harco: I thought my life was over, but a man named Harco showed me that not everything in life that is important was taken from me.
Jefferson Harco: he showed me that something like this, as tragic as it is, can only make me stronger, but only if i let it.

Dianysia: "Your memories and values....hence your vow."

Jefferson Harco: If i make it take me down, then weak would i be...yeah...that's my vow.
Jefferson Harco: So I want to make use of this second chance, so far It has done me good. but now it is my turn to pay it forward,and i thought i could today with Gabi....

Dianysia: "It sounds like she'd have to give up what's important to her to work with us... her own ethics and values.'

Jefferson Harco: Yeah, it is a tough pill to swallow, but sometimes its for the best....even if it doesn't seem like it.

Dianysia: "Don't take it to heart, Jeff. Surely you didn't think she's going to be happy about this. Besides, I doubt she'll make it through it regardless.

Jefferson Harco: "I would still like to see if i can help her out."
Jefferson Harco: Murderer or not, she still should be given a second chance... maybe a spell can make her do good like we are."
Jefferson Harco: "Although I had everything taken from me in an instance, she would be willing giving up everything, which must be harder..."

DM: right, dia & braids, both done w/ your long-time projects

Dianysia finishes studying her spell book and heads down to the aforementioned upper door

Braids: Braids stands up, looks at the door, and says, "I win!"
Braids: Braids holds the bead in front of her says "Intulisis gortulis!" at the door, and creates an image of the stone around the lock warping and spreading out, creating a hole in the door jam around where the lock bolt would be.
Braids: (Its a 5 foot long, 2 foot thick incisen next to the lock)

DM: okay... the stone just slowly "melts away" from the area described... you can feel a great bit of resistance to the spell however, something similar to spell resistance but not quite the same
DM: and dia, what's your plan w/ the other door?

Dianysia is trying to see if she finds any weak spot in the stone around the door.

DM: Dia, no weak spots you can detect

DM: Braids, you've exposed the lock mechanism, it's a fairly simple deadbolt, and there doesn't APPEAR to be anything keeping the door from swinging open at this point

Braids: Braids says finally, and pushes the door open.

DM: the door swings inwards, and you're presented with a nice 10-ft. wide hallway stretching away into the distance, several doors on either side... you can also see through the hole you've created a small room... it's actually unlit, unlike the parts of the tower you've been in before... although as you open the door, the lights start coming on...
DM: as the door swings inwards, you're also presented by a sudden gust of wind, that starts rushing out down the corridor towards you, VERY strong... you can keep pushing the door open, but it's gonna take some effort... which also means Dia, you feel a bit of wind start pushing up the stairs, a small portion of the wind that Braids is feeling... and another voice, apparently the same one, Braids, comes out of midair in the tunnel, barely audible over the rushing of the wind. "This is your last chance. Leave now, or you sign your death warrant."
DM: oh, and Torie, you'd be able to hear some of the effects of the wind as well

Braids: "If I had a platinum peice for everytime someone told me that, I'd be rich enough to not need to be here," Braids shouts back as she pushes against the door.
Braids: (opening the door the rest of the way)

DM: a'ight... the door pushes to rest against the hallway... and you're now inside... but you also realize, as soon as you let go of the door, it's going to go slamming shut again...

Torie: "Heh, seems they've found something," she says, then punches Gabi with the hilt of the sword until she is unconscious again.

Dianysia sighs... let's see what Braids has done now

Torie: Once Gabi is out, Torie tightens the knots, and ties her to the cot on top of her hands and legs, then leaves the room, closing the door, and gets the stinky rope, and closes the door across the hallway, and ties the handle of the door with Gabi in it, to that other door. Then heads up the stairs.

Braids: Once in, Braids takes her hammer, and starts to bang on the deadbolt, hoping to break it off, or prevent it from ever locking again.

DM: okay, holding the door open, you start banging at the deadbolt...
DM: and with the workings of the doors, Dia and Torie would be arriving at similar times... so as you approach the landing, the wind keeps getting stronger... to the point where when you get where you can see Braids banging away at the open door, you're faced with just about as much wind as she is herself...
DM: and Braids, you can't see that your banging is having any effect... other than your hand is a little sore from the ringing of the hammer on the iron deadbolt...

Torie: "What have you done!" Torie shouts over the wind.

Braids: "The tower is mad at me!" Braids says back, then flips the hammer over in her hand, and jams the handle into the space between the door and the jam on the hinge side, hopping to stick the door open.

Dianysia: "Seems it'd be simpler to blockade the door some...

DM: the handle fits, more or less... it's a fairly shaky setup, it'd be laughably easy for anyone to undo... but it feels like it should hold against the wind...
DM: and Dia doesn't notice it, but the other 2 notice the hole that Braids made to get in... is starting to shrink, slowly, but visibly
DM: within 1 minute, if the rate of progress is constant, it will have vanished completely

Braids: "Umm, stone shouldn't be doing that!" Braids shouts

Torie: "What the hell?"
Torie: "Braids, what exactly have you done to this door!"

Braids: "Opened it!" she shouts back with a grin.

Dianysia: "What do you mean what has she done?

Torie: "The hole in the wall... is getting smaller!"

Braids: "The wall seemed to resist as I made it..."

Dianysia: "In or out?

Braids: "I'm going in!"
Braids: With that Braids goes into the room and looks around.

DM: okay, you're in a hallway, similar to the one downstairs that runs the width of the tower... several doors lead off to either side (6 on the right, 5 on the left)... and at the far end are stairs leading both up and down, in curves the same direction as the other stairs (so that they would never cross, and are both against the exterior wall)

Torie: Holds at the door a moment, but then shakes her head and enters the hall way, drawing her sword.