Session 25: Unbolded Title Edition
[16-05:09:29] <[DM]> ----------------------------------------------
[16-05:09:59] <[DM]> Headng down into the caverns was uneventful as the first time, though the rocks were rather too nosy for their own good.
[16-05:10:29] <[DM]> The route was different from the first two times Lien passed through, but the orb guided them perfectly nonetheless.
[16-05:10:56] <[DM]> Before long, the heat returned, drying the air with it's intensity.
[16-05:11:53] <Alyssa> "If we have any wet laundry, this is a great place." Alyssa looks around
[16-05:13:50] <Zeni> Zeni had quite obviously thought that Ellis and Lien had been overreacting about the heat, "Geeze... Why didn't we sleep down here? I mean not right here here, but a little further up and it would've been so pleasant~" She gets to work investigating just a touch more.
[16-05:18:29] <Zeni> Zeni peeks down towards the flickering rocks, but... prefers to not explore in that direction, ending up just heading towards the gate. "Okay. So..." she takes her staff back from their elven... elfen... elven.... elfen guide, watching for any changes as she does so. "Are we ready to go?"
[16-05:18:57] <Lien> "We're not getting any readier."
[16-05:19:03] <Alyssa> Alyssa takes a fresh grip on her weapon and nods.
[16-05:21:51] <Ellis> "Go for it." Ellis glances around out of habit. Just because nothing in the cave has tried to kill them yet...
[16-05:23:04] <Zeni> Zeni leads the others back a short ways before twirling her staff in her usual showy way and beginning science! She creates a mere bolt of fire and sends it sailing at the gate.
[16-05:27:10] <[DM]> The pillars drink in the heat, but remain the same.
[16-05:32:01] <Zeni> "Hm~ Well! There's no kill quite like overkill~ Stay back." The little sorceress steps forward and incants that new spell again, innumerable spears of flame coalescing in the air above her before sliding together into one immense lance, making the heat in the cavern even more unbearable. She sends it sailing towards the gate. :<
[16-05:34:25] <[DM]> The spears fade away before they impact. The silence of the earth is broken by a deep vibration, as Riathelle takes a moment to make sure that Zeni isn't shooting any more, to check the pillars.
[16-05:35:22] <[DM]> After a moment, she steps aside "You may pass through."
[16-05:36:58] <Zeni> Zeni shivers ever so slightly, as if she actually didn't want to hear those words. "W-Well then. Lien, lead the way?"
[16-05:37:50] <Lien> Lien makes a face and leads the way without argument.
[16-05:39:23] <Zeni> Zeni stows her staff inside her bag of holding, "Well... we didn't hear any screams of agony from the other side. Yet. Who's next?"
[16-05:40:15] <Alyssa> Alyssa follows the party.
[16-05:40:39] <Zeni> And, after a few more moments hesitance, they go through the portal. Withthehorses.
[16-05:42:06] <[DM]> The orb's light is almost blinding here, the cave here rough crags of golden metal, leading away in a tunnel. The heat is intense, painfully so.
[16-05:42:31] <[DM]> Riathelle stumbles through last, not enthused about heading into the unknown.
[16-05:47:34] <Zeni> The one-two punch of intense heat and gooooold widen Zeni's eyes like never before, then quickly start to dry them out. "Eugh... O-Okay, out of this cave and towards the -earthen- side of this plane... I guess we're even closer to the fire side than I thought."
[16-05:47:43] <[DM]> The oppressive heat saps strength away rapidly, though Zeni and Ellis, possibly from overexposure to fire, are merely sweating heavily instead of feeling drained.
[16-05:48:17] <Zeni> She knows better than to get excited by gold in such a place. Slightly better. Ever. So. Slightly.
[16-05:49:42] <Lien> "Yeah, quickly. Where to?"
[16-05:49:58] <Alyssa> Alyssa begins panting.
[16-05:50:15] <Zeni> Zeni grabs up the orb and heads onward, "Out!"
[16-05:51:44] <Zeni> To be cleeear she also has out her old plane wolden arcane focus.
[16-05:51:56] <Ellis> Already feeling the heat, Ellis hurries after Zeni.
[16-05:54:18] <[DM]> Further down the cave of metal, the heat continues unabated, though the metal changes from golden to a more reddish shade as they move onwards, leading into a small cavern with a smooth silvery column of metal in the middle, rising through a hole in the ceiling. Two other tunnels lead away, one descending, the other turning right out of sight.
[16-05:56:20] <Zeni> Zeni blinks in confusion, then quickly heads for the cave turning right.... but then thinks better of it. "Gaauuu, is up and down still the same thing here?! Oof..." She experimentally checks a few feet down each cave to see which is cooler...
[16-06:02:21] <Zeni> Zeni only seems more confused after heading down the downward path. She pauses for a few seconds as her mental cogs spin and whirr, finally clicking, "This way. For now. Ithink..."
[16-06:04:39] <Ellis> Ellis can't feel any difference between the paths, but she follows anyway, trusting Zeni on matters of heat.
[16-06:05:18] <Zeni> The little half-elf experimentally takes a step -onto the wall- of the cave as she continues on. Finding purchase, she just continues on walking on the wall, peeking over her shoulder with a small smirk to make sure the others noticed.
[16-06:06:42] <Zeni> Her hair seems to follow her own personal bubble of gravity, twin tails still hanging towards her feet.
[16-06:09:13] <Lien> Lien doesn't seem to find it very amusing.
[16-06:11:17] <Ellis> Ellis' eyebrows fly up. It's not the weirdest thing she's seen traveling with this group, though. It's probably not even the weirdest thing she's seen this week. "Is that a new trick of yours?"
[16-06:12:06] <Alyssa> Alyssa rolls her eyes.
[16-06:12:23] <Zeni> "Nope, just the nature of this place... Try it yourself."
[16-06:13:48] <Lien> Lien, who at least can run along walls, tries it walking instead.
[16-06:13:51] <Zeni> "It's what I meant about 'up and down' possibly not being the same thing, the fact we've always comfortably taken for granite."
[16-06:16:12] <Zeni> the same thing they've always been*
[16-06:21:38] <[DM]> 'Down' the tunnel the heat seems to intensify, as the walls go from reddish to silvery.
[16-06:22:19] <Zeni> Annnnnnd as the heat intensifies, Zeni turns on her heels and starts heading back the way they came.
[16-06:23:22] <Ellis> "Should the ground be getting...softer?" Ellis frowns.
[16-06:24:13] <Zeni> Zeni shudders at a thought, "Sinking into molten metal doesn't sound fun. Let's check the other way first..."
[16-06:29:59] <[DM]> The other tunnel winds onwards, and the walls appear to be some grey metal, scarred and cracked.
[16-06:30:15] <[DM]> The heat is no less oppressive here, but at least it's not getting any worse.
[16-06:30:40] <[DM]> Rubble litters the entire passage.
[16-06:30:48] <Zeni> "This way seems a bit better. Scarred and cracked is what I expect of the earthen side."
[16-06:38:08] <[DM]> *Click*
[16-06:38:29] <[DM]> Zeni's boots contacts a pebble, which bounces off, striking sparks.
[16-06:38:54] <[DM]> There is a bare moment before instincts honed by a lifetime of making explosions that she REALLY should get out of the way.
[16-06:39:10] <[DM]> Then the tunnel ahead explodes.
[16-06:39:46] <Zeni> Her eyes widen, stopping in her tracks. Then blinking. A lot.
[16-06:40:24] <[DM]> Streaks of sparks run out in lines, expanding as they strike pebbles and bounce, forming a crisscrossing pattern of exploding lines, as pebbles are flung into the air...and slam down HARD into the nearest surface, exploding again.
[16-06:40:48] <[DM]> Fortunately, Zeni and Lien got out of the way before the pebble storm reached unavoidable levels.
[16-06:41:15] <[DM]> Each bounce, is a flash of brilliant, blinding white light.
[16-06:41:44] <Zeni> Zeni turns on her heels with the loudest sigh she can muster. "Okay. The other way seems better, then."
[16-06:41:46] <[DM]> After a moment, the storm dies down, to an acrid smell as the explosions burn out.
[16-06:42:27] <Lien> "...Can it explode again after exploding or is it burned out now?"
[16-06:43:34] <Zeni> Zeni stops... turns back around and takes a closer look.
[16-06:48:06] <Zeni> "Oof... Okay, so this tunnel is raw magnesium. And the gravity is such that shuffling pebbels around can cause sparks... So we can continue this way if none of us do anything stupid, like try to jump." The sorceress drags a more tattered up blanket out of her bag of holding and starts to cut it up with a dagger, wrapping two bits of it around her boots before offering scraps to the others. "Alternatively we could try igniting all the magnesium...." she looks to Lien with such a cheerful smile, "But I imagine someone might not like taking such chances?"
[16-06:48:43] <Lien> "So no."
[16-06:50:04] <Zeni> She head tilts, "'No' to which part? Would you rather head down towards elemental fire?"
[16-06:51:35] <Alyssa> "Raw magnesium means after ignition there's nothing left for us to walk on yes?"
[16-06:51:48] <Lien> "What about the third way there?"
[16-06:52:02] <Zeni> "Well, there has to be something under the magnesium.... And what third way?"
[16-06:52:05] <Lien> "The one that went up, with the pole."
[16-06:52:58] <Zeni> Zeni blinks, "I thought that column filled its hole tightly.... Am I wrong?"
[16-06:53:13] <Lien> "Looked big enough to go through, in a pinch."
[16-06:53:40] <Zeni> Zeni siiighs and starts heading back there.
[16-06:53:43] <Lien> "I didn't think we could go up there, but since we can walk on walls here..."
[16-06:58:07] <Zeni> And so the party tries walking up the silver column. :<
[16-06:58:35] <[DM]> The column, as it turns out, is no less hot than the tunnel leading down, though thankfully the metal seems to be some kind of steel.
[16-06:59:23] <[DM]> The party's boots begins to smoulder slightly as they step onto the column.
[16-07:01:24] * Alyssa (KiwiIRC94BA2BB7.CB48A196.6339BCF.IP) Quit (Quit: Leaving)
[16-07:01:48] * Alyssa (~anonymous94BA2BB7.CB48A196.6339BCF.IP) has joined #CrackOfDawn
[16-07:01:52] <Lien> "So we've got one path that gets hot enough to melt the walls a little, one path that will explode all around us if we mess up, and one path that has a really hot column?"
[16-07:03:51] <Zeni> Once walking far enough up the column, Zeni attempts an odd acrobatic maneuver to jump to the wall going along the column, making sure she does this infront of Lien and Ellis so that she can be caught. :<
[16-07:06:03] <[DM]> Zeni jumps...but before reaching the walls, she finds herself growing immensely heavier as soon as she leaves the column...and barely orients herself in time to land on the column feet first.
[16-07:06:31] <[DM]> It's painful, but it beats slamming into something that hot face first.
[16-07:06:48] <Lien> Lien just jogs back down the column and walks up the walls instead. "This way's our best bet, I think."
[16-07:07:25] <Zeni> Zeni sighs and lazily reaches towards Lien from the column. ;<
[16-07:07:43] <Lien> Lien looks at her, without reacting.
[16-07:08:40] <Lien> "What do you want?"
[16-07:08:44] <Ellis> Ellis follows Lien along the slightly more sensible route, inasmuch as going this way was sensible at all.
[16-07:09:04] <Zeni> "Drag me to that side already! .v."
[16-07:10:08] <Zeni> "... Please."
[16-07:10:35] <Lien> "You know just walking is easier, right?" She reaches out anyway. If Zeni absolutely has to do it the impractical way...
[16-07:10:44] <[DM]> Also, unnoticed, Vanilla checks out the pillar with a paw, then scampers back up Zeni.
[16-07:11:12] <Alyssa> Alyssa follows
[16-07:11:44] <[DM]> Zeni feels ridiculously heavy as her feet leaves the pillar, and then suddenly she's falling towards Lien.
[16-07:11:50] <Zeni> Zeni huffs and takes Lien's hand with both of hers, before taking a tiny hop.
[16-07:15:42] <Lien> Lien grabs Zeni as she falls and catches her in a solid carry with her arms under the half-elf's shoulders and knees.
[16-07:18:43] <Zeni> Zeni briefly panics as she falls, even letting out a soft cry, reacting little as Lien finesses the catch only to instantly growl and flail after ending up held like that! "B-Bad, why!? Bad, dumb oafff!" She struggles her way down and, if she manages to get there, stomps her way up the wall.
[16-07:19:25] <Lien> Lien unceremoniously dumps her on her feet as soon as Zeni starts struggling. "You wanted to be caught."
[16-07:20:32] <Ellis> Ellis buries her face in her hands. "We're all going to die."
[16-07:20:57] <Zeni> "If I wanted to be caught like that, I'd have reached for Ellis! Gaauuuu...." Stomp stomp~ At least these walls aren't raw magnesium, right?
[16-07:21:40] <[DM]> The heat is unrelenting as the tunnel continues upwards, though the metal of the ground changed from reddish gold to dark grey, while above their heads, the steel column grows nearer and nearer.
[16-07:21:57] <[DM]> After a long walk, the ground cools significantly.
[16-07:22:22] <[DM]> No longer metal, but crystal veined with metal.
[16-07:23:13] <[DM]> There is a slithering noise ahead.
[16-07:24:24] <[DM]> Looking forward, the column continues on through the air into the distance, while the tunnel ends in a cavern opening, a bluish purple light cascading through the now pure crystal tunnel.
[16-07:25:19] <Zeni> Zeni's sigh of relief over the relenting temperature would quickly be silenced as she heard that sound, signaling the others to stop. "Oaf...? Seeing any better now?"
[16-07:27:45] <Lien> "My eyes still feel like they're being roasted, so no."
[16-07:29:46] <Zeni> "Well... Back to the column or do we want to explore this area? I'm not sure what to make of it, this certainly wasn't what I was expecting."
[16-07:30:23] <Lien> "Well... at least it's cooler, so we might be on the right path? Ish?"
[16-07:30:27] <Zeni> "The way the magnesium was, was more what I expected. With a surface. A dry one."
[16-07:30:51] <[DM]> The temperature seems to rise again, as they talk, a red glow visible through the crystal moving towards the tunnel.
[16-07:31:07] <Zeni> Zeni sighs, "Yeah. Well, hope that sound isn't anything too ominous--...."
[16-07:31:38] <Ellis> "You had to say it," murmurs Ellis, squinting off into the distance.
[16-07:31:48] <Lien> Lien groans.
[16-07:32:59] <Zeni> The little one sighs and shifts behind Lien. "Well. I won't be able to do much to this thing... And Alyssa, don't bother activating the sword, it's immune to fire if it is what I think it is..."
[16-07:33:11] <Alyssa> Alyssa shrugs.
[16-07:33:51] <Ellis> "It's...some sort of serpent? But it has arms. And a big weapon." Ellis frowns.
[16-07:33:55] <Lien> "What are the odds it'll leave us alone if it is what you think it is?"
[16-07:35:13] <Zeni> Zeni perks up just a little bit, "Well it isn't what I thought it waaas... Hm."
[16-07:38:21] <Ellis> "A salamander, actually. Tough, usually a bit arrogant. Probably won't speak any mortal language." Ellis grimaces. "Not a very good thing to tangle with in close quarters."
[16-07:40:17] <[DM]> A vaguely reptilian head pops up over the lip of the tunnel, hissing and crackling as it's colors shift through shades of red.
[16-07:40:22] <Zeni> "If only that staff were a staff of frost afterall. Welp~ I doubt it wants to talk, so good luck peoples! I'll be cheering for you!"
[16-07:41:06] <[DM]> It's glowing body becomes visible as it looms over the tunnel entrance, filling most of the space.
[16-07:42:19] <Lien> Lien bites back something about letting Zeni and the salamander talk it out as kindred spirits.
[16-07:42:21] <[DM]> The red lights shift as it stares at the party, toying with the large smouldering hammer.
[16-07:43:20] <Ellis> "I think the glow is its way of talking. I don't speak it, but..."
[16-07:43:51] <Zeni> "I think it said it wants to cuddle!"
[16-07:43:57] <Zeni> She's very confident in this.
[16-07:46:34] <Ellis> "No, it's just surprised. I think we interrupted its work - see the hammer? It's smithing something."
[16-07:51:07] <Zeni> Zeni sighs, "Well... I guess we could try communicating back?" Zeni quickly incants a cantrip, lighting the tip of her arcane focus and quickly incanting yet another cantrip to cool the flame enough not to damage it much. She then experimentally shifts through hues, hoping not to accidentally say something terrible just yet, then once more comfortable.... "<Hi! You smith? Show us you smith, we show brighter. Brighter item. Brightest.>"
[16-07:52:03] <[DM]> It gives Zeni a very very odd look, then slithers away slowly, casting a look back.
[16-07:54:19] <Ellis> "That's a good sign. Probably. It's a little weirded out by you, but I think it wants us to follow for a proper discussion. As best we can have one, anyway."
[16-07:54:58] <Zeni> Zeni lets out a most arrogant huff before following after the thing, giving it a lot of room. "I'll have it coiling about my fingers soon enough~"
[16-07:55:06] <Lien> "Does that mean we might get to rest, too?"
[16-07:55:11] <Zeni> "... That would probably hurt. A lot."
[16-07:55:30] <Zeni> "Why rest here? The air is still as hot and dry as before..."
[16-07:58:47] <Lien> "Not as much as it was down there."
[16-08:03:04] <Lien> With the matter of relative temperature settled, the party follows the salamander!
[16-08:03:51] <[DM]> Following the Salamander, the heat remains relentless as they cross the large crystalline cavern, , heading for a side tunnel while the creature snarls out some kind of harsh clipped words.
[16-08:04:37] <[DM]> Interestingly, crystalline columns rise out of the ground here, leaving vision poor, but here and there niches can be seen carved out of the platforms.
[16-08:06:20] <[DM]> The salamander slithers on, then up a ramp, into a small cave cut into a pillar, as a raven flaps into the cave. Within are a number of scaled leather clad shelves, of a wide range of sizes, as the salamander settles onto one of the larger, glowering at the bird, which perches in the middle.
[16-08:07:08] <[DM]> The bird snaps out responses in the same clipped tongue, before turning it's gaze to the party.
[16-08:10:07] <Zeni> Zeni remains at the entrance to the cave, looking a touch disgusted as she glares at the bird. "Another wise one..." She raises her flaming arcane focus and attempts a little more communication, "<Smith? Hammer? We am very need big spoon. Powerful spoon. The powerfulest.>" She hasn't grasped fire-speak very well yet....
[16-08:11:12] <[DM]> The bird, surprisingly enough,, snorts in Common, "Oh give it a rest, mortals. Your pitiful attempts to speak my master's tongue is just painful to watch."
[16-08:11:33] <Lien> Lien checks if it's safe to do so before taking a seat somewhere that's as not-too-hot as possible while still following the conversation.
[16-08:11:54] <[DM]> The seat is surprisingly, actually cool, somehow.
[16-08:12:19] <[DM]> Relative to the whole place at any rate, since it's about as warm as her skin.
[16-08:13:06] <[DM]> It spits out a brief exchange in the unknown language, "Your praises are effusive, but quite excessive for a first meeting."
[16-08:15:36] <[DM]> "Now, the important question, wanderers."
[16-08:15:42] <[DM]> "What the fuck are you doing here?"
[16-08:15:45] <Zeni> The little half-elf flusters out of embarrassment, glaring a bit harder at the bird. "I imagined that'd be coming. I don't talk to servants though, Lien! Tell the feather brained scrap of flesh over there that we wish to inquire whether this 'master' is a smith or not!"
[16-08:16:03] <Lien> "Talking to people through other people is rude."
[16-08:16:48] <[DM]> The bird bristles.
[16-08:17:24] <Zeni> Zeni disregards whether Lien follows along or not, standing tall and confidently. Arrogantly.
[16-08:17:36] <[DM]> It jabbers with the salamander in the other language again.
[16-08:18:01] <Lien> "And insulting someone who can tell his master you said whatever he wants is..." She doesn't say stupid. But she's thinking it.
[16-08:18:59] <Zeni> "A servant had better obey its master's desire for translation unless it wishes to see itself incinerated."
[16-08:19:23] <Ellis> Ellis grimaces. "Maybe we should save this discussion for later?"
[16-08:20:18] <[DM]> The group loses track of the bird for a moment....
[16-08:22:31] <[DM]> Zeni abruptly feels a sharp beak pierce her in the collar bone, and a burning heat from the wound as the bird flaps past her and back to it's perch, the salamander dismissively still at it's shelf.
[16-08:23:51] <Alyssa> Alyssa sighs. "We have arrived here to escape pursuit, and also to decide the final fate of a certain cursed item."
[16-08:26:17] <Zeni> Zeni cringes as the blow lands, but after a moments weakness, manages to remain standing tall. Simmering.
[16-08:27:15] <[DM]> The bird watches Zeni, licking it's bloodied beak slowly.
[16-08:27:52] <Lien> In spite of everything, Lien flinches when the bird spears Zeni and moves to check on the wound.
[16-08:28:04] <Alyssa> Alyssa regards the bird with serious eyes.
[16-08:28:20] <Ellis> Ellis' hands fly to her crossbows, but when Zeni doesn't explode in retaliation, some of the tension leaves her.
[16-08:29:18] <Alyssa> "Pardon my companion." Alyssa follows up
[16-08:32:35] <Lien> Checking the wound for anything unusual, Lien whispers to Zeni, "Maybe it wants you to apologize?"
[16-08:34:24] <Zeni> Zeni simmers, quietly growling, getting louder and louder. "Alright. That won't be tolerated." She grabs up her staff of elemental water and quickly incants a spell. Ellis would suddenly explode with vigor while Lien might just feel a touch more normal than she has been. "Grind that little shit into paste for me. We'll figure out the salamander in a moment."
[16-08:35:21] <Lien> Lien frowns. "You provoked the raven, so no."
[16-08:36:03] <Alyssa> Alyssa inspects her nails.
[16-08:36:06] <[DM]> The raven looks at the party, then gabbles further to the Salamander.
[16-08:36:09] <[DM]> "Weak"
[16-08:36:22] <[DM]> "Slaves you will be!"
[16-08:36:35] <Lien> "What."
[16-08:36:45] <Alyssa> Alyssa perks up at the word Slave. Last Blood ignites as she takes two swipes at the fucking bird.
[16-08:37:40] <Ellis> Ellis swears profusely, completing her draw this time.
[16-08:41:56] <Alyssa> While swinging, Alyssa's hateful gaze pierces into the bird, enveloping it with her curse.
[16-08:42:42] <[DM]> The first blow meets curiously resistant flesh.
[16-08:43:26] <[DM]> The second rips the bird in half, revealing a bat winged creature as it boils away into a cloud of smoke.
[16-08:50:43] <Lien> Seeing the salamander is moving to attack in spite of the bird being destroyed, Lien lunges forward to spear its chest with her staff's butt with blinding speed, an immediate about-face from her reaction to Zeni's order.
[16-08:53:26] <[DM]> Lien's blow sends a wave of heat back at her, burning her hands slightly, but it seems the elemental's pressure points still are close to the same spot. It reels.
[16-08:54:42] <Lien> It connects with a crack of thunder that booms all the louder for the enclosed space, and Lien flinches away from the heat, hopping back and twirling the staff before arresting its motion in a thrust towards the salamander. A lightning bolt jumps from the staff to the point she hit on its chest.
[16-08:55:58] <Ellis> Ellis has no particular desire to get closer to the salamander. Under Zeni's spell, she manages to get four shots off before the thunderclap has stopped ringing in her ears.
[16-08:56:07] <[DM]> The lightning rips through the elemental, causing flames to bleed from the creature.
[16-09:02:04] <Lien> As Ellis's bolts hit the salamander, Lien stares it down, her thinking invigorated by the spell, if nothing else. "He's submitting. Or trying to, if he could move."
[16-09:02:59] <Zeni> "Isn't that too bad?" Zeni raises her tentacle rod up high, "Being so weak is so unforunate, isn't it?"
[16-09:03:40] <Alyssa> "If it truly wishes to stop fighting us, I am willing to end my hostilities. Slaver or not, I'll not stop to its level."
[16-09:04:11] <Zeni> "Beat it to within an inch of its life first. Then we'll see what it's willing to offer."
[16-09:04:46] <Alyssa> "It has to drop it's weapon first."
[16-09:04:47] <Lien> "He's already close."
[16-09:11:11] <Lien> Seeing Zeni strike out too late to stop her outright, Lien frowns and lowers the sorceress's staff with hers. "He's already giving up." Virtue of Zeni's spell, she gives her a bop on the head that looks painfully fast on the outside but slows down to be barely noticable on contact.
[16-09:12:15] <[DM]> After a moment, the paralysis fades and the enormous hammer slams into the ground.
[16-09:12:29] <[DM]> The Salamander goes fully prostrate.
[16-09:13:02] <Alyssa> "Do you have any slaves?" Alyssa asks in both Common and Abyssal.
[16-09:13:07] <Zeni> Zeni growls... but lowers her staff and rod, "Fine. And you idiots would really do better listening to me a little more, I was obviously acting! I'm not usually -that- rude... Often." The little sorceress takes a quick look around the place, searching for metal shackles.
[16-09:14:40] <Lien> It sure fooled Lien. Unsure how to follow up without an interpreter ready, Lien places her foot and the prongs of her staff on the hammer and looks around.
[16-09:14:54] <[DM]> The room is bare, aside from the shelves, as the creature glances up at Lien.
[16-09:16:04] <Zeni> Seeing nothing of use, Zeni stomps up to the prostrated Salamander, not so subtly taking a detout to hide partially behind Lien. She lights up her arcane focus again, signing~
[16-09:16:41] <[DM]> The Salamander looks at Zeni in clear puzzlement.
[16-09:16:45] <Lien> She looks back, but she has no idea how to communicate with it. The lighting wasn't too successful before, but it's not like she's got anything better.
[16-09:17:30] <Zeni> She points at Alyssa, pointing the flame at her sword, "<Smith!!!>" She points at the hammer, "<Hammer!!!>"
[16-09:18:43] <Alyssa> Alyssa moves to the shelves and starts searching.
[16-09:19:05] <Lien> With no other resort, Lien tries the one other language she knows, Sylvan, not that she expects results.
[16-09:19:07] <[DM]> The shelves are as bare of anything as the leather covers were.
[16-09:19:50] <[DM]> Sylvan gives as little results.
[16-09:20:23] <Zeni> Zeni facepalms.
[16-09:20:27] <Zeni> Zeni facepalms hard.
[16-09:20:47] <Lien> As a shot in the dark, she tries showing the salamander her knots, expecting no more than from her try of the fey language.
[16-09:20:48] <Zeni> She puts away the damn flame and takes out her normal staff, then quickly incants her old illusory spell.
[16-09:21:07] <Zeni> She creates an illusion of an anvil and a hammer striking it, forging a sword.
[16-09:21:17] <[DM]> The salamander frowns(as much as she could tell from it's face)
[16-09:21:48] <[DM]> The illusion got a better result however, as it gets back up and slithers out of the nook, giving Lien a strange look.
[16-09:22:17] <Zeni> Zeni stomps after it, holding her tentacle rod at the ready. |<
[16-09:22:21] <[DM]> It makes some strange gestures.
[16-09:22:29] <Lien> Lien shrugs and follows. So long as it gets results...
[16-09:22:48] <Alyssa> Alyssa picks up the hammer and follows.
[16-09:23:43] <Ellis> "It's...fetching someone?" Ellis frowns. "I think it wants us to wait here."
[16-09:24:33] <Lien> "Oh." Lien slaps her face and shakes her head before reaching for water for the extieth time and drinking deep. "Damn this heat."
[16-09:24:43] <Zeni> "I don't know... why we would ever just wait here."
[16-09:24:47] <[DM]> Constantly casting concerned looks back at the group, it slithers away. Slowly, like it's worried about being misunderstood.
[16-09:26:02] <Ellis> Ellis folds her arms and watches it go patiently.
[16-09:26:19] <Zeni> Zeni stomps after it!.... Till the heat becomes too much, just watching the thing from there. Slowly shuffling back to Ellis's side.
[16-09:27:16] <[DM]> After about an hour's wait, the elemental is back...with a giant crystal spider in tow.
[16-09:27:48] <Alyssa> "What is that?" Alyssa speaks in Common and Abyssal.
[16-09:28:25] <Lien> Lien tries to be as economic as she can with the water while drinking like it's sweetest ambrosia. She abruptly stops when the spider comes in, looking at it with oddly hopeful eyes.
[16-09:28:26] <[DM]> The spider whips out a tiny but complicated looking web.
[16-09:28:31] <Zeni> Zeni stands tall in the face of the new creature! Behind Ellis.
[16-09:31:06] <Lien> Lien leans forward enough to nearly fall off the shelf she's sitting on, then rummages in her things for some strings. She twists and weaves them between her fingers as well as she can to show the spider.
[16-09:33:05] <[DM]> The spider twists the web into a new pattern, hissing at the salamander.
[16-09:35:02] <Lien> Lien chuckles a bit when she squints to read the knots better, then turns back to looking slightly concerned as she weaves a new pattern herself.
[16-09:36:02] <[DM]> The web crisscrosses and loops a little as everyone else looks on.
[16-09:38:47] <Ellis> Ellis glances around a little awkwardly, but the two weavers seem to be getting on alright. It's not like there's much else to do here, and wandering around sounds like a tiring proposition in the heat.
[16-09:40:21] <Lien> After that exchange, Lien speaks up to update the others. "Okay, they can show us a way back." Then, she continues sign-weaving.
[16-09:40:50] <Alyssa> "What about the slaves that the salamander has?"
[16-09:40:58] <Alyssa> "Does he have any magical items?"
[16-09:42:21] <[DM]> A complicated three dimensional knot structure is emerging.
[16-09:50:55] <Lien> Lien takes an increasingly long time reading the more complex patterns and tries her best to keep pace with only two arms and ten fingers. She ends up holding some string between her teeth, too, as a crutch.
[16-09:52:07] <[DM]> The salamander meanwhile seems to be somewhat sulky over at the side.
[16-09:52:15] <[DM]> Possibly from being ignored
[16-09:58:06] <Lien> Lien, meanwhile, is almost meditating now, her hands moving to form responses in thread without taking her eyes off the spider's threads. She might be said to be hanging on the spider's lips if the spider had lips.
[16-09:59:26] <Zeni> Zeni leans against Ellis more and more, matching the rate at which she's getting bored of watching. She eventually wanders off to play patty-cake with the Salamander. From a safe distance.
[16-10:04:39] <[DM]> The salamander does not deign to respond. It looks away in a manner very familiar to Ellis(Zeni having never looked in a mirror)
[16-10:05:56] <Zeni> Zeni growls and quickly crafts an illusion that floods the salamander's vision, showing the two happily playing patty keki together. :<
[16-10:11:57] <Zeni> At a moment when Alyssa is paying the least attention, the half-elf wanders over to Lien and nudges her, disrupting we knot-ing just a tiny bit. "Ne, ne. See if you can pry any info on any weapons we might be able to get for Ellis or Alyssa. A replacement for Alyssa, she'd be more willing to give up that dumb cursed sword so we can destroy it."
[16-10:13:15] <Lien> Lien flinches surprisingly hard as she's jarred out of her concentration and looks quite irked at the interruption, but she starts weaving a new message from scratch.
[16-10:14:25] <Zeni> Zeni smiles.
[16-10:17:45] <[DM]> After a moment the spider stops to hiss at the salamander, in a hurried exchange.
[16-10:23:49] <Lien> On reading the response, Lien says to the others, "The salamander grants one piece from its collection to the victors."
[16-10:26:23] <Zeni> Zeni tilts her head, "Well... What does it have?"
[16-10:27:16] <Lien> "He'll show us, I figure."
[16-10:28:06] <Zeni> "And then we'll kill him off and take everything? He is evil. And a slaver."
[16-10:28:35] <Lien> "Won't stay dead and is apparently the type to keep grudges."
[16-10:29:34] <Zeni> "Ehhhh? Was so sure his kind -did- stay dead... Well, depends on what he has."
[16-10:30:09] <[DM]> The salamander and the spider makes a long exchange, seemingly agitated.
[16-10:30:13] <Lien> Lien by now knows better than to comment on that being the deciding factor.
[16-10:33:11] <Lien> "It wants to list the stuff instead of showing it directly, because it's suspicious we might take them all." And it's not exactly wrong to, she doesn't add.
[16-10:34:49] <Zeni> Zeni sighs, "Wellokay. On with the listing then?"
[16-10:35:41] <Lien> She squints and reads the knot-forms off one by one. "Figurine that conjures a messenger bird, ring of protection from the cold, amulet of warding from scrying, javelin that transforms to flames, gauntlets of superior might, and a circlet of blasting flames"
[16-10:39:03] <Zeni> "... But we so badly want all of those things! Uuugh, it's probably that dumb spider stopping him from showing off all his treasures at once, I know his kind..."
[16-10:39:29] <[DM]> Zeni feels the pressure of eight eyes looking at her.
[16-10:39:38] <[DM]> Weaving something.
[16-10:40:56] <[DM]> It looks away.
[16-10:45:46] <Lien> "I'm pretty sure it can at least tell what you mean."
[16-10:49:02] <Zeni> "Then it knows you snitched on it! Oof, but maybe we can trade in the evil sword afterall and get that scrying warding ammy..."
[16-10:49:19] <Zeni> "As well at the weapon for Alyssa, if that would even work for her."
[16-10:50:23] <Lien> "Do we really want to trade that to an evil metalworker?"
[16-10:51:46] <Zeni> "No, but I want that amulet!"
[16-10:56:52] <Lien> Lien hangs her head, sorely tempted to just smash the damn sword right then and there.
[16-11:02:39] <[DM]> --------------------------------------------