[ We find Our Heroes waking up! Except those who had last shift; they've been awake four hours. Ariake was one of those, but she's mysteriously gone as the rest of you awaken. In her place is a halfling. This is not something that commonly happens. ] [ It's cold this 'morning', and you can't tell what time of day it is because you can't see the blessed and blessing sun. It's hard to tell how long you've been down here. ] [ On top of all this, sleeping on naked rock sucks the big one. Fortunately, you all brought cushy sleeping bags or whatever. ...right? ] [ Session Start! ] [ Oh, and Seylin is missing, too. She was the other one on last watch. ] * Istvan sits up in his sleeping bag, rubbing at his eyes. * Patrick is already up, stringing his bow. He glances over at Istvan. "Mornin'." ^_^ * Max blinks from behind enormous, owl-like (and alchemy-bottle thick) glasses. His brown hair is toussled and hangs behind his head. He is actually in the process of tying said hair back into a pony tail as he looks around. He's got a nondescript cloak over a green-and-blue robe, belted with a simple length of rope. Almost looks like he just picked the most convenient thing to tie it with when he woke up this morning. * Alcinoe yawns, pushing herself into a sitting position and rubbing the kinks from her neck (of which there's a lot of them). She blinks the sleep from her eyes as she looks around, then spots Max. She blinks again and pulls herself out of her bag. "Mornin', Patrick. Who's the new guy?" * Istvan looks around, then blinks. "... did Ariake shrink and change gender?" * Max has a large book behind him, standing on its end with a ribbon sticking out the top - probably a bookmark. And yes, I mean LARGE. It's about as tall as the halfling. If she did, that'd explain a lot. Oh! No, no. Sorry. Didn't she tell you? Hm... *fishes around in his robe for a bit, looking for something* Nope. ... good. That'd just be kinda odd. * Alcinoe reaches into her haversack and pulls out a brush, then works on untangling the tangled mess curls can turn your hair into. * Max looks up as an owl, about 3/4th his size, drops an envelope on his head. It's sealed, still, as he hands it to Patrick. "Um, Ariake said to give this to you. Er. I hope it explains everything?" * Patrick takes it and opens it, reading. * Will gets slowly into a sitting position, still wrapped inside his sleeping bag. He's listening in on the discussion, not knowing if he's dreaming or not. * Max and his owl look kind of similar, by the way. Max's glasses almost perfectly mimic the shape of the feathers around the owl's eyes. * Istvan grunts as he stands up, stuffs his sleeping bag back into his Haversack, and starts stretching. Yup, he's a big sucker. * Max is a relatively short halfling, only 3 feet and a couple/three inches tall. Looks almost lost in the cloak and robe. And his vaguely unfocused expression only adds to this impression. But his nervous smile is nevertheless big and open, almost endearing. [ The letter reads as follows; ] [ Everyone - ] [ I deeply apologize for the short notice, but I just found this out myself. I've been offered a huge opportunity to do some very interesting research at the Brighthome Magicanical Society, which I can't possibly pass up. [ I also couldn't possibly leave us all without a mage. Fortunately, I have the utmost confidence that a colleague of mine will be a great replacement for me. He should be stopping by later today to say hello. I'll be around often, just unable to do adventuring for a while. Best of luck, and see you soon! - Ariake ] ...and that's me! *he says when Patrick finishes reading the letter out loud* I'm Max. Pleased to meet you all! Um, er. *wipes his little hand on his cloak and holds it out for someone to shake* * Patrick folds it up and tosses it to the nearest person. He smiles unnervingly at Max: that can't be natural. "So, Max, you got what it takes to keep up?" * HKenji returns from his morning bath, still bare to the waist. "Would someone explain to me who this man is, and why our last watch is missing?" I hope so! I, er, studied Ariake's typical preperations, and made some similar ones, I hope. She particularly suggested the "Firebrand" spell. Said it was a good one? Ah have no clue, but he don't look like he's about ta attack us. * Alcinoe looks around. Then looks around again, then frowns. "Where's Seylin?" * Istvan eyes Max, shrugs, and gets to work getting his armor on. Um. I didn't see the last watch? I just kind of got here myself. Was still getting dressed just 5 minutes ago. * Patrick brush his hair with his right hand. "Yup." So, you _don't_ know where Seylin is? That correct? * Istvan looks up from strapping on his red dragon full plate. "Maybe she went with Ariake, to make sure she got back to the main path back to Brighthome?" Um. Hm. Seylin...that the girl with the pretty wings? Um, she said she was going to scout ahead. Sorry, a bit scattered from the trip. ^^; That's not like her. She wouldn't leave you unguarded. [ The sleeve of Kenji's kimono begins to rattle. Wherever it is. ] * HKenji blinks. I can still find her if we need. ^^ That's odd. * HKenji reaches down and pulls on his kimono, not bothering to get himself together properly just yet, then reaches into the sleeve and pulls out a small vibrating pendant. Hm? Odd? * Alcinoe eyes the pendant. What's going down, Kenji? * Max climbs up on the book behind him and stands on it. THe book obligingly goes horizontal, and floats about 4 feet off the ground and over to Kenji. The pendant that Tia's parents gave me. It appears to be vibrating vigorously. * Max pushes his glasses up his nose, and leans in to look at it. "Hm..." * Will blinks as his head finally starts to clear up. "What does that mean, Kenji?" Maybe they're tryin' ta get in touch. I don't know. * Istvan tilts his head at that, but is mostly concentrating on getting his armor on. Takes a little while... * Patrick smirks. "Could be something like a reverse stone of recall, or something." They didn't really tell me anything about it. [ The pendant stops vibrating once free of the sleeve. It does, however, do something even more curious; it begins growing, like a ball of dough being pushed out into a pizza pie. ] Um. Hm... oh, wow. Neat! * Alcinoe finishes untangling her hair, tucks her brush away, and grabs her sword and shield. She walks over to Will and nudges him with her toe. "Gotta do yer mornin' prayers, sleepyhead." Well. * Will looks up at Alci. "Oh right. Good call." * Max blinks, squinting at it sideways. "Um. Oh! Right! That's a portal! Tia's parents gave it to you?" Quite. [ The face of the pendant begins to shimmer, and then to show a scene on the other side; a splendidly decorated stone room containing, most prominently, a certain Dracotaur. ] * Max's book edges backwards to give it some room. Tia! * Alcinoe jumps and spins, hopefully not injuring Will in the process. * Patrick grins as he finishes stringing his bow. "Hey, Tia's back! Whazzzup?" * Will gets up and out of his sleeping bag. Alci's jumping spin didn't affect Will at all since he moves slow. ;p * Tia comes charging out through the portal, her arms waving wildly as she careens into Kenji. "Wheeeeee!" Wow! I made it! It worked! * Will grabs his stuff and follows behind Alci. * Istvan looks up. "... cool. Hey Tia." *grins* * Max tumbles off the back of his book as it tips backwards to get out of her way. He scrambles to his feet, and, pushing his glasses up his nose, looks up, and up, and up, and up at Tia. "Hi!" * Tia blinks slowly, then looks down. "Kenji!" She grins widely and, without warning, crushes him in a bearhug. I'm Max! I'll be your friendly neighborhood mage for a while. Ariake asked me to. *waves at Tia* * HKenji has only a moment to blink before being crushed. Hey hey hey, don't crush Kenji too much, we still need him, remember? ~_^ * Alcinoe smiles. "Howdy Tia. Good ta see ya again." She spares Max an odd look, then goes about seperating herself from the group proper so she can pray. * Tia looks up blankly, finally notices Max, then grins again. "Hi, Small Man With Glasses!" She seems to have forgotten that she's still smashing Kenji in her arms. * Tia grins at everyone else. "Hi! Did I miss anything?" [ The portal closes, resuming its life as a shiny pendant. ] Nothing particularly important. * HKenji hangs the pendant around his neck, this time, having only removed it while bathing. * Istvan finishes getting his armor on, and walks over to Tia and the crowd. "A bit. We can fill you in after you stop crushing Kenji's spine." * Max climbs back up on his book, which levels out with him almost laying on it before he pushes himself into a seated position. It floats up so he can be on eye-level with Tia. "Um, maybe you should let, um, Kenji, right? Um, let him go?" * Tia stamps around in a small circle, fidgeting in her anxiousness. Oh, uh, sorry, Kenji! * Patrick chuckles. "That's okay Tia." * Tia quickly sets him down gingerly and brushes him off. "Sorry!" Quite alright, Tia. I've grown somewhat used to maneuvering while being crushed. Excellent training. * Tia grins sheepishly. "Hee!" * Will turns and waves hi to Tia as he goes off to pray too. * Tia waves to Will as he passes by. That's Max, Tia. Ariake had to go back to Brighthome, so he's our new magic guy. I think. * Tia wheels around to face Istvan. "Oh, right!" She turns to Max. "Hi, Mr. Max! Nice to meet you!" She extends a large, meaty palm. * Istvan points to the guy on the floating book as he says that. "I'm Istvan, by the way. Resident smith and big armored guy." That's right Istvan. I'm Tia! That's about-- *eeps as the owl lands on his shoulder and starts knocking on the halfling's head with its beak* --er, oh, right. Hey stop! STOP! I'll introduce you already! * Tia peers curiously at the little owl. "Wow! Who's the little flying guy?" * Max takes a breath as his owl stops beating him up. "This is Specs. He's my helper. Usually collects students' papers. Sorry I forgot to introduce him." ^_^; * Patrick offers the short man a hand and a grin, then offering it to the owl once Max has had his chance to shake it. "I'm Patrick, as you probably know already." ^_^ Hi, Mr. Specs! * Specs shakes claw with Patrick's hand quite handilly. * Max giggles as Specs flutters over to land on Tia's shoulder and nuzzles her cheek with his soft head-feathers. "I think he likes you, Tia." Yes. Well. I hope you prove as useful tactically as Ariake has. * Tia giggles softly at the owl. "I like him too!" So what brings you back, Tia? * Max stands up to his full height, which is only somewhat impressive because he's standing on a book that's floating a good 5 feet off the ground, and salutes very seriously. "I shall try, Kenji!" * Tia pets the owl as gently as she can. What wouldn't bring her back? ^_^ * Tia looks at Istvan. "Oh! Uh...I heard you guys went off doing fun stuff without me...and I wanted to come along and help and stuff..." * Tia shuffles bashfully a bit. * Alcinoe comes walking back. Why she takes a sword and shield with her to pray would be anyone's guess... if they didn't know who her god was, anyhow. She goes about pulling on her armor and offers Tia a slight grin. "So ya missed us." That works. Was just wonderin' if there was somethin' more specific. *chuckles* * Tia suddenly lunges at the nearest few people and envelopes them in a tight hug. "I m-missed you guys!!!!" She bawls. * Alcinoe is, thankfully, a bit of distance away. Getting squeezed by a dracotaur while putting on armor would be really uncomfortable. * Max gets dumped off his book again as the dragon-girl spooks it again. "oof!" He's giggling when he stands up again, though. Shaking his finger at his book, he orders it to open up before he climbs on again. * Istvan is enveloped! Impressive, 'cause he's rather large himself. "We missed you too, kiddo." * Patrick manages to avoid the dragon's grip, but gives Tia a hug himself. Awww. "Missed ya too. Now, let's find Seylin. She'd want to know you're back too." ^_^ * Tia sniffs and quickly takes out a hanky to dry her face. She breaks out into another grin. "So whatcha all been doin', huh? Fun stuff, right?" You could say that, yes. * Tia jumps up and down. "Like what?" We- * Alcinoe watches Tia jump up and down, then shakes her head. Someone else can exposit. * Tia settles back on her haunches as the last shockwaves fade out. * Will comes back from his morning prayers much more awake than before. He goes to his spot and starts to put on his armor. * Max, meanwhile, is making small notes in his book as he watches the walls shake. * Istvan wriggles/pries himself out of Tia's grip. "Need a hand with the armor, Will?" We're currently engaged in clearing a small... dungeon, for lack of a better term, of undead. And quite a large number of constructs. Yeah. It's annoying, but fun. ^_^ Lotsa traps too. You'll love it. Stinky walking dead people? * Will is fumbling at the straps on his armor with much aggrevation. "Looks like that Istvan. Yes." [ Well, maybe not stinky. ] * Istvan nods, and goes to help out poor Will. Don't forget the fucking amazing sword we found for Alci. * Patrick already has his armor on. Well, if you call black leather armor protection, yes. * Tia bounds back to her feet. "Sounds fun! Let's go!" Also found some less... savory stuff. Gah, undead? I'll have to remember to prepare some disruptions tomorrow. Oh well. * Tia skips a circle around the group. Ah'm still puttin' on mah armor, Tia. Oh, oh, right! I'll wait! * Tia sits down again. * Tia pulls something out of her backpack. "Look, I even brought Wuffiekins with me this time! He'll help us fight the stinky dead people." * HKenji finally takes the time to properly bind his clothes on, and his now patched mail shirt. * Max floats over to see this "Wuffiekins". * Will nods at Tia with his helm sitting crooked on his head. "Yeah Tia. Wait a moment please. Still getting into this metal stuff." * Tia offers her extra-large teddy bear to Max. It's cute...but looks very, ur, well-loved. You can call him Mr. Teddy. * Istvan adjusts the helmet. "Can't have you going into a battle with a helmet covering your eyes. Might accidentally heal a wall." * Max takes the almost-Max-Sized teddy bear and sets it on his book. He shakes its hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Teddy." * Will can see through his visor now! "Thanks Istvan. Much better." * Tia grins. "Wuffiekins is pleased to meet you too. He says he likes your book." I'm glad. My book is quite sensitive. If people make fun of it, it tends to sulk. No one likes a sulky spellbook. ... * HKenji goes back to preparing for battle. * Max 's book droops a bit, and Max thwaps it. "Behave." * Alcinoe finishes pulling on her armor. She moves in it a bit, then clanks over to Max and holds her hand. "Ah'm Alcinoe. Nice ta meetcha." * Tia nods solemnly to Max. "It's a nice book." She grins and gives the book a firm pat on its cover. * Max takes Alcinoe's hand and shakes it, though it's more like Alcinoe envelopes his hand. "Pleasure, ma'am." * Alcinoe gives Max's hand a shake and grins. "Ah dunno what had Ariake runnin' off like that, but it's good ta have ya onboard." She lets go and looks around. Somethin' to do with her research. You know how Ariake is. Okay, Mr. Teddy. You've got to prepare for battle, too. So... if we're gonna be heading back into that lair, we should prolly let Max know what it is we all do around here, right? * Max hands Mr. Teddy back to the very large young lady. If you would. I'd hate to step on toes. Or be underfoot. [ You also need to work Tia into your strategy. She's quite a bit bigger than the rest of you, which may be a problem. ] * Tia thanks Max with a grin and takes her bear, then straps him securely to her back. "There ya go! Ready? Okay! Hand me Mr. Axe, will you?" She reaches into her bag and pulls out a large, butterfly-inscribed greataxe. "Thanks!" Also, gotta fit Tia in. I'm thinkin' she takes point? * Will goes over to Max and introduces himself too. "I'm Will by the way. Pleased to meet you." Or at least the front of the pack. Tia is on point. Alcinoe and Istvan behind her. If possible, Tia should charge forward straight through the enemies and turn around. * Tia glances at Kenji quizzically. "Um, what's 'on point'?" In front. In front, Tia. * Tia beams. "Oh, okay! I like being in front!" Like the point of a sword. Actually... * Tia nods. "Being in front means I get to get my lunch first, right?" Alcinoe, Tia, come here. Okay! * Tia runs over to Kenji. * Alcinoe blinks, then clanks over to Kenji. Tia, stay still for a moment. Alcinoe, stand right in front of Tia. * Max grins myopically at Will, and listens to the others give instructions. * Tia nods and stands ramrod-straight with her eyes forward. "Yessir, Kenji!" Ah. Sure. * Alcinoe steps over to stand in front of Tia, facing Kenji. She's towered over. * Tia stops standing still as soon as Alci walks over and starts grinning uncontrollably. "Heehee!" What, is mah hair ticklin' ya or somethin'? * Alcinoe moves said curls with her hand. * Tia grins down at Alci. "No, but I'm happy to be back." She gives Alci a hug. "And I want to go hit bad people!" * Max nods sagely. "Hitting bad people is good cardiovascular exercise." Hmm. Nevermind. * Tia turns back to Max and grins even wider. "Yup! Good exercise! We should go hit more bad people!" * Alcinoe snickers and is hugged. "All right, all right." Oh, Alci! Sorry. I forgot! * Tia puts Alci back down, gently. * Patrick chuckles. "Not workin' as good as ya thought, eh Kenji?" * Alcinoe regains footing! "It's okay, Tia. It's good ta see ya again." It would work, but it would be... exceptionally uncomfortable for Istvan and Alcinoe. * Max hms, and makes a note to himself in the corner of the current page of his book. Good to see you too, Alci! I'm so happy! Your first idea sounds right, Kenji. * Tia runs in place in a circle. So whatcha want me to do, Kenji? Do I get to hit things? Or throw things? Tia charges in, disrupting the line. We charge into melee right behind her, taking advantage of said disruption. What about swimming? I'm good at swimming! Precisely. Or...jumping? I'm good at jumping too. Can I jump on bad people? Sure. If you like, Tia. * Tia stamps her feet excitedly. "Really? You mean it?" Can I jump on them -and- hit them? As long as you don't think I'm a bad person. ~_^ * Max nods. "Me, neither!" Feel free, Tia. * Tia bends over and picks up Patrick in a tight embrace. "I don't think you're a bad person, Patrick!" * Will nods while smiling widely. "You can do anything you want with bad people, Tia." * Tia grins. * Patrick smirks down at Tia somewhat painfully. "Put me down, could ya?" * Istvan looks over at Kenji. "We should probably have some sort of signal for Tia, so she doesn't charge until the group is ready." * Tia quickly puts Patrick back down, alarmed. "Oops! Sorry, Patrick!" * Tia nods. "I like signals!" Can it have butterflies in it? ...I can do butterflies, actually. I want butterflies in my signal! * Tia claps joyously. * Istvan blinks. "I was thinking more like yelling 'CHARGE!'." * Patrick pats Tia. "It's okay. Hey, guys, I'm going to go after and find Seylin. Get me with one of the medallions when you're ready to start going." ^_^ * Patrick glances on the ground, trying to find Seylin's trail. Hopefully, she was walking. Oh! Sey! Where is she? * Tia looks around anxiously. "I haven't seen her..." Hang on, Patrick! *points the direction she went* She went thataway! I want to go too! Can I come with you, Patrick? * Patrick looks back at Max. "Thanks." ^_^ After that, he sprints off in that direction very quickly. Stay for a sec, Tia. [ Patrick finds her trail! Footprints in the dust that gathers here each night. ] * Tia is about to go galloping after Patrick when she hears Istvan and stops in her tracks. She turns to face him. "Huh?" Couple more thing we need to figure out before we go in. * Patrick follows the trail at a brisk pace, assuming it looks like it's fresh. [ The trail leads into the dungeon. Go fig. ] * Patrick goes into the dungeon. Duh. Okay! What'd we need to figure out? Just wanna make sure you understand exactly what we want you to do when we get into fights. * Tia nods solemnly. "What should I do?" * Max grumbles. "Undead tend to be immune to cold spells, too. Man, I really need a different list. More fire. Notes for tomorrow." ^_^ I remember butterflies! What happens after butterflies? When Kenji gives the signal... *motions for Kenji to come up with a signal already*... you charge at the bad guys and start beating them up. Me'n Alci will be right behind you, and we'll help you beat them up. Okay. Charge and hit bad people. I can do that! Our job's to keep them away from Will and Patrick and Max, because they don't have armor like we do, so they can't take as many hits. * Tia turns her head. "You can do that, right, Wuffiekins?" She grins. "Good!" * Tia points to Will. "Will has armor!" She's gotcha there, Istvan. ... point. But he needs space to cast his spells. Hm... and those sprit worms need to become magic missiles. *nods firmly, still muttering to himself distractedly* Oh, okay! He can't heal if he has enemies all around him, right? Actually, he needs 'bout as much space as I do. * Alcinoe grins. * Tia nods. Keep bad people away from Will, Patrick, and Max. Okay. It's pretty easy. All you really hafta remember is not to charge until Kenji or I or one of the others tells you to. * Tia ticks off her fingers. "Charge, hit bad people, keep them away from Will, Patrick, and Max." She repeats this a few times aloud to herself. We don't want you accidentally stepping on a trap or something. * Tia blinks. "Huh? Oh, okay." Actually, I was thinking I might join the fray when things get dangerous. We just wanna make sure you don't charge until we're all ready to back you up, Tia. Understand? * Tia nods vigorously. "Yup! No charging until you say so. Got it!" * Istvan reaches way up and ruffles Tia's hair. "Smart kid." *grins* * Tia grins and blushes a bit. "Isty called me smart!" * HKenji smiles a bit. * Alcinoe looks her sword over and chuckles. * Istvan glances a Kenji. "Got a signal in mind, or should we go with 'CHARGE!'" Any signal will do. * Tia beams. "Butterflies!" Complex signals are usually forgotten in the heat of battle. When Istvan or myself tells you to charge, Tia, then you charge. Not before. * Tia nods to Kenji. "Oh, okay. Charge. Okay." ...no butterflies, then? * Will raises a hand. "Kenji. When things get hectic, can I move to the front to help out?" Nope. Sorry. Yes. * Tia looks slightly disappointed, but she nods. "Okay. No butterflies. Just 'Charge!'. Gotcha!" * Alcinoe looks up and smiles at Will. * Will nods. "Thanks." I'll make butterflies for you later. After the bad guys are done being hit. *clears his throat* And where do you want me, Kenji? Anything in particular I should save big spells for, or should I jsut generally rain destruction? * HKenji nods approvingly at Will. * Tia bends down and grins widely at Max. "Really? Thanks!!! You're the bestest, Max!" She moves to hug him. * Istvan looks back at Max. "Oh, just so you know... Tia's big and hits stuff, I'm less big and hit stuff, Kenji's even less big and hits stuff, in addition to doing strategy. Patrick's our archer, Will's our healer, Alci hits stuff and does magic, and Seylin's our scout." * Max floats, almost by accident (really) out of reach. And up, so he's on level with her again. You should use the minimum amount of firepower necessary to get the job done. But be sure you do the job. * Tia is distracted by the dialogue and forgets to hug Max after all. "Right!" * Max nods. "Right. And Ariake told me," he taps his head. "I remember stuff." ^^ In an emergency, you are specifically authorized to immolate myself and Istvan. What's immolate? ...o...kay... It means "bathe with fire", Tia. We are quite resistant to fire. * Istvan taps his armor. "Red dragon scale. Keeps away the fire." "Bathe with fire"...? Does that make you clean? I don't think I have any spells that will hit you if I don't want them to, though. I tend to prefer lightning to fireball. Often, yes, Tia. Kinda, but it's mostly ta hurt things. I like being clean! Can we all go take a bath like last time again? I liked that bath! The big baddie in this dungeon we're trying to clean out apprently likes using bugs that turn you undead if they bite you enough. So if we're being swarmed by them, or if it's some other emergency, you have permission to drop lots of fire on us. Gotcha! Please only do that in an emergency, 'cause I don't like being set on fire very much, red dragon armor or no. *grins slightly* ...can those bugs fly? Bugs? Are they tasty bugs? No. They're undead bugs. Ya probably don't wanna eat 'em, Tia. Oh. Yuck! And yes, the do fly. * Tia makes a grotesque face. Stinky dead bugs. Yuck! Drat. And me without any bugspray. Yeah. No eating these bugs, Tia. * Tia nods in agreement. "I promise I won't eat the stinky dead bugs." So, to sum up... fire bad. Undead worse. Yessir! *does his stand-and-salute thing again. Oddly, the pages he's standing on don't wrinkle* So...are we going now? I wanna go hit bad people! Can we? Huh? Please? * Tia runs in place to demonstrate her readiness. Patrick already got to go! Yes, Tia. You lead the way. Istvan and Alcinoe behind her. Tia, don't move faster than we can, please. Max, you're in the middle, Will and I will be behind you. * Max crouches on his book, and floats over to the middle. "Yessir, sir. Will do." ^_^ * Tia 's face lights up, and she jumps up. "Okay!!" * Alcinoe gets to her feet and stretches. "Ah'll contact Patrick and let 'im know we're comin', then." Thank you, Alcinoe. Oh, and Tia... when we're walking around in there, Seylin's gonna be in front of us, looking for traps. Make sure not to move in front of her when she's doing that. * Tia pats her axe assuringly. "Let's go, Mr. Axe. Ready, Wuffiekins? Let's go!" * Alcinoe nods to Kenji, then pulls a pendant from inside her shirt and grips it surely with one hand, concentrating. * Tia turns and nods to Istvan. "Okay!" * Istvan straps his pack on, unholsters his war pick, and takes up his position a few feet behind Tia's wagging tail. * Tia wheels about and starts trotting into the dungeon. * Tia hums cheerfully, tail wagging. [ Into the dungeon you go! It's still big and dungeony, with, at the entrance point, ten-foot cielings and halls. ] * Max floats along in the middle, at about 5 ft off the ground. * Will walks on behind Max, staring at the floating book in facination. * Tia seems almost to be dancing on her paws as she skips on ahead...but not too far ahead. She stops once in awhile to let the others catch up. She grins over her shoulder. * Istvan maintains his place beind Tia and next to Alci. * Alcinoe walks along, quietly. May be communicating with Patrick. [ You wind your way through, and eventually reach the room with the ziggurat and the eight pillars. There are three exits to this room; ] He hasn't found Seylin yet. * Tia glances around in fascination. "Wow, what a cool place!" An' it's less cool when there's twenty crossbows shootin' at ya. * Tia blinks. "Crossbows? Where?" We destroyed them already. Before, Tia. * Max looks around curiously, Specs having landed on the front of his book. [ To the north, to the residence and laboratory of the wizard, which you've already explored. To the east, in a continuation of the twenty-foot wide and tall hallway. And south, in a narrow but tall passasge. West and South are both unexplored, unless Seylin's in there and you don't know it. ] * Tia nods in wonderment. "Oh. Okay." She continues to glance around the room. Have you explored that ziggurat? It looks interesting... *floats up a few feet to get a better look* What's a ziggurat? A big pile of stones, I believe. Oh, okay. Why don't they just call it a big pile of stones? s'a specific kinda pile of stones. Because the way the stones are piled makes it different from other piles of stones. Specific shape, really. * Tia nods. "Ohh. Like that one?" She points. Yes. Okay! Gotcha. * Tia grins. [ The ziggurat is pretty impressive. Whatever used to be on the pedastal at the top must've been pretty impressive. Is this room secure? Can I go examine it, or should I stay here? *practically vibrating with restrained excitement* * HKenji points to the remains of destroyed constructs. "We just destroyed these and were forced to retreat for the night. I suggest not going too far forward. * Max sighs. "Okay. I'll wait." * Tia nods. "Okay." * Tia turns in place. "Where'd Patrick go...?" * Alcinoe speaks up: "He went south." * Tia blinks. "He did?" * Tia turns around a few more times, trying to figure out where south is. * Alcinoe nods. Um, which way's south? * Tia smiles sheepishly. South is the other side of the Ziggurat. * Tia runs off toward the other side. "Patrick? Where are you?" * Istvan lumbers after Tia. "Slower, Tia." * Alcinoe clanks along with the two lumbering !fools. * Tia skids to a halt. "Slower? Okay, sorry!" * Istvan doesn't clank so much as thud. Dragonscale and all. * Tia thuds alongside Isty. * Max almost bumps into Tia's humanoid back, not having been paying close attention. "Oops!" * Will provides the echoing "clank" in the back of the group as he walks along. * Tia turns her head and grins at Max. "Heehee! You okay, Max?" [ The hallway south of the Ziggurat is short, ending in a three-way entersection; paths run off east and west. To the west is a room with a raised area in the southwest corner, and four pillars placed against the north wall. ] * Alcinoe glances around. Alci? * Tia looks around, too. "Which way now?" Paaaatrick! * Istvan winces. "Quieter, Tia. If Patrick and Seylin are sneaking around, we don't wanna let the bad guys know we're here." Oh, sorry! Right! Sneaky and quiet! * Tia whispers to her weapon, "Know which way he went, Mr. Axe?" Tia, Patrick says quiet. * Tia nods to Alci. "Yep! Quiet! Like a mouse!" * Alcinoe points to the pillar room. "That way. North exit. There's some sorta magic portal." * Istvan nods. "Got it. Alci's trying to find out where Patrick is, so stay here for now." * Alcinoe pauses for a moment, then lets out an exasperated sigh. "An' it sounds like Seylin went in." Oh. Oh! Um. That could be bad. Or not! Depends on the kind. Yeah, that's the funny thing about magic portals, ain't it? A portal? Like the one I used? * Istvan motions for Tia to move forward... then blinks. "Didn't they teach us to never stick our heads into random portls?" * Tia sees Istvan's signal and start padding quietly forward. Patrick wants ta go in after her. Ah'm tryin' ta get him ta stay 'till we catch up, so let's move. * Istvan nods at Tia. "Prolly somethin' like that." * Max floats along behind Tia. Above that tail. Well above. * Alcinoe keeps up. Hear that, Mr. Axe? There's a portal up ahead, and Sey went inside! You think she's okay? [Sure enough, through the north exit is a room with an archway displaying a shimmering image of another place! Patrick is standing in front of it, and through it is... a cliffhanger!] [ Session End! ]