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Chapter 1. Wyfalls; (Noria Alpha Campaign)
Topic Started: May 14 2013, 10:49 AM (2,743 Views)
meh
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1st Lieutenant
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Fenris wasn't sure how the dwarf would react to their intrusion, so he played it carefully. If it came down to it, they could easily force their way in. "We're travelers, looking for shelter from the storm. We'd be eternally grateful if we could share bread with you tonight."
Edited by meh, Jun 19 2013, 10:28 AM.
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New Harumf
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Bloodthirsty Unicorn
At the sight of the grizzly dwarf, Glrch quickly scampered between Fenris' legs for protection.
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East Anarx
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At that moment, lightning flashed and the dwarf was able to make out the distinct racial characteristics of the unexpected visitors.

"Travelers, eh? Well, why don't y'all go travel yourselves somewhere else?" And with that, the dwarf slammed the door, and began locking the many latches, deadbolts, and padlocks.
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meh
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Fenris turned to the other two companions, noticeably irritated. "That castle is looking nicer with each passing moment, especially in comparison of dwarfish hospitality."
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East Anarx
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During yet another flash of lightning, the adventurers noted that, although there were dozens of stone houses up and down the street, only one out of every four were showing signs of occupancy. There was a chance that one of the abandoned houses would be less defended.

Sure enough, the house just next door to the rude dwarf was unlocked. As the heavy door creaked open on its rusty hinges, light from Pad's lantern revealed a cluttered and filthy main room. Broken furniture, torn clothing, and dirty dishes littered the floor. An empty fireplace took up most of the back wall. Doors on either side of the main room opened into four smaller side rooms, seemingly even more full of clutter. One of the side rooms was particularly filthy and a horrible stench was emanating from the space, so after an initial revolting inspection, that door was left closed.

The house could use some work, but the structure itself was rock solid and spoke of centuries-old traditional dwarven architecture. It was cold inside, even colder than outside, but at least it was dry. A glance out the window during another flash of lightning revealed that the rain had just missed them. Sheets of water poured down from the sky, and the rumbling of thunder coincided with the flashes of lightning without delay.
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New Harumf
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Glrch looked around, and then said, "I don't know about you two, but I've slept in worse holes. I'm going to take some of this broken furniture and build a fire, then I'm clearing out a corner and curling up for the night. What you two do is your business."

With that said, Glrch started picking up pieces of wood from around the house and carrying them to the fire place.
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East Anarx
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It didn't take long to scavenge all the wood in the house: two bed frames, four chairs, a table, and a dresser. The rest of the furniture was either made out of stone, built into the structure, or both. The adventurers were able to start a fire easily and the chimney seemed to be mostly functional in drawing smoke out of the house. Before long, the temperature near the fireplace was comfortable, while the rest of the stone house seemed reluctant to warm up.
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New Harumf
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"Well," said Glrch, "I'm going to take some time to finish memorizing my spell (Ventriloquism), then get some shut eye, but I think I'll sleep closer to the fire, that corner will never heat up!"
Edited by New Harumf, Jun 21 2013, 09:26 AM.
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Al Araam
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Pad briefly considered finding a place to curl up outside, but after eyeing the rain pouring down outside one of the windows for a few minutes he abandoned the idea and laid down on his bedroll.
Edited by Al Araam, Jun 24 2013, 02:53 PM.
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East Anarx
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Several hours passed, during which time the storm passed through Wyfalls and the adventurers caught some much needed shut-eye. The silent darkness of pre-dawn filled the stone house, the fire having long since burned down to little more than ashes and hot coals.

Suddenly, the front door burst open and half a dozen uniformed dwarves rushed into the space and surrounded the slumbering party. The heaviest dwarf, wearing a slightly more ornate uniform than the others, barked out orders: "You're under arrest for trespassing, disturbing the peace, and burning without a permit. Don't make any sudden movements or try anything funny now, just calmly stand up, face the wall, and put your hands behind your back."

One of the dwarves was shining a light on the adventurers and doing a fairly good job of blinding them, while the other dwarves simply brandished their swords in a threatening manner and did their best to look mean.
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New Harumf
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Glrch stood up, brushed himself off, put his hands on his hips, and said, "What are you talking about, Dwarf? We don't need permits and are the legal residents of this house, under the law of abandonment. Be gone!"
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East Anarx
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The uniformed dwarf replied with a sneer, "Save it for the judge, little gnome. This is Uzdur, not the Emerald Isles. This house is the property of Tharv Stonebelly and you can't occupy it unless you pay rent. Now face the wall and assume the position."
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meh
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Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Fenris slowly rose, his hands on both the short sword and battleaxe that lay near his side. He knew that he would never be able to talk his way out of this. He had been on the wrong side of the law enough to know that once you surrender, you place your fate in the hands of men who have little regard for your well-being. By then, your chance of being readmitted into the free world is drawn down to nothing. Even as a sellsword, Fenris had yet to receive an offer worth more than his freedom. A job or a contract was one thing, but any sort of permanent servitude or imprisonment was not worth his life and his freedom. He had lived his life bound by no oaths, laws, or customs, and he was not ready to give that up in one fleeting moment.

As he rose, Fenris towered over the dwarves by several feet, his shadow eclipsing the dwarves as the light of the dawn peered through the house. His face was ragged from the sleep, and he spoke with all his intimidation to the dwarves in a raspy, gritty roar. "I have fought much of my life, and I have been in many situations in which I have been outnumbered. This time is no different from the rest. You may eventually subdue all of us, but not before three or four of you feel the death of my steel. Now which of you is it going to be? Is the petty rent of Tharv more precious than your very life? Leave us be, and let this innocent mistake pass into the forgotten, or else we will all perish."
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Glrch quickly ran behind the barbarian and began casting his spell, Disguise Self. His hope was to become a second barbarian looking into the lead dwarf's eyes with menace and mayhem.
Edited by New Harumf, Jun 28 2013, 08:13 AM.
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Al Araam
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Padrielor stayed silent and stood his ground, though he carefully kept his hands safely away from the short sword at his belt and made no move that could be interpreted as overt support for the sell-sword or the gnome.
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East Anarx
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The tension in the air was palpable, and the group of uniformed dwarves seemed to hold their collective breath as they glanced toward their leader with uncertainty in their eyes. The head dwarf hesitated, sneer still frozen on his face, before taking a single step backwards, then turning around and making a mad dash for the door. The other dwarves followed, and as quickly as they had entered, they were gone, leaving the door hanging open in their wake.

Day was just beginning to break upon the dark streets outside the stone house, and the sound of the retreating dwarves' boots crashing against the pavement faded into the distance.
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meh
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Collecting his gear, Fenris spoke to the gnome and the elf. "Its best we leave immediately, in case they come back with better arms and more men."
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"Agreed," said Glrch. "Now, where do we go??"
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Al Araam
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"We have agreed to work for Stonebelly," said Pad. "Perhaps we can convince him that this misunderstanding should be put behind us when we collect the other half of our pay after dealing with the infestation in the mines."
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East Anarx
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Determined not to linger at the scene of the crime, the adventurers gathered their equipment and stepped out into the street. Based on Glrch's map, it was apparent that they were within a stone's throw from the entrance to the mine. And indeed, they could see a great stone arch carved into the side of the mountain just northwest of their location. Rainwater from last night's storm had collected in a number of potholes in the street, and the morning sun reflecting off these puddles gave the adventurers an optimistic feeling. The sky was clear and blue, with not a cloud in sight.

Just across the street, an elderly dwarf with an impressively long white beard sat on his porch, rocking back and forth in a stout wooden rocking chair. Just down the street, a couple of dwarves dressed in dirty jumpsuits were making their way across the bridge from the southwest, apparently heading for the mine. Beyond that, the streets were empty.
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"Well then," said Glrch, "to the mines I go. I have to kill some wurms to collect my pay. I could do it by myself, but if you two want to tag along, fine, just don't get in my way."
Edited by New Harumf, Jul 2 2013, 09:18 AM.
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East Anarx
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Glrch quickly made his way towards the Stonebelly Mine. The great stone arch towered above him, marking the entrance to the vast cave that was once the entire extent of the mining operation. More than a dozen tunnels were visible, leading into the mountain from various points around the main cave. In the center of the space was a large metal cage, seemingly attached to an intricate system of gears, levers, pulleys, and chains.

The two jumpsuit-wearing dwarves walked past the little gnome without acknowledging him, pulled open the door to the cage, stepped inside, and closed it behind them. The gears spun, the pulleys pulled, and the cage descended into the ground. After a few minutes, the cage rose again, this time empty of passengers.
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New Harumf
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Glrch figured, what the hell, and opened the door to the cage, stepped inside, and closed it behind him. He then waited to see what would happen.
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East Anarx
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Glrch simply stood there with his hands on his hips, expectantly waiting. After a few uneventful moments, he took the time to observe the inside of the motionless cage. The metal bars were spaced far enough apart that an arm or leg could fit between them, although doing so when the cage was moving seemed like a good way to lose such an appendage. Finally, the gnome noticed what appeared to be an array of identical buttons, laid out in eight rows of ten buttons each, on a panel set into the inside of the cage. As far as the gnome could tell, there was no apparent system for determining what any of the given buttons did except to push one of them and observe the results.

While Glrch was pondering this predicament, the cage door opened and Fenris and Padrielor stepped inside, closing the door behind them. Together, the three adventurers observed the array of buttons and considered their options.
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"Ten buttons to a row, and eight rows," said Glrch. "Can dwarves count? If so, this might be a simple numerical code. Or, perhaps, there are eight levels to the mine and you press a button for the number of people on this contraption in the level you want. Suggestions?"
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