Gnome's OOTA Story Thread [CLOSED]

The passage behind the secret door is narrow enough that you need to move through it single file, occasionally turning sideways to squeeze. It takes about an hour to navigate its pitch-black darkness, and the journey is filled with a constant echo of distant sounds. The passage then widens, opening out into a cavern whose far walls and ceiling are out of sight in the darkness. Bits of quartz and mica in the stone glimmer as they catch the light, showing a footpath worn into the stone floor. At the end of that path, a vast, dark shape rises — an enormous stalagmite carved into a bleak, black tower.

"Things? What things are you sentimental about here?" Katryl asks Lulu. She glances towards Horkas as she mentions him. "I suppose he was frustrated.  I think we all were with trying to find information here. Seems like mostly we just learned about things we already knew." 

Navigating the narrow passageway was an interesting experience to say the least. Katryl was glad when it finally opened up. She looks out along the path and to the tower at the end. "Wow, it really is a tower, here in the Underdark. Guess we'd best continue on." 

The stalagmite tower was nothing less than the noble Drow had expected, but admittedly entering the home of an archmage filled him with some excitement and anticipation. "There are plenty of towers in the Underdark Katryl, just wait til you see the mighty Narbondel in Menzoberranzan." Traydark comments with a friendly smile, feeling almost eager to show his companions his home. "There is no denial though that your home is as impressive as could be expected Vizeran." He then turns to say to their host with a polite tone, ready to follow him inside.

Khessa finds particularly difficult walking the narrow passage, given her size, but she steels herself and continues... 'After all, Lulu is even more imposing than me...' she thinks, casting a furtive glance behind her to see how the gentle Firbolg is doing (and if she sees her in difficulty, she obviously holds out her hand to help her) 'I shouldn't complain too much... It could be worse - and I have endured far worse'.

Probably by contrast, the blonde arcane warrior is much more admired by the vastness of the next cave and the imposing tower into which the enormous stalagmite has been transformed. "Good job, Vizeran!" she compliments "Did you make it with your magic? Perhaps with the help of earth elementals? Or is it not all your work? However, I must grant you that it is quite an impressive wizard's tower!"

'Only vegetation is missing...' the tall adventuress notes 'If only he had let some of the charming luminescent mushrooms of Neverlight Grove grow around it, that tower would be truly perfect...' but she avoids providing unsolicited opinions - Vizeran could very well be touchy and resentful... while they need him to cooperate to the best of his ability.

The gnome laughs quietly as the larger members of the party struggle through the narrow passage. "C'mon, now...stop holding us up. Maybe cut back on the pies there, Lulu?!" he calls out good naturedly to his long-time friend and companion...

Lulu presses her hand to the book hidden within the folds of her vestments. "The book was traded in exchange for... for something dear to me. Only, I must remind myself it was the person who gave it to me that was dear. No' the object itself." She smiles and shrugs her shoulders with a self-deprecating sigh. "Perhaps it's a wee Fey of me to think something of equal value must be given, but... I could no chance Gravenhollow would no' let me leave with the tome."

Lulu gladly accepts Khessa's hand for assistance. One would think that the ability to see in darkness out to 300 feet would assist the firbolg in avoiding low-hanging stalactites or head-height outcroppings of stone. One would think. 

At Horkas' teasing, Lulu dodges a stalactite and retorts, "Watch yer big gob there, Kas. Wouldn't want a bat to fly in!"

Emerging from the tunnel with a variety of lumps and bruises blooming on her noggin, the cleric rubs at her forehead and takes in the sight ahead. "Quite an abode, Archmage," she says, finally straightening to her full height as she follows behind. Various vertebrae crack and pop in her spine. "Might I gather ye've wards in place to protect its sanctity? I'm afraid the Spider Queen may ken she's been spied upon. Might be she's looking for the culprits as we speak."

Vizeran doesn't answer your questions at the moment, save for a few terse words about it being his own design, but it seems that he is intent on getting inside the tower before discussing much more, as opposed to plainly ignoring you.

Past the heavy iron door that is the tower’s only visible entrance, a short tunnel extends through five feet of solid rock into a cool, dark chamber. As you enter, a floating orb of pale violet light brightens before you, revealing an opening in the vaulted ceiling and a spiral stone staircase with no railing, climbing up into darkness.

Around the stairs, the light reveals a circular audience chamber with cold, unlit lanterns hanging from brackets set into the stone wall, heavy carpets covering the smooth stone floor, and a throne-like stone chair on a raised dais to the left of the entrance.

The ball of violet light floats to a stop beneath the center of the open shaft, beyond the foot of the stairs. It then hovers there as if waiting for you.

The noble Drow notices the floating ball of voilet light but looks to their host to lead the way into his sanctum. 

"Hi and well met!" Khessa cheerfully greets, waving, the ball that seems to wait for the party "We are guests of Vizeran, do you see?" she points at the archwizard with her thumb "I'm Khessa, Khessa Cabbagefiled! And you?"

The blonde arcane warrior, however, restrains her curiosity enough not to enter... She doesn't think it's polite to enter before the host. But anyway she begins to look around with her blue eyes... That room, with a useless throne-like stone chair and no books, seems as pretentious as it is empty... She wonders where the archmage will keep his collection of tomes of magic... and if she will be allowed to take a look at it!

"Ah..." is Katryl's response to Lulu. 'Who could this person be that made the object so special?' she thinks. Although she looks on at the firbolg with curiosity for a moment, she decides that it's not her place to pry. "So, you didn't have to leave it, but you did it because you felt that it was... right to leave something of value in return? Is this a teaching of your goddess? It seems...  like a noble choice to make Lunaria." 

Katryl smiles at the joking banter between Lulu and the gnome. She stays quiet as the group enters the tower and the ball of light appears. Like Traydark, she stays back, waiting for Vizeran to direct where he'd like them to go. 

Horkas eagerly takes in everything with his eyes, and you can tell he is fighting his natural instinct to rush in and touch everything! "A mighty fine tower...mighty fine indeed! Is the light a tame will-o-wisp, or perhaps just a preprogrammed dancing light? And did you hollow out a giant stalagmite or carve the outer chamber first to form the tower? I assume you have living quarters above? Most wizard towers do..."

Vizeran casts a quick glance at Khessa before looking to the rest of you. "Does your companion always talk to lights like that? The demon lord's madness is surely increasing." He stops by the central shaft and then steps backward into the empty space. Perhaps to your surprise, he does not fall, but levitates. "You are welcome to walk the stairs, but I find that tedious. I suggest saying ku’lam (“rise”) and aluhal’kafion (“descend”) to reach your desired level, then say ilkalik (“halt”) to stop yourself and exit the central shaft here." (OOC note: you rise and fall at 20 ft per round) "And no, this light won't kill you or lead you astray," Vizeran comments almost cryptically.

There appear to be several official floors to the tower, six in all. The floor you came in on with the antechamber and an audience hall, but there are guest rooms, a kitchen, library and such located further up. Vizeran, however, along with Kleve, invite you to the top floor, where he says he spends most of his time as of late. He then begins rising through the central chamber toward the top floor, along with Kleve.

The noble Drow feels a smile tug at his lips with the banter but remains collected as he follows Vizeran and Kleve to levitate up the central shaft up to the top floor, eager to hear more about the archmage's proposal. "No, the abyssal corruption might have made things worse but I think she was always a bit like this." He answers Vizeran, glancing over at the blonde human with a wink.

"Oh, I thought you two, with the long life your race grants, had long since come to understand a thing..." Khessa takes on an exaggeratedly amazed and pitying expression "But if you haven't realized it yet, I'll explain it to you" she continues, in a helpful and enthusiastic tone. "You see, the point is that anyone who longs for interesting and intelligent conversation and has drow as their first option... can't be too picky, when considering possible alternatives" and she smiles, winking back.

The blonde arcane warrior leaps then amused into the void after Vizeran and, while floating like him, she pronounces, enthusiastically: "Ku'lam!"

As always, the experience of flying exalts and amuses her: the tall adventurer laughs in an unusually carefree tone and carries out some experiments during the raise, such as checking whether, either with willpower or by physically adjusting the weight of her body, she can vary the trajectory a little - or if this instead always remains a perfect vertical. Anyway, once she reaches the top floor she utters: "Ilkalik!" and she looks around... What does this floor contain?

The noble Drow chuckles. "Well thank you human for so explicitly confirming my statement." He retorts with a small smirk. "You would have to excuse the human Vizeran, she has unfortunately been quite delusional of late..." Traydark turns to say to their host. "...among other things she is somehow convinced she can master magic and might show interest in your arcane library." He continues, discreetly glancing over at the blonde arcane warrior with a small teasing smile and a wink. 

“Oh, 'delusional', right?” Khessa feigns indignation "As if you didn't know that an Angel I met recently helped me master magic! Well, to shut you up, I'll make a bet with you and Vizeran, here... Vizeran will let me access his library (below his supervision, if he prefers) and will provide me with the rare inks that wizards like him use to write spells... I will choose one of his spells and copy it..." she takes out a pitiful conglomeration of Trillimac sheets - what remains of the scattered notes that were her Spellbook before she bought a proper one from Gracklstugh "...in my wonderful tome of magic! And if when I have finished the operation I am unable to cast the spell, I will pay to Vizeran double the value of the inks I've wasted and I'll publicly admit that you drow were right about me! But if I succeed... then I won't have to pay for the ink used - and you'll be the ones who will have to publicly admit that you were wrong about me!"

"But I'm sure," the blonde arcane warrior exhibits a clearly contemptuous smile of superiority "that you and Vizeran will never accept such a bet, a bet that, obviously, you can only lose! Everyone knows the versatility of humans, a versatility that other races can only dream of... It's obvious that a human like me, who has learned to handle weapons, will have no difficulty in learning to use magic as well!"

Horkas also enthusiastically plays in, I mean utilizes, the lift magic, even going so far as trying to turn somersaults in the air and striking several 'flying' poses!

The levitation does not allow much for acrobatics, but it does not overly restrain you either, and it is easy enough to step off as needed. Vizeran all but ignores Khessa's verbal gambit, with a short dismissal mentioning there are more important matters to worry about currently.

At the top floor, a studious but comfortable room waits, simple but tasteful decor adorns the area. Vizeran settles into a plush chair while an unseen servant brings about a tray of dried mushrooms, smoked rothe meat and spiced liquor. He takes a goblet for himself and waits for the rest of you to get settled as well.

Katryl is intrigued by the levitation but tries to ignore the squabble between Khessa and the drow.  She utters 'ku’lam' to rise and 'ilkalik' to stop at the top floor. Looking around at the floor she smiles. "That was kind of fun." 

The noble Drow knew how dearly the human would want to access the library of their host but he would have to agree with the archmage for now, there were other more pressing matters to attend. However, depending on the service Viziran was hoping they would perform for him a case could certainly be made that access to his library could improve their chances of success carrying out their mission. He didn't doubt it would be in the best interest of the mission to allow the arcane warrior to possibly learn new spells and also possibly get a proper spellbook instead of that mess of Trillimac she was still hauling around.

No stranger do being aloft, Traydark comfortably levitates through the towering stalagmite, soon ending up in a comfortable plush chair of his own taking a sip from his goblet while eagerly awaiting their host to tell them more about his plan to save the Underdark.