Dragon of Icespire Peak ***CLOSED***

Vadernul lifts up the gnome lion king style.  “We found this one along the way.  She tried to hurt us with her shooty shooty.  Her words were more hurtful.”

Barric winces as Vadernul lifts up someone who is likely a highly respected member of this society as an offering, hand on his blade in case things go south.

Vaxis smiles a toothy grin as Brutus Vadernul manhandles the gnome.

Serves him right. Delusional my scaly tail, he thinks to himself.

"We come with peaceful intentions. Please refrain from having testing any more contraptions."

The gnomes both roll their eyes in exasperation at the sight of Vadernul holding up Facktore’. “Greetings, Sir Ando,” begins the male gnome, “I am Pog, Sentry of Gnomengarde. Allow me to extend a most-gracious welcome to your and your allies on behalf of our two kings, Korboz and Gnerkli. And our most-sincerest apologies for any inconvenience Facktore’ may have caused you. We hope no one was injured by her...research. She is irreversibly mad, the result of an over-aggressive experiment with the wild magic that surrounds this place. If you would kindly set her down, Ulla (he motions to the female gnome at his side) will ensure she is properly looked after. Fibblestib and Dabbledob’s laboratory is west of here, although making it past the turbines could be dangerous. If you have some form of telekinesis, there is a shut-off level on the west wall of the chamber immediately west of the bridge. Should you meet other inhabitants of Gnomengarde, please provide them with the password ‘Spacklesplatz’ and they will know you are friends.”

Tabesha'l makes her way towards the sentries and lowers her hood.

" Sincere Greetings to Thee, most-honored Denizens. I am Tabesha'l of House Pananthyr, prime noviciate from the Taelessar Arcanum of the Moon Elves of Andhruin. My skills in the arcane allow me to use certain, shall we say, abilities... unfortunately I seem to have exhausted some of my control over the Weave, especially concerning the dominion over gravity. Nevertheless if you should be so kind as to let us regain our strength for a moment, I am sure I shall be able to replenish my ressources shortly... "

She gives Pog and Ulla a small curtsy before finishing; " ... unless one of thee would be so kind as to accompany us some of the way and show us the safest route ? Of course I do not mean to divert thee from thy duties, yet I feel our mission could be of interest both for the good folks of Phandalin as well as benefiting the fame and glory of thy People, without mentioning the state of their purse. Maybe there is someone in charge that could be told of our presence here, even ? Would thou know of someone such ?"

** Pulling all stops to enroll Pog's help: Persuasion 21 . NOTE: she'll be content with a short rest, if that's on the cards... **

Vadernul listens and places Facktore’ next to the other gnomes.  “We appreciate this.”  After smiling and just watching Tabesha’l in her element.

POG TO TABESHA’L: “I am afraid, Lady Tabesha’l, that I cannot depart from my post, however I can keep watch while you recover some of your control over the Weave. Please be mindful though: any magic cast here, other than the most basic of wizardly spells will excite the wild magic that surrounds Gnomengarde. Please exercise caution in the application of your craft fair lady.”

 The elf magus registers Pog's answer with a small bow and a calm smile before turning towards the group:

" I shall then leave it to my comrades to decide on the wisest course of action: what doest thee all say ? Shall we rest here a while, or continue on... ? I daresay my magic may not be of as much use as I'd hoped in this case..."

POG TO TABESHA’L: “If you can’t deactivate the turbines, the other option would be to utilize the northern-most entrance to the western tunnel complex. From the mist pool, if you are facing westward it will be high up on top of a ledge to your right. You’ll need to scale up a 30-foot shear rock face to reach it and should you need a grapple for your ropes, I am sure you can find one lying around in Facktore’s ‘laboratory.’ Please take whatever you can salvage from that blasted machine, I thought we had removed the components that would allow it to function, but alas we underestimated her ingenuity. ‘Tis a shame, she was such a gifted inventor once...”

”One more thing milady, once you reach the top of the ledge, please be as quiet as you can. The northwestern entrance opens into the sleeping chambers for our night-shift workers. Try not to wake them as they tend to cast first and ask questions later if startled. A few of our kind have gone missing here lately and it has everyone just a little on edge.”

The gnome offers Tabesha’l a gracious bow befitting a visitor of her nobility and title.

Connak looks at his companions, "Well, besides trying to shoot the lever, I have no way of stopping the 'turbines', whatever those are.  If no one else can either, then I'd rather climb the cliff since grappling hooks are being offered."

Vaxis looks concerned.

"What do you mean, missing?"

"Perhaps a couple of us could go salvage from the machine while Tabesha'l recovers. Connak I would be happy to accompany you to see what we can pull off."

 Tabesha'l bows graciously to the guards before turning to Connak: 

" Honored Pog has the right of it: I found myself up at the entrance of said-sleeping quarters just moments before floating back down to join thee all, and the sounds of faint but distinctive snoring could be heard in the depths. Methinks this would surely be a job for one as light-footed as thee, Thuniviel ."

She gives the wood elf a quick wink before adding: " As much as magic may prove difficult in these surroundings, I do have the ability to put these casters back to sleep, or at least attempt to, shoud they be awoken by mistake... not that I would ever be so brazen as to doubt your professional abilites, of course."

** If Tabesha'l is allowed a short rest she will regain a level 2 spell slot and get ready to push on ahead. **

Connak does a double take at Tabesha'l suggestion, "As much as thee thinks it's OK to sneak around in places where we wish to be welcomed... it would not be a good idea for me to be out and about sneaking around alone if we want to be welcome back here in the future.  Too many temptations.  Besides, aren't you mage types able to make servants or invisible hands do things like throw a switch?"

Pog blushes a bit at Vaxis’ prodding: “Ah, perhaps I have commented a bit beyond that which is appropriate for one of my station. Please forgive my error, Sir Wyrm.”

“We made it pass the Shooty device, do we really think the turbine will be any different?  It sounds more straight forward than climbing and sneaking around.  I can go first again and pull the lever making it safe for everyone.”  Vadernul offers

Under his breath so the gnomes cannot hear, Barric mutters to himself.

"So they build a spinning blade with the shut off behind it. And then they call the gnome that was only actively trying to kill us crazy while it seems their whole damn city is designed to do just that..."

Turning to the confer with the others, Barric sighs.

"I say we try putting an arrow through the turbine to shut it off, and if that does not work Vadernul can give it a try. I do not want to deal with a small army of angry gnomes when we inevitably wake them up."

POG TO BARRIC: “Begging your pardon, kind sir but unlike Facktore’s ridiculous contraption you had the misfortune to encounter earlier, the turbines have a functional defensive purpose here at Gnomengarde. For this reason, we would suggest you don’t render them permanently unusable...with a bit of nimble footwork, and perhaps the blessings of their deity, one can dance through the blades with very little chance of decapitation.”

Vaxis looks troubled. He glances at Pog.

"No good sir, what is going on that we should be aware of?"

Tabesha'l gives Connak a level look, but doesn't answer the elven rogue directly. Instead she softly smiles and turns back towards Pog.

" Methinks friend Barric has a fair point : what about offering thy help to shut off said mechanism ? Methinks we have proven our peaceful intentions, and thou must have some way to get to the other side without having to wait for the others to let thee through, hast thou not ?"

She plunges her eyes into the gnome's and as they sparkle with an eerie blue light, those of her companions standing behind her can notice her long, delicate fingers wiggling lightly, the motion half-hidden inside the deep sleeves of her robes...

** Casting Charm Person on Pog, while attempting to hide her use of magic with Sleight Of Hand 22 **