Deathtrap Dungeon: Meat and Greet (IC)

[WhiteFox]

Thessaly made her way through the crowd. Using her aurasight, it wasn't hard to pick out her masters location. What she found, however, was a surprise.

"Carter?" She said in a harsh whisper. "What are you doing here?"

Carter cocked his head slightly, and made the slightest gesture to the inert Nethalzar.

Thessaly shook her head. "Right.. of course. Vigilance." she said. "Is he still here?" She pointed to Nethalzar.

Carter shook his head.

"Wonderful. He could be gone all evening." She pointed then to Roxanne. "Who's she?"

Carter shrugged.

"Huh." She said. "Let's hope he doesn't start asking about her life story. He'll be gone for days." She glanced back to Carter. "That silence shtick can be annoying. I know you can talk."

Carter nodded.

OOC: Thessaly will take a moment to over Roxanne for herself, but I doubt she will notice anything more then Nethalzar has already.



Nethalzar regarded the spectre intently.

Emotional and confused, he thought. She needs to focus.

This room is hers. We are in her memories, in her mind. This building is the stable aspect of her thoughts; what she remembers, what she thinks. Strengthen the surroundings, and her mind will strengthen as well... as long as I can keep her emotions stable. The more stable the mansion is, the more grounded her feelings will be.

"I know your name because I am a friend to you." He deliberately kept his answer vague, and moved on smoothly to keep her from thinking too hard about it. "Tell me, Roxanne... where are we now?" He spread his hands, gesturing to the room in general. In doing so, he wove a spell that would supply Roxanne's fading energies with some of his own. "What is this place? What meaning does it hold for you?"

Though he kept his demeanour relaxed and amenable, inwardly he was coiled like a spring. The situation was precarious, and if she collapsed, he would have to act swiftly.

I have seen through that doorway. I am not keen to pass through it just yet.

OOC: Yes, I'm aware Neth might dreg up painful memories. He's taken that possibility into consideration.

[techmaster-glitch]

   Xephelon was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be able to at least see the dimensions of the dungeon right away, but otherwise, he understood what Nadihya was saying. Still, the three light-eyes on the torso-plate "blinked"...one at a time. "Well, you could have informed me of this when I first mentioned what I was going to do..."
  He looked "skyward" again. "I suppose another task of import would be to determine exactly where we are and how deep we are, then perhaps I could evaluate feasible options for establishing a direct path to the surface...but even that would likely take great amounts of time. Which leaves finding some way to expand these portals..." Xephelon looked straight ahead again. "Well, how precicely do they work? Where we are now has these fixed destination 'gates', but can the other end open up anywhere, or must the other end also be fixed to a 'gate' on the surface? I know I was led through a fixed gate, as the ones here are, but I was wondering if it it was limited to that or not..."

[Mechanisto]

The girl, stared at him for a moment longer, then looked about herself. Her spirit did indeed seem to strengthen, and so too did she become more afraid... but galvanizing fear was still a step up from paralyzing despair.

"My... home." She paused. "No... my mother's home. I... only just got back from the academy. From Saia." A slight smile found her. "I wasn't really a student... my friend was a 'cubi. I was just her servant. You know... undead minion. Carried her books and such. We were good friends. She talked the teachers into letting me take a few courses on the side."

By now, the interior had changed completely; the house was in good repair, and fully furnished. They appeared to be in the kitchen. Two faded, ghostly figures could be seen; one was Roxanne herself, and the other an older woman. They were arguing, but their words were impossible to make out.

"She didn't want me going out again... didn't want me to take a job like this. She said it was dangerous."

She hugged her knees, watching the apparitions fighting. "I guess she was right..."

-----

Warning! The rest of this post contains technical details about how the portal chamber works. If you don't care about technical details, it's probably going to be really, really boring. It's useful information, but you can skip it if you like.

Nadhiya nodded at Xephelon's questions; by now they had returned to the portal chamber. "Teleportation magic is an extremely complex field of study... but the way it actually works is simple enough for anyone to understand." At this, several more people moved closer out of curiosity. Her voice was clear and resonant, and carried very well though the hall. Her tone was that of a professional tour guide... or possibly an academy instructor. Her words sounded well rehearsed.

"Teleportation is the transfer of physical matter from one location to another, without traversing the distance between. It is not necessarily instantaneous. The transfer of pure energy is called 'teleconduction,' and the transfer of information is called 'telecommunication.'"

"Teleportation magic is very difficult to learn, and very exhausting to use. Few wizards ever master it." She gestured grandly at the large, circular room. "This room is built on a nexus point; a place where magical power is naturally amplified. Some nexus points boost all kinds of magic. This one only amplifies translocation magic... but the boost in power is tremendous. If you can teleport a mile without help, this chamber would let you teleport a hundred miles."

"The archways you see before you certainly look very fancy, but they aren't the important part. The archways are just ordinary enchanted items that allow non-magic-users to cast a standard 'portal' spell. "

"Of course, you need to be in the chamber to receive the boost. Thsi means it would help you leave... but it wouldn't help you arrive. Now, if everyone would look up for a moment..." Nadhiya gestured upwards with both hands, at a great crystal ball that hung from the celing. The entire crowd of powerful creatures looked up in unison. If they didn't look like tourists before, they almost certainly did now.

"That orb is also magical. It is enchanted with a 'beacon' spell. It generates a powerful aura that wizards... and certain magic items... can sense from far away. If you know it's here, you can teleport right to it and the chamber will still amplify your power. Thus, the archways allow people to leave and the beacon allows people to arrive. It's especially useful for  traveling to other portal chambers, which have their own archways and their own beacons... you would receive a boost from both chambers at once, allowing you to travel almost anywhere in the world... or even to other realms of existence. This is what makes 'portal networks' possible."

"Now... at the moment, these artefacts can be used by anyone at all. As you may have heard me mention before, this doesn't have to be the case. Everything in this chamber can be given a 'password.' Once a password is set, the artefacts can only be used by those who know it. They can even recognize multiple passwords; we could use one password for citizens, and a different one for town guards or officials. For example, the beacon can be used by anyone at all... but unless you know the right password, the portals will always send you back to your original location when you leave."

"As marvelous as it may be, the chamber has it's... limits. It can only transport so much mass and energy, and only so far. Sending one person a hundred miles requires just as much energy as sending a hundred people one mile. Likewise, the more complex the payload, the higher the cost; Inorganic matter is the easiest to transport. Organic but inanimate matter, like food or plants, is moderately difficult. Live or sentient matter, like people or livestock, is the hardest of all. Fortunately, the chamber recovers it's energy over time... but it must be properly managed at all times to prevent the portals from shutting down."

"That concludes the basic tutorial for the public trans-location chamber. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask."

[Chairtastic]

Barbarus was getting far too old for this. 

Having been on an earlier tour, he'd been left to his own devices in the main chamber, feasting, chatting, reconnecting with old friends...trying not to scream every time his arthritis flared up when he went to shake hands or bow to any number of Creatures looking one third his age.  A few made snide remarks, which were ignored, and a few started up tales of 'the good old days'.  Honestly, if he didn't have his flask of Cherry Mountain Punch, Barbarus would have been asleep a long time ago due to the sheer monotony, because the tea being served wasn't helping any.

A brief respite came when he discovered some other Weres roaming around, waiting for the next tour to start up.  None were from the Hagoo tribe, which Barbarus was immensely thankful for, and so greeted one they would associate with their own Tribal elders warmly, or as warmly as they could muster.  Barbarus, for his part, was civil enough, even showing the younger members of his race a greater level of respect than that which their Tribes had taught them to expect; after all, if he obtained a position at this burgeoning Dungeon, he would do well to have the favor of his own race.

"...so I told the Chief where to stick his marriage ceremony and-" Barbarus held up a hand to stop the ranting of the young Were mongoose, who obediently silenced himself.

"Much as I would like to listen to the rest, I must go.  Time to take the my medicine and all that."  The Weres exchanged the proper goodbyes, if only temporarily, and Barbarus strode off to one of the tables.  It was not, in fact time for his medicine, but time for his next dosage of caffeine.  Already, he was starting to stumble, and mishear things as the chemical worked its way out of his bloodstream, however enough remained to keep him from snapping unnecessarily. 

Bypassing the crowd, he procured a cup of the accursed coffee, laden with milk and sweeteners, then paused when he heard the hostess giving some exposition on the workings of the portal chamber.  Never one to pass up a bit of information, Barbarus spun on his heel, to get closer, occasionally sipping his new drink with obvious dislike. 

When Nadhiya called for question, Barbarus thrust his hand up into the air, like a schoolchild would when requesting permission to speak.  Provided the Naga deigned to call upon him, Barbarus would put forth a question.  "How exactly would the portals classify heavily enchanted items, like magical homes, or something of similar nature?"

(Well, there it is.  I hope its okay, and that I'm not being too presumptuous. ) 

[Drayco84]

   Zyrais followed along with Xephelon, suspicious of Nadhiya's suddenly stern demeanor and odd revelations... The place itself was not only currently wide open for anyone to enter, especially suspicious-seeming characters such as himself, but there wasn't much actually here, just a handful of empty areas with no magical energy whatsoever...
   Then again, the fact that she was so defensive of it led him to believe that something odd was going on... Plus, the lack of magic itself was quite odd, plus the lack of any kind of life in the water... But, what could it possibly mean? There was one possibility that immediately came to mind... That this area was somewhere other than the material realm, like a permanent instance of "Mage's Magnificent Mansion", or a Fae's planar home, or even... A Fae's plane?!
   It took everything within Zyrais to stop himself from screaming aloud. He had tangled with a Fae... Once... And he still wasn't sure how that had turned out... All he could remember were the words "I've done something horrible to you, and you'll have to guess what it is!" Ugh...
   Still, he could also understand her position as the area was in a highly vulnerable state. Heck, the portals that Nadhiya was explaining about were currently the lifeblood of this place so far, and if something happened to them...
   His thoughts were interrupted yet again when a newcomer asked Nadhiya about how the portals treated heavily magical items. He listened in, hoping that his coat with numerous "Pockets of Holding" weren't seconds away from falling apart...

[WhiteFox]

Nethalzar took a seat next to Roxanne. "You are not in any danger at this moment." He said. "You stand before the gates to the afterlife, and there is nothing to fear from them. Beyond them is nothing more then the next phase of awareness in the journey that all living things are a part of. If it is your time to pass on, you may do so knowing that this life was a full one. If you do not feel it is your time, it is within my power to return you to your mortal body." He said. He put a hand on her shoulder, gently. "The choice is yours."
     "I may be able to offer you a full time position as well."

[VAE]

Glup thought for a moment
::The portal bandwidth is expensive, going out for  brains will be expensive, as they are highly structured matter.
I might as well close up the whole shop.... d**n this, think!.. Oh , right!::
The crustacean turned to Nadhiya and asked:
"If there'sh no ekshit, physhical one, we might make it! I know a few puglple wormsh outhshide - they agle exshellent diggeglsh, and woglk cheaply on a "eat ash you dig" bashe!  They could make ush a decent entgly and ai' duct in mathe' of daysh!"

[Mechanisto]

Nadhiya Gestured to Barbarus as he raised his hand. "Ah. An excellent question. The energy required to transport an enchanted item is similar to that of a sentient organism. All living things have a magical aura, and enchanted items have a similar kind of aura as well. The more powerful the enchantment, the greater the drain on the portal... however, even the most powerful of all artefacts are still less complicated than a living animal."

"As for pocket dimensions... if you transported a bag of holding, the portal would still expend energy to transport everything in the bag. The contents may be weightless, but they still exist. This means you can't just smuggle things in without someone noticing."

At this point, several of the people in the tour group began looking slightly apprehensive.

She looked over at Glup after he made his comment. "Excavation will certainly be a useful skill. However, there's no great hurry; the portal may have limited bandwidth... but it was designed for an entire city. It can transport roughly five thousand people each day." The crowd murmured at that... that was enough to teleport an impressive army in the space of a week or so.

"This is a small amount of activity for a city, of course... but for a smaller population, it could provide unlimited transportation. By the time we need a better portal chamber, we'll have more than enough resources to improve it."

-----

Just then, one of the portals flared slightly; the shimmering blue surface rippled, and someone walked through; yet another burly warlord, clad in formal armor. As he entered, though, something caught Xephelon's finely honed sense of magical awareness.

it was something about the portal... and what it was doing. Something didn't quite make sense. The amount of magical energy it was radiating seemed... off. A moment later, the effect passed. It was just a feeling, and it might have been nothing.

-----

Roxanne gazed at the quarreling apparitions, as if unable to look away. The energies Nethalzar had sacrificed for the girl were already strengthening their surroundings; her memories were still faded and broken... but her spirit was stronger. More confident. Now, all that remained was to see whether she would sep back from the abyss... or go willingly into the beyond.

or... attack nethalzar out of a fit of pique. While she had an overwhelming home advantage.

She looked at Nethalzar's hand on her shoulder, than up at his face. She was smiling. "I... would like that."

[Drayco84]

   Zyrais was one of the several among the crowd that seemed more than a little nervous thanks to Nadhiya's revelation... He had only been collecting unusual, rare, and/or magical artifacts for close to four hundred years now and even HE now longer knew what was hoarded away inside his coat... The only thing he was certain of was, if for some reason, the transdimensional pockets suddenly ceased, then the explosion of junk would certainly bury him alive, as well as several other creatures nearby...

See the OOC for details.

[techmaster-glitch]

   Xephelon listened with great interest as Nadihya explained how the portal room worked. He had already begun thinking of various projects he could undertake to improve them. One of the other creatures present inquired about how the portals dealt with magic items (something that Xephelon did also have a personal interest in, quite obviously). Glup also spoke up, saying that he knew a creature called a 'purple worm' that could dig a tunnel to the surface for them. Xephelon made a note to get more information on that later.
  Nadihya then explained that magic items were indeed more difficult for the portals to transport, something that made Xephelon's exoshell almost look like it was "shuffling" uncomfortably. Then she said that the portal chamber's current capacity was five thousand people per day. That was indeed incredible! In fact, it brought something else back into the realm of possibility...he once turned towards Kittrick, and almost began to move towards her, but then something else caught his attention.
  Someone--a large armored person--had just come through the portal, and with his exoshell extending the range of his natural magic-sense, he noticed something didn't seem...right, about how the portal reacted. On a curiosity whim, Xephelon focused his sense in that direction and activated the 'analysis-sight' enchantment in the exoshell's eyes that further enhanced his sense and gave it a 'visualization'. Xephelon never needed it so often before, and he wondered if he'd now have to keep it on all the time...

[VAE]

Glup was the second to raise a tentacle:
"Whath abouth ... paglthial people... you know whath i mean... doesh it go shimply by mash, ogl ish the tishue quality a fakchto' ? "
He noticed the incoming warlord.
::How unevolved these beings are - their outer body is weak so they need to encase themselves in exoskeletons of their own make if they want to be any good in battle...::

[Chairtastic]

Barbarus sipped his drink while Nadhiya explained about how magical items factored in, the exposition serving to distract him from the sludge-like taste of the drink.  Unlike some of the people around him, Barbarus was not at all perturbed by the fact that the portals were aware of what he had in his pockets of holding, because he had no pockets of holding.  The magic to Create such things were beyond his skill at his zenith, so now it was even less possible.  Besides, why would anyone bring enough items to an interview/tour full of Evil doers to warrant such a thing?

The arrival of the new warlord sparked his curiosity; the armor style was most familiar. Maybe I used to do henchwork for his father or uncle, Barbarus told himself, then sipped his coffee again.  And promptly spasmed.  He could almost smell how horribly it tasted.

[Lisky]

The large canine demon had remained quiet as he followed the party into the portal chamber.  He watched each with mild amusement... they were not fighters for the most parts, engineers, accountants, tradesmen... but not warriors.  While they talked about what they planned to do.  He sipped his tea impassively, stretched his wings and yawned.  Long rows of razor sharp, and eerily white teeth greeted those who were looking his way.  

He waited for a break in the conversation before interjecting his first words since his own questions on an earlier tour, "I'm curious, Nadhiya, you mentioned gathering resources to either expand, or build a new portal chamber... how do you intend to collect that which you cannot mine or harvest from the immediate area around your lair?  While impressive, defensively... nothing i've seen thus far seems to tell me you're prepared to... how to put it... Expand, aggressively?"  

The flash of those white teeth again, in a toothy, predatory grin.  The demon strode into a better light, displaying his full body.  Massive dark wings, large horns, and a warlord type appearance would best describe him.  He wore a leather tunic, black with forest green trim around the sleeveless shoulders, under the arms, flowing down to his midsection, and around the bottom of the tunic.  His pants appeared to be cotton, baggy, and loose.  He wore silver accents, rings around his biceps held the detached sleeves in place, ring-like clamps in his hair held the long coils.  A seeming hodgepodge of religious artifacts dangled at the ends of his dread-lock like hair.  A soft jingle as he moved as the small trinkets banged together.  

[WhiteFox]

Nethalzar nodded. "Good... good. I will see you in the waking world, then." He said. Her spirit seemed strong and stable now; her soul was probably already firmly situated in her body.

Before he left, he stopped to close the door. It wasn't wise to leave loose ends lying about, after all.



Nethalzar, back in his body, sat upright again. He took a moment to straighten his tie, then his lapels.

"Thessaly?" He said.

"Yes, master?" She said.

"When Roxanne wakens, interview her for a position. Probably clerical, but go through her skills and experience." He said. Without looking, he plucked a wine glass from a passing tray, and took a sip.

"Clerical," Thessaly said, pointing to her notebook, "...or clerical?" she said, pointing to Carter.

"Secretarial." Nethalzar answered. "I will have to discuss the matter with Nadihya. Where can I find her?"

Thessaly pointed towards the portal chamber. "She's explaining minutia regarding portal mechanics."

Nethalzar sipped again. "Very good then. Write up a report on the tour and get it too me." Nethalzar said.  Thessaly nodded in reply, and Nethalzar strode over to the portal room to speak with Nadihya.

OOC: I'm going to wait for Nadihya to reply to Baseel before I enter that conversation.

[Mechanisto]

Xephelon's magical analysis seemed to work fine in this place. Immediately, almost all of the guests in the room lit up like fireworks as their various magical effects and enchanted items became visible. Even more conspicuous, however, were the guests who showed up as a great dark void; they had obviously taken pains to shroud their auras.

Xephelon could sense nothing unusual about the person who had just arrived. After a few moments, though, another person stepped through an archway. The portal pulsed brightly, and then faded again... but as it pulsed, he noticed somethign else; as the person appeared, a steady arc of energyseemed to flow between the portal and the person's aura. It looked like a bolt of lightning... but steady, slow, and continuous. It obviously wasn't actual lightning... or actual energy, really. It was like... a magical connection. It faded from view after only a moment.

-----

Nadhiya gestured to Glup as she addressed his question. "It is a combination of both mass and complexity. Partial people would fall under the category of organic matter if they are dead. A living brain in a jar, for example, would be very complex but take up very little mass.

The Canine Demon's question drew not only Nadhiya's attention, but that of the other guests. The issue of 'aggressive expansion' was obviously on their minds as well.

"Developing trade and industry will be the complex's biggest priority... at first. I would prefer to avoid military action until we're certain we can get away with it. The master of this dungeon will eventually have objectives for us... but for the moment, he is content to let the local creature counci... committee decide for themselves what they wish to do."

"For the time being, we have permission to engage in battle and warfare however we wish... but we must be careful not to make too many powerful enemies. This place will have military power, but it is also a home to be protected and safeguarded."

[WhiteFox]

     Nethalzar spoke loud enough for Baseel to hear him as he entered the portal chamber and approached Nadihya. "I am curious, newcomer; can you yourself form and command an army?" He sipped his wine. "This dungeons is only just being formed. Armies must be gathered before they can be commanded."

OOC: Just to avoid confusion, Neth isn't wearing the outfit described on his character sheet right now. He's in a black three button blazer, black dress slacks, a narrow black tie, and a crimson dress shirt. So he doesn't look much like warrior.

[Tipod]

Following after the more recent entrants, a single, relatively human figure slid forth from the shimmering light. He stumbled and slipped further into view, unused to passing through tears in the space-time continuum, and even more unnerved by the sight of the Creatures all around. Never before had Mnogo thrown himself into a convention full of meatsacks. Their scaled, plated, feathered and furred bodies turned his empty pit of a stomach as though someone had just shoved him into a landfill, his oily body visibly quaking and melting in a rush of disgust--

Though the mudman quickly realized that he was at an upscale social function and in no position be judging the guests or staff. His liquid form quickly straightened back up to a tall, dignified posture as he slithered forward, trying his best to keep his lower-half as coagulated as possible. The last thing he needed was someone slipping on a trail of himself and breaking their back.

He said nothing as he continued sliding away from the portals, his blank slate of a face making brief contact with the other Creatures nearby, light glimmering in a filmy sheen across his entire form.

[Liatai]

Kittrick listened closely as Nadhiya explained the finer points of the portals, growing conscious of the fact that the group was growing steadily larger as she talked. At one point, she found herself straining to look over the heads of Glup and  a rather tall creature whose species she could not identify. Without thinking, she reared back onto her haunches like a dog begging for a treat, only remembering to utter a quiet apology to Dee after a second or two. After all, she normally only carried packages on her back, and they didn't need apologies.

She caught a glimpse of the armored warlord, and then heard people asking questions. She started to raise her paw to ask one of her own... and that's when she saw it. It was sliding through the portal when her gaze fell upon the thing.

Oh.

My.

GOD.

It was a walking pile of filth! A horrid creature that seemed to have crawled from the darkest, slimiest places of every mud hole she had ever seen! It trailed slime. It dripped muck! It had an oily sheen to it!

Suddenly, the algae-covered crustacean in front of her didn't seem quite so bad.

Kittrick's ears went flat against her head, and she ducked back down, choking back a grimace. No, no. This was a social function. She would maintain dignity. After a few moments, she lifted her head with a cool and aloof expression, but her twitching tail, flattened ears, and ruffled feathers would betray her disgust.

[VAE]

*glurp* *gargle*
Glup laughed
::The brains i'll be transporting sure won't be living... in this way, the few dozen to a hundred each week will just go unnoticed::

Suddenly he heard some strange noises from behind him. Turning somewhat, he noticed Kittrick recoiling like a cat thrown into water... and with the other eye (remember, glup has eyes at an angle such that the fields of vision just about touch , but giving a  wide vision segment) noticing something that made him rather unhappy too... Mudman... and not just any damn old one, but a most capital example of the species. These ... items' love for damp caves put them at an interest clash with Glup several times, and it never was a pleasant fight. Them not being alive in the classical sense meant that his paralytic poison exuded by the tentacles was useless, and any psionic attacks did little to their rudimentary but rugged minds (this is how i think it is at least for the low-grade mudmen with little awareness), much like a hammer can easier break a crafted steel helmet, than a simple block of metal.
::Hmm , last thing i missed here... now we just need some druids and the "fun" will be complete:: Glup finally thought and began unthinkingly sharpening his huge pincers on nearby rocks - pretty much the only effective weapon he had in case this encounter proved less than friendly....

[Chairtastic]

Barbarus nearly choked on the sight of a mud creature slithering through the portal, and into the main chamber.  The sight, while slightly revolting, gave him a sudden burst of inspiration.  Again, his hand went up into the air, and if called upon, he would ask:

"Is it possible to send a spell through the portals, or to use them to extend the range of telepathic abilities?"

Once his question was answered, he would take a sip of his coffee, but found that his cup was empty.  As much as he was glad the horrible drink was finally gone, he still had not restored the caffeine in his blood to desirable levels.  Unfortunately, the crowd behind him was too thick to get through, and his attempts to negotiate their moving were for naught.

So, frowning, he bit the rim of his cup, and shrunk down to his Primal form.  The sudden flaring of his magical aura startled the crowd enough that the scarred large cat was able to pass through their legs rather easily, even with a mug hanging from his mouth.

He made it through the crowd, and back to the tables of food, then resumed his default form.  Jerks, the lot of you, Barbarus thought to himself, as he refilled his cup, complete with milk, sweeteners, and some cream this time.  Oh, delicious cream... Then came the arduous task, of re-navigating the forest of legs with a full cup of hot coffee hanging from his mouth this time.   More than once, his tail was trod upon by someone adjusting their footing, and more than once he had to flare his aura to get them off.

Once Barbarus was back in his old spot, he took the hot coffee away from his face, and rubbed his sore tail while he listened to any further exposition.  

(Note, Edit: Fixed a rather embarrassing typo. )

[Mechanisto]

Nadhiya did indeed respond to Barbarus' question. "Yes... though it can get a very tricky, depending on the spell. The portal effectively reduces the range to your target by several factors... but this is only useful for spells that can already be used at a distance. for example, I could use the portal to cast 'Rain of Stones' at a distant location. I could not, however cast 'Miraculous Resurrection,' because that spell requires me to touch the subject..."

At this point, several members of the tour group seemed to lose interest in Nadhiya's speech. Several heavily armored creatures wandered off, and a handful of trendily dressed female 'Cubi began babbling amongst themselves as they headed back for the feasting tables. Most of those who remained seemed very interested in the technical nitty-gritty details.

[Lisky]

Turning his attention to the Giraffe, Baseel gave a polite nod, "but of course! Why would i apply for a position of power if i find myself unable to lead troops into battle..."

About to continue his banter with the undead demon, Bas stood agape as the portal opened and what appeared to be a sentient blob of mud appeared.  His first reaction was to prepare a combat spell... He wasn't letting another elemental get the drop on him.  Claws extended, flesh hardened, and the dance of a shadowy mist surrounded his fingertips on his right hand.

His initial reaction quickly faded, as the mud-creature appeared to not be hostile.  Switching spells, the canine quickly put a shield over his entire body, a solid barrier of shadow, a thin shield against the grim the creature was dripping.  With protection in place, though the magical aura being the only sign of the shadowy shield Bas had woven, the demon moved to continue his conversation.  "Not that i wouldn't appreciate help if it would be offered... I am a man who does lead from the front after all... I expect that gathering and training an army may take several months... at least, to have them fully capable of handling anything outside a routine invasion."  

Giving a shrug, he added in a bit of a sarcastic tone, "Experienced soldiers aren't cheap, and they tend to work for the highest bidder... recruiting from the residence is probably the best option for living, breathing, fighters."

[Drayco84]

   Zyrais was close enough to watch not only the demon ask his question and listen in to the response, but to see Nathalzar come in and try to start a conversation. Or rather, point out a flaw in the demon's line of reasoning. However, Baseel seemed to agree with him, then turned and suddenly reacted...
   Zyrais followed Baseel's gaze and noticed the mudman, but didn't even flinch. After all, his "Flight" spell was still active, and all he needed to do was spread his wings and move out of harm's way.
   "And such soldiers will also need provisions, weapons, armor, and other gear. All items that currently, the dungeon lacks the means to produce." Zyrais chimed in, sipping a mug of cider that he had taken from the buffet tables when nobody was looking. That also reminded him, where the heck did he put that cheesecake he had started on before the tour? Strangely enough, it felt like weeks had passed since the tour he'd been on had began... Regardless, he wasn't surprised that neither party had noticed him. "I'd give you a proper demon or angel greeting, but this place lacks a colosseum or some other place suitable for combat and I'd prefer to avoid collateral damage because so far, nobody has been employed yet."

I'm making an educated guess as to a proper demon/angel greeting, based on DMFA's Demonology.



   Dee was almost asleep when Kittrick suddenly reared up on her rear legs, leaving her completely surprised and gripping tightly with her claws while flapping her wings to keep herself from falling. Thankfully, her ride quickly realized her mistake and settled back down. Dee was about to inform Kittrick that her apology was accepted when the gryphon suddenly spazzed out at some slime-thing wandering around in the portal chamber.
   "Heh... That thing almost reminds me of a golem made from chocolate pudding I met once..." Dee stated. "It's only flaw was that it was too delicious..."

[Tipod]

Mnogo noted Nadhiya's tour group; the naga herself obviously commanded some respect. If anyone could tell him what he should be doing or when the interviews would start, well... it would probably be the important-looking serpent fielding all the questions.

"Excuse me," he spoke in reasonably clear, slightly accented English, "but I was led to believe there would be... how you say, interviewing? When will that be?" Deep down, it was him asking just how long he was expected to mingle with so much organic life. Already he had noticed some agitated glares from those in the group, the gryphon especially. Her fidgeting tail and ears caught his ire, the exact kind of signs these animals gave off when they were repulsed or frightened. As much as he enjoyed those reactions when hunting, seeing them in what was supposed to be a professional get-together annoyed him.

He gave a momentary glare towards Kittrick. For something without an actual face, he certainly knew how to make an unsettling sneer.

(I just had to have him sneer a little at Kittrick since I imagine it's kinda hard not to notice how squeamish she's acting )

[Liatai]

"Chocolate... pudding?" The sheer absurdity made the gryphon blink. What sort of addlepated wizard would make a guardian out of chocolate pudding? "I must hear the story behind this..."

Well. If she squinted, maybe, she could imagine the thing as being made of sentient chocolate pudding. That was... slightly less filthy, she supposed. Slightly. Slightly.

Oh gods, it was sneering at her. The thing without a face was sneering at her. It's chocolate pudding, it's chocolate pudding... She inclined her head slightly toward the creature, accompanying the polite gesture with a cold glare and curling her tail around her paws.

[VAE]

As Glup was eyeing the mudman, it turned its blank face in his direction, and  a sneering  mouth formed on its surface, like if some invisible stonemason has cleaved it in.
Suddenly, even the druids seemed like a pleasant option.
:: ****! Perhaps he is a relative or a chieftain of one of the bunch i had to deal with back then... or he just wants trouble. Better sort it out here in front of everyone... the gryphon seems to dislike him - she might be useful if it gets dense::
Glup turned towards the newcomer, and spoke in his usual, slushy manner.  Inadvertently, he began to emit a psychic hum, a fact picked up by Kittrick , Dee, and in general just about anyone about 6 feet around him (this is just anger stuff now, not "weapon grade" like with Zyrais)
"One should be cagleful whath fashe one shows to thoshe aglound, ogl he mighth loshe ith... fgliend"  Glup remarked to the newcomer, broke off a rock  from the floor, and crushed it almost effortlessly with one massive pincer.

[techmaster-glitch]

   As Xephelon cast his fresh vision around, he noted that nearly everyone has something magical in or on them, and the various shades gave away the basic types of underlying magic, although a few people were more than just blank. Ah well; to be expected, not very interesting.
  As he watched the warlord who had just arrived, he could not discern anything out of the ordinary about him or the portal...but someone else then arrived right after the warlord. This time, there was an anomaly. The person seemed connected to the portal for a moment, before the connection vanished.
  How odd. Xephelon remembered the image of the person who just walked through, resolved to take a closer look at the affected portal very soon, and inform Nadihya. Although, while it was anomalous, it didn't seem very threatening, and thus not terribly urgent.
  The conversation around him, however, was more worrying. Several newcomers had begun talk of the dungeon's future military capacity. Xephelon certainly could and would create battle constructs and other weapons for the defense of the dungeon, but he did most certainly support Nadihya in the idea that aggression was likely a very bad one. Zyrais also made the comment himself about the Dungeon lacking the means to produce equipment.
  "In terms of military-grade gear, especially highly enchanted weapons and defenses, that is another thing I believe I could aid in establishing in the time to come. I am also capable of crafting constructs, and I could design them to be great juggernauts of battle. Constructs are also inherently superior to living troops in terms of longevity, upkeep, and lacking all other physical weaknesses of flesh..."
  Another entity had also arrived through the portal, and this one seemed to stir up some consternation. It was some kind of amorphous mass of dirt...how curious. Although Glup and Kittrick didn't seem to think so, especially when the Chuul made an actual threatening gesture towards the mud-thing. Xephelon decided to remove himself from the area of this uncomfortable situation and eased away, closer to Nadihya (and the portals) again.

[WhiteFox]

     Nethalzar nodded to Nadihya as he crossed the portal chamber. "Good hostess; I may have committed a breach of etiquette. There's a young lady whom, due to extenuating circumstances, I've made a job offer to." He sipped his wine. "I do not mean to poach potential employees, but nor can I, or do I, yet assume the authority to hire her on your behalf. We may have to resolve the matter at a later date." He said.
     Nethalzar turned to face the newly arrived demon. "If a warlord and a necromancer have anything in common, it would be the difficulty in keeping minions from wreaking havoc while they are not in use." He said. "Whatever armies you come to lead, I hope you can command them off the field as well as on it."
     The giraffe cocked his head. "That's an interesting assortment of sigils you've adorned yourself with. Do they represent those you pray to, or those you prey on?"

[Lisky]

"Oh, they represent those souls who've been used for purposes beyond what... nature intended... so to speak.  They're mostly remnants of unsuccessful adventurers... Apologies for not catching your name early, by the way."

Proffering a hand the demon added, "Baseel Wolkshammar, or, The Basilisk, if you prefer what the adventurers call me.  Warlord and shadowmage.  At your service."

He gave an overly flashy bow, flourishing his arms wide, letting the silver trinkets in his hair jingle as the cables slid forwards.

He started intentionally ignoring the others about him, pleasant conversation was always appreciated, and he was starting to enjoy himself here.

[WhiteFox]

     Nethalzar made a half-bow. "Nethalzar: Professor, Doctor, Master, and Bachelor." He said. When he rose, he took Baseel's hand and gave it a firm pump. "Necromancer and Deathknight, skilled with book and blade alike. Once a demon, now ranked among the Undead."
    He sipped his wine. "I look forward to working with you. Wars make bodies, after all."


See OOC note. (Link)