The Clockwork Mansion

   Zeshak could barely recognize the dungeon now as he made his way through the cavernous central foyer. His people had spent the last two months refurbishing and repairing this place. They had turned the crumbling walls into clean rooms and corridors... but now, they were furnished. There were wrought iron chandeliers and sconces everywhere, casting a flickering, yellow glow. The main room was filled with fountains, shallow aqueducts, and wall-based waterfalls, with  tapestries and statues placed here and there.
   And, more than that, it was crowded. Creatures of all shapes and size mingled and wandered, with a palpable sense of paranoia and intrigue; they were here for a meet-and-greet, to speak with the dungeon's master and secure a position of power. Of course, there were only so many positions to go around...
   The Dungeon only had one leader at the moment, and it was she that Zeshak sought. He managed to avoid being trampled underfoot, and slipped under one of the huge buffet tables; some were laden with pastries and deserts, whereas others were little more than heaps of animal carcasses that had been seared in one of the nearby bonfires... as rare as it could be, and still be called cooked. His people were handling all the catering... not because Kobolds were good at it (they weren't), but because they were the only ones available to do anything. They had purchased the food, but couldn't hire waiters or attendants. He slipped out from under the tablecloth, darted through a side corridor, and went into a room clearly labeled "staff only." The dungeon's lone administrator stood in the center of the room, frantically sorting papers. She was a Naga; a humanoid reptilian from the waist up, with the tail of a gargantuan serpent from the hips and below.
   Zeshak gasped at the sight of her outfit; she wore a flimsy and revealing series of silken sashes, clasped by an array of golden jewelry. Webs of rings and chains draped across her neck, hanging from a series of piercings.
   "Nadhiya! What are you wearing!?"
   She jumped a bit, as if embarrassed to be seen dressed so. "This is my priestess uniform. My... employer... insisted I attend the event in formal attire. I don't know why a black tie and suit isn't formal... but never-mind that. How many have arrived?"
   "Half of the invitation list is here. Many other guests have shown up as well." He glanced up at her, nervously. "You... not cold, blessed one?"
   She waved at him, annoyed. "Use my name. I'm not here in as a religious authority... just an administrator." He nodded, and scampered back out. She took a breath, and gazed in her full length mirror one last time.
   This is it. Our first impression. Our first encounter with the outside world. Our best opportunity to establish ourselves... may as well get the first major disaster of the day out of the way...
   She blinked, and called for Zyshak. He returned in a moment, peeking through the archway. "Yes Bless... Nadhiya?"
   "I need to speak with the mercenary corps we hired on as event security. Send in their leader."
   He blinked. "There no mercenary. You wanted mercenary? Why we no have mercenary?"
   She bit her bottom lip. "They were supposed to be here two hours ago... very well. Change in plans. Your people will have to handle security. Have two dozen of your men fetch their spears."
   Zeshak's bright green eyes bulged. "Guards? With stone spears? There dragons out there! I saw dragon!" Nadhiya clenched her teeth at him, letting out a sharp, rattling hiss. He scampered off, almost tripping in his haste.
   Her face fell, and her shoulders slumped. First major disaster complete. Onto the next one... whatever that might be. She set out of the room, and entered the crowded foyer; smiling, shaking hands, and bowing as best she could at every turn. They couldn't afford to offend anyone today... no-one important, at any rate.
   She did everything she could not to shiver... her cold-blooded skin was freezing.

   The spacious portal chamber was awash with the lights of glowing gems and magic runes, and constant streams of people came and went. A pair of tiny, Kobold guards stood by the entrance, dressed in rags and leather scraps, and armed with tiny stone-tipped spears. A large banner hung from the wall, with a table covered in neatly tied scrolls, all containing the event regulations in every language imaginable. The rules were simple, and straightforward:

By entering the main foyer, I agree to abide by the following rules for the duration of my stay:

The event must be all inclusive and may not segregate. I will abuse or expel no guest, invited or otherwise, on the basis of their race, religion, criminal record, political affiliation, or their personal relationship with me.
I will engage in no brawling, trickery, or aggressive spell casting whatsoever during the event, for any reason.
I am entitled to self defense, but only if I take my issues up with the local militia before, during, or after.
I will not damage or alter the terrain or architecture of the dungeon, or any of it's subsidiary caves.
I will not harm or antagonize the local militia or dungeon staff.

IGNORANCE OF THESE RULES IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE DEFENSE FOR ANY INFRACTION!
All offending guests will be escorted to the portal chamber and returned to their point of origin.

Guided tours will be held at regular intervals, but guests are free to explore the caves.
There will be feasts held over the next five days, at 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, with an all day buffet in between.
Feel free to contact Nadhiya, the Dungeon Administrator, for any questions or comments you may have.[/color

*clank clank clank*
A set of  8 armored feet hitting the stone floor is heard through the hallway as a long being vaguely resembling an evil tentacled lobster crawls in through the entrance.
It stops by the banner, and begins to scan it until it reaches the part in languages it can comprehend.
::guulshui... tribechoice?? what is that?:: he thinks. A quick glance at the Common part and a little bit of thought reveals that this was an unfortunate attempt of the translator to explain "political affiliation" to the creatures of the underdark....
He laughs, which resembles methane gas bubbling in a pond.
::this should mean no pesky druid attacking me, at least not as a supposed ally::
Sensing around, he proceeds to the main cave where the naga, similar to the newspaper picture stands.

"Ggleethings ! I am Glup, and i am hegle fo' the place of a dungeon glesidenth", he speaks in a relatively well intelligible common if one ignores the gargling noises, a feat impressive for a creature lacking a mammalian type mouth....
"Do you speak deep? my command of common is  somewhat embarrasing"

Somewhere within the crowd of creatures near the buffet tables, a blue-feathered gryphon hobbled along on three legs, one of the offered scrolls clipped to her newly-polished messenger's harness, with one clawed forepaw held high clutching a plate. Four-legged gryphons were not so accustomed to using plates for their food; normally, one simply grasped the food in a taloned paw and sheared pieces off of the larger chunk with one's beak. However, living in being society for a time had made it clear that most humanoids did not see this as good table manners, and judging by the fact that they offered utensils, she had assumed that the overseers of the event saw matters the same way. She wasn't about to use the offered knives any time soon, but a fork, spoon, and plate should be an acceptable compromise.

It had been easy going when the plate was relatively empty, but now, weighted down with samples of most of the available meats and several desserts, it was getting harder to hold it steady. When the gryphon's fork dropped onto the dungeon floor with a clatter for the umpteenth time while she was reaching for some type of cookie, she let out an exasperated huff, placing the laden plate on the table and laying the treat delicately on top.

"Excuse me," she grumbled, reaching for the fork... and then pausing. Someone might take her plate while her back was turned. What to do, what to do...

Then, the thought hit her. Of course! Why didn't she think of it sooner?

A few moments and a muttered arcane phrase later,  the gryphon strolled casually on all four legs through the crowd, her cutlery, laden plate, and napkin all floating freely over her shoulders cradled by a cushion of air. Now, to find a place to sit and enjoy her meal, and maybe engage in some idle conversation.

The Naga was easy enough to pick out of the crowd; she was constantly surrounded by people, and was one of the few creatures who was making a concerted effort to be polite and congenial. She turned to face him at the sound of her name, and offered him a smile that actually seemed genuine.

She stroked one of the golden chains draped about her neck, and one of the links shimmered slightly. "Greetings, Glup! And fear not; I've taken special precautions regarding communication." She spoke Deep with a flawless accent, but her voice wasn't synchronized with the movement of her lips.

"The tour will include several of the deeper natural caverns. We have both partially and fully submerged areas to choose from." Several of the Kobolds backed away from the giant armored creature, but the Naga merely rose up on her coils to meet his gaze at eye level. "I'm not sure if your on the invitiational short-list, but you are welcome here nonetheless. Do you... have any particular interests?"


There were no shortage of people making idle chatter. Everyone here seemed incredibly powerful and important... but not important enough to risk breaking local etiquette. As a result, a few mortal enemies could be seen exchanging witty but good-natured barbs.

She noticed a large four legged beast walk past, like some kind of rust-colored winged hyena, covered with spikes and barbs... it appeared to have an entire carcass clasped in it's jaws as it walked alongside a young feline woman in a black gown.

As they walked past, the smell of sickly-sweet meat wafted from the creature's mouthful. It almost smelled... equine.

Mmmmmmm. The gryphon inhaled deeply, causing the plate to spin lazily on its pad of air as her concentration drifted. Horse. She followed the hyena-like creature and its companion with her eyes, then sauntered up to them, maintaining a respectful distance. She was here to make a good first impression, after all.

"Pardon me," she began, looking between the two of them and trying to control the twitching of her tail. "Might I ask where you found that meat? It smells wonderful."

 
"Nice device! I have seen one of them in the 'Thougllist Infoglmathions' at Zinvth!" (again there are words that deep speech is simply not accustomed to handle...)  "Noone makes them my shape though, and when i looked at one, there is absolutely no circuitry inside. Magic-tech is just horrid"
"I appreciate the cavern systems that are partially submerged... i have some... things i need to keep dry"  "I... normally sell  extracted brains to any customer willing . but  i have some books, and i dabble in electronics and metals in general ... that need to be dry, you understand"  
"If anyone needs replacement cogs, or fixing of mechanisms, i can do, provided they are not ... enchanted"
He phases out, remembering his last attempt at magi-tech ending in a small explosion, and creating an amulet that materialised rubber ducks out of nowhere when touched... 340 of them per second.

He notices the gryphon carrying the loaded plate by means of some magic
::Hmpf, magic users... I can beat that, at least i will show them i am worth my calcium. Besides, the food seems nice::
"I will grab some meat, if you mind me" ...
He leaves to the table, passing the gryphon by. "Ggleethingsh" he utters.
He loads a tray with raw flesh of various kinds, about the size of half the gryphon, and then seemingly carries it in air as well. A closer look shows he is concentrated , and even more observant being can notice that he is touching the tray slightly with one tentacle.
He slowly walks back to the naga

Nadhiya seemed to brighten up as Glup explained himself. "Electronics...? Do you think you could help us install a... cellphone network? We have a hardline running through the portal, somehow, but no wireless reception anywhere else. My job would be a lot easier if any of my PDAs actually worked..."


The spiky Hyena creature paused, and turned to face her. He wasn't gigantic, but was still larger than her by a good deal. He took the carcass from his mouth, and gave her a toothy grin.

"You want?" His voice was deep and guttural, and his fangs glistened in a ravenous, leering grin. "...trade you for poultry...?"

The woman in the gown immediately smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand, and he let out a tiny yelp. Her voice was stern. "Do you have any idea how much trouble we'll get into for that!?" She turned back to the gryphon, looking apologetic.

"So sorry, miss... he doesn't get out much." She pointed towards the center of the hall. "There's some bonfires further back, being used to roast larger meals. They have uncooked meat too, if you prefer."

They headed away, the woman scolding the larger creature. As they left, the Hyena bumped against an equally large creature; some kind of armored, aquatic creature. The Hyena seemed about to turn and snarl, but seemed to think better of it.

   Amongst the veritable sea of strange and exotic creatures, beasts, monsters, mutants, and everything in between that were milling about, socializing, finding information and food, and other various activities, one stood still. Unlike nearly every other entity in the area, this particular one did not appear to be of flesh and blood, or even still-moving flesh beyond its expiration date, but of various metals and other materials. It had four legs, arranged in a spiderlike or insectoid configuration, with a torso mounted where all the legs met. On torso were four arms. Straight-edged and angular lines of glowing green magic covered most of the body, and three little lights, seeming like some kind of eyes, dotted the front of the torso. However, there was indeed some flesh to this particular creature, but it was all safely concealed inside the exoshell.
  Xephelon did not like crowds, even at the best of times. And the massive crowd here was significantly made up of things that were most definitely not of his world. The small Mythos really had no idea where he was, or where all these creatures had come from... although he vaguely remembered reading a tome about other worlds, once. So, he stood rooted in place, shifting his "gaze" through the magic enchantments indicated by the lights on the torso, until he took stock of the banner with a message repeated in many languages.
  It seemed simple enough...mainly warnings to "keep the peace". Xephelon didn't know whether to be put at ease, or be more cautious. Eventually, the four-legged metal body strode forward, simply wandering among the crowd, no one taking notice of him. As he thought about it...it was indeed almost comforting. It was certainly different. In Furrae, he stuck out almost obscenely with his exoshell, moreso than the majority of even other Mythos types. Here...almost no one so much as glanced at him. Almost. Even with the sheer diversity of thingamajigs that occupied the large hallway, a few eyes (not even always two at a time) turned towards the vaguely insectoid glowing metal quadruped.
  He found his way near the food tables, eventually. He couldn't really tell how appetizing any of it was; his kind of Mythos didn't have a very well-developed sense of taste, and generally ate anything that could be safely metabolized. And even if Xephelon was particularly hungry, the last thing he was going to do was eat--as eating required him to vacate his exoshell. While he wasn't exactly averse to eating with other people around, he would only do so at a distance, where he could safely squirm back into his shell at any time. There was no way he could do that now, in the thick crowd. And as small as he was, he really didn't eat much, anyway.
  Xephelon's thoughts went to why he was here. A small reptilian thing that he had never seen before (and also looked rather frazzled) had personally delivered him an invitation. It addressed him by name, and spoke of the need for one skilled at enchanted objects. Xephelon was rather confused that he out of all his race was chosen (and he certainly hadn't seen any other exoshells), but then again, his kind of Mythos was rather rare...
  However, Xephelon did not try and seek out anyone who looked like they were in a position of authority yet. As it was, he thought it best to simply wait awhile, however long was necessary, for the commotion to die down and other guests to leave...if they all weren't staying here, that is.

"Quite all right," the gryphon replied with a polite (if somewhat cold) smile, bowing her head. "No offense taken. Thank you."

She began to pad in the direction the woman had indicated, stopping for a moment to observe the lobster-like creature speaking with the naga. The gryphon's eyes narrowed, and her tail lashed once. Perhaps the creature was a Mythos; she had never seen an Insectis so large. Still, it was better to take no chances. She ignored him, continuing toward the bonfires, plate still slowly spinning.

Nathalzar manifested in the portal chamber in a plume of bluish smoke. He snapped his blackened wings out to disperse it, and the giraffe strode onward. Behind him, two hunched figures followed, shrouded in archaic linen robes. One bore scrolls, and the other tomes, grasped in bony fingers. Beneath their dark cowls, all that could be seen in the shadows were the faint glow of eyes. Nathalzar himself wore a black three button blazer, pressed dress slacks, a narrow black tie, and a blood red dress shirt.

He walked in broad strides, his footfalls sounding muffled, hollow hoof beats on the stone floor. He stopped to read the posted rules, as it was important to mind protocol.

"Mind yourselves," he said to his two attendants, gesturing with two fingers. His voice was deep, but a soft rasp echoed with whispers."No biting anyone."

"No fear, Professor. We ate before we left." answered one. "We had Italian. He was... decadent."

As he walked Nathalzar, without pause or hesitation, gracefully plucked a glass of wine from a tray borne by a passing steward. He sipped at it delicately, savoring it. As it slid down his throat, eldritch magics broke down the organic material, and absorbed the decayed remnants into himself.

"Excellent," he said, answering his minion. "Remember: in any first impression to be made, there is only one chance to be had. Do not fail me in this."

"Of course not, Professor."

---

Nathalzar approached the Naga, whose name he had been given. She was busy speaking with someone, so Nathalzar waited patiently aside, waiting patiently for the chance to approach her. His minions waited patiently aside him. Nathalzar recognized the language, but couldn't name it or speak it. It had no written form that he was aware of, and thus, was of no import to him.

Nathalzars brow creased  as he discretely examined her ornamented piercings. She is a priestess... he thought. His wings ruffled, and he mentally reviewed the edicts that had been posted, and nodded slightly to himself. A minor complication, surely.

Still... her presence was unsettling. He combed a bony hand through the roiling blue vapors that formed his mane, and sipped his wine once more.  He could not afford to loose footing this soon, if he were to negotiate terms of employment...

 

For a while, Glup was occupied picking parts of meat continuously with his tentacles and ingesting them in an almost industrial manner.
He was bumped into by a large hyenoid, which for a split second caused him to lose contact with the tray..  Luckily due to its inertia, he could touch and force it to stability again before it could accelerate much, This time he also applied a stabilising, circumferential set of forces....
"Watsh yough shtepp!" he 'shouted' at the hyena - spoke in a much louder voice but without any intonation that would normally belong there, .

He then noticed the Naga's question.

"cableless signals, that i can manage. Do you have any spare parts? I have some things here" He pointed at the donkey bags around his lower back (although a donkey would have a hard time carrying them) "but i will need some special parts" he thought for a while "The basics are similar to death rays but the signal is much much weaker, yes, that should do it"  Remember, most of his training comes from "Electronics for the mad scientist"
He feels something around::Somehting here feels dead , rotting like an Otyugh:: he thinks, and looks sideways, noticing the apparently healthy giraffe being.
"Be greeted" he unthinkingly addresses it in deep speech, still trying to come through why does it feel like a long rotten corpse. EDIT:point placed :D

Nadhiya nodded politely as the giant crustacean left to get some food, and turned back to the crowd to find a fresh face to broker with. her eyes scanned the crowd, and she opened her mouth to speak with a dark-robed equine figure; his garments had bright red symbols here and there, and the robe had obviously been tailored to fit over a full suit of silent but rigid armor.

For just a moment the two of them locked eyes and seemed about to engage in conversation... but then Nadhiya seemed to catch sight of someone else, and her attention snapped elsewhere. She gestured to someone, and started moving through the crowd.

The robed figure said and did nothing, perhaps not wanting to press the issue. Had he just been snubbed?  He noticed a pair of female creatures nearby watching him, then speak to each other with what might have been a hushed giggle.

The figure clenched his teeth, as well as his fists, for only a moment.


Nadhiya made her way through the crowd a short distance, seeking out the familiar face she'd seen... one of the precious few invited guests she had actually been given a picture of. Sure enough, his silhouette was almost impossible to miss... even in a crowd such as this. She steeled herself, wearing a professional face that was at once both pleasant and impersonal. The dungeon needed power, as soon as possible, and this person obviously possessed it. But she dare not give even the tiniest hint how badly they needed him. That might well be the end of her... and all she'd worked for.

She slithered towards him, rising up on her coils yet again to meet her taller guest at precisely eye level... no higher, no lower. She offered a curtsey that showed off her raiment (and her voluptuous figure) without seeming sanctimonious or arrogant. A carefully cultivated gesture.

"Nathalzar. So good of you to attend." She gestured to the oceanic creature next to her. "I was just speaking with some of the other potential councilors... would you care to join us?"

OOC: Sorry if the pacing here is odd; I edited it to better match danman's post

"'onougled to meets you"
The huge crustacean turned towards the withered giraffe. "Name'sh Glup"
He looks over the giraffe carefully, not having ever seen a necromant, then continues to process the rest of the meat on the tray.

Nathalzar swept his hand out, palm up, and gently took Nadihya's hand in it when she offered hers in return. He swept one foot back, tucked one arm to his chest, and fully extended his wings upward as he made a full court bow that nearly brought him to the floor.

"Nadhiya," he said, rising slightly and ever so gently brushing his lips against the back of her scaled hand. His fully extended arm only just reached his head. "Enchante, toujours..." he added as he rose. He hadn't spilled a drop from the glass perched in his fingertips.

He nodded to the aquatic... creature. "It" was not mer, nor insectis... Curious. Either race would have been enigmatic enough. He nodded to... Glup, making a half bow from the neck. "Likewise." he said in reply to the lobsters greeting.

He turned to face to the naga once more. "I have brought a precis of my employment history should your patron wish to peruse it. I have a complete professional summary available in eight volumes it that prove insufficient." He gestured to the minion carrying books, then to the one bearing scrolls "I also have a list of contacts for previous employment. I can personally arrange contact the deceased ones, if necessary." He sipped at his wine. and glanced over the crowd around him. To do so, he twisted his neck to face behind him, then made a full circle turn to survey the room around him.

"Mixed crowd," He said, and sipped his wine again. "Shall we?"

Cleared Nadihya's offer of the hand with Mechanisto.

She accepted the entire grand gesture graciously. "Indeed. But there will be no need to consult my employer. he has given me full authorization to form the local creature committee as I deem fit. As such, I shall be performing all interviews personally."

"There will be tours of the lower caverns, of course... but also of the more refurbished facilities. You may see the archival hall at your leisure."

Zyrais carefully walked into the crowded room, mindful of his wings and tail. He wore his silver long coat open, exposing his silver, silk vest with matching, slightly dusty pants, (It had been a long walk...) and fingerless gauntlets. His swords were sheathed and hanging from his belt, ready to be used at a moment's notice. He took special note of the rather large banner posted in many different languages and got close enough to easily read it, making comments to himself.

"No abuse for those with criminal records? I might appreciate that more if mine weren't expunged." He stated. "No trickery? Awwww... Well, since allies hate being lied to, and allies are much better than enemies, I guess I shall abide... No offensive magic, either? What if adventurers suddenly storm in here? Annoying pests... Ruined the last three formal dinners I hosted... Don't annoy the Local militia... Fair enough, and I better find out who that is... Although most of those 'or's really should be 'nor'... Eh, I can abide by most of these, at least for now, anyway..." He sighed, then used some strips of leather built into the belt to secure the weapons, making it impossible to withdraw them without a conscious effort. He had lost too many messengers due to his temper during the early years of his career to not have them...

Closing his eyes, he took in the aura of the various creatures milling about. This is how he uses Blindsense. I've updated the charsheet and also removed the tail-blade. Sorry for any inconvenience/misunderstandings.See OOC for more details. He detected one wrapped in a 'shell' of magical artifacts, and all were skillfully made, too. The other two were drawing closer, one was a powerful wizard of some kind, while the other was a priestess. He opened his eyes and watched the large, muscled, undead giraffe make a grand gesture of greeting to the naga, and a much less pronounced one to the lobster. Thus, he concluded that the provactively clad, naga priestess must be the one in charge. He mentally noted that priestess-wear looked rather similar to female slave-garb, except made of much finer materials.

Clearing his head of raunchy thoughts, he started heading for the group, noticed the cheesecake on the table, and immediately took a piece already on a saucer. He took a bite and almost winced because it tasted like kobolds had made it. Even though they had tried their best, they should've avoided adding mushrooms... However, they were known for excellent mushroom soup...

Recovering from the derailment of his train of thought, he headed towards the naga, giraffe, and the bizzare, lobster-like creature also beside them. Was it possible? Nah, it couldn't be a Deep-speaker... Perhaps it was a good thing, too. He could fake broken deep well enough, but most of what he could recall were some rather offensive 'Yo mamma' jokes... And he couldn't risk angering a potential ally or worse yet, making yet another enemy... He moved close enough to be within speaking range, leaving wing room between him and the undead giraffe, but well within the naga's sight, then stood and waited patiently for his turn for her attention.

EDIT: Corrected grammar, plugged a couple of minor plot holes. Sorry.

"Very well, then." He waved dismissively to the lackeys. "Return those to my sanctum." He gestured to the banquet. "Are those mushroom pasties?"

"Master, shall you be requiring any other service from us afterwards?"

Nathalzar sipped his wine. "I suppose... On your way."

The two bowed, and scurried out of the hall. Nathalzar fell in along side Nadihya, content to follow her lead through the crowd.

"We can't be the only esteemed company attending the soiree, can we?" He said, casually lifting his glass to the naga and lobster in turn, glanced about.

"You will need to define 'esteemed', sir wizard." Zyrais pointed out to the ex-giraffe, overhearing his comment and shadowing the naga priestess. "I'm not usually looked upon in any kind of positive light."

EDIT: Verb change. It's 3am for me, okay? My brain only thinks it's awake.

The giraffe regarded the newcomers silvery garments, then the armored lobster, and finally the bejeweled Naga. "I am starting to feel underdressed," he said finally, smiling slightly and fussing with his tie.

His face turned cool."However, I must correct you in that I am not a wizard, or sorcerer, nor any other sort of generalist hedgemage footling about with cantrips." He  swirled his glass, and his expression lightened again. "My discipline is that of a necromancer. If the label disagrees with you, I have others: I am a Professor, a Doctor, and a Master twice over. Most dear to me, of all things I am called, is Nathalzar, which is my name. Consider it at your disposal, whatever title you wish to precede it with." He made another half bow.

"As I have been forthright with my names and vocation, would you grant us yours in return?"

Due to his eloquence, and more importantly fast pace, most of what the necromant said escaped him somewhat, in fact he was not at first sure whether he was Nathazar or Tojours, although he looked nothing like an enchanter.
Then a new creature, looking somewhat like a lizardman with wings approached them and started talking.

Glup finishes eating, and deposits the floating tray gently on one of the tables, then turns to the newcomer.

"Noth looked in poshithive lighth?  I know well - all theshe dgluidsh foam in mouth shouthing abouth abeglathionsh... at leasht they agle eashy pgley  Name'sh Glup, by the way"

The second part of the giraffe's speech was clearer, and slower. Glup turned to him
"Sho you agle shomething like an alhoon? I heagld shtoriesh about thoshe back at the illithid colony"

   Xephelon eventually moved away from the tables, as he found that being between many of the other creatures and food when he wasn't getting any himself to not be such a good idea. He moved slowly through the crowd, watching and observing everything else that went about their business.
   However, at one point, he noticed a particular creature shuffle around nearby...one kind that he recongized; a Gryphon of Furrae. He hadn't seen many, but there was no doubting the coloration and shape of the body. He didn't approach the Gryphon, but he was curious enough (for the moment) to move in its general direction, just enough to keep it in sight with everything else he watched.

Zyrais looks at the lobster-like creature, somewhat surprised, and then holds his face with his right hand.
"Nice job, self... Ignore a potential political leader..." Recovering quickly, he does his best to speak in slower, more understandable common. "I'm going to cast an Understand Languages spell on you, Glup. It will only last for about an hour, but you will have an easier time understanding Common. Your speech will still be the same, though." Slowly and cautiously, Zyrais cast the spell on the lobster-like creature, trying not to make any sudden or hostile gestures, not only for his/her/its benefit, but to make sure the others around didn't think he was trying to vaporize it. This isn't so much for your char's benefit as mine, because I don't want to flounder about with broken Deep and/or repeat everything twice. Plus, I wanna see how long you can keep up that accent.
"There... And my apologies for the incorrect assumption, Professor Nathalzar." Zyrais replied, turning so he could face all three at the same time. "But yes, the titles of 'wizard', 'sorcerer', and now even 'necromancer' are starting to be flung around as if they were mere job titles for would-be adventurers."
"As for your first question, I am officially called Zyrais, the Angelic Bastard, seen here on my non-expunged court records." He stated, holding out copies. "Normally, I just go by Zyrais. I specialize in surveilence-based 'services', with skills stemming from years of 'misuse' as you can see. And since there's no point in hiding it, I'm an angel, despite my draconic appearance." He explained, then waited and watched for everyone's reactions. This wouldn't be the first dine-and-dash as a result of dropping the "A"-bomb...

EDIT: Added last line. Someday, I will put everything in one post... Someday...
EDIT 2: I may need to turn off smilies...

As for the gryphon, she had found a place near the chamber wall to sit, observing the crowd while happily tearing at a haunch of horse meat. It was perfect; almost rare, just seared enough to keep the juices in. While she would have enjoyed it even if it hadn't been cooked, it was better if it wasn't raw. She didn't want to have to clean her harness again if it got bloody. It had taken long enough to polish the messenger's badge on the buckle and clean the leather the first time.

Having exposed the tibia on one side, she grasped it in her beak and twisted her head sharply, pulling the haunch in the other direction with her paw. The bone snapped with a loud crack, exposing the marrow. Gleefully, she stuck the broken end in her mouth, only then noticing the strange metal thing walking toward her. How odd; was it some kind of machine? A golem, perhaps? Either way, it piqued her curiosity.

(The plate of snacks she had struggled to carry before lay nearly forgotten on the floor near her left foreleg.)

"Thanksh"
Glup responded, surprised as everyone's speech suddenly became a lot clearer.
"sho, an angel? i neve' shaw yougl  kind aglound ! Although i shaw plenthy of demonsh in Zinvth,  shome looked glathe' like you, ekshepth not 'aving fluffy wingsh *glurp* *gargle*"
He notices something resembling a crustacean from behind, and a somewhat attractive one.
He tinkers with his goggles to focus, and then notices several facts  which severely diminish its attractivity but raise interest
1. it has not enough feet
2. it has no pincers or tentacles
3. It is electromechanical!
He turns towards it ,and replies
"Nise woglk whoevegl you agl!"

Nathalzar's brow perked at Zyaris'... breed, but the lapse was a momentary one. "Curiously appropriate, I suppose... Quetzalcoatl was a deity of the dawn, after all, and an angel is nothing if not luminous." He sipped his wine. "The Feathered Serpent was also a patron of knowledge, so I suppose it's likewise your business to know everything that's going on."

Yep... Nathal' is pretty wordy, aint he?

   As Xephelon continued watching the proceedings while keeping the Gryphon in sight, it seemed that the Gryphon had taken notice of him, too. Before he could do anything, he heard a voice right behind him (though similar enchantments as the visual ones). He turned his exoshell around, and was greeted by the gaze of a very large crustacean-type creature, sharing a few basic structural similarities with his own exoshell. However, this creature had five legs as opposed to an even number, bizzarely enough, two very large pincers, and a mouth with many small tentacles. It look for all Furrae like some cross between an Insectis and a Mer, maybe with a few Mythos-quirks thrown in.
   While it was readily apparent the thing had indeed addressed Xephelon, it took him a moment to actually decipher and process what had been said, as it initally sounded like a foreign language. When Xephelon realized what the thing had said, he responded with "Nice work on...what?" There was a pause, then the arms on the body gestured to itself. "My exoshell? Oh, my race is gifted with the ability to create things like this naturally, but thank you anyway, fellow Creature. My name is Xephelon by the way, if you would like to know." The voice that emitted from the exosheel was just slightly buzzy or droning, as if the voice was processed or manufactured.

"Kshephelon? A shtglange name, but eashie' to pglonouncse than mosht around *gargle*"
"Is the thing made pglopegly or with enchantementsh?  Cosh fo' a pglopegl ekshoshell it is kind of shmall - thegle wash a way of building one in one of the booksh i 'ead at the Zinvth libglagly" he appears a bit put out "Bu' thats kind of thing ish beyond my abilithy so fa' "

"Quetzalcoatl... That is a name I have not heard in some time..." Zyrais began, his eyes focused on nothing in particular. "While I am impressed at your knowledge of ancient legends, those legends most likely sprang from a group of beings that it lorded over in ancient times. They called it a deity because none of them could stand against it and expect to live. As for what it was, nobody really knows. Some say angel, others say dragon, while I suspect it was a mix of both races..."
"But, now is neither the time nor the place to wax philosophical." He asked, focusing on the Death Knight again. "You wish to tend to the archives and the library, correct? No doubt I will be around eventually to not only install my 'scrying eyes', but also for some kind of indicator once I have a prototype that can be mass-produced. Well, assuming that I get the job, anyway, Professor Nathalzar."

"Hm." Nathalzar said, and sipped his wine.

He turned to Nadihya. "I will require a measure of privacy for certain aspects of my work." He said. "Will this be a problem?"

Now that she was closer and could hear the chitinous creature talking, the gryphon's concerns began to ebb a little. Insectis didn't speak like that. From what she had heard, they had a harsh, keening sort of language, not this wet-sounding, mush-mouthed sort of one. Insectis didn't have tentacles, either. Or maybe some did. She wasn't sure. Nibbling idly on the bone, she leaned a little closer, curious, but not wanting to interrupt the conversation when she had a mouthful.

The Naga seemed ever so slightly overwhelmed at the company she now spoke with. "Of course... the arcane library will be primarily a secure area, with a small public section. And should you need it, we can arrange for your personal quarters to include space for studies or workshops, if you need them."

"I do hope that was mentioned, by the by..." She reached for one of the cups of red liquid being carried about by the tiny Kobold servants. "...those who are chosen to become councilors will also become landholders, with their own property. What you do in your own homes will, within certain limits, be your business."

 

Glup sees the Gryphon that has demonstrated the "fancy magics" before with the plate approach, so he turns in a way allowing to see everyone (it helps when you have eyes on the sides somewhat) and greets it.
"Ggleethingsh! Nice woglk with the plate befogl *gargle* Wash tha' 'elekineshish ash well?  "

   Unfortunately, Xephelon could understand only a few scraps of the great lobster-thing's speech. He responded to what he could understand.
   "My exoshell was created with enchantments...my race is naturally gifted with such magic. Some of my kind create large, battle-suited exoshells, but mine is small because it is not meant for battle."
   The large creature then turned a bit, and also greeted the same Gryphon that Xephelon had been observing. Xephelon merely stood by to see how the Gryphon would respond.

Well, he seemed pleasant enough. It took a moment to puzzle out what he meant, though. "Telekinesis? Ah, no... just wind, I'm afraid. Psionics are somewhat beyond me." She stood, putting the bone beside the plate before stepping closer.

"Kittrick," she said by means of introduction, smiling politely. "And you're...?"

"Name'sh Glup...." thinks  for a little.
"Wind you shay? Hmm, nise!" :: I really must learn to apply the force at a distance:: Glup thought.
"Kiffgliskch ... Kithglicsk... you 'eally have a name imposhible to shay... can i call you Kif?" The creature started pacing a little with its hind  3 legs.

"Yes, well, I would imagine it is for one who doesn't chirp." She nodded. "Kitt is fine. And you're... Xephelon, if I heard your name correctly?" she asked the four-legged mechanical creature.

The sound of boots clomped down the hallway as Urist, and his assistant Urvol made their way to the party. "S'thsjub slud?" Urvol grumbled to Urist. The clan had just recently finished sapping a few buildings up north and were now seeking employment.

"Ya jub paigud. Lukshop! Weewan tampres boos." They gave a quick glance at each other. Both were covered in grease and grime, and dirt was flecking off their clothes. Urist had a sack hanging off his belt, and a jug of something evil. Urvol had a grimy looking book satchel. Between the two of them they smelled like an over-ripe cow corpse that had been defecated on and left sitting int the sun for several days. Urvol scratched his head, "Fancie?"

Urist rolled his eyes and nodded. "Ay fancie." Both grumbled, spat into their paws and swept their hair back. Urist gave Urvol a toothy grin, "Gud, shee weedu fancie tu." and they marched into the party.

"Xephelon..." Nadhiya furrowed her eyebrows at the name mentioned, and scanned her clipboard. her eyes brightened up at that. "You must be the artificer my employer mentioned! He gave me a name, but nothing more..."

She offered a bow to the mechanical quadrupedal armor. "Welcome to you. You arrived via our portal room, I assume... are you familiar with such enchanted portals? You simply must tell me what you think of it." Though her words sounded like any other casual talk, there was a tiny hint of urgency to her voice. The topic of the portal room seemed important.

   The gryphon introduced herself to the lobster-thing, identifying herself as "Kittrick", while the lobster-thing identified as "Glup". He continued to struggle with speaking proper words, and Xephelon began to wonder if there was anything he could do about that...
   Something Glup had said earlier suddenly hit Xephelon. "Wait...did you say Zinvth? As in, the city Zinvth, in a world called Furrae? Could you possibly be some kind of Mythos?"
   The Gryphon the adressed Xephelon, presumably for the coutesy of making acquaintence. Yet, she probably didn't realize that they at least had some sort of connection, moreso than the other entities here...
   "Yes, Xephelon is my name." A pause. "And I have a question for you, Kittrick...by any chance, are you from Furrae as well?"
   But then, yet another voice entered the conversation. Xephelon turned his exoshell slightly to face a regal-looking, if skimpily dressed (though Xephelon didn't exactly have much say or perception on that), serpentoid creature. She mentioned him being an artificer, and asked him about the portal room that providing access to the dungeon.
   "Why yes, I am an artificer...your portal room, you say? I have worked with a wide variety of enchantments before, but rarely fixed-location mass-transporting objects. However, I have yet to come across an enchantment I couldn't analyze and understand, given time to study it. I only took a quick glance at them when I entered, doing more might've been rude...do you wish me to do so?"

Glup heard the machinist and responded after a thought.
"Yesh, the sity of Zinvth, in the Fuglea landsh. Howeve' i am not Mythosh - md kind do not belong to the Mythosh alliance. We agle the Chuul. I come fglom anothe' wogld, 'aving come to Fuglea  ash thegl sheemsh to be much lesh peshky dgluidsh meshing with one'sh profitsh...  Shome shay we come fglom othe' wogld, Fa' 'ealm or sho - I know nothing of it, and neithe' i know the name of the wogld i hatched in. Bu' it ish of no impogltanse - i like thish wogld fa' mo' - in hegl  one doesh not need to hide no' defend at evegly shtep ... ash wegl ash thegl   being many mogl cushtomegls buying bglainsh fglom me ....
The chuul goes on about a  rant comparing the economies of his own world and Furrea, proving his point exhaustively, litterally as he does not use or understand any intonation, making the topic even more boring ...

The question struck Kittrick as odd. "Why, yes, I am from Furrae... Aren't most of us --" She stopped as Glup began his explanation, tipping one long ear to the side quizzically. "The Chuul?"

Well. That explained a lot. At first, she had thought that the assembled people were mostly creatures with Mythos blood. The idea that they were from different realms -- different worlds, even -- was a little boggling.

"Pardon, did you say... customers for brains? What do people use them for? I thought that notion about the undead eating them was a myth."

"Undead? *gargle* *glurp*" The creature seems to enjoy itself at the notion?
"Lichesh do not eats, and the othe' undead are too shtupid to buy anything - i quite ofthen had to lay sombiesh
to untimely 'esht as they wanted to take my shtuff!" *clang*  He closes a spiked pincer rapidly to demonstrate what exactly he has done to the zombies....
"Bglainsh have ushesh. Fo' one, illithidsh eats them, and then thegle agl pglenthy of sshientishts and liches  that use them fo' theigl woglks *glurp*  Fogl ush they agl dishgushthing shtuff... we have no use of them" 

Zyrais sighed softly as he followed the naga, using tactics that his minion-level underlings had used when they needed his attention, hopefully without drawing his ire. Yes, he had something to offer the clipboard-wielding naga, but few made good impressions by annoying creatures that A: looked busy, or B: looked annoyed, and she looked like a combination of the two. So, he kept himself outside of arm's reach, but within her sight. She had moved back to Glup, a gryphon that called herself Kittrick, and the creature wearing the skillfully-made magitech armor called itself Xephelon.

Zyrais was about to speak up when the naga asked the artificer what he thought of the portal room. What caused him to pause was the hint of urgency in her voice, making him wonder if things only looked like they were under control. Well, it wouldn't have been the first time chaos broke loose in the middle of a grand opening... Thus, he continued following the naga around, not knowing how quickly his skils might be needed. Shame he didn't bring any of his still-working scrying eyes along...

The Naga smiled at Xephelon's response, but quickly waved her hand. "I would be grateful if you would... but I must ask you to examine them later. The portal chamber is currently undergoing extended use, and I wouldn't dare risk interrupting it's operation. We wouldn't want any visitors to end up marooned here."

Something about Nadhiya's concerns didn't quite make sense... understandable, as she was probably not an expert on portals. With what Xephelon knew, once a traveler emerged from the portal, that was that; no further risk was possible. The only way a traveler could be trapped was if the portal shut down completely.

   Glup called himself a "Chuul", and explained that he was not of Furrae, but from another world, and had only found that he liked Furrae better. Then he went on quite a tirade about the commerce of brains, of all things, which Xephelon found rather distasteful and unpleasant.
  As for the Gryphon, she seemed to have caught on that most of the things here were not from the place she called home. "Although I may not look it, I am from Furrae as well, Kittrick." Xephelon said to her. "I am a type of Mythos, a Green Imbuer. This..." He gestured to himself, "is only part of my body, my exoshell. My real body is inside this shell. And I must say, it is pleasing to meet a fellow Furrae native amongst this gathering."
  At the serpent-creature's explanation about the portals, Xephelon concluded that she might think analysis of the portals would affect their operation and thus prevent anyone from returning to their place of origin, and while Xephelon thought he was skilled enough to analyze magic without disassembling it (though that helped), he wasn't going to contest the probable assumption. "Of course, fellow creature. I would be more than pleased to examine the portals, after they are no longer so heavily needed."

"Hm." The gryphon nodded politely to Glup, but couldn't help casting a quick look around to see if there were any undead nearby that had overheard him. She thought she had seen a man in a suit with bony claws walking around earlier...

"Likewise," she replied to the Mythos, tilting her head to the side curiously as he explained. "Exo-shell, you say? Fascinating! May I ask what it's made of? Er -- if that isn't too personal of a question, that is. Magical constructs are something of an interest of mine, although I normally only see them after they have been inactive for hundreds of years..."

"M'lady Kt-rrrick," Nathalzar said, pronouncing the gryphon's name in the appropriate accent, "Zombies do eat brains. There are many kinds of undead, however. The creature race commonly known as Undead are simply the most well known, since they're the most socially acceptable of the brood."

He turned to the Naga. "Nadihya, The fellow mentioned he was a dealer in brains. Most undead loose their sapience when their gray matter turns green. With a proper supply, I would be able to transplant replacements on a regular basis."

"Incidentally, I am native to Furrae as well."

Kyaa... slow to post. Gomen.

::First day, no druids, and already two business contracts! How i love this land!:: Glup thought although not revealing much outside - it is quite easy to hide emotions if you lack a facial expression, although he began to tangle and whirl some of his tentacles.

"Of couglshe i can shupply you! In fact, i have shome with me even, conseglved in a liquid ai' conthaine' - they lasht fo' agesh that way!"
Glup said, and extended one of his tentacles a surprising distance , until it tapped the left bag hanging over his back.  "On the pglishe we shall aglee , but as fo' you , i assepth intheglsting booksh as well - shometsing on advansed psionics maybe - the shtuff ish uncommon aglound theshe landsh"
He thinks for a while , again shown by pacing the hind three legs, and then remarks/
"You shay thegle a'e undead he'e that a'e not  mindless bglain-thiefsh yet a'e not of powe' ash liches?"

"Oh, my yes." Nathalzar answered. "Undead entities are as varied in nature as living ones. Common Undead are as intelligent as their living counterparts. They degrade over time if not in and ideal environment, such as high humidity or temperature." He sipped his wine. "Although their continued unlife does not require most of the organs a living creature needs, their minds do go a bit fuzzy without a brain in good condition."

"Some Undead are not intelligent at all, such as skelletons, or do not require a physical brain to maintain their intellect, such as myself. Flesh golems function better with a brain. They are strictly speaking, not actually undead, but an animated construct made from dead material. Animated flesh golems can, however, serve as hosts for incorporeal undead entities such as ghosts, specters, apparations, et cetra, that are capable of posession or if bound to the body through rituals. Again, a brain in good condition facilitates the process."

"Nadihya, would the cost of brain replacements for Undead be covered by the dungeon treasury? It is somewhat of a necessity, afterall. Unless you'd like a few shambling hordes wandering the halls."

danman: Cracked open the DnD (3ed.) Monster Manual to look up some undead critters. You know what was on page when I first opened the book? Chull.

"Oh sho it ish! Mosht of what i have met was the degladed kind *gargle* - woglshe than glatsh!"
Glup thinks a little and grows aware at the mention of the flesh golem....
"Golemsh, nashty shtuff... The illithidsh usht to have a bglain golem... i go' to a fight with ith onse, neagly killed me..." ... "I wash just monthsh afte' hatching then, of couglshe"   he immediately adds on. ::No good making myself an even bigger idiot ... besides i did not know psionics then:: he thinks, and then remarks
"I do not mind who paysh me, ash fa' ash i gleceive the shtuff i need, and have shelthe' and corpses to eat and pglosesh  - bglainsh do not bgleed *gargle* *glurp* " The creature emits the  bubbling noises again - it seems to be its equivalent of laughter

"I've tried using golems and enchanted suits of armor before, but I probably screwed something up as they kept trying to attack me..." Zyrais sighed, wondering why nobody was even noticing him... Did he have his Somebody Else's Problem Aura up again? A quick check revealed that yes, yes he did... <SONUVA!> He thought, holding his head in one of hands for the second time within an hour. This also presented a problem as since the necromancer noticed him before, it probably meant that he was immune to the aura's effects. Huh... No wonder that group of undead managed to find his Scry-Eyes so easily... Aw heck, the lobster-creature saw through it too! Hmmm... Things could get interesting here...

"Sorry about seeming like I've just appeared out of nowhere, everyone." He stated, after he disabled his aura. "I am Zyrais. Yes, I know that I'm an angel, and I know that it looks like I've been sneaking around, but this is the first time I've taken part in any kind of alliance, rather than a hostile takeover. So, I sat back to observe how things worked for a bit. I specialize in surveillance-based services, which sounds useless, but when coupled with some means of communication, can be quite useful." Zyrais then reached into one of the pockets in his coat and fumbled around for bit before pulling out a small hand mirror. "Would anyone like to see a demonstration? Especially you, Lady Nadhiya, whenever you have a moment."

Why does everyone keep ignoring me?! Seriously people, there's an angel wandering around! I thought that would at least raise a few eyebrows or something... I mean, at least mention that you're ignoring me or something... *Continues rant about how people never pay any attention to him for three minutes, then gets bored.

Gulp noticed that the fluffy-winged lizard began talking behind him.
"Sho, show whats you can do with the mirror! 'm intereshted!" ::Hmm, this one seems to like to clank before surfacing :: Glup thought dismissively ::Let's see if he is as good as he says:: (Clanking pincers loudly in a particular pattern is a part of the mating ritual if a conflict arises. This expression refers to someone doing something he is not enough to ,as  before the first three moltings, the young, not yet rep. mature chuuls live in water exclusively)
He turned around and began watching the lizard

Zyrais closed his eyes and focused his magic, putting a portion of it into the mirror. Meanwhile, the gem on his forehead began to slow just slightly. By the time he opened his eyes again, the gem had stopped glowing, but it somehow looked... Shinier... He took a glance at the mirror to make sure the magic was working, then delicately handed it to one of the Chuul's pincers.
"Please be careful with that as I don't have any more mirrors." He stated. "You'll notice that you're not seeing your reflection in the mirror, but rather what the gemstone in my forehead is 'seeing'. Normally, I enchant a crystal as the 'focus' of a permanent scrying spell, and enchant a mirror as the 'receiver'. Obviously, this is only a temporary spell and will wear out after about ten minutes. But, it does function quite well, unless the crystal is broken or hit with potent enough dispelling magic. Oh, and I'll need that back once you're all done looking at it."

Nathalzar blithely observed the demonstration. "Hm." He said, and sipped his wine again.

"Lady Nadihya. I can see there are numerous trivialities that demand your attention. I shall not occupy any more of your time then necessary." He bowed. "Kittrik, Xephelon, Glup... I look forward to having you all as colleagues." He nodded to each of them in turn, then stepped back from the circle.

"Thessaly?" He said.

One of the enshrouded figures approached. "Yesss, master?"

Nathalzar regarded his glass. "Another, if you would. Not wine, vitae." He said.

"Of courssse." She she said. With a few nimble gestures, the apprentice wove a spell. Without fanfare, Nathalzars glass filled with a much more opaque red beverage.

"How goesss the night?" She said.

"Fairly well. The... crustation will be a useful one. I'm not sure what purpose the Greyphon will have, but she's pleasant at least." He sipped at the glass. "That Xephon... I look forward to working with that one. An enchanter, you know. I'd expect him to be a regular at a library."

"And... that Zyarissss?"

A corner of the giraffe's lip twitched. "He certainly shows his heritage; self important as a dragon, aloof as an angel. I am not concerned by his reputation, or his scrying trinkets."

As a servitor passed with a tray of fungus-stuffed pasteries, Nathalzar turned his head slightly. A three foot, blue tongue snaked out, plucked one of them off the tray, and snapped back into his mouth. "If he looks into things the living are not meant to behold, I have no doubt he'll gouge his own eyes out, and gibber for a week. It will save me the trouble."

"Of courssse, massster."

"Thessaly, You're lisping." He said. "Are your teeth out of alignment? Were you gnawing knucklebones again?"

The minion held the tome she was carrying up, covering the lower half of her shadowy hood. "Nooo..." She said, looking away.

He sipped his... drink. "Filthy habit. I'd better not catch you at it this evening."

Drayco: Nothing against you personally, this is all IC. Nathalzar is not particularly well inclined towards Zyrais.

   Kittrick seemed curious about Xephelon's exoshell, asking a few questions about it. Xephelon responded with "Not too personal at all. The outer layer of the exoshell is made primarily of metal and metal alloys, and a composite of other materials run through the inner structure. I have also crafted several self-contained constructs before, although they are no longer with me. I intend to make more if I am to stay here..."
  Yet another figure entered the conversation, one who also identified as being from Furrae. Xephelon's exoshell faced the creature--and was met with a towering giraffe, much like Glup the Chuul, and twice the height of Xephelon's exoshell. He had bat-wings, denoting Creature heritage, though it didn't seem to matter as he also had several exposed bones, meaning he was one of the several creatures of undeath wandering around the gathering. Xephelon didn't quite have much of a response to that...
  However, Glup then opened up dialogue with the undead giraffe, talking about various kinds of undead. The exoshell began shuffling away from those two at that point, especially when "flesh golems" were mentioned.
  Yet another creature entered the conversation, this one most probably not of Furrae, and introduced himself as being an expert in security and surveillance devices. He then demonstrated one such device for Glup, some kind of magic mirror that was linked to a magical seeing-gem on the creature's forehead after he worked some magic over it. Xephelon was quite interested in this, and wondered if the gem's enchantment was at all similar to the enchantments for the "eyes" oh his exoshell...but it seemed the gem's magic was far more sophisticated.

::Hmm, the trinket seems to work. He might after all be more than a big mouth!:: Glup thought as he glanced through the small mirror , seeing things from Zyrais's perspective. Then he overheard the somewhat condescending remark about carefulness. ::As if i am some kind of kludge! Hmm, this will show him!::
He said nothing, but when he finished looking, he took the mirror diagonally and put it on top of a pincer where some minerals became lodged, giving it a few calculated shears to transform the sharp tip of the glass into a small but flat and smooth plate.
Then, placing it onto one tentacle, he, by the force of mind, made it spin on the end with such velocity that it looked like two cones stuck together at the base, and as such, with a careful movement, placed it still spinning onto Zyrais's hand where it spun for about a second, slowing down and laying flat.
"No woglying, i will be caglful"  he responded to the original comment

OOC: as far as my knowledge of mechanics goes, this should work - if it is moving fast enough it should be stabilised by its angular momentum

Zyrais watched Glup's display carefully, ready to use a shield spell in case the mirror suddenly went out of control. Only after the creature put the mirror back into his hand and it slowed to a stop did he finally relax his guard a little.

"Interesting... I didn't sense any magic, so you must be using... Psionics? It's a very rare ability in Furrae." He stated, eying Glup with new insight. It explained a lot, and he wondered if the creature was reading his thoughts even now... Fortunately, he had quite a few passages from various law books memorized in case he needed it. "Anyone else want to observe?"

EDIT: Augh, forgot IC...
WhiteFox: I'm not surprised. You've already tipped me off with the concerns for privacy, so either your character is up to something, or they just wanna dance to La Vida Loca/whatever, without getting blackmailed... Either way, Nathalzar has made Spy Target Number One on Zyrais's list. However, that "things mortal eyes weren't meant to see" does concern me a bit...
Danman: That's odd... I mentally pictured a round mirror. Serves me right for not being specific.

"Tglue, it ish pshionicsh. But infglequent? i thought that the cubi ushe it too?  One of them tglied shome mind-manipulashion on me  *gargle* but i know a few thingsh on my own... suffise to shay the heale' wash out of codeine fo' a week"
"In between illithidsh. abolethsh  and ou' kind it ish  soglt of common - shome thought it comesh fglom the fa' 'ealm but i shay nonshenshe - the'e a'e thoshe that ushe it  even he'e"
::Hmm, maybe this lizard will not be so bad after all. But... it feels like he is alert. I wonder why.:: Glup thought for a moment then  resumed, inquiring about the new guest

"And what about you??  Lizagldmen i shaw even back at my wogld, but not onesh quite like you" he looks at his fluffy wings contrasting with the rest of exterior

I can just imagine the "things mortal eyes are not meant to see" including the undead dancing t o some Furrean britney spears equivalent .... LOL well done Drayco84
As far as the mirror goes, if it was round the trick would have been far easier- would not need the polishing!
It is just that pretty much all mirrors i ever saw or used were angled, and it is easier to cut glass that way   

"No, cubi have some thought-reading and dream-lurking talents, but actual psionics, like telekinesis for example, are normally quite beyond their abilities." Zyrais explained. "As for myself, I'm an Angel, not a lizardman, dragon, nor even reptilian for that matter, and a Furrae native. Although, with angels and demons, it's hard to tell if we're really native or not..."

I haven't seen too many angular hand mirrors though, Danman. Then again, I normally avoid mirrors in general...

"Ekshplainsh. Although, i have neve' heagld of angelsh outside but dglagonsh agle common in ou' wogld too - just they a'e bigge' , lot bigge'"
::no actual psionics? damn, i cannot read a thought yet , and even proper telekinesis seems easy compared to that!:: Glup thought angrily. ::I must get to the root of that stuff!::

Hmm i never thought it was a hand-mirror , just some cut piece of mirrorglass :D

Ah, so the serpent woman was the Nadhiya mentioned on the scroll of rules and regulations. And my, how strange it was to hear "Kittrick" pronounced in the gryphon way by a giraffe! (An undead demon giraffe, but a giraffe nonetheless.) When the talk turned to flesh golems, though, she began to inch the other way, away from the chuul and well-dressed necromancer. Eugh. If she had to deal with the dead, she would much rather deal with dry, dusty bones, not some stitched-together abominations. Much less... squishy. At least the chuul had mentioned that the brains would be kept in containers, so if they were shipped, she wouldn't have to touch them. Yuck.

Fortunately, Xephelon had also moved the other way, so she was able to move farther under the pretense of getting a better look at his exoshell. "My... how impressive! I would love to see them when they're complete; that is, if I am to stay here." The gryphon grinned. "Once everyone's settled in, you'll have to let me know if you would like any raw materials your projects delivered. I work for the post, you see... and time you don't have to spend trekking all over the place to gather materials is more time to spend on other things, am I right?"

"Although, that reminds me... Madam Nadhiya?" She glanced at the naga, hoping that she had heard the name right. "I have a few questions about the dungeon complex and the existing infrastructure for transporting goods and messages, if you wouldn't mind."

Glup noticed that even the gryphon left the group, so he went to the table, ate some more meat from the rich supply, and went to a corner of the cave.
There he unpacked a part of the wares he had in the bags, a lot of electronic components, and a gas soldering lamp.
He took out a piece of paper, and began making designs with a pencil, often cursing in deep speech if the pencil broke ... (and if one thing can be said about deep speech, its curses are both plentiful and ... innovative) , scaring away several kobolds.
Finally he began working - his lamp had an innovative mechanism designed by him - a piece of quartz stuck near the flame outlet. He put on the gas and struck the stone on the dungeon floor, producing an igniting spark.
For several hours, temtacles flicked around as he was welding aluminium plates and soldering together wires , condensators, coils, integrated circuits .....
In the end, he looked around, and when nobody could see  him, took out a small, scary looking cylinder with Rellanic script on the surface and two electrodes.
This in fact was the only non natural, although not exactly magical either, being of somewhat darker kind, device he could make. He designed it together with a lich who paid in this way for a supply of brains for his undead army, long before the profession of a consulting contractor was invented by Beings. Then he spent painstaking months until he learned to make them, as it was something that made a difference
It was a power cell. An "eternal" power cell, powered with the soul of a rat. A dire rat to be exact.
The skill to do this was not entirely easy, but the two had figured out that capturing the life essence (more precise than a soul which some would claim adresses only those sentient) is far easier with a non-sentient victim, and calculated this species of  rats to be the optimum for common applications. It had a limited power output, unlike more advanced devices, and thus for bigger applications a whole array was needed, but it made for an excellent 20 VA direct current battery. Not to mention a rather tasty treat of a rat corpse.

He put in the last bit, screwed the last screw in, closed the lid and flicked one of the many switches which along with some open wires decorated the top of the box.

the machine began to beep and the antenna, looking like a miniature version of a tesla coil, began slowly spinning around. while a much more massive disc, emitting a hum was supposedly sending signals to a satellite .He began punching in the operating instructions through the front panel ,and withessing some lights - the book about computing he learned from at Zinvth's public library reflected their appreciation of technology, not all that different from SAIA.

But more importantly, the main tower seemed to work , and according to the panel's controls, it was transmittinng and receiving signals at certain frequency all around the cave.
However, something in the ground above seemed to be isolating the signal, so instead of picking up some poor being's unprotected wifi, the satellite received nice patterns of static, and something which looked like rust monster interference.

::$@$#% !!!:: Glup thought.:: Oh well, at least the Wifi works inside the cave. I will inform Nadhiya ... Oh @$#@ of course, they have mainline connection. Now i will need to plug it in somehow and then make a few in-cave amplifiers - there seems to be lot of metals in the stone:::

   Xephelon observed with interest as Glup and the surveillance expert continued demonstratng the mirror, eventually getting into a discussion about psionics after Glup showe his ability with it. During this, the surveillance expert also claimed to be of Furrae, and an Angel to boot! He certainly wasn't an Angel like Xephelon had ever seen, although he realized he really couldn't say anything about that himself...
   As the Chuul left to go work on something, Kittrick asked a few more questions about constructs (and unless Xephelon missed his mark, she didn't seem to like the idea of flesh golems, either).
   "I will be very happy to introduce you to my work as well, if you stay here. As for raw materials...as I understand, this dungeon is only newly established, and I imagine I will only be working on small things to begin with, and leave the logistics of starting a materials flow to be taken care of with the other things this dungeon must undoubtably resolve in the next few days and weeks..."

Nadhiya seemed to be doing her best to answer a dozen questions at once... which all things considered, she was rather good at. She nodded at Xephelon's comments in particular. "Our resources are limited at the moment, yes, but our treasury is currently experiencing... an inordinate influx of fungible and liquid assets... shall we say. Our first few projects will be rather grandiose."

She turned to Kittrick in the next breath. "And of course, grandiose plans require hard to find equipment and supplies... we'll need a top-notch courier system to keep things running smoothly."

"Unfortunately, our logistical infrastructure is not extant. The Kobolds have had to carry supplies by hand, and rely on ropes and winches for shipping goods between levels. There are some very large shafts that look like they used to be elevators... but nothing actually functions."

   If Xephelon was capable of "perking up" with his exoshell, he would've (as it was, the exoshell had no means to display any emotion at all). The serpentess, named as Nadihya, spoke of a system of large shafts that apparently housed non-functional elevators, and they had been using a rope-and-pully system instead.
  "Large shafts that used to be elevators you say?" The slightly droning voice did sound excited, and perhaps the exoshell could display some emotion, as the arms began gesturing about animatedly. "Are they empty now, and how large are they? Why, for a temporary solution at least, it's a simple levitation enchantment! If the shafts are cleared, and I have properly-shaped platforms, I could have a functional system ready in mere hours, a single day! Enchanted platforms that move up and down speedily, held on course with a magical guideline... Lady Nadihya, as soon as these welcoming festivities are concluded, you must show me these shafts. After I have evaluated them, I will need platforms to work with, but once I have that, it will be trivial to establish a functioning elevator platform system to alleviate your supply-transit shortcomings. And in the future, with enough labor, perhaps I can upgrade it to a much more advanced tube or chute system...but now that I think about it, that probably won't be necessary, in fact... I do have one question. Your bulk supply needs currently exceed the capacity of your portals, I presume? For a longer-term solution, upgrading the size capacity of the portals might prove to be the more efficient course..."


An engineer of magic, hard at work... ;)

"Mm! And if the shafts are wide enough, those of us with wings may be able to use empty ones as quick ways to reach different levels of the complex!" Kittrick's tail switched back and forth, just barely avoiding tripping up a kobold that had been walking by with a platter. The Mythos' excitement was contagious. "One would just need to be able to generate an updraft -- Ah! Sir Xephelon, how familiar are you with wind magic? I can generate updrafts for myself with very little difficulty, but if we had a system for generating them, an enchanted fan of some sort, perhaps -- why, it would speed transport tremendously! Perhaps something with adjustable levels of output, so that it would ease descent as well..."

   Xephelon took in what the Gryphon was saying as well. "A curious proposal, Miss Kittrick. I suppose if there are any smaller secondary shafts, ones that would not be put to better use as a bulk transportation platform, then this could be a viable project for those creatures with the capability of flight... Though perhaps the smaller shafts could take small platforms that are of relatively high speed, so as not to close off use of the shaft for us landbound creatures... I will have to see just how many shafts there are, and how large each one is. Also, I am familiar with all types of magic in general. When I need an effect I don't already know, I can usually develop it for myself, or for speed, reverse-engineer an effect already in place. But yes, an air displacement enchantment, if warranted, should not be very difficult."

The two moles were walking along when a Squirrel Being in Janitorial garb halts them, "Urist? Urvol?"

The two moles look confused but Urist replies, "Ay'm Urist. Whadu yawon?"

The squirrel pulls out a pair of goggles and puts them on, "I'm sorry, I'm from the Administration, I needed to ask that for confirmation purposes. Its important that we don't eliminate the wrong people." And, without warning, the squirrel pulls out a rather nasty looking piece of equipment and zaps the two moles with it. Both of the moles are vaporized in a brilliant explosion of heat and light, leaving no trace of their existence.

The squirrel turns to the crowd and speaks up, "I apologize for the interruption. If you would kindly look this way I'll address any questions and concerns you may have." There was a brilliant flash of red light from the neuralizer that the squirrel was holding up. The crowd stood motionless as the tool did its work; selectively deleting any memory of the moles.

With that, the squirrel snaps his fingers, and disappears.

Zyrais merely listened in on the conversation, not having enough experience to really add anything. Then again, he was also concerned with something else... Like how the heck he could make sure the devices were secure and safe from sabotage...

Meanwhile, he was slowly consuming his dessert and thinking about where to find some better chefs... He was willing to admit that kobolds knew how to serve mushrooms, but their desserts needed a bit of work...

Edited to fill minor plot hole.

"Wonderful! I suppose all that remains to be seen are the dimensions and number of shafts available... which reminds me. Madam Nadhiya? I have two more questions; when is the next guided tour of the area, and where might I leave my résumé?"

(The plate of snacks Kittrick had gathered earlier was now truly forgotten, laying dejectedly on a flat stone.)

"I have those same questions." Zyrais stated, wondering if the naga was purposefully ignoring him, or just overwhelmed. Well, he'd be the first to admit that the thought of angels residing in a dungeon would be rather unusual. "I would also like to know where the main entrances and exits are, and what the rules regarding slaves and concubines/boy-slaves are."

"The tour will be starting..." She looked at her gold-plated wristwatch, cleverly disguised as a ritual bracelet. "...shortly, actually. I should be heading over now. If you'd care to come with me, I can answer your questions on the way."

Nadhiya seemed to consider Zyrais for a moment. "As for slavery... those laws, like all others, will have to be decided by the local Creature Committee... which I am attempting to hire as we speak. My master has no specific rules for slavery or polygamy, so the decision to legalize would be yours... but there are complications."

She tucked her clipboard under one arm as she slithered, and gestured at the entire group. "Naturally, any of the races on the Committee could demand special freedoms for their own people. If we have a Gryphon on the committee, for example, they might request that Gryphons not be subjected to slavery... or that enslaved Gryphons must have certain rights not available to other slaves. Not a serious problem... but what happens to existing slaves if a member of their race is later inducted into the committee? We would either have to refuse those slaves their rights, or confiscate them from their owners... which no property-owning citizen would appreciate."

"Sorry if the answer was more convoluted than you were expecting... but these are important issues to consider. And for many of them, ultimately, we will go to you for the answers."

   The Furrae Angel "security expert", who had called himself Zyrais earlier, spoke up again. One of the questions he asked very much troubled Xephelon.
   "Slaves? Concubines?" The droning voice from the metal exoshell exclaimed. "How uncivilized!"
   Xephelon then followed Nadihya as she began heading to the next guided tour with the assurance his and Kittrick's questions would be answered. On the way, she explained how a chosen "committee" was going to decide on the rules and laws of the Dungeon. This concept intrigued and informed Xephelon, as he realized that this dungeon was even less established than he thought. It seemed that this dungeon was meant to hold entire communities, and if the laws were poorly-made, Xephelon knew this dungeon would not last long...and while Xephelon didn't exactly have a mind for politics, he did have a long view of things, and evaluated on practicality.
   "Well, I for one shall hope that this 'committee' votes against such practices altogether. Hired servants are acceptable and completely necessary of course, but holding a person against their will to do one's bidding is hardly a practice conducive to the continued stability of a community, especially one as disparate as this facility seems intended to shelter. The society here must be very carefully constructed. Not to mention that outside forces may exert pressure in various forms if such practices were discovered. And I, for one, would be quite disappointed if I were to invest significant time and effort into establishing this complex only to see it suffer from internal unrest or external force because of careless and improperly-considered legislation."
   Xephelon paused from his take on the issue, then addressed Nadihya. Again, while not particularly interested in politics, he knew having knowledge would still be beneficial. "You say you are currently attempting to hire the members of this committee...I am curious, if you can take more questions. Who are the candidates you have in mind, and how are you choosing them? As for the committee's mechanics, what precisely are the members representative of? Will other inhabitants have a voice in this committee?"
   There was another pause. "Actually, answering my questions probably necessitates explaining the entire process, which may be best as a general announcement at a later time, so in lieu of that, I only have one question; What is the mission statement of this dungeon?"

"Yes, such practices ARE uncivilized, Xephelon." Zyrais replied, while following Nadhiya and everyone else. "However, a few hundred years ago, slavery wasn't only legal, but one of the marks of elite society. And even farther back, concubines were viewed as a symbol of prosperity and used by rulers to ensure that they had an heir. Granted, this was partially due to the mistaken belief that females controlled the gender of the offspring they bore, rather than the male, along with years of gender discrimination, but the Angel representatives on the Furrae creature council have been very resistant to change, especially on the issue of slavery. Thankfully, equal rights for both genders was pushed through pretty quickly, but most suspect that the mysterious disappearance of the biggest opponent of the new laws had a lot to do with it." Zyrais paused for a bit, noticing the stares he was getting.
"Don't look at me like that! I know the Furrae Creature Council has been pushing a number of 'Humane Slave Treatment' laws into enforcement and due to that, mistreatment of 'indebted servants' carries some of the harshest penalties on record for both angels and demons. Heck, for them, the practice is even still legal, but the charges are so hard to fight and carry such stiff penalties that even some businesses have considerably worse treatment of their 'employees'."

Whooo yah! That's a freaking crap-ton o' bluff checks! Yes, I'm making all of this stuff up as I go using nothing but Amber's Demonology and what I know from the comics, then using logic to fill in the gaps and irony to smooth it all out.
EDIT: Since Zyrais was picked up for practicing law without a license, he may be telling the truth. Then again, he may be bluffing big time. Heck, even I don't know what he's doing!

   If Xephelon could blink with his exoshell, he would've. In fact, he did; the three eye-lights flickered off for a moment. "I am not ignorant of history, Angel, as I have lived through some of it myself. And it is not necessarily for the cause of equality in and of itself that I am supporting. Merely, the insitution of slavery is difficult to maintain and is a source of conflict. As Lady Nadihya gave an example, suppose special exceptions must be made for a committee representatives race. Suppose everyone wants such special exeptions. It is far simpler to not meddle with it at all. Morever, keeping unwilling servants always carries the risk of them rising against you should they ever get the opportunity. And even then, if all these are immaterial, the very practice may attract negative attention, and possibly even action, from the very legal bodies you have mentioned, or even adventurers. Such attention will surely disrupt anything that is being founded here. Honestly, I would not blame them. Furthermore, I care not what any servant or laborer is required to do as part of their job, even if a particular job may be seen as... distasteful... but merely that they have a choice, a choice to leave and find other employment if they are unsatisfied here. By instead making the effort to satisfy servants and laborers and treat them well, you often gain willing loyalty, quite a valuable and all-too-rare commodity."

Nadhiya listened to their conversation quietly, waiting before responding. "I must admit, I wasn't expecting such an enlightened view from you, Xephelon... but I fear the issue is not so cut and dry. Many being societies condemn slavery, but also permit the use of draft animals... some creatures see other races as intrinsically inferior, and some druids believe that even animals have rights. The respect accorded a knight's steed is one example; it has the legal right to be fed and cared for. And what if someone declares war upon us? If our soldiers are not permitted to keep prisoners as slaves... they are likely to stop taking prisoners at all. And some creatures have no choice but to rely on intelligent species as a source of food... which no creature is likely to volunteer for under any circumstances."

"Regardless, there are alternatives. In some cultures, slaves are like land rights... the property is actually owned by the government, and citizens simply have the right to make use of it. Those who abuse or mistreat it will have their rights revoked and the property confiscated. As well, bondsmen and concubines are not slaves; they assume their duties willingly, and have the right to be treated fairly... they are simply paid with room and board rather than wealth or goods."

"The subject of the dungeon's ultimate purpose will have to wait for now. Everyone currently present in the dungeon is a potential committee member. I wouldn't have invited you, or allowed you in otherwise. And as for the Furrae creature council... this Dungeon is sovereign soil, and it's local committee supercedes them. You cannot be punished for breaking the Council's rules... but you can be punished the instant you set foot out of the dungeon, and we can be forced to extradite citizens for certain reasons."

She looked at Zyrais with a stern (but not quite hostile) look... a look that was very rarely directed at a demon or angel. "As for the idea that Angels and Demons are penalized for their abuse of slaves... my experience has been that such penalties are generally insignificant. Our laws and punishments will need to be effective at deterrence and prevention, rather than punishment after the fact. Being able to pay a fine a thousand times over doesn't mean you can break the law as much as you like."

"Aah... the first shaft." Nadhiya stopped then, gesturing ahead of her. The dungeon they had seen so far resembled a shopping mall (for those who had ever seen such a structure); huge, two- or three-story hallways, lined on both sides by rooms, doorways, balconies, and catwalks. The area ahead was different... it was a massive shaft, as if a huge circular hole had been drilled right through the ceiling and down into the depths below. Several floors were visible, both up and down, and the bottom was beyond visible range. The inside surface of the shaft was ringed with spiral ledges, which functioned as ramps leading up and down the entire length of the shaft. Within this spiralling helix, the vast majority of the shaft was open and free; more than enough room for a very large creature to fly.

"Please watch your step... there aren't any handrails." She looked back to the group, counting heads. There were quite a few people along for the guide, though only a few of them were being talkative. "...you are free to wander from the group on your own, if you don't mind getting lost. We have ways of finding stragglers... as well as trespassers."

Kittrick followed the group silently, listening closely to both sides of the argument. Politics and drafting laws were not her areas of expertise; she was accustomed to thinking of laws as being mere products of social mores, things that enforced the values that helped you to define a culture and its impact on other cultures around it. Mores and folkways came first, and then laws to support them. To craft laws in an environment with few established mores and folkways... It would be building a whole society from scratch! How intriguing, if only as a sociological experiment! Hohokam would love to hear about this, she thought, soaking in the information and making a mental note to write all of this down at the soonest opportunity.

A local Creature Council sounded like a good way to start, using something most of them already knew and adapting it for their own use. Well, she knew one thing for certain; if she was put on the council (through some fluke, no doubt), she would fight her hardest to keep gryphons, at least, from being enslaved. No creature should be forced to work without some form of compensation, she thought, ruffling her wings a little. Compensation gave room for choice, and choice gave room for trying new ideas, which gave room for net improvement in all areas of a culture. Plus, gryphons had their pride, after all.

She stopped her musing for a moment as they entered the shaft, carefully peering over the edge of the walkway toward both the ceiling and the floor. "My... this is perfect! I shall have to return later to test the air, if I may..." She unfurled her wings a little while gripping the edge of the walkway, feeling for any air currents. Deep caves sometimes generated their own wind; a shaft as deep as this might have its own natural updraft, which would save her some effort in the long run.

Augh, I need to review my anthropology notes for this character. XD

   Xephelon listened carefully to Lady Nadihya as she spoke. As a general reply to the issue, he said "For animals and beasts of burden, if they are properly cared for, there is no issue in training them to perform specific tasks. Humane treatment does extend to them, and as long as they have that, they are well enough off. Aside from that, being provided for instead of being paid in currency is also good enough. What tasks one is asked to perform, I care not. Whether one is paid, provided for, or even isn't at all, I care not. All that matters is the conscious choice. One must choose where and for whom they will work. As long as this criteria is met, it is not involuntary, and therefore not involuntary servitude. As for prisoners of war... barely tolerable, so long as these hypothetical prisoners are not treated in a way that would give the hypothetical enemy any further reasons for animosity beyond whatever started the hypothetical war." The way Xephelon spoke of this suggested that he wasn't very comfortable with the idea of war in general.
   "As for being 'enlightened'... I must confess I do not have any direct experience with these matters, but I know what I do and do not like for myself, and have been able to observe how others make decisions about what affects them. Additionally, my usual work often leave plenty of time for thought. All in all, I cannot see such practices as anything but an unnecessary risk for this dungeon. But these are only my views of the situation. If our committe-to-be decides otherwise...well, I suppose it depends on how many degrees removed the decision is that will determine if staying here is a good investment..."
   The group came up on the first shaft, and Xephelon took the opportunity to carefully evaluate its features and dimensions. It was decently wide, and seemed capable of accomodating a platform large enough to transport something up to as big as a vehicle or two. Or three. There was also a spiralling pathway on the edge. While good enough for someone on foot, it couldn't be very quick, and was understandably unsuited to transporting large or bulky items. Xephelon was also curious...
   "I certainly will not be wandering off, a guided tour is much more informative. And speaking of information, how were these shafts created? That seems like a good place to start..."

"How were these shafts created? That is an excellent question. If you discover the answer, I would appreciate being informed."

Nadhiya began slithering down the ramp, gesturing for the group to follow in single file. "The dungeon was provided by our gracious benefactor... he was not forthcoming as to it's origin. In all likelihood, he simply discovered it and decided to put it to use. He's assured me it's relatively safe, and we have yet to find evidence of habitation... no signs of activity, and no archeological artifacts. No animal or plant life exists, apart from some fungal growths in the lower levels. The architecture is badly in need of cosmetic and functional refurbishing, but is structurally quite sound."

As they moved down, Xephelon got a better look at the layout of the ramp. It was obvious (to him, at least) from it's overall design that the shaft itself had once been used for more than simple foot traffic. It had obviously been engineered... but there were no signs of enchantment or runes, and no evidence of mechanisms or moving parts. Odd.

Zyrais followed the group, sticking closely to the wall of the shaft. <You'd think that having wings and being able to fly would make heights seem less scary but nooooooooo...> He thought to himself. BY the time he had thought of a response to Nadhiya's... Threat? Warning? Regardless, by the time he felt that he could respond, the subject of conversation had moved on and there was no point in beating a dead horse. Besides, there would be time for a debate on it later.

Still, he moved along with the group, sticking close to the wall and hoping that the shaft didn't go up too high...

"No artifacts?" Kittrick fell into single file as well, having sampled the updraft. It might suffice for a glide, but she would rather test that when she wasn't in danger of falling behind the group. "How peculiar. Not even a scrap of chipped stone or metal? Bone? What of fossils?"

Katya could hardly contain her excitement. This was amazing! She'd never seen so many different creatures in one place before! The hamster bit her lip, trying not to look too much like a child in a candy store. So many new faces, each with lives, stories... Oh! And abilities! Katya couldn't wait to find someone to fight! There was so much to learn!

A small-ish group caught her eyes, led by a Naga. Wasn't the administrator of this place supposed to be a Naga? Great, Katya could ask her about a job later! Looks like she was about to give a tour, though. Katya rushed to catch up to the group, her large combat boots clunking loudly on the stone floor. She was usually quieter when she moved, but... well this was just too exciting!

She caught up with the group, looking around at the other guests. A griffin, an angel, a giraffe zombie, and some sort of... Robot? Insectis? Thing? Whatever. She slowed her steps, trying more silently behind them. She hoped they wouldn't notice her immediately, she did love surprising people like that.


(Like Katya, I have very little clue what is going on.  :))

"Thessaly?" Nethalzar said.

"Yesss Master?" She answered.

"Attend the tour, and report anything noteworthy." The towering necromancer said. "Do not fail me in this."

"Of courssse.... master." She replied, and bowed as she steped back. Nethalzar nodded, and turned back to the buffet table.

Thessaly, shuffling rapidly to catch up with the group, took a smaller tome from the sleeve of her robe. Its cover was bracketed in blackened steel, and bound in stiff leather. From her other sleeve, she took a small vial of dead black fluid.

She flipped through a number of pages, covered in a variety of scratchings. Eldritch symbols, arcane runes, annotated diagrams, and lecture notes filled the pages. Interspersed throughout were occasional hearts, butterflies, and smilies.

Thessaly tugged one of her black leather gloves off with her teeth, then tucked it into her pocket. One of her claws was split; she  dipped into the vial, and began writing a few initial notes.

As she caught up with the group, a pair of batwings captured her attention.

Thessaly shuffled over to stand adjacent to the feline... rodent... person. "Missss," she said, plucking at the demon's shoulder. "Pardon my intrusion... you are the first demon I have seen here this night. My master would likely want to make your acquaintance. Might I ask... your name?"

otaku: Thessaly is indeed talking to Katya Nethalzar left the group after introducing himself to Nadihya and a bit of small talk, and is currently drifting around in the main hall. (See Post #59)

   As Nadihya explained that she did not know how the shafts were formed, and a few local quirks about them, Xephelon's interest peaked. "I shall certainly have to make it a project to study these shafts sometime, then..." A few things she said were particularly intriguing. The shafts didn't seem like a natural formation at a glance, but other than the shafts themselves, Nadihya said there was nothing left behind...if someone made the shafts and then abandonded them, they cleaned up after themselves impeccably well.
  Kittrick asked more questions, including a few that were on Xephelon's mind, mainly ones that concerned that little point of nothing being left behind. Xephelon continued to follow Nadihya and the group, listening for anything else the serpentess might say.

Nadhiya continued moving down the spiral-shaped ramp as she spoke. "There's been no obvious artifacts we've been able to find so far... though I admit that making archeological discoveries has been rather low on our list of priorities to date. Yet another thing we need skilled professionals for. The kobolds are only laborers, and I've been too busy to do any looking myself."

As they descended, the area quickly became much darker. Nadhiya held her hand aloft, creatign a pinpoint of deep, amber light in her palm. The light illuminated the next lower level of the dungeon; it was much like the main level in architecture ,but with far more waterways and fountains. Instead of havign decorative shallow rivers in the floors, the area had full-fledged water canals, large enough for small boats to move through the area.

Nadhiya continued speaking as they went. "The kobolds have theories, of course... that the place was abandoned very carefully, or that it has already been picked clean by scavengers over the last few centuries."

Zyrais felt slightly uneasy as he cast a spell on his forehead gem, which then began emitting a brilliant beam of light towards whatever direction he was facing. More than likely, the place had been carefully abandoned, which normally meant grim foreshadowing.
"Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained..." He mumbled to himself, looking around but still clinging to the wall. Then, he wondered where all these waterways led... Shame he couldn't breathe underwater to find out. Then, a thought came to him.
"Nadhiya, do the waterways here contain fresh water or salt water?" He asked, knowing that if they were salt water, then they connected to an ocean. Well, they could also connect to a river if they were made of fresh water, but those were usually rarer and not as suitable for water-based commerce.

I hate it when I think of something and have to come back later to make an edit.

Thessaly stopped scribbling briefly, and took a moment to study the fountains. Much could be learned about a culture through its statuary, after all.

For the same reason, Kittrick approached the fountains. Even if Lady Nadhiya had said that no artifacts were uncovered, the carvings and structures of those who came before might tell volumes about them. Even their building methods would say something; did they use mortar? Mud? Interlocking blocks of stone? Did they carve the fountains directly out of the living rock itself?

"What do you make of it?" the gryphon asked Thessaly, examining the stone.

The stonework hereabouts was all brick and mortar, though the bricks were quite large. The stone was obviously hard, and showed almost no sign of age or degredation. This made it all the more difficult to estimate how it's original inhabitants had lived their lives; there was no wear to indicate where travel or work had occured.

Nadhiya's response to Zyrais drifted back to the others who followed behind; the cavernous shaft did, after all, have an impressive echo. "The fountains and aqueducts are all fresh water... in every sense of the word, it might seem. There's no trace of salt, nor of any toxicity or pollution. No fungus or plant matter, either... the Kobolds were even using the smaller waterways to dispose of loose soil and chemicals from their work. I told them to stop, for fear of polluting the supply... but so far, none of the other aqueducts have been affected."

As they continued down the spiral ramp, the next lower level became visible; It was much like the main floor they had all seen upon arrival... but where the main level had been composed of great halls, lined with smaller rooms and corridors, these halls were uniformly gigantic. A titan could have lived here comfortably. It was disorienting to see the exact same architectural features blown to massive proportions... it almost compelled the viewer to feel as if they had shrunk. It was almost like walking past an optical illusion.

"Well, it's obvious that this was made by some rather large inhabitants, quite possibly dragons." Zyrais remarked aloud. "But, they rarely live in communities and there would be traces of their presence. Things like claw marks, for example. Is there any way to tell which parts were made first and which areas were added on later?"

Mechanisto, I've got to wonder if you have a map, floorplan, or some kind of diagram for this place made up. Visual aids for this place could come in handy.

   The group continued into the deeper levels, accompanied by what little information Nadihya had to offer. Xephelon didn't have much to say on who the original inhabitants were, though he rather thought it was them and not scavengers who were responsible for nothing being left behind. Scavengers were never so clean.
   Speaking of cleanliness, Xephelon -was- interested in the apparent fact that all the internal waterways flowed with pure water, even after being polluted...Xephelon was very curious if there was some kind of ambient magic effect somewhere. Either that, or the source of the water was clean, and the waterways were built in such a way as to prevent contaminants from spreading. Something worth looking into either way.
   Continuing on, they came across a positively massive cavern, this one worked in the same way as the others. It implied that the previous inhabitants of the area were of the colossal variety, and yet...as Zyrais noted, there weren't any telltale signs of such habitation.
   Most curious.

Thesslay gently scraped her nails over the stone wall. "Hard to say, Missstresss Kittrik. The need for water typically indicates a mortal society, but there doesn't seem to be any considerations made for food."
   She cocked her head, thinking. "Quite curious are the aqueducts. Their design would suggest a fairly intelligent society, and is supported by the scale and quality of the construction." She tilted her head to the other side. "The architecture is extremely minimalist, and has little ornamentation, but shows an extremely advanced understanding of design aesthetic. Much like greek architecture.
    "If I were to hazzard a guess... I would say that our previous occupants were not only highly intelligent, but valued logic and reason as virtues. Hence the emphasis on form.
    "This may have been an ascetic monastery of sorts, which would shy away from embilishment... but, in that case, there would be areas constructed for ceremonial purposes, or the floor plan itself would be significant. A map would be needed to determine that." Thesslay scrawled a reminder in her book.
    "There is a possibility, that this... speleocropolis, I suppose you could call it, was abandoned before completion. It would certainly explain why the stone shows no wear from use, and the lack of interior decoration."

Conferred with Mech regarding a few details on the architecture.

Phew!
If this expression existed in Deep speech, or if chuuls had any reason for gasping , Glup would definitely have used it.
He has finished the modification to the machine -- the large top emitter has stopped its futile attempts to send a signal through several hundred meters of iron ore, and a RJ-45 socket, and a long s/stp cable extending out of the room...

:: I should call Nadhiya to test it:: he thought but looking around he noticed everyone has left.
::!@#$%:: he thought, and then said a few curses that made the rocks around sweat a bit. (Deep speech , thanks to the Drow has a very developed insult/curse vocabulary)
Then , he noticed a figure strongly resembling the giraffe he has spoken to before at the other end of the hall
He began walking in his direction

"An interesting idea," Kittrick said, following the group. "Perhaps, if it were meant to be a monastery, it would explain the scale of the rooms. The shafts, as well. They may have been designed to invoke a religious experience; a great expanse both above and below, and the constant danger of falling from the path..."

"I must admit, I am most curious as to whether the spiral motif will be repeated throughout the complex." She looked up at the ceiling of the new chamber, both judging its height and scanning the walls for carvings. "My, this would be large enough to even hold cousin Kip... A map would be most useful, indeed. Madam Nadhiya, if I may ask, have there been any attempts to chart the caverns?"

ARGH. That first line should not have taken me so long to write right! >.< Dang writer's block.

Nadhiya continued slithering down the ramp as she addressed the various questions and comments. "Large inhabitants no doubt, Zyrais... but there are several levels of varying scales, and all seem to have been designed with equal care.

Thessaly's and Kittrick's wondering seemed to catch her attention. "Logic and reason? A monastery, you say? That never occurred to us... though a stronghold or battlement would be equally spartan. I don't know anything about military architecture, though."

"As for a map, all we have are architectural layouts from the rooms the Kobolds were refurbishing. They chart out each individual room and corridor, but not how they fit together... and we have no maps at all of the natural caverns and tunnels that border the whole place. It's one of our priorities, of course... we can't do any civic zoning without an idea of the overall layout."

Regarding maps: It's on my to do list. But it can wait till after the introductory chapter.

"Madam, I am an archaeologist. When we don't know what something was designed to do, we default to saying that it had religious significance," the gryphon said with a joking smile. "If any assistance is needed for the mapping project, I for one would be honored to help. That way, I can also assist in recovering and preserving any artifacts that come to light during the process. Knowing the layout first-hand will be quite the boon for my courier duties, as well."

   Xephelon continued following along silently, taking in the information he was hearing as well as everything he saw. He didn't have much to comment on the theories of the room's former purpose, that wasn't his forte. However, questions about mapping then came up. Nadihya explained that a good number of individual rooms were charted, but they hadn't been connected on a bigger map yet, and none of the natural caves had been records at all.
  Xephelon, for a brief moment, thought of assisting with mundane mapmaking. But before he realized how absolutely foolish that was to someone of his skills, he began thinking deeper... He recalled some spells he had seen cast before, very minor ones. Individually, they didn't help much, but if you put them together...
  "I believe that mapping the complex and the tunnel systems by hand may be unnecessary." Xephelon spoke up. "How many general magic-users do you currently have under you, Lady Nadihya? Specifically any who have divinatory spells. Or...Zyrais, was it? You seem to have magic related to seeing things, that could likely be sufficent... are there also any illusionists present? Does anyone here know any illusion magic at all? Lady Nadihya, if the spells I need are produced, I can take samples of them and craft a device that should provide a complete and accurate map of the entire complex (or at least parts of it, depending on its strength) and have several more, ah, features than something simply scribed on parchment. This device should also only take a few hours to create, no more than a day..."

Zyrais followed along while listening. While he was disappointed that the area was virtually uncharted, it also meant that the place might hold many undiscovered secret passages and/or areas. So, the griffin was an archaeologist? Odd, but then again, he himself had performed a number of unusual jobs...
He heard Xephelon's offer, and it intrigued him...
"That depends on the plan you're thinking of, Xephelon..." He began. "My scrying spells might work for the task, and I would need to set up surveillance for the area anyway. But, I will need a large mirror or something to 'project' the image onto, and I have difficulties with making the spells permanent. Of course, it would also help if I had my familiar with me..."

   "Oh, that's not quite what I'm thinking actually, Zyrais." Xephelon replied. "No scrying spells...more spells like 'discern direction' and 'location', or 'detect environment', spells along those lines. As for the illusion spell, only a minor image conjure is necessary. In fact, could attempt to recreate or create these spells from scratch myself, I am only asking for examples to save time. Things like this go much faster with examples. I can modify, rearrange, and adapt the spells in any way I need once I know how to duplicate them, even simply use them as a base for an entirely new effect."
  Xephelon paused for a moment with his exoshell clanking on the stone floor, continuing to follow the group. "I'm not sure what you mean by your familiar, though... and what is the next room we shall be seeing, Lady Nadihya?"

Looking at the giraffe, which seemed to think about something, Glup asked
"You know whegle can i find Nadhiya and otheglsh?"

   "Well, I know of those spells..." Zyrais began. "But since they're not ones I use on a regular basis, I'd have to look them up in my spell-book, which I may not have brought as the things are rather rare, expensive, and are usually family heirlooms..." He explained, rooting around in the pockets of his coat for a few minutes, encountering several small crystals, about a dozen throwing stars, his laptop computer, both of his handheld consoles, that thrice-damned pear tree, rope, some rations, a few flasks of water, several flasks of cold coffee, his staff, and a-"Aaaaaaargh!" He suddenly exclaimed, pulling out a foot-long, dragon-like creature with golden-red scales and a two-foot long, venomous tail that was lodged in his arm.
   "Dee! Tail! TAIL!" He exclaimed, quickly casting a cure-poison spell.
   "Whoa! it's bright out here!" The creature telepathically exclaimed. rapidly blinking it's golden, reptilian eyes.
   "TAIL!" Zyrais hissed again.
   "Oh, fine." It replied, painfully yanking it's stinger free from his arm and jumping to the floor.
   "Nnnnnrgh!" He growled through clenched teeth, then patched up the injury with a low-level healing spell. Once that was done, he sighed in relief and closed his eyes and began counting... "One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six.. Seven... Eight..."

  ---A little bit later...---

   "Forty-seven... Forty-eight... Forty-nine... Fifty..." He finished, opening his eyes
   "Wow, that mad, huh?" It replied.
   "What were you doing in my coat, Dee?" He asked, calmer but still annoyed.
   "Well... Huh... It's been so long I can't remember..." It replied.
   "Ugh..." He sighed. "Did you happen to see my spell-book in there?"
   "What have I told you about asking me stupid questions?" It replied. "It's dark in there, as in zero light, and thus I can't see anything." Zyrais rolled his eyes and sighed heavily.
   "Okay, did you encounter my spell book?" He asked.
   "Yes, it hit me on the snout as I went in there." It replied. "Now feed me."
Zyrais reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of meat that had been marinated in red wine before being dried. The creature climbed up onto his back, then wrapped it's tail around his shoulder and sat down, before finally taking the treat and chewing.
   "This..." He began, facing Xephelon. "Is the answer to your question. This is Dee, my familiar. Like all familiars, she gets a steady but small portion of my magical essence. This allows a familiar to live a much longer life in exchange for whatever favors you can coax out of them. Some magic users don't bother with them as certain... Species... Are a bigger pain in the ass than others..."
   "Hey, I didn't nuke the anger management classroom." She replied. "Thus, I didn't warrant the need for one of the 'tutors'..."
   "Anyway, Dee is a pseudo dragon. They look like miniature dragons, but they don't breathe fire. However, they still bite, and the stinger on their tail releases a decent quantity of an unholy, pain-inducing venom similar to a wasp or bee sting, but with more potency." He explained.
   "My claws do work, ya know." She replied. "And if you'd learn how, I could use some of the same spells you know..."
   "And give you access to magic missile and electric grasp?! Never!" He exclaimed aloud, before realizing that he was supposed to think it.
   "Ha ha." She shot back.
   "Anyways..." He sighed again, reaching into his coat and rooting around for a bit before pulling out a waterproof, zippered binder. Opening it up, he carefully leafed through the book. "Detect magic... Detect plot holes... Detect traps... Detect legal loop holes... Dang, this thing needs to be alphabetized... Detect secret doors... That might come in handy later... Ah, discern environment... This sound like what you're looking for?"

Hoooooleeeeeee crap! Didn't expect this to take so long to write... Anyway, for those familiar with D&D rules, pseudo dragons are in the Monster Manual I and can be a familiar if you have the feat. As for me, I prefer to change a little bit of stuff around like allowing them to be any color, although reds are the most common. I'm also aware that I'm mentioning a ton of D&D spells here, but not using the exact same name for most of them.

EDIT: Fixed text and tags to use italics. Quotes are used to indicate what's meant to be overheard and understood by another.
EDIT2: Indents added for clarity.

   Zyrais said that he was familiar with the kind of spells Xephelon required, but he didn't cast them regualrly and need a reference for them. He then made quite a show of pulling a multitude of items from his coat (that seemed to hold a greater volume of items than it should have...), before finally pulling out a small and apparently very painful and very alive lizard-creature, who's barbed tail had gotten caught in Zyrais' arm. He cast two spells over the injured area, and counted for almost a full minute before looking at the little reptile. They then silently exchanged a number of animated glances and pointed gestures at each other, as if they were having an irritated or tedious conversation. Zyrais then explained that the creature was a pseudodragon, and his familiar. Xephelon was quite a loss at what to say about all this, so he didn't.
  Finally, he pulled out a large book filled with arcane scribblings, and began flipping through it until he believed he found what Xephelon wanted.
  "If it is a spell that gives the caster perception to the dimensions of his surroundings and the locations of features therin, then yes, I believe the spell will be sufficient for my purposes, even if it is not exactly that." Xephelon replied. "I will only need to see the spell cast several times while I carefuly examine the arcane energies and how they flow together. Once I understand how the spell works, I can use it as a base for what I intend to create, rather than having to invent the magical means alone. Thank you very much for your aid."

Thessaly scribbled a note: Zeph. likes to make drudge work for spellcasters that could easily be done by minions.

---

Nethalzar turned his head to look over his shoulder. "Ah... Mister Glup." He sipped his wine. "She's on a tour with the rest of the group" He pointed with the glass down the hall, where the tour group had left. "They haven't been gone long. I've sent a scribe along with, she should be taking comprehensive notes if you need to be caught up on anything."

I was wondering when you were going to say something, dan.  :3

"Thanksh!"
An uneven galloping noise was heard among the corridors as a five legged creature rushed forwards  to the group.
After the repeated process of catching up with several stalagmites, cursing ,and continuing the search , he finally noticed something blue and moving in the distance,
Luckily it actually was Kittrick.
And the rest of the group.
He came closer, If he had mammalian lungs he would be pumping air like  blacksmith's bellows - as the present situation, his gills were fully open allowing  air to  circulate..
"Did i mish anything impogltant?" he asked those present.


Hmm i left it there like that for some reason, but i cannot think of why now :D i suspect something to allow you to describe what you are doing there or so... Dumb, i know

"What sort of device might you have in -- my word!" The gryphon took a step back, eyes wide in alarm, as Zyrais drew a small dragon-like creature out of his pocket, its tail embedded in his arm!

After a few spells and a few moments, the angel began describing it as a pseudodragon. A 'false dragon?' Perhaps it was some sort of mythos, then. While he and Xephelon discussed spells, she craned her neck forward, one paw raised like a curious cat, to try getting a better look at the creature.

Her attempts to observe Zyrais' familiar were interrupted by a loud clattering, galloping sound. She turned to see the chitinous creature from before -- the brain merchant, Glup, she believed his name was -- barreling toward the group. She took another step back to give him some room; thankfully, he pulled to a stop before plowing into anyone. Part of her wondered how he had managed to cross the narrow, spiraling walkway in the large shaft at such a breakneck pace.

"Not at all," she answered with a polite smile, tail twitching, wing feathers slightly ruffled. "We were just... discussing the existing architecture and the layout of these caverns."

"Good enough, i wash woglied fo' a while. I think i managed to get it woglking! Jusht needsh to be connected to the telephone wi'e " 
Glup was rather glad he missed the first part - in his consideration, architecture was like soil - useful to walk or put stuff on, nothing fancy to talk about, and that which experts ranked excelllent being full of crap...
He looked around, noticing someone  resembling an oversized rodent with bat wings. Then he noticed the pseudodrake.
"Who agle you?" he asked the being , looking at everyone else with suspicion.
::So architecture... I bet they were running experiments with life creation, and now they pretend these two mishaps are not there. But they don't fool me!  There were more cunning customers who did not!::

Thessaly lifted her finger from the page, and glanced over at the chuul. "I have notesss you can review, if you like." She said, offering her notebook to the giant lobster.
   The comment on the page was still wet: "Investigate allegedly unholy venom of the pseudodragon and possible alchemical/ritual applications."

The Naga listened to Xephelon and Zyrais before responding. "The only spell caster I currently have at my disposal is... well... myself. I had to hire a contractor to build the portal room. My restoration and ressurection powers are extensive, but my divination powers are limited to vague omens and celestial appeals..."

Her eyes widened as the sound of clawed feet trampling ever closer filled the hall, and she flinched closer to the side of the wall. She remained tense until Glup had finished joining in on the conversation.

"...need I remind everyone that there are no guardrails?"

   "Oh, I'm aware..." Zyrais replied, not bothering to hide his disdain and still sticking to the wall. "Do you have any estimates on when or if a guardrail is going to be installed?" Turning to Glup, but still sticking to the wall." Oh, Glup? You missed the freshwater aqueducts."

"Fgleshwathe' aqueductsh? Shoundsh nice!  Agle the'e cavesh with poolsh ash well? "
The crustacean turned to Zyrais and asked with amusement
"How come you agle shaking? Can you not fly with thoshe wingsh?"

   Xephelon was quite surprised at Nadihya's news. "You are saying that you have no subordinate magic-users at all in this dungeon? It seems that I shall have more work to do than I initially thought, much work indeed, many things to create..." The slightly droning voice coming from the exoshell devolved into some kind of low humming that varied in pitch and tone as the three light-eyes flickered and began alternating between dim and bright. He didn't seeme to care or be aware at Glup's sudden arrival.

"I'm sorry if I wasn't clear earlier... but aside from the tribe of Kobold Engineers, I don't have any Subordinates whatsoever. That should change swiftly, once we form a committee of significant personages... recruitment always picks up in the presence of strong leadership."

"Ah... here we go." She renewed the orb of light in her palm, strengthening it's light as they descended into a much darker level of the dungeon. Whereas the previous level had looked like a subterranean city with huge canals and bridges instead of main roads, this level was almost entirely natural. It was a massive cavern, with raw stone walls and corridors that had been carved by countless centuries of rushing water. The cave's blue-black surface glittered and glistened from Nadhiya's magical light, and a few crystal formations lit up like faint glass lanterns.

A few signs of architecture could be seen here and there; the area surrounding the elevator shaft was built like a dockside, in the same fine architectural style as elsewhere. A few stairwells and pathways could be seen leading off into the dark distance, more like hiking paths than proper roads. The air was filled with the constant sound of flowing water.

"Access to these levels has been restricted since the work began... they haven't been refurbished, and we've only done very minor explorations. The caves go on for miles, with several caverns either partially or fully submerged in water."


Back on the main level, the crowds continued to flow and move. The portal chamber continued to admit a regular flow of visitors, invited and otherwise, and the conversation became slightly more active... though no less paranoid or cautious.

A robed figure, adorned with red symbols, eyed the crowd. His hood obscured the look of frustration on his face, and his body language spoke of well restrained anger. His hidden expression changed, however, as he saw someone emerge from the portal room; female, and dressed in a similar style as himself... though her robes were far less obscuring. She was avian, with pale feathers and a delicate figure.

She nodded in greeting to everyone she passed by, but steadily made her way over. She and the hooded figure shared only a glance in greetings. "How goes, good sir?"

He grunted; an expression that somehow carried equal amounts of rage and boredom.

"And here I was worried you might have learned to actually have fun at these little social gatherings." Her smirk lessened to little more than a very subtle smile. "What learn you, here?"

"The place is neither a trap nor an ambush... but his lordship was right to send me ahead of you. This place is full of old angers... a bloodbath waiting to happen. It is not safe for you."

"You think I cannot handle myself? It seems civilized enough to me."

"Perhaps now... but the way you play, I doubt it will remain so. Your word-craft and politicking may spark something dire."

"Now now, sir... we both have our orders..." The avian seemed about to say something flippant, but a more serious look replaced it at the last moment. "I shall remain cautious. Let me know if you discover anything relevant."

"Humph... I already have. Over by the pastry table..." He nodded, without pointing. "...an undead. I've seen a few more about, as well."

The lady arched an eyebrow. "That... is relevant. Stay away from him for now. Such things are best dealt with my way."

Going into the new enviroment, Glup seemed to get excited.
He began to touch the algae and stalactite covered walls with his tentacles, ascertaining some things, listening for a bit and then began walking towards where he assumed was the nearest water flow.
He did not need the magical light even , due to the fact one of the rare benefits his eyes had was ability to see in darkness.
:: This place seems perfect for residence! Looks like old home in some ways! I think i will take a dive!::

Kittrick, on the other hand, padded very carefully along the natural pathways, sticking close to Nadhiya and the light. A gryphon's eyes were sharp -- they needed to be able to spot prey from the air, after all -- but she did not want to risk making a false step with so much swift-running water around. Not only would it be dangerous and embarrassing to take a tumble into the current, but it would also hurt her career prospects. This was still an interview of sorts, and who in their right mind would hire a clumsy courier?

"I wonder if these formations are natural..." she mused, examining one of the glowing crystals as they passed.

   Xephelon registered that the only ones actually established in the dungeon so far were the 'kobolds', which Xephelon inferred as the little lizardy thing that had delivered his invitation. No wonder there was virtually no infrastructure to the place yet.
  They descended into what seemed to be the lowest levels of the complex; a system of natural caves and tunnels. Nadihya illuminated the tunnels with a refreshed light spell, showing a few streams of water, as well as several crystal formations. The green lines and light-eyes on the exoshell suddenly got brighter. Well well, it seemed as if this place was a repeating cycle of one step forward, one step back, and one step forward again.
  "Crystal formations! Excellent! Any regular crystalline substance is ideal for magic enchantments; they are superior to any other material in retaining magic energy and constructs, and thus are very efficient when used as a core for items and devices. Lady Nadihya, I believe I might regularly extract crystals from here if they are of sufficient quality, as I will then not need to acquire them from an outside source or manufacture my own (synthetic crystals are superior still to natural ones...if they are made properly, which is exceedingly difficult). This will greatly expedite and ease the creation of any magical devices that are needed..."
  The exoshell turned to Zyrais, the three light-eyes flickering. "I shall procure a sample now, and if it is good enough, use that as the core of the device I intend to make that will eliminate the need for maps. If you aid me with your spells as soon as this tour is over, I may even be able to have the device completed before the day is out, depending on how complex the spell is and how much energy it requires."
  Xephelon then turned to the nearest crystal cluster and strode towards it on his four metal spider-like legs, fairly stable on the wet, slick rock. When he reached the formation, he extended all four of his arms and examined the formation, until he found a likely candidate; fist-sized chunk that could be extracted while preserving the single crystal lattice. Tiny enchanted blades popped out of the arms and cut at the base, and a little persuasion with a touch of infused transmuting magic to help separate the chunk to ensure the lattice was preserved as it was disconnected from the rest of the formation. This process would take several minutes. As he did so, he also carefully examined the crystal to discern just what kind it was, and whether it was natural or artificial.

   Zyrais sighed yet again before answering Glup.
  "Yes, I can fly with my wings, but at the same time, I can't." He began. "Those who regularly exercise their wings can fly, but I have to infuse them with magic in order to actually fly with them." He explained, still following the group.
  When Nadhiya led the group to the caverns on the lowest level, something had him on edge. He quickly empowered the gem on his forehead to shine a beam of light towards whatever he was looking at again.
  "Do you feel anything weird, Dee?" He asked.
  "Yes, I feel like I need to tinkle, and your shoulder sounds like a good spot." She replied.
  "That's not weird, that normal..." He sighed.
  He listened to Nadhiya's admission of lacking subordinates without surprise. Good help was, and still is, quite hard to find. And magic users? Ugh...
 "Yes, I can understand why this area hasn't been explored. especially since experienced spelunkers will be needed, and that's assuming that there isn't anything unpleasant down here. Plus, water-breathing magic or devices are probably going to be needed to fully explore the area." Zyrais sighed again.
  "Let me know the results of your findings, Xephelon. I'm trying to try a quick experiment that will take a few moments..." "Dee, keep watch for me."
  "Oh, I guess..." She sighed, as Zyrais closed his eyes, focused his magic, and sent out an empowered magic detection spell.

Mechanisto, check your PMs.

Nadhiya continued moving at a slower pace as they moved past the cavern level, keeping an eye on Xephelon like a mother hen, but not actually saying anything.  Most of the crystals were large, perhaps a yard tall, but a few smaller ones were growing close to the lip of the shaft. The first thing Xephelon learned about the crystal, of course, was that it was tough... extremely so. The stone it grew out of was incredibly strong and resistant, making it very difficult to work. It was only a matter of time, though, until the extraction was complete. There was no telling what sort of properties (physical or magical) the crystal might have inherited from the rock.

Zyrais felt his spell work successfully, but the outcome was disorienting. The magic users in the tour group stood out, as expected. The crowd from the main level above stood out as well, but the information from the detect spell came back heavily distorted; many of the guests had obviously warded themselves against scrying and detection. The sheer number of wards, however, caused the spells results to come back extremely distorted, as if a thousand rubber balls had been shot out of a cannon. The amount of defensive overkill was almost funny.

More disturbing, however, was the sense he got from everything else... nothing at all. The caverns, the corridors, and however much of the rock wall he was reaching through, were utterly blank. There was no magic as far as he could see. This usually meant an area was being shielded against detection.

(See the OOC thread for details on the crystals.) (http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,7171.msg322807.html#msg322807)

As the characters stumble in the darkness, they hear a PLONK! and Kittrick is sprayed by several large drops of water as she stood the closest while examining the crystals.
In other words, it seems Glup has found a deep enough stream running through, and decided to go in full-steam.

   Zyrais first felt the numerous wards and protective magic from the dozens of guests on the tour group and the numerous guests on the main floor. Yeesh, talk about paranoid! Protection from scrying and detection spells? Few could detect an individual's particular aura in a crowd of that size, and those that could wouldn't be put off by anti-scrying wards... Plus, the defensive wards bordered on insane. He briefly considered launching a few magic missiles into the crowds to watch them bounce around like a pinball in the middle of a large group of bumpers, but decided against that as Nadhiya probably wouldn't like that...
  His mood took a turn for the serious when he failed to detect... Anything... From the caverns and tunnels around him to as far as his magic could reach. Which was outright bizarre, as there should've at least been... Something... Like enchanted items, recently cast spells, spirits, magical creatures or animals, alchemical plants or minerals, ley lines, nexus points, or even just... Something... Thus, somebody or something was shielding the area from detection, and something that could shield an entire area was never something to screw around with... Zyrais opened his eyes and Dee jumped back up onto his shoulder.
  "What'd you find out?" She asked.
  "Something is shielding this area from magic-detecting spells and it's freaking me out. He replied.
 "Nadhiya, has anything odd happened during the few explorations that have been done? Because something odd is going on here and-"
  "Hey, that lobster-thing just dived into the stream. Betcha twenty bucks something eats 'im." Dee suddenly stated, staring off in a different direction. "Hey, where's my camera?! She demanded after diving into the pockets on the inside of his coat.
  "Glup! You don't know what's in there!" Zyrais exclaimed, wondering what could possibly eat a creature that size, yet not really wanting to know...

Yes, I'm paraphrasing the GM. And admit it, watching magic missiles bounce around like pinballs would be interesting.
EDIT: Fixed effects of the spell.

She glanced over at Xephelon. "Did it occur to you that the entire reason this little soiree is being held is because the lady Nadihya is looking to hire some subordinates? I mean, that's what we all came out here for, right?"

She continued scribing notes as she spoke: Look into possible fossilized life forms in local stone.

Note: Xeph does not seem to consider biological materials as ideal enchanting materials.

More for us, I suppose. She thought.

Argh. Sorry for the poor timing and late reply to Tech.
Also: Using italics for written text. Sorry for any confusion.

The water was cold, dark, fresh.... it felt like back at home.
Using the motion of his tail Glup swam around, looking for some tasty fish, and breathng the cold liquid full of dissolved oxygen.

"Don't *glup*uogly*glup* the uategl *glup* is safe *gargle* fogl me - is *glupglup* my home!" he responded to Zyrais.
The water meant he made a whole lot more gargling noise and the sound was warped, but the seeping was almost eliminated , making it surprisingly easier to understand what he said....

   As Xephelon extracted the smallish crystal from the rock, he noted that both the crystal and then rock were unusually tough. Not to mention that, despite his knowledge of of common and some rare crystals most often used as magic cores, he didn't seem to recognize exactly what this one was. Some in-depth analysis was needed...
  After the well-shaped fist-sized crystal was extracted, Xephelon also found a random coin-sized and malformed chunk that was poorly anchored to the rock, and simply broke it off. No need to be delicate with that one.
 Xephelon caught up with the group after Glup began his dive. Some undead (wasn't it one of that giraffe undead's escorts?) made an offhand comment. Seemingly not looking at her and preoccupied with the crystal (it was hard to tell, the "eyes" were only lights set into the center of the "torso", and the torso was angled towards the crystal in his metal hands), he only replied with "I merely wondered if any infrastructure was already in place. I am surprised, but then again, more things for me to make, more things to do..."
  Xephelon continued trailing the group as it moved, still focusing mostly on his crystal samples. While he wasn't ready to actually perform any real analysis on the small sample he collected, he did begin some preliminary work on the larger piece, using his magic to get a basic "feel" for the crystal, as well as lightly transmuting and attuning it in preparation to store magic properly.


"Xeph does not seem to consider biological materials as ideal enchanting materials" Heh heh, that's kind of funny, as I'm sure it will eventually come up IC that Xephelon can't actually put magic in anything alive, and yes, unliving but still biological materials are often difficult to work with...

XD Thanks, danman! I was kind of hoping someone would splash Kitt!

Kittrick shook by reflex, probably sending drops of water flying onto any nearby people. She didn't care at the moment. All she knew is, somebody had splashed her with cave water. Cave water! Ugh! Who knew what was in that?! Especially cave water that had been sitting undisturbed for so long! She whirled around, tail bristling. "Who--"

Then she heard Zyrais.

Glup.

She glared daggers into the water, scanning it for anything that remotely looked chuul-shaped, and flexed her claws.

Unknowing of this menace , glup continues to swim in the current , using mighty tail wobbles to move in bursts, seeking any fish or other lifeforms to serve as dinner.
While looking for him, Kittrick notices the two large bags he had on his sides are resting against a cave wall under a rather reflective crystal which was what allowed her to spot them

Note: Detect magic won't necessarily reveal non magical organisms or phenomena; only actual magic energy. Normal dirt and rocks and trees don't have magic auras. Also; magic is not evenly distributed in the world, so there are lots of small places in the natural world that aren't especially magical. Not being able to sense any magic at all for miles and miles, however, is unbelievably extreme. That means no enchanted items or recently cast spells, no ghosts or natural spirits, no alchemical plants or minerals, no natural leylines or nexus points... the list goes on.

Nadhiya turned to respond to Zyrais, but was cut off as Glup trampled past. the look on her face was one of momentary panic, but quickly faded back to mild surprise. The steam was, indeed, more than large enough to accommodate Glup; the water was cool, and flowed at a slow and steady pace. It was also very breathable, and the rich oxygen levels threatened to give him a giddy "runner's high."

Disappointingly, though, there appeared to be no large fish. Or small fish. Or fish of any kind. The water was clean and clear; no sign of plants, algae or fungus. It was like a vast sea of sparkling mineral water.

While the front of the line was concerned with the sudden splashing about, Xephelon's cursory analysis of the crystal revealed some basic data; it had a high rate of magical absorption. Enchanted gems were usually made to absorb magic from the environment to recharge over time. This was, itself, a kind of enchantment... and yet these crystals were doing just that in their natural state. The effect was very slight, but still intriguing.


Time continued to crawl by at a snail's pace on the main level, as social circles mingled with almost painfully cautious etiquette. People were going out of their way to avoid strong conversation, so not much of interest was taking place.

Eventually, Nathalzar felt a polite tap on his left ankle; there appeared to be not-completely-dressed-in-rags Kobold waving at him. The tiny humanoid lizard held a crude club that had been hastily engraved with a guardsman's emblem. It was kind of depressing to see a symbol of absolute authority being carried by such a pitifully weak creature... especially in this den of unspeakable horrors.

"You... dead walk? Know things? You help?" he pointed up at the towering death-knight, and then glanced around conspiratorially. It then pointed to a corridor on the far side of he hallway, and eagerly began tugging him in that general direction. "Dead-walk guest... not well. Need help."

Nethalzar followed, his blase countenance disturbed only by the perk of a quizzical eyebrow. "You understand that I am under no obligation to service Lady Nadihya's guests. I will see what there is to be done, and I should expect the Lady to appreciate this gratuity."

And, hopefully, it will be an impressive one at that.

Nethalzar sipped his wine, and followed the Kobold.

---

    Thesslay shook her notebook a little, thanking herself for using waterproof ink. She glanced at a note on one of the pages, then froze. Something Zyaris said came back to her. Just what is down there?
    She snapped her book shut, no longer concerned about the water. It had had worse than water splattered across it's pages. Murmuring softly in Enochian and gesturing lightly with her fingers, she finished with two words in common speak, for the benifit of those around her.
    "Sense life," she whispered.
    Her eyes flared with a soft golden light, and she quickly looked over the water. If there were any plant life in it, however minute, it would show as a very light glow.
    She blinked, then checked over the rocks as well.

Hmm. Glup had left his bags unguarded. There were possibilities there.

The gryphon padded over to the packs. Her first thought was to send them to join their owner in the water... but then again, no. The cloth may not have been waterproof. Wet feathers were not enough to justify ruining someone's possessions. Plus, the whole job interview thing. A courier seen mishandling someone else's goods would not be trusted. Bah.

Perhaps, then, she could move them. She had seen many, many students returning from a dip in a pond or stream only to find that their clothes or some other possession had been moved out of sight by their colleagues as a prank. A minor inconvenience for a minor inconvenience; a moment of irritated searching in exchange for a moment of irritating dampness.

That idea was quickly struck down after Kittrick prodded one of the bags experimentally, trying to gauge its weight and contents. It barely budged. They would be far too heavy. What in the world were they filled with? Perhaps if she had a proper harness, she would be able to lift them, but she didn't really want to put anything that was designed to be worn by an aquatic creature on her back. Who knew where those bags had been?

So, she returned to the water's edge, and, a bit childishly, began to flick a few pebbles into the water near where she thought the chuul was.

   Now that the initial shock of watching the chuul dive headfirst into the unknown had worn off a bit, Zyrais examined the water carefully, shining the brilliant beam of light coming from his forehead into the water like a spotlight. It took a moment before it hit him... The water was indeed pure, no plant life, no fish, and thus, probably luckily for the gung-ho chuul, unable to sustain any form of predatory animals. Well, except for possibly aquatic slimes or gelatanous cubes...
  "Heh, I think I'll take you up on the bet, Dee." Zyrais informed his familiar, smirking.
  "Meh, sorry. I just wanted to watch him get eaten or attacked by something." She replied, bored now that her attention had wandered. In reality, she said "Offer not valid if Zyrais has a reasonable chance of collecting."
  "Heeeeeeeellooooooo?!" Dee suddenly exclaimed, looking around. "Can anyone hear me? I'm sooooooooo booooooooored... Looking around, she spotted the gryphon awfully close to the chuul's bags, so she jumped off of Zyrais's shoulder, flew over, and landed on her back. Then, she stuck her face into the gryphon's and tried to strike up a conversation...
  "Hello! What'cha doing?" She asked.
  "You sting her and I'm going to wring your neck, Dee." Zyrais warned, not even bothering to look over in her direction and focusing more on finding the chuul, or any large, sinister, shadowy shapes moving around in the water.

I fixed the entry where Zyrais got the results of his detect magic spell, I think... And I'm-Zzzzzzz... Totally cool-Zzzzzzzz... To RP. Zzzzzzzzz...
EDIT: Added one comma and two quotation marks.

Glup was swimming in the water, becoming intrigued
::How come there is nothing alive here ? I have seen caves with sulfurous water, nitrate contaminated water .... but all had at least algae::

Then a pebble hit him.
Then another.
Then a bunch.
::@$%^ !!! A cave in! @$%!:: Glup has been in far too many such situations, and his quick, and usually accurate judgement was to be thanked for him not being 2-D yet - chuuls, like other crustaceans and insects are not best at withstanding blunt trauma.
He rushed along the stream  ass-front  with mighty tail contractions, going through considerable distance before he realised something is not right , and there should have been more and larger rocks falling, not to mention some vibrations.
Now, he was in a portion of the cave rather far from the others, and would need to return back...

The gryphon started. Something just landed on her back! Get it off get it off get it off-- She prepared to shake again, but stopped herself when the pseudodragon's face burst into her field of vision from above while an unfamiliar female voice asked what she was doing. Oh. Phew! It was the angel's familiar. She guessed that was okay. For now.

"... Did you just speak to me?" She tilted her head up curiously and crossed her eyes a little, trying to focus on the reptilian creature.

She didn't even notice Glup swimming off into the darkness.

   Dee had to take a moment to ponder the question the griffin asked her.
  "Oooooh... Sooooooo many responses to that one..." She began. "But yes, I'm speaking to you in your mind! Kinda unnerving, huh?"
  Meanwhile, Zyrais was scanning the water for anything monsterous looking... Anything at all... Especially any sudden movements from within the pure, clear water... The spell was already half-formed in his hands, ready to be unleashed at a split-second reaction... It was a standard, low level magic missile spell that could easily be followed up with a bigger, more powerful barrage if needed. Zyrais briefly wondered if anyone nearby had any kind of dispelling magic, then focused back on watching the water...

EDIT: Added a quotation mark.

   In most environments, a Detect Life spell would have caused every conceivable surface in sight to light up like a rainbow. Here, though, Thessaly's sight revealed very little... but still something. The water sparkled with the subtle light of free-floating algae and bacteria, and the glistening black cave walls glowed with faint traces of fungus, lichen, and tiny insects. Deeper in, there were a few slightly larger creatures; swarms of tiny krill,  and the occasional hermit crab or sea-slug. It appeared to be a perfectly healthy (though rather sedate) ecology.

   Nadhiya seemed to be keeping a sharp eye on the current happenings, and looked concerned at Glup's continued and rapid retreat into the cave depths. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. "Glup? Can you make your way back?"

   Her voice echoed far in the deep caves, but the water distorted the sound. Not to mention, her words wouldn't reach under the water very well. She planted her palms on her hims and let out a quiet, exasperated sigh before gesturing for everyone to continue the tour.

   "I'll send someone after him if he doesn't find his way back by the end of the tour. He should be fine... and perhaps he'll learn something."


   The kobold hopped through the crowd, looking back at Nathalzar periodically; it's expression and body language resembled that of a nervous lapdog even more so than usual for his race. They went through one or two corridors that had no guests in sight, and arrived at a large, featureless room.
   In the middle was a bed, made of wooden slats and padded with filthy, matted blankets. Laying on the makeshift pallet was a young-looking female undead that Nathalzar had vaguely remembered seeing here and thee in the crowd. She was a slender Canine, with a grey coat. She wore an exquisite looking silk cocktail dress, ice-blue and embroidered with gold thread. Her knees, elbows, and midriff were fleshless, exposing the joints and spine. Her dress had obviously been tailored to suit the fleshless portions; none of her wounds were new. She wasn't moving at all.
   Her purse lay next to the bed. A necklace nestled in her ample bosom bore a paper card; on the card were a picture of the girl's face, and the words "Hi! My name is Roxanne" in a combination of pre-printed block letters and beautiful, hand-written calligraphy.

Nadihyia's shouts were mostly missed by the chuul ,who by now was quite far from the group - despite being slow on land, crustaceans of his type are excellent burst swimmers, able to achieve large velocities.


He began to notice some life in the water here - krill, slugs , a few crabs....
::Good, so it is alive! I will have to seed the water with something::
He caught a slug and devoured it - it tasted a bit... old.
He thought for a moment... .
::This will be probably my home and workplace - it cannot hurt to explore it a bit more. After all they did not  bother even saying that they are leaving... they can ... DAMMIT! MY BAGS  ::
The idea hit him like a rock. He left all of his prized possessions, including the written notes on constructing rat-powered batteries in there , to touch of all of them. ESPECIALLY that smooth-operator lizardman....
::And now to find the precise spot where to unsubmerge - better check every... let's say 20 meters...::
With that he turned around and began looking for a way back.

Nethalzar observed her for a moment, then huffed lightly. He gestured lightly with two fingers, and spoke two words softly: "Sense life." He then made sign with his hand, and spoke again: "Aura Sight."

It's green because it's necromancy.

Without looking away from the girl, Nethalzar reached into his jacket and came out with a small vial of smoke. He removed the stopper with a thumb and forefinger, and the smoke rose gently. It formed into roughly spherical shape, and at it's center was what appeared to be a blue candle flame.

Nethalzar spoke to the ghost-light without looking away from the girl. "Fade... I may need my Codex. Tell Carter to fetch it."

The candle flame flickered.

"No, Fade. Not my Grimoir, my Codex. The Grimoir is the one that wails, the Codex has a spine for a spine. Carter will know which one it is. Go now, and if you taunt anyone on your way out, I'll have you in the chandelier for the next three full moons."

The flame sputtered, then zoomed off towards the portal room.

Edit: Removed a small bit. I thought the card was, like, a folded card, but it's a convention badge.

   Zyrais sighed as Nadhiya began to move on. After a bit of thought, he carefully combined the light spell in the gem on his forehead with the magic missile spell in his hand to create a brilliant, glowing, silvery beacon. As he placed the orb of magic on the ground, he wondered if it would explode or something when something got close... Oh well, that wasn't his problem.
   "Let's go, Dee. The tour's moving on without us." He told her, walking off.
   "Oh, fine..." She grumbled. "Come on! Let's go, griffie! Yah!" The pseudodragon exclaimed, playfully smacking the gryphon's backside with her tail, being careful not to hit her ride with her stinger.

The beacon will split into three missiles when Glup gets within twenty feet. Each one has the power of a standard unarmed strike by a being. He'll probably feel the blows, but there shouldn't be much damage.
Unless he waits for over an hour to go back. Over time, the spell will get dimmer and dimmer and eventually fade, along with its offensive power.

Dive, swim, rise, check... Dive, swim, rise, check. ....
Glup was progressing backwards, trying to find his bags and the place where he left the others.
Dive swim, rise... SPLAT! SPLAT! TWANG!
As he rose from water , t wo magic missiles hit the now-soaked algae on his back, splattering some green matter around - he barely felt the impact.
The last one hit him right into the face, specifically his magical goggles.
"What? Who? Whegle?, %#@%@$##$@!"
Luckily the enchanted glass was somewhat impact resistant, so it did not break, but two studs holding it were pushed out and now it had a tendency to fall off, leaving Glup with mono-vision as the stuff perceived by the other eye was pretty blurry.
:: I need to fix this when i have time. Now, which bastard did this!?::
It did not take the Great Brain of an illithid colony to figure out who had both the means and interest in putting together such prank.
::Zyrais, you pool of spinal liquor! I'll get your furry scaly hide!:: (Unlike people, and other humanoids whose most mid-range swearwords revolve around fecal matter, in chuuls the equivalent are the CNS components)
With that said, he picked up his bags, and holding the second lens in front of his eye by one of the tentacles, he began searching for the group.....

   After following the group for only a few moments, Zyrais heard the bizarre sound of the beacon he had left behind exploding.
   "I can never get those damn things to explode when I want them to..." He cursed under his breath. "Conversely, when they do, it always comes back to bite me..."
   "How about that one time one of those things exploded on me?" Dee asked, jumping off the gryphon's back and taking to the air in case she was needed.
   "You promptly wrapped your body around my neck and jabbed your stinger into the middle of my back where my hands couldn't reach to administer the full effects of a 'cure poison' spell." He replied, turning around to see Glup in the distance messing with his goggles.
   Wait a second... His goggles?! Aw, hell...
   "Whooooo-weeee... That is one annoyed-looking chuul..." Dee exclaimed. "Well, it's been nice working for ya, jerkass."
   Zyrais took a few moments to look around the area and find out one very important fact...
   "Well, if push comes to shove, this seems like as good a place as any..." He remarked, waiting for the Glup to approach him while standing in the middle of the cave.
   Yup... If only he had spent more time training his body, perhaps he wouldn't need to rely so heavily on offensive magic... Perhaps if he had also spent time building up the muscle in his wings, he could fly under his own power...
   Instead, he had spent his time learning how to empower his wings with magic and using them to enchance his speed and direction while using magic to actually fly, like with the 'Flight' spell he was casting right now...
   His wings took on a slight glow as he cast the spell and focused himself. Odds were good that he could talk himself out of this, but it never hurt to have a plan B...

The thoroughly annoyed chuul was nearing to Zyrais at a pace of a rapid human walk, which was nowhere as impressive as his velocity in water but still looked intimidating, considering that he is a several meters long insect.
He did not curse... yet,  although his pincers were  clapping in a peculiarly loud and directed manner although it looked a bit like a nervous tic.
As he neared closer, Zyrais at first heard a faint hum, like near a set of high voltage transformets, getting slowly but steadily louder. The peculiar thing was that despite the "sound" interference he could hear everything around perfectly at the same time which felt a bit strange - it was as if it only existed within his mind.
details of what is happening now in OOC - don't worry not an attack yet  Of course anyone who is within the range can feel this as well - it is undirected
"YOU! YOU' *gargle-glurp* SHTHUPIDS  MAGIKSH PGLANKSH 'OKE MY GOGGLESH *gargle* I 'AD THEM MADE IN ZINVTH ! IT KOSHTH ME A DAMN KUBI BGLAIN ON BLAK MAGLKET!*glurp* AND IT NEAGLY KILLED ME! *gargle, glupglup*YOU 'OTHEN SHPINAL KOGLD SHTUB!*glupglupglup*"
Besides the fact that Zyrais could clearly see why was the creature in front of him named "Glup" , a rather entertaining fact especially since the bearer of the name did not recognise the connection,he could see that the chuul was preparing most of his tentacles for action, even to the point of forgetting to hold the glass in front of one of his eyes.
A careful, observant creature or being could see that the eye looked different - deeper, and that there were small, transparent crackles of psychic energy around the intersections of the plates on his forehead.think of the Predator moving through the forest
Clearly, even to a non-empath, he was mightily annoyed.

   "Daaaawwww... He looks like he needs a HUG!" Dee sarcastically advised. Ignoring her, Zyrais sighed deeply and looked at the obviously annoyed chuul.
   "My sincerest apologies, Glup..." He began. "The beacon was not meant to explode as I thought I had diverted as much of the energy used in its creation for producing light as I could, while still keeping it in a sustainable form. Which is why it didn't do much physical damage. Plus, I was in a rush and I'll admit it was sloppy. I know some magic that's quite effective in repairing objects like this. And yes, I'm aware that the last thing you want to hear about is more magic, but at least give me a chance to make amends."
   Meanwhile, he did his best to ignore the remark that the goggles cost a cubi's brain, which struck a little too close to home for him...

Zyrais's charisma is at maximum effect here.

Zyrais could feel the noise has stopped getting stronger even as the chuul had progressed a few more steps.  - it still was heavily irritating though. It  looked as if the chuul was now giving him some chance to speak, and although still angry and heavily wronged, at least he wasn't in "war-mode", which was definitely a plus.
The frequency of pincer-clicking has decreased, looking as if he attempted to stop it entirely and just wasn't entirely sucessful, and the strange blurriness about parts of his head which was apparent as he came close somewhat subsided.
It was clear that although still maintaining an angry mindstate - messing with the mind of a psionic non-humanoid definitely was not an easy task - Glup wasn't in a murderous rape-your-land-burn-your-women  state of mind anymore, and was at least willing to hear Zyrais out.
It does help, but also remember one of the magic missiles hit him right between eyes- it is not easy to camuflage as explosion
"Sho, you shay you *gargle* kan fiksh them?  A pethy magishian like you? Theshe wegle made by an ekshpeglt!*gargle glup glup*, Noth shomeone who tgliesh to shay he botched up a shimple beakon shpel! *gargle glup glup* "

A tiny, gentle hand delicately rested on one of Glup's more outstretched tentacles. Nadhiya's voice was calm as possible, there was obviously a tense edge to it.

"Now please, gentle... persons. I'm sure there's a rational explanation for all this. And I'm sure Zyrais is all too eager to explain what happened, apologize if nessecary, and offer to repay you for any damages suffered from this possibly tragic mistake. Isn't that right, Zyrais...?"

Her humanoid upper body looked remarkably relaxed, considering that she was essentially accusing an angel of being either incompetent or a traitor, while also asking him to apologize for something.... to what some might consider a "lesser creature," no less...

The entire rest of her serpentine body, however, was coiled like a hair trigger.

Knowing little of her priest-identity, and given the pleasant experience so far, Glup turned to her and began explaining in deep speech Mistress Nadihya *gargle glurp* - this swine's misbegotten action has resulted in *glupglup* breaking of my goggles, specially crafted ones *glup glarg* with both price and usefulness higher than *glup gargle glop* miscreant probably understands
i decided to use one of the dark blue colours for deep speech- i hope you can read it- if not complain He pointed angrily with one of the tentacles at Zyrais, and for a split second the hum intensifies, subsiding again in a second or so to a merely irritating level

"Lady Nadihya," Thessaly said, "Are magic users liable for harm caused through negligence?" Her voice was firm and even, though toneless. Her inking finger poised over the page of her notebook.

danman: the blue text is hard for me to read on a black background.

"Not exactly, no..." Nadhiya's gaze remained on Zyrais; she was clearly waiting for his apology... or lack thereof.

"...Citizens are liable for harm caused through negligence."

   Xephelon's initial analysis and preparation of the crystal yielded an unusual result; it seemed the crystal was already absorbing trace amounts of magical essence. Nearly all crystals passively picked up trace amounts of magic when such a presence was nearby (though rarely ever enough of any significance), part of the reason they were sought-after as receptacles for magic, but this kind seemed to be actively pulling magic in. Very weakly, but still actively. Such naturally attuned crystals were just a little better than normal crystals at being magic receptacles when fully attuned and enchanted (though still not as great as a single, carefully-made synthetic one) and took less work to do so, and were that much rarer as they usually only formed with persistent but subtle ambient magic... or experienced a single event of great magnitude. Either way, Xephelon was excited; not only would this make his job even a little easier and quicker, but should he stay, he would have access to entire deposits of them! There was much potential...
  So engrossed he was in his thoughts of the possibilities and following the group automatically, he didn't notice Kittrick antagonizing Glup, nor Zyrais leaving behind a temporary magic "beacon" as the group moved on. However, the disturbance the beacon created did catch his attention. Xephelon turned around to see the large Chuul clacking its way over to the group, Zyrais specifically, and he seemed... very agitated.
  As Glup ranted at Zyrais, and filled the air with an ominous buzz, Xephelon did catch the part about "broken goggles", and that it seemed they were custom-made. Zyrais offered to fix them with his magic, although Glup seemed doubtful, to say the least. And Nadihya was saying with a bit of subtlety and tact that Zyrais should definitely fix, or at least pay for his "mistake".
  Xephelon approached the group, but didn't say anything--yet. He waited to observe how Zyrais would respond to this situation, and to see how well he could work his magic. This was the person he intended to "borrow" a spell from, after all...

   Zyrais took a few deep breaths before starting to speak as the psychic "noise" was incredibly distracting. Meanwhile, Dee was hovering above his head, holding a small cardboard sign with "LYNCH HIM" written on it in big, gold letters.
  "What started it was a beacon spell I had made to guide Glup back after he dived headfirst into the water." He began, only a little nervous but making sure to make eye contact. Well, it still beat that time he was getting impeached for abusing political power in that one town... "I did have a magic missile spell partially ready due to two factors. First, that the area was unexplored. Second, that my previous 'detect magic' spell failed to find anything as far as it could reach, with is highly unusual and to be honest, it unnerves me. So, I highly suspected that Glup would come rushing out with something on his tail. After some thought, I realized I had overreacted and that such precautions weren't needed. By that time, the group was moving on. I didn't want to take the chance of Glup getting lost down here, so I altered the spell a bit and combined it with a 'light' spell to create a sort of beacon. What was supposed to happen was the spell automatically dissipating once something got within a certain distance. My guess at what happened is that it somehow became a 'delayed magic missile', similar to a 'delayed blast fireball'. Believe it or not, I've been trying to find out how to craft such a spell for some time with little success so far..."
  Zyrais took a moment to pause and try to clear his mind, the noise was irritating and quite annoying. Plus, all of them kept making glances above his-"Dee!" He suddenly exclaimed, turning around for a moment. "Do you mind? This is a serious moment!"
  "Wah, wah, wah..." She openly mocked, rolling her eyes and putting the sign away. After he had turned back around, she moved off to his left side and pulled out a second cardboard sign, this one read "JERKASS" with gold lettering and below it had a gold arrow pointing to the left. Dee looked down, then turned the card over, revealing a similar design but with the arrow pointing toward Zyrais.
  "Regardless, I freely admit that this incident has been negligence on my part and I'm sorry. I've already offered to use my magic to try and fix the goggles, but if Glup refuses, then I'll understand. Either way, I'm willing to foot the bill for any materials, tools, and labor needed to repair the goggles and make amends." He explained.

Yeesh! I've only been working on this friggin' post for... An... Hour... Last time I looked, it was 7pm...

Glup eyed him with suspicion. Due to the calming  presence of Nadihya, Zyrais's efforts and the fact that some time has passed, he was now somewhat calmer, and more importantly began to think.
::The furry lizard thinks i'm an idiot... but let's play his game - i will either see him failing at the repair, or admitting that he did not mess up such simple spell.... bletch, i knew he was no good since i first met him::
He then noticed the floating familiar with the 'JERKASS'sign, and emitted  a noise resembling a bubbling drain - it was just a Chuul way to 'LOL'.
::What a loser - even his minions make fun of him - when i was back with the ilithids, i had larger subordinated but not one would dare to look at me wrong::
He then took down the goggles - the world suddenly became different, with soft shapes soaking one into other and enviroment - he could still see everyone and recognise them apart although with  difficulty. It did not help that chuuls had nothing to squint with.
"The'e you a' *glurp gargle* Le'sh shee the ekshpeglth at wo'k *kch glurp* If you bgleak them, i bgleak you. Slowly, legsh figlsht!"

   Zyrais carefully took the damaged googles and the loose lens while Dee swapped her sign for one that read "KLUTZ", with the same style of lettering.
   After careful examination, Zyrais figured out that the two studs holding the one lens in place were bent out of shape. Luckily, the lens itself was undamaged. Holding the lens in place with one hand, he cast a 'mending' spell to return one of the studs back into it's original shape, and then a second spell to do the same with the other. His task done, he exhaled, previously unaware that he had been holding his breath, and carefully handed the goggles back over to the still-annoyed chuul, half expecting him to make an attempt on his life.
   It wouldn't have been the first time...

I'm assuming that you just forgot about the loose lens, danman. If you didn't mention it on purpose, let me know so I can edit the scene.

   Xephelon listened intently as Zyrais explained how his spell went awry.  For those who only cast "spells" and did not invent magic on the spot (like Xephelon), modifying or experimenting with it often proved to be a slightly dangerous endeavor. Yet, the information Zyrais was providing was fascinating; Xephelon's magic-oriented mind broke down and analyzed what Zyrais said and compared it against everything he already knew about magic--and in doing so, produced a new mini-theory of how certain combinations of magic worked. Experimentation was needed, oh yes, but it it was still useful even now...
   The pseudodragon, however, seemed intent on distracting everyone who could see it, including Zyrais himself. What a remarkably unhelpful creature... Xephelon thought.
   Glup finally relented and handed his goggles over to Zyrais to allow him the chance to fix it. Xephelon's "eyes" glowed even more intently as he leaned closer to what Zyrais was doing; Xephelon was using a sub-enchantment in the eyes to aid him in one of his natural aptitudes; analyzing magic as it was cast to understand and replicate it. He could naturally sense magic as it was cast, but the sub-ecnhantment in the eyes helped with a "visual/mental" representation. Xephelon could see what was hidden to all but a few; the "strands" of magic, all of different "flavors", flowing from Zyrais's fingers as they weaved into intricate patterns to create a specific effect. While Xephelon generally needed to see a spell cast multiple times to become familiar enough with it to both understand how it worked and thus duplicate it himself, this spell was simple, and was quite similar to some magics that Xephelon used fairly frequently, thus there wasn't much that Xephelon didn't already understand. When Zyrais finished the spell, Xephelon had discovered just a few tiny quirks about how the Angel personally used magic. Nowhere near enough to break down his entire magic-weaving paradigm, but just a few small quirks. Everyone had their own styles of structuring spells, even people with the same education and casting identical spells taught in the same way and had no true understanding of the underlying theories of magic at all, and merely repeated a practiced routine. It was just one of those things...
   As Zyrais returned the goggles, Xephelon finally spoke up. "Ah--Glup the Chuul? If I may interject?" He started. "Whether or not Zyrais has repaired your goggles satisfactorily, I believe I may aid in preventing another such mishap in the future. I could strengthen and reinforce your goggles, making them much more resistant to damage, as well as possibly adding some 'features' to it, if you allow me. And... if you would indeed like many features, perhaps I could create something entirely new; a helmet, perhaps. Any current functions your goggles facilitate will be preserved, and all any of this would cost you is time."

Glup was set out by the speed of the repair, especially since he could not see what is happening.
::Now, how on earth was he able to fix such an intricate item so fast? He is no way that skilled! The lens has been infused in a pro..... The lens! Of course! I was still able to see with it holding it in front of...::
The lens was the complicated and enchanted part of the goggles, while the metalic frame and composite lace wowen from a mixture of elastic and cut-resistant polymer threads were entirely unmagical
::Wonderful. He did not only think i am an idiot, i made him right. And now, i cannot even kill him and sell his brain as a valuable component because everyone..... Argh! !#@#$#::
Glup started pacing with his hind legs unconsciously - it was obvious he was not only still annoyed but nervous as well.
He put the goggles on.
"I .... guesh thath shethlesh the mather... I, well if it wash ...." He regained his composure and added
"Sho , meansh  I will not kill you today, and neithe' the one who made thoshe! But be kaglefu'!"

He noticed Xephelon's offer, thought for a few seconds and replied:
"In a noglmal time, I would not think you wougld be kapable enough to do sho , no offenshe, but it sheemsh I get pglooven w'ong today at eve'y shtep ... If you wish i kan ekshplain to you the woglkinghsh"

   For whatever reason, Glup seemed a little put-off by Zyrais' success at fixing the goggles. Nevertheless, it was Glup's response to his question that he was interested in.
   Headless though it was, the "torso" of Xephelon's exoshell nodded as best as it could. "Of course. Demonstrations and evidence are always the best things to have, although I will make the small note that this very exoshell I live in--" The four arms of the exoshell gestured to itself, "--should be a testament to my abilities. But yes, I would be delighted to hear anything you have to say about how the magic in your goggles work...

"Well,  they pglobably do not look much, but the lenshesh a'e  enchantsed with shome spellsh.
Figlst, they soglt of adjushth depending on whegle i look, not like noglmal glass which hash a fikshed potencsy. Makesh it eashie' to shee.
Shecond, they agle shupposhed  to be ve'y duglable - which ish why i wash double the annoyed when i thought the 'jeglkash'  *gargle*  ash deskglibed by hish own minion, bgloke them. They kosht load.
Thigld, they pglotekt againsht blinding shpellsh.
And lashtly, the lacse ish made of shome new fancsy shtuff -   it doesh not get to'n by my caglpacse"
Glup proceeded to hand him the item.
On inspection, the glass appeared to be a completely ordinary flat glass, not being able to pick up the robot's cameras' optic requirements - it was probably designed to work with  living eyes only.
The frame was made of metal, with a rel. hard polymer foam on the bottom to copy the shape of whatever they should adhere to.The frame had two layers of studs, one in front and one in back of each lens, holding it in place
The lace was made out of several layers of alternating natural rubber cords, and curled, looser threads of what appeared to be some aramide fabric - it was cut-resistant and elastic.
It was nothing that fancy, but anybody familiar with the technological "lateness" of Zinvth would immediately see that this was probably one of the most expensive parts of the whole assembly.

   Xephelon listened intently at the description of the magical effects present in the goggles. "So, standard resistence enhancement, but also an active, variable transmutation, and the nonmagical frame is of exceptional craftsmanship...interesting."
   Xephelon carefully took the goggles and gave them a magic-aided examination, carefully inspecting the magic in the lenses but also looking at the remarkably complex assembly of the frame. Xephelon was a respectable mundane craftsman, but he knew he would not be able to duplicate that part at all easily, if it was even possible, and the materials themselves he was not familiar with...but the lenses weren't that difficult to one with his abilities.
   He returned the goggles, saying "Thank you for allowing me to examine them. My offer still stands about further enchanting of them, or the creation of something new. Inform me later if you decide you do want anything."
   Xephelon returned to following the tour, and watching for anything else Nadihya had to show the group.

   Now that Glup had been effectively silenced, Zyrais was waiting for Nadhiya's response and trying to hide his interest in her actions. Obviously, she had to have some kind of means to enforce order and ensure that she remained in charge of this would-be community, otherwise it would quickly devolve into chaos as everyone and their siblings began fighting each other for the sake of dominance. Of course, he would never partake of such petty bickering... Backstabbing the "winner", on the other hand...
   "Alright Dee, you can go back to doing annoying the gryphon, Kittrick." He told her.
   "Damn... I thought I was either gonna get to find out if chuul tasted like lobster, or watch you get ripped apart in a gruesomely entertaining fashion." She replied, putting her sign away and flying off. "If you weren't on your best behavior right now, you'd be challenging everyone present to a duel, wouldn't you?"
   "Yes, but you'd also be surprised at how many creatures take offense to being slapped in the face with a glove, much less a guantlet." He replied. "Besides, I have yet to see any kind of arena in this place."
   "Whatever..." She sighed, gently landing on Kittrick's back. "Just don't get yourself gruesomely killed when I'm not watching."

I'm trying to cut back on the SatAM comedy and go with something darker.

This time, actually seeing the pseudodragon glide in for a landing, it was less jarring when the weight settled on her back. Kittrick had been standing at the back of the group, as far away from Glup as she could without seeming like she was distancing herself from everyone. When the chuul had resurfaced with broken goggles, she had momentarily panicked -- did her pebbles do that?! That bizarre humming sound  hadn't helped, either. Fortunately, he seemed to blame Zyrais, so she had simply retreated slowly, with her ears flattened to try to block out the sound. (It hadn't helped.) Extra-fortunately, the goggles were easily repaired. That was a relief. No harm, no foul.

The gryphon looked over her shoulder at Dee. She wasn't sure how mind-to-mind communication was supposed to work... should she just think a greeting? She decided to play it safe and just use a verbal one. "Well, hello again."

Nadhiya had been surreptitiously silent throughout the entire exchange. She hadn't actually done anything... or even threatened to do anything. She had perhaps implied that she could do something, if she wanted... but so far, hadn't.

"Well then, if that's settled..." She turned to Zyrais briefly, as if preparing to pass pitiless judgment. "...then we can continue on with the tour. This way, gentils, if you please."

She turned back with a wave, and continued slithering down the spiral ramp. No punishment, nor threat... not even a hollow slap on the wrist. Either she was unwilling, or perhaps truly unable, to actually punish Zyrais, or... well... what else could it be? Intimidation? A bluff? Some convoluted mind game? Or perhaps she genuinely didn't care. None of these possibilities seemed at all likely.


Nethalzar's mystical vision revealed something startlingly disturbing. There was no obvious life to sense. The undead race still possessed a soul, trapped in a rotting husk. Even a mindless, soulless zombie had spirit energy of some sort, even if only the arcane power that had animated it. But this... this was...

The realization was shocking. This was no longer an undead creature. It was just a corpse. It had once been animated... and was no longer so. A more careful examination, using aura sight, revealed that the girl's soul still remained tethered to her body. The connection was tenuous at best, though... and becoming worse.

Strangely, Nethalzar's Aura Sight revealed no arcane or divine influence. This resembled the sort of thing a priest or paladin might do to banish an undead. And yet there was no obvious evidence of such ritual magic. This was something... else. And whatever it was, the girl didn't have long; she was somehow dying... again.


Their descent to the next level was longer than before; this layer of the dungeon seemed more spaced apart than the others. The updraft became warmer and stronger over time. As the next floor came into view, however, the environment changed completely; the air was swelteringly hot and dry as a bone. The stone was warm to the touch, and those who had been soaked or splashed with water were soon completely dry. The air was filled with a slight layer of dust, with occasional clouds of tiny black flakes swirling through the wind like confetti.

The next level was like a whole different world. Where before there had been aqueducts and waterfalls, these halls and corridors were decorated with searing hot magma. The glowing liquid stone flowed like the blood of a living mountain, causing the grooves in the walls and floors to glow red and orange. Instead of fountains, this area was decorated with what looked like rock gardens; fields of bone-white sand, punctuated with natural-looking chunks of volcanic glass. They were a disorderly mess, but were obviously decorative in purpose.

Nadhiya's voice was muffled slightly, as she was now holding a handkerchief to her mouth. "Sorry about the heat... we can move on to the next level quickly, if everyone prefers. And if anyone has any respiratory problems, asthma, allergies, what have you, please let me know immediately. I can affect a countermeasure."

"The soonegl we move, the bethegl"
Glup did not like this enviroment at all - the various algae hanging from him shrivelled and parts fell off, floating to the ground or flying to magma pools and disappearing in small puffs of smoke, and only his thick armor shell with something of an isolative property meant that he did not get cooked like a real lobster.
As he walked on, something occured to him. He turned to Xephelon's robot walker and mentioned:
"What do you think? I'am no expeglt in this, but fglom what i 'ead - i think we could ushe the heath difeglence between the cavesh to powe' pglethy much any machine"  His eyes behind the lenses seemed to glitter subtly, suggesting just what kind and scale of machinery he had in mind...

   As the group descended still deeper, they left the water tunnels and instead entered what seemed to be a small (relatively) magma pocket. The moisture on the surfaces of Xephelon's exoshell evaporated into light steam as they went on. More disturbingly, the metal of the exoshell itself began to warm up. Xephelon was a completely unresistent and squishy mass of flesh, and the idea of being baked alive inside his own exoshell was not appealing in the slightest. While the exoshell was marginally protected against say, sudden blasts, it was not very insulated against natural environmenal extremes. He'd have to remember to put heat-resistent wards on the exoshell later... but for now, within the exoshell's central cavity, he began diverting some of his magic into an enchantment that would cool the metal and negate the heat, although temporarily. As he did so, the exoshell seemed to shut down a little, the lights going dimmer and the exoshell itself slowing down a bit.
   When Glup asked him about using the heat as a power source, Xephelon's slightly lethargic exoshell turned to him. "Perhaps... I have heard of some great arcanists undertaking projects in the construction of eldritch machines that produce massive-scale effects built in a location of high energy concentration... a nexus of natural magical conduits, or a mundane yet powerful volcano... I have never worked on such a project myself, and while the idea of drawing energy from here is appealing, I do not yet have any ideas that would require such output..."
   He finally completed the chilling enchantment, and felt relief as the metal he was encased in suddenly turned cold, and the exoshell returned to full mobility as Xephelon redirected his magic into it. He took stock of the features of the area, notably the volcanic glass... and broke off small chunk of it as well when the group passed a cluster; it might have some useful propterties, too. He then turned to the naga. "Lady Nadihya, while I do find this area fascinating as well, I believe I would prefer to return when I am more prepared against this natural extreme. I had to construct an emergency enchantment, and it will not last long. While not speaking for anyone else, I would be satisfied in moving to the next area quickly."

   Zyrais stood there for a moment after Nadhiya's dismissal as if taken by surprise. To be truthful, he hadn't considered this possibility. Thus, several theories immediately formed in his mind... Was she too weak to enforce any of her rules? Was she so powerful that his actions didn't even concern her in the slightest? Did she just not care? Or, since the manner was resolved rather peacefully, did she not see fit to hand out any kind of punishment? Heck, was she testing him as well?
  In any case, the tour was moving on, and Zyrais was quickly getting left behind. He turned around and began following the group, still sticking close to the stairwell's wall.


  I goofed. According to the Monster Manual, pseudodragons are mind readers. Well, I guess that means I don't have to explain how Zyrais can communicate with Dee after all.

  Dee yawned, and then settled herself down on the gryphon's back, ignoring her for just a moment.
  "Mmmm... You're nice and comfy..." She remarked, making a rasping, purring sound. "I was going to ask you something, but that whole mess with the giant lobster-thing got me distracted..."


  Long before the group had reached the lower caverns, Zyrais had cast an "Endure Elements" spell, and a "Deep Breath" spell to not only tolerate the heat, but also to avoid inhaling the ash-filled air.
  "The obligatory lava level..." He groaned, hoping against hope that the mountain the place was in wasn't a form of volcano... Nothing said "intelligent" like basing one's lair in the direct path of a lava flow. Sure, the thermal energy output was remarkable, but a moot point for a natural magic-user...
  Zyrais waited in the stairwell, having a good enough view from such a distance and staying far, far away from the, magic or no magic, lethal magma.

"Mm? And what would--" Kittrick's sentence was interrupted by a cough as she inhaled a particularly dry, dusty blast of hot air. She cleared her throat, shook her head a little, and paused for a moment to make an arcane gesture with a foreclaw in the air. The air around her cooled to a more temperate level and began to flow, as though a large invisible fan was blowing on the gryphon's front at full blast. A short muttered word created an additional buffer of calmer air around her eyes and beak. Normally, she used air-control spells to protect her eyes at high altitude and to assist flight; however, several record summers had shown her their value as a sort of personal air conditioner.

As an afterthought, she muttered the phrase again, adding another pocket of calm air for the pseudodragon between her shoulders. "There we are."

Of course, all of the air conditioning in the world wouldn't last long against volcanic heat, so she quickened her pace to a trot to keep up with the group. "What might you have wanted to ask?"

   "Well, I've completely forgotten by now, so it's a moot point." Dee explained to Kittrick, completely ignoring the impressive temperatures in the current area. "It doesn't help that I'm much of a conversation starter... So, tell me about yourself."

     Thessaly idly regarded the coursing magma. She quickened to match pace with the group, but didn't seem overly bothered by the heat. "By any chance, Lady Nadihya, will there be a similar series of chambers involving earth and wind?" She asked aloud.

---

     Nethalzar stood over the inert form, mentally running through the information available. The necromancer was still pondering the situation when Carter eventually arrived.
     The youth was a tall and gaunt jackal, his fur slick and glossy black. He wore an egyptian style skirt, and a heavy gold mantle ornamented in precious stones and engraved icons. His face was concealed by a solid gold face mask, austere and unadorned. His calves and forearms were wrapped in linen bandages. Slung over one shoulder was a large satchel, and in one hand was a staff capped with an ankh.
     Carter cleared his throat, and Nethalzar snapped out of his musings.
     "Carter. You brought the Codex?" The giraffe said.
     The jackal nodded, and took a massive tome from his bag, but Nethalzar shook his head and waved it away. "I have little time. I need to perform an astral seeking immediately. I'll need the Codex afterwards."
     Carter nodded again, and took a small case of basic supplies out of the satchel.
     Nethalzar gave him a thin smile. "Practical as always. Inscribe the circle, I must begin my trance immediately."
     As Carter began drawing, Nethalzar sat cross-legged in front of the figure.
     I have her name, and the faintest tether from her body to her spirit, He thought. That may be enough to find her souls current whereabouts. Hopefully, the circle of protection will fortify the tether as well. The massive giraffe's figure slumped forward as his spirit left his corporeal frame.
     Carter finished writing. Then he rose, staff in hand, and silently stood vigil over the bodies of the dead.

I didn't think Carter's introduction would be so appropriate for the character. Wicked.

What are you, a miniature psychiatrist? the gryphon thought with a wry smirk.

"Perhaps when we are in an environment that is more... conducive to conversation," she replied, trying to keep her paws moving so that they weren't in contact with the hot stone floor for long. "You name again was...?"

   "My preferred name is Death-Venom." The small creature replied. "But, most just call me Dee as it's a lot shorter and easier to spit out when angry, annoyed, or in pain from my venom." Dee thought for a moment before continuing. "The stairwell seemed a bit cooler. Although, hopefully the naga won't stick around here much longer."

Nadhiya listened to Zyrais' comment about the "Obligatory" lava level, and Thessaly's question about Earth and Wind levels... but merely rolled her eyes.

"I would prefer to divide the various levels into districts, such as Industrial, Residential and commercial, rather than rely on the tired old cliches... but of course no matter where we put the residential area, some races will be comfortable and others will not."

At the pace everyone was moving, they reached the next level soon enough. This area was only slightly less hot, but was far more humid. This area had aqueducts and waterways like the main level, but the flowing water seemed to be piping hot. A thick mist hung in the air, and water condensation coated every visible surface.

"I suspect this area might once have been a garden or arboretum, perhaps for a jungle environment. Most of the halls have dirt floor areas; all barren now, but they may have held rich soil in the past. I don't know that we have any druids on the guest list, at this point..."


Nethalzar's senses blurred as he began his out-of-body experience. His surroundings rippled and faded, like the contents of a dream, until he found himself someplace else entirely; a small country mansion, faded with neglect and time, surrounded by dark and foreboding forest on all sides. Whispers carried on the breeze, and memories hung from the windowsills like cobwebs.

A faded ghostly figure congealed on the footpath ahead of him; the pale, translucent figure of an elderly woman. The woman gestured towards him, her voice barely audible; "How can you throw your life away like this? This foolishness will be the death of you again, girl!"

The figure vanished like moonlight in a rippled pond. Another replaced it; a young man, handsome and strong. His voice sounded concerned, and he seemed to plead; "Please, Maryanne... you don't need to go like this! I can make enough for both of us... we'll be comfortable!"

The figure vanished, and the mansion's courtyard grew silent again. The features of the two apparitions were already becoming difficult to remember. The whole place was fragile and fleeting... but it was a spirit realm nonetheless, and Nethalzar's magic ran strong here.

Thessaly shuffled restlessly. Temperature alone was hardly a bother, but humidity and heat were a bad combination for Undead concerned about bodily decay. She tried to focus on her notation.

This place is going to be hell on my figure... She thought.

---

Nethalzar regarded the astral realm breifly, but shook his head. He didn't have time for study.

Holding his hands aloft, he wove one of the most fundamental spells of a Necromancer: summoning the dead.

"Roxanne," he said. His voice resonated with depth and power.

"Come to me."

"I'll... keep that in mind, Miss Death-Venom." Better to be too formal than too familiar, she thought, especially with a creature who was resting on your back and could very easily turn that venom on you with a flick of the tail. She slowed her pace once they entered the slightly cooler, more humid caverns, but kept the air-conditioning spell active. Humidity was the arch-rival of smooth fur and feathers, after all. "And I am Kittrick, courier by trade, archaeologist by education, and dabbler in the arcane arts. There, now we are introduced."

She twisted her head to look over her shoulder at her. "If I may ask, how is it that you are speaking so? Is it a spell of some kind?"

   Zyrais felt slightly more at ease in the steaming, waterlogged air. He cancelled the 'Deep Breath' spell as it was no longer needed but kept the "Endure Elements' active. If only there were a few areas that were kept dry, then this level would make an excellent hot springs or sauna... However, he was quickly drawn out of his musings because the water was condensing on his clothes, his armor, and most importantly, his wings. Despite that, he wondered how well his electric spells would work here...
   His thoughts were derailed yet again when Nadhiya mentioned that she suspected this place was once an arboretum or jungle area. He looked around, searching for any means for natural sunlight to enter, or anything that produced enough light for plants to grow. The other thing that concerned him was the soil conditions, so he took a close look at the ground/cave floor he was standing on...


   "A spell? Heh... No, my kind naturally uses telepathy." Dee explained, slightly amused at the gryphon's use of formality. "We can easily pick up passing thoughts if we choose, but we can also ignore most creatures at will. As such, we make excellent messengers and spies for any creature we deem worthy of our companionship."

Zyrais' search for a light source was in vain. There were obviously no sunroofs, magical or otherwise, and no current source of light. it was hard to imagine real, natural sunlight ever having touched this place. The "soil" was barely even that; it was more like crunchy, flaky dirt. If it had been soil once, that had been a very long time ago.


The forest seemed to close in on Nethalzar, and the cloudy night sky slowly vanished. An inky darkness crept in from al directions, but the astral realm did not disappear; as Nethalzar's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that he was now inside of the Mansion itself. He had not entered it, of course; this place had come to him.

The entire building was an empty, ruined shell; the inner floors and walls were gone, exposing the lower basement level. Instead of a wooden or earthen floor, though, the entire basement was filled with debris; most was ruined furniture or garbage, but some looked like personal belongings that had once been held dear. The detrius of an entire lifetime.

In the far corner, a tiny figure huddled, hugging her knees. Her dress was the same, but gray and faded... her body, though, was whole and healthy (looking, at least). She lifted her head slightly, her voice barely a whisper.

"Who... who's there? How do you know my name?"

"I am Nethalzar, a master of necromancy. Your body was found dormant, at Lady Nadihya's gathering, and I was asked to assist if possible." He said. "Your ties to your physical form are tenuous at the moment, and fading... how did this happen?"

As he spoke he, glanced about the surroundings.

I believe the aura-sight spell is still active. Checking; the plane itself for any kind of imprisonment or sealing magics; if there are any lingering auras of other magic users, who may have erected said seals; if any spells have been recently cast on, or are currently active, on Roxanne herself; and what Roxannes condition in general is. In that order, if it matters.

Actually, scratch that. First thing I'm going to check is if this actually is Roxanne. Then the rest.

The girl's spirit was almost incoherent, but it did seem to be Roxanne. Perhaps only her spirit, though... the emotional aspect. There was no telling how much of her intellect or memory remained active. A brief look around also revealed that there were no seals or prisons... at least, no artificial ones. This place was itself a prison of the girl's own making; a sort of self-inflicted Purgatory.

"Body? Gathering?" The cowering figure stared up at Nethalzar with terrified eyes. "There was... something... I had to do. How do you know that? And how do you know my new name? I never told anybody here about that..."

If this place truly was a sort of... self inflicted purgatory, then Nethalzar was witnessing something extremely rare. He and the girl were on the doorstep to the afterlife... whatever that might be.

   As the group passed though the magma chamber, with the metal-cooling infusion wearing off as they left, Xephelon listened carefully when Nadihya spoke of divinding the dungeon into districts based on function. Space allocation was yet another task he believed he could aid in, especially once he made his first planned device.
  However, the next area the entered didn't interest Xephelon much. While the mist didn't bother him (although his metal exoshell started making squealching noises, and it was fortunate the metal was enchanted to never rust), he couldn't see much fuctional use of this area unless someone could indeed cause vegetation to take root here (as Nadihya mentioned druids), something Xephelon was -certainly- incapable of. Xephelon then began thinking; how were the denizens of the dungeon going to be fed? Especially with such diversity, every different creature must have nutritional requirements as varied as their shapes. There was quite a feast at the reception area, but where did it come from? Was it all produced here in the dungeon, or acquired from an outside source? And if it did come from an outside source, would it be able to provide with all the needs of the inhabitants? If such a basic necessity had to be procured from many sources and distributed among the denizens, why, they would need someone who was a sharp economist, negotiator, scrounger, and...he glanced back at Kittrick.
  ...Postmaster.
  Xephelon caught up with Nadihya again.
  "Lady Nadihya?" He asked as he came up to her side, metal joints squeaking with moisture. "Something has just occurred to me. While this area is barren of vegetation and life, are there any other sections of the dungeon that are being used as crop production? If not, then where did the feast at the dungeon's portal hub come from, and is such a supply going to continue, or was it a single event? And if it was a single event, then is providing food yet another currently nonexistant and yet-to-be-insituted infrastructure?"

She pointed her finger towards Xephelon with a shooting gesture. "Excellent observation. The bulk of the food was purchased via a catering service, and transported through the main portal chamber... an extremely inefficient use of portal bandwidth, I assure you, but unavoidable. Most of the rest was was conjured by myself... though I suspect the Kobolds added a few of their local delicacies when I wasn't paying attention. They've apparently managed to start a few fungus farms here and there, so it seems small-scale agriculture may not be out of the question. Though of course, Kobolds are not particularly choosey about their diet."

"Obviously, the food supply will need to be guaranteed before we allow a large population to settle here. As always, I'm open to suggestions. Ah... here we are." As they reached the next level, the sounds of roaring fires and hushed conversation wafted from below. "This would conclude the cursory tour of the facilities. Do let me know if you have any further questions or concerns, or would like to take a closer look at any of the levels. Otherwise, do please enjoy yourselves."

   "Thank you, Lady Nadihya." Xephelon said. He thought of something for a moment, glanced at Kittrick, then decided otheriwse and looked back at Nadihya. "I do have a small request. Could you have some spare metal sheets, glass, and a workbench delivered to an empty room? I shall need a temporary workshop. The type, shape, and quality of the metal and glass does not matter either, I am only doing a rough proof-of-concept, though the amount of materials should be enough to fill, say... a cabinet drawer. After that, I shall seek you out in several hours, perhaps when the reception is ending, and demonstrate the device to you."
  Xephelon thought over what Nadihya said about the food, and what she said wasn't very reassuring. He vaugely remembered some mention that the portals were the only way in or out of the dungeon, as there were no paths to the surface... which meant that if food couldn't be grown in bulk locally or transported in bulk from elsewhere, it would indeed be quite impossible to sustain any permanent populations at all. One or both of those root problems would have to be solved or circumvented. There was certainly nothing Xephelon could do about getting food to grow locally, and unless a "druid" appeared or was recruited, food would certainly have to be imported from elsewhere. Either the portals must undergo extensive expansions, something Xephelon might be able to do; when he was in the chamber, he could tell there was a local magic field that seemed linked to the portals. Still, it wasn't a sure thing, adding many new portals or expanding the field could be very simple or very hard depending on the magic itself, which meant that the only truly reliable option was to establish some direct access to the surface...
  He glanced at Kittrick again. Until he had more information, he couldn't bother her with his ideas yet, as it might not even be necessary... oh well. Time to get to work on his most urgent task.
  He walked back in the group, towards Zyrais. "I am ready for you to demonstrate the spell I requested earlier. Let us move to the room I have requested to be prepared as a temporary workspace..."


I had to rewrite this post several times. Sorry Liatai, I really tried to initiate a conversation or just interaction, but the first idea was abut setting up food-transport-supply infrastructure from the surface, and it turns out there are no paths to the surface (yet). Was then going to ask her to scroung up the materials he asked Nadihya for, but considering was scarecly-existing supplies and command therof is all though the kobolds and Nadihya, it didn't seem right to ask Kittrick to go find it when Nadihya could just tell a few kobolds (and Nadihya is prepared to handle such trivial requests, whereas Kittrick only just arrived and hasn't even settled into anything yet, like everyone else).

"Interesting... I suppose I should feel honored, then." Kittrick glanced at the sandy soil as they passed it. Her claws itched with the desire to dig, to see if any tools, any seeds, any signs of prior habitation might be buried just under the surface. With plenty of water around, it would be quite easy to set up vessels and screens for seed recovery via filtration and flotation; they wouldn't likely be viable seeds, but having an idea of what was grown in the area before, if anything, would allow for a clearer glimpse into the dungeon's past, and perhaps clues as to what may grow there in the future. The only trouble would be finding the screens... perhaps Xephelon could help with that. She made a mental note to ask the Mythos about it later.

While Nadhiya described the food situation, Kittrick listened closely. No existing infrastructure, again. That would have to be a priority. Nations and armies alike ran on their stomachs.

While she knew little about the agricultural side of the issue, she began to think of what she did know; transportation and storage. What sorts of food storage facilities did the dungeon have? At least the humid area was fairly close to what she supposed would be a residential area... Now, what would be the most efficient way to distribute food through the dungeon? She would need a map to plan the routes... fortunately, it seemed that those would be made available shortly. Carts would be the most convenient vehicles for transportation, but what should their dimensions be? Could the walkways in the shafts even support the weight of laden carts?

"Yes, thank you, Lady Nadhiya." She nodded her head in thanks, noticing Xephelon glancing at her. He looked like he had something to say... then he seemed to think better of it. Well, there would be plenty of opportunity for communication later. After all, she would need to consult with him on the carts once she had a more solid idea of what would be needed. "I do have a few questions, if you would not mind answering them. First, would you mind terribly explaining this 'portal bandwidth' concept in some greater depth? I must confess that my knowledge of portal magics is somewhat... shaky at best. Afterwards, I think I should like to investigate the spiral shaft a little more closely, if I may."

Unsurprisingly , Glup did not favour this area at all. It was somewhat cooler than the previous one, and the lack of sweating due to humidity was not a problem for him, but still, the wet air conducted heat far better than dry, not to mention the droplets of volcanic materal enriched water condensating on his armor as it was cooler than the air, and objects around.
As the droplets fell down , now also mixed with previously dried algae bits, he noticed the soil is completely dry.
The two events connected in his mind - the soil must be heated from below, which makes sense because of the magma pockets, which is why it isn't wet, and why nothing grows there!
Glup turned at digging Kittrick
"Do noth bothe' youglshelf Kif - the eaglth sheemsh to be on top of shomething hots -  i do noth think even a .. a dgluid" Glup pronounced with utmost disgust and contempt "would be able to gglow anything , even with hish fancsy plantmagick"

He continued to walk around, when he heard Nadhiya speak about the fact the dungeon is physically closed from the outside, except for the portals...
"Mishtglesh Nadhiya,  you shay the pogltalsh agle the only way outh? What about thoshe of ush who need to make ... shupply tglipsh to the suglface? "

  Zyrais sighed in frustration as he stood up. The 'soil' could barely be called such and was highly unfit for almost any kind of agriculture. Plus, with the highly hot and humid conditions, trying to get standard foodstuff crops to grow here would be hard. As would the jungle plants that Nadhiya claimed the place was designed for...  When he heard that there wasn't any means of food production, he barely managed to avoid groaning aloud.
   He just shook his head in frustration and followed the group as they reentered the main portal chamber and Nadhiya dismissed them. Then, he stood there for a moment, stunned...
   That was it? He mentally asked himself.
   "Oh, don't act so surprised..." Dee informed him. "If this place was decently established, that naga would've kicked your ass just because your offered a criminal record instead of an actual list of accomplishments."
   "Yes, but that list was only the stuff I was charged with. The really serious 'crimes' were black-and-white legal. He replied.
   "Regardless, I'm sticking with this gryphon for a while." Dee stated. "She's nice, soft, and comfy... Oh, don't glare at me like that! I'll report back anything interesting like I always do, maybe raid the buffet I smell..."
   "Still, this is bordering on outright chaos! No residential zones! No means of food production! No guilds! Hell, at this point, I'd be willing to wager that there aren't any bathrooms! He complained.
   "Not to compound the situation, but didn't you notice a distinct lack of physical entrances?" Dee asked.
   "What?! You mean there's no AIR either?!" He snapped, almost losing it. "Just what the hell is this naga trying to do, kill us all?
   "What are you complaining about? You have magic that resolves that issue!" Dee exclaimed.
   "Yeah, but I may need the mana to kill other creatures..." Zyrais replied. "Especially that chuul... Or the necromancer... Aw, hell... Chuul first, then the necromancer, but only if he starts going on about how great being undead is... Naga trumps all if the air suddenly runs out, though..."
   "How nice to know that you have priorities..." Dee sighed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, that mechanical thing, Xephelon, wants your assistance now."
   "Wha-? Oh! Yes, of course." Zyrais replied to Xephelon, turning and following him.

Ugh, I hate it when these things are forced... Anyway, murder priorities! Zyrais has them!

Nadhiya managed to rotate her upper body at the hips, and continued to slither down the spiral ramp as she addressed Xephelon. "Much as I appreciate the gesture, there is something you must grasp. That everyone must grasp, in fact."

"I have not hired anyone yet. None of you are guaranteed employees or citizens at this time. I'm happy to discuss ideas for the future... eager to, in fact. But it would be improper of me to allow any of you to begin any major projects until the articles of incorporation are signed."

"I do hope I have not offended. I can appreciate your desire to begin. Ah... here we are!" With that, the group reached the main level once again. The occasional bonfires provided flickering light, and the banquet tables were already being restocked as quickly as the crowd could deplete them.

"If anyone wishes, I can give a quick tour of the portal chamber and answer some basic questions. It's very interesting, actually... if you can cut through the arcano-babble."

   As Xephelon returned to Nadihya with Zyrais in tow, he was somewhat taken aback by what she was saying. To his credit, he recovered quickly. "This doesn't have anything to do with being hired. This is merely one small device I want to make for the benefit of all of us, including myself. It's hardly a 'major project'; that would be the shaft-elevators. This device will be significantly helpful, but it's hardly of any gravity, only somewhat urgent. As I said, all it will do is eliminate the need to hand-make maps of this dungeon. If you have any spare metal and glass lying around, and if you have a vacant room (which I'm sure you do), that is all I need; I can even do without the workbench, maybe even without the vacant room if I can put up with distractions. In fact, if I was willing to forgo all structural support and significantly extend the time to craft the magic-" He held up the crystal chunk he procured earlier "-I could get started right now, without even any additional materials. And besides, I thought I saw...no, I know I saw the Chuul working on a small device of his own earlier. Even if it was entirely for his own benefit, which I don't think it was, I cannot do the same?"
   They arrived at the portal room again, and Nadihya offered to explain it. "But...I suppose it can wait, for a few minutes at least. Unusually enough, my first query is not about the portals themselves..." The exoshell tilted to face upwards. "Exactly how far below the surface are we?"

"For the record, I don't like repeating myself." Nadhiya pursed her lips slightly. "Nobody is working on anything here until they are a naturalized citizen, or a certified employee. Anything the guests make before then, I expect them to take with them after they leave. Nothing personal, of course... but certain people would very much like to learn things about this dungeon... possibly with conspiracy or sabotage in mind. And if I allow you to perform insecure work here, I must allow everyone to perform insecure work here."

She seemed to compose herself again. "As for our current depth, I cannot say. Scrying magic doesn't allow us to compare with known locations, of course. The Kobolds assure me, though, that we are.. 'really, really really' deep."

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.

   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..."

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."

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. :animesweat ) 

   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...

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."

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!"

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."

   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.

   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...

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...::

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.

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.  

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.

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."

     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.

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.

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.

*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....

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. :shifty)

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.

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."

   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..."

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 :U)

"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.

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.

   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.

     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?"

"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.

     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) (http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,7171.msg327920.html#msg327920)

   Dee was just about to begin the tale of the pudding golem, when her head began feeling strange, like a weird, psychic 'noise' was filling her head. She looked over and saw that chuul looking like he was about to face off against the mudman she and Kittrick were discussing. When she saw him pick up a rock and break it with his pincers, she became somewhat alarmed.
  "Zyrais! That chuul is about to face off against the mudman!" She urgently relayed to him. Since she was within fifty feet, telepathic communication wasn't a problem. "Please advise! Do I use my telepathy to start something or hold off?"

---

  Zyrais just listened to Baseel and Nethalzar converse, almost seeming like old friends or more accurately, new business associates. Taking another drink of his cider, Zyrais began to get the feeling that he was intentionally being ignored. This didn't surprise him much, as the relations between demons and angels could best be described as "Inferno-level ceasefires." He was just about to say something when he got Dee's message.
 "Do NOT under any circumstances instigate anything!" He informed her, then made several quick glances around the room. "Advise Kittrick to get behind Xephelon as a defensive measure, just in case things get out of hand. Remember Section 1, Paragraph 1 of the Angelic Re-Revised Code."

---

  Dee received the instructions and puzzled a bit about the last part until realization set in.
  "This document protects the beliefs and values of the Angelic Ones, and also establishes their rights when dealing with other races, both from Furrae and other realms." She replied, looking around and noticing a few cubi here and there. "Come on, Kittrick..." She began, addressing the gryphon. "It looks like that lobster-thing is going to try and take on the mudman. I'd like to watch, but I'd prefer to do so from behind Xephelon. He's that big, mechanical thing over there in case you forgot. Besides, this might get ugly."

Those grammer (And punctuation) errors weren't there when I typed it, dangit!

Nadhiya had finished her question-and-answer session regarding the portal chamber, and most of the onlookers were now wandering off in pairs or small groups, having very complex and technical discussions. Nadhiya returned to watching the crowd, making herself approachable and congenial.

She turned to Nethalzar as he spoke. "There's no reason you can't do some business of your own, I think...and if I do hire you, then you can always keep her on as your staff, I imagine."

At this point a tiny kobold, dressed in the tattered uniform of a town guard, rushed up to her side. She leaned down and listened as it whispered into her ear. She rose, looking calm but urgent. "Then again, Nethalzar, perhaps we should discuss this with the prospective employee directly. I wouldn't want to leave her anxious."

She quickly slithered off, gesturing for him to follow. She waved at the kobold, speaking without turning her gaze. "I have some urgent business to attend, and am not to be interrupted. You handle things here." The Kobold's tiny eyes widened. His nightstick was little more than a club, and his 'uniform' was a few shreds of cloth, that had been cobbled together. It was hard to imagine a less authoritative figure.

It was around this time that the confrontation between the gigantic crustacean and the amorphous mud elemental had begun to attract some attention from the crowd. Several guests had circled around to watch, and a several were making snide comments. A few were even talking about taking bets.

The kobold clenched his teeth, summoned what little resolve he had, and rushed over to oversee things.


Nadhiya was silent as she moved through the crowd. As soon as she and Nethalzar reached the corridor, she spoke with an urgent tone. ""My guardsman tells me that one of our undead  guests... fell ill, and that you treated her. If this is the case, I owe you my thanks; the loss of a guest would be a major blow to my credibility. However, something else concerns me more. The Kobold said that the guest 'fell ill.' From my own experience with the undead, they can contract and spread diseases normally... but they are generally not affected by the harmful symptoms."

"If this were a disease, I could cure it. But if it is something else, as is quite likely, I may need to call upon your particular expertise."

   Zyrais watched the crowd forming around the unknown mudman and Glup with interest. Depending on how things went, perhaps that chuul would learn to stop showing off his strength and try to be a bit more diplomatic. Or at least, stop trying to fling around threats that he couldn't enforce.
   Zyrais positioned himself a bit closer to the mudman. Not close enough to potentially be stuck in the possible crossfire, but to perhaps slide a pair of oversized nut-crackers towards it... Quickly, Zyrais reached into his coat and began rooting around inside it, taking only a few moments to find the weapon in question.

To those wondering why Zyrais has a pair of those, there's two reasons. One, it's a very unusual weapon to try and place by a forensics team. Two, they're incredibly useful at extracting information from any male creature or being...

Kittrick had begun backing up slowly when Glup had broken the rock, to avoid any potential shrapnel. "A sound plan... but really now, if a fight truly were about to happen, I would believe that Lady Nadhiya would have a vested interest in..."

When she twisted her head to look at the pseudodragon, she noticed Nadhiya slithering off with the undead giraffe she had seen earlier.

Well. There went that idea.

Oh, no, wait... someone was coming over. A kobold in rags, carrying a small club and looking for all the world like some sad parody of a patrolman. This was all the force that the lady of the complex had mustered? Truly?

"Perhaps not." The gryphon broke into a light trot, skirting the crowd and keeping her eyes locked on the kobold. She kept a healthy distance between herself and the little creature, but continued to weave through the assembled guests, keeping it within her sights. The pathetic figure would doubtless need some backup if the situation grew more heated, and she was certain that she could bring slightly more force to bear than he could.

What better way to impress an employer than to prove that you were willing to not only follow, but help enforce their rules, after all?

Barbarus had hardly noticed the fight brewing between the angry chuul and the mudman.  Afterall, he was not employed in the Dungeon yet, it was not his duty to notice such things, or to interfere with them.  He instead, turned to the main room, and proceeded, intending to find the group of Weres he was conversing with earlier, and resume talking to them.  

Instead, he found a cluster of gaudily dressed succubi in their place.  They were kind enough to point him in the direction the growing ring of spectators, when they weren't stage whispering to each other about how old he looked, or wondering if he was a Being.  Luckily, one of them had been a Taun cubi, so he did not expect them to try anything overly offensive.  Taun had taught her children not to irritate people who could pass for lawyers.  Thank you, three piece suits.

He found his distant kin in the ring, exchanging coins for wagers.  They visibly wilted when they saw the disapproving frown, but did not return the money to its various owners.   That simply would not do.

"We are not barbarians," he hissed to his juniors.  "You know half of these people here?  They will think of you are ignorant, and unworthy of their respect.  Do not presume Mistress Nadhiya cares enough to act differently.  Do you want respect?"  The now semi-stunned younger Weres nodded.  "Then do not act like animals.  Show some civility; do not partake of pointless displays of violence.  Not when you have a potential employer to woo."  The younger Weres, feeling slightly patronized and defensive barred their teeth to Barbarus, some going so far as to actively growl and make aggressive moves toward their weapons.  Then the young were mongoose from earlier noticed something, and drew the group's attention to it.

A demon, thoroughly pompous looking in a fancy suit of armor was sneering at them, and their heightened senses barely picked up the whisper of "Mongrels."  Now the group's desire to separate the demon's head from his body overwhelmed their outrage at Barbarus.

"Don't," Barbarus warned them.  "Don't prove him right."  The group of younger Were struggled with the repressing of their tempers, but a combination of Barbarus' stern look and the nudging of the more cool-headed youths kept them in line.  "Very good."  Barbarus then pointed at the young mongoose with his coffee mug.  "I believe you left off with telling the Chief where to stick his marriage ceremony?"

He did not mention they had yet to return the money they'd exchanged.  One step at a time.

(Since I'm going to be rolling around in agony for the next few days, I tried to give y'all something to chew on.  Took a few liberties, and I might come back to clean this up a bit.  Hope its all good, though.)(Edit the first: Corrected a logical flaw in the upper half of the post.)

   Nethalzar cocked his head at the serpent woman. "Indeed, if you will be employing me, my services would of course be at your disposal." He said. "Until that time, I am simply a guest at your fine event." He sipped his wine, deliberately inserting a tense pause to the conversation.
   "But a gracious guest, to be certain."
   "The problem with poisons, diseases, viruses and such is that they depend on a living host. Diseases and viruses generally do not survive in an undead body long enough to propagate and transmit."
   "There are biological agents that target the undead and are benign to the living, but you would be able to sense these in your living guests as you would any other disease or virus."
   "Another alternative is that she was victim of some kind of attack, most likely magical or mystical in nature. This would have disastrous consequences for your gathering here, so I would of course refute any suggestions of such a thing immediately."
   "More plausibly, she was simply nearing the end of her after-lifespan." He swirled his wineglass, and regarded it. "All I did was provide some additional vital energies to sustain the girl for another decade or so... Nothing more then a routine medical procedure, and nothing to be concerned about."
   Nethalzar took his little vial of smoke out of his jacket, and released the wil-o'-wisp once more. "Fade? Tell Thessaly, discreetly, to look over our patient for signs of any disease or viruses." The ephemeral entity flickered in acknowledgement, and sped off.  Nethalzar then glanced back up Nadihya.
   "Now... if there were some sort of magical attacker involved, what will be done to resolve the matter?"

Nethalzar and Thessaly both checked Roxanne out, magically and medically. Was there any indication as to what put Roxanne into the state that she was in? (Skill check!)

Mnogo scoffed at Glup's behavior at first. What was this, a playground? He wasn't about to fight with some brainless gastropod, much less one with speech he could barely understand.

Then Glup easily sheared and crushed part of the floor. And Nadhiya, the only authority figure he could make out in the entire area, slithered off to discuss something with another guest. To make things even worse, several of the others had circled the mudman and chuul, eager to see some kind of scuffle between them. It felt like all eyes were on him, a sensation that left him extremely nervous. Anywhere else, he'd be glad to fight, but here? He was trying to get a position as head of labor and security. If he fought with the other guests he'd be thrown out in a heartbeat.

Zyrais trying to sneak in from the side certainly didn't help Mnogo calm down either. His right arm lengthened into a sturdy tentacle, lashing and slamming into the ground just a foot shy of smacking down the draconic angel. "Back off!!" He was hardly in the mood for any tricks.

   Xephelon felt much more secure near Nadihya and away from the tense situation. However, that was not to last...as Nadihya slithered off, and a tattered kobold stepped up, moving to the brewing trouble.
  Oh dear.
  For lack of anything better, Xephelon moved closer to the kobold, and noticed Kittrick doing the same as well. It seemed that not being involved was no longer an option. This had to be put to an end now, before it escalated any further. Noticing the kobold's pitiful 'weapon', Xephelon began pre-emptively funneling some magic to be stored in one of the small channeling crystal in the hand of one of his arms. He then repositioned himself to be nearer to Glup while remaining close to Kittrick and the kobold, and realigned the speech/noise -emitting enchantment on his exoshell so that it was focused towards a single person.
  "Chuul, Glup, what are you doing? How could you make an unprokoved threat against the newcomer? If you can't control yourself better, maybe I should rethink my offer to make something for you. You should apologize."
  There was a sudden outburst as the mud-creature made a move to lash out against Zyrais of all people, who had been getting close to it.
  "Sir kobold, you must put a stop to this immediately before it gets out of control." Xephelon addressed the kobold (who might not have been used to the honorific). He then uncovered the small channeling crystal in his exoshell's hand, reached down, and touched the kobold's nightstick, transferring the magic to it with a small glow. As this was a rushed job, it wouldn't last long. "I have just imbued a small spell into your weapon that will cause a bright flash and a loud snap when it strikes something, but it will only work once. Use that to silence this situation and gain everyone's attention. Tell the crowd to disperse, and remind everyone of that banner." He gestured towards the the one hanging by the portals, the one everyone sees as they enter, the one that spelled out the basic rules of the gathering. The kobold didn't seem particularly confident in himself (for a probable good reason), which is why he gave it the instructions in case it didn't know what else to do. He glanced at Kittrick, and continued, "We will support you in any way we can, if you need, but you must assert yourself and the Dungeon's soverignty."
  To Kittrick, he said, "Miss, if you have any diplomatic words or any skills to aid in enforcement that you can bring to bear, now would be an excellent time to utilize them."


Xephelon the peacemaker! :U

"Unfortunately, my diplomatic skills are somewhat... lacking," Kittrick replied in an undertone to Xephelon, "but I can certainly provide support and look intimidating."

She traced an arcane pattern with a foreclaw, and then approached the little creature with a calm smile, bending her head down to his level. "Sir, if I may, once you have garnered attention, I will use my magic to grant your voice more power so that you may be heard. I shall be behind you with Sir Xephelon, as well, should you need greater assistance."

With that, she gave the kobold's back a reassuring nudge with the knuckle of one of her foreclaws (both as a way to urge him forward and as a way to transfer the voice-amplification spell to its recipient) and took her place behind him, drawing herself up and opening her wings the smallest bit to make herself look more impressive. While the attention of the crowd should hopefully be on the kobold, she could at least act as a sort of regal backdrop for him.

As Xephelon cast the temporary enchantment upon the kobold's nightstick, he noticed there was already some kind of magical effect on it. Not a proper enchantment, but a symbol; a rune was engraved on it, marking the stick like a word of power. This stick, pitiful as it was, embodied something magical. No telling what it did, though.

Hmm... how convincing can Xephelon be to the poor kobold? His social skills were listed as "fairly adequate," which might not be enough... but his talent for calm and rational discourse will make a difference. Kittrick's sheet also makes no particular mention of persuasiveness... but the extra encouragement certainly doesn't hurt.

The Kobold stared back at Xephelon and Kittrik with a bit of confusion. These huge, powerful creatures were depending on him? Kobolds were usualy the sort to hide behind other larger creatures. Like Gryphons. And battle-constructs. As Xephelon pointed to the banners hanging from the portal entrance, a different look seemed to come over him. He glanced back at the scrap of cloth that hung from his back, like a short cloak; it was emblazoned with the same heraldry. Kittrick's gentle headbutt sent him scampering forward, but he caught his footing and continued marching ahead. He looked simultaneously terrified and determined.

He clacked his stick against the floor; a bright flash and a peal of high-pitched thunder caught everyone's attention. "You there! All! No... brawling!"

The entire crowd focused on the diminutive lizardfolk. "You... you promise! By coming here, you promise! No trouble for guests, or... or else!" He waved his stick in the air.

For a moment, the room was silent. Then, the giant quadrupedal Hynea from before broke the silence with a sudden, barking laugh. "Ooh, not that! Anything but a noise-stick!" The very sound of his voice was irritating.

One of the demon warlods, a black equine clad in gray and red armor, took a half step forward; his voice was strong and resonant. "Be still, rabble... he carries an authority we all agreed to respect. Merely by passing through the portal, we entered into an accord of peace. You did read the contract, did you not? Or... can you read?"

The hyena's voice grew louder. "You fear words instead of action? Where's your demon pride, coward!?" His laugh became even more repulsive and deranged than before. The demon immediately tensed, clenching his jaws and fists. He looked ready to spring... or snap. At this point, the entire crowd was becoming unruly.


Roxanne's body was simple enough for Thessaly to analyze. Her body was in a death-like trance; no signs of breathing or heartbeat, of course. There was some evidence of disease on her skin, but minor. Undead sometimes collected plagues and blights like some people collected rare coins or sports cards. A few plagues were even useful as weapons, or to deter enemies... a nice case of bubonic plague would send almost anyone running.

Not long after Nethalzar left the area, Roxanne began to awaken. Her head tossed and turned slightly, as if she was emerging from a bad dream. Her eyes fluttered slightly, and she let out a cough... and then another. She curled up slightly, coughing uncontrollably, and hugging herself tightly.

"So... cold... freezing in here..."

The girl obviously had some kind of illness... and it was actually affecting her. Negatively.

Thessaly will know that diseases generally don't hurt the undead. This one definitely is. It's either spiritual, or magical... which means it was either created by a celestial entity, or a mortal magic user. In either case, this disease is artificial.

Approaching the other demon, as the start of a brawl unfolded before his eyes, Baseel rather calmly grasped the other's shoulder and said in a soft, and almost teasing tone, "Calm yourself, brother.  He's not worth the effort, nor the clean-up.  Let him break the rules, and when the hierarchy is established, get the last laugh by making him your underling."

Partially unfurling his wings, Baseel took a few paces away from the equine. He snapped around and leveled a hand at the Hyena.  His gaze narrowed, brow furrowed slightly, holding his intentionally dramatic pose, he spoke in a flat, icy and slightly detached tone, "If you wish to goad something into a fight, go look elsewhere.  In the time it took for me to turn, i could have delivered one of several spells that would have left you not but a mess on the floors, ceiling and crowd.  I -did not-, for it is explicitly stated -in the contract we agreed to when entering the portal- that brawling of any kind is forbidden.  Now... if you so need to try and prove yourself as 'alpha male', do well to remember that we are -all- guests here, and nothing more.  So, i am asking you politely to stand down...  Before you hurt yourself."

Keeping his eyes level with the large canine, Bas was careful to keep his right hand hidden, while his left was standing, pointing at the offending beast.  His right hand was silently misting, a concussion spell wrapped around his fist.  It's design was simple, amplify the already powerful punch demon was prepared to deliver, should the hyena be foolish enough to actually try and charge him.  His muscles tensed, and he slowly hardened his skin in preparation for combat.

Time for an intimidation check... and if that fails, Bas isn't going to attack unless forced to defend himself

   When Fade arrived to deliver his message, Thessaly cut him off before the wisp could get out a flicker.
  "The patient has been infected with some kind of disease that's detrimental to the Undead. It is unknown at this time whether it is contagious, whether it can be transmitted to living or incorporeal entities, or if it is benign to living creatures. " She said, in a low voice. "Inform our master immediately."
   The wisp hesitated briefly, then flickered in ascent and sped off.
   Thessaly first used her aura sight to check over the crowd for any signs of the disease.
   Then she checked herself and Carter.

---

  Nethalzar frowned when herd the news. "Lady Nadihya," he said, "this may be of more concern then I had originally assumed." He glanced himself over for any signs of infection. "If you would excuse me, I need to attend to this matter forthwith."

Premature post. The remainder is pending.
Post complete. Waiting for GM response.

   Xephelon watched with approval as the kobold sucessfully gained the attention and silence of the crowd...and then felt dread as a hyena scoffed at the kobold, and antagonized a Demon. At this point, whe whole crowd started getting riled up again.
  This was exactly what Xephelon hoped wouldn't happen. The simple scrape between Glup and the mudman set off something much bigger.
  "Noisestick..."
  He walked forward to get behind the kobold and next to Kittrick again. "It would seem that greater assistance is indeed required." As surruptitiously as was possible for him, he reached down again and grabbed hold of one end of the nightstick, but did not take it out of the kobold's hand. He began weaving a new infusion into the stick, a proper infusion that was more powerful and would last longer than a single shot.
  "Stall them, if you can." Xephelon whispered to Kittrick, gesturing to the most unruly parts of the crowd who looked closest to starting a fight. "I just need a minute."
  Another Demon stepped up and confronted the hyena, the same Demon that spoke of military matters earlier. The display of intimidation was impessive, hopefully enough to make the hyena back down, and Xephelon didn't doubt that the Demon could easily subdue the hyena otherwise. But unfortunately, while that would win the smaller battle, it would lose the bigger war...it would prove that the Dungeon was not capable of even keeping its own rules. As first impressions go, that would be about the worst disaster possible, as it would set bad precedent that would be nigh-impossible to overturn...
  Xephelon focused his voice-emitting enchantment in the same way he did with Glup, and spoke to the Demon. "Hopefully the troublemaker will back down. If it does not, do what you must if he attacks you, but please, try to stall it from getting to that point. Just for a minute."
  As Xephelon continued trying to weave the infusion, he also tried to identify what was already in the stick. In fact...it was entirely possible his infusion wasn't necessary (although that was unlikely if the kobold hadn't actually used it already), so he asked the kobold. "There is a rune in your nightstick. What does it do?"

By the way, the focusing of his speech enchantment is not a telepathic effect, nor is it only percievable by one person--it really is just directionally-focused sound. If anyone's standing right next to Baseel, or in line with him, they might pick up scraps of Xephelon's speech.

   Zyrais merely looked down at the spot a foot away from him that the mudman had struck as a warning, and almost, almost mind you, lost it. While part of him felt that he could understand the mudman's apprehension, the rest of him felt angry as if not only was his "assistance" open and forthright, but that it had been openly shot down. He was just about to begin casting a spell that would blast the pathetic blob of mud back into dust when a familiar voice came through...
   "Wow, one creature almost strikes you and already you want to make an example of them." Dee mocked. "The chuul I can understand, but have you forgotten why you came here already?"
   Zyrais stood still for a moment, taken by surprise as he realized what he was about to do and why is was a horribly bad idea...
   "I always hate admitting this, but once again, you're right..." He then audibly sighed, calming himself and looking around the room. It seemed like the hostilities between the mudman and chuul were now just the tip of the problem. Now, just one spark of open aggression would send the whole assembly of creatures into a brawl that would make some wars look like a tea party. Glancing around, he noticed that not only was Nadhiya NOT present, but the only one with any kind of authority was a mere kobold...
   Most of these creatures ATE kobolds for a mid-aftenoon/midnight snack!
   Sighing heavily, he guessed that now was as good a time as any to make himself known. After all, it wasn't like most of these creatures weren't going to figure it out sooner or later...
   Calling forth enough of his magical powers that anyone with the slightest bit of talent could sense, Zyrais spread his wings as he knelt to the ground with both palms toughing the floor, calling forth Barrier of Light, a series of walls made of flame-like light that sprang up between the most openly aggressive groups. Straining not from the drain on his magic, but from the amount that his coat was limiting him to, the flames quickly died out but they had served their purpose in getting everyone in the room to spontaneously shut up.
   "Impressive!" He exclaimed aloud, partially wondering if he was going to get brutally murdered by everyone else in the room for this stunt. "At the rate this place is going, we won't even need the adventurers to start knocking on our doors before we have to worry about our own survival! Hell, by the time they show up, I'll bet they'll only find a bunch of creatures that have managed to kill each other off before the dungeon was even established! This is why we're getting our asses kicked by adventurers all the time! INsteading of banding together for a common goal of survival, the pursuit of happiness, and maybe a small harem, we spend so much time fighting and trying to protect ourselves from each other that we fail to take heed that all it takes is one lucky idiot running around with a sword to end everything we've worked for!"

Holy crap... My first major action and diplomacy/persuasion skill check... Did I do well? Did I bork things up? Lemme know OOC.

Barbarus was familiarizing himself with the group.  They didn't quite trust him enough to give him their names yet; but that was to be expected.  Names were precious things to most Were tribes, serving as a definition of the individual as a person, professional, and sometimes parent.  Names were to the Weres what resumes and personal histories were to the more civilized world.  The ultimate shame for a Were in many tribes would be to have their name taken away; which by the envious looks two of the younger Were-including the mongoose whom he was growing fond of-gave him when he shared his name, had befallen them.  He speculated that this may have been in response to, or the cause of their intention to leave their tribes.

Which was another odd thing about this group.  No two individuals, Barbarus himself included, came from the same tribe.  A large bovine fellow didn't even come from the same region, hailing from the distant south.  Most young Weres that chose to leave usually did so with an older sibling or childhood friend.  There were only five of them, the nameless mongoose, a rabbit, the bovine from down south,  and two canines of mixed breeding.  Were tribes were normally species-specific, with the odd exception such as the Were Amazon tribe; the only female among them was the rabbit, another oddity.  They were just beginning to inquire into how Dungeons typically worked, when a new spectacle emerged.

One of the group, the canid, bumped into Barbarus when some Angel ponce decided to make a point with a Barrier of Light spell.  The bump caused the elderly Were to drop his mug of coffee, which shattered, and spread its contents on the floor.  The incident was soon forgotten, while the Angel spoke.  At the conclusion, the elderly feline bent down to pick up the shards of his mug.  "He's right you know," he murmured to the little group. "If you would be so kind as to return that gold to its rightful owners, I will be searching out a wastebasket for this.  We can resume our discussion after that, if you still wish to that is."

"But-" the bovine fellow began to protest.  He stopped when Barbarus finished gathering the mug shards, and simply walked off.

'Just keep walking, Barbarus.  Don't give them any middle ground, because their future employers won't.' The old chap thought to himself, while forcing his knee to bend smoothly despite the searing pain of bone chaffing against bone.  He'd have to actually take his medicine soon, or start limping.

(Majorly edited, because well...what I had here before was simply crap.  For all I know, it still is.  But this is less so than before...I hope.  Sorry that you all had to see that.)

Thessaly didn't exactly know what the disease was, exactly, nor how it was working. She did, however, know what to look for. Surely enough, both she and carter had contracted the disease. It must have been incredibly contagious to have caught after so brief a time. The actual symptoms seemed to be taking a while to form.

Numerous members of the crowd seemed to have contracted the disease as well... including several who were still living. None of the living victims showed any harmful symptoms at all.


Nethalzar's quick check revealed something odd; his body seemed to have contracted the disease, but showed no symptoms whatsoever. It wasn't harming him in the slightest.

Nadhiya nodded curtly, which suggested she was taking this seriously. "If you have need of a priestess, let me know."


Baseel and Zyrais have largely succeeded at their intimidation attempts, mostly because they were 'telling it like it is.' If they had lied or threatened, things would have gone very badly.

Though most of the crowd was busy watching the potential fight unfold, a few seemed to notice Xephelon as he advanced towards the kobold. Most seemed to be the sort to understand magical power, and had taken note of his temporary enchanting.

The Kobold flinched slightly as he spoke. "It... just a guard rune. Symbol of guard. That all!"

Just then, Zyrais' barriers of light filled the chamber with a brightness it had never seen before. Those contained seemed deeply insulted by the gesture... these were powerfull people, and they obviously didn't like the idea of being caged in any way. Zyrais' speech, however, resonated with them even moreso. Most of them were here because adventurers had stripped them of freedom and safety.

The red and gray Equine waited only until Zyrais had finished speaking, and then gestured with a back-handed fist; a portion of the nearby Barrier of Light seemed to crumple like a sheet of cloth. After that, though, he merely crossed his arms and looked stoic.

Just as it seemed like the crowd might calm down a bit, the giant Hyena interjected. "A home? Here? How do I know I will not be chained to a rock somewhere, begging for scraps?"

He turned to the crowd, having gained their full attention. "I have served masters before... powerful creatures, like many of you. They can be just as harsh as any hero. You know what you are all capable of! None of you will trust each other at all! At least adventurers are honest about their murdering and plundering. No excuses or lies!"

The crowd seemed to respond to the hyena's speech. As much as he might have seemed like a childish rabble rouser, Zyrais and Baseel could tell he was being very precise about his words. This disgusting beast was clearly much more skilled at speechcraft than anyone here was giving him credit for. Was he some sort of Agent Provocateur, or merely passionate about the subject at hand...?

Mnogo had to focus himself very carefully to stay calm. And to think this entire situation began with that... that shelled thing challenging him. While he was hardly surprised at how petty the other Creatures could be, all gathering and summarily arguing with each other, the thought of an altercation breaking out still made him uneasy. All it would take to ruin the Dungeon's prospects were enough big, powerful monsters getting into a heated debate with each other.

And that damned hyena wasn't helping things at all, bringing many of the patron's concerns out into the open. Mnogo already hated scavengers and pack-animals, and here was a particularly obnoxious one. And that voice, that tone; it took every fluid ounce of his being to keep from gluing the pest's mouth shut with a well-placed shot of tar.

"You seem awfully outspoken for an occasion like this," he groused and gurgled. "Is there something you know that we don't, my very annoying friend?" Mnogo glared at the hyena, slimy brow furrowed and dripping.

Hmm, i must address a lot of stuff chronologically as  i didn't post for a longer time...

Noticing the mudman lash out at, and nearly injure Zyrais left Glup somewhat annoyed.
::Great job! There goes an potential ally down the drain .... Ah well, can't back off now - that would earn you about as much respect as otyughs give to hygiene... and to think, he might have been sneering at someo... No, don't be deluded, of course he was sneering at you! This... lump of soil even thinks he is higher up than a chuul... just because most of specieses of our class end up steamed on some mammal's platt...::
Busy with thinking , he did not notice the first Xephelon's shout towards him, and snapped off only  when a surprisingly  strong shout came from below
Glancing down, he noticed the kobold speaking about "No Brawling", the arrogant and inflated hyena responding, and argument brewing through, and then, suddenly, before he could respond, a flame-like thing appeared in front of him.
Dazzled for a short time, he then heard a familiar voice speaking... And what this bastard suggested this time actually made a lot of sense.... ALMOST making him calm down.
Then the hyena spoke again, displaying a particular kind of whiny attitude Glup didn't exactly like. After all, despite some of the others being somewhat nice, Nadhiya was the only member of the dungeon so far he actually liked, and the hyena's speech accused her of something unpleasant.
He turned somewhat, still keeping the mudman in full view , and spoke to the Hyena.
"If you 'ave shpenth mosht of you' thime at the lasht job chained to a glock eathing glubbish, you pglobably aglen'th woglth much. I shpent 30 yeaglsh being lead of guagld-animalsh in an illithid colony. What you deshcglibe ish what we did with otyughsh, and being one ish lithle to bglag abouth *gargle* *glurp* . Now, ith would be nishe if you closhed yougl maw and wenth to bothegl shomeone elshe. Thish ish between me and thish... mudman hegle! "

   Nethalzar nodded. "This would proceed more quickly if I had some space to preform lab testing, though there may not be time." He said. "This contagion, whatever it is, shows a number of... unique properties. "
   "It seems to be carried and transmitted by living hosts, but to harm undead hosts only. Since most diseases require a living metabolism, it's strange enough that it can be carried by undead at all."
   "Moreover, disease usually harms a host by impairing said metabolism. The fact that undead, who do not depend on a metabolism, are negatively affected is... unnatural." He sipped his wine, then checked to see if the liquid also carried the contagion.
   "And I use that term in the strictest sense. I think this disease is spiritual or magical in nature... and artificial."

Drawing a claw across the light-barrier, Bas dispelled the wall containing himself, along with several other party-goers, while what the angel had said was true, it seemed a bit hypocritical coming from one of them.  However, the hyena was at it again... and he'd now earned the ire of a demon lord.  Not something to be taken lightly.

"Perhaps the reason you were fed mere table scraps, rather than earning your keep, is that you yourself were unable to do more than b**** and moan about how terrible the conditions were, rather than trying to improve them.  Perhaps you lacked the ability to raid near-by being settlements to earn the extra income that would have been better.  A leader can only be as cruel as his or her abilities allow her to cow the herds into complacency.  You don't cow a demon lord, a battle mage, or skilled fighter.  If you're going to leave your own incompetence on display, be my guest.  You try and establish yourself as an alpha, and yet, you clearly have the heart of a coward.  If conditions you've been through were as bad as you described, what forced you to stay?"

Scratching his chin as if to ponder something, the large demon took a step towards the canine.  "Or, perhaps your goal in this rabble rousing, is that you're looking for the weaker minds for your own dungeon?  Would that be the case? Looking for a couple of meek, individuals to sink your claws into for your own little project?  Why else would you come, and stir up trouble?  Either you're attempting to assert yourself as an alpha position, when it is clearly not deserved, or you're trying to hijack these interviews for your own purposes... either way, i will not allow such childishness. "

Cocking his head at an angle, Baseel continued to use his body to hide his right hand.   His left hung loosely in front of him, waiting for the hyena to do something foolish.  Bas figured he'd left the fool with 3 options, open violence, submission, or leaving.  Any would be preferable to his ruining the efforts of the dungeon as a whole.

   Shortly after Xephelon had asked for Kittrick to stall the crowd, Zyrais beat her to it with walls of light and a speech.
  "I suppose that is no longer necessary..." He whispered to Kittrick. While he was sure Zyrais' plan should work, it was still a small loss in that it was not the Dungeon's own authority to take care of it.
  The kobold spoke up, saying that the run was only a symbol, nothing more. If the -was- anything more to it, Xephelon would have to examine it much closer.
  Unfortunately, that damnable hyena spoke up again, and this time-
  Oh no. The hyena was at it again, but this time, his talk seemed to...directly strike the hidden nerves of everyone present. It was more and more unlikely that he was a genuinely concerned citizen, but a subversive with an ulterior motive. The mud-thing, Glup, and the military Demon all confronted him directly, tearing down his points.
  Yet, somehow...Xephelon seriously doubted the hyena would just give in after talk. He was far too focused for one who had a reasonable concern. It was time to end this, authoritatively and decisively. A small, brief glow suffused the nightstick Xephelon was holding the end of.
  Excellent.
  He spoke to the kobold again. "Tell him that if he does not think he will like it here, then he should leave immediately. If refuses, strike him, and have him thrown through a portal. You will be protected, but brace yourself. The reaction will be...strong. You can also strike again if you must."

   Zyrais immediately took note of the hyena and its careful choice of words, wondering just what it was trying to accomplish. He then waited and listened as the mudman questioned the creatures, while Glup and then the demon Baseel berated the creature. Zyrais only sighed to himself and wondered if he was the only creature present that understood the concept of subtlety. Spreading his arms in a gesture of openness, and part of a Charm Being spell, Zyrais began questioning the creature while waiting for the spell to take effect...
   "Last I checked, adventurers called their murdering 'justice' and their plundering 'a reward for a good deed done well'." He began, carefully poking holes in the creature's argument. "And yes, many of us don't trust each other. One would be stupid or naive to completely and immediately trust anyone in a place like this under these circumstances. Trust is something to be earned, bit by bit and piece by piece. Obviously, those of us with services to offer each other will gain trust more quickly than others, but there's always at least some risk involved." He stated, wondering how much damage this was going to do with his business prospects with Xephelon...
   Meanwhile, Zyrais expected one of several outcomes from the spell... One, the hyena was really a creature in disguise and would shrug off his spell easily. Two, the hyena would be able to resist the effects of the spell, but it would be hard for it to do so and possibly throw it mentally off-balance. Three, the hyena would succumb to the effects of the spell, and Zyrais could openly ask it what the heck it was trying to do and maybe who it was working for.

Will check on hyena in aisle three, please! And for the record, I'm going to state the following DnD to Furrae spell translations: Charm Person -> Charm Being, Charm Monster -> Charm Creature. Oh, and waiting for Mechanisto to take a fourth option in 3... 2... 1...

Whooo boy... A major event like this requires a big post, I think.


Nadhiya nodded quickly to Nethalzar. "We shall make all our meager resources available to you at once; spiritual and scientific. I can conjure some basic tools if you need them... a shame we can't risk bringing proper tools through the portal. We can't let the contagion leave this..."

She paused, her expression frozen for a moment. She spun around then, shouting at the nearest Kobold. "The portals! Close the portals! Quarantine the dungeon immediately" She spun around with an acrobatic contortion, shooting out the door and heading for the main hall.


The hyena glowered at the Mudman; his entire face seemed to twist into an unpleasant leer. "Do I know anything all of you don't? There is a hole with no bottom."

He turned to face Glup, and then Bas, listening to both fully before responding.  "I am no alpha. I was born into my slavery; the son of slaves, kept like pets. But I broke free... destroyed my master. Not for the pain and suffering... only for the lies."

His snarl turned into a wide grin that seemed to take up all of his face. As disgusting as the russet-red hyena may have been, he had magnificently pearly teeth. "I am no leader. I am a scavenger. I was not meant to beg for scraps... I was meant to feast on the fallen. The blood-soaked battlefield... the plague-stricken village. These are my meals. Everything dies... and when they do, I am there. Even I... a disgusting scavenger... take pride in my task."

"You do not fool me, demons. Angels. Creatures. You care nothing for us. Any of us. Or each other. Why should we serve you?" He spit on the ground then. "You will die. You will all die. And I will be there when it happens."

The Hyena's ears pricked immediately, and his head snapped towards Zyrais. It's muzzle twisted into a phenomenally vicious snarl. For just a moment, Zyrais knew his spell had failed... by how much, he could not know. But apparently, the Hyena had noticed.

The Hyena's body tensed, rippling with incredibly large muscles as it let out a grating roar and lunged towards Zyrais. At just that moment, though the kobold seemed to snap into action. The diminutive lizard jumped in front of the huge, raging beast, letting out a high-pitched yipping sound. The stick connected squarely on the Hyena's nose.

What happened next astonished everybody (including Xephelon, though for very different reasons). As the stick connected, a snap of lightning seemed to break the air, followed by a deafening crack. The Hyena was sent sprawling aside, as if a battering ram had struck him. His entire body glowed brightly, surrounded by a thick layer of black lightning. He thrashed violently, screaming in pain. Eventually, the Hyena's body was a pitch-black silhouette, surrounding by dark, magical energy

The silhouette shattered like glass, leaving only the smell of ozone and a slight crackling noise. The had been utterly... well... disintegrated.

A booming voice broke the dumbfounded silence that followed; Nadhiya had amplified her voice tremendously to address the entire crowd. "CLOSE THE PORTALS IMMEDIATELY! NOBODY COMES OR GOES UNTIL THIS IS RESOLVED TO MY SATISFACTION!"

She sounded very displeased. "I WOULD ALSO STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT NOBODY ELSE TEST OUR GUARDS FURTHER."


As shocking as the preceding events were, Only Xephelon was in a position to appreciate what had happened. When the Kobold's baton had struck the Hyena, the creature's body seemed to have been wracked with black lightning... but when the Hyena had actually vanished, there had been an even bigger stream of energy. This stream had come from the portal chamber, connecting the hyena to the portals like a thread... and that thread had just been cut.

Now it made sense! He hadn't been disintegrated... he had been banished!

   Zyrais looked at the hyena and mostly ignored his speech until it had said "You will die. You will all die. And I will be there when it happens." At that point, Zyrais revised his opinion of the hyena and upgraded it to "threat".
   Unfortunately for him, the hyena noticed his spell, successfully resisted it, and lunged for him with killing intent. While this wasn't entirely unexpected, the kobold jumping into it's path was, and the results of the kobold's staff striking the hyena most certainly were. Zyrais made a mental note to never, ever, anger the guards via his own actions.
   "Dammit!" He loudly cursed. "I wanted to know who that bastard worked for!" Calming himself down, he turned towards the kobold. "Erm... I guess I owe you my thanks..." He stated, obviously not used to seeing others put themselves in harm's way for his sake and seeming somewhat embarrassed about it. Nadhiya's booming voice stunned him further with the order to shut down the portals and not let anyone enter or leave...
   Sounds like they're trying to setup a quarantine... He thought to himself. Then, realization hit him... Aw hell... We're soooo freaking screwed...

---

   Dee, however, was seething with rage at this turn of events. YET AGAIN had fate denied her the chance of witnessing the gruesome demise of her "master". She growled quite loudly, and flicked her tail around in the air as if seeking the first half-chance she could get at stinging someone...

See response in OOC thread, here (http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,7171.msg329953.html#msg329953).

As the fight turned away from him, Bas was going to try and intervene, when the Kobold struck first.  At that point there was no point in holding onto the spell.  The Creature was lashed with arcane energies, and apparently destroyed... utterly.  With no more threat, Bas quickly pulled the spell back into his hand, and spread the energy back through his body, effectively dissipating the ability to cast.  He flicked away the shadowy residue of his prepared spell, and clamped his hands together as Nadhiya appeared... and she seemed... unhappy.

Rather than offend, Bas took a proper, respectful stance, hands clamped behind his back, wings folded and pulled back, a stance that was both respectful, yet commanded a bit of attention as well.  The large canine had no doubts he could kill any individual in the room, but that was not the issue.  He was here for a job, a place to stay and call his own, and for that to happen, he needed to be selected, and approved.

With everyone else seemingly stunned into silence, Bas raised a hand to his muzzle, and faked a cough to clear his throat, and get his thoughts in order.

"The problem has been dealt with, M'lady.  The hyena was attempting to stir trouble, and from what he said, it sounded like it was merely for his own gain.  I believe the rest of us are in agreement that we can continue peaceful talks now that the rabble rouser has been... *ahem* dealt with..."

Averting his attention from the spot where he'd witnessed the thing's death.

"If you have any questions, Madam Nadhiya, i am at your service"

Taking a small, formal bow, Bas stepped forwards to await what she or the others had to say.

Once a wastebasket had been found, Barbarus began to wander around.  While looking for someone interesting to start up a conversation with, he drew out a small orange plastic bottle, undid the cap, and popped a white capsule from within; then returning it to his pocket.  He'd done it so often, he needed only a few full seconds to complete the whole ritual.

Something was happening.  The Dungeon Mistress had made a rather loud announcement, startling many.  He was not one of those, instead making his way toward the epicenter of it all.  Not much seemed to have changed, except one of the demons, a rather decorative looking canine demon was engaging Nadhiya in conversation.  The Weres he had conversed with earlier were also gone.  As was the rather rude hyena.  Something wasn't quite right. 

Nadhiya looked immensely displeased.  And he really did not want to add to her displeasure, at all.  But...nothing ventured nothing gained. 

Striding forward, Barbarus internally debated whether he should remain as he was, or shift to his magically resistant human shape.  While he couldn't exactly rely on his magic, in case he inadvertently angered Nadhiya to the point of violence, having it as an option was desirable.  But then years of experience took over, telling him to not even risk loosing control when he needed this job.  So, as he walked, his fur withdrew into reddish skin, and his face crushed itself into a flatter surface.  In one quarter of a second, he was a human. 

A part of him felt relief, no longer having to worry about his own power getting away from him, and he used that to better fuel his social interaction.  Barbarus bowed formally, once he'd gotten out of the crowd, both to Nadhiya, and to the Demon standing closer to her than the rest of the crowd. 

"Madame, I would like to inquire as to why you have closed down the portals.  Has something happened?"  Well of course something had happened, but decorum demanded addressing the elephant in the room first and foremost.  "If something has, I would very much like to help in whatever way I can."

(This post is blargh.  Pure, one hundred-percent angus blargh. :blarf)

Noticing what seemed to be an untimely demise of the hyena surprised Glup.
As of his rather long life up to now, he never saw a kobold cast anything more substantial than tremors. Now, he just saw one disintegrate an opponent in one hit, which left him wondering whether the kobold had such powerful enchantments on him , or whether it was just the hyena being such a weakling - as much as he inclined to the second, he decided to remain careful.
Suddenly, something clever occured to him  - after all, he was a "senior creature" if only by several hours.
He turned to Mnogo and said:
"And thish ish why you should behave youglshelf in thish placse - i am noth  by fa' the only one who can fiksh you up!"

Bluff check perhaps? Glup is not an expert in those, but he does have a poker face. and against a mudman it just *might* work

The hyena's warning gave Mnogo some pause. You will die. You will all die. He was no expert on Creature society, but he knew enough to realize you never make empty threats or prophecies when monsters are involved. Did that hideous scavenger really know something?

Not that it mattered as the kobold vaporized him, causing the mudman to stand straight up in alarm. He quickly turned to face the portals as Nadhiya's voice projected across the entire Dungeon. Not only was he trapped and surrounded by meatcreatures, but the chief admin was stalking through to get to the bottom of it. Would she blame him, despite Glup starting the whole debacle?

It certainly didn't help that the crabthing was being mouthy. "Me?! You're the one who started making threats! This whole thing is your fault!" Mnogo grew another foot as he pointed an accusing finger at Glup, body tensing like a rubber band.

The Kobold who had "rescued" Zyrais was a bit busy staring at his own nightstick to fully appreciate his word of thanks. he looked like he wasn't sure if he'd done a very bad thing or not.

Nadhiya's booming announcement seemed to snap him out of it, though. He quickly yipped and waved at other nearby kobolds, leading them over to the entrance in a disorganized group. Quite a few of the larger, more powerful guests flinched away from them. In moments, there was a semi-circle of tiny kobolds standing guard over the portal chamber.

Nadhiya looked like she was steeling herself, desperately trying to figure out what to say. When she heard both Baseel and Barbarus offer their assistance, she gave them a deep look, and pointed a finger at each of them approvingly. She then addressed the crowd again. Her voice was still quite loud, but not deafeningly so.

"Though the immediate issue has been dealt with, I must unfortunately announce that a potential threat remains. I have reason to believe that the hostile guest may have attempted to unleash a pseudo-mystical contagion throughout the dungeon. The portal chamber will be closed to prevent the plague from spreading to your home territories."

The crowd immediately started shouting, but Nadhiya quieted them with a gesture. "I'm afraid information is limited. We know the contagion's mystical nature allows it to affect all manner of creatures; living, magical, elemental... even undead, who are normally immune to such things. This makes it a potential threat to each and every one of us. For this reason, I will ask everyone to contribute in any way they can. We must discover the nature of the plague, and find a cure. We must also determine if the Hyena acted alone, or if his allies remain among us."

"I shall be setting up a relief facility to deal with the disaster. If anyone is willing or able to provide assistance, resources, or information, please see me in a moment." With that, she turned towards one of the hallways.

She spoke to Baseel and Barbarus before she left. "I need to go set some things up. You may come with if you like, to help deal with this... and if you have any ideas about how to proceed, you'll have my appreciation."

The real game begins! This is officially everybody's first opportunity to jump on the main plot. Anyone willing to help Nadhiya with finding a cure, or investigating the attack, may approach her.

The mental arithmetic of Glup in this case was trivial.
On one side , we had Nadhiya, and a few other reasonably friendly creatures going away to investigate the hyena, not to mention that the help might improve his perspectives, and the earlier the situation is sorted out the sooner he will be able to go hunting for brains
On the other hand,  there would be Mnogo AND Zyrais, not to mention other possible opponents, without any supervision - although he was sure he could handle any one of them at single time, he was also pretty confident especially Zyrais would be the first to land a backstab to him during a fight with anyone else....

He stepped forwards, still checking on the two (having over pi radians lookout helped a lot!) spoke to Nadhiya.
"Mishtglesh Nadhiya. I know no medishine ogl sho, buth i can help with the inveshtigathionsh... i 'ave waysh of making otheglsh talk, and alsho.. if shomething needsh to be moved out of the way... i would pglefegl to go with the ggloup, fogl the besht of mine and dungeonsh' integleshts"

Nadhiya gestured to Glup, looking unimpressed. "I appreciate the offer, but i doubt this crowd will respond well to threats and torture. They..."

She paused mid-sentence and turned to look at Glup. "...a chuul. Of course..." She seemed to regard him in a new light.

"On second thought, I think you will be of use to us. I don't know the extent of your... powers... but your the only non-cubi who might have them. Do please join us."

   As Xephelon watched, Zyrais also threw in his bid to make the hyena back down through words. Unfortunately, as Xephelon had expected, everything was for naught. The hyena grew further agitated, and suddenly, struck towards Zyrais. Xephelon had also "seen" Zyrais attempting a spell. Apparently, whatever it was failed, although Xephelon wasn't focused on it enough to actually identify it's charachteristics.
  The hyena lept towards Zyrais, and Xephelon was proud to see the kobold guard also leap to intercept, striking with his newly-enchanted nightsti--
  What?!
  Unlike Zyrais' spell, Xephelon was plenty focused on the reaction emitted by the nightstick to see what had just happened. The first part of the reaction was indeed the infusion Xephelon had put into the nightstick, but what happened next was beyond what his magic was intended to do. The hyena had been enveloped in black energy, and just before he vanished, a massive stream connected him to one of the portals. Xephelon instantly thought that this must have been what the rune in the nightstick really did, or... or was the hyena the same person who had come through a portal earlier with an anomalous connection to the portal?
  Further investigation was absolutely needed.
  Nadihya then arrived, ordering a lockdown of the portals. As she also seemed unsurprised at what the guard had done (although possible a facade), that seemed to lend weight to the rune theory. A number of the crowd uncomfortably milled around in the silence. Xephelon whispered to Kittrick, "I swear that was not supposed to happen." After Zyrais thanked the kobold and moved on, Xephelon noted that Glup and the mudman seemed to be going at it again.
  However, Nadihya spoke up once more, telling that the reason for the quarantine was a... magical disease?
  Absolutely wonderful. Day one and already the dungeon had enemies. And it just had to be something that Xephelon likely could not even help with. He could only make devices, he couldn't combat a disease. Hopefully his sealed exoshell would protect him, but that even meant he couldn't eat until this was passed...and he hadn't eaten since before he got here. One thing after another.
  As he had no immediate assistance to offer Nadihya, he strode over to the kobold guard from earlier, who had now organized a line of kobolds around the portals.
  "I am impressed, sir kobold." Xephelon said quietly to him. "You reacted without hesitation and stood your ground against a larger foe. Even if you had some...help...not many would expect such traits from one of your kind. I also will not lie to you, that actually wasn't the strong reaction I had intended; it was stronger. I will need to investigate further, but I do have some theories. Also, while I have no standing here yet, I will talk with Lady Nadihya and try to ensure you are recognized for your efforts. Tell me your name."

Glup began following Nadhiya, Nethalzar and the rest of the forming "silver bullets" intent on investigating the strange happenings.
::At leasht shomeone appgleshiatesh my skillsh... :: he thought as he marched on.

My, how everything had happened so fast. Kittrick had barely had time to take a few steps in the direction of the quarreling creatures before Zyrais' magical barriers had sprung up. Then, the hyena had begun to speak...

The hyena. He looked familiar. She squinted at him through the barriers as they began to fall, trying to place him... And then it struck her.

"Trade you for poultry...?"

Yes! She remembered now. How could she not?! He had been carrying horse meat, for crying out loud! Had he been this eloquent before, though? He had struck her as something of a brute... Why had that been? The lady. There was a lady with him. A feline woman in a gown. She had said he hadn't gotten out much.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack and a flash of light. The hyena vanished with a scream, leaving nothing behind. Kittrick could do little but stare in shock as the events transpired in front of her. Nadhiya's words rang out loud and clear over the floor, and Kittrick half-listened to the crowd around her. Trapped! They were trapped!

No... quarantined.What if...? Oh, gods above, the horse meat. What if that had been tainted? The gryphon's stomach dropped at the thought. No, no, best not to think about that now. There was work to be done.

"Madam Nadhiya -- umph --" She tried to squeeze herself through the crowd to get closer to the dungeon's overseer. "Excuse me -- Miss Death-Venom, are you still there? -- Lady Nadhiya!"

It was no use. It would take too long to catch up with her, and there was still the possibility that the woman in the gown was still in the crowd somewhere. In desperation, she scanned the assembled people. She couldn't see anyone that looked like the woman she had seen earlier at a glance... but someone else caught her eye. A russet-feathered gryphon! Oh, thank heavens, she at least had some other members of her kind here. She was beginning to think she was the only gryphon who had seen the advertisement. She cawed a greeting over the head of a nearby demon and wound her way around the other people, approaching him.

"You there! Excuse me -- excuse me. Would you mind terribly--?" Her words tumbled over themselves in her worry that another passing member of the crowd would run into her and pull her away.

The russet-colored gryphon raised an eyebrow. "Whoa there! Slow down. What are you asking me?"

Kittrick cleared her throat, pulled herself up, and tried to look more composed. "Hm. Would you mind possibly assisting in the investigation in a small way?"

The other gryphon considered this for a moment. "In... what way are you thinking?"

"I have an idea of who one of the hyena's associates may have been." She briefly told him about her earlier encounter with the woman and the beast, being sure to describe the woman in as much detail as she could remember. "I must go inform Lady Nadhiya of this, and I cannot do that and search for the lady at the same time. If you would be so kind as to simply keep your eyes open and alert an official if you see her...?"

"Of course!" The other gryphon opened his wings a little and flashed a beaky grin. "Just, eh... tell Nadhiya you've got Kiprin on the job, would you? Wouldn't hurt my job chances either if I find her and she turns out to be important."

"Kiprin, I'll remember. And I am Kittrick. Thank you." She nodded regally, started to walk in Nadhiya's direction, and then paused. "Oh... And do try to not raise much of a fuss? She may bolt."

"Got it. Hunt her like a rabbit. No sudden moves, no loud noises." The other gryphon trotted off into the crowd, and Kittrick resumed her attempts to head toward the naga.

Whew! Long post... sorry, guys. Please feel free to tell me if there's anything I need to correct... Was it okay that I gave the other gryphon a name?

   Dee suddenly felt her ride jump into action, almost trembling with excitement and fear she she did so. Thankfully for her, a brief skimming of her thoughts revealed something interesting...
   "Hey idiot! So long screwy, and see ya in St. Louie!" She shot at Zyrais, while hanging on to the gryphon.
   "Whoa!" Dee exclaimed, watching Kittrick try and push through the crowds while trying to catch up to Nadhiya. "I'm still here and please calm down! Share with me what you know!"
   Dee hung on and overheard the exchange with the other gryphon, one named Kiprin, including the description of the young feline woman in a black gown that was apparently the hyena's companion. I looked it up, btw.

---

   "I hate that pseudodragon..." Zyrais mentally complained to himself, receiving the code loud and clear. Dee had found something interesting and it was in his best interest to let her pursue it. A quick glance at the gryphon revealed that she was trying to head for Nadhiya, and seemingly got sidetracked by another gryphon. Regardless, he realized that he should stall her for a bit until Kittirck could arrive and deliver whatever information she had. And besides, he had his own news to break to her...
   Zyrais had little problems sifting through the crowd to reach Nadhiya where he delivered his info.
   "Lady Nadhiya, I'm not fond of the idea myself, but I do have some of my servants in Zinvith. While we can't send anything out, I can reach them with a Sending or Telepathy spell, so it may be possible for a few of them to bring certain supplies in. Obviously though, I would only use this as a next-to-last resort, and I have a limited number of creatures still under my command. I just wanted to reveal the option to you. Also, Dee, my familiar, has found something that may be important, and I wish to join the efforts in finding out what this ailment is, especially if it has mystical properties like you say."

In an instant, gone was the amiable grandfather-figure Barbarus had taken pains to craft, and replaced with the no-nonsense business manner; following close behind Nadhiya, remaining as a human for the time being.  He waited until the Overseer and the chuul, and the Angel had completed their dialogues before putting in his two cents. "As you know, Weres like myself can become immune to any and all magic when we assume our human forms.  Now I know of at least five other Weres in attendance at this function; if this disease is magical in any way, myself and those five should be able to operate a Clean Room of sorts, where the disease could be studied without risk of spreading."

His medicine was kicking in, already it was taking less effort to walk and not limp.  Less, but still requiring some energy.  Unfortunately, the medicine was an alchemy, and his human magic-killing ability had obliterated the mystic part of the pill, leaving only the chemical pain killer.  I will not show weakness.  If one is to be weak, one might as well be dead.  I am not dead, I am not weak, and I will not appear so.

"Unfortunately, the five I mentioned were a bit too fresh from the tribes to be forthcoming with their names; which are immensely important to Were culture.  I can provide your kobolds with descriptions, though; or if you would tell me where to bring them, I can fetch them myself much quicker."

The kobold before Xephelon seemed to quake with fear. After he finished speaking, there was a moment of aukward silence. Then the Kobold jumped to action, waving his stick. "You no enter chamber!"

Someone spoke from behind Xephelon; a slightly better dressed Kobold with an array of tiny tools on his belt. He spoke to the others in their high-pitched yipping language, and they seemed to settle down. He must have had some authority among his kind.

"Apologies, honored guest... I'm afraid you may be overestimating the average Kobold's level of intelligence. He doesn't fully understand what you did for him."

"But I do." He stepped forward, nodding respectfully. "Nadhiya mentioned you had no small skill with enchantments and such. I think I might need to explain what exactly what happened... and ask for your assistance with analyzing the chamber itself."

"If you are willing, of course." He entered the chamber, gesturing for the guards to let Xephelon pass if he wished. From the looks of it, anything they said within the chamber would be kept private.


Nadhiya already had a small group of eager volunteers around her as she made her way through the main hall. She seemed quite confident now that she had people to manage and organize.

"As I've mentioned before, Zyrais, telepathy and sending spells cannot reach the outside world from here... however, if it becomes necessary, I can give you access to the portal. This would enable such powers to work. Whoever did this, however, will probably want to gain access to the portal; either to escape or to report to a superior. Excessive interest in the portal chamber may be cause for suspicion."

She listened to Barbarus intently. "We must see if your resistance truly works against this contagion. If it does, you maybe the only people we can safely send through the portal for resources. We may yet be able to gather some of Zyrais' supplies."

She turned backwards, rotating at the hip; this allowed her to speak to the group face-to-face, while still slithering ahead. "I will be blunt; everyone here is a suspect. But if I don't accept anyone's help, we won't get anywhere. I just want you to know that if I refuse to give you certain freedoms or privileges, it's nothing personal. I hope those of you who aren't traitors or saboteurs will understand."

Glup looked at Nadhiya and spoke:
"I kchan undeglshtand the sushpicsion, and the gleshtglicthionsh that go, but heagl thish:
My bushinesh dependsh on me gething bglainsh fglom outshide... peglhapsh againsht the will of theigl holdeglsh. Alsho, i need cushtomeglsh. But if thegle ish a pgloblem like thish,  cushtomeglsh agle limited, and i cannot get new shupliesh.
You kchan apgleshiate that thish shituathion ish huglting my income by each hou' and sho, that i thgluly could have no integlesht in cgleating it.
"
He stopped for a moment, and his hind legs began pacing in a familiar manner, suggesting excitement or nervousness

"Of couglshe! Lishten, Mishtglesh Nadhiya! We might have a way to communicate with the outshide! Befogle coming to the tougl, i  finished the integlnet seglvegl fo' the dungeon!! It needsh to be teshted, but if it woglksh, we can ushe it to contact anyone outshide! It ish algleady hooked to the thick coakshial seglving ash ougl ekshteglnal netwoglk connekshion!!"

Oh dear sweet Earth Mother.

Trapped. Surrounded by meatpeople.

In a dungeon.

With some kind of horrible plague wafting through the air and infecting people. A disease that could affect even him, a being normally immune to such things.

The mudman couldn't dream of a worse fate: biological terrorism and being forced to deal with organics.

Mnogo immediately slithered around the agitated guests, following after Xephelon and the kobold. Nadhiya would probably have been a better choice, but she was busy trying to get to the root of the problem. Bothering her would probably mean a black mark on his evaluation. "Wait! You meatpuppets-- ...people, owe me an explanation! Just what is the meaning of all this?!" Even if he couldn't get an answer, he could at least find some way to make himself useful and root out whatever horrible Creature was responsible for this mayhem.

Following behind Nadhiya, Bas kept mostly quiet, considering the possibility of the disease.  "Well, depending on what we know of this illness, it should be important to note that demons and angels also have a very high resilience to such mundane means.  Our enhanced strength, endurance and stamina are part of what make us notoriously hard to kill.  I myself know several healing magics on the dark end of the spectrum... such as cleansing my own system.  If nothing else, my regenerative abilities would allow consistent identical blood and tissue samples, should the need arise for such."

Giving a non-committal shrug, the large canine stepped forward and added, "Enduring a little discomfort for the sake of a better goal isn't much of a sacrifice, so long as freedom is returned once the crisis is over." 

Kittrick twisted her head around to look at Dee briefly. "Ah, good. You heard, then?" What was the proper etiquette for asking someone else's familiar to do something, anyway? "If you would not mind, perhaps you could also --"

That's when the mudman happened to cross in front of her, also pursuing the group. With her head twisted around, she couldn't see him in time to react --

SQUAWK! SPLAT! SQUELCH.

Mud and slime flew everywhere as Kittrick collided with Mnogo. The impact sent her reeling back a few feet, earth elementals being several times heavier and denser than a gryphon. Kittrick sat down hard, accidentally treading on her own tail briefly, which brought out another yelping sort of squawk. She blinked several times and shook her head rapidly, trying to rattle the stars out of her field of vision. This motion sent several large drops of mud flying into the crowd, as well.

Once her head stopped spinning, Kittrick stared at herself in abject horror. The mud. Oh gods, the mud! It was seeping between her feathers, dripping onto her talons, ruining the list of rules she had taken from the table at the beginning of the event... Oh gods, it was ruining her harness! The foul slime was seeping into the leather, tarnishing the badge!

She couldn't suppress a horrified shiver. Ugh! She had to shake! She had to get as much of the residue off as possible... and then go sit in one of the fountains for a few months, maybe. "Y... you may wish t-to remove yourself, Miss Death-Venom..." she said to her passenger.

Barbarus chuckled a bit.  "I have been around this block a few times, I expected nothing less."  The elderly feline then produced the orange container with his medicine.  "Of course, I would like to be able to take my arthritis medication without being suspected of foul play, if that is acceptable."  Then, depending on Nadhiya's response, he'd either hand it over to her, or pocket it once again.  After which he would look over his shoulder at the Angel, looking the oddly Draconian fellow up and down, before stepping forward and offering his hand.

"It seems we may need to work together soon.  I am Barbarus of the Hagoo, pleasure to meet you."

Short post is short. *dives into the bunker*

   "Yes, such suspicions would be quite natural under these circumstances." Zyrais agreed. "If it please you, and should you decide that such a course of action is needed, then I will do my best to be as transparent and open as possible. Regardless, testing would need to be done to find out more about this pathogen, and I don't think we don't have time for simulations. I need to know where one of the victims that has already contracted the disease is." He explained. Turning to the were, he returned the were's greeting.
  "I'm Zyrais, and it's nice to meet you too. Unfortunately, I will need you and/or a few of your people to test and make sure that you have immunity and aren't able to spread the disease to others. If you wish to come along and make sure they're treated well, then that would be fully understandable." He stated. Turning to look for Kittrick and Dee, he saw them... Oh dear... Dee wasn't going to be approachable for at least an hour... Much less reveal what she had just learned...

---

  When Kittrick ran into the mudman, Dee could've sworn she saw her life flash before her eyes as the giant glob of muck got alarmingly bigger as a pretty quick rate. Her last thought was that she was gonna install some damn seatbelts on that gryphon if it killed her.
  And by "killed her", she was obviously referring to the gryphon...
  Dee's next thoughts were those of a small creature stuck in a massive blob of muck and while not completely disgusted by it, she felt pretty damn close to it. Luckily for her, she went tumbling into the mudman, so her wings and back went into it first, rather than her head. So, currently, she could still breathe. She could also curse using her telepathy, which she did, loudly, coupled with numerous and rather vocal death threats at whoever and whatever had wronged her.

Nice ninja post, Meany. I almost had mine done.
EDIT: All that effort and two little grammar errors. Ugh...

"I said 'what is the meaning of--'" Mnogo didn't even finish his demanding before the gryphon ran right into him, causing him to stumble and splatter against the floor in a large, awkward mound. At least Kittrick had managed to recoil from Mnogo's semi-pliable form, albeit with a few pounds of his cloying mass splashing onto her; Dee was halfway stuck in his sludgy body, something he didn't even notice until after he'd already remolded back into his normal stance.

And that small, very annoying creature was assaulting his consciousness with her temper and words.

"...get, out." With a loud squick, Dee was expelled from Mnogo's side and onto the floor, along with a copious amount of tarry mud. Ooh, that gryphon was going to get it... just after he got to the bottom of this plague crisis. "Move, now." He groused at the other guests as he continued to slither towards the kobolds guarding the portal chamber.

   Xephelon was no less than shocked when the kobold he had just helped and complimented suddenly acted hostile to him. He was also very worried that nightstick might connect with him. However, another kobold spoke up from behind him, this one talking like a normal person, and made the others cool off.
  "I can't say I'm not...disappointed...although I still think his quick action is commendable." One of Xephelon's "eyes" blinked. "You don't seem to be 'an average kobold', though. And yes, I shall assist in analyzing the chamber. With this apparent disease, there's nothing else I can do. I believe I shall also have to take a closer look at that nightstick..."
  AT that moment, the mud-creature suddenly began rushing towards Xephelon and the kobolds...and just as suddenly, there was a squishy splat as... Kittrick?
  Experiencing the scene before him, Xephelon's only response...was one of his exoshell's four arms coming up and pressing against his...well, torso-face, as the exoshell was headless.
  The mudman, however, continued moving towards them. "I assure you, sir, harassing these guards will not help you at all. Lady Nadihya is the only one in charge, and the only one with knowledge of the situation; you'd do best to go ask her. Neither these guards nor I know anything about the situation, and I have some unrelated magical analysis to do."
  There was a pause. "And I must also add in an explicit caution against harassing these guards. In addition to being a fruitless endeavor, you might find yourself subject to the same fate as that troublemaker..." Xephelon moved behind that same guard who he had helped do so (and had just attempted to ward him off), giving him a small pat on the shoulder. Xephelon turned to the newcomer guard--the more eloquent one--and gestured further into the empty chamber as he turned away into it and began to walk forward. "Now, let us begin our analysis of that anomaly, I do have several theories..."

Oh, dear. Well, at least she wouldn't need to worry about shaking Dee loose along with the mud on her back.

Kittrick stood and shook fiercely, trying to dislodge as much of the sludge as she could from her feathers. Oh, and of course she had been shouting Nadhiya's name before that undignified collision! She could almost feel the eyes of the crowd on her. She held her beak high, trying to maintain some shred of dignity... but the mud hampered that impression somewhat. Ugh.

It took all of her willpower, but she approached the sticky, tarry puddle of goo which encased the pseudodragon.

"Miss Death-Venom? Are... Are you all..?" Ugh, she could practically taste the mud on her beak when she spoke. The pseudodragon's psychic cursing answered her unfinished question. "Come along... Let us go clean ourselves."

And now I leave for the Land of No Internet for a few days. :animesweat If anything happens plot-wise, assume Kittrick made it to a fountain and is cleaning off.

   Dee was NOT happy...
  In addition to being embedded inside the mudman, it "oh-so-kindly" expelled her, along with a nice-sized glob of thick, sticky, tar-like muck.
  To add further insult to injury, Kittrick, instead of just slinking off to find someplace to wash off the muck, decided to take the convenient and animalistic route of shaking off most of the mud on her body... Into the crowds around her...
  "That'll be sure to impress people..." Dee snidely remarked, managing to roll onto her claws. "And don't you dare move, flinch, or try and shake me off." She threatened, using her claws to climb up onto Kittrick, rubbing a fair amount of mud off of herself and back onto the gryphon as she did so. After a bit, she plonked herself back onto the middle of the gryphon's back. Only this time, she made certain that she was able to grip onto the harness in case something similar happened again.
  "Alright, you can go now..." Dee grumbled. "After you tell Nadhiya what you found out..."
   Not taking any chances in case the gryphon decided to get stubborn, Dee sent a message to Zyrais.
   "Hey, dimwit! The gryphon saw the hyena with a young feline woman in a black gown. However, if she's a cubi, we're screwed."

Ugh... Should've posted sooner...

Nadhiya nodded to Glup as he voiced his concerns. When he mentioend the internet connection he'd begun building, she seemed somewhat startled and a little angry. "I assure you, Glup, contact with the outside world is already possible for me... I was simply lamenting the lack of a more sophisticated computer network for the dungeon itself. If you've actually tampered with the portals themselves, I shall be most displeased."

She turned to Bas then; his comment about enduring discomfort for the greater good seemed to surprise her, and she gave him an unusual look for just a moment. "Resistances aside, I'm afraid I've already detected traces of the disease on both demons and angels. I suspect, however, that you will be much more resistant to the symptoms; it may harm you less, but you could still spread it to others."

She turned to Barbarus as he held up his bottle of medicine. She gestured at the bottle momentarily, and a brief glow surrounded her hand. She seemed satisfied. "The medicine is indeed what you say it is... though perhaps later, I can assist you. I know something of using magical gifts to help with with ongoing ailments."


The Kobold strode up the short stairway that led to the portal chamber and walked towards the center of the circular room. "If your going to analyze anything, you'll need to know what's going on..."

"As you may know, certain ritual magics can be used to summon forth demons and other supernatural creatures; either to fight or to perform tasks. These summoning powers are generally temporary... if the spell wears off, or is dispelled, the summoned creature and all of it's belongings are returned to it's original location. Any magical effects it caused are also undone. This is different than a teleportation spell, which is normally permanent."

"These portals are configured so that full citizens of the dungeon are teleported normally... whereas non-citizens are actually summoned here. Nobody else realizes it, but their presence here is temporary and impermanent."

"The guard's nightsticks are imbued with a special rune of disruption; when they strike a summoned creature, it ejects them from the dungeon and returns them to their original location. We added some visual pyrotechnics to make it look as scary and painful as possible, but it's actually completely harmless."

The Kobold paused, allowing Xephelon to digest what he'd said for a moment. If anyone found out about this little detail, the guards would become much... MUCH... less intimidating.

"Here's the thing about summoned creatures: when you banish them, they can't leave stuff behind and their special powers lose effect... so we have no idea how anyone could have spread a disease without tampering with the portals."

"Of ALL the Bloody Luck!" A Rather loud, somewhat nasally voice bellowed ash it approached the Naga from behind. Any who turned around would see a rather curious sight.

A rather diminutive weasel, dressed in a modern business suit with a tattered labcoat and a district lack of footwear. The most striking feature was the fact his "Fur" was green, as he closed in, however, it became clear it wasn't fur, but moss, and his hair was a tangle of kudzu vines. He was holding a thick folder and a Druidic Tome in the other, and seemed to be in the process of reorganizing the papers from the folder. "Why does does this always happen?" he appeared to be speaking to himself. " 'Finally, an invitation! Nobody BOTHERS to read my work, and it seems somebody is taking me serious! and then it turns to crap because some stupid laughing idiot can't keep his temper in check long enough FOR A SINGLE INTERVIEW!?!"The small plant-thing's rage  seemed totally blind, as he didn't seem to acknowledge anything or anyone else. "Mother was right, I should have been a Druid!"

The weasel took a deep breath and closes his eyes." Okay...calm down...just settle down Win. All is not lost. Just a minor setback." He opened his eyes. "My apologies for losing my temper. The past few weeks have not favoured me in the slightest." He looked at Nadhiya and smiled, offering his hand. "Dr. Winston Richardson, ma'am. Pleasure to meet, though I wish we could have talked in much more pleasant circumstances."He held up his folder."I brought a copy on my work in hydroponics, if you or your masters have not somehow received them."

Edit: Yes, I am quite aware Winston is not making a great entrance or first impression. To say Winston is an egotist with something of a self-importance complex is like saying the universe is kinda big.

   Xephelon followed the kobold up the stairs and away from the other guests. He took in all the information the kobold stated with a practiced analytical "ear".
   When all was said, the torso of Xephelon's exoshell only "nodded" slightly. "I suspected this to be the case; that was indeed one of my theories. Although I will say with some personal satisfaction that I added something 'real' to your light show, and the rabblerouser should be home with a headache of colossal proportions right now--possibly even a genuine concussion--for his troubles."
   Xephelon looked at the portals around them. "I see how unwise it would be if the general guests discovered this misdirection, however, something more 'real' indeed will have to be worked out once full citizens are inagurated if you haven't already, and I'm sure I could help with that..."
   The exoshell faced the kobold again. "But about this disease. So anything someone brings with them is banished along with them, you say, and special abilities end? I believe I've observed these kinds of summoning spells cast before. If a continuous effect is ongoing by the summoned, such as sustained dancing lights for example, it ends when the summoned is dismissed because, of course, they are no longer present to maintain the effect. But if the summoned were to say, kill something, it stays dead when the summoned is dismissed. If someone were to release a self-perpetuating agent that creates more of itself after the summoning, only a truly advanced banishing effect could trace all created derivatives and banish them as well along with the original agent, but that would be monstrously powerful and complex magic, and could lead to many unintended side effects... could that be what has happened here? Is the the portal summoning-banishment a more convetional setup that would allow such an exploit, or is it extensive enough to negate that loophole?"

The elderly Were smiled at the Angel, then turned his head, getting a few glimpses some scuffle. It was interesting, from the snippets he spied, but there was much more important things to be done.  "I'm sure the other five would be willing to be tested, but I may need to explain the situation to them.  They aren't a trusting lot." We could always twist their arms into behaving like civilized folk, the semi-autonomous part of himself put forth, then quickly retreating from the magic-killing burn of his human shape.

Hush, he told it, rather smugly.  He barely noticed the approach of the...plantish thing; which he mentally smacked himself for.  Such a slip-up could have gotten him killed in any other situation; but the newcomer seemed harmless, if impertinent.

Electing to ignore the exchange the plant-ferret was having with Nadhiya, at least for the moment, Barbarus cleared his throat, and spoke perhaps a bit louder than previous, to Zyrais.  "Exactly how would you test for this disease?  Would it be possible for me and mine to remain in human form during the examination, or would you need us to shift back?"  He did not doubt that the others had shifted to human form; it would be a natural reaction to hearing about the presence of a magical disease flying about.  But of course, Barbarus started to worry; the stupidity of the young could never be underestimated, after all.

(I really hate brainfarts.  Really I do.)

Mnogo gave a leer before slithering away from the chamber's entrance. Bah, lousy kobolds. Forget it, he'd leave the little reptiles and Xephelon to chatter about whatever metaphysical nonsense was at play with the portals. He had bigger things to worry about, chief among them was just avoiding whoever looked like they could carry a disease. Which was most everybody in sight.

This whole thing just couldn't be over quickly enough. He'd have to be proactive, find out just what was going on with these horrible people and which of them knew something. Though, Mnogo had only ever gotten to know the mental ins-and-outs of beings; he could only hope that all the Creatures present had the same little reflexes and tics that normal people had, anything to give him a clue as to which ones knew something they weren't telling.

He slid around the main floor, following after Nadhiya as he glanced over at the other guests, looking for any of them that seemed particularly antsy or suspicious. Then again, for all he knew, the saboteur could have easily left by now or was hiding on any of the other floors. If only the mudman knew how to burrow and meld into stone, he could probably slip around and listen in on somebody.

"something is really bothering me about this talk of the virus now.  Less about 'who put it here' and more, What agenda do they have?  Was there goal to simply hope this virus went unnoticed, let us finish the dungeon, then weaken or kill as many of us as possible, before attempting a hostile take-over?  Is it some childish prank?  How many enemies do you, Nadhiya, that are capable of altering such a complex piece of woven magic, and do so without your noticing?  This is a very skilled mage or wizard, if they managed to alter your portals, and most likely very powerful, lest they killed themself in the process. "

Bas stoked his chin, "If we can find the one capable of arranging such a dastardly act, i'm sure we could garner the information we need to rid ourselves of whatever plague her or she has arranged for us.  Though, that does bring up an interesting question of you, yourself.  Have you yourself been tested?  And, if you've come up negative, how likely is it, that someone is attempting to frame you?"

There was no accusation in his voice, the large demon was sure that if the naga had wanted to kill anyone, she could have done so in any number of ways.  This was an outside attack.     He rolled his wings into a full rest, folded behind his back, while his skin was left unharded.  Bas was still teanse after the confrontation with the hyenia... and it seemed information was currently both scarce, and difficult to garner.  Bas hoped he'd fire some additional synapses that his possible new employer may have overlooked.

The disease did not worry Glup much - although he doubted their extraplanar origin, he was aware that most common illnesses didn't find chuuls suitable. There was no use in worrying too, especially not before he was even infected.
just to be sure that you don't misinterpret - i am not saying glup has imunity, rather that he thinks he has as his aberrant origin would probably be enough to throw off most common infections
Glup grew slightly irritated.
"Mishtglesh Nadhiya, i do noth think theshe accushathionsh agle nesheshagly, eshpecshially in shuch time. You youghlshelf menthioned the lack of wiglelesh connecthion aglound, sho i did my besht to fiksh it. Beshidesh, if i had the shkill to manipulate pogltalsh,  thegle ish a much mogle elegant sholuthion poshible - ushing shmall shcale pogltal magic to decgleashe the powegl consumption and impglove ping, not to menthion that i would connecth it to the shuglfashe netwoglk digleshtly..."
As he continued his explanation, he noticed the coming of a small greenish weasel with a temper to match the usual adages.
When they were giving out temper, this one sneaked into the line twice! ...  and missed the wisdom handout too. I guess he is still alive only because he's amusing
However, this changed  considerably when the plantling weasel mentioned hydroponics, and that he was a scientist - as much as he had magic in contempt, Glup admired the feats of science and engineering - unlike the previous, they were predictable, powerful and required little besides intelligence and patience.
Glup came closer, towering over the weasel, and spoke.
"Ggleethingsh! Name'sh Glup. I shell bglainsh aglound hegle, and beshidesh, i know shome electhglothechnics sho i get to build the non-magical shtuff aglound...  Did you menthion hydglopony? Shoundsh like a fun thing to look ath - i can build the contglol mechanishms....
and... you don'th have any good booksh with you by chance? "

Nadhiya seemed rather irritated at the weasel's boisterous interruption, but she was obviously taking effort to look patient. The instant the weasel spoke the word "hydroponics," her expression changed entirely to one of urgent interest.

She slithered forward and clasped his hand with both of hers. "A botanist! Superb! You have no idea how difficult it's been to attract people in your line of work to attend. Not the traditional environment for druidry, I'm sure."

"I look forward to reading your material, but I'm afraid it will have to wait given the current situation. Would you care to join our... investigation?" Nadhiya gestured to the others, but hesitated for a moment as her eyes met with Glup. She bit her lip slightly. She was a little surprised at the Chuul's reaction... had he mentioned something about druids?

She responded to Barbarus, eager for any change in topic. "As a priestess I possess many spells of healing and restoration. My powers can detect the plague, but not cure it. Yet. Additional diagnosis may help. I can cast a spell of diagnosis on each of your forms, if you would allow it."

She turned to Baseel with a grave look. "I manage this dungeon, but only on behalf of my master... he is the true landowner of this territory, and we may well have inherited some of his enemies. Even if not, this may simply be a power grab instead of a personal vendetta."

"As for my status, I can tell you I am infected as well... but if I was the one causing this, you would have no reason to trust my words. If anyone else can magically sense disease, they are welcome to analyze me themselves."


The Kobold shrugged a bit. "Well... these portals were specifically set up to track and return bacterial or viral colonies carried by guests, even if they multiply after they arrive. We wouldn't dare expose people to diseases they've never encountered before... it wouldn't look good if someone died of the common cold. The mistress did seem to suggest that this was no ordinary virus."

He rummaged around in a reinforced leather attaché case that rested in the center of the room. The leather looked very dark, as if it had been taken from an intensely magical creature... and the case was embroidered with magical runes of breathtaking beauty.

"We never actually made the portals... we had to contract some guys. We don't have their contact info, but they left some documents. Might be useful." He took out a clear-plastic binder filled with papers, all covered in tiny print.

Barbarus fought the urge to sigh.  Doing such would imply exasperation, which when dealing with a potential employer was not a wise thing to do.  It was actually number four on the list of unwise things to do in the workplace, a rather comical pamphlet he'd read some years ago, and now carried around when he needed a quick laugh.  But now was not the time for laughing, now was the time for professionalism, and tact, and an entire slew of other things besides.  While he filed away bits of information, such as Nadhiya's infection and the apparent joy she had at someone specializing in botany, specifically 'hydroponics', which rang some particularly rusty bells in his head; Barbarus by and large let the other Creatures present follow their own lines of inquiry, and suspect at the saboteur's motivation.  He had his own suspicions, and ideas; but right now his place was starting to look like a field operative, rather than intelligence.  Until that changed, he would remain silent upon the issue.

The elderly male waited for the conversations between the naga, and the other Creatures in the vicinity to lull, before speaking up.  "Mistress Nadhiya, therein lies the root of my question."  He turned to look at her, trying not to let the natural mammalian reaction to reptiles, namely 'predator, run!', which had been the main issue behind his originally assuming human form just minutes ago, in the portal chamber, get in the way of his keeping his tone flat.  "As I said before, if you'll pardon my candor, Weres in their human forms cannot be affected by magic, good or bad, in anyway.  Our presence destroys magic, rendering the area around us a mystic vacuum.  I was questioning if you had a method for identifying the disease without the use of magic, namely a bacteria to look for in blood samples, or an increase in white blood cells to indicate the presence of a pathogen."

Barbarus stopped for a moment to shift his weight off his right leg, which the arthritis was starting to favor.  I might need to take her up on that magical healing, he thought to himself.  Then...a sudden flaw in the plan hit him.  "Madame, a thought just occurred to me.  If me and mine are indeed able to leave without spreading this plague, how would we do so?  Our magic destroying property would extend to the portals if we attempted to use them in this form.  And changing shape might cause us to spread the disease beyond the dungeon, rendering our services moot."  The ingenious nature of this disease, and the perfect execution of it were beginning to hit the old man, and his worry started to grow.

Oh... so ... she's a priestess... just when you think...  nice even...
Glup suddenly seemed down in spirit - this was possibly the least pleasant surprise ever since he learned about taxes.
"Yesh, thath will help a loth .... i would be thinking shafegl if thegle wash a micglobiologisht dealing with the infecthion...  "
Think straight... she might be the one in charge now, but the master of the dungeon is probably someone with a serious occupation, just wait this through and don't make anything stupid. At least unless she attacks first
He stopped speaking but anyone with even slight empathy could feel an air disilusionment mixed with contempt around him.

What to say - Glup really doesn't like priests, and considers them pompous windbags capable of little

   Let's see if I can wring more out of my brain than half a post this time...

   Zyrais received Dee's message, but groaned inwardly at how she sent it. Oh well, not much he could do about it now...
The introduction from the weasel/plant cross was unexpected, and his use of the term "hydroponics" took him off guard. He knew a little about the subject, but only bits and pieces of information.
   Regardless, Barbarus's question about how he would detect the disease was a good one and quickly got him sidetracked for a brief moment, making him miss Nadhiya's comment about other angels. However, he did hear Nadhiya's comment about her master, along with the somewhat surprising revelation that she was also infected and the offering of examining her...
   Hoo boy... Good thing Aegle isn't here... She would've taken that the wrong way on purpose... He thought to himself, quickly pulling out his spellbook and leafing through it for magical detection spells. Heck, so would've his chief researcher...
   It didn't take him long to find something promising.
   Zyrais then waited until the conversation had died down, thus allowing him to catch the unsurprising revelation that Nadhiya was a priestess.
   Seriously, only a priestess would wear an outfit that revealing...
   "One thing at a time Barbarus..." Zyrais sighed, listening to his concerns. "Again, we need to make sure if it's magical or not first, then we can plan from there. And if it isn't magical, then my talents won't be of much use here in trying to study the disease. Nadhiya, I'm going to cast a rather potent analysis spell on you. It will reveal any and all enchantments currently on you, and I would prefer it if you would relax and let it take it's time. The specific spell is Analyze Dweomer, but it would also help if you had a list of symptoms that I could compare to a database."

It's late... I'm tired... My brain has had it... But if I didn't post tonight, I doubt I would've been able to tomorrow...

   Xephelon was quite surprised, to say the least, to learn that the portal-summons-banish spell did return microbial life that originated from a person.
   The kobold then retrieved a case covered in runes, which contained official-looking documents, explaining that the dungeon had some contracters construct the portals for them.
   Xephelon accepted the case and the documents, both reading the documents thoroughly (which he surely could understand), and examining the runes with his magic analysis. Every bit of information he could glean from this would be useful.

"What? No!" Kittrick ruffled her feathers indignantly. The nerve! Just because she was on her back, the little draconic creature felt that she could order the gryphon around? She had another thing coming, in that case. She was in no mood to play steed at the moment. "I shall not show disrespect to a potential employer by appearing before her so... soiled!"

With that, she stalked over to one of the fountains in the lobby and placed her front paws on the rim, shoving her face forward into the stream. There was no time to take a proper bath, but at the very least, she could show that she cared somewhat about her personal appearance, she thought while she attempted to scrub the slime from her beak. Aah, that was much better.

"If you are not going to make yourself more presentable," she said tersely as she pulled her face out of the water for a moment, "then I highly suggest that you look for the lady yourself. I shall require a few more moments."

Wait, some kind of sickness was going around? The priestess herself was infected? With what?!

Winston's moment of glee was all but erased, first replaced by panic...then a sense of curiosity.

"Sickness? investigation..."Winston grinned like the Cheshire Cat."I would LOVE to join you! Perhaps my expertise can be of aid? Why, I can recommend plenty of herbs and remedies for many a sickness! The Healing properties of plants are never to be underestimated!

Winston gave a quick glance around at some of his "Campatriots"...Some manner of Abomination. Oh well, make a big pot and fill it with boiling water. Not that he could enjoy such delicacies anymore. A Mudman. Charming! They always seem like a good idea until you need to shampoo the carpets. And demon...he didn't know what to make of him. Yet. The Naga seemed nice enough. As a Druid he did learn to respect other faiths. Then again her outfit indicated she was a clergywoman for a most evil deity. You never insulted them, unless you wanted your house to go up in a mysterious fire.

As the group carried on, Baseel had hung back just long enough to hear the squicky *SPLAT* as the gryphon slid into the mudman.  There was an exchange of words, and it was clear just how uncomfortable the gryphon was, with regards to being covered in mucky slime.

The demon had heard the naga's reply, and then she was off with the others again.  She wouldn't miss him if he disappeared for a few minutes to help a fellow colleague out.  As such, the demon followed the mud-soaked gryphon to the fountain, he prepared a simple spell, solidify the shadows cast by the gryphon's wings and fur, and use that to form a skin-tight layer of solidified shadow, expand the shadow out, and remove the mud, while keeping the intended target perfectly clean and safe.

He walked over next to Kittrick,  silver trinkets in the long cables of hair jiggling softly, announcing his presence before the demon spoke.   When he opened his mouth, he said in a soft, pleasant tenor, "You seemed far more personable earlier... mayhaps you could use a hand with removing bits and pieces of a certain elemental?  Or, did i miss something else entirely that you might need assistance with?"

He wore a pleasant, polite smile.  His spell was floating above his palm, a black and gray shimmering ball of dark energies. His other hand hung loosely, and open palmed, at his side.  The relaxed demeanor, and posture was meant to further drive the point that this particular demon was quite friendly.  

The gryphon lifted her face out the water again when she heard the soft jingling of the charms, ears pricking up. She turned to glance over her shoulder at the newcomer, noticing the spell in his hand. After a few moments of appraisal, judging the demon's apparent intentions carefully, she nodded. "Ah, yes. That would be greatly appreciated, thank you, sir."

She made sure to stand very still. She wasn't sure what, exactly, he was planning to do with that ball of dark energy, but whatever it was, she didn't want to complicate things for the spellcaster by moving around.

Lifting the spell into the air, and very gently pressing it towards the Gryphon, Baseel started to pull the tiny shadows under Kittrick's fur and feathers together, he focused on being very gentle with the shadows as he began pulling them away from the the Gryphon's body.  The spell took only a few second before it'd grown into a dirt-covered globe, around the female.  Baseel waited just long enough for the mud to be well clear of the Kittrick before dispelling the darkened globe.  The spell, as it expanded, would appear to darken the world for a brief stint for anyone inside it, they would see the world as if everything were viewed through dark sunglasses.

"That should just about do it." The demon said, making a sweeping gesture while casting another simple spell, pushing the mud well clear of the path.  Taking a deeper bow, with additional flourish, the demon added, "Baseel Wolkshammar, warlord or fieldmarshall... depending on how you want to look at things."

He flashed a toothy grin, "Might i be so bold as to ask for -your- name... Miss?" drawing out the "s" a little longer than necessary, but well enough to make it obvious he was asking for both a first and last name.

Nadhiya continued to move down the corridor, leading the group along while addressing each question systematically.

" We will have to consult Xephelon about any effect your altered form may have on the portal. But as for the magical diagnosis, do not fear, Barbarus; While most of my spells are arcane in nature, a few of my healing powers are celestial gifts. Their miraculous nature is unaffected by spell immunity, but they are much more easily resisted through strength of will. If you are willing, they should affect you normally..."

She continued slithering, silent for a moment.

"...probably."

She glanced over at Zyrais, looking deep in consideration for a moment. "I have no qualms about an analytical spell, if it remains limited to my person."

In stark contrast to that, Winston's enthusiasm seemed to actually brighten Nadhiya's mood slightly. She'd been stern and strict for most of the day, and seeing her cute-fanged smile was a tiny bit unsettling. "Excellent... I was hoping to have the help of both magical and scientific experts... and alchemy and herbalism is a fine blend of both."

"Ah, there. Just a moment..." She stopped moving, and went over to a nearby archway that connected the corridor to a medium-sized room. The archway itself had a pale, semi-translucent length of cloth hanging from it's arch. There were also a pair of hastily-improvised banners on either side, each bearing the universal symbol for "hospital."

She poked her head in, and spoke to Nethalzar. "Sorry to interrupt doctor; if you have a moment, could you prepare a brief presentation on your findings thus far? I have several potential investigators that need to be well informed. I'll have a nearby room set aside for the meeting."


Baseel's magical spell had cleansed Kittrick's plumage quite effectively, and without causing the slightest harm. Before Kittrick could thank him, however, Baseel realized that a nearby person in the crowd was staring at him; a young feline male, dressed in the robes of a clerk or bookkeeper. The robes bore a few simple magical runes. He looked nervous enough already, but something had pushed him even further.

After only a moment of staring, he pointed a finger and shouted to the rest of the crowd. "That was a spell! That one there, he cast a spell on her! I saw it, just now! There's rules against that!"

The crowd didn't seem overly concerned at first; the spell hadn't been harmful. It hadn't even been loud or obnoxious. Then, the crowd seemed to realize that a magical plague had been set loose among them... and any use of magic, however harmless, could be suspect.

   Dee became rather annoyed at the gryphon's rather harsh refusal to report her knowledge to her potential employer as soon as possible, but was even more annoyed at the snappy response she gave her. It took everything she had to resist wrapping her long, lithe body around the gryphon's neck and jam her stinger into her windpipe, but somehow she managed. Since her ride obviously wasn't going to listen to her counsel, she crawled over the gryphon's head and rolled off into the fountain. AFter swimming around for a moment to wash off the muck and muddy the fountain, she climbed back out in time to see the demon working his magic to clean her recently-vacated ride. Shaking herself free of most of the water clinging to her smooth body, Dee jumped for Kittrick's harness and climbed back onto "her" spot.
  Then, one of the idiots had to freak out about how the demon had used a spell...
  "Ooooh! A spell! He used a spell! Dee began, using a mocking tone that anyone with even some talent at reading thoughts could pick up. "My word! Unleash a magical disease among some masses and all of a sudden, any kind of spell is an open act of hostility? Puh-leeze!"

I'm aware that Dee probably isn't helping. That's normal for her. If you don't believe me, just ask Zyrais.

---

  Zyrais followed Nadhiya to the makeshift hospital and overheard her speaking with Nethalzar. So that's where he ran off to... He thought to himself. So, either he knew about this because he set it up, or he was one of the first ones on the scene to offer his assistance. I guess we shall wait and see...
  "Alright then, my lady..." Zyrais began. "I shall see what I can find out. Just try to relax and let the magic work." Waiting until Nadhiya was ready, Zyrais cleared his mind and, if someone looked closely, they could swear that they could see movement under the silver gemstone on his forehead, kind of like a third eye opening, then he cast the Analyze Deweomer spell, eagerly waiting for whatever details the magic could provide.

Saving and still writing... Please wait... EDIT: Done.
According to the DnD rules, the spell will reveal any and all enchantments Nadhiya is currently under. However, since this is the GM's game, whatever he says, goes.

"Kittrick," the gryphon said, bowing her head briefly while Dee climbed aboard. "Just Kittrick. Although, if you wish to use a surname, then --"

Suddenly, a nervous-looking feline man in the crowd pointed at them and shouted. Her ears went flat against the sides of her head. The pseudodragon's comment earned her a sharp glance from the gryphon, who then pushed herself away from the fountain and took a few steps toward the man, tail switching irritably from side to side.

"Need I remind you, sir, that more than half of us present in this hall can cast spells to some degree? Also, I believe that you may need a brief refresher on the rules of this gathering." Sitting back for a moment, she reached a taloned forepaw around to unhook the scroll of rules she had picked up earlier from her harness. Holding it so that the man could see the insignia on it, she unrolled it and laid it flat upon the ground. The ink had run slightly thanks to her encounter with the somewhat moist mudman, but it was still mostly legible.

"Ah, here we are.... Rule number two. 'I will engage in no brawling, trickery, or aggressive spell casting whatsoever during the event, for any reason.'" She tapped a talon on that line on the scroll. "Note the use of the term 'aggressive.' As I am unharmed, Sir Wolkshammar explicitly asked for my permission before casting the spell, and I explicitly gave my consent, I hardly believe that his actions qualify as aggressive spellcasting."

She smiled at the man with a predatory sort of gleam in her eye. "Do you have any further questions? I would be quite happy to clarify any points of confusion for you."

Go ahead, she thought. Try me.

Bas was rather unprepared for the hostility, he tensed up at the pointing of the male feline, and immediately hardened his skin in response.  The small draconian seemed to be instigating things, while Kittrick seemed quite intent on trying to calm things down.  He let them both speak before chiming in to defend himself, "You act as though i'd killed someone, right here in front of you.  I have nothing but good intent, ask any 'cubi if you doubt my words... that is, assuming you can trust their word.  Also note that i swore to abide by the rules.  An oath of honor one doesn't take lightly.  Now, calm yourself down before your own paranoia gets the best of you, and you do something foolish."

Flashing a smirk, the demon added with a as if you could look on his face, "I would hate for you to do something, foolish"

Crossing his arms loosely over his chest, and folding his wings a little tighter around his back.  Baeel put his weight on his back foot, and took a calm and confident pose.

   Nethalzar stood at the head of a long stone table, flanked by his minions.
   Thessaly, shrouded in heavy robes, only her softly glowing eyes visible under her hood, held a large stack of papers under her arm.
   Carter, a tall, gaunt, Jackal figure wrapped in bandages and adorned with ritualistic gold ornaments, and a golden death-mask fused to his face, Under his arm was a four foot long scroll.
   Nethalzar was no longer wearing his three button blazer. Instead, the towering giraffe was covered head to hoof in ornate black plate armor. The slick metal surface was embossed with skull motifs and filligreed with delicate sliver runes. A thick leather-bound tome, tied shut by a strip of linen, hung from his belt on a heavy chain. A seven foot sword was propped up in the corner, ornamented to match his armour. The blade was an organic and wicked curve, a foot wide at the hilt and tapering delicately to a point. Nethalzars tattered, blackened wings spread out behind him. When he moved, the spectral mist roiling from his mane whorled and drifted behind him.

   "Gentles," he said. "If you would care to seat yourelf." he gestured over the table.
   While the attendees settled themselves, Thessaly passed a everyone a document with the meetings outline and a summary of what the Necromancer had been able research so far. Every page had two columbs; one was written in latin and thaumatological runes, the other was a less technical version written in common.
   Once everyone was settled, Nethalzar nodded to Carter. The jackal held aloft the scroll and unfurled three feet of it, displaying a collection of notes and diagrams.
   Nethalzar took out a six-inch wand, which Fade was resting delicatly on the end of. Nethalzar lightly tapped the wand twice, and the wil-o-wisp swiftly drifted out to the spot on the large scroll that the wand was pointed at.
   "If I may have your attention; all of you no doubt know that an infectious disease has been detected on the premises, and that Lady Nadihya has sealed and quarantined the area. I, Nethalzar, was asked to assist in the situation. This meeting is to brief those present on the information at hand."
   Wordlessly, Carter unfurled another three feet of scroll, winding it back up at the bottom as he did. A small portrait of Roxanne appeared, as well as a series of events listed in bullet point form.
   Nethalzar continued. "Less then one hour ago, I was asked to assist an Undead guest that had fallen unconscious. I was able to stabilize her condition, and she regained awareness shortly after. After some cursory investigation, it was determined that she had been drained of vital energies, or life force. When it was discovered that the agent was a highly infectious agent, Lady Nadihya was immediately informed, and the lockdown was put in place."
   Carter scrolled through another few feet of the giant scroll, and Nethalzar continued. "All of this information is on the documents that were handed out, in greater detail." He said, then pointed Fade back to the scroll again. "Here is what I have been able to determine about the agent so far:"
    "The agent is highly contagious, and nearly all of the guests in attendance have been infected. Of greater concern, however, is that the agent is not of natural origin."
   Nethalzar took a moment to look over those assembled. "Let me take a moment to emphasize the significance of this. The disease has infected and impaired an Undead host. Diseases harm a host by impairing biological functions, and subsist off the host by doing so. Since Undead do not rely on biological functions of any sort to 'live,' diseases are either unable to survive in an undead host, lacking sustinance, or do not impair the Undead, since said functions are of no importance to the host."
   "After some examination, the agent was discovered to draw on the very spiritual energy of it's victims." He paused again for emphasis. "In over a milennia of experience as a Necromancer and death-knight, I have never encountered anything like this before."
   "That being said, I have been able to analyze the agent while Nadihya has been organizing a proper response to this crisis. The results have been... intregueing."
   Carter scrolled through another few feet, and Nethalzar continued.
   "First, the agent is rather selective about it's hosts. Every single guest present has been infected; some guests show a resistance to it, but so far none have been immune to it. Animals, such as pets brought by the guests, have not, nor has any bicrobiological life in the aquatic areas. Undead have been infected, while automatons, such as golems or necromantic homunculi, have not. Even more surprisingly, incorporeal spirits, such as Fade here-"
   The wisp suddenly danced about, agitated. Nethalzar scowled at the .
   "Settle down, please. As I was saying, even incorporeal undead have been infected. This, in conjunction with the fact that no biological component has yet to be isolated, leads me to conclude that this is not actually a disease... which is why I have been referring to it as an 'agent.'"
   He tucked away his wand, and Carter smartly furled the scroll, and tucked it back under his arm.
   Nethalzar took out a pair of small reading glasses, and picked up a set of notes from the table. "Currently, my best hypothesis is that this is a self-propogating malediction... or, in laymans terms, a 'curse'... that drains the host of spiritual vitality to maintain and spread itself. It requires a host with a soul, which is why it can infect incorporeal entities but not automata or animals... which, by necromantic definition, have sprits rather then souls."
   Nethalzar took off the spectacles in a very deliberate motion, and looked over the congregation gravely. "If this contagion goes unchecked, it will drain the life of ever sentient being here, without exception. If anyone can contribute any learning, ability, or resource at their disposal, now would be the time to do so."

Barbarus gave a polite bow to the Undead as he made for his seat.  This day was starting to look up, it seemed.  It was not difficult, even if someone wasn't trained as an assassin/spy to guess at the giraffe's occupation by his dress, company, and Race. 

Oh, how he positively adored Necromancers.  They were highly useful, professional, and their fashion sense, while a bit stale, was never dull.  Barbarus himself had never gone into the field, besides studying a bit of the theory, to sate youthful curiosity. 

He remained quiet, and thoughtful as the Necromancer gave his presentation, thereafter, he ran his eyes over the sheet he had been handed, analyzing every bit he could understand, and reviewing what he remembered the giraffe mentioning, retrieving his glasses when he needed to see the smaller text.


All in all, this news was troubling.  Ideas whirled around his brain, scenarios for how to respond to it.  None of them met his satisfaction.  "For what it's worth, I can re-enter to chamber where the bulk of the guests are, and attempt to gather information; maybe someone knows something and isn't sharing.  If needed I can also...remove them without drawing attention to myself.  Unlike my colleague Sir Zyrais, my contacts and resources are limited to those of similar profession to myself; spies, assassins, mercenaries.  None of them likely to help us in our present situation."  He neglected to mention that those that would have were either dead, or being slowly tortured into insanity as he spoke.  Espionage was not a field for the altruistic.

"Have you been able to determine how it is borne to the host?  Food, water, air?  Perhaps an investigation could be launched."

This post has been edited to comply with the information provided by Mech in the OOC. I apologize for jumping the shark. Blarghy-shnargy.

     Nethalzar nodded to Barnabus. "At this junction, I've exhausted what means of investigation I have... further progress may require black bags and rubber hoses. I'm sure you'll want to speak with Nadihya about it. As for your question, I have not been able to determine the means of transmission yet. The easiest way to do this would be to observe it in action, but it may be difficult to do this if we are unable to find someone who has not yet been infected."

Hrumph. Maladictions and curses and people dying... this wasn't part of my contract. I'm charging time-and-a-half.

Also: Liatai, for the record, I like your style.

"Well Fuck."Winston  blurted out. 

If there was one thing he admired about Necromancers was they didn't sugar coat things.But damn of all the places to pick for a job Interview. Maybe teaching a bunch of snot nosed middle schoolers science wasn't such a bad idea. On scened thought "Slow and Painful death" was preferable to years of suffering through bad attitudes and even worse music, considering Winston's memories of such a time.

Raising is hand to speak, Winston cleared his throat. Already his mere presence was beginning to cause the room to smell of Kudzu.

"I may be able to offer some assistance."Winston begun."Though this outside my normal area of expertise, so I doubt I'll be very useful in this endeavour. i can see if I find a cure or even a treatment, though most magical based plants tend to be finicky little bastards. They're a bitch to order, expensive, and growing them without magical tools is all but impossible.And again, I can't guarantee it'll be of any help."

The plant weasel leaned back in his chair."I'm as stumped as you are, my Undead Compatriot."

Curse... not a disease, curse
Glup began thinking, and as a side effect, his hind three legs began to pace in the familiar manner.
Means i can get it as well.... worse stuff has happened, and if the weak ones drop then I will at least....   
The realisation struck him like a hammer. If the curse affects, and destroys the undead too, and the brains are infected,  he will be unable to sell them, and  the whole shop will go bankrupt! Maybe this was the intention of the one who spread the curse - some bastard angry at Glup's cheaper and higher quality wares...
Clearly, this was a matter of business, and certain personal considerations had to go give way temporarily....

He raised his head and spoke loudly towards Nadhiya, although in a less eager tone than before. but looking in a significant direction...

"Mishtglesh Nadhiya. Do you have any shushpishionsh ash to who might have shpglead the cuglshe? Ish thegle anyone that i can athempt ... ekshtglashting infoglmathion fglom?"

Of course, the one whom Glup was thinking about was the mudman - in Glup's understanding he wasn't alive and so couldn't get the ailment... and this would of course fully explain the strange grin when they first met!

"Well, in that case I might be helpful after all."  Barbarus thanked whatever deity he hadn't insulted yet had arranged this.  So he wouldn't be useless after all.  "Madamne Nadhiya, know that I know where this meeting is taking place, I will go fetch my associates in the hall, so that, if Madame pleases, you can confirm our magic-negating abilities can halt and destroy this agent, then we, that is to say, I and my associates, may submit to Sir Nethalzer's studies into the development of the agent, and other activities you may assign.  I shall return in, to use the vernacular, 'two shakes'."

In a blur of motion, the human Barbarus had shifted to a medium-sized, heavily scarred feral feline, which padded out of the room, and into the hall.  As a cat, Barbarus had no problem locating his associates in the main grouping of other people.  It appeared they were more tense than ever, with a blue Gryphon, and the Demon lord from earlier being at the center of it. 

Oh dear.  This couldn't end well.

The other Were had split up into two groups, of three and two.  The two nameless ones were together, close to the food tables, while the other three were chatting near a wall.  Not one of them had assumed their human forms, to Barbarus' dismay.  He approached the nameless duo first, as they would likely jump on the oppertunity to be of use.

The aging Were transformed into the socially acceptable default feline form he possessed and approached them.  "Listen to me, you two," he said to the mongoose, and the rabbit female.  "I have an oppertunity to be useful to Madame Nadhiya, are you willing?"

"What?  And for this 'oppertunity' you want what?"  The rabbit spoke up.  She had a right to be suspicious.  Since their near extinction some centuries ago, Were society had gone from tight-nit family groups, to a race of loners who only functioned together for their personal reasons. 

"Two things, actually; if we are all of us employed here, neither of you compete with me for the position of Council rep.  And, I decide when and if you obtain new designations."  He let the two deny being nameless for about twenty seconds before silencing them.  "Listen!  We do not have time for this. To summerize, I've been in the game longer than you, and you don't hide it well.  Do you want the damn oppertunity or not?"

They looked wide-eyed for a moment, then nodded.  Midly irritated at this point, and running low on sweet caffiene, Barbarus proposed the same deal, minus the name choosing, to the remainin three.  Only two of them actually wanted it, but faced with the choice of being left alone, the large bull agreed as well.

At this point, Barbarus, led them off, reaching into his coat for his flask while becomming a human once again.  While he finished off the last few drops of the cherry soda, the other Weres assumed their magic-resistant skins as well.  In short order, back they were to the meeting hall. 

Barbarus replaced his flask, and led the five other humans into the meeting room.  "As promised, here they are."  Barbarus snapped his fingers irritatedly at the other Were.  "Well?  Introduce yourselves.  Oh, and Madame, there appears to be some tension building among the rest of the applicants."

Dee's mocking tone seemed to irk the nervous man rather than embarrass him, and none of what was said to him seemed to frighten or intimidate him; he a strange, unfazeable air about him. "I happen to be a legal expert on the subject at hand. It is my business to find and identify loopholes in magical contracts and documents... especially those between creatures and beings."

He adjusted his glasses before responding. "I understand fully that everyone here can cast spells, and that many spells are harmless or beneficial. But this place is supposedly warded against harmful spellcasting. Which means that either this sickness is non-magical... unlikely... or it was triggered using a magical process that must seem completely harmless... but isn't. If it is the latter, the spell might indeed be harmless. But it would involve trickery, which the rules clearly prohibit."

He turned to Bas. "I'm not accusing anyone outright. But shouldn't we be careful about restricting magical use, especially that which is trivial or frivolous? Only the local guards and their agents should be using magic at all. At the very least, it would make it easier to locate and identify spells being cast without permission. I'm sure our innocent guests won't complain about such basic precautions."


Nadhiya nodded to Barbarus after he spoke. "I'm looking forward to the possible results of such research. Thank you."

She turned to Glup as he spoke, let out a slight sigh, and placed a hand delicately on her forehead. "Unfortunately, I have no leads as to who may be responsible. To be honest, more than half our guests could find a way to profit from such an act of hostility. Someone may be trying to gain control the dungeon, or destroy a rival who happened to show up... or they may simply be trying to discredit and embarrass my employer."

"If this crisis is going to be resolved, you will all need to pool your efforts and resources, and show some initiative. Finding a cure or vaccine is our ultimate objective, but finding those responsible is a close second. I'm either going to have them executed, or..."

She paused, steepling her fingers in thought. "...well, if this turns out not to be a personal vendetta of some sort, I suppose I could always hire them."

By now, Barbarus had returned with the others of his species. Nadhiya couldn't help but look at them with a bit of awe; Were's were uncommon enough, and rarely seen together in public places.

"Nethalzar; see that our volunteers are studied appropriately. Although I'm sure it goes without saying, do not allow them to come to any harm. They are brave to have stepped forward, and should be given our trust and protection. Within reason."

She turned back to Barbarus. "As for tension... we can use this. Study people's reactions... including overreactions... and we may just learn something. I can tolerate anything short of actual riots and combat, if it helps us."

"Such action is a double edged sword, being.  On the one hand, it makes detecting random spell-casting far far easier, yet it also has the downside of making those capable of detecting magical auras far less effective.  Also... i'm curious how is it that -you- seem to know so much about the security of this place?  I don't recall any specifics of the defenses being explained during the tour.  Ergo, anything -you- have said becomes suspect... now, doesn't it?"

The demon flashed the being a very toothy grin.  Polished, pointed, razor sharp teeth practically glowed at the being.  "Now, i won't be so rash as to make an outright accusation, but really... it's a very common tactic to throw the blame on others, or take a position of leadership for an infiltrator, especially at first meetings.  Perhaps if you'd be willing to have a cubi read your thoughts... i have nothing to hide, and would be quite open to the idea... so you'd be subjected to nothing i won't.  Or... perhaps you do have something to hide."

He gave a shrug, searching for some type of mind-reader to help with his little experiment.

   Zyrais followed the group into the makeshift meeting room that Nethalzar and his associates had set up. While he wasn't overly fond of undead, he didn't have any qualms against them either. Shortly after Nethalzar was done with his presentation and he had read over the list of results, choosing to review the more technical side, Zyrais closed his eyes and let his mind accept the knowledge from the Analyze Deweomer spell he cast on Nadhiya, which felt like it had taken weeks to finally take effect... He looked over the priestess's serpentine body wrapped in a revealing robe and wondered just where she was keeping not one, but two magical rods, a dagger, and a purse... He looked over the tiara she wore with an appraising eye and made a mental note to find out more about it later...
  The active spells on her person were few, and fairly normal... Mage-armor, anti-scrying, a spell to understand other languages, and Protection From Self.
His thoughts came to a crashing halt as that last one didn't make any sense, and his own magic couldn't figure out what the heck its purpose was. Well, he had two choices here... He could probe around and spy, but time was of the essence and he couldn't afford playing any games.
  "Nadhiya, I've detected a Protection from Self spell active on your person." He stated aloud. "Everything else makes sense, but not that... Can you fill me in on any details about it?"
  "Professor Nethalzar..." He began, addressing him. "How fast does the affliction drain a victim's life energy? I know undead would be more vulnerable to it since most no longer have biological functions to sustain themselves, but is it possible for living beings and creatures to 'outpace' the curse's draining effect? Regardless, seeing as you've been closely observing this affliction in action, you're most likely cursed as well, correct? If so, may I cast an Analyze Deweomer spell upon you as well?"

---

  Dee caught onto the demon's hints, but didn't feel like skimming the lawyer's thoughts without having the ability to retaliate quickly. So, she mentally whispered a message to both the demon and Kittrick...
  "Distract him so I can get close. This creature knows far more than what could've been gathered normally."

Yup, that was a none-to-subtle jab at the GM all right. Sorry, but I just couldn't resist. Anyway, now the rest of you know part of what Zyrais knows.

   EDIT: Removed text color at WF's suggestion. Sorry for any confusion.

The being adjusted his spectacles, looking a bit flustered for the first time. "Don't' be ridiculous! Nobody here would agree to a mind probe, and there is no way to guarantee the Cubi would be trustworthy. And for the record, I never said you were guilty; just that you were irresponsible. As for the defenses, I don't know anything about this place in particular... but it's obvious the defenses draw power from a mystical contract. Probably the contract we all agreed to upon arriving."

The being had been addressing Baseel directly for the last few moments, and only now seemed to remember there was a crowd around them. He glanced around, realizing that the crowd was looking much less interested. "Look, I... I'm not accusing you. You're no more or less guilty than I am, at this point. I'm just saying that... from now on... people should be more careful with their powers. Can we all agree on that?"


Nadhiya paused as Zyrais asked about the unknown spell. She stared at him for a moment, looking for a moment like she might be angered.

"What."

The flat inflection of her  voice indicated that the word was clearly a statement, rather than a question.

"Protection from..." She stared off into the distance for a bewildered moment, then snapped her gaze back at Zyrais. Her eyes were surprisingly, unsettlingly piercing. "I know no such spell. I know of no such spell, either. What does it do?"

     The Deathknights eyes blazed momentarily. "No, you may not perform any such scrying spell on me. I can assure you that such an attempt would yield no useful information. There are any number of other undead that would be suitable for such a spell. Carter, here, for example."
    The lanky Jackal turned to Nethalzar, then gestured to the ankh at the end of his staff.
    Nethalzar blinked, then nodded. "A valid point... Carter would probably not be the most suitable subject." He gestured to his other acolyte. "Thessaly here would be more appropriate; you may scry her if you wish."
    Thessaly shot Carter a dirty look, and muttered something about weaseling out. She took out her small tome and scribbled a few notes.
    Nethalzar turned to Nadihya. "Protection... from self." he said, measuring each word. "It could be possible that the spell protects an undead from the very spells that animate them, choking off the energies that sustain them over time." He turned back to Zyaris. "I had assumed that living creatures, with a naturally occurring soul, had a certain measure of self sustaining life force. It would be difficult to measure what the rate of decay would be, without being able to observe the effect over time."
     He then addressed the entire room: "If anyone would be willing to volunteer themselves for extended observation, it would be appreciated. I can understand that anyone would be hesitant to leave themselves in the hands of an undead demonic necromancer, however."


For the record, I've been using coloured text to indicate a spell that is actively being cast. If the name of the spell is simply being spoken aloud, I leave it uncoloured.

The other Weres were confused by the naga's words.  Volunteers?  Brave?  Studied?!  What had been the bull Were stepped forward, and roughly spun Barbarus around by the shoulder, and glared down at him.

"What have you promised them we would do, old man?"  The white-skinned human growled down in the dialect of Were language his tribe likely used.  All languages Were tribes used were simple to understand by other tribes, but had a handful of keywords to retain some sense of self-determination.

Barbarus looked up at the significantly taller male, then over at the rest of his kind, seeing that they were of similar looks.  While looking back up Barbarus returned in the Hagoo dialect, "I promised them you would stand here, and shift between human and furre forms for however they wish.  So they can see how the virus works."  In a blur of motion, Barbarus had his hand up, gripping the front of the tall human's neck in a vice grip.  He tried to jerk away, but froze when Barbarus dug his nails ever so slightly into the flesh just above the major blood vessels in the Caucasian's neck.  "Do you have a problem with that?  Do any of you?"  Barbarus added, looking over at the other four.  He never raised his voice, but somehow, he gave the less-senior Weres a thoroughly disturbed feeling.  Perhaps it was the complete lack of emotion in his voice and eyes as he spoke.  Perhaps it was the memories of what enraged elders would do to juniors in their tribes.  Either way they backed off.  "Good.  Now I will not repeat myself again; introduce yourselves."

Barbarus spun back to the others in the room.  "So sorry," he said, in the common language this time.  "They objected to being examined by an Undead.  I have corrected their misconceptions."  He snapped his fingers again, and the human-Weres stepped forward one at a time to introduce themselves, as ordered.

The two canines, Barbarus believed they were from the desert tribes, as their human forms were red-skinned and black haired, like himself, introduced themselves as "Nuka", a hunter-soldier, and "Shihuei" a house-builder.  The bull's human form was white-skinned, and brown haired, and introduced himself as "Potan,"  a warrior.  The two nameless Weres, the red-skinned male who was the mongoose, and the yellow-skinned, long straight black haired female who had been the rabbit, they both stated their professions as strict magic-users, the male in the field of medicine, and the female at battle-magic, but provided no names.

"Ah, yes.  Madame, these two suffer from a Were tradition of stripping away the names of traitors, and weaklings.  I have been empowered by them to provide temporary designations, or you could, if you so wish.  They would be little more than something to call them aside from 'Hey, you!' until they are dismissed, of course."

Barbarus cast his blank stare over at the five when the Necromancer called for volunteers, then stepped forward.  "I will of course, volunteer for this extended study."  He made no move, no look, no twitch to indicate he was influencing their choices in any way.  Still, the subtle threat was there.  The five chatted amongst themselves for a few seconds, then stepped forward, looking at Barbarus every few seconds, to look for a reaction.

Rambling post is rambling.

   Zyrais sighed before answering Nadhiya's question. "To be honest, I don't know." He admitted. "My spell couldn't analyze it, so it's either legendary, or it's resisting my magic. Most likely, it's the latter. But, the fact that you're unaware of it leads me to suspect that it may be the curse afflicting the guests here."
   Zyrais noticed the sudden brightness in Nethalzar's eyes before he responded, but was careful to maintain his expression of concern, even when his first quickly offered underling also refused to let itself be analyzed.
   Very well, necromancer... Zyrais thought. I'll abide and let you keep your secrets... For now...
   "Well, if she's been exposed, she will also probably have the curse as well." Zyrais acknowledged, and taking him up on his offer by casting another Analyze Deweomer spell, this time aimed at Thessaly. "However, Nethalzar, as a potential short-term solution, how well do undead handle being inside an anti-magic field?"

Giving a bit of a shrug, Baseel snickered, "While, yes, i could agree to forfeit using power, or use them sparingly... my supposition is that, should the situation we're in be magic based, the caster left their aura on the spell.  Assuming it is a spell.  If it's some type of disease, then clearly, you have more to fear than i.  Perhaps we should -all- try our various healing spells, and see if any work?  It has the added bonus of making -everyone's- magical aura known to everyone else who can detect such things."

Looking at the being, Baseel turned his back and walked off, "I offer you just the knowledge that i came here in good faith, and will continue to act as such.  If you really wish to cause a stir, or preach your claims of the evils of creatures elsewhere.  Rules and laws are only as strong as those willing to enforce them, after all."

Spreading his wings, to punctuate his statement, Baseel backtracked to the hallway where he'd seen Nadhiya and the rest of the group follow.  He could deal with the sheep later, for now, there was a problem about which required a keen intellect and careful observation.