Once more unto the hole (Deathtrap Dungeon, Mature, Closed)

[Meany]

Pip-pip!

"Yes, I'm alright.  And we had better get going if you don't want to test that method for destructive transmutation."  Barbarus would hurry the mongoose up to the cart after returning the hug, and slumping in the carriage while indicating Belize to the reigns.  "Already late.  Hmm."  Barbarus would take the time to throw blocks of purified salt out the window if they started moving. "I made us a nice little house.  Rough, but it should do until I can polish the method."  While he recovered, Barbarus would speculate on the composition of the rocks, trying to figure out why it had turned out rough around the edges.

[VAE]

As the rioters begin to form orderly pairs and the noise dies out, angry gargling noises are heard from one of the side-shafts.
Suddenly, with a loud snap, the cross-support at the top gives way, and into the hall marches a  huge quintapede covered in rock dust and fragments, followed by something much , much smaller, but still having a rather invertebrate appearance...

"Why doesh eveglyone make bloody dooglwaysh sho low... lazy bashtagldsh.."
It gazes around the rooom...
"Amith .. doesh anyone   look like the bosh? Thoshe i shee, they sheem pgletty shmagl and weak"

[Lisky]

Baseel waited for the glass to finish emptying.  He knew 5 minutes wasn't enough time, however, he'd easily be able to start things moving once an order was established, and it seemed enough of them had shown up that word would spread quickly.  These people didn't need to just run a mine, they also needed surface dwellings, they needed more construction, and furthermore, they needed to become self-sufficient.   He waited a few more minutes for the crowds to gather before  speaking up, "I commend you on your expedience, you who are here my have been forced here under fear of violence, but i assure you that your cooperation will be rewarded.  The living conditions are barely survivable, and horrifically inadequate at best.  There are no ammenties of the modern world, no running water, very little food outside the rations that were sent.  Me and my fellow council-race creatures have come to bring that to you.  It may take away from the mining for a bit, but we do need surface fortifications, we need a supply of water, a sewage system, crops, irrigation, perhaps herding animals.  We will need a security force, perhaps even a small army." 

The demon took a few steps forwards, raising his hands above his head while casting an additional light spell, so that he would be even more visible.  Continuing, "I am not here to grind you into the stones which contain that which we've come to harvest, and, should you be willing to work with me, i can assure you that it won't happen.  Me and my fellow compatriots were merely sent to guide and shape this place to make it more productive and profitable, making upgrades where we see fit.  If we need to halt production to get larger yields in the near future, so be it.  I haven't even been given a full tour of the mines, and yet, i already have to put down a rebellion.  You can fight me if you wish, but i assure you that it is pointless.  I am here to improve all our lives, and i intend to do so.  If there is something of urgent concern that has sparked these revolts, i need to know, i need to hear from you what is wrong with current policy or condition that would cause such mindless violence and destruction.  So, if any of you wish to speak up, and let yourself be heard, speak up, one at a time so that i may address your concerns as best i can."

He hoped his fellow creatures would join him towards the center of the mass soon.  Baseel was a warrior and while he could probably assume that he'd just positioned himself as a figure head, it would behoove him to meet his compatriots to help establish some type of pecking order, and delegation of tasks.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Door Dimwits (Xephelon)

The two guards confer for a moment, muttering too low for you to make out what they're saying clearly. After a pause, one of them reaches into a pocket and tosses a small amber brooch, in the shape of a tortoise, towards your shell.

"All right, any weapon you can make out of that you could have carried in with you. Show us what you got."


Main Cavern (Baseel and Jio)

The two stocky felines carry Jio into the cavern, intercepting Baseel as he heads back to the command tent. They start excitedly jabbering.

"Yer worship, we found 'im out there in the tunnels."

"Yeah, we were running from the screamers, and we found a statue, detailed as you please."

"And We think ther makin em, somehow. Maybe with ther shouts."

"Them good blokes out there. And....."

"Bert thinks ther gunna get eatin, yer Lordship. Turned to stone and eaten."

"We're just minin folk lord. Sure, maybe we'll tussle after a few drinks, or for a laugh, but petrifying horrors?"

The two make a small sign against evil, and tremble; waiting for some kind of decision.

Aftermath of the riot. (Barbarus)
Most of the people aren't willing to be trampled underfoot, and get out of the way of your carriage. Despite not making it in at the clock, the demon wolf at the center of the cavern doesn't seem in a mood to devour anyone's souls. He stands, in the center of the cavern, conversing with two short felines, standing next to a statue that you are certain wasn't there when you visited the cavern the first time.

Belize doesn't immediately open the carriage, pausing to mix some sort of foul smelling herbs  and thrusting the foul smelling concoction in front of your mouth. "Chew on this." he orders brusquely. Afterwards, he asks "that seems to be the one in charge. Do you think it's safe to approach him?"



Aftermath of the riot. (Glup)

While the tunnels themselves are large enough to get through, the intersections are problematic, forcing you to twist and shuffle your way through. Still, you come at last to a huge cavern, easily large enough to accommodate a hundred of you, where scattered figures stand huddling. One of them, in response to your query, points to the center of a room, where a large dog-demon stands, with some smaller figures that you can sort of make out around him.

[techmaster-glitch]

Door Dimwits

   Finally. Xephelon thought, as the guards finally acquiesced to giving him something.
   "Ah, an amulet. Excellent, this will do nicely...it will not be a weapon, however, but it will be something just as useful."
   Xephelon then holds the amulet between his four metal arms. Though it's hard to tell of course, it seems to the guards that the metal beast was focusing intently on the tortise-amulet. They then saw small ribbons of light escape the hands of the beast, which then wrapped around the tortise-amulet and sunk in.
   After about a minute minutes of this, Xephelon finally moved again, and handed the amulet back.
   "There. Like I said, it is not a weapon, but when you put that on, it will activate a defensive charm. As an amulet already in the shape of a totise, it was very simple to do, which also allowed me to extend the time on it further." Indeed, the guard feels that the amulet is warm, and when he puts it around his neck, all his skin suddenly itches, but then feels...tougher.
   "The charm will give you great resistance, almost total immunity, from being cut by any knife, sword, or any other metal blade. You can test it right now, just try to cut a finger. Someone could still bludgeon you, so you are not invincible. It will also last only last for approximately thrity minutes. Permanent enchantments require hours, sometimes days to create, and special materials. But I can do far more than just that as well. I can make almost anything, with any effect, and I can quickly but temporarily place any effect upon an object, like I have done now. I presume this will be a valuable service to your operation."
   If the guard is indeed brave enough to try and cut himself with his sword or a dagger, the blade just slides right over his skin with no harm at all.

[VAE]

Who
Trying to focus the image as much as possible (given they have no eyelids, crustaceans can't exactly squint) Glup managed to make out that the supposed boss of this place is a rather large canine demon in front.
"Get up, Amith and letsh go! No one getsh paid for shtanding and looking aglound, ekshept fogl watchmen"
*clank*
*clank*
*clank*
Still dropping off bits of gravel and rock dust, Glup approached the german shepherd in charge, and began to speak in his watery dialect.
"Gleetinghs to you. I have been told you agle the bosh off thish place he'e... Am Glup and thish hegle" The chuul pointed a tentacle to the small, spider-like creature sitting on his back, "ish Amith. We agle tglavelling shalesh-cgleatu's, looking to shell ougl wa'es.. though we can shtand ougl own in a fighth too. I have been told thish place could ushe a geneglal shto'e. My shpesial agle fglesh, quality bglainsh, though i have all manneglsh of equipmenth"  Once again, the  crustacean pointed to his behind, this time at the massive bags with a "Private property, no touch" written on in several languages.

[Meany]

Exchange of Gifts
Barbarus took the mixture, and imbibed it without question, but also reached out and grabbed his boy's arm, giving him a look that plainly said 'wait a moment'.  While he chewed, he pulled a little shell on a leather band, which he then sprinkled purified salt upon, then would tie it around Belize's wrist.  Once he was done, exposition would come.  "A token of the ocean spirits, to give you depth and make unconquerable like they.  Ideally."  Then to the boy's question, upon his exit.  "It isn't safe to do anything here.  Not yet.  But if he is to be the chief of this tribe, we must make ourselves available.  I as a Shaman, and you as a Doctor.  Speaking of that, did you find any patients for your new practice while I was away?"

The two would wade in through the sea of people, Barbarus dropping blocks of purified salt periodically on the ground as he passed, until they reached the front of the column.  Then, it would be a matter of waiting to be recognized.

[Lisky]

"actually, the soul-devouring comes first.  The flesh to stone tends to be an after-effect."  The demon replied rather matter-of-factly.  "Mind you, that won't be happening.  Have someone grab my entourage, not yourself though... i need you to tell me everything you can about these... screamers."

The demon heard the crunching as the shelled and tentacled creature slid forward.  It's odd, almost lobster-like appearance brought the demon's thoughts to a horrifying halt Heh, if that's what i'll be working with, i wonder if someone has a few hundred gallon cauldron, and an appropriately massive quantity of butter to melt.

Then it spoke in odd, slurping, gurggly tones in what Baseel could only assume to be a facsimile of common.  "Pardon?  You're a what?..."  He paused, to eye the bag.  "A merchant... you're trying to get rights to setup shop in the middle of a power shift?  If you haven't noticed, things are only just starting to get into order, Mr... Miss... Uh... whatever your apprioriate title happens to be... right now i have something a bit more pressing to attend to... If you can fight, great, lets get things sorted out, and you can help... if not, i'll have to ask you to leave until such a time that we're actually taking on merchants to field their wares."

Turning his attention back to the felines, he continued, "If you'd be so kind as to tell me just what the hell these screamers are, and why they caused such a sudden outburst like the one i walked into, i'll be sure to make it worth your whiles."

[Inumo]

The minutes of waiting were starting to wear even on Jio's patience, which had become quite long in the few months outside the Valley. He had decided to pass the time by designing the perfect system for himself so he wouldn't have to deal with it, had gotten bored with it, then started designing a cathedral. It was about the time that he had designed the foyer and main hall completely to his satisfaction that he realized how long he'd been sitting still. In the name of Oros, is all they do talk slowly?

[VAE]

"Thathsh 'ight, a meglshant... a chuul meglshant."
The gargling crustacean monstrosity heard Baseel out and began to mutilate common once more.
"Powegl shifth? I have noth sheen ith. Musht have been while i wash... making my way thglough the tunnelsh. If it ish sho, I can help you get thoshe... thinghs shoglted out, ith ish in my intheglesht ash well. Tglouble no good fogl bushinesh... 'couglshe, no shuch thing ash a fglee lunch *gargle* *glup* "
Ending the speech were several gargly, flushing noises.....

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Moving along. (xephelon)
The two door guards seem disinterested in directly testing your handiwork, instead conjuring up faint green lights and probing the material. One of them waves in your general direction, and without looking at you, mutters "Simple, just take the central passage, and keep going forward and down until you hit the main cavern. You'll recognize it when you see it. I reckon someone up high in there will have the best idea how you can fit in."


Main Cavern. (Glup, Jio, Baseel, Barbarus,and anyone else I missed)

Nobody else seems to be coming in, and more than one cluster of folk are hefting crude weapons or preparing simple spells, and watching the entrances to the lower tunnels. A small rat with stunted demon wings darts off into the corners of the compound where Aleyna and Nadia last went.

The two felines facing Baseel look at each other for a moment, before the one on the left starts relating his tale haltingly.

"We fled, after the riot sir. During it really. Just hoping to hide out in the tunnels for a few hours while everything calmed down. But our group, we started with four of us, my brother here, and two others named Fent and Thorp. And we were mighty scared, and heelin' it. But ahead of us comes this screaming, high pitched, like a girlies. And there's no way it could have been another group, less they can teleport. And it's dark in those tunnels sir, and the next thing we know, something comes flinging out of the corridor up ahead. We splash some spells and run back the way we came. Maybe a minute later we realize that it's just the two of us, but we come across this poor bastard, all turned to stone. Way I see it, there's somethin in those tunnels, and it's screaming and petrifying people, and dragging em off."


Any of you close enough to Baseel can hear the story, and most of the other miners who are in the room seem to be busy watching the corridors for signs of an invasion, clearing out space near the center of the chamber.

[techmaster-glitch]

Door Dimwits no more

   About time. Xephelon thought as the guards finally accepted him. He was curious that the guards apparently probed his enchantment with more magic, wondering exactly how skilled they were. "Thank you." The buzzing voice from the metal insectoid said at being given directions. The exoshell then walked around the two guards and continued down the central passage, heading for the main cavern. Once he gets there, random people are suddenly asked by a strange four-armed four-legged black metal golem-thing for who's in charge of the mines.

[Lisky]

Taking The Bull By The Horns

The demon nodded.  "Alright... soo... there's something else here with us.  It or they can cast magic, and are coming from deeper in the tunnels.  The most obvious answer, then, is to collect the miners here, and use this as a home base.  If we can build a gate here, it'll work as a good means of slowing traffic down coming from the lower mines, where these things are supposedly coming from.  After that, i'll take a small entourage into the tunnels to check things out.  This is now the citadel, the base of operations."

"So, lets get an inventory of what we've got, and who we've got to do things!"

[Inumo]

Y'know...

Jio mentally twiddled his thumbs as he watched these people talk. No words for him, of course. I wonder if those miners are illiterate, he thought spontaneously. They didn't seem to notice that I had made it obvious that I was alive, after all. He returned to his bored observations of the people slowly discussing whatever they were discussing.

[Meany]

Circling Vultures

Barbarus motioned to Belize to follow his lead, and stepped forward, bowing to the demon.  "Barbarus of the Hagoo.  Shaman.  This is my son Belize of the Hagoo.  He is a doctor.  We have in our supply many domestic substances, as well as medical equipment, and in my case spell components.  I can lay down blessings in areas, to ask the local spirits to warn us of dangers; lessen the risk of placing actual guards who could otherwise be working.  And, if Your Lordship allows, I could study this poor soul, learn what was done, how to counter-act it if possible, and maybe reproduce the effect as a new spell.  However, I would first like to set up a summoning circle for creating our water supply, if Your Lordship does not have a plan for that already?"

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Main Cavern (everyone now)

There's hustle and bustle and anarchy, but in about half an hour, things have settled down somewhat, with timid folk congregating in the main hall. By that point, you and your retinues excluded, you have about 80 people inside, mostly miners and tunnelers, but a dozen "security" thuggish types, who don't know how to use a pick or adze. If nobody else filters back, it means you've lost roughly a third of the population that was supposed to be sent over. As of the moment, the security forces are watching the exits, while the "civilians" huddle as close to the portal as they can.

Food wise, you have enough stores to last about 9 months. Accommodations are basic, mostly skin tents, and hundreds of magical light fixtures. There are enough digging and crafting tools for far more than the number of people they sent you, although there doesn't seem to be a dedicated blacksmith's set of tools, so if anything breaks it will have to be replaced. There's very little wood, mostly fuel for fires, which won't make good construction material; and the crates that the rest of your junk is stored inside.  About the only piece of ornamental value is the odd cat statue the two miners brought in. The more you look at it, the weirder it seems; it's a bit too light, and there seems to be faint magical emanations from it, although nothing part of any spell you can recognize.

[techmaster-glitch]

   This is the most disorganized operation I've ever seen. Xephelon thought as he plodded through the crowd. The black insectoid with angular glowing green lines continued to ask people who was in charge, getting vauge answers at best.
   Suprising that hardly anyone else has even looked twice at me. Eventually, Xephelon caught sight of a particularly large and imposing demon, who had deliberately placed himself where he could be seen by all, and -seemed- to be handing out instructions.
   This is both promising and unnerving. At least there's -someone- in command here, but a demon? Hmph. Well, best not to judge before I meet him. We all wear exoshells...
   The strange creature strides forward and approaches Baseel.
   As Baseel is taking inventory and giving out commands, he notices something separate from the crowd and walk straight towards him. It is a very strange thing, probably something he's hardly seen anything like before. It seems to be a being made of black metal, with angular and gemoetic glowing lines of green etched across it. It walks on four spindly, spiderlike legs, and has four arms, two sprouting from each side of the 'torso', which appears headless. Three lights right on the front of the torso -seem- to indicate eyes.
   It walks straight towards Baseel, but not seemingly with hostility, but with simple purpose, though of course 'golems' and constructs aren't known for mannerisms. It stops in front of Baseel, and speaks with a slightly buzzing, dronish voice.
   "Are you the operator of these mines?"

[Lisky]

Addressing the shaman first, Baseel replied, "Yes, please... study him as best you can, and if you can reverse whatever the spell is, please do so... all the information we can get about what these things are is very important.  If you need some privacy, feel free to go somewhere quiet, but take a few guards with you.  Someone of your talents is invaluable, and i'd hate to loose them due to carelessness or arrogance."

Turning his attention to the statue carriers, "Take that to wherever he orders to place it.  Be gentle as there appears to be some magical properties still applied... perhaps even a soul in there."

"Right... since a gate really isn't an option... lets thin down the tunnels with debris... make this place harder to get into and out of.  Beyond that... i'll personally be scouting out the lower mines as soon as my entourage gets here.  I will never ask any of you to do anything i myself wouldn't put myself in danger of facing."

His attention clearly focused deep on thought, the defensive plans came a screeching halt when the creature approached.  Angular, metallic and spidery, the demon instinctively wrapped his fingers around the axe on his belt.  After seeing is relative neutral pose, and the fact that no one in the room seemed to care to stop it, Baseel's 2nd reaction was to simply assume it a hallucination... Aleyna has clearly slipped something in my wine... -again-  I keep telling her those aphrodisiacs have side effects.. but no... have to keep playing her silly games.  Bah! just one more thing to deal with i guess.

It spoke... he only half payed attention while walking through the crowd to get a better look at the dungeon... if it was something normal around here... then talking to it wouldn't hurt... he had only just arrived after all... if the workers gave him strange looks when he replied to the spider, clearly he'd need to have a -very- long chat with lovely demoness.

"You could say that... no one else has attempted to retain order, so... for the time being, yes... you could say that i'm the leader."

[Meany]

Work to do

"Very good, sir."  The elderly tom brushed some dirt off the statue, and pointed the carriers where to go.  "Come now gents, let's get this poor boy away from the rabble."  Belize was instructed to stick with the colony leader, to organize with what other medical professionals were among the assembled.  If a private practice could not be organized, a full hospital could be arranged.  Barbarus led the carriers and three guards he was able to charm into following him to another area, and carrying materials for some profound Spirit Summoning magic.

Finding an alcove, Barbarus set up the array.  A ring of purified salt, bowls laden with incense, and charms lain upon the poor soul, trying to summon a spirit knowledgeable about the magic staining his body.  Clapping his hands, he formed a rough idol out of the wall of the alcove.  A large, portly figure of indeterminate race, species, or gender.  This was the traditionally preferred form of The Loa, a hive-mind spirit of Knowledge which had avatars versed in every field of magic imaginable.  The closeness with magic made The Loa an unpredictable entity; with the only general conventions of what to expect being the field of magic.  Dark magic tended to result in an antagonistic experience with death-threats aplenty, for example.

The Loa also demanded an offering of matter, predominately organic substances.  Barbarus had unblessed salt, a broad-spectrum offering that was a key ingredient in many spells of detecting and scrying.  "Mang asec, Loa, aleg.  Accept this offering, and open the gates of truth."  The salt was poured over the hands of the figure, and the shaman backed rapidly away from the statue, to work up the lengthy ritual of summoning.

[Inumo]

As soon as Barbarus looked back at the statue, he'd notice that it was laying on its side. If he looked again later, it'd be gone. From the hall, he could here muttering in a language he didn't recognize nor understand.



"Took so bloody long I fell asleep! What is with these people? Not going back in there, no, not even if they paid me to do it! Bloody... lookers! If it weren't for the fact that this is my job, I'd leave them all here to get well and truly buggered. Oro save me!" Fuming, Jio stormed into the first unoccupied room he found and sealed it shut. "Besteh-cray," he said into the empty room, before drawing a three-dimensional map in bright yellow light of what he'd seen during that long wait, followed by annotating, and finally, adding to the image things he wanted to see built; namely, a catwalk system five feet across that ran along the roof of each tunnel so he could move around without being stoneshaped at every turn.

[techmaster-glitch]

   Now I am very worried. Xephelon thought to himself. He could infer what the demon meant by his words. Still, might as well at least try and make the best of the situation.
  The thing spread its four arms wide, and continued speaking in the clearly artificial voice. "Very well then. I am Xephelon, Green Imbuer Mythos." A few pulses ran across the glowing green lines that covered the thing at that. "I would be surprised if you have heard of my kind, we are quite rare and thus frequently met with fear at our highly unusual forms. In my travels for a secure locale to set down roots, I happened by a flier advertising this Crysx mine. I desire merely a secure home in which to apply my race's primary skills in magical artifice and theurgical engineering to work, both in the employ of this mine, and towards my own projects. Crysx is highly valued to my kind, due to its extraordinary applications to our work. Do you believe you can accomodate me as an employee in such a capacity?"

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Main Cavern (Xephelon, Baseel, Glup
A bit of work is going up, and the exits to the cavern, except the one that leads to the surface, quickly collect some crude barricades, mostly of the crates the food and light fixtures were shipped in. Here and there, magical surges are felt at the passageways and you can see a gray-wolf demoness, applying theurgy to roughen up the preternaturally smooth floors in front of the crude fortifications. Nearer to the center, you can see a small mongoose gathering up minders a bit behind the barricades, talking to them for a few minutes, and then moving on to the next station. Where he passes, people start using minor charms to create and boil water, as well as tearing up garments.


As Xephelon and Baseel talk, Aleyna approaches, looking askance at Baseel, and studying Xephelon. She opens her mouth, and then thinks better of it, simply watching the exchange.

Small Alcove (Barbarus)

It takes roughly an hour for the spirit to materialize. It is faintly green, and smells of loam and crushed grass. It's eyes focus on you, but every four or five seconds, it turns its gaze to a thin point of the summoning circle, where something seems to have disturbed the salt slightly, but then regards you.  It's voice rings like the faint rustling of leaves. "Who are you? What do you want? What will you pay? Who do you trust?"

Sealed Storeroom (Jio)

It takes only a few minutes to get the map in place, and with little in the way of distractions, you think you did a pretty good job of making it cohere. Still, from what little you've seen, there's scant indication that these solid sighting things have teh resources or skill to make a catwalk system, certainly not quickly.

[Lisky]

Baseel's claws clacked together as he listened to the strange golem-thing speak in it's bizzare accent.  It was almost insectis like in speech, unnervingly unnatural.  His attention flickered from the supposed mythos to his companion, then back to the mythos.  At the mention of Crysx the demon's fur stood on end.  Who would be stupid enough to -advertise- a mine's location.  This stuff is worth several times it's weight in gold.  Something smells... off... If there were flyers for miners, i might expect that... but advertise Crysx?

First he responded to the stone spider, "It will depend greatly on your ability to enhance my men's combat ability in the short term.  There are... certain events... that leave me in an uneasy position... in the short term, we could use help, in the long term... well... that has yet to be decided."

The demon paused, then motioned for Aleyna to come closer, "What... do you think my lovely?"  He leaned in closer, so as only she could hear, then hissed, "Is it just me, or does something seem... off... about... that.  No one would be foolish enough to advertise the contents of this mine, epsecially in it's current state of disarray, would they?"

[Inumo]

Jio put a hand against the wall, pondering his map. With a quiet, "Rish-molk," he attempted to turn the wall into mud just long enough to pull a small bump out by hand before it hardened again. If it worked, he would plan on making the catwalk by using the same technique to attach the catwalk to the ceiling.

[techmaster-glitch]

   The three little lights on the 'torso' of the thing blinked quickly in succession. "Short-term enhancement? I certainly can aid with that, if you allow me to demonstrate. I shall need to borrow a weapon, or some kind of tinket, preferably inorganic but anything will do. However, while I'm sure they were doing their jobs, I was accosted by two guards at the entrance of this mine and had an inordinate amount of difficulty in gaining their acceptance, though we finally worked it out and I was able to demonstrate my ability to their satisfaction, and they admitted me."

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Sealed Storeroom (Jio)

It takes you a few tries to get the timing down just right, that the earth turns to mud long enough to manipulate, but not so long it just spatters on the floor before re-ossifying. The spell is reasonably taxing though. You think you'd be able to work it for about four or five of hours before having to rest.

Main Cavern (Xephelon, Baseel, Glup)

Noting a pause in the conversation, Aleyna addresses Baseel, smirking, ignoring the other two. "The tent is set up, but the idiots are scared, and acting stupid. I had to put up an acid ward to keep out interlopers. If you forget to disarm it before coming in, you'll excoriate yourself again, and be useless for a few days. When do we go hunt down what's frightening them?"

[Lisky]

Baseel pinched his claws together, lightly scrapping their black, obsidian like-edges along each-other as he observed the spider thing asking for weapons to try and enchant.  His own axe was already enchanted, as was his shield, he needed no help there.  Perhaps the workers would be more appreciate.  Pointing to one of the adventurers, Baseel said "Try one of them, they're hired hands, and don't have their own enchantments woven to their weapons.  I rather dislike mixing magics, tends to lead to painful unexpected results."

Turning his attention towards Aleyna, he reply, "As soon as you're ready." The demon's claws were extended as he approached the entrance into the lower mines.  "Hold the fort down while i'm gone, Nadia.  Use an orb if you need us... We'll be numbering the path we take, make it easier to return, and not get lost."

"Would you rather use magic or torches to light the way?"  he asked, Aleyna.

[techmaster-glitch]

   It was hard to tell, the thing had no head to nod, but it seemed no move in affirmative once Baseel had finished speaking. "Indeed, mixing enchantments does create more difficulty, though it's certainly not impossible. Still, it appears expediency is of the essence at present time, so I shall talk to you about that later." The insectoid thing of black metal with glowing green lines turned around and headed towards one of the adventurers.
   "Greetings, unshelled." Xephelon said, adressing the entire group. "Do not be alarmed, I am a prospective employee for this dungeon, like the rest of you. From what I gather, it would appear that you are presently about to undertake a strike mission, and I have been given permission by your apparent commander to demonstrate my abilities. If at least one of you is willing to allow me to hold one of your weapons for a minute, I can bestow temporary magical augmentations to it."

[Meany]

Negotiations with a Spirit

Not good.  The Loa had come, despite nearly half the summoning array, which had been placed on the statue, no longer being present.  Perhaps there was something in the local climate that intrigued this facet of It.  It was asking for Payment...and for trust.  Definitely not good.  It was essential to not say 'anything' in regards to the payment.  Spirits tended to assume that defaulted into 'everything.'  Which would make their trade moot.  "Oh Great Name of the spirits, I am Barbarus of the Hagoo, the half-dark shaman who has summoned facets of yourself before.  What I would ask of you...is if you know this area well.  That perhaps, you might now of a location to place a reservoir of water, if none exist here presently.  I am willing to...willing to pay you with release.  It seems you've noticed part of the circle was damaged when the token I had originally asked you to study escaped.  For some reason you wished to come here anyway, and so I offer to let you out to find what you came for.  And as always, I trust my son."  This was a gamble.  A big gamble.  He was assuming things of the Loa, never smart to do, but really.  What choice had he left?  There was nothing currently available to trade to the Loa, as the crystal that might have been it was not being mined yet.  Still, until he saw what the spirit reacted to in his words, and how, then he just had to wait.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Search into darkness.(Baseel)
Aleyna starts heading towards the closest exit, answering with her back to you. I already brought a torch, actually. Magic will give better illumination, but it's easier to interfere with. Besides, light spells are easy to assemble. I was just going to have the torch lit and fall back on magic if something went wrong. As she passes the checkpoint, she mutters a small inflammatory spell, lighting the greasy wood.

"Dammit, didn't think of the smoke." You feel her enact another small spell, one you don't quite recognize, but you assume will help her breathe more easily. "Which way, boss? And which one of us takes point?"

Checking the Checkpoints (Xephelon)

The guards at the improvised checkpoints seem to be less belligerent than the ones at the surface gate. There's a bit of muttering amongst themselves, but after a few seconds, one steps forward with a crossbow. "Think you can do anything with this, ser?"

You do notice, they're more set up to defend against incursion from the outer lower tunnels. Some kind of enchantment to prevent motion in, or at least hinder it, might be more effective than enchanting every person's weapon, especially since they dn't seem to be all that expert at handling them.

Dealing with the spirit (Barbarus)

Your initial response seems to infuriate the creature, and it rages against the confines of the summoning circle. "Not name! Name IRRELEVANT! WHO ARE YOU!?" as it bellows, you feel it reach a tendril of power across the damaged circle. It puts a merest trace of compulsion on you, not enough to actually affect your ability to move or act, but enough that you know it's trying to. After a moment of pushing, it seems to calm, and states flatly. "Answers.......... acceptable. Summoner, Imprisoner. Mortal. Release not enough. Flesh in danger. Will die soon unless aided. Can wait for death to release. Better terms. Demands. Obey. Darkness at base of pit.  Odd. Impenetrable. Blind there. Seek, search, find. Report. Will wait. Will even bring water in exchange for information."